Marcella reclined in the office of her new store, wearing an uncharacteristic frown. She had petitioned hard to be sent to the Guiness Company branch in Quest. Her father didn’t put much stock in...
2023-09-06 03:47:53 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the meeting finished, Callan stepped down from the stage to shake hands, give platitudes, and answer questions. Predictably, all of them wanted to know when they would get to form a contract o...
2023-09-03 21:37:18 +0000 UTC View PostThe first meeting of the Grand Summoners, when they were too small to have a name, took place in the dining room of a small bar after closing. After months of efforts, Callan stood on a stage const...
2023-09-03 21:37:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe kingdom knew Quest as a city of the free. It was where hunters, wanderers, and free-thinkers gathered. Its people were strong and short-tempered, with a tradition that was irreverent of authori...
2023-08-31 18:55:01 +0000 UTC View PostFar enough from the goblin army that the humans would never think to search the area, a shadow moved through the sparse trees, leaving deep prints in the soft mud. A pair of eyes glowed in the gloo...
2023-08-27 02:55:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Lesley appeared outside the walls of the outpost early. She waited for Dowager to wake and meet her, unwilling to surrender herself to anyone besides the army’s commander. Once ...
2023-08-27 02:55:37 +0000 UTC View PostDowager asked for a break to consider the situation more deeply. Lesley seemed annoyed by the delay but acquiesced when he offered her lunch. For all her pretense at civility, she scarfed down the ...
2023-08-25 01:47:32 +0000 UTC View PostDowager’s training failed him. Lesley chuffed as his expression twisted with his disgust. He managed to smooth his features a moment later but he’d already exposed himself. “I hope you are no...
2023-08-23 08:22:33 +0000 UTC View PostMorning dawned. Breakfast was cold rations, even for the prince, and no one walked around without their armor. Despite the invaders wanting to talk, Dowager didn’t expect their negotiations to en...
2023-08-23 08:22:30 +0000 UTC View Post“What do you think, Sir Quintana?”
“What do I think?” The knight huffed. Compared to everyone else in the camp, the prince included, Sir Quintana looked refreshed. His long career as ...
2023-08-20 19:27:40 +0000 UTC View PostDear Father,
I hope this letter finds you well. From what I hear, the capital has been in an uproar. The kingdom has never given much thought to summoners and for good reason. Re...
2023-08-20 19:27:38 +0000 UTC View PostThe horrid smell wouldn’t leave her nose. Jac could practically taste it, even when she drank water. Three days. They kept her locked in that horrid place for three days, despite getting what the...
2023-08-17 20:04:47 +0000 UTC View PostWinter was the season for socializing.
Banquets and parties were held throughout the year, as a noble’s calendar was never empty, but the scale changed during the cold months. It was a time...
2023-08-17 20:04:45 +0000 UTC View PostSome nobles envied peasants. The simplicity of their lives, devoid of complicated machinations or plots. Their freedom, able to go and do what they pleased without worrying about their actions dese...
2023-08-12 22:54:30 +0000 UTC View PostJac didn’t think of herself as a spoiled noblewoman. The kind of delicate princess with smooth hands and flawless skin that existed just to be saved by the men who fancied themselves heroes. She ...
2023-08-12 22:54:28 +0000 UTC View PostJackal didn’t think much of his ruler. Sebastian kor Harvest wasn’t an impressive man. He wasn’t physically imposing, particularly intelligent, or especially charismatic. The best compliment ...
2023-08-11 00:39:57 +0000 UTC View PostThey continued to theorize about their sudden arrest and exchanged small talk about their lives until the door opened. Jac turned, jaw dropping in surprise. Of all the people she expected to walk t...
2023-08-09 02:40:11 +0000 UTC View PostJac had no idea where the guards were taking her. Her escorts hadn’t responded when she asked about their destination and the windows were covered by thick cloth. A part of her worried that the m...
2023-08-09 02:40:09 +0000 UTC View Post“Good work today, Jac.”
“Good work!” the young woman called back as she walked out of the store with a smile. At first, she’d hated the nickname, thinking it was too masculine for a...
2023-08-06 02:40:16 +0000 UTC View PostThree days had passed without contact.
Jackal didn’t think of himself as a man prone to panic. Rather, he thought of himself as a patient man. He needed to be. Otherwise, he would have been...
2023-08-06 02:40:14 +0000 UTC View PostTo say that the ride back to the city was uncomfortable would be a gross understatement. Junior had gone through much since the death of his father, but he could say, without a doubt, that riding i...
2023-08-03 23:27:07 +0000 UTC View PostJunior wasn’t in a good mood. Hadn’t been in one since the death of his father but things had been especially bad since being roped into a plot by the summoners of the capital.
The fools ...
2023-08-02 17:35:48 +0000 UTC View PostEmerett re-entered the barn with Junior and Ambrose trailing behind him, the young artist carrying a small box. “We brought breakfast!” he shouted cheerfully, obviously excited. Luke wondered i...
2023-08-02 17:35:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe next day, Luke directed the younger and stronger Ambrose to place massive bones around the circle. He placed the gold and gems himself after spotting the sticky-fingered artist slipping a small...
2023-08-02 17:35:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe site they chose for the summoning was an old farm just outside the city. The ramshackle barn, in particular. The old man who owned the land had no sons interested in working the land and was to...
2023-08-02 17:35:38 +0000 UTC View PostEmerett continued to dazzle them with his vision of the future. They would claim the unwanted and undeveloped southern lands for their own and transform them into a paradise grand enough to fill th...
2023-07-27 21:11:05 +0000 UTC View PostEmerett was a friendly man. Perhaps too friendly. Luke didn’t know how to handle someone who smiled without pretense and wasn’t making small talk when he asked about others’ day. If the man w...
2023-07-26 08:57:41 +0000 UTC View PostSoon, the last of those expected for the meeting entered the cellar. In the lead was someone of unassuming stature with every feature hidden. Their hands were hidden by dark gloves, their face a ma...
2023-07-26 08:57:37 +0000 UTC View PostThere was nothing romantic about plotting rebellion. In the stories, the hovel of a bar the unlikely heroes chose as their base of operations was cozy and warm despite its humble decor and meagre o...
2023-07-22 22:07:44 +0000 UTC View PostLuke Tome didn’t think of himself as a noble.
He didn’t align with his vision of a noble. The Tome family had a history that rivaled the oldest families in the kingdom but that was the on...
2023-07-22 22:07:42 +0000 UTC View Post