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Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 39 - Sun Copper

“I need a wok,” Elijah said.

“What?” asked Carmen, looking up from her anvil.  She’d spent the past hour trying to hammer a piece of armor into shape, and despite her best efforts, the sheet of metal was not cooperating.  Part of the problem was that it was mundane steel, and as such, it could only be pushed so far, but the bigger issue was that her attention kept wand...

Chapter 490 - Freefall

Zeke threw out his arms in an effort to arrest his fall.  It was only marginally successful, so he also decreased his weight as much as possible.  That helped, too – at least from his biased perspective – though as he fell, he knew he was in some degree of danger.  Unfortunately, he could see nothing.  Nor could he hear anything over the rushing wind.  It was as if ...

Weekly Check-In (4/28/24)

I know a bunch of you all are new around here, so welcome to the Patreon. Hopefully, you'll enjoy my work.

So, this week was kind of up and down for me. Path of Dragons got bombed with like 5 bad ratings (all within like 20 minutes of each other, suggesting they came from the same person on different accounts). Maybe they were legitimate, but I've only gotten like a handful of those ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 38 - An Issue of Transportation

For the first time since completing the Temple of Virtue in Argos, Elijah awoke with a sense of purpose.  Nearly dying to a few overgrown birds was enough to cement his need to grow stronger.  After all, if he couldn’t protect his family and his grove – or guide Miguel – then what did his position atop the power rankings really mean?  It was just a number on a list.  P...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 37 - The Storm

Wind whipped against Elijah’s wings, threatening to send him plummeting to the roiling sea below.  However, he’d spent enough time practicing flight to adjust accordingly. Still, he knew that if he got much closer, he’d be in danger of being tossed from the sky. 

But he kept going. 

The enormous storm was still at least fifty miles away, but it stretched from on...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 36 - The Tower

Elijah ducked under the long arm of the sasquatch, following that up with a vicious uppercut from his staff.  The blow connected with the monster’s chin, and the impact sent the huge creature flipping backward.  Elijah spun, and before the first sasquatch hit the ground, he’d already aimed Storm’s Fury at the last monster in the pack.  It was busy trying to extricate itself...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 35 - Moving On

Elijah lay on his back atop the temple, his head resting against the statue of his sister as he stared up at the night sky.  When he’d set the festival into motion, he’d hoped it would help him move on.  A celebration of Alyssa’s life had seemed like such a good idea at the time.  Yet, when the time came to actually participate in the party, the situation had left him sick ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 34 - Become Useful

Miguel slipped between two revelers, keeping his hand on his dagger.  He really wished he’d brought his spear, but according to his mother, that wasn’t appropriate for a festival.  As if half the people in the square weren’t armed.  Even Colt had his sword in the scabbard at his hip, and nobody had tried to convince him to leave the weapon back in the hotel room. 

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 33 - Dedication

Elijah stepped up to the edge of the stairs and looked down at the crowd that had gathered at the base of the terraced hill.  There were more than a thousand people present, many of whom were Argos’ most influential leaders.  The council was there, as were the most prominent merchants, tradespeople, and farmers.  He cleared his throat, then once again glanced at the notificatio...

Chapter 489 - Guardian of the Deep

The guardian of the deep – called a cueyatl – emerged from the pillar of flame and corruption like a storm of tentacles.  Zeke met it with an overhand hammer-strike.  In his titanic form, he was more than twenty feet tall, but even so, the mass of furiously waving tentacles towered above him.  And when his hammer fell, they acted as a shield against the blow, slowing the weap...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 31 - Alyssa's Son

Miguel raced down the empty street, spear in hand, as he heard another scream emanate from within the alley ahead.  He skidded to a stop, turning to see three burly young men surrounding a small figure curled on the ground.  The largest of the attackers aimed a kick at the victim, but he never had the chance to connect.  Instead, Miguel barreled into him. 

To Miguel, i...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 32 - Completion

“Better hope he doesn’t find that little girl,” Elijah said with a shake of his head.  “That’s trouble if I’ve ever seen it.”

“Not really a little girl, is she?  She’s old enough to have an archetype.  And a class.  None of the archetypes I know of have skills that help people steal,” Carmen said. 

“She couldn’t have been more than fo...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 30 - The Importance of a Good Hat

“Come on!  Why can’t I go with you?” demanded Miguel.  “You always said that having someone to watch your back is important.”

“This ain’t that kinda city, kid,” Colt said, running his hand through his short hair.  He’d had the barber back in Ironshore cut it down to little more than a fringe, which was his preferred style.  Easier to handle, that way....

