Morning Coffee Break

Got your morning cup of coffee and a few minutes? Great! We're trying out a new feature at the View - we're going to be asking a series of questions and we want to know your answers! The question is posted below. So while you sip your morning beverage of choice, ruminate on this one:

With Halloween fast approaching, the View wants to know - 

If your character got isekaied (Google it if unfamiliar with the term) into one of the following video games, which one would they most likely thrive in? Explain why you think so.

Head on back to Social Media to let us know!  

Why I Want to Go - Nedengiving: Opening the Halls back up

Written by: Dani "Elizah" Lacasse

Every year around this time we often find ourselves asking “What am I thankful for?” From good health, to family & friendship, another big thing that always crosses my mind is how grateful I am for being part of such a supportive community that cares so deeply about service and giving back to others. Nedengiving is one of many of those events that embodies just that, and I for one am thrilled to see it back in full swing. 

For starters, this event hosts Nedens annual canned food drive that will be supporting the Veterans North East Outreach Center. Bringing at least 5 cans will not only provide a discount on the event entry fee but traditionally has gotten you some tickets to enter in their auction. And if the prizes from Neden BBQ this year are any indication of what's in store for the auction table, you definitely don't want to miss out. The last canned food drive they hosted, the community brought in over 600 cans to donate. [and I challenge us to beat that number this year!]

For folks who haven't had the pleasure of attending this event in the past and may need a little more convincing, there's typically a little bit of activity for everyone to enjoy. Mingling and gambling amongst them, though some of my past favorites that I hope are making a return are the various carnival games including Lord Syruss’s favorite of course, cornhole and Nymbous's SmithNEDian Museum that displays some of Nedens magical artifacts. JB also announced that a new activity to the Neden Hall, that we saw last at their BBQ will be making a reappearance and trust me, even if you don't participate, Judge Dresden is just as entertaining to observe.

Oh, and obviously there's the food! The food at this feast has never disappointed (except that one time with Madame Zarine and cranberry sauce, but you'll need to ask her about that some other time) with their generous conventional spread of “givings” foods, though this year I hear whispers of sea crustaceans as part of the menu? Whatever is served, I'm sure it'll be delicious!

Back in April our dearest Neden friends hosted their first event back in five years and it truly felt like they never missed a beat. The energy and atmosphere were as welcoming and as lively as ever and I expect that Nedengiving will be no different. So grab your cans and pull up a chair.  

See you in the hall,

Sir Elizah

Low Res Realms!

It's time for a new interactive feature here at the View

Below is a photo... kinda.

It certainly used to be a photograph before we converted it to a pixelated mess.

We's like you to figure out the following based on just the squares of color below.

• What event is this?
• What is happening in this picture?
• Who are some of the people in the picture?

The full photo will be revealed later this afternoon.

Guess That Realmsie!

Another in our continuing series! In the below picture there is a Realmsie-shaped black hole. Can you figure out who it is based only on the profile? Tell us on social media if you think you know who it is! The answer will be revealed later in the day.  

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Realmsie Radar (Charts)

We have a new fun feature here at the View! Part guessing game, part chance to explore the not-as-obvious traits of your characters and your character's friends. Mostly a good opportunity for some light-hearted fun!

Below are three radar charts with character stats, as is common in many RPGs and similar gaming experiences. Your job is to figure out what chart belongs to what Realms character.

There is no right or intended answer to any of these radar charts. They are made with a hearty dose of randomness and ridiculousness. Nonetheless, we at the View have faith you will zero in on exactly which Realmsies hit these stat profiles!

Post your ideas and comments on social media!

Realmsie 1 (blue)

Realmsie 2 (orange)

Realmsie 3 (green)

What You Missed - Black & White 1024: Photo Edition

 Photos by Anna "Hedda" Hewitt and Kersten "YPNN" Prince

[Photo by Kersten] "The vaunted Invictus Gladatorium took place throughout the morning, allowing several new members to join the nation."

[Photo by Anna] "Newbie picks up Blue, a time honored Black and White tradition."

[Photo by Anna] "Light questing and puzzling available to all throughout the day."

[Photo by Kersten] "Shocked aftermath of Sir Cecil swearing Chimeron to Saurabia."

[Photo by Anna] "Chimeron added several esteemed members to the role of Princess and Prince."

[Photo by Kersten] "Black and White Court."

[Photo by Kersten] "Dances at the masquerade are led by Princess Brynn."

Cross the Realms Once More 2

If this is not displaying properly in-browser or your mobile browser is having an issue, click here!

Hello everyone! Below is a classic crossword puzzle where all answers are Knights in our game. Some are newer knights, some are knights that have been around a long time. Every clue is that knight's name scrambled.

See how many you can answer before you have to start looking things up... or using an automatic descrambler tool found on Google.

Tell us how you did on social media!

Word From the West - Black & White

Written by: Dan "N" Hudson

*The following was discovered in a dingy diary lost along a road, and translated from the original goblin to be readable in the common tongue. Spelling and grammar also underwent heavy corrections.*

Dear Diary,

My name is Gobbergobber now! It was Paul for a bit, but I traded that lame, short name for a super cool long name. Sadly that is the only thing I got to keep from our robbing of the mail carrier the other day - adventurers killed my pals and our trolls and took back all the mail we stole. No fair! Stealing things and disrupting the postal service is what I live for, yet apparently it is illegal in Chimeron just like other fun things like necromancy and murder!

I have made it my quest to change Chimeron’s unfair anti-fun laws, starting with the outlawing of theft! I talked to the guy who’s been king for years and get this - he didn’t even make the law! It’s been around since a monarch named Queen Meg, with no one questioning this outdated law that has no place in today’s society! The king made it clear that I would have to talk to this queen about changing the law, so that’s what I set out to do.

But it’s proving harder than I thought! He said that she was under the hill but I’ve been checking under every hill I can find and still no sign of her! Was I lied to? Did this “Queen Meg” ever really exist? I don’t know, but I’ll either find the truth or get tired trying and give up.

Make stealing legal!!!

-Gobbergobber

P.S. I’m hungry so I’m gonna go eat a pig now. A stolen one, because I like stealing things.

Happy Veterans Day!

The View from Valehaven staff would like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to all the members of our community who served.

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Us

Hello people of the Realms,

I wanted to wait a couple days before I sent out this message, I wanted you to understand that while this missive is certainly a reaction, its purpose is not to be reactionary.

It’s no secret that many members of our beloved community feel less safe today than they did last week.  Some are worried about health care, about civil liberties, about their place in society, even about their continued right to be who they are. If there was something that could be said to make any of those fears evaporate I would say it in an instant. 

Sadly I don’t have those words for you, but I’ll offer to you what words I do have.

