There’s a lot of screaming going on, honestly. I don’t really have the nerves for it. I wish everyone would be quiet. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that there are people around me and that they’re making noise. It’s almost like they’re talking to me, guy!
Almost.
Not all of the screams are for me. Some of them are for the priestess though.
Stepping over the gurgling masses of meat down at my feet, I lift my head, looking...
2021-07-09 07:38:24 +0000 UTC View PostThe store is surprisingly busy, considering that this is only their second day of being open. But word of mouth seems to spread pretty fast here in this city. Fresh isn’t sure if it makes much sense, but her theory is that it’s because of the tunnels causing voices to echo and carry. So when people left their shop, talking about the things that had gotten, they were far more easily overheard.
Then again, that might be a bit of a reach, thinks Fresh as she squeezes past Sh...
2021-07-08 19:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostI die.
My soul flies, hurtling as I cascade, barreling through the eternal darkness of limbo. My essence, having released from the bonds of my corporeal body with a loud snap that I didn’t so much hear as I did feel, hurtles with terrifying speed through the void, as the binds that so tightly held me in place are severed. As the seal, locking my body and soul together as one, is broken.
It happens so fast that I don’t even feel the separation from my body...
2021-07-08 15:12:36 +0000 UTC View Post“There are less of them here than I remember,” says Jubilee, joining into the conversation that Fresh is having with Basil, who has awoken and now sits on the foot of her freshly-made bed. Apparently she always does that first thing after getting up and getting dressed. Fresh does her best not to look at her own still unmade bed. So that she doesn’t draw attention to it. “Fairies are fucked. I hate the nosy, little shits.”
“There were more?” asks Fresh, looking ...
2021-07-07 18:53:59 +0000 UTC View PostThunder cracks as the enclosed, cavernous space of the dungeon floor is filled with a ravaging energy which crashes off of the walls, barreling down towards the raid of adventurers, as it lashes out towards them, twisting and winding like a serpent releasing from its tightly wound coil to strike. All I see is lightning and sparks and magical energy flying every which way, as the tide of dungeon magic floods the entire floor, as it swallows us all.
AH!
AAAAAH!...
2021-07-07 07:32:20 +0000 UTC View PostFresh shuts the door as the last two people walk out. Some lovey-dovey couple who can’t stop feeding each other with the candies from the two bags that they bought, as they walk together, heading away from the dungeon.
“Disgusting,” says Jubilee, shaking their head as the door slams shut.
Basil lets out a long sigh, pressing her back against the wall and sliding down to the ground. “I forgot how exhausting store-work was.”
Fresh tur...
2021-07-06 10:37:11 +0000 UTC View PostSometimes I think that I’m a bit of a heart-breaker, you know? But don’t ask me why I think that.
I leap, my boot kicking off of the jagged spire of rock which crashes up out of the ground towards me. It might just be my raging self-confidence, honestly.
As I fly through the air, my cape billowing wildly behind me, I see the world around me become illuminated in a bright, yellow glow. The lance swings out to my side, cutting through the ball of magical en...
2021-07-06 07:07:32 +0000 UTC View Post“Bleeeeh!” calls out an elf wearing a wide-brimmed wizard's hat, shoving a sheep into the face of his party-member.
“Are you nine?” asks the man, draped in a heavy cloak with a high trim that rises up to his gaunt cheeks, as he stares down at the stuffed toy being held up his way. The little sheep’s legs kick idly in the air as it tries to move.
“Look! They can walk!” says the elf wizard, setting it down on the ground. The sheep marches forward ...
2021-07-05 19:02:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe things that happen to you when you’re young sink in deeper than you might think that they do. I mean, sure, you might think that they’re pretty deep down at the bottom of the core of your character to begin with. But let me tell you something, friend. You aren’t looking deep enough. The dungeon has one-hundred floors, but you know what? The world goes way deeper down than that. Those imprinted traits that define you as a person, they’re way, way, waaaay deeper down than where you ...
2021-07-05 07:09:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe mountain wind blows past her, pressing the loose fabric of her robe against the side of her body as the frigid breeze continues to flow down the crest of the mountain, as if it were water splashing out from an endless source. The starry night hangs over her head, yet it feels surprisingly light tonight, not in brightness, but in its perceived weight. It’s not melancholic or sad, despite her reasons for being outside right now. Despite that, as she looks around herself, she shudders just...
