Chapter 12
“Oh gods,” the pudgy woman wailed, looking frightfully at me with tears in her eyes. “Oh gods, what do I do?”
“It can’t be that bad,” I said, incredulous, and even feeling a twinge of genuine irritation at how overdramatic she was being.
“Not that bad?!” The frumpy maid cried out. “I have nothing!...
2021-10-02 03:46:58 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 11
~ Kaleb ~
Kaleb Mel-vu Reinarr strode through a street swaddled in a filthy, tan-and-white cloth, the ruddy light of his lantern making up for the absence of moonlight.
The commoner stink of this place seeped into his lungs. The commoner filth seeped into his boots. In the daylight, and among the moldering, leather-f...
2021-09-24 12:17:03 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 10
Belshaad was a city of such sprawling size that it could only truly be appreciated from the pinnacle heights of its tallest bordering hillsides. It was only from those hillsides could the vast stretch of ocean be seen past the harbors and their moored ships to the painted sails of landbound vessels on the horizon. The metropolis...
2021-09-18 01:58:24 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 9
~ Mudpuppy ~
A spear found flesh, tearing and snapping through rib bones to impale the monster’s heart. The leathery, winged thing screamed pitifully, ineffectually batting its membranous wings against its assailant. This was no cause for concern; this thing, measuring at more an arm’s length but less than a tail, was t...
2021-09-10 22:49:56 +0000 UTC View Post// Author's Note: There has been one significant edit from the previous chapter (chapter 7) to make note of:
The final section of chapter 7, the part involving the alternate perspective from Mudpuppy, has been redacted and will be moved further towards the end of book two, where it fits better. I generally try to keep from making major edi...
2021-09-04 00:35:36 +0000 UTC View PostRiver stood among the collapsed metal armor and lifeless bones of Reinard, Weapons Master of the Hollow Delve.
She couldn’t move her left arm. Fortunately, the bones weren’t broken, just dislocated. River grit her teeth and wrenched the limp arm back into place. Pins and needles raged across her skin and she clenched her hand into a fi...
2021-02-23 22:29:44 +0000 UTC View PostRiver died many more times.
She hated dying. She hated dying, and she hated pain. Sometimes she would take a break from the fighting to just sit at the bottom of the well and watch the clouds float by through her tiny window into the outside world. The reprieve gave her a chance to sit and think.
At first when she had come to this wo...
2021-02-17 04:25:27 +0000 UTC View PostClack… clack… CRUNCH!
River wasn’t sure how she had ever let that first skeleton catch and chomp her to death. It was easily the slowest out of all of the skeletons, and looking at it in hindsight, she found it a little embarrassing. She took him out with a stone to the face then gathered the three large rocks she had found before. W...
2021-02-09 16:01:05 +0000 UTC View PostA large set of wooden double doors barred passage at the end of the hall. Flanking the entrance on either side, skulls adorned metal spikes that arose from a nest of withered bones. Some of the skulls had been stabbed clear through the bone and others simply dangled there at the ends of the spikes. Their empty eye sockets stared listlessly at an...
2021-02-02 16:26:16 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 7
Rolling, grassy hills stretched out in all directions with only the rare tree sprouting up every here and there. This was much different from the huge expanse of forest we’d spent nearly an entire month in since our departure. After all that time, we were finally reaching the human realms. We had even seen a couple settlements ...
2021-02-01 17:41:21 +0000 UTC View PostHunger had a way of sharpening one’s mind, much in the same way that fear could.
How fortunate was it, then, that River was not only starving, but also terrified?
She’d been walking through this pitch black tunnel for almost ten minutes now, and exactly nothing had happened. It was certainly wearing on her nerves, though.
F...
2021-01-27 03:34:36 +0000 UTC View PostRiver stood. She stared into the dark passageway. The skeleton wasn’t visible yet, but she could hear it approaching. Each step it took clattered its old bones against the stone.
Clack… clack… clack…
She tightened her hands into fists and glared into the darkness. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she shook her head.
... 2021-01-27 03:33:55 +0000 UTC View Post// Author's Note: Rivers of Rogue will update on Tuesdays with new chapters every week in serial format. Every week, chapters will become available to the lower tiers. \\
River blinked blearily at her computer screen, the only light in her otherwise pitch dark room. Her schoolwork had been temporarily put on hold, the ever prese...
2021-01-27 03:32:27 +0000 UTC View Post
This is the icon for the new community discord, courtesy of PiggyDog13! Isn't it cute? The community discord is a place where you can chat about recent chapters in my projects or post fan art. It's open for everyone, even non-patreon supporters, so feel free to invite your friends if you'd like :)
Here's a link to join the disco...
2021-01-26 23:22:16 +0000 UTC View Post// Author's Note: Using this post to give a little information about some changes that this patreon account will be going through. I'm going to be adding tiers soon for people who pledge specific amounts. This is actually because I plan on starting an ongoing web serial in addition to working on Queen in the Mud and both projects will be linked ...
2021-01-12 23:12:12 +0000 UTC View PostI hefted a wooden crate onto one of the wagons, setting it down with a wooden clatter against the other cargo we’d already loaded.
Letting out a yawn at the morning sunlight filtering through the treetops, I stretched my arms and back, pleased at the notable lack of painful pops and cracks that I’d grown used to over the winter months....
2021-01-04 09:27:10 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 4
~ Mudpuppy ~
Burning. I was burning alive, every inch of my body immolated with blood red flames, dancing and twisting sadistically against my writhing skin. The pain came in piercing waves of excruciating agony in time with the flickering, violent flames.
Wind whipped around me, the trees a blur as I sprinte...
2020-12-19 05:42:43 +0000 UTC View Post// Author's Note: Apologies for the lack of updates recently. I've been struggling with a bit of writer's block for the last few months and haven't been able to write as much as I'd like to. Hopefully we'll get back into the swing of it and pick up the pace as we go further into book two. Fortunately, this chapter is pretty danged long. -Maari \...
2020-12-09 14:50:14 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 2
“My Queen, you’re going to need to get used to the sight of blood if you’re to rule a kingdom in this world.”
“It’s not the sight of blood that bothers me, Thaddius. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. Those are real weapons.”
“These duels are only until first blood, and the healing water ...
2020-11-08 22:15:07 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 1
Wind whistled through the trees with the first whispers of winter chill. Many trees had already dropped their leaves to the forest floor, growing into tall piles of yellow, orange and brown.
The cold brought on a lethargy that fell over me like a heavy quilt. Salamanders hibernate through winter, as it turns out. That wasn...
2020-08-16 04:15:08 +0000 UTC View Post// Author's note: This is an early look at the prologue for book two of Queen in the Mud. This is subject to change/editing as the story develops. Updates may be slow for the time being as I want to get closer to finishing the manuscript for book two before sharing (as I like to go back and re-edit older chapters). Thanks for understanding! \\ 2020-06-12 20:00:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Queen in the Mud is now live on Kindle Unlimited!
If you have been one of my supporters on patreon before today (May 6th, 2020) and would like a free copy of the official ebook, send me a private message with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you from there.
Going forward, chapters of the second book of Queen i...
2020-05-07 04:34:09 +0000 UTC View Post