《The Triumphs and Tribulations of Kai Jameson》Chap. 18
Advertisement
Kai woke with the dawn. Physically he felt great, he could have run a marathon and then fought a duel at the end of it. This new world was great for the body; the mind, not so much. Mentally Kai was exhausted. He sat on his bed in the dark as light crept in around the window curtain someone had hung to make the barracks a bit more like a home.
Motes of dust floated in the air, highlighted by the strip of light that came in. Kai focused on the dust. His mind connected the points of dust in various configurations, his own imagined set of ever changing constellations. The exercise calmed Kai’s mind as he let go of reality and the situation; he lost himself in creating and imagining a wider sea of images and patterns. Kai opened his eyes and realized it was well past dawn and Alric was going to be pissed. He jumped from the bed, snatched up his bokken, and rushed out the barracks door.
“Shit Alric. I’m sorry I’m late. I was meditating after I woke up and just lost track of time completely.” Alric nodded. Then smirked as he turned and began to walk toward the obstacle course. It was going to be another day of agony for Kai.
The sun blazed overhead and Kai collapsed at the end of the obstacle course. He had managed to complete the entire course without being hit once by Alric’s Mana Bolt. He also managed to hit all of the ranged targets with his own Mana Bolt. In the process he also drank at least twenty of the novice mana potions he had originally been gifted. As he sucked in air and it dawned on him that Alric had not started shouting at him to begin the course again.
He decided to roll the dice and opened his eyes to look at Alric. The man was less than a foot from Kai and stared intently at him. “Have you finally recovered from the course? We do have places to be and things to do today.” With those words Alric turned and walked away from the obstacle course. Perhaps the day wouldn’t be one of complete hell.
Advertisement
Alric lead him to a section of the town Kai had yet to visit, the manufacturing area. Hammers banged, saws sung as they cut wood, and curses filled the air, Kai recognized the sounds of productivity and creation, he was thrilled. “Alric, you’re finally letting me begin to learn a craft? What am I learning? Did you decide that I should be an Enchanter? Or maybe a blacksmith? I hope you don’t expect me to make bows. I’m not a bow person. They just seem too distant dependant if you get into close quarters they are useless. I can’t wait to see what I can make. This is going to be so awesome. Oh I know. Potions! Yes.” Alric remained silent and just shook his head.
The two arrived at a quieter section and Alric politely knocked on a door rather than barging in. Must be someone important, Kai thought. The door opened and a plain guy stood there. He looked at Alric then turned to Kai and studied him for a moment. “Sam expected you two hours ago.” The man turned and walked into the darkness. Alric shrugged and followed the man; Kai trailed behind.
They walked deeper into the building through the darkness and Kai made out a light that flickered ahead, a rectangle of a doorway illuminated. The unnamed man walked through the doorway, Alric and Kai hurried behind. As the two stepped into the room Kai was blinded by the fire of a roaring furnace.
“Welcome. Glad you could join me here.” An older man in a long apron stepped away from an anvil. He turned to the two men and his silhouette loomed as the flames in the forge expanded and contracted.
The man turned to Kai and extended his hand. “Hi there. I’m Sam Hoss, the Dawn Smith.” Like a robot Kai shook Sam’s outstretched hand. He gulped.
Advertisement
“Uhm, hello sir. I, uh, did not realize I would have a chance to meet and work with you.” Kai fumbled.
Sam’s rich laughter filled the forge. “Son, your words to Alric at lunch made him think of an idea none of us had yet.” He turned and looked Alric, “I for one should have thought of it after seeing the Blood Embroidery from the recent contest. Anyways, I have put Sean and Andrea to work on the idea and expanded it a bit. To start with I shall show you a few things to get you started. Have you thought about any particular type of crafting young Kai?”
“I’m uncertain sir of what can be done, and what may be needed by the town. I mentioned that I’m good at languages so perhaps engraving or enchanting. Is there anything like that.” Kai spoke with hesitation before him stood the head crafter of Donnyton. He was almost at a loss for words.
“Those things are all well and good for after something has been shaped and made. Did you want to actually craft anything? You know swing a hammer and make a sword? Use a drawknife and make a bow? Throw some liquids in a pot and brew a potion to heal someone? That kind of stuff. To be honest most folks make things that they plan on using themselves. You need plate armor pick up a hammer and start forging. You plan on sneaking around in hard leather armor go skin some animals, if you can find them. That kind of thing. Now what way are you leaning?”
Sam’s words washed over Kai and he thought. He stared into the flames of the forge and imagined a hundred futures. He was a knight in full plate holding a narrow gap to save the village. He was a bodyguard that moved with speed to protect various leaders from outside threats. He held a staff that glowed with a blue-white arcane power. The ideas blurred past his eyes.
“I’m not certain yet sir. I see myself as either a strong defender who protects the people with him. But I also love to travel and see new sights that people talk about but never go and see themselves. I guess in this world I’d probably be the first to see those sights even. So is there such a thing as a scout that isn’t heavy but isn’t a pushover either?”
