Etterwyn's Notes From the Beaten Path

[kvndoom]

BOOK ONE: PROPHECIES


8/3/05: I decided to help out on missions at Nolani Academy today. I remember months ago when I went to the Academy for the first time, a level 20 Monk stepped in and led our group through the mission and bonus (back before monks realized they were a commodity and could charge for their services...). Today I gave back. That, and I hadn't eaten Charrburgers in a while. Damn, they were tasty! Can't indulge too much though, or I'll lose my figure.

I ran three groups through it. Managed to unload a staff and a sword too. I like giving lower level players max weapons that I can't use. The people who never ask for stuff are the ones who appreciate gifts the most. I hate scrapping or selling off a good weapon just to clear inventory space. I'd rather give it away.

Runners, runner, runners... They're EVERYWHERE! I never had a problem with Forge runners, because that requires real skill to do, and is amazing to watch. But now you go to any outpost and somebody will run you to the next town, or run you through the mission... for a fee of course. Argh! What happened to honor? Why don't people want to fight and kill anymore? I like cleaning the dried blood off my sword at the end of a hard day. And if these people aren't fighting, where do they get their gold to pay the runners? I have heard rumors of this realm called Ebay, where the currency exchange rate is astronomical. If you can find these strange trinkets called "dollars," you can get rich very quickly in Ebay. Apparently only a few of these "dollars" can be traded for hundreds of Tyrian platinum pieces! I am amazed. These dollars are worth more than ectoplasm. I have explored over 3/4 of this world, though, and have not yet found a single dollar. Maybe they're in the Underowrld. I haven't been there yet...

8/4/05: Some of my Guild mates whom I've traveled with have noted my ability to take a lot of beating and still stay alive. I had to do a lot of research with armor experts to find what works best. Unfortunately what works best doesn't exactly look best. Standing around Lion's Arch today, I noticed how everybody's clothes but mine matched. Here I was, wearing Gladiator's leggings, gauntlets, and chestpiece, and Knight's Boots! Whew, good thing I didn't go on a mission with these guys, or they would've seen my Ascalon helmet!

No fashion sense? Well, it's function over form for me! The 3 gladiator's pieces add 6 energy to my woeful 20 (just enough to fire off Balthazaar's Aura, hee hee), and the knight's boots reduce my damage by 2. I just got the boots today, actually; I traded in my Gladiator boots after I found out that one piece of Knight's armor protects my whole body. I've seen many a warrior die looking good. I think I'd rather be homely and alive than pretty and dead.

Getting my boots infused was a chore! Now I've heard a lot of people rant about the hired henchmen being pretty stupid, but I must say that my peers can sometimes be a lot stupider. I formed a team to get my new boots infused. These guys would not stay together, follow target calls, or even fight when there was no feasible way to run past the monsters. It wasn't long before they were all dead and I was the only one left to try to make the run. Well, except for the monk who stayed at the beginning of the mission to get a free ride. Sheesh, what's a girl to do? With no help at all, I couldn't make it all the way. And these creeps got mad at me for not getting through, and they were DEAD! Screw them. I went back with 7 henchmen and got infused in no time at all. Not the first of them died either. Makes you wonder who's really "stupid" and who isn't.

One of my guild mates, Darkblade Kazguul, went with me on a farming run today. Unfortunately, a) I'm used to going alone, and b) this was her first time farming that area, so we were clumsy. In retrospect, I should have brought Rebirth and she should have brought Sprint and Bonetti's Defense. We'd have been okay then. As it was, it took over an hour to get through the swamp before we could hit paydirt. Once we finally did, and the loot was starting to pile up, she had to go home. I hated to see her go. I got lonely out there. Hmmm, I sure hope she took a different route back and didn't backtrack through the swamp! Oh no, I had better check tomorrow and see if she made it...

The chickens were laying golden eggs today! Before I called it a day I decided to pluck some chickens, and I'm sure glad I did! In 20 minutes I managed to salvage not one, not two, but THREE superior runes! Yippee!!! I'm gonna put these on the auction block tomorrow! I was so happy to see the chickens carrying good loot today. But I still can't understand why I get better loot from level 18 chickens than level 24 chickens. The gods work in strange ways...

[Yama]

I must say I truely enjoy this idea of "Journaling" our GW days. I must also commend you on your ability to hold character throughout. Its like I was reading a story Etterwyn wrote instead of kvndoom.

BRAVO!

[Hizpanick]

What? You mean kvndoom wrote the story?!?!?

[kvndoom]

8/5/05: The word for the day is...STEEL! I made a small fortune trading steel ingots today! I'm so excited! I spent the night at Bergen Hot Springs, and went down to Lion's Arch first thing this morning to hit the marketplace. While I was crying a river over the price of runes, I overheard someone say that there was a complete shortage of steel ingots! I found that hard to believe, since I had over 140 in storage myself, so I checked with the raw materials traders and surely enough, they had run completely out of stock. I told them I had some just stored away and asked what they wanted for them. I wasn't expecting much; last time I sold steel ingots I got just under 200 gold apiece. Imagine my surprise when she told me that they had permission to buy at top cost due to the shortfall, and that was 7900 gold in lots of 10! I had to slap myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and then immediately ran to the Xunlai Storage Warehouse to get all my steel. It took 2 trips even with a wheelbarrow, but it was worth it. I made a LOT of money. I have 250 platinum in storage now. I even farmed up nearly 20 more steel bits today. That small castle out in the country is looking more like a reality every day...

