**Note**

This is the start of a webnovel I began a few years back. I'm going to be transferring the entire text over to NG over the next few days. It's not finished, but if there's any interest I might be convinced to continue.

**

"Ssssaaaaaaaaaaasaaaaaaaaaa," the terrifying creature screeched overhead, its thick leathery wings making a audible *thump thump* as they beat in the air.

I couldn't tell which was louder, the beat of the wings, or the beating of my own heart as I kept myself curled up inside the hollow log, praying to the ancients that I wouldn't be discovered.

I clutched the crystal vial of the invisibility potion in a fist against my chest. Part of me screamed to down its contents and to make a run for it. Truth is, I might have done so if I wasn't completely paralyzed with fear.

I heard the dragon scream once again and the beating of the wings grew louder. I clutched the vial tighter. Sharp diamond shaped edges that adorned the outside of container dug into my flesh. Any moment now I knew that the creature would unleash it's fiery breath onto the forest floor, cooking me instantly.

*Thump Thump* the beating of the wings grew even nearer. I brought my free hand to my mouth to keep myself from screaming.

Then overhead, one more ear-splitting screech and the beat of the wings began to fade. I lay there in the damp inside of the log, listening to the beast gradually move away.

Then silence. I still didn't dare to move for some time. Finally, the feeling of "something" skittering over my exposed forearm caused me to shift and brush away whatever it was.

I turned around and peaked outside of the log. The forest lay still, and silent.

I grasped the outside edge of the log and pulled myself free. It took some doing to gain enough purchase as the rotten wood crumbled in my fingers. The moisture from damp moss that grew on the inside of the long dead tree soaked through my dress.

Finally I stood up and brushed myself off. It didn't help much, twigs and dirt stuck to my clothing. I shook off a few spiders that were crawling up my left arm.

I realized that I was still tightly clutching the invisibility potion tightly in my hand. I relaxed my fingers and gazed at the small vial. Mother had told me to only use it in a life or death situation, I wondered if I was a fool for not downing it when I first hear the terrifying cries of the creature as it searched for me from the skies.

I sighed and placed the vial back into one of the pouches that hung from my belt. I felt exhausted, cold, and hungry. I dared not make a fire in fear or drawing the attention of the dragon once again.

From another pouch I drew a small piece of deer jerky and popped it into my mouth. As I chewed the tough meat, I started walking. Every fiber of my body wanted me to stop and rest, but I knew I had to keep moving. Even if the dragon didn't find me this night, I wasn't sure if the wizard's cultists were still on my trail. The mad wizard Jall already had control of the kingdom, I'm not sure how killing me would help whatever plans he had,

It was twelve years ago when he took control. Twelve years ago, I was a young princess living in a castle with my mother and father. It was a moonless night such as this one that everything had changed....

**

*clump clump clump*

I could hear my father coming up the corridor to my bedroom. I stifled a giggle and quickly slid headfirst under the covers and flattened myself as much as I could. The clumping grew louder and I heard him stop outside the door for a moment. The door creaked open and I could hear him step onto the Emberstone tiles that decorated the floor of my room.

"Well that's strange," I heard him say. "I was sure my daughter would be in bed by now. I guess I'll have to find her." Each step he took was a heavy footfall, first moving towards a window.

"Is... she.... OUTSIDE?" he said. I could hear him open the shutters.

"No.... she's not outside..." he pondered. I tried not to giggle, but failed.

His boots slowly continued to clomp on the floor as he stomped about my bedroom. "Is...she....in... HERE?" I heard a cabinet drawer open. "Silly Daddy!" I though, I was too big to fit in one of those small drawers! The heavy footsteps began again.

"Is....she.... UNDERTHEBED?" he said the last words a so quickly they sounded like a single word. I felt the covers shift as he lifted them up and to peek underneath.

"No... not there either..." he trailed off. I then felt the edge of the bed sink down as he sat upon it. "Hmm... I guess if there's no daughter there's no story tonight..."

I giggled again.

"Hmm... yeah there's nobody in here," he paused. He suddenly threw back the covers of my bed, revealing my hiding spot. "EXCEPT A GIGGLE MONSTER!"

I started laughing. I jumped up and gave him a hug.

"YOU!" he said in shock. "You're the giggle monster that ate my daughter!"

"No daddy, it's me!" I said still laughing.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his face in a mock concern. "Because I ONLY read to my daughter. I don't have to time to read to giggle monsters!"

"I'm sure!"

He looked at me a moment longer, appearing to think it over. "Well alright then, my DAUGHTER should be properly in bed!"

I quickly laid my head on the pillow and pulled up the covers up "I'm in bed. I'm in bed."

He nodded. "Well, alright then."

He stood up and walked over to a bookshelf that ran along one of the walls of my bedroom.

"Now," he said looking at the collection of books that line the shelf. "We just finished the first volume of 'Stories of the Great Kings' I guess that means we tonight we get to start volume 2." He plucked the appropriate tome from the shelf.

He moved to step back towards the bed but I stopped him. "Daddy, we need the magic leaf."

"Ahh, quite right,: he said. He opened the first volume and removed a single maple leaf. The leaf was one that I found when we took a family picnic last fall. He said it was magic because no matter where we were in the story, it would remember where we were when I would inevitably fall asleep.

Leaf and book in hand he returned to the bed and he sat down on the edge again. He opened the front cover, "Stories of the Great Kings... Volume 2," he read.

"In the time before man, when giant's ruled the land," he began.

Suddenly a knock at my door.

"Yes?" my father said.

"Your Highness, it's me. I have some urgent news." I recognized the voice as Sir Valk, the captain of the castle guard.

"Just give me a moment," my father said.

He gently lay the maple leaf in the front of the book and placed it on the nightstand. He kissed my forehead, "I'm sorry, it looks like I won't be able to read to you tonight."

"Aww..." I said disappointed.

"I tell you what," my father said rising from the bed. "I hear that your lessons with your tutor have been going well. How about tomorrow night we pick this up and YOU read to ME."

