<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Why didn't anyone tell me... &#187; Games</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.davebphotography.com/category/games/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.davebphotography.com</link>
	<description>Things I wish people would document, plus some original fiction. Weird, huh?</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:42:35 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>The Snake Has Me</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2009/06/08/the-snake-has-me/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2009/06/08/the-snake-has-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:45:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[House and Home]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.davebphotography.com/?p=119</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#60;daveb&#62; or maybe I&#8217;ll just leave things alone and play video games instead &#60;nate&#62; &#60;nate&#62; always a good solution &#60;daveb&#62; sat down last night to play some Gran Turismo and fell asleep BEFORE THE GAME STARTED., &#60;nate&#62; the load screen always takes a long time &#60;daveb&#62; Dave Barry has a fun article something about The [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&lt;daveb&gt; or maybe I&#8217;ll just leave things alone and play video games instead<br />
&lt;nate&gt; <img src='http://www.davebphotography.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':D' class='wp-smiley' /><br />
&lt;nate&gt; always a good solution<br />
&lt;daveb&gt; sat down last night to play some Gran Turismo and fell asleep BEFORE THE GAME STARTED.,<br />
&lt;nate&gt; <img src='http://www.davebphotography.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':D' class='wp-smiley' />  the load screen always takes a long time <img src='http://www.davebphotography.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /><br />
&lt;daveb&gt; Dave Barry has a fun article something about The Snake, referring to how growing old is like falling into the clutches of a great snake that swallows you. &#8220;One day you have children of your own and one day you catch them setting fire to something, and you shout &#8220;Someone Could Get Hurt!&#8221; &#8211; and mean it &#8211; from inside the snake. And then it&#8217;s too late. The Snake has you.<br />
&lt;daveb&gt; That&#8217;s how I feel about what happened last night. I sat down to be young and frivolous, only to wake up in the belly of the snake.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2009/06/08/the-snake-has-me/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>They really need to think these things through</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/05/they-really-need-to-think-these-things-through/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/05/they-really-need-to-think-these-things-through/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:27:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irc]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smurfless.com/blog/archives/23</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[12:20] daveb: They should put coroners in MMOs [12:21] hlin: heehee [12:24] daveb: you could totally do it too. coroners clean up humanoid bodies in exchange for money provided by the government. get a police class that would be responsible for catching anyone that slays a humanoid and put them in jail (logs them off [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[12:20] daveb: They should put coroners in MMOs<br />
[12:21] hlin: heehee<br />
[12:24] daveb: you could totally do it too. coroners clean up humanoid bodies in exchange for money provided by the government. get a police class that would be responsible for catching anyone that slays a humanoid and put them in jail (logs them off for 8 hours).</p>
<p>You could also have a lawyer class that can&#8217;t leave town, is required to wear the most expensive cloth armor made, is unable to move from place to place without a bodyguard, and can slowly revise the rules of the game with proper financial backing from other players.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/05/they-really-need-to-think-these-things-through/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the DAoC; Elar story 6.</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/02/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-6/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/02/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-6/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:15:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smurfless.com/blog/archives/16</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Any resemblence to people, online or off, is intentional, but not meant to be offensive, and is definitely not accurate to their playstyle or personality. I rather like this one because it lets off some of my frustration with email spammers.&#8212;&#8211; Elar was brought out of his sleep today as so many others in profound [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font size="2">Any resemblence to people, online or off, is intentional, but not meant to be offensive, and is definitely not accurate to their playstyle or personality. I rather like this one because it lets off some of my frustration with email spammers.</font><font size="2">&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Elar was brought out of his sleep today as so many others in profound silence. He had long since moved from the villiage of cotswold. The terrible strangeness of this land was a persistent wrankle to him. He was never satisfied with his experiences and any story he could formulate to explain it away. But he lived in this place and he got along. Elar had learned to rely on his guild for protection and for the only constants in this strange place. Over the time since he awoke that first day, he had discovered how things worked here. He had found friends of sorts. But he wanted to know why his soul longed to reject this place as an absurdity. His first guild had slowly transformed into a new guild, and they were good to each other, travelling in packs so they could accomplish things more easily. They now had a standing apointment to gather every evening. During the morning hours Elar was free to travel and do as he pleased. This usually meant that he would set out in search of food. For a time there were merchants that sold a variety of foods near the housing areas, and he ate them greedily. The thing he wanted more than anything in the world was a roast beef on rye. He could see it in his sleep sometimes, waking again in this place with the taste still on his tongue. But there were no cows here. He had found pigs and even poultry, but taking them had meant starting a feud with the farmers until he started killing the local giants for them. So pork had to come from deep in the southwest or from animals he killed travelling. Wheat came from the plains south of the bridge to camelot. The animals there had learned not to bother him, and he in turn kept his attention on the wild wheat that grew so fast there and the occasional large fowl.<br />
Today he was going to help a guildmate that said he needed help with a young friend in Aldland, far to the northwest. Elar had only occasionally been to the Shrouded Isles of Albion, as so much there seemed to be corrupt and unwholesome. The docks were infested with flies and frequently fights and duels broke out in town, even among close friends.<br />
He took the portal from Cotswold and arrived in Caer Gothwaite, where he was met with The Smell. He was reminded of the small blue thread he&#8217;d tied on his staff, which was supposed to remind him to plug his nose before arriving in Gothwaite again. The Smell was a terrible but standard dockside smell, only as there was no appreciable breeze to move the smells along, it distilled to something you could clearly taste. In addition to the normal human stinks, there was the smell of still bilge water, the bodies of the 4 foot flies rotting on the ground, the stench of lakebed at low tide. The well worn ramp to the castle put only a slight distance between The Smell and Elar, replacing it with the kennel and stable smell that accompanies enclosed castle life.<br />
He noticed the guards at the entrance to the castle and wondered out loud, &#8220;Who&#8217;d want this place?&#8221; But as he approached the idle and swaying guard squadron, he wondered what this guard might have been like before everyone went still. For this is what he called this condition now. People had apparently been mostly normal until the moment of change, and then they just Went Still, swaying to some unseen rhythm. Elar realized he had himself paused for possibly a full minute. &#8220;Somehow I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s the same.&#8221;<br />