I reluctantly went through the swamp today, but I didn't see any parts or pieces of Darkblade, so I guess she made it back to the Temple okay. I'll know for sure at the next Guild meeting. If she doesn't show, I'm not saying a word!

I did something about my outfit. I dyed it all blue! The pieces don't match,but at least it's all the same color now. Small steps, right?

Wow! I take back everything I used to say about Monks! Now I understand why they have to charge people for their services! When I went Rune shopping today in Lion's Arch, I just happened to notice that Superior Monk Runes were selling for over 40 platinum APIECE! Those poor guys! It would take me three or four full days of hard work to make 40 platunum. I can't imagine having to do that five times over to outfit your five major body areas with Runes. But then, on the other hand, it's common knowledge that Superior Runes drain a significant portion of your health, so why would anyone, especially a Monk whose purpose is to heal, deliberately want to reduce his health to almost nothing? There must be a mistake. The Rune traders keep saying they price based on demand, but I think they're lying. Nobody would pay that kind of gold to lose health.

I didn't auction off my runes today after all. I sold one and gave the others away. After making so much money trading steel, I just couldn't justify trying to get a lot for anything. I gave some weapons away too. I don't need money for anything anymore, and it's nice to be able to help people when you can. Everybody needs a helping hand sometimes. I mean, I wasn't born the Queen of Thwack; I had to learn from those who were once greater than I. Once. Heh.

But while on the subject of Runes, I really can't understand why people are willing to pay more for Runes that aren't identified. Not that I mind the extra money, but the concept just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't you rather know what you were getting in advance? What if it's not the Rune you wanted? I can't imagine paying 5 platinum for the wrong one! Sheesh! Not to be outdone by my curiosity, I asked the young man who most recently bought an unidentified Rune why he was paying me so much for it. "It's for PVP," he told me. PVP? I asked him what that was and he just told me not to worry about it, if I didn't know about PVP then I was just a PVE. I'm a PVE?!? Well, that's news to me! I don't even know what a PVE is... When I asked him to please tell me what made him a PVP and me a PVE, he said, in some strange tongue, "k thx, cya." and disappeared into thin air. Maybe that's the PVP native tongue; I may never know. But the disappearing thing was cool- I wish I knew how to do that!

ADDENDUM: Whoa, how could I forget?? I got to run with THE BOSS today! Yes, I bumped into our all-powerful Gulid Leader, and we went thwacking together! I was in Droknar's Forge when I ran into him. He said he was heading to Port Sledge, and believe it or not, I have never been there. "COME WITH ME," he said. "I WILL SHOW YOU THE WAY." And follow I did.

I was surprised to encounter several packs of Grawl on the way. I've usually only encountered Grawl near Ascalon, where it's a lot warmer. I guess their thick fur protects them fromthe Shiverpeak cold. Unfortunately it couldn't protect them from my hungry blade! I had to impress THE BOSS, so I killed as many as I could. When we were almost at Port Sledge, THE BOSS said he wanted to show me something amusing. So we detour and head south a little farther. To my surprise, out in the middle of frozen nowhere, was a small hut. A lady lived there by herself. She said she was a Collector, but I never asked her what she could possibly hope to collect out there. The hut was rather empty, so I can't imagine business being too great out there. I really didn't want to comment too much, because she didn't seem to be all there. Sometimes you just leave things alone.

So, when we did reach Port Sledge, I made for the nearest merchant to sell off what I looted from the Grawl. Nearby, there was a skill trainer, so I went to talk to him and see if I could learn anything new. I was in luck! He taught me a new battle stance called the Berserker's Stance. It's a lot like the Frenzy stance I learned before Searing, which means I can attack faster, but I can defend myself better and won't get hurt so badly. I've used it some, but I used to get beat up so badly when I used Frenzy that I still have flashbacks, so I don't know how much I'll use it in the future.

THE BOSS had to go tend to improtant Guild business after that, so he left me in Port Sledge. I didn't know anyone there, so I left not long after that.

Before it got late tonight, I fought alongside some Guild mates down in the desert. Someone needed passage through Thirsty River, which is a treacherous place. I was more than glad to assist. Our first group didn't do very well. We were unorganized and we got beat up pretty badly. We went back to the outpost and got our wounds mended and regrouped. Lucky us, the monk we had decided not to help us a second time. He was awful. More luckily, the Gifted Sprite happened to be there and we took her along. We had to be on our toes then. The Gifted Sprite is a good healer, but she gets mad easily and she'll let you bleed to death if you don't follow her orders! This time, we were like a machine, and took on those Forgotten with a purpose. When all was said and done, and we had made it through, I asked myself, "Were these really the same beasts who had just beat us down earlier?" I couldn't believe the difference.

