web novel – The Wandering Inn

5.44

December 8, 2018

They ran. The Gnolls of Liscor fled the Raskghar camp as Snatcher fought the Raskghar. Mrsha could hear Ceria shouting, hear the screams and snarls. But it was the howl that filled her. The Gnolls howled as they ran into the tunnels, fleeing. Some of the Raskghar gave chase, but the Gnolls ran. They ran […]

5.32 G

October 27, 2018

They appeared as dawn broke on the second day of the fighting. At first no one noticed. Goblins in black armor raced up the slopes, pouring into tunnels abandoned by Tremborag’s forces. They clashed further into the mountain as larger Hobs and Goblins wearing magical gear began entering at key points. The Goblin Lord was […]

5.31 G

October 23, 2018

They flooded into the mountain wearing black armor. Black, like bugs. Garen had heard of the Antinium, a race of insects. He imagined they must be like the Goblin Lord’s army—a vast, ravenous host without fear or thought. But the Goblins that besieged Tremborag’s fortress weren’t insects. They were people. For all they were monsters […]

5.28

October 13, 2018

Erin stood in her wrecked inn and looked around. Broken chairs, upended tables, spilled drinks and food marked what had been a very nice setup. She stared aimlessly at a chair lying on the ground with only one remaining leg and then spotted an unconscious Drake lying behind it. She stared around at the comatose […]

5.27

October 9, 2018

There were about two hundred varieties of fish in the waters outside of her inn. Erin had been told at least a quarter of them were objectionable in some way, so she stared hard at the dead Quillfish’s insides. “It doesn’t look poisonous. And my [Dangersense] isn’t going off. My [Advanced Cooking] says I can […]

5.26 L

October 6, 2018

In the depths of the Hive, Pawn heard her approach. Her footsteps were soft and she walked slowly. He didn’t move. Pawn was curled up into a ball as if he were sleeping. Only, he wasn’t. He was just like this now. The curl wasn’t just physical, it was in his heart. He’d hurt Lyonette. […]

5.23 G

September 22, 2018

Lady Bethal stared at the Goblins as the night tore itself to pieces. Screams and drumming horse beats broke the silence in the distance. War horns blew, shattering the calm, making her heart pound every time one blared. But she didn’t move. She held her position on her horse, soothing it. Her poor mare was […]

5.22 G

September 18, 2018

He sat in the dark house, waiting. His breathing was slow, deliberate. His heart beat a touch faster than necessary, but that was all. Everything he had put in motion was coming together and his role was almost exclusively that of a watcher. He had only one task to play. Still, he was angry. Laken […]

5.21 E

September 15, 2018

Day 98   “Trebuchet is ready!” “All clear?” “…All clear!” “Right! Three, two, one—” Rael saw the wooden beam rise into the air and stop. Behind it, a long sling of rope curved up behind it, and the young man saw a large stone fly out of the sling. It was such a smooth, casual […]

5.20 G

September 11, 2018

What did they think when they looked at her? Did they see just another Human, another enemy? Did they judge her by her comments, the way she refused to so much as look at her captors or touch anything they handed her? Did they hear the revulsion in her tone and care? Did they even […]

5.19 G

September 8, 2018

He is coming. He is nearly here. He is coming. He calls. He is a Lord and he calls your name. Garen— The Goblin awoke. He lay and stared up at the dark stone ceiling overhead for a second, and then rolled out of his bed. The rough, woven mattress barely bothered his thick skin. […]

5.18 S

September 4, 2018

“What’s it like, being a [General], Uncle Zel?” “A general? Hm. That’s a difficult question. Why, are you planning on becoming a [General] instead of a Named Adventurer, Selys?” “No…I don’t want to join the army. Grandma hates them. I do too. Every time they come home they cause trouble. They tried to kill some […]

5.16 S

September 1, 2018

“Uncle?” The Drake was dozing, or just daydreaming absentmindedly. He looked up, startled, and then smiled. “Selys! I was wondering when I’d see my favorite niece.” “Your favorite one? What about all the others ones you have?” Selys Shivertail smiled a bit as she walked over to the table, passing by a white Gnoll cub […]

5.13

August 21, 2018

The next day, Erin closed up her inn just after dawn. She waved farewell to the Players of Celum who’d done two performances, and let the Soldiers march through to their Hive or to resume their watch from the battlements. The last of her guests she said farewell to were Relc and Klbkch. The two […]

5.12

August 18, 2018

The rain fell. The pounding drops soaked into the already saturated soil of Liscor, pooling into lakes and ponds in the valleys, relentless. The rains covered the grass and chased the living indoors. And brought the waterlogged corpses of the Face-Eater Moths to the surface. From the walls of Liscor, the Floodplains could be seen […]

5.10 E

August 11, 2018

“Ressa, how do you suppose an evil tyrant laughs?” “I have no idea, milady.” Magnolia frowned mildly as she sat on her pink couch, nibbling at a jam tart. “It’s just that I’d like to be as authentic as possible. If I’m truly a—what did that girl call me? A ‘cold-hearted tyrannical bitch’, I might […]

5.09 E

August 7, 2018

I dreamed I was sleeping in my bed, with worried voices speaking loudly overhead. I couldn’t tell who had trespassed here, only that they had come in secret and stood around me, speaking anxiously and quickly. As I was dreaming I missed most of what was said, but I knew it was important. I tried […]

Interlude – Flos

August 4, 2018

(Volume 1 of The Wandering Inn is now on sale as an e-book on Amazon! Please read this short message about the book!)   “—And it looks like the rain has truly broken the spirit of the Face-Eater Moths. What a dramatic end! A simple climate change spell has reversed the entire battle and indeed, […]

5.06 M

July 27, 2018

There were momentous things happening in the world. In every continent it seemed there were stories to follow, epic tales of adventure or tragedies of dark design. Comedies, farces, the whimsical games of fate, there were so many stories to be told. In Chandrar, The King of Destruction rode across the sands with the twins […]

5.04

July 21, 2018

The Floodplains of Liscor. So named because of the valley that had been formed between the High Passes, one of the two routes between northern Izril and southern Izril. At least, for most of the year. For two months out of the twelve, the floodplains would fill up with water as the spring rains poured […]

5.03

A light rain pattered down on the roof of The Wandering Inn. Rain, after so many weeks of snow. It was a pleasant sound, and reminded Erin of her world. After all, rain was rain. Some things were the same. More than a few things, actually. Erin was in another world. A world full of […]

5.01

July 14, 2018

A Human, a Drake, and a Rabbitman walked through a city. Not just any city, but Pallass, one of the six Walled Cities of Izril. If the premise of their sudden adventure sounded like a joke, well, it was fairly funny. To Erin, at least. Her companions were less amused. “I’m just saying, it sounds […]

5.00

July 10, 2018

Zel Shivertail was dead. Four words rocked the world in the first days of spring. Like wildfire, the news spread across Izril and then to every continent in the world at the speed of magic. Zel Shivertail had fallen. The Tidebreaker had been slain. The legendary Drake hero of both Antinium Wars had been killed […]

Glossary

July 9, 2018

(To find a series of fan-made maps, check out Fanworks; they have a section at the bottom!) This is a glossary for all the people and places up to Volume 5. It contains spoilers about everything that has occurred to this point. You have been warned. A B C D E F G H I […]

The Depthless Doctor

Author’s Note: I wrote this chapter as a non-canonical side story for my grandfather. He is a fan of the story, and while I don’t ever intend to write in real people as characters, or write fan-characters into the series, this was a birthday present. Bear in mind this is a story written for fun, […]