DakotaKrout

CWD: GA ~ Thirty-Seven

Nacho hurried away into the forest and got back on a game trail. Running warmed him up, the blanket felt good across his shoulders, and the world smelled so much better than his… cooped up kitchen. He chuckled at his own wit. It had been raining a lot above ground, given how green everything was, and the edge of dampness to the cold air.

Reuben and Brie must’ve retreated a bit, because they were out of transfer distance once again. Nacho kept checking his Stat Sheet as he m...

CWD: GA ~ Thirty-Six

Hogan walked into the kitchen alone, ready for some breakfast. It was early, but the adrenaline dump from his Patron’s visit had ensured that Nacho was wide awake. Sizing up the bruiser, the cook knew he was going to have to play the opportunity smart. Not only was the ex-con in plate mail, but his sword looked like it would only be satisfied if it butchered an entire medieval village.

“Well, tortilla-head, we went out looking for your friends last night, but we ran into that big co...

CWD: GA ~ Thirty-Five

Nacho was kicking himself. He’d had the perfect opportunity when Hogan and Whitney had been alone with him, since Crave and his knockout feather hadn’t been present. However, taking on both bruisers at the same time wouldn’t be easy—especially with the chains on his ankle.

He’d have to play the long game.

Until then, he had the chicken-bats to prepare. The creatures were a mishmash of poultry and flying mammal, with fur instead of feathers, and fighting talons a rooster ...

CWD: GA ~ Thirty-Four

Crave’s party rotated in shifts to grab venison steaks and pancakes before going out to kill for credits. Everyone who ate both dishes was given the option to upgrade their stats, and most chose Fitness for ultimate kill potential. They all commented on the food, saying it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. Having topped off their stats and selecting their meal-generated buffs, they went into the caves, taking their rudeness with them.

Nacho stayed in the kitchen with...

CWD: GA ~ Thirty-Three

Nacho suddenly knew he was awake, but he didn’t open his eyes right away. Crave had taken him, he remembered that, but he couldn’t let the Assassin know that his prisoner was armed and extremely dangerous just yet. Later in the Juxtaposition, forcing a prisoner to empty their Storage Slots became routine. But early on? People forgot about them, if they had even discovered them yet. Crave had made a mistake, and it was only a matter of time until Nacho capitalized on it.

Unable to se...

CWD: GA ~ Thirty-Two

At first, it was strange having so many people around Nacho and his friends. Of course, Reuben loved it—he genuinely enjoyed people. Brie was friendly, if a little cold, while Nacho worked on keeping everyone fed.

Reuben invited Mayor Dan and his extended party to camp out at Rocky Top, the halfway point between Armor Mountain and the MurderSong Dungeon. Nacho and his friends would get the prime spot under the overhang, and the others would find other places. As long as it didn’t ra...

CWD: GA ~ Thrity-One

The evening was gray and cold, so the strangers might just want to enjoy their fire. Or they might have murder on their minds. When his friends didn't answer right away, Nacho made an executive decision. “Stay down there!”

Brie shot to her feet. Accessing her chainmail from a Storage Slot, she was dressed for battle in a flash. She gripped her hammer firmly and angled it over her shoulder in anticipation of an ambush. Reuben clearly didn’t believe they were in much danger...

CWD: GA ~ Thirty

Three days later, they were celebrating their first full week of surviving in the Juxtaposition.

The Epic coffee turned out to be just that: epic. It was well worth doubling the credit cost, and the comforting beverage came out dark and rich. While Reuben complained that he had to use more sugar and cream than usual, Brie’s shift to a rapturous demeanor reduced even that complaint to mere mutters.

It took a couple of days, but they eventually found another herd of Wight...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Nine

“I wish we didn’t need to have this talk, but I promise we’ll speak about that… later.” Choking down bile and paranoia over how they would judge him, Nacho stuffed his backpack full of food containers and refused to meet her eyes. “Let’s get going. I want to get to the overhang before nightfall.”

Nacho guided them back to the game trail that bordered Tomahawk Creek, then did his best to avoid the subject. “Other than the burned parts and the pieces of wood in my pancak...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Eight

In the dazzling light of the new day, Nacho took in the camp’s surroundings. There was no sign of monsters, and the fire was going well, so he summoned his pot and crossed the stream to a Puckered Granny apple tree.

