Lundar's Library

Day 44, Year 545 of the Ascendancy

My studies have been very busy lately, and I haven’t been able to come
out of the library at all for the past few moons, except for a few
short breaks to get fresh air. As such, the new year passed me by
without much incident. However, I finally got to take a much needed
break from my studies today, and visited the Scaramis Pen with a small
party. We entered the lair of Scaramis on Ash Island, and hunted the
powerful Scaramis. In the main chamber we mainly fought Scaramis
Foragers and Attendants, and the occaisional Larva. After we cleared
out the main tunnels, we headed for the Queen’s Chamber. In the QC we
set up a wall of kudzu, and slowly battled the Scaramis. After we had
cleared the QC, we decided to visit the Ethereal.

To get to the Etereal though, we first had to go
through Cimmbrion’s maze. The maze is a cartographer’s nightmare with
random teleporters and pf paths strewn about all over the place. There
are statues of the zodiac signs placed about the maze, which leads
inside the Scaramis Pen to Cimmbrion’s Keep, and there is also rumored
to be an ether trainer hidden somewhere within the maze. We wandered
through the maze a while, getting lost a couple times, before we were
finally able to locate the zodiac symbol.

However, at this point we had lost many of our
healers, and we decided that exploring the Ethereal Plane would be too
risky, so we decided to turn back. Ah well. Perhaps next time we will
be able to visit the plane. There is supposedly a pair of Ethereal
Boots to be found there, that give the user a rank of experience, and
also allow them to run faster than normally possible. That certainly
sounds exciting. For now though, my attention is foccused on the two
Foothills expeditions which a coming up soon. My hope is that we can
find Trillbane and the Orga Stronghold, which we have been searching
for so long. We shall see.

Day 357, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

The mumbling wizard Melabrion appeared in Tenebrion’s Keep today,
complaining that something had been stolen from him and his brothers.
Melabrion refused to tell us what exactly had been stolen from him,
telling us only that the thieves would know who they are. The whole
conversation was rather confusing because Melabrion only spoke to us in
Dwarven, and what he said had to be translated to us by the Dwarves who
were present. Why a sylvan like Melabrion would want to speak Dwarven
all the time is beyond me. Truly, he is an odd wizard. He also showed a
lot of interest in Blood Magic, which the dwarf Henryk happily
demonstrated for him.

After Melabrion left, a bunch of us entered the
portal in Tenebrion’s conference room, and explored the Ethereal Tower.
The Tower consists of six levels, each with a different theme. Each of
the levels is very different, and some of them are very deadly.
However, each of the levels has a mystic illusion which leads to a
small library, and a portal which leads to the basements of each of the
six ‘Brion brothers’ keeps. The basements all share similar
characteristics: a series of crystals organized in the form of the
constellation Sororian, and an illusion that leads to the Kyuem room,
which contains a Kyuem.

A Kyuem, as can be seen in the picture above,
consists of three slabs of rock, topped with a Kyuem power stone. No
one knows for sure what purpose these strange devices serve, but it is
generally thought that the Kyuem are used to absorb ether. There are
also rumors that some exiles have found pieces of the Kyuem, though
none have yet to put together an entire Kyuem. If the devices really do
absorb ether, though, they could be invaluable to Puddleby, as they
could be placed in Purgatory to absorb all the ether that slips into
the plane. This will definately be something that our ether experts
need to look into.

Day 351, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

LIFE held an expedition to the Foothills today, but unfortunately it
ended in a failure. However, even though the group did not get to
explore the Foothills, we did learn a lot of valuable lessons. Today’s
meeting had a rather small showing of members, at 27, but our group was
still confident that we could make it to the Foothills. We traveled
through Hatred’s Hollow and the Orga Outback with ease, until we
reached the Dred Passage. Here, the group tried out one of Yor’s new
strategies, which basically involves the group breaking up into two
sections, and running for the Foothills. Our group was very organized,
and this approach worked very well, and most of our group managed to
make it to the Foothills, except for two of our members fell inside DP.