Elar moved rapidly from the front gate and took the horse from there to Caer Diogel which was a good 2 hour ride. He had long sinse stopped speaking to the vendors, as it never yet helped.<br />
The horse knew the way, so Elar let his mind wander. Elar had overheard many shouted conversations in the time since his waking, and there were occasional things that pulled familiar strings in his mind. Mentions of baseball seemed to reach something within him. Something in the music played in Camelot brought memories of music he knew he had heard, but not in this strange Albion place. Some places invoked snatches of childhood memories, such as the deep forest of Campacorentin. He came on a hill in the forest that gave him a glimpse of himself much smaller, seeing a hill of much the same size and shape at sunset, and there were adults there. He tried to summon more of these flashes of memory while he rode, but in the end nothing came. As he arrived at Caer Diogel, he returned to the present reluctantly. He chided himself for being in so deep and muttered, &#8220;I have to get more sleep.&#8221;<br />
People arrived soon after Elar and they set out on foot to the southwest through the hills. With him were Valeur, a paladin, Balor, an armsman, Mikuel the mercenary, Silae the minstrel, the wizard Dedith, and Avelina the cleric.<br />
&#8220;were totally tank heavy&#8221;<br />
&#8220;that&#8217;s spelled &#8211; We&#8217;re&#8221;<br />
&#8220;shutup&#8221;<br />
The land was hilly and somewhat green, covered with a dense fog that obsured the sky. There were eerie floating blue fireballs that idled under the trees and gave the place an entirely cold look. A couple young people had their weapons out and a wizard was hurling fire and dirt at one of the iceballs, setting fire to the trees above in his carelessness. As one of the men fell, the wizard turned and sprinted into the trees. Elar&#8217;s party fell silent as they watched the second man fight for another thirty seconds before he too fell to unseen blows from the blue burning sphere. Elar&#8217;s party was some 40 yards away and could not have helped, but the others chuckled at the end. &#8220;leave the lowbies to their work. at least it&#8217;s a short run.&#8221; But Elar was uncomfortable with the omen.<br />
They walked on and came to the coastline. Turning into the sun, they walked a few more minutes until they came in sight of a number of small huts that appeared to have been built on the sandy shoreline. The buildings were approximately round, and people could be seen inside. They too swayed in the same way as the villiagers do. There was no speaking and no noise of children. It seemed so wrong that Elar remarked on it to the others. &#8220;vikings make good exp&#8221; was all the reply he got.<br />
They set up in the middle of a sandy area near the hill, clearly in sight of patrols and the buildings nearby. The first patroll came after them when they started a fire and were preparing for the coming fights. The minstrel started to play a song, which immediately put the patroller to sleep where he stood, his eyes unfocusing while he staggered to a stop. Then the others surrounded him and tried to cut him down, but the viking would not drop. After a few moments, he reawoke, bleeding profusely and half his clothing soaked in his own blood. It took another ten seconds or more of steady hacking and spell damage from the group before he fell. But the patrolman had been so busy he did not call out. The others had not been alerted yet, which comforted Elar only a little. How do they survive such abuse and still live?<br />
They finished their preparations and cleaned their weapons. Elar checked his staff and quickly tried to remember the list of healing spells that he had been learning. The group indicated that they were ready for the next fight. &#8220;rdy&#8221;, &#8220;go&#8221; came from the others.<br />
&#8220;inc&#8221; said the armsman Balor, tromping away in his plate armor. It was astounding the amount of noise that metal could make.<br />
He ran off about 20 paces toward one of the circular huts, passed into the door, and there was a great sound as if someone had hit a water balloon with a paddle. There were four shouts of people shouting over each other to be heard, and Balor came out at a full sprint, across the gap to the next house, and into their door. There was another great splatting sound, and Balor charged back toward the rest of the group with some ten of the vikings in tow. Two of them had bloody noses and obviously broken ribs. &#8220;That explains the sound I guess,&#8221; thought Elar.<br />
As Balor arrived, he spun around and pulled out his great two handed hammer, dropping the shield on the ground. The first viking to arrive was struck stoutly in the sternum, sending it reeling backward to the ground. The hammer hit the ground and stayed there a moment. Then a full second. Elar hit the third viking, a woman, in the knees so she fell to the ground. He looked back at Balor who was still standing there with the hammer on the ground. &#8220;What are you doing?!&#8221; he yelled, trying to see if the armsman had been stunned.<br />
&#8220;itsgot a 7 second swing time. im on this one.&#8221; There was another viking standing in front of him, punching his breastplate to no visible effect.<br />
Elar cracked the woman on the spine sharply, which clearly did little to her. The rest of the group by now was busy with the remainder of the vikings. The minstrel again had not one viking asleep, but five. They were all standing, staring slightly upward toward the fog. One of them waved a hand lazily in front of him as if trying to catch a butterfly. Avelina was running in circles, yelling &#8220;ON ME SAVE YOUR HEALER&#8221;, over and over, leading both vikings and the mercenary Mikuel in a circle, Mikuel shouting &#8220;hold the hell still so i can catch them&#8221;. On their next pass, Elar managed to bring his staff down over the head of the first viking and swiped at the second viking, but he missed his balance and toppled to the sand.<br />
It was then that Elar discovered his true danger. The staff had slipped just out of his hand during the fall. The viking he had missed turned in an instant upon him.<br />
&#8220;BUY V|AG4R4 NO\/\/ !!! EN|4rG3meNt p||LZ&#8221; he whispered, as he punched Elar. Elar was so stunned, he didn&#8217;t roll or dodge at all, and caught the full blow in the belly. It doubled him over on the ground, and he rolled on his left side, stars coming into his eyes.<br />
&#8220;FREE H0T M1DG4ARD G|rl 0n G|RL W3BC4MZ&#8221; whispered the viking as he struck from above, hitting Elar in the kidneys. It felt like the blow went all the way to his backbone. It was then the armsman jumped behind the viking and swung from over his own head, striking the viking at the base of the neck. There was a great cracking sound like the breaking of a rock and the viking went limp. Elar rolled fully over once, picking up his staff as he did, and stopped rolling so he could see the armsman and the limp-but-standing viking. Again, the armsman stood there with the hammer still poised on the neck of the viking, not moving. He looked around at the five other mezmerized vikings, his face anxious and biting his lip. He looked back at the viking he had hit so hard and watched as the blood slowly started to come out its nose and ears.<br />
&#8220;d**n this hammer if it didnt hit so hard id totally spec slash&#8221;<br />
&#8220;will you hurry up, they&#8217;ll wake up any second&#8221; said Mikuel, already slashing two great rents into another viking.<br />
&#8220;you think youre so funny&#8221;<br />
&#8220;lol&#8221;<br />
Finally, he lifted the hammer over his head a second time and hit the viking in the same place again, squarely in the neck. This time, there was a grinding sound of bone on bone and the viking shot to the ground immediately, the neck bent forward at a truly disgusting angle.<br />
&#8220;What the&#8230;&#8221; said Elar, to nobody in particular. By now Mikuel had finished with his viking and charged into the crowd of five sleepers, slashing one across the back of the thighs with both his short swords. The viking immediately awoke shouting, &#8220;h00t3rz 4u!&#8221; and spun to face Mikuel. The viking could no longer walk, but shambled toward Mikuel to get better reach on his punches.<br />
&#8220;CTXT WILL IPO TOMORROW SET YOUR WATCHES FOR EARLY AND RIDE THE PROFITS&#8221; roared the viking in an announcers boom.<br />
