Might not be a TBoB chapter today. Job search has already taken a ton out of me, and I ended up rewriting half of this chapter (for the better though) - Gonna still try, so let's hope!
“Look on the bright side, it’s cute!” Camille exclaimed as she gently rubbed my back. “Plus, it might be small, but it’s armed with a rifle so it can still do some damage.”
“I guess,” I mumbled.
After the construct appeared I had a little bit o...
2025-05-13 19:14:15 +0000 UTC
View Post
I sprinted out of the residential area, only to be confronted by a truly massive inferno.
The explosion had originated at a vehicle repair shop and recharging station on the opposite side of the street. Most modern stations had solid state batteries or used stable, environmentally safe, chemical solutions, so this must have been quite an old installation to detonate like that.
I quickly glanced between the station and the nearest burning house. The fires were separated...
2025-05-12 17:27:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
Forgot to get this out on friday... again.
T_T
Better late than never!
2025-05-12 13:38:39 +0000 UTC
View Post
Spent most of the day yesterday working on this so I'd have time for job search stuff. Took forever cause I got distracted. T_T
The flickering firelight danced, casting long shadows around the village hall as I sat at the table, pouring through my system window.
The village wasn’t that big, and there were only a couple places big enough to handle a crowd, so I usually left the village hall open in the evening. It was a place where people could com...
2025-05-12 13:32:15 +0000 UTC
View Post
I reached out and gently patted Camille on the shoulder. “Calm down, I’ll explain what I can.”
She looked at me suspicion, but didn’t say anything, so I turned and threw my arms wide in front of the massive crystal orb.
“This magnificent thing is what called us here, and set up the trials,” I said.
“It doesn’t look like a regular dungeon core,” Camille sniffed. “Most dungeon cores look like a cluster of raw crystals the size of my head. They don’t look...
2025-05-09 22:28:50 +0000 UTC
View Post
I think I might want to go over the part about rabbits again, tighten it up slightly, but I like the rest.
I glanced up and down the street, trying to determine my next step. Bob and Heavy had done an admirable job of clearing up the immediate area, but until the bears started reporting in I’d have no idea where the Antithesis managed to breach the town limits. No matter which way I went, I’d be wandering blindly.
Then again, wandering blindly would ...
2025-05-09 16:18:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Well, the solution seems easy to me,” Camille declared as she slowly sauntered forward. “I’ll go left and deal with the core, while you two go right. Then we get to do both!”
Before she could step into the hallway Selena slammed her halberd down, blocking the path. “The message says we can only go one way, and we’re not going to do anything that might risk those people, not when we’re so close!”
Camille grabbed the shaft of the polearm, and trie...
2025-05-08 21:19:11 +0000 UTC
View Post
The communications network started to degrade long before we hit the outskirts of Okotoks. Since I didn’t know how bad the interference was going to get, I made sure the rabbits were set to follow me prior to entering the town. Having my backup disconnect from the command network and default to patrolling, or retreating back to the shelter, was absolutely the last thing I needed right now.
Once we got close enough I headed over to the monitor mounted in the back of the Kodiak an...
2025-05-08 15:57:43 +0000 UTC
View Post
Wasn't planning on doing another chapter today, because morning wasn't that great, but I did! Bonus I guess.
“Did… did we win?” Camille stuttered as the tokens all sunk back into the little map.
A moment later a grinding noise filled the chamber, and the massive table slowly began to slide away from us. Underneath was a set of stairs leading deeper into the complex.
“I think we won,” Selena muttered in response.
While I was...
2025-05-07 01:45:23 +0000 UTC
View Post
I awoke, disoriented, with a screech echoing in my head. I remembered dinner, and then one of Issi’s nonsense games then… bed? It was foggy, and the ringing wasn’t helping.
“Nyx, what the hell is that wailing!” I hissed, placing a hand on my head in an futile attempt to soothe my aching brain.
It’s an emergency alert, triggered by your forces taking serious losses in a relatively short period.
“I don’t remember setting something like that up,” ...
