“Are you sure about giving them so much leeway?”
“A better outcome doesn’t come to mind. While I may be behind when it comes to matters of rural administration, being raised in the city has provided me with ample exposure to the Guilds. Viscount Ranford isn’t wrong about his misgivings: the city is a world apart from our provincial holdings, and the cityfolk will only work with ...
2026-01-01 06:21:13 +0000 UTC View Post“Can you believe he stuck his dick in that?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. Forget I said anythin’.”
Thick fog blanketed Re-Blumrushur as Liam watched Reed and his men prepare for their departure in the grey before dawn. Just outside of the southern gatehouse, several wagons were being loaded with supplies for their coming ‘campaign’ against House Blumrush’s forces. T...
2025-12-15 06:51:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Welcome to Re-Blumrushur. Your hotel is this way.”
“H-Hotel?”
Liam turned and reentered the gate, ignoring the dumbfounded expressions of the freshly arrived rebel forces. There were a lot more than he expected, and, for the time being, he was only concerned with getting them to the recently vacated pleasure district before any trouble could happen between them and the citi...
2025-11-30 07:42:18 +0000 UTC View Post“Can’t exactly blame ‘em.”
“I guess not.”
It was still sort of disappointing. While the citizens were angry, they weren’t stupid. Not angry enough to be stupid, at any rate. Unlike in Roble, there wasn’t a masked lunatic conveniently on hand to whip the mob up into a fanatical frenzy.
Liam sent a look skyward. Their invisible Commander was loitering above the c...
2025-11-18 07:41:10 +0000 UTC View Post“You sure this is a good idea?”
“You got any better?”
The armsman looked towards the nearby plaza, where a gaggle of young noblewomen from the Beaumont Faction were gathered within a loose perimeter of hired carriages. Fortunately, they only represented a fraction of the Countess’ allies, as most resided in their respective fiefs.
“We could put ‘em outside the wa...
2025-10-28 11:39:17 +0000 UTC View PostDoes this city just light itself on fire a few times a year?
Liam recalled someone mentioning the normally squalid conditions of the city at some point, so maybe it did.
“What do we do?” Baroness Illerand asked tearfully.
“Has the riot reached our part of the city?” Countess Beaumont asked.
The armsman shook his head.
“No, my lady,” he said. ...
2025-10-06 10:17:33 +0000 UTC View PostA blood-curdling scream cut through the air, echoing off the nearby buildings before being swallowed by the morning mist. From his perch overlooking a small plaza in the western part of Re-Blumrushur, Liam watched as the source of the scream – a middle-aged woman carrying a bucket of water – dropped said bucket and fainted dead away. She wasn’t the first to do so.
As dawn broke over...
2025-09-19 10:25:03 +0000 UTC View PostThis should be the one…
From atop a warehouse in the Re-Blumrushur’s harbour district, Liam peered down at a fluttering banner planted at the foot of a nearby pier. It was close to midnight, and between the half-moon and the intermittent clouds, it was difficult to make out the details of anything beyond the range of his Darkvision. He was probably in the right place. The sig...
2025-09-08 02:23:47 +0000 UTC View Post“W-W-W-W-Welcome to Re-Bl–!”
Baroness Illerand bit her tongue mid-greeting. The Merchant standing across the counter furrowed his brow. In response, the teary-eyed young noblewoman raised an arm to point a finger.
“Seize him!” She cried.
“What!”
The Merchant backed away in alarm. Liam slapped the Baroness’ hand back down.
“Sorry,” he said,...
2025-08-18 07:16:45 +0000 UTC View Post“Sorry.”
His apology was met with silence.
“I’ll pay you back.”
Countess Beaumont’s glistening blue eyes flashed in fury.
“Pay me back?”
“The temple charged you a lot, yeah? I didn’t even need all of the healing they threw at me.”
The young noblewoman placed her hands on his bed as she leaned in toward him.
“That i...
