“Ya can see the thing I found in the mornin’!” Taava protested with a smile. “Ya dragged me out inta the cold and I wanna go sleep!”
We’d almost made it back to the inn and Taava was steadfastly denying me a look at the assassin’s blade we’d found stuck into the roof of a bu...
2022-10-05 02:56:27 +0000 UTC View PostAgain, I want to thank everyone for your continued support! We have a full cover now!
The other kinda cool news that's coming up is that between volumes, when public releases are going to include some of the voted side stories, both tiers will keep getting regular releases to push the...
2022-10-01 00:12:27 +0000 UTC View PostI took a look across the room. There were to charred skeletons, a burned mass, and another dead body. The wall opposite the beds was cracked, and one shutter was, too. At least it looks like we were attacked.
“We heard a commotion, miss.” A tall human woman wearing a hastily-st...
2022-10-01 00:03:19 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: This one was super fun! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and it changed a lot during editing, too. The side story tilts a little more ambiguously modern than what I would normally write in-setting, but I think the familiarity kinda adds to the coziness. Sadly, this isn't can... 2022-09-30 04:27:02 +0000 UTC View Post
After everyone else had gone to bed, I sat up alone on watch. I really resented having to set a watch at an inn room, but if Taava was right—and I strongly suspected she was—it was a necessary precaution. And, since the beds were tiny and I didn’t need to sleep every night, I ended...
2022-09-28 03:00:34 +0000 UTC View PostI took the last watch before morning. Back in human form, I sat up, stitching around the two extra holes I’d made in my last shirt earlier that day. I could probably have shifted and tucked my arms in, but that would have ruined the effect. Ruined it for me, at least.
I wanted to leave th...
2022-09-24 02:24:33 +0000 UTC View Post“Why did you offer to help her?” Seyari asked me.
“’Cause she’s a super great person and I’m a damsel in distress!” Taava answered cheerily. She didn’t skip a note of her playing.
“I wasn’t asking you!” Seyari snapped.
In response, Taava started to hum loud...
2022-09-21 02:43:18 +0000 UTC View PostI woke up before Seyari, who was still asleep in my arms. My feet and lower legs were cold; I must have stretched out during the night. I thought back to the previous evening’s activities. I’d learned a lot from the more experienced woman and, honestly, I felt great today. 2022-09-17 03:46:23 +0000 UTC View Post
I put another cut of venison into the hot pan and watched it sizzle. Given my relative immunity to fire and heat, I’d volunteered to hold the pan since we didn’t have gear for it. My arm wasn’t getting tired, but I still shifted the pan between my four hands out of some lingering habit.
... 2022-09-14 02:25:57 +0000 UTC View PostThank you all for your suggestions! Next month, I'll try to make a reminder before the poll goes up, in case there are any last-minute additions.
For now? Have at it! Vote and tell me which side story will be made by the end of this month.
You should be able to vote for multiple optio...
2022-09-12 20:03:04 +0000 UTC View PostI ran as fast as my legs would carry me. Footsteps of the man who killed Zach and Abby thundered behind me, getting closer and closer.
I ran and weaved and ducked through burning buildings. Fire bloomed around me, turning the broken homes red. Shattered windows glared at me with jagged, twi...
2022-09-10 02:28:27 +0000 UTC View PostI desperately wanted to see the sun shining through the clouds when I woke up, but I had no such luck. The heavy gray pall still churned slowly across the sky. Everything was wet, but it hadn’t yet rained today.
Seyari and I had spent a sodden, miserable night under the lee side of a rock...
2022-09-07 01:27:46 +0000 UTC View PostSuggestions for the September side story are open! I'll collect suggestions for a week or so ahead of the vote.
Side stories are approximately chapter length (min 2000 words, max ~10k).
Reply to this post with ideas! Or slide on into the 2022-09-04 02:46:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Lorelei and I arrived to a scene of carnage. We’d already passed the site where I was ambushed; the group had moved up to be ahead of the collapsed area, and that’s where this new fight had started.
We arrived in time to see a wounded Seyari facing down two people. Bodies were scattered...
2022-09-03 04:09:46 +0000 UTC View PostHi Patrons! I want to thank each and every one of you for another month of awesome support! This month's story-to-date PDF finally has art courtesy of #JoBalalala6337 on Discord.
