We didn't freak out or anything. Though we did kind of shut up for a while. We both got ready and Jessie drove us to the arena. We didn't say much on the ride, and I admit to being a bit nervous. My emotions were a jumble, really. I was excited for a good fight, upset I had to fight Callie, scared she would resent me if I won, scared I would resent her if I lost. M...
2023-05-09 21:29:34 +0000 UTC View PostApril 15th 2016 New Jersey, Rosewood, 8:00 PM EDT
"The butler did it." Barbie groaned. "Because of course he did. Nicky, I don't suppose you have any more tricks like that candle up your sleeve. Not that I'm excited about possibly ending up in alternate dimension for several months. Again." I was amused to note that my redhead, who...
2023-05-09 21:15:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe next two days passed without much incident barring a missing dessert I'd picked up for myself. I kept up training, but between my daily improvements I made a point to relax and spend some time with my friends. Jessie and Benny weren't in the tournament and had been left mainly to their own devices, but seeing how dangerous things were and how much work we were ...
2023-05-08 21:30:28 +0000 UTC View PostIt took me about three days to finish my arms and back. I put all the gold, silver, and copper that I got into coins, and all those coins into buying myself mana tinged ores. Even so, my progress wasn’t nearly what I’d been hoping it would be. The density of the new crystal was insane, and if I wanted to condense it anytime soon, especially in time to make it to the mage’s tower recruitme...
2023-05-08 17:40:47 +0000 UTC View PostFebruary 16th 2001, British Royal Museum, 3:00 AM EDT
"So..." I said slowly. "Does anyone else see the douchey looking guy in golden armor glaring at us like he wants to flay us alive?" My team members all nodded, and I sighed resignedly. "Yeah...I was afraid of that. I was kind of hoping it was just me."
The blood red eyes scoured us a...
2023-05-07 23:39:39 +0000 UTC View PostApril 15th 2016 New Jersey, Rosewood, 7:00 PM EDT
Once dinner was over, Hobbes escorted us into the drawing room, passing out crystal goblets of amber liquid, letting us all sit down in the various chairs that had been brought in to surround the table of items. I took mine and sat down, Barbie and Amy on either side, and Jenny just...
2023-05-07 21:08:38 +0000 UTC View PostI slept for like nine hours. It was amazing. I didn't even tweak my back sleeping on the training room floor because of my high Vitality. The luxury of just slumping down and sawing logs like a layabout was just...perfect. It felt so good to have some downtime that I decided not to work on my wishes or training until later in the day today, so I could ride the rela...
2023-05-05 19:08:55 +0000 UTC View PostI won. Nominally. I spent almost all of my money, with only two and a half gold left. Riley was impressed, and I made arrangements to work with him again sometime soon. I didn't commit to anything specific, I didn’t care enough to bother. I was too excited about what I’d gotten my hands on.
In fact, I was so excited I barely had the presence of mind to stop and spend one and a half go...
2023-05-05 17:33:44 +0000 UTC View Post"So." Said Callie with a grin as I walked into the house. "You made it through huh?" Despite her light tone, I could feel through the bond that she was happy for me. "Who did you end up against?" We'd agreed not to come watch each other's matches because it would tip our hands if we revealed any new tricks.
I slumped down on the couch, peeling off my mask and...
2023-05-04 21:53:30 +0000 UTC View PostApril 15th 2016 New Jersey, Rosewood, 6:00 PM EDT
Emma didn't actually talk much. She stood next to me uncomfortably but my statement had just garnered me a nod of acceptance and then near suffocating silence. That was fine. I wasn't really that interested in a heart to heart either. I glanced down at her ass again, admiring the &n...
2023-05-04 20:49:40 +0000 UTC View PostThree days wasn't nearly as long as it sounded. Each of the days was its own project, and exhausting in its own right. The first day I finished granting Rime's wishes, and got Jessie her last twenty five Vitality worth of elixirs. She also got another eight Might, bringing her Might to ninety five, her Vitality to three twenty eight, and her total points to five hu...
2023-05-03 20:35:23 +0000 UTC View PostTo my surprise, Riley got us into a private room. I expected him to drop me off and leave, but he apparently wanted to see how deep my pockets were. He paid off the guy at the nearest plank bridge with one of the silvers I gave him, and then escorted us inside and down a long wooden hallway.
The inside of the Ship of Fools was…bigger than it should have been. Like much bigger. We walked...
2023-05-03 20:33:15 +0000 UTC View Post"So." I said as I slumped back onto the couch. "How long exactly until the next round starts? I know there's going to be a few days between rounds nine and ten, but I didn't bother asking how long until nine actually starts." I was sitting with the others, Jessie, Benny, Abel, Mel, and Callie. We'd decided to have one last team meeting before this whole thing becam...
2023-05-02 22:10:54 +0000 UTC View PostApril 15th 2016 New Jersey, Rosewood, 9:00 AM EDT
The whole rest of the day was just relaxing, trying to work on my meditation exercises, sparring with Waylon and Sally (read, kicking their asses), and by the time the next morning rolled around and it was time for Amy, Barbie, and I to go, I was feeling much more relaxed.
Wel...
2023-05-02 19:44:30 +0000 UTC View PostCarl was scowling as he put his hand on the metal elephant. "Hey! How dare you hurt McRuffles. He's one of the best tattoos my old man gave me." Looking up at the elephant I actually did feel a little bad, but I didn't believe that the tattoos being harmed damaged them long term. I was, however, concerned about another part of that statement.