2025-08-04 06:36:58 +0000 UTC View Post“I think we’ve got a rider coming in.”
“Where? I can’t see a damn thing with the sun in my eyes.”
“I think I see him…is he asleep? Ah, he fell off.”
Just inside the western gate of Re-Blumrushur, Liam sat atop a crate, watching the customs staff handle the trickle of evening traffic. It had been several hours since he had snuck back into the city, all of whic...
2025-07-29 05:03:36 +0000 UTC View Post“Drew the short straw, eh?”
“Not so sure ‘bout that. Been damn hot all of the sudden. Night watch’s just the thing.”
“Dunno. Rather stand outside during the day than try and sleep in the heat.”
“Maybe. But it’s nice and quiet at night, too. Less to watch out for…”
The two Mercenaries froze as the ethereal form of a headless woman floated by. She d...
2025-07-12 02:26:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Where to begin…
Ludmila surveyed the disposition of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s forces, trying to make sense out of why what should have been resolved with a minor battle had become a campaign that embroiled the northern third of Re-Estize in unbridled warfare. Try as she might, however, she could not make any sense out of the war plan unless it was intended to be senseless in th...
2025-06-29 07:28:37 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m back. What are the new probabilities for a successful incursion?”
“Zero point zero zero one three for the southern foothills. Zero point zero zero seven two for the Völkchenheim border.”
The Elder Lich’s unwavering confidence while quoting the unreasonably precise number was a wonder in itself. That number changed from day to day as Ludmila and her Rangers tested t...
2025-06-18 03:45:38 +0000 UTC View Post『We’ve got trouble.』
“No shit.”
From his hiding spot in the windbreak along the road, Reed watched as tongues of flame slowly spread between the thatched rooftops of the nearby village. Normally, an entire village would rally to fight such a blaze, but this particular village’s inhabitants were too busy being killed to do anything about it.
“He gonna make us figh...
2025-06-07 02:16:40 +0000 UTC View Post『You did what?』
『I-It’s not my fault! Girls just keep coming after me for some reason!』
High above the western Azerlisian Marches, Raul wore an incredulous expression as Liam delivered his report. He had to have done something. Girls never came after him aside from Olga, and it wasn’t the same with her. Or was it? Undead and Demihumans were eas...
2025-05-22 05:03:17 +0000 UTC View Post“Conrad, tell me what you see.”
“A field, Lord Reginald.”
“Just a field?”
“Yes, Lord Reginald.”
“If my memory serves me correctly,” Lord Reginald said, “I called for our vassals to raise their levies last week. Should this field not be populated by tens of thousands of men by now?”
“Yes, Lord Reginald,” the footman replied.
<... 2025-05-12 07:14:46 +0000 UTC View Post“Easy? How do you figure?”
“Because…” Raul started, then paused. “You grew up in Fassett Town, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What about you, Lady Beaumont?” Raul asked.
“I was born and raised in Re-Blumrushr,” the Countess answered.
That probably explained their confusion. Anyone who lived in a farming village or logging settlement in Re-Estize would k...
2025-05-05 05:53:15 +0000 UTC View PostDoes this mean I have even more work to do now?
Liam remained unmoving as Countess Beaumont silently digested what was essentially an ultimatum from Lady Albedo. That ultimatum was also a chance, however: one that few in Re-Estize would be offered in the face of its imminent doom.
“I have heard from Liam that the Sorcerous Kingdom still mostly operates under Re-Estize law...
2025-04-25 08:02:24 +0000 UTC View Post“What do you think, boss?”
“A bit old, isn’t it?”
“It’s the best we could find without leavin’ the March. Not like anyone’ll have any better, yeah?”
A sour expression crossed Olin’s face as the river barge drifted towards its moorings on the waterfront of Re-Blumrushr’s growing pleasure quarter. The vessel was a recreational craft built by one of the lo...
2025-04-19 08:57:35 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re back…early, I think?”
