Forgotten Realms Author~Erik Scott de Bie Interview

As many of you who regularly read my blog may already know, I met several of the Forgotten Realms authors at GENCON 2011. It was an amazing time and I was particularly lucky to speak with Erik Scott de Bie for an hour or so about writng, etc. 

Over the last year or so, I have corresponded with Erik and he has been kind enough to help me out and continues to encourage me to press on. That being said, I asked him if he would grace Eye on Ashenclaw here with an interview and he agreed. Now we may all know what it is like to work for Ed Greenwood!

How did you get involved in the Forgotten Realms setting?

When I was 12 I read a novel called Darkwalker on Moonshae, the first Forgotten Realms novel ever published, which started my crush on the setting. But it wasn’t until the next year, when a friend of mine handed me a copy of Elfshadow and we started up a Forgotten Realms campaign that I fell in love with it. I’ve been into the setting ever since.

I first started writing in the Realms professionally for the Maiden of Pain open call, which I didn’t win, but my sample caught the eye of then WotC book department head Peter Archer and editor Phil Athans. They kept me in mind for a limited call, which became my first novel Ghostwalker.

How is it working with Ed Greenwood?

Ed Greenwood is an extremely intelligent, classy, genuine person. I’ve met few people as good at making you feel welcome, and he can (and will) literally talk to anyone for any length of time. He’s a good friend and colleague to have. Also, having Ed’s email is indispensible for Realmslore questions.

Give us a brief synopsis of your book(s)

My Shadowbane series is an ongoing quest of my vigilante paladin Kalen “Shadowbane” Dren--a thief who turned to a life of noble struggle against evil. Shadowbane: Eye of Justice, the third in the series, sees Kalen return to Westgate, the city where he grew up, in part to redeem the Eye of Justice (the organization that trained him), in part to find a lost friend. It also tells the story of Myrin Darkdance, an amnesiac wizard and Kalen’s best friend, who recovers some surprising pieces of her forgotten past. And, of course, their respective quests are complicated by the interference of a dangerous and mysterious elf shadowdancer.

When did you start writing? What inspired you to write?

I’ve been writing fiction since I was 8 or so (I wrote an epic galactic war story between two alien races, illustrated by yours truly), but I started writing seriously in 7^th grade. My first story was meant to be ten pages and ended up being closer to fifty. I wrote my first novel in high school as a reaction against being bored out of my mind in honors chemistry class. And I’ve been writing a novel or two a year ever since.

If your books were made into a movie, who would play the roles?

That is a dream/nightmare question! I’ve had very vivid images of characters in my mind as I’ve been working. For instance, Arya from Ghostwalker should be played by Charlize Theron (circa The Italian Job), while the ghostwalker himself would be Ed Norton (circa Fight Club), Lord Dharan Greyt would be Alan Rickman (circa Harry Potter mid series), Lyetha Elfsdaughter would be Gwyneth Paltrow, and Meris Wayfarer would be Orlando Bloom. Ilira “Fox-at-Twilight” Nathalan (Depths of Madness, Shadowbane series) should be played by Evangeline Lilly (unless Elaine gets her for Arilyn Moonblade) or Olivia Wilde. When it comes to the Shadowbane series, Kalen I see as Chris Evans (Captain America) or Chris Hemsworth (Thor) or perhaps Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the detective from Batman Begins, or the main character in Looper), while Myrin should be someone like Zoe Saldana (Star Trek).

What would be your choice for a superpower?

Teleportation. So much of our life is lost in transit. Also, it’s just awesome.

Who is your favorite author?

Neil Gaiman. For reasons that should be obvious to anyone who has read Neil’s work. He hooked me with Sandman (particularly book 4, Season of Mists), and I really like Anansi Boys: funny and exciting and clever all at once. The thing about his work is that it seems effortless.

What are you reading now?

Right now I’m working on Bullied by Carrie Goldman (a non-fiction book about bullying and how to prevent it), The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule (a non-fiction book about Ted Bundy), Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (a fantasy novel and the first of Sanderson’s popular Mistborn series), and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (a philosophical novel about an architect and a substantial basis for the philosophy of Exceptionalism). I pair that with a lot of comic book trades that I go through in about an hour or so: X-Men, Avengers, Wonder Woman, those are my favorites. So pretty diverse, I guess.

Who is your favorite character to write?

That’s really tough, because I thoroughly enjoy all my characters. The ones I don’t enjoy are the ones who get the dead in short order.

