The Splinter maneuvered over to the fancy chest floating in the smoke, and Ozzy hoisted it up and placed it down in the middle of the raft. It wasn't large, only A couple of feet wide and tall, with a curved lid attached with two hinges. The wood was polished and dark. The fittings, hinges and lock were made of bone. In the keyhole was a key carved of bone with a small grinning skull on one end.
Woodrat whistled and scratched his head. "This is a classic! I've heard of a
2022-10-22 03:55:11 +0000 UTC
View Post
EDIT: This didn't paste correctly, paragraphs missing. Off to find them and do the final rewrite.
A little short, but those boys were pretty fragile when I worked out their stats compared to Milo. But actions have consequences. Those poor stripped bolts demanded vengeance.
Not everyone agreed with him though. "This is why you're always going to be picked last for team duels, Gehlter. Your damned fart cloud screws up the rest of us." Squiggel and Bunt both curse...
2022-10-21 02:20:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Milo left the house of the Shadow Skulker clan in a good mood. He was getting tired of having to play 'surprise' and be on guard all the time. It was good for his perception, but he had a lot of things he wanted to do. The temptation to beat them all with his engineer's spanner had been growing. Hopefully things would ease up a bit now. And if they didn't...well, he could start using the wrench.
The family wasn't all sneaky ninja types, but that was what it was known for, and everyone t...
2022-10-20 03:15:15 +0000 UTC
View Post
Which means I'm not getting much done this weekend except watching my youngest kids while my wife is down with my oldest daughter helping with the new baby. 9 pounds, everything going fine.
2022-10-18 00:21:26 +0000 UTC
View Post
Charlotte was annoyed. This was one of her three main emotions. Annoyed, frustrated, and arrogance vied for the number one emotion. A few other emotions kept trying to enter the mix, but a few like empathy and sympathy had packed their bags and left long ago. She assumed that by now she knew almost everything about everything the clan could teach her, so she was annoyed that somehow her grandfather could make a door that trapped all sound. She'd been trying to ease drop on the meeting going o...
2022-10-14 01:16:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
Not a chapter, just some mustings. Sometimes things don't work out like you planned. Stories roll around in my head and sound good. Then you put them down on paper, and toss them to readers. Feedback can be what you expect, or surprise you.
Sometimes I'm surprised because I managed to get something right, and yet still screwed up. In this case it's two characters in Tunnel Rat: Charlotte and Larry.
Larry started out as a way to show Milo, and the readers, the problem with too ...
2022-10-14 01:15:36 +0000 UTC
View Post
Quite rough, I do fights all at once otherwise it's hard to keep the action straight in my head. I'll be going over this again before publishing.
Captain Jacob 'Blackfetter' Shackleford and Crew
Elite Level 12 Boss
Press Ganger, Ensnaring Chains, Smoke Eater
Renowned for his large and well crewed ship, Captain Shackleford sailed the smoke for half a century until a chance encounter with a Void W...
2022-10-12 05:34:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
The hat was silly. A plain black skull-cap with round fake ears that stuck up obnoxiously, making sure everyone noticed the outsider in the room. And because "all outsiders look alike", his new name was stenciled on the front. The halfling exhaled a long breath and steeled himself for what came next. 'Jethro' had died when he betrayed his family and now, he was 'Clumpybigtoe'. He put the skull-cap on, and made sure the fake tail was hanging from the back of his belt. He'd been warned of punis...
2022-10-10 17:36:08 +0000 UTC
View Post
Fishing progressed as the night got darker. Woodrat explained that it was prime feeding time for many species. As the smoke cooled a little it was easier to spot prey that couldn't shield its heat, and of course, easier to spot their bait. Ozzy caught one small fish, pulling it in and recoiling when he saw what it looked like. They were fishing, he was expecting a fish! Instead, he got something with a round mouth filled with small teeth meant to latch onto prey. It still had scales and fins,...
2022-10-10 02:27:41 +0000 UTC
View Post
Captain Woodrat (Mate, Veteran Shipwright) Level: 6 Much better thank you, Warming up
Smoke: 932/1125 Heat: 657/1525 Fuel: 621/1620
Part of Woodrat was stunned, happy, and amazed at finally being promoted to mate after decades of hard work. The rest of him knew he had something precious to lose, and got to work. Going to level 6 had not only raised his stats by 100 each, but had also increased his current levels, moving him away from death's door. And t...
