Bacon Macleod

B4 Chapter 446: Imperium Mortum, pt. 6

Kaius's heart pounded in his chest as he ran; his team ran with him. 

This damn ruin seemed endless and ever-changing, even with them following the clearly painted directions that had been emblazoned on the walls. 

They'd managed to make some progress over the last quarter hour or so, getting closer to whatever the mainframe was. 

During that time they'd passed sites beyond wonder, things that he'd had no name for. Along each of their flanks, the walls of the ...

B4 Chapter 445: Imperium Mortum, pt. 5

They moved like forgotten horrors, twisted creatures of gearing and steel. Dozens of legs undulated with unnatural jerks, slipping from motionless to blurring speed as six automata raced down the hall in loose formation.

Kaius slowed his approach, cautious. This was a new foe, and for all that an eager hunger simmered in his chest, his blood-song had been tempered by experience. They might have done research in the guild for histories of combat against these beasts, but he knew better t...

B4 Chapter 444: Imperium Mortum, pt. 4

A deep, bassy twang split the air as Kenva loosed another arrow. The projectile lanced straight towards the warded, artificed bolt-thrower that was swivelling to get an angle on Ianmus. The timing was perfect. Right as mana built up in its charged rails, her arrow slammed home, twisting the metal. Contained force violently erupted, the entire construct splintering in a detonation of arcing sparks.

Kaius ignored the boom, steadily taking steps backwards as his sword flowed in constant mo...

B4 Chapter 443: Imperium Mortum, pt. 3

A red light of violence drenched the stairwell as the high-pitched alarm shrieked. It was loud enough it was almost physically painful, regardless of Kaius’s stats.

His mind raced as he watched dozens of fixed automata erupt from the walls. Turning and swivelling to face them, each looked almost like an enlarged crossbow affixed to a cantilevered arm. Yet there were oddities. Rather than having curved limbs under strain, rails lined the groove of their bolt channel. They blazed with m...

B4 Interlude 20: Strangspine, pt. 3

Inside Earnsdale’s fortifications, rustic housing sprawled out in a great tangle. They were sturdy, built with stone foundations — cleanly cut grey blocks that looked strong enough to weather even the greatest of storms. As was common in frontier villages, the houses themselves were made from local materials, a mishmash of wood planed down to planks to construct small family dwellings. 

Despite their limited materials, they clearly were built to a high standard. Even in a place...

B4 Interlude 19: Strangspine, pt. 2

From his position at the head of their cart, Bronwyn looked around with interest. They were on a paved road that cut its way between shallow hills, ubiquitous in this region of the frontier. On every side, they were surrounded by dense brush, undergrowth, and canopy so overgrown that they merged into almost solid walls of living green stretching twice, thrice his height into the air. He supposed to some it would have been imposing, but he found it quite cosy — the sounds of birds and chirpi...

B4 Interlude 18: Strangspine, pt. 1

Bronwyn held his head high and kept his gaze fixed ahead as he walked down the streets of Deadacre at the head of their team. At his age, with more than a few years at Silver, he was long used to the looks they got out in public.

Word had gotten out that they were leaving on another expedition — this time to investigate the mysterious problem of all the local beasts vanishing. 

As they headed for the eastern gate, more and more people gathered to watch them pass. It wouldn�...

tomorrows chapter will be late

blame the hallowed eve

some of you will do timezone math and be even more understanding

B4 Chapter 442: Imperium Mortum, pt. 2

Any doubt that might have once existed in Kaius’s mind had long since fled: this Imperial ruin was military. Whether it was official Empire forces or a privately owned bunker of some ancient noble dynasty had yet to be seen. 

The defences were too heavy, and the place was far too reinforced for it to have been made for simple civilian use. That, and the signs of active combat, were too blatant. 

As they pushed further through the entryway, the palisades and bulkheads o...

Chapter 441: Imperium Mortum, pt. 1

Deep beneath the earth of Deadacre, Kaius looked upon a shattered tunnel of alchemical stone and beheld true devastation.

Heart still pounding from their close brush with the installation’s defences, Kaius crossed past the immense vault door. He was alert, ready for anything. Only the gods knew if the last trap had faltered due to simple luck and age.

The core of the Imperial ruin had been devastated. Where the exterior they had just journeyed through had been relatively pristin...

B4 Chapter 440: Beneath the Streets, Finale

Crouched at the base of the hole they’d found in the centre of the Imperial ruins, Kaius looked over four skeletons with a critical eye.