Those of us who made it to the Foothills regrouped
in Katpus’ Cave, and headed back to the Dred Passage, confident that
our strategy would work this time. Our group entered the Dred Passage
for the second time, and it looked as if we would be able to pull it
off with no casualties this time. However, the group encountered a
large obstace in the form of an Orga Fury, who blocked the entrance to
one of the pf paths. A few people managed to make it through the path,
but the fury barred the way for the rest of the party. Several of our
members of our party soon fell to the fury, which created an even
larger obstacle for us to go around. With our only exit blocked by the
fury, we were all but helpless, and we were picked off one by one by
the lightning. Soon, we were all fallen.

After that, most of us departed, or were
teleported to the Orga Village to be rescued by a rescue party. The
expedition was a failure, but we learned some valuable lessons. Now we
know how to execute our plan successfully, and will be careful to avoid
luring BROs in front of the pf paths on our next expedition. I am
confident that we will all be able to make it to the Foothills on our
next raid.

Day 349, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

Today the journeyman Rincewind managed to cause quite a stir in town
when he stole a rather aromatic piece of cheese from Chef Haricot, and
tied it onto the tail of the unsuspecting Tigger. Not only did this act
foul up the air for several hours, but it also managed to summon every
single rat in Puddleby to town center. The cheese didn’t just draw
normal rats, either. The powerful scent of the cheese also drew large
numbers of Ratticus and Dirty Rats, which caused quite a bit of trouble
for the inhabitants of Puddleby. The battle raged on for a very long
time, and for several hours the only sound that could be heard in town
was the squeaking of rats.

Finally, however, after hours of prolonged battle,
we were able to turn back the tide of the fearsome rats. Some good even
came out of the event, as Haricot added a new item to his menu at a
discounted price: Ratticus Soup. However, after most of the rats in
town had been defeated, a rather intelligent rat that went by the name
of “.” came to town, and followed Tigger around wherever he went.
Tigger was only able to rid of himself of the rat when he jumped into a
pool of water, and rid himself of the foul cheese smell. Town center
was finally rid of the foul rat infestation. So next time yi’re in
town, please keep in mind the moral of this story: Don’t mess with
Haricot’s cheese.

Day 320, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

Oof! I’ve been quite busy with my studies over the past few months, and
I haven’t been able to participate in anything worth writing about at
all. However, the 216th Chaos Storm has rolled over the lands while I
was in the library, and it has brought a few changes to the isles. The
most noticeable of course is the Hall of Chivalry, which has finally
been completed. I also hear that the Scaramis nests on Ash Island have
been expanded greatly, though I’ve yet to have a chance to visit them
myself.

As for me, I’ve been mostly studying in the
library, studying the art of mind casting. During my free time I have
been working on a bunch of new and informative scrolls, so expect a few
renovations of Lundar’s Library in the upcomming months. I’ve also
managed to obtain a pinch of catsbane for myself(at a ridiculous price)
and am now in the arduous process of saving up for a Phantasmonomicon.
The tome costs 10,000 coins though, so I expect that this is going to
take a while.

Finally, the other day I witnessed a decidedly odd
event going on in town. The “conjurer” duo Merlisk and Wangah Rah were
raising up a ruckus in town square, trying to get people to chant with
them. The two lunatics claimed that the chanting was to summon some
cats to town, to kill off all the rats. Now, if yi ask me, we have more
than enough cats in town already, but the two managed to convince a few
gullible exiles into chanting with them. The chanting went on for 30
minutes or so, and a few cats did eventually show up(possibly annoyed
by the chanting), but none of the felines were interested in slaying
rats. However, for a short time afterward, all of the rats in town
began to meow like cats, which was slightly disturbing.

Otherwise, the summoners’ chanting was harmless,
and no hostile creatures appeared in town(as I have heard appeared in
the past). This incident certainly proves, though, that Merlisk and
Wangah Rah are capable of casting some form of magic, even if it isn’t
exactly “summoning.” I’m not sure what to make of all this, but as long
as they don’t start making *us* start meowing, I see their activities
as relatively harmless.

Day 249, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

A lot have people have been noticing that something strange has going
on in the undine cave in the past few days. Surprisingly, people have
been finding that there are no undine in the cave at all, even when
there were no people hunting there. Even the Dark Cave, which is
usually a deathtrap for unwary adventures, has been devoid of its
undead denizens. Today, Yor formed a small party, and decided to
investigate Alchemist’s Folly(which can be found in the Dark Cave) in
search for clues of the missing undine.

