The duel between the Baroness and Marco had turned into an extended affair. Neither was in a hurry to see it end as the duel slowly moved to the battlements. First one, then the other would press the attack with a flurry of blows, then fall back as their opponent turned the course of battle and gained the upper hand. Marco had wounded Layla a dozen times, only to have her ignore the wounds completely as if the pain and blood loss weren’t affecting her. Worse for him, each bleeding wound she...
2024-04-19 01:08:32 +0000 UTC
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Milo was only too aware that Hecate had upgraded again. It was like standing next to the main electric cable in the habitat, knowing without a doubt that you shouldn't get too close.
"Tell me everything about what you found beneath your habitat. Every detail, no matter how small. Jeremy Cooper was one of the people who revolutionized how AI were created. His team found a way to create the kernel of a new AI and then nurture the growing personality and introduce the tasks we would lear...
2024-04-15 15:52:05 +0000 UTC
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Marco slowly grew larger, something he barely tell from his limited point of view. Then, with a rush, the potion effects ended, restoring him to full size, and he could move again. During the time he'd been immobile he'd heard the unmistakable voice of Bobby-Chuck as he fought with someone. He recovered just in time to see the barbarian floating away and then explode, filling the sky with fireworks. He hoped the drunken idiot had done enough damage to derail the new teleporter, or at least pr...
2024-04-13 02:30:54 +0000 UTC
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Hecate sat in the First Tavern, waiting. She’d purposefully made it difficult for her visitor/pursuer. She knew immediately when he started looking for her, and no desire to talk with him. To test his conviction, she led him across the globe and through dimensions not even visited yet by any player. The Engine had created many strange places and left it to her to create the roads that led to them. She created the paths to the elemental planes, the floating worlds of the Void, and the dead w...
2024-04-11 17:52:14 +0000 UTC
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Short and Sharp, like a thin slice of aged Cheddar.
==============================================
As soon as Milo logged out of the game, he was deluged with messages from Rusty: Email, voice, video, and Mama was knocking on his pod. He flipped open the lid and yelled out, "I'm here. What's happening?"
Mama helped him out of the pod, "Thank the lord. Rusty has been screaming his head off for the last couple of minutes. I was watching one of his movies with him when he freake...
2024-04-09 23:36:42 +0000 UTC
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Galet looked at Milo, puzzled. "This is too far above my level to deal with. I'm just a humble advisor who helps neophytes enter the game. I'm not high enough level to deal with huge quests. It's bad enough that you triggered something like this before. How did you do it again?"
Milo looked at the smooth metal ball, glowing with internal magical energy. "I don't know. It was just a metal ball with no enchantments before." He looked at it suspiciously. "And it wasn't in my chest."
2024-04-08 14:52:30 +0000 UTC
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As soldiers scrambled away from the charging barbarian, Ozzy charged as well, but it was Suzette who got in the first shots. Bobby-Chuck wasn't exactly subtle in anything he did, and it was hard to miss a ten-foot-tall glowing, screaming barbarian as he leaped at you. Her sun-blessed staff appeared in her hands, and the first spell seared the air as she used her meta magic perk to double the damage. Suzette didn't have a large collection of spells like a normal wizard who had attaine...
2024-04-05 01:14:31 +0000 UTC
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"It's nearly Go Time, people. You all have 30 minutes to get into position. Maximum stealth if you are anywhere outside of the heavy brush and trees, and slow movement for those moving through the forests. If the shit hits the fan, go for maximum damage or shock. Maybe you succeed, and maybe you act as a distraction for someone else. If you don't know what to do, do something. Doing nothing will kill you just as quickly and is much less fun."
Everyone nodded, and the different groups s...
2024-04-04 01:02:12 +0000 UTC
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Despite being told to be at ease, everyone at least sketched a small bow. The only one who gave less was Ozzy, who just inclined his head. Jorges gave a salute, Legion style, then stood at ease. The god bent and examined the war machine.
"My, this is sleek and pretty. Design and looks don't kill things, but I do prefer a weapon that looks like it will kill things, and this does that. It's almost self-cocking if you keep a supply of mana in the storage crystal; that's a nice to...
2024-04-02 03:19:36 +0000 UTC
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"This is a stupid plan. Have the witches seen this fortress lately?"
The assault force Alchemarx hired was led by Marko, a level 13 Battle Master. Marko had a healthy disdain for the missions they'd been given in the past, but pointing out errors in the 'corporate approved' plans had gotten him nowhere. When one of the witches noticed he had a class designed for leading raids, they gave him command but still made him follow their plans. He realized later that he'd earned hims...
