The burn in Caleb's thighs was a living thing, a creature of acid and fire that had taken up residence in his muscles. His lungs dragged at the cool morning air in ragged gasps as the last set of sprints came to an end. Around him, four dozen trainees bent double, hands on knees, fighting for bre...
2025-10-10 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe stables had become his shrine and his torture chamber. For five nights now, Caleb had slipped into the space after grueling kitchen shifts, practice spear in hand. Five nights of pushing his exhausted body through form after form while the rest of Deadfall slept. He'd managed to bring
The spear thrust came at him fast—too fast for a morning drill. Caleb shifted his weight, letting Narbok's practice weapon slide past his ribs, the attack read three moves ago.
"Watch your footwork, dull-ear!" Narbok's amber eyes glittered with satisfaction. "Or maybe half-breeds can't ma...
2025-10-08 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View Post"Stop squirming."
Corinne's voice held that particular mix of exasperation and fondness that Caleb remembered from Katie trying to patch up Jack's scraped knees. He winced as she dabbed more balm onto a particularly impressive bruise blooming across his ribs.
"Sorry." He shifted on th...
2025-10-05 20:44:21 +0000 UTC View Post"Well, well. Look what we have here."
Narbok Blackbriar loomed over them, a cruel smirk curling his lips. His cronies, Finn and Durk, fanned out behind him like vultures.
"Still feeling philosophical, dull-ear?" Narbok’s eyes glittered like hardened sap. "Going to offer me a mushroo...
2025-10-05 20:41:07 +0000 UTC View PostDawn was arriving faster than Caleb expected. He stood in the kitchen exit, watching Corinne bounce on her toes in the pre-dawn darkness. Her breath misted in the crisp air, but her energy seemed inexhaustible.
"Come on! We'll be late!" She grabbed his wrist and tugged him forward. "Captain...
2025-10-05 20:40:44 +0000 UTC View PostHe pushed through the inn's heavy doors and walked straight into a scene of chaos.
Bodies packed the common room shoulder to shoulder. Every table groaned under the load of food and drink. The air itself felt solid—a mixture of woodsmoke, spilled ale, and too many people crammed into too ...
2025-10-05 20:40:22 +0000 UTC View PostJust think of it as my last interview, he thought wryly. Except instead of PowerPoint skills, I need to convince a murderer's accomplice that I'm worth teaching alchemy.
Approaching Aurelian's district, the streets grew quieter. Fewer vendors hawked their wares here, the f...
2025-10-05 20:39:57 +0000 UTC View PostAnother chime. The blue notification expanded, unfolding into a larger, more complex interface. Information cascaded down in neat rows, a character sheet made manifest.
STATUS
NAME: Caleb Foster
RACE: Half-elf
TIER...
2025-10-05 20:39:25 +0000 UTC View PostCaleb left the Adventurer's Hall behind, his stride steady and purposeful. The spirit stone in his pocket felt heavier than its size implied, an acknowledgement of the irreversible choice he was about to make. Morning traffic flowed past him, but he paid no mind. His attention had shrunk to the t...
2025-10-05 20:24:10 +0000 UTC View PostAmid the low din of clinking mugs and boastful stories, Felicity caught the eye of a passing server with a quick gesture. "Two foxhollow ambers."
Felicity looked back at Caleb expectantly. "So who did such a poor job of raising such a fine young man? The last five minutes notwithstanding."<...
2025-10-05 20:23:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe dull pressure behind Caleb's eyes greeted him like an unwelcome friend. Yesterday's terror felt distant, submerged beneath a thick, numbing layer of calm that had settled over his thoughts. He sat up on his cot, movements slow and deliberate. The world was muted, every sight and sound muffled...
2025-10-05 20:23:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe heavy oak doors of The Hearthsong Inn swung silently inward. Caleb stumbled across the threshold, his mind a whirlwind of alley shadows and the scent of blood. He glanced at the glowing runes etched into the doorframe, the patterns that normally sparked his curiosity, and felt nothing.
