Hesketh Tolson

Lich, Please 76: Terrible Lizard

Chapter 76

Terrible Lizard

I wind my way slowly along the woodland paths, giving myself time to adjust to the feeling of the forest in my soul. After a while the sensation recedes. I grow comfortable with the idea of bedrock, of loam, of the strange duality of having ferns and bushes as well as hair. No longer do I look at my digits expecting to see twigs.

As I walk farther it disappears almost entirely. Perhaps my soul h...

New Twilight Kingdom cover for the forthcoming Amazon release

Candle is not abandoned, merely recovering emotionally in a cave for the meantime, I promise.

The artist is Jeremy Adams. 

https://www.artstation.com/jeremy_adams

Lich Please 75: Night Flowering Jasmine (attempt 2)

Chapter 75

Night Flowering Jasmine

There are two things I have to do before I can reclaim Fairhaven and wipe the floor with Javier’s icy nether regions. Two important tasks.

Firstly, and most importantly, I need to transfer my soul to a secure location. Secondly I need to discover and destroy Janvier’s own phylactery, and thus his soul. Preferably before he locates mine. The black rooster as a phyl...

Author Note: Rewriting and Audiobook News

Sorry for the late release! I wrote two chapters, 76 and 77 and I was not happy with them. My plan was to write the liching of Jenkins next but I realised this is an important event that might need a couple of chapters and cannot be rushed. They are fine but I think they need to be later in the arc. I don't want the plot to turn into spagetti.

Hugest apologies, I have backtracked and rewritten chapter 75. 

Maud will now be visited by the Whisperer later in the arc. 

Lich, Please 74: The Lich’s Guide to Defensive Gardening

Chapter 74

The Lich’s Guide to Defensive Gardening

The clerics are delighted. The Wavewalker Friar and the Bright Sister send word to their respective churches immediately. Their joy is tempered by the knowledge that they need a lich to reproduce the potion, but then the feeling is mutual. It is not an ideal situation for any of us, but it does ensure that until we can do away with the undead plague permanently, there must be...

Lich, Please 73: Witching and Liching

Chapter 73

Liching and Witching

Once the acolytes have gone it is soon settled. Friar Julian will accompany me to Downing, and the Archon will send me my dim-witted sunshine yellow nun friend to make the Bright One’s holy water. How nice. I thought about asking them all to come to Dunbarra Keep but decided against it. The wraith castle, its screaming walls and haunted incumbents, might be a little off-putting to the deeply re...

Lich, Please 72: Nun of That

Chapter 72

Nun of That

Racing through the cathedral city of Barrowmere with a stolen priestess of the Bright One over my shoulder is not how I pictured spending today. I suppose life, or in my case, death, takes you to unexpected places. My mother was always on at me to get out more. Well, mother dearest, here I am!  Galloping through a city, admiring the sights, chased by a positive horde of admirers.

An arrow pings...

Lich, Please 71: Bottles of Sunshine

Chapter 71

Bottles of Sunshine

I smile my friendliest smile but then remember she can’t see me beneath the veil. Or not much of me anyway. What can I do to entice her off the hallowed ground?

“I’m on a quest,” I say. The Bright One’s worshipers love that sort of thing. And it is actually true, now that I come to think of it.

“Oh?” she says, stepping closer, a questioning look in her eye.

Lich, Please 70: The Cathedral City

>Still feeling ill, but can write again! Yay :D 

Chapter 70

The Cathedral City

Leaving my busybodies to their tasks, I pack a small bag with emergency sewing supplies, and crystals. I make sure to include both fully charged empty gems, and some with souls in case I should have need of sustenance. This last seems unlikely. Since my sojourn in Fairhaven, I am almost as fat as a human, and I have never bee...

Author Note: Apologies

Sorry no chapter today - been feeling ill the last few days. Will try to make it up by the weekend.  Cross fingers its not covid. 

Lich, Please 69: The Rivers of Life

Chapter 69

The Rivers of Life

I retrieve the necromancer-chicken from his cage in the castle kitchen. He squawks all the way up to the study, kicking his scrawny little chicken legs ineffectually. His screams bounce harmlessly off the walls. The peasants and wights scatter before me and I grin as we mount the stairs.

“I’m so sorry about this,” I lie, keeping one hand firmly clamped around his thrashing ne...

Lich, Please 68: The Grimoire

Chapter 68 

The Grimoire

It takes me all night to make sure the forest is empty of the abominations, and most of the next day as well. I am well aware that if I miss even one then my labours are for naught. As it is, as soon as I think I am done, another howling fiend comes shuffling out of the darkness. The humans are easy enough to purge but the animals are more problematic, especially those with wings. Fort...

Lich, Please 67: Maud vs Undead Plague

Chapter 67

Maud vs Undead Plague

It is a still, clear night. The moon rises high, reflecting off powdery snow as I trudge through the forest. The destroyed settlement is not far. I am hopeful I can be back in my cupboard before the night is old.

I am dressed in full battle regalia with pauldrons, breastplate, horned helmet, and long velvet skirt slitted to mid-thigh, to allow for ease of movement. My pantaloons...

Lich, Please 66: The Lich in the Broom Cupboard

Chapter 66

The Lich in the Broom Cupboard

I sit in the darkness of the small broom cupboard, my needle darting in and out of my velvet. Several weeks have gone by since I stole all the souls from Fairhaven city. Several weeks since I successfully tweaked Lord Liches’ shapely, undead nose.

