#titan fighting fantasy

[aquadestinyswriting]

Help Not Wanted

Summary: Chrackle and Selene have a... discussion about the latter refusing any and all help being offered to her

Words: 868

Tags: @flashfictionfridayofficial, @druidx, @lexiklecksi, @asher-writes, @philosophika

Warnings: None.

Notes: Written for the Flash Fiction Friday prompt of the same name.

Mad cackling and muffled, frustrated shouts emanated from behind the sturdy, oak door of the Grand Magus’ office. Such noises weren’t an uncommon occurrence; the somewhat adversarial relationship between Selene and her familiar was a well-known quantity to the staff that ran the day-to-day affairs of the Wizard’s Tower. Today, however, the noise was far more… animated than usual, leading the cleaning staff to give the area a wide berth until things calmed down.

The door flew open and a red-faced, bearded man wearing green robes stormed through. He briefly stopped at the lip of the landing, turned around and bowed,

“I’ll be in my office back in the Church if you change your mind, Grand Magus.” Edwin stated cooly, before turning on his heel and storming down the spiral staircase.

Selene, her hair loose around her shoulders, glared at the now empty space beyond the door. She grimaced and waved her hand. A gust of wind blew through from nowhere and slammed the heavy oak door closed with a satisfying Bang! 

Chrackle cackled at her, his feathers fluffed up as he glowered at his mistress,

~Was that really necessary?!~ he snapped, ~It was bad enough with the shouting!~

Selene glowered at her familiar, sweeping behind her desk and promptly collapsing into her chair,

“Oh I’m sorry, but shouting tends to happen when people insist on patronising me and treating me like a child!” She snapped back.

~Would help if you didn’t act like one!~

“Don’t even start, Chrackle.”

~Or what? You prepped at least half a dozen Dispells that I can use if needed. Besides, you are being extremely childish. All Edwin wants to do is help!~

Selene snorted, turning to look out of the expansive window,

“I am getting sick of repeating myself. I do not require, nor want, any help with this!”

Chrackle clacked his beak in exasperation,

~You are being so ridiculously stubborn! Why do you feel the need to carry the weight of the world’s problems alone?~ he lowered the volume of his mental voice, ~Edwin at least cares enough to see that you’re struggling. Ok, sure, the way he worded it was a bit patronising –~

“A bit?” Selene growled, “Chrackle, he all but said that I was too hysterical to manage!”

Chrackle preened at his wing,

~He didn’t say that.~ the magpie retorted calmly, ~All Edwin said was that it was clear that the stress was getting too much and he suggested that you share some of the load. Stop putting words in his mouth that were never there to begin with.~

“Alright, fine, I’ll concede that point. The fact remains, however, that I. Do. Not. Need. Help.”

She felt Chrackle roll his eyes at her. She didn’t bother rising to the bait and continued staring out of the window. Why was everyone so insistent on telling her to accept assistance that wasn’t needed these days? Yes, her job was a stressful one, and yes, matters had recently occurred that had added to said stress, but she was more than capable of handling it. Besides, if Edwin got himself involved, that was only going to cause Schreiber to start outwardly implying some things that were best kept to himself. She huffed and turned back to her familiar, who was cocking his head at her dubiously,

~I get it,~ he said, ~I don’t want Mr ‘I-know-best’ voicing those opinions to the Council either. Would be a stupid thing to say though, given how easily you could Disintegrate him if you really wanted to. Doesn’t stop you from being too stubborn for your own good.~ 

Selene shook her head, her temper finally starting to cool,

“I’ll manage, Chrackle.” She retorted wearily, “The longer I can keep anyone else out of this mess, the better.”

Chrackle gave a defeated croak,

~Well, if this discussion is over, I’ll leave you to it. I have other things to be getting on with.~ he said, shaking out his feathers. Selene nodded,

“Just don’t go getting into trouble. The last thing I want is to get another call from Watch House 2 asking where you might have stashed some jewellery that’s gone mysteriously missing.”

~Well if people weren’t so careless about it, it wouldn’t be on the floor for me to find, would it?~

Selene pinched her nose and groaned,

“That’s not the point.” She moaned. She glanced at the timekeeper on her desk and flapped a hand at her familiar, “I’ll need to have this argument with you later. I’ve got 3 minutes to get to this Triumverate meeting, and Schreiber’s already been on my case about being late the last two months.” 

