Hello Again! Q, A, & S

[Mary Kathryn]

Niiiiice place!

[Swan]

Swan here. I know this is not *quite* on topic but.......
Moderators, feel free to move this post to wherever you think it will go best.

If you love the world of Anna Marie and the involvement of humans in mysterious experiments on cats I HIGHLY recommend a film to you called Felidae. It's not about Nekomimi, but it has the same intense flavor that MADh has, with cats taking destiny into their own paws.

I viewed the film over at Veehd which is a great site for watching films on the Internets, and I definitely plan on buying it and the novels the film comes from, on Amazon!

Felidae follows the story of Francis, an intelligent housecat who has recently moved into a new neighborhood. Almost on his first night there, he discovers Bluebeard, a battered up old cat, who has very little regard for Francis, nicknaming him "Smart Ass". The film is DEFINITELY NOT safe for work or children, as it shows cats being cats, mating, fighting, blood guts and gore et cetera.

francis and Bluebeard work to solve the murders of neighborhood cats. With a mordant wit that reminds me VERY much of MADh and with a population of cats that range from incredibly intelligent (Francis, who reads at night, and Pascal who uses his owner's computer and writes programs) to completely dense (the Claudandus Cult followers who ritually electrocute themselves, and the two neutered brothers, Hermann and Hermann). Eventually Francis discovers that there is a breeding program going on, an attempt, by cats, TO cats, to create a cat super-race, the felidae, to wreak revenge on humans for the cruel experiments done to helpless cats by Professor Preterius.

As I said, the similarities between Felidae and MADh are thrilling. They are definitely NOT the same... but they are both thrillers in their own right. The author, the German-Turkish writer Akif Pirinçci, has written several books in the series, sadly only two of which have been translated into English: Felidae and Felidae on the Road.

ENJOY! I would love to see reactions by those who have read the books or seen the film

Swan

[K2!]

I think that what you have, already, with a few side-trip stories added, the entire storyline tightened and so on....There are a MILLION story lines that could be told! And not all in photo format, either. A text-based story supported with photos for critical scenes would go well.

What? Like this?

Welcome!

This book is your insider's guide to the World of Tatsukuro. Here you will find a wide variety of the most up to date information that can help you on your adventures. This guide is updated frequently so check back often for news and rules addendum. And remember, have fun out there!


Overview

TATSUKURO is a multi-player role playing game (RPG) set in a fantasy world populated by fantastic characters, monsters, treasures, and adventures. Players interact in the game by assuming identities as player characters (PCs). Players have a choice of different characters types (classes), each with their own skills and abilities that help determine their appearance and what they are able to do within the game. Once inside the game, players are free to pursue their own goals by adventuring with others in parties. The most common place to visit is a dungeon. A dungeon can take on many different forms the most common being a set of rooms or caverns that contain fierce creatures to be fought and valuable treasures to be collected. As a player defeats these monsters, he/she gains more experience and collects items in an effort to become more powerful, explore more dungeon areas and experience more of the world. The system administrators periodically arrange special events in which players can participate. These special adventures are not available during the normal game. Players can contact each other through the messaging system to arrange group adventures or meet in one of the Adventurers’ Guilds.


The Adventurers’ Guild

The Adventurers’ Guild provides a simple and convenient interface to the many services and options available to residents and guests of Tatsukuro. What follows is a partial list of some of the more popular services available. Prices can vary by location. Check with your local Guild Manager.

The Guild Club
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, The Guild Club has become synonymous with good dining. We are devoted to meeting and exceeding customer expectations by providing quality food and spirits, friendly attentive servers, clean well-maintained surroundings, and prices that represent a good value.

The Guild Inn
The Guild Inn is Tatsukuro's largest hotel franchise, with hotels and accommodations for Tatsukuro’s thousands of guests, located in major cities and resorts offering high levels of comfort and excellent service all at reasonable prices.

Guild Services
The Adventurers’ Guild is the easiest and best place to find other adventurers and hire a wide variety of commonly needed specialists to perform special services for the adventurer. Specialists hired through the Adventurers’ Guild are registered and certified in their various professions.

CrystalBank
CrystalBank offers a variety of financial services tailored to the players’ every need. Dozens of CrystalBank CTMs are located at all Adventurers’ Guild locations, all CrystalGates, and many larger inns throughout the world. No matter how many digits are in your balance, CrystalBank is right for you.

Search
The Adventurers’ Guild is authorized to access the worlds most powerful search engine for a variety of common searches for the adventurer. Player Search, Party Search, Location Search, and Item Search are some of the search types available.

Inquiry
For a modest fee, players can submit an inquiry and access the most comprehensive database in the world. Fees vary based on the type and nature of the inquiry.




From: The Office of the High Priest of Thor
To: Thulie Thunderhelm
Subject: Welcome!

Greetings and Salutations, Noble Priest of the Great Thunderer!!

Welcome to the Konnos Temple of Thor. I hope you found your new accommodations to be adequate. I see you have studied hard and by Thor's beard, you are indeed ready to be unleashed upon the world. May your foes tremble at the sound of your footsteps!

It is good to have another priest based here in Konnos where the ale is dark and thick, the tempers are short, and your clerical discount applies to all qualifying purchases with all the local merchants. Some limitations may apply, see your dealer for details.

As to your question about armor limitations, for a dwarf in Konnos, the only armor limitation is the depth of your coin pouch! (Har! Har! Har!) It’s all about what you can afford. You could purchase some fine quality non-magical plate armor. Due to the quality of the materials and craftsmanship, no magic is needed, ya know. Most of the smiths around here don't make armor or weaponry for the big folk, lessin' they're willin' ta part with a ton-o-cash! (Har! Har! Har!)

You mentioned an interest in some custom work, hmm! Now that won’t pose any sort of problem at all. That will still fall under your clerical discount. Why the smiths will be fightin' over the honor of havin' a Priest of Thor paradin' their work across the mountains and fields of Konnos! In fact, wind of your arrival’s already out and thars a biddin' war goin' on even as we speak! I can almost hear those hammers pounding now. Can ya hear 'em?

THANG! Ching! THANG! Ching! THANG! Ching! THANG! Ching! THANG! Ching! THANG! Ching! THANG!

Why I think we landed you a deal my lad! Khadur Ironhill, first apprentice to the Master Metalsmith Thuruk Hammerhand, has offered to do the work for you himself. It'll be his first commission since setting up his own shop, but the work will still be overseen by his mentor. And for the honor of having the famous Thulie Steel Fist carry his designs into battle, he's offered to do the entire job-- full plate (including helm) and shield, with specified ornamentation, for 2625 gold pieces. Although, Khadur suggests skipping the paint and let him mix a few minerals into the metal of the shield instead. Then the color will be in the shield, stead of sitting on top of it. Won't chip off after a couple of hits.

Oh, and if yer a bit short of cash, Khadur will be willing to defer payment till you can raise the money. With your reputation from the ring, a guy like you should have no problems raising the coin from adventuring.

Yep, ‘tis true. We dwarves are a greedy lot when it comes to gold and gems and the like. But that's only where the big folk are concerned. We dwarves all came from the same mountain, ya know.

Blessings of Thor to you,

Fondar Stoneheaver
High Priest of Thor,
Konnos Uplink Temple
198.255.000.000



001 First Login
build day 1019001

“First outings always make me nervous. You never really know someone till you’ve seen them in battle.”

