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The Waystation Ch.101

Chapter 101

Questing - Clear the Haunted Castle, II

“Do we wait for the Bard?” Lily asked as they watched the possessed zombies begin to form into small groups.

“Can we assume he is actually coming?” Bud asked.

“Good point,” Lily pulled a face.

“We have this,” Bud said, pulling his bow from his back and stringing it. He kept one eyesocket on the gathering forces as he filled his quiver with dry arrows. Wet fletching didn’t guide well, and it...

Nellie and the Nanites Book 2 - Cover Image

Hey there nanite fans!

I just wanted to give you an early look at the cover for the second book in the Nellie and the Nanites series: Nanites at War!

First chapter as well as the catchup introduction for new readers will be up on Thrusday as usual!

Thanks again for all your support, and of course, 

Thanks for reading!

The Waystation Ch.100

Chapter 100

Questing - Clear the Haunted Castle

“Are you sure about this?” Lily asked Bud as he stared up at her.

Lily was fluttering about near the crystal ceiling of the Bear’s Fall restaurant. Strictly speaking, she had no reason to be up here. With her skills, Lily could keep an eye on things from just about anywhere, and she had done so many times before.

Stil… she was a pixie now, and flying in this form was just too much fun. As a half-pixie flight w...

The Waystation Ch.99

Chapter 99

Questing - The Missing Cow II

“How about we buy a cow, brand it, and deliver it to the farm?” Angela offered as they started down the far side of the hill.

“Not the same thing as finding this one,” Wendy said, but she was tempted anyway. The climb up to the crest of the hill had not been fun. She had a distinct feeling the cow must have been chased up there. It was the only reason why the creature would not have gone round.

She had also noticed w...

The Waystation Ch.98

Chapter 98

Questing - The Missing Cow I

Wendy really wanted to kick something. That was the only problem with living on the Waystation. There was nothing to kick when you were frustrated. You couldn’t kick a wall, the floor, or anything without kicking the Waystation.

Not only would that be astonishingly mean, but probably terminally stupid as well. You were likely to wake up encased in metal, buried, or worse. She could go onto the Express and kick things, but that wa...

The Waystation Ch.97

Chapter 97

Questing - Rescue the Captured Princess! II

The fortress looked much less like a fortress than they had expected, which wasn’t to say it would be easy.

Trees and shrubs had been cleared and replaced with farmland and wide open spaces. Any attempt to sneak up on the place would be doomed to failure before it even began. Beyond the farms, a sturdy wall sat overlooking a deep moat. The wall itself was only stone at the base, but the thick wooden beams looked li...

The Waystation Ch.96

Chapter 96

Questing - Rescue the Captured Princess!

The man was sat crosslegged on a barrel, playing a small wooden flute as if the rest of the world did not exist. He was dressed smartly, if flamboyantly, in moss-green trousers, a red shirt with voluminous sleeves, and a tight black waistcoat. His collar was turned up, and a monocle was perched over one closed eye.

The sun warmed his dark skin and glistened on his slicked-back red hair. Across his back, he carried a sma...

The Waystation Ch.95

Chapter 95

Questing I

Milly Light-Foot stood in the middle of the roadway, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. On either side of her was an escort of extremely high-level personnel. A large carriage made of living wood rested on the side of the road as she glowered at the approaching Waystation.

It didn’t hurry, taking its time and slowly moving up the road towards her.

“Are the scouts deployed?” She asked.

“Yes, Assistant Guild Head,” The ma...

The Waystation Ch.94

Chapter 94

The Hamlet III

Clair DeLett hummed to herself as she closed up her shop for the day. She had sold three dresses this afternoon, which was quite a boon. Honestly, the shop was not doing well. She had moved to Avonburgh to take advantage of the cheap labor, but it just wasn’t enough.

When Rachael initially invited her, it was like a dream come true. The rules were strict but worked in her favor. People HAD to have good clothes or end up on the wrong end of a d...

The Waystation Ch.93

Chapter 93

The Hamlet II

Bert watched the reactions with no small amount of amusement. Carter Miller, the most friendly of the group so far and the least fake was desperately trying not to laugh, but even turning away wouldn’t hide his shaking shoulders. Abby merely looked stunned, while old man Mason looked as if he was having a stroke.

Curiously, Evelyn was not even attempting to hide the glee on her hawk-like face.

