THE GLASS UNICORN PART 8

  A QUEST WARS ADVENTURE

  YASMINE GALENORN

  A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication

  Published by Yasmine Galenorn

  PO Box 2037, Kirkland WA 98083-2037

  THE GLASS UNICORN: Part 8

  A Quest Wars Adventure

  Copyright © 2026 by Yasmine Galenorn

  First Electronic Printing: 2026 Nightqueen Enterprises LLC

  Cover Art & Design: Yasmine Galenorn

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any format, be it print or electronic or audio, without permission. Please prevent piracy by purchasing only authorized versions of this book. NO PARTS OF THIS BOOK WERE CREATED OR DEVELOPED THROUGH A.I., AND NO PARTS OF THIS BOOK ARE TO BE USED TO TRAIN A.I.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons—living or dead, businesses, or places is entirely coincidental and not to be construed as representative or an endorsement of any living/ existing group, person, place, or business.

  A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication

  Published in the United States of America

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Welcome to The Glass Unicorn

  Chapter 43: The Woman in White’s Story

  Chapter 44: Through the Marshes

  Chapter 45: The Stars Overhead

  Chapter 46: We Come to Tyrnis

  Chapter 47: This is Civilization?

  Chapter 48: Preparations

  Playlist

  Biography

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Welcome to The Glass Unicorn, a new LitRPG novel serial that I’m writing. After forty years of gaming, I finally decided to try my hand at writing the adventures of one of my typical dungeon characters. Eventually, the serial will become a book. This is a new genre and format for me, and I’m having great fun with it. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I’m having fun writing it.

  Thanks to my usual crew: Samwise, my husband, Andria, and Jennifer. Without their help, I’d be swamped. To the women who have helped me find my way in indie, you’re all great, and thank you to everyone. I’m thrilled to be among their ranks.

  Also, my love to my furbles, who keep me happy. My most reverent devotion to Mielikki, Tapio, Ukko, Rauni, and Brighid, my spiritual guardians and guides. My love and reverence to Herne, and Cernunnos, and to the Fae, who still rule the wild places of this world. And a nod to the Wild Hunt, which runs deep in my magick, as well as in my fiction.

  You can find me through my website at Galenorn.com and be sure to sign up for my newsletter to keep updated on all my latest releases! You can find my advice on writing, discussions about the books, and general ramblings on my YouTube channel. If you liked this book, I’d be grateful if you’d leave a review—it helps more than you can imagine.

  March 2026

  Brightest Blessings,

  ~The Painted Panther~

  ~Yasmine Galenorn~

  WELCOME TO THE GLASS UNICORN

  When Erenye Green, an editor at a small publisher, and several of her gaming friends find themselves stuck within the fantasy world of Abarria, they must learn to navigate the realities of what it really means to battle monsters, zombies, and all manner of creatures, now that the stakes are life and death, and no longer a simple roll of the dice.

  Part 8: With the Cryptic Marshes finally behind them, Erenye and the party come to the village of Tyrnis at the base of the Mountains of Kartell. Knowing Zahar is close on their heels, they must gear up for the trek into the frozen mountains, where fell dangers await in the form of frost giants, ice spiders, and lycanthroids.

  CHAPTER 43: THE WOMAN IN WHITE’S STORY

  By the time the spirit faded, Moki had emerged from her house. She was wearing a bathrobe and a nightcap, and she hurried over to our tent.

  “Why didn’t you help us?” Reggie asked, glaring at her.

  “My magic doesn’t work on spirits. They’re drawn to me because of the power I possess, but I can’t defend myself from them. I’m not agile enough to attack them with silver. And trust me, I would have only been in the way.” She frowned, then added, “I am sorry about that, though. This is why I stay inside at night, when the spirits are strongest. They inhabit the marshlands during the day as well, but their power is weakened in daylight and I can usually avoid them.”

  It was at that point that I noticed she was wearing numerous silver chains around her neck, most likely to ward off ghosts.

  “What was that spirit?” I asked. “I know you said she was the Woman in White, but what’s her story? And did we destroy her?”

  “Come inside, I’ll allow you to spend the rest of the night on my floor.” Moki turned, motioning for us to follow her back into the house.

  We left the tent, but gathered the rest of our things and trudged back into the house. As we settled ourselves on the floor, Moki sat down near us.

  “Once, long ago, when this marsh was smaller and less deadly, there were other people who lived out here. I knew a nearby family: a father, mother, and four children. The mother, Alecia, absolutely doted on her family, especially the children. She also took care of other families’ children when they had to go out to gather food and hunt, and they paid for her services in merchandise. It was a small trading community, and we all thrived until the sickness came.”

  “Sickness?” Brynn asked.

  “A mage settled into the village, but he had no one’s interests at heart except his own. He made everyone uneasy, and with good reason. What no one knew at that point was that he followed a god of pestilence, and he specialized in magic causing illnesses and disease.” Moki grimaced.

  “Did you know him?” Thornhold asked.

