Author: Madeline Crane

Fantasy writer, tabletop gamer, wearer of hats.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VII

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which Eske speaks to Khalim about home, and the contest of oratory takes place.

Table of Contents

The next day was to be the day of the contests of oration and magecraft. I awoke to find the house in disarray, Garvesh having spread out his books on every available surface. With an exaggerated sigh, he sat down at the table before one of his tomes and placed his chin in one hand, the other tracing the rows of characters on the page. I was tempted to close my door again and see if the scene was any more comprehensible upon opening it a second time, but instead I strode into the common room and wished everyone a fine good morning.

Garvesh gave me a look sharper than a javelin, but I paid him no heed. I was still in a good humor from my victory the day before, having won my team a lead over even the Ascended’s own champions, and despite a narrow loss to the warrior Heishiro in an arm-wrestling match outside of the games.

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VII” →

Song of the Week

Ishtar, “Lamouni (Ligharou meni)”

Happy Monday!

I hope to return to our regularly scheduled nonsense this week, which means the next chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea will be up Wednesday, and I’ll be on Twitch Thursday night.

I’m trying to stay on top of NaNo, so maybe my Friday update will be a positive one. We’ve passed the halfway point, so the pressure is on!

Have an excellent week!

NaNo Update: All Words are Good Words

It’s been a rough week, and I’ve decided to count basically everything I write this month toward my total, regardless of what project it’s for. The good news is, I’m at 24,550 words today, which means I’m almost caught up! There’s a decent chance I can actually complete the challenge!

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Two)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The cult of the Great Mother is well-established here in Oxmoor, and the investigators need to find out whom they can trust. The notes written by Professor Ragnarsson’s murderer indicated that the cult is seeking a book at the Westmont estate. Finding that book will be the key to the investigators’ next steps, but time is of the essence: the cult is preparing to summon an eldritch horror from ages long forgotten.

This section includes the Westmont Estate, notes on the book, and other locations around Oxmoor.

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: violence, death, murder, cult activity including blood sacrifice and implied forced pregnancy.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Two)” →

Song of the Week

The Brothers Bright, “Blood on My Name”

Happy Monday, quite late. Moving has scrambled my schedule.

I probably won’t be streaming this week, as I have a lot of NaNo to catch up on, but the next part of Chapter Two of The Well Below the Valley will be up Wednesday. The investigators will start to learn about what they’re up against and how they’re eventually going to try to stop the cult. See you then!

This was supposed to be a Friday update…

…so you can probably guess how well NaNo is going for me.

I’m at 8,265 words, which means I’m only about halfway as far as I should be at this point. I’ve also moved myself, my husband, our cats, and nearly every single thing we own across town. This week has felt like several months.

I’ve still got three more weeks in November, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to catch up a bit. I may not get to the 50,000 word goal, but that’s okay. I’m still building a good writing routine and making progress on my projects.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VI

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which Eske participates in the contests of strength, and meets the disciples of the Dragon Temple.

Table of Contents

I woke to find Aysulu and Khalim in the common room, Khalim with his head down on the table and his arms folded over it. 

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

He made a pained noise. Aysulu passed me a bowl of rice and the last of one of the cuts of dried meat.

I sat down opposite Khalim. “Couldn’t you just heal it?”

He looked up, squinting painfully. “I did this to myself. It’s a lesson I’m learning.”

“The way I see it,” I argued, “if your god doesn’t want you to heal yourself, he won’t let you. There’s no harm in giving it a try.”

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VI” →

Song of the Week

Ray LaMontagne, “Empty”

Happy Monday! Moving house is proving to be a lot more involved than I had anticipated, so I’m already a little very behind on NaNoWriMo. Hopefully I can catch up this week.

New chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea will post on Wednesday. I probably won’t be streaming this week, as the gaming computer will need to be packed up and moved, but I should be back at that soon.

I hope everyone has an excellent week.

Surely I shall be punished for my hubris

I decided yesterday morning that I will be participating in NaNoWriMo this year.

Now, I’m not sure how well that will work out, because my little family is moving house this month, and there will be much to do as the holidays approach, but I decided that I’d rather fail than regret not trying, so here we are.

If you’re not familiar with National Novel Writing Month, the event challenges writers to complete 50,000 words (enough for a short novel or a solid novella) within the 30 days of November. This works out to 1667 words a day, or 2380 if you take weekends off.

I’m going to be dividing these words between my manuscript and Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea. The Well Below the Valley is already written, though it continues to take some effort to format for the blog.

New chapters of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea and The Well Below the Valley will continue posting on alternate Wednesdays. I will also be checking in on Fridays and tracking progress toward that 50k goal. Wish me luck! And if you have experience with NaNo, I encourage you to please tell me your wisdom. This is my first time.

(Edited to fix math fail)

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part One)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The investigators have discovered the murderer of Professor Ragnarsson and brought to light the terrible cult he belongs to.  They now have their next lead: the village of Oxmoor, where Ragnarsson’s former assistant is now living. She was entrusted with one of the artifacts the professor removed from the island, and has more information about the ill-fated expedition.  In a stroke of phenomenally bad luck, the cult is also gathering there to seek out an artifact from the island and a mysterious text. The investigators must travel to Oxmoor, find Jasmine, and put a stop to what the cult has planned next, which seems to also be putting Eloise’s young cousin, Aurelia Westmont, in danger as well. 

In this section, the investigators will visit Jasmine and find out what she knows about the cult and its practices, and have their first encounter with the dark magic of the island.

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: mentions of sexism/racism and suicide, forced pregnancy, body horror.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part One)” →