In the end, it was the Master Crafter Bailey ...

The Waystation Ch.92

Chapter 92

The Hamlet I

“I like it,” Bell said. “It’s cute.”

Bert had to admit the sparking little village was beautiful in the warm morning light. No high walls defended it; no giant keep took the center ground… It was the very picture of happy village life. Slate roofs edged in a pale green moss, dark timbers reinforcing the stone, wattle-and-daub construction.

Cobbled streets ambled between well-kept houses and cottages with neat and tidy gardens. Th...

The Waystation Ch.91

Chapter 91

Simple Things III

Sonny’s twin blades clanged against Bert's shield as an arrow bounced off his shoulder plate. He ducked behind his shield, releasing a blast of mana through it to send Sonny flying. The man was determined, however, and kicked off a tree in mid-air to strike at a different angle.

Bert slammed him away with his shield, firing his prosthetic arm’s crossbow form at the backline fighters as he did so. The bolt sank into the shoulder of their r...

The Waystation Ch.90

Chapter 90

Simple Things II

Liquid metal bubbled in specially made vats around the room's edges, the heat causing the strips and panels of leather to sway and move as they hung from the ceiling. Bert took a specific size of cog from one of the many shelves arrayed above his crafting table and fitted it in place before reaching out with a tendril of mana.

Liquid Sky-metal flowed into an orb and hovered over the table before settling and flowing into place, cooling as it d...

The Waystation Ch.89

Chapter 89

Simple Things I

“What happened to being careful?” Bell yelled at Bert as soon as they came into sight of the Waystation. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking furious as the lights behind her lit her hair with a soft glow.

“Gods, you’re beautiful,” Bert said with a tired smile. He meant it, too. “And we were cautious.”

“Careful doesn’t require using the Fury of the Fae!” Bell snapped, but Bert saw her slightly turning to let t...

The Waystation Ch.88

Chapter 88

Search and Rescue, III

“This just isn’t right,” Wendy said, horror written across her face as she stared through the open door.

“What is it?” Bert asked with a sinking feeling.

“There are no words,” Wendy said, backing away. “I’m not going in there, and you can’t make me.”

Bert hurried over to see what fresh horror awaited them and gagged.

“What is it?” Bud asked, drawing his bow as he focused mana into an arrow.

The Waystation Ch.87

Chapter 87

Search and Rescue, II

“We didn’t think that Sonny had made it out,” The woman leaned on her tower shield hard, her features drawn and tense. Looking around the small space, Bert saw several people lying in corners, some sleeping, others just unconscious.

Everyone was covered in blood, with the remains of a small fire in the center of the room. Only two others were still on their feet beside the tank they were talking to.

A rogue that looked a bit l...

The Waystation Ch.86

Chapter 86

Search and Rescue I

“I’m beginning to wish we had never found these damn ruins!” Abby hissed as Bert leaped over her shoulder.

His shield slammed into the security drone before it could fade into its ghostly form. The microsecond of hesitation that caused left it impaled on a long spear of sky-metal flung up from the Waystation. Before he could respond to her, a scream came from outside.

Bert dashed off again.

The Waystation was like a kicked...

The Waystation Ch.85

Chapter 85

Glamping in the Rough, III

Bert sank into the tides of the Waystation with a happy sigh. Collecting supplies and building materials seldom resulted in discovering a new mystery. His morning excursion had yielded more than just the seeds; it had opened up something that his people could solve. Let the rest of them scrub the ruins dry; they had their own mystery!

“Welcome back!” Way Way sounded excited as well.

“Thanks,” Bert said...

The Waystation Ch.84b

Chapter 84B

Interlude - Bonding Time

Slothy padded happily down the ramp from the Bear’s Fall and sat down to wait. It didn’t take long for Bud to come bounding out of the Waystation and give her a few head pats and scritches.

No one gave skritches like a skeleton. Bud’s bony fingers were perfect for a really good scratch. Usually, Slothy would be happy just to get skritches and pats all day, but she was excited to get going.

She shuffled, nudging his hand aw...

The Lost Ones, a new schedule.

The short story collection - The Lost Ones will have a new release schedule from now on.

I'll be honest, they are very fun to write but I just don't have the time for three different releases every week. With Nellie and the Nanites and Waystation being updated multiple times every week I just have to slow down on this one.