...and then there was Shark Monk. Our travels eventually led us into the Dunes of Despair. By this point I was tired of dust and dirt, but we still had to press on. Some ghost was mad because another ghost had taken his home, or something like that. I couldn't have cared less, but everyone else felt sorry for the guy. Sheesh. Before we began our journey into the Dunes, however, we picked up another Monk. Shark Monk. After that experience, that name will scream in my mind forever. On the way to the ghost's home, we ran into some Losaru Centaurs, and they attacked us. Not sure why, but the Gifted Sprite was toting a sword and shield yesterday, so she was more tied up with fighting than healing. But as we started to get our bruises and cuts, I noticed the healing was sparse. But we were too far in the thick of battle for me to comment. As we neared the ghost's home (wasn't much of a place), we were overwhelmed and some of us got beaten completely down. Well, we all know how ghosts are, begging to be ressurected while their bodies are still warm, like the people who DID manage to stay alive have nothing better to do while still knee deep in angry monsters! But here's where I noticed something. Shark Monk wasn't doing anything. He wasn't healing much, and he wasn't resurrecting anyone. Once we cleared the immediate area, he brought one person back and just stood there. He did nothing, while the Gifted Sprite had to bring the team back up to speed. When we asked him why he didn't help with the resurrections, his answer was, "I only brought one Resurrection Signet, and no resurrection spells." WHAT?!? A healing Monk with no resurrection spells? Sheesh! It might not sound bad to hear it, but it was a very stressful situation. Needless to say, after the ghost got his home back and we journeyed back to Augury Rock, Shark Monk just ran off and disappeared without saying a word. Maybe there's a reason good Monks charge for their services (aside from the Rune prices). You don't pay much, you don't get much. I had nightmares about Shark Monk last night. I was battling an entire legion of Forgotten, and nad only him to keep me alive. He was so useless, that the Forgotten didn't even attack him after I had died. They just left, knowing he couldn't resurrect me anyway. I woke up screaming.

[Hizpanick]

Whenever you see "Unlocked!" on your screen after you identify something, that means that item is unlocked for you to outfit your PvP player only with it. If you had just bought the item, then wanted to make a PvP character, that item would not be available to you.

[kvndoom]

I know that and you know that, but she don't know that.

Also, she added to yesterday's entry, because she was too busy fighting for her life to fully update her journal. Today's entry is still in the works. Enjoy!

[kvndoom]

8/6/05: What a busy, busy day I have had today! I'm so excited, I don't know where to begin! I guess I need to keep my thoughts in some kind of order, so here goes...

EARLY ENTRY: Okay, I really think I am going crazy. The closest outpost to my newest farming spot is the Temple of Ages. So I always go there to prep before a run. But something strange keeps happening. Every time I go to the Temple, I immediately hear a voice in my head that says "America has the favor of the Gods." The first ffew times I thought somebody was playing a prank on me, but now I'm not so sure. And too, it's not always just this "America." Sometimes the voice says that it's "Korea" or "Europe." What or who in the WORLD is America?!? Korea?!? Europe?!? And why does TYRIA never have the favor of the Gods? I mean, last time I checked, the Charr had burned Ascalon to the ground, Prince Rurik was dead, the White Mantle had betrayed the whole human race, and some prophet tells me that I've got to travel into a volcano to save the world! Sheesh! But do my prayers get answered? Noooooo! The Gods only care about America, Korea, and Europe. Hmph! But it gets weirder than this. Whenever the voice tells me that America has the Gods' favor, there are a bunch of ghosts at the Temple, hanging around the statues of the Gods, and begging for money. Seriously! This spectre calling himself the Voice of Grenth or something like that, asked me for 1 platinum! I told him to go earn his money, and if he bothered me again I'd burn him with Zealot's Fire. He took his translucent self elsewhere, that's for sure. But it still gets weirder. See, whenever this America place (I think it's a place, from the way people talk) has the favor, people start wanting to go to the Underworld! I mean they group up, they run around looking for volunteers... why oh WHY would someone WANT to go to the plane of damnation? Hey, you think you can let me have that pretty crystalline sword before you sacrifice yourself? And they're always looking for monks and rangers to go to the underworld. Hey people, we need the Monks up here to keep us alive! Hell, they can have the rangers. Granted my little cousin, Ia Stormsniper, is a ranger, and I do love her like a sister (though she is a little naieve), but I think there's something just wrong about killing your enemies from 100 feet away. I like to see the look in their eyes when you bleed their bellies, when you stab them in the heart, or cut their throats. I like to hear their last gasps for breath. And I like to hear them beg when they know they've been beaten. Yes, yes! You'd have to be crazy to not want to experience that!

Speaking of crazy, I'm still not over this Temple of Ages thing. Sometimes while I'm there, I'll suddenly hear a voice that says Korea now has the favor of the gods. And just like that, the ghosts all disappear. And then, well it's almost funny. All at once, everybody in the Temple starts running around and screaming angrily, "Damn Koreans! I hate those ********!" and stuff like that. And just like that, a bunch of people just up and leave the Temple. They stop forming groups, they stop wanting to go to the Underworld, they just scream about how much they hate Korea, and then leave. I have honestly tried to get someone to explain what all this means, but nobody will make time for me. When the ghosts are there, everybody's too busy trying to ferry people off into the Underworld. When the ghosts leave, everybody starts whining and leaving the Temple all at once. I can't even get any information from the Merchant there. I asked her, and all she said was "Dye Remover, 100 gold." Yeah, the Temple of Ages is crazy. It's not me, but I think if I spend too much time there, I'll go crazy like everybody else.

