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Book 7, Chapter 68
🕑 Added 2024-09-09 00:51:43 +0000 UTCOne chapter today, but it's a biggun' There've been quite a few retcons, but you don't need to know anything for this one.
Chapter 68
Slam! The final mercenary crashed against the wall after getting brained by Dong. The gnoll mercenary exploded into a pile of coins as he crashed to the ground. The coins scattered over the concrete floor of the room, spinning and twirling.
The older stripper looked absolutely menacing atop the blood-soaked yak, whose horns still held an impaled guard. Gonk, seeing the battle was now over, started casually gnawing on the leg of the mercenary—also a gnoll—impaled upon him.
Rend had likewise managed to get in there and kill a taurin mercenary who’d already been punched unconscious. He was leaning into the open chest and blowing bubbles with the gore, giggling each time blood splashed onto the floor.
“Jesus Christ, Rend,” I said. “Don’t be gross.”
He looked up at me and smiled big, his tooth gleaming. He made a noise that kind of sounded like “Bubbles.”
Behind me, Jamal was hopping in circles around the two terrified crawlers as Bigs tied them up. The two women were named Selvi and Tuba, and they both sobbed. I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or relief. I’d ordered the shark and Bigs the slug to not hurt them, but the one named Tuba bled profusely from a wound on her side, given to her by Jamal who’d been forced to swipe her spear away with one of his mechanical legs. Both crawlers had a nasty, no-healing debuff that we couldn’t circumvent. It was a side effect bestowed upon those under Conscription when they refused to fight.
Selvi was no longer human, but an elf. She was a level-57 Valide, which appeared to be some sort of healer class. Tuba was a human and level-56 Boring Ol’ Fighter. Both were pretty young, in their early twenties, and they both struggled and fought against their bindings. We dropped a pair of Mute containments on them both, just in case they were overwhelmed by their debuff and forced to cast a spell.
Tuba would bleed out soon if I didn’t get them broken from the spell. And I couldn’t do that until we defeated the Madness. We needed to hurry this up.
Outside, “Little Red Corvette” by Prince blasted. The massive ball of crawlers and mercenaries continued to roll in our direction, but Harpocrates no longer pursued. The god instead moved toward Donut again, but he was now waylaid by one of the diggers, which I still hadn’t seen. I hadn’t heard from Louis or Samantha in a while, but his health was still full according to the warlord display.
Dong dismounted Gonk and examined the gold coins on the ground. That happened sometimes when one was killed by Dong’s crust sock. One of the coins still spun, and he reached down and snatched it up. As I watched, he took the coin, kissed it, opened up the bloody sock, and dropped the coin within with a clink.
“I thought they were all nickels in there,” I said.
Dong was muttering to himself and didn’t answer me. I turned back to the carnage and quickly looted the bodies, including a pair of viceroys. That left a single viceroy in the castle, Admiral Houston himself.
Behind me, Selvi and Tuba groaned. I deliberately didn’t ask them any questions. If I did, and they answered, they’d receive additional penalties from their debuff. The best thing we could do for them was tie them up and hope they were strong enough to resist the almost unstoppable urges they had to fight back.
“All buttoned up,” Bigs said as she finished circling Selvi. She shook her hatchet threateningly. “Don’t you be trying to escape.”
“Dong, Rend with me. Rest of you stay here,” I said. “Keep them safe and make sure Gonk doesn’t wander off. We’ll be right back. Do not hurt them. They’re good guys who are under spells. Do you two understand?”
“Jamal will keep them safe.” He did a little hop and spurted a flame.
“Can I kill one of them?” Bigs asked. “That one is already bleeding pretty good.”
“Holy shit, Bigs. She’s a friend. One of us. A good guy. Keep them safe.”
“I’ll wait until he’s gone,” Bigs whispered loudly at the two women. “Then one of you is getting the chop.”
They huddled closer together, both crying. A bloody Rend started giggling at them, which didn’t help
I sighed. Dong and I were the only ones with invulnerability, and we needed to move fast. “You know what, Bigs? Change of plans. Go on a reconnaissance. See if you can find and open the front door.”
“Yeah, baby!” Bigs said as she slithered off down a main hallway, trailing orange slime. I could see it was littered with summon traps that would no longer work.
“Keep them safe,” I reiterated to Jamal. “And Rend, you stay here, too.” We turned and hurried down the hall in the opposite direction. The surgical theater and the throne room were right next to each other, just around the corner.
I could hear the screaming as I stepped into the hall, though as soon as I heard it, the sound cut off sharply. The hallways here were wide and unadorned, and the floors were a white, speckled tile. Everything was crisp, clean. Well-lit. I was reminded of a hospital.
With each step, Dong’s armored feet echoed loudly. His sock, I realized, was significantly larger than it had been before, and it dragged on the floor behind him.
Samantha: LOUIS, WHERE ARE YOU?
Louis: I’m stuck. It says level six, hallway C. I stepped on a snare trap, and I can’t move for a few minutes. I filled the area with a poison cloud, but it doesn’t work on them. They have these little dog robot things that shoot darts... Guys, I’m in trouble. I have some No Disassembles, but the explosions are too big. I can’t do it where I’m stuck. I don’t know what to do.
Samantha: OKAY, I HAVE AN IDEA TO SAVE YOU, BUT YOU GOTTA TRUST ME.
We turned the corner, and the screaming started up again. I paused, giving Dong a look. Again, the screaming abruptly cut off.
“That... that sounds like it’s him screaming. Architect Houston.”
Dong shrugged as we continued.
The door to the surgical theater stood at the end of the hall, right next to the throne room, which sat unguarded. The theater entrance was just a pair of swinging double doors with a sign that read “Do Not Enter” over it. There was a second, neon-like sign that read “Amplification in process.” It was lit.
There was an advanced alarm trap and a trap door trap in front of both the surgical theater and the throne room. The trap door trap was interesting, but I didn’t have time to examine it now. I quickly took all of them and stored them away.
Bigs suddenly appeared, coming from the opposite side. She slimed up and said, “Yo, daddy-o. The front door is just sitting there all wide open. I don’t see nothing out there except a bunch of fields and shit.”
“You couldn’t see a giant, rolling ball of people coming in our direction?”
“You smoking jelly bellies, boss? Ain’t nothing like that.” She looked back, as if she could see from here. “But there could be, I guess. It’s dark as a wombat’s asshole out there.”