&#8220;ON ME SAVE YOUR HEALER&#8221; came from behind Elar again, and there, sure enough, was another viking woman, chasing Avelina in another loose circle. Elar noticed the extra joint in Avelina&#8217;s arm, stood up, and performed the healing spell he had just perfected yesterday. It came off beautifully and the arm straightened. But the viking was close. Elar took a moment to perform the same spell on himself and then headed to cut off the viking&#8217;s circle. He swung at the viking, trying to get its attention.<br />
&#8220;these things just will not go down!&#8221; said Silae. Elar struck the viking in the body. Immediately the viking was on him, &#8220;Bill Gates will donate $2 to your favorite charity for every copy of this email you forward. Click below to choo&#8230;.&#8221; There was a red flash and the viking was cut off in mid sentence. Elar got in a sound strike to the viking&#8217;s throat. It was as if nothing had happened. He wound up again, hitting the exact same place. The viking wobbled slightly backward, but was still not going down. It took two more strikes to the throat before the viking&#8217;s neck finally broke, sending him to the ground.<br />
&#8220;one more&#8221; said the wizard, pointing at the last of the sleepers. Valeur had his two handed sword out and had arrived first. He stood next to the last viking and swung the great blade in a long sweeping motion, and missed. The sword came to rest in the ground to his left. He looked at it and cursed. &#8220;i am so respeccing&#8221;. At that moment, the viking awoke with a shout of, &#8220;R O l e x replicAS!&#8221; Valuer took a punch to the helmet that crumpled one of the cheekguards. Mikeul arrived at that moment and slashed across the back of the viking, leaving two streams of blood in the air.<br />
Balor, now bleeding from under the helmet, looked down at his hammer and growled like a bear, but did not swing. &#8220;any time now&#8230;&#8221; he said.<br />
Dedith finally saw his time had come, and laid into his work. There were three near simultaneous balls of fire that struck the viking, and then two more explosions that hit under its feet. The viking was singed and his clothing caught fire immediately. Mikuel was coated in soot, but fought on as if nothing happened. There was another great slash across the viking&#8217;s torso, sending entrails toppling down to the sand in disgusting plops. But the viking did not slow. &#8220;wait!&#8221; shouted Mikuel, over his shoulder. But it was too late. There was another great explosion at the viking&#8217;s feet.<br />
It was as if in slow motion that Elar saw the freshly spilled entrails of the viking take flight. Mikuel caught a significant portion of the gore in the face and body, but everyone else was sprayed more or less evenly by the mess. Then the armsman got in another great strike with his two handed hammer, sending the viking to his knees. The minstrel yelled, &#8220;Muad&#8217;ib!&#8221; in a commanding voice, and the viking finally toppled, still burning.<br />
Elar spit charred material from his mouth and looked around. The houses were already full again, as if the armsman had not just run in and brought out anyone. They did not seem to be interested in the sounds and mess that existed outside their tents. They stood and swayed.<br />
&#8220;well tht was close&#8221; said Avelina.<br />
Elar asked, &#8220;What is this place? Where do they come from?&#8221;<br />
&#8220;who knows, but there sure are a lot of em&#8221;<br />
<!-- google_ad_section_end --></p>
<p></font></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/02/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-6/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the DAoC; Elar story 5.</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/02/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-5/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/02/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-5/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:15:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smurfless.com/blog/archives/15</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For lo, Christmas came to Camelot. And it came to pass in the city of David a babe was born, being Christ the Lord. And in Emain Macha, angels did come to visit the farmers in their fields. And the chief of the angels did descend with his companions and did approach the farmers in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font size="2">For lo, Christmas came to Camelot. And it came to pass in the city of David a babe was born, being Christ the Lord. And in Emain Macha, angels did come to visit the farmers in their fields.<br />
And the chief of the angels did descend with his companions and did approach the farmers in their fields.<br />
&#8220;INC&#8221; they did shout upon seeing the angel and his companions in their fields, fearing that they were enemies.<br />
So the angel and his companions did stop and wait for the farmers to stop their flight.<br />
&#8220;Fear not, we bring good tidings of great&#8230;&#8221;<br />
And then the farmers did come forth and mesmerize the angel and his companions that they were unable to move nor speak. Then the farmers did plant mushrooms all about them, and did take their scythes, their leaves, and all manner of implements, and did hack to bits the angel and his companions. And then vampires did descend and consume the bits over a fire. And the lord did name the place Mil-egate, for it was where his messengers were rejected.<br />
And the chief of the angels and his companions returned to the heavens and their Lord, and were instructed to not return to the land Hibernia, for they had chosen to reject the Lord&#8217;s messengers.</font><font size="2">And it came to pass that the chief of the angels and his companions were sent again to the world. The Lord did say, &#8220;Go forth again to the world, and visit Jamtland, to instruct my children of Midgard. I desire that thou shalt seek out those of the island.&#8221; And the chief of the angels and his companions did return.<br />
The cheif of the angels and his companions did descend in the forest and began to approach the island. And lo, as they did approach the island and the bridge thereof, arrows did whistle past them. And the chief of the angels did raise his hand and bow, saying in a loud voice, &#8220;Behold! We bring great tidings of peace!&#8221;<br />
And the stone men of Midgard who did live in the mountains did hide themselves in the great towers of the bridge, which they had made as a fastness against their enemies.<br />
And the chief of the angels did announce with great force, &#8220;Fear not, we bring good tidings of great joy! For unto you this day is bor&#8230;&#8221;<br />
And one of the angels that was a companion of the chief of the angels did explode with great force and was consumed with black smoke, and bits thereof did shower down into the water.<br />
&#8220;PWNED!&#8221; did yell the men of stones. And the chief angel and his remaining companion did call upon the wrath of the Lord, and did cause them to be consumed with fire, for only the Lord has MoM5 and WP5 and the line of sight to use it. And then did the Lord say, &#8220;Booyah!&#8221;</p>
<p>Then the Lord did recall his chief angel and remaining companion to his courts, for he did perceive that the people of the land Midgard did reject his message.<br />
Then the Lord instructed the chief of the angels and his companions to again descend to visit his children of Albion in their fields, to share with them this message of great joy. And the Lord did send them to Hadrian&#8217;s Wall to seek those whom would learn. And the angles did descend.<br />
And it came to pass the angels found the Albions in their castles of stones, besieged by all their enemies, who were many. And the Albions did number a score, but their enemies did number a score of scores, and they were sore afraid. The angels did descend to the castles of stone of the Albions and were not received by those within.<br />
And the chief of the angels did raise his hand and bow, saying in a loud voice, &#8220;Behold! We bring great tidings of peace!&#8221;<br />
And an Albion man said to him, &#8220;are you nuts? we have 2 zergs on us and you&#8217;re talking about peace? get on a dim. catapult&#8221;<br />
And the chief angel did reply to him, &#8220;Fear not, we bring good tidings of great joy! For unto you this day is born this day in the City of David a king, who..&#8221;<br />
But the Albions did interrupt him, saying, &#8220;look pal, get on the walls and shoot, or shut up. i don&#8217;t care if Jesus himself has come, we won&#8217;t live to see him.&#8221;<br />
And it came to pass the men of stone crushed the door with a ram and did rush forth to kill the Albions who were gathered there to defend their homes with their lives. And the men of stone did evil in the sight of the angels, and laid hands on those therein. Then did the men of Hibernia come forth from their hidden places, and did begin to overpower the stone men of Midgard, and did emote excessively.<br />
