From Medieval Mobsters
No Foreign Games
A Thornwall card game challenges the Red Door crew's nerve—and teaches Mikey that the real business is the crowd waiting to see what happens next.
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A few doors worth opening
Which world will you wander into?
New here? Follow your curiosity. Already know the way? Your people are waiting.
A seat by the fire
The Rusty Tankard
Four misfits, one goat, and mysteries nobody sensible would volunteer to solve.
Fantasy mysteries · Start with Book 1 Step inside
The Red Door is open
Medieval Mobsters
Six New York wiseguys introduce Thornwall to cocktails, pizza, and the family business.
Portal comedy · Adult language Step inside
Please report to reception
Sunset Dominion
Former evil overlords. Current residents. Linda has already prepared the incident forms.
Retired villains · The Retirement Home for Evil Overlords Step inside
Now hiring at the Spit Bucket
Dante Raises the Dead
A bar, an infernal debt, and employees who are unusually relaxed about being dead.
Dark fantasy comedy · Adult language Step insideA Glimpse Beyond the Books
Two complete stories. Yours free.
Step into two of Julian's worlds tonight. Each tale includes the complete text and its ElevenLabs narrated edition after a one-time email unlock.
From The Retirement Home for Evil Overlords
A Friendly Game of Empire
Five former overlords, one property board, and control of the common-room thermostat. Mordechai Grimm is absolutely not playing.
Unlock this story →The Flagship Realm
Commonly Known as
The Rusty Tankard
A fantasy mystery-comedy series where the same party tackles systems that work too well, and every escape costs something.
Pull up a chair. The locals have a story, Nyx has questions, and Rolan has already volunteered everyone.
The Quest Board
Choose your next disaster
Each mystery stands on its own. Start at the beginning for every bad decision, recurring grievance, and goat-related vote.
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A blizzard seals the tavern. A giant kicks the door in, demanding to know who slept with his wife. The prime suspect volunteers to lead the investigation. Book 1—free on Barnes & Noble.
View book →Fantasy Mystery Book 1 -
A comedic fantasy mystery about a village that is impossibly welcoming—where every path is swept, every smile is warm, and every invitation to stay feels a little too sincere.
View book →Fantasy Mystery Book 2 -
A grand dinner at Babbington Manor ends in an impossible locked-room murder. With every guest guarding a secret, Nyx and her misfit companions must untangle the evidence before the household chooses its own culprit.
View book →Fantasy Mystery Book 3 -
A leaking ship, a hold full of beauty supplies, and a noblewoman who stopped writing home. Nyx follows the missing letters to Venara, where looking the part seems to matter rather too much.
View book →Fantasy Mystery Book 4
Meet the Company
Four adventurers.
One goat. No good plan.
They rarely agree on the plan, the name of the party, or whether the goat gets a vote. They do agree that leaving each other behind would be rude.
See the whole Rusty Tankard series
Rogue · Investigator
Nyx
Find the exits. Count the lies. Save the idiots.
Paladin · Paperwork Pending
Rolan
Sandy-blond, sincere, and already halfway into a speech.
Pyromancer · Hazard
Fizzle
Every fire is educational if you stand far enough back.
Barbarian · Poet
Bash
Carries the gear. Writes the haiku. Breaks the door.
Goat · Deciding Vote
Gerald
Eats the evidence. Rejects the grass. Usually knows first.
Other Realms
Step through another doorway
Different worlds. The same fondness for institutions that are functioning exactly as designed—and should not be.
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Dante wanted to be somebody. He should have been more specific. Now he owns the worst bar in Asura, employs a workforce that does not strictly qualify as living, and owes a debt that cannot be settled in money.
Adult comedy. The language is as questionable as the decisions.
View book →Comic Fantasy -
In a hidden retirement community for defeated dark lords and mad scientists, a newly deposed emperor refuses to retire and triggers a crisis that could collapse the only place built to contain them.
View book →Comic Fantasy -
Recently ReleasedSix wiseguys. One medieval city. Zero questions asked. When six New York mobsters walk out of a Hell's Kitchen basement into a city of knights and guilds, they do not look for a way home. They look for the angles.
Adult comedy. The language is as questionable as the decisions.
View book →Comic Fantasy
A Letter from Beyond the Map
One email. Both stories. Then the occasional dispatch.
The same address unlocks both bonus stories and reopens them on any device you use. After that: new releases, lost adventures, and occasional news from beyond the map.
No daily ravens. Leave the list whenever you like.
About the Author
Julian Herschel
Darkly comic fantasy mysteries where strange systems look polite on the surface and rotten underneath.
Perfect villages. Manor-house secrets. A party of misfits commonly known as the Rusty Tankard.