I've been planning this design for more than a month now, revising it on the plain stone slate I've mounted in my Hideaway to make it as straightforward as possible. The shower that resulted is a relatively simple looking thing, but simple is good - the fewer moving parts a machine has, the less tends to go wrong with it. Two wooden water tanks,...
2025-08-08 23:20:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe encampment knoll was more solid than the other had been; Kurik spent some time digging carefully to discover that a massive, somewhat porous stone of immense size was supporting the mound. Parts of it looked almost like bubbles of soap turned to stone.
Ulath grunted, poking a finger at one of the vacuous holes, its edges delicate and...
The study door opens, and Vanion walks in. He's wearing a styric smock again, as he's done often since I've been here in Elenia; I find myself wondering how much of it's for comfort, and how much of it's subconsciously for the sake of that Sephrenia woman. He closes the door behind himself and moves around me, where I'm using Upgrade on his desk...
2025-07-16 08:00:38 +0000 UTC View PostI am surrounded in darkness by the sound of coins, the scent of metal, leather, and human skin oils, and the constant, bone-jarring thumping of horse hoofbeats. This is possibly the absolute worst substitute for an RV that a mouse has ever semi willingly traveled in. I can't even afford to cast Glow in case it's visible somehow to the other knig...
2025-07-14 03:49:37 +0000 UTC View PostThe rain had petered out over the last few hours, the cloud cover overhead thinning as the barge had gone north. Now, as afternoon gave way into early evening, and a hint of reds seeped anemicly through the cloud cover from the setting sun, Sparhawk led Faran down the lowered ramp, the horse obviousl1¹y eager for solid land. Berit and Kurik h...
2025-07-05 02:03:12 +0000 UTC View PostIf Sparhawk had been constrained to describe Lamorkand in a single word, he wouldn't be certain whether to describe it as bleak, barren, or wet. It was certainly bleak; Kalten's assessment that nobody in the country ever smiled was proving to be less hyperbole than simple description. Barren, in that it seemed that only the most robust of crops ...
2025-06-18 04:59:23 +0000 UTC View PostI'm no major writer of note; it's a flattering day when someone communicates with me that they enjoyed one of my chapters. As such, when I proposed what I thought was a silly idea yesterday, in honor of April's Fools, to write a completely new story in long form, it caught me off guard that I got more than eye rolls and laughs.
A few peo...
So, it's with great pleasure that I announce what will be my first submission to Royal Road: Ever After.
An Isekai protagonist has finished his hero's journey. He's mastered magic, braved dire threats, and plumbed the secrets of the universe. After a decade of research, experiment, and exploration of the myriad worlds, he's finally stumb...
Just to keep you all updated, I'm planning on a back to back release of 2 chapters of A Bad Name. I'm still working on the second chapter, but here's the first of them just in case it takes longer to finish the second than I'm happy with.
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New Game+ Chapter Two
I'm still a light sleeper; I wake up almost instantly at the...
This snippet is no longer canon, although it's being saved for possible reassembly into a future scene.
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We're only two days out of Demos when I feel a sickening sensation around mid day; a nauseous tugging at my soul that feels like it's prodding at my strictures - specifically, the one to protect Sparhawk. For a few minutes it...
2025-01-02 08:26:48 +0000 UTC View PostLooks like the last post of 2024 is going to be Sparhawk and company, rather than Peter Gardner. Not really what I'd planned or hoped for, but this is what wanted to be written. I apologize for this, and hope to have more of A Bad Name for you all within a week. In the interim, I hope desperately that 2025 is a better year than any of the eight ...
2024-12-31 19:07:40 +0000 UTC View PostProof that I haven't been derelict in my responsibilities to keep writing, just in my responsibilities to keep posting where you can all read it. Which I apologize for also.
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Unsurprisingly, when you spend the better part of a week being smuggled in someone's pocket while they're riding a horse, it's a lonely and boring journey...
... Apologies for the earlier mispost. I reposted old content by mistake and erased it once I noticed. Here's the ACTUAL next part.
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Sparhawk glared at the sky as the clouds overhead spat a spiteful sprinkling accompanied by gusty winds that made oiling his armor difficult and time-consuming. Finally, though, the onerous task w...
Sorry for the two week delay; I've been down with Covid. Getting back to writing now that I can breathe and focus again.
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"Vanion, you're forgetting something: I can't afford to tell a lie." Admittedly, it was something I hadn't given much consideration before, but of course having a cover story would carry the expectation of me...
They'd set up camp on the road. With almost half of their number injured, it was a dolorous setup, and Sparhawk noticed that Berit had taken it on himself to pick up most of the slack, working himself to exhaustion to get the tents up faster and curry the horses. Sparhawk made a mental note to talk to him later; he was obviously feeling misplace...
2024-10-09 16:17:34 +0000 UTC View PostPartially edited. Should be ready and up by Wednesday.