Chrackle watched as his mistress grabbed her staff of office, threw on a cloak and immediately Teleported out of the office. As soon as the wizard was gone, the magpie rolled his eyes and flew out of a nearby open hatch. He angled his flight towards the south of the city. Just because his mistress was being more stubborn than an ancient wyrm, that didn’t mean he was going to stop trying to help in the only way he knew. Hopefully Edwin had calmed down a bit and would be willing to keep trying too.

[druidx]

current writing mood:

words hard

[druidx]

@aquadestinyswriting Call out! 😉️

(DW it's a call out for me too 😆️)

everything reminds me of her (d&d character from now-defunct campaign)

[druidx]

Hello. I'm suddenly having emotions about the fact that when Elo says 'I'm fine' she really believes it -- even when she's extremely, obviously not -- and what this either says about her upbringing, or about what she endured as party captain.

"I know my limits." Girl, your limits stopped half a mile back. You absolutely do not.

[oldschoolfrp]

Yaztromo's Tower, in Darkwood Forest (Russ Nicholson, Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World, by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, Puffin Books, 1986)

[druidx]

It's not much of a paper, so please be kind with your grading.

In the Fighting Fantasy World of Titan, coffee is grown by the dwarves of Fangthane in specially constructed greenhouses on the mountain's upper slopes.

Now, coffee traditionally needs a warm climate, which is not ideal at the latitudes we find Fanthane at. However, the elevation and inclination of the mountain's slopes are such that early settlers to the mount were able to discover thin scrubby versions of the coffee plant.

Over the years, the coffee plant (named after Dunagur Kavee, clan Hemlig) has been cultivated in giant greenhouses, warmed by steam from the forges, which artificially reproduce the correct temperatures for growing the plants.

After it's grown and roasted, the beans are compressed into "blocs" and stored in air-tight containers. In this form, it not only keeps for a long time but is also very stable for travel. When serving, one takes a knife and trims a sliver off the bloc, allowing it to dissolve in slowly boiling water. The water is then strained for particulate matter and served. Sometimes specialized apparatus is used for this, sometimes all one has is a pot and a cheesecloth.

Culturally, the dwarves treat coffee as an extension of their famed beer; namely, they take it strong. As such, it's advised that non-dwarven visitors to Fangthane ask for it at beardling strength, else not partake at all.

Dwarven Bloc is rare outside Fangthane and fetches a high price if one can find a distributor. As such, it's usually the preserve of the rich, being served only in private homes. The sole exception to this is the Wizard's tower in Toreguard, on the Pagan Planes, where the Archmagus has a deal with Fangthane's dwarven delegation to supply the staff and students with the "black gold".

Fuck that post going around saying "you can have coffee in your story without justifying it :) you don't need to explain everything :)" I want, no, I DEMAND a fully researched ethnobotanical paper on every single food item in your work, if you don't explain to me where did potatoes come from in your fantasy setting or don't explain how the industry of coffee works over interstellar distances with full detail you are doing things wrong and I personally hate you and I hate your stupid story, fuck you

[karokawwo]

I'll be honest I really hate height differences in vns... like I'm short so technically that writing should be geared towards me, but personally it just feels very infantilizing and it's so annoying. I know a lot of people are into it but it to me it's just kind of upsetting

[aquadestinyswriting]

9 Sentences, 9 People

I got tagged for this by the lovely @asher-writes a little while ago. Now have some spoons I am finally getting around to the games I as tagged in.

tagging: @druidx, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @lexiklecksi, @philosophika

@the-down-upside-finch, @acertainmoshke, @pluttskutt, @duckingwriting

The 9 lines are under the cut to save peoples' dashes

The sight of the shining white, if somewhat cracked and charred, marble of Toreguarde seemed like a far distant memory to the majority of the adventuring party who had just landed in front of the city gates.The owl archons that had transported the motley group of humanoids, single dragon and large awakened wolf bowed deeply and flew back up into the swiftly closing portal above.  Elowyn breathed in deeply, closing her eyes for a moment. Home. At last. She was shaken from her reverie by the sound of a young man’s voice exclaiming, “Eh? Is that –?” and Quentin’s shouted reply of, “How are you doing boys!” 

[druidx]

what do you mean, there isn't a comprehensive dictionary I can google for a conlang I made up?

[druidx]

If you felt like reading my most recent longfic, Her Countenance was Light, or even just rbing, I would deeply appreciate it.

This is the Intro, so you know what you're getting into.

And this is all the chapters, in reverse chronological order.

This is the general tag for the work: #WIP 'Her Countenance was Light'

Yo, to all the writers out there, rebolog this if you want me to read your stuff

I’ll try to leave a comment or ask, and I’ll get to as many as I can. Or if no one who writes sees this, then just have a good day

[evilhorse]

Conan is not intimidated by their sharpened swords or gleaming helmets.

