The Winners!

"Someone may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it."

-Steve Prefontaine, proto-Old School gamer.

The winners of the Jack Vance Writing Contest are:

perdustin:

Dear Pfenning, this presumption is unbecoming! I regard myself a grandee of discernment and propriety! If I expend a terce or two, it is only to cultivate the goodwill of the townsfolk. Are we rude mermelants, covetous of one another's turnips, or are we men fortunate enough to share the abundant joys of life?

etc.

and

ScrivenerB:

My disposition is choleric, not sour. Nor is it habitual; it is entirely occasioned on finding your image here, inspecting the contents of my treasure vaults. Is this gratitude, to make use of my own gift to spy on my chambers?

etc. etc.

Each received a small (quite) gift certificate from RPGNow to purchase Proteus Sinking or another product of their choice.

In my opinion, the multiple entries of the above writers were pretty brilliant. You may find the others in the comments section of the original post.

Have either of you thought of going the Michael Shea route?

Congratulations again!

On a related note, vfults was the winner of the Seven Voyages of Zylarthen Name Shortening Contest, but I have yet to hear from him or her. Please step forward and claim your prize! Does anyone here know them so they can be reminded?

The deadline is when the sun dies or I go broke, whichever comes first. That should not be reassuring. The sun has been looking quite dim in cold Chicago recently, and I am currently on my third glass of expensive bourbon...

Jack Vance Writing Contest!

Calling all Brains of Earth!

It's a Jack Vance writing contest!

Compose a snippet in the style of Vance, most likely dialogue, but it doesn't have to be, and post it in the comments for this blog post.

Yeah. You actually have to think for this one. But you are one of the Brains...

I'll judge the winner and he or she shall receive a Psychedelic Fantasies adventure PDF from RPGNow, either Proteus Sinking (reviewed in this space a few days ago), or another of your choice.

Okay, the prize is not massive, but though I am a rich man in the ideal, my current account of terces is not extensive in the actual. According to the Gods, this is not atypical. Remind me to ask them about this sometime.

Here are three imitations I wrote myself. The first was composed in slightly altered form for a private letter. I hope the recipient doesn't mind if I make it public. I like it the best. But my wife prefers the third one:

"Your taste is exquisite," said Pantoflac. "My work is the toast of nine worlds. That I am wanted on eight of them is of no account."

"No account?" said his companion.

"No account to me," replied Pantoflac. "Nor to the universe, which I've found to be mute on such things. The true artist is above the material concerns of other men. Expend five terces to refill our flutes and I will elaborate on this theorem."

“The outcome here is inevitable. Surely you know that,” yelled the Dragonette, who while gaining a full one hundred feet on Cudgel since the river, was now noticeably drooping, making only a few short flying hops. “But I grow weary of the chase. Wait for me at the stone by the next turn. I promise you won't feel a thing.”

“Agreed,” yelled Cudgel over his shoulder. “But why not rest awhile yourself? When you recover I shall be waiting for you at the next stone.”

“You are a clever adversary,” replied the Dragonette, “when I eat you it will be with mixed emotions.”

“Not all so clever as that. In error I dropped my money pouch on the other side of the river. Did you see it?"

“Ha ha!” cried the Dragonette. “I find this banter restorative.” And with a spring he was again in the air and quickly began to accelerate.

“I find your person not unappealing,” said the woman. “And I confess to feeling a certain impulse to appreciate it further.”

“I’m truly grateful for that, Madam, as, though I am a wealthy man, I have at the moment but three terces on my person.”

“Then I will have to appreciate it at a distance,” she said laughing, and moved towards the two strangers who had just entered the room.

Apologies if the above doesn't contain a high enough ratio of obscure or invented words. My brain doesn't work that way, and I let my subscription to the OED lapse due to the above mentioned temporary shortage of terces.

It's for the fun of it.

Good luck! And may the Grues remain distracted in your presence!