Olivia lay in her bed, savoring the sounds of her friends sleeping around her. How strange it was to be back among them, listening to their soft night sounds and finding comfort in them. At first, she’d thought she’d find the communal space annoying after so many nights with just her and Bronwyn sharing a space. Even in the dungeon, Morgan had kept to himself and rarely bothered them once t...
2022-08-12 11:29:41 +0000 UTC View Post“That was truly an amazing meal, Captain,” Morgan said, reaching out to shake Gella’s hand. The captain took it warmly, pulling his pipe away from his lips with his other hand and gesturing to the deck of his enormous airship.
“Sure you don’t want to stay aboard a bit? We could take a tour over the mountains to the north, and I could show you the encampments of those Urghat that...
2022-08-11 12:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostHi, everyone. I got an email notification while I was sleeping that one of you posted a lengthy message about how they didn't think Victor's choice made any sense. I logged in to reply this morning, but I couldn't find the post. I thought it was a really good message, and I think it merits some discussion, so I was hoping I could get some feedback on the matter. I'll try to summarize the messag...
2022-08-10 12:02:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe travel pavilion was quite a structure, and Olivia wondered why she’d never wandered inside during her explorations of the campus. It blended in well with the architecture in the area—sort of a white-washed, marble, museum feel. Manicured lawns and hedges surrounded the structure, and the wide, open archways that served as doorways allowed for easy ingress and egress, both for people and...
2022-08-10 11:51:06 +0000 UTC View PostLet me know what you think! See you with another chapter soon :)
-Plum
Victor sat crosslegged in his dark bedroom, reading through his class refinement options for the hundredth time:
***Class refinement option 1: Titanic Warrior - Epic. Pre-requisite: The strong presence of a titanic bloodline originating ...
2022-08-09 19:42:30 +0000 UTC View Post“I see more Urghat tracks leading up this ridge,” Bronwyn said, turning back toward Cal and shading her eyes from the sun hanging low on the western horizon.
“Too bad you can’t see their names,” Cal replied, looking up the steep ridgeline.
“I think it’s just one, but, yeah, it would be nice to know who. This little adventure would go a lot easier. You up for the hike?...
2022-08-09 12:03:31 +0000 UTC View PostWhen they’d reached the top of the northeast tower, Morgan realized that the visiting airship crew had spent some time reinforcing the structure and adding a more comprehensive, wooden platform to the top. A semi-permanent walkway connected the new platform to the midship boarding port on the massive airship. When the crew members waved Issa and him forward, it felt like they were walking int...
2022-08-08 11:19:29 +0000 UTC View PostHey all - getting near the end of book 2. Hope you're still enjoying the story :)
-Plum
“That’s it, Victor! You got him now!” Edeya yelled from the sidelines. She’d shown up a few hours into his session with Polo and was enthusiastic in her support for him, though it seemed to make Polo want to thrash him even mo...
2022-08-07 15:13:02 +0000 UTC View PostI know my numbers are messed up - it's because of that one chapter I missed. This is where we're supposed to be, though.
-Plum
“We don’t have to go, you know,” Morgan said, watching Issa study herself in the mirror. They’d moved into the master suite of the tower, and the bank of mirrors near the closet was provi...
2022-08-05 13:13:54 +0000 UTC View PostVictor sat in the comfortable leather chair facing the window that overlooked Lam’s rear garden. He’d never had such a comfortable room in his life. Even back in Tucson, he’d had a small room that barely left room for a folding table next to his twin-sized bed. He remembered sitting in the rickety old folding chair, typing away on his school-provided tablet, trying to get assignments done...
2022-08-04 18:39:37 +0000 UTC View PostOOPS! Everyone, I have this chapter that I was supposed to put in after chapter 28, but I'd saved it in the wrong directory and lost track of it. I'm posting it now, so that I can get things straightened out, but that means I won't be posting another chapter tomorrow. Let me know if I already posted this somewhere, but I think it's been missing.
-Plum...
2022-08-03 12:40:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe academy was busy, as always, on a Thursday. Olivia strode through the crowds in the central, open hallway, quickly passing through and taking hallways and stairs that would lead her directly to Oylla-dak’s office. She saw faces she recognized, but none of her cohort members or the others in her class—this time of day, they were all probably in Spellcraft class.
Olivia passed throu...
2022-08-03 12:12:17 +0000 UTC View Post“So, I put this stone here, in the portal, and Olivia uses the other one to set up the target portal? Does she need to prepare the location somehow?” Morgan was holding two smooth, dark gray stones, both of which looked more like metal than actual stone. One was wedge-shaped, similar to the stone Bronwyn’s patron had given them to open a portal to find Morgan. The other was rectangular an...
2022-08-02 10:53:52 +0000 UTC View PostThe move is over! I'm still settling in and building new routines, but should be able to stay on top of my daily posts now :) Thanks for your patience, everyone :)
-Plum
Morgan listened, irritated by all the tangents coming up, while the council bickered, ranted, and, at least to some nominal degree, discussed the issues...
2022-08-01 11:17:20 +0000 UTC View PostHi Patrons! Thanks for all your support and kind words! I hope you like this one. :)
-Plum
“There she is!” Victor said, pointing down the street toward the little cafe tables outside the bakery. Sure enough, Lam was sitting at one, sipping at a mug of something steamy. She was impressive, as always, with her wings dr...
