The second Hamlet to be founded near Sedgewick, West Farthing, has an important decision to make. While North Farthing (a mile away) got a Pub, their neighbors get to choose either a Small Pub or a Quaint Teahouse.
If you have ever dreamed of roleplaying the part of a peasant farmer exerci...
Ozzy awoke to the smell of pancakes and strong tea. He normally only needed four hours of sleep a night, but drinking rum with his fellow captains had strained even his metabolism, and he'd slept in. He was surprised he didn't have a hangover. As he rolled out of bed, Suzette put two plates on th...
2023-04-07 01:37:51 +0000 UTC View PostFrom a balcony overlooking the 'reception hall,' Milo could see more than fifteen-hundred residents and over three-hundred employees of Manpower. It was the most people he had ever seen in one place, and it made him nervous and fidgety to think they were going to walk through that. Butch put a ha...
2023-04-06 21:06:46 +0000 UTC View PostJust because the Butcher is trying to finish the writathon doesn't mean we can ignore the Rat. Then again, he isn't even in this chapter!
"I am not wearing the stupid shirt. Nor the shoes. And nor the jacket. I'm not a billboard." Belinda was trying to stay calm and reminding hers...
Late night in Gadobhra. A large and rotted squash was launched towards the head of the demonic statue sitting in the middle of the open square at the city's heart. Metal creaked, and a clawed hand intercepted the squash.
I've killed men for far less.
"Ye...
Writathon continues, with extra chapters going up. I need to do 71k words in a month.
Theordis was greatly enjoying his dinner. Nothing added to the flavor of food like the glow of victory. And everyone at the table knew who had been victorious and who got put in his place. <...
Theordis had not expected such a fine little Inn in such a small, out-of-the-way town. They had been greeted by the Innkeeper and his staff as if they were nobility and shown to quite comfortable rooms on the 3rd floor overlooking the town. Hot baths were already prepared for them, and dinner wou...
2023-04-03 03:52:41 +0000 UTC View PostOver large bowls of hearty gopher stew, the new inhabitants of the Barony of Gadobhra discussed what to name their new Hamlet. Sloth Hollow was proposed, but it was quickly pointed out that there weren't any sloths left—the same for Gopherville and Shewburg. Still, most felt that the huge battl...
2023-04-03 01:38:57 +0000 UTC View PostLater today, after the ribs are on the grill, I'm going to research how to post tables as an image on Patreon. A character sheet doesn't work on Patreon.
Milo woke up.
He felt much better than he thought he would. His wound was fully healed, and his aches and pains we...
Milo was mopping up the mess he had made by being inconsiderate and bleeding all over the floor. He was almost done when a small thought wormed its way out of his subconscious and into his mainstream thoughts. He'd been digesting the shared experience of Astraeus's dreams. The incident had been m...
2023-04-02 03:04:37 +0000 UTC View PostOzzy explained how gopher hunting worked. "I'm going to thump my hammer on the ground hard, and it will drive out all the critters living underneath. Most normal gophers won't survive, but there's a chance of having a bigger one down there. Those will be higher level and might even have a name. Y...
2023-03-30 22:43:36 +0000 UTC View PostOzzie was enjoying himself. He still wondered why Suzette and Ben had thought it necessary that he be the one to start leading families out to the open land by the unicorn fields. Still, he'd learned over the years of working with his friends that you sometimes just went along with things and got...
2023-03-30 16:17:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe first part of this chapter was originally going to be in Chapter 267, but the rest got pushed back. After someone pointed out Ozzy needed to grab his bag, I put up the new ending to 267 and moved the refugee piece closer to the rest of the arc. I
It has been a hellishly busy two we...
Note: Chapter 270 was already put up and is a stand-alone chapter taking place at roughly the same time as chapters around it.
"You enjoyed that far too much." Suzette was pouring strong tea from a pot and passing it out to everyone. Layla took hers and smiled without shame, admit...
Slow this week. Much time taken up running children all over creation for four days while my wife is away. I have so much sympathy for single parents. I don't know how you do it.
