Maikana

Chapter 70 – Improper testing procedures

While the destination had changed, nothing else about the trip south towards Emberscale Caverns was much different than it was for the trip towards the town. They trudged along beside the plodding oxen until the early fall sun was most of the way to the horizon before stopping for the evening at the same clearing they’d spent their last night on the road at on the prior trip, though rather than prepare the camp right away, they tucked in to the parcel of flaky pastries that Kori had procure...

Chapter 69 – Much ado about scones

By the time that Kori departed Gnomish Delights, it had been several hours since she’d absconded from the enclave, a bit longer than she’d intended and probably long enough that Har had noted her absence. Her attempt at sneaking back in was not nearly as successful, at least in her mind, as her escape had been, knowing glances of several kobolds found her as she tried to skirt around the edge of the gate and head towards the underground den. She’d been hoping to pretend that she’d spe...

Chapter 68 – Taking the sting out of things

Har continued to evade her questions about whatever it was that he was obviously planning, frustrating her with her mentor even more than she had already been. She didn’t see why he was excited about the concoction, the suspension of mending wasn’t really even something new, by all accounts it was actually worse than her ointment which could restore up to one hundred health in the same timeframe. Especially since it used practically the same ingredients, though significantly less of the f...

Chapter 67 – Insert maniacal laugh here.

With a few moments to collect himself, and a grin that seemed wider than his face should allow, Har finally settled his gaze on the youngling standing opposite him. “A silver… do you have any idea how much that potion seller would sell such a craft for?”

Nodding to confirm she in fact did, for once, actually know something about potions after Imelda’s explanation, “Uh-huh, thirty-five silver. Ingredients for potions must be way more expensive.”

The elder merch...

Chapter 66 – Kori may need remedial lessons

Deciding to take a different tack with her this time, Imelda instead asked a question, “Kori, just how much do you know about potions?”

The subject dragged up the memory of her previous attempt to learn more about them, Kori grimaced before grumbling out, “Not much… no thanks to that nasty potion lady. I know healing potions exist, and that there are other kinds, but not what any of them actually do…”

Her suspicions confirmed, Imelda ignored the source of the kobold’...

Chapter 65 – More than one way to mix some moss

With a quick appraisal, Imelda confirmed that the paste was indeed the same Imbued Herbal Healing Ointment that Kori had intended to make, though at a quality of inferior which was likely due to the state of the moss that she had provided.

“It actually worked… water and moss…” She said, staring at the appraisal only she could see. “If I hadn’t watched you do it, I’m not sure I’d ever believe it.” She shook her head, “I assumed there must have been something special t...

Chapter 64 – An unimpressive display of magic

A/N: Sorry about the delay, I guess I wasn't quite as ready to be back as I thought I was. With the lack of chapters the deadline for resuming billing continues to push back as the backlog grows. it's going to be at minimum mid July before that happens.

“Yes?” Kori replied tentatively, still unsure why Imelda was making that scrunched up face or what the off-pitch tone in her voice was indicating.

It took the older woman several moments to make any additional reply, or seeming...

Name that herb!

Chapters are resuming!

Antibiotics did their thing and I am feeling so much better.

In light of that, how about some reader participation?

Kori is set up to do a bit of experimenting. Ostensibly this is to find an alternative to luminous moss from among the surface plants, but who knows what else she might make in that pursuit?

Well, for once it might just be you guys who know before I do!

Comment with one or more plant names and what you think it might make ...

Update

There’s a saying about mortals making plans and deities laughing that seems appropriate right about now…

No sooner had I announced my plans to catch up and started working on chapters, then I got one of the worst respiratory infections I have had in many years.

Between the wracking cough, and the headache it’s been causing, and feeling like my brain is stuffed with cotton, all I’ve managed to get done is stare at a blank word document, occasionally writing a sentence or ...

Chapter 63 – Asking the obvious question

The work of gathering the dried and hanging the fresh herbs went fairly quickly, though not without an awkward moment when Imelda asked if s

The work of gathering the dried and hanging the fresh herbs went fairly quickly, though not without an awkward moment when Imelda asked if she had heard about some brawl a pair of kobolds had gotten into earlier in the morning. Apparently by the time it had reached her ears, the tale had morphed into a hulking kobold having beaten one of their smal...

