“Let’s make chocolate!” That was the declaration Erin made on a sunny morning. Mrsha’s ears perked up from across the inn and she raced over. It had been one day since Erin had discovered the existence of the cacao tree in her garden. And she had been talking up chocolate all of last night. Mrsha’s […]
Archives
Interlude – Dancing and Brawling
March 3, 2020
It was a strange day. War had begun in Belchan. Well, there were a number of concurrent wars, some of which were more of wars in name only—declarations between countries without fighting. But in Belchan? Oh yes, it was war. And Wistram, despite having had many complaints, was still broadcasting it. “—Hours into the first […]
7.11
March 1, 2020
The King of Destruction rode to war and everyone watched. Not directly, but by reactions. In their studio, Noass and Sir Relz scrambled to retell the events, to analyze. Belchan was unresponsive, as was Reim; the nearest nations willing to talk and speculate were Medain and Nerrhavia. And their rulers did. They were of course, […]
7.10 K
February 26, 2020
They came, from the world over. For one man’s name. Flos Reimarch. Scorn him if they would, the other petty rulers and plotters and schemers. His enemies might curse his name, might point out a thousand of his flaws. And the King of Destruction would probably agree with many. But they came, from distant shores, […]
7.09 K
February 23, 2020
About six days ago. Trey Atwood liked Venith Crusland. If that was a surprising fact, well, it surprised Trey too. He was a visitor from another world, a young man who had found himself serving and following Flos Reimarch, the King of Destruction around. Trey Atwood was a young man from London. He was not, […]
7.08 K
February 19, 2020
“They say there will be war with Ailendamus soon. If it occurs, it would be the entire kingdom versus Kaliv, Calanfer, and Gaiil-Drome, assuming the old pact holds. Phaislant would be included as well, given their relationship with Ailendamus.” “Go on.” “I predict Taimaguros would side with Ailendamus—they have a defensive alliance, and the war […]
7.07
February 16, 2020
“It’s uncanny. She’s rather like an enigma wrapped up in a bottle inside an aggravating pot enchanted to annoy you.” “…I understand what you’re saying, but I’d never have expected that line to come from you, Grand Strategist.” “Magus Grimalkin. Do you disagree?” “Not at all. I would have simply abbreviated the analogy. Erin Solstice […]
7.06
February 12, 2020
It started out with such a silly thing for such a busy day. An [Innkeeper], a cake, a white Gnoll, a Hobgoblin, an Ashfire bee. And of course… Bird. If you added in a harried [Princess], you had a family. Dysfunctional of sorts, and Erin would admit that she had a family. She didn’t think […]
7.05 P
February 9, 2020
Riverfarm. Possibly the most generic name for a village in the history of the world. Whomever had come up with it clearly hadn’t thought hard about the village’s name. True, it made sense; Riverfarm was a village that farmed…by a river. But still. There were other names to call a village. Even Windrest was better, […]
Interlude – Queens and Dragons
February 4, 2020
It had been a long time. Long, for her. But oh, so short as well. She had been newly formed when she left Rhir. And though decades had passed since that fateful day, when the hope of the Antinium had died at sea, she was still…how old? Antinium did not care. Nor did the Free […]
7.04
February 1, 2020
“Is it war?” Three words. An Antinium standing on a dead Wyvern. In the City of Invention. If you were writing a newspaper headline, you wouldn’t even need to think. But this was no report, a story to be written after the fact with all the little details. It was happening live. Now. Bird stood, […]
Mini Stories – Crabs and Drinks
January 30, 2020
Story #1 – Mrsha and Relc (In the days after The Wandering Inn’s destruction, before Erin finished her holiday, Relc and Mrsha sit in a bar.) “Out darn spot! Out, I say! You see, this is the part of the play where she’s imagining blood on her claws, kid. But it’s in her mind. […]
7.03
January 29, 2020
“Pallass is under attack.” It was one of those sentences that you could say too many times. And it was such an innocuous set of words. Pallass is under attack. If you had no idea of the Walled City the name referred to, much less the significance of that statement, the line would pass you […]
7.02
January 26, 2020
(A young woman from the Phillipines is a [Fisher] at the end of the world. The Last Tide, a comicbook illustrated by Shane Sandulak will be coming out this summer! Click on this link for more details!) “Hey! You can’t arrest me! Let go! I’m innocent! I didn’t mean to do it! Put me […]
7.01
January 22, 2020
(A young woman from the Phillipines is a [Fisher] at the end of the world. The Last Tide, a comicbook illustrated by Shane Sandulak will be coming out this summer! Click on this link for more details!) “Ooh. Oooh. Birds.” The weyr of Wyverns flew through the sky. High, high overhead. So high that […]
7.00
January 19, 2020
The air was warm, and the sun shone brightly as the Dragon emerged from his cave in the High Passes. The world over, spring had already turned into summer’s heat and warmth. That was simply a fact of life, which tormented the few people who knew anything about hemispheres and basic orbital theory. But it […]
6.68
January 1, 2020
(The Wandering Inn is on break until January 18th, or the 21st for public readers! Have a great New Year!) He was known to some as the fifth most powerful [Lord] in the world. If you were doing a ranking, that was. If you looked at the most dangerous, most influential, and most high-level […]
6.67
December 29, 2019
In another world, in another time, it might have looked like this: Ceria Springwalker looked up and grinned as she lounged around a table with eleven others. Such a large number, in fact, that all eleven of them wouldn’t have been there. Some would have been in the town, spending their pay, or maybe they’d […]
6.66 H
December 25, 2019
The Creler spoke to Yvlon. As the thousands poured across the landscape, as the giant adult crawled forwards, surrounded by its kin, she heard it speak. Not in words. But she heard it nonetheless. It spoke in the same language as Skinner, when she had beheld the creature in Liscor’s crypt. When she had fled, […]
6.65
December 22, 2019
The Wandering Inn had breakfast. It happened every day, but it was always different. It had changed, from when the inn had first been reoccupied. And since then, breakfast, so often overlooked, had defined the inn. Because there was a story there. At the beginning, breakfast had been scraps, badly-cooked food or blue fruits, eaten […]
6.64
December 18, 2019
“I don’t like it. It’s staring at me.” “Then don’t look at it. It’s not going to creep up on you.” “I can’t help it. It’s like a loose scale, you know?” “…No.” “Okay, then a rough patch of fur or something. You know what I mean!” “My fur is always combed, thank you.” “Go […]
6.63 P
December 14, 2019
The town of Sovvex was nearly forty thousand souls in total. It was fed by a local river, and sustained by its advantageous location bordering a local forest and a very rich bed of clay deposits. This, combined with its position as a logical stop on a direct route south towards the High Passes—one of […]
Interlude – Foliana
December 11, 2019
It should surprise no one to learn that Niers Astoragon did not cook his own meals. Oh, he dabbled on occasion, but generally he let other people take over that task. He was a busy man. Or rather, Fraerling man. And that was the point, wasn’t it? Living among the tall folk meant that even […]
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December 10, 2019
The second biscuit was cold. And it was crumbly now, having lost its goodness from being out so long. But taste still turned to sight. The female Naga was done at last. She’d enjoyed herself, which was a plus. She slithered past the charmed Dullahan, ignoring his slumbering head on the stand. He was well […]
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The first bite of the now-lukewarm jam biscuit filled her mouth. It was fresh, not crumbly like stale rations, and the jam exploded with flavor. Foliana chewed slowly, taking in each bite. Her head slowly rose. The taste of jam and bread turned in her mouth. She felt the faint pain in her left leg […]