Posts

Goblin Diaries, Vol 16: The Way Out of Ozua

Image
 From the 12/20/24 newsletter: Early evening, 28th Day of Winter Moon, 1218 th Year, Human Age of Magic … It’s the eve of the New Year for the humans in Zemburith, and the celebration in the city should be the perfect distraction to cover my escape from the Swamp of Ozua. I’ve managed to eavesdrop on some of the conversations of the women in the search parties looking for me the last few days. The new queen has given the soldiers of the Seventh Legion a leave of three days to spend with their families, so the celebration in the city promises to be particularly raucous. I’ve also heard there is a tradition where folks gather at the western edge of the swamp to send candles in colorful paper boats over the falls symbolizing the letting go of grievances from the past year and wishes for the year to come. With all that going on, I suspect the eastern edge of the swamp to be deserted, and I can use the distractions and the cover of night for my escape. Getting away will be th...
Read more

Goblin Diaries, Vol 15: A Queen in Zemburith

Image
 From the November 15, 2024 Newsletter: Evening, 26th Day of Winter Moon, 1218 th Year, Human Age of Magic … There must be a queen in Zemburith. Today I was fishing on the eastern edge of the swamp. I’d been wary of that area, where a raised earthen road is well maintained. It’s an alternate overland route through the forest to Azurith and parts north. Although it is much less travelled than the river route, I didn’t want to risk the chance of discovery. But the bowfin are plentiful there, and I had almost filled a basket I’d woven from cane for the purpose, when I felt the thrum of marching feet vibrating through the water. Fearing another search party—I hadn’t encountered one all day—I hunkered down in the reeds beside the roadway, trying to stay as quiet and undetectable as possible. Soon, a column of soldiers appeared, marching six abreast, headed north. They were red-eyed zombies, like the ones that attacked Bokdu’s village and those that had guarded me in the dunge...
Read more

Goblin Diaries, Vol 14: The Swamp of Ozua

Image
 From the 10/18/24 Newsletter: Morning, 26th Day of Winter Moon, 1218 th Year, Human Age of Magic … This morning, I awoke with the sun, a free goblin. The peat-covered ground in the copse of cypress trees in which I’ve made a temporary home was an infinitely more comfortable bed than the cold stone floor of my dungeon cell, and to actually see the light of day, knowing it is indeed daytime and not just a guess, was so very comforting. And I have confirmed the date by way of a conversation I overheard from one of the search parties that passed by in the night. (I was right, by the way, and I’ll pat myself on the back for my cleverness in measuring time in the dungeon by the cycle of meals provided.) Two young men in the search party were discussing plans for a celebration on the eve of the new year, one reminding the other it was only two days hence. So, there should be no need to backtrack my journal and correct any of the date entries. I’ll need to relocate my campsite soon...
Read more

Goblin Diaries, Vol 13: Escape!

Image
  From the 09/20/24 newsletter: 25th Day of Winter Moon, 1218 th Year, Human Age of Magic … I’m still unsure of the date, but I now have hopes that I can verify and track it accurately, for I have escaped! I am writing this from a temporary hiding place in a copse of cypress trees in the great swamp that forms the northern border of the castle in Zemburith, where I spent my first night of freedom. I waited until morning to make this entry, afraid the glow from the screen of my journal might draw attention from some sentinel in one of the high castle towers. My escape opportunity presented itself yesterday afternoon when the physician returned to extract my infected tooth. He was unable to get permission to take me to his offices in the city, which had been my hope, but he was accompanied by two of Mazuom’s mind slaves who shackled me and took me to another room in the castle where there was at least some light for the physician to work by. The “operating room” they had cho...
Read more

Goblin Diaries, Vol 12: A Toothache and an Escape Plan

Image
 (from the August 16, 2024 newsletter) 23 rd Day of Winter Moon, 1218 th Year, Human Age of Magic … Again, the date I’ve entered is an approximation. Measurement of the passage of time in my dark and windowless cell is becoming more and more difficult. But after what just happened today, I see my first ray of hope. About a week ago (I think) I had a wild idea. My jaw had been hurting, and I suspected I might be developing an infected tooth. I was considering whether I should try to remove it myself or go through the painful process of letting it decay and grow back on its own, when it struck me. Why not ask to see a dentist? Not that its necessary, or even that I’d let some hack of a human ‘doctor’ put his hands in my mouth, but if I could get out of here—or even get someone to open the cell door—my chances of escape would increase exponentially. So, I complained to one of the guards, and I told him a goblin toothache could be fatal under my present circumstances. I hinte...
Read more

Goblin Diaries, Vol 11: Imprisoned!

Image
 From the July 19, 2024 Newsletter: 10 th Day of Winter Moon, 1218 th Year, Human Age of Magic … I cannot imagine finding myself in more dire straits. I have been abducted by the warlock Mazuom and stripped of all my possessions, along with any means of contacting the Protectorate for help. It seems that, as soon as I left Holly’s Landing, the faeries removed Ka’il Idreth from its hiding place, and the artifact called out to the nearest human with Fae blood. The warlock now holds the Sword That Sings and, as I write, draws power from it. The very thing I set out to prevent has happened, and I am powerless to do anything about it. I write this entry from a cell in the dungeons beneath the tower that watches over Zemburith. I’m a prisoner, with only the clothes I was wearing when Mazuom attacked the village of Milabua. My clothes are already turning to rags under the harsh treatment I have received. By my reckoning, it has been three days since the warlock torched the village...
Read more

Focus on AI

Image
 AI (Artificial Intelligence) is an unavoidable hot topic these days. It's hard to go anywhere online without running into it in some form or another. Virtual assistants exist on most browser platforms. Its applications for science research and business management are up and running everywhere. We're constantly bombarded with ads for its use. AI is here to stay--and it's only going to get more prolific. Even though it's becoming familiar--thus breeding contempt--it's still scary. It can out-think and out-perform every human on the planet, and that should make anyone justifiably nervous. As a sci-fi writer with an overactive imagination, I admit to constantly searching faces in a crowd for Terminators sent back in time by the machines that are surely taking over in the not-to-distant future. Perhaps a more realistic fear is that AI will soon replace humans in nearly every creative endeavor. For an artist--which I call myself on a good day--that's an End of Days s...
Read more