Thulie was new to this line of work so he thought he’d start out simple. He elected to be placed in a random adventuring party, although he did specify there be at least one other dwarf in the group. At least he’d have someone to talk to, someone he could trust to watch his back. Racial ties where almost always the strongest among adventurers, least wise in the new parties. The initial instructions he received indicated the party was going to meet up at the Adventurers’ Guild in the elven city of Tohime. That meant there would be lots of big folk, humans, elves and the like.

With all his equipment stowed, Thulie locked the door to his barracks room at the Temple of Thor and headed over to the Gate. He had spent his entire life up to this point within two miles of the city of Konnos. The various jobs he had and the priests he had studied with were all in or very close to Konnos, much to his liking. This would be his first experience with the CrystalGate network, part of the mysterious CrystalNet Corporation.

By leaving the relative comfort of the city, Thulie would now have to rely on the CrystalNet Corporation. The CNC was a giant conglomerate that seemed to have its tentacles in everything. The CNC was a subsidiary of the Tatsukuro Corporation, the management company which administered the operations of the entire world. The Lord Odin and a board of directors run the Tatsukuro Corporation from Asgard. Each board member, of which his Lord Thor was one, was a powerful deity and the head of one of the various departments, which oversaw some aspect of the world.

The four realms of the known world, Narusegawa, Urashima, Otohime, and Konno are all connected by a magical transportation network called the CrystalGate. A backbone trunk connects each of the four capitol cities or hubs. From each of the hubs, smaller lines radiated out in all directions like the spokes on a wagon wheel with “nodes” at various distances along each spoke. Because of its size, Urashima had two hubs, which worked together and for some reason known only to the elves, the capitol of Otohime was not located at the hub, but one node away.

Node interfaces were most often located in an open plaza near the center of a village or, when no village was associated with it, in an open field near a popular trail or path. At each node there was an immense, multi-faceted crystal, usually placed on a broad, flat platform of stone. These gate crystal installations also incorporate a magical interface device known as a CrystalTerminal, or CTM. Once the CTM recognizes and verifies the identity of the current user by an aura scan, that person has access to their CrystalBank account, a world wide messaging system, and a host of other features which vary with a person’s preferences. Thulie hadn’t applied for a CrystalBank account so he would be carrying hard cash. It was a lot of extra weight but like many dwarves there was just something about the CrystalBank’s “virtual banking” stuff that bothered him. “If I can’t touch it, it ain’t real!” was Thulie’s belief.

The temple barracks was a short walk from the gate. Thulie studied the posted system map and fee schedule. To travel via the gate system, a person chose “CrystalGate” from the main CTM menu, then selected a destination by touch menus or by voice. The fee to the destination was displayed and could be paid directly from the user’s CrystalBank account or one could deposit coins in the amount of the required fee. Then one would simply step into the glowing facet of the gate crystal and in the blink of an eye step out of another such crystal hundreds of miles away. This made crossing the vast distances between towns and villages quick and easy. It also made things a bit difficult for highwaymen, which most of the populace didn’t seem to mind. Transportation from one root hub to another adjacent root hub cost 50 gold pieces with an additional 10 gold pieces per node.

His trip from Konnos to Tohime, a distance of over 300 miles through very mountainous terrain, would cost him a mere 60 gold pieces. It seemed awfully expensive at first but if he bought a pony and all the related equipment, that would run him close to that price, not to mention having to feed and stable the beast. Then there was the time factor. It would take about 3 weeks to ride to Tohime and less than a second to travel via the gate and he needed to be there today. The Konnos hub crystal had seven active facets and three or four were almost always available. There were plenty of other dwarves cued up at the gate so it must be safe.

Within moments, Thulie stepped out of the gate in Tohime intact and none the worse for wear.

Tohime is the heart of elvendom in Tatsukuro. Thulie tried not to think about what he was doing there too much. As was common among dwarves, Thulie had no particular interest in elves, nor did he have any particular disinterest, he just felt more at home among his own kind. Tohime was just a central meeting place for all the parties involved.

At least navigation of the city would be relatively painless. If one looked at the four capitol cities from high above, one would see four very similar layouts. All the major components of the city, governmental sites, commercial buildings, residential areas, were all essentially in the same places. This made locating things in the various cities fairly quick and easy. If you knew where the temples were in Konnos, you could probably find the temples of Urashima City.

Even though these cities shared similarities in their layout, the architectural details reflected the cultural differences of the inhabitants. The dwarven capitol of Konnos had been hollowed out of the core of a huge mountain. Tohime was distinctly elven, constructed almost entirely of wood and open to the broad blue sky. The streets of Konnos where always dark and shadowy, lit by a multitude of lanterns. This made the city look like it was embraced by an eternal night, however Tohime was brightly lit by the sun and moon. Lush vegetation grew everywhere along the streets. Trees of many varieties replaced the massive stone columns of Konnos. Graceful and delicate wooden filigrees adorned archways and walls instead of hard geometric stone details preferred by the dwarves.

Thulie found this openness somewhat disturbing. He liked the closeness and safety he felt having a good solid mountain over his head. He was experiencing an unusual vulnerability at being exposed to this vast open expanse. Throughout his many upcoming years of adventuring, Thulie would never entirely lose that feeling.

Once at the Adventurers’ Guild, Thulie made his way through the lobby area to the Guild Club dining room. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness, a scan of the people at the tables revealed Thulie to be the only dwarf there. He decided to go back to the information desk. Across from the front door, past the row of CTMs and the Message Board, stood an ornately carved wooden counter. A cheerful looking halfelf stood behind it and seemed to come alive as he saw Thulie approach.

“And how can I be of assistance on this fine morning, Master Dwarf?”

The halfelf wore a simple shaped cloth tunic, detailed with horizontal rows of gray-blue cloth tabs like fish scales. This gave the appearance of armor without the bulk or movement restrictions. It was one of several typical uniforms for employees of the Adventurers’ Guild. He had dark hair and the lines on his face revealed he had once trod the dungeons and plains of Tatsukuro with a sword at his side. Many Guild workers were former adventurers now in retirement. A silver leaf shaped brooch on a green sash identified him as Motoki. Like a typical “company man”, Motoki’s common speech displayed no regional accent, but he clearly looked to be half elven.

“I’m looking for the Kuroda party.”

The halfelf looked down at a glowing area on the countertop.

“Ah, yes. They have only just checked in. I believe you will find them at booth 12, in the corner.”

The halfelf pointed towards the far corner of the darkened dining area.

“Thanks.”

Thulie made his way through the crowed room of diners towards the corner booth. Even at this early hour of the day the Guild Club had a ‘late night’ atmosphere. Candles in wall sconces and on the tables provided the room’s only light. In the corner a semi circular padded bench wound around three sides of a broad lacquered tabletop of some dark wood. At the table sat a man and an elf. The two were nursing small mugs and pondering over a piece of parchment. The man was dressed as a samurai swordsman and the elf looked like the typical archer woodsman type. The two looked up expectantly as Thulie approached. Thulie stopped at the table’s edge and addressed the swordsman.

“Ah, Kuroda Noburo?”

The man stood and bowed at the waist.

“Yes, Kuroda Noburo, at your service. We would be honored if you would join us.”

“Thulie Thunderhelm, cleric of Thor. I’m registered to accompany the Kuroda party. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Kuroda,” he said extending a thick, gauntleted hand.

