In this continuing View feature, we show you a picture of a theoretical magic item. Then you go back to Facebook and in the comments, invent your idea for the powers that this item would have.
Here is this week's item:
What's this mask do? Head on back to social media and let us know!
By: Justin “J’ortsa” Thibeault
On his last foray into the lands of Nangea and Pacifica- J’ortsa cannot recall which he entered first- there were many crazy and exciting thrills. This one hopes that there will be similar excitements for him to explore, and this time he will be able to move much faster as he no longer has an injured foot! While J’ortsa knows not the intense and important political atmosphere of these strange lands, he does know that he trusts his friends to make the right choices and he will back them up, so if you would like to have J’ortsa side with you, please make all letters of payment out to J’ortsa and he will take your voice into consideration.
Last year there was much fun to be had, sea life (and bees?) to interact with, and of course potions to concoct. Khajiit hopes that he will be able to create mixed potions again alongside his fellow adventuring mixologists (without getting an upset stomach). But in truth, the real joy that J’ortsa receives from his adventures during the Ashen Bounty are the joys of being with the friends he rarely sees, like Gundulf and Elric, as well as enjoying the tropical “vacation” that he has heard people speak of. Never has Khajiit been both afraid for his life and enjoying himself as he had before, and he hopes this next trip will be just as exciting. Though, he did shoot lightning from his bow last time, it will be hard to top that!
Lastly, and most importantly, there will be a one of a kind fight happening for the second time! You do not want to miss it, “Fish Fight 2: Electric Eel-Boogaloo (Working TitleTM)” will be taking place. Vesper and Jack of Redwall fought valiantly last year with their Florentine-Flying-Fishticuffs combination, but this year it will be different, their personal honor and their coin purses are on the line. If you would like to gamble on the outcome of this match please come see J’ortsa or Onyx to place your bets.
J’ortsa will leave you with one warning: Stay away from the Sea Skrunks, they are dangerous, deadly, and worst of all, fast.
May your path lead you to warm sands traveler,
~J’ortsa
Watcher of the Skyless Sea
OOC Note:
Ashenmark throws a very fun, interesting, and exciting experience that is unlike any other. No other nation can claim the title of “eliciting true dread from a man wearing a turtle backpack” and I would appreciate it if no one else tried. Sea Skrunks are NOT to be messed with. If a Kaelkatar shaped creature with really big hands asks you for a hug, you say NO THANK YOU and book it. Trust me.
When I got the notification that registration had gone live whilst I was on my vacation, I immediately registered, that is how much I enjoy this event series. If you cant make it as a PC I highly recommend NPCing if you can fit it in your schedule, good times will be had by all. (This is not a paid advertisement, but if you would like it to be, please let me know, I will always accept money for writing words.)
by Cameron "Griffin" Huneke
This was the first Storytellers event I’ve had the opportunity to go to, and I’d just like to start off by saying I had an absolute blast! In case you hadn’t heard the event pitch yet, the purpose of Storytellers is to give newer players a chance to run some content of their own, while giving them the resources and help they need to see it happen. This weekend, there were five modules run over the course of the event, three of which were run by newer players and two of which were run by experienced event holders. I’ll cover them in order.
Friday Night: A Door that Must Be Opened, run by Dan H. (‘N’)
Friday night had a group of us head into a door found in the Castle Requiem. Said door took us to a pocket dimension filled with a number of unpleasant things, including some sort of entropic undead with the ability to rearrange their limbs, and a large creature we didn’t have the means to defeat. This resistance eventually forced us deeper into the dimension. While there, we were met with more entropic undead, a shadowy assassin, and a friendly statue which insisted on playing games with us, in exchange for giving us bits of writing which Pawldo knew how to read and were needed to get past a second door. Once we were past the second door, we met a small village who offered to help us and guided us to cultists of entropy. We were frozen in place while they offered us a place in entropy, but Tuilli was having none of it and quite effectively told the cultists where they could put their offer. Once we began to unparalyze, the villagers who had guided us to the cultists killed a few of us, but those of us that survived made short work of them. The main cultist stood inside a circle that protected him even from those of us who weren’t enchanted, but eventually Tuilli goaded him out of the circle and he didn’t last long from there. I’m sure I’m missing a few things, and if you want a more detailed accounting I’m sure Styx or Pawldo would be happy to talk about what they know.
Saturday Morning: A Favor for Calladen, run by Tom G. (Avendar)
Come Saturday morning, a number of our magically inclined friends found themselves drawn to a place out of curiosity to investigate something on the border of Calladen’s lands. They didn’t know what it was that drew them there, but When Calladen showed up to explain why we were all there, naturally we were all a bit on edge. He explained that someone in lands that neighbored his possessed an important artifact, and that he wanted us to go take it. Calladen didn’t want the artifact for himself, rather, he wanted to get it away from his lands. We agreed, though we retained a healthy dose of suspicion throughout the adventure. We began in a field where we needed to challenge undead to honorable combat to receive small clear stones which became important later. We eventually moved deeper into the forest, fighting more undead until we came to a small area. We set up a circle of the clear stones, and eventually, we had enough to attract the attention of the owner of the artifact we were sent to get. He said that only the most powerful was worthy to take it from him, and that the last person in the circle would be the one to challenge him for it. We eventually all cleared out of the circle for Aelias, though something tells me that they expected us to fight until one person came out on top. Aelias and the artifact bearer fought while we held off more undead, and eventually Aelias was victorious, but when he took the artifact, a staff with a blue orb at the top, he lost a large portion of his memories. Once we had retrieved the staff, we left the forest and spoke to Calladen once more. He offered a reward for our services, and Tuilli suggested gold and safe passage, which Calladen promised to grant the next time we were in his lands. I, again, unfortunately don’t know all the specifics, such as the name of the artifact bearer, but Aelias or Liselle would likely be able to tell you more if you wanted to know.
Saturday Afternoon: Rescuing and Escorting a Refugee to Sanctuary, run by Bri M. (Margaret)
Saturday afternoon we found ourselves in sanctuary, speaking to Elder Sanders, the Elder of Protection, and one of the leaders of sanctuary. He told us of a person who was trying to get to sanctuary, but for reasons unknown to him, unable to do so. Based on a dream Rosetta had and information Styx knew, we believed someone associated with the Devourer of Souls was the culprit. Elder Sanders sent us through a magic door to the far-away kingdom of Asteria, where we almost immediately ran into an… ahem, wealth reallocation specialist inside his own Circle of Protection, under attack from an undead creature. Once we saved him, he showed us a way to get into the castle we needed to get inside, through a sewer rigged with bells and containing a lot of bog beasts. Once we got out of the sewers, we were met with a host of undead guards, who were forcibly regenerating, so we began rendering them to make our lives easier. Little did we know that was only going to make things more difficult in the end. The undead were also dropping hematite rings and trinkets, which when touched to a silver weapon, allowed us to perform a “soul channel.” After we eventually pushed past all the undead, we finally found the person we were looking for, Princess Theofania Ainsley, locked in a cell behind numerous locks. Once we eventually opened, bypassed or destroyed all of the locks, we had to save the Princess’ pet unicorn, which had been corrupted to be undead and locked up in the next room over. After restoring the unicorn, we took the princess out of the dungeon with us. We were met by someone named Icarus and his host of undead minions. Icarus seemed to want the Princess’ father, King Oliver, to show himself, but we were there instead. Fern attempted to negotiate, but as they were speaking in beast the whole time, negotiations eventually broke down and fighting ensued. We had to kill and soul channel Icarus as many times as we had rendered undead over the course of the adventure, so it took a while, but we eventually defeated him and escorted the Princess back to Sanctuary. If you find yourself wanting more details about what went down in this adventure, Styx and N would likely be good places to start.