2022-10-10 00:25:24 +0000 UTC
View Post
I shifted 193 down to 192 to do several Ozzy chapters together, then we'll get back to Billy and the rest of the gang. The lines at the end will be in a table. Patreon just doesn't like those
==============================
"Right, OK! I pissed you off. Smokestealing is bad, and I have the skill. Other than the rather obvious name I don't know what it does, or why it's bad."
Woodrat was holding onto a chain that ran to the top of small mast on his raft. Ozzy got the idea t...
2022-10-09 03:57:41 +0000 UTC
View Post
Old Healer had long ago cultivated patience to a point where there was little left that surprised him. A rampaging Cheese Fiend pursuing two of his first-year students through the marketplace made him realize that there was still a lot in this world he had yet to experience. He was grateful that Larry had enough control not to crash straight through the door. Bleusnout was doing a masterful job of helping the poor whelp recover from his overdose. Now there was a patient old rat!
He wa...
2022-10-08 02:44:29 +0000 UTC
View Post
This type of chapter is tough. Lots of dialog and trying to infodump but not infodump. And also keep the characters acting correctly. Ozzy will always want to know the system, both social and game mechanics. Woodrat is an old hand, who's been on a dozen ships, endured the harsh system, and never advanced past rank 5. Because of Ozzy's power, and the Dark Glory perk, Woodrat would like to get in good with him, hoping the next ship to come along will take him on as crew, and Ozzy as mate. But O...
2022-10-03 19:35:20 +0000 UTC
View Post
"Toss the little bone-gnawers four barrels today, looks like feeding time is popular with them." Billy was balancing on a stack of three barrels to get a good look at the area they had dumped barrels full of guts the last two mornings. Ghouls were hiding in every crack or crevice, hopping up and down, gnawing on bones and each other. Word had spread that tasty meat was falling from the sky.
"You're the boss. I just hope none of them are smart enough to make a connection between the so...
2022-10-03 05:06:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
Not sure on this one. Going to look at it again and add more I think
It was indeed little fishies day. Each of the little blind cave trout were half a foot long and they had been fried in oil with spices and butter placed inside of them. Bleusnout took one look at Milo's bruised and battered body and scooped him up a double helping of fried trout, vegetables, and half a loaf of fresh bread. He motioned Milo sit at a table nearby and took the food to him.
"You look like you took...
2022-09-30 03:49:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
This wasn't a fight to first blood. They were fighting until one side or another yielded. Gilad urged them on and kept them fighting. There was no rest. The three players were only in the first tier. They had stats only half of what Milo had. He was faster and better trained than they were. But they had numbers, and could use their claws. Milo had to keep moving continuously. If one of them pinned him down, the others would pile on that would be the end of the fight. Also, a lot of bruises Mi...
2022-09-30 03:48:09 +0000 UTC
View Post
I decided to split the fight into two chapters and expand each half. Here is the revised 118 with the first part of the fight and a little more Larry.
It took a few minutes for an excited Larry to calm down. Milo finally diverted his attention by asking him about his house, and Larry sat him down on a pillow and gave his head one last pat. Larry sat on his bed, happy to show off his house.
"This is Larry's special house. No one else lives alone except for Larry. That makes this...
2022-09-29 18:02:52 +0000 UTC
View Post
Ozzy had vague memories of falling round and round for a long time, unable to control his movement or even feel his body. After some timeless period, he finally felt more like himself, his mind cleared and he really did find himself falling. Falling sideways? No! Being whirled around and around by fierce winds that had a lock on his body. Below him, he caught glimpses of a a rolling sea grey sea with bits of flotsam and jetsam scattered about. He was still high in the air, but was descending....
2022-09-29 05:21:38 +0000 UTC
View Post
The ghouls of Hungrytown heard the footsteps and the creak of wagons, and then they could smell the sweet stench of the living. They prepared to grab anyone who stepped to close to the edge of the road, but as more and more workers came into view, they backed away in fear, tumbling down the embankment and finding holes in the ruins to in. They had seen what one Butcher could do to them, and now a full score of hard muscled men and women were marching along the road, cleavers on their belts. T...
2022-09-29 01:16:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
It took a few minutes for an excited Larry to calm down. Milo finally asked him about his house, and Larry sat him down on a pillow and gave his head one last pat. Larry sat on his bed, happy to show off his house.
"This is Larry's special house. No one else lives alone except for Larry. That makes this house special! Larry has three pillows, his comfy bed, and his picture of Justin. Larry has some pet bugs and his lucky rock here too! It's a long crawl to get out of Larry's house, but...
2022-09-27 00:32:57 +0000 UTC
View Post
The regular intro the Ozzy having fun in the smoke. You got a much expanded version that takes place before and leading up to this, so a little overlap.
