Arthur made his way, deliberately slowly and with dignity he imagined befit a noble, down the first few levels. No one offered him a dragon ride down. Not a big surprise -- from the glances outside the windows, many of the hive dragons were still on the wing, seen as darting shadowed shapes in the night air.
This had been already been long...
2022-11-09 07:32:52 +0000 UTC View PostNote: Likely no chapter tomorrow, fyi. So enjoy this beefy one!
Valentina brought Arthur and Cressida into the same luxurious room Arthur had visited before. Which meant that the dark Legendary egg was somewhere on a nearby balcony. Arthur tried not to search around too obviously, but judging by Valentina's grum...
2022-11-04 03:42:46 +0000 UTC View PostArthur looked away from the newly created card, though he was intensely curious. It was a private moment and Cressida was allowed to keep her secrets.
Arthur certainly had enough of his own.
He looked back at a squeak from the dragon. Her scales had returned to full -- vibrancy, almost eye watering -- pink. She stood up on newly stre...
2022-11-03 04:18:40 +0000 UTC View Post"Whose apartment is this?" By Cressida's wary tone, she already knew the answer.
Arthur shrugged and stepped to cover a stain on the thin rug. He couldn't remember what made it. Likely a spilled drink, but it had dried into an unsightly brown splotch. And... there was a lot more dust than he remembered. It covered every surface.
He h...
2022-11-01 04:54:25 +0000 UTC View PostThis chapter gave me so much trouble, you have no idea. I still think it’s a bit grim but, hey, it’s Halloween. Also, the first of two chapters today to make up for the delay!
Arthur and Cressida ran up the stairs to find the scholar's guild in complete chaos. The scourge-bat...
2022-11-01 04:44:06 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the scourge-bats flew right at Arthur. He braced himself and swung the cleaver. It passed right through the bat as if it were an illusion. Except the creature was all too real as it latched onto his forearm with claws like needles. Arthur flailed, switching the knife from one hand to the other to slash down.
But as he did, the bat...
2022-10-27 05:31:44 +0000 UTC View PostArthur slammed the door shut.
An instant later something slammed against the door on the other side. The cracked runes around the flame lit, flickered, and went out again.
There was a rush of hot air behind him. Arthur turned to see Cressida had summoned her flame bear. It was the full version, not the baby bear...
2022-10-26 06:15:57 +0000 UTC View PostUnsure if I'll be able to put out a chapter tomorrow as I'll be driving literally all day. Fingers crossed, though. Writing is a great way to unwind...
Arthur went down the line of shelves. Most of it was stuffed with paperwork of all types: books, scrolls, and loose papers with scribbled notes. Here ...
2022-10-21 06:47:46 +0000 UTC View PostFormatting may be a wacky. Due to the fact I’m working off of 100% cellular internet right now I had to type this up on my phone’s gDocs and copy it over.
Barlow let them in, all smiles, and completely unaware he had just blown Arthur’s cover.
For his part, Arthur could feel Cressida’s eyes like a heat on the...
2022-10-19 05:02:52 +0000 UTC View PostArthur jogged another track around the lower hive tunnels. This earned him a few looks from the stuffiest of the hive attendants and more than a few raised eyebrows from the nobles still hanging around, but he hardly cared.
His running skill was at level 9, and he wanted to see what happened once he crossed the level 10 threshol...
2022-10-17 06:13:09 +0000 UTC View PostHousekeeping note: I'm changing the wording slightly from 'skill' to 'enhancement' when it comes to aspects of Arthur's Body Enhancement card.
Lost in his thoughts and self-recrimination, Arthur lost track of the conversation.
He came back to it at Valentina’s sharp tone.
“I need you t...
2022-10-14 05:51:04 +0000 UTC View PostArthur felt like he had been asleep for five seconds before he heard a knock at the door. He woke, bleary and disoriented at his new surroundings. It took him a startlingly long time to remember Kenzie had gotten him a room in the hive.
It was small and by no means fancy. An inner room without a window. He was lucky that it came...
2022-10-13 04:20:57 +0000 UTC View PostShoving down the unmanly urge to turn tail and see if he could acquire a Quick Escape skill, Arthur stood his ground.
Something -- likely a nudge from his Gentleperson's Charm card -- made him say, "Cressida, how nice to see you this night--uh," he glanced at the sky which had a growing hint of dawn, "morning?"
This ...
2022-10-11 23:48:48 +0000 UTC View Post"Oh, decided you still work here, huh?" was Bob's greeting as Arthur walked in through the back kitchen door.
Arthur shrugged. "Hive duties come first, Bob. You know that."
"Don't play virtuous with me. I don't know what scam you're playing, but you've got no more eye on that damn egg than most of those nobles." Bob eyed him while he...
2022-10-08 05:54:03 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the girls let out a short, sharp scream.
The nobles near the hatchling drew back in horror. One scuttled to the side so fast he toppled right off the stage and fell with a crash.
This created a cascade effect where everyone else hurriedly backed away as well. Within a few seconds, some were outright running for the ...
