Michael Head

Got sick. It sucked. Still alive.

Sorry I was out of it for a little while everyone.  I got covid while I was at DragonCon, and it laid me out hard.  I was in and out of the hospital for a bit, since my lungs don't work the greatest.  They only have about eighty percent capacity on a good day, and things that a normal person could shrug off really knock me out for a bit.  I'm still not back to one hundred percent yet, and dealing with low energy levels and brain fog, but at least the weight loss is appreci...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It didn’t take long for the ghouls to ready themselves.  They were smart enough to wait and cluster together to rush the gate until the last possible moment, only giving me a few seconds to react.  Unfortunately for them, a few seconds was all I needed.

The wood used to make the palisade was all fresh-cut timber from the forest.  Not only was it still green, but it seemed to rain at least once a day on this planet, making it even harde...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Calling our fallback point a castle was using some pretty strong words where they didn’t belong.  When someone said the word ‘castle,’ it most definitely didn’t describe what I was seeing when I looked at our fortifications.  Stacked boulders with extra parts would be a much better way to describe what we were working with.

“Murphy, get the little barrels of burning oil placed in the trench.  Leedy, help Jess get the horses in ...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The screams of the tortured captives made it impossible for Gleason to concentrate on the designs in front of him.  He knew it was necessary for their cooperation, but his underlings weren’t nearly as effective as he was at getting what he wanted from people.  They just didn’t have the same passion for the art that he did.

Being a White Warden had opened the door, but recent events had changed him from someone who liked his work�...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Warning the camp was my first priority, but I needed to do it without getting shredded or isolated from the others.  Linking up with them and fighting a running retreat toward our fallback location was the best choice, especially since I had no idea how many ghouls were running around.  Running straight into camp would only spring the trap on myself, and ruin any chances of making it to my friends.  Especially if I ran into a group of the ghou...

To whoever is stealing my content, you're an asshole

Somebody on here is illegally stealing and posting my content on a website that I didn't give them permission to post on, and they are risking an Amazon bot finding it and closing my account. If that happens, I can't be an author anymore, and no one wins. So please, knock it off, before we are all screwed. And for the love of all things good and holy, take the picture with my daughter on it down from the porn-filled pirate site. Seriously. You're a fucking dick-hole, and hold absolutely no ri...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“I’m not alone out here.  I have a group of friends I can’t abandon just because you want a shortcut through the forest.”  I pulled myself free, surprising her with my own strength.  “What I can do is tell you how to get through the forest quickly.  Does that work?”

“That’s…that’s fine, yes.  Thank you.”  She showed a bit of her younger age, the indecision of the moment making her waiver from...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I didn’t have a solid gauge for how powerful a Green Warden might be, and I wanted to meet one in person.  According to how Jess was acting, they were no pushovers.  But, I wasn’t exactly a pushover myself, either.  I had long ago maxed out the system granted to me when I was sucked through a portal and forced to become a world-hopping patsy for a bunch of mystery gods who never deigned it necessary to speak to me directly.

Since the...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Pain was the best teacher I had ever known.  Not because it taught me what I should do, but because it showed me exactly what not to do.  Like, say, try to teach a barmaid lycanthrope shifter some magic spells with the potential to wipe out entire buildings.

“Okay, nice try, but this time you should be sure to aim the cone of destruction away from us.  Sound good?”  I coughed, waving away the cloying d...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Prologue 2

Prologue 2

Chilly mountain air from the north blew through the trees, causing the trio of witches to shiver.  The presence of the supernaturally beautiful vampire in their midst didn’t help curb their discomfort, and the dense power coming from her magical staff cowed all but their most rebellious thoughts.

“You still don’t have the goblins in position?  What’s taking so long?”  The vampire princess stalked across the clearing, ...