Therefore, the angels did decide to withdraw, seeing there were none who would listen to their great message. And they did ascend to the top of the tower of the men of Albion, and did pray unto the Lord, saying, &#8220;There are none here who may listen, and this earth is ripe for the harvest. Lord, we know that thou hast promised not to flood the earth again, but are not these more wicked than those thou purged from the earth at the time of Noah?&#8221; And the lord was displeased with the men of Albion, the stone men of Midgard, and the green men of the wood, and did cause the server to reset.<br />
And then did the server return, with a star in the heavens and new patch notes, and their weapons were withdrawn from them, that they would not fight. And the castles were all laid low, and those that did rejoin the server found that they could all communicate for the first time. And it came to pass they found new merchants abroad in the land that would sell them milk of the cow and cookies of sugar and flour. And they all did sit down and talk peacably to one another, speaking of times past wherein they all had shared. And there were no more disputations among them all that night, and they all did log off in peace.</p>
<p></font></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/10/02/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-5/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the DAoC; Elar story 4.</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-4/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-4/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:55:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smurfless.com/blog/?p=8</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;CALL TO ARMS! CALL TO ARMS! Relic in danger! Get to the frontiers!&#8221; Elar wakes from his bed to shouts of confusion and dissention. Someone is riding a horse through the village and waking people up. &#8220;CTA! Tell your alliances! Everyone to Renaris!&#8221; Elar sits up on the side of the bed and wipes his [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;CALL TO ARMS! CALL TO ARMS! Relic in danger! Get to the frontiers!&#8221;</p>
<p>Elar wakes from his bed to shouts of confusion and dissention. Someone is riding a horse through the village and waking people up.</p>
<p>&#8220;CTA! Tell your alliances! Everyone to Renaris!&#8221;</p>
<p>Elar sits up on the side of the bed and wipes his eyes. It&#8217;s still quite dark out. The noise starts to spread. The hotel is the same one he has stayed in for weeks now, but the owners, or residents, still don&#8217;t seem to know him. He just keeps returning to this place as a convenient constant. He stands up and picks up his staff again. Stretching to get the kinks out of his legs, he wanders downstairs and out the door to see what is going on. The residents are still praising someone&#8217;s singing, but he&#8217;s learned to tune it out.</p>
<p>&#8220;Get to Renaris!&#8221; yells a passing woman on a horse. She is wearing a large decorated shield and chain mail, carrying a torch. The glow illuminates the houses on each side of the path, leaving a streak in Elar&#8217;s eyes.<br />
&#8220;You need a group? We&#8217;re going to Ren.&#8221; says a passing man in plate mail. He&#8217;s about average height, but does not have the decorated cape that he has seen on so many others with heavy armor.<br />
&#8220;I could &#8211; what&#8217;s happening?&#8221;<br />
&#8220;Mids want the reliic back. Should be a good fight. Personally, I&#8217;m inclined to keep it.&#8221;<br />
&#8220;Sure,&#8221; says Elar. The announcer is back, announcing that Elar has been invited to a group, another strange thing that he has learned to just ignore as it seems to have no side effect.<br />
The stranger starts running back up to the castle, where horses can be found to take you to a number of places. Elar follows at a trot and meets up with the horse master.<br />
Somehow, the new stranger is picked up and instantly placed on the back of the horse and is off and running in an instant. Elar walks up to the horse vendor.<br />
Elar&#8217;s experiences with this merchant were never quite good, as he always felt that he was being hit on  the head g immediately used &#8211; why buy a ticket at all? = and then wakes up on the horse, never having gone through  the motions of actually getting on the horse. </p>
<p>The ride was over in very little time. He was curious about the traveller and his group of friends whom he could now see. There were three of them standing in the courtyard. The enormous stone castle loomed over the trench it rested in. The stone walls stretched from one hill to the next with an enormous bastion blocking the way. Inside the gates, curiously unguarded, there was a courtyard.  This is where the stranger&#8217;s friends were gathered.<br />
&#8220;ok, let&#8217;s go thru&#8221; said one.<br />
&#8220;porting&#8221; said another. With this, they moved through the farther gate, apparently running at full speed into a closed door. Just at the point they should have hit the door, they disappeared. Elar continued to be worried by this type of behavior, but realized that this must be part of the magic that held these people and this land. The stranger also ran into the doorway and disappeared, and Elar followed.<br />
On the other side of the portal was pure mayhem. There were perhaps 200 people standing around, casting spells, trading, and in general smelling quite awful. Many were bleeding and pale.  One man was running around in circles as fast as he could with a drum out, leaving a trail of blood on the ground behind him, singing, &#8220;THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS!&#8221; at the top of his voice. Another woman shouted, &#8220;wts croc tears, 5p&#8221;. There was a crowd of people surrounding a man with a star on his armor. The military man was handing out orders.<br />
Elar looked about, found the party he had been following, and made his way over.<br />
&#8220;We all here?&#8221; asked one of them. There were various nods of assent.<br />
&#8220;i&#8217;ll b3e late, meet you at the keep&#8221; came a voice with no apparent owner.<br />
&#8220;ok, lets go&#8221; said the man in plate.<br />
Elar still felt wrongfooted by the whole situation, but there was clearly a pressing situation going on. People were anxious, standing in herds as if by standing together they would protect each other. It reminded him of sheep standing together pretending that there were no wolves.<br />
&#8220;MOOOVING&#8221; shouted someone in the throng. At that there was a large departure to the left along the rocky wall.<br />
&#8220;af up&#8221; said one of the group. With that they were off. Elar ran along behind the man in plate.<br />
As they ran along, Elar was amazed at how fast they were moving. It felt as if he were being propelled faster than he could normally move. He decided it must have something to do with the pressing issue and dismissed it &#8211; after all, who could be moving so fast in reality. Then suddenly, he realized how fast he was moving when a branch narrowly missed his head, let fly from one of the previous passers. Then in a moment, everyone stopped short at once, there was a cascade of sickening crunches. All at once, everyone grabbed their noses. The whole group, at once, had slammed into a tree.<br />
&#8220;noob&#8221; said someone in the pile.<br />
&#8220;let me drive&#8221; said another.<br />
&#8220;i&#8217;m lagging too hard, someone else drive&#8221;, said the man they were all following.<br />
In a moment they were all off, noses streaming. The number of people now reached fifty or more. They went around the offending tree and rushed through a thicket. In the distance after a clearing rose a large building.<br />
The building resembled a stone arena. There were stone stags guarding three large entrances positioned on the northeast, west, and south. The building was elevated slightly, ramps leading into each entrance. The internal courtyard was circular, about a hundred meters around. Small alcoves were built into three sides with large towers. There was lighting under the flagstone floor in three locations, making a pattern of three independent circles, each facing one of the alcoves; one red, one green, one blue.<br />
&#8220;OK, set up traps. You have ST elar?&#8221;<br />
&#8220;ST?&#8221;<br />
&#8220;static tempest. I&#8217;m guessing he doesn&#8217;t have it.&#8221;<br />
