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Chapter 294 - Center of Gravity

One look at the lumbering human was all Ektari needed to know he had no chance in a fight. In the best of times, Kobolds weren’t particularly well known for their bravery, and as a ranger, Ektari was even less inclined than most to engage in physical confrontation. Sure, if he could have assured his own victory, he would have pounced without question – his instincts demanded as much – but against an unknown assailant, his first reaction was to run away and report his findings to someone...

Weekly Check-In (5/21/23)

So, I've been pushing pretty hard this week to get the second Mistrunner finished up, and though I'm very happy with how things are shaping up (still about three more chapters to go!), I have to admit that it's exhausting.  It probably wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't keeping up with Death: Genesis at the same time, but having to write and rewrite chapters for one book while keeping up production on another is enough to give anyone a headache.  The only solace is that I think the outp...

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 52 - Progress and Choices

I thought things would get better when I took over. I cared more about the tribe than Jeremiah ever did, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. He was willing to abandon everyone, all for the sake of one little girl. And I’ve given them everything. Why can’t they see it?

Nora Lancaster

The next two days went better than I could have hoped, and I killed quite a few more groups before the octavangians realized the...

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 51 - The Smarter Plan

It all comes down to power. Sometimes, the means of that power is money. Other times, it’s about fear. Or threats. Gunther built his empire on knowledge. He knows who’s been targeting us, and I just have to figure out how to make him tell me.

Nora Lancaster

Under the cover of deepening night, I retreated from the stadium, stealthily making my way back to the metal plaque of the aural sensor. Once there, I set upon it...

Chapter 293 - Hunting Grounds

After Zeke chose his skill, he had to resist the urge to go directly outside and test it out. As was the case with his other skills, making the choice had come with some rudimentary information on how to use it – otherwise, it would have taken weeks to figure out the mechanics – and he had to admit that he was cautiously optimistic about his decision. Certainly, it wouldn’t as flashy as something like [Blade of the Colossus] or [Earthen Bulwark], but [Event Horizon] would hopefully shor...

Chapter 292 - Choices

Before Zeke explored his skills, he decided to head back to the tower. After all, skill selection usually took a while, and he didn’t think doing so out in the open, where any monster could attack him, was a smart choice. Besides, he was covered in what was left of the abyssal maw after the earth mana-boosted version of [Weight of Two Worlds] had ripped it in two. So, he also intended to take a shower before settling down to explore his options.

With a groan, Zeke forced himself to hi...

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 50 - Octavangians

Sometimes, I wonder if I did the right thing. Jeremiah was running the Specters into the ground. I knew it. He knew it. Everyone did. Hundreds of thousands of credits gone, just for one little girl. I couldn’t let him do it. Someone had to remember that there were thousands of people depending on us.

Nora Lancaster

For a long moment, I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at. At first, I thought it was just a man stan...

Chapter 291 - The Best of a Crushing Situation

Zeke pushed with all his might, but his efforts were to no avail. Not only were those tendrils just as strong – or maybe stronger – than him at the most basic level, but he’d been caught in an awkward position where he couldn’t gain any leverage. In the back of his mind, he knew that was by design. The abyssal maw was clearly an ambush predator, and it wouldn’t have revealed itself, much less attacked, unless its success was assured.

But Zeke had a few tricks up his sleeve tha...

Chapter 290 - Frustration

Zeke dashed through the cavern, pushing his speed to the limit as he pursued his quarry. Even so, the stubborn, little bastard remained just out of his reach. With a grunt, Zeke redoubled his efforts, but in this case, it was to no avail. As much as he wished he could exceed his limiters via sheer willpower, the world just didn’t work that way. No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn’t surpass the parameters of his own body, of his stats.

Until that moment, everything had always see...

Weekly Check-In (5/14/23)

This week was a really fun week filled with editing, approving edits, and more editing!  So, yay?  Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I absolutely abhor the editing process.  The first edit usually isn't bad.  The second is marginally worse.  But by the time we get to the copy editing, I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall.  And I'm not even the one doing it!  God bless my copy editors - without them, I feel confident in saying that I...

Mistunner 2 - Chapter 49 - Purpose

Money. Power. I wonder what any of it even means when I’m surrounded by so much hate.

