Had to flesh this out a little more for my own satisfaction. Enjoy!
Wallis was pleased. The corrupted rat was gone, reduced to sweet, sweet mana which he could use to improve his cave. The tainted energy… he had no idea what to do with. He could sense it, trapped within his core. When he'd pulled it out of the rat, it had drained immediately into the gem without his control and now it hung there, stinking up the...
2020-05-15 07:06:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Following the scent trails the scouting parties had put down, it didn't take long for us to make our way through the twisting tunnels to where the Goglari would soon pass. We positioned ourselves in cover at an angle where we could see them coming from a good range. I didn't want to get too close to them. I wouldn't underestimate the stone-people ever again. While the majority of Warriors and Shapers had proven to be unable to damage me in small numbers no...
2020-05-14 07:25:45 +0000 UTC View Post
The training regime was brutal, and the hatchling ate it up. Lectures, followed by practice drills, followed by live practice, followed by a review. The brood tenders patiently explained every mistake, and stepped them through every decision, questioning the young ant's thinking and drilling their sacrificial tendencies out of them. Then more lectures, more drills and the cycle continued. They repeated the same thing five times before they were allowed to ...
2020-05-12 05:39:55 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor - This was fun, I had to make a part two.
She wasn't sure who began it, but the new hatchling was only too willing to join in the cry along with her siblings.
"FOR THE COLONY!"
"FOR THE COLONY!"
"MY LIFE FOR THE COLONY!" She poured her heart and soul into her pheromones as she declared her willingness to sacrifice for her family.
As each ant emerged, fully formed from their cocoons they joined the...
2020-05-11 08:17:53 +0000 UTC View PostPart one of the reward! Enjoy!
The Queen almost felt young again as her mandibles crunched through a writhing shadow centipede. The experience notification rang in her mind but she hardly listened, too eager to chomp down the waiting Biomass before moving onto the next target. She felt a savage joy at being back on the hunt, taking the risks her children were so willing to face and putting them on her own cara...
2020-05-11 03:31:40 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor note: I was reading the excellent 'There is no epic loot here, only puns' for the second time recently (I highly recommend it), and then saw 'Dungeon Pearl' pop up on royal roads trending list. Dungeon stories are an odd genre but strangely enjoyable and I started to wonder how I'd go about setting my own Dungeon story up. After thinking about it for awhile, this is what I came up with. It's quite rough, but I'll share it since I wasn't able to write Chrysalis today, M...
2020-05-10 11:13:56 +0000 UTC View Post
When the Colony gathers in the tunnels outside the ravaged outpost, we quickly take stock before we march through the tunnels. It's quite an inspiring sight to me, the long column of ants pouring through the tunnels, obliterating everything they find. My pets and I bring up the rear and it's great to finally get a chance to take a peek at their cores and admire the upgrades that they've achieved. Some good evolutions for Tiny and Crinis, and I can see that...
2020-05-09 10:27:49 +0000 UTC View Post
The leading triad each stare daggers at me as my siblings sweep through their office, crawling over the walls as they probe every surface for potential valuables. Already various items have been snatched up in greedy mandibles and carted away under the disbelieving eyes of the Shapers. I doubt this is how they expected a monster invasion to go, most of them seem to scarcely believe they're still alive. Not an unreasonable state of mind to be in, if I'm bei...
2020-05-07 08:32:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Anger boils inside me at the thought that these moronic Shapers would dare to kill my siblings! Outrageous! They've nobody to blame for their current circumstances but themselves, I've no pity for them at all. My attitude toward the Golgari is hardening at a frightening pace. If I hadn't had such positive experiences with Granin and his triad then there's a possibility that none of the Shapers would have made it out of this assault alive. I suppose that's ...
2020-05-06 11:11:09 +0000 UTC View PostWe have two clear standouts with nary a vote between them, so I shall write both! The ant Queen will receive a POV chapter to see what she's been up to, and we will follow the story of a new hatchling emerging within the colony and undergoing training!
Thanks to everyone who voted!
I never really intended to do something like this, but then again I never expected to reach two hundred patrons (nearly three hundred now O_O). 2020-05-06 05:27:36 +0000 UTC View Post
We get in and we get out. That's the fundamental truth of this raid and I'm going to stick to it like a sticky substance applied to another, less sticky thing. There must be a better analogy, but I'm too pumped up to iron it out right now. It takes a little convincing but eventually we get Sarah down into the tunnel and fleeing with her buddy Jim. With her mental state as muddled as it is, I don't want her hanging around for the rest of what's going to hap...
