On his return to the cloud palace, Emirs first action was securing the scythe. His second was seeking out Jason and his team on the balcony terrace and enjoying a light lunch.
Join us, Jason said as Emir arrived.
Im a little busy right now, Emir said.
Are you sure? Jason asked. Weve got gold plum soufflé.
Well, Emir said. I suppose we ...
2020-02-03 22:00:59 +0000 UTC View PostThe team had been eager to test out their new abilities as soon as they reached shore, but things were a little busy. While the iron-rankers were in the astral space, even more people had been awaiting their return. Many of the foreign adventurers had brought family, let alone the locals. The cloud palace had been placed offshore from a small town that had been going through what was ess...
2020-01-31 22:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe shadow gate took Jason from the tower at the heart of the city to one of those at the citys edge. He emerged at the base of one of the archway towers, not far from where ruins gave way to sea. He was surrounded by other adventurers, milling about, regrouping or making their way up the stairs that wound their way around the tower.
He was immediately bombarded with messages as ...
2020-01-30 22:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe last set of stairs led Jason into a hallway that looped around in a ring, a huge circuit he estimated to be almost as wide as the full tower. The outer wall of the hallway was the familiar stone, while the inner wall was solid glass; a single, curved pane that looped in a giant circle. Through the glass was a library, softly lit by magical chandeliers, hanging from the ceiling. The c...
2020-01-29 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThalia Mercer was ill at ease. Most of the citys iron-rankers had left a few days earlier and would be gone for weeks. She had hoped, in the quiet that settled over Greenstone in their absence, to start getting through to her son. She and her husband both had made so many mistakes with him, which had almost cost them their son. The mysterious cultists and the horrific thing they implan...
2020-01-28 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostShade led Jason upstairs into a square room. The stairs emerged from an alcove in the middle of one wall, with a sealed door on the opposite wall. The walls to either side were covered in square panels marked with what looked like scrambled segments of constellations. On the walls and floor were images of constellations that were whole and in order. Jason was about to enter the room when...
2020-01-27 22:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostIn the heart of the city, a crowd of adventurers were gathered in the tower square as the sun dipped below the horizon. Clumped into teams, they formed a ring around the grand tower in the centre of the square. While the plain brickwork of the tower was uninspiring, its sheer height and width left it looming over everything else in the central city.
Jasons party was now reformed,...
2020-01-24 22:01:27 +0000 UTC View PostSince they were the impetus for the rooftop party, Jason and Valdis provided the supplies. Jason set up a buffet, putting out a couple of tables, an array of large bowls full of food, tongs and a stack of plates. He also laid out a good supply of drinks, tapping casks of wine, beer and mead.
Ive only got a dozen mugs, he announced, so I hope you all have something to drink ...
2020-01-23 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostOnly seven groups had managed to breach the centremost region of the city before the blood root vine had been killed. One was made up of people with flight powers. Such abilities were mana intensive at iron-rank, requiring them to chug mana potions as quickly as they could without poisoning themselves and stopping to rest atop every building not reduced to rubble by the plants.
Ano...
2020-01-22 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostWere getting closer to the centre, Jason said, looking at his map. We could get there today if we went straight for it.
That explains why we ran into so many groups, yesterday, Neil said. Everyone is converging.
Do we go straight for the middle? Jory asked. His abilities had been growing as fast as anyone elses, but that had never been his goal. He had...
2020-01-21 22:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostAfter defeating the flesh abomination, Jasons temporary team had grown to five. With two defenders in Keane and Sophie, two healers in Neil and Jory, Jason was their only dedicated damage source. They were heavy on sustain but light on immediate damage, with Jasons powers bringing certain, but eventual death to the monsters they encountered.
This setup made for slower going tha...
2020-01-20 22:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostIn the aftermath of the fight with the vorger, Jason and Sophie had no time to catch up with Neil and Jory. The flesh abomination lumbering in their direction posed a new, albeit very slowly approaching, problem. They stood together, watching as it didnt so much walk in their direction as vaguely amble. It was basically a huge, vaguely spherical mound of muscle, skin and fat on four sh...
2020-01-17 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostClives team were making their way up through a building that became more precarious as they went. It was the tallest building they had encountered in the city, almost as tall as the archway towers on which they had arrived. This section of the city was more akin to forest than jungle, with the remnant buildings in the shadow of towering trees.
The building they were climbing up t...
2020-01-16 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostJason and Sophie continued their way through the city. More cautious than ever, they exposed themselves to long sightlines as little as possible. Sometimes they used narrow streets to hide themselves from above, at other times, rooftops, to hide themselves from below.
Helping them remain unobtrusive was the quiet nature of their essence abilities. Only the sound burst accompanying ...
2020-01-15 23:43:30 +0000 UTC View PostIn the time they had spent allowing Sophie to recover, some other groups had moved deeper into the city. They started seeing traces of that as they went, the plants and building showings traces of essence abilities having been used on them. They knew they werent far behind another group when they found monsters that had yet to dissolve into smoke.
Can you loot them? Sophie as...
