by Ramy Vance
Sandy sipped her beer as she watched the flames of the candles before her. “So, this has been a pretty intense couple of days,” she ventured.
Stew laughed, then grabbed his chest. He was still heavily bandaged. The medic had recommended Stew sleep and try to get as much rest as he could, but Stew had argued he was not going to miss the party. “Intense would be an understatement,” he exclaimed. “This week has been fucked the fucked up.”
Beth tossed back her shot of ambrosia and waved for another to be brought to her. “Yeah, I’ll fucking say. First fetch quest I pull with you guys ends up being a whole ‘save the world’ ordeal. Is this what it’s always like?”
Suzuki leaned back in his chair and nodded as he sipped his drink. “Pretty much,” he admitted. “I think the only quest we had that was simple was the first one. Everything else kept getting out of control. Glad this one wrapped up nice and tidy. We can all thank José for getting us into this shit and still making life complicated when he’s dead. To José!”
The Mundanes raised their glasses and toasted José. A few MERCs nearby heard the toast and joined in. Then the whole bar toasted José, and after that, they toasted the Mundanes.
Stew and Sandy were talking to each other quietly, and Beth leaned over to whisper in Suzuki’s ear, “Hey, what do you think about getting out of here for a little bit? Do some of our own celebrating before we come back down?”
Suzuki blushed as he sat up straighter. “You mean, like—”
“You know exactly what I mean. I’ll meet you upstairs. Go wash the dragon off first.”
“Got it.”
Suzuki rose from his chair and muttered some half-thought-out excuse before stumbling away from the table and heading for the stairs. He found his room easily enough, even though he felt like it was much farther down the hall than it usually was.
Once Suzuki got to his room, he collapsed on the bed. He still hadn’t processed most of the week, and he knew he probably was never going to get a chance to. The most he could do was run through the different things that had happened and be glad he was still alive.
The urge to piss rose in Suzuki as he was musing about just how insane his life had become. He took off his pants and managed to make it to the bathroom, where he opted for the bathtub instead of the toilet. It was an amazing experience. He felt like he was beside himself. And Beth was going to be there in a little bit. God, could life get any better?
Suzuki turned around and screamed. José’s ghost was standing in front of him, shaking his head. “Honestly, you just pissed in the bathtub?” the ghost asked.
Suzuki covered his crotch. “Jesus Christ, dude, do you ever knock or anything?” he shouted. “And yes, I piss in the bath when I’m drunk. So what? I once saw you piss in a sink, and you were completely sober.”
José laughed. “Good point. You guys did good. You guys did really good.”
On his shoulder sat Fred. Well, the ghost of Fred. “Human whelp, but a good soldier. And a good man.”
“Fred!” Suzuki shouted.
“If not a loud one,” the imp hissed. “I trust my implant works?”
Suzuki nodded, wrapping a towel around his waist as he walked through José and into the bedroom. “It is so wonderful to see you both. I’m surprised we got through all that. I thought the next time I’d see you, I’d be on the other side. You know, dead too.”
Suzuki sat down on the bed, and José sat next to him. José didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, the Horseman cleared his throat and said, “I know what I’m supposed to be doing here, in the place between realms, the Netherworld. I know why I’m here. The fate of all the Nine Realms rests on this quest, and I’m going to need the Mundanes’ help. And I’m going to need all the Mundanes to die.”
“Wait, what the hell are you talking about?”
José turned to look at Suzuki. His eyes were sad, filled with a deep understanding Suzuki couldn’t comprehend. Then he started to fade, and he was gone.
Suzuki sat on the edge of his bed, trying to understand what José had just said.
Beth opened the door and barreled into the room. She had two shots in each of her hands and placed them on the dresser as she walked over and kissed Suzuki. “You ready to show me just how much dragon we can get in me?” she asked.
Suzuki nodded, his eyes distant and confused. Beth handed him a shot and then scooted away from him. “Hey, Suzy, you okay?” she asked.
“I just saw José…and Fred. They said…they said they need our help again.”
“Okay, so what’s new?”
“Well, it’s just that José said we’re all going to have to die for it.”