2022-10-07 05:33:27 +0000 UTC View Post"Lucky," Arthur heard from Cressida's direction. He shot a look at her and shrugged. He couldn't deny it.
Some nobles had been working for weeks in duels and basic showmanship to be at the top of the list to meet the hatchling when it emerged. Now, thanks to the whims of the hive leadership, he was one of the lucky ones.
Too bad ther...
2022-10-05 04:56:18 +0000 UTC View PostI hope this x2 longer chapter makes up for Friday's missing chap.
Arthur walked into the Rare hatching room, the site of the promenade, and stopped short in surprise.
The last time he had been there, the line to stand in front of the Rare egg had circled the room. Many more noble scions and hang...
2022-10-04 04:51:39 +0000 UTC View PostBy silent agreement, he and Cressida both walked back towards the hive. Arthur's boots squelched with every step, but at least he no longer left a path behind with dripping water.
No, Arthur's main problem was that he didn't actually live in the hive with other nobles. The apartment he used two share with Horatio was several blocks away. 2022-09-30 04:29:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Quick heads up that there will be no new chapter tonight. The chapters will resume as normal tomorrow.
Sorry everyone!
2022-09-28 23:54:33 +0000 UTC View PostKenzie waited until the exact second after Leader Valentina ascended to the upper ledge to rejoin the egg. Then she whirled on Arthur.
“Ernest Kane?”
The only response Arthur could give was a sickly smile. He was stunned, too. First by finding the dead dragon, second by the leader’s reactions and the confirmation that the tiny ...
2022-09-28 05:40:48 +0000 UTC View Post"How could you let this happen?" Valentina groused.
Not for the first time in his life, Whitaker thought about turning his considerable talents on the other hive leader. One good push out to do it. The slopes were steep. Valentina's birdlike bones would break on the sharp rocks.
As for the dragons… Crag was younger, stro...
2022-09-27 04:26:38 +0000 UTC View PostI've decided to start up a discord!
Only a few channels right now as I wanted to keep things sleek and simple.
You guys should be automatically connected through your tiers for pings when new chapters drop (and later on if I create specific channels for spoiler reasons) but Patreon can be a little clunky and I can't tell if it'll wor...
2022-09-26 17:13:12 +0000 UTC View PostFour Weeks Later...
“Leader Whittaker says he’s seen cracks in the Rare’s shell,” Kenzie reported, in between puffs of breath. She and Arthur were hiking the more remote northern slopes, exploring the dips and valleys. “Says it’ll be hatching any day now.”
“It took its time.” Arthur stopped at the e...
2022-09-23 05:13:20 +0000 UTC View PostAs dawn broke, Arthur went out to the woods. At his insistence, his father didn’t follow. Arthur didn’t want to risk anyone seeing him with a stranger.
He was determined to someday learn the full truth of how Calvan had come to be sentenced here. However, tonight wasn’t the right time for that story. Not with his father’s loyalty t...
2022-09-22 06:02:03 +0000 UTC View PostIt took every ounce of Arthur’s hard-forged determination and self-control not to shove the card in his heart right then and there.
Instead, feeling every mote of him protest the action, held it out to his father.
Calvan, however, had turned his head away.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” Arthur demanded, all but pushing...
2022-09-21 04:57:42 +0000 UTC View PostHope you guys like this big ol' chapter!
“But I thought you were..." Calvan didn't finish the sentence, dropping the knife and running forward to grab his son in a tight hug.
Arthur hugged him back and was shocked at how thin he felt. While Arthur had grown, it seemed Calvan had shrunk.
...
2022-09-20 04:36:43 +0000 UTC View PostA half-hour later, Arthur lay crouched under thick brush on the side of a road while he waited for a cart to arrive.
This felt familiar.
Now he was a well-grown sixteen years old, not a scrawny, underfed little boy. He had the tools, skills, and allies to help him out.
This time, he wouldn't be at the merc...
2022-09-17 03:56:41 +0000 UTC View PostSome quick back and forth scenes here. I tried modeling the tone after some heist movies during the planning scenes, but want to make sure it all makes sense foremost. Let me know if you're confused!
The next day, Arthur went to visit Kenzie.
He, Horatio, and Sams had staye...
2022-09-16 05:15:07 +0000 UTC View PostSecond chapter today! Make sure you read #53 first!
The next day, he and Horatio waited on a bare, rocky outcropping on the north slopes of the hive. Due to a constant, chilly wind from the northern snowy mountains, this side of the hive wasn't well populated. The bits of vegetation that dotted the...
2022-09-15 04:19:37 +0000 UTC View PostArthur felt the eyes of the nobles around turn his way.
Those who didn't know "Ernest Kane" — and most of them shouldn’t considering he didn't exist – figured out who he was through context clues.
Declining now would mark him as a coward. Not that he cared what nobles thought of him, but he assumed Penn would not want to associ...
2022-09-15 03:40:08 +0000 UTC View Post