3seed

29. Lockdown

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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The Standing Goat empties of its guests. Since none are Gloop, they can pass through the checkpoint out of No Town. Only the inn’s permanent residents stay, along with Milo, who’s be...

28. Escalation

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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Hallon sweeps the ramp leading up to the Standing Goat. It’s early, well before first light, and her mind is like a dog gnawing at a bone; restlessly worrying at the edges of what she ...

27. An Intuition of Trouble

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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Hallon’s visit to the Scholar’s House proves unremarkable. She’d seen its spirit barrier when she still had her powers, but her investigation doesn’t reveal its source. The inter...

26. The Above and Below

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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It’s early; the sun still down and the air chilly. Only a handful of people are out on the street. From the corner of his eye, Milo sees a figure dressed in black collecting the refuse l...

25. The Burden of Memory

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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That night, Hallon dreams of a boy running through a maze of trenches. A flare ignites in the sky to cast a red glow across the barbed wire and earthworks of No Man’s Land. At first, t...

24. The Party

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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A light shimmers in the gray fog. It feels like a nagging memory just out of reach, and Noor follows it to a doorway. Inside, there are tools neatly organized—chisels, rasps, ...

23. Reunions and Separations

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. Three chapters today to keep you all ahead of Royal Road. :)

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The library is small and unassuming, as if the planners were embarrassed by the need for one. Inside, the fixtures are plain,...

22. Waking Up Lost

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. Also: editing the novel is going quicker than anticipated; enough so that I can increase the release schedule to two chapters a week. I'll aim for Tuesdays and Saturdays.

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A blanket of s...

21. Shift's Done

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. Note that this chapter begins Part 2 of the book. Just in case it's not obvious, there's been a time skip.
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The shift whistle blows on the garage’s lone speaker, the sound tinny and cracking....

20. City of Shadows

Updated: Unlocked for all patrons. A bonus chapter. :)

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A violet bubble surrounds the Scholar’s residence. Between it and the scarlet cloth shading the busy market, they dye the morning in bright colors. If only it was ...

19. The Scholar's House

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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They shoo Milo out after breakfast. It was porridge again, but this time Wahid included two round pastries stuffed with dates for later. Milo also received strict instructions f...

18. An Understanding Not Understood

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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Milo comes downstairs yawning to find the inn’s staff preparing for the day.

“You’re up early,” Wahid says. “Hold a jot, and I’ll get you something to eat.”

“A...

17. You Live Here

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. I'm publishing a chapter a day this week. Enjoy!

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A nurse checks on Hallon. On her way out, she places a blanket on Milo’s lap. Later, she taps him on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Mister...

16. Three Seeds

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. I'm continuing to push extra chapters to Royal Road, which means keeping you all ahead. Enjoy!

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Milo wakes up gagging. He turns to the side and vomits onto a pair of shoes. The man in the...

15. A Deal to Live

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. A chapter a day this week. :)

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Milo’s insides twist in anguish. The giant pummels at Hallon on the ground, and there’s nothing Milo can do to stop the beating. There are no scenarios ...

14. The Standing Goat

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. I'm publishing a chapter every day this week, so you'll see another tomorrow too.

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The inn is three stories tall with a sign out front of a goat standing on two legs. Its brass-covered do...

13. Welcome to No Town

Update: Unlocked for all patrons. I'm pushing extra chapters to Royal Road, so you'll see more of these this week. :)

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A long line of carts and trucks waits to pass through the Farmer’s Gate. The wall rises sixty feet a...

12. Papers Please

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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Sand and stone give way to leafy-green orchards of pistachio and olive trees, to fields of onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. This is the farmland that feeds Dawrtaine, so it’ll be just ...

11. Stowaways

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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Rain falls on and off through the early morning, but it’s not enough to slow Hallon and Milo’s trek down the mountain. If anything, the rain is a blessing, masking their trail.

10. A Boy and Girl in the Woods

Update: Unlocking for all patrons

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Walking out of the tunnel is like waking from a raucous nightmare. Before them, a steady rain falls on the green limbs of a forest. The water is warm and the air fragrant with the smells...

9. Traversing the Upper Paths

Update: Unlocked for all patrons.

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The sun is a glowing ball seen through the storm wall, casting wavering shadows across the ice. Stepping out of the cave, Hallon feels like she’s walking on the ocean, the tides consta...

8. The Cave

Update: unlocked for all patrons.

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Nothingness stretches in all directions. There is a realization of movement, but no reference points to help determine speed or direction. A memory triggers—

One night, Milo was ...

7. Running

Eratosthenes travels through the gray space between universes following Hallon’s scent, her particular mixture of fire, curiosity, perseverance, and regret; her flashing eyes and hair the color of summer wheat. He knows she’s safe through the ...

6. The Chase

Colonel Fares Abadoun, third son of the House of Abadoun, Commander of Labor Camp 35, frowns at the folding knife in his hands. The blade’s edge is keen and light ripples along its length. The spyglass is older, an antique of uncertain origin, b...

5. Labor Camp No. 35

A bonus chapter for everyone.

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The last time Hallon was ambushed, she’d just finished reading Gulliver’s Travels and was in a riverside pub in London hoping to meet the author. Before Mr. Swift could arrive t...

Update: Rewards for Level 5 & 10

TL&DR: There are changes coming to patron tiers: Level 5 and 10 patrons will be able to read five chapters ahead starting this coming week.

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The longer, more guilt-ridden version:

When writing Eight, I felt terrible abou...

4. A Snowy Valley Disturbed

Hallon opens her eyes to a world made of whites and blues. A snow-covered hill rises above her, and atop it is Milo’s Matter Transmission Engine, the mechanical tree piercing the sky. Its inventor is farther down the hill, still unconscious. The...

3. The Machine Tree

Author's Note: I've decided to move the publish date to Royal Road up. As a result, I'm releasing a chapter on Patreon early. There'll be another on Saturday.

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By the third day, Hallon’s convinced that Milo Rabbit is in...

2. The Journey West

A second chapter to get the ball rolling...

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Hallon stops by the house in London before boarding the RMS Mauritania bound for New York. She looks forward to the journey—a chance to spend some time with Eratosthenes and ...

1. The Traveler

The Lions of Dawrtaine begins!

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The moon sleeps on her back, just a sliver in the sky. A handful of clouds sail past like ladies in their long dresses. The spirit of a dragon soars among them, flying through their misty ...