Of my Realms work, I love writing the protagonists from my Shadowbane series a great deal. My favorite is probably the elf shadowdancer Ilira “Fox-at-Twilight” Nathalan, whose evolving outlook/status fascinates me: over the course of a century, she changes from a sly, witty, party girl into a more mature, dark, sensuous, treacherous noblewoman. She is sexy and kick-ass the whole time, but in different ways at different points in her life. I also really enjoy writing about Myrin, because she’s surrounded by lies, secrets, and intrigue, which I unravel gradually. Kalen really excites me when I get to talk about his struggles with his faith and his calling, and I also really love watching him kick the tar out of a bad guy. And there’s a special place in my heart for the thoroughly duplicitous but noble Lilten, whose powers are complex and cool and whose history is a bottomless well of intrigue. And she’s not a Shadowbane character, but Aryande (from “Body in a Bag,” from Realms of the Dead) is great fun to write.

Outside the Realms, I like writing about the protagonists from my World of Ruin series--Regel, Ovelia, and Mask--who have cool triangles of tension and loyalty that make them a fun challenge. My con artist bard Tarrant Akayn from my Pathfinder writing is also a favorite. I also really enjoy my flamboyant gun-mage “M,” which is short for Morgan (from the story “Witch Fire” in Beauty Has Her Way) and my wacky mad scientist Circe (from “Dr. Circe and the Separatist Man-Cheetahs” in Growing Dread: Biopunk Visions). And of course, Stardust and Lady Vengeance (from my superhero novella “Eye for an Eye,” in Cobalt City Double Feature) are unmatched in sheer geeky glee.

See? I just love all of my characters.

Do you have a writing process?

I am such a disorganized writer. I write when I have time, usually listening to music, often with a cat and/or dog curled up next to me, and occasionally with a scotch on the rocks in my hand. Which makes the typing somewhat slower but is totally worth it.

What do you do when you aren’t writing?

Work, game, design. I have a full-time day job as a tech writer contractor for the Boeing Company, which keeps me busy between 30-40 hours a week. I run twice-monthly 4th Edition D&D Forgotten Realms and an Academy X-themed superhero campaigns, and I play in two different twice-monthly 4e D&D campaigns, as well as a rotating game night with some gaming industry folks. I also moonlight as a professional game designer for D&D (Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea, Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond, Neverwinter Campaign Setting, and several DDI articles and D&D Encounters seasons) and recently for Margaret Weis’s Marvel Heroic Roleplaying system (I’m a minor contributor to the Civil War books and one of the primary authors of the forthcoming Age of Apocalypse event books). And I try to find time to hang out with friends, play video games, and spend with my wife and our cats and dog.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Try and stop. If there’s any way you can be happy not writing, do that. If there isn’t, well, then my condolences, but you are doomed to be a writer.

I say this because writing is a tough business. It grinds your heart and soul right out of you, causes headaches and stress disorders, and makes you lose countless hours of sleep. You can give it your all and you still meet with rejection after rejection, and the odds are you still won’t be financially successful.

Do not write for the money. Do not write for the respect. Do not write for the history books.

Write because you enjoy telling stories. Write because you like providing good things for people to read. Write because you have to--because there is nothing else you can do that will make you quite as happy as writing.

Write for you, and no one else.

Do not give up. This will be hard, and more discouraging than any other quest you can undertake. You have to have that drive that will not let you back down or give up, that will force you back up off the mat after every single knock-down punch. You have to believe in the quality of your work, believe that you will find an audience, and believe that you will succeed. At the same time, you need to listen to feedback, constantly tweak your work to make it better, and have enough self-respect to hire a decent editor for yourself.

Also, do not neglect your family, friends, or responsibilities. You’re going to suffer, but don’t make yourself a martyr.

For more specific advice, check out this post on my blog: http://erikscottdebie.com/new-to-the-site-heres-a-guide/eriks-guide-to-writing-a-book/

What sets your books apart from others of the genre?

My work is very genre bending. My first book, Ghostwalker, was a fantasy western, wherein a cloaked hero swept into an isolated frontier town to avenge himself against the men who killed him fifteen years previous. Sort of High Plains Drifter in the Forgotten Realms. My second book, Depths of Madness, was a fantasy horror story along the lines of Saw: a group of characters awaken in a dungeon, not knowing each other, and have to work together to escape.

My Shadowbane series is kind of superhero fantasy fiction: the characters are larger than life and are often brought low by flaws both human and superhuman. The main character, Kalen Dren a.k.a. Shadowbane is sort of the “Batman of the Realms,” a thief turned vigilante paladin who acts the part of a mild-mannered guardsman by day but dons black leathers and a cloak to fight evil the guard can’t touch by night.