Saturday Night: Retrieving the Sunblade Silverlight from the Dark Isle, run by Ken C. (Celtrex)
Saturday night we were met by Sir Merric of the Silverlight. He told us that the sword of his order had been taken and was stuck in the Dark Isle, and he wanted us to retrieve it. He send a friend of his, named Shaft, in to make sure we stayed alive. We went to the Isle and found ourselves confronted by outrageously french vampire duck boat pirates who, coincidentally, happened to be a crew Fern was a part of. A very entertaining fight into the castle ensued with us fighting off waves of french vampire pirates and searching them for organs, which we needed to pass a puzzle. After that, we made our way deeper into the halls until we saw our target, the Sunblade Silverlight, sticking out of a rock, surrounded by seven glowing stones, with an additional barrier blocking our way. The first puzzle seemed to involve untangling a series of rocks tied to posts at the edge of the room. Once we made it to the glowing barrier, we heard in our minds that only one person would be able to take the sword. Some tried reaching through the barrier, only to lose their arms. The glowing stones also each had a rune inscribed on them, spelling out Dracula. We eventually disassembled the barrier through a combination of disenchant and fighter disenchant. Then, unsure what to do next, people tried pulling the sword. I was the fifth person to try, and much to my surprise, the sword moved when I tried to pull. With the sword safely in our possession, we made our way out of the castle and back to Sir Merric. I was entirely unprepared for what happened next. Upon returning the sword to Sir Merric, he asked who pulled the sword from the stone in the castle. Everyone pointed at me, and he asked me to kneel, and knighted me to the Knights of the Silverlight. I’m… still kind of reeling from that. He returned the sword to me, and when I touched it, I could feel that Shaft was evil and had been working against us. I told Shaft that he needed to leave. He seemed offended when I told him, but eventually, he said that he’d take his things and leave. That was when he pointed at Ryu, and she started walking towards him. Fern and I both immediately dropped Ryu, and Shaft became more insistent, raising Ryu while we dropped her repeatedly. Eventually, Sir Merric banished him, but both Shaft and Fern were holding onto Ryu, and all three of them disappeared. He grabbed me and teleported the two of us to where Shaft, Ryu and Fern were. Shaft and Merric spoke a lot, and Merric eventually cured Ryu’s thrall affliction, but at a great cost to himself. Fern and Ryu were sent back to the others, but I stayed behind and heard Shaft and Merric speak some more. Shaft claims he just wants to move into Dracula’s castle, but Merric doesn’t believe that’s the extent of his ambitions. In the meantime, I have a duty to prepare for our next confrontation. Both Tuilli and Aelias pledged to help me with this, and I cannot thank them enough for the support they gave me in the moment, and the support I know they’ll provide in the future. I’m glossing over some of the interactions here, if you ever want the full recounting, talk to Ryu and I sometime and we’ll be able to tell a much better story.
Sunday Morning: Testing New Coursework for the Wyvern College, run by Justin B.H. (Grarr), Kelly P. (Fern), and Zack E. (Tony)
When Sunday morning (“morning,” realms standard time) rolled around, we were greeted by Fern, sporting a Wyvern College tabard. Grarr also came up to meet us, and the two of them explained that some farmers nearby were in need of assistance due to some golems and spiders that had cropped up. They also wanted to use this opportunity to test out a new curriculum for student adventurers, and we all readily agreed to help out. They also provided a mobile apothecary and anvil for us to heal and repair our items over the course of the quest. We first ran into a set of two clockwork golems guarding a cave entrance. There was a puzzle at the entrance that Kovaks solved while we fought the golems. It took a little while to get their patterns and avoid their shattering strikes, but we eventually made our way into the cave and found ourselves confronted by a nest of spiders. Again, Kovaks worked on the puzzle while we fended off spiders. In the next area, there were a number of pressure plates which we had to drag heavy boulders onto and even place a defeated clockwork on one of them. Moving onto the next area, we had to throw rocks to hit targets while continuing to fend off the occasional spider and clockwork. Finally, we came upon a puzzle where we had to place objects and perform some actions representative of the glyphs seen on plates. Once we passed this puzzle, we fought our way back out of the spider cave and into a clearing, where we were confronted with the perfect final exam, which involved a large spider clockwork golem and smaller versions of puzzles we had done before that point. Eventually, we finally defeated the spider golem and made our way back home, debriefing with Fern along the way. Overall, I felt it was an excellent adventure and will make for a good curriculum for future student adventurers.
A lot happened this weekend, and I’m really glad I was able to stay for all of it. Despite the weather, each of the modules was a ton of fun and the newer plot runners all did an amazing job. I’m looking forward to seeing what each of them does next!
Griffin Hurana
Member of the Cerulean Company
Squire to Sir Tao Ya Kang
Knight of the Silverlight
Information relayed by Omri, on behalf of the Order of the
Lantern. Various documents retrieved during initial foray into Blackavar on
behalf of the Knights of the Sable Dragon. The expedition was to protect
several contractors hired by the Knights who were researching the land that has
been without contact with other nations in some time. Note the lullaby seems to
work on Blackavar dragon eggs to ensure they remain dormant, and on Blackavar
dragons when they're knocked senseless. Exact circumstances and that which are
affected is unknown. Lullaby is from the work of Dragonologist, Samsara
Whittlenek aka Sam.
Dragon Egg Lullaby:
“Hush now, dragon eggs, lay still, don’t wake
In moonlight shadows, your dreams we’ll make.
Embers glowing, rest your fiery might
Through the night, we’ll keep you safe and tight.
Sleep, dear dragon eggs, in slumber’s sway
Dreams of soaring skies, in a distant day.
Close your eyes, let the world fade away
Rest in peace until the break of day.”
Writer’s notes: Tune not given or set, try whichever sounds
melodious and restful. Etched into my brain is the nanny golem command of
“Protect Collect Swaddle Soothe Warm”. This song is necessary for the soothe
part of it.
Tenets of the Knights of the Sable Dragon (transcribed from
a dialect of Phonecian and adjusted for most commonly accepted spelling
equivalent):
“Teneths of the Knights of the Sable Dragon
Bardus
Carnac
Gautier
Taunton
Wilmont”
Story of the Five Knights (delivered on a letter from a mail
carrier from unknown sender, similarly transcribed from a dialect of Phonecian
with corrections to most commonly accepted spelling):
“Story of the Five Knights
At the end of night the Brood Matron’s wrath drew near.
