Falen blinked and he actually stood slightly straighter.
“You what?”
“You heard me.”
“By what right do you claim the protection of the law?” Falen challenged, his voice hard.
“By the fact that we are guests and have been invited into, as you said, your city and to your warehouse. You are obligated to offer us food, drink, and to do us no harm.”
“Are you mad? This is not my home!”
“As I understand it, this is part of your territory, is ...
2025-01-03 03:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe three of them stood in the center of the crumbling warehouse facing the large double-doors, with Mitchell out front between the two girls – Allora on his right and Lethelin on his left. Her bow was in hand and Allora’s sword was out, as was Mitchell’s. There wasn’t likely to be an attack, at least not right away, but Mitchell wasn’t about to be caught unawares. He sensed more than heard Vras in the rafters, skulking about, and that brought him immense comfort.
In jus...
2024-12-27 03:05:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe warehouse at the top of the stairs looked like it was being held up more by thoughts and prayers than structural integrity. Beams sagged, holes dotted the roof, rotted planks covered the floor, and the smell of urine was everywhere.
“Your friends really put us up in a nice spot,” Mitchell told Lethelin, but gave her a grin to let her know his sarcasm was playful, not angry. She chose not to respond, just huffed and kicked some bit of wood across the floor and scowled. Her ...
2024-12-27 03:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostUp ahead in the darkness of the tunnel, the torch light of their guide illuminated an ancient-looking iron gate set into a thick stone wall that looked even older. Mitchell blinked to clear his eyes of what he hoped was just water that was dripping constantly from the rough stone ceiling and coughed as he caught a breath of the smoke coming from the torch carried by their guide.
“This is it,” the young man named Jonan said, as he looked back at his charges.
“How many passage...
2024-12-20 03:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostLethelin turned to find a wiry human of about twenty-five high suns with greasy, slicked-backed hair the color of stable yard mud and bloodshot watery blue eyes. He had a day's growth of whiskers in patches along his jaw and a scar across his right cheek. His lips were cracked, and he had the distinct smell of someone who’d taken a cloud trip in the last few hours. His pale eyes were glassy with the effects, and there was still spittle on his chin. Must have been poor quality stuff. His clo...
2024-12-20 03:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostMitchell stared at the sprawling medieval metropolis before him. He imagined it was what London or Paris must have looked like in the Middle Ages. Or maybe even Rome since Mitchell knew that, at its peak, there were roughly a million people in the city whereas London in the Middle Ages didn’t even have a tenth of that. And Lorivin definitely held more than fifty thousand people.
Their frantic pace through the forest had gone largely without incident after that first encounter with the...
2024-12-13 03:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostDespite their careful planning, the opening rounds of the attack didn’t go off as planned. Lethelin’s opening arrow shot flew true, but it struck some sort of invisible shield that the caster had up already.
“Stollar’s balls!” Allora swore beside him as the cry of went up among the squad. “He’s got arcane armor up. Looks like we are in for a fight!”
Mitchell readied to move and cast a glance at the knight beside him. She had an almost feral grin on her face.&...
2024-12-13 03:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostGilriel separated from the group a few miles from Clayfaire heading west while Mitchell, the girls, Vras, and the yulops continued north towards the little town. They arrived at the forest just outside the settlement without issue and Lethelin went in to sell the yulops and use the additional coin to purchase three of their best jivis along with tack and bridle.
Allora got a little misty eyed as Marvin and Tammi were led away.
“They were good animals,” she said.&nb...
2024-12-06 03:01:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Going overland, avoiding roads and towns as much as we can, I expect it to take us about two ten-days to get to Lorivin,” Allora repeated as they made final checks in the pre-dawn light. She looked longingly at the pack that held her armor and Mitchell knew how much she wished to wear it again, but that would be painting a target on their backs. She’d also freshly wrapped the pommel of her sword, hiding the gemstone from view.
As for Mitchell, Allora and Gilriel had made so...
2024-12-06 03:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostEven in the dark, Mitchell had no trouble picking his way along the uneven ground clogged thick with roots and fallen branches. Following his nose, he backtracked the path they had come and which their attackers had traversed as well. It didn’t take long for him to find what he was looking for.
He spotted Kole before Kole spotted him. The disgraced city guardsman was bound up tight and secured to a tree next to a number of rucksacks and bedrolls. Moving quietly, Mitchell made on...
