Hi Mom,
We Finally made it to ThroneFast. The journey was fun and we picked up a few friends along the way but the guards here do not seem so friendly. We are going to keep our heads down and try to explore without getting into to trouble but you know Zippin is a wild one so we won't make any promises. There is also a strange looking glowing pillar here but no one has been brave enough to go near it. I will let you know how it turns out. if you don't here from us in a week please tell uncle Theodore to come find us, otherwise we will see you when we get back!
Love,
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
Jamie said:Hi Mom,
We Finally made it to ThroneFast. The journey was fun and we picked up a few friends along the way but the guards here do not seem so friendly. We are going to keep our heads down and try to explore without getting into to trouble but you know Zippin is a wild one so we won't make any promises. There is also a strange looking glowing pillar here but no one has been brave enough to go near it. I will let you know how it turns out. if you don't here from us in a week please tell uncle Theodore to come find us, otherwise we will see you when we get back!
Love,
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
Very cool, Jamie, I like it :)
...we found a cheap, clean inn to spend a few nights. only downside, there is a glowing pillar right outside the window that keeps me awake.
i asked one of the thronefast guards (a shifty sort that hung out behind the inn) if it were a portal stone of some sort, he murmured something about 'mana climates' and told us to move along.
all the best,
werzul
werzul said:...we found a cheap, clean inn to spend a few nights. only downside, there is a glowing pillar right outside the window that keeps me awake.
i asked one of the thronefast guards (a shifty sort that hung out behind the inn) if it were a portal stone of some sort, he murmured something about 'mana climates' and told us to move along.
all the best,
werzul
Haha, nice Werzul :)
Xalbis,
Greetings old friend. Elos smile upon you. The journey has been long. The strange aura in Thronefast calls out but it is not a remnant of Elos, so our journey continues. Tonight we find sleep, long awaited sleep! It is welcomed but first I must get this parchment to your hands. Niner gives his regards, he wants to move on as the orcs here are a bit restless but supplies are low. We will rest a few days and move on in the next full moon. Tell Corryn I love her and miss her, also give Brigim a hug for me. We will keep heading North, heading the call of our ancestors. Elos embrace you
Umgrim, The Prophet
zaktaros said:Dear son,
It's cold here in Thronefast, there's still some snow melting on the ground, bring a cloak. Looks like there aren't too many guards, perhaps we can loot and pillage, bring trouble makers.
Love,
Mom.
Haha, uh oh, GUARDS, GUARDS COME QUICKLY!!!
/steals all the shiny loot while the guards are distracted with Zaktaros ;)
Kelem said:Xalbis,
Greetings old friend. Elos smile upon you. The journey has been long. The strange aura in Thronefast calls out but it is not a remnant of Elos, so our journey continues. Tonight we find sleep, long awaited sleep! It is welcomed but first I must get this parchment to your hands. Niner gives his regards, he wants to move on as the orcs here are a bit restless but supplies are low. We will rest a few days and move on in the next full moon. Tell Corryn I love her and miss her, also give Brigim a hug for me. We will keep heading North, heading the call of our ancestors. Elos embrace you
Umgrim, The Prophet
Nice, Kelem, that was a good read :)
Marika,
Arrived at the frontier post you suggested might the next step to finding it. The Guards are amateurs... heck they didnt even check us for hidden weapons. Any of the girls could take three of these Guards out without breaking sweat - even little Beth. The glyphs on the obelisk are coded below:
13-08-11-0E-0D-05-06-01-12-13
13-05-0B-05-0F-0E-11-13-05-11
What does concern me are the guests at the inn. First - there are too many of them for such a farflung village. Second - they are the most diverse bunch you could ever imagine. But they all have one thing in common - they are the shiftiest, downright untrustworthy bunch of neer-do-wells I have ever seen. They are armed to the teeth, paranoid to the point of madness and treat every conversation like it was one with the King's spymaster. I don't trust them any further than I could throw a troll!
Bring the girls north of the village - a full half-days march to be safe - and I will meet you there.
Evoras.
PS reduced to eating conjured food and water (which tastes awful as ever) so bring some decent food and wine!