Dragons breath streaked the land and sky as her minions flew the ground show
with great tremors and when she landed hope was gone as the hordes of dragons
marched together under her command. Threatening not only Blackavar but the
Realms at large.
Ser Bardus, first knight of Blackavar, gathered his four
closest friends together to stand together against the tide. They hailed from
all parts of the Realms, friendship bringing them together closer than a
nation's banner could have. When the time came, the five stood together and
gave battle. With their wills combined, the Brood Matron’s control of the
dragons was blocked long enough for the group to subdue and hide her away.
The Blackavarian dragons bowed in respect to these knights
and thanked them for releasing them from her control. To protect Blackavar and
the Realms, it was agreed that dragon kind would no longer be free to roam in
Blackavar. Some flew to other lands to make their homes, but those who remained
agreed to slumber for all time in the hollows under Blackavar under one
condition: their eggs must not come to harm and would be kept dormant.
Thus it was cast in stone and magic that the knights of the
sable dragon would keep this charge to protect the Realms, foster diversity
within the order and the realms, train the next generation of adventurers… and
their secret charge to guard the dragons of Blackavar.
Bardus swore himself and the others to these tenets and
became the first knight commander of the sable dragon.”
By: Unhinged Hannah B
Hi! I would love to give you an in depth reason for why I am so hyped for this weekend, but Jason Rosa gave me essentially 24 hours to write this and 6 of those were used on sleep and another 8 of those went to work so instead you get the Hannah that comes out when her one page essay is due in an hour. I digress.
Storytellers! What is it? It’s a bunch of really fun cool mini quests written and run by talented EHs and EHs in training. From my understanding, the Knights of the Sable Dragon give you everything you need to run a quest; NPCs an event site, props, probably also advice. All you have to do is bring your questing ideas! This year there are I think 6 modules happening. Dan and his Requiem plot Friday night, Bri and their Sanctuary plot Saturday morning, a mystery plot by Tom also Saturday, the Castlevania plot Night Quest from Tournaments of Chaos Saturday night (so chaotic they ran the night quest a full month later), and the Wyvern College quest Sunday. I will admit, I know most of these quest runners personally and they are all super talented and really creative and passionate about the Realms. If nothing else will sway you off of the fence I would urge you to please go and support Dan (N), Bri (Margaret), Tom (Avendar), Ken (Celtrix) and Travis (Elwin), Kelly (Fern) and Zach (Tony) and Justin (Grarr). Many of them are either running their first bits of content, or gaining more experience running Events and this is something that should be celebrated and embraced by the community.
Please come, please show your support, please have a blast, and most importantly, please bring silver weapons and stakes oh my gods people the vampires are so strong and scary I don’t want to get kidnapped again.
I’ll see you there! – Everyone’s favorite Half Dragon
P.S. I am sure they are still accepting NPCs : )
by John "Gordon" Rescigno
Food, Fun, and Friends were in plenty at Tournaments of the Branch! This is the second time this event has been held, and I was very sad to not make it to the first one from what many people told me last time. I had heard it was a family-friendly event, and I was very glad to bring the baby to her first event even though she didn’t compete in any tournaments. Maybe next year.
This was my first time at the Camelot site, and I was really impressed. Everything was nice and close together, and the elevator made bringing a baby plus an entire camp setup a breeze! Phee had set up a delicious spread of food of sweet, savory, and spicy foods for people to try! I’m not one for spice, but CC tells me that the “radish kimchi and the spicy cucumber salad were delicious!”
The tournaments were split between Knights and Unbelted divisions, which I had never encountered before, but I think it was a great idea that allowed for a more even competition. The combat tournaments featured your standard spread plus a couple of fantastic roleplay-heavy additions like English Longsword (but I think that was just something the Knights agreed on doing) and Epic Swings Great Weapon, where you were judged on style, and dying was the tiebreaker. This ended up being a fantastic display of showmanship and roleplay from all the competitors, with voluntary and immersive physical roleplay abound.
The non-combat tournaments looked great, though I only participated peripherally in the Wealth Reallocation tournament, and in Vesper’s Shoot House, which I want to take another crack at as soon as possible.
I got to go to an event with my family and see more of my family. I wish more people had been able to attend, because this kind of event would only benefit from future growth and members of our community that enjoy getting together, eating, drinking, fighting, and being merry together. If you couldn’t make it this year, please come next year. I’ll see you there.
by Tucker "Temorse" Noyes
I had traveled to Bluetown in Chimeron to enjoy the festivities planned around the founding of the Cerulean Company, a fighting force within the Azure Guard. Having seen the promise of many of the individuals comprising this new fighting force, I was interested in seeing them exhibit their battle prowess on the field. Having been assured that this would purely be an exhibition, I left my armor at home. This proved to be an error. No sooner had we arrived, but we were beset upon by the infamous blade Blue, who was in this case accompanied by a plethora of other animated weapons that were dubbed “swordlets.” After driving Blue off the exhibition field and back into the town, we were informed by Squire Ryu that Blue had animated a host of weapons in the Cerulean Company’s armory, including several powerful magical artifacts, and they were running amok in the streets.
Ryu, on behalf of the Cerulean Company at large, requested that we aid them by dealing with six of the powerful artifacts that had been animated, while the Cerulean Company drove Blue from the lands. The heroes gathered agreed, and we were given some, highly redacted, research notes, to help us summon the weapons to us and defeat them. While unredacted notes would have likely made our task much easier, these were serviceable, although I imagine that Sir Saka, Warlord of Chimeron, may have some more severe opinions on this matter.
We set to task, pouring over the research notes and learning what we could about the weapons. The first we managed to summon and defeat was a poleaxe called Chimera, which seemed to benefit from all the parts that it was composed of, a spear, a hammer, and an axe, with devastating effect. Once it and its retinue of was defeated, the weapon was returned, and we moved on to the next weapon, a massive spiked club called Exclusion Zone. In order to summon this weapon we had to create a series of concentric circles, that once the weapon was summoned, was able to exert control over. Again, the weapon was defeated and returned, and we moved on to the Mirrormage Axe, a strange looking weapon that appeared to have several reflective surfaces. When attacking it, it was able to reflect some of the damage back to us, a trait it passed on to its accompanying swordlets as well. The Anti-Dagger came next, which was anything but a dagger, but a large pike that only took damage from daggers wielded in honorable combat. Many of our skilled spellcasters lended their dagger skills to defeat this weapon. Next came the Hammer of Storms, a massive hammer that was summoned with a lightning rod, and electrified its surrounding swordlets. By defeating the swordlets, we were able to absorb some of their electrified power, and with it bring down the animated hammer. Finally we faced the Cleaver of Land and Sky, a Teng Huanese styled blade that was summoned by arranging some strange totems that had aspects of both land and sky in them. The blade was defeated by use of the same totems, although moving them was quite difficult. Once the cleaver was unable to shatter something (which did not include many of my blades that I had brought with me), striking an object that was unbreakable, it was stunned, and it allowed us to drop these heavy totems on them, eventually defeating it.