Chapter 62 – Potentially pilfered pigment?

“You still deny it?” Zln replied, a thread of mana joining into the spiritual energy swirling around her body, feeding it like fuel to a flame. “You’re not the only one with [Spiritual Sense] you know.” Her words still impassive and cold, but with a thread of sarcasm bleeding through. “I can see its spirit clinging to you as it cowers in my presence.”

Utterly baffled by the woman’s words, Kori turned her own senses upon herself, half expecting to see luminous sp...

Update

So I wanted to give a quick update, I wasn't very good about communicating that I was going to be away for a trip and wasn't going to have opportunity to write, so I apologize for that.

I'm back now and chapters will be resuming, well now, as there should be one following this post.

As I'm sure you've all noticed, I'm a bit behind on chapters. and by a bit, I mean over 10. I have gone back through and tried to count where things should be and I believe that as of this c...

Chapter 61 – Disproportionate response

In a turn of events from many of their nights out, it was Har who had to practically carry Kori back to the enclave. A trip that was much further than their typical stumble home from Maribel’s café since they were clear on the opposite side of Whatzakt. After hours of investigating every nook and cranny of the herbalist’s stores, she’d proven once and for all that there was in fact an end in there somewhere to that bottomless well of curious energy.

While she had been occupied wi...

Chapter 60 – Good food makes everything better

Departing the potion shop in such a manner left a foul taste in Kori’s mouth, the things she had said and the way she said them was something that Kori had never experienced before. Sure, Bolst was a bit mean the night of the festival, but he was drunk and she knew he didn’t mean to say the things he did in that manner. Renava on the other hand, she had been nearly as venomous as the spiders Bolst got in so much trouble over.

“Why was she so… so… terrible!” Kori cried, tears...

Chapter 59 – Some of them are even uglier on the inside

Kori’s grin at successfully obtaining the skill, and creating a mostly okay bottle, extended into a little wiggling dance as she swept her tail around and cheered.

“Yes, yes, you made a bottle. Not sure why you’re so excited about it…” Ulteran said, placing his hand on her shoulder to quickly put a stop to her antics before she managed to knock something over or burn her tail by hitting something hot.

Har, suspecting the real reason she was celebrating, explained to him ...

Chapter 58 – Blowing things up

The morning following Har’s catching up with his acquaintance and Kori’s making of a new friend came quickly, and for Har, quite unpleasantly. When she saw him at breakfast his eyes were striated with bloodshot lines and his scales had an unmistakably pale hue. He returned to his work, grumbling about the sunlight and gnomes, and left Kori mostly to her own devices for the morning, with some additional notes to work through in her language studies.

It was just as boring work as it h...

Chapter 57 – A first time for everything.

Following along behind the elder as he did his tasks was not what Kori had in mind when she found out she’d be visiting the surface. Watching him going over ledgers and inspecting goods that awaited transport back to the caverns, reading letters in a language she didn’t understand, they didn’t even use the same glyphs that she was used to, and then penning his own in response, to say she was bored would be an understatement.

When he finally handed her a sheaf of papers, she was so...

Chapter 56 – Aren’t you an ugly one

After the evening’s discussion while training her senses with Snq, images of puddles erupting from beakers and engulfing her while she worked coloured her dreams and left her mood soured the following morning.

<<Skill proficiency improved. Mana Sense level 3 -> 4>>

She’d managed to get a single level in her Skill at least, but that was small recompense. Even breakfast, slabs of boar haunch fried in a pan with its own fat alongside diced root veg...

Chapter 55 – Pork, it’s what’s for dinner

A little ointment went a long way towards brightening Snq’s evening, though she still wasn’t in the greatest of moods for the remainder of it. Suffice to say, there would be no playing hide the mana mote that evening, which was in no way, shape, or form a euphonism.

Kori had enough on her mind once the sun went down that she barely even noticed the lack of the promised lessons; the stars twinkling above drew any attention that she might have spent elsewhere. Innumerable pinpricks of...

Icara World Map

I keep referencing places, figure I should give you a better look at the world map. This is a political map for the world, Emberscale Caverns is marked in the northeast.

