Douglas Miller posts
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MiP B2 Chapter 21: Detection Risk
<< First| < Previous| Next >Carlos groaned as the brightness of sunlight seeping through his tent's fabric finally woke him. Ugh. It's definitely way past dawn, but I still feel tired. Even with parallel minds, finishing all 8 new soul structures took until… past midnight, I'm pretty sure?He rubbed at his eyes, then yawned and stretched. Absorption's been going full bore all night, aaand… wow, still not quite done. The big superstructure is still at Level 15, working its way ...
MiP B2 Chapter 20: Concurrency
<< First| < Previous| Next >The next morning, they moved camp again. The new site had aether only 1 level higher, to be safe for Ressara who had only just compressed her essence to Level 7, but that still meant about 25 miles distance at this point, so they had Esmorana fly them out again to save time. They touched down without incident, and Carlos was about to place Purple in his new spot when he noticed something surprising."Whoa, what killed that thing? The neck stump is still bleeding fa...
MiP B2 Chapter 19: Spellbook
<< First| < Previous| Next >Carlos looked across the small clear area in the center of their new camp and was unsurprised to see Amber staring blankly with her jaw dropped open. He was a bit stunned, himself, and that was withouthaving looked up to Sandaras as his ultimate idol for most of his life like Amber had.Amber's mouth snapped shut, and she started exclaiming excitedly over their telepathic bond. [Archmage Sandaras's personal spellbook?!Carlos, we have totake that! Putting up wit...
MiP one day delay
I'm close enough to done writing chapter 19 that I'm certainI can finish it tomorrow, but it turns out not quite close enough to finish tonight as I'd hoped.
MiP B2 Chapter 18: An Offer
<< First| < Previous| Next >Carlos chuckled at Trinlen's dumbfounded stare. Impulsively, he mentally triggered Purple's automation to make another miniature Lorvan caricature. Lorvan calmly speared it the instant it fully formed, before it could even get its bearings, much less yell another mockery of his habitual seriousness.[Hey! I may get mostof the cost back when they die, but that doesn't mean they're free.] Purple's admonishment came with a feeling of disgruntled annoya...
MiP Outlining done, chapter Saturday
My outline is fleshed out, my move is almost done, and my enthusiasm for the story is renewed. I plan to post the next chapter on Saturday, followed by another on Tuesday.
MiP Still outlining, chapter next week
I am making progress on my outline, but it's not fully ready yet. I aim to return to regular chapter posts next week.
MiP Delay for moving and outlining
Part of this past week has been taken up by preparations for moving soon. On reflection, however, the bigger problem that's really slowing me down right now is that I'm running into gaps in my outline. I've been focusing too much on the short term, just getting the next chapterdone to try to catch up on my planned schedule, and I've done that long enough that the long-term consequences of that approach are coming due.I know where the story needs to go, but not enough yet about th...
MiP B2 Chapter 17: Linking Up
<< First| < Previous| Next >[Alright, Purple, let's run down the list: what synergies are left that you need help to activate?] Carlos stretched in the early-morning light that only barely outshone the purple dungeon core's namesake glow. Amber sat behind him, watching curiously as he rotated his shoulders and contorted his body in a few different ways. Trinlen was slowly walking in circles around Purple, trying to watch everything at once. A few tents were arranged next to each other in...
MiP B2 Chapter 16: Dungeon Ecology
<< First| < Previous| Next >Amber stared ahead and gulped. She'd been eagerly anticipating having her own chance at leading the discussion with a new dungeon core, but now that the moment was here, she was suddenly acutely aware that rather significant potential stakes were depending on her ability to be persuasive in a conversation. Well, for a rather loose interpretation of the word "conversation," anyway.She firmed her resolve and stepped forward. Carlos believes in me, and I shou...
MiP Apology and next steps
Hi everyone. I'm sorry for the much longer than anticipated delay. A certain distraction has occupied an unexpectedly large portion of my time recently, and I did not adequately adjust my priorities to handle it.Don't worry, it's a positive distraction. For the purpose of writing productively, however, it is nonetheless a distraction.I am now setting some rules for myself to mitigate the impact, of both this distraction and a number of other recurring distractions. For example, I wil...
