LT4: Hunt Three

Due to last week's cancellation of LT4: Hunt Two, this week I put a bit more emphasis on pre-event advertising. Considerable hype started to accumulate, thanks to Thoomcare.com's coverage of this Blog and general word-of-mouth. The ball was in motion, and all that remained before the actual start of the event was to secure a mystic for Akea and Balou boosts, a high-Horus and a high-Faustus healer; preferably one of each.

Once again, Cinnamon headed-up the Healer arm of the hunt, assisted by Titeuf, Lucent, and Miratisu. Akisha, our Apprentice Mystic, provided us with the boosts needed to hit the tougher creatures. Fiona and Nyla assisted with the much-needed Bricking, which proved quite useful. The core of the fighters were made up of Claudia, Moggle, Beer, and Zynx, along with our two dedicated Brickers. I helped to Brick as well, but for the most part dealt with navigating and general leading.

We gathered in the town center just north of the temple. At the strike of the bell, we headed northward to East Field, through the Orchard, and waited for Titeuf to join us at the entrance to the North Western Forest. Here, we made quick work of the various Ferals, Large Vermine, Artak Cougars, Island Panthers, and the ever annoying Herpetids. We then traversed the NWF to the New Bear Cave entrance and immediately encountered a Chestnut bear in the confines of the entrance passage.

It became clear that our group - nay, our mob - was a bit too much for NBC and its inhabitants. Titeuf suggested we check out Crawler's Revenge at the end of the River Tunnel. I was quite hesitant at first, since the place typically swarms with every breed of Crawler and usually a couple of Greywyrms and Bloodwyrms. Cinnamon OK'ed the venue change, since he's the advisor on such health-related matters in the party. We hopped into our boats and rowed north and west to the entrance. I suppose I was a bit too over-protective of our group, but Titeuf and Cinnamon were ultimately correct; the XPs gained here at Crawler's Revenge were far better and more suited to the group present.

We stuck around for several waves of Crawlers and although a few had troubles hitting the Greywyrms, overall most hit and we dispatched the three that came at us. Moggle made mention that there was a passage to the south-west that lead to Large Sand Wurms. I had to pull up some old map scrolls for this one, but sure enough he was correct - the passage did lead through to some distant beach snells with LSW.

The passage led into a pitch-black maze cave. Thankfully, Tonoto's maps from the Sun Dragon Clan map scroll archives helped me to find the correct path. At North Crawler's Beach, we encountered just that - more crawlers. Here Titeuf decided to see just how much Higgrus he had by attacking a Clam. After he was chained back and healed up, we headed north to Burrow's Beach and directly to the safe cave located on the east side. Here, a few of us had to take a quick break, but several decided that they were running short on time to continue venturing.



With the party and adventure coming to a close and the party in a safe area, that's when I sprang the cat out of the bag. I announced to the group of thirteen that I had a few items to raffle off. Up for grabs was an Axe, a Rapier, and 200 coins. Those interested lined up from top to bottom. Titeuf won the 200c prize, Beer won the Axe, and Miratisu got the Rapier. Various small food snacks were available - a sure way to refuel before the trip back to town.

We might not have raffles every week, but those that would like to contribute items to help out (specifically things that would be of use, such as weapons, clothing, coins, etc), please contact Bonk or Cinnamon before wednesday of each week. Items this week came directly out of my own pocket, but Calintz did give me a pretty sweet deal on that Axe. Several members of today's hunt did mention that they'd return the next week, and overall I feel as though it was a grand success.

Hangin' out with the Pros

Near the end of a recent Sun Dragon Clan hunt, our group decided to assist a rather large party fallen at the 'Orga Fort', as it's called. In essence, it's a cave with some tables and chairs which leads out onto Camp Dred and a staircase that heads to the '2nd pathfinder book' and tons of Large Death Vermine, for added flavor. Getting there was the typical run/bash/fall/get-raised & repeat-process ad infinitum. Hardly the place for a 'lowly' 2nd-Fighter like me, but I recommend those that are invited to Camp Dred to head along as it really is something to bear witness to.

When we arrived, many fallen were strewn through-out the Fort and its outlying areas, but Yor (hunter from the future!) was still in one piece in the Fort. Outside, I was finally able to stare at the waterfall which leads directly into 'Death', as Jeepers called it. Death to many, it's the entrance into the Pitch Caves; a dreaded place and not for the meek.

The next day, I was invited by Xenos to help clear out some Jade Noids out of their Marsh cavern. The large majority of exiles present were from the Hunter clan (a great bunch of people, if I may say so) and we cleared enough of the Jades to get Garion out from his 'gravel slide' into doom. A large backspawn eventually pushed us out for good, but that was when I was asked to assist their party on a KI-Scarmis/KI-Interior hunt. Yes, that's a 'Catsbane & Barrel + 2-wood' required hunt, which is a bit on the steep side of requirements for us lowly newbies, but the idea of getting several trainer messages was quite alluring.

