Kairami

DCD - B3 - Chapter 16 - Beauty is the Death of All

The door groaned open on rusted hinges, spilling the faint Carrier’s Light across a large chamber.

Enya blinked, then stepped inside.

The room was vast—larger than any she’d seen yet. Four pillars climbed toward the high ceiling, but one was broken through the center, leaving the upper half dangling askew like a snapped spine. The walls were dotted with mirrors and half-rusted pipes. Metal veins of what was most likely showers, Enya thought.

And in the center of it all...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 15 - Time is Ticking

The search for more clues carried them deeper into the manor’s left wing. After passing by the center foyer, they came across the first door to a chamber.

It was nothing like the sprawling kitchen or the eccentric library. The room was plain, narrow, and carried a faint scent of mildew. As Elria explained, it was a maid’s quarters—where the servants of the manor slept and rested between their duties.

Inside was a bed that sagged low on its frame, sheets long since gone gray....

DCD - B3 - Chapter 14 - Porkchop

B3 - Chapter 14 - Porkchop

After running in a circle around the balcony, Enya and the rest of them made their way back down to the first floor. The Dullahan was still above, walking terribly slowly.

Pell made it down first, spinning around to look above. “Summon that rat thing—have him run up there in circles to distract it.”

Enya nodded at once, quickly summoning Digsby. He dropped down on all fours, bone claws thudding against the floorboards.

DCD - B3 - Chapter 13 - The Black Knight

The shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, climbing higher than the lantern’s weak glow could touch. Dust clung to every seam of the wood, thick enough to stir with each passing breath. Enya tilted her head back, eyes flicking from row to row.

“It has to be here somewhere,” she said quietly.

Pell grunted from the opposite end of the study, tugging a cracked spine free. The book fell open in his hand, revealing blank, brittle pages. Flip after flip, all was blank. He shook ...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 12 - The Manor

The gate groaned as it opened, hinges dragging against the stone beneath it; whatever the sound, it still opened flawlessly without resistance. Enya followed behind Pell as he and Digsby pushed it open and entered first. She tightened her grip on the Carrier’s light, providing much needed radiance in an otherwise dark space.

She had expected something strange, of course. After all, they had went down the cellar’s stairs into a space that had a second sky. It certainly didn’t make ...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 11: An Exploit

Elria’s eyes narrowed. “Where did you get that thing?” Her voice was low and sharp.

Pell glanced at the bear dangling from his hand. “This? Felicity gave it to us.”

“Felicity?” Elria’s expression twisted in confusion. “What do you mean Felicity gave it to you?”

“She… gave it to us,” Pell said slowly, eyeing her, “so that we could get her cauldron and athame. Said we’d need it.”

There was a second of silence.

“You’re…...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 10: Party Composition

Enya pressed her palms hard against her ears. The wraiths’ shrieking still clawed at her skull, a constant, grating pitch that refused to fade. All she had to do was endure—just long enough for her newly enhanced summons to tear the enemies apart.

Digsby moved first. The giant rat skeleton’s body had shifted since the re-role. Thicker legs, reinforced skull, layered bone plating—every piece of him carried more weight, more power. But his tail… that was the most dangerous chang...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 9: Bone Dome

The mist churned around them like it was alive, a will of its own trying to smother them. One by one, more and more wraiths broke through the fog. And one by one, did they fall to Pell’s harvester.

Ted.E’s claws scraped against the dirt, each heavy step sending a shiver through Enya’s body as she tried to hang on. If she was going to keep Ted.E—she was going to need a saddle.

Carl and Digsby flanked close, their skeletal forms vanishing and reappearing in the curtain of fo...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 8: Wave Survival

A crude bone bridge stretched into the fog, fading into pale emptiness. The mist still clung thick to the air, but Enya had managed to guide the construct all the way across. At roughly twenty-eight meters out, two massive bone spears jutted from the far end, driving themselves deep into the ground. Anchor points.

She braced her hands on her knees, chest rising and falling. Summon Skeleton was simple enough in theory—any bone used as a catalyst carried an imprint, a memory of its full...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 7: Limitless Potential

Enya knelt down a meter away from the edge. Pell’s hand was on her shoulder, just in case he’d have to fling her backward if something went wrong.

She held out both hands, facing each other. Between them, a large spell circuit made of mana that only she could see appeared. Five spell patterns, some short, others cornered and sharp—long and stubby—each were distinct from one another.

A dashed pattern was used here, and in her bone spears spell, which only consisted of three...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 6: Raiding the Catacombs

The death remnants were out in full force. Their smiles never faltered, their footsteps never broken. They didn’t rush, but they still gave chase, silent and tireless, just like the undead. They were shadows taken form, wearing a human’s skin.

Enya and Pell tore through the village paths, white boots and skeletal feet slamming against packed dirt.

“Those fuckers really don’t relent!” Pell spat.