I nodded with vigor. He tousled my hair and opened the door. "Goodnight my Samantha," he said.

"Goodnight Daddy!"

He closed the door behind him. I could hear both he and Sir Valk began to walk down to the hall, talking.

That was the last time I saw my father alive.

***

The crunch of something moving across the dead leaves of the forest floor jostled me awake. I bolted upright and listened. Something was moving outside of the cave I had sheltered in.

Cave was a generous word, it was more like a small gap that I had squeezed myself into. I moved my hand slowly to the pouch where I kept the invisibility potion. I slowly untied the string and pulled the glass vial from inside.

Very slowly, I shuffled myself towards the entrance to my "cave", doing my best to avoid anything which would make a noise if I stepped on it.

I had walked for about two more hours following the encounter with the dragon last night. I kept moving until every part of my body ached and demanded rest. As much as I wanted to continue, I knew that I probably would have injured myself stumbling around exhausted in the woods in the dark. I could hear flowing water in the distance so I began to walk

towards it. I soon found a stream flowing through a small gulley. As I drank my fill of the cool and clear mountain waters, I spotted the small opening to the cave. I gathered branches from the gulley floor and did my best to camouflage the entrance to the cave as best I could. I then crawled inside and covered myself in my cloak and did my best to sleep.

I got close enough to the entrance where I could see some of the surrounding area through the camouflaging. The gulley lay in lightening shadows, the result of the sun just starting to peak over the horizon to start a new day.

I waited and listened. The crunching of the leaves came again and then stopped. It sounded like the movement was coming from above me. Something was moving about on the lip of the gulley.

I continued to listen. Whatever it was followed a patter of moving, then stopping for a minute or so, and then moving again. It had to be an animal.

"Maybe it's a deer," I thought, remembering that I was nearly out of the jerky that I had brought with me. My stomach rumbled at the thought of fresh meat.

One by one I moved the branches away from the mouth of the cave, trying my best not to make too much noise. I pulled myself outside and peaked just the very top of my head over the top of the gulley wall to try and look at whatever had awakened me.

I couldn't see anything at first, but after a few moments, movement caught my eye. I was wrong, it wasn't a deer, but a small woodlands rabbit, its brown coloring helping it to blend into the surroundings.

"Ok, so now what?" I asked myself. I thought about the small knife I carried, but at first, I could only picture the animal making a quick get away as I ran after it haphazardly.

As I thought about what to do, the rabbit moved further away. If I didn't do something soon I would lose it.

I returned the potion to a pouch and then withdrew the knife from my belt. With my other hand, I opened another pouch. I took a small pinch of the grounded Emberstone and sprinkled it over the weapon. The knife gave a faint glow for a moment.

The rabbit moved again. This would be tricky.

I closed my eyes and visualized the knife. Then in my minds eye, I pictured the weapon leaping from my hand and impaling the rabbit.

I felt a sudden tug as the knife flew out of my hand. I heard a thunk in the distance.

I blinked one eye open. The rabbit lay crumpled on the forest floor, the sharp edge of my knife embedded into its head.

I felt a sharp pang of sadness as I walked towards its limp form. I took no pleasure in killing for food, but I needed to do it to keep myself going. I made a vow to myself to look for edible plants as I continued onward.

"Fancy trick you done there," a voice came from behind me. I froze. "But I'm grateful. Saves me from looking for breakfast."

"Caught like a scared rabbit yourself," the voice continued. "How ironic. Turn around."

I held my hands up and slowly turned towards the voice.

A woman dressed in leather and furs stood about 20 feet away. She held a bow and had an arrow notched, but it was pointing downward and away from me. Even from this distance I could tell that she towered over me. Giantkin.

She stood watching me for a moment. I looked to her left and right. She was alone. Could I make a break for it?

"Don't," she said.

I was about to speak, but saw a blur of motion. I suddenly felt air rush past my face. There was an audible thunk and groan behind me.

The woman slung the bow over her shoulder, and with long strides walked towards me. "You can move," she said, her voice possessing a smoky deepness.

I turned as she strolled passed me. Laying face down on the sloping hill next to the dead rabbit was a figure in robes, a large arrow protruding through its back. "Friends of yours?" she asked.

The robes were the dark green of the Jall cultists. They had caught up to me.

"No," I said. "Not friends at all."

The woman flipped the cultist over and began patting the body. After a moment, she reached inside the robes and pulled out a small money purse, which quickly vanished into her leathers.

She hunched down and picked up the rabbit, it looked tiny in her massive hands.

"Hold out your hands," she said.

"What?"

"Your hands. You made the kill, you gotta skin it."

I nodded dumbly and did as she instructed. She bent down and placed the carcass in my outstretched palms.

"I don't wanna waste any more arrows today," the towering woman said. "And I'm assuming you don't wanna stand around here waiting to die. We should go."

It suddenly struck me.

"Eplash." I said. This woman was the very one that I was stumbling around in the woods searching for.

"The one and only," the giantkin grinned. "And you, you are the splitting image of your mother."

***

"Samantha," it was my mother's voice. "Samantha, wake up honey."

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. My room was dark and I could barely make out the form of my mother standing over me.

"Get dressed honey, we have to go," her voice had an urgency about it.

"Mommy?" I asked sleepily.

"We have to take a little trip baby," she said pulling the covers off of me. She then handle me a bundle of clothes. "Put these on."

I climbed out of bed and began to put on the clothes, struggling to find arm and leg holes in the dark.

While I did so, my mother moved to my dresser and began to stuff clothing into a bag. "Hurry up honey, we have to leave very soon."

"Is Daddy coming?" I asked.

My mother froze for an instant. "He will catch up to us. Don't worry."

She turned and looked me over. "All set?"

I picked up the large book from my nightstand. "Can I take my book? Daddy said I could read to him next time."

She smiled, "Of course you can honey," she held out the bag. "Put it in here."

I dropped the book into the bag and my mother took me by the hand. Leading me to the corridor, we turned right and began to walk down the hallway towards to stables.

