--donation bonus (day #24, post 4/5)--
“Yeah, that took some doing,” said Gina. “The castle grounds were undergoing repairs at the time, so I disguised myself as a construction worker in order to gain access. Bit tricky, that. I don’t really have the physique for it, so I was a little worried, but it worked out. The repair crew was only allowed into the castle itself for use of the lavatories, which was where the second disguise as a maid came in. Snuck it in with me and changed in the bathroom. Went through the building, planting bugs, then changed back and left, fast as I could.”
The King gave her a smile. “I see. So all this time, you have been feeding information to Lynnette and Hector.”
“Mostly Hector,” said Lynn. “I only returned to Atreya a couple weeks ago.”
“By the way, Your Majesty,” said Gina, “what can you tell us about Prince David? I’m curious as to why he’s helping us. Or seeming to help us, at least.”
“That man is an odd one,” said William. “I do believe he is trustworthy, but perhaps I am being naïve. I am afraid I have never been very good at reading people.”
Mrs. Edith chimed in now, as well. “It’s no secret that Prince David has always been different from his brothers. The media loved reporting on his antics when he was younger. For a while, it seemed like there was a new story on him every month.”
“I remember,” said the King. “I never associated with him very much. I thought he was nothing but a troublemaker back then. I wish now that I had not been so quick to judge him.”
“What’s his relationship with the Queen like?” Gina asked.
“I asked her about that very subject when we spoke the other day,” he said. “I always thought they were quite distant from one another. David was often out of the country, and I never saw them together very much. However, they were apparently much closer as children. And when I told her that I believed David was secretly our ally in all of this, she seemed very happy. She even laughed.”
Mrs. Edith’s brow rose. “I can’t imagine that woman laughing.”
“You’re one to talk,” said Lynn.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every day at noon PST by ~400 words.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Page 499
--donation bonus (day #24, post 3/5)--
‘I’ve got loads more jokes,’ the reaper said.
‘Please, no--’
‘Why aren’t dinosaurs any good at math? Because they’re all dead.’
Hector shook his head. ‘Y’know... of the two of us, I thought you were supposed to be the cheerful one...’
‘Oh, you want cheerful? I can do cheerful. A rabbit goes into a jewelry store, looking to appraise a gold watch. He asks the vendor, “How many carrots?”’
He couldn’t help smirking. ‘That... that’s terrible...’
‘Then why are you smiling?’
‘I’m not smiling...’
‘You definitely are. What about you? Know any jokes?’
‘Ah...’
‘Oh, c’mon.’
‘Uh... okay... a coal miner walks into a bar, and the bartender says... “We don’t serve your kind here.” The coal miner says... “You mean you don’t serve ‘minors’? Never heard that one before.” And the bartender says... “No, I mean we don’t serve black people.”’
‘Whoa, Hector, what the hell?! I thought we were sticking to cute jokes with bunnies and crap!’
‘Oh, ah, sorry...’
The reaper just laughed.
Throughout the week, Hector found considerable enjoyment from eating together with everyone. Of course, he couldn’t hold a conversation with any of them, which was embarrassing, but it was fun just listening. It felt a bit homely, which was something he wasn’t sure he’d ever properly felt before. Lynn’s family got along particularly well, he thought. Given the circumstances, they seemed strangely normal, but he supposed he wasn’t the best judge of that anymore.
Gina had been trying to acquire a new place with a similar level of concealment, but she’d not been having an easy time of it. She was hoping to move everyone by the month’s end.
“We’ve actually met before, Your Majesty,” said Gina over breakfast one morning.
“Have we?” said the King, squinting at her.
“It was very brief,” she said. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember. I was dressed as a maid at the time, and Desmond and Karkash were hassling you.”
He blinked at her. “Ah! Yes! Come to think of it, how in the world did you sneak into the castle? It was locked down at the time.”
‘I’ve got loads more jokes,’ the reaper said.
‘Please, no--’
‘Why aren’t dinosaurs any good at math? Because they’re all dead.’
Hector shook his head. ‘Y’know... of the two of us, I thought you were supposed to be the cheerful one...’
‘Oh, you want cheerful? I can do cheerful. A rabbit goes into a jewelry store, looking to appraise a gold watch. He asks the vendor, “How many carrots?”’
He couldn’t help smirking. ‘That... that’s terrible...’
‘Then why are you smiling?’
‘I’m not smiling...’
‘You definitely are. What about you? Know any jokes?’
‘Ah...’
‘Oh, c’mon.’
‘Uh... okay... a coal miner walks into a bar, and the bartender says... “We don’t serve your kind here.” The coal miner says... “You mean you don’t serve ‘minors’? Never heard that one before.” And the bartender says... “No, I mean we don’t serve black people.”’
‘Whoa, Hector, what the hell?! I thought we were sticking to cute jokes with bunnies and crap!’
