Puddleby is beset with undine, and fallen exiles rapidly turn undine now, as the Feast of Tsrrin continues.
Creed sent the following report to TMN:
I thought I'd send in a report about a very fun hunt that was organized by Whim and Skirwan to celebrate Tsrrin. It was an all-penguin hunt to Cold & Snowy! Everyone involved donned penguin costumes except Rieger, who felt the need to be a little different and dressed as a snow feral instead. In the first picture, you can see the intrepid party, which turned out to consist mostly of healers, trying to vanquish an ice maha.
With name labels turned off, it became difficult to tell Rieger from the real snow ferals! But a good time was had by all—at first.
We celebrated with a few martinis and a group shot. Maybe a few too many martinis, because somehow, at the edge of the void, a strange lemminglike urge overtook us, and all of us jumped from the cloud to the Myrm Highlands, whether we had parachutes or not.
Sabine had one . . . I didn't.
You can see the results in the last two sketches.
Luckily there was enough Horus in town to raise the foolish ones. It was all done in good fun, and we all had a good time, I believe. Thanks to Whim and Skirwan for inviting a bunch of us along and mostly keeping us on our feet (flippers? fins? whatever!).
Cheers,
-Creed
3rd Circle Healer
Proud Member of Clan Destine
Super Chicken sent the following report to TMN:
While on a hunt with Hoggle to Lesser Sand Wurms, we stumbled across three fragments of a catapult diagram. We've yet to figure out what these go with, but our current plan involves bringing the fragments to that OOB cave where the catapult plans or whatever it is can be found. When we'll manage to get a group to go, there will be another story. I thought it best for me to send this email because, umm . . . people might not believe it if Hoggle sent this submission in. Hah! I found two fragments, and Hoggle found one. Go chicken greed go!
In other news, my chicken army grows. Go chicken some more! Bawk bawk!
-Super Chicken
Bladebringer sent the following report on his voyage to Peaceton to TMN:
Day One of the 2nd Westward Journey of Captain Ayh'ab's Galleon, as told by Bladebringer
The day began uneventfully. I exited the Puddleby library and headed toward the docks to board my first seaworthy ship. I found the ship to be quite huge, and the accommodations are adequate. I soon had explored all the ship, however, and went to study in the library. Later that evening, I was speaking with Captain Ayh'ab on the deck when suddenly, I hear Darshak noisily boarding the ship! I was terrified, so I called for aid. That lousy Lookis' certainly gave me no warning! Luckily, Tara was nearby.
Despite all their loud-mouthed bragging, the Darshaks' dead bodies were tossed overboard. After that restless night, I headed to the ship's library to study a bit.
Day 2 of the of the 2nd Westward Journey of Captain Ayh'ab's Galleon, as told by Bladebringer
I started a manifest of the ship's passengers today. Although many passengers are lazy and do not exit the ship's library, many can be found spending time in the ship's Pub.
The Pub on the ship is a place where exiles can gather together, have a drink, blow some coins on blackjack, and get ROWDY! Bar fights are common, and really become battles of epic proportions when Zorton evokes a boost! Many events worth noting happened today. I started collecting exile names of those who were onboard. As of today, there are more than 50 people aboard that I know of. Of course, I am missing a large number of those stowed away, and those who don't leave the library! Too bad they are missing the fun! One such example of fun was Tara's gambling spree. She gambled for hours straight, soon gaining upwards of 5K. Then, in rapid succession, Tara lost all the coins she owned, (approximately 9.8K), to the transvestite Laura! Darnok, however, has had much better fortune! As I write, he has won approximately 6K. Fortune has smiled upon me, as well, though not in such a big way. I've gained about 300 coins in blackjack during the trip. I must be careful not to lose my store of money before I make it to Peaceton!
The Darshak tried to board the ship today, as well! This time, they were much better prepared, but little did they know the exiles were too! Powerful exiles such as Michael, Darnok, Hoggle, Lisette and Phroon were able to take down the mighty Darshak Harriers, and the voyage continued westward.
Well, things have quieted down aboard the galleon, and I hope to get a little rest before tomorrow. Only 2 days and 4 hours until we arrive!
Day 3 of the of the 2nd Westward Journey of Captain Ayh'ab's Galleon, as told by Bladebringer
A quiet morning, indeed. I only have a bit of time before I must study for the remainder of the journey, but I was privileged to speak with Noivad before doing so. We played a few great games of blackjack, and I learned that he was another big winner, up about 3000 coins! We then were joined by Axell, and we had a few refreshments.
