Michael Clark

Tunnel Rat Chapter 347

"You damned bitches shot her full of holes!" Mako seethed as she examined the outer hull of the bottom third of her ship. There were indeed a lot of holes, many of them from sixteen-pound balls, but at least half were from the smaller ammunition used by the steam cannons on the Iron Orca. Mako was glaring at Annie. "Why'd you do it, Annie? I thought we were friends. Fellow captains who saw things eye to eye and had each other's backs!"

This was news to Annie and to anyone else...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 436

The Courier who delivered the letter from Emperor Gustavus to House Franklin wasn't a family member. While every Franklin served as a Courier, they weren't the only ones and others were recruited from all over the Empire. House Franklin tended to produce the best and most well-known Couriers. But they also caused a lot of problems, often finding solutions that cut through 'Political Bullshit' as they referred to the delicate arrangements between Nobles and the Wealthy of the Empire.

Mos...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 435

A helpful person gave me a tutorial on how to notify lower tiers when a story became available. Trying that today, and hopefully, it works. Many editing steps to make it work around the lack of Patreon infrastructure. And they noted that during the month someone upgrades from the five-dollar tier to the ten-dollar tier, they will still get a message both times. Apologies for that, but seems to be the best way to do it.
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Dawn was two hours away w...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 434

The Fairy lights that illuminated Sedgewick were glowing bright, illuminating the town. Some of the regular residents looked out their windows to see the Baron's Workers running everywhere, hauling wagons and barrels. While it wasn't unheard of to find them working late into the night, this was excessive. Some of the people simply drew the heavy drapes to block the light and went back to bed. Others, more attuned to what such chaos might mean got up and looked for how they could assist the Wo...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 346

Hopefully, if I did things right. People in the Butcher of Gadobhra Tier got an email message about PM letting you know this chapter was available to read. Please let me know if it worked.


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Milo woke up, with his lungs screaming at him as his last tank of air gave out. It didn't help that he was being crushed under hundreds of pounds of gold and barely able to move. After a moment of terror, he pushed down the panic. This was a game, and as real a...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 345

The Sharks who were left in the casino were the youngest and most inexperienced Scavengers in the clan. So while they outnumber the dozen Engineers and six crew of the Leviathan, it was no contest as to who would win in a fight. So when closing time came around and no one moved from their seat, they sighed and restocked the buffet with whatever they had left in the kitchen. Both Whale and Sledgemonkey agreed that if everyone left, the Sharks might start pillaging their own casino. Stranger th...

Non-Story: Changes to Benefits

I've been wanting to add more early-access chapters to the benefits and I'm finally getting the time to do it. Before, I offered 5+ chapters of both stories for five dollars. I'm increasing that to 10 chapters now, so close to double what I offered before.

The 10.00 Tier will get any early-access chapters above 10, and any chapters from new stories. I'll also add a 5.00 tier for just the new story. Stories? Several in the works. I'm hoping to start one of those in November. I'm undeci...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 344

Milo knew the direction to find his headstone, which was straight out from the beach and pointing downward at a sharp angle. He knew he had little time for his scavenging expedition and didn't want to come into conflict with the Sharks or another crew of scavengers. But he wanted the Sharks gone, and to do that, he needed to take away their wealth. That clan, more than all the others, had worked to buy or steal the land around the docks and the docks themselves. They were hurting a lot of peo...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 433

Jonathon took a break from hauling two-hundred-pound bags of groats into the barn to look at the sky. There was one lonely dark cloud and a few whisps, but no sign of a storm. It was going to be clear until late tomorrow, but a little colder. Around him, the rest of the people of the hamlets kept working but were curious about what he'd see.

Jonathon had worked hard to gain a high perception and raise a set of skills most farmers either didn't take or never qualified for, but fit his po...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 432

The courtyard where Rastfian Earth-Master held command of one of Wolfsguard's Tier 5 teleport stones was slowly coming back into order. The events of the day had worried the crowds of travelers milling around the edges of the courtyard or in the streets. The dozens of mages called in to help with the emergency had been terrified. Every Tier one, two, and three Fire Mage from the Academy had been assigned one of the four teleport stones and worked until they dropped, warming the stones and dis...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 431

The Master of the Market looked down from his lofty perch atop a maple branch at his work and found it to be good.

