59 Results in the "A Thread of Corruption" category
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Chapter
Prologue – The Scholar
In the shadow of the city's mighty Flametower, Johann Georg Bombastian von Agrippin strolled leisurely through the cobblestone streets of Agrippin toward the inconspicuous entrance of an establishment called Zum Goldenen Band. The building was deliberately hidden behind an unadorned facade in a side street of the merchant district. Not even a sign drew attention to its existence. Either you knew about Zum Goldenen Band, or you didn't. Johann smoothed his deep green doublet and entered. A discreet…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 9 – Rising Blood
Both froze. The air between them seemed to crackle, and a breeze loosened a honey-colored curl from her elaborate hairstyle. "Val." Innogen's voice was little more than a whisper. "Innogen." They spoke at the same time. "How are you-" "I've been looking for-" They both fell silent, an embarrassed smile flitting across Innogen's lips. "Please, speak first," said Valentina. "No, I... it's just..." Innogen visibly struggled for words. "How have you settled in? In your new…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 8 – The Great Melee
"Fifteen percent!" thundered a voice across the square where Parliament was being held. Duke Alessandro Devereux of Southwatch stood upright, his gaunt face reddened with indignation. "His Majesty's Lord Treasurer demands a fifteen percent increase in military taxes! As if gold instead of grain grew on our lands!" Valentina took her place two steps behind the duchess as the lords of the realm engaged in a passionate and yet very formal debate about the proposed measures. The ladies, wives, daughters,…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 7 – Entanglement
There. There she was. On the other side of the gathering, partially hidden behind a wooden pillar, stood Innogen. She wore a deep sapphire blue dress that made her golden hair shine. It was artfully pinned up, with small pearls glistening in it like dewdrops. She stood with two other young ladies, a Montfort and a Farnsworth, Valentina thought, and nodded politely to their conversation. But the tension in her shoulders gave her away. The way her fingers played with the fabric of her dress. It was…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 6 – The Audience
The Greystone group stepped forward. Cosimo and Rosalind led the way, Lorenzo a step behind, then Beatrice and Valentina. They sank into almost perfectly synchronized bows, the men with an elegant kick of the leg, the women in a deep but not submissive curtsy. "Duke Cosimo," King Edmund spoke, his warm baritone voice filling the room effortlessly. "We are pleased to see you and your family well." "Your Majesty honors us with your attention," Cosimo replied smoothly. "How is your hospital, Duke…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 58 – Breaks
When Valentina woke up, Innogen had already propped herself up in bed with pillows behind her back and was repeatedly flexing the fingers of her left hand. The swelling had already gone down significantly, but her skin was still covered in multicolored bruises. "Does it still hurt a lot?" Valentina asked cautiously. "It should actually be better by now." "It just aches a little still. And my fingers feel like I borrowed them from someone else." Innogen let her hand drop. Her eyes were still red, but…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 57 – Old Enemies
It took about an hour for Faustus to return. There was a soft knock on the front door a few times. Valentina stood up, went to the front door, and pressed her ear against the wood. "It's me," said Faustus' muffled voice from outside. She opened the door, let him in, looked around again, and then locked it. Faustus looked even more exhausted than before, which she would hardly have thought even possible. He was carrying a bundle under his arm. "Your things from his bedroom," he said, setting the…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 56 – You Can Go to Hell
First, Valentina carefully helped Innogen up the stairs to the bedroom. Then she would deal with the ring. Upstairs, she gently covered Innogen and placed her mangled hand on a pillow. "I have to go back downstairs and take care of the ring," Valentina said. "Just for a moment. I'll be right back." Innogen nodded without saying a word, and Valentina brushed the sweaty strands of hair from her face and kissed her on the forehead, tasted the salt on her lips. Then she went back…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 55 – Old Debts
Johann shouted a command into his ring as he uncorked his vial of Corrupted Essence. "Narzoz! Help me neutralize their patterns, now!" Narzoz obeyed, guiding Johann's weaving so confidently that it almost appeared as if the demon himself were steering Johann's hands. Visible only to Valentina through the Sight, he formed from the Corrupted Essence a flawless yet geometrically unsettling pattern of terrifying elegance, which the demon fed into him and which, in the geometrically inverted logic of…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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The door slammed against the wall, and standing in the doorway was the hooded figure in a tattered cloak, the hood pulled low over its face. It was the same figure Valentina had seen so often in recent weeks but had never been quite able to catch. In one hand he held something bronze, and in the other he held an open vial, whose oily, iridescent contents the figure was already pouring into a raw and malevolent Viur pattern. Valentina felt as though she had seen that exact pattern before, an eternity…
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459.3 K • Ongoing
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