Bob took a deep breath and smiled. He'd spent the better part of his day off just flying south from the Hidden Dungeon, following the coast, and after a few hours, he'd found a beautiful cove. Or maybe it was an inlet? He wasn't sure, but there was only a very narrow passage to the ocean, and the entire thing was surrounded by high cliffs and a plateau above.
The cove itself had a sand beach and a dozen or so acres of forest. Bob was sitting on the sand, well abo...
2021-12-14 22:11:55 +0000 UTC
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Elania watched as over fifty men and women streamed through the magic portal that Bob had created.
The aforementioned troublemaker shot her a smile and went through the Portal himself after the last member of the security detail had passed through.
She'd suspected that they would need to arrange an expedition to the other universe, but she hadn't planned on it being this afternoon. It appeared that Bob had been eager for any excuse to get out of the summit and had leaped at ...
2021-12-14 00:02:48 +0000 UTC
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Elania smiled at Prime Minister Julwry's outburst. "I felt the same way when I was briefed, Prime Minister," she assured her.
"While I have the utmost respect for both you and your office, Madam President, I am compelled to request additional evidence to corroborate these rather extraordinary claims," Prime Minister Turpin's smile was faint but visible.
"What would you like to see?" Elania asked, gesturing toward one of her secret service detail to bring the two men she had ...
2021-12-08 21:23:19 +0000 UTC
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The second part of what I'm calling the chapter of regret debuts. I'd originally written the meeting with the president, the summit, and the excursion to Thayland as one chapter clocking in at just under 3k words. But it made the various world leaders into two dimensional characters who read like sociopaths at best. So I had to expand and expound. I'm much happier with how the last chapter and this one turned out. One more and I should be back on track.<...
2021-12-07 19:37:15 +0000 UTC
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Apologies for the delay on this. I rewrote it several times, and I eventually decided to split it in half so that I could expound a bit more. The short versions all had the cabinet sounding like psychopaths.
President Elania Hartford oscillated from considering the presidency as the best thing she'd ever accomplished and the worst thing she could have been sentenced to. She'd known the limits of the office before she'd ran, and she'...
2021-12-03 23:47:11 +0000 UTC
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Bob shook his head as he looked out over Glacier Valley. All forty skyscrapers were completed, and while he hadn't talked to Mike yet, he suspected that the Dungeons were complete as well. The entire valley seemed to seethe with uniformed men and women.
It had been two weeks since he'd last visited. He'd managed to drive the Hidden Dungeon down to the thirty-second floor, and Eddi and the Endless Council were already in residence. They had reincarnated in Holmste...
2021-11-30 00:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Time until System Integration: 590 Days, 6 Hours, 23 Minutes, 7 seconds.
Bob was working to build out the Hidden Dungeon. Given that each floor was designed for ten people, he had been able to build each floor quite quickly. He was just starting his day and starting the twentieth floor. He'd been working on the Hidden Dungeon steadily, the only interruption being overseeing the training of the next batch of Curators. The Marines who had been inst...
2021-11-20 23:00:03 +0000 UTC
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It's brought to my attention that some of you are caught wondering just how much longer until Earth receives what could be indelicately referred to as 'The Shaft.'
So, I put it to a vote! Who wants to see the count timer at the head of each chapter?
2021-11-15 19:57:38 +0000 UTC
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It was amazing how quickly things could move when you had effectively unlimited resources. Bob looked across glacier valley. He'd just finished training another fifty Curators, and he'd been told that the next batch, which would be ready tomorrow, were going to be trained by the top ten Curators from the first group he'd trained, and it would be appreciated if he could observe, and provide feedback afterward.
The United States military did not fuck around. There was...
2021-11-15 19:40:14 +0000 UTC
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Jessica was sipping on a cup of what tasted not entirely unlike lemongrass tea. It carried notes of citrus and was served piping hot, which was nice, as the wind had whipped up the boulevard from the harbor, making the walk rather chilly.
Kathaleen's reminded her of an old book store in Melbourne she'd loved when she was little. She was curled up in an overstuffed chair, reading a tragic love story about a pair of star-crossed lovers whose family's favored opposing elemental...
2021-11-14 18:09:07 +0000 UTC
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Time until System Integration: 604 Days, 6 Hours, 21 Minutes, 58 seconds.
Bob glanced at the timer at the upper left-hand corner of his vision as he washed the shaving cream off his face. He tried not to dwell on the countdown. He had right around twenty months, give or take, before Earth was integrated into the System.