Nora Lancaster

The next day, Patrick and I continued our trek through the wilderness. Thankfully, we weren’t assaulted by any new threats, and we even shared a pleasant meal on a cliff overlooking a series of wide ravines that looked like some enormous giant had raked its claws across the landscape. Perhaps they had, but if that was...

Mistunner 2 - Chapter 48 - Thick and Thin

When I was young, I blamed my parents for putting me in such a horrible situation where I had no choice but to do horrible things in service of my own freedom. As I grew older, it was Jeremiah keeping me down. Now, I look around and see nothing but ineptitude preventing me from achieving my goals. Sometimes, though, I wonder if I’m the problem.

Nora Lancaster

Patrick and I sat inside what was left of a building, an awk...

Chapter 289 - Evaluation

Talia followed on Baruk’s heels, her eyes agog at the city of Darukar. Even from a distance, it had seemed magnificent, but her awe had overwhelmed her the closer she came to the majestic city of the dead. Up close, she could see that the black stone that comprised most of the buildings was awash with carved runes, and the bright red trim hummed with mana. To her, it felt welcoming, but with her ascension had come a new ability to sense the attunement of mana. Most of the time, that sense h...

Chapter 288 - A Journey's First Step

Pudge adjusted his pack and looked around at the crowd of beastkin that had come to see him off. He was grateful for the turnout, even if he didn’t quite understand it. After all, he’d only been a visitor in the town for a couple of months, but in that time, the residents had accepted him as one of their own. That gave Pudge a sense of belonging he hadn’t felt since his mother had died, and even that was only a memory that had been blurred by his infancy and the passage of time.

T...

Mistunner 2 - Chapter 47 - Like New

Someone is behind it all. I can feel it in my bones. I don’t know who, and I don’t know how, but someone is trying to push Nova City into chaos. And it’s working, at least in the lower districts. Algiers is on the verge of collapse. The Garden is a warzone. And it’s even spilled over into Bywater. It’s only a matter of time before everything comes crashing down.

Nora Lancaster

The next morning, I awoke feeling ...

Chapter 287 - Expansion

If Zeke hadn’t known better, he would have sworn he was outside. Against all logic, the familiar shape of the sun hung high in an idyllic sky, its rays warm and the light comforting. A few fluffy white clouds drifted across the blue expanse, looking like nothing so much as the real sky.

The floor – or ground, as it were – was no less impressive, with an expansive green lawn and meticulously sculpted topiary.  Artful statues dotted the lawn, each depicting majestic creatures, ...

Chapter 286 - Attunement

Zeke fell forward, his torso draped across the enormous golem’s wound. His skin glowed with golden power, highlighted by the black veins that had come with his transformation into a cambion. The statue was almost completely inert, but for a few flickering wisps of the king’s soul remaining within. It wasn’t enough to power the golem – far from it – but it was just enough that the mighty dwarven king’s presence persisted, albeit much more weakly than before.

“Finish it, cam...

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 46 - Miracles Never Cease

When I drove through the Garden today, it felt so empty.  I feel so alone. No friends. No family. Just a bunch of people who’ve latched onto me like leeches. All they care about is whether or not I can help them with their own goals. None of them care about me. Not as a person, at least.  Instead, I’m just a means to an end.

Nora Lancaster

By the time my eyes fluttered open, night had fallen. I was lying on...

Weekly Check-In (5/7/23)

So - that's another week in the books, and I have to say that I was really, really pleased with my output for the past few days.  I got a ton done, and I think there are some really cool chapters in there.  So, I'm pretty happy with how things are shaping up.  

Remember - with book three of Death: Genesis coming out next month, I'll be removing that content from here and on Royal Road.  So, if you're planning on doing a pre-release re-read, now's probably the time to...

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 45 - White Knight

I hate people. They’re all so ambitious, as if each of them thinks they can do what I do. I’m of half a mind to let them, just so I can watch as everything burns down around them.

Nora Lancaster

My nano-bladed sword swept through the unprotected neck of a mutated wildling, biting deep and coming to a halt only after it hit the spine. One more strike, and it would have been decapitated entirely. But I couldn’t spare...