‘Oh, ah, sorry...’
The reaper just laughed.
Throughout the week, Hector found considerable enjoyment from eating together with everyone. Of course, he couldn’t hold a conversation with any of them, which was embarrassing, but it was fun just listening. It felt a bit homely, which was something he wasn’t sure he’d ever properly felt before. Lynn’s family got along particularly well, he thought. Given the circumstances, they seemed strangely normal, but he supposed he wasn’t the best judge of that anymore.
Gina had been trying to acquire a new place with a similar level of concealment, but she’d not been having an easy time of it. She was hoping to move everyone by the month’s end.
“We’ve actually met before, Your Majesty,” said Gina over breakfast one morning.
“Have we?” said the King, squinting at her.
“It was very brief,” she said. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember. I was dressed as a maid at the time, and Desmond and Karkash were hassling you.”
He blinked at her. “Ah! Yes! Come to think of it, how in the world did you sneak into the castle? It was locked down at the time.”
Page 498
--donation bonus (day #24, post 2/5)--
‘You can’t make your element magically float or fly around with your mind,’ said Garovel. ‘And to my knowledge, that will never change, no matter how much you develop your ability. But that’s not what Andres was doing. He was manipulating his sulfur BEFORE creating it.’
Hector tilted his brow. ‘Uh...?’
‘That’s the trick of it. You change the “state” in which your element is created. What Andres was doing wasn’t technically “launching” the crystals. Rather, the crystals were ALREADY moving when he created them, because he manipulated their “position state,” so to speak, adding an aspect of velocity to them. Which, as I mentioned, is not an easy thing to do.’
‘Hmm...’
‘You’ll also be able to change the physical state that your iron appears in. As it is now, you’re only making iron as it forms naturally in the world, but you’ll eventually be able to create it in liquid or gas form. Especially strong materialization users can even eliminate impurities in their elements. Though, as far as iron is concerned, the impurities are actually what give it its strength, so that might not be terrifically useful for you personally. A lot of elements decay too quickly in non-natural states to serve much purpose outside of a laboratory.’
‘Er, okay...’
‘I should also clarify that we’re not completely certain yet that your element really IS iron.’
‘Wait, really? I thought that was settled a long time ago.’
‘Nope. Even now, we’re still operating under that initial assumption we made.’
‘What else would it be?’
‘Beats me. My knowledge of metals is general, at best. I do believe it is iron, but I’d like to confirm that with an expert when we get the opportunity.’
‘Eesh... and when do you think that’ll be?’
‘Next week, I’d wager.’
‘What? Why would you--?’
‘That was a joke. I don’t have any fucking clue. The way things have been going, we’ll be dead before we get the chance to find out.’
Hector scratched his forehead. ‘You... you do know that jokes are supposed to “lighten” the mood, right?’
‘Let me try again. Why’d the chicken cross the road? It didn’t. It got hit by a car and died.’
‘Ugh...’
‘You can’t make your element magically float or fly around with your mind,’ said Garovel. ‘And to my knowledge, that will never change, no matter how much you develop your ability. But that’s not what Andres was doing. He was manipulating his sulfur BEFORE creating it.’
Hector tilted his brow. ‘Uh...?’
‘That’s the trick of it. You change the “state” in which your element is created. What Andres was doing wasn’t technically “launching” the crystals. Rather, the crystals were ALREADY moving when he created them, because he manipulated their “position state,” so to speak, adding an aspect of velocity to them. Which, as I mentioned, is not an easy thing to do.’
‘Hmm...’
‘You’ll also be able to change the physical state that your iron appears in. As it is now, you’re only making iron as it forms naturally in the world, but you’ll eventually be able to create it in liquid or gas form. Especially strong materialization users can even eliminate impurities in their elements. Though, as far as iron is concerned, the impurities are actually what give it its strength, so that might not be terrifically useful for you personally. A lot of elements decay too quickly in non-natural states to serve much purpose outside of a laboratory.’
‘Er, okay...’
‘I should also clarify that we’re not completely certain yet that your element really IS iron.’
‘Wait, really? I thought that was settled a long time ago.’
‘Nope. Even now, we’re still operating under that initial assumption we made.’
‘What else would it be?’
‘Beats me. My knowledge of metals is general, at best. I do believe it is iron, but I’d like to confirm that with an expert when we get the opportunity.’
‘Eesh... and when do you think that’ll be?’
‘Next week, I’d wager.’
‘What? Why would you--?’
‘That was a joke. I don’t have any fucking clue. The way things have been going, we’ll be dead before we get the chance to find out.’
Hector scratched his forehead. ‘You... you do know that jokes are supposed to “lighten” the mood, right?’
‘Let me try again. Why’d the chicken cross the road? It didn’t. It got hit by a car and died.’
‘Ugh...’
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