Well, I must return to the ship's library to finish this journal before we land! It has been a great journey!
-Bladebringer
Copy of the incomplete manifest Bladebringer updated:
1. Afrit
2. Aldernon
3. Animayshun
4. Axell
5. Blackhole
6. Bladebringer
7. Calil
8. Calmcacil
9. Dandelion
10. Darnok
11. Deebo
12. Dongle
13. Elenis Reyav
14. Fyr'hiel
15. GardenDwarf
16. Giga
17. Groggy Lenk
18. Han
19. Hoggle
20. J'jh
21. Kani
22. Kelfer
23. Kiki
24. Largo
25. Lisette
26. Lunaria
27. Manx
28. Med
29. Michael
30. Moggle
31. Mork
32. Noivad
33. Ogant
34. Omega
35. Phroon
36. Polgara
37. Puffy-w
38. Raul
39. Relkin
40. Sala Dragon
41. Shen Calin
42. Snowy
43. Sook
44. Sushi
45. Talin
46. Tara
47. Therian
48. T'liiq
49. Toriann
50. Usagi
51. Va-Voom
52. Vibe
53. Viola
54. Vorton
55. Wyrym
56. Xaerus
57. Zelnar
58. Zha'aidan
59. Zorton
Hoggle sent the following report to TMN:
So, here I was sitting on the ship taking the long boringggg trip back to Puddleby . . . I proceeded to do some fishing in hopes of landing some big sea creature to add some entertainment, then all of sudden we felt a big "bang"! Some kinda earthquake hit. It was then I found out that we had crashed into a tiny island. The Captain cussed up a storm and somewhere in there I heard the word "Iceton."
Iceton seemed an odd name for a place so green. The Captain told us he needed a lot of lumber to repair this hole in the ship if we were ever to get back on our way. So the few of us who were awake scoured the island for logs.
I did not notice many creatures. I saw a few boar, and I heard others had seen a parrot, but other than that, the island was pretty empty. Or at least that's what we thought . . .
While I was dumping my pack out to make space for logs, I had thrown out some fish and an old shoe I managed to catch somewhere. Right as I set the shoe down near a river a path opened! On the other side, there was an entrance to these animal pens.
A little man named Doob was there and offered us a mount! There seems to be three different types of them. The first one was 25,000 coins, the second was 35,000 coins, and the last was 50,000 coins. Over in the rental area I paid 200 coins to test out the low-end mount. It was oddly slower than walking. I (my wallet) decided a mount wasn't right for me at this time, so I went back to collecting wood.
An hour or so later we were back on the way home. The ship seemed to be in very seaworthy shape again, and the many slumbering passengers were not even aware of how close we came to missing the feast.
Should ever any of you take a sea voyage, and want a mount, I suggest bringing an old shoe, many coins, and logs in the off chance that the ship runs aground here again.
-Hoggle
Costumes are available in the tent northwest of Town Center.
Largo sent the following report from Peaceton:
Hello Puddleby, and well, I suppose Peaceton now! I decided to write this article because many in Puddleby seem curious about Peaceton, and wanted to be filled in on what things were like.
I ask that you forgive my jumbled writing style, as all I do when I write is jot down my thoughts. Besides, I had a less than shining education on the mainland.
Spoiler Warning: do not continue if you do not want to find out about Peaceton
Well, the town itself is very nice. Several tastefully decorated bars, beautiful plant life, lovely buildings, and many other things can be found.
Peaceton seems to be a resort for richer exiles. There are many ways to SPEND money, but very few ways to MAKE it. I recommend bring as many coins as you can, as you will need every extra penny. But you are here to read about the things on the island, not my opinions on traveling.
Here are a few of the things you will find in Peaceton:
* A stable, stocked with finely bred and beautiful horses, including the option to rent a carriage at the reasonable price of 25c.
* A beautiful temple of the sun god, with a magnificent organ, a gold altar, and a...
* Furniture shop! Including many ornate vases, rugs, and other beautiful things, all for sale much cheaper than you would find things in Puddleby.
* A trainer who can teach you to make fine jewelry.
* A lagoon, where you can use your potions of water breathing to explore underwater, and interact with many different kinds of fish. Notable is the ship wreck of the first Peaceton ship; go there and pay your regards.
