Palathadric

"Hi," I say, approaching the boy with the dog. "That's a nice doggy. What's his name?"

Pretzel brings 8 WP:1 Slimy Swords and upgrades them to WP:2 = 80*.75=60 Gold Spent. He also purchases 4 Grand Potions for 40*.75= 30 Gold.

"I do believe so. Let me just check my inventory and ensure that it's all in order. We'll miss you, Torald."

"Hmm...I don't like all these quests that just have to do with business and making money." Neverthless, Petaldan signs up for Quest #158. Pretzel, also strolls over and signs up for Quest #158.

With just a moment's delay, Petaldan returns with the Heavy Armour for Torald, having given the gold to Pretzel.

"I suppose what I meant is that dragons are almost...incomprehensible to us. They are both far wiser, in many ways, and yet far more bestial as well, in a sense. You could say that dragons are similar to us, but far more extreme. That is why for dragons, you find some that supremely noble and upright beings and others that are woefully base and downright evil even. The majority share the two though. For a human to become a dragon, though, I see no way that you would be able to expand your mind to receive their wisdom, but merely entering the body would fill you with their baser instincts, I fear." I raise my eyebrows as the knight, in a sense, confirms my fears about becoming obsessed with the idea of becoming a dragon. A new idea strikes me, though. "Have you ever met the Rito? If you haven't, I would strongly advise you do so before pursuing your quest for dragonness too far. They may help you a lot. Furthermore, they have a relationship with dragons and could surely introduce to some kindly ones. I have worked with them and they are a noble and upright race. They may be able to satisfy your passion for flight without the need to endanger yourself and others." "I will drink to that! But first let me go and inquire for Torald about that cloak." A few moments later, Petaldan returns with his report. "The old gentlemen regretfully informed me that he sold the cloak to one of the merchants at the marketplace. However, he showed me his other equipments, and I found a delightful piece of Heavy Armour that I think would suit you perfectly. He requested 130 gold for it."

"Ha, ha! Dear Fabian. I know that you can turn any cloth into a wonderous piece of merchandise. But I will accept your 250 gold." So saying, I hand Fabian the Cloak of the Barbaric Runecaster (SP: 3; wearer creates and deploys a Skeleton Decoy at the start of every battle; Suitable for Battle Mages, Necromancers, and Scholars; Backwear) and accept his 250 gold. "By the way, I just so happen to be extremely interested in that Heavy Armour." I slip Fabian 173 gold for it.

"I guess what I mean is that when men, let me take heroes for example, become powerful, it's usually a very slow and gradual process. Look at the most powerful heroes in the hall now. They didn't become powerhouses over night. It was a slow, arduous process. The process is of becoming great is by not means a foolproof method of weeding out the corrupt ones, but it does do a job of removing many of them. Furthermore, it enables those around them to see the road that power is leading them on and preempt too great problems from arising, at least in theory. However, turning one's self into a beast is a far less gradual process, at least physically. No one can really know how it will be for you just when that moment of power hits. "Moreover, in order to become a beast, no matter how great a beast it is, requires, in a sense, tapping into the baser part of human nature. When the moment of truth comes, there's no telling whether it will take complete control or not."

I give a little cry as the shadow launches itself at Torald. "But why would I ever want to attack Torald?"

I step forward. "Hi, Ezeran. I see that you are training Torald in the arts of magic, maybe someday you'll train me too. Then we'll be an unstoppable force for good, I think. Oh, Torald, I think I saw that old master over there trying to sell a cloak at the marketplace not long ago and Mr Fabian did not seem all that interested. Should I inquire for you about it?"

"Ah, pardon me, I meant 'humanoid' or whatever the term is they are spinning around nowadays. I see, so in essence, you wish to keep your mind, but change your body form. I can see why someone would want to do that, but, nevertheless, I'm not sure if I've ever truly seen it in done in the way you propose. I have a friend, or had a friend, I should say, who used to be a hero. Later is in life, he took on the ability to turn into a wolf, but, believe me, the road he took to there, was not a road that I would like to see another walk. He was much altered in mind from his early days of youthful exuberance to his later years of, well, a sort of cold cynicism. You know, there's a moment in heroes lives, and I've seen it in many heroes that have walked into these halls, where they stop really thinking that they can make a positive difference in the world and they let the cold attitude of the world outside affect their hearts. At that moment, they stop heroing for others and start heroing for what it gives them. "I don't want to scare you, but let me tell you what I think in regards to the matter. I believe that humans, elves, and the like, were created the size they were and in the way they were, because their gifts and passions were not compatible with a larger form. Could you really trust yourself in the body of such a large creature as a dragon? The fact is that you will never know until you get there, but often the pride and self-interest of our hearts only shows itself when we enter a position to display it. That is why children who display nothing but the utmost loyalty to their parents and humility can suddenly explode into horribly oppressive tyrants when given a position of power. So long as they felt constrained by their parents, they behaved themselves, but when positions of power were achieved, their true colours showed. Sometimes, you yourself do not know what your own mind is capable of, I suppose as far as both good and evil are concerned."

