Jack T. Lamplighter
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Posts posted by Jack T. Lamplighter
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Read by Chatull Aventari
Chapter Two. Where Are You?
Creeping carefully through the starlit dark, I could finally make out the little brown and green elven cottage isolated out by itself in the woods. The door sounded solid when I knocked upon it. Its wood was decorated with small sigils all around it, but I couldn’t make them out in the starlight. Zyrina didn’t answer her door but she also didn’t lock it. It was open. She was obviously expecting me to go right in, right? Well, I hoped so anyway, because that’s exactly what I did. The first thing I saw was her sofa, and since it was exactly the right softness, I decided to rest my eyes for a minute and promptly fell asleep waiting for her to return.
Not enough hours later, upon waking with the dawn, I winced at the crick in my neck from sleeping crumpled up on this sofa. Where the heck was I? When I rubbed my still-tired eyes, I remembered the mad dash to get here and the emptiness on my arrival. …and now felt the emptiness of my stomach, too. I became aware of gnawing hunger and rumbling bits. In her kitchen, I found some bread and cheese and a little jug of ale left on the table. I also found a note from Zyrina. Munching thoughtfully on the still-soft bread and the sharp cheddar, I picked up the note in my free hand and started reading.
Dear Lily,
Yes, I know I’m not there. I meant to be there. Really, I did. I have not lured you away from your library on a whim and I’m sorry I’ve gone. I left food and drink and left the lights on for you too. The bed has fresh bedding if you arrive needing to sleep.
I would be there except Lucy Featherbright sent me an urgent message. She has been looking after Torgin’s lynx while he and I left to find Phlebus to find out more about that artifact. Anyway, Kitty is missing. …or Kitty left to find Torgin, Lucy was quite unclear on that point. There was honey on her letter and some of the writing was a bit smeared, too. What I know is Lucy needs to hear what Torgin’s been up to too, so that’s why I’m heading to Jade Mountains to find Lucy. There’s no telling where she will wander looking for Kitty and we both know she will get lost the minute she hits the edge of Jade Mountains. She’s worse with directions than you are. I’m pretty sure that she lives up the mountain overlooking the Hamlet of Jade Mountains. I know it’s a lot to ask you to follow me there, but I promise you will want to hear what I’ve learned. Then you can help Lucy and me look for Kitty. Torgin will not be happy if Kitty is actually missing.
Lily, that little leatherbound artifact book it’s… well, it’s just not something we can ignore. Please come soon,
Zyrina
P.S. Remember there is a balloon by the stone bridge; it will take you to Jade Mountains faster than travelling by foot. However, if you insist on travelling by foot (yes, I remember your aversion to all things taller than two stories, but speed is important) you need to make your way to the far western Island of the Mistrendur and when you land at the port go straight to the top of the nearest mountain range to find Jade Mountains. When you arrive in the hamlet, stand in front of the Oracle Confirmatory facing away from its door. From that spot, Lucy’s place is up the mountain exactly at the southeast mark on your compass. If you really can’t find it then go to the Central location of Jade Mountains to talk to the Town Crier; they will direct you too.
Z
Boy, I wish I had read that part about the bed before falling asleep on the sofa. I rubbed my neck again and shrugged my shoulders trying to loosen the aching muscles there. Sigh.
Well, I could go back home and wait to hear what they have learned the next time Lucy or Zyrina make their way through Jade Valley, or I could go on to Jade Mountains and find out firsthand. Of course, this really wasn’t a choice, I knew I was going to Jade Mountains. My bag was still by the door.
I took another chunk of cheese off the wheel and wrapped it in a small piece of cloth I took from Rina’s scrap bag, before tucking the rest back in the cool of its urn and setting the urn in the cool corner of Rina’s kitchen. Then I tucked the rest of the bread carefully in my favorite clean handkerchief before sliding it into the top of my backpack with the cheese set carefully in beside it. Provisions secured, I tidied up before securing the door.
Since I had just arrived by balloon, I knew exactly where it left Jade Gardens, sort of. I felt determined to get to Jade Mountains before anything else happened. Hopefully, I would arrive there alive. Hopefully, I wouldn’t scream so very often during flight this time. These contraptions were not for the faint-hearted!
Kitty disappearing was disturbing. Torgin was bound to that lynx and would not accept her loss lightly. So, I was absolutely willing to offer effort and time to help my friend, of course keeping in mind to only offer help that does no damage to my own life because that kind of thing isn’t helpful and creates even more trouble ahead and I’m not a martyr. Even so, I still had a crush on Torgin and could feel my heart swell a little and my face flush just thinking of him. Of course, I was going to help.
That little artifact book was more and more becoming the carrot at the end of a string that I didn’t know I was seeking, and I was beginning to believe it was far more important than we even guessed when I first came across it years ago. I took one last look around Zyrina’s place after tidying up. Lucy’s letter to Zyrina was still on the writing desk upstairs and of course I snooped… I wasn’t ashamed of it either.
Zyrina,
I know we all just got back home, but I need your help Rina, ‘cause Kitty’s gone missing and Torgin will KILL me if he finds out I’ve lost him.
Please come as soon as you can,
Lucy Featherbright
That settled it, I was heading to Jade Mountains. I picked up my pack from beside the door and walked decisively out, pulling it shut behind me.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 2, Chapter 2 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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The Quiet Mage
Part Two of
The Stone Dragon Series
By Lily Byrd
ByrdPress
NBBN 00115-003
Read by Asclepius
‘There is Virtue in sacrifice for the greater good. There is no Virtue in sacrifice without purpose.’ Tsuneo, Shogun of Ardoris.
Chapter One. A Letter Arrives.
Late in the afternoon at the end of summer, I arrived at the bottom of this sheer pebbled cliff path a little dusty and a little thirsty after skipping down from the ancestral home of the Byrd family. Perched above the lush coastal town of Jade Valley here on Elysium Island in the southwest of Novia, the Moon Tower Keep may be slightly crumbly and possibly still full of mice (even with cats in residence), but it has stood the test of many generations and would sturdily stand for many more generations. It had been there when the Jade Valley Moon Tower was completed on Moon Mountain centuries ago. I recall the sudden appearance of Aunt Morgana, Owain’s sister, and the building of her keep up beside the tower. Her insistence that the Byrd family would be caretakers of the tower would not be quelled and so we all became caretakers and still are to this very day. Even Aunt Morgana, long lived as she was, eventually succumbed to an untimely demise. Novia was not safe from incursion and my aunt fell to one such event centuries before.
“Hmpfh.” I grunted.
I had just realized that as I departed from the keep that morning and waved goodbye to Daisy, that I had returned the same wave from the parapet each time I left the keep over the generations all the way back to her grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother and after all this time I only just now looked old enough to be a grandmother for the fifth-generation adult granddaughter of the woman who first took me in.
Taking a moment to stare out to sea from the bottom of the mountain, my stride slowed. I had been here in Novia a long time, a very long time. Straightening up to stretch my spine, I ran my fingers through my tangled blunt cut silver hair and reminisced. I had arrived as a grown woman from an Outlands that I barely remember. There is only a vague recollection of who I was before being swirled into a rip of space and time that deposited me here on the shores of Novia. There was no way to find out where I had come from nor how to return to that unknown place. I was a stranger in this land with nothing and no one to guide and protect me as I learned where I was and that I could not return. Those were dark years.
“Enough of that,” I scowled. Then with a shake of my head to clear it of the despair that still lingered. “Just LOOK at that sky!” and I spun in a circle laughing joyfully at the sight of the crescent bay spread out before me.
Thankfully, no one was near to see or hear me have this conversation with myself, as many of the local Novians were already suspicious of the woman who didn’t die. When I had appeared in Novia, the good people who took me in gave me a sense of belonging that has lasted through several generations. An outlander, some called me, but the Byrd family has always made me feel welcome and loved here in this sometimes-brutal land. Just walking a wooded trail could be a life-and-death adventure in these territories, as I had learned early on after arriving in Novia unequipped and uneducated, during a surprise encounter with a large mountain troll. It was vital to have a clan of people who would help each other. That’s what the Byrds were like. We helped each other, daily.
Early on, I learned what a powerful symbol the Ankh could be and that, as an Avatar in Novia, I was destined to feel the piercing of death without the permanence of death over and over here in this world, brought back by the grace of the life-giving Ankh. There was something special about being from away that gave the effect of immortality to those of us who were thrust into this place from another realm. Though I aged, it was slowly. Decades would fly by for the Novians while I barely changed at all. It was unnerving but something I had come to accept here as normal for me.
Centuries of Novian time have passed since I first arrived and there has been much to learn, even as a not very enthusiastic learner, training in family history and customs, accounting, law, geometry, cooking, medicines, potions, archery, self-defense, geography, music and so much more. I trained animals to be my companions and sewed armor for myself over and over, making stronger armor as I learned from experience just how to make a seam last, how to cobble a shoe, mend a stocking, how to aim a bow, and how to fletch an arrow properly. I learned magic and potions, spells too, and heal many who ask for a healer in this world. And still, with all this knowledge and after all these years, the most pressing thing I have to do today is to pick up supplies in town for the annual brewing of hops and grains.
“It’s good to be ALIVE!” I shouted into the wind. I grinned, then laughed out loud again.
I could no longer see the family crest that I had helped to stitch nor the crest of the guild that my family was part of, both flapping in the breeze from the ramparts of the stone keep but I knew later that I would still be able to see at least the tower’s tops from town. It was still a long walk from where I was all the way over the stone bridge and into the town proper. The banners would not be visible again until I returned up Moon Mountain, but I would be able to see a smoke signal and if there was danger there would be a signal with lamps. That meant return immediately. Three long, three short, and three long blips of light would alert me to a pirate attack, or a dragon, or anything exciting at all. There had not been a signal in the last several decades since that business with the stone dragon, but my family had firmly instilled a sense of responsibility that meant I would still check over every now and then through the day to see if there were any smoke or lights flashing from the towers. I could always enjoy the hope that something exciting would occur. It rarely did.
This year, for several phases of the planets, I had been working with our caretakers and gardeners, digging in the dirt, tending to a heap of neglected accounting and correspondence for the Byrd family businesses, and generally poking my nose in all of the family affairs. Today, it felt exhilarating to be out of the stuffy old rooms and into the clear afternoon light, free from paperwork and ink.
I stopped to catch my breath in the shade under one of the large swaying trees along the path by the edge of the bay. From here, I could see all the way across to the fishing shack beyond the pier. One ship was in mooring which meant the markets might have the ingredients I needed to find. This mostly-peacefully valley at the edge of the sea was warm and fair, but the bit of bite of air in the mornings told of changes up in the high mountains of Elysium that would soon flood the valley with colder winds, even if today the air was still warm and windy.
No matter, I was now away from my desk in the tower and my work was caught up (sort of), though I did stuff the last few letters in the drawer and pretend to myself that they were complete. I’d be back soon enough and could feel guilty then. It was my own fault really; I had put it all off for far too long.
Earlier in the week, when I could not sit still any longer and simply could not look at one more piece of paper, I had escaped out into the gardens to help a little with the preparation for harvest of the brewing grains that we grew in raised beds on the wide tops of the walls of the old keep. My wildly eccentric Aunt Morgana had always said that if we were under siege at least we had dirt to grow food in… and dirt to put out fires from flaming arrows… and dirt to bury the dead in if it came to it. Now I was glad that she had them installed; the view while I gardened was stunning.
Although leaving the harvest work to my Uncle Owain’s cousin’s daughter’s family was probably something they all wished I would do, I did a little anyway because I nearly always felt a great deal better after working with the living plants than I ever did after balancing the bookkeeping. I hadn’t recently killed even one of the precious hops and Uncle Owain grudgingly admitted my gardening skills had matured since I had first arrived in Jade Valley, though he was drunk at the time and didn’t remember saying anything nice at all when I reminded him of it.
No matter, I had heard the words and taken them to heart. It didn’t matter whether I got praise from him for learning, so it didn’t really matter to me whether he remembered saying anything. He was right, I had improved. That’s the part that mattered; I had improved. I could see the plants and they were healthy. That was praise enough. This year so many of the Jade Valley farmers were still recovering from the devastating events of the destruction of River’s Crossing that none could spare help for our harvest this year. We were on our own after all, so even my hands were welcome when we are this shorthanded.
The harvest is imminent and, with a distinct shortage (due to rodent activity) discovered at the last minute before dumping the sacks of sugar into the vat for brewing (yes, vermin are still an issue up here in our kitchen storage even with the addition of my many beloved cats), someone needed to be sent to town for sugar. Errands need running and since I am still the least experienced farmer among the whole keep, I was sent to procure the things on a list placed carefully in my apron pocket by our cook and brewer and cautioned to return right away. NO DAWDLING!! Several warnings of time management that I could have done without followed, but this reputation is the result of years of forgetting to do assigned tasks. I can’t escape my past.
I sighed. “At least I’m out from behind that desk.” I murmured to no one.
It may also be that this was the family’s way of getting me out of the way and out of their fields, but I didn’t mind; I needed to walk some of the energy out of my mind after sorting numbers, and anyway, it was time to check on the Hall of Enquiry and Learning.
There were always books to sort and shelve when I had a free moment and, truly, as the town’s only librarian I felt responsible for the state of the bookshelves. I wasn’t a very good one, and quite slow at cataloguing anything at all, but I was fairly enthusiastic about reading the books in the library at least and could recommend a good book or direct patrons to the section they wanted to browse.
Finally, I made my way over the Stone Bridge of Happy Arrival after meandering past Doc Tud’s hospital and the Jade Valley Lighthouse. On the town side of the bridge, I didn’t go into the busy marketplace; I first waved to Becky, one of the Town Criers, then I turned south and walked past the Graewitch Gardens’ Vegs and Regs Market, the Jade Rose Tea Room, and the Byrd’s Nest Inn, where I saw the new barmaid sweeping the stone steps before the afternoon crowd starts trickling in.
“Hello, Lily!” Her friendly greeting rang out as I passed by.
Gathering up my skirts, I hurried my step past the Hall of Enquiry and Learning, mostly so I wasn’t tempted to go inside before I gathered the needed supplies. I waved at my neighbor as he hurried by on his own business across the street. Then, like a sweet breeze through a cherry tree’s blossoms, the sight of my little cobble cottage near the river greeted me.
This view never seemed to disappoint and, of course, the scent of roses carried me the rest of the way home. I stepped up to the little white archway covered in small, flowered vines and a picket fence bordered with more flowers. Looking back north toward the market, I took a deep breath, enjoying the sensation of the clean fresh breeze off the bay mixed with the cooking smells at the food vendors nearby and the sounds of commerce winding down for the day. Sometimes living near this center of commerce and trade was too much for my senses but today I grinned as the haggling and hammering sounds wafted toward me.
Glancing at the ancient solid stone structure of the Hall of Enquiry and Learning next to my little cottage reminded me that there were errands to do here in town before I could make a cup of tea and put my feet up with a good book. Tending to books is the passion that keeps me sane while I listen to and write stories of adventures: those that locals tell me from their travels in the lands and, sometimes, adventures I’ve lived through. I collect and catalog the books written by other Avatars as well and spend many enjoyable hours reading those tales in the comfortable seating at the Hall library.
Books that I’ve written are far rarer, as I really am not as brave as many of the more experienced Avatars whose stories of courage, truth, and love I never tire of hearing. Wandering adventurers also leave their stories for me to keep in the library or I collect them during my own travels. That little library collection has become my rock while I grapple with grief of losing those close to me. I had grown to love and respect my adopted family and always enjoy watching them grow from sweet babies to old grumps, but each time their deaths are still profound.
Setting up and running the library was the only interest I found I still had any stomach for after most of my adopted family died in the raids on Port Phoenix long years past. Sorting and cataloguing books kept me alive while I grieved the loss of people whom I cared for deeply. Many of those days are lost to the swirls of my mind but the result was that the bookcases had been built and the Hall of Enquiry and Learning had been set up. My sister Violet and I had escaped our family’s fate only through a personal act of rebellion. The punishment for our rebellion was living while they had died. Though grief and guilt are a painful journey and one that each of us learns to cope with on our own, I had come to terms with the loss over time. The pain has dulled with time but didn’t disappear. I tried not to dwell on it today.
It was when the entire Byrd family holdings were given over to the care of my sister Captain Violet and I that I, Lily Byrd, started to learn the history of the world I had been thrust into and that I now found myself loath to leave. I felt I had let my family down with a variety of youthful indiscretions, so I now intended to learn to perform my family duties to the best of my ability even if it was too little and too late. Only, I missed the adventures and indiscretions. I missed my parents and Aunt Morgana. Those thoughts led me to other friends who had gone missing: Dragosani, Calan, Joe, and all those others lost to the swirl of the Outlands. I missed people here in Novia too, Lucy and Torgin Featherbright and Phlebus. Lastly, most of all I missed the quiet and thoughtful archer, Zyrina. She and I had become close friends while she tried to cope with some Obsidian magic that had plagued our valley and the menace of an old mysterious book of magic. People tend to bond when facing large enemies of immeasurable strength with unknown odds of survival. I smiled then, remembering the stories of fighting for her life alongside her friends.
Even though it had been years since we lost the trail of the mysterious magic book. Although I had not heard from any of my fellow adventurers for far too long, I still longed for something new and exciting. A large sigh escaped me then, and I crossed my arms in front of me. I knew telling stories of brewing, gardening, mushroom-finding, or fruit-growing didn’t have the same appeal to the folk who might stop by to hear a local story or two at the library either; story-time had become just me sitting among the books reading bits from my favorites to myself.
Living here in a farming and trade village really wasn’t much of an adventure, but this was a good village to settle into if you want to watch the world go by. Most of the local library patrons enjoy enough of a thrill from reading about the world or hearing the stories I tell them about the goings-on in Novia, gleaned from travelling and listening. They were the farmers and fishers who found no sense in leaving their valley to travel anywhere. I respected their caution regarding travel but did not share it to the same degree. I may not seek out spider-filled caverns on my own, but I travelled as often as I could, and I carried a bow and several poisoned arrows with me at all times, even here in Jade Valley.
Looking down after my musing, I realized I had halted while beginning to open the squeaky door of my little wooden post box. I winced and promised myself to remember to oil it before the day was over…for sure this time. Truly, it’s not an overly exciting event, opening a squeaky and mostly empty post box. Generally, if anything were in it at all, it would be flyers for various sales and events, but today among the sales fliers there was a letter. I smiled and plucked it from the fliers now destined for the outhouse paper stack. I could recognize Zyrina’s writing anywhere. Having just been recalling past adventures that we shared, I really wanted to savor this moment, pour a cup of tea, sit in a comfortable chair, and enjoy opening the missive but my impatience once again got the better of me and I didn’t even make it inside the gate before I haphazardly tore the envelope open in my haste to get to the paper inside:
Dear Lily,
I’ve just arrived home. Come quickly. There is too much to tell since we parted. Here’s a quick summary: Torgin found another lead regarding that little artifact that you found (yes, Emrys confirmed that the artifact that you dug up when Arabella was kidnapped during the Mystery of Treasure Island Adventure was indeed a little leather-bound book).
Then the artifact vanished again only to reappear when we all joined forces in Jade Valley during The Stone Dragon Mystery. Merrik Dragon’s suffering was profound during that adventure and was absolutely linked to a specific spell from that particular little leather-bound book. Torgin and I found out it resurfaced at River’s Cross when mages misused a spell from its pages while drunk. Phlebus helped us find the thread of the story but I won’t divulge more details here as they are many and hair-raising; it was not simply a dragon burning down a village as we thought it was, that’s for sure.
This is the first time Phlebus, Torgin, or I have heard whisper of this book in many years. It is far too dangerous to leave to the continued misuse of the uneducated with ill intent. Torgin had much to say on the topic which I would like to tell you in person.
Come soon. When you arrive in Jade Gardens, you can find the little elven cottage I rent from your sister Violet Green and her friend Aslinne Gradh. Remember there is a hot air balloon that will bring you here from Jade Valley; it’s faster than ship or wagon. Please hurry. I’m going to need your help, Lily, at the very least to help get Torgin out of whatever it is he’s getting us into this time. Bring your herbs and potions; we will probably need them.
…and your bow. We will definitely need it.
Please help,
Zyrina
Well. Now THAT was a letter. I absentmindedly stuffed it into my little skirt pocket and patted it smooth. This was going to take a little planning and a lot of effort. And I definitely was not going to help with the harvest nor finish my bookkeeping. Now I was really smiling. First, I needed to get the provisions sent up the mountain, then I needed to arrange for help at the library while I was gone. Of course, I rushed madly off in all directions.
And of course, the letter worked its way out of my pocket during my preparations and I didn’t have a clue how to find the cottage when I finally arrived in Jade Gardens days later and exhausted after dark. Wandering into the hamlet after the hot air balloon dislodged its passengers, I found myself lost for several hours traipsing among magnificent gardens, one after another heady with fragrance and flowery night blooms. Eventually, hearing him call out the hour, I came across the town crier near the docks. He directed me to the little elven cottage that Zyrina rented from Violet Green and Aslinne Gradh (Sequanna knows how they got into property ownership together… I assume it was the spoils from a gambling wager of some sort). So, I set out in the correct direction this time, and made my way by starlight to Zyrina’s home.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The stone Dragon Series – Book 2, Chapter 1 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Greetings Fellow Avatars!
Welcome to Release 99! As many of you might have noticed, next release is a huge milestone for us. Release 100! Due partially to us wanting to make Release 100 extra special and the short month, Release 99 is largely polish and just a handful of new features! The headliners items for this release are some much-needed quest journal improvements and the final entries into the big cats family along with unique ROAR effects for all tamed big cats! The new town of Grusk was very close to making it for this release as Sannio has been working hard on fleshing out the NPCs and expanding the quests in the scene but we decided to save it for next month’s exciting celebration release!
For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.
Release 99 Patch Notes!Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 99 (R99).
- New Journal UI
- Mounted Young Fish – added mounted decorations and recipes for all young fish types
- Fixed Leather Backpack deco floating issues SOTA-69784
- Fixed issue with Lion Cub Pet missing Dismiss option SOTA-70050
- Fixed typo in Stone Dungeon Room Spawned (Random Encounter 2) blueprint
- Fixed issue with tamed crocodile names not displaying correctly SOTA-69582
- The lion roar should now properly mesmerize nearby hostile opponents
- The lioness should now grant nearby friendly players a life attunement buff
- The tiger roar now grants nearby friendly pets a bonus to critical hit chance
- Jaguars now have a unique roar that grants some limited magic resistance to those nearby
- Black Panthers now have a unique roar that grants a modest dexterity bonus to those nearby
- Snow Tigers now have a unique roar that reduces the fire resistance of enemies that hear it!
- Sabertooth Tigers and Snow Leopards, wild and tamed.
- Sabertooth Tigers have been spotted in the Normal, Hard, and Extreme difficulties of Lamech’s Bazaar and Desert Encounters in Novia, Hidden Vale, and Mistrendur! When tamed, their roar grants party members additional strength!
- Snow Leopards have invaded the Obsidian Panopticon and Snowy Mountain Road Encounters and Snowy Tundra Encounters in Novia and Mistrendur! These fierce creatures have a roar that increases crit damage vs enemies that hear it
- Splintering Strike has had its damage calculation changed to do slightly less base damage but factor in attunement to increase the overall damage
- Glacial Glissades damage has been reduced slightly to be in line with other, similar skills
- Aether amplifiers will no longer take up a deco slot to make it easier to place them for temporary events
- R99 Reward: Set of Leprechaun Bowler Hats
- R99 Reward: Set of Ancient Xenossian Urns
- R99 Reward: Sparse Clover Paver Set
- R99 Login Reward: Irish-Themed Wax Cylinders
- Fix: Fixed lua function ShroudGetGameTime day and month which was giving 1 less than it should.
- Fix: Fixed lua function ShroudSetInputText.
- Added commas to the lists of locations given by town criers. SOTA-70084
- Player can now use hotkeys for decks 13-48. SOTA-69855
- Fix: Stripping URL bbcode from lua as this was not suppose to be allowed.
- Added ShroudGetEquipments to lua function which work the same way as ShroudGetInventory
- Loot that is rolled in party will now appear in “Recently Looted” sorting option.
- Estgard: Updated the journal entry for “Convince Knight in Estgard” to help clarify what needs to be done. SOTA-69871
- Ferig’s Battle Camp: Ean should now pay players some gold as instructed by Ferig, even after the avatar has finished the Courage path.
- Highvale Outskirts: Fixed a typo in one of Esmeralda’s responses.
- Necropolis Barrens: Updated the gates at Envy Angel’s home so that NPCs don’t simply walk through them. SOTA-70198
- Solania Catacombs: Fixed a typo in the logic used by Whiteguard Helena’s responses to fix a build error.
- Solania Catacombs: Updated the logic in Whiteguard Helena’s responses to help ensure the Ichor Witch’s Skull is removed after the completion of the quest.
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Soltown: Updated some text and logic used in Jeanne’s responses to improve how players give her the silver necklace. - Corrected the display name for the Eternal Pattern: Feathered Leather Wizard’s Hat. SOTA-70203
- Additive Loot Table update for spiders in the Player Dungeon Spider Room (Hard and Boss) to drop blueprints.
- Display Name changes for player dungeon spider rooms are now more consistent.
- Deco can now be placed in the Hilt Spider Room (Debris Deco) Player Dungeon Room SOTA-70202
- Corrected Z fighting in the long connection hallway for the Spider Deco and Spider Pristine player dungeon rooms.
- Eliminated warnings seen when loading into a dungeon with the Pristine or Debris Deco versions of the Player Dungeon Spider Rooms placed.
- Moved all uncategorized dungeon recipe book entries into the smelting category. (Spider Totems will be in the correct category as of R99 patch1) SOTA-68339, SOTA-70220
- Blueprints for the (Pristine Deco-able) Spider Player-Dungeon room and the Spawning Spider Player-Dungeon room will now drop in Hilt as expected. SOTA-70201
- Added the following subscriber rewards to the store to appear on March 19th: Leprechaun Bowler Hat 2-Pack, Sparse Clover Pavers, Ancient Xenossian Urn 3-Pack. Added the Very Sparse Small Pavers to the store to appear on February 24th. Adjusted some icons for brightness. Added bowler hat patterns to proper classification.
- Added GDOC_Occludee components to all 21 prefab variations of the gustballs so that when players have GPU Occlusion set to “on”, the gustballs do not mysteriously disappear at odd moments.
- Five new wax cylinders are now available as loot in the Floating Barrel (Flotsam) which can be fished from the waters of the moat at Castle Atos.
Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 99 are a must-have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection includes Xenossian vases, Leprechaun Bowler Hats, and a new paver set! Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 99 to receive these special login items:
The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:-
900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month - Monthly Login Reward Items (about 3 per month)
- Exclusive Title every 3 months
- 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
- 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
- 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
- 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
- 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
- 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
- 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond
- 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise
- 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant
- Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
- Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month:
- Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
- Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
- Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
- Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
- Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
- Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills
- Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting
- While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses:
- Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful!
- 24 Additional Deck Slots!
Bug Brigade & Testing Directives!
The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was relaunched.
The Brigade has been up and running and the volunteers (Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn) are in a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to clean up the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums.
Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels!
In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Much improvement has been noticed by the development team and we’re so very excited to see the program’s continued success!
The development team would also like to thank all of those who take time to participate in QA Testing Directives. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs can be identified and fixed prior to content going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives.
Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing and bug rewards are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows:
- Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter”
- Single Ant Cloak
- Lady Bug Backpack
- Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids”
- Ant Farm
- Insect Leg Table
- Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles”
- Bug Painting B
- Bug Sprayer and /bugspray Emote
- Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths”
- Butterfly Chair
- Corpion Chair (Pictured Below)
- Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies”
- Hacked Oracle Flyer
- Giant Blue Butterfly Pet
- Butterfly Mask
- Dragonfly pet
- Fairy Wings
- Monarch Butterfly Pet
- Dragonfly Wings
- Hacked Oracle Crawler
- Blue Butterfly VFX
- Orange Fireflies VFX
- Orange Butterfly VFX
If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, sign up and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums.
Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program!
Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I!
Phase I:
Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply.- Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar.
- Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual.
Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come).
Rules:
- To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application.
- To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program.
- Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program.
Items of Note:
- SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord.
- Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material.
Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them!
Upcoming Release Dates
Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2022 Release Schedule is as follows:
- This Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content)
- Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish)
- Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content)
Community Updates & Resources
Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums. Note, we are putting a hold on our official Catnip Games events while we train up our new community person!
Special Announcements:
- Quel Regional Market Now Open: Tired of searching endlessly for what you’d like to buy? Well, the Britannian Mining Company feels the same way, so they’ve created a well-organized and easily accessible vendor town. And the best part… All row lots inside the settlements are FREE for any merchant in New Britannia to claim!
Recurring Events:
- Dragon Hold Fishing Invitational: Located above the Whiteguard Foothills, Dragon Hold hosts a monthly fishing contest with prizes allocated per trophy type as well as largest overall fish. Rules and prize details can be found on the notices at the fishing shop easily reached by teleporter. Happy fishing and good luck to all!
- Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Chrismas/Holiday Themed Items! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R96’s contest period lasts until December 28th!
- Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs.
- M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available!
- Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out!
- Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting!
- 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules.
- RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun!
- PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there!
- Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT!
New Player-Created Resources:
- Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed!
Community Calendars:
- Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in!
- NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you!
- SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better!
Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun!
- One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these!
- Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones.
- Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread.
- Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures.
- Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum.
- Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum.
- Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out!
- Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out!
- Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play.
- Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community.
SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars!
Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer
Immersive theatre. 3D binaural sound. Real ghostbusting. Get your tickets now!
We are excited to share, Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s (Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency) latest project: Secret Cinema’s “Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer.” Travel back to the ‘80s and experience never-before-seen storylines based on the original film in this live virtual adventure. Get ready for the jaw-dropping detail of any Secret Cinema event, brought to you online and to a whole other level! Team up with the Ghostbusters to investigate paranormal activity, explore the infamous 550 Central Park West and uncover spine-chilling secrets from other dimensions. The world needs saving and you’re the one for the job!
Project to Support: Shard RPG
Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad.
- Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals.
- Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character!
- Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah!
So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG!
Project to Support: Ember’s Adrift!
- Help support one of our team members’ other projects, Ember’s Adrift! While not live yet, they will be releasing a schedule soon detailing their timeline. Check out their newly released video here:
Project to Support: Avatar Express
[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]
I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.
If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.
You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.
Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game.
It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts!
So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us!
Resources: Players Helping Players
The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.
Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.
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Interlude: Old Pete
Read by Asclepius
Nearly a decade later at the Dragon’s Breath Inn in River’s Cross close to but across the river from Jade Valley.
Sitting in the old Dragon’s Breath Inn several years after his adventures in the area, Phlebus was enjoying the peace of the quiet afternoon after his leisurely walk down to the valley. He took another sip from the half full pint in front of him on the table. His ship had docked in Port Phoenix nearby and he had walked to the valley from there. It was time. He had been waiting for the right moment to ask the brewer about a rumour he had heard in his travels.
When Phlebus finally asked the question, Old Pete was thrilled to tell the story to another passerby. It wasn’t often that anyone asked him for a story anymore. It wasn’t often that anyone travelled this way into the valley anymore either.
“River’s Cross was a quiet little hamlet once. Before those strange elves usin’ magic showed up out of nowhere. They became the darlin’s of the village. There was even dances out in the square once in a while and me ol’ Uncle Clarence used to play his accordion for them. That was before. Before the residents all started disappearing like, one by one. No one really noticed till there was only me left tending the bar. I don’t mind, really. But it gets kinda lonely all by meself.”
“I gets travelers now and then. People like yourself travellin’ into or out of Jade Valley sometimes stop here to catch their breath before the long hike out of the valley. There’s not much to see now, but River’s Cross was once a right gem of a hamlet.” Old Pete took another sip from his whiskey.
“Seems you are interested in hearing more about my little pub. It’s called the Dragon’s Breath Inn ‘cause o’ what happened the night the elves left town. Well, I’ll tell ya, but I warn ya now…. it’s not a pretty story. And it doesn’t end well.”
