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Chapter 489 - Guardian of the Deep

The guardian of the deep – called a cueyatl – emerged from the pillar of flame and corruption like a storm of tentacles.  Zeke met it with an overhand hammer-strike.  In his titanic form, he was more than twenty feet tall, but even so, the mass of furiously waving tentacles towered above him.  And when his hammer fell, they acted as a shield against the blow, slowing the weapon down just enough to keep it from crushing the monster’s body to paste. 

Still, the c...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 31 - Alyssa's Son

Miguel raced down the empty street, spear in hand, as he heard another scream emanate from within the alley ahead.  He skidded to a stop, turning to see three burly young men surrounding a small figure curled on the ground.  The largest of the attackers aimed a kick at the victim, but he never had the chance to connect.  Instead, Miguel barreled into him. 

To Miguel, it felt like he’d just collided with a brick wall, but he was moving fast enough that he managed to...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 32 - Completion

“Better hope he doesn’t find that little girl,” Elijah said with a shake of his head.  “That’s trouble if I’ve ever seen it.”

“Not really a little girl, is she?  She’s old enough to have an archetype.  And a class.  None of the archetypes I know of have skills that help people steal,” Carmen said. 

“She couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen,” Elijah countered.  “Plus, you saw her, right?  I think little girl...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 30 - The Importance of a Good Hat

“Come on!  Why can’t I go with you?” demanded Miguel.  “You always said that having someone to watch your back is important.”

“This ain’t that kinda city, kid,” Colt said, running his hand through his short hair.  He’d had the barber back in Ironshore cut it down to little more than a fringe, which was his preferred style.  Easier to handle, that way.  “You heard your uncle.  It’s ‘bout as safe a spot as there is.  ‘sides – ...

Chapter 488 - The Garden

The mountain loomed, somehow seeming even larger than it had the first time they’d visited.  By comparison, the temple at its base was small and insignificant.  Yet, the only way to the pass that would lead to the summit was through the temple gate.  Thankfully, the quest had been completed, as evidenced by the key Zeke held in his hand.  The item itself didn’t seem particularly special.  Just a large, brass key wrapped around an onyx gem.  Yet, Zeke could fe...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 29 - A Fitting Memorial

That night, Elijah didn’t sleep much.  Instead, he lay awake in his incredibly comfortable bed of moss, just staring up at the gently glowing flowers on his ceiling.  Bioluminescence had always fascinated Elijah, but he knew that these particular flowers were powered not by a biological process, but rather, by ethera.  Still, they were an interesting case that reminded him of just how magical his world had become. 

But he wasn’t thinking about that.

Instead...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 28 - The Nature of Restraint

The dense ethera of the grove washed over Elijah as he reappeared on his island.  Sometimes, it was easy to forget just how thick it was compared to the rest of the world.  When he was elsewhere, he barely even noticed the lack.  However, the moment he returned to the grove, it was like swimming in a soothing ocean of vital energy.  He let out a sigh as he looked around the grove.

Much of it was the same, though his eyes were drawn to the area dedicated to his coffee...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 27 - First Steps

A cool rain fell upon Elijah’s shoulders as he trekked toward the mountains.  Without the multi-ton burden of his sister’s statue on his back, he felt physically unburdened.  However, the weight of his own expectations for his chosen task still weighed heavily upon him.  He wasn’t certain when he had chosen to remain in his human form, but it felt appropriate.  After all, using his bestial forms, he could have satisfied the terms of his self-imposed quest much more q...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 26 - Easing the Burden

The last few miles of Elijah’s journey were the most difficult.  Despite having traveled beneath his burden for weeks, once again resuming the weight of the statue left his back bent.  Still, as he had from the very beginning, Elijah continued to put one foot in front of the other without delay or dissent. 

But he didn’t go into that same trance that had carried him so far.  Instead, he was painfully aware of his surroundings.  During his self-imposed pilgri...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 25 - Exodus

Tears fell upon the upturned stone face, then traced lines down the misshapen cheeks to disappear from Elijah’s sight.  He knew it wasn’t his sister.  In truth, it barely even resembled her.  But in his fragile state, it felt like he was holding the real thing.  Like he’d never left home.  Like he’d never let her die.

“It should have been me,” he muttered, guilt washing over him.  With grief – fresh and hot – twisting his thoughts, it felt l...

Chapter 487 - Everything is Destructible

With a roar, Zeke swung his hammer, but it did no good.  The spectral monsters were completely incorporeal, and no matter how hard he swung, the attacks did nothing more than elicit a slight flicker in the green energy that composed their forms.  Meanwhile, they piled atop him, latching on with insubstantial claws and draining his strength as well as the mana coursing through him. 

