Shauba’s Tale
(WRITING AS YANCY BALL)
Book One: The Half's Way
When her orcish father is killed, Shauba, a lusty and bellicose woodcutter, is invited to visit his tribal home for his death rites and embrace her Red Tusk heritage. Finally, she will have the chance to be with people just like her. People who love and accept her, and who are also great in the sack.
The problem is that the Red Tusks are on the verge of a disastrous war, as always, and orcs aren’t big on love and acceptance. To make matters worse, Shauba, and her best, smartest, and only friend Mikel, decide to stop this guaranteed slaughter from happening.
As her father warned her, orcs love war, and they will lie, steal and murder to get what they want. But Shauba is determined to keep her tribe alive, even if she has to fight them to do it.
Note: The Half’s Way is available FREE on Smashwords. On Amazon, it is bundled with Book Two: Heist at Highridge.
Book Two: Heist at Highridge
Shauba, Mikel, and their new friend Danica, visit the town of Caddroch, tasked with meeting a sage to study the sole known copy of the Treaty of Great Wallamous. The two-century old Treaty binds Shauba’s Red Tusk orc tribe in alliance with her human home, Hillcrest March. Their quest seems like a simple one. But some folks in Caddroch are not too keen on having a person of the orcish persuasion in their town, especially after a recent act of banditry for which orcs are the prime suspects. To complicate matters, getting their hands on the text turns out to be harder than they thought. It is being auctioned off by one of the wealthiest (and shadiest) men in town.
The unexpected appearance of Quin Wallams, cousin to Hillcrest’s Marchlord, seems to help. Shauba is instantly drawn to the mysterious stranger. But is Quin a friend-with-benefits, a foe-with-benefits, or something in between?
Book Three: The Fulcrum
Shauba, her companions, and their patron, the orc matriarch Lash, now have a map to the tomb of the evil wizard Wallamous. There is power to be found in the tomb – power great enough to protect the Red Tusk tribe from its enemies. But since Shauba believes the Wallams family might kill to get their map back, partnering with Wallamses on a quest to raid the tomb has its risks.
Ten skilled and courageous adventurers – humans and orcs, former rivals and lovers – could make the journey across a frozen landscape overrun by hostile orc tribes. But the two-century-old tomb contains a secret that no one expected. And that secret, once revealed, could shatter the balance that holds together this fragile alliance between humans and orcs.
Or it could make them into heroes.