Those of you who are old like me remember a well loved reporter and news anchor for CBS named Dan Rather. A voice who reported some of the most pivotal events of the previous generations including Kennedy’s assassination and Nixon’s Watergate scandal. Though he’s retired, he’s still active as a writer and on social media. Wednesday he posted this:

“I wanted to share my daughter Robin's post from this morning:

We can do hard things ( again.)  Get up. Shake it off. Don’t panic or isolate.  Take care of the young ones who got their hopes up. Encourage their dreams.  Lean into your trusted political and social networks and plan how to connect with other adjacent groups quickly and make plans. Organize more deeply than you think we can. Resistance starts now. We know how to do it. We’ve done it before. Visualize our getting through this in the most beautiful and intact way. Please please please just do not give up. We can love and protect each other through this. We have to.”

As I took time to ponder Robin Rather’s words, I stumbled upon the realization that she was talking about Realms. Not directly, obviously, but so much of what Realms is can be found in what she’s asking of us.

There’s no doubt that Realms is, for many of us, our most important and enduring social network. When you look across the community, it’s easy to count the reasons that we are each different from one another but at the end of the day aren’t most of those differences superficial? The things that unite us, the things that we have in common with one another, are much more obvious and powerful if we take a step back and look for them.

In this community, in the Realms, you have a place full of like-minded individuals who care about one another like family, who have mentored each other and helped one another navigate their place in the world, who have learned and grown beside one another as we’ve become better versions of ourselves.

I’ll paraphrase something Queen Meg herself once imparted to me. In this community we have a place where we have quested together to save the world, even if it wasn’t the real world we were saving. We have a place where we have stood beside each other to fight off evil, even if that evil was only make-believe. We have a place where we have bled together in combat even if no real blood was ever spilled to the ground.

These experiences were real, even if they were about pretend things. The feeling of wanting to save the world, the resolution to stand against monsters, the willingness to shed blood on behalf of the ones you love. Those things are yours. You earned them. You are strong. Stronger, perhaps, than you even know.

Finally I want to say something about resistance.

Resistance means probably a hundred different things and will take a hundred different forms and I can’t pretend I fully understand even a fraction of all of them.

But I do know this. One type of resistance, a very powerful one, is joy.

I know that seems counterintuitive to some, and it might seem flippant to talk about joy when so many people are afraid, but I’ll try to convince you that it’s not. Joy is self-care. Joy is a panacea to burn-out.  Joy is recharging our batteries to allow us to brace for harder things. Joy is fellowship and the ability to make use of the fact that humans need connections to one another to thrive. Joy is a type of support that can shelter us if we let it and can inspire us if we leverage it to do so.

Experiencing victory together. Giving those who are scared a place to put fear aside for a moment. Comforting others with a sense of family and community. Celebrating each other’s achievements. Doing little things to make one another happy. All of these things and countless others just like them. Those are the immutable joys that belong to us here in the Realms.

I say these things because I want to implore this:

Continue all the amazing things that you do to keep Realms a place full of joy and do not foist guilt upon yourself for seeking that joy in a time when the world feels far from perfect.

I believe in you and I believe in us.

In service,

Jason Rosa, on behalf of the Knights of the Realms

Undersigned,

Matthew Brenner

Keith Cronyn

Kathy Fey

Randy Gordon

Angie Gray

Jason Gray

Ben Greene

Lani Jones

Steven Matulewicz

James Murphy

Tucker Noyes

Janna Oakfellow-Pushee

Sean Veale

Rumors for November 1024

[Blackavar]

With the passing of the Harvest and their annual Sowing of the Ground celebrated with so-called "Blood Games", the Orcs of the Mountain Clans have entered their hibernation for the winter.

[Chimeron]

