Fantasy Drabble #205 “Shine”

His mother was special, in her own way. Always smiling, looking directly in your eye, hand on your hand, delicate, gentle, reassuring. You felt the life you’d wasted on nonsense seeping back into you in those moments, like a sponge with a corner in the water.

He’s the opposite. When he’s around you feel yourself leaking out of your body, colors get just a bit dimmer, light fades, you shiver from a cold you can’t feel on your skin.

He may be a boy, but he needs ending, before we’re all sucked dry. Who’ll do what needs to be done?

Fantasy Drabble #204 “Still In Love”

The note came sliding slowly under the front door as if pushed by a soft breeze: twitching, fluttering, slow. She shuffled over, cane taking most of her weight when she bent to retrieve it; pausing to look through the peephole, but seeing only the hallway’s grimy  wallpaper opposite.

Meet me in the park. Wear the read, I like the red.

It was in his hand; they were always in his hand. She had letters for comparison, sent from Basic, from the ship, from the base in England, even a few from the beach itself, none less than sixty-five years old.

Fantasy Drabble #203 “Like A Good Neighbor”

We get calls about strange noises, odd smells, even weird lights. Sometimes we even go by to check things out, make sure nothing’s burning down; but we always end up telling Mrs. Friedken — it’s always old lady Friedken calling — that if nobody’s hurt and nobody’s breaking the law, there’s nothing we can do.

There aren’t any missing kids in the county, that’s a lot of talk. Nobody’s pets have gone missing, either. From what I understand, that incense they burn is ordered right out of a catalog.

They’re just witches. I wish everyone would calm the hell down.

Fantasy Drabble #202 “Pilgrimage”

He struggled on the rocky slope with the shrine looming above, finally clearly visible. They could certainly see him as well by now: his was the only motion in an otherwise barren landscape. He had passed eight markers already, markers that show the ‘safe’ way up, and there were four more yet to go. Odd to think that he had still perhaps a day of climbing to go, when he could already see the doors.

The monks are not the true masters of Lythahamut: the dragon lives in the caverns below. He would either become a student or a snack.

Fantasy Drabble #201 “Respect”

The demon stood in the doorway and smiled. Mrs. Kirsch from down the hall hobbled by as if the eight-foot black horror wasn’t even there. Maybe only I could see it. When the old lady was out of earshot, I said, “What do you want?”

“You’re the guy that’s been writing those articles? The Debunker?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, the Boss just wanted to say: keep up the good work. Four people read your latest post and lost their faith today alone. Most of our best staff recruiters can’t pull four in one day.”

“Th… thanks?”

“No problem. Have a good day.”

Fantasy Drabble #200 “Keep Your Receipts”

“I’d like to return this wand.”

“Return? Why, is something wrong with it?”

“It won’t cast Alreath’s Magic Arrow. It won’t cast anything at all. Not only that, I can’t cast anything myself, if I’m holding it.”

“Oh dear—”

“You can imagine how that might be inconvenient.”

“Sure. Absolutely—”

“I lost half of my party on what should have been a simple dungeon crawl. To Orcs. Orcs. Do you know how embarrassing that is?”

“I’m very sorry about that, sir; let’s get you your money back and then see if we can’t find something more suitable.”

“One that works, preferably.”

Fantasy Drabble #199 “Expanding the Realm”

After nearly a month on the coast road North, we turned inland. Roads between towns gave way to trails between settlements, gave way to animal paths. We were deep in the high hills before we found our first non-humans: a small tribe of ogres. They were easy to discern from humans with their hairy bodies and their massive jaws and foreheads.

We attacked immediately, of course. Some we killed, but most ran off. Mylthor was wounded but is expected to live. In the morning we will pursue those who escaped. The King expects results, and I will not fail him.