The first batch of Curators he'd trained had been hard at work for the past two days, and he'd been asked to inspect the first ten flo...
2021-11-14 11:48:25 +0000 UTC
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The long-awaited lost chapter. I'm sorry folks, last weekend was rough, had a couple of minor issues on the farm that needed professionals to resolve, but that resulted in my mother asking when they were going to be fixed every thirty minutes or so, which meant I didn't get any sleep.
As always, I appreciate the support you've all shown me.
Bob woke up slowly to the sound of distant thunder and running water. It took a few moments for...
2021-11-12 10:11:01 +0000 UTC
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Bob had finished the fortieth floor of his Arcane Depths, seeding it with a Summoning Affinity Crystal. That process had been remarkably simple, he'd simply placed the Affinity Crystal in the space where mana would initially flow into the conduits that would feed the floor, and as he worked his ritual, it gradually dissolved.
Now he was testing the results by slaughtering the monsters that were spawning. The monsters were nearly ten feet fall, slender, and disturbingly biped...
2021-11-07 00:18:37 +0000 UTC
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I was cleaning up my PC, when I found the write-up for a campaign I'd run years ago. It's a part of the world setting I created to GM/DM for my players. It's a neat bit of lore, and I think it showcases the differences between my writing eleven years ago, and my writing today.
Apria – A brief History.
The nation of Apria occupies the southern half of the island of Triaga, which In turn, is situated in the Barren Sea, neares...
2021-11-06 05:47:50 +0000 UTC
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So ends another weekend, and begins a new month. Thank you for your support, it means the world to me.
Bob leaned back in his chair, watching the sunset of murmuring falls. Monroe was curled up on the ledge, soaking in the last few rays.
The herbs in his sunroom had done remarkably well in his absence, and they provided a rich bouquet as he tried to relax.
It hadn't been his finest day. He should have stuck around Glacier Valley an...
2021-11-02 09:49:07 +0000 UTC
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"Those are some proper walls," Bruce said as they emerged from the Portal and got their first look at Harbordeep.
Jessica nodded. The walls were probably more than twenty meters tall, and they looked to be nearly as thick. She couldn't imagine how much work must have gone into building them. Then again, with magic, maybe it hadn't been quite so difficult.
"So Nora popped Wayna and me back over here so I could meet her parents a few months ago," Eddi said, "and Wa...
2021-11-01 10:12:14 +0000 UTC
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After over an hour of fighting in the cavern, their escape had been almost anti-climatic. They'd climbed up the chimney, avoided the tree full of Owlacoons in the sinkhole, and then rushed back to their campsite. Dave and Amanda had shown up a few hours later, and they'd portaled the group back to Glacier Valley.
They'd gone to the Temple as no one seemed to know where Bob was. Fortunately, a young priestess named Elcia was on duty and had the regeneration skill. ...
2021-10-31 09:14:08 +0000 UTC
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"Shiela, are you with us?" Jessica asked as her friend's eyes fluttered.
She'd been unconscious for almost twenty minutes while Jessica and the others had dealt with attacks from the Badgats, as she'd decided to name the Badger/Bat hybrid monsters. There were two different spawns in range of them, and the respawn timer seemed to be about ten seconds on one of them and twelve seconds on the other. Once they had the timing down, it was only a matter of seconds for their summon...
2021-10-30 22:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Fourth Chapter this weekend! I'd hoped for more, but life gets in the way. Please remember that I'm committed to keeping the Human-Servant patrons a full four weeks ahead, or twelve chapters. This chapter marks the first time we've reached a full thirty chapters ahead! All praise to our divine feline overlords!
There was something seriously fucked up about that tree. Ignoring the fact that Owlacoons poured off its branches as quic...
2021-10-26 09:44:19 +0000 UTC
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Jessica looked over the edge of the sinkhole. As promised, it was almost twenty meters down into a forested glen. The best place to drop down was right next to the waterfall. With a mental push, she summoned out a persistent effect bundle of rope. It wasn't as strong as what she could summon with concentration or even an effect over time, but she didn't want to worry about keeping the spell going, and thanks to having ground her summon monster spell all the way up, her...
2021-10-25 09:11:24 +0000 UTC
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Bob walked past Mike in a daze, hearing but not understanding the question he was being asked.
He walked up to the counter and numbly indicated the steak and potatoes option on the blackboard, then schlepping his food back to his table, where he began to eat mechanically.