We entered the cramped tunnel of Alchemist’s
Folly, and were surprised to find that there were undine there, and
slowly pressed forward as we were pelted by boulders from above. We
made it out into the main chamber of Alchemist’s Folly, and had to
battle through more hordes of undine. However, once we had dispatched
our undead foes, we found that there was nothing unusual about
Alchemist’s Folly. Disapointed, we left, the mystery of the missing
undine unsolved. Afterwards we did some hunting in the Scaramis Pen and
on Dal’Noth Isle, where we encountered many Landews and Xar’Noths, and
even the rare Tuz’Noth.

Still, it is curious that the undine have suddenly
disapeared from their cave. Some have speculated that the destruction
of the Nox Sorora Chapterhouse has rid the area of its undine
influence. Others believe that the disapearance of the undine has
something to do with the powerful undead spirits that have recently
been plaguing the Dark Chamber. No one knows for sure, but for now the
cave is safe for exiles to tread in.

Day 231, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

Exciting news for mystics! The recent Chaos Storm that swept by our
lands helped to open up a new passage underneath Tenebrion’s Keep, and
in it has been discovered a trainer who can teach mystics to further
their understanding of the Ethereal. Learning about the Ethereal Plane
certainly seems like it is going to be a very important skill in the
days to come, especially with the possibility that we may gain a
permanent Ethereal portal. Drablack has written extensively on this new trainer on his scrolls.

Koric and Norm
have also written about a recent invasion by the greymyr and wendeka,
that nearly overran Puddleby. It seems that these denizens of the
passes may be taking revenge upon us for invading their mountains and
killing their kin. Perhaps we should think twice before we slaughter
young wendeka?

As for me, I haven’t been involved in anything too
interesting, though I have been on several exciting ‘Noth and Valley
hunts recently. I’ve also spotted a new painting in the museum, the
grand prize winning portrait of Sir Goric’s Life in Exile Art Contest.
Mostly I’ve been studying the mystic art of mind casting, which is
quite an underutilized skill in my opinion, and helping out in lots of
rescues in the South Forest. My chain already has more than 100 pulls
on it, so my Loovma training must really be paying off, and a good
thing too. I’m nearly broke again after tuning up my worn sunstone.

Day 212, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

Today, at the monthly meeting of E’las Loth’mon Ferindril, there was a
surprise in store for us. The sylvan warrior Harfoot had returned to
the lands, after being missing for more than ten years! We quickly
brought him up to speed on the events that had transpired since his
disapearance, and he told us a tale of how he and his brother fought
back orcs in his homeland. After the meeting, our clan headed for the
clan hut, and after filling out some of Gnaroon’s paperwork, Harfoot
rejoined the clan! We then proceeded to go hunting.

The first location that we chose to go hunting was
the snowy grove. However, the hunting proved to be a little scarce
there, and we left with only a few vermine skins in hand. We briefly
considered going to the Greymyr Village, but we decided against it,
because there might be too much people there. So intead, we chose to
leave Puddleby Island altogether, and hunt in the waters surrounding
Kizmia’s Isle. We soon found the hunting there to be rather scarse as
well, though it was an improvement over the snowy grove. Mostly, we
encountered a lot of GCP, with the occaisional Baltoise and Mega Mouth.
After circling around the east side of the isle, we decided to take a
small risk, and hunt on the western shore of Kizmia’s Isle. However,
this proved disappointing as well, as there wasn’t a single lifelidae
in sight. We paid a quick visit to the old witch Fat Alice, and cleared
out some Cave Cobras and spiders from her basement. We then headed for
the LSW Island.

The LSW Island, which is located in the northern
waters of Kizmia’s Isle, was crawling with the LSWs of it’s namesake. I
counted more than 11 Large Sand Wurms, as well a couple Deadly
Crawlers, which snapped at us angrily. We came up with a plan in which
I would try to attract the attention of most of the LSWs on the south
side of the isle, while the fighters entered from the north, with the
healers cadding the fighters. The plan worked pretty well at first, but
Large Sand Wurms are fickle creatures, and I could not hold their
attention for long. Soon, more and more LSWs drifted away from me, and
headed for the fighters on the north side. The LSWs managed to cut off
the fighters from their boats with their bulk, and gradually the
fighters were cut down, one by one, by the powerful Sand Wurms. The
healers tried healing the fallen fighters with their cads, and several
chain attempts were made, but when a sudden school of GCP spawned near
us, it left most of us fallen.

