38 - Aliens (2) Our approach to the portal was almost as perfect as we could ask for. It was quiet, there were no guards, and we made it in
38 - Aliens (2)
Our approach to the portal was almost as perfect as we could ask for. It was quiet, there were no guards, and we made it in without alerting anyone.
Then, the moment we slipped through the red portal and en...
2025-08-25 13:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post37 - Aliens (1) Roswell was, by far, the creepiest place I’d ever been. We stopped the truck on the highway that ran through it; Jeff didn’t
37 - Aliens (1)
Roswell was, by far, the creepiest place I’d ever been.
We stopped the truck on the highway that ran through it; Jeff didn’t want to risk getting it stuck in one of the side roads, and we all wante...
2025-08-22 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post36 - The White Sands (3) A few hours later, we stared at a ruined metal tower on the far side of Capitan. It had been ripped apart from its
36 - The White Sands (3)
A few hours later, we stared at a ruined metal tower on the far side of Capitan. It had been ripped apart from its base to its tip; the twisted metal looked like it had literally been torn by hand. The s...
2025-08-21 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post35 - The White Sands (2) Derrick’s question echoed through the static as a half-dozen different voices all repeated the same thing. “Could C
35 - The White Sands (2)
Derrick’s question echoed through the static as a half-dozen different voices all repeated the same thing.
“Could Carlsbad have cleared it?”
“What about the Monster Eaters?” 2025-08-20 13:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
34 - The White Sands (1) The Governing Council had strict rules in place to keep unawakened humans safe—not from portals or the monsters tha
34 - The White Sands (1)
The Governing Council had strict rules in place to keep unawakened humans safe—not from portals or the monsters that lived inside of them, but from delvers. Those rules mostly governed the higher ra...
2025-08-19 13:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post33 - Guard Duty (3) It took an hour of sitting around in the torch-lit circle between our brightly painted tractor-trailers before the meal
33 - Guard Duty (3)
It took an hour of sitting around in the torch-lit circle between our brightly painted tractor-trailers before the meal was finished.
The smell of popcorn, fried and baked beans, and lettuce filled the ...
2025-08-18 13:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post32 - Guard Duty (2) The dust cloud grew quickly. One minute, we could only see it through the pair of binoculars when Ellen passed them arou
32 - Guard Duty (2)
The dust cloud grew quickly. One minute, we could only see it through the pair of binoculars when Ellen passed them around. The next, it was close enough to see with my naked eye. And just a couple of minute...
2025-08-15 13:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post31 - Guard Duty (1) The Light of Dawn, Angelo Lawrence, was many things. Patient wasn’t one of them. When the bus dropped us off at the east
31 - Guard Duty (1)
The Light of Dawn, Angelo Lawrence, was many things.
Patient wasn’t one of them.
When the bus dropped us off at the east gate leading out onto Old Highway Sixty, we were twenty minutes early....
2025-08-14 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post30 - Minutes to H-Hour (2) Angelo Lawrence was many things. The responsibility of the convoy was forcing him to be one he was not, though. P
30 - Minutes to H-Hour (2)
Angelo Lawrence was many things. The responsibility of the convoy was forcing him to be one he was not, though.
Patient.
The Roadrunners could have allied with the Portal Tyrants and Guard...
2025-08-13 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post29 - Minutes to H-Hour (1) Governing Council Private Message: Sender: Quartermaster Anders, Roadrunner Guild Status: Low Priority Delver Noe
29 - Minutes to H-Hour (1)
Governing Council Private Message:
Sender: Quartermaster Anders, Roadrunner Guild
Status: Low Priority
Delver Noelstra,
Your application...
2025-08-12 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post28 - Storm's Test (3) Ellen was bored. Managing Jessie’s impending freak-out—which had mostly been explaining the situation, delaying her pa
28 - Storm's Test (3)
Ellen was bored.
Managing Jessie’s impending freak-out—which had mostly been explaining the situation, delaying her panic, and distracting her—had become routine over the last two hours. An...
2025-08-11 13:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post27 - Storm's Test (2) “Kade Noelstra,” the God of Thunder said as he shifted forms again, this time into a serpentine shape reminiscent of h
27 - Storm's Test (2)
“Kade Noelstra,” the God of Thunder said as he shifted forms again, this time into a serpentine shape reminiscent of his draconic form, but sized to square off against Cheddar. “I wi...
2025-08-08 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post26 - Storm's Test (1) I stared up at the Thunder God as I slowly got my bearings in his portal world. This close, with the massive, lightnin
26 - Storm's Test (1)
I stared up at the Thunder God as I slowly got my bearings in his portal world. This close, with the massive, lightning-and-cloud dragon staring at me, it felt a lot less wise to call him—
“E...
2025-08-07 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post25 - Dead End Even though Sophia needed a conversation with Jeff and me, it had to wait. By the time the portal’s timer ticked down and ejec
25 - Dead End
Even though Sophia needed a conversation with Jeff and me, it had to wait. By the time the portal’s timer ticked down and ejected us onto the street, a medical team was waiting—complete with a B-Rank healer....
2025-08-06 13:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post24 - Blood and Darkness (4) Ellen stumbled on the cobblestone street, and another shimmering red specter disintegrated. She resisted the urg
24 - Blood and Darkness (4)
Ellen stumbled on the cobblestone street, and another shimmering red specter disintegrated.
She resisted the urge to say something. It wasn’t as if everyone else wasn’t triggering ...
