Lundar's Library

Day 32, Year 538 of the Ascendancy

The isles of the Lok’groton Islan Chain are filled
with many mysterious and secret areas. As of late, it has become almost
a necessity to have at least some training in the field of pathfinding
to reach these hidden locales. I have recently begun training with the
Marsh Hermit myself, and I must say that progress is quite swift. Five
sessions will have you jumping over fences, and with ten you will start
crawling under trees and boulders. Traveling these paths can be a nice
shortcut, and it really is much fun; I hop around these paths many a
time soley for the sensation of travelling great distances in a short
time. Today I was doing just that, when I ran into some trouble.

When my head poked out of a tunnel I had found
between a pair of trees, I was astonished to see before me the colossal
feet of a greymyr. I quickly popped my head back in the tunnel, and
heaved a sigh of dismay. In my brief glance above, I had caught sight
of no less than five greymyr! What were the greymyr doing outside of
the mountains, yet again? Luckily, there was a party of bold
adventurers nearby, and together we began to hack away at the stone
titans. But these were no ordinary greymyr. Ordinry greymyr are bad
enough; they’re tough, they’re hard to hit, and they throw large
boulders at you. But these… these made ordinary greymyr seem like
children.

It took almost an hour just to slay two of the
five greymyr that were present. That was when the greymyr arrived in
town. I have no idea how any greymyr could have gotten past us, but
five greymyr just waltzed into town, and started dropping exiles like
flies. We still had three greymyr on our hands, but I rushed back to
town to aid those in desparate need of help. I was appalled by the
sight before me.

Bodies lay everywhere, screams and shouts came
from all directions, and in the midst of it all were five greymyr,
casually throwing in a boulder or two for effect. Things looked pretty
bleak for a while, as the corpses piled up, and the healers were too
harried by the flying rocks to heal the fallen. Finally, the East
Forest party dispatched the last of their greymyr, and together with
the survivors in town, the greymyr were cleared out. We had defeated
the greymyr yet again, but a question yet remained in our heads: “Why
did the Greymyr attack us?” The greymyr are for the most part a simple
and peaceful people, so something must have provoked them to attack us
on more than three separate occaisions in a single month. We must rush
to find the source of their irritation, before we are crushed beneath
the wrath of the greymyr.

Day 28, Year 538 of the Ascendancy

T’rool invasions seem to grow more and more common
with each passing day. Though Usnar usrges exiles to help him in his
effort to build an outpost for T’rools, his pleas seemingly fall on
deaf ears, for the outpost is nowhere near completion(though what an
outpost could do to stop an invading force of T’rools is yet to be
seen). In the meanwhile, exiles get to enjoy the excitement of constant
T’rool invasions. It is still unclear what the Vol’Kin and the Sar’Noth
discussed on that fateful day(see Day 19), but more and more T’rools
seem to pour forth from the deep mines of the T’rool Town.

Today, another army of T’rools crept through the
South Forest, and were first spotted around the southern reaches of
Puddleby. Soon, an army of our own was assembled, and the exiles
marched through the south forest in the daily ritual of clearing the
woods of T’rool Kin. The army marched all the way down to the T’rool
Town, and the hunt finally ended in the mines, which were impassable as
usual(at least for now). The exiles then split up, and doubled back on
their tracks, erradicating the last remnants of T’rools.

After the exiles returned to Puddleby, things
began to quiet down a bit. Exiles were lulled into a false sense of
security, but this was only the calm before the storm. I was exploring
the South Forest with a band of adventures, when the plea for help rang
through our heads. We quickly ran towards Puddleby, wondering what new
terror was striking now. The sunstone messages were broken, and
unclear, and the exact nature of the threat was unclear. We rushed past
the southern gates of Puddleby, and nothing could prepare us for the
sight that we beheld.

Those purple globs yi see on the sketch aren’t Giant Slugs, they’re Gigantic
Slugs. They are closer kin to the Tahxis Wurm than the Giant Slug, if
yi ask me, and they are very powerful foes. As I helped to vanquish
these vermin from Puddleby, I was set upon by a Cave Cobra, and several
Palidews. It seemed that all manner of pests and vermin had decided to
set upon Puddleby this day, and some of the creatures included Myrm,
and strange beetle like creatures, along with wurms and island locusts.
Continuing with the recent trend, the creatures combined their might in
an effort to crush Puddleby; but of course, we prevailed. Something
really big is going down if yi ask me. That, or some ancient is playing
a mighty fine trick on us all…(Check out a Vision Stone of the Cave Cobra and the Gigantic Slugs).

