I sat on the floor of our new home, feeling somewhat unwelcome under my own roof thanks to the tense atmosphere. My eyes were locked on Nabeeh, and I waited for her to speak.
"Look, Ash, I'm not stupid," she said, taking a bunch of grapes fr...
2025-03-22 16:29:48 +0000 UTC View PostI watched as Pa dissected the three gemmed Shardfang carcasses we'd brought back. He’d insisted on doing so before elaborating on any ‘goodies’ for us. Not like I minded,
There was a certain comfort in watching him methodically slicing...
2025-03-21 13:20:24 +0000 UTC View PostA Platemaw emerged around the bend, its massive armored form knocking aside boulders and large chunks of rock with ease. Steam rose from its flanks. The beast had a shell like a fortress and jaws to snap a man in half. Its eyes fixed on me and it ...
2025-03-20 14:19:22 +0000 UTC View PostI walked off, chuckling to myself as I left them stunned, and headed out of the gate.
No bell rang this time. Too many people were moving in and out for it to be useful.
“Those stats are not normal," Nabeeh said, rushing ...
2025-03-19 13:58:03 +0000 UTC View PostI breathed in the crisp morning air as I moved through a series of warm-up exercises in the small training yard behind our new home. The space wasn't much, just a patch of packed earth with a few wooden posts. However, it was ours and we planned t...
2025-03-18 16:21:30 +0000 UTC View PostI squinted at the parchment in my hands, reading over the purchasing agreement for what felt like the tenth time. Maybe it was the excitement, or even the exhaustion of the last two weeks leading up to the dungeon run, and the two days of hard wor...
2025-03-17 15:17:57 +0000 UTC View PostRage pulsed through the mass.
Fury.
Indignation.
The breeding chamber had been filled with thousands of costly eggs, the result of countless resources and hours spent breeding, nourishing, and watching over them...
2025-03-17 15:16:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe clash of mugs filled the Timberline as we toasted another round. The air smelled of wood smoke and new lumber, the tavern's scaffolding creaking softly in the wind, but not a hint of the chill made it inside.
“To killing the bastard Ti...
2025-03-16 14:50:50 +0000 UTC View PostI pushed open the door to Steel & Scale, my fingers intertwined with Eryn's. The familiar smells of hot metal, leather, and oil greeted us, mixed with the acrid smell from the fire. Ma and Pa sat by the counter, and her head snapped up at our ...
2025-03-15 12:52:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing I noticed was a splitting headache, as if Roq had redecorated it with spikes and flames, and each breath felt like it fought against iron bands. I blinked my eyes open to see tent canvas rippling overhead.
“Where the—...
2025-03-14 16:52:16 +0000 UTC View PostVertigo gripped me as I stood in a massive chamber carved into the living heart of the tree.
We were at the very peak of the Twisted Titan, where the walls had split open like rotting bark, leaving gaping wounds that exposed the world below....
2025-03-13 15:32:23 +0000 UTC View PostHalf an hour later, sweat dripped down my face, my helmet long since stored, as I yanked the one more armor plate free from the Titanfang's body. The wet sound of tearing flesh resounded all around me as Knut and I worked together to expose the so...
2025-03-12 14:51:37 +0000 UTC View PostI ripped Roq from the Titanfang's brain with a battle cry that echoed off the chamber walls, and was joined by Knut's deeper bellow, then Wade's shout, and finally Nabeeh's higher-pitched scream of victory, the sound filling the chamber.
Ben...
2025-03-11 19:16:19 +0000 UTC View PostThe second platform looked exactly as we'd left it, except Edwin's party had beat us back. Dean's scavengers huddled near the center. No fresh monster corpses meant nothing had tried to push through while we were out exploring.
Edwin walked ...
2025-03-10 15:22:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe Twisted Titan's trunk stretched upward until it vanished into the thick, low-hanging clouds. In the two short months since we’d been there the first time, rot on the dead side had spread, consuming nearly two-thirds of the ancient steelhusk'...
