Plum Parrot

M36

Morgan walked through the central stair hall and into the library. Tiladia followed behind, her lights flaring brightly as her misty form swirled around them. Morgan walked over to one of the large study tables in the library and began to unload the items from the ring that he’d taken from the Yovashi female. He started with the Yovashi Uirgha silk bolts, the two he had left, and then he placed down the four heavy, intricate tomes. Next to those, he unloaded the 28 vials and bottles filled ...

M35

It took Morgan a few moments to come back to his senses and grasp what had happened. The endowment of the fighting style seemed to have given him a vision of someone using the style. Was it the founder of the style? Or was it just a random person in the history of the universe that had mastered it? It certainly seemed like that man had been a master; Morgan hadn’t even been able to see his sword move. Reflecting on the vision, Morgan couldn’t be sure if the men he had seen fighting had be...

M34

Morgan made his way out of the ancient vault in the early light of the dawn. As he climbed the steps out of the foundation of the crumbling tower, he marveled at the clean, crisp air and the way motes of pollen and dust danced in the rays of the sun peeking through the canopy. Everything was so fresh, and it matched his mood perfectly; Morgan felt refreshed and inspired by his experience with the spirit of the Azure Paladin. He regretted not questioning the figure before he’d bestowed Morga...

M33

As Morgan descended the ancient steps, he started to get the feeling that the structure he was entering was the basement of a square tower. The steps, covered in broken deadwood and moss, were rather treacherous, but he had his Lightstone to reveal pitfalls, and his nimble footing was more than up to the task to make the descent safely. He kept feeling like something was missing, and then he realized he was missing Issa’s company. The absence of her hand on his shoulder and her soft breaths...

M32

HI Patrons! In this chapter, Morgan does a little reflection about attribute points. Please let me know if it doesn't make sense!

-Plum Parrot

Ykleedra moved out of the room with surprising adroitness. She held her two wounded legs up and used the other four to move at a steady pace. Morgan noticed that she kept her tentacles held close to her torso, out of sight in her robe. “Ykleedra, why do some Yovashi wear robes and others not?”

“You would have a...

M31

Dear Patrons - Thank you for the support! I am loath to ask any more of you, but I was hoping that if you're enjoying the story and feel like it's worth recommending, maybe you'd give me a review or rating over on RR. I know some of you already have, but I wouldn't mind growing the audience even more, and those things help.  Thanks again for everything!

-Plum Parrot

Morgan knew what was happening as soon as the sparkling purple smoke started to cl...

B17 + M

Bronwyn stood behind the stone outcropping that shielded the entrance to the cave, watching Morgan. He’d insisted that he was good at sneaking and that he’d check things out and come back for her. Currently, he was gliding along the side of the rocky knoll, crouched low and keeping to the shadows. She supposed he did move pretty well for such a big guy. She strained to hear his steps and couldn’t make out any noise. Before she knew it, he was slipping into the dark maw of the cave.

B16 + M

Bronwyn and Morgan were outside the wall and making their way to the trail that led to the Yeksa camp. They’d said their brief goodbyes to Olivia and slipped away before anyone else could bring forward a cause for delay. Bronwyn was glad; she wanted to get this over with as little fanfare as possible. She didn’t want to listen to people insisting they come along, and she didn’t want to give Arthur or anyone else a chance to debate strategies.

She watched Morgan walking ahead of he...

Reggie 1-5

Hi, Patrons! This week I'll be posting some bonus chapters with a POV that helps the plot move along. I am giving you all 5 ahead of RR. These are in addition to regular chapters. If you're wondering, they are intended to be read around the time that you read M16 or B9.

R1

Reggie Arnold Gandry-Thule was a big man, and he liked having a big name. He stretched his big, thick arms over his head and yawned, kicking his legs to throw off the annoyingly scrat...

M30

Morgan spent the rest of the morning making more progress in the atrium. He cut away excess branches, vines, and sprawling undergrowth in an ever-widening pattern out from the central benches. Just before he was ready to quit for the day, he uncovered the little stream that flowed through the room and found that it had a delicately carved, arched marble bridge crossing it along the northern path. He stood on the span, looking down at the slowly flowing stream of water, and marveled at the myr...

