Writers Cantina 2025

I think I captured the photo above from Jay Barnson's presentation on writing pulp. I attended another presentation he did on monsters from North American myths. I let him know that I was already using some of them in my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. However, I get ahead of myself. Let me back up.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was Writers Cantina time and my third consecutive weekend on the road. Things got interesting when I discovered that the hotel I had booked was not the pleasant place at which I had stayed the two previous years. That could be because I waited so long to make the reservation, not being certain whether I would be able to attend the cantina this year.

There was no signage on the hotel and men in lift worked on a big blank space over the entrance. Once inside, a young man with ties to India greeted me at the counter and assigned me a room on the third floor. It took a couple trips for me to get my stuff to the room and I decided I should send an email to a colleague about a matter we had discussed the day before. Problem. There wasn't any internet.

I went down again to the lobby and the the guy talked about some problem with the internet, but I had my laptop with me and was able to connect there. I headed back to the room, but the information superhighway refused to follow. Back in the lobby, the guy repeated the matter of some problem with the internet reaching the third floor. I suggested that he move me down to the second floor where I could enjoy the pleasant embrace of cyberspace. He said that would take some time and he would have to call someone about the internet issue. I sat down in the lobby and typed out my email and sent it--just before the world wide web terminated its relationship with my computer. 

Fortunately, the web reached back to ensnare me again, and hotel guy gave me a room on the second floor. I moved my stuff down in two trips. I should mention that I did encounter a few other people who were apparently guests at the hotel and even tried to speak with them--one instance being the couple who got off the elevator on the 2nd floor where I was waiting to get on. I noticed that the third floor button was still illuminated and called to them to let them know they were on the wrong floor. The only words they seemed to understand were the numbers two and three, but they did come back and we all rode up to the third floor. At breakfast there were several people who were speaking an Eastern European language, by my best guess. No one except the hotel guy at the desk spoke English to me.

During one trip back to the new room, I noticed that water dripped steadily from a metal box in the hallway ceiling outside my room. I reported that to the desk and he reported it to another guy coming from the pool. Later, I heard some activity outside the room door and I didn't see any more leaking. Also, the room across from mine had the door blocked by a big X of caution tape. 

Later, I learned that the toilet would continue to run after every flush if I didn't remove the tank lid and reach into the water to adjust the flapper. Additionally, the faucet on the bathroom sink would drizzle water back down the faucet and onto the bathroom counter whenever it was in use.

The night before the conference began, some of the presenters and panelists met for dinner. I sat with Lyn Worthen, editor at Camden Press, and Jim Curtis. The later edited the Space Cowboys anthology that contains my short story "Love under a purple Sky." The wings I had weren't great, but the sweet potato fried were pretty good.

I arrived early enough at the conference, where Nate recognized and greeted me, to help carry in comestibles before taking a seat in the lobby where I chatted briefly with Dave Butler. I didn't get to go to any panels or presentations he was on because I was scheduled to be on other panels at the same time. Dave West was there and we conversed, but again, I didn't get to see any of his panels.

I sat on panels about how to handle exposition, what to do about writer's block, and how to make the most of your writing time; I moderated a panel on writing short stories (what with that being almost all I've written during the preceding year).

Several of the Raconteur Press gang were there, including Jonna Hayden, Mike Burke, Rich Cutler, Nick Nethery, Wally Waltner, and others. Nick provided the highlight of the conference for me when he told me how much he enjoyed my Whip and Truth stories in the Wyrd West anthologies he edited. His dad particularly liked the characters. I hadn't been aware that he edited all three of those anthologies. I did not punch Wally, although I told him I should, for rejecting my submission for the Magic Malfunction anthology.

 The other memorable highlight was signing the contract with Raconteur Press for my adventure book for boys and finalizing the title. If all goes as planned, it should come out in November. Jonna assured me that the contract paragraph requiring loss of a digit for missing deadlines in the process was purely for shock effect and only seldom enforced.

 I had the most fun with the panel on making the most of your writing time. At one point, the lady moderating the panel held my paper nameplate in front of my face and told me I was done talking--I wasn't. I think it was during the time I was advising the young male writers on the importance of finding a wife who was devoted to them and their children and who would support them in setting aside undisturbed time for writing that she tried to cut me off. Later, she did tell me that I was fun to work with. I think she was sincere because we did laugh a lot, and I had to agree with her.

