'Miri had become… obsessed with this book, obsessed with Tristram. She'd discovered a rumour that it was sometimes possible to travel into the book,' said the Chief.

Ari raised an eyebrow despite her usual self-control.

'You don't believe me,' he said.

'Well… It's a book, Sir, not Buckingham Palace.'

Agent Ari Lee's latest mission, whether she wants to accept it or not, is to retrieve the Chief's daughter from the fantasy romance 'Rosalind by Any Other Name'.

Luckily, she has the companionship of Claribel, a minor villainess whose body she's taken over, to help navigate the unfamiliar world. Can they find the girl before they are reported for spirit possession and burned at the stake? Why has Tristram disappeared? And who is pulling the strings?

Character-driven; plot-heavy; romance-light.

Single POV. Updates every Sunday. Inspired by non-combat games such as Disco Elysium and Pentiment.

This story takes place in a medieval-inspired setting, featuring elemental magic, city exploration and a murder mystery.

Cover: BenmoranArtist. All illustrations: @bactewia.

[In accordance with the new content warning rules: contains characters with alcohol addiction, as the story deals with the after-effects of war; contains slavery and its impacts on politics/society, but does not contain any romance with slave characters.]

Contains:

- a murder mystery, leading to various political/ideological plots;

- heavy doses of platonic friendship;

- a lighter dose of slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance;

- a mix of medieval slice-of-life moments and short action scenes.

Does not contain:

- points and stats;

- different character classes;

- interactions with the system within the world of 'Rosalind by Any Other Name'.

Arc One: murder mystery (~150,000 words)

Arc Two: heist

At the end of Arc Two, multiple decisions will appear, leading to multiple Arc Threes, allowing you to explore different elements of the world. Each of those will be serialised in turn.

Cross-posted on Scribblehub.