I charged the burning golem, Knut veering off for the other, when Eryn's voice called out clear and strong from behind me.
“I love you too! Don't do anything stupid!”
A heat fully different than the one I got in combat rushed through me.
Roq's derisive snort echoed in my mind.
“Ugh, human sentimentality. Can we focus on the KILLING, pretty please? There's a place for your smoochy-smoochy, and now is definitely not it!”
“Armor break....
2025-02-27 22:33:00 +0000 UTC
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The flames warmed my skin as I stood next to the burning golem carcass. Its massive form was fully engulfed like a bonfire. I pulled my cloak forward, running my fingers over the rough fabric that had just saved my life. There were no visible scorch marks or any signs of damage.
“Stop admiring the thieving cloth, and get ready for more hunting!” Roq said. “It is as the big guy said. That cloak is ugly!”
“What else can you do?” I w...
2025-02-26 22:24:54 +0000 UTC
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My heart thundered in my ears as I crouched behind a massive bone rib that thrust up from the ground like an ancient monument. Two hundred feet away, the Ironroot Golems stood motionless, unaware of our presence. With me in place, Knut slowly walked to position himself halfway between Eryn and the monsters.
“What are we waiting for?” Roq said. “Look at them! Such power! Such potential! Let us FEAST!”
“Patience. We do this right ...
2025-02-26 22:24:03 +0000 UTC
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The wooden bridge creaked under our feet as we approached the rift. A group was already waiting to cross the other way with a steelhusk log. The workers below were putting the finishing touches on the defensive ditch. In just the few days we'd spent working the smithy and getting the mind gems in Dawnwatch, they'd made incredible progress. Soon it would be ready for flooding, adding another layer of protection against monster surges. If nothing else, it would at least slow them down a bit.
2025-02-25 20:56:11 +0000 UTC
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I could barely see in the darkness as I bounced out of bed. Sleep had come late and left early, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Not today. There was way too much to do.
Water sloshed from the barrel as I dumped a ladleful over my head, standing outside in the morning wind, and gasping at the shock of cold. Better than any amount of sleep for waking up.
From inside came Pa's familiar heavy tread and slight limp down the stairs as I toweled off, having messed up his daily ritua...
2025-02-25 20:55:28 +0000 UTC
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“By all the Kingdom's forges,” Pa said, his voice dangerously soft as he ran his fingers along the workbench's scarred surface. “What did you do to my smithy, son? Have you been wrestling monsters in here?”
My mouth went dry. We'd spent three hours cleaning, organizing, putting everything back exactly where it belonged. Or so we thought. But Pa had taken one look at the forge and knew something had happened.
“I...umm,” I started to say, but the words stuck in my throat...
2025-02-24 18:52:39 +0000 UTC
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“And this one?” Ma asked, turning over one of the platemaw pieces in her hands, the armor gleaming in the shop's morning light. None of us could still believe how it all turned out, and even Pa was visibly impressed, constantly mumbling something to himself and nodding.
“Adventuring party supplied us with rare materials,” Pa said, repeating the story we'd practiced for the twentieth time. “We forged it, now we sell it and split the profits. Simple arrangement that benefits eve...
2025-02-24 18:51:57 +0000 UTC
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“Come on,” Eryn said, tugging at my arm and pulling me away from the street where I'd been pacing back and forth for the last hour or so. “Wearing a path in the dust won't make time pass any faster.”
She was right, but the waiting gnawed at me to the point I even started biting my own nails. I followed her to the wooden bench outside the guild hall where Johan sat, nursing a mug of something that smelled like a blend of coffee and cinnamon. The innkeeper's usual energy had dimme...
2025-02-23 21:54:45 +0000 UTC
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I rolled the first mind gem between my fingers, watching the patterns swirl deep inside the crystal. An almost hypnotically blue-white light danced within, moving as if caught within a vortex.
“Five whole mind gems,” Eryn said, touching my shoulder. “This is—”
“More than I've seen in any one place before,” I finished and then popped the gem into my mouth. “It's worth a fortune to most, a king's ransom to others.”
“Well, I don't know about you, but I feel ...
2025-02-23 21:54:02 +0000 UTC
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The striker exploded into a storm of deadly shards after I smashed Roq through its torso. I ducked, fragments pinging off the Scuttler plates reinforcing my shield.
“Two more from the left!” Eryn called out, already loosing another arrow.
I spun, my shield raised to intercept, just as another striker burst into the large chamber through a narrow gap between two crystalline formations. A vanguard followed close behind, trudging along.
Eryn's first arrow shattered the stri...
