This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - Stug3
Pages: 1 ... 3 4 [5] 6 7 ... 16
81
« on: May 15, 2008, 12:46:43 am »
My first stop in Prants...after the desk...was the craft merchant for some polishing oil. After purchasing enough oil I headed for the craft hall to cut and polish the opals. I almost forgot to wash my other minerals but remembered and did that first. The first was Topaz but to my surprise the other three were diamonds! Excellent news indeed, I had a sack full of Fire Opals and three diamonds to work on. I had defiantly had my work cut out for me. I cut first the Topaz followed by all the Fire Opals, my fingers and wrists were killing me. I saved the diamonds for last and was a bit anxious about trying to cut them as I did not want to waste them with any mistakes. The Topaz came out flawlessly and only a few opals had minor flaws in them, the rest were magnificent. Cleaning up my mess I debated whether or not to try the diamonds. Finally deciding to go ahead and give it a shot I laid them out on the bench. Laying out my jewelers' tools, polishing oil and a few rags I took a deep breath and reached for the first...
Success eluded me with the first two, both came out with too many flaws and I was forced to grind them to dust. Disheartened I contemplated holding off on the last gem until I had improved my skills a bit, diamonds are tough to come by and I had wasted the first two. For a long while I stood at the bench staring at the third diamond...
With careful concentration I began working the third and last of the diamonds. My eye throbbed from the strain of scrutinizing each chip of the chisel and several times I had to stop and stare at the furthest wall of the craft hall to relax my eye. Sweat beaded on my forehead and my fingers ached terribly but I had done it. I was holding a perfectly cut diamond. It took over an hour to polish the stone and when it was done is was breathtaking. My hands still covered in oil I held it up to the light, a single drip of oil slid from my hand and dropped right into my eye. The reflexive jerk sent the diamond flying and it skidded across the floor...
Blinded by the oil I got down on my hands and knees to search the floor. Groping like a blind man (which I defiantly was) crawling on all fours and doing my best to see out of my eye. Polishing oil is great for its intended use, not so great for ones eyesight. Several times I was asked what I was doing by others working in the hall and each time I had to explain my 'accident'. Bad enough to drop a diamond but now I was crawling along the floor like the village idiot trying to locate it...
I did eventually locate it, only after pouring the contents of three canteens over my face to flush the oil from my eye. Soaking wet and sporting an angry red eye but in possession of my wayward stone I left the hall. I could have been worse. I could have rubbed my eye after working with Fire Beetle bellies, but that's another story all together.....
82
« on: May 15, 2008, 12:45:39 am »
After the disastrous conclusion of our diamond excursion I had pretty well given up the idea of working on one for a while, so I once again set my eye on Fire Opals. I managed to fight my way through the giants camped in the forest and after a bit of a break to dress wounds and get a bite to eat I headed for the cave entrance.
Where to my surprise I again encountered the stranger from the desert. This second meeting went much like the first...he talked I listened, mostly confused. He talks not so much in riddles as in references, still they are very hard to follow and most of his message does not get across. My questions draw questions in response and I am more bewildered by these 'answers' than the original question. He persists with calling me Traveler and it makes me a bit uneasy to have a 'title' per say, especially one I do not understand the reason for. He made reference to helping with hounds and I knew instantly he had been the one on the hill, the one who had controlled the Hill Hounds that aided me against the Kenku. Why had he been there, why help me, was he following me and if so why...?
When I presented these questions to him I got an answer much like I had expected; "I follow many...yet I follow only one". What the hells did that mean...
With a small wave he turned and walked off, as he disappeared into the forest a shrill whistle cut the air and from the bushes emerged a very large Dire Bear. With a huff my way it hurried off in the direction of its 'master' leaving me just as confused as after our first meeting.
I could think on this all day but there were opals to chip at, and I figure I'll see him again. Focusing on the task at hand I put him in the back of my mind, preoccupation and giants rarely go together well. Buffed, ready to layout some giants and dig some opals I headed in. It was pretty standard, get their attention, find some cover to ambush them as they passed and try for a knockdown. It works well and if it ain't broke don't fix it. They did manage to get a few good licks in but they are pretty big and if you get em really riled up they get kinda clumsy. Even hitting each other from time to time, and at one point two of them knocked a third to the ground! Thanks for the help fellas. The real trouble begins when they get them vines going around your feet; a stationary target is not what you want to be. Luckily the vines did not get hold of me...not for their lack of trying mind you...
With the giants taken care of I was free to dig the opals. I found a belt on one of the giants, it looks like a 'Healers Hug' but I will have to get it identified to be sure...looks can be deceiving.
