Seersucker

Deadman Ch 14: Collecting the Dead

By late morning we were on the road. The wagons moved at a steady pace, kicking up only a bit of dust, and the warmth of the sun was slowly dispelling the chill of morning. At the first fork in the road one of the wagons broke off, and at the second fork the other did. I stayed in the one with deux, and alternated between sitting up front at the reins with him and finding a corner in the wagon between cribs to read. Our wagon hadn’t picked up any little ones yet so I wanted to enjoy the rel...

Young World Ch 14: Sick Day

I could feel the effects of the deathcap mushroom fading, on top of the exhaustion from the battle and my duel, I had nothing left. In spite of that I kept myself standing. I had a feeling that the stonemen were the type to sense weakness and take advantage.

The stonemen had ceased their chanting and were looking at one another in surprise. I heard an exchange of words I didn’t recognize, and then a few of them went to check on Tog. They flipped him over and I saw that he was still br...

Deadman Ch 13: Loading Up, Rolling Out

After Deux left I started getting ready for the journey. I grabbed my freshly cleaned and oiled pistol and rifle along with some rations and some dried tobacco and other things to trade. I threw any meat I knew would spoil while I was gone into the usual spot for Gus. After that I took a final look at the map, grabbed the notebook I kept to give updates to the guides in Jasper and Pott’s Field, and headed out.

It was a little over a mile from my boat to get out of the deadzone and on ...

Young World Ch 13: Workplace Drama

As the stonemen leader hollered and slammed his clubs, he and his men were kept at bay only by the limited missiles we still had remaining to us. I leapt across several rooftops to find Galgrum, a final bident in his hand.

“The man in the lead, the large one, Elle tells me he’s yelling that we kidnapped his people.”

“What? Is she sure he’s not saying the opposite?”

“Yes. I think we’ve made a mistake. Did you ever try talking with them?”

He grimaced. �...

Young World Ch 12: Hostile Work Environment

The Buried Claw had managed to delay the stonemen a full thirty minutes past what Zevrack had promised, with he and his warriors arriving in a quickly moving line of scales and tails, just ahead of the stonemen. I quickly informed them of the plan and those who weren’t too exhausted moved into positions on different roofs, loading their dart guns with whatever poison ammunition they had left. I stood at the defensive position we’d created at the end of the funnel, along with Galgrum and t...

Deadman Ch 12: Home

I took the kettle off the burner and poured it into the mug in front of me. I had to compensate a little as I poured for the gentle bounce of my boat on the water. I took out a pack of military ration instacaf and poured it into the steaming water, then stirred it gently with a small spoon I kept on the counter for just that purpose. I lifted the mug and took it out onto the deck, enjoying a nice long sip as I stepped into the sunlight.

It was a clear day so far, aside from the green cr...

Deadman Ch 11: Barbed Wire Will Do

I awoke to a full moon shining down on me through green mist and crows digging into the gaps in my clothing bullets had torn through. I ignored the substantial pain and listened for a few moments. Nothing, no sounds at all. I sat up, pushing Jake’s corpse off me and scattering the birds. I looked around and took stock. They’d left me where I’d dropped. My weapons were still on me. I wasn’t sure if they were stupid or just in a rush. It’s not like they expected me to get up after blo...

Young World Ch 11: Surprise Audit

The trip back through the tunnels was exhausting. The only breaks we had were for Zevrack to place traps from his backpack in any tunnels he thought the stonemen may pass through. I was surprised at just how many he had, be they the bear trap looking ones, simple poisoned caltrops, or an interesting contraption that fired needles upward if stepped on. His placement of the traps served the dual purpose of harrowing our foes as well as lightening his pack. I’d thought he was quick on his feet...

Announcement

Hey everybody,

I'll be posting 5 chapters next week for both of my ongoing stories. Young World and Deadman both hit Rising Stars earlier than I'd expected and I want to push content to put them up higher on the list. You'll stay 2 chaps ahead as long as your Deadman or Chosen tier. Just thought I'd share the good news.

Deadman Ch 10: Smell of Death

We arrived at the small house surrounded by plots of different fruits and vegetables growing around it. The house itself was made up of wood with a scrap metal roof. From the outside it looked like it held maybe three rooms in total, and I could see a small outhouse a ways away from it. JD approached the door and knocked on it twice.