“Okay,” I said. I pointed to the throne room. “Go in there and wait. Don’t leave until I tell you.”
“Aight,” the slug said and started sliming into the room. The moment she entered, the notification appeared.
System Message: The Throne Room of the Madness is being occupied by forces from The Princess Posse. If they can hold for six hours, the Madness will be defeated!
I double checked to make sure the immortality remained on my arms, and I cracked my neck.
“Stay behind me,” I said. I prepared Tripper. I was going to walk in, eyeball the location of all the supposed fire traps, make certain Burcu wasn’t in the line of fire, and then cast.
I pushed open the double doors, and I stepped into the surgical theater of Architect Houston of the Madness. Dong jumped in behind me with a wheezy war cry.
I stopped dead, preventing Dong from entering the room further the moment I eyed the circle of traps in the room. I wouldn’t be casting Tripper on these.
“Huh,” was all Dong said as we both paused at the door, seeing what was going on within.
~
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to see, but this was not it.
The large, octagon-shaped room itself was pretty much what we’d anticipated: a crisp, starkly white room with a group of surgical tables in the middle, surrounded by a raised viewing area so students could sit and watch the in-process surgical procedures. A massive, cumbersome mechanical apparatus hung from the center of the high ceiling. Dozens of mechanical arms came off the machine, and it whisked and whirred as it worked.
There were four tables, and three were occupied.
The fourth table was empty, but it appeared as if twenty gallons of blood had been dumped on it from above. The blood was shockingly red in the white room. The source of the blood was gone, but a familiar-looking cleaner bot that was the same model as our own—but painted solid white—was studiously at work, slurping the blood off the floor.
The first occupied table contained the corpse of the crawler Zeynep. They had done... something to her. Something unspeakable. Something I won’t describe. I couldn’t bear to look at her for more than a cursory moment. Still, I caught her lifeless eyes in the bright light, and despite all the other craziness in the room, those dead eyes caught my own just long enough for me to feel accused by her. Accused for what she’d been forced to endure.
The second table contained Burcu, who was alive. She struggled against what appeared to be magical bonds. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Dried blood ran down the front of her badger face and throat. Tears streamed.
The third table... I blinked, not comprehending what I saw. There were two forms on the table. One was the blank, dead corpse of the changeling, whose name had been Namico. It said his cause of death was Died on the Surgical Table, which was the same as Zeynep.
The changeling had suffered a similar, but not as... thorough fate as Zeynep. It appeared as if he had been peeled open. He wasn’t truly on the table, but upside down, hovering about ten inches over the other form, clutched in the mechanical arms of the machine hanging from the ceiling. The changeling faced downward, offset and facing in the wrong direction as the table’s other occupant, with only their torsos overlapping.
Architect Houston was the form. His robes were gone. His mask was gone, revealing the horrific, multi-limbed, half bug, half monster that he was. He was on his back on the table, facing the dead changeling that dangled above him. He was awake, saying something to the machine.
The machine was... connecting Houston to the changeling. Physically connecting him. Things were coming out of the changeling and going into Houston and vice-versa.
The giant machine itself was something straight from a mad scientist’s fever dream of a lair. It was a chandelier covered in robotic arms and surgical tools, all spinning and waving about, silently whisking as they worked.
The thing was made of gleaming chrome, and the moment my eyes focused on it, an info box appeared.
The Grease Monkey. Viceroy Portable Surgical and Scientific Exploration Unit. Outpost version.
Tech-based surgical repair unit automaton.
This thing isn’t really necessary here in the dungeon where we use potions and magic and basically free, universal healthcare to keep your UTIs in check, unless, you know, it’s funny not to. You’re welcome about that, by the way. But out in the wide universe, outside the center system where literally hundreds of thousands of different species struggle daily to survive? What does one do for healthcare, especially when you’re far from home, or you’re afflicted with something your local doctors simply can’t fix?
You can’t just travel to the inner system and take advantage of their free healing. Not if you’re not a citizen. And if you’re one of those species the local doctor has never even heard of, what the hell are you going to do? Die because of a hangnail?
There’s a reason why the Viceroys provide free transportation to their systems. And if there’s a mass casualty event, or better yet, a war? Heck, they’ll come to you. And when they do, they’ll bring one of these things with them.
The Portable Surgical Automaton Unit, colloquially known as the Grease Monkey, is a marvel of technology. Even if your species is one of those “What the fuck is that thing?” this automaton will analyze your anatomy, take you apart, and put you back together again good as new. Well, mostly.
What a lot of people don’t know is that surgical repair is actually the secondary purpose of these machines. Viceroys have no passion for healing. Their passion is science. Understanding the universe. Understanding everything from the atom to the tree, no matter the cost.
They’ll gladly operate on anybody, no questions ask. But it still ain’t free.
Nothing is free in this galaxy. That should be perfectly clear by now.
The good news is if you can’t pay right away, that’s okay. The viceroys have multiple payment options and opportunities available for you. And if you want to sign yourself over to their post-biological form studies corp, all your bills will be wiped away.
Incidentally, Architect Houston, who is currently being operated on by his own machine, is the prime of the Viceroys not because he was elected so, or because of some innate ability to lead his people, but because he’s made the most scientific discoveries. Most of which were made with the help of this very machine you see before you now.
“Stay back,” Houston called at me. He was clearly in pain as the machine continued to work. Hundreds of tiny little arms appeared, and they were connecting what appeared to be nerves from the changeling’s neck to Houston. “You take one step in here, and it’ll set off the traps, incinerating us all. “I’m almost done. I’m almost there. You’ll have your victory, Carl. I care no longer for what happens here. Let me finish. Let me finish, and your fellow crawler doesn’t have to die. This is my life’s work. I’m almost there.”
I spared another glance at the ring of traps circling the room. They were up, out of reach on the second floor of the surgical theater, all facing downward from the edge of the observation deck. There were eight of them, though it appeared just one was enough to absolutely kill everything in the room.
Containment Breech Trap Mark IV.
Warning: This trap is Tripper proof.
Warning: This trap is chained in a sequence.
Warning: Removing or triggering a single trap in the sequence will activate all remaining traps in the sequence.
Warning: This trap has a dead man’s switch. It is attached to Architect Houston of the Madness. If he is killed, this trap will automatically trigger.
I had never seen nor heard of anything like that, but the traps were each the size of a shoe box, much bigger than the regular, Lego-sized trap modules. These things were more like weapons than traps.