With the final weapon defeated and returned, we gathered to do what we had actually come here to do initially, bear witness to the new company’s founding. Alas, the events of the day had taken longer than anticipated, and my responsibilities in Ashenmark beckoned me back, and regretfully I had to depart, however I was made aware of the events of the brief court. Sir Orion and the comprising members of the Cerulean Guard, Squire Ryu, Squire, Squire Aelias, Squire Griffin, Squire Bogen, and Squire Garen, swore allegiance to Chimeron under Cimone of the Azure Guard. Sir Orion has claimed the title of Commander, and the title Ceruleant, held by Garen, denotes his status as deputy. The nature of the tokens we received for being in attendance of the event, which if collected in a certain amount, would allow the use of one of the magical artifacts we defeated during the day from the chest that contained them.
Information relayed by Omri, on behalf of the Order of the Lantern. It's believed these documents, found on a 'World Board', sheds some light on the history of Minerva and Strathmore's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd kid who were all the same person yet never the same person. The 'World Board' kept our members up to date on the timelines as they changed, but it's unknown when these particular documents showed up. They're relayed as faithfully as Omri can transcribe.
Page 1:
Their father stoically looked on at the two boys, with a bit of disappointment. The mother shifted between despair, rage, and disbelief. The wizard stared intently at the two children. “Which of you belong here?” The wizard was able to create wonders of the world, but could not tell. One or both of them was at a level of power he had not known. And so, the child of seven, was on another adventure, this time to a cave, and through a white tunnel. As the child passed through, her magic dissipated, and the wizard knew at once, the one who had power to challenge him, was gone.
The boy on the other side found a world of loving parents, and no limits on her power. She smiled. This would be an enjoyable game.
Orlando, new to this world, returned to arguing parents. His mother would never recover the loss and some say it led to a level of madness. There are other theories as well. Though the father tried to show love, he was not the same. This boy was filled with love and hope, which slowly faded and was replaced with despair and anger. They all knew that they had sent the wrong child away, but not that the original child was still lost.
“They resent me. They see me as a monster. So, that is what I will become.” They say on that day his body transformed into how he felt the world saw him. The Champion lived.
Back:
The boy in her third life, grew to great power and seized control of that world, but once more got bored. She called her most loyal follower. “Robin Goodfelow, this world is too small for me. I want something new.” The imp smiled “Yes, The Lord of Change shall be known in another world, until they choose to become someone else.”
Orlando found kindness rare in this world, especially with his self-inflicted disfiguration. He was rejected by most. He had been loved by his parents, not these copies. His brother had brought him joy as well, but that was endless years past. He found someone special, who could see beyond his mask. She was an angel, literally.
The woman now much older smiled. “I know of a space in between that I can use to travel worlds, but I am too powerful to pass through it. First we must make some cracks in their world, just enough to let me through. I don’t want to harm it. Just enough paradox to clear the way, some happy, some sad, it matters not. The only thing that matters is my doorway.”
Page 2:
They were one of seven and that should have been enough. They had power, their own realm to command, and so much potential. However, they wanted to understand how others lived. Had they chosen anyone else, this story would have been easier. A simple family or even just a mortal family. Alas, they found an intriguing family that did not make sense. Perhaps, that’s what made it so appealing. In the style of changeling children, he took the young child and sent it to another place. (Quite another intriguing story that shall be.) The powerful parents were not as powerful as she was. She imagined it and it was, which made sense to them, so it wasn’t questioned, but they didn’t know the difference.
Time passed and he grew impatient with others. They didn’t understand her. He didn’t want to go back to her siblings, at least not yet, there was more to explore. Then it occurred to him. The best way to find someone that understands you, is to find another you, well close enough. So, triplets it seems, instead of twins.
“Orlando, my wonderful boy, where are you?” said a tall man with red scales. “Father, I am playing knights” said a boy of perhaps eight. A woman’s voice chimes in with a tone of joy, “Don’t you know our son will be a great hero one day?” “Yes, mother, I shall be a champion of the weak, standing up to injustice” the boy spoke matter of factly. The man enters the room and gives him a giant hug. “My
Back:
boy, you shall not be a champion, you will become the champion.”
The boy could be anyone and anything, but now he wanted a true friend, a new sibling, without the complications of those at home, and she had forgotten where she had placed his first twin. Time is indeed hard to keep track of. And so, one day he opened a door, to a place, there was white light, and he called to himself. “Orlando, where are you?” The young boy on the other side was curious of course, as a child of dream and potential. The would be knight walked bravely with a wooden sword through the gateway and had a perplexed smile as he saw himself.
For a week they played together, though it felt like years with their imagination and magic. They went upon pirate ships and explored the sky. They were wonderful together, but Orlando did miss his parents. The girl told him they must keep this a secret from their father. Their mother was filled with joy, to have two blessings.
The tall wizard arrived and explained that the world was in peril, a paradox of immeasurable level could rip the world apart. That was the sort of thing that one of her brothers from back home would have quite enjoyed, but it seemed this fun was close to an end.
Page 3:
After his fall, he woke as if in a dream. “Your story my brother has ended in your world; that we cannot change, but we can travel again, each starting a new story in a new world. This world is too weak to hold us both. Arise as the cracks grow strongest, and we shall meet at the gate, for a moment.” So, with a day of life only, he would make sure that he was remembered, and perhaps he would drop some anchors so that one day he might return to this place which had not been his home.
by Ethan "JB" Goldman
The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. - Vladimir Nabokov
There is a wide, yawning black infinity. In every direction, the extension is endless; the sensation of depth is overwhelming. And the darkness is immortal. Where light exists, it is pure, blazing, fierce; but light exists almost nowhere, and the blackness itself is also pure and blazing and fierce. - Carl Sagan
The Dark One, of all names, perhaps its (And the pronoun IS It, the way you’d describe a tidal wave or age rather then a person) is the most feared, and the most absent. The Dark One is the void, darkness, ABSENCE, and more importantly to its followers, where it all goes. The Lord of Loss is, to its detractors, the ultimate threat, a vindictive bully and thief who takes everything it can and gives nothing back. To those who know it however, the Dark One is anything but. Of course it does mostly the same things, but the reasoning is completely different.
Existence is a pain, and the Dark One does everything it can to end that pain.
Curiously also, for the Entity of Ends (lots of titles with this god) the Dark One’s arsenal is… small. Aurora has a arsenal of weapons to kill, but the dark one only has the odd magical sword. But one has to consider that the Dark One doesn't NEED these things. Aurora has the knights of the crown with their swords of light. However the Dark one doesn’t have any magical blades, it has Blade. For a while the Dark One commanded the armies of one of the most militant and powerful nations that have ever entered the Realms, and for years that threat hanged over the lands like a Guillotine… but that order never came.