Many people were walking out the northern entrance and standing relatively still for a few seconds at a time, some as many as a minute. The would leave small marks and stone pillars on the ground where they stood. Some of the marks were red, some of the towers had elaborate pulsing spheres at the top. When people stood near some of the towers their noses stopped bleeding quite quickly. The stains on their armor and robes were still visible. Elar stood amazed by the reactions, just watching people heal.<br />
This continued for approximately ten minutes. Then someone started constructing a large wooden device. Elar walked over to see what was happening. Suddenly it was done. It was a catapult. But more than the fact that someone had just built a catapult out of apparently nothing but scaps of wood from his pockets, the catapult simply appeared in the middle of the air at around head height and dropped to the ground, making a tremendous thunk as it settled. Even the wood and materials in this place had unnatural qualities, thought Elar. Another catapult sprang into existance some feet to his left, coming down on top of a smallish blue man. This didn&#8217;t even seem to affect the blue man who simply walked over the farther beams and went on his way.<br />
In a couple minutes more, two more catapults and a pair of crossbows on stands were constructed, all facing approximately north. All this time there was a somewhat steady stream of people arriving from the southeast. The crowd now swelled to over three hundred. The day was now growing warm, and the smell became harder to ignore. Three hundred people that have apparently never bathed is a smell that Is better experienced than explained.<br />
Another half hour passed. People were sitting down, some ran around the entire building, watching for enemies that might come from other directions. The Song that Never Ends was started again. There was a scuffle out the east gate accompanied by shouts and blows. Someone shouted that a ranger was found and killed. Another scuffle off to the west revealed a pair of enemies that were sneaking in among the trees. They had killed four before they were killed themselves. Those defending the building were getting nervous, starting to move more. Then there was a great shout from two or three locations on the north. &#8220;INC!&#8221; &#8220;Incoming!&#8221; &#8220;mids!&#8221;<br />
In a moment Elar could see them. He and the group were gathered together in a game of cards that Elar hadn&#8217;t quite picked up on the rules of. They dropped the game and looked around in the direction of the shouts. Off in the distance there was a cloud of dust. The dust was moving closer. Then all at once, there was a black line of an army running at the building.<br />
The men at the seige engines started aiming them toward the enemy lines. A couple fired ranging shots. One shot landed well within the enemy and one body fell. A couple were limping as they ran, but the others came on. It struck Elar how very large they were, some of them in excess of eight feet tall. As they got close enough to make out individuals, he saw that almost none of them were human.<br />
&#8220;Troll zerkers. Great,&#8221; said one of the group behind him. The trolls were large and dressed in heavy scaly armor, resembling that of a large metallic lizard. The stony faces of the trolls were painted, but made of an earthy stony material. Watching them move was unnerving, as if the ground itself was coming to kill you. They displayed no emotion, but ran onward at an astounding pace. There were also smaller blue skinned people at about four feet height behind them, and some men. The wind had backed around behind the army, blowing into the faces of the defenders. The sky began to dim, it was either becoming stormy or very late in the day, and either was a strong possibility.<br />
In only moments, the enemy was at the feet of the frontmost defenders. One of the closer trolls stepped on a rune left earlier as a trap. The troll and all those near him were engulfed in a fireball that ascended to the heavens, leaving two of them on the ground dead and flaming. Those that survived ran on. Their skin was apparently unaffected, but their armor had caught fire. It burned as they ran, but they did not deviate.<br />
At last bows were being fired. One fell, then two, then two more at a time. But they were coming so quickly. Elar began to concentrate on his staff and what things may work to keep him alive against such large and heavy enemies.<br />
&#8220;our turn&#8221; said the plated soldier, a paladin. At this he charged into the fray among the soldiers with burning armor. Elar ran in behind him. The plated man struck the nearest troll with his shield and passed his sword through his leg. Elar brought his staff down on the other thigh, breaking the leg off as if it were made of  sun-dried clay. The troll went down and stopped moving at once. The cloth cape it wore continued to burn, sending smoke up into Elar&#8217;s face. A second troll hit Elar with a stone mallet, knocking him to the ground. The troll suddenly lifted his mallet again, then froze. Elar, already in the action of rolling away, stood up and looked back at the troll, still backing away. The troll continued to hold the hammer high in the air, ready to strike, but not moving.<br />
&#8220;he&#8217;s mezzed, leave him&#8221; said one of Elar&#8217;s group from the back.<br />
&#8220;over here!&#8221; yelled another of the group. Another troll was locked in battle with him, the sword he held being caught in the robes of Elar&#8217;s groupmate. Both Elar and the chain-clad drum carrier started towards the fight. The troll put his foot on the caster and heaved the sword free, kicking the slender body down. In a moment the sword was brought high and came down. The sword barely slowed as it cut the body in half and struck into the ground. Elar arrived after the chain-wearer. He stabbed two short swords into the recovering troll&#8217;s shoulders. Elar spun his staff and hit the troll&#8217;s back just below the neck and the troll fell.<br />
&#8220;shizt!&#8221; said the dead half body.<br />
This caused Elar to jump and retreat three paces or more from the body. But there was no time to reflect on this, another troll was bearing down on them. It was the narcoleptic troll again, cloak still ablaze. All at once the shield of the paladin slammed into the side of the troll and the troll stood limply, the hammer and shield falling from his hand. Three swords and Elar&#8217;s staff struck the troll at once, but it stayed vertical. Then there was a great explosion, dense black smoke, and nothing remained.<br />
As they now had some space to look around, they realized that there will still enemies streaming into the space surrounding the building. Many defenders had fallen, as well as many foes. The numbers seemed about equal. Great fireballs streaked across the field. Mountains of ice grew out of the ground to freeze to the legs and torsos of the enemy. Clouds of firey spears fell from the sky to strike the defenders. Arrows fell randomly everywhere.<br />
Next to Elar, a short blue humanoid in black leather pulled his knives out of the back of the mercenary in chain. The mercenary fell immediately. Two quick stabs came towards Elar, but he managed to duck out of the way. A great blue glowing sword struck the assassin in the head, the helm flew off and into the distance. The short man the fell asleep. The paladin&#8217;s next strike cut the head off the blue man.<br />
&#8220;nice&#8221; said the caster, still in two pieces on the ground beside Elar. This was far more disgusting in action than in theory, for both halves of the body were moving in unison but unable to work against each other, leaking blood and organs into the grass.<br />
&#8220;excellent!&#8221; said the mercenary.<br />
Elar looked at him, and then did a double take. Had he not just seen the mercenary fall dead? Was he mistaken?<br />
&#8220;thx bud&#8221; said the caster. He too was now standing next to Elar, covered in blood, but clearly in one piece.<br />
&#8220;How did you do that?&#8221; said Elar, too stunned even to think anything else.<br />
&#8220;what?&#8221;<br />
&#8220;You&#8217;re whole again. How did you do that?&#8221;<br />
&#8220;someone rezzed me. god your a noob.&#8221;<br />
An arrow struck Elar in the calf, passing cleanly through and into the ground on the other side. He screamed and fell, grasping the arrow and leg. He pulled his leg free of the back end of the arrow and rolled away, wincing. The pain shot up his leg, dismissing all other thought. Then suddenly he didn&#8217;t hurt at all. He unclasped his hands and looked at the leg. The hole was closed as well. He gently rolled over and pushed himself up, adding weight slowly to the leg. It didn&#8217;t hurt at all. He hopped on the injured leg. It didn&#8217;t seem to have a problem at all. &#8220;Thanks,&#8221; he said, not knowing who or what had done this for him.<br />
