monsters-and-labyrinths-books

[monsters-and-labyrinths-books]

The gang is all here now! With chapter 16, we meet our 4th MC, Caspian!

Find the book HERE

[monsters-and-labyrinths-books]

Chapter 16 - Oh Good, We’re Doing Crimes Based on Vibes Now

She didn't know how long she stood there, staring.

The man in the cage hadn't looked away. Not once. Not when the city knights barked orders. Not even when someone in the crowd hurled a rock that clanged off the iron bars.

Bailey's breath caught in her throat when their eyes locked again. His silver gaze would briefly switch between her face and the mark on her forehead. She instinctively reached up, brushing her bangs down as casually as she could, trying to cover it. A few people nearby had noticed it too. She could feel their eyes, stabbing daggers into her.

The Priest raised his voice, pulling the crowd’s attention back to him, ignoring the Knight trying to speak with him.

"Do not be fooled by his calm demeanor!" he shouted, robe fluttering behind him like a cape in the wind. “This man is a traitor! A fallen Guardian of the Sky Lord himself!” Gasps rippled through the crowd.

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Read the rest of Chapter 16 HERE

Want to start from the beginning? Find the book HERE

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Chapter 15 - Do I Even Want to Know How You Get Banned From a Chicken Skewer Stand?

Bailey yawned as she met Weiss and Naomi down at the tavern’s main floor the next morning. The two had already gotten and paid for breakfast for the three of them. They sat together to eat, Bailey let the two talk about plans for the day as she tried her best to wake herself up. She had kept dreaming about Dylan last night. The memory of the last time she saw him kept replaying, how she overreacted to his teasing and stormed off into the thunderstorm outside. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have been in this mess.

That was something she was beginning to notice slowly. Her anger and ease at blowing up kept causing problems. Leaving the game store when it was dangerous outside, kicking that rock in the forest and yelling, alerting the Goblins, taunting that Goblin she hit with her first spell, and getting an arrow through the chest… Yeah, she was noticing a pattern.

“-And I'm taking Silas to the post office. He wanted to know how to send messages quickly. I still need to let Kairoth know about the rat in the company,” Weiss said to Naomi, her name catching her attention, focusing back on the conversation the two were having.

“Alright. I'm going to the market to get more food and supplies,” she looked over at Bailey, “And some proper healing potions.”

“What? Don't feel like healing me anymore?” Bailey teased.

“Not when it uses up most of my Mana, no. We should try and recruit a healer once we get to Ortugas. The money we’ll end up splitting with them on jobs will be far less than having to buy a hundred potions every few days,” Naomi said.

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Read the rest of Chapter 15 HERE

Want to start from the beginning? Find the book HERE

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Chapter 14 - Oh Gross, Was She Yearning?

The map was a little faded, the corners torn and the paper a bit crumpled. Depicted on it was a massive continent full of drawings of mountains, forests, a desert, and the borders of countries. There were 5 labeled on the map, Sorrh, where they were now, Duvern, where Silas was from, Metolius, Arcadia, and Thayne. There was also a large forest labeled Black Lake Forest. There were dozens of little dots all labeled with varying names, rivers, and lakes.

It looked like any other map Bailey had seen before, in the real world or one made for M&L. The only thing about this map that stood out, was a small prick of light, the size of a pin, shining on a city on the coast of Sorrh labeled Ortugas.

“A map? That's what we almost got our asses kicked by a camp of Goblins for?” Weiss questioned with a raised eyebrow.

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Read the rest of Chapter 14 HERE

Want to start from the beginning? Find the book HERE

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Chapter 13 - Sharpening Your Swords

The smell of pungent alcohol and food hit her nose the second she walked through the doorway. The tavern was packed with people. It seemed Weiss had picked out a very popular spot for the adventurers that came through. Just about every seat and table were filled with every type of person you could think of in M&L. Music was being played by someone in the back corner, probably an Entertainer trying to make some coin. Dozens of conversations, arguments, and laughter overlapped each other, mixing with the noise of the music.