2020-05-05 07:15:34 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor note: Hey all! Thanks to all existing patrons for sticking around and to all new patrons for jumping on board! You're the BEST! I really can't say that enough. We recently passed 200 patrons and I really want to do something to celebrate the milestone. Leave it with me! :D
Sarah was afraid. Although, just saying that didn't mean much. She may as well have said "Sarah was breathing", because, she was always afraid. Always. She had been afraid for so long ...
2020-05-03 11:48:25 +0000 UTC View Post
"How was I supposed to know he was going to escape?" Granin said. "You think he was likely to admit such a thing right before he attempted it?"
"I've had reports of much of the mental communication between yourself and the ant were shielded from prying. Why would that be?" Gravus rumbled, uncharacteristically keeping his temper in check.
Granin's eyes widened.
"Because, as my charge, and as a reincarnated individual, Anthon...
2020-05-01 12:34:34 +0000 UTC View Post
When I finally come across Jim, he's shivering up against the wall of the tunnel as dozens of ants keep watch on him, some literally on top of him.
[Jim! You made it out alright, I see!]
[Anthony! Thank the- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!]
[You mean Crinis? She's my pet.]
[THAT is your pet?]
[For sure, she's great. Anyway, why are you shaking like a leaf in a storm? Something wrong?]
[Every cell in my body is screaming at me to escape from these...
2020-04-29 11:14:25 +0000 UTC View Post
[DAMMIT CRINIS! I can't see!]
[It's fine!]
[How is it fine?!]
[IT JUST IS!]
[No! How the heck can I fight I can't see the enemy?! What is even happening?!]
[I'll fight for you! You don't need to do anything!]
[Are you kidding me?! There's no way you can take them all on by yourself!]
[Watch me!]
[I CAN'T!]
I'm currently entombed in a shell of Crinis after all. Not only is she covering my eyes, she's cov...
2020-04-29 06:26:12 +0000 UTC View Post
The proud Golgari scion charges headfirst toward me, his fancy blade dancing in his hands. This guy really is stupid. Baited so easily, by a monster no less. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that he's diving in so recklessly, it's what I want after all. What I didn't expect was that the rest of the triads in front of me would leap into action the moment he stuck his dumb neck out.
Don't underestimate the power of little rich kids, Anthony! These other...
2020-04-28 07:34:23 +0000 UTC View PostEdit - was late to release this chapter, apologies to patrons! :(
Gah! This is just getting worse and worse. I refuse to get pulled down by these damn Golgari again. I can almost feel the stony morons closing in from every direction. The tunnels must be loaded with these hunting triads, Warriors and Shapers alike. If they sent out four triads to hunt me the first time, how many are they willing to send out now? I'm dangerously close to not caring...
2020-04-27 10:54:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Of course they don't want to fight, why would they want to fight? All they have to do is keep us here until more of their stupid triads show up. If I was them, I wouldn't fight me either! Argh! What the heck am I going to do know? My mind spins as another triad of Warriors straightens up behind us, trying to box us in. Two triads are here now, and I don't doubt there are more, including Shaper triads, on their way to track us down. I'm guessing if we try a...
2020-04-26 12:37:34 +0000 UTC View Post[Haul that monkey butt, Tiny! We need to move, move, move!] I shout as I zip after my pets.
Invidia has seized hold of the big ape with his stick-thin arms and clings to his black fur as Tiny leaps and bounds forward with all of his strength, making the little demon flap like a flag in a high wind. Lagging behind as always is Jim, and I catch up to him in no time.
[Jim! You need to pick up the pace! The Warriors have caught up to us!]
[...
2020-04-23 08:06:50 +0000 UTC View PostWe make good time as flee once more, this time with the hulking form of Tiny stomping along behind us. It's nice to have the big guy's powerful presence with the group once more. Sometimes a problem just needs to be hit really hard, and while Tiny might have his faults, that is certainly something that he brings to the table. In spades.
In terms of speed, he still can't keep up with me, but at least he's faster than before. What's surprising is that he uses his wings when h...