Chapter 488 - The Garden

The mountain loomed, somehow seeming even larger than it had the first time they’d visited.  By comparison, the temple at its base was small and insignificant.  Yet, the only way to the pass that would lead to the summit was through the temple gate.  Thankfully, the quest had been completed, as evidenced by the key Zeke held in his hand.  The item itself didn’t seem part...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 29 - A Fitting Memorial

That night, Elijah didn’t sleep much.  Instead, he lay awake in his incredibly comfortable bed of moss, just staring up at the gently glowing flowers on his ceiling.  Bioluminescence had always fascinated Elijah, but he knew that these particular flowers were powered not by a biological process, but rather, by ethera.  Still, they were an interesting case that reminded him of j...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 28 - The Nature of Restraint

The dense ethera of the grove washed over Elijah as he reappeared on his island.  Sometimes, it was easy to forget just how thick it was compared to the rest of the world.  When he was elsewhere, he barely even noticed the lack.  However, the moment he returned to the grove, it was like swimming in a soothing ocean of vital energy.  He let out a sigh as he looked around the ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 27 - First Steps

A cool rain fell upon Elijah’s shoulders as he trekked toward the mountains.  Without the multi-ton burden of his sister’s statue on his back, he felt physically unburdened.  However, the weight of his own expectations for his chosen task still weighed heavily upon him.  He wasn’t certain when he had chosen to remain in his human form, but it felt appropriate.  After a...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 26 - Easing the Burden

The last few miles of Elijah’s journey were the most difficult.  Despite having traveled beneath his burden for weeks, once again resuming the weight of the statue left his back bent.  Still, as he had from the very beginning, Elijah continued to put one foot in front of the other without delay or dissent. 

But he didn’t go into that same trance that had carried him so ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 25 - Exodus

Tears fell upon the upturned stone face, then traced lines down the misshapen cheeks to disappear from Elijah’s sight.  He knew it wasn’t his sister.  In truth, it barely even resembled her.  But in his fragile state, it felt like he was holding the real thing.  Like he’d never left home.  Like he’d never let her die.

“It should have been me,” he mutte...

Chapter 487 - Everything is Destructible

With a roar, Zeke swung his hammer, but it did no good.  The spectral monsters were completely incorporeal, and no matter how hard he swung, the attacks did nothing more than elicit a slight flicker in the green energy that composed their forms.  Meanwhile, they piled atop him, latching on with insubstantial claws and draining his strength as well as the mana coursing through him.&nbs...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 24 - Demon Core

The smell of rot pervaded Benedict’s nostrils, cloaking him in a blanket of death from which there was no escape.  It was difficult to remember a time when that smell didn’t cling to everything he touched.  Even before the world had transformed, he was familiar with it, and he’d become even more so since everything had changed.  However, there was a part of him that tired o...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 23 - Crossing Lines

A bonfire blazed, casting the entire square in flickering light as the amassed people – each attired in high-quality clothing that marked them as members of the upper class – roared their approval.  In the center of the plaza were a group of soldiers, each clad in blue-and-white, and at their feet were dozens of corpses.  The autumn pre-dawn morning was cool enough that Elijah cou...

Chapter 486 - The Power of a Witchdoctor

The treant was large.

But in his [Titan] form, Zeke was much larger.  And considering that Voromir had grown to match his new stature, when the hammer dropped on the enormous creature, it shattered into kindling.  Shards of wood rocketed off into the woods as blobs of sap covered the hammer’s head. 

Zeke had always been strong.  Even going back to the very begi...

Weekly Check-In (4/21/24)

Whew. Another week in the books, and it was an interesting one. I'm the rigorous schedule I've kept for the past few months is starting to wear on me a bit, so it's good that we're almost to end of the accelerated month (that turned into two months). No matter what anyone tells you, being responsible for 40k+ words a week is daunting when it goes on for as long as it has. I think I've writt...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 22 - Closing a Door

The night air was pleasant, playing against Elijah’s skin with the cool breath of impending autumn.  Yet, he didn’t really allow himself to feel it.  Instead, he focused on the city laid out before him.  Even in the depths of night, there were plenty of people out and about.  The city itself was lit by a thousand torches and ethereal lamps.  But there were a few oth...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 21 - Complications

As Elijah descended upon the sleeping man, a thousand emotions flashed through his mind.  Guilt.  Shame.  Regret.  But overwhelming them all was the rage that had been simmering within him for weeks since discovering his sister’s fate.

He hit the unconscious figure with predictable fury, his jaws clamping down on the man’s head.  He squeezed, and it burst like...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 20 - Ambush

The moment Elijah stepped into the room, his instincts went wild.  Without thought, he threw himself to the side.  Still, he felt something pierce his scales, embedding in his back hip.  Still, he didn’t let a single sound emerge from his mouth.  Instead, he skidded to a stop, slipping a little on the now-bloody tile floor before turning to face his attacker. 

H...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 19 - The Curse of Empathy

“Are you hurt?” Elijah asked, releasing the girl’s wrist. 

“I…I twisted my ankle,” she mumbled between sobs.  “But…but it’s fine now.  How is it fine now?”

Elijah pointed to the ceiling, where clouds had gathered, dumping Healing Rain on them both.  “Spell,” he said. 

“But how?” she asked.  “He drains ethera.  Th...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 18 - The Warden's Domain

“Don’t struggle,” growled Waldo, unbuckling his belt.  “You want your parents freed, don’t you?”

The girl shrank against the wall – as if he was some sort of despicable monster.  After everything he’d done for her, she had the audacity to look at him like he was beneath her?  The girl – he didn’t even remember her name – was the daughter of one of the ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 17 - Infiltration

Shame mingled with guilt to create a confusing miasma of emotions that Elijah struggled to reconcile with the bonfire of rage still blazing within his heart.  He hadn’t set out to kill Fiona.  Instead, when he’d infiltrated her apartment, he’d only intended to intimidate her into giving him access to the palace.  Once that was done, his plan was to tie her up and imprison h...