They would shoot literal Sheol fire into the room, instantly incinerating everything. They would be triggered by anyone who wasn’t affiliated with the Madness who stepped on the floor.
My invulnerability wasn’t as good as the one I’d had earlier. Still, I was pretty sure I’d be fine, but I wasn’t positive. Burcu didn’t have the invulnerability, and she would absolutely get turned to ash.
Donut: HARPOCRATES RIPPED THE GIANT ROBOT IN HALF AND THREW HALF OF IT AT ME! IT DIDN’T FLY FAR ENOUGH TO GET TO ME, BUT HE’S COMING IN MY DIRECTION NOW. I TURNED THE MUSIC OFF, BUT HE’S STILL COMING! I’M THINKING I SHOULDN’T HAVE SAID SO MANY MEAN THINGS TO HIM. GUYS SURE ARE SENSITIVE WHEN YOU MAKE FUN OF THEIR WIENERS. HE EVEN MARKED ME FOR DEATH!
Carl: Get out of the tower! Someone get Donut out of there!
Donut: I STILL HAVE TIME. THE BALL IS ALMOST THERE. I CAN’T LEAVE THE TOWER UNTIL THEY GET TO THE CORPSES! IF I DON’T STAY, THEN EVERYONE IS IN TROUBLE. EVERYONE ON OUR TEAM MIGHT DIE!
Li Jun: He’s going to get to you before the ball reaches the other field. I have an idea. Speaker number 11 is still on the back of a cart. Mute all the speakers except that one. Play the song I just sent you.
Li Na: Jun, no. No!
Li Jun: Sorry, little sister. I’ll jump before he catches me.
It took everything I had to focus on the task at hand. Li Jun was distracting the angry god so Donut could finish her plan, and it was all I could do to not scream.
More messages flooded in, including a hysterical one from Louis and Samantha both. The very world rumbled as something else happened out there.
I sent another message to Burcu, and to my surprise, this time it was delivered.
Carl: I don’t know if this is going to come through, but we’re going to get you out of here. Do you know what he’s doing?
Burcu: There you are! None of my messages were delivered. He cut out my tongue and voice box. I can’t speak. He tortured my mother. He killed her right in front of me. Free me so I can kill him. These bindings won’t let me cast magic. You owe me, Carl. You killed my father. Free me now.
I had no idea what she was talking about in regards to her father. I reexamined the trap and then examined her bindings. The trap required someone to step on the floor to be set off. The bindings on the table appeared to be controlled via a switch on the wall. On the surgical table, Houston cast a spell, surprising me. But the spell was directed at the corpse hovering over him. The dead changeling started to thrash, but the mechanical arms held it in place.
I turned to Dong. “Keep an eye on Houston. Kill him if he starts to cast anything else.”
“Kill him how? I don’t have ranged weapons.”
“By stepping into the room.”
Dong looked nervously at the yellow glow on his arms. “Uh, are you sure? What are you doing?”
I took a step back, ran, and activated Walk on Air as I rushed across the room. The skill was not a flying skill, and it didn’t work all that great. It was more of a glorified long jump. I aimed for the closest table, which was the empty one covered in blood. I landed heavily, slipped in the blood, and flew onto my back, hitting the table hard. Blood splattered everywhere.
The white cleaner bot let out a familiar, shrill cry and zoomed up at me and beeped.
“Sorry,” I said to the thing. It beeped again and moved closer to me, as if it was going to attack. I reached up and grabbed it with two hands. I felt a familiar haptic buzz, indicating I could stick it in my inventory, which surprised me. I didn’t question it, and I took it.
Across the way, Houston was crying in pain as the machine appeared to start removing some of his lower guts, letting them slop onto the floor. Above him, the changeling started to vibrate. I stood, judging the distance to the next table which held the corpse of Zeynep. From that table, I could reach the switch, which would turn off her bindings. The Walk on Air had a one minute cooldown, but I could make the next jump without it. I still didn’t know how the hell we were going to get her out of here once I got to her. I hoped the skill was strong enough to let me carry her.
“Don’t leave the table when the bindings are gone!” I called at Burcu. “Trust me. We’ll get him, but let me get you out of the room first.” I jumped, and I landed on the second table, landing amongst the gore of Zeynep. The body fell apart when I landed, much of it sloughing to the floor. It did not set off the trap. I’d damaged the corpse enough it disappeared from my map. I held down my gorge. The switch was right there on the wall. I turned, and Burcu continued to thrash, an enraged look about her as she struggled.
She’s going to jump off that table the moment I hit it.
“Carl. Do not... Do not press that button. I can stop it all,” Houston called. “You don’t understand. It is called the beautiful place. I can get there. They are the key. The changelings. This world. Why do you think we come here, cycle after cycle? You’ve helped make the greatest discovery in history, and you don’t even realize it. It was here all long, right under our mandibles.”
I quickly sifted through my inventory and found what I was looking for.
“Sorry,” I said to Burcu as I pulled out the wand of Nighty-Night. Her eyes went wide, and she started to thrash as I pointed it at her and cast. She immediately conked out, and a 5-minute timer appeared above her head. I reached over and hit the switch, and the magical bindings around her disappeared. I prepared to jump onto her table. This was going to be tricky because I needed to land around her, not on her. If I slipped...
“Uh, Carl,” Dong called from the doorway.
Donut: GO FASTER LI JUN! HE IS CATCHING UP!
Rosetta: Eris is awake, but she’s still in the middle of the ball! She’s trying to escape, but she still can’t move. She just removed everyone’s invulnerability, but they’re still invulnerable anyway. The Rolling Battle Formation spell keeps them immobile and invulnerable. But they’ll be exposed the moment the ball breaks!
While the 50,000 people in the giant ball were still invulnerable because of the ball spell itself, I was no longer safe. I looked down at my arm, and the yellow glow was gone.
“Oh, fuck.”
At that moment, I heard Mordecai’s voice. You can’t save them all, kid. I didn’t even know this Burcu person, and by all accounts, she was kind of an ass. And now I was in serious trouble because I hadn’t simply let her die. I could have ended this just by stepping into the room, and now it was too late.
Li Jun: Sister. Tell Zhang I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye to his face. Tell him I won our bet. And you. Protect him. I want you to be kind to the others. This was my decision. I had to do it. I know you get angry. If you must, be angry with me. I love you with all I have. I love you with the moon and the sun and all the stars in the sky. I will see you soon, and I will tell mama you said hello.