Chimeron City: There have been reports of newcomers to the city asking about good places to worship Gaia in the area, though local Gaians say that they have not encountered any new Gaia worshippers fitting the descriptions of these strangers.

~~~

Clayburgh, Chimeron: In the small port town of Clayburgh, soldierly types calling themselves Ranterrans have come from across Lake Behert to establish trade, bringing crops from their harvest and looking for work as guards and mercenaries. Residents have expressed minor annoyance at how quick the visitors are to praise their god Ran, some sort of foreign golden dragon god of light and creation, but they appreciate the business nonetheless.

[Necron]

Scouts around Necron have reported increased activity in and around Necron.  Walls are being shored up, gates reinforced.  The gates have also started to emit a strange greenish glow as well.

[The “Saurabian Empire”]

Dissent grows among the populace, and secluded rooms are filled with talks of secession. In more brazen parts of the empire, people openly talk as if they were never a part of Saurabia!

What You Missed - Black and White 1024, Chimeron [Court Edition]

Sometimes important things go down during court. It would be nice if the abridged meeting minutes were shared so that those of us in the Realms who are not able to attend Court are still able to keep abreast of the minutiae of the politicking that occurs. With Sir Cecil's abdication and Sir Orion's rise to princehood, this last court is especially interesting.

Court began with a procession of the Royal House and important governmental figures of Chimeron. As the figures found their spot, with Sir Cecil and Sir Orion standing in front of their prospective seats, a hawk appropriately sounded off, marking the significance of this moment.

Once all had taken their seats, Sir Cecil stood, and declared that Chimeron was to go to the rule of Saurabia. Comically, Cecil clapped a hand immediately over his mouth as the court looked on in shock. Thankfully this was met with levity rather than accusations of betrayal, and after a brief misunderstanding with the King's Guard, Alpacasaurus was given high fives per the orders of the then king. Sir Orion has since reversed this ruling, with Saurabia not to be in charge of Chimeron.

Unfortunately it's not all levity, as then Advisor Cressida read off a letter from "the Author", who is believed to be the resuscitated shadow of the being formerly known as Rexan, though in the letter they claim to not be the same entities. The Author declared Daniel, a missing child from Blackavar, is theirs now, and with him the gift of creation. Cressida did an admirable job reading it neutrally, when one could have easily taken the tones to be mocking. The Author extends an invitation to all to

"Knock Knock Knock, and then again

Upon the Harrowed Gate

Three more knocks and then descend

Willingly to your Harrowed Fate."
And wrote that while they won't be attending Sir Orion's coronation, a gift will be sent instead.

Desserts as organized by Fern: Thimble, J'ortsa, High Lord Temorse, Sir Jean Baptiste, Ser Iawen, and Omri created culinary fudgy treats for the judges and people who attended Black and White. Omri's "streussal crumb bottom, coffee dark chocolate fudge, apple caramel fudge" won.

The Order of the Peacock were called, and Aiden spoke for the Order to welcome Lady Liselle into their ranks. They announced that this upcoming season there won't be a color, but an accessory to denote fashion according to the judgings of the Order, and that this year's accessory is: Pouches. It was also announced that there was not one chosen winner of "Black and White" fashion, but each member called out several whose outfits they admired.

Zarine: Kiira of Invictus, Lupa of Invictus

Kyomi: Sarah of Blackwood, Griffin of Chimeron

Tarnisha: Aelias of Invictus

Aiden: Hedda of Blackwood

Back to business, Fancy of Arken called for aid from the Realms for dealing with a band of "wild folk" who had appeared in Mid-Realms. They appear to be holed up in some sort of fortress, and may be worshipping some sort of mirrored rock. Fancy anticipates being ready for this quest some time in the early months of the new year by the common Realms calendar. January or February.

The Gambler's Guild were called, including members: Sir Avendar, Sir Zatara, Sir Tao, Sir Daekara, Sir Matthias, and Sir Eldritch. Sir Tao spoke for the Order, speaking of inducting a new member as well. He called up Sir Wil, with a ceremony that amounted to "Do you wanna?" with Sir Wil stating, "Of course."

Sir Pawldo was called up for Knights of Garm, and he in turn called up Sir Pilpus and Sir Tara. Pawldo spoke briefly about Garm's ultimatum a few years ago where a god had to be put on the chopping block, and Rexan was chosen. Pawldo talked about interlopers that threaten the godly order. Now, Asmodeus, Avatar of Garm, has made Sir Tara a squire to Knights of Garm and issued a new ultimatum for there to be five new squires to the Knights of Garm.

Ser Kovaks stood for the Knights of the Eternal Flame in order to bestow a Fireball, an indicator of honor from the KOEF, upon a worthy member of the community. They spoke to how adventurers can continue their work and attend events such as these freely because of the work Isla of Rhiassa does to ensure Cub Care is available for those with cubs of their own. Thank you Isla!

King CuCullain interrupted court to say that the Fae acknowledge all the work Cecil has done, and his accomplishments. He stated that the gates of Danaan are always open to Sir Cecil. When the two embraced, whispered words were exchanged that could not be heard by the court. When they broke apart and King CuCullain took his leave, he left with the parting announcement that Sir Cecil is expected at Fae Court.

Sir Orion called on five individuals for their efforts in Gi: Sir Jean Baptiste, Fern, Caleal, Sir Eimon, Apprentice YPNN. They had varied impact on the war efforts, leading to success, and were named "Great Heroes of the Resistance."

Sir Pawldo is once more called up, this time to be acknowledged by Sir Cecil for all his efforts. While Sir Cecil won't make Pawldo an Avatar of Chimeron during his reign, he stated that it will occur in Sir Orion's reign, to which Sir Orion agreed.

Princess Brynn and Princess Cimon stood. They talked about increasing their numbers and acknowledging the efforts and accomplishments of Cressida. After throwing in a joke about how Cressida keeps him in check, Sir Cecil called Cressida from where she stood as Advisor, and transitioned her from the role of Advisor to Princess. Although she still had to finish up heralding court.

Princess Cressida stated the last word went to the crown: Sir Cecil stated that he likes symmetry, things coming around. He named Princess Brynn as Princess in his first official act as king, the very first thing he did when he was coronated was call her up. And now he would like his last official act to be to call Sir Wil up, to acknowledge him as a Prince of Chimeron.

Cecil then placed his crown on the thrown, and left.

Prince Sam called Avatars of Chimeron on him, and led the procession of Court out. Thus, court of Black and White 1024 was concluded.

What You Missed - Black & White 1024

Written by: Anna "Hedda" Hewitt

The Retelling of the Masquerade celebration of Dià de los Muertos know as Black and White.

As we arrived people were spewn about preparing for the day. They newer adventurers went on a quest to save the mail carrier who was far to late in delivering a scavenger hunt.

All the whole blue was causing a ruckus and attacking people all about. Many a person becoming enchanted by this spirit after grabbing its weapon. They began to slay their friends and enemies alike. 

This continued on for a while as there was a very entertaining bingo card which had spaces that could be filled out by interacting with blue in many ways. 

People all about worked on completing their bingo cards in record time all while enjoying the array of the day board. There was an array of savory snacks such as crab bite, charcuterie, bread with flavored butters & dips to name a few. 

Drink were also a hot with mulled ciders, flavored water, and poison drink. 

Yes many a people died to be able to have a taste, all of which seemed to think it well worth it. Our adventurers with resistance to poison and resisting death became very pertinent in removing the poison so people could enjoy. 

All the while fights for champions and tournaments in full swing down in the fighting ring. 

Not long after Blackwood Joe came about and told us of his need for assistance. We traveled out to find golems protecting a station in which there was quick the intricate experiment. Having to balance circuits with proper scale patterns to the layline and gather crystals from the golems to power it all. Many new and seasoned adventurers collaborated on this challenge. 

404 and the newer adventurers focused on solving the puzzle with their smarts. 

Sir Elizah, Sage and I went for the route of trial and error.

