elizabeth_oswald

Chapter Three hundred thirty-two (Kyla)

Now that the Woodblades were officially a tribe again, and the Magmablades’ hidden den was no longer hidden, several of the pups Kyla knew were gone, while others had come from the main den. These had never really had a den-mother before, and while the older pups were doing their best to help them, they had a lot of catching up to do. When Kyla snuck off to the side and summoned her power, Sika was trying to get all of the pups to gather for a howl, and Kyla actually felt a little guilty th...

Questions!

If you were a character in Broken Knife, and you met someone who could answer questions about Qiangde, his court, the making of the kobolds, etc, what questions would you ask? Not that I'm saying such a person exists, or that they would answer any such questions (that's a big ask) but if you could. What gaps need filling?

Assume you won't get many questions, so make it count. (NO guarantees that any of these will be answered, at least not by this hypothetical character, but sin...

Chapter Three hundred thirty-one (Kyla)

“-and then she went into the Luzhijia!” Kyla finished, looking from Lianhua to Yingtao. They were standing in the human hut, with no one else around, but as soon as Kyla started talking, both females became serious, and Lianhua drew something on her hand.

Yingtao’s calm mask was back in place, so she only gave a thoughtful frown, but Lianhua shook her head. “Luzhijia?” Lianhua’s fingers twitched as if she was holding a pen, and she said, “What are the run...

LR Chapter Twenty-three - To Hell and Back

Chapter Twenty-three - 

As soon as Pandy hit the ground - or rather the shrubbery - her wings vanished, which was exactly what happened in the game. Wings of Glory was a spell that took a lot of Stamina, and lasted only until the next time Clara landed. Because it was so Stamina-intensive, Pandy usually only used it if she chose to ‘Go for help’ when Kaden was injured, and if she was feeling particularly vindictive when the school bullies picked on her, since Kaden himself came...

Chapter Three hundred thirty (Kyla - meanwhile)

Kyla lay on her side, staring as Mei licked her first pup, cleaning away the fluids and other things that coated its skin. It was barely larger than Kyla’s thumb, its dark eyes visible beneath fragile eyelids, and its ears and tail were barely more than nubs. The little creature was also completely hairless, so Kyla couldn’t tell what kind of metals it had taken in during its time in Mei’s belly.

“Stay still,” Yingtao said softly as Mei shifted, producing a second baby. Kyla d...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-nine

As with most of the other ‘secret’ doors Kaz had found, this one was decorated with a map. It focused on the mid-levels, and for the first time, he was able to pick out the rune for the number seven, carved from stone and painted in a rich, deep red. Not terribly surprisingly, the sevens marked the levels he’d just passed through, though he was startled to see that the level containing the yumi fields was also a seven. Had the xiyi or mosui orig...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-eight

The voice sounded like a whole tribe howling at once, with an odd echo as the last tone faded away. Kaz froze as it entered his mind, but Li was already moving, dipping her shoulder as she pushed against his back.

<Get on,> she said, <or I’ll pick you up and carry you away in my claws.>

Kaz had no doubt she would do exactly that, but the one thing they hadn’t accounted for in their plans was the possibility that this creature was intelligent. Could it be reasoned w...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-seven

They checked all seven arms of the cavern, finding dragon skeletons down three of them. There were broken eggshells in several of the egg alcoves, though always in the first hundred or so down a new cavern. They didn’t find any sign of dead hatchlings, so perhaps those eggs simply crumbled after years of neglect?

All evidence supported Kaz’s guess that the dragons - or had it been the kobolds? - had built far more of the niches than they needed. Which seemed to ease Li’s sorrow, s...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-six

The pit was deep, and with the unknown binyi-thing possibly at the bottom of it, Kaz and Li didn’t dare fly down quickly. Instead, Li glided as much as possible, flying in tight circles by making minute adjustments of her wings, then flapping a few times to drop as far as they could see in Kaz’s ki-light.

This was only possible because she didn’t quite grow to her largest size, which in turn made it more difficult to carry Kaz. He even tried to make himself smaller so he ...

Pandy in a dress!