Wandering Warrior: Jury - Prologue 1

Prologue 1

The city of Greendown was old, but it had been built upon ancient ruins from a civilization that had been even older, and far more advanced.  The integration of the aging sewer system left by those who had come before had cut down on outbreaks of disease, and helped Greendown flourish, even after its borders stretched beyond the bounds of the ancient ruins.  Only the people living in the slums closest to the outer walls had to deal with the smell ...

Tycoon May: Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The next two days were a struggle in patience for Grant.  For once, both Sarge and Grant were wrong.  There were no huge monsters to fight, and no hidden assassins to battle.  Instead, traveling along the road was incredibly boring.  On the upside, it allowed him to heal, and get his armor and equipment put back together.

Another bonus was the chance for their group to make plans based on what they found in the next city.  If everything went p...

Tycoon May: Chapter 42

Chapter 42

<Wake up!>

Grant groaned, trying to rub his aching head.  He couldn’t remember why he hurt so bad, but it probably had something to do with the choking dust, smoke, and flames all around him.

<If you don’t get up, right now, you’re going to die.>

Sarge’s no-nonsense tone was like a bucket of cold water dumped on his head.  The last ten minutes came rushing back, and Grant struggled back to his feet, despite t...

Tycoon May: Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Running past the cells where the rest of the members of the convoy were being held made Grant feel bad for leaving them, but he knew Sam and Evander would handle things quickly enough.  Finding them an exit close to their wagons was the best help he could provide at the moment.

<Don’t forget, you are going to have to fight your way out of the gate once you get control of the wagons, not to mention taking care of the crossbows hiding in the windows overlookin...

Tycoon May: Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Grant’s fall was broken by a very sturdy table.  He bounced off of it, and somehow managed to roll his way under it before he could be crushed by the rest of the stones falling down around him.  The other guards and two House Saturday assassins that had been waiting for him weren’t so lucky.

<I can’t believe that worked.  You just crushed eight Vassals, and leveled up to thirty-eight.  Maybe there is some kind of dumb luck involved at this...

Tycoon May: Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Somehow, no one had noticed Grant’s scramble over the wall.  Even the ridiculous impact of him hitting the wall hadn’t brought the few men pacing the crenelations running.  The voices coming from the other side of the door of the tower meant all that was about to change.

<If you move fast, you can clear the tower before they know what hit them.  Don’t hesitate, and move with a purpose.>  Grant put away his pickaxe and leaned against the...

Tycoon May: Chapter 38

Chapter 38

As Grant drew closer, he was tempted to shout for Sam, Adria, or even Evander.  Something about the abandoned wagons told him it would be a bad idea.  The draft animals stood there placidly in their harness, waiting for a command from drivers who were nowhere in sight.  Without making it obvious, Grant tried to take a closer look, but he noticed several people in plain clothes that stood stiffly, like they had armor on under their regular clothes, carefully w...

Tycoon May: Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“You know, it’s a real stroke of luck that I came across Chug like that, just as I needed him.”  Grant was sitting in his room inside the inn, using his Apprentice Repair spell to fix all of the dents and dings his armor and gear had collected.  “It’s almost like the fates want me to win.”

<I don’t think this is about you specifically, Grant.  This is Karma coming back on Tycoon May.  You can’t do wrong by your ...

Tycoon May: Chapter 36

Chapter 36

“I still can’t believe you know Doug.”  Chug took another drink of water before he dumped the rest of his cup over his head.  The two of them were watching the last rays of sunset disappear over the horizon on a rooftop garden across the street from the inn Grant would be staying at for the night.  After sparring for a gratuitous amount of time, the two of them were drenched in sweat.  Both Chug and Grant were nearly evenly matched, as long as Gran...

Tycoon May: Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The city was much like the first one Grant had visited in District May.  It was mostly buildings of glass and stone, intended to function as greenhouses.  Instead of fruits and vegetables, this city seemed focused on herbs, spices, and various kinds of lettuce.  Lots and lots of lettuce.

