They moved as fast as they could, which wasn’t fast at all. Lanston and Sebas took turns dragging Robert after the others. Sebas didn’t have much muscle being a pampered noble, dragging him along for mere moments before complaining about his a...
2022-05-20 21:10:17 +0000 UTC View PostRobert dismounted first, a hand on his sword as he waited for the others to follow. He motioned for Lanston to come closer. “Any idea what it is?”
“No.” Eyes wide with curiosity, the lanky young man would have walked right up to it i...
2022-05-18 21:18:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe initiate was a kind of slow torture for Robert Quintana. Trained by a former royal knight, being grouped with the young and mediocre casters that made up the initiates felt like an insult. A waste of his time, without a doubt. But as his teach...
2022-05-18 21:18:00 +0000 UTC View PostOnce the mamaroons I spied coming out of the ground disappear, I transform into an ooze and moved forward. This form isn’t from this world. No way they recognize it as a threat.
In the form of a blob, I roll over to where the mamaroons eme...
2022-05-16 21:01:12 +0000 UTC View PostI circle the area, looking for traces of monsters. The spotted doglike creatures have moved on but I can see their tracks and the remains of their meal. I pick up the bloody corpse of a mamaroon by the tail.
It has a long, sinuous body. Incr...
2022-05-16 21:01:11 +0000 UTC View PostNo one ever expects death from above.
I don’t know who’s more surprised, the monster whose head I landed on or the initiates I saved. You’d think the monster but the weight of my enhanced form and momentum of the jump drove its head to...
2022-05-13 22:51:36 +0000 UTC View PostWe all take a break. Geneva heals Alana’s scrapes and bruises. Unfortunately, I don’t have to persuadeher to accept this time. Arthur magics up a couple of bowls and William fills them with water. I thought about cooking up the bird b...
2022-05-13 22:51:33 +0000 UTC View PostA ‘film’ comes down over my eyes and the vague shadow resolves into the largest bird I’ve ever seen. A very strange bird. The thing has an extra pair of feet, two smaller talons on its upper chest. Its brown feathers have a metallic sheen to...
2022-05-13 22:51:32 +0000 UTC View PostA silence stretches between us as we catch up to the others. If left to Alana, it might drag on for the rest of the qualifier. She seems uncomfortable around me now, though she can’t keep her eyes away, sneaking little glances over her shoulder ...
2022-05-13 22:51:30 +0000 UTC View Post“Nothing’s wrong,” she says tersely, refusing to look at me.
“Huh. I’d be inclined to believe you if you weren’t so obviously angry about something.”
“I’m not angry. My hand hurts.”
“Then let Bell heal it....
2022-05-11 20:15:00 +0000 UTC View PostI slow down as I approach the road, quickly taking in the situation. Five people on the ground, my team all on their feet. Another guide standing further up the road, unmoving. Geneva further down the road, taking her sweet time approaching now th...
2022-05-11 20:14:59 +0000 UTC View Post“Oi!”
A heavy hand on her shoulder jolted Alana from her thoughts. She tore her arm from Marthe’s grip and faced a scowling Arthur. “What?”
“What do you mean what? Are you blind, woman?” He raised a hand and she followed ...
2022-05-09 20:36:05 +0000 UTC View PostAlana sighed as Lou’s figure was swallowed by a dust cloud, a familiar pang of envy stabbing her heart. She wouldn’t consider herself vain, but she was proud of her talent. It changed the direction of her life. Changed her from a disregarded b...
2022-05-09 20:36:03 +0000 UTC View PostI closely examine the tracks of the doglike monsters and sniff at the ground. I can smell several other somethings, too mixed to be a herd, all headed in the same direction. I’m hoping that means a watering hole. I’ll follow them for now. If n...
2022-05-09 20:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Rusty Step is wholly unimpressive. Nothing but dry reddish-brown earth baking beneath a hot autumn sun. In some areas, the ground is flat as a board. In other places, the dirt is packed into small hills that provide minimum shade. Little spots...