Woodrat considered this to be a decent day.
The Sky overhead looked clear, with no Thunderheads in sight worry about. A bored Thunderhead meant choppy waves and a constant threat of being electrocuted by a thunderbolt. Worse was the bastards that delighted in making it rain. The smoke cooled and the fish swam away, knowing what w...
2022-09-25 22:29:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
After many sips of fermented apple beverages, the totally normal guy sitting in the tavern doing totally normal things was ready to render his judgement. Someone had decided to call him Bob, and the name had stuck. Totally normal Bob pointed to the first cask of apple wine.
"This one is fruity and fizzy with quite a bit of Zing! to it. Just smelling it is an eye-opener. Truly something to keep you awake on long rides or boring speeches. But it lacks body and a complex taste. Still, it wou...
2022-09-25 22:26:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
six months ago, in the city of Northguard...
"And how is his exalted cheapness this morning?" The cook was debating if she should reuse the tea leaves from yesterday, or use fresh.
"He's in a fine mood, can't you tell? He refused to have a fire lit in his throne room for the daily audiences, and put on that horrid sheepskin coat of his to keep warm. He mumbled that all the hot air would warm things up and save on the cost of coal." The Baron's manservant had come down t...
2022-09-22 22:26:52 +0000 UTC
View Post
This was an old tunnel, and unused for a long time. Milo had a lot of experience moving through dusty ductwork and unused corridors. Dust would settle slowly based on air movement. Small spiderwebs picked up dust as well. Milo estimated at least one decade since anyone had been here, and probably more like 30 to 40 years, which matched the level of decay of the corpse, whoever he had been.
The floor was very smooth, but the sides and roof showed the mark of the picks that had been us...
2022-09-22 02:47:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
Just finished, fairly rough. The second half especially needs a second run through to get the conversations correct.
"Ah, M'lord, I see that you are refreshing your spirit by sitting upon the bare earth, listening to wind, taking in the sweet scent of the grass and communing with nature." Twitterberry had set the three tree-wrights to work on the staircase and gone in search of his Lord, finding him sitting in his meadow. He noticed that a few of the unicorns were around, all obviousl...
2022-09-19 22:11:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
Something had died.
As Milo woke up, the smell hit him hard. Something rotten and foul was nearby. He eyed the desiccated skeleton, but it was long dead, the few scraps of skin and fur left on it were as dry as paper and the bones yellowed with age. Milo saw the skeletons of a dozen small scavengers nearby, mostly underneath where the skeleton sat. Whatever this person died from hadn't faded, even in death. He went to sit up as the smell became worse, he realized he was the source. Al...
2022-09-19 02:59:34 +0000 UTC
View Post
Sorry, out of order.
Char, aka Charlotte, aka 'Partner', Princess Stabbypants', 'Charred-Earth', and 'Heart-taker' was delighted to do nothing but watch as events unfolded. She had been concerned when Grandfather gave a mission to Tall Squeak. He wasn't even in the Guild! What was the old rat up to?
The annoying newcomer was fast becoming a thorn in her foot. Her head was still sore from his attack on her when all she was doing was playing a game of 'surprise' with him. Who the h...
2022-09-19 02:56:36 +0000 UTC
View Post
After logging out of the game, Milo decided to stay inside his pod. He needed to do some thinking, and wanted to access the datanet, specifically the forums where people discussed GENESIS. In the game, there was a lot to do. Out of the game, there was a never-ending list of things that needed to be done. Milo recognized his obsession with doing things. 'Task oriented' was a nice term used in some of the medical journals which only partially described one of the things that had been done to Mi...
2022-09-18 21:42:16 +0000 UTC
View Post
There's an Ozzy sized hole in town, and an out of control Charnel Pit
This is a little rough and needs going over.
==========================
Ben saw Rolly coming into the Town Hall. As he did every day in the past week, Ben was trying to help Suzette and Billy run the town, the work crews in the city, and supply what was needed at the keep. Each person had a different style of getting things done, and meshing the three together was Ben's constant headache. Suzette focused on th...
2022-09-16 02:48:48 +0000 UTC
View Post
This is mostly done. Alwn is a Fae Lord, not a big one, but he still comes with a lot of baggage of how he sees himself vs 'human peasants'. He's never had to work to hard, and he can easily make mistakes. Still, I want him sort of likeable.
============================
Lord Hound watched as the Summer Lord levitated down to the ground. If it had been up to him, the Fey Portal would not have been placed high in this massive tree but in a nice hole in the ground where it was e...
2022-09-16 02:46:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
