ddwebb

2.30 In Which the Dark Lord Gets His Hands Dirty

I didn’t know why the experience left me so out of sorts, which only made it worse.

The Spirit’s “revelation” about the goddesses was…  Well, upon due consideration, not much of anything, really.  Sure, I didn’t know the tidbit that all past Heroes and Dark Lords were Japanese, but in hindsight it felt like there were enough hints I should’ve put this toge...

2.29 In Which the Dark Lord Rages Against the Machine

I hadn’t realized how big this island was.

Highlord Adver hosted us in a drawing room rather than his study where he preferred to conduct discreet business of this kind because of the décor: one wall was taken up by a huge map of Dount.  It was clearly designed for decoration, having nothing labeled except Caer Yviredh itself, but I recognized enough landmarks to get a sense of wh...

2.28 In Which the Dark Lord Enrolls Some Nobles in the School of Hard Knocks

“Ohh, no,” the talkative bandit groaned.  “He said the thing.”

Two of his compatriots smacked him quiet this time.

“All right, ladies,” I said.  “Everyone crowd around, get a good look.  You know the drill: sing out if you have a claim to make.”

“What’s he talking about?” one of the men whispered as my followers shifted position.  A co...

2.27 In Which the Dark Lord Goes Visiting

Instead of sleeping in a warm, cozy guest room in the luxurious Caer Yviredh, we got to camp amid the damp khora and really enjoy that crisp autumn chill up close.  I didn’t regret the decision, though, because while I had hammered out a foundational agreement for my alliance with Clan Yviredh, we were a long way from establishing mutual trust.  I didn’t exactly expect them to try...

2.26 In Which the Dark Lord Spills the Tea

Flaerdwyd lowered his hands, dropped the spell, and sank back into his chair, looking sickly and terrified.  I followed him for a moment with the tip of the rapier before finally removing it, and re-sheathing the weapon.

Behind me, Nazralind separated herself from the women along the dining room’s walls and pulled out the chair at the end of the table.  We hadn’t discussed t...

2.25 In Which the Dark Lord Comes to Dinner

A/N: This is the full chapter.  The first section has been edited but isn't substantially different from what you previously saw, if you'd rather skip right to the first break.

“Here’s the thing, though,” Biribo continued, weaving back and forth in the air as if slightly worked up, “these are gwynnek feathers.”

“These are our gwynn...

2.25 pt 1

Author's Note: This is an unedited half-chapter.  I'm behind again due to multiple circumstances as discussed in the Patron channel on Discord.  I'll post the second half as soon as it's done, but for now there have been so many schedule slips lately I didn't want to let another update day pass without having something up.

***

“Here’s the thing, though...

2.24 In Which the Dark Lord Gets to Know the Neighbors

“What?  Lord Seiji, that’s not a beastman,” said Mimi.

“Wh—he isn’t?”  I pointed at the fallen man, who was still partially curled up and wincing in pain after the tumble he’d taken.  “Look, he’s got the ears and the tail and everything.”

“Exactly.  Ears and tail, nothing else.  That’s just a halfbreed.”

“Don’t ...

2.23 In Which the Dark Lord Brings Home the Bacon

Things were changing around North Watch.

It wasn’t practical to entertain business guests in the kitchen, now that the kitchen was actually serving its intended purpose; preparing food for over a hundred people three times a day, plus cleaning up after all that food prep, meant it was bustling with activity more often than not.  The night of my return from Gwyllthean I’d been abl...

2.22 In Which the Dark Lord Lays Down the Law

“I don’t mind sleeping in a barracks with other women,” Sicellit stated in a particularly tightly-wound voice.  “I understand those are the available accommodations out here and it’s not much of a hardship.  Hell, it’s more comfortable than my own room back at the Cat because I specifically do not have to worry about men climbing on top of me in there!”...

2.21 In Which the Dark Lord Has His Work Cut Out for Him

Hearing Junko rapidly approach, I decided to take a risk.

“Oh, she scared the hell outta Benit and Radon the first time,” I said aloud, deliberately casual.  “I’ll go ahead, calm the dog and wait by the gates.  Biribo, you can guide ‘em the rest of the way, right?  See you in a minute.”

I set off ahead of the group at a brisk trot while a few confused voic...

On the Bonus Chapters

Hey everybody, just wanted to drop a line and keep everyone updated on the status of these.  They are running behind schedule, and I want to reassure folks that I haven't forgotten and am not neglecting them.  The nominated and voted topics are still coming:

September: Goose & Twigs's adventure

October: Harold & Kasser POV chapter

I'm just hella blocked on th...