Across from me, a health bar had appeared over the viceroy and started to rapidly lower. Above him, the changeling continued to thrash. They now looked like they were two pieces of hot cheese that had just been pulled apart.
The changeling started to change, despite being dead. Tentacles, or roots, actually, grew from its lower half.
“Yes!” Houston called as he died. He was sobbing. “I found you. I found you. After all this time. You were right here all long. It’s really you, isn’t it? Not just an avatar. It’s you. It’s you.”
I took a Fine Healing potion, and threw it at the warlord. It crashed against the man’s alien head.
“Gah!” he cried as his health rocketed back up. “No! No! What did you do?” Above him, the creature that used to be the changeling started to scream. Vines appeared out of nowhere and wrapped their way up the machine. A high-pitched, shrill, bone-shaking scream came from the creature, who remained in the clutches of the machine.
I ignored this as I jumped across the way, landing on the table with the unconscious Burcu. I wobbled as the table started to roll. I wasn’t expecting that. I reached down to pick Burcu up and pull her over my shoulder.
And that’s when the table tipped over.
I saw the disaster unfolding in slow motion.
You can do that, sometimes. In the midst of chaos. You can see it. You can focus on the event horizon and see it so, so clearly you wonder how you never saw it before.
Burcu had awakened the moment I touched her, and I met her eyes as she fell toward the white, clean floor. And like her dead mother, I saw accusation there. At the same moment, I sailed over her and hit the floor with my bare feet.
“You don’t know what you’ve done,” was all Houston said in the moments before the traps fired.
For my part, I activated Gloom Wraith Phase the very moment my feet touched the ground.
I shot forward in the direction I was facing, which was toward Architect Houston, still alive, still on the table, still under the creature surgically attached to him.
I pushed through them, everything moving in slow motion as the fire descended upon the room from all directions at once. I passed through the naked Houston, unraveling him. I felt the tendrils whip around me, despite my noncorporeal form. My shoulder felt as if I hit a solid wall, and I was suddenly spinning.
It was there, spinning with me, facing me. The creature, looking into my eyes. It said nothing. It pulsated with black energy, regarding me. It just looked at me, and then it leaned in, as if to kiss me. And in that moment, as we still spun, it changed, turning momentarily into a face I recognized.
Li Jun.
I couldn’t understand what was happening. Just that it was important. We were moving and frozen at the same time. Spinning yet stopped. It was like that moment with Paulie. Frozen in time. Moving at incredible speed, all at once.
“Thank you for giving me more time with my sister and my best friend,” Li Jun said as roots wrapped around him and suddenly whisked him away.
I moved through the double doors of the room, past Dong, just barely missing him by inches, as I hit the floor and slid.
~
I blinked, and I realized I’d been knocked unconscious for just a moment. Dong was over me, casting a Healing spell. I felt my shoulder crack painfully into place. I wasn’t burned, but I felt the heat from the room next door. The castle was on fire. Bigs had abandoned the throne room and was shouting.
I’d cast Gloom Wraith Phase to escape the room, but I’d hit something magical on the way out, which had injured me. I’d seen something, but I wasn’t sure if it was real. It felt like a dream. Either way, Architect Houston was dead. Burcu was dead. I’d barely escaped.
There were multiple messages on my screen, but a single of message stood out, like a punch in the gut.
Li Jun: Thank you for giving me more time with my sister and my best friend.
This message is from a deceased crawler.
I took a deep breath. Donut and Li Na were both screaming in chat, but I pushed it away for now. I couldn’t look. I just couldn’t. I needed to breathe.
The system wouldn’t let me.
System Message: Architect Houston of the Madness has fallen. Credit for the kill has been given to Warlord Carl of the Princess Posse.
System Message: The Madness has been defeated.
System Message: All assets of the Madness have been awarded to the Princess Posse.
System Message: Battlefield conditions have been met. Larracos is no longer safe.
Warning. Warning. Warning.
System Message: The Peeling Phase is upon us. This city is open. First to take the castle, wins.
This was followed by a barrage of messages.
Baroness Victory: I’m sorry. We tried to delay as long as possible. Our attempts have backfired. We were out maneuvered.
Warlord Message: A full quorum adjudication has determined no cheating has occurred by any warlords. Any players under an administrative hold have now been released.
Warlord Message: After a careful deliberation, it has been determined that the Non-Team Entity known as the War Mage Rebellion will not be allowed access to Larracos until the Peeling phase.
Warlord Message: Since we are now in the Peeling Phase, this ruling is rendered moot. However, the system has determined that the Quorum’s ruling has given the War Mage Rebellion standing.
Warlord Message: Warlord Agatha the War Mage Rebellion has proposed three emergency action items.
Action item one. “The War Mage Rebellion be given full resources and access to the warlord system. In addition, we are now allowed to claim thrones for our own.”
This request has been granted. And frankly, you already had this, so this was pretty much a waste of an action item.
Action item two. “The War Mage Rebellion be given full access to the Conscription spell and all its benefits.”
This request has been granted. The Conscription spell will now allow unaffiliated players to be conscripted into the War Mage Rebellion.
Action item three. “During the Peeling Phase, revert to the rules of the original Faction Wars. Warlords and all soldiers of a defeated team should automatically die if they lose during the Peeling Phase.”
I mean. Why not? You want drama. Now we got drama.
This request has been granted with a caveat. From this point forward, every affiliated soldier and warlord on a team who is still on the battlefield will now drop dead where they stand the moment the team is defeated.
Holy shit. My mind reeled. Agatha? What the actual fuck.
Warlord Juice Box: We need help! They’re everywhere!
Britney: They’re breaking in. I have to run!
System Message: The Throne Room of Team Retribution is being occupied by forces from the War Mage Rebellion.
Per the Peeling Phase ruleset, they now have control of the city defense system. There is a half-hour grace period before the towers are active.
If they can hold the throne room for six hours, the War Mage Rebellion will be declared winner of this season of Faction Wars.
~~~~
Hey folks. I have more. A lot more. But I am STILL massively editing previous chapters. Again, sorry for the slowness. It’s been a wild few weeks. I had my dad’s funeral–finally-at Arlington national cemetery and went straight to DragonCon from there, which was amazing. I had the hardcover book release and we hit the USA Today Bestseller’s list. I had a reading in Seattle, and I had a thing in LA that I can’t talk about.
