Night falls. My home is clear of its unwelcome guests but there’s one more body than usual at the dining table.
I sit at the end. To my right is Kierra, sitting with her chin in her hand and a predatory look on her face. Across from her is Alana, fresh from a bath and dressed in my clothe...
2022-07-04 17:21:31 +0000 UTC View PostPeople are in odd positions, either leaning against the furniture that hasn’t been overturned or balancing against the wall, as if afraid the ground will collapse under them. One of my walls has a hole burned into it, the charred spot slightly smoking. I can hear people in the house rushing ove...
2022-07-04 17:21:29 +0000 UTC View Post“Where do you think you’re going?”
Orphelia suppressed a sigh. She debated ignoring the obvious challenge. There was no way a woman of such staunch morals would strike her back. She doubted Alana was capable of striking her at all without true provocation, as it would mean breaking th...
2022-07-01 22:11:58 +0000 UTC View Post[That was a mistake, Orphie.]
Orphelia wanted to curse when she heard the playful voice of the thrall in her mind. She’d had no choice but to play subservient within the Sanctuary but the creature was sorely mistaken if it thought she was so easy to control. She’d lasted years under the...
2022-07-01 22:11:53 +0000 UTC View PostI’m a little surprised when Alana and I are called into the study together after Orphelia’s daring entrance and exit but I won’t complain being in a room full of beautiful women. I wave for Alana to take the empty seat and perch on the end of the table. A shiver of delight rolls down my spi...
2022-06-29 21:35:52 +0000 UTC View Post“I didn’t tell you.”
She looked up at Robert. He was pale and shaking. “I didn’t reveal an agent of the crown. You pulled the information from my mind.”
“Is that your biggest concern, boy? That someone is going to yell at you for not keeping secrets? Do you honestly thin...
2022-06-27 23:03:28 +0000 UTC View PostThis is why I’ve never been to the capital, Alyssa thought as Cecile Guiness left the study. With her skill and background in Fort Victory, many noble houses would have eagerly welcomed her into their fold. However, she had no stomach for the schemes that came with titles and estates.<...
2022-06-27 23:03:24 +0000 UTC View PostThe welcoming room is a bit crowded holding my team, Orphelia’s team, Sebas’ corpse, Cloud, two of Miss Alyssa’s lackeys to make sure no one bolts, and my servants.
There aren’t enough seats for everyone. Being one of the homeowners, I claim one couch for myself, gesturing for Kierr...
2022-06-24 21:29:29 +0000 UTC View PostI sincerely hope that Orphelia’s goal wasn’t to keep this quiet because the stampede heading our way is the opposite of that. As the hours passed, more teams exited the Sanctuary and were drawn into the impromptu meet-and-greet. Dozens of curious eyes are paying rapt attention as fourteen peo...
2022-06-24 21:29:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe sky is drab and overcast as we finally reach the gate, reflecting our group’s heavy mood. Robert understandably lagged behind, wanting to put distance between himself and the royal corpse on my shoulder. His friends joined him in a show of solidarity, taking on his quiet countenance.
...
2022-06-22 19:56:55 +0000 UTC View Post“Need a hand?” I ask the dual affinity water and light caster as I see her struggling to get a good grip on the rolled blanket. Wonder what other secrets she’s hiding? And if it’s worth finding them out.
“I could use a hand, yes.” She steps aside as I effortlessly grab the blank...
2022-06-20 21:43:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Well…fuck.”
“Fuck,” Alana echoes. Then she dashes off.
I don’t know what she thinks she’s going to accomplish. Ethor and his team are quite obviously dead. So is Sebas. No coming back from your brains leaking out of your skull. Besides, she’s not going to heal anyone ...
2022-06-20 21:43:03 +0000 UTC View PostAs the creature ordered, Orphelia observed. She had no choice as her thoughts scrambled, the spells she’d formed forcefully pulled beyond her reach, accompanied by a pounding headache. Ethor launched his spell. At the same time, Robert, Cecile, and Lanston dropped to the ground, their eyes roll...
2022-06-17 21:20:23 +0000 UTC View PostMany times throughout her training, Orphelia experienced moments when the world seemed to slow down. Her father explained that it was her body reacting to extreme danger, pushing itself to the limit of its abilities. Rather than danger, as she was never motivated by fear, she likened the moments ...
2022-06-17 21:20:21 +0000 UTC View Post“Tough break.”
Robert sneered at the mounted leader, all the while trying desperately to place the man. Nothing came to mind, which wasn’t a surprise. He remembered few faces from his training. Most of his teaching came from personal instruction. The only time he saw other students wa...