2021-07-04 11:44:01 +0000 UTC View PostWe’ve been friends for a long time now, right, guy? But I don’t really know a single thing about you. I don’t know where you’re from. I don’t know why you’re down here with me. I don’t know what your true name is or even if you’re a guy or a girl, tell you what. But I guess at this point, none of those things really matter, right? I think if you’re still stuck on those details, you’re really missing the entire point of our little adventure here. We’ve had a lot of ups an...
2021-07-04 08:24:34 +0000 UTC View PostFresh plays around with a ball of kobold fluff, trying to figure out what to make out of it. But she can’t really think of too much. It’s soft and fluffy and warm, so it’s great for tailoring with. Maybe Jubilee can make some clothes out of it? Should they sell clothes?
“Jubilee? Should we sell clothes?”
“What? Like robes and stuff?”
“Mm,” says Fresh as she nods back at Jubilee, who is standing next to her just behind the co...
2021-07-03 13:45:07 +0000 UTC View PostI haven’t been entirely honest with you, guy.
Well, no. It’s not that I’ve been lying to you or anything, but there are just some things that I haven’t told you. I want you to like me, you know? That’s really important for me. I want people to like me. I truly, deeply want people to like me and in order for that work, I have to be likable.
But you wouldn’t like me if I told you all of my secrets. If you knew all of the things that I knew and if yo...
2021-07-03 07:57:43 +0000 UTC View PostBoth Basil and Shamrock are fine, though one of them ends up being far more distraught about the situation than the other. Neither of them remember what happened, having no memories of anything between their having fallen asleep and their waking up the next day; one of them half-naked on the floor and the other covered in old ash. Shamrock takes the news of his possession in stride as expected, simply asking if the ghost still needed to be killed. Basil however is more flustered and refuses t...
2021-07-02 16:08:59 +0000 UTC View PostIt is natural to die, you know?
But that doesn’t mean I want to. It’s natural to sleep, it’s natural to cry, it’s natural to hurt, but that doesn’t mean I want to do any of those things. So I guess I’m just not going to, is that so wrong? I don’t think it is. Besides, the definitions of what’s ‘natural’ and what isn’t get really blurry and vague down this deep underground. But uh… then again…
I look around the space that I find mysel...
2021-07-02 09:15:33 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you sure this will work?” asks Jubilee, looking around nervously to make sure that nobody is watching them. Surprisingly, no doors are opened along the street, no windows are lit up and no faces peek out of any shadowy glass panes. Despite the noise, everyone here is either fast asleep or simply doesn’t care in the least. Fresh appreciates that a lot right now, ironically enough. The two of them stand at the end of the tunnel, next to the crystal clear stream of water that runs out...
2021-07-01 18:26:42 +0000 UTC View PostHow do you think you get someone to like you, guy?
Is it by being nice? Or do you have to be pretty? Maybe you have to be interesting? Or maybe you just have to be really, really cool?
“Psst-“
I swing my arm out, shooing away the gribbler. But as my appendage swings out, I hit nothing but empty air. Shoo-shoo, gribbler! Get lost! Why are you even here?
Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, friends. How many friends do you have, ...
2021-07-01 16:42:37 +0000 UTC View PostFresh floats. Her senses are entirely drowned out by the roaring water that rushes past her head. What happened? It’s so cold. Did she die? She thinks so. It’s been a while. This is only her second time dying, right? Well… maybe technically her third time.
Basil pushed her. Why would Basil do something like that? She wouldn’t. Basil would never, Fresh is sure of it. No… it was…
Fresh opens her eyes, coughing and spluttering as she pulls herself ou...
2021-06-30 09:04:03 +0000 UTC View PostI feel everything.
Lifting my hands out to my sides, I hold my arms out extended and feel the soft breeze flowing all around me as it creeps through my dusty bones. I feel the entirety of the empty space that I find myself in. I feel the warm air, creeping through the gaps of my armor. I feel the vibrations of the heavy steps of the man who continues walking ahead of me, his heavy body lurching over the pastel colored meadow, his boots crunching down the plants beneath him. 2021-06-30 06:47:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Assuming things don't go horribly wrong now. (They might) Should they open the new shop ASAP and worry about product development 'during the journey' or should they focus on making a large inventory first before opening? =)
2021-06-29 13:20:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Hot! Hot!” yelps Fresh as she juggles the little orange ball back and forth in her hands. She quickly drops it down onto a plate. The small thing squishes together a little, as it flops down against the glassware surface. Fresh frowns, letting out a sad sigh as she stares at the next failure as it begins to break apart.
