Pink wings enfolded Arthur and Brixaby from all sides, one wing with a tracing of green in the membrane.
But what concerned Arthur more was the dropping sensation in his stomach and the feeling of weightlessness. The dragons couldn't fly clung together like this. They were falling.
His yell of alarm was echoed by Cressida, whose voic...
2024-03-19 06:02:10 +0000 UTC View PostAlice had a restless night.
This had nothing to do with sleeping in a new place as she had gotten used to that over the last few weeks. It also had little do with the fact she lay on ragged stuffing that had once been a bed. As lumpy as it was, its soft fabric was much better than the straw mat in the General Laborer barracks. The straw ha...
2024-03-19 05:50:58 +0000 UTC View PostArthur and Brixaby waited at the border between the living land and the dead lands.
Pacing back and forth, Arthur absently shuffled a deck of playing cards in his hands. Over the last few days, he had increased his Shuffling level to 19. His most recent trick he’d mastered meant he could now effortlessly bridge out cards from one hand to...
2024-03-15 05:16:08 +0000 UTC View PostAll The Skills - Book 3 is out now!!!!
eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPD6ZS83
Audible: 2024-03-12 20:26:13 +0000 UTC View Post
As part of the sweet, sweet benefits from being my Patreon, you get an advanced copies of my book when it comes out!
(People who are part of the All The Chapters tier, you get every book as it comes out. That means She of Many Dragons and Totem later this year as well).
... This should now be below the public preview...
2024-03-10 22:29:47 +0000 UTC View PostNew Skill Level Gained: Meditation - Level 15.
Ironically, that notification broke through Arthur's concentration and shattered his meditative state.
He grimaced, opened his eyes, and checked the time on the simple sand hourglass he had set by his side. He'd been down for an hour this time. That was a new record. Wh...
2024-03-08 05:36:04 +0000 UTC View PostAlice started down at the metal box – she thought it was called a strongbox. Thoughts tumbled and crashed together in her mind. Too many to make sense of or put into order.
Numi had no such problem. With a happy cry, she dived for the box. But it was so heavy that she couldn’t manage to lift it out from under the floorboard. Iggy had t...
2024-03-06 19:51:05 +0000 UTC View PostAlice's thoughts remained troubled every time she thought back about the juvenile wood dragon, but there wasn't much she could do for the thing.
Reluctantly, she and her friends headed to the town. The sun was starting to lower in the sky, and if she did not reach civilization soon, she would be forced to spend the night out in the woods.<...
2024-03-05 05:43:45 +0000 UTC View PostBrixaby was overjoyed when Arthur showed him the barn, and only resented a little that renting it would cost them the Uncommon card.
Arthur also sold the Commons to Dannill for food, basic furniture to make the space comfortable, and more crafting supplies.
From the enthusiastic way Dannill agreed, Arthur suspected he was getting the...
2024-03-05 05:13:26 +0000 UTC View PostNone of the cards were on the verge of complete disintegration, like the ones from the brown dragon. But warning sparkles drifted off them, indicating they were in very bad shape.
Arthur longed to study them but only nodded at Brixaby. "Put them in your Personal Space," he said, then after a glance at the silver dragon, raised a hand to ru...
2024-02-29 04:16:55 +0000 UTC View PostFor a startled second, Alice couldn’t figure out if it was a wooden contraption shaped like a dragon, or a living dragon that was made of wood.
Her eyes couldn’t tell — but her heart and her class absolutely and without question knew that this was a flesh and blood dragon that had taken on the aspects and appearance of wood.
It...
2024-02-24 04:55:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe problems came, of course, with disembarking.
Already, the tiny harbor was abuzz with activity, filled with incoming and outgoing carts and people readying themselves for the arrival of all the guests -- and the coins they'd surely be bringing in.
How was she going to get past all these people with her dragons?
At least Numi...
2024-02-24 04:18:30 +0000 UTC View PostNote: This was one of those weird chapters I had to write like 3 times over until I was happy with it, but now that's over and the next should be a lot of fun. There's been a couple questions about which cards Arthur has collected recently, and that's coming up. :)
At first, Arthur and Brixaby carefully du...
2024-02-22 05:26:46 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a few moments, Alice changed her mind and took another side street that headed downward, back toward the harbor.
It wasn't easy. The destruction was painfully stark everywhere she looked. Buildings had fallen into the street, and she had to back up another block before she could continue on. And out on the harbor, when she got ...
2024-02-15 23:01:12 +0000 UTC View Post"I'm sorry, sir, your bill is not entirely settled," the hospital billing lady said, sounding contrite yet painfully professional.
