Michael Clark

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 515

Ozzy led his twenty workers forward at a run, crashing into the disorganized line of Krax. The Krax were taller by at least a foot and had a couple of hundred pounds on the Contract Workers, but were only in the second tier. The workers were stronger and moving faster. They hit the Krax hard, chopping down on the warriors knocked over by the tossed logs, slamming into shields to push them back, stumbling, and chopping down on exposed limbs. They didn't rely on blocking or dodging, trusting in...

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Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 504 and 505
Tunnel Rat 413, 414

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 514

Wing Leader Chax observed the battle below and saw the human reinforcements appear out of thin air. This was the 'Teleporter Magic' that Then-God-Emperor-Unca-Varn had spoken of, and the objective that would fulfill his will. With such magic at his disposal, he could conquer many tribes! This was a mighty objective to fight over, but not one he wanted the Krax to claim. Not that it looked like they were going to! He laughed and bared his fangs at the sight of the Krax retreating from battle. ...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 513

For the second night, my DnD game got cancelled. We had a tornado warning last Thursday, and a lot of trees are down. I wasn't hit at all, but the DM for our Darksun campaign has no internet. Time to write. Probably some typos, I'll get to them. Being in the mood to write does not include the mood to edit.
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Blackrock hadn't been the site of a major battle in centuries. Orc attacks happened in the north, and the l...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 512

Sparring continued each night at the corral, and Marcy and Ozzy continued their nightly duels. Suzette was trying to improve the potency of the brews to keep people on their feet as they fought every night either against Marcy or under her watchful eye. When the end of the night came and Marcy threw herself at the Butcher once again, everyone else did their best to keep them alive, but it wasn't always possible. After her latest Death by Butcher, Marcy surprised everyone by not showing up at ...

Butcher of Gadobhra 511

Rolly and Squirmie were taking turns scooping up the delicious frozen dessert from a large bowl. It was cold enough to instantly give them brain freeze, but they couldn't stop eating. Delbert and Signe were eating from much smaller bowls with no discomfort. She had watched nervously as he took his first bite, and relaxed as he smiled. "Oh, this is so tasty. I think I could eat this every day."

She'd relaxed after that. Her mother had always told her that in the war to win a husband, th...

New Chapters Up

Butcher of Gadobhar 502, 503
Tunnel Rat 411, 412

Tunnel Rat Chapter 420

Milo didn't want to become mulch and decided against trying to escape. No one was directly threatening him, or even getting close to him, and he was very curious about the city. The other Myconians he'd encountered had reacted like monsters, either sitting passively rooted in caves or attacking as he got near. As he and his escort walked along the path, the ring of guards kept to their pace, always the same distance away from him. He observed their synchronized movements, each of them taking ...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 419

The crack was not small as an entry point for Milo, but he pondered how the CHIMERA had ascended through it and finally came to the conclusion that the machine had jettisoned its biological pieces and reconfigured its hull to fit through the four-foot wide opening. Scapes on the rock and places where it had chewed the gneiss to create a passage showed its path upward. He spent an hour looking at the rock at the top of the crack, prying into crevices and removing ash and soot from many of them...

Butcher of Gadobhra 510

The small party of two bipeds and three oxen continued onward to Sedgewick. Razorslash Fluffytail took one look at the giant cattle and chittered angrily at the scout who'd sounded the alert, and brought news of a 'small party' coming down the road. He sent the rest of his pack back to the deep part of the forest where Dreytown lay hidden and followed the group, carefully staying hidden. This was one of the 'odd days' when stuff happened; he could smell it in the cold winds as they blew in fr...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 418

After enduring the terrors of Mama's kitchen and learning to cook a full meal from scratch (If you count lumpy potatoes, which he was!) Milo needed a break. Mama gave him a quick hug and a pat on the head.

"You did good for your first time. Don't worry about the potatoes, I'll show you the secret next time."

"Next time?"

"Of course, dear. You can't learn to cook just one meal. I thought we could do creamy macaroni and cheese casserole. We can have a nice, long discussion ...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 417

I meant to write something else entirely. But the concept of Borksday hit me, and here we are.
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Tuesdays were now Borksday. It was his turn to break into Wally. He prepared carefully, going to the extreme of sleeping for five hours and eating a full meal before starting. Additional snacks and energy drinks were on shelves within reach, and every five hours, a nutritious meal arrived by Roomba. He'd learned that proper preparation, sleep, and diet he...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 509

Jon was looking at the approaching party of one very tall woman and three huge animals. "Those are large and very curious-looking animals."

"Leave it to you to focus on the cows and not on the girl."

"I knew you'd focus on the girl."

"I am, and that's a very large and interesting girl."

And as the parties neared each other, the true size of the girl and the cows became more apparent. Signe would always be thought of as 'a big girl' to any smallfolk who saw...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 508

Jorges was atop the new Hurlsford walls when he saw the travelers coming from the northeast, but gave them little thought. One person leading three oxen was dismissed with a glance, the walls taking up all of his attention. There wasn't time to build stone walls around the whole town, and there certainly wasn't the stone. Building Rowan Keep had used any surplus from the quarries near Sedgewick, so he'd had to get inventive. He had plenty of contract workers to dig and pile dirt, an inexhaust...

