Butcher of Gadobhra Preview and Roadmap (Patreon)

The road to this point in the story has been over two years long. To be honest, I didn't have a plan when I started, just a story to tell. Much like one of my Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, I knew the broad strokes, but a lot changed in the telling. You'd think an author would have more control over the characters than a dungeon master, but that isn't always the case.

Some things were surprises, like Rolly and Squirmie. The Very Hungry Caterpillar was going to be a recurring villain, much like the wolf. The Butcher of Gadobhra and Ozzy were going to have a fight about chapter 40, but things got in the way, and the City got more complex. Some of you made strange suggestions, and I stole them. Feedback is funny that way.

So here we are, and big stuff is happening. There aren't enough levels to soak up the experience for killing the Duchess. In Sedgewick, she would be Tier 5. In the Fae Realms, Tier 7. In her own lands, she was a god.  Added to the act of killing her, bringing about an end to the Cold War between the Gnomes and the Fae is a big thing. So is building a bridge between the greater and lesser fae and the mortal world.

Things just got changed in the world. The Engine is happy and The System is doing its best to catch up. All of this is hitting our characters as they step back into their own world.

And I need to write it all!!!!!

While I get caught up with levels and skills and loot, I'm writing chapters that set up other events. When we come back to our 4 (5? How do we count Rolly+Squirmie?) main people, things will take off very fast. A lot of the focus will be on Gadobhra, the Keep, and other corporations and groups trying to stop Billy. And Great Hunt, a fairy market...and so many other dangling threads.

For now...Here's a small Preview of what Ozzy sees.

You have performed a Legendary Feat!

Stick around a few centuries and see how the Legend grows. For now, echoes and whispers are spreading of your Legendary battle with Duchess Midnight, Soul-Binder, Realm-Stealer, the Countess of Silverthorne, and Lady of Daggers. But even the greatest of victories takes time to become known throughout the world of men. For now, you are still the Butcher of Sedgewick, grinding your sausage and pining after the Lonely Barmaid.

"Know, oh prince, that between the years when Engine made the world and the years of the rise of the Children of Typhon, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining cities lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Cinderstein with its hordes of gold, Wolfsburg with its Guilds, Northguard, Silverthorne with its fair-haired women and towers of shadow-haunted mystery, Sedgewick with its tireless workers, Shadowport that bordered on the Underground kingdoms of the Engineers, Limburger Hollow with its tasty cheese, Mapleshade and its riders of moose. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Gadobhra, reigning supreme in the dreaming North. Hither came Ozymandias, the Butcher, bloody-handed, sullen-eyed, cleaver in hand, a sausage grinder, a titan, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the World beneath his booted feet."

Welcome to Tier Four!

Your accomplishments in the Fae Realms have been rewarded. You and your companions have shown the Fae Nobles that mortals are a threat and not to be toyed with. Actions have consequences. In this case, the death of a powerful immortal and a court thrown into chaos. And let's not forget that you managed to frighten every Fae at once and remind them that there is a counter to their power.

Your Creature Type is changed to Titan.

You may choose a Legendary Skill from the following: Negotiation, Intimidation, Slaying, Trading, Burning, and Deceit.