Still working on those images, but I'm using this one on Royal Road to try to get more people interested in Lucky Rabbit, so you get it first!

LR Chapter Twenty-two - Surprise!

As soon as the front door opened, Pandy could hear the subdued murmur of many voices coming from the dining room. This room was usually only used for dinner, with breakfast, lunch, or tea taken in the conservatory or outside in the garden. Geraldine clasped Thaniel’s hand and pulled him along after her, with Miss Cupcakes running along behind and Pandy still clutched in Thaniel’s other arm.

As they approached, the butler, Dalton, opened the door wearing the closest thing to a smile ...

Chapter Two hundred twenty-five

They were out of paints and charcoal, and the wall was less than half done. Still, it was enough to see the outline of several winged xiyi figures, and bring out details of the rectangles behind them, which were easily recognizable once they had depth and color.

“So the hoyi didn’t create the alcoves where they keep the eggs,” Kaz said, using his finger to smudge the charcoal into a shadow cast by an egg. His fur was dusty and colored in every shade, bu...

Author introspection

When I first write these chapters, I really am focused on getting the story down. I won't say it's like a fully-fleshed outline, because it's definitely more than that, but there's a lot  going on, and I want to make sure the story doesn't get derailed. (Which is a shockingly easy thing to have happen.)

As a result, sometimes I miss the actual character's reactions (like showing Katri's reaction to Vega's death). Those moments and thoughts that make the character real...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-four

There were a surprising number of rooms in the first two towers, so it took a while to explore. In the process, Kaz realized that someone had indeed lived here, or at least planned to do so. Most of the towers were taken up with small rooms containing carved stone beds that were more like those humans used than the piles of furs kobolds used when they got the chance. There were also ‘tables’ carved out of the stone walls, and flat-topped rocks that would make good chairs. None of the room...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-three (Kyla)

There were so many kobolds crammed into the cavern that Kyla couldn’t even count them all, and every one of them was looking at her. Well, that might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one, and while Kyla used to think everyone paying attention to her would be a good thing, now she wasn’t so sure.

She had just finished her howl, telling them about the journey to Cliffcross, including fleeing Wheldrake and meeting the thieves. Then she skimmed over the part where she...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-two (Kyla)

The howl was about to begin, and Kyla’s stomach felt like she’d swallowed a dozen jiyun grubs without chewing. Not only was this the first howl she’d ever attended that was for her, but Ija had solemnly informed her that this was also the first full howl which would include both the old Magmablades and the new Woodblades. Worse, many of these new Woodblades had been traded or given to the new Woodblades from other great tribes, which meant that they didn’t reall...

I have totally not been working on this instead of writing...

LR Chapter Twenty-one - Secret Parties

The next week passed with no sign of Lian’s return. Thaniel asked about his brother every day at breakfast, but the answer was always a soft, understanding smile and the words, “You’ll be the first to know when we hear anything.” Soon enough, he only seemed to ask out of a sense of duty, not because he actually expected his brother to return in time for his birthday.

Thaniel and Geraldine were soon fast friends, with the little girl showing her new playmate all the secrets of th...

Chapter Three hundred twenty-one

“The Dragon?” Kaz repeated, while Li turned her gaze on the core before them with sudden interest.

Heishe sighed, nudging the silent core with her nose almost as if she expected it to wake and speak to her. It didn’t, of course, but she curled around the remnants of its resting place almost protectively.

<loong was my sister,> Heishe murmured. <one of the eldest. she was also one of the first to disappear, but she could sleep atop a mountain for a century at a time....

Chapter Three hundred twenty

The wall twisted, but unlike the other hidden doors Kaz had found in the mountain, this one carried the floor with it as well. Stone ground against stone as what seemed like half the cavern dropped into a pit, making Li dig her claws into Kaz’s shoulder as she instinctively flapped her wings, trying to lift them both back up. Kaz glanced down, and the bright lights of formerly quiescent ki-crystals hidden in the stone made him realize what was happening.

“It’s a platform,” Kaz s...

Gifting the Broken Knife!