The castle was quiet. Even at night there was usually guards patrolling, or various castle staff performing chores, but we didn't see anyone until we arrived at the stable courtyard.

Two groomsmen worked preparing a carriage that sat in the middle of the yard, Valk stood barking orders at them.

"We haven't much time, they'll be here soon."

Valk turned as he saw us approach. "I'm sorry my lady, I thought we would be done by the time you arrived."

"Any word from my husband?" my mother asked.

Valk shook his head. "No ma'am, not since he sent me here to see to your safety."

A huge green ball of fire lit up the sky. A chilling demonic screech echoed in the distance. I began to shake with fear.

"Mommy, what's going on?"

She bent down and took me in a protective embrace. "Shh, it's OK honey."

"We're done sir," one of the Groomsmen suddenly said.

Valk moved to the door and opened it. My mother scooped me up and placed me on one of the benches inside, and then sat down next to me. She wrapped one arm around me and pulled me close. Another green blast lit up the sky and carriage rocked as the horses began to shift fearfully.

"I'll be up front," Valk said closing the carriage door. He looked at me and gave a warm smile. "Don't worry, I will keep both of you safe."

Within a few moments the carriage began to move. A thunderous boom shook the air as green fire lit the sky once again.

I screamed. It was too much, I started to cry.

"I'm scared mommy, I'm scared."

"Shh... shh.." she said pulling me closer. "I know honey. It will be alright I promise."

The carriage rolled through the gates and down the sloped road that led up the the castle.

Loud thundering blasts continued. Even with my eyes shut, periodically green light would shine through.

Then... silence.

I opened my eyes and it was daylight. At some point I must have drifted off. My mother still held me in a strong embrace as the carriage continued onward. She was asleep.

I could hear Valk and the groomsman talking from the front seat of the carriage.

"How much longer do we keep going sir?" the groomsman asked.

"Until we are well out of the realm," said Valk. "The King made it very clear that we get as far away as possible."

"Is it really that bad sir? Did we really lose the kingdom in a single night?"

"We were completely unprepared. Jall tapped into to some demonic power that was well beyond the little defense we could muster."

The carriage jostled. Valk snapped at the Groomsman, "Pay attention man, I will not have the Queen and her daughter WALK across the border."

"Sorry sir."

The jostling woke my mother. She looked at me, her green eyes looking very red and tired. I had never seen her this way before.

"You alright honey?" she asked stroking my hair.

I nodded. A painful knot suddenly sprung up in my stomach, like I was feeling every emotion at once. The fear from the night before had returned. I started sniffling.

"It's alright honey," my mother said. "I know it's real scary right now, but we are going to be OK."

I nodded, and wiped a tear from my eye. I tried to choke back the lump in my throat.

My mother leaned in, touching her forehead to mine. She smelled of lavender. She looked into my eyes and in a soft voice said, "Could you do something for me honey?"

"Ye...yes..." I sniffled.

"For the next little while I need you to be brave, OK? Can you do that for me?"

"O...Okay," I said.

"That's my girl," my mother smiled. "Are you hungry?"

I nodded. My mother knocked on the front of the carriage. Valk opened a small shutter and looked inside, "Yes ma'am?"

"Any chance we could stop for food?" my mother asked.

Valk frowned, "I'd rather not, ma'am. Not until I'm sure we are safe."

"Surely the horses need to be rested and watered," my mother returned. "They've been going all night."

"She's right sir," said the Groomsman. "I can tell that they are both tired."

Valk nodded solemnly, "I know this area. There's a small bridge crossing ahead. We should be fine to stop there."

"Very good," my mother said. She closed the hatch and moved to sit on the other side of the carriage.

We continued along for a little while longer. The intense knot of emotions finally ebbed. I had to be brave, I promised.

Something bothered me though.

"Mommy," I asked. "Who's Jall?"

The color drained from my mother's face.

Had a few games come out within the last year or so, so I decided to update my video game voiceover reel.

Feel free to check it out and keep me in mind for your projects.

Video Game #Voiceover #voiceacting 2024 (youtube.com)

One of the short games I made with Adventure Game Studio (The Distant Door) last year is up for "Best Short Game - 2023" in the AGS awards!

I doubt it's going to win since it's up against some really great games, but it was neat to get nominated!

Hey everyone, a couple of updates on projects and such.

On Voice-acting:

I'm in a videogame! Check out Twilight Oracle on Steam and Itch.io (it released today). You'll run into a stone lion's head that gives you a quest near the start of the game, that's me!

It's not the first commercial game I've been in, a few years back I had a small role as the leader of Blimp Cult in the cyberpunk game Born Punk. I don't get commercial game work very often, so it is neat when it comes up.

I'm working with another small indie developer doing beta testing a little voice-acting for the upcoming "Captain Disaster and the Two Worlds of Riskara" (There's a demo on steam)... I think it's getting released this year, but not 100 percent sure on that one. There's a Tron inspired section where you will hear me in the background making announcements about lightcycles and such.

In NG voice-acting news, I'm part of the upcoming "Who Dun It Collab" which should release later this year.

Trying to put together a script for the Storytime collab as well, but I'm a bit stuck.

**

On writing:

I got first place in last summer's writing jam, and was one of the three winners of the one that was held over Christmas. I want to get back into writing more, but I'm a bit hung up on what to work on and where to post it. It's been encouraging and I've been thinking of maybe doing a weekly serialized story exclusively for NG but I'm not sure there would be an audience for it on here. Maybe I'll end up posting something on multiple sites to see if it "sticks" anywhere.

**

Gamedev:

Nothing serious here. I did three gamejams last year and will probably participate in a couple again this year if the right mood hits and I have the time. I'd love to be able to work with an artist, so if you are interested in making a point-and-click adventure game, let me know.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who's shown me support in my creative ventures. I live in the middle of nowhere so it's the only thing that keeps me somewhat sane.

