Enjoy! Probably the last chapter for today (unless I get time in the afternoon) - I have some work to do for Victor of Tucson, and I have to manage this story's launch over on RR - gonna release something like ten chapters over there over the next couple of days.
Thanks for all of your support and help getting these chapters polished up....
2024-08-26 14:14:48 +0000 UTC View PostSince I'm posting this at basically the same time as 1.43, I'll mention, again, that I just made this live on Royal Road, and I'd really appreciate it if any of you might go there to give me a follow and a rating or review.
As I said on 43, this story is a little slower burn than some of the more popular RR stories, and I was hoping people who've read...
2024-08-26 13:34:37 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone! I know I've got a handful of people here reading this story, and I really appreciate you all and your feedback! On that note - I launched the story on RR today. If any of you who are enjoying yourselves wouldn't mind heading over to give me a follow (and maybe a rating/review), I'd really appreciate it!
This story is a little slower burn ...
2024-08-26 13:32:02 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter! (Training montage incoming after this one.)
-Plum
Victor managed to bring the carved piece of ivory with him onto the spirit plane after two difficult, aggravating hours. The plant, however, took him nearly a week. After he succeeded, he was awarded with System messages declaring his Spirit Walk spell had ...
2024-08-25 18:51:24 +0000 UTC View Post42 – A Ton of Bricks
Ward wanted to sleep in, but his mind wouldn’t let him. His eyes opened just as the first light of dawn was brightening his window, and though he tossed and turned, burying his face in his pillow, sleep wouldn’t come back to him. After a frustrating half an hour or so, he decided to take charge of his sleeplessness and jumped out of bed. ...
2024-08-24 19:38:51 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
41 – Unsatisfied
Ward ignored Grace; he wasn’t going to be murdering anyone in their sleep, let alone Foyle’s wife or girlfriend or whoever was softly breathing in there. He reached for the door latch and, slower than cold molasses dripping off a spoon, he twisted it open. Then, just as slowly, he pushed the door ...
2024-08-24 18:12:36 +0000 UTC View PostHope you're enjoying your day!
-Plum
40 – Cracking Skulls
Chiselhammer Lane was a good deal busier than most of the other streets Ward had walked through that night. It had to be getting close to midnight, but he saw groups of young men in heavy coats standing here and there, many of them smok...
2024-08-24 17:06:43 +0000 UTC View PostHappy reading :)
39 – Nightwork
Ward grunted, driving the narrow shovel into the soft soil again, throwing the black dirt onto the growing pile. The shovel—or maybe “spade,” was a more appropriate term—had an annoyingly short handle and a blade flatter and narrower than the modern one sitting in the corner of his gar...
2024-08-24 16:35:23 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the magic :D
38 – Secrets Uncovered
The words shivered and shook their way out of Ward’s mouth, and it felt like they took some of his flesh with them. As they emerged into the world, they cracked and rippled through the air, resounding, sliding over, and caressing the walls, floor, and ceiling. Ward heard them throu...
2024-08-24 14:52:56 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter!
37 – Shrovak Gnyrath
“Terrible?” Ward gave Haley another look and saw the bloodshot nature of her eyes and the way her hands were gripping and twisting the lapels of her coat. He pulled the door open and stepped out of her way. “Come in.” She stepped through, and Ward closed the door. He motioned t...
2024-08-24 14:23:30 +0000 UTC View PostThanks for sharing your feedback here or on Discord. It's been helpful! I made some adjustments to 1.35, for instance, adding more discussion about anima and spirits.
Here's a little update on my plans for this story's release:
I'll post a few more chapters today and get Patreon to around 40 chapters or so. I'm hoping t...
2024-08-24 13:25:07 +0000 UTC View PostI hope you enjoy it! Love to hear your thoughts - this chapter is almost entirely new for this revision of the book, so feedback would be helpful :)
“Hemographs?” Maggie narrowed her eyes, but they still shone brightly in the sockets. “I know a thing or two, aye. Do you have one?”
“I do, but I didn’t think to bring it with me. It w...
2024-08-23 21:23:30 +0000 UTC View PostAnother delivery :)
34 – Clarity
Maggie’s bright eyes widened, and a smile lifted her plump oval cheeks. “May I copy it before we begin?”
Ward rested a heavy hand on the copper sheet. “Let’s talk a bit first.”
“Fair enough, wanderer. Tell me, what can old Maggie teach you today?”
... 2024-08-23 17:07:53 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter!
33 – Suspicion
Ward, as usual, found himself alone in Fay and Fan’s room when he woke the next day. He was an early riser, but those two gave new meaning to the concept. The night before, he’d regaled the two women with the tale of his encounter with the thugs while eating a delicious, hearty dinner. F...
2024-08-23 15:01:42 +0000 UTC View PostHere's another!
32 – Easy Answers
Ward wasn’t sure how to feel about it when he made it the rest of the way to Haley’s house without another city watch member stopping him and asking what he was doing. He supposed the dim lighting, and his quick passage might explain why nobody noticed the dried blood soaking his pants a...
