Adventures of Caelereth

Thanks for being so patient waiting for this OOC--and really, the legitimization of this story. I sort of began this haphazardly, thinking only of making a good story that might spark some activity here. I wasn't entirely sure that the administrators would approve of my rather subversive and audacious creation.

However, thanks to my feminine wiles and Altario's weakness--but mostly, your active participation in this story--we have actually have our own forum! You guys helped get this story legitimacy, and I want to encourage your ideas, creativity, and participation. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help, and thank you!

PS: I will be working on coming up with a title and description in the next few days. Sorry for the wait!

 :P Doh!  I shoulda knowed better.

Oh wow, I never expected an OOC thread to become a full pledged story. And now, I fear that my attention will be divided between Sins of the Ancestor and Rayne's Story. :undecided:

No worries, Jarrox. Do what you can, and if participation in both is too much, you can drop this story; we'll find a solution.  ;)

What, and lose all the fun? Not likely. :lol:

I'm glad to hear you say so!

I'm going to assume the basic story premise is ready to be revealed.

Notes on this post: Everyone gets ONE "bad-guy" (first come, first serve). You may kill him/her however you please, though I would prefer a death of some sort. I do need someone to disable (but not kill) the guy with the dagger at my character's throat, just for practical reasons (having a dagger at your throat is such a drag, after all), though I can take care of this if need be.

Sorry for the unfortunately long, explanatory post. Hopefully the opportunity for bloodshed ameliorates things. Thanks guys, and have fun!

Would you mind if Juliette joined in?

I would love for you to join!

I'll make a guy for you to kill. Any one of them!

And welcome!

Sorry, there are 2 or 3 typos but I'm posting from my phone and it won't let me go back to edit after it's typed... :undecided:

No worries! A few typos never hurt anyone, and I can still understand your post just fine.  :grin: I want to wait for some of the other players, but I like your entrance! It creates some distraction that the other characters might be able to take advantage of.

Glad to have you on board.  :)

I hope the post is acceptable. If not, please say so and I will change it. :azn:

Of course you picked the same woman to fight as me! But I put so much time into my post that I posted anyway. Can we now fight out which of us gets to kill her and which gets to change to a different victim? :D

Lol Sim. Wouldn't it be easier to change the description of the person you're going to kill? :azn:

Ok ok, true. Wouldn't want to fight a psyrpent anyway :D

There weren't quite as many references in my post as I'd feared, though if there's anything left about the white-haired woman please let me know. No more demonic women left! :D

Apparently demonic women go fast! I'll have to remember that in the future!

I've gone ahead and disabled dagger-dude; let's leave him more-or-less alone for now. Jarrox, he makes an thrust toward you; I'll let you decide if his attempt is successful.

We have both the other two demonic men left to kill--I'll wait for Rigden and Juliette to pick them off.. Irid's victim is dead. It sounds like Jarrox's victim is very dead.

BTW: Hats off to you, Juliette! Posting by phone is hard!  :buck:

Geez, I leave you guys alone for a day or two, and you end up with five weird demon thingies attacking you. Not that that's a bad thing xD

Post up. Poor guy willed himself to death. Scary.

Not sure which guy you went after Ridgen, but I'm assuming its the one with dark skin and yellow eyes? Guess that leaves me with jaws.

Lol Alyr. Someone better take him out; I would hate to have our other companions carry me because of a hole on my side. :buck:

Edit: I decided to have a dagger at my side. Ouch. That gives Jarrox the opportunity to be friendly towards others.

All right! The battle is over for now. Wow, you guys sure are brutal.  :lol:

I need an affirmative from those wishing to continue that you're more than happy to risk your lives and any remaining sanity for this deadly adventure! From there we'll move to another inn (since we seem to have soiled this one), and we'll get everyone with injuries bandaged up!

I figured I'd post while I was still at work, with access to a computer.

Ack! I meant to say yeow, not white >.<

Ohwells. Unnatural cheerfulness for the win :D

Looks like just about everyone's on board! Once Jarrox posts, we'll begin moving out. I've already got my post more or less together. I'm going to be moderately disposed tomorrow, so if Jarrox isn't able post tomorrow in the early morning, I'll reply some time in the late afternoon/evening.

Hopefully, once our characters reach the inn, we'll have time for questions and discussion.

Irid--I know your character wants to talk with Alyr in private. If you're interested, we can arrange a one-on-one chat session (IRC or some other platform) so that we can jointly construct a conversation post. This would allow us to have a back-and-forth without taking too much game time for the others. We can plan for it to be a late night convo in-game. Let me know your thoughts!

(BTW: This is open to any of you who want to have an involved one-on-one discussion, with my character or any others!)

Any thoughts on a title yet, Rayne?  Just wondering.  No pressure.

Rayne Storm?

Come in out of the Rayne?

Come Rayne or Shine?

Unto Every Life a Little Rayne Must Fall?

Right as Rayne?

Rayne Check?

 :P

I vote Singing in the Rayne.

Sure, but I think you're somewhere on the other side of the world from me? At least, your answers to my PM usually come in the middle of the night for me ;) What time zone are you in? I'm in CET (GMT +1).

Haha! I think I may need to create a story concerning precipitation... Give me a little more time to think about it, Alt. I will try to get a title to you by the end of the week.

Hey Irid--I think we're 4 hours apart. Currently I haven't much access to internet where I am, but I should be back come Friday or Saturday. Hopefully it won't be too busy!

I've posted; if there are any issues, let me know!

Only four hours? Where do you live?

Ah! Sorry--looks like six hours difference. I saw a + and for some reason read it as a -. I'm -5 GMT. That does make things hard. Hm. Well, we'll see what can be done. After two days of skiing, hopefully I'll be warranted a little afternoon break.

We may be able to get some of the conversation done early. Let me know what kinds of things you wanted Irid and Alyr to discuss in private, and whether you wanted the conversation to be in Styrash or Tharian. Either works for me!

Okay, post up :D The poor cleaning lady will have a heart attack in the morning :buck: and so will the garbage man :/

Oi. There's nothing like reading the whole of "A Christmas Carol" aloud on the 7-hour drive back from the ski resort to really get you into the Christmas spirit...   :buck:

All right, scene change! Let me know if I'm moving too fast in the story, or if there's something you want to spend more time on, or something you want to do in the story. If you want it to be a surprise, you can PM me!

I've set up the next "scene" (if you will) as an opportunity to ask questions and get better acquainted. Plus I plan on using a very weak magic to partially heal Jarrox's wound (not all the way; Alyr isn't strong enough for that at the moment). Unless someone tells me otherwise, I'm just going to use my best judgment in determining when to send everyone to bed and start the next morning. If there's more you want to do/say, let me know!

I probably won't be able to make a post for a couple days. Just a heads up.

Thanks for the heads' up! I have a feeling it'll be slow the next few days, with the holidays and all.

Same here, though I might have time to squeeze out a post, and anyway I have a week's holiday and not something planned every day of said week, so there'll be plenty of time then ;)

Hello, wonderful role-players!

I'm going to wait for Jarrox to post--but I encourage you to ask any questions you might have about the journey, the box, the attackers. Now's the time to ask.

While you're waiting, consider voting the story naming poll. I’ve been terribly remiss in getting Altario a name for this story, but I’ve brainstormed a few options and wanted to get your opinion. You can find the poll here (http://www.santharia.com/adv/index.php?topic=8141.0). Let me know your thoughts!

Already voted.  I do get a vote, right?  :rolleyes:

Only if you vote correctly.  :lol:

I voted Rayne, Queen of Santharia.  But, not sure it registered.

I voted too :D

I posted, but those of you who have not had a chance yet - please don't hesitate to go back to when we're all in the common room and ask questions of Alyr! I just wanted to get that post out :)

I was going to post, since Alyr said she wanted me to post first. But seeing as you already have everyone tucked inside their room, I might as well change what I'm going to write in the first place.

That's exactly why I said that if you haven't had a chance to post yet, to go back in time in your own post, the tucking into the rooms is not until later so there's plenty of time when we're still in the common room

If you want I can delete my post, let you post, and then repost mine?

Heh no, it's fine. I apologize if the earlier post sound a little rude.

Hey Rayne, do you want to just assume that you and Juliette spoke regarding the box and the background that she missed, while in the common room?

It's up to you, Juliette. It would be good to have a little conversation, but that doesn't necessarily need to be questions regarding the box or the adventure. It's up to you.

Irid, I think the fast-forward may be a little confusing. I know Jarrox didn't mind, but for the say of chronology, maybe you could edit the tail-end of your post and put it up later?

It's ok, I just have to keep up with what was posted. But unfortunately, the post I prepared will be inappropriate if posted and I can't think of a new post to write for the moment. :(

Inappropriate? Well, based on the gruesome battle that ensued, I suppose this RPG has gained a kind of R-rating, so if you were planning some sort of strip-tease, I suppose it wouldn't be too-fetched.  :rolleyes: Just kidding!

 :) No worries, Jarrox. If there's any way I can assist, let me know.

---

On a general note: I trust you all as discerning, capable writers and role-players. I do not impose any post 'minimums', as these sorts of rules seem more to be targeting less effectual players. You can write as little or as much as you feel necessary (no more, no less).

If you're feeling pressure overcoming years of being forced to write to a certain length, here are some quotes for comfort:

It is with words as with sunbeams.  The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.  --Robert Southey

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.  --Thomas Jefferson

Brevity is a great charm of eloquence. --Marcus Tulius Cicero

Good writers are those who keep the language efficient. --Ezra Pound

A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist. --Vladimir Nabokov

Lol Alyr -- I didn't mean it that way. I mean that the post will not fit the current situation in the inn since you're already in your room.

I've edited Irid's post for her, since I don't think she's around (I hope that's all right, Irid! I have added nothing--only chopped off those things that are not ready to have happened). I will sent to you in PM what I removed in post.

Alyr is in the sitting room with Rigden, Juliette, and Irid, and now we should all be in the same time frame. Hopefully this makes things easier.

Yep, absolutely fine! I was planning to do that but time caught up with me and I had to leave for a family gathering :)

Ridgen, your post made me laugh  :lol:

Post up :azn: . Again, I apologize for the inconvenience.

Don't apologize, it was my bad :)

I'm going to say the posting delays are due to the holiday season.  :rolleyes:

Yes, plus I don't know when to post my next bit where we all move to our rooms ;)

Keep it tucked in your back pocket--I'll set up for it. For now, just relax and have fun getting to know your new companions. If you like, you can take control of Mari and have her bring in the stew.  ;)

Whoops. Just realised how closed my ending statement was. Irid, I edited my post so your character can join in the conversation with a little more ease. At least I hope I did :buck:

All right! Time for bed! Get yourselves to your rooms and begin settling in for the night.  :heart:

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this but, may Quáel join?

Sure! We're all winding down for the night, though, so it may be better to wait until morning to post and introduce yourself. Until then, feel free to read the posts up until now to get yourself acquainted with the characters and the story!

Or you could accompany me at my campsite. ;)

EDIT: Ooopsie daisy, forgot to change characters. :buck: Sorry about that.

Yay! Finally posted the rest of my post :D

Alright sweet, I will just wait til the morning to introduce myself.

