What started as a simple quest for a
lost, arcane artifact has left Jack Wartnose confronting the family sins and
trauma of his past. But which will he find first: redemption or the apocalypse?

With a whistle, Jack ordered the wolves to charge. The intimidating bandit himself lost composure as the two snarling beasts rocketed toward him. He tried swinging downward, only to strike the top beam of the door instead. With furious aplomb, the two Ironside wolves jumped and tackled the man, sinking their fangs into his throat and collarbone, respectively. Now panicking, he let go of his swords and futilely pulled at their napes, while gurgling and falling backward.

Wartnose finally swept the blankets off him. Seeing the brigand kick and squirm with two wolves slowly squeezing the life out of him, he stood and took stock of his group. After seeing no one injured, he began giving orders. “Jack, Margaret, come with me! Muriel, stay here with the twins and protect everyone in here! Tarachus and … your brother, help keep everyone safe! Thad, get a weapon and aid my wife!”

Without another word, Wartnose bounded out the door and into the rain without his wide-brimmed hat to protect his eyes. He strained against the falling drops to ascertain the full situation. What he saw and heard caused him to tremble.

There were dozens of brigands around, some trying to make off with the horses and other beasts at the stables. A few were at the caravan, being handled by a half-dressed Gunther and his war hammer. The other one-room hovels to the left and right of him were all being raided, with shrieks and foul laughter emanating within.

From his right, a gut-twisting battle cry alerted Wartnose to a fast-approaching bandit with an axe raised high. While the man thought he had the upper hand on the mage, he soon found himself sailing high into the air as Wartnose hastily cast his Concentrated Force spell into the center of the man’s chest. Soon, another brigand came wailing terribly toward Wartnose from his blindside. That man’s face turned to terror as a javelin flew by and pierced his chest, immediately stopping his sprint. Wartnose looked back to see Margaret with her mother’s spear running up to him.

“Ya injured, Father?”

“No, thanks to you. Where’s Jack?”

After stabbing the dying brigand with her spear and pulling her javelin out, she replied, “ʼE cut right after gatherin’ ʼis wolves. Said ʼe’s gone to ʼelp the other travelers.”

With an angry sigh, Wartnose muttered, “Fool boy!” Then he called to Margaret, “Stay with me! We’ll assist Gunther first and prevent them from stealing our horse.”

“Aye, Father!” she exclaimed as they both beelined for their brutish companion.

Gunther had nearly beheaded one of the three by the crushing impact of his swing alone. But the others had scored strikes as well. The brute had a fresh slice across his left bicep and another vertical slash bleeding on his bare back. Still, he refused to back down and swung mightily at the nearest brigand. He hopped backward, safely out of the way, and taunted the brute. His taunting ceased as Margaret’s javelin found its second victim of the night. Although the man was dead, Gunther caved his skull for good measure. Now, seeing the odds turned against him, the third outlaw turned to try to escape within the shadows. Wartnose called forth a Freezing Force, turning the raindrops before him into tiny daggers before sending them hurtling in the direction of the escaping man. A couple of seconds later, the icy pellets ripped through him, dropping him dead and bloodied.

Upon reaching their associate, Wartnose called for Gunther to stand still. He used the water on Gunther’s body to freeze over the wounds and stem the bleeding. In a rare instance of graceful magnanimity, the brute thanked the mage without so much as a forced grunt.

Focusing on the danger at hand, Wartnose ordered, “Can you assist in preventing the theft of our horse?”

Gunther growled in the affirmative. After retrieving Margaret, all three crashed through the front doors of the stable. Their sudden appearance caught the four would-be horse thieves inside by surprise, and their hands were full from holding the leads to seven horses. Before they could drop the ropes, though, death’s grip grabbed hold of them as they met their end at the hands of an enraged brute, a wild lancer, and a furious mage.

Interview with A. S. Norris

Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author? – Military vet, husband and father. Became an author because I was tired of seeing grimdark fantasy with seemingly no redeemable characters or discernible heroes. So, I got tired of griping and started writing a more traditional fantasy adventure story with real heroes that readers could connect with and be inspired by. Started as a short story and continued growing from there.

What is something unique/quirky about you? – There’s a lot quirky about me.

 Tell us something really interesting that’s happened to you! – I drank cobra venom infused sake one night at a bar in Japan, just because.

What are some of your pet peeves? – Books/Movies using phrases like “As you know…”, “That’s what I’m talking about!” and “Let’s do this!” There’re others, but those are the three that immediately come to mind and infuriate me the most.

 What kind of world ruler would you be? – Certainly can’t be any worse than the buffoons running things today.

What do you do to unwind and relax? – Put my phone away, and watch a movie, show, or anime with the wife at night while drinking a beer or stiff cocktail,.

 How to find time to write as a parent? – I wake up really early to handle the business side of writing before I go to my 9-5 job, and I write on my lunch break. Sometimes when I’m with the family on a long drive, my wife and I will collab and I’ll drive and dictate while she types from the passenger seat.

Describe yourself in 5 words or less! – Internal screaming wrapped in calmness.

 When did you first consider yourself a writer? – When I started writing.

 Do you have a favorite movie? – The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, extended editions. Yes, they’re all one movie!

 Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie? – Hopefully all of them, since they’re a series. Will also accept a TV/Streaming Service deal.

 As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? – Same one I’ve had since college, the Eagle. Because I was an Eagle Scout.