“Noburo will be fine. This is Elorien and my brother Ando will be joining us in a few days. There is a second dwarf assigned to our party, a Raukie Croleus. I was unsure which of you I was addressing.”

The adventurers shook hands and exchanged more formal greetings. The two sat back down and Thulie slid into the bench on Noburo’s side.

Noburo signaled a serving girl for another round of drinks. As he had a large breakfast, Thulie was not very hungry and ordered something light: a pint of dark brown ale. After some typical adventurer small talk; where are you from, what is your profession, how experienced are you, Noburo became slightly more quiet and official sounding.

“The reason I have contracted this adventuring party is this: my brother and I wish to find out what happened to our father. Ogres had been raiding the farms on the edge of our lord’s territory. My father was sent by his master, Lord Ugajin, to seek out and destroy these ogres. He has failed to return. My father had a company of twenty skilled swordsmen, more than enough to handle any ogre raiding party. In the days that followed his departure, several messengers returned with some news but the messages stopped before a fortnight had passed. That was six weeks ago. A portent from the cleric at our village told us to prepare for the worst. We fear he may be dead. If this is the case, we want to recover his remains and his sword, an heirloom of the Kuroda family for many generations. We have some information on his last location so we know where to start our search. My brother and I are willing to forgo our full shares of treasure found on this expedition. All we want are our father’s possessions and a quarter share between us to cover our expenses. I hope these terms are agreeable to you.”

Thulie and Elorien both looked at each other and nodded. The thought of two less people to share the treasure with sounded very appealing.

“We are expecting one more person to accompany us today. We were hoping for two more warriors but only one answered the call. Before you joined us, Elorien and I were discussing hiring a guide. The area we are heading into is very mountainous and beyond the area known to my brother and myself. The Guild has a number of approved guides available who are said to be familiar with these areas. I also understand that the fees are most reasonable.”

“Provided the expense is no more than the equivalent of one share,” added Elorien. “I think a guide is a good idea. I too am unfamiliar with the mountains in this region. An experienced guide would be most useful. What say you, Master Thulie?”

“Perhaps we can cut him in for a money share only and keep any magical treasures for ourselves,” Thulie mused.

“Spoken like a true dwarf!” exclaimed Elorien.

“I shall keep that in mind when negotiating the fee,” added Noburo. “Well then, if we are in agreement, I shall make arrangements to hire a guide.”

Noburo exited the table and made his way to the information desk. He spoke briefly with Motoki who produced a small parchment and a stylus from under the counter. Noburo looked down at the parchment and began making marks with the stylus. After several minutes, he slid the parchment back across the counter. Motoki took the parchment and disappeared into the room behind the counter. Noburo looked back in the direction of their table and gave a quick ‘thumbs up’ signal. Then Motoki appeared back at the counter. He placed a parchment on the counter and spoke to Noburo. Noburo looked down at the parchment and nodded several times as Motoki pointed. Finally Motoki pointed to the bottom of the parchment, Noburo made a mark there and handed the stylus back. Motoki again disappeared for a moment then returned with a smaller parchment and handed it to Noburo. Motoki said something and Noburo nodded. The two shook hands and Noburo returned to the table.

“We are in luck fellows. There is a guide available who has extensive experience in these mountains and he’s available to leave immediately. I have made arrangements to meet him at the CrystalGate in about an hour.”

“Well done, sir. And what was the fee?”

“The man said most of the guides negotiate their own fees with their party. It depends on the length of the mission, number in the party, stuff like that. He said a typical fee was about one full share, but this guy was a fairly new guide so we could expect to pay a bit less.”

“Excellent.” Thulie said thumping his empty mug on the table. “What are we waiting for?”

Suddenly there was a series of loud noises at the hall’s entrance, followed by muffled cries of surprise and dismay. The group looked up from their table to see the cause of the commotion. As the patrons nearer the entry parted, surprise and irritation on their faces, a broad faced, bristle-bearded dwarf in well-worn armor carrying perhaps, everything he owned on his back, waist, and arms pushed his way through the dining hall. As the scruffy newcomer made his way toward their table, his various bags, packs, and weapon handles rubbed, bumped, and jabbed seated diners causing drinks to be spilled, glasses and mugs to topple and a serving girl to drop a pot of stew across several patrons. The one person wrecking crew stopped before their table and released a number of his burdens, which clattered to the floor.

“When do we eat?” the newcomer exclaimed, seating himself. He then proceeded to pick up several of the mugs on the table, checking their contents.

“You must be Raukie,” Noburo ventured cautiously. Some amount of curiosity was apparent in his voice.

“Raukie Croleus, figh—Hey blondie! Yeah, you with the ears. Who do I have of maim to get a drink over here?” He turned back to Noburo, “Fighter extraordinaire.”

Noburo swallowed hard and remained composed. “Master Croleus, may I introduce our party. To my left is Elorien, an archer from—.”

Raukie held up a hand to stop Noburo as the elven serving girl arrived at the group’s table. With all the politeness she could muster she spoke to the dwarf.

“Yes sir, may—.” was all she would get out.

“Yeah, I’ll have a couple of pints, Iron Mountain Red, if ya got it, somethin’ strong if you don’t. None of that watered down flower picker’s juice. Not too much head, mind you. A joint of beef, six large red potatoes, boiled, a loaf of dark bread, and a half a wheel of cheese, something yellow, not that smelly white stuff.”

Raukie slapped her on the rear, sending her on her way towards the kitchen. The dwarf then pulled a small bag from behind his breastplate and began to scrape at something deep within it. Without looking up he motioned for Noburo to continue. Noburo cleared his throat and continued.

“As I was saying, Elorien is an archer and swordsman from Otohime. And this is Thulie Thunderhelm, a priest of Thor.”

Thulie extended his hand to the dwarf next to him. Raukie slapped his palm against Thulie’s then quickly backhanded Thulie’s hand with a second slap. Thulie watched the exchange somewhat puzzled.

“Stick by me laddie, if ya know what’s good fer ya. I’ll keep an eye on yer back, and you can keep me in the fight!” Raukie said with a wink.

Noburo tried to continue, “And my brother will also be joining our group in a few days. We have agreed to hire a Guild approved guide to…”

Noburo’s words trailed off as the serving girl returned with two large steins of a pungent dark ale. Before she could set them down Raukie snatched a stein and raised it to his face, blocking eye contact with Noburo. In one well-practiced motion the stein was drained and the second was on its way to his lips.

Noburo thought back to his years of training, the constant outward display of proper behavior and restraint, the acknowledgement of one’s place, the many days he had spent learning the proper forms, and the many levels of etiquette. Formality, courtesy, and manners were clearly not part of this warrior’s training. He took a moment to again compose himself and continued.

“…a guide to lead us through the mountains of eastern Urashima.”

“Great,” snorted Raukie raising the stein again.

The serving girl had returned with several plates overflowing with food, enough for several meals.

“Ah, this is a good start!” Raukie began tearing into the bread and beef. “And I’m gonna need another pair ‘o ales here, Junebug. And be a bit less generous with the foam this time. I nearly suffocated.”

The red faced girl bowed silently and hurried away.

Noburo tried to continue with his briefing but the dwarf seemed oblivious, the samurai’s words became lost in the loud smacking and chewing of the new arrival.

After twenty long minutes of watching the dwarf stuff enormous quantities of food in his mouth, Noburo decided to try again.

“Master dwarf, you are nearly an hour late and we have to meet our guide at the gate soon. I do not think we can spend much more time here. Perhaps you--.”