As such the Lost Ones will be updated every two weeks for the rest of the year.

As always, thanks for reading!

The Waystation Ch.84

Chapter 84

Glamping in the Rough, II

Bert felt the impact against his shield up in his shoulder. His whole arm was going slightly numb. He swept his arm up, his hand transformed into a crossbow as he did, firing a stream of steel bolts, each glowing with Heat or Chill runes.

He hit nothing. Again.

The next hit sent him flying back off the top deck. He hit the ground and rolled as a shapeless black shadow chased him. Bert kept blocking, firing, and moving as the mas...

The Waystation Ch.83

Chapter 83

Glamping in the Rough

Bell cheered as the collector on the front of the Waystation, currently in the closed shape of a ram, smashed aside another boulder.

“I can see why they were having trouble getting people out this way,” Bert laughed as Bell directed the Waystation through the canyon.

The ground ahead was a mass of fallen rocks, thick brush, and hardy vines. The occasional tree reached for the light that made it this far into the canyon. Tall wal...

The Waystation Ch.82

Chapter 82

Explorer’s Gift III

Bert finished adding the chill runes to the storage carriage as the first supplies arrived. One of the advantages of coming across the Gardeners was the opportunity to get something they had been missing out on a lot.

Fruits and vegetables.

The variety of dishes and meals they would be able to make would more than triple with the huge stores they were taking on board. Salad vegetables and similar short-life things were placed in the...

Nellie and the Nanites Ch.16

Chapter 16

Flying Saucers and Bad Coffee

Nellie looked around the room and couldn’t help but chuckle. Even on a flying saucer, the fucking room was the same. She had seen several different races on the ship as she was led through the halls to be interviewed.

They called it an interview, but she was cuffed and under armed guard, so…

Lucy swore she could remove the cuffs and get her out at a single thought, so Nellie was trying to be relaxed about the whole thing...

The Waystation Ch.81

Chapter 81

Explorer’s Gift II

Bert ate the cucumber sandwich, savoring the delicate little triangles that were a taste of home that he had never even realized he missed. They even had cracked black pepper on them! The lemonade was cool and refreshing, and it was all so strange.

He had been in nonstop madness for so long now that this calm little garden party, which it had definitely become, was so out of the ordinary as to seem fantastical. Of course, he was watching a...

The Waystation Ch.80

Chapter 80

Explorer’s Gift I

“Dad!” Wendy called, her face almost pressed against the side window of the bridge, “Look at that! What are they?”

Bert leaned around her, finally seeing what she was looking at. On a rise to their left were what could be trees. Could be, except the thin black trunks split and grew in long curves and arches while they sprouted long, thin, white tendrils of wispy-looking something. It almost reminded him of spider silk, but ...

The Lost Ones Ch.18

Chapter 18

A Knock in the Night, Part Two

“You get out!” Edgar blustered, his blood running cold in his veins as Olivia wandered around the room examining his pictures and knickknacks.

“No,” Olivia said simply. “I waited a long time for this,” She shivered. “Stuck in a storm of ice for fifty years.” She turned a gleeful smile on him. “I could have let go at any time, but I told you I was a persistent and driven woman.”

“I have no idea what you...

The Lost Ones Ch.17

Chapter 17

A Knock In the Night, Part One.

“Damn thing,” Edgar snapped as knuckles screamed in pain. The poker he was using to jab at the embers of the fire dropped from his arthritic fingers, nading half in the fire. “Damn it!” He snarled, looking at the black metal pole lying against the grate.

If he didn’t get it out now, he would have to wait until the fire had cooled. The metal would be too hot to touch in a matter of minutes. Even thinking about it sent j...

The Lost Ones Ch.16

Chapter 16

Interlude Three - The Mirror Man

Dave thought about what he had seen as he pushed his broom across the floor. Try as he might, he just did not get what the Entity was showing him in that vision.

Joe had been a deeply stupid individual; that much was certain. He wanted to make the world better, even if it was for selfish reasons, yet ignored the simplest way to do so.

Ask others what was best for them.

While Dave East was gratified that the arroganc...

The Waystation Volume Four - Cover

The Cover for Volume Four of the Waystation, which starts this week here on Patreon!

Coming soon will be the cover for Book One as I am starting to prepare it for self publishing it over on Amazon!