Weiss immediately went off to a table, already talking with a barmaid. Naomi went up to the tavern’s bar counter, Echo perched on her shoulder, and spoke with the Dwarven man behind it. Bailey decided to let Naomi handle the room situation, as she still wasn't sure if she had any coin to even help get one. She weaved her way through the packed room, squeezing around drunk and chatting people.

“You already ordered food? We’ve been here 20 seconds,” she asked Weiss as she sat opposite her at the table.

“I’m hungry,” Weiss shrugged.

“We ate like 2 hours ago, just before we left the forest.”

“The rations Omi makes taste amazing, but a big dragon like me needs to eat a lot more meat.”

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Read the rest of Chapter 13 HERE

Want to start from the beginning? Find the book HERE

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Chapter 12 - I'm Going To Avoid Touching The Danger Spaghetti

Bailey woke up the next morning with something poking her face repeatedly. She opened her eyes to see Echo, tapping at her to wake up and hooting softly. With a yawn, she reached out and gently picked up the owl as she sat up in the bed roll.

“You know, I'd say you're the true MVP of that job Echo,” she praised the bird, giving him a few scratches under his beak, “I'd be a whole head shorter if it wasn't for you.” Echo hooted in response in a way she swore was in pride.

Bailey made to get up and felt a dull ache in her back. Still not healed? I thought a long rest was supposed to heal you back to full health?

>”[Silas Vander’Bludd’s] current [Health Points] is [20]”<

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Read the rest of Chapter 12 HERE

Want to start from the beginning? Find the book HERE

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Chapter 10 - Immature Ramblings Are Not Going To Get You Out Of This

Bailey clutched the chest closely, taking an instinctive step back as she looked at the Hobgoblin. She only managed to take a few steps before she backed into the crates of the stolen Drywynn weapons the chest had been laying on.

Hobgoblins were bigger, strong and smarter than the Goblins they were in charge of. And from what Bailey could remember about a Hobgoblin’s stats, a much bigger threat to face alone. There was no way she could fight her way out of this. Hobgoblins had a decent Brains stat maybe she could reason with him? Or at least distract him long enough for Naomi and Weiss to realize something was up.

The Hobgoblin stepped farther into the tent, still back lit from the fire, his face hard set into a snear.

“Put it back,” he repeated. “And I'll kill you quickly.” His hand gripped his longsword tighter.

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Read the rest of Chapter 10 HERE

Want to start from the beginning? Find the book HERE

[monsters-and-labyrinths-books]

Chapter 9 - I Suggest Putting That Back Where You Found It

Bailey watched as the bomb arced across the sky. She held her breath as she watched it descend down into the camp below, praying that it hit its mark. Weiss and her were posed to spring into action the second they heard the signal. She watched as the metal ball fell out of sight behind the distant peaks of the camp.

She waited for several moments as nothing happened.

“Did… did she miss? Was the bomb a dud?” she asked Weiss in a whisper.

“No, that brand of bomb we make just-”

* BOOM *

A fireball that reached higher than the tents of the camp, possibly almost half as high up as Naomi was up on the canyon’s cliffside rose into the air. The shock wave followed soon after, passing through them both with massive force.

“-has long fuses,” Weiss finished. ---------- Read the Rest HERE

[monsters-and-labyrinths-books]

Chapter 9 - I Suggest Putting That Back Where You Found It

Bailey watched as the bomb arced across the sky. She held her breath as she watched it descend down into the camp below, praying that it hit its mark. Weiss and her were posed to spring into action the second they heard the signal. She watched as the metal ball fell out of sight behind the distant peaks of the camp.

She waited for several moments as nothing happened.

“Did… did she miss? Was the bomb a dud?” she asked Weiss in a whisper.

