Michael looked at the winged in front of him in confusion for just a moment, recovering from the sight of a giant bird-person landing next to him and asking him a question with a high pitched voice.
“What do I want? Uh, we were hoping to find someone who could take us out onto the lake....
2025-08-19 12:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostMichael stoked the fire of their camp a bit as the light of the sun started to rise. He’d taken the second watch since he needed less sleep than the others. The night had felt long for some reason. Lots of reminiscing about his family, friends, and his life before. It was the hardest when they ...
2025-08-17 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostLys had everyone up and moving back to Southwind quickly after they finished clearing the immediate area of the rift. The knowledge that one of the rifts was able to be held open was something that needed to be communicated to the twins, and Swandia itself as soon as possible. They made it back i...
2025-08-16 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMichael was right behind Lys, then ahead of her as they charged toward the angry red tear in front of them. His dread crescendoed and turned into the sense of righteousness it always became when he was sealing rifts.
As it had been the last time, the transition was nearly seamless with only...
2025-08-14 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMichael walked a short distance behind Lys. Devahn was shooting the shit with Marcus and Ollie, and the other mercs were all scattered around with the scouts moving ahead to make sure the way was clear. It was a hot day, and Michael had defaulted to a kind of steady mindless march that he’d mas...
2025-08-12 12:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostMichael started moving person to person, taking the time to carefully heal those that had the most complicated or severe injuries. Those whose injuries were lesser he let Trina work on, though with the fighting that had just happened she tired quickly after only a half dozen and Michael finished ...
2025-08-10 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMichael picked knots out of his hair while he waited for the scouts to return. This was the first time he’d had to deal with the dread caused by the portal for a long period of time and he was finding it frustrating. With regular anxiety he could distract himself, or logic his way through it so...
2025-08-09 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMichael walked down the road heading south toward the Lake of Beasts with Davi, Tai, Finnegan, Clara, and a dozen or so others that he’d had yet to formally meet. They were headed for the remaining rift that the twins had been unable to seal. The group was small, but elite, having been chosen b...
2025-08-07 12:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostTrina was standing in the training yard, stretching with a wooden shortsword. Michael could catch glimpses of Finnegan wailing on Tai for all he was worth to the cheers of the dozen or so mercs that had gathered around.
Michael gestured toward a wooden bench and sat down.
Trina ...
2025-08-05 12:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostMichael woke before everyone else, borrowed Pyotr’s sword and made his way to the center of what had once been the farmer’s field. He took his stance and swung his sword hard in a downward arc. He did it again, and again, and again. Once he hit one hundred downward strokes, he switched to sla...
2025-08-03 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostRunning quickly down the road, Michael was impressed with the speed and grace of his elven escorts. While his own footfalls were heavy and firm, theirs seemed light. As if their feet were only barely touching the ground with every step. The closest Michael had ever seen to that had been Pyotr whe...
2025-08-02 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMichael smiled at the dwarf as he stepped into his workshop. There was something eminently entertaining about those that he’d met so far. Admittedly that amounted to Dugan and a few dwarves he’d healed back in Stad, but he really appreciated how well they took to grumpiness. They seemed to be...
2025-07-31 12:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostThey made good time as they walked up the road back toward Southwind. Pyotr may have been flagging a bit for a while, but after they stopped so that he could make some tea, he was moving with quite a bit more pep in his step.
“You’re going to be addicted to that stuff by the end of the ...
2025-07-29 12:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostThe hidden village treated them to a feast and a celebration that night. They lit a bonfire at the foot of Bruntus’s statue and threw plants on it that created green and purple smoke. They started to barbecue what smelled like pork very shortly after they’d finished their discussion with Absa...
2025-07-27 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“You heard his voice,” said the old priest behind them as he approached quietly at a steady pace. His expression was still stern, but Michael was certain that there was a twinkle of some kind in his eyes.
“Yes,” said Michael. “Thank you for untying us.” He looked around. “What...
