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D.J. Rintoul

D.J. Rintoul

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D.J. Rintoul posts

Re: Butterfly 3-34. Out of the Frying Pan

Adon had created his semi-humanoid form without a particular human model in mind.

He had allowed his imagination to run away with him a bit, made himself conventionally attractive, but kept some inhuman traits. He had given himself pointed e...

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Re: Butterfly 3-33. In the Frying Pan

As Adon stared out into the burnt orange gloom of the third level, he took in all the details he could and continued formulating his game plan.

He could see a small oval of the space around the entrance, which appeared to come out at ground ...

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Re: Butterfly 3-32. So Many Cooks in the Kitchen

“I am a passionate person,” William continued. “I have no doubt you can understand that, having spent some time around me—witnessed my high spirits in the brief period of our acquaintanceship thus far. So, yes. Yes, I am s-sor-ry.” The l...

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Re: Butterfly 3-31. The Firestarter

“Same butterfly you’ve been talking to,” Adon replied, grinning, completely unperturbed by Frederick’s aggressive stance.

I can’t believe that came out so confidently!

In his own mind, he pumped his fist—though his...

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Re: Butterfly 3-30. Transformational Learning

The shadows partially shielded the approaching figure’s face from view, but Adon was familiar enough with his gait to recognize exactly who was walking toward them without even needing to look directly at his head.

Frederick, Adon...

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Re: Butterfly 3-29. In Transition

Adon watched as the female knights carried Rosslyn further down into the tunnel.

Then he, the other arthropods, the young lords, and the rest of the knights followed after. He took one last, long look into level two, but the dust cloud that ...

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Ruthless V5Ch32-The Spirit of a Place

After giving Luna her pep talk, James used his Fisher King powers.

His physical body was boring, so why not leave it behind for a little while? His spirit floated above the Kingdom, watching all that was done on his lands and in his name. View Post

Ruthless V5Ch31-Snake Hunt

Luna blinked awake.

“Did I sleep?” she asked groggily.

Her eyes focused on the two figures who stood over her, Dave and one of the Healers.

“You did,” the Healer replied. “But only for a little while.”

“You re...

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Ruthless V5Ch30-Go It Alone

The morning light that fell across James and Mina’s bare skin woke him.

He could feel his body absorbing solar energy and using that to boost his recovery speed, even if ever so slightly.

Experimentally, he sent an order to his lower...

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Ruthless V5Ch29-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Conclusion

Luna closed the gap almost instantaneously, but she had time to send a telepathic message to her pack.

Do not engage unless attacked by the enemy army, she sent. Remember that we are here for a stalling operation.

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Ruthless V5Ch28-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 4

Part of the plan was that only the wolves would enter the Ruler’s territory at first.

This would force the Ruler to consider the situation carefully while conserving resources. If the hydra focused too much on trying to kill off the wolfpa...

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Ruthless V5Ch27-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 3

The healing process for Romulus took hours.

The Healers tried healing magic and Purification at first, but his body seemed resistant to healing. They slowed down after half an hour of that seemed to have produced little change in his conditi...

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Re: Butterfly 3-28. The First Collapse

Through the blinding light, Adon could see nothing.

There was a cataclysmic sound accompanying the ray, however, and that told him more. The sound was one of stone crumbling and falling.

Adon reached out with Telepathy and inhabited th...

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Ruthless V5Ch26-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 2

Luna raced.

Her body was flooded with adrenaline, and every nerve vibrated with tension. This was what she was made for. Running through the open ground, her pack at her back, her mate beside her.

One of Luna’s heads turned to look a...

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Re: Butterfly 3-27. The Level Two Exit

After the knights had healed their most pressing wounds—including one older knight very appreciative of having been graced by the mystic butterfly—they climbed down the cliffside. The pace was not leisurely—everyone was far too aware of the ...

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Re: Butterfly 3-26. Success?

Those things are quick, Adon thought as the strix skated by Rosslyn, slashing at her with its claws.

When she spun and kicked the bird before Adon could ready his mana ball to fire, he decided that he needed to get off of her and ta...

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Re: Butterfly 3-25. First Blood

“Well done, Adon,” Rosslyn said.

In her mind, she added, I should have known you were busy conducting interspecies diplomacy again.

He had been gone so long in the second level that William had broached the idea the butter...

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Ruthless V5Ch25-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 1

After the presence of the King had dissipated, the war between the Royal Fisher Army and the reptiles began in earnest.

“All humans into spear formation!” Dave ordered. “Goblins and scouts, hang back behind the tip of the spear. Wolf p...

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Re: Butterfly 3-24. Alliance

Adon recalled his own experiences as a monster in a previous incarnation.

He had been concerned with survival things, too, though he’d had no young, since that was another forever alone incarnation. But he had not had any par...

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Re: Butterfly 3-23. The Flood

As water gushed forth from the waterfall, Adon looked, fascinated, back and forth between the source of the flow, at ceiling height, and the ground level, where the overflow was flooding the canyon.

There were so many questions running throu...

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Re: Butterfly 3-22. The Ecosystem of Level Two

Adon felt an instinctive sense of pressure at the presence of the flying beast a thousand feet below him.

Even floating far above, even invisible, he sensed that this was a superior species that could kill him and consume him—would View Post

Re: Butterfly 3-21. The Entrance to Level Two

How would I behave right now if I didn’t care what the people around me thought? Adon repeated silently to himself. Assuming that I still care about clearing the dungeon and protecting the Kingdom and all that.

Adon ...

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Ruthless V5Ch24-The Time of Contempt

With a flick of mental effort, James returned the council to “The Last Supper.”

Now that everyone was embodied once again, he took in their facial expressions. Mouths gaped. Brows furrowed. At least two people appeared to be bowing their...

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Ruthless V5Ch23-The Meeting of Your Dreams

“Skapi, skapi…”

A distant, gentle voice caressed James’s ears.

This is nice.

“Skapi…” The voice became more insistent and slightly higher pitched, and it was now accompanied by a gentle shaking sensation. T...

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Ruthless V5Ch22-Doctor Frankenstein, I Presume?

[Monstrous Instincts: A monster is not like a human. Similar to an animal, it is born knowing how to fight and survive. Grants the owner of the Skill instinctive knowledge in these areas. Non-transferable Skill.]

[Mo...

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Ruthless V5Ch21-More Monsters

“Well, that was interesting,” James said to himself.

He composed a quick announcement, which he then transmitted to the members of his council using his Fisher King powers.

[Greetings, members of my council. It’s been a w...

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Ruthless V5Ch20-The Presence of the King

As Luna watched, Dave managed to jerk his arm up quickly enough to keep the rattlesnake from injecting her venom directly into his throat.

Still, even the thin layer of armor on his arm could not stop the creature’s fangs from plunging int...

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Re: Butterfly 3-20. Transition Between Levels

Adon thought that the descent into darkness was worse this time than on the previous occasion.

The one positive about this tunnel was that, like the tunnel and caverns they had previously passed through, it was quite spacious—though Adon s...

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Re: Butterfly 3-19. Warrior Politics

“There was one thing I wanted to tell you before I forget,” Rosslyn said, watching as Adon pulled his proboscis from the neck of the dead—and now very drained—kobold.

Go on, Adon sent.

“I saw you used m...

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Ruthless V5Ch19-Aggressive Negotiations

Mina knocked on the bedroom door.

It was a funny thing, bothering to knock on the door to her own bedroom, but considering that Zora had emerged not long before, she thought it was possible that James might have recovered from his condition...

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