Palathadric

As I take my seat again at the table, I notice the Spring Staff amongst Karie's possessions. "Nice staff, are you selling?"

I suppose so.

Seeing a new quest on the board, I look at interestedly. Hmm, strange it has to be said. Somehow, though, I feel drawn to the request. They did mention paladins after all. I signup for Quest #108 before returning to my seat.

Same here. I love Heckz because though he can be overbearing his comments are usually short, sweet, and to the point. One can read them and laugh and then get on with life. It's not like he's trying to push something on you. It's just there. If you don't want to read it, you don't have to because Heckz is so readable and one can more or less know what to expect from him. I wish we had seen a bit more from Erik though, but I think him and Amorith were always going to be pushed into the background which is really very unfortunate because, especially Erik, is an extremely likable character, both from a player and a character perspective.

I chuckle. "I was looking for just that gem, in fact. It seems like they used to be more widely available, but most heroes are stubbornly holding onto them right now. I don't know why... 90 is a little steep, but because I like giving to charity every once in a while." I hand Heckz the 90 gold and collect the Garnet before he can say anything else.

What is the 'Amphibianoc's Blessing' that Romulus' Staff of the Frog Paladin grants? Also is it just me or does there seem to be very few staff drops these days? I think the last staff I got from a fight was the Staff of Light that Flare dropped in #42.

I glance up as the woman points to the seat at our table, from the way her face is painted I can immediately tell what kind of woman this is. It's not hard to imagine seeing someone of that sort in Heroica, considering the kind of folk already gathered at the hall, not to mention the fact that the veterans were teaching certified courses in such...erm... She must be trying to get Heckz, I should protect him. I cut my thoughts short and feign ignorance to get rid of the unwanted company. "Good God! What do you have on your face!" I gasp. "I should hope it's not contagious!" "Intriguing," I mutter, taking up the artifact. "I'm not certain that I have space for it considering all of the other artifacts I am lugging around, but it certainly would be worth purchasing if the price is right. How much?" "Oh," I mutter nervously as the girl takes a seat. "Alderflask, you say? Strange name. Did your father own a rare and ancient goblet of some kind? As for my name, it precedes me in most circles. I am the slayer of demons, the protector of the weak, heck, I have even been dubbed a Super Sleuth if you can believe it." Somehow in all my rambling I fail to actually mention my name.

Oh. Great!

Kintobor, when Karie is in the hall, does she have a white face or a regular yellow one? Clearly this will strongly effect the way Pretzel will respond to her. Also, I assume she's not wearing her dress.

"Yes! Demons...I fought too many of them in the dark underworld...too many of them. You remember the machine that Detective Hoples had? There was one like that, we had to destroy it. Instead of painting pictures though, like the one in our last quest, it was actually bringing out demons. Thank God we caught it when we did. I chuckle, somehow able to take in the humour without growing sour. "You know there are mages who could give you one of those without the need for sunlight." I pause for a brief moment. "So, Heckz, brought back any goodies from the 'void?' Any gems? I would be interested in a garnet or aquamarine especially."

I chuckle. "I somehow recall signing up for that quest. It seems like I missed nothing. So Eubric's 'elite' students are not worth the trouble are they? I hope their families at least paid well. That bag does not at all look unsizeable." "My latest mission took me under Eubric once again. We..." I hesitate. Did I really want to let people like Heckz know about the gnomish colony? He seemed like a blabbermouth and the last thing the colony needed would be for one of Heroica's resident demons to hear about the situation down there. "Well, let me just say that there was far too little sunlight for my likely." I finish lamely.

I cast a glance Heckz' way. "Bad business, eh?" I question. "Can't say I've had the best of times myself."

Well, they don't need to be. A black knight who stays in the back row and uses cards as his weapons could be pretty cool and innovative, not even talking about Raiders there. I would almost say that the other two could be better for a rogue with throwing weapons since the assassin is not exactly meant to be a serious damage dealer (...until Hybros and Sorrow came along that is... )

You can't do that! You owe me a quest. Shucks, mate, hope it won't be too long.