The opal veins were astounding and I filled an entire lion bag from two deposits, without breaking a single chisel. Along with opals I also found several unknown minerals that I will need to wash to be certain of their exact type. Loaded with opals and almost giddy with my good fortune not only in opals but the luck of possibly finding such a useful belt I headed for Prantz to cut my stones.
83
« on: May 15, 2008, 12:41:45 am »
The sounds of battle carried across the lake; the reverberation of steel on steel rang loudly and I easily followed it to the spot.
What ever had happened was over when I arrived but from the scene it was obviously a vicious clash. The grass had been trampled flat for many feet in all directions and was splashed with blood and gore. Broken shields and shattered weapons lay strewn in the grass and dozens of arrows protruded from tree trunks or stood fletching up from the sod. Simply walking through the grass soaked the hem of my cloak in blood and my armor was reddened to the knees. Cautiously making my way through the grass I nevertheless stumbled over masses of unidentifiable meat or slipped on lengths of spilled intestine. Many times I squished ankle deep in puddles of red-black coagulating blood. The still air was heavy with the coppery smell of blood and the deeper stench of insides, now on the outside. Flies had begun to arrive in droves and soon the sound of their buzzing drowned out most other sounds. The bodies were barely recognizable; most were nothing but trunks missing both arms and legs, some missing one or both arms and a few missing legs. From the numbers of left limbs I guessed about two dozen lay about in the grass, all were without heads...I did find a piece of skull still sporting a tuft of long black hair, it appears the owner tried to duck, only to have the top of its head removed...
I am still not absolutely sure even what the bodies were. About the size Gnolls but none had the odd knee direction of Gnolls and they were too small to be Bugbear, yet too big to be Kenku. The state of the other remains were of no help in identifying the carcasses, the cleanly severed limbs and cleaved bodies only showed an ax at work but were little help otherwise. The bodies were clearly all from the same group, what of the other? I could see no marks left from dragging fallen companions, nor did I find any signs of two large parties meeting. I am no Ranger but I can read tracks well enough, years of solo scrounging have left me with some useful skills. I can tell some things from tracks; direction of travel, speed and an approximate weight. Granted a skilled Ranger could give me a step by step reconstruction of the fight by the tracks alone but I had a pretty good idea from my own observations. It became obvious after more poking around that it had not been two groups, but a group and a single individual. The evidence was pretty telling as to the group vs. individual theory; firstly all the arrows were headed in one direction and all had the same fletching. All the hand weapons were crudely forged and of similar design, as were the shields. The arrangement of the corpses clearly showed the fighters in clusters and the archers spread over a semicircle well behind and just like the other weapons all the bows were of similar design and construction. A single combatant had dispatched two dozen enemies and by the lack of any contrary evidence walked away...
I could find little sign of the victor, other than the utter destruction the axe had wrought on these opponents. I did find very large tracks with deep impressions leading me to believe they were left by an individual weighting somewhere close to six hundred pounds with a stride covering nearly six feet...Giants would leave a wake of destruction similar to this but their tracks are much larger, considerably deeper, they were likely to have eaten most of the 'meat'. The taking of the heads but leaving the remainder to draw flies is puzzling...
The taking of an adversary's head is not new but I have not seen it first hand, the need for such 'trophies' seem a bit....well.....disturbing.
84
« on: May 09, 2008, 05:40:59 pm »
After finishing my fishing trip I did decide to look into the possibility of moving fish from one location to another, I have not met with success up to this point. Not that it seems impractical just that an unfortunate series of events seem to be plaguing my attempts...
After many lengthy conversations with both Druids and Rangers it is the consensus that fish spawn from eggs. The thought of once again collecting eggs makes me breakout in hives... I was informed with much laughter that the eggs would be considerably smaller and not require feeding to obtain, things are looking better. Armed with this knowledge I made a valiant attempt to locate some fish eggs that I could transplant in an empty pond. I did locate some eggs I took for fish but alas I was once again forced to add a line in my 'you're wrong book' as they turned out to be frogs...
The next attempt was even less desirable, this time they turned out to be snake eggs and I had to stomp the very fierce and slightly venomous hatchlings before they escaped and wreaked havoc in their new location. Two attempts two failures, I may need to have a Ranger on hand to help me identify the fish eggs from non-fish eggs, least I inadvertently move a dangerous or invasive species to a new region. (just what I need to do is upset the 'balance') So for now I have suspended my egg efforts and will focus on moving live fish instead... Sounds simple enough.
