Even though I’ve been in the city for a few days now, this is only the second time I’ve had a chance to get a look at it. The streets are lined with lampposts with a similar design to the sconces in the cave just outside of the convergence point. It’s pretty distinct, with the glowing mana crystal held in place by a thick cast-iron cage.
“How do you change the crystals in those la...
2025-09-08 17:27:59 +0000 UTC View PostThere’s not a whole lot to do once we get settled in at the Goa estate. They give us a room in one of the guest houses on the main estate—something that seems totally excessive until I find out that we are far from the only ones staying here.
In fact, the guest houses are all pretty busy places. The Goa family is huge, and they host all sorts of friends and allies, some of wh...
2025-09-05 16:36:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Sorry about all that,” Talla says once her mother has left. “She means well, but Mother always puts the family first.”
“It’s okay,” I sigh. “Honestly, that went better than I expected. I was just surprised to learn that I was brought to this world on purpose.”
“By the church, no less,” Maggie points out. “I fucking knew they were up to something...
2025-09-03 18:57:01 +0000 UTC View Post“So does everybody know that Maev is dungeon-borne?” Talla huffs irritably as her mother leads us through the expansive estate.
“Not everyone, dear,” Lady Goa replies. “Just the ones that matter.”
“How? I get that Maari sent a letter, but I trusted her to keep it a secret.”
“Oh, she did,” the matriarch confirms. “Or tried to. She just didn’t re...
2025-09-01 17:48:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe Order of Rangers exists in a strange limbo. While they are technically a private organization, the vast majority of their funding comes from the crown, with the church not far behind. Neither benefactor likes the organization, but they maintain it anyway. They have to.
Ostensibly a group of mercenaries that specialize in long-distance scouting, exploration, and land surveys, ...
2025-08-29 19:45:15 +0000 UTC View PostPredictably, Violet retreats at the first sign of having to actually socialize. Less predictably, instead of Allison, somehow I end up in front.
“You’re such a baby,” I complain as Talla guides us through the busy city streets. “If the only time you deal with people is when killing them, you’re going to look like a psychopath.”
“You are the last person I w...
2025-08-27 19:14:51 +0000 UTC View PostThere’s no clear point where the wilderness stops and the city begins. Unsettled land along the riverbank disappeared long before we could e
There’s no clear point where the wilderness stops and the city begins. Unsettled land along the riverbank disappeared long before we could even see the ocean on the horizon, and eventually the towns and villages are so close together that each on...
2025-08-25 16:10:39 +0000 UTC View PostSitting cross-legged on a cushion in Jira’s quarters makes me feel like a kid being forced to visit the principal’s office in school. The ca
Sitting cross-legged on a cushion in Jira’s quarters makes me feel like a kid being forced to visit the principal’s office in school. The captain looms over me, even seated, the light shawl around her shoulders doing little to hide the muscul...
2025-08-22 17:08:10 +0000 UTC View PostIn order for my plan to work, I need three things. First, I need them to keep underestimating me. That’s not too difficult—I just spend a fe
In order for my plan to work, I need three things. First, I need them to keep underestimating me. That’s not too difficult—I just spend a few hands leaning into their biases. I play simple hands, ask for rules clarifications in broken Fa’au...
2025-08-20 18:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostMiss Allison is so mortified that she retreats within, leaving me to handle things on my own. I have no idea why the others are so embarrass
Miss Allison is so mortified that she retreats within, leaving me to handle things on my own. I have no idea why the others are so embarrassed by a perfectly normal bodily function. How would the men know to give us privacy if they weren’t told the...
2025-08-18 16:39:04 +0000 UTC View PostDespite my exhaustion, I can’t do much more than toss and turn restlessly in the stiff bunk. It’s not the bed—which is a solid six out of te
Despite my exhaustion, I can’t do much more than toss and turn restlessly in the stiff bunk. It’s not the bed—which is a solid six out of ten on the scale of places I’ve slept in this world. Probably third best after Maari’s guest roo...
2025-08-15 17:57:55 +0000 UTC View PostIt’s pretty exciting boarding the ship. I’ve been on boats before, but this is like...a ship. One of the biggest in the harbor, with three m
It’s pretty exciting boarding the ship. I’ve been on boats before, but this is like...a ship. One of the biggest in the harbor, with three masts, a wide hull, and sturdy wooden construction. Compared to the dozens of canoes made of r...
2025-08-13 19:46:44 +0000 UTC View PostWe're back! Thank you all very much for your patience. I feel recharged after some time off and ready to get right back to work. Well, as some of you may know about the nature of my "breaks" I don't typically stop working in the first place, but this time I did! Not for the whole two weeks, but some of it, and wow did I ever need it.
Anyhow, while I was away, CJ finally completed the supe...
2025-08-11 19:16:26 +0000 UTC View PostWhile Draga and Maari are busy securing our ride, Talla stays with me and forces me to eat breakfast despite still feeling queasy, sore, and
While Draga and Maari are busy securing our ride, Talla stays with me and forces me to eat breakfast despite still feeling queasy, sore, and miserable.
“You’ve got to keep your strength up, especially after using that skill,” she insists....
2025-08-11 19:02:58 +0000 UTC View PostI'll be taking a week or two off to rest my wrist and rebuild my backlog. It's been very busy lately, and the System Lost release/writathon really took a lot out of me. I've been burning the candle at both ends to keep up until the first book finished on RR, and I need to decompress for a bit. I'll be back on the 11th at the latest, sooner if I'm feeling up to it, but that's the earliest I'm co...
