Adam had left and the team were gathered in the lounge, warming themselves by the fireplace. They grumbled and groused, and let out curses when Fritz told them that the man had agreed to be their tutor. They swore more when he informed them of his price.
"Three silvers a day?!" Bert burst o...
2025-03-06 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostBefore they charged Adam, Fritz stopped his team, calling them to gather around him with a sharp gesture.
Adam smiled and Fritz supposed they had just passed one of his hidden tests. Likely one about not charging in without a plan. They huddled close as the light rain fell.
"What do w...
2025-03-02 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAfter sorting out some details and drinking down a few mugs, Fritz and his search party left the tavern and rejoined their team. When they found the other three they quickly explained their deal with Adam Needle, who was to be, ostensibly, their new tutor. If they proved 'good enough.'
They...
2025-02-27 02:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostBefore Fritz and his team began their search for the itinerant tutor, they drew their plans for the day. It was to be Lauren and Cal's first foray into the Thoroughfare Market with the express intent of selling their monster materials and most importantly their sirensilk.
Fritz wished them ...
2025-02-23 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostFritz sat up and stared at the hooded figure behind the rattling glass. He met Sid's bright blue eyes and smoothly slid from his bed, then crept to the window. Lighting flashed, and thunder rumbled overhead. He unlatched the window and opened it an inch, the wind outside howled and he spoke into ...
2025-02-20 02:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThey followed Nic out of the Nightshark's 'throne' room. Bert strode solidly, while Fritz held himself stoically, despite the hollow weight in his chest that was a remnant of the harrowing meeting.
"You lied to me," Nic said as he led them through a different set of tunnels, one that didn't...
2025-02-16 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post"Uses?" Fritz asked.
The Nightshark turned and walked towards her high-backed couch that served as a throne.
"What can you do? For me," she reiterated.
Fritz focused his gaze on the small of her back and while she strode away, sultry and confident. He felt a twang in the air, li...
2025-02-13 02:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post"What?" Fritz asked, staring at the scarred man standing under the doorway and out of the rain.
"You heard me," Jagged Nic replied in those tarred and gravelled tones, his smile slipping away.
"How'd you find us?" Bert asked.
"A little bird told me," Nic said, chuckling. "And yo...
2025-02-09 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe gates to the Palace Ring were taller than those leading into the Sunken Ring. The portcullis was raised and its rainsteel spikes hung fifteen feet overhead like spears held ready, pointing down at the carriages and their noble passengers as they passed underneath the stone arch.
The gat...
2025-02-06 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThere was a fussy storm conjured in Colette's store, one comprised of her quick clever hands and endlessly-eager chattering. Her two assistants were just as bad, they brandished measuring tapes, test fabrics, clothing and pins, following in their master's wake like they were leaves caught upon th...
2025-02-02 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostFritz arrived home in a rush, and as soon as he was through the front door he strode into the stairway. He called a team meeting with a shout and rang a fist-sized bell that hung from one of the walls. The team soon gathered, peering over the balustrades with expressions varying from interest to ...
2025-01-30 02:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostCal woke up to the sounds of birds. Ducks quacked, pigeons cooed, and the other nameless birds let out their high trills. There was not a skulg to be heard. And he was dry and warm, clean sheets hugged him as he sat up and stretched. His head felt heavy and his eyes bleary, but that wasn't from a...
2025-01-26 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostFritz and his team started their night's proclivities at an establishment called the Crimson Carp. The large building was nestled in with the other taverns, inns and salons in the Circle of Revelry.
They had made their way through the nightlife crowds, underneath the awnings and the bight m...
2025-01-23 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post--- Authors note --- One year and a day of releases! Very auspicious. Thank you all so much for reading, wouldn't have come this far without all of you! Thank you all again! Here's to another year! ---
Fritz left the orphanage, though not before finding his sister and wishing her well. She ...
2025-01-19 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostIt was approaching noon and the rain was heavy. The bad weather didn't deter the populous, the Upper Ring was still filled with patrons. They took shelter under the awnings or strode in the streets, clad in dark raincoats or protecting themselves with umbrellas. Some of the more wealthy-looking p...