"Your old man?" ...
2023-05-01 20:38:06 +0000 UTC View PostI’d never actually been to the Ship of Fools. Poor people with little to no mana capacity have no real need of a black market. Which meant if I wanted to find the place I’d need a guide, and I knew exactly one person who might be able to do that. A person I really didn’t want to interact with if I could help it.
Sadly, I couldn’t, so I made my when down to the warehouse district, ...
2023-05-01 16:34:00 +0000 UTC View PostFebruary 16th 2001, British Royal Museum, 2:00 AM EDT
Contrary to my opinions, we did NOT end up rushing into the museum after a ten minute check from Peter and Kitty. The girl was competent and determined to prove herself, both to Peter and the rest of the team, and she made no bones about the fact that the search would take as long as it took. &n...
2023-04-30 22:45:47 +0000 UTC View PostApril 14th 2016 Brightedge City, Hall of Nevers, 9:00 AM EDT
The next morning was actually pretty pleasant. I woke up, went down to get something to eat, and sat at the table alone to have a bowl of cereal (Booberry, because Cherry thought it was hilarious to buy ghost themed cereal for me to remember her by). I gave a sigh of contentment as I &nbs...
2023-04-30 18:14:41 +0000 UTC View Post"So." I said as we arrived in the waiting room below the arena. "Last team battle." I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the pounding of my pulse in my ears. "Who do you think we'll be up against?" Not that it mattered. I was barely thinking about this fight. I was more worried about the next five. Because any one of them could be against one of my own teammates.
... 2023-04-28 18:24:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Ow.” I moaned aloud as I slumped down to the floor. I was in serious pain. Barkskin was damn useful, and the gloves were great, but neither prevented me from feeling tiredness or soreness. I took another sip of health potion, enjoying the sweet berry taste as it flooded my muscles with relief.
Pulling off my gloves, I trekked over to the elevator and made my way back upstairs. I drop...
2023-04-28 16:59:57 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the match we went straight home again and I secluded myself. This next part was going to be an important step, and I wasn't willing to have anyone sitting in. Even Callie might be a competitor later in the tournament, and as much as I loved my girlfriend, I wasn't going to make it easy on her. We were finally on even footing, and unlike out sparring up til no...
2023-04-27 20:25:13 +0000 UTC View PostApril 14th 2016 Brightedge City, The Hall of Nevers, 3:00 AM EDT
I headed home feeling...weirdly refreshed. Working off some of my stress was definitely helpful and with the post nut clarity I was able to really implement some of those emotional control techniques. Being able to manage the mess in my brain finally was a huge relief, and the c...
2023-04-27 19:22:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning of the seventh match was the same as the ones before it. Five wishes for Rime, five elixirs for Jessie, and she officially reached two thirds of her elixir limit even as her Vitality broke past three hundred. On top of that she got another ten points of Might from her bond, bringing that to eighty seven on top of the insane three hundred and three Vital...
2023-04-26 19:03:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe shop was empty when I came out. I hadn’t checked the time before entering the door to Royston Magical Mining Company, so I didn’t know how long had passed, but it wasn’t like I’d been expecting us to be busy today anyway. I felt kind of stupid for forgetting to put up the closed sign, but there was no use crying over spilled milk.
Flipping the sign out now as I left, I winced ...
2023-04-26 15:38:05 +0000 UTC View PostWe didn't try to recruit the Magnificent Fable Forest, mostly because they were working for a faction that was currently actively pissed at us. While technically most teams could be part of the WCP or the Starchaser Palace and whatever faction they were in at the same time, Callie and I didn't see any upside to trying to recruit someone who had already admitted the...
2023-04-25 22:17:06 +0000 UTC View PostApril 14th 2016 Brightedge City, The Orchard Hotel, 12:00 AM EDT
I'd...kind of underestimated how distracting this situation would be. Like, yes, the point of it was a tongue in cheek way to get the girls bare assed so we could fuck after, but my bullshit plan had somewhat backfired because my whole 'It'll be hard to focus with your tits bouncing a...
2023-04-25 15:59:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe next day saw another round of wishes for Rime, and another round of elixirs for Jessie. Our healer was up to two hundred seventy eight Vitality, and with only half of her elixir limit used up. She hadn't quite made it to the halfway point, but it was close. Sadly that was the easy part of the day, because after that we had to head in to the arena for our now da...
2023-04-24 21:28:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe small house in the clearing was…unusual. It looked old, worn down and beginning to decay, but at the same time it also looked somehow ahead of its time. I expected someone to be in there when I reached the door, but I knocked and heard nothing.
Stepping inside I found an empty cobweb strewn space filled with strange papers covered in numbers, tables with maps and pictures and a few ...
2023-04-24 16:29:01 +0000 UTC View PostFebruary 15th 2001, Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, 9:00 PM EDT
"This is much slower than I expected." I groaned as I laid back on the seats in the cockpit of the Blackbird. "This thing is supposed to be some kind of super jet right? I assumed it would take an hour or two." My ears were bugging me, and I couldn't get them to pop, so my head was ...
2023-04-23 19:57:39 +0000 UTC View PostApril 13th 2016 Brightedge City, The Orchard Hotel, 11:00 PM EDT
Thorn came with us back to the hotel. Raven seemed happy to have her along, (though it was honestly hard to tell if you weren't paying attention, that girl did NOT emote) and she even volunteered to work with us on meditation techniques if Raven was up for it. Given her latent magic &...
2023-04-23 14:43:22 +0000 UTC View Post