Yeoldebard
-
Posts
2,013 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Stories
- Stories
- Story Series
- Story Worlds
- Story Collections
- Story Chapters
- Chapter Comments
- Story Reviews
- Story Comments
- Stories Edited
- Stories Beta'd
Blogs
Store
Help Center
Writing
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Yeoldebard
-
The stench hit him like a club. Cloying, sweet, spicy, smoke wafted into Arlo’s lungs, wrenching a cough from him. The room they walked into was filled with the vapour, obscuring the silken partitions and the luxurious beds and couches from view. Arlo could hear soft groans and whimpers as people lolled about on the furniture in various drug induced hazes. A short, skinny man — tall halfling? — wandered languidly toward them, pushing a cart holding a hookah. Arlo swayed into Godwin, hissing, “
-
It took a week to receive their next call to Cressida’s office. When they arrived in the office, it was to an unexpected surprise. A distinguished man stood to greet them. Silvery hair was tied back in a rogue’s knot, and his sharp face was lined with the weight of years. He carried them well, in Arlo’s opinion. A low-cut white tunic showed a near-scandalous amount of skin, and black gloves covered a hand Arlo knew was missing two fingers. “Master Orisini,” Arlo breathed, dipping into a deep
-
From his earlier exploration, Arlo knew the general layout of the area, if not the specifics of All The World’s Meat. For example, there was a disused sewer tunnel that ran under the shop and emptied into the river. A perfect entrance for skulks. Varion disagreed. Vehemently. “A mage does not belong in such foul environs,” he snapped as the group stopped outside the tunnel. “Well, maybe you can clean it up with some magic so it isn’t as foul,” Arlo said. He pushed into the sewer, his lem
-
“Did you hear? They caught a butcher in North Point giving out humanoid meat as free food!” “I heard the Hellknights are giving up on Korvosa and making plans to leave the city.” Arlo strolled through the streets, listening to passerbys murmur and speculate. It had been a few days since the king’s death, and things had settled somewhat. There were no longer flash mobs roaming the streets, but people were still on edge. And his group hadn’t been called on once. Varion seemed overly please
-
Arlo’s ears flattened against the ringing of hammer on steel. Heat enveloped him, like a dry sauna — did Golarion have saunas? Certainly not in Varisia. “Thanks for doing this with me.” Godwin stood beside him, watching a dwarf beat metal into shape. “Father would have a fit if I asked to wear armour.” “He’ll have a fit anyway when he sees you,” Arlo pointed out. “At some point, you’re going to have to tell him the truth. And when it happens, regardless of what he says or does, you’ll feel s
-
“So, what got y’all into adventuring?” The group pressed down a crowded road. The presence of the guards ensured people scattered quickly, leaving plenty of space for Arlo to breathe in. He and Godwin still kept in a tight-knit group, with Varion behind and Sera bringing up the rear. Mauro was further behind the cleric, but his boisterous voice still carried even above the murmur of the crowd. “What gets anyone into adventuring?” Arlo called back. “We were forced into it through circumstance
-
The party set out early in the morning. Plans were made, abandoned, then made again. Arlo pointed west, then north, picking out two separate orphanages. They settled on Riverside House near the docks — Arlo knew the way well enough, and there was little chance of running into anyone else, as most of the rioting seemed centred near Castle Korvosa. Arlo took the lead, having Godwin bring up the rear of the large group. Varion and Sera kept to the sides, making sure no one wandered off as they mo
-
The order came down. In the morning, the 2e demi-brigade d'infanterie légère would enter Toulon, making for the Place d'Armes. From there, they’d be marched to a place of embarkment, then rowed out to one of the waiting ships. Where were the ships going? England! Don’t be dumb; they were in the Mediterranean. There was no way the army would send them through Gibraltar and through the Atlantic to then brave the English Channel — the entire fleet would be mincemeat, no matter how large it wa
-
A bell tolled once, ringing throughout the city, then fell silent. Arlo led his new party up the docks, and the bell tolled again. He froze at the sound, his hand inches from the side door to the fishery. “Hold on a minute,” the kitsune muttered. And it took a minute. The bell tolled again. And Sera blanched. “That’s a death knell,” she said. “Someone died.” Arlo looked out along the West Dock. It remained dead except for a few hooded individuals all looking toward Castle Korvosa, rising
-
“So, what can everyone do?” It broke up the tense silence among the trio as they hurried toward the West Dock. It was an important question. It was a question that went unanswered. “I trained at the Orisini Academy after Gaedren had me kicked out of the Acadamae. I can use both rapier and pistol proficiently.” “And you’re a kitsune who hides his activities by day, hunting people you declare criminals by night,” Sera added. Arlo winced at the loud declaration. What good was a secret ide
-
Arlo scrubbed at a metal pan. Sweat dripped from his brow, and he had to keep drying his fur off. The scratch of the steel brush grated on his ears. The smell of half-eaten food infested his nose. Fuck this. Glancing around to make sure no one was coming, Arlo snapped his fingers. A miniscule strand of magic brushed over the pan, lifting most of the food stains and making them vanish. Close enough. Still, Arlo sighed as he took up his brush again. Memories slipped through his mind. Once
-
Thrust into a new reality, Arlo Green is once again tasked with recovering an artefact of immense power for his lich overlord. With a new cast of friends and enemies, and the heartbreak of losing his old party, will Arlo be able to complete his mission?