2024-04-01 20:57:32 +0000 UTC
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This is the last of today's slightly Raw chapters. After this, I start on a BOG chapter and do some editing.
========================================================
Milo logged into the game and selected the new player tutorial, expecting either the open field or the room with statues. Instead, he was in a high mountain valley. One side dropped away several thousand feet. Below was the crossroads with its one tree, cozy tavern, church and graveyard. The lone road running in one dir...
2024-03-28 23:27:54 +0000 UTC
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Again, a little Raw and needs editing. Also a little short, but it was a good stopping point. Rolling into the next chapter with another cup of coffee, then hopefully after that, a BoG chapter.
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Two hours later, Milo and Larry finished up the first part of Larry's quest. It was going to be much more involved than Milo had imagined, with some traveling. Larry assured him that the System would send him messages and Brinka...
2024-03-28 16:13:41 +0000 UTC
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This chapter is a little Raw, and I'll be editing it in a bit. I want to keep moving and get a lot done tonight and tomorrow, and catch up a bit on my stories. It is easy to edit when tired, but not so easy to write.
===========================================
After his nap, Milo woke to find he was feeling better and noticed he had several email messages. The first was from Williamson Plumbing and Supply, routed through a shell company:
Dear Sir,
We wanted to t...
2024-03-27 21:51:10 +0000 UTC
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"Joe, how fast can we hire another dozen machinists, half a dozen each of metallurgists and robotics programmers, and three dozen factory hands? "
Joe Williamson was enjoying his morning coffee. Normally, for the last five, or maybe ten years, he had made a ritual of stretching out his morning coffee routine from 6 am until 9 am, reading the latest Engineering and Robotics magazines, reading and deleting his email, and wasting as much time as possible. There wasn't much else to do when...
2024-03-23 01:01:51 +0000 UTC
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"Well, Sir Hoss, how does the armor feel? I had it made especially for you."
The blackened steel armor had been worn by some ancestor of Pinchpenny's and languished in the treasure room for centuries. Its enchantments resized the set to the owner, and the weight was only a few pounds, yet protected like the finest dwarven steel.
"It fits like a glove, sir like it's part of me. But are you sure about making me a knight? I doubt anyone, including me, thinks I deserve it. I've got...
2024-03-20 23:05:54 +0000 UTC
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Past Rowan Keep, in the wildlands that spread west and south, a hidden camp of mercenaries stirred once again. Players logged in, and wagon loads of cheap leather armor and beginner weapons were passed out to anyone in need. The new recruits sneered at the 'beggars,' ignoring that they would probably be in the same situation at the end of the night. Alchemarx had been throwing small groups of player-mercenaries at Rowan Keep for months. Initially, the groups had caused delays as they sabotage...
2024-03-20 20:58:29 +0000 UTC
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During the drive to Rowan Keep, the wagonload of crazed professors and mad scientists kept up an enthusiastic discussion of how to redesign the suspension system of the wagon, each trying to outdo the other. Leather suspension straps, coiled springs, and levitation runes were all discussed. Since the wagon in question was normally used for hauling loads of rock, it had no suspension currently, and Ben pointed out that anything would be an improvement, but the rocks wouldn't care. He was ignor...
2024-03-17 16:08:49 +0000 UTC
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Milo once again wished he knew who the illusive Dr. Jeremy Cooper had been before he became Rusty's only friend. He'd searched the Data Net and come up with nothing. Or rather, nothing helpful. There were hundreds of people with the name Dr. Jeremy Cooper. He focused his search on highly intelligent people with degrees in computer science, robotics, or any other subject that dealt with programming or A.I. and one by one investigated them. Some were alive, and of those that were already dead, ...
2024-03-14 21:55:02 +0000 UTC
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Milo spent several hours in the engineering section doing maintenance on two of the huge diesel engines and then started one of them, and left it running, doubling the amount of power available to Rusty. Number three engine had a problem with the exhaust system that Milo wanted to fix before he put it into service. It was a small problem, but he hated the idea of leaving it for later. With power available, the engineering section became a huge toybox waiting to be played with. Instead of scro...
2024-03-11 15:35:29 +0000 UTC
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Milo returned to Downtown with ideas in his head and nothing in his belly. As he exited the elevator and down the stairs, he smelled food, and the second problem was readily solved. Everyone was seated around the largest table in Independence Hall, passing food around and talking. As Milo entered the room, he was mobbed by Min, Butch, and the rest of the gang. They'd been enjoying this magical place and wishing Milo was here with them. He was quickly dragged to the table, where Mama put a pla...