2020-04-23 07:04:21 +0000 UTC View Post
For the next ten minutes we make our way through curving tunnels, obliterating monsters whenever we come across them and leaving the Biomass on the ground. It hurts to leave food behind but what can we do? The Dungeon will feast on the remains of my hard work today. Well, I say hard work, but battling with Invidia on my side is a whole different story. The shields, the illusions, the damaging spells that get thrown out at the perfect timing. It's almost ru...
2020-04-22 10:32:49 +0000 UTC View Post
[Worms are stupid.]
[I said I was sorry already…]
[They look disgusting and they eat dirt.]
[I know, okay? I know.]
[They're soft and don't have a carapace which makes them less shiny.]
[Not all ants are shiny! Only you are shiny!]
[Are you talking back to me?! Invidia, I think he's talking back to me!]
[Sssstrange. It should be shame.]
[Yeah, you're supposed to be shame! Aren't you, J...
2020-04-21 12:33:14 +0000 UTC View Post
A crash resounded through the room as Irrette Plamine hurled her glass across her private study. The crystal vessel struck the ornate carved stone bookshelf built into the wall and shattered, flinging shards across the room. The only other person present, the youngest member of her triad, Biritite Cryslas, flinched as her true skin repelled the sharp slivers and tried to pacify her leader.
"Th-They can't have gotten far, we still have tracking spells...
2020-04-21 07:05:48 +0000 UTC View Post
I scramble to right myself just as Invidia drops down the tunnel and into my back. Luckily that extra-dimensional heft of his doesn't translate to actual weight, otherwise he might've put a crack in my carapace.
[Which way?] I say to Jim.
[Um… Um… this way!]
[You don’t sound super confident.]
[It's going to be fine!]
There's an unusual note of panic in the worm's thoughts as he wriggles this way and that before throwing ...
2020-04-20 11:18:35 +0000 UTC View Post
The plan isn't complicated, which I hope means it's more likely to succeed. Once I have the room to myself, Invidia begins to weave an illusion around me. The image I ask him to create isn't anything too fancy, just a shell of myself, cast around myself. The only part of the spell that extends beyond that covers the floor for thirty centimetres beyond my feet. The moment the image is in place, I weave together an earth mana construct and start pumping energy through it. I take ho...
2020-04-20 06:28:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The Shapers are professional monster wranglers with over a thousand years of experience in the craft. They're smart, industrious, coordinated and would have put an extreme amount of thought into ensuring that none of their captives escape. Which raises the question, if you are one of those captives and you do want to escape, how exactly should you be going about it?
There are a number of schools of thought on the matter. Careful pla...
2020-04-18 08:19:59 +0000 UTC View Post
It wasn't easy to explain how they knew, but they did. A tantalising feeling, as if their minds were connected across a great space to something that collected all those thoughts like a whirlpool of the colonies wants and needs. The moment Vibrant placed a leg within its range she could sense it.
"Finally!" She yelled with delight, slapping her followers around with her antennae enthusiastically. "That silly Eldest really went a long way but not far ...
2020-04-17 12:27:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Booms and thuds shake my cell as the battles continue out in the arena. With my Meditation Skill blunting outside influences my magic practice continues smoothly as Torrina batters my mind with her expert magical handling. To make things even more rude, she suggests that I order Invidia to participate in the training and somehow I'm talked into letting Invidia attack me with mental magic. After just ten minutes under their combined assault I'm ready to beg...
2020-04-15 10:35:43 +0000 UTC View PostPeople seemed to enjoy what I put of Against Fate (working title. Give me something better if you got it, I hate naming) so after a bit of stuffing around here is the rest of what I have. Pretty much everything regarding this story is up for change. The Attributes I stole from DnD and I'm not sure if I'll keep them that way. The names of everything can still be changed as well as every detail of how the system works. I've already made changes since the first post, adding Mysteries as a sort o...
2020-04-14 05:37:46 +0000 UTC View Post
That's two of my mutations out of the way, time to bring it home with the final play. This one's straight forward. The infrared detection has been useful, there's no denying that, but the future-sense has been literally life-saving. In the unfolding menu their remains a thousand and one options of other things that I can upgrade my antennae to detect, air, electric current, mana, life (how does that work?) amongst others. I have to say though, som...
2020-04-13 12:03:20 +0000 UTC View Post