elizabeth_oswald

Chapter Ninety

A squeaky, high-pitched voice spoke impatiently from somewhere above, saying, “Get it. Collar it. Go!”

With a deep sigh, the male who had spoken first tossed a rope down into the pit. It ...

Chapter Eighty-nine

Ehlan was still gasping softly, but Kaz was fairly certain that she was stable now. Her core probably wasn’t producing as much ki as it used to, but it was clean, and seemed to be settling into s...

Chapter Eighty-eight

Time stretched. Had it been ten minutes, or twenty? Turning his eyes toward the shimmering cord that linked his ki cycle to Li’s, he watched, trying to determine how far away she was, and if she ...

Chapter Eighty-seven

Lianhua froze, and a tiny squeak emerged from between her lips before she clamped them shut. She shifted as if she would stand, then settled back into place. “I… You… Can you… explain?” 2024-01-05 20:28:48 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter Eighty-six

Sneaking back through the den was as easy as sneaking out had been. The few females were still distracted, and the guards mostly trailed the females, so as long as Kaz avoided the first, the second...

TBK Chapter Eighty-five

When Kaz had last seen one of these carvings, he had truly been a puppy, still too young to realize that no one cared about his opinions or ideas. He had told Katri that he thought the rectangles a...

The best I could do

Remember that map I was trying to make? Well, I didn't ever end up with anything I was really happy with. Here's the best I came up with.

2024-01-03 03:28:29 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter Eighty-four

There was no joy to be found in hardtack, but Raff was right about one thing: it was filling. Kaz managed to eat most of his portion, but Li absolutely refused after trying one bite. Raff thought i...

Chapter Eighty-three

They both whipped around to look at the bound female. Kaz’s ears flattened, and he pulled ki from them instinctively, dulling the sound to something bearable. Lianhua apparently couldn’t do the...

Chapter Eighty-two

Kaz said, “I am not a-” at the same moment Lianhua shook her head, denying her own words as a crease formed between her brows.

“But you can’t be. No matter what Gaoda says, k...

Chapter Eighty-one

They sat together in silence for a while, each watching the sleeping kobold, until Lianhua looked over at Kaz and said simply, “I’m sorry.”

He tilted his head, genuinely confused. “Fo...

Chapter Eighty

The kobold female’s once-golden fur was brittle and matted. She lay on a bed of jejing, as if she was already dead and her body was being prepared for burning. Perhaps the kobolds hoped ...

Chapter Seventy-nine

It didn’t take long for Hod to arrange for new huts to be fabricated for the humans. It seemed that some of the walls were mobile, while others were fixed in place with some powerful sealant, pos...

Chapter Seventy-eight

A group of four males emerged, shoved the fallen beasts out of the way, and then looked around before sending up a short howl. Another set of four followed them, and the two groups moved to each si...

Chapter Seventy-seven

The only reason the gate to the den hadn’t yet fallen was because the monsters assaulting the den were at least as busy attacking each other as they were the Redmanes. Bodies were mounded everywh...

Chapter Seventy-six

Predictably, Gaoda dismissed this concern instantly. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Then we’ll kill them. The question is, if we’re dropped in an unknown area, can you get us back to the ...

Chapter Seventy-five

They were going the wrong way. Kaz’s sense of ‘mountain’ told him that, as clearly as if he could see with his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it, at least not without explaining ho...

Chapter Seventy-four

This infestation of fulan seemed fresher, or had perhaps simply been contained for longer, because there were still small stretches where the plants seemed untainted, and creatures like th...

Chapter Seventy-three

Gaoda scowled. “There are too many of your cursed tribes. Which one is this?”

Civ bowed his head at the tone, though Kaz could see the fur on his neck lift slightly. “The Bronzearms hav...

Character images

It took a while to solidify my idea of what these guys looked like, at least beyond the general. Often, these images will change, at least a little, depending on how the character develops. I've be...

TBK Chapter Seventy-two

Kaz looked away as soon as he realized what he’d done, but found his eyes dropping to Zyle’s gnarled hands instead, looking for the injury he knew had to be there. He didn’t see anything, but...

Variants and playing around

When I made the cover for Broken Knife, I kind of wanted a cuter Li, but the one I used was really striking, and looks good on Kaz's shoulder. I deliberately made her larger than I actuall...

TBK Chapter Seventy-one

It wasn’t easy opening and going through his pack without disturbing Li, but Kaz managed, at least well enough to be certain that nothing was missing. Even the beautiful knife was still there, th...

TBK Chapter Seventy

Kaz was startled out of his cultivation - or at least what he was choosing to call cultivation - when Ilto returned. The young warrior had obviously forgotten that he had claimed he was going to br...

TBK Chapter Sixty-nine

Kaz spent the rest of that day and all of the next recovering from his injuries. The atmosphere in the Sharpjaw den was strangely relaxed, given the fact that they had to know staying was likely a ...

Chapter Sixty-eight

Kaz explained what had happened, though he left out any mention of Li flying at Litz or the female kobold’s reason for attacking him. He kept a wary eye on Chi Yincang each time he came to a part...

Royal Road Ads?

There are two main types of ads I see on Royal Road. The first one is funny, and sometimes seems to have little to nothing to do with the story. Literally clickbait 😂 The second one has part of ...

Chapter Sixty-seven

The night was long, and Kaz was tired and injured. Again. Lianhua’s towel still laid on the stone by the pool, one corner slowly pulling pink water into its fibers. Kaz used it to clean the worst...

Chapter Sixty-six

“What!” Lianhua’s voice rose sharply, and Kaz flinched, ears folding down. The human grimaced apologetically, but her voice was still louder than the low tones they had been using when she sa...

TBK Chapter Sixty-five

Kaz thought fast, trying to figure out how to answer without revealing too much. Of course, the truth was that he didn’t really know why the humans were able to take ki directly from him, but Lia...