Haha Thorgas (Jarrox), I'd rather not, haha.  :lol:

I have already read all of the posts so I am already caught up!

Thanks,
-Quáel

Bear witness, friends! First ever rhyming styrash poem!  :grin:  Oi, what a task.  :buck:

OK, so that was my last post of the story's night. My next post will begin the morning. I will plan on writing thus post in the next 24-48 hours. If there's any more you wish to post, do it now before I make light!

I would be honored if I could make this Giliths first adventure. May I.

Sure! Both you and Quael can be guests at the inn, if you like--which means you'll meet the whole crew there in the morning. If you would rather not, just let me know! We'll find another way to get you into the story.  ;)

I'm working on the "Morning Post" now--once I post, feel free to join in!

That sounds great! Though I must admit my posts will be odd and slightly bad. AS I do not have much experiance in this but I will definitly try my best.

No worries, Gilith! Roleplaying is one of those things that improves with practice. Being actively involved in an RPG will help you improve your writing and everything that it entails--spelling, grammar, style, etc. And of course, if you need any support/advice, just let me know!

I've posted. Feel free to join in. You can control Mari if you like, as long as you keep her cheery hobbit-ness.  ;)

Sweet thanks I will do that.

I've posted, but I will probably wait to do any additional posting until some of our other RPers have had a chance to come down and socialize with us a bit. You'll get to meet the crew!  :)

Ah i'm very excited about that it sounds like a great deal of fun. :)

Hi. Could I join, with my oh-so-overpowered dark elf? ;)

I'd like to get Kazin into this story somehow, but im not sure if he will be titled in time!

Both of you are more than welcome to join!

Remis--Feel free to be a guest at the inn. Or, if you prefer, we can find another way to get you into the story. Just let me know!  ;)

Erutan--Kazin is more than welcome to join! Even when the group leaves the inn, there will be more opportunities to join in.  :)

Should Gilith continue to talk to Rayne or should he greet the other guests.

Whichever you wish, Gilith :)

You can do both! I've just replied.

BTW--Jarrox, I like your post.  :lol:

:lol:

Oh wow, sweet cakes! Just wait until Jarrox wakes up. :)

Did someone say sweet? :OOOOOO

A lot of new people entering, so be patient with me as I try to get everyone included on the adventure! Time gets away from me at times.  :buck: I have a pretty full day tomorrow, but I will try to check in often so we can move things along. I'm glad to see so much activity! I'm hoping we can get everything together and start moving on our way out of town.

Sorry for the delay in my posts.
I won't have time today or tomorrow but I'll be making a post on Wednesday.

No worries, Juliette! With the last few days it sounds like your character has had, I wouldn't be surprised if she slept in a little.  ;)  We won't leave without you!

I'm going to wait for a few more people to post (including Remis) before I go ahead. Great RPing, though, guys!

I'm waiting for Remis to get Mari back; if he doesn't post by tonight, I'll go ahead and steal her away.  ;)

I know Remis has a familiar/mount, and Jarrox is acquiring a large Voldon dog, but I wanted to ask everyone what familiars you may or what you're including in this story so we can make arrangements for their safe transport.

Also, for the sake of the two hours I've allotted to Remis for sleeping, I want to get everyone in the inn, give each a little coin, and allow people to purchase those items they think they'll need on the trip.

I'm expecting each person to spend 2 hours game-time shopping for whatever supplies they need before we meet up and head out. I want to let everyone know ahead-of-time so that you can coordinate if you want to go out shopping with someone else.   :)

Cool Gilith will fill his water skins and buy some rations. Though Alýr do you want to answer Gilith first or should Gilith answer Quael.

Also, Alyr I know you're awaiting a post from Remis, but should I wait to shop until I'm invited along in the journey?

I've gone ahead and answered both you and Quael, Gilith! Feel free to answer Quael's inquiry to you.  ;)

No need to go shopping yet, Quael! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up for what's going to happen so people could prepare if need be--for example, if two or more people wanted to go out for supplies together. Don't worry; everything will get set-up in game.  :)

Thank you  :)

Thanks, Gilith!

All right, guys! Remis is in bed and the rest of us need to regroup so we can prepare for travel! Ridgen and Jarrox, try to start making your way back to the inn. Once we get Quael in the group, I'd like to break for two hour shopping! Maybe I'll get a new pair of shoes...  :rolleyes:

OMG Shopping!! :grin:

A new robe sounds very nice. Plus some jewelry.

I sent Gilith away for most of the time we had left if there are any objections let me know and i'll edit the post. :)

I figured you might at least stick around for a while; after all, you don't yet know if we're meeting back at the inn or if we're meeting some place different--and of course, I would like to be able to fund your shopping.  ;)

When you do go shopping, feel free to peruse. Two hours is a long time, and Voldar is a wonderful city. Formerly the Santharian capital, there are a great number of shops and interesting sites. Enjoy it!

If you'll recall your post a little (maybe nod your hello, not just to Ridgen, but to all the various members--whose names you might be curious to learn), I'll give more details in my next post.  :)

No problem  :) and truthfuly if you insist Gilith will except all of the money you wish to give him.

You are fantastic, Gilith! Thank you--I've posted with instructions. From here, all characters may go shopping--though you are free to post again if you have any questions or things you need to do before you go off on your shopping spree.

I encourage at least a few paragraphs from everyone as you shop. As mentioned previously, Voldar is a large, interesting city--filled with wonderful shops and no doubt a few swindlers. This is a great opportunity to help us all learn more about how each other makes decisions and judges opportunities and outcomes. In short--it may seem like a trifling matter, but how you shop may reveal a lot about who your character is!

If you have any questions, let me know. I'll see you all in two hours (game-time).  ;)

So.. What does the Voldarian market look like? Various sights, scents, and sounds coming together like a fair or a flea market, with stalls arranged? Or perhaps a clean row of stores, with helpers standing outside shouting out the item they're trying to sell?

I'm getting the itch to shop! :buck:

You'll probably find everything in Voldar. It's actually been one of those cities I've been wanting to develop for a while, because it's so historically interesting. It has at least a few large temples--no doubt one to Armeros (http://www.santharia.com/religions/armeros.htm), as the Order of Armeros (http://www.santharia.com/people/order_of_armeros.htm) has one of its headquarters there. You're probably likely to find others there, too, but Armeros is likely the most popular, as Voldar is the ancient capital of the Erpheronian Empire--a rather warrish tribe.

Voldar was kept as the capital during the time of the Tharania Empire. For those who don't know, King Thar (http://www.santharia.com/people/thar.htm) was one of the first kings to strive for a unified Santharia. He succeeded in bringing several tribes together, including the Erpheronians, Caltharians, Centaurorians, and Kyranians. He also began standardizing weights and measures for the kingdom--to this day a "ped" is supposedly the measure from King Thar's breastbone to the tip of his middle finger.

King Santhros kept the capital in Voldar when he came to power. King Santhros was the king who united all of Santharia under one crown--the founder of the current Kingdom of Santharia. In order to bring the Eyelian tribe under his rule, he agreed to move the capital from Voldar to New-Santhala, where it has been ever since.

However, for many, many, many years, Voldar was the capital of the region and the heart of society, wealth, art, etc.. Shops and stores have grown up around the thriving culture there. Hats, shoes, weapons and metal products (imported from Helcrani cities in the south near the Fores), baked goods, fish, trinkets, jerkins, fabrics (perhaps imported from Jernais and other Caltharian cities), jewelry, etc. Every type of artisan, anything you can think of... as long as you have coin to pay.

Thanks Alyre :) I hope I portrayed the city well enough and how much is a silver bar by the way?

Very nice, Gilith! Though we're not meeting back at the inn, but rather right outside of town.

A silverbard is quite a bit of coin--100 sans! It's enough to buy most anything you would need, I think.

Well then Gilith may have under thanked you. I shall also edit that post.

I am curious, I have to buy more arrows as well, but in Gilith's post it said the black smith only had 12 arrows left. "Ah yes" replied the the blacksmith I just sold most of em ter the gentlemen afore you but I got some left." He went over to a table and showed him twelve arrows.

So may I still but arrows?

I'm sure a town like Voldar has more than 1 blacksmith :)

Ha that is true, thank you Irid.

Sorry for the delay. hope I kept no one waiting. :thumbup:

I enjoyed everyone's wanderings through Voldar! Such wonderful descriptions.  :)  I think we're still waiting of Ridgen, and now Remis, as well--who I hope his not too disgruntled by the wait.  :buck:

Hopefully we'll be heading out soon! If you have any questions, let me know.

Posted! I swear that could have been longer if I was given another hour to shop. :lol:

Just kidding. :grin:

Alyr, aren't we waiting for Juliette as well?

I believe Juliette is at the rendezvous point--and seems to have thrown an apple at the maple tree at which we're meeting. ;)

Heh, I completely missed that. My computer automatically takes me to the last post so sometimes I don't see earlier posts ;)

No worries, Irid! I actually do the same thing on occasion.  :buck:

I'm going to wait a bit for Ridgen and Remis to post. I encourage team bonding, though, whilst they (and I) and away from the group!  :)

Hmm.. I could have sworn I saw Ridgen on the other day, but still no post. No word from Remis yet. I will given them a little longer to post, but may need to control at least Remis's character to get the story moving. If we don't hear back from him, I'll auto his character to the rendezvous point.

This is a good point to make a note about inactivity: remember that if you don't post in 3 days, I get to control your character in order to move the story along; if you don't post in the course of two weeks, I may have to find away to 'dispose' your character. Of course, there are exceptions if you let me know ahead of time and we can make arrangement--and I will try to avoid controlling other characters at all costs--but I want to keep us all moving forward!

If you have any questions/concerns, please let me know!

That all sounds fine with me. If I don't post in three days i'll thank you for controlling my character. :)

Unfortunately I can't really reply until Tuesday. Feel free to puppet Ridgy as necessary if that's too late.

Umm... Jarrox didn't really listened to Alyr's instructions about meeting at a rendezvous point, since he was busy with the cakes.. Should I have him go to the inn for the time being? :buck: I can make him find the meeting place by 'accident' but I want to keep everything as realistic as possible.

Suggestions?

That rebellious psyrpent! Hehe.

Well, you're welcome to run-into Remis and Alyr when they depart the inn. I'm still waiting on Remis, but if I don't hear from him tonight, I'll probably post in his stead. Ridgen hasn't posted yet, and there's always the option of running into him. You could always do something to get yourself in some trouble and require someone to come bail you out. Feel free to be creative! Anything you want to do is fine with me!

Oooh. I'll do that. :)

Should i post or wait for the others

All right! Sorry about the delay (crazy weekend, crazy Monday, and crazy week this week). However, I've posted, and brought Remis (as best as I could portray him) to the rendezvous point. Gilith, if you want to post, feel free! Jarrox, I'll wait on your post. And Ridgen should be able to post tomorrow.

Hopefully we'll be able to get out of Voldar soon! I wonder if that warrants a change of Chapter. (I'm really not good with organizing chapters...).

I'd say so, mostly because this one is already 9 pages long, and going outside of the city seems like a good transit point.

Sounds like a plan! I want to make a clean break. Once Jarrox gets squared away, I'll make another chapter for the travel to the edge of the Thaelon wood.  ;)

I think I made a mistake..

