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Erin remembered staring down the barrel of a Dragon’s nose. It wasn’t the most glamorous or exciting way of putting it, but that was what had happened. She’d stepped around the corner, into what she’d thought had been her bathroom, and then there had been a Dragon, larger than life, larger than a house. Breathing […]

Erin sat on an expensive cushion in an expensive coach, staring at a [Butler] driving the vehicle pulled by magical (and probably expensive) ghost horses and tried not to get anything dirty. Her ears were still ringing. “I demand to be taken along!” Lyon had screamed and thrown things and even tried to hit the […]

She was not prepared for this. For any of it. That was the first thing Rags realized the day after she became leader of not only the Red Fang Tribe, but all of the allied and subservient tribes under Garen’s control. She was not ready to lead such a host. She knew it, and he […]

My heart is beating out of my chest. My legs are burning. I am fit. I think. No—I know that I’m in good shape. Better than good shape. If you compared me with any athlete from my world, you would find— My suspicions don’t matter right now. But I know this: I am at the […]

I walk because it still hurts to run. I move because it’s just a bit better than staying still. But yeah. I’m in pain. Overhead, the sky is clear for a brief window of time, exposing clear skies. But clouds are coming in fast, and there will be a blizzard before nightfall. I’m no meteorologist, […]

Some days he could not bear to see her as she was. He remembered when she had been smaller, and the first time she had walked through the tunnels of the Hive. But now she was bloated, obscenely huge, grand and horrible and beautiful all at once. That is what Klbkch thought as he gazed […]

Ceria woke up in her own bed. She also woke up alone, which was vaguely disappointing. But not really. She still had mixed feelings about Olesm, and last night had been— Disappointing. Mostly for herself. “Am I still a pointy-eared kid fighting over a boy?” Ceria conjured a bit of snow and then melted it […]

Erin stared hard at the golden substance bubbling and turning brown over the fire. It was cheese. Cheese, on top of a tomato sauce spread evenly over a doughy base. With pepperoni. It had to be with pepperoni, or else there wouldn’t be any point, would there? Erin was a firm believer in pepperoni; she […]

I’ve always thought I was pretty detached and aloof. Growing up, I learned to ignore people and go my own way. Take running, for example. Lots of people run and everyone agrees that’s healthy. But take off your shoes and suddenly everyone is a medical doctor who can’t wait to share their opinion on how […]

Some called him Az’kerash. Others, quite few now, remembered the past and called him Perril Chandler. No one living or dead remembered to call him by the nickname even he had forgotten, Peril. And those who spoke of him usually didn’t even bother with ‘Az’kerash’. They called him the Necromancer. He cared not. He cared […]

The Stone Spears Tribe was not the largest Gnoll tribe in the southern half of the continent of Izril, nor the wealthiest or most powerful, not by far. They occupied the northernmost lands below the Blood Fields, and mainly roamed the rocky slopes close to the mountain range that separated the continent in two. It […]

The Gold Stone Tribe was mobilized and marching towards a gathering point just outside the High Passes as the sun reached the midway point in the sky. The Chieftain looked up, but declined to increase their pace. They were moving fast enough already, and they had many miles to go. They were going towards a […]

Perhaps it’s just as well the gods are dead. Because as I hold a dying child in my arms, I can’t believe in anything greater. Not God, not heaven— Certainly not myself. I’ve always been a failure. It eats at me in the dark times and my happy moments. Before, I had medicine to stop […]

Do you wanna hear a funny joke? Okay. Here it is. ‘A fat guy appears in a fantasy world and decides to become a [Clown].’ …I’m still working on the punch line. It’s the only joke I’ve got, though. I try to be funny, but really, I’m a [Clown]. I’m not actually sure we’re meant […]

Selys sat in her guild and desperately scribbled in the guestbook she’d borrowed from Erin. She had so many new adventurers flooding in to the guild recently, she thought she’d never get all the entries done and organized. That was the thing not many people realized about adventuring. Sure, being able to hack apart a […]

She was dying. Lyonette du Marquin registered this fact with bitter acceptance. She lay in the snow and knew it. She’d stopped moving. Lyonette knew she should keep moving, keep walking, but she was too tired. The biting, painful cold had stopped a while ago, and now she was feeling almost warm. But she was […]

Toren took his sword and rammed it a few times into the snow. Yes. That felt…good. If anything could feel good, that was. Toren only knew that using a sword felt natural to him, just like he was happier to be called ‘he’ rather than ‘it’ or ‘thing’. Was it because Erin had named him? […]

Erin sat in her inn, covering her face. But when she took her hands away, the flowers were still there. Flowers, instead of gold. It was…well, the thing was… She should have seen it coming. Erin realized that in the obvious clarity of hindsight. Why would a bunch of tiny faeries be carrying around a […]

When Gazi saw the castle’s spires in the distance, she knew she was close to her destination. She had travelled long and far across these arid lands, alone, tired, wounded and hungry. But she had never slowed her pace, barely paused to rest. She was nearly home. The city was much as Gazi had remembered […]

She sat on a grassy hilltop and slowly picked a fuzzy dandelion. Seeds scattered in the wind and she gently raised it to her face to blow the rest into the air. Caught by the breeze, the seeds scattered across the grassy landscape. Below Erin, the white clusters of dandelions stood out among the grass. […]

When Ryoka finished her run, she found Erin and Olesm sitting around the chessboard, discussing chess. She, Val, and Hawk stopped to watch the two. If running was their world, Erin and Olesm belonged to the silent, mystifying world of chess. It reminded Ryoka a bit of religion, only instead of an altar or text, […]

The King of Goblins rode through burning fields and across battlefields filled with death and ash. Blood ran from his sword and the dead grew in heaps and mounds tall as mountains. He roared, and a hundred thousand Goblins in his vanguard rose to follow. His armies swept across the land, burning, pillaging. Killing. No […]

Erin woke up with a huge smile on her face. Today was the first day of the rest of her life, and for once, it was all amazing. Slightly less amazing was the huge mess in her common room. Erin’s huge smile reduced in diameter, but she maintained a cheery outlook. True, her inn was […]

She was a Queen, and he was not. In theory, that meant that he would obey her every whim. But theory is a poor substitute for reality, and the Antinium had long ago learned that a single entity could not be trusted to make the best choice every time. So the position of Prognugator had […]

There’s an art to it. Like all things, tact is essential. A smile is important, because your first impression is probably your last. Always remember to be courteous, professional, and efficient. I can do that last bit. For the rest…I’m working on it. “Delivery.” The blue-haired girl who opens the door blinks at me. I […]