Showing results by publisher "Magical Scrivener Press" in All Categories

Games were made to be broken. Gary Burns has been kidnapped, thrown in a dungeon, and tortured for information. Worst of all, he’s been separated from his friends, so no one even knows where to look for him. Cut off from his support network, Gary uses the only tools at his disposal: A silver tongue and an insider’s knowledge of the game world that’s second to none. With a makeshift party of former foes, Gary must not only escape his captor but plan for payback.

Fresh off their defeat of the lich’s army, Gary and his friends find themselves preparing for an even larger threat. While unlocking elder magic gave them the juice they needed to turn aside one foe, it uncorked the bottle holding back an ancient evil. Gary knows what’s coming because he wrote it. Now, with political responsibilities crushing him from one side and a demonic army looming on the other, Gary must balance the necessity of victory with the means to achieve it. Fans of Dungeons and Dragons and old TSR novels will love Hero Time.

Carl's looking forward to a quiet life with his soon-to-be wife and the child they're expecting. But when Amy makes a simple request, there's a catch. She wants their wedding on Earth so her mother can be there. For a law-abiding citizen, that would be a pricey but straightforward request. For a band of outlaws, flying into the galaxy's headquarters for law and order would be suicidal...without a plan.

Life is a Crime Wave is the 13th mission of Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem. It follows a mismatched duo of itinerant comedian and outlaw wizard as they roam the galaxy trying to eke out a living and stay ahead of the consequences of their actions. Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem looks back at an earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning listeners will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick-talking conmen will love this series.

Chuck's fortunes are shifting, and he lands a long-term gig performing at a casino on a core world. They're planetside long enough that Brad gets stuck attending a school. Meanwhile, Mort wanders off on his own errands. But nothing is quite what it seems. Brad's new school friends turn out to be rich kids and become suckers in his plot to make cash he can conceal from his parents. Chuck's casino gig was a setup. And Mort's errands are actually a series of contract killings. He's made a deal to keep the family safe, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to keep up his end.

When a survey team unearths buildings on prospective mining planet, at first, it’s hailed as an archeological jackpot. But the ancient structures are more advanced than anyone’s seen. And the hedge against technology is a wizard. Cedric and Hiroko lead a team to study the mysterious underground facility from a lost age. And when they discover the alien caretaker, he’s none too happy that primitives have infested his home.

Brad went on the run with his sister Michelle. He got away. They're safe. With new identities and a clean start, all Brad has to do is fake being a responsible, law-abiding adult until Michelle turns 18...in nine years. But how long can an incorrigible delinquent keep that up? Meanwhile, Chuck goes out of his mind trying to find his missing kids. With Mort along to help, they crisscross the galaxy, searching for a trail. Family friends haven't seen or heard anything, leaving the pair to confront a hard truth.

Despite the familiar limitations many User Experience teams face—budget and time constraints, lack of formal authority—UX practitioners are uniquely poised to provide strategic value to product organizations. This case study describes how we developed “Creative Bursts” to prove that our organization could look to its UX team for innovation leadership.

Christy’s parents forbid her from returning through the portal, but her grandfather is still stranded in the Empty World. When Danny and Brad accidentally take a trip into the portal, Christy finds the excuse she needs to disobey her parents and go after them. Unfortunately for Christy, she's stuck with Cory for a traveling companion. Thus begins another journey through the Empty World, looking for the people they've lost and for a way back home.

Sent back to Earth, Christy bides her time plotting to go back to the Empty World. She has the means; she just needs to round up as many friends as she can and convince them to go with her. All is not right in the Empty World, and Doug and Mike may not be able to defend the pyramid by themselves. The Ancients have managed to steal the crystal protecting the massive power source contained inside the pyramid. Christy and her friends must track down and restore the crystal or the released black hole won't just destroy the Empty World...the whole universe will be in danger!

Lost technology might let him walk again, but he'll need lost friends to help him get home. Cory delves into the empty world all on his own with just a computer-generated guardian for an ally. He knows that if he's ever going to walk again, he needs to unlock the forgotten secrets of medical technology advanced enough to heal him. Meanwhile, the search party looking for Cory has troubles of its own. Lost in an underground city, Christy and the others have to keep one step ahead of the ancients who are hunting them as they try to track down Cory.

