Unfortunately, a week wasn’t anywhere near enough time to train the twenty or so new additions to the team. They did have enough suits of power armor for all of them once Sam made some repairs and Dan updated their runescripting, but having the equipment didn’t make the new hires combat ready.
Abe and William had all...
2020-03-31 04:47:45 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Look Mr. Thrush,” Bessie DuBlanc spoke to him in a tone of voice that promised disappointment. “The City of New Orleans appreciates everything you’ve done for us. Hell, we know that your team has been the only reason we’ve been able to catch a breath from those damn swamp monsters-”
“The Orakh, Mayor...
2020-03-28 04:35:58 +0000 UTC
View Post
Daniel Thrush’s sword whistled through the air, redirecting the pole axe of an Orakh warrior with a quick tap and a clang of metal as he danced to the side. Time trickled forward at a crawl as he bent backward, letting another axe blade swish through the space he’d occupied a second before. Dan had his spellshields a...
2020-03-17 06:40:31 +0000 UTC
View Post
Lieutenant Colonel Hans Bowman crumpled the report in his hand in disgust and threw it to the ground. He snorted. He should probably stop calling himself a Lieutenant Colonel while he was at it. The army that granted him that rank had already disintegrated into a collection of warlords. Sure, some of them sti...
2020-03-13 02:41:45 +0000 UTC
View Post
Garnash sat on his throne, a pair of shamans attending him, as he stared at the image of the blue and green planet in the viewing crystal. Numerous servitors shuddered as he shifted his bulk, afraid that they would draw his attention. Garnash was known for adding his servitors and thralls to his seat of power, a rough pi...
2020-03-12 03:06:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Where is she,” Dan grabbed LT’s heavily burned shoulder, forcing a hiss of pain out of the other man. “I don’t have the time or will to play judge, jury and executioner for you but I will if I have to. Just let me know where Sam is and I’ll leave and never look back. With the System it will take more t...
2020-03-10 05:01:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
“This is going to be an absolute mess,” Dan’s voice was heavy as he turned to look at Jennifer and William. “It’s time for us to get the hell out of here before things get any worse.”
“Worse?” William stared at Dan in disbelief. “How in the seven hells could anything get worse? Our governmen...
2020-03-08 23:51:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
Dan made it to Rosslyn without much trouble. The soldiers on both sides were too focused on their battle around the Capitol to spare one individual running through the night much of a second thought. Once he left Washington D.C. it only took him about fifteen minutes to find the park. Then it was a matter of waitin...
2020-03-05 05:40:40 +0000 UTC
View Post
"Daddy?" Jennifer cocked her head to the side as she looked at the officer. "We need to get you out of here right away. The Thoth Foundation put too much into planning this for you to get out of it alive if you stick around to fight things out."
"Did your little traitor boyfriend tell you that," the gun was pointin...
2020-03-03 04:07:16 +0000 UTC
View Post
Creeping into the city was easier than Dan expected. Given the Capital's foreboding atmosphere he had anticipated roving squads of CHT partisans preventing people from moving freely. Instead, the streets were almost completely deserted. The majority of the city's residents were long gone, having escaped well before...
2020-03-02 05:30:41 +0000 UTC
View Post
It only took Dan and Jennifer about twenty minutes to find the nearest road, but that hardly helped. The road itself was a winding gravel affair that stretched endlessly through the woods. The snow covering the road itself was unmarred by tire tracks as far as Dan could see. He didn’t really know where he was or ...
2020-02-27 03:04:23 +0000 UTC
View Post
“I need to go back Dan,” Jennifer was pacing back and forth as images from Earth played on the scrying stone. Fires burned in the streets of Washington DC as armed figures darted in between high rises. Occasionally a plane or helicopter flew overhead. No one could tell who was winning or losing via scrying, and...
2020-02-25 07:06:43 +0000 UTC
View Post
Dan spent the next couple of weeks in the gym trying to perfect a fire aura spell. He couldn’t control anything about the situation on Earth, and even thinking about it stressed him out, so Dan tried to focus on what he could control. Improving himself. Meditation and training weren’t the perfect solution to th...
2020-02-24 06:10:44 +0000 UTC
View Post
After yanking the beacon’s cable out of the teleportation panel, Dan followed Gregory to the scrying chamber. Stepping into the room he waved at Jennifer to get her attention while she stood hunched over the scrying stone.
