John Davis
Stories
4
Chapters
1,426
Words
411.5 K
Comments
0
Reading
1 d, 10 h
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By the time Arthur made it back to his room within the hive, the beginning of dawn was visible along the bare edge of horizon. His mind was still buzzing with revelations, but his body had hit the wall. Exhausted, , he stumbled in, haphazardly tore off his clothing and laid down on his bed. Knocking at his door woke him what felt like five seconds later. He stumbled across the room clad in only old trousers. When he cracked open the door, it was to see Kenzie glaring at him from the other side. "Do you…-
71 •
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Arthur made his way, deliberately slowly and with dignity he imagined befit a noble, down the first few levels. No one offered him a dragon ride down. Not a big surprise -- from the glances outside the windows, many of the hive dragons were still on the wing, seen as darting shadowed shapes in the night air. This had been already been long, long night. And he had a very long walk ahead of him. But there was more important things to be done. By the third level down, he was reasonably sure no one had…
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71 •
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Valentina brought Arthur and Cressida into the same luxurious room Arthur had visited before. Which meant that the dark Legendary egg was somewhere on a nearby balcony. Arthur tried not to search around too obviously, but judging by Valentina's grumpy expression, he failed. Meanwhile, Joy had found the stuffed couches utterly fascinating and had abandoned Cressida's arms to leap on one... much to Cressida's horror. "No, don't bother," Valentina snapped as Cressida went to collect her dragon. "It's only a…
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71 •
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Arthur looked away from the newly created card, though he was intensely curious. It was a private moment and Cressida was allowed to keep her secrets. Arthur certainly had enough of his own. He looked back at a squeak from the dragon. Her scales had returned to full vibrancy -- almost eye watering pink. She stood up on newly strengthened legs and launched herself: front and back legs and wings, to capture Cressida in a tight hug. "I can breathe!" the hatchling said, full throated and happy. "And the…
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71 •
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"Whose apartment is this?" By Cressida's wary tone, she already knew the answer. Arthur shrugged and stepped to cover a stain on the thin rug. He couldn't remember what made it. Likely a spilled drink, but it had dried into an unsightly brown splotch. And... there was a lot more dust than he remembered. It covered every surface. He had never brought a girl back to his apartment before, and now he was remembering why. Cressida's curious gaze fell on Horatio's old cot which still sat tucked up to the…
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71 •
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Arthur and Cressida ran up the stairs to find the scholar's guild in complete chaos. The scourge-bats had not made their escape quietly, and it seemed they were not used to flying outside of the confined space of the room. There were black marks wherever they had brushed the stone walls -- patches of scourge rot. Arthur hoped it would not take root before someone came to exterminate it. A distant scream came from a level above. He and Cressida exchanged a grim look. The scholar's feast had been…
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71 •
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One of the scourge-bats flew right at Arthur. He braced himself and swung the cleaver. It passed right through the bat as if it were an illusion. Except the creature was all too real as it latched onto his forearm with claws like needles. Arthur flailed, switching the knife from one hand to the other to slash down. But as he did, the bat’s body seemed to dissolve through his arm, dropping down through the limb to catch itself on the fabric of his shirt. It brought its teeth down and Arthur screamed as…
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71 •
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Arthur slammed the door shut. An instant later something hit the other side of the door. The cracked runes around the flame lit, flickered, and went out again. There was a rush of hot air behind him. Arthur turned to see Cressida had summoned her flame bear. It was the full version, not the baby bears meant for warmth. It was a hulking figure next to her, its shoulders equal to her own, but on all fours. "Watch the flames!" Arthur yelped. They were standing next to the bookcases and some loose pages…
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71 •
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Arthur went down the line of shelves. Most of it was stuffed with paperwork of all types: books, scrolls, and loose papers with scribbled notes. Here and there, set like markers between them, sat the cards in glass cases. Every one of them turned to dust at the slightest touch. Cressida let out a happy cry and turned to Arthur in triumph. "This one is still good." She glanced at it and then sagged slightly. "It's only an Uncommon, though." "The rank shouldn't matter. This is... this is criminal!" Arthur…
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71 •
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Barlow let them in, all smiles, and completely unaware he had just blown Arthur’s cover. Arthur felt Cressida’s eyes like a heat on the back of his neck. Considering her card’s power, that might not be an exaggeration. Still, she kept silent as they lugged boxes of produce through the door. His With that in mind, he looked to Barlow. “Why are you working here? Nothing’s happened to the restaurant, I hope?” The restaurant where Arthur had first gotten his start was not far from his old…
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71 •
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