In the end we managed to get power through to the circuits. As I wandered back to wet my pallet with more snacks. The team was able to distill opal at the experimental table! 

All while I enjoyed a snack or mushroom and broccoli risotto. 

After which I was able to convince Pawldo to eat chocolate as a werewolf and complete regicide to complete my bingo card!! 

People in the tavern were playing poker, blackjack, and spending there gambled coin at the array of wonderful shops. 

As time continued on people switched into their finery and Chimeron enlisted the help of Ser Vesper of Blackwood and Runaris of Invictus  to guard their doors so they could complete their blood ritual in peace. Once completed we all moved our way towards court. 

Approaching court one could see an array of the mask covering everyone's faces as they settled in. 

Many a wonderful things happened at court.

Cecil begun by announcing Chimeron under Sarbia. Then regretting not having magic blocked on himself today if all days.

Sir Wil was made apart of the gabler's guild and a prince of Chimeron, Cressida was made a princess of Chimeron, Pawldo was brought forth as one of the longest serving members of Chimeron and told Prince Regent Orion would dub him avatar of Chimeron at his own coronation. 

A fireball was given to Squire Isla by Sir Kovaks in person as they were recognized behind the scenes but deserved their limelight. 

The order of the peacock welcomed Liselle into their ranks and named pouches as the next year's fashion statement. They recognized the outstanding ability to look better than the rest to Squire Griffin, Lupa, Sir Kiira, and Myself. 

Sir Orion recognized the efforts of Sir Eamon, Fern, Ypnn, and Sir Caleal for their efforts in Gi. How they helped to turn the tide of the battle.

King Cuchulain invited King Cecil to his court in fae. 

I'm sure I've missed a few details but it was a court to remember for sure. 

We had a nice auction, which I took short leave of to present a (much to handsy with other folks husbands) dead body before my King. 

Finally we all went to desert and dance. People enjoyed the evening all while the wild hunt went on in the woods just near. 

At this point dance had gone on for a while all while death wandered about. 

I decided it was time to take my leave and rest after a day or running about. 

It was quite the day of meeting new adventurers and having an array of different things to pass the time. A culmination of King Alexander Cecil hanging up his crown in preparation for Sir Orion to take his seat on the pedestal. 

With all due respect and a bit of jest,

Squire Whan-Hedda con Atlantis of Blackwood.

Word From the West - KosD Questing

Written by: Brookelyn "Rowan" Gingras

Inspired by the festivities in Blackavar this weekend, some locals have been heard exchanging tales of traditional folklore. One such story goes as told:

*A very long time ago, two knights traveled along a river red with salmon. Before long they spied a large grizzly feasting on the bank ahead of them. The blue knight raised her swords to fight, but her companion bade her caution. 

"Look yonder," said the knight in brown. "See her cubs, and the three fat with fish. She will not hunt us, but to threaten them with their backs to the gorge would be a dangerous gambit. Let us travel by with peace." 

The blue knight saw the wisdom in this and withdrew. But as the knights stalled, a wild boar came out of the woods, lured by the smell of fish kill. Seeing these threats, the bear gathered her cubs and began to circle the knights at a distance such that she kept the pair between herself and the dangerous boar. In this way the knights found themselves trapped when the boar charged. 

Acting quickly, the blue knight took hold of her companion's pike and planted it at the ready. The charging boar impaled himself upon it and was slain, and the bears took the opportunity to flee. The danger passed, the two friends returned home unharmed and threw a grand feast of roast hog. 

Impressed with the beast's boldness and brute strength, the blue knight took the boar as the sign of her house. The brown knight was inspired by the bear's wisdom and cleverness in protecting its own, and from that day on he wore it as his crest.*

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

What You Missed - KoSD Questing 2: Slumbertimeland

Written By: Stephen "Laika" Sanford & Bri "Margaret" Meisser

Previously on KOSD Questing… AHEM. In order to keep this article at a decent pace without recapping too much please check out this slideshow these points of power my Squire Margaret August has made: CLICK HERE 

One year after the reclamation of Blackavar the nation and its people welcome us within their lands. The Mindflayers seemingly gone, the Brood Matron sleeps once more but now there are two new problems. Rexan has returned and seeks a host and a young boy named Danny has gone missing and Blackavar city has had strange sightings in the night.

Friday

We arrived to merriment and politics. Several of the noble house members have shown up, the main three being Adam Carnac who values wealth and runs most of the economy of Blackavar, Baron Kurt Gautier who resides within the castle he seems to value protecting the land and its citizens and runs the guards and military of Blackavar, Finally Lady Isabelle Taunton who seems to value being a debutante and seems to be in charge of the festivities and entertainment.

There was so much to do, Carnival Games, Campfire stories, an open bar, a Poker Tournament and gambling, Fortune Telling, a Silent Auction for a mysterious possibly cursed magic item, a potluck dinner (I provided the smoked pulled pork) a spooky pumpkin walk with ghosts and scarecrows!

I missed out on the pumpkin walk, apparently the ghosts were people dressed up in sheets and some scarecrows attacked some of the event-goers. When everyone returned, Gautier and Taunton had a very vocal argument over the safety of Blackavar and how Lady Taunton lifting the curfew was a bad idea and would lead to others getting kidnapped or killed.

Afterwards we saw a glowing light down by the water and went to explore. It was Danny who was very confused about where he was. He kept claiming he was looking for Danny and said he misplaced his wand by putting it down somewhere. When mentioning about his mom he got really sad and wanted to leave. Margaret Seanced him back and after some coaxing and a divine aid he stayed to talk for a bit more, we learned that his parents had told him to stay put in their house seemingly before being attacked. Danny left us but that was not the only time we saw him this weekend.

Saturday

We wake up to a full festival and an open world to explore, there was many shops and wares to buy, a scroll shop with many magical implement and familiars, a blacksmith to purchase newly crafted weapons, a chainmail shop, a casino, a job board,  and many other sights within the town. This was the first event debuting a new token known as the dragonmark which is worth 5 gold and double that in blackavar but could only be spent for players 2 years or younger.

Because of Open world questing everyone's experiences may be different and I encourage people to reach out to other players about what they saw and enjoyed because there was several mods and encounters throughout the site running at the same time.

Outside of the town there were many animals and bandits roaming around attacking people, you could find fae homes at the foot of some trees. I first explored the fae homes and found a boy named Jimmy who wanted to meet the fae. We brought him to the first home and he talked with inhabitants and was given a hallowed mark, which was the “good” aligned consumable which can be used in a number of ways. Hallowed Marks are a wooden token with a 7 pointed star in it. Harrowed is the “darker” side of this which is a similar token but with a symbol of fire, harrowed means “distressed”.

After Jimmy left we went to explore more fae huts finding out they had more information on the whereabouts of Danny. James swift encountered the hut and was told to “come back with a warrant” he talked to Baron Gautier’s Son to escort him and provide a warrant. After a hilarious interrogation scene the fae provided a letter giving us more information that several children had been missing in the woods being led by a strange light, which we knew was a connection to Danny.

We returned to the town to find some of the shopkeepers complaining about items being missing and a strange cat. We talked to the cat who was very proud of what was in his sack but would not give it up even when coaxed with coins or other offers. Eventually James tries to take the sack and the cat begins swinging boulders and kills several of us before going down and regenerates. The Guards of the town try to get the cat to leave but do not want more combat in town in fear of breaking things or with more casualties. I decide if this cat wants a bigger sack, what's better than a large trash bin, I haul it over and begin shaking it. The cat takes the bait and I lure it out of town where we kill it again and take items from its sack. It regenerates again and James swift kills it once more and 3 racoons pop out leaving a trench coat. Looking back at it, the trash makes a lot of sense for why it worked.