“No problem,” the dwarf mumbled as he continued to shovel food into the small gap in his dirty beard.

Within another minute, every plate, dish, and cup before him was emptied. What he hadn’t stuffed into his mouth, he had tucked into a pocket or pack. Many large particles of food remained in the outer layers of his beard. As he slammed the fourth empty mug to the table, Raukie must have been aware that the others were all staring at the collection of crumbs in his beard.

“For later,” he added, punctuating the statement with a loud, wet belch.

Without another word Raukie rose to his feet, quickly gathered up his collection of equipment and started to plow his way back through the dinning hall. The three adventurers sat somewhat dumbstruck at all they had just witnessed.

Half way to the door, the dwarf turned and shouted over his shoulder.

“Coming?”

The three gathered their belongings and Noburo hurriedly dropped several gold coins on the table then raced to catch up. Several steps from the Guild’s front door, Noburo felt a tug at his elbow and turned to see the serving girl. Her expression was somewhere between embarrassment and frustration. She quickly lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with the well-accoutered samurai. With two trembling hands she extended small piece of parchment to Noburo.

“Sir. If you could…Please…”

Noburo instantly recognized the situation. He took the parchment and quickly scanned to the bottom. At the end of a list of food and beverages he located the total: twenty-eight gold, sixteen silver pieces. Noburo swallowed hard and felt for his coin pouch. He quickly counted out thirty gold pieces and handed them to the girl.

“That will be all, Miss.”

Relief and gratitude washed over the girl’s face as she took the coins and bowed deeply from the waist. Noburo had already turned to the door and was hurrying after the others.

“That thirty gold’s coming out of your share, Master Dwarf!”



Noburo exited the Guild and stepped into the busy street. Shortly before dawn when Noburo arrived at the Guild, there were perhaps three of four people on the street. Now, mid morning, Otohime had come to life and there were dozens of people in every block, moving through the streets, conducting business in shop windows, meeting and chatting. It took several moments for Noburo to locate Elorien, who was near the end of the block waving his bow in the air. When Noburo caught up, they turned to see the two dwarves round the next corner.

“Where are they going?” shot Noburo between breaths. “The gate’s back the other way.”

“I thought you knew,” offered the elf. “The new fellow seemed to know where he was going.”

Noburo was beginning to wonder if he should have paid the extra fees for a detailed search and conducted interviews for members of this expedition. The random selection offered by the Guild was fast and cheap, but that was about it.

The two dwarves were entering a shopping bazaar when Noburo and Elorien reached them.

“The gate’s back this way,” Noburo said catching his breath.

“Potions,” Raukie blurted out and kept walking into the crowded square.

“Are you winded?” Elorien said quietly, obviously amused by the situation.

Noburo did not respond. Seeing some wisdom in Raukie’s motive, Noburo reluctantly conceded without another word.

“We don’t have time for this,” Noburo thought to himself.

Not far into the tangle of shoppers, vendors, and small carts, Raukie stopped at a swordsmith’s shop and proceeded to interrogate the smith about his current stock of axes and picks. Not finding anything to his liking, the dwarf moved on to an armorer several shops down. He proceeded to repeat his inquiry with the armorer and went on to ask further questions about the cost and time for construction of custom crafted pieces. This routine was repeated with a second weaponsmith, a cobbler, a tinker, and a shop specializing in ‘magical’ items.

The sun had traced another hour in the sky and Noburo’s agitation was growing. After exiting the magic shop Noburo stepped up to the dwarf.

“Master dwarf, we must--.”

“Potions,” the dwarf croaked and walked away.

Shortly Raukie led the group into another small shop. Noburo stopped and drew a frustrated breath. The shingle above the door was shaped like a mortar and pestle indicating it was an alchemist’s shop and various potions and elixirs would be found within. Again, Noburo kept silent as the rest of the troop entered.

The four adventurers walked into a small dark room. Several distinct yet unidentifiable odors instantly filled their nostrils. The walls were covered with shelves holding containers of glass, ceramic, metal, and wood. They varied in size each labeled with the arcane runes known only to those in the alchemic profession. Many strange and familiar things could be seen through the thick, bubbled glass: scales, feathers, small creatures, stone fragments, hair, and samples of monstrous organ tissues submerged in colored fluids. The variety would be hard to imagine were it not arrayed before them. Opposite the door, behind a long worktable covered with an array of colorful glassware, a middle-aged elf sat perched on a high stool. He hunched over a small vessel that hovered above a small burner. Into the vessel he carefully measured out miniscule amounts of crushed leaves. The group stood quietly as the elf added several more pecks to the cream colored ceramic vessel. He then took a short glass wand and stirred the mixture while mumbling an incantation. When he concluded, he tossed in a dash of white powder from an earthenware pot and the mixture responded with a sudden puff of smoke. Looking satisfied, the elf removed the wand and sat up straight.

“Tea?” he said carefully smelling the steaming mixture.

Raukie launched into his well-practiced spiel.

“Hi, yeah, I’m ah, looking for some potions. Do you have any potions of healing, flying, haste, giant strength, or treasure finding, how much are they, and do you give a volume discount?”

“Well, well. Right to business it is. Let me see…”

The alchemist turned to a series of narrow shelves behind him, which held small glass vials in rows of tapered holes. He carefully thumbed through the inventory and periodically called out types and quantities.

“Eight healing potions, 600 each, one potion of flight, 1200, and two haste, 900 each.”

The dwarf did a few mental calculations and the ritual began.

“How much for the eight healing potions?”

“Four thousand, eight hundred.”

“Twenty eight hundred for three healers and the flight,” Raukie offered.

“Three thousand for three healers and the flight,” the alchemist countered.

“Three thousand for two healers, the flight, and a haste.”

“Three thousand, three hundred for two healers, the flight, and a haste.”

Raukie’s bartering continued for several minutes. Noburo soon noticed the alchemist’s responses were becoming much higher than the original prices.

Finally the dwarf relented, “Aaah, this place is a rip off,” he muttered under his breath. “How much for a single healer?”

“Eight hundred gold pieces.”

By now, Raukie was unable to remember the original price. He methodically thumbed out the 800 gold pieces on the counter and took the vial.

Next Noburo stepped up to the counter.

“Sir, I will pay you forty-two hundred gold for the seven remaining healing potions.”

“Sold!” the alchemist nodded.

Noburo placed the coins on the counter. The alchemist carefully slipped the vials in a small cloth bag and handed it to Noburo.

“A pleasure doing business with you sir. Please come back again.”

Noburo bowed and walked out of the shop. The rest of the party followed. Once outside, Noburo gave two potions each to Thulie and Elorien and one to Raukie. Noburo pointed the group in the direction of the Gate and headed off, finally feeling in charge again.

Two blocks later, Raukie caught up to Noburo and spoke to him in a lowered voice.

“What was that you used on the alchemist, some sort of charm spell or something?”

“Yes, a charm spell, Politeness, 1st circle common folk spell.”

“Why’d I get only one potion and they got two?” asked the dwarf.

“Because you already had one. Now everyone has two,” Noburo replied.

“You didn’t say anything about paying for potions.”

“You didn’t ask.”



