Fronek had lit a small fire in the hearth of broken down farmhouse. It snapped and popped merrily under his expert hands, casting its light and warmth into their makeshift shelter. He was soaking the last of the dried venison they had brought with them in a pot filled with stream water and wild onion [...]
Dirk was always amused at the Bazaar. The variety of goods that changed hands at these stalls every harvest boggled the mind. “Ah Dirk! What errand brings you down to our humble town so early in the ‘turn?” Dirk turned to find Geoff the herdsman smiling up at him. “An’ a good morn’ te’ ye [...]
Yesterday, I finally finished my draft of Chapter 13 in the Doormakers Fall series. Let me tell you, it was a long time coming. When I finally stopped typing, this nine scene monster was over 17,000 words. That’s longer than the entire Voices of the Deep short story from start to finish! The completion of [...]
On Monday I returned home from a three day, two night, thirty mile solo backpack along the Ohlone Trail. I hiked from the Stanford Avenue parking area at the foot of Mission Peak to the Lichen Bark parking area in Del Valle. Bella couldn’t come along on this trip because dogs are not allowed overnight [...]
Devon emerged from the cistern tunnels dripping mud and shivering with cold. The well near the south village gate was in a small square, shaded by the boughs of an ancient oak tree. It was cloaked in its autumn robes of red, orange and gold. And much like the temperatures, the leaves were falling. Devon [...]
Bernard fumed silently as the wagon creaked to a halt in the fading afternoon sun. The test team had traveled for two days after leaving the Star Seeker’s camp before running into a small wagon train of merchants traveling to Guardian Village. The merchants in the train were from Riverton, a city a few days [...]
It had been a dark and chilling trip, but Devon made it to the watering post without incident. The underground passageways were surprisingly clear of obstructions and debris. Not for the first time, Devon wondered how these subterranean waterways were maintained. But that was a question for another time. Devon silently paddled down the darkened [...]
Dirk shook his head as he set down the tankard of ale he had been sipping. He looked at it to be sure, but it was still more than half full. Then he looked back through the leaded glass window at the Inn’s empty back yard. The small leaded panes were wavy and distorted, but [...]
Crouched on the edge of the roof of Mabel’s Inn, Devon watched the empty lot below him anxiously. The Inn’s back lot shared a well with several of Mabel’s neighbors. The well was fed by a spring, but also connected to a series of rain cisterns scattered throughout the village. One of them happened to [...]
Dirk stepped out from under the eaves of the porch where he had been sitting a moment before and walked slowly southward on the edge of the village road. He nodded amiably and waved to the villagers that greeted him, blending in with the milling throng. He chatted politely with villagers he knew along the [...]
