The Key of Eidolon: Lost in this Masquerade: I Think We're Alone Now

 
Good afternoon and a pleasant All Hallows Eve to you. This post is going to serve multiple purposes. So, buckle up, and let's get started!



http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com

And now, the first ten sentences of our story.


“It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.”

These words were spoken by a young, angular scarecrow of a man. Virgil DeMille stood six feet tall and weighed perhaps 140 pounds. The shaggy, dark-brown hair topping his oblong head resembled a bad Beatle wig, but it was his own. To complete his look, he wore an unfortunate suit that looked as if he had stolen it from a funeral home. He had a narrow Roman nose, obviously capped teeth, a sharp chin, and his prominent Adam’s apple bobbed in his skinny neck as he swallowed hard and glared at his companion.

Notes:

I shifted from sharing Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure in the Xura Dream House this week to share this piece from the second book in the Tales from the Dreamlands series, which I am currently working on. The rest of the segment and links to purchase Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure follow.

A harsh wind blew the charnel fog hanging over the shores of Xura towards the corrupt structure upon whose porch Virgil stood, regarding the young woman in his company with displeasure. She was an insecure damsel wearing too much makeup, a white minidress accessorized with a black belt, black tights, and black ballet flats. Atop her head perched a wig fashioned in the style of either Marilyn Monroe or Madonna. She had a round face with plump cheeks that she despised, and the moss-green eyes that she wished were jade were filled with doubt about herself, her companion, and her situation.

“I’m not planning anything, Virgil,” the uncertain girl-woman protested. “I’ve just had some time to think about things, and I don’t think what we’re doing is right. Larry doesn’t deserve this. He’s a good person.”

“But he doesn’t excite you, Pepper. That’s why you dreamed about me. You admitted to me that you don’t love Larry.”

“I don’t, and I feel terrible about it. But I don’t love you either. It was just one stupid dream. I never should have acted on it.”

“Pepper, Baby, please! Don’t let that Catholic guilt of yours kill your chance at happiness,” Virgil begged melodramatically as Pepper rolled her eyes. “You agreed to come here with me to the Dreamlands so we could decide what we should do without interference. Just you and me, free to follow our hearts wherever they may lead.”

“Yes, and they’ve led us to a decaying house on an island that smells like death,” Pepper noted.

“And you dig that!” Virgil persisted. “You’re a freaky chick, Pep. You’re into vampires and haunted houses and all that goth shit. Don’t pass up this opportunity. I think we’re alone now, and we have a chance to explore this wicked house and act out our wildest fantasies. Come on, my hot victim, let’s go inside and your Prince of Darkness will make your flesh quiver with arousal!”

As the pair peered into the front window of the intimidating structure, the door opened suddenly. A figure in a black hooded robe holding a lantern stood before the startled couple.

😲😲😲

This chapter from my WIP, The Key of Eidolon, was written using the “Masquerade” prompt from the 2020 October Spooky Writing Prompts challenge.

https://thewritershandbook.tumblr.com/post/630699213481705472/this-years-october-spooky-writing-challenge-is

The setting for the piece was inspired by the 15 October 2020 Tale Weaver prompt.

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/tale-weaver-fairy-tale-297-the-witches-garden-15th-october/

The nature of the relationship between Pepper Baaij and Virgil DeMille was inspired by Photo Challenge #337 from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/20/photo-challenge-337/

The title of the first segment was inspired by the Friday Music prompt from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/30/week-91-i-think-were-alone-now/

Xura is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft. It is initially mentioned in his story “The White Ship,” first published in The United Amateur (Volume 19) #2, November 1919.

The House of Lost Dreams appears in the Land of Lost Dreams scenario in the 1996 H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands supplement for the Call of Cthulhu RPG published by Chaosium.

The Key of Eidolon is the second book in the Tales from the Dreamlands series. You can pick up the first book, Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House from Amazon or LBRY.

Get the Book

Buy the Kindle version of Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure in the Xura Dream House for $3.99  https://amzn.to/2ZHmryK

Buy the PDF version from LBRY for 75 LBC (approximately $2.25)

https://lbry.tv/@naughtynetherworldpress:d/ketil-and-yitzy-xura-dream-house-adventure:7

LBRY is a decentralized content marketplace. I price the PDF versions of my work at approximately half of the Kindle price because I receive the entire amount rather than a royalty percentage. 