In fact, it was the Dark One who, briefly, died, not in a war with Light, or Gaia, but as a consequence of the war against Bedlam. This begs the question, why, why did It not simply end the Realms when it could, why did It die, heroically even, why do we persist in existence when the alleged greediest entity with the greatest army could have taken it all?
The answer is simple. The Dark One loves you, It’s grandchildren. Yes you, the butcher of its rivals, the ender of corruption and aberrations, the Means to It’s End. It wants you to be happy, but it knows that you are not, that you won’t be, under the unbearable weight of existence. Without even the peace of dissolution. When you can see so many more colors than seven, when your name is adrift in an ocean of consciousness like a grain of salt dissolving in the waves, only then will you full know the burden you bore, free of the weight of the sky pushing down on you, absent the sun slowly burning your skin away.
Only when it's over, when you are everything, will you understand how lonely you used to be… But that only answers half the question.
We know why the Dark One died for the Realms, but why is it strangely hesitant on killing for it? Even Dionin is more active and all his champion does is loom around Margaret and passive aggressively insult her.
To understand this let me tell you a tale about Dargoth.
Dargoth was one of the first to follow the Dark One, to know of him before we even knew of steel, and his tribe lived humble lives, hunting and waiting for their real existence to start after their lives ended, as promised by the Dark One. But Dargoth, mightiest of the tribe, saw the followers of the light and how they innovated with fire and stone and made dwellings and things that will outlast their blip of a existence. And Dargoth did not laugh at their stupidity, at their short sightedness… he was angry. Angry for all they had that he didn’t. So Dargoth, without the Dark One’s beckoning, lead his men to bring those innocent light dwellers into the Darkness, by hand and by stone, until the light dwellers had what Dargoth did, nothing.
And they PAID for this. The Light dwellers, who never knew violence, were quickly rallied by this almost traitorous act into reprisal, and the Light brought to bear all Dargoth’s jealousy and worldly attachments and used it against him.
Dargoth was forced to go from wanna be warlord to martyr, dying to ensure any record of the Dark One remained to be told at all…. All because he got jealous, and turned the Dark One’s gift into a way to try to be like the light dwellers…
Understand this, understand how insulting this is to the Dark One for this to have happened. To make people fear its charity, to use it as a tool to betray its love. To shackle yourself in the light’s ribbons and not even have the honesty to wear the tabard of your puppet masters, and for what ends? To end nearly all record of the Dark One’s existence, to teach the Light to be as you were? That is the price of confusing Mercy with Hate, that is the burden all of the All need to understand before we carelessly use our scalpels.
And that is the threat of not allowing those you are helping to actually want to be helped.
Things end in the Realms, not in the ways we expect, but they end often enough, timelines fall, universes turn to ash, and still we persist, still we fight, weaker and less enthused until suddenly… we stop. We walk away, and we don’t look back.
Flags burn, Gods die, the worms eat, blood is shed… and still many of us fight, connecting strings, sailing to new worlds, ending more ends… and there’s always something else.
Until there isn’t until it stops. Until the Dark One, the patient farmer that it is, harvests it’s crop.
If you are afraid of the Dark One, or hate him, or whatever emotion you attribute to the nervousness of returning to the spacedust you always are… its not that hard to stave him off, call the soul exists, raise dead is simple enough. You can run, everyone does, It won’t even blame you…
But you won’t run forever… but it will. It will run as long as it takes until you wait for it to catch up, just like a human hunts a tiger. Because mortals are impatient, we seldom find something worth waiting for… but for us? The Dark One will wait forever. Because it loves you.
You are its grandchildren.
So right where were we? Rules? How to actually LIKE the Dark One?
Fair enough, and not as hard as you think. The Dark One is a dangerous, eternal figure, but it’s not complicated. It takes things, and holds it forever. And nothing is more valuable in todays age.
Consider not the misery of life for once and look to those trying to end it. Corruptive figures, fallen knights of undeath, whatever hell they claim to be safeguarding the Realms from, Unmakers, Change, Change with Crown, every time Bedlam timetravels, and at least two entities that are arguably just extra-planar counterparts to It.
These are all creatures of Corruption, things that don’t simply kill but turn death into a cesspit they weaponize, fell light that end healing magic, nightmares, STEALING THE VOID TO MAKE CORRUPTED MOCKERIES OF THE LIGHTS WORK, and Bedlam! Twice!
The Dark One is very unhappy with these false ends. If Change makes everyone into Change then Everyone doesn’t get to be Everyone, they only get to be One and the Light wins forever.
And the inevitability of the All means nothing when everything that has entered the All somehow reexists itself from the past and retroactively never died.
The Dark One liked the Realms where it is, slowly imperceptibly careening towards an oblivion of its own making where everyone goes to their judgment, and eventually judgment goes to it. To protect that status quo, the Dark One will hand you the keys to its castle. And that castle is made from every ruin that has ever fallen so it’s preeeeeeetty big. In this, and in many ways (Hope is a entropic force after all, you do not hope for continuation you hope for change), the Dark One mirrors Aurora, they often want the same thing, but their explanations on why they desire that wildly vary.
Outside of safeguarding the Realms from Corruption, the worship of the Dark One offers ancient secrets, every secret never known infact. And it is happy to extend it’s help to those who willing to return it’s favor… but there is one simple caveat to this.
When my lord saw the word of the Dark One, and the follow of Dargoth, he interpreted this as to Hate Everyone Equally, to not weaponize the tools of the end for petty grudges but to seek the universal destruction that fits everyone under it… I disagree. You may hate all you want, but you can’t Kill out of hatred.
To understand the Dark One, to fully look into the void and hear it’s words in the silence, you need to understand that death IS a mercy, you can not weaponize kindliness. Do not go into the work if you are not ready for the Dark One to return the mercy you return to others… and always know there is so, so much worse then death.
And if you are interested in that…. Well Chaos is right next door.
Be patient, be painless, and always remember that, eventually, when you enter the All, all you have brought before it will be there too. Try not to bear a grudge.
Incidentally, the Dark One has its own trappings, its sacred symbols and rituals. The most sacred of them is Alcohol, which is twice blessed.
The intoxication is the feeling of the mind slipping into togetherness with the All, the bliss of togetherness and promise of eternity.
The weakness of tomorrow is the body yearning to return to it, withering itself to be closer to the All. In this way alcohol is twice blessed…
I am not sure how to wrap this up, but that’s the thing isn’t it, we never know how it all en-
Mantra 3: Just because you do not respect the darkness does not make it less real. Power is present, Dionin, Aurora, Zargon, all these gods have noticeable impact on the world around them. Just because you ban the worship of Asmodeus doesn’t mean he suddenly just stops existing, you can not ignore your way into world peace. Understand that not all the gods who can operate in your lands perhaps are beneficial to your lands, be willing to acknowledge threats, to try to placate them away, or curse their names. The world sucks, not every aspect of it, including gods, are going to be your friend. You will find the land has more color when shadows can exist INSIDE your borders instead of just surrounding it.
Many pantheons have evil Gods, that doesn’t make you a bad person just because your nation is victim to harsh winters or is at risk of flooding and thus may have a devious sea god.