He stopped to sip again from his drink then went on, “It all started about a decade ago when those elves showed up. They sauntered into town like they knew where they were going and had the money to pay for it, ya know what I mean? It was the stink of magic that gave em away, an’ I don’t hold truck with no magic. I din’t pay em no mind long as they paid for their drink in gold and din’t get too uppity. Soon they had some of the other residents building a sort of temple for em. Somewhere they did their whispering and magicking. It used to be over down the lane, but it ain’t there now a days. Least ways I ain’t seen no one around there for a while now. Not since that night they all got drinking that special ale they had been promising that they were making for everyone in the Hamlet.” Old Pete tipped his glass to Phlebus again before swallowing. “They built themselves a brewery an set up doin little magic spells for folks to speed healing, or add a pox to an enemy, you know, regular stuff like that. Well then, after awhiles they were in here one night whispering. Always whispering. But that night they was purty excitable. Giddy almost, for that lot.”
“They was discussin’ the finished product they had made. An Ale. And not just any ale. Somethin’ special that never been thunk up befores. Ale of Essence they bin callin’ it. Ale of Essence? Now them is some fancy words for that swill. There was no reason for them to be so dang excitable about it. It didn’t taste right to me at all an’ I spit it right out, but them mages told me that it would give me everlastin’ life if I drank some. I don’t see no difference. Though I rightly am still alive so it must be workin’, eh?” He stopped to cackle a bit to himself over his joke before going on.
“Anyhoo’ it was a mostly dark and stormy night. We was all huddled around the bar and tryin’ to stay warm. You know the kind o night I’s talkin’ bout? An after a few pulls from their special cask, them elves started arguin’ who was the better magic user. You can imagine that it ain’t my place to get in the middle of angry drunk mages so’s I just stayed back here and sorta hid behind the hutch over there. They was castin’ spells and drawin’ funny shapes in the air with their wands, and soon enough they got serious. That’s when I got scared. Real scared. They wasn’t foolin’ round anymore. One o ‘em decided to try to do a spell big and the others were shouting at the caster to stop cause an I quote “we didn’t get it right even with the whole group of mages in the temple”. It didn’t convince the mage to stop, and they just kept chanting an’ tossed some ol bone on the ground out front of the inn. T’other one, that one that was with all them elves but was human but still a magic user ya know? The quiet one. Well, he started a different chant, and I could feel the hairs on my arms rise up and let me know there was trouble. Big trouble. The quiet one’s chant put a shimmer around the pub. I ain’t never seen nuthin’ like it afore. Then the shrieking started. And the fires and the roaring and the fires. Them fires was sumthin’ alright.” He paused again lost in thought. He sipped awhile at the cup he nursed in the crook of his arm while he spoke.
“I looked outta that window over there and saw the shadow of the creature fly over us. It was huge, scaly, orange and spewin’ fire outta its maw every which way. Somebody tol’ me it was a dragon, I ain’t never seen one o those before. Don’t wanna see another one either. That shimmer from the quiet mage protected the pub from the dragon’s breath that night. We was the only building left standin’ the next day. Them mages mostly perished tryin’ to control that dragon thing in the night and lucky for them when the warriors from Jade Valley saw the dragon flyin’ round the valley they came and battled it to death. I don’t know what finally happened, but it got kilt some which way. You can see the bones scattered over there behind the inn in the woods still. The few mages that were still living the next day wandered off quick as a wink muttering something about everyone would know where they were now, and they needed to find some mage who had run off with their special book. It’s been pretty quiet these days, but you can sometimes see the smoke and feel the shadow of that dragon flyin overhead. I reckin that shadow thin’ is looking for them mages even still. Now iffin you want some o’ that Ale of Essence you is gonna hafta go find one o’ ‘em what makes it. I ain’t going alookin’. More Ale?” He finished with a flourish.
“Do you know where they went?” Phlebus asked quickly, covering his pint with his hand.
“Nope, but I heard tell that someone called Nestor was the leader even iffin he weren’t herebouts. Maybe you’s can ask ‘im. Come back on in for a visit sometime won’tcha?” Old Pete waved as Phlebus downed the rest of his drink and rose to leave.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon Series – Interlude – Old Pete appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Interlude: The Mages of the Red Branch
Read by Alleine Dragonfyre
The evening of celebration had quickly soured in the small hamlet of River’s Cross near the second entrance to the valley past the old, covered bridge that led to Jade Valley town. The quiet mage completed the shimmery air spell that would continue to shield the pub for the rest of the night at least. He had been enjoying his drink before all the trouble broke out and old Pete didn’t deserve what was going to happen to his establishment. The buffer would at least protect the inn, and the innkeeper if he was smart enough to stay inside it.
When several of the others started arguing about why the dragon summoning spell had not worked when they were at the old location in Jade Valley itself, why it would certainly work now, and they started calling on each other to make another attempt, then the mage knew they no longer deserved to be in charge of that magic book.
It had been a subject he had been contemplating for months now. After discovering that the room of casting they built in Jade Valley was made from blocks made from stone bodies of people, he found himself questioning everything he knew about the Southern Red Branch. And when they built the brewery in River’s Cross using the stone bodies of villagers who weren’t sweet enough to become part of their Ale of Essence, he knew they had not learned anything at all from their experiences.
There was something missing in the teachings he had grown up with and no one was willing to answer his questions about virtue and vice anymore. The elf mages who raised him didn’t have much time for his questions before, but now they had become surly about even considering his questions at all.
He wanted to know where the book came from and how they happened to have it. He wanted to know the face of the person who created this magic. From what he experienced, this book had brought only pain and suffering to everyone who they encountered, and their own group was splintered and decimated. This was no way to build a new society of order and calm.
He thought the book might be cursed or worse, have come from before the fall when magic worked differently. No one would answer any questions about The Fall either. Cataclysmic. Devastating. That’s the description he was given, and it was expected to do. They swore that he could not squeeze knowledge from them that they didn’t have.
He knew something was wrong with their logic and their thinking, but he had no way of determining what it was and no one in his cabal would help him search for the answers. The elven mages wanted power but had no plan how to become powerful nor what to do with that power if they were able to attain it. He was sure there was more to success than simply attaining power to do what you wanted to do.
He watched them get more and more angry as they huffed and puffed and chanted. The rest of his group was single minded in their pursuit of success. He waited until the other mages had looked up the spell again, put the book aside, and were focused on the summoning spell itself. Finally, he was ready to act.
Quickly slipping the magic book under his garment into a small pocket he had stitched there for this very use, he made his way to the Obsidian dias on the roof of the pub to get a better view of what the drunk remnants of the Southern Red Branch mages would summon. He kept a travel scroll in his hand, ready to leave with the book.
The dragon they eventually summoned was not part human this time. It was massive and glowed a shimmery orange colour. It wanted nothing to do with any of them. It was bent on destroying those who summoned it and anyone else who came into its path. Its struggles against the drunk mages’ control did not waiver. It turned and attacked the hamlet time and time again. Fire rained down and the buildings in the hamlet soon smoked and flamed. The billowing smoke attracted attention as it became obvious that fire was spreading.
Within a short time, folks all the way from Jade Valley started arriving to fight the fire. Someone quickly dispatched back to Jade Valley to beg for assistance from the few outlanders and townsfolk who could battle a dragon, too. After the dust and fire and rain of the battle subsided, everyone left gathered to find out just what had happened.
Jade Valley townsfolk found the remnants of the mages’ brewery and potion shop. They learned that the essence in the ale the mages had been experimenting with in their basement brewery was made from the remains of the townsfolk who had disappeared from River’s Cross hamlet. Whether it actually gave eternal life was difficult to tell without testing. No one was going to test the brew. It was destroyed. They tore the brewery down and obliterated any trace of the evil the elven mages had done. The few elves who remained alive were shackled and taken to the Jade Valley Jail to await trial. The dead were buried, and the fires raked over until they were cold.
The mage watched all this while hidden in plain sight on the rooftop of the inn. He took another long pull from his now warm ale before muttering a spell to use his last travel scroll. He vanished with the magic book in his pocket and a keg of Ale’s Essence tucked under his arm.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon Series – Interlude – The Mages of the Red Branch appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Black Rose Chronicles, chapter 15
Background music by Smartsound
After a lengthy talk with Astor she explained she wanted to go back out and try to help once again with this threat from the Undead. He agreed and said that things will be fine and for her to come home as often as she could. Although the lands seemed huge they were not. Many of the locations were within day or two for travels. And with the wagons and ships and even the Lunar Rifts it was easy to fast transport to anywhere in the realm. With that she donned her newly crafted armor and freshly honed weapons. Packed her backpack with a few necessities and she headed over the stone bridge towards the exit of town. She would hop the ship from Hidden Vale to Brittany and then take the ship from there to Ardoris. Might as well head back in that direction since she had already started some work there. She was not too thrilled about doing back there but she did what she had to do
After what seemed like months she walked into Knight’s Watch. Tired, dirty and hungry she trudged to her house by the river. When she walked up she notice that her quaint little house was no longer little. It had been built up to a sprawling stone building.
It was near dark and she did not enter the house. Maybe Astor thought her dead after so long away and let someone else build in her place. After a good night’s rest she would seek him out. So she headed to the tavern where she could get a quick meal and a cot upstairs.When she made her way through the door the tavern was crowded. Many folk stood and sat around. Some gent named Omegaflux was at the piano banging out a lively tune while another named Ozzy Questor was trying in vain to keep up on his bagpipes. The laughter and talk were so loud even over the din of music. Bella saw Astor standing behind the bar and she approached. When the door slammed behind her the noise died down. Many of the faces she did not know or did not know that well, but she kept moving.
“Master Cerberus” she said once she found her voice.
“Did you give me up for dead?”
Smiling across the counter he shook his head in humor
“Nay, Milady. I know it would take more than some undead rabble to take you down.”
She looked at him for a moment and slapped her hand on the counter.
“Then perhaps over a pint you can explain why my house is missing.”
All the fellows in the tavern broke into laughter. Some shouting to Astor I told you so and such.
He too chuckled at her comment.
“Now now Bella. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. You were gone but a month when we all here
in town decided that you needed a much better house than you had built.”
Putting up his hand to stave off her retort he continued.
“Bella we all in appreciation for what you did to help the others build up their homes decided
to make you a grand house indeed. Furnishings and all. So when you come home you can sit back
and tell us your tales from your journey.”
The man named Ozzy came forward and peeked sideways at her.
“Tis a fine fireplace i built ya Miss. Hope it keeps ya warm on cold nights”
Others approached and told of the things they did to help as well.
Bella couldn’t help but blush, smile and even shed a tear for all the welcomes and the
help.
She looked back at Astor as he stood beaming behind the bar. She pointed a finger at him as if
saying…I will get you for this. Then immediately rounded the counter and started pouring more
pints for all.
“Drink up my friends and celebrate my return…..but i have you know I won’t be cleaning up the mess.”As the revelry continued into the night Bella snuck up the back stairs and found an empty bed in the far corner. She cared not if anyone else came up there. All she wanted was sleep. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light.
The next morning she rose from the bed and quickly made use of the washstand. Washing the smell of pipe smoke and ale from her face and neck she quickly changed into some regular clothing. She would definitely have to brush out her leather armor later
in the day. Gathering up her things she hoisted her pack on her back and made her way down the stairs. Setting a chair upright she sat down for a moment. The fire had gone cold in the fireplace, so she gathered up some kindling and small logs and got a nice fire started. Going behind the bar she looked about for a kettle and a tin of tea leaves. Both were nicely stored underneath the counter. Checking the bucket of water next to the counter she deemed it quite fresh so poured it in the kettle and set it on the fire to boil. Searching around she found some food and quickly made a trencher of assorted items. Cheese, lemon bun, apple, grapes and a jar of butter. Plate of food in hand she placed it on the table. Then pulled the porcelain teapot from under the counter and a cup. This will be the first good tea she had had in a while. Those taverns elsewhere could not make a decent cup of tea for anything. As her tea steeped, she nibbled on the food in front of her. It was very peaceful and quiet inside. There was not much going on outdoors either except the chirping of the birds. This was one thing she did enjoy about Knight’s Watch. The quiet.As time moved on and the town grew, she was able to do more adventuring. Often the residents of Knights Watch gathered and went on hunting parties. This she enjoyed a lot. She felt more at ease and enjoyed the company of her town companions. Often as not they would get into some real messy hunts, but the revelry of the group made it enjoyable. She was feeling quite content with her life as it was going. Still at certain times of the day or night her thoughts drifted back to her crew from the Black Rose. And of her old world where her family was. But it wasn’t long till a lot of those memories were just that
Waking one morning early she slipped her feet into cozy kidskin shoes and grabbed her oversized robe. Funny she thought to herself the men in this town still have not gotten the right proportions in making clothing for her. Usually, they had to take in and stitch up once she put them on. But this robe she would not allow them to adjust it. She loved it just like this. Slowly walking down the staircase she ran her hands along the stone. “Tis a fine house we built ya lassy”. She could still hear them the night they told her about the house. Pffft. It wasnt a house at all but a small castle keep. Huge in her eyes and all hers. Often times she would have them over for pints and meals and often times she would find someone sleeping off the revelry by the fireplace. Indeed, she had a grand fireplace.
She loved it all the more because they worked so hard building it for her. Fine furnishings and the occasional knick knack decorations they thought a fine lady would like. Although she had been far from lady like they still regarded her none the less.
Reaching the ground floor her trusty dog Roofus greeted her. Twirling in circles the lunk of a dog followed her towards the back door where she opened it up to let him out. Then she made way to the kitchen. The men wanted very much to provide a fine kitchen for her, but she refused. She had no idea how to cook on such things as they called pot belly stoves. She liked cooking on a hearth. The jug of water sat on the table and she filled the kettle full. Stoking up the fire she put it on to boil.
Taking down her fancy tin of tea leaves that Astor had gotten her on one of his adventures she sniffed at the aromatic leaves. Smiling she took a pinch and put them in the teapot and waiting for the water to boil. Today was to be a busy day. Many chores waited for her and the first thing she planned on doing was going into Kingsport to purchase some seeds. She had asked a couple of the men to build her some planting boxes as she was determined to grow some fresh vegetables and she was going to start some fruit trees as well.
While out she planned on riding up to Owl’s Head to get some other things that she knew she couldn’t find in Kingsport. It was going to be a busy day indeed.After many months of being idle in her mind. Bella decided to venture back out into the lands. She had become restless staying in the Hidden Vale. She felt the draw of the sea and the need to put some newer lands under her feet.
Sitting around the large table in the tavern of Knight’s Watch she chatted with the others on places they had been and things they had seen. Since there were all brought to this world much the same as her she knew they too had been
of the adventuring spirit. Whether from needing to do so or hired to do so they had covered the entire realm. Many of those places she had travelled with them and many she travelled alone. But she felt she needed to move. At least for a couple months.
The Fall season was approaching so it would be a good time to travel.
Packing up her travel pack and gathering up her weapons she looked it all over to make sure she was set for a journey. Food was carried light as she was able to hunt and forage for pretty much what she needed. And when near towns she was sure she could come up with a decent meal in those. After the talk a few nights back with her fellow townsmen she knew where she was heading. Now to just get on the road and start movingEchoes From the Caverns
The post Black Rose Chronicles 15 – by Belladonna Rose – narrated by Asclepius appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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A new chapter in this enthralling video adventure! The link to the video is here:
Chapter 2
Having established her crew, reluctant as she was to have a crew, Lady Beth began to step through the dimensional gate she had opened. Tiger_T and the Catdude stepped up to follow her. As Tiger_T neared the horizon of the portal, he noticed a slight tingle in his fur, almost, but not quite unlike a static charge. He moved his hand towards and away from the portal to see how it affected the tingling.
The Catdude: “Yeah, weird, isn’t it? Is this your first time through one of these?”
Tiger_T: “Yeah”
He continued his testing.
Tiger_T: “Interesting. The CTC doors are different, like normal doors. I’m curious as to what it will be like to walk through it. I guess I will know soon enough.”
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Meanwhile, Lady Beth had mostly stepped through the portal, save for the hand she was using it to hold the portal open.
Lady Beth: “Come along, gentlemen.”
Tiger_T: “Aha! Here’s our marching order!”
He carefully walked forward. As his nose contacted the horizon, he felt a prickling sensation that propagated through his body, peaking at the parts as they went through. Coming out the other side, he shook off the effects.
Tiger_T: “BRRR! Like being combed the wrong way!”
He began looking around.
The Catdude stepped right through the gateway. He got wobbly on his feet as vertigo momentarily swept over him. Initially, he reached for Beth’s hand to steady himself, but remembering that he had not obtained such permission to touch beforehand, he braced his hands on his knees instead.
The Catdude: “Just a moment, My Lady. I always get a head rush when I step through these things. Five more seconds…..and done!
He shook his head to clear it and recovered.
The Catdude:“The headache will last an hour more, but I will manage.”
He joined Tiger_T in looking around.
CD: “Hmm, I wonder where we are.”
Meanwhile, Tiger_T pushed down a few patches of fur on his tail.
Tiger_T:“I guess I came through OK.”
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## Feel free to add in based on your own impressions. ##
Tiger_T and the Catdude stared out in rapt fascination over their surroundings. Tiger_t notice that the “clouds” were not moving.
T_T: “Ahh, like unto Van Goh’s Starry Night. Very impression as all I usually see is standard YeOldeEarth Sky. ”
CD: “Indeed so. Funny thing, when Lady Beth first mentioned great height, I thought we might be headed to either Nar Shadda or the Cliffs of Eos but we are at neither. We are at someplace I have never been before and I am glad of it. My lady, thank you for letting me come with you.”
T_T: “Say, Lady Beth, where exactly is ‘here’ anyway?”
Lady Beth gave no answer and stood quietly at a jutting pier, as if awaiting something. It did not take long for that something to come into sight.
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T_T: “I think I see something coming towards us. A…blimp?
CD: Ahh, an airship with sailing ship gondola. A beautiful way to sail the skies, although, if the weather takes a certain turn, the voyage can become…interesting.
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As the vessel approached, Lady Beth addressed her companions.
Lady Beth: “This will be our transport during our time here. I will renegotiate the contract and bill of lading. How much do each of you and your equipment weigh?”
Tiger_T: That’s our ride? Cool! My weight? I do hope an estimate will be exact enough. Umm, I should be around 82 kg, and my backpack should be around 20 kg.
The CatDude: I weigh between 105-110kg, my gear is 40 kg, half of which is ammo. I suppose the captain will have some demands regarding storage.
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As the vessel pulled up to dock, the ramp extended out to the board gate of the ship. Lady Beth began to walk towards the ship but then she stopped and turned around to face her feline companions.
LB: “Gentleman…if you trust me then please wait for me there. I’ll…be…back.”
T_T: “ Umm…okay”
CD: “yes, my lady, I will wait as you wish.”
Lady Beth proceeded to the ship and went aboard. Tiger_T turn to the Catdude with puzzlement.
T_T: “I don’t see why she would bring us here only to then change her mind. That alone is reason to trust her.”
CD: “I learned to trust unicorns with my life. The first lesson I learned about them is that they are honest to the expense of politeness. It can be off-putting to humans the first time around, but you get used to it. If nothing else, it explains unicorns generally make for ineffectual politicians. This probably has something to do with the crew, seeing as we are not part of the original contract that she is now having to renegotiate.”
Tiger_T nodded his assent and understanding. Presently, Lady Beth returned and they snapped to attention to receive her next instructions.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post 3D Portal Adventure 2 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Read by Addy
Chapter Nine. Kobolds, Trolls, and Liches? Oh My!
Torgin stopped to check the torch supply they had left piled along the tunnel before their descent into the dark, after he ran back up to the main corridor. He also took a good look at his own equipment while he waited for the others to climb out of the sloping tunnel behind him. Doing the chores had kept his mind occupied but as he cleaned the blade of his axe, he had time to think. He was shaken by what had been done to the human volunteers in the experiment room. Those volunteers who were experimented on didn’t get anything out of the deal; it was not mutual. It was torture. People should not have to suffer nor lose their lives simply for the curiosity of others. Shuddering a little, he could not help but hope he would overcome whatever other evils he would find ahead. With a deep breath and nod of his head to these private conclusions, he turned and watched Phlebus, Lucy, and finally Zyrina emerge from the smaller tunnel. They had a moment to speak quietly among themselves and check their own gear as the newcomers caught their breath from the climb out of the troll pit.
“What was done to those people…” Phlebus couldn’t even finish his sentence.
He simply pursed his lips and shook his head. Zyrina looked away from the others and kept her thoughts to herself, but the slump of her shoulders was obvious.
“Now we have to watch for kobolds, liches, and trolls?” Lucy asked as she looked both ways down the tunnels anxiously.
“Who doesn’t like variety?” Torgin joked, trying to lighten his own mood and that of his sister, too.
With a crooked half smile Lucy answered, “Ale, yes. Enemies? Not so much.” She shrugged and chuckled, “I prefer a nice strong dark ale and a single weak enemy.”
“This way.” Torgin peered ahead into the semi-dark hallway that went on and on. The others followed quietly. Zyrina at the end of the line watched their rear.
“Here we go a wandering throughout the mines so black. And as we go, I love to sing, my rucksack on my back.” Lucy stopped for a minute to light her torch, then continued loudly, “Come on join in! Falderi faldera falderi falder ha ha ha!” Her chorus rang out and echoed down the tunnel.
“SSSHHHH! Lucy, are you TRYING to get us killed?” Zyrina shushed her friend.
Lucy shot her an annoyed look, “How do you not know a single mining song at all?”
Then they heard movement ahead of them in the tunnels and Lucy looked stricken. Zyrina had her bow ready to shoot before anyone even blinked.
“I’m sorry,” Lucy whispered as her brother withdrew his axe from its holster. “I was trying to lighten the mood, too.”
When Zyrina saw Torgin drop his weapon back into its holster and crouch down she still kept her arrow nocked and drawn, aimed just beyond Torgin’s left shoulder. Lucy couldn’t see why Torgin knelt, either. Then, snowy lynx paws wrapped around Torgin’s neck, and a fuzzy feline muzzle gave the side of his face a nuzzle.
“I told you to stay put,” Torgin spoke gruffly to the lynx who rubbed up against his leg after he stood up again.
“We have been gone a long while.” Lucy excused Kitty’s behaviour.Phlebus immediately stopped casting the bolt of electric energy that he was preparing, and Zyrina dropped the point of her arrow before releasing the tension on the string. Kitty walked a few steps into the dark then came back to the group and gave Torgin a piercing look before she padded down the corridor again. She was confident that Torgin would follow her.
Torgin spoke over his shoulder as he started following the lynx into the gloom ahead of them.
“She knows where to go.”
“How does she know that?” Zyrina wanted to know.
Lucy shrugged. “I don’t know, but Torgin hasn’t ever been wrong about what Kitty knows.”
Lucy kept in step a little distance behind Torgin, humming a tune quietly to herself while holding the torch high. Torgin had light enough to see where he walked without blinding him. Phlebus and Zyrina followed quietly. Kitty, of course did not need the light but stayed close enough ahead that Torgin could make out the white and black swish of her tail every now and then at the edges of the light cast ahead of him.
When Torgin stopped suddenly in the corridor so did everyone else. No one was daydreaming this time. There was an exit from the main corridor off to the right just at the edges of where the torch lit the darkness.
Torgin spoke quietly, “Kitty sat down and faced that opening. There must be something in that cavern, or she would have gone in there or past it.” Still whispering, he nodded toward the entrance to the cavern, “Be ready.”
It was a mid-size cavern, with dripping stalactites and stalagmites growing up from the floor to meet them around the room. Steaming pools of greenish mineral water collected in some of the hollows formed by the constant dripping. In the middle of the room there were several dead bodies on the ground around a small glowing lantern. But the most striking of the particulars was the large shimmering lich in the middle of the room who had just turned from its killing spree.
Torgin drew his axe and took a deep breath. Zyrina stepped from the back of the group and worked her way up to beside Torgin. When they touched shoulders, it was time.
“AAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!” Torgin’s shout as he sprung through the door caught the attention of the lich.
Next, Phlebus stepped through the doorway and spoke the final words for his fire ring spell. A large circle of flames shot up around the lich. The fire only burned Phlebus’s target; Torgin was untouched by the inferno. Torgin led off with a knockdown, pushing the lich right into the middle of Phlebus’s magical blaze.
Zyrina entered to see Torgen swing his axe to strike the liche. The reverberation stuck the lich in place. Her arrows soon followed. She knew that Phlebus’s spells would not be the most helpful in this fight; physical strikes were the most effective way to overcome this magical monster. Liches were powerful mages but if Torgin and Phlebus could hold the lich in place she could send arrow after arrow into the target.
Phlebus’s spells were long and complicated. Every time he was interrupted, he had to begin at the beginning. Magic was not very effective against a powerful lich mage because of all the interruptions; but he was doing what he could to assist.
Zyrina was learning it was worth her effort to make sure that no one interrupted him while he was casting, and she took it upon herself to be his protector while he cast. It had taken him years to learn and to perfect these spells, but they were magnificent. She was proud of her friend; he had been only a handful of years out of childhood when they had parted. Now he had grown into a resourceful skilled mage. She grinned and went back to firing arrows one after the other.
With the lich now stuck in place, Phlebus was already deciding on his next spell as he felt the healing touch of Lucy nearby. Lucy was casting a spell that she called Soothing Rain. It would keep healing each of them for a short time while they fought, no matter where they went in the room. Plebus was speaking a spell that would create a fire elemental wisp. It would strengthen any of the fire spells he cast. Immediately after it materialized like a human sized flame beside him, he began another ring of fire.
Between them, Torgin and Phlebus kept the lich pinned in place. Zyrina kept firing arrow after arrow, even though it felt like she was assaulting thin air. Lucy helped everyone when she added some kind of boost to their health and movement speed with a song she was playing on her harp while interspersing faster healing spells to each of them individually. Her calls of “Asen-Reno” could be heard over and over again. It was this welcome surge of energy that helped Zyrina to stay focused when the lich started wearing away at her defenses. She fired arrow after arrow in piercing shots. The battle did not take long. Soon enough the lich was a crumpled heap of opaque gelatin at their feet and Torgin was nudging it with his foot to make sure it stayed dead. He dropped to kneel for a moment after making sure the thing was not coming back to life.
“Ancestors,” was all he would say when he stood and saw Zyrina’s questioning eyebrow.
“Are these dead the kobolds that ran off earlier? Or the ones who left before we arrived? Is the book on any of them?” Phlebus was already looking through the pockets and bags of the closest body.
“They aren’t all kobolds. Look. This one is an elf. High ranked mage by the look of it.” Zyrina showed the body she had just turned over onto its back that was laying on its own by one of the pools in a dark corner of the cave.
“Elves too?” Lucy’s eyes went round. “This is really too much.”
Phlebus called from the back of the room where he had gone to examine yet one more of the stone statues. “There is an elf back here with a letter in its pocket, too. I can’t read the beginning of it. It’s smudged.”
“Listen to this!” he called out again, and began to read aloud, “‘…have my suspicions about the fidelity of that mage we discussed previously. You know the one, the quiet one. I can’t recall his name. He doesn’t seem to take the usual approach to any of our activities here in the temple and doesn’t allow anyone to say “because we always did it that way” as an acceptable answer to his queries about procedure. I’m not sure if you remember he grew up here. Captured as a baby from one of the villages we passed through a couple of decades ago.
The Southern Red Branch has been the only family he has known, and he has been a trial for us to raise. I still doubt the wisdom of keeping him here but bowed to the council’s request. After we realized he would not be a good volunteer for the procedure to bind him with a dragon, things deteriorated even further. You remember the reports of his protest when he found out we had used spiders from the southern caverns to conduct our early experiments? The protest signs? The petitions? Yes, well lately he has begun questioning the wisdom of casting spells using the assistance of the moon shards. Can you imagine?
It’s not like he asks many questions, I’ve barely heard him speak and not often above a whisper, but those questions stick with you. Like this one: “Does it hurt the dragon when we merge it with another being?” What a silly question!
Regardless of the cabal’s trials, I look forward to a visit with you. My best regards to your family, Nestor. I’m certain we will be out of this mine for Sequanna’s fest and can meet at…’” Dejectedly Phlebus concluded, “I can’t read any of the rest.”
Zyrina spoke up then, “This Kobold has a part of a letter, too. I don’t think kobolds wrote this, either. This bit is addressed to Nestor, the Southern Red Branch. Listen: ‘The liches definitely have the book. Several of our mages have gone to the room of casting to retrieve it from them. After they left, several kobolds came screeching past our hiding spot in this cavern then continued down the corridor, and up to the lich room. I think that the kobolds are trying to claim the book for themselves after having discovered its power when they came upon the experiment room.
It’s a good thing we were already leaving when the kobolds battled their way through the troll guards. I am certain they did not see us sneak out of the area while they were fighting. I am confident in the abilities of our mages to withstand a few kobold miners with weapons, but it didn’t seem needed.
We are hiding here until the book is returned to us or we are all lost trying to retrieve it. I realize its importance. I am certain it was left when we fled the room of casting yesterday during the lich attack. If we had not forgotten it, we would already have left the area.
The liches who attacked us are members of the Dougan family. It seems they have been trying to protect their family member, Merrik Dougan, who was one of our human subjects in the experiment. There were several clones of that human that failed but we used the original Merrik Dougan, and he lived through the transformation. There still are few more clone specimens in the vats for further experiments. We had finished with the experiments on animals as they were too stupid to try to control. I suppose all of that’s moot now. We have to leave. Liches have been attacking for months, but the attacks intensified yesterday when the kobolds became roused after discovering our trolls and experiment room. The liches are not in the mood to go back to their crypts.
Kobolds are attacking everything they find but they have left us alone so far in this cavern, but I don’t feel sa…’”
Zyrina looked up then. “Blood covers the rest of the page,” she finished.
Phlebus mused, “Do you think this Nestor is their boss?”
Torgin reasoned, “Regardless, I think some kobolds found these elves hiding here, killed them, and were plundering when the lich attacked them.”
“The mages are all elves!” Lucy shouted far too loudly in her excitement, “Does that mean the mages who had the book are all elves?” No one moved for a moment taking in what must have happened in the room just before they arrived.
In the quiet of the gloom in the damp and sulphur smelling cavern, Kitty spoke up, “Mrroeow.”
Torgin’s chuckle filled the cavern before the others shushed him, but the silliness was a relief after their battle. They were soon all heaving with silent laughter each time that Kitty beckoned.
“Kitty.” Torgin looked to his pet. “What is it?”
Kitty left the room. Torgin followed.
“Come on, there are more of them,” he called over his shoulder.
Slowly the others regained their composure before turning to follow Torgin and Kitty from the cavern.
“I think Kitty knows more than we realize.” Lucy voiced what they all were thinking as they gathered up their bags.
“It’s a little spooky alright. Okay, get ready. There are bound to be more of those liches and elves, and maybe some kobolds too,” Zyrina reminded them, as if they had forgotten.
“And trolls, don’t forget them,” Lucy muttered.
“Right, kobolds, elves, liches, and trolls.” Phlebus grinned. “Your favourite.” He winked at Zyrina who smiled but did not laugh at Lucy’s fear.
It’s not easy moving through damp dark muddy tunnels far underground looking for liches, elves, trolls, and kobolds. Not easy and not fun. Not at all.
Torgin stood at a bend in the tunnel and grunted, “The path splits several ways. One of them rises. That’s the path to the liches. Hopefully, the magic book is still there. It needs to be taken from those elven mages. Listen, you can hear the sounds of battle now. Can you hear it?”
Then, shuddering with anticipation, he took his axe out of its holster before reaching down to just behind Kitty’s ears and gently scratching the lynx standing by his knee. “Thanks, Kitty.” She melted into the shadows of the tunnel before they moved further on.
Now, they completely gave up stealth. The ones ahead in the fight could not hear anything but the battle around them so it was a waste of time to try to hide any longer. After a short jog up a small incline and around a few bends, they entered what looked like an ancient room carved out of large blocks. There was light streaming from somewhere.
