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Chapter 81 “Well, kid, you’re in the army now,” Kosk said once they were back in the square outside the keep. The sentries from before had been replaced by new ones, though they regarded them with hardly less suspicion than the others even considering that they’d come from inside the keep...

Chapter 80 Captain Roghan looked tired. It wasn’t just the old scars that covered the right side of his face, or the fact that the arm resting on the low table in front of him ended abruptly at the wrist. He wasn’t an especially old man, but he looked like a man who had seen a lot in recent...

Chapter 79 Bredan’s first impression of Adelar was that every single person in the kingdom of Arresh had been gathered together and placed inside its walls. The city was perched atop a bluff that overlooked the surrounding landscape of the Sarund Valley. From a distance it had resembled a...

Chapter 78 Stayer’s Holding wasn’t much more than a village, but it boasted three inns and half a dozen taverns. But after more than a week of tiny hamlets and isolated settlements—when they weren’t sleeping under the open sky of the wilderness—the place seemed crowded and busy to Xeeta’s...

Chapter 77 Gurag slept uneasily, tossing under the thin blanket atop his cot. The hobgoblin war captain had a private tent, befitting his rank, though one could have crossed from the front flap to the back wall in just four steps. Other than the cot, the only furnishing was a folding wooden...

I've got a decent number of chapter drafts ready at this point, but I wanted to give readers a heads-up that I may put this story on hold in November so I can participate in my seventh National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). You can find my past entries at...

Today's update brings us to the end of Book 3. Book 4 will begin with the introduction of a major foe (thus it is entitled "BBEG," continuing the theme of naming the books after RPG tropes). The village of Northpine is another of my scenario creations. I haven't updated it for 5e, but if you're...

Chapter 74 As they entered the village it was clear that recent events still had the population on edge. They saw several clusters of villagers engaged in conversation as they approached the inn, but on seeing the adventurers they quickly separated and went about their own business. That...

*cue sinister laughter* * * * Chapter 73 The journey back to Northpine was uneventful, but they were all relieved when the rooftops and chimneys of the village came into view in the gap between two hills ahead of them. None of them had talked about it during the hike, but each had carried a...

Chapter 72 “So that’s what we came here for?” Kosk said with a frown. They were all standing around the altar stone, with the object that they’d found resting on its surface. It was a bronze lamp, of the style that had a handle on one end and a long spout on the other where the oil burned...

Chapter 71 A scant instant before the hideous monster would have torn out Glori’s throat with those awful teeth, Bredan slammed into them. The impact loosened its hold on the girl, and in that moment of advantage Bredan tore her from its grasp. He pulled her away. The creature recovered...

Chapter 70 Kosk had been expecting trouble, but he hadn’t expected it to come from above. He tensed, ready to spring, but the stone block fell faster than even he could react. But a scant instant before impact the dwarf was jerked roughly back. The stone slammed hard into the floor and...

Chapter 69 The skeletons were too close for Quellan to evade their rush, even if he hadn’t been up to his chest in water. His companions above reached for their weapons, though they were too far away to immediately intervene. The half-orc let his mace go and grasped hold of his holy symbol...

Come on, whatever went wrong crawling into a tiny cave? * * * Chapter 68 Glori had flashbacks to the tight confines of the kobold tunnels as she shimmied into the narrow opening, but she had no difficulty slipping through even with her bow and lyre. The same could not be said for Bredan and...

Chapter 67 Kosk threw his staff at the same instant that the snake lunged at Xeeta. The improvised missile didn’t hit the creature, but the sorceress let out a startled sound and flinched back as the staff shot past her. The snake’s initial lunge came up short, but it quickly recoiled and...

Even though orcs have toughened up in recent editions and gone through something of a redesign, I always mentally picture them as like the Gamorrean guards from Return of the Jedi, who resembled the porcine guys from the 1e Monster Manual. * * * Chapter 66 It took them the better part of an...

Chapter 65 Xeeta felt a cold fear clutch in her belly at the sight of the orc warrior standing over her, his mace raised to crush her skull. But before the creature could strike the feeling was replaced by a sudden, furious rage. It burned away the terror with its intensity, and with it came...

At first glance I wasn't very enthused about the Wild Magic sorcerer path in 5e, but after reviewing the surge effects chart I found a number of interesting narrative options to use in the story. * * * Chapter 64 Bredan, Quellan, Kosk, and Glori crouched behind the dense growth that...

Chapter 63 Xeeta felt a ball of tension growing in her belly as she made her way up to the ruin for the second time. She wasn’t worried—that worried—about the orcs. She had never faced one in battle, but she knew enough about them not to underestimate them. She had enough confidence in her...

Chapter 62 “I don’t see any sentries,” Glori said. “They’re there,” Kosk said. “Orcs aren’t the brightest, but they’re not that stupid.” Glori sent a quick look at Quellan, but the half-orc acted as if he hadn’t heard the comment, staring at the ruin ahead of them with an intent look on his...