The Adventurers' Journal
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.
Same core party, different traps. Nyx, Rolan, Fizzle, and Bash keep getting dropped into places that are “working” a little too perfectly, then survive by breaking the rules instead of mastering them.
Each book is a contained mystery-adventure with a different social system at its core:
- Invitations with strings attached
- Alibis that become less helpful under pressure
- Perfect places with thoroughly imperfect answers
The reading order below is generated from the current book catalog, so new adventures will appear here as they are added. More Rusty Tankard mysteries are on the way.
Running gag: the party keeps trying to rebrand with more dramatic names, but everyone still calls them some version of “the Rusty Tankard.”
The Route So Far
Follow the trail in reading order
Each stop is a complete mystery. The arguments, grudges, and suspiciously capable goat continue between them.
- Book 1
A broke adventuring party, a furious mountain of a man, and a snowbound tavern full of terrible alibis—this free prequel mystery gives the Rusty Tankards one very bad night.
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Book 2A 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.
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Book 3A 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.
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Book 4 Recently ReleasedThey traded a fortune for a leaking boat, two jobs, and the worst deal anyone has ever called a good deal. On Venara, every beach is perfect, every smile is constant, and Nyx does not trust a single thing.
Choose Your Door