Patricia Wilson
Stories
10
Chapters
3,347
Words
163.4 K
Comments
0
Reading
13 h, 37 m
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Truth had his priorities straight. After zipping away from the Embassy of Siphios and the alarming number of recording talismans, watcher spirits and unmarked, windowless ‘delivery wagons' parked up and down the street, he followed the signs to the local supermarket. He let his eyes go soft, trying to look with his peripheral vision. Taking long, slow breaths through his nose. The right target would have a specific aroma, more spiritual than literal. He would know it when he smelled it. There! He…-
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Truth sat and read the spellbook for Earth Folding Step. It was the longest single spell he had ever seen, blowing past Incisive and Cup and Knife. The Meditations would be practically a footnote in comparison. He got it, though. Those spells were intended to grow based on your understanding of them. Learn them early, and they will evolve with you. Not Earth Folding Step. You had to be in the upper middle levels or even the lower high levels to even begin studying it. Using it safely was a whole separate…
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Three spells to choose from. First- Earth Folding Step. Direct combat utility was… more than zero, but not a big number. More tactical than direct damage. The ability to instantly close and retreat would be an enormous edge, as would the ability to directly scram out of combat. Or run down fleeing targets. Actually, it would also make your ambush range ridiculous. Launching an assault from outside their patrol range was very spicy indeed. As was the strategic effect. He was a nightmare to pin down, but…
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Merkovah lead Truth from the enchanted conference room to a small interview room. It was just big enough for two chairs, a desk, and extremely robust privacy protections. Truth wasn’t entirely fit to talk. The old monster gave him time to pull himself together. Flipping through the books in the room while he waited. Truth eventually drew a heavy breath and focused on Merkovah. “Etenesh doesn’t practice body cultivation.” “True. Though she isn’t too far from Level Four. There might just be…
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Truth thought about it a bit longer. He could sort of see what they were getting at. The conversion process, at least while he was working for Starbrite, took years to be fully effective. Or, at least, for a complete personality change, which was probably the only indication the job was done. He really tried not to think about Harmony. About the brother he worked his ass off to get into C-Tier and equipped with the System. Six years. Long time to be under. The mountainside was filled with the soft…
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Truth wasn’t sure of the etiquette here. Normally, he would start the sentence with “Ms.-” but being a Siphios aristocrat, the old lady didn’t have a last name. “Madame-” and a job title was also a valid choice, also impossible due to him not actually knowing her job title. Madame Ambassador? But she wasn’t the ambassador, and what kind of weirdo would like being called by their husband’s rank? Then, of course, you were on to the tricky business of explaining that their clearly carefully…
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The smell of the incense mixed with the woodsmoke and the coffee to create something incredible. A sensory mist that spoke to them, and the world around them. It was the only one talking. The group sat quietly around the fire, plainly not clear on where to start. “Just to confirm- you rescued the Shattervoid girl?” Merkovah asked. “Yes. Well, basically yes.” Everyone tensed up, but Truth waved them down again. “I disabled the spells restraining her and she carried us out of the volcano and into…
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It took twenty minutes for the receptionist to return. Truth noticed that, regrettably, she did not have any coffee. Worse, she was also giving him a distinctly odd look. Well hidden, but he was used to spotting odd looks by now. She, apparently, was used to spotting disappointment. “Sorry for the long delay, Mr. Wells. Good news on the coffee though.” “Oh?” “Yes. Instead of a paper cup of our cafeteria’s workhorse blend, you will be enjoying three cups of the finest hand picked, sun dried,…
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Truth raced the sunset into the big city on the river. His road atlas claimed, to Truth’s deep suspicion, that the name of the town was “The Hot Male Side of the Shang River.” Which was clearly stupid on several levels, not least of which being that the river (according to that same road atlas) was called the Han. The city, whatever it was called, came as a shock to Truth’s senses. He was a Harban boy, born and bred. He was used to high density, hive-like slum towers and gorgeous wealthy…
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The iron horse ate up the kilometers, running south and west, paralleling the plume of smoke and ash from the volcano. People were on the roads, trying to evacuate. Some people were let through, long buses pulled by seven legged lizards carefully screened by the checkpoints. Others were turned back, told to go home. Truth couldn’t see any justification for letting some people through but not others. The locals apparently agreed. There weren't any riots. There were secret police waiting in every crowd,…
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