Furious Scribe

47. Basil - Elven Dirge

Chapter 47

Elven Dirge

We heard them before we saw them, a sharp, trilling bird call, which perked the pointed ears of both E’lal and A’cia. Many of us had been sitting in a circle, sharing stories about our journey thus far, trying to stave off worry about how ou...

46. Hull - Night Work

Chapter 46

NIght Work

The Orc’s head came right off under the force of my Vampiric Blade, making only the faintest whicker of sound as blood gouted from the severed neck stump. I shuffled back almost to the tent wall to keep clear of the flow, letting the poor sot’...

45. Basil - Engagement

Chapter 45

Engagement

The late afternoon was cool with a bone-seeping dampness that made me shiver. I knew the reaction had just as much to do with the regrettable predicament I found myself in as it did the weather, but after a string of embarrassments, this one I cou...

44. Hull - This Is War

Chapter 44

This Is War

We crept through the woods in a spread-out wedge, the elf advisor Qi’shen taking point, Gale and Gerad a few yards back on either flank. Everyone had all their source circling their heads and a hand full of cards, but we’d been told not to s...

43. Basil - Parting Deals

Chapter 43

Parting Deals

My head was pounding as the group of us left the meeting room, General Edaine staying behind to speak with Gale. I hadn’t expected my brother to arrive so early after his ordeal but was certainly glad he had – without him, I wasn’t sure i...

42. Hull - Consequences

Chapter 42

Consequences

“The force is three times as large as any the Orcs have ever brought against us, and it appears they are allied with the Undead and demonkind.” Edaine looked as haggard as we all felt as she debriefed us all in the fortification’s main ins...

41. Hull - Mother Dearest

Chapter 41

Mother Dearest

Mother hadn’t looked up at me yet; she was caught in the rapture of her card theft. There she stood over her victim, so close to naked it made no difference, and it was like I was really seeing her for the first time. My mind snapped into f...

40. Basil - Escape

Chapter 40

Escape

The stairwell down was a long one, and well before I reached the bottom, the sounds I had heard earlier – the distant ting of metal striking metal – ceased to be. Far from calming me, the sudden lack only made me more concerned. There we...

39. Hull - Taking Advantage

Chapter 39

Taking Advantage

Afi had said she wanted some air. I’d been around Basil and Esmi long enough to know that this was fancy-folk code for you people make me sick and I’m going to lose my shit if I have to look at you for one more second, but ther...

38. Basil - Wagging Tongues

Chapter 38

Wagging Tongues

Esmi managed Duke Norcobus beautifully. After we joined the pair of older nobility and greetings were exchanged, Norcubus made to resume his diatribe on the virtues of coal, but before he could gather steam, Esmi was complimenting his tie, w...

37. Hull - Among Friends

Chapter 37

Among Friends

“...I honestly don’t know what came over me,” Esmi was confessing. “I try very hard to see the best in others in all circumstances, but Glydnuk just looked so smug standing there, and Badgou was being entirely intractable...

36. Basil - A Family Affair

Chapter 36

A Family Affair

“I do believe that went as badly as it possibly could have.”

Ossun had only just closed the door to the private meeting suite behind me when those words passed my mother’s lips. The cozy retreat was furnished with an intricately ...

35. Hull - Down to the Nub

Chapter 35

Down to the Nub

Afi and I stared at the dwarf, our mouths hanging open. “What the hell?” I laughed. Everyone else was whispering and tittering behind their hands too.

Basil looked like he’d just taken a ten-card hit from a Mythic Soul. Confusion...

34. Basil - Challenges

Chapter 34

Challenges

The blade slid across my cheek, but like before, all I felt was the barest of pressure. At the edge of my vision, I saw more card fragments shed from my skin, shimmering motes in lieu of blood. Besides Atrea, the staccato strikes at 2 damage each...

33. Basil - Proper Planning

Chapter 33

Proper Planning

“You never asked to use Esmet.”

Esmi and I were walking arm-in-arm though the halls of my family home, and at this remark, I turned to face her. She was wearing a fashionable, deep red gown that set off her curled hair marvelously....