While it was nice to know what was coming, and he now understood why Trebor was encouraging him to learn to cast the Arcane Depths ritual without the aid of the System, having this knowledge was a burden when he ...
2021-10-24 13:03:58 +0000 UTC
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Ok, so I did quite a bit of foreshadowing on this bit. Thou shalt not crucify the author when he warned you this was coming.
"Jess, you've got to see this!" Derrick announced as he burst into the spatially expanded tent that the Australians had borrowed from Dave and Amanda to use a base in their new valley.
Sheila followed him into the tent, a smile dancing across her face.
"What did you two find?" Jessica asked with a smile of her own. &n...
2021-10-24 09:43:13 +0000 UTC
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"So, have you considered our request?"
As Bob rubbed his temples, he took the time to consider that his life on Thayland had taken a drastic turn for the worse after he'd started bringing people from Earth over.
Really, once he'd started involving the government. The retired marines had been fine, mostly, as had the Dungeons and Dragons crew.
With an effort of will, he stopped himself from closing his eyes and grinding his teeth.
"I have," Bob replied slowly, "an...
2021-10-23 11:50:44 +0000 UTC
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Bob rubbed his temples, having closed his eyes already. The deep rumble of Monroe's purr did double duty as a low-grade shoulder massage.
"The reason that your Dungeon isn't being consistent in regards to monster respawns is because you've effectively used trenches for your mana flows rather than conduits," Bob mumbled.
"How do you even create a conduit for mana?" Derrick asked.
Bob opened his eyes again and looked around the cavern that the Dungeons and Dragons crew, ...
2021-10-22 12:07:38 +0000 UTC
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So, I gave a little bit of thought as to why I've been getting sick so often. And then I realized that I spend an awful lot of time at various doctor's offices and medical facilities with my mother. I'm going to blame my cold on the constant exposure to sick people. That being said, I apologize for the lateness of the chapter, this will probably be a light weekend chapter-wise. Also, be kind. I'm heavily nyquilled.
Bob inspected th...
2021-10-17 11:32:54 +0000 UTC
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Mike ejected his magazine with one hand while summoning a fresh one into his other.
The wave had been everything Bob had promised. For the past twenty minutes, he'd been dropping monsters in batches. He'd quickly learned that using the Barrage skill was better than using the burst setting on his rifle, offering the same effect with a single round. Or near enough as to make no difference; either way, a single well-placed shot dropped the awful lizard monsters that conti...
2021-10-13 22:44:46 +0000 UTC
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Eddi looked out over the full might of the Endless and smiled. Sure, other paths were flashier, and the truth was they really did need to alternate into Curators, but the Path of The Endless Swarm offered a degree of safety while still making a huge impact that no other path could match.
They'd shown their worth during the last wave, but tonight they'd show the entire kingdom what was possible.
"This is the night of the spring wave," Eddi boomed out, noting with pleasure as ...
2021-10-11 22:58:17 +0000 UTC
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"Was that a..." Jessica trailed off.
"I think so," Amanda said hesitantly.
"Bob said something about the King being a Dragon," Dave muttered as he watched the massive creature winging off into the distance.
Jessica shook her head. Dragons. "So how about that brekky, yeah?" She asked, placing a hand over her tummy. She'd been getting quite the workout, smashing Doarrels with a staff.
"Yeah, breakfast sounds good," Amanda said, grabbing her arm and pulling he...
2021-10-10 22:37:16 +0000 UTC
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It has been mentioned in Discord, but I wanted to restate it here. The King's voice is that of Bruce Campbell. When you read his lines, they need to be spoken in his voice in your mind. Only then will you appreciate the true Majesty of the King of Greenwold.
~---------------~
"Your Majesty," an acolyte bowed deeply as Kellan stepped through the Gateway.
He looked around the unfinished Church, noting that the altar to Vi'Radia ...
2021-10-10 06:59:54 +0000 UTC
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"The King is coming here?" Bob asked.
"I don't think that he's angry," Nora offered.
Bob took two deep, calming breaths. The King was coming to Glacier Valley. He would need to keep Lt. Colonel Smith away from him, which shouldn't be too difficult, as Bob had been successful in his avoidance of the grumpy newly-reincarnated man.
He knew the King probably wasn't going to burn Glacier Valley to cinders. The problem wasn't so much the would, ...
2021-10-09 22:01:01 +0000 UTC
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