Velkan guided Sam and Bill away from the warmth of the firelight and the festivities of the night. Sam wasn’t at all surprised when the taciturn Wolfman brought them past The O’Baba’s long house and to the carved tox totems that connected to the Wolfman marketplace.
“Ha! I knew it,” Bill crowed smugly. “Told you this place was some kind of Interspatial Library. I mean, I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly—mostly because I don’t have fingers—but how could i...
2021-09-28 14:34:24 +0000 UTC
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~ 7 ~
In the same instant that the King had ordered the start of the duel, an astral wind began whipping around the five members of Heaven’s Earth. One of the men was chanting something, and it appeared to be creating a large-scale group buff. Luke glanced at Zed, then the Knights, and back to Zed. “Hey. Why don’t you have something like that?”
“The Kingdom had been intentionally suppressing my Masteries before I joined this team.” Zed sighed dramatically as they sto...
2021-09-27 14:55:05 +0000 UTC
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“The Four are permitted to enter the Grand Hall.” A royal guard announced after they had been left waiting outside the doors for at least a full hour. Luke was staring at the man near-hungrily; he could practically taste the Etheric Xenograft Potentia surging through this man.
The others might have felt suppressed by the powerful aura of an expert that swirled around the guard, but all Luke wanted to do was test his mettle. There was something almost… fluffy abou...
2021-09-24 15:17:45 +0000 UTC
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It took nine hours for Sam, Finn, and Bill to make it back to their Dungeon-turned-Den. Word about the dissolution of The Accords spread like wildfire through the streets of Ardania, and though the remaining mages tried to stamp down the rumor mill, those ugly whispers had taken on a life of their own. For every rumor that died, three more popped up in a city-wide version of Whack-a-Mole.
“The College was broken,” some whispered.
“The Arch Mage is dead,” said others. Most ...
2021-09-23 14:28:54 +0000 UTC
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“So there he was, first step out of his training, and Luke punched Archmage in the face!” Zed’s story made the patrons of the tavern howl with laughter, even more so when he recounted what the Archmage had done to Luke directly after he got over his initial surprise.
He would have left off the second part, but that might be mistaken as going out of his way to damage the reputation of an official. People kept tossing glances at Luke, who was taking up an entire bench at a ...
2021-09-22 15:00:51 +0000 UTC
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Sam lost the thread of the conversation as he pushed and shoved his way through the press of bodies with Finn in tow, trying to get to the next archway. Clearly, something had happened to the Accords, though what, he didn’t know. Was it possible that killing so many of the Trustees had somehow weakened the Accords? Bill had mentioned the Trustees were responsible for maintaining the College’s magical infrastructure. Still, that seemed unlikely. This level of destruction was well beyond wh...
2021-09-21 14:25:19 +0000 UTC
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The newly-promoted Marquess Woodswright settled heavily back into his ornate chair and took a hefty swig of his drink to calm his nerves. He looked at the documents in a daze, then up at the Ascenders that had joined him in his meeting hall. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
“I’m guessing war.” Taylor interjected coldly before anyone else could speak. “The sheer amount of troops that you’ll be expected to raise and maintain as a Marquess will raise the suspicions of ...
2021-09-20 14:45:59 +0000 UTC
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Removed to be in compliance with Amazon terms of service.
2021-09-17 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
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<Celestial feces but that was close!> Bill swore in Sam’s head as he skidded through the door, panting from the effort.
Sam’s retort was cut off as golden light enveloped him in a halo, briefly lifting him from the ground. The experience from the final kills had only been shared by a fraction of the original kills, which meant he had gained enough to hit level twelve. That came with a host of benefits: he automatically received two Intelligence, Wisdom, and one Dexter...
2021-09-16 15:10:04 +0000 UTC
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2021-09-15 15:09:24 +0000 UTC
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Sam bolted down a spiral staircase that cut through the annex, his legs pumping furiously as he tried to make up a little extra time. He rounded the last turn when a wave of vertigo slammed into him like a shield bash. The whole world wobbled and his knees threatened to give out on him completely for the briefest moment. He grabbed hold of the wrought iron handrail to steady himself against the sudden push and pull of gravitational distortion. Most of the Spatial Magic connecting the College ...
