MT 127 - Monster Battle
“We don’t know what’s through this portal,” I said. “If it’s a Delve, we need to hit the ground running.”
“We should still move with caution,” said Varrin. “But we should spend as little time looking at the scenery as possible.” He ...
2024-05-25 16:21:28 +0000 UTC View PostMT 126 - Crafts!
One might wonder why our party valued the Training Expo so much. The short answer is that it was going to save us a hell of a lot of time. The long answer is:
Arlo’s Treatise on Why Varrin Goes Bananas for Intrinsic Skill Levels...
2024-05-23 15:25:41 +0000 UTC View PostMT 125 - Eldritch Doom and Scheduling
Xim recoiled from the shared text, whatever desire she’d held for experiencing god-like secrets fleeing from her. Etja wore a grim expression like I’d never seen. Grotto’s eyes flitted from side to side as he read and re-read the notificati...
2024-05-20 14:36:51 +0000 UTC View PostMT 124 - Dread Star
“Hot damn,” I said, looking over the massive space.
The area was partially set up like an expo or swap meet, with fairly open regions exposed to a large central path running between them. Of course, the Delve’s Big Honkin’ Training Expo had booths se...
2024-05-18 12:39:42 +0000 UTC View PostMT 123 - Beginning the Descent
There was a tug at my gut and a sensation of weightlessness as the world blinked. An instant of darkness cut off my vision, and then a field of endless stars burst to life. The pinpricks of light shimmered in the black, turned a slight shade of blue, th...
2024-05-16 14:13:48 +0000 UTC View PostMT 122 - Reaching the Descent
As the heart hammered above us, Grotto’s eyes glowed and his tentacles wrapped tightly around Xim’s arm. The cleric’s forehead split and the obsidian horn that marked the transformation to her beast form appeared, but the rest of her remained norma...
2024-05-13 11:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostMT 121 - 'Confusing' Some Littans
We returned to the strategy of keeping most of the party inside the Closet while Nuralie scouted ahead. The Operator moved with her, able to stealth using its own methods. Nuralie may have grown up in these swamps, but The Operator had called it home...
2024-05-11 11:47:44 +0000 UTC View PostMT 120 - Damned if You Don't
I leaned back against the gnarled trunk of a dark, contorted tree as The Operator spun its yarn, wishing I had a bit of popcorn to munch on. Kettle corn, specifically. I liked a little sweet with my salty.
Despite the absence of snacks, I was ...
2024-05-09 11:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMT 119 - Generations Past
Vines and foliage whipped past me as I sailed through the canopy in The Operator’s grasp. Its grapple had come so quickly that I was snatched from Shog’s tentacled grasp before he could tighten his grip. Varrin had drawn his sword, but even he couldn’t...
2024-05-06 12:34:21 +0000 UTC View PostHello and good evening,
I have been dealing with a family emergency for a couple of days and I'm not confident that I'll be able to have the next chapter in a finalized form by tomorrow. I'm working when I can, but I also don't want to rush to get something out if I can't give it the attent...
2024-05-04 00:39:42 +0000 UTC View PostMT 118 - Architect
When I first noticed the powerful soul, it was little more than a glimmer along the distant horizon. Had I been using my eyes and relying on Soul-Sight as I had in the past, the entity would have been obscured by the thick vegetation of the Eschen swamplands. I wou...
2024-05-02 11:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post“But, before I decide anything, tell me more about the Delve,” Sakra said. “Where is it?”
“It’s on the other side of the continent,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Between south Timagrin and Davah.”
“In the ocean?”
“Yes.”
“It’s on the seaflo...
2024-04-29 16:55:42 +0000 UTC View PostMT 116 - Sakra Manar
“Oh, and feel free to call me Sakra,” said the Zenithar of Deijin.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Sakra,” I said, before introducing the members of our party.
As pleasantries were exchanged, several more of the feathered Deijinon came thr...
2024-04-27 17:46:46 +0000 UTC View PostMT 115 - Vyxmeldo'a
A cool wind began to blow through the forest, the gentle rustle of a hundred thousand leaves helping to soothe my emotional hangover. I took a second to collect myself, then briefly checked in with Grotto and Nuralie as Varrin began his interrogation. Our prisoner...
2024-04-25 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostMT 114 - Symbiosis
I hopped onto Gracorvus and headed toward Nuralie’s skirmish, evaluating the new combatants as I went. They were between levels 3 and 4, also Silver like their stealthy brethren, but with fewer Delves completed. As I watched, several of the souls enhanced one ano...