“Welcome back Dan,” Jennfier spoke distractedly, her eyes glued to the disc of stone in front...
2020-02-20 06:12:39 +0000 UTC
View Post
Dan pulled up mental walls to ward off the effects of Willot’s mana. Despite his efforts, Dan had to admit to himself that he was more than a little shaken. Whether it was the mana or the elf demanding his own death, he was more than a little off of his game. Luckily, Jennifer was mostly silent as they followed t...
2020-02-19 05:59:27 +0000 UTC
View Post
Dan blinked away the mental static from teleportation. He was kneeling on a teleportation platform somewhere else, his sword still in his hand. He stood up and looked around, taking in the metallic room that resembled the void ship’s teleportation chamber complete with an oversized teleportation beacon. The only ...
2020-02-16 19:41:48 +0000 UTC
View Post
Sneaking onto the ship itself was almost disappointingly easy. With the number of Tellask soldiers nearby, Dan kept expecting one of them to point up and sound the alarm. Instead their numbers gave them a false sense of security. By and large they were focused on either their own tasks or day to day trivialities. &...
2020-02-12 02:44:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
“So what do you call your fans?” Dan asked Jennifer after catching up with her. He could tell by the stiffness in her shoulders that she was still fairly pissed off at Reggie.
“Fans,” she responded curtly. “I keep them interested through gameplay and occasional question and answer segments. Darkstry...
2020-02-10 03:54:23 +0000 UTC
View Post
Dan and Jennifer raced through the alley. The rattle of high caliber gunfire guided them toward the next problem spot, and fairly quickly they exited just behind a line of soldiers. Two light armored vehicles were blocking the street and burning merrily as the coalition forces took cover behind them and periodically open...
2020-02-09 18:31:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
A) If you can read this, thank you for sticking with me as I write this.
B) If you would like a thank you as I publish on Royal Road please let me know your username (either via pm or in the comments) so I can publicly thank you for your support.
2020-02-06 04:53:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
The influx of military equipment let the coalition forces push fairly deep into the landing site. The Tellask didn’t have a good answer for the 50 caliber machine guns affixed to the humvees. The weapons easily overpowered the low-level man portable spellshields worn by the infantry and bear calvary causing the r...
2020-02-06 04:51:48 +0000 UTC
View Post
Dan ignored the fight in the sky above him. Even if he could have contributed with a combination of gravitational easing and force bubble, he suspected that launching himself into the sky would make him a prime target for elven mages. Ahead of him, a team of soldiers jumped into the hole created by an artillery shell and...
2020-02-05 03:10:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
Chapter 24 - Retaking the Amazon (I)
Dan’s relief was palpable when the walkie talkie chirped at him. Jennifer and him had only been stuck in the tree for a couple of days, but the environment was beyond rank. The Imperial troops only came by firing spells into the canopy once or twice more, bu...
2020-02-03 23:09:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
Now that I'm slowing down to a more manageable rate (2-3 hours of writing every night was wiping me out) there will be more editing and advanced chapters. My goal is to release 3 chapters a week 'normally' and to have at least 3 chapters written in advance here.
The first tier will get the next chapter, the second tier will get all ...
2020-02-03 03:00:45 +0000 UTC
View Post
Chapter 23 - Monsters and Prey
Dan frowned as the war lizard crashed through the jungle, Imperial soldiers fanning out to either side of it looking through the undergrowth for him and Jennifer. Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn’t help but think that they needed a better term for the...
2020-02-03 02:57:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
For the purpose of giving a shout-out, please let me know who I should be giving said shout out too (I know some people might not want me using their real names).
Right now I'm trying to edit the first 25 chapters of Book 1 as I think hey could use some heavy reworking, but I thought that providing a PDF version of Book 1 (if anyone wants...
2020-01-21 03:50:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
To those supporting me, thank you for chipping in. I'm going to try to spend this weekend getting a couple of chapters ahead. My general plan is still to release chapters as I write them once I get a few ahead, but this way you will have access to the rough drafts first (and hopefully it will give me a bit more time to edit my work b...
2020-01-17 14:58:39 +0000 UTC
View Post
I really don't know how to do exclusive content properly, but I am uploading an early draft of a science fiction + magic (I would call it science fantasy, but the 'science fiction' portion leans in the 'harder' direction).
It's a work that I'm half very proud of and half very frustrated with and have been meaning to revisit. I love ...
2020-01-17 03:19:11 +0000 UTC
View Post