2021-09-14 15:04:14 +0000 UTC
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2021-09-13 16:17:35 +0000 UTC
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2021-09-10 15:57:01 +0000 UTC
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Sam cleared his mind, squared his shoulders, and casually strode beneath the portcullis and into the courtyard situated outside the eastern entrance to the Mage’s College. Today was the day they were going to break the College… or die horribly in a blaze of glory.
The College was a rather unimpressive structure that looked like an enormous soup can sticking up into the air. The courtyard was just as unremarkable as the tower itself—a few neatly manicured trees and a handful of ben...
2021-09-09 14:51:16 +0000 UTC
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“You. Aren’t. Allowed to die!” Grant came out of the darkness of unconsciousness to terrible pain. Suki’s fists were rhythmically beating on his now-unarmored chest, alternating with lightning surging directly into his heart, now that he had no resistance to the spell.
Skill gained: Lightning attunement (1/10). Power literally flows through you, becoming one with the person you show the world. Masters of this skill can empower natural lightning bolts to shatter moun...
2021-09-08 16:03:10 +0000 UTC
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Hi all! I'm headed to dragoncon in Atlanta today!
That does mean that I'm without my computer for the rest of the week, so I'll see you here next Wednesday! If I get to see you in person at the Con, awesome! If not... next time!
Oh, and we'll be starting MURDERHOBO 2 when I get back! Only two chapters left in February!
2021-09-01 13:13:43 +0000 UTC
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Grant peered at the map Suki was showing him and found the closest point to their destination as he remembered ever going. His sword lashed out, and a hole appeared, hanging in the air. She stepped through, holding his hand so they could travel together. An infinite moment passed in this place between places, and Grant felt a moment of fear as time seemed to stretch. He blinked, and they were suddenly standing next to the site of a recent avalanche.
“Great memories here,” he comment...
2021-09-01 13:10:49 +0000 UTC
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There was no one in the Barracks, and the Training Arena was equally lifeless. Sam was starting to get worried that something had happened when the smell of fried chicken hit his nose like a sucker punch. His mouth watered and his stomach grumbled in angry protest. “Just how long had it been since our last meal?”
“Longer for me than you.” Bill pretended to be hurt by the question. Sam ignored him and realized he had been so busy getting ready for his trip to the Marketplace that...
2021-08-31 14:09:06 +0000 UTC
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“I think you… misunderstand.” Grant shook his head as the assembled people sucked in a collective breath. With a simple thought, his name changed from Lord February to Lord January. Names could be hidden or changed, but only minorly. The system wouldn’t allow someone to falsify a Lord or Lady of the Month’s title; it had been attempted for a millennium. “I am not going to be just a Lord of the Month. I cannot co-rule a single District when I am the Calendar King. I have n...
2021-08-30 14:22:41 +0000 UTC
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Do you, Grant Monday, wish to absorb the power of February 1: Power Through? Accepting Power Through will override any previous Wielded Weapon power absorbed in the current monthly series. If not overridden by another weapon of the same month, this ability will return to its current Wielded Weapon at the end of the year, unless the quest ‘Heal The World’ has been successfully completed.
Accept / Decline
Grant dropped his sword to the ground as golden light su...
2021-08-27 14:26:33 +0000 UTC
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Sam stepped out of the entrance from the marketplace and back into New Narvik, breathing in the crisp air.
“We should be getting back,” Velkan’s words were clear, but Sam lingered. His business was done with the merchants of the Wolfman Marketplace, but his gaze fell on the longhouse, nestled in a ring of trees not far off. The O’Baba’s unofficial residence.
His mind leapt back to what Bill had told him when they first entered the Marketplace. “This place. All...
