Balthazar stared out through one of the holes in his bazaar’s roof at the few white clouds sailing by in the blue morning sky. He should be upset, perhaps sad or even angry at the damage done to his precious trading post, and yet, he actually found himself in a good mood.
There was a mess...
2023-11-20 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“A fortune!” Antoine said, his eyes wide and filled with deranged hatred. “I’ve spent a small fortune trying to get rid of you, an insignificant crab! How can you be so difficult to get rid of?!”
Balthazar stared the rival merchant up and down. He looked like a mess. His usually i...
2023-11-13 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar stepped back and his shell hit the stool John had made for him. All around him there was damage to the beautiful work the carpenter had created for the crab. The holes blown through the roof, the blown up iron lanterns, some still partially hanging from the ceiling by their broken chain...
2023-11-06 13:02:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe crab carefully pinched another coin from his counter and deposited it in his Bag of Holding Money. Business was going well that morning. He had only sold a handful of his new potions, but so long as the money continued flowing in, Balthazar would not complain.
Or perhaps he would, but n...
2023-10-30 13:01:17 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar sat on his comfortable purple cushion in front of his tent as the sun disappeared over the horizon, humming to himself as he took a soft rag around his claw and polished the shine on his new golden statue under the light of a nearby lantern.
The item was a thing of beauty, depicti...
2023-10-23 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe afternoon was breezy, and the sun was retreating behind the clouds, quickly ushering in a new cold night. Autumn’s arrival meant days were shorter, and the weather less pleasant, both things bound to impact a crab’s roadside business.
Balthazar didn’t mind. He liked the pleasant f...
2023-10-16 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar sat by the edge of the water, leisurely swirling the tip of his claw over the pond’s surface, idly musing over his surroundings. It had been days since he had even seen a bird around his pond. Maybe they were migrating, maybe it was Blue scaring them away. Whatever it was, he didn’t...
2023-10-09 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar glared at the Arch-Necromancer with a snide look as he charged his death blast.
“You shouldn’t threaten me.”
“Hah! You may be unaffected by my aura, but a pathetic crab poses no danger to me.”
Balthazar smirked.
“Maybe not, but you know what else does...
2023-10-02 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Hey, I think I heard some rumor about this recently,” said Balthazar, rubbing his chin casually.
Both the orcs and the lizards did not share his calm, however. The three warrior brothers tensed up, their muscles flexing as their brows furrowed deep. The lizard envoy peered deep into th...
2023-09-25 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Henrietta, how’s my shine?”
The toad gave the crab a firm thumbs up. “Lustrous!”
“Alright, time to dazzle some lizards!” Balthazar turned to the orc standing by the entrance. “Tell the envoy to come in.”
Khargol’s companion disappeared through the gate once ...
2023-09-18 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostNight had just fallen over the pond and the plains across from it were dark and quiet, save for the chilly breeze that blew across the grass. With summer finally gone, being out after sundown was no longer as pleasant, but Balthazar stood steadfast by his bazaar’s entrance, no chill or sleepine...
2023-09-11 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“No, this can’t be right,” the bewildered crab said, reading through the text in his eyes over and over again, but arriving at no different conclusion.
“You have reached the maximum level…” he repeated to himself. “At level 15?! How does that make any sense?”
Balthazar...
2023-09-04 12:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Get away!” Balthazar yelled at the other two, as the mass of flying insects buzzed furiously towards them. Glancing across the pond, the crab spotted Henrietta jumping in place as she saw the swarm of mosquitoes that formed over the surface before hopping off her rock and into the water for ...
2023-08-28 12:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostLooking over the pond, Balthazar observed Henrietta sitting on a rock by the small waterfall that rolled down from the mountainside. The toad had her eyes closed and a content expression on her wide face. She had been like that all morning, and the crab had a feeling she was not about to get tire...
2023-08-21 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post“A what now?!” Tom asked in disbelief.
“An independent… settlement,” the crab repeated slowly.
“You, Balthazar, want to turn this place into a settlement?” said Rye, holding back a mocking smile. “The Balthazar we all know? The crab who hates company and wants his pond...