In my post Jarrox talked to the innkeeper.. And the changes I have made in my CD has not yet been approved. Would that be allowed, or do I have to change my post?

I don't mind you talking to the innkeeper, or being able to talk at all.

If the other CD Moderators don't want to let your character be able to talk, then for other stories, you may have to be content with silence; however, Altario has made it clear that Story Moderators get some leeway to determine what is and what is not allowed in their stories. I am officially allowing Jarrox the ability to speak.  ;)

Just to let people know that what is in italics is not really happening. They are just visions being sent to my mind, it's a curse that I have. My enemy is attempting to make me weak and vulnerable when he does this. So ya just clearing that up for everyone if they need it.

Thanks, Quáel!

I'm going to wait until tomorrow to post, to give the others the opportunity to give their reactions/responses.  :)

Yus!

Thanks Alyr. :)

sorry if I left anything out or I added in something that was not there.

Gilith, Alýr puppeted Remis to join us, so everyone is there.

Ah cool thank you very much.

Lots of excitement!

Jarrox, I just want to confirm:
This generally implies a no--which means you won't be OK waiting, even if we walk at a moderate pace, right? Therefore, you'll need some bandaging/healing?

Also, Gilith--your post still mentions that the dark elf isn't there! Can you edit?

You asked if Jarrox wants to have his wound bandaged again, and the psyrpent says no. :) The wound was just aching and not torn up again.

Woops sorry thought i got rid of that.

No worries. I've gone ahead and posted. Feel free to respond. Hopefully we can get moving to the next chapter soon!

Would it be dreadfully unhelpful of me to ask to join in here now? I'd like to get back into the RP, and also give Termat a bit of a run-out and see how he plays; he's my first non-crippled character without deep-seated emotional issues, so it'd be nice to see how he handles. He sounds like a plane now, or a boat.

Anyhow: Mr. Geirskun formally requests of Miss. Avalotus permission to enter this delightful RP at any point convenient to her.

Termat.

Ah, my darling Termat, I would love to have you join!

I am about to conclude the first chapter and step into the second (as soon as I can figure out how to close threads...  :buck:). We are approaching the Már'cál'ethrón portion of Thaelon. Perhaps you might be a traveller who is also planning to pass through the Már'cál'ethrón as a quick (if not dangerous) way to Cemphiria. Perhaps you have just come out of the wood and are willing to offer your assistance through it again. Perhaps you are a passerby who, upon catching sight of Jarrox the psyrpent (or David the dog), immediately falls madly in love.

If you need my assistance in machinating some clever entrance, let me know!

EDIT:


Chapter II of the story has opened as the group leaves the city of Voldar and begins toward the dark, scary wood filled with shadows and swamps and maybe a demonic creature or two. Very dangerous. Definitely life-threatening. Personally, I'm very excited. I hope you are, too.  :)

Please do not post in Chapter I! All the cool kids are having a party in Chapter II, and you're invited. There might be wisk-away (if we can get Juliette to share), Ridgen doing a sweet air guitar solo, and Irid performing the robot dance. You won't want to miss out.


In other news: I will be out of the country from February 23 to March 11, hanging out in the urban decay of a developing country surrounded by blood, puss, tears, sweat, and saliva. As such, I probably won't have access to the inter-webs, but fear not! I shall return before the ides of March. In my absence, I'm looking for one or more brave and active individuals to help move along the story. Any volunteers?

*Sighs* As on Earth, so in Santharia: Polite equals attracted to other men. Or dogs.

Anhow: I think I'll be alright in machinating alone, but if my Muse flees - she shouldn't be able too, I try to keep her around as much as possible - I'll certainly contact you.

And many thanks, before I forget.

Termat.

A well-worn use of irony and an apt allusion to Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream--lost on you! Alas, my darling, you break my heart.

I'm glad you've made your way into the story! I will wait for some of the others, but will most likely post when I arrive home tonight.


I am still in need of a few volunteers to help move the story along in my brief absence. If anyone is interested, please let me know!

*Was remiss*

*Is remorseful*

Although you seemed to miss my Northanger Abbey reference in my CD...

I'm sure you'll be glad to read my backstory, anyhow.

Termat.

EDIT: Also, I know it was hardly a clever entrance but it's at least vaguely realistic. And if anyone needs space on the cart (baggage etc., or injuries) I'm sure it exists.

Sorry if Gilith seems a little paranoid.

Ah, I did, my dear Termat! It's been a while since I have been dear Jane's reader, though I did notice a quaint Austin-like charm to your CD, which I like very much.  :heart:

No worries, Gilith! You are merely cautious--and with demonic pursuers on our trail, you have reason to be!

Hopefully we'll soon get the rest of the crew in as well.

*Breaks off silly competition over literary references...Rayne has too much of an advantage.*

Anyway, I'm not here for that, I'm here to talk to Gilith; I'm not riding, I'm leading the donkey. Just to be sure we're all on one page here.

And paranoia is fine; act how Gilith would react.

Termat.

And Miss. Avalotus, if you want to keep up the game, go ahead. I shall strive to better myself and expand my literary knowledge by proximity to yours.

woops sorry i changed that.

Oh, Termat--as usual, you flatter me. My literary knowledge is not extraordinarily expansive--though reading is, of course, a hobby (I doubt you'd find many here for whom it is not!)--not the cornerstone of my education. Contrary to popular belief, I did not study literature but language in my higher education.

Though, if you were to make allusions to anyone, might I recommend Mr. Dickens (he DID just have his 200th birthday!). Understandably verbose, and yet, too, appealing eloquent, one might reflect upon their reading of his works as the best of times and the worst of times.  ;)


A reminder: I will be out of the country from February 23th to March 11th without access to internet! It might be nice to have one or more individuals designated in my stead to help move the story along whilst I am gone.

I will not be able post for a few days. :( I can't think of something to write when I'm sick.

*hug* get well soon!

Miss. Avalotus, of course I flatter you - outrageously. But it's all true. Need I remind you of your head start?

Anyhow, it appears people want me to post. I'll try to get something up this afternoon and stop holding you up on the Voldar road.

Termat.

So uhm.... Guys, I think I just blew up the moon, so now I'll have to go fix it wait whut?
I meant that I'm going to not be able to properly post til monday due to internet problems. Sorry.

No worries, Ridgen! Good luck with everything! We'll just assume your character is following behind.  :)


OK, Termat, let me get this straight... your character is going to Nyermersys (opposite direction than we're headed) but wants to go into a dangerous forest to protect the woman-folk even though most of the woman-folk in this group could (let's be honest) own you. Or, as the kids say these days, "pwnz u." Or, as the geekie kids say these days, "pwnzorz ur face."

(Sometimes, darling, I think I may occasionally glide outside your prim sensibilities. You'll forgive me?)

I just want to confirm before Alyr seeks to persuade you to carry on your merry way down safer roads.

And re: "head start"s: a word to the wise, my dear--never remind a woman of her age.

Of course! Although the point isn't that I think I can protect you any better than you can yourselves, but that it would be rude and unchivalrous of me to allow you to continue without an offer of my help. Naturally I forgive you for that.

It appears that I didn't quite finish that post; I shall do so now. *Runs and hides from the wrath of Rayne* I don't think I've ever thrown the question of age into such sharp relief as the board itself, which claims you registered in 1970. I'm about 97.638% certain that the Internet didn't even exist then, let alone this site.

But in any event, my most sincere apologies, both for my rudeness and my chivalry, which may both have come across as excessive.

Termat.

Rayne has always been ahead of the curve.  Back in 1969, when she first registered, she had a strong suspicion that this was going to be big. :P

:hug: Thank you Irid. :azn:

Decided to post anyway, though I don't know if it's ok. Although it's hard to think when you are in medication, it's harder to just lie in a hospital bed all day long with nothing to do. :)

Hospital? That's not good. I hope you get better, Jarrox! I know the feeling, though, of being stuck in bed with nothing to do. Sometimes I think that's the worst part.  :undecided:

I wanted to mention--I don't think Termat has stopped the group or in any way occluded our path. He's walking beside the group. We're also not quite in the forest yet--but no need to change that. I'll work off of what you have.  :)

In my post, just FYI: yes, the demon guy is actually there, so everyone else can see him way down the road as well. He vanishes, though, so no fighting... yet!

Oh dear. Sorry about that, my mistake. :buck:
I'll try to think of something with which to replace my post but the meds I took earlier are not cooperating.

Edit: Yep, brain not working. :P Should I remove the post and then repost it later, once we're in the forest? I don't want to interrupt the flow of the story.

No, no--don't worry about the forest. I just worked off of your post and had us in the borders of the forest. The only thing that needs some editing is the part about Termat causing the group's progression to stop. Because he's walking beside us, he hasn't thwarted our forward momentum.

Sounds like some heavy meds! I hope all's all right on your end...

Ah I see. I think I can manage that.

And yes the meds are pretty badass. :D The doctors said they're supposed to help me breathe easier because I'm having trouble with breathing. Can you imagine that? Having trouble breathing? Haha! :lol:

*Accepts the box as ordered*

Oh, I'm cruel over typos... :rolleyes:

Ter

Ah! But an important correction. I will make the correction when I get out of ESL class (currently on my smart phone). My Sundays are 3 hours of dance, and clearly I'm not a good grammarian when exhausted! --which may mean I'm rarely a good grammarian.  :buck: Oi, too many extra-curriculars...

---

Change made, and new post posted! While making and eating dinner and doing dishes. Booyah.

Multitasking
Because there's too much to do to do one at a time.

lol

Sorry for the length and over all useless nature of the post but it kind of felt like the story was moving a little slow.

Thank you, Gilith! Yes, I think that with the board getting hacked, some people may have fallen off.

I'm still waiting for Termat's post. Hopefully he'll come along soon. If he doesn't, I'll just say that, as he looked into the shadows of the forest, his heart became petrified by fear, and the group decided to let him carry on to Nyermersys.  :P Or that a pretty girl was heading toward Voldar, and he decided to follow her.

I'll post some time today.

Only if you turn back Rayne, only if you turn back.  :rolleyes:

Briefly-seriously, I assumed we were still walking all together into the forest and that there was no need for me to clog up the thread with posts without letting others get a word in edgeways...

Anyway, going oop north today, but will be back at some later point this evening, so I'll post then. I didn't intend to have held you up, so you're perfectly welcome to get us moving - and me with you - if you think we've stopped.

In contrition,

Termat.

Brilliant word, contrition. I should use it more often.

Right, post up. Sorry about that. Microsoft Word also denies my spelling of sha'n't, which I take issue with. You didn't have anything better, did you Mr. Gates? *Righteous anger*

In other news, my favourite piece of rain-based doggerel is this:

The rain it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella
But mostly on the just because
The unjust steals the just's umbrella.

Goodnight! Or whatever time of day it is for you people who don't live in England, Portugal, or the other handful of countries on the Greenwich Meridian.

Good[time of day]! And yes, this line is just to make me fill the postbox. At least partially. What? I don't know.

Do I make less sense when I'm tired?

Termat.

EDIT: I just realised I'm hastening you towards the evil demon man. Was this wise? Discuss, referencing at least three past or present Story Moderators or Administrators in your answer.

Sorry for hogging the story with these short numerous posts

Don't apologizes, Gilith! I love your posts!