I should know by now that the words simple or easy mean I should strap on my armor and break out the bandages...
The first obstacle was what to put the fish in; I tried several ideas at first but they quickly failed or I realized how preposterous the idea was soon after I began. I was down to two options fairly soon. Option one; bucket. The bucket was a straight forward idea and I figured it was most likely the best. I was correct...to a point. Smaller fish would fit in the bucked along with the required water. Why spend so much effort to move Herring and Bass, if I was going through so much trouble why not big Catfish or Gar instead? One reason might be they DON'T FIT IN THE BUCKET... a thirty pound Catfish is not, will not, no matter how hard you push or how you stuff it going to fit in a bucket...with water. Four feet of Gar is similarly problematic fitting into a bucket, you can hack it to bits and it fits quite nicely but what the hell's the point of THAT...?
I was down to my last and oddest option...lion bag. There seems to be little end to what gets forced in to these bags. I am willing to bet I'm the only one to try, not only live fish but also the water!
Who would have guessed they were watertight, unless you completely up-end it. It did not take long to catch a few test subjects and fill the bag, in no time I was off with my first participants of forced relocation.
Things went well for a while, the bag was not heavy but the motion of walking was soon transferred to the water and it began so slosh back and forth in the bag. I got a bit wet but that was not the problem, the motion of the water made me stagger along like a drunkard and that only increased the water motion and soon I could barely stumble along at all. I had to put the bag down. Still in motion when I placed it on the ground it soon began to wobble off...it was very weird to watch my bag 'wander' away from me. It settled down after a few minutes and I headed off again, taking frequent breaks along the way. Up to this point this looked very promisingly like the solution to moving fish from one body of water to another...
(I need to add promisingly to the list of strap on the armor and break out the bandages)
I'm going to assume someone had been mining gold and got the Hill hounds and Kenku all sorts of riled up. I have dealt with both of these foes plenty of times before and they pose little threat even in numbers. The problem I had was not only the numbers were much greater...I was looking at eight hounds and almost two-dozen Kenku, but they were ready for a fight. I had barely arrived and this mob was on me; two-dozen invisible Kenku...sneak attack after sneak attack after sneak attack, then the hounds smelled the blood and came bounding over the hill. Their arrival was not going to be helpful at all...
Normally my pack is secured and carefully packed to evenly distribute the weight so I can fight if need be while wearing it. This time was however anything but normal. In fact I had four large fish and the water needed to keep them alive sloshing around. I was off balance just walking and now I had to fight...a lot.
I could not get the pack off in time, the Kenku were on me so fast and in such numbers there was no way to drop it. I was stuck with it for the time being. Wavering like a drunk and feeling like a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest I battled on... (well I tried anyhow) I was unable to run even if I had not been surrounded and the hounds were closing, very soon I would have eight more foes to contend with. I had killed a few of the Kenku but there was still way too many for any kind of actual defense or attack, I simply swung at the swarm and tried to block what I could...Then the hounds arrived.
The hounds arrived like a storm making land fall, they ran right through the mass of Kenku snarling and biting. They immediately turned on the Kenku, much to my surprise and even more to my relief. The hounds made quick work of the Kenku and soon nothing but dismembered limbs and torn carcasses remained of the Kenku...
I looked at the hounds and they looked at me...what now...
A shrill whistle cut the silence and the hounds turned and trotted off up the hill. A figure appeared at the crest, saying nothing they raised a hand in greeting and disappeared with the hounds over the hill.
Totally exhausted and still unable to believe my luck, I collapsed to the ground. Flopping back on my pack produced a great gush of water that covered me in fish smelling water. Covered in cuts and bruises, soaked to the bone and smelling of fish I moved on again. I had no more incidents along the way and soon I was at my destination.
Laying the bag down I untied the straps and dumped the fish into the water, success! I had taken them from one location to another and they survived the trek. I was feeling very self-important when the fish all went belly up...
Seems Gar and Catfish don't live long out of FRESHWATER... I had tried to put them in the sea....
What the hell do I know about fish...
85
« on: May 09, 2008, 05:37:51 pm »
I have not seen Muhk since our disastrous attempt to secure some diamonds; I do know he has been around as the house was rearranged. Sein moved his things out, Muhk can be a bit tough to live with at times, or lack of them...namely bath time, on the brightside he is house broken.
