C.B. Ash's Blog: Scribbled Notes, page 2

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 25

Amates 29, 1277. Still in the Obsidian Armory, only this time learning more than I bargained for.

​    “What’s that?”

     I jerked in surprise, almost knocking the books off the table. Mikasi stood off to my right and had leaned over to see what I was doing. I know this wasn’t true, but it felt like he had appeared out of thin air.

     There wasn’t a water clock nearby, but I felt stiff from sitting in mostly one position. I had been deep into reading the Xinder Codex, oblivious to the world. Aft...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 24

Amates 29, 1277. Searching the Obsidian Armory library and learning a few new things…

    It turned out Ki was right. The Talabreans had been busy with their studies. Honestly, I wasn’t that surprised. They’re under constant threat by slimy things oozing up from the darkness, looking to kill them every month. The Talabreans’ work kept themselves safe.

     Once we entered the library, Ki, Mikasi, and myself split up between the tall shelves of books and side rooms. We figured that would let us cov...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 23

Amates 29, 1277. Outside the town of Talabrae’s Deep at the edge of the Great Chasm


    “Infected?” I sputtered. “Like a plague?”

    Ki shrugged. Maybe it was all his physician’s training, but he seemed far too calm about that.

     “Infected? Yes. Like a plague? I have no idea. There isn’t much written about mind magic.” He sighed before he took a sip of his coffee. “Magic isn’t clean, Tela. It’s a gamble. That’s why I try to be so precise when I cast healing spells. It helps me cut down on the r...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 22

Amates 29, 1277. Outside the town of Talabrae’s Deep at the edge of the Great Chasm
​
     “Town ahead! Talabrae’s Deep!”

   Tyre’s bellow from the front of the windwagon jarred me awake. I found the world’s largest cat nose sniffing at my cheek. His whiskers almost made me sneeze. It took me another minute to drag myself from sleep and form words. Coffee would help. Somewhere close by, people were moving around the windwagon.

     “Yoi T’kalo, Nicodemus.”

     This had been my morning ritual for the...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 21

Amates 21, 1277. Coming face to face with what I believe is true.

    I took one look at that chunk of crystal in Odro’s claws and wanted to crawl up the side of a wall.

    Instead, I stumbled to my feet, then staggered back a step. It was all pure instinct. A reaction to just seeing the thing. The fact it was lit up with magic didn’t help one bit.

    It took a few breaths before I collected myself. My heart was hammering in my ears. The memories of what Baron Marius did were still raw. I focused...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 20

Amates 21, 1277. On a platform, in an unknown ruin, under the middle of nowhere in the plains. This was getting to be a really long day.

    I’ve been in fights before, but this was different. From the outside, it looked like a rolling mess of kobolds clawing at each other. It wasn’t. This was every bit a skirmish between two small armies.

    Each side had their own leader, who directed the overall battle strategy. There was also the kobold who controlled the tactics for their part of the mob. Mo...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 19

Amates 21, 1277. Underground, unarmed, in the middle of nowhere, with only one light. Things have been worse…

    I wanted to run out the door, but that would have been a mistake. Instead, I eased through the doorway and looked around.

    The light from my Sun Orb gave me a better look at my situation. The direction I came from was a jumble of broken rust-tan brick, earth, and stones. I already knew that, but it felt good to check in case I missed something in the dark before.

    What I didn’t kn...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 18

Amates 21, 1277. Probably still mid-morning. Definitely still no coffee. At least the ground had stopped shaking.

    Nothing says ‘hurry’ like a cave in.

  The earthquake rattled the hallway and split open the bricks. Chunks of stone rained from the ceiling, then shattered close to my feet. I hugged the wall while I ran. Jagged cracks in the floor chased me until it was too dark to see them.
 
  After a few seconds, the earthquake stopped. Darkness buried the hallway and everything near me in an i...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 17

Amates 21, 1277. Mid-morning. Alone with my thoughts, and a little more. The latter wasn’t the best company.

    I knew exactly where I was. Out in the middle of nowhere.

    It had been about an hour since I had cut myself loose from the ropes. After that, I picked a direction and started walking through the dry prairie heat. I could tell where ‘east’ and ‘west’ were just by the position of the sun. North and south were a bit harder.

    For those, I pointed my left arm toward the rising sun and m...

The Dark Device of the Great Chasm, Chapter 16

Amates 21, 1277. Early morning on the prairie after having been tossed out like a sack of potatoes with no coffee in sight.

    The mercenary tossed me into the dirt, which caused nearby insects and a prairie ferret to run for safety. The fall knocked some of the wind out of me and I gasped in the dusty, dry air. I glared up at my captor through the first rays of the morning sun.

    She wasn’t impressed.

    The woman smirked back with a toothy grin, complete with orcish fangs. Lean and hard muscl...