But all I can think about is the next few events and my quest to make them as right as possible. Thank you all for coming with me on this journey. Pour one out for those we lost, but save some because I fear we’re not done yet.
Comments
Douglas Erdman
The Peeling was scheduled to occur when there were 3 teams remaining, so the Reavers aren't dead.
Melissa Glisan
Given what Agatha is, her actions make perfect sense. Brutal, but logical.
Deana Whitney
Jaw on the floor, screaming "What?!" at phone. Not cool Agatha, not cool.
Rakeem Alexander
That is a great point. It wasn’t specifically stated, but it could very much be one of the conditions of the “old rules” from the previous seasons of Faction Wars.
Deepak Kamlesh
Hi Matt. It's unclear to me why the first one to take the city of Larracos wins. It was my understanding that you had to be the one holding the city when the timer runs out or be the last uneliminated team to win. Taking the city first was not a win condition even in the previous faction wars if I remember correctly.
Frank Morgana
Holy shit Agatha
Michael McPhee
Sorry to hear about your father, Matt. I hope you and your family are doing as well as you can be in light of the loss. Thanks for all your hard work.
Baurzhan Dosym
I am sorry who is Burcu? And who is mother or father
Patrick Kenney
Great callout to Kaiju
Tyler D
Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon flashbacks.
Jamal Jahabar
Hang on, did I miss the Reavers dying? I thought before the War Mage Rebellion team, we still had 1. The Princess Posse, 2. The Madness, 3. The Reavers and 4. Team Retribution. Now that Houston is dead, shouldn't we still have 3 factions without the War Mages? When did the Reavers die? I know they ran but no one is occupying their throne right? Or is it whoever takes the Larracos throne room wins faction wars?
riyon hutton
?
riyon hutton
Hugs
riyon hutton
In the arms of the angels
riyon hutton
Agreed
riyon hutton
Happy birthday
congolicious
Happy birthday to me. I adore all of the books, but the Scolopendra levels have been my favorites. I can't wait to hear Jeff bring this batshit crazy floor to life with his 100000 voices. Simply superb. On a completely different note, condolences for your dad. Here's hoping you and your family are doing as well as possible with the new normal.
Dirty Dibbler
The Zurzura spell will teleport a castle from the 9th to the 12th floor. They could pile the Changlings in there and send them down to continue their reign of messing stuff up for the invaders
Dirty Dibbler
My guess is that it was less of a screw you and more of a “if you die this trap gets triggered and I die too” kind of thing
Douglas Erdman
I'm just sad that Mordecai being a Canadian has only resulted in a couple of "aboot" one-liners.
Douglas Erdman
However, we learned some things about the conscription spell this chapter, like the nasty debuffs they can receive for failing to fight. That could impact a Donut-Lucia Mar showdown.
Douglas Erdman
It came out in a previous chapter, I think it was the Lazarus a Bang Bang Card, the Uzi Jesus & Plague god combo.
Brian Cheney
Perfect, thank you William!
Ilya Taytslin
Unless I somehow missed it, we STILL do no know which card Donut saved from the previous floor? I suspect it is Alpha Carl, and she will use it as a decoy at some critical moment.
Ilya Taytslin
On the previous floor Orren confirmed that Agatha is a Residual, and added "Even now as we speak, [AI] is removing all protections it held for the remaining Residuals, and they will all be dead before the floor collapses." Carl: "So no more Agatha?" Orren: "I wouldn't go that far" So there is something special about Agatha, and Orren knows it.
Daniel Rue
Thanks for the reminder!
Pheonixarcher
HOW THE FUCK IS SHE STILL ALIVE! Did she get a bunch of her buddies who made it into the dungeon together?
Runae Lee
Also, it should be “containment breach” not “containment breech”.
FossilWreckers
Does Bomo still have the Zerzura spell? One way or another, that spell's gonna save the day.
Ilya Taytslin
Also Osvaldo and his rainbow
Dragan
That’s mystery of it, we all wanna know.
Dragan
I agree the writing is significantly different than the previous books, but it does fantastic work with this madness being set up. But my biggest fear is that this writing style is unintentionally transferred to a later book.
Dragan
Now that is scary.
Dragan
I think it’s just starting now, so all the soldiers they stole from the other factions will still live.
Dragan
The deal with Agatha was that she said she wanted to talk but everyone’s favorite adjutant said he wasn’t allowed to.
Daniel Rue
First, that's rough. Condolences. Second, oh snap! Things are not looking good! I hate it when things aren't looking good. I mean it's kind of necessary for things to look up and for that looking up to feel meaningful... but still, it sucks. :( Third, wasn't Carl supposed to meet with Agatha like... forever ago? Like, before he went out to meet King Rust? I feel like I remember her sending him a message saying they need to talk, but I don't remember them ever actually talking. Did that actually happen off screen, or did Carl just forget about it? Fourth, the War Mages have the Gate of the Feral gods now... would it be possible at this point for the NPCs and the War Mages to get teleported down a few floors allowing Princess Posse to be declared the winners? Fifth, wasn't there some big secret plan hatched between Juicebox and Justice? Is that still in the works? Does this whole warmage thing mess stuff up?
Daniel Rue
I don't believe so. The one glimpse of faction wars we got showed that one crawler getting lasso'd by that orc guy then ripped in half since they couldn't pass the barrier (it was a cookbook entry). Even then, it seemed that any crawlers who survived were still alive despite losing, and other warlords were still alive as well (the cookbook mentioned how they were all casually laughing despite slaughtering each other moments before). Also, the Naga faction has played in faction wars a ton since the last time they won, and since that one time they've survived despite losing. So either this rule was something from like... *the first* season of the show, or it's something new.
schnasty
Releases periodically in posts. I think usually when the book is done
Connor Sanders
Also I have a question don't know if it was told. But is the death after an army falls retro active.... or just starting now?
Connor Sanders
Oh... I like that. Just fuckem I got what I need. Maybe.... or maybe she still needs carl and this is how she got his attention.... or Agatha is gone? It's just a war mage and they are setting up a new bbeg?
william brown
I think she is trying to cause an extinction of the crawlers because the AI is where she needs it to be.
william brown
Yes it is in book 7. When Odette takes over for chaco. So right after king that does and before the craziness at club vanquisher
Deacon Stoneley
Wish you the best Matt through these tough times lots of love from everyone I'm sure xoxo
Connor Sanders
Ok, nice change up. Good going Agatha for joining the party. Wasn't expecting this :)
Riley Blampied
Agatha asking for the conscription spell is kinda weird seeing as everyone is affiliated then you realise Lucia mar is out there.