Fishing has taken up the past week or so, I had forgotten how nice it was to be alone. No cares, no adventures, no rush, nothing but quiet forest and the simple joy of fishing. What could be more relaxing than plinking fish with your bow? No falling bears to disturb a leisurely bath, no giants to storm out of the woods and destroy your camp, (it was almost worth it just to see the detonation) no wayward arrows to thump into your poor buttocks, no distractions or disasters. Catfish and Gar my only company and some of the best company I've had. No bickering, no rushing ahead, no squabbling over loot...just... nothing at all.
While I surrounded by nothing my mind did a bit of wandering; I have seen many lakes, streams and small ponds that do not have fish in them. I was thinking of how to get fish from one place to another so they could start a breeding population in places devoid of fish. What would be better than 'a fish in every pot'? No one would be hungry again, how hard is fishing...
This idea raised some questions; how do fish reproduce, which species would do best where and how to get them to the destination alive....All of these would require some experiments and a lot of investigation to answer. If I make inquiries to some Rangers or possibly Druids I may find they already have these answers and I could skip the investigations and go directly to the experimental portion. Funny what you think up when you can just let your mind wander...
86
« on: May 09, 2008, 05:36:20 pm »
"Diamonds" he says. I figure sure, why not...
Let me tell you why not; Unlike Fire Opals, the giants who reside within the cave where diamonds are found, are NOT, I repeat NOT to be trifled with.
My gem working has improved greatly and I can now cut and polish Fire Opals with regularity. Every lesser stone I am able to cut and polish without failure, this has caused a bit of...slowing shall we say. Fire Opals are not terribly hard to get, with some help. Muhk and I often make incursions to the giant cave near Corax Lake to collect opals. With proper planning and the understanding that comes from so many travels together we can battle our way down with little trouble. (There are of course those freak moments when it all goes bad but thankfully these are few) I can still learn a thing or two about cutting opals but I do not think that will continue for long and soon I will be able to cut opals in my sleep. I will then have to work diamonds or more precious stones to continue improving my gem working skills. I look forward to increasing my knowledge and skill but I have concerns about actually getting hold of the stones to work with...
Muhk and I have been on many, many adventures together and at times we hardly speak, things just sort of fall into place when we travel. We know how each other work best and it is seldom we have to work out a plan of action before hand. With so much traveling time together we just know what to do and when to do it. (at times this has gotten me into trouble with others as I THINK I know what they are going to do...and usually end up all by myself... it is just habit for me and Muhk to do it a certain way.) So when he said diamonds, I was game.
My first indication that this might not go so well was when he told me to get more bandages... That should have raised a flag, but no.
Oh, and I forgot the spiders...I hate spiders...I mean really, really hate them...despise them actually...not sure hate is a strong enough word. So I stopped to pick up my cloak to help with poison (that was a waste of time) and about a hundred bandages...When Muhk say buy bandages...you buy bandages.
I've never mined or so much as smashed a diamond before and I was woefully unprepared for the attempt. First off the cave system is located in the Rift...Bad enough...add to that the spiders...getting worse...and then top it off with some extremely irritated giants and you have a tale worthy of "This one time..." status.
I will admit I was very concerned about the spiders, I was expecting something in the way of the Sinister Forest caliber. The truth was they were little more than Dire Spiders and one or two that were a bit bigger. These were NOT what I had been expecting at all. Maybe the giants had been blow out of proportion as well? (wishful thinking)
The giants on the other hand were not falsely exaggerated, not one bit...
With the spiders behind us I was feeling a bit better about making it back from this trip with some diamonds to work on, not to mention alive. The giants pretty well dispelled that 'warm fuzzy' almost immediately. The first two were making a racket from around the corner up ahead, no sneaking required here. With a quick look around the corner that cold lump returned to the pit of my stomach like an anvil. Here were two of the biggest giants I had EVER seen. (there was this one.. bigger giant, but I try not to think about HIM...)
Muhk and I have a lot of giant felling behind us and our standard plan is simple; we both try to knock him down at the same time as soon as he is on us. Figuring he may dodge one attempt but while busy with one the other may get him, and it works very well...or it used to. So sticking with a proven tactic (why reinvent the wheel?) we readied for the upcoming clash of meat and metal. (I made sure my helmet strap was fastened tight!)