This is my submission for writing jam #2 entitled Bones of the old world. Microsoft word gives 2,999 words and wordcounter.net gives 2,996.

Prompt used was Bones.

**

“Can we talk?” 

I shuddered as I felt the wind shift, as it always did when she appeared. No matter where, no matter when, if she chose to materialize so that I could see her, there was always a frigid wind that cut through to my bones. 

I stopped in my tracks. It was twilight, and a few flickers of quickly dimming daylight remained, glowing like dying embers on the horizon. It was the solstice, and while many people would start merrymaking and celebrating the longest night of the year, I was bushwhacking along a forgotten game trail, the miniature ghost of a young woman hovering over my shoulder. 

“Is this the right time for this?” I asked, pushing aside branches and stepping over a fallen log. 

“I need to say I’m sorry,” she said. 

“We’ve gone over this. You’ve apologized so many times; I’ve lost count.” 

She floated directly in front of my face, forcing me to stop completely. 

“If I hadn’t cursed you, you’d be home right now, celebrating the solstice with your family.” 

“I have to press on,” I said, ignoring the comment. “You told me yourself, this has to be done tonight. We’ve made arrangements for the Duke’s cook to drug the mulled wine, and you said it was important that it had to be done on the solstice.” 

“I know,” she nodded. “My connection to this world—to my remains—is the strongest on this night. But a few minutes here and now won’t make a difference.” 

I thought about the small pouch of pulverized bone that I carried in a satchel around my neck. It was all that was left of her body. A quick image of the gruesome procedure to get her body to that state flashed in my mind. 

“I’m not sure what else there is to say,” I slowly continued forward, brushing past her small floating figure. “We are here now, and the only way for either of us to rest is for you to receive your vengeance. Besides, if I stop moving now, I’ll never make it to the Duke’s manor before freezing to death.” 

She floated to the front of my face again, however this time allowing me to keep moving through the bush by hovering backward as I continued along the game trail. 

“Do not make jokes about freezing to death!” she warned. Her eyes flashed for a moment. 

“You know I wouldn’t make a joke about that,” I snapped back. 

I stopped. “I’m sorry; I know that’s a sensitive subject... for the both of us.” 

** 

The Young Duke was eager to prove himself a leader upon claiming his hereditary title following the death of his father. Even more so, he was eager to gain favor with the heads of the new religion, the followers of which had made certain arrangements to speed up his ascension to Dukedom.  

To show his dedication to the new faith, the Duke first targeted the covens - those least prepared to fight back against the hammer of the new dogma falling on the land. 

He took his men and swept through the land. His goal was to cleanse the land of “heresy” and make way for the monks of the new faith to move in. 

She was a victim of one of the assaults. When the alarm was raised that the coven was under attack, she was instructed to gather the children and hide with them underneath a false floor that had been prepared for such an occasion. She had huddled with them, keeping them quiet as the horrific sound of slaughter and looting echoed through the air. 

She stayed with them for hours, waiting for the sounds of the dying to fade. When she emerged from the hiding spot to see if it was safe, she found herself quickly surrounded by the Duke’s men.  

They grabbed her, and the building was burned. She was tied behind the Duke’s horse and was made to walk as the screams of the youth echoed through the night. 

“Merely the cries of rats,” the Duke sneered, and the building was engulfed in flame. “Those who do not follow the new light deserve to burn. Even their youth must be purged.” 

“Put the blade to me,” she cried. “Let me join my people.” 

“Oh, you will join them soon enough,” he gave a sickly smile. “But our faith demands sacrifice, and I think a pretty young thing like you will do wonderfully.” 

Eventually, she found herself on the edge of a cliff, a river raging below. If the fall wouldn’t kill her, the raging icy depths certainly would. 

A holy man of the new faith stepped forward, waving around some sort of symbolic fetish as he muttered in a strange tongue. 

“Be glad,” the Duke said. “Your soul is being cleansed. You will face death with a sinless heart. After all, what good is a sacrifice that has been tainted by sin? Our deity will not accept anything less.” 

“This is what your faith is?” she questioned, her back to the cliff’s edge. “Old men speaking gibberish? Pointless gestures and symbols? You killed people, you killed CHILDREN for this?” 

“You dance under the moon,” the Duke retorted. “You tell old tales in an ancient language. You bind people to the land, to the past. You talk about having magic in your bones. Our way is the future.” 

She scoffed. The trauma of the events was turning into a dark bitterness. She was angry—no, she was enraged at how unfair all this was. 

The old man put away his symbols and ceased his gibbering. 

“Now, jump,” the Duke said. “I can’t have the death of a cleansed soul on my conscience.” 

“That’s your plan?” she spat. “A loophole so you don’t have to bloody your own hands? What kind of pathetic god would overlook such foolishness.” 

“You told me you wanted to join your people,” the Duke said, unaffected by her comment. “So, go ahead.” 

“This will not end well for you,” she said. She spread her arms and fell backward, plunging into the raging water below. 

** 

I squat at the side of the river, washing my hands free of the blood from butchering my most recent kill. 

It had been a harsh winter, and the village was running low on food. I and the other youths had been dispatched a few days ago, sent out to hunt once the snow had melted enough for us to travel. Game seemed to be getting scarcer every year. 

Something drew my attention upriver. Something was floating towards me. 

Once I realized I was looking at a person, I quickly dove into the river, angling to catch the body as it passed by. 

Breathless from the effort, I slung the unfortunate individual onto the bank.

It was a woman, covered in cuts and bruises. She was very pale, but still breathing. Something told me that she wasn’t long for the world. 

I quickly pulled her over to the fire and did my best to comfort her while she passed. She was ice-cold. I felt pity for the poor girl, but I had seen death come upon members of my village, and there was very little that I could do. 

I was leaning over her to check her pulse when her eyes flickered open, locking on me. She grabbed my arm with an unnatural strength. 

“I curse you. For all that is natural in this world, I curse you. You will never rest until justice has been done.” 

Her grip relaxed, and I saw the last essence of her life drain from her eyes. 