After this there was a town hall which I missed to help out staff and I was also injured during the night quest so I will turn you over to my trusty squire to fill you in with the details here.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi. Margaret here :)

The nobles invited us to a town hall where we could learn about their visions for the future of the nation and exert our influence upon the proceedings such as by offering military, economic, or political favor to the various parties. Lady Taunton seemed concerned with integrating various factions into Blackavar such as the Orcs and the Woodland Alliance. Baron Gautier was very concerned about Blackavars military and protecting against the threats at night. Adam Carnac wanted to ensure Blackavars capital interests were taken care of. And Wilma Wilmont had eyes on the future with long term planning initiatives and a desire to build a school. Fess also asked for influence for the Woodland alliance which he managed to get in spades. It will be interesting to see how the influence gathered by the different parties affects Blackavar going into the winter months.

After a nice dinner break, we came back with many children having gone out into the woods chasing after Danny in some form of trance. The children were able to be recovered, but Lady Taunton asked us to find Danny in hopes of bringing him back and stopping this trance. We encountered a Fae dragon named Fredrick who Danny created, and who has tried to steal Laika before. This obviously made me very wary. We eventually found Danny on a swing which he had dubbed the safe zone, so he could not be hurt. His safe spot was surrounded by Harrowed creatures who come out of the portal from Slumbertimeland in the night. I convinced Danny that we needed his help to defeat the big bad evil snake that has been Harrowing all his friends, and so we ventured into Slumbertimeland in order to fight off the bad guys and save the day, moving the story along. Little did we know that this was only the foreword.

But first we had to fight our way through the portals. We fought through Harrowed beings as well as scarecrows. With Danny hiding under his blankie whenever the fighting got too close and he got scared. At one point, someone thought the hidden Danny was a scarecrow and began to burn away his blanket which distressed the boy, but Johan was able to fix it. Throughout this, Danny was asking people about becoming his best friend forever. Those who accepted would become Hallowed. Those who accepted a similar offer from Frederick the Fae dragon became Harrowed. These will be important. We also saved Danny’s owl friend Varrus from being roasted alive, as well as saved Danny from being scared for life by this fact.

Eventually we made our way into the portal after a friendship ritual led by Tefara helped to activate the portal long enough for us to enter. After talking with Danny, we realized that despite his powers, he was not the one writing this story. He cannot create things without his magic wand which he put down. Some seer magic, a nightmare, and a Harrowed individual later, we learned that it was the remnants of Rexan, under the new moniker The Author, who was writing the story we were in. This could not possibly cause any issues ever.

After being warned of trials ahead, the heroes approached a river. Only those who were Harrowed could pass freely. The rest of us were told to put our fatal flaws into The Author’s book. Some did so, some did magic shenanigans in order to get around this requirement, and some got Harrowed in their attempt to cross. There was a lion, as well as two other animals. I believe a leopard and a bear? I was unable to tell in the dark. All I know is we sang the lion to sleep and the others were dealt with so we were on our way.

We eventually made our way onto the field where we found Sleeping Beauty's castle entrapped in vines. As well as some lightning clouds and some fairies. There was a cool light puzzle for determining how to kill the enemies and get back through the portal to Slumbertimeland that people better at puzzles and fighting than me figured out. We eventually made our way through, unlocking the Table of Contents. Danny stayed behind to clean up the castle, and a very tired adventuring party made our way to bed. Back to Laika.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday

After a long rest we woke up to a wonderful silly and over the top Funday Sunday as all good weekends should be. In this case it was the orcs of the woods inviting us to BLOOD GAMES. When we approached the group of orcs they played a song on drums, it was a delightful ORChestra. The adventurers followed up with their own rendition of “We will rock you”. The first tournament was grand melee which went longer than it should as people kept getting raised. During the day anyone could break weapon restriction and be a fighter and even do combos not allowed by the omnibus. Afterwards there were many lighthearted and overly dramatic games such as: 5’ Florentine, Voranian Dagger Fighting, Voranian Great Sword, Voranian Double Sword, Three- Armed, Rock Throw, Rock tournament. Each tournament was in good spirits and gave even the youngest of adventurers a good shot at winning and having fun beating up our veteran adventurers.

The final tournament was poisonball, my least favorite tournament. It was regular rules but armor did not come back, giving advantage initially to fighters but as armor went away 1 paths could be more successful. I did almost win within a few minutes knocking out everyone but rosetta, burning through my armor I took a killing blow making the game go on. Knowing that a win from here on out would be extremely unlikely I spent the rest of poisonball helping train the younger adventurers on how to fight against a great weapon.

The tournaments were done for the day, the site wrapped up but the festivities weren’t quite over. One thing I neglected to point out was throughout the day  the BLOOD GAMES was a tournament to spill blood so the crops could grow in the spring, these orcs had been using blood magic throughout the day. A certain member of Stonewood, Magus James Swift, had been understandably upset at the practice. James had to be talked down from burning everything to cleanse it. Due to the orcs worshiping Gaia, he gave them a religious exemption. James Swift stormed off and claimed to not return until Blackavar contacts him in the future.

Overall I and many adventurers had a great time, this was the perfect event for so many first event newbies. It always feels great seeing so many smiles as people come together to support others in this game. As always thank you KOSD Staff and NPCs for a memorable weekend and here's to seeing KOSD Questing III.

Why I Want To Go - Black & White 2024

Written By: Bri "Margaret" Meisser and Keith "Saegan" Cronyn

The yearly Black and White Masquerade is one of those ‘must hit’ gatherings every year. It is a chance to catch up with friends, catch up with plot, and get the biggest announcements at court. It is also a sampling of all that the realms has to offer.

Many nations partake in cultural festivities throughout the event. Two of particular note for those who are combat inclined are the Champion of Chimeron tournament, and Invictus’s Gladiatorum. I highly suggest people observe these events if they are able and ask those involved about their significance. 

Chimeron also has a strong connection to Fae that will be taken full advantage of during these festivities. From the White Stag Hunt, to lessons on Mage Runes from Rosetta and the Fae section of The Dreaming from Phee. While these are the known hooks, I hear there may be other adventures awaiting. So keep your eyes peeled.

Although my own diet is limited, I have been informed by those with functional taste buds that the food at Black and White is always delicious. And the poison punch will likely make its traditional appearance. Even though I do not partake in the punch, it is always amusing watching those who do. 

Black and White is also unique as one of the only events where we are able to enjoy traditional dancing. Princess Cimone has spent time teaching many of us how to dance over the years and it is an experience I highly recommend everyone try at least once, if not every year. 

Court at Black and White is always important, but this one will be an incredibly memorable one. It is King Cecil’s last time presiding over Court as the Monarch of Chimeron, before passing the torch to Commander Orion. King Cecil is someone who I admire a great deal and has taught me many important lessons. Though he may not be becoming the Oracle of Deep Fae or ascending to fulfill his duties as The Wheel or some other epic retirement, what Cecil is doing is just as noble and important. Taking care of himself and his family. And I am very happy to have Cecil around for some time longer. 

I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday.

Until then,

Seeker Squire Margaret August, Lightbringer

