Ceolsige Bay

An eventful day has passed. When i woke up from a short nap in town, Durin Stonemaster had arrived and was in a conversation about the fountain with Newt. Soon we steered the talk to the reason for his visit and he told us that the Elders had contacted him to forge a weapon for us. He muttered quite a lot about not being a smith, being unable to reject the Elders and other unrightousnesses and it was not until i provided a barrel of beer for his dry throat that his mood became better. He still complained about the list of orders from the Elders and the urge of speed, but he took all the items we had gathered and promised to work swiftly. He will come back to Arilon as soon as he has finished the weapon. We agreed he could give it to any Arilonian as long as there were other witnesses so the weapon won't be missing all of a sudden. I hope whoever meets him will provide some beer for him to keep him in good mood.

Later i was to lead an expediation to the west. I intended to check the pirate docks, Ceolsige and its harbour for signs of the arrival of the Dor'Shak as well as his hidden laboratory. A huge group of up to 20 people followed and so we arrived at the pirate docks soon. Only 2 ships lay anchored there and although i couldn?t make out their names, they seemed to be the ones lying there for some time now. Because of this we headed on, Ceolsige being just a short trip away thanks to Leda activating the magic portal for us. The town looked unchanged, nowhere were signs of alchemy or Orga to be found. Only a big spiral-clam attached to one of the stone-pillars attracted my interest and i was wondering if it had always been there. This observation proved to be valuable later on. In the harbour we were surprised by many-oared pirate galleys, but our sheer number enabled us to battle and eventually sink them. We advanced to the gigantic ship anchored in the harbour and tried to climb it, but unsuccessfully. The main deck was simply much too high above the waterline. I had just called for a break in town and was pondering about the best way to search for another harbour or town in the west, when Lider contacted us with an urgent message. The Elders had managed to tranlate another nearly unrecognizable rune from the scroll, named shibumi. As it turned out, the rope ladder of the ship had been magically constructed and this was just the command to make it roll out and provide a way onto the ship for us! The deck showed many signs of being home to the Dor'Shaks minions, Pirates and Orga alike tried to drive us back into the water as soon as we set foot on the deck. But our group was big and experienced enough to kill the deckhands swiftly. The interior of the ship seemed to be acessible by two ladders and one door, so i decided to check the southern ladder first. It seemed easiest to search the cargo rooms in the belly of the ship first and leave the captains and officers quarters as last, as i expected resistance to be greatest there. The first people had just climbed down, when we heared yells of pain. The room turned out to have no cargo, but lightening-pillars instead! After some confusion, we regrouped on deck and after assigning some healers as rod points, we managed to destroy one pillar after the other and killing every moving foe around too. Suddenly a hooded fighter came running from the back of the room and caused confusion and deeps wounds among us. It took some time to trap him and get the group together again, as i couldn?t give proper orders, laying fallen in the middle of the maze-like wooden walls serving as room-deviders and therefore seeing nothing. But thanks to some boosts of our mages and the never-wavering wall of weapons being flung in his direction, we finally defeated the Merirosvo. In his robe we found a clam, looking like the one seen in Ceolsige. After searching the rest of the room i ordered the group off the ship and towards the stonepillar. Placing the clam on its counterpart a hidden door opened and we could enter the pillar. A small note dropped there showed another password. My luck held, as exactly this was needed to unlock the trapdoor of a ladder leading deeper into the middle of the ship. Here we had to deal with drunkards, throwing bottles of rum after us and more pirate wizards, who sent clouds of acid rain towards us. We couldn´t reach all of them and so had to fight the next robed pirate wet and smelly.
This one had a differently shaped clam, opening another room in the stone pillar and providing another password. Nothing but the captains quarters were left now and we readied ourselves for a final effort. The room behind the door looked like a small laboratory, but we unlocked the door and went through the hole down the ladder.