You can get a free LBRY account through this link. You can earn LBC for viewing content on LBRY as well as from selling your content.

https://lbry.tv/$/invite/@naughtynetherworldpress:d

 

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)



Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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First Look Friday: At the Edge of the Universe

 

Free use image by Chenspec on Pixabay

A Lurking Spirit

At the Edge of the Universe

“There’s a planet at the edge of the universe not unlike the earth in landscape and atmosphere. But its inhabitants are not,” Betsy explained. “It’s a Yuggothian outpost. You see, I believed our extraterrestrial visitor to be an angel. I supposed that I was being whisked away to Heaven. I know that you hate the Fungi from Yuggoth for taking me from you, but they aren’t merely monsters. They simply have an alien view of things. To them, our species is extremely primitive.”

“Well, I’m sorry, me golden dove, but I can’t very well forgive the rotters fer trickin’ an innocent twist n twirl with their twisted telepathy,” Robin countered. “In a matter of mistakes, as mistakes may be measured, this asinine assumption of theirs is the queen mum of mistakes. I understand that they've sent ya ter collect me for whatever nefarious Four Seasons they may 'ave, and I ain't Bobby wot their predicted expectations are as for me response, but ya can tell them that Robin Roberts won't easily become wahn of their corrupted conquests, allowin' 'is John Wayne ter be carted Frank Bough through space and signed, sealed, and delivered, nah fuss, nah muss, ter this ruddy planet they've created ter appease folks whose Dahn The Drains they've nicked.”

“Robin…” Betsy started, but the ghoul held up his hand, a stoic expression on his face.

“’Ang on a tick, Sweetheart, and ‘ear me out, Hairy Biscuits and Cheese. Ya can tell them leather-winged, space-roving blighters that Robin Roberts loves Betsy Bowes unto eternity. Maybe you're 'er, and if ya 're, then Briny Marlin, you must try and understand. I’d not wanna let ya Scapa Fla again for aught, but there's more at stake 'ere than just a On the Floor undead bastard's broken Horse and Cart. Further, I ain't entirely convinced that them Mi-Go’s ain’t just sellin' Sally ter me while dressin' 'er up in a Victorian Almond Rock and callin' 'er Betsy. 'Ave ya even a shred of proof that you're the bloody twist n twirl that I adore wif aw me soul and not just a pretty picture sent ter trick me into bein' Nyarlathotep's Bullock's Horn?”

“You and your wild whirlwind of words,” Betsy quavered, positioning herself in front of Robin and taking his hands. “Do you remember that odd tree in my family’s orchard? There were mostly apple trees, but then there was the one lone olive tree, the odd one out. The olive tree was our special tree. You first declared your love for me under that tree. You were so forthright and so afraid that I would reject you, but you needn’t have worried for a moment. You’re one of a kind, Robin, just like our olive tree standing amid the apple trees.”

“Oh, Betsy, it is you!” Robin proclaimed, bursting into tears. “It couldn't be anybody else. We never told nobody abaht our tree. It was our own secret Jack Jones. Oh, but me golden dove, wot is it that you’d ‘ave me do? I can't rightly just Scapa Fla trippin' Frank Bough ter ovver worlds and leef me china plates ter Kathy Burke their way aahhht of this Elliot Ness we've gotten ourselves into. I’d be a right shite if I did that, don’t you fin’? Oh, 'old the Dog and Bone, I've a marvelous idea! Ya must come wif me and meet me china plates, and we can create a new plan together!”

“I’d like that, Robin,” Betsy agreed.

Acknowledgments

This chapter from my WIP, The Key of Eidolon, was written using the “Lurking” prompt from the 2020 October Spooky Writing Prompts challenge.

https://thewritershandbook.tumblr.com/post/630699213481705472/this-years-october-spooky-writing-challenge-is

Prompts from http://puttingmyfeetinthedirt.com were also utilized.

This segment was inspired by the 25 October 2020 Sunday Writing Prompt from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/25/sunday-writing-prompt-25th-october-at-the-edge-of-the-universe/

The Mi-Go or Fungi from Yuggoth are the creations of H.P. Lovecraft, appearing in his 1929 sonnet “Fungi from Yuggoth” and in his 1931 story, “The Shadow Out of Time.”