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I love the Lore of Black and White. 

The Veil is thin, such that death, and the dead walk among us. Hide your face, less Death see you, and make you pay your due. Or Embrace your fate, at the risk of yourselves and others around you. 

For me its a great symbol for the end of things. The end of the event year, the end of a characters time in the realms, or perhaps a brief visit from one of our historic losses. 

But, in the same way the very name of the event expresses a duality, the event itself is often the place where new adventurers get their beginning, where we first meet our quickly rising stars. Many newbies take their first foray into the Realms at Black and White. So just as it’s a place for ends, it’s also a place for new beginnings. 

I look forward to the day time questing, and challenges, whether they come in the form of puzzles, or combat. 

I look forward to seeing old friends, and meeting new ones. 

I look forward to the politics of nations, as many nations come to Black and White to do business, whether internally, or across the board. 

And speaking of politics, of death, and rising stars, of ends and new beginnings, it was announced earlier this week that King Alexander Cecil, would be stepping down from the throne, and that Commander Orion would be stepping up and becoming Prince Regent as this event, which is important news to be sure, and something I definitely don’t want to miss. 

It would probably be criminal of me to forget to mention the luxuries that come from the kitchen, and the dessert contest that occurs  at this event, because over the years there have been some memorable examples. The day board being a proud array of finger foods, of various sorts, to suit anyone’s fancy. 

And lastly, I want to mention that Black and White is probably the only place in the Realms where you can expect to learn various traditional dances, its something I look forward too every year, as a truly immersive cultural piece of our game, that goes beyond story. 

So why do I want to go to Black and White? A lot of reasons, just go. 

I’ll see you in the halls, 

Keith “Saegan” Cronyn

Conspiracy MONTHLY

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Laughing God in the eye: Snakes and Daggers

A comic about games between gods.

by Ethan "JB" Goldman

Arius does not like snakes. He is indifferent to ladders.

That isnt a god of butter, thats a table.

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Maker's Space with Maria "Liselle" Carr

 Organized by: Justin "J'ortsa" Thibeault

Makers Space is a View series about interviewing the makers, crafters, and artificers of the Realms and sharing their creations with everyone! I know I take pride in my work so I know you all must as well. That being said, how often do you get to humbly (or not so humbly) brag about your creations, so this is your outlet! Tell me everything!!

1. What is your OOC name?

Maria Carr


2. What is your character's name?

Liselle Silvermaple


3. What crafting mediums do you typically work in?

Fabric (Sewing), Embroidery, Vinyl, Fabric Paint, Yarn

All photos provided by Maria

4. What is your favorite medium to work with? Why is it your favorite?

Fabric by far. I love how there are so many different patterns there are to sew and how fabric can change the look of a pattern. Also, many of my other mediums are just different ways to dress up my fabric.

5. What is the most challenging part of working with this medium for you? How did you overcome it?

The most challenging part is the same reason that I love it, the different kinds of fabric. Some stretch or are smooth and silky, thick or delicate and with that are different methods of how to handle each one from changing tension on my Sewing machine and/or serger and to figuring out which fabrics will work best with iron on vinyl and embroidery. I have overcome this with lots of trial and error and I am still learning new tricks and methods all the time.

6. What is the piece you are most proud of? Why?


The piece I am most proud of is the formal garb I made for Shandar. On the day I received my gold wolf, I presented Shandar with a formal doublet in Invictus colors that had detachable sleeves and a side cape. The unique part about this is that the inside is lined with studded leather. It was an interesting challenge as it was the first time that I had done anything with garment grade leather and studs.

7. What is the piece you have done most recently that you are allowed to share? Tell us about it!


Recently, I was commissioned to make Rhiassa new tabards. Jason wanted a new style of tabard that had a split in both the front and the back as well as ties on the side. The entire tabard is lined in one inch bias tape.

8. What is the earliest piece you made? How long ago did you make it?

It’s hard to recall what I made early on in my garb making career since it spans 27 years. Also, back in the day I took pictures with a camera and 35mm film, so I don’t have many digital pictures of my early works. The earliest piece I can remember making is a dark blue doublet with silver trim that I made for Nate/Aelias in early 2000’s, so roughly 20ish years ago. It’s still around and my brother, Antonio/Mistral, wore it to Black and White last year.

9. What medium do you wish to learn more about or have been interested in?

I am looking into doing more with leather. 

10. What advice do you have for the rest of the community when it comes to crafting and making?

That it takes many years, hours, failed projects and lots of practice to get good at a craft. I once made a dress that I was so excited about, and it didn’t work out as it ended up being too big. I was very frustrated because of this and didn’t sew for about 6 months. What did I learn, and my best advice for anyone who is learning how to sew…make a mockup first so you make sure it fits and then adjust from there.

11. What inspires you to do what you do?

When people see the garb they have requested and put it on, they become so excited and that makes me feel so good. It’s also inspiring to see items I have made, still being worn.




12. Is there anything else you really wanna share with us? Any upcoming projects, etc.?

My goal is to help create a more immersive experience one piece at a time whether it’s a by making a banner, favor or garb for myself or for others.

Many of the things I have made for the game over the years have been tabards and banners, embroidered sashes and favors. I made tabards for Mythguard, back in the day, worked with Diana/Kiira to make the new Invictus tabards and most recently for Rhiassa.

Right now, I am working on a big project that I can’t talk about just yet, but it will be seen at an upcoming event before the end of the season.

Cross The Realms Once More

A reprise of an old favorite, it's time for Cross The Realms!

 If this is not displaying properly in-browser or your mobile browser is having an issue, click here!

Hello everyone! Below is a classic crossword puzzle where all answers are spells or caveats in our spell system. They are all spells or caveats that are a single word. Each clue is the name of that spell that has been scrambled.

See how many you can answer before you have to start looking things up... or using an automatic descrambler tool found on Google.

Tell us how you did on social media!

What You Missed - Hartlepool's Sunken Picnic

By: Owen "Kalashai" Lacey

On Saturday we were all invited to Hedda’s home in Blackwood: the underwater swamps of Hartlepool. Upon arriving we were enchanted to be able to breathe underwater (which, at least in my case, resulted in manifesting a pair of gills for the day), and told to watch out for the muddy swamp nearby that seemed to be spitting out undead. She also mentioned that she had lost a few small boxes in the swamp that we should look for throughout the day. Throughout the day Blackwood was distributing food made in the Hartlepool kitchen. While there wasn’t a massive amount of it, what we did get was very good. The butternut squash soup in particular provided a much needed boost during the tournaments, and the chocolate and oat snacks were a nice sugary treat during the day.

Shortly after we arrived, some Kenku birds showed up, asking for help with a map to their missing eggs. Their vocabulary was limited to “Help, map” and “Eggs” (though some people taught them other words, including swears), which led us to hunt for map pieces in the swamp. It turned out the undead had pieces of the map stuck in the muck on them, which the small early group slowly collected. After we had all the pieces of the map, which was a cube made up entirely of L shaped pieces, we retreated out of the swamp to figure out the map and participate in some light tournaments. As it turned out, the tournament prize was a second piece of the map, but it had been broken, so we each got a piece for participating in the early tournaments. We had little luck figuring out either map piece, but more people were arriving, and Ypnn, Cimone, and Rekees managed to solve both puzzles rather quickly once they sat down to work on them.