MiP Chapter delayed
Can't blame Adderall for this one. I've had a bit of an extraordinary distraction the last few days, but I could have handled it better. This late chapter is primarily my fault, and I apologize for it.I will try to have it done and posted tomorrow.
MiP B2 Chapter 15: Spellcraft Analysis
<< First| < Previous| Next >Carlos listened intently as Trinlen spoke the incantation for Find Path, alert for whatever intriguing things he might learn.spell begin;use mana = from pool;limit mana = 50% capacity;Carlos nodded in appreciation at the unfamiliar variant in how the spell began. With that, I won't have to predict in advance how much mana a spell needs. Nice!Trinlen had paused briefly with a knowing smile, but resumed incanting after only a moment.parameter location = target;param...
MiP B2 Chapter 14: Nature
<< First| < Previous| Next >After several seconds of staring forward, Carlos closed his mouth and glanced to either side. "I suppose all the roots and moss in the tunnel walls should have been my first clue. This dungeon's theme is nature, or maybe forest, isn't it?""Sure looks like it to me, boss!" Trinlen piped up from a few feet behind.Lorvan just let the sight of what lay before them speak for itself. The tunnel of dirt and roots suddenly transitioned into a vast open...
MiP B2 Chapter 13: Another Dungeon
<< First| < Previous| Next >"I trust you can continue managing Dramos without us while we secure the area's mana wellspring." Carlos was sitting comfortably in one of Mayor Stelras's visitor chairs, with Amber in the other. This was still the mayor's office, after all, and Carlos had no intention of taking it over as his own office. People would expect something far grander for a high lord's office, and Carlos planned to set it up in a completely different location, besid...
MiP B2 Chapter 12: Dungeon Thoughts
<< First| < Previous| Next >Purple floated in the quiet darkness of the city's top security vault, thinking. I agreed to brainstorm ideas for soul structures, but I really just don't understand how to do that. Carlos wants me to be creative? The most creative thing I've ever done was just doing something that wasobvious the moment that enchanter guy said something about it! How am I supposed to think about creative ideas when I don't even know how to come up with them in the firs...
MiP B2 Chapter 11: Brainstorming
<< First| < Previous| Next >Amber absent-mindedly scanned over her notes again as she navigated the halls and stairs of the mayor's mansion to the guest suite that, for the time being, was her home and personal haven from the world outside. For the kind of in-depth brainstorming she was about to do, having allof her notes close at hand would be best. There was also the topic she would focus on first to consider. Am I really about to try to puzzle out one of theCrown's great secrets?She l...
MiP B2 Chapter 10: Searching for Secrets
<< First| < Previous| Next >Carlos stared in silent thought for a while after Lorvan left. Amber was equally quiet sitting next to him. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "Well, that was… more of a lecture than I expected.""Yeah." Amber spoke quietly, and had her arms clasped across her chest like she was trying to hold herself. "It felt like when Mom scolded me as a child for doing something stupid. She'd pick apart and count every single different way that I'd...
MiP B2 Chapter 9: Reaching for Strings
<< First| < Previous| Next >Lieutenant Colonel Lendet, second-in-command and currently acting captain of the Black Blades, groaned as he pored over his lists of equipment replacement costs yet again. The assassination job they'd taken last week had turned into a disastrousfiasco. More than half the company killed in action and respawned, with all their best gear left behind on the battlefield. And as if that weren't bad enough, failing the mission means we don't get the remaining 3/4...
MiP B2 Chapter 8: Second Stage
<< First| < Previous| Next >Lorvan bowed, but remained standing, as he took up position opposite Carlos and Amber, just where Trinlen had been a few minutes before in the small room. "You called, Lord Carlos?"Carlos leaned back, his left arm resting on the back of the sofa behind Amber's head, and forced himself to relax as the two of them gazed levelly at their assigned temporary head guard and mentor. "We think it is well past time for you to explain the details of the second s...