The group arrived at the plaza around the CrystalGate and began looking for their guide. There were dozens of people, both townsfolk and adventurers, entering and exiting the gate crystal and many others milling about the plaza. After a few anxious moments a slim elven girl approached the group. She had short jet-black hair, pale skin with a dash of color on her lips and eyelids, and riveting green eyes. She was clothed in a short, black leather tunic, tied at the waist with a bright red sash. Matching black fingerless gloves and leggings covered her arms and legs. A black lacquered Urashiman style sword sheath was tucked into the back of her waist sash. Her slight build and the crisp new look of her clothing gave Noburo some concern.

“Noburo Kuroda and company?” she asked.

The disappointment Noburo felt must have shown on his face, for the girl’s bright smile and demeanor instantly darkened.

“Is there a problem?” she asked sounding noticeably cross.

“Ah, no, no. We are looking for a Mr. Hyatt. We hired him as a guide and we are here to meet him.” Noburo replied, hoping she was here to take them to meet the guide.

“I am Hyatt,” she said pointedly.

The elf now sounded aggravated. She turned quickly on her heels and started away.

“Well come on. We’re burning daylight,” she called over her shoulder.

Noburo looked at the others and shrugged. Elorien looked over at Thulie who tried to look away nonchalantly. Raukie only spat.

“That could have gone better,” Elorien said somewhat amused.

“Shut up,” Noburo replied.

[End Chapter 1, Part 1]

[Swan]

WOOT!!! THANK you!!

Swan

[zirconmermaid]

HYATT!!!!!!!!

[K2!]

001 First Login, Part 2

The group had to walk quickly to keep up with the elf. She maneuvered her five foot five inch frame deftly through the crowd and stopped at an available CrystalGate CTM.

From her sash she removed a small piece of parchment and began to unfold it.

“Before we go any further, you are all required by Guild regulations to sign this.” She looked Noburo directly in the eyes and continued, “You can read this to those here that can’t.”

Noburo took the parchment and began to read it aloud.

“Speak up there,” Raukie croaked.



CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE AND RELEASE LIABILITY

I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I wish to participate in activities led by the virtual organization known as Hyatt, Inc., a for profit corporation (hereafter referred to as "the guide").

I understand that Tatsukuro Corporation has rules, which govern and may restrict the activities in which I can participate. These rules include, but are not limited to The Tatsukuro EULA, Corpora, the By-laws, various specific domain laws and the Rules for Combat and related activities as outlined in the Tatsukuro Operating System Fantasy Role Playing 2nd Edition rule books and the Tatsukuro Player’s Guide.

The guide makes no representations or claims as to the condition or safety of the domains, towns, villages, fields, or dungeons, whether or not owned, leased, operated or maintained by the Tatsukuro Corporation.

I understand that my participation is VOLUNTARY. I understand that these activities are potentially dangerous or harmful to my player character or property, and that by participating I voluntarily accept and assume all risk of injury to myself or damage to my property.

I understand that the guide does NOT provide any insurance for my person or my property. I acknowledge that I am responsible for my safety and my own health care needs, and for the protection of my property.

In exchange for any of the guide’s services, I agree to release from liability, agree to indemnify, and hold harmless the guide, and any agent, officer, or employee of the guide acting within the scope of their duties, for any injury to my person or damage to my property.

This Release shall be binding upon myself, successors in interest, and/or any person(s) acting on my behalf.

I understand that this document is complete unto itself and that any oral promises or representations made to me concerning this document and/or its terms are not binding upon the guide, the Tatsukuro Corporation, its officers, agents and/or employees.

I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS RELEASE AND I UNDERSTAND ALL ITS TERMS. I EXECUTE IT VOLUNTARILY AND WITH FULL KNOWLEDGE OF ITS MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE.

Character Name (PRINT) Character Name (SIGN)

1___________________________________ ____________________________________

2___________________________________ ____________________________________

3___________________________________ ____________________________________

4___________________________________ ____________________________________

5___________________________________ ____________________________________

6___________________________________ ____________________________________

7___________________________________ ____________________________________

8___________________________________ ____________________________________




When Noburo finished reading, Hyatt jabbed a quill under his nose. Noburo took the quill and cautiously signed the parchment then passed the document around to the others. Once the rest of the group had signed or made their mark, Noburo held out the parchment to the elf.

“What if--?”

“Not a problem.”

“What about--?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“But if—?”

“Yes!”

Hyatt snatched the parchment away from him, quickly folded and tucked it into her sash. She turned to the CTM and withdrew a thin silver chain from around her neck on the end of which was a small clear cylindrical crystal. She quickly swiped the end of the CrystalPass on the CTM display and returned the chain to her tunic.

“Yama-dori, right?” she asked.

“Ah, yes. The address is 192.11--.”

“Got it.”

The gate facet of the 12-foot tall crystal glowed and clouded over, ready for the first traveler. Their new guide waved broadly with both arms toward the crystal.

“After you.”

There was something in her smile that worried Noburo. Elorien was the first to step into the gate. The two dwarves followed. All the while Noburo attempted to get a peek at the address Hyatt had entered on the CTM, but the elf casually maneuvered her body to obscure his view. He had heard of a type of ‘party hijacking’ where a party member enters a different address than anticipated leading the party through a gate into a prearranged ambush. When it came his turn to enter, Noburo looked over at the elf. She looked directly back with a smug grin. Noburo swallowed hard, put his hand on his sword, and stepped into the crystal. After the bright flash of transit, to his relief Noburo found himself standing behind his companions in a small rural village. They had arrived safely at Yama-dori.

Yama-dori was a typical village of rural Otohime. There were about a dozen and a half, small, rustic post and beam buildings clustered around the gate crystal in the village square. There was one larger, more substantial building to the north, its shingle identifying it as the Thirsty Badger Inn. Being so close to the gate and Tohime one might wonder how an inn of any size could survive in such a small village. With substantially lower rates than those in the hub cities, many local inns did a thriving business in housing and feeding travelers.

The group stood by the gate observing the scene. The locals paid little notice to the oddly matched group. Common elven folk continued going about their daily businesses: farming, trading, crafting. All the mundane tasks that the adventurers knew little about, yet were as important to keep the world turning as their own professions. After a moment Hyatt stepped around Noburo.

“We still have over half the day ahead of us and you boys shopped enough for one day. Let’s not waste time in town and get right on the trail. We can make the foothills by nightfall.”

With that, Hyatt stepped off of the gate platform and set a brisk pace towards the western end of town.

There couldn’t have been more than two dozen buildings total in Yama-dori scattered around the gate, for within two minutes the group was walking on a narrow dirt path atop a three yard wide mound of earth that ran between two water filled rice paddies. The path wound between irregular shaped paddies and small stands of old trees for several miles where the ground became more uneven in elevation and the trees more frequent. Thirty minutes walk from the gate and the path had become a narrow depression of matted down grass moving in and out of a thickening forest. All signs of civilized habitation had been left behind.

This continued for several hours and the group began to wonder where their guide was leading them. Were it not for the passage of the small elf ahead of them, the path would have been nearly invisible in the knee-high grasses. Several times Hyatt would stop and hold her head back, eyes closed, turning slowly side to side. Having no real experience with a guide, the group accepted her behavior as after each pause she would head off again with renewed purpose.

It was mid afternoon and the path began a slow curve through a stand of elms, which brought it close to a ravine. As the group neared the bend, Hyatt held up her hand signaling for the group to stop. Again she stood still taking a slow deep breath, sampling the air. Signaling the group to stay back she quietly drew her sword and with cat-like stealth crept to the edge of the ravine. She peered quietly into the area below for several minutes, then came back to the group.