2025-02-22 13:48:13 +0000 UTC
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“Nothing. Not a single gem in either of them.” Roq's disappointment rang through my skull. “We should press deeper into the chasm. That's where the real treasures lie. The powerful ones. The ones worthy of our—”
“No gems,” I told Eryn, cutting off Roq's building monologue.
She nodded and swiped the Vanguard into her storage, all the fragments disappearing in an instant. A twinge of disappointment ran through me, but it would be ...
2025-02-22 13:47:01 +0000 UTC
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The gates of Sentinel Station creaked open, revealing the killing fields. Two short rings of the bell announced our departure to everyone within earnshot. We'd secured another simple scouting mission to look for monster signs.
Eryn adjusted her bow across her back, making sure it lay flat against her leather armor. We both wore our light scouting gear, again, to avoid any unnecessary questions.
My hand itched to summon Roq and see what he'd be like.
Would he behave today, or...
2025-02-21 22:34:53 +0000 UTC
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Darkness had settled over Dawnwatch when Eryn kissed me on the cheek.
“Good luck,” she said, shooting me a wink before making her way down the keep's scaffolding. “Don't give him any slack!”
“Thanks. I won't.”
After having dinner at home, I'd climbed up there with Eryn to eat a few cookies, relax, and make out as the sun was setting.
I'd put the inevitable off long enough. It was time to have the talk.
I pulled Roq from my spatial ...
2025-02-21 22:33:59 +0000 UTC
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The walk back was slow and blessedly free of monsters. Each step sent twinges through my hip while Roq worked hard on mending it. Hopefully, he wouldn't consume any of the corpses with gems inside.
Eryn matched my pace, bow and arrow in one hand, the other wrapped around my waist. I bet she didn't want me to have to bring Roq out if we saw a monster, either, though I probably would have to. She was just as pissed at him as I was. If not even more so.
I sighed.
“So,” she ...
2025-02-20 20:11:55 +0000 UTC
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Pain lanced through my shield arm as I skidded across the ravine floor. My head spun, vision blurring from the impact. Small rocks dug into my back through the damaged leather armor, some cutting into my neck, drawing blood.
Shit! What the hell are we even doing? That thing's going to destroy us!
“Get up!” Roq's voice screamed loudly in my head. “It's coming! Smash it with me!”
I rolled over my shield and stood. The Pla...
2025-02-20 20:11:02 +0000 UTC
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I settled into position below Eryn's perch, my shield ready. Above me, she made a soft clicking sound with her tongue, which was our signal for a target spotted. I clicked in return.
She scraped a nail against her bow, twice.
Two targets.
I nodded, adjusting my stance. The light crunching of my boot against stone was all she needed.
Go.
“This is it!” Roq vibrated with anticipation. “One more kill and I achieve...
2025-02-19 18:35:24 +0000 UTC
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I scanned the ravine's metallic terrain. Loose shards of stone littered natural ledges. Perfect ambush spots. But also perfect for what we had set out to do.
“It should come up through there,” I said, keeping my voice low and pointed to a natural path through the rocks. “That's the easiest and most direct way up from where it's resting.”
Eryn shifted on her knees.
“The range is about forty yards,” she whispered. “Wind's minimal. Should be a clean shot.”
2025-02-19 18:34:22 +0000 UTC
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A hazy mist washed over us as we stepped out of the rift's portal into Sentinel Station.
Teams of loggers trudged toward the east gate, heavy axes leaned on shoulders. Above us, guards exchanged quiet words as the watch changed, their boots scraping against the wooden walkways.
My heart pounded. I was looking forward to wielding Roq again. The short sword at my hip felt all kinds of wrong – it was like wearing someone else's boots. But we had to keep up appearances. The light le...
2025-02-18 19:35:01 +0000 UTC
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Pa had laid out our Scuttler parts in neat rows on the workbenches. The smithy’s double doors were closed tight, and my belly was warm and full after a hearty breakfast. Ma had been showing off, knowing Eryn would be joining us for the meal at dawn, and I had to admit that I didn't mind at all. When she went all-out in the kitchen, we were happy men.
I couldn't stop stealing glances at Eryn as she examined the monster parts. She'd pulled her hair back in a tight braid, and she wore a ...
2025-02-18 19:34:23 +0000 UTC
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The forge blazed with its usual warmth as Pa stood at the butchering station, running a whetstone along his favorite dissection blade. The metal sang with each stroke. I kept my arm wrapped around Eryn's waist while she leaned against me, both of us watching Pa as he prepared for business. It was almost like watching a musician tuning his instrument before starting to play.
“Is Helena not joining us?”
I shook my head.
“Ma doesn't care for this part. She can handle it i...
2025-02-16 21:00:21 +0000 UTC
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I halted a bit down the road from home, and Eryn stopped to look at me.