“No, that brand of bomb we make just-”

* BOOM *

A fireball that reached higher than the tents of the camp, possibly almost half as high up as Naomi was up on the canyon’s cliffside rose into the air. The shock wave followed soon after, passing through them both with massive force.

“-has long fuses,” Weiss finished. ---------- Read the Rest HERE

[monsters-and-labyrinths-books]

Chapter 8 - God, I Wish I Had Your Confidence

Weiss pulled the three bombs back out of her bag. Now that she took a close look at them, Bailey noticed how they were surprisingly well crafted, made of smooth metal and a proper fuse.

“Huh… this doesn't look like something a Goblin would make,” she commented.

“Because it's not,” Weiss said. She rolled one over, showing its other side. A company's logo was pressed into the metal, a dragon head with a sword and ax crossed behind it. The company's name was written twice, once in common and once in draconic. It read ‘Drywynn Dragonforge Weapons’.

“Drywynn Dragonforge? Who are they?”

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Read the rest of Chapter 8 HERE

Wanna start at the beginning? Read Chapter 1 HERE

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Official looks and art of the main characters we've met so far in Monsters and Labyrinths! And a teaser for the next one 🤫

(🌪🦅🗡🦰)

Read HERE

[monsters-and-labyrinths-books]

Chapter 7 - Holy Shit, She Just Did Magic

Bailey’s world went into Bullet Time, she reached for her metal die, fishing it out of her pocket yet again. She really had to think of a quicker place to put it, digging it out and putting it back each time was tedious. The white metal was still stained a little pink from the earlier fight with the first Goblin fight. As she used her thumb to wipe off some of the dried blood, she blinked and the one D20 suddenly became two in her hand.

This was a surprise attack on the stranded goblins, and like the GM had said, this meant advantage. She shook the dice and rolled, still a little amazed that they didn't fall to the ground, even though she’d seen it a few times now.

4, yikes, and OH GOD DAMN IT, a 2…

>”[Active Combat: +3] total [7]: [Action Speed] is [Slow]”<

As the world sped back up to its normal speed, Bailey watched as both Naomi and Weiss act in quick succession.

Naomi released her nocked arrow, the bolt singing through the air at an incredible speed. The arrow reached the target, the Goblin that was trying to climb up the bone and wood gate. It sunk into the flesh in the back of its neck where it connected to the shoulder. The monster let out a snarl as it lost its grip and landed flat on its ass with a hard thump. Before that Goblin even hit the ground though, Naomi had already notched and let fly another arrow. This one going right for the Goblin trying to force the gate open. ---------- Read the rest of Chapter 7 HERE Wanna start reading from the beginning? Read Chapter 1 HERE Support the author on patreon

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Chapter 6 - God Damn, Did Silas Have Shitty Handwriting

A swooping form of brown and tan feathers *whooshed* past Bailey. With a soft fluttering noise she watched as a Great Horned Owl landed on Naomi’s lap. He hooted softly as Naomi gently ran her hand through his feathers and gave him a piece of food from her bag.

“Echo is an owl… I thought he was a party member,” she said as She walked over to the bird. She held out her hand for him to sniff it, did birds do that? She knew that's what you did for dogs and cats. Echo looked at her, then her hand, tilting his head a bit. He hooted again and fluffed his feathers, nipping gently at her fingers.

“He is a party member,” Naomi said. She began to say an incantation in Elvish, her hand glowed with magic once again, this one a tan color, and touched the magic to her mouth and ears. Bailey could guess she was casting Animal Linguist, a staple spell for an Archer with an animal companion.

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Read the rest of Chapter 6 HERE

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Chapter 5 - Note To Self, Avoid Being Stabbed By Swords

Bailey watched as the person effortlessly jumped down from the branch above her, landing with cat-like grace and the arrow tip pointing at her never once leaving.

“Hot…” she let slip out.

