Kaius sat on the branch of a massive oak tree. Yellow leaves adorned its reaching branches, nearly scraping the ceiling of the cavern in which it grew. All over its bark, shifting geometrics glowed with a pulsing light. Now that he found him so close he couldn't help but squint through the distracting light.
He leaned over the branch, peering down at the swirling red and yellow orb that held his attention so closely. This close, the waves of palpable magic that wafted from th...
2024-09-29 07:26:25 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius faced off against the Champion, eying its battered form with an intensity that only came from knowing that his continued life required it. The once regal creature was a sorry sight, its coat sodden with blood, great rents parting its flesh to reveal muscle and bone beneath.
He couldn't see it healing anymore, its regeneration too spread thin to have a noticeable impact on any one individual wound. It was a testament to both its physicality and its sheer bloody-minded sp...
2024-09-29 07:25:26 +0000 UTC
View Post
The Champion's paw lashed out with a skill enhanced swipe, smashing into Kaius’s side as its claws trailed floating embers of light. Far too fast for him to react to, whatever skill the champion had used seemed to magnetise its blow to the opening in his guard.
A soft gasp left Kaius’s lips as the air was forced from his lungs, ejected in a great exhale. His elbow smashed into the side of his ribs, a shuddering crunch resonating through his bones.
...
2024-09-29 07:24:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius slowly approached the cave entrance, relying on Explorers Toolkit to aid his furtive movements as shadows subtly bent to hide his form. He had his sword drawn and ready, expecting something to jump out at him at any moment.
He watched the boulders that crowded its entrance. Piled in a rough, haphazard manner, they presented plenty of nooks and crannies for any number of beasts to hide and make their dens in. Thankfully they seemed uninhabited, and provided...
2024-09-29 07:23:26 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius’s legs shook as the undead pressed down on his sword. Leverage or not, it was a bad match up. Even at such a relatively low level its strength clearly exceeded his own. Regardless if he needed to train his skills or not, there had to be a better way than going toe to toe with undead in an avenue where he held none of the advantages.
A flick of his wrist disengaged their bind. Kaius pivoted his blade, sending the undead's arming sword skittering down its length and awa...
2024-09-29 07:20:30 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius pulled up his new skill, eager to take his mind off the gory wound that dominated his peripheral vision.
Light Armour Mastery:
Level 1
Uncommon
The best defence is never getting hit in the first place. Unfortunately, it is sometimes unavoidable. Would you prefer cloth, or reinforced leather, when that occurs?
Skill that increase...
2024-09-29 07:19:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius reacted instantly to the sound of something crashing through the undergrowth. Explorer's Toolkit screamed in his mind, but only an idiot needed a skill to tell them that unexpected movement in the Depths was dangerous.
He backpedalled as fast as he could into the open grass as he ripped his sword free from his scabbard. A mottled grey feline figure blurred out of the undergrowth, launching itself towards him with outstretched claws.
...
2024-09-29 07:16:31 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius sat on his rather uncomfortable seat in front of the hearth, enjoying the radiating warmth that slowly dried him from his earlier clean. His skill list had been growing nicely, though he still had two more components to add to his list before he could relax.
It was always impressed upon him that the first thing he should do after merging a skill was collect the requirements for his next one as fast as possible. Technically the system wouldn’t add a skill...
2024-09-29 07:15:31 +0000 UTC
View Post
*Ding! General Skill Available! Would you like to learn: Block (Common)?*
“Yes!” Kaius thought, accepting the notification instantly. With a grunt of fury he dug his feet into the ground, regaining his collapsing defence. He flicked his sword, catching the incoming blow of the undeads blade and turning it away in a textbook parry.
The footman brought its arming sword once more, mouth hanging open to reveal blackened...
2024-09-29 07:12:29 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius just managed to prevent Tracking and Sneak from merging, the skills rattling against his control as his soul touched Trapfinding. Instantly the previous two skills settled down, no longer having an easy route to merge their energies through the conduit of his soul.
Trapfinding tasted of tension and exploration. The joy of exploring new mechanisms, and the fear of the deadly payload they held. A thousand sight...
2024-09-29 07:08:22 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius stood up from the cold stone floor of the hunting compound, wincing as his leg protested at the movement. After nearly an hour and a half of waiting, it had mostly healed, and hopefully it wouldn’t take more than another quarter hour or so until it was done.
Still, he didn't exactly plan on sitting on his ass if he could walk around fine now. He would just have to be a little gentle with it in the meantime. The offending limb still itched terribly, no ma...
2024-09-29 07:06:35 +0000 UTC
View Post
The Butcher's cleaver followed its terminal arc, wounded arm unable to control the momentum of the monstrous weapon with as much ease as it had before. The wild swing left it open. Kaius was remiss to let the opportunity go to waste. Every second was another that his afflictions would continue to weaken him.
Stepping forwards, he brought his sword down in a heavy overhead strike. The Butcher lashed out with its free hand, trying to ward off his strike. It was successful, part...
