Omnixius

HTN 6-13 A curious goblin

Umtha sat on her throne, looking through the interface at the state of her goblin stronghold. Thus far, she had accomplished much, building as strong a fortress as she could. It would hold out against direct physical threats, but it was weak to magic and those means that were more subtle. Their enemy was a master of subtle, preferring to quietly deal with a foe so that few, if any, knew it even happened.

She had a number of changes in mind to help strengthen the defenses to deal with ro...

DKP 8-29 Clouded Judgement.

Sarah's hand trembled as she reached for the door, pausing to reconsider. The house wasn't quite right, with many of the finer details missing. The windows were the wrong size or in the wrong places, and out of habit, she willed these into correct representations. She looked down as Lilly's hand came over hers and helped pull the handle, opening the way into the house.

The inside lacked furniture, and the main hall was too narrow as if crafted from a poor memory or perhaps a mind in pai...

HTN 6-12 Howl from the grave

Heather felt her heart race as the ground shook under the weight of the monstrosity. She was momentarily stunned by the creature's appearance, but now she had to act. The others scattered as Frank ran forward to meet the charge, but Heather chose to slow it down. She called for grasping arms, causing skeleton arms to burst from the ground and grab at the ball of skulls. She saw the limbs reach up, but all they did was snap as the construct ignored them.

Frank rushed in as the ball of sk...

DKP 8-28 Honor without love?

Sarah pulled her massive wings tight as the rain fell on the war camp. She was once again in her dragon form just in case there was an attack by a rival dragon. They were now far to the north, at the base of the mountains that separated the empire from the northern wilds. The empire had once controlled the land north of the mountains but lost it years ago in a terrible decline. To the west was the homeland of Gersiu, a place known as Tarishan. To the east was a place called the kingdom of Hen...

HTN 6-11 The necrofidiax

They ran for the bridge, determined to get into a wider space to deal with whatever had been triggered. The screeching and howls echoed down the tunnel as they raced over the dangerous expanse. Frank yelled for them to go as quickly, or whatever was pursuing them might set off the trap. He turned back to see the doorway filled with dark shapes before they started to spill out. They were gray humanoids with shaggy manes of black hair and dull, lifeless eyes. They resembled something between a ...

DKP 8-27

Ayawa paced irritably as Lilly looked on in surprise. She didn't understand why the woman was so upset about Thayle's egg, which made Ayawa angrier. Again, it went back to her belief that humans and dragons shouldn't mix because it was a path to a second destruction. They had met in a clearing on a nearby hill outside the camp where Ayawa had a small fire going, already smoking with the sweet plant.

“Ayawa, you are being unfair,” Lilly insisted. “Gersius and Thayle are human. They...

HTN 6-10 A fun diversion

Heather stared at the painting, amazed it had been made so quickly. It was nearly as tall as she was and showed the pocket of land between the mountain in amazing detail. Her mother had it commissioned immediately after Heather's request, and now it hung in her tower dining room.

“How did she get it done so fast?” Quinny asked as she clung to Heather.

“I don’t know,” Heather remarked. “I only told her about it two days ago.”

“She must know a player who is a p...

DKP 8-26 Dragons of another blood

Gersius knelt over the egg that contained his child, marveling over the miracle that had occurred. He now had two children encased in eggs waiting to be born. Thayle was confused over the idea that even though she had passed the egg, the child still wasn't born. She found it amusing but agreed that the child's official birth would be when the egg hatched.

The whole camp was swept with a sense of awe to hear a human had laid an egg. Lilly and Sarah had to speak to a mass gathering to dis...

HTN 6-9 The king and his queens (Edited)

Heather and Frank prepared for the attack as the goblin woman ran up the steps. She threw herself into Heather's arms, gleefully hugging her firmly. Heather gave her a slight hug back and breathed a sigh of relief when Umtha jumped from her to Frank. She wanted to laugh as Frank looked panic-stricken, unsure what to do about the woman in his arms.

Umtha stepped back as goblins began to pour into the chambers, lining up on either side to gaze at their new leaders. Heather was surprised t...

HTN 6-8 Two cities and a dream

Heather was quick to steal some cookies from the magic fridge and dash out of the kitchen before Quinny saw her. She hurried down the hall and back into her room, where Webster was snoring softly on the bed. She sat before the mirror and shoved a cookie in her mouth while running a brush through her hair. The morning had come, and Frank was waiting to take her on an adventure.

