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On the first day she saw the Goblins. It was as she ran through the grasslands around Liscor, the Flood Plains which were a barrier to armies and passage in the spring and empty in the short winter on this continent. She stopped when she crested the hill and saw them fighting in the small […]

Erin woke up to the noise that defined her life. The sounds of chess. It was a soft sound, most of the time—one she’d learned in all of its subtleties. Chess sounded different. The board mattered, for one thing. Erin usually played with wooden pieces—the ones from the DGT electronic chess board manufacturing line. It […]

Ceria woke up first. It was an unconscious act on the part of her body that her mind wanted no part of. As the first rays of dawn hit her she opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. It was too early. And despite her early rising, Ceria was not a morning person. […]

“I am individual. I am Antinium.” That was the first whisper Erin heard out of Pawn. He sat, no longer bleeding in the inn as she wrapped a bandage around his severed stumps. The healing potions the adventurers had used had stopped the bleeding, but there was no way to restore lost limbs. And his […]

Erin dreamt of swords flashing, of cannonballs exploding around her, and of blood. Rivers of blood. Klbkch stood in front of Erin and asked if she was ready. She looked at him as he bled in her arms. His mandibles opened and he rasped into her ear. “I obey my Queen.” She shook her head. […]

When Erin woke up the next day, her eyes were tired and she was full of bleh. Bleh being her word for her mood. “Bleh.” Tor paused and stared at her. Erin blinked at the walking skeleton with blue flames in its eyes and made weak shooing motions until it went away. She didn’t feel […]

When Garia arrived in Esthelm just before midday, she saw the commotion outside the Adventurer’s Guild before she’d even dropped off her delivery. Sugar. Several bags of it – enough for a huge rush order in one of the bakeries in town. The heavy, sticky delivery had messed up the inside Garia’s pack. She’d have […]

When Krshia came round she did it dramatically. Gnolls weren’t as—as civilized as other races. But of course that was the wrong thing for Erin to think. It was more that Gnolls still lived in close proximity to monsters, even more so than Drakes did. They had to be ready to defend themselves in case […]

Erin sat with Rags and stared at a mage in her inn. Scattered around the trio was a mess of empty dishes, remnants of a large breakfast. Ryoka sat in a small room in the Adventurer’s Guild in Esthelm and waited as the half-Elven mage got ready in front of her. They were separated by […]

Ryoka sat in an inn and munched on her potatoes and stewed meat. She felt guilty about it, but the dinner menu hadn’t exactly been diverse with options and she was hungry. Still, she felt guilty. Her plate was about 80% potato and 20% meat. And it wasn’t great meat at that. The potatoes actually […]

“Awaken, human.” I’ve listened to my share of alarm clocks over the years. When I was a kid, my parents gave me an old-fashioned one* that I had to wind up constantly or it wouldn’t go off. First chance I got, I switched it out for a digital alarm, and then my iPhone.   *Vintage, […]

[Innkeeper Level 12!]   Someday, Erin was going to hear that annoying message in her head and jump off a cliff. But at least she’d gotten eight solid hours of sleep afterwards. Blearily, Erin got up and wondered if she leveled because of the skeleton. Something to do with the skeleton? Did [Innkeepers] level up […]

Erin went out of her inn three times over the course of the next two days. The first time she went out she visited Selys and the two had a long chat—lecture, really—about not going out and fighting monsters alone. Then they visited a bathhouse, helped Erin pick out more clothing, and went to see […]

I slow down after about twenty minutes of sprinting. Not because I don’t feel like running faster but I know I’ve got a long way to go. So I reduce my pace from record-breaking speed to a sustainable jog. A bit faster than normal, but I can’t help it. I’ve got the music. Currently I’m […]

Running is a peculiar thing. And it’s one of the few things I’m qualified to talk about in any world. For me, running is as close to living as anything I do. I’ve studied it, practiced it, and made it mine. I can’t claim anything else like that. But if running is pure, life is […]

Erin walked down the street, and she felt like sighing. No—she felt like her entire existence was a long, slow sigh. She was tired. Tired, and weary in her very bones. But more than that, she was just disappointed. And that was the worst feeling of all. Humans. She’d missed them. Really, she had. She’d […]

At first, the laden cart rumbling through the northern city gates attracted little attention. This late in the day, the traffic going in and out had thinned, but there was nothing odd about two passengers sitting on the back of the cart while a Drake farmer brought his merchandise into market. The expression on the […]

When they removed the bandage from Ryoka’s leg, the other adventurers flinched back. All except for Ceria and Calruz, that was. Ryoka stared down into the bloody, ripped mess of skin and once again was profoundly grateful for the numbing magic they’d put on her leg. Gerial looked pale as he gathered up the bandages. […]

Once, she’d broken her arm. When it had happened, Ryoka hadn’t even felt the pain of it. It was just the shock of it that hurt. Only when she’d dragged herself from underneath the motorcycle and waited for the ambulance did she feel the pain. It hurt. But oddly, the worst part hadn’t been the […]

As soon as she slammed the door shut, Ryoka collapsed against her bed. Static seemed to crawl over her eyes and roaring filled her ears. Pain. It was coming back. She would have lain there forever, but the pain made her move. There was only one relief. Ryoka staggered over to a chest at the […]

Erin sat on a grassy hilltop and played a game of chess. It made life easier. When she was playing, she could forget about life. She could forget about suffering. She moved her pieces on the chess board, pausing, considering, moving, retreating, taking. It was a dance of strategy and perception and she had learned […]

Silence. Erin walked in it. It was the numbing static in her head. It was the sound of tears falling in her heart. It was everything. She walked in the darkness. Short, narrow walls of dirt enclosed her. She followed a massive shape as it led her through the tunnels. Noise. Erin still heard it […]

Some days were odd days. Some days you ran, and some days you found yourself in another world with nothing but an iPhone and the clothes on your back. Some days you made ice cream. But it was a rare day that Ryoka found herself making ice cream in a noble woman’s house, surrounded by […]

The darkness hides many imperfections. The nether shade conceals those who find the sun taxing and bright light an anathema. The faint light that is not truest blackness but dark shade, where only faint outlines are visible conjures nightmares for humans and those related to their kind. But some call the shadows home. Two individuals […]

A boy and a girl stood in a throne room, talking. When one fell silent, the other spoke in their place. They were twins, and they were similar enough that one could pick up exactly where the other left off. Occasionally, they would be asked a question and one would falter until the other came […]