With Dean and Jerrick stashed with DeanÂ’s family, Jason decided he had time to stop at his lodgings before getting to business. He was weary, heavy with the blood of the men he killed, even after the crystal wash had cleaned it away. He took a long, luxurious shower and, with a fresh change of clothes, went for lunch with Farrah, Gary and Rufus in their suite.
Madam Landry sent lu...
2019-10-07 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostJasonÂ’s path back to the city was a long one. The lumber region was on the far side of the delta and he had Dean alongside him, as well as the suppression-collared and manacled Jerrick shuffling behind. Jason considered commandeering a cart from Clementson but decided he'd rather walk than deal with the heidel he would need to pull it. As for Clementson himself, Jason left him behind. A...
2019-10-06 22:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostHere are the master lists for Jason's revealed abilities, which will be updated as new abilities are revealed. These links can also be found pinned on the announcement on the discord. Note: This is current for ALL advanced chapters, and includes SPOILERS for those who have not yet read them.
The glass doors at the front of the clinic opened up. Deftly using his aura, Rufus pressured the crowd away without distressing them. He led the way outside, flanked by his adventuring companions, Jory, and Neil Davone. They stood in front of the doors and waited. Jory explained to the crowd that there would be a delay with the clinic opening. People started asking him to make exceptions...
2019-10-03 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe Temple of the Healer in Greenstone was one of the central temples on the Divine Square. Inside, a man named Neil Davone was making a stand.
“I won't be a part of this,” he declared to the Chief Priest. “This isn't about serving the Healer. I spend my days following around the most petty noble in Greenstone, so I know what power and ambition look like.”
The Chief Pries...
2019-10-02 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe lumber region was on the south side of the river, in the eastern parts of the delta, furthest from the city. Jason had long been refining his long-distance running style, that employed the weight-reducing power of his cloak. It was really more like a series of floating, horizontal hops over whatever surface he was crossing, be it land or water.
HeÂ’d been through enough of the ...
2019-10-01 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe Adventure Society campus was an unusual bustle of activity as Jason made his way to the jobs hall. It was normal to see people wandering about, but there was a preponderance of Society officials moving about in a harried fashion. The marshalling yard was normally an open space where groups would meet up, but it was now covered in tents and surrounded by temporary fencing.
Outsi...
2019-09-30 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostJason let out a contented sigh.
“This is nice,” he said, then picked up a sandwich and bit into it.
The picnic at the IslandÂ’s park district had plenty of people. Danielle Geller was at a picnic table, which she was sharing with Thalia Mercer, Rufus and Vincent. Jory was sitting at another table with Clive and the brother-sister pair of Rick and Phoebe Geller. Gary was sitting in...
2019-09-29 23:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe sphere of shadows was short-lived, but Jason made the most of it as he danced among the blinded Ustei.
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There is an audio recording of my book that should go up some time tomorrow. I will also be doing a live-stream Q&A over the weekend, if anyone has any burning questions. The time is as follows:
Cassandra Mercer awoke to the sound of crockery and cutlery being laid out in the next room. She swung her legs out of bed and got up, stretching. She didnÂ’t want to put on fresh clothes before she had a shower, so she put on the only article of clothing she could see at a glance; JasonÂ’s shirt she had tossed aside the night before.
She stepped out onto the balcony to look out on...
2019-09-25 23:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostRufus was at the Geller Estate, discussing property development for the Geller family/Remore Academy joint training facility. In a conference room, he sat across a table from three members of the Geller family, while he was alone.
“There is plenty of unclaimed, undeveloped territory adjacent to the Geller Estate,” Rufus said. “Just give us a location that works best for the chan...
2019-09-24 23:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post“I think I’ve found something,” Humphrey called out and the others moved over to join him.
“Look at this,” Humphrey said, pointing to the wall. “See how the mould has grown in the crack between bricks, all the way down this line?”
“Secret door?” Jason asked.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Humphrey said. They glanced at each other with mirrored grins.
“L...
2019-09-23 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post“This construction completely predates the founding of Greenstone,” Clive said, examining the side of the passage they were in.
“Maybe if we look around,” Jason said, “we might even find something more interesting than a blank, brick wall.”
“The construction itself is fascinating enough,” Clive said. “Are you familiar with the Sky River Aqueduct? The building techniq...
2019-09-22 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostToday's chapters bring the double-chapter fortnight to a close. The response you have given they story is amazing and I'm more grateful to all of you than I can express. Or maybe I can; imagine a huge, hyperbolic metaphor that seems so massively overwrought that you kind of lose track of what it was all about in the first place. Plus explosions.
Next week will see the resumption of the no...
2019-09-20 00:56:54 +0000 UTC View Post“I couldn’t find anything even resembling an entrance,” Jason said as the trio regrouped. The others shook their heads, having fared no better.