My World of Ruin series is high fantasy, but it’s also post-apocalyptic and a little bit cyberpunk with strong environmental themes. The story is set two thousand years after a magical war wiped out most of the people of the world. The long-ago fallen empire has left behind airships and warmachines (mostly clanking and on the verge of breaking down since no one remembers how to build them), as well as magic-enhanced relics that put out smoke that pollutes the world. Magic stands in for fuels--fossil, nuclear, etc.--and technology is warped by magic going into its construction. Against this backdrop, I weave a story that is high fantasy but also so deeply based in the characters’ interpersonal relationships and intrigues.

A final point about my work in the Realms specifically: Since I’ve grown up in the setting, I have a particularly wide view of the setting. I thread all kinds of references and homages through my work which are subtle enough to be missed by a casual or first-time reader, but which a seasoned Realms fan will pick up on and appreciate. Maybe that makes me just a geek. You decide. :)

Is it true you’re writing the fourth, as-yet-uncontracted book in the Shadowbane series?

You guessed it! Wizards has not yet contracted me to write another book (their resources are invested in their large-scale Sundering event), and doing so is a nebulous “in the future” arrangement. I’ve decided that the story needs an ending (maybe not THE end, but a possible end), and I might as well write it while it’s fresh in my mind. So I’m just writing the fourth book, which is called (working title) SHADOWBANE: KINGDOM OF NIGHT. I’m hoping that eventually WotC wants the book, and will jump at the chance to buy a fully realized and edited manuscript. And hey, if you want to help make sure that happens, check out my website for ideas how to help support the series: http://erikscottdebie.com/shadowbane/support-shadowbane-2/

Where can we find you on social media?

I am on Facebook (Erik Scott de Bie is my personal account, and Erik Scott de Bie is my author account), Twitter (@erikscottdebie, #shadowbane), and my website can be found at http://erikscottdebie.com. I am also active on the Candlekeep boards (a web forum for Realms fans, http://forum.candlekeep.com). Hit me up, and let’s chat!

ABOUT ERIK:

Erik Scott de Bie is a twenty-something (almost thirty-something!) speculative fiction author, best known for his work in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting. His fifth novel, SHADOWBANE: EYE OF JUSTICE (third in the ongoing Shadowbane) series came out in September, and his current NaNoWriMo project is the (as-yet-uncontracted) fourth in that series. He is an avid contributor to the Cobalt City superhero universe, from lending his voice acting talents to the character of Stardust to his recent novella in COBALT CITY DOUBLE FEATURE. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies such as BEAUTY HAS HER WAY, HUMAN FOR A DAY, WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME, and WHEN THE VILLAIN COMES HOME. He also moonlights as a game designer, having contributed to numerous D&D projects such as PLANE ABOVE: SECRETS OF THE ASTRAL SEA, SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN SETTING, and multiple seasons of the D&D ENCOUNTERS program. He lives in Seattle with his wife, multifarious cats, and a hyper but cuddly dog.

“The Last Legend of Gedrin Shadowbane” (free e-story)

“Sword of Shadowbane” (prologue to SB: EOJ, sample chapter—don’t read chapter 1!)

“Heir of Shadowbane” (free e-story)

Book 1: Downshadow (Wizards, Kindle, Nook, Kobo)

“Chosen of the Sword” (free e-novella)

“A New Purpose” (story included in the Shadowbane bundle, AFTER the main book--see table of contents)

Book 2: Shadowbane (Wizards, Kindle, Nook, Kobo)

Book 3: Shadowbane: Eye of Justice (Wizards, Kindle, Nook, Kobo)  (note the prologue is set between "The Last Legend of Gedrin Shadowbane" and "Heir of Shadowbane")

Shadowbane 4 (working title) ???

Other Realms novels, not in the Shadowbane series but related:
Ghostwalker (Wizards, Kindle, Nook, Kobo): A fantasy western
Depths of Madness (Wizards, Kindle, Nook, Kobo): A fantasy horror story

Non-Realms work, specifically anthologies:
When the Hero Comes Home (Kindle)
When the Villain Comes Home (Kindle)






I'd like to thank Erik for joining us and for giving us a glimpse into his world. (Now go buy some books!)

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Take a Walk With Me...Over To Skulldust Circle!

Important Announcements!

Come follow me and the writers at SKULLDUST CIRCLE…

...If ya’ know what’s good for ya’!

Simply click the follow this blog link and then let the fun begin!

I am going to be shifting my efforts over there in the near future to add to the amazing writers already gathered there. Join the likes of William Kenney, Jeremy Laszlo, Ben Martin, Ross Kitson, David Woods, Stefain and Gary Vanucci (that’s me).