Nyarlathotep is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft, initially appearing in his 1920 story of the same name.

The Key of Eidolon is the second book in the Tales from the Dreamlands series. You can pick up the first book, Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House from Amazon or LBRY.

Get the Book

Buy the Kindle version of Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure in the Xura Dream House for $3.99  https://amzn.to/2ZHmryK

Buy the PDF version from LBRY for 75 LBC (approximately $2.25)

https://lbry.tv/@naughtynetherworldpress:d/ketil-and-yitzy-xura-dream-house-adventure:7

LBRY is a decentralized content marketplace. I price the PDF versions of my work at approximately half of the Kindle price because I receive the entire amount rather than a royalty percentage. 

You can get a free LBRY account through this link. You can earn LBC for viewing content on LBRY as well as from selling your content.

https://lbry.tv/$/invite/@naughtynetherworldpress:d

 

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)



Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Readers Roost: Hollywood Enigma Release Blitz

Readers Roost: Hollywood Enigma Release Blitz: Hollywood Name Game, Book 5 Contemporary Romance Release Date: October 29, 2020     From internationally bestselling romance aut...

If you love contemporary romance, you need to check out this series. 

Dark Hearts Love Too: LIfestyles of Tone Deaf Rich Twits

Dark Hearts Love Too: LIfestyles of Tone Deaf Rich Twits:   I can't stop wondering why vapid folk always seem to be the ones with money and why people that they wouldn't spit on ooh and ahh ...

My poetic take on the Kim Kardashian debacle.

Readers Roost: Dance With Me Promo Post and Review

Readers Roost: Dance With Me Promo Post and Review:   DANCE WITH ME by Judith Crow   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~   GENRE :  YA (Fantasy)   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~   BLURB: Don’t tell anyone, but K...

A fascinating young adult story that adult-adults who enjoy the historical fiction and fantasy genres will enjoy too.

Mind Reading: MFRW Book Hooks #MFRWhooks

 

 

http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com

 

The Blurb

Geeky Gandy Stafford's lifelong fantasy comes true when he meets the otherworldly Dorma and Desyra. These last remnants of a botched extraterrestrial invasion discover that they require a great deal of energy to maintain their human forms.

The easiest way to obtain essential power?

Sex, and lots of it.

 

The Snippet

Gandy wasn’t a bad-looking young man. He was five feet nine and lanky. He had wavy, dark red-brown hair and striking dark-blue eyes. He had an angular face and a somewhat prominent nose which had made him the target of teasing when he was in school. He had a small, close-knit group of friends, but he never opened up to anybody.

“You believe that you will live your life without a mate,” Desyra said.

“Uh—yeah. All right, there’s something you need to know about Earth etiquette,” Gandy explained, blushing fiercely. “It’s actually really rude to go inside a person’s head and dig up their deepest stuff. Look, I know you guys are a totally different species and I know you don’t mean any harm, but that’s not something you should be commenting about.”

 

Get Yours

There are two ways to get your hands on Coming to Earth.


Buy the Kindle version on Amazon for $0.99

https://amzn.to/31ygJQO

 

Buy the PDF on LBRY for 15 LBC (approximately $0.45)

https://lbry.tv/@naughtynetherworldpress:d/Carnal-Invasion-I--Coming-to-Earth:7

 

Get Coming to Earth as part of the Carnal Invasion Collection, which includes the first four stories in the Carnal Invasion series.

Get the Kindle version on Amazon for $3.99

https://amzn.to/3aPLrcy

 

Get the PDF on LBRY for 75 LBC (approximately $2.25

https://lbry.tv/@naughtynetherworldpress:d/Carnal-Invasion-Collection-I--Short-and-Sexy:a

 

An LBC is a form of cryptocurrency. Over the past year, it has consistently been worth approximately $0.03. 

LBRY is a decentralized content marketplace. I price the PDF versions of my work at approximately half of the Kindle price because I receive the entire amount rather than a royalty percentage. 