“Probably some kind of extended lair,” Clive said. “A lot of creatures in this environment, monster and animal both, are just as happy in the water as out. Some like to dig burrows and stash prey for later consumption. The entrance co...
2019-09-19 23:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostFor the first time, Jason walked past the one-star contracts in the jobs hall to the two-star notices further down. It was a much smaller section, and looking further he saw the solitary three-star noticeboard had no jobs at all.
Looking over the notices, most were regular monster hunts with some kind of complication. The most common was a requirement to avoid damaging whatever val...
2019-09-19 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostJason spotted Phoebe Geller as he was walking through the grounds of the Adventure Society campus. She gave him a wave and approached.
“ThereÂ’s an expedition being set up to go after that sand barge,” she told him after they exchanged greetings. “WeÂ’re going to find out what the Ustei tribe are doing this far south and stop them from raiding any more spirit coin shipments. ItÂ...
2019-09-18 23:00:59 +0000 UTC View Post“I like the enthusiasm,” Ernest said to Humphrey, “but we shouldn’t immediately rush to battle. What do you think, Phoebe?”
“Our options are run or fight,” Phoebe said. “Their skimmers may have been faster than ours, but there’s no way a sand barge would catch us.”
“What do you think, Humphrey?” Ernest asked.
“That barge was larger than any vehicle I’ve ev...
2019-09-18 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostJason looked around and saw that multiple sand skimmers were converging on the three occupied by his group. Compared to their own skimmers, the ones pursuing them were made for passengers rather than cargo, with extra seats and awnings to shield them from the sun. Jason grinned, knowing they were about to pay for the comfort the shade offered them. The other skimmers were also faster, no...
2019-09-17 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostAfter half a day of trudging through the desert, the group finally spotted the spirit coin farm. From the outside, all that could be seen was a high wall. It was still some distance off, but the group appreciated a landmark in the featureless ocean of sand.
“How exactly does a spirit coin farm work?” Jason asked. “Spirit coins don’t grow on trees, do they?”
“You really ...
2019-09-17 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostChaos erupted as the sand came to life all around them, surging like waves. From the empty desert, they were suddenly surrounded, the sand rising up to take a variety of crude forms. None were any larger than a person, but there were dozens of them, from crude torsos like half-melted snowmen to sharks swimming through the sand like it was water. The shapes were all poorly formed, without...
2019-09-16 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostNote that the biscuits referred to in this chapter are actual biscuits, i.e. the things everyone but the US calls biscuits. Sorry, America, but your biscuits are scones. Don't make me do a whole side chapter where the god of baked goods has to explain what biscuits are. If you have to, just think of them as cookies. But they're biscuits. I talked to everyone on the discord, and they...
2019-09-16 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostJason walked through the Adventure Society campus with a recording crystal floating over his head.
“…looks a lot like a university campus,” he continued narrating. “It’s more about child soldiers than education, though. Not super-young; more America than Sierra Leone. Late-mid teens.”
The marshalling yard came into sight, where a number of young adventurers were loosely...
2019-09-15 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post"Mr Asano," Gilbert greeted, "always such a pleasure."
“Morning, Bert. Your message said you found something for me?”
“Ah, yes,” Gilbert said, looking reluctant. “Loath as I am to refer you to my brother, he does have something that meets your specifications quite neatly. Of course, I could offer you something adequate myself, but adequate isn’t the Gilbert’s Resilient...
2019-09-15 22:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostHere are last week's chapters in PDF.
2019-09-15 15:48:47 +0000 UTC View Post“So,” Clive asked, “the original sanguine horror came from the full creation process? The sacrifice chamber, the alchemy pit, the whole thing?”
As he talked, he enthusiastically gesticulated with a fork, a piece of fried sausage skewered onto the end.
“The whole thing,” Farrah said.
The large suite shared by Farrah, Gary and Rufus included a space with a large din...
2019-09-12 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe balcony for JasonÂ’s suite was not as expansive as the one Rufus, Farrah and Gary shared, but it was still more than large enough to put out a reclining lounger. Being on the opposite side of the building, JasonÂ’s balcony looked over the street instead of the water. The sounds of the guild districtÂ’s bustling daytime activity came in through the balcony doors as Jason opened them u...
2019-09-12 22:00:59 +0000 UTC View PostJason was heading down the tunnel from which he had heard the screaming. A bellowing roar came from the same direction, but it definitely wasnÂ’t made by a ratling. Jason moved forward, taking care with the wet stone of the walkway and the slimy fungus underfoot. He was still in complete darkness.
At a junction ahead, a ratling sprinted out. Some kind of tentacle snaked after it, w...
2019-09-11 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostStone-chewer rats were around the size of house cats, with grey fur, protruding teeth and oversized, talon-like claws. Jason watched as a half dozen of them struggled to scratch away the leeches digging into their flesh. One writhed around until it fell into the water.
“Colin, what did I say about letting them go in the water?”
The rats, it turned out were heavy, and after ...
2019-09-11 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post