Haylock

52 - Transformation

In a room long since abandoned by the god that created it, something miraculous occurred.

A construct whirred to life.

For centuries, this creation had lain dormant, lacking both the energy and parameters to perform its tasks. Well, ex...

51 - Willpower

The air thickened around me.

The chill morning breeze stilled, and the warmth from the sun seemed to vanish as if a cloud obscured it. I glanced up, seeing not a single cloud in the sky, then looked back at Barry.

His eyes were fixated...

50 - Lobster

I’d seen Snips excited before, especially when waking me up, but the fervor with which she woke me this morning was at a previously unseen level.

She and Claws both led me toward the saltwater pond, running ahead of me on the sand and urgi...

49 - Medicine

“W-what?” I asked, rather dumbly, by my estimation.

Corporal Claws and Sergeant Snips both turned to me, their eyes going wide.

They had excavated the pond further. It was twice again as deep as the last time I’d seen it, and was...

48 - Confrontation

Sergeant Snips, first chosen of master Fischer, sentinel of these lands, and de facto leader of the local Rock Crab population, collected some rather lovely looking rocks.

She’d picked them for their pretty color, and as she inspected the ...

47 - Confrontation

“No, Fischer—you lost!” Barry called back, exulting in the relief of knowing the fields wouldn’t wash away.

He bent down, picked up the single stalk of sugarcane that had been lifted from the soil, and pressed it firmly back down. 2023-07-18 11:03:10 +0000 UTC View Post

46 - Flood

I woke from a wonderful dream, one in which I was surrounded by a veritable sanctuary of animals.

My legs were inexplicably warm, and I opened sleepy eyes, glancing down toward them.

Corporal Claws slept atop my bed, letting out soft s...

45 - Taproot

Sergeant Snips scuttled beneath the waves surrounding Tropica, searching.

The moon high above shone its light down atop her, brightening the sea floor.

Despite the myriad benefits of her new body, it also had its detriments.

She ...

44 - The Plan

Barry’s face scrunched in obvious disgust as the oyster’s flavor and texture hit him.

He bit down a single time, and his disappointment only deepened.

He swallowed it whole, his whole body trembling.

“Yeahhhhhh,” I said, ...

43 - Lemons

In a long abandoned room, high in the capital city of Gormona’s castle, a construct sat among a sea of similarly forgotten relics.

Despite there being no-one present, not a single pair of eyes there to witness its efforts, it sprung to lif...

42 - Pulse

I removed the hanger from the forge when it glowed red, just as Fergus had suggested.

He passed his pliers, and I started shaping it.

I started with a smaller hanger, not wanting to waste any of the smith’s metal if it went poorly. 2023-07-18 11:00:34 +0000 UTC View Post

41 - Another Task

With Sergeant Snips and Corporal Claws napping peacefully in the sun, I made my way toward the fields.

Those two really did a number on themselves by working all night.

As soon as the food had settled, they both started fallin...

40 - Claws

Barry sat straight-backed, his legs crossed before him as the sun started to peek over the eastern horizon.

“This was such a good idea, Barry,” Maria said.

Roger harrumphed from the other side of his daughter.

“It’s lovel...

39 - Approval

I stopped my hand before it got too close to the otter as I realized what I was doing.

Noticing my outreached hand from the corner of its eye, the otter turned from the crab, giving me a questioning chirp.

“Is… is it okay if I pet ...

38 - Soft Fur

“A pond?” Roger spat the word, turning it into a curse.

“That’s right—a pond.”

Maria peered down at the hole, curiosity etched on her features.

“What does it have to do with fishing?”

“Well, ...

37 - Neighbors

Maria’s body struck mine, whisking my thoughts away.

I hadn't realized how much I’d been missing physical touch, and my heart seemed to jump at the impromptu embrace.

Her toned form latched onto me like a lost sailor clinging to a ...

36 - Solution

As was becoming a welcome part of my morning routine, I woke up to a crab looming over me.

Sergeant Snips tapped my nose delicately with her claw, blowing bubbles that were instantly recognizable as a mix of excitement and pride.

Her s...

35 - Insufficient Power

Sergeant Snips, best friend and protector of Fischer, huffed on the shore as she glared at where the otter had disappeared, daring it to show its face once more.

The otter seemed different, and Snips suspected the creature had experienced so...

34 - Fun

As I took one last sweeping stroke with the file, the reel seemed to transform.

It shrunk and smoothed out infinitesimally, the change so minute that I hoped the brothers wouldn’t notice.

Along with the transformation, the System tri...

33 - Collar

“What in Apollo’s delicate lute are you planning behind that toe-like face, Trent?”

Trent, first-in-line to the throne, and only marginally resembling a toe by his reckoning, closed his slackened jaw.

He turned away from the para...

32 - Fischer's Cooking

Trent, the first-in-line to the throne of Gormona, wiped his sweaty palms on his velvet pants.

It didn’t help.

He sat in a waiting room, his slow brain churning at an entirely unusual speed.

There weren’t many things in this ...

31 - Extraordinary

With the midday sun beaming down, I held on for dear life.

The fish on the other end of my rod swam away in a straight line, the momentum of its body gliding away above the ocean floor. Its weight felt immense.

Just how big is this...