It was quiet in my mindscape as I tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. As the seconds ticked by I knew anything would be better than nothing as Desero's shock would soon abate, and I would lose my momentary advantage if you could call it that. So, without really knowing where I was going wi...
2021-04-01 07:44:40 +0000 UTC View Post"I'm Est," I said.
The woman didn't reply, just staring at me in utter surprise, as if telling someone your name was the most ridiculous thing in the world. I wondered again about the oddity of Grablons and names.
"Laurel," she finally said, staring right at me.
I nodded, gettin...
2021-04-01 07:44:06 +0000 UTC View PostWithout any hesitation, I swam back up towards the bow of the ship. How do I get up? I shouted in my mind.
The water around me surged, and a tentacle crashed by me, causing a cyclone in the water, shoving me aside. When I regained my bearings, I found myself dozens of meters away f...
2021-04-01 07:43:33 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I woke, it was to the gentle swaying of my hammock and the soft muttering from the top deck. It took me a few moments to realize where I was. The ship's voice had nagged me to sleep but was luckily gone now, and I was almost afraid to move out of fear of having it start again. It had told me...
2021-04-01 07:42:48 +0000 UTC View PostI groaned contentedly as I pushed myself up from the table, trying to ignore the annoyed and curious stares from the Grablon soldiers around me. The plates before me were cleaned so well they could almost be reused, and even the basket with bread, oh god, bread, was cleaned of crumbs. My...
2021-04-01 07:41:45 +0000 UTC View PostMy mind cleared from the unexpected threat, and I just raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you think I am not one of your people?"
I only just managed to dodge to the side and seek refuge behind a small table as one of the fireballs was flung at my head. No more came, and I slowly looked acros...
2021-04-01 07:41:00 +0000 UTC View Post"What's that disgusting smell?"
"Don't look. It's that hobo Grablon over there."
"Is that blood? He looks like he just came from some battle…"
I ignored the comments, and the many more that followed, heeding Eristin's warning seriously as I traveled across the tent riddled squ...
2021-04-01 07:39:46 +0000 UTC View PostSomehow, losing the handle of my first ax hurt more than I had realized it would. At least I learned from the second try. Although it didn't come in rapid bursts, my strength kept increasing, and the weight of my ax needed to keep up. I had made the ax blade a little larger again and thicker in t...
2021-04-01 07:35:31 +0000 UTC View PostI have no recollection of how long Barry dragged me along, only of slamming into the ground and feeling my back drag across uneven surfaces. When he finally stopped and lay me on the ground, my entire body was bruised. Barely awake, I grasped around until I touched something that felt like bark. ...
2021-03-27 07:17:36 +0000 UTC View Post"Move, you big piece of!"
I groaned as I shoved against the final, massive log. With a creak, it finally toppled over and rolled into the open area around the life-pod tree.
It was the last I needed for my plan. Dripping with sweat, I put my back against it and rolled the almost two-m...
2021-03-27 07:16:41 +0000 UTC View PostAs I felt the cold wind blow around my privates, I shivered. How am I going to do anything like this?
Focus! You can create what you need here! The grumpy old voice snapped, shaking me from my worry of being naked and weaponless.
What do you mean? I thought,...
2021-03-27 07:15:53 +0000 UTC View PostWhat the hell does it want? I thought, staring at the arm that was signaling at me rapidly.
I didn't dare speak. My face still stung from the slap it had given me the first time I tried. Attempting to make out what it meant, I saw it repeat the same pattern of gestures.
A fin...
2021-03-27 07:15:10 +0000 UTC View PostA soft shaking and low mumbling woke me up. My first reaction was to freeze, hoping nobody had seen me below the bed as my fear rose. I scanned my body but didn't feel any pain. Then it hit me. I didn't feel anything, period.
My mind snapped awake, and I realized my eyes were already open. ...
2021-03-27 07:14:32 +0000 UTC View PostAs I stared at the decapitated little carving, I patted the slight bulge on my chest and felt it poke into my chest muscles.
Let's hope nobody hits me here, I thought with a wince.
The things Rathica had told me played through my mind.
Absentmindedly, I placed the remai...
2021-03-27 07:13:57 +0000 UTC View PostI sat, staring along the path between two camps into the depths of the forest.
Where are you, Eliandra?
My worry was so great I had asked the Preyatar followers what they knew. All that got me was some mock laughter and another regaling of how they sacked Dursic and chased of...
