***From Serdin Karakth\'s Notes.***

I continue my recounting of the Troubled Times as I experienced them in my youth. Yesterday I left off with the Tale of rescuing Saradi, and tonight I shall write this account of the event that finally precipitated the Troubled Times.

It happened the week following the abduction and rescue of Saradi, and a little after the rescue of Trasok. I was relaxing with Goland in the plaza (if I recall correctly, we had both had a few ales, albeit Goland as always had got himself very drunk) when we here a deep, bellowing voice calling for someone to help finish a \"project.\" Our interest was immediately aroused (at the time I was paying for my own studies of magic by doing odd jobs here and there, and Goland, an aspiring gladiator, was similarly funding his weapons and training) and we rushed over to get the job before anyone else would. Our speed was in vain, for the Smith was looking for a group of travellers to guard, enchant, and deliver an amulet he had just made. He was an out-of-town smith, and to this day I have never seen him again. I suspect he was a travelling smith, and I suppose he was thus more suited to the task of making an Amulet than was Harnquist.

We were told our mission was a simple one: Take the amulet to be enchanted by Levrus, and then deliver it to a Klyros waiting on the Ojaveda road. It had been commissioned by a group of mages, we were told. And so, we set off to enchant the amulet.

At the Magic Shop we gave Levrus the order and the amulet, along with the money to reimburse him. He told us it was just a simple protection spell he was going to cast on the amulet. This put some of our worries to rest, but I was quickly in doubt of this whole expedition again when Levrus said something did no feel quite right with the amulet; that it felt hollow or somesuch. I begged him to research it further but he would not; in the end by pressure from my companions I reluctantly agreed to allow Levrus to proceed with the enchanting.

It went according to plan, and I volunteered to carry the amulet, since the others were wary of any taint it might carry. We had just left the shop when an icy cold wind blew at us, freezing the ground at our feet for a moment. At this point I was seriously uneasy about the whole errand we were running, and I tried to express this to my fellows. They, however, decided that we should continue on and deliver the amulet to the Klyros, deciding what to do then. Against my heart I followed them, and it was not too long before we found the Klyros we were seeking.

He was a weary one - looked as if he hadn\'t slept in days. I remember clearly his rasping voice as he said to me, \"You carry the amulet - I can sense it on you.\" That was enough for me to make me want to turn and run all the way back to Hydlaa, taking the amulet and all with me. But I did not. As I have said before, I was more foolish back then than I am now. I believed that if anything bad were to happen, we might just be able to contain it - Oh how wrong I was. Still, I had one grain of wisdom: I kept the amulet until we were well within sight of the Ojaveda main gate. We were told that bringing the amulet inside the gates could cause chaos, as the Klyros was part of some sort of Rangers of Mages group; from what I understood, freedom fighters against the Prince of Rogues.

Still, I demanded to have the guard present for the presentation of the amulet. The Klyros did go to fetch a guard, reluctantly. When the guard returned something happened - I forget now exactly what but I do remember him wilting in pain and somebody telling me he was drunk. Now, Goland and I had been drinking earlier, and I had stocked up well on certain Ivy leaves which when boiled and drunk purge the alcohol (and indeed anything else like poisons and whatnot) from the blood. I quickly administered these to the guard, but it did not help him at all - I now look back and realise he must have been under some sort of magical influence.

Regardless, I finally handed the amulet over to the Klyros, and it will be an action I curse myself for to my dying day. The Klyros immediately begin to cackle, and an evil darkness dropped around us, blocking out all senses. When it lifted, he was gone. In his stead a misty fog lay over the Ojaveda, its evil presence pressing against our minds. We rushed through the gates, in the hope of catching him, but all was in vain. We spent the entire night stumbling through the Ojaveda, chasing shadows and hunting whispers. But it was all in vain, and by morning we were forced to flee for our lives and warn the citizens of Hydlaa about the plague we had brought upon the land...

And that is the tale of how the Troubled Times began. Soon all the Enkidukai had heard of what took place in the Ojaveda. Some of them laughed, and shrugged their shoulders, saying they would face the evil if it came to Hydlaa. But many others had relatives in the Ojaveda - Relatives then trapped by the evil fog and the monsters that wandered it. The Enkidukai began to amass an army of great force, an army thirsting for vengeance. They gathered in their hundreds, and would soon march to lay siege to a city now coated with evil.

There were some brave and strong enough to defeat the monsters that guarded the city and wade through the fog - Most simply were engulfed by it and never seen again. But some others returned, with wild stories of strange icy winds and manic laughter in the mists. Yes, the Troubled Times had begun...