PS: Dark One, I know the forces of good all have these signature weapons and ways to kill people and we don’t really need them… but it’d be nice if we could have one given we are going to be called butchers anyway.
By Blue
Can you believe they named a whole city for me? How generous! I sense a lot of power concentrated near the eastern wall–perhaps it’s some kind of magical vault. I can’t wait to see what kind of excitement is in there!
Welcome to Blue’s Town. Population: Me.
By Kyra “Omri” Barry
IC:
Cerulean Company is meant to be an excellent fighting force, and I can speak to the nature of many of the founding members as being kind and strong. Chimeron is a nation of many nations and this weekend will see the formation of another.
I’m always excited to visit RAMS, Royal Academy for Military Science, because it’s a really nice new city type place and they’ve got a really shiny rock that I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with it. So far it seems like a secure location that hasn’t had much trouble, a rarity in my experience.
In the evening of the founding, there will be court where this new group will be officially recognized. The Cerulean Company “are a group that excels in small group combat. We are the first line of defense when threats arise and we hold them at bay until backup comes.” - Squire Ryu Goldscale. With passionate and dedicated individuals making up the group, I look forward to seeing what they do once they’re formed. I think even if they weren’t recognized, they’re the sort who’d work together and accomplish their goals of driving back foes and protecting others anyways.
It looks like both days will be great for enjoying peacebound fighting.
Tournaments of the Branch is a labor of love from the mind of Lord Sir Tara and the work of her allies. This is the second such event of what is looking to be an annual tournament. It’s looking to be even more ambitious than last year if the shared list of tournaments and challenges are any indication. I’m personally very interested in seeing how to pull off archery on horseback riding.
As a newer fighter who frankly did not do much of this sort of thing before traveling around the Realms, I am interested in trying my hand in everything I can for the sake of it. Win or lose. I look forward to fighting others in a peacebound manner, which is always lots of fun. The diversity of combat and non combat activities provide a variety for those who may not fancy one over the other. Some of the art and science tournaments, those that don’t require combat, will require preparation before the start of the tournaments. Some at least a few days.
This year there will also be a Champions tournament! A Champion of Champions Invitational. Come prepared and with an official notice from whom or what you champion.
Be honorable and have fun.
“Wounds heal,
People dig scars,
Pain is temporary,
Glory is forever”
OOC:
K here to discuss some ooc appeals of the events. For one, if you like convenience, they’re both in the same spot! And the site, part of a community with lots of players, has graciously allowed space for camping.
I’ve heard people say repeatedly Realms is one of the cheaper LARPs to play, which isn’t reflected in the quality of food served, the quests at events, or the overall experience. It’s reflective of the community’s dedication to fun that won’t break the bank, and Realms’ relatively unique play style of a collaborative open world with many plot runners and Event Holders and no overall central plot which also means any one player can easily pick and choose which events to attend. That said both of the events these weekends are on the less expensive side, making it an appealing option for budget conscious players.
Although that isn’t the ic draw for the Founding of the Cerulean Company, I’ve heard players can expect light questing in the form of “I’m sure nothing will go wrong!” Which means something is sure to go wrong. At least a little bit. I haven’t heard much in terms of big plot stuff, so look forward to maybe some world building fleshing out via conflicts.
Tournaments of the Branch last year got some great reviews, and it looks like an interesting take on the tournaments I’ve seen so far. The challenges themselves look very interesting and I think the non-combat ones are clever and make sense in character.
Explanation of the activities for Tournaments of the Branch can be found here and on the Realmsnet event page: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B5zH_zG_CptveIYtH8hUY16c3qHdjrifFAbdCvNA1Qk/edit#heading=h.5qc7vdpw1633
Here’s the TLDR version: A lot of variety, compelling lore, fun challenges, sticky weather, great event!
Still reading?
I went to Knights of the Sable Dragon Questing this past weekend. The event was thrown by Patrick Bobell, Nate Carr, and John Rescigno, obviously with a lot of help from a good cast of volunteers. They chose to tap into the lore of the Knights of the Sable Dragon, which proved to be fertile ground for telling a story. Two stories, really, because at the same time the story of the PCs in the long abandoned land of Blackavar was unfolding, we were learning the story of the original knights who founded the order.
IC: Gray Erikkson’s observations
Questing off Friday night with a motley collection of adventurers, a mixture of seasoned veterans and green newbies, who had arrived to help escort noncombatant scholars and surveyors into Blackavar, but we all soon found ourselves fending off repeated attacks by Aspis who seemed intent on dragging of Kovaks away. Tracking the Aspis to where they were coming from led to a hole in the ground next to a rather insulting note that, when read aloud, triggered Death Wish spells on a couple of adventurers, which caused some awkwardness, but was eventually settled out. The hole was sealed up with some ritual shenanigans led by Rosetta.
The adventurers then went to the sight of the battle with Rexan for some soul searching and speculation on the possibility of resurrecting Sir Chan Ottokar, whose sacrifice saved a lot of lives from utter obliteration. Margaret seemed very driven to make this happen. What kind of omen the explosion that followed should be considered is open to individual interpretation.
Saturday opened with some modest escort duties, but soon lead to some complicated challenges. The first of which was some manner of forge or foundry, where red hot cores were spewed forth from a volcanic vent. The cores had to be picked up without using one’s hands and deposited in various buckets in and around the structure. The cores hitting the floor triggered tremors and the spawning of hostile fire and smoke elementals. Omri did good work juggling those little suckers to where they needed to be, and numerous adventurers including Jericho and Laika (and myself to some small extent) fended off the elementals as they appeared. Finishing this task powered up some long dormant apparatus, which later proved crucial to our efforts. It also produced an enchanted anvil that was very helpful in fixing things throughout the weekend.
Further encounters included a mailman being pursued by a werewolf who was not hostile, but played a little rough. The mailman delivered a number puzzles and a letter to Jean Baptiste from one Grotesque Gourmand detailing a recipe for dragon egg omelets. How I wound up with this letter is not strictly relevant, but reading the recipe aloud - or more specifically the word “dragon” - triggered more Death Wish spells. Once again, Omri did some good work decoding the runes the mailman delivered.
After some more escorting of Jerry the Surveyor (and scrap metal merchant apparently), which led to evicting a coven of vampires from the structure they’d taken up residence in, Sam the Dragonologist solicited our help saving dragon eggs from being eaten by invasive lizard creatures. Turned out the apparatus we’d activated earlier restored power to a dragon egg repository, where damaged caretaking golems were struggling to protect dragon eggs of various sizes, from as small as chicken eggs to ones too large for me to wrap my arms all the way around. Not only did we have to fight off the lizard creatures, but the eggs had to be carefully handled and returned to safety because they couldn’t be allowed to hatch, but they also couldn’t be allowed to be destroyed, due to the terms of an ancient treaty signed by the original Knights of the Sable Dragon. Failure to abide by the terms of the treaty would result in the awakening of the Brood Mother, a dire threat to all the civilizations of the Realms.
