elizabeth_oswald

Rouge XXVI

The next few days were peaceful. Her cousin seemed remarkably better, both in game and out, and Zoey had a feeling that he and Nana had had a Talk while they were cleaning up the kitchen. Nana taug...

Rouge XXV

It took more than a little convincing to get Evanora’s people to believe their god had decided he didn’t want human sacrifices any more. They cast suspicious glances at everyone, including the ...

Zoey XXIV

Zoey balanced a parsley sprig on top of the mound of wild rice risotto on Nana’s plate. The grains steamed slightly, looking beautiful beside the neatly stacked asparagus and crispy, oven-baked c...

Rouge XXIII

It was absolutely the most pathetic thing Rouge had ever seen.

A single burble of lava flowed up over the edge of the pit, flowing in a slow, puddingy mass that split into three parts, each o...

Rouge XXII

The Fanatics were not getting ready to throw anyone into the volcano. Instead, they were arguing. Apparently, someone had finally realized that Scar was damaged goods, and, furious, they had beaten...

Vacation on Thursday!

Starting Thursday, I will be on vacation (actual vacation, with probably no working at all, unless I start pitching my books to people in line at a store, which happens with surprising frequency). ...

Rouge XXI

Gurangalong Island wasn’t too far away, but it took nearly three hours to get there. The Star spent the whole time hot on the heels of the fanatics, who didn’t even bother pretending t...

Rouge XX

The sounds were distant, but carried clearly over the sound of the waves and the babble of the people in the marketplace. All of their heads twisted toward it, and the two women went pale.

�...

Rouge XIX

Rouge’s fifteen minutes ended before they quite managed to circle the island, but when they were finally forced to land, they just followed the beach until they found themselves back at the littl...

Kantcon!

I spent most of Friday and all of Saturday and Sunday at Kantcon, here in Kansas City. It's a gamer con, so everyone was playing games and painting minis at over 100 tables. I had a lot of fun, and...

Quick reminder

I'm doing my last con for the summer this weekend. It starts today, (now-ish) so I won't be able to write today. That means no chapter on Monday, since I won't have one ready, and I can't do two an...

Rouge XVIII

Rouge gazed out at the green and golden island coming into view on the horizon. The crisp, salty wind tugged at her clothes and curls, the blue sky stretched overhead from horizon to horizon, and t...

Zoey XVII

Zoey flipped pancakes, trying to focus on watching the edges for the perfect level of ‘done’ rather than thinking about what must be happening in-game. She and Ajax had logged off as soon as th...

Rouge XVI

Three things happened at once. One, the ball of lightning the pirate captain had been gathering hurtled toward Scar. Two, Rouge’s goddess-blessed weapon struck at the weakest point of the pirate�...

Rouge XV

::Family drama? What’s going on up there?:: Silus piped up, and Rouge winced as she realized she’d forgotten her little friend.

::There’s a great big lightning ghost up here who just ca...

Rouge XIV

Rouge and Vexxx both had rope in their inventory, and they tied themselves and their mounts to the railings on either side of their little section of deck, leaving just enough play so they could mo...

Rouge XIII

They were back exactly an hour and a half, real-time, later. There really wasn’t anything to do, so she’d spent the time checking her mail, watching vids, and reading the wikis about Port Carni...

Rouge XII

Rouge stared out over the side of the ship as Port Carnival came into view. Maybe the name had fit before Akuji’s forces decimated it, along with the surrounding countryside, but now it should be...

Zoey XI

As soon as Zoey opened her eyes, she became aware of a pressing need to use the bathroom, but when she peeked into the hall, the bathroom door was closed. She could run downstairs to the s...

Rouge X

“So,” Rouge said, carefully, “how would you feel if we substituted someone else for one of us? Say, if I stayed here, and a, uh, friend went with you instead?”

The man frowned, his sc...

Rouge IX

There was a ramp leading up to the deck of the Ironclad, and Rouge, vaguely remembering a scene like this from a book, called up, “Permission to come aboard?”

A large man appeare...

Rouge VIII

It was amazingly easy to track down someone who remembered Matilda’s dad, Matthew. Or ‘Cap’n Matt’, as he was known. First, they found the harbormaster’s office, and he was able to tell t...

Rouge VII

Refuge had only recently gotten a Traveler’s Guild of its own. Apparently, some threshold of visiting players had been achieved, and the Guild had been ‘built’ over the course of a week. Roug...

Rouge VI

Opening her quest list, Rouge picked one and used a finger to flick it over toward Vexxx.

Quest: “Well, Hello Dolly, Too” complete.

2023-06-26 15:23:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Rouge V

“‘Bout time,” Vexxx muttered as Rouge opened her eyes.

Rouge sat up, glaring. “I’d like to see you get ready that fast. It just seemed longer because of the time dilation.�...

Zoey IV

Fried grits were better than the gloopy kind. That said, something about using reheated grits made them into gummy, sticky slabs of rubber that even copious amounts of butter and cheese co...

Zoey III

Everyone was gone. All the guests, the officiant, the servers, the bride and groom; everyone except Zoey, Ajax, and their grandma. Nana sat at one end of the small dining room table and eyed her gr...

Zoey/Rouge II

Her dad was in his room, sitting on the bed as he pulled on a pair of black tennis shoes. He had already changed into jeans and a blue, button-down shirt. Zoey paused in the doorway and shook her h...