nemorosus

Chapter 11: Lion Cub's First Hunt

Elias alighted from the carriage at the gates of Vendleber, scanning the small town’s streets thoroughly. He had removed the gray robe of the Order of the Gray Owl, instead donning the traditional white and gold of his House Parbon. After searching the streets for a time for the banner bearing the golden lion, he walked to the men guarding the gate.

“Excuse me,” Elias asked, touching one guard’s shoulder lightly. “Have you seen a large party of horsemen come through here with ...

Chapter 10: Early Onset Eldritch Baldness

A few days had passed. After cashing the banknote and opening an account in the local bank, Argrave stayed at a fairly expensive inn in Mateth that valued order and cleanliness—virtues he found it difficult to live without, especially given the strenuous circumstances he had been through in the past few days. It was easy to overcome his mysophobia when faced with the very unappealing prospect of being held hostage in opposition to King Felipe III, but now that the danger had passed, he clea...

Chapter 9: Theft is Morally Acceptable if Kidnapped

It was dawn. The pale, somewhat blue light of the early morning sun began to make its way across the vast plain in front of Mateth. Subtle rainbows of refracted light dappled the landscape where the light passed through drops of water at just the right angles. A lone rider, tiredly leaning on his horse, spurred his mount in a light canter towards the towering walls of the coastal city.

Argrave felt exhausted. A night ride was not a pleasant thing. If he had not chosen the best horse—t...

Chapter 8: Sun Tzu Teaches Horseplay

“What an unpleasant trip…” Argrave complained aloud, sitting atop a rock as he cleaned off his clothes with water magic. Dust, dirt, grass, and worse covered his clothes. His upper legs had been chafed raw, probably because of poor posture. He had dealt with that as best he could with healing magic. Across from Argrave, the Margrave Reinhardt hammered in poles to set up a tent. The last bit of sunlight was fading, and so they were setting up camp.

In truth, Argrave loathed complai...

Chapter 7: Argrave, Meet Margrave

A big, gauntleted hand reached forward and rested itself on the edge of the carriage’s windows. Then, Margrave Reinhardt dismounted from his horse and stood at the side of the carriage, peering in. The Margrave had red hair like his son, though it was closer to crimson and fell past his shoulders. He had a fierce face, rough but scarless, and his frightening visage was further augmented by his eyes. They were like two rings of rubies. He wore resplendent white plate mail, a red cloak hangin...

Chapter 6: Hitchhiking is Dangerous

The halls of the Tower of the Gray Owl were filled to the brim with people. They were talking amongst themselves feverishly, most with some degree of relief and nervousness on their faces. Nikoletta of Monticci stood with arms crossed on an empty wall of the tower. Mina of Veden sat at her feet, leaning against the wall in exhaustion.

Nikoletta had spent the month revising the research Argrave had returned to her. Though she wished to find out if Argrave had genuinely been telling the t...

Chapter 5: Bloody Hard Work

Argrave approached most things very methodically. His present situation, unbelievable as it was, was no different. In the month he had until the thesis submission deadline, he worked long past nightfall every single day. His diligence could be attributed both to his desire to distract himself from unpleasant existential questions and his own legitimate fascination with magic.

During this month, Argrave left his room only to eat or to retrieve what few books he needed from the library. E...

Chapter 4: Hot Night, Cool Looks

Argrave scanned the bookshelf, holding the ensconced magic lamp up to the titles as he walked by in search of the tomes that he needed. In his periphery, he could spot a dash of red hair—the self-righteous Elias of Parbon. He was keeping an eye on Argrave just as he promised. He kept his distance, so Argrave could not complain overmuch.

The library of the Order of the Gray Owl was very grand. Argrave estimated the bookshelves to be around twenty feet tall.  Some wizards and stude...

Chapter 3: Choose Between Boredom and Suffering

Nikoletta stared at the closed door a long time after Argrave had left. Her mind was disturbed by a thousand thoughts. She had not interacted with her cousin much at all. He was the bastard of the royal family, and she the sole daughter of the Duke of Monticci. Even if they were both in the Order of the Gray Owl, there had been little occasion for them to interact. The only occasion she recalled was three years ago when she was seventeen.

That said, he was nothing like she remembered. 2021-11-29 01:45:44 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 2: Unsocial Visit

Argrave stared at a plaque on the side of the wall. It read ‘Nikoletta of Monticci.’ He carried a stack of documents wrapped by a few strings in his right hand. He felt calm. All of the faces that he saw in the Tower he recognized. Indeed, there was nothing to suggest that anything had changed from the original ‘Heroes of Berendar’ in terms of setting. He had even gleaned the date from passing conversation. It was a month before Acolytes had to submit their research to the Order, and ...