  “I did,” Moki said. “I warned some of the villagers that they might want to move him along, but they ignored me. I made them nervous, and they didn’t want to hear what I had to say. So they let him stay, and as winter came on, some of the children became sick. I offered my services as an herbalist, but I couldn’t seem to fight the diseases they were contracting. And I noticed that the children falling sick belonged to the families that the mage didn’t seem to like.”

  “You mean he was deliberately hurting the children?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, he was taking out his anger on them. But those dolts didn’t want to see it. Once again, I tried to warn them, and one night I woke up to find my house on fire. I managed to extinguish the flames, but I knew then that if I said anything more, I’d be the next target. So I kept my mouth shut, and I just observed.”

  “Why do you think he settled here?” I asked.

  “He was able to con the villagers out of a lot of their goods, as well as some services that he needed done. He promised to protect the village, but in reality he was the biggest threat to our safety.” She sighed.

  “How does that tie in with the Woman in White?” Ray asked.

  “I’m not sure what happened, but Alecia’s family fell out of favor with the mage. And one by one, her children began to fall ill. It ripped at her heart, and I warned her again, but she was too distressed to pay attention. Her children died, all within a month that winter. She began looking after a number of the other children in the village, but a lot of them were dying. As she frantically tried to save each child, it sucked a little more of her life away. And then she grew ill with the same illness the children had.”

  “I assume she died?” Reggie asked.

  Moki nodded. “I tried to treat her, but nothing I could do helped. The illness was created by magic, and it couldn’t be stopped by any herbal treatment. When Alecia died, it was as if the heart of the village had died. A lot of people had already moved away because they were so afraid of what was happening. The mage couldn’t prevent them packing up and moving out.”

  “And she became a spirit?” Brynn asked.

  “Shortly after Alecia died, people began seeing a Woman in White around the village. She seemed fixated on the children, but they avoided her. She never tried to hurt them, but then she began following adults as well. She would reach for them as if she thought they were her own.”

  “That’s creepy,” I said.

  Moki nodded. “Yes, it was. Once in a while someone would turn up dead, drained of their energy. Then, one night, everybody in the village heard the mage screaming. Nobody hurried over to make sure he was okay, but I decided to check. I walked past his house. Through the windows, I saw the Woman in White pulling him into her embrace, holding him so tight he couldn’t get free. As I watched, her ghostly fingers sank into his head and his back, and I realized she was draining him. I’ll admit, I did nothing to stop it. He had killed so many people, and now fate was delivering him into the hands of justice.”

  She stopped, sighing again. “And that was pretty much the end of the village. The few families that had stayed moved away; the houses slipped into the swamp over time. I’m the last. But the Woman in White—Alecia’s ghost—still haunts the marsh, looking for the children she lost.”

  I felt incredibly sad, not only because of what had happened to Alecia, but because of the lost village. “At least the mage got what was coming to him,” I said.

  “True, however, that doesn’t make up for all the damage he did and all the lives lost. If I remember right, over 20 children died, and several adults as well. And he turned a woman’s love for her children into a tainted, twisted energy that prevents h
er from going to her rest. As long as she roams the Cryptic Marshes, people will continue to die, all because of what he did to her. I’ve tried to set her spirit free, but I’m simply not powerful enough. Not with spirit-magic.” She turned to Ray. “You’re a cleric. Can you do anything?”

  Ray worried his lip. “I don’t think I’m at a high enough level to exorcise her. I wish I were, but I don’t think I can help.”

  Moki stared at him for a moment, then said, “Will you make me a promise? If you do gain enough power, will you return to the marsh to set her free?”

  Ray didn’t even hesitate. “If I do gain the power to exorcise spirits of her magnitude, I’ll return. I give you my word.”

  And on that note, she retreated to her bedroom, leaving us to sleep soundly the rest of the night. All night long, I heard screeches and howls from outside, and I wondered what other spirits lurked here and what were their stories?

  CHAPTER 44: THROUGH THE MARSHES

  We were up before dawn, making ready to leave. Moki made us breakfast, and I realized that she wasn’t as scary as she seemed; she was just a loner who had seen a lot in her life. I genuinely regretted saying goodbye. I had the feeling that there were so many things we could learn from her, but I didn’t want to stay in the marshes a day longer than we had to. Zaran was on our tail, and I doubted that he would have the same problems getting through the marshes as we did.

  “Remember your promise,” Moki said to Ray. “If you ever manage to level up to where you can exorcise the spirits here, I would vastly appreciate your help.”

  She pointed us in the right direction, looking at our map. “This patch here?” She tapped a point on the map that looked to be only a few hours away. “You’ll find deadly quicksand all over the place. Stay on the trail. It’s there for a reason. If you wander off, chances are you’ll get caught in either quicksand or a mud trap. And the mud monsters are not easy to beat.”

  Mud monsters? What the hell was mud monster? Before I could open my mouth, Reggie spoke up.

  “What’s a mud monster? They don’t sound friendly.”

