Issue 7 of Crimson Quill Quarterly will be available soon as a paperback and kindle eBook, but this is the cover, listing all the authors whose stories will appear in it, including the second part of my serialised Horbeck the Mercenary tale, "Lies and Treachery".
I am pleased to announce that Crimson Quill Quarterly #6 is now available as a paperback and eBook.
The latest issue contains the first of a two part story by me called Lies and Treachery, which details a further adventure of my on the run mercenaries led by Horbeck, who first appeared in The Demon from Another World last year in Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium.
From this issue's description on amazon:
"Heart of the Depths by Ethan Sabatella: In this Stone Age Slasher,
five youths break the rules of their tribe and stay out in the
wilderness after nightfall. The superstitions of their people prove all
too real as a terrible darkness creeps out from the Earth and stalks
them one-by-one.
The Saga of the Stew by Randall Madden: Trolls
have ravaged the mountainside around Ravian, and all but the hardiest
have fled. Yet two brave souls travel toward the danger, in search of an
ancient book near the mountaintop. Damica, the aging singer, finds
an unlikely ally in Morgho the swordsman. Together they move for Ravian
itself—the very source of the troll attacks—so that Damica might
complete the most important ritual of his long life.
The Forbidden Land by Mike Adamson: In an ancient land, legend warns of the dire fruits of trespass. Not for nothing does taboo
keep the tribes away from the northern woods, as Jareth the Hunter and
Sho’nee the Beautiful discover when the girl flees the warrior to whom
she is promised...into the embodiment of all mortal terror.
Lies
and Treachery (Part 1 of 2) by David A. Riley: After having escaped
death in the Great Desert as they fled from their pursuers, Horbeck and
his fellow mercenaries are hoping for some time to recover in the small,
stockaded town they reach beyond the desert’s edge, little realizing
they will be betrayed and forced to grapple with creatures of appalling
evil, some demonic and some human.
Dark Secrets Entombed by J.
VanZile: Balthen Verdugo wants to hunt monsters and make money. If he
can gain a bit of notoriety and fame along the way then all the better. A
rich purse leads Balthen to a town with a beast who has been killing by
night and hiding in a graveyard by day. When Balthen learns the beast
may be linked to the town and its people in ways he wouldn’t have
expected, he must decide what he values more; truth and justice or his
business.
Choir of the Mad Anatomist by Logan D. Whitney: Wayward
rogues Indryk and Cor find themselves embroiled in the aftermath of one
man’s musical obsession…and another’s greed.
Snowblind by
Shephard W. McIlveen: Onyx the Tigerheart stumbles upon a bizarre murder
scene when he finds four men half-buried in the snow, each with their
eyes burned out through the backs of their skulls. As he examines the
bodies, he is set upon by a small order of armored men each dressed in a
uniform matching the corpses at his feet. To clear his name and show
good faith, Onyx agrees to aid the men on the search for the real
killer, but how long will it take for the hunters to become the hunted?"
I am very pleased to reveal that my second full Horbeck story, a novelette called Lies and Treachery, will be serialised in two parts next year. More details soon.
The first story published featuring Horbeck and his two mercenary companions Brud and Asner, The Demon from Another World, appeared in Anthology of the Damned: Necrmoirrium, earlier this month from TreeShaker Books.
I have just completed another story, a novelette really, about my mercenary hero Horbeck and his comrades in arms, Brud and Asner. The latest story is called The Sorcerer's Casket and is the sixth in their ongoing saga.
The tales so far in chronological order are:
The Unhappy Inquisitor
The Demon from Another World (Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium)
Lies and Treachery
The Mummified Demi-God
Dead Thieves in the Night
The Sorcerer's Casket
In total these add up to 57,200 words, which is amazing to me as I never intended to create a series of stories when I first wrote about Horbeck.
Illustration for The Demon from Another World
As soon as I completed this, though, I found myself embarking on yet another yarn of this trio, possibly titled The Sorcerer's Casket.
The list of Horbeck & Co stories so far are:
The Unhappy Inquisitor
The Demon from Another World (Anthology of the Damned: Necromoirrium)
Lies and Treachery
The Mummified Demi-God
Dead Thieves in the Night
One week after I finished my last sword and sorcery story involving Horbeck and his mercenary comrades, Brud and Asnar, I have now completed another involving their misadventures: The Mummified Demi-God.
This makes four stories in which Horbeck appears: The Unhappy Inquisitor, The Demon from Another World, Lies and Treachery, and now The Mummified Demi-God. Of these only The Demon from Another World is scheduled to be published at the moment. It will appear later this month in Anthology of the Damned, Necromoirrium from Treeshaker Books.
From its opening paragraphs:
The three mercenaries rode leisurely down the winding, hard-packed road, their camels and packhorses burdened with sacks of gold, payment from a particularly rewarding job. Despite their nonchalant appearance, though, all three kept their eyes alert on the surrounding woodlands, bushes and small hillocks, wary of bandits.
Their erstwhile leader, Horbeck, was a huge northerner with a sun-bleached beard and long, dust-filled hair, his rugged chainmail only partially covered by what remained of his leather jerkin, scored so often it was all but rags. His fellow northerner, Brud, was slightly shorter but no less robust in appearance, a well-used battleaxe hanging from the saddle of his camel from which, in the north, he would have hung the heads of his enemies, a habit he had been persuaded to forgo in the civilised south. The only non-northerner in this trio was Asnar, a black-bearded Josanian archer. Like his comrades, his clothes had seen better days. His lacquered leather breastplate had all but lost whatever colouring was scrolled across it when he first set out as a mercenary years ago. Over one shoulder hung an unstrung bow of surpassing power and accuracy, though he also had a scimitar sheathed across his back in a gaudy scabbard. All normally wore steel helmets, plain, serviceable and much dented; these now hung from straps beside them as the sun beat down on their heads. Two wore straw hats to keep it off. Asnar preferred a felt cap.
In the distance they glimpsed the gleaming towers of a large city, though none of them knew its name, having lost track of where they were many months ago when they were pursued across the Great Desert by their enemies.