Phlebus was sure this was another of the ancient rooms that had been buried during The Fall, or perhaps later, from the Obsidian period. They were found buried through all of New Britannia. There were large stone statues of humans leaning on the hilts of their swords, with the tip on the ground in front of each of them in a line along each of the long walls. In the middle of the room about halfway down the length, was a raised plinth with a big dragon leg bone laid on top of it. Nearby was a moon shard shackled with big metal chains to the ground. All that was at the base of a set of steps that led up to a throne at the very back of the room.
Phlebus had no more time to contemplate the architecture. His spells were needed, and they took all his focus to cast. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then something inside his head cleared and he knew that he had reached that part of him that could touch the magic there. This magic always took something from him, too; he knew that no magic was created without cost. Sometimes that cost was to his own body, like now. He continued to be more than willing to help his friends survive this battle, even if it meant a few changes for a few days.
The changes were not usually permanent, and his hair had never remained snow white; he regained its dark luster in a matter of hours. His skin always smoothed back out, and his bent back straightened from the arthritic creaks that took hold of him while he cast. Magic that affected a whole area of enemies was incredibly draining to continue to cast and took longer to recover from afterward too. This was the fourth battle of the day. Phlebus was beginning to look ancient and frail. He hoped he had enough stamina and focus for the battle ahead of him.
He felt the small pouch of vials Lucy had handed each of them earlier. ‘Take these when you have no power left and they will rejuvenate you,’ she had promised. He knew she was a competent potion maker and trusted that they would indeed revitalize him. She had also handed him some cold Demon Tea stored in a waterproof pouch. He never could figure out how she managed to always have exactly what he would need, but she did. Every time. He had sipped it quickly before entering the room.
Torgin paused to take stock of what they faced before finding his first target. There were at least two liches that Torgin could see near the doorway that were not engaged in battle inside the room with the kobolds. There were several figures farther in who were battling up a set of stairs. As quickly as he could he took two deep breaths and then plunged himself into the fray.
This time it was not just one single lich. It was mayhem. There were many liches, in battle with kobolds. Although the liches had killed most of the kobolds before they arrived there were still a few battling the liches, and now battling Torgin too. Torgin hopped over a few of their bodies on his way through the battlefield.
The waves of attacks by liches seemed to go on for hours and by the end it was difficult for Torgin to even raise his axe without shaking with strain. He was half-heartedly swiping at the last kobold when Zyrina’s arrow pierced its chest, and it joined the others on the ground.
Zyrina was out of poisonous arrows and had used all her steel headed ones. She had been picking them out of the dead and reusing the ones that still had integrity in the last minutes of the battle. Over at the entrance to the room, Phlebus had been knocked completely out cold near the edge of the fighting, but his eyes were now fluttering open as Lucy tended to him. Even Lucy’s supplies of reagents were sadly and nearly depleted and they were all barely still standing from exhaustion.
When the room was finally silent, Torgin dropped to his knee again, followed this time by Zyrina. Lucy wove between the two of them, touching each and casting spells to speed their returning strength and health. She cleaned and patched superficial wounds as they recovered their breath. It had been a vicious fight. Yet here they were, still alive and with a sizable pile of defeated liches and kobolds on the marble floor all around the room.
“Well, you two are in fairly good shape, considering. Even Phlebus is coming around after that bonk on his head.” Lucy patted Phlebus gently on the back to reassure him as he pushed himself to a sitting position. “At least there weren’t any trolls.”
Torgin chuckled, “Indeed not.”
When Torgin and Zyrina could stand they began searching among the dead with Lucy. Zyrina kept her bow and remaining arrow in her hands and Torgin did not sheath his axe. They were not sure if there was going to be more fighting even as they knew they would have a difficult time surviving another attack. After a few minutes of silence, Phlebus was ready to speak.
“Did anyone see the book?”
Unanimously, around the chamber there was a headshaking among the others.
“There are elves among the fallen.” Zyrina reported as she bent over yet another body. “I don’t remember fighting any elves. They must have died before we arrived.”
“Well,” Lucy said quietly while exploring around up the stairs at the end of the room. “There is a chest up here.”
That woke them all up.
“Chest?” Phlebus repeated while jumping to his feet unsteadily.
He nimbly ran up the flight of stairs only to stop and stare with Lucy.
“Are you kidding me?” Lucy was looking down at the mostly empty chest hidden behind the large throne.
“The book isn’t here. There are a few wood scraps, a little bit of gold, and some old clothing.”
Phlebus began feeling around the chest to check for a secret compartment. Down on the floor of the room, Zyrina and Torgin continued to go through the pockets of the fallen.
“It’s not here.” Phlebus sounded disappointed after his thorough search of the chest. It was just a common chest.
“There is a note in this fellow’s pocket.” Zyrina pulled the folded parchment from the pocket of the dead elf in front of her. “It reads, ‘success or death.’”
“This message says that too.” Lucy threw the crumpled paper back to the ground after taking it from one of the fallen elves.
“I found something.” Torgin called out.
It was part of a letter that had obviously fallen out of someone’s pocket and been trampled in the battle. Most was not readable, but the message was clear.
“Listen to this! ‘Nestor, I write as we pack to leave. We will get that magic book back from the liches regardless to the cost of our lives. Kobolds are close behind us. I can hear them in the passages. We have abandoned the experiment room. There is nowhere left to hide in these caves. Spiders and liches have taken over. Kobolds are digging everywhere and will soon find all our secrets here. There are rumours of others sneaking about. They must be searching for the book of magic, too. Several more liches broke free of our controls and turned to stone right in front of us. It is now confirmed that when using this magic book that when we lose control of a subject that they turn at once to stone. We shall teleport once we have recovered the magic book from the liches at their lair. One more battle. Success or death.’”
The rest of the page is torn and stained with gore.
“The Southern Red Branch got here first.” Then he spat. Such a small clue and so profound.
“Turned to stone?” Lucy was considering something. “Did he say that the subjects were turned to stone when they lost control of them?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what is written here. Apparently, those people in Jade Valley had been under control of these mages for some amount of time.” Phlebus bleakly pointed out. “Governor Hari is not going to like that at all.”
“Where are the Red Branch now?” Torgin asked quietly and grimly.
“Who is Nestor?” Lucy asked again.
“I don’t know Lucy, but I’m sure going to find out,” Torgin vowed.
“I’ll join you,” Phlebus pledged. “The governor will want to know more about the Southern Red Branch, as I’m sure will Lord British and Arabella. I don’t think they have suspected that the old obsidian magics are being revived right under our noses.”
Zyrina was searching for any sign or possible direction the Southern Red Branch had gone but there was nothing.
“Teleport scrolls,” she frowned and sniffed. “We won’t find them now.”
Phlebus knew from experience that if Zyrina couldn’t find a residue that no track could be found. Teleport scrolls were the worst. After reading the words on a scroll, the reader is transported through space to a new location in Novia. The location is chosen new each time a scroll is read. Then the scroll disappears as well, in a puff of blue smoke. Completely untraceable. Zyrina hated them.
“Then there is no way to find out where they have gone.” Phlebus shook his head, “They won’t be back now that this secret enclave has been routed and they have the magic book. There are no further answers here.”
“Time to go make a report to Governor Hari?” Lucy asked hopefully.
Phlebus nodded.
“Just like that? It’s over?” Torgin looked disappointed, “I thought there would be more to it than that.” Then he kicked at the rock staircase with the toe of his boot.
“No, it’s not over,” Phlebus vowed. “Jade Valley may now be rid of this menace but I’m going to find out who is responsible. They can’t hide forever.” He thrust both his arms over his head in a salute of courage just as Zyrina got to her feet beside him.
Zyrina coughed, “Phlebus when was the last time you bathed?”
Phlebus looked startled then shrugged and laughed heartily. “Apparently after I have a bath, that is.”
There was a general chuckle around the group. After gazing around fondly at his friends as they gathered their things to find their way out of the mine, he could hear Torgin telling Lucy what it was he wanted to do topside. A meal and a hot tub sounded perfect to him, too. In that order.
“Thank you, my friends. You have bravely fought with me to protect this town and valley. I have great respect for your skills and talents and the honour of fighting alongside each of you makes me very proud to call you friends. We were able to discover what was causing the trouble here in Jade Valley. Maybe even stopped it from happening again. But we don’t stop there. We seek justice for those who have suffered loss. With patience and wisdom, we may yet discover where the Southern Red Branch has fled. They may have gotten away this time, but our search continues.”
He thumped his fist for emphasis. “We know what signs to look for now. We have done what we set out to do even if the answer was far grimmer than we imagined it. The loss of Jon the Caretaker weighs heavily on my spirit as I’m sure it does on each of you.” They all were silent for a moment recalling finding Jon in the cavern across from the Trolls.
“The valley will know what happened to their family, friends, and their livestock. This day we will expose the Southern Red Branch. This day we chase them from this fair valley. They may go into hiding. We will wait. We are patient. That malevolence needs to be addressed. And we are more than up to the task. We shall prevail.” And he finished with a flourish of his hands that cast a boost of spirit to each of them seemingly unintentionally. The effects were obvious. The group seemed all to stand a little taller.
Lucy snorted. “Did you practice that while we were fighting?” She winked at Phlebus. “That was a better speech than the one you gave when we were heading out to the unknown.”
Then she broke into a fit of laughter. It was infectious and soon the whole group was grinning. Even Zyrina lowered her bow then smiled.
After gathering up their belongings Torgin lead the group out. Turning left upon leaving the room of casting, he soon spotted Kitty waiting patiently at the exit to the main mining area. It was a long walk out of the mine to go tell the townsfolk that the mine was empty of kobolds.
“Did you think your first assignment was worth it?” Lucy inquired of Phlebus as they trudged back to the entrance of the mine.
“Yes.” He grinned. “Absolutely. It’s too bad we can’t follow the Red Branch anymore, but I’ll keep looking for them. I’m sure someone will want to know where they have gone.”
“I just want an ale and some sleep. I’ll even buy the first round.” She winked at Phlebus.
“That’s what I like to hear!” Torgin’s step took on a little more spring. “Come on, let’s get out of this place.”
“We’re done.” Zyrina sounded as if she were relieved that they were at the end of their adventure. For now.
May you all find the courage the truth and the love in your own lives, till next we find the magic.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 9 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Making her way out of Kingsport she saw vast lands before her. From what she could hear in the conversations in the tavern there were several towns dotted around the massive island. Many boats were anchored on the shorelines and she could see smaller islands off in the distance. Turning around she saw massive groves of trees and even a swampy area along the coast. This should make for some interesting exploration. Right outside Kingsport proper there was a huge galleon ship. Assuming it only takes me back where she came from. Then a few strides away were a couple of smaller towns. Heading to the west along the coast she walked to the gate of one of those towns. This would be a good start. The sign at the gate said Silverston
As she walked across the bridge the center of the town looked pleasing. Central crafting area with all she needed to use. Vendors along the edges to buy what wares would be needed. Tavern that looked promising for a hot meal and drink. There were several row houses staggered along the walkways that seemed to be occupied and several along the river’s edge as well. Further back there was a most beautiful home she assumed was the mayor’s house. Fountains and other buildings dotted the area. For some reason as she took in the sights she felt at ease. A sort of peace fell over her. After a few moments a kind looking gentleman and another more regal figure appeared walking down the cobblestone pathway. They both looked up at the same time and saw Bella standing there looking about.
Gently she pulled her backpack from her shoulder and sat it at her feet as the two men approached. The one man smiled brightly and outstretched his hand.
“Welcome welcome to Silverston. My name is Andrew Silverston and this is my town. I see you have that look of a well travelled sort.” The other gentleman gave a slight cough and smile behind his hand.
“Thank you kind sir. Yes I have traveled quite a bit over the last month or so. Came all the way from Soltown.”
The more regal gentleman offered his hand and introduced himself. “Aye are you one the Outlanders that have arrived in Soltown. My name is Astor Cerberus.”
She looked the man up and down. His demeanour was casual and not offensive. “Yes Sir. I arrived from the sea by way of some vortex. I have lost my ship and crew along the way. I hope to one day find some of them if they survived.”
Both men shook their heads and then took her by the arms gently. The regal one hoisted her pack on his shoulder and they led her to the tavern.
“Let go into the tavern and have a pint while you tell us your tale.” Winking at Astor . “And we might tell you our tales as well. For we too are or once were Outlanders as well.”
She let them lead her to the tavern and for the first time since she had arrived in this strange land she felt safe and well met. This might just be a good place to set down roots as she had the feeling she would be here for a long while.Sitting at the table with a pint of ale in hand. She regaled the men with her story. They both nodded often at the things she said . Once she was done they chimed in as well often repeating things she had said. They too had similar experiences . They talked about the area and what they had been doing for a what seemed like to them ages. They both agreed that for their troubles and adventuring they had amassed some wealth and established themselves
Clearing his throat Astor spoke up first.
” I have been all over the lands and currently live in Beran’s Reach. Its a nice place and I have many a friend there but I would like to settle in my own town for a change. Master Silverston here has gotten an itchy foot and wishes to travel so he has offered to
sell his fine village to me for a reasonable fee.” With that comment he winked at Andrew and they both chuckled.
“If you are of a mind to settle M’lady we or should I say Astor would love to have to take up residence here. “
Smiling at the gentlemen she nodded and from there they discussed the costs and such to gain a home in the town.
After a few more months of traveling about Hidden Vale she had gained the funds to purchase a plot of land. Small to start out with but was enough for her. With tools in hand she cleared the parcel and set about gathering the materials she would need to build her
first home. Tired, dirty and sore for most of the time she was pleased to have busy work to keep her mind occupied. Something other than rescuing folk and killing the evil in the lands. Although the latter part was always present. With the crafting tables in the middle of town it was easy to do what she needed. And her little spot by the river was just perfect for her.Bella had met many a folk in Hidden Vale and even in the small town she now lived in. She helped others gain wood and stone to build their own homes. And as new travellers found their way into town she aided them as well. It was becoming quite a bustling town. So much that Astor decided to expand the town. And that is where Knight’s Watch came into existence. She was pleased with the name as it seemed fitting. The town sitting seaside faced outwards to the horizon and they could watch as ships came in and out when they happened to do so. A lot of trade ships were far and few between lately. Apparently, the unrest across the lands had caused problems on the water as much as on land. As they sat around the tavern one evening her and a few of her friends in the town decided they would work together to thwart the lands of the madness. They all agreed, and she formed a guild of her friends. They then became the Keepers of the Watch. Fitting name for sure. As the town grew so did the guild.
Standing on the docks one evening Astor was watching out across the waters. Bella approached and clapped him on the back.
“Master Cerberus. Tis a fine evening dont you think?”
Not turning to look her way he smiled and nodded
“Yes indeed.”
They stood there for a fine long time watching as the sunset on the horizon. Turning towards town he started telling her what he had planned for the town and asked if she would be interested in becoming a steward and helping out. Stopping she looked at him and smiled. Extended her hand and there they shook in agreement. First building was the Guild and Magistrate building by the stone bridge. Easily seen from the docks and the bridge. Here they would conduct their guild and town business. This pleased her very much.
Just outside the hall there were wagons that could ferry folk to neighboring towns like Kingsport and other smaller villages about. On the docks once shored up a bit and more stable there were also transport ships to some of the island towns around Hidden Vale.
Things were definitely looking up for Knights Watch.
So many new folk were coming into town Astor decided to place some Row houses along the dockside…..he called it a Promenade. He always like using fancy words. Here he hired vendors to sell the residents wares and also offered temporary housing for those who have yet the means to build their own homes. It was all working out for sure.
Standing high on one of the rises in the back of town Bella looked out over the sprawling landscape. Houses dotted the scene all about. Dirk Blackpool had claimed the land on the small island at the lake. Others had claimed spots within town. To make room for more homes in town Astor had built and elegant shogun crafting pavilion to hold all the crafting stations. It was wonderous to see when you walk through the clock tower from the docks and thriving Promenade. The vendors were often busy there now and it was nice to see more folk come to town and visit. With the boats and wagons commerce picked up a bit from Kingsport. Many adventurers found their way to Knight’s Watch. She smiled as she saw a ship come into the bay. One day she thought to herself. One day she will find her ship or better yet build another Black Rose and sail around this new land she had started calling home. She knew she would never make it back to where she came from. It weighed heavy on her heart that her family was still there, and she had no way to let them know she was alright. And there was no way for her to get back. Often, she missed the old lands, friends, and her family. But she was making new friends and her guildmates have become her new family. With that thought in mind she made her way down the path and back into the town. She had a task at hand and had strayed from it for long enough.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post Black Rose Chronicles 14 – by Belladonna Rose – narrated by Asclepius appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Read by Amber Raine
Chapter Eight. Of Dragons and Men.
Creeping quietly down the seemingly endless tunnel in the dim illumination from the main passageway above by feeling along the slimy walls with their hands took all the concentration that any of them had. No one wanted to be the one to stumble and make noise that could be heard below. They had doused their torches. At this point in the dark, going ever downward didn’t seem to be quite their brightest idea. Each step led closer to a battle that none of them wanted, especially not deep in a mine tunnel against trolls.
Dirt. That’s almost all anyone could smell. The grit of it got between their teeth and everyone could feel it choking them if they breathed too deeply. And it was dank. Shallow breathing was the only deterrent to feeling as if they had taken in a pail full of wet dirt. Dirty and dank. Oh, and dark. Especially the dark. Their torches left with the packs in the tunnel above.
Zyrina shuddered. The unknown dark brought old memories of the world she had escaped and new fears of the dark places she had encountered in this world and she didn’t have difficulty breathing shallowly. She held on until the images from the past finished flashing into her consciousness. Those old experiences might help her keep alert to danger, but they were not this dark passageway heading toward trolls and she needed to stay focused on what was right in front of her. Even if she couldn’t see it.
She had avoided trolls since that incident in the mountains years ago and was not looking forward to repeating the experience even though she was a far better shot with her arrows than she had been when she first arrived. The tunnel went on and on. Just as she was going to call everyone back and try a different tunnel, she could sense the ground underneath level out. The others had gathered in a huddle ahead, whispering.
“There’s a cave. I can smell trolls.” Torgin whispered hoarsely.
“Torgin, you go in first, and get their attention. Zyrina will follow,” Phlebus nodded at her as she joined the group. “I will be right behind Zyrina and Lucy can follow me.” He lit a small spark of light into the palm of his hand with a quickly spoken magic phrase then paused to look around the anxious faces. “Alright?”
“Yep.”
“Okay.”
“Sure.”
There was a troll just inside the cave entrance that threw great boulders which wobbled the ground. It swung a massive axe over its head and struck at Torgin over and over missing by a hair’s breadth as he ducked and rolled away from the blows each time. Torgin indeed had its full attention. He led it on a merry chase near the entrance, teasing it even as he did so.
“Come on, you big lout!”
Zyrina peppered it with her arrows as soon as she emerged from the dark tunnel into the dimly lit cave and could see her target. She too danced in a circle following Torgin while he baited the troll. Phlebus stepped just inside the entrance and began reciting a spell while the power of his words manifests as a ball of energy between his outstretched hands. Lucy crouched near Phlebus, chanting the words to spells of healing that were directed to Torgin and Zyrina, wrapping them in a protective continuous healing warmth. Then without warning, Torgin’s voice changed from teasing to an order.
“Jump!”
Not understanding Torgin’s order was for her benefit, Zyrina didn’t jump and soon found herself frozen in place by a stunning strike the troll managed to land that affected everyone who was in touch with the ground. Afterward, when she unfroze, it took nearly a half a minute for her to regain control over herself again. Her entire body had been rigid while she fought to free herself. When she finally did, she shook her head to clear it before stepping back a few paces trying to get out of range. She saw both Lucy and Phlebus also regain their own control after being stunned and they began casting again, as their spells had been interrupted by the stun.
“Jump!” Torgin called out again.
Zyrina jumped just as the troll’s blow hit the ground again. This time she did not get stunned and from that point forward listened carefully for Torgin’s voice among the clashing and bashing of axe and hammer. Meanwhile she continued to pepper the troll with shot after shot of arrows tipped in the poison of spiders.
Just as the troll they were fighting seemed to weaken and buckle, another one came into sight. Then there were two more and the group was fully engaged in new fights even as the first troll fell. These were all small trolls, thankfully. Zyrina had seen a full grown one before and could tell the difference in the trolls’ strength and size from a full grown one, even in the gloom of the caves. Regardless of their size, each of these small trolls could easily snap any one of their spines in a second if they were caught and were utterly trying to do just that. She saw Torgin take a blow that would have killed her. The troll threw him across the cave, and he lay still for a moment while she shouted and got the trolls attention, before Zyrina saw him jump up and run back into the fray.
Lucy was fully occupied casting spell after healing spell to keep both Torgin and Zyrina alive during the onslaught. Phlebus had managed casting without interruption long enough between jumps to create a fire ring on the floor of the cave that Torgin led the trolls into time and time again. The fire ring did not affect Torgin at all, but the trolls were not having as much success in the ring. The fire there seemed to melt them, and they dropped like snowmen in a lava pit.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Lucy looked over at Phlebus who was breathing heavily and sweating from his effort.
He nodded but didn’t speak.
“More! Back here.”
Zyrina’s shouted warning came in time for Phlebus to cast and release yet another burning ring of fire for Torgin and Zyrina to lead the three trolls into with their teasing dance, arrows, and axe blows. One of these was a full-grown troll. It was twice the size of the others and twice as difficult to kill but it moved slower and somehow Zyrina and Torgin managed to stay out of the grasp of the unexpectedly agile smaller trolls and avoid the larger and more deadly one. This time the struggle went on far longer than any of them had thought they could manage to fight and yet they did not break or come to more harm than Lucy could swiftly dissipate with her healing magic. In the end there were five very dead trolls in the cave and four sweaty and exhausted humans catching their breath.
“Well, that was FUN!” Torgin looked rejuvenated after their efforts, and grinned from ear to ear, still swung his axe just for the pleasure of hearing the swish as it arched through the air.
Phlebus sank to the ground horrified and exhausted by the fighting. His experiences with causing death had been mostly academic in the last decade, and before that most of the killing had been done by Zyrina with her bow and arrows. Being directly responsible for the death of another being, even one as dangerous and vile as a troll took a toll on Phlebus.
After checking everyone carefully for injuries and healing the last of the superficial wounds from the clash, while Zyrina and Torgin were occupied in claiming treasures from the dead trolls’ vest pockets, Lucy lit her torch and wandered around the edges of the cave until she discovered a smaller cave tucked behind a rock screen deep inside the massive cave where they had fought the trolls.
“Hey, I think I found the room Jon was mentioning in his last testament.”
It was a small cave indeed and crammed with all sorts of things for experimentation. Near the entrance was a prison cell which held only a human skeleton. Throughout the room were several vats of humans suspended in some sort of fluid. No one could make out if they were sleeping or dead. An operating table was to the right with knives, saws, books and various potions lay displayed there. Near the back, on a large desk with a fancy Obsidian style chair with its jutting lines and uncomfortable seat, were stacks of journals and papers. Something fluttered by and Zyrina ducked automatically.
“Bats,” she muttered to herself, “of course there are bats.”
Once inside, Zyrina stared back at the entrance to the bigger cave, with her bow drawn. She was convinced they were not safe backed into this small area after that fierce battle. Were there more trolls? Were they coming? The others could go look through the books, and papers to find out what this place was used for. She was going to guard the doorway.
Torgin found himself staring at the bones of someone in a prison cell on a cot and the discarded skin of a young green dragon on the floor. He didn’t know what it meant but it gave him a pain in the pit of his stomach that made him want to harm whoever had been experimenting and torturing living beings here in this dark dank cave.
Lucy moved around the room reading the papers and experiment books, trying to make sense of what was obviously some sort of lab. On a worktable, Lucy found and read aloud the record of the latest experiment.
“Oh, listen,” she recited, “…’The creation of a human dragon, out of the young dragon hatched from one of the viable northern Drachenfald eggs procured for the cabal and Merrik Dougan, the human subject’.”
“What?” Torgin looked shaken.
Lucy continued, “’…We have failed to produce a dragon with a controllable human mind and all we managed was a human with a dragon mind. The human dragon, who calls himself Merrik Dragon, refuses to follow the simplest instructions and is far too independent of a thinker to become any sort of tool we can use in the Southern Branch. We have no control over him. The experiment is a failure. Even the Dougan family Lichs didn’t recognize him any longer; when they attacked, he was no help to us at all.’”
Torgin’s skin whitened as he heard what had been done to Merrik. Torgin who was still examining the dragon skin spoke, “So…. This skin and that skeleton are the leftovers from combining the human and the dragon? Isn’t Merrik Dougan the owner’s son of the inn upstairs?”
After nodding, Phlebus took over, reading out of a journal he had picked up while listening to Lucy.
“’…The human retained its dragon memories and its human ones too. After several experiments, the dragon/human continues to insist on being called Merrik Dragon. He has no memory of how he came to be. The matter is out of our hands now as he escaped months ago. The Dougan family lichs rose up and attacked us shortly after the experiments on Merrik began and he fled in the confusion.’”
Phlebus thoughtfully added, “the Dougan family lichs apparently took exception to their family member, Merrik Dougan being used in an experiment. I’m betting that’s why they rose up from the crypts in the first place.”
Lucy took over with another entry.
“Listen to this: ’Yesterday, while we were in the room of magical casting trying to revive that old dragon leg bone we took from the Jade Valley Graveyard into an undead version of itself, we were attacked again, viciously.’”
She quoted, “’The lichs attacked without warning, disrupting our magical spell today and they took over the room of conjuring. We were forced back here to the room of experimentation. We have hired trolls to guard the outer cave and to protect our work from those lichs attacking here again, as we were barely able to survive their first attack. The trolls don’t seem to care who they kill, and it has been a struggle even to get in and out of our own room here.’”
Phlebus read, “’However, while displacing us from the room of casting, they have stolen the tome of magic we were using, and we go to retrieve it from the lich stronghold in our room of casting. We need that book to complete our work and do not want Nestor to know we have lost control here.’”
“And now lichs have some old magic book?” Zyrina summed up, not having taken her eyes off the entrance to the room they were exploring.
Lucy was still reading and started to summarize what she was finding, “There is another notation here from a Red Branch mage that says lichs have attacked and stolen the tome containing the secret Obsidian Magic Spells they had been using. Another dragon had been summoned to try to link with another ‘volunteer human’ but the link broke when the lichs burst in and killed everyone and took over the room of casting where the magic book lay beside the dragon bone.”
She looked up at Zyrina, “Do you think that’s the dragon we faced at the graveyard last night?”
“Considering the timing, I’d say yes.” Zyrina still didn’t look away from the door. It was as if she didn’t trust the trolls that they had defeated to stay dead. “I want to know where that room of casting is located.”
“As do I.” Phlebus agreed as he scanned the journals on the desk for more information.
Lucy went on from her readings, “’There were few survivors from the lich attack. Those of us left are desperate to recover the tome because the spell to summon a dragon from bone of a dead one had been successful; the dragon bone had been forming and its completion only thwarted by yesterday’s attack of angry lichs, and theft of the magic tome containing the spell. We are determined to recover the tome and I write just before we leave to get it, and our room of casting back from them.’”
“There are no directions to the location of the lich stronghold except to say, ‘further into the tunnels’, which doesn’t help us much.” Phlebus muttered.
“We’ve got to recover that spell book before the Southern Red Branch take it back from the lichs.” Lucy was firm and she was determined. In her eyes, enough innocent living beings had been lost to these experiments.
Zyrina nodded. So did Torgin and Phlebus. Lucy continued to collect samples of mushrooms she had found growing near the dark edges of the small cave.
Phlebus took some time to review everything they had learned so that everything was clear in his mind before he spoke again. “So, as far as I understand, the Dougan ancestors, now lichs themselves, seemed to have risen when Merrik Dougan, their direct descendant, was experimented upon a few months ago. And that’s when they killed all the visitors to the mine, as well as attacking these mages from the Southern Red Branch.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Zyrina nodded. “The lichs attacked everyone, even Merrik, after he was changed because they no longer recognized him as their own blood.”
“Then,” Phlebus took up the thread of events again, “Lichs attacked again and interrupted a magic casting and stole the magic book that the Southern Red Branch mages had been using to recreate Obsidian spells as well as claiming the room referred to as the room of casting.”
Torgin spoke then, “The lichs were protecting their family the only way they knew how, by keeping the Tome of Magic from anyone. They’re not likely to hand it over to us either.”
“How did the trolls get here?” Phlebus didn’t want to ask but he needed to know.
Lucy added after straightening up from her labours, “I read a scroll over there that discussed that. These trolls were brought to the cave by the elven mages themselves, from some other stronghold of theirs. It wasn’t named. They were brought to guard the entrance to the experiment room after the first lich attack some months previous.”
It all seemed to make sense to Phlebus now, but he was still unclear why anyone had turned to stone. There was a far deeper mystery here than he suspected but was beginning to understand that the magic book was central to all the horror.
“Who is Nestor?” Torgin brought up a point the others had nearly overlooked.
Lucy and Zyrina both shrugged.
“I don’t know yet Torgin, but The Southern Red Branch mages need to be chased away from Jade Valley regardless of who they report to. I’m betting whatever is affecting the animals and people in this valley is directly related to them being here.” He repeated, “We are going to have to take the book from them and take back these tunnels and rooms for the Dougan family.” Phlebus was grim but decided.
“Let’s go.” Torgin seemed eager to leave the room. He was still staring at the dragon skin and the skeleton of Merrik Dougan and didn’t seem to be able to shake the horror from his eyes. He could not fight this kind of evil and he felt helpless in the face of what had happened here. There was nothing he could do to change anything, and he was not used to the feelings of a helpless bystander in any situation. It shook him to the core of his beliefs.
“It sounds like the mages are just ahead of us, if they have indeed left to reclaim the room of casting, so beware. We might come upon the mages in the tunnel or worse, lichs.” Zyrina continued, “And we don’t know where this lich holdout is, but it has to be down these tunnels somewhere.”
“Remember that map on the bulletin board when we first arrived down here in the mines?” Phlebus reminded them. “There was a chamber discovered that was marked along that main passage we had been in before coming down here. It’s to the left near the end that we have not yet come to. Maybe we can start there?”
Everyone was in agreement. With that, Torgin led the tired group back up through the long dark dank tunnel to the main corridor far above this horror, turning to the left when he reached the passage.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon Series – Bool 1, chapter 8 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Greetings Fellow Avatars!
The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 98 (R98), our primary focus was bugs but we did manage to sneak in a number of new game elements! First off, more large cats (black panthers, jaguars, snow tigers) have been added, most of which can be tamed! Players will find these new creatures scattered through many scenes throughout New Britannia! Also, a entirely new category of powerful but fragile artifact has started to appear in some scenes.
For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
Release 98 Patch Notes!Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 98 (R98). A handful of combat balance changes and other fixes will be patched in within the next week before moving on to our February release
- More big cats have finally made the
ir appearance in Novia: Jaguars, Black Panther, and Snow Tigers
- With the exception of the very rare, very powerful version of each species, all big cats can be tamed!
- Jaguars and Black Panthers have chances to spawn in:
- Forest road encounter in Novia, Hidden Vale, and Mistrendur
- Ravensmoor
- Verdantis Shardfall
- Norgard Fens
- Sawtooth Thicket
- Snow Tigers have a chance to spawn in:
- Snowy Tundra encounters in Novia and Mistrendur
- Jotungrund
- Added a randomize button to the character creation screen.
- Added a street light to Righ Inis on the overworld map to make it easier to find.
- Added big cat trophy heads and rugs
- Added Lua function ShroudPlayerGold to get current gold amount of the player.
- Added pristine to the new big cat head component
- Added ShroudOnPlaySound which will catch Lua and UI sound name and also ShroudStopUISound() which is used with the first function to stop a sound from
- Being played in the UI channel right when its being played.
- Added ShroudSceneMusic(active) lua function to stop or re-enable back the scene music.
- Adjusted and added missing deco surfaces for the Lord of the Isle Aquarium dungeon room. SOTA-70104
- Aerie: Fixed an issue where the “Find Another Blacksmith” compass marker was displaying prematurely. SOTA-70085
- Ardoris: Added a compass marker for players finding certain evidence related to the black arrow murders. SOTA-70078
- Ardoris: Improved the journals, responses, logic, and compass markers related to meeting with Siranto, Khasi, Pintar, Damai, and the spirit-talkers.