Getting the giants one at a time was paramount to success, I was doubtful we could fell both simultaneously without suffering severe injury or even death. Muhks' ability to draw in giants is without question the most effective I have ever seen. I don't understand why he excels in this capacity but it is most remarkable. (maybe it's the way he smells? May have to do a bit of field testing...might just find a marketable giant repellent.) He was able to 'encourage' one to follow him back to where I lay in ambush, as soon as it crossed my line of sight I immediately attempted to knock it down. Muhk reversed direction and made a similar attempt nearly at the same time. (as big and bumbling as he looks, Muhk can move pretty quick on his feet.) I'm not sure who succeeded, perhaps it was both of us but that giant went down hard...I was just glad it didn't land on top of me. While it struggled to its feet we landed blow after blow on the thing. It shook off an awful lot of punishment, we even had to knock it down a second and third time before Muhk landed a massive blow to its head and it finally keeled over dead. One down, gods know how many more to go. While it was not a terribly difficult fight, that giant did take considerably more of a beating than the normal run of the mill Forest Giant or Desert Giant do before they give up the ghost. If this was the new standard of giant felling than we may be in for a very rough ride and perhaps a long walk back to a grave....or two.
The other giant was dispatched in the same manner and with just as much fight in him as the last he too finally collapsed dead at our feet. I had taken a few good hits and needed to tend a few deep gashes and maybe even a broken finger, luckily not on my sword hand.
As we moved deeper into the cave I keep my eye peeled for any veins but I had not spotted one yet. We just kept going down, down, down, just how far could this cave system go?
Spiders were again encountered and dispatched with little effort as we pushed even deeper. The sounds of larger movement could be heard ahead and we moved cautiously up to get a look...
From below us, we had expected to see them ahead of us, came three...yes three, very irritated giants. They were on us so fast I had barely enough time to register movement before I was hit so hard that I saw stars...even this far underground. I wish I could tell you Muhks account of the fight but I was to busy to even think of anything else except dodge and swing, dodge and swing. I was taking a pounding, I felt like it was raining anvils and I had neglected to bring my parasol of anvil repelling. Somewhere in the fight I was hit with a spell or some sort of magic that sapped my strength so badly I was doing everything I could just to remain standing. Oh, and I was still be whacked like a house rat the entire time. It was time to make a strategic withdrawal, an advance in a different direction if you will. This was harder to achieve than to dream up, with my strength gone and still taking the brunt of the assault I collapsed...
I am unclear if Muhk had already fallen or if we fell at the same time, but we did meet in the void...
Dead, discouraged, disheartened, depressed and deprived of any gems I went fishing.....
87
« on: May 04, 2008, 04:20:52 am »
Boooooo.
88
« on: May 02, 2008, 04:02:17 pm »
* In hurried, almost scribbled writing*
I woke this morning with Blueberry on my breath....I found dribs of what seem to be pie filling on my shirt....Apple Pie filling at that....What did I do last night? I have no recollection of anything to do with pies...where did the Blueberry breath come from....and what about the stains on my shirt... and now I find my skinning knife seems to have what looks suspiciously like raspberry filling on the blade....more evidence! I should get rid of the knife...but where?...how many did I ravage in the night? How many households will rise with the day to find they have lost a loved one...taken in the night by nothing more than a flitting shadow...stinking of Blueberries? Was I seen....will the guards arrive at my door any minute to haul me away in chains....
They deserve it! Every single one...got what was coming to them...how long did they think I would remain unaware of their plans...their scheming...their treachery? Did they expect me to remain inactive while they progressed their plans further? NO! I say...I will fight them at every turn...every step along this path they have chosen will be littered with their remains...dripping and sticky with their fillings I will rage on...rage against them at every opportunity till none are left to carry on... They move through the shadows, I hear them scraping their pans along the stone...In the dark they watch, they plot....they gather.
I WILL win...I MUST win...they cannot prevail....they must not be allowed to succeed....................
89
« on: May 02, 2008, 02:25:28 pm »
Who would have thought just minding your own business would be so much damned trouble....
I took a break from gem collecting and headed to Hemp to lighten my load. My first stop was of course Lati; I wanted to sell off any junk she would take...and maybe get a bit of conversation. (she looks like she might be softening to my dinner proposal) She took nearly everything I had, that was very helpful to lighten my pack and she did not rake me over the coals on price as usual. She is a very shrewd business lady... (and kinda cute too). With less junk and more clink on me I bee lined for the bank to deposit my hard won Trues. After being in the desert for nearly three weeks most of my canteens had begun to leak or split, I guess it had to do with the heat and brutal sun. I guess they shrank when dry and swelled a bit when I could refill them, the constant in and out must have weakened them to eventual failure. All the old ones went in the trash and I bought eight new ones...how long these will last is anyone's guess, seems quality gear is important...except to hold ones water...(Perhaps Dragon scale and Yew canteens might have a market?) Further investigation might be prudent, who to talk to is the question...tailors or woodworkers? (the pursuit of quality products is never a waste of time).