Victory! Father our forces took back the fort. The fight was ferocious and we lost many on the 5th attack. The enemy kept coming. Wave after wave of them. At times the blood and bodies were knee deep. Armor is damaged but I am well. Even our Dire Lord friend was helpful. He is a strange one but well versed in combat. His after battle rituals with using the bones of the slain as trophies caused a stir but I think everyone was glad he was here. We have secured the northern pass and the outer walls are being repaired. Reinforcements arrived early this morning. Just in time with our losses. The enemy is cunning and fierce but I fear even with our victory the battles have just begun.
More to come as we proceed further into enemy territory.
Your loyal servant and Royal Guard of the Voices.
Oxillion
Guardian;
I have found repast in an outpost called Thronefast, perhaps 2 leagues west by my reckoning. They have some magic from a simple obelisk but a churlish gnome in the tavern insisted on calling it- as best I can interperet- "meh-kah-nee-zims". I suppose this is the gnomish word for magic. Sadly they have no library so I would appreciate your response on this.
However, there is exciting news. A group of 6 hoo-mans are staying here, I think they speak of what I can only interpret as the very same ambient eidolon mentioned in the annals! They call them "goe-sts" and these goe-sts are in a nearby mine!
I have befreinded a charming young muliebrous hoo-man with pretty markings on the face. This hoo-man has assured me I would be welcome with them if they went back to the mine.
Please send money, I seem to have lost a portion when speaking to the muliebrous and offering to buy a round of drinks. Imagine my embarrasement!.I will be staying here a while and anticipate your reply. The couriers are regular, eager and young.
Dearest Mother,
You warned me of the perils of adventuring, but I could not bear life on the farm. Well, you need worry no longer. Not a fortnight from home and I learned that being the best swordman among the farmers does not make you a great swordman, Don't worry about me though, just a small wound to my knee. I will have a limp and a nasty scar. Who'd've thought an arrow would hurt so much! But I made it to Thronefast and took a job as a guard. A silver a month plus room and board is more than I would make as a farmer anyway. Anyway, I learned my lesson, maybe I will see you all when you come to town to sell your vegetables in the fall.
Your devoted son,
A Thronefast Guard
My dearest family,
I am writing (as promised) to let you know that I have arrived in Thronefast! I know that you had great misgivings about my trip, especially as I just turned 16, but I made it safely (as I told you I would) 2 days ago and am having the time of my life. I've already made lots and lots of new friends. It's just incredible here. The people, the city, even the sky....everything just seems so much bigger than in our little out of the way town. I've seen so many new sights. There is even a mysterious glowing pillar just outside the inn where I'm staying. I'm in awe.
I know that I told you I would write every day and I'm sorry that I haven't. I'll try harder, I promise. However, I do want to let you know that although I'll write, I won't be able to post letters for the next couple of weeks or so. I'm going on another adventure. A real adventure this time, not just a little trip to the city. I'll be boarding a ship in about an hour for a trip north. I am going to hunt for treasure! Yes, really!
Apparently, about 50 years ago, a royal traveling party was ambushed and robbed about a 4 day sail north of here. The rumors are that the robbers couldn't carry all the gold they looted, so they buried it in an old Ogre hideout. There may even be an heirloom of incredible power hidden in the stash. Some sort of staff that can only the descendents of Avendyr can use. Don't Uncle Thom used to say, when he was in his cups, that we had royal blood way back in our family history? Maybe, if the staff exists (which I highly doubt), I'll be able to use it. Hahahaha. Wouldn't that be something? Anyway, my new friends and I are going to go and look for this treasure. I'm sure I'll be coming home very rich!
Now, don't worry, I will have plenty of protection. The man leading the party, a charming, handsome, older gentleman named Captain Kilsin, seems to be a very capable man. He is the one that invited me on the journey and he has guaranteed my safety. We met in a tavern outside of town just yesterday. I was feeling a bit morose, a little homesick (yes, I miss you all terribly), and he sensed my sadness and struck up a conversation with me. A few drinks in and I got to talking about my family and how I miss you all. It turns out he knows Gram! Yes, really! He says that in her youth she was "quite the looker" and a "bit of a spitfire" and told me I look just like her. He's quite the flatterer. He was very interested to hear all about her life now and our family. He also told me to send Gram his regards...so here they are!
