Either he cut the rope on his own, or something cut it for him.
I was already moving before the realization fully registered. Even a half-second hesitation could be the difference between life and death. I needed to get in there. Now.
Reading my intent, Halima placed herself between me and the ripple. Her face w...
2022-12-29 00:52:55 +0000 UTC View PostLeaving the wagon and caravan behind, they ushered us into the main gates and through a side entrance. Before we were through, I glimpsed the major thoroughfare to the palace, lined with people and streamers lined with pennant flags.
“What are we doing?” Maya whispered as we trailed through the stony corridors, following a...
2022-12-29 00:51:59 +0000 UTC View PostHi, I'm Eligos. I'm trying to be better at communicating.
First, I want to apologize for the absolutely-all-over-the-place schedule over the last few weeks. There's been a couple big things going on that have required some extra prep work from me, but most of that's done, so it should smooth out from here.
Re: Monarch Webtoon...
2022-12-23 14:15:02 +0000 UTC View Post“My prince.”
I glanced down from my perch on the top of the wagon, looking for the source of the voice. A servant stared up at me, blinking away snow.
“Time to prepare for the grand return?” I asked.
“Aye.” The servant said. “The king wants your armor shined and buffered before we continue into the ci...
2022-12-23 11:37:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe physical therapy room smelled like lemon pledge, sweat, with a subtle yet distinct undercurrent of feces. I didn’t know if they were all like this, like it was some kind of PT signature, but every similar facility in the clinic Nick dragged me to smelled exactly the same.
“Fuck.” Nick swore. He wa...
2022-12-23 11:28:53 +0000 UTC View PostA notification popped.
<Gilded Tower Floor 2>
Tower Assignment: Slay Mandrakes (10/10)
Time: 32:41
I closed the window and...
2022-12-23 11:25:55 +0000 UTC View Post<Miles: Wasn’t sure about the message, but the way you just played that little clusterfuck outside was obvious bait. You clearly wanted me here. I’m here. What now?>
He was probably still outside, making his way through the line.
What now, indeed.
Until I spotted the other Parcae...
2022-12-17 04:45:52 +0000 UTC View PostDearest Kinsley,
I go on to prepare a place for you. Even now, I ascend to find that which you deserve. Along my ascent I found others like me, of which there are many. We are of one mind and soul. We toil and squall and fuck in the fetid mud, while the elites and gods cavort in the skies above, gorging on the fru...
2022-12-17 04:44:09 +0000 UTC View PostDespite all efforts to still my reaction, something in my face answered for me.
Melody immediately backpedaled, physically and literally. “Not like that! It’s just—at the center of so much gossip mystery, you’ll have a long line of ladies looking to make an introduction. Some of which you likely wish to avoid offending...
2022-12-17 04:40:53 +0000 UTC View PostWhat fucking year was it?
With Kinsley’s door, there was a sense of movement. Moving from one room to the next. It didn’t matter that the rooms were far apart, because you still felt that transition, that ...
2022-12-10 02:19:32 +0000 UTC View PostSybil—the woman I previously referred to as Seer—saw us off. The exits were towards the top of the silo in a large cubic room that was littered with narrow stairways that led to various ovals lining the walls, framed by stone. The oval openings contained what looked like a whirlpool of glowing liquid, all draining towards the ce...
2022-12-10 02:14:41 +0000 UTC View PostIn an odd reverse, Nick white-boarded the op while I mostly sat and listened. Not that the plan was perfect, exactly, but we had a familiar cadence when we brainstormed to solve a problem. So, barring any massive oversights, I ...
2022-12-08 01:26:32 +0000 UTC View PostReality, however, is far less glamorous. Dirt and grime gets everywhere, taking any moment of respite or distraction to advance its invasion...
2022-12-08 01:24:08 +0000 UTC View PostDirt, grass, and plant matter showered the camp. The sparse cries of alarm turned to a dull roar as more and more drephin poured from the tents like angry bees, searching for the source of the chaos. Above, the “berserker pixie” continued her siege, collapsing tents and detonating water supplies, realistically zipping side to si...
2022-12-08 01:23:00 +0000 UTC View PostAaron showed me around and told me a little about the history. Apparently, the entire compound was a retired missile silo. After it was decommissioned, it was privately sold, and was in the middle of being converted into some tech bro’s apocalypse hideaway when the dome permanently halted construction.
That was annoying. The...
2022-12-01 03:26:09 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s too fucking soon to move on the tower.” Sunny said.
“I’m aware of you...
2022-12-01 03:24:37 +0000 UTC View PostI woke up on the floor. Something soft cushioned my head. Before I collected myself, a scathing pain shot down my forearm. I pulled back the gauntlet far enough to see the source—a forking cascade of Lichtenberg figures on the underside of my wrist to my palm contoured by light distended flesh, red around the edges.
Great. F...
2022-12-01 03:22:15 +0000 UTC View PostMy father was a sight to behold. And almost entirely unrecognizable. He was unarmored, his expensive tabard tattered and torn, but otherwise unwounded. There was mud smeared across his face and neck, giving him the appearance of a wild man.
I stopped struggling and held my breath.
There was a rustle, barely perceptible. ...
2022-11-24 07:20:27 +0000 UTC View PostAround us, the funeral ground to a halt. My mother’s cries stopped. The line of never-ending people froze in place, along with everyone else.
Hastur repositioned himself, taking a place beside me. “I’ve been doing some research recently. You can learn a lot about a culture from their fables, and knowing the full picture is...
The roar of traffic beneath the overpass overtook everything else. I blinked several times, the ferocity of the summer sun oddly intense. Beside me, the super-heated asphalt of the recently repaved road let off the slightly sour stench of tar. The straps of my always-too-heavy backpack dug into my shoulders.
What was I… ...
2022-11-24 07:16:25 +0000 UTC View Post1. Keep the affairs of the Order of Parcae shielded and secret from outsiders.
2. Answer official queries from Order authority figures truthfully and completely.
3. Limit equipment purchases to the order’s vendors and tradesmen.
4. Report all active system-assigned quests to a member of th...
2022-11-24 07:14:09 +0000 UTC View PostIn yet another quirk of inconsistency, the <Allfather’s Mask> stayed stubbornly permeable even as I attempted to tie the blindfold around the back of my head. This resulted in a thin strap of cloth fastened around the mask itself, hiding whatever was directly in front of me and little else—the view both ab...
2022-11-19 01:24:21 +0000 UTC View PostDisappointment washed over me. The presence of the black beast could only mean one thing. I’d failed. And if the persistent throbbing pain that permeated through my skin and muscle, all the way to my very bones, meant the attempt to teleport through the barrier had damaged my soul, I was in a considerably w...
2022-11-16 00:58:50 +0000 UTC View PostI couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening. I’d fixated so purely on this moment, on every possible, painstaking step I’d might have to take to get to this point and permutation of it that having it happen so quickly and easily felt strange.
And even though I thought I’d considered every possibility, this wasn’t ...
2022-11-10 02:33:46 +0000 UTC View Post“This looks more like a bachelor’s pad than a prison.” Kinsley complained. She lugged a bag of freeze-dried food behind her, readjusting her grip. “And seriously? You’re letting him keep his pet?”
I took it from her and placed it next to the litter box and a small basket of cat toys, ignoring shiva as she clawed at...
2022-11-10 02:31:13 +0000 UTC View PostWith an audible sigh, he hung his keys on the steel hook beside the door, then stopped.
For a moment, he didn’t move. Stayed rooted to the...
2022-11-10 02:29:32 +0000 UTC View Post