AuthorPalt

A Gamer's Guide 355

They returned within less than half an hour, though even that felt like too much considering that every minute mattered now. Sundown would be in seven hours. Going by the scent of whoever the army�...

A Gamer's Guide 354

Before arriving in Purgatory, Jolene had only ever seen snow once, apart from on the silver screens and the world-wide web. It had been too late in the evening to do anything movie-typical with it,...

A Gamer's Guide 353

A few hours later, with my hands no longer covered in dirt and the flowerbeds bereft of husband-killers, I arrive at his door, carrying a frankly oversized bouquet of the flowers I’ve taken. Glyp...

A Gamer's Guide 352

I chance a knock at the door. Who knows? Today might be different. 

Knock knock knock.

There’s no answer. At this point, I don’t even bother to bring the tray. “Lett...

A Gamer's Guide 351

Your name is Desput XVIII, though you were born Desput Hertig Rular Kaisa Ceezer Head Xing Haverdoer. 

According to your father, Kaisa XXIV, this was in order to ensure that you would be...

A Gamer's Guide 350

This is about as good as any moment to approach, so after giving Rice a look, I head towards the little group, internally considering whether the housemother is the kind of person who wants you to ...

A Gamer's Guide 349

Falling into routine is a funky thing—one day everything is new and strange and exotic, and then, all of a sudden, it’s been almost a full week and the leaves are starting to fall. Which, of co...

A Gamer's Guide 348

Once I’ve left the room, once we’ve exchanged goodnights and she’s promised to tell Holly not to be so mean to me, once she’s gone down the hall and out of sight and brought the ca...

A Gamer's Guide 347

I lean back into my chair. The candle is close again now, and the darkness is far away. She’s right in front of me, close enough to touch, crying tears of sheer frustration. 

…I don�...

A Gamer's Guide 346

Outside, the hallway is dark and quiet. After a day full of kids filling the house with running and shouting and squealing, hearing nothing but silence is almost a blessing. In the end, I do prefer...

Hiatus is over

New chapters will be posted daily while I've got a bunch, for at least the coming eleven days or so, probably more though cuz my ass is WRITNING all the words right now frfr.

I'll see y'all ...

Horton hears a what

I rewatched horton hears a who and was inspired to write something akin to it, thus birthing this. Take this as a sign that I am NOT DEAD and WILL RETURN!!

With that said, this thing is unf...

A Gamer's Guide 345

Once the bowl is returned to him, and once the handkerchief is returned to me, things pass in a far more relaxed manner. While he eats properly, we talk about all manner of topics, most notably abo...

A Gamer's Guide 344

Both Lett and I watch as Holly storms out of the room and slams the door behind her, which I suppose gives me implicit permission to stay as long as Lett will have me. To clarify this matter, I tur...

A Gamer's Guide 343

Somehow, with more willpower than you’d expect it to need, I succeed in eating my soup. It was cold, and thick in a weirdly gelatinous way. But the flavor was good! It was good. It wasn’t horri...

A Gamer's Guide 342

It doesn’t take long for them to join me, each with their own bowl of soup and starch. 

Rice has almost completely filled hers with gnocchi, whereas Holly has made the cardinal mistake...

A Gamer's Guide 341

“Hey, Holly,” I say, as warmly as I can once she’s in earshot. She stops a few yards away from us. “Sorry about that. I hope I didn’t distract them from their chores.”

Arms crosse...

A Gamer's Guide 340

Preparing the fire isn’t entirely easy for me—Rice is much better at it—but I know enough to do it without her help. Pile some dry leaves and smaller sticks, put bigger pieces of wood atop it...

A Gamer's Guide 339

We remain in the weed-ridden, thorny garden for a few minutes longer. She doesn’t ask me to, but since we’re both in this mess, I tell her about my conversation with Holly. During the entire th...

A Gamer's Guide 338

To discourage any further visits, Rice leads Grandma back to the stables. In the meantime, I start surveying the garden. Yep. That is certainly a garden. 

As a quick preface, ...

A Gamer's Guide 337

I’m not sure what else to do, so I approach her cautiously, entering the river and finding it to be warmer than my body temperature. Curiously enough, despite the fact that she hates me, she does...

A Gamer's Guide 336

As I walk, I take the time to sniff a bit. The kids have all dispersed from the library, but Holly is in the hallway outside it, so I should really be going to talk to her. My conversation with Let...

A Gamer's Guide 335

The kids watch the spot for a moment, and then, one of the oldest ones stands up. “I’ll go get the broom,” he says, sighing as he heads for the door. “Aaron, tomorrow is your turn, okay?”...

A Gamer's Guide 334

The room is fairly big, and consists largely of bookcases, tables, and the odd sofa. It’s a pretty bright room, too, thanks to the large windows letting in the morning rays. So, despite there bei...

A Gamer's Guide 333

I come to in a bed only marginally more comfortable than the stables. My eyes open, and I blink up at a ceiling that wouldn’t look out-of-place in a church. Are those angels? No, since they’re ...

A Gamer's Guide 332

…Welp, let’s pray!

Dear god of knowledge… You suck. I will bite your toes. If I see another of your churches I will give you a lesson in pyrotechnics. Less than three, less...

A Gamer's Guide 331

I frown. “You didn’t have to repeat yourselves,” I mutter. “But, um… why?”

The other girl pulls the gobling closer to her, hiding it behind her legs. Her face is set in...

A Gamer's Guide 330

I blink, suddenly level with the gobling’s quickly escaping feet. I’m still standing, though. So, that would mean that I got beheaded. Well, that’s…

I move to pick my hea...

A Gamer's Guide 329

The rest of the day is spent packing things, preparing ourselves, and fully mapping out the route we’re going to take. It does feel a little antithetical to the whole ‘explore the world’ ...