Thursday, October 4, 2018

An excerpt from Mystic Trails


Cover art by Jeffrey Kosh: www.jeffreykosh.wix.com/jeffreykoshgraphics


He stretched his arms over his head and gave a sigh. Now, this is the life. Just out here enjoying nature. He remembered all the times he and Sid had played out here. Mel noticed the tire swing just waiting for the change of season. Soon, buddy. Very soon...

Mel wondered why life could not be this simple. I mean, there was a time when that was the case. Just being a man, living off the land. He remembered when his friends would come over and play Mystic Trails. With a character sheet and some dice, they would set off to find adventure. Except when we ran into that dragon and Jerry got his hair singed off. Mel chuckled at that. He told everyone that his deity made him shave his head.

During much of the game, the characters were travelling from town to town. Often they had to camp out in the wilderness. Mel usually played a warrior, and made sure the group rarely lit a fire. All kinds of nasty things would be drawn to the light, and the party would have to fight them off in the middle of the night. Eddie was always summoning something. He rolled his eyes. Sorcerers.

Sid bugged them to let him play, and Mel gave in. He loves playing the thief. Mainly because of the bonuses he gets for striking unawares. His brother was enthusiastic, but he did not understand the role-playing aspect of the game. He just plays himself. Mel always made sure to play his character, even if he did not agree with what they would do. Grimblade is a warrior. His sword does all the talking.

As the sun dipped past the horizon, he noticed a path off to the side. Huh? How long has that been there? And why haven't I seen it before? Mel stood up and headed over to investigate. At first glance, it just seemed to be a gap in the trees surrounding the pond. But the fading light had briefly illuminated what was clearly a trail going into the woods.

Mel stood there for a moment, wondering what he should do. It's getting dark. Maybe I should come back tomorrow. But he figured that he might not be able to find it again. After all, this was the first time he had even noticed it.

He knew that supper would be ready and his family would be waiting for him to come and eat. I'll just take a quick look.

Mystic Trails is available here: 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J1DR1WY