Chapter 285 - Death of a Kingdom

Suddenly, the battlefield disappeared, replaced by the ruined square with which he was already familiar. Here and there, he saw evidence of the ancient battle – cracked paving stones, shattered walls of the surrounding buildings, and a few scattered and forgotten bones, primarily. However, Zeke only had eyes for the giant statue at the center of the plaza, and seemingly, it was of the same mind.

The bronze statue’s inscrutable gaze bore into him, seemingly dissecting everything that...

Chapter 284 - Brothers

Zeke was driven to the ground by the force of the attack, and it was just in time, too, because he narrowly avoided another sweeping strike from a sword-wielding dwarf. The weapon itself was at least as tall as its bearer, with a wide blade coated in black flames. Without hesitation, Zeke ignored the pain in his back as he rolled to the side and sprang to his feet. Even as he activated [Metallurgical Repair], he sprinted to the edge of the battlefield, where he could put his back to a wall. 2023-05-04 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 44 - Battlefield

In an effort to placate the Coyotes, I killed Wash today. Executed him in front of half the tribe. It was so easy; the man wasn’t exactly friendly, so nobody was willing to speak up for him. Not against me, at least. I just hope it’s enough to show Roberto that Wash’s actions weren’t endorsed by the Specters.

Nora Lancaster

I stood at the edge of the clearing, clutching my assault rifle in a white-knuckled grip a...

Chapter 283 - Mysteries

Zeke crept through the ruins, mentally and physically exhausted. Once, the place had been crawling with more than a hundred bronze golems. But over the past three weeks, he’d culled their numbers to only a dozen or so. It had been a grueling march toward his goals, and after having his body destroyed and reformed so often, he was wracked with constant phantom pain.

Or perhaps it was genuine. He had no idea what the effect of such a process could have on the human – or cambion, in hi...

Chapter 282 - A Pitiable Fate

Miles beneath a majestic mountain, there was a city in ruins, and amongst those crumbling buildings walked a powerful golem made of bronze. Depicting a noble warrior, the moving statue had a proud visage, broad shoulders, and an unstoppable gait. Each heavy step rattled the city’s foundations and left tiny cracks along the surface of the flagstone street. It was undeterred and uncaring, ever moving in an unknowable and endless, but somehow predetermined, pattern.

Then, everything chan...

Weekly Check-In (4/30/23)

Another week in the books, and I'm extremely happy with how everything's going.  I'm feeling much better, so I got a lot more done this week than I did last, which is a relief.  I don't really have deadlines, per se, but I do try to keep a tight schedule.  Not being able to stay on track last week definitely made my skin crawl, so it's very good for my mental state that I could get back to normal.  Otherwise, I'd have probably gone a little crazy.  

In Death: Ge...

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 43 - Northbound

He knows something. I could see it in his smug, little face. But nobody messes with Gunther and comes out the better for it. If they manage to live through it at all. He’s reasonable, though. I just need to figure out what he wants and make a deal for the information I need.

Nora Lancaster

Getting out of Nova City was a lot easier, now that everyone in the city was trying to leave. The flood of refugees was so constant...

Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 42 - A Public Service

Loyalty means nothing to these people. I’ve given them everything they could ever want, and yet, they still dare to disagree. I will have to make some examples.

Nora Lancaster

I stared down at Heather’s mutated corpse, wondering how things had come to this. Even when I looked at her misshapen form, all I could see was the woman who’d tried so hard to be my friend. To support me. To help me. And I had abandoned her ...

Chapter 281 - City of Death

Nimbly picking her way through the dense forest, Talia followed Adriel. Even after spending weeks traveling through the strange landscape, she was still awestruck by her surroundings. Most of the trees were covered in stark white bark, with leaves the color of blood. And their red sap followed suit, making the blood oak moniker fitting. There were other types of trees – grey alders and lonely pines among them – but the blood oaks were the most predominant. And that gave the forest an ethe...

Chapter 280 - Ruins

Zeke pushed away from the drained golem with an exhausted exhale, and the once-living statue fell to the ground with an enormous clatter that echoed throughout the cavern. Zeke dropped to one knee, his shoulders drooping in exhaustion. As he hung his head, his sweat soaked hair formed a curtain around his face, preventing him from looking around.

But he didn’t need to. He knew the toll the fight had taken on their surroundings. Even as he’d latched onto the golem, draining the spiri...