QitM

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Oh gods,” the pudgy woman wailed, looking frightfully at me with tears in her eyes. “Oh gods, what do I do?”

“It can’t be that bad,” I said, incredulous, and even feeling a twinge of genuine irritation at how overdramatic she was being.

“Not that bad?!” The frumpy maid cried out. “I have nothing! Nothing at all that will fit your body! How can I send you to Duke Callister without a single scrap of fine clothing? It looks like you pulled that c...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 11

Chapter 11

~ Kaleb ~

Kaleb Mel-vu Reinarr strode through a street swaddled in a filthy, tan-and-white cloth, the ruddy light of his lantern making up for the absence of moonlight.

The commoner stink of this place seeped into his lungs. The commoner filth seeped into his boots. In the daylight, and among the moldering, leather-faced commoner masses, this place would be festooned with beasts dressed in metal necklaces. Even now, a few of those slitted eyes watched him from the...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Belshaad was a city of such sprawling size that it could only truly be appreciated from the pinnacle heights of its tallest bordering hillsides. It was only from those hillsides could the vast stretch of ocean be seen past the harbors and their moored ships to the painted sails of landbound vessels on the horizon. The metropolis of Belshaad stretched across a natural valley that broke from the pattern of rolling hillsides and uneven terrain that was so characteristic of this ...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 9

Chapter 9

~ Mudpuppy ~

A spear found flesh, tearing and snapping through rib bones to impale the monster’s heart. The leathery, winged thing screamed pitifully, ineffectually batting its membranous wings against its assailant. This was no cause for concern; this thing, measuring at more an arm’s length but less than a tail, was too small and weak to do any real damage.

These newborn wyverns were more of a nuisance than a real threat, as they were prone to scavenge and st...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 8

// Author's Note: There has been one significant edit from the previous chapter (chapter 7) to make note of:

The final section of chapter 7, the part involving the alternate perspective from Mudpuppy, has been redacted and will be moved further towards the end of book two, where it fits better. I generally try to keep from making major edits like this, even on early access platforms like Patreon, but there's always a risk of something like this happening.

For those of you who have...

Rivers of Rogue: Chapter 7

River stood among the collapsed metal armor and lifeless bones of Reinard, Weapons Master of the Hollow Delve.

She couldn’t move her left arm. Fortunately, the bones weren’t broken, just dislocated. River grit her teeth and wrenched the limp arm back into place. Pins and needles raged across her skin and she clenched her hand into a fist. It hurt terribly, but pain was something that River could deal with, and this was far from the worst pain she’d felt.

She stared down at t...

Rivers of Rogue: Chapter 6

River died many more times.

She hated dying. She hated dying, and she hated pain. Sometimes she would take a break from the fighting to just sit at the bottom of the well and watch the clouds float by through her tiny window into the outside world. The reprieve gave her a chance to sit and think.

At first when she had come to this world, she had been full of self pity, crying and snotting on herself like a lost child. Now her thoughts were full of self recrimination, irritation at...

Rivers of Rogue: Chapter 5

Clack… clack… CRUNCH!

River wasn’t sure how she had ever let that first skeleton catch and chomp her to death. It was easily the slowest out of all of the skeletons, and looking at it in hindsight, she found it a little embarrassing. She took him out with a stone to the face then gathered the three large rocks she had found before. Without hesitation, she stepped into the dark tunnel leading away from the well.

The three rocks that she took with her had been in the same exac...

Rivers of Rogue: Chapter 4

A large set of wooden double doors barred passage at the end of the hall. Flanking the entrance on either side, skulls adorned metal spikes that arose from a nest of withered bones. Some of the skulls had been stabbed clear through the bone and others simply dangled there at the ends of the spikes. Their empty eye sockets stared listlessly at any who might be foolish enough to challenge whatever laid in wait behind those massive doors.

It certainly scared the hell out of River, who had ...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Rolling, grassy hills stretched out in all directions with only the rare tree sprouting up every here and there. This was much different from the huge expanse of forest we’d spent nearly an entire month in since our departure. After all that time, we were finally reaching the human realms. We had even seen a couple settlements already, but Thaddius had been firm in his insistence that we couldn’t make contact with them.

Evidently this area was full of tribal people w...

Rivers of Rogue: Chapter 3

Hunger had a way of sharpening one’s mind, much in the same way that fear could.

How fortunate was it, then, that River was not only starving, but also terrified?

She’d been walking through this pitch black tunnel for almost ten minutes now, and exactly nothing had happened. It was certainly wearing on her nerves, though.

