On the outskirts of the looming forest sits a building, just off the road. A path ventures from the main vein, leading up to the steps of the porch. Two-tiered and wooden, its four windows watch the road like unblinking eyes. The chimney lets loose a stream of smoke. Save for the sign sitting outContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 6”
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Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 5
“I don’t know whether to laugh or vomit,” a voice wakes me. Max, sitting up and watching from his bed, sends a humored disbelief my way. The candles on the dresser are relit, and Max slides back into his boots. Nana still has her arm around me, right where she left it, and her eyesContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 5”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 4
True to the stablewoman’s word, as we round the hill, a cluster of buildings comes into view. The galloping horses slow as we draw near and pass under a great wooden sign declaring the area as Fiona’s Rest. Small houses line the street, giving way to a strip of commerce. Though most have closed theirContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 4”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 3
Our trek ends amongst the quiet peace of the Hemwood trees. The thick canopy keeps most of the rain out; the drops that make it through phase into a mist. The carriage stops along the trail, a long stretch of road left ahead of us. We file out, the siblings helping the old woman onceContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 3”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 2
The boards creak as we head up the stairs and into the hall. Doors line the walls on either side, each a private place to catch one’s forty winks. The space between each door gets wider the further down we go, the room requiring extra space for an additional bed or, as we progress, more.Continue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 2”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 1
A light, bright and brief, flashes beyond the bars of the window. Nampurm roars a hearty and playful, yet ominous, sound in the night shortly after. The stars are gone, covered by the full and rotund clouds. The Novhina blinds and deafens again, the violence in tandem. The soft skyward mountains, overburdened by their contents,Continue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 1”
Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapter 14 FINALE
The night passes in a haze of expensive booze and cheap women. Torvald disappears with a dark-skinned beauty at some point; I do not see him again until the next morning. We gather some provisions, mostly food for the trip back, and head back east. We travel until the light fades, the setting sun disappearingContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapter 14 FINALE”
Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapter 13
The room is elevated by a few steps. A desk sits straight ahead, a simple bed to the right, a door to the right, and a large window next to it. Two beings wait by the window, their backs to the room as they look out upon the city. The tall things, with a bitContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapter 13”
Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapter 12
The horse still pulls us along the road when my eyes open to the darkness of the carriage. Sore muscles protest movement, but I sit up regardless. Blurriness sharpens to reveal that I am alone. The princess is gone again, not even Borso remaining this time. The white blanket, though, greets me. That urgency, thatContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapter 12”
Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapters 10 and 11
For but a moment, only for a second, there is darkness. An eternal black. Neither hot nor cold. Weightless. Silent. A void. I cannot tell if I am asleep or dead. But for all there is not, there is one thing. Overwhelming in the dark, suffocating in it, is the utter fucking dread. Of whatContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Princess, Chapters 10 and 11”
Tyler Gohde 