DWinchester

Brewing Bad Ch. 66

Next week I will do a bonus chapter which will give you the last two chapters of Book 1. I'm almost a dozen chapters into book 2 now, and pretty pleased on how it's coming out.

Ch. 66 - Blue Wedding (part 2)

As the group sat there and worked their way through the courses in that large, cramped dining room, the mood was quite celebratory. Everyone, including Lucas, acted like they were happy for the young couple and their plans to wed. Everyone acted like i...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 164-165

Ch. 164 - Soon

“This is what I wanted to show you,” Jordan said finally, unwrapping the dirty cloth that covered the manacle that he’d kept hidden for so long and showing it to Taz for the first time. 

The archmage didn’t look at the cursed thing, though. Instead, he simply stared deeper into Jordan’s eyes, searching for something. The silence lingered for almost a minute before the ageless man said, “Why didn’t you bring this to me earlier?�...

Death After Death Ch. 131-132

Ch. 131 - Building a Legend

The first thing Simon did was escort the survivors to the nearest village. He left his mule there with them, along with most of his supplies, because it would only slow him down. It was only once they were safe that was handled, that he followed the centaur’s tracks back to see where they’d come from.

No one volunteered to come with him, but that was fine. That sort of trust would come in time. He might be known as a witch hunter ...

Brewing Bad Ch. 65

Ch. 65 - Blue Wedding

The next few days were packed with preparations around the manor and the rest of the grounds, but Lucas did his best to ignore them. He only had a couple of things to do before the big day, and the hardest one of those by far was to pretend he was happy about this strange turn of events. He welcomed the new arrangements with exactly as much enthusiasm as he might summon for skinny-dipping with piranhas.   

So, he left discussio...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 162-163

Ch. 162 - Awakening the Wolf

The battle lasted all day, and it wasn’t even clear until almost evening that Tenebroum’s forces would win. At this point, the outcome of the war was not in doubt, even if this desperate battle still hung in the balance. In the broadest sense, it wouldn’t matter if it took one battle or five of them to secure their doom. However, if it gave the mages breathing room, it would almost certainly affect the quality of knowledge tha...

Death After Death Ch. 129-130

Ch. 129 - Letting it Simmer

Simon was forced to live with the information that everyone in the north, probably even as far south as Slany, knew of him as the villain for months, and it ate at him. All through the cold winter and into the spring, when there was a sudden uptick in the number of people afflicted with the weeping, it was there, waiting for him in the quiet moments, ready to make him rage all over again. 

It was so bad that he did everything he ...

Brewing Bad Ch. 63-64

Another bonus chapter. I've been doing a lot of writing lately because I've been inspired, so feel free to do a lot of reading! The next one will be in a few weeks when we get to... Well, you'll see.

Ch. 63 - This Changes Nothing

 The next morning, when Lucas sat down to talk with everyone else about what had happened, he left the kiss out. When he was finally done explaining how the awkward conversation had happened, Hura’gh said, “What? I was ...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 160-161

Ch. 160 - Foreign Gods

The voice had known that Tanda was going to be wealthy before she’d ever set sail on this voyage. The northern trade routes were well known for luxuries that were very nearly unheard of in the South. Even her time spent off the coast, watching the city night after night, had not prepared her for the dizzying variety of that wealth, though. 

The undertemple within the Lich’s lair was a gilded nightmare that grew more extravagant with...

Death After Death Ch. 127-128

Ch. 127 - Complications

After that, Everything was a mess. He drew his sword, but only so that he could parry whatever was coming next. His Freya or not, he had no interest in striking her down, even though he was fairly certain he could without too much trouble. He didn’t even want to hurt the other members of the Butcher’s Bill, even though he couldn’t even remember their names just now. He just wanted to get free. 

“You touch that paper, and the ...

Brewing Bad Ch. 62

Ch. 62 - Thriving

“If you can charge whatever you want, then you should be charging fifty dragons!” Hura’gh declared loudly while they were out chopping wood for the cider house fireplace and still one evening. 

