Current Training: Balthus, with Mujin-kun.

Circle test this week: All-but-Sas again, on both attempts.

Donations: Helping Cassia Allin build fortifications.

Exploration: A rift leads to an oceanside boardwalk with fun games.

Fordi, day 34 of Autumn, 549.

I went on a nighttime hunt in the interior of Kizmia's Island recently with this group. It was a great hunt. We spent the night hunting on the South side of the island, and went North after dawn broke.

I managed to fall hard quite a few times to some of the Flower and Orgaberry Lyfes we saw, but we had great healing power along. It is always very nice to know that a Horus ledger is nearby, and we gave Sai quite a workout.

All along, Urgelt kept muttering about wanting to see some Cold Lyfelidae. When we finally reached Lyfe Town, we found it packed with Lyfes, including quite a few Colds. By then, I for one was glad it was daytime.

The sketch comes from a moment after we ruined a very pricey fur, and Urgelt politely suggested that Mujin-kun (who indeed does have a very good training in Skea, and was keeping us all in coins throughout the night) should stop ruining furs. He further urged her to consider practicing that skill until she gets a Training Ledger from Skea. Since Mujin-kun already has a handful of ledgers, I couldn't help but note that even she has a limit to the number of ledgers she can carry!

In this evening's hunt, I joined Mujin-kun's group already at the East Cove of Kizmia's Island. We vanquished several Tae-su Lyfelidae. One of them got the better of me though, and I spent some time on ice. Thuja graciously came over to help me up again.

We later went to Melabrion's Island and killed a number of Young Sasquatches, as well as a really Angry Mother Sasquatch.

I also note that I did get Rafirr to finally accept my Catsbane at the Raffle Hall, and she sold them each for more than 100c. Hardly stuff to toss in the dump!

Sombdi, day 14 of Autumn, 549.

I was hunting with Mujin-kun at the foot of the glacier at the East cove of Kizmia's Island one recent evening, when we came upon a Tae-su Lyfelidae.

We managed to (barely) vanquish it, but I fell trying to keep it trapped and Mujin-kun had a rare fall when she was struck while dealing the death blow. It was a good laugh, since we did actually vanquish it, and help was not long in coming to us.

And we ruined the fur too.

I also took some time to try my luck at the Fighter 6th Circle test, in my weekly ritual of pain and abuse. I was surprised to find that I had killed all but that Young Sasquatch again, for the first time in ages. Unfortunately, I was seriously hurting by the time it came down to him or me. It was no surprise that he finished me off pretty quickly.

I still don't avoid direct attacks by the Midnght Wendecka very consistently, so they wear me down a lot (let alone Sas attacks). The Wrath's attacks I have pretty well under control, except that when he does connect, it hurts a lot. Continued Balthus training should help, but I think I still will need another 10 or 20 Atkus lessons to whiff noticeably less often (and take fewer hits in return), for a total of about 350.

In other training woes, I had a very informative chat with Urgelt recently. We compared training, and although he has more Swengus that I do (over 900), he has less Regia than I do. Over 50 less! So, I really messed up in chasing a Swengus ledger using my suspect numbers and training a lot with Regia, when I should have been training mainly with Balthus. Doh! My best guess now is that I need about 50 more trainings with Balthus, but we'll just have to wait and see.

In my wanderings recently, I came across Master Tranquilus in the Meadow.

Is it my poor memory, or does his new outfit make him look much shorter?

I also stepped through the ripture portal to the Boardwalk, and had fun playing several old carnival arcade games I remember from the distant past on the Mainland. The games were fun, and I collected my prize for beating them all, but they also brought back darkly shaded memories of bygone times, distant places and lost people ...

Sombdi, day 83 of Summer, 549.

I was checking out Drablack's recently updated Puddleby Island map, when I noticed an error that just will not go away (it is also present in Tonoto's North Forest map).

All the maps say that the North Forest "Fringe" or Feral Coast can be entered from any snell of the Muddy North Forest by going North or East, but that the only exits back from the Fringe to the Muddy NF are at the extreme West (Southward) and Southeast (Westward, and no pf required) ends of the Fringe. This was true long ago, when the paths were passable only in one direction, but our noble pathfinders have long since beaten paths through the brush of every snell leading back to the Muddy NF.

Every path here works both ways, and I reconfirmed this today.

This evening's hunt at the East Cove was fun, and Mujin-kun and I were joined by Coeur de Leon and Nelaton, both of whom I sorely miss most of the time.

We fought a number of Flower and Hunter Lyfelidae in the cave and lower slope area, slowly and with some falls.

When we entered the Glacier, we were swarmed with Snow Lyfelidae, which are not really very threatening, even at night. Finally, as we went to attack the last one, it revealed itself as a far more powerful Tae-Su Lyfelidae.

None of us noticed this wolf hiding among the sheep until it felled Coeur de Leon in two quick hits.

I was lucky enough to find a pinch of catsbane yesterday, so I now hold two of them. I have been trying to sell this for ages in the Raffle Hall, but Rafirr always claims that her list of items to be raffled is full, please try again tomorrow. Tomorrow never seems to come, as far as she is concerned.

Today however, she had a quite different suggestion. Apparently, she has seen enough catsbane for one lifetime, and told me mine are worthless! I was shocked.

I argued with her that catsbane still sells for a fair price, even if it is substantially lower than it once commanded - just like sunstones I said, but she would have none of it.

So, when is she going to start refusing brambleberries or other common things that have almost no value? If I want to spend 20c to put some junk up to raffle, what does she care if she sells only 5 tickets?

Prissy cat.

Gradi, day 79 of Summer, 549.

My strategy of wearing very cheap pants and refusing to have them patched finally reached its logical conclusion today. My pants fell off in tatters as I stepped from the library, leaving me in my Bluebie undies. How embarrassing! But I spent the princely sum of just 1c replacing them.

Today's hunting included a night attack on the East Cove slopes and glacier on Kizmia's Island. We saw several Pink Lyfelidae, and they packed a real wallop! This particular one quickly felled 3 of the 4 fighters present, before Mujin-kun finally finished it off. We earned that vanquish, and those of several other Pink and Tae-su Lyfelidae we found there.

We avoided hunting on Melabrion's Island due to reports of a Culcan in the bay and two Angry Mother Sasquatches on the beach. We just didn't have the power to take on all of that. I can picture some unwary exile getting trapped offshore in a swarm of Giant Carnivorous Plankton and being chewed to death by the Culcan and then rocked by the Sasquatches to a very seriously fallen state. Ouch!

Training woes: I now have 515 lessons with Balthus, and still Swengus won't recognize 900 trainings! I seriously underestimated how much Swengus likes Balthus, since I originally thought my previous 490 Balthus lessons was more than enough for a Swengus ledger, and far more than I needed for 900 Swengus. Doh!

I have no choice but to soldier on and continue training with Balthus until Swengus notices some improvement ... It can't take too much more effort, can it?

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