Joe ?
So Carl saw the Eldritch God that lives in the blackhole at the center of the galaxy huh. This chapter kind of seemed like it tied this story to Kaiju battlefield surgeon, [Spoiler] because of the amplification being done as an attempt to see the beautiful place or whatever. It makes me think of the golden place the main character sees after he gets amplified
Jamal Jahabar
So... It's been Agatha All Along... MCU crossover?
Teal
Agatha!!!
Zach Gibson
Holy Crap, Matt!
smpmcb
As someone super new to the community, this is so helpful! Thanks 😁
Charlie Elliott
If you join the SBT Discord you can actually listen to the entire recording process. He does it live every time (he might’ve done like one or two chapters off camera last book b/c of the guest actors)
Daniel Wills
It’s sort of a consequence of the subject matter and a testament to Matt’s writing. The combat should feel overwhelming, too much, too fast. We get pretty big breaks between the chapters to process, but imagine reading all of this at once. Woof.
Stephen Greenwood
Bingo. Matt also used it in another book, "The Hobgoblin Riot," from the Dominion of Blades series to great effect. I keep bringing it up because it was used a trap in that book, and one of the standards mentioned earlier in this book is of a little girl wearing a pink dress and viking helmet, which is a character named Popper/Poppy from that series. It'd be nice to see 2 references to that series here. Matt did comment once on one of my comments, about the 3 Body Problem on Netflix, which has a similar affect on the ship it encounters, but I prefer the ghost ship version better. Also, the literally mention the movie in the Hobgoblin Riot. If you haven't read/listened to the books, I strongly encourage you too. As soon as I finish my current re-listening of "The Eye of the Bedlam Bride" I plan on hopping back to that series again.
Brian Cheney
When you’re talking about juice box changing into the death entity, was that earlier in book 7, or a different book? I’m trying to find the chapter that happens in because I can’t remember it for the life of me! Thanks in advance
Dennis Gregory
He’s trying to meet the death entity thing that juice box turns into to scare the audience earlier. I don’t remember what it’s called now. That’s why it went away when Carl healed him. Guessing Houston figured it out when he saw that because changelings can only into things they’ve touched (meaning it’s real). And why it turned into Li Jun when he dies. Assuming it’s connected to the river.
Michael Landesman
Not really a fan of this whole everyone will die thing. 🤷♂️ Does that mean no more allied teams?
Douglas Erdman
Carl knows Agatha is a residual, he doesn't know that she's like the Valtay, a brainworm, I'm guessing that she might have 'left' the homeless Agatha body & jumped to one of the War Mages.
Douglas Erdman
Jeff did a cold read for the last book once Matt had a finished version. So keep an eye out on SBT's Youtube channel once there's a final version for the cold reads. Now would probably be a good time for another listen through of the series w/ Matt estimating that he'll be done in October.
A
Seems like the traps are what killed her. So Houston probably got credit. Or whoever set those up.
Skott Klebe
This whole book has felt rushed compared to the others. So much action, so much less character interaction and development. Less Donut, less Samantha, less Katia, so much more Carl doing things that he planned out offstage. But with the single best sequence in the whole series.
Chris Furry
Holy mother of God... you weren't kidding when you said it was going to be crazy...
Lauren
Does this count as Carl killing Burcu? Will he get a player killer skull now?
Grigorius of Tomsk, Devourer of Pop-Tarts, Victor of Many Battles
*Buncu's father, not mother. :) Hmm, new head-canon: she's the daughter of one of Carl's friends who had died on an earlier floor while saving Carl. What if she's Quan Ch's daughter? O_o
Kyle McDonald
Always worth the wait Matt, thank you! My condolences to you and your family
Nic Morgan
I feel like Mordecai has disappeared from book 7 almost entirely. Am I wrong? There are so many characters now that getting them all into the narrative must be a challenge, but I find it a little jarring how little we're hearing from him given how much of a major character he's been until now.
Douglas Erdman
There was a movie called Ghost Ship, that had a flashback scene where a wire passed through a large portion of the ship, slicing the crew and passengers apart. - Found a video of it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFwN1ub_K2I
J Holmes
I had forced that memory out of my head, and now it's back. Oof. Amplification was gross.
J Paige
I agree with this sentiment, while I'm vaguely aware of what's happening, Id appreciate some clarity. Where my confusion lies in the winner - if everyone else dies as a result of a winning faction, is this pitting the crawlers in the princess posse fighters against the npcs? Or can they both win since they're allied? I assumed carl was going to let juicebox claim the city for herself, but now i can't tell if that would doom his squad.
Runae Lee
My condolences to you and your family during this time, Matt. Great work as always. Thanks for sharing.
Saurid
So I think this needs a bit of a rewrite because I don't quite get what's happening in the last part, who dies now under what circumstances? Like what counts as on the field and if one team wins does everyone else die? Also if you only need to hold alroccoss wouldn't the NOc's have automatically won or was there a phase after peeling?
austin kutz
To the best of my knowledge, the changelings can exist without the dungeon while the war mages cannot. So it may be more of a question of long term goals than anything else
Cupocryptid
I’m so hyped (and terrified) to see what comes next! I’m sure it’s not just me I speak for when I say I hope you’re doing okay Matt - that’s a lot of stuff to be dealing with and a lot of amped up pressure.
Mark Macaré
I see an emergency action item 😅
Michael Alpert-Appell
Right, forgot about the tattoo connection. Good call-out.
Michael Alpert-Appell
That's hard man, I'm really sorry. Been there, it fades over time but never really goes away. You'll be alright-ish in time though. Just gotta wait it out.
A
Condolences.
Nancy E
I kept thinking of Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon during this
TKO
Damn! GC, BWR, NW, Best in Dungeon Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk´s plan was to re - sleeve all the hostiles in the ball of swine. But the "you´r not done yet" spell eventually creates more of those now hostile warmages right? Things are looking grim. Sorry to hear about your father. Best wishes from a far away.
Immortal R.C.
I think Matt mentioned retconning it a few posts back. I think it was always supposed to be Jamal
Kim Webster
Can’t recall if (J/K)amal was in the prior book, but if not, I’d surmise Matt would like to avoid the similarity to “Kamala”? 🤷♀️
Dragan
The changelings want revenge on their creators so they intend to screw up the game as much as possible. But we have no clue what the war mages want.