MiP B2 Chapter 7: Advanced Mage Principles
<< First| < Previous| Next >Carlos smiled in amusement as he watched Trinlen hurriedly skim through his notes. The young academy-trained mage was muttering under his breath. "Advanced mage soul structures, where did I list those… I did put them in the list, right? Come on… Ah!" He slammed a finger onto the right spot on the page and looked up triumphantly. "Sorry, I put them in a side note because I thought you wouldn't be able to make any."He sat forward on the edge of h...
MiP B2 Chapter 6: Sharing Secrets
<< First| < Previous| Next >Trinlen whistled a jaunty tune as he casually sauntered along the street, walking at Carlos's left. Other pedestrians cleared out of their path without complaint as soon as they got a good look at the royal guard leading the way. Not that anyone around them knewthat Lorvan was a royal guard. No, Lorvan and Ordens had their armor disguised as merely high-quality chainmail, not the majestic gleaming full-plate personal fortressesthat they truly were; people still ga...
I got sick again, but I'm catching up now.
I've had a bad cold for the last several days and was too exhausted to write anything, but I'm finally recovering today, and writing is going quickly now. My goal is to finish and post B2 chapter 6 today or tomorrow, and an extra chapter for Platinum on this Saturday, May 11.
MiP B2 Chapter 5: Introductions
<< First| < Previous| Next >Trinlen bent over to inspect the door to his rented suite with a critical eye. The varnish on the wood showed no marks, and there were no unusual breaks in the patterns of the wood grains. He saw no signs of repaired damage from a forcible entry. I should have expected that, really. Amber said their guards didn't notice the abduction happening, and breaking in through the door surely would have alerted them.He swept his mana sense over the door just in case, but f...
Unrelated bonus: Cultivator Therapist
I wrote this last year, it's just been sitting there ever since, and I realized that I think probably a lot of you would find it interesting. It's not a new chapter of Magic is Programming, but it hasn't delayed the next chapter because all the work to write it was done several months ago. So, while you wait for me to catch up on writing the story you're actually here for, I hope you enjoy this sample of something different.This was inspired by v4c43: Perseveranceof Beware of Chi...
MiP B2 Chapter 4: Concerns
<< First| < Previous| Next >High Lord Recindril Tostral stared across the practice yard at his opponent with intense focus, never blinking both eyes at once, for losing sight completely even for a literal eyeblink could be fatal in combat at his level. He was vaguely aware of the rest of the courtyard around them, the racks of practice weapons and a few trophies hanging high on the walls, and a part of him was alertly watching for any hint of danger from any direction. The bulk of his attention,...
Progress! MiP new chapters will resume later this week
In brief: My Adderall issues have finally been resolved, definitively, as of yesterday. I am writing the next chapter, on track to finish it within the next few days at most.For anyone who would like more details:As I posted about two weeks ago, the Adderall I had in March was only about 1/3 effective for me, and that made writing as much as I wanted to difficult. I got a new batch two and a half weeks ago, and I made certain it was from a different manufacturer.Turns out, the new manufacturer w...
I've been sick
Last Wednesday I caught a bad cold and, well, there went most of a week. I had enough energy to feed myself and clean myself, and not much more than that. I'm still shaking off the last of it now. So, the next chapter will not be ready on time for tomorrow.It's especially unfortunate that this happened right after the batch of poorly effective Adderall, rather than overlapping with it.Anyway, I'm finally ready to focus on writing again. Which approach would you prefer for catching ba...
MiP One week delay
This week's planned chapter for platinum tier will be delayed, possibly to next week. I will make up for it as soon as I can.For the last month, the batch of Adderall I have been taking to treat my ADHD has been only about 1/3 as effective as normal. While I realized this pretty quickly, Adderall is unfortunately classed as a Schedule II controlled substance in the US, which is the most heavily restricted category that is still legal for doctors to prescribe. Because of the legal restriction...
MiP B2 Chapter 3: Planning
<< First| < Previous| Next >Amber jumped up from the dining table and waved for Carlos to follow her. "I left my notes in my room. Come on, let's get them!""Do you actually needyour notes?" Carlos kept his tone light as he walked behind her. "I think your memory is pretty good, and you thought through all of this very recently."Amber shrugged without looking back. "Maybe not, but I'd get worried that I might forget a detail without them." She started climb...