2022-08-01 00:22:54 +0000 UTC View PostHi Patrons! Enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think, please.
-Plum
The horned Shadeni didn’t seem pleased by Victor’s bravado and scowled, looking left to right as if reassuring himself that he was the one pulling off an ambush. He tucked the chain holding the glimmering shard of Victor’s Core into his be...
2022-07-28 21:05:09 +0000 UTC View PostI'm so sorry, everyone, but I have to take 5 days off for FWFW.
I thought I could keep up on this move, but I'm falling behind and my writing is suffering. Travelling all day with two dogs and trying to write in the hotel with them isn't working.
If you're wondering what's up, I basically sold everything, put the rest in storage, and am driving from WA to Miami to catch a ride with ...
2022-07-24 21:45:54 +0000 UTC View PostNissa regarded Victor and Thayla over her wooden chopping block, bits of diced herbs clinging to the knife in her hand. “So you know Lam, hmm?” They’d knocked on the restaurant door, seeing that a light was on in the kitchen, and when Thayla had mentioned Lam to the grumpy, narrow-faced Ghelli woman, she’d motioned for them to follow her back to the kitchen.
“That’s right,” ...
2022-07-24 01:40:47 +0000 UTC View PostHey all! I'm seeing your comments and suggestions, and I appreciate it. I'm sorry I'm not replying to everything - it's hard to keep up while on the road.
Enjoy :)
-Plum
Olivia looked around at the council table and the assembled faces of her peers. A lot had changed since she last sat at ...
2022-07-22 13:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostStuff's all moved and in storage. One day of driving done, 5 to go! It'd be almost fun if my doggos weren't stressed about all the car riding and weird hotel smells & sounds :(
Enjoy the chapter :)
-Plum
Victor looked around the pantry space in the basement of the villa they’d rented...
2022-07-22 01:27:45 +0000 UTC View Post“Cal? Yeah, I know him! He just got back to town a couple of weeks ago! He was one of the original missing colonists, you know, the ones we thought were taken by Yeksa or boyii hounds.” Alec spoke enthusiastically, wiping out a mug and draping his ever-present dishtowel over his shoulder. “Why?”
“I heard he needs help with something, so I’m trying to track him down.” Bronwyn...
2022-07-21 13:01:04 +0000 UTC View PostHey, everyone. If I'm a little uncommunicative over the next few days, it's because I'm traveling. Also, sporadic post times are probably a given. Thanks for your patience and for reading.
-Plum
Morgan looked at the little envelope with the purple sealing wax. “Purple?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s a...
2022-07-20 14:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s not bad!” Bronwyn said, licking the edges of her cone and scooping up all the dripping vanilla ice cream.
“Not bad? It’s better than any ice cream I ever had on Earth!” Olivia leaned back on her left hand, enjoying the cool scrunch of the springy grass under her fingers. She savored the treat, happy that the colonists were starting to grow comfortable and settled enough ...
2022-07-19 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostOn their way to Morgan’s tower, Arthur caught up to Issa, Morgan, Olivia, and Bronwyn and, breathless from the short jog, said, “I hope we can count on you to come to the council meeting tomorrow night! We’d love to hear about your experience and fill you in on what’s happening around here.”
“Of course, they will,” Issa said before Morgan or anyone else could reply. “I’l...
2022-07-18 13:13:16 +0000 UTC View PostYour next installment :) Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
-Plum
Victor and Thayla saw the walls of Gelica from several miles out. The traffic on the road was heavy, with carts, people, and animals going in both directions in a staggered line, and Victor wondered if it was always so busy or if it was just the hour of the da...
2022-07-17 04:15:10 +0000 UTC View PostMorgan picked up the last of the spent gems, stuffed it into his ring, then jogged back to the portal. He’d only taken a few minutes, and he knew the portal would stand open for another twenty or so, but he still hated being the only one left in the dungeon. That said, as soon as he was on the correct side of the crazy void doorway, he stepped through. Unlike other portals Morgan had experien...
2022-07-15 13:14:46 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy! Let me know what you think (even - especially - if you don't like something!)
Thanks for reading and supporting :)
-Plum
The Red Roladii was a sprawling complex that covered three corners of a crossroads. The tavern sat at the northeast corner. A covered, wooden bridge led from it t...
2022-07-14 20:33:16 +0000 UTC View PostBronwyn watched while Morgan stared into his scrying window. He’d been casting and recasting it for two days now. Sometimes, he’d catch his target indoors or in a crowded area and sigh and cancel the spell, only to target another individual in First Landing. If he saw someone outdoors, he’d watch the location for as long as he could keep the window open, hoping that everyone would dispers...
2022-07-14 13:22:00 +0000 UTC View PostAs the title says - I just wanted to make sure you all knew I'm still working on these, but things are ... crazy right now.
This week is packing, going to goodwill, the dump, etc. Next week is traveling. I'll be sharing driving duties with a family member, so I'll bring my laptop :D
Cheers :)
2022-07-14 01:03:29 +0000 UTC View PostOlivia fell to her knees and clutched her hands to her chest. She felt like her body was about to burst into flames or explode. She concentrated on taking deep, slow breaths, even though it felt like she was breathing fire in and out of her throat. She could hear Morgan and Bronwyn talking, maybe to her, but it sounded like they were far away, and the roaring in her ears made their voices indis...
2022-07-13 14:18:17 +0000 UTC View Post