If you liked the content that I brought you here at Eye on Ashenclaw, please follow me over there. Not only will you hear my insane prattling and opinions, but you will receive exclusive previews, excerpts and things that I cannot fathom just quite yet over there. And not just from me, but from these other amazing writers that I have been lucky enough to meet and read. Do yourself a favor and get in on the ground floor of what I think is going to be an amazing ride! You will be able to say: ‘I was there before it went viral!’

That being said, I will check back in here and re-post and continue to shoo you all over to Skulldust, but I will check in from time to time for important announcements and will double post here and there for a short time until you have all followed me over there!

I appreciate all of my fans, followers and contributors from here and love you all…truly...so in order for me to continue this loving relationship, please follow me over to Skulldust Circe if you haven’t already…you will not be disappointed.I promise!

And buckle up for what I believe will be a ride to remember!And follow the feed here:


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or

http://feeds.feedburner.com/SkulldustCircle

I will also be sharing an exclusive excerpt with you now from my upcoming short story:  STRENGTH OF FAITH 

The five servants of The Shimmering One formed up next to one another, Bralon at their head, as they absorbed the brunt of the undead charge--creatures slamming into their blades and shields in a cacophony of screeches and guttural sounds unintended for man’s ears. Filled with a blessing of divine strength, the paladins slashed and sliced into the sickening and diseased flesh as body parts were sent flying away.

Garius could sense the stench of disease on these filthy abominations and a miasma of contagion was released into the air around each and every one of the foul creatures. He waded through the dead bodies on the floor and allowed the invigorated knights to cut a swath through the horde of zombies. He removed his holy warhammer and gripped his shield tightly, fastening it to his left arm as he joined them.

Art by William Kenney

For several moments, the divinely charged warriors cut down their enemies with ease, never slowing or tiring and their blows were charged with the strength of a dozen men. Blow after blow took the zombies down, one by one, until the speed of their attacks slowed.

Divah watched from afar in horror and felt the bile within her throat, threatening to spew forth.

 How are they doing this? she thought, seeing the volume of the undead creatures and knowing that there were only five of them.

There are dozens of the foul things!

She held fast and watched with mouth agape as the scene unfolded.

Garius strode into the midst of the chaos and mouthed a prayer, holding his sun-symbol in his grasp as reassurance and continued his invocation with conviction in his tone. The paladins heard his words and pressed their attack, not allowing a single of the anathemas within to disturb the warpriest. The words grew in strength and reached their crescendo as the priest held both hands on high.

“You shall not win this day!” Garius screamed as his eyes filled with a white light as did the rest of his body. That radiant and brilliant energy burst forth from him all at once, bathing the area in light so bright that none could see within the divine beacon.

“Your perdition is fulfilled!” Garius shouted as the radiance burst forth from his body.

Undead creatures fell in droves around the holy attack, simply melting or reduced to ash right before the eyes of the paladins. Micah swung roughly at a zombie and nearly sent himself sprawling to the ground as the creature turned to nothingness right before his eyes. All told, several dozen of them fell under the ubiquitous light.

But when their vision cleared, it seemed that a dozen more simply took their place.

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here!


See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Cover art on Distant Familiarity provided by William Kenney!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Paper or Plastic?

When purchasing a book, magazine or newspaper, is it that much easier to simply view it on your phone, tablet, laptop or computer? Do you miss the feel of the paper in your hands? I do...and I can see why the market is rapidly changing. The advent of the tablet/reading device is altering the reading/writing game forever.

Artwork provided by Justine Babcock

 The reason that I ask is that while I personally do enjoy the feel of a real book in my hands, I cannot deny the ease at which books can simply be downloaded to your device for your perusal. Simply put: the market has changed forever. This fact leads me to the decision and I see no alternative but to jump on the ‘eBook only’ bandwagon. Several authors that I have spoken to recently are doing this, too. And with Amazon signing authors directly, they are cutting out the publishing house and agents and bringing the content straight to the reader. While this is strange and hard to understand at first, it is something that is appealing to me as a starving self-published author. If printing cost is all-but eliminated and readers, gamers and other enthusiasts of the written word can simply download their content to their portable device, how can I choose otherwise? Kindle, Nook, iPad and smart phones have simply changed the game...a lot!

I am actively writing and working on several new books, including a prequel/anthology to Covenant of the Faceless Knights that will include the Pre-Prologue of the novel as well as short stories that include all of the main protagonists (Saeunn, Elec, Garius, Rose and Orngoth).