- Ardoris: Improved the logic which Shaaria uses to clear her “Give Advice to Shaaria” task. SOTA-70092
- Ardoris: Removed a redundant keyword from Rolf the guard’s conversation, to stop build errors.
- Ardoris: The “Meet with Siranto” task has had several text improvements, including being renamed to “Mention Undead to Siranto.”
- Ardoris: Updated the tasks related to Samael and Kardan Marbane pointing the avatar to talk to Min Liang Tan. SOTA-65292
- Bard songs vfx should no longer continue after the song is over.
- Battle of Solace Bridge: Corrected spelling of “Soltown” in “Tell Abigail About Charlotte” journal entry. SOTA-70094
- Big cats collision was overly large and made it difficult to loot things with a large cat pet out. These have now been adjusted downward to make them less annoying.
- Big cats should all now have a ROAR ability that grants different effects
- Big cats will no longer pounce while rooted.
- Blood River Massacre: Improved how the “Find a Weapon” task resolves itself and archives this task. SOTA-70080
- Blood River Outskirts: Adjusted the path grid to help keep a deer from spawning within a certain tree. Added POI-specific music at the outposts and ziggurat. SOTA-70143
- Broochash: Avatars cannot choose to skip a conversation with Albreda if they have Umberjack’s “shakedown note” for her. SOTA-70079
- Castle ATOS now has a Scene Map. SOTA-70149
- Castle Atos teleporter now takes you to Castle Atos
- Castle Atos: Moved items floating over the storehouse shelter to rest on the roof.
- Castle Atos: Removed line-of-sight conversation requirement from the banker. SOTA-70126
- Castle Atos: The faction for the chickens in Castle Atos have been changed to “chicken” faction, allowing them to be attacked. SOTA-70100
- Castle Atos: The Storehouse Containers in Castle Atos have been updated, and the unique turn-in item at the uncommon crate requires 2 Purple Wyvern Eggs.
- Crown Shop: added castleSet wizard’s tower village home to store
- Deep Savrenoc Timberland: Resource nodes are now correctly set to tier 4. SOTA-70139
- Dungeon Kit: Fixed a low LOD version of a single door drame wall piece.
- East Vauban Foothills: Updated the terrain by the lake to help accommodate players still on the ruins when they sink. SOTA-70066
- Elysium Mines: Adjusted several ore nodes to improve pathing while mining them. SOTA-70138
- February 2022 Login Reward: Heart-Shaped White & Gold Footstool
- Fix: Fixed a bug in vendor items list window that were not showing the numbers of items sent to bank.
- Fix: Fixed Lua functions ShroudUnsetMask and ShroudMinMaxSize which was always returning false. Also removed the transparency on panel when draging it around which caused problems while setting your own transparency on panels.
- Fixed an error thrown when doing a “Get Direction” on vendor listing when scene has changed.
- Fixed deco issue with Leather Flame Armor
- Fixed deco issue with Triangle & Acara Shield
- Fixed icon for ball of clay -adjusted block of clay icon brightnesss
- Fixed icon for Ornate Wooden Hot Tub -increased contrast on hot tub icon
- Fixed loot issues with 6 Wax Cylinders. Desolis I and II, Sands of Grunvald, and Into the Epitaph now drop properly in the Epitaph at a relatively small rate per creature. Solania now has a small chance to drop from the demon in Solania Catacombs. Kas Ruins now properly drops from the Lich Boss in Kas Ruins at a 100% rate.
- Fixed storage item count on Celestian Commode
- Frost giant should now give XPs to even a large party
- Greyacre: Corrected the spawn-in orientation at the southwest entrance to face the road. SOTA-70098
- Halls of Artifice: Fixed a typo in a trigger warning UI message. SOTA-70082
- Improving horse hoof sounds. (Spoiler alert, they still are not good but now just less bad)
- Jaanaford: Renamed the “Travel to Jaanaford” task to “Ask About Bonesteel in Jaanaford” and improved the logic which archives it. Also, improved the logic in Jenna Karttunen’s responses regarding bonesteel. SOTA-70081
- Jaguar and Panther: Added to Forest Road Encounter in Novia (southwest), Hidden Vale, and Mistrendur. SOTA-70136
- Jaguars and Panthers: Added new NPCs to Ravensmoor, Verdantis Shardfall, Norgard Fens, and Sawtooth Thicket. SOTA-70136
- Jaguars, Snow Tiger, and Black panthers have started appearing in the wilderness.
- K’rul: Increased the size of a certain doorway to ensure players could always pass through. SOTA-70125
- Kingsroad: Adjusted some spawner locations and rates for better distribution. Overall, there should be one or two additional spiders, bears, and skeletons in the scene. Also, added ranged and caster skeletons, and a chance for a tier 2 wolf. More nightshade may spawn near the graveyard. Some garlic may spawn along the road.
- Kingsroad: Fixed a broken spawner to stop build errors.
- Kobold Expeditionary Camp: Updated the “Free Sir Patrick!” task to be more clear and correct regarding that task. SOTA-70145
- Kobold Expeditionary Camp: Updated the logic used by the compass marker when doing the “Free Sir Patrick!” task. SOTA-70144
- Large Cats now feature unique loot tables per cat type and size, and all wolf items have been removed from their loot tables.
- Loot, 9 Ephemeral Relics were added to the game and will appear as extremely rare drops throughout the world of New Britannia. Ephemeral Relics are typically more powerful than their crafted counter parts, but cannot be repaired and feature a small amount of durability. Use these relics wisely for important battles!
- Malice: Updated the logic which archives the “Speak with Sequanna” task after completing the Path of Love.
- Many female NPCs were incorrectly using a male or neuter voice, especially in the Perennial Coast area. This has now been corrected.
- Massive and Legendary crocs will now have different stats.
- Moonlight and Sunlight enchantment will now appear in the tooltip of the equipments.
- Mounted head and rug trophy recipes for big cats -added bigCats head item componnet for recipes
- Necropolis: Added a connection to the Midmaer Passage near the exit to Midras Ruins. SOTA-69908
- New elf loot tables for Despair.
- New Lua functions ShroudLoadSound(filePath, AudioType), ShroudListSound(), ShroudPlaySound, ShroudStopSound() and a new enum AudioType. Lua scripters now have 5 audio channel to play sounds on at once.More information can be found on the API Doc and a demo on will be shown on forum scripting section.
- New lua functions ShroudOnPlayFX and ShroudStopFX which will give ability to lua scripter to stop an fx from being played. Look at the API doc for more information.
- Northwest Blackblade Mountains: Adjusted how close NPCs can get to a certain exit volume. SOTA-70107
- Novia: Moved the banners above Mud and the Naryad Moors to be above the treeline. SOTA-70097
- Ore Nodes: Corrected the scaling on high-tier ore nodes.
- Pet sheet will now be displaying dodge and magic resist.
- Plains Road Encounter: Removed the”line-of-sight” conversation requirement from the merchants that appear after the boss wave, to help stop them from canceling conversations. SOTA-70147
- Players will no longer get trapped with the fishies in the Lord of the Isle Aquarium dungeon room. SOTA-70104
- Players will now be able to place a Dry Docked Huge Pirate Galeon (Keep sized home) on a Castle lot as well as a Keep lot. SOTA-69091
port_pirate_galleon_town_playerHouse: Secret door sound effects are now located at the secret door. - POT Arx Draconis Lowlands: Upgraded to Town from Village. SOTA-70113
- POT Moonglow: Added new Holdfast west of Fortus End. SOTA-70091
- POT Rajazel: Upgraded to City from Town. SOTA-70089, SOTA-70088
- POT Silverdale Market: Upgraded to City from Town. SOTA-70103, SOTA-70101
- Previously, the new tall 5 story Town lot sized house would block decoration in some towns with higher elevation. This should now be fixed.
Process Big Cats recipes -added carcasses for loot - R98 Reward: Heart-Shaped Console, Queen’s Sitting Room Set: Heart-Themed Coffetable, Heart-shaped end table, Heart-backed white & gold throne
- Ravensmoor Player Dungeon Room Deco Surface fixed. SOTA-70135
- Savrenoc Stronghold: Adjusted a location where NPCs would get stuck in a world object. SOTA-70099
- Savrenoc Stronghold: Instead of the northeast and east entrance sharing one compass marker and entry point, these two are now split into two separate compass markers and entry points. (Players will continue to spawn by default into the same location, called East Entrance.) SOTA-70083
- Seasonal Monsters: Changed the name of Krampus’s list to “Krampus’ List: Naughty Boys and Girls” to help players find it in their inventories.
- Seasonal Monsters: Krampus has gone dormant until next year, while Envy Angel has returned to Necropolis Barrens. SOTA-68642
- Set Ancient Essence to be valid ingredient for smelting
- Set Standing stone deco recipes to be discoverable since they are re-teachable.
- Several issues which could cause creatures to stop spawning in some scenes have been fixed. This was most common in cities.
- Snow Tigers: Add new NPC to Snowy Tundra Encounters in Novia and Mistrendur, Vertas Pass, Brightbone Pass, and Jotungrund. SOTA-70136
- Solace Bridge Outskirts: After finding the missing scout, the avatar will get a task to ask her about Ebon Dawn (to ensure a more obvious transition to the “disrupt ritual” quest). SOTA-70105
- Solace Bridge Outskirts: Fixed typos in in the Deliver Bloody Bones journal entry, and another in Talk to First Memory of Three journal entry. SOTA-70109, SOTA-70108
- Solace Bridge Outskirts: Moved a lantern than wasn’t working when looked at from certain distances and angles. SOTA-70065
- Solania: Updated the logic used by Merriweather in her responses about Simone’s book quest. SOTA-70087
- Soltown and other scenes: Corrected typo for “Town Crier” in teleport-to-zone lists. SOTA-70062
- Soltown: Regenerated Arabella’s conversation components to help prevent “not found” error messages. SOTA-70146
- Spectral Mines: Changed the archlapin bone quest items to be destroyable. SOTA-69429
- Taming Frenzy finally has a unique icon!
- The Breach: Adjusted the path grid to better accommodate the Blackened Clockwork Dragon. SOTA-70068
- The various large cats in New Britannia now have a chance to drop Cat Claws, which can be utilized in a new potion recipe, the Potion of the Stalking Cat. This potion grants a small bonus to Rend, Sneak Attack, and when attacking from behind. This recipe is a somewhat rare drop from the elves in Despair.
- Toned down Chaos Shield visuals to be less distracting
- Updates to big cat stats to make adult, ferocious, and obsidian cats have different stats.
- Upper Fortus: Fixed a typo in a letter found on a table in a building. SOTA-70096
- Wyvern Eggs: Set “Merchant Availability” to “Not Available” to stop build errors.
- Xenos: Updated the “Enter Artifice” journal entry to be more specific and to “Enter Halls of Artifice,” among other improvements. SOTA-70086
- Known issue: Young Snow tigers appear orange (fixed patch 1)
Player Owned Town Updates:
- Arx Draconis Lowlands: Upgraded to Town from Village.
- Moonglow: Added Holdfast to Novia, west of Fortus End
- Rajazel: Upgraded to City.
- Silverdale Market: Upgraded to City.
February Login Reward: Heart-Shaped White & Gold Footstool!
Log in during the month of February, and you’ll receive a Heart-Shaped White & Gold Footstool! Be the envy of all your neighbors with this amazing piece!
Release 98 Subscriber Login Rewards: Ancient Xenossian Winged Plate Helm, Heart-Shaped Console, and Ornate Large White & Gold Heart-Backed Throne
These new heart-themed furniture items will also be featured in the Crown Shop in the new Queen’s Sitting Room Sets.
Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 98 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection includes the last of the Ancient Xenossian collectibles: The Winged Ancient Xenossian Helm. It also includes two new heart-themed furniture items: The Ornate Large White & Gold Heart-Backed Throne, as well as the Heart-shaped Console. Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 98 to receive these special login items:
The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:-
900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
- Monthly Login Reward Items (about 3 per month)
- Exclusive Title every 3 months
- 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
- 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
- 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
- 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
- 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
- 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
- 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond
- 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise
- 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant
- Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
- Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month:
- Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
- Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
- Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
- Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
- Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
- Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills
- Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting
- While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses:
- Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful!
- 24 Additional Deck Slots!
Bug Brigade & Testing Directives!
The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched.
The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to clean up the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums.
Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels!
In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action!
The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives.
Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team!
Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows:
- Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter”
- Single Ant Cloak
- Lady Bug Backpack
- Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids”
- Ant Farm
- Insect Leg Table
- Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles”
- Bug Painting B
- Bug Sprayer
- Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths”
- Butterfly Chair
- Corpion Chair (Pictured Below)
- Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies”
- Hacked Oracle Flyer
- Giant Blue Butterfly Pet
- Butterfly Mask
- Dragonfly pet
- Fairy Wings
- Monarch Butterfly Pet
- Dragonfly Wings
- Hacked Oracle Crawler
- Blue Butterfly VFX
- Orange Fireflies VFX
- Orange Butterfly VFX
If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums.
Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program!
Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I!
Phase I:
Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply.- Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar.
- Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual.
Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come).
Rules:
- To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application.
- To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program.
- Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program.
Items of Note:
- SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord.
- Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material.
Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them!
Upcoming Release Dates
Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2022 Release Schedule is as follows:
- This release: Release 98 – Jan 27 (Polish)
- Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content)
- Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish)
- Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content)
Community Updates & Resources
Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums. Note, we are putting a hold on our official Catnip Games events while we train up our new community person!
Special Announcements:
- Quel Regional Market Now Open: Tired of searching endlessly for what you’d like to buy? Well, the Britannian Mining Company feels the same way, so they’ve created a well-organized and easily accessible vendor town. And the best part… All row lots inside the settlements are FREE for any merchant in New Britannia to claim!
Recurring Events:
- Dragon Hold Fishing Invitational: Located above the Whiteguard Foothills, Dragon Hold hosts a monthly fishing contest with prizes allocated per trophy type as well as largest overall fish. Rules and prize details can be found on the notices at the fishing shop easily reached by teleporter. Happy fishing and good luck to all!
- Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Chrismas/Holiday Themed Items! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R96’s contest period lasts until December 28th!
- Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs.
- M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available!
- Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out!
- Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting!
- 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules.
- RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun!
- PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there!
- Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT!
New Player-Created Resources:
- Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed!
Community Calendars:
- Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in!
- NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you!
- SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better!
Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun!
- One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these!
- Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones.
- Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread.
- Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures.
- Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum.
- Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum.
- Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out!
- Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out!
- Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play.
- Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community.
SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars!
Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer
Immersive theatre. 3D binaural sound. Real ghostbusting. Get your tickets now!
We are excited to share, Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s (Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency) latest project: Secret Cinema’s “Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer.” Travel back to the ‘80s and experience never-before-seen storylines based on the original film in this live virtual adventure. Get ready for the jaw-dropping detail of any Secret Cinema event, brought to you online and to a whole other level! Team up with the Ghostbusters to investigate paranormal activity, explore the infamous 550 Central Park West and uncover spine-chilling secrets from other dimensions. The world needs saving and you’re the one for the job!
Project to Support: Shard RPG
Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad.
- Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals.
- Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character!
- Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah!
So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG!
Project to Support: Ember’s Adrift!
- Help support one of our team members’ other projects, Ember’s Adrift! While not live yet, they will be releasing a schedule soon detailing their timeline. Check out their newly released video here:
Project to Support: Avatar Express
[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]
I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.
If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.
You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.
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- More big cats have finally made the
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Read by Chatull Aventari
Chapter Seven. Of Nine.
Near the tunnel that led to Kobold Quarters and the Mining Office was a crate of soaked torches. Zyrina lit one by striking her flint with steel, then passed it to Phlebus and lit another for Lucy to carry. She notched her bow and saw Torgin unlatch his war axe and take it in hand. From this point Phlebus led into the darkness of the shaft before them. Torgin followed Phlebus with his axe at the ready and Zyrina covered the back of the group, following Lucy.
After some time Phlebus whispered, “The Kobold quarters should be somewhere along here and to the left at the first fork we find, if the bulletin board is to be believed.”
He sounded unsure as he peered into the dark past the flickering of Phlebus’s torch.
“Why are you whispering?” Lucy whispered.
Torgin shushed her, “Shh. No talking.”
Lucy shrugged her shoulders and peered past the flickering light of her own torch and into the glow of light that Phlebus’s torch threw onto the walls of the passage ahead. Whatever the torches had been dipped in before the wax wafted by now and then, and it was not pleasant but preferable to the stench of kobolds. It was hard to miss. It took her much of her willpower not to wretch from the smell of them.
To distract herself, she began to search the tunnel for something interesting. It had been dug tall enough to walk upright; even Torgin ahead of her didn’t have to crouch and there was plenty of room above her head. She was relieved not to have to worry about hitting her head. She saw Torgin duck a few times but not as many times as she would expect in a tunnel dug by kobolds.
Lucy asked herself why the kobold had dug such tall tunnels for themselves then remembered not to ask anyone out loud just in time. Kobolds are not much different size than humans. There must be a reason the tunnels were tall and even thought she could not work out why they were, Lucy was thankful that she didn’t have to watch for things to bump into her head.
There were small rocks loose underfoot, too, and she stumbled once or twice on them before getting her footing.
“You alright?” Zryina whispered into Lucy’s ear while touching her arm.
Lucy nodded her head and gave a grateful smile over her shoulder. It was a matte black in the tunnel and she was thankful for her new friend’s presence here in the dark, guarding the rear. Feeling her touch made Lucy feel less alone in the dark. Even so, her torch lit the way well enough for her to make out spiders on the walls and ceiling who silently scurried out of sight. The tunnel was free from webbing and even though the sight of spiders did alarm Lucy, she knew they were far from being the biggest danger. The thought of liches wandering in the tunnels turned Lucy’s blood cold and she shivered. She could feel bumps forming on her arms and her hair stiffen on the back of her neck.
Those ancestors of the Dougan family who had risen in the form of liches were not to be taken lightly. They had already killed. As Phlebus had told them all earlier at the inn after he read aloud from one of the books borrowed from the Hall of Enquiry “The original Dougan in that family became a Dread Lord from the earliest records of the family line.” Dread Lords who decided to become liches were more powerful than anything Lucy ever wanted to face. They were the monsters in tales for children to frighten them out of dangerous places. “Beware the lich” was a common warning from mothers to their children where Lucy grew up. She shuddered a little as she walked on in silence.
After an eternity walking into the dark, they halted just outside of what looked like an entrance to a room, a round one. The dirt tunnel connected to a small rectangular doorway into the room, and it looked like the circular chamber inside was considerably older than the tunnel that led to it. It must have been built before The Fall in order for it to have been buried so deep underground. The marble room was empty except for four thrones at the opposite side, set facing the doorway.
“This is the kobold quarters,” Phlebus sounded relieved. “We should find some answers here.”
And with that he strode into the room confident the answers were just ahead. Farther back in the line Lucy heard muffled shouts as she waited her turn to get through the door after Torgin. The attack began without warning.
“Look out Lucy!” Torgin’s shouted warning came in the nick of time too.
Lucy didn’t see the several kobolds in the room until she ducked through the door. Upon hearing Torgin’s warning she quickly sidestepped behind one of the pillars that made a circle around the room and pressed herself against the smooth carved stone. There was a circle of pillars just inside the room supporting an open gallery circling the room. Kobolds were everywhere. These were not miners who attacked, at least not miners that Lucy had ever encountered before. One of the kobolds cast a spell that attempted to drain her reserves of focus. She could feel the tug on her energy reserves straining to leave her breast, but before the kobold spell found its mark, she countered with a shield of air thrown haphazardly around herself in a bright bubble. At the same time arrows started raining down from the gallery above.
The archers could not reach her behind the pillar and all the warriors were concerned with Torgin’s swinging axe. With a few moments to herself she began casting a spell that would help heal her friends using the moisture she could gather from the room. Soon a small shower blew through the room and fresh healing rain fell on each of their heads as they defended themselves from the kobold’s onslaught. As soon as that was established, she began gathering her focus again and to chant slowly. She started with Torgin and sent him a healing grace that would continue to heal him for almost half a minute then began recasting it to target each of her friends with the boost.
Torgin didn’t hesitate and within the blink of an eye had swung his axe around in a circle knocking down the nearest of the kobold warriors. The kobolds all turned to attack this massive whirling slicing danger. They began circling Torgin and concentrating their attack on him. Or what soon became their defence from him. Their superior numbers may have been more effective on a less experienced warrior but this time Torgin beat them back one by one, pounding the ground around him with his foot to send a ripple of force that damaged all the enemies around him. He could feel his sister’s healing spells strengthening him even as he dodged the blows from his attackers. Behind him lay a swath of mangled bodies as he moved around the room swinging, stomping, and shouting. A few escaped to the tunnels before anyone realized they were fleeing but most of the attackers were cut down by the fury of Torgin’s attack.
Moving silently and gracefully following Torgin around the room, Zyrina had concentrated on picking off the archers above whose arrows pestered Torgin as he fought. She shot with precise strikes as she darted out from behind the pillars to release her arrows then just as quick, she would dash back to safety behind the marble columns as she circled the room. Her aim was exact and soon the gallery above no longer sent arrows down toward Torgin. Phlebus caught a glimpse of Zyrina as she sprinted up the staircase with her bow at the ready. He assumed she was going to check for lurkers above.
Phlebus still stood just inside the entry behind another of the pillars near Lucy. He continued mouthing the words of power for various spells using the air around him to both weaken the attackers and strike them down, even when the ground trembled from Torgin’s pounding.
Though he was within range, Phlebus only swayed a little with the wave of energy that passed through him. He was not stunned nor frozen. His lightning could be seen, smelled, and heard as it rippled between attackers chaining them together for a blast of damage over and over. Electricity’s familiar sweet, pungent aroma wafted by, but did not unsettle him. He concentrated on attacking and disrupting the mages who were healing and protecting the others, and his spells did just that. With Torgin and Zyrina’s physical attacks and Phlebus’s psychic attacks the entire fight took barely a quarter of an hour.
Catching his breath once the skirmish finished, Torgin took a moment to look around the room as he came out of his battle trance. Roaring loudly with his head thrown back, he stood in the center of the room surrounded by dead Kobolds. Lucy and Phlebus were near the entry looking as if they had both been drained of some of their life force. Meanwhile Zyrina was still silently creeping around the gallery to see if any kobolds were hidden and after a thorough search, she flushed out just one other archer, who she dispatched without delay.
“What the Titans was that about?” Torgin wiped his face and spat out then began to clean some of the blood from his axe by wiping in on the clothing of one of the fallen. “What kind of miners are these anyway?”
“Is everyone alright?” Lucy interrupted Torgin to ask anxiously as soon as the fighting stopped.
There were nods all around the group. She could see a few cuts and scrapes, but no one had an arrow to remove or any gashes that required her immediate attention. Breathing a sigh of relief, she took a closer look at the fallen.
“What was that?” Phlebus wanted to know, too. “Did they think we were liches?”
“I don’t think so,” Lucy answered him as she inspected the bodies closest to her. “These aren’t miners. Look at their clothing, their weapons. These are warriors, mages, archers. This isn’t just a few, what are they doing here?”
Zyrina stood at the top of the staircase, “Better come up here, I found the mining office.” She called down to the others.
There were two sets of stairs that each circled the outside wall on opposite sides of the room and led up to the gallery. Up the stairs and inside the Dougan Family Silver Mining Office, which had a small arched entrance, everyone followed Zyrina in. She went to the farthest end of the room and began going through the cupboard. Phlebus went straight for the large wooden desk. In among the papers and debris there he spotted a note that had meaning. It had been left with other papers and things in the mess on the desktop.
“Listen,” he called out then read out loud to the others;
Dis note is for yer eyes only Jon.
We found something. Was deep down under. We tunnel deep. Deeper than before.
You go see. You find out. Go left and left to get to the place. Go down. You see.
Others know I been passing info to you. I do not think we meet again, Jon.
They coming to kill us all. They come from below. In deep tunnel. Go left, you will see.
[Here there is a large splatter of fresh blood and the rest of the note is illegible.]
You been good friend,
Or’tuk
While Phlebus had been searching the desk, Torgin had been looking around the office. There were large samples of different kinds of stone blocks in one part; some of them were stones he had never seen before. It almost seemed like the stone was aware of him. It spooked him enough to move away to another area. He found the supply depot in another corner, and looked instead at supplies for mining; shovels, axes, and pails. But the most chilling thing in the room was a stone statue of a kobold with an expression of terror on its face. Torgin could not ignore it for long and found himself facing the statue for a long time before he spoke.
“Looks like he didn’t make it out.” Torgin patted the shoulder of the statue. “No wonder they attacked us without warning. They were already under attack from something else, all right.”
“Where’s Jon?” Lucy asked looking around.
“Not here,” Phlebus confirmed. “I wonder if he made it to his meeting before these kobolds were attacked or if he even saw this message.”
“Do you think Jon might have gone to find the something the kobolds found?”
“Yes, I do.” Phlebus spoke quietly. “And even if he didn’t, we are going to go find it ourselves. There is something down there that we need to see. We better be ready, there are probably more kobolds around, I saw several run out of the room while we were fighting.”
“And whatever attacked them is probably still around as well.” Zyrina added.
“Oh, great.” Lucy was packing up her herbs after having tended the last of the injuries while the others searched the room. “What now?”
Phlebus looked up again from the note he was rereading.
Zyrina grinned, “I think we go see what the kobolds found and dug up. Let’s see what spooked them so bad that they attacked us on sight.”
Phlebus nodded. “Yes. Exactly.”
Now rested, they each gathered their packs and bags which they had dropped at the entrance to the mining office. They filed out of the office and down the staircases, through the rotunda stepping over and around the bodies there. Zyrina bent and collected as many of her arrows as she could gather as they moved through the bodies and into the tunnel once again.
Lucy gathered the torches that had been flung when the fighting started and relit them from a torch on the wall. She handed Plebus one and kept one. Phlebus once again led the way with Torgin close behind. Lucy followed and Zyrina again guarded the rear as they moved quietly through the long passage. They found themselves far more alert than they had been while traipsing into the kobold quarter.
This time the slow walk through the dark tunnel felt even longer than the last eternity. When they found the juncture where a tunnel on the left went down, there was also an opening on the opposite side of the tunnel into a large cavern. Lucy had a peek inside.
“Um. You better come in here,” she called out to the others.
Inside the large cavern among the effects of miners who had abandoned their gear, axes, picks, pails, and a wagon to haul out the large stones that lay cut and ready to haul, Lucy had spied a corpse. He was quite old and wrinkled. She knew it hadn’t been long since he died because his lantern was still lit and the ink by the tipped over inkpot beside him was not dried out.
“Do you think this is Jon?” she asked, pointing to the corpse.
“Dunno yet, Lucy.” Zyrina knelt down to see if there was anything to identify the dead man. She found a scrap of paper tucked under his arm. “He’s still warm.”
“Not dead long then.” Phlebus clarified.
“Yes, it is him,” she smoothed the paper and brought it closer to Lucy’s torch to read out loud to the others who gathered around the fallen man, “I think this is his writing, listen.”
Last statement of Me, Jon The Caretaker
It was a trap!!
The Mining Foreman told me they dug deep an’ found some kinda treasure but it was a lie!! What they found were TROLLS!!…there was something else down there too. A little room I din’t have time to explore in when I was running from them trolls.
I ‘scaped back to this ol’ hotspring but a small pack of kobolds came running at me an’ injured me something fierce. They have went on full revolt now.
I leave anything I gots to Owain Byrd, my ol’ drinkin’ buddy.
they are coming….. I am too beaten and broken to continue…
“Well, I suspect he hasn’t been here all that long. It looks like he was just ahead of us.” Phlebus’s voice sounded sad and disappointed. “I wish we had gotten here in time to help him. I sure would have liked to know what he knew.”
“Phlebus, that’s callous.” Lucy scolded him.
“Ah, my apology Lucy. I wasn’t thinking of his family or friends, only my need. You are right.”
Torgin knelt a moment then spoke, “We are going down the tunnel, aren’t we?”
Phlebus nodded in the gloom but they all knew the answer.
“I wonder what’s in that room that Jon didn’t get to explore. Maybe that’s where the treasure is?” Zyrina speculated.
“I don’t know if it is treasure, Rina. It might be something else completely. The kobolds didn’t seem to know.”
Zyrina nodded and turned to leave.
“Hang on a minute,” Phlebus called out. He got himself ready to face yet another battle. “Trolls take some time to prepare for, don’t you think?”
Zyrina grinned, “Na, we have faced worse than a troll or two,” and she laughed. “Torgin’s digestion, for one.”
Laughing, Lucy clapped Torgin on the back, “There have been a few surprises already, like that sketchy meal at that inn just south of Midland. Remember? But trolls aren’t the worst thing in the world, especially with Torgin along.”
Torgin and Zyrina joined in the laughter and Phlebus broke down and joined in as well. It felt good to release some of the tension of the last few hours.
Lucy of course, had spread out a blanket and had a picnic set upon it by the time they finished laughing. “We aren’t going to battle trolls on an empty stomach.” She was firm and directed them all to the small wash basin she had set up for them, as well.
“How do you do that Lucy?” Zyrina wanted to know, choosing a sandwich.
“Practice.” Was all Lucy would say about that. “Eat. Eat! Eat!!”
Lucy was right, of course. They had no idea how much time had passed, and their hunger had built up. The sandwiches and fruit were a welcome break. It didn’t take long. Within moments of the last bit of remains of their picnic cleaned up and the basin packed again, Phlebus and the others were ready to carry on down the tunnel that they now knew ended in a battle with trolls, and possibly more kobolds if any had survived.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 7 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Chapter Six. Dear Jon.
Read by Asclepius
Early in the morning after packing their bags for the day, three of the companions sat around dainty maple tables in their inn sipping hot beverages and enjoying their breakfasts. Crisp blue skies in the early autumn light bolstered Lucy, Zyrina, and Phlebus who had spent much the night tossing and turning. Torgin slept like a log. The cook had outdone himself this morning. Phlebus was nowhere to be seen.
The chef delivered yet another platter (this time cut fruit) to the table, smiling at Zyrina as he did so.
“He’s sweet on ya,” Lucy mumbled between mouthfuls of the most delicious egg dish she had ever tasted.
“I think you exaggerate, Lucy.” Zyrina sipped at her mug of hot spiced tea and nibbled the fresh morning roll she had slathered with local honey.
“Would splain the personal delivery of our meals by the chef.” Torgin reasoned as he chewed his third round of sausage with fried sweet onions. He winked at Zyrina.
“Perhaps it’s Torgin who the cook prefers.” Zyrina argued.
Torgin’s booming laugh nearly drowned out Plebus who had heard the last bit of banter and he walked in the front door of the inn.
“Leave Rina alone, you both know he’s a happily married man. Don’t start rumours.” Phlebus was not smiling. “We’ve got to think about repercussions to the chef.”
“What’s got your goat, Phle?” Torgin wanted to know, not in the least circumspect.
“I met with Jon earlier this morning down by the dock where he was booking the transport into one of the ships of several stone statues that had been removed from the mine. The statues are being sent to the schools of learning around New Brittania to try and find an antidote to the magic used.”
Phlebus stopped to thank the server and take a sip of the tea he had just been given. “Jon is just as elusive as Ivan has been, but he has agreed to talk with all of us this afternoon at the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot about what he knows and saw that night.”
He added, “After he went back to work, I wanted to get some more information about the history of the valley. I just came from the Hall of Enquiry and Learning. The librarian didn’t have many records. Her collection methods are sporadic and not very well organized but what she has was helpful. She’s an Outlander too. Her memory is long but has gaps and she only has things that she has collected in her own travels. Certainly not a full history of the valley, even. She has no recollection of when that dragon was slain as it was before she came to the valley, but she had a record of most of the keepers of the dragon bones, back over a hundred years. Jenny was listed as the very last one.”
“Why did they stop having a keeper of the bones?” Lucy asked perplexed then added, “Why did they have a keeper of the bones?”
Phlebus set his empty teacup down and helped himself to a plate with a large colourful omelet and some toasted bread. He tucked into the plate with gusto while Torgin filled his teacup from the pot.
