Strange Pursuit

Strange Pursuit is yet another side story to the series of works inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, as part of A Call to Arms. Taking place many years prior to Land of Confusion (and indeed, Strange Pursuit is the earliest title in the canon, preceding Holidays In The Sun), a younger Anry Muse is in the midst of his own path to glory within the borders of Minwa Dynasty. Having already attained some notoriety from a bar fight, Anry finds himself pressured by a youth named Taizong Muhtar and his studious and firm mother, Cixi Song, to help find Taizong's younger sister in the city. Upon locating her in a hidden underground arena, however, Taizong finds himself thrown into a fight his studies only barely prepared him for. 

Strange Pursuit can be read here.

The above image was drawn by Uminonew, whose online portfolio can be found here.

Land of Confusion

Land of Confusion is another small companion piece for A Better Place, akin to Bones before it, as part of a new series of side stories now entitled A Call To Arms. Taking place only a few weeks after the events of No Regrets, an experienced, but aging explorer of the land, Anry Muse, arrives to the small city of Dalry with three goals in mind: examining reported occult activity in the area, honing his craft as a swordsman, and enjoying the local spirits and hospitality available to him. Easily able to accomplish the latter two goals in one ill-fated bar encounter, Anry finds himself hounded by a new traveling bard who wishes to thank him for his services; almost immediately thereafter, however, Anry finally gets to pursue his first goal in Dalry.

Land of Confusion can be read here.

The above image was drawn by Anry, whose online portfolio can be found here. He also served as the inspiration for Anry's name.

The Barren Fields

The Barren Fields is a short story that acts a third installment for Circle of Magie, a series of stories centered on various sorcerers who live in the fantastical land of Oliviani. I started writing it in late 2021, but I ended up putting the project on hold for A Better Place and its numerous installments. The Barren Fields takes place only one day after the events of The Bleak Oasis, with Marcel and Tanneke showing up at Agnés and Felicity's flat in Stavelot's early morning after an unfortunate encounter with bedbugs. Following some brief talk about their respective paths, the group choose to visit Stavelot's magic library for typical studies befitting sorcerers in Oliviani, but some talk with the library's master, Piret, reveals unusual occurrences in Stavelot's countryside; these occurrences, however, prove surprisingly personal to Tanneke, who ventures out on her own to try and tackle the issue herself, only for further problems to result from her act of defiance.

The Barren Fields can be downloaded as a PDF in the following formats:

Complete
    Part 1
    Part 2
    Part 3

The above photograph is that of the real-life Mont-sur-Marchienne, a small town found in southern Wallonia, where French is the primary language. I felt the image meshed well with the small city feeling that I was aiming for with Stavelot, with its smaller buildings, fewer pedestrians, children playing in the nearby river, and large clearings of nature's beauty, something that went well with the group choosing to venture to the countryside. The composition of the photograph also helped, with a standard eye-level point of view instead of a high, birds-eye view to get us closer to the subjects. Stavelot itself is an actual city in Belgium as well, again located within French-speaking Wallonia.

Photos From Europa

 

Photos From Europa is a short story I wrote in March 2023, as a standalone story that takes place in the far future. Nolan Gates is a young translator working for the Martian Bureau of Interplanetary Affairs, as the sole employee in its Translation Division. Talented and knowledgeable about his own work, but also rarely ever given any assignments, he spends most of his days idly reading and studying in his office, only infrequently being given the chance to use his skills. One day, however, he finally gets an assignment to translate some information brought in by one refugee from the distant moon of Europa, about something neither he nor his client can fully understand.

Photos From Europa can be read here.

The above image was drawn by Torigoe Takumi, whose online portfolio can be found here, though some of its contents may not be safe for work.

Bones

Bones is an extra story created for A Better Place, as part of a suggestion by a friend. Canonically, it takes place towards the middle of series, many years after we last heard from the cast in Many Moons. Bones centers on Nico Cekala, an intelligent, but reclusive gentleman who puts on the airs of being an esteemed artificer, even with his perhaps surprisingly ramshackle living quarters. Returning to his house after a day's work of selling and trading artifacts, Nico plans to spend the rest of the day tinkering with his newest wares take an unexpected turn when a halfling named Maribelle Helder comes by asking for some alms; his meagre donation, however, ends up causing him to reveal more about his life and his goals than he ever intended.

Bones can be read here.

The above image was drawn by WANKE, whose work I've previously used to represent Katalia Rhoeas in Late Night People, alongside being considered for use for Serra Anhera in In Love This Way.