Dragan
It’s a device issue, if you’re using mobile you can’t get it.
Dragan
Last chapter someone brought up how the AI feed off of effectively the souls of all living things that die, and these “Unwashed” are most definitely connected to death.
Dragan
Am I the only one who’s getting some serious De Ja vu vibes from the Architect Houston scene. I swear I have seen it before in something similar, I even recall the whole ‘It’s to horrible to describe’ thing. IDK, probably nothing.
Daniel Brian
That felt like negging. 😂
Michael Fannon
Hey, something had to happen to the Primals since only the AI's are left.
Andrew Millen
I thought I was going crazy.
Vickie Rashvand
Absolutely loved this! (Well all except Li Jun 😞). I can start to see the fruits of so many years of labour.
Dylan Black
I wonder if the “everyone dies if they lose faction wars” twist feels under-foreshadowed? Were those always the rules for crawlers before this season? I don’t recall.
Azoth
Hnm? Not sure what you mean. The tenses in the first Action Items line just felt a little off. The first sentence uses "be", as in shall be or should be, and the second sentence uses Are Now. It would read more smoothly if it was consistent.
Cedric
Agatha is a residual. Somehow she organized the war mage rebellion. And changelings were created for the dungeon while war mages were created by events IN the dungeon, no?
Terra
i love carl in this chapter so much. it might be one of my favorites. oh, this is your life's work? fuck you. healing potion your ass. he just does not give two shits about the lore that is being dropped in this chapter and it is the funniest use of dramatic irony ever, having the pov character be too busy to investigate all these dangling plot threads. i'm having a fabulous time
Dennis Gregory
I think Matt was going though something with that book. Jesus. The ending? The donkey? Yeesh.
waterkangaroo
"It just looked at me, and then it leaned in, as if to kiss me." AI? Is that you? 👀 but actually, are the Unwashed tied into the Primals in some way? Cause it certainly feels like it
Terra
hahaha i actually enjoy the body horror aspects of DCC quite a lot, though I think having Carl not describe it was a smart way of not having the horror overwhelm the rest of what's happening in the scene. if this this amount bothered you, I honestly wouldn't recommend reading Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon, where the "process" is described in far greater detail. I enjoyed it, though. :)
Dragan
I don’t know, I think it has to do with the War mages being dungeon created so maybe they’re favored by the AI like, I don’t know, it’s kids? There’s a lot we don’t know.
Jon C Salyer
My condolences Matt. Glad to see what Agatha has been up to.
Brian Cheney
“every affiliated soldier and warlord on a team who is still on the battlefield will now drop dead where they stand the moment the team is defeated” The above line leaves an out. If the changelings can touch this death entity and somehow go someplace else and not be “on the battlefield” then they’d both live. Also can’t the gate of the of feral gods open gates between floors? Maybe that’s another out
Dragan
This mother fucker and his ghost ship traps. I don’t even know what a Ghost Ship trap would look like but damn I wanna see one.
Andrew Bartlett
Matt's father died while Matt was writing the "Hydra of Malicious Compliance" chapter for the previous book, where Carl witnessed his own father's death. That was a long time ago. I hope the funeral brought you and your family some much needed closure. Hope he rests well.
Dragan
The eviction event is only in a select few areas.
Duke GIJOE
Didn't the AI call out other warlords for trying to purpose more than 1 item was an action? It grow like Status May be reading too much into her requests... Or maybe I'm just worried about the outcome?
David K. Storrs
Ghost ship?
David K. Storrs
So far as I know, they don't exist.
Dragan
Ditto, I hope you’re doing well.
waterkangaroo
He wasn't graphic at all cause Carl refused to describe it. What Terra meant is that anyone who's read his other book Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon will already know what Amplification means (IF it is indeed the same or similar process). If this chapter was too much, definitely DO NOT read Kaiju. DCC is much more toned down in gorey descriptions
Dragan
Li Jun Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Fuck you Matt and your heart touching beautiful writing. God damn, whatever it takes you to make more of this is worth the wait, anything that’s truly important needs to be done. I know we all act addicted to your art but we can be patient if we need to. Once again, as always, thank you for blessing us with your stupid book that’s making me feel.
Brian Cheney
Sorry I must not be remembering this meeting, which book/chapter does that happen in?
Andrew Bartlett
I read the part with Li Jun more as the entity/god that the Changelings are after, that Houston was trying to connect to, has some power over souls and/or the dead. And so as Li Jun died, this entity was channeling his essence. But fucked if I know, Matt probably hasn't got it figured out yet!
Laura Hemly
I'm sorry you lost your mom, Nicholas. My condolences to you and your family.
Laura Hemly
I'm sorry about your dad, Matt, but you must be very proud of him to be buried at Arlington. That's a huge honor! As for this chapter, I'm with Terra that you didn't need to be quite so graphic about what Houston did to Zeynep. I'm not a straight horror reader, and that came a bit too close for comfort! and the rest of what all happened in the operating theater just fried my brain. I think I need to start diagramming some of these chapters out! Lastly, Li Jun? Really? You killed him? And Warlord Agatha, WTF???
Jules Deathwish
To be fair, I feel that way about all of my comments.
Lloyd Lowe
Wasn't it badger people in Kaiju as well?
William Magee
Sorry to hear about your dad, Matt. X
Mike Gainor
Agatha. Wow fuck wow.
Nick Devine
Underrated comment
Joshua Galaise
Hmmm that's only a little majorly ominous Matt. Can't wait for the next chapter. You weren't kidding when you said shit was about to hit the fan. I think Carl was able to see Li Jun at the end because of the tattoo and the interaction with the death entity guy.
DB
WHAT WAS LI JUNS SONG REQUEST THOUGH?
Jules Deathwish
The first line of this Chapter feels good enough to be the first line of a whole novel. Not quite as good as “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”. But it's definitely up there.
Robert Griswold
Umm, Holy Shit. There's multiple WTF moments here. Warlord Agatha?!? Li Jun somehow connected to Houston? There is a ton going on here. I wonder what would have happened to Houston if Carl had let him complete whatever he was doing. What is happening with Jefferson. Is adding the gold coins increasing its power and hold over Dong?
Justin Oliver
*Edit request:* Consider adding some reasoning for Carl not using the Ring of Divine Suffering on the mercenaries while he was invulnerable.
Nicholas Fuller
Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. My mother passed 3 weeks ago. Your story has been a wonderful distraction.