Between bites he explained “Let’s see, at first it was to make sure no one took the dragon bones. People being people, they wanted souvenirs of the battle. After the dragon meat was divvied up between the people of Jade Valley, the keeper kept the bones from being taken from where they fell. That way, everyone could come see the size of it and remember how much damage it did before it was finally killed. The dragon skeleton was mentioned in one of the first records as a trophy from one of the many valiant deeds of Calan Caitlin. He slew the dragon all by himself a hundred years ago or so. Dragons have been seen flying over the valley ever since. Sometimes they attack, and that is why the valley has lookout towers surrounding it. I’m sure you’ve noticed them.”
Zyrina acknowledged, “I had wondered when I saw the towers.”
Lucy and Torgin nodded in respect for the warrior who killed the dragon.
Then, Lucy asked, “Do you think the stone dragon in the middle of the markets has anything to do with what is happening here?”
“I don’t think so, Lucy.” Phlebus shook his head then considered it for a moment before going on, “I don’t know. Maybe, but we have no information on that statue, it could be just a statue. Next time I’m at the Hall of Learning I will ask about it, too.”
“Sometimes a statue is just a statue.” Torgin added but he too started thinking about the massive stone dragon in the middle of the markets.
“And sometimes a stone is a dragon.” Lucy was not willing to give up so easily and stuck her tongue out at her brother.
Before the pair broke into a more serious argument Phlebus went on, “The keeper of the bones was tasked with preserving the skeleton so that everyone could see it, and also so thieves didn’t run off with bits of it. Shortly after it was killed rumours about it coming alive in the dark started circulating. So, the keeper was tasked with watching the bones for any strange behaviour. By the time Ivan’s granny Jenny was keeper, hardly no one remembered the story of the dragon fight and several bones had been dragged away over the decades.”
Phlebus looked over at Lucy to add, “Maybe the missing bones affect the spell and that might be why it didn’t finish forming last night. Anyway, the council decided that when Jenny died, they would not reassign the Keeper of the Bones. So, she was the last official with that title. However, her family kept up the tradition informally, and Ivan is the current Keeper of the Bones. They stop thieves. Mostly the rumours of attacks at night do the job for them and no bones have gone missing from the skeleton for at least a couple decades.”
Seeing Zyrina’s eyebrows go up, Phlebus turned to her and addressed the question he was sure she was going to ask. “She had no record of when bones went missing.” Plebus stated, “None of the Keepers have tried dispelling those rumours; they help to keep thieves at bay.”
Zyrina grunted acknowledgement to the answer for her unspoken question.
“Did you find anything out about whether or not dragon bones have come alive before?” Lucy asked.
Nodding, Phlebus answered “Lily Byrd said there were rumours, but no one would admit to going to the graveyard after dark and that’s supposed to be the only time it has occurred. Though some folks talk if they think no one will know who they are so she had a list of some of those dates when people were rumoured to have turned to stone in the past. It’s in her draft notes for a book she’s compiling called the folk tales of the valley series. Compelling work. She has noticed the stone statues have been appearing in the area for nearly 3 decades. This is not new here, but it has never been this frequent in the past, that anyone can remember.”
Zyrina raised her eyebrows, “The librarian is a fount of information, I see. I’ll have to take time to chat with her again myself before we leave Jade Valley.”
“First, it’s time to go find Jon again and hear what he has to say on the subject.” Torgin grunted, then he argued, “If those dragon bones have something to do with turning people to stone and it’s getting more frequent, we are going to have to find the cause.”
“Right. Meet back here in an hour and we will head over, alright?” Phlebus made the decision they were all waiting for.
Zyrina hurried over to the vendors to fetch the few things Lucy asked her to find, and a few things she wanted for her own pack. Jade Valley market was bustling that morning and the cries of dock workers, vendors, seabirds, and children playing gave a sense of contentment and safety to the morning that none of the companions shared. Looking around, Zyrina was heartened to see the signs of humanity carrying on even with such a burden of sadness and loss in the community. She had noted this morning that more stone statues had been found and were moved to the side of the docks, for future transport after the bustle of the markets slowed. Zyrina had watched the process the morning before as well. The sounds of commerce and village life lay like a thin protection for the peace of mind of these villagers. She knew that like her, they could smell the fires still dotted the countryside and could just faintly catch a whiff of the carcasses burning in pits just outside the town itself. She stopped to ask at the guild house for directions to the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot before returning to the River Rider Inn.
“Follow the road north, then round the bend, you’ll come to it soon ‘nuff.” Jeeves confirmed, pointed past the inn where she was staying. “Frojenta Lane.”
“Thank you, Jeeves.” Zyrina left for her inn to meet the others.
After gathering outside their accommodation to organize their bags, the companions shouldered their packs and headed north along the road. It was only a short walk after all and as the fresh sea air picked up speed it soon blew away the burning smells from the morning pits. Then at midday, as they rounded a bend in the dirt path, something delicious spiced the air. They followed the scent all the way to the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot at the next corner. The restaurant was on the main floor of what looked like a four-story wooden inn with a lovely front porch just meant for resting on.
“Hallo!! Anybody here?” Torgin’s voice boomed out in the silence inside the Stewpot.
There was a piano in one corner and what looked to be a pipe organ along another wall. The bar looked sort of clean, mostly well-stocked, and there was a distinct odor of dragon stew simmering somewhere in a kitchen that made their mouths water. There were tables and long benches for travellers to use scattered throughout the room as well as a few small wood round tables with chairs, and stools at the bar.
“I smell the dragon and the stewpot, but I don’t see a raven,” Torgin spoke tongue in cheek.
Lucy giggled at her brothers attempt at a joke. “Tis too early for that, brother. Ravens don’t show themselves to strangers.”
Finally, the back door opened, and a lovely young woman came through carrying a keg over her shoulder as if it were a feather pillow. In her other hand she held a pamphlet called the Sticky Beak Flyer and was engrossed in her reading as she walked. She didn’t look strong enough to pick up a heavy cloak let alone a keg but there she was doing it right in front of them, one armed with a full keg. After setting it nonchalantly on the counter she continued to read, her nose nearly touching the page.
“Is your name Raven?” Torgin asked while dodging the elbow to his ribs from his giggling sister.
The sound of Torgins’s voice cut through her reading and gave the barmaid a start. She dropped her pamphlet, then became flustered.
“I did not see you zere,” she stammered. “H H Hello zere an’ welcome to ze Raven ze Dragon and ze Stewpot. I am called Liz, Henry’s daughter.” She indicated over her shoulder at the figure sweeping the back door stoop, “What can I bring you?”
“Ale, stew and bread, with thanks.” Torgin took a step toward her as she started pulling the ale they requested from a spout on the open keg behind the counter into a large pewter jug and asked, “Is Ivan’s Uncle Jon around somewhere?”
“Jon? Old Jon?” She asked while keeping a careful eye on the stream of ale. “Zee caretaker down ze mine?”
“Yes.” Torgin nodded. “He was going to meet us.”
“Well, ee’s usually around the Stewpot every day ‘bout this time, but I’ve not seen ‘im since early zis mornin’ talking with your frien’ zere.” She indicated Phlebus with a nod of her head. “I bet trouble down the mine, has caused thees delay. Zis is usually ze delay zat keeps ‘im from comin’ for ‘is soup.” She bustled around them setting down two jugs of ale and a basket of sliced bread. “If you ask me zere’s somezing amiss zere. Ee told me zee kobolds were on zee verge of rioting over somezing zey dug up. Ee had a meetin’ with zee minin’ boss zis mornin’.”
“What do you think it is?” Lucy asked while setting her pile of bags on the floor near the table. When she finished, she started filling mugs from the fresh pitcher of ale Liz had set on the table.
As she walked to their chosen table with the large pitcher of ale and several mugs she shrugged, “I dunno. Eet has been a long while since zee tours shut down so I doubt it’s more killing or disappearing. An’ zen Merrik Dougan went missing a couple months ago, too. Zere ’as been search crews looking for ‘im in ze tunnels.”
“Who is Merrik Dougan?” Zyrina asked after thanking Lucy for her mugful.
“That would be Elaine’s son. I believe she has daughters too. Jenny’s friend married into the Dougan family of Frojenta Lane.” Phlebus answered the question before the barmaid could.
“That’s right.” Liz nodded. “Ee’s usually around the place causing trouble with ‘is friends and making stew with ‘is sister.” She went on sadly, “Today we had to do it without ‘im again. ‘ee is not zee same since returning to us.”
Phlebus grinned at her and turned to ask, “If Old Jon is down in the mine how do we find him?”
“Well, you may go into zee mine and find ‘im yourself. Zere’s only one way into ze mine after ze fire and cave in.” The barmaid indicated the small door at the back of the Inn, “Through zat way around ze back, an’ you will see a crypt for Charlotte tucked in by ze greenhouses there. Remember to watch your step in ze dark. We don’t want anyone else dying down zere. It’s too sad.”
“What fire?” Zyrina asked quickly.
“Is that Charlotte the spider?” Lucy asked before Liz could answer Zyrina’s question.
“Else?” Torgin inquired at the same time as Zyrina.
Liz stood with her hands on her hips at the side of the table and tried to answer all their questions, “Well, yes Jon can tell you all zis, but after ze cave in, there was a passageway that opened up between the crypt and the mine. The miners ‘ave been using zis entrance in ze crypt ever since zen. I don’t know when eet might be fixed.” She looked around conspiratorially, “I ‘eard zere are family spirits ‘ere in ze mines and zey have been attacking anyone zey come across. You aren’t goin’ to see me goin’ down ze crypt, no way, even eef Jon has sworn some sections are completely free of danger, like zee fishing grottos.”
“Fishing grottos in a family tomb?” Torgin was more and more confused but willing to believe almost anything about the area at this point. He chuckled.
“Well yes, ze mine has mostly dried up some time ago, an’ ze Dougans started givin’ mine tours and fishing tours in some of ze back damp caves where zeey didn’t find ore to mine. It kept the business going when zere was no more silver. Zat’s when zey built ze food court.” She started wiped the table next to them with a rag while continuing, “It was after all zat when ze cave in happened, it opened a passage to ze family crypt an’ some of ze ghosts killed many tourists.”
Liz stopped speaking when Lucy gasped, then nodded her head emphatically, she continued to explain, “Yes zis is true. That’s when ze family hired ze Kobolds to dig a new entrance to ze mine further away, and to fill in ze gap zat opens zee family crypt to ze mine itself. Zey are not finished yet.” She stopped scrubbing at the table to say, “Zat old mine entrance iz covered over by ee green’ouses now. You would never know zere had been a mine here if you didn’t ask me.” She paused before adding, “Zis hardly seems right, ze spirits wandering around a mine like zat.” Liz shuddered then shook her head and sighed with real loss. She added, “Inside, to find your way around, zere is an information booth just inside ze entrance wiz map on ze bulletin board to ze left. Eet will give you some guidance to find zee Food Court and the other areas of ze mine. Stay out of the ones marked danger and you will be fine.” She smiled unconvincingly, “Zat is where Jon usually does ‘is business, I believe, at ze food court counter.”
Both Zyrina and Lucy followed Liz into the kitchen and asked more questions about the history of the mine and the barmaid answered as she dished up their bowls of dragon stew. Torgin was sitting at the bar with the bowl that Liz had handed him before filling the rest of the bowls. Kitty was at his feet eating a bowl of dragon kibble that Liz had placed on the ground for her. Torgin and Kitty were both shovelling food as fast as they could and weren’t paying any attention to the talk around them.
Still at the long table, Phlebus took out a parchment and ink from one of his packs. With quill in hand, he swiftly scrawled a couple of letters:
Damieth Nara, Lycaeum Center of Learning, Brittany, Novia
Sir, stopping whoever is controlling the dragon bones from continuing with their plan to use magic of the ancient Obsidians in this manner is moving forward. I believe we have a solid lead to follow here finally.
You have my full report sent earlier today.
We have not discovered the source of the magic yet but have decided to question a witness of one of the times that this magic was used.
We go to interview him today inside a mine that people have been disappearing from regularly and also getting killed in as well. I know we are getting close to finding an answer, I can feel the magic afterglow strongly here. I will write again when I have some more concrete knowledge and not just rumours.
This dragon, whether or not under the control of mages using Obsidian magic, will destroy the whole valley (not just the farm animals) if we can’t stop it from fully forming. I have not yet found the shard that you suspect is involved.
With respect, Phlebus
And one other:
Trida Moonwalker, Lycaeum Center of Learning, Brittany, Novia
Ma’am, my group have discovered that there may be some Obsidian shard magic in use here in Jade Valley. I spoke privately with the caretaker of a local mine who is quite concerned with the Kobold miners who are skittish at best working near humans but seem to be holding some secret back from him, also with unprovoked attacks by liches, and with the disappearance of residents and the subsequent reappearance as stone statues of themselves.
The governor was correct, there is some malign of spirit here. I can’t place the source yet, but we are getting closer. You have my report from last night. The dragon bones turning were not the first attempt at this magic. Turning Novians to stone with magic is not something I’ve heard about before. I don’t know the reason for that yet either. I am having several of the stones shipped to you. Please see if the magic that binds the is reversable. Are they truly lost?
I had a restless sleep and I’m sure the others did too. I left them at the inn early today to go search out more history at the Hall of Enquiry and Learning.
Now we are meeting Jon and I will learn more about what he suspects, then report back. I don’t think Jon is as forthright as he could be about what he knows, but he does know something, and I’ll find out what. We are going to go ahead into the Dougan Family Crypt and Silver Mine where he is the caretaker.
This magic uses shards. It smells different and feels different in the middle of my body somewhere. Greasy oily, and somehow warped in some way. I have informed Damieth Nara.
See if anyone at the library has heard of old magic being revived anywhere else in Novia using shards, and send what they find to me here, please, care of the inn.
With respect, Phlebus
PS you were right, travelling is harder than I remember from my youth.
“Will you take these to the mail for me?” Phlebus held out the sealed parchments and a few coins to Liz when she brought his stew over to him.
“Yes certainly, sir.” She placed the bowl of stew in front of him, then tucked the money into her apron pocket and took the empty pitchers off the table. “I’ll get zose papers after I’ve had a wash. No need to get gravy on your letters. Would you like more ale?”
“Yes, please.” Phlebus nodded.
Later after they’d eaten, she still seemed adamant about not going into the mine but did take the time to lead them over to the very strange entrance to a mine, the crypt.
Liz kissed each of them once on each cheek before sending them off, “Give Jon an ‘ello from me, an’ tell him ‘is seat is kept warm for ‘im when ee’s back topside.”
This stone tomb which served as the entrance to the Dougan family Silver Mine on the south side of the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot Inn was sandwiched between the inn and the inn’s full greenhouses. There were no indications that it was anything other than the resting place of Charlotte the Spider.
“Why on earth would they build a mine near a family crypt.” Torgin was still confused. “The ancestors would be disturbed by this activity, wouldn’t they?”
He was truly perplexed and barely understood the concept of keeping dead bodies in the first place, as the customs he was familiar with involved a pyre and flame for the dead, to help them on their way to the other side. But he was ready. His axe was out. The opening was a tight fit for him, but he wiggled through the lid after Zyrina followed Phlebus inside. Kitty leapt into to the crypt right behind him.
“Maybe they had no choice, maybe the ancestors wanted this.” Zyrina shrugged while she reasoned while she studied the map on the bulletin board, “and that’s why the silver was discovered.” She had become accustomed to the various ways someone in Novia could fall into an entrance to some other location, and not all of them friendly or safe. Her first experience was looking too deeply into a beautiful old mirror that led to a night of battle she would not ever forget. By now this should seem normal, but it never did.
“Dead ancestors guiding the living to find silver?” Phlebus joined in. “That hardly seems likely. I thought she said digging the tunnels for that spider led to the discovery. That seems far more probable.”
“Where’s Lucy?” Zyrina asked Torgin.
“She was fixing something in her bag, she’ll find us soon enough.” Torgin indicated back over his shoulder to the exit. “Let’s get over to the food court and find Jon the Caretaker.”
Still outside the inn, Lucy had accidently dropped several packages of herbs out of a hole that spilled from one of her bulging small bags. She had been scooping up the small packets and then stuffing them back into a different bag, all the while enjoying peering through the windows of the full greenhouses nearby. When she finally looked up from her perusal of the plants there, she found her friends had gone into the crypt without her.
Fifteen minutes later Lucy was the last to catch up to the group. After a quick glance at the bulletin board to get her bearings, she jogged over to the food court and found the others arranged in comfortable positions around a wooden small table in the middle of a large room. She was a little out of breath when she scooted in.
She lifted a chair from a neighboring table, set it down and plopped into it. Then she looked around the mining cafeteria where they sat, as each of her companions stared quietly into their unknown futures while they waited. There was a story telling corner that had colourful cushions to sit on while listening to stories the miners told. Further along she could see a shop set up with mining souvenirs and clothing for sale, and a long wooden counter dividing the kitchen from the eating areas with many small table and chairs combinations where they sat now.
“Where’s Jon?” She asked looking around the empty room.
Phlebus gave Lucy a moment to compose herself before he began to speak. “He wasn’t here when we arrived, but there was part of a letter left on the bar.”
It began mid-sentence:
‘…the dead got up and started killing the tourists. Ain’t seen nothin like it afore that, Owain. The spirits of the Dougin Family got up outta their caskets and followed some kind of lich or sumptin inta the mines. They killed a bunch o’ people who were down for a tour too. Was carnage and took a long time to clean up and find em all without runnin’ inta one o’ them liches while doin’ it, too.
They ain’t came back to their restin’ spots yet neither and that’s why the family crypt is still empty. Gotta round em up somehows and get em back into that family crypt. The family decided to close the mine to the public. That’s when Merrik disappeared again, you’ll remember him. Gone for months, he was. That Kobold miner Or’tuk found him wandering round an old unused tunnel deeper than kobolds usually dig. He was gone for so long that the family was just thinkin’ on settin’ up a memorial.
They were all relieved ta ha’ Merrik back, though he’s not said much about wha’ happened to him and don’t seem to have memory of any part of his life before making his way out of the depths of the mine where he’d bin. He ain’t the same neither. He bin changed by them tunnels doing who knows what to stay alive. We’d give up on seein him agin and then he popped right out of the mine like he were jus’ gone down this mornin’. Stinky though, smelled like an old dragon fart.’
The page ended and there was no more writing on the back either. She looked up, confused.
“We think he was partway through writing that” Phlebus explained holding up lemons found near the writings then he shrugged, “or possibly it’s disappearing ink. Can’t tell. Maybe both.” He held up 2 other blank pages that had been found with the partial letter to Owain.
“There was this., too.” Zyrina handed Lucy the other paper they had found. “Look.”
Jon,
Dis note for you only.
I gotta talk in your ear.
Come on over to the mining office in the Kobold Quarters.
Now.
Or’tuk,
Captain, Kobold Mining Company
After reading she handed the letters back to Phlebus. Then Lucy took a moment to think about what she had read and finally asked, “What now? Still find Jon? Think he’s still over at the Kobold quarters mining office?”
“Yes,” Phlebus nodded several times, “whatever is going on down here we need to find Jon. There is far too much coincidence in the lich attacks here on the innocent right when stone statues and dead animals started becoming more common, let alone dragon skeletons coming alive.”
Phlebus found himself searching deeply into the faces of those dear to him around the table. He sought a connection with each of them. After he had their full attention, he smiled. It was time to give a rousing talk to inspire the group. Trida Moonwalker had warned him of this moment in any group’s adventure. They looked ragged and anxious.
He began, “We need to find a way to stop whoever is trying to form a dragon from those bones. You know this. We all know the dangers of a full-grown dragon attack upon a small village like this. Not one of us looked away when the mist dragon formed in the graveyard last night. You were all ready to battle and not one of you tried to flee.”
Wryly grinning he continued, “And I know you are each just as dedicated to finding answers as I am. Thank you, my friends, for that support.”
“I know the townspeople are all preparing as best they can for whatever is facing them, but they have no way to fight something as overwhelming as magic that makes dragon bones fly or something that can turn villagers to stone.” Phlebus paused for a moment before going on.
He finished carefully, “We can only hope their preparations will keep them safe. Whomever is behind this must be stopped before they manage to succeed. I know none of us are looking for a battle, and I will do my best to avoid any further confrontation, let alone whatever else it is we are getting ourselves into here in this underground lair while we search for Jon the illusive Caretaker. There won’t be reinforcements. Let’s go.”
No one moved.
Zyrina snorted “that was the WORST pep talk I’ve ever heard. We are alone. We might die. And we might fail. No one is coming to help us. Come on, say something a little more encouraging, won’t you?”
Phlebus looked at Torgin, who looked at Lucy. Phlebus turned to Lucy and raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘your turn’. Lucy shifted, uncomfortable all of a sudden.
After clearing her throat, the quiet woman gathered her thoughts and then spoke clearly and with passion, “I see before me the smartest, strongest, most caring people that I know. With our combined skills we can manage anything we find. I am absolutely certain of it. There isn’t much reason to wait is there? I mean, we know why we do what we do, we are the best at what we do, and it’s time to go do it! We stand together. We do not flinch. We find the truth of the matter.” She finished with a grimace, “Let’s go stomp these liches!!”
Gracefully she rose from her chair to turn and point her sturdy arm out of the food court and across the mine’s entrance to where she had seen the Kobold Miner’s Quarters on the map earlier, before striding boldly out of the cafeteria.
Torgin muttered, “Get ‘em sis,” as he petted Kitty behind her ear.
“Oh!” Looking up into the silence after Lucy’s speech, Phlebus hastily collected his bags and stepped into the mining entrance behind Lucy. Then quickly out of the way of an empty mining cart that came barreling by on its track. The mining cart was a relic from the Public Tours the Silver Mine. It had been used to give to the locals and occasional outlander tours of the area before ghosts and liches started attacking everyone.
“See? Now, THAT is a pep talk” Zyrina nodded finding herself raring to go tear into the unknown. She finished by saying to Torgin, “Sometimes action is the best pep talk of all. Let’s go find some answers,” and with that strode out behind Lucy and Phlebus.
Torgin bringing up the rear, hesitated only a short time. “Kitty stay here,” he quietly ordered before gathering his supplies back up and stepping out behind his group of friends. Kitty didn’t hesitate and made her way to the cushions on the floor of the reading corner. Circling once or twice, she had herself curled up in a comfortable napping spot within seconds. Torgin could hear her purring as he walked out of the room.
Directly across from where he stood was an entrance to the Kobold Quarter and mining office located somewhere down a dark tunnel behind a large wooden statue of a Kobold. It had a barrier that said keep out blocking the passage, but Lucy and the others had moved some of it out of the way by the time he caught up.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 6 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Greetings Fellow Avatars!
The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 97 (R97), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, large cats have been added, most of which can be tamed! Players will find these new creatures scattered through many scenes throughout New Britannia! Also, wyvern eggs have also been added as loot to the game. These eggs can be...
Play Release 97 Now! Lions, Lionesses & Tigers! Wyvern Eggs! UI Improvements! -
Greetings Fellow Avatars!
The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 97 (R97), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, large cats (lions and tigers) have been added, most of which can be tamed! Players will find these new creatures scattered through many scenes throughout New Britannia! Also, wyvern eggs have also been added as loot to the game. These eggs can be utilized as decorations or even used in a new cooking recipe! Further uses for these eggs will be added in the future.
For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
News Announcements
- Release 97 Patch Notes!
- Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!
- Crown Store: New Town-Sized Home, Enchanted Wyvern Eggs & More!
- January Login Reward: Caduceus Wand!
- Release 97 Subscriber Login Rewards: Caduceus Staff & Lion Cub Pet!
- Bug Brigade & Testing Directives
- Streamer Rewards Program
- Upcoming Release Dates
Community Updates
- Community Events & Resources
- Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer
- Project to Support: Shard RPG
- Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla
- Project to Support: Avatar Express
- Resources: Players Helping Players
Release 97 Patch Notes!Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 97 (R97). This release is a short release due to the holiday season, but we still managed to provide a considerable amount of new items and changes to keep everyone entertained. Additional content, improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R98 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 97! Happy holidays!
World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes:
- Big cats have finally made their appearance in Novia: Lions and lionesses and tigers, oh my!
- With the exception of one very rare, very powerful lion, all big cats can be tamed!
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Lions and lionesses have chances to spawn in these locations:
- Desert Encounter
- Plains Encounter
- Crag Foothills
- Midras Ruins
- Sequanna Colossus
- Oracle Colossus
- Elysian Ruins
- Spectral Peaks
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Tigers have chances to spawn in these locations:
- Forest Road Encounter
- Swamp Road Encounter
- East Veiled Swamp
- Far Hinterlands
- East Longfall Wetland
- Kas Ruins
- Twins Foothills
- The Fall
- Aerie: Improved the logic for “help” responses by both Devotional Caretakers.
- Ardoris: Improved the logic for archiving the “Meet with Khasi” and “Meet with Siranto” tasks for avatars if Min is defeated before these tasks are completed.
- Ardoris: Merchant Guildmaster Cai Lau now always has the “Sheng Lau” keyword available to ensure all localized versions have access to that keyword.
- Blood Bay: Removed the chances that the ebb and flow of lava will block lava fishing at both volcanoes.
- Blood River Outskirts: The “Ask Phineas for Poison” compass marker should never appear after the Phineas Drumplemouth questline is complete.
- Castle Atos: The shrine buff will now work correctly when 1-3 players are in scene.
- Castle Atos: Several stuck spots have been fixed.
- Castle Atos: Player’s should no longer appear to fall when exiting to Novia.
- Castle Atos: The scene has received a number of new decorations, to include a piano in the tavern, toilets, and benches.
- Castle Atos: Now features an interactive well to obtain water.
- Castle Atos: Now features a seasonal Yule tree in the plaza.
- Castle Atos: Mage of Mystery Quang has replaced Divum.
- Castle Atos: Blocked the underside of a staircase from view.
- Castle Atos: The chef daily quest at Castle Atos now provides more varied and increased rewards, to include the very occasional wyvern egg.
- Castle Atos: The Shrine will now grant the blessing again if the buff was cancelled and the shrine reentered.
- Caverns of Skrekk: Added/updated props of some buildings near the palace.
- Central Brittany: Reactivated the Krampus quest given by Kinga and Ronin.
- Central Brittany: Updated some parts of Arabella’s trivial responses.
- Control Points: “Mages of Mystery” in all control points have lowered their teleportation fees. Crossing to the opposite side of the same control point is now 15 gold, while teleporting to a different control point is 50 gold. (Those worthy of being teleported to the Manor of Mystery is still free.)
- Desert Encounter: The sculptor merchants that sometimes spawn in these scenes will now always be humanoid.
- Despair: Several visual glitches have been fixed.
- Estgard: Improved “safety” logic that archives the “Convince Knight in Estgard” tasks when players complete the Path of Courage.
- Forest Encounters with Unicorns: Fixed an issue that cause the “great threat” message to appear prematurely.
- Graff Gem Mines: Adjusted the location for a skeleton that was spawning halfway into a wall.
- Halls of Artifice: The “spike cage” room mechanics have been updated to include a trigger warning and two very visible locks. One of these locks replaces the hidden pressure plate and it’s disastrous results. The avatar can now make a mildly-informed choice as to which lock to use. Also, two children in a cage in a different room have been replaced by two adults.
- Hills Encounter: Updated the path grid to help stop a certain wolf from leashing sometimes.
- Hilt Fortress: Fixed a stuck spot in the Obsidian Forge area.
- Jaanaford: Updated the logic which displays the compass markers related to the Broken Echoes Silver Mine’s foreman.
- Jotungrund: Assigned lower LOD meshes to rock mesh colliders to allow for easier access to particular resource nodes.
- Jotungrund: Avatars that were told by Wymond about his bone chips quest but didn’t accept it should now be able to do so.
- Jotungrund: Several “stuck” spots have been fixed and several floating boulders fixed.
- K’rul: Fixed a stuck spot in a gazebo.
- K’rul: Moved large automatons out of small rooms. Added props to an empty shed.
- Lord British’s Castle: Fixed an issue where a secret door wasn’t opening.
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Manor of Mystery: Moved floating mandrake roots to the ground, removed candles on the floor near a building entrance, and shifted the pink-purple cloth on the return teleporter disc to purple. - Manor of Mystery: Removed redundant mages. Moved floating mandrake to the ground. Avatars with the “incorrect reputation” in the manor may find the mages will notice this and teleport them away.
- Manor of Mystery: Some mages of mystery referred to the old price of 500 gold for passage. They now know to only ask for 50 gold.
- Mysterious Swamp: The rare Spawn of Sobek, T15 crocodile is now tameable!
- Nightshade Pass: Moved a small floating rock to the ground.
- Oracle Temple: Improved the logic that dismisses the “Find the Cerulean Lens” compass marker.
- Overworld: The default option for new players will be to show town names in non-runic letters.
- Player-Run Towns: These towns have received a minimal complement of NPCs and crafting stations near their default entrances, and all Player-Run Towns allow for POT only deeds to be utilized:
- Aldhaven
- Estercove
- Greyacre
- Highiron
- Holtrot
- Kingswood
- Lochfield
- Northshire
- Owl’s Wash
- Port Mirren
- Ravensend
- Redmill
- Righ Inis
- Shadowmist
- The Brave Coast
- Valemark
- Westhollow
- Player Villages: All “player village” scenes have been reclassified as Player-Run Towns which enables placement of POT only deeds within their borders.
- POT Forest 01b template: Removed anomalous world objects.
- Serpent’s Spine Foothills: Squirrels now have a chance to spawn instead of rabbits.
- Shaminian Hills: Adjusted the mechanics of the magical elevator to help ensure the crystal receptacle stays in the proper state. Added a “Reset Platform” button near the top of the elevator for situations where the receptacle might still go out of sync.
- Skrekk: Added/updated decorations within some buildings.
- Skrekk: Updated the compass marker for “Caverns of Skrekk” to read as such.
- Solace Bridge Outskirts: Avatars cannot use the “skip conversation with merchants” option for Ackerley’s until after they finish his quests.
- Soltown: Stanley now has small quests that point players to Arabella in Soltown and Baozhai the guard in Castle Atos.
- South Majestic Forest: Fixed typos in CBY-60053’s responses about the virtues.
- Spite: Fixed the icons for several compass marker discoveries, including the Moratorium.
- The Outlaws’ Run: Fixed a typo in Miloslava’s “stone” response.
- The Outlaws’ Run: Moved floating roots to the ground.
- The Outlaws’ Run: Fixed typos in “Tell Guard About Mlroslava” journal entries.
- The Rise: Fixed decoration issues in one room.
- Valhold: New avatars who don’t meet the requirements cannot access the interior of Valhold Palace.
- Vertas: Improved the response and journal from Kiakis regarding his suggestion of going through Vertas Pass to Jaanaford.
- Petrified Dragon Eggs on store now come in 3 packs.
- The Saddle and Bags with Stand decoration item is now called Saddlebags with Stand since there is no saddle present on the item.
Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes:
- Wyvern Eggs and a related food recipe are now available:
- These eggs have a small chance to drop from wyverns, with higher tier wyverns having greater chances.
- Elves in Savrenoc Stronghold now have a small chance to drop a Wyvern Egg Salad recipe, which increases a character’s Song Duration by an additional 25% for 2 hours.
- These eggs can also be placed as decorations.
- More recipes for these food components are coming soon!
- Soon, the Castle Atos storehouse containers will accept wyvern eggs as the uncommon crate item, so hold on to your extras!
- Mimic Pets can now sit and dance!
- Spider room recipes to include the spawned version are now available.
- A pedestal to enable spawns has been added to the Hilt Spider Room with Spawns.
- The Hilt Spider Room Pristine now features improved decoration surfaces.
- Fixed typos in the Acaran Gauntlet upgrade recipe display names.
- Celestian Sofa is now dyeable in primary slot.
- The Bottle of Wine and Elven Bottle of Wine can be rotated on an additional axis.
- Lava pool decorations will no longer damage players when dragged over a player in decoration placement mode.
- Mounts that are locked in inventory can once again be used.
- The Ravensmoor teleporter steps now feature improved collision and no longer require players to jump to ascend the steps.
- Streamer bundles now have a unique color (purple) compared to other supply bundles when placed as a decoration.
