Saying goodbye to Floe and Gelo a second time was much harder for Jude than the first. He didn’t cry, but his eyes were puffy and red and he spoke with a degree of husk. Gelo as well had a hard time saying goodbye, not making eye contact and speaking in short bursts. But when the Berserker hugged the cub, they bo...
2023-10-11 21:36:50 +0000 UTC View PostLeland breathed slowly, flanking him, Jude and Glenny meandered around. They stayed close, but they for sure were not going to take the first step. That was for their fearless leader, Leland.
They had sat out in the forest for a few more hours after Leland returned from the Berserker Lord’s domain chitchatting. Leland...
2023-10-11 21:35:33 +0000 UTC View PostAunty P sat beside her youngest niece’s bedside, sipping tea and reading reports. Occasionally, whether it was tricks of the light or Aunty P’s own imagination, she would see movement out of the corner of her eye and hope would rekindle. But no, each time she looked at Sybil, the more her insides were crushed.
Sybil...
2023-10-10 02:22:49 +0000 UTC View PostIn the awkwardness brought on by Leland’s outburst, it was Jude and Glenny who were on their feet chasing after the young man first. Having been friends with Leland for their whole lives, each could count on one hand the number of times he stormed off like that. They both understood, however. Parents, worry, fear. Each was ...
2023-10-07 21:33:21 +0000 UTC View PostSitting in Floe and Gelo’s cave, everyone ate a still-steaming hot meal from Diana’s inventory ring. Steak, steak, and more steak… a few vegetables. When was the meal actually cooked? Not even Diana knew. It had been years since she restocked her ring, the magical enchantment making it so the food stayed fresh and hot r...
2023-10-06 01:54:14 +0000 UTC View PostStanding by the dungeon entrance/exit wasn’t very comfortable. In addition to the blistering cold, the bright sun and reflecting snow forced everyone to squint, other than the bears of course. So the group changed venues. Spencer suggested opening a portal to Floe and Gelo’s den, but Diana had a suggestion. Still a ...
2023-10-05 01:58:14 +0000 UTC View PostLeland stared into the dungeon entrance. It was glowing red, meaning it was in use.
The group stood within a small cave on a small island, water pooling around their ankles with the soft blue glow of luminescent mushrooms nearby. The red and blue clashed, turning the cave a gentle tone of purple, not too different from ...
2023-10-03 21:25:51 +0000 UTC View Post“And that is why seaweed is sometimes rainbow in color,” The Humble Hearth’s Captain, Gull, explained to Leland.
Leland blinked a few times, calculating internally. “Wait really? I feel like I would have heard about that before? Just seaweed and Essence of Storm?”
Gull snorted. “How many times have you...
2023-10-02 02:02:08 +0000 UTC View PostGlenny Red stood a few steps ahead of Jude and Spencer. They had drifted back so he could be alone with his mother. Or, at least, a statue of her.
Deep in the heart of Shoutwell’s dark district, for-hire assassins, thieves, poison sellers, and the like lived in the shadows. Some were a part of the local Umbra Guild, o...
2023-09-30 01:52:24 +0000 UTC View PostIsobel didn’t have much to say about Leland’s interference with the local guard. They talked briefly about how he was now the subject of a search but that they didn’t need to worry. As it turned out, Noir Stone was more interested in investigating the cult and not the random kid who alerted them to that fact.
That...
2023-09-29 01:43:17 +0000 UTC View PostThe lost soul drifted slowly back and forth, staring at Leland like he was salvation. Leland, meanwhile, felt just as lost.
He internally cursed at the Seraph Lord for tricking him. Wings in exchange for always seeing death? For being the only one around to guide the dead to the afterlife? To hear and experienc...
2023-09-28 01:47:42 +0000 UTC View PostWaiting in line at the shipyard of a new city was something Leland hoped he would never have to do again. At least, if he hadn’t explored the city beforehand. Noir Stone was massive! Sprawling and rich with history and culture, no shop was quite the same, no landmark was forgettable.
People walked shoulder to shoulder...
2023-09-27 01:55:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe port city of Noir Stone made Leland stop in his tracks. It was nighttime when they arrived, but he would never have guessed. The city, sat on the rocky coast, shimmered with lamp light and brazier flame. Even from a few hours walk away, the city looked on fire. Orange smokeless heat and flickering light made the city danc...
2023-09-25 21:36:44 +0000 UTC View PostLeland spent the whole of the crow contract learning to fly. With Harbinger Halo rank sixteen, he could fly continuously for twenty-six minutes. So, with an hour cool down period for nearly all of his contracts, he could not fly without landing and stopping.
Luckily, Leland now had three flying contracts.
Th...
2023-09-25 03:19:31 +0000 UTC View PostHunched over with his hands on his knees, Leland swallowed down the nausea from building his lungs. He would have Touch of Regeneration-ed it away, but they were on a public road. Invoking a contract would draw eyes. So, he suffered, morning exercise still proving to be the bane of his existence.
“Kid, you re...