Day 19, Year 538 of the Ascendancy

Look around you. All is not right. There are dark
powers at work all about the isle, if you are observant enough to
notice them. T’rool and Darshak invasions that occur in succession, as
if coordinated, greymyr marching into town for no apparent reason,
detached spirits appearing regularly, in the very town center itself,
and finally the dreaded fungus of Dal’Noth Isle, suddenly growing quite
common in Puddleby… all these are pieces to a sinister puzzle. Add to
this today, another piece…

I was not present to witness many of the events
that transpired today, but I must record them down here, for all to
see, for the implications of these events could well be
world-shattering. It all started when the army of several Sar’noths and
quasi-intelligent Palidews trapped a poweful group of exiles on
Dal’Noth Isle. Almost as if on cue, a band of T’rool and T’rool Kin
invaded Puddleby. Thus the battle was begun. The exiles caught on
Dal’Noth fought desparately for their lives, while those on Puddleby
struggled to keep the T’rools at bay.

After long fighting, the exiles on Puddleby pushed
the T’rools back, and began to erradicate the T’rool forces scattered
throughout the South Forest, while the Dal’Noth party managed to
maneuver themselves off of Dal’Noth Isle, and rushed to the aid of the
exiles in South Forest. The exiles slowly but surely pushed the T’rool
forces back, until they had reached the very T’rool Town itself. This
is where the apprentice mystic Phiros stumbled onto an important
discovery.

Phiros had slipped into one of the T’rool huts
seeking solace, but had instead found a secret conference between a
Sar’Noth and a Vol’Kin. With the untimely intruder, the conference
quickly come to a close, but Phiros managed to hear the Sar’noth say:
“Deal! We will open the caves for you… we warned though you’d better
not cross Qual!” The nature of the caves that the Sar’Noth spoke of are
unknown, but perhaps they a system of caverns hidden on Dal’Noth Isle,
or maybe even in the deep mines of the T’rools…

Another interesting thing about this invasion, was
that a Darshak invasion force quickly followed the T’rools, as if the
Darshak knew that the town would be vaccant. A similar invasion occured
on Day 274, of year 537…
somehow this seems not to be a coincidence. Even the greymyr decided to
pay us a visit, and ten or so greymyr made a pilgrimage from the
Northern Passes to Puddleby. There is definately something brewing in
the lands. Are the foes of Puddleby suddenly uniting to fight against
us? Somehow, I have a strange feeling that we shall all find out in the
132nd Chaos Storm…(see Yor’s Scrolls and Norm’s Diary for more information on the invasions).

Day 17, Year 538 of the Ascendancy

Today, as I stepped out of the library, I was
surprised to see a small boulder go flying over my head, and knocking
off a good chunk of plaster off Edrik’s Library. There was a greymyr in
town; three in fact. Later, when I heard the tale from a clan mate, I
would learn that these three greymyr had walked to town all the way
from the Greymyr Village to Puddleby, and not a single sole had tried
to stop the trio. Not that I blame anyone not for trying. I wouldn’t
dare go against one of these stone giants without a small army at my
side. Anyway, the greymyr had come into Puddleby, and the casualties
were stacking up. Fortunately for us, we did have a small army on our side, in the form of the halfling Gurgi.

With Gurgi on our side, the stone titans seemed as
easily handled as babes, and soon the trio of greymyr were ground into
dust from which they came. It seems very odd, though, that the greymyr
came all the way to Puddleby from the eastern mountains, just to
harrass exiles. Though the greymyr are often times violent, and highly
protective of their territory, they rarely venture forth from the
mountains that gave birth to them. What then could have caused these
stone juggernauts to come forth from their sanctuaries? Hopefully it
was mere coincidence, but I have a feeling that this could be a part of
something much greater…

Day 13, Year 538 of the Ascendancy

The witch priestess of the Nox Sorora, Lilit, has
recently been indicted many times of summoning forth undine, but has
always come forth unscathed, through lack of evidence. After today’s
events, however, Lilit may not get off so easily. Lilit has many times
summoned undine from the Abyss with her dark rites, but never before on
the scale as was witnessed today.