Anyway, the Captain and I talked for hours last night. He says he was there when Gram got her scar. He even told me the whole story. He told me about how they were traveling south to the city for the prince's christening and were set upon by brigands. I think he may be remembering it a bit wrong though, as he told me it was a horse that gave Gram that scar, not an evil (if handsome, as Gram always says) rogue. I suppose it was half a century ago and I'm sure there was lots of confusion. It must be hard keeping the facts straight after all this time, especially as he is getting a bit older. I wonder why Gram has never talked about him? He talks like they were very friendly at one time.
Anyway, as soon as Captain Kilsin found out I was related to grandma, he asked if I would like to join his adventuring party. I was a little leery at first, but he has assured me that it won't be dangerous at all. Any Ogres that guarded that cave are long gone by now. Also, there will be at least 20 others joining our party, including a healer or two. (Maybe I can learn some of their methods?) So, I said yes. How could I pass up this opportunity? Real treasure! Also, I trust Captain Kilsin totally. One of the barmaids warned me that he is a no-good scoundrel, but I think she may have been a little jealous. I mean, he does seem a bit roguish, but I'm sure that just comes along with having had such an adventurous life. Also, I know that no friend of Gram's would ever hurt me, so I will be perfectly safe.
Okay, that's all for now. This letter is getting very long and it's almost time to board the ship. I'll have to run this to the post just to make it in time. Hugs and kisses for everyone, especially little Aven. Don't forget to tell Gram the Captain says hello. Wish me well on my adventure. I miss you all and I'll be home before you know it!
All my love,
Sylee
To Mom One and Mom Two - you both are the best and I love you!
How are the cats? Has Uncle Gobbo gotten tired of chasing new recruits around his training ground? Any new potion recipes you can share? I miss you, so write back soon. Okay, on to the Kanchile Town Crier:
I came upon another hella boring town this week, Thronefast, where the stupidity-addled folks here seem to have partaken of far, far too many "green mana" brownies. I enclosed a picture I drew with this letter, so you know what I mean; because whomever decided to pave the streets - without leveling them first - must be some kind of fruit-peel-smoking, I'mma-build-a-ripple-road-right-now, walking-is-for-knuckle-draggers genius. Were it not for the healing arts, which I could not locate anywhere in town, mind you, I think that people would have to walk around with their head down and soak the bottoms of their shoes in sap in order to keep from slipping on the every-which-a-way bricks, not pavers, I see all over. "Hey, is that you, Heddie? Your shoes are looking mighty grippy today." As for me, I just climb over the rocks, because it's safer. I suspect that the person who laid these stones down is on the church's secret payroll because it would keep the healers in business. Don't even get me started on what straight comedy goes down after a good rain, followed by a line at the altar. Thieves come in all packages, and I suppose that means cleric-shaped ones, too. As long as the gods answer prayers, I guess it's a good living.
Okay, well I didn't write to you to talk Thronefast or any deities down, though I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't mention that the food here at the Pigeon's Roost has got to be the very reason for the town's name. The man at the table next to me who overheard me grousing about a dead spider at the bottom of my mead said that it was the smart-assed (and foxy) serving girl who scraped out the 'st' and part of the 'R' on the sign outside. I asked her, and she didn't cop to it immediately, but when I said that I admired the strained eyebrow added to the pigeon's eye and a "full plate" drawn below the pigeon's butt, she gave me a grin only found on a cat with feathers sticking out of either side of its mouth. As for what I ate, it will suffice to say that there are absolutely no pigeons around Thronefast and I've burned up enough enormous rats and ratkin to know that what I ate was not carved from any kind of bird.
No. No besmirching here in my much anticipated correspondence, Moms. What I'd really like to discuss is the extremely arbitrary decision to give such a rinky-dink village an exorbitant building budget. You heard right: This small town is set! They have their own waymeet stone, a defensible gate with guards armored like they work at the palace, a tavern that is separate from the inn, a full smithy-- not just an oven that gets real hot like we have, a real stone church, a clean brothel (or so I've heard) and what looks to be a gnome recharging station that is located on a deadly slope-- poor gnomes, which I included in my depiction of the West Gate. Inventive naming, wouldn't you agree? Someone in the royalty must have a lowly relative out here who holds a damning secret to get this much good wasted on a town this lowly. I won't pry because I value my standing in the wizarding community, but I am having trouble with any other explanation. That brings me to the bandits that hang out around this town like the smell of a stagnant pond in summer.