I could hear some rustling, and smell two people inside. After a few moments a woman opened the door. She was wearing a plain brown dress, her hands were w...

Young World Ch 10: Scouting the Competition

The first collaborative act between the Buried Claw and the mushroom dwarves was to fill the cavern I'd lost the kidnapped dwarf in with traps. Between the Kobold’s ingenuity and the mushroom dwarves’ grim persistence the entire cave was filled with dozens of opportunities for any interloper to die at the slightest misstep. Overall it seemed like the team up between the two was going to give them a good shot at surviving.

I spent the time they were working on that brooding and think...

Deadman Ch 9: Missing Person

“Courier!” I yelled, keeping my hands up, but readying myself to make a dive behind my cart if necessary.

The group kept their guns on me, but I saw heads turn, and could hear faint words being exchanged. Eventually JD appeared at the top of the gate and eyed me, before exchanging some words with the rest of the group. “Approach.”

I did so, slowly. This was a very different welcome than the last time. I’d had guns on me and been threatened, but this time I could practica...

Young World Ch 9: Poor Performance

The ‘training’ if it could be called that lasted until well into the night. I would take each of the things they were using as weapons, see what motions came naturally to me through my skill ranks, and they copied the movements from there. They didn’t seem very talented, but they were quite diligent. By the time we’d finished they’d all managed to pick up at least one skill level in their weapon of choice, with Galgrum actually managing three ranks in swords. I myself picked up an a...

Deadman Ch 8: Not Alone

The first day back on the road was uneventful. Now that I knew what made the deadzone dangerous I was able to collect some dry wood and oil that I could use to drive off mosquito swarms if I needed to. Sure they dropped dead when they bit me anyway, but that didn’t mean that was something I wanted to encounter anytime soon. I took a brief break about halfway through the zone, and took out some gecko meat I’d collected the last time I was through.

I sat down on a stump, and ate. I wa...

Young World Ch 8: Office Supplies

As we stepped out of the last portion of the fields I felt as if a pressure that had been building behind my eyes was released. It had been a beautiful, haunting, and culturally fascinating place, but there was also a lot about it that would’ve fit in wonderfully with a horror movie back on Earth.

Rockelle and I walked Zevrack back to the edge of the town. He was deep in thought for the walk, scratching at the scales on his face with a clawed hand. When we reached the edge he turned t...

Young World Ch 6: Potential Merger

After Zevrack junior had collected a backpack and some equipment, we began our trek back through the caverns to Mykas. It was already off to a good start, with Rockelle immediately enamored with Zevrack and pelting him with questions as they both led the way.

“I didn’t see any females in your group.”

“Fe-males?”

“Yes. Like, egg layers? Or the ones that have young.”

“Zyla layed some eggs.”

“Well what are you? An egg layer?”

“I’m Zev...

Deadman Ch 6: One by One

I was in my element. I slid my goggles off my head, and pulled down my bandana exposing my teeth. It was one versus at least 23, but in the dark I had a real advantage. I moved quickly on the nearest of the men. I’d have the largest advantage in the short period before their eyes adjusted to the dark. I stuck with my machete, worried the muzzle flare of my guns would reveal my position and wanted to even the odds as much as possible before that point. I slammed the machete into the first on...

Deadman Ch 5: The Long Machete of the Law

I cleaned up and tossed the body outside. If I managed to free the people that were taken, a man with his head cut in half wouldn’t be the first thing they’d want to see on walking in the door. I looted the bodies of both him and the shooter and came away with a handful of 9mm rounds and a dozen .308s. I was also happy to find that the rooftop shooter and I shared a boot size and traded mine out for his.

The fight and interrogation had netted me another rank in long gun, melee weapo...

Young World Ch 5: Internal Advancement

I received a flurry of notifications.

Congratulations! You’ve slain two Stonemen  (lvl 5)! You gain 380 xp!

Congratulations! You’ve reached level 2! You receive 2 stat points

Congratulations! You’ve obtained the skill Stealth!

Congratulations! You’ve increased the skill Stealth!

Congratulations! You’ve increased the skill Daggers!