With the ever-faithful Trevor in tow, Christy defies her mother’s wishes and ventures back to the Empty World. Her father and Detective Lockhart have been missing for months, and she’s determined to bring them home safely. But trouble-maker Cory has his own reasons for wanting to go back, and he bullies Christy and Trevor into taking him along. The search takes them to a mysterious underground city, abandoned by an ancient race.

They toyed with forces they didn't understand. Now, the inhabitants of Astral Prime are going to pay the price. Their foray into an alternate universe has not gone unnoticed. Nor will it go uninvestigated. While Jace Jarvis attempts to reassemble the pieces of a broken life, a new foe threatens to steal that life away yet again. With Hiroko shepherding a new flock and Cedric guarding the planet below, Astral Prime faces an invasion they might not be able to stop. They'll have to turn to the unlikeliest of allies if there's any hope to save the station.

With rival factions in orbit around Shadow Planet, the obvious threat was one another. When the defenses of an ancient alien outpost activate, trapping everyone in the star system, it becomes clear that there was more to worry about beneath the planet’s surface than in orbit around it. As Hiroko plays peacemaker to three rival fleets, Cedric and Kane lead an effort to shut down the power source keeping the system-wide energy field operational.

He defeated the Mountain Lord. He won. But the game didn't end, it merely evolved. Taking on the title of his fallen predecessor, Mountain Lord Konroh gets his final task: defend the spire at any cost. A whole host of new systems open up. Erstwhile villains now owe Konroh their fealty. He can reassign monsters to new zones, teach his minions new strategies, and beef up his fortifications to his heart's desire. But everything come at a cost.

With Astral Prime in chaos, Kendra hatches a desperate attempt to use forbidden alien technology to bring her lover back from the dead. As the struggle for control of the station unfolds, her efforts go horribly awry and plunge everyone into a strange and unfamiliar universe. Stranded in a desolate sector of an unknown universe, the citizens of the station cling to hope and ration their supplies of food, water, and medical essentials. But what hope can there be for rescue when even they don't know where they are?

The galaxy has gone from troubled to doomed. Now faced with a multiplying threat, the races of the Milky Way are faced with a foe who cannot be stopped, cannot be turned back. And yet, for the sake of their own survival, they fight on in the desperate hope that they can hold out long enough to prevail. And they're running out of time. One of the ARGO core worlds may be next on the menu for the world-devouring monsters. As Cedric frantically searches for an alternative way to combat the abominations, Hiroko attempts to halt the proliferation of ancient weapons.

Cedric has discovered the means to fight back, but the price is high. Not all species are capable of carrying out his methods. It's one thing asking ships and crews to fight; it's another to ask them to sacrifice themselves. And yet, the valiant ships of Earth Navy continue to do so. If only the rest of the galaxy were so brave. A dark plan unfolds to doom one universe to save another. And an old foe will have to decide where his loyalties lie: to his species, or to himself?

Unleashed from an alternate universe, the space-borne leviathan dubbed "void kraken" terrorizes the galaxy. The most powerful weapons barely scratch it. Whole fleets fall before it. Its movements are erratic. It's motives inscrutable. All anyone knows for sure is that if it isn't stopped, it's going to eat its way through the galaxy. Fujita Hiroko feels responsible for the beast's presence in the Milky Way. She tries to rally support to combat the creature, to form an unprecedented inter-species alliance to find a way to stop its rampage

The syndicate had given her an ultimatum: disappear. Watched and wary, Fujita Hiroko obeyed for years, burying herself in work. Now one of the galaxy's most recognized faces, owner of the universe's must-see tourist trap, she can't hide any longer. And that's going to cost her. The Ruckers don't take kindly to loose ends, and they don't want their history with the station director coming to light. Already struggling to keep up with the demands of the massive influx of pilgrims, scientists, and tourists to Astral Prime, Hiroko won't be prepared for what's coming her way.