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4.13 In Which the Dark Lord Makes a House Call

It took only the briefest glance from my peripheral vision to verify that I retained my captive audience, the assembled highborn beginning to move after me before I even reached the rail.  As expected: look, the funny foreigner is doing something interesting!  These idiots were bored enough to be out watching a horse race next to an incipient zombie apocalypse; of course they trailed after me like newly imprinted ducklings.

My boots hit the hard-packed earth of the racetrack, ...

November '22 AMA

Del Spaig asks:

"Re: the obnoxious highborn literary references, how far do you have those mapped out? Do you have a general intent for what each of the phrases mean? What stories they're referencing?"

They're all pretty off the cuff in their initial incarnation; often I give them no deeper thought than the bites of word salad that make it onto the page.  But letting those grow organically is fun; that's how the overarching story of Conzart as a clas...

4.12 In Which the Dark Lord is Off to the Races

I reminded myself firmly of two things: that I was surrounded by powerful nobility, and that it wasn’t yet time to murder them all.  Only then did I turn around to greet whatever the fuck new pest this was, my pleasant social smile reliably in place.

The speaker was another highborn, and I nearly stopped paying attention at that, they were such a homogeneous waste of oxygen, but I made myself take in some additional detail for strategic purposes.  Actually, now that I looked...

I'm alive!

Okay, folks!  Just wanted to update y'all on my situation.  

I am, more or less, recovered.  This week was rough - if you haven't had the rona, I don't recommend it - but I'm back to as good a shape as can be expected.  I've got lingering respiratory issues and am constantly exhausted, but I consider myself well enough to work.  Likelihood of OVDT returning for all readers tomorrow is slim; I'd love to pull it off if I can, but there are three considerations hol...

Covid related possible hiatus

I don't know for sure that I have covid as I haven't been able to get my hands on a test, but my roommate's been down with it for nearly a week so it's incredibly likely.  I have been struggling with fatigue and brain fog for days now and hoped it was just a depressive episode, but as of now I am definitely sick and getting sicker, so I'll just have to wait and see how this develops.  

Right now my attempts to work are not going well, to the point I am officially giving up, at...

Refunds as needed

Edit: Okay, most of this is now invalidated; please see the bolded Edit 2 below for an explanation.  I'm going to leave it up for the sake of transparency, but there shouldn't be any problems with this going forward unless I manage to screw something else up.

***

Hello, Nemitites, Eserites, and new Izarites!  I'm sorry about the bungled roll-out of the billing change; this has all been my fault, and due to my unfamiliarity with the financial side of Patreon and failure t...

November '22 AMA, Izarite edition

Ask me a question below!  One per person per month, please.  Five from this tier will be selected and answered in one week.

The Big Change

Okay, after several months of discussion and buildup, and a few mishaps, I have finally implemented the $5 bump.

As of this update, the Nemitite tier has had its benefits reduced to the discord role, and no longer comes with advance chapter privileges.  It will remain for those who wish to use it, with my deep and abiding gratitude, at $3.

The new Izarite tier, at $5 per month, now serves the role the Nemitite tier used to; this is the one you'll need to read advanced chapter...

4.11 In Which the Dark Lord Ruins a Party

Rhydion remained as inscrutable as only a man encased in metal can be, but his companions were not so sanguine about my proposed bargain.

“You dare?” Sister Dhinell seethed.  “You presume to dictate terms to a paladin of the faith, for complying with the Goddess’s will?  And the obvious best interests of all?!”

“Why is killing zombies the Goddess’s will and the best interests of all, but feeding the poor isn’t?” Aster asked.

Dhin...

4.10 In Which the Dark Lord Catches Up

Well, it was a good thing I’d stopped by Auldmaer’s place first.  Our conversation had been so brief and pleasant it verged on forgettable; as Gizmit predicted, he was pleased by all my suggestions, and I was on my way to the Kingsguard’s HQ to drop in on Norovena in just a handful of minutes.  Had I tried to do it the other way around and gotten Norovena’s surprise news first, I would have had to skip Auldmaer entirely in my rush over to the King’s Guild.  It would�...