2025-01-16 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostFritz and his team stepped out onto wet stone and into cool, morning rain. Another team of Climbers were trying to enter the Mer Spire, but stepped to the side to let Fritz through. He walked forward, leading his own team, finding that the leaving line was far more sparse than the entering one. T...
2025-01-12 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostFritz awoke from his nightmares, it was a rough way to wake, but it could have been worse. He was lying on his bedroll, wrapped in a spare sheet of sirensilk scavenged from a previous floor. He let out a sigh. His back ached. The padding of his bedroll, while tough, couldn't protect him from the ...
2025-01-09 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostBiki perched high upon his favourite ledge. He watched the alley. He watched the door. That was his task. It was very important. He fluttered his lovely, dark feathers and stretched his wings. They didn't hurt anymore. Which was good. Those bad, mean walkers had been rough with him.
They ha...
2025-01-05 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post"I'm working on the details, there's much to do on the outside. But within some months we'll be climbing the Rain Spire," Fritz proclaimed.
His team, who had been eagerly listening, nodded seriously.
"We? All of us?" Cal asked somewhat surprised.
"Yes," Fritz said. "Do you not w...
2025-01-02 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post"I want to open one," Rosie declared, her strange, dark eyes glinting greedily as she stared at the bronze-banded chests set upon the scaled stone.
"I wouldn't mind the chance to open one either," Lauren said blandly, though her casual tone belied her eager avarice.
"Well, there are t...
2024-12-29 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostBert didn't speak for almost six seconds, a bright burst of golden light manifested, surrounding Cal and solidifying into the shape of another gold banded chest. The man opened his eyes, they were filled with joy and eager avarice. Bert frowned, annoyed that his moment had been interrupted, appar...
2024-12-26 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostFritz looked over his offerings with brow furrowed. Water dripped from his willow branches and he decided to take his contemplations to his pavilion. Out of the rain and under the silvery-grey wood he sat by the bight, moonsilver brazier, its eldritch flame still burning. The blue-green fire flic...
2024-12-22 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe lunch Cal cooked up for the team as they waited for the sea to cool was a fine feast. Or could have been, Fritz supposed, as he himself couldn't focus on the flavours. It seemed he wasn't alone in his distraction, even as they praised the food, especially the sand shark in blood lime sauce, t...
2024-12-19 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostFritz let Bert lean on him. The man was heavy, but not too great a burden. They sloshed through the chest-high sea, towards their team who were in the ring of trees ahead, sitting and standing on the roots and carving into an eel, skinning it and splitting its length to get to its lightning stone...
2024-12-15 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostIt was almost offensive how defenceless and clumsy the ugly beasts were. They couldn't leap or dodge, they were slow and graceless. When cut, their slick skin parted as easily as a hessian sack, spilling out thin, stinking and sour orange blood. The leech things burbled and thrashed disgustingly ...
2024-12-12 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostSomething sped through the muddy water, a darting, glittering beast. Fritz and his team instinctively drew their weapons as the eel slipped right through the middle of their circle. He only caught sight of it for a second but what he saw chilled his blood. The monster was long, at least nine feet...
2024-12-08 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostWith the vote settled, Fritz gave out his next orders.
"We'll rest up, get all of you healed, and make sure you have at least one activation of your defensive Treasures," he stated.
"Rosie, your ring will also need to be filled," he added. "The tactical value is too great not to use."...
2024-12-05 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostGeorge dropped into his Sanctum, felt the heat of the forge, and saw the orange glow reflected on the swords he proudly displayed on the stone brick walls.
He didn't let himself get distracted by the different shapes and makes of his blades, instead, he called upon his Spire sheet.
--...
2024-12-01 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostFritz had intended to inform his team of what he had felt from the Doors, but he felt a sudden, vicious twisting in his stomach. Then his heart shuddered. All the energy leaked out of him like water through a sieve. He staggered backwards, and tripped on an unfurled bedroll, tumbling to the groun...
2024-11-28 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostFritz and Bert stood back to back, blades drawn and fists raised to meet the sharks swimming through the soft, white sand. Though Fritz was tired, though he was fearful, he held strong and rallied his raucous nerves, attempting to still the waves of wild energy still washing over him. That stamin...
2024-11-24 02:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post