(Conan the Barbarian FCBD 2023)

[posthumanwanderings]

Golden Axe: The Duel (AM1 - Sega Saturn - 1995)

[oldschoolfrp]

The Bonerat Caves, an orc settlement (Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World, by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, Puffin Books, 1986)

[aquadestinyswriting]

OK, so I'm going to tell you a bit about two, just because they're so heavily interconnected with each other and they're both the main stories of my blog.

First up is The Wizard's Tale:

This one follows the story of Selene Frigidwake, Grand Magus of the city-state of Toreguarde. Selene is an ex-adventurer that has now landed herself in a position of power and authority in the city that she helped to build. Unfortunately the Divine Seal over the Hellmouth beneath her tower is beginning to falter, and she needs to find a solution before a second Demon War is kicked off when it fails entirely. Not only that, but the darker forces that exist in the world are rising up once more in an attempt to seize control of the Hellmouth for themselves. And to top it all off, her adopted niece and her friends have been Called to defend the world they all call home, despite the Edict against Adventuring within Toreguarde. Basically, think of this as the background story of a D&D adventure focusing on one of the major NPCs of the campaign, because that's basically what this is. Given that Selene is a major political figure in Toreguarde, there is a lot to do with the internal politics of Toreguarde as a city-state and all the drama that can unfold in such an environment. I also explore Selene's more personal issues, such as the completely untreated PTSD from her adventuring days and the severe trust issues that have come from being forced to work with the slimiest politician in Allansia. Not to mention having to dodge a bunch of assassination attempts and trying her best to keep her public and privates lives as separate as possible.

Next up is Destiny's New Servants: Fangthane's Folly Edition

You might as well have the WIP synopsis for this one:

Fangthane has stood as the shining beacon of dwarven-kind upon Titan for millennia, but the aftermath of the Demon War ten years ago has left the city-state with wounds that have only barely begun to heal. Unfortunately, there are those both within and without that would see the mountain crumble. Relations with the city-state of Toreguarde have been fraught since the Drakemari Empire became involved in its construction, but things have been more or less amicable until recently. With the rise of the dread Necromancer, Darkhide, problems both old and new are threatening to ignite a war that Fangthane can barely cope with. In the midst of all of this, a young cleric of Moradin must attempt to navigate the lies and treachery of her own people to uncover the truth at the centre of all this madness. Whether anyone wishes to listen to said truth… well that’s another matter entirely.

This story follows Meredith Gruksdottir, cleric of Moradin, through the trials that she faces as part of the Destiny's New Servants D&D 3rd edition campaign. Expect your standard fantasy adventure shenanigans, including a bunch of angst and drama, character deaths and some comedy here and there.

Since Meredith is a cleric first and foremost, expect to see a lot of references to her religion and an exploration of her connection to her gods. There's also quite a lot of politics in this story as well since the relationship between the kingdom of Fangthane and the city-state of Toreguarde plays a major role in the plot.

Let’s get to know your main story! Tell us a little bit about it!

[aquadestinyswriting]

Seeking Insight

Summary: Selene is trying to work out why those contracts were taken out on both her and Elowyn while she's under house arrest from earlier that day.

Words: 999

Tags: @druidx, @asher-writes , @warriorbookworm, @ashirisu @philosophika , @the-down-upside-finch @flashfictionfridayofficial, @lexiklecksi

Warnings: None

Notes: A nice, quiet moment in the eye of the storm that's happening at this point. Written for the Flash Fiction Friday Prompt 'Seek for Insight'.

The last rays of sunshine filtered into the office of the Grand Magus, lighting the room in a warm orange-red glow. The room was silent but for the rustle of Chrackle’s feathers, the scratching of a quill on parchment and the occasional creak of the floorboards outside the door.

Selene’s brow pinched as she stopped writing and stared at the parchment she had been writing on. Iridescent blue-black ink sparkled up at her, reflecting the stars that would soon be visible from the window behind the most powerful wizard left on Allansia. Tired green eyes scanned the text that had been scrawled with it, the pinched brow furrowing into a frown.

Chrackle ruffled his feathers again as Selene pushed her chair back with a loud scraping sound and stood, hands planted either side of the parchment she’d been writing on. 

