Jonathan A Countyman

Chapter Fourteen Children of Streg

Hikaru looked up as armored footsteps approached, moments before Roselyn entered the room. Her armor had clearly seen better days, it had been regal and pristine when he met her now it had numerous deep rents in it and some of the plate was missing. Seems she was the type to get into the thick of the fighting. Her visible skin looked fine though, then again so did his. Hikaru had to say one thing for this world: the potions and healers were amazing. Of course that was due to them being magica...

Chapter Thirteen Clearing Streg

Streg had always been a quiet community about a week away from Arcs on foot. Settled a short distance from the banks of the Yutal River. Hikaru had stayed here briefly when he’d traveled to Arcs from Varitul. The locals were a mix of fishermen, farmers and lumberjacks. The river made it easier for them to ship their lumber down to Arcs.

Yet now the air around the village was eerie, the walls far too quiet, the sturdy wooden gates stood open, and one hinge smashed, the broken wooden do...

Chapter Twelve Guild Quest

Around the same time that Arlie and company were leaving town, Hikaru was at the guild bar. Idly he played with his mug half lost in thought. He wasn’t really sure what to do, his former party had broken up. Nothing he could do about that, better than being kicked out. Perhaps, yet the result remained the same. Unfortunately, that last quest had been hard on them. Once again he was struck on how different this otherworldly adventure was going.

Opening his wallet he started counting co...

Chapter One Fifty-Three Nest Clearing and Armies I

Milith sat down and relaxed, her pods were nearly done growing her army, she’d gotten some replies from Arrieta and figured she’d link up with her soon. In the meantime she had nothing to do but kill time. A set of footsteps drew her attention and she noted Kari walking in. The young girl was dressed in a low cut top and a matching split skirt that left her panties on display. Milith couldn’t help noticing that she didn’t have a bra on and the cut of her top left her boobs spilling ou...

Chapter Eleven Armor and Swords

Arlie stood in front of the mirror, Ria a step behind her. She’d been in town for a few days, while she got her new armor made. It wouldn’t help her in the Red Temple, given she wouldn’t be able to take a single thing with her, not even clothing into the trial. But it would help her reach the temple, and be useful traveling to the next. Overall it was a good investment even if it did end up costing a few gold. The armored robes had been finished earlier this morning, and Ria had picked ...

Interlude Shopping, Guild Cards, and Diversions

Arlie followed her aunt and Polca down the street. They were heading to a shop Polca recommended that specialized in making mage armor. In other words, they were the type of combat robes Polca was wearing. Yet Arlie couldn’t help looking at her new guild card, one that would prove far more useful. It was a lovely card with a bit of weight in her hand, enchanted with various glyphs and the solid metal card was decorated with a purple trim with a light blue background and gold text.

2025-04-06 18:12:15 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter Ten The Guild

Arlie walked down the early morning street with her aunt Ria. The two of them were heading to the Adventurers guild and then they would be shopping. The Twins had left with Horon to help Horon get his new hammer and they’d be stopping by the guild later for registration. Meanwhile, Thron was staying at the local Contrey home with Ixil. Current plans for Ixil was that she was going to stay in Arcs with Ria but in the meantime, Thron could watch the demon girl.

Turning a corner, she ent...

Chapter Nine Auntie Ria Contrey

Arlie reached up to knock on the door. After the incident, she’d helped do some cleanup with the guards before linking back up with the others to visit her aunt. The guards had put together a unit to hunt down the black terrors that had run off and locate any remaining monsters. She’d also heard that additional requests were being put to the guild. However Arlie couldn’t help but wonder about the whole incident. It didn’t feel right, not to mention such things had never happened befor...

Chapter Eight The Town of Arcs

The cart rumbled down the road as Dusk the mare Arlie had bought dutifully pulled the small cart along. The group of six kept together as they joined other travelers on the roads. Up ahead the forest had opened up to reveal the fields running along the banks of the rivers Yutal and Vulkira.

