I adjusted the black-leather strap around Sergeant Snips’ carapace, her body wiggling in excitement.
“It’s hard to get it in place with you moving about, Snips!”
She shifted even more to spite me, blowing bubbles of amusement.
I laughed at her antics, holding her still a...
2023-07-18 10:53:37 +0000 UTC View PostAs we arrived back at the smithy, the three of us erupted.
I roared with laughter, and the two blacksmiths held each other by the shoulders, yelling incomprehensibly over the top of one another.
When things finally wound down, Fergus hurried to a shelf in the corner with skipping step...
2023-07-18 10:53:10 +0000 UTC View PostIt was a beautiful day.
The sun was high overhead, radiating warmth that was perfectly contrasted by a stalwart breeze blowing ever northward. Small waves crashed against the rocks of the headland, the wind causing their foamy peaks to spray and glitter in the sun. Salt was heavy in the air...
2023-07-18 10:52:18 +0000 UTC View PostRuby raised one sculpted eyebrow at me.
“You’re, uh, sure about these measurements, Fischer?”
I smiled back.
“I am! Don’t worry—it’s not for me. It’s for a project I’m working on.”
“Some sort of pirate scarecrow?” Steven asked with a smile.
...
2023-07-18 10:50:30 +0000 UTC View PostSergeant Snips stretched her claws wide, gathering power in her joints.
She prepared to unleash a mighty clack of the claws on whomever was foolish enough to sneak up on her.
Who dares attack the benevolent Sergeant Snips—beloved crab of Fischer?
A small object sunk d...
2023-07-18 10:50:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun warmed my skin as I walked back through the fields.
Fergus was procuring the silver for the ring, my belly was still full from a feast of fish, and the future was looking bright.
What a beautiful day.
I scoured the surrounding rows of sugar-cane for Barry, but h...
2023-07-18 10:49:39 +0000 UTC View PostA grin made its way to my face as I left the store.
Marco’s reaction and increasing purchase price had been everything I needed to know.
They do know of pearls here, and they’re exceedingly expensive. He was trying to rip me off, so I’ll need to find somew...
2023-07-18 10:49:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Ow! You poxed son of a whore!”
Trent punched the metal leg he’d knocked his head on, then swore as he shook his hand.
“You useless pieces of junk are lucky I don’t have you melted down!”
The room of ancient artifacts he was in had become a regular haunt for...
2023-07-18 10:48:19 +0000 UTC View PostSergeant Snips scuttled in mad circles around me, an uncontrolled stream of excited bubbles following her.
I held the rod firmly with both hands as the fish on the other end of the line did its best to pull it from my grip. It shook its head madly, causing the already-bending bamboo to jerk...
2023-07-18 10:47:50 +0000 UTC View PostWith a loud pop, the lobster's vision was engulfed by white.
He opened and closed his trusty pincers as a sense of unbridled confusion grew.
Taking in the surrounding landscape, he slowly shifted to glance all around him as color returned to the world.
Walls of rock wer...
2023-07-17 12:01:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning gave way to day as the sun rose ever higher in the sky. A soft breeze blew, the perfect counterpart for the day's heat. I felt neither the kiss of the sun's rays, nor the pleasant gouts of wind coming and going, though—all my attention was on the ascendant crab before me.
I bl...
2023-07-14 11:43:58 +0000 UTC View PostI blinked at Roger, and he scowled back at me.
"What are your intentions with my daughter?"
"Dad!" Maria yelled, running out of the house after him. "You are so embarrassing! Fischer invited me to go camping because I've been feeling down!"
Heat rose t...
2023-07-12 10:46:22 +0000 UTC View PostOn my way through the village, I picked up another croissant.
I was feeling rather peckish after a morning of smithing, minor as the work may have been.
Naturally, I grabbed a second coffee, too.
"Thank you, Sue!"
"Thank you, Fischer!" she called, once more a blur...
2023-07-10 11:48:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe forge radiated a calming heat, making me feel at ease.
My eyes widened as the change started
As the hooks transformed, a familiar feeling welled up from my core.
The hooks expanded, then contracted, and they drew my vision in.
rbless Circle Hook of the Fisher 2023-07-07 21:25:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Sergeant Snips woke beneath the water.
She stretched out her limbs, shuddering as each muscle loosened.
Blinking her lone eye, she peered at her surroundings with blurred vision.
Pre-dawn light filtered down from above, bathing the pool in orange and pink light.
Her missin...
2023-07-05 11:31:31 +0000 UTC View PostWith the sun setting at our backs, Theo and I watched the hook and sinker as they flew over the languidly shifting ocean.
