David Martinez
Stories
11
Chapters
3,348
Words
937.5 K
Comments
0
Reading
3 d, 6 h
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“What's wrong with us?” Maline said with a glint in her eyes. “Oh darling, if you knew how much money was being thrown around you wouldn’t ask that question. Besides, the boy was living on borrowed time, he had a handful of weeks remaining as best before his body gave out and my toxins finished him off. If anything, it was a mercy to give his life value one last time.” “You’re monologuing, love.” Kurt said, the grey skinned man glaring impassively down at the puddle that had once been a…
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The streets leading up to the western canal were silent, absent of all life except for the occasional scurrying rodent or half-drunk vagrant lying in shadowed alleys. Leif could sense the life within the homesteads they ran past, family units sharing spaces barely large enough to fit them as they sheltered from the encroaching night as much as the distant war. He had taken to carrying all of their newly bought possessions himself. The burden didn’t slow him, but it was somewhat inconvenient to carry.…
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The streets emptied the further Lucia fled from the mercantile district. Those that remained on the darkening roads gave her a wide berth or otherwise ignored her completely. She darted into side alleys, backtracking and obfuscating her path as best she could. The longer the shadows grew the more effective became, and Lucia flitted between buildings and cover, all but invisible during the brief moments her pursuer may have been able to spot her. She ran along a wall, only for the man to emerge from an…
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The air warped as a haymaker from a fist the size of Leif’s torso ripped over his head. The giant, rust-red furred ape screeched as it followed up with its other fist, only for the blow to be deflected as Leif raised two golden forearms to guide the strike aside. The ape, expecting to have connected with the second blow, stumbled forward, off balance for just a moment. In the opening granted by its mistake, an ivory palm drove into the side of its head, blasting the shed-sized beast through a nearby…
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Lucia waited until none of the sell-swords were around the campfire before she stepped into line, an empty bowl in one hand and the other resting against the hilt of her wooden sword. It took a handful of minutes to reach the two men who were cooking and serving the refugees. “Ah, you must be the girl travelling with the masked adventurer.” One of them said, a ladle dipped into the half empty pot. “Is everything okay? You look nervous.” “I’m fine.” She said, though the back of her neck…
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The increasingly crimson light of season’s cracked face bathed the old stone fortress in an ominous ambiance, the mostly crumbled fortifications were still blanketed with the evening's rainfall, and the old and abandoned structure shimmered as if soaked in the blood of an ancient battle. An owl watched Leif from the peak of a half destroyed tower, occasionally flying away on silent wings, only to return minutes later with still wriggling prey in its sharpened beak. The derelict fortress was heavy with…
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Melton fought down the urge to cough as dust and ash fell from the roof, the scent of smoke like the twisting of a knife into his lungs. One of his eyes was matted shut with blood, and the foot long splinter sticking out of his right shin made walking impossible. The barn he was taking refuge within shook, and the frightened barn animals cowering in the far corner bleated in alarm. Everything had gone wrong so quickly, so many had died, and he wasn’t sure who was left. A squad of imperial soldiers had…
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“You should pick the eye power. I think someone fighting in the quadriad had something similar, she could look at people and they would lock up briefly. It won her several fights.” “Uh huh.” Leif said, compressing the now spherical ball of driftwood that had been his walking stick. “I don’t think I noticed that one.” “I don’t think you were there when she fought. Anyway, it was only for a second, but you only need a second in a fight. It could help you close the gap between you and an…
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“Should you have killed him?” Lucia asked, glancing over her shoulder as she and Leif walked between the sandy hills and arid shrublands that lined the western coast. “He might have been lying.” “He wasn’t. I could tell.” Leif replied, stabbing a driftwood staff into the side of the dune as he scaled it. “Also, I’m concerned you would ask me that. I don’t think killing another person should be one of the first courses of action you consider.” He reached the top, boots leaving deep…
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The ascent leading up to the palace in Varan city was Flavia’s favourite place in the entire lakeside settlement. It was lined with beautiful arrays of multicoloured flowers, artfully sculpted statues painted in lavish golds and silvers, and the multitude of endlessly flowing fountains added a bubbling ambiance to the walk that threatened to transport her to another world. It reminded her of the gardens and courtyards back home, though a hundred times more regal. The shimmering domes of the palace…
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