* The bars, 3 or 4 in fact. Too bad I don't drink. They are much more festively decorated than any bar or pub in Puddleby.
* The bed and breakfast, where you can stay for a minimal fee to gain experience. No word on how much, however.
As fun as these things are, there are a few downsides to Peaceton, the most obvious being the lack of known hunting areas. Around town, you may see Coa'cha, and perhaps the occasional wild horse, but there is little to really hunt, as water breathing potions are far too expensive to make killing fish in the lagoon worth hunting.
However, one good area has been discovered; the Tok'han Caverns. Which leads to a downside. Two, actually. All the buildings except the bed and breakfast close at night, for the natives fear the Tok'han with good reason. That reason being, the Tok'han will actually take you to their cavern if you sleep in the bed and breakfast. You read correctly. Several times I have awoken dazed and confused in their insecure prisoner holding area, complete with obvious escape route. It's actually annoying, rather than threatening, as it is very easy to escape.
But anyway, back to the Tok cavern. In itself, it is a very good hunting ground. It has a variety of Toks for the stronger exiles, and Blymoids for the younger ones. That isn't to say younger exiles should come alone. Hell, OLDER exiles shouldn't come alone. Cave cobra, Limes, Emeralds, Shaman, and the newly discovered Russets and greater Blymoids (more on them in a moment), run free through these caverns, easily slaying those who would trespass.
However, the downside to this cavern is that the only ways to get there involve a full illusion-breaking mystic, or being abducted, the latter being more popular and easier. To be abducted, one must take many short naps in succession, until one wakes up inside the Tok cavern.
I mentioned Greater Blymoids and Russet Tok'han already, in addition to these two newly discovered creatures, wild horses can be found about town
sometimes.
Greater Blymoids are simply what their name suggests: powered up Blymoids. They do not seem to be a terrible amount stronger, but they have notably more
health than the normal type. They also seem to enjoy pushing live exiles around, adding a new aspect to hunts; which I have affectionately named "killing that nasty Blymoid before it pushes the rod away from the Lime Tok, thus dropping it on the only healer, eventually causing everyone to depart."
Russet Tok'han are also very interesting. They are fairly strong, in terms of physical strength, somewhere between Olives and Greens. But their strength is not what makes them interesting. It is the fact that they have been enchanted so that upon death, they burst into flames, lighting close exiles, and causing quite a bit of damage. This also adds a new and interesting element to hunts there.
Wild Horses are simply some of the most beautiful creatures I have seen. They carry themselves with a sort of grace and majesty shared only by my wife, it seems. They do quite bravely attack exiles, but are not strong enough to cause even a little bit of damage, and pose no threat. Please let them be.
So, I've weighed the pros and cons of Peaceton, shared some interesting information, the best hunting grounds, the most interesting creatures . . . but you have to decide for yourself whether or not you like it here. Many seem to almost hate this place, but many others seem to love it. It depends on who you are, and if you can stand not being on a hunt constantly.
I leave you all on the note that I will be moving here, semi-permanantly. I will visit home as much as possible via EPS trips I can snag, but I will not be in town. I wish to take notes upon the Tok'han, and learn more about this new land. I doubt many will miss me, and those few who do are welcome to visit me at their pleasure, but I just thought I would mention this officially.
Ever yours, despite my location,
-Largo
TMN has received via a floating bottle these images from Mellion's Peaceton trip.
About to cast off
Anticipating arrival
Ship captain's chamber
A new town center?
King of the world?
Mellion in Peaceton
Chaos Storm #412 has swept the Lok'Groton island chain. Please post any changes you have observed and wish to share with others in the comments. If you don't want to read possible spoilers, please do not read the comments.
Pun'isher sent the following report to TMN:
Howdy. I am happy to report that Clan Laughing Academy had a very successful hunt! We found out that firewalking is dangerous and that rats do have sharp teeth. We hope to arrange another hunt very soon. We are thinking of something really daring!
-Pun'isher
Farhope and the Winds of Dawn clan are organizing a ninth edition of the Spring Farms Cleaning Hunt.
Says Farhope: "It's time to show again to the farmers that we support them . . . and to the vermines that we will kill them all when they dare to invade our farms."
The hunt will happen Spring 60 of 560 at 7:38 AM.
(OOC: October 23, 2005 at 1 PM Pacific Time, 8 PM GMT).