- The 2021 Extra Live cloak will now correctly salvage to the 2021 pattern instead of the 2017 pattern.
- The Antique Shop now features improved decoration surfaces.
- The Labrys Axe pattern now has the proper display name.
Combat & Skill Changes:
- Ardoris Arena: Ardoris arena now has skill caps, level caps, and a 75% reduction in stats provided by gear.
- Players who are flagged for open world PvP or in a PvP scene now receive a 5-second resurrection debuff instead of a 15-second debuff.
- Lightning Storm:
- Fixed an issue which caused lightning storm to stun excessively by ignoring crowd control resistance effects.
- Now fizzles as intended.
- Now applies aggro properly to the caster.
- Lightning Storm can no longer be parried.
- Lightning Storm now properly consumes the listed reagents.
- Cone of Cold will now use fewer reagents.
- Summoning spells should now level more quickly.
- The rate at which many mobs parry has been dramatically reduced.
- A number of potions no longer erroneously expire when a player dies.
- Summoning spells should now level more quickly.
Player Economy, Rewards, & Loot Changes:
- Castle Atos now features unique freshwater fishing loot tables! The first unique item, which is a rare drop, is a Floating Barrel (Flotsam). Use this barrel as a water decoration in your Player-Owned Towns or on your water lot properties. Players can also open the barrel (which destroys it) to receive a considerable amount of Elven Brandy, Satyr Spirits, or Kobold Spirits.
- Mustard seeds are now available on various cooking merchants throughout New Britannia, which is one of the ingredients for Wyvern Egg Salad.
- Streamer Bundles are available by request for highly active streamers to provide as prizes. The Player Livestreams & Videos forum will be updated soon with a thread to provide qualification information. Streamer bundles now only provide no-trade items.
- The Delicate Feather of the Phoenix now drops for players without the phoenix feather quest.
User Interface, Lua, & Performance Changes:
- Player health bars are now MOVEABLE! This option can be enabled in the options menu, which is set to “off” by default.
- The player dungeon UI has received a significant update. Now, players may select dungeon pieces from their inventory while the dungeon piece selection UI is open.
- A new option in the options menu has been added which allows players to be mounted automatically upon scene load, which is set to “off” by default.
- The inventory search bar filter has been improved. Now, search results also consider the original name for a renamed item.
- Fixed an issue which caused the scene to reload repeatedly, and logging has been improved to help analyze future related bugs.
- Fixed an issue which caused the Lua object ID to change when a previously created object was destroyed.
- The Lua function ShroudOnSceneLoaded() will now execute only once after all the game objects are fully loaded.
- Additional Lua changes, fixes, and additions are now live. Documentation with updates can be found here.
- The chat window no longer changes a private message target when the intended private message target has logged off.
Player-Owned Town Changes:
- Duanor: Upgraded to Town.
- Greymorn: Upgraded to Hamlet.
- Hawker’s Retreat: Added new holdfast to Hidden Vale, northeast of Wynton’s Folly.
- Jade Mountains: Upgraded to Hamlet.
- Jade Valley: Upgraded to Megalopolis.
- Norstead: Moved to Novia, southwest of Estgard.
- Reverie: Upgraded to Town from Crossroads Village.
- Wolves Den: Upgraded to Crossroads Village.
Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!
The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, December 17th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a community 1-hour livestream!
To enter the prize drawings, type “happy holidays” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store.
Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4PM CT!
Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!!
Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at all our social media venues:- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/
- Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames
- Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar
- Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ
Crown Store: New Town-Sized Home, Enchanted Wyvern Eggs & More!
Many new store items are coming your way in the month ahead! Keep an eye out each week as the following items become available in the in-game Crown Store. Available today on December 16th, a new town-sized house! This 5-story home not only features a widow’s walk, but also veranda on the 4th floor.
- Stone Five-Story w/ Veranda (Town Home)
Becoming available on December 24th, Enchanted Wyvern Eggs! Added this release are 8 smaller versions which drop as loot throughout New Britannia, but players can also acquire these store versions which are larger AND glow in the dark!
- Enchanted Black Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
- Enchanted Blue Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
- Enchanted Green Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
- Enchanted Orange Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
- Enchanted Purple Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
- Enchanted Red Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
- Enchanted White Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
- Enchanted Yellow Wyvern Egg 3-Pack
Becoming available on December 31st, a gorgeous semicircle display table! Time to redesign your bar and merchant areas, because this item is a MUST have:
- Ornate Wooden Semicircle Display Table
Becoming permanent year-round store entries, these 30 prior seasonal items from the winter recurring and vault sections of the store will remain on the store after the winter season ends on February 8th:
- Breathe Blue Fire Emote
- Breathe Emote 6-Pack
- Breathe Snow Emote
- Fountain of Frozen Waters
- Frost Pipe
- Frozen Bagpipes
- Ice Elemental Statue
- Ice Hot Tub
- Ice Nightmare Mask
- Ice Wings
- Icy Ancient Stone Cathedral
- Icy Ancient Stone Room Fishing Grotto
- Juggle Snowballs Emote
- Reindeer Decoration Pet
- Snow Emote
- Snowflake Pattern Cloak
- Virtue Ice Crown
- Virtue Ice Gown Outfit
- Virtue Ice Shield
- Virtue Ice Sword
- Virtue Ice Wand
- Virtue Icicle Cloak
- White Raven Decoration Pet
- White Reindeer Decoration Pet
- White Rottweiler Decoration Pet
- White Squirrel Decoration Pet
- Winter Lynx Decoration Pet
- Winter Pattern Glass Chandelier 3-Pack
- Winter Pattern Glass Floor Lamp 3-Pack
- Winter Pattern Glass Table Lamp 3-Pack
Also, the Winter Seasonal are still available! Here’s a listing of all of these seasonal items. Some will feature only for 1 week in the Vault, but others will remain in the store throughout the holiday season, so don’t miss out! Winter items will be available until February 8th:
- 2016 Winter Holiday Soundtrack
- Blank Yule Card 2017 5-Pack
- Blank Yule Card 2018 5-Pack
- Blank Yule Card 2020 A 5-Pack
- Blank Yule Card 2020 B 5-Pack
- Candy Cane Wand
- Ceiling Yule Tree
- Dark Yule Outfit
- Giant Haunted Yule Tree
- Giant Yule Tree 2015
- Giant Yule Tree 2016
- Giant Yule Tree 2017
- Giant Yule Tree 2018
- Haunted Sleigh
- Haunted Snow Family
- Haunted Snowman Mask
- Haunted Yule Tree
- Holly Wreath with Candles Hat
- Holly Wreath with Sparklers Hat
- Krampus Mask
- Krampus Statue
- Kwanzaa Table Decorations
- Large Haunted Yule Tree
- Large Yule Tree 2016
- Large Yule Tree 2017
- Large Yule Tree 2018
- Menorah 2014
- Menorah 2015
- Menorah 2016
- Menorah 2017
- Menorah 2018
- Menorah 2020
- Menorah 2021
- Ornate Mantle Garland 2017 12-Pack
- Ornate Mantle Garland 2018 12-Pack
- Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2014
- Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2015
- Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2016
- Ornate Sled
- Ornate Sleigh
- Ornate Snow Family 2015
- Ornate Snow Family 2016
- Ornate Snow Family 2017
- Ornate Snow Family 2018
- Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack
- Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack
- Ornate Yule Music Box
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2015
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2016 3-Pack
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2017 3-Pack
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2018 3-Pack
- Red-Nosed Reindeer Mount
- Small Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack
- Small Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack
- Snow Globe 2020
- Snowdragon
- Snowflake Pattern Cloak
- Snowman Mask 2015
- Snowman Mask with Hat & Moustache 2018
- Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2016
- Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2017
- Tabletop Elf Statue with Yule Hat
- Tabletop Haunted Yule Tree
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2014
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2015
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2016
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2017
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2018
- Traditional Yule Hat
- Yule Elf Outfit
- Yule Gift Box 2016 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2017 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2018 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2020 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2021 3-Pack
- Yule Hat
- Yule Stockings 2016 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2017 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2018 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2020 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2021 3-Pack
- Yule Tree 2014
- Yule Tree 2015
- Yule Tree 2016
- Yule Tree 2017
- Yule Tree 2018
- Yule Velvet Bodice Ensemble
Don’t forget! Hometown is an amazing resource for players. At Hometown, which is located just east of Soltown, players can examine available houses, Player-Owned Town templates, and even new Crown Store items. Why not be certain you like it before you make a purchase? So head on over to Hometown and check things out! If you have questions about what’s on display in Hometown, please visit this forum thread and post a question.
To see a full listing of all the items which rotate through the Vault, we have prepared a forum post showing all items which could appear throughout the year!
January Login Reward: Caduceus Wand!
Log in during the month of December, and you’ll receive an Ancient Xenossian Caduceus Wand! Show your enemies you mean business by wielding this intricately designed magical item.
Release 97 Subscriber Login Rewards: Caduceus Staff & Lion Cub Decoration Pet!
Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 97 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection adds another item to the Ancient Xenossian set and more! The Ancient Xenossian Caduceus Staff adds yet another style to available staves, and this staff is simply amazing! The intricate metal work along the staff’s head truly draws the eye. For those excited about the new lion and tiger creatures added to the game this release, you’ll be even more excited to hear you’ll be receiving a Lion Cub Decoration Pet as a subscriber login reward. This little fella is a cutie! Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 97 to receive these special login items:
- Ancient Xenossian Caduceus Staff
- Lion Cub Decoration Pet
The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:-
900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
- Monthly Login Reward Items (about 3 per month)
- Exclusive Title every 3 months
- 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
- 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
- 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
- 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
- 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
- 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
- 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond
- 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise
- 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant
- Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
- Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month:
- Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
- Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
- Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
- Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
- Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
- Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills
- Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting
- While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses:
- Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful!
- 24 Additional Deck Slots!
Bug Brigade & Testing Directives!
The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched.
The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to clean up the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums.
Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels!
In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action!
The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives.
Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team!
Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows:
- Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter”
- Single Ant Cloak
- Lady Bug Backpack
- Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids”
- Ant Farm
- Insect Leg Table
- Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles”
- Bug Painting B
- Bug Sprayer
- Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths”
- Butterfly Chair
- Corpion Chair (Pictured Below)
- Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies”
- Hacked Oracle Flyer
- Giant Blue Butterfly Pet
- Butterfly Mask
- Dragonfly pet
- Fairy Wings
- Monarch Butterfly Pet
- Dragonfly Wings
- Hacked Oracle Crawler
- Blue Butterfly VFX
- Orange Fireflies VFX
- Orange Butterfly VFX
If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums.
Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program!
Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I!
Phase I:
Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply.- Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar.
- Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual.
Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come).
Rules:
- To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application.
- To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program.
- Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program.
Items of Note:
- SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord.
- Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material.
Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them!
Upcoming Release Dates
Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2021 Release Schedule is as follows:
- Release 97 – Dec 16 (Content)
- Release 98 – Jan 27 (Polish)
- Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content)
- Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish)
- Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content)
Community Updates & Resources
Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums:
Catnip Games Contests:
- Catnip Games Monthly Fishing Tourney: Greetings Anglers! The monthly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney is live! Join in on the fun! SO many prizes available for the anglers of New Britannia!
- Catnip Games Monthly Screenshot/Video Contest: Avatars! For those of you skilled with the camera or screenshot key binding, a monthly screenshot and video contest is underway which features a large number of valuable prizes. The focus will be for players to submit creative or informative screenshots and videos of content introduced to the game during the latest 3 monthly releases.
- Catnip Games Monthly Treasure Hunting Contest: Want to go hunting for rare items? Want to see if you can beat other players in this quest for treasure? Well join in on the monthly treasure hunting contest, Avatars!
Special Announcements:
- Quel Regional Market Now Open: Tired of searching endlessly for what you’d like to buy? Well, the Britannian Mining Company feels the same way, so they’ve created a well-organized and easily accessible vendor town. And the best part… All row lots inside the settlements are FREE for any merchant in New Britannia to claim!
One-Time Events:
- Holiday FIshing Extravaganza: Don’t miss out on this amazing holiday fishing contest in Crossroads Alleys. Good luck, Anglers!
- Mysteria Yule Gift Exchange: Join in on the holiday festivities in Mysteria for their special gift exchange party. Happy holidays!
- BMC Holiday Raffle: Want to win some amazing prizes, BMC has placed raffle tickets across their vendors throughout New Britannia. Win up to 300K gold!
- All We Need for Christmas: Music at M’hul Island! Once again, Eveara is hosting a musical get-together on M’hul Island to celebrate the holidays together with music, dancing, wine and fireworks. Come out and join in the festivities on Sunday, December 26th at 1PM CT.
- Lightbringer Isle Christmas Ball: Hemnu Lightbringer and friends are hosting a wondrous 1st Annual Christmas Ball at Lightbringer Isle. Grab your party favors, and journey to this very well decorated Player-Owned Town on December 24th at 2PM CT. Feasting and festivities abound!
- Jade Dragons New Year’s Eve Party: Head on over to the Jade Tavern in Jade Valley at 10PM to Midnight CT on December 31st to celebrate the New Year with friends, family, fireworks, and random prizes! This is the 7th Annual party they’ve hosted, so don’t miss out on this tradition! Music will be provided by DJ Celith Wraine from Virtue Radio.
Recurring Events:
- Dragon Hold Fishing Invitational: Located above the Whiteguard Foothills, Dragon Hold hosts a monthly fishing contest with prizes allocated per trophy type as well as largest overall fish. Rules and prize details can be found on the notices at the fishing shop easily reached by teleporter. Happy fishing and good luck to all!
- Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Chrismas/Holiday Themed Items! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R96’s contest period lasts until December 28th!
- Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs.
- M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available!
- Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out!
- Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting!
- 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules.
- RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun!
- PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there!
- Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT!
New Player-Created Resources:
- Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed!
New Fan Fiction:
- Latest Podcasts from TheCaverns: Asclepius and friends have posted another batch of new podcasts in the Echoes from the Caverns section of TheCaverns.net! Check out the latest!
- Capt. Nyghtingale of the 31st Vanguard Fleet: Cid Deckard has posted a wonderful fan fiction video for all to enjoy!
Community Calendars:
- Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in!
- NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you!
- SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better!
Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun!
- One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these!
- Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones.
- Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread.
- Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures.
- Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum.
- Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum.
- Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out!
- Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out!
- Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play.
- Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community.
SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars!
Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer
Immersive theatre. 3D binaural sound. Real ghostbusting. Get your tickets now!
We are excited to share, Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s (Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency) latest project: Secret Cinema’s “Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer.” Travel back to the ‘80s and experience never-before-seen storylines based on the original film in this live virtual adventure. Get ready for the jaw-dropping detail of any Secret Cinema event, brought to you online and to a whole other level! Team up with the Ghostbusters to investigate paranormal activity, explore the infamous 550 Central Park West and uncover spine-chilling secrets from other dimensions. The world needs saving and you’re the one for the job!
Project to Support: Shard RPG
Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad.
- Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals.
- Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character!
- Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah!
So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG!
Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla
Shadow of Valhalla is a visceral physics-based VR combat game with dynamic RPG elements, set within an ancient realm of Viking lore and mystic powers! Early Access beta includes “endless horde mode” featuring a variety of enemies with progressive difficulty. Also, players can discover many magic spells to unlock! So much more is coming!
Finn Staber with Chicken Waffle, will join the Shroud of the Avatar team on Twitch during their Friday the 28th livestream to showoff this new Early Access game! Also, here is a teaser video on YouTube:
The development team is working hard to create additional environments and new quests! Shadow of Valhalla is available on Steam as Early Access. Additional features coming to the game:- More Enemies!
- More Environments!
- More Magic Spells!
- RPG Quests!
- Weapon Forging and Crafting!
- Much, much more!
If you would like to learn more about Shadow of Valhalla, be sure to stop by the main webpage for the game as more news becomes available!
Project to Support: Avatar Express
[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]
I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.
If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.
You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.
Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game.
It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts!
So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us!
Resources: Players Helping Players
The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.
Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.
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Chapter Five. The Bones.
Read by Celith Wraine
Down the slope a little from the farming area, just behind the tall white wooden clock tower in among the swaying trees stood a maze of an old graveyard. On closer inspection the graveyard was a series of graveyards, some of them crumbling with headstones that no longer were readable. The old headstones and pockmarked sarcophaguses lay scattered seemingly randomly in a maze of half destroyed stone fences and decaying stone buildings covered in moss and vines. Large trees now grew in and among the markers, sometimes thrusting up through the displaced stones of the destroyed buildings themselves. Passing the area earlier on their way to the windmill, none of the group had paid more than a passing glance at the old graveyard because they were all focused on the windmill and the large sky ship anchored above the town’s gardens.
Looking up at the clock Lucy exclaimed, “Four in the afternoon! We’re missing tea!” She grumbled a little, “I hate missing tea. It usually means I’m doing something that I don’t want to do, like going to a graveyard to look for a half-drunk storyteller to hear the end to a very frightening story that he heard decades ago and none of the story might have anything to do with our mission in the first place.”
Hot tea currently unavailable, she continued grumbling under her breath even as she rummaged through her bags and eventually pulled slightly squishy packages of leftover cheese and mostly fresh bread from her seemingly bottomless pack and a stoppered flask of cold tea.
“I was hoping to be back at the inn, but these will have to tide us over for now,” and she offered the food and drink to everyone.
The group sat under the shade of the clocktower to eat their food and everyone had a moment to have a good look at the graveyard where they were to find Ivan.
“I didn’t realize Jade Valley had been here quite long enough to have so many old graves.” Zyrina noted thoughtfully while she chewed the last of her bread slowly. “Some of these are hundreds of years old.”
Brushing the crumbs away she waited until everyone had finished eating to suggest, “Well let’s get started. He’s got to be here somewhere.”
Phlebus started walking toward the nearest section to look for signs of Ivan or a gate with a skull but was easily distracted by reading the graves he passed. Zyrina followed him. Lucy was already distracted and excitedly digging up a plant that she found near one of the crumbled walls and Torgin left to start looking at the other end of the graveyard area.
Torgin was the first to spot the old graveyard with the skull on its gate. “Over here.” He stood near the road, waving.
As the others found their way over, Lucy stared at an old set of bones close to where Torgin waited. It looked like a massive dragon had died here some ages past. Torgin was beckoning the others to take a path that snaked from the road past the dragon bones.
“I remember passing these,” Lucy mumbled. “D’you think these are the bones that Jenny was the keeper of? Some are missing.” As she inspected the skeleton of the dragon she took stock of several missing rib bones.
She ran her hands along the massive row of ribs sticking out of the ground as she caught up with her brother. They felt warm to her touch. The sun must have warmed them, she thought to herself and nervously laughed a little.
“This way.” Torgin indicated a small overgrown stone path that led behind the dragon bones, right to a small, fenced graveyard. The metal skull gate was obvious, and the yard was surrounded by a rusting spiked metal fence and some kind of prickly hedge that appeared to be dead.
“I wonder why this part is fenced.” Lucy mused.
Phlebus peered around at the many graves that were not enclosed.
“Maybe these ones aren’t as old, Lucy.” He suggested, “it doesn’t look as decrepit as the rest of them.”
Zyrina had walked a little way away to get a closer look at a human sized stone shape nearby.
“Is that another of those stone statues, Rina?”
“Yes, it looks like it.” Zyrina shuddered a little.
The statues were so lifelike that Zyrina had a difficult time looking into their eyes. She wondered how long this one had stood in this spot, as some of its hat and edges of its cloak lay in bits and pieces at its feet.
“This one is older than the others, Phle.” Zyrina reported. “It’s beginning to crumble.”
Meanwhile, Torgin pushed the skull door open and led the way into the graveyard. Fading afternoon light cast long shadows on spiderwebs all around them. He prudently kept his dagger to hand in case the weaver of the web appeared. Lucy took a moment before following the others. Before she entered, she pulled a torch out of her pack and lit it with her flint and steel. The light cast was enough to keep from tripping on the grave markers or get caught in the strong spider webbing that could be seen throughout the area.
Just when they were sure they had missed Ivan, he coughed near the large spider covered fountain made of skulls carved into marble that filled the middle of the little graveyard and startled Lucy enough that she squeaked and jumped back causing a chain reaction of her companions wielding their weapons to protect her from whatever danger she had discovered.
“Spooked a little are ye Miss?” Ivan cackled delightedly at his joke but soon became somber again as he led them further into the shadowy maze. As they followed him, winding their way among the headstones, Ivan continued his story.
“Granny crept after her friends into this part of the graveyard that night though she was full o’ fear o’ tha’ ol’ story she had heard whispered in the dark, and dread o’ tha’ terrifyin’ spider they was seeking for Elaine. Granny didn’t wanna be there because she had heard tales from her elders ‘bout th’ dragon bones comin’ live after dark and turnin’ livin’ humans to dead stone.
She pleaded as they edged closer and closer, ‘Stop. Please. Let’s come back in the daytime. Strange things happen here after the sun sets. Those dragon bones might come alive. It hunts the valley after midnight for the gullible and mesmerizes you before it seals your fate in a covering of stone. There is no cure, no antidote.’ She pleaded, repeating the story her family had told her from when she were a young’un, but it didn’t have the effect she was hoping for.
‘That’s a tale to keep babies from wandering away from their homes. There ain’t anything scary ‘bout this place.’ Jon declared.
Even her little brother Jon wasn’t ‘fraid an’ his bravado made the others bold enough to scoff at Jenny’s story an’ her fears.
Granny said the oldest of the group, Tristan, paused for a split second, looking slightly concerned but then caught Elaine watching him and he stuck out his chest and swore that he HAD to see the dragon bones that night. He, who was obviously showing off for Granny’s pretty friend, insisted they have a look at the old dragon bones after collecting the spider for Elaine and before they disperse for the night. He promised to leave with them after they all peeked.
Granny’s friend, Elaine, finagled Granny Jenny to stay to find tha’ spider and then she promised she would leave with Granny, and so would the others. There was no way Granny would leave her little brother or Elaine in the middle of the night in a graveyard and so she bravely decided to stay, too. Tristan turned to go find the spider before exploring the dragon bones and hesitant as they were, the rest were not about to be left behind.
The kids looked for spiders among the old graves, finally finding just the one Elaine was searching for, a Ferocious Red Arachnid. She was elated, and after putting a collar on the fuzzy pet, named her spider Charlotte.
‘Good, let’s skedaddle.’ Granny Jenny sighed with relief.”
The story came to a sudden halt. By this point Ivan had led the group to the part of the graveyard with his Granny Jenny’s grave. Ivan stopped talking and laid a yellow flower at the base of his Granny’s headstone and then each of the companions had knelt and given a moment of silence and respect for Ivan’s Granny, too. Then Ivan led them back to the skull gate and continued his tale as he walked toward the dragon bones.
“Somewhere along the way my Uncle Jon had picked up a stick and when all four had arrived at the head of the dragon skeleton, he heroically thrust his stick into the eye socket of the dragon’s skull proclaiming his victory over his foe. Then things changed and not in the way any of them would forget.”
Ivan indicated an area near the fence. “Granny stood in this very spot when the Dragon woke up and looked her straight in the eye with its glowing red eyes. She could feel the breeze as the dragon started to breath in and then the heat as it expelled hot billows of soot and ash from great glowing nostrils formed of shadow and mist. In the instant they were hidden from sight of those penetrating eyes, Granny instinctively reached out and took hold of Elaine and her brother on either side of her. Both had frozen in fear and she pulled them into tha’ small stone crypt over there just as the dragon drew another breath and spewed boiling foul gray smoke all around itself.” Here Ivan pointed to a still intact stone crypt nearby.
“The oldest boy did not jump out of the way. Tristan felt the mist before he saw it, and when the dragon’s eyes started glowing, he let go the hand of the pretty girl Elaine. He took a very deep breath, drew his sword, then sprang directly at the dragon, shouting as loud as he ever had and distracted it from his companions. He disappeared into the magnificent swirl just as Granny closed the crypt door behind herself.
Granny, Uncle Jon, and Elaine with Charlotte tucked up in her cloak didn’t move till well into the next day when the light was strong and the normal sounds of birds calling out in the woods soothed their nerves. They emerged to find the dragon had reverted to dust and bones. In the defined horror of bright light, they could see that their brave friend had been turned to stone, caught in a pose as he attacked the dragon to save their lives, just like Granny’s elders’ story had predicted.
No one ever admitted what happened to the boy when officers of the realm came asking about his condition. Their questions eventually faded after years of looking for reasons with no answers. Jenny, Jon, and Elaine didn’t talk about it much, only enough to tell their families what had happened. They din’t want ta forget why no one was to go in th’ graveyard after dark.
The spider Elaine found in the dark that night grew to a most unusual size and was so aggressive, tha’ it had to be taken down into the tunnels o’ the family crypt an’ kept away from regular folk. Elaine continued to love Charlotte until that spider passed years ago. Built a special sarcophagus for her an’ ever’thin’. Most o’ the family credits digging that spider’s grave with the discovery of silver all around their family crypt. Became quite famous for awhiles. Mining it all went on for many years.”
Ivan stopped there for another drink from his flask, and a quick nervous squint up at the darkened sky.
Then he went on, “My Granny Jenny an’ her best friend, Elaine, and my Uncle Jon all made it through that night. They had some kinda pact to not talk ‘bout the dragon and tha’s why I only heard tha’ story tha’ one time. It stuck wit me though, and that’s the truth.”
He thought a moment before adding, “Though, I bet my Great Uncle Jon could tell you more about that night now’s everyone else has died off, iff’n yer interested.” Raising his eyebrow he addressed Phlebus directly this time.
Phlebus nodded and Ivan went on again, “You’se can find him drinkin’ down at The Raven, The Dragon, an’ The Stew Pot down in the Valley. It’s over on Frojenta Lane north o’ th’ Jade Markets, near the Dougan family Silver Mine and Family crypt tha’ I was tellin’ you’se ‘bout. Ask anyone.”
Ivan takes another quick scan of the darkened sky and nervously adds, “I NEVER go ta the graveyard after dark an’ it’s getting’ dark. Anyhoo that’s the endin’. How Ivan’s granny saved the day and lost a friend.” And that was indeed the ending of Ivan’s’ tale. With a quick wave of his bottle he disappeared before anyone even blinked.
Then, in the quiet of the early evening, our companions all heard a distinctive fiery snort and then felt more than saw the cold billowing mist begin to rise from the pile of bones right in front of them. It formed the outline of a dragon around the bones, solidifying as it gathered.
Phlebus and Zyrina exchanged a look, and the other two did as well. Each quietly loosened the fastenings on their weapons and readied their various potions and lotions in preparation for whatever might be behind this new development. Even as a dark mist started seeping toward them, they moved into a protective formation around Lucy who was still fumbling with the bandages she had prepared earlier. They then moved as a single organism into the mist toward the moving dragon bones.
Ahead, the pile of bones writhed slowly in the dark, forming itself into its full beauty and glory but the dragon was not yet breathing fire. It exhaled a thick black ash, cold and unnerving. The mist slowly became skin and muscle that covered the dragon bones as the form coiled around itself. Its slick orange scales glistened, and its eyes, its eyes GLOWED.
Arrows notched, swords brandished, spells cast, and the companions were as ready as they could be to battle this shadowy menace. Then just as they were ready to strike, the dragon just as suddenly as it had begun twisting, it abruptly stopped moving. The mist slowly dissipated, and the now re-exposed bones lay innocently along the roadway. The dragon’s eye sockets were as empty as the rest of the skeleton.
“What the Titans was that!!” Torgin was shaken more than he wanted to admit. He dropped his axe to his side but did not put it back in its holster. He searched the area for another attack.
“I don’t know, brother but it’s gone now. Time to leave before it comes back.” Lucy was firm. She turned to the little stone path and led the way back to the main roadway.
As they moved slowly away from the bones, not one of them turned their back on them until they were partly around the bend and down the hill and completely out of sight, even then each of them glanced back nervously from time to time.
“I’ve never seen a dragon do that before.” Zyrina kept her bow notched. She was unnerved and shaking.
Phlebus looked like he wanted to say something but just didn’t know how to start. “I I I’ve never even heard of a magic that could form a dragon from old bones.” He stammered. “I don’t want to say this because you are going to think I’m crazy but,” he took a breath before going on. “That seems like Obsidian magic from the age when they created Elves, Trolls, and Kobolds.”
“Come on, Phlebus,” Zyrina scoffed. “That magic’s been gone since before I arrived here; for centuries before.”
Lucy spoke up, “Phlebus I don’t think you are crazy. But what happened? Why didn’t it attack us? Where did it go?”
“Maybe something went wrong partway through spellcasting?” he offered.
It was the only thing he could think of. The sudden disappearance of the mist and the receding of the form reminded him of when he was learning and a spell would collapse half way through if he lost his concentration or if something moved in his sphere of awareness.
“What spellcasting? Did you see any spellcasters?” Torgin looked around as if he would spot one in the darkness as they walked down the hill toward town.
“Nope I didn’t see anyone else, except that dragon. Did you?”
Phlebus looked around the group but no one spoke up.
“They can’t have been very far away though, spells like that have a range, or so I’ve read. I’ve never seen one performed before. Unless…” Phlebus drifted off into thought.
“Will that dragon be back tonight?” Lucy nervously asked as she pulled yet another torch from her pack and lit it with the one that was dying. She swung it in a wide circle around the group as if protecting them with its light.
Shrugging Torgin looked to Phlebus for an answer, as did Lucy.
“I doubt it.” He shrugged.
It didn’t seem like making anyone more scared was the answer but Phlebus knew he had no idea if the dragon would return. It was puzzling indeed. He wanted to find more information about the dragon in the graveyard, and about the boy who had been turned to stone.
“Unless what?” Zyrina was watching Phlebus who had been thinking.
He looked up, “What?”
“Unless what?” She repeated.
“Oh, nevermind, it’s not important.” Phlebus shrugged, appearing nonchalant. “Just a passing thought.” He smiled reassuringly.
Zyrina was not reassured, she knew that look. Phlebus had an idea but wasn’t ready to share it yet. She just hoped he would be ready before it was too late. She suspected he wanted to look something up in a book before spitting it out.
“I think I need to talk with Ivan’s Uncle Jon at The Raven, The Dragon, and The Stew Pot after a cup of hot tea, supper, and a good night’s rest tonight. There’s nothing we can do now except try to find out more information from the locals. Maybe somebody has seen this before or noticed mages around, or strangers.” Phlebus decided when the group reached the sanctuary of their inn a little while later. “There is shard magic being used here, and I need to find the source of it before there is more destruction and death.”
“Moonshard?” Lucy looked concerned. “Did moonshards fall around Jade Valley too? I thought they fell farther north?”
“Not that I have heard, Luce, but some shards are small enough to transport without too much trouble. I’m going to speak with that librarian again in the morning. She might know some of the history of the dragon bones and whether there are any shards in the valley.”
“So, the plan is to gossip with the locals, and see who knows something they want to share? I can do that.” Torgin was the first to offer with a grin as the prospect of supper and storytelling began to form in his mind.
“I’ll help.” Lucy offered as well.
Zyrina just nodded.
Phlebus pushed open the door and led the way to the crowded restaurant inside. The server suggested they go up to the roof and he would bring their supper up when it was ready. The rooftop pub was also full of people. Apparently, they were not the only ones who wanted to gossip about what the group had found on their first day of the inquiry. Torgin found an appreciative audience for his tale of their experiences in the graveyard. Many ales were foisted on the explorers to aid their storytelling. The gasps and cries of surprize let Phlebus know that the dragon hadn’t formed like this in anyone’s recent history. He burned to find out what was causing the magic and what the dragon would be used for.
By the time Torgin and Lucy were drunk and singing loudly around the piano with the bar maids, and Phlebus was engrossed in a conversation about wheat and barley with one of the locals, Zyrina slipped away to her bed. She had had enough excitement for now and needed some time alone to think about what she had seen. The locals in the pub laughed and called them babies from the city when Torgin told their tale and scoffed at the story telling as ‘tall tales’ but she could tell not one of them doubted what had happened for a minute.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon series – Book 1, Chapter 5 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Chapter Four. The story.
Read by Alleine Dragonfyre
The winding dirt path up to the windmill and the community garden was indeed just behind Elnoth’s home and the companions soon found themselves climbing a steep slope, past Frojenta Lane.
