Legacy of Kings -- A Taverns & Wolves Campaign

Zasheida's fourth stone missed just as an arrow whizzed past her from behind and embedded with a dull thump right between the minotaur's shoulder blades. The giant creature's howl reverberated off the labyrinth walls, muting the leprechaun archer's cry of victory. Zasheida glanced back at Spark, who was already pulling another arrow out of her quiver and maneuvering for a better position.
  Abandoning its fallen prey, the minotaur snapped the arrow, whirled on the small band, and charged. Zasheida dodged out of the way even though she wasn't directly in its path. Another stone would never work, but she slipped one into her sling anyway.
  It was going straight for Servius. The stolid paladin, instead of dodging as she had, planted himself and raised his shield, his gladius glinting dully in the low light. With a roar, the minotaur slammed its huge, leathery fists blindly into Servius' shield. The force knocked it to the side, and his other fist collided with his layered metal breastplate. But Servius only stumbled a few paces, and while the dread beast was off balance, he gave a ringing shout and drove his gladius into the minotaur's midsection at such an angle as to pierce the monster's heart.
  This time the minotaur's cry came out strangled, and as Servius yanked his blade free, it crumpled to the labyrinth floor.
  The chamber fell silent save for the heavy breathing of the four questers.

~*~

 

  Four friends thrown together by a previous adventure embark on another quest together that may prove to be their most perilous yet. The cyclops monster slayer, Bartholomew (One Eyed Bart, to his friends); Spark, a peculiar leprechaun treasure hunter; Servius Metalus, a devout paladin loyal to the House of Sol; and a secretive Avatar from the Middle Realms, Zasheida Khalid, all answer the call of a scholarly avatar charged with the task of locating the palace of King Midas. A lost Olympian artifact must be recovered before the Olympians themselves attempt to claim it. This artifact is none other than the shield of Perseus, hidden in the palace by the Nimue Athena.

 

  The quest itself is surrounded by legends of perils. Gorgons, the minotaur, a palace filled with gold and booby traps, and, of course, the threat of the Olympians discovering their intentions and seeking to stop them at all costs.

 

Thus is the Legacy of Kings, a Taverns & Wolves campaign being run by my sister Rosie. Seph, Pippin, Dana, and I are the players, while she runs the rest of the game, including the two NPC guides in the game. So far none of us have died, but it's come close.

 

But of course, there's still time for that to happen.

 

Dia duit,

~Penny



Firefly Kisses

We used to sit outside and watch the fireflies. Now...

We got the official wedding pictures today, and I had to share.

If you want to see more, head over to my tumblr. I got a little carried away and starting posting a whole bunch of them.

Dia duit,
~Penny

Hitched

It's official. Dana and I are married now. Robert, who was Best Man, took one of his signature selfies with Dana and I and my sister Rosie, the Maid of Honor. The whole day was serenely beautiful, filled with celebration, laughter, and cake that was so sinfully delicious I can't believe it was allowed into the church.

Dia duit,
~Penny

Taverns & Wolves -- Thoughts and Ramblings

So Momma mentioned the other day that I should consider developing and marketing Taverns & Wolves.

Now my mind is slowly working on how to get it developed and start writing things down. It'll be somewhat difficult because I've been relying on Percy and Seph to help me with the numbers -- the stats and proficiencies and ability scores..... But Percy is leaving for the Air Force Academy on the 25th (the last time I'll see him for a while will be at my wedding), and Seph is headed to IIT in August.

Also, I need guinea pigs. So I'm trying to figure out how to do Taverns & Wolves both in real life, as well as over Skype. The benefit of doing things over Skype is that I'm not limited to people who only live around me. Since Dana and I will be moving in August, and I have no idea what kinds of folks are going to be around there that a) I would trust to play T&W and b) would actually want to.

So if any of you have an suggestions, I am very open to hearing them. Anything on how to continue development, or even just give opinions on things I may post in the future. Also, I have a private group on ww.MeWe.com if any of you feel like helping out in a more interactive way.

More updates to come!

Dia duit,
~Penny

PS
Also, Dana and I have not forgotten about FtGG. We were actually just talking about it the other day, and have decided to work on it together after I get Alden's Story published. Which I have finished, by the way. Now I just need to edit it, and get the illustrations.

Photo Shoots and Why I Will Never Be A Model

Well, last week Dana and I went out to my cousins' farm to take engagement photos. It was an interesting experience, reminding me why I dislike being in front of the camera. However, my cousins came out and helped us get ideas for poses and perspectives. To my delight, many of the pictures actually turned out pretty well, considering we were all complete amateurs. Lynnae (who is here for the month to help with organization) did a wonderful job taking the pictures.

 

 

And now you know what I look like, too! And what Dana looks like. (Ain't he handsome?) Several of the pictures ended up looking like Chevy ads because Cousin Jon insisted we take some of the pictures using the truck, seeing as we were on a farm and all. Since Dana works out there (and also loves their red Silverado), it didn't seem completely out of place, even though I'm not exactly a farm person.

 

 

 

I also wanted to mention, I now have yet another blog, which I will likely be posting most of my real life/author stuff on, keeping Barefoot Bladeweaver free for IG and FtGG and Lore.... etc. Anyway. It's called www.adventuresinquirk.blogspot.com, if any of you are interested.

 

Dia duit,

~Penny



Updates from the Long Lost Penny

Goodness. It's been quite forever since I've posted.


Well, I do have two things that are of interest.