2024-08-23 14:12:40 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
31 – Back-alley Brawl
When they returned to the inn late that afternoon, Ward went to the suite he was sharing with Fay and Fan, deposited his spear, and tried out his new toothbrush. It was made of pale blond wood, and the bristles were cut from badger hair, according to the shopkeeper. The idea wasn’t appealing to...
2024-08-23 13:42:25 +0000 UTC View PostIt's Friday! Yay! Enjoy - I'll put up a few today, for sure.
30 – Clues and Bullets
Ward gingerly tried to step on wooden planks that weren’t smeared with blood as he entered the scene of the murder. “What a shitshow.” He held his rough-spun sleeve over his nose, grimacing at the thick, acrid tang of drying blood and b...
2024-08-23 12:48:43 +0000 UTC View PostMost Foul! Enjoy :)
29 – Murder
When Ward, with Fay close behind, approached the gated community where Haley lived, he noticed the cluster of city guards standing around, turning people away, disbursing any crowds that started to form. They all wore the same uniform and gear—polished steel helmets that covered the tops of ...
2024-08-22 19:52:59 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter! Thanks for reading :)
-Plum
Victor jogged along the lakeshore, loping easily over the scattered rocks, driftwood, briar tangles, and other obstacles in his path. It was late afternoon on the day after his celebratory dinner with Dar, Lo’ro, and Lesh, and Victor was feeling good, though pleasantly weary a...
2024-08-22 17:37:10 +0000 UTC View PostHow about some shopping? Enjoy!
-Plum
28 – Just Spending Time
“You’re telling me you’d like to trade this old armor and these weapons for something new?” Rolph held his hands on his hips as he looked over the chainmail shirt, axe, and sword. “What’s wrong with the weapons?”
Thanks for reading :)
27 – A New Day
Ward yawned and opened a bleary eye, peering through a gap in the silk-paneled room divider to see what had awoken him. The room was dim, but he saw shadows jumping as someone, probably Fan, moved about, carrying a small lamp. He supposed she was getting ready for the day and was trying n...
2024-08-21 20:27:01 +0000 UTC View PostLove to hear your thoughts!
Plum
26 – A Bed to Sleep In
“It’s this way!” Grace said, pointing up one of the side streets Ward had already passed by at least once.
“You’re sure? I don’t recognize that store with the balcony up there—”
“I’m sure!”<...
2024-08-21 17:48:28 +0000 UTC View PostAnother delivery for your reading pleasure!
25 – Homecoming
Ward felt an almost irrational sense of relief when the elevator lurched and began to climb upward, not back down into the lizard-man arena. He wasn’t the only one; Haley let out a whoop and twisted her neck, trying to peer upward through the bars. It was a tight ...
2024-08-21 17:15:31 +0000 UTC View PostThanks for reading :)
24 – Rest and Recovery
Ward approached the big chest, probably about two feet square and ten inches deep. “I hope this means Nevkin missed out on a reward.”
“If he found a way out of the catacombs, I don’t think it was through here.” Grace squatted near the chest, staring at it cl...
2024-08-21 16:19:54 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
-Plum
23 – The Words Are Fleeting
“He stole your mana-well! That little bastard!” Grace clenched her fists, her face red, her eyes ablaze. Ward couldn’t spare her any attention; the gate had opened, and another hulking lizard-man dove toward him. He cranked off one, two, ...
2024-08-21 15:33:06 +0000 UTC View PostThis one took a lot of revising! Let me know if you see any glaring mistakes, please :)
-Plum
22 – Artifacts
Ward pulled his pack over to put the hemograph away, and as he did so, he shifted the soft blue pouch containing the ball of lead, and it vibrated, rattling against the glass of his bro...
2024-08-21 14:55:34 +0000 UTC View PostHope you're all having a good day! Enjoy!
21 – Level-Up
The cage-like, copper elevator continued to descend, and when it clanked and rattled against the ground, the cage door cranked upward almost immediately, leaving nothing but five yards between Ward and the hulking lizard-man. Ward aimed the pistol, hesitating for just a...
2024-08-21 13:22:18 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy! I'd call this a flavor chapter - a little dialogue, some hints at the wider universe and maybe a distant conflict . . .
Thanks!
Plum
After they emerged from the catacombs beneath his home, Dar led Victor into the main parlor and said, “Why don’t you take a shower and freshen up, and...
2024-08-20 18:50:57 +0000 UTC View PostLast one for today! Enjoy :)
-Plum
20 – Together Again
Grace continued to pester Ward as he climbed, and climb he did—the stairs seemed interminable. He’d tuned her out for a while and was thinking about the stairs and their ceaseless upward climb, when she chimed in with a thought that ec...
2024-08-19 20:24:53 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter - let me know if this method of displaying the hemograph data is better (for Patreon.)
Probably one more chapter is coming today.
-Plum
19 – A Messy Situation
“Hey,” Ward swallowed a gulp of water, “you think it’s a good sign that we fo...
2024-08-19 19:44:46 +0000 UTC View Post