“I am,” Ludmila replied. “There was an emergency session of the House of Lords.”
“What was the emergency?”
“One of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s convoys was attacked by a party from Re-Estize. I suspect we will be at war with them shortly.”
“War, huh…when’s the first match?”
Ludmila stopped ...
2025-04-08 06:47:33 +0000 UTC View Post“They won’t like this. There will be an uproar the moment this is announced to the public.”
“And when has that ever been an obstacle?”
In the brightly illuminated chambers of the Imperial Court Council, Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix, Emperor of the Baharuth Empire, presided over a meeting between himself, his councillors, and the heads of the imperial branch families. The me...
2025-04-01 07:34:42 +0000 UTC View Post“I-I’m doing what?”
“I don’t think I can do this…”
“Yet you must!” Cha’ac said.
A pair of plaintive whines rose into the air. From atop her throne, Xoc watched a gang of elders bully Enhgroli and Enrrhal out of the corner of her eye.
“It is your lot as a lord,” Cha’ac said far too authoritatively.
Xoc looked away to avoid eye cont...
2025-03-25 07:33:58 +0000 UTC View Post7th Day, Middle Winter Month
“Ku, ku, ku…”
A dark chuckle echoed in the darkness, emanating from the Dark Warrior of Darkness, Momon. All around him, in the hold of a cargo ship recently returned to Corelyn Harbour, were piles of hides, precious ores, uncut gems, and exotic materials. Exotic to Re-Estize, at least.
In all, it was the first ...
2025-03-18 07:49:54 +0000 UTC View Post“Vltava once told us that these ancient buildings were created out of the memories of our people. Perhaps it was a necessity to facilitate what you describe.”
Florine looked up at the ruined pyramid nearest to their seats in Lady Xoc’s court. She hadn’t paid much attention to the clanhold’s architecture on the first day of their visit, but their second day afforded them plenty o...
2025-03-11 07:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post『If Clara is ‘venerable’, what does that make Ludmila?』
『They associate wisdom and experience with age. That makes Clara the eldest among us.』
Clara’s eyes went from Liane to Ludmila, and then back to Elder Cha’ac. She wasn’t sure where to start with her rebuttals or if it was worth the energy at all. Judging by what she had learned about Rol’en’gorek so far, d...
2025-03-04 06:55:01 +0000 UTC View Post『Holy crap, that was annoying. Annoying and weird. Well, it wouldn’t have been annoying if it wasn’t so weird.』
Clara was rather annoyed as well, but she knew better than to join in on Liane’s tirade. The opening stages of their trade negotiations had not gone as expected, mainly because they ended up across the table from the wrong people.
She and her friends had gone int...
2025-02-18 01:30:14 +0000 UTC View PostWith evening fast approaching, the court of Lady Xoc underwent a striking change in atmosphere. The trees crowning the massive hill cast murky shadows over dark, weathered stone that seemed to absorb the light of the clear skies overhead. From within those shadows, mixed with the transient specks of daylight filtering through the leaves, countless sets of shining eyes watched as Ludmila and her...
2025-02-11 01:02:37 +0000 UTC View Post“It looks like someone got here before us.”
“It looks like a whole lotta people got here before us,” Liane sourly retorted. “Hey, isn’t that Zu Chiru?”
Liane grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her in the general direction of Zu Chiru. Ludmila rolled her eyes before leading her friends over to meet him. The Quagoa Merchant was at a nearby stand, gesticulating with ...
2025-02-02 11:27:51 +0000 UTC View Post『What are they doing here?』
“This is Master Leeds,” Lady Xoc said, “leader of the local Merchant Guild.”
『They sold themselves into slavery to infiltrate Rol’en’gorek and thwart your then-future efforts here, obviously.』
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Leeds,” Clara said.
The Guildmaster bowed his head repeatedly as Clara intr...
2025-01-26 07:45:58 +0000 UTC View Post