It was late by the time Bernt made it back to the Undercity – the evening rush on the market was already well underway. He’d managed to learn a few things, though he still wasn’t sure about what to do about his next investiture. It was frustrating, but at least the day hadn’t been a total...
2024-11-16 16:35:32 +0000 UTC View Post“Do you have any idea what you just agreed to?” Torvald’s mother said, her voice tinged with exasperation. They were sitting in the rooms their family shared in the castle, where she’d practically dragged him the moment the meeting ended. They were nicer than a Guard Commander’s family ...
2024-11-14 15:12:38 +0000 UTC View PostEd shook his head, trying to make sense of the scene in front of him. He was sitting down on hard ground, and a flabby, gray creature lay dead at his feet. It bled black blood that evaporated into what looked like steam or fog even as it poured out onto the ground.
“Great One! Ed! Can you...
2024-11-12 11:57:23 +0000 UTC View PostMy editor didn't manage to get a look at this one, so if you guys notice something, feel free to drop that in the comments. Cheers!
Iriala rose from her seat, casting her gaze around at all those assembled and willing them to get their godsforsaken heads out of their asses, ...
2024-11-09 16:24:51 +0000 UTC View PostBonus brownie points for the first person to correctly guess what civilization the demons' culture is based on.
“So, do you think she’s going to pull it off?” Nirlig asked as he took a sip of the pungent, earthy-tasting beer that he’d brought over. Bernt turned from ...
2024-11-07 14:40:41 +0000 UTC View PostIriala tossed her notes down on her small writing desk in disgust and paced around the cell, watching her prisoner. She’d interviewed the Duergar abjurer twice more since the first time, and the picture that had emerged was as bleak as it was bizarre.
“So, once again, from the beginning...
2024-11-05 11:30:45 +0000 UTC View PostJori dove off of the outcropping over the steep river valley, letting the searing updraft carry her up high over the burning river. Flying was great!
She’d always hated scampering over the sharp rocks that covered the landscape here as a spawnling. It was slow, uncomfortable and dangerous...
2024-11-02 13:41:16 +0000 UTC View PostBernt carefully visualized the spellform for banefire in his mind’s eye. It was a lot more difficult than tracing the spell out in the air in front of him, but he’d been practicing. Still, it took more than ten seconds to be sure he wasn’t leaving anything out of the intricate pattern. The ...
2024-10-31 10:48:28 +0000 UTC View Post“You know, all I ever really wanted to do was water fields,” Uriah told the weird, goat-faced demon tiredly as it fruitlessly scrabbled for purchase in the bubble of water that kept it suspended in front of him. He felt empty inside, hollowed out. He knew he should be feeling something 2024-10-29 11:25:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Alright, here we go! That's the end of book 2. We'll be starting book 3 with a prologue next week. Cheers!
Ed dug around in his belt pouch, digging out his mess kit along with his remaining supplies. He found some dried apricots that felt more like stones than food, a pack o...
2024-10-26 12:31:12 +0000 UTC View PostTo those of you who were interested, I've inserted a short scene to check in on Gnugg in chapter 42. I'm going to paste it in in the Patreon post, but you can also find it in the RR post, which will go live later today.
Nuros cast himself along the ground at the feet of his master....
2024-10-24 06:17:55 +0000 UTC View PostHere is this week's bonus chapter. Cheers!
“When Ed told me that the Underkeepers were going to become a guard organization, and that we were going to open applications to the general public, I told him he was out of his mind. And he was!” Fiora looked around at the huma...
2024-10-23 08:54:40 +0000 UTC View PostRadast turned to look at Bernt, and only then did he realize that he was supposed to do the talking. Somehow, he’d expected that he was just supposed to be there to symbolically lend his support. He cleared his throat. It felt strange to talk to her like this, with everybody watch...
2024-10-22 13:15:56 +0000 UTC View PostThese next couple of chapters are quite a bit shorter than the previous ones -- this is because we've had 5 in a row that were nearly 50% over my normal target, and this one's a bit short. It's just how the scenes ended up shaking out as I'm closing down the 2nd arc. To keep you all properly ...
2024-10-19 13:17:43 +0000 UTC View PostFrustration roiled in Bernt's stomach as he made his way out of the building. The library hadn’t been entirely a dead end, but it wasn’t going to help him get Jori back any time soon. He’d been hoping that he might stumble across something, anything that could help right now. ...