None of them paid much attention to the farms, fences and farmhouses that dotted the rolling hills and flat stretches of land along the river banks. Instead they were focusing on the town ahead of th...

Chapter Seven The Lost Demon

Lily surveyed the treeline as the early morning rays of the sun lit the surroundings. Beside her the campfire was just starting to warm back up as she absently stoked the coals. It had been a few days since they started traveling and so far it had been pretty peaceful. Right now Arlie and Rose were curled up in the girl’s tent. In the case of the boys, Horon was already up and was gathering firewood while Thron hadn’t gotten up just yet. 

That left Lily still doing watch duty w...

Chapter Six To Arcs We March

Arlie double-checked her bags, the dragon Aurora had thankfully left, but she was still chewing on all she had been told. The portents of the prophecy were certainly dark, but she wasn’t sure if they should be taken seriously. A breath left her, not that it would be easy to tell. The events in the forest notwithstanding, life in Voros was generally pretty peaceful.

A trip north to the town of Arcs was a walk of a couple of weeks. The roads were decent enough, the merchants came throug...

Interlude The Regions: Varixyies

Varixyies is a highly mountainous and forested region centrally located in Northern Altis. Sheltered on three sides by dense mountain ranges, the area experiences a stable warm climate. Gentle rains are common, carried in by seasonal winds while two rivers feed the region with fresh water. The smaller of the two rivers, the Yutal feeds into the larger river, Vulkira, where they intersect near the town of Arcs.

Arcs is by far the largest of the towns in the region, the local capital and ...

Chapter Five Trials and the Contrey Family Library

Questions abounded, as the words Arlie had uttered continued to echo in their minds. Rose spoke, “That...”

She trailed off, Aurora grinned, “Well in light of that prophecy, it seems to me that Arlie should take the Trial of the Five Temples. Summoning a god would be no easy feat, but if someone could conquer all five temples they would be able to do just that.”

The three girls shared a look, “What do you mean: summon a god!?”

“The Last First Lord is another tit...

Chapter Four Aurora

There hanging above the battlefield, Arlie spotted one of the most fearsome beings in the world. In front of her, the beast she’d just been fighting was groveling, its tail between its legs, its head bowed. The whimpers were pitiful, it was hard to believe she’d just been fighting such a fierce beast, or imagine the thing as fearsome at all.

Her heart only beat faster as she stared up at the large form, bigger than a house, as it just hovered suspended in the air. They could only be...

Chapter Three Trouble in the Forest III

Arlie looked around, today had been a long day. The sun was trending towards setting, the light wouldn’t start to fade for another two handspans. It was almost time to get back to the village, Eric and his guards had already started escorting the captive bandits and rescued women back to Voros. He’d also taken Thron with him, but she had stayed out with the twins to check out the strange area the elf woman had been talking about.

Sure enough, the mana here felt off, the forest was u...

Chapter Two Trouble in the Forest II

The forest was quiet aside from the occasional snap of a branch and the clang of armored feet as the group made their way through the trees. Overhead the sun was high in the sky, light filtering through the branches to cast shadows on the forest floor, a floor covered in leaves and fallen branches. Making it rather hard to see the packed dirt path beneath their feet, the group had left the main road several hand spans before.

Eric raised his fist, and the group came to a stop at the top...

Chapter One Trouble in the Forest I

Arlie stretched lazily as she slipped out of bed, a yawn leaving her lips. Honestly she hadn’t slept as well as she would have liked. Her dreams had been rather... troubled, each one more disturbing than the last. 

Looking out her window, she noted that most of the villagers had already started their day. The sun had been up for a bit, and many got started at the crack of dawn. Usually, she was one of them, but she hadn’t felt like it with such poor sleep. Now it was past time ...

Prologue Voice of the Prophet

It was a normal day, much like any other day, or rather night. The sun had long since set, and the light of the twin moons, their blue-green spheres shone down on the world. For the young mage it was already getting late, as she sat there in a tree, her legs dangling from a branch. Why she had come out to this tree, she didn’t really recall, but she found it quite relaxing, she would often come here when she needed to think. Yet she couldn’t really say things were out of the ordinary or t...