2.20 In Which the Dark Lord Confronts the Face of Evil

It was not one of the best trips back to North Watch, but definitely wasn’t the longest or most difficult; that honor still went to the previous one, when I’d been escorting most of the population of Cat Alley, along with their various hangers-on.  This group was smaller, and while the kids slowed us considerably, the ladies were experienced wilderness survivalists and did a great deal...

2.19 In Which the Dark Lord Spreads it Around

“Jassner,” I said aloud into the echoing, expectant silence, “wanted to be a messenger and travel to different cities.  He would hang around the trade roads, watching the couriers pass by and asking any who’d talk with a Gutter Rat about their travels.  I wonder, Uncle Gently—did you pick him as a sacrifice because he was more likely than most to escape your control?”

2.18 In Which the Dark Lord Seizes the Means of Abduction

Some of my spell combinations seemed like they were pushing the limits of what could be a plausible joining of their base spells, but Summon Bound Slime just did exactly the same thing as casting Summon Slime and Tame Beast in succession.  The slime came into existence already bound to my will.  It saved a step, that was all.

We worked quickly, Aenit pointing out each of the bol...

2.17 In Which the Dark Lord Closes In

We moved out right after the ceremony, which put us on the street just as full dark fell.  Gwyllthean was quiet, even here on the middle ring; what had happened in the Gutters that morning cast a pall over the whole city, and even those who were inclined to celebrate Lady Gray’s downfall seemingly did so in private.  In the gloomy silence of a traumatized city, we made it all the wa...

2.16 In Which the Dark Lord Suffers the Little Children

I finally learned about Fflyr funerary customs that day.

They did cremate their dead.  Not in crematoriums, though, they used open-air pyres.  That would not work ordinarily—it takes an immense amount of heat to reduce a human body to ash, and I would know—but the Fflyr had the advantage of asauthec, which it turned out could be properly blended and concentrated to ...

2.15 In Which the Dark Lord Realizes His Mistake

We had to pass through a cell block to get where we were going, which meant sticking to the center of the path out of reach of the arms extended through the bars at us.  Those cells were overcrowded to an extent that would’ve resulted in human rights complaints on Earth.  Well…parts of Earth.  All these men had been crammed in there like livestock and while I could understand...

2.14 In Which the Dark Lord is the Lesser Evil

In keeping with the established pattern of everything good on Ephemera being horribly tainted somehow, my first hug from Aster was delivered at high velocity while she was wearing chain mail.

“Oof!”  I actually staggered under the impact; Nazralind reached out to steady me with one hand on my back, which I’m pretty sure was a gesture of pure mockery since it should have been ob...

2.13 In Which the Dark Lord Learns About Unintended Consequences

“Oh, shit,” I commented upon seeing the line of stalled merchant caravans blocking the major highway into Gwyllthean.  It was still early in the morning, but from this distance it already looked to be close to a kilometer long.

“Yeah, and that’s only the khora’s fronds,” said Nazralind, patting me on the shoulder.  “What you stirred up last night is going to… &nb...

concerning the schedule

Hi, everybody, sorry again for being late with the most recent chapter.  It's up now!

I am actually posting this to let everyone know I need some more time on the current bonus chapter--the voted topic of Twigs and Goose's adventure.  As you've noticed, they've just returned to the main story and the consequences of it have become immediately plot relevant.  And also, as I ...

2.12 In Which the Dark Lord Uses Someone's Tragic Backstory as a Sleep Aid

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as jumping right to carving me up like a chunk of roasted beef, which was both good and bad, because while I enjoyed not being carved up, stretching out the anticipation wasn’t great, either.

Seven of the noblewomen-turned-bandit gang had come to retrieve me from the river, not including Twigs and Goose, but as we settled in to the ruined villag...

2.11 In Which the Dark Lord is Adopted by a Pack of Feral Noblewomen

The only good thing about being shot by a bunch of crossbows is that it happens too fast for you to dwell on how much it’s going to hurt.  Which, it turns out, is a lot.  Fortunately for me,I immediately discovered so many new sources of pain that I didn’t even have time to properly notice.

I was toppled over the railing by the force of it, feeling impact more than ...

2.10 In Which the Dark Lord Tries Something He Saw in a Movie Once

“Is that an attack?”  I shifted my feet in preparation, but despite Biribo’s exhortation to move, I didn’t yet take a step.  This seemed like a bad situation in which to run around in confusion.

“No, there’s no offensive element,” he said impatiently.  “The spell’s called Locate, it’s one of those that varies a lot based on the strength of the Blessing o...

2.9 In Which the Dark Lord Almost Gets Away With It

Shepherding two unwilling recruits who were only along because they were terrified of me obviously required a great deal of my attention, which spared me the opportunity to get too lost in my own thoughts, but even so, I had plenty of time to worry as we made our careful, stealthy way through the back alleys of the Gutters.  Much of that energy I spent wondering what the hell was ...