I did wait another day, as the estate had a certain rhythm to it. While there was only an idea of a single weekend day or day off at the very end of the week, which not even everyone got to enjoy, there were certain times the estate was busier and...
2025-03-21 17:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostVal stayed with them an extra night before she, with quite a load of grumbling, left the following day. She had another half a day before she had to meet back up with the Young Scions, but she was going to have to take care of a whole bunch of adm...
2025-03-20 17:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post"Guess Veren bailed," Andrea said when they all gathered together.
"Likely he wasn't feeling challenged or some such," Val said. "He does whatever he wants and, while it's really arrogant, he has the skills already to back up that annoying a...
2025-03-19 17:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post"Halt, travelers," the one on the left ground out, his voice like a box of rocks in a spin cycle.
"You must pay the fee to enter," the one on the right rumbled.
"What's the fee? And what is this place?" Andrea asked.
"This is the...
2025-03-18 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post"Well, that was good fun," Andrea said as they were walking back up to the suite.
"Time for a nice break," Beth agreed, leading the way into the common room.
"Shower first, though," Andrea replied, now leading the way as th...
2025-03-17 17:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostMy parents, it turned out, wanted confirmation on my affinities as they were embroiled in the hunt for a tutor for me. I reaffirmed my affinities, including demonstrating that I had acquired flame, which greatly pleased my mother. After going over...
2025-03-14 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post"So, okay, loot done," Beth said. "Now, Bjorn, can you tell us what the fuck that was all about?"
"Hmm," he replied. "It's, well, a bit complicated."
"Complicated how?" Andrea asked.
"Two things," Bjorn said. "F...
2025-03-13 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostBjorn took the lead in entering the room, making sure there wasn't some mechanical monstrosity waiting for them. His concern was good as it was always great to maintain a state of caution and awareness, but he needn't have bothered. The room was e...
2025-03-12 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post"Okay, but, how?" asked Andrea.
"Like this," Bjorn said, walking forward.
He strode up to one of the pillars, but that was not his destination. The others hadn't noticed, but there was a small platform by that pillar,...
2025-03-11 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAfter cleaning up the floor and taking a long rest, they were ready for floor ten, which consisted of tons of rooms that were laid out like offices. It was clear the offices weren't for the mechanical titans, as they weren't very big on paperwork,...
2025-03-10 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe next day I was up rather early, even if my maids were a touch late. I assumed they had stayed up a bit in the servants' quarters after the banquet, likely enjoying themselves with a bit of good food and alcohol. I wasn't particularly upset, as...
2025-03-07 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostTaking a little break after floor two, they huddled around by the massive stairway that led to floor three. The stairs up and down were not located in the same place, though Bjorn had said that one of the doors they couldn't get open next to each ...
2025-03-06 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostBlood took over again, taking point as they moved back up the tunnel to the shaft and then turned for the area that used to lead to the kobold city but now led to the kobold maze. It was what was at the center of that maze that was of interest to ...
2025-03-05 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post"How much did you lose?" Beth asked Sera casually as they were sitting on the couch.
Sera winced. "Oof, don't want to talk about it."
"Why'd you bet a lot against that," Beth asked, jerking her thumb at Bjorn, who ...
2025-03-04 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostShe also noted that Kris was sitting next to Sera now, with no Andrea in between, with Neph on Kris's other side, though the bee girl had stopped interrogating the phoenix about alchemy. Beth saw that Bjorn was drinking from a tankard just as big ...
2025-03-03 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMy first task was to create one of the most basic and easiest of potions; a simple healing potion. I was not yet an alchemist, but one couldn't become a profession in this world without doing it. For every profession, the requirement to acquire th...
2025-02-28 18:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post"Okay, so what's the plan?" Sera asked once they were in the suite and all distractions had been dispensed with.
"Level," Beth replied with a shrug. "There's some exploring I want to do, but I don't want us to be two hundred to do it. ...
2025-02-27 18:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post"Well, that's, ah, a lot to process," Malcolm said, seeming a bit shell-shocked.
"I'm in," Zack said with a nod. "Especially if I can take a break at some point to come back."
"We're not gonna kidnap you, Zack. You can stop...
2025-02-26 18:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostBeth opened up the data packet that Mortaine had sent her before he pulled his soda pop (quite literally) act of disappearing. He had sent her quite a bit this time, which surprised her, as the old Exalted normally gave her about three sentences t...
2025-02-25 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post"That should do," Beth said.
"No point in doing more," Blood agreed, starting to walk across the field towards the town.
"Well, it wasn't fun, but at least we helped," Sera said, stepping behind Beth and wrapping her ...
2025-02-24 18:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostMy mother abducted me…well, that would be a bit of a harsh way to put it. She took me to eat with her and father in a small dining room the two used in their suite. Their suite itself, by the way, could pass for a rather good house or even small...
2025-02-21 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post"Are you going to stay here tonight?" Rachel asked, looking between the girls.
"Well, I don't know that we have room," Beth said.
"There's plenty of space," Rachel insisted.
"And?" Beth asked.
"Well, your sisters formed a group with, uhm, your ex and several others and left for the stars…" Thomas explained a bit abashedly.
"Well, I can't really be angry a...
2025-02-19 18:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostNext, it was time to meet the parents, so to speak. Beth was in the lead this time, and took them down the central street to the community center, which had been rebuilt since she was last there into a somewhat larger, three-story construction. Th...
2025-02-18 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post"Eloquent as always," Jaq said with a sarcastic bite to his tone.
"Well, I can always figure out if it's real or not by just punching them in the face," Beth replied to his snark with a shrug.
<... 2025-02-17 18:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
I was surprised on entering my living room to find my sister within, sitting on a chair next to the fireplace. She stood with some haste on my entry, but I waved for her to resume her seat before moving into the bath, leaving the door open. <...
2025-02-14 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostIt was that night that Selene learned about Sera's love of laying on top of other beautiful women as if they were her hoard. Beth had embraced Selene, tangling their limbs together, and the dragon had flopped on top of them both, pressing her huge...
2025-02-13 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostWhat did interest Beth was the finale, the last handful of items of the day quite exceptional for this auction. It was even more delightful for her that the first of those items was the thing she wanted the most, though it wasn't a truly exception...
2025-02-12 18:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post"Where now?" asked Sera as they left.
"I think we should try to get the next most difficult thing next," Beth said with a slight frown. "Let's see if we can find some way to get her an eye power. Whether we can do th...
2025-02-11 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe next few days were much of the same, with them helping Neph, though not directly. If they scouted for her and identified targets for her to hunt and kill, it wouldn't really count against her experience very much. If they did anything more to ...
2025-02-10 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post