CHAPTER 4: SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS
Wei Chen woke to sunlight streaming through his window and the uncomfortable realization that today was the evaluation.
His body had finally stopped complaining about the qi deviation, which was good timing. He could move without pain, his meridians fe...
2025-11-22 02:55:59 +0000 UTC View PostCHAPTER 3: PROOF OF CONCEPT
Wei Chen woke before dawn with a plan.
His body still protested movement, but the complaints were quieter now. Two days of recovery had taken the edge off the qi deviation damage. He could walk without swaying, and his meridians had stopped feeling like som...
2025-11-22 02:54:45 +0000 UTC View PostCHAPTER 2: MARKET RESEARCH
Wei Chen woke to his body screaming at him.
Every muscle had opinions about yesterday's activities, and none of them were positive. Sitting up took actual effort, which was embarrassing for someone who was technically seventeen years old.
Chen Wei's bo...
2025-11-22 02:54:15 +0000 UTC View PostI've been cooking a cultivation story for a while. So I figured I'd toss it out up here and get some feedback before putting it on RR. it's my take on cultivation.
**********
Wei Chen died at thirty-two, burned out and alone at his desk.
He woke up sixteen, b...
2025-11-22 02:50:40 +0000 UTC View PostDawn came early in Kvellholl, though inside the mountain it made little difference. Einar woke to the sound of warriors preparing for the day, the familiar sounds of weapons being checked and gear organized.
The scouting party gathered at the eastern gate as the first light touched the moun...
2025-11-21 15:08:33 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 59
The first day began before dawn.
Einar woke to find Thorodd already in the training yard, running the warriors through drills. Not the casual practice they had done on the road, but proper combat training. Shield walls, flanking maneuvers, coordination under pressure.
Chapter 58
The wagons rolled through Kopanes with an escort fit for a king. Citizens lined the streets, craning their necks for a glimpse of what the returning warriors had brought. Word had already spread—dwarven steel, rare ores, treasures from Nidavellir itself.
...
2025-11-21 15:01:40 +0000 UTC View PostChaper 57
Einar's horse surged forward, hooves pounding against the bridge's wooden planks as he raced back toward his warband. Behind him, he could hear the king's soldiers following, their armor clanking in rhythm with their mounts.
The bandits were fifty yards from the wagons now, ...
2025-11-21 15:01:29 +0000 UTC View Post"The world snapped back into focus as Einar stepped through the portal, and for a moment, his body remembered every other time he had crossed between realms. The familiar jolt of cold, then heat, then the strange pressure that made his ears pop and his teeth ache all hit him at once before fading...
2025-11-21 15:01:17 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 55
The walls of Mighahm appeared through the tunnel's end like an old friend waiting to greet them. Einar felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease as the familiar gates came into view, the intricate stonework a testament to dwarven craftsmanship that had stood for centuries. 2025-11-21 15:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The gates of Kvellholl stood open before them. The morning light spilled in from the exterior passages, bright and welcoming after their time in the mountain's depths.
Einar stood at the front of his pack, watching as the last of their wagons were loaded. They had more supplies than when th...
2025-11-21 14:59:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe great hall of Kvellholl had been transformed. Where once the solemn weight of ancient stone had pressed down upon all who entered, now the air itself seemed to vibrate with celebration. Torches blazed from every sconce, their flames dancing in time with the music that filled the cavernous spa...
2025-11-21 14:59:35 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 52
The work began before the blood had even dried.
Osvif stood over Voldrak's corpse, his red hair matted with sweat and ash, surveying the massive body with the calculating eye of a merchant. Around him, Vikings moved with practiced efficiency, already stripping materials fro...
2025-11-21 14:59:14 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 51
The dwarven outpost sat on a rocky plateau overlooking the volcanic pass. From this vantage point, Einar could see exactly why Voldrak had claimed this territory. Lava flows carved the landscape into a maze of narrow passages and elevated positions, with plumes of steam rising fr...
2025-11-21 14:58:59 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 50
The war room was carved from solid stone, its walls lined with maps and tactical diagrams that stretched back centuries. Captain Akrini stood at the center table, his expression grim as he pointed to a detailed map of the volcanic pass.
"This is where we lost them," the dwa...