As you all know, I leave in less than a week. Just to reiterate--February 23 to March 11 I will be out of the country with no reliable access to the Internet. As I've had no volunteers to lead the story, I've decided to more or less make you all your own moderator--which I think will work well. Let me ratiocinate upon how to execute my plans and I will post at some point tomorrow. Thank you all for your patience!

Some more fighting! Before you all go about smoting and hacking and whacking: these white figures are designed to burst into vapour upon first real hit--otherwise, they look and feel solid. Imagine it something akin to hitting a sack of flour that suddenly bursts open and obscures your vision--only instead of powder, it happens to be fog-like vapours. That said, please strike them!

My next post after this one will likely be my last before I leave for my trip. Everyone has three days to respond before this post. If you have any questions or issues, let me know!

Woo hoo! This should be fun. But would Gilith know the importance of the box having not been told about it? Or do we just say that at one point or another it was described to him?

He doesn't necessarily need to know what the box is or what it does or what's inside it--all he knows is that it's very important, or else Alýr would not have given it to him so clandestinely or told him to do all he could to protect it.

Ok sure thank you.

Also if the creatures don't attack by lunging and what not then i'm sorry.

Don't worry about it! You did great. Though as a note, the vapour produced by these creatures is likely to linger and thicken, so it will get very hard to see indeed!

Ahh That should be intersting.

Beating the living daylights out of little ghostly things trying to kill you is FUN :P

Post up.

Three cheers for using inexplicable loopholes and smartphones to get around restrictive school Internet policies!

Yes, I know it's a narrow cause of celebration. Your point is?

Postificated.

T.

Posted!

Hurray and yes that is indeed something to celebrate about.

Ok, I'm confused. Do the creatures go back to their original forms after being struck?

No I do not believe so. As there almost only attack is to blind the person and stay there as further harm.

Gilith is right: the creatures do not reform. You strike them once and they burst into an ever-thickening vapour. I will post tonight--this will be my last post for the next two and a half weeks. I will post guidelines on how to proceed in my absence!

 :cry: well the show must go on I suppose. 

Also would wind or any such device "blow" them away.

As of my last post, the vapours are gone! Hurray! Unfortunately you're all now alone, by yourselves, in a great big forest. Bummer.

Here's the game plan:

Defalgren, a demon-like man whose description is in my last post, is searching for the box. He has discovered that Alyr no longer has it, and is trying to figure out who does. He may try to attack you. He may try to talk to you. Regardless, he wants to know who has the box. You can control Defalgren, but here are some ground rules for the encounter:
1) You cannot kill him
2) You cannot wound him (at least, not severely)
3) You cannot tell him who has the box (if you know)
4) You cannot give him the box if you have it.
5) You must be alone when Defalgren comes to you.

The timeline here isn't strict. Just began person A posts before person B doesn't mean that Defalgren can't have visited B before A, if you catch my meaning. When you are visited by Defalgren, you should not be around any other characters. However, after your encounter, feel free to meet up with others (make sure they're OK with being 'found'). Please don't try to meet up with Alyr, as I will be somewhat unresponsive. :P

Either before or after your run-in with this demon dude, you can feel free to have fun with the forest. Remember that this is a strange, spooky place. If you want to get attacked by a wild hog, a darting light, or a mysterious shadow, go for it.

once I return, I will seek to collect all the characters once more. Until then, go crazy. As I will probably have little to no internet connection, don't be afraid to make an educated guess if you're not sure about something. If you happen to make a mistake--no worries! We'll find a way to fix it. Just have fun!

As I reminder, I will be out of the country until March 11th--and probably a bit busy and jet-lagged upon arrival. Don't let my absence stop the RP merriment!

I see. So the foggy substance they emit upon being struck will cause the people caught within it to get lost. Thank you. :)

This mix-up: do those of us with companions - eg Jarrox, me - stay with them or are they lost?

Termat.

I'm pretty sure Alyr meant that everyone is alone, no companions.

(Yes, I know I didn't switch accounts, didn't feel like it ;) )

I meant as in Jarrox's dog companions, not other human/elf companions. My cart, etc. If not, fine; but I just realised I may not have been clear...

Ah, like that! Well, I'm not Alyr of course, but I would say that unless you were actually holding said companion (or something of theirs connected to them, like the reins of a horse, or in your case donkey) then the fog would have been too thick to find them, and they're alone as well, until they can be found when Alyr is back. Or they're still at the original place of attack, for example, where nobody else is anymore. Something like that.


But that's just my interpretation :)

In the airport terminal, on my smart phone--I thought it best to check in just in case. To answer your question, Termat: the only thing that matters is what I have told you. Everything else is up to you. (I know, that's not really an answer, but you must make a choice for yourself, and not depend on me!)

I wish you all the best whilst I am away! Adieu!

Have fun Alyr!

I decided not to meet demon-guy just yet, leaves me something to talk about for my next post :D

feel free to find Giliths signal fire so long as you don't mind a fight of course.

I plan on fighting three demon wolf creatures you may join if you wish and I apologise if i'm going overboard.

Gilith, I have to meet Defalgren before I can find anyone else, so I'll see what happens ;)

That's fine  :thumbup: and anyone can join if they wish.

Sorry for posting twice.

EDIT: I also apologise for my many mistakes.

Does anyone mind if Roy joins?

Greetings Roy, and welcome to An Adventure in Black.

I'm sure Alyr won't mind, but currently she is away until the 11th of March, with little or no internet access. Please wait for her until then.

Have a nice day.

Will be posting soon. The sporadic activity is boring me. :undecided:

Sure thanks no problem.

yeah, I wonder what's keeping everyone, only Gilith and I posted since Alyr left.

Sorry 'bout that. I got distracted by school and stuff. Might have time to post tomorrow.

True but i'm sure things will pick up soon.

Greetings from Cambodia!

I leave tomorrow for Phnom Penh, and the next night I'll start the long journey home. Whew, what a trip. Maybe I'll post pictures if I can find time when I get back!

It looks like things have grown a bit sluggish. Whose still here? If anyone needs any help or has any concerns, let me know! Remember that after 3 days, I get to control your character--and after two weeks, I can... shall we say... 'scuttle' your character if need be! I want to keep things moving forward!

I'm here! I'll wake up soon...ish. :)

I am here as well.

I shall not go back on my word. Thus I am still here.

Still here.

Awesome!

Ridgen, post when you can. I would like to get the ball rolling on reconvening the group. Remis Has given me leave to puppet his character in his absence, and I will likely do that soon.

Roy, I would like to use your character to help get the group together. If you like, you can have your character come down the road to meet Alyr. With both of their magical capabilities, they should be able to create a light bright and high enough to attract everyone--at least those who are conscious. (Don't worry, Irid! We will find you!)

Let me know if you have any questions. I fly out tomorrow night.

Am around; will post.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Termat.

Sure thats fine with me.

When would you like this to be done.

Post up. Tell me if you want me to change anything.

Roy: As soon as you can! Feel free to give your character a little introduction--appearance and all of that, as this is his first appearance in the story. He'll run into Alýr and only Alýr on the road.

Ridgen: Looks good! You're too funny.  :lol: It's nice to have a comedian on board.  ;)

Hey Roy--can you change your post such that you meet Alyr a while after the demon has left? Keep in mind that we'll need to give the others ample time to have their conversation with Defalgren and have fun with their fights. If it helps, I can post for the in-game time that passes (at least a few hours), but that will involve removing your post! Let me know if this is OK by you.

Yay thats completly fine with me i'll just edit my post.

At last I have returned! Just today, a few hours ago... so tired.  :buck:  My post is up.

Ha nothing like home eh?

You're not kidding! Still jet-lagged.  :buck:

OK, everyone! If you are able, you can start making your way toward the light. Termat, I know your character still need to meet with Defalgren; once he has, feel free to have him make his way back.

Let me know if there are any questions!

My post was a little puppety i'm sorry. Quael I assumed you came with me. Also in general I assumed we could get there within a few minutes.

If this is not ok tell me and I will change it.

Alyr, I'll wait with waking up until after you find me then :)

Quael, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you didn't meet Defalgren, did you?

I think you're right, Irid: it doesn't seem Quael has yet met with Defalgren. Gilith, perhaps on your way toward the light, Quael might go missing? Defalgren may have thrown the shadows to separate you two in order that he might interrogate the elf. Just a thought!

And waking up upon discover is fine by me, Irid! Let's see who we can attract. I still need to puppet Remis.  :buck:

Oh ya thats fine with me I was thinking that since Gilith is out of it he probably wouldn't notice.

Quael you should really read the ooc.

Very sorry, I was on my way home from the airport and was on my phone, I hadn't read the ooc before posting. I will fix that now, very sorry.

No problem Quael.

Posted. I apologise, it's a bit of a filler post.

Hey everyone! I've posted for Remis, since he's still out. Sorry for the late rely (I had to go to a conference the last few days, and didn't get back until late last night). I will try to post again within the next few days to get everyone back and on course.

I'm also looking for someone who might be interested in being a co-moderator of this story. If you have good ideas or just want to help out, please let me know! Thanks!

I'm curious what has happened to Juliet.

I am, too, Roy! I had some plans for her character, but alas! I haven't decided if her character should vanish, die, or be puppeted into some unexpected sub-plot.


I apologize for the delay. I've been so busy, and in fact my request for a co-moderator has become a bit more desperate. I am moving, not to another city, or another state, but to another country--and a rather remote one at that. Because of the nature of the program and my assignment, I am not entirely sure what my internet situation will be like once I leave. I am currently closing up things at work, putting my possessions and finances in order, and as I will be away for a little over two years, I would also like to spend time with my family before I go.

Things have been slowing down here, and I story is nothing without its players. If people aren't interested in continuing the story, we can close it down and ship it off to the archives. If people are interested in continuing the story, then we need to begin building a moderator team--one that can guide this story in its progression.

I apologize that my life once again prevents me from participating more actively here. If you are interested in being a moderator for this story, please let me know. Thank you, everyone.

 :shocked: well Rayne no matter how long your gone it will still be a great loss to the world of Santharia.

Edit: If no one else is willing to become a co mod you may ask me. But only use this is a last resort as the quality of this story will plumet.

Yes I would hate to see this story ended before its time. If it does i'm almost positive it should go out with a bang. Like the demon guy getting furious at his unsuccess and calling in everything he can to stop us when we are together. Or something like that.

Rayne, you have no idea how dearly I would love to co-mod this story if I thought that I had the time, but a co-mod should be able to promise a constancy that a lone mod cannot, especially for a story so definitely your baby as this, and I barely have time to post.

I would be truly sad to see this story sink and, as a poster, hope to see it continue. I will do all I can to help it, but I simply do not have the time to moderate, though you may rest assured that you and whoever you choose to co-mod have my full support in keeping it going.

Termat.

My dearest Termat--and all of you,

Trust me when I say that this story is a living organism that shifts and changes and darts in all sorts of different directions. Some moderators have a definite, precise plan of how they want their stories to unfold. I do not. This story is not my story, and certainly not my baby. It belongs to all of us, to all of you.

If you could see my hidden 'moderator forum', all you would find is snippets of poetry, a styrash reference table, a incomplete tribe and race guide, and a collection of other non-moderator-type threads.

