About Tower Curator
Stories
6
Chapters
1,003
Words
3.6 M
Comments
5,236
Reading
12 d, 8 h
-
There were a few things about the other side of the portal that stuck out as just being off. The sun didn’t seem to set. If whatever was up in those orange clouds was a sun at all. Since the portal opened, round-the-clock guards stationed at the entrance had kept an eye on the situation. None of them could recall any darkening of the other side. Even after spending three hours on the other side of the portal, waiting for Zullie to give her assessment of its stability, the dark orange light in the sky…-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
Arkk stared through the void around him, hesitant to take a single step. The world had shrunk down to the size of a small sphere, upon which only he and Vezta stood. It was about the size of the , though despite feeling like he was standing at an angle, he didn’t feel like he was about to fall off. There was nowhere to fall to. No up or down, just the sphere and the void. It was as if he stood on the edge of a dream. Vezta was looking around just as much as he was, a frown firmly planted on her…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
“Places, places everyone!” Arkk and Vezta stood at the very center of the ritual circle. Arkk took the anchor position, the point where the most magic would flow, while Vezta stood in a symbolic spot. She existed less as an active participant in the ritual and more as a simple connection to the beings that brought her to this world as well as the idea from ages past that people could traverse planes as easily as Arkk could hop on a horse-drawn carriage and travel the Duchy. There was a large altar…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
Arkk poured one vial of clear liquid into a larger kettle of clear liquid. Stirring with a narrow metal rod, he watched for a long moment until, all at once, the liquid turned a deep and translucent green. Pausing, he quickly glanced over at the book open on the counter and skimmed to find the next step. Green was the correct color. As long as it was a clear green and not a murky green. So far so good. This alchemy stuff wasn’t that hard. Well, the book he was reading didn’t have anything too…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
If there was one good thing about the purifier going rogue, it was that his actions gave Arkk an idea. Inquisitrix Astra came forward and confirmed the death of Purifier Tybalt. It felt a little too easy to Arkk. An Avatar of the Jailor of the Void, felled by a lightning bolt. Then again, he was just a human, albeit with strange magic. Agnete was no different. Perhaps she could use some aspect of her flames to avoid a bolt of lightning, but Arkk couldn’t see how. If she got hit, especially with him…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
There were no more rays of gold for the remainder of the night. The burn of smoke lingered in Arkk’s nose. They had managed to extinguish the fires but not before half the garrison burned to the ground. Any building in a narrow cone behind the main keep had been on fire at one point or another. Some multiple times, if Arkk or the others fighting the fires failed to fully extinguish the last embers. Residences, workshops, and storehouses beyond the garrison’s walls went up in flames as well. As soon…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
“Possession,” Arkk said, looking around the table. “It fits. The assassins at the Duke’s party also gained glowing eyes once things started going wrong.” Hawkwood’s tired face twisted into a frown. “Possession is something only ghosts or gods can accomplish. Ghosts tend to shamble about, trying to resolve whatever anchors are keeping them tethered to the world. This doesn’t sound like that…” His fingers tightened into fists on top of the table as he looked to the inquisitors, perhaps…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
“Lexa, Kia, Claire,” Arkk said, addressing the gremlin and two dark elves. “We’re almost ready.” “You’re finally back and all we get is an almost?” Lexa, with bright red hair held down by a thick scarf tied around her head, rubbed her small hands up and down her arms, shivering. “Why aren’t we just teleporting in?” “First, while I’m fairly certain the inquisitors know, I don’t want to advertise more than necessary. Second, according to Hawkwood, the first thing any…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
Magic was exhausting. At least for normal people. Arkk had yet to come across a situation that had drained him to the point where he had to take a seat. He owed that to Fortress Al-Mir, however. Most people didn’t have a direct connection to an ancient magical artifact that acted like a reservoir, pooling the combined magic of everyone in his employ and the very land that he claimed as his own. To maintain an active siege—or a defense—for anyone else, they would have to rotate out their…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
-
Arkk did his best to look at ease as the heavy portcullis over Elmshadow Burg’s western gate lifted. Everything was prepared. Everything was planned for. He stood alongside Hawkwood, the latter having been informed of Arkk’s suspicions. In the eaves, lurking in the dark and vacant homes near to the burg’s entrance, Hawkwood had positioned his finest marksmen, supposedly capable of striking an apple at a hundred paces with their crossbows. A full contingent of wary guards stood behind, sporting…
-
772.5 K • Completed
-
- Previous 1 … 16 17 18 … 101 Next