Terra
sorry, i just reread it. what do you mean "It was there, spinning with me, facing me. The creature, looking into my eyes. It said nothing. It pulsated with black energy, regarding me. It just looked at me, and then it leaned in, as if to kiss me. And in that moment, as we still spun, it changed, turning momentarily into a face I recognized." WHAT DO YOU MEAN "AS IF TO KISS ME" THE AI? IS THAT YOU?
Terra
SAME
Christine
Why is our shark friend's name Jamal now instead of Kamal?
Trae Gesling Jr.
Goddamn I love some Agatha content ngl
Charis
Now I definitely need to figure out how to access the .mobi and .epub files. Can any other Patrons help me out here? I patron at the right level, I’m just a total noob. Was it in an email I missed?
william brown
No when juicebox was in that meeting and turned into that devil/angel/god thing they called it the happy place and it has always been a mystery as to what that is and they even said how could she do that if she never touched it. It is what we all see right before death I believe is what they said and so it saying what li Jun said is just further proof of it being a real thing the changelings have access to.
Sam Thirlwall
I was just thinking it was time for a new chapter as I was jonesing for one .....and 5 minutes later.....pow! Matt delivers.
solbergs
“Slam! The final mercenary crashed against the wall after getting brained by Dong.” You proud of that one? Hahaha
Grigorius of Tomsk, Devourer of Pop-Tarts, Victor of Many Battles
I think Li Jun had been hijacked by changelings a while back: Carl either saw the true Li Jung, or the changeling shifting into him at the last moment of its life.
Terra
oh man. you didn't have to describe what happened to Zeynep. I've read your other books. "Amplification in Process". your horror novel writer side really shone through this chapter matt. i'm going to go lie face down on the ground now, ok? was psyched to see you on the Bestseller's List! absolutely well deserved! so excited to see where you're going with it :D edit to add: the Amplification Process and I are old friends and i'm happy to see its found a home in DCC, and likewise happy that the litrpg folks who didn't realize this was a horror novel didn't have to experience the description for themselves lol
Azoth
Great chapter! Editing notes below if you'd like, just pointing out things that stuck out: " Selvi was no longer" -> "Selvi was no longer" "giggling at them, which didn't help" -> "which didn't help." " System Message: The Throne Room of the Madness" -> "System Message:" "The Peeling Phase is upon us. This city is open." -> "The Peeling Phase is upon us. The city is open." "Warlord Message: Warlord Agatha the War Mage Rebellion has proposed three emergency action items." -> "Warlord Message: Warlord Agatha of the War Mage Rebellion has proposed three emergency action items." ?? "“The War Mage Rebellion be given full resources and access to the warlord system. In addition, we are now allowed to claim thrones for our own." -> "“The War Mage Rebellion be given full resources and access to the warlord system. In addition, we should now be allowed to claim thrones for our own." Existing Syntax feels clunky for a proposal. Could change first sentence instead.
Grigorius of Tomsk, Devourer of Pop-Tarts, Victor of Many Battles
Sorry about your dad. :( Your Q&A in Seattle was great - I was the human eating an onion. :) Agatha's upgrade is a perfect "WTF? WTAF?" hahaha. Poor Li Jun - makes me wonder how many other crawlers had been replaced... And a little bit confused about the part with Buncu's mother, but it's probably just me missing something. 🙃
Zauz
Pretty chaotic chapter! Not sure what's going on with the war mages, did that emergency action just make it so if the crawlers win all the changelings die? And vice versa? That's kinda lame. Also they littered the field with tons of bodies, the demon eviction was triggered, shouldn't the demons be possessing all those bodies?
Serial Kilroy
So much red.
Tyler D
Dread washed over me at the "Amplification in progress" insert.
Loah
Fuuuuuck Houston. Fuck him. And Goddammit Agatha!
Brian Cheney
What do people think the architect was up to? Who was he trying to see? Why did Carl see Li Jun for a second, did he hit the “river” that li Jun’s soul was going down? So many questionssss
Paul pollard
It was great seeing you at dragoncon and stay safe on your future travels.
Stephen Greenwood
First of all, I'm sorry for your loss Matt. My thoughts are with your family. Second, kinda bummed this didn't come out on a weekday so I could waste time at work reading this. Third, a ghost ship style trap would be super crazy to see happen now that Larracos is open to everyone. Fourth, extremely excited for what happens next!
Kelly Cobb
It was so great seeing you at DragonCon -- I hope you had at least as much fun as we did!
Bryan Pitts
Holy shit.
smpmcb
Petition to have Jeff Hays read all these prelim chapters so I can get my fix after having listened to books 1-6 multiple times?
Michael Alpert-Appell
Ok. So, I forget the name, but Houston clearly believes the changelings are really those creatures he's utterly obsessed with. I forget the name, but the ones you see at the moment of death. And this is further indicated as being truth by the one Carl saw turning into Li Jun at the apparent moment of his death. Crazy shit.
Rian Tyler
This chapter ending was a doozy. Way to keep up on our toes!
Addicted to the rush
Thanks for signing my books, even though I wasn’t there 😂My sister (who said you were awesome) is now reading the books!
Gary Singer
Damn. That was one heavy chapter. With some twists!
Katyna Smith
Agatha. I was not expecting that.
Travis Chin
My thoughts mirror Carl's: War Mage Agatha arc? WTF? Excellent work as always.
Jason Hatter
Holy. Fuck.
Sabe F.
That was an awesome chapter. I'm curious, was the Kamal to Jamal name change because of the US election?
Jason Tinnel
Ahhhhhh… that feeling when it hits 😍☮️😌
austin kutz
Maybe I'm dumb, but shouldn't the war mages and the changelings be on the same side? Or at least tentative allies?
riyon hutton
Hugs Matt
Spessiks
Sorry to hear about your loss. Losing my parent is the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with. I couldn’t go to dragoncon but everyone said you were awesome to meet and a great person IRL. I can’t wait to shake your hand someday like so many other fans before me. Love your work, man. Can’t wait to see how this series ends!
Elissa Kirk
Haven't even got to reading yet but this just saved my Monday 🤣.
Lauren J
Was about to go into my Sunday blues, I don’t want it to be Monday mood and this has resurrected me! Thanks Matt!
QueenofHartbrake
YOOHOOO
Douglas Helpling
Nice!
riyon hutton
Yay
Magic Jake
Woooooo!
