Swashbuckling Stories

Mindblind blinked his eyes open, squinting against the morning light streaming through the window, and tried to focus on his surroundings. Eventually, Raven congealed out of the haze, standing at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” “Morning to you, too,” he said as he sat up and groaned. He was stark naked, and as the sleep fog burned off, he recognized he was in a...

The wagons creaked and rattled down the road as the sun sank toward the horizon. The women were excited, because familiar bits of scenery appeared the closer they moved toward Lakenshire. Mindblind, however, was on edge. He kept his eyes roving and his ears perked to the wind. From the moment they’d set out from camp, his danger-sense had been screaming at him, though they’d encountered few people and no trouble all day....

Mindblind stood staring at the wall, fist clenched tight around his sword hilt, and his vision red with rage. He tried to master his emotions, as he’d done all his life, but it was having no effect. After everything – even killing the last of the assassins – he was no closer to discovering who was really behind it all. Behind him, Indigo related what he’d learned from the women locked in the back of the establishment. The...

Mindblind ran, fighting the wind, rain, and muddy terrain to stay upright with his burden. Raven had barely breathed when he found her, and there was no guarantee that she still was. Upon reaching the turf house, he turned his back toward the door and threw his weight into it. In a splintering of wood, the makeshift bar fell away. He stumbled into the room amidst alarmed screams from the women within. Kayleen ran up and g...

The journey started pleasantly enough. The ladies of negotiable virtue chatted and laughed, still relating to each other the tales of their latest adventures and clients before leaving town. Indigo whistled as he drove the wagon, and even Raven seemed to be in good spirits as she hiked along, usually sharpening one of her daggers with a whetstone. The sun was shining bright, but a breeze kept the temperature tolerable. Th...