2025-05-06 18:44:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
Bonus chapter!?!?!? - Yeah, I finished my applications early today and I'm really enjoying SS right now. I'd like to get it to the point where Medea retrieves her stone before deciding which fiction to pick up (although I'm pretty sure I already know) :P
“This is some sort of test of my tactical skills,” I explained softly. “I don’t know the details, but I think it’s quite apparent that it involves defending our village from invaders.”
“...
2025-05-05 22:22:46 +0000 UTC
View Post
It took several seconds for the shambling mounds of earth to drag themselves to their feet. There didn’t appear to be any consistency between the golems, they varied anywhere between four and ten feet, and each had a different number and configuration of limbs.
That chaotic design marked them as either natural elementals, both human constructs, and dungeon monsters, tended to be a lot more uniform.
“I don’t suppose that eye of yours works against magical creatures,” Camill...
2025-05-05 17:15:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
I wasn't sure about this chapter earlier but... I think I like it. Some SoL stuff, background on Evelyn's projects, and despite going over a few differnt things it flows okay.
SS chappy will be going out in just a few minutes, I worked on it yesterday so I could start the job hunt today.... yay. I dunno when I'll find work, but it'll almost certianally affect my schedule, considering it takes 7-8 hours for me to do two chappies a day. I'll let you know how things'll change...
2025-05-05 17:14:26 +0000 UTC
View Post
Good Afternoon all,
I have a surprise for you all today. I spent the entire day organizing all my source files, making single documents for each, and compiling them into EPubs for you all.
Now, I was trying to figure out a good way to both provide them to you all, for supporting me all this time, while not encouraging other people to join my patreon for literally five minutes, just to download them before leaving.
Here's what I've come up with:
-For the next month I wil...
2025-05-04 00:40:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
I remembered this time!
Now I'm off to make a few small changes to the latest chapter of SS
Catch you all monday!
2025-05-02 20:43:15 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Hugs hugs hugs hugs hugs…” Bob chanted as he waited for the back ramp to come down. The instant there was enough room he scrambled through the gap and took off across the garage.
“Open the door gently!” I screamed after him. “I don’t want to replace it again. And let Jane know I gave you permission to go in before you start hugging! She broke a frying pan on you the last time you burst in!”
By the time the ramp settled on the ground, and I stepped off, the big bea...
2025-05-02 20:38:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
Just felt like doing another SS chapter today. I have to decide which story I want to concentrate on fairly soon. I love them both, and Imaginary is just getting to the good part, but I'm leaning towards SS right now. Opinions?
Chapter 7 - The Gauntlet is thrown
I gently placed my hand against the glowing energy covering the entrance, It had a cold, and unsettling feeling but wasn’t harmful. A typical dungeon barrier, meant to contain a...
2025-05-02 17:06:30 +0000 UTC
View Post
So... I totally intended to do work on 30 yesterday, but brain wasn't braining yesterday, so I haven't yet. Even though I'm planning on making changes, I'm planning to have it end around the same point, Teddy watching the Antithesis wipe themselves out.
“I can’t believe they just threw themselves into that toxic swamp,” I grumbled. “I know individual models don’t have any sense of self preservation, but it’s rare that an entire horde throws their li...
2025-05-01 21:35:25 +0000 UTC
View Post
Selena paused, her smile slowly morphing into a look of annoyed frustration. “Really? You’re going to be suspicious of me even after watching me walk up and caving that asshole’s head in?”
“I’m suspicious by nature,” I snapped. “It’s kept me and my people alive. You claimed that the Skylian’s severed your connection to their stone. That should have also removed your ability to use a system, and magic but, not even two minutes after making that claim, I watched...
2025-05-01 16:53:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
I slowly took in the refugees as they cowered in the little canyon alcove. Most of them had light colored hair, some even had pure white locks, green-blue eyes, and slightly pointed ears. “Half-Elves?” I mumbled under my breath.
“What do you want? Why are you here?” the young woman with the makeshift spear demanded. My eyes wandered to her own, mismatched pair, one eye was a warm orange and the other a cool blue. We locked eyes for just a second before I let my visi...