Work was progressing well. The market was laid out with brightly colored stalls being erected by some lesser fae while others showed up with large wagons of goods that in essence a store on wheels. With permission to hire his lesser fae cousins, he'd arranged for musicians, fire eaters, and tricksters of all types. Lord Alwyn had provided flowering trees and bushe...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 430

Rolly knew he shouldn't be arguing with a pregnant woman who already had eleven children, but Dora had a habit of getting on his nerves. First, she'd complained to him about the taste of the water after the wyverns took a bath in the pond. Then he'd spent half a day looking through the thickets looking for 'little baby Ferdy' only to find out she'd miscounted her offspring and named most of them 'Ferdy' after their father. That had started her latest series of complaints that Ferdinand didn't...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 429 Raw

A lot going on here, and I'm sure I have some of the tenses and wording wrong. I'll take a better look at it on Thursday.
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In the Empire's Capital, High Mage Ostenhoffer stood as still as a statue, monitoring the other teleport stones still active, seeing the surges of wild mana entering them, and trying desperately to maintain the crippled teleport network. All the other stones were transferring their mana into the Wolfsburg stones, which in turn sent the excess to...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 428 (raw)

Arthramax got as much of himself as he could near the teleportation stone. Teleportation for someone his size was a slower process, and uncomfortable. It was one of the reasons they preferred to fly and sneered at other modes of travel. The mana density of the chamber was increasing nicely, swirling around the ancient stone walls.

The Dragon liked this place, and if it had been a hundred times larger might have considered moving his lair. The ancient carvings on the stone were well do...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 343

Another rat chapter for you, and possibly one more this weekend, depending on how many Butcher chapters get done.
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Mako had stared at the unflinching eyes of the ratkin that now owned her casino and her docks with unconcealed hatred. But as much as she wanted to pull a knife and dive across the table she knew that now wasn't the time for revenge. Too many witnesses and she was uncomfortably aware of Whale standing only a few feet away. Whale would see that as ...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 342

Short and Raw, but when the words are flowing, I keep writing.
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Mako stared at the off-suit queen and felt like she'd taken a cannonball in the gut. Her dealer, Abigail, was white and sweating. Whale's mocking laughter hurt far worse than her twice-busted hand. From the floor of the casino came heated shouting from irate Engineers and Scavengers wanting to cash in their chips, and sharks who were trying to pacify them until people higher in command could produce the gold.&n...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 341 (raw)

Look, I drank a pot of coffee and had a slice of cheese. Words appeared.
Might have some typos, I was having fun and probably need to go through it again. But on to the next chapter.
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It took Milo nearly an hour to figure out how to read the back of the cards used for the Captains' game. The secret was complex and hidden in how the lines to the masts and the sails overlapped with each other. There were minor differences on some cards and he began cataloguing all of t...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 340

Professor Tallsqueak appeared calm and happy as he sat at the Captain's table. The well-dressed ratkin was casually paying attention to the game and playing very calmly. He mostly seemed interested in spreading the correct amount of cheese on his cracker, striving for a thin and even layer that maximized taste while minimizing the amount on the cracker.

Inside Milo's brain, there was a buzz of activity. He had thought he had a handle on the situation as he worked to transfer as much o...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 427

A heavily built wagon appeared in the center of the Tier 6 master teleport stone in the Empire's capital. Dalnir, one of the dozen Mages surrounding the stone retrieved the sheets of paper on the seat, scanned them, and sighed happily.
"Rastfian of Wolfsburg is in communication with Rowan Keep and sends the good news that they can accept excess mana and store it in the Hermetic Shield surrounding the keep. He has already emptied his stone and suggests others do the same."

