Wednesday, July 14, 2010
"Holy Crap" Second Verse, and "Siblings: Part One"
So, um, apparently this short story stuff is working out for me. 'Cuz I've just finished a second one(cheers, applause!), this time needing just a day or two to construct and upload the thing. There's just something about gaming that convinces my muse to get up off her lawn chair, set aside her smoothie, and kick me squarely in the rump. And, no, that doesn't mean I enjoy pain.
Anyway, as for the matter at hand, this second story, "Siblings," is another prequel to the Ravenloft game of which I'm a member. Most of the characters in the party have twin siblings, for reasons integral to the plot of the game, and I wrote this story to illustrate the dynamic between Kai and his twin sister, Saffi. She's a gear-head, undeniably steampunk-inspired, and I've had a lot of fun just working out her personality and the way she and her brother interact. This particular story also has a short section involving Kai's best friend, Gerhart, whose death still plagues Kai several years after the fact for a number of reasons that I won't go into here(just yet, anyway XD). Lastly, it should be known that the country where Saffi and Kai currently have their home is Lamordia, which you can basically think of as a Switzerland analogue full of people who are boring and dismissive of anything supernatural(especially magic), but who are on the whole brilliant scientists and inventors.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the story itself. Enjoy!
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“So, how'd the grocery hunt go, Kai?” Gerhart asked, turning from the table where he and Saffi had been sorting out foodstuffs. The kitchen of the small house that the Stadtfeld twins shared – when Kai was on leave, anyway – was far from fully-stocked, but there was enough to keep from going hungry, especially when Gerhart pitched in. A year older than the twins, at fifteen, he had a home in the city with his mother, but he would often come to the Stadtfeld home to share in a group dinner, a habit that had been going on for some time since Kai had managed to move his sister from the vast dangers of the slums to a place at least somewhat safer. Which was good for the twins, as neither of them had anything beyond basic cooking ability.
Kai grinned a bit sheepishly, and held up the small bag of vegetables he had procured. Most of them had a somewhat wilted, if not barely edible, look to them, as he came to the table and started to place them atop it. “Well, all things considered, I'd say it could have gone a lot worse. Though a group of high-ranking officers apparently came through the market this morning and got all of the good stuff.”
Anyway, as for the matter at hand, this second story, "Siblings," is another prequel to the Ravenloft game of which I'm a member. Most of the characters in the party have twin siblings, for reasons integral to the plot of the game, and I wrote this story to illustrate the dynamic between Kai and his twin sister, Saffi. She's a gear-head, undeniably steampunk-inspired, and I've had a lot of fun just working out her personality and the way she and her brother interact. This particular story also has a short section involving Kai's best friend, Gerhart, whose death still plagues Kai several years after the fact for a number of reasons that I won't go into here(just yet, anyway XD). Lastly, it should be known that the country where Saffi and Kai currently have their home is Lamordia, which you can basically think of as a Switzerland analogue full of people who are boring and dismissive of anything supernatural(especially magic), but who are on the whole brilliant scientists and inventors.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the story itself. Enjoy!
---------------------------------------
“So, how'd the grocery hunt go, Kai?” Gerhart asked, turning from the table where he and Saffi had been sorting out foodstuffs. The kitchen of the small house that the Stadtfeld twins shared – when Kai was on leave, anyway – was far from fully-stocked, but there was enough to keep from going hungry, especially when Gerhart pitched in. A year older than the twins, at fifteen, he had a home in the city with his mother, but he would often come to the Stadtfeld home to share in a group dinner, a habit that had been going on for some time since Kai had managed to move his sister from the vast dangers of the slums to a place at least somewhat safer. Which was good for the twins, as neither of them had anything beyond basic cooking ability.
Kai grinned a bit sheepishly, and held up the small bag of vegetables he had procured. Most of them had a somewhat wilted, if not barely edible, look to them, as he came to the table and started to place them atop it. “Well, all things considered, I'd say it could have gone a lot worse. Though a group of high-ranking officers apparently came through the market this morning and got all of the good stuff.”