General update

Currently coming down with a fever and having a hard time focusing or even staying awake, so I'm updating the most recent chapter to be available to the other tiers before I pass out, and I think that's all I've got left for today.

I am still going to make the adjustment to the tiers that's been recently discussed, now that I've figured out how.  That'll come in the next few days, and shouldn't affect anybody till next billing period.  The switch to Patreon's new billing syste...

4.9 In Which the Dark Lord Threads the Needle

“A Rhaedswyth Velvet?”  Captain Norovena had accepted the bottle from me with something very like reverence and now held it up, gazing in awe at the label.  “Hell’s revels, man.  You know what a nubile silverblend brandy like this is worth?”

“Nubile?”  Surely I was missing something; my Blessing of Wisdom had never translated a word wrong,per se, but the complex interactions of language and culture meant I didn’t always understand th...

Okay never mind

So I just tried to do the thing I just announced I was about to do and it appears I cannot.  Patreon doesn't allow the price of a tier to be edited while people are subscribed to it.  Which makes sense!  I can see how that could be abused.  Unfortunately I lacked the foresight to look into this ahead of time and was taken by surprise and now I'm not sure how to proceed.

I'll think about it.  There's undoubtedly a workaround.  The most obvious one I can thin...

Last reminder on upcoming change

As has been previously and repeatedly discussed in detail, as of the October billing cycle the Nemitite tier will be switched from $3 to $5 per month.  I left it as late as I felt I reasonably could to post this reminder, so as not to miss anybody who's joined up since all the aforementioned discussion.  I'm going to make that switch next, so if you're a Nemitite and can't or don't want to continue supporting me at $5 a month, please cancel or manually lower your pledge today or tom...

4.8 In Which the Dark Lord Gets a Handout

Sneppit had never let me down yet.

Granted, much of the relative peace and tranquility of the next day was due to Minifrit’s supervision, and her willingness to consult with the leadership of the two tribes to determine the best ways to keep the peace.  It was tense around the fortress, but no incidents ensued by the time I had to embark for Gwyllthean.  Well, no incidents worth noting; several people snapped at Velaven as she attempted to pursue her project.  That was ...

4.7 In Which the Dark Lord Isn't Even the Most Dramatic Person in the Room

We had made it back to North Watch before noon and my interlude with the queens was brief, but getting everything sorted out took most of the rest of the day.  In a way, the large influx of wolf refugees came as a relief because we were prepared for that, had no particular history with them and Minifrit’s careful framing of the matter had my people pleased to be in the position of extending charity from a position of strength.  And the wolves made a nice, comfy buffer between the ...

4.6 In Which the Dark Lord Lays Down the Law, Again

You’d think I’d know by now that nothing is ever that simple.  Tossing out a few Heal spells during a night visit to the cat village was one thing, but it turned out when you wanted to offer the same to close to two hundred people—because, understandably given what they’d been through, more of the wolves than otherwise requested healing once I made it clear that no issue was too small—in the middle of the forest, you had to get actual logistics involved.

Fortunat...

4.5 In Which the Dark Lord Throws Them a Bone

Half of showtime is timing, which means among other things recognizing when it is not showtime.

My late-night visit to the cat village was brief, smooth, and above all quiet, because the single most obvious thing about the cats was that they were terrified of me.  Some from personal experience; I’d sent back the remains of a war party who had seen firsthand the effects of my anger, heard me threatening to carpet North Watch with their skins and not doubted that I’d lit...

October '22 AMA

Sleepless asks:

"Is there a specific reason why Seiji is so disillusioned with humanity and is it related to his parents?"

Yes and yes.  More of his backstory will unfold as the story goes on.

Hakurei06 asks:

"Assuming this is in the same verse as TGaB, would it be too much of a spoiler to share where on the timeline this work is in relation to it?"

After the revelations and hints in Book 3 I don't think it...

4.4 In Which the Dark Lord Hosts

I sort of had to let them come inside after that.  These were proud people, leaders among their tribe, who’d come here to humble themselves and beg for aid; I couldn’t exactly make them stand out there in the snow and do it.  I might’ve done that to somebody who needed to be put in their place but I had clearly made my point to these folks long since.

