@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

"Help me!" she whimpered, as the vapor threatened to engulf her.
The Hero noticed a thread of vapor that led back up the stairs. "I wonder where this goes," he murmured. He vaulted up the stairs, followed the thread back through the doors, and into the roofless sanctuary. (3/4) #wss366

"What? No!" he said. "It's just some kind of iron-nickle alloy."
"Don't breathe the vapor!" she gasped, as she kept moving back. "If you do, it will try to control your body!"
"It doesn't seem to be pursuing me," he said. "Maybe because I didn't recklessly attack it." (2/4) #wss366

The Saintess cast her spell again, but this time, the light passed harmlessly through the vapor with seemingly no effect.
"Use your sword!" she screamed, backpedaling as the vapor got closer.
"Against vapor?" the Hero asked.
"Isn't it made of silver?" (1/4) #wss366

#ScribesAndMakers Do you prefer when a time traveller can choose a specific time/place to go, or when they don't have control over it?

I only like time travelers that travel forward one second at a time.

The Saintess began to chant and weave her hands in mystical patterns. She struck a pose and a beam of light issued from her hands, smiting the spectre. An unearthly howling assaulted their senses. They covered their ears, but it didn't help.
The spectre collapsed back into vapor and began to flow toward them again.
"A pointer," the Hero said. "When you want to talk, using your words is more effective." (3/3) #wss366

A dark shadow emerged from the gaping doors of the temple and flowed down the stairs like a vapor.
"There it is!" the Saintess screamed. "The Dread Spectre of Despair!"
"Are you sure?" the Hero asked. "Are you certain this is not some other spectre?"
"I'm sure!" the Saintess cried. "Kill it!"
The vapor began to coalesce and tower up, rearing over them.
"Maybe we should try talking to it first," the Hero said. (2/3) #wss366

The Hero and the Saintess emerged into an opening in the forest. The forest path became paved with cobblestones between piles of jumbled blocks of stone covered with vines.
"We finally made it!" the Saintess cried. "We've found the ruins!"
The followed the road into the ruins where walls began to emerge from the piles of rock and finally some buildings still standing. In the central plaza of what had been a prosperous city still stood the remains of a temple. (1/3) #wss366

RE: https://wandering.shop/@wss366/116889197085381077

Today's Wandering Shop Stories prompt word is "pointer" which seems like it offers a lot of options: a pointer could be a device (like a mouse or stick or laser). Or a dog. Or a tip you give someone. Or a memory location (like in programming). So many possibilities!

It would be great if someone sold bags with just the skins of Spanish peanuts.

True
False
What?

"Oh, okay," the Hero said, handing it back.
"Where did you even get that?" the Demon Lord said, cautiously replacing the now-humming rod back over the mantel.
"Huh? Oh, from the Saintess' bedroom."
The Demon Lord raised one eyebrow. "What were you doing in her bedroom?"
The Hero shrugged. "You know how women are about… doing things… in their own bed."
"Well, no," the Demon Lord said. "No, I don't actually know anything about that." (4/4) #wss366

"Huh," the Hero said, fishing in his pocket. "Is it like this?" He pulled a large jewel out of his pocket and turned it this way and that trying to fit it into the setting.
"Wait! What are you…" the Demon Lord said, reaching out.
With a loud click, the Crystal fit into the setting and the rod activated, emitting a loud hum.
"Ooh! Cool!" said the Hero, waving the rod back and forth.
"Be careful with that!" the Demon Lord said. "Who knows what you might summon if you're not careful!" (3/4) #wss366

"When you live a long time, you just end up with stuff."
"What's that?" the Hero said, pointing at an item hanging over the mantel.
"Ah!" he said. He got it down and handed it to the Hero. "It's a #Rod of Summoning. As you know demons are not born, but summoned."
"Hmm," the Hero said, inspecting it carefully. "What's this place?" He indicated a setting that seemed to be missing something.
"That's where the Crystal of Calibration went. It was lost during the Demon Rebellion." (2/4) #wss366

The Demon Lord poured a small glass of brandy and offered it to the Hero.
The Hero was distracted looking around at the amazing artifacts in the Demon Lord's study.
"Here!" the Demon Lord finally said.
The Hero accepted the glass and took a small sip making appreciative noises. Then he gestured at the items around the room.
"An amazing collection, my friend," he said. "I'm not sure I've seen so many rare grimoires. And that suit of armor is simply amazing!" (1/4) #wss366

I had an insight recently about why I was resenting the time I spend on elder and family care more now that I'm entering retirement: https://stevendbrewer.com/whose-time-is-it/

One of my favorite bits at this year's @SFWA Nebulas: Shannon Zelazny accepting the Infinity Award for her father Roger, and his reaction to the terrible movie adaptation of Damnation Alley: "They didn't ruin the book. It's still a great book. They just made a crappy movie." https://www.youtube.com/live/nmAxXj7-xxA?t=8668s

#WritersCoffeeClub How actively do you seek out criticism or critique for a WIP or a finished work?

It's a big lift to read and thoughtfully critique a manuscript, so I only really share manuscripts when people ask or have expressed an interest. I'm very pleased when my older brother and younger son will critique my manuscripts for me. My brother is particularly good at story structure and my son offers really cutting mockery of problems in the story that nearly always has me in hysterics.

#ScribesAndMakers What do you find compelling in a podcast? If you don't like podcasts, is there anything that could make you interested?

I don't like podcasts. The only thing I can imagine is if my life were such that I was stuck doing something offensive for long periods of time (like a commute) and needed something slightly less offensive to distract myself.

The Saintess let out a squeal of excitement that was choked off when the Hero and Demon Lord let their swords go past each other. They embraced and clapped each other on the back. They looked at the Saintess, who stood horror struck, and started laughing.
"Psyche!" the Hero crowed. (3/3) #wss366

The Saintess clasped her hands and smiled.
The Hero drew his sword, followed by the Demon Lord. They set themselves *en garde* and circled each other slowly.
The Saintess' eyes glowed with satisfaction.
The Hero and Demon Lord suddenly lunged at each other and made identical thrusts. (2/3) #wss366

The Hero and Demon Lord faced each other while the Saintess looked on. The Hero drew himself up to his full height.
"You backstabbing, double #crossing traitor!" the Hero hissed. "I trusted you!"
"That was your mistake," the Demon Lord said. "I never gave you any reason to do so." (1/3) #wss366