Aster Brooks Books

Ch. 15: Halls of Fortitude

Cass followed the Priest of Fortitude deeper into the temple. Inside was made of the same glass bricks, most the opaque blue that had dominated the outside, though certain hallways leading off the ...

Ch. 14: The Temple of Velilia

Cass heard little in the tavern that she didn’t already know. All the gossip was about the Festival, which, in retrospect, wasn’t surprising. 

The expectation among the populous was ...

Ch. 13: Alyx: Appraisal

Alyx pushed her way through the streets of the lower city. It was already busy despite the sun barely rising over the horizon. Already, Festival goers were celebrating. Or perhaps, still celebratin...

Ch. 12: The Inn

Night had long and truly fallen before Cass stepped into the tiny closet of a bedroom. The smell of must and alcohol battled for dominion of the space. The only furniture was a single bed and a che...

Ch. 11: Trouble in Paradise

Cass followed Alyx out of the city. They’d sent Marco and Telis ahead with made-up tasks. It hadn’t fooled either of them, but they also hadn’t argued or pried into why Cass and Alyx were… ...

Ch. 10: Shopping

Alyx led them to a simple two-story building with an enclosed front yard. 

“Tabith, I hope you're—” she stopped mid-sentence as they entered. 

Inside was a homey shop, m...

Ch. 9: An Afternoon Out

Cass lay on the bed staring at the ceiling and her stats window. 

Stamina: 138/138

Focus: 549/549

Health: 101/133 2025-01-08 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post

Ch. 8: A Day Off

Cass groaned as a beam of sunlight peaked between the curtains of her window and shone into her face. She rolled over, curling into a ball and dragging the comforter over her head.

“Salos,�...

Ch. 7: Alyx: Demons

Alyx didn’t really remember the rest of her conversation with Cass. It was all a blur after Cass had confirmed Salos was a demon. 

She walked down the halls of her house, the passagewa...

Ch. 6: Demons

“Well, that went well,” Alyx said as she fell back onto Cass’s sitting room couch. 

Cass raised an eyebrow. Had it? “Really?”

Alyx nodded.

“You call that well?”...

Ch. 5: Lord of the Manor

The Warden

(lvl 41)

[Keeper of the secrets of the Vaisom duchy and its past. Few know as much as he of the inner workings of Vaisom. His combat skills ...

Ch. 4: Family Dinner

That evening, the banquet was held in the family manor rather than the palace. Cass came down dressed in the borrowed robes Telis had provided. They were a gorgeous sapphire blue, with voluminous s...

Ch. 3: The Core

Still, she wasn’t entirely without leads. For one, there was the Keeper’s Core they’d collected in the Catacombs. 

Cass pulled it from her Bag. The orb glistened in the firelight, ...

Ch. 2: Friends

Telis, Alyx’s butler, awaited them when they exited the coliseum. She stood at easy attention, her hands folded in front of her, her suit neat and pressed. 

Cass wasn’t even surprise...

Ch. 1: Victorious Return

A roar of excitement met Cass and company as they stepped out of the Velillia Catacombs and into the stadium. The crowds were packed and cheering from the stands, their voices a physical force over...

Epilogue

The trip back was slow but uneventful. The monsters were notably fewer now than they had been going down, a side effect of so many other teams of divers clearing the path as they searched for treas...

Ch. 77: Pellen: The Vamphelish Core

Pellen’s heart pounded as she walked away from Lady Alyx’s party. The danger should be minimal at this stage. Lady Alyx and company had just fought their way through those floors. It should be ...

New Cover

Hello everyone! Exciting news. We have a new cover!

This was made by the talented Richard Sashigane.

Ch. 76: The Way Out

Pellen accepted her blessing without fanfare. It happened instantaneously. Apparently, Cass’s blessing had been just as quick from Alyx’s perspective. 

They climbed back up the stair...

Announcement: End of Book 2

Hello everyone!

We’re getting very near to the end of Book 2! I can hardly believe we’re already here. Thank you all for accompanying me and Cass on this journey. There are just 3 more ch...

Ch. 75: Blessings for Everyone

Over a day later, they finally left the closet they’d camped in. Cass’s health was only up to 16, and she felt it. There was a hollowness to her. Like something integral had been scooped out of...

Ch. 74: Logs

Cass came to on the floor with a pounding headache and a deep-seated exhaustion. 

Oh, she’d passed out again.

She sat up and immediately regretted it. The whole world spun around...

Ch. 73: Salos: Guard

Salos did not wait for Alyx to finish her business with Alacrity. He’d done as Cass wanted, kept her safe up to the altar, and now it was time to do as he wanted, which was to hurry back to Cass�...

Ch. 72: Alyx: Blessing

Alyx ran from beam to beam, leaping with all her Strength and Dexterity over the gapping chasm below her.

They were in a long room. 

Far behind her was the door leading back up the...

Ch. 71: Confounding Mists

She just didn’t have enough resources left to stop Fioreya. 

If she just had more Focus, she could throw down a Confounding Mists. It needed about 100 to activate and then more to furt...

Ch. 70: Spells

There was just one problem with her plan: it required coordination with Pellen. Coordination Cass did not have the freedom to arrange. 

If she could just pull away from the swordswoman l...

Ch. 69: Melee

Fioreya’s swordswoman was a head taller than Cass, if not more. Frozen in shock below the woman’s arrested sword, it felt like much more. 

She wore crimson plate armor. A serpent was...

Ch. 68: One's Place

Alyx and Fioreya stared at one another, neither moving. Behind the other noblewoman, her team gathered, all as ichor stained but none particularly winded.

Vaisom Fang (Lvl ...