“So how long has it been since you’ve seen Phle?” Lucy asked Zyrina as they fell in step on the climb. Phlebus and Torgin forged ahead and continued their argument about whether covered wagons or air balloons were faster travel. “Where’d you meet?”
Zyrina took a moment to answer. She half wanted to join the conversation on balloons or wagons and not talk about her friendship with Phle. Her opinion was firmly on the wagon as the most efficient form of land travel. Yet, reminiscing didn’t feel dangerous today, as they strolled in the afternoon sun. She had to really think about how long it had been since the last time she saw him in person.
“Let me think.” She stalled.
Lucy’s question had brought up long forgotten memories of herself as a young woman barely in her twenties who had been through an unexpected portal and transported to Novia from the Outlands. She was reminded of the intense fear she felt when she landed near Solace Bridge so many years ago. By Novian reckoning it had been almost a century ago.
Trust had been hard for her, especially here in a completely different world than the one she came from. She didn’t take to strangers very well and spent most of the time alone in Novia. When she first arrived, someone called Edvard needed help for the survivors at the battle of Solace Bridge, and then he had sent her to on to Soltown and from there she made her way to Ardoris. She had never been able to protect herself but along the way she began to learn.
“Let’s see, I met him in Ardoris. At that time the city of love had been reeling because of the continued separation between Priestess Khasi and Shogun Suranto. There is still much unrest even in its once serene streets.”
“Love,” Zyrina snorted and though to herself. She had spent a long period trying to sort out the cause of the friction between the Shogun and the Priestess and had concluded that love was more complicated than she could imagine.
After a pause to catch her breath Zyrina went on, “I was down at the Traveller’s Docks to meet someone and while I waited, I had been gossiping with one of the barmaids, Emma, just outside The Tavern of the Wind.
In all the bustle of the dock a call of “Thief, Thief!” rang out and then someone came careening out of one of the alleys chased closely by a displeased merchant who caught up with them at the dock. Shouting at the young man all the while about respect and honour, I gathered that food had been stolen from the merchant. Eventually the merchant finished yelling and shaking the thief and tossed him into the canal just outside the tavern. Turning and continuing his loud tirade against thieves he left huffing and shouting at everyone he met.
It was obvious the thief couldn’t swim, and I couldn’t leave him to die so I fished the miscreant out of the canal. It was Phlebus. That was about fifteen years ago.”
“Phlebus stealing?” Lucy looked shocked then slapped her thigh and laughed. “That explains so much.”
“Hmm, well that day we sat together in a small park while he dried. Then he was kind enough to offer to share his food and shelter. He had stolen a bun earlier and then some cheese just before I found him drowning. The cheese survived the dunking in the water. We ate that in a cozy spot under a bush just outside of Ardoris. Then we slept there. It wasn’t much. But it was enough.”
Phlebus and Zyrina had become inseparable from that moment on. He taught her how to pickpocket on the streets of Ardoris and she taught him how to read and how to swim. Over the six years they spent together in Novia before Phlebus went to school, they escaped many close calls with various city guards and various dubious encounters on the roads between cities. He had been her greatest and dearest friend through it all.
Zyrina continued, “It helps to have a travelling companion.” Nodding toward Torgin ahead on the path, Zyrina noted, “you know how it is. You’ve always had one. This world constantly surprises me. It is similar but not like the Outlands at all.”
“A companion? Torgin?” Lucy snorted, “my brother can be accused of many things, but he is not a man of much conversation and his value as a companion is limited.” Lucy may have understated the value she placed on her brother’s companionship, but she understood Zyrina’s point.
“Still, he was someone you shared your time with and who watched your back for you.” Zyrina argued her point.
Zyrina smiled, Phlebus had had her back in every fight they’d been in. She recalled one especially close call with an extremely obnoxious mountain troll. They had been tasked with taking one of his toenails to someone who would pay dearly for it. Phlebus and Zyrina found out why they were being paid so much when they discovered the mound of human skeleton bones the troll had piled beside his cave. They fought back-to-back in that one. It had taken all their skills combined to survive. She smiled wryly remembering the exhilaration of jumping off that high bridge into a waterfall during the dramatic escape and Phle right beside her on the way down. ‘I got it!’ he had shouted, holding up a filthy gnarled toenail when they both found themselves alive on the bank of the river far downstream from the trolls and their bridge.
“So, why’d you part ways?” Lucy probed partly stirring Zyrina out of her memories.
The sale of that toenail paid for Phlebus to attend the academy in Central Brittany. And he excelled. Once he got into the school there were scholarships and awards, too. Through the years, Zyrina proudly kept his messages to her describing the goings on at the castle library. There were not many letters, but she cherished each one, they were now tucked in a waxed cloth in the safety of her pack. She had missed his company and his inquisitive mind.
“Becoming a scholar was what Phlebus was meant for, certainly he needed to be near books in a way that I don’t.” Zyrina confessed after careful thought.
While Phlebus attended school, Zyrina found steady work with her bow. It kept her fed, and it kept her employed. There were many people in this land who needed help and would pay a bit of gold for the service she provided. Zyrina became a tracker, a guide, and in the end a bodyguard. It was a life she found satisfying. The last four months in the mines of Elysium was as settled as she had ever been in Novia.
“Hmmm. I think it’s about nine years.”
Lucy stopped walking suddenly, “The entire time he’s been in school?” Lucy was incredulous.
“Mmhmm. I didn’t realize so much time had passed until he wrote to me about this mission. All he said was that he needed my bow, and that the pay was going to be low. He didn’t tell me the nature of this mystery.”
Lucy snorted. After a few more steps she asked, “Why now? I mean after all this time, why did you decide now was the time to join him? He has asked for your company before this, I know he has.”
Zyrina looked over at Lucy’s kind face. She appeared to be extraordinarily protective of her friend Phlebus.
Zyrina admired the quality of loyalty and said gently, “Time passes differently for me and more time passed than I was aware of, and then it just became easier not to go visit because I’d been away for so long. He was the first Novian I became friends with, and I believe he knew I would come if he actually needed me, not Oh this is too hard, and I need you to come rescue me from here. I can’t live on my own.” Here she paused before adding as an afterthought, “I thought all Novians would be like him, but it turns out he is special. When he wrote asking for my support, I came as soon as I could.” She shrugged.
Lucy nodded enthusiastically. “He’s not as helpless as he appears though, is he?”
Zyrina laughed, “No. He’s very rarely helpless, but he wouldn’t survive on his own outside of a city anymore. He’s out of practise.”
“Phlebus talked about you occasionally in the first year. He admired you greatly, but less after you didn’t rescue him from himself. I half expected you to turn up in the city and claim him when he nearly bombed his first year at the academy, you know?”
Shrugging Zyrina confided, “I almost did but somebody wiser than me stopped me from going. They told me a tale just before I started out to collect him that made me see that Phlebus and I didn’t have the same path in life. If I had claimed him then, he would never have become who he is now.”
“It nearly broke him, you know?”
“Yeah, it nearly broke me too.”
Lucy stared with compassion. “It was awful. He was sure you would come.”
Zyrina walked in silence for a little while.
“So, I hear you are a healer. Do you use magic, too?” Zyrina changed the subject.
“Yes, sometimes, but I like to rely most often on the potions and lotions that support life. I find each of us reacts a little differently to magic and to potions, but with proper life supports we all heal at a greater rate. So, unless the injuries are acute, I use herbal skills and cooking to mend.”
“Where did your interest in plants start?”
“Where did your interest in tracking and archery start?” Lucy countered.
“Who says I’m interested in tracking and archery?” Zyrina tried to look innocent and pretended to trip over a root on the path.
They both laughed then.
Going first Lucy began, “I suppose it was my grandmother who got me interested in plants. We used to go picking herbs in the forest together and she would talk about how she would preserve each herb and what kinds of things the plants would help us with if we let them. She had a real affinity with life. I spent much of my youth helping her to care for the plants in her garden and spent a lot of time learning how to find rare ones in the other areas of the world from her. Then I learned to preserve her medicines. When I got a little older, I used to go with her to help people who needed her. She spent her life restoring her neighbours and community with her plants and healing touch until her death. I still miss her, especially when I’m sick. I went to Central Brittany to learn more about plants and on the way learned some healing magic spells as well. It was quite a surprise to find out I could heal people with magic as well as and sometimes better than with the plants alone.”
Lucy had not meant to be quite so personal with her response to the question but Zyrina made it easy to trust her and just be honest about what she thought and believed. It was refreshing. She didn’t demand answers but waited until Lucy was ready to open up a little.
“Your grandmother must have been very proud of you.”
“Now you.” Lucy said looking over at Zyrina who was still mulling over what Lucy had said about having a grandmother healer.
“Well, I didn’t learn how to track or how to shoot a bow until I arrived in Novia.”
“That was what, a hundred years ago?” Lucy teased.
Zyrina snorted, “By Novian calendars, more or less.”
“Go on.”
“Sure. Well, Phlebus and I had been living on the streets of Ardoris until the guards made us move along. I think we might have been in a community up around Desolis, by the time that I shot my first short bow. Up till then I had been learning to use a pair of knives that Phlebus and I took off a Red Sash Bandit. Anyway, I picked up an elven bow off one of the creeps that Phle and I had to fight off one night when the creep tried to steal my blanket, and more if he could’ve gotten it.” Zyrina stopped talking for a moment.
She looked over at Lucy, “When I first arrived, I did pick up a bow, and I used it at close range on a few undead and skeletons but hadn’t really stuck with it and my aim was really bad. I sold it for food. I didn’t need it in the city, and I needed food to live. But in Desolis, it felt good to have another one in my hands.”
The deserts had been a fine learning arena, lots of space and few citizens to get in the way. The cacti and the small rabbits and birds of the desert became the first moving targets.
“Too much time on your hands?” Lucy wanted to know.
Zyrina shook her head to clear it a bit from the memory, “Yeah, absolutely. After picking up that bow, I spent my free time shooting at targets and then small desert animals that I could aim for. I lost most of my arrows back then.”
In their early days together, she and Phlebus spent much of their time searching for spent arrows in the sand near Desolace. After all this time she was still very frugal with arrows and didn’t waste an arrow if she could recover it.
Grinning she went on, “We ate much better after I learned to hit them. Squirrel and rabbits, birds, and then later fish. Yes, even fish. I didn’t like to miss because it usually meant we didn’t eat if I missed.” She looked somber as she recalled those hungry days.
“Tracking was something I learned as a child.” Then she suddenly stopped talking and started walking a little faster.
It was fast enough that speech was no longer possible for either of them.
“Where are you living these days?” Zyrina changed the subject again, after catching her breath again at the top, knowing only that after her first assignment that Lucy had left the city, same as Torgin.
“Do you know the Mistrendur at all?” Lucy inquired.
“A little, enough to know of the three main islands, and the serpent shape but I don’t know the history of the Mistrendur.”
Nodding Lucy declared, “not many do.” She went on, “I live on the West Island, Slangeholle, where the tail of the serpent would be, up in the Grenfol mountain range in a cabin in the woods near a hamlet called Jade Mountain.”
“Huh? The Jade Empire stretches from Jade Valley all the way to the Mistrendur?” Zyrina seemed surprised. “I knew of an island in the Hidden Vale controlled by the Jade Empire, but I didn’t know about the Mistrendur. There are Jade Dragons everywhere it would seem.”
“There are two Jade communities up in the Mistrendur. Jade Garden is the other, on the middle island, the belly, Slangemagge. If you like Jade Valley, you would LOVE it there. Seriously, after this inquiry why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you around both Jade Empire towns. There is a balloon that takes us all the way there from Jade Valley.”
“I’ll think about that. I sure would like to see what could be prettier than this town right here right now.” Zyrina’s gaze swept back down to the crescent shaped harbour and busy markets below.
“Yes, this harbour is stunning. The Jade Dragons seem to have a fair share of talented gardeners in their midst. I think the leader of that guild is even a Royal Gardener. We met him at the meeting, Governor Hari. They have four towns in their empire. I haven’t been to the one up in the Hidden Vale, Jade Island, but I still think Jade Valley is the prettiest.’
“Why live in Jade Mountain if you think Jade Valley is the prettiest?”
“I live in Jade Mountain because it feels like home to me.” Lucy added, “There are a few young people there that I like to keep an eye on, as well. Years ago, I promised another of the Outlanders that I would care for the orphans, they were children then. I am fond of them both.”
Nodding while looking down at the seaside valley below, Zyrina spoke “This is stunning and quaint. I don’t think I’ll forget this town.”
“There it is,” Torgin called out from the road ahead, pointing toward a large sky balloon.
“That’s not a windmill, brother.” Lucy shouted back.
“The windmill is near that balloon, remember?” Phlebus soothed with his map and papers pulled out and open before the twins started fighting about this, too.
“It sure is windy enough up here for one.” Lucy found her breath stolen from the force of the gusts but managed to squeak out her comment regardless.
And it was indeed windy where the windmill was found, among the barns, the gardens, and the sky ship moored above all. Ivan was outside of the windmill fiddling with a piece of machinery when we arrived.
“Hello.” Zyrina called out. As she got closer she could still smell alcohol on him and now as well, the black greasy mess that he was currently spreading all over the bit of metal he held.
“Are you drunk, Ivan?” She asked him straight out.
“There youse all are!” He didn’t even look shocked at the question as he shook his head, “Not so much as I can’t fix this here gear here.” Ivan started laughing at his own joke.
“Will you tell us the story, then?” Phlebus wanted to know without so much as a how do you do. “I can give you a hand with that,” he added rolling up his sleeves and picking up a wrench.
“No, I’ve got it, thank’ee mightily.” Sighing and setting down the gear, Ivan picked up an old rag and began to clean his hands. “Well, surely I’ll tell it to you’se. Since you’ve come all this way n’ all.”
He took a swig from a brown jug, he then offered it to the companions. They declined. Even Torgin.
Without another pause Ivan began as he continued to grease the metal piece he had picked up again, “When I was a youngun’ an’ my granny was still the gravedigger and keeper of the dragon bones here in the valley, a Bard from far away came to the village. It was worth granny’s wrath to stay up late tha’ night, hidden o’ course, to hear the stories and songs. When that old Bard…can’t recall his name anymore, Ningo? Jingo? Oh! Mingo, that’s it. He’s a Outlander, like you.”
He turned to look directly at Zyrina for the first time.
“What’s a keeper of the Dragon Bones?” Lucy wanted to know as Phlebus shushed her.
Ivan just stared at her for a moment, and then went on with his story without answering her question.
“Well anyways, tha’ Bard stopped in for a bowl o’ granny’s pumpkin soup just after the leaves fell that autumn.”
“Just soz ya know, Bards were and still are the best source of news for young’uns and growups about gossip and battle and wars for a wide swath of the neighborin’ towns and villages on the island. Anyways, tha’ night after that there bard tol’ tha’ story bout the glory’us Calan Caitin fighting all alone against two massive trolls and a bunch o’ mages at the Battle of Upper Tears. Afterward when the growups had all settled down agin an’ granny had her whistle whetted, I heard the scariest tale you ever did hear.”
He paused here to take another drink from his jug and this time Torgin joined him.
“Mingo spoke up then, after accepting a large frothing mug and letting the crowd quiet down. ‘I’d like a moment to think of another, does anyone else have a tale to share to warm this dark night whilst I quench my thirst? Surely, Jenny will tell one? How bout that ol’ graveyard story, Jen?’
Granny grunted as she sat back down by the fire after addin’ another log and took a long pull from her pint of ale before beginnin’. Tha’ Bard nodded and smiled a little, to encourage her, like. He strummed his harp low and quiet so’s we could hear granny talk. It looked to me like he was settlin’ to listen. Or maybe he was anticipatin’ the fresh ale my Da’ was pouring for him.”
Ivan paused for another swig before going on. This time each of the companions had a swig from the jug in turn while Ivan continued.
“…well anyway…so Granny she starts talkin’ low and quiet and tells o’ the black fog. The dark dank fog that rolled in the afternoon of her sixteenth birthday. After the cake and the singin’, an’ during a game o’ truth or dare. The one friend o’ hers, Elaine Dougan, had it in her to try an’ catch a big ol’ graveyard spider for a pet and so she dragged the 3 of ‘em along on the dare ta go ta the graveyard after dark with their school friend Tristan, Granny Jenny’s younger brother, my Uncle Jon and Granny Jenny. There were four of em, just like you four, huh. Interestin’. Anyway. Even if they looked scared, they were also mostly curious to see the graveyard after dark, too. Or maybe they just wanted to do something slightly dangerous to show off to their friends later. Anyhoo’, Granny and her pals went sneaking into the old ruins. Hmmm.” He giggled gleefully, “I gots an idee in my noggin’: Heya know what? Let’s go on down to the ruins and I’ll finish tellin’ yoz’ all the tale in the very spot my Granny said she…well…let’s not get tellin’ the tale out of order.”
He directed, “Meet me in the Skull Gate Graveyard yonder to th’ clock tower. Yeah, you prob’ly passed it on the way here. An’ meet me at my granny’s grave in the back corner when you is done yer restin’.”
Ivan took a last swig off his pint and tucked it back under his arm then pointed west, toward the old graveyards. They turned as one to follow the line of his pointed finger.
By the time they turned back he was gone. This time he disappeared quicker than any of the companions would have dreamed he could. They looked at each other and grinned.
“My my, what has granny gotten herself into?” Torgin mocked. He was now intrigued to find out what Ivan’s ol’ Granny Jenny had done but didn’t want to be the only one, so he ridiculed. “Graveyard? Bring it on!”
Lucy chortled and joined in, “What big ears you have grandmother.”
Torgin joined Lucy and the pair of them became incoherent with laughter. Recognizing the sarcasm and the nervousness of the unknown, Zyrina found herself grinning a little. She could see a little more of what drove Torgin, bravado and brains. In her experience those often were a lethal combination especially in group settings. Her eyes narrowed as she judged whether Torgin would be a liability during this adventure or an asset. She decided in the end that his quiet demeanor and skill with his axe offset any false bravado he might possess.
Ivan could not be more annoying, disappearing all the time just to tease them with more information. Zyrina wanted to know why Ivan was leading them to a graveyard instead of just meeting them there in the first place.
She was ready to go after Ivan until she realized that Lucy had wandered off and was petting one of the sheep in the nearby pens. While Torgin and Zyrina gathered Lucy back to the group, Phlebus had vanished into the windmill to have a look at the system of gears that turned the wind turbine. He was found halfway up the inside, sketching the design of cogs for further study. Finally, the companions were all ready to backtrack to the graveyard, and to find Ivan for a third time.
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon series – Book 1, Chapter 4 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Happy Thanksgiving! In observance of the holiday, various rewards and sales have begun:
- +100% Adventure and Crafting EXP
- Holdfast Player-Owned Towns 20% Off!
- 2-Hour Flash Sale Items 25% Off!
- Crowns of the Obsidian 20% Off!
- 5X Additional Crowns in Loot Drops!
- Player-Owned Town Upgrades 20% Off! (Crown Upgrades Only)
- Deed Upgrades 20% Off!
- Episode 2 Access $4 Off!
- New Character Slots $2 Off!
All these sale & reward items will last until Monday, December 6th at Noon CT, so don’t miss out! Happy shopping, Avatars!
- +100% Adventure and Crafting EXP
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Sorry guys, I didn't remove all the quest data from the Delicate Feather of the Phoenix (which was a copy from the quest version), so anyone not on the quest did not receive their feathers. On Tuesday, I'll look through the data, compare to the fix time on this (patch incoming), and send anyone the average amount of feathers they WOULD have have received. Apologies.
Chris will try to patch this in ASAP.
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Folks might have noticed the pattern's name indicates its a pattern for the Lord British Two-Handed Axe. This is just a display name error, and applying the pattern should provide the correct visuals. I've submitted the fix for the display name, and it should patch in shortly.
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Chapter Three. Stew and a Brew.
Phlebus woke early, as did Zyrina but the twins would not be roused. They slept the morning away.
After breaking her fast, Zyrina wandered the markets, talking with the locals, occasionally making a small purchase here and there. She saw Phlebus wander over and into the Hall of Learning again but did not follow him. She found a bench in the markets and took a seat to take in the warmth of the morning sun.
Finally, one of the old women of the village sat near her to rest a moment in the market before continuing.
“Morning to you.” Zyrina offered companionably.
“Mmmhmmm.” The wrinkled old woman leaned on her cane and peered over at Zyrina. “You are one of those strangers that’s here to find out what is happening to the valley, are you? What’s your name?”
“I am Zyrina, and yes I am an Outlander here with my friends to help.”
“That’s fine, I’ve met Outlanders before, some of them live here in this valley. Zyrina? Are you alone in this world?” she squinted over at Zyrina who was squirming a little at the thought of her personal life.
“No, ma’am. My family are in the lands I left.”
“Why are you here? What’s in it for you?” She didn’t hardly wait for Zyrina to take a breath between questions.
“Well, I’m helping a friend who needs help. Have you heard any of the old stories of the valley? When did this happen before?” Zyrina boldly asked back.
“Hummphffttt. Stories.” She looked over at some children running around their mother as she shopped in the early morning. “Stories are for children. You aren’t a child.”
For a moment Zyrina thought that was all she was going to say. She remained still for the longest time before going on, “Yes, I’ve heard the stories. You better speak with Matt when your friends wake up. He will tell it right.” She paused before adding, “Ask about Charlotte. He’ll know what that means.” She nodded to Zyrina and left with the young mother and her children as they moved further along the markets. Calmer now she walked with one child on each arm helping the old one to walk and both of them chattering away about everything in sight.
Zyrina mouthed Charlotte? Who’s Charlotte?
It was nearing the midday and Zyrina could wait patiently no longer. She headed back to the River Rider Inn on the north side of the markets. It was time to rouse the sleeping giants but, in the end, when she arrived, they were both up, washed, fed, and were having a little sparring match in front of the Inn, much to the delight of the smattering of youngsters watching them. After declining to join the fun, she watched Phlebus as he hurried back from the library with several scrolls tucked under his arm.
“Couldn’t resist finding more to read?” she teased him with a smile as he came into earshot.
“I’ll just be a minute while I put these away.” He said as he disappeared down the stairs to the hotel below the inn.
It was easy to find Elnoth’s. As their server had pointed out, it really was kitty-corner to the inn where they were staying. A short time later, after knocking on Elnoth’s large solid wooden door, the companions were admitted by a booming voice.
“Enter!”
Once inside they could tell the voice was coming from up the staircase to the right of the large stone building. It was a beautifully kept home. The owner had good taste in his furnishings and even had a piano in one of the rooms.
“Please, come in. I’m sorry I’m not at the door to greet you. May I announce you?”
Phlebus shouted up the stairs, “Elnoth the Viking Elf has invited us here, to his home so we may speak with Matt, his butler. My name is Phlebus of Midgard and I speak for my party.”
“Ah yes, I’ve been expecting you all morning.”
“Interesting means of communication from a butler.” Torgin whispered to Lucy.
Zyrina shushed the twins. Torgin grinned back.
“I am Matt. Please come up the stairs and straight ahead. I’m presently in the kitchen.”
It was odd behavior for a butler, but Phlebus shrugged his shoulders and started climbing the stairs with the companions trailing him. In the kitchen they found Matt, who seemed to be frazzled and short of patience.
“My apologies for the rude greetings to you all, I am afraid I could not in all good consciousness leave the kitchen to the darting eyes and quick hands of Ivan here.” He nodded over at the hunched figure sitting at the long kitchen table. “I’m sorry that I won’t be able to take the time to explain what I told Elnoth, sirs and madams, but I found old Ivan wandering in the markets earlier and he is the one about who I was telling Sir Elnoth.” He seemed quite relieved that the group had arrived and offered them stew and ale. “Ivan told me the story in the first place, so I’ll leave you to his storytelling.”
“Sure, that sounds lovely,” Lucy nodded to Matt.
“Didn’t you just finish breakfast?” Zyrina whispered to Torgin, who nodded and licked his lips hungrily.
“Can’t you smell that stew?” Torgin countered.
“It’s Ivan’s Gran who remembers seeing the things. Most of the rest of us don’t remember that long ago but Ivan is willing to tell you the story for a pint of ale and a warm meal. I have served him his meal and ale here in the kitchen and here is stew and ale for you all to enjoy. I must get back to my duties and can speak no more with you on this topic. Please don’t leave Ivan alone in the house. Master Elnoth would be horrified.”
Shaking Ivan’s shoulder a little to rouse him from the little nap he was apparently taking, Matt shouted, “Ivan, here are the group who wish to hear your old tale.” And with that flourish, Elnoth’s butler Matt made his way into other parts of the house to whatever important duties called him.
The companions turned to Ivan who was slouched over the table with an empty mug in front of him staring curiously back at them. Ivan nodded his greetings to them as they each introduced themselves one by one and shook his hand. Ivan then picked up his ale and took a last swig of the dregs before beginning to speak in a creaky voice.
“Good Day to ya folks, I gots to get up ta the Jade Farm windmill ta fix a cog before it spews. I bin awaitin on you’s all morning an’ ain’t got time to wait any mores.” His speech was slurred but understandable. “Meet me up top o’ the mountain west of here when you’re finished your meals. Find me at the Windmill near the Jade Farm airship.”
And poof. The bent, wrinkled, and slightly gray tinged caretaker who the butler had introduced as Ivan and who seemed to be unable to even sit up straight just simply disappeared.
“Where’s the windmill?” Zyrina wanted to know.
“Didn’t he say up by the airship? That’s to the west of here up the mountain a bit.” Phlebus was studying one of the diagrams that he pulled out of his bag.
“Did you get that from the librarian this morning?” Zyrina asked him.
“Yes. There were a few scrolls that she let me take out for the day.”
The kitchen smelled like Ivan had been drinking with Matt for quite a long stretch of time and the stench of his person lingered, too. He was spry and quick, that’s for sure. None of them expected it. Lucy smiled. She liked the unexpected.
“Eat up we have a hike after our lunch.”
Torgin was already half through his stew and eyeing up Phlebus’s bowl.
“Back off, that’s MINE.” Phlebus snatched it away from Torgin’s reach.
“Oh, so you did notice the food.” Torgin’s hearty laugh rang out alongside his sister’s. “See he’s not a zombie,” he nodded to Zyrina who picked up her own bowl and bared her teeth to Torgin.
“There’s more on the stove, you fool.” Lucy said between spoonfuls from her own bowl. “Even good stew is no reason to steal from others.”
“Do you think he really knows something useful?” Torgin asked thoughtfully as he refilled his bowl and then gobbled that one too, in record time.
Phlebus nodded. “Yeah, I think he does.”
“I don’t know why everyone is so reluctant to talk about it. I tried to learn something in the market this morning. Tightlipped citizens here in this valley.” Zyrina added, “I learned nothing.”
“Let’s find the windmill.” Lucy decided, having finished her second bowl of stew and wiped all the dregs up with her last bit of bread.
“Thank you, Matt” Torgin politely bellowed, “We’ll let ourselves out.”
Echoes From the Caverns
The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 3 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns.
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Greetings Fellow Avatars!
The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 96 (R96), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, players can now explore a new social hub scene called Castle Atos! This scene will be the focal point for providing many social in-game events, content, and rewards in the future, and already we’ve populated this new scene with...
Play Release 96 Now! Castle Atos! The Ancient Undead! Dread Artifact Update! -
Greetings Fellow Avatars!
The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 96 (R96), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, players can now explore a new social hub scene called Castle Atos! This scene will be the focal point for providing many social in-game events, content, and rewards in the future, and already we’ve populated this new scene with many activities and items to keep players entertained. The reward blessing present there even scales in power with the number of players in scene!
The Ancient Undead attack! This ancient race of creatures are appearing throughout New Britannia. Will you be able to defeat them?
Dread Artifacts can now be patterned, and evictions will move move evicted items to the Property Manager window instead of a player’s bank. SO many changes, so what are you waiting for? Get in there and play Shroud of the Avatar!
For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
News Announcements
- Release 96 Patch Notes!
- Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!
- Crown Store: Statues, Xenossian Helmets, Wax Cylinders & More!
- December Login Reward: Snow Goggles!
- Release 96 Subscriber Login Rewards: Wood-Burning Stove, Snowy Pine Trees, Labrys Axe!
- Bug Brigade & Testing Directives
- Streamer Rewards Program
- Upcoming Release Dates
Community Updates
- Community Events & Resources
- Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer
- Project to Support: Shard RPG
- Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla
- Project to Support: Avatar Express
- Resources: Players Helping Players
Release 96 Patch Notes!Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 96 (R96). This release is a short release due to the holiday season, but we still managed to provide a considerable amount of new items and changes to keep everyone entertained. Additional content, improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R97 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 96! Happy holidays!
World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes:
- A new danger has arisen in some remote locations. A previously-unknown ancient undead humanoid, from before any recorded history, has emerged to threaten all of humanity. Ancient Undead now have chances to appear in Despair, Opalis Ruins, Mysterious Swamp, Forest Road Encounter, Plains Encounter, Plains Road Encounter, and Swamp Road Encounter. These new arrivals to New Britannia will soon provide unique loot items in R97, but these horrific and powerful beings are currently in-game now. Go test your mettle!
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Castle Atos is a new social hub scene and is now available to players. Head on over and explore this new town, and hang out with your friends! With launch of this scene, we worked hard to populate it with as many new items as we could in the short release cycle, but more are coming! Castle Atos will appear on the overworld map (along the road between Soltown and Solace Bridge Outskirts) in the first patch after release. Look for new additions in upcoming months!
- Here are some of the features available at Castle Atos now:
- Unique Blessing: Adds a health, focus, and melee critical hit damage reduction bonus to your character, and the power level of the buff is directly proportional to the player count in the scene. Get your friends over there and get a stronger buff!
- Special vendor items! Initially only new Wax Cylinders have been added to the innkeeper, but each merchant features a unique merchant item table for future additions, so be on the lookout! Here are the Wax Cylinders available at Castle Atos:
- Sunrise in Jaanaford
- The Streets of Aerie
- The Harbors of New Britannia
- Love Returns to Ardoris
- Along the Fallion River I
- Along the Fallion River II
- Within the Mists of Brookside
- The Solace River
- Castle Atos
- Lament of the Titans
- The Markets of New Britannia
- New Quests!
- Theater stage for in-game plays and concerts!
- Feast hall for parties!
- Giant aquarium with swimming dolphins!
- Public Cache Chest!
- Storehouse Containers!
- These are some of the features that will be added to Castle Atos in the near future:
- Unique fishing loot!
- More unique vendor items & crafting recipes!
- Unique storehouse container turn-in items!
- Here are some of the features available at Castle Atos now:
- New music has been added to a variety of scenes.
- A new Wax Cylinder is available from the innkeeper at Fire Lotus Tavern in Owl’s Head.
- A new streamer bundle has been created. Keep an eye out for news about how to obtain this bundle to provide to your viewers!
- Halls of Artifice: Added safety teleporters for avatars who get caught in the void between teleporters.
- Jotungrund: Added POT-specific music to the entry camp and barbarian camp in the crevasse.
- Kobold Expeditionary Camp: In the “Save Sir Patrick” scenario, moved incidental kobolds away from the wave battle fighting ring.
- Lord British’s Castle: Added props to secret room. Do you know where the secret room is?
- Mysterious Swamp: Added a chance for an ancient undead enemy to appear in the lich areas.
- Necropolis Barrens: Moved a love letter to the ground that was unreachable due to being in a tree.
- Necropolis Barrens: Removed a love letter within Envy Angel’s house onto the nearby floor.
- North Drachvald Spur: Fixed an issue where a climbable rope on the “jumping puzzle” tower wasn’t functioning.
- Northwood: Added responses for “help” and “health” to Daemyn the guard.
- Northwood: The “bye” button for Saha Rohandas now works properly.
- Opalis Ruins: Added random chance for ancient undead to appear in the “lich boss” fight.
- Random Encounters: Added possibility of ancient undead appearing in undead scenarios for Forest Road, Plains, Plains Road, and Swamp Road Encounters.
- Resolute: Added hints that the avatar needs to talk to the gate guard to get the gate opened by way of signs next to the gate and a “fail” message on the gate switch. Also, once the guard opens the gate for the avatar at least once, the avatar can use the outer switch on their own, at will.