Finally we seemed to have reached the laboratory, what else could be behind a sparkling door barred with a statue and two pillars and guarded by countless stormcasters, Orga and pirates? To our surprise the door led into a stone, so the ship seems to have anchored in the harbor long ago for the workers to be able to contruct a tunnel to the pillars next to it. Much to my and several other Kyttyns despair we then had to swim underwater to move on! We waited in the dry while the others searched a way and cleared it of fish and then moved as fast as we possibly could. Only my curiousness kept me going, i´m not sure i´d swim there again. What followed was a search of every room we found, some holding the nasty surprise of yet another dive. We had a critical situation once, when some pirate bombers decided it would be funny to throw bombs in our midst and to our fallens, but thanks to the combined knowledge of all the present healers everyone could be raised.
In the end we arrived in a room with bookshelves, strange signs on the floor, some tables and 3 mirrors. The books seemed to be nearly all about the Orga, one was even about Merown. But there seemed to be no way to activate something, open another hidden door or move on. After a small break we decided this would surely be the mysterious laboratory of the Dor'Shak and headed back, as it had become quite late. Knowing the way and having reduced the defenders lines drastically, the way back was pretty fast.
All in all the Dor'Shak seems to fear Kyttyns a lot, if the location of his laboratory has any bigger meaning. And we saw once more that when working together, we can achieve a lot!

The Town´s Underground

Yesterday Tarra led an exploration into the Arilon underground. First we made our way through the slightly smelly tunnels of the sewers. Hundreds of rats as well as several other slimy creatures tried to stop us in our way and get a festive meal, but our weapons let us keep the upper hand. While the rest of the group went on i climbed a small ladder to see if Irina was still held captive in the cell we had seen her last. She was indeed still there, looking very miserable. Unfortunately she only spoke in the magic language, so i didn´t understand her words.
After that we entered the Blooddungeon. The butchers and occasional Haemons were hardest to dodge and i did not always manage to evade their blows, but mostly it went much smoother than i had hoped for. We made our way through several parts of the dungeon and everything in these depths seemed to have been unaltered by the great storm that swept our lands 4 years ago. That means we can still free irina, but a major effort would have to be done if we want to strengthen and free Irina even before we encounter the Dor'Shak.

News from Lider

Yesterday a storm swept the lands. It is said it brought access to another new area, but most important for me was that the builder of our clanhouse had arrived right after the storm. He was still sorting some of his tools and measuring the building site, when i started unloading building material. After all this time carrying the heavy stuff my back seemed to sigh relieved when i was finished unloading.

The bards used the fresh air after the storm to hold an audition, in which young musicians may perform in front of a jury of bards and if they prove worthy of their standards may be accepted as members of the bard guild. Only 2 brave auditioners showed up, Puppy and Arlon. Both played 3 self-written songs, although a duet written by Arlon had to be repeated several times because of some trouble with his partner. When the jury finally came back on stage to tell their decision the crowd was eagerly waiting. Both auditioners were praised for their advancement since the last audition, but both seemed to lack the last bit of creativity and therefore were declined bardship this time and offered to come to the next audition.

People were just gathering in town to discuss an area to hunt, when Lider appeared. He had talked to the Elders in the meantime and brought some news. First we will need a skilled smith, but the only one coming to our mind was Durin Stonemaster, who crafts his own tools. Lider promised to tell the Elders to contact him for asking if he could do this and if so, how the forging has to be done. He also told us that the Elders had managed to get a spy in the Dor'Shaks company. His informations are not very comforting, the Dor'Shak is reported to arrive soon via ship and has established an alchemy laboratory.
The only good news is that we might find the Dor'Shak in this laboratory once we have our weapon forged. More troubling news came from Newt. Lasifa had told him from a meeting with Hanashi, the story teller, where she had said that the Dor'Shak was commanding an evil version of our Arindal and that the balance of the world was lying at the state of the 2 magical artefacts. Hopefully Hanashi will pass through our town soon and the Elders find a way to contact Durin, so this threat can be dealt with as soon as possible.