I am also working on the sequel to CotFK, as well as a Role-Playing Game (RPG) supplement based on the Realm of Ashenclaw. (I will let you speculate as to which gaming system.) While I would love to pursue putting these things in print, the cost to profit ratio is simply not appealing to me. I am actively researching writing and self-publishing options and want to know what experiences any other writers/readers/authors/artists may want to share!


In closing, how do you want your products delivered to you? Are you willing to pay more for an actual book or are you content with the (probably) lower price/speed of delivery involved with an eBook?

As always, I look forward to reading your comments!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photos from Stock.xchng...and me!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted. Sketches copyright Justine Babcock.

Most of Chapter 18 for Sample Sunday

Here is most of Chapter 18 of Covenant of the Faceless Knights for those of you on the fence about purchasing it or wanting a larger chunk of my writing (9 pages of the book) to see if it suits your taste. I wanted to leave it on a cliffhanger for you though....

Chapter 18

Elec and Saeunn raced toward the base of the southern hill, where the slope wasn’t quite as steep as the opposite side. Elec observed that there were at least six ogres. They stood one and a half times the height of a human, with heavily muscled arms, and bloated bellies. Their skin was an unhealthy yellow, with patches of hair in random places and blemishes all along their skin.

Elec had never seen an ogre before, though he had encountered a creature born of giant-blood. Even so, seeing several of the creatures face to face made him reach a new level of fear. They moved with a speed that belied their disfigured, swollen bodies. He imagined the force with which their mighty blows would strike and it made him wince involuntarily.

Elec uneasily quaffed a potion. He felt he would need every advantage that he could muster if he was to survive this encounter. He knew that if he took the wrong combination, the effects would not overlap properly, but the particular combination he used now he had perfected over many years.

Saeunn charged the nearest ogre bravely and almost slipped on a snow patch, but caught herself and kept going, not even breaking stride. She and an ogre collided and there was a loud thud as her solid form hit its somewhat bulbous frame. The ogre’s head snapped back as Saeunn used the hilt of her sword to slam into it, cracking its skull, while deftly avoiding the ogre’s heavy fist. The creature landed in a heap—it was dead before it even hit the ground.

Saeunn turned on another. Elec watched her fight with a grace and willingness that made him feel more inadequate than usual. She was his complete opposite with regards to self-confidence, he realized, and he could not help but be impressed by the remarkable barbarian woman from Chansuk.

A large rock just missed crushing Elec’s head and he quickly returned his attention to his own role in the battle. He decided to go in the same direction that Saeunn was heading. He wanted to stay close to the barbarian woman for several reasons.

What is that!? Elec wondered as he caught a glimpse of something across the valley on the northern hill that looked like a murky rift in the planes. He shook his head, dismissing the sight as possibly a side effect of one of his elixirs or a trick of the sunlight. Perhaps even the slow-falling snow was deceiving him….

Whatever it was, he had more pressing issues to deal with. He ran quickly, trying to keep pace with Saeunn. She was forcing the ogres at the top of the hill to refrain from lobbing rocks at the elf momentarily, and at least forcing them to reset their positions. That would buy him some time.

Saeunn had cornered two more ogres now and was forcing them into defensive positions with her well-placed and aggressive swings. There was no subtlety to the barbarian woman it seemed. She simply relied on brute force and innate skill.

The ogres began to maneuver her in between the two of them and Saeunn either didn’t realize it or didn’t care. Just as they were about to complete their move, Elec arrived and forced them to change their strategy. The ogres both sneered and gurgled something unintelligible at him.

The other ogre swung a club at Saeunn that she parried with her greatsword, burying it deep into the wooden weapon in the process and stopping the blow entirely. She immediately kicked out with her left leg into the kneecap of the ogre, knocking its leg back on the slick surface and causing it to fall forward, giving her an opening. Saeunn reared back with her newly-freed greatsword, and struck a killing blow to the back of the ogre’s head, knocking it to the ground and its final resting place. 

Elec had taken the attention of the second ogre and he was now madly dashing to and fro, dodging its blows, and trying to avoid the creature’s club as it made divots in the snow around him. He saw a tree behind him and formulated a plan as the ogre swung wildly and with such force, that to connect with a single blow would surely spell death.

He dodged behind the tree as quickly as he could, forcing the ogre around its wide base slowly enough that it did not see Elec climb the low hanging branch on the opposite side.  The ogre peered around the base of the massive tree trunk and realized too late where Elec had disappeared to.

The ogre cried out in anguish as it felt the sharp end of a blade plunge through its back. Elec drove the blade in hard and thrust with all the momentum and might that he could muster. The sword sank deeper into the ogre, through its lungs, and out the front.