You can get a free LBRY account through this link. You can earn LBC for viewing content on LBRY as well as from selling your content.

https://lbry.tv/$/invite/@naughtynetherworldpress:d

 

Copyright Information

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Copyright 2020 by Naughty Netherworld Press

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

 

Get the Best from Naughty Netherworld Press

To find out how you can get more good stuff from Naughty Netherworld Press, follow this link.

https://bit.ly/morennp

 

Wanna Promote Your Book?

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Readers Roost: Crazy Rich Aliens Book Blitz

Readers Roost: Crazy Rich Aliens Book Blitz: Science Fiction Date Published : August 2020 Penda is heiress to one of the richest families in southeast Asia. Her dream is to cr...

A fun new sci-fi adventure.

Readers Roost: Shadows of Atlantis Awakening Book Blitz

Readers Roost: Shadows of Atlantis Awakening Book Blitz: Fantasy Publisher: SOA, LLC   Brigitte is an emissary of nature chosen to renew the treaty between Atlantis and the ancient bloodl...

An exciting new fantasy story.

Robin's Heaven: Weekend Writing Warriors 25 October 2020



The Blurb
The fate of the Cosmos rests in the hands of an unlikely team of unusual friends. Will an exiled member of an ancient extraterrestrial race, a human ghost, and two ghouls be able to outfox an ancient evil and beat Nyarlathotep at his game before time runs out? This buddy story is the first in a series of New Cthulhu Mythos cliffhangers.

The Notes
Last time, Little John reassured Yitzy that he need not fear being eaten by either Little John or Robin who, as ghouls, prefer rotting flesh. 

It is questionable whether Little John and Robin would find the rubbery-bodied Yitzy palatable even if they preferred fresh flesh.

The Snippet 

“Oh, I did not sense any danger from your presence, Little John. I am enjoying our conversation.”

“I think the being of Yith forgot to tell you a little something, Johnny,” Robin snickered, linking his arm in his companion’s. “In order to become like Ketil, you’ve got to be a bit of an arsehole first. Then Heaven will kick you out, and you’ll have to spend your time haunting things.”

“Well, I’ve not found Ketil to be an arsehole,” Little John said. “He’s been rightly polite to me thus far. Say, Ketil, I have a question for you. Is it true that in the Norse hell some people have to drink goat piss for a punishment?”

“Yes, so they say,” Ketil replied. “Although Robin would probably think he’d found Heaven.”

Get the Book
Buy the Kindle version of Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure in the Xura Dream House for $3.99  https://amzn.to/2ZHmryK

Buy the PDF version from LBRY for 75 LBC (approximately $2.25)

LBRY is a decentralized content marketplace. I price the PDF versions of my work at approximately half of the Kindle price because I receive the entire amount rather than a royalty percentage. 

You can get a free LBRY account through this link. You can earn LBC for viewing content on LBRY as well as from selling your content.

Copyright Information
The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Copyright 2020 by Naughty Netherworld Press

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Get the Best from Naughty Netherworld Press
To find out how you can get more good stuff from Naughty Netherworld Press, follow this link.

N. R. Williams, Fantasy Author: WEP Challenge, Grave Mistakes

N. R. Williams, Fantasy Author: WEP Challenge, Grave Mistakes:   Write, Edit, Publish (WEP) challenge for October 2020. WEP was started by Denise Covy, my Aussie friend. Anyone can join and post real-lif...

Some excellent stories here.

The second story was nicely spooky. It made me recall a time when I was much younger. This fellow said he bet I wouldn't have the nerve to walk across the Boulder cemetery. That cemetery is very open and you can see across it and it is only surrounded by a short fence. So I got out of the car, hopped the fence, and started walking. 
The fellow jumped the fence and started walking alongside me. He began to get spooked and said "Okay, you've proved your point." 
I said, "but I'm not done visiting my friends."
He was a nervous wreck by the time we got to the opposite side of the graveyard, and I was fine as wine.
As to Wayne Uptight, I wanted to throw him out a window after reading the bit about insisting his wife should be naked whenever he was home. I couldn't help but see a resemblance to a certain Resident of the White House, who, hopefully, will not be in residence much longer.

