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Challenge #04610-L226: Irredeemable Security Measures

A pair of down on their luck ne’er-do-wells try to rob a bank during a blackout, hoping the cash will set them up until the good lady of fortune smiles upon them. Neither expected to find a monster in the vault, and, well, you can’t really call the police for help in the middle of a heist, now can you? Oh dear… -- Deathshead419

They'd been in the bank late to try begging the manager for leniency on their loan payments. It hadn't worked, and Iris had needed time to calm down before they could leave for the place that would no longer be their home in a few short weeks.

Then the lights went out.

Don, already half blind from the accident, whispered in her ear, "I know where the vaults are." It was a spur of the moment plan. Hardly a plan at all. Merely seeking an opportunity in front of them. Especially since the guard watching them had been distracted by the clerks' screaming. Don lead Iris down into the secured area. The doors had been sealed with magnetic locks, but... no electricity meant no electric magnets.

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Challenge #04609-L225: Unattended Children Will Be Stolen By Adventurers

How did young Oakroot fall in with a bunch of Heroes? It goes back to an uncaring family that blamed him for everything, and anything, that ever went wrong, a child who internalized self blame, and self shame, and a kind fighter who picked them up out of the midden, where the child was tossed when money grew scarce.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04586-l202-unexpected-hero -- Anon Guest

It had been a long and bloody exhausting journey just getting through these woods.

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Challenge #04608-L224: There's a Song About Smiling For Them

Galactics learn about some of the large predators that still live on earth. Including enormous reptiles like the Nile Crocodiles. Which are not only known to eat humans, if they can catch one, but are among the largest reptilian predators on the planet next to some snakes. -- The New Guy

The Alliance Guide to Galactic Wildlife has this entry on Terran reptiles: Most of them are venomous, poisonous, or otherwise dangerous. Do not approach unsupervised. Not even if their owner has

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Challenge #04607-L223: Ultimatum Solution

All Wise and Glorious King Nydon has a problem. His daughter was (allegedly, cough, cough) turned into a goose, and while a magician duo has restored her form, the poor girl still has a bird brain. The magic twins tell the king only a quest with the one who found the goose-girl can restore her memories, the irritated pair being tasked with taking her to Wraithvine (who’ll get a few choice words in private).

Sequel to this: https://peakd.com/fiction/

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Challenge #04606-L222: Nonviolent Defeat

"You WILL tell us how to undo this ship's lock-outs!" / 5...

"You know we'll find your crewmates before too long an FORCE them to tell us if you don't!" / 4...

"Playing ignorant Human??" / 3...

"What... why are you counting down like that?" / 2...

Good night.

(Immense amounts of gasses flood the system, no one, pirate or human, is left awake.) -- Anon Guest

[AN: This prompt was edited for better brevity shorter prompts are better for me]

There's an ancient -and very

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Challenge #04605-L221: Murder by the Seaside

A seaside town is plagued by crows. Dark birds nesting in the roofs by the hundreds, cawing at all hours of the night, and ominously following the residents. They call Wraithvine {who might bring someone along if ze feels like it} to save them. For surely this is an omen of impending doom. --Deathhead419

Murder was afoot in Shorevale. It was also a-wing, nesting, and being a general pest, because crows had decided to infest the entire little fishing village. They

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Challenge #04604-L220: Much Ado in Ynsmuth

The leader of a coastal polity must renew a marriage alliance with the merfolk kingdom. Except he believes he has no daughter to offer. And so the leader’s youngest child must imbibe a transformative potion to wed the undersea prince. However, the intended bride seems upbeat at the prospect, for she is eager for the chance of changing into a more fitting form… -- Deathshead419

Ynsmuth had to renew its treaty with the merfolk in the deeps near their harbour. Part

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Challenge #04603-L219: Look Upon My Works, Ye Mighty

A great king is perturbed when, whilst excavating the site for his masterwork, the monument which will secure his place in eternity, the workmen discover ancient statues and old foundations hinting that some unknown empire may have tried to do so before him.

And even worse, it seems like that empire might have been mightier than his. Someone needs to look into what’s going on here… -- Deathshead419

It was almost the perfect place to put his monument to himself as

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Challenge #04602-L218: Sew the Story Goes...

A lonely old woman sews a daughter for herself from soft cloth, downy feathers, and well worn buttons. It would be blessing if some fae creature or god breathed life into the dear one, wouldn’t it…? -- Deathshead419

You know the stories, don't you? Once upon a time, there was a lonely old... miller, baker, tailor, tinker, dressmaker, toymaker, pick one... who didn't have a spouse or a family as they began to grow old. What happened next changes from tale

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Challenge #04601-L217: The Last Great Lords

The skies darken over three decrepit lords and their ancient castles which time has passed by. What will become of their traditions, their secrets, their eon old rivalries, as the world beyond seeps in bit by bit? -- Deathshead419

At their mightiest peak, the Elves split this continent into three civilised realms. Their names once caused lesser beings[1] to tremble, and were nigh unpronouncable to all but Elven tongues. Nursery tales would reduce them in later centuries to Lord Forest, Lord

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Challenge #04600-L216: Tangled Conversational Thread

Wraithvine is delayed by a foe employing a most unusual tactic against hir: Telling aimless stories that don’t go anywhere.

Might unfold something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujF8AumiQo -- Deathshead419

There's only so many ways one could go with a name like Ephriam Ardhardt, and this particular Warlock chose the most obvious route. One day, Wraithvine would figure out what made them like that and stop it at the source. Alas, that particular quest was well out

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Challenge #04599-L215: Essential Amelioration

Wraithvine and Bibrid met a being who was alone and had badly hurt their back while carrying firewood. Their family would be gone for a few days having gone to town to trade what little they had so they could get essential supplies. Wraithvine gave the being a gentle massage to ease the pain, while Bibrid was kind enough to help with the firewood and care for the elder until the family could get home. -- Anon Guest

The carrying capacity of

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Challenge #04598-L214: Lool-lay Nee!

How did the human toy collector scare the wet out of several pirates and have them begging for mercy without firing a single shot?

Three words - Lots of Furbies! -- The New Guy

Specific and unnerving hobbies are not merely a Human thing. Obsessions can overwhelm anyone, though exposure to Humans has been correlated with those who do have odd obsessions. One statistical outlier on that imaginary chart is Navigator Nor of the Mass Transit Vessel, Evergreen.

Hir hobby was a

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Challenge #04597-L213: Save Every Library

Her library was immense, taking up over 90% of the station. She wasn't a member of the archivaas, but they did help her maintain it. Checking out materials was free, reading lessons were free, and if materials were returned late, rather than a fine, the person simply had a choice of making a donation, be it a book or monetary, to the library, to spend one hour working in the library to help maintain it. The dereggers that sometimes visited hated the

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Challenge #04596-L212: The Betrayal Game

The battle had been long, had been bloody, had been brutal. The invading forces were finally thwarted, though everyone, Wraithvine included, were exhausted. Bribid nearly ended up exposed, and the forces they'd helped defend the land were now going through the sad job of tending to their wounded, and burying the dead. -- Fighting Fit

Regrettably, war is the only option left. It is the failure of diplomacy, and the last resort. Or at least, it should be. This war, thank the

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