You all have agency--you all always have, and I hope always will. I meant it when I wrote that you could take any opportunity you saw to improvise. When Gilith wrote in demon-dogs attacking, I was thrilled! I think a roleplayer shouldn't feel 'pressured' to post. They should feel inspired, uninhibited, and unafraid of throwing some pre-determined story-plot off-course. Throw it off course. We can find a way to bring it back.

That being said, a moderator is just that: a moderator. Not a ruler, not a tyrant, not a sole 'author' for whom all players are ghostwriters. A moderator is one who moderates... moderate, literally, "to preside over or at." I would expect a moderator to ensure that a player doesn't bring spaceships into the story, and to help loosely guide a story forward. Be able to post once every three days or so--or at least check in each week. If things get slow, throw some wrenches into the clockwork (all the better!). You don't have to do more than that.

I don't care how long you have been at Santharia, or how long you've been in this story (or even if you're in this story, as long as you've read everything). I would prefer at least two other moderators beside myself--possibly three. If you're interested, you can let me know here or by PM.

If you have any questions, let me know! --And I apologize for the rant.  :buck:

*ahem* hate to interrupt, but would you all be interested in a mad little gnome joining you?   :grin:

Hey, Tak! I read over your character a little, and yeah, I think it'd be interesting to have him pop up somewhere. If the others don't have any objections to you joining the story, it'd be nice if Tak entered by finding Irid and somehow getting dragged into our shenanegans predicament. We should wait and see what the others say first, though.

What a brilliant idea, Ridgen! I think that would be a great way to get Tak into the story! Tak, would that work for you?

Works for me, so long as everyone else is ok with me joining! 

Irid, would you mind hearing a loud explosion and going to go investigate, or would you like me to post first so you can see just what you are investigating?

Irid's character is unconscious, silly! :P

I...i knew that *shifty eyes*.

Hem.  Well, i'll give people till the end of the weekend to object to my joining then i'll post away!

I don't think that waiting will be necessary, actually. You can go ahead and post, since once Alyr/Rayne approves, you're pretty easily set.

Well, I was trying to make things more democratic, but if Rayne has the dictator staff, than i'm set! 

Irid, sorry to puppet your character into my cart.  Feel free to wake up on your own, unless that is an exceptionally nasty bump on your head. 

*goes to read* :)

Edit: I can work with that, no problems! :D

I see Alyr has found herself a bunch of talented people willing to help her run the story. That's a relief. I would hate to see this story die especially since we've got a lot of activity in here.

Thanks for your vote of confidence, Serpentfang. We didn't want to see the story fail either. :)

I am not going to be appearing in the story as a member of the party, I'll instead be taking on the role of various NPCs you meet along the way to hopefully add a bit of colour, and/or annoyance to your lives. Who knows, if you're unlucky enough you may meet a certain orcish fire mage when you get close to Ximax.

Oh and great posting everyone! I have been reading along the story so far, and it is all very entertaining.

it seems my graphics card on my desktop has gone kaput on me. I'll need to get a new one.

I have a laptop, but I may not be on it as much. I'll do my best to post at least once a week, but if I don't that's what's going on.

Sorry

So are we uhm... waiting on anyone?

yes, Tak and I aren't quite with you guys yet.

Tak: one smallish thing, Irid isn't bleeding. Well, not externally anyway, who knows what Defalgren's hit might have done internally? But nothing you can see ;)

Ahh.  Could I be referring to the blow to the head?

"She landed against a tree, knocking her head in the process" 

Head wounds bleed really bad even if they aren't more than a scratch.  Enough for someone who isn't experienced with medical stuff to assume it's a bad injury?

I'll amend my previous post accordingly and then get us to Rayne.

The knock to the head was just there to make her unconscious, though you're right, that could be bleeding. I could edit my post as well to reflect bleeding, whichever you prefer :)

I'll edit my post.  I'd like to fiddle with some of the interior dialogue anyway. 

I hope it's ok I grabbed your hand, Tak.

I'll stop posting for a while now, leave other people a chance to post ;)

I promise Termat is not a drunk. He drinks no more than any other healthy adult. It is unsafe to operate donkey carts if you have more than two units of alcohol in your bloodstream. Police have the right to detain anyone whom they suspect of being drunk in control of a donkey. Random breathalyser tests can and will be carried out on any donkey rider. Anyone found guilty of handling livestock under the influence of alcohol can be detained without trial for up to eighty days, in accordance with the Curtailing Your Civil Liberties (And Protecting You From Terrorism (But Mostly Curtailing Your Civil Liberties)) Act. Remember: The Government doesn't give a chipped san for your rights. Anyone found reading anything by John Stuart Mill will be executed.

I shall be in France for five days from tomorrow. Depending on where the action goes, feel free to puppet me as you need. Anyone is welcome to offer themselves a glass of wine.

Yours ever,

Termat.

I hope no one minds me posting that old woman being there. Figured she might be interesting to do as an NPC ... and who knows, she might be of some help, or she might be a pain in the you-know-what.

It WAS going to be an old man ... but I thought that is done to death ... so I thought why not an old woman instead. :)

If it is too much/not appropriate/whatever ... let me know.

I'm continuing to enjoy your entertaining posts, everyone! Keep up the great work.

Termat; Have fun in France :D

Dek; I think it's a nice change of pace. It'll give us a break before we go headlong into extremely dangerous situations again :) That or the old lady is a demon in disguise. Then we're all screwed.

Sorry for the unexpected absence. I became unexpectedly ill with the flu and a bad case of bronchitis, which days of bed-ridden misery and antibiotics have nearly cured me of... nearly. Thank you to the new moderators, who were denied a proper introduction (that is my fault), for keeping the ball rolling.

I've posted!

And as a note (for I believe one is needed): I am proud to have Ridgen, Deklitch, and Tak all apart of the moderation team. They all have experience role-playing, and have great talents and qualities I know they will bring to bare in the continuation of this story. I want to thank them each for their help: Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Know that Roy's opinion of people does not count for mine or much of anything in general. He is selfish sadistic overly confident and all around just plain bad. I hope that no one takes offense to Roy's thoughts or comments. But if you wish to develope a hate for him you may as that is far smarter than tolerating him.

That is perfectly fine Roy. People should play their character's attitude, not theirs.

Personally its easier to play a character that has the same characteristics as yours. ;) My psyrpent is one such example although I added such things as being slightly kleptomaniac and greedy.

Serpentfang, I love your last post.  I have a feeling that Tak may try to convince you to part with some of those scales...

Serpantfang, I loved your molting post as well. Do you work with reptiles in real life, or are you just interested in them?

Rayne asked one of us mods to puppet Juliette ... first time I've done that, hope what I did with her was what is usually done with puppeting other characters. Those of you with experience with such things, please let me know.

Great posts, people ^^ I'll get around to posting soon, when I actually finish drawing up this ridiculous drawing. Keep up the good work :)

I want to give Gilith and Tak a chance to reply to all that's gone on. Nice posts, though! And nice work with Juliette's character, Dek! I know puppeting isn't easy.

By the way, I got a coffee machine for the OOC, and an electrical hotwater maker for tea. Tomorrow I'll try to bring in cookies, but feel free to help yourself to beverages! I'm thinking we might eventually upgrade to a new OOC thread that I'll try to furnish a little better than this one (I sort of threw it together haphazardly), but until then, hopefully we can make this place a little roomier!

Thank you, Tak and Dek! :grin: I was thinking that since we aren't moving yet and I wanted to post something, I might as well get a random-event-for-myself post up. It might also generate renewed vigor for posting in some of our members!

And no, I don't work with reptiles sadly, but I am interested in them! I wanted to get a pet snake but somehow I think my dogs will object! They might mistake the snake for a new leash. :lol:

Tak, you have to bribe  him with gemstones convince him to give you a part (Or maybe the whole thing! Powdered snake skins are rumored to have powerful healing abilities ;) At least, that's what some people believe).

Just Gemstones?  I was thinking I could...'demonstrate' Tak's capabilities and craft a few exploding arrowheads.  Maybe also in exchange for riding your dog around as well...

Just don't let Tak talk you into letting him build you some Rocket boots...

So wait do you want me to post again?

Tak your last post was both a death sentence and a possible escape in the eyes of Roy.

Ps. He will not harm you in front of so many people.
(Don't enter dark allies by yourself.)

EDT: If I missunderstood anything in your posts I'm sorry I can change mine.

Aww Tak doesn't mean any harm! 

Also, Tak is currently asking Mr Termat (who should be getting back from Paris any day now) if he has seen the lizard.  Just edit the part where you have Tak concentrating on the light to standing near Termat and it'll be fine :)

(or you can comment on my question to Termat :D )

It appears that Tak has somehow displeased some of us magicians, heheh. Ridgy will let it slide and let him backpedal a little bit before he starts having ideas about telling the poor guy off.

I may find some time to post tomorrow or the day after. Keep up the good work, everyone :)

Ah well i'v posted.

Rayne, where did Gilith get a gate from?

Tak, I've been back a couple of days (nearly). I've been catching up etc. after my tour, but I should post later tonight / have posted when I post this.

*Takes tea and sits down with a broadsheet by the fire in a velvet smoking jacket and an armchair.

Woops sorry I didn't mean to do that. I will change my post and Tak I beleive that the Gem is worth 150 sans and it is a ruby. I'm not sure how much that 150 sans is equivilent to or if its enough to but a burning stone if not I can have Roy pull out another gem.

Ps. To develope a hatred for Roy would not be taken personaly as he has no sense of innocence or humor.

Edit: Woops again. I meant to put he wandered over to where Tak was while still concentrating on the light. As in Roy was. But yes it definitely looked as though I said Tak was sorry.

No worries :)  I'll post a response some time tonight/tomorrow.  I might accidentally make Roy more angry.  :grin:

Ridgen is not an alcoholic either, by the way <.< He just decided that he's been out of the loop for long enough, and needed an entry into the conversation :P

 :lol:   Not neccesarly a hard task but for a burning stone he would tolerate it.  :)

hmmm ... I could have sworn I did a post in which the old woman tried to heal Gilith ... apparently not ... I wonder what I did with that post. It seems to have run away on me. :)

Here postie postie postie! Here postie postie postie!

Nope, can't find it ... I'll try again.

I'm surprised nobody saw that taxing battle between the psyrpent and a bird! :lol: I suppose that was possible, given the distance between him and the nearest party member.

Just a heads up that I'm still around, just lagging behind in reading all the posts so will have to catch up before posting :)

 :lol:
Tak your posts are to funny I can't get angry.

It is going to be difficult for me to post between now and Monday, I apologise.

Posted. Let's get this story moving, people!

Here's a muse for those of you museless people. Here we goooo~ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zOFJ3Jfuic) :D

Sorry for not posting in for ever, but I hope what I have written is satisfactory.
-Quáel

Yes, yes, who DOESN"T want to ride in the giant moving explosive with Tak?  At least he is prepared...

Feel free to assume that Roy will move with the group in any of your posts and Irid Roy was talking to you if you want you can have Roy follow you say if the party is moving or she needs to do something.

Termat will post when somebody reaches him - Rayne and Gilith and the old woman are coming over, I believe?

Yes she is ... I'll get her moving today.

Ya I can move with the group it does not matter when.

