Mr Worldz

Chapter 72: Arrows

William crouches low in the brush, heart pounding in his ears. Eight brigands already lie dead, his arrows in their backs, their stomachs, their heads. All because they hadn’t seen him coming. Ha...

Chapter 71: Burning Will

For a heartbeat, the world holds its breath as my eyes linger on Hamza's broken form.

Hamza...?

I charge, snow spraying underfoot, the screams of the dying drowned beneath the ...

Chapter 70: Hamza

We approach the road by midday, the narrow, frozen trail winding ahead through thick trees. Hamza leans in, voice low. “Did you find out which way the merchants are coming from?”

I shake ...

Chapter 69: My Nature

Yurik’s company gathers beneath Fort Gaelin’s iron gates, the towering doors creaking in the early dawn wind. A horse-drawn wagon waits near the path, its wheels half-buried in snow. Yurik stal...

Chapter 68: A Proposal

I wake with a jolt of pain in my right arm, sharp as it drags on the stone floor. Blood seeps through the bandage in dark threads, sticky against the skin. The barracks is still. Most of the bedrol...

Chapter 67: Secrets of Mana

The days bleed together in Maldor's laboratory, each one a haze of tedium and revulsion. The horrors of this task and place have worn off somewhat, dulled by repetition. I spend hours etching runes...

Chapter 66: Quick Thinking

The feasting hall stinks of smoke, sweat, and spilled ale. Firelight flickers from the hearth, casting shadows across the stone walls. I sit hunched over some bread, chewing slowly, surrounded on a...

Chapter 65: Two Paths

I leave Maldor’s laboratory with a furrowed brow, thoughts crawling like his spiders. His magic still lingers in my mind, what he did to that creature... I don't fully grasp it, but I know I want...

Chapter 64: Dark Arts

The minutes crawl by slowly under the old fort. In the laboratory proper once more, I wait as ordered by Maldor. The smell still hangs in the air, sickening, almost literally so. I try to get accus...

Chapter 63: Maldor

I look to Two, eyes wide, heart pounding. But he's already released me, striding ahead without pause. I hurry to keep up as he stops before a large, weathered wooden door. I'm about to speak, to de...

Chapter 62: Two Brothers

I follow Two through the dark halls, our footsteps echoing against the cracked black stone. His quarters are larger than I expected, spacious. Though the stone remains chipped and crumbling in plac...

Chapter 61: Warband

The next morning, a boot slams against the post beside my head.

"Up! On your feet, dogs!" Yurik's voice booms through the barracks like a warhorn.

Bran is already pulling blankets off m...

Chapter 60: Edric The Butcher

The hall buzzes with life, torchlight flickering against rough stone walls. The long tables are already packed, wood groaning under the weight of trenchers piled with thick cuts of steaming meat, g...

Chapter 59: Fort Gaellin

I follow Hamza back to the alehouse, the door creaking on its hinges as we push inside.

Yurik stands among the brigands, sleeves rolled up, barking orders as they haul the loot from the past ...

Chapter 58: What Is Right?

Work under Yurik is bleak, but easy. Shaking down merchants for coin. Accosting men on the road. I've not had to shed blood since that day, but Yurik seems satisfied with my work. And as the days g...

Chapter 57: The Life of a Brigand

Morning comes slow and ugly.

The alehouse reeks of smoke, stale ale, and unwashed bodies. Half the Knives are passed out in corners or slumped across broken benches. The rest nurse hangovers ...

Chapter 56: Yurik

The alehouse groans under the weight of too many bodies.

The brigands of the Bleeding Knives crowd the room shoulder-to-shoulder, filling it with pipe-smoke and drunken shouting.

Yurik ...

Chapter 55: Recruitment

The days pass slowly and as Luna predicted, no one comes to recruit us.

So, we spend our time harassing the village in small ways, pilfering unattended goods, knocking over carts, frightening...

Chapter 54: Trust

The night is brittle with the cold. We huddle around the fire beneath our cloaks and the scant blankets we brought, now stretched thinner with Luna among us. The moon hangs low and pale, barely ill...

Chapter 53: No Place For A Woman

William shoves past me with an eager grin, thrusting out a filthy hand.

"Evenin', m'lady," he says brightly. "Name's William, what could we do for a beautiful lass like yourself? I'd be more ...

Chapter 52: Trouble at the Alehouse

We make our way to the south gate, where a battered wagon waits. The old horse shifts impatiently in its harness, its breath misting in the chill air.

Seated atop the wagon is a familiar figu...

Chapter 51: To Redwick

I pack as Zaenith instructs, carefully tucking each herb into its designated satchel. Dried wormwood, powdered bark, and sprigs of feverfew, all sorted with methodical precision. When I'm done, she...

Chapter 50: Freedom

I return to the gaolhouse beneath grey morning light. The heavy oak door groans on its hinges as I push it open, stepping into the fetid dungeon. The gaoler sits behind his splintered desk, nursing...

Chapter 49: Infiltration

We're led down a hall to a broad dining chamber. A long oak table at the center of the room, set for a meal. Roasted duck, buttered turnips, crusty brown bread, bowls of barley pottage, hard cheese...

Chapter 48: The Mayor’s Call

In the weeks that follow, I do not speak to or even see Luna or Ren. Whether they’re avoiding me or tending to business of their own, I can’t say... and I don’t seek them out either. I've my ...

Chapter 47: Secrets Exchanged

I step out through the heavy double doors of the counting house, the night air chilling my skin. Outside, beneath the half-lit sky, Luna and Ren wait near a frost-covered wagon, the wind tugging at...

Chapter 46: Speak The Word

We hurry through the smoldering streets. One by one, the fires are put out, the cold and wet wood aiding the efforts of the women, along with the plentiful snow. Men stalk the alleys with makeshift...

Chapter 45: A City Cleansed

I trudge through the snow, each step slow, heavy. Smoke stings my eyes, and the air reeks of blood, piss, and ash. Women dart from house to house, tossing buckets onto flame-caught rooftops. Men po...

Chapter 43 & 44

Chapter 43: A Town In Flames

Screams rip through the air like tearing cloth. The square erupts in chaos, families trampled beneath fleeing crowds, children lost in the crush....

Chapter 42: Beneath The Earth

“Of course you lost, fool boy. What did you think you’d accomplish in just a month?” Zaenith says as she wraps a length of boiled linen around my skull, binding the salve in place.

I gr...