Meet in North Farms.
In his latest journal entries, Measle notes the upcoming Feast of Tssrin and a recent lecture by Brune.
Cena sent the following announcement to TMN:
Check out my new blog at http://www.cenaslife.blogspot.com.
-Cena
Omega sent the following report to TMN:
Since the image posted on TMN of the Orga Schizoid is a back view, I thought many would like to see a front view. Also this image is from before we all started falling!
-Omega
Creed sent the following report to TMN:
Ahoy there Para! I just wanted to submit the following sketch in the category of "Strange sightings in TC." Wangah Rah performed an illusion that I for one hadn't seen before. Not only was it unique, it was, I have to admit, pretty funny to see Cena's little kitty head in the middle of that Bawkmas wreath.
Ahhh . . . it made me long for Bawkmas! Santa Chicken! The Snowy Grove! It's winter . . . when will these wonderful sights reappear?
-Creed
Excitement at the Coliseum tonight. Afrit is seen here recommending a well-established anti-orga strategy.
Rieger sent the following announcement to TMN:
The widget version of the Clan Lord Informer has been updated.
It uses the new DT-provided data feed (rather than Agratis Risa), is slimmer, and includes persistent preferences regarding the number of each type of message to display. It can be downloaded at:
http://faircraft.com/clstatus/clanlordinformer.wdgt.zip
(requires OS X 10.4 "Tiger").
The widget (and the Web page) is my own effort, so don't pester the Delta Tao
folks if you have problems or suggestions.
-Rieger
(Editor's note: ongoing discussion of the Informer project can be found on the Clan Lord Sentinel. -Para)
Zynx sent the following report to TMN:
Heya folks,
I discovered a lone earth-zu today in NWF. I spent some time observing its specific properties. Here is what I discovered:
1. Earth-zu is extremely hardy. Regular zu takes me one hit to kill most of the time. Earth-zu plants took me on average 3-6 hits to kill.
2. Earth-zu is also harder to hit. Although I hit the zu most of the time, I wiffed it a good 2 out of 10 swings. Also, when Relkin (he was with me for some of the time) morphed to a vermin, he had a hard time hitting the Earth-zu.
3. The original plant took a long time to die: 45 OOC minutes or so. This is a lot longer than the original seed in regular zu takes to die.
4. Earth-zu grows much slower than regular zu. New seedlings appear once every 10-15 OOC minutes!
5. The seedlings often grow into slightly different colors. Whether this means anything, I am not sure.
6. When a full grown plant finally dies, it does not do so gradually, it just disappears.
I was unable to get any seedlings, unfortunately. It seems these new zu are both rare and hard to harvest. Good luck to anyone who encounters more of these odd zus.
Thought you folks might be interested.
BEER!
-Zynx
In his most recent journal entry, Azriel reports on discovering a passage in town and an investigation of Vagile's mysterious arachnoid.
Koppi says: "Watch out for the Orga Flu! Get your vaccine now. It's free, and does not hurt much! -- Dr Malthus"
Update: October 14, 2005 at 2:51 PM PST
The above image is a stock photo of a stricken Odesseus from the TMN archives. The effects of what has been called the Orga Flu or similar maladies may vary. Consult your physician before undergoing treatment for symptoms.
In his most recent journal entry, Azriel reports on trips to the Pitch Arachnoid Caverns and Umbrion's Zodiac Maze.
Therian sent the following report to TMN:
Apparently Agratis Risa has been doing some boating.
-Therian
Dandelion sent the following report to TMN:
Dear Paramedic,
I tought you'd be innerested in dis.
FB went to Gungla Island onna recent Connie mosey. At da Oasis, we spied a . . . someting . . . hinding 'hind a rock. I made a sketch.
See it? A pointy ting stickin' out da east side. You can see it inna rocks's shadow, too. Den, while Del an' I were healin' an' healin' an' healin' Connie and Manqy up fer da umpteenf time, or mebbe it was K'vynn dat time, I dunno . . . anyway, one of da dunes shifted. So we watched a coupla 'em an' dey shifted s'more times.
-Dandelion
An Orga Schizoid was killed in east Puddleby. The invasion seems to be winding down now.
Orga Schizoid first appears
battle with Orga Schizoid continues
Exiles are heading east toward the Orga Village, where Wangah Rah has fallen to the Orga.
