Patricia Wilson
Stories
10
Chapters
3,347
Words
163.4 K
Comments
0
Reading
13 h, 37 m
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The front entry way had a spot for people to take off their shoes and admire the professional pictures on the wall. Truth ignored both. He made his way to the living room, a vast space connecting the first and second floors of the duplex penthouse. There was glass covering the entire wall, giving a breathtaking view of Xandre at night. There were comfortable sofas, enormous potted trees, and here and there a toy or ball shoved under a sofa. None of which detracted from the simply vast fish tanks that…-
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“I have another contract job for you. Purely infiltration. I would usually frame this as a training mission and a test of your development, but I know you won’t move an uncompensated centimeter.” Merkovah looked torn between laughter and frustration. “By the way, you do understand that the things you have been benefiting from since coming to Siphios are truly profound and incredibly rare treasures, right? Even at our peak, The Blessing of the Silent Forest would only be bestowed on young elites of…
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Truth was feeling a bit sorry for himself by the time he finally jogged into Nag Hamadi. By the time they had reached the city center, a comfortable run had turned into a three-dimensional, high-stakes obstacle course as he bounced over carriages, across chariots, off buildings, and between pedestrians. All while Merkovah’s dagger hunted him. It was fun and, doubtless, a learning experience, but it was exhausting. “How did you keep spotting me? I thought I was pretty thoroughly hidden most of the…
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Truth fell on his ass on the forest floor. The noose loosened. He took great hacking gasps of air, snapping the ropes around his wrist with a casual flex. “Here, have some water. You are probably dehydrated.” Merkovah crouched next to him and handed him a bottle. Truth grabbed it and chugged it down. The cool of the water eased the pain in his throat. Though, now that he was paying attention to it, that pain was fading fast. “Basically an illusion.” Merkovah correctly interpreted Truth’s…
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“I am intensely uncomfortable with this.” “Oh, stop being a baby and put your hands behind your back.” “Standing naked in a forest, tied up, about to be hung from a tree by a strange old man, you can see why this might set off alarms?” “Strange? Strange! How am I strange?” “You are a six hundred-year-old terrorist who lures young men out into the woods and gets them naked and tied up. Is this normal around here?” “Alright, I have had enough of this. We are “Sure, sure.…
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Truth was in a thoughtful mood as he once again guarded a conference. This was a much smaller gathering, he was told, focused primarily on researching agricultural techniques without magical support. A few test fields had been trialed, and the results were disastrous. This, however, was not what had his attention. Etenesh, as predicted by both Merkovah and the System, had been delighted to learn Truth was a virgin and was taking to his education with immense enthusiasm. The clothes had indeed come off,…
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Truth was feeling conflicted about the furious make out session Etenesh demanded right then and there. On the one hand, it was really damn fun! On the other, it was awkward as hell. Merkovah was torturing a demon four meters away, and Jember was loudly cheering them on. Still, Etenesh was enthusiastic and, oddly, grounding. The transition from “Tommy Wells, Desrin Spell Blade” to “Truth Medici, Dead Man Walking” was unpleasant. It felt like reality itself had glitched. Etenesh was happily…
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They had assembled once again in the basement of Nag Hamadi. The rough sandstone walls remained as sturdy as ever, the floors smoothed by centuries upon centuries of feet glistened in the talisman light. Even down here, the piney, warm smell of temple incense lingered. A place of reverence, even away from the altar and the clergy. There’s always someone who can’t read the room. Today, there were four of them. “Alright, I’ll set out the blanket and the snacks. Jember, Etenesh, same layout as…
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Truth was back in the reflection chamber. Naked again, but this time for a more practical than spiritual reason. Mastering the scales portion of He looked around the tiny chamber. Still bare stone three meters square, a bowl, a mat, and nothing else. Only what he carried in with him. It had been… God, how long had it been? Not even a month, right? Or maybe a little over a month. Not long at all. But so much had changed. He had changed. The Truth who was carried out of this chamber last time was quite…
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“So… this nightclub,” Truth asked Etenesh, “Can you… narrow down the description for me?” The carpet soared over the city traffic, a snarl of wagons, chariots, and clubs of people old enough to know better riding herds of identical spirit beasts through intersections and slowing traffic for everyone. Jember had him looking sharp. Truth could happily admit that. He had always been proud of his body, and Jember was not shy about slapping a tight-fitting robins egg blue shirt on him that was…
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