At breakfast the next day, Rian sat himself down heavily, the last to arrive. He looked terrible. He had that slightly unfocused look of a man on too little sleep, each blink slow and deliberate as if he was fighting the urge to close his eyes and just keep them closed. With a caution that made the act seem climactic but was probably just him trying not to drop it, Rian set his plank on the tab...
2021-11-18 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostLori wasn't able to start her tests right after breakfast. There was needful maintenance she needed to do after she ate, making sure everything in the demesne (and one thing out of it) that needed to be imbued was imbued. She'd started keeping a list on the wall of her room, which she checked over every morning, even if she did the actual imbuing every other day or so. She could have done it wh...
2021-11-16 17:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe delivery of the next batch of miners, which was a bit larger than usual and required four trips, went without incident. Lori suspected they would not be put to much mining, since a lot of them were northerners who had originally settled in River's Fork, but as long as Shanalorre was willing to pay the cost of housing and feeding them, she was willing to look the other way. Many were people ...
2021-11-14 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Statement Of Jaselle Alhambra, Part 4
Jaselle had always thought spiders were smooth. The small spiders she'd seen around the corners of the house had seemed so, and even the few larger palm-sized ones that had her mother shrieking and calling for one of the males in the house to deal with it seemed like they had a hard shell and limbs.
<... 2021-11-14 00:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostJust Barely Not A Dragon Shelter Pa
2021-11-13 17:02:00 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Lori had sat down for a little while to recover from her completely understandable and appropriate surprise, and then resigned herself to not getting River's Fork's core this time, things had to be arranged. Their people, whose tenure at River's Fork had become almost double what they had expected, were all taken to be taken home by Rian, the most qualified at controlling Lori's Boat<...
2021-11-11 17:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostImproved defenses needed more stone than they had right then, but Lori was at least able to rebuild the kitchen exhaust vents and build the 'water valve', as Rian put it. There was no need to make the water at the end of the pipe boil, not when it wasn't needed right them, but all the air building out certainly made it look like it was boiling.
Naturally, the first thing they had to do wa...
2021-11-09 17:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThey didn't find whatever had eaten the bug abominations. Rian suspected that perhaps they had killed or eaten each other, while the dillians had swallowed the evidence. Certainly at least one of the dead things with a still-intact stomach was full of bug parts. Despite ebing awkwardly shaped to move on land, even worse than the seels, the undead dillians were aggressive as the islandshell had ...
2021-11-07 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Statement Of Jaselle Alhambra, Part 3
Jas stared at the little circle lying on the cement of the building's roof. A little pink cube, a small squat plant, what looked like a bag of clear jelly, and a little furball that seemed all mouth and nothing else.
"It's not like we can carry our phones," Ate Sanny said. "If nothing else, none of...
2021-11-07 00:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe next day, once Rian had rested to correct for the night shift and Lori had gotten back the sleep that had been interrupted, they prepared to move out in force out of the Dungeon. The former militia who had volunteered—Riz among them—were armed with spears, and there were a substantial number of volunteers as well, armed with the tooth spearheads. Others carried clubs and axes, in case o...
2021-11-04 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Lori woke up from a dreamless sleep, she discovered that in her bed she had not been turned into a dragonborn bug abomination.
Instinctively, she checked the dome above and sighed as she found it still holding. Unfortunately, the dragon was also still there. She could feel its oppressive presence over the demesne, a pressure on all her wisps like a strong wind, even though the air it...
2021-11-02 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Statement Of Jaselle Alhambra, Part 2
"I really wish we could look more alike," Tammy sighed as Jas carefully folded up her blouse around her underwear so they wouldn't be seen, then as carefully wrapped her slacks around them, her cellphone and coin purse secured in the pocket. She had to remember to keep pulling her heat in constantly, and...
2021-10-31 00:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostTimekeeping
The Dungeon was different from the last time a dragon had passed. For one thing, it was lit now.
In the meantime, while that was being done, Lori filled one of the pots with water for the morning stew—if it wasn't morning already, it would be soon—and set down bindings to radiate heat, Riz following her as ordered and going off to look for p...
2021-10-30 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostSo, short reminder, there will be no update on November first due to local holiday stuff. Next break will be the latter half of December, because Christmas and stuff. We we still be updating regularly the rest of the time.
2021-10-29 12:38:56 +0000 UTC View PostLori managed to resist the urge to plunge the Dungeon into darkness again. She didn't need any more darkwisps, after all.
The militia and assorted people Rian had scheduled kept watch over the air slits, occasionally killing the few dragonborn abominations that now managed to make their way in. They seemed to be flying bug-derivatives of some sort, and hot golden dragonborn blood and gree...