- Seasonal Monsters: Pumpkin Head has gone dormant again while Krampus has awakened.
- Shaminian Hills: Expanded the timespan which the time-locked sarcophagus lid can be opened, from 15.00-16.00 (2.5 minutes) to 13.25 to 17.25 (8.125 minutes).
- Soltown Catacombs: The skull orator is more emotive while standing in his location. Also, he’ll do his best to ensure his nearby lantern stays lit.
- Soltown: Abigail will now have a compass marker for avatar’s who saved Charlotte. Also, after helping Stanley and saying “help,” he’ll sometimes point those same avatars to Abigail to ask her about Charlotte.
- South Drachvald Spur: Moved an ankh to ensure it was above ground.
- South Quel Woods: Changed tier from 3 to 3+. Changed logging office area to a mansion. Changed logging camp to an infested, abandoned farm. Lighting all 4 prop scarecrows in the farm’s fields within 30 seconds will initiate a short wave battle that ends with the Scarecrow seasonal monster. Added some higher tier enemies in farm area. Added some mandrake and higher tier iron ore in farm area.
- South Quel Woods: In the Scarecrow fight, there can be up to 3 fire elementals during the “spider waves,” and there are now a few seconds between each wave. Also, added some hay piles into the farm field.
- The Outlaws’ Run: Added an additional safety method to clear the “Mention Miloslava to Milosh” task.
- The Outlaws’ Run: When telling Miloslava about Milosh, she now clearly asks if you’ve talked to her about the colored stones.
- Ulfheim: All tiered resource nodes within the barbarian community have been changed from tier 5 to tier 8.
- Ulfheim: Removed orphaned ore nodes to stop build errors.
- Understorm Gold Mine: Fixed a typo in the “Search for Evidence in Understorm Mine” journal entry.
- Valhold: To gain access to Valhold Palace to talk to Grannus, players must have the amulet AND finished the “save Sir Patrick” quest.
- Jotungrund: Updated the signal tower compass markers to help them appear when you have the signal tower quest.
- Several mount visuals have been improved/fixed.
- Greenhouse store entries now include information in the description explaining they only function as decorations if placed as a POT decoration.
- The Yew Tree decoration is now called Epic Yew Tree, and it has received the same price reduction as the other epic trees received last release.
Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes:
- Dread Artifact Update:
- The Bonesteel Crown, Heart of Sorrows, and the Scepter of Dread can now be placed as decorations, but remain no-trade items.
- The three cabalists of the related anti-virtues (Dolus, Temna, and Nefario) now each drop a no-trade Obsidian Forge recipe (all 3 recipes become available as drops in the first patch after release) for creating no-trade patterns for the related dread artifact, but these recipes only drop if the looter has completed the related storyline to obtain the particular artifact. Once the no-trade pattern is applied to an item, that player can either utilize the item themselves with the Dread Artifact visuals, or they can trade/sell such items to other players at will. The final patterned items are fully tradeable.
- The Phoenix now drops a 1-3 Delicate Feathers of the Phoenix, one of which is required as a quill in these recipes, but this delicate feather can only be utilized one time before it dissipates into dust. These feathers will be utilized in future recipes as well, so keep on the lookout for new crafting opportunities on the horizon!
- The pattern for the Heart of Sorrows is our first VFX pattern introduces a new concept for the neck slot. Soon, more neck slot patterns will be added to the store and via in-game loot drops to allow for further character customization, such as glowing eyes!
- Each Dread Artifact now features a small amount of Adventure Level scaling in their stat bonuses.
- The Gem Studded Roll of Leather, Gold Studded Roll of Leather, Silver Studded Roll of Leather, Bronze Studded Strip of Leather, Copper Studded Strip of Leather, and Iron Studded Strip of Leather have been reduced in power significantly.
- Brave spelunkers will now be able to decorate their Player-Made Dungeon spider rooms! In addition, a pristine version of the room is now available which does not feature the webs and rubble. “With spawns” versions of these rooms are also available and drop from the spiders within Hilt Fortress!
- The Ornate Triple Connection Stone Dungeon Foyer now features additional decoration surfaces to include the ceiling.
- Basement Hatches can now be placed on other decorations that accept child objects such as walls and blocks, accept other decorations on top of them, and they can also be placed on all ground/floor type surfaces on a property which accept decoration items.
- The Teleporter to Compendium of Pain and Suffering decoration item can now be placed on other decorations which accept child decorations such as walls and blocks.
- The Tropical Flower Hairpieces (dyeable and non-dyeable versions) can now both be salvaged for eternal patterns which can be applied to head slot items.
- An issue has been fixed which prevented salvage of the Ornate Circlet. The Ornate Circlet’s pattern now indicates that it is an Eternal Pattern instead of a regular Pattern.
- Interactive items placed around the book player-made dungeon entrance should now function correctly.
- The new lava pools no longer conflict with fishing water type conversion statues.
- Removed a floating black square from various Player-Made Dungeon rooms.
- Dungeon Entrance Tapestry and Dungeon Entrance rug have been renamed to Tapestry of the Ruins of Ravensmoor and Rug of the Ruins of Ravensmoor so players to not mistake these items with Player-Made Dungeon entrance abilities.
- The holiday Menorahs have been updated to function this year.
- 2 new community cloaks have been added for Extra Life charity events.
- The “Bass (Deco)” now properly rotates on an additional axis.
Combat & Skill Changes:
- Gear scaling tech has been created and applied to two PvP scenes: Obsidian Trials and Ardoris Arena. These two locations feature gear scaling of 0.
- A new system which allows tuning of PVP vs PVE damage has been implemented. Currently, this new tech has been applied to ranged Auto-Attack, Aimed Shot, and Blinding Shot. Damage to all 3 of these sources has been reduced by 10% vs. PvP targets.
- Summoned pet spells from the magic schools now level more quickly.
- Additional logging has been created for PvP-related combat as we prepare for upcoming PvP balance work.
- PVP flagging bonus experience has been increased from 10 to 25%
- Player dungeons and basements will no longer grant XP bonuses for PVP players.
- Lightning Storm now features SFX, a unique skill icon, and VFX improvements.
- Lightning storm has been restored to the original, faster cast time.
- Stun durations present on Lightning Storm are now increase with skill level instead of decrease.
- Cone of Cold has received improved visuals.
- Dig In features no longer causes flickering in the buff bar.
- The globe from the Light spell now hovers properly over your character after dismounting.
Player Economy, Rewards, & Loot Changes:
- Many new Wax Cylinders are dropping as rare loot in adventure scenes throughout New Britannia. Will you find them all?
- Dolus Approaches I
- Dolus Approaches II
- The Laboring Fauns
- Avara’s Curse
- The Dragon Clan
- The Ice Plains of Jotungrund
- The Bear Clan
- Into the Epitaph
- Tartarus
- The Hallowed Plains
- Rhun Ruins
- Dysborg Ruins
- The Faun’s Sorrow
- The Solania Catacombs
- Desolis I
- Desolis II
- Frozen Tears of a Lost Tribe
- Kas Ruins
- Norgard Fens
- Longfall Road
- Libris Ruins
- Desolate Hills
- The Boar Clan
- Spectral Peaks
- Ulfheim
- Halls of Despair
- The Sands of Grunvald
- Solania
- Yew
- The scarecrow boss now occasionally drops pieces of canvas fabric instead of the recipe for canvas fabric.
User Interface, Lua, & Performance Changes:
- Non-destructive evictions! When a player’s property is evicted by governors, stewards, tax defaults, or even lot activity expirations, the property will now be placed in the owner’s Property Manager (Magic Movers) window.
- The Player-Made Dungeon interface for selecting dungeon pieces in decoration mode has been improved.
- Fixed a bug that caused the inventory list to flicker when it contained a teleporter item that pointed to a scene that no longer existed.
- Added 5 new Lua functions:
- ShroudCurrentDeck()
- ShroudDeckList()
- ShroudGetDeckCardList([deckName])
- ShroudEmoteList()
- ShroudPlayEmote(emoteName)
- Conversationalist scripts will now properly return integer values.
- Compass markers now display by priority. Quest markers are in front, destination markers are in the middle, and all other markers appear in the back.
- Guild member names now sort properly in the guild window.
- The Companion Level stat on gear now properly applies to summoned pets.
- MANY more functions have been added to your Lua toolbox! Go check out the updated API document!
- There are also script examples in the Lua section of the forum!
Player-Owned Town Changes:
- Dragon Hold: Added new holdfast in Novia along the mountains northwest of Soltown.
- Fidra: Added new Holdfast to Hidden Vale near Port Titan.
- Litwarf Hird: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur near the center of the middle island.
- M’hul Island: Upgraded to Village.
Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!
The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, November 19th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a community 1-hour livestream!
To enter the prize drawings, type “pumpkin spice and everything nice” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store.
Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT!
Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!!
Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at all our social media venues:- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/
- Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames
- Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar
- Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ
Crown Store: Statues, Xenossian Helmets, Wax Cylinders & More!
Many new store items are coming your way in the month ahead! Keep an eye out each week as the following items become available in the in-game Crown Store. Available today on November 18th, a Large Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station! This station features expert cooking station bonuses and features gorgeous visuals for any kitchen decoration theme. For decorators wishing to show their holiday spirit, the 2021 Menorah, Gift Boxes, and Stockings are here!
Players wishing to decorate their towns and properties with statues — MANY new statue varieties are now available on the Crown Store to include various pedestals upon which other decorations can be placed:
- Large Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station
- Menorah 2021
- Yule Gift Box 2021 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2021 3-Pack
- Angel Woman Statue
- Communing Woman Statue
- Cubic Stone Pedestal 3-Pack
- Demon Statue
- Fine Horse Statue
- Gargoyle Statue
- Gryphon Statue
- Guardian Angel Statue
- Guardian Statue
- Lion Statue
- Monk Statue
- Nun Statue
- Pegasus Statue
- Robed Guard Statue
- Winged Demon Statue
- Winged Gargoyle Statue
- Winged Lion Statue
- Giant Angel Woman Statue
- Giant Communing Woman Statue
- Giant Demon Statue
- Giant Fine Horse Statue
- Giant Gargoyle Statue
- Giant Gryphon Statue
- Giant Guardian Angel Statue
- Giant Guardian Statue
- Giant Lion Statue
- Giant Monk Statue
- Giant Nun Statue
- Giant Pegasus Statue
- Giant Robed Guard Statue
- Giant Winged Demon Statue
- Giant Winged Gargoyle Statue
- Giant Winged Lion Statue
- Tabletop Angel Woman Statue
- Tabletop Communing Woman Statue
- Tabletop Demon Statue
- Tabletop Fine Horse Statue
- Tabletop Gargoyle Statue
- Tabletop Gryphon Statue
- Tabletop Guardian Angel Statue
- Tabletop Guardian Statue
- Tabletop Lion Statue
- Tabletop Monk Statue
- Tabletop Nun Statue
- Tabletop Pegasus Statue
- Tabletop Robed Guard Statue
- Tabletop Winged Demon Statue
- Tabletop Winged Gargoyle Statue
- Tabletop Winged Lion Statue
- Low Rectangular Stone Pedestal
- Low Rectangular Stone Pedestal with Scrollwork
- Low Round Stone Pedestal 3-Pack
- Low Square Stone Pedestal 3-Pack
- Stone Marker 3-Pack
Becoming available on November 26th, two new Ancient Xenossian Helmets! Both the side-plumed and the tall-plumed versions feature dual dye layers so players can customize them with the wide variety of dyes available.
Also becoming available is a new Wooden Dunk Tank! Every festival needs a dunk tank, just as every person sometimes needs a good dunking. The dunk tank requires a player, an operator, and a willing “victim.” While the victim stands on the trap doors above the water, the operator presses the secret button on the back wall of the tank. Each press changes which switch will trigger the trap doors. When all is ready, the player throws one of the four switches and finds out if they’re luckier than the victim! For those wishing to see a working example of the dunk tank, there’s one in the village of Castle Atos.
- Ancient Xenossian Side-Plumed Plate Helm
- Ancient Xenossian Tall-Plumed Plate Helm
- Wooden Dunk Tank
Becoming available on December 3rd, more Wax Cylinders for your listening pleasure! Play these sensational songs right from a Phonograph device or even place into your Player-Owned Town’s soundtrack!
- Wax Cylinder – An Ambush Awaits
- Wax Cylinder – Flight of the Raven
- Wax Cylinder – Harvest Day
- Wax Cylinder – Hiding in the Shadows
- Wax Cylinder – Homecoming
- Wax Cylinder – Mindless Wandering
- Wax Cylinder – Mystic Echoes
- Wax Cylinder – Sleep Beckons
- Wax Cylinder – The Hero Returns
- Wax Cylinder – The Messenger
- Wax Cylinder – The Playful Unicorn
- Wax Cylinder – The Stalking Cutpurse
- Wax Cylinder – Victory March
Becoming available on December 10th, an Epic Snowy White Pine Tree! The largest of this snowy line of trees, you’ll need a very large property lot or a Player-Owned Town to place this magnificent decoration:
- Epic Snowy White Pine Tree
Also, the Winter Seasonal and Fall Seasonal items are still available! Here’s a listing of all of these seasonal items. Some will feature only for 1 week in the Vault, but others will remain in the store throughout the holiday season, so don’t miss out! Winter items will be available until February 8th, and Fall items will be available until December 12th:
- 2016 Winter Holiday Soundtrack
- Banded Turkey Decoration Pet
- Blank Yule Card 2017 5-Pack
- Blank Yule Card 2018 5-Pack
- Blank Yule Card 2020 A 5-Pack
- Blank Yule Card 2020 B 5-Pack
- Breathe Blue Fire Emote
- Breathe Emote 6-Pack
- Breathe Snow Emote
- Candy Cane Wand
- Ceiling Yule Tree
- Dark Yule Outfit
- Fall Wreath 2017
- Fall Wreath 2019
- Fountain of Frozen Waters
- Frost Pipe
- Frozen Bagpipes
- Giant Haunted Yule Tree
- Giant Yule Tree 2015
- Giant Yule Tree 2016
- Giant Yule Tree 2017
- Giant Yule Tree 2018
- Haunted Sleigh
- Haunted Snow Family
- Haunted Snowman Mask
- Haunted Yule Tree
- Holly Wreath with Candles Hat
- Holly Wreath with Sparklers Hat
- Ice Elemental Statue
- Ice Hot Tub
- Ice Nightmare Mask
- Ice Wings
- Icy Ancient Stone Cathedral
- Icy Ancient Stone Room Fishing Grotto
- Juggle Snowballs Emote
- Krampus Mask
- Krampus Statue
- Kwanzaa Table Decorations
- Large Haunted Yule Tree
- Large Yule Tree 2016
- Large Yule Tree 2017
- Large Yule Tree 2018
- Menorah 2014
- Menorah 2015
- Menorah 2016
- Menorah 2017
- Menorah 2018
- Menorah 2020
- Menorah 2021
- Ornate Cornucopia 2014
- Ornate Cornucopia 2015
- Ornate Cornucopia 2016
- Ornate Cornucopia 2017
- Ornate Mantle Garland 2017 12-Pack
- Ornate Mantle Garland 2018 12-Pack
- Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2014
- Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2015
- Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2016
- Ornate Sled
- Ornate Sleigh
- Ornate Snow Family 2015
- Ornate Snow Family 2016
- Ornate Snow Family 2017
- Ornate Snow Family 2018
- Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack
- Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack
- Ornate Yule Music Box
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2015
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2016 3-Pack
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2017 3-Pack
- Ornate Yule Wreath 2018 3-Pack
- Red-Nosed Reindeer Mount
- Reindeer Decoration Pet
- Small Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack
- Small Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack
- Snow Emote
- Snow Globe 2020
- Snowdragon
- Snowflake Pattern Cloak
- Snowman Mask 2015
- Snowman Mask with Hat & Moustache 2018
- Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2016
- Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2017
- Speckled Turkey Decoration Pet
- Tabletop Elf Statue with Yule Hat
- Tabletop Haunted Yule Tree
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2014
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2015
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2016
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2017
- Tabletop Yule Tree 2018
- Traditional Yule Hat
- Turkey Decoration Pet
- Turkey Statue
- Virtue Ice Crown
- Virtue Ice Gown Outfit
- Virtue Ice Shield
- Virtue Ice Sword
- Virtue Ice Wand
- Virtue Icicle Cloak
- White Raven Decoration Pet
- White Reindeer Decoration Pet
- White Rottweiler Decoration Pet
- White Squirrel Decoration Pet
- White Turkey Decoration Pet
- Winter Lynx Decoration Pet
- Winter Pattern Glass Chandelier 3-Pack
- Winter Pattern Glass Floor Lamp 3-Pack
- Winter Pattern Glass Table Lamp 3-Pack
- Yule Elf Outfit
- Yule Gift Box 2016 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2017 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2018 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2020 3-Pack
- Yule Gift Box 2021 3-Pack
- Yule Hat
- Yule Stockings 2016 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2017 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2018 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2020 3-Pack
- Yule Stockings 2021 3-Pack
- Yule Tree 2014
- Yule Tree 2015
- Yule Tree 2016
- Yule Tree 2017
- Yule Tree 2018
- Yule Velvet Bodice Ensemble
Don’t forget! Hometown is an amazing resource for players. At Hometown, which is located just east of Soltown, players can examine available houses, Player-Owned Town templates, and even new Crown Store items. Why not be certain you like it before you make a purchase? So head on over to Hometown and check things out! If you have questions about what’s on display in Hometown, please visit this forum thread and post a question.To see a full listing of all the items which rotate through the Vault, we have prepared a forum post showing all items which could appear throughout the year!
December Login Reward: Snow Goggles!
Log in during the month of December, and you’ll receive Snow Goggles! This head slot item can be salvaged for an eternal pattern so players can apply this visual to any head slot item which accepts patterns.
Release 96 Subscriber Login Rewards: Wood-Burning Stove, Snowy Pine Trees, & Labrys Axe!
Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 96 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection adds another item to the Ancient Xenossian set and more! The Ancient Xenossian Two-Handed Labrys Axe has a dye layer on the handle, the Small Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station features the bonuses of an expert cooking station, and the Snowy White Pine 6-Pack is a wondrous way to make your towns and homes look more winter themed! Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 96 to receive these special login items:
- Ancient Xenossian Two-handed Labrys Axe
- Small Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station
- Snowy White Pine Tree 6-Pack
The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:-
900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
- Monthly Login Reward Items (about 3 per month)
- Exclusive Title every 3 months
- 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
- 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
- 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
- 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
- 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
- 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
- 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond
- 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise
- 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant
- Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
- Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month:
- Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
- Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
- Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
- Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
- Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
- Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills
- Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting
- While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses:
- Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful!
- 24 Additional Deck Slots!
Bug Brigade & Testing Directives!
The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched.
The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to cleanup the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums.
Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels!
In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action!
The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives.
Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team!
Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows:
- Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter”
- Single Ant Cloak
- Lady Bug Backpack
- Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids”
- Ant Farm
- Insect Leg Table
- Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles”
- Bug Painting B
- Bug Sprayer
- Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths”
- Butterfly Chair
- Corpion Chair (Pictured Below)
- Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies”
- Hacked Oracle Flyer
- Giant Blue Butterfly Pet
- Butterfly Mask
- Dragonfly pet
- Fairy Wings
- Monarch Butterfly Pet
- Dragonfly Wings
- Hacked Oracle Crawler
- Blue Butterfly VFX
- Orange Fireflies VFX
- Orange Butterfly VFX
If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums.
Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program!
Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I!
Phase I:
Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply.- Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar.
- Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual.
Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come).
Rules:
- To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application.
- To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program.
- Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program.
Items of Note:
- SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord.
- Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material.
Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them!
Upcoming Release Dates
Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2021 Release Schedule is as follows:
- Release 96 – Nov 18 (Polish)
- Release 97 – Dec 16 (Content)
- Release 98 – Jan 27 (Polish)
- Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content)
- Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish)
- Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content)
Community Updates & Resources
Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums:
Catnip Games Contests:
- Catnip Games Monthly Fishing Tourney: Greetings Anglers! The monthly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney is live! Join in on the fun! SO many prizes available for the anglers of New Britannia!
- Catnip Games Monthly Screenshot/Video Contest: Avatars! For those of you skilled with the camera or screenshot key binding, a monthly screenshot and video contest is underway which features a large number of valuable prizes. The focus will be for players to submit creative or informative screenshots and videos of content introduced to the game during the latest 3 monthly releases.
- Catnip Games Monthly Treasure Hunting Contest: Want to go hunting for rare items? Want to see if you can beat other players in this quest for treasure? Well join in on the monthly treasure hunting contest, Avatars!
Special Announcements:
- Player Meet-Up in NYC: Ravalox will be traveling to the east coast and is inviting players and friends to join him at Dave & Busters in NYC on Saturday, November 20th at 4PM ET. If you’re able to attend, get over there and meet some of the SotA community!
- Goodbye Norah East: “I am sorry to inform that Norah East passed away from her battle with cancer. Best archer, best crafter, best friend. We will miss you Norah…”
- A Final Farewell to a Beloved Player: Posted by Trezir Pyle, “It is always sad to hear about people passing. Its even harder when that person is a valued member of our community, as well as a good friend to each one of us. For the past month, Twistar has been fighting Covid. On Saturday, Oct. 2nd his fight ended. May he finally be at peace and rejoined with family and friends who have passed before him. On Monday Alphaine, Death Herself created a memorial service to honor Twistar. The service was perfect. For those who could not make it, here is the memorial video created by Alphaine.”
One-Time Events:
- Mysteria Fishing Contest: Join us for some magic in Mysteria with a spin off contest for this month’s Catnip Fishing Tournament. Our contest begins on Thursday, November 18th at Midnight CT.
Recurring Events:
- Dragon Hold Fishing Invitational: Located above the Whiteguard Foothills, Dragon Hold hosts a monthly fishing contest with prizes allocated per trophy type as well as largest overall fish. Rules and prize details can be found on the notices at the fishing shop easily reached by teleporter. Happy fishing and good luck to all!
- Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Feast items such as Brewing Ingredients, Turkeys, and more! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R95’s contest period lasts until November 23rd!
- Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs.
- M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available!
- Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out!
- Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting!
- 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules.
- RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun!
- PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there!
- Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT!
New Player-Created Resources:
- Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed!
- 24 Hour CotO Store Sale Thread: Wanna be able to see what’s on sale while not in-game? Tirrag has been taking the time to post a screenshot of the daily sale items to help players find elusive sale items. Check it out!
- Artifact Survey Tool by Tirrag: Please head on over to this forum thread and check out Tirrag’s new Artifact Survey Tool! What better way to get involved than by contributing to the data which helps players find their most sought after treasures?
New Fan Fiction:
- Latest Podcasts from TheCaverns: Asclepius and friends have posted another batch of new podcasts in the Echoes from the Caverns section of TheCaverns.net! Check out the latest!
Community Calendars:
- Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in!
- NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you!
- SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better!
Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun!
- One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these!
- Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones.
- Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread.
- Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures.
- Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum.
- Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum.
- Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out!
- Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out!
- Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play.
- Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community.
SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars!
Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer
Immersive theatre. 3D binaural sound. Real ghostbusting. Get your tickets now!
We are excited to share, Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s (Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency) latest project: Secret Cinema’s “Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer.” Travel back to the ‘80s and experience never-before-seen storylines based on the original film in this live virtual adventure. Get ready for the jaw-dropping detail of any Secret Cinema event, brought to you online and to a whole other level! Team up with the Ghostbusters to investigate paranormal activity, explore the infamous 550 Central Park West and uncover spine-chilling secrets from other dimensions. The world needs saving and you’re the one for the job!
Project to Support: Shard RPG
Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad.
- Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals.
- Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character!
- Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah!
So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG!
Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla
Shadow of Valhalla is a visceral physics-based VR combat game with dynamic RPG elements, set within an ancient realm of Viking lore and mystic powers! Early Access beta includes “endless horde mode” featuring a variety of enemies with progressive difficulty. Also, players can discover many magic spells to unlock! So much more is coming!
Finn Staber with Chicken Waffle, will join the Shroud of the Avatar team on Twitch during their Friday the 28th livestream to showoff this new Early Access game! Also, here is a teaser video on YouTube:
The development team is working hard to create additional environments and new quests! Shadow of Valhalla is available on Steam as Early Access. Additional features coming to the game:- More Enemies!
- More Environments!
- More Magic Spells!
- RPG Quests!
- Weapon Forging and Crafting!
- Much, much more!
If you would like to learn more about Shadow of Valhalla, be sure to stop by the main webpage for the game as more news becomes available!
Project to Support: Avatar Express
[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]
I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.
If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.
You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.
Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game.
It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts!
So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us!
Resources: Players Helping Players
The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.
Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.
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Greetings Fellow Avatars!
The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 95 (R95), players will experience a very LARGE variety of changes to the game. Pet equipment has arrived! The first 6 gear items and 6 subcomponents are now available to create at your crafting stations! A new decoration concept called “platforms” allows players to place decorations on uneven terrain! Lava Pools...
Play Release 95 Now! Pet Equipment! Platform & Trap Decorations! Scarecrows Attack & More!
Soltown: Updated some text and logic used in Jeanne’s responses to improve how players give her the silver necklace.
ir appearance in Novia: Jaguars, Black Panther, and Snow Tigers
SOTA NewsPlay Release 100 Now!
in Portalarium News Feed
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Greetings Fellow Avatars!
Welcome to Release 100! The Catnip Games development team marks this 100th monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 100 (R100), a new adventure scene has been added to the game: Grusk!
For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.
News Announcements
Community Updates
New Adventure Scene: Grusk!
The modern kobold metropolis of Grusk has opened its gates to humans! Nestled by the Eye of the Artificer in Mistrendur’s Rostfelt region, on the shore of the beautiful Reykturfloi, this Tier 10 town has sights for the discriminating tourist with Episode 2 access.
Get to know another culture! The residents of Grusk are happy to discuss their views on history and their daily lives with an appreciative audience. Enjoy the sea breezes as you sit and chat at the fabled Grusk Lighthouse.
Visit fine dining establishments, both at the scenic docks and in the bustling upper town. Don’t worry about distances when planning your outings: Grusk is at the vanguard of modern public transportation and the town is well-serviced by several free trolley routes. The townsfolk power them with quite an assortment of windmills, taking advantage of the winds off the bay, and geothermal energy from the nearby springs.
Grusk is not just a tourist spot, though: this is a busy port town with extensive warehouses, businesses that support their fine tradition of technological crafting, and a diligent guard force. Some even say that the Governor is in line to become the next Grand Artificer of the kobolds! Under the monumental moon towers, automatons make their way through the city, working constantly to keep it clean. Pick up a unique autonomous companion of your own to bring home.
Ouside the city proper, walk along extensive beaches! Enjoy fishing under the swaying palms, fly a kite, you might even find a pearl! …or head up into the hills for a challenging hike: enjoy the heat of mineral springs and thrill to the sight of their geysers, with plenty of wildlife to view along the path to them!
New Fetid Fish!
Araipama, Barramundi, Spotted Catfish, Longnose Gar, and Tigerfish have been discovered in the fetid waters of New Britannia! We’re not sure where they’ve been hiding, but this Spring seems to have drawn them out. The recipe-writers of New Britannia have already created trophy recipes for each, with food recipes to come soon.
Quest Resets For Everyone!
Oh no, a kobold hacker has reset everyone’s quest flags!
…Well, reset their quest RESET flags. If you’ve already used your once-per-character quest reset, you’ll find another is available to you now! Read more about what this entails specifically and how to accomplish it in the Player Guide.
Release 100 Patch Notes
Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 100 (R100) in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! Despite the new scene, R100 is a polish, improvements, and bug fixes month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R101 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 100!
Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes:
Combat & Skill Changes:
User Interface, Store Information, & Lua Changes:
In R100, to help players identify and get to the special events and contest when they are occuring, the Teleport to Zone scroll window shows color-highlighted scenes. These listings will be color-highlighted for a few hours, days, weeks, or longer, depending on the duration of the activity.
Note that if your avatar has not yet visited one of these highlighted scenes and the scene is technically still “locked” for your zone scroll, you might take this as an opportunity to visit the scene while the activity is taking place.
World and Quest Changes:
Player-Owned Town Changes:
Player Dungeon Changes:
Latest News and Q&A Friday Livestream!
The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, April 1st at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a 1-hour community livestream!
To enter the prize drawings, type “April Fools” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store.
Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4PM CT!
Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!!
Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at all our social media venues:
Sales and Bonus Events
To celebrate R100, deed upgrades and store sale items will be 30% off (rather than the usual 20%) as well as Crowns of the Obsidians (at 20% off) and double XP through Noon on April 11th!
Crown Store Updates
New in the crown store for Release 100:
Arriving April 19th:
The Spring Seasonal store items are still available! These rare Spring items will remain on the store until May 3rd:
The Darkstarr store items are still available! These birthday items will remain on the store until May 28th:
April Login Rewards
Log in during the month of April and you’ll receive a SotA Commemorative Painting
and accrued “Centenarian” titles as part of this month’s Centenary theme. Congratulations on surviving so many centuries since the Cataclysm!
There was a Great Cataclysm six hundred and forty one years ago that devastated the planet and caused a great upheaval of not only the land but also of its peoples. The exact cause or possible purpose is still a mystery yet to be solved, but the Outlanders’ presence, along with Lord British, has given great hope to the inhabitants of New Britannia.
To recognize the Outlanders who have come to their lands and have chosen to stay so long, a title for each Britannian century will be bestowed upon those who visit this month.
Release 100 Subscriber Login Rewards
Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 100 are a must-have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection includes a pet Tiger Cub and dyeable Cat Ears! …Those ears won’t confuse your cub at all.
Subscribers to the Reward Program must log in during Release 100 to receive these special login items:
The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:
Bug Brigade & Testing Directives!
The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was relaunched.
The Brigade has been up and running and the volunteers (Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn) are in a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to clean up the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums.
Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels!
In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Much improvement has been noticed by the development team and we’re so very excited to see the program’s continued success!
The development team would also like to thank all of those who take time to participate in QA Testing Directives. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs can be identified and fixed prior to content going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives.
Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing and bug rewards are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows:
If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, sign up and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums.
Streamer Program
Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar can participate in a program to showcase the game and be rewarded for their efforts. Any Streamer who wishes to be included in the Streamer Program can contact Laney via in-game mail with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not: you’re on the list and you don’t need to reapply.
Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar.
Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual.
Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and the LIVESTREAMING title.
Rules:
Monthly Streamer Bundles:
On the 1st of each month, qualifying streamers will be eligible to receive 50 Streamer Bundles. Bundles will be sent out to Streamers via in-game mail.
A few things you need to know:
Other Items of Note:
Upcoming Release Dates
Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2022 Release Schedule is as follows:
Community Events & Resources
Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums.
Catnip Games Contests:
The R100 Fishing Tournament runs from 1-Apr-2022 at 12:00 AM (00:00) CDT to 28-Apr-2022 11:59 PM (23:59) CDT. Note that the R99 Tournament is still running for a few more hours until midnight on Release 100 day; you can still compete for the longest fish in the R99 tournament!
For R100, catch the longest fish in any of these 4 categories:
Prizes in each category include:
The R100 Treasure Hunt runs from 1-Apr-2022 at 12:00 AM (00:00) CDT to 28-Apr-2022 11:59 PM (23:59) CDT. Note that the R99 Hunt is still running for a few more hours until midnight on Release 100 day; you can still compete for the longest fish in the R99 Hunt!
For R100, loot the most of the specific item in 2 categories:
PVP Scene: Kas Ruins – Chaos Plant Pollen
PVE Scenes: The Outlaws’ Run and Deep Ravenswood – Animal Hide
Recurring Events:
Community Calendars:
Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun!
SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars!
Project to Support: Shard RPG
Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad.
So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG!
Project to Support: Embers Adrift!
Help support one of our team members’ other projects, Embers Adrift! While not yet live, they plan to release later this year and you can join the closed beta now by pre-ordering from embersadrift.com. Check out their newly released video here:
Project to Support: Avatar Express
[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]
I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.
If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.
You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.
Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game.
It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts!
So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us!
Resources: Players Helping Players
The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.
Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.
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