LATER ENTRY: Wow, I understand a lot of stuff a lot better now! Early this morning I happened to be at the Temple of Ages at the same time as several of my Guild members. I knew if anyone would explain the crazy behavior, it would be THEM. Apparently, the only way anyone can enter the Underworld is when this "America" place has the Gods' favor. I still didn't understand why anyone would want to go. But Hera Eve, our top monk, explained that there were a lot of monsters and loot in the Underworld. "Count me in!" I said happily. Any chance to kill something and get paid well for it, right? And then I learned that THE BOSS would be there too! I knew this had the makings of a great day! THE BOSS appeared in female form this time (he's incredible- he can be who or whatever he wants), and also a Necromancer member of the Guild, whose name I can't remember. I hadn't seen him before. I really should attend more Guild meetings. Poor Anders Sparlock was in for the journey too. I cal him Poor Anders Sparlock because he has the worst luck of anyone I've ever kknown. It's not his fault; he just has bad luck. But I'll give him this- he goes through life in stride, regardless.

Once our group was together, I asked how do we get to the Underworld, besides dying of course. "WE MUST PAY THE VOICE OF GRENTH," answered THE BOSS. Oh! So THAT'S why the ghost was up there begging for money. He was selling passage into the Underworld. See, things are a lot less confusing when someone explains it to you... Before we went in (or down? I dunno), I did apologize to the Voice of Grenth for being so rude to him earlier. He didn't accept my apology; he just asked for a donation. I told him my group had already paid. Sheesh.

So, we were suddenly in the Underworld! Ewwww, what a gloomy place. But, I've been to worse (go through Maguuma on a humid rainy day- those Centaurs don't clean up behind themselves, damn horses). We were at the bottom of a chamber and I looked up and around and saw minotaurs! Oh boy! I LOVE killing minotaurs! These were big black ones with fiery red eyes. Someone said they were called Aatxes. Now I can spell that, but I sure can't pronounce it. You can call them Aardvarks for all I care, I drew my sword, and I was ready to KILLKILLKILLKILL! But then Here Eve said the funniest thing- "You guys stay back and cast healing spells on me- I'll take them down." WHAT?!? Our MONK was going to kill the minotaurs while we just stood around? I protested, but THE BOSS toldme it had to be done that way. And then, then, THEN, I noticed that Hera had blessed all her aromor with SUPERIOR RUNES! This was crazy! The way those drain your health, she was already practically a walking corpse, and she was going to take on a pack of minotaurs by herself??? I begged and pleaded for her not to go, but no one would hear my reasoning. That's when I realized... my entire guild had been overcome with the Temple of Ages Insanity. I was doomed. But surely enough, Hera Eve walked alone up the nearest flight of steps, and the closest pack of Aatxes attacked her. I mean, she just stood her ground and let them pummel her! I cast Healing Breeze on her occasionally, but I noticed that she really wasn't getting hurt! So I get to reasoning. If she's already near death because of those Superior Runes, and these ugly minotaurs are barely hurting her, then those have got to be some pretty weak monsters! Maybe THE BOSS was letting her fight them because she was too weak to kill anything else (Monks are pretty fragile, after all). I couldn't hold back anymore. I HAD to get me some. I charged up the stairs screaming my war cry, and thwacked the nearest Aatxe with my trusty blade.

My sword barely even nicked the Aatxe's hide.

The Aatxe turned around, clearly peeved that I had just hit him.

The Aatxe hit me.

Now, I've been hit by many things in my fighting days. Dragons, trolls, Grawl, Charr, even other minotaurs. But I have never, EVER been smacked so hard in my entire life! When the world finally stopped spinning, I was lying in a heap, back at the bottom of the stairs! "I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO UP THERE," scorned THE BOSS. I recovered my senses and mended the plethora of bruises I had just volunteered for, and was surprised to see that Hera Eve had by now killed TWO of those infernal beasts! This was impossible! Not only was she killing them, but she was not getting hurt even though those monsters had just thrown me around like an ugly doll! Before long she had killed the last three as well. I was dumbfounded. "The low health works to my advantage," she told me. "With the right chants, the closer I am to death, the less damage I can take." Wow, so that made it all clear. Why the Monk Superior Runes were becoming so popular. I figured out on my own how she killed the Aatxes. I do a little monking on the side, so I know the value of Balthazaar's Aura and Zealot's Fire when you get crowded by enemies. I found this interesting, to say the least. We trudged on for some time, letting Hera kill more Aatxes, some creepy tentacled things that looked like the Eidolon I had to kill to get infused, and some big ugly spiders. I don't think the loot was as good as people were making it out to be, but maybe it's just me.