It was a team, no doubt about it, though he had no way to tell if they were actual delvers, or simply a team of unfortunate would-be graverobbers. It looked like the group was made up of three men and a woman, all human. At least from what he could tell based on their builds and the anatomy lessons he’d had early in life. 

Judging by the...

B4 Chapter 439: Beneath the Streets, pt. 4

Reaching the centre of the ruins was proving troublesome. From the small portions of scouting that Ro had done during the guild’s initial raid on Old Yon’s hideouts, they knew the ruin stretched to encompass the circle of dead ground that surrounded the city. Considering that Deadacre itself was centred in that field, Kaius knew it was likely that they were heading towards the centre of the city.

Unfortunately, all the known entrances to the ruins lay on the outskirts of the city. O...

B4 Chapter 438: Beneath the Streets, pt. 3

Following a slowly descending path of hard-packed dirt and dusted cobblestone, layered in nearly a finger’s width of dust, Kaius saw the sudden transition between catacombs and Imperial ruins as clear as day.

Ahead of them, smooth moulded stone had been shattered as a path punched into a slightly wider tunnel. Unlike the dark greys and browns of their current surroundings, the tunnel ahead was an off-cream, manufactured and highly refined. It even had its own source of light somewhere...

B4 Chapter 437: Beneath the Streets, pt. 2

A/N: I believe this weekend is my last one fully off. Im going up to 6 next week, much more sustainable with editing and plotting demands.

From a brick-and-stonework pipe in the wall opposite them, a spray of muck slopped into the river that ran through the centre of the sewer. It was disgusting — half foul liquid, half indescribable solids, and all rancid. As the deluge hit the river of muck, it kicked up a spray, and Kaius dashed forwards, avoiding the splatter...

B4 Chapter 436: Beneath the Streets, pt. 1

Kaius entered his shared common room, Porkchop on his heels. He was dressed for battle, clad in scale mail made up from the second-tier artefacts they had found in their delve. His glyphs were charged with a variety of spells. Only Eirnith on his temples lacked many inscriptions. He kept a few charges of Zone of Discombobulation and Compel Obsession, just in case they ran into any beasts or creatures down there, but any dangers would largely be of the crafted variety, lackin...

B4 Chapter 435: Briefings and Plans, Finale

Kaius perked up, shuffling back in his seat as he sat upright. Finally, they were going to hear about their part of the job — and it was a good one at that. Anyone with Delver aspirations dreamt of exploring some abandoned Imperial settlement at some point in their life, though most never got the opportunity. An active ruin with automata was almost suicide for anything less than a team of veteran Silvers, usually multiple. People still tried. Unsurprising, considering the potential value su...

B4 Chapter 434: Briefings and Plans, pt. 7

A/N: I’m realising I should have started briefings and plans in chapter 431, when the actual briefings and plans started lmao. Probs will give the dawntown letter chapters, and the teaching niles a skill chapters there own name on RR.

Kaius took a sip from his tumbler of brandy, grunting as the burning liquor slid down his throat.

Along with his team, he was in yet another Guild meeting room, this one set up with a large war map on the far wall. Bronwyn was ther...

B4 Chapter 433: Briefings and Plans, pt. 6

Grandmaster Olmos swept his eyes over Kaius and his team, appraising each one of them individually.

Kaius wasn't sure what he was expecting when Rieker had said they would be talking to the grandmaster of the Guild. Perhaps somebody of palpable strength, grizzled and warlike, drenched in magic and artefacts. Instead, Olmos looked almost normal. A man late into his middle years, dressed sharply in a rich suit. Yet for all casual inspection that might suggest the man was s...

B4 Chapter 432: Briefings and Plans, pt. 5 

Kaius pecked at his slice of toast, aimlessly staring out the window of the Dusty Stables onto the street below. He wasn't so much groggy at having had to get up early — not with his stats — as he was a little more distracted than normal.

It had been an interesting few weeks, full of training and lazy explorations of the city. They’d managed to get more than that done, of course. Just a few days ago they’d met with Ro and a few Guild attendants to sort through the items they’d...

B4 Chapter 431: Briefings and Plans, pt. 4

Kaius breathed, calming himself as he looked down at his hands. His left pinky and ring finger were missing — a return to his state from a year ago, when he’d lost them fighting the Siege Ogre. Working through the permutations of Vesryn runes he’d discovered had been troublesome, to say the least. 

Each detonation hadn’t severed a finger completely; they’d been blown off over hundreds of detonations, each removing another chunk. With his battle experience and Pain Res...