-
It took three weeks to return to France, bouncing all the way over rough dirt roads. Every bump sent lightning through Louis’ body, and threatened to upset the leeches attached to their thigh. The occupants of their wagon changed daily, but thankfully no one else died in front of them. They still died — bodies were hastily buried in shallow graves during the nights — but Louis rarely saw the foetid corpses, and for that, they were grateful. The leeches were slowly weaned off them. At one jolt
-
Laharpe’s division was granted a single day to recover, a single day to settle under the command of General Menard, himself under Massena… or was it Vaubois… maybe Augereau? Louis didn’t know. And after a short, furious siege of a walled town not two days after the ambush, they didn’t care. A respite was given for several days after the capture of Milan — Louis didn’t know exactly where that was, but they did know the city was supposed to be wealthy. A few days of searching turned up no gold,
-
For the next few weeks, Louis fought battle after battle, action after action. It seemed every day threw their life in jeopardy, and every night forced them on the march to the next day’s peril. Yet… they were moving forward. Not back. That meant they were winning, right? It all stopped one day. Suddenly Louis was permitted to sleep. Suddenly the marches went uninterrupted by cannon and musket fire. For nearly a week, by their count, the war abated. Rumours flew — the Austrians had fled the co
-
A dozen soldiers dangled from a chestnut tree along the coastal road to Savona. Louis stared at them as they marched with a new company. A sliver of pity was quickly extinguished — those men had nearly killed them. Louis would afford them no prolonged consideration. Their new boots were stiff, unyielding, threatening blisters on all sides of their feet. But they could feel the harsh rocks underfoot, powerless against the thick leather. A few blisters was a small price to pay for the luxury of
-
Throughout that winter, Louis learned the true meaning of desperation. Despite the onset of winter, the French army didn’t rest after the battle at Loano. Through lingering snow and mud, Louis trudged north along the Ligurian coast, in a roiling mass of soldiers and wagons and horses. They clung to their coat, they lamented their lack of boots, they cursed the army for neglecting the poor soldier fighting their war. Weren’t they supposed to get paid? Weren’t they supposed to eat? Louis hadn’t se
-
Two armies met outside Bardineto in the Ligurian Prealps. Muskets fired, and one regiment charged through the ensuing smoke. Before they could close with the other, their opponents broke, retreating with some semblance of order east of the village. Louis missed that fight. They were too busy crawling up another mountain overlooking the town. Thankfully, the Austrians didn’t seem eager to drag their cannons up the mountain face, so Louis and Sakis only had to deal with withering musket fire pep
-
“Do you want to talk about it?” Leo shook his head, pushing his breakfast around his plate. For some reason, he didn’t feel hungry. It probably had something to do with the emotions battling in his chest. Relief and anger duelled furiously, leaving scorched earth in their wake. They’d woken up in their customary tangle of limbs. Held each other like normal. It was Jeisa who pulled away today, not reluctant but satiated. Leo rolled over in bed, trying to catch a few more moments of peace befo
-
Two days after arriving at the division, Louis awoke to almost half a foot of snow weighing them down. Winter had appeared a few weeks early. On the one hand, Louis was relieved — wintertime was no season for prolonged campaigns; at best they might see a couple of foraging skirmishes, if that. On the other hand, they hadn’t had the chance to set up winter quarters, and waking up buried in snow was a miserable experience. Throughout the day, they also heard rumours of action the previous day. J
-
Snow whipped around them as Leo and Devin raced back to the house. Devin whooped with glee, kicking drifts and jumping into piles. Leo was more concerned about watching for cars. They could barely see a stone’s throw through the cascade, and the driving wind only made things worse, freezing Leo’s nose, numbing his toes. In the distance, a warm light glowed, a beacon luring them closer to home — until it moved, and a massive truck roared past, taking its light with it. A horn blared behind them
-
“Do you see that man over there?” Louis nodded in the late morning light, following Sakis’ pointing finger. Standing before the clock tower, a soldier in bright blue and white gazed out over a growing crowd of shoppers. Tired eyes took in passersby before dismissing them summarily. Sakis knew exactly what he was looking for. Standing in a small alley, the satyr looked Louis over thoughtfully. “You’re hungry. Desperate. There is no hope left for you; your darling betrothed has just abandone
-
There was no grand fanfare when Mason Hill walked through the Gate of Hades. For an instant, Athanasios’ lyre faltered. A wrong note was plucked. Then it was done. The latest in a long line of mortals had left him to his fate. He stamped down a flash of indignant rage, and began playing again. The same song and dance, played out time and time again, and always ending in tragedy. The garments he wore warped. Symbols and letters faded, until Sakis was left in a rusted tunic, with a faded red c
-
Athanasios was once cursed by Aphrodite to never enter Hades until he experienced true heartbreak. For millennia, the satyr has served at the goddess' whims, a pawn given to mortals who invoke her name. Can a jaded soul find love? Or will Sakis be doomed to forever wander the Necropolis?
-
A week passed. Leo played for Mason, with the promise of dinner after the concert. He found Mason speaking to several Faro. “Oh, I’m sorry Leo, I didn’t realise I’d be this busy,” the Cervidas apologised, adding a “Maybe we can get lunch after class tomorrow?” Leo nodded, accepting the offer. Mason never showed. Another week passed. Devin came home from school gushing about a Cervidas Jeisa had shown him. Someone named Michael. When asked about them, Jeisa confided that they were a syn