2024-11-29 03:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostFrom Mitchell’s left, there was suddenly a blood-curdling scream. A scream of such utter terror that it sent ice coursing through Mitchell’s veins. There was a flash as magic split the darkening forest, but the spell must have not had the desired effect.
“Help! Larin! Larin! Help It’s a–”
Whatever words that poor bastard had been about to say ended in more high-pitched wailing and then the forest went utterly silent. No night birds chirped, no insects humme...
2024-11-29 03:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you sure? One more game before you have to leave, aye?”
“Apologies, good master Elgrin, but we must be on our way. With the last of our purchases being delivered, it is time for us to go. We have many miles to cover today.”
Lethelin touched her thumb to her heart and her head and bid him farewell.
“Aye, as you say,” he nodded more than a little disappointed. “But do come and see us again.”
“If it be Stollar’s will,” Mitchell...
2024-11-22 03:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostDespite being well past sundown on a cloudy night, the tar dens were perfectly visible to Vras as he prowled the rooftops without fear. He was gratha. He would only be seen if he wanted to be seen. And the two-legs were so blind in the dark that he often wondered how they moved at all.
The tar s’thyr had asked him to stay in the forest, but Vras knew that to be a stupid request. The tar ara’tiss had asked Vras to protect the tar s’thyr ...
2024-11-22 03:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostDiscord!
I'm going to start setting up a Discord fans of culture, such as yourselves. So, if you're interested in that, look for a Discord link in a future WW post. Initially it will be open only to Fans and SuperFans while I get the hang of running a Discord server, and then I will open it up to all Patrons. It will be a place to chat with me more directly, I'll create an off-topic room, maybe something for memes, gaming, pop culture, who knows. So keep an eye out for that.
In o...
2024-11-20 15:34:00 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: I'm putting all the sex scenes in their own individual chapters, called Interludes. This is so people who don't care or who are not interested in reading the sexy bits can easily skip over them without the risk of missing out on any story development. Nothing will happen in these scenes that will effect the outcome of the story overall. No key bits of information will be revealed.
If you read Interlude 1, you know that there was a bit of sub...
2024-11-15 03:05:00 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time they made it down to the inn’s common room a couple of hours later, Lethelin had her game face on. Mitchell had finally managed to get her to accept that whatever was going to happen was going to happen, and there was no sense in worrying about it now. When he tried to explain the expression “no use crying over spilled milk” she had appreciated the idiom but liked hers better.
“The fish has already spotted the bait,” she’d said as she finally agreed with hi...
2024-11-15 03:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe room, while not nearly as nice as the Maiden’s Mist had been, was pretty decent. It had a large bed that they both eyed with promise, some rustic furniture all made with the same honey-colored wood, and even a few stuffed heads and tapestries on the wall. They didn’t stay long however. There was work to do.
“Off to the blacksmith with me?” Mitchell asked.
“Sure. You need me to haggle for you, anyway. And I likely won’t start snooping until after dark.”
<... 2024-11-08 03:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostMitchell found the dwarf’s accent much easier to comprehend than Nothok’s had been. The consonants were a little softer, and the vowels not so stretched as what he’d heard from the old shopkeeper in Belikir. It put him at ease slightly as he became less worried about understanding him and being understood himself.
“If it be Stollar’s will,” Mitchell said. “We would like a room for one night, maybe two.”
“Your nicest, if it’s available,” Lethlin added. ...
2024-11-08 03:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe little town of Clayfaire was pretty much like Mitchell had always imagined a small fantasy medieval town would be like. Squat wood and stone buildings, built in a vaguely European style, although the people here did seem to have a penchant for ornate roof decorations that he could make out even from the forest. Wooden carvings of animals and people seemed to dot most rooftops with some even having decorations on each individual tile.
They came out from under cover of the canop...
2024-11-01 03:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt was full dark by the time they emerged back into the clearing around the cottage. They’d cleaned up after their love making and that had led to another quick round with Allora bent over the edge of the pool and Mitchell taking her from behind, but he wasn’t about to complain. He was actually impressed at his own stamina and wondered if it was a result of not having had sex for months, his seemingly insatiable hunger for Allora, the heart stone making his body stronger, or a combination...
