Tangled Threads Publishing

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 […]

A flurry of motion aboard the Heidrun followed Einarr’s answer. The sail was unfurled and the men at oars began once more to row. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and if Einarr had to meet his end here, he could do so proudly. He had no desire to actually do so, of course, […]

Some of the ambushers carried torches with them: the light in the square was now enough that Einarr could see just how badly Finn had been beaten. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and the other was crusted with dried blood from a head wound. A rope bound Finn’s wrists too tightly, and he […]

Einarr swore, too, right alongside Naudrek. Here they were, stuck in an unfriendly port on a tight schedule, and some so-called League decides to snatch one of his men? Leaving Finn behind was out of the question, but at the same time Einarr could not afford to do this the quiet way. “Naudrek. Gather up […]

Einarr spent the first morning after they sailed restless, worrying simultaneously that he had done too much and too little. But, as the grey skies over the grey lands slipped back over the horizon, he turned his attention to more pressing matters. Namely, arriving home in time for his own wedding. Based on the charts, […]

More than a little unnerved, Einarr and his companions stepped up their pace. Not one of them wanted to be anywhere other than the deck of the Heidrun when the sun set that evening. The only thing that stopped any of them from thinking of sailing that very night was the memory of the fishing […]

“Nothing?” Eydri repeated, aghast. “Nothing,” Einarr answered. “That gem isn’t magical, and these people aren’t cursed. Now, Hrug, I don’t think the purification circle will need to be very complex. A simple fire rune started the process.” Hrug nodded. Even with the issues they had with magic here on the island, they should be able […]

Einarr could hear the sound of the draugr wriggling, trying to work Sinmora loose, over the crackle of flames that burned slowly, like wet logs. It smelled an awful lot like wet, rotting wood in here, too, now that his focus was slightly removed from the abomination that wanted nothing so much as to devour […]

The creature laughed again, this time with what sounded like real mirth. “A Cursebreaker? In my line? Oh ho, that’s rich.” The sound of feet scraping against the stone signaled that he’d turned again, even though Einarr couldn’t see his eyes. “Very well then, Cursebreaker. Face me. It’s the only way to get the sword.” […]

Dawn came far too quickly for Einarr’s liking. He almost wished he hadn’t bothered to sleep. And yet, he and Hrug had come up against a blank wall. There simply didn’t seem to be anything else to learn from the ruby. So far as either of them could tell, the only magic about it was […]

The skeletal draugr milled about outside their door, in numbers like they had seen during their panicked flight the night before – only this time, their interest had been caught by the people in the room. “Do you they want the gem?” “Almost certainly.” Eydri’s voice echoed Troa’s just a heartbeat behind. “They were just […]

Eydri’s eyes grew wide and she raised her hands to cover her mouth. “Oh, my.” That got Finn’s attention. He came to look over their shoulders. “What is it?” “Oh, no. Oh, my,” she said again. Finn looked at her for a long moment before she answered. “Unless I’m very much mistaken… Hrug, that rune […]

New Year, New Host, New Theme New Post! Now that the silliness is taken care of, I’m sure you can see that in addition to moving providers I’ve changed up the look of the place a bit. I’m still getting things ironed out (for example, I know I need a new banner, I’m just not […]

Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s hoping 2021 is less… interesting than 2020 was. I am in the process of moving from WP.com to DreamHost. Please excuse any weirdness associated with this (long-overdue) move. You *may* need to re-follow, if you currently follow the blog here, but I don’t yet know. This does, however, mean that […]

At first light the next day, Einarr set off for the barrow field with Naudrek and Troa, leaving the others to continue their search for answers in the ruins. As they stepped out of the crumbling stone walls, Einarr saw movement off towards the horizon: one of the draugr, shambling into the forest to rest […]

Einarr sat crosslegged on the ground, near enough the fire that the heat pressed uncomfortably against his thigh. The tablet page appeared to give an accounting of gifts presented by Ragnar to men of the town. It seemed utterly ordinary, so he turned back to the previous page. That spoke of a traveler who stopped […]

Sinmora slashed down and a draugr collapsed into a pile of bones, only to begin reassembling itself almost immediately. Troa stomped on the pile of bones and moved into the hole it left even as he took out the legs of the one behind it. Then Finn stepped forward as Troa had before. They fought, […]

Einarr and Troa were out of the room before they heard Eydri’s footsteps start to catch up. Her complaints registered a moment later. “Warn a girl before you take off like that! Whatever happened to sticking together for everything?” Einarr and Troa muttered apologies but did not slow. The sound of fighting grew closer, but […]