The stairs to the basement were hidden behind the woodpile out back, and the weather was getting colder. Those were all excellent reasons for Lucas to do this work, but that wasn’t why he was doing it. Instead, it was to get fitter.  2024-06-17 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 158-159

Ch. 158 - The Undiscovered Land

When she traveled downstream for the last time, it was a languid affair, but Oroza no longer had the strength to swim. At this point, she barely had the strength to hold herself together as the emaciated shell of the river dragon she was. Even time spent among the ice at the peak of the mountains was enough to rejuvenate her; she did not truly understand why. 

Was it not as clear as it had always been? Were the heights not un...

Death After Death Ch. 125-126

Ch. 125 - The Way North

That morning, he went down to breakfast early to make sure he didn’t miss an opportunity, so he was still working his way through a mug of watered-down beer and a plate of biscuits and sausages half drowned in a peppered gravy when the other mercenaries came down. The gossip about last night started almost immediately, though Simon pretended to ignore it. 

It sounded like a couple of guys were working themselves up to challenging �...

Another Year around the Sun

Hello everyone. Tomorow is my birthday and I want to thank you all for helping to make this last year a good one. I was hoping I would have a completed version of Tenebroum to shill to everyone by this point, but that's still in Limbo as the publisher works out if/how they are doing audio. I won't bore you with those details.

Instead, I wanted to let everyone know that on Saturday I am going to take a day off of writing and do some video games with Patrons. I will probably do a Shadows ...

Brewing Bad Ch. 60-61

Another bonus chapter... because I can! No, seriously, I completed the ending for Book 1 last night, and started on book 2 and feel like celebrating in my own small way. How far in the future is it? Well, it's not long now... Less than 10 chapters to go.

Ch. 60 - Happily Ever After

 Lucas did not like this plan. Not from the very beginning, but since it was all decided while he was incapacitated for what turned out to be the last two weeks, all he ...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 156-157

Ch. 156 - Widening Gyre

Once the Tenebroum’s forces had been pushed out of the valley that sheltered the dead city of Abenend on its third assault, it had never managed to get an agent close enough to investigate again. This wasn’t due to any ineptitude on the part of its servants, though. It was because of the talent of the mages. 

In many ways, the Lich feared them more than the gods arrayed against it. Humans were fragile things, but they were clever...

Death After Death Ch. 123-124

Ch. 123 - Routine

What should I have done differently? That was Simon’s first thought when he felt himself return to life on his lumpy bed in the cabin before he even opened his eyes. 

It had been a great run. In many ways it had been his best run ever, but the ending left him feeling unsatisfied, not to mention that he could feel that he’d become soft and weak all over again. 

During his most recent run, he’d spent the better part...

Brewing Bad Ch. 59

Ch. 59 - Through the Fire

Lucas remembered very little of the next few days. He woke up briefly, at random. It was just enough to know he was still alive, but most of the time, it wasn’t enough to figure out much else. 

He was still hurt bad, Adin was still trying to take care of him, and eventually, he saw the dwarf looking at him with concern too. They’d moved camp, maybe? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think that they’d camped in the tower last ...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 154-155

Ch. 154- Unrecognizable

 Niama. That was the only word that they clung to as they were trapped in the Lich’s dark garden. Niama will save us, each of them whispered to each other, like the frightened sisters they were. 

No one was coming to save them, though. Only Lunaris tried to visit them the once in that desperate place, but before she could even whisper whatever message it was she’d dared come to deliver, a whirlwind of inky black bar...

Death After Death Ch. 120-122

Bonus chapter for my dear Death After Death readers. I hope you enjoy it!

Ch. 120 - Round Two

Simon spent the next six months the same way. Every morning, he drank three helmets of water and caught something with a crude spear from the jetty while he still had the energy to do so. Then, he would fill his clay pot with five or six gallons of seawater and begin to climb up the slope. 

There, he would use fire and salt to methodically make it further up ...

Welcome Home

Hello everyone. After a few weeks on the road, I am back. I had some things in America that I needed to take care of and took the opportunity to visit a few people I hadn't seen in years. It was nice, except for all the coughing.

I was sick after the first flight, and though that quickly faded into the low-grade allergies of springtime in the desert, after the flight home.... well, I've spent forty out of the last forty-eight hours in bed as something dark and evil (jet lag) combined w...

