Word of the Day Challenge

[Remec]

Title: Making a Break For it
Tags: N/A
Theme: Fantasy
WotD: abjure
Words: 450


   Everyone finished scampering out the open window and up the short flight of stairs and ladders that made up the fire escape to spread out across the rooftop. The shooters and evokers took up covering positions while the finder led the rest of the group to the edge that faced the next building over. He stopped and took a good look at both the drop to the other roof as well as the gap between where they were and where they needed to go.

   “You have to be kidding me,” Eric began on coming up behind Anjelica and considering their path just as she had.

   “We can do it. That’s why we’re heroes and not friggin’ nobodies like those corpses down on the street.”

   “There aren’t any corpses down there, just innocent passers-by.”

   “Potato-potahto. They’ll be corpses soon enough if we can’t get away and stop the Necrotechnician from finishing their plans.”

   Just at that moment, massive hands appeared at the point where they had emerged onto the roof. Arms appeared next, and a horned head atop an impossibly buff and muscled torso rose and then the entire body was visible as it vaulted the last few feet and landed on the roof. Mae made a dismissive gesture to both Eric and Anjelica as well as a beckoning one to those still on guard.

   “Go! Get yourselves out of here. I will hold the beast back,” Mae shouted to the group.

   Eric sighed, then nodded to Anjelica and the others. The lithe woman backed away from the roof’s edge, then rushed forward, used the concrete ledge as a pommel horse and somersaulted through the air to tumble to her feet on the far rooftop. Most of the others followed suit without as much flair or panache. Eric then moved up behind Mae and said, “C’mon, Gandalf…we’re moving out.”

   “But, but, but…I need to abjure the demon.”

   “I can handle that. Maybe not as well, but I think mine lasts longer.”

   The demon had begun to slowly advance, only to stop moving and shield itself with its thick, leathery wings as each shooter released a barrage of gunshots before they headed to the crossing. As the last one passed Eric and Mae, the ex-broker confronted it and raised his right hand. “Gámdu bozu!” he exclaimed and his hand erupted in a broad field of bright light that the demon flinched at the sight of and instinctively took a back from. “Here we go, Mae!” Eric said as he slipped an arm about the woman and threw the hood of his jacket up. Its magic activated and the pair of them ported over next to Anjelica.

   “Let’s move out,” Eric said.

[Shores]

It was easy for the alcoholic to abjure his past life, once he had witnessed the grisly scene.

[Chasing Dreams]

There had always been one rule that never made sense to her when it came to who she could hang out with or befriend that her father had always made sure she had obeyed. She had listened to the rule until the summer before of her last year of college when her family went on vacation. There were several other families there, but it was clear that there was one that knew her family. The hostility between her parents and the parents of the other family was almost tangible. To escape the awkwardness of the situation, Cadence snuck away and went exploring. She took the wooded path that led to a quieter part of the lake that was away from other people. She took a seat on a fallen log and was lost in thought as someone approached her.

“Can you believe that they are still holding true to the vendetta that started about 20 years ago?” a young man asked as he looked down at her.

Cadence looked up at him as though she didn’t have any clue what he was talking about. She racked her brain for any memory of her parents mentioning anything that would explain the hostility she saw her parents had towards the other adults.

“I see they didn’t tell you. My parents always said that your parents would keep this from you. Our parents used to be good friends. They went to college together. Five after they met up and went to a trivia night that they always won. From what my parents told me, your father cost them the win. You could say it ruined their friendship. They continue to hold onto the grudge to this day. It’s childish and has dictated every step I took and I’m guessing it did for you as well.” He said, as Cadence took in the information.

“It does seem childish. It makes sense now that they always told me who I could be friends with.” She said, as she studied him for a minute before realizing that she knew him. She knew in passing and that they had gone to the same schools, but hung out in different groups. “Keeping this vendetta that they had is something they can continue to do, but I want no part of it.” She said, as she knew it would be up to them to end it.

“It’s a dumb reason to hold a grudge for this long. They’d all be angry if they knew we were talking, so maybe we should give them a reason to be united again.” He said, as Cadence smirked, knowing that her father would likely with he could ground her, but since she was an adult the worst that he could do was stop talking to her.