Elec rode the beast for several seconds as it fought to remove him, until finally, it collapsed to the ground with a solid thud. Elec dove from its back toward Saeunn who had just disposed of her foe.

And it was a good thing too, as three more ogres had come into view, somehow finding a less treacherous way down the hill than Elec had initially considered.

Three more! Elec thought in a slight panic as he removed yet another potion from its housing on the bandolier and drained its contents. 

Garius could not see where Rose had arrived atop the hill, and so he returned his attention to the stunned orc on the ground, now only a few paces from him. He made a few movements with the hand that still clutched The Repentant, rubbed his braided beard and uttered an incantation, asking The Watcher, the god of the skies, for a blessing of aid.

As if the clouds themselves opened up, a massive bolt of lightning exploded out of the sky and landed directly on top of the prone orc, incinerating it and leaving a scorched patch of soil in the snow-soaked ground around the orc’s charred remains. Garius slung his holy warhammer upon his back and searched quickly for a path up the hill in order to aid Rose in dispatching the archers above.

 Rose emerged from a shadow directly behind the first archer, using the element of surprise. She precisely slit the green-skinned orc’s throat, dropping it to the ground softly. The second and third orcs noticed her just then, dropping their bows in unison and struggling to draw their swords.

Rose used that opening to kick out at the closest orc, hitting him squarely in the abdomen causing him to double over. Then she hammered down with Zaedra in a reverse-grip and skewered the back of the creature’s head, knocking it firmly to the ground.

The third orc had gotten his sword out and she sensed that her end was near if she didn’t move. They were still positioned directly under a tree, so she stepped into its voluminous shade and moved through the shadow realm to end up behind her target.

The orc, however, did not sense her as it looked closely into the shadows trying to discern her whereabouts. She stealthily drove the tips of both daggers into his back in unison, penetrating the lungs and leaving the orc lifeless as he gurgled something in his native tongue.

She removed the daggers and then suddenly felt a sting in her left shoulder that radiated pain down her entire arm. She looked to see what it was and noticed an arrow protruding from her shoulder that passed right through and below her left clavicle. She whipped round to see another orc approximately fifty paces from her that she had not noticed earlier.

She tried to step into the shadows once more, to use the shadow realm to hide her from her enemy, but could not concentrate as another arrow penetrated the flesh on her left thigh. She fell to one knee under the ensuing pain and then there was blackness. Her last thoughts were of failure.

 Elec and Saeunn exchanged grim looks as the three ogres bore down on them.

“Any ideas?” Elec asked as he quaffed another potion, drawing a quizzical look from Saeunn, who did not quite understand the elf’s ways.

“Survive,” Saeunn remarked bluntly as she once again charged headlong into the onrushing ogres, wild-eyed and ready. Her shock of long blonde braided hair bounced from side to side behind her as she charged.

Elec nodded in agreement, more to himself than her, as Saeunn had already taken off.

Saeunn jumped feet first into the center of an ogre’s belly, knocking the wind out of it. As her momentum continued, she knocked the ogre to the ground, landing atop it, using her muscular legs and an incredible sense of balance to remain upright upon her fallen opponent, falling to her seat atop its chest.

She got her feet under her again and slashed her greatsword in such an arc as to dismember the second ogre on her right flank in the process. Its head rolled away and its massive body fell to the snowy ground, blood heavily staining the white snow where it landed. She stood atop the other and stabbed at its head, but the ogre managed to wiggle out of the way of her blade. It retrieved its club, striking her in the side, knocking her to the ground this time, and losing the grip on its own club as it followed her trajectory.

The ogre stood, rushed her, and was upon her by the time she regained her footing. The creature smashed its fist into her left temple, knocking her senseless as she stumbled back a few steps.

She was blinded with her bloodlust and could hardly feel the pain.

She shook off the blow, ignoring the wound that had opened up, and refocused as the ogre was bearing down on her once more. Its club, which resembled a tree-trunk, was gripped tightly in both its massive hands.

It swung the club wide and Saeunn parried the strike with one of her own. The two foes matched blow for blow and parry for strike for a few rounds of swings, neither tiring nor slowing for a second. It was a fierce and hard fought exchange.

Saeunn was able to position herself better and eventually managed to kick the ogre in the groin, stunning it and giving her an opening. She swung on a high-to-low swing that spanned the creature’s right-facing shoulder, across its body, and ending up coming out at the left-facing hip. Her blade cleaved through flesh and bone, never stopping once along its deadly path.