2025-04-29 22:31:16 +0000 UTC
View Post
Not super happy with this one feels a little... unfocused, dunno why. Might come back and do some rewrites later, what do you think?
“Rhinestone, Street Spray, and Clockwork Critter stopped raiding the southern hives and moved over to support Hoppy in defending Chestermere, and with their help the defensive lines over there have stabilized. It was touch and go there for a while though,” the little robotic squirrel in front of me reported in Angeline’s voi...
2025-04-29 17:38:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
It didn’t take us long to empty the small transport truck, and put away our things. The bureau had sent most of our stuff to a storage unit back in town, all we really had to do was put the dishes away and make the beds.
“I’m glad the agents reminded me to pick up some groceries before coming, there’s absolutely nothing in this kitchen,” my mother hummed. “Do you think there’s a store around here?”
“Probably,” I shrugged. “It’s a pretty big ‘neighb...
2025-04-28 22:34:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
“I don’t suppose you know anyone in town that specializes in saturation bombing?” I asked Helen quietly as we stared at the Kodiak’s external camera feed.
Since Bandit was already in position to defend Chestermere, I decided to head to Airdrie and take command of the defenses there. I’d expected a fair number of Antithesis, otherwise Bandit wouldn’t have even bothered to inform me, but the horde we encountered on the way exceeded my wildest expectations.
...
2025-04-28 18:25:36 +0000 UTC
View Post
Rewrite didn't take as long as I expected, so I may start on next TBoB. I'm not going to spend all day on it, like yesterday, but I'll see how far I get.
“They weren’t exactly subtle were they?” Camille muttered as we followed the path of devastated vegetation deeper into the forest.
“I can’t really blame them, they were running for their lives. They probably wouldn’t even have escaped if it wasn’t for Ezra… I can’t imagine that ...
2025-04-25 20:47:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
I'm exceptionally tired today after pushing myself to get a TBoB chapter out yesterday, so I'm not sure if I want to do another chapter of TBoB today, or if I'm going to revamp the previous chapter 4 of SS to better fit the current story.
I think the next arc may benefit of having a few extra days to plan, but I'm not great at planning so... IDK, I'll decide after lunch. Either way, enjoy.
As soon as I stepped into the square the...
2025-04-25 17:37:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Took me the rest of the day, but I made it!!!! Now bed time
I woke up early in the afternoon feeling refreshed. The cot had been a lot more comfortable than I expected and I’d managed to have a good rest, even after sleeping in my armor. After stretching out my sore muscles I stepped outside to check on the troops.
Even though the bears were still guarding the walls, things were quiet. Either the bears had managed to completely clear up the street...
2025-04-25 04:07:47 +0000 UTC
View Post
Running way behind because I received an un-planned visit from the parents, to discuss some renovations. Although I appreciate their input, I hate the fact that I lost close to four hours of writing time.
I'm going to start on TBoB, but unfortunately I might not get it done today due to so much lost time. We'll see.
It was easy to smuggle Hairy into the back of the van, all I had to do was slide the back door open then step out ...
2025-04-24 21:45:38 +0000 UTC
View Post
I've been a bad Wombat and completely forgotten to update my index in... like a month. I don't know how many of you like to use it, but I'm sorry it took so long.
Here are the links to the latest files.
-Wombat
2025-04-24 01:00:22 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello all! As I mentioned yesterday I wanted to make a change to sovereign stones, so you'd get a little bit more of the village building/life, before getting pulled into teh action segment.
I rewrote the end of chapter 1, and wrote a new chapter 2 which I feel not only pads out the village, but has stronger hooks to get Medea and Camille out investigating. I'll try and recycle some of the previous chapter 3, but chapter 2 might be a write off... we'll see.
I like t...
2025-04-22 21:20:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
Fixing chapter number, because I was WAY off
Bandit ran the lures continuously through the night, causing wave upon wave of Antithesis to throw themselves against the walls. We didn’t run into that many issues during that time, there was a flock of Model Elevens did try to rip my bears off the walls part way through the night, but I had enough firepower to take down the oversized vultures before they caused too much damage.
It took hours of consta...
2025-04-22 16:18:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