  “Oh, trust me. Friendship is the least of their worries. They’re like elementals. They like to drag you down into the mud and suffocate you. But they aren’t regular elementals, so don’t think magic that works on that level will work against them. They’re basically sentient booby-traps that were long ago placed throughout the marshes. They aren’t particularly sentient, not in the way we think of intelligence. But they do have the capability to make decisions. It’s hard to explain, but don’t expect any mercy from them.”

  Reggie paled. “Were they formed with the Create Creature spell?”

  Moki nodded. “Unfortunately, you’re correct. There was a witch who lived in the marshes — and no, not me — who decided to have a little fun. But the fun was on her own terms, and she had no qualms about putting others in danger. She used that spell and created mud monsters all over the place. I have no idea what her end goal was, but when we drove her out, it didn’t break her spell. I’ve tried to make them go back to the mud, but breaking a powerful witch’s spell is only possible if you are more powerful. And unfortunately, I’m not. I wasn’t then, and I’m not now. And I’m fairly strong with my magic.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Lovely. So this patch of marsh where you indicated, it’s basically one big trap for the travelers passing through?”

  “Is the quicksand sentient, too?” Bryn asked..

  Moki shook her head. “No, that’s one blessing. It’s just plain old quicksand, but it’s deep. You can suffocate under the surface. Now, do you have all the supplies you need?”

  I looked through my pack, and the others did the same. We had food, our coins, all of our supplies, and our walking sticks. I took out a gold coin.

  “Here, I’d like you to have this. Thank you for your hospitality and for helping us. You’ve been a gracious hostess.”

  Moki shook her head, holding up her hand. “I don’t need that, my dear. There are some whom I might chase away at first sight. But there was something about your party that felt safe, and in need of little comfort.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “I know you don’t use money out here, but it might come in handy at some point.” I finally convinced her to take the coin. I didn’t like feeling as though I’d intruded or imposed on someone without giving some remuneration in return. And it might encourage her to be friendly to the next person who came along.

  Finally, she accepted the money. We waved at her and headed out, crossing the narrow land bridge over a deep part of the marsh. Once on the other side, I took a deep breath and led my friends into the core of the marsh.

  One of the first things we did was to stop and gather trichez.

  “This stuff is gold. I wish I could take a picture of it, so that we remember what it looks like in the wild,” Ray said.

  “Reggie’s good at drawing. He might be able to sketch it. Does anybody have a notebook?” I sorted through my backpack and finally found a small notebook. I handed it to Reggie with a pencil.

  Reggie sat down on a dry piece of ground, doing his best to draw the plant. He noted the colors and the shape of the leaves, and then held the drawing up for Ray to look at.

  “Will this work for you?” He asked.

  “Yes, that’s perfect,” Ray said. “I really should see if I can find a blank journal somewhere so I can start my own notebook. If we’re stuck here, we're not going to be getting any help via the Internet or anything like that.”

  Reggie considered his words. “You know, I should do the same thing with spells and spell components. I guess we’re building a foundation for the rest of our lives here, aren’t we?”

  “Someone might want to keep track of our adventures,” Brynn said.

  “Okay, gather as much as you can, and then let’s head out. Zaran is still on our heels and I don’t fancy meeting him, especially here in the marsh.” I stood, stretching, and glanced at the sky. The day had blessed us with good weather, but I didn’t know how long it was going to last, and I really didn’t want to get caught here in a bad storm. We were nearly through the marsh. As long as we were careful, by the end of the day we should reach the edge. I wanted to be on dry ground by nightfall.

  As we headed along, keeping an eye out for quicksand and mud monsters, I realized that I had barely thought of home the past week or so.

  Now, I wondered what was going on with my home. We had passed the time that we’d originally scheduled to spend in the game. Was my family holding out hope? And what about my employers? Had they already replaced me? Were they holding my job?

  My life — all of our lives — seemed so very far away and so alien to what we were now experiencing. When I thought about stepping into a warm shower that was ready at a moment’s notice, my muscles began to ache. And when I thought about sleeping in a soft bed, safe behind locked doors, I wanted to cry. We had been so busy surviving that I hadn’t let myself think about the little luxuries that I missed. But now everything came sweeping in, landing on my shoulders as to what all we had lost.

  “Are you okay?” Thornhold asked. He was walking beside me, helping to keep an eye out for dangers underfoot.

  I shook my head. “Everything suddenly hit me. I think I just registered that we're here for good. Is there a chance we can get out of here? Perhaps. But right now, this is our life. And I’m suddenly angry and missing home.”

  “I know,” Thornhold said. “I wish I hadn’t picked a dwarf to play. I really don’t feel like myself. I may be stuck in this body forever.”

  Somber, we carried on in silence. The one positive was that we were in this together — all five of us. But that didn’t make it easier to bear, and I knew everybody had their own inner demons they were fighting. Brynn had a boyfriend, and now he’d been stripped away from her. Ray had a girlfriend and his dogs. And Geoff—back with Liesel—had a wife and a baby.

  We’d all lost somebody or something, and the thought that we might never see them again was too painful to dwell on.