The ogre stood with a look of disbelief in its black eyes, trying to hold in its entrails, as its life blood gushed out onto the snowy ground.

Saeunn cried to the god of war in victory, allowing the bloodlust to fuel her, and looked around for another foe to vanquish in The Champion’s name.

 He tightened his grip on the hilts of his weapons and followed after her, hoping that his elixirs would last the remainder of the fight. They were performing well so far, he noted, but the durations were lessening.

An ogre headed directly toward Elec and he could no longer give consideration to his needed improvements. He considered an idea. He tossed Daegnar Giruth into the air and spoke a magical word in the ancient elven dialect. The blade seemed to freeze in midair and held fast. As the ogre neared him, Elec sprung toward him, and used the ogres arm to launch himself into the air. He grasped the hilt of the blade and pulled himself up as the creature lunged, passing directly beneath him instead. Elec spun around in a complete circle, continuing with his momentum to launch himself onto the ogre’s exposed back.

He landed with a thud, forcing the ogre to stumble forward. It fell with its arms outstretched, sliding forward on the slick ground. Elec grabbed the ogre’s head and attempted to hang on, but could not. He slid forward now unexpectedly and came to a stop just as the ogre unsteadily got to its feet.  Obviously dazed, it looked around for its club, but could not locate it.

The ogre snarled at Elec, showing its rotting yellow teeth behind its curled lips. It charged him, covering the ten paces very quickly. Elec tried to spring away in a dive, but lost his footing and slipped. The ogre slammed into him knocking the air from his lungs, but Elec managed to remain standing, unable to fall backward under the slippery ground. The ogre swung a series of mighty blows. Elec dodged the first one, was grazed slightly by the second and was hit hard in the face and head by the next two, which sent him sprawling to the ground. Another blow followed but he tumbled backward away from it, and fell to the hard, wet ground. Keeping his eyes on the charging ogre, he crawled backward as quickly as he could until he finally backed himself into the trunk of a tree.

This is it! Elec thought, trying to cover himself as best he could. Nowhere left to go….

Just then he saw past the tangles of the ogre’s greasy, matted hair to glimpse a figure airborne heading toward them, a huge blade angled down, poised for a death blow.

 Saeunn drove her greatsword straight through the back of the ogre, skewering it and killing it instantly as the sword tip angled through its huge belly and into the tree trunk. The ogre fell limp, held up only by the angled blade, its tip buried in the base of the tree.

Saeunn stood there, allowing her adrenaline to dissipate.

Then she suddenly and wildly looked about for the elf, a look of dread upon her face, thinking that she might have just killed him too in her rage!

“Elec!” Saeunn cried desperately, not wanting to peek around the bulbous ogre’s weight to see if the elf, too, was pinned to the tree.

“Up here,” came a voice from above her. On a bough of the tree lay the battered form of Elec, blood dripping from his eye and lip where he had been pummeled soundly by the ogre. “I really need to work on homing my combat skills…,” he laughed, coughing up some blood in the process.

Saeunn gasped and then smiled wider than he had ever seen her smile before. Then she actually laughed.

“How…how did you…?” Saeunn let the question hang, obviously relieved that he was alive.

Elec swallowed hard, wiped some blood from his brow and pointed at a unique ring.

“I can use this to teleport on occasion, assuming that the charge has been restored,” he smiled. “Luckily, it had,” he added with a laugh. “I haven’t really timed it. I just know it takes some,” he paused and spat some blood, “time to recharge.”

He grabbed another elixir and quaffed it sloppily, spilling some on himself and cursing a bit. His hands were shaking.

“How are you feeling?” Elec asked Saeunn, assuming that she had taken a few hard blows. “I have some potions that might help you.”

“I have been better,” she flatly stated, now weary from fatigue.

“Here,” Elec said as re-corked the top of the elixir and tossed it to her. “Drink the rest of that and you’ll feel better. It speeds up the healing process. I couldn’t open this a minute ago,” he pointed to his left eye, which Saeunn markedly watched heal before her eyes.

 As he slowly climbed out of the tree and got to the ground, he noticed the left side of the barbarian’s head was bleeding badly through her sash. He removed another vial with some kind of ointment from his bandolier.

“Remove your sash,” Elec instructed her and she did so, revealing a large laceration in the side of her head. Elec considered how she was still standing.

He poured some of the liquid out onto her sash and dabbed at it, rubbing it around on her forehead until it started to coagulate.

“I don’t have a lot of this left, but I know where to pick more of the root that I craft it from,” Elec said as he gestured at the very tree that he had been sitting in. He absently plucked some of the leaves and stashed them in his belt pouch as he spoke. “Tie this back on again and let it be. It should be fine by the morn.”