I grin in satisfaction at the memory, but then my grin fades. I would like to say I returned from the city victorious, but...

Lich, Please 65: A Torch In the Darkness

Chapter 65

A Torch In the Darkness

Wind hissed over the soft, powdery snow at the edge of the clearing. Frost fingers pricked up and down Rachel’s spine and she whirled, eyes intent on the space beneath heavily wooded boughs. Her breath came short and sharp. Why? There was nothing. Densely packed trees groaned under the weight of their ice. Was that the noise she had heard? Had there even been a noise?

The darkness stared...

Liching Hour Cover

I received the cover for book 2 which I'm hoping to get edited and ready to publish sometime in Feb.

Author Note

A Note About Chapter 61

If you joined recently, don’t worry about this announcement (and welcome)

After some feedback and lots and lots of thinking about agency and focus, I have rewritten a couple of the last scenes, starting with chapter 57. They are mostly small changes but have one large difference that effects today’s chapter:

Maud does not leave the candle on the streets of Fairhaven.

When she wakes up after being killed she has lost...

Liches Get Stitches

So I can finally tell you all what I have been up too. I wrote a book called Liches Get Stitches for the Inkfort Publishing Derby (which had conditions of anonymity) . It ended last night so I can finally share! 

This is the first book - about 72k, and here is the whole thing to thank you for supporting me. 

I am currently serialising on Royal Road:

2021-10-30 09:21:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Dawn Watch 26: The Tempest Rose

26

The Tempest Rose

Ezra left Audric to his experiments and walked through the midnight camp. For once, things were peaceful, which he didn’t trust for one minute. He kept one eye on the sky, on the darkly silhouetted mountain. The night was cold, and a chill wind blew down the slopes as he glared at it, shivering. It was an eyesore, an eyesore wreathed in clouds, a slumbering giant of crags and bush, and a savage reminder of e...

Dawn Watch 25: Ezra

25

Ezra

The Sky Lion landed back at the camp with a gentle thump. Ezra slipped and slid down the rope ladder, wrestling to control his emotions. They had searched for hours. There was no sign of Ansel, or his stolen ship, or the rats who had fled with him. Rage and betrayal tied Ezra’s innards into a complicated knot and he fell on the last rung, landing awkwardly in a bad-tempered heap, one foot tangled. He swore vehe...

Dawn Watch 24: Ancestors Own

24

Ancestors Own

The room was small, sparsely and practically furnished. Two bobbing witch-lights hung suspended in the air behind the pale-faced demon woman, and an old man glared at them from her shoulder. The Mester steepled her fingers as she watched them.

“Well?” she said. “Can you give me a good reason? Why should I let you live? After everything your people have done to mine? To my country?”

Her flawles...

Author Note

Hey all. I'm doing really well creatively with something new I'm working on. 

Unfortunately I can't share it until October/November, but as you have probably noticed my output on Dawn Watch and RS has slowed. I'm not dropping either project but I do want to focus on the new one for at least the next month. 

I'm letting you know so you can cancel your subscriptions before you get charged on September 1st. 

 Hesketh <3

Dawn Watch 23: Broken Jaws

23

Broken Jaws

Ansel and Kjell set off in the Sky Cub as the sun crossed its zenith, sailing south-east towards the savage village.  Jethro and Kip stayed behind to mind the camp. Kjell refused to let Ansel go alone despite his deep unease with the idea of trying to trade with the natives. The big man sat squeezed in the narrow ship, the arquebus he had insisted on bringing clutched in his lap, and an expression of ...

Dawn Watch 22: Valley of Dying Stars

22

Valley of Dying Stars

“If I paint the hull blue,” said Ansel, thoughtfully, looking up at the tiny airship bobbing overhead, “the ship would be very hard to spot from the ground.”

“Alright,” said Kjell. The big man set down his hammer. “How do we make blue paint?

“Eggs,” said Ansel. He scratched his chin trying to remember the recipe. “Water, oxides, clay?” His voice went up at the end. He was...

RS 45: The Chasm

Chapter 45

The Chasm

Fred and company sank into the deep darkness, watching the walls of the chasm rise ominously on either side. Soon the sun was just a faint smudge above them, a mere memory of distant light. Then, that too was snuffed out by the gloom. Gradually the water changed colour from indigo to darkest blue, and then to pitch-back.

The silence was oppressive. The water, noticeably colder, was sparsely inhabited by pale, ghostly fis...

Dawn Watch 21: Wind in Dry Grass

21

Wind in Dry Grass

Ansel squinted into the sun, steering the little airship as close to the wind as he dared. If the ship tipped now it would be a long way down to the rocks. He had only installed one safety harness, and that was just a rope looped around his waist. Scant protection from disaster in the sky and no help at all for his companions.

They had a good start, but the ships of the Lochlanach fleet were rising from...

RS 44: The Beautiful Briny Sea

Chapter 44

The Beautiful Briny Sea

Fred blinked.

[Ding! Congratulations! You have become one with the ocean!

Isn’t it better now that you’re wetter? Let’s find out. All party members + 100XP]

The water was warm and everything was blue. It was peaceful and very, very quiet. Sounds were present, but muffled. The hull of the Heart of the O...