32. Hull - An Embarrassment of Riches

Chapter 32

An Embarrassment of Riches

I tugged at the stiff black brocade vest that was doing its best to smother me and wished the billowing whiteness of my sleeves were a little less… billowy. I felt a proper fool in this getup, no matter that Roshum had assured m...

31. Basil - What is Within

Chapter 31

What is Within

A knock sounded on my door. 

I was sitting cross-legged, looking up at the small tree that lived in the middle of my War Camp room. This was how I spent near every morning, noting the subtle changes the plant was undergoing: its br...

30. Hull - Skills and Souls

Chapter 30

Skills and Souls

I gathered up my cards and slid them back into my Mind Home as everyone swarmed the new Air cards like flies to dung. I took my time; while it’d be nice to see what cards were there just so I’d know what new nonsense others might be wie...

29. Basil - Favors

Updated Ability List:

https://imgur.com/7R1m0KC

https://imgur.com/qjQuJDQ

Chapter 29

The Way the Wind Blows 2024-08-21 01:28:20 +0000 UTC View Post

28. Hull - Juggling Shards

Chapter 28

Juggling Shards

“...but Merunda said she’d wait for me next time, and she was the last holdout on Crowsfoot Alley, so that’s a whole square block sorted.” Bryll gave me a self-satisfied smirk, holding her hands out wide as if waiting for applause.&n...

27. Basil - An Audience

Chapter 27

An Audience

“The king will see you now.”

I stood up from the plush armchair I had been waiting in, quickly tucking the cards I had been distracting myself with back behind my ear. The only other occupant in the circular area was the one who had sp...

26. Hull - The Gods' Game

Chapter 26

The Gods’ Game

I had my Hammer hefted and ready to bash the stupid right off Gerad’s face when suddenly it vanished out of my hand, my summons disappeared, and the full weight of my deck slammed itself back into my Mind Home. I grunted and staggered, my ...

25. Basil - We Take Those

Chapter 25

We Take Those

“You remember the plan?”

Hull looked at me like I was asking after pointless reassurance instead of critical confirmation that would affect our survival over the next few minutes. “I helped make it, didn’t I? Relax, Hintal.” 2024-08-07 01:51:09 +0000 UTC View Post

24. Hull - The Full 20

Chapter 24

The Full 20

We all filed into the Advisor’s Hall, the paladins chattering together, the elves following just behind with a more muted, regal air, and the dwarves keeping to themselves as usual. Basil was flitting amongst the various groups, Esmi at his si...

23. Basil - Old Promises

Chapter 23

Old Promises

The metal street that the smiths were on was a wide one, which I was grateful for, as it gave me ample room to pace up and down the reflective length. I was here to use the free upgrade that General Edaine had given me – an opportunity I had ...

22. Hull - Breakdowns

Chapter 22

Breakdowns

I was halfway through the forest on my way to the Lows, picking my path carefully on a moonless night, when suddenly my mother appeared at my side. “No torch? You didn’t end up with our kind’s darksight, did you?”

I had two source o...

21. Basil - The Grind

Chapter 21

The Grind

The next few weeks of War Camp went by faster than should have been possible, the training with cards, source, and matters of tactics and history all rolled into a blur of long days, short nights, and grueling work. However, the time spent was also...

20. Juriss - Interlude

Chapter 20

Interlude

Juriss bowled backward through a fern so large that one of those frail stone-dwellers could have used it for a house. The fronds were soft, but the stems were as big around as her leg and nearly as hard as wood, and the fifteen-foot-tall horned gor...

19. Hull - The Cost of a Card

Chapter 19

The Cost of a Card

Basil gripped me hard by the elbow as the attackers pelted toward us. “Strike first,” he said.

My heart raced. “We’re not set up!”

He summoned another Soul, checked his cards in hand, and cursed softly. “We push wi...

18. Hull - Welcome to the Lows

Chapter 18

Welcome to the Lows

I dithered and skulked around the fortification’s drainage grate for a good ten minutes before I realized what I was doing, and once I caught myself I was disgusted. She shows up once and you’re ready to slink aroun...