2021-08-26 14:45:54 +0000 UTC
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Grant nodded and stepped forward to face down his opponent. He’d be lying if he’d stated that he was ready to take her on. After watching her easily defeat three Vassals and one Wielder without breaking a sweat, he knew better than to hand her another easy win. Rather than running to share the fate of his fellow competitors, he stood in a defensive guard position. Immediately, people started to boo him.
“Your booing means nothing to me,” Grant snorted defiantly, “I’ve seen w...
2021-08-25 16:01:26 +0000 UTC
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Sam followed Velkan through the pillars, bracing for the worst. Unlike last time he’d stepped through a totem portal, he didn’t find himself in the heart of a blizzard with a couple of monsters waiting to mob him. Instead, he emerged into an enormous underground cavern, the ceiling two hundred feet overhead and studded with crystalline stalactites that glimmered from the light of a hundred campfires. All around was a sprawling city of tents and wood-framed shops, manned by more Wolfmen th...
2021-08-24 14:08:47 +0000 UTC
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A fragment of Grant’s awareness remained in the darkness of his unconsciousness and traveled inward to places normally inaccessible within the human mind. Isolated from the world, a mental representation of Grant walked through darkness. Curiously, he didn’t feel fear as his bare feet trod across the expanse.
He should have, because what waited for him would have sent him reeling into a panic if he were fully awake. Everything he had experienced thus far in his life that left scars ...
2021-08-23 14:40:29 +0000 UTC
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With the finish line in sight, he couldn’t help but feel a sliver of hope wash over him. Just a few minutes more, and he would beat the best that February has to offer.
*Smack.*
A stray boulder the size of his fist slammed into the side of his head. Momentarily dazed from the impact, he stumbled over the loose rocks and lost his footing. Grant made it to the bottom of the mountain, almost exactly one hundred yards from the finish line. The only problem? He was officiall...
2021-08-20 14:46:31 +0000 UTC
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Dying, although painful, had a great upside—Sam had a little free time without Bill to touch base with his parents, check his emails, and surf the web. That took all of an hour, and then he spent the rest of his time pouring over Eternium wikis and forums, although a lot of information was still clearly being suppressed. A number of players and streamers had even complained about somehow getting their content removed almost as soon as it went up, though no one could figure out how.
Sa...
2021-08-19 15:05:05 +0000 UTC
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The wind howled, battering his ears and tugging at his sword and armor. Grant looked up into the air as a tornado made contact with the ground, greedily sucking up sand from the arena floor. The turbulent winds grew in magnitude until Grant’s feet left the safety of the solid ground. “I made it through to the next round! Didn’t I? Let me continue!”
His voice was but a whisper as the screaming wind assaulted his ears. Looking down, he felt a wave of vertigo overtake him as the ar...
2021-08-18 14:55:56 +0000 UTC
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Sam broke into a sprint, his boots clacking on the stone pavers of the bridge as he closed the distance with the elemental golem. He was going to be at a significant disadvantage in this battle—his Shurikens dealt slashing damage, ineffective against heavy plate mail, and his Papier-Mache Armor suffered an additional point-seven-five damage from the elemental effects of fire and water. But his job wasn’t to solo this guy, it was just to distract him and draw him away from the bridge so th...
2021-08-17 14:03:14 +0000 UTC
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A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I had a root canal yesterday and was useless for a good while.
At least a hundred athletic bodies in the peak of health filled the arena… and then there was Grant Monday. Overwhelmed, confused, and at half health. The only advantage he had was his Mid Spring Light armor, when almost all the people around him were wearing only regular, unrestrictive clothes. Seeing that, he started to wonder if his armor was actually an adva...
2021-08-17 14:02:01 +0000 UTC
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The two took off running as soon as the portcullis of Citadel Saturday slammed shut. Both of them wanted to get out of the area as quickly as possible, equally eager to put the memories of their time behind them, as well as to be out of the seat of power for House Saturday.
Neither of them had any illusion that they were safe, but distance would help. Grant once again felt February Twenty-Nine’s hilt in his grip and the sheathed blade against his hip. That helped even more.
2021-08-13 14:11:14 +0000 UTC
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