“There is a ravine, about 25’ deep, with a wide, flat dry riverbed. A small creek winds through a lot of large rocks and logs. The trees all about the approach could provide much cover. There is a camp on the floor of the ravine. I could see four ogres but I can’t tell if that’s all of them.”

Hyatt looked directly at Noburo. “What do you want to do?”

This was it. Noburo’s first real combat command. He looked down at the ground and began to scratch out a crude map in the dirt.

“Thulie, Raukie: make your way down the embankment. Get as close as you can and attack the ogres. Hyatt and I will follow immediately from the far side. Elorien: find a clear line of sight from the ridge and let them have it once we attack. You can warn us if you see any more. Give us ten minutes to get to the other side of the ravine, then start your descent. Questions?”

No one spoke. As the two dwarves readied their weapons and shields, Hyatt motioned for Noburo to follow her. Hyatt and Noburo ran silently 30 yards up river to a northward bend in the ravine. A small feeder channel eased their descent into the ravine. The opposite side was steeper, but not unmanageable. The two then quietly made their way back to where they could see Elorien readying his arrows. Suddenly there was a muffled crashing noise like a wagon full of iron cookware was rolling into the ravine. The dwarves were making their move. The two dwarves were less than half way down the incline when the ogres took notice of their approach. The ogres readied their massive swords and moved to meet them.

“They’re early.” Hyatt observed.

“Come on, let’s get down there,” Noburo said and began his descent.

The four ogres took advantage of their position and reach and got in first swings on the two dwarves. The dwarves were left defending themselves before they were able to reach the level footing of the riverbed. As the second pair of ogres moved up to double-team them, one of the ogres stopped, then stumbled to the ground, arrow shafts protruding from his chest and neck. The ogres had split off, one on each dwarf; the fourth held back waiting for an opening.

Noburo reached the riverbed, drew his katana and charged. His battle cry alerted the fourth ogre who turned just in time to receive a vicious downward slash across his chest, piercing his bamboo and leather armor. The dwarves had finally maneuvered to flat ground and split around their two opponents, who were now aware; the dwarves were not alone. Sensing Noburo’s pending attack, Raukie’s ogre dodged back and made a wide roundhouse sweep that caught Noburo’s sword as it came down. His weapon deflected to one side, Noburo was left open for the ogre’s quick counter thrust. The hilt of the huge sword struck Noburo square on his breastplate. The jab was fast but did not have the ogre’s full strength behind it. The blow was powerful none the less and nearly knocked the breath out of him. As Noburo staggered back, struggling to keep his feet, the ogre followed with a quick slash catching him in the chest and shoulder, sending him backwards to the ground. Noburo quickly tried to raise his sword to defend against the next strike he knew to be on its way. Instead he heard a short deep moan and the ogre fell face down to the ground next to him.

Coughing, Noburo looked around, his vision still slightly blurry from the first hit. Hyatt had replaced the massive visage of his attacker.

“They’re quicker than they look,” he heard Hyatt say between his coughs. “Can you stand?”

While Hyatt helped Noburo back to his feet, the final ogre disengaged from Thulie and ran south down the riverbed. Sensing a rout, Raukie took off after the lone ogre. Thulie glanced over at Noburo. Seeing he was getting up, Thulie followed after Raukie. Hyatt looked over from assisting Noburo at the departing dwarves.

“Wait, Thulie…” but her call was not heard. “This could be trouble. Are you going to be alright, Noburo?”

“I’m fine. Go. I’ll be right behind you,” he gasped.

The fleeing ogre had pulled ahead of the slower dwarves and disappeared around a bend in the ravine. When the dwarves reached the bend, much to their dismay, a staggered line of six more ogres were charging back towards them. The surprised dwarves had just enough time to raise their weapons to deflect the first strikes from the leading pair. As Raukie diverted his opponent’s bow harmlessly down to his side, something struck him on the shoulder, not very hard, but the location of the blow surprised him. Raukie looked up in time to see Hyatt had used him as a springboard and was vaulting over him. The elf was sailing above the ogre, her legs almost vertical. As she passed over Raukie’s assailant, her sword neatly sliced deep into the ogre’s shoulder armor. A thin trail of dark blood arced behind him from the edge of Hyatt’s sword. The ogre reeled in pain and Raukie took advantage of the opening, burying his pick deep into the ogre’s exposed waist.

Hyatt landed beyond them at a run and sprang toward the next approaching monster. The elf darted below that ogre’s slower swing and with a passing slice, cut deep into his midsection. Not stopping, Hyatt continued on into the staggered line of oncoming ogres. Alternately dodging, spinning, and striking each till she reached the last in line. Hyatt rolled passed his awkward down strike and buried her sword deep in his side. The ogre let out a horrible cried and spun to the ground as Hyatt withdrew her weapon.

Suddenly, arrows began to find their mark among the confused ogres. Wounded and surprised by the elf’s ferocious attack, the ogres instantly lost the momentum of their charge. The dwarves seized the opportunity and waded into their opponents. Hyatt continued her acrobatic attack, darting from one ogre to the next, keeping them moving till the slower dwarves could engage them. Several more arrows struck their targets adding to the confusion. Within seventy seconds, the six monsters were motionless on the ground.

“Oh Great Thor, thank you for this our first of many victories!” Thulie exalted.

With their opponents defeated, Raukie began to search for treasure among the fallen monsters’ bodies. Hyatt wiped the blood from her sword on an ogre’s tunic. Elorien made his way into the ravine from the ridge towards Hyatt. When Elorien arrived at the battle site he looked around puzzled.

“Where’s Noburo?” he asked.

Hyatt froze for an instant, then shot back up the ravine with Elorien following after her. Not far from the spot of the original attack, the two elves spotted Noburo laying face down across the small stream. The water down stream from where he lay carried thin lines of red. Hyatt reached Noburo and carefully rolled him over. A dark, wet stain, the size of a dinner plate, covered his left shoulder and chest. Noburo opened his eyes slightly.

“I’m right behind you,” he said hoarsely, and lapsed back into unconsciousness.

Hyatt looked up at Elorien. “Quick, get the cleric!”

Elorien turned and ran back down the ravine. Hyatt carefully loosened Noburo’s breastplate and parted the thin slash in his wet tunic. A glistening crimson gash ran from the edge of his breastplate across his shoulder. The wound didn’t appear too deep yet it was bleeding heavily. Hyatt quickly scanned his body for other wounds and stopped at a pouch on his belt. She opened the pouch and probed its contents. Finding something, she pulled out an unmarked glass vial. She removed the stopper and passed it under her nose. Satisfied with what she found, Hyatt poured some of the liquid directly on the wound. The remainder she slowly nursed into Noburo’s mouth. Next she finished tearing off the sleeve of Noburo’s tunic and wound the cloth snuggly around Noburo’s shoulder.

Elorien returned with Thulie. The dwarven priest bent down and removed his gauntlets. He took a brief look at Noburo’s shoulder and began a chant, placing his palm on Noburo’s forehead and grasping a charm he wore on a neck chain with the other. A warm amber glow appeared under his palm. Noburo let out a long gurgling breath and suddenly went limp. Hyatt and Elorien looked with surprise at each other, then at the dwarf. Thulie stood up and replaced his gauntlets. The two kneeling elves looked up at him; their surprise turning to anger.

“What? What? He’s fine,” the priest said. “Takes a moment to kick in. He just needs to rest for a short while.”