~I know what you’re thinking about doing, and I don’t think it’s a good idea.~ 

~I don’t recall asking for your opinion!~

~And I seem to recall Edwin telling you not to overdo it. Leave the speculation ‘til tomorrow. It’s not like the world’s going to end overnight.~

Selene looked up at her familiar, a scowl crossing the pale, freckled face. She pushed the hair that had fallen out of its habitual bun out of her face. The ugly expression didn’t last long, however, and it soon fell into tired acceptance. Selene straightened, stretching out her back with a wince,

“It could, and if it does, I know who I’m blaming for the calamity.” she teased aloud. Chrackle chuckled,

~I might bring the occasional bout of chaos, but I’m not that terribly powerful. You’re going to have to find someone else to blame.~

Selene snorted, a small smile lighting up her face momentarily before she turned to look out of the window overlooking the city she’d helped to build. The smile fell from her lips, her expression turning sorrowfully wistful as she watched the shadows lengthen and the sky turn from rosy pink to dusky purple.

“I just wish I knew why those contracts were taken out. I am fully aware that both Elowyn and myself have too many enemies to count, but I can’t help but feel that this is just the start of something much bigger.” she muttered. Crackle clacked his beak and stretched out a wing,

~Well, of course it is. We both know the signs of impending trouble all too well. The thing is, what are you going to do about it?~ he asked, mentally prodding a claw into his mistress’ temple. He watched as Selene hung her head and shook it, auburn curls glowing at the edges where the last of the sunlight caught the loosest strands,

“That’s the problem. I don’t know.” she replied, her voice soft. Chrackle leapt from his perch, soared across the room and landed on her shoulder, gently gripped the fabric of her robes between his talons and nuzzled his face against hers. 

“Could try asking new Chancellor if he as big an idiot as predecessor.” he offered vocally. Selene leaned into the nuzzle and tickled the magpie just under the base of his beak, earning her a contented croak,

“I suppose I could.” she agreed, “However, as you pointed out, that will need to wait until the morning. I doubt I’ll be winning him over if I interrupt his evening meal.” Chrackle leaned away from his mistress’ face and quickly shook his head, eyeing the woman suspiciously,

~Alright! Who are you and what have you done with my mistress?!~ he demanded. Selene noted the lack of puffing up of feathers and chuckled, tapping the magpie playfully on the nose,

“I am capable of following the advice given to me, Chrackle.” she chided, “One thing I can do, however, is have a look in my personal library for anything that can help.” She glanced at the door leading to the rest of the tower before mentally adding, ~Failing that, I’ll need a distraction so I can nip down to the library.~

Chrackle eyed his wizard for a moment. He blinked and tossed his head,

~I don’t think the ones outside are that stupid.~ he pointed out, ~The big one is Elowyn’s watch partner and I’m sure he’s heard more than enough stories about me to make that work.~

Right on cue, the door creaked open and a rugged male face appeared around it,

“Everything alright in here?” Farren asked. Selene nodded and allowed a very smug Chrackle to fly over to the desk,

“Yes, Breakwood, everything is well in here. Do you need something?” she asked. The watchman shrugged,

“Just making sure.” he replied easily, “Just letting you know there’s gonna be a shift change in a minute. Cobbleskater’s getting antsy about the paperwork he left behind.” Selene smiled and nodded,

“Completely understandable given the… circumstances that led to you both being posted up here earlier.” Selene glanced to Chrackle, sensing his irritation, which was quickly smothered by feigned apathy. She turned back to Farren, “I’ll be doing some minor research in my library and would appreciate it if the fresh officers knew that I would prefer not to be disturbed.” she told him. Farren smiled at her and gave her a miniature salute, glancing briefly at Chrackle,

“That won’t be a problem, Grand Magus, I’ll let them know. If you do need anything just holler.” With that Farren closed the door and Selene and Chrackle were left alone once more. Selene’s face lit up into a smile as she walked back to her desk,

~Like I said, a distraction would be appreciated.~ she told her familiar as she picked the parchment she’d been writing on back up and scrutinised it as she wandered over to another door on the far side of her office. While these notes didn’t hold any insight into what, exactly, was going on within her beloved city, it was only a matter of time before she could leave to find the answers she sought.

[druidx]

WIP Snippet

I got tagged by @bretongirlwrites for a WIP snip. Although maybe this doesn't count because I've subsequently decided to abandon the WIP...

This is from Fun at the Faire, which I started 4yrs ago and have no recollection of what it was supposed to be about (aside from the SRU senior team being at a spring fetê), but this line made me laugh:

"And why is Millicent here?" asked Elo. "Because," Farren said, "Millie deserves a treat for dealing with you." "It's true," Millicent said, eating an iced dessert, "I do."

If you see this then you've been tagged. I want that snippet on my desk by next Tuesday.