Chapter 1: Valhalla-Bound at the Speed of Sound

In the middle of a vast plain, a single, well-travelled dirt road led to a tower. The tower was circular and made wholly of a dark gray stone, and it stood hundreds, if not a thousand feet tall. Stained glass windows dotted its side at points. Its walls were inscribed, giving the stark gray building depth it otherwise lacked. If one were to stare for a while, they could see faint trails of light dancing along the engravings. They were the dim afterglow of enchantments that kept such a piece o...

Chapter 118: Caress the Tense Blue (2)

We swarmed through the mansion like a swarm of locusts. I took a position near Ruel at the front—considering he was the strongest person, and basically out babysitter, it seemed a prudent decision. Our footsteps pounded through the hall. Though our teamwork hadn’t been exceptional at the beginning, it was starting to pick up. 

Giir, who I’d directed to take the lead, kicked one of the metal gates that barred our way. It buckled from his severe force and fel...

Chapter 117: Caress the Tense Blue (1)

There had been something fishy about this mission since the very beginning. 

It was difficult to imagine that those bandits that we fought were capable of dealing with the people that we had in our outpost. Certainly, they wouldn’t be up to snuff compared to the rest of us, but for them to lose to those bandits? That seemed a far-fetched idea. 

It might be explained away by the presence of those poisonous herbs that they were growing. There was a rea...

Chapter 116: Tell Me

I sat in a hovercar. Not the same velvet-lined one that had taken me to Jewls place, though it was still far nicer than the one we’d taken to the city. It was larger, too—it had to accommodate for Giir, after all. Zinuetet and Day sat beside me, while Vast, Giir, and Rubio sat across from us. 

There was an unfamiliar man driving us to our destination. He was working for the client who had arranged this entire thing, and was only to be a driver. There was no a...

Chapter 115: Broderskap (4)

“You’ve had more than enough time to explain. This is a trade. Line out the details of your offer on me.” The doors slid open behind Jewls, and two Shashen Servant entered the room, holding two tablets. They placed them on the table and bowed. 

“These are?” I hesitated to touch them. 

“For signatures.” Jewls waved his hands dismissively. “That will come later, though. Line out the details of the trade. Then I’ll decide.”

“I�...

Chapter 114: Broderskap (3)

“I know this is worth your time.” I toyed with the communications device on the table. “You have a lot of it, considering you can divide your consciousness. And you’re here, disproving your point. All I ask is that you hear me out.”

“Hear you out?” Duke Jewls tapped his fingers on the table, smiling and chuckling. “I’d ask if there’s something in your ears, but if I really wanted, I could just check. You couldn’t do anything to stop me. Fortunate...

Chapter 113: Broderskap (2)

Very hesitatingly, I put one step in front of the other and entered the room. The Shashen Servant waved at me, and then the door slid back shut. The room was accommodating and luxurious—there was a crystalline chandelier, and many fine glasses in shelves.

I turned my head to and fro, admiring the things in the room and looking for the person that I was to be meeting with. There was a door on the other side of the room, so perhaps Duke Jewls was going to be coming fr...

Chapter 112: Broderskap (1)

“A soul-related transaction, huh?” 

Though the receiver had been disinterested in tone before, and sounded more like a robot than a human, he was now very intrigued. I couldn’t blame him. My soul was quite valuable. At least, if the various devils in mythology are to be believed. Trade your soul for this; trade your soul for that. Why’s the damn thing so important?

“That’s correct,” I confirmed. “I promise it’s not damaged. I’d give it a...

Chapter 111: Early Afternoon, Folks

We opened the door to the hovercar and alighted onto the black sand. I helped Zinuetet down, and left Day to jump down himself just as I had. The vehicle was suspended in midair by four legs, making it rather resemble a spider. 

We looked on the bunker that was to be our home for the next couple of days, and let out a collective sigh. 

“You’re doing some real crazy shit, you know that, Casimir?” Day rubbed his hands together. 

“Reall...

Chapter 110: The Sprout

I watched the Dagger Captain through the small tablet in my hand. I regretted not getting a drone capable of recording sounds, but I considered it mostly unnecessary. Now, though, that was shoved in my face—it was very important, as it turned out. No matter. What’s done is done. 

