by Taj McCoy El
Ruins of Majesta
Vol 2.1 – Creatures and Cupcakes
By Taj McCoy El
Edited By:
Tim Marquitz
Cover Illustration By:
Lukas Baker
https://www.artstation.com/slaggle
[email protected]
Ruins of Majesta Vol 1 – Blood and Cupcakes
©2019 by Taj McCoy El
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Contents
Jensen’s Recap Corner
Day Eight. Two - Brief Reunions and Burning Desires
8.1.2 The Portal to Where???
8.2 Parents Day In
8.3 Specter’s Keep
8.4 Twilight and Truces
8.5 Testing… Testing…
8.6 The eight lives of Alejandro Diaz
8.7 Death and the Maiden
8.8 Gift Boxes
Day Nine - When You Cross a Black Cat
9.1 Breaking Fast
9.2 Victories and Vexations
9.3 Winner, Winner…
Day Ten - Ka-kaaws and Clackers
10.1 Losing Grounds
10.2 Whips and Struggles
10.3 Walk of Shame
10.4 The Twisting of Arms
10.5 Seal of Disapproval
10.6 Kittens, chickens, and Death… Oh my…
10.7 Return of the Rötten
Day Eleven - An unexpected defense
11.1 The Awakening
11.2 An explosive afternoon
11.3 What a Knocker Can Do
11.4 Charge of the Light (W) Grenade
11.5 Why is it hard to breathe?
11.6 Vicks, Vapors, and the Rub
11.7 Turrets, Temples, and Torsos
11.8 Who’s the boss?
11.9 Three Piece and a Biscuit
Author’s notes
Resource Guide
Jensen’s Recap Corner
Hello there, ye mighty paladins. Ye lassies and laddies. Ye lords, ladies, lambchops, lampreys, and/or otherwise. Atmos forbid, I try to tell ye how to roll up yer character sheet. In my eyes, ye’re all welcome. And welcomes are what we are here fer, so let’s get to it.
Welcome back to the long-awaited sequel of Ruins of Majesta. My name is Jensen Clanmeister, Grand Sergeant in the Majestan Royal Column, at yer service. I’m here to fill you all in on all the pertinent details and backstory from book one. So here we go.
I was working undercover at a paladin training facility as an information broker/postman when I ran across a right jewel of a paladin. Whip smart and ready fer action, with that big old hammer of hers. Her name is the Pretty Princess Cuddle Fluff. Ye may also know her as Fluff or Mayah.
Thing is, she got stuck in our world. Something wrong with her pod. That’s the technology paladins use to reach Majesta. Her real body is stuck there, and she’s told me that’s no good, and I'm of a mind ta’believe her.
Before I learned all that, I had taken her under my wing to teach her the ways of the Majestans. It was an intense session of haggling, and she earned my respect. The training I put her through was a might intense, as well. She passed out, saying she was stuck in Majesta after that training, and I had to carry her to her room.
The next morning, I sent my other paladin apprentice, Grax, to fetch her and bring her to me. and that’s how the flea-bitten cat and the princess first met. The fact that she sasses him up tickles my whiskers.
After that, Fluff went out hunting fer levels and ran across a poor noob trapped by some terravoles. That would be Margaret. A pretty flower that got in above her head. Fluff helped save the poor soul and helped her to come to terms with her necromancy. Come ’ta find out, Margaret’s a seventy-something-year-old grandmother hoping to spend some time with her grandkids before she moves on to the next world.
Now that we have the Royal Death Claws all together, let’s get a few more details. Fluff is an enchanter who loves to make things… out of things… fer reasons. I don't claim to understand it, but the results speak fer themselves. She made a mana regeneration kerchief on her second day, which I still find amazing. And that creepy ragged cloak with all the stat boosts. I want one, but I like to follow some rules of fashion. She’s also a runist and uses the runes to create even stronger enchantments.
Grax is a rogue and rude, but he has a soft spot for little sisters. That’s because his sister was left in a coma after a car accident, and he hopes he can find a way to get her treatment. Mayah enchanted his katanas with a rune called Spike (W), and now they do ice and slow damage.
He’s a better melee fighter than Fluff, as proven in their duel. But Fluff hadn’t added all her Stat and Attribute points yet. If it came down to it, I would expect her to bomb him bald with her enchanted Grenadier ability. We are all waiting for that rematch.
Margaret is a Ranger, even though her first magic skill was a necromantic art. It’s called Resurrection Doll, and it lets her raise and control the dead. She became a ranger because she used to be a junior archery champion. Also, she has a distaste fer dead things, and using her dolls makes her physically sick.
Mayah learned the runes for undead storage allowing her to store any inanimate object in the runiverse. No matter the size of said object, it’s shrunken down to the size of a small crystal token. She used these crystals to hold spells and grenades, which she throws at her targets. She equipped Margaret with arrows that can drop undead wherever Margaret can put an arrow.
Margaret’s still a noob but she’s getting better with every passing battle, and she’s dedicated to protecting Fluff, Just like a good grandma.
Lastly, and definitely my least favorite, there’s Malcipher. An evil and unnatural presence in our world. A paladin created by a computer virus, who’s holding Fluff’s body hostage and seeks her out to take over her body and get out of Majesta. He is creepy and says, “Yes,” a lot.
As ye mayhaps noticed, this is bit of a fourth wall break. As a Majestan, I'm not supposed to know what yer world is like, but I’m here in my newly expanded capacity as an official recapper. Thank the AI fer this brief interlude. That is a beautiful stroke of…author…intelligence.
Get it? Beware, here there be puns and horrible jokes a’plenty!!!
