Current Training: Detha; Giayl's Guide, chapter 3, being, ummm, unavailable.

Donations: Helping Cassia Allin build fortifications (70-80%).

Exploration: Nothing new so far.

Soldi, Day 59 of Winter, 552.

I joined Sam and Dongle to hunt on Melabrion's Island today.

Things were going well, but we only found a couple of Valley Panthers on the beach and the two passes. It seemed like a slow hunting day, so when Dongle went West looking for more critters, we weren't expecting much. Instead he rushed back pale and anxious to announce that an Angry Mother Sasquatch was lurking back there.

We recruited several exiles to help, including my fellow POS members Luther and Shen Calin, as well as Darnok, White Wolf, Yosaku, Baltok, Silky and Lanskar. The hunt went quite well, with only a couple of falls (darned early rock throws!) and no one so serious wounded as to be unraisable. When we had finished off the first AMS, I took a look to the West for the lone Valley Panther we knew to be waiting there, and ran right into yet another Angry Mother Sasquatch. What a nice surprise! This second AMS lasted no longer than the first.

It's always satisfying to earn a vanquish from a really tough opponent.

Terrdi, day 55 of Winter, 552.

I'm back to my usual wanderings in search of ore and furs.

While near the North Pass, I stopped into the Rocky Cavern to check for ore and Blood Wyrms, and instead found a lot of Arachne and a single Sun Wyrm. I dodged around the Sun Wyrm while clearing the rest of the cave, where I found no ore and no Blood Wyrms.

I called on Silky to help kill the Sun Wyrm, and when she arrived, we quickly noticed that it did not ever follow or attack us. A bit of experimenting revealed that this odd specimen appeared afraid of us, and ran away if we came too close. Indeed, it only tried to attack me if I actually trapped it against the wall, and even then, it hit me very infrequently and with little effect. Most unlike every other Sun Wyrm I've ever met! It acted more like a simple Myrm Worker than a proud Sun Wyrm. It was still pretty hard to hit, as I whiffed quite a few times. In the end, Silky convinced me that it wasn't right to hunt this poor creature that clearly meant no harm to any exile, and we left it to it's own business.

Will wonders never cease, a friendly Sun Wyrm!

Gradi, day 40 of Winter, 552.

The Portal War appears to have turned hot again.

After a pleasantly cold phase where the Portals were pretty much left alone, the announcement by Fundin that he wished to reserve use of the Portals for the duration of his 3rd Foothill Mob expedition ignited protests from the self-proclaimed Portal warden, Klur and other members of Pogue Mahone.

In the days leading up to the expedition, it has not been unusual to find the Portals in odd places, or to see someone or other moving them about in a grand game of cat-and-mouse.

As the Expedition was forming up today, the Portal was hidden in the caves on Kizmia's Island. Zorton and Valtrim cooperated to retrieve that end and bring it to the Meadow, and the other end from Falinea's Garden.

While the Expedition members gathered in the Meadow, Zorton teleported himself and the Portal to Camp Dred. Since I hadn't witnessed how they did this trick before, it was interesting to watch just how it is done.

No need for tasting bitter berries to take a chain ride on the teleport stone express today!

About 40 of us just stepped through the Portal and found ourselves in Camp Dred. So far so good.

The plan was to carry the Portal with us right into the Arachnoid Caves, and a team of Mystics and Mjollnir ran the Portal from snell to snell as we advanced toward the Waterfall and the caves beyond.

The Malachite lair was surprisingly empty today, and we rolled right on through. Too easy, I thought at the time, and worried.

After some testing, it was determined that the Portal did not operate below the first cave level, so it was brought back up so some late exiles could join the group.

While the group was split between the first cavern (with the Portal) and the third lowest cavernin the staging area before the Pitch cavern, some nasty backspawns did a number on us. I enjoyed this part, since I actually got to fight some tough Arachnoids. Usually, it seems to work out that a few top fighters kill all the Arachnoids from a small hole in a kudzu wall, and the crowd is too thick for me to swing at more than a couple of them. This way I actually got to fight some!

So, within about 70 minutes of starting, we were set and ready to assault the Pitch Cavern on our way to Giayl's Guide.

The plan was for runners to head into the Southeast arm of the cave to lure the Arachnoids there so that zuers could block off that arm with most of the beasts, allowing the pathfinders to run straight down to the ruined library relatively safely.

Things did not go as planned.

Yor and Omega were the first runners, and they did not get far at all before being felled, and certainly not far enough to allow the kudzu planters to do their job.

A second set of runners (Farhope, and I don't recall who else) was enlisted, and I joined Elenis Rayav and Natas on the kudzu squad.

We ran in a short time after the runners, but they hadn't gotten far enough either, so the great mob of Arachnoids turned back and engulfed us. Between dodging webs and Arachnoids, I was unable to break free to reach the target kudzu planting area, and fell near the stalagmite.

After this, the remainder of the group did get a kudzu barrier planted around the entrance area, but were never able to really control it. And little wonder! In my run and while waiting fallen, I saw dozens of Crimson and quite a few Pitch Noids wandering about, along with a great number of Olive and Malachite ones. The cave was just too full right from the first moment we arrived.

In the end, the main group pulled out, and a good many of us fallen in the cave ending up visiting Purgatory on our way home. The trip was not successful in that no one made it to the ruined library. [I have since heard that Manx did make it to the book in a suicide run. You go, Grrrl!] Two successes in three trips ain't bad though. We did gain some experience in moving the Portal around, and showing the self-appointed Portal Wardens that we can use them over their objections. That being said, it isn't clear that the Portal gave us an advantage that we didn't already have through Zorton's teleporting. In fact, initial progress was slowed by having to get the thing in the first place and then lug it around behind us. Since we never got a solid foothold on the Pitch cave and it was so full of Arcahnoid and their webs, there was little chain rescueing either, and so little use for massive Horus training that the Portal might have made easier to obtain. I wouldn't bother using it next time we come here.

Soldi, day 10 of Winter, 552.

As usual, I've found myself on Kizmia's Island a lot lately.

Last night, I was the "big guy" on the hunt at the East Cove, and tried to take blows to protect the weaker fighters along. I was really confused when a Pink Lyfelidae 3-hit me to the mat, and the next few Pinks did serious damage too. The sky was overcast so I couldn't see the moon, but I had my suspicions, since Midnight had just come and gone. Sure enough, when I finally got to the Library and checked with the Winds of Dawn scrolls, today is a Full Moon day. That explains the kills on Harvest Lyfelidae and vanquishes on Snow Lyfelidae!

Hunting at the East Cove a couple of nights ago, I was heading out a bit earlier than the rest of the group when I waltzed right into a collection of Flower Lyfelidae in the cave. Before I knew it, I was on my back on the cold hard ground, and my necklace successfully warded off a nasty infection. Thank Gaia!

I've been carrying around a pinch of Catsbane to make a spare protective necklace. I think I really do need to this soon.

Out hunting for furs in the Muddy North Forest, I had a Michael Moment.

I found myself utterly surrounded by Vermine and other little critters. I thought I was going to have to ask for help. By the time I finally sliced my way out, my health was very low and I had counted several dozen Vermine and about a dozen assorted Ferals. Ouch!

I finally did reach red health, but had no luck experimenting with a bloodblade-like fighting style. In the Bear caves the other day, however, I was gang-banged by 2 Chocolate Bears and a Honey Bear, and reached an unhappy state of health, and actually did get get a bloodblade experience message.

I thought I only needed one more to finally qualify, but I guess I still need at least another. No rush!

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