I found Alred snoring in a bed, filthy and surrounded by bottles of wine. Some bottles were empty, and others were half-full. I could see a couple had been flung at a wall and shattered. The one still grasped in his hand was tilted and slowly making a puddle on the bed, one which the man slept through unnoticed.
My form...
2021-11-18 20:16:31 +0000 UTC View PostI didn’t know what to expect when I stepped through the gateway behind Alred’s three apprentices, but we entered into a long hall inside a building made entirely of quartz. Around the walls, I could see other portals, larger than the one I crossed opening and closing as they allowed all sorts of people and animals to cros...
2021-11-17 19:39:31 +0000 UTC View PostI watched Nemon leave the laboratory with a smile, one that turned bitter when he left. Grena and Pyl were both continued on in their discussion of the mirror, questions that the wizard had brought up to push them in a new direction. I almost allowed myself to be baited into it as well, the artifact we had created was as inte...
2021-11-11 20:14:08 +0000 UTC View PostInside Pyl’s laboratory, I was surprised to see that both Loralie and the other witch, Grena, were already present. He had redesigned nearly the entire room after our last meeting here, and I was pleasantly surprised at the level of organization I saw. The bones had all been sorted into different bins, stacked atop one anot...
2021-11-09 22:22:11 +0000 UTC View PostFor four days I searched the doorways of Lightning magic from the comfort of a couch and with a glass of wine in hand. I knew how I appeared to the others, a wizard sipping wine and gazing blankly as if I had no concerns at all. I found and learned several powerful spells, though whoever had created them had given them presum...
2021-11-05 18:19:06 +0000 UTC View PostI awoke mid-morning feeling more well-rested than I had in weeks. My decision to rest before pursuing the next Authority was a good one. The fact that I hadn’t taken off my pants upon arrival and actually slept with them on was proof enough of that. It only took me moments to change from my travel attire to a more comfortab...
2021-11-03 16:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostMy tower was a welcome sight as I flew towards it. I hadn’t come directly home, but instead had flown in several circles and changed my wardrobe midair. It wasn’t my finest moment to do so, even hidden inside a cloud, and the lack of propriety had left my cheeks burning with shame. Still, I feared something from that horr...
2021-11-01 20:28:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun shining off the tall gates of Sena City was a welcoming sight, despite my grievance in returning. Home would always be home, and the Castle Sena had long been that, but I didn’t look forward to returning. Castle life had made me soft, I realized that now. The perfumed sheets and eager servant girls inspired laziness...
2021-10-27 16:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostAs you read in the last chapter, Nemon's feeling the pressure. He'll need to select his next magical authority soon. Options are below!
A comment option with enough likes might break into the ones I have here.
(Or - if you just think of something funny (and not R rated), feel free to share!)
2021-10-26 16:45:00 +0000 UTC View PostOf course, he bounced right off my defensive wards. If I fell to every physical attack that came my way, then I would have long ago perished. It would take a creature the size of the hydra broodmother or larger to strike me through my wards. Cyrus, the vampiric gnome, looked more surprised at his own actions than he did that ...
2021-10-26 16:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt wasn’t difficult to defeat the animated weapons and shields so that I could land at the opening of the cave. A few strikes of low-level lightning bolts shattered the copper into smoldering pieces. Most dungeons I had entered had a hall or foyer that was devoid of traps or enemies, usually with some sort of warning. This ...
2021-10-22 16:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe fools didn’t wait until I was done. I was only mildly disappointed. I had hoped for more wisdom. Instead, they attacked as soon as it seemed I was in the midst of crafting the spell. Likely, they hoped for a magical backlash that would render me defenseless.
Yet, when I saw the look on their faces, it had be...
2021-10-19 19:57:48 +0000 UTC View PostI raced through the air back the way I came with such speed that the land blurred beneath me as I traveled. Only the change in greenery that marked the Tervan capital brought me back from the state of panic I had allowed myself to fall into. I hovered there for a moment catching my breath and looking down on the city from abo...
2021-10-18 20:06:32 +0000 UTC View PostIn my excitement, I had flown northeast for more than an hour before I stopped. Belatedly, I remembered my intention to head south into Tervan and lift some of the jungle people’s towns or villages onto plateaus. My return south was circuitous as I traveled outside the area I had found the alchemist rather than experience a...