2025-11-21 14:58:47 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 49
Three days.
That's how long it had taken to prepare for what came next.
Einar wiped the sweat from his brow as he lowered his shield, the weight of it now feeling lighter than when they'd started. Around him, thirty-five warriors stood in various states of ex...
2025-11-21 14:54:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe return to Kvellholl took two days.
The caravan made good time through the now-secure Shadowpath, and the journey back from Irondeep was uneventful. But the Vikings carried their dead with them, four bodies wrapped in cloth and preserved by Thorve's magic. Two from the den assault, two f...
2025-11-21 14:54:17 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 47
Jepi studied the entrance to the Shadowpath Canyon with a critical eye, noting the high walls, narrow passage, and countless overhangs that could hide attackers. Everything about this place screamed "ambush waiting to happen."
Totally the perfect vacation spot… Just w...
2025-11-21 14:53:43 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 46
Dawn painted the peaks above Kvellholl in shades of gold and crimson as the den assault team gathered at the eastern gate. Twenty Vikings stood ready, weapons checked and rechecked, faces set with grim determination. Bartia and Stefi joined them, the two dwarves moving with the q...
2025-11-21 14:53:29 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 45
The morning after the war council, Einar woke early and made his way to Mystic Fotgror's workshop. The ancient dwarf had promised magical support for the mission, and Einar wanted to understand exactly what they'd be working with.
The workshop was located deep within Kvellh...
2025-11-21 14:53:09 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 44
Dawn came early in Kvellholl, though inside the mountain it made little difference. Einar woke to the sound of warriors preparing for the day, the familiar sounds of weapons being checked and gear organized.
The scouting party gathered at the eastern gate as the first light...
2025-11-21 14:51:42 +0000 UTC View PostHey all! It's friday, next week is thanksgiving here in America, so I'll have my kids home and might be a little less on.
BUT I have a few things to report and some questions to ask.
First Battle through the 9 realms - Book 3 is done.
I'm going to do something R...
The afternoon passed quietly. Marta's lunch was simple but filling, though Arin couldn't partake. Instead, he rested in the cellar, processing everything that had happened since arriving in Greengate. The guild membership. Meeting Kelsa and Peck. The warning about the Purity Movement. Tomorrow's ...
2025-11-21 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostBatrire fought back the desire to cry out as Max’s flames washed over her for well over the hundredth time. Her skin melted away, replaced as the healing over time spell she had cast on herself fought against the torrent of magic.
Focus… find the flow of mana…
Over and ...
2025-11-21 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post[ Swordmanship Increased - 73 Elite ]
[ Tracking Increased - 15 Novice ]
[ Stealth Increased - 14 Novice ]
[ Pain Resistance Increased - 59 Advanced ]
[ Power Strike Increased - 56 Advanced ]
[ Strong Bones Increased - 58 Advanced ]
[ Quick Attack Increased - 4...
2025-11-21 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe summons came on the afternoon of the fourth day.
Einar was in the training yard with Thorodd and Skardi, running through weapon drills to keep their muscles from getting stiff, when a young dwarf messenger appeared. The boy couldn't have been more than a hundred years old, his beard bar...
2025-11-20 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMax’s left sword blocked the claws that came at his face. His right hand gripped the other clawed hand that was trying to win this battle of strength.
“You’re going to have to try harder,” Max said, between blows. “You’re depending too much on me playing fair.”
“Fair?...
2025-11-20 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostFrancis saw the larger one in the middle point at him with a stone axe. It growled and one on the end came toward him.
Unlike the Rhinokin who seemed more comfortable charging on all four legs, these bears walked like a man.
His opponent carried a large stone hammer and ga...
2025-11-20 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostArin woke to unfamiliar sounds.
Instead of birds announcing a new day and the rustling leaves, Arin heard cart wheels on cobblestones, distant conversations, and the pounding of a blacksmith's hammer. The cellar was cool and dark, exactly as Marta had promised, but it lacked the comfort of ...
2025-11-19 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostMax watched as Jazzjak continued to grumble, scanning whatever data he was looking at on the table he always carried. Multiple times, both he and Bob had tried to find a way to interact with that tablet and do what their helper could, yet each time, Jazzjak was right about them being locked...
2025-11-19 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post