C’mon. Ye chuckled, too. I’m over here slappin’ me knee and waggling me eyebrows. Now for the last bits.
When we last left Fluff, I had just said goodbye to her. She and the Death Claws walked proudly into the stadium to accept their prize for winning the tournament. They won an all-expense paid trip to dungeon-land, AKA an instanced dungeon just fer them. An instanced dungeon is when more than one person can occupy their very own copy of the same dungeon.
This is where our story starts, and this is where I say goodbye. So, I’ll say my farewells and leave you with her character sheet.
Travel well, ye paladins and page turners. Until we next meet, safe journeys.
Name:
Pretty Princess Cuddle Fluff
Race:
Princess
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral
Title(s)
High Empress of the Pie Mountains, Enchanted Seamstress, Enchanted Grenadier, Enchanted Armorer
; Raider Mark(s)
Imps of Avarice
Class Skill:
Engineer
Class Skill Points
Specialization:
Runes
25
Level:
10
XP:
341/745
Hp:
793
Regen:
9.50HP
per minute
Stats
Strength
19 (+10% Equip Bonus)
Max. lift
142 +14lbs
Mana:
33
Mana pool:
990
MP Regen:
9.60 per sec.
Stamina:
35 (base 33 +2 equip bonus)
Depletion rate at max effort
.51SP
per sec.
Regen:
11.84 per min.
Attributes
Bonuses
Constitution:
13 (Base 12)
+15%
Endurance
15 (Base 13)
+21%
Intelligence
26 (Base 20)
+28%
Presence:
17 (Base 16)
+15%
Perception:
8 (Base 6)
+23%
Agility:
17 (base 14)
+17%
Abilities
Awareness level: 6 (+15% to Perception)
Enchanted Grenadier Level 5
Iron will Level: 4 (+11% to Endurance +8% to Intelligence)
Whack-A-Vole Level: 4
Crushing Blow Level: 4
Skinflint Level: 4 (+11% to Presence)
Shadow Eye Level: 3
Enchanted seamstress Level: 2
Achilles Heel Level: 2 (+7% to Agility)
Acrobat Level: 1 (5% to agility)
Survivalist Level: 1 (+5% to Constitution)
Adamant Level: 1 (+10% to all Attributes)
Enchanted Armorer Level: 1
Wellspring Level: 1
Flesh of The MagiI Level: 1
Spirit of Pie Mountain (Racial Ability) Level:1
Dual Cast Level: 1
Dual Wield Level: 1
Marathoner Level: 1 (Stat bonuses)
Dynamo Level: 1 (Stat bonuses)
Skills
Level
Enchantment
6
Runes
5
Rage of Pyrmos
1
55 unspent skill tree point
Trades
Level
Trades
Level
Sewing
5
Knitting
1
Engraving
5
Leatherworking
1
Tactician
2
Alchemy
1
Blacksmithing
2
Calligrapher
1
Armorer
2
Cartographer
1
Cobbler
2
Hunter
1
Miner
1
Carpentry
1
Herbalist
1
Stonemason
1
Baker
1
Mechanic
1
Tailor
1
Painter
1
Glazier
1
Trader
1
Weaving
1
Locksmith
1
Fieldcraft
1
Sculptor
1
Fishing
1
Saddlery
1
Logging
1
Acupuncturist
1
Architect
1
Field Medic
1
Jewelcrafter
1
Healer
1
Trade Agreements
Princess Storage Company (+2 Skinflint +10 to Presence)
Day Eight. Two - Brief Reunions and Burning Desires
This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive.
- Alice waters
8.1.2 The Portal to Where???
22:30 EST, Friday February 6th, 2043
Time passed in real world: 27hrs 30mins
Time passed in Majesta: 165hrs
The Royal Death Claws were called to the arena floor. Thunderous applause rolled across the open space as the audience heartily clapped their appreciation. The paladins were led before the announcer's stage where the mayor of their training village stood waiting at a podium. There was an empty arch covered with runes towering behind him. The eight paladins lined up in front of the stage facing him.
“Hello, victorious paladins. The time for your rewards has come. Through your continuous struggles and battles, you have let the world know that you aspire to be the best of the best.
“Majesta has great need for paladins such as yourselves. And we wish to let you know that your efforts to save our world are greatly appreciated and will be rewarded in kind. The Majesta outside of this village may not be as kind to you as this training village. Not all elements of our world are good, safe, or even enjoyable. But we pray you can persevere and reach the pinnacle of your potential.
“Just as it is in your world, there is poverty, disease, greed, and violence. We hope you will be a positive force to usher us into a new day. A day where all can become whole, hale, and work together to end the strife that currently gnaws at our hopes and dreams for a better future.
“As we have watched, you have blossomed here in the training village, and we will be watching you grow to your full potential. And with all that said, I'm sure that you are ready to receive your due.” The audience applauded and whistled again.
“First, we have the unclassed paladin division. Victors, please step forward.” The four paladins made their way to the front and stood in a line in front of the mayor. As they stood before the stage, four mages approached. Each of them was holding a glowing sphere of light. The mayor spoke again, “Place your hands onto the sphere and receive your prize.”
There were multiple flashes of light. When they receded, the paladins held new weapons in their hands. The new mace, bow, sword, and shield glowed in the bright sunlight.
“Paladins, we hope these weapons will serve you well in your fight against Ba'alquion.” The audience roared its approval. After a moment, the mayor raised his hands to quiet them down.
“PythonC++, please step forward.” He did as asked. “You have proven yourself to be a steadfast fighter, smart and powerful. Place your hand on the sphere and receive your prize.” After the bright flash faded, he was holding a new gleaming sword and shield.