“Changed your mind?” she asked.
“Not at all. Just, you've seen Ma, right?”
She nodded, setting her bloody blonde hair moving.
“She can be a bit enthusiastic, is all,” I said.
“Don't worry. We survived a Scuttler swarm today. I think I'll be fine around your mom.”
I scratched the back of my head and smiled as best I could, a slight twinge of regret at having invited her h...
2025-02-16 20:59:52 +0000 UTC
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Eryn and I walked across the courtyard to the medical station, positioned close to the rift for rapid response. The tan canvas stretched across a temporary structure, and stood out against the steelhusk-clad purplish palisades. It wasn't the only one of its kind, either, as several more were positioned next to one another. Support staff scuttled about, carrying various supplies and even helping the wounded about.
Dr. Katherine Ridley met us at the entrance to one of the oversized tents,...
2025-02-16 20:59:18 +0000 UTC
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The walk back to Sentinel Station was blessedly uneventful, with Edwin carrying Knut easily, his strength making the mercenary seem light as a child. Eryn stayed close to my side as we recounted with Johan what had happened with Benedict's group.
Soon, the killing field stretched before us, logging teams working on expanding its length. A bell rang out - once - signaling our approach. Edwin's face grew darker with each detail of our story, his jaw clenched tight enough to almost crack a...
2025-02-16 20:58:47 +0000 UTC
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Scuttler legs kept pushing through the gaps. I crushed them one after another, but all the monster goo mixed with my own blood as their attacks found me time and time again. A pincer caught my thigh, another my side. None of the attacks were fatal, but they sapped away at my life and my stamina.
“Your blood or theirs - I don't care which! Just keep it flowing! Rivers of blood! Yes!” Roq's bloodlust seemed to grow with each kill, and so did his presence in my mi...
2025-02-16 20:58:17 +0000 UTC
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I stared at the Scuttler's crushed shell and the monster goo that was splashed across the ground, my arm tingling from the impact.
“Roq? How can such a light hammer deliver such a powerful blow?”
“CRRRRITICAL HIT!” Roq's voice thundered through my mind. “Did you see what I did? How I squashed that Scuttler like the bug it is? How I fed on its gory goo?”
A heavy shield slammed into my chest, sending me stumbling back...
2025-02-16 20:57:43 +0000 UTC
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A hint of light caught in the metallic shavings beneath my feet, each tiny flake trembling like leaves in a storm, except they were too heavy for the wind to move. The massive silver tree at the heart of the Metal Grove loomed ahead, in the grove's center.
“We need to leave,” I said, my words coming out sharp, and I touched my shield to Eryn's back. “Now.”
“What? Why?” she asked.
“Something's coming.” My pulse raced as the vibrations grew stronger. “Marcus,...
2025-02-16 20:57:20 +0000 UTC
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The soul chart hovered in my vision like a thick tendril of smoke that wouldn't dissipate. I tried to withdraw from it mentally, but the damn thing just stayed there as if mocking me.
Come on, come on!
My tattoo itched worse, like ants crawling under my skin and trying to bite their way through. It burned. For a moment, I thought my skin was about to melt.
“So, what do you think about the group composition?” Eryn asked, squeezing my arm.
“What?” I blin...
2025-02-16 20:56:53 +0000 UTC
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Pa's strong hands helped me to my feet, though my legs still shook.
“Easy there, son. You don't look so good. Sit for a while.”
The workshop door burst open. Ma rushed in, her face pale and she even had a piece of steel in her hand, ready to clobber anyone.
“What happened? I heard—” She froze, taking in the blood on my face. “Ash!”
“I'm fine, Ma.” I wiped my nose again. “Really, it's...” I shook my head, steadying myself against the beaten-up anvi...
2025-02-16 20:56:24 +0000 UTC
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Pa always said that a weapon told its story to whoever bothered listening close enough. As I stood in the smithy's doorway, watching him arrange steel with great care, I wondered what story the soul weapon would tell.
The sun lit the room through the skylight. I'd planned to be up first, but he'd beaten me to it. As usual. Except this morning the shop doors were closed and the windows barred. For the first time in months, we would not open at sunrise.
The night's dreams still clun...
2025-02-16 20:55:54 +0000 UTC
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The shadows lengthened as I walked the circular path that led toward the town keep. It had risen so fast that the outer walls already stood three stories high, steelhusk planks fitted together in overlapping patterns like dragon scales. What would have taken decades in stone had shot up in mere months, thanks to the foreign trees available riftside. The steelhusk wood was more durable than stone, but surprisingly easy to work with once builders had figured out how. Another interesting revelat...
2025-02-16 20:55:29 +0000 UTC
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