&#8220;np&#8221; shouted a passing soldier in blue enamelled armor.<br />
In twenty minutes, it was over. There was a final stand in which a cluster of trolls and norsemen had gathered and charged into the arena. They were overpowered almost instantly by those inside. Many hundreds had died on both sides of the battle. The ground was red and slushy underneath the grass. The battered bits of troll clay were everywhere. The bodies lay singly in many places, covering the field. Occasional scraps of bodies were in many places.<br />
&#8220;woot! That was hella fun!&#8221; said someone in the group.<br />
&#8220;YAY&#8221; shouted another.<br />
&#8220;OK, we&#8217;re going to close the gates. Need 2 groups to stay here.&#8221;<br />
&#8220;We&#8217;ll stay&#8221; said the paladin. He was still more or less upright, having been knocked down at least twice, but slaying three for each that hit him. It was an amazing sight, and Elar was glad of the protection. Elar was on his knees, leaning on his staff.<br />
&#8220;How did you get that caster up?&#8221; he asked the paladin.<br />
&#8220;Rez. You have to train in rejuvenation,&#8221; came the reply.<br />
&#8220;Show me,&#8221; said Elar. He had seen many raise fallen defenders from the ground during the fight. Some from many punctures, some from tremendous burns and hemmorages, and the most vivid was the bisected caster. They had all been pulled back from death, and in some cases immediately started fighting again. One had been brought back as a skeleton that arced lightning to anyone that came close. He had charged the enemy and killed many before he withered to himself again. He was desperate, he had to learn this.<br />
&#8220;Tell you what, here&#8217;s what we&#8217;ll do. You need a guild. If you want, you can join the guild and i&#8217;ll shhow you around and give you some real armor and weapons. If you don&#8217;t feel like it, you can just follow the zerg and you&#8217;ll still have some fun.&#8221;<br />
Elar considered this for a moment. &#8220;OK&#8221; he said.<br />
&#8220;Cool! Welcome Elar, our newest member!&#8221;<br />
There were various shouts of welcome and greeting.<br />
&#8220;Let&#8217;s get you some gear. My name is Matrium.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-4/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the DAoC; Elar story 3.</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-3/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:54:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smurfless.com/blog/?p=7</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Elar awoke in the darnkess, wondering how far he had fallen. The skeletons did not pursue them into the hole. Jirkkin was sitting on the floor not moving, staring into the wall. &#8220;bio afk,&#8221; said Jirkkin. &#8220;Pardon?&#8221; asked Elar. Jirkkin didn&#8217;t respond. Elar walked closer and waved his hands in front of Jirkkin but there [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Elar awoke in the darnkess, wondering how far he had fallen. The skeletons did not pursue them into the hole. Jirkkin was sitting on the floor not moving, staring into the wall.<br />
&#8220;bio afk,&#8221; said Jirkkin.<br />
&#8220;Pardon?&#8221; asked Elar. Jirkkin didn&#8217;t respond. Elar walked closer and waved his hands in front of Jirkkin but there was no response.<br />
Elar sat down and tried to wipe the blood off his staff with his robes. After a few moments he realized his robes were in little better condition than the staff. All that seemed to be happening is to leave a very consistent film of mess on the staff in place of the unusual collection of different types of mess there was before. The staff was notched in many places. Two teeth from some animal were still lodged in one place. He pulled them out one by one and dropped them on the floor.<br />
The floor was perfectly flat, to the point you could probably see your face in it if it were polished. The walls were also perfectly flat. The stone corridors appeared to have been carved by a large machine to have become so perfect. It felt calculated and evil, the still air smelling of dead bodies and decay.<br />
Jirkkin continued to stare at the wall, but now Elar noticed the bloody wounds had gone. He, Jirkkin, was still sitting in a pool of his own blood, apparently regenerating flesh at an astonishing pace. The armor was still torn in many places, but where Elar could see Jirkkin&#8217;s body, it had healed over as if it had not been bleeding and torn only minutes previously. Elar stood back up and staggered backwards, crashing into the wall on the opposite side.<br />
&#8220;What is this? How did you do that?&#8221; demanded Elar. There was no reply from Jirkkin.<br />
This was especially creepy as he had still not seen anyone eat any food yet. How would this be possible? What demonic power held these people together, causing them to regenerate without consuming matter? Still getting no reponse, Elar walked back up the corridor and out into the open air, deciding he would rather take his chances with the open air monsters before becoming posessed in the same way as Jirkkin.<br />
&#8220;back&#8221; said Jirkkin suddenly, standing up.<br />
&#8220;What?&#8221; asked Elar, turning around.<br />
&#8220;inc, try to keep up.&#8221; said Jirkkin.<br />
Jirkkin turned and looked into the dim hallway. He made an odd glowing and semi-graceful movement and then ran up the hall to stand by Elar.<br />
A rotting zombie lumbered out of the dark, glowing slightly with decay as a tree stump does in perfect darkness. It ran up to Jirkkin and slapped him so hard that Jirkkin&#8217;s helmet came off.<br />
&#8220;taunt it E&#8221;<br />
&#8220;What&#8217;d you do that for!?&#8221; Shouted Elar. His staff got snagged on the ratty corner of his second hand robe as he started backing farther away from the stench the zombie was spreading. Another blow from the zombie sent one of the zombie&#8217;s fingers bounding off Jirkkin&#8217;s head, caroming off the wall, and rolling to rest a yard to Elar&#8217;s left.<br />
&#8220;taunt!&#8221;<br />
&#8220;Taunt yourself!&#8221; and Elar turned and ran.<br />
&#8220;taunt it assho&#8230;&#8221; and then Jirkkin fell, dead. Jirkkin&#8217;s head had been crushed like some overripe fruit, bits falling in a gory arc from the blow of the zombie. The rest of his body slumped to its knees and toppled over backward. Elar had no plans to be there for the consuming. He ran back past the hole he had fallen through, and back out into the open air, and on and on. He looked back and the zombie had long since given up the chase.<br />
His eyes were having surprisingly little trouble adjusting to the light. The skeletons had dispersed only 5 yards or so and were facing away from Elar.<br />
A voice came into Elar&#8217;s ears apparently from nowhere.<br />
&#8220;asshole&#8221;<br />
Elar jumped and dropped his staff. He had thought he was alone, and there was clearly nobody but the skeletons on the hill. He bent and picked up his staff, hoping that he still had time to fight. Still, spinning, there was nobody there.<br />
&#8220;why didn&#8217;t you taunt? phucking noob&#8221; said the voice. It sounded from inside his head, as if the sound was not coming from outside.<br />
&#8220;Who&#8217;s there?!&#8221; shouted Elar, hoping he sounded braver than he felt.<br />
The announcer called out &#8220;Your group has been disbanded.&#8221;<br />
&#8220;Who&#8217;s out there?!&#8221; shouted Elar a second time, holding his staff out and spinning slowly, looking for the source of the voice, but it did not come.</p>
<p>Elar arrived back in town. His staff was now quite messy and was missing significant chunks near the ends. His robes were greasy, bloody, and torn. More than anything at the moment, he wanted to wash off the day and find somewhere to rest out of reach of the odd fauna of this land.<br />
The sign at the middle of town read &#8220;Cotswold&#8221;. There were the same unusual bobbing attendants to the town stores and even a blacksmith. Elar hobbled toward the smith&#8217;s fire and warmed his hands for a few minutes, saying nothing. What could possibly cause people to regenerate that fast? What is wrong with the townsfolk that do not seem to be conscious? How can they survive standing out in the cold and wet, never resting?<br />
He saw the entrance to Camelot and remembered the stream. He walked to the streambank and plunged in, clothes and all. He wiped down his armor and clothing, removing the largest and most disgusting bits of gore from his person. It went a long way to making him feel human, but now he was cold.<br />
