Pandora

I think the way of interesting consumables is probably the way to go. Zepher has created a wide array of such items, as has Sandy and others too (I can even lay claim to a couple myself from past Grogmas gifts), and these are fun things to have because they're relatively rare and still useful. Once they're used, though, they're gone, making their acquisition desirable once more.

Hello The Phantom Terror. Please do not start a brand new topic that solely contains a link to your MOCPages page. It does not give anybody here anything to see, talk about or respond to. Either remove the link and add some real content or I shall close your topic and move it, because as it stands it serves no purpose whatsoever. Best wishes.

"Uhm, I can't promise I won't trigger the whole "all our enemies are encouraged" thing, but I guess I'll keep on repeating, unless anyone's got any better ideas?"

Nyx stares at Saladdin for a moment before bursting out laughing, almost uncontrollably. There was a time when she would have become infuriated, but really the man seemed so small, and so pointless. So insignificant. Things were changing; within her and around her. "I could be a goddess for all you know of me! And what does it matter, you silly man? But if that's how you judge people, enjoy your last few moments of your kingdom of sand and nothingness your highness." With a deliberately elaborate curtsey, and still laughing to herself, Nyx prepares to repeat her attack.

For what it's worth, I think option 1 is perhaps the fairer option of the two. I would, however, respect the opinions of current Aura users.

"Actually Atters, I have my handy book here, kept element-free for just this eventuality. But I want to take my time with that one, and my attention has been drawn elsewhere for now." OoC Plus Nyx hasn't yet experienced the all-new Battle Mage Shield (and doesn't even know about it), and it makes sense to have the Standard and Amethyst equipped for now in case she does somehow manage to get lucky with one, especially with the maximum number of enemies on the battlefield. She'll switch to the book and belt whastherface when necessary, though.

Nyx looks over the rag-tag group in the oasis and rolls her eyes, sighing. "So after we've killed you we're going to have to traipse all the way back to go and find the real guide? What a waste of my time. And some prince you are, prince of what, exactly? Don't you have a kingdom and gold and stuff, or is this it? A bunch of thugs and a load of sand? I am seriously unimpressed." Nyx's eyes fall on the enemy Pyromancer, and on doing so an eyebrow raises and a smile curls at the corners of her lips. "Oh my," she murmurs, still smiling but now predatorily "let's have some fun fighting fire with... well, maybe not fire." She grips her Zee's Standard in one hand and her Amethyst in the other, focusing her Darkness magic at the Pyromancer from the back row.

"Oh hell, that's annoying" Nyx comments on Docken's still form. Before Nammyrra's attempt to revive, Nyx bends to dig through Docken's belongings. She pulls out his Desert Cloak, wrapping it around him, and attaching his Water Canteen. She then removes his Medal and Counterstrike Gloves, figuring he can rearrange things how he likes when he's a little bit more alive. Spying the green genie, she raises an eyebrow and asks of it "Anything you can do for him, Green?"

OoC: That's very cool. Wish we hadn't just walked into the desert now. Nyx turns around a few times, trying to brush some of the sand out of her hair, and also checking the horizon for any of the landmarks they'd seen on entering the desert to try to regain some of her bearings. As she does, her eyes pass over Namyrra, who looks worse for wear. "Namyrra, will you put your damn cloak on! You look exhausted already."

OoC: In case people are waiting on me, I tried to indicate I'd be ready to go when the others were in my last post. Sandy, you mentioned that the portal can instantly transport us to Eubric at any time, so does that mean we can pop back to visit Elphaba, or is that stretching the possibilities too much (and I'm only really asking out of interest). Nyx looks around at the environment as it changes more towards desert as they walk. As she walks with the others she glances occasionally at both Catnip and Byblos, wondering silently to herself how reliable they would turn out to be and musing that only time would tell. Time to enjoy the sunshine, while she can.

Nyx shrugs amiably "Seems reasonable Namyrra, ok." She turns to the Demon Huntress, smiling "Welcome to the team, Catnip. Stab any of us in the back and I'll blow you to oblivion. I'm Nyx by the way, nice to meet you." "I'm ready to get going."

Yup, there's a hidden message in there. A cookie to anyone who can decipher it without using the words "the board software doesn't like the word expression very much and will mangle it if it is previewed or quoted, and Pandora tends to preview her posts before posting to avoid typos as much as possible".

Nyx turns to Namyrra and whispers back, also so that only the other party members may hear. "We've already had to spend a good deal of gold since getting here, and she is but one person. I hate to sound pessimistic, but I'm going to anyway: what if all we find worth taking back is gold and treasure? And not very much of it at that? It's possible." Nyx shrugs "She will be one of six of us, I think she should have one sixth of the gold and treasure we may find, just as we will. Remember that Byblos will want his share too. Plus, she seems to want to go where we're headed for her own 'mission' anyway, so actually by accompanying her we're doing her a favour too. I don't think that's an unreasonable offer, given that her 'interest' is 'shared' with ours."

And indeed Denmark (and Russia), so Vikings and polar bears aren't all that crazy. Although really, this is a fantasy game, so who cares if it is crazy? And Scuba, I rather think that you, for one, would welcome any overlords that happened to come along.

Nyx leans in to whisper to Atramor, making sure the veiled woman couldn't hear her at all. "Maybe it might be worth pointing out that she said she's already drunk her free drink, yet there's a fresh drink in front of her. Wouldn't want to outright accuse her of stealing - she may even have paid for it, but if she hasn't.... Well, might be a bit of leverage. Thought I'd mention this in case she doesn't sound too keen to come with us at first." Nyx stops whispering, adopting a mild expression as she looks around the bar, apparently interested in the architecture or something and deliberately not looking at the veiled woman.