Friday, July 9, 2010
A Raven's Feather, Part Fin
Yup, this is the end of A Raven's Feather. If you've read it all, muchos gracias, and I hope you'll consider reading more of my work ^_^.
A Raven's Feather, Part One
Hello again, intrepid adventurers. While I work on getting a more acceptable format up, I've just decided to toss my short story up in pieces here on ol' ACN. So the next few entries will be dedicated to one Kai Naustvik, a kind-hearted mercenary, and his exploits before joining his current team. So, yes, this is technically a prequel to the actual Ravenloft game I'm in. Anyway, I hope it's enjoyable, and feel free to comment, as always.
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“He's going to be late.”
This private meeting room was tucked into a corner of the Frothing Mug, a sleepy little inn that was tucked away into an equally sleepy village on the western edge of Barovia. Counting those around the central table, and the armchair next to the small bookcase, there was room for five people to sit comfortably inside. Three of those seats were currently occupied: the man with the reed-thin voice who had spoken, short, balding, and just short of his middle years, sat in the armchair; a taller, younger fellow, clean-shaven and turning over a silver cross in one hand, sat at the table; and the third, a somewhat pale woman who was slender enough to look taller than she actually was, stood at the bookcase, the sheathed sword at her hip shifting quietly as she reached for one of the books on a high shelf.
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“He's going to be late.”
This private meeting room was tucked into a corner of the Frothing Mug, a sleepy little inn that was tucked away into an equally sleepy village on the western edge of Barovia. Counting those around the central table, and the armchair next to the small bookcase, there was room for five people to sit comfortably inside. Three of those seats were currently occupied: the man with the reed-thin voice who had spoken, short, balding, and just short of his middle years, sat in the armchair; a taller, younger fellow, clean-shaven and turning over a silver cross in one hand, sat at the table; and the third, a somewhat pale woman who was slender enough to look taller than she actually was, stood at the bookcase, the sheathed sword at her hip shifting quietly as she reached for one of the books on a high shelf.
Holy Crap, Short Stories ARE Possible!
Not only are they possible, but they're pretty awesomely fun when you're in the groove.
To make a long story short(pun intended), I'm involved in a Pathfinder tabletop game set in the much-feared Ravenloft world. For those of you who are tabletop noobs(or otherwise unfamiliar with gaming lore), Ravenloft is kind of a mashup between multiple fantasy nations with a decidedly gothic horror flavor. Picture what would happen if Sauron-ruled Middle Earth, Dracula's Transylvania, a medieval Nazi Germany, Switzerland with a resident Dr. Frankenstein, and several other similarly dark-and-troubled nations all existed right next to one another, and were plagued by all manners of unearthly horrors, and you kind of have a good idea of what Ravenloft is like. Evil is damn near omnipresent, but because of that good is all the more heroic when it exists. I could go into much more detail, but Wikipedia does a good job of summarizing(Ravenloft) so I'll instead move on to the point of this entry.
To make a long story short(pun intended), I'm involved in a Pathfinder tabletop game set in the much-feared Ravenloft world. For those of you who are tabletop noobs(or otherwise unfamiliar with gaming lore), Ravenloft is kind of a mashup between multiple fantasy nations with a decidedly gothic horror flavor. Picture what would happen if Sauron-ruled Middle Earth, Dracula's Transylvania, a medieval Nazi Germany, Switzerland with a resident Dr. Frankenstein, and several other similarly dark-and-troubled nations all existed right next to one another, and were plagued by all manners of unearthly horrors, and you kind of have a good idea of what Ravenloft is like. Evil is damn near omnipresent, but because of that good is all the more heroic when it exists. I could go into much more detail, but Wikipedia does a good job of summarizing(Ravenloft) so I'll instead move on to the point of this entry.
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