I attended some good presentations and panels, but the time spent meeting and visiting informally with other authors was an even better investment of time. I had nice conversations with Herman Hunter, Jared Garrett, and James Totten--among others. The only dark spot on the event was that I didn't get invited to a dinner or gaming session at the conclusion of the conference. Maybe I'm not as fun as I think.

 

 

Fred Phillips

 Interview with Fred Phillips

Author of

The Gold and Fire Series and more

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I have two projects that I hope to get across the finish line before the end of the year. One is the second book in the "Gold and Fire" series, which will be launching with "Dreams of Gold and Fire" from Raconteur Press on July 30. I think I have the title for the sequel in my head, but I'm not quite ready to commit yet. Things are always subject to change in the writing process, but I can say for sure that it will involve gold and fire. I plan to write the third book in 2026, and I'm pretty certain that it will be titled "Knight of Gold and Fire." That's as far as I have things planned, and that plan is only loose at this point. After that, we'll see where the story goes. Of course, it will be up to Raconteur when or if the others will be published.

The second project is a western fantasy for adults titled "No Man's Son." It features my magic wielding gunslinger Bartimaeus, who you can read about in "Blackhand" from the Rac Press Wyrd West: Cursed Canyon anthology. The first draft is done, and I'm currently letting it rest a bit before the second draft, which is my usual process.

There's also another fantasy novel that I finished in late 2024 that's making its rounds to potential publishers now. It's part "Monster Hunter"-style urban fantasy and part portal fantasy. Fingers crossed, I'll have some good news to report on that, too. If not, I'll likely go the self-pub route somewhere down the road. Sequels to it are planned, but on the backburner for now as I'm more focused on Gold and Fire for the immediate future.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?
The idea for "Dreams of Gold and Fire" goes back to my teenage years in the 1980s. It was originally written as a short story called "Golden Rewards." I never really liked that title, but those have always been a challenge for me. It was a much simpler tale then, about a boy who runs away from home and meets a dragon, a mythical creature that he's been teased and chastised for dreaming about. It was the first story that I ever felt comfortable submitting for publication. It got rejected, a lot.
The novel version started life around 2012 and was inspired by my own son. He was about six or seven, and he had this game he would play where he would ask really silly questions. When you would tell him that what he was asking about couldn't happen, he'd always respond with, "but what if it did?" That optimism found its way into the main character Aron, and the theme of the book became more about following your dreams no matter what the obstacles were. In earlier versions of the novel, I actually used my son's name for the character, but in the end, I didn't think it fit with the world, so I went back to the original name of Aron from the short story. (There's now a character in another of my worlds named after my son, so he still gets his moment, too.)

When Raconteur Press opened their call for boys' adventure books last year, I thought that the book was a perfect fit, so I pulled it out, polished it up and sent it in. Luckily, they thought it was a good fit, too.

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes, I do. I've published stories in fantasy, science fiction, horror, horror comedy, and – believe it or not – the first story I sold back in 1998 was a romance. I'd say fantasy is my primary genre, with horror secondary (and it's usually closer to dark fantasy). The other genres are more rare, and I doubt that I'll ever write another romance since that one was kind of accidental. But never say never.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

I spent about 20 years in the newspaper business, and over that time, I talked to a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds with many different perspectives. Translating what was often an hour or more's worth of conversation into a relatively short and digestible article that still managed to show who they were brought a focus to my fiction writing as well. I don't think there are many wasted words in what I write. The story is constantly moving forward.
I think it also gave me an ear for conversation, which makes the dialogue a little more natural and helps me bring a voice to my characters.
The downside to that, of course, is the "just the facts" approach that was ingrained in journalism sometimes spills over  a bit too much into what I write, so I have to work to see the places where maybe a little more description is needed or where I might need to dive a little deeper into the details.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I've always been very passionate about music, in particular heavy metal. I play guitar (very poorly) myself and at one time had rock star dreams. Luckily, I'm a better writer than musician. I'm the kind of guy who gets annoyed when people try to talk to me while a favorite song is playing or when I go to a concert and the people behind me try to continue their conversation over the music.

A lot of my inspiration for writing comes from music. I often find the seed of a story, or even a novel, in a random song lyric. The end story usually has no connection whatsoever to the song. The lyric sparks the idea, which takes on a life of its own and leads me down another path.