I shook my head. I wasn’t sure what had happened to that girl, but her last moments were those of rage and anger. I just hoped that in the next world, she could find peace. 

I buried her next to the river and packed my horse, fully intent on returning to the village with my kill. I’d have an odd tale to tell for sure. 

I began to ride towards home. It was late in the day, but I was sure I could make good time on horseback, perhaps even getting back before dark. 

My mind drifted, and I thought of the warmth of my bedding. 

And then found myself emerging back at the riverside, the freshly dug grave before me. 

I had grown up in the surrounding forests. Getting lost or getting turned around could literally be a death sentence, and yet, here I was, back where I started with no sense of how that happened. 

I felt a chill run down my spine. There was something unnatural going on, and the grave had something to do with it. 

I decided to unpack my horse and camp at the riverside for the night. Maybe whatever was preventing my departure would ease up by morning. I unrolled my bedroll and checked over my bow and my current supply of arrows. Finally, sleep took me. I found myself floating in a void of nothingness. No sound, no light, just terrifying black. 

Then a voice. 

“I.... I’m sorry.” 

A figure floated before me. It was the woman that I had pulled from the river. The edges of her figure seemed to be in flux, somehow being wicked away by something ethereal. 

Unlike a typical dream, I felt very much awake and in control of myself. 

“You’re that woman...” I said, unsure of how to proceed. 

“I am, and I’ve done a horrible thing.” 

“Horrible?” 

“I’ve cursed you, I’ve bound you to my body.” 

I had heard tales of curses. Always taking place in some old story in some ancient land. Now, I seemed to be part of one of those tales. 

“Cursed? Is that why I can’t seem to leave this riverbank?” 

The floating figure nodded, looking sad. 

“Why? I tried to save you?” 

“In that final moment, as death approached, I was confused, I was angry. I thought you were one of the ones that did that to me. I wanted vengeance and in those final moments, I unleashed all my hatred on you.” 

I shook my head. “Who are you to curse me?” 

“I was part of a coven,” she said. “I worship the old ways.” 

“Can you release me? You know I did nothing to you.” 

“I’m afraid that you are bound to my body. The magic of the old ways becomes embedded in our bones. It’s an... old spell to keep a murderer from fleeing should one of our coven fall.” 

“I’m not a murderer though.” 

“No, you’re not. I was so filled with anger; I wanted to strike out at someone... anyone. The only way to be free is for you to enact my vengeance.” 

We talked through the night. She told me of the attack on the coven and the deeds of the Duke. 

“It will be hard for me to do anything stuck on this riverbank with your body. Let alone help you get your vengeance - as deserved as I think it is.” 

“You are a hunter, yes? You know how to butcher a creature? Break it down into meat and bone?” 

“Yes, but...” 

“My power, my essence.... it’s in my bones.” 

I felt myself pale at those words; I had grim work ahead of me. 

** 

I snapped back to the present. I now stood at the rear wall of the Duke’s manor. I could hear the laughter of seasonal merriment drifting through the cold night air. 

“The drug should be taking effect soon,” the ghost whispered to me. “The effects of their drink should be a little more pronounced, and they should be none the wiser.” 

“I just hope the cook did the second thing he promised. If not, all this might be for naught.” 

The cook had kept his promise. I found an open door to the manor’s cellar.  

I soon found my way to the upper level of the manor. 

The hallway was decorated with greenery and holly to mark the season. The fact that these people brought greenery indoors seemed strange to me. If you wanted to enjoy the woods, why not just go out and take a walk in it? 

I shook my head and made my way to the Duke’s bedroom, slipping inside. 

A fire crackled, shadows danced across the wall. 

"Better hide," the ghost said. "Once he goes to bed, we will act." 

I slipped inside the walk-in closet and waited. 

Finally, I heard the door open. 

"And I have your assurances, sir, that you will let our clergy occupy the outlying villages once the spring comes?" One voice said. 

As soon as the second voice spoke, the ghost stiffened. It was a voice she had heard before. 

"Followers of our faith seem to be more obedient, and I’m more than happy to let them have whatever they need. Much better than those unfaithful savages that follow the old ways." 

"Then I wish you a happy evening, Sir Duke.” 

"Get ready," the ghost said. 

I tensed, grabbing the special arrow from my quiver.  

I heard the Duke move about the bedroom. After a time, things fell silent. 

“Now,” the ghost said. 

I silently opened the closet door. The fire, now much lower, cracked and popped, still emanating a dull and dying light. I could see a figure lying in the bed. 

I recalled every lesson I learned as a hunter about moving silently, stealthily. I crept towards the bed. 

Wordless, I plunged the arrow into where the ghost had instructed me. Before we had departed for the manor, she had been very specific about where the wound must be made. Between the ribs, the arrow slid. 

The Duke bolted upright, breaking the shaft of the arrow, looking first to the wound in shock and then to me. He let forth an extremely loud wail. 

I heard boots stomping up the hallway. A retinue of guards burst through the door, catching me standing over the now very injured Duke. 

Even through the stupor of the wine and the drug, the guards could clearly see the assassination attempt. Before I could even think, I was grabbed and roughly carried out of the room. Shouts for the Duke’s doctor echoed down the hall. 

I had failed. 

** 

I wasn’t sure what was colder, traversing the forest at night, or the cell I now found myself in. 

I was bewildered. Beaten and thrown into a cell, I didn’t have time to process, or even think. I felt myself slipping away, drifting into an unwanted sleep. 

I wasn’t sure how much time passed. The room spun, and I was sure I fell into the darkness at least a few times. 

Finally, things snapped into place and I had a coherent thought. Daylight was creeping into the cell. The solstice had passed. The longest night was over. 

I heard somebody stomping down the hallway. Somebody wearing a set of heavy keys was approaching. 

“Leave me,” I heard the Duke’s voice say. 

“But Sir...” somebody protested. 

“You gave him an outright beating last night. He’s in no condition to hurt me.” 

“But your wound, sir.” 