2020-01-14 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe City of Fallen Echoes was teeming with monsters. On their second day, Jason and Sophie had an encounter almost hourly as they made their way. Sometimes they followed streets, other times they went across rooftops. Either way, there was no shortage of monsters willing to come after them.
There were similarities between the jungle-covered city and the delta where they usually hunted mon...
2020-01-13 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostSophie awoke to enticing breakfast smells. She was aching and tired, her damaged arm having given her a restless night. Only in the last few hours did she snatch away some precious, uninterrupted slumber. She crawled delicately out of the tent and followed the smells up a stone stairwell and onto a flat roof. Jason had set out a folding camp table and pair of chairs, one of which he was ...
2020-01-10 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostSophie's arm was more serious than any of Jason's wounds. Her arm was severely damaged, requiring an extended period to heal back up with her self-recovery power. Jason had been needled quite badly but it only took a few potions to eliminate the minor, if numerous wounds. His blood harvest power normally allowed him to heal up after fights using the remnant life force of fallen enemies, ...
2020-01-09 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe monster was mostly identical to a leopard, except for the legs. They were still covered in spotted fur, like the rest of the creature, but there were eight of them, multi-jointed and emerging from the monsters side like the legs of a spider. The legs were not as good for running but it was an excellent and rapid climber. That didnt much matter when Sophies wind blade cut half o...
2020-01-08 22:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostJasons cloak fluttered around him as he drifted to the ground.
Clive said that some people think the powers we get are reflections of who we are, Sophie said.
So?
So, floating out of the sky with an attention-grabbing cloak made out of sparkles seems very much like you.
I cant help if Im pretty, Jason said. I like your new armour, by the wa...
2020-01-07 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThere was some pushing and jostling from the adventurers eager to pass through the aperture until a few low growls from Gary pulled the stroppy ones in line. Emir stood with Gary, watching from the side as they went through, one at a time. When his team drew close to Emir, Jason greeted him.
I dont suppose youve got any insider tips, Emir? Jason asked as they went past. Thi...
2020-01-06 22:00:59 +0000 UTC View PostJason and his team descended through the water as the daylight shining through the surface of the lake above grew increasingly dim. They stood close together on the platform as the sphere around them held off the water, encapsulating them in a perfect orb. As it grew too murky for anyone but Jason to see, Humphrey took out a light crystal, tossing it up to float around his head. In the d...
2020-01-03 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostNow, Jason said happily, this is what adventuring should be like.
Adventurers were spreading out over the surface of Sky Scar Lake like a huge flock of geese, using all manner and means of transportation. There was a wild array of essence abilities, rituals and items from water-walking books to cloaks that let the wearer swim like a manta ray. Jason himself had a useful ite...
2020-01-02 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostEmir and Constance were walking toward the cloud palace main exit.
Who did the voice projection circle? Emir asked.
Trent, Constance said.
Do you mean the glass definitely wont break Trent or cant hold up a fish Trent?
Were not calling him that, Constance admonished. It was a suppurating grease fish. No one could have held it up.<...
2020-01-01 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostA crowd of hundreds was gathered at the Adventure Society campus, in front of the cloud palace as they waited for Emir to emerge. There was a sea of iron rankers, plus all manner of city luminaries and others all eager to witness the commencement of Emirs grand event. Along with the mystery surrounding it, finally on the cusp of giving out answers, many were looking for a change of pac...
2019-12-31 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostFarrah hadnt had a formal memorial, just a handful of dinners and informal gatherings story-telling and everyone getting blind drunk. With the unexpected appearance of her parents, Rufus had bounded into action, organising a formal memorial for the day before the adventurers left for Emirs contest.
After the service, the traditional wake was held not in a bar but the guest wing...
2019-12-30 22:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostI have been considering moving the regular schedule back a day when I return from break. It would still be five chapters a week, but the releases in the US would go from Monday to Friday instead of Sunday to Thursday. It would just go better for my schedule to do it that way. In the short term, it would mean waiting an extra day for the next chapter, but I feel that to be less painful now than ...
2019-12-27 04:57:17 +0000 UTC View PostTechnically, it's more of a vignette than a short story, but there you go. This is completely unrelated to He Who Fights With Monsters, but I thought I'd share some of my other writing while I'm away on break. I hope you enjoy.
...and together they fight crimes
by Shirtaloon.
Even without the nametags it wouldnt have been hard to ...
2019-12-24 22:00:59 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I posted the last bundle, it's possible that I came off as a little unhinged. In my defence, I was late and I may have been a little tired. Admittedly, that was about three minutes ago, but I'm better, now.
Here is the latest chapter bundle, plus the full run in one PDF for anyone who wants to reread over the break.
Happy festive season, whatever that means for you. For me, it ...
2019-12-19 22:04:59 +0000 UTC View PostIt feels weird making a post without at least some kind of irreverent statement. In the last one I was going to say that that I couldn't think of anything and people should come up with their own witticism because I couldn't think of anything, but then I did, so that worked out. And now we have this one; a meta-examination of the process through which I decide what to write in these bundle post...
2019-12-19 22:03:01 +0000 UTC View Post