2024-11-01 03:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostTheir lips came together so hard as to be painful. Allora was whimpering with need as her arms came around his shoulders and her fingernails began to dig into his back. Mitchell was hardly quiet, either. He growling as his desire for her came exploding forth like a dam breaking.
In a flash, his arms were around her waist and picked her up with ease. Much to his surprise, she was almost feather light. Allora’s legs wrapped around him and she locked her ankles in place as their mouths d...
2024-10-25 03:05:03 +0000 UTC View PostIt was several minutes before the truth was revealed. He gave her time to rinse off, and he gave himself a quick scrub down as well, hoping that there would be another opportunity to continue what they’d started at a later time. As much as Mitchell wanted her, he knew this needed to happen. It was long past time for her to unburden herself.
Once they were clean and reclothed, they sat together on a flat bit of mossy ground next to the pool where some late afternoon sunlight was breaki...
2024-10-25 03:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostHaven't had much going on that warranted its own post, but got some stuff today.
First order of business: New patrons!
A lot of people have joined up in the last month or so, and I haven't been able to reach out to all of you, but I want to say first off, welcome and, second, thanks so much for joining. Whether you're a free member, fan, or super fan, I'm just psyched that you cared enough about my work to click the link and check me out. I wish I could think of cooler ways to r...
2024-10-23 15:08:04 +0000 UTC View PostMitchell walked down the path that led to a pool about seventy or eighty meters past the tree line of the clearing around Gilriel’s cottage. The water from the stream that ran past her residence poured over a little two-meter-high waterfall and into a mostly circular pool about four meters in diameter before running out the other side to continue on its way. The area just around the pool had been largely cleared away and moss grew in large patches interspersed with beds of wild grass and va...
2024-10-18 03:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe next couple of days were a blur of activity. Allora was testy with Lethelin for awhile demanding once more to see the mysterious token and to get more information about the Thieves’ Guild, but Lethelin refused. After the third time, the thief adopted a look of confusion and would simply say, ‘Whatever are you referring to, m’lady?’ Mitchell thought Allora was going to take a swing at her, but the knight merely stalked off and spent the next hour practicing her sword forms until sh...
2024-10-18 03:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostOnce everyone was washed and feeling refreshed, things settled down. The only bit of excitement left was introducing Vras to the situation. They had opted to leave him in the forest until they could broach the subject with Gilriel as she would likely try to kill him on sight if he simply wandered into the clearing around her cottage. There was much swearing and it took several minutes to convince her not to end the beast the moment he put a paw into view. Upon hearing his name Gilriel also ut...
2024-10-11 03:05:00 +0000 UTC View Post“This is it,” Allora said as they rounded a bend in the stream they had been following for the better part of two hours. The sun was approaching mid-morning and the light flickered through the heavy canopy, dappling everything around them. The cool sound of the water rushing, the smell of earth and plant, the cool wind rustling the leaves, made it all feel like some sort of nature scene that would play over one of those relaxation music videos Mitchell used to have going in the background...
2024-10-11 03:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“We are in luck,” Allora said as she eyed the town from the tree line. “That is indeed Clayfaire. I know where we are and I know where we need to go.”
“Do you want to enter the town first?” Mitchell asked from behind her shoulder, as the dawn light began to dispel shadows around the mostly wooden buildings. It looked to be a decent size, maybe a few hundred people housed within its walls. He couldn’t help but eye it suspiciously as he had been told to expect danger at any ...
2024-10-04 03:37:20 +0000 UTC View PostMitchell found himself hunching his shoulders again and made an effort to stand up straight. He could already feel the knot forming in that spot just to the left of his neck where it connected to his shoulder. He’d lost count of how many times that had happened since they entered the Shadow Glen that morning. He noticed it affected the others as well. There was something oppressive about the land here. The weight of deep time pressed down on their heads. Even the yulops were sluggish and dr...
2024-10-04 03:33:44 +0000 UTC View Post“Food,” Vras insisted for the third time.
“Not food. Friends.”
Vras looked from Mitchell back to where Tammi and Marvin were resting in the grass a short distance away and he sniffed at the air. He brought his emerald eyes back to Mitchell’s and studied him.
“Smell food. Meat. Other meat food. This meat, too.”
Mitchell sighed. This was turning out to be harder than he’d anticipated. Allora was right that with practice it wa...
2024-09-27 04:02:06 +0000 UTC View Post