On the morn of the 13th day of Winter, after
partaking in a brief rescue in the Trool Town(in which I ended up on my
back, as usual), I headed to the undine hut in the northern fields of
Puddleby, which from broken sunstone messages I had desiphered that
much was amiss. And indeed, much was wrong there. Lilit and Aromae, a
new accomplice of hers, were bent upon much destruction, and with their
rites they summoned forth many powerful undine from the nether. Greater
Wraiths, Death Furies, Faithless, Ghastly Presences, and Corpse
Warriors were much too common within the dark cavern that day. Many
exiles rushed forth to the cavern, and many were wounded and felled,
but eventually Lilit’s forces were pushed back.

Still, it is alarming to see how Lilit’s power
grows daily; she now even gathers support from other exiles, including
such as Aromae, Sau’lo Dra’kh, and Fuzz. And the Ghastly Presence, the
invisible foe with much might… I have not seen such vile undine since
the Great Forgetting. Hopefully, today’s showing will have taught Lilit
a lesson, but somehow that seems doubtful. For now, at least, we can
keep her dark forces at bay.(See a Vision Stone of the Ghastly Presence)

On a lighter note, the Puddeby Clan Council
sponsored art contest has come to a close, and the many pieces of art
submitted for the contest are now on public display, and await judging.
The pieces are mainly of great events that have touched Puddlby, or
portraits of prominent exiles. The judges will surely have a hard time
judging the entries, for the pieces are simply superb! But don’t take
my word for it! Go to the Art Contest Scrolls, and see for yourself!

Day 10, Year 538 of the Ascendancy

Well folks, the New Year has come and gone, and
Puddleby is still going strong. The balance tax that has plagued many
exiles has been abolished(for now), and a new, faster library has been
built in Puddleby. For my New Year’s resolution, I’ve decided to try to
update my scrolls more often, and keep the durn thing up to date, but
already it is the 10th day of Winter, so I’m obviously not doing a very
good job! ;p

Well, anyhow, I spent the few days preceding the
New Year hunting greymere in the Greymere Village with Gurgi and some
of his companions. It was good hunting, and I managed to hit all of
they greymere that we hunted. The greymere are pretty easy to hit once
they lose their balance(they’re so big!), but still yet, they are
dangerous to hunt because the small rocks(err, large boulders) that
they throw can kill an exile beyond remedy. It was still very good
hunting, and a good way to pass the time before the new year.

Several days later, the New Year had arrived. I’ve
heard about some big parties that were held in the days preceding the
New Year, but the actual New Year came to pass with little fanfare and
celebration. Many exiles were asleep, or engrossed in their studies. No
matter though, the New Year came, and those present to witness it
kissed and hugged each other, and wished each other well in the coming
year. The beer kegs were aplenty, and candy popped up in town square at
random intervals, for no apparent reason. All in all, it was a mellow,
but quaint New Year’s celebration.

Obviously this New Year’s Spirit has caught on to
some of our exiles, for just two days later, the infamous Malkor(AKA
Spriggin Boy) returned the last of the valuable tomes to Libros. The
librarian Lirric was quick to add an extention to Edric’s already
comprehensive collection of tomes, and now we have a new library in
which to study! The only problem is, this new library is rather
expensive. Lirric charges 175 coins a Zodiac(that’s 25 coins an OOC
day, folks!) and the education received is not much greater than what
can be gained for a seventh of the cost at Edric’s old library. Still,
it makes a noticable difference, so those with the coins may want to
try it out. Happy New Year all!

Day 355, Year 537 of the Ascendancy

Five more days ’til the new year folks! Well,
today was the monthly clan meeting of E’las Loth’mon Ferindril, and we
all met at the campfire near the Myrm Higlands. The meeting was very
brief, but it was decided that the ship builder Kixus Everide, who
specialises in sylvan ship building, would be contracted to build our
ship. After the meeting, we all took a trip to check out Orion’s Forest.

Kor’gah and Entil’Zha being the primary experts on
the place, showed us around the forest. In the early morning, the
forest was eeirily quiet, and a bit dull. After a through look at the
forest, we all went back to town, and I suggested we go to the savanah,
the long way, suspecting that there might be some new developements in
that direction. Unfortunately, we never made it very far, because the
tide was too high for us to pass through. We reluctantly gave up, and
headed back to town. Most of my fellow clanmates headed for the library
to study, and I was left alone in the town of Puddleby. I sat myself
down in town square, and an hour later I found myself watching some
foolish and frivolous court case.

Suddenly, I heard that there was a fungus
invasion, and rushed to town. I was saddly disapointed. It seemed that
the fungus, a mildew had been slaughtered by Gandor Durin, and that was
the end of it. But no, it was a Neodew. No, there were all sorts of
“dew”s tramping around town! I gave a little shout, and started hacking
away at the little fungi. Then, I heard that these fungus were coming
from within the mushroom farm. I jumped inside, and found myself face
to face with the ugliest fungus that I’ve seen in my life.