Beth sat in silence with Suzuki for some time, both looking at their drinks, not knowing what to say or knowing if there was anything to say. Finally, Beth sighed and took Suzuki’s hand in her own. “Suzy, we lived through everything this week, didn’t we?” she asked.
“Yeah, we did.”
“So, how about we enjoy being alive tonight. And we’ll worry about that shit tomorrow.”
Beth took Suzuki’s chin in her hand and kissed him. “Let tomorrow be tomorrow,” she said. “Let tonight be tonight.”
They both fell on the bed together, wrapped up in each other’s arms, their hands exploring each other’s bodies. Tonight would be tonight. Tomorrow would come when it came.
In the Red Lion, the MERCs continued to celebrate.
They drank until they were tired and they ate until they were full.
Tonight was a cause for celebration. It was another victory against the Dark One, and it was proof there was a chance they could win.
The Red Lion didn’t shut down that night. The party raged on until the early morning.
Not that Suzuki would have known.
Both he and Beth slept late into the afternoon for the first time, unconcerned with the world outside of the bedroom.
There would be other days to fight.
But not right now. Not this night.
Witch Of The Federation
Have you read Michael Anderle’s latest creation, WITCH OF THE FEDERATION? It’s available now at Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.
The future has amazing technology. Our alien allies have magic. Together, we are building a training system to teach the best of humanity to go to the stars.
But the training is monumentally expensive.
Stephanie Morgana is a genius, she just doesn't know it.
The Artificial Intelligence which runs the Virtual World is charged with testing Stephanie, a task it has never performed before.
The Earth and their allies, may never be the same again.
Will Stephanie pass the test and be moved to the advanced preparatory schools, or will the system miss her? Will the AI be able to judge a human's potential in an area where it has no existing test data to compare?
Available at Amazon
Author Notes Ramy Vance
December 21, 2019
Middang3ard has endless potential.
It is a rich universe that has numerous realms and a variety of heroes who can participate in never-ending adventures.
To date, Michael and I have come up with at least 4 possible spin-off series set in Middang3ard and will have already started one of them: (Dragon Approved). It is a Dragon Riders where the dragons wear mech armor and awesome riders taking the fight to the sky.
Our tagline is: Find me a Goddamn Luke Skywalker to win this war!
That said, I wanted to assure everyone that Jose, Suzuki and the Mundanes WILL be back. The Netherverse storyline is a major plot point in the Middang3ard universe (it will be our Infinity Wars, but without all the moral posturing) and several heroes and storylines will be affected by it.
But what about the Mundanes?
The issue that Michael and I are debating is whether or not the Mundanes series will continue or if they will play a supporting role in the other series.
Whereas the Mundanes storyline did well, it was
n’t a homerun and with so many stories to tell, we knew that we could do better.
That said, if you’re a Mundanes’ fan and want to see more, help us get the word out there! Share, scream and nerd out on their story.
Force your friends, family, colleagues to buy and read the books (gunpoint, optional).
And if we see an uptick in sales, we’ll keep writing ‘em.
If not, well, their story will continue in the spin-offs.
Either way, this is not the last you’ll see of the Mundanes.
Author Notes Michael Anderle
December 21, 2019
Thank you for reading our stories and talking to friends and others about them. We can’t do what we do without you!
YOU HAVE GONE TO HELL AND BACK…
Well, not really. I mean, it’s hard to conceptualize hell when you have something similar to, but not exactly the same as, Oompa Loompas.
Now, it’s time for you to move over to the new MiddanG3ard Series, which might or might not include a blind dragon rider.
(It does, it totally does!)
But before you go read that, stay a minute as I’m working to introduce people BEHIND THE SCENES here at LMBPN to you, our readers.
Today, we have Kayla Curry, Graphic and Web Designer. If you have seen ANY of our images in the last year, you have seen Kayla’s work.
We are going to go through her questions and answers, and I’ll >>occasionally<< butt in.
1. What turns you on?
Engaging in a conversation where thoughts, ideas, and knowledge are exchanged.
2. What turns you off?
Closed-mindedness.