B15

“How do you, uh, wanna start this?” Bronwyn set her backpack down on the ground and shook her arms out, hopping from foot to foot.

“Hah! Have you never had a duel to the death before, Human Blodwyn?” Bloodfang crossed his sword over his chest and gave her a deep mocking bow. “It’s my pleasure to be both your first and your last. Now, come fight me!” He roared the last few words and charged at her.

Bronwyn was about twenty yards from the charging Urghat. She saw his c...

M29

Dear Patrons - Thank you for your continued support. Because I have some new patrons, I just want to reiterate that these chapters are due one final revision pass before getting posted to RR. Some small details might change, and some typos will surely get fixed.

“Morgan! I’m glad to see you; it’s been a busy couple of days, and I’d meant to talk to you sooner. Wait ‘til you see what we’re having built next!” Olivia waved to Morgan as he approached the Colony Sto...

M28

Morgan climbed the hill to the monolithic Colony Stone, ignoring the many sidelong looks he got from the people he walked by. By now, most people know who he was, so he didn’t get confronted by anyone, but he knew he looked a sight: halfway between six and seven feet, heavy bronze-colored armor on his wrists and shins, and tattered, bloodied black robes hanging in strips from his body. At least Morgan had put his spear away while he walked through the colony. He knew it was more than his he...

M27

Thank you, Patrons! Happy New Year!

In the daylight, Morgan’s tower was quite a sight to behold. It was like a dark gray finger pointing up out of the purple grass. It had lost the bronze-colored runes that had swum in the polyhedron, and Morgan wondered if they had been responsible for the tower being packaged into such a small container. The metal was smooth and free of any rust, and it had a density and weight to it that belied the hollow interior. He walked around the c...

B14

Bronwyn settled into a small stone building after spending the last hour clearing the ruins of threats and getting an idea of where the Urghat tracks led. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, and she decided it would be best to wait until the morning before following the tracks to wherever they might lead her. She hunkered down behind a fallen stone pillar in what was once probably someone’s home. Bronwyn withdrew a bedroll and a thick, dark blue blanket from her pouch. She thought a...

The Future of Plum Parrot's Patreon

Please let me know how you feel about the following ideas:

Thank you, Patrons!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for showing me your support. I do feel grateful, but in another way, I feel stressed. So far, I'm not having trouble keeping up the pace, but, on RR, I don't worry because I'm just giving a story out for free. Here, I worry - you kind people are giving me your hard-earned money.

I just want to make sure you all know - these early drafts I put on Patreon are due for at least one more revision before I post to RR. Some minor things might ...

B13

Bronwyn jogged out the northern gate heading out toward the plains. Before she left, she’d used the UI on the Colony Stone to give Olivia permissions to purchase and place structures. She hadn’t wanted them to be unable to keep working on the settlement while she was gone. Surprisingly, very few arguments had come up about whether or not she should be heading out to ‘gain levels,’ as she had put it. People were beginning to understand this world, and when Olivia had made a report abou...

M26

Morgan whirled around, his spear in a guard position, and took a step back. Hovering in the air before him was what he could only describe as a bundle of oscillating silvery lights and mist. The voice tinkled forth from the lights, and they seemed to flare in time with the words, “Don’t be alarmed, Lord. I am here to serve at your disposal. My name is Tiladia.”

“You’re a servant?” he asked, lifting the tip of his spear and relaxing his guard a bit.

“Of a sort, Lord. ...

M25

Morgan looked over the area that Olivia had led him to - the grass was unblemished, no tents having been in the area, and it had a very gentle downward slope leading to the northern wall of the settlement about two hundred yards away. Because of the grade and the distance, the wall seemed less imposing than it was, and Morgan could see sprawling plains out past the sparse trees. Beyond the plains, tall, purple mountains rose into the sky. The sky was tinged orange in the fading light, and the...

