Shadows Linger

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Shadows Linger

From the back cover:

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Mercenary soldiers in the service of the Lady, the Black Company stands against the Rebels of the White Rose. They are tough men, proud of honoring their contracts. The Lady is evil, but so, too, are those who falsely profess to follow the White Rose, reincarnation of a centuries-dead heroine. Yet now some of the Company have discovered that the mute girl they rescued and sheltered is truly the White Rose reborn. Now there may be a path to the light, even for such as they. If they can survive it.

Contents 1 ISBN(s) 2 Misc 3 Characters (in order of appearance) 3.1 Major 3.2 Minor 4 Analysis

ISBN(s)

• 0-812-50842-4

Misc

• 312 pages
• First edition: October 1984
• Cover art: Keith Berdak.
• Cover design: Carol Russo Design.
• First page states that this is The second volume of THE BLACK COMPANY trilogy.

Characters (in order of appearance)

Major

• Croaker
• Goblin
• Darling
• Raven
• Silent
• Elmo
• The Captain
• One-Eye
• Whisper
• Feather

Minor

• Pawnbroker
• Candy
• Otto
• Marron Shed
• Old June
• Asa
• Krage
• Count
• Kingpin

Analysis

• When the story begins the company has been travelling for six years from Charm. A later reference places the battle at Charm around 8 years prior.
• In Chapter 8: Tally: Close-up the relative ages of some of the major characters are noted:
  • Elmo is past fifty
  • The Captain is around fifty
  • The Lieutenant is around fifty
  • Croaker is forty
  • Goblin was in the company before Croaker joined and already old
  • One-Eye was in the company for at least a century before Croaker joined
• Heart and Tome are the only substantial cities in Tally. No indication is given of how far they are from each other.
• The king of Tally is in Heart
• Northeast of Tally is the kingdom of Tambor
• In Chapter 10: Tally Turnaround Croaker estimates distances and geography
  • Tome is 2000 miles east of Charm
  • The boundary of the Empire in The Black Company was just east of The Plain of Fear
  • The boundary was marked by the cities of Frost, Ade, Thud, Barns, and Rust
  • The journey from Tome to Oar would be 2500 miles. If we assume a journey of 2000 miles to Charm then Oar is 500 miles north of Charm
  • The Barrowland is another 100 or 200 miles north of Oar
  • All west-bound traffic must cross The Plain of Fear meaning it must stretch a long way north and south or be bounded by impassable terrain such as moutains.
  • The march from Tome to Frost was 146 days for the company. During the journey they had to cross mountains, deserts, and large rivers.
  • Juniper is 1500 miles from Charm
• By the time the action in the book closes, there are about 130 members left in the Company, at least 61 (probably more) being old Company, from before the crossing of the Sea of Torments.