Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XXI

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 the miners are rescued, and our heroes prepare to withstand an attack.

Table of Contents

The alarm bell echoed from the mine and reverberated through the mountains. It was louder than I had thought possible—or, perhaps, the stillness of the night made it seem so. I shifted my axe to my left hand and took up a javelin in my right. My pulse in my ears was fast and strong. 

The guards beside the tunnel exchanged a look before they dashed into the mine. One took the lantern with him, and the blackness of the night overtook the hillside. From the city, a distant clamor of voices answered the bell, and soon the tramp of booted feet came up the path. 

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

Song of the Week

Joni Mitchell, “A Case of You”

Happy Monday! It’s finally getting warm here, so soon I will be able to dress like a proper post-apocalyptic villager from a town named after half a street sign. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

I’ll be back on Wednesday with a new chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, so I’ll see you then!

Have an excellent week.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Interlude Three

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 Khalim searches in the mine for Heishiro, and finds more than he expected.

Table of Contents

At first, Khalim could see nothing. The evening outside had not been bright, but the mine was black as the heart of the earth. The air was thick with dust and smoke that scraped down his throat as he breathed and made his chest burn. Gradually, faint lights swam out of the darkness—sputtering lanterns hanging at regular intervals, each encircled by a ring reflected from the dust in the air. 

It was a dim, filthy, miserable place. The miners, their backs bent and their heads bowed, shuffled down the tunnel under sacks of rock, listless and unheeding. The guards stood straighter, and their eyes were wary, but they were as dirty as the miners they watched. 

I have passed into the realm of the dead, Khalim thought with a shudder. 

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Interlude Three” →

Song of the Week

Natalie Merchant, “Ophelia”

It’s Monday again. I hope everyone is staying safe.

I’ll be back on Wednesday with a new chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, so I’ll see you then!

Have an excellent week.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XX

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 our heroes travel to the mine of Phyreios.

Table of Contents

It was early morning, the sun not yet risen over the desert horizon, when a man arrived at our newly completed gate. He was dressed in rags, his feet unshod and bloody, and between breathless gasps he gave his name as Osuli and explained that he had run all night from the mine and brought news for Reva. 

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

Song of the Week

Kamelot, “The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)”

Happy Monday! I hope everyone is staying safe.

I’ll have a new chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea on Wednesday for you. I don’t think I’ll continue with Myst, but I hope to start another project of some sort soon.

Have an excellent week!

Let’s Play Myst: Masterpiece Edition (Part 3)

At long last, a puzzle!

Click here for the playlist on YouTube.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XIX

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 our heroes arrive at the mountain stronghold, and preparations are made.

Table of Contents

The storm lifted at last before nightfall. I took the horses out of our shelter and tethered them to a twisted tree nearby, under a sky painted in brilliant colors from the dust still in the air. The mountains were black beneath the fiery sunset, and the red plain to the east was stained a bloody hue. From the city to the peak, all was quiet. 

I slept then and did not dream.  Aysulu woke me before sunrise. We struck our camp and gathered our things in the dark, and as one final gesture of spite to the Ascended, I set fire to the chariot. It was against Aysulu’s advice, but I saw no reavers upon the plain, and I took measures to ensure the flames would not spread. We could not take the chariot with us, in any case. 

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

Song of the Week

In the Valley Below, “Hymnal”

Happy Monday! Where I am, the sun is finally shining. Perhaps I will venture out into the empty city today and feel like the protagonist of a postapocalyptic novel.

I’ll be back on Wednesday with a new chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, and on Friday with more Myst gameplay. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with Myst, as it isn’t very entertaining to watch or record (though it is a fun challenge to play), but I do have one more episode recorded and might as well post it.

Stay safe out there!

Let’s Play Myst: Masterpiece Edition (Part 2)

If you’d like to hear me read every book in the library on Myst Island, this is the video for you. Otherwise, wait until next week, when I will finally do a puzzle and see some new places!

All the Myst videos will live on YouTube here.