Quincunx Vol 4

Volume 4 of the collected serial. 

I'm Nathan. I'm a paramedic. I woke up in a world that looks a lot like an old-school computer game, except minus most of the monsters. My new friends can only think of one way to get me home, but it means visiting five special sites in turn. I really didn't expect the first one to give me a non-human form I can switch to and some neat healing abilities I can only use in that form, but, cliche as it is, it got weirder from there. Also, turns out that I'm not the first newcomer, and there are at least two other people from back home here with really powerful magic. For some reason they don't want me to get through the entire Quincunx. My friends are great, and I love aspects of this world and the acceptance of off-the-rails diversity. I wish I could stay but I miss my family and my job is who I am. How do I help my friends with the poison from my world and get home?

Vol 4: Things got bad for a while there, but despite everything we made it to the fourth site, in the Highlands. By now, I owe Serrula more than I could ever possibly repay. I was able to pass on a formula for a potion that will set zombies and mosslings free, and I'd really like some proof it works before I go, so I know the friends who have stood by me through all of this will be safer from the plague from my world. Only one site left after this, and that should be easy, right?

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Dedicated to all the first responders and medical workers out there who are putting their lives (and then some) on the line for our sakes. Thank you. Stay safe.

Content warnings

The antagonists are an environmentalist TERF woman with delusions of divinity, and a gamer-bro with some *phobic and sexist attitudes and a tendency towards bad language. There's an involuntary collective consciousness (milder than Star Trek's Borg), occasional but rare physical violence, and some discussion of life/death/undeath/reality. The main character is a paramedic and medical first-response situations do come up, in clinical but not graphic terms. If you need a warning that this is very LGBTQIA-positive (note the T in that), you won't like anything I write.

Please remember: do not take any of this as medical advice! This is fantasy fiction, and while all efforts have gone into making situations and responses accurate (eg, CPR) please get proper first aid and CPR training and/or seek proper medical attention! The real first responders out there will be much better at helping - that's what they do!

Find It

Free on Scribble Hub! Monday to Friday posts until early May 2025 (Complete and edited!) Also available (for a low price) as low-formatting epubs in 4 volumes in several places, full list at  https://prysmcat.com/quincunx/  UK folks, please note that itch adds VAT, and there's nothing I can do about that: technically speaking, it's a sale of access to a project, which could include material other than just the ebook file. Consider other sources or email me. Every copy sold on itch adds a free community copy!

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Running as a M-F serial on Scribble Hub, starting 18 Nov 2024. Volume 4 includes chapters 98 through 123 plus the epilogue and postscript.