Frank believed he had found a location she would like. He thought it might be the perfect place to build their ...

DKP 8-25 Why are you in pain?

Gersius carried Thayle through the meeting tent, hurrying her past Mingfe and Shadros. He took her into the private bedroom and gently set her on the couch as she reached up with a weak hand.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t realize,” Thayle began.

“Shh,” Gersius urged as he shifted a pillow to make her more comfortable. “You have nothing to be sorry for. None of us could have known because this has never happened before.”

“My stomach ache is finally gone,” Thayle ...

HTN 6-7 A house in the woods

Heather looked in the mirror to see the woman she had always been looking back. There were no horns, red hair, or slitted eyes to mark her as anything but a normal human woman. She tossed her blond hair that was perhaps a hint yellow and studied her gentle face. This was who she knew herself as, but was this really who she was?

On instinct, she reached for her neck and felt for the collar that wasn't there. She felt naked without it on for some reason but resigned herself to go on. The ...

DKP 8-24 A blessed mistake

Gersius sat on Lilly's back as the two looked north, wondering if the enemy was coming. Days had passed, and the army was swelling, growing into a reasonable fighting force. He now had almost fifty thousand soldiers under arms, but far too many of them were poorly trained or equipped. The captured arms from Whiteford were being pressed into service, while the armor was hastily modified to fit new owners. It was a slow process, especially with a lack of smiths since most of them followed the g...

HTN 6-6 Home at last

Sunlight filtered into the hall through great windows that soared upward for nearly ten meters. Green plants grew in ornate vases placed in niches along the pillared wall. It was a peaceful setting for a stressful moment as Heather and Frank watched Gwen pace irritably.

“Why did she never tell you she was a queen?” Gwen asked.

“I am not certain she could,” Heather said. “She was under that strange limitation that was garbling her speech.”

“I think she might not...

DKP 8-23 Ghosts of the past

Sarah looked into the eyes of her husband and saw nothing but compassion. It was funny how that expression touched her heart, especially considering how new the emotion was. She took a deep breath and leaned into his arms, accepting the embrace that said everything would be alright.

They had been in camp for days, forming the third army and preparing to march to war. During that time, Sarah had done very little except wallow in emotions she didn't know how to control. Now she felt fooli...

HTN 6-5 A lot to consider

Two full days were spent combing through the side rooms and other spaces that made up the vast goblin complex. Legeis ran wild, collecting rare parts and items that he said would be useful for future projects. There were workrooms all over a complex that turned out to be seven levels deep. At the very bottom was a set of iron doors that Umtha assured them went into the tunnels of the underworld.

This was where the goblins who worked here went once the machine was completed. They braved ...

DKP 8-22 walking in the mist

They sat beside a low fire that burned a bundle of Ayawa's incense. It produced a fragrant smoke that drifted lazily on the wind. It was a quiet place, perfect for the task at hand, but it wasn't working out the way they had planned.

“I know how to meditate,” Ayawa grumbled as Lilly tried to instruct her on the point of light technique.

Lilly paced about the small campfire in annoyance as she struggled to understand Ayawa. For two days, she had come to the woods to teach her h...

HTN 6-4 Not me

The thump of Legeis's armor echoed through the trees as he ran as fast as his armor would carry him. Blackbast sat on the back, her tail twitching in irritation as they hurried away, hours from the battle. Frank and Umtha were in the magic room, where Heather hoped they would be safe until they recovered. In the meantime, she used her overwhelming power to summon an army of undead and brought her bone champion out. She even sent for goblins, and a small force of twenty of the bigger brawler t...

DKP 8-21 healing the past

Gersius held Sarah in his arms as they sat in the meeting tent. Around them, a war camp was being erected as his army positioned itself between Calathen and the border keeps. They flew out the very same day Rose left, with a grieving Sarah crying as she carried them across the sky. She was emotionally harmed beyond his ability to comfort her, both in the loss of her lifelong friend in Numidel and the child they had.

They failed to win Rose to their side, but something had changed. Gersi...

HTN 6-3 Unexpected results

They were picking their way into the foothills of the northern mountains, carefully following a broken trail. It had been two days since the revelations of Umtha and her place in the events surrounding Heather. They had debated the facts for hours while doing their best to avoid monsters they found prowling the woods. Legeis and Frank led the way, with Blackbast riding on Frank's shoulder as they debated Umtha's role. Frank didn't know what to think about the goblin woman but felt she had Hea...