Stuck on gift ideas? Skip the socks and give the gift of a subscription to The Broken Knife (and maybe even Lucky Rabbit!)—where stories come to life, and your loved one gets exclusive content (and your cool factor skyrockets). Plus, it's way better than that fruitcake you've had stashed in your closet for a year.

 https://www.patreon.com/elizabeth_oswald/gift

Chapter Three hundred nineteen

<Those are hoyi?> Li asked, staring at the horde of insects scurrying through the cavern below. They stood on the stairs that led into the hoyi nest, and from there into the mines. Kaz had told Li that the largest ki-crystals were found here, and she’d insisted they see if there was a way to gather some without the hoyi knowing they were there.

Kaz had agreed, not only because they could sneak silently through the vast cavern under the cover ...

Chapter Three hundred eighteen

A dozen puppies ran in circles beneath Li, barking and leaping up toward her dangling tail-tip. This was particularly amusing because not all of them were kobolds, and the tiny round-pups rolled and tumbled like fluffy toys.

Over the last day or so, Kaz had learned quite a bit about these new little creatures. Like the adults, their flat hands and long claws weren’t good at fine movements, but these young ones hadn’t yet learned to assume that others would do the difficult things fo...

Chapter Three hundred seventeen (Kyla)

Kyla stared at Ija, and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t know what to say. Usually, she was ready with a story or, better yet, a distraction, but there was no talking her way out of this. She had left the mountain without telling anyone where she was going or why, and though they knew her well enough to guess, guesses weren’t knowledge.

Before spending these last few weeks away, she might have believed that her disappearance wouldn’t really bother anyone except perhap...

LR Chapter Twenty - Détente

<Minor Heal. Minor Heal. Minor Heal. Min->

Casting of Minor Heal successful. 5.26% experience gained towards next level.

You have no Mana. Using Life Force instead.

Healed Pandora for 2 LF.

Minor Heal triggered the instant Pandy set a paw inside the library. As far as she was concerned, that was enough to confirm the idea that a person or place from the original game was necessary for activation. If she could use...

Chapter Three hundred sixteen (Mei)

Mei lay in the little nest her Monster had made for her. She could feel her young move in her belly, and somehow knew that they would be born in only a few more days. That would be good, because she was tired of carrying them around. She was meant to be graceful and silent, and now she laid in her nest, allowing the Monsters to bring her food. It was not her favorite time, though even Silent Monster continued to bring her gold, even though she could no longer play their game. Still, she someh...

Chapter Three hundred fifteen

Kaz and Li had been slowly slinking closer and closer to the door for at least half an hour. Or, if Kaz’s mental time-keeping was correct, a minimum of three days. The people in the room didn’t even need him any more, not now that they had gotten past the bit with all the yelling. Husede were far more emotional than Kaz had realized, and he longed to be elsewhere by the time they remembered that he existed.

“You look like you’re about to run,” a rumbling voice sa...

Chapter Three hundred fourteen

“Are you still there?” Dax asked quietly as a large husede male stepped toward the pedestal. Several other people had been waiting for this platform, but Dax had insisted upon having it ‘to himself’ so that no one would bump into or step on Kaz and Li. This had made the group of mostly husede mutter among themselves, but they’d yielded and now waited impatiently for the platform to return.

Rather than answering, Kaz touched Dax’s arm. From his exp...

Chapter Three hundred thirteen

Kaz hadn’t offered his name, any more than Dugo had, but obviously his blue fur had given him away. He wasn’t sure he liked having strangers know who he was, but it did explain why Dugo had been so willing to guide Kaz to this hidden place. If the other kobolds really did believe Kaz had slain Zhangwo, then they might feel… Honestly, he wasn’t certain. It would be like meeting a kobold from a howl, which was a very strange thought.

Kaz’s ears lowered slightly, and he glanced ...

Chapter Three hundred twelve

The bright lights of the yumi fields shone down as Kaz allowed his wet paws to dry naturally, rather than using red ki to hurry the process along. He and Li had spent the last hour or so slowly wandering through the fields, watching as gatherers cut down the stalks and pulled thick roots from the shallow water. Most of them were kobolds, but there were a few husede as well. The majority were working hard, but a few chatted with their neighbors, while others sat bes...