The drone wasn’t controlled through a joystick. It wasn’t a remote helicopter or even a drone from Earth. Instead, I felt a distinct connection between it, the tablet, and me. It...

Chapter 109: The Seeds

Far above the city covered in black sand and grime, the people were living relatively clean lives. Though it was not near as dirty higher up, the smoke from the factories filled the air. That would not matter for most of the people there, though—their homes were covered, their only windows made of glass, not to mention they could actually afford air filtration systems. 

There was only one hotel on the entire planet in Sector 114. It was mostly used for people t...

Chapter 108: Boy for Sale, He’s Going Cheap (2)

Even in the midst of the night, the smog from the factories rose high in the air, threatening to conceal the skies above. The cities were all depressingly cramped. They weren’t made for people like Giir—he’d likely have a lot of trouble fitting anywhere in this place. There were no streets—indeed, most of the things that could be called ‘walkways’ were blocked with pipes that one had to scramble over and around. 

There were wires dangling from every p...

Chapter 107: Boy for Sale, He’s Going Cheap (1)

I stood alongside Day and Zinuetet. The child had gone to sleep in her arms. Her uniform was quite a mess where the boy had been crying, but she didn’t seem to care. We stared out across the desert from a hole in the abandoned ship. This planet had no moons, so the night was lit only by the stars. Fortunately, some of the stars above were quite bright and plentiful, so there was some dim starlight that encompassed the black ash-like sand. 

“Listen, you two,�...

Chapter 106: Decisions

“Day, we need to discuss this.” I tried to be adamant and authoritative in my tone. 

Zinuetet walked into the room, and though she had her spear in her hand, she didn’t seem to be showing any intention to use it. Her face was quite a mess, but at least she had cleared away the tears. 

“We’re discussing, aren’t we? Aren’t we? Look.” Day knelt down, and though he refrained from touching the boy, he gestured with his hand. “The boy can�...

Chapter 105: Through Ash

“Alright then, it’s time to move out.”

If you can give me a good reason not to eat poison, I’d be surprised. 

Sure, it hurt a bit. But after having lost an arm, little compared to that experience. The mind had a very difficult time recalling pain, but that memory was so present on the forefront of my mind that all challenges seemed to pale in comparison to it. 

Considering that the Archduchy’s healing ability was one that incre...

Chapter 104: Rising Fear

“Fantastic. Just great. So much extra shit to do now,” Ruel muttered, walking past the now-mellow squad. “Now I have to contact the employer. Now I have to set up everything. Now I have to be the people-person. I just wanted a little…” 

He got too far away for me to be able to hear his mutterings. I walked back up to the rest of the squad, and said, “Things seem to be going swimmingly.”

“These bones… I have some knowledge...

Chapter 103: Land of Black Sand

I was the last to leave the ship. The pilot, Rigser, stayed aboard. I was last for a reason, that reason being that I was slow. More than that, I wanted a good vantage point unobstructed by glass, so that I could get a good sense of what I was stepping down into. I felt the wind blow my black pants strongly against my legs, and threw my bag’s strap across my neck so that I wouldn’t worry about it falling off. 

I clambered down the ladder as quickly as three l...

Chapter 102: Major Caz to Ground Control

I hadn’t run out of ingredients first. I’d run out of bottles. 

Bottles were quite annoying to carry around, especially so in bags. I’d only one bag, and I couldn’t bring an exceptional amount. I’d have to be sure to tell people to recycle. I hadn’t cared about recycling when I was on Earth, mostly because it didn’t benefit me in any way. Now, though, I’d wear a bright green sign with a circle of arrows on it if it’d get me some more bottles.&nb...

Chapter 101: Gray

“So you can help me then.” The Long-name sighed, sounding relieved. It was perhaps the first time she’d sounded anything other than distant. 

I swirled the white bottle around in my hand, wondering how to proceed. “I don’t particularly plan to help you if you’ve murdered someone on the ship, you realize.”

“It’s a good thing I haven’t, then.” Long-name grabbed her glove, and pulled it away. I saw her hand, and then I smelled it. It was ...

Chapter 100: Keeping It

I held a razor-sharp blade of Primordial Energy to my face. I willed energy into the mechanical hand’s fingers, and with a snip, the scissors I’d created soundlessly cut through the hair on my beard. I stared at my handiwork in the all-purpose pod’s mirror. Used to be I’d always go clean-shaven, but now a finely trimmed beard was more my go-to. Clean-shaven didn’t look as good on account of the three claw scars across my face. With the beard, it’s ‘rugged merc...