Henrik sat with his back against an apple tree, watching the colors of the sky change over the valley. The calmness of this place was like a blanket of peace draped over him; not something he was used to, but he was growing to like it.
He took a bite of the strange red fruit. Rasud wouldn’t stop talking about them. Well, they were quite tasty. Maybe he was onto something there.
Fu...
2024-08-02 18:03:15 +0000 UTC View PostFirst, a big thank you to everyone that has subscribed to my patreon. It truly means a lot to me, and I appreciate every one of you.
The first book in the Dragon Riders of Etrea trilogy is done! I've run it passed some beta readers and made a few changes (especially to Tobias) and it'll come out on August 5th. As long as it sells well, audiobooks will be made.
Book 2 will have slig...
2024-08-02 17:57:07 +0000 UTC View PostIt took them two days to get back to the dragon’s lair.
After suffering such grevious wounds, both Rasud and Henrik were left weak. A good night’s sleep helped; Tossyth was gracious enough to stand watch over them. Henrik tore off his blood-soaked clothes and to his surprise, Anslie laid with him on his bedroll. She didn’t say anything about it and he didn’t ask her.
T...
2024-08-01 18:32:57 +0000 UTC View PostA large orc wielding a wicked spiked axe saw Henrik standing outside of the wall and booted his horse forward. The orc shouted some kind of battle cry. It sounded pathetic.
Henrik waited for him to draw near. The orc leaned low in his saddle, reaching out with his axe. Henrik dropped and rolled across the ground, his sword taking one of the horse’s legs off at the knee.
The ...
2024-07-31 16:59:15 +0000 UTC View PostIt seemed the moment Henrik closed his eyes, Rasud was gently shaking him.
“Hey, wake up,” Rasud said quietly. “It’s time for your shift.”
Henrik rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “How long has it been?”
“A few hours,” Rasud said. “It’s been full dark for at least an hour, so I figured I’d wait up with you for a bit before going to sleep.”<...
2024-07-30 18:40:12 +0000 UTC View PostTobias’s horse was a fine animal, so Henrik tied the reins to his saddle to keep it near. Besides, out there in the wastes, there was nowhere for the horse to really go except to an untimely death at the hands of orcs, predators, or the heat itself.
The small chest containing the egg was lashed to Tobias’s saddle. They left Tobias’s grave and hurried north, moving as quickly as they...
2024-07-29 19:47:10 +0000 UTC View PostIt took a bit of convincing to get Shel to ride with them. Although she agreed with giving the egg back, she acted like she was committing a grave sin against her people.
“Years of living beneath a tyrant can convince you of things like that,” Rasud said as he lifted her saddle for her. He fastened her bulging saddlebags behind it. His voice sounded tired. Working with that much magic...
2024-07-29 02:53:33 +0000 UTC View PostThe only thing that kept the orcs from attacking was their fear of Henrik. Sometimes his temper came in handy like that. Still, they eyed the group while fingering the hilts of their weapons.
Henrik grit his teeth through the pain of Rasud’s healing. Tobias alternated between watching him warily and keeping an eye on the orcs.
“I almost thought we lost you for a minute there,”...
2024-07-27 17:27:41 +0000 UTC View PostHenrik walked out of the tent with his head high. The orcs had formed into a loose circle, and Yakha stood in the center with his sword in hand.
Tobias and Rasud stood on one side of the circle. Tobias had his shield ready, and Rasud had that look in his eyes that said he was only seconds away from burning the entire camp down. The witchman’s gaze fell on Shel and he winked at her. Henr...
2024-07-26 13:36:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe three men approached the orc encampment on horseback as the sun was thrice its own height above the horizon. On their way, Rasud chanted, calling upon his ancestors to grant Henrik strength and speed. They couldn’t do much, but every bit helped.
Henrik positioned himself front and center, ensuring he would be the first one seen and addressed. That also meant he’d be the first one ...
2024-07-25 19:25:14 +0000 UTC View PostFor the rest of the day they alternated between a canter and a fast walk and the horses never acted tired. Their energy seemed almost infinite.
“How far do you think we went today?” Tobias asked.
Henrik thought for a moment. “A fast horse can run a mile in two, two and a half minutes. We spent at least two hours at that pace, and since then we’ve continued to move quickly. I...
2024-07-24 16:11:58 +0000 UTC View PostHis walk back to their makeshift campsite took a quarter the time as walking to the dragon’s cave. Henrik made no effort to stay quiet, although the last bits of Rasud’s spell still clung to his boots. When he came near, he picked up a small rock and threw it at a tree to announce his presence.
Rasud’s head peered from behind the tree, and his eyes widened when he saw Henrik.
...
2024-07-22 16:33:55 +0000 UTC View PostHey there everyone. I've been really analyzing how my books sell and what people expect from the Micky Carre pen name, and I've come to the conclusion that people want extra spicy books from me. So, going forward, I will be writing super smutty series like Goblin Breeder under the Micky Carre pen name, and my more action-based stuff like the Hero of the North trilogy and Dragon Riders of Etrea ...
2024-07-21 12:32:40 +0000 UTC View PostHenrik watched the woman for a moment, looking for any signs of trickery. “I need your word that you aren’t going to have your pet dragon try to eat me.”
She flashed him an angry look. “She is not my pet, thief.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Tossyth is right about you. Without even realizing it, you see yourself above everyone else.” The hot anger in her voice su...
