Two sellswords, now pariahs, split up to escape injustice. But the ghosts of the past come back to haunt Brea the half-elf, while Kozog the half-orc finds peril lurking much closer to his chest than he could ever imagine. A novella set in Drathari, the world of Ren of Atikala. Part two of the The Pariahs series.

Two sellswords, one transformed into goat and the other deprived of her spells and vanity in equal measure, escape the clutches of officious bureaucrats. But a sea voyage, hastily pre-pared, is the least of their troubles; turning Kozog back into a half-orc is going to take powerful magic beyond Brea’s skill, and the claws of the abyssal terrors have a longer reach than either of them anticipated… A novella set in Drathari, the world of Ren of Atikala. Part three of the The Pariahs series.

I am Ren of Atikala. Kobold. Sorceress. Warrior. I am many things and I have many stories to tell. This one is about my home. Home. The word has a special resonance with us all. Great or humble, rich or poor, everyone cherishes their home and if deprived of it loses a piece of themselves. I remember looking back at Atikala, its ceiling collapsed in, the homes of fifty thousand kobolds crushed under unimaginable tonnes of rock and dirt. I remembering the feeling of horror and denial that immediately set in. I wanted to reject that this had happened to me, to scream to the ceiling until the rock receded, until fate changed its mind and restored everything to the way it was. I thought that life could not be so cruel as to take everything I'd known in an instant. Oh, how I now understand that life can be capricious indeed. This is story of how I came to the surface of Drathari and unwillingly traded a life for a life. The Kobolds series: #1: Ren of Atikala #2: Ren of Atikala: The Scars of Northaven (Now available for preorder!) Other stories set in Drathari, the World of Shattered Dreams: - The Gods are Silent, a short story (Coming early 2015!). Keywords: free, freebie, free download, fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, kobold, pathfinder, dungeons and dragons, open gaming content, sorceress

I am Ren of Atikala. Kobold. Prisoner. Experiment. My father owns me and my days are full of pain. I have many stories to tell. This one is about death. Kobolds die every day. Even hatchlings are familiar with death, taught to understand it from an early age. Death is our nursemaid. By the time a hatchling has reached adulthood it has seen a hundred lives ended. Humans do things differently. Humans avoid talking of death. It is spoken in whispers, avoided in conversation. When they must discuss it they use euphemisms, silly phrases like “passed on” or “sleeping” or “gone away”. They are hoping, perhaps, they can pretend such euphemisms will not one day apply to them. Ultimately, though, they always do. These are some of the hardest times I have ever faced and some of my sweetest joys. I have so many stories to tell but this one should come next. It will take some time. This is the story of how I came to truly understand death, and what it means to take a life. The Kobolds series: #1: Ren of Atikala #2: Ren of Atikala: The Scars of Northaven (Now available for preorder!) Other stories set in Drathari, the World of Shattered Dreams: - The Gods are Silent, a short story (Coming early 2015!).

"Never again attempt to develop this kind of technology." It is with these words that an unknown alien attacker destroys the Earth cities of Tehran, Sydney and Beijing. Fifty million people die... and nothing is ever the same again. Some call them Demons, some call them Aliens, but to Chinese Naval Captain Melissa Liao they are the enemy. She is given command of one of three great warships built to fight the "demons", the TFR Beijing. Her task is simple. Find who attacked Earth and why... then stop them. Book one of the Lacuna series. Lacuna: Demons of the Void Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi Lacuna: The Spectre of Oblivion Lacuna: The Ashes of Humanity (new release!) Lacuna: The Prelude to Eternity (coming soon!) Don't miss these short stories set in the Lacuna universe: Magnet Magnet: Special Mission Magnet: Marauder Magnet: Scarecrow (new release!) Imperfect Faith Keywords: free, freebie, free download, military sci-fi, navy, future, people's republic of china, space exploration, military space, lacuna

Reproduction of the original: Freeland by Dr. Theodor Hertzka