I dumped out my new canteens; you never know just how long that water has been in there...I learned that lesson the hard way; I took a swig from a new canteen only to find that a skunk must have been bathing in the water before hand, it was truly awful stuff. Headed to the fountain for a refill I spied a few familiar faces loitering about, Ell, Fianon, Tim and Skully just to name a few. The last time I had seen Ell we had been discussing the complicated matter of flowers and the messages that they convey, be it intentionally or unintentionally. It seems she had really, really been thinking on what I had said and wanted more clarification on that particular subject. While doing my best the 'peanut gallery' opened up and soon the actual topic had been buried under tons of innuendo and good natured mockery... (all at my expense but I have plenty to spend!) At some point while this discussion was going on a powerful being arrived just out of my sight and apparently ignited some sort of conflict. Before I knew it everyone was running to the commotion... One was dead already, apparently cut down while trying to protect another from this 'woman' now standing before us. Skully, being Skully wanted to whoop her something fierce and once Skully gets going, good luck reigning him back in...
Things came apart pretty fast at that point. I'm not even sure what words (if any) were exchanged beforehand, Skully did get a few hits in...before it all fell apart. Some heavy-duty spells were cast and boom I was dead...along with everyone else, right smack-dab in the middle of Hemp...
There were many questions as to what had happened but my only was "Who the Hells was THAT!?"... I wanted to know so I could AVOID her in the future...
// I crashed badly and had to log back in several minutes later, so I missed almost all of the later stuff...except getting killed! //
The snippets of later conversation I could follow, (translated by Ell)....most of it was in the Elf language. It made me a bit angry that I could be killed for the 'cause' but not know what that 'cause' was... (I'll add it to the list of unknown 'causes' I've died for...) Feeling more like an outsider than anything else I soon departed, leaving them to talk and discuss whatever it was they felt need to be said...
// I had crashed again...and decided to call it a night. //
90
« on: May 01, 2008, 05:19:24 pm »
Full circle, I guess so....
Old ghost it seems don't just evaporate, they only seep deeper until the spring once again flows. It has been many years since I had these feelings, well before even my 'dealings' with Vymetal. Why have they come back...why now, and what do I do about them?
I wish I knew what it was that ended them...well...suppressed them last time. Was it my time away, the minimal contact I had or something else? What ever it was I need it soon...no, not soon....now.
I have been a useful member of society for many years now, if this continues unabated I fear then it will change everything I have worked so hard to accomplish. There is a well-hidden rumbling deep within and I know what it wants... Freedom...it wants to claw its way out, tired of the darkness it wants to be free. Free of any restraint, any form of humanity, to be only what it is...what it must be. Once again my 'Balthazar suit' is beginning to come apart at the seams and I have no thread to lash them back together. It will get out, it must this time...it has no choice.
I was lucky in the past, my luck it would seem...has run out....
91
« on: April 30, 2008, 06:52:41 pm »
My thumbs are returning to their original size and the nails have begun to grow back... (It's about time) For a while there I thought I was going to have to chew the minerals free, as my swollen thumbs made working the chisel easier said than done. After collecting, grinding and cutting what seem like tons of lesser minerals I was able to (and quite surprisingly) cut the few Fire Opals I had on hand. I am chalking that up to luck and not any skill of my own...but why look gift horses in the mouth?
Cutting minerals free in the heat of the desert is not the greatest of pleasures, or to constantly look over ones shoulder for those pesky and surprisingly quite scorpions. The sand is another matter entirely. I feel as if I'm carting half the desert around with me. Every bend and fold hold sand, creases funnel sand from outside to inside and it tends to end up in rather irritating places...at times I feel as if I have sand paper underclothes. I have taken to bathing in the sea by Spellgard for relief from the murderous heat and the maddeningly relentless rubbing and chafing of the sand. The seawater is cool but quite painful at first contact with the spots rubbed raw by the sand. If a few minutes of gritted teeth are all the cost required to have a bear free dip then I can not complain...too much, besides it gives me a chance to collect a few pearls as well.
Even with all the work involved it gets rather boring collecting the stones for later cutting. There is little in the way of action in the area, I find myself going out of my way to look for a fight. The snakes and scorpions offer little challenge to the monotonous mining but Gnolls can be found not too far away. Not that they are more challenging but their numbers make it a more interesting fight...somewhat. Throw in a few Shamans and you have a bit of action to cut the boredom. Until I get better at cutting I guess I will have to just keep the Gnoll population in check.....Never thought I'd say I miss giants...