That said, for those who know, there are always some musical Easter eggs hidden in my stories. Sometimes they're fairly obvious, other times you have to put two and two together, but they're almost always there.  

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I spend a lot of quiet time in the woods or on the water, which is often where my stories take shape. That's where I twist and turn the ideas and try to mold them into something interesting. Some of those ideas hang around for a long time. Obviously, the idea behind "Dreams of Gold and Fire" was born in the late 1980s. "No Man's Son" has been kicking around in my head for at least six or seven years. I have one idea that I'm about 25,000 words into that I've been playing around with for about 35 years. It will absolutely be finished and published one day, even if I have to do it myself.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?
I'm not sure that he's necessarily underrated in the grand scheme of things, but at least in the U.S., I rarely hear people talk about the late great David Gemmell. He was a big influence on me, and I think his name belongs in the conversation with the greats of the fantasy genre. If you read my stories about Bartimaeus and you've read Gemmell's Stones of Power books, you'll definitely see the shadow of Jon Shannow looming large in the background.

The thing that I love about Gemmell is his heroes are gritty, but at the same time, they don't really cross over into grimdark territory. He also understood that real heroes don't go on adventure after adventure for 25 or 30 books. For most, there are only a few moments of often-reluctant heroism, and I think he captured that well.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

The only one that's out there right now that's all mine is "Dreams of Gold and Fire." I'd recommend it because it's a simple, classic adventure tale. It's filled with action and fueled by hopes and dreams. My only goal when I sit down to write something is to tell a good story, and this book is a perfect example of that. It's fun, and it's the kind of thing that I would have loved to read when I was a kid. I think it can be enjoyed by the eight-year-old who is looking for something magical and exciting or the 50-year-old who is an adventure and dragon-loving kid at heart.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

After writing for most of my life, I actually gave up on it for about a decade. The short version of the story is that I finished my fourth book around 2000. It was, at the time, far and away the best thing I'd ever written, and I was convinced it was "the one." I sent it to hundreds of publishers and agents, and it was soundly rejected by every single one. It crushed me, and I decided that I just wasn't very good at this.

I returned to writing about 10 years later, but even then, it was just because I needed it. I wasn't that interested in submitting to publishers and didn't for another 10 or 11 years. In 2021, I saw an open call for dragon stories from Wolfsinger Publications. It turned out that I knew the editor from one of the early online writing groups I'd been in. I had a story titled "Domestic Dispute" that had been accepted by three different publications back in the late 1990s, and every single one of them had gone out of business before the story was published. I polished it, sent it in (with a tongue-in-cheek warning about its history), and it got accepted for a collection called "Crunchy with Chocolate." That inspired me to write a story for another anthology, and while it got rejected for that one, it was picked up by a different publisher. That really got the ball rolling for me again.
Around the same time, I discovered the WriterDojo Facebook group, which was fairly new, and found inspiration among the folks there. It was also where I first heard about Raconteur Press. Once I got published with Rac Press, it was off to the races, and I've been writing and submitting like crazy again ever since.

What’s it like being a Raconteur Press author? What can you tell us about the process involved in getting published by Rac Press?

When I found Raconteur Press, I really felt like I found my literary home. They have been fantastic with the short stories that I've had accepted in their anthologies, and everyone that I've worked with has been absolutely amazing through the process of publishing my first novel. They care about their authors and are willing to invest time and effort into making them successful, which is something that's become kind of rare in publishing these days. Where a lot of people are looking for the next big thing, they're willing to put in the time to try to develop you into the next big thing.
I've also never seen a publisher that's as honest and open with their authors. Sales and royalties are an open book, and you can view them any time. The contracts are simple and straightforward with no heavy legalese, and if you have a question, you can get a straight answer quickly.
They're growing like wildfire, and there's a cool community of writers and editors behind the scenes. If you have something that fits one of their open calls, I can't recommend them more highly.  

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

Would you like this million dollars that I have laying around? I think that would be a fantastic question to hear at least once.

Seriously, though, I think it would be around finally finding some success at writing later in life. Just recently, I talked to a writer on social media who was saying that she just turned 50 and hadn't been able to sell a book yet. She was asking the community if she should just give it up. The answer to that, for me, is a resounding no. I gave it up for a long time, and it was a huge mistake. I often wonder where my career might be if I had continued to write with the same drive that I had before that failure. It's one of the greatest regrets of my life.