What you train for

It´s been some time since my last entry, but not really much had happened in the meantime. The only hunt worth some lines was a hunt from Rapukiza to Eilean. It turned out to be pretty hard and i was pretty discouraged that i couldn´t even properly brick some kills. At some point we were overwhelmed while crossing a snell border and a desperate struggle for survival started. Some people had to depart, while other lucky ones like me got rescued in the end.

Yesterday Lafa was a bit bored (and suicidal), so he asked for a hunt towards the 4th circle tests. We set out with a small group and thanks to some paths arrived quickly near the Hidden Valley lake. Here we had to deal with some Tok'Han, but they were slain quickly.
So as Lafa had initiated the trip, he was the first to try. It´s really a shame that one can only see half of the healer tests area as a visitor. I caught two glimpses of a sweating Lafaborn pacing by, trying to outrun the Cobra at his heels. Sadly he was overwhelmed soon and so didn´t pass the test.
After this we went over to the fighter hall, where first Pit and then myself let ourselves be slaughtered. I did way better than expected, mostly owed to guessing right what the Leo would do and so avoidinng his first strike. I found i couldn´t brick the cobra, but already hit it. I even managed to get it to yellow and spare a strike for the Hyena as well. This little test showed me that the training i have in mind will surely lead to success one day.

Lider comes back to Town

Yesterday we met Lider once more. I don´t know if he has hidden in his room in Rôt Fiis Inn or if he came back from a longer journey, but we were happy to see him. Lider is the Lepori who arranged a meeting with the Elder Waltraud after we had found the scroll with the weapon recipe. This time he didn´t have a portal stone, but at least we could tell him that we had gathered every item listed on the scroll and he promised to send the Elders a message to contact us as soon as possible.
I don´t know if the Dor'Shak just felt that there´s a danger for him or if he has spies in town or if he just felt it was time to get on our nerves again, but just a little bit later he sent a group of his Orga minions to town. Under the cover of several piratepriests they besieged us in Reizis tree and quickly erected two statues and a hut in town center. Leda immediately proposed to capture some of their builders to finish our residential area and the clanhouses for us just as swiftly, but we knew no mercy and killed every last one of the intruders.
I begin to wonder what power the Dor'Shak really has over Pirates or Orgas, but for the pirests there seem to be only the weak or dumb fighting for him, not one of the clever highranked Pirates or sly big Orgas is helping him. Anyway, i am looking forward to make an end to his claim to the beach, the jungle and Arilon and show our enemies once more that we are not so easily overcome.

Shiny Daggers

Yesterday i had once more called for brave Arilonians to explore the dark depths of the Mynna Crypt. We can´t say for sure if the Dor'Shak got news from this or not, but the force of Orgas invading town shortly before our start didn´t delay us much. Soon we arrived in Mynna with a sizable force. I quickly went through the routine rules and we went in. My plan was to get the skelettons from the first level and then to go after the next dagger. The very first chamber then proved nearly desastrous. We recovered the skeleton easy enough, but someone must have shifted the lid of one of the tombs, so that numerous mummies could squeeze out. At one time only Sharelock was left standing and the situation looked nearly hopeless. But bit by bit we recovered until we finally made it out of the room.
This event had cost us far more time than i had thought of for the first floor, so we went right down to the next and challenged the big blue skeletton fighting with an ancient dagger that we sought to wrestle from him. It took some time to smash enough of his bones to bring him down, but we managed well enough.
From the third deep, one could clearly see signs of nature claiming back its realm, water was leaking in the grave chambers, moss was think on the stones. From this level the group began to work together better and better. We went to a new chamber, clearing it from monsters while trying not to touch anything or walk over something looking suspiciusly different from the rest of the floor. Then one person would touch the pile of gold to summon the undead guardian. The healers would rod it until we cleared the other enemies and then we´d bring down the skeletton. It was a pleasure to lead the group in this stage. The look of the tombs, that we had to search for passwords to the next level, had changed too. Maybe Elithren had been buried here, the tombs had been carved right out of treestumps, the roots still intact.
Slowly, but steadily we made our way deeper in the crypt, until finally we came to a huge grave with a sculpture on top. We rummaged through it, when a big red skeletton appeared. Luckily it looked more scary than it was and so we quickly found the last password in the tomb.
This made free the way to the very last chamber, that we reached with some difficulties, as some mage spirits wanted to stop us after all our way. But eventually we prevailed and encouraged by little Jades comment also managed to get the fifth and last dagger!
The way back to the surface was a little more chaotic as some people ran off, fell and no one really knew who was in front or behind, but in the end everyone still present at the time reached fresh air again safely. We displayed all the slightly differently crafted daggers to the Maqua, who then gave us a barrel of oil. To me it looks more like a big bucket, but i hope it will suffice. Now we have to wait for Lider to appear and make a date with the Elders to learn how to forge the weapon we long for.
Thanks again to the group!