2021-03-27 07:13:18 +0000 UTC View PostGrabbing the small knife, I continued adding to the pile of wood carvings that lay around me. A few hours later, I laid down the knife and looked at the butterfly-shaped blade with a happy nod. It wasn't any kind of masterwork, but it would suffice. In a single fluid motion, I shoved the ax handl...
2021-03-27 07:12:41 +0000 UTC View PostIn the end, the uncertainty of rushing into the unfamiliar ruins and perhaps having to fight those two made me stay put. I waited for them and watched intently as they reached the border of the crumbling pillars. As they stepped through, it was as if a shimmering forcefield appeared, and a second...
2021-03-27 07:12:04 +0000 UTC View Post"Get lost," I screamed across my shoulder while having a massive sense of Deja Vu and urging the Vengeful Mount to greater speed.
The soft padding of the massive bird that came from behind me made me almost wish I had stuck with walking. Almost. Spotting a dense area of burned looking bushe...
2021-03-27 07:11:27 +0000 UTC View PostWith a soft thud, the last of the two possessed Hags hit the ground. The forest loomed all around me, dark and brooding. Looking at the last of the hags, I shivered. Alone again. Warm, damp air clung to everything, including my face, and I wiped the moisture away. Not the first time, nor...
2021-03-21 18:11:37 +0000 UTC View Post"Come on. I'm pretty sure you can do better than me!" I said, looking at the Hag and feeling afraid. I desperately searched for an idea, a way out. There was none. Rathica, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need your help! I screamed a prayer in my mind, and a soft chime sounded thr...
2021-03-21 18:10:56 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I woke that morning, Smell was again standing guard while Scar was pressed close to me. Feeling the warmth she radiated, I shrugged. I could get used to that, although…a host of memories of Sandra and my time in the flat flowed through my mind. I closed my eyes and let them come. I had bot...
2021-03-21 18:10:15 +0000 UTC View Post"I won't tell you anything!" The Fin'r Goblin shouted again. The ax against his throat appeared to barely faze him.
Dammit, do I really have to torture this guy? I thought, wondering how waterboarding worked. I had read about it once but never imagined I might need to use it.
The darkness had encroached on the forest so fast it seemed like someone put a blanket over it. I sat below the bush, squinting at the guard tower, my night vision barely reaching that far. The Fin'r Goblins were just grey outlines atop the tower.
Why don't they have a bloody watch fire...
2021-03-21 18:08:56 +0000 UTC View PostA soft howling woke me from a deep, dreamless sleep. Groggily I turned on my side, trying to find the blankets, a fog covering my mind. Had I been drinking? I couldn't recall. Stupid neighbors. Stupid dog. Couldn't they just let that thing inside so it wouldn't wake me up every day? And where the...
2021-03-21 18:08:18 +0000 UTC View PostAn hour after I set out with Scar and Smell, we were deep inside an immense thornbush. It was three meters or more high and so deep I didn't see the end.
Groaning as another thorn scratched one of my uncovered arms, I pushed a few branches out of my way. The two Wirgs easily navigated the u...
2021-03-21 18:07:45 +0000 UTC View PostIt was deathly quiet in the short hallway. When I moved forward, the crunching of my footsteps on the dust, sand, and debris sounded like shrapnel going off. The ceiling was surprisingly high, something I hadn't noticed while looking inside.
So, this was Rathica's previous form's temple? I ...
2021-03-21 18:06:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe remaining three weeks passed in a blur of ax handling, wood crafting, and skimming through the spell books, searching for desirable spells. With my learning rate back to it's natural six, I could learn two small spells in the remaining days and ended up choosing Gills and Remove Body Modifica...
2021-03-21 18:05:59 +0000 UTC View PostReaching the door to Dursic, I stared at it with trepidation. What should I expect? Perhaps nothing? Taking a deep breath, ax at the ready, I slowly opened the door a crack. A waft of thick warm air poured inside. I saw a part of the wall. Long red smears and soot stains covered the portion I saw...
2021-03-21 18:04:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe days passed in a blur, a painful, repetitive, and annoying blur. I quickly lost track of day and night, neither of which was determinable in the library, deciding to just sleep when I felt like it. When I woke, I mixed practicing the ax-forms Haltir had taught me with learning the first spell...
2021-03-20 13:07:38 +0000 UTC View PostI snuck through the halls of the temple, listening closely for any patrolling paladins. In one hand, I carried a pack filled with food pilfered from the kitchen, and two others held leather sacks with water. In the last one, I held my bag, stuffed to the brim with wood.
I hope she isn't...
2021-03-20 13:07:06 +0000 UTC View Post