This was an all hands on deck situation, made more complicated by a Mind Flayer wandering around trying to cast Death Wish on adventurers. Rosetta had visions of more Mind Flayers awakening the Brood Mother, which at least explained where all the Death Wish spells were coming from. After a not inconsiderable amount of effort, the dragon eggs were returned to safety, and I turned around just in time to see Sam the Dragonologist running off with one of them.
We really probably should have seen that coming.
After persuading Sam to return the dragon egg with a combination of appeals to reason and threats of violence, things settled down enough for us to rest, wring some sweat out of our garments, and have a meal. Also, our surveyors provided us with a trove of magical scrolls to help us with our evening efforts. They saw fit to provide, among other things, scrolls of Soul Snare.
I’m sure there was no reason to be concerned about why they thought we might need those.
After the sun set, we traveled to the tomb of the original Knights of the Sable Dragon, whose shades were wandering around restlessly. Margaret and DelHammer worked on sorting out how to return them to rest while the rest of us fended off attacking…to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what they were, only that they were attacking us. Undead of some variety probably. It was a tomb.
There was also a living warrior who seemed very driven to fight and kill, but he seemed to be able to restrain the impulse by leaning on his sense of honor. He accepted one-on-one combats and I believe Jericho finally defeated him and won the dagger the warrior said was driving his need to kill. That probably bears keeping an eye on, but we soon had other problems.
After figuring out which knights should be in which graves, we were able to return the shades of the knights to their rest and we left the tomb in time to see a coven of Mind Flayers enact a ritual that summoned the Brood Mother Dragon. The Mind Flayers were expecting to take control of the Brood Mother, but the mighty dragon turned the table on those creatures, and her passage caused earthquakes and rockslides. We were forced to flee until the tremors stopped causing rockslides, and only about half of us made it to the Brood Mother’s lair. Margaret’s call for Divine Aid eventually brought the rest of our compatriots to us.
The Brood Mother was too mighty a dragon for us to defeat directly. We were obliged to attack her by stopping up steam vents with boulders, resulting in a buildup of pressure that would fling the boulders into the air, and not doing much good for anything they landed on. This was not what you’d call an exact science and took a lot of doing, even with the Giant Strength scrolls our surveyors saw fit to make for us, and even this method of attack only knocked the Brood Mother senseless. Margaret and I pacified the creature by singing the Dragon Egg lullabye we’d used in the dragon egg repository earlier. With the Brood Mother returned to her slumber, we adventurers finally were able to wring some more sweat out of our clothes and likewise catch some sleep.
Sunday dawned on a lack of dire threats to the Realms, so after negotiating an agreement between a cheesemonger, a cat, and a man that could charitably be referred to as uncomplicated, we assisted an architect in exploring a tower that had belong to the Sable Dragon Knights. The first level involved stacking boulders and dealing with golems. Unfortunately, the golems were not the friendly dragon egg protecting kind, and we were fresh out of those Giant Strength scrolls and had to move the boulders the hard way. Resolving this level allowed us access to the next, where statues of the Sable Dragon Knights would animate to do honorable combat with any who challenged them. Defeating all five of the statues granted us access to a third level, which I missed out on entirely because Mistral and I were called to test our valor and worthiness by the Blackavarian Spirit of the Arcane. In accepting the challenge and prevailing, we proved that spellcasters could rise to the examples of honor and worthiness set by the Sable Dragon Knights. We also had a little funsie sorcerous duel between the two of us, where Mistral prevailed.
By the time we got back to the group, Margaret was taking possession of some kind of blue orb fountain thing. Coming back out of the tower, we found some goblins had set up a carnival game, but apparently goblins don’t like getting wet, because it started to rain and they scattered.
Honestly, I don’t see how the rain could have made us any wetter than our own sweat was already making us, but the powers that be decided we’d done enough for one weekend. Certainly, the surveyors and academics gathered enough information to keep them busy for quite a while.
Gray Erikkson
Petitioner to Chimeron
9/11/1023
OOC:
As you can see, Knights of the Sable Dragon Questing was a plot-heavy event with a variety of challenges and encounters. The event holders did a good job pacing the event and setting up plot elements that paid off later, such as the Death Wish spells foreshadowing the involvement of Mind Flayers, powering up the foundry activating the caretaker golems in the dragon egg repository, and the Dragon Egg Lullabye being instrumental in pacifying the Brood Mother Dragon. The NPC staff did yeoman’s work scaling the difficulty of the fighting to both support the thematic needs of the scenes and ensure that the PCs had a good time. There was a good mix of serious and light scenes, and the variety of challenges kept everyone engaged that I saw. I certainly enjoyed myself with everything I interacted with and all the players I roleplayed with, both PCs and NPCs.
The weather didn’t 100% cooperate. The humidity on Saturday and Sunday was so thick it was like adventuring in a bowl of soup, and the event ended a little early on Sunday due to rain, but everyone took it in stride and looked out for each other.
Though the event ended with the Brood Mother Dragon returned to her slumber, she is not dead and remains a possible danger to the Realms. Also, I’ve got a dollar says there’s a behind-the-scenes manipulator who has yet to fully reveal themselves. There was even a vampire from that aforementioned coven that got away, so although there was a satisfying conclusion to the main plot, there are certainly plot threads that could be used to lead into future stories in Blackavar. I certainly hope the team will pull on some of those threads. I’d love to attend more events exploring Blackavar and the lore of the Knights of the Sable Dragon.
Posted in taverns across the realms
“To the adventurers of the realms,
Several of you have asked for ways you can aid us, and I said that I would let you know if we needed help. If that offer still stands, Sanctuary needs your help. The new wards you helped to construct last winter have been working tremendously. But it has come to my attention that something has gone wrong.
A refugee, who would usually be shown the way, cannot reach us. Pru is worried about what could be strong enough to block the wards and prevent access for a soul in need. So if you are willing to help, meet me on the 23rd of the Month of Mind (September), and I will open a door to get you as close as possible. If you have not taken them yet, the trials are open to you all, and may the Guardians be with you.
With thanks,
Larry Sanders
Elder of Protection”
~~~
Third- or fourth-hand rumors state some people have been getting usually bad hay fever this season, in which a sufferer sneezes so badly that they forget who or where they are for several minutes.
~~~
Did you hear that Edaonae is dead‽‽‽
More undead have been spotted in the Kingdom of Asteria. Local leaders work to assure the citizenry that everything is under control, but worry persists. Some speculate that members of the Paladins of the Celestial Flame have begun to fall under this necromantic influence.
~~~
Several unicorns have gone missing from the Asterian stables. There is a reward for their return. Please contact Princess Theofania with any leads.
A great door has appeared among the halls of Castle Requiem, from beyond which whispers tease the curious. Something about it is almost irresistible - surely beyond it is the power to destroy one’s enemies, to exact vengeance on those who have wronged you, to bring an end to even the most untouchable foe - or at least such are the thoughts that seem to enter the minds of those who gaze upon it.