2024-07-20 11:53:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe moment the sun went below the horizon, Henrik readied himself. His sword and scabbard were back with his horse—it was too large and heavy for sneaking, and would only get in the way. He wore fresh clothes to lessen the chances of the dragon smelling him. His shirt was black, to blend in with the night. He was as ready as could be for something as crazy as this.
Rasud had called upon...
2024-07-19 12:44:38 +0000 UTC View PostHenrik woke to the sound of rustling. He looked over and saw Tobias pulling the looking glass from his saddlebags.
“Everything alright?” he asked.
“Yeah, I just have a feeling,” the soldier replied. “Now that we’re getting close, I’d like to be as careful as possible.” He walked up the shallow angle of the ridge and stood at the peak for a while, watching in every di...
2024-07-18 16:03:08 +0000 UTC View PostMorning came far too early.
The sun was just peeking above the horizon when Henrik’s eyes slowly opened. His aches and pains were all but gone, but he still felt a haze of tiredness after taking such serious wounds the day before.
Lifting up his shirt, he checked his side. Although Rasud’s magic had healed his wounds, a faint scar traced its way along his ribs. Well,...
2024-07-17 13:24:51 +0000 UTC View PostThey set up camp for the night between the rocks—once they had dragged away the bodies, of course. After searching the orcs’ belongings, they released the horses into the wild. The orcs didn’t have much that was useful. Mostly just weapons, which they already had enough of.
Two twisted trees were within walking distance, so Henrik spent some time with his knife and wound up wi...
2024-07-16 14:28:13 +0000 UTC View PostIt didn’t take the orcs long to close the distance.
Five of them in leather and hide armor sat astride galloping horses, roaring and shouting as they raced toward the rock formation. The orc holding the horn blew a loud, strong note as they raced across the dry ground, scaring the horses. Rasud rushed to them, trying to keep them calm.
The other orcs leaned low over their horses n...
2024-07-15 17:01:42 +0000 UTC View PostHenrik waited until a few minutes after the sun rose to wake Rasud. The small man was keeping them alive, so it was the least he could do. Rasud was still cranky when he woke, but he did appreciate the extra sleep.
“When are you going to burn that wood?” Tobias asked as he walked his horse towards their group.
“When we have meat to cook over it,” Henrik replied. “When we s...
2024-07-14 19:28:21 +0000 UTC View PostThey did, in fact, wake with the sunrise. Henrik was naturally an early riser, so he tidied up his things and grabbed some strips of dried meat to snack on as he waited on the sun to finish rising. With all that would be happening in the upcoming days, the peace and quiet were welcomed.
Tobias was next. The soldier rubbed his bleary eyes and looked around for a moment, as if forgetting wh...
2024-07-13 18:02:28 +0000 UTC View PostThey woke two hours later, although Rasud had to be shaken to get off the ground. He would have snored the rest of the day away, had they let him.
Feeling more refreshed, they mounted their horses and continued the boring journey through the monotonous lands. It was wild grass as far as the eye could see, and where it wasn’t grass, it was farmland. Henrik felt like he hadn’t see...
2024-07-12 12:08:47 +0000 UTC View PostThey kept their horses at a gallop as they passed through the town. Fortunately, most people were asleep at that hour, with the exception of the group wielding torches far behind them.
“That could have ended in disaster,” Henrik said, slowing his horse to a fast walk once they were well outside of the town.
“Thankfully, you smashed that poor man’s face against the wall...
2024-07-12 05:51:57 +0000 UTC View Post
The preorder is live for this book in case anyone plans on picking up a copy!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D96R6QW5
2024-07-11 12:04:25 +0000 UTC View PostIt was the sound of angry shouting that tore Henrik from the depths of his slumber.
He snorted himself awake and was on his feet in an instant. Not even bothering with his boots, he rushed towards the door, beside which he had set his sword. But his sword wasn’t there, and it wasn’t just hiding in the darkness of the room. His sword belt was there, but the sword had been removed from ...
2024-07-11 12:02:32 +0000 UTC View PostHenrik was used to the towering buildings and dense crowds of Selfoss, so his first sight of the small town was an eye-opener. Most of the buildings were made from fieldstone and cob—Henrik expected wooden houses, but then he realized trees were in short supply in this area—and none of them were over two stories tall. Most buildings lacked fireplaces as well; this far south, it wasn’t rea...
2024-07-11 00:36:33 +0000 UTC View PostBedrolls and saddle pillows weren’t the most comfortable things to sleep on, but the calm nature of the grasslands had them all out in no time. Henrik slept deeply, uninterrupted by dreams or loud drunks stumbling about on the street. It had been quite some time since he had slept that well, in fact. While he loved living in a city, the simple nature of sleeping peacefully had him reconsideri...
2024-07-10 12:39:59 +0000 UTC View PostI decided to change Garlen's name to Henrik. Sounds a bit manlier, don't you think? Anyways, you'll notice the name is different in all future chapters posted. I just wanted to take a moment to explain it.
Micky
2024-07-10 02:30:11 +0000 UTC View PostAs their path continued east, the farms grew further apart and eventually disappeared altogether, leaving them riding through wild grasslands. With the lack of buildings to block the view, the sky itself almost seemed larger. Henrik took a moment to enjoy the simplicity and beauty of it all. Life was often complicated, but a cool breeze was not.
“How long until Limestone?” Henrik aske...
2024-07-10 02:29:08 +0000 UTC View Post