~The Owl Hath Spoken~


Ornery Owl
Free use image by Open Clipart Vectors on Pixabay


First Look Friday: Eerie Revelations

 

Free use image by J. Plenio on Pixabay

Eerie Revelations

“If winter is death, surely, red-slashed autumn is the wound that brought it,” Robin mused as he sat against the wall of the decaying dream house, remembering the terrible October day in his twelfth year when the girl whom he hoped that he would spend the rest of his life with was taken. “Oh, bloody Fillet Of Cod your useless poetry, Robin Roberts. Ya kna na that the feckin’ Mi-Go took Betsy's brain, but whether they’ve ‘oused it somewhere on Yuggof, or on an outpost orbitin' Orion, or in any other infinite number of places in the Cosmos, I've not been able ter determine.”

Robin rose and meandered aimlessly down the dusty, debris-littered hallway.

“Wouldn't the bloomin' Rum & Coke be on me if the bastards set up Lollipop in the basement of the old Lyon school, or somewheres else in Crouch End, maybe even the abandoned apple cellar at Betsy’s family's Drum, ter store the brains wot they've alf inched from folks?” he speculated. “Oi, but it does me nah blimey Robin Hood ter hang around this hallway. I’ve gotta find me mates. Maybe Rilpu or Yitzy or even Ketil might 'ave an idea of 'a we can trace Betsy's thought patterns.”

Since becoming a ghoul, Robin had preferred darkness. As a ghoul, he relished odors of mold and decay. Robin was not easily startled. Despite his diminutive stature, he was a confident fighter, although not adverse to resorting to dirty tricks when it came to defending himself and his friends. Nevertheless, the atmosphere of the House of Lost Dreams was unsettling to him.

Despite Robin’s occasional hot temper, he was generally level-headed and alert. He had a persistent nature. However, the recent encounter with what appeared to be the spectre of his long-lost love left him undone. The dream house was filled with eerie, mocking shadows proving to be corridors leading nowhere and rooms filled with depraved scenes of unspeakable cruelty.

“You could have saved her, Robin, if you’d just paid attention,” a buzzing voice hissed in his ear.

Robin gazed into a room in which the last moments of Betsy’s life played out. The stranger the pair had met on their journey to school flapped out of the family’s apple orchard. Depositing its ridiculous rumpled overcoat and oversized hat on the ground, the alien revealed its true appearance. It was a pinkish-hued, crustacean-like winged horror with an ellipsoid head resembling a human brain covered in antennae. The creature waved one of its pincers before Betsy’s eyes, and the startled girl became calm. It buzzed words that Robin couldn’t understand, and Betsy agreeably allowed it to remove her brain and place it in a cylinder.

The extraterrestrial flapped its wings and rose into the night carrying the cylinder containing Betsy’s brain, throwing red leaves into the air like a spatter of blood. Betsy’s lifeless body lay beside her house.

“Oh, Bets, the bastard bloody tricked ya!” Robin quavered. “I suppose 'e Pearly Queen ya were someone ever so special and smart, and them Fungus from Yuggof needed yer talents. I didn't know--I 'ad nah blimey idea! If I’d known, I’d ‘ave told ‘em to take me instead and let you stay.”

Acknowledgments

Written using the Eerie prompt from the October Spooky Writing Challenge and the Orbiting Orion prompt from the Putting My Feet in the Dirt October Prompts.

https://thewritershandbook.tumblr.com/post/630699213481705472/this-years-october-spooky-writing-challenge-is

http://puttingmyfeetinthedirt.com

Written using the First Line Friday prompt from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/23/first-line-friday-october-23rd-2020/

The Mi-Go or Fungi from Yuggoth are the creations of H.P. Lovecraft, appearing in his 1929 sonnet “Fungi From Yuggoth” and in his 1931 story, “The Shadow Out of Time.”

The House of Lost Dreams appears in the Land of Lost Dreams scenario in the 1996 H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands supplement for the Call of Cthulhu RPG published by Chaosium.

 The original character Robin Roberts is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press.

Robin, along with his friends John, Ketil, and Yitzy is the star of Naughty Netherworld Press’ novella, Tales from the Dreamlands: Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House. 