[Chasing Dreams]

The new bouncer at the club that she worked at always seemed pleasant to her and the others that worked there. The man was built like a linebacker and seemed intimidating, but she and the others knew he was a giant teddy bear. His kind demeanor changed anytime a customer became belligerent towards anyone that worked at the club because he took his duty to protect them seriously. The bartender had witnessed that he had darker minatory side to him. She saw that side of him when a club goer had tried to get handsy with her when she was walking back to the bar after taking a quick five-minute break. The customer had blocked her from getting to her destination and tried to pull her to him. Before she could sidestep the man, the bouncer was right there to block the man from getting within five feet of her. He had made sure she made it back behind the bar safely before escorting the man out of the club. There was a zero policy of harassing those that worked at the club that had been stated clearly at the entrance and on the bathroom doors.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

conciliatory
adjective | kun-SILL-yuh-tor-ee


Definition

: tending to win over from a state of hostility or distrust : intended to gain the goodwill or favor of someone


Weekly Theme

Fantasy


Did You Know?

If you are conciliatory towards someone, you're trying to win that person over to your side. The verb conciliate was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and descends from the Latin verb conciliare, meaning "to assemble, unite, or win over." Conciliare, in turn, comes from Latin concilium, meaning "assembly" or "council." Conciliatory, which appeared in English a bit later in the 16th century, also traces back to conciliare. Another word that has conciliare as a root is reconcile, the earliest meaning of which is "to restore to friendship or harmony."

[Remec]

Title: Cultural Insights
Tags: N/A
Theme: Fantasy
WotD: conciliatory
Words: 374


   Even before the loud shouts came echoing through the hallways and lobby of the Wayside Inn, the members of the Long Sojourn adventuring company knew something was up. The vocal uproar was obviously preceded by the sounds of slamming doors and seriously stomping, booted, feet and jangling armor of someone—probably several someones—making their way down the grand stairway to the ground floor. Sure enough, moments after hearing the cacophony, the leader of the Orcish mercenary company that was acting as honor guard for the ambassador from Angh-bar appeared in the lobby carrying a large basket in one hand and marchin up to the front desk to slam it down before the hapless innkeeper on duty.

   “What is the meaning of this? Who has left this in our chambers and why?” the leader shouted.

   “Um…er…just a gift to show our pleasure for choosing our business for your stay. Is it not to your liking?” The nervous man offered up what he hoped was a meak and thoroughly frightened demeanor to lessen the tension in the lobby.

   “’Liking?’ Wine, cheese, candied fruit? Do you even know who your guests are? I should…” The leader stepped back and laid a hand on the hilt of his weapon, but was interrupted before steel could clear scabbard.

   Before anyone could act or react, Montezar was suddenly before the leader. The Halfling swashbuckler released a torrent of Orcish and then hopped backwards to spring off the side of the front desk, draw forth a gauntlet as he tumbled in the space between the desk and the leader, then struck the leader across the jaw with the armored glove. Everyone in the lobby gasped, and the leader looked down upon the Halfling and his face broken into a broad grin.

   “Hah! Now this is one who understands a proper conciliatory gesture,” he said.

   Monte turned to the innkeeper and said, “If you would have several whole boars…rarely cooked…and a cask of your nastiest rotgut delivered to the mercenary’s suite by half a dozen sturdy farmgirls who don’t mind getting naughty through the night, I’m sure this incident can be laid to rest.”

   The leader nodded. “You have spent time among my people, indeed, Master….?”

   “You can call me Monte.”

[Chasing Dreams]

Sometimes there was no winning or succeeding no matter how hard one tried and that was something that she knew all too well. She had worked so hard and gave it everything she had from all the studying and countless hours of being in the lab. Yet the day of the exam and the practical, only the top three that scored the best would be in the running for the internship. When the results had been posted, she felt defeated and knew that she her best hadn’t been good enough. She could still hear her professor’s words in head. You gave a gallant effort and the board noticed, so hang in there. She knew those words were supposed to make her feel better, but they hadn’t because she still failed even though she had gotten a great score on her exam. She had allowed herself one more day of feeling bad before deciding to refocus on her efforts.