“Just use a fork, dumb-ass,” says Jubilee, shaking their head as they lean back against the stairway railing and watch her as she stands in the kitch...
2021-06-29 13:12:19 +0000 UTC View Post“Woah, look at that!” I say in excitement as I point towards the glass tube that runs along the ceiling above our heads. The stranger says nothing and doesn’t look at what I have pointed out, opting to simply keep on walking forward with his pole-axe dragging behind him. I tilt my head, looking at him as he walks away. “You’re too obsessed with work, friend. You’re going to miss out on all of the cool things in the dungeon if you live your life like that!”
The s...
2021-06-29 08:17:42 +0000 UTC View PostThey all fall asleep that night in the same room, much to Fresh’s delight. The girl smiles, clutching her blanket tightly with her fingers grasping the edge of the soft fabric, as she turns her head over on her pillow from side to side, looking at the sleeping people who surround her. It’s basically the same arrangement as in the guild, but at least now they’re sleeping at home.
She likes that word, home, and ends up smiling a little more as she pulls the blanket up hig...
2021-06-28 14:16:13 +0000 UTC View PostHe’s so cool, guy, look at him.
I watch as the stranger rises up the staircase ahead of me. There isn’t enough room for us to walk side by side, so I let him go first. The truth is, I just wanted to watch him without him thinking that I’m weird. There’s something about him. Something about those heavy, janking movements of his broken body that refuses to stop moving. Something about that fire that leaks out of his punctured back, something about that loose tendril of ...
2021-06-28 07:37:38 +0000 UTC View Post“So is this safe?” asks Basil, looking at Jubilee and Fresh. “Taking money from such… unsavory sources.”
Jubilee stares at the woman, somewhat dumb-founded. Lifting a hand, they point at Fresh who is standing next to Basil, carrying some wood across the room that she had bought in order to make them some real beds, as a first order of business. “You’re standing next to the most unsavory source of anything in the world, and you’re worried about the thieves’ g...
2021-06-27 09:46:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe angry man and I stand on the edge of the quarry, both of us staring up at the fabricated night-sky that is painted onto the ceiling above our heads. A paper moon hangs there, high up in the air and behind it is a magical crystal set into the rock. It shines through the construction, giving it the appearance that it itself is glowing with the haunting shine of the witching hour. There is a strange chiming in the air. A sharp, crystalline hammering, that sounds very, almost uncomfortably, f...
2021-06-27 07:19:08 +0000 UTC View PostA cool, stagnant air rushes to meet them as they open the thick, wooden front-door of the house just outside of the mountain dungeon. The soft current isn’t as cold as the air of the tunnel outside the building and as that lazy cloud of dusty miasma drifts past her, Fresh feels a tussle of her hair blowing behind her, as it departs to mix in with the constant mountain winds outside. The musty cloud fading away like a spirit lost at sea, drifting away as the fresh current takes it to a place...
2021-06-26 10:38:19 +0000 UTC View PostI press my foot against the stone wall next to us and use my leaping ability to kick off of it, sending me sliding back over the stones. The hollow armor rattles, clambering together as my movement sends him flying to the ground where he shatters apart, just as I come to a halt a few yards away. What a dick.
Sitting up, I lift a hand, obscuring my vision of the raging fire that burns out of his armor. Lowering it next to my mouth I call out towards him. “Easy there, friend....
2021-06-26 06:53:05 +0000 UTC View Post“There’s something else,” says Jubilee, rolling the bed-roll together in their room in the adventurer’s guild.
“Huh?” Fresh looks over at them, staring over Basil’s back. The priestess is hunched down forward and fighting to roll her bedroll together, but it keeps undoing itself. Jubilee takes a moment to glance at the other two in the room, perhaps judging a second time if this next topic was okay to talk about in their presence.
“Did you do ...
2021-06-25 11:54:29 +0000 UTC View PostI think we lost him, guy. Leaning against the wall, I look back around the corner. I don’t see him anymore and I certainly don’t hear the scampering of any more little feet. Haha. Oof. Awkward. I think we had a real misunderstanding there, I really should learn to articulate myself better. But sometimes, I just say things that are too condensed without expanding on them, because I expect people to just know what I mean. But I guess they don’t and then that doesn’t work out, huh? Yeah....
2021-06-25 06:38:16 +0000 UTC View Post