Get the Book

Buy the Kindle version of Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure in the Xura Dream House for $3.99  https://amzn.to/2ZHmryK

Buy the PDF version from LBRY for 75 LBC (approximately $2.25)

https://lbry.tv/@naughtynetherworldpress:d/ketil-and-yitzy-xura-dream-house-adventure:7

LBRY is a decentralized content marketplace. I price the PDF versions of my work at approximately half of the Kindle price because I receive the entire amount rather than a royalty percentage. 

You can get a free LBRY account through this link. You can earn LBC for viewing content on LBRY as well as from selling your content.

https://lbry.tv/$/invite/@naughtynetherworldpress:d


Copyright Information

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Copyright 2020 by Naughty Netherworld Press

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.


Get the Best from Naughty Netherworld Press

To find out how you can get more good stuff from Naughty Netherworld Press, follow this link.

https://bit.ly/morennp


 This post was published to these places:

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

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Dark Hearts Love Too: Fingers Crossed


Just another poem about my desire to dump tRump.

Readers Roost: Key to Eternity Book Blitz

Readers Roost: Key to Eternity Book Blitz: Paranormal Thriller Date Published: March 2020 Publisher: Archway Publishing       Female psychic detective, Epiphany Mayall is on the t...

Read an excerpt from the cool new paranormal thriller Key to Eternity.

Readers Roost: Building on Broken Dreams Excerpt and Guest Post

Readers Roost: Building on Broken Dreams Excerpt and Guest Post:   Building on Broken Dreams Brothers in Law Book 3 by Lyndell Williams Genre: Contemporary Romance From award-winning writer and bestselling...

Author Lyndell Williams shares an excerpt from her new book and the fascinating back-story of the compelling love triangle at the heart of the tale. I really enjoyed this post, and I think you will too.

Forgotten Truths

 

Image copyright Brooke DiDonato

Forgotten Truths

“Come along, you lot, we need to rescue Robin!” Little John commanded. “Rilpu, me golden dove, slither up onto me shoulders so’s we can save me old china plate from his spirited obsession!”

The scarlet snake mage began her ascent up the ghoul’s burly arm, when she suddenly wavered and dropped to the floor. An iridescent ruby mist commenced to swirl through the room, and Rilpu levitated as rose petals fell all around her.

“Papa, I feel most peculiar!” Rilpu cried.

“Ya, and you is not the only one,” Ketil declared. “For you sound suddenly much more as a twittering hummingbird than a hissing snake.”

“I would surmise that Rilpu is the target of a spell,” Yitzy reasoned. “For she was the only one to lift from the floor, and, as you may have observed, her form has altered.”

What the Yithian said was true. The tail of the scarlet snake divided, becoming legs, from which sprang humanoid feet. Arms terminating in five-fingered hands sprouted from Rilpu’s shoulders. Her face rounded and elongated, and pointed ears formed on the sides of the head.

The serpent’s green eyes took on a human shape although they maintained the diamond pupil. A turned-up, freckled nose, and pink lips adorned a face reminiscent of a porcelain doll. A cascade of ruby hair sprouted from Rilpu’s head, tumbling over her shoulders. A knee-length, dark red dress covered the slim body of what now appeared to be an adolescent female humanoid in her early teen years, and her feet were covered by shimmering ruby flats.

“Perhaps we was all the target of the spell, but Rilpu got a bigger dose,” Ketil reasoned. “It is a mighty coincidence that we was sitting here sipping at ruby red spiced wine when our friend the ruby serpent suddenly has the inspiration to transform into one whose appearance is that of an affluent girl indigenous to Zecor.”

“Oh, Fillet Of Cod your ruddy theories, Ketil, and 'elp me pull 'er daahhhn!” Little John commanded as Rilpu attempted to anchor herself on the rail of the stairs leading to the second story of the Dream House. “We can figure this mess out once Rilpu’s safely on the ground and we’ve found Robin!”

As Yitzy reached into his satchel, Ketil floated up the stairs in front of Rilpu and Little John grabbed the girl’s legs to keep her from floating away.

“This may assist in our cause,” Yitzy surmised, reaching to wrap what appeared to be a white gold bracelet around Rilpu’s ankle.

The young woman settled to the stairs on her belly. She turned to sit and glanced at her companions. Ketil sat beside her, and Little John sat on the step below her, giving her a knee a companionable pat.

“Ya aw wite, me Briny Marlin? Blimey, but ya near ter floated away loike a bouncy red balloon!”




