Storm 268.

Circle test this week: All-but-Sas, but ugly.

Donations: Helping Cassia Allin build fortifications.

Exploration: I can open the KI Whirlpool path to Scarmis, both ways.

Lundi, day 89 of Autumn, 548.

Last night I helped Zorton in the Full Moon Orga Camp Raid.

It started slowly, in the afternoon. There were many healers but only about 5 fighters on hand. We did make it to Orga Camp 4 pretty easily, but could not hold it. There were just too many Orga milling about. Eventually, we retreated to Orga Camp 1 and recruited more help.

When we returned with a stronger group of fighters, things went very smoothly. Once settled in Orga Camp 4, the healers kept the Warlocks at bay and wandering fighters kept the rest of the area cleared.

Close to midnight, the Magician was quickly overwhelmed and defeated, and Zorton entered the Power Room to gather his teleportation stone. But he soon returned, reporting that no stone was left behind for him this time.

It's always disappointing when so much effort by so many exiles yields so little return.

I did enjoy the chance to refresh my use of the various paths in and around Orga Camp 3, however.

Terrdi, day 84 of Autumn, 548.

Yesterday evening, I joined a small group hunting Kizmia's Island. We hunted the South side of the island until dawn, and then headed through the tunnels to the Glacier and North side of the island.

During the night hunting on the South side, we had a few memorable moments.

Near the passes, a large group of Thunder and Flower Lyfelidae appeared suddenly and overpowered all the fighters except Urgelt, who managed to defend a perimeter along the rock wall for Sai and Pon-X until the rest of us could be gathered on Urgelt's chain and raised.

When we tried to cross the Freezing River, Conaria slipped off the bridge and fell in. She was quickly swept downstream by the strong current, and spent a bit of time fighting her way upstream to try to climb up the slippery banks near the bridge. Eventually, she had to float downstream to the marsh, where the current is slower and the banks less steep, to get out.

We also ran into the first Albino Maha I have ever seen. Conaria won the pelt by the roll of the dice.

On the North side, the Glacier was very empty, but Lyfe Town was chock-full of Lyfelidae, including many of the tougher sorts. Even in daylight, it was a challenge to keep from getting overwhelmed by the large numbers of beasts. A great hunt.

At the Whirlpool, I decided to stare yet again at the path leading directly to the Scarmis pits, and was surprised to find I could easily scamper across the sharp rocks in both directions. Thank goodness I didn't get stuck separated from the rest of the party!

Sagramor seemed pleased to inform me that many pathfinders have suddenly found themselves able to use this shortcut since the last Chaos Storm came through.

Party-pooper!

As the year winds down, I have been taking stock of what I have accomplished lately.

Earning (and re-earning) the ability to teach other fighters was among the highlights, and the anticipation of being able to teach a second skill soon has spurred me to renewed efforts in my training. I have indeed gotten a lot stronger this past year.

I had been hoping that I would have passed the Sixth Circle test this year as well, but it remains a long-term goal despite my one really stellar performance several months ago. I think Cerberal enjoys telling me where I stand. Still, I have well under 1900 total trainings, including 150 in non-fighter skills. Many fighters with many more trainings than that are still waiting to pass this challenge too. I think I'm doing alright.

Soldi, day 60 of Autumn, 548.

Last evening, I set out with a group to hunt on Kizmia's Island. I joined a very strong group of fighters (Urgelt, Mujin-kun, Tyndall, Noivad, Panos and Nightbird) and the healers Sai, Pon-X and Sakim. The plan was the same as with the previous hunt: enter in late afternoon, quickly collect any tar needed and drop everyone through their trees to the Northside before sunset, and hunt the Glacier and Cabin Creek Ranch all night.

It didn't work out that way.

First, we had a problem with trees. After filling barrels with tar, Urgelt decided to drop into his tree immediately as he was the only one with a tree on the West side of the island. We didn't realize that Sakim was unfamiliar with the trees and didn't know where his was, or even why he needed to know. By the time he spoke up and we realized this - and located his tree on the map right next to Urgelt's - it was nearly sunset and his tree was very far behind us and behind many Lyfelidae we had rushed past. While debating what to do, the sun set. The Lyfelidae spawns were far too much for us to attempt to escort him to his tree at night, and even just making it to our trees was dicey as most in the group fell several times before it was safe to start dropping down. After helping us get in safely, Sakim sadly he left us using his pendant.

Communication is key, and somehow we slipped up badly on this one.

Once everyone else dropped through to the whirlpool, things kept on hopping. I had only a moment to stare at the Scarmis path. Last night was the start of the Full Moon, and the Lyfelidae were out in large numbers and definitely feeling the power of the moon. I was vanquishing many Lyfelidae that I normally only kill, and killing many that are usually dispatches or even slaughters. That extra strength really kept us on our toes, and often on our backs too.

The most memorable moment was near the catsbane cave, when a pack of a dozen Tae-su Lyfelidae descended on us and forced a hurried retreat into the ice rink. From there, we slowly whittled their numbers down one-by-one. But for every one of them killed, at least one fighter was felled, and often two or more. My chain got quite a workout!

The one other sad moment was when Panos announced he had to return to town immediately, and purposefully got himself killed and departed to do it. It beats the alternative of waking up in Groar's cave alone, but I still don't like it when that happens.

Near dawn, we were still productively hunting on the glacier, clearing more Tae-su from the cave leading down to the lowlands and Cabin Creek Ranch, when the Chaos Storm swept through and left us all back at home in Puddleby.