He used to curse more—constantly, in fact. But after spending time wi...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 5: Spirit Anchor

Pell and Enya sat on cushioned chairs, staring at Felicity, a mysterious woman that had ambushed them inside the church. To Pell, it was obvious the type of person she was. The large black hat left nothing to the imagination.

A witch.

They were people that used witchcraft, abilities and powers that differed from the system. In the past, they were a mysterious group; their abilities were couldn’t be explained by those out of their coven. Since they didn’t use the system, they w...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 4: Witches

For a moment, neither of them moved.

The inside of the church was brighter than expected.

Tall pedestals lined both sides of the room, each one holding a softly glowing crystal. The crystals were like the ones from Sable’s dungeon, except that they looked slightly different. Each light cast long shadows between the rows of wooden chairs.

Everything inside was… clean. From the outside, the place looked decrepit and abandoned, yet the inside was a different story. Not ever...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 3: Death Remnant

Enya leaned in slightly, her voice hushed.

“Pell,” she whispered, keeping her gaze on the village leader across the table. “Something’s off. I can’t explain it, but... something here is wrong.”

Pell didn’t answer.

His skull shifted slightly, sockets narrowing. He was no longer watching the man, but the draped curtain behind him. The one where the sounds had started again.

From the shadowed passage beyond emerged a tall figure cloaked entirely in a thick, ...

DCD - B3 - Chapter 2: Darsmouth

The guards didn't reach for their weapons.

Not yet, at least.

They simply stared—bewildered, uncertain—at the girl walking calmly toward them with a skull nestled in her arms like some kind of porcelain doll. She gave a polite nod as she approached.

The shorter of the two stepped forward. “State your name and purpose,” he said, trying to sound firm, though his grip on the spear was far from confident.

Enya opened her mouth to speak, but Pell beat her to it.

DCD - B3 - Chapter 1: On the Run

A small creature dragged its way across the dirt, inch by inch. Two slender antennae twitched forward; a soft, glistening trail marked its p

A small creature dragged its way across the dirt, inch by inch. Two slender antennae twitched forward; a soft, glistening trail marked its progress. Its shell, a smooth spiral with muted streaks of brown and beige, caught the morning light like polished stone.

The snail.

A humble being. Gastropod, some would say. Patient and steady; bor...

Book 3 Update [The Little Necromancer] + New Stories

Hey, all.

I will be taking a week break, and most likely begin posting chapters for Book 3 of The Little Necromancer next week. The publishing deal I've been working through has been on a bit of a hiatus, and future of my story is uncertain right now. I don't want to just keep waiting and shove out short stories to fill up the void, so after one week, I'll start posting chapters for Book 3.

Be aware, there is a chance that if my deal does go through, then I'll h...

DCD - Side Story: Common Man - Part 4 [END]

The merchant caravan came just after dawn, trundling up the northern road like a snake of color and creaking wood. Brightly dyed banners fluttered from each wagon, their colors dulled by age and dust, but still proud. A patchwork of voices, bartering calls, and animal noise spilled out from their arrival.

Townsfolk, all carrying items and coin, began to emerge from their homes and shops. It was trading day with the wandering merchants.

Elara stood near the orphanage gate, the carv...

DCD - Side Story: Common Man - Part 3

The sun had risen higher by the time Pell stepped out of the orphanage. He paused just past the gate, sending one final look over his shoulder.

Elara stood in the doorway, arms folded loosely, her braid drifting slightly in the wind.

“No one’s come around lately, right?” he asked.

Her expression didn’t shift. “No,” she replied, voice smooth as polished wood. “Not since those two troublemakers you ran off last month.”

Pell snorted. “Good. Probably taug...

DCD - Side Story: Common Man - Part 2

The orphanage stood atop the hill like a weathered relic of gentler times, its old stone walls laced with ivy and faded sun-dressed charm. Morning light poured over its slanted roof and caught the glint of glass panes, streaked and imperfect, but still stubbornly intact after decades. A copper wind-chime clinked softly near the leaves, dancing lazily in the breeze.

Pell trudged up the cobbled path, the heavy sack of rittertops slung over his shoulder, each step scattering dry leaves alo...

DCD - Side Story: A Common Man - Part 1

As the morning sun rose over the horizon, a golden hue spread over the farmland, and revealed the weathered shack from the darkness. The cries of roosters from the surrounding lands woke up the humble farmer.

Pell sat up from his bed, groggy and tired, just like he always was. This was the mundane repeated cycle, of his daily morning routine. He washed his face in the basin filled with rain water from the heavy storm that had passed by a few days prior. He adorned his coveralls and grab...

B2 - Chapter 63: Epilogue 2 [END]

Amberdean Hainesworth ran his thumb along the edge of the vellum sheet, skimming the trade manifest again.

“Three crates of Harkine root, two casks of Teffelow extract, and no documentation on the iron shipment. Again.”

Across the room, a balding retainer with ink-stained sleeves cleared his throat. “The vendor claims the crates were lost in a transit ambush, my lord. Bandits near the north pass.”

The parchment landed on the surface with a quiet snap.

“They a...