TR 409,410 BoG 500, 501

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Tunnel Rat Chapter 416

Very tired and running on lack of sleep, but family situation is better, and we are past the weekend of big events at my shops. (Final Fantasy MTG, very cool stuff. ) But drastic measures were called for to have the energy to write today. Luckily, I found a 5-hour energy shot from who knows, probably last summer. Half the bottle is enough to send my thoughts zinging. This chapter is a bit Raw, lots of dialogue I may tighten a bit later, but essentially done. I want to get another TR story thi...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 507

The forces of Winter moved southward, not so much as a coordinated army, but rather a horde of small and large groups going in the same direction. Each Warlord or Champion controlled his forces through rank, charisma, or sheer brutality, keeping his place until someone stronger put him down. Each lusted after the riches in the southlands and wanted to carve out their own fiefdom. As such, they saw each other as competitors more than allies. There were exceptions. The Rime Knights served the C...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 506

Glacia wasted no time in marshalling her forces, calling in favors owed, but more often using threats to cajole the different wizards, warlords, and fell creatures who commanded large numbers of followers in the far north. The forces of Winter were like a wild, raging storm. Power, cold...and not easily controlled. While the Council claimed to rule and commanded great power, their perspective wasn't held by many of the tribes and fell creatures of the frozen mountains and tundra.

She s...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 415

Limerick, Pennsylvania, was ideally suited for a nuclear power plant: close enough to the major cities on the East Coast of North America, but far enough away to minimize the protests associated with nuclear power in the late 1900s. The nearby river provided both water for the cooling system and transportation for the materials used to build it. By the time fusion power arrived, the corporations involved had enough clout to squash any protests and enough money invested in politicians to pave ...

New Chapters Available

Butcher of Gadobhra 498 and 499

Tunnel Rat 407 and 408

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 505

After a hearty meal, including rescued pies, the group returned to the arena. Ozzy paused along the way, an odd expression on his face. Suzette glanced his way, "Are you all right? I swear I heard your stomach make a strange noise."

He patted his belly. "Just a bit of indigestion down in my furnace. Learned a few new things while I was gone. My driving pupil, Icarus? He might be new to driving a chariot, but damn does he know a lot about managing heat. Sun God stuff, I guess. When he h...

I've Published a Trilogy!

Book 3 of Milo's adventures is now on KU and Audible. Big milestone in getting the first 3 books of Tunnel Rat Published. And Aethon Books has picked up books 4-6, starting in the fall. Butcher of Gadobhra Volume 1 comes out in July, and then every 3 months after that.

https://www.amazon.com/Tunnel-Rat-3-LitRPG-Adventure-ebook/dp/B0DWXYCPF2/ref

I don't have any i...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 414

Four hours of meeting with Sidney and Stephen had made Milo tired and edgy. Wally had done so much as the administrator of Claw Master. But he had confidence that with the right staff and support, Sidney could take over and leave him free to pay attention to other things. She had her work cut out for her. His brothers and sister had just finished reviving their 20th retro game with a complete revision of the failed game, Morrowindcraft. Touted as a cutting-edge combination of the cla...

Apologies, just a chapter each this week.

My wife's parents needed a lot of care these last two weeks, and it cut into my writing time. One was just coming home from a lengthy hospital stay and needed round-the-clock care, and the other collapsed with pneumonia and went into the hospital. At 96 and 88 we had to find better solutions other than home care. They are situated better now, getting the care they need, and we're getting some rest after the ordeal of caring, fighting healthcare providers, etc.

I'm only able to write on...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 504

I'm halfway through another Tunnel Rat and Gadobhra chapter each. Will try to catch up tonight/tomorrow.
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It was midnight at the corral. A hundred sedge beasts surround the enclosure on three sides, vying for the best view. Rolly was walking among them, giving out handfuls of popcorn from a sack and discussing the upcoming fights. Ben and Suzette were up first. Ben was concentrating on dodging and only using his w...

Tunnel Rat 413

I took Thursday off. Sick family. I may catch up this weekend, we'll see how things go.

Thank you to Netviewer for his comment that inspired the opening of this chapter.

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Milo's face appeared on the screen in front of Sidney, and ominous organ music blasted from the speakers. "Actually, Sidney, it's you who can't get away from me now."

"ACK!" Sidney had just taken a sip of coffee as Milo appeared on screen...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 412

Stephen's head hurt. It had been a long, long day, dealing with new situations. A 'Milo Day', as they had taken to calling such days. Exciting and scary days, but so exhausting. And today had been the worst.

Samantha had been immediately excited when he repeated what Milo had said about Quantum World Theory, and exasperated that he wasn't extrapolating what it meant. "If Milo is correct about this, it changes everything. Genesis isn't a game! It's a separate and distinct reality. We'r...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 503

The crowd at the fountain in Sedgewick watched as the flaming chariot circled the town several times. Twice it came in for landings but its speed was too high and it was obvious the driver was having trouble with the concept of 'Slow Down.' Eventually, the Butcher leaned forward, took the reins, and pulled back gently, slowing the horses and bringing in the chariot to a bumpy but passable landing in the middle of town. The heat from the horses drove back the crowd, but didn't seem to bother t...

BoG 495,496 and TR 404,405 are up.

New chapters.

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 502

This is the story I owe from Thursday, another one coming this weekend.
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"You get your ass kicked again, Marcy?"

"Shut the hell up, Darlene. Not in the mood for your lip. And where's breakfast? If you ate the last boxes of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, there will be hell to pay."

Darlene elbowed the girl next to her, and the whole group laughed. It was easy to tell when Marcy lost a fight. First, she stormed out of h...