Conversion: Chapter 4, Part 3

Living Story Excerpts

The cat continued to follow him like a silent shadow as he walked through Ironforge. The tunnels seemed considerably smaller now than they had when he was a kid.

The gryphon master was uninterested in lending him a gryphon, and so Seryth hired out a dwarven riding ram instead. The beast snorted as he stepped it down onto the snowy cobbles of Dun Morogh. He looked back and saw the cat still standing behind him, watching.

Seryth sighed. “Oh, fine! Come along if you want, but don’t cause any trouble for me.”

The cat bared its fangs, and leaped onto the ram’s hind end, changing into an imp in midair. The ram bawled and bucked and bolted, and for a while, it was all Seryth could do to hang on. Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 4, Part 3”

Conversion: Chapter 4, Part 2 (Actually Chapter 3b)

Living Story Excerpt(s)

Chapter 3: The rewards for the gnoll-slaying and the farm chores were enough for Seryth to break even on his losses, but not enough to turn any profit. Seryth knew his father would be furious if he didn't come home with some extra silver to justify the trip. As he wandered the streets of Stormwind pondering the dilemma, Seryth was stopped by a dwarf smith who offered him coin if he took a message to Loch Modan. Loch Modan was a long way away, but the courier fees would more than cover the profits Seryth had expected to get from his now-stolen harvest. Seyth told the dwarf he would think about it and that he'd return in the evening if he decided to take the smith up on the job. The dwarf grumbled for him not to take too long.

While in the city, Seryth helped a child catch wayward balloons, bought himself a hat that was too big for him, and met a gnome with a pet bear named “Mangeclaw” that Seryth swore he had seen before, though it wasn’t clear to him why that’d be so, bears being a rare sight in Westfall.

Throughout it all, the calico cat continued to follow him.

As night fell, Seryth returned to the dwarf smith. Despite running errands for the local shopkeepers, he still hadn’t managed to make enough money for his foster father to be happy. Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 4, Part 2 (Actually Chapter 3b)”

Conversion: Chapter 4

Living Story Excerpt

Chapter 4: The tram arrived. Letting out a shout, Seryth jumped on it, thinking it would get him away from the imp. The imp only jumped aboard after him, still grinning as if baring feline fangs. "Hey, bud, I like you. You got spunk." It clung onto Seyth's robes and hung on as Seryth flailed around, trying to get it off. "Leave me alone!" "Nah. I can help you. You've got that kind of fire, y'see." The imp climbed up Seryth's robes and poked him in the chest. "You know the magic, right?" "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about--" Seryth had of course learned a few cantrips from the local hedge-wizard, mostly to do with making little flames in his hands or blinking around. He had a feeling the imp meant something else, though. "I mean you gots the FIRE," said the imp, digging a claw into Seryth's chest, hard enough to make him yelp. "I can sense it, right here. Don't believe me? Don't you ever remember a time that you just got a little..angry? And things seemed to happen, terrible, wonderful things, that fulfilled your wishes at the time?" "No," said Seryth sharply, trying not to think of his attacks on the gnolls. The tram had finally come to a stop on the Ironforge side of Deeprun, and Seryth hurriedly leapt down to the platform. The imp hopped off of him, taking a stance just a few feet away. "You should get, before some dwarf sees you and kills you," Seryth hissed. As if to punctuate the point, a gnome who had been standing nearby besides bunches of squeaking boxes, hailed Seryth and beckoned him over. Seryth side-stepped, the swish of his robes hiding the imp from sight. "Let me prove it to you," said the imp. "You help the gnome, and I'll help you." "Shut up," hissed Seryth, rubbing the clawmark in his chest. It was starting to bleed, sting, really, like a very hot fire. "I'll watch then," said the imp slyly, turning back into a cat.

Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 4”

Conversion: Chapter 3

Living Story Excerpt

Throughout it all, the calico cat continued to follow him. Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 3”

Conversion: Chapter 2

Living Story Excerpt

Chapter 2: Seryth noticed a gnoll skulking off to the side of the road. He wasn't sure if it was a sense of protection for other commoners that might pass this way or a rush of revenge that drove him to attack it. The gnoll fled into the forest, but Seryth was able to see the Stonefield Farm just ahead of him through the trees. Thinking he might be able to find work there, Seryth approached the family. Receiving only a few odd looks for his race and his -- by now -- scuffed up clothing, the family set him about various chores around the farm.

Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 2”

Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 5

Living Story Excerpt

Knowing his father would kill him (figuratively) if he returned empty-handed, Seryth pressed on to Stormwind, thinking perhaps he could find some other odd jobs to make up the difference before he returned home… Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 5”

Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 4

Living Story Excerpt

Seryth reluctantly agreed and returned to the Westbrook Garrison for his reward. Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 4”

Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 3

Living Story Excerpt

Seryth found the gnolls dragging what was left of his supplies to their leader, Hogger, as a tribute. As Seryth planned how to steal his things back, a unit of Watch guards broke from the bushes, slaying the gnolls and laying irons on Hogger. Seryth’s crops were trampled under the hooves of their horses.

Stil angered by the interruption to his trip, Seryth demanded the guards repay him for the damages. The guards laughed, telling him they’d give him some coin–if he helped thin the numbers of the gnolls in the bargain. Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 3”

Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 2

For sake of my own motivation, I’m going to try to keep posting the converted form of Seryth’s Story as it might appear in a novel to this blog. For more information on the process and why I’m doing this, see Seryth’s Story, which starts in this post, and Part 1 of Chapter 1, which can be found here. Continue reading “Conversion: Chapter 1, Part 2”

Seryth’s Story: Conversion to Novel Format

In this post I’ll show you part of the process in converting Seryth’s Story from its Living Story form into what it might look like in a novel. Continue reading “Seryth’s Story: Conversion to Novel Format”