Oh, and Poor Anders Sparlock. I don't know why, but a lot of my Guild Mates pick on him a lot. I guess because of his bad luck. Well, it's not just his peers. I've seen times where monsters would single him out too. They would actually stop chasing our monk and start attacking Poor Anders! I keep telling him it's the red armor he's wearing, that red just draws too much attention. Of course, that might not be true. It might just be because he's Poor Anders Sparlock. I did something kind of mean to him today, but not on purpose. I've always been nice to Poor Anders, and I feel for him. But I was in a bad situation, and I just let something ugly slip. Okay, this happened while we wer in the Underworld still. Hera Eve was beating down her 4th or 5th pack of Aatxes, when suddenly one of them broke away and started coming downstairs to the rest of the group! THE BOSS got caught by surprise and got smacked down before she could get out the way, and then the thing came after me! I ran for my life down the steps. Poor Anders Sparlock just froze, but that seemed to work somehow because the monster didn't even seem to notice him. That's when I did the ugly thing. I was scared and desperate and irrational. I screamed out at the top of my lungs, "NOT ME, FOOL! ANDERS! Kill ANDERS!" Unfortunately the Aatxe didn't listen. It caught up with me at the bottom of the stairs and beat me senseless, THEN noticed Anders still standing there on the way back up and pounded him too. When it got back to Hera, she smited it good. Then she brought us all back, one at a time. I felt SO bad. I apologized to Poor Anders a million times for what I said, and I still feel guilty. I am so ashamded as I write this.

And I was promoted today! THE BOSS made me a Guild Officer! Wow! I was so honored, so happy, I started crying! Yes, I know I'm the Queen of Thwack and a ruthless, bloodthirsty, genocidal butcherer, but a girl has to have a sensitive side, right? This was a great honor. But I forgot to ask- does this promotion have a pay raise? And do I get benefits now? I could really use some insurance. Being a warrior and the first one to rush into the thick of battle makes for very high healing expenses out of pocket. And because of Rune prices, monks are charging OUTRAGEOUS fees for even little stuff! Just the other day I needed an arrow removed from my shoulder (darn Tengu archers...). The last time I had to get one taken out, it was 10 gold and I'm done. Well, I went to the same Monk for this one, and he wanted 500 gold! Sheesh! If it didn't hurt so bad, I'd have kept the arrow! I fussed about it, but he said that until Rune prices come down, he's going to be forced to charge more to heal people. I guess I had better use my shield more often. The usual cuts and bruises I can take care of myself, but I see now that anything major can really cut into my profits.

So yes, today was insanely busy. Later I went farming through Maguuma and made a little money. I'm back up to 40 steel ingots in storage, but I'll hold on to them until I get over 100 or so, then look at prices. I had to buy a couple Runes today, which of course was expensive, but necessary. Didn't help that I salvaged those exact same Runes later on from some chickens. Life isn't always fair, is it?

I might not work much today. I've been all over Tyria the past couple days, and I need a rest. Maybe farm the chickens for runes, and go thwack some minotaurs to make up for the pain those Aatxes put on me. Ugh. Crap, there's a Guild meeting tonight! Ahhhh, I feel a short-term cold coming on. Don't think I'm going to make it...

Officer Etterwyn Wanderer. YESSSSSSS!

[kvndoom]

8/7/05: Lazy day today. I was pretty tired, so I didn't do much killing. Plucked a few chickens, and roamed the Maguuma jungle in search of rare treasures. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything. I did, however, perform my first duty as a Guild Officer- I added a new member to our Guild! I felt like I had real power too. His name is Reborn Akron, and he's a full-time warrior / part-time monk like myself, so I will admit my decision to have him fitted for a cape was biased. But I'm sure he'll be a great help to us all. The Gifted Sprite sent him to me for induction. How is it that she always knows where I am? Come to think of it, how is it that EVERYBODY always seems to know where I am? Hmmm...

The week looms ahead, which means I'll probably be sleeping a lot. Don't know why, but I seem to sleep nearly all day during the week, and hardly at all on weekends. That seems backwards from how it should be, but sometimes I don't feel like I even have control of when I sleep. Weird.

I heard from Darkblade Kazguul today! Whew! Glad to know she made it through the swamp! I received a letter from her congratulating me on my promtion to Officer. Oops, I guess that was mentioned at the Guild meeting I didn't attend last night. I wonder if being an Officer makes mettings compulsory. I sure hope not; I'd hate to be FORCED to go to every one. I've heard my attendance is the worst in the Guild. But I have my reasons! I just can't seem to remember them when someone asks me...

[dazd]

Awesome read Etter, keep em coming !

And speaking of Anders being the laughing stock of the whole guild, im further adding to the notion:

[kvndoom]

8/8/05: It feels good to be helpful. I had been asked by Dark Lich Livid to find a good Blood Staff. I came across a couple nice ones and had been holding on to them for him, but I hadn't bumped into him anywhere in over a week. Well I happened across his brother Livid Rage at Droknar's Forge today, so I gave him the staves. He said they did seem pretty powerful and he'd get them to his brother as soon as he could. Livid Rage happened to mention that he was in the market for a new bow. I have a couple bows that I've found in my days of looting that are supposed to be pretty good. I'll be honest; I don't know a thing about bows. I have to get them appraised, and I just junk the ones that I'm told are worthless. But the REALLY good ones I keep, and if I ever find my cousin Ia Stormsniper, who's a ranger, I'm going to give her those as a surprise gift. Poor Ia. I think her mental illness is getting worse, but that's another story for another day. ANYWAY, I have to help the Guild any way I can, so I let Livid Rage look over the two bows. One he really liked, so I let him have it. He gave me another one in its place, and told me it would be a good bow for my cousin. Rangers, I swear. Good enough for her, but not good enough for him. No problem, though. I'm always glad to help. And what Ia doesn't know won't hurt her anyway.