Chapter 54 – a little pot for all occasions

The travel day was much shorter than Kori had envisioned, it seemed that they had barely gotten started with the day when they were already pulling off the road onto a cleared patch of dirt that seemed purpose built for them.

“Already?” She asked Har as the other traders began unhitching the oxen from their harnesses.

“My mana only goes so far, Kori.” He replied, shaking his head. “The driver’s Abilities aren’t enough to get these beasts moving with such a heavy load...

Chapter 53 – Only surface deep

Minutes passed as Kori just stood there, stunned by the novelty of her surroundings. The abundance of sensations was overwhelming to the young kobold who had never imagined that the surface could be just so starkly different to the underground life she had known. Sounds of life permeated the air, carried to her by a gentle breeze that felt like a buffeting wind to one accustomed to the stillness below.

Alongside the cacophony were the scents. The musty smell of humid earth and kobold wa...

Chapter 52 – Basking

With the new workspace still a work in progress, Har decided it was the perfect opportunity to go spend some of the budget that they’d been given. He had the list that Kori had provided him, but what better opportunity would he have to introduce his newest apprentices to the wonders of commerce than in furnishing her own lab. He knew that she wasn’t really concerned with his trade, so a little self interest would go a long way in keeping her attention.

With her meager belongings pac...

Chapter 51 – Three mana monte

The days to follow were a whirlwind of activity for some, and utterly mundane for others. Unfortunately for Kori, her days fell into the latter. Warriors, mages, miners, Elders, and even a few members of the Circle, all came together to deal with carving out a new space for the ambitious youngling to work in. Their efforts were quickly stymied by an expected delay, the colony of slimes was found to have flourished over their years of isolation. They subsisted on anything and everything else t...

Chapter 50 – A miner diversion

<A/N> Holy crap, chapter 50! (Well, technically the 55th chapter, cause prologue, but still, chapter 50!)

The discussions petered out soon after, most of the matters agreed upon and not much else to do while they awaited a new work space. Kori and her new mentor Har leaving the Elder’s chambers side by side. She wasn’t really sure where they were headed and it didn’t seem like Har had any particular destination in mind either, as they meandered along.

“Well, that wen...

Chapter 49 – Lets get this apprenticeship started.

Their conversation continued onwards, debating everything from where the youngling’s work would take place, which ended up being ‘as far away from the clan’s caverns as could be considered practical’, and how they would acquire supplies and determine what projects were safe to work on. That last topic took up the bulk of the conversation. The closest they could come to an agreement was that no matter what, she had to test it with a very, very, small batch.

Many of the E...

Chapter 48 – What could possibly go wrong?

Tea distributed; the Elders came together in a more relaxed setting than Kori had ever seen them in in their chamber. Sat around just a single table, elbow to elbow, some with heavy lidded eyes still betraying their actions from the night before. Har clearly the worst off with his head laid down on the cool surface of the table.

“Youngling… Kori… I hope you can see our dilemma here.” Ortik began, pausing to take an appreciative sip of his tea. “We’ve hundreds of other appren...

Chapter 47 – A four year old's existential crisis

Morning came all too soon for most members of Clan Emberscale. It was an unspoken rule that no one was really expected to arrive on time for their work on the morning after the festival, even the Elders started their meeting later than usual. While Kori was up at her normal time, tired from her late night but otherwise fine, few of her siblings were in similar good cheer. It appeared as though much of the clutch had partaken in the same tradition her companions had the night before.

She...

Chapter 46 – To spice things up

The feast laid out before them disappeared faster than the young group had expected it to. None of them held themselves back from devouring the soft, moist flesh that had been revealed once the shell had been cracked. While they found themselves satisfied with their meal, none were sated. They knew full well that other delicacies like the one they had just partaken of had been prepared in the many other halls.

Losq was well prepared, he’d scoped out many of the best places and foods w...

Chapter 45 – Scale me, that’s good

Until recently, Kori had never spent much time with her sister. Beys had been a bit of a bully for much of their early years, but she’d grown out of it since the beginning of their apprenticeships. And as the only two of their clutch who had failed in their initial calling, they had a shared experience that the others didn’t really understand. They had spent some time over the past months after Kori’s return to the brood chamber commiserating with each other over their circumstances. Wh...