I’m happy to announce that 3 new scrolls have been added to Puddleby.com: Feodoric’s Files, Diotima’s Garden, and The Chicken’s Roost. As a long time scribe myself, it is a pleasure to see all these exiles sharing their knowledge and creativity through webscrolls!

If you would like a scroll hosted at Puddleby.com, just contact me, and I will be happy to set you up with shelf space of your own.

Congratulations to Salazar, who was recognized as a full Mystic today! It’s hard to believe, but it’s been years since the last big promotion! Time flies when you’re in the library, I guess.

There was plenty of booze on hand for the celebration in town afterwards, including a barrel of my favorite Brambleberry beer! Congratulations to Salazar on his well deserved promotion!

Post promotion celebrations

(More sketches of the celebration over at Ansset’s Annexe)

A light among the puddles

Looks like someone’s built a nice little bonfire in the middle of TC. I like it. Reminds of having meetings around the old campfire with my clanmates.

Looks like some good has come of the recent plant invasion and subsequent truce with nature caused by the paved road to the University. There’s a lot more foliage now in Town Center and around Puddleby, giving town a much more foresty feel. There are even plans to redecorate town with some of the cobbles taken from the road.

I really like all the new plants, and think it’s a huge improvement. There hasn’t been this much new greenery in town since Johnny Treeseed visited Puddleby, many years ago.

Grassy Town Center

Grassy Temple

Grassy Hut

I’ve seen many strange invasions in the more than four decades I’ve lived in Puddleby (my, how time flies!), but none quite so strange as the one I saw today. Apparently, many forest creatures aren’t too happy with the new road to UoP that was built recently (and I can’t blame them– I’m not too thrilled with it either).

Anyway, the forest actually decided to do something about it, leading to Puddleby’s first kudzu invasion. The usual muddy streets of Puddleby were filled end to end with kudzu, making it nearly impossible to move. The kudzu were aided by patches of Corsica, which are especially deadly when you’re immobile, as well as Tree Giants and packs of foxweirs.

Eventually, the townsfolk were able to push the forest creatures back, and started clearing the road to UoP, which was completely covered in kudzu. I tagged along, planting a few seedlings along the way (they actually look rather nice on the side of the road).

Follow the kudzu-covered road

The invasion culminated in a big battle in front of the University, where exiles were finally able to overwhelm the forest. There were a few more waves of plants in town, and one kudzu even made some half-hearted attempts at negotiating with exiles, but eventually they ended up being smoked by the pirate, Stinkfist.

Jaqen: Kudzu Negotiator

So it looks like the ugly road to the University is here to stay. The only question that remains is: what are we going to do with all this mulch?

The last of the kudzu invaders

After many years of hard study, I was finally awarded my first training ledger today! Following in the footsteps of my good friend Eros, I am now qualified to teach students in the art of mental energy recovery. So if you’re a mystic, and looking to improve your recovery times, come find me in town.

To Learn and to Teach are the greatest joys in life.

After years (decades?) of construction, the Alliance Castle is finally open! Built on the old location of Baron Vonkessi’s Keep (which was burned down by the Fenix), the Castle is quite an impressive sight, with its collection of towers, gates, and battlements.

The building is quite sparse, though, consisting mostly of empty rooms and cavernous hallways. I’m not sure what the castle could be used for, though it could make a good place to hide out during the next Darshak invasion.

The security could use some work, though– currently the castle defenses consist of a shallow moat, a grumpy sylvan, and a lone archer. Cassia Allin’s probably going to want to hire more help, especially with all the suspicious figures running around.

View from above

Posing atop the Alliance Castle

I got to participate the Dun’ilsar competition hosted by Neko No Kessha today. As advertised, the contest was a V.I.A. challenge, where each clan worked to keep their team’s Agratis alive.

A lot of clans showed up without many members, so what ended up happening was that the smaller clans banded together to improve their odds. I decided to go it alone, despite being the only member of E’las Loth’mon Ferindril, and donned the mantle of Agratis Denden. I figured since the last Dun’ilsar challenge was won by a lone Agratis, I stood a chance, especially with the running skills I’ve honed as a mystic.

Watching and waiting

I pretty much kept in place for most of the challenge, running only when I sensed people were near. I had a few close calls with death, but managed to survive until the first clan, Neko No Kessha, was eliminated. The remaining members of NNK started seeking vengeance, though, and I was brought down by one of their rangers.

I ended up having to leave during the middle of the second challenge, but I heard that there were 3 contests in all, all of which were handily won by the Yellow Team, thanks to their superior fighting prowess and teleporting mystic. It was a fun challenge in all, and good to see the clan competition brought back again.

Neko No Kessha has a full report on their blog.