On the other hand, getting the initial note from Cedar Sanderson at Raconteur earlier this year telling me that they were interested in publishing "Dreams of Gold and Fire" was one of the highest points in my life. I never would have experienced that if I'd given it up forever.
If being a writer is really your dream, I can promise that if you give up, you will look back on it with regret. I had my most successful year as a writer at the age of 51, and I'll be 52 when my first novel comes out. I don't care if you're 70 or 80 or 90, it's worth it for that shining moment that an editor says to you, "this is really good, and we want to publish it."

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

I don't really have a catch phrase or a go-to quote, but I often speak in quotes from "The Princess Bride," "Star Wars," and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," among others. It's amazing how often they have something perfect for the situation. Inconceivable, you might say.

People can find Fred at https://fredwritesfantasy.com and https://fredwphillips.substack.com. 

____________________________

Thanks to Fred for participating. I'm happy to point out that the two Raconteur Press anthologies he chose to include in the pictures to accompany his interview both contain stories by me. Fred and I have more in common than he knows, and perhaps we're about to have more in common.

I'm at Writers Cantina. It's Pioneer Day in this country, and fireworks are going off all around tonight as I write this. Earlier, I attended an informal dinner get together not far from my hotel. There were no casualties, as far as I know. I also got to chat with a couple authors, including the editor of the anthology pictured below. He even remembered that it also included one of my stories.

As far as writing goes, I've got a new story in the works. I sent off a story this week and will send off another next week.

 

5 Golden Rings

 It's done. Child number 5 has entered the hallowed halls of wedded bliss. There's no guarantee on the earthly duration of the bliss, but if ignorance is also bliss, then turning a blind eye to many little annoyances should help. However, somethings are a very big deal. I shared with son-in-law that much of the rest of his life will be spent in discovering that many things he took for granted or never gave much thought to are now, in fact, a very big deal. The information will frequently come as a complete surprise to him; just as it will surprise her that he could've failed to realize a thing so obvious to her. They're in for some good times.

The wedding took place in the morning, followed by a luncheon, and then a reception in the evening. I shot a picture of one of the few outdoor decorations at the reception venue because nothing says matrimony like hyper-salivating lions.

We had all our children together again, and they had good news to share. 

We had a nice hike in this alien landscape:

 While the young ones chose to explore a cave, I elected to go up the red rocks--what with it getting dark and there being a marked lack of flashlights among us--as I didn't think there would be much to see by the light of a phone in the obscure, subterranean recesses--except for gargoyles. I watched Gargoyles with Cornell Wilde (he wasn't watching with me; he was in the movie) during workouts a few weeks ago and I knew I did not want to meet one or more gargoyles in the dark with only a water bottle and a phone light as my primary weapons. Maybe...if the water was holy water and the phone light was a ray of turning with a +2 flash causing cringing fear... but I digress.

 I didn't meet any any bipedal lizards and therefore didn't attempt to make a primitive cannon, and the spelunkers emerged sans gargoyle companions. It was an evening well spent.

Prior to the exploration expedition and after succumbing to a nap brought on by the earlier activities, I had a brainstorm while cogitating about a new short story. I've got the main character, now I have to hammer out a little trauma, drama, and dream to forge a tale of mystery and adventure that will smack the reader right between the eyebrows.

Next week, it's Writers Cantina. 

 

 

 

 

Viking Cruise to Jerusalem

 

Fun Fact:

Sigurd I became king of Norway at 13 when an Irish axe ended his father's life. He received the crown jointly with his two half brothers, Eystein and Olaf, the latter being a toddler. At 17, Sigurd agreed to lead an expeditionary force to the Mediterranean and Eystein agreed to rule the kingdom while Sigurd was away. In 1177, Sigurd took 60 longships and sailed away (without meeting any extra-terrestrials who sang for him to Come Sail Away.) 

Sigurd spend some months in England before sailing south and put in at Galicia for another winter. The Norwegians had difficult times when the supply arrangements with a local earl fell through and they had to forage for provisions. Sigurd plundered the offending earl's castle and set sail again. They soon encountered a fleet of Muslim pirates--seizing eight of the galleys and scattering the rest. Sigurd then stopped off in Portugal to plunder a Muslim castle at Sintra and executed the occupants. The fun continued with a raid on a castle south of Lisbon and a battle with Muslim corsairs near Gibraltar. 