The updates will be delayed a few days.

I have suffered a catastrophic failure that I never believed could happen. My primary storage drive just up and stopped responding. No errors, no warning, no nothing. I have a background in computer IT so I started all the usual tests and the drive is their but windows can no longer read from it.

No problem, I have a backup drive for just such an occasion. This drive does a backup of all my documents every single night. I removed the bad drive, installed a temporary drive so I could c...

HTN 6-2 You don't remember

The three women stared in unison as Umtha looked down, unable to hold their gaze. She dragged a bare foot across the polished floor, waiting for some kind of response.

“It can’t be,” Breanne said as she dared to step closer.

“How did she get so big?” Quinny asked.

“She must have evolved,” Legeis said. “She’s hobgoblin or something similar now.”

“Right,” Quinny said. “I have evolved once already too.”

“So she’s like the goblins outs...

DKP 8-14 missed post.

Well this proves how few readers this story has. I missed an entire chapter and nobody said a thing. Oh well. 

Gersius and Thayle listened to Sarah as she informed them of her discovery. It was a shocking moment causing him to pace slightly as he tried to make sense of it.

“You are certain she is your daughter?” he asked.

“Of course, I am certain,” Sarah replied. “My daughter is in the cell below.”

“Our daughter,” Lilly insisted, drawing...

DKP 8-20 A flower to forget me

Sarah and Rose went into the house, leaving the three to discuss their concerns in private. Gersius looked at Lilly and Thayle with a sense of worry as he began to have doubts.

“I am very concerned about what we are doing,” Gersius said to Thayle and Lilly. “I thought this would help, but I don't like the complete change in her demeanor.”

“You mean how she is suddenly so compliant and interested in human things,” Thayle agreed with a nod. “It is odd how blocking Sole...

HTN 6-1 A new face.

Heather opened her eyes to find herself still in her husband's arms. She smiled to think of Frank as her spouse and was reminded of how terrified she was when Gwen first proposed it. Now she realized that her mother knew they were a good pairing and set them on the path of being together. She turned to the side to discover Webster snoring at her feet, the noble spider having given up his pillow for Frank.

It was the morning after her wedding, and she could hardly believe it was over. Sh...

DKP 8-19 A family?

Rose walked with her head down, struggling to grasp what her mother had said. Nothing made sense in this mad dream, and it was starting to make her doubt her beliefs. Surely Solesta had been their champion, trying to save dragon kind from the corruption that was the human taint? Why would the dragons who preexisted the humans for hundreds of thousands of years suddenly need them to progress?

“It doesn't make any sense,” She said to herself as she stormed past the house, not wanting ...

HTN 5-68 I Do

The sun rose in its usual rapid way, going from dark to early dawn in seconds. Heather was awake to greet it, standing on the balcony and looking over all she and her friends had built. Soon there would be more as Roric and his family had come to love the land to the east and wanted to build a home. Heather was delighted to know they were staying as she had become fond of the funny group. Watching them helped Heather understand she didn't have to have a traditional relationship. Instead, she ...

DKP 8-18 What do you believe?

Gersius sat at the head of the table as Sarah served a meal that left the kitchen awash in a medley of scents that made it impossible not to be hungry. One by one, she set the plates before her family, each plate containing a well-seasoned fish, a roll of bread already split and slathered in butter. And a baked potato, also split, buttered, seasoned, and steaming as if fresh from the oven. She added an extra basket brad and a tub of butter for those who wanted more. Then, just to treat the ey...

HTN 5-67 Rise to your station

Heather had never seen Blackbast so nervous as the cat woman's tail twitched from side to side. Roric and crew had gone far into the swamps and hills, searching out the land that could potentially be their home. They returned with the girls full of excitement as they discussed where they would put things and how their camp would be hidden in the mountains. Roric announced they were pleased with the land and intended to build their home on it. Then without missing a beat, he suggested they ret...

DKP 8-17 to bless a rose

Sarah heard the door slam and looked into the sitting roomto see Gesius come in the front door. His aura was filled with concern, and she knew instantly it had to do with Rose.

“Is she alright?” Sarah asked while trying not to worry.

“I showed her my dragon form,” Gersius replied. “She was not prepared to see it.”

“What? Why would that bother her?” Sarah asked as she entered the sitting room. “If anything, it should have helped her feel more relaxed around ...