They dreamed together, hurling across the skies. Volat-Repat accelerated to his maximum velocity, slicing throu...
Slightly rough draft. Lots of moving parts, no pun intended.
The time spent with the gang had gone better than Milo could have expected, although he wasn't looking forward to a long talk with Mama. He gained some perspective on what had upset her by finding some relevant articles o...
2023-03-24 03:40:09 +0000 UTC View PostPatreon only. Never really meant to be part of the main story. Things like this help me with my background.
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In another universe.
Stars all around, following celestial paths as they circle the fiery heart at the center. Some...
2023-03-24 02:19:00 +0000 UTC View PostButch opened the door to Yumi's insistent knocking, and she barged past him, towing Ghost behind her. "Emergency. Ghost never saw the Matrix. We need your copies to watch." Butch slowly turned and yawned. He'd been up late with Brad and Kenji playing games and filling out paperwork. All three of ...
2023-03-21 23:47:47 +0000 UTC View Post I have some new adventurers showing up to Gadobhra who venture into the Pit of Butcher. Would anyone like to volunteer to die horribly?
-I can use your RR name, or something else.
-You can suggest a class, sex, description etc. or let me make things up.
-No guarantees when/if y...
Yes, we haven't seen 269 yet. This chapter is independent of others around it. I almost made it chapter??, but it slides in good as 270 so I put it up here for you to read.
Baron Tobias Chintzworthy, Lord of Northguard, Protector of the Northern Territories, and veteran collector ...
Suzette wished that the Fae Lords come with instructions. Every single one of them was different, with strange titles, habits, and ways of doing things. It was tough to figure them out and nearly impossible not to offend them. Everyone in Sedgewick had taken to either ignoring them entirely or tr...
2023-03-18 00:15:34 +0000 UTC View PostFeedback welcome. This type of story is tough to write. I find interactions between real people are sometimes very hard to right. I don't want to make them trivial, but so much of 'normal' really is. If you have any ideas, shout them out.
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2023-03-17 02:54:23 +0000 UTC View Post
A note on Unreliable Narrators. Firstly, I like them. Secondly, they cause me a lot of trouble when people misunderstand the situation because of what is being said. People lie. Sometimes whole groups of people lie. If something ever bothers someone, ask a question or send a message, happ...
As pointe out, Ozzy hadn't retrieved his bag. And nothing like that can be simple. Here's the new ending to 267. The story of the refugee farmers finding a new home will probably be in Chapter 269 with about twice as many words, rather than splitting the story in two.
This new part is raw...
The Tavern was quite full as the taxmen entered. The men at arms each got a beer and went to sit in the stables with the horses. One scribe named Kenneth Higgins ventured to the bar at the order of Theordis, ordered three glasses of small beer and three Blud Dark for their table, and inquired abo...
2023-03-13 21:43:12 +0000 UTC View PostI'll be double checking this against the prior drafts, and making sure it's clear that the second part of this chapter occurs at the start of the day, before Suzette first encounters the taxmen up at Rowan Keep.
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Finding the Mayor of Sedgewick prov...
As Geoffrey returned from looking at the flying ship, Manfred noticed his pace was quick, and his brow furrowed. "Let me guess, you saw something interesting and are trying to figure out how to make money off it?"
Geoffrey looked up; that had indeed been a close guess. "Manfred, my old fri...
A hot mess of a rough draft that I make no apology for. Lots of stuff going on in this one.
KEPLER heard juggling described once as the art of keeping all the balls in the air. The analogy to his job wasn't perfect; human jugglers caught the balls before reapplying force. KEPPLER ...
Just finished writing. A lot is going on in this chapter, and I will be going back to edit, make better sentences, etc. But I was also wanting to post it before I had to log off for the night.
Two courageous scouts were bravely going on a dangerous mission. Tweedle and Ringtail had nearly ...
'This a very dangerous rune.'
Milo had separated the particular bone he needed from the horror of taxidermy he had bought from the Eels and was carefully examining it. The bone was quite old. That was immediately apparent as he tried to investigate the runes inside of it. There we...