Elorien and Hyatt looked at each other, somewhat unsatisfied with the dwarf’s words.

“Dwarves,” Elorien sighed.

The dwarves continued their search of the fallen ogre bodies for any treasure they had, while the two elves searched the campsite. Noburo returned to consciousness and felt well enough to help with the search. Having found no more than a hand full of copper coins, the dwarves’ mood turned sour. Elorien recovered most of the arrows he had fired. All were unusable. Noburo’s cursory search could find no evidence to connect these ogres with his father. Noburo noted that Hyatt spent a long time examining the swords and armor used by the ogres. The sun was nearing the 4 o’clock mark so the group returned to the path and headed west to put some distance between them and the encounter site.



The group walked east through the forested hills for several hours. Their pace was slowed somewhat by Noburo, who still seemed to be favoring his shoulder. It was nearly dark when Hyatt finally stopped the group. She pointed out a thick stand of trees and scrub hiding a small ridge they could put their backs against. Hyatt would not allow the company to rest till an array of campsite chores had been accomplished.

“This wilderness adventuring stuff is too much like real work,” Raukie mused as the two dwarves scouted the area for hazards and firewood. “I may not have brought enough ale.”

Thulie only grunted in reply, his arms almost full of dead branches.

“I say next time we hit town, we pick up some porters and a couple of woodsmen. Then all we’ll have to do is fight the monsters. Oh, and maybe a cook. That dry tack the samurai brought just isn’t going to do it for me.”

“And who’s going to pay these porters and woodsmen and cooks?” countered Thulie. “The coins we collected from those ogres wouldn’t cover a barmaid’s tip, let alone a skilled woodsman for a day.”

“We should stop at the next town and pick up the latest news on any local dungeons. That’s where the real cash is to be made,” Raukie exclaimed.

“True, we could make some fast cash in a dungeon but the overall split would be small. I hear it’s out in the wilderness where the big money is to be had. A friend of mine in Konnos did dungeon crawls for three years. He was pretty successful, but he didn’t make his pile till he started adventuring in the wilds. He adventured for six weeks, hardly finding coins enough to buy a healing potion, then one day: BAM! They walk into the lair of some stone giants and there was treasure and magic for everyone. He bought an inn and retired. Lives like the King of Konnos and hasn’t adventured in two years.”

“What about the rest of his party?” Raukie asked.

“I don’t know what they’re doin’ now. He doesn’t talk about them much. ‘Course most of them were killed later by some basilisks.”

“That’s the ticket! A giant’s horde!” Raukie said rubbing his hands together. “Or maybe a nest of land sharks. I hear they have lots of gems. Or maybe even a dragon!”

“You’ve been drinking too much, my straw bearded friend.” Thulie said. “There hasn’t been a dragon spotted in these mountains for over one hundred and fifty years.”

“Well I heard that some sword swinger saw a dragon over in northern Narusegawa. Said it et the rest of his party. He was the only one to escape.”

“So he didn’t get any of the dragon’s treasure?”

“Oh, well, no. The dragon nearly killed him, killed the rest of his party.”

“How long had this guy been adventuring?”

“Not sure, really,” Raukie said thoughtfully, “Couple of months, maybe half a year.”

“You don’t even know how experienced he was. He was probably runnin’ before the dragon landed. Dragons aren’t to be taken lightly, my friend.”

“We don’t need to fight the dragon. We just have to find his lair,” Raukie said with a wink.

“So you’re going to talk the dragon out of his loot? And how do you propose to do that? Excuse me Mr. Dragon! Would you jump up and down on this axe for a while so I can pick through you treasure bed? Or better yet, could you just point out the best items and then leap into a volcano for me?”

Raukie opened his mouth to reply then closed it with out a word. The usually talkative dwarf fell silent, having not thought through the ramifications of meeting a real dragon. Dragons were very rare in this day and few adventurers had ever seen a dragon, let alone fought one and lived to tell about it.

“Maybe it was one of them fire lizards ya hear about now and then,” Raukie mused.

“Yeah, that’s it. Fire lizards. C’mon. Get that log over there, dragon slayer.”



After the party ate their first campfire cooked meal, Noburo divided the group up into three watches. Raukie and Elorien would take the first, Noburo and Hyatt would stand the second, and Thulie on the third. The group tried to talk Noburo out of a watch shift but he insisted he felt well enough.

The first watch passed uneventfully. Raukie and the elf barely spoke at all. About mid watch, Elorien noticed that Hyatt was not in camp. It surprised him at first that he did not hear or see her leave. Elorien prided himself on his observational skills as well as his bowmanship. She reappeared a short time later curled up under a tree where she was earlier. Elorien chalked it up to “girl things”. He hadn’t traveled with a female adventurer before and like the others thought her gender accounted for many of her eccentricities.

As midnight neared, Hyatt stirred and was up before her watch.

“I’m going to scout the perimeter. Be back in a few minutes.”

She walked passed Elorien and trotted into the trees. As she disappeared into the darkness, Elorien thought he saw her leap up into the trees, but it was late and he was in need of rest. Though he had adventured before, it was some months since he had last been out in the wilds and his muscles were reminding him of that. Hyatt returned after about ten minutes and took up a position opposite the fire, which had burned down to glowing coals. The night was cool but not cold and the fire was more for the protection it provided from smaller encounters.

Elorien went over to awaken Noburo.

“Let him be,” Hyatt said quietly. “I’ll wake him in a few minutes.”

“Very well. I heard several foxes earlier but nothing since about ten.”

“We’re still pretty close to settled regions. I don’t expect to have any real night encounters till we’re a few days out. Unless…” Her voice trailed off and she turned looking eastward out of camp.

Elorien strained to see or hear any thing. A couple of seconds later an owl flew silently through the small break in the tree tops over the campsite. Hyatt continued to stare into the trees seeming not to notice the bird’s passing.

“Wake me if you need anything,” Elorien said as he unrolled his blanket.

Hyatt seemed startled as if suddenly jolted back to consciousness.

“Right.”

As Elorien passed into sleep, his last recollection was of Hyatt, still squatting by the fire staring into the darkness east of camp.



Noburo didn’t know what time it was when he woke up. He felt both hot and cold, sweat covering his forehead. His arm and side felt numb except for the wound from the ogre’s blade. A dull ache centered on his shoulder reminded him of yesterday’s events. He carefully rolled over to face the glowing pile of embers. Hyatt was squatting next to it, hunched over, her head almost between her thin knees. With a long thin branch she poked idly at some of the larger coals.

“What time is it,” Noburo asked yawning.

Hyatt continued to stare into the coals. “A little after two.”

Noburo let the information sink in. His watch was to have begun at midnight.

Before he could ask why he wasn’t awakened Hyatt spoke.

“I let you sleep. You needed it.”

“Oh. Thanks. I guess I did.”

“How does the shoulder feel?”

“It kind of stings a bit and my side feels a bit numb. Thulie’s cure spell should have taken care of this.”

Hyatt stood up and came towards him. “Can you sit up?”

Noburo quickly discovered this simple task was now an ordeal. He felt a rush as blood left his head and he slumped back towards his bedroll, wincing with the painful sensation.

“This isn’t good,” Hyatt said shaking her head. “If it’s what I’m thinking, it’s not going to get better. We’ll need to get you back to a temple tomorrow.”

She started to undo the bandage around his shoulder.

“Do you have another of those potions?”