2023-09-24 19:22:41 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a quick dinner and a pantomime conversation with an innkeeper, Leland and Isobel had rooms for the night. They were far from the main square where they saw the Inquisitors, taking up residence at the edge of the town. Isobel had disappeared for a few minutes at one point, stating that she was going “check on things....
2023-09-23 02:04:52 +0000 UTC View PostDeparting the wagon, Leland and Isobel were stopped by a driver from further up the caravan. The man, darker in complexion like he had sat in the sun all his life, sauntered over, a grand smile on his face. He started speaking to them in an unfamiliar language. When it became apparent there was a disconnect, the man turned an...
2023-09-22 02:11:48 +0000 UTC View Post“I spy… something yellow.”
“No.”
“Whaa— Come on, this is so boring!”
“That game is for children.”
“It is not!” Leland said, feeling a bit accosted. “Jude, Glenny, and I used to play all the time on the road.”
Isobel cracked open one eye, still leaning across the wagon ...
2023-09-20 21:21:07 +0000 UTC View PostEldest Princess Ariadne Palemarrow, otherwise known as Aunty P, sat behind a rune covered desk reading a report. The desk, a gift from Ambassador Joygill of Greensight, was thick and firm. Solid hardwood of some sort, one the magical variants that holds mana and magic carvings longer. It was stained deep mahogany, a col...
2023-09-18 05:07:38 +0000 UTC View PostReality came screaming back to Leland in the form of golden anger. He blinked a few times, his vision disoriented with splotches of white. Someone was grabbing his arm, Sybil he recognized easily enough, but not the fear in her eyes. She was pulling him away, trying to force him to the ground. He allowed himself to fall.
<... 2023-09-14 21:08:50 +0000 UTC View Post“Ah. Hmm. Well, I can say this was expected, but part of me believed you were lying the whole time. So, there’s that. I’m glad you finally made it, however. I was getting worried.”
Leland spun at the voice, the white of the Void wrapping around him like a cozy blanket during winter. He found the source, Reflecti...
2023-09-12 21:13:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe space within the barrier shook, a creeping chill assaulting the invisible wall. The size of a tavern’s foundation, the area within the barrier quickly turned into a singular safe haven against the outside elements. Red power mixed with the above clouds and rain, wafting thick flakes of bloody snow. Occasional clouds of ...
2023-09-10 05:50:01 +0000 UTC View PostHe strained his neck and eyes to get a better view, the clouds proving to be more of a nuisance than the voices in his head. They told him which attacks to use, where to fire, and what power he should borrow from his true Lord, the Sightless King. He was technically blind, his eyes taken as initiation into h...
2023-09-08 02:15:03 +0000 UTC View PostLeland landed beside Isobel with a dull thud. It wasn’t graceful by any means, but after all of his practice with Erupting Steps, he didn’t crash to his knees like Sybil. The two non-Champion Sky Dwarves had anticipated this, however, and helped her to her feet within moments.
The Champion strolled through ...
2023-09-06 02:11:11 +0000 UTC View PostA winged beast as long as a caravan swiveled through the sky, erecting a wall of teal magic like a mason laying a foundation. The teal exploded upward, slicing through the open air and colliding with a golden Harbinger priest. Blood sprayed but a holy song rebuffed the man, washing him in golden light until his wounds stitche...
2023-09-03 05:15:35 +0000 UTC View PostTwo days later the group made it to the eye.
Amid the tumbling maelstrom of darkness overhead, forces clashed against gargantuan creatures. Streaks, elemental in nature, rose without worry and fell without recourse. Each colorful and deadly, unparalleled but bountiful. A war, yes, but a war of unbridled reality...
2023-08-31 02:47:28 +0000 UTC View PostWith Isobel’s newly evolved parasitic weapon, the group had less to worry about scouting-wise. Every now and then she’d take to the skies, fluttering up high to get a lay of the land. Or rather, a lay of the rock valley. From her vantage, any monster along their path was obliterated without warning as a solidified spike o...
2023-08-28 19:47:36 +0000 UTC View PostBetween a deafening boom and the almighty crash of splintering stone, the trio had little time to prepare for the attack. Or, what they thought was an attack.
Isobel appeared behind Sybil with the speed of a darting snake despite the shockwave blasting her legs. She covered the young princess, shielding her from a wave ...
2023-08-27 18:59:31 +0000 UTC View PostIn the few minutes Leland had with Sybil before Isobel returned, his mind wandered. He hadn’t meant to talk about it, but his true feelings about the direness of their situation had flowed. The combination of being dead tired after sprinting through the woods mixed with the stress of the two month limit crashing down had le...
2023-08-25 02:08:27 +0000 UTC View Post“What are you doing! Sprint!” Isobel narrowed her eyes. “I said sprint! You call that a sprint!?”
Sybil put her head down and ran. She knew the Huntress was not speaking to her but that hardly mattered. She was slowing and the yelling reminded her of the goal. Her goal.
Idly Sybil recognized Lelan...
2023-08-23 21:12:06 +0000 UTC View Post