He knew he needed to do something – anything – different, or he’d end up as a dried-o...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 24 - Demon Core

The smell of rot pervaded Benedict’s nostrils, cloaking him in a blanket of death from which there was no escape.  It was difficult to remember a time when that smell didn’t cling to everything he touched.  Even before the world had transformed, he was familiar with it, and he’d become even more so since everything had changed.  However, there was a part of him that tired of that cloying, sickly sweet smell, making him regret the class he’d chosen. 

It gave h...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 23 - Crossing Lines

A bonfire blazed, casting the entire square in flickering light as the amassed people – each attired in high-quality clothing that marked them as members of the upper class – roared their approval.  In the center of the plaza were a group of soldiers, each clad in blue-and-white, and at their feet were dozens of corpses.  The autumn pre-dawn morning was cool enough that Elijah could see steam rising from their still-warm bodies. 

“The traitor does not deserve a stat...

Chapter 486 - The Power of a Witchdoctor

The treant was large.

But in his [Titan] form, Zeke was much larger.  And considering that Voromir had grown to match his new stature, when the hammer dropped on the enormous creature, it shattered into kindling.  Shards of wood rocketed off into the woods as blobs of sap covered the hammer’s head. 

Zeke had always been strong.  Even going back to the very beginning, when he’d awoken in that cave only to be attacked by juvenile trolls.  And he’d grow...

Weekly Check-In (4/21/24)

Whew. Another week in the books, and it was an interesting one. I'm the rigorous schedule I've kept for the past few months is starting to wear on me a bit, so it's good that we're almost to end of the accelerated month (that turned into two months). No matter what anyone tells you, being responsible for 40k+ words a week is daunting when it goes on for as long as it has. I think I've written like 650k words over the past three months, which is an awful lot. So, I'm looking forward to ta...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 22 - Closing a Door

The night air was pleasant, playing against Elijah’s skin with the cool breath of impending autumn.  Yet, he didn’t really allow himself to feel it.  Instead, he focused on the city laid out before him.  Even in the depths of night, there were plenty of people out and about.  The city itself was lit by a thousand torches and ethereal lamps.  But there were a few other fires, too.  Great blazes that swept across the city, devouring everything Roman had built.<...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 21 - Complications

As Elijah descended upon the sleeping man, a thousand emotions flashed through his mind.  Guilt.  Shame.  Regret.  But overwhelming them all was the rage that had been simmering within him for weeks since discovering his sister’s fate.

He hit the unconscious figure with predictable fury, his jaws clamping down on the man’s head.  He squeezed, and it burst like a watermelon.  However, Elijah’s first clue that things were not as they seemed came from th...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 20 - Ambush

The moment Elijah stepped into the room, his instincts went wild.  Without thought, he threw himself to the side.  Still, he felt something pierce his scales, embedding in his back hip.  Still, he didn’t let a single sound emerge from his mouth.  Instead, he skidded to a stop, slipping a little on the now-bloody tile floor before turning to face his attacker. 

He’d been exploring the wing for what felt like hours, and the whole time, he’d found no inhabita...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 19 - The Curse of Empathy

“Are you hurt?” Elijah asked, releasing the girl’s wrist. 

“I…I twisted my ankle,” she mumbled between sobs.  “But…but it’s fine now.  How is it fine now?”

Elijah pointed to the ceiling, where clouds had gathered, dumping Healing Rain on them both.  “Spell,” he said. 

“But how?” she asked.  “He drains ethera.  That’s why nobody can resist once they’re in here.”

Elijah had certainly felt the bite of ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 18 - The Warden's Domain

“Don’t struggle,” growled Waldo, unbuckling his belt.  “You want your parents freed, don’t you?”

The girl shrank against the wall – as if he was some sort of despicable monster.  After everything he’d done for her, she had the audacity to look at him like he was beneath her?  The girl – he didn’t even remember her name – was the daughter of one of the prisoners outside.  If he remembered correctly, they had been executed a few days before – bu...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 17 - Infiltration

Shame mingled with guilt to create a confusing miasma of emotions that Elijah struggled to reconcile with the bonfire of rage still blazing within his heart.  He hadn’t set out to kill Fiona.  Instead, when he’d infiltrated her apartment, he’d only intended to intimidate her into giving him access to the palace.  Once that was done, his plan was to tie her up and imprison her within her own home.  By the time she worked her way free, his mission would have been finis...