We set off on our boats to KI after buying Kegs of Root Beer as part of our boat-construction needs for the return trip (long story, and I won't get into it here). Fat Alice's beach landing was cleared out, and we proceeded to the KI Interior to locate close to a dozen logs of wood (another return-trip boat ingredient). While there, we decided to help out about a half dozen fallens on KI. We then proceeded to the Scarmis area, hopped in, and we were systematically annihilated. Actually, with the exception of Rel'lim, the rest of the party was fallen within 20 seconds of entering Scarmis. Now, the folks in Hunter are not weaklings or anything, but there was a rather large presence of Scarmis present, and even with Kudzu, it was not enough to save our skins at the time.



However, all said and told, Rel'lim with the assistance from Slyph and Michael saved our collective asses, and folks such as Bunky performed distance healing from the North-eastern shores to get our healers up. After several hours of being fallen, I wandered off to a shipwreck on the shores of Kismia's Island, but no hidden or pirate treasure was to be found.

Last but not least, the very next day (yes, I seem to go on hunts that are way over my head on a daily basis!), Sor asked if I could help him with a FootHills rescue, which for the most part went quite well. Yor and J'jh and several others were fallen deep in the Foothills and with the help of a 'Strange Looking Stone', some of the fallen were ported out to safety.

Back in town center, I went with Sor and several others to help rescue a number of fallen on Ethereal Plane 3. I've been to the EP on many occasions before, and I suggest that any of your 2nd-circle healer or figthers to go there - it's a real eye opener, and a great way to ignite your imagination. Thankfully, I already had my own Ethereal Amulet, so I was able to cross over into EP2 without the need of falling and getting chained like many others. We reached the fallen quite quickly, but instead of vacating the area, we stuck around to try to loot the creatures for some Ethercles (an ingredient to make Amulets and Ethereal Portal Stones, amongst others). The looting was going well, but we were overcome by an Ethereal Golem and its many slugs and other critters, and we all fell. Yep. The rescuers were now the 'to-be-rescued'. However, it didn't end there. Rescue Party #3 fell, then a lone-chainer fell, then Rescue Party #4 partially fell, and the list goes on and on. Many departs, lots of frustration, and one chain snapped at the very least.



We eventually pulled it off, and most of the rescue parties #2, #3, #4, etc members were chained to Portal Island and then to TC safety. However, some did have to depart again, including Maeght at the very end. The moral of the story? Well, there isn't one. Get over it! Rescues are fun, but you can become the Rescued in a heartbeat. No pain, no gain - that's my new motto of the week. You need to take risks and chances to see the sights, be amazed, and really feel as though you've only 'dented the surface' when it comes to exploration of the Lok'groton chain. When people invite you to the faraway lands, sunstone back and say 'Yes, damnit!' - even if it means a depart or lying on your back for hours, i've never regretted the invites.

So close...

A few days ago, I decided to revisit the Fighter Guild testing area - a first time in many zodiacs. Much to my surprise, I was able to eliminate the GV, DV, and Zerk with over half my health remaining, and then took the Rage to red. It's clear I have the atkus and histia to do the job, but I need to augment my strength a bit more. I've taken-up some more Master Darkus training, and hope that within the next zodiac or two, I will complete my 2nd-training and advance to third!

On other fronts, last week's LT4 hunt was cancelled, as the Chaos Storm hit 10 minutes before the official hunt period, and over 75% of exiles could not get out of the library as a result for several hours. It has caused me concern, and may reschedule future hunts on a day when Chaos Storms don't hit.

Lastly, I picked-up a used Great Sword from Panos the fighter and gave away my trusted dagger which I so lovingly used these past few years. A new wannabe mystic took possession of it, and hopes he'll be able to put it to good use.

Addendum: With Lorikeet's assistance, I was able to finally complete the Feral Challenge. Next up: The Island Panther Challenge!

SDC's "Less than fourth" Hunt

Althought I train very hard, I do try once a day to help out other new exiles. This can come in the form of a monetary donation, assistance in purchasing their first good weapon, a mystic rod, clothing, lib-fees, or even 'Newbie' hunts where I can brick and give advice on good 'start' trainers in their desired profession. Perhaps that is why Bonk has now garnered a positive reputation with new exiles as well as the recent batch of 1st and 2nd-circle fighters, healers, and mystics. I don't want to sound arrogant with the previous statement, but in that light, a great number of new and recent exiles do tend to gravitate towards me - whatever i'm doing at the time - and something fun always spins off of the moment.

With that in mind, I recently started to spread an idea amongst my closest exile friends that I was looking to put together a recurring weekly 'newbie hunt'. With some brain-storming and ideas from my clan, the Sun Dragons, we came up with a Wednesday evening slot for a "Less than Fourth" hunt. Intrigued?

How does this work? Well, every Wednesday at 5PM-EST or 2PM-PST (10 to 11PM-ish over in Europe), interested individuals - be it clanned or unclanned - that are 3rd, 2nd, or 1st-circle healers, fighters, or any level of mystic can join-in on the hunting party. The meeting place has been set as 'just to the right of the town center Temple'. Cinnamon, a Fen healer from SDC will also take part to provide top-level healing and guidance.

