Chapter 16

Pug found the act of riding another creature as it flew to be a curious experience. It was certainly little different from riding in a wagon or carriage to spare his feet from walking, but it still galled him to have another ferry him about. Some part of him felt as though the sky was his domain, and being outclassed …

Chapter 16

Pug found the act of riding another creature as it flew to be a curious experience. It was certainly little different from riding in a wagon or carriage to spare his feet from walking, but it still galled him to have another ferry him about. Some part of him felt as though the sky was his domain, and being outclassed …

Chapter 15

Eleanore bit back a chuckle as she heard Thalia break out into a string of curses for the tenth time in as many minutes. Her low, muttered swearing died down slowly, replaced by the clattering of tools. Eleanore knew better than to check on her friend, as the last time she had tried to draw out whatever was bothering her …

Chapter 14

Thalia snuck out of Eleanore’s family manor in the early hours of the morning, conveniently forgetting to notify her friend she was leaving. She knew when Eleanore woke up and found her missing she’d be absolutely livid, but their argument the night before remained unresolved and Thalia didn’t have the heart to try to avoid her friend in her own …

Chapter 13

Several hours later night had pulled its dark cloak over the sky, and an inky blackness had fallen over the wild. Distant beasts called out, chirruped, and rustled through the woods below, but in the hollow of the treetop it was eerily quiet. The owls had taken up their perches in the branches, encircling the hollow entirely. The area there, …

Chapter 12

Pug woke the next morning in a malaise of bleariness tinged through with a stress induced energy. He awoke earlier than he needed to but lacked the will to leave his bed, instead tossing and turning in the wee hours before he was finally forced to reluctantly dress himself. Emerging into the hall outside only partly put together, he beat …

Chapter 11

Six whole days had passed since Pug arrived in the village. For six whole days he had been inundated under a litany of chores, and if getting to Hummingbird Hearth on time had been difficult before then it was impossible now. And as though the entire village was working together to keep his mind off of his dreary thoughts, the …

Chapter 10

Pug woke with crusty eyes and a mouthful of fur. He sputtered and spat helplessly as he cleared his eyes with one hand, the other struggling to lift Slink’s tail. He stumbled free after a bit of wriggling, his newly available hands pulling clumps of hair off of his tongue as he stumbled out into the morning light. He shuffled …

Chapter 9

Thalia woke to muted sunlight, dogs barking, birds singing, the muted chatter of people beginning their day, and the piercing ringing of her alarm bell. Her eyes snapped open, immediately beginning her search for the annoying little thing, hoping it hadn’t gotten far. She was lucky to catch it early, the device sitting on the edge of her nightstand with …

Chapter 8

Tourmaline and Pug left the burrow well before noon, despite the not so subtle persuasions of Lina’s father, Bazzite. In fact, it seemed to Pug his constant nagging had the opposite effect, hastening Lina’s efforts to depart. The irritated gnome did insist they stop by the myconid who had sold Jet the information one last time, but the poor fungus …