2025-08-05 13:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post23 - Blood and Darkness (3) Even with seven—the four of us, plus the three survivors from the Governing Council group—we weren’t as effectiv
23 - Blood and Darkness (3)
Even with seven—the four of us, plus the three survivors from the Governing Council group—we weren’t as effective a team as I’d hoped.
The first problem was one of coordination. Y...
2025-08-04 13:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post22 - Blood and Darkness (2)
Two Fleshweeper Shoggoths moved into the alley, their limbs gliding unnaturally as dozens of tentacles propelled them forward. The C-Rank monsters were on our tails, and with the accretion disk setting, fighting them in the curving main street would only result in more specters being hit and disintegrated.
But that wasn’t the only reaso...
2025-08-01 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post21 - Blood and Darkness (1)
Sophia Walker.
The last time I’d seen her, she’d been dressed to the nines for Carlos’s remembrance service. She’d declined to rejoin Jeff’s team, and I hadn’t pushed her. The woman had been shaky, nervous, and probably needed some therapy after the trap portal. Healers always blamed themselves for every death, no matter how m...
2025-07-31 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post20 - Pack Bonding (6) Ellen spent the night in the hospital. So did Yasmin and Raul. They’d all taken serious burns—the kind a healer could
20 - Pack Bonding (6)
Ellen spent the night in the hospital.
So did Yasmin and Raul. They’d all taken serious burns—the kind a healer could have dealt with on the spot, but that had set in after an hour. Short of a...
2025-07-30 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post19 - Monster Hunter (6) Two days later, we stepped into another golden C-Rank portal. This time, Jessie wasn’t outside, though. She was at s
19 - Monster Hunter (6)
Two days later, we stepped into another golden C-Rank portal.
This time, Jessie wasn’t outside, though. She was at school, and instead of her, three GC reps in shades and suits waited for us. T...
2025-07-29 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post18 - Monster Hunter (5) Angelo Lawrence’s phone rang. This time, he let it go to four rings—not because he didn’t want to talk to Councilwom
18 - Monster Hunter (5)
Angelo Lawrence’s phone rang. This time, he let it go to four rings—not because he didn’t want to talk to Councilwoman Myers, but simply because he could.
“I’ve deployed six GC reps...
2025-07-28 13:00:21 +0000 UTC View Post17 - Monster Hunter (4) The next time, it was, in fact, different. For one thing, the portal wasn’t in an obvious spot. The GC had no idea h
17 - Monster Hunter (4)
The next time, it was, in fact, different.
For one thing, the portal wasn’t in an obvious spot. The GC had no idea how long it had been active in the apartment building’s laundry room, but it...
2025-07-25 13:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post16 - Monster Hunter (3) “Interesting.” The God of Thunder watched as Kade Noelstra fought Khalir. The kid was losing. Undeniably, he was los
16 - Monster Hunter (3)
“Interesting.”
The God of Thunder watched as Kade Noelstra fought Khalir. The kid was losing. Undeniably, he was losing. His arm was cut to the bone. Shredded connective tissue dri...
2025-07-24 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post15 - Monster Hunter (2) The moment Kade slid through the crevice, the wind stopped. Jeff hovered on the edge of the abyss for a second, feet
15 - Monster Hunter (2)
The moment Kade slid through the crevice, the wind stopped.
Jeff hovered on the edge of the abyss for a second, feet balanced on the branch beneath him and sword-hand wrapped around a knot of wood ...
2025-07-23 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostI'm sorry. I edited the rest of this week's chapters last night, then stressed myself out thinking about the book launch, got Royal Road sch
I'm sorry. I edited the rest of this week's chapters last night, then stressed myself out thinking about the book launch, got Royal Road scheduled, and completely dropped the ball on Patreon. That's my bad.
I'm going to be going do...
2025-07-22 16:55:16 +0000 UTC View PostContainment Breach!
Today, the Halcyon System Book One: Halcyon Nightmares, is out on Kindle and Audible.
If you haven’t checked it out—say, you joined from Stormblade or Voltsmith—I think The Halcyon System is some of my finest character writing. Claire was an absolute treat to write (although she was also a pain in the ass), and I love the story a ton....
2025-07-22 13:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post13 - The Governing Council Authorizes You Jessie was annoyed. She’d been trying to figure out the entry protocols for the GC’s digital archi
13 - The Governing Council Authorizes You
Jessie was annoyed.
She’d been trying to figure out the entry protocols for the GC’s digital archives for a while, and she was close, but there were seven—seven! 2025-07-21 13:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Despite what I’d told Jessie, I spent most of the day of her parent-teacher conference at the GC center. There really wasn’t much time to spare, and both Ellen and I were still recovering from our injuries in the C-Rank portal—to say nothing of Yasmin, who’d decided to overnight at the hospital instead of toughing out esophageal burns. If we weren’t clearing portals, I needed...
2025-07-20 13:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post11 - Pack Bonding (5)
When the loot was distributed, Ellen ended up with a new set of battle robes—a doctor’s coat, really. Zeke came away with some stuff he definitely didn’t need, while Jeff passed on his pick and shifted it to Yasmin. She picked a notebook that had some Script theories in it, although what kind of Scripts and Bindings a place like this might have...
2025-07-19 13:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post10 - Two Masks (4) “Absolutely not,” I said. Dozens of emotions swirled inside my head. The biggest one was fury. Some of it was directed at
10 - Two Masks (4)
“Absolutely not,” I said.
Dozens of emotions swirled inside my head. The biggest one was fury.
Some of it was directed at Zeke—no, at Ezekiel Elwood. He’d never been Zeke. But he h...
2025-07-18 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post