Puddleby has been overrun by the Orga. Exiles are gathering in the temples and libraries for shelter.
Update: Orga have been pushed out of Puddleby. Fighting continues to the east of town.
Vagile sent the following report to TMN:
Vagile was on a hunt in ooga territory and had to hide in a cave. In the cave, there were noids. One of them was dark brown like a scrawny ooga but had a red zigzag stripe on its back, and it threw lightning like an ooga that throws lightning. The sketch is where it was about a second before it ran north while Vagile remembered how to make a sketch. Vagile is naming the noid a BILL for the obvious acronym.
Cap'n Stinkfist will be teaching "Tales of Piracy an Pillagin 101" today at 9 PM PST.
Juren reports via Koppi:
Furniture and trophy auction: Saturday, October 8th at noon PST. Other items welcome.
In his most recent journal entries, Measle looks at the anatomy of a hunt and some interesting exchanges with Puddleby residents.
Zha'aidan reports in the most recent entry on the ELF Blog that some of the furniture stolen from ELF has been recovered.
Fiona sent the following report to TMN:
Dear Paramedic,
While running through Kitty Beach, I found a new variety of plant life called Sun-zu. I invited Althea and Lassair to join me, and we observed it for a while. Unfortunately, we were unable to harvest any seeds.
Other new flora seems to be appearing recently: Haakon discovered Earth-zu in Tanglewood, and Daimoth found a Bluli in the Orchard. Haakon inadvertently killed the Earth-zu, and Daimoth slaughtered the Bluli as he attempted to pick it up.
Best regards,
-Fiona
I do periodically like to call for some financial support for TMN. There are hosting fees, the database is quite large now and requires regular backup (I'm shopping for a new external drive currently to facilitate that process), and running this site is enjoyable but also time-consuming. If you'd like throw a few dollars my way via the PayPal link to help me with the expenses, I certainly would appreciate it. Thanks to all of you who have in the past donated either some cash or your time by sending to TMN submissions and screenshots.
-Para
Have a report or announcement you would like to see on TMN?
Send me a message using the "Submit to TMN" link, now moved to the upper part of the right-hand column. Please include an image with your submission, either of the event or subject, if at all possible. If there is no picture available, please include a picture of yourself. If I have used a picture of you in the past, submitting a new picture is not necessary; I can pull up a stock image from the TMN archives for reuse.
To take a picture of the whole screen, press Command-Shift-3.
To take a picture of part of the screen, press Command-Shift-4. You can then drag the mouse to select the area you want in your screenshot.
It is best to send me images without lossy compression. Screenshots are fine. Please do not convert them to JPEG before submission.
Good: .PDF, .TIFF, .PICT, .GIF, .PNG
Bad: .JPG
Also, please do not forget to include your IC name with your submission.
Submissions are edited for clarity and TMN house style. Sometimes I do not post submissions right away; I may wait a few days. One reason is that with new developments I do not like to give away too much information too quickly, so that people in-game can find out about new things for themselves. Once something becomes largely public knowledge, then I will typically proceed with the TMN story. Another reason is that sometimes OOC business keeps me from posting right away. I do keep track of every submission and process them all for immediate or later posting.
Thanks!
-Para
Shadowearth sent the following message to TMN:
Please let your readers know that I would like to invite them to my tower. It contains information I have gathered while in Puddleby.
-Shadowearth
Chaos Storm #410 has swept the Lok'Groton island chain. Please post any changes you have observed and wish to share with others in the comments. If you don't want to read possible spoilers, please do not read the comments.
Lunaria sent the following report to TMN:
Heya folks!
I've been entrusted by a representative of the Peaceton Office of Tourism (P.O.T.) to make available (for a limited time only) travel packets to Peaceton!
So see me in town today! Supplies are limited! Every purchase of a Peaceton Fun Pak comes with a Ginzu Dagger!
Looking forward to serving your travel needs,
-Luney and the folks at P.O.T.
Drablak has published an excellent guide to trainers and skills:
Kira sent TMN the above image of the return to Puddleby of Coriakin.
Coriakin's scrolls have moved; you can now find them here:
Phineas has opened up a discussion on the Sentinel about the OOC origins and implementation of mystics.
We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
And the bonnie boat was won
That we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Oh, let your soul and spirit fly, into the mystic
"Into the Mystic"
-Van Morrison
Measle has a little quiz about some outland music in his most recent journal entry.