This will be an opportunity for you to make friends, rank hard, possibly get some pretty decent coins, and see the sights - all without being too far over your head. We've identified ideal locations for these hunts, and they are: N/OBC, NWF, NF, SF, KB, Plains, old/new Hive, CI, Undine hut. Depending on members present, we have the option of more challenging places like: SAV, LP, QC, Graveyard, DI, and Passes.

Even though this is an official Sun Dragon Clan event, we have no underlying motives - we're not out to push you into joining us or anything. We out to have fun, create friendships, and help each other out. There aren't enough 'New member hunts', and we thought it would a cool idea to make it official. I'm aware that the Winds of Dawn have organized events like this in the past, but from what I can tell, it hasn't been a recurring and dependable event for our newer players. We hope we'll see you there!

As for Wednesday, Feb. 9th - our first trial hunt - we were joined by Zinks, Zynx, Claudia, Cinnamon, and myself. We really didn't advertise it at all, and most of the invites came within just a few direct sunstone messages. The hunt lasted about 1 ooc hour, and we visited NF, Marsh, SAV for a brief moment, Mirror snell, Yada beach, and Kitty Beach.

Once again, we witnessed creatures that were quite out of place, which mirrors my previous journal entry regarding biodiversity changes within Puddleby Island.

An apparent increase in biodiversity?

Due to several recent and costly purchases of mine, i've had to 'coin-whore' rather extensively to pay off debts and suppliers. Essentially, this translates to me camping Kitty Beach, the South Forest, Muddy, and Northwest Forest and skinning every creature that meets my blade. I've been able to collect and reimburse a large sum of coins in the last few zodiacs, and as such, i've been placed in a position to witness, first-hand, the spawn rates, types, and counts of the creatures that inhabit these areas. To this end, i've been able to clearly define a shift in spawn rates and types.

Biodiversity on Puddleby has increased dramatically in a number of the above outlined snells.

Take for example Kitty Beach. Back in 555, the typical critters inhabiting this sandy/rocky and almost treeless area was the odd Young Rockodile, Artaks, Island Panthers, the rare Bolok or two, a few Rats and Chiggers, and the occasional Carnivorous Tor. Large spawns of Artaks and IPs were common at night, and sometimes we'd see a pair of Boloks run around.

Today, in the Spring of 557, Kitty Beach's critter diversity has changed rather dramatically. Now, orga, orga angers, adult rockodiles, darshak scouts, maha, large and great vermine, vermine have all been seen countless times. Large spawns, day or night, have been witnessed to contain dozens of Young Rockodiles, dozens of Rats and Large Vermine, even boatloads of Darshak. Four boloks is not uncommon anymore, and for many 1st and 2nd• fighters and healers, Kitty Beach has become somewhat too dangerous to venture alone.

Just today in fact, Lassair and I were discussing various things while casually hunting, during daylight hours, Kitty Beach. Out of the blue, a mid-sized swarm of Artaks and IPs hit us, and then moments later a very large spawn of Rats, Vermine, and Large Vermine closed in. The healer Oranges tried to chain us out, but she fell too, and then Claudia came to the scene, but she fell as well. Cheops and Hoggle eventually came by, and we were wrenched from the horrid scene. What was once a relatively junk-free hunting spot for young-circlers has now turned into a trap-risk area for the experienced and unexperienced alike.

As for other areas and their increase in biodiversity, I've witnessed a large increase of Ferals and Grey Ferals in the South Forest as well as the odd Orga. To the north in NWF and NF, i've had to battle Orga Beserks and even Orga Rage of all things, and a number of Brown and Honey Bears have been spotted in North Field and North Forest.

I will continue to monitor and record changes in biodiversity on Puddleby proper, but that said, I do not think it is a simple matter of 'Cross-snell contamination'. These aren't a few orga or rats that have moved off of their indiginous snells and into another less hospitable or exile-frequented one - but a clear transition and shift in diversity. I'm afraid to see how this will affect the natural food-chain of the area.

In the beginning...

Bonk was exiled to the Lok'groton chain of islands on Merdi, day 39 of Winter, 555. This translates to July 13, 2004, out of character. Bonk's future was pretty much written in stone, and shortly after his exile, he joined the fighter class and instead of training in a balanced form through Master Evus, chose a different and harder path by training directly with each of the other fighter masters to achieve his goals. In short, his only purpose for the first little while was to pass his second circle test as early as possible. Less than four zodiacs later, or 29 ooc days, Bonk passed his 2nd• test.

After several months of hard training, Bonk was accepted into the historical and well-respected Sun Dragon Clan. With helpful advice from fellow members Panos and Sor, Bonk was retooled into a finer instrument of his trade and profession. On Terrdi, day 35 of Spring, 557, Bonk was finally able to track down a Sword of Souls and with assistance from his fellow clan members, was able to meet the rather steep purchase price.

All in all, Bonk's 1st and 2nd-circle formation years have been quite uneventful, short of rather extreme rank training, skinning, and also engaging in a number of trades and deals to better equipment, clothing, and lodging.

That was the past, and the following pages will detail the recent present and future tales of great adventure.