“We’re recruiting,” Ed said, handing Bernt a stack of fliers. “I had a meeting with Magistrate Gerold this morning and we’re expanding. If what I’m hearing from Iriala about the duergar is true, we need to move quickly.”
“Expanding?” Bernt blinked and looked down at the fliers. “I assume it’s not about improving sewer...
2024-07-08 16:59:13 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, I'm still waiting on edits for the next chapter, so I'm gonna drop a lore dump to give you guys something to look at. We're going to be seeing a lot more demons in book 2.
Additionally, I want to drop the discord link here for anyone who isn't looking at RR anymore: 2024-07-07 12:06:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Alright, here we go! My editor still hasn't gotten back to me, so there might still be some tweaks, but I didn't want to wait any longer. Enjoy!
“I’m afraid I can’t offer you a lease at this time.” The sweaty, balding dwarf said with a professionally pained expression on his face. It was warm and muggy in the proper...
2024-07-03 20:37:52 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, chapter 1 isn't quite ready yet, so it's going up tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.
2024-07-02 21:14:09 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, my editor hasn't had time to go over this, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging so long, so I'm putting this up now. I'll paste in the fresh text once the edits are in.
“Jori, hi!” Elyn gushed “Look guys, it’s Jori!”
Furin offered a neutral grunt, while Therion gave her a friendly nod. 2024-06-16 16:45:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Alright guys, here we go, sorry about the delay! This is our first close look at spell mechanics -- let me know if anything in there is too unclear, my editor already had me clean some stuff up.
Bernt gripped at the wand in his sleeve, struggling to contain himself from casting any spells as he made his way toward the gate....
2024-06-14 18:27:50 +0000 UTC View PostBernt held the vial up to his face as he walked, admiring the drop of burning rain inside. It wasn’t just a bit of burning liquid, as he’d expected. No, it formed a sort of smoky mist that swirled lazily inside the container for a few seconds before condensing into a single, gravity-defying golden droplet that hung there for a moment before ...
2024-06-11 17:24:00 +0000 UTC View PostIt's a long one today! This one has a lot of important plot info so it has to go down pretty smoothly. Please throw it in the comments if any part of the talks feel off in terms of tone or substance, cause I need this chapter to hit. Cheers!
“Your failure yesterday cost us nearly forty guards and over two hundred civilian...
2024-06-08 18:55:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe crafter’s quarter was in shambles. As he made his way through, he saw broken windows and beaten-down doors everywhere. Ìt looked like the kobolds had looted everything they could – or perhaps a few of the local residents had helped themselves in the aftermath. Bernt hadn’t actually experienced life on the street, but he’d been close...
2024-06-07 07:39:40 +0000 UTC View PostTwo hours later, Bernt was sitting back at the Underkeepers’ headquarters in the main room, alongside his colleagues. Nearly everyone looked as beat up as he did. Covered in sweat, grime, and minor injuries that weren’t worth wasting a healing potion on. Someone had brought in a few bottles of wine, and they passed one around as they swapped...
2024-06-05 16:49:09 +0000 UTC View PostKustov, as it turned out, was going to be just fine – though not necessarily very soon. He’d taken a deep puncture wound to the leg, and that tourniquet had probably saved his life. That healing potion probably helped a little, too, but Bernt doubted that it would have been enough.
By the time they reached the main guard station, Kusto...
2024-05-31 20:01:23 +0000 UTC View PostHi all! Two points to update you guys on. 1. My editor's out of town until Monday. I'm going to post my content anyway, but this means you're actually seeing another entire stage earlier in the content process. What that means is there might be a greater discrepancy between what you see here, and what goes up on RR until next week. If that ...
2024-05-31 19:34:00 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 40 was supposed to go up here today, but my editor and I are still playing catch-up a bit. I have tomorrow off, so ideally I'll get 40 and 41 up for you guys on Friday.
cheers
Moose
2024-05-30 19:15:12 +0000 UTC View PostThis might still get few tweaks in the final RR version, but I wanted to get it out for you guys. Enjoy!
Master Alchemist Theresa stared at the letter, reading it for the third time as she ignored the alarms sounding from the breach near the western walls. The guards would be fighting kobolds there – nothing serious in he...
2024-05-27 15:46:56 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, I've gone and revised chapter 38 to move something up that was going to happen later in the story. I had a lot of grumbling and impatience on this issue on RR, so I decided to do a bit of rearranging to change the pacing of this particular story thread. The new content is effectively the first half of the chapter, after the first Jor...
2024-05-25 19:05:05 +0000 UTC View PostBernt cut his lunch break short that day to make a stop at a tailor’s shop. If he was going to see the Solicitors, he needed to do everything he could to make the best possible impression. He guessed this was going to cost quite a bit of silver, but it would be worth it.
