akasoindustries

130 - Battlefield

“The stench isn’t particularly attractive either,” Zefaris added wryly, popping the cork of one bottle and taking a swig. “Oofh, that’s strong.”

Strolvath also took a long swig of...

129 - Close Encounter

Something about the stones felt timeless, like they had been here for far longer than they had any right to be, had endured things that would’ve destroyed any natural stone. When she walked upon ...

128 - Departure

It wouldn’t have been much of an issue at all, were this a normal journal - he could’ve just flipped through until he reached a part actually interesting to him. But, being encoded, Makhus coul...

127 - Multitasking

“It will be a few days’ trek there and back,” Crovacus explained as Zel and Strol both intently looked at a map that had been laid out overtop the mess on the desk. “I could get you access ...

126 - Infestation

The gut feeling. He wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. Zel maintained eye contact, but from her peripheral vision, she could make out the papers that covered Crovacus’s desk.

Photos. D...

125 - Unforeseen Consequences

For a little while, there was silence while Zelsys processed the flood of information. She was not at all used to the manner in which the older woman trailed off on tangents so easily. After blinki...

124 - The Quiet Morning

“Alright, done,” Makhus said, reaching into one of his pockets for a cotton swab and pressing it against the point of entry as he pulled the needle. He squinted at it up-close, as if trying to ...

123 - Rebound Pulse

Even her wounds were practically gone, only the deepest stabs holes in her back still felt when she stretched. In perhaps a day more, even the faint scars would fade, and her skin would be spotless...

122 - Mysticism

“Probably less than you,” the markswoman laughed in response, but still began an extensive explanation of what she knew. “Aside from what’s common knowledge, they really didn’t tell us mu...

121 - A Day Off

The chef’s entire workstation was laid out bare for the customers to observe, and he clearly took great pride in making a show of his work, flicking pieces of meat high into the air with a cleave...

120 - Momentary Respite

By now, they had caught on and regrouped back to back near the remnants of the campfire.

He could charge in and kill one, perhaps two by leveraging his sheer physicality, but that wouldn’t ...

119 - Vision Quest

The phantom sound of distant guns drowned out the noise of the street outside the window. The yelling of men, the foreboding crackle of a campfire and rustling of a bush. All these noises were fami...

118 - Training Montage

Attempt after attempt, they spent hours on this fruitless effort, dragged along by Zef’s continual incremental improvements. But they were too incremental. She might develop a sort of Fog-breathi...

117 - Breathing Method

A/N: God I don't look forward to fnagling the blueboxes when this chapter comes out on RR

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A shake of h...

116 - Code-speak

Emerging from the cornfield still gripping her cleaver, she saw Zefaris standing over the motionless corpse of the pistol-wielder, pointing her revolver at his heart and breathing heavily. Her face...

115 - Roadside Robbery

Another cock of the hammer. Another can. The subtle anvil-clang of the hammer striking the ignition glyph, the violent thoom that accompanied the blazing lance of hot lead. A disgusting splurge as ...

114 - Doing the Honors

With a mild chuckle, the markswoman peered into the open box… And froze in place, entranced. She stared at the gun, taking in every detail for a good minute and a half before she snapped out of t...

113 - Tinkering

“Alkahest solution’s good… Burner’s good… Seals are good…” the alchemist murmured to himself, meticulously adjusting the tangle of glyph-etched glass and ensuring all of its myriad co...

112 - Samples

He could afford to price it cheaper than mediocre whiskey, and still manage a decent profit margin. A small taste of the liquid came first, a drop that hung from the edge of the faucet. Less aggres...

111 - Implication

Both of them made their way up the stairs and into the front of the store, with Makhus taking the lead in dealing with a stranger as was usual for them, whilst Sigmund just delivered the wizened so...

110 - Pentacle

“What even is cold-iron?” she wondered, but dared not ask. Cold-iron Sovereigns didn’t look any different than tarnished iron, they were far less richly detailed than even silvers, w...

Zefaris Bust - Finished

New chapter later today, having some sleep pattern issues so my schedule is all fucked up.

109 - Spoilt for Choice

Zefaris looked around, squinting her eye as she looked for price tags. They were present on the lower-grade pieces, but not on the uniques. “There are no price tags,” she stated flatly as she l...

108 - Locusts

He tossed it over, and little squares of laminated parchment spilled out, bearing eerily detailed photographs, clearly taken in moments where the lengthy process of using a traditional camera would...

107 - The Governor

“I didn’t expect the occupying governor to defend an Ikesian patriot from the soldiers of a country allied to Grekuria,” she shot at him with all the snark she could muster, confident that he...

106 - Displays

Zefaris briefly froze in place, then let out a frustrated exclamation of “Hey!”

The blonde markswoman let out a short sigh, just about catching a glimpse of her lover’s rear end as the ...

105 - Errands

“Just strips should be enough. I need at least two sets of chest-wrappings that won’t remain torn up if they are damaged. Can you do that?”

“Of course, that’ll only be a couple days...

104 - The Tailor

They passed by more closed stores, dust-covered displays staring at them from the empty storefronts. Pottery and porcelain, paintings, even moth-chewed dresses that hung off the skeletal frames of ...

103 - Riverside Promenade

Neither Makhus nor Sigmund were to be found anywhere on the ground floor when they made their way down those old, wooden stairs. Both of the women looked about for a few moments, soon realizing tha...

102 - Nonverbal Persuasion

But then, he was rather curious as to how the lab looked, and forcing Makhus to stop acting like a petulant manchild was something that bothered him far less than the prospect of disturbing what wa...