I'm sorry, but I will be unable to post between now and Monday, due to internet problems and general problems at home. Feel free to pupper Ridgen as you wish.

I'll wait for the old woman to respond. I wouldn't want to hurry away without getting an answer!

She is responding at the moment ... sorry its taken me so long.

Dek

Edit: There we go
The potion is Ormelin;
The powder is Odea Moss Paste; and
The ointment is Yahlre Ointment.

All found here (http://www.santharia.com/medicine/pain_remedies.htm)

And do people know the song I referenced in the post?

I took up Ridgen on his offer to puppet his character in order to teach his character a calming spell. Gilith, I will let you decide if it works.

It will work. Gilith would not mind and would also not know how to defend very well against magical things in general.

If he really, really didn't want to be calm, he could fight it; one's will always has more influence over its host car'all than another's. But I'm glad--I would really like Ridgen to be successful on his first "calm" spell-cast!

My post is almost done. Apologies in advance for going over stuff from a while ago, but I haven't posted in a while and a lot happened all of a sudden.

EDIT: And posted. I meant to ask if there was anything I could do before I posted, but if there is, I'm just by the cart.

Who else is injured?  Tak is patiently waiting to give you some safety instructions.  :grin:

Was Gilith healed yet or does it still have to happen?

It still needs to happen. Ridgen cast calm, so Gilith should be relaxed and... well.. calm. But Ridgen isn't a healer. The old woman still needs to heal you.

I'm not sure who all needs or wants to be healed. I think Alyr would prefer to stay with Gilith out of uncertainty of the old woman, but there may be others who need to be healed.

EDIT: All right, everyone has been assigned to either Termat's or Tak's cart! Hopefully we'll be ready to move out soon.  :)

I'm not sure if the burning stone was still up there but if it was not then I shall remove that part.

Do you want me to put up a post about Roy going into the cart or are we good?

Let's wait for Tak to post first, I'm not sure if he needs to make more room! He's got a lot of people to fit in his cart. :)

I've already shoved things aside, it'll be a cramped but everyone can probably fit.  I've been waiting for Irid or Jarrox to post.  Remis is currently gone i believe I can puppet him over once the other two post.

Don't worry for now about Irid and Jarrox for. They have just been "assigned" to your cart, so to speak--if you answer Alýr's question in the affirmative. If you're post seems a bit small, feel free to puppet Remis over (keeping in mind he's dark and reticent  ;)). This will give Roy leave to post, buying our time until Jarrox and Irid have time to post.

Long overdue, but I finally posted. I also took the liberty of puppeting Remis into the cart. I hope this is ok.

Oh, and I kind of assumed Tak answered in the affirmative, since I did remember him making room for Irid the first time around. Sorry, I didn't check the OOC first :)

If I need to change anything do let me know!

Nah, you're fine.  And don't worry, Tak will break that awkward silence...

I'll wait for Quael to post - I think Juliette is already in my cart - before I do.

Sorry won't be able to post till late tonight or tommorow puppet me if you wish.

Never mind I got home earlier than I thought.

Will post soon. No creativity. :(

Still no creativity to post. I'm officially drained. Puppet or remove this character as you see fit. It's been fun, thank you.

Awwh :| Don't worry, Jarrox, we'll still have your character waiting here for you when you do retain some level of creativity o/

/begins to pull puppet strings

likewise for me ... I've been like a robot of late ... no creativity, no nothing.

No worries, guys! And of course, never feel pressured to put out massively creative posts; just do the best you can: sometimes it's just moving the story along. Don't take it too seriously--I want you guys to be having fun! I hope you all get more inspiration in the coming days.  :)

Jarrox, I can puppet your character to Tak's cart if you like; I can also puppet Quael in order to allow Termat to post. I think we're still waiting for Irid; is that right? Dek, feel free to take time to let your muses spin you a post, and let me know if you need any help in the meantime.

Irid is in Tak's cart :)

I hope that helped somewhat ...

Irid: My apologies! You are quite right. Thank you!

Dek: It helped a great deal! Thank you! We'll wait for Gilith to let us know if the healing is working or not.

Jarrox: I'm gotten your character into Tak's cart--let me know if this meets with your approval. I know it can be difficult to post sometimes, but no worries!

Tak: Remis still needs to find his way in; are you all right puppetting him?

Termat: I haven't heard from Quael, but I've gone ahead and puppetted her into your cart. I believe your cart is now full and ready to go. Feel free to post us into motion!

I'll post at some point, but I'm going out tonight and might have troubles. I'll try.

Alyr, I also puppeted Remis into Tak's cart in my post, I don't know if you noticed :)

Eep! I thought I had read your post, Irid, but clearly I hadn't! A shame, too--it's beautifully written. I hope you'll accept my apologies--I'll edit my post soon. Thank you for letting me know, and I'll try to be more thorough. (My mother's birthday is today, so I've been rushing around all day!).

Edit: Changed made. Irid, feel free to post your way to Termat's cart. Gilith, let me know how well the old woman's stuff works. Dek, post when you can to Alyr's question. Oi, what a day!

I appear to have been granted a stay of execution, which is good, because I've been unable to post and my God it's late.

I should have the free time to post tomorrow. Later today. Anyway.

Best wishes.

Works like a charm!  :thumbup:

::sends away the large, bulky man with the black hood and giant axe::

No pressure, Termat! We need to get Irid into our cart anyway. This whole getting-into-the-carts-and-going thing took much longer than I thought it would.  :buck:

Thanks, Gilith! You can either post that you begin to feel it working, or I can mention it in my next post--whatever you prefer.


As a side note, the "55 Words" Writing Contest (http://www.santharia.com/adv/index.php?topic=8310.0) is going on, and will run for about another week. I think you all are wonderful writers, and I encourage everyone to try it out! Who knows--it may even help with the writer's block some of you have been having!  :)

Computer trouble causing temporary posting problems; if nobody gets us moving before I post, are we hot to trot? I think all bar Tak and Termat are in a cart.

Hot to trot indeed! Yes, we should be good to go. Everyone is in their appropriate carts. Tak is away I believe until Monday, so you have a day or so to post. Let me know if you're still having trouble posting, or if there's anything I can do. I'm always glad to assist.  :heart:

By the way, nice submission to the 55-words contest, Roy! "Vegetation Domination"  :lol:  I like it!

Thank you very much. :)

I apologize for making you post on my behalf, and thank you for understanding. I hope I get enough ideas for a post next time. :)

Rayne, is it OK if I give you a bit of a puppet to get us all a-moving?

We'll go no more a-moving
So deep into the woods
Though the cart be still as sturdy
And the path be still as good.

*Is dragged off by the burly man in black for crimes against poetry*

No worries, Jarrox. My pleasure. I hope your writer's block breaks soon!

::hits the burly man in black over the head with a pan to delay him:: Of course, Termat!:

The forest hides shadows that quicken the heart:
I bid you--please hurry and take up your pen!
And do as you need for to hasten the cart,
We need--nay, we should--get to moving again.

Sorry about the short post; hopefully it's adequate.

And I think Lord Byron might take issue with you helping me to evade justice, but thank you.

It is quite more than adequate--thank you Termat!

And as long as I can walk in beauty, like the night, I'm sure we'll be fine.  :buck:

Nice post, Dek. I suppose we're waiting on Irid and Tak now? Hopefully they'll be around soon!

"Hubris much?"

 :buck: = Already Dead = I can't walk in beauty like the night = I'm being facetious

Sorry--I know emoticons can be hard to read occasionally.  :)

Missed the crosses... :P

But repeating your words is my favourite conversational gambit with you. Well, nearly; after trying to be original.

Sorry for my absence, I've been out of town the last few days.

I will be getting caught up today, and i'll try to post tonight or tomorrow.

My apologies towards my long absence.

glad to see you back again, Quael and Tak :)

Posted! :)

And I've posted as well!

Nice posts everyone! Once we get Irid healed up, I think we're good to jump forward a little in time (and space!), into more action and a little bit more discovery!

My apologies for being late in congratulating the Staff and Players of AIB for reaching the 500th post.  I usually am a bit quicker at noting these milestones. :rolleyes:

Look forward to reading the next 500 posts.  :D :thumbup:

Is a post needed from the Little Old Lady who I haven't come up with a name for yet?

Altario: I only count 240 posts. Or did you mean total, including OOC? Thank you, in any case, for stopping in to congratulate us! And thanks for reading. I'm lucky to have so many wonderful writers in the story.  :heart:

Dek: I think we're still waiting on Irid to post. We don't yet know how she is! If she doesn't post soon, I may have to puppet her to health!  :D

Oh thanks Alyr ... I so don't like thinking I'm holding things up ... actually I dislike that more than actually holding things up. :)

 :D  I include OOC as it is still considered activity.  An active OOC is important for the success of a story, IMO.

A cause for celebration! I brought cookies :)

I'll bring warg milk for all of us ... guaranteed to put hairs on your chest, according to good ol' Tharoc Wargrider.

I presume that everyone does want hairs on their chests, don't they?

/Looks curiously at Alyr and Irid

Edit ... oh and could I possibly bother someone to provide a list of who is on which cart please?

Thanks

Still have no will for writing posts. :( I apologize, that was the best that I could do.

No worries, Jarrox. There isn't a whole lot going on right now. Just waiting for Irid. Once she posts, we should be good to fast-forward a little and start a little more action.  :)

Wops, I'm around! Just haven't been online much lately :) Post will be up soon!

Silly elves talking in your silly elf talk. 

So, are we going to get these wagons up to 88 MPH to trigger the flux capacitor to send us FORWARD IN TIME!?

Or we could just, you know, put the heading "Later That Evening" in one of our posts.

Haha. I was thinking more the latter than the former. (Sorry Tak--though I'm sure there will be time for your flux capacitor later.  :P)

Dek's old woman plays a pivotal role in the next part of the story, so I'm going to hand him the reigns. He will speed us forward in time by several days, to the edge of the forest.

Dek, whenever you're ready...!  :heart:

But I want a hoverboard  :cry:

EDIT:

Dek, did anyone get you that list? 

Rayne, Irid, Gilith, Quáel, and Ridgen are in Termat's Cart

Juliette, Remis, Roy, Jarrox are in Tak's cart

Did I miss anyone?

thanks Tak.

Oh ... the good thing with mysterious old ladies with even more mysterious invisible Dearests is that you never know WHAT exactly they can do ... I was doing some thinking about how I was going to achieve it ... and I've had a couple of ideas ... you never know how I can do when making fun of staples of Sci Fi and Fantasy :D (though, I must admit that Back to the Future never did quite enter my thinking. :D

I do hope that people don't mind me doing things lightly and with 'humour' thrown in.

Edit: One of the changes I'm making in my life, is having my walk for the day prior to me sitting down and enjoying posting in Santharian rping or developing. I haven't been for my walk as yet, so my post will occur after I return from my walk, and hopefully before I have to head out to appointments ...

There we go ... I tried to come up with a fantasy version of faster than light travel ... hope I succeeded.

Yes I would say so.

I'm sorry. I should probably have said that Gilith fell off of the cart when it stopped.

wow, great posting everyone ... I really love your posts :) The two that'll be meeting with you will be revealed in my next post ... I'll just have to see about writing it sometime soon. :)

Dek

If you have not done so already, please post your response to the old woman (Dek's post) soon! This Chapter will soon be closing.

