CRAZY SNAKE AND THE TRIBUTE FOR PACHACAMAC- by Eric Atkisson     After defeating the immortal Spanish sorcerer of El Castillo and releasing Cipitio and the Ciguanaba from their curse, Crazy Snake spends the winter of 1856-57 and early spring fighting alongside Nicaraguan rebels against the forces of President William Walker, an American mercenary and […]

THE COIN AND THE MUSHROOM– by Gerald Warfield “Looking for the coin?” Startled, Chadwick looked up, then rose to his knees in the midst of the undergrowth. “Oh, it’s you, my lady.” Dropping his paring knife into his basket, he turned and bowed as best he could, still on his knees. “You slipped up on […]

FOUR AGAINST OLYMPUS- by Matt Hlinak It was the Age of Heroes, when tools of bronze carved city-states from the wilderness, and words of wisdom were not written down—they were sung. Herakles sat uneasily upon his throne in Abdera. While other tyrants adorned themselves in silk and gold, the son of Zeus wore only the […]

THE SIEGE, THE GUMS, AND THE BLUE– by Adrian Simmons   As the riders crested the hill, the line of fleeing refugees and farmers let out moans of terror, fearing them to be the vanguard of the Kimar army. Izydor Kiel heard the cry, and didn’t look back to see the horsemen, to confirm that this […]

ROLE– by Scott Hutchison   His fearsome tribe is battle-ready, brawny, broad of shoulders, scar-muscled. He is small, a runt allowed to live. Never once at the forefront of a charge. Not his place. He brings up the rear.   Still, his table-companions raise a cup, acknowledge his role, his steady tactics: the enemy who […]