Instant Story

Challenge #04594-L210: General Ludd Returns

It was subtle at first. A friend who lost a friend. Others who saw. What happens to the body, any body, when the most vital parts refuse to keep going? Fewer workers were showing. Fewer willing to go to the Machine. More vanishing. What happens to The Machine, when its lifeblood chooses to stop flowing?

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04576-l192-sacrifices-for-the-cargo-cult -- Anon Guest

There was a fine, fine line to tread. Keep up the expected minimum, avoid the ideal maximum. Waver between the two extremes and never say anything that might gain the wrong kind of attention. The Machine, after all, was everywhere. The signs on Raune's soul showed all the same. The haunted look in their eyes. The way their performance score had hit its peak and would not rise to meet it ever again.

Their friends noticed.

The only place to really talk was on the transits. Mina made sure to ride the same carriage. "You haven't been okay for a while," she said. "What's happening?"

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Challenge #04593-L209: One Hell of a Portent

Deep in the woodlands is a small town in the shadow of an obelisk. Upon this monument is a clock which has been counting down for centuries. No one remembers where it came from, what it means, but it is about to strike midnight and toll the centuries silent bell. -- Anon Guest

The clock has always been there. Attempts to find when it was built have resulted in nothing but frustration. Even the first images of Lumberhill, back when it was

Challenge #04592-L208: They're Brand New

Save for their wings, you'd think they were human. They were wild and free-spirited. And their only desire was to learn about the world. The good parts, the bad parts, and everything in between. They were not angel, they were not demon, just... themselves. -- Anon Guest

"What'cha doin'?"

Barthus was used to hearing that kind of question from someone between three and eight years old. Not, and they had to look up from their work to check, an adult-shaped entity literally

Challenge #04591-L207: The Valley of Cursed Death

Two hunters venture into the wooded mountains of the Mountain West where they come upon the ruins of a frontier town not marked on any maps. An aged man, must be more than a century old, was there at the founding, and tells the two why no one must ever settle on these lands again. -- Anon Guest

There was no such town on the map, yet the town was here. Well. The remains of the town was here. There were buildings,

Challenge #04590-L206: You Were Warned

Oh my God, Spiders, millions of them, pouring out of the walls, everybody RUN! -- Anon Guest

Across the multiverse, there are constants. No matter the nature of civilisation, no matter the fiscal structure, there is always the roommate who freeloads, steals treats, and denies it. Some call them 'goldbricks', some call them 'assholes'. Some call them 'scabs'. Rickerd called hir annoying housemate Horb, because that was hir name.

Horb was a young Elf, 'merely' thirty-seven[1], with rather indulgent parents who

Challenge #04589-L205: They Hunt in Summer

A disgraced archeologist discovers a ruin dating to the inter-glacial period. However, the searcher finds evidence of life, despite the place being buried for 14,000 years, and that life may be more serpentine than human in nature… -- Anon Guest

[AN: Fun fact - The pyramids were being built at the same time that Europeans were hunting mammoths. So "ruins dating back to the inter-glacial period" is like... active for Ancient Egypt. I'm going to assume northern hemisphere and inside the

Challenge #04588-L204: A Knack For Finding Trouble

Wraithvine {& companion (?) maybe} finds hirself marooned on a deserted island, though the little patch of sand, coconut palms, and corals might hold more secrets than ze had first thought. -- Anon Guest

The good news, such as it was, was that the ship and crew had survived the storm. The bad news that Wraithvine was the one soul lost. Fifty people lived to see another day, return to their lives, and otherwise be a part of the world.

Wraithvine would evidently

Challenge #04587-L203: Appeal to a Higher Authority

Deep in the seldom trafficked mountain vales and sheer canyons is a small town, friendly enough to outsiders, but whose denizens make it clear that any traveler should clear out by nightfall or remain inside the inn.