My other good deed for the day was a little weirder. The new recruit, Reborn Akron? I encountered him at Riverside Province while I was there pursuing some rogue White Mantle. He was having a problem with his new boots. Every time he put them on he felt weaker. I immediately asked him had he blessed the boots with a Superior Rune of any kind. He said that he hadn't, but I was skeptical, so I had him show them to me. He was right, though; no rune. It took some time and questioning before I was able to put it all together, more or less when he said, "but when I put my old boots on, I feel much better!" THAT was when I inspected his old boots and found the Major Vigor Rune inscribed on them. I told him that he'd have to try transferring the Rune from one set to the other, but it doesn't always work. I just so happened to have a Major Vigor Rune that I wasn't using anyway, so I gave it to him. Problem solved. I lost 15 minutes and the White Mantle scum got away, but I think helping a new Guild mate was more staisfying. My conscience is clear now from missing the meeting the other night. Ha!

I still haven't perfected my homemade Black Dye formula, but I'm close. At least I hope I am. I could sell this stuff and never have to work again! Everybody's crazy about black dye. The stuff costs over 20 platinum for a tiny bottle and people are glad to pay for it! My plan is to produce my own and then sell it for a lot less than the Dye Traders and make a horrific profit before I inevitably get my operation shut down. So far, though, I haven't been able to get it just right. My first batch was really runny and didn't stick to anything. My second batch burned through the armor I tested it on (not good for repeat business). And the last batch I concocted was black when I mixed up the ingredients, but had turned clear as water by the time I finished brewing it! Sheesh! It's impossible to find the ingredients the merchants use, which is why people are forced to buy it from them. But I'm going to figure it out. One day, one day...

I went to Kryta today to do the infamous Drake Run. Kryta is a breeding ground for Lightning Drakes, and it is rumored that they hoarde lots of good loot, usually scavenged from the poor fools who don't survive the Drake Run. Hmmmm. But I've heard that lately the Drake Run has not been very fruitful, so I needed to see for myself. I had to mow through some Mergoyles to reach the beach, but that didn't hold me up very long. I must say, though, that the rumors seem to be true. I thwacked a dozen fully grown Lightning Drakes and inspected their lairs and found almost nothing! A couple dented swords, maybe 30 gold coins, and some useless shields and staves. I was disappointed. I guess the Drakes have just been hunted and looted to the point where they just don't have anything worth killing for. That's been happening to a lot of my favorite looting spots lately. I think there must be people who do nothing but farm for loot all day. I spend a few hours a day doing so when I can, but it's not ALL I do. Besides, there has to be balance in nature. If nobody gets killed on Drake Runs, then there won't be any loot for the next person to find. I'm thinking about putting together a team of inexperienced but rich warriors (I always know when I see them- they wear the best armor and have pretty shiny weapons but can barely beat an Aloe Seed in combat), take them on a Drake Run, and then run off and let them fend for themselves. That's a win-win situation! The world is rid of a bunch of pretenders, the Drakes have full bellies, and I have a reason to kill the Drakes! This really does sound good. Beats the heck out of mixing up black dye.

[idchafee]

Best. Thread. Evar.

[kvndoom]

8/9/05: Weird start to the day in Thunderhead Keep. I saw Mhenlo there, as well as Cynn, Aidan, and Devona. They were greatly reknown heroes during those horrible first two years after the Searing. Apparently they have Ascended too! Good for them! They were, oddly, hanging around with the henchmen. I pulled Brother Mhenlo to the side (it's always been easier for me to talk to him) and asked him what was going on. "We're here to help people," he said. "For a price, of course." I was appaled! EVERYBODY is in it for the money these days! What ever happened to honor? Or at least the thrill of the kill? This world has gone to the dumps since Rurik died! I had to ask. "Is it because of the Runes, Mhenlo? Is that why you don't help people for free now?" "Partly. And partly because now that I'm Ascended, my healing services are in greater demand." "But Ascending doesn't really, um, DO anything," I replied. "I know that," he said. "But 'Ascendant' is marketable."

A thought struck me. "What, um, happened to Alesia?" Mhenlo shook his head. "Alesia couldn't Ascend. You know how she is just a monster magnet. Dunes of Despair, Elona Reach, Thirsty River, all the same. The Forgotten were all over her, and ignored everyone else. After a while, no one would offer to help anymore. She even spent most of the money she had made henching to hire help, and people started turning down the money. It was hopeless, and she just gave up." I felt bad for Alesia. Reminded me of Poor Anders Sparlock in a way.

There was also a Necromancer henchman there at the Keep. Her name was Eve. I SWEAR I've seen her somewhere before. In fact, it seems like I've seen her a thousand times, but I can't place where I know her from. I guess she just has one of those faces...

I have seen the future, and I don't like it very much. I took passage from the Keep to Perdition Rock, and I was assigned the task of assassinating some White Mantle council members. The path was arduous, teeming with Hydra, drakes, and all sorts of nasties. My group finally made it to the Council meeting, though. Waxing those fools was almost TOO easy after what we went through to get there. Afterwards we got ferried to the Ring of Fire.

This was crazy! They wanted a small group to infiltrate a legion of Mursaat and Jades and take the beachhead. Ummm, yeah. I told them I had a headache. Sorry, I'll just have to put saving the world off for a few more days.

I fought alongside Hera Eve today!