The Dreki Cave

Yesterday started with some challenging fights in collosseum. I wanted to see if the magnificent blade was sharp enough to cut through lots of Orga skin in short time and so i asked for a fight with 2 Orga Rages. After i won the fight i had to try 3 of course and to my own total amazement i made it! I just wanted to dance with joy when it hit me: i am getting too old! I can so easily predict what a Rage does that i had killed one of them! My mood only got better when i managed to vanquish a Cavern Cercops in the first try, while other fighters had a hard time with the angry brother of it afterwards.

After this, it was up and about to the next hunt. Tarra had organized a Ravyntour, but due to the huge interest (5 of the Fast Feet were present too), we just passed Ravyn and went into the Dreki caves. They are inhabited by red dragons with golden wings. While some of them can throw fire, others trust in the sharpness of their claws and teeth to get rid of intruders.
We managed pretty well, until we met the first big Dreki. These adults are truly a stunning view, their whole bodies covered by glittering scales, their eyes glowing like furnaces. And their breath - the flames coming out of their glands is burning away everything, only the fine quality of our armour saved us from turning to ash in an instant. It was a tough and hot battle, but in the end we managed to kill it.
Although Tarra had promised Caipis for refreshment, those who like alcohol were not disappointed, when we discovered several glasses of other cocktails in the caves. Somehow the Drekis had managed to slide past them and left them intact. But even Nyv, our mage, had no idea who could have placed them into the dark. At last we found another opening, leading back to the south of Ravyn. We fought our way back to the Wasteland, where the nice hunt ended.

Waking up

After my last adventures in the Ravynplains i fell into a deep slumber in meditower, mentally recalling all my fights and trying to learn from my mistakes. When i woke up yesterday most of my dreams faded away, but some mistakes in my fighting style stood clear in my mind and after a bit of training i could indeed fight slightly better. When i talked to some of my trainers i was surprised: the fighters guild had finally admitted my training process to have advanced far enough to call me Ferrumo again.
Immediately after i heard this, i got some coins from the bank and journeyed to Dinken in the Wasteland, to buy a hatchet to celebrate the day. It still feels a little strange in my hands after swinging my handaxe for so long, but the craftmanship of the Dinken smiths has not lessened since i last held such a magnificent blade.Another unsuccessful smoking out of the Shar'Kins main chamber later, i returned wearily to town, where we were greeted by some Piratepriests and dozens of Orgas. I helped clearing part of the first waves, but i was nearly too tired to even lift my hatchet any more, so i had to retire soon. But i am sure the brave Arilonians present could drive the Orga back and secure Arilon once more.Still, as soon as i feel a bit persistent again, i will try to lead more explorations into the Mynna Crypt, so that we can forge our weapon as soon as possible.