“Bah, the Doctor looked at it. Barely a scratch.” 

I shook my head. Barely a scratch? But I plunged the arrow straight between his ribs? 

The door opened, and the Duke stepped inside. His eyes narrowed. 

“Well, look at you..” he smirked. “My men certainly did a number on you.” 

I tried to speak, but all that came out was a croak. 

The Duke grinned, looking at my expression. 

“A villager, not much older than a boy, and you thought you could take me out...” 

I wanted to strike him, but my will had been sapped. 

“And it worked.” 

My cracked and bloody lips parted, a confused “Wha?” escaped from my lips. 

The Duke’s figure glowed bright blue for a moment. The form shifted, becoming shorter and softer. Hair lengthened, and a familiar feminine form now stood across from me. 

The woman from the river. She stood in front of me, more alive than I had ever seen her. 

I stood with my mouth agape. 

“Miss me?” she grinned. 

“I’m not sure what I’m looking at..” I managed to spit out. 

“You did it. The arrow that I made you forge months ago with bits of my bone sprinkled into the iron, it did the trick.” 

“The power is in the bones,” she said, as if that explained everything. “Once my essence of made contact with the Duke’s heart... I was able to take control.” 

“You are... the Duke?” I asked. 

“When I wish to be. I can now assume his form whenever I wish.” 

“And what happened... to him?” 

“Oh.. He's long gone. If there’s any truth to his deity, I guess he’s with him now.” 

“So, I’m free?” 

She looked around the cell. “Uhh, not quite. You made an attempt on the Duke’s life after all.” 

“What’s going to happen to me then?” 

“Oh, the Duke will have a change of heart and pardon you in a couple of weeks, specifically when the new year is rung in. He’ll make a declaration that he will be returning to the old ways of his father.  

She turned, looking to the lightening sky of the morning after the solstice. 

“I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “You gave me my vengeance, and for that, I am grateful. I’ll give you any reward you wish once enough time has passed.” 

I nodded, still in pain from my treatment by the guards. 

She smiled sadly, looking over my wounds. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that; I’ll send the Duke’s doctor, claiming I want you in top shape for a trial.” 

“In the meantime, look forward to the new year. I’m sure it will be a good one.” 

She shifted her form back to that of the Duke’s, turning to leave. 

“I can feel it in my bones.” 

Hey everyone.

I wrote and recorded an entry for the upcoming Creepypasta collab. If there's an visual artist out there that would like to do some art for it, please let me know.

Baudy-Horror (Creepypasta 2 Collab) (newgrounds.com)

I uploaded a new game last week. It's in the same vein of my last featured game. If you are in for a short, point-and-click adventure, check it out. The base game was made in two weeks for a jam. I've polished it up a little since then. I'd like to do more jams in the future, so if there's an artist out there that would like to work together on a game, let me know.

The Books of Knowledge (newgrounds.com)

I've also put together ALL the dystopiatech comedy audio bits in a single collection. Again these are open for anyone to animate.

Dystopiatech (newgrounds.com)

Happy spooky season.

(This is a piece in response of the writing prompts on JamRiot's Discord. I took the writing prompt of "Write about a cosmic event that is bound to change the world")

***

When the universe didn't say a thing

***

If the universe could describe what type of day it was, it probably would have said, "run-of-the-mill." Now, of course, since the universe was a non-sapient entity, it remained quiet on the subject. Any sudden vocalization about its current status would have probably caused chaos among the various sentient and sapient lifeforms that dwelled within. Notably, one of the worst affected would have probably been a certain species of really dumb, smart ape that lived in a wayward arm of an insignificant spiral galaxy. These particular apes stood up and took notice of any weird sounds that the universe would make on occasion. Some even wrote papers on the subject.

You see, "run-of-the-mill" was an apt description for the normal state of the universe. Like some sort of cosmic factory, it contained a lot of things that spun around other things. This process produced stars and other exciting bits of cosmic "stuff." Sometimes that stuff would even clump together and form things like the above-mentioned paper-writing,

really dumb, smart ape.

Anyway, the universe was busy doing what it did (existing), and things were going as normal. Now, as I’ve mentioned, the universe doesn’t really say anything, but if it could on this occasion, it probably would have said, "Oop," like some sort of really dumb, yet polite, smart ape trying to squeeze past another in the grocery store aisle.

The universe wasn’t alone, you see; there were a bunch existing alongside each other, each with their own rules and unique bits of exciting cosmic stuff inside. Mostly, the universes would remain separate, spaced apart, but sometimes one would brush past another. Most of the time, this would happen without incident, and the two universes would continue on their merry way, the inhabitants of each remaining blissfully unaware of the event.

And then sometimes, when one brushed past another, some of the bits of one universe would get transferred to another. Now, as I mentioned, each universe had its own rules, its own sets of physics and such. Some universes were very similar, so if a transference did happen, there would be little to no major crises for inhabitants that got passed along like some sort of cosmic lint. If the two universes were different, well, let’s just say things got very, very messy.

Anyway, on this occasion, our universe did brush past another without making a sound. Thankfully, this other universe had VERY similar rules and even appeared in structure and layout like our own. Nobody suddenly imploded, and the aforementioned apes (even the ones who REALLY paid attention and wrote papers) didn’t even notice a thing when their galaxy was transferred to a completely new universe.

In fact, the apes remained unaware of the transference until about 2 PM on a “run-of-the-mill” Thursday afternoon when a Mrs. Karen Walker, living in a suburb of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada found an elf(who notably smelled like moldy goat cheese) in her living room.

The subsequent events caused many really dumb, smart apes to take notice and write MANY papers.

It's amazing how you can push for a long, long time and see no results - and then a bunch of things flow in at once.

I've been posting things NG for a few years now. Mostly I've been doing small comedy audio bits, a little pixel art, some writing, and more recently games.

I've opened up my audio for anyone to animate a while back, and I was delight when @lobster-monster came out of the blue with and did an animation of one of my bits with some terrific visual gags which came out on September 1st.