He followed that by bringing a taste of Norway to the black pirates at Formentera in the Baleric Islands. The pirates taunted Sigurd from their walled caves, and Sigurd responded by throwing a housewarming party. He had two small boats hauled to the clifftops, where he filled them with men and had them lowered into the mouth of the caves. While the Norwegians gifted the pirates with stones and arrow, Sigurd led a climbing expedition from below. On arrival, they tore down the walls and set fires to smother the caves with smoke. They killed the pirates and took more loot there than at any other rest stop.

 Sigurd continued the pillage party at Ibiza and Menorca before reaching Sicily in 1110. On his arrival in the waters of Palestine, Sigurd took aim at the Fatimid city of Ascalon. The Muslims refused to come out to party, so Sigurd has his crew drop him at Jaffa while they sailed on to Acre. At Jaffa, he met Baldwin I and the two of them headed for Jerusalem. 

Although the crusader state holdings has expanded, there were places like Ascalon, Tyre, and Sidon which continued to hold out. Sigurd took his fleet to blockade Sidon from the sea, and Baldwin brought his army by land to storm the walls. Sidon surrendered on December 4. 

Sigurd seemed to feel like he had done his part to liberate the holy land, and left for Norway. He stopped in Constantinople where he was feted extravagantly by Emperor Alexios. Sigurd traded in his ships for horses and made his way across country to Denmark, where he was given a ship for a happy return to Norway. Although he was later subject to hallucinations and panic attacks, he governed peaceably with his brothers and outlived them both.

--The above information was condensed from chapter 10 of Dan Jones' Crusaders. 

I found Dan Jones' history podcast this weekend on Amazon. Although I enjoyed them, the ones I've listened to so far lack the the depth and detail to make them really great.

__________

This week took us to Coeur d'Alene, the homestead, and back to Byzantium. We passed through the other fabled land where I almost accepted a job offer and my traveling companion assured me that I had made the right choice.

I finished a short story and got it off to my Skirmish Team, and I trimmed two hundred words from another story and also sent it to the team. We're on the road again next week and the week after.

 

Independence Day 2025

 

It was Independence Day. The Fourth of July. The ogygia of summer. I name it the latter, not because we're trapped there and must choose between Calypso and escape, but because it is the center point about which summer revolves. In Byzantium this year, it brought dark clouds and rain.

We usually get our own fireworks to celebrate our right to watch our money become transformed into disappointing fountains of sparks of various ilk, but this year we did something that I don't recall having done before. We watched A Capitol Fourth on PBS. There were non-obnoxious musical acts on or near the White House lawn. They sang patriotic songs, had military bands and anthems, and presented old and new talent. People who wanted to celebrate America attended, waived little flags, sang along, and enjoyed themselves. Even the hosts repeated, "God Bless America," without fear or concern of offense. The fireworks display afterward as the Beach Boys sang a medley of favorites, with other singing and instrumentals, including Sousa's patriotic presentations, brought the celebration to a climax. It was spectacular.

We've experienced the pinnacle of summer. From here on it's a reluctant but inevitable slide down the slippery pole of glorious summer into the heap of leaves we call fall.  

As part of my celebration of Independence Day, I've reduced the prices on most of my ebooks to $3.99 and Truth in Flames, book 5 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series to just $2.99.

It's the book that covers the Declaration of Independence and the battle in words and deeds to set forth and preserve the important truths. You'll hate yourself for not getting it - or not. Anything's possible. It's the book that made Iago a favorite character for some, or maybe that was the previous book. It's hard to keep track of the exciting adventures.

In other news, Raconteur Press has expressed a desire to publish my adventure book for boys. That's fabulous news! 

 

 

Goblin Souk

 

 Goblin Souk has finally materialized from shimmering mirage on the sands into solid form in paperback and ebook. Quaff from the many flavors of the Near East, ancient and otherwise, with this anthology of stories set in mysterious marketplaces. My story, "A Soldier's Bargain," sees three of Napoleon's infantrymen under attack and looking for refuge find their way to a bazaar that will effect their fates in this life and the next.