2025-07-25 17:47:37 +0000 UTC View PostI awake to the sensation of soft bedding and silk sheets with a vaguely floral scent. I blink my eyes open and look around at...nothing. Blurs and blobs. Right—this body’s eyes are atrociously weak. I’m familiar with the concept of spectacles, of course, but it’s almost inconceivable that a simple piece of glass could correct such blindness. Is it even possible?
They’ve...
2025-07-25 17:47:16 +0000 UTC View PostFor once, I’m grateful for the car’s lack of seatbelts, doors, or a roof. The blast sends all three of us tumbling from the vehicle amidst a
For once, I’m grateful for the car’s lack of seatbelts, doors, or a roof. The blast sends all three of us tumbling from the vehicle amidst a rain of metal fragments and burning luggage. The back half of the car is just gone, while the front i...
2025-07-23 18:43:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Ah, Ranger Draga,” Maari says once she composes herself. “And Sheriff Rania—our sincerest apologies for the disturbance, but there’s nothin
“Ah, Ranger Draga,” Maari says once she composes herself. “And Sheriff Rania—our sincerest apologies for the disturbance, but there’s nothing to be alarmed about.”
Draga frowns, glancing between her, Talla, and Allie. “W...
2025-07-21 10:43:32 +0000 UTC View PostThere are days when being a ranger is the greatest thing in the world. Living among nature, protecting the countryside, and carefully managi
There are days when being a ranger is the greatest thing in the world. Living among nature, protecting the countryside, and carefully managing convergence points—those mixed blessings that have been the source of both fortune and disaster. Then the...
2025-07-18 18:51:51 +0000 UTC View PostMaari—who I am trying very hard not to call “Mary” in my head—insists on giving us the full tour of her estate, eager to engage in the long-
Maari—who I am trying very hard not to call “Mary” in my head—insists on giving us the full tour of her estate, eager to engage in the long-standing and universal rich-person pastime of showing off.
“Here we have the jetty,”...
2025-07-16 16:27:52 +0000 UTC View PostWhen we reach town, the first thing that strikes me is how much bigger it is than the village we passed before. Unlike the little nameless h
When we reach town, the first thing that strikes me is how much bigger it is than the village we passed before. Unlike the little nameless hamlet, this place is accessible by road, and the sandstone construction that had been reserved for the village...
2025-07-14 15:49:17 +0000 UTC View Post“No! Not that one—the other one you stupid worm!” Nipper shrinks back as I flick him, looking despondent over his repeated failures. “I’m so
“No! Not that one—the other one you stupid worm!”
Nipper shrinks back as I flick him, looking despondent over his repeated failures.
“I’m sorry,” I sigh. “You’re not stupid. You’re a very clever worm just...not...
2025-07-11 19:34:46 +0000 UTC View PostWe’ve got a lot of free time on this road trip. Allie’s using that time to learn the language and teach Eva math or whatever, Vi’s finally s
We’ve got a lot of free time on this road trip. Allie’s using that time to learn the language and teach Eva math or whatever, Vi’s finally seen the light and started learning magic—good for her—and hanging out with Draga, and even Eve...
2025-07-09 18:01:57 +0000 UTC View PostOnce we’ve finished gathering up all of the stingroot in the patch of grass—a process made much easier by my new spell—Draga has us prepare for the hunt, starting with stringing his bow. Saban’s bow, I realize. Nothing wasted, I guess.
“Is it okay for us to have taken all of the stingroot here?” I ask. “It won’t mess with the ecology if it doesn’t grow back?”
“...
2025-07-07 20:35:26 +0000 UTC View PostDuring one of our breaks, Draga takes me into the forest to do some hunting and gathering while Talla does some maintenance on the vehicle. Apparently it’s not just the engine that’s finicky.
“If you’re going to be a ranger, you should know how to live off the land,” he says. “You did well to survive in a place as inhospitable as a dungeon, but the outside world can be just as...
2025-07-04 17:45:04 +0000 UTC View PostLady Baanu is more than happy to leave our excess supplies with the villagers, and Sir Draga gives his permission to unload several crates of preserved lizard meat, hides, and other miscellanea collected from the culling of embergaze basilisks.
I still think it’s backwards that Lady Baanu needs his permission at all, but the rangers have always been an odd organization, and who knows ho...
2025-07-02 18:52:01 +0000 UTC View PostSince Draga has a bunch of interrogations to do and it’s already late, the village elder lets us stay the night. It turns out the big stone building doubles as a sort of town hall and personal domicile for the elder. There’s nothing like an inn or tavern in the village—just a spare “bedroom” that isn’t much more than a pile of dried reeds with a blanket thrown over it. Sadly, that s...
2025-06-30 18:31:23 +0000 UTC View PostElder Saara and the others lead us into the village proper—a tiny little fishing community on the edge of the Sagaa river. There are no roads or paths except for those that have been beaten into the ground by the natural foot traffic of the village, though Fa’aun hooves clearly do a pretty good job of that. The houses are all small huts made from a mix of wood, clay, and thatch. They don’...
2025-06-27 17:55:59 +0000 UTC View PostThanks to Violet’s new spells, we’re able to travel in relative comfort for the rest of the day. By the time the sun starts to set, my butt is sore and my joints are stiff as heck, but it definitely beats walking. Still, as I get out to stretch, I almost envy Draga. He basically just ran for like twelve hours at a dead sprint and doesn’t even look tired. He’s fast when he doesn...
2025-06-25 18:23:33 +0000 UTC View Post