Jonathan A Countyman

Chapter Fourteen Children of Streg

Hikaru looked up as armored footsteps approached, moments before Roselyn entered the room. Her armor had clearly seen better days, it had been regal and pristine when he met her now it had numerous deep rents in it and some of the plate was missing. Seems she was the type to get into the thick of the fighting. Her visible skin looked fine though...

Chapter Thirteen Clearing Streg

Streg had always been a quiet community about a week away from Arcs on foot. Settled a short distance from the banks of the Yutal River. Hikaru had stayed here briefly when he’d traveled to Arcs from Varitul. The locals were a mix of fishermen, farmers and lumberjacks. The river made it easier for them to ship their lumber down to Arcs.

...

Chapter Twelve Guild Quest

Around the same time that Arlie and company were leaving town, Hikaru was at the guild bar. Idly he played with his mug half lost in thought. He wasn’t really sure what to do, his former party had broken up. Nothing he could do about that, better than being kicked out. Perhaps, yet the result remained the same. Unfortunately, that last quest h...

Chapter One Fifty-Three Nest Clearing and Armies I

Milith sat down and relaxed, her pods were nearly done growing her army, she’d gotten some replies from Arrieta and figured she’d link up with her soon. In the meantime she had nothing to do but kill time. A set of footsteps drew her attention and she noted Kari walking in. The young girl was dressed in a low cut top and a matching split ski...

Chapter Eleven Armor and Swords

Arlie stood in front of the mirror, Ria a step behind her. She’d been in town for a few days, while she got her new armor made. It wouldn’t help her in the Red Temple, given she wouldn’t be able to take a single thing with her, not even clothing into the trial. But it would help her reach the temple, and be useful traveling to the next. Ov...

Interlude Shopping, Guild Cards, and Diversions

Arlie followed her aunt and Polca down the street. They were heading to a shop Polca recommended that specialized in making mage armor. In other words, they were the type of combat robes Polca was wearing. Yet Arlie couldn’t help looking at her new guild card, one that would prove far more useful. It was a lovely card with a bit of weight in h...

Chapter Ten The Guild

Arlie walked down the early morning street with her aunt Ria. The two of them were heading to the Adventurers guild and then they would be shopping. The Twins had left with Horon to help Horon get his new hammer and they’d be stopping by the guild later for registration. Meanwhile, Thron was staying at the local Contrey home with Ixil. Current...

Chapter Nine Auntie Ria Contrey

Arlie reached up to knock on the door. After the incident, she’d helped do some cleanup with the guards before linking back up with the others to visit her aunt. The guards had put together a unit to hunt down the black terrors that had run off and locate any remaining monsters. She’d also heard that additional requests were being put to the...

Chapter Eight The Town of Arcs

The cart rumbled down the road as Dusk the mare Arlie had bought dutifully pulled the small cart along. The group of six kept together as they joined other travelers on the roads. Up ahead the forest had opened up to reveal the fields running along the banks of the rivers Yutal and Vulkira.

None of them paid much attention to the farms, fe...

Chapter Seven The Lost Demon

Lily surveyed the treeline as the early morning rays of the sun lit the surroundings. Beside her the campfire was just starting to warm back up as she absently stoked the coals. It had been a few days since they started traveling and so far it had been pretty peaceful. Right now Arlie and Rose were curled up in the girl’s tent. In the case of ...

Chapter Six To Arcs We March

Arlie double-checked her bags, the dragon Aurora had thankfully left, but she was still chewing on all she had been told. The portents of the prophecy were certainly dark, but she wasn’t sure if they should be taken seriously. A breath left her, not that it would be easy to tell. The events in the forest notwithstanding, life in Voros was gene...

Interlude The Regions: Varixyies

Varixyies is a highly mountainous and forested region centrally located in Northern Altis. Sheltered on three sides by dense mountain ranges, the area experiences a stable warm climate. Gentle rains are common, carried in by seasonal winds while two rivers feed the region with fresh water. The smaller of the two rivers, the Yutal feeds into the ...

Chapter Five Trials and the Contrey Family Library

Questions abounded, as the words Arlie had uttered continued to echo in their minds. Rose spoke, “That...”

She trailed off, Aurora grinned, “Well in light of that prophecy, it seems to me that Arlie should take the Trial of the Five Temples. Summoning a god would be no easy feat, but if someone could conquer all five temples they wou...

