Christopher Martin

Stories 7
Chapters 2,157
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Reading 2 days, 19 hours2 d, 19 h
  • by Christopher Martin Priam climbed back up to the surface, Sphinx nestling comfortably on his shoulder. Ahead of him, the tunnel continued into the darkness. Behind him, a creature of horror was trying to catch up. Fortunately for Priam, Saghtjp, the Queen Mother - the spider's name - was being controlled by one of his allies. On second thought, ally might have been a bit strong. Rather a temporary helper. Anatole's gaze never left his back and Priam could feel it - perhaps an effect of his high Perception? Either way, it…
  • by Christopher Martin Priam climbed back up to the surface, Sphinx nestling comfortably on his shoulder. Ahead of him, the tunnel continued into the darkness. Behind him, a creature of horror was trying to catch up. Fortunately for Priam, Saghtjp, the Queen Mother - the spider's name - was being controlled by one of his allies. On second thought, ally might have been a bit strong. Rather a temporary helper. Anatole's gaze never left his back and Priam could feel it - perhaps an effect of his high Perception? Either way, it…
  • by Christopher Martin Triggering a Tribulation involves exceeding certain attribute thresholds. The system offers a certain - variable - preparation time before the Tribulation occurs. The user can choose to trigger his Tribulation at any time during this lapse of time. Thresholds - Tier 0: 1/3/6/12 attributes above 100,200,300,etc. The only exception is if the first attribute exceeds 100. At this point, a warning is issued to the user. Priam has currently triggered a quadruple Tribulation. The thresholds he has exceeded…
  • by Christopher Martin Alain looked up at the sky. The ground trembled beneath his feet, and a gigantic ash cloud rose into the atmosphere. Or rather, a column. "A volcano? But the ash should disperse. Curious..." "I've seen stranger things," Louis muttered. "Once, one of my students wanted to show me a circus trick. He swallowed alcohol to spit fire... through his nose. His nose hairs burned off." "... I don't see what this has to do with the volcano," commented Mirscella. "That's because you didn't see him spitting fire…
  • by Christopher Martin Safamu roared. His Tribulation was reaching its climax. As proof, the northern lights were beginning to disperse, and the last of the wisps were falling like cursed snowflakes. Unfortunately, most of them were touching the ground, reinforcing the final rune of the Tribulation. The Earl felt both enraged and hopeful. Three different human armies surrounded him. One of them, the last to arrive, had been largely massacred by the animals. Knocked unconscious and transported under wisp fire, thousands of…
  • by Christopher Martin "You're faster than expected," sighed Anatole. Seeing Priam's gaze, he added. "Why are you looking at me like that? I've created chimeras by fusing humans. I'm ready to make sacrifices too." Priam floated to the ground and raised his spear. Knowing Anatole, a trap could happen at any moment. The giant spider lowered its head slightly so that Anatole and Priam could exchange a glance. "... Why?" Priam didn't know what else to say. That a man could willingly merge with a creature of horror seemed…
  • by Christopher Martin Every hundred meters or so, side galleries opened onto the main tunnel. At each junction, Priam stuck his nose to the ground, trying to catch the scent of the spider. Inevitably, it was coming from the front. The tunnel went deeper and deeper into the darkness. Finally, after some twenty minutes, he reached the end. Before him lay a dark well. For a spider, the path simply continued vertically. Priam leaned over the edge and peered down. To the naked eye, almost nothing was visible. The lines of…
  • by Christopher Martin The tunnel eventually widened before opening up, revealing a vast cavern. Several hundred meters underground, the giant cavity was home to hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of cocoons. Hanging to the rock walls, their white color contrasted with the surrounding darkness. About the size of a soccer field, the cavern must have been almost ten meters high. At this depth, the only light available was the bluish glow of the mushrooms. The density of their lines had increased considerably. Many lines…
  • by Christopher Martin Survivor tips: You can ask twenty questions to an assembly over the next twenty-four hours. This council is formed by an infinite number of hypothetical Priams who have just survived their Tribulations. These questions must concern your survival. Each answer will consist of a single short sentence. Sitting on one of the huge branches of the Jubokko tree, Priam reread his reward description. He didn't want to leave anything to chance - or rather, he tried to leave nothing to chance. Waiting for his new…
  • by Christopher Martin Sphinx was annoyed. The two Viscounts in front of her refused to let them pass. At first, she had returned with Blueberry to secure the Spring. Unfortunately, the Earl was a paranoid old lion who'd thought to put a guard on his treasure. After seeing the Earl's Tribulation, Sphinx told herself he was right to be paranoid. But he couldn't have known that before! Unless one always had to be paranoid while preparing for the worst? That sounded downright tiresome. Sphinx decided not to be paranoid. Priam…
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