See if you can decide...I couldn\'t.

Yes, well, I\'m looking for a good MUD to play while I wait for CB. I\'m looking for something which is heavy in politics and has no stats. Something like having nobles  who are running a Kingdom, for example.

And of course, it has to be as expensive as Planeshift

Ok, why not \"close\" the wish list forum for a while (Until CB comes out)? By close I mean not allowing any more new threads to be posted, but present threads can still be discussed. The reason I am suggesting this is because the list of wishes is so long, that there are enough ideas to make three or four new releases. Why don\'t we allow the Devs to concentrate on what is already there, instead of adding more and more wishes?

I realise that this is something very drastic, but the wishlist gets longer and longer every day, often with wishes that will only appear, if they appear, in a fairly advanced release of the game.

Yes. I was bored. So I started this. I\'ll make more later.







Y35. I mean, Yes. Well, enjoy. Pfft.

All images done using standard M$ Paint tools.

For anyone who doesn\'t know about this type of quest, see this.

Statics: Monketh, Draklar, Mogura, Elegrand.

Description: Lady Mogura has reported her necklace stolen, and the city watch have put up notices about this, asking for help in solving this crime and bringing the criminal to justice.

Alright, start solving the crime! PM me the answer, and I will post the names of the first three correct guesses here.

Note: There is unfortunately no prize for solving this quest, the only reward is the fun of RPing and satisfying your curiosity.

Hmm...Just as a precaution, here are the rules:

1) You have to find out information by RPing with the statics in game. If you cannot find the statics in game then you will have to try at another time.

2) Discussion of the quest is allowed but please do not give out any quest information (like the other PS quests).

3) The quest is there for enjoyment, so have fun with it

Back in the days when the Dermorian Elves still inhabited their native land Dermoria, the elves led a peaceful and harmonious life. But then one day, a few weeks after the winter snows had melted, their peaceful life was disturbed by a giant and powerful creature.

It was two young children playing on the plains that first glimpsed it, an enormous dark silhouette against the setting sun. When they told their people of what they had seen, they were laughed at and quickly ushered to bed.

But Srydelle, a young Dermorian maiden who was stunningly beautiful but unfortunately lacked the wisdom that comes with age, decided that she wanted to see the interesting beast for herself. Her life had been quite simple until then: all she ever did was sew, cook and forage. And so Srydelle crept away in the night, taking with her one of her father?s bows.

The next morning Srydelle was not back, and everyone worried and called out ?Srydelle, where are you?? Towards noon everyone had all but given up on finding the pretty young maiden, and they said, ?She was one with the Gift. She must have shifted plane in her sleep.?

But a young yet wise elf the people called Wit remembered the young children?s words. The stubborn people, however, would not accept what Wit suggested. They said to him ?Srydelle was one with the Gift, she could have shifted plane, as is what happens when it is the Gifted ones? time.? But Wit could not accept this.

That very day he took his bow and his sword and journeyed to the plains where the children had first glimpsed the creature, telling the people that he was going hunting. Three full days he camped on the plain, and waited for a sign of the creature. On the fourth day he said ?My heart fails me. Perhaps Srydelle did only shift plane.? But no sooner had the words died on his lips, than he saw a great dark shadow rising in the west.

The shadow was a giant lizard-like creature with wings like that of a bat. It was covered from head to toe in large black scales which were as tough as any metal known in Yliakum. On the beast?s head was a set of horns, as sharp as daggers and many times larger.

The lizard landed before Wit and for the first time in his life Wit knew fear. The lizard looked down upon him and spoke to him, ?You wish to rescue your kin, but she is now mine. You have weapons upon you. You must challenge me for her life. If you turn and run, I will kill you.?

Seeing that he could not possibly best the lizard in a contest of strength, Wit spoke to the giant lizard, ?I shall challenge you, but not in a battle of the body, but in a battle of the mind.?

Wit?s words amused the giant lizard and it said, ?You are wise for one so young. Very well, I shall ask of you three things. If you fail in one, your blood shall be mine forever. If you manage to succeed, I shall release your blood and abandon my hunting grounds.? Wit agreed and so the giant lizard said, ?Firstly you must bring me the light of the sun in your palm. You have until tomorrow?s sunset.? And then the giant lizard arose and flew back across the plains.

Wit did not know how this was to be done and so the wise elf sat on a stone by a nearby river and pondered the riddle. He still had not solved the riddle by noon of the next day. The young elf had nearly given up hope when a strange sparkling in the river caught his eye. He leapt into river and retrieved the strange sparkling crystal that had been lodged there. It caught and magnified the sun?s rays and shone as bright as the sun itself.