2025-07-26 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMichael and Pyotr continued up the path, moving much more warily since encountering the first trap. As they moved they found two more pitfalls, a falling log trap, and a tripline that linked up to the firing of some arrow-like projectiles.
“This is getting ridiculous,” said Michae...
2025-07-24 12:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostThe cleanup went smoothly, with only one more loss of a woman Michael hadn’t yet learned the name of whose skull had been shattered before anyone could do anything. Michael closed her eyes gently and said a prayer over her body.
“Who are you praying to?” asked Suraj. He’d just finis...
2025-07-22 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThey reached one of the villages that had reported the rift just a little bit after dawn. It was small, with only a dozen or so buildings, most of which had their windows boarded up. Unlike the towns they’d seen in Swandia so far, they were built of wood rather than brick. Given their heavily f...
2025-07-20 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning they all got their marching orders and they realized they would be separated. Michael had the smallest group, largely due to his experience with the rifts and his abilities as a healer. The largest group consisted of the twins and Trina, and would be taking on two of the rifts, a...
2025-07-19 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s kind of like reaching out and squeezing something, but with your soul,” said Michael as he walked. He had been trying to explain to Lys, and Trina, the other diviners in the group, how to close rifts since they’d never done it before. “It was actually very intuitive once I was nea...
2025-07-17 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostTai held out a hand to Michael, “I’m Tai by the way.”
Michael took his hand and gave it a firm, well practiced shake. “Michael.”
“American?”
“Yes. I miss cheeseburgers and big sugary drinks.”
Tai chuckled. “Me too.”
“What about you?”
...
2025-07-15 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostBy the third day of travel, Michael was getting a much better idea of what Swandia was like. There were more plains, much like in Svict, but they were less rocky and craggy and covered primarily in an emerald green grass that often gave way to large patches of wildflowers or thick collections of ...
2025-07-13 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThey were all packed and ready, with their armor on for a change and their full kits. Michael found himself downstairs before everyone else, as usual, and saw Francesca sitting on the couch.
“How are you doing? I feel like I haven’t seen you much lately.” said Michael as he sat down a...
2025-07-12 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Lysandra, but I go by Lys.”
Something felt odd about her, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was. He started to focus on her, watching the gold lettering slowly come together.
“You know it’s considered rude to divine someone without...
2025-07-10 12:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostMichael threw a punch at the greasy haired man, but he’d been ready for it and ducked out of the way before throwing a punch of his own. Michael flexed as he took the blow to the gut and threw an elbow at the man’s face, managing to hit him on the edge of his jaw. The man wobbled for a moment...
2025-07-08 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostMichael was just curious, at least that was the reasoning he gave before he, Ollie, Marcus, and Pyotr made their way down the street in their cleanest set of clothes. Davi, obviously, was otherwise occupied with Francesca, though there was just the smallest bit of regret in his eyes as he watched...
2025-07-06 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostMichael focused on the broken foot, sending waves of divine golden energy through himself and into it, feeling the bones rearrange and the tears in the muscle seal back to where they were supposed to be. When he was done, he smiled at the young man who was taking a moment to flex his toes with a ...
2025-07-05 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMichael awoke to Ollie’s gangly limbs awkwardly hanging off of him and gently extricated himself. It wasn’t really his fault, they were both much too large to squeeze into the small bed together. If they were going to be there for a week they’d probably have to take turns sleeping on the fl...
2025-07-03 12:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostIt was only a few hours of walking before there was a fork in the main road that they were on. Earlier in the morning they had already loaded Lance up with supplies. Even Marcus was generous with him, giving him a handful of silver that he’d had squirreled away.
Michael embraced him...
2025-07-01 12:00:21 +0000 UTC View PostMichael healed everyone before they did anything else. He’d taken the worst damage in the initial ambush, but no one was free of cuts and bruises except for Lance, who’d managed to avoid getting hurt. Maybe he’d learned a bit of caution from their fight to seal the rift.
Marcus was cr...
2025-06-29 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post