2024-09-29 07:05:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius all but flew backwards out of the lodge, desperate to avoid a scenario where the giant undead could box him in and bring its obvious strength to bear. Dread shot through him as he took in the size of the undead. It made him look small, and he had no doubt that its monstrous cleaver would make short work of any sort of defence he could field against it.
His only chance was to rely on mobility and positioning to see him through the fight. If he even could. ...
2024-09-29 07:04:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius planted his feet. There were only three undead remaining from the small mob that he had stumbled upon at the hunters lodge and led on a merry chase. More than a low enough number for him to stop running. Of the three, the one front and centre held a pitted machete, same as the one on its left. Its companion to its right holding a hatchet.
All three tried to swing as soon as Kaius stopped moving. He thrust, lancing the middle undead in the shoulder. Or at least, he tried...
2024-09-29 06:58:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
From his vantage point Kaius was able to make out fifteen undead.
They milled around the hunting compound that was recessed into the cave wall. Some drifted from building to building, patrolling the area in some mockery of a lively camp. Others just stood there, swaying in place.
It was unnerving. The unnatural stillness with which they stood, unbroken by the micro-movements and twitches typical of the living. The way they burst into motion without warning, s...
2024-09-29 06:55:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius stood on the wide trail beaten through the undergrowth of the subterranean glade, watching the two undead that slowly approached with spears levelled at his chest.
Their weapons had the stout look of boar spears. Leaf shaped blades capped by lugs on a stout haft six strides in length. They were weighty, unwieldy things. More meant for planting firmly in the ground to arrest a boar's charge than true weapons of war.
They still held the reach advant...
2024-09-29 06:50:50 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius squatted for what felt like the thousandth time in front of the low heat of the hearth. Tightly held to his chest was a stray flagstone from the crumbling wall outside, large enough that its weight dug uncomfortably into his arms.
Reaching the bottom of his descent, he felt his quads stretch with a deep burn that brought a grimace to his face. Another drop of sweat from his face baptised the stone, its surface turning ever more slick. Forcing him to hold the rock tighte...
2024-09-29 06:44:23 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius slumped onto the wall of the ruined church, sliding down until he sat somewhat comfortably. His heart still pounded from the excitement of going toe to toe with a full party of undead.
Beside him lay a pile of poor quality armour. Scavenged from the body of his slain foes, it had been gruelling and disgusting work. He did, however, have a need for them when he started working on his defensive legacy skill. So he had grit his teeth and done his best to ignore his s...
2024-09-29 06:43:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius positioned himself with the gap in the wall to his front. The first one through the breach was draped in disintegrating mail, holding a hatchet high overhead.
His eyes narrowed. Breathing kept even more through rote practice than true confidence. The undead lurched forwards. Stumbling as its lacking coordination failed to keep it steady on the uneven stones that littered the gap in the wall. Its jaw hung open. Almost like it was wailing, though he heard no sound. <...
2024-09-29 06:42:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
After leaving the tunnel, Kaius descended into the strange glowing forest that he had found so deep beneath the surface. He crept across a dense carpet of lichens, the fungus squelching underfoot as he pushed yet another dense bush out of the way. It glowed with soft illumination to match the canopy of the trees above, spores shimmering almost imperceptibly as they were kicked up with every step. The flat light draped the underbrush, the lack of shadows playing hell with his depth perception....
2024-09-29 06:41:12 +0000 UTC
View Post
*Ding! You have been afflicted by Lesser Cave Spider Venom*
Even as Kaius read the notification, he felt a burning inflamed heat growing from the wound.
“Blasted depths, not now!” he muttered to himself.
Numbness spread through his arm. He had to pick up the pace. A quick look satisfied him that no more spiders were coming to ambush him from the ceiling so he ran forward. Bringing the fight to the remaining handf...
2024-09-29 06:39:23 +0000 UTC
View Post
Kaius stood in the cavern holding his longsword out in front of him in a ready grip. His eyes coasted over its length, taking in the flawless steel decorated with a strip of sigils down the centre.
The sword had been a gift from his father. It had taken months of brutal sparring to merge Warforged, the second legacy skill in his dynasty’s collection. There were times when he almost thought his father hated him, with how mercilessly he had beat him on ...
2024-09-29 06:34:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
Bubbles swirled around him, colossal forces pulling him from every direction. Water surrounded him on all sides, stabbing with an icy chill. Weighing him down, soaking his travelling clothes. He tried to kick, to force his way upwards. Agonising heat shot through his leg, the limb flapping ineffectively.
It was broken.
He was going to drown.
Fighting to move, he tried to discern which way was up even as he was thrown and twisted around by the...
2024-09-29 06:32:44 +0000 UTC
View Post
Trees blurred as Kaius sprinted through the forest.
He thought he heard crashing behind him. The bandits were on his tail. He’d easily had a league head start when he saw them on the top of a precarious ridge line. One of them had been pointing at him, a thick ropey scar on the man's face.
They’d closed the distance so fast.
A root caught his foot, sending him stumbling. A thrown out arm caught his fall, the bark of the oak...
2024-09-29 06:30:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