<Grant, I think I’ve never seen so much kale in all my life.  The people in District February would have a brain aneurysm if they saw this place.>  He...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Epilogue 2

Epilogue 2

The windows that overlooked the snow capped mountains had long-since been repaired, but the signs of the explosion that had rocked the room were still apparent.  Scorched stone, blackened walls, and missing tapestries made the cold chamber feel even more unwelcoming than it had before.

“Milord, there’s still no word.”  The messenger knelt near the entrance, afraid to enter without permission.  The three figures standing around the...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Epilogue 1

Epilogue 1

Everything had been going perfectly.  Gleason had left the village behind, and his scouts had brought him to where they had lost the trail for James Holden just in time for a beacon to light up the evening skies in the far distance.  It was as if the Trinity was lighting the way for him.  He could feel their gaze settle upon him, urging him upon his divine quest.  Gleason and his men had nearly killed their chargers in their rush to catc...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

As I got back to the others, it was clear they were all exhausted.  We had been fighting for well over twenty minutes, maybe more.  That kind of exertion would make anyone feel like they were about to fall over dead.

“Did you finish it?”  Cross was the only one still steady on his feet, but the line of darkness on his wrist had grown jagged in the short time I was gone.  “Is he dead?”

I looked back to where Gleason ha...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The aura device didn’t seem to bother the Warden as he came down the stairs.  He was forced to deal with the undead trying to swarm him just as much as we were, but his whip sliced through them like they weren’t even there.  It had to be powerfully enchanted, on top of him pushing a hefty amount of mana into it.

“James, I think that’s the guy I told you about!”  Leedy shouted back over his shoulder at me while he fought agains...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Prologue

Prologue

Magical flames crackled in the fireplace, casting harsh unnatural blue light across the room.  They lacked any heat, but that made no difference to the inhabitants of the chamber.  Arched windows overlooked beautiful snow capped mountains, where no human had stepped foot in living memory.  The altitude made it impossible to survive for long, the air too thin to support life.  Unnatural creatures that called the barren mountaintops home wou...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 7 (Revised)

Chapter 7

“Commander Gleason, I think he’s fallen unconscious again.”  The man wearing the uniform of the White Wardens, the investigative division dedicated to rooting out criminals violating the laws set forth by the guilds no matter where they might hide, dropped the mundane leather whip he was holding and glared at the man who had spoken to him.

“Do I need to explain everything to you?  Have the healers look him over.  I want answers, ...

May 2023 Update (Read this first!)

Hi everyone! Well, Wandering Warrior: Judge is done.  It had to go through some major developmental editing, which is what I have been doing these past few weeks. Introducing the 'big bad guy' as the lich in the last third of the book was too long of a wait, so it was necessary to change some things by doing a prologue.  I also had a bit of an epiphany.  While Wandering Warrior is a GameLit story, it isn't a normal progression fantasy.  James doesn't really have a true pro...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

We only had a moment’s warning that more undead were coming, when a rain of pebbles dropped from the hole we had just fallen through.  The first thing that came through was a zombie that was little more than a skeleton, and the fall caused it to shatter into pieces.  Jess backed away from the new avenue of attack, cornering herself in the back of the room.  Murphy followed, killing the next creature that fell through the hole by lopping its...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

We made it to the cheese factory well before dark, but the heavy clouds made it seem otherwise.  It couldn’t have been much past four in the afternoon, yet everyone except Jess and I were nearly stumbling around in the dark.  She had stayed back with Murphy and Cross while Leedy and I had moved up to check the front of the long stone building.

“I don’t like this.”  Leedy was crouched next to me in the tall grass next to the hut ...

Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Gleason slapped the bear shifter again, dropping the burly mayor to his knees.  “I’m tired of your excuses, lycan.  I’m tired of these little, worthless villages, and their worthless little people.  I’m tired of chasing this worthless man around this stupid forest, and I’m quickly running out of the capability to care about collateral damage.  Now, tell me everything you know, or you will find out what happens when I reach the ...