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Sparhawk watched Vanion escort Anthony inside, his opinions on the whole situation being mixed.
He could feel the general direction and distance to the man, the more so when he closed his eyes and focused on the strange connection. He found himself wondering how qu...
I'm woken up by a hammering pounding on the door to my private sleeping chamber slash workspace. I yawn heavily, wiping the crust out of my eyes, an unpleasant taste in my mouth. That means I was snoring, and sleeping with my mouth open, two things my wife has made very clear are a problem. Her solution being to poke me until I roll over, which ...
2024-10-05 12:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt seemed to Sparhawk that his head had no sooner hit the pillow than Kurik was shaking him awake.
"It's about midnight," the squire said.
Sparhawk sat up in the bed, groaning a little under his breath. "All right. I'm awake."
"I'll go wake the others." Kurik patted Sparhawk on the shoulder. "Once everyone's awake, Berit ...
By evening, the chapterhouse blacksmith has already delivered several iron ingots to me, rough poured and slightly rusted; I can only assume that for his purposes, they're probably low quality enough that he won't much miss them. I don't particularly NEED high-quality iron or steel to start with, though, because I can make it higher quality with...
2024-09-30 07:58:53 +0000 UTC View Post"There's a roadside inn up ahead," Kalten said as the long day's ride was settling into evening. "Do we chance it?"
The horses' strength was flagging, now, clearly in need of feed, water, and rest. Sparhawk took the opportunity to pull up next to Sephrenia. "Will we be safe to stop here?"
"Only for a few hours," she said. "Just lon...
Only partially edited. Sick as a dog. Gonna try to keep writing through the chills and hot flashes.
Plan to release on QQ on Friday or Saturday after a bit more editing.
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Despite his jest towards Anthony, Sparhawk's mood wasn't entirely a light one. Looking past Berit, who still looked as though he was considering trimm...
Much as I expected, I crashed out around mid morning. What I hadn't expected was that the members of this order were not only tolerant of my sleeping schedule, but surprisingly understanding; it seems that having different sleeping schedules was necessary for an order of active military simply to ensure there were people alert and on duty at nig...
2024-09-24 11:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostSparhawk watched Vanion escort Anthony inside, his opinions on the whole situation being mixed.
He could feel the general direction and distance to the man, the moreso when he closed his eyes and focused on the strange connection. He found himself wondering how quickly the man could traverse long distances. Anthony had already intimated ...
I am not, as a rule, a violent man, but when I was younger I had certain problematic tendencies that could have made me so. My patience has been worn extremely thin, and while I sympathize with their caution I feel immense frustration; I don't feel like I'm being given much opportunity to even prove my sincerity or use. Then again, given certain...
2024-09-19 08:53:01 +0000 UTC View PostSparhawk related the tale of the ball of fire falling from the sky, the damage to the Rose Street Inn, the guards' pursuit, and Sparhawk's decision to follow and question the man who he'd come to learn called himself 'Anthony'. "... and after we left the hideaway he seemingly created from nothing, he carried me from alley to roof top, then from ...
2024-09-17 16:04:00 +0000 UTC View PostI don't know what I expected of wherever we were going to be all meeting up. I can say with certainty that I wasn't expecting a relatively normal looking study with brown carpeting. Sparhawk, Berit, Kalten, and Kurik surround me on all sides; Berit remains quite faithfully at my back and I'm pretty sure he doesn't once relax or sling his axe. Ot...
2024-09-15 14:13:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe full, amalgamated first chapter. It'll be going up on Questionable Questing (due to graphic descriptions of violence that go beyond what SB allows) on Friday. You guys get it a few days early while I check it over for any last changes. Segments 1 through 4 entail the first chapter, segment 6 will be posted soon after I do a little polishing....
2024-09-12 13:32:01 +0000 UTC View PostDespite his jest towards Anthony, Sparhawk's mood wasn't entirely a light one. Looking past Berit, who still looked as though he was considering trimming Anthony's beard below the chin with his axe, Sparhawk got a good look down in the courtyard of the chapterhouse, where he could see Kalten and Kurik marching with purpose towards the stables, h...
2024-09-09 19:51:00 +0000 UTC View PostIt's official. Sparhawk is a dick.
Not that I can blame him, I suppose. The restrictions placed on me mean he's PROBABLY not evil, but he's certainly rude, mistrusting, and about as sociable as a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. Plus, he's obviously under a lot of strain right now, judging by the dark bags under his eyes and the obvi...
Sparhawk eyed the middle aged man dubiously. Part of him felt it was probably a good idea to just kill the man swiftly and silently and be done with it; he couldn't afford witnesses tonight of all nights while he made his escape from Cimmura. On the other hand, Sparhawk had wanted to interrogate the man, and now he had him.
"Who are you?...