Alric nodded. “That’s a tall order but I think we can guide your skills that way. So what equipment do you see yourself using?”
“Well my sword of course, magic for distance. I’ll need to move swiftly, so leather or maybe really light chain or monster scales depending on weight. But to be honest I don’t see myself physically making any of that equipment. I can see myself modifying and tinkering with it after the fact. Adding custom effects and abilities through some type of magic. What if I poured mana into the scales of a monster while it was being shaped? Or I painted some glyphs or runes to stuff. Isn’t that how things work now?” Kai was lost and just rambling at the end.
Advertisement
The Legion of Nothing
Nick Klein is your average high school geek--if you can still count as average when your grandfather is a retired superhero, and you've been trained in the martial arts by his friend, a mysterious, immortal mercenary. After his grandfather dies, Nick inherits the last version of the Rocket suit, powered armor that allows him to shrug off bullets, smash through walls, and manipulate sound. Along with it comes the base of his grandfather's superhero team including the team's jet and trophies from forty years of fighting criminals and aliens. Together, Nick and his friends, descendants of his grandfather's teammates, attempt to bring back a superhero team that was originally formed during World War 2. Along the way they'll face the normal problems of high school (bullies, homework, and dating), and the less normal problems like supervillians and mysteries leftover from their grandparents' past. As a story, it uses the conventions of all eras of comics from the 1940s on, ranging from serious to silly. If you're hoping for a grim and gritty story, this isn't it. The Legion of Nothing first debuted on my website legionofnothing.com in 2007. In that period it's updated more than 900 times, is still running, and has had millions of pageviews. The first two years have been released as an ebook, receiving good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. I hope you'll enjoy it, and that you'll review it and comment. You can also vote for it on Top Web Fiction and rate it on Web Fiction Guide. Member of The Order of Phantasmal Architects.
8 283I Reincarnated as a "true beast" and this world will be mine (true beast)
People have things they desire money, woman, or even to just lay in bed. A man named Josiah who was 70 years old, encountered his sudden death at the hand of aging filled with regret and wanted to control his path. He reincarnated as a true beast. Now watch as he overcomes all adversities and fulfills his goals.
8 210Free Lances
"All right, boys and girls, quit sucking your ma's teats. It's high time we bloody earn our paychecks!" Born in times of turmoil, orphaned at a young age, and raised amongst rowdy sellswords, young Reinhardt Edelstein joined the mercenary trade as well when he grew up. When misfortune finally caught up with them, and the mercenary company he had been part of fell into an ambush and was decimated, he survived by chance, along with a few others. Then he found the baton of responsibility passed on to his hand, as the adopted nephew of the late captain. Stuck behind enemy lines, with only the tattered remnants of the once proud company around him, he strived to do his best, to rebuild the company to its former glory... Should they survive the current conflict. Would he succeed in etching his name in the annals of history? Or would he end up as a mere footnote instead? Only time will tell… Chapters will range from 1-2k words, scheduled for release every day from Monday to Friday. --------------------------------------- Expect: -War, with little to no punches pulled. -Army building -Tragedies, and dark Comedy/gallows humor. -Occasional action Do not expect: -Much in terms of romance -Much politics, barring passing views and mentions -A lighthearted tale. This story will not play nice. Any comments, reviews, and criticism will be much appreciated. And thank you for reading. --------------------------------------- This story is my original work and only posted on the Royal Road and Scribblehub websites. If you should find this story elsewhere or under another name, please let me know. Also please don't be too hard on me when I make occasional grammatical mistakes, English is my third language after all. XD Edit suggestions are very welcome though. READ UP TO 25 CHAPTERS AHEAD ON MY PATREON AT https://www.patreon.com/Avitue
8 383Episode 2: SPAWN
A vampire was destroyed in the city of Two Rivers. Her second death points detectives Alton and Cook of the Unjust Existence Extermination Investigation Force in the direction of an agent of a foreign power, and suggests the existence of a greater vampiric plot that undermines the reputation of the city for fair treatment of living-impaired citizens. Set in the world of Manifest Destiny - a shared hombrew D&D 3.5/Pathfinder 1 campaign setting that has been in use since 2007, this is a fantasy police procedural similar in style to Law & Order. Retired player characters make cameo appearances. This work originally won NaNoWriMo in 2015, and will update every Saturday until complete.
8 217MORE | stray kids OT8
"𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩""𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪."In which an innocent girl gets tangled up in the mafia. ------------------------ Yandere OT8, mafia au.Please read the warning chapter first.ONGOING, NOT COMPLETED
8 144Just Friends
You don't fall in love with your best friend. Especially if he has a girlfriend. A girlfriend who is drop- dead gorgeous and has a sophisticated British accent. But that's exactly what happens to Jade Tucker. When her best friend Alexander Carter comes back home after almost 8 years the last thing she expected was for him to have a girlfriend. Now her life is in a mess. She's is in love with her best friend who's getting engaged. And he wants to be Just Friends. Or does he? A story of friends, family and love!!
8 179