2025-03-09 19:59:38 +0000 UTC View PostThe crackles of electricity made Pa's beard puff up as he pulled back from Arclight's corpse, fingers twitching.
“Damn thing won't let me cut it,” he muttered, shaking his arm. “Even dead, the lightning persists. How am I supposed to d...
2025-03-08 19:55:16 +0000 UTC View PostThe heavy guild doors swung shut behind me with a solid thud, cutting off the chatter. I drew a deep breath of the crisp evening air, trying to process everything that had happened, fingers brushing against the scaled armor Harold had insisted I c...
2025-03-07 15:37:08 +0000 UTC View PostMy legs wobbled as we stood over Arclight's massive corpse, aftershocks of electricity making my muscles twitch and spasm. The beast's yellow fur stood on end, static crackling through it even in death. Blood pooled beneath its shattered skull whe...
2025-03-06 20:44:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe beast's voice slammed into my mind like a hammer blow, making Roq rattle in my grip.
“Vannash’ Khazeesh. You should know, little traitor, that no one leaves the hive.”
“HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME, YOU F...
2025-03-05 19:06:25 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone!
It's my birthday today, turning 39, and have some exciting news to share.
Riftside is being turned into a Soundbooth Theatre production!
Thanks to Cassius, my co-writer, we've got a wonderful agreement with SBT to ...
2025-03-04 21:38:17 +0000 UTC View PostI scanned the steelhusk forest surrounding us, my enhanced senses seeming to pick up every rustle of leaves and Roq felt lighter than ever.
It had been difficult to fall asleep, with Ivan's crushed face haunting me every time I closed my eye...
2025-03-04 21:29:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun was already dipping by the time Eryn and I approached the Timberline. My new clothes still felt strange. Ma had adjusted some of Pa's old ones for me. They were tight around the shoulders and arms but loose around my belly. At least they w...
2025-03-03 17:57:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Roq!” I mentally clutched at the familiar presence like a drowning man on a lifeline. “Help me!”
“Ash? How come I can hear you from the spatial storage? And… what's going on with your mind? It's fr...
2025-03-03 17:56:19 +0000 UTC View PostI took a long drink of beer, staring at the bottles behind the bar as I pondered Knut's words. There were so many shades to what he was proposing, as there were colors in those bottles.
“Give me a moment,” I said quietly.
Knut nodd...
2025-03-02 20:46:31 +0000 UTC View PostMy arms ached from the repetitive motion of sanding, but I kept at it, using a mind gem every now and then to refresh myself. The charred wood of Ma's favorite rocking chair slowly gave way to clean grain beneath the Shardfang leather. The tough m...
2025-03-02 20:45:37 +0000 UTC View PostRoq still rested against the wall where I'd left him. I lunged across the room, nearly colliding with Eryn in my haste to get to him. My fingers closed around the hilt, and I squeezed hard.
“Let us show these cowards what happens w...
2025-03-01 21:44:29 +0000 UTC View Post“Ten mind gems,” Knut repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, gesturing with his beer mug for emphasis. He slumped against the workbench, staring at me with narrowed eyes. “Ten! How you do it? Tell me secret or I squeeze again!” 2025-03-01 21:43:33 +0000 UTC View Post
I gently squeezed Eryn's hand as she laughed at Knut's latest story, making our walk back to Sentinel Station fly by. After keeping Roq in storage for a bit, my body felt fresh as if I'd spent a full day resting at home. There was also this warm f...
2025-02-28 17:21:30 +0000 UTC View PostI gritted my teeth as I brought Roq down on the back of the Shardfang's head, shattering the stone hide and skull beneath. It didn't even have time to whine and just dropped dead.
“YES!” Roq's voice thundered in my ...
2025-02-28 17:20:23 +0000 UTC View PostMy hand squeezed Eryn's under the table as Ma placed a plate of her special cookies between us, the ones with nuts and dried berries she saved for celebrations, and for whenever there was terrible news. The smell of Pa's Ember Root whiskey filled ...
2025-02-27 22:33:37 +0000 UTC View Post