The firm apples were bright green with stark black stripes, which would deepen and start to rot as they absorbed the Putrid Mana of the Starter World. As they grew in power, the rot would sprout an eye or two, then a mouth, then teeth, ending with insectile legs, which res...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Seven

“Not what you were expecting?” Reuben saw Nacho’s thunderous face and reached out a reassuring hand. “Dude. It’s okay. I know it sucks. Bob was this big feathered killing machine, and he was only worth twenty-five credits. We got twenty apiece for the Rave-ings, and they were a fifth as strong.”

Again, Brie spoke with her mouth full, her voice garbled slightly. “We got the bonus, though.”

“Cold comfort, I tell you!” Reuben shrugged as he drank more wat...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Six

It wasn’t long before the pink-and-greenies caught their opponents off guard and beat them to the ground, stole the big drum back, and came rolling south with it, screaming with what The Dinner Party could only assume was laughter the entire time.

They passed obliviously by the crevice where Nacho and his friends sat, and once the coast was clear, the cook led them into the darkness between the Crow King’s throne and the clearing where the pink-and-greenies had already resumed danci...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Five

Near the end of his watch, the drumming had started again, and Nacho realized why the rhythm had sounded familiar: it was reminiscent of an electronic music festival. “I guess we'll get to find out what kind of messed-up rave is going on down there.”

Morning came all too quickly, and despite the thirty-seven credits The Dinner Party still had between them, they went with the cheaper option for breakfast. Anything purchased from the Store would be just as disappointing, so they pulle...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Four

The arrows did a base damage of five, requiring a couple shots to take each of the monsters down, but Reuben also helped as the monsters swarmed. Darting out of the undergrowth, he’d punch the head of a distracted monster and take it to the ground. Nacho was ready with his knife, but he didn’t end up needing to use it.

The Caw Paws didn’t get wise to the ploy until a good number of them had already fallen, at which point the rest went underground. Once the last of the crow-panther...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Three

Nacho had vague recollections of people telling him stories about this place, though frankly a lot of tunnel-dungeons looked very similar. The stone steps didn’t drop all that far; they were similar to the Deep Buggy Darkness, coming to a T-juncture. In this location, however, the corridor didn’t end on the right, instead continuing to descend into darkness.

The floor was covered with white streaks, suspiciously similar to bird droppings. Somehow, he doubted the Blues Birds had come...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-Two

“Well isn’t that just great.” Reuben was still shaking his head as they walked down the trail toward the waterfall. Below were the crystalline blue pools beneath the falls. “Killing other people is directly incentivized. You get whatever credits they collected, as well as credits based on their level? That’s just… why would that be allowed? This whole thing is just asking to turn into a drama about betrayal. All we need now is a proper love triangle.”

“...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty-One

Nacho awoke to a gray light filling the air. The fire had faded to white coals in the early morning cold, the rocks around them failing to retain heat. Although he was conscious, Brie slept on. That meant Reuben would be above them on watch.

He rolled over onto his side. It was nice sleeping in until the sun actually rose into the sky. The Juxtaposition wasn’t pleasant. Even on its best days, it was more ‘death quest’ than ‘adventure fun’, but the rhythms were far more natural...

CWD: GA ~ Twenty

Brie paced back and forth across the top of the limestone overhang. It was dark, with a cold moon rising, giving them plenty of light but no heat. With the fire under the stone ledge which they sat atop, the chill of the evening was starting to seep into their bones. “I am not, nor have I ever been, a girly-girl. Even so, I wanted a wedding. I was going to be an amazing bride, and I wanted my family there to see me getting married to this man so they’d know I’d never n...

Artorian 12!

Hi all!

Check your email! If you’re at the $5 tier or above, you’ve got an ebook waiting for you - AA12: Avalon!

If you’re at the $15+ tier, the audiobook is there too!

Sorry for the delay on getting this to you. A new baby really throws off a work schedule!

I'd love your reviews on Amazon and/or Audible when you finish, thank you!

Happy reading/listening!

CWD: GA ~ Nineteen

With a fire crackling merrily in front of their rocky overhang home, Nacho easily sliced off the back leg of the deer, thanks to his Small Blades ability. He peeled off the hide and set it aside—that seemed like the right thing to do. There was probably a tanning skill he could buy, or maybe an info pack on how to process deer leather? He’d get the cooking down first, then maybe tackle the leatherwork in a few years.

He glanced up at Brie, who stood above him on the rock to scan the...