Unfortunately, I can't say that it went well for me. I think after seeing her smite those Aatxes, I tried too hard to impress her, and it backfired. We went Centaur hunting outside Skyward Reach this afternoon, after I shirked my responsibilities at the Ring of Fire. Taking the wrong skills into battle can bring fast ruin, and so it was with me. I should know better than to take Flurry on a farming run, but I did anyway, instead of "Watch Yourself!" Who names these techniques, anyway? Why must I always put an exclamation point behind "Watch Yourself!"? But, I digress. It was a mistake for two reasons. One is because it's an energy-based skill instead of an adrenaline skill like, ugh, "Watch Yourself!" Second, the Losaru swordsmen, uh, swordhorses? were using the Riposte technique, so I was simply beating myself to death instead of killing them. At one point Hera Eve even asked me why I kept jumping onto their swords. Man, that was embarassing. So once again I looked like a fool. But darn it, she's a MONK! She's supposed to be frail and in need of me to protect her! Not picking me up time and time again when I'm lying face down in the filthy mix of mud and Centaur... I don't even want to say anymore about that.

After we went back into town and cashed in our loot, she had to move on. This time I brought the right skills and went hunting solo. I did a lot better, but I'm not sure she'll believe me. All she's seen of me lately is being on the wrong end of a butt-kicking. Okay. I think I'll go cry now.

[kvndoom]

8/10/05: I was feeling ill today, so I didn't work much. But the little I did was great! I bumped into a Guild member while at the Temple of Ages, whom I had not met before. His name was Atlantis Guardian, and he said he was kin to the Gifted Sprite.

I thought that was pretty neat! He needed help taking out a bandit encampment to the south. Oh, those nasty Verata! I go down there and beat up on them myself every so often after a minotaur run. I was more than glad to help as it was, but whoa- THE BOSS was there too! I knew this was an important affair if THE BOSS had come to town to assist! I actually felt a lot better; I guess it was the adrenaline starting to flow. Two non-guild members wanted to come along also, saying that they had orders to attack the bandits as well. Alesia happened to be at the Temple, so we paid her to come along to help with healing duties. I asked her about her problems Ascending, but she refused to talk about it.

We set out, and mowed down some Thornies and smote some undead until we reached the hills where I hunt minotaurs. I had planned to go in first and draw them to me so I could burn 'em with some Zealot's Fire, but the warrior we picked up at the Temple kept running in front of me. Then they would beat up on her until she was holding on to life by a thread. Then she would run for her life with 3 or 4 angry minotaurs behind her. This was frustrating. Alesia was running for her life too, but not because she had agered the monsters. They just happen to see her and attack on sight. Her luck is awful. I would never, ever want to be her. So killing the minotaurs with a party of 6 took longer than it does when I go alone, but I didn't complain.

Further along, we had to cross the swamp where Darkblade and I had so much trouble last week. This time, strength in numbers made a difference.

It looked like everybody was getting hexed EXCEPT me! I was free to beat the living daylights out of Thornies and Nightmares alike! Ha ha! I should bring along fodder more often! Well, except for THE BOSS. I would NEVER consider him fodder. We crossed the swamp and made it to the plains, then fought past some more minotaurs and some trolls until we reached the verata encampment. Wow, there were hundreds of those scum gathered! I was salivating at the thought of a long, bloody battle; visions of myself taking on dozens of bandits at a time and slaying them all danced through my head. But then I was told that there was a White Mantle knight who had assembled all these wretches and was planning... something. My ears started ringing as soon as I heard "White Mantle." I think THE BOSS realized that I was ready to be unleashed, so he used his powers of perception to locate this knight. He told the group that we were going to rush straight to the heart of the camp, and that everyone else would distract the bandits while I, yes ME, that's right- OFFICER Etterwyn Wanderer, went in for the assassination. Now I felt honored! So once everyone was set, we did as planned. The Verata archers and mages were caught off guard and didn't know whom to focus on. We scaled the hill amidst a storm of mayhem, and then I saw him. The knight. Oh, he THOUGHT he was bad stuff. He had a big axe and heavy armor, and he was taller than me. But hey, if I'm not scared of an Amnoon Hydra, I certainly am not scared of some White Mantle garbage! I took him down quick! The bandits were disorganized without their leader, and we began to pick them off. Unfortunately, Atlantis Guardian and THE BOSS had to head back to the Temple, so our group was down to 4. Then the ranger left too. That left me, Alesia, and the warrior who had been acting the fool earlier. She let me lead the rest of the raid, and we cleansed the hills of bandit scum. Then she headed back. Suddenly it was just me and Alesia. I wanted to go hunt some Hill Giants, but I envisioned poor Alesia on the receiving end of a size 75 boot and thought better of it.

So, we just gathered up what loot we could find and headed in. And that pretty much was my day. I hope my tummy feels better tomorrow.

I really would like a new shield. The one I have now is ugly, but I can't find a better one for a reasonable price. I've seen some nice ones get auctioned off for over 500 platinum, but that's more than TWICE what I have in savings! And I couldn't see myself spending that much on a shield anyway. I'll just keep this ugly Crimson Carapace until I either loot a better one or find one at a decent price.

Oh, there goes my stomach in knots again. That's what I get for eating medium-rare Charr steak. I think I'm going to bed early.