2024-04-22 13:41:53 +0000 UTC View PostMT 113 - That Won’t Stop Me Because I Can’t Read
When I created Gravity Anchor with Sam’lia’s guidance, the process involved three main steps. This technique is what Grotto referred to as ‘forging’ a skill, though Sam’lia had called it “the old way of doing things.”...
2024-04-20 11:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostMT 112 - Shouldn’t Have Aimed for the Head
A damn popup ad appeared in my field of view, and a lance of anger ran down my core. I thought we’d moved past those things. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d seen a popup ad that wasn’t just a computer virus that directed...
2024-04-18 11:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMT 111 - Camping
“In my experience, most heads of state travel with a large entourage,” I said as we ran. The party traversed a span of grassy hills that spread for dozens of miles on our journey east of Eschengal. Some of the rolling mounds were the size of petite mountains, wit...
2024-04-15 13:49:04 +0000 UTC View PostMT 110 - No Time For Sightseeing
Eschengal, the capital of Eschendur, was a city of three identities. An elemental triad informed all aspects of its architecture, with water, earth, and air being celebrated in equal measure, each a tribute to one of the three gods of the Eschenden. T...
2024-04-13 13:56:52 +0000 UTC View PostMT 109 - Grotto Safari
The next morning I awoke to an unfamiliar tingle in my senses; the senses with designated values above five, that is. The extra ones. I sensed some weird soul shit is what I’m saying.
Upon opening my eyes, the first thing I noted was not 2024-04-11 11:01:04 +0000 UTC View Post
MT 108 - On Revelations
The bark and gnarls of the enormous tree branch weren’t painful to lie on, but they were definitely uncomfortable. I’d discovered long ago that my best bet in such a situation was to set my mind on auto-pilot and allow it to ruminate until the world fell a...
2024-04-08 23:41:41 +0000 UTC View PostHowdy. Chapter 108 will be coming out later today, rather than in the next hour. Had some health issues last week (doing much better now) and some other work bled into the weekend, so it's not quite ready. I can't say precisely when it'll be, but it'll arrive before GMT says it's Tuesday.
N...
2024-04-08 11:13:05 +0000 UTC View PostMT 107 - Ownership
“The Inquisitor serves an important role during difficult times,” said Zura. She turned and motioned for us to follow behind her as she continued down the road. “It is important for Eschendur to present a united front in the face of major threats. While our t...
2024-04-06 11:13:10 +0000 UTC View PostMT 106 - Cheer Up, You Got Levels!
We walked across the surface of the sea behind the languid steps of Zenithar Zura, but the water formed a channel that swept us to the shore in under ten seconds. No one spoke, and as I set foot on the dark sand of the beach I looked back over my sh...
2024-04-04 12:05:40 +0000 UTC View PostMT 105 - Geul's Embrace
I didn’t mind a beach day here and there but I tried to stay out of the water as much as possible. All the salt made me itchy.
I broke back through the surface of the ocean to find Varrin looking down at me, sword at the ready.
“Arlo?” ...
2024-04-01 11:53:45 +0000 UTC View PostMT 104 - Thunderdome
Critical damage reduced by 40%!
Bleeding negated!
HP: 605 -> 381
The pain was sharp and bright. My lungs constricted and spots danced in my vision. Vertigo overwhelmed me ...
2024-03-30 15:07:22 +0000 UTC View PostMT 103 - Five vs. One
I cast Shortcut again to appear a hundred feet above sea level, scoping out the aquatic battlefield before me while standing on Gracorvus. I felt a tug at the back of my mind to turn and study the massive soul presence I’d seen, but I ignored it. There were mo...
2024-03-30 11:31:30 +0000 UTC View PostMT 102 - One vs. One
“Were you just… watching that whole time?” I asked.
Yaretzi pulled himself up and over the railing, then surveyed the body of the Speed Delver. Etja had begun bombarding the northern caravel and its shield was beginning to fail.
“Yaretzi...
2024-03-28 11:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostMT 101 - Three vs. Sixteen
Etja didn’t have the mana to fly us all to shore with Varrin’s legs disabled while dodging magic cannonballs and, even if she could, I had no idea what skills or tricks Yaretzi was hiding up his sleeve. I somehow doubted he was taking it easy o...
2024-03-25 11:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostMT 100 - Yaretzi!
Varrin was somewhere near a retreating galleon north of our position and the four of us quickly flew over. Etja set Xim and Nuralie down on the ship’s deck both to give her mana a break and also to help me search for the big guy, which was distressing for the Litt...
2024-03-23 10:53:34 +0000 UTC View Post