Half a century after the catastrophic War of the Roaches, the Riverlands are rebuilding. But not everything is returning to the way it used to be. The trade routes that tie the waterways' cities together have been overtaken by the traffic of a new economy–an economy of magical artifacts, the scavengers who collect them, and the False Gods: the rogue mages who seek to acquire them by any means necessary. In the Crossroads, the hub of this new "scav trade", merchants, rogues, and mercenaries...

The Hemlock Journal Issue 08 ( Summer Issue 2025) includes selected writings of various authors and poets and artists who have submitted to the journal during the call for submissions. This is a collection of diverse voices from across the globe.

A whiff of brimstone, a laughing ghost, and talk of a crown . . . In part 2 of this four-part Neverwinter novella, Rucas Sarfael finds himself invited to a meeting of rebel leaders and entangled more than he would like in the plans of the beautiful and dangerous Elyne. When those plans lead to a mad seer, Rucas finds a clue to the treasure he seeks—and more than one path to doom.

Sumto and his companions have not come through his first taste of war unscathed. Jocasta nearly died; Sapphire was beaten almost to death; Meran broke a leg, and Sumto defeated his enemy only by carrying him bodily into a fire - his only excuse for such stupidity is that he was fairly drunk at the time.Still, the influence of the necromancers over the barbarians of the north is shattered and one of their most powerful members dead. There are armies of the city in the north and the ...

Gnomin and Brin think they are the cleverest, wisest dwarfs in the dwarven kingdom, while humans - a rarity in their parts - are the most stupid creatures in the land.Imagine their annoyance, when the King of all dwarfs sends them on a wild goose chase to find out if the legendary world of humans exists. A world where humans manage to fly inside gigantic iron birds and construct impressive machines that can control nature itself.Will the two wise dwarfs manage to safeguard th...

Kuthius Tallerus might be old and sick, but as a sergeant of the Prisonlands border wardens he still has a job to do when a pair of exiles escape with help from the outside world.Leading a squad of wardens, including his nephew the scout, Kuthius sets out in pursuit of the fugitives, eventually discovering this was no simple escape plan.A dark mage with ulterior motives freed the exiles, the wizard's ultimate goal potentially impacting Kuthius personally. But can an old man...

The sea swallowed her city. An enchantment stole her family. Now a dark god offers her salvation... for a terrible price.Lebía lives in paradise. Her husband and four children are her pride and joy. Years of war and plague have finally given way to peace and prosperity. Except her paradise is nothing but a lie, created by a dark Power who makes false worlds for his own insidious purposes.The World-maker gives Lebía one chance to save her family and her peop...

The third utterly compelling fantasy adventure in the ARGOSI trilogy, exploring the origins of the SPELLSLINGER series to enrapture devotees as well as newcomers alike.While liberating a notorious thief from prison, Ferius Parfax encounters an inmate named Chedran, one of the last living members of her people, the Mahdek. Chedran is leading a group of young Mahdek who are determined to make a future for their people and Ferius agrees to help them find a place where...

This book is suitable for ages 9+.Dragon meat. It's for dinner.In the town of Bolopsy lives a humble butcher, Nogdo, who's quietly making a fortune selling dragon meat. But when the town’s children start growing black dragon scales, Nogdo is horrified. The source of his new fortune is cursed. He wipes dragon meat off the menu and hopes the problem goes away on its own.It doesn't.Now that his youngest son is growing black scales, Nogdo will stop at nothing to...

The last dragon is dying. She knows it. And she is almost glad: her life has been long, sad, and full of suffering. She is hated, hunted and harassed wherever she goes. And she wonders: what is the point of living when no one wants you to live?So when she is discovered yet again, she does not bother trying to flee. Wounded and despairing, she waits for her death at the hands of human villagers with their pitchforks and prejudice. Following her would-be destroyers, however, is a stra...

In a small, forgotten village at the forest's edge, a half-elf warrior named Dramon watches helplessly as the birth of a child goes horribly wrong.Dramon is used to hardship. He is a Hybrid, half elf and half human, and he fights every day to survive alongside his kin. They can count on none but themselves and often turn a blind eye to what happens around them, but not always: sometimes they hear of humans on the warpath, raiding the elven border. Those rumours they never ignore.

In a world where dragons are predators and humans are prey, a greedy human king tries to destroy a family of dragons until Ragel must rise up to protect his brood.Ragel wants to live a quiet life with his mate, Saah, and their four dragonlings in the sheltered valley he had previously claimed as his own. King Thorn believes dragons are mere animals and refuses to accept Ragel's prior claim to the valley, especially after the greedy king discovers gold there.Thorn plots to r...