There's also been a cover art update over on RR & SH. The titling is still temporary. More final titling has...
2022-08-31 03:03:03 +0000 UTC View PostPerspective: Zarenna
I stood shocked after hearing Lorelei’s voice. I’d walked right into an ambush, meant probably for both Seyari and me, alone. How did they know we’d come through here? How was Lorelei here?
“You are not in charge!” a deeper voic...
2022-08-31 03:02:01 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Hi everyone! This side story was a whirlwind to do. Next month, I'm going to hold the vote earlier to give myself a bit more time with the prompt. I got it done on time, but cut it way closer than I would have liked. That said, I'm pretty happy how this one turned out and I hope you... 2022-08-31 00:35:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Perspective: Lorelei
I watched the tips of the pine trees through the window of the carriage. Across the fields, the dark green points stood all in a line like soldiers before a battle. Overhead, gray clouds hung low in the sky. It’d rain soon.
I always liked the ra...
2022-08-27 03:48:08 +0000 UTC View PostSeyari lent me a spare change of her own clothes for the walk back to town—I had to go barefoot since her shoes wouldn’t fit. Her clothing stretched awkwardly over my much larger frame, but the loose fit (for Seyari) worked just well enough to keep me decent.
Much of our stuff was gone,...
2022-08-24 03:43:56 +0000 UTC View PostIn silence, the three of us made our way up toward the ridgeline, following the creek. Seyari’s wind magic swirled the air around us gently, obscuring our scent and sound. The supernatural stillness of the forest put me on edge. I’d gotten used to my presence having this effect, but when I pa...
2022-08-20 02:52:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe whole tavern was stunned into silence.
Fredrick broke it. “Damnit, Ruston…”
“What happened?” I asked.
“His father… disappeared trying to chase down where the monsters are coming from,” Fredrick responded with some hesitation. “It’s not my place to talk ab...
2022-08-17 03:43:40 +0000 UTC View PostVote for what you want to see written for this month's side story!
This poll will be up for a week, and the story will be be posted before the end of August.
EDIT: We have a tie! That means I'll decide between the top two options. For fairness, I am going to pick the older suggestion ...
2022-08-13 04:12:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe road south continued. Gradually, the path widened from a trail to something a particularly determined person might have been able to get a wagon down.
Our mood was bright against the dull gray day. There’d been a short rain in the morning. The petrichor and birdsong were a sh...
2022-08-13 04:03:17 +0000 UTC View PostIf you're new, or catching up, start here! As always, your support is awesome and you are too!
We’d hardly walked a hundred meters down the road when I saw a path intersecting ours. Perhaps it was a road once as well? Stones had been laid along it, rather than the packed earth of the trail we were following.
Still in the new growth of short, dense trees, I couldn’t see past a ben...
2022-08-10 04:19:52 +0000 UTC View PostSeyari and I talked through the night. Mostly about our pasts, but really about anything we could that would take our minds off what had happened. Seyari said she was doing it for me, but I doubted she was unbothered by death. Even after everything Yothariel did, Seyari still tensed up when she s...
2022-08-06 07:54:34 +0000 UTC View PostSuggestions for the August side story are open! I'll collect suggestions for a week or so ahead of the vote.
Also, I think it's relatively clear, but side stories are approximately chapter length (min 2000 words, max ~10k).
Reply to this post with ideas! Or slide on into the 2022-08-03 02:46:40 +0000 UTC View Post
I didn’t like Jacob. The entire time Seyari was haggling the price for a weeks’ worth of food, he stared at me across the fire pit. The sun set, negotiations finished, and he’d only looked away when Ned addressed him.
I tried to pay attention to how Seyari argued for a price, but wasn...
2022-08-03 02:42:22 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone!
Once again, I want to thank everyone for their support! Here's this month's story-to-date PDF. For those who have been reading ahead for a while there's some additional content (mostly introspection) added to Chapters 25 and 32 that may not have been there when you read them. T...
2022-07-31 20:21:57 +0000 UTC View PostPerspective: Zarenna
The pine forests of northeast Ordia made me nostalgic for the tall green firs of my homeland. Everything looked like an altered version of the forests I played in as a child. I imagined this far north that the weather would be warmer, but the elevation ...
2022-07-30 03:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post