Hi everyone!
As is my annual custom I'll be taking a break for the month of December and possibly January. For this reason I've paused billing.
Due to some issues I've been having with Patreon I've put up notices about this on the Discord and Royal Road but neglected to do so here. I apologize for that. Its just been a struggle to get anything done on this platform for a while. So f...
2022-12-01 16:25:53 +0000 UTC View PostA week after the model town showing, Hetcha and Mira were ready to leave. I made a point of kitting them out with a limited set of reasonable quality gear on the horses I provided. They'd both looked at the good stuff with apprehension. It was nice enough that it might inspire theft.
Fortunately, that wasn't an issue. The decoy set would make them stand out less and look like o...
2022-10-24 19:06:04 +0000 UTC View PostWith a technically new and exciting issue on my hands, I started looking up information after awkwardly excusing myself from the future halfling settlement. There was an absolute brick of data on the subject of demons, but it was all the hearsay variety. I skipped to the factual description quickly. From there, I started taking down notes about the key points.
Demon, as a t...
2022-10-20 04:33:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe valley, which I needed to name, looked like it was holding an undead festival. Mira, Hetcha, and Mina were all topside exploring the small main street I'd set up during the week since I'd revealed the skeletons to them. There were ten buildings in total, and I had a sketch of what the space would look like as I filled it in going forward.
One I was presently in the process ...
2022-10-18 02:05:46 +0000 UTC View PostTwo days after I'd handled the deals and class resets, I was outside Andrea's room in the hallway. I had her permission, but it took me a few moments to go inside. I'd made it in a hurry when I separated the girls a few days earlier. It was probably fine, but I'd asked to look at it and make some adjustments.
Andrea had responded tepidly as she had been to anything that wasn't ...
2022-10-14 04:53:29 +0000 UTC View PostChris was high, and Not just a little. Given his lack of soft tissues to inebriate, I wished that was the weird part.
For want of a better description, Chris was sparkling, giving off light like a magical girl anime protagonist. Only predominantly in blue with undertones of green instead of the usual team leader pink. Water flowed around him in a complex swirl while he lounged ...
2022-10-10 05:34:01 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the pledges, weddings, and contests, the eating and drinking started properly. For the last hours of daylight, the games also continued with renewed fervor from the children. Bess joined in this time, with Tiller and Elim following after her. Jessica, on the other hand, was joining in with the village elders seated over by the drink kegs.
As per their plan, Elim had suppl...
2022-10-06 04:11:26 +0000 UTC View PostA village fete was both familiar and alien to Tiller. She’d seen plenty of them in various places, but she’d always been passing through. Being present for the entirety of one was surreal.
That Tiller was spending a fair part of it behind a tree holding Elims hair back while he threw up was also strange. Not terribly unusual in that it was happening, but rather that it was ...
2022-10-03 02:17:47 +0000 UTC View PostThough I’d been in the lava area for a good while I still felt reluctant about leaving. I didn’t have a reason to remain holed up in the hounds' den though. Aside from puppy snuggles anyway. An entirely valid reason to hang out during my freetime but not for dodging work.
With Blackmore doing fine and the puppies seemingly healthy I looked at the pups and sighed. Buddy and ...
2022-09-29 07:02:54 +0000 UTC View PostChris didn’t have much of a memory of when he was alive. At least not a particularly coherent one. Things would come and go in flashes of a variety of senses he didn’t exactly have anymore. Taste and smell for instance were gone. Touch was a little iffy but basically still there and his sight was if anything improved. He’d have loved to be able to see perfectly in the dark when...
2022-09-26 04:33:34 +0000 UTC View PostWhile occupied by the issue with the hounds 42 hadn’t exactly neglected the dungeon, but she had gotten behind on certain chores. Something she found herself unconcerned by, largely because she’d set the schedule for them herself. They were more for her comfort than anything else, after all, routine helped her function.
Still, after making sure the new puppies seemed health...
2022-09-21 04:02:35 +0000 UTC View PostI was deeply confused about how lively Blackmore was in the wake of the births, as well as how I’d outright missed them. I kind of remembered Aaron saying something about them, but I couldn’t think of what and just rolled back through the security footage to try and figure it out. Or was trying to.
“Buddy, come on, I need my face for stuff,” I muttered. I had the puppies for the m...
2022-09-18 03:08:09 +0000 UTC View PostIt took two more days of buying lava tiles to get Blackmore back to normal. Still, I spent the full week adding on. I wanted to be ready for when the puppies eventually appeared. Given what had happened to Blackmore herself I was worried it might affect their health if they weren’t linked to the system when they were born.
I was more measured about how I went about it after t...
2022-09-14 22:22:41 +0000 UTC View PostAppropriate Priorities
Chp 110
I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I went to visit the hounds. I thought something along the lines of grumpy pups and possibly having to bribe them with treats. I was not expecting to find Stalin pacing anxiously in front of the den.
Stalin growled at my approach, then seemed to realize who exactly he was growling at. He whimpered a litt...
2022-09-08 06:26:24 +0000 UTC View PostI looked at the contract, one of three, and sighed. When Andrea had dropped her bomb at the feast a few days prior I’d expected to lose out on any chance with the other three. I was glad that hadn’t come to pass but had a different problem to deal with.