Were it not for these lazy bandits that rob the passersby on the roads and then spend it in the very town they haunt, I'd not have stopped long enough to write this fortnight. Seriously though, if this weren't the only way to get to Ru'Lun by land, this town would have dried up ages ago. Speaking of which, I had my head knocked in by some fiesty cultists, so I can't seem to conjure a piece of bread these days, let alone drum up the scratch I need to get back home. So if you please, would you send along a bank money order for at least 100 gold coins to help a wizza out? I asked around town, but people's purses get really tight around a man in a purple velvet robe who carries a diamond-topped golden rod. The bank won't even talk to me about a loan unless I trade in my wand for a holy symbol. A lesser wizard would have frozen those bank clerks' asses to their chairs for muttering "paper tiger" and "glass cannon" under their breath to each other in my presence, but I walked out with dignity, just like you both taught me. Anyway, their pasty, chubby faces told me that they have never even lifted so much as a rapier unless there was roasted meat and vegetables on it. Sorry. I guess I'm still juggling feeling justified and feeling guilty because I pulled down a hailstorm on their building last night which, disappointingly, was chalked up to a freak weather accident just because it snowed a little. I did say these people were slow, right? Humility is harder for me than most folks and dignity is a work in progress, but I will do better. Promise(tm).
I love y'all with all my heart,
Your son, Kanchile (aka, L'il K-Chill, Monumental Wizard of Miniature Stature)
Love the stories. But... as much as I don't want to be 'that guy'... c'mon man. Look at the guard. Zoom in on the guard. It may as well be a black silhouette of some old lady's butt bending over to tend flowers. I get it, its a screen shot, the game isn't ready. Listen, I'm a supporter, I am 100% behind you. But, I can't in good faith show my gamer friends a picture like this, regardless of how far out the game is, and expect them to give it a fair shot. And frankly, I don't know how this wasn't said before now.
Tonight I told my brother about this game. My brother is the one that got me into EQ, my first mmorpg. I told him the good things, I didn't mention this, its seriously embarassing. Raise the bar.
coach said:Love the stories. But... as much as I don't want to be 'that guy'... c'mon man. Look at the guard. Zoom in on the guard. It may as well be a black silhouette of some old lady's butt bending over to tend flowers. I get it, its a screen shot, the game isn't ready. Listen, I'm a supporter, I am 100% behind you. But, I can't in good faith show my gamer friends a picture like this, regardless of how far out the game is, and expect them to give it a fair shot. And frankly, I don't know how this wasn't said before now.
Tonight I told my brother about this game. My brother is the one that got me into EQ, my first mmorpg. I told him the good things, I didn't mention this, its seriously embarassing. Raise the bar.
Something like this probably hasn't been said before because the majority of this community are adult's who can understand that this game is still way far off from being polished. In comparison to every other game in its pre pre alpha state this game is light years ahead. If your friends are not able to grasp that consept then I would be ashamed to call them my friends to be frank. Here's an idea, maybe show them the two videos that have been put out by VR, which is way better then any photo. Sorry, but these kind of comments really run me hot quick becuase not only are they thoughtless and empty but what the OP was asking for was to write a letter home from what the picture is showing you, not to grade the picture itself. They fully understand how this picture looks in a pre pre alpha state. They are just doing what no other company has done and that is to include you in on some of the goings on and to get some feedback as far as what kind of story would come out of your mind if you were in this town. Maybe give them some ideas on lore., etc..etc
Sorry for any outburst, these guys are doing an awesome job :) Thank you kindly for any and all support coach.
Sendin word to let you know Dolf has fallen captive his young life hangs in the balance.
Will need two horses and a mule and 420 silver coins for supplies.
We can save Dolf but must get this ransom supplies before the next full moon. Shall wait for your reply in Thronefast.
Ugg the Nasty