“What was that, Demon spawn?” The woman curtly said as walked a little closer. She wasn't as tall as her Dragonkin companion but was still probably a little taller than herself. She was dressed all in dark greens and tans, completely blending into the forest around her, an Archer Archetype?

She had a distinctive scar on her face, going from her right jaw and up the middle of her cheek, the pale scars stood in contrast to her dark skin tone. Her hair was braided and put up in a ponytail revealing pointed elven ears. Golden eyes as sharp as a hawk stared her down, as if daring her to make a comment again.

Bailey had to seriously resist blurting out again.

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Read the rest of Chapter 5 HERE

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Chapter 4 - No Shame in a Tactical Retreat

Bailey sprinted to get behind the nearest tree, pressing her back up against the bark. Her hand was still holding the arrow in her left shoulder, feeling the warm blood from the wound slowly coating her fingers. She slowly peaked her head out from behind the tree to her right, and immediately regretted it as another arrow sunk itself into the bark right by her head.

“Shit!” She pulled her head back quickly.

>”[Silas Vander’Bludd] is now engaged in [Active Combat]”<

Active Combat, ok, Bailey knew this. She had to remind herself that this world is using Monsters and Labyrinths logic. And that meant she could strategize.

Bailey pushed down the fear and adrenaline and forced her mind to focus. She knew M&L rules backwards and forwards, having run games almost every week for years.

That failed passive Witts check meant that whatever was shooting at her got a Surprise Attack off on her, they had advantage because of that. But, only did 2 damage, so whatever it was, was weak, or got a shitty damage roll. She really hoped it was the former.

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Read the rest of Chapter 4 HERE

Wanna start at the begining? Read Chapter 1 HERE

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Chapter 3 - Guess That Means Souls Exist

Bailey was frozen where she stood. She looked at the man, Silas, as he just floated there in front of her, lifeless. He didn't move or twitch, not even a strand of hair budged. It was eerie.

“Heh… okay… wow,” she said nervously. “Why is Silas here?” her voice wavered as she asked the void, daring to take a small step closer.

>“[Player Character] [Silas Vander’Bludd] has been made to specification made on [Character Sheet]”<

“No, I get that! Actually not really but… kinda? UGH! I mean why is he HERE! Aren't I just supposed to play him? Like imagining I'm him and moving around a mini figure, not… THIS!” she frantically gestured to all of Silas. “What am I even supposed to do with a life sized character? Pose him like a mannequin?”

>”[Player Character] [Silas Vander’Bludd] is ready to attune to. Please touch [Player Character] to attune”<

“This coma dream logic is getting out of hand. We need to reel our mind in here Bails,” she went to slap her cheeks a little with her hands to focus her mind back, but she felt nothing.

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Read the rest of Chapter 3 HERE

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CH 2 - Nothing Says Edge Like a Demon-Spawn

Bailey sat in the void for a long time running dozens of unused Player Character ideas through her head that she'd thought of over the years. The more she thought about it the more she realized she turned most of them into NPCs for her myriad of games, not wanting to waste them.

“Come on Bails…you gotta have something…” she said to herself. What would be the most fun to mess around with in this coma delusion before she woke up 6 months from now in a hospital bed?

“Something fun, something silly that I don't have to take seriously for once…”

Serious… oh. Maybe that was it. Something that takes itself too seriously that it becomes ridiculous. Something that would be the envy of the subboarddit b/iam13andthisisdeep4real.

Bailey giggled. She was going to go full ‘Grim-dork’.

With a flash of inspiration, she touched the scroll, and a quill materialized in her hand.

“A quill? I get this TTRPG is set in ‘Generic Fantasy Medieval Europe’ but come on!” She complained into the void, trying to reach that disembodied voice. “Can't I get like a keyboard or something?”

>”Please begin filling out your [Character Sheet]”<

“I don't know what I expected.”

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Read Chapter Two of Monsters and Labyrinths: Dreams in Fantasy HERE

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