Notes
This piece is a continuation of yesterday's WEP Challenge post. Both are chapters in my WIP, The Key of Eidolon, which is the second book in Naughty Netherworld Press' Tales from the Dreamlands series.

If you would like to read the first of Naughty Netherworld Press' New Cthulhu Mythos novellas, look out below!

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Copyright Information
The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Copyright 2020 by Naughty Netherworld Press

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Readers Roost: Sniper Cover Reveal

Readers Roost: Sniper Cover Reveal:   A Natalie McMasters Mystery, Book 5 Crime Fiction Date Published: November 16, 2020 Publisher: Tekrighter, LLC ...

An exciting new mystery thriller to check out.

Grave Mistake

 


Grave Mistake

Friends from the End

Robin Roberts reflected on the fact that he had existed in his current incarnation for 146 years. It was early November 2014 last he checked, but he had been through several gates or wormholes since then, and time worked differently in the Dreamlands.

Robin’s body died during the influenza pandemic of 1918 but was revived shortly thereafter by arcane magic. He wasn’t afraid of being in a mass grave with approximately three hundred other victims of the virus. He didn’t need to breathe because his body was no longer alive.

Robin tunneled through the soil as easily as if he were swimming. He noticed another fellow tunneling beside him and the pair grinned at each other, knowing that if they worked together, they would reach the surface swiftly.

The wiry Robin and his burly companion climbed out of the grave on the stroke of midnight. They shook hands and introduced themselves.

“Whistle and pop of the chuffin' evenin' ter ya, guv'ner,” the portly ghoul said. “I'm John Tamboli, and I'm 'eaven and 'ell chuffed ter make your acquaintance. Folks call me Lil' John, and I suppose that ya can clock why. They also call me the tambourine geeza, 'cause I enjoy playin' the tambourine chicken pen the opportunity presents itself.”

“I'm Robin Roberts, and I'm glad ter kna ya, good sir. 'Eaven and 'ell, I guess we bof kna why we're not jack's but are feelin’ frisky just the bloomin' same. I suppose t'was the chuffin' flu that took ya, same as me. “Ell’s bells, I daan't wish ter 'ang 'round this Drum longer than I must. Wot do ya say we pop Frank Bough ter Dylaf Leen and find ourselves a tavern where we can enjoy a pint?”

From that moment on, Robin and John had been inseparable. Whether in London, Dylath Leen, or anyplace else that the ghoul tunnels connected, they made their way through the underworld together. Unlike some ghouls, they weren’t interested in joining a coven or in terrorizing the living. They preferred to unlive their unlife discovering new things and learning old secrets.

Robin carried a secret that he told no-one, not even his best friend. It hurt too much to speak of it. But that night when he looked up at the sky, it looked just as it had on the night that his beloved Betsy had been taken from him, and he blurted out a portion of the truth. From there, John and Robin’s other friends, the snarky Swedish spectre Ketil Nagel, the serpent mystic Rilpu, and Yitzy the Yithian had encouraged Robin to reveal the truth that tormented his soul.

Now Robin was running down a seemingly interminable hall, wishing that he had listened to his friends when they warned him not to follow the phantom appearing to be Betsy, but which almost certainly was not.

The Apparition

The apparition appeared as Robin sat in the living room of the House of Lost Dreams telling his friends the sad tale of how his beloved Betsy was found beside her house with her brain removed from her head and how he and Betsy had met a rumpled-looking man with a peculiar buzzing voice earlier in the day. The phantom looked the way Betsy would have had she been allowed to become a woman. Despite his friends’ protests, Robin leaped up to follow the vision.

“Ruddy eedjit,” Robin muttered to himself as he ran along the seemingly interminable corridor. “Oh, it's a grave mistake I've made, runnin' Frank Bough after a ruddy phantom 'cause it looked loike me Betsy might 'ave looked 'ad she been allowed ter gra up. But it couldn't possibly be Betsy. It's a trick played by that blasted Nyarlathotep, surely, and I fell into 'is trap Ham and Cheesy peasy. Na I may never clock me china plates or that glorious molderin' 'aunch of 'uman or that tasty spiced Porcupine again. You're a two-foot rule, Robin Roberts. a foolish, foolish two-foot rule.”