When the last wrap of the bandage came off Noburo drew a quick breath as Hyatt peeled back the damp, sticky dressing covering his wound. The area around the cut was red and swollen and the wound remained open, not appearing to be effected much by Thulie’s spell. Some blood and a clear liquid continued to seep from the ugly tear in his skin.

“No adventuring for you tomorrow,” the elf said looking at the wound.

From Noburo’s pack she removed his rice bowl. Noburo took out the second of his two healing potions and held it out to her. Hyatt took the vial and emptied a small amount of the liquid into the bowl. Next she removed some leaves from an inner fold in her sash. She crushed the leaves in the bowl with a small flat stone and ground them until it created a coarse green paste. With two fingers she scraped the paste from the bowl and carefully applied it to Noburo’s wound. Noburo winced briefly at the slight burning sensation and then relaxed as the pain slowly subsiding.

“Where did you learn that?” Noburo asked.

The elf shrugged and continued to administer the paste.

“Another couple of Thulie’s spells and I’ll be as good as new,” he said trying to reassure himself.

When Hyatt did not reply Noburo sighed.

“We’re going to have to go back to town tomorrow and find a high priest, aren’t we?”

Hyatt nodded and applied a clean dressing to the wound, retying the bandage snuggly.

“Don’t get up. Rest,” she said moving back to her spot at the fire.

The two sat in silence for some time, surrounded by the sounds of the night.



It was nearing the time to wake the next watch. Noburo had stayed in his bedroll as Hyatt suggested, drifting in and out of consciousness. Hyatt appeared not to have moved from her position by the fire. The stiffness was almost entirely gone from Noburo’s shoulder. Perhaps they would not have to return to town after all.

Finally Hyatt’s hushed voice broke the silence.

“Why are you out here?”

The samurai had been falling in and out of unconsciousness and was unsure if he had heard the elf speaking or if he was dreaming.

“What?” Noburo said slowly.

“Why are you out here?” Hyatt repeated.

“Why am I adventuring?”

“No. Why are you out here, in the wilderness, chasing after ogres instead of on a dungeon crawl collecting easy money? I read the adventure briefing you provided the guild. You’re hunting for raiding parties, specifically ogres that may be in the mountains around here, yes?”

“That is correct.”

“Well? Anything else?”

Noburo remained silent, contemplating how much of his true mission he should disclose to this outsider.

“I’m not hunting ogres to make money.”

“I figured that much out. Nobody hunts ogres for money. They don’t use it.”

“She’s not really an outsider anymore," Noburo thought. "She is our guide. Her quick actions saved us from those ogres. We may have to depend on her knowledge and skills to save our lives again.” The samurai let out a slow breath before he spoke.

“I am looking for my father. He was lost several weeks ago in the area, possibly to one of these raiding parties. If we can find the right ones, we may need to question them. We will need to take one alive.”

“That could be a trick. Ogres don’t really talk much, even to each other,” Hyatt replied.

“Is there something on your mind? You’re not your happy-go-lucky self,” Noburo exclaimed trying to lighten the mood a bit. “What is it?”

Hyatt continued to poke at the embers.

“You were struck by a poisoned blade. It’s not normal for ogres to use blade poisons. They much prefer to bludgeon their opponents to death. And this seems to be a persistent poison. It’s not their way.”

Noburo did not have a reply. Hyatt clearly looked concerned and this caused Noburo to wonder. Was there more to his father’s disappearance than he was aware of?


C:\player’s guide\political summary

Domains

There are four nations or domains on the landmass of Tatsukuro: Narusegawa, Urashima, Otohime, and Konno. These domains are much more like city-states than actual countries. Traveling twenty miles from any of the root cities, one would find themselves in relatively unsettled lands. For about three to five miles around most villages, there are cultivated farmlands. There is a gravel/dirt road that rings the entire landmass. This road is maintained by the various kingdoms it travels through and by CrystalNet Corporation. Most travel in the interior lands is by the natural waterways and by CrystalGate.

Narusegawa

To the north and west is Narusegawa (nah-roo-se-gah-wah), a land of men similar to that of 9th century Scandinavia. The kingdom is primarily agrarian, with hunting and trading a close second and third. The coastal people are skilled sailors and shipwrights and most shipping of goods throughout the world is done by Narusegawans. King William of Gaits rules Narusegawa with the support of the Council of Five, one appointed adviser from each of the five royal families of Narusegawa. There is a high amount of political intrigue between the houses, each positioning themselves for the next chance at ruling. The king of Narusegawa is appointed by the Council and rules till he retires or dies. Narusegawa is by far the most outwardly aggressive domain of Tatsukuro.

Urashima

To the south are the farmlands of Urashima (oo-rah-she-mah), an empire of small, feudal cities, with an oriental background. Like their neighbors to the north, Urashima is mainly agrarian, with some fishing along the south coast and forestry to the north. Urashima is ruled by an emperor/shogun figure. Emperor Jobe currently occupies the royal palace in Urashima City. His position was won by defeating several other warlords of the domain. While every bit as aggressive as Narusegawa, Urashima's aggression is generally focused more inwards.

Konno

To the east, buried deep in the mountains, is the Dwarven kingdom of Konno (cone-no). The dwarves of Konno are typically dwarven, heavily involved in mining, manufacturing, and are somewhat isolationistic. Most of the heavy industry of Tatsukuro is done in Konno. With most of the population residing in the root city of Konnos, the kingdom depends heavily on imports from the other domains. King Gallin Ironhelm rules the land from his palace in Konnos. He has been king so long, few are alive that remember his coronation. Though willing to take up arms to defend their interests, Konno is peaceful and internally very stable.

Otohime

Wedged in between Urashima and Konno along the eastern coast, is the Elven kingdom of Otohime (oh-toe-hee-may). The elves of Otohime are eclectically elven and have absorbed bits of the two human cultures. Otohime is governed by the Celestial Enchantresses, who are led by the Lady Usagi, a wise, matriarchal figure. The elves are responsible for much of the fine crafts and higher circle magic of the world. Magic and mystery have kept the lands of Otohime quiet and secure.


[end Chapter 1]

[K2!]

Or the "Shell" game.

Hyatt downloaded herself to Pinky in Episode 86.


Moments later Nyoko uploaded what was left of Hyatt.


That upload turned out to be a trojan containing the code for a big pink boob bomb turning Nyoko into Nyoko-chan (nyaa!).


Finally N Prime (N3 on the Worlds of MADh Vinyl chart because she was the third “N” sister to be introduced) assimilated Nyoko-chan and Noriko in Episode 249.
http://www.madhvinyl.com/adventures/242-250/249.html

[K2!]

Updated the Worlds of MADh Vinyl.
It's been almost a year. Yikes!

[K2!]

The MADh Vinyl 2016 calendar, Motivational Vinyl, is up for sale in the MADh Vinyl Shop!
It says it's a 12 month calendar, but it also contains July through December 2015 with 6 months of Star Wars poster imagery to celebrate the December release of Star Wars, The Force Awakens.

http://www.zazzle.com/madhvinylshop

[Swan]

WOOT!!! Just sent for it! FANTASTIC!

Seriously, K2, I *needed* this boost.

We are in the process of "re-homing" our two dogs, that we have had for 10 years! We have to give them back to the rescue group from which we got them a decade ago... and it is breaking our hearts. I seriously NEEDED something good, bright, cheerful, upbeat to make this day a little less painful.

With all my heart... THANK you.

Swan