Tangled Threads Publishing

A clicking sound, like a knife being stropped, sounded twice and abruptly the tunnel was plunged into darkness. Runa froze in her tracks, blinking, her eyes straining for any light. “Einarr?” She disliked how tremulous her voice sounded just there, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She cleared her throat and […]

Where Einarr had expected to see a third switchback, they were instead presented with a fork in the road. There was, of course, no good way of telling which way was north down here, and so with a shrug they turned left. A little further on, the path split again. Again they went left. Then […]

Abruptly, Kaldr gave a violent shake of his head. “No. None of these. There’s something we’re missing – there has to be.” “Why’s that?” Thjofgrir asked without looking up from the lines of runes on the floor. “Because the dwarves use these tunnels. There has to be another door, one that’s hard to find if […]

Einarr raised the chisel to the wall and gently tapped it with the hilt of his belt knife. As he drew the vertical line he focused on the defensive aspects of the rune. “We seek” tap “A dvergr friend” tap tap “Who is lost” tap. “We come,” he said, starting on the outward angle, “to […]

The three of them stood in front of what was very plainly a magical gateway, wondering how they’d missed it until they were right on top of it. Each stone of the arch was carved with a single rune, which glowed faintly. Beside the door, written in Imperial script, was a small plaque, with a […]

It was just past noon when Einarr and his companions arrived at the wall of ice that marked the glacier. If they had thought to find relief from the heat, they were disappointed. Waves of cold air sloughed off the side of the glacier and left their skin feeling clammy in the heat of the […]

A dry wind swept across the barren plain under a gray sky when they awakened the next morning. Einarr, as the first up, sat up to survey the land around them. Not long after, Vali returned from his patrol. “Well? How bad is it?” The ghost offered a wan half-smile. “Miles and miles of… this, […]

“A guardian? What do you mean?” Kaldr’s brows lowered. “Just that.” Runa sighed. “The High Roads of Ljosalfheim require magical knowledge particular to the alfs to even find, let alone enter. The dvergr will be no more keen to allow mortals into their realms: if the entrance to the paths is a physical place, it […]

Fighting a Kraken was a losing proposition, ordinarily, even in a longship with a full crew. Einarr didn’t want to think about what their chances were in the Villgås, with only the six of them. Five, really: Runa’s queasiness had not been helped by their abrupt maneuvers. That also meant, of course, that they could […]

They waited in silence until they were sure Kharmor was out of earshot and off the docks – with the way sound carried over water, the second was required for the first. Then Kaldr turned to Runa. “What do you know about these Paths of Stone?” She shook her head, her hair tickling Einarr’s nose. […]

“Evening, strangers. My thanks for the invitation.” “The pleasure is ours. Have a seat.” The dwarf rumbled: it might have been a laugh. “Not many strangers call dining with a dark dwarf a pleasure.” Einarr offered a friendly smile. “A good friend of mine happens to be a dark dwarf. My name’s Einarr.” “Hmm. Kharmor.” […]

Their second stop was at a place called The Grey Gate. Other than being a less-likely haunt for freeboaters on leave, its chief benefit was its proximity to the foundry and the timber yard in the city. Once again Einarr and Kaldr seated themselves in an unobtrusive corner, ordered a pair of ales, and sat […]

Einarr stepped out into the road running past the end of the pier and looked up and down it. Calling it a road may have been generous: he had seen cart paths that were better maintained. Deep muddy ruts scarred the surface, with standing water in several of them. Board walks lined the sides of […]

Stigander went so far as to provide the karve for their search – one of the benefits, he said, of being back where they belonged – while Einarr and Kaldr assembled their team. Thjofgrir’s presence was as critical for Kaldr as Naudrek’s was for Einarr. After much deliberation, they agreed that Vali was their best […]

Table of Contents After three long years, Einarr was finally able to marry his beloved Runa. No sooner do the two return from their honeymoon, however, than they learn something terrible has happened in their absence: Jorir, Einarr’s best friend, First Mate, and sworn liege man, has disappeared! A search was organized, but they lost […]

Book Six Pre-Order Now Live! Book six of The Adventures of Einarr Stigandersen, Einarr and the Isle of the Forgotten, is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Books2Read.  And check out that cover work by the talented William Eyster! I wrote the book, and I wouldn’t mind a vacation there. He’s also provided a couple […]

Author’s note: This marks the end of Book 11, if you hadn’t already guessed. Book 12 will pick up near the end of the honeymoon on 3/23/2021. (Fun fact: this is literally where the term ‘honeymoon’ comes from. The newlyweds were expected to drink mead all through their first month of marriage, as it was […]

The wedding was set for three days after Einarr and the Heidrun limped back into port, which meant that they were not, precisely, late. They had, however, called it entirely too close for comfort. The first day, the day they arrived, they were welcomed home with feasting and music, and everyone aboard the Heidrun ended […]

As dawn broke the Heidrun limped into a tiny cove on an equally tiny island not far from the treacherous Blávík so that she could be properly inspected for damage after their rather hasty departure. A cursory inspection under the deck boards confirmed that she was not taking on water – even slowly. It was […]