2021-10-17 16:34:01 +0000 UTC View PostThough his last words had granted him my undivided attention, I forced my face into as neutral expression as I could manage. Of course, I suspected another trap or perhaps an assassin, I was certain that there were very few who knew of my interest in such pursuits. Regardless of whether he was an assassin or not, I was too te...
2021-10-14 16:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostNight had fallen by the time I departed. The two gargoyles that had accompanied me so far, stopped in their circling of the tower to fly by either side. I rose into the sky and headed immediately westwards. The maps I had told me I was headed through the lands of Baron Pulk and further west were the lands of Count Hirkl...
2021-10-14 03:03:24 +0000 UTC View PostAs I departed my tower, I didn’t see the Prince and his entourage still on the cliffs. It was a mild relief to know that among the young man’s people was someone intelligent enough to see them down from such a minor height. A part of me had feared that the Prince surrounded himself with others of his intellect and they we...
2021-10-11 16:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostI sat at the edge of her bed, listening to her shuddering breaths, but I had a hard time looking at my love. Instead, I found myself staring at my hands. Once strong and full of life, now they were wrinkled and spotted. I hadn’t looked at my hands in a long, long time. Really looked, with intent. Now that I was, I rea...
2021-10-01 16:14:43 +0000 UTC View PostThree days passed by in a blur of excited experimenting. I berated myself for being annoyed at the interruption in my plans, as the inspiration I felt from seeing such a powerful monster was more than enough to replace whatever tiny ideas I had beforehand. Feelings of impatience were something I still struggled with often, de...
2021-09-29 19:28:50 +0000 UTC View PostI had just seen the young woman out and was six steps down the stairwell when I heard her scream. I stopped mid-step, and my foot hovered in the air as I considered my next course of action. Of course, I should go see what she was screaming about. Yet, in my heart, I simply wanted to keep walking down the stairwell to reach t...
2021-09-29 16:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostI didn’t know whether I should have felt guilty for petrifying Orwell. My smile was enough for him to realize that he should take his place along the wall for petrification, but the only thing he said was a whispered ‘how did he know?’ said so softly I knew it wasn’t intended for me. That made me confident in my...
2021-09-27 19:38:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe several days of my trip back to my tower were ones of quiet contemplation. I stopped to raise more than fourteen different towns and villages along the way, but none took anywhere close to the power I used to lift the City of Eiston. I also raided three different dungeons for their dungeon cores.
Only on...
2021-09-27 16:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostI nodded in response to his statement. The man wouldn’t have sought me out here above the city, if he didn’t believe it was needed.
That didn’t stop my current tasking, though. I had already mentally modified the spell so that it could raise not only the town but the terraced hills around it. &nb...
2021-09-24 16:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post
For those of you who don't know, I have another story called An Old Man's Journey that I've been working on getting published. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally close to ready.
Blurb:
At the end of his life, Charles was left with one question: What was it all for?<...
2021-09-23 14:55:38 +0000 UTC View PostI scowled as I put on my robe, a white, silken thing with elaborate metallic frills that chimed when I moved. It was a gift from a lady I had courted once, a memento of easier times when I had fewer responsibilities. A glance at the mirror in my room showed me that I looked as weary as I felt. The efforts of the p...
2021-09-22 16:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostBefore the mage made three steps towards the door, the Duchess’s commanding voice rang out, “If you leave this room, I’ll have your head on a pike.”
The bloodmage stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the Duchess. His face turned slowly to look back at her.
She gave him a vicious smile, “You aren...
2021-09-17 16:07:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe tables were laden with all sorts of delectable treats that I hadn’t seen since I moved from Sena City. I directed the servant stationed there to load my platter with such joys as boiled Birktoni snails, candied yams, and fried clams fished from Laxton Bay. The aromas mixed together in a way that ...
2021-09-14 16:30:59 +0000 UTC View PostI stood at the entrance to the dungeon doing my best to contain the urge to stare in amazement.
I had seen a lot of things in my long life, but this was a reminder that I had not seen it all. Of course, I couldn’t let the emotion show on my face.
Beside me, Philipe stood as well.
Ev...
2021-09-13 16:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post“You came to my tower for entertainment? You were not tasked with delivering a message? No one sent you to me?” I asked in disbelief. I ran my hand through my beard and the metal hanging from my robe’s sleeve chimed lightly. I glanced at the servant and guard behind them, but their stony faces gave no hint o...
2021-09-10 21:56:04 +0000 UTC View PostI will only be doing three interludes this arc, but you all get to choose!
2021-09-08 22:19:21 +0000 UTC View Post