>>Very hard to have a two-directional conversation with someone who is closed off. I have no issues having a conversation with a non-likeminded person…but closed off? What a PITA.<<
3. Who do you most admire? Why?
I have admiration for a lot of awesome people. Angelina Jolie is my role model for confidence and humility. Aaron Draplin is my role model for graphic design—our styles are very different, but our views of the industry are very similar. And finally, Ellen DeGeneres for always bringing happiness and joy into the world.
>> I have to agree with Ellen DeGeneres for her ability to stand up for her opinion, and yet find friendships with those who might not agree. Yet, she has (to me) seemed to always rise above it. She is one very classy lady.<<
4. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I’ve been known to dabble in many interests, but lately I’m exploring app and game development. I love playing video games, so creating my own would be a fun and exciting challenge.
>>Heavy on the challenge! I (kind of) wished I had been born later so I could have used the game creation software available now to build something of my own. However, I lack the desire to enjoy programming anymore. So, GO KAYLA GO!<<
5. What profession would you not like to do?
Cooking dinner is the part of my day I least look forward to. Anything where I have to cook for several hours straight would be torture for me.
>> Cooking is fun… Cleaning is HORRIBLE.<<
6. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
That’s a tough one. I’m a pantheist, so it’s hard for me to imagine this scenario…if God were the universe, and the pearly gates were a sparkling nebula or something, I’d want to know that I will still have my consciousness after death in some way.
>>Ok, I thought Kayla was my second Pantheist to learn about in the last twenty-four hours. But, I just (researched) and found out Hinduism and Pantheism are not equivalent. Huh, learn something new every day. For those interested (as I was) https://sites.google.com/site/sanatanhindusite/hinduism-monotheistic#TOC-13.-Is-Hinduism-Pantheistic-Panentheistic-Polytheistic-monotheistic-or-henotheistic- <<
7. What is your favorite movie?
Any movie that Angelina Jolie is in will be toward the top of my list, but Beyond Borders had a huge impact on me when I was a teenager. It opened my eyes to the world beyond my own. It got me started in being more active and aware of the problems others face. It was a huge turning point for me as I made the transition from a selfish teen to an altruistic human being.
>>Man, this is poignant. I had not yet met a person (until now) who had been positively affected by these aspects of Angelina Jolie’s career. This is cool.)<<
8. Who is your favorite character and from what book by which author?
Sherlock Holmes will always be my favorite character and the original A Study in Scarlet will always be my favorite story. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a genius.
9. What is something most people do not know about you?
I touched on this in another question, but I’m a pantheist (a scientific pantheist if you really want to narrow it down) and I don’t really tell that to a lot of people. It’s not a secret, however it’s not something I bring up often. I haven’t completely defined my exact beliefs, but I explore them anytime I have an opportunity.
10. What do you look forward to most in the new year?
I’m looking forward to growing my business, teaching my kids more about what I do, and learning more creative skills as well. I’m taking some courses on character design and learning new graphic design techniques constantly. I’m also learning more code and starting to utilize my tech knowledge to create some awesome custom web elements.
11. What's your favorite non-LMBPN series you’ve done? What’s your favorite series inside LMBPN?
Non-LMBPN (besides Sherlock Holmes) would be S. M. Boyce’s Grimoire Saga. Inside LMBPN would have to be a tie between all the original Oriceran series…Leira Chronicles, Kacy Chronicles, Fairhaven Chronicles, Midwest Magic, and Soul Stone. The Brownstone series are definitely up in the top favorites as well.
>> That Oriceran Universe has a lot of fans – specifically The Leira Chronicles. I think maybe Martha Carr is paying people off ;-) <<
Do you have a web site you’d like to promote?
https://currygraphicdesign.com/
We appreciate you spending your time reading our stories. Now, we have to get back to the laptop and get cranking more of them out!
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Other books by Ramy Vance
Mortality Bites Series
Keep Evolving Series
Fatebound Series
Other Middang3ard Books
Never Split The Party (01)
Late To the Party (02)
It’s My Party (03)
Blue Hell And Alien Fire (04)
Death Of An Author: A Middang3ard Novella
Books By Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
All LMBPN Audiobooks are Available at Audible.com and iTunes
To see all LMBPN audiobooks, including those written by Michael Anderle please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/audible
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