At that point, we needed to wait for the Kenku birds to finish deciphering the map, so Blackwood set up some more tournaments for us to participate in. Throughout the day we fought in limited-style tournaments with single short, hand-and-a-half, magic missile, “Mumblypeg” (an archery tournament where you scored points by shooting through an opponent's legs), and more. These tournaments were incredibly fun—not too competitive, but also not too silly to take seriously and get some good fighting in.

As the sun was starting to go behind the underwater trees, the Kenku birds returned, indicating that they had deciphered the map and could lead us to their missing eggs. With a full party, entering the swamp and fighting through the muddy undead proved much easier than before. We quickly found our way to a blocked door, with a friendly water snake named Linguine swimming around nearby. A team of puzzle solvers up front worked on the door, while myself, Makhta, Orion, and Ypnn held the back line against the swamp’s undead infestation.

Once through the door we encountered incredibly angry cats lunging at us with claws, teeth, and a massive hammer that broke through armor and bones much quicker than a standard weapon. We chased them back to a lair where they had stashed the stolen eggs, and fought them down until the King Cat stopped regenerating. However, we still couldn’t return the eggs to the Kenku. They seemed to be magically bound to the King Cat’s corpse, and neither disenchant nor resist magic allowed us to take the eggs very far. Even destroying the cat’s body down to bones and goop didn’t help, and left us with cat goop sloshing towards the eggs constantly. It turned out that the eggs had been corrupted with cat magic. Eventually Swift and Ypnn worked together to do a ritual to Aurora to call the cat souls out of the eggs and return them to their natural state, finally boiling away the cat goop we had been carrying around.

Why I Want To Go - KOSD Questing II: Slumbertimeland

 By Kieran/Kyra "Omri" Barry

Once upon a time, in a land far far away... Well, not so long and not so far, our tale begins in the land of Blackavar. Knights of the Sable Dragon's order began amidst war. A dragon tyrant driving the others to greater heights of conflict with other denizens in Blackavar, not merely with words but implied with mind control. While a few may have used this as an excuse to terrorize, the other dragons once freed agreed to the truce set by the original five of the Knights of the Sable Dragon, Bardus, Carnac, Taunton, Wilmont, and Gautier. They will slumber and their eggs will remain undisturbed.

The years have passed. Blackavar became a part of the Realms unreachable to the whole. A Divine War was fought in the interim. Garm deemed that a god should fall, and Rexan was chosen. Rexan passed now two and some years ago, his body consumed. That caused its own now resolved issues. His soul? If it can be called such, was thought destroyed, gone, never to be a bother. If poison and deceit were to become the domains of godhood again it would not be Rexan's.

Once upon a time there was an adventurer named Chan. Flawed, as all adventurers are. Their story is one that ended before mine in the Realms began. I knew them as an angelic spector of Justari, and that a few of my new friends owed their lives to Chan's actions in defeating Rexan, taking on enough soul points that them being an angelic spector was a blessing given the destructive force they faced. And yet. They are now called Amawar. Their history is anew. Chan's sacrifices in some part undone.

Rexan as a sliver is back. Blackavar's Sable Dragon has an egg that is being kept by the Auroran church. If hatches they could be a cause of resurgence of conflict in the Realms. But they are an innocent, potentially. Danny, a child taken care of by the Storyteller, is missing in Blackavar. One of Baron Guatier’s (as it seems families of significance within Blackavar share names to the founders of the Knights of the Sable Dragon) guard was found murdered, her death tied to a storytale figure as told by a talking mouse.

Coincidences are hell of a thing in the Realms. I've learned not to trust them.

As Flamekeeper of the Order of the Lantern I make it a point to inform others of what is necessary to know. Some have come to associate me with a magnifying glass that's now turned to fairy dust. There's trouble afoot and it's centered around Blackavar and these common threads. How they weave together, I do not yet know. There may be more I do not see.

Given that a child's life may be at stake, potentially taken by the shadow of Rexan's former self, I would not say I am excited about it. I am eager to investigate more into the going ons, and am not opposed to using the Blackavar Harvest Festival as a light prelude into the work that follows. And it’ll be an opportunity to get to know the denizens of Blackavar better, strengthen relations between them and the Realms. Please take care not to harm the talking animals.

OOC:

Last KOSD questing in September 2024 resulted in us uncovering a conspiracy from mind flayers to hatch the egg of the Broodmother of the Sable Dragons. We fought a dragon. A bridge was made that connected Darkvale and Blackavar. I tend not to be accurate about what any given event would specifically entail, but what’s laid out in the event description looks awesome. I’m particularly looking forward to festivities on Friday, then diving into the plot that John has laid out for us. I especially appreciate the care the event is taking to be inclusive/welcoming to newbies.

The format of a potential open marketplace for us to explore is also a fascinating one that I personally have not experienced/seen before and I'm excited to see each and every glittering facet of this fascinating gem of a story John is planning out.

I’ve been looking forward to this for a while and am grateful my schedule allows me to attend!

Oh, and do keep an eye out for items that look like this. A) is a page from the Storyteller's book we presume, and B) is some sort of key, its numbering unknown in significance. Both items were located within Slumbertimeland in the Three Bears house.

(A woodcut page with a story of the 3 bears as it relates to the child Danny, including an illustration of 3 bears and a 7 pointed star)

(A wooden key with a 7 pointed star head, and the number 1 in the center of the head)

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Morning Coffee Break

Got your morning cup of coffee and a few minutes? Great! We're trying out a new feature at the View - we're going to be asking a series of questions and we want to know your answers! The question is posted below. So while you sip your morning beverage of choice, ruminate on this one:

With Halloween fast approaching, the View wants to know - 

It's the time of year for pie (I mean, the whole year is time for pie but autumn especially). What is the best pie, sweet or savory, you've ever had at a Realms event?

Head on back to Social Media to let us know!  

What You Missed - Voraniss Questing Tree Fiddy

 By Dan "N" Hudon. and Stephen "Laika" Sanford

Saturday:

Greetings mortals (and otherwise)! Here is my account of the events that transpired during our raid of Dame Gloriana's Spelltower.

Upon arriving at the teleport pad and stepping into Dame Gloriana's tower, we entered into a room with a number of animated brooms sweeping the area clean and destroying any dirt they came across, including our dirt from Stonewood that provided our emergency escape route. They had to be disenchanted to retrieve keys from them which could be inserted into a door. (There was also another door that exploded when opened as some sort of security mechanism). Most of the keys when used enacted various curses (releasing imps that mocked us, getting Elwin stuck in a time loop, turning people into animals, making a flesh blanket...) but eventually we found the right one and moved on.

We snuck through a garden courtyard with patrolling sentries that detected movement and vicious dogs sensitive to sound. At the end we killed the guard dog and used its key to enter the next room.

There was a control room of sorts manned by gnomes who had been there since Gloriana's time. They told us that the tower itself is a device for interplanar travel but had fallen into disrepair, and we needed to fix certain mechanisms in connected planes to be able to access the central chamber. The portal would send us to the planes in a random order, with the first being the Elemental Plane of Fire.