M24

When the wild, shifting colors began to settle, Morgan could see a vastly different scene in front of him. He was standing on a low hillock, covered in short, feathery purple grass. People were milling around not far from him, talking, laughing, sitting on blankets in the sunlight, and eating. It looked almost like a day at a big park. For the most part, the people were wearing loose-fitting cottony trousers and shirts in various muted colors. Many of them were barefoot. Where the hell was he...

B12

Bronwyn walked to the edge of the camp, near the western wall. Her tent was still situated there, apart from any other tents. She cradled Olivia in her arms as she walked; she was still unconscious but breathing more normally. Bronwyn pulled open the tent flap and laid Olivia down on her pile of blankets, saving aside her favorite, blue one to pull over her and bundling another under Olivia’s head to keep it slightly elevated. As she went to pull her thick navy blue blanket over her friend,...

B11

“What do you mean? How can there be more? There were so many…” A short fit of coughing cut off Olivia’s voice.

“We need to get out of this smoke; let’s push up and find Emmet,” Bronwyn said as she put an arm around Olivia and half carried her down the hall past the smoldering corpses. “I don’t suppose you have enough Energy for some light, do you?”

“Oh! Yes, of course, just one second; I got quite a bit back after the fight.” Olivia summoned her array of en...

M23

Morgan pushed his dread of parting with Issa aside and said, “Hey, what about your class choices?”

“I looked briefly, and I have a lot of options! Most of them are Improved!” Issa was beaming. “I’m not going to choose a class yet, though, since we’re at the end of the Crucible. I’ll get some advice from my elders back home.”

“Sounds smart, but what about our racial upgrades? Let’s drink those before we leave!” Morgan picked up the vial of refined royal jell...

M22

Morgan opened his eyes and was immediately disoriented, and as he looked around at the white marble walls lining the circular room, he was stricken with a strong sense of deja vu. He’d been here before. Memories rushed back to him, and he began to understand what was happening. Morgan had taken the fourth challenge. It had involved him making a choice, and the statue had told him that he’d forget about what choice he’d made. Angrily, Morgan clambered to his feet and wracked his brain fo...

M21

The pristine, white marble steps led up a relatively short flight of stairs into another marble chamber that was, again, lit with a soft white glow emanating from an orb that hovered near the ceiling. Morgan noted that the room was circular and about twenty paces across. In the center of the room was another statue, this one of a giant humanoid. The statue loomed over Morgan’s head, and as he approached, Morgan could see that the figure depicted in the marble stone was bedecked in heavy arm...

B10

In the early light of the rising moons, with just a sliver of the sun’s light brightening the eastern horizon, Bronwyn and Olivia waited near the western archway leading to the forest where the Yeksa cave was hidden. Olivia shivered slightly, her breath steaming in the shadows at the base of the wall. Bronwyn stamped her feet, knocking some feeling into her cold toes, and looked to the nearest cluster of colonist tents. “Well, where are they?”

“I’m sure they’re coming! Look,...

M20

Morgan continued working on his pathways for the next several days. After waking from that first rest, he was at a loss for how long he had slept. He could only judge the time by how hungry or thirsty he was, and since he’d come to this world, his normal reference for that was skewed; now that Energy infused his body, more and more, as he gained in levels, he didn’t need to eat or even drink as much as he once had. He reached out with this Guardian’s Senses and, once again, felt Issa in...

M19

Morgan couldn’t help feeling like he’d been cheated. Takamennion hadn’t answered hardly any questions, and now he was saying he was out of time. Still, he spoke up, “I’ll take the Energy challenge. What is it?”

Takamennion studied him and then looked at Issa, and then he said, “Probably a wise decision; I can see your affinity is very high.” The statue made a smooth, barely audible grinding sound as it turned, lifted an arm, and waved at the marble wall to Morgan’s lef...

M18

Morgan had a reason for feeling some confidence facing the bearlike creature. Even though it was a lot larger than he and had a wicked-looking battleaxe to boot, Morgan looked at the creature’s size and the axe and couldn’t imagine it being able to swing it very effectively in the marble corridor. He turned to say something to Issa, but couldn’t see her. Hopefully, she was hiding in an attempt to catch the beast by surprise. Morgan strode forward toward the challenge, and as he took his...