2022-06-15 18:36:47 +0000 UTC View PostRobert may be brooding over his lot in life but the others are more excited. Like Arthur. The mounted team is nothing but tiny dots in the distance but he watches their approach with anticipation, his body making disturbingly loud popping sounds as he limbers up.
Well, Arthur’s the only w...
2022-06-13 21:45:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe last day of the qualifiers end with a lack of action and a strange tension between the two teams crammed in and around our small shelter. I never expected problems but the sheer ease in which the test was accomplished is a bit surprising. Bell told me that my expectations for others’ abilit...
2022-06-13 21:45:11 +0000 UTC View PostOur ‘bath’ takes a whole hour. Cloud once again is carried by me, her strong legs wrapped around my waist as she leans against my back. Affectionate growling by my ear is interrupted by quick licks and cute whines as she nuzzles me.
Surprisingly, the shelter reflects our happy mood. The...
2022-06-01 19:46:33 +0000 UTC View PostCloud remains blissfully out of sorts as I carry her to the watering hole. The spotted doglike monsters that seem abundant in this part of the Sanctuary have isolated the end of the large watering hole close to our shelter. They snarl as I approach but I ignore their bared fangs. One lunges for m...
2022-05-30 19:40:24 +0000 UTC View PostOrphelia watched Lou until the summoner broke into a run and became a brown blur. She added ‘fast’ to her mental file on the woman. She had a feeling that it would grow extensively.
Lourianne Tome was an existence like no other. Forget the pinnacle of the human body. She had thrown away...
2022-05-30 19:40:22 +0000 UTC View PostHer whorish moans echo throughout the shelter but I can hear our audience making conversation.
“W-what is she doing to her?” Lanston questions. His heart is fluttering like a bird taking flight.
Sebas scoffs but it lacks his usual scorn. “If you ever left your room, you’d know...
2022-05-27 16:25:20 +0000 UTC View PostI wake up with a hand between my legs.
Not an uncommon way to wake up but it only takes a moment for me to realize that I’m not at home and the hand doesn’t belong to my wife. I inhale deeply, confirming that Cloud is behind me but the naughty limb doesn’t belong to her.
The gui...
2022-05-27 16:25:18 +0000 UTC View PostHabit caused Robert to wake early. He groggily sat up, body aching from the hard ground. His eyes blinked rapidly, trying to force away the dirt and crud around them, as his brain slowly started up. Memories of the previous day came back to him and he frowned.
He was up due to a habit of pr...
2022-05-27 16:25:17 +0000 UTC View PostHearing my team approach, I reluctantly sit up and wrap the blanket I’m lying on around my shoulders. Orphelia watches every movement like a hawk. In fact, everything about her makes me think of a predator. Not the looming dread that is my wife. More of a quiet pair of eyes, watching and waitin...
2022-05-25 20:14:51 +0000 UTC View PostOrphelia handed over the other piece of monster meat and copied Lou’s posture, crossing her legs. It was difficult to contain her reaction to the first bite. Was meat supposed to melt in her mouth? Her teeth barely had to work to get through the succulent flesh and flavorful juices coated her t...
2022-05-25 20:14:50 +0000 UTC View PostIf Orphelia had to describe what she saw after stepping into the shelter in one word, she would sarcastically call it scenic.
It was hard to see the artificial cave as a shelter made by initiates who should have little experience building anything. The smooth walls and compact earth said a ...
2022-05-25 20:14:48 +0000 UTC View PostWith the team rushing as fast as they were able, it didn’t take long before they spotted the smoke trail without the aid of Lanston’s tool. The urgency of the others infected Orphelia a little, her awareness dropping as she let her anticipation grow.
She yelled them to a stop when she s...
2022-05-23 20:44:31 +0000 UTC View PostAfter four hours of walking, Sebas and Cecile recovered from their mana strain but the strenuous physical activity wore them down until they looked nearly as bad as Robert. The aspiring hero bore the pain in his side stoically as he marched on, the endurance built from his training showing its me...
2022-05-23 20:44:28 +0000 UTC View PostI expected the others would be happy with my success. Instead, as the tantalizing smell of Geneva roasting a monster bird fills our shelter, my teammates are all wearing frowns of varying degree. I won’t deny a hint of offense. A glory hound I am not but a thank you and a slap on the back would...
2022-05-23 20:44:26 +0000 UTC View PostBwahahaha!
Saints, the looks on those idiots’ faces! I didn’t expect things to escalate so quickly. All I wanted was to drive the greedy bastards away but the way he sauntered about with complete confidence and set his pet on me pissed me off. He has the gall to try to steal from me and...
2022-05-20 21:10:19 +0000 UTC View Post