The shortest contract, Mina’s, was six pages long. I was impressed by how much Mira and Mina had managed to t...
2022-09-05 05:59:12 +0000 UTC View PostMira, Hetcha, and Mina were all sitting down to lunch the day after the rather disastrous feast. Despite what had happened, they didn’t refuse to eat the food 42 provided. Poisoning them probably wouldn’t get her anything. Even if that wasn’t true, it might well be preferable to alternative means she could resort to in order to eliminate them.
“So… Even if Andrea come...
2022-09-01 06:18:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe day after the farewell feast, Andrea woke up in a bed that was much more comfortable than it should have been. She’d never known one so soft before even when Stromholt had been spoiling the party just before its departure. Like most things about the dungeon she found the incongruity deeply irritating.
Even the room Andrea and Mina had been kept in before had been reasonable. They’...
2022-08-29 07:06:56 +0000 UTC View Post“You absolute dumbass!” Mina cursed. Andrea shoved her back, not wanting to deal with her or the tears. They hadn’t known each other before the pendants; Mina was a late addition to the party. She’d always been strange, openly emotional despite her status as a hero.
“I’ll do as I like and if I sell my soul it's no one's business but mine!” Andrea shouted.
...
2022-08-25 03:00:50 +0000 UTC View PostMira looked at the gathering and felt a strange heaviness. She’d consigned the other girls to a miserable death in the dungeon, but now they sat across the table from her. After the initial tears and apologies they had all felt awkward and turned to eating rather than talking. It was easier.
“So 42 had you both locked up this entire time?” Hetcha asked, tone biting.
After staring at the communication stone for a moment I picked it up. It was a small glossy black stone with a communication glyph on it. Feather-light normally but just then it felt heavy.
“Mistress 42,” Mira said politely.
“Mira, how can I help you?” I asked. I turned my back on Dawn as I did, not wanting to get distracted. Something that happened rather too eas...
2022-08-18 02:55:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe day after Elim got me his pie sample I found myself facing a fairly serious issue. Hetcha and Mira seemed ready to make a deal but I’d screwed up during our prior conversation. They didn’t know I was the dungeon master and I had no idea if that would be a deal breaker.
More honestly I would have to admit I didn’t want it to be and was sorely tempted to just not tell t...
2022-08-14 07:30:18 +0000 UTC View PostAfter nearly a week of work passing out potions in disguise, things in the village were going along pretty well for Elim. He’d even gotten an audience with the village council. He’d made his case for a voluntary quarantine and now it was a question of them making up their minds.
“Just to help ya’ll understand I’m serious, I’m leaving the village after this and takin...
2022-08-10 22:59:19 +0000 UTC View PostHi everybody!
So, today I paused July because I know I'm not going to get back on track before that month is up. I am however in the process of getting everything ready (namely myself) for August. I'll begin posting the story again during the first or second week.
One of the bigger problems of moments like these, for me at least, with regard to creativity is motivation. Normal...
2022-06-08 22:05:34 +0000 UTC View PostI apologize for not doing this a bit sooner. I thought I might get some things caught up but I'm still having trouble writing at the moment.
2022-05-24 08:04:27 +0000 UTC View PostWent through and paused the may billing cycle. Still not feeling up to writing but better than I did. I'll let you guys know if anything changes.
Thank you,
ESJ
2022-04-27 01:39:00 +0000 UTC View PostHello,
I apologize for not communicating this month after the initial notice. I've paused the payments for April.
With what's happened in my family I found myself becoming depressed in a way I haven't since my great grandmother passed just as I was about to start high school. Growing up which members of my family were my caretakers shifted, making a bit of a choose your own adventur...
2022-03-30 00:58:41 +0000 UTC View PostWhen my call with Mira and Hetch ended, I flopped down on my couch. The new one in the lounge of the place of shadows. I was still getting used to the name, accustomed to thinking of everything as the chamber of machinations. That it was at best half-finished did not help.
"Well, I think that went," I said gingerly. I'd fucked up by not admitting I was the dungeon master. I'd just been to...
2022-02-11 07:45:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning after their first direct contact with 42, the valley was quiet, almost peaceful. Mira and Hetcha woke to find what they'd asked for to conduct funerary rights waiting for them. It wouldn't have been strange if some were missing or of poor quality given the short notice. Instead, the materials were, if anything, better than they'd have expected even if they'd had time to b...
2022-02-09 02:24:27 +0000 UTC View PostMira and Hetcha shared dinner from the preserved food in the farm's pantry when evening came. They both sat silent for a spell when they finished, considering the hermit's letter. They’d expected to eventually meet them or be given some kind of request in exchange for their stay. The fact they’d been asked to put out the lights more than odd gave them both pause.
With my discussion with Mina fresh on my mind, I considered what to do about the pair at the farmhouse. Mira and Hetcha had been enjoying a couple of days of peace to themselves, but it was time that I started making a legitimate effort to make a deal.
Mira and Hetcha,
I hope you've found the farm comfortable and have been able to rest. This evenin...
2022-02-03 07:57:31 +0000 UTC View Post