If you haven't already, please nominate your favorite posts of Chapter One! (http://www.santharia.com/adv/index.php?topic=8347.0). As everyone's either participated or read Chapter One, it shouldn't be too difficult--you can choose your most memorable post!  ;)

Thanks, guys!

"What sorcery is this?"

I see what you did there :) Post will be up tonight~

Slowly getting out of this writer's block.. Thank you for being patient with me.

As for the response to the old woman, was that about her emerald necklace?

My post is almost complete. I have some free time this afternoon, so I'll apply the metaphorical polish and get it up then.

I'll also have a read of Ch. 1 and nominate a post or two - I'm allowed to do that, even though I didn't take part, am I right?

Termat.

Nice posts everyone!  :)


The emerald gem on the necklace has some special significance, but we're not yet sure what it is! More will be revealed later.  ;)

I look forward to your post, Termat--and yes, you can nominate posts even if you were not involved in Chapter 1.

There we go everyone ... Dek and the arch mage are with you now. Dek's now joined the adventure, while the arch mage is an NPC.

We're out of the woods and heading into Cemphiria at last! This closes Chapter II. While we work to get Chapter III set up, please nominate your favorite posts of Chapter One and Chapter Two!

Nominations for Chapter One (http://www.santharia.com/adv/index.php?topic=8347.0) end May 16.

Nominations for Chapter Two (http://www.santharia.com/adv/index.php?topic=8361.0) end May 21.

Please get your nominations in soon. Thanks, everyone, for a great second chapter!

Hey all, just a heads up that I will be away for the coming days, we decided to go on a camping trip :) I'll be back on Monday!

Have fun on the camping trip, Irid. :)

Everyone ... we are in a tavern now, and orders for drink and food are being asked for. Knock yourselves out! (Figuratively speaking, of course)

Have fun camping, Irid!

I will also be taking a trip into the wilderness tomorrow, and will have spotty access to internet.

Nominations for Chapter One close today, so please get your nominations in if you haven't already!

Posted sorry for the lack of activity.

I'm fairly buried under maths (mostly) at the moment, so I'll not be able to get a post up today or possibly tomorrow. I'll try to post as soon as possible.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

I will not be able to post for a few days. Going on vacation.

Hey everyone! I know things have gotten a little slow, but please keep up the posting! Hopefully things will begin to get exciting soon.  :grin:

There! I've given people something to react to ^.^ SO glad  it came through, my page went white after I pressed post, so I was afraid I'd lost it.

Yeah, there's something funky going on with posting. Everyone should be wary and keep a copy of their posts just in case the post doesn't go through on the boards.


We have some activity coming down the line pretty soon, so please respond to Irid's post quickly!


As a note to all: I will be more or less offline for about 11 weeks beginning in a little less than a week. The moderators here will help keep the story moving forward.  :)

Yes...the posting system has been a bit funky.

Posted for Remis. I apologize for his mean thoughts.  :buck:  You know I love each and every one of you!  :heart:


Please post soon if you haven't already! I will try to post some time tomorrow with more information about the box.  :D

I have posted fresh information about the story and the box! Please remember when you post that Alyr and Tervin have been gone for about 20 minutes; when you post, please help fill in that time by including your character's response to Irid's admission!

Please post within the next few days if you can--we have a lot of ground to cover! Thanks, everyone!  :)

To the LIBRARY!

 :grin:

Sorry for not posting as Roy. I thought it might have been a waiste to say that he simply sat quietly through out those twenty minutes. I will however post when we get into the time of Rayne's post. Hope no one minds.

I am sorry for no posting. I'm caught up with things at the moment, and I don't see me getting back to AAIB or Santharia until Monday.

I apologize for not going inside the tavern, but I'm trying to stay true to the character I'm playing. But if you all think this is an inconvenience, please say so and I will edit it. :)

I just read through my post... It was terrible. There were misspellings spotted throughout the entire thing. The words Gilith said and what I wrote were mixed together. In short I apologise that you had to see it.

I hope I cleaned up most of that mess.

For the first time in forever, I posted. Half-asleep Ridgen is fun. I'm going to have to make more of these sleepy situations.

A thank you to Tak for keeping the ball rolling (again). How about another round of posts, then we ship everyone off to the library?

Tak, only one of them took a weapon out and he is now experiencing a pretty intense headache. :lol:

Hmm I thought they were carrying various pieces of farming equipment.  I can amend my post. 

Where is David through all of this?  I wonder how he'd react to seeing a person close to half his height.  Maybe Tak could ride him...

I've posted, and I'm sorry to have been so lax. One thing on the heels of another has kept me from here for a few days.

Just a heads up, there is currently a giant fire (the High Park Fire in Colorado) threatening my family with homelessness (not me, just the parents), so I will be available sporadically.  It shouldn't have any affect here, but if it's been a few days and you're wondering where I am it's probably helping them and their friends evacuate and take care of other stuff.

Good luck to your parents and their friends, Tak!

Since people have either decided to ignore or haven't seen the post about another round of posts, we've decided to move the story along with a little nudge from the pokey-pokey-stick of DOOOOOOM.

That means that we're all headed for the library. Like, now. Make your way to the library, everyone!

We've gone through at least a week with minimal responses. I will start sending PMs out to you people who haven't posted by Sunday.

If, by next Sunday, you haven't posted here or in Chapter three, we will take matters into our own hands and start doing some puppeting (which I personally hate because I don't feel like I should control other people's characters, ever) So please please PLEASE post soon, or at least post here so I know who's going to be posting and who isn't.

<insert joking tone here> You other mods should be ashamed of yourselves. What happened to posting in the OOC at least once a wee-/shot

I'm here! Work has just gotten quite busy so I'm not as prolific in my posting as I used to be a couple of weeks ago. But I'll be posting soon!

The back of my exams has been broken today, so I'll be posting too.

Uhm, I want to post but I'm having trouble with what time it is at the moment?

Evening, I believe.

That's what I thought. So wouldn't the library be closed? What's the use of going there if the doors are just going to be locked? :)

I'm on an Open Day most of tomorrow, so please excuse me if I don't post until the evening at the earliest. My post is 3/4 done.

Leif/Termat.

Perhaps one of us has...certain special abilities that allows us to enter through doors without the use of a proper key...


I don't know who that would be but maybe someone in this party can pick the lock or magicaly open it.

For the sake of drama, let's pretend that the library is open /shot

I got nothing :buck: Tak, Dek, the ball's in your court... er... courts.

So how will we know which way to the library if we're to go there on our own?

We have an archmage from Ximax with us correct? I think he could have some pull with the local library.

If not Tak could probably blow up the door though I wouldn't recommend going down that route.

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I will up north for a week and will not be able to post during that time.

Am back.

Blimey, it's been a while. Have a post. Hopefully we can overcome summer blues and get this moving again.

Agreed.

Oh and does anyone know how the library is locked? Because if it is something as simple as a padlock then maybe Roy could somehow melt off a section of it.

I will be in Ireland, without Internet, for up to two weeks, from a couple of days' time from now. The mods have full discretion with Termat - have him act however you need him to to ensure this story revives.

Best,

Leif/Termat.

I hope this is ok. if not, one of you moddy types should have gotten us there a bit sooner ;)

I for one have not the slightest problem with that. I'm back, but  my available Santharia time may have to be sadly curtailed - I have a 6000 word project to write in two weeks in addition to a good deal of reading and some hard lawnmowing duty, and so time will not be as plentiful as I could wish. If anyone is an expert on John Stuart Mill, suggestions for good articles or books to read would be welcomed :P

But I should be able to post - shall we see if we can get some movement out of this story, O players and man-slaying Moderators? A few more posts before Rayne comes back on the map?

Big talk no good without sleep, however. Goodnight.

Leif.

I am sorry. I think I posted in here that I was out for a while? If not, I'm posting it now.

John Stuart Mill ... I can only think of the line about him from Monty Python's Philosopher's Song "John Stuart Mill, of his own free will, on a half pint of shandy was particularly ill"

Dek

I'll be posting tomorrow later today. Blimey it's late.

Ok, I'm going to be away in Denmark for a week from Tuesday, back for a few days, and then in Greece for another week. The mods may do whatever they like to Termat, short of losing or destroying all his clothes :P

Seriously, don't let my absence hinder you. Get the story moving.

OK, I'm gone from tomorrow. Sorry not to have got a last post in, but I'm pretty well written out. Have me do what you need.

:: A little paper bird appears seemingly out of no where and crashes, rather ungracefully, into the locks of Leif's hair. It seems to all but disappear into the strands before poking out its little paper head, making a few charming chirping noises, and taking to the air again---and begins unfolding... unfolding and unfolding and unfolding until paper becomes the cloth of robes and strands of soft black hair. There is a small burst of light, and there stands the familiar indigo-eyed elf, looking no worse for wear. ::

At last! How is everyone? I am back, more or less, and will see what I can do to move this story along. It looks as though things have slowed down rather significantly in my absence! I will try to remedy that--though I may need a day or two to get up to speed and decide how to proceed (the story arch seems to have gone a bit askew).

How is everyone, though, and who all is still here?

I am good. (Recently shattered some glass above my head with my staff and sliced open my hand.) And I am still here. I know of a few others who are here so to speak but not exactly active and or a different person. Such as Gilith which is also me whom is then in turn still here. And Quael whom is not me but I believe waiting for the story to pick up again.

I'm here  :grin:

So am I :)

I'm thrilled to see you both here! It's nice that I have two of my characters in one very dedicated role-player.  ;) Thank you, Roy. And I'm glad to see at least one of my moderators is still active. I feared they'd all been enchanted a way by some will-o-the-wisp, and I'd never hear from them again! And Irid--I never had a doubt that such a dedicated player would still be illuminating the boards..  ;) .. but I'm still glad to see you're around! I've missed you all so much.

OK, guys, you have some baddies to fend off. These are not easy demons to kill, so flex your writing skills and give us a good fight! If your character is a fighter and well enough, they can take on two beasts. Try not to get too injured, though. Also as a note: when you defeat these demons, they return to shadow. Imagine it like a reverse of how they were formed: suddenly their bodies become indistinct and fade back into the shadows.

I will likely be unable to get onto the internet this weekend, so I hope to see some awesome posts when I return on Monday!

Blergh, flibbertigibbet. Termat can't luck out forever.

I'll get something done. Nice to have something happen, or my posts would have begun to consist of a not-very-well-written work of philosophy...

I've returned as well! I'm sorry to the players, Rayne and my fellow mods for my sudden disappearance, but the demons and dragons of my real life needed dealing with. I've returned, but in order to keep things in balance for me, I have limited my Santharian time somewhat. I have one evening mid week, and Saturday evenings for Santharia, as well as a couple of hours Sunday afternoon. And this time is to be shared between RP and Development activities.

Anyway, we have some demons to slay here as well. Let's see what Dek can do about that. :)

EDIT: I promise you, Dek's wounds aren't life threatening, it looks worse than it actually is.
Dek

Post. Not very good, but I felt like giving the demon a bit of a personality.