And since they were inside anyway, I provided them a generous helping of dinner and a seat at my table.  Well, at le...

Ask Me Anything, Oct. '22, Nemitite edition

Five questions will be selected!  You have one week!

Here's what's up!

Welcome back, everybody, this is an update on the new Patreon as of this month!

New Benefits:

- Avenist-tier backers are now reading two chapters in advance.  They also have a new Discord role and their own spoiler channel to discuss the Avenist-tier advance chapter.

- I am launching a monthly Patreon AMA, under the following rules: A separate post will be made for each backer tier to reply with questions, from which any Avenist questions are guaranteed...

4.3 In Which the Dark Lord Herds Cats

The first surprise we got when Kasser led us all out to the courtyard was that it was snowing.  And not light flurries, either; it had clearly not been coming down long enough to accumulate much, but it was just as clearly sticking.  Already some of my crusaders were bustling about, sweeping paths in the courtyard and carrying scarves, gloves, and steaming pots of tea to those stationed on the walls.

“Bit early in the year for this, isn’t it?” I murmured.

“The si...

4.2 In Which the Dark Lord Musters his Forces

That was when the old Seiji probably would’ve suffered a broken nose, but I hadn’t been training for nothing.  I caught the flying tome of history, rather deftly if I do say so myself.

“Don’t hold back, Sneppit,” I replied sweetly.  “Tell us how you really feel.”

“You lose the attitude, buddy!” the goblin shouted back, pointing at me.  She was actually standing up in her chair and so was slightly taller than the rest of us, for once.  “You a...

4.1 In Which the Dark Lord Actually Does RPG Stuff for a Change

“This is far enough,” Velaven announced.  “Any higher and Nazralind will be in danger.”

That suited me fine, as the truck had already been struggling on the steep uphill road.  At least it wasa road, but Truck-kun was designed for 21stcentury pavement and this mountain highway had been medieval before going without repairs for a century and a half.  I brought it to a stop, set the brake, and killed the engine, then hopped out while the others went about t...

End of Book 3 Update

Hi everyone!  Posting a summary of immediate and future changes here.

First, I'm adjusting my current plans for the last bonus chapters.  In trying to work on them over the weekend I've been having a lot of trouble and feeling the symptoms of burnout, and it occurred to me that since I was pushing through to wrap up Book 3 I skipped my normal monthly break.  So while I'd originally planned to push out those last bonus chapters and then go on my between-books break, I'm in...

3.34 In Which the Dark Lord Plays Queenmaker

Privacy was surprisingly easy to find for being the aftermath of a revolution.  Minutes later we were shut in the back office of a nearby shop which had long since been abandoned and looted, my people (plus Rizz and Rhoka) occupying the front room, and Sneppit’s security detail standing guard at the exterior door.

“There’s one thing I keep meaning to ask,” I said as soon as the door was closed.  “What’s with the job titles?  Like, sure, Zui’s a killer hairst...

3.33 In Which the Dark Lord Takes Over

“Why did that work?!”  It really spoke to Flaethwyn’s essential character that despite that absolute uproar and pandemonium blurring out sound on all sides, I could still clearly hear her offended screech.  Okay, well, to be fair she was only a few meters away.  “That creature could have slaughtered us all with a thought! What’s the point of playing along with made-up goblin rules?”

“It’s not something I would expect a highborn to underst...

3.32 In Which the Dark Lord Yields

The air next to him shifted, and suddenly there was a devil standing among us.

Actually the visual effect was pretty interesting, if underwhelming.  It was like a person-shaped slice of empty space suddenly rotated fully around, as if it were a cardboard cutout, and when fully revealed…there she was.  Disorienting, but I quickly forgot about that, taking in the sight of the devil.

Ozyraph was…not what I expected.  Well, in part; most of her features were classic...

3.31 In Which the Dark Lord Almost Wins

I said that, because I had to—how many times in life are you gonna be served up such a golden opportunity?  But realistically, nobody was getting in, and also this was clearly the end of the road as far as the truck was concerned, unless we wanted to waste a lot of time moving a gigantic barricade.  On the contrary, it was time for everybody to get out—both those who’d been comfortably in the cab with me, and everyone else who was much less comfortable in the...