2023-08-14 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar gave his goblin assistant a nod, and Druma promptly opened the box Madeleine and Rye had brought over. The goblin carefully slid a plate out of the carton and onto the table surface, revealing a pie, much larger than the ones the baker usually sent to the crab. Its wide crust was lightl...
2023-08-07 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun was about to set on Balthazar’s pond, but unlike usual, there was no calm in the air. Instead, the murmuring of voices and the shuffling of multiple figures filled the bazaar as crates were pushed and tables moved around.
“Alright, that’s good. Put it there,” the crab said t...
2023-07-31 12:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe crab hid among the rocks by the roadside, blending in almost perfectly, save for the fact that none of them were blindingly shiny and golden as his carapace.
Gazing up towards the town gates, Balthazar awaited for any signs of the toad. He knew that had to be the direction she would com...
2023-07-28 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostCross-posting last Wednesday's chapter note on Royal Road here:
Quick note to let you guys know that with August coming next week, I'll be taking on some extra work. I know, I know, August is supposed to be all about vacations, but unfortunately bills still need to be paid. So, bec... 2023-07-28 11:59:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The conspicuous crab walked out of his bazaar with a tiny pouch in one pincer and a wrapped napkin in the other. He stopped in front of the horizon, where a large streak of orange was painted over the late afternoon sky, and looked around suspiciously, as if looking for anyone following him.
<... 2023-07-26 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar rummaged through a shelf, picking items and tossing them into a small open crate by his feet as he grumbled to himself.
“No, no, no, not this. Maybe some of this. Oh yes, definitely a couple of those! This thing can stay where it is. Why do I even have a dozen of that?!”
“What’s your secret?” Balthazar whispered to himself. “How are you getting in their good graces so easily, you ugly green croaker?”
The grudge-filled crab peered through his spyglass once more, his mouth twisted into a frown as he observed the toad across the road, sitting atop he...
2023-07-21 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar started his day the same way as always, crossing the wooden footpath over the water while munching on a sweet pastry.
On that morning, the crab carried a raspberry scone in his pincer and hummed away as he went, taking little bites off it while thinking about all the business and ...
2023-07-19 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe drake took a deep breath and spread her wings as she shot a stream of blue flames over the pond’s water, her talons firmly gripping the ground as she screeched.
Pulling her head back and relaxing her body, Blue looked at the crab standing next to her.
“Very good, girl!” he c...
2023-07-17 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar put the brush down next to the open bucket of paint and picked up his new wooden sign. Holding it between his two pincers, the crab looked upon his finished work and nodded.
“Might have taken me an hour to write two words, but I think it looks pretty good,” he proudly said to ...
2023-07-14 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMorning had come, and the sun was well on its way up to the highest point in the sky, but Balthazar was none the wiser to that, as he was still fast asleep on his purple cushion, both of his pincers hanging off the sides, a stain of drool staining the fabric.
He occasionally twitched and mu...
2023-07-12 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar yawned loudly and his eye stalks grew heavier as the night grew longer. Standing behind him, Bouldy opened his cavernous mouth and imitated his friend. Whether he was doing it because yawns tend to be contagious, or simply because he wanted to blend in, was anybody’s guess.
Neve...
2023-07-11 12:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar stared out into the horizon, his arms hanging over the wooden fence next to the entrance of his trading post, his eyes glancing over the plains grass.
The crab sighed.
He didn’t even want to look toward the build site, as he didn’t want to grow even more annoyed by whate...
2023-07-10 12:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostJohn had arrived early in the morning for another day of work at the pond, and Balthazar observed him from nearby, a pincer tapping on his chin, wondering what the old man’s secret was.
The crab may not have known much about building things, he had never even put any points into the carpe...
2023-07-07 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostBalthazar woke up just as the sun appeared over the horizon.
Hurriedly stuffing some leftover pie from the previous night in his mouth, the crab rushed his way across the bridge to the trading post.
John, the carpenter, had promised to come down to the pond first thing in the morning ...
2023-07-05 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post