[Shores]

The delegation offered a conciliatory pomegranate and the wine fermented within ensured smooth talks.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

succumb
verb | suh-KUM


Definition

1 : to yield to superior strength or force or overpowering appeal or desire

2 : to be brought to an end (such as death) by the effect of destructive or disruptive forces


Weekly Theme

Fantasy


Did You Know?

If the idea of someone succumbing brings to mind the image of a person lying down before more powerful forces, you have an excellent grasp of the Latin that gave English succumb. Succumb derives from the French word succomber, which is itself from the Latin word succumbere, meaning "to fall down" or "to yield." Succumbere was formed by combining sub-, meaning "under," with -cumbere, meaning "to lie down." The earliest application of succumb in the late 15th century was as a transitive verb meaning "to bring down" or "to overwhelm," but this sense is now obsolete. The current sense of "to yield" first appeared in print in the early 17th century; the more specific use—yielding to a disease or other destructive force—followed decades later.

[Remec]

Title: Ants and Honey
Tags: N/A
Theme: Fantasy
WotD: succumb
Words: 100


   The silent master of the Interrogator’s Guild walked about the chamber and observed how the efforts at fulfilling their current contracts in regards to breaking the wills of this adventuring party and getting the information of what they had done with the idol from them was coming along. “Come, come,” he was saying to the group, “you will have to succumb eventually. Either easily or hard.”

   From the rack, a woman in the tight, but short, tunic of a priestess of Lovadel raised her head to curiously ask, “How hard?”

   I will never understand these Lovedellians. Ever.

[Shores]

He eventually succumbed to his wounds and gave up his life.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

sprightly
adjective | SPRYTE-lee


Definition

1 : marked by a gay lightness and vivacity : spirited

2 : having a distinctively piquant taste : zesty


Weekly Theme

Fantasy


Did You Know?

Sprightly comes from spright, an archaic version of the word we now use for an elf or fairy: sprite. Ariel from William Shakespeare's The Tempest and the leprechaun of Irish mythology are often referred to as sprites, and it's no coincidence that both are characterized by their light, flitting movements and mannerisms. Sprite derives via Middle English and Old French from the Latin spiritus, which of course gives us spirit as well. A similar-looking adjective that can describe someone who is nimble and energetic is spry, but the origin of that word is not known.

[Remec]

Title: Latest Recipe
Tags: N/A
Theme: Fantasy
WotD: sprightly
Words: 147


   “So? What do you think? Is it good? Zesty and flavorful?” Zelda asked of her sister as the latter sipped broth from a tasting spoon. The other hag slowly ran her tongue over her lips and took another long taste of the mixture still lightly bubbling in the cauldron between the two women while she considered her reaction to this latest concoction of Zelda’s.

   Helga nodded as she said, “Yes, yes, indeed it is. It has a very…I don’t…a sort of bouncy sort of taste. The way it enlivens your entire mouth. It’s very…sprightly. That’s how I’d describe it.”

   Zelda snickered as she looked about the kitchen at all the bits of stray, doll-sized, clothing strewn about the room, and lying here and there upon small piles of antennae and pieces of gossamer-like wings. “Oh, my dear,” she said, “you always hit things right on the head.”

[Shores]

The sprightly old man did a merry jig before he would hand over the goods.

[Chasing Dreams]

The night of the gala had finally arrived and her nerves were all over the place because she hated in the spotlight. She had always preferred to fly under the radar and watch from the sidelines. That’s how she always had been and though the man she had been dating for almost year was the complete opposite, they suited each other well. He was pulling her out of her shell and while she enjoyed seeing him in his element, she was glad that he understood that sometimes she needed some space. The gala was a celebration for his grandparent father, who was being acknowledged for all the good he had down for the city in all his years. She glanced at Liam as they headed into the grand ballroom that was decorated almost majestically. Her hazel eyes took in the grand display and all of the people that were for a man that she had only met a handful of times before that night. She felt Liam squeeze her hand gently as he could read her like an open book. For a second, she glanced up at him and smiled softly before she saw the man of the night dancing sprightly on the dance floor with his granddaughter, who had graduated from college months before. It was a beautiful sight to see as it showed how much of a family bond Liam’s family had that Liam’s sister would fly in to celebrate her grandfather with the rest of those that adored him and had interacted with him whether at work, volunteering, or those lucky enough to call him a friend.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

deep-six
verb | DEEP-SIKS


Definition

1 : to get rid of : discard, eliminate

2 slang : to throw overboard


Weekly Theme

Fantasy


Did You Know?