With the grisly death of Jirkkin so fresh in his mind and a decent chill in his bones, he moved off toward the inn. He opened the door and walked inside cautiously. There were five or six townsfolk here, weaving and standing as always. Elar walked to the desk.<br />
&#8220;I&#8217;d like a room.&#8221; There was a long pause.<br />
&#8220;Pardon, I&#8217;d like a room.&#8221; The innkeeper didn&#8217;t seem to notice him at all.<br />
&#8220;I&#8217;ll just find one myself then?&#8221; asked Elar. Again, there was no response.<br />
He walked toward the staircase and then upstairs to a collection of rooms. He opened a door. Inside was a small, essentially empty room containing a green water jug and a straw bed with a linen sheet. It would have to do. He was asleep before he hit the straw mat. Throughout the night, one of the residents kept shouting something about one of the other&#8217;s voices. Elar wrapped his head in his robes until he could no longer hear it and slept.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-3/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the DAoC; Elar story 2.</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:54:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smurfless.com/blog/?p=6</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A loud crack, the sound of shattering bones, and a pixie drops to the ground. Elar holds his position for a moment to be sure and then drops his staff to a more relaxed position. It&#8217;s now covered in pixie blood, which is only slightly red and slippery as butter. This staff is going to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A loud crack, the sound of shattering bones, and a pixie drops to the ground. Elar holds his position for a moment to be sure and then drops his staff to a more relaxed position. It&#8217;s now covered in pixie blood, which is only slightly red and slippery as butter. This staff is going to be a pain to carry. He&#8217;s now wearing hand-me-down armor some old man gave him and a staff that was given to him under the table. The old man didn&#8217;t appear to have bathed, ever. It was then that Elar noticed that the entire town was like this. They all stood outside in all weather, day and night, never moving, never eating. Just existing. Perhaps they had all gone mad. Perhaps there was some evil keeping them alive and enslaved. Just the same, they were not good company, and the lack of plumbing and food convinced Elar he wanted to move on, and quickly.</p>
<p>Elar moved off to the nearby hilly lands, through another town of semi-zombie people and merchants and is now trying to find his way to a different city. Stepping off the beaten path doesn&#8217;t seem to have been a good idea, as he is being jumped by the local fauna as he travels.</p>
<p>Elar still doesn&#8217;t have a clear recollection of what left him in this place, but he&#8217;s sure this isn&#8217;t where he is from. Having to beat his way from town to town would surely be familiar, and this staff isn&#8217;t exactly a fun thing to need to keep with you. Every time he tries to buy another weapon, they refuse to give it to him. He also noticed that he had no money, which made bartering for what items were available difficult.</p>
<p>WHOOSH!</p>
<p>A walking skeleton has just run up to Elar and swung his arm past him, missing very narrowly. Elar had been thinking to himself and did not notice the approach, but quickly comes out of his reverie. The skeleton is standing there now, just waving his arm as if threatening to actually hit Elar next time. Three or four seconds pass as Elar gets his balance back and stares, not sure how to react. This time the skeleton strikes Elar squarely in the navel. Elar jumps backward, but notices that it didn&#8217;t hurt much. Out comes the staff again, as the skeleton runs back up to him and again starts the 3 to 5 seconds of arm waving. Elar spins the staff around his back to pick up momentum and cracks the skeleton in the midriff, sending ribs flying and effectively breaking the skeleton in half. There is definitely something strange about this place. Even the aggressive creatures in the lands about are not all that smart. Elar decides he would settle for a place with plumbing and a supply of food in the short term. He coninues on past a tall tower.</p>
<p>As he nears the tower, someone runs up and stops in front of him. &#8220;you spec rejuv?&#8221; asks the girl. She is about the same height and build as Elar, wearing a kilt and linen clothes like the townsfolk, but carrying a short sword and a wooden shield.</p>
<p>&#8220;yeah, just 15 tho,&#8221; says Elar. Again, he&#8217;s not sure what is happening, as this is not what he meant to say. This happened to him once before when he was speaking to an old man, but that had been some time ago. It was clearly his voice speaking, but he didn&#8217;t even understand what he said. Was the enchantment starting to work on him? There had to be another explanation.</p>
<p>&#8220;Jirkkin has invited you to join a group,&#8221; said the announcer&#8217;s voice again. &#8220;we&#8217;re going to keltoi, af me&#8221; said the girl, and turned away. She ran in a very stiff upright position, as if her skeleton was made of steel. Elar wondered if keltoi was any better than Camelot City.</p>
<p>They ran for a few minutes in silence, reaching a hilly area that smelled of trampled turf and dust. There was a hill with a circle of trees that was surrounded by more of the skeletons that had attacked Elar earlier. By now Elar&#8217;s staff was getting rather slippery with sweat and the remains of the pixie blood. This wasn&#8217;t shaping up to be his day. Panting, he slowed down at the base of the hill.</p>
<p>Jirkkin continued running, back ramrod straight, into the skeleton party and then straight through. The skeletons instantly started their slap and stare process. Jirkkin flinched, but showed no other signs that skeletons were removing small tatters of flesh as she ran. Elar, still panting, leaning on his staff at the base of the hill, looked horrified. &#8220;just drag to zone,&#8221; shouted Jirkkin, still moving quickly into the circle of trees, leaving bloody footprints on the grass now.</p>
<p>&#8220;What are you DOING!?&#8221; shouted Elar.</p>
<p>&#8220;jusst run up here an dzone in&#8221; shot back Jirkkin.</p>
<p>Elar decided he should at least go help. He ran as fast as he could manage up the hill. Following the trail of blood into the dim light of the trees, he saw the skeletons all facing the entrance of a cave. Jirkkin was hobbling now, the blood pouring from her ruined armor. Then suddenly, she wasn&#8217;t there at all. She simply disappeared. She had not fallen, for there was no body. Perhaps there was a hole in the entrance of the cave.</p>
<p>The skeletons instantly turned to face Elar. There were three or four, hands and arms covered in red, the boney fingers still clutching bits of armor, hair, and flesh from Jirkkin. Elar paused for a moment considering his odds and decided if there was going to be a fight, he&#8217;d rather have the confined tunnel walls to limit how many enemies could hit him at once. He charged around them and dove into the entrance of the tunnel, hoping there really was a hole to fall into and that it wasn&#8217;t very deep.<br />
 </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enter the DAoC; Elar story 1.</title>
		<link>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-1/</link>
		<comments>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:53:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smurfless.com/blog/?p=5</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not so long ago Elar jumpedfully formed into the world, not remembering his past and not aware of his present. As he came to himself, he was holding a trimmed branch and facing a kindly old gentleman in what appeared to be a run-down abbey. &#8220;Can I help you?&#8221; asked the man. &#8220;/level 30&#8243; said [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Not so long ago Elar jumpedfully formed into the world, not remembering his past and not aware of his present. As he came to himself, he was holding a trimmed branch and facing a kindly old gentleman in what appeared to be a run-down abbey.</p>
<p>&#8220;Can I help you?&#8221; asked the man.</p>
<p>&#8220;/level 30&#8243; said Elar. This was not what Elar meant to say. He didn&#8217;t even understand what it meant. But it was his voice that said it and therefore he must have subliminally known that was the proper thing to do. He looks quizzically around.</p>
<p>A loud voice boomed in his ears that nobody else appeared able to hear, &#8220;You have been granted enough experience to reach level 20! Click on your trainer to gain levels.&#8221; Now Elar was thoroughly confused. He approached the old man again. &#8220;Excuse me, but what was that I said about 30?&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Can I help you?&#8221; asked the man, in the same kindly voice.</p>