92
« on: April 30, 2008, 04:44:44 pm »
Greetings and salutations...oh yeah...ALOHA!
93
« on: April 30, 2008, 02:48:45 pm »
I'll take the silk...
Balthazar Woll
94
« on: April 28, 2008, 07:45:32 pm »
I was just minding my own business...honest I was!
Why is it the mundane things that get me into trouble? When I go rushing in to a fight and expect to end up dead, which is the time for the obvious to happen. Why do the simplest things go so horribly wrong and produce the oddest outcomes that leave me wondering 'What the Hells?'
I was fishing in the lake of Glass (nothing odd there done it a thousand times) on a particularly nice afternoon. Nice wind, good sunshine and the fishing was amazing I had quite a haul when things got funny... (Not so much funny... Ha, ha...but funny weird) First the white stag that frequents that area (and which I could clearly see across the lake) Got all crazy and ran ALL the way around the lake to charge at me! Not looking to fight I jumped in the water and waded a ways out to get clear and give it time to cool off, thinking it would just wander off...Yeah..no. Instead it viciously assaulted my poor helpless pack, spreading all my stuff in a large area and then to add insult to injury it peed on my stuff! Apparently satisfied with itself and my humiliation it wandered back to the other side leaving me a bit befuddled and more than a bit angry...I don't think it was mating season...but I'm no Druid or Ranger. I waded back to shore and gathered up all my stuff, soaking in the lake what HE soaked first...
I went back to fishing, oh well no harm on foul. I'd plugged two, maybe three good size fish already. Lining up for the next shot I let fly and I'll be damned if that arrow didn't skip off the water and plug that stag...clean across the lake. That sucker keeled over deader than dead right on the spot, not as much as a peep. So I had venison for lunch...odd but not world altering.
After lunch I went back to fishing, I needed to smoke a lot of fish to replenish my traveling provisions and the venison just does not smoke as well, at least I think so. Like I said the fishing was amazing, just hauling in monster Gar and Catfish. I was smoking fish by the ton, when I heard the ruckus...
Coming out of the trees was a small band; an Elf, two Dwarves and what I can only guess to be a Half Giant judging by its size, too big for a Half Orc. They were really moving and making a ton of noise as they passed me in the shallows to my knees. Not so much as a word of warning...Because the next thing that blundered out of the trees was no less than four FULL SIZED GIANTS. Ya ever have that sinking feeling? Kind like you say to yourself..."Well this is it, been swell knowing you...see you on the other side" Yup this was one of them times, if not THE time. I thought I was in trouble with the Bear, or having problems with that arrow in my butt. Ahhh nope... The Minotaur's were a pretty hairy deal. Yeah?..no. This was indeed going to end badly on my part.
I was totally screwed, no...make that royally screwed. Standing knee deep in the lake with my pants rolled up and barely a shirt on, the only weapon handy is my bow (which I'm not the best with anyhow) and only three dozen fishing arrows in the quiver...what to do?
'Run you idiot' was my first thought...I might even have said it out loud, Hell I don't know. I was not that far from shore but them Giants was really irritated and covering a lot of ground and I was pretty sure we would all meet at my gear about the same time. Not such a good plan...I could swim further out but I'm not much of a swimmer and I figured my flailing and splashing would not only attract the attentions of the Giants, but with my luck awaken some long sleeping and terribly horrible monster from the depths of the lake. Four enraged Giants might not be enough...lets throw in a lake monster, just for laughs...
Ideas come at the strangest times...Time itself is kind of odd, put your hand on a hot stove for a second and it feels like its there for hours. Talk with a pretty girl for hours and it fells like a second...I had this flash of being on the Dragon Isles....Gorgons...
While fighting Gorgons Muhk was petrified and I ran right past him thinking he was a rock. If it fooled me it might work here too. Seeing as I had no way to petrify myself I had to think quickly. I dropped my bow and grabbed handfuls of mud from the lake bottom and began to smear it on my face and upper body. Anything that would stick above the surface when I sat down I covered in mud and some water plants I pulled up with it. Praying to any Gods who would listen and were NOT involved with my current predicament that I was well enough concealed, I sat down to wait...