...
2025-10-05 20:22:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe side street narrowed as Caleb approached The Golden Mortar. Dark whispershroud pine walls absorbed what little sunlight filtered between buildings, creating pools of shadow that seemed to swallow light itself.
His boots clicked against worn cobblestones. Each step counted down precious ...
2025-10-05 20:21:29 +0000 UTC View PostDawn broke over Deadfall Village as Aurum began its climb. Caleb stirred from sleep, his body moving before his mind caught up. Six weeks of routine had worn new grooves into his existence. The 28-hour cycle of Veraxus no longer felt odd. He'd grown accustomed to the extended daylight of highsun,...
2025-10-05 20:19:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe kitchen transformed from organized chaos into barely controlled catastrophe. Orders flew from the service window. "Two stews, one medium fowl, three house specials!" Pans clattered, flames roared, and cooks cursed in three languages when orders backed up.
Through it all, Caleb's knife n...
2025-10-05 20:19:24 +0000 UTC View PostCassia gave Caleb a small, encouraging nod. "Yes. I'll leave him with you." She offered her husband a look that was part warning, part plea, before slipping out of the kitchen and pulling the heavy door shut. The latch clicked with finality, leaving Caleb alone in the simmering heat with the impo...
2025-10-05 20:18:52 +0000 UTC View Post"What about—" The words caught in Caleb's throat. He clung to the ladder, his forearm muscles straining against his skin.
Corinne's grip on his hand remained steady, her smile carrying a confidence that seemed impossible for someone her age. "Don't worry about him. Mom will handle it." 2025-09-28 11:30:04 +0000 UTC View Post
WELCOME
Thank you so much for your support!
It's hard to articulate how honored and grateful I am that you've chosen to support my creative work, but know that I think each of you are truly a blessing. I will work diligently to not let you down, and keep creating this...
2025-09-28 02:31:49 +0000 UTC View PostThe ladder creaked again, each groan of wood against wood sending a fresh surge of panic through Caleb. Someone was climbing. Someone who knew Thal, who would expect responses he didn't know how to give.
His grief was a fog, but the groan of the ladder cut through it, leaving only a mountin...
2025-09-27 02:27:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe wider street overwhelmed Caleb. After the suffocating confines of the alley, the sudden space and noise sent his senses reeling. Merchants hawked their wares. Cart wheels clattered over uneven cobblestones. A burst of laughter from a nearby tavern made him flinch so hard his bruised ribs scre...
2025-09-27 02:26:38 +0000 UTC View PostCaleb's palm scraped against damp stone, the rough texture grounding him in reality. His other arm clutched ribs that protested with each shallow breath. The alley walls pressed closer, narrowing his world to wet stone and the stench of decay.
Just need a minute. Just one minute to thin...
2025-09-27 02:26:19 +0000 UTC View PostCaleb’s first breath was a mistake. It was a raw, shallow gasp that scraped against a throat crushed by calloused fingers. Fire bloomed in his neck, a searing throb with every frantic heartbeat. Each attempt to draw in more air made his ribs scream in a dull, grinding protest. Consciousness was...
2025-09-27 02:25:51 +0000 UTC View PostMetal shrieked against metal, glass exploded in a shower of razor fragments, and for one sharp-edged instant, pain consumed Caleb Foster's existence. As his body was thrown violently against the restraints, the airbag detonated, a brutal fist that slammed into his chest and drove the breath from ...
2025-09-27 02:25:30 +0000 UTC View Post
The alarm murdered sleep with its digital shriek. Caleb groaned and fumbled across the nightstand, his hand slapping blindly until blessed silence returned. 5:45 AM glowed accusingly from the clock face. Another Monday. Another week of meetings about meetings, reports that no one would read, and ...
2025-09-27 02:22:35 +0000 UTC View Post