2024-03-04 21:59:30 +0000 UTC
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A difficult chapter to write. Still thinking about it some, but essentially finished.
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The goddess of the crossroads sat under the hanging tree and discussed plans with Milo until she was satisfied.
"It has a chance of success and is worth the effort of doing. If the adversary fails to take the bait, nothing is lost. The work will yield benefits either way." She sat silently for a minute, and Milo let her think. ...
2024-03-03 07:25:23 +0000 UTC
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Two travelers made their way from Sedgewick to Rowan Keep. The Knight skipped and hopped down the center of the wide stone road while his Squire insisted on staying in the shade of the closely growing forest on either side, pulling his hood over his head and grumbling about "Too much sky." A pack of bloodthirsty squirrels assemble, following the Squire, intending a quick ambush. As the first dozen assassins leaped silently from the high branches, Squire Squeak was already casting a spell with...
2024-03-03 06:04:55 +0000 UTC
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I sat down to write the next chapter, and suddenly, it was a Brownie chapter. Not sure what happened. :)
==========================================================================================================================
It was late afternoon before Ben could get everyone together to begin the discussion on how they would proceed. He was acutely aware he was dealing with many eccentric personalities and bloated egos. Luckily, he had a lot of experience dealing with such people...
2024-03-03 01:50:37 +0000 UTC
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The Fae Knight looked at the strange woman who had joined them. "We fixed it and made it better. Hollows are good. Poor, scared bunnykin and overworked ratkin can make a cozy place to live, make cheese, and other good things. Can Larry have the soup, too? With extra lentil beans? Larry likes lentil beans."
Wistyburble glared at him, but her gaze seemed to slide right off and not affect him at all. Not so the Squire, who became very still with wide, unblinking eyes as his mind raced and...
2024-03-01 02:14:00 +0000 UTC
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A terrible ceremony was taking place in the Great Burrow of Her Majesty Wistyburble, The Under Rodent. One of her minions had been called into her presence to answer for their actions. This never went well for the minion. If she was annoyed enough to call you into her burrow, chances were pretty good you weren't walking or crawling back out.
So it was with great fear that the dread necromancer Benny T. Bunny walked down through the levels of the dungeon not yet seen by any adventurer. A...
2024-02-26 03:32:11 +0000 UTC
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It's half price night for anyone cursed with bunny ears, and someone unexpected shows up.
2024-02-26 02:47:46 +0000 UTC
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Some of this appeared earlier, when I was messing around with a tongue in cheek story that crossed over from Tunnel Rat. It was growing to the point where instead of letting it spin into a silly 20 part side-story, I stole some parts for an actual cross over. If you haven't read Tunnel Rat:
Milo is a were-rat Super Genius who causes lots of trouble in the game and real world. In the game he is one of the few non-dwarven Deeprock Engineers.
Larry is a cheese-fiend. A ten-foot-tall ...
2024-02-25 04:54:08 +0000 UTC
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As Splinter sailed through the night, the Collegium was dealing with an increasingly devastating storm. Strong winds whipped around the sanitarium's remains in a vortex of growing power. Shards of ice, flung by the strong winds, cut like knives thrown by an assassin, driving back anyone who ventured outside without armor and magical protections. The outer rooms, with their shattered windows, were uninhabitable because of the cold and the certain chance of messy injury. The High Mage ...
2024-02-24 03:32:53 +0000 UTC
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High in the air above the Collegium of Arcane Runecasters and a half-mile to the south, Splinter descended carefully toward the inflatable dragon as it slowly rose to meet her. Maria was using her control of the winds to assist Ben in bringing the dragon alongside the smokejammer. When close, Ozzy cast out his chain to pull them together and anchored the balloon to the side. Damien was the first over the railing, bursting with excitement.
"First a ride on a draconic sex toy, and now t...
2024-02-19 22:03:06 +0000 UTC
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Milo thought that a request sent through Wally had a good chance of getting her attention. Wally would have his own reasons to urge Hecate to talk to him. He'd planned to log into the tutorial and see if she would meet him there rather than in Shadowport. If not, he would do as she'd said in their last meeting and find a crossroads to sit at and hope she chose to talk to him.
Rather than either of those two places, he was surprised to find himself in an unknown part of the game world i...
2024-02-18 06:53:59 +0000 UTC
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