Finally, after all of the walking, River spotted an orange light up ahead. A torch lit up a section of the stone passageway from its place on a sconce ...

Rivers of Rogue: Chapter 2

River stood. She stared into the dark passageway. The skeleton wasn’t visible yet, but she could hear it approaching. Each step it took clattered its old bones against the stone.

Clack… clack… clack…

She tightened her hands into fists and glared into the darkness. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she shook her head.

River wasn’t going to be eaten alive again. She wouldn’t allow herself to suffer that pain a second time. Never again. Never.

There was s...

Rivers of Rogue: Chapter 1

// Author's Note: Rivers of Rogue will update on Tuesdays with new chapters every week in serial format. Every week, chapters will become available to the lower tiers. \\

River blinked blearily at her computer screen, the only light in her otherwise pitch dark room. Her schoolwork had been temporarily put on hold, the ever present appeal of cat gifs and stupid jokes on social media too much of a temptation to resist. Stifling a yawn, she reached for her alarm clock, turning i...

New community discord is up!

This is the icon for the new community discord, courtesy of PiggyDog13! Isn't it cute? The community discord is a place where you can chat about recent chapters in my projects or post fan art. It's open for everyone, even non-patreon supporters, so feel free to invite your friends if you'd like :)

Here's a link to join the discord: https://discord.gg/HYU5vCNnjc

Also, patreon tiers are now l...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 6

// Author's Note: Using this post to give a little information about some changes that this patreon account will be going through. I'm going to be adding tiers soon for people who pledge specific amounts. This is actually because I plan on starting an ongoing web serial in addition to working on Queen in the Mud and both projects will be linked to this patreon account.

As a gesture of appreciation for my current supporters (you lovely folks), I'm going to make all the chapters of Queen ...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 5

I hefted a wooden crate onto one of the wagons, setting it down with a wooden clatter against the other cargo we’d already loaded.

Letting out a yawn at the morning sunlight filtering through the treetops, I stretched my arms and back, pleased at the notable lack of painful pops and cracks that I’d grown used to over the winter months. It had been a week since the last of my wounds had healed and I was grateful that I no longer needed to spend hours upon hours every day soaking myse...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 4

Chapter 4

~ Mudpuppy ~

Burning. I was burning alive, every inch of my body immolated with blood red flames, dancing and twisting sadistically against my writhing skin. The pain came in piercing waves of excruciating agony in time with the flickering, violent flames.

Wind whipped around me, the trees a blur as I sprinted through the snowswept woods, my tail trailing behind me entwining my spear so that I may run on all fours.

‘Don’t think about the pain, ju...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 3

// Author's Note: Apologies for the lack of updates recently. I've been struggling with a bit of writer's block for the last few months and haven't been able to write as much as I'd like to. Hopefully we'll get back into the swing of it and pick up the pace as we go further into book two. Fortunately, this chapter is pretty danged long. -Maari \\

Chapter 3

Time passed quickly during the winter months. As it grew colder, it became more and more difficult to wake up every...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“My Queen, you’re going to need to get used to the sight of blood if you’re to rule a kingdom in this world.”
“It’s not the sight of blood that bothers me, Thaddius. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. Those are real weapons.”

“These duels are only until first blood, and the healing water should take care of any injuries. You’ve nothing to worry about.” The bearded warrior frowned and gave me a sidelong glance. “Besides, most of o...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Wind whistled through the trees with the first whispers of winter chill. Many trees had already dropped their leaves to the forest floor, growing into tall piles of yellow, orange and brown.

The cold brought on a lethargy that fell over me like a heavy quilt. Salamanders hibernate through winter, as it turns out. That wasn’t going to work for me, though; I was much too busy to sleep the winter away. So long as I covered myself with a blanket and made sure to warm up by...

Queen in the Mud: Book 2, Prologue

// Author's note: This is an early look at the prologue for book two of Queen in the Mud. This is subject to change/editing as the story develops. Updates may be slow for the time being as I want to get closer to finishing the manuscript for book two before sharing (as I like to go back and re-edit older chapters). Thanks for understanding! \\

Queen in the Mud, Book Two: Whispers in the Machine

Prologue

~ 257,338 years and 89 days ago ~<...

Official Kindle Unlimited Release

Queen in the Mud is now live on Kindle Unlimited!

If you have been  one of my supporters on patreon before today (May 6th, 2020) and would like a free copy of the official ebook, send me a private message with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you from there.

Going forward, chapters of the second book of Queen in the Mud will be posted here on Patreon first for supporters. I'll try to keep you informed. =)