It's not too much to ask, no, and I'm very sorry for my part. I expected to have more opportunity to post, however I'm thousands of miles from home and a few tropical storms seem to have other ideas. I'm really sorry Sandy, this hasn't been intentional and I really am enthusiastic about the quest, unfortunately though I haven't been able to show it. I'll do my absolute best to keep checking in until I get home when I'll be back to posting with my usual frequency. I really do want to continue with this quest. Nyx finds herself with the others back at the bar. "Thanks for getting that canteen for me Namyrra, let me pay you back before I forget" Nyx hands Namyrra 60 gold and replaces her Sandman's Parasol with the Water Canteen. "You know, I've never been a huge fan of games of chance, I don't seem to be all that lucky really. It was probably much safer for me to just buy a canteen, I probably would have just lost a ton of money, and this is the most I've ever had. I was looking at the woman running the game, though. She looked like a child of fire to me, and such a beautiful yet intriguing name. Anyway, I agree, let's see if we can recruit that nice Demon Hunter lady, and talk someone else into running the bar while we're at it. Oh, and Atramor, don't let Nizam have any rum you may have hidden about your person."

OoC: Sorry Sandy, I'm..... in the Caribbean But I've sorted out the wifi, so I'll still be able to post daily Nyx picks up the Desert Cloak, nodding thanks to Namyrra (and making a note to pay her back), and swings it around her shoulders. Not wanting to ruin her lovely red high heels, she slips them off to replace them with her plain black stilettos - far more suitable for the desert. Enjoying the sunshine, she walks with Atramor to find out about the Lucky Clams game, curious but wary.

Nyx raises an eyebrow seeing Hathor gambling. "Well, at least we know where she is" she mutters to herself. She walks quietly behind Atramor to the artifact stall and listens to the negotiations. "Hey Atters, I'm pretty sure we're all going to need one of these, and I know I'd like one, so maybe he'll also do a discount for bulk purchases? Or at least we can try to get the same price for all of us, maybe?" she whispers in Atramor's ear so that the Anubian Merchant cannot hear.

Sowwy. So can I re-add the lost canteen of water from Quest 8 to my inventory? "I just like your eyes," Nyx replies, wide-eyed "they're pretty, sort of purple-within-purple. Uhm, sorry, I just ask questions... So is your brother a bit rubbish then? I don't want him to lead us into peril. Can you come with us? You seem sensible and you could tell us if there are sandstorms coming." Nyx looks round as Atramor appears. "Oh, shopping! Let's go! It'll be on our employer's expense account, right?"

Nyx's ears prick up at the mention of equipment and water canteens, dredging up a memory of a past quest. "Do we really need extra kit, Nizam? Oh, hello." she grins as she steps into his line of sight "I've managed to cross a desert before without the need for any extra kit. I remember the canteens, though. I even had one left over from last time but I must have left it somewhere." she looks around distractedly before wandering outside back into the sunlight. She wanders up to the couple who were talking and smiles at them until they stop and acknowledge her. "Hello. You've got purple eyes. They're fabulous. Why have you got purple eyes?" she keeps smiling.

Nyx raises her face to the warm sunlight and closes her eyes. The weather's almost warm enough for her to take off he cloak and gloves, but not quite. Another new land, more sand; she breathes in the smells and listens intently to the sounds, enjoying the experience. She listens to her questmates, and opens her eyes and grins at them. "I don't think there's much doubt that I would of course like to go to the bar, and "The Drunken Monkey" is an awesome name. Let's go!"

Nyx nods at Namyrra and the others in agreement at leaving. She mooches off to the side of the group muttering sullenly to herself "If there is such a thing as "fate" then it's not been that favourable, I have developed a nasty tendency to die a lot, after all."

Nyx looks at the Sand Queen, so old and tired. "Don't remember me, huh? So we get a nice holiday somewhere hot and get to blast some demons back where they came from. Is there a downside? Do you have any kind of blessing to bestow before we leave? You know, from Fabula Sibylla, seeing as we're helping out and everything? I have a horrible feeling your husband's probably the source of all this trouble. Sorry, but that's men for you." Nyx shrugs "We'll let you know when we get back, and we'll do what we can for any of your people we encounter. Is there anything else we need to know about? Anything you might have foreseen that we might get a bit upset about? Now's the time... " Nyx arches an eyebrow in question.

I would disagree. Nyx spoke to him and he responded, and in his response he made it clear that there's "something going on with him". Also, prior to your posting, he was interacting with Ella in an... unexpected way. I have no doubt that Byblos will come into his own during this quest; after all he's there for a reason. Plus he's always quite amenable and loquacious in the Library topic, so he has plenty of personality already.

Nyx stares. "Ella??" she says, hardly believing her eyes "Is that really you?" a broad grin spreads over her face as she recognises the girl in front of her and she rushes forward to hug the Emperor's daughter tightly, releasing her again before firing off a number of questions. "What are you doing here? Oh, yeah, novice priestess - I heard just now, but... how?? How did you know to come to Eubric? Does Tarn know you're here? He could have been here, he offered his services for this quest, I'm sure he'd love to see you again..." Nyx realises she may have strayed into delicate territory.. "And how are you? How's Dastan? The Empire - still... stable? Tell me everything."