Brewing Bad Ch. 57-58

Alright, as celebration for my home coming, another bonus chapter of Brewing Bad. And not just because I need one of Lucas's healing potions in the worst way.

Ch. 57 - Roughing It (part 2)

Lucas had been expecting Kar’gandin to send someone with supplies, so he wasn’t surprised when he saw the mule emerge from the treeline a little before noon on the appointed day. He was rather surprised that the dwarf had come himself, though. 

He was gr...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 152-153

Ch. 152 - A Long Time Coming

At dusk Jordan received an invitation to dine with the man that the villagers called the Wise One, or more commonly, Tazuranth, the Great and Powerful. This struck Jordan as a little ostentatious, but then there were many Mage Lords at the Magica Collegium that insisted on such pomp as well. 

They rarely named themselves after mages of legend, though, he thought ironically. 

Despite not being invited, Sister ...

Death After Death Ch. 118-119

Ch. 118 - Fighting Fire With Fire

“Nothing ends without bloodshed,” one man said, older than the rest. “Well, bloodshed or fire…”

The guy probably thought that he was being clever, but even as he shouted “Meiren” and used the word of fire to launch a barrage of flames at Simon, he was already whispering the words, “Karesh Uuvellum Meiren,” as he imagined a wall of solid glass reaching from wall to wall of the s...

Brewing Bad Ch. 56

Ch. 56 - Roughing It

That night, Lucas took the watch because he didn’t trust Adin to stay awake all night. They lit a low fire just inside the treeline, and they didn’t even put up the tarp because the weather was nice, and making camp in the dark was miserable. 

Instead, they just suffered through it, and in the morning, Lucas took a two-hour power nap. Amidst his many other potions, he’d brought some violet esper sap, which was miserable, foul stuf...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 150-151

Ch. 150 - Sanctuary

 The first day that Jordan had helped his charges travel east after first traveling to the west, he felt like a moron. Even knowing that something greater was at work, he felt like he’d immediately regret his decision to leave his childhood home. That didn’t change as the house that had always protected him or in any of the chilly days that followed. 

They traveled east for a day, then forded the river before continuing east-sou...

Death After Death Ch. 116-117

Ch. 116 - Digging up the Past

Simon did some further exploring on the deeper level of the tomb. He would a few inscriptions that talked about holding back the tide, and one said they would rise again to once more protect their homeland if it was ever threatened again. Unfortunately, there was no indication as to what they’d actually fought or what conditions would make them rise again. 

It was clear to him, that whoever had buried these men had thought they...

Brewing Bad Ch. 54-55

Ch. 54 - What Now?

He found the three of them, along with a few other toughs and laborers, in the cider house. It was obvious that everyone knew that something had happened, but they had no idea what. 

“Alright boys, drop what you’re doing and go grab some dinner,” Lucas said. “We’ll let you know if there’s going to be any late night work after we talk through all the recent developments.”

The men filled out. Most seemed worried or at le...

Tenebroum PLUS Ch. 148-149

Ch. 148 - The Dark Garden

Even as it planned the assault and set its forge ghasts and its hammer weights to crafting magic resistant weapons and armor from the bones and armor of long dead dwarves, it turned its mind back toward more important tasks. When night next fell, it soared halfway across its domain from Rahkin to the hub of activity that was Constantium. 

The city was still devoid of life. Even the plants had withered and died because of the overwh...

Death After Death Ch. 114-115

Ch. 114 - Beneath it All

The following day Simon felt like shit. This wasn’t just because the life energy he’d stolen from the would-be thief had faded to some degree. It was also because he’d done it at all. He was definitely looking and feeling better than before he’d dropped a nuke on the graveyard, but he was still pretty far from one hundred percent.

Draining the life of a man had felt worlds better than draining the life of a swarm of insects. It was...

Brewing Bad Ch. 53

Only one chapter this week. I plan on doing another bonus chapter next week or the week after.

Ch. 53 - Collateral Damage

Lucas thought about a lot of things on the way back. He thought about the messenger services. The Back Alley Whisperers had gotten into their business two times. Both were right after they’d sent or received a letter from an official courier. More than anything, he thought about the way the woman had disappeared at the end of the co...