Fun Fact:

Before Christmas in 1099, Bohemond of Antioch and Baldwin of Edessa made a miserable 250 mile trip to Jerusalem, plagued by cold, rainstorms, hunger, and bandits. They arrived at a city ruled by Baldwin's brother Godrey and smothered in stench of the dead. Godrey had taken the title of Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. On receiving his appointment, Godrey had marched out to Ascalon where Al-Afdal was assembling the army that had failed to relieve Jerusalem from the crusaders' earlier assault. He defeated the Fatimid army and put Al-Afdal to flight. He also had acquired a shard of the True Cross from the priests who had guarded it at the Holy Sepulchre. 

Bohemond and Baldwin brought with them Daimbert, the archbishop of Pisa. In Jerusalem, he was appointed Patriarch in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At Christmas he blessed Bohemond as Prince of Antioch and struck down Byzantine claims to Antioch. Bohemond had made promises to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios that he would turn Antioch over to him. Daimbert retroactively sanctioned Bohemond's violation of the promise. 

Although he had received holy blessings and had his repudiated oaths sanctioned, all would not be well for Bohemond. In August of 1100 he was taken prison while on campaign in northeast Asia Minor and not released until nearly two years later on payment of a tremendous ransom. In late 1100, Godfrey died, and Baldwin of Edessa was crowned King of Jerusalem on December 25. Baldwin campaigned against the Fatimids and began building a genuine crusader kingdom.

The above information was taken from chapter 9 of Dan Jone's Crusaders. 

--Truth in Flames is sale on now for the 4th of July. 

 

 

The Count's Mansion

As part of the road trip to take care of things at Le Chateau au Chat Gris, we had to play the next installment of the adventure that started with the Cursed Ruins and the Cauldron of Mystery. Le Freres Corses were looking to meet with the Count who hired them to get the flask of fluid from the cauldron. I hadn't prepared anything yet, so I put something together on the fly.

Charo and Gretel arrived back at the Count's mansion and immediately discovered that it wasn't going to be as easy as provided in their Anticipation Proclamation. A mouthy guard at the gate demanded to see some ID and the Wizard Gretel obliged him by zapping the head of a statute beside the doorway. The helpful guard then offered to take the flask to the Count himself. 

Charo nearly gave him the flask--which would've resulted in a locked door and no reward for their efforts. They finally convinced the guard that they had to take it in themselves. The guard then took them inside the mansion and introduced them to Brutus, who took them to the next room and introduced them to Elmo. He took them to the next room and introduced them to Aero who sent them across the bridge over the troubled water to meet with the Count and Spearo, his personal guard.

Now that they were in the Count's chamber, they naively handed over the flask without getting payment. With flask in hand, the Count became highly uncooperative. The verbal struggle transitioned away from words to deeds when the Count ordered Spearo to employ his namesake weapon against the adventurers with extreme prejudice. As one might expect, our heroes reacted badly. In the fracas that followed, the Count proved entirely inept in using the flask against Charo and Gretel, while they proved adept at dealing with Spearo. Charo used the same zap spell he had used on the statute, and it produced permanent results on Spearo. At the latter's death, the Count became congenial and had Aero pay the heroes the promised funds with a little something extra to smooth over the misunderstanding.

Of course, once they were out of range, he rang the bell and ordered room service of the lethal variety be delivered to Charo and Gretel, and disappeared down a secret passage. They ran across the bridge, successfully passing their challenge rolls against finding the collapsing portion of the bridge. Once on the other side, Aero discharged some parting gifts--arrows--but the presence of Spearo's corpse apparently spoiled his aim. 

The adventurers fought their way out of the mansion with their skillful weapon-handling aided by Charo's fire-spraying-ring and Gretel's spells. The wizard was forced down to his last hero point to avoid a serious wound. He did find a mechanical dog, but he couldn't activate it. He also discovered a stuffed gryphon's head and a secret passage. Gretel managed to get himself trapped in the secret passage for two or three turns while Charo loosed his wrath on the wounded Aero and Brutus. Finally, they got out and dispatched the last guard at the gate. However, Charo, never one to let potential loot go unliberated--especially when the owner has tried to kill him--carried out the gryphon head. He doesn't realize it, but selling that item will lead the Count and his new, more powerful minions to the pair of adventurers.