A dark vortex appeared at the end of the hallway, and Robin knew that he had two choices. He could enter the vortex, which would either spell the end for a body well past its shelf life but with which he was not sure he was ready to part, or it could lead him somewhere that was hardly guaranteed to be anyplace he wanted to go. His other option was to try and find his way back to his friends, but the configuration of the Dream House was not consistent.

The apparition materialized before the vortex, beckoning Robin.

“Ya can't be wot ya seem ter be nah matter 'a much I want ya ter be,” Robin said, his voice quavering. “So ya tell me wot ya 're, damn you, and screw ya six ways ter Sunday for playin' wif a bloke's Horse and Cart in the chuffin' cruelest way possible.”

“I’m your very own Betsy Bowes, Robin Roberts,” the apparition answered. “I chose the form that I thought would make you feel most comfortable. After all, my mind was separated from my body when we were both but twelve years old. I can show you where they took me, dearest Robin, and you are welcome to join me there. My companions agree that your knowledge and compassion would be great assets. What do you say, my love? No longer will you need to feed on decaying flesh to maintain your corrupt body. You can explore the Universe with me.”

Gelatinous tears soaking his face, Robin gripped the phantom’s hand.

“I want so badly fer this ter be real,” Robin whispered. “But if there is anythin’ that I've learned in me Nifty Donkey's Ears of Porridge Knife and me ninety-six Donkey's Ears of unlife, it's that if summit seems too Robin Hood ter be true, it prolly is.”

Robin released the apparition’s hand and turned away, his broken sobs echoing off the walls of the House of Lost Dreams.

996 Words

 

Acknowledgments

Earth’s Dreamlands are the creation of H.P. Lovecraft, inspired by the works of Lord Dunsany.

Robin and John are ghouls, a race of Undead creatures that subsist on decaying human flesh. Ghouls are either born as ghouls or become ghouls following the death of their bodies by the use of arcane magic.

Nyarlathotep is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft, initially appearing in his 1920 story of the same name.

The House of Lost Dreams appears in the Land of Lost Dreams scenario in the 1996 H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands supplement for the Call of Cthulhu RPG published by Chaosium.

The Great Race of Yith is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft, initially appearing in his 1936 novella, The Shadow Out of Time.

This chapter was written using the October 2020 WEP prompt, Grave Mistake.

https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/10/wepiwsg-october-challenge-for-2020.html

It also utilized the “Apparition” prompt from the October Spooky Writing Challenge list.

https://thewritershandbook.tumblr.com/post/630699213481705472/this-years-october-spooky-writing-challenge-is

The story was submitted to the https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/ challenge for the Write a ghost story where there’s more going on than it first appears prompt on 17 October 2020.

The original characters Robin Roberts, Little John Tamboli, Ketil Nagel, Rilpu, Yitzy the Yithian, and Betsy Bowes are the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press.

Robin, John, Ketil, and Yitzy are the stars of Naughty Netherworld Press’ novella, Tales from the Dreamlands: Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House. 

Get the Book

Buy the Kindle version of Ketil and Yitzy's Adventure in the Xura Dream House for $3.99  https://amzn.to/2ZHmryK

Buy the PDF version from LBRY for 75 LBC (approximately $2.25)

https://lbry.tv/@naughtynetherworldpress:d/ketil-and-yitzy-xura-dream-house-adventure:7

LBRY is a decentralized content marketplace. I price the PDF versions of my work at approximately half of the Kindle price because I receive the entire amount rather than a royalty percentage. 

You can get a free LBRY account through this link. You can earn LBC for viewing content on LBRY as well as from selling your content.

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Copyright Information

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Copyright 2020 by Naughty Netherworld Press

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

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Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

 

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https://bit.ly/morennp

 

 This post was published to these places:

http://www.naughtynetherworldpress.com

https://lbry.tv/@naughtynetherworldpress:d

The post was published to the Naughty Netherworld Press channel on LBRY on 17 October 2020 for a purchase price of 5 LBC. It was published to the Naughty Netherworld Press blog on 21 October 2020 and became free to access on LBRY on the same day.

An Olive-Green Gown and Malachite Shoes #8Sunday #RainbowSnippets #SnipSun

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