“Have you read that story before?” Mana asked Cobal. She’d finished reading it much quicker than he did and had moved on to another story but when he closed the book she looked at him for his opinion. The book itself had some more stories included and then a biography of the author, but Cobal … Continue reading Chapter 24 – A musical meeting →

Hidden comfortably within a burrow in the woods was a lovely little family of foxes. Mother and father fox had made their nest next to a clearing so that their young could venture out and explore the world without getting out of their sight. And so the family lived comfortably for a few weeks until … Continue reading Chapter 23 – The fox of good fortune →

Where both the Topaz Slumber and the Ruby Observatory were impressive in their own rights, each of them prioritized function over form to an extent. The same couldn’t be said for the Sapphire Respite, whose designer had strayed away from the tediousness of function and opted to instead turn the hall into a spectacular sight. … Continue reading Chapter 22 – The Sapphire Respite →

Salandra’s eyes went wide as they entered the clearing.Grac gave a nod, not really sure what to say.“You mentioned that you were interested in Irkan history and our friend here is from Tas’Irkan, so I figured the two of you could chat.” Cobal said sheepishly.Salandra spun around and hugged him. “This is beyond what I … Continue reading Chapter 21 – Irkan culture and history →

When Lysa returned to the room, she was carrying a small chest that was simple in make but looked sturdy enough. She put it on her desk and retrieved the key for it from the drawer in her desk. With a click it opened and she pushed the lid open. She then revealed from it … Continue reading Chapter twenty – The librarian’s gifts →

Cobal found both Eliana and Grac sitting around a currently cold campfire. They were deep enough into the forest that no one traveling the dirt road that led from Marsolin to the rest of the kingdom would ever spot them. Eliana’s arm was bandaged up pretty heavily. “What happened?” Cobal asked as he stepped into … Continue reading Chapter 19 – The calm before the storm →

“Did you just take a bath?” Salandra asked.The question caught Cobal off guard as they made their way up the stairs in the main hall of the slums. “I did, how did you know?”She smiled. “Your hair is still wet.”Cobal reached for his hair. It reached well past his shoulders now, he hadn’t found the … Continue reading Chapter 18 – The Solin Family →

Cobal woke up early that morning. The sun wasn’t out yet but he felt restless after spending all of yesterday indoors. After getting dressed and drinking some water he went for a quick run through town. He had only seen the center of town and the district they entered from so he figured a run … Continue reading Chapter 17 – The sage’s letter →

Although he hadn’t been exercising much lately, Cobal still felt exhausted. He sunk into the strangely comfortable bench that he sat on in the Phantom Homestead. Sitting next to him was Salandra and across from them were Mana and Kayzel. They invited the scribe along when they walked past him in the main hallway of … Continue reading Chapter 16 – In the Phantom Homestead →