<p>Elar is suddenly startled by the noise of trumpets and a light show that left him dazed and slightly deafened. He ducks and covers his ears. The kind old man hadn&#8217;t noticed, but people all around him started to talk. &#8220;GRATZ!&#8221; &#8220;W-0-0-t!&#8221; &#8220;Conga Rats!&#8221; &#8220;dingrats!&#8221; While he didn&#8217;t understand, they didn&#8217;t seem hostile. After gazing around, he returned to the old man again.</p>
<p>This time, Elar was surprised less by the noise and lights, but he did find them disconcerting. But this time there was no fanfare from the lunatics. Elar decided to drop the stick, as it didn&#8217;t seem to be doing him any good. &#8220;I need to use the restroom. Where can I find one?&#8221; Again with the trumpets and fireworks. &#8220;Can I help you?&#8221; came the same deadpan reply.</p>
<p>Elar decides the old man must be deaf or playing a joke on him and decides to wander off in search of the loo. Continuing on his way, he sees what appear to be pig farms. But these pig farms seem unusual. For one thing, there are no fences. Also, no barn or feed. Assuming this is connected with the nonsense with the old man, he takes note and continues on. Not far away he discovers a road that appears to have been well travelled, but bears no distinct marks of actual travellers. There are a set of pillars leading into the distance, and he follows them to the gates of a large stone city.</p>
<p>At the gates, he finds a lumpy set of stones and three guards. The guards are standing upright and in position, slightly swaying in place. They are wearing shining plate armor and kilts, which strikes him as a rather odd combination. But as he has to go, he approaches the nearest one and asks, &#8220;Pardon me sir, could you point the way to the little boys&#8217; room?&#8221;</p>
<p>The guard turns and looks at Elar, but says nothing. There is no change of expression to indicate that he has heard properly or not, but he is clearly  not replying. &#8220;Is it inside?&#8221; The guard stares on. Elar looks off into the distance behind him to see what the guard is looking at, but there is nothing of interest in the trees. Elar turns and walks across the lawn toward another guard.</p>
<p>&#8220;Pardon mate, could you point out the loo?&#8221; At this point he&#8217;s feeling some pressure and would be more comfortable knowing there&#8217;s a public restroom nearby than thinking there isn&#8217;t.</p>
<p>&#8220;Hail traveller! Do you have [ a moment ]?&#8221; Replies the guard.</p>
<p>Elar is so taken aback by the actual pronunciation of brackets that he is stunned to silence. He reassembles his face into what he hopes is a non-offensive gape and asks faintly, &#8220;A moment? Why, is it far?&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I sent a message to our nothern patrol two days ago and have not heard from [ Lieutenant Keebler ].&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry to hear that. Listen, where is the restroom in this city?&#8221; The guard takes on the same glazed look that the first guard gave Elar. &#8220;Hello?&#8221; Waving his hands in front of the guard confirms to Elar that this man is narcoleptic. Elar decides that a sleeping man is not going to help him find relief, he moves into the corridor that leads to the city.</p>
<p>Walking into the corridor, he finds himself paralyzed. Then the world goes black for an everlasting painful moment. He&#8217;s unable to breathe. Then a colorful banner appears. After perhaps 15 seconds of this, he is dropped on his feet from 2 feet over the cobbles. He staggers a bit and stays upright. &#8220;Well, that was odd,&#8221; he mumbles.</p>
<p>He turns a corner to his right, leaving the corridor and looking into a courtyard. There are a few people around, apparently doing nothing. They appear to not see each other and are not talking. They have booths of clothing, armor, swords, and daggers. It appears to be a merchant quarter. He approaches the nearest vendor. The vendor looks to be about twenty, slim and bearded, wearing unadorned linen clothes that seem to fit almost too well. &#8220;Where&#8217;s the loo? I&#8217;m in a bit of a hurry,&#8221; Elar asks.</p>
<p>The vendor does not reply but pushes out what appears to be a price sheet. Elar pushes the sheet down and tries again. &#8220;No, thanks anyway, but I really need to find the water closet. Could you point the way?&#8221; The vendor pushes another sheet toward Elar.</p>
<p>Elar&#8217;s now starting to panic. Little restroom alarms are going off all up and down his torso, telling him that he has very little time left. He rushes off toward a large building farther from the entry. There are no doors, but it is a covered building. Inside on the left is a grey stone staircase. In front of him is a gorgeous, perfectly geometric table with a golden challace emblem on a red field in the middle. The table shows no sign of use. As he stares at this, someone jumps from the upper balcony, which Elar had not yet noticed, squarely onto the table. Elar can hear the bones in his legs shatter as the man tumbles to the floor.</p>
<p>&#8220;Geez man, are you hurt?!&#8221; Elar rushes over.</p>
<p>&#8220;yah, 1 mroe shoud do it tho, thx&#8221; says the man, dragging himself toward the staircase with only his arms.</p>
<p>&#8220;What?!&#8221; asks Elar, amazed. The man is already up the stairs as Elar chases him. The man flops his broken body over the railing and falls again onto the table and stops moving.</p>
<p>Elar isn&#8217;t sure what to make of this. The man apparently was aware of what he was doing, but Elar wasn&#8217;t able to stop him. His bowels give a groan of warning, and Elar decides that he&#8217;d better not be found above a dead body that obviously fell to its demise. He backs out of the balcony, down the stairs and back out into the courtyard.</p>
<p>He is now on the other side of the courtyard from where he entered. There is a forge and anvil here, and some people are standing next to it, swaying in the same gentle way that all the others have. Things below are getting desparate, but he decides to approach these people. &#8220;Perhaps if I show a bit more interest they&#8217;ll point the way,&#8221; he thinks. They are talking as he approaches.</p>
<p>&#8220;&#8230; then cleric casts HoG on the paladin, but the casters stay outside the walls.&#8221;<br />
&#8220;Hi everyone.&#8221; Elar says.<br />
&#8220;hey&#8221;<br />
&#8220;oy&#8221;<br />
Elar watches for a few moments. The conversation does not continue. &#8220;What are you doing today?&#8221;<br />
All at once, one of the men blurts out as fast as he can speak, &#8220;then send in rogues and dmg casters. theurgs cast no more than 8 pets each and hide on teh hill&#8221;<br />
One of them replies, &#8220;makin hinges lol&#8221;.<br />
Elar looks at the man. He doesn&#8217;t appear to be making anything at all. He&#8217;s standing quite still, many feet from the forge and anvil, and is quite clearly not holding a hammer or heating any metals. &#8220;Don&#8217;t you need a hammer for that?&#8221; He asks the odd man.<br />
&#8220;got one, they&#8217;re only like 2sp&#8221;. He pronounces the &#8220;2sp&#8221; as if it were spelled toosp.<br />
At this point, Elar is starting to think there is something wrong with all the people in town and has more pressing things to be concerned with. The pressure on his insides is becoming quite uncomfortable in waves. &#8220;Listen, I need to find the loo.&#8221;<br />
&#8220;stoopid rp server. I shoulda gone to gaheris.&#8221; says the taller of the two men. He is dressed in plate and holding a 7 foot long spear with a jagged point that appears to have never been used.<br />
&#8220;noob&#8221; replies Hingeman.<br />
Elar has had enough. He runs off. To his right he sees what appear to be close packed two story houses in a small cobbled street. As he comes through the gateway to this street, he spots another guard. He also is swaying gently, as if to some etherial unheard Lawrence Welk music. &#8220;Quick! Where&#8217;s the loo?&#8221; asks Elar.<br />
&#8220;Hail traveller! Would you be ready to assist the [ Defenders of Albion ]?&#8221;<br />
Elar is noting clear signs of danger below. Throwing caution to the wind, he yells &#8220;I HAVE TO POO! WHERE DO I GO!?&#8221;<br />
A voice returns from no particular location, &#8220;dude you&#8217;re safe in town, just go&#8221;</p>
<p>And so he does.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.davebphotography.com/2007/09/26/enter-the-daoc-elar-story-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