It flew further than the jetty, hitting the ocean half-again the dock's length from the shore.
A great splash sprang from the sinker and the line meeting the ocean...
2023-07-03 11:57:12 +0000 UTC View PostTheo's entire face lit up.
"I love fishing!"
"I—wait, you what?"
"I love fishing!" he repeated, half yell, half whisper. "I've never come across another angler—you're doing it so openly!"
I blinked rapidly, a smile spreading across my face.
"The...
2023-07-03 11:25:17 +0000 UTC View PostMy eyes went wide as the reel and rod transformed.
A rushing of power came from my core, along with an almost unnoticeable nudge from the System, no doubt trying to spew incoherent nonsense at me.
The rod seemed to blur, then sharpen.
The bracket, which wasn't yet properly attac...
2023-06-30 20:17:14 +0000 UTC View Post"No..."
Unbidden, my hand shot out, discarding my almost-empty cup and catching the full cup of coffee with a single lightning-fast movement.
"No..." Maria said again, her voice tinged with grief.
Barry looked up at her second utterance, his eyes red with tears...
2023-06-28 13:41:53 +0000 UTC View PostTheo stared the man down, waiting for a response.
George cleared his throat.
"Well, you see, the thing is..."
George gesticulated, searching for the correct word or phrase; Theo was happy to let him squirm.
While Theo rarely liked the reputation his profession held—that ...
2023-06-26 12:49:56 +0000 UTC View PostGeorge closed his door behind him, letting out a sigh of relief.
Geraldine rushed him from behind, wrapping her meaty arms around him.
"That was wonderful, George—absolutely perfect!"
He kissed her on the forehead, delighting in the way her plump skin pressed back against his ...
2023-06-26 05:52:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun was midway through the morning sky, its warm touch and a cool breeze highlighted by the silence that spread over the crowd.
George cleared his throat once more, closing his eyes to collect himself.
Poor bloke, I thought. For someone with debilitating social anxiet...
2023-06-24 00:42:55 +0000 UTC View PostCorporal Claws more felt than saw the changes to her body.
Her entire being expanded, shifting her perspective as it did so. Her claws grew, teeth sharpened, and muscles bulged, filling her with new strength.
With a soft pop, her body condensed again, and her vision cleared.<...
2023-06-21 12:39:12 +0000 UTC View PostIn a room long since abandoned by the god that created it, something miraculous occurred.
A construct whirred to life.
For centuries, this creation had lain dormant, lacking both the energy and parameters to perform its tasks. Well, except for a single instance in the recent past, but...
2023-06-19 12:13:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe air thickened around me.
The chill morning breeze stilled, and the warmth from the sun seemed to vanish as if a cloud obscured it. I glanced up, seeing not a single cloud in the sky, then looked back at Barry.
His eyes were fixated on Maria, and she stood like a mouse beneath a pr...
2023-06-16 10:52:47 +0000 UTC View PostI'd seen Snips excited before, especially when waking me up, but the fervor with which she woke me this morning was at a previously unseen level.
She and Claws both led me toward the saltwater pond, running ahead of me on the sand and urging me on with varied noises, gestures, and bubbles.<...
2023-06-14 13:45:45 +0000 UTC View Post"W-what?" I asked, rather dumbly, by my estimation.
Corporal Claws and Sergeant Snips both turned to me, their eyes going wide.
They had excavated the pond further. It was twice again as deep as the last time I'd seen it, and was lined with dark rocks. Semi-opaque, pearlescent stones ...
2023-06-12 13:07:16 +0000 UTC View PostSergeant Snips, first chosen of master Fischer, sentinel of these lands, and de facto leader of the local Rock Crab population, collected some rather lovely looking rocks.
She'd picked them for their pretty color, and as she inspected the pearlescent stones already piled up, she nodded.
... 2023-06-12 12:33:37 +0000 UTC View Post"No, Fischer—you lost!" Barry called back, exulting in the relief of knowing the fields wouldn't wash away.
He bent down, picked up the single stalk of sugarcane that had been lifted from the soil, and pressed it firmly back down.
"You fool!" Roger spat, stomping toward Fis...
2023-06-12 12:08:26 +0000 UTC View PostI woke from a wonderful dream, one in which I was surrounded by a veritable sanctuary of animals.
My legs were unexplainably warm, and I opened sleepy eyes, glancing down toward them.
Corporal Claws slept atop my bed, letting out soft snores each time she inhaled.
I stretched my...
2023-06-12 11:56:11 +0000 UTC View Post