This so called “fungus monster from outer space”
was a Palidew. It packed quite a punch, and was just overall
intimidating. More Mildews and Neodews, and the medium sized Wildews
appeared, and felled the exiles focussing on the Palidew. The Palidew
was finally slain, and it even left a 9 coin chest. Thus ended the
fungus invasion(though there were several more throughout the day).
It’s interesting to note that the mushroom farm yields no useful
mushrooms or spores, but only deadly fungus. Who donated wood for that
thing to be built? ;p (Check out some Vision Stones of the Palidew and the ELF Hunt.)

Day 347, Year 537 of the Ascendancy

When I first stepped out of the library, early in
the morning of the 77th day of Autumn, I thought that is would just
another ordinary day. How wrong I was. After a brief chat with Ankrus,
I found myself sitting in the town square, trying to fight back the
yawns that kept on climbing up my throat. Suddenly, a sunstone message
rang through my head, that woke me up like a splash of cold water. It
was a desparate cry from the dwarf Raldin; the Darshak had landed on
our western shores! I rushed to the pier, and found the poor dwarf
trapped by a band of Darshak pirates.

What really took hold of my attention, though, was
the gold and brown Darshak Warship that floated confidently in the
waters above me. I could not gaze long at it, however, for multitudes
of Darshak began to pour out from within the ship. I quickly fled, but
was felled by the cruel blades of the Darshak. Among the invaders, I
spotted many Darshak flaunting colors other than the greens, blues, and
blacks I was used to. Some wore forest green suits, while others
sported red, or even yellow. These I later learned were Darshak
Invaders, Marauders, and Defenders. As I lay and observed this, the
forces of Puddleby finally reached the pier, and clashed with the
Darshak. At first, it looked as if we were winning, but more and more
Darshak poured forth from the ship, and the Darshak Marauders and
Defenders felled even the most powerful of exiles. Our army was forced
to retreat, and fight the Darshak by the western gates. Finally, the
invasion force was repulsed, and we all came to the pier to admire the
Darshak Warship.

At first the exiles wanted the ship burnt to the
ground(or water), but popular opinion slowly geared towards capturing
the ship, and keeping it as our own. Some even began naming the ship.
However, the Darshak Warship was far from empty. Led by the evil
Necromancers and their apprentices, another wave of Darshak landed upon
the pier, and the battle was upon us once more.

Again, the exiles were forced back to the west
gate, and again the Darshak were repulsed. The Necromancers were
enraged, and with a few summoning rites, they summoned forth multitudes
of undine. They then fled back into their ship, and left the isle,
leaving us to deal with hordes of skeletals, hooded corpses, and
detached spirits. We gradually erradicated the undine, and the
remaining Darshak pirates, and we sat about the west gate, healing our
wounds. Then suddenly, a shrill voice cried out “Kill me and pay 50
coins, and you’ll never have to pay the balance penalty again!”
Everybody searched around them for the source of this voice, and found
that it came from the mouth a fat halfling, dressed in a red suit. The
halfling repeated his shrill message, and the chase was on.

For a short and fat halfling, the guy sure could
run. He lead us all around Puddleby, never letting himself get caught,
never letting himself get cornered. The chase was confusing, and many
times we lost sight of the halfling. Pure chaos reigned Puddleby, and
it seemed as if there were two halflings running around Puddleby.
Finally, the halfling was felled just north of town center, and it
seemed as if there were two halflings after all; for as the halfling
fell north of town, so did another within the rat tower. Now we had two
dead halflings on our hands. The halfling, who’s name turned out to be
Swindlos, demanded that we raise him, and put the two halves of him
together. Then he would do our bidding. So, after much fuss, the two
halflings were assembled together in north Puddleby.

The two Swindlos’ met, and then merged into one
being. However, he did not seem to want to do our bidding, so he was
felled again. The exiles poked and prodded him, but it was to no avail.
Some even paid him 50 coins in hopes of restoring their balance, but no
luck. Suddenly, without warning, Swindlos exploded in a ball of fire,
taking with him any hopes of eliminating the balance tax, or gaining
back the 50 coins that were paid him, for the matter. It just goes to
show, you can’t trust halflings with names like “Swindlos”.(Check out
the Vision Stones of the chase and capture of Swindlows.)