Before the introduction of shipboard sonar, water depth was measured by hand with a sounding line. This was generally a rope weighted at one end, with bits of leather called marks tied on at intervals to measure the fathoms. Between the marks, fathoms were estimated by deeps. The leadsman (pronounced LEDZ-mun) lowered the line into the water and called out the depth as the rope passed through his hands: "By the mark twain!" at two fathoms; "By the deep six!" at six fathoms. Perhaps due to an association with "six feet under" (dead and buried), to give something the deep six (or to deep-six it) was to throw it overboard, or, by extension, to discard it. In the mid-20th century, deep-six made landfall; since then it has been used as much by landlubbers as by old salts.

[Shores]

"Deep-six him." The coach told his group of swimmers and they tossed the elf into the waters to sink or swim. Luckily, he had learnt to swim in his younger years. But would they have saved him if he drowned?

[Chasing Dreams]

She was thankful for her stubbornness because it was the only thing that was stopping her from succumbing to the urge to give in. There were only two other people beside her left in the running for the number one spot on the team. The other ten had either given up or hadn’t made the times they needed to vie for the anchor position on the 400-yard freestyle relay. She knew that it was going to be a challenge because the three that remained in consideration were all in their last year of college. She knew she had maybe two more sprints in her before she knew she’d likely have to throw in the towel, but she was going to try her best. As she stepped up on the starting blocks, and pulled her goggles on before she waited for the coach to tell her and the others to take their mark. Moments later, all her doubt faded as she dove in and raced her teammates for the coveted position on the relay for her last swim season ever.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

archipelago
noun | ahr-kuh-PEL-uh-goh


Definition

1 : an expanse of water with many scattered islands

2 : a group of islands

3 : something resembling an archipelago; especially : a group or scattering of similar things


Weekly Theme

Fantasy


Did You Know?

The Greeks called it the Aegean Pelagos and the Italians referred to it as Arcipelago (meaning "chief sea"), but English speakers now call it the Aegean Sea. Numerous islands dot its expanse, and 16th-century English speakers adopted a modified form of its Italian name for any sea with a similar scattering of islands. In time, archipelago came to refer to the groups of islands themselves, and now it is often used figuratively, as in, for example, "an archipelago of high-rise buildings."

[Shores]

The Windy Archipelago was known for having ravishing displays of birds in flight between islands.

[Remec]

Title: Prophecy
Tags: N/A
Theme: Fantasy
WotD: archipelago
Words: 568


   The adventuring company moved forward, just a step or two, into the darkened structure. The building was ramshackle sort of structure they had been told to expect, as was its sole inhabitant. “Come, come,” the crone said in a grating rasp that still managed to sound sweet and welcoming, “dearies, don’t hang out in the entryway. Granny barely bites without being asked these days.” She waited until the group had all come more fully into the space, spreading out around the large table that took up most of the center of the room. She continued, “What brings you to see Granny today?”

   Eric was fairly certain the old hag knew exactly what had brought them. From everything they had heard and been able to ascertain, she had a spy network among the urchins and beggars that rivaled any street guild you might mention, and her supposed powers of predilection and prognostication were also fairly well documented—although, the crusader still felt most of those tales and accounts were more anecdotal than grounded in real facts. “We need a reading,” he told her.

   “Of course you do, dearie,” Granny Helga said with a broad smile, bright bits of still fresh vegetation practically shining out against the grey-yellow of the sharp teeth with her mouth. “Let’s us see what the runes tell us, eh?” She motioned any of the party standing too close to the table to take a step back as she produced what appeared to be a good sized dice cup from within the voluminous pockets of her grubby and tattered robes.

   With one swift motion, she rattled the cup and scattered its contents across the table. The rune chits, sticks, stones, and bits of bone spread themselves about the surface so that it resembled a bas relief map of some unknown archipelago. For the next several hours, she faded in and out of normal consciousness and a fortune teller’s trance as she proceeded to tell each party member, in turn, how their future might turn out over the course of the next fortnight. Then she extended a hand to gesture towards a large urn sitting by itself against the far wall. “Granny has seen. Granny has explained what she could. If Granny might now collect something of worth from each of you, she would be quite happy.”