Wit ran to the plains and met the lizard there on sunset. Wit showed it the crystal and the lizard said to him, ?You have brought me sunlight in your palm. Next you must come to me clothed yet naked. You have until sunset tomorrow.?

All night Wit thought about the lizard?s request, but could not understand how he could be clothed yet naked. The next morning Wit saw some fishermen fishing in the river. He finally understood how he could do as the lizard asked. All day he gathered vines and made himself a fishing net.

When sunset came Wit clothed himself only with the fishing net and went before the lizard. ?I have done as you asked me.? He told the lizard. The lizard saw this and began to worry that it might have to give up the maiden to this mortal. The lizard decided to give him a quest he could surely not solve. So the lizard told Wit, ?Bring me a Moonrock. You have until sunset tomorrow.? The lizard thought itself very cunning for it knew that Moonrock?s existence was but a myth

Wit knew that he could not do as the lizard had asked, and he was deeply saddened by it. A Mirdukai who was disguised as a bird heard his weeping and delved into his thoughts to see what saddened the young Dermorian so. The Mirdukai wept when he learnt of Srydelle?s fate, and carried the tale to Vod?l. Vod?l was greatly grieved by the tale, and wept openly for Srydelle?s fate. One of Vod?l?s tears fell from his cheek and fell to the ground at Wit?s feet as Moonrock. Wit praised Vod?l and picked up the Moonrock.

Wit presented the moonrock before the lizard at sunset, and this greatly enraged the lizard. The lizard refused to let Srydelle go, claiming that Wit had used trickery against it. Wit told the lizard, ?I have done the three things you asked me to do. Now you must free the maiden as you vowed.?

But the lizard was too enraged and did not hear Wit?s words. The great lizard lunged at Wit, but at that moment the Moonrock glowed with the power of the gods and with one might blow of his sword, Wit felled the great lizard. The Moonrock crumpled to dust and from the gaping wound in the lizard?s belly emerged Srydelle, looking confused and frightened.
Together Wit and Srydelle returned to their people and Wit told the tale of the great lizard and how he had defeated it. The village celebrated Wit?s victory for a whole week, with much singing and dancing.

From the fangs and claws of the giant lizard, the Dermorian people carved powerful magical weapons, while from its hide they made near-invulnerable shields and suits of armour.

The people sold their weapons and armour to an army of warriors who rode great steeds and claimed they fought against evil. The same warriors would be the Dermorian people?s downfall, but that is another tale.

And now, the TOTALLY DIFFERENT SUPER UPDATED VERSION:

The ancient towns Kadaikos were built on and around the Great Lake, with large columns anchoring the towns on the lake.

The Lemurs, under the guide of Laanx, invented great devices and techniques. The lake towns specialised in fishing while the lakeside towns specialised in farming the rich soil. Each town had a leader chosen by Laanx himself, and these formed the Council of Kadaikos. Thus the towns prospered and grew, and each town held at least a thousand souls.

But like all great nations, it would not last forever. One day Laanx stopped appearing to the Council. Inside the sacred meeting vault located in the middle of the largest town, a black flame appeared on the brazier which usually held the image of Laanx. The Council met and discussed this, and concluded that the black flame must be some form of Laanx.

But the black flame was cunning. Slowly it started taking control over the Council?s minds, until all ten towns were ultimately serving the flame. The Council became ugly and spiteful things, refusing to come out of the Sacred Meeting Hall, except to give orders to a waiting servant.

The Council then proclaimed a law which stated that anything given to the Lemurs by Laanx was contaminated and should be destroyed. The people complied, thinking it the wish of Laanx himself. Eventually all light-giving things were destroyed and the Lemur society was reduced to a mere fraction of its former glory.

In the darkness, the black flame could spread its taint, and the former towns of Kadaikos fell into chaos, and the minds of the people ravaged. The Lemurs became evil and spiteful, fighting among themselves for basic things like food and territory.

But in the darkness, in one of the former mines, a group of Lemurs had managed to save and repair some of the light-giving things. Slowly they multiplied, until there were eventually hundreds of them living in the lighted tunnels under the ruins of Kadaikos.

But the black flame was strong and could sense the presence of light weakening it, if only slightly. The black flame sent its minions down into the tunnels and the true Lemurs were forced to flee into the network of tunnels and caves known as the Stone Labyrinths. These lived many years in the labyrinths, and forgot much of their history. Then they came across long-forgotten Yliakum and settled there.