Day 340, Year 537 of the Ascendancy

On the eve of the 70th day of Autumn, a Chaos
Storm ran rampart through Puddleby. I took refuge in the library, and
when I emerged, I learned of the many changes that the 130th Chaos
Storm had brought: new fish in the sea, new beasts on the land, and
most importantly, new lands to explore. But I am getting ahead of
myself. It all started when I stepped out of the library on that 70th
day of Autumn…

The Fen Leogic was setting up an exploration
party, to see what the latest Chaos Storm had brought. The expedition
was an utter failure. Our first destination, the Trool Outpost remained
unchanged, the mirror remained impassable, and none of the Trool mines
had been expanded at all. We all returned to town, and I started doing
a little exploring of my own. The first place I thought to check was
the hut on the grassy island, which had seemed to give a little, before
the Chaos Storm. Perhaps the Chaos Storm might have torn it open…
With such thoughts in my mind, I rented a boat from Captain Barnak, and
set to the sea. That was when I first encountered something that had
been previously unknown.

The strange looking fish, which some have
described as “being like a Shredder, only larger”, is the Tae-Su. It is
lightning quick, and deals fairly powerful blows with it’s mouth, and
serrated fins. The creature made short work of me, and I had to float
through the currents of the northern ocean, until a rescue party was
assembled, and I was fished out of the water. The Tae-Su was
vanquished, and I once again set my mind on the task of reaching the
grassy island.

Finally, after struggling against the currents,
and sweating in the cold winter sun, I reached the grassy isle. Much to
my dissapointment, the door of the strange hut did not give
away, and I slowly trudged back to shore, to my boat, barely
acknowledging the centaur guardian. I would have left the grassy
island, and that would have been the end of my end of my adventures, if
it had not been for a bunch flowers that caught my attention out of the
corner of my eye. I slowly looked towards the direction of the bright
flowers, and noticed a gate leading to the east, which I had never seen
before. I stepped through, and entered a strange, magical forest filled
with evergreen trees…

The humid air about the place like a curtain, yet
it was strangely not uncomfortable. The trees gently rustled, and the
air was filled with the sound of a multitude of insects. Suddenly, the
tranquil atmosphere of the forest was broken by the loud cry “Hunter!”
Seemingly in reply, dozens of other voices called forth as well:
“Hunter, Hunter, Hunter!”

It was the clan Hunter, and these sons and
daughters of Orion claimed that they were the first exiles ever to
discover this hidden grove, and they had named it(creativly enough)
“The Forest of Orion”. I was in no position to argue, and I slowly
accepted that this place was the Forest of Orion. The name was
strangely fitting. There were many creatures to be hunted in the Forest
of Orion, Giants Vermine, Artak Cougars, Orga, and even a few Trools.
There were also several varieties of cat which I had never heard of
before, including the Rodan Panther; a rather cowardly animal that
flees at the slightest provocation(see a Vision Stone
of the creature). I explored the grove for hours, but I suspect that
the forest still hold many secrets. It is up to you to discover these
on your own(hope you’ve enjoyed the slightly-longer-than-usual journal
entry ;).

Day 326, Year 537 of the Ascendancy

E’las Loth’mon Ferindril has lost the Dun’ilsar to
the Dwarven Militia countless times. Today, we finally got our chance
to redeem ourselves. Many months were spent in preparation, practicing
our maneuvers, charting out the best paths we should takes. Finally,
when the time of the contest neared, the two clans met in Gaia’s Temple.

The Dwarven Militia outnumbered us sixteen to
nine, and one of our members, Vequalir, wasn’t feeling well. The
challenge was to be a rescue. The fallens were to be rescued from the
Wyrm Caverns, and brought to the Dal’Noth Town. The fallers from ELF
were Afton and Magnels, and Pookoiko and Tuzar Bloodbane were the
fallers for DM. The neutral Mystic chosen for opening Dal’Noth was Aki.
When the fallers from both clans fell, the countdown was initiated, and
the contest was begun!

Sylune and I hung back in Puddleby, while the
others headed to rescue the fallen, to watch out for any funny business
that the dwarves might pull. Sure enough, two members of the Dwarven
Militia blockaded the East Field bridge. We notified the others, and
the trap was evaded. We then set to sea, and headed for the Dal’Noth
Isle. There were few obstructions preventing us from reaching the Town,
and Magnels and Afton managed to run into the Town, just seconds before
the fallers from DM did. We had won the title of Dun’ilsar back at
last! Tav’riel Ferindril!