I also decided to take part in the first Newgrounds writers jam, which I somehow won! You can read it here:

https://durinde.newgrounds.com/news/post/1384767

Somehow I ended up on the frontpage twice this month. One for audio storytelling

And the other time for a movie-parody

And while it didn't gain much traction here on NG, the first-game I posted here on NG won the little Adventure Game Studio GameJam contest I entered it in.

I just want to thank everyone who has checked out and supported my stuff. I hadn't really found an outlet for my creative endeavors until NG

I also had fun participating in this audio skit organized by Aalasteir and written by Remi-le-Oduen

I doubt I will have another month like this, so I just want to be thankful for the handful of victories that I managed to pull off. I don't win very often in life in general, so it means a lot to me.

I'd like to take part in more things, and hopefully collaborate with more people in the future.

Note: This is my entry for Writer's Jam 1. I used the prompt of Headstone.

Additional Note: Now that the judging has been complete, I've made some minor edits to correct some typos.

I'm still blown away that my story won.

The Figment and the Ghost:

I called her 'Fig,' short for 'figment,' because that's what I thought she was at first.

It had been a long day of carrying supplies to my cabin. I was stocking it up during the late summer, getting it ready for when I'd move in for the trapping season in the fall and winter.

The normally dry creek bed that I tended to use as an ad hoc pathway had seen a particularly wet summer, turning it into a muddy morass which made the trip there and back more exhausting.

I was now back at the temporary camp that I had constructed as a staging area a little ways outside of town. It was nothing more than a spot with a lean-to and a cache of supplies to be ferried to my cabin. I was hunkered down over a crackling fire, chasing away the evening chill of a promised fall that had crept in during the closing summer nights. I was tired, I was aching, and I was more unfocused than usual.

I'm not sure how long she had been there, peeking out from behind the tree and watching me. I'm also unsure about what drew my gaze to that particular area of the surrounding forest, but when I looked up, I saw her gazing intently at me and my camp. I immediately froze, my hand still holding a stick that I had used to poke the coals in the fire.

I blinked several times, believing the exhaustion of the day had caught up to me. But unlike those apparitions that blinked in and out of existence as sleep took hold, she remained.

Once I realized she was real, my stomach sank. I thought the group of youth who had been giving me trouble in town had tracked me down and were planning some sort of cruel joke. They had ransacked one of my camps earlier in the spring and had no qualms about pestering me for fun.

We stared at each other for several moments, unsure what the other would do. Then, she spoke in a quiet voice.

"Are.... are you 'The Ghost?'"

I raised an eyebrow. 'The Ghost' was the nickname that some children in town called me. I would often catch them following me as I made my rounds through town, the older ones whispering rumors to about how I spirited naughty children away. Their parents never corrected them, using me, my... unusual appearance as a way to keep their kids in line. "Be good or I'll get 'The Ghost' to take you away," I'd hear them say.

I scanned the surrounding forest, searching for the group that had probably bullied her into approaching my camp, even cocking my ear to see if I could hear giggles. But after a moment, I realized she was alone.

I stood, which made her slink back behind the tree. I must have been a sight, towering over her, wrapped in the furs of my trade, my pockmarked face illuminated by the firelight.

"Aye lass, I'm "The Ghost."

She lingered behind the tree a moment longer.

"You're not going to take me away are you?"

"Have you been naughty?" For some reason, I decided to play into the rumors. Thinking this might be the best way to get this over with and get on with my night.

"N... no...."

"Then you're fine."

She finally pulled herself out from behind the tree. She looked to the ground, fidgeting.

"Girl, I've had a long day, and I expect I'll have a longer one tomorrow. Why are you at my camp?"

"I... I need your help," she mumbled.

"My help?"

She nodded, mumbling something.

"Come closer girl, I can barely hear you," I beckoned her forward.

She nodded and timidly stepped out of the forest and into the light of the fire.

I stared at her and my heart sank. She was one of the girls from town alright, I had seen her tagging along with some of the other children. If I remembered correctly, her family had recently moved to a farm on the outskirts, inheriting it from the old widow who had passed three springs ago. It had taken the lawyers a long time to track down a living family member willing to take the property on, and apparently it ended up being some distant cousins from the next country over.

I recalled grumblings in the town when her family moved into the farmstead. Legal or not, giving what was thought to be valuable farmland to outsiders had not sat well with some of the locals, who thought the widow's property should be divvied up between the local farmers. Some of them had actually started to work her land while the farmstead was empty, hoping for some sort of squatters rights. Her family had chased them off after they moved in, creating even more animosity. I kept my opinions on the topic to myself, as I had no real love for the townsfolk.

But with this girl having come to my camp, I knew something was very wrong.

She could probably be described as waifish at the best of times, but now her face and eyes were sunken to the point where she appeared downright ghoulish. I saw her clothing was ripped and torn in several places. Mud caked her from head to toe, her long golden straw-colored hair a tangled mess.

"Good gods girl, what happened to you?"

I saw several different emotions flash across her dirt-streaked face.

"My.... my parents.... the farm..." she trailed off.

"There's something wrong with your family? Your farm?" I asked.

She nodded.

"And you're parents need help?"

She shook her head no... I heard her make what I can only describe as a squeak, trying to keep herself from crying.

"Dead... they're dead."

Her shoulders began to shake and she collapsed to her knees, sobbing with her face buried in her hands. Her news had put me at a loss of what to do. I needed answers for sure, but as she was, pressing her might do more harm than good.

I cast my gaze around camp, looking for something that might comfort her. I settled on placing my fur cloak around her shoulders. I might not be able to do much for her mental state, but I could at least be sure she was warm.

She clung into the fur of the cloak, her knuckles going white in a death-grip, hugging the material into her. She kept sobbing for some time, froze to the spot where she had sank to the ground.

I boiled some tea, and then held a tin mug of the warm liquid in front of her. The steam rose wispy into the cool night air. She stared at it a moment before taking it.

I watched her sip the tea for a few minutes, giving her some time to calm down enough to talk.