2021-10-28 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostAnother day of weaving, and Umu was tired. The bright, unchanging light of the Dungeon made one lose track of time, but there was always someone who called down the end of the day, or at least the approach of sundown. When the call came, everyone stopped working to relax, take a bath, have a hot if slightly repetitive dinner and then spend the rest of the night as they pleased. Was it petty to ...
2021-10-28 09:28:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe brat had been given a bucket of water and admonished not to drink from it, another bucket to catch the water that dripped out, some stones to count how many times the waterclock had gone empty, and orders to yell out the time before refilling the water clock. Lori had her sit where the people guarding the air slits could hear her but not be close enough to distract her. The brat had sat dow...
2021-10-26 17:01:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe Dungeon was different from the last time a dragon had passed. For one thing, it was lit now.
In the meantime, while that was being done, Lori filled one of the pots with water for the morning stew—if it wasn't morning already, it would be soon—and set down bindings to radiate heat, Riz following her as ordered and going off to look for people if Lori needed it. It was a simple com...
2021-10-24 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Statement Of Jaselle Alhambra, Part 1
Jaselle Alhambra had always considered herself a heavy sleeper, even if she'd always woken up early so she could do her chores and get ready for school in the morning. When she'd slept, she had slept, dead to the world and not to be roused until the stars were right and it was time for her to wa...
2021-10-24 00:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostPrepare As You Did The Last Time
The ice boat was… successful. For a given value of success, at any rate. It floated and, despite appearances, it wasn't actually that cold to the touch, and it didn't make your skin adhere to it on contact like some really cold ice did. It didbecome extremely slippery, almost frictionless, when wet, hence why it needed ...
2021-10-23 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostLori didn't dream. It seemed like she'd barely closed her eyes before Rian was gently shaking her awake, the light on top of his head shining down on her. "It's here," he said, even as she felt it, the wave-like feeling practically on top of them…
She sat up, and he handed Lori her boots, which she quickly put on. "Everyone inside?" she asked.
"Checked four times," Rian said. "We'...
2021-10-21 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostLori changed quickly, pulling on her clothes and rushing down the stairs from her room, barely remembering the seal the way behind her. It was still dark outside the dungeon, and Lori wondered how long she'd managed to sleep… no, no time for that. She hurried towards the one shelter left, noting that the Um no longer had a line in front of it. Was anyone inside…?
Shaking her head, she...
2021-10-19 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe ice boat was… successful. For a given value of success, at any rate. It floated and, despite appearances, it wasn't actually that cold to the touch, and it didn't make your skin adhere to it on contact like some really cold ice did. It didbecome extremely slippery, almost frictionless, when wet, hence why it needed a layer of something to let people maintain their footing.
...
2021-10-17 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, so trying to write The Apocalypse Survival Chronicle of a Magical Girl Mecha Pilot has been a bit of a failure. I made progress, but haven't actually managed to write anything.
So I'm going back to writing Nightmaerangers and finishing the first major arc before going back to it. That means Red's Arc, Blue's Arc, a fina...
2021-10-15 10:16:29 +0000 UTC View PostBuilding the ice boat prototype did not, in fact, take all morning.
They needed a place they could use to assemble the ice and form the boat, and for ease Lori opted to use the area directly in front of the dungeon. It was in front of the river anyway, it was relatively flat, and it needed to be compacted anyway.
"Your units of measurement are atrocious," Lori said, as she peered do...
2021-10-14 17:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe ice actually didn't break. With the binding in place, it was hard as stone, and seemingly as difficult to damage, especially with the binding reinforcing its physical properties beyond what it was normally capable of naturally. Still, for her own peace of mind, she built stone pillars at the corners of the reservoir pool to hold the ceiling up, and repaired the gouge in the process. The mat...
2021-10-12 17:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLori decided to finish the third bath house first before she went about altering the plumbing in the other two already in use.
Making the pipe from the river to the third bath house that would supply the bath water took some time. Fortunately, the area was far enough from the Dungeon that she didn't have to worry about this affecting excavation that would happen in the immediate future. I...
2021-10-11 03:03:30 +0000 UTC View PostLori didn't want to get out of bed. She really, really didn't want to get out of bed. Her bedroll was thick and soft and warm, and despite what the fabric looked like, it was so very smooth and comfortable and she didn't want to leave. She just wanted to lie down and make up for all those months she'd been sleeping on her laundry on top of a plank of wood…
Groaning, sh...
2021-10-07 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post"—and the Um will be closed every fifth day for cleaning," Rian said cheerfully. "Let's all follow these rules so that we do not have any more unfortunate accidents, shall we?"
Rian was being very parental again. Lori was just glad that this time it wasn't at her. No, this time the air of 'I'm not angry, I'm disappointed, you were idiots, you know you were idiots, I know you were idiots...
2021-10-05 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post