Congratulations! You’ve learned the skill Feint!

It...

Deadman Ch 4: A Boon for Boon

I woke up before dawn. I wanted to sleep more, but my night was full of bad dreams that made old scars ache. I climbed out of the bus seat I’d curled up in and slung my pack over my shoulders. The added weight of yesterday's loot made me grimace, but it was well worth it. Outside of the bus my cart remained untouched. With everything together I started back on the road toward Boon.

Even with my brief detour the previous day I was making good time thanks to the shortcut I’d taken thr...

Young World Ch 4: On the Job Training

“Die?”

“Yes. You accepted a quest to defeat an entire tribe of hostile dwarves that can camouflage themselves. You haven’t formed a party, or prepared, and I’m guessing that since you got here you’re only level one?”

“Yeah, I just thought that’s what I’m supposed to do? Can I just leave it?”

“No. It’ll be there until either you succeed or fail, and if you fail the system will punish you.”

“Punish me? But I didn’t even know!”

“T...

Deadman Ch 3: Deadzone

The most direct route between Kind and Boon was straight through a deadzone. I wasn’t incredibly familiar with this one, but I figured I’d risk the trek straight through to cut time off the journey.

The edges of deadzones aren’t usually distinct. If you didn’t have a geiger counter handy, or weren’t familiar with an area it could be easy to wander into one without realizing it. This one snuck up on me. The road I was walking slowly went from solid, to broken through by plants ...

Young World Ch 3: Ice Breakers

I rolled backwards, surprising myself with my quick reaction, and brought myself back up to my feet. I turned to run away, but a fourth man appeared behind me and charged. I jumped neatly over him and rolled again, standing just in time for a rock to slam into my left shoulder and send me reeling. My vision went white with pain for a moment, and when I managed to regain my senses I was already surrounded. I kept my hands up. I was still hurt from my fight with the squid, and these were the fi...

Deadman Ch 2: Kind Place

When I reached the center of town I opened the led containers and let people come and get their packages, they would’ve received notifications that they’d arrived. I waited off to the side, not wanting to scare anyone, but was surprised to find many of them passing directly by me, some even managed thank yous with smiles. It made me uncomfortable, but luckily there were still plenty of hateful looks in the small crowd that gathered to even things out.

After everyone had gotten their...

Young World Ch 2: Orientation

I don’t know how long I fell, but I do remember the prompt that appeared as the falling sensation ended.

Welcome Champion of %%%%%

Please select race and appearance

I stared at it for a moment, and as I read the part about race and appearance a series of screens appeared. One listed dozens upon dozens of words, some I recognized from games and books like Orcs, Minotaur, and Goblin, but others were completely foreign to me. I stared at it for a long time, ...

Deadman Ch 1: Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Bullets

The geiger counter at my waist buzzed gently as I walked along a ruined chunk of I-10. The rads were high on the route, but that wasn’t a problem for me. The only issue I had with them is that they made the already hot night feel just that much hotter. It would help if I didn’t have to cover my face, but that wasn’t really an option. Too many people would shoot a deadman on sight, even one that’s a courier.

I took a canteen off my waist, and pulled my bandana down from my face t...

Young World Ch 1: Interview

I sat in the waiting room, trying to project an air of calm confidence, and certain I was failing miserably. I was sitting with my back straight as a rail and couldn’t stop moving my hands. I kept shifting them from the arms of the chair, onto my legs, and back again. I wanted to look at my phone, but I was worried that the secretary would see me and it would make me look unprofessional. Unfortunately that meant I had no idea what to do with my hands.

I closed my eyes and took a deep ...

ARMOR Cover

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to give you all a preview of the cover for ARMOR and give a few updates. I'm working with Aethon to publish as they're full service and that's basically the only way I'll be able to get professional editing and cover art like what's seen above. My story will eventually move to KU, but I don't expect the editing to be done any time soon so there'll be plenty of time to finish it on RR before it's stubbed.

I'll also be posting my new stories wi...

Announcement, Next Projects

Hey everyone, if you've been reading my author's notes on Royal Road you know that my current story 'Armor", is nearing it's end. I have plans to edit and publish it, but I wanted to make an announcement about the two things I'll be working on next. I'm planning to write both of these books at the...