First of all, I got engaged (woohoo!). If you hadn't guessed, it's to Dana. Guess that's what comes of writing a story together. Heh. I'm very happy and can't wait for the wedding and the wonderful adventure marriage will be.

Second, I've recently gotten into dice RPGs. Percy, Seph, and I checked out the D&D handbooks from the library and have been transferring all the relevant knowledge to apply to the Lore world. Unlike the IGs we have done, Taverns & Wolves (that's what we named it) is something that I could share on my blog so others could play it with their friends. Still thinking about it, and I don't expect to get much done, considering I have a wedding in five and a half weeks and we are all scrambling about to get all the planning done. However, I'm excited about Taverns & Wolves and wanted to share that.

Slowly but surely I'm figuring out stats and dice and characters and campaigns and all that RPG jargon that we had to demystify on our own, as no one around us plays this sort of thing. Nor am I interested in getting to know any old body who likes D&D. Since D&D itself is permeated with magic and horrible monsters. Not something I want to carry over into Lore.

Right now I'm developing a campaign centering around a djinni child. So far our games are loads of fun, and highly amusing, since we're all still learning, and the characters currently involved in the campaign make a rather dysfunctional team. Takes a bit of creativity to try and keep the little band together.

Anyway, I am short on time and must away. I hope all y'all out there are doing well!

Dia duit,
~Penny

A New Level of Archery

Lynnae Direain sent this video, and it blew our minds. I'm updating one of my story world cultures because of it.

Dia duit,
~Penny

The Messenger by Penny Kearney

When you open your eyes it doesn’t surprise you that you’re sitting in the interrogation room. What does is that you’re not surprised, considering the last thing you remember is staring up at the hospital ceiling listening to the heart monitor stop beeping.

 It’s bare, like the interrogation rooms you’d seen in television shows. But looking down at your wrists, you see you’re not handcuffed, and the seat of the metal chair pulled up close to the table is cushioned. The light overhead glows with a gentle light and turns what would otherwise feel like quite a harsh atmosphere into something more like the waiting room in an eye clinic rather than the one stop before prison.

 Your inspection is cut short when the door opens and a man in a suit enters.

 A shot of fear skitters down your spine.

 The man holds up a reassuring hand. “Don’t worry. I’m just here to talk.”

 You relax some. Though nondescript, you notice the suit is immaculate. Same for his face. There’s nothing particularly striking or attractive about his features -- except that his hair is long, tied back in a tight ponytail with not a strand loose -- yet he’s probably the handsomest man you’ve ever seen.

 Unbuttoning his jacket, he sits down across from you, and folds his hands. “You’re more tenacious than you think.”

 You don’t know what to say to that, so you just shrug.

 “I’m Gabriel,” He continues. “He sent me to answer whatever questions you might have.”

 Silence. Gabriel waits.That’s when you realize he’s sitting on the wrong side, the side of the one being interrogated.

 You hesitate. “Any question, huh?”

 Gabriel nods.

 “Okay.” Your question comes from some hidden corner of your soul, somehow creeping to your lips and demanding to be spoken like this was your last chance. You look him right in the eye and say,“Is life lie?”

 “Life is full of lies,” Gabriel answers simply.

 Your heartbeat flutters.

 It must have shown in your expression, because Gabriel leans forward, resting his hands on the table. “Life is not always what you see with your eyes, what you feel, what you say or do, or even what you know. Everything can lie. Everyone can lie.”

 “So far this is not very encouraging.” A little flash of frustration makes your skin prickle uncomfortably.

 “Truth is a thing all its own.” Gabriel’s eyes -- an average brown -- seem to spark as he speaks. “It is the loudest yet least heard, the brightest yet least seen, the most certain yet the least known. In all life it is the most sought after, yet least desired. Truth does not bend itself to the will of man. It simply is. It is rightness; order. Lies mix reasoning and desire to convince you that you want the lie more than you want the truth. They make you think you can achieve order another way, that your life will get better, that you can change the world, by building on the sand. The weakness in lies, however, is that no matter who believes them, truth does not change. Truth is not accommodating, it is true. It tears down what is false without quarter. You either accept the truth, or you join the liars.

 You slam your fist on the table and point an accusing finger at the man in the suit. “You can sit there and praise truth all you want, but if I can’t trust my eyes and ears and mind, how am I supposed to know what to believe? This is impossible; it isn’t fair. How do I know you’re not the liar?”

 “I’m just the messenger.” Gabriel stands, buttoning his suit jacket. “So are you.”

 He’s leaving. You stand as well. It wasn’t anger, it was fear. Wait... “Wait.”

 Gabriel pauses.

 “Please, just tell me. I can’t…” The beeps of the heart monitor have become one long drone of sound. You can hear it again faintly in the back of your mind. No. You can’t go back without knowing. You won’t. “How will I know what’s true?” Then your heart sinks. Maybe you weren’t going back.

 Reaching across the table, Gabriel puts a hand on your shoulder, looking right into your eyes. “Faith.”

 “In what?”

 “You already know that.”

 Your stomach quivers. But Gabriel smiles, and steps back. He motions to the side wall.

 “You’re free to go.”

 There’s a door there, now. Whether it had been there before or you simply hadn’t noticed it you aren’t sure, but you find yourself walking towards it. Opening it. And stepping oustide, leaving the messenger in the suit and the interrogation room behind you.

 You’re standing in the midst of oblivion, and there’s something in your hand.

 It’s your Grandmother’s cross pendant.

 The heart monitor starts beeping again, and you open your eyes.