Besides, he had a debt to pay.
“You want a ‘toddler-sized...
2024-05-22 18:23:19 +0000 UTC View PostI'm posting this before the 2nd round of edits, so there might be some tweaks to this later, but I wanted to get this up for you guys. Cheers!
When Bernt left for work that morning, Jori didn’t follow. Instead, she took a left turn after getting into the sewer system and darted toward the crafter’s district.
She k...
2024-05-20 08:39:52 +0000 UTC View PostBernt’s stomach began to tie itself into knots as he entered the Crafter’s District and approached Master Theresa’s Alchemy lab. If Jori had gotten herself caught by the alchemists, he didn’t know what he was going to do. What could they do with a demon?
Her blood alone was probably some kind of alchemical treasure tr...
2024-05-18 08:00:48 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m sorry, but our supply or burning rain is extremely limited right now,” the merchant said, eying Therion in a manner that seeme...
2024-05-15 19:32:50 +0000 UTC View Post“I’ve suspended assignments for the Alchemists’ Guild entirely.” Ed said, sighing as he picked up his cup of tea for a sip. It was made of delicate porcelain, decorated with flowers around the rim. The tea matched the cup in quality. He inhaled the fragrant steam, enjoying the scent. “We’ve been ordered to review all safety procedure...
2024-05-14 15:47:23 +0000 UTC View PostBernt wasn’t expected to show up to work the next day, so he resolved to spend it studying. Jori had come in some time during the night, climbing in through the window without waking him. He still didn’t know exactly how she got it open, but he supposed it didn’t matter. She lived here, too.
It was already noon, but she was still asl...
2024-05-11 19:10:38 +0000 UTC View PostJori jumped from the rooftop in the fading light and flared out her wings, catching herself on a balcony railing as she descended. She didn’t make a sound as she landed – which was good. She couldn’t afford to be seen stalking people in the night.
In the street below, the bad-smelling alchemist woman walked, chatting amiably wi...
2024-05-09 16:56:49 +0000 UTC View PostBernt shook his still disturbingly gray hand, trying to banish the uncomfortable sensation of pins and needles creeping deeper into it. He’d drunk the lesser restoration potion on the way home and felt an immediate effect. That wasn’t to say that his hand was fine – it was still healing, and the healing process was more than a little uncom...
2024-05-08 20:23:15 +0000 UTC View PostBernt knew long before he reached his first job site of the day that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary plumbing issue. Dayle had mentioned all the “accidents” that the city’s alchemists were having lately, and this looked like it was another one of those.
The demeanor of the lab’s master alchemist, an iron-haired woman named Th...
2024-05-06 15:44:39 +0000 UTC View PostIriala stalked into the Count’s manor and sat down across from Guard Commander Righmond in the lobby. This was not a great day for court rituals – such as unnecessary waiting times – but nobles needed to feel important the most when faced with calamities like this one. She positioned herself to give the impression that she was making direc...
2024-05-06 15:40:50 +0000 UTC View PostBernt approached the kobold’s breach an hour after dawn, growing more nervous by the second. It was clear that word had spread overnight about what was going on down below. The city buzzed with activity like a kicked anthill. Guards were posted on every street, observing as throngs of people swarmed vendors and merchants, buying up food and su...
2024-05-05 07:32:39 +0000 UTC View PostBernt talked for nearly an hour, explaining how he’d first found Jori in the sewers, and how she’d helped him with his work in the sewers. Some eyebrows rose at that, but no one commented. Then he told them about the dungeon – how he got in, being separated from the group, and how things had grown progressively more desperate after that, u...
2024-05-02 19:23:55 +0000 UTC View PostBernt limped out of the tunnel and into the sewers as guards streamed past to secure it against the pursuing kobolds. While the traps that riddled the tunnels had mostly been disabled, they’d been harried by pursuers almost the entire way back and lost several adventurers along the way.
There were a lot of injuries, and while they had he...
2024-05-01 18:31:32 +0000 UTC View Post“You mean to tell me that my rider got here yesterday bringing news of an imminent invasion, and you didn’t make sure that his message reached the City Council and the Captain of the Guard?” Frederik asked the guard as he rode down the city street. Frederik had been interrogating the poor man ever since they reached the gate, who ...
2023-04-22 18:05:36 +0000 UTC View PostReshid didn’t realize that the attack had started until shouting rang out from up ahead, followed by thumps of impact and the clatter of falling rock. Then, someone started singing as the battle broke out in earnest. They were still on the stairs, but the rearguard pushed at them from behind urging them up more quickly. In seconds, they made t...
2023-04-15 21:02:47 +0000 UTC View Post