The lone survivor, Firebird, requested aid for the
fallen ELFs, and soon Entil’Zha arrived, and with her help we were
eventually all rescued. We then attempted to clear the LSW Island
again, and with Entil’s help we were successful. We ended the hunt by
finishing our circuit of the isle, and we were rewarded by several Mega
Mouths and Baltoise. There was one close call, when our group ran into
a huge school of GCP, but otherwise the rest of the hunt went pretty
smoothly. Hopefully our next hunt we will be able to do without getting
massacred, which has become something of an ELF tradition, in recent
years.

Day 193, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

It seems that the Scaramis Pen that Hrothgar and I discovered two days
ago might not be linked to the Darshak after all. Today, on a
relatively uneventful day following the Bawkmas holiday, Crius reported
that there was trouble in the Dark Chamber. Curious as to what the
trouble might be, I quickly rented myself a boat, and headed for the
Dark Chamber. However, when I landed on Ash Island, I noticed that
something was amiss. A strange odor hung in the air, and the island was
wracked by several small earthquakes. Suddenly, seemingly out of
nowhere, several Scaramis Foragers and Larvae appeared, and proceeded
to fell me in record time. A small rescue party soon arrived for me,
and after raising me back on my feet, we proceeded to explore the
Scaramis Pen area. The sight that greeted us was shocking.

At first, there were only a few Foragers within
the Pen, but soon more and more Scaramis appeared from out of the
ground, until the Pen was literally filled with Scaramis of different
hues. To make matters worse, the Scaramis dug a tunnel beneath the
thick walls of their pen, and proceeded to attack us. Luckily for us,
reinforcements soon arrived, and we were able to push the Scaramis
back. After clearing the Scaramis on the outside, we entered the Pen
through the tunnel, to discover another surprise: the Keep of the
magician Lugubrion! However, once inside the Pen, we found that we
could not get back outside. The only exits, we soon found, were the
sculls that lined the Pen, which led out into the Ethereal Plane.

However, this snell of the Ethereal was like no
other that we had encountered before. In the center of the snell was a
small formation of sculls, which lead back to Lugubrion’s Keep, and the
rest of the snell was filled with deadly creatures, such as a Scaramis
Queen and an Ethereal Force. Needless to say, we all fell in no time.
Since rescue seemed impossible, we were all forced to depart, creating
more than ten Ethereal Clouds in Purgatory. So ended our adventures in
the Scaramis Pen. However, the adventure still leaves some questions
unanswered. Do the Darshak know that Lugubrion has built a Keep on
their Island? Are they in league? And where exactly on the Ethereal
Plane did those sculls lead to? Still, these sculls may prove to be of
use to us in the future. They effectively serve as a two-way portal to
the Ethereal– with four entrances and exits! I look forward to our
next forray into the Scaramis Pen.

Day 191, Year 544 of the Ascendancy

The Darshak seem to be up to no good again. Ever since the last
scaramis invasion in town, there have been numerous sightings of
scaramis on Ash Island for some reason. At first, people just assumed
that the scaramis had swum there from Puddleby, or perhaps Kizmia’s
Isle. However, the adventurers Hrothgar and Stinkfist have been
exploring Ash Island as of late, and have noticed that there is
something in the air that isn’t quite right. Today the two asked me to
investigate the woodlands near the Dark Chamber, and to my surprise, I
discovered a mystic illusion. Beyond the illusion we were met by a most
startling sight– a pen filled with deadly scaramis, and night
wendeckas. We circled around the entire enclosure, but were unable to
find a way into the penned area.

Norm later joined us in our investigation, but he
could not find a way in either. We did manage to find a pf path on the
north side of the secluded area, after hours of searching, but it
turned out that it just led to the lake area of Ash Island. Obviously
the Darshak have been letting the scaramis out, so there must be some
way to do it. Hopefully we will be able to figure out the mystery of
these scaramis, before the Darshak unleash them upon our town.