The door must be opened, for it cannot possibly stay closed - it is inevitable as the flow of time that someone shall fall to its promises. It is better, then, that it be opened now, so that it is the strong of will who confront whatever horrors lie within…
Most Pacifican merchant ships have had to cease sailing to Nangea. The near-constant storms pose substantial risk of capsizing to all but their largest vessels. Some sailors are refusing to set sail at all, out of fear that their prayers to Calypso are falling on deaf ears.
~~~
Parts of the harbour in Nangea have been evacuated, for huge masses of glowing seaweed render the ports inaccessible from the sea. In addition to the humans fleeing from the seaweed menace, large migrations of wildlife inland have been spotted.
~~~
By working to recover more of Leyla's memories, Brimiri leaders have learned more about ley cores, and they have some guesses as to where to find more of the powerful cores.
There is some sort of disturbance happening in unclaimed farmland to the north of Chimeron and west of the Barony of Banecroft. Travelers speak of disrupted late-summer harvests, and large figures cycling about in now abandoned fields.
Gordon? Can you hear me? Static noises *tap tap*
I don’t think he can hear me. Hm. Well. This is awkward. I hope they have access to The View up North…
Hello! It’s Margaret. I got your orb. Sir Edwyn is a tough egg to crack, I understand why he’s keeping you all busy. Thankfully we’ve got plenty of adventurers with good heads on our shoulders, who I’m sure would love to meet your scholars and archeologists and other smart people.
An expedition into Blackavar sounds fascinating. Your order is one of the ones which I hold in the highest regard, and I would love for the opportunity to explore its ancestral homeland. I’ve heard rumblings from that area when I was in Darkvale, so I think an investigation is definitely warranted. I’ll head there Friday night to the bridge Ser Kovaks has been working on with my Knight and any other adventurers who are willing to pick up the call, and I can’t wait to explore these lands and report what we find!
Until next time,
Squire Margaret August,
Lightbringer of Voraniss
Static “Oh NOW this stupid thing works.” Glass shattering noises
((OOC, I’m super hyped for Knights of the Sabled Dragon Questing! The Knights of the Sabled Dragon do so much to help out our game, and it’s awesome to see them delve into questing content. John, Nate, and Pat have all run fantastic events in the past, and I can’t wait to see what they can do when working together, especially with help from the minds and hearts of all the other KoSD. I look forward to seeing everyone there!))
By, Sara ‘Zarine’ Jessop
This past weekend I journeyed to the lands of Blackwood, a nation renowned for their meats and casinos. I hear there were some issues with monsters from another plane of existence or some such ridiculousness, but all of that involved the woods and being outside and let's face it; I was only there to eat, gamble, shop, and socialize. All things that happen inside.
Upon arrival I was asked immediately about the poker tournament, which I declined to enter as I’d just arrived. As much as I love to socialize around a game of cards, I don’t wish to spend my whole day tied to a table. Well…. not a poker table anyways. With how I play, it’s unlikely it’d be there for more than a few hours, but even that is too much time commitment for me at an event I can only attend for about five hours. Personally I prefer Blackjack, which I was very disappointed was not in the offering this year. There was a table for Let it Ride, but I have never been able to enjoy that for some reason so I did not partake. And sadly it feels as though it’s been an age since Sir Tao has graced us with his Craps.
I was informed shortly after settling in and setting up the Invictus table that there were some appetizers out, specifically the Realms famous Blackwood Meatballs. I wasn’t all that hungry when I arrived as Trent and I decided to have brunch before we traveled, but I did try one and they were delicious as always. Perhaps a little heavy handed on the onion, but not enough to detract from their amazingness. There was also a Tomato Mozzarella Stuffed Flatbread which is a bit of a misnomer as it was definitely more rounded than flat. I actually didn’t know what was inside it at first as I had yet to peruse the menu, but I decided to try it all the same and was very happy that I had as it was absolutely delectable.
Speaking of not reading the menu…I was told that there were deviled eggs and that Sir Mathies had specifically held them in anticipation of my arrival. Now, I am quite an accomplished deviler and I am partial to my own recipe, but I am always quite excited to try another’s take on it. So, here my mouth was all set for the creamy goodness of egg innards mixed with more egg on a bed of, you guessed it, egg! So I immediately popped one in, and was met with a crunch. A wayward shell, you ask? Oh no, dear reader, this was no accident, this was an intentional crunch. You see my loves, these were Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs. Now, I proceeded to eat two more of these crimes against eggkind because I felt obligated to give them their due, especially since others had been deprived of them until my arrival. Sadly the only verdict I could come to is that Mathies will surely burn in hell for this affront to proper food textures. Bit ironic eh?
Fortunately he redeemed himself with the main courses. My plate this year was graciously delivered by Sir Bones who had placed a sampling of each item upon it. The Italian Beef was alright on its own, but it was the sauce that really made it special. I heard it was some sort of wine sauce, which explains why I was so drawn to it. The Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs were divine. It is not always appropriate to use the word moist, but when describing food with just the right amount of moisture it is and this chicken was wonderfully moist.The Sauteed Green Beans were fine, nothing to write home about but since I was already writing about everything else I figured I’d include them anyways. The Crispy Parmesan Potatoes were heavenly and went well with the meats. Apparently there was a vegetarian option that Bones didn’t think to bring along, so I was not able to sample that particular dish.
After the main courses came dessert. There was a fruit salad which I can only assume was full of disgusting pineapple but other people, who apparently enjoy the taste of gross, seemed to be enjoying it. I was more interested in the three cupcake options which were brought to me by the chef himself. There was a Chocolate Cherry, which was good although cherries are not my favorite. Next came the Caramel Apple-Spice, and while clearly the spice of the glorious orange gourds of Autumn are superior, this spice was quite tasty. I saved my favorite for last, The Lemon Creme. Even though I have had it before, it surprised me yet again how much I enjoy a good lemon frosting.
Besides gambling and food, there were a few other offerings of note. Belle had the debut of her new shop, Belle’s Baubles, and it was full of all kinds of, well… baubles. I bought a very lovely hair clip that I can’t wait to wear to the next gathering. Sir Kara had some logic puzzles that she awarded raffle tickets for solving. Kiira and I teamed up on those and had fun figuring them out, even though I was told there would be no math and these were definitely math. That leads us to the raffle prizes, which were supposed to be drawn one per hour but I think Tao lost track of time because it seemed that only a few were drawn early. It also seems like Blackwood members won a large percentage of prizes in their own lands… perhaps Conspiracy Theory Monthly might want to look into that. Speaking of, there was a paper copy of that very amusing publication distributed on the tables. Of course there was court, which was fairly short. There were some knightings, squirings, land transfers, recognitions for accomplishments, etc. Usual court business.
Overall it was a very lovely if hot and humid day in Blackwood. Picklegate aside, the food was delicious. There was light attendance this year, but the company was enjoyable and it was nice to be able to socialize without an overwhelming crowd. Daekara (hopefully) learned how to cook chicken and Mathies learned to keep his pickles away from my eggs and we all left happy and full.
And I have leftover Meatballs.