   Eric still wasn’t convinced of the crone’s powers, but he felt she had done quite a good job in taking in the information her runners must have brought her for the last week and extrapolating how that data might affect the party members. Not sure I would have had the same insights, even if I had the same sources at hand. He stepped up and dropped something in the urn, turning to nod his head to Helga as it jingled and clattered its way to the bottom of the container. As the rest of the company did the same, he took a step closer to the woman and gave her an actual bow.

   “Thank you, Granny,” he said. “We will take our leave now.”

   She nodded and then her eyes widened and her face went oddly slack. Her voice lost most of the raspiness it had held during her talking with the party and she said in a clear, deep tone, “Beware the Dog in Purple.” Then she was back to herself and wishing the company a good night.

[Chasing Dreams]

While spring time was a favorite of hers, the first two weeks of spring were ones that she despised. The first two weeks were always the time to do major spring cleaning. No room in the house went untouched as she went through every room in for the things that she was going to deep-six. By the end of the two-week cleaning spree, she had two big piles that were sorted into things to donate or deep-six since she never wanted to risk being called a hoarder like her parents had been. She remembered a few years ago, she had gone over to her parents’ place to help them with decluttering and she ended up having to rent a big dumpster. She had gone through her parents’ place and had managed to help them purge a lot of things that they had been holding onto for you that they no longer needed.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

frugal
adjective | FROO-gul


Definition

: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources


Weekly Theme

Fantasy


Did You Know?

Those who are frugal are unwilling to (lavishly) enjoy the fruits of their labors, so it may surprise you to learn that frugal ultimately derives from the Latin frux, meaning "fruit" or "value," and is even a distant cousin of the Latin word for "enjoy" (frui). The connection between fruit or value and restraint was first made in Latin; the Middle French word that English speakers eventually adopted as frugal came from the Latin adjective frugalis, a frux descendant meaning "virtuous" or "frugal." Although English speakers adopted frugal by the 16th century, they were already lavishly supplied with earlier coinages to denote the idea, including sparing and thrifty.

[Remec]

Title: Heading Out
Tags: N/A
Theme: Fantasy
WotD: frugal
Words: 354


   When Fellis appeared in the doorway of his laboratory, Aldarras knew it must be time to hit the road once more. Even if they would be flying, as opposed to walking or riding and moving across the countryside in the most direct route they could manage depending on the weather and air currents versus following roads and trails. “Time to go?” he asked the Halfling.

   Fellis nodded and leaned against the doorjamb, unwilling to break his vow of not knowingly entering any wizard’s lair unless on a mission. He yawned slightly as he did so, “Yeah, Eric says there’s no real rush, but he would like to be underway before mid-morning.”

   “Not a problem,” Aldarras said, “I merely need to finish cleaning up. I have been restocking my components pouch and have a lot of fragments, splintery bits, and dust to clean up.” He proceeded to get a small basket, checked that it was empty, and then began to sweep off his work counter with a small brush into the container.

   “Good idea,” Fellis remarked. He tended to like leaving his own quarters as spotless as possible when they were off on an extended adventure. Made for less likelihood of vermin being attracted to his things, not to mention he would be able to tell if anyone might disturb what belongings he was leaving behind. He raised an eyebrow after the mage had finished, when Aldarras took the the now full basket over to a storage rack, made some gestures, and spoke an arcane command. The contents swirled about, rose out of the basket, then separated themselves and sorted each stream of debris into whatever jar, box, or flask was appropriate to what it was.

   “Very nice,” the rogue said. “Good way to get the most of what you have. And here I thought dwarves were the thrifty ones.”

   Aldarras gave a slight shrug as he put on the blue fur mantle of his office, picked up his backpack, and strapped his sword belt about his waist. “I like to think of it as simply being frugal, no sense in wasting things indiscriminately, yes?”

[Shores]

The frugal mousefolk barely spent a cent that he earned, choosing to hoard instead for his extended family.