CWD: GA ~ Eighteen

It was already noon by the time they had finished spending credits, filling their water bottles, and taking stock of their meals. They each had enough remaining for three portions of food a day, for three days. Teriyaki beef jerky, protein bars, bags of raisins and peanuts , some instant oatmeal, and a few MREs. They also had nine credits left, so they could buy meals—and they probably would—but Nacho wasn’t looking forward to it. Store food was just… wrong.

The Dinner ...

CWD: GA ~ Seventeen

The Dinner Party soon found a river winding its way through greenery, and stopped on the bank to wash their chainmail, helmets, and gore-coated weapons. Nacho started a quick fire, perching his pot on two stones to start the process of boiling water.

Brie pulled the chainmail over her torn shirt, and the armor shrank to fit her. Unlike in the Ew, even though her arms were bare, they’d still be protected by the shirt, thanks to this world's physics. She couldn’t get the rust off the ...

CWD: GA ~ Sixteen

Working together, The Dinner Party moved their barricade to cover the exit hole in the roots. Down below, the passageway was more rockslide than stone staircase, possibly infested with monsters—whatever was actually down there didn’t smell appetizing.

Nacho couldn’t remember what else they might run into in the Deep Buggy Darkness, but so far, they’d been lucky to only encounter Tier zero monsters. Everything about combat would change with Tier one creatures, and they weren’t ...

Implode is live on Amazon/Audible!

Good morning, lovely friends!

Today is the release of Implode! I’ll add some links below, and I was hoping that I could ask a favor of you, if you could be absolutely amazing and helpful this morning. Patrons and others have had the book for a month now, and I’d love if it didn’t hurt reviews.

Would you please be so kind as to go over and leave a five star review? It would mean so much to me!

Ebook: 2022-10-05 14:10:28 +0000 UTC View Post

CWD: GA ~ Fifteen

Nacho tossed a fresh flare to the bottom of the long stairwell. Huge beetles, each about the size of a fully-grown Doberman rushed to the light. The insectoid monsters were strangely colored; each section of their carapace a different hue, rough and pebbly. Their mandibles clacked, and their antennae waved wildly. Even so, Reuben chuckled softly. “Their shells look candy-coated. Did someone glue Nerds to their backs?”

Brie squinted to try and make out the colors in the shifting ligh...

CWD: GA ~ Fourteen

Standing in the middle of the stone staircase, surrounded by roots, Nacho wasn’t sure how to respond to Brie’s question. The cooked grub didn’t smell too good to him, but he hadn’t used his skills, so he wasn’t hungry. He also wasn’t exactly sure how to use his skills, in fact.

Reuben pulled Brie into a hug. He glowed, she glowed, there was much glowing in the stairwell. But when Brie pulled up the sleeve of her shirt, she still had the wound.

The big guy blin...

CWD: GA ~ Thirteen

The next morning, they didn’t need breakfast—as it hadn’t been twenty-four hours since dinner—and Nacho figured they’d be using their skills a great deal that day. Before long, they would be eating, and eating, so much more regularly than they were used to. No reason to keep to a schedule at this point. They were good on water, but that would be the next thing they needed, which meant another fire, since the water had to be boiled for a number of reasons.

Brie stood holding on...

CWD: GA ~ Twelve

Nacho led his friends down the game path, crunching through the fallen leaves. The sun was warm, though the chill breeze told them that it wouldn’t be too long before the snow would begin. He could only hope they’d all be well on their way to being Tier One by then.

The cook spoke to Brie and Reuben over his shoulder. “Now, about the Store. You can buy anything. Whatever you buy appears in your Storage Slots, which you get five of. Then it’s just a matter of grabbing th...

CWD: GA ~ Eleven

Nacho didn’t want his friends sleeping out in the open on their first night in the Juxtaposition. He had told them they were going to stop, but hearing all those people die had given him good leverage to make them press on willingly. Though he had definite plans, which he’d worked on in the six months leading up to the Juxtaposition, they still had a lot to discuss—but they could have their conversation on the move.

He and his friends left the rocky hill and made their way down th...

CWD: GA ~ Ten

Nacho appeared in a forest south of a river. In a daze, the only thing he could think about at first was that most of the trees had colorful leaves left on their branches. Underneath them lay a thick carpet of red, orange, and yellow. Around him rose the gasps, cries, and sighs of dozens of other people. Nacho recognized a few faces of his neighbors from the apartment complex.

He ignored them and focused on Reuben and Brie, easily identified in their tuxedo and wedding dress, standing o...