In the Fire Plane, the floor was insta-rending lava except for certain stony areas, and a path could be made by killing fire elementals, causing them to cool and turn into stepping stones. It was super slow going, especially for those trying to carry Sir Wilmot's casket, but there were periodically-placed water obelisks that when assembled would turn all the lava to stone for a short period of time, letting everyone move forward quickly before it turned back to lava again. On one of these times, I ran a bit too far before realizing the rest of the party was stuck behind me dealing with some more elementals that had appeared. Realizing that I was in the middle of nowhere with no stepping stones for when the floor heated up again, I found the nearest isolated fire elemental and killed it with a single, quick piercing blow to create a place for me to stand. I was stranded far behind the elementals' back line, but luckily no elementals noticed me. When the next obelisk was activated I started running again, since we were close to the end and someone called out to run as far as we could. But the end was further than we thought and some elementals appeared to stop the main party in their tracks, in an area with no stepping stones and time quickly running out. Apparently at this point the party had resigned themselves to death, with the healers in the back still on stones figuring out how to deal with the mass rending that would soon occur. But as the countdown for the floor becoming lava started - 10, 9, 8... - I, alone on the rapidly heating lava far ahead, suddenly saw another water obelisk near me, and rushed over to try to put it together as my (and the party's, though unbeknownst to me) only chance of survival. Using one hand (since my other hand was unusable due to a magic item power) I frantically assembled the obelisk's pieces - 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, "The floor is-"

Half a second before the word "lava", I put the final piece in place. ((I looked up at an npc nearby, asking if I got it in time. They called out to Renee (who was marshaling the countdown), saying that I had gotten it just *barely* in time, and she announced that the floor was still stone for now.)) The whole party was able to run forward and make it to the end, without any more casualties from the lava!

So, we reached another portal in the fire plane that lead us back to the tower, where there was a room with a furnace. A chimney sweep was trying to clean a poison monster out of the furnace but got eaten. So did J'ortsa, but we got him out. Anyways, eventually we figured out how to get rid of the monster and we started loading in coal that entered the room in the form of coalems (coal golems) when we pushed a button. Luckily there were pickaxes to deal with those.

With the furnace active, we went through another portal to the Fae Wilds. We had to deal with a bunch of goblins, a scarecrow, mushrooms, and a snake (which Bubbles bargained with for a cool hammer) to gather ingredients for hags who looked like gnomes due to a glamor spell. They led us to an alchemy workstation and taught people how to do some alchemy for the next part of repairing the tower. While that was happening (which went well), some of us talked about the memories we'd been seeing.

So, throughout the day there were these floating crystals that when touched would show people memories of things that happened in the tower. I didn't see all of them but heard about the ones I didn't see. They showed Gloriana's sister, Priscilla, getting killed by a mind flayer Aberration, and Gloriana burying herself in her research on teleportation to the point where gnomes had trouble getting her to eat (though James Swift was able to use divine aids to somehow make her eat the food, or at least make it so we could see the part where she does). The memory in the Fae Wilds was of Gloriana being asked to squire to the Knights of the Aberrant Gate by Sir Wilmot, with her agreeing when he said she could make sure what happened to Priscilla wouldn't happen to others.

After Fae, we went to the Abyss to get some abyssal rocks. The Abyss is a truly awful place where there's tons of demons with armor piercing pikes and such who only take damage from magic weapons. Not a fan of those! There were also some rending pits, and some entities that people made ill-advised deals with for cool daggers. Anyways, we got pretty much wiped and people had to make deals (including with an entity who was *totally* just a messenger and not Asmodeus himself, yup definitely) to get the demons to stop attacking and let us through. The portal out had a sensor that would only let humans through (the first of the "Speciesist Doors") but Rosetta was able to disable it temporarily with a Force of Will. Hopefully not too many demons got out.

We were then in a room with Abyssal rocks to mine while some more demons attacked (guess they didn't get the memo). Luckily, I had lugged the pickaxes from the furnace room all day and we had those to mine them quicker. Less luckily, the stones put a random curse on you when you broke them, but we were able to get the pieces of Abyssal Rock (and candy) inside.

As night fell, rhe next plane on the list was the Negative Energy Plane, where healing magic was useless but any dead were revived after a minute. There were all sorts of creatures of darkness attacking while we made our way through, and interestingly, there were some sort of memory apparitions of Gloriana and Priscilla lost in the darkness, who couldn't see or hear us but reacted to and followed our lights. We got them out and they disappeared, letting us get into a room with a compass we needed to fix.

In this room, when someone touched a memory crystal, this time it played for everyone present. We witnessed Gloriana's knighting by Sir Wilmot, with several of the other Knights (Dame Claudia and Sir Roman) present. Gloriana had just finished the teleportation research and would be heading to Lostpeak to join the other knights.

In this room, we had to act out true stories of the Realms in four categories - romance, tragedy, history, and adventure - in order to fill magic books that go on each point of the compass. With the joyous atmosphere and tales of the good old days, it almost felt more like a campfire than a room in an old wizard tower. I could take the time to recount the stories once more, but it would be better to hear them some time in a similar atmosphere of merriment.

Next was another Speciesist Door, except this one didn't just prevent non-humans from entering, but segregated us and teleported us into a cage! It was quite offensive. We were trapped while the humans (and a few others, like Laika and Rosetta - the sensor must have made a mistake) looted the central sanctum of the tower. While trapped, we noticed that behind another layer of magical barrier behind us were all sorts of terrible creatures! Suddenly the barrier in front of us broke down, letting us free along with a gnome and a mushroom. But then, the next layers of the barrier started going down, letting more and more creatures free and sealing the room until we dealt with them all.

There was a chimera, a mind flayer, a bat creature, a giant cyclops skeleton (like Hugo from the siege of Blackwood), a beholder, and a dracolich, and we had to fight them all at once! It was hard, but we succeeded! ((And yes, the big ones were all full giant monster rigs, and they were *amazing*!))

We finally killed them all and were able to leave the tower, our mission complete. People are hard at work transcribing the results of our raid, which will hopefully give us a leg up in our fight against Sir Edwyn Rainecourt.

-N

WYM: VQ Tree Fiddy Sunday

Divine Intervention

After a long day of exploring Gloriana’s tower we rested and were ready to go to Rathkele to fight Edwin’s forces. What we didn’t expect was we were teleported in our sleep and woke up in hell. Fortunately for my own wellbeing I woke up as a fighter as I was a 3 path the day previously with all the extra energy to pick up a 6’6” and fend off the demons we are now surrounded with. 

Inside hell we were presented with various wards in the form of Demons who were of various aspects where people needed to make a promise or do an action opposite of the aspect the Demon represented. 

These were the following trials:

Apologize to a friend for doing something against them

Swear to commit a crime within a year

Confess an atrocity that you have done and be judged by the crowd around you.

Do something evil to you. In Rosetta’s words– Do something that makes you icky. 

During the final room no magic worked with the exception of intervention and certain powers. We found a frail old man who claimed to have been asleep for a long time. Rosetta cast Identify and he got the answer “God”. This old man claimed to have a piece missing from himself and awoke in hell a year ago. I do have my suspicions on who this man is, I have no concrete evidence and for the sake of preventing misinformation I suspect they are a god that was locked away to prevent the end times.

The old man offered absolution to a demon and removed it of all sin, past and future. Several adventurers also took on the absolution, once the fifth adventurer took the absolution we were sent out of Hell. The old man has now escaped and we learned the absolution is a curse which will spread.  

Those that took his absolution are the following:

Tara, Jasper, Vesper, Jortsa, Wisteria, and a Demon 

Overall It was a great Sunday quest that was just long enough to give us a good work out and with enough suspense and mystery to keep us questioning. 

Thank you Tom, Matt and the VQ Team

-Stephen "Laika" Sanford