[kvndoom]

8/11/05: I felt a bit better today, though I still slept a lot. But the weekend's coming, so I know I'll be doing some major THWACKING soon!

I did most of my work in Talus Chute today. I was actually honing my skills to become a better weapon of mass destruction. And it paid off! I had been relying on Mark of Protection to save me when I was taking a beating, but it takes so long to chant that that I tend to get interrupted, and it only protects me for like 10 seconds. Not good when I'm getting pounded by half a dozen angry trolls. So, I studied for a bit and rearranged my skill set, and it paid off! Even though I like to move in at top speed for the kill, I had to stop using Rush, because it interferes with my defensive stances. And it was all about defense today. I used Bonetti's defense and Gladiator's defense. I like Bonetti's style because it strengthens my mind while I evade attacks, but I have to concentrate so hard that if I use any other skill I start getting beat again. But it still has its purpose. But Gladiator's Defense is just awesome! I get in that stance, close my eyes, and for 9 seconds I just slap silly anybody who DARES try to lay a hand on me! It's almost like passive killing, just think 'em to death! I had it going on today! I'd get some chickens or trolls to attack, burn them with Zealot's Fire, smite them with Balthazaar's Aura, then go into the Gladiator stance, then come out of that into Bonetti's stance until my mind was ready to recast the Aura. In between I'd shout (ugh) "Watch Yourself!" to keep my defenses up. I couldn't believe how well this worked! I set a new personal record too! i killed NINE Mountain Trolls at one time! I was so happy!!! I just kept running through the caves, taunting the trolls to make them attack me in big groups, then thwacking and smiting to my heart's content.

Bliss...

Unfortunately, the loot was pretty poor. Where the HELL are all these Raven Staves coming from? Almost every third troll or chicken I killed today was carrying some form of Raven Staff! It was ridiculous! All I ask the gods for, day in and day out, is a better shield. What do I get? Raven Staves! Over and over and over again! I did loot a nice axe off one of the bodies, but I don't use axes anymore, so blah. Even a wicked new sword would be nice. It's almost shameful that the best sword I've gotten since the Searing, I got from a Collector who only asked for 5 Jade Mandibles in return. I almost felt guilty. Such a wicked sword, and this man is willing to give it up for BUG TEETH?!?

But, I digress. Now, this was a funny thing- I returned to Droknar's Forge toting my looting bag, with no less than TWELVE Raven Staves, and I ran into THE BOSS at the merchant! "GREETINGS, ETTERWYN," he said. I said hello, and asked what he was doing in the Shiverpeaks today. "PRACTICING MY NEW SMITE TECHNIQUES." Wow! I was too! I thought it was a neat coincidence, and then I remembered the fruits of my labor, and I hung my head. "I killed nearly 50 trolls today," I told him, " and all I have to show for it are a dozen Raven Staves. Can you believe it?" THE BOSS burst into laughter. "I HAVE YOU BEAT, MY CHILD," he responded. "I HAVE TWENTY!" Incredulously, I looked in his loot bag and almost fainted at the sight of so many of the same weapon. This was like a nightmare, but I couldn't wake up. I always thought the quality of the loot was dependant upon the toughness of the monster. I mean, Mountain Trolls are way tougher than Jungle Trolls, but I swear i get better loot from the greenies! I think the universe is out of balance or something. This is just weird.

I asked THE BOSS if he'd like to go and hunt some more. I was eager to show off my new skill combination, but I wanted to see how he had honed his skills too. Unfortunately he had to be off. Probably was tired of looking at a Raven Staff all bloody day. I know I was! I asked around at the Forge, trying to find the source of these infernal staves, but no one knew. Apparently it wasn't just me and THE BOSS having this luck, though. Shortly after lunch, the poor merchant had had enough, and posted a sign "NOT ACCEPTING ANY MORE STAFFS FOR MONEY OR TRADE." When he did that, DOZENS of people at the bazaar started screaming and cursing in frustration. In less that 10 minutes, he sold out of Salvage Kits, the cheap ones and the expert ones. This looks like a crisis in the making. I think i'm gonna keep away from the Forge for a while.

My day ended in Ventari's Refuge. That's where I'm writing this from. I'm going to rest up now (still feeling a little weak from yesterday), and head out early to pillage the Maguuma jungles! Hey, if weak monsters drop better loot than strong ones, why get beat up more for less payoff? Stupid I am not!

[kvndoom]

8/12/05: Okay, okay, I went to the Guild meeting this afternnon. I slept through most of it, though, because I spent most of the morning in the Maguuma jungle beating the snot out of Trolls and spiders. Made a lot of money, and I found a new shield that I like! It's not EXACTLY what I want, but it does at least look better than what I had.

The search continues...

I was pulled aside after the meeting and asked rather frankly what it is that makes me such an efficient killing machine. Well, it's good that somebody finally noticed how the bodies pile up when my school's in session. Ha! I gave a nice long explanation, which I wanted to write in my journal too, but I forgot half the words. But get this! THE BOSS gave me this special Rune which I can use to tell people everything I said. I don't know the language or anything, but all I have to do is write it down:

http://www.coldblackeyes.com/forum/view ... =1959#1959

I have no idea how that rune works, but every time I put my index finger on it and press, I can really hear my speech! This is SO cool!