Chapter Four Aurora

There hanging above the battlefield, Arlie spotted one of the most fearsome beings in the world. In front of her, the beast she’d just been fighting was groveling, its tail between its legs, its head bowed. The whimpers were pitiful, it was hard to believe she’d just been fighting such a fierce beast, or imagine the thing as fearsome at all....

Chapter Three Trouble in the Forest III

Arlie looked around, today had been a long day. The sun was trending towards setting, the light wouldn’t start to fade for another two handspans. It was almost time to get back to the village, Eric and his guards had already started escorting the captive bandits and rescued women back to Voros. He’d also taken Thron with him, but she had sta...

Chapter Two Trouble in the Forest II

The forest was quiet aside from the occasional snap of a branch and the clang of armored feet as the group made their way through the trees. Overhead the sun was high in the sky, light filtering through the branches to cast shadows on the forest floor, a floor covered in leaves and fallen branches. Making it rather hard to see the packed dirt pa...

Chapter One Trouble in the Forest I

Arlie stretched lazily as she slipped out of bed, a yawn leaving her lips. Honestly she hadn’t slept as well as she would have liked. Her dreams had been rather... troubled, each one more disturbing than the last. 

Looking out her window, she noted that most of the villagers had already started their day. The sun had been up for a b...

Prologue Voice of the Prophet

It was a normal day, much like any other day, or rather night. The sun had long since set, and the light of the twin moons, their blue-green spheres shone down on the world. For the young mage it was already getting late, as she sat there in a tree, her legs dangling from a branch. Why she had come out to this tree, she didn’t really recall, b...

Chapter One Fifty-Two Reinforcements and Conclusions

Come morning, Emily gathered her kids, loaded her cart, and headed out of town. She didn’t share what she had seen with Amber though. She wasn’t sure what Amber would say. Instead she focused on getting to Bordertown, she had to talk with her mother and Phillip. Both of them would know what to do, she just knew it.

Several figures saw ...

Chapter One Fifty-One Letters and Clues

Notice: Chapter is extra long, I'm trying to close out the Abyss arc, so I made several extra large chapters towards that end.

Eriko settled into her office chair, her gaze on the letter. Her mind however was on her last visit to Reiko’s dungeon home. She’d had a lot of fun and her guards had enjoyed the challenge of test...

Interlude Visions from Afar

Arlie settled into a chair, her potions were about done. All that was left for them to rest and set, then she could deliver them to the town. Baring a breast, she embraced little Ren, the young spider girl was hungry. While she was expecting a child, it was naturally too early for her to be lactating, but a girl this young needed milk, a mother�...

Chapter One Fifty Homes and Messes

Arrieta stepped out of the Moonlit Departures guild and smiled at the warm sun and lovely company. She rather liked the air of this dungeon town. A few figures joined her in a moment and looked around. She’d brought the poor boy she’d rescued from Lydia to Bordertown, along with his sisters and their daughters.

Darrel was certainly cha...

Chapter One Forty-Nine The Snake’s Den

The girl glanced between Milith and the scary lady, confusion evident on her face. Milith noticed, but the girl spoke before she could say anything, “Why are you talking with the scary lady like that?”

“I know she hurt you, but she’s a parasite. There were things I had to know and the woman we see is innocent, the snake within not ...

Chapter One Forty-Eight Puzzles and One Woman Crusades

“Sex!” declared Kei, just moments before there was a click the wall sliding open to reveal a passage into the room beyond.

Amy sighed, “Well good job Kei.”

Mara came close, “Ready to check it out with me?”

Kei nodded and the pair slipped into the room, checking for traps or monsters that might be hiding within. Afte...

Chapter One Forty-Seven Milith’s Investigation

Milith set down on a bluff overlooking the water. Several fishing ships could be seen out on the water, she wasn’t that far from Bleakwater, but even from the air she’d felt the corruption. Abyssal mana hung heavy in the air, dense and heavy it seemed to fill the land. Something was amiss around here, it seemed to her that the Abyssals were ...

Chapter One Forty-Six Adventures in the Maze

Amy was quick to get her party into formation, even as she took into account the positions of the minotaurs. There were three of them, two female, the last one a futa, but they were all level thirty-five and armed with axes. Having the one on their flank wasn’t ideal, but she’d planned for this. Eri looked pretty excited, as she blocked the ...