2022-05-09 20:35:57 +0000 UTC View PostAs punishment for fighting the prince, I was temporarily drafted to the tenders and the bastards sent me to the least desired job in the Sanctuary, assisting the Temple.
Specifically, repairing the damaged ring where the lunatics wrestle wit...
2022-04-30 19:52:23 +0000 UTC View Post“How much do you all know about the Beast Sanctuary?”
My eyes move about the carriage. Arthur is smiling to himself as he stares blankly at a wall. I don’t need Bell to tell me that he’s lost in a disgusting delusion, likely involvin...
2022-04-30 19:52:22 +0000 UTC View PostThe next day, the team gathers in front of my house, lured by the temptation of Geneva’s breakfast. We look ready for a day of trouble.
Alana is wearing her usual armor, the gray breastplate showing more dents than I remember. Gauntlets co...
2022-04-27 21:10:03 +0000 UTC View PostI have nothing against him for standing up to Arthur. Saints, I approve. He could have laid my teammate on his ass and I’d have bought the arrogant bastard a drink.
But the way he’s treating Alana? I could snap his neck. Who does he thin...
2022-04-25 22:21:19 +0000 UTC View PostOnce again, I stand outside the Center Hall, staring at large signs proclaiming the team registration areas. My team is gathered around me, some more awake than others at the early hour. Alana insisted we leave early to avoid the crowd. That faile...
2022-04-25 22:21:18 +0000 UTC View PostAn hour later, my team is gathered around my dining table. There are two empty bottles of Herbanacle between us, which for once I’m not responsible for emptying, and several empty platters of food.
It should have been a simple game. Someth...
2022-04-22 19:16:27 +0000 UTC View Post“Upset you didn’t get a chance to fight?” I ask her.
She scoffs. “As if. I like hurting stupid nobles who don’t know when to shut their disgusting mouths or keep their hands to themselves. I don’t need to fight a woman capable of...
2022-04-22 19:16:26 +0000 UTC View Post“As you’ve seen,” I say in a nonchalant tone as if I don’t notice their disbelief, “along with my casting abilities, I am very strong and durable. So much so that I can confidently say that without magical aide, no one in the Ha...
2022-04-20 18:15:51 +0000 UTC View PostEven I feel a little damage from that and she’s indirectly complimenting me. I hear Marthe snort in amusement, which is the final straw.
“Raahhh! Forget the stakes! We’re fighting now. You’re going to eat those words when I knock her...
2022-04-18 15:40:35 +0000 UTC View PostIf I were any less shameless than I am, I’d be too embarrassed to stand in front of my team after they no doubt heard my wife railing me. Probably felt it too. Our bed is sturdy and I know the house suffered from the frame slamming into the wall...
2022-04-18 15:40:31 +0000 UTC View Post“I say we grab her ourselves,” Arthur said, moving toward the stairs. “Our teammate seems to be in distress. It’s the right thing to do.”
William looked at him aghast. His eyes clearly wanted to ask, ‘Since when do you care about...
2022-04-15 14:54:58 +0000 UTC View PostAlana’s day started off as it always did. Habit woke her up before dawn and she fought the possessive hands of sleep to get out of bed. The room offered to her by the Hall was by no means luxurious. It had enough space for a small bed, a single ...
2022-04-15 14:54:54 +0000 UTC View PostI wake to Kierra caressing my neck with a finger. Noticing my blinking eyes, her hand grabs my chin and tilts it up so she can kiss me. “Morning~” she whispers after several long moments.
I respond by kissing her. She responds eagerly, r...
2022-04-14 01:09:26 +0000 UTC View PostIf she couldn’t hear the hiss of Lane’s spell and the deputies’ curses as they fought against what had to be a master assassin who’d disguised himself as a skinny boy, Alyssa might have been fooled by the little girl. As it was, she wasn...
2022-04-12 18:04:16 +0000 UTC View PostAs soon as they arrived at the estate, Alyssa’s lax attitude disappeared. It wasn’t the scene of an accident or a spell gone wrong. It was the scene of a fight and a vicious one. The garden surrounding the house was completely scorched and she...
2022-04-11 21:41:47 +0000 UTC View Post