Chapter One Fifty-Two Reinforcements and Conclusions

Come morning, Emily gathered her kids, loaded her cart, and headed out of town. She didn’t share what she had seen with Amber though. She wasn’t sure what Amber would say. Instead she focused on getting to Bordertown, she had to talk with her mother and Phillip. Both of them would know what to do, she just knew it.

Several figures saw her off, the Innkeeper, her daughter, Syra from the stables and even the shopkeeper Tsia, even if she’d only met the last during her shopping trip.<...

Chapter One Fifty-One Letters and Clues

Notice: Chapter is extra long, I'm trying to close out the Abyss arc, so I made several extra large chapters towards that end.

Eriko settled into her office chair, her gaze on the letter. Her mind however was on her last visit to Reiko’s dungeon home. She’d had a lot of fun and her guards had enjoyed the challenge of testing the dungeon. If she didn’t have responsibilities she’d still be there, but things were on track. She might be able to squeeze in another visit...

Interlude Visions from Afar

Arlie settled into a chair, her potions were about done. All that was left for them to rest and set, then she could deliver them to the town. Baring a breast, she embraced little Ren, the young spider girl was hungry. While she was expecting a child, it was naturally too early for her to be lactating, but a girl this young needed milk, a mother’s milk. The solution had been simple, she’d cast a spell to induce lactation early. It wouldn’t be much of an issue, she’d just eat more to co...

Chapter One Fifty Homes and Messes

Arrieta stepped out of the Moonlit Departures guild and smiled at the warm sun and lovely company. She rather liked the air of this dungeon town. A few figures joined her in a moment and looked around. She’d brought the poor boy she’d rescued from Lydia to Bordertown, along with his sisters and their daughters.

Darrel was certainly charming enough and he’d had enough bad luck with Abyssals. Having been in his memories she knew that better than he did, she’d made sure of that. Th...

Chapter One Forty-Nine The Snake’s Den

The girl glanced between Milith and the scary lady, confusion evident on her face. Milith noticed, but the girl spoke before she could say anything, “Why are you talking with the scary lady like that?”

“I know she hurt you, but she’s a parasite. There were things I had to know and the woman we see is innocent, the snake within not so much.”

The receptionist giggled, “That’s one way to look at it. Met other parasites have we?”

“A few, even some that I wouldn...

Chapter One Forty-Eight Puzzles and One Woman Crusades

“Sex!” declared Kei, just moments before there was a click the wall sliding open to reveal a passage into the room beyond.

Amy sighed, “Well good job Kei.”

Mara came close, “Ready to check it out with me?”

Kei nodded and the pair slipped into the room, checking for traps or monsters that might be hiding within. After a few minutes of searching, Mara called “ALL CLEAR!”

Amy shared looks with the rest of the party, and they followed the two girls into the...

Chapter One Forty-Seven Milith’s Investigation

Milith set down on a bluff overlooking the water. Several fishing ships could be seen out on the water, she wasn’t that far from Bleakwater, but even from the air she’d felt the corruption. Abyssal mana hung heavy in the air, dense and heavy it seemed to fill the land. Something was amiss around here, it seemed to her that the Abyssals were likely out here in force. Arrietta had mentioned the Qayan, and the stories of Ruyikaita, both signs of Abyssals. So it lined up with the stories at l...

Chapter One Forty-Six Adventures in the Maze

Amy was quick to get her party into formation, even as she took into account the positions of the minotaurs. There were three of them, two female, the last one a futa, but they were all level thirty-five and armed with axes. Having the one on their flank wasn’t ideal, but she’d planned for this. Eri looked pretty excited, as she blocked the Futa Minotaur on the rear, trading several blows in quick succession, while in front Mara had locked down both attackers, giving Tammy the chance to s...