"Lass, I know something terrible has happened to you, and I can only guess what. But why did you come here of all places? I'm only a trapper."

"I... I didn't mean to come here..." she mumbled.

"What?"

"I didn't mean to come here," she said again, looking up at me. "I... just ended up here."

"Lass, you're going to have to tell me what happened, from start to finish."

"The farm... some men came... They were shouting about us being outsiders. That we didn't belong there. There was a fight... my father... my mother.."

I watched her in silence, waiting for her to finish.

"Then they came for me... saying something about having some fun... I ran..."

"And you ended up here?"

She nodded.

"We have to get you to the sheriff then."

She shook her head. "He... was one of the men."

My blood ran cold.

"My... my parents, they strung them up."

I could see her emotions were starting to overwhelm her again. As for myself, I could feel anger bubbling up inside. I was only a single man though, an outsider at that. The townsfolk only tolerated me because I kept to the deep woods for most of the year.

"You asked for help lass... What do you want me to do?"

She looked up at me, tears streaking down her face, "I... I know there's no going back..."

I nodded. If the Sheriff was onboard with whatever happened, bringing her back to town would be a death sentence for her.

"Lass, you can overwinter with me at my cabin, and I can take you somewhere safer in the spring when I go to sell my furs. It will be very rough living for sure and I warn you, it will be some very lean living as well. I've only really stocked enough supplies for myself."

She nodded. "My... my parents...."

"Lass, I hate saying this, but they're not going anywhere. If they were strung up like you said, they are being made an example of."

"Bu.. but they need to be buried."

"Aye lass, they do at that." I nodded. "Lass this is going to sound cruel, but you're going to have to leave them for now. If I go to your farmstead to bury your folks, people will put together that you probably ended up with me after you ran off. Best that you disappear. Best everyone in town thinks you died here in these woods."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but I held up a hand.

"Listen lass, you're going to have some long days in that cabin by yourself while I walk the trapline. You're going to need a way to keep yourself occupied. We're going to be walking up a creek bed to get there, and while we do, I want you to keep an eye out for any stones that catch your attention. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded, staring into the fire.

"What's your name lass?"

She told me. It was the only time she would ever tell me her real name. I can't even recall what it was, but it was a foreign name and stood out. Even if I took her to another town, someone with such a foreign sounding name might attract attention and it would be possible that word would get back that she was still alive and travelling with me. I explained this to her.

"I... I can't be me?" She asked.

"It's too dangerous. I'm going to call you Fig, okay?"

"Fig?"

"Short for figment. When I first saw you, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me."

She shrugged. With everything that had happened, I guess a name change wasn't the biggest thing she was worried about.

We traveled to my cabin the next morning.

***

I closed the journal of the man I knew as Ghost. I knew he could write, as he had taught me, but I didn't discover his journals until after he had passed. On his deathbed, he had told me about a section of floor in his cabin that could be opened. When I pulled up the loose boards, I discovered a small cache of money and his journals.

I looked around the cabin that he had brought me to for safety all those years ago. That had been a long and hard winter. Having to share the food supplies which had only been meant for a single person had been rough. Thankfully, his trapping and hunting brought enough meat to keep us going.

As for the stones, after he taught me how to write, he wanted me to carve my parents names into them. He couldn't bring me back to the farmstead so he wanted me to have "portable headstones" to carry around. He told me when the time was right, I could lay them in a peaceful spot and put my parents souls to rest.

He did try to take me to another town when the spring came, saying that it would be better if I was around other kids. He made some attempts to pawn me off on people who might take me in, but I really don't think he tried that hard. I get the feeling that he enjoyed having me around.

When the next winter came, he begrudgingly ordered more supplies then usual and there was no more talk made of me going anywhere else.

The years passed. I grew and he showed me how to work the trapline, how to hunt, and how to be independent. Eventually, I struck out on my own, building my own cabin and working my own trapline over the winters. We would meet in the spring, talk about our adventures, and help each other with supplies.

Eventually this latest spring came, and he wasn't at our normal meeting area. After a few days, I set out to his cabin. When I found him, I discovered he had gotten sick over the winter and had wasted away to almost nothing. That once large, proud man broke my heart as he lay there, withered away. I did what I could to comfort him in those final days, but he finally passed about a week later.

I set his cabin on fire, his body still inside. It's what he wanted. As I walked back towards my own camp, I searched the streambed for a stone. I already carried the portable headstones of my parents, and one more wouldn't make my pack heavier. When I got the chance, I'd carve his name into it.

I thought about that man. That man that the children mockingly called Ghost. The man who they said would steal children away in the night if they were wicked. The man the townsfolk were so cruel towards because he looked different. I gave a soft smile, realizing that in a way, he did steal me away, stole me away to safety.

I thumbed the rock that I would carve his name into. It felt warm to the touch, like he was there with me. I thought about the stones that held my parents name and gave some thought where I would eventually lay them.

I looked to the west, to where the farmstead was. I never went back there since that terrible night, but now I thought about going. That farm was mine, and I now knew how to hunt and trap. How to survive on the outskirts. I could go... and be a ghost - a wicked, vengeful figment... driving off whomever dared to take my family away from me.

And then, I could lay my parents and my Ghost to rest. I could place their portable headstones in a quiet corner of a field near the stream.

I picked one one more rock, as there was one more headstone to make. I would carve my old name into it. That girl was dead. She died that night that Ghost took me in. I was Fig now, as he named me.... a figment... the daughter of a ghost.

I've been diving more into game development recently by participating in a few jams. I've figured out how to port my latest game "The Distant Door" to be web playable and I've uploaded it to Newgrounds for people to check it.

The Distant Door was created over the month of August as part of the Monthly Adventure Game Studio or MAGS competition which is hosted on Adventure Game Studio forums.

The theme for MAGS this month was "Distance" which you can see I've built into the game and title.

If you'd like to check it out, and maybe give it a review or rating, that would be great.

The Distant Door (newgrounds.com)