Kintobor with all the rule changes regarding ether recently I cannot be sure, but I'm pretty sure that when cleric's fail in their healing it still doesn't cost ether.

Endgame, how long are you looking at #105 being? As long as #48?

I hand Alexandre the gold. "Fair well on your quest. May you bring that robber to justice." "Alexander! How has life been for you? Good questing, I hope. Heh! If those Fields of Glory open again perhaps we should have another stint in there. Alas! There seems to be too much to do these days."

I grunt. "Times are bad. Donations are hard to come by these days. Still, I may be willing to go up to 85, but not beyond that."

"I usually purchase gems for 75 gold at the hall." I reply to Alexandre.

Edited comment.

I enter the hall and spy Em and Hybros and Arthur speaking to Hybros. Hmpf, wonder what the lad is up to these days, I ponder pensively, as I take a seat elsewhere. I have no intention of spending any more time than necessary with the demon. The time in the dark kingdom under the city was too long already. I look around at others that seem familiar and catch sight of a knight... "Alexandre, was it? I see that you have clearly not changed your profession. Still baring a fascination for the dark side, are you? You look darker than the last time I saw you. Your time being a black knight has done little to aid your career as far as being heroic is concerned. Nice gem there, though. Are you selling?" I glance over the list of quests available for signup. Catching a burglar? Seems straightforward enough. The Shadeaux have struck me as a pleasant family. The girl in Dastan, at least, was pleasant enough. It certainly can't hurt to signup, although the reward sounds a little odd. What is it based on, I wonder? I signup for Quest #103. I look up at the second signup. It seems odd, really. What is up with this? I wonder. Is it that an enemy of Heroica wants to sign us up for a quest. How strange! Who calls himself 'the Regret' anyway. I really do not know what to make of this. I hesitate over whether to signup for it or not, but then determine, If this really is a threat to the human world and Heroica, then it is necessary that someone strong in the faith goes. Though the signup deadline is quite far away. Perhaps I can go on a quest before then. Nevertheless, I signup for Quest #105. Quest seems straightforward enough, I muse. Although it does remind me of that last quest when he had to run the errand for that alchemist. Risky business. Still, the reward is good. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to check out. I also signup for Quest #106.

For the record, 92 was a great quest to be on. Maybe it's just because I loved Tarn as a character and Flipz was ridiculously fun to talk with, but I would have no problem going on such a quest again. Pretzel and Hybros may need a bit of time away from each other though.

I believe this is the case. In any case, I'm too lazy to look back. Thanks for hosting, CallMePie! I walk out into the air. It was time to head back to the hall. There is so much to think about. So much to ponder on.

Sometimes I was wondering if you were specifically making your enemies so that my Dual Staff would be useless in this quest, but those Moon Elf Corpses were satisfying to dispatch of it has to be said. For how difficult the shades were to fight, I wish they would have dropped something in the way of loot, but all-in-all I didn't feel particularly short-changed by this quest (beside the fact that my Magic Shovel never worked ). I had great fun and it's certainly always a pleasure being on your quests. It is interesting how Pretzel seems to get along so well with an awful lot of NPCs, even ones who I wouldn't normally have thought he would (which would have to include Soryx). I have to say that I much preferred #69 to this one as it was more of an adventure. This one seemed a little bit more like moving from one battle to another. It didn't really bother me though. It was just different. The end was very interesting though. It was great interacting with the other PCs too, especially Hybros. I have to apologize for not really being focused a lot in the middle of the quest. I had a lot on my mind and though I always posted relatively on time it was often nothing more than a one-liner or so or a battle action. I was more focused at the end and it led to some fun interactions that I may have missed otherwise. I'm sure I have more to say. Overall, this quest has been another great one in my opinion. It was great seeing all the gnomes again.

Being that mixing and matching minifig parts is one of my favourite things to do with my LEGO pieces, that is something to die for.