The news ...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 426

Deep beneath the frozen ruins, Arthamax the Valiant struggled to free himself from his prison of ice and rock. It was slow going, but he was making progress. Famished from long weeks of little food, he'd lost weight and was able to slither upward towards the goal of the chamber holding the teleportation stone. His Mastery of Ice had grown, as had his Draconic Force of Will. Between the two skills, he could reinforce the ice around him to hold back the rocks from slippin...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 425

Damien nudged a chunk of rock into position with disgust. He hated puzzles that were missing pieces, and this collection of heavy rocks that used to be a Tier 5 teleportation stone certainly counted as that. He and Vladimir had been arranging the rocks in their proper position for two days now. Vladimir loved the challenge and cackled with glee whenever they agreed on where a piece should go, which wasn't often. While they had 95% of the old stone, the missing 5% was vexing both of them. Vlad...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 339

A couple of Milo chapters for your enjoyment before I go back to working on throwing Ozzy and crew into an icy blender.
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Milo had figured out the main problem with the casino: No one was supposed to win.

All the games of chance offered in the casino were slightly in favor of the house. Mathematically, 'slightly in favor' meant that eventually, the house won. The longer you played the games, the more chances the house had to win, and th...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 338

Mako watched the next two hands. Tallsqueak quietly folded in the first one, not drawing any cards. On the second hand, he played more aggressively right from the start, raising twice before taking two cards. The Captain of the Shark Clan watched the game, trying to see each player's cards, it was difficult if you weren't sitting right at the table across from someone. Tallsqueak had a 7, 9, and jack of clubs, and tossed his other two cards to the discard pile. Inwardly, Mako laughed. The rat...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 337

After the Battle of the Eels, as the events of the day were being called, the seas were quiet and the town seething with excitement and chaos. The fishing fleet moored at their docks and unloaded their catch, followed by Captain Pike's ship arriving with his latest catch, towing a large eel behind the boat. Boat Crusher, a level 22 Elite Eel had made the poor decision to attack the Captain's boat. Pike had been delighted at the turn of events. Usually, he had to hunt the monsters, having them...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 336

A little rough. I may work on the gambling section some.
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For Milo, the luncheon felt like eating in the Hollow. Lots of people around him, plenty of food, and a buzz of conversations going around him. Ignatius had invited him to sit next to him, and he'd accepted, mentally reminding himself that Professor Tallsqueak was a stranger to these people.

"Thank you for the kind invite. I was exploring this part of the city, but finding no place to eat. Then my ...

Tunnel Rat 335

Despite a terrible death being nibbled to death by small dragon snakes, Milo was in high spirits. Death in the game was inevitable at some point, especially when taking risks like he did. He'd fought against the eels with spells until he was out of mana and then slashed them with his claws and tail, the small eels slicing into him with their sharp fangs. More eels poured into the flooded hold, with the large ones just outside and trying to break in. As his health plummeted, he'd triggered one...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 424

Abraxius hadn't advanced through the ranks of the Winter Council through magical strength. It was his talent at planning, organization, and anticipating his enemies' moves that were his greatest skill, and what he secretly prided himself on. Creating a stronghold in the Duke's city had taken months of careful maneuvering to gain access to the hidden tunnels, corrupting the Sewer Authority, and smuggling in both men and weapons. The ambush meant to kill the Duchess had been even more work. Par...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 423

A little on the Raw side. Have some more writing in me and will edit tomorrow.
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After looking at the state of his shredded clothing, Ozzy ducked behind his wagon and quickly changed clothes, donning his kilt, before leading the squads of soldiers to his butcher shop. An amused Vassily watched as they crossed the courtyard at a run, wondering what his friend was up to now, but he mentioned to his wife that they might have some extra business that evening. Soldiers were...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 422

A frosted teleport stone greeted Caldrius as he arrived in the courtyard where Rastfian coordinated the arriving and departing groups. Currently, the people leaving were forming a long line that wasn't moving. Rastfian was taking no chances with a malfunctioning stone. Several people had arrived shivering and covered with snow or ice. Other than possibly catching a case of the sniffles, they were unharmed, but the frost on the stone was getting thicker.

"Well, this isn't good at all. A...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 334

Advanced Clog-eaters have many uses, but they get excited about only one: Eating Clogs. Part of their simplistic artificial thinking remembers a time when that was all they could do, and the task holds a special place in their mechanical hearts. Luckily for those hard at work in the domain ruled over by Rhebus, there were many clogs.

The pipes had seen little if any maintenance in the past decades. Residue built up on the walls until flow was restricted and the pipes clogged. Or chunk...