“Thank you, Elec,” Saeunn responded, truly amazed at the resources of this white-eyed, exotic elf.

“We should check the others!” Saeunn exclaimed, and with that she was off and running, at full speed from her first step.

It was all Elec could muster to keep ten paces back.

 Garius got to the top of the hill just in time to see an orc deliver the second arrow that bit deeply into Rose’s hamstring. As that registered, the visage beneath his helm shifted to resemble that of seething rage.

He approached slowly, clutching the handle of The Repentant firmly once more and with purpose. He held the hammer high in one hand beckoning The Shimmering One and asking for protection while he crossed the snowy ground to the orc responsible for the ruination of his friend and companion.

In response to his prayer, a shimmering aura surrounded his body, forming a protective barrier that made the arrow slow and fall harmlessly away. As he walked toward the archer, he chanted the verse over and over with vigor, growing louder with each step as The Repentant glowed with holy energy.

Garius continued to cross the ground as the stunned orc realized he could not penetrate the defenses with his missiles, and so, retrieved his sword from his scabbard.

Garius now stood in front of the creature and dismissed his personal fortification spell. Propelled by an anger that he could not quite comprehend, he invoked an incantation initiating a spell to once more call forth the necromantic powers of the degenerative plane. Uttering an offering of prayer to The Reaper, he extended his hand with an open palm toward the orc’s frame. But unlike so many times before, this time he felt a satisfaction in tapping that dark power.

The orc attempted to stab at him, but the Inquisitor infused such vast amounts of physical pain upon the orc, that he dropped the sword mid-swing, and his body wracked and convulsed in agony. The orc fell to his knees. Garius continued the incantation, inflicting such suffering on the orc that he finally fell to his knees, before dropping face first into the snow. His life force was completely drained from his body, as it was absorbed now into the Inquisitor. Garius Forge’s frame shone with energy as he felt the necromantic power dissipate, storing it temporarily within his own body.

He turned from the ruined orc and ran as fast as he could beneath the weight of his armor toward his fallen friend. Garius reached Rose and threw his helmet off, revealing a grim expression. He cared for this woman clearly much more than he’d even known, he realized at that very instant.  He clutched her arm and called upon a surge of regenerative energy, redirecting what he had stored within himself and using it to channel healing directly into her wounded body.

“You shall not be taken from me that easily,” Garius muttered aloud as he continued his prayer.

Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

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FOR NOW

GENCON 2011 experience...

Well, as you all know by now, my favorite part of gencon is not a surprise. I must say that we had our fair share of mishaps, disappointments and all around frustrations. The trip out was an excruciating 11.5 hour journey from the Philadelphia area to Indianapolis. We arrived at the Days Hotel and were immediately disappointed by their lack of knowledge…not only about gencon, but about the surrounding area. We asked them if they had a map and the attendant said no, when there was one right on the end of the counter (which we found shortly after.) 

Then, after eating and sleeping on Wednesday night, we managed to catch a shuttle to the convention center. This was a miracle as well as we later found out that the shuttles were all done basically by one guy and he was servicing two hotels. You do the math.

We arrived at the convention center and were greeted by a line that must have been close to a mile long. WILL CALL! Argh! Next time, we take the cab the night before and get our badges. After that, it took us a little time to get acclimated and before I knew it, the day was gone and we had played our first two sessions of the Living Divine in the 4^th edition D&D game room. The games were fun.

 

Then we spent the next few hours waiting and calling for our shuttle, which did not arrive until 1:30ish in the morning. That sucked! Nick and I then arrived back to the hotel to find that our linens had not been changed. Strike Three, Days Inn! Next! And on top of that, one of our guys had to fly home Saturday morning as his wife went into the hospital. Turns out that she is OK (phew!) but it sucked, nonetheless. So, other than little sleep, which I had counted on, we got more than we bargained for in the way of fun-detractors.

Things did get better after that (despite the hotel’s numerous attempts to blemish my trip) and we managed to visit the amazingly vast dealer rooms, eat @ Loghmiller’s pub (our favorite eatery in Indy) and meet some amazing people! I met Jay Babcock, who was responsible for the 4^th edition Living Divine Event and the mods were fun. Our DM, Dave, was a pretty cool guy and so were all of the DM’s and marshals at the event. 

Then there were of course, the costumes and the statues…pics below. People at gencon are some of the coolest people I have ever met.

And despite all of the problems with the hotel, the travel and the expenses...I would do it 100 out of 100 times again.

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

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