2024-10-17 13:34:01 +0000 UTC View PostSurprise! There's going to be an extra chapter this week, and this one's a chonker. Enjoy!
The library, as it turned out, did have quite a bit of historical information about the various kinds of pacts that warlocks made and had made in the past. Unfortunately, none of the s...
2024-10-16 14:18:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is a map of the Undercity. In general terms, the Crafter's Quarter is beneath the Crafter's District, the Undercity Market roughly below the Temple District, the Goblin Quarter below the Castle, and the Dwarven Quarter below the Lower District, below specifically the portion immediately next...
2024-10-16 13:25:18 +0000 UTC View PostBernt set out for the Mage’s Guild as soon as he woke up the next morning. He’d been scheduled to work in the evening and he was determined to make the most of the time he had. Things were going to be very busy for a while, but that was going to be true for everyone. The city was in shambles....
2024-10-15 12:37:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi all, I finally got around to making a surface map for Halfbridge. Undercity will be coming... idk, maybe next week if I find the time. Points of interest are not labeled so far, so I guess that makes this the hard mode version. I'll update that as well, but it's the middle of the night here, s...
2024-10-12 21:57:54 +0000 UTC View PostBernt stormed out of the break room. Someone was following him, but he didn’t care. He could still feel Jori through their bond. It hadn’t broken when she disappeared, but it was different. Dull, somehow. He could only get a general sense of her emotional state, but it wasn’t like when she ...
2024-10-12 16:08:50 +0000 UTC View PostSorry for the wait on this one, I had to make sure it hit just right. Cheers!
Bernt charged into the gap he had made with a roar, followed closely by those nearest to him. He needed to get closer, to get to Jori. He felt her leg snap through their bond and shivered in sympat...
2024-10-10 18:16:20 +0000 UTC View PostExtra-Large Chapter today!
Bernt cursed loudly. Was Torvald alive? He was still glowing – that had to count for something, right?
It wasn’t just the light shed by the thousands of floral vines that grew around the cavern that had dimmed, but also that coming off of...
2024-10-08 05:07:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi all, thought you guys might like to see some maps! These are a map of Besermark, and of the larger geographic environment that Besermark is located in. Please keep in mind these are considered WIP and still subject to change in the future. Cheers!
2024-10-06 21:36:57 +0000 UTC View PostThis chapter kept getting longer in the editing process, so an extra-meaty one today. Cheers!
Bernt threw a glance back toward the main entrance. Ed’s force barrier was gone and more demons flooded into the cavern, followed by rank upon rank of duergar soldiers. Many of th...
2024-10-05 12:18:22 +0000 UTC View Post“Incoming!” shouted a goblin’s voice. Bernt turned to look just in time to see Rindle come running from one of the small side tunnels.
“They got the vines,” he called, looking dismayed. “They just withered away!”
“Form up!” Glim bawled. “Keep them bottled up in the...
2024-10-03 13:50:36 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time Bernt felt like himself again, evacuees were streaming through the Undercity Market, heading from the Crafter’s Quarter into the Goblin Quarter under the direction of the Underkeeper Guards.
Bernt wasn’t sure exactly what Kustov had been doing with Janus, but it was clear th...
2024-09-30 07:41:44 +0000 UTC View PostBernt was stunned by the sheer amount of magic being flung around in such a small space. Enemy mages and warlocks tried to hammer through their defenses with force, fire, and lightning, but nothing penetrated. The lightning was drawn down into Kustov’s runes, the fire splashed against Bernt’s...
2024-09-28 19:17:38 +0000 UTC View PostBernt stepped into the breakroom with Jori on his shoulder to find it buzzing with activity. Most of the Underkeepers’ mages were there, alongside Glim, Palina and several other guards. The tables along one wall were occupied by Halfbridge’s solicitors. Unlike the guilds or the Underkeepers, ...
2024-09-26 07:05:21 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time Bernt finished his tea, Ed returned with Kustov and a few Underkeeper Guards in tow. Ed had intercepted the messenger returning from the army on his way back. After hearing Fiora’s report on the situation on the surface, he filled them in.
“They started attacking on the fron...
2024-09-24 09:36:34 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time Bernt made his way back toward the Undercity Gate, it was already getting dark. He shivered in the cold evening air – winter was just around the corner and the nights were getting chillier every day. For a moment, he considered trying a warming variation on his clothes-cleaning cant...
2024-09-21 10:50:50 +0000 UTC View Post