The Last Watch of Mossbarrow: A Cozy Animal Fantasy Novella of Small Hands and Steady Hearts
By Lydia Ann Wolcott
The watchfire at Highthorn has gone dark.
For two nights, the northernmost beacon in Mossbarrow's watch network has failed to appear. There could be a dozen ordinary explanations—bad weather, wet fuel, damaged equipment.
Tella knows better.
The young field mouse keeps Mossbarrow's watch records, and Highthorn's keeper, Rennick, taught her everything she knows about maps, signals, and the importance of writing things down properly. Rennick may neglect his supper, complain endlessly about...
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The watchfire at Highthorn has gone dark.
For two nights, the northernmost beacon in Mossbarrow's watch network has failed to appear. There could be a dozen ordinary explanations—bad weather, wet fuel, damaged equipment.
Tella knows better.
The young field mouse keeps Mossbarrow's watch records, and Highthorn's keeper, Rennick, taught her everything she knows about maps, signals, and the importance of writing things down properly. Rennick may neglect his supper, complain endlessly about bad ink, and postpone repairing his own roof, but he would never let his watchfire fail without leaving a record of why.
So Tella sets out into the autumn rain with Bram, a practical hedgehog who can repair almost anything, and Sedge, an experienced shrew courier who knows the northern roads.
What begins as a journey to check on one missing watchkeeper soon becomes something more complicated. The storms have changed the land. An old road can no longer be trusted. A flooded settlement is struggling to stay dry. And the map Tella has relied on for years no longer matches the ground beneath her feet.
Finding Rennick will take careful observation, cooperation, a few temporary repairs, and the willingness to admit that sometimes the proper way forward is a new one.
The Last Watch of Mossbarrow is a warm, gently adventurous animal cozy-fantasy novella about community, practical courage, old friendships, changing traditions, and the quiet work of looking after one another.
A complete standalone story and prequel to the Mossbarrow cozy fantasy novella series.
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