I'm kind of imagining the library like this (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/St_John%27s_College_Old_Library_interior.jpg) and this (http://bluesyemre.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/old-library-st-john_s-college-cambridge-university-cambridge-uk-2.jpeg) - the Old Library at St. John's College, Cambridge. Has anyone else imagined it beyond "books on shelves" - perhaps visualising it like a library you've seen, or are familiar with? What does your mind spring to when thinking of an old, or Santharian, library?

Just wondering.

Edit: Thanks for the help, Gilith. The straits were dire.

Hey Lief. I don't know if you wanted anyone to save your character or anything like that. Could you please tell me if you didn't want anyone to do so so that I may change my post?

Nah, I was kind of hoping for someone to lend a hand. Hardly be realistic for me to kill one of them one-to-one.

The posts look fantastic thus far! I think we're still waiting on a few people to destroy a few shadow demons, but I'm really happy with the posts thus far!

I made a few small changes to Dek's last post, at the very end, with his permission.

In terms of the library: the pictures provided are as I imagined the lower rooms of the library. The library in question has something of a palatial feel, though: imagine that it has spires, and that the group has ascended into one of these cylindrical spires. Because it is cylindrical rather than rectangular, the shelves are arranged more like the spokes on a wheel, but which don't extend to the center. Does this make sense?

I'll be along soonish. Kinda busy with organising my wedding, so I don't really have oodles of time at the moment :)

@Rayne - Perfect sense, thank you very much.

@Irid - Congratulations!

@Everybody - Am going back to school today, so may be a little quiet as I find my feet. Should be OK.

Okies! Had that post open most of the day, SO glad there was no internet problem that could have deleted it ;)

Since Irid went wolf and so does not know how to use her daggers, I kept it to one shadow beastie :)

I'm glad it made it through, Irid! It looks great. Nice work!

I think we're still waiting on a few people. I know Tak was around here somewhere. Has anyone heard from Jarrox, Ridgen, or Quael?

I'm here!  Holiday weekend in the US.

I should have a post up shortly.

Ridgen I have not spotted around here in a while. I do notk now when and or if he will be coming back.

Jarrox pops up ocassionally. Not to often but he is one of the few who were able to post in your absence I believe.

Lastly Quael I know for a fact is still around I believe that as soon as she sees this story up and running again she will be joining it.

Thanks, Tak! I'd forgotten it was a holiday in the US! I'm really beginning to lose track of all the US holidays. I had to be reminded of 4th of July a few months ago (I nearly missed it completely)! Great post, by the way. ;)

Hopefully Jarrox with slither in here soon enough, and I do hope Queal posts soon! Perhaps she can help save Tak. If they don't post in the next 24 hours or so, I may puppet them through this little part. I think Dek is suppose to be stopping in soon again, and it would be nice if we had something for him to respond to.

I am glad to see many people still around. Hopefully more will return!

I have changed my post to something a little better. Namely the spell Roy cast to dispose of the first shadow demon. Not much really changed. But I felt that it was at least note worthy.

Thanks for letting us know, Roy!

Sorry for the delay, guys. I had expected time to find and hop on the internet this weekend, but the 'fishing' trip I agreed to ended up taking 12 hours. And only one fish was caught (not by myself, of course--I didn't touch a fishing pole!). And unfortunately a stomach bug kept me away from internet all yesterday.

Anyone seen any sign of our missing AAIB-ians (AAIB-ites? AAIB-ese?)?

And how was everyone's weekend?  :D

I think we're Adventurers In Black - ArsIB.

My weekend was fun but work-filled. How was yours?

I'll post if I get the chance, but I'm kind of unconscious right now.

Leif.

Good weekend - lots of sun, and had my bachelorette party on Saturday :D

Congratulations. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us3dQ0nnlHY)

indeed congratulations Irid.

My weekend was very god. My Friends and I gathered together for a great old game of Dungeons and Dragons. Or rather an off shoot of it. For I have recently put the players through a dragonlance world in which I am doing my best to provide them with an extremely difficult challenge overcome. I'm  sure many of you have heard about the books. There all very interesting.

I KNEW Roy reminded me of Raistlin!  Good books.  I prefer the Sovereign Stone Trilogy myself, but Dragonlance was definitively a major inspiration for several of my characters (Tak is named after Tas after all)

My weekend was busy with catching up on work and doing an Indiana Jones marathon with some friends after seeing Raiders re-released for the IMAX.  That was quite fun.

Ha. I did not know that about your character. Although now that you mention it I don't see how I could have missed it.

I won't have time to post again, after the wedding we're going to Peru for three weeks :)

Sorry, I missed my weekend postings - family visits, possums frightening dogs, Church luncheons, personal injuries and so on conspired against me.

I have also had a silly head cold thing as well that drains all energy from me and makes me feel 'blagh', which is a technical term. I'm currently trying to get over that. Like other years, I manage to get through the Australian 'winter' without one, and then it strikes me in the Australian spring.

Anyway, I'll poke my head back in again on the weekend, lets say 72ish hours from now. :)

Dek

I am terribly sorry for not posting for so long, and now that school has started it's even worse. I do not have much time to post due to soccer every day and school, so please feel free to puppet me through this part. The rest of this week and all of next week will be filled with soccer games so it will most likely be another week and a half until Quael is once again active in the story.

Sincerely,
-Quael

Tak, I know your character is in need of assistance. If you like, maybe you can puppet Quael's character to lend you a hand? Or perhaps Jarrox or Ridgen--they are both somewhat absent and therefore are available for puppeting.  :rolleyes:

In order to move the story forward, I will likely need to puppet your character, Dek. Did you want to post your fight with the shadow creatures first? And is it all right if I take control of your character at some point to write out the next major event in the storyline? Let me know!  :)

How's everyone doing, by the way? :) I've been utterly exhausted! :buck: I'm a bit over-worked, but I think I'm finally getting my head above water. Tomorrow I hope to go exploring (yay new cities!). What about you guys? Any weekend plans?

Good so far and no. No weekend plans so far. Although I did just go to the Renaissance festival. That was very entertaining. Although unfortunately the knight I was cheering for lost the joust. But oh well you can't win them all I suppose. But after that I believe I did some fencing which was also quite interesting. I think it was prehaps the greatest part of the fair for me at least.

Hi Guys! Just a quick drop in to tell you that as of yesterday 11 am (ish) the Belgian law officially recognises me as the wife of Wim. And him as my husband, obviously :D

Around 3 pm (ish) the church also recognised us as man and wife.

I had an absolutely wonderful day, partied until 3.30, am now very tired and will jump on a plane with my husband to Peru tomorrow early morning, where we will be staying 3 weeks. I won't have any time for Santharia during this time, but I hope you can all forgive me :)

Rayne, feel free to puppet Irid, so long as she doesn't lose any major limbs. You can choose whether to have her stay in her current wolfy mood (in which case she would recognise you as the alpha and thus pay deference to you and protect both you and the others of the 'pack') or snap out of it (in which case she won't remember our demonic friend or his shadow beasties)

I'm happy for you to do the post for me, Rayne. I'm not feeling overly creative with this head cold at the moment. I seem to be sleeping/sleep walking for most hours of the day at present.

Make me look good, perhaps even with a Kirk moment in it ... I mean, with Dek's tunic getting ripped in the fight and him screaming out "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN" or something that's appropriate.. :D

Oi! What a week. Sorry about the delay. Unfortunately, my internet hasn't really been working for the last week (it's either been way too slow or utterly non-existant) and I've had bad luck trying to schedule internet time around the rolling power outages. What a mess! I will try to get a post up soon!

On a separate note... Ridgen hasn't been around, and as he hasn't been around for over a month now, it seems, I've decide to go ahead and replace them. Therefore, as it stands, I need a new moderator! If you're interested, please PM me!

How's everyone's week been? Mine's been a bit challenging. My home flooded on Monday!  :buck: It was a mess!

EDIT: Post is up! Please finish up your battles and address the most recent event! I'm opening inactive characters to players to help get them out of whatever dire straits they happen to be in. Inactive characters are currently Jarrox and Ridgen. If someone wants to help move Quael through the battle, that would be much appreciated.  :)

Oh dear, I forgot to post. Now I'm lost. :undecided:

Can someone help rescue a gnome at the end of his rope?  I don't want to blow up the library if I can help it.

Ya sure. I don't however neccesarily want to though. Nothing against Tak but seeing as how Gilith is wounded and already been able to kill two of the demons I'm a little hesitant to have him kill another as that would probably overpower him. But if I have to I don't mind.

Don't worry about it Gilith - there are a few unwounded members of the party - and worse comes to worse Tak has a trick up his sleeve - don't rescue me if you feel it will OP your character :)

Sorry for the delay. No internet for the last several days.

Jarrox: if you're lost, just read from the last place you posted to learn what's happening in the story.

Tak: Feel free to take control of Ridgen. He's currently inactive, and someone needs to get him moving anyway!

I'll post soon. I'm just a bit distracted by university stuff and writing my personal statement etc.

Sorry for the delay.

No worries, Leif. I remember what that was all like (x2). If you want someone to look over your essay, let me know--I got pretty good at writing them.  ;)

I'm hoping for a little internet this weekend, assuming it holds out and I can get to it between the power outages (I'm still trying to figure out the weekend power-outage schedule).

I am so sorry, life has suddenly picked up pace for me, and more exciting things are on the short term and long term horizons. I would be lying if I promised to post IC soonish.

What about everyone else? Nobody reacted to Alyr disappearing?

Yes...I know. I'm very sorry. I've been caught up suddenly, and just haven't got round to it.

I'll try.

Okies :) well, my post is up.

Thanks, Irid!

Yes, I think a lot of our cast has stolen away. To be honest, my internet hasn't been great, though I think it's getting better. Sometimes. In any case, I can at least post on a regular basis.

I'm one of those people who doesn't like to beat a dead horse (or, really, a live one--but you understand me). Is there enough interest to keep this story going? Or should I got ahead and retire it?

I'll stay and I know that Quael while not being actually on the site for a while will be able to post perhaps soonish.

I should be able to post, but everything sort of slipped.

Posted.

Hi all,

I'm sorry but my absence is going to be continuing. Things have gotten busy for me, and I honestly don't know when I'll be returning. So, rather than saying a date, and then not being able to keep to it, I'll just leave my return date open. However, I think it is safe to say that 2013 is a lot more likely than 2012.

Hey there! Are there any plans to continue this story? Or has it been shelves indefinitely for the time being?  :pet:

Alas, I fear it may continue to be shelved. My internet situation makes it difficult to get online on a daily (or, sometimes, even weekly) basis, and my life situation makes it difficult to find the time to try to revive this. When the members of a RP are inactive, or frequently inactive, it puts so much more work on the moderator(s) to write in parts, work people in or out of the story, etc. Without reliable help, I think this story will need to wait. I apologize. If you decide you want to do a 1-on-1, and you're not too picky about activity, I would play with you.  :heart:

I'd love that, Rayne.

Hi Rayne,

Did you intend to set up strictly a 1 on 1 or a thread, or one where other players can join? I would love to be able to RP a philosophical conversation with Wanderer because my character's background is so different. I'm wondering if that might help with the post activity, and I'm sure we would have plenty of material to talk about.  :)

Oh, Amabella, I have the perfect companion for you. Coming right up, with a heavy dose of inspiration from your own CD ;)