Even as riled up as those giants were I guess the big smoky fire and three dozen fish were more than they could pass up. That mob skidded to a halt smack-dab in the middle of my camp and a riot just about erupted over the fish that were smoking. The chase was forgotten as soon as they spied my fish all lined up neat as you please over that low smoky fire. It didn't take long for the fish to disappear and even the pile of fish guts and remains got squabbled over. Once the food was gone there was nothing left to do except destroy the camp and scatter all my stuff to the hells and back... My pack for the second time that day was brutally assaulted and left for dead...Unlike the Stag the Giants not only scattered it but threw a lot of it in the lake. My armor and shield went into the drink. Helmet went one-way and my sword the other. The box of apples I had stashed away was devoured, they even ate the box it was in...and they even spent sometime skipping the cut gems I had across the surface of the lake, who would have thought Giants liked that kind of stuff? I did recover a few...only because they hit me instead of skipping into the deep water. One of the big oafs even dazed two of his cohorts with my gnomish lens...before it too went in the lake.
The best part was when one of them actually ate the Adepts Stone I had. The blast rocked the camp and even blew some of the weeds from my disguise, I almost laughed...then the pieces started to rain down all around, big hunks of Giant. The head splashed down nearby and floated face up with a rather shocked look still on its face and I almost laughed again. The others recovered pretty fast for having one of their number unexpectedly detonate and leave quite a large mess behind. It was not long after the explosion they apparently became bored... (I mean really, how could you top THAT?)...and wandered back the way they came. I waited a few more minutes just to be sure, and when I was I washed off the muck and weeds.
I spent the next hour or so trying to collect my stuff and see what I could find in the water. I got all the big items...armor, shield... I was not so lucky with most of the gems I'd just cut they were gone into the depths of the lake, payment for the fish I'd taken but would never eat.
Surprisingly my pack had survived the second unprovoked attack of the day and with a little mending was good to go. I thought about trying to recoup my losses on the fish and do a bit more but I decided someone or something was telling me to 'move along, nothing to see here'...kind of reminds me of the time the healers removed that arrow and the watch was trying to get the onlookers to 'move along'.....
95
« on: April 28, 2008, 05:24:56 pm »
I have been thinking lately (I know it's a bad idea already) about taking up baking....
* In a slightly different handwriting*
I could make PIES glorious pies! All the flavors you could imagine and some you can't, sweet pies, savory pies, fruit pies... Covered in flour all outta breath and trembling with anticipation for the curst to brown then the long agonizing wait for it to cool...the blinding pain of molten filling when you can't hold on any longer. Oh the horror! They call to me in my sleep, invade my dreams and poison my thoughts with their fruity goodness. I can hear them moving about at night and smell them on my clothing in the light, I know they plot...what they plot remains a mystery. If I could bake them myself I could make my favorite...would rhubarb smell raspberry on my breath, or apple accuse me of cheating with blueberry...Gods forbid Troll get upset with fish and set about wrecking the kitchen in retaliation. I could become a master baker and bake one pie to rule them all!
* The writing returns to the original line*
Oh Gods not AGAIN.....
96
« on: April 28, 2008, 04:51:45 pm »
Again I find myself woefully behind in keeping this book up to date....
Giants, Giants and more Giants; It would seem from my calculations (limited as they are) that the Giants seem to be reproducing at a startling, if not alarming rate. How they manage to do this in the face of the massive and constant predation by adventurers whether solo or in groups is simply amazing. I'm no expert (And have NO desire to become one!) in the mating rituals (if any) of the Giant or in the actual act...Gods could you imagine stumbling across THAT on a dark night, I think I'd put out my other eye! There are just some things you can't un-see...
...Anyhow....
I know I cannot be the only one to notice that it seems there are Giants in fairly large numbers almost everywhere you turn. Forests, deserts, mountains and caves all seem to be over run with the hulking brutes just waiting to flatten any who wander within reach. Perhaps I have just been visiting these sites more than usual to obtain the raw stones I require in ever-increasing quantities. As I try and I stress TRY to work raw minerals into quality stones while keeping my thumbs attached and the swelling to a minimum. (Ever tried to do delicate work with fingers the size of sausages...don't bother.) I'm not looking to become a world class Gem-smith or any lofty ambitions like that; I just want to be able cut the stones I find myself. There are plenty of quality smiths of all kinds already and why one would want to enter an already saturated market is beyond me. Getting anything sold is considerably harder than it was, the Trade Hall is full of notices and few seem to move much merchandise regularly. There is a flourishing underground market however...
97
« on: April 27, 2008, 09:16:16 pm »
52,000....
Balthazar Woll
98
« on: April 26, 2008, 09:08:11 pm »
Welcome!!
99
« on: April 24, 2008, 03:54:58 pm »
Look forward to it
100
« on: April 19, 2008, 11:19:18 pm »
15,000
Balthazar Woll
Pages: 1 ... 3 4 [5] 6 7 ... 16
|
Forums
Show Posts