Word had apparently spread that Arthur was getting up to leave because while the hospital billing lady who stood in the doorway was a diminutive woman, the two beefy guards at her side certainly were not.
"Where are we going?" Numi asked as she galloped beside Alice's heels.
Alice didn't answer her right away, or any other questions her dragon’s asked. She just focused on getting as far and as fast away as possible.
Unfortunately, that was a lot easier said than done, considering that the city was left in shambles after the attack.<...
2024-02-14 02:43:55 +0000 UTC View Post“You are a very, very lucky young man,” the heart deck specialist said gravely, looking down at Arthur through a pair of spectacles he had perched on the end of his nose. “I have seen a card anchor failure of this magnitude kill people, or else damage their heart deck so badly they’ll never be able to use a card again.”
“That h...
2024-02-13 04:57:59 +0000 UTC View PostNote: Enjoy a post-super bowl chapter!
Arthur awoke with the strange feeling that everything under the surface of his skin was sore. yet, as he shifted around in bed, he realized that it was deeper than muscle soreness. The odd, dull pain seemed to penetrate even past his heart.
Wait... he was in bed?
<... 2024-02-12 06:32:06 +0000 UTC View PostA huge, earsplitting crack jerked Alice’s head up. The thick timber that ran from one end of the building to the other split as if forked by lightning. It opened so wide she saw flashes of the rolling gray sky through the crack. That must have been the main support which held up the rest of the roof because the building above her began to crum...
2024-02-08 23:30:22 +0000 UTC View Post"So, you're telling me you do not have the skills to fix my rider?" Brixaby asked in a dangerous tone of voice.
"What I'm saying," the healer said slowly, as if Brixaby were a beast and unable to understand, "is that we have given him several health potions, and cast several revitalization spells, but it appears this young man has shattere...
2024-02-08 23:09:56 +0000 UTC View PostAlice was seized by instinctive fear, and just like that, her earlier confidence collapsed.
She needed to find shelter and hide. She was nobody, the lowest of the low, with her only duty being to stay out of the way of the higher-classers. It was their job to take care of things. Who did she think she was?
Wanting nothing to do with ...
2024-02-06 04:41:25 +0000 UTC View PostBrixaby
When Arthur consumed the card, Brixaby felt nothing but pride that he was finally willing to embrace true power.
Well, there was the acute discomfort that was radiating from Arthur's side of their link. That wasn't exactly pleasant, but Brixaby knew he was only getting a small portion of...
2024-02-06 03:43:26 +0000 UTC View PostAlert: Aspect 2 "Numi" has increased skill in appraising. New skill level: two.
Alice turned to see Numi clutching the medallion in both claws and staring at it as if it held all the answers in the world.
"Wow,” Numi said, “this is really high-value."
Instantly, Iggy flowed over to her side. "Wh...
2024-02-05 01:42:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe thief sprinted across the flat, gray soil at normal human speeds. There wasn’t any sense he was using any sort of body modification.
Brixaby snorted in amusement. And even though Arthur was feeling completely lousy, he smiled too. He was halfway rooting for the thief, despite himself. He’d always had a soft spot for underdogs.
<... 2024-02-04 22:01:18 +0000 UTC View Post“Alice?” Prim asked, once they were well away from the alley “What are dark classers?”
Alice opened her mouth with the intention of telling her dragon to never mind about it. Dark classers were the horrors of children's tales. It wasn't something Prim needed to concern herself with.
However, that's what Alice had been told al...
2024-02-03 05:49:39 +0000 UTC View PostBrixaby took a step back in shock, looked down at Arthur’s bloody arm, and then narrowed his eyes.
“Let us talk,” he said, placing one clawed hand on Arthur’s shoulder.
Knowing he meant to draw Arthur into his Personal Space, Arthur nodded. Thanks to Brixaby’s nullification powers, they’d be able to ...
2024-02-03 05:42:53 +0000 UTC View PostThis will be the last big batch via PDF.
Chapters 16-20 (PDF)
2024-02-01 05:19:19 +0000 UTC View PostHi all!
https://store.podiumaudio.com/products/all-the-skills
I'm thrilled to introduce a Limited-Edition Hardcover of All The Skills 1!
The is the first time this book is out in print, and it's been do...
2024-02-01 04:22:51 +0000 UTC View PostChapters 11 through 15 are up!
We're going to have one more batch (tomorrow, likely) then go to individual chapters.
Chapters 11-15 (PDF)
Next batch of chapters 6-10 can be found here:
2024-01-30 04:34:43 +0000 UTC View Post