Only Wraithvine can get to the bottom of this, though it might be better to work alone on this one… -- Anon Guest

Wraithvine arrived in the little town close to sunset and was confused by the sight of people hurrying to their homes and

Challenge #04586-L202: Unexpected Hero

"What do you mean all you do is screw up? You realize your actions just saved us all? None of this is your fault, stop blaming yourself!" -- Anon Guest

Of all the heralds of doom for the grand villain of the adventure, the one least expected is, "Oops." At least, not from the seemingly mandatory idiot minion. It came from the Adventurer's tagalong-mascot-adoptee... the scrawny little kid who was told not to come with them for the final battle... and snuck

Challenge #04585-L201: Littlest Hero

An artist asks Wraithvine and Birbid if they can paint their portraits. They also want to do a special one of the fluffy Lilbit, the immortal cat. After all, they brought the cat that killed the rats that were causing such havoc in the fields. -- Anon Guest

It's not that often that cats become heroes. Even then, it's usually the associated person who gets the acclaim.

In this case, Lilbit came over with a rare version of zoomies and almost eliminated

Challenge #04584-L200: Never Lie to Dragons

They had been rescued from a rich family that had kept them prisoner due to both their immense healing gift, and their emerald eyes, and gemstone horn and hooves. The dragon guised as a gnome knew what it was like to be so imprisoned and treated. And that experience helped them aid the distraught being. -- Anon Guest

Jade had been kept in the Gilded Palace since she hatched. She might have been there before she hatched, but there was no proof.

Challenge #04583-L199: One Small Freedom

Writing is one of the best ways to heal a broken heart. Especially when finally allowing someone to see the break, and that someone holds you close and says "It's ok, we can rebuild together" and mean it. -- Anon Guest

[AN: The urge to write Murderbot is fucking strong with this one]

Sweet merciful Powers, this Deregger conglomerate had gone too far. They had achieved almost godlike prowess with their technology, to the point of making cyborg servants for every need

Challenge #04582-L198: The Nature of Miracles

Priest Robert has found his salvation in the Church and now blesses old pagan shrines into the light of the true faith. Until one day, an innocent is chased by a beast into an abandoned temple, and all of his prayers and symbols fail. All except the icon of a heathen god he ought to think a wicked demon and a little rhyme his mother uttered while tucking him to bed. -- Anon Guest

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not

Challenge #04581-L197: Attitudes Adjusted While You Wait

Wraithvine {who may or may not have a companion} has found Hirself contractually obligated with escorting a truly wretched individual to safety. A Lordling who pisses on the common folk, believes himself superior, and is guilty of a few actual crimes no one dares arrest him for.

No locals, anyway, and while Wraithvine needs to bring the Lordling to a certain location…there’s nothing that says the journey must end there. Why not continue on to a jurisdiction where the Lordling

Challenge #04580-L196: The Best Kingdom in the World

Kind and wise and magnanimous King Nydon's daughter has run off with a bard. Obviously she was tricked, as his castle is a happy place.

“Wraithvine is the name? Yes, you’ll do. Take along anyone you need. Here’s the princess's picture. Ignore any of her pleas, they’ll be the man’s magic. Just drop her off with the gate guards when you bring her back…” -- Anon Guest

Something was rotten in the nation of Bevuran. The key was

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Challenge #04594-L210: General Ludd Returns

Challenge #04593-L209: One Hell of a Portent

Challenge #04592-L208: They're Brand New

Challenge #04591-L207: The Valley of Cursed Death

Challenge #04590-L206: You Were Warned

Challenge #04589-L205: They Hunt in Summer

Challenge #04588-L204: A Knack For Finding Trouble

Challenge #04587-L203: Appeal to a Higher Authority

Challenge #04586-L202: Unexpected Hero

Challenge #04585-L201: Littlest Hero

Challenge #04584-L200: Never Lie to Dragons

Challenge #04583-L199: One Small Freedom

Challenge #04582-L198: The Nature of Miracles

Challenge #04581-L197: Attitudes Adjusted While You Wait

Challenge #04580-L196: The Best Kingdom in the World