"What is the point in it, though?" I say to the odd-looking fellow.

I stagger back, completely not hearing anything that is said afterwards. "But...but you were made a human. Why would you want to change who you are? You cannot just become something you are not." My voice trembles with emotion, but not anger, as if I had once been in a similar position and the knight's words brought back uncomfortable emotions.

Your mentioning the marketplace reminded me of this. Could Pretzel get a response from Fabian on it? Thanks for the work.

"Very well then. I would rather be overbearing in protecting someone than otherwise. As far as the dragons are concerned, it now seems like you are the one who is judging and an extremely noble being. Dragons are, generally, not some large monster rapaciously destroying all in their paths. Believe me, I have dealt with them long enough and I know them to be often gentle and noble creature, usually very wise too. If she would wish to meet a real live dragon, I would take her to one, especially considering how quiet the hall has been recently. You see, I would much rather trust a fellow hero's well being in the hands of someone whom I know and who respects heroes, than...well, I don't think I need to say anymore."

"If we know the dangers of something, it is our duty as heroes to warn people of what they're getting into. Do you seriously not care when the lives and minds of others could be at stake? What right do I have to butt in? What right would you have to stop any crime from being committed? We, as heroes, have a duty to protect our fellow human beings from getting into dangerous situations. If you don't understand that, then perhaps you shouldn't be a hero. Now, once I've warned her, she is free to do as she pleases, I suppose, but know that whenever heroes have to fight to clean up a mess, they rarely have to fight the most guilty party. They fight henchmen who have been duped by the main guilty party into being followers, not knowing what they were getting into. If I can prevent a person from walking down the wrong path, I prevent the need for numerous quests to repair the damage that could be done. Maybe this lady knows what she's getting into, maybe not, but it's better to assume that she doesn't and find out she does, then vice versa, for her sake as well for humanity's at large."

"I know of many spirits possessing and consuming people's minds. I've seen people whose minds have been consumed. Perhaps not by Draconic spirits, but if it's possible for other spirits, then certainly for Draconic ones it is as well. Also, opening yourself to the world of spirits, you can by no means be assured of your final destination. There are many spirits of deception out there that can deceive you into thinking they are something they are not. You must be very wary if you have had no previous experience with spirits, it's not something to just jump into without first knowing what you may stand to lose by doing so."

He seems like a fake.

"Why not what? Be eaten out of your mind? If you're that far along I guess I can't help you."

Maybe I need to reread the quest (which I probably won't do anytime too soon, but hey ), but I think the issue here is that Hoke is and always has been the "Mr Perfect" kind of person in the sense that he wants to do everything right and of course he assumes that his way is right. As a character, that makes him look down (in a sense) on others (Guts, etc.) who are not as noble/moral. This aspect of his character is a part of him that makes me (as a player) really like his character. I really did appreciate his role-playing in this quest. However, something I realized when playing Monk Pretzel is that sometimes I need to play down his confrontational aspect in order that the party can actually accomplish something and get somewhere. In the last quest, as a character I really should have been more or less consistently trying to stab Vind in the back or anywhere else for that matter. With some people you can more or less play your character that way and both have a great time, but in the particular quest we were in, and seeing -Asphalt- (you can correct me if I'm wrong) as generally a sort of non-confrontational person, I decided that it would just hurt the fun of all of us players if I would play Pretzel that way, so I toned him down a little bit. I still had the remarks here and there and suchlike, but at least it wasn't all out party war. With Hoke, while you played him great and, as I said, I absolutely enjoyed reading him, you also need to see that sometimes you need to tone his character down a bit in order to help the other players in the quest enjoy themselves more. The fact is that not everyone can have that same sort of relationship with Hoke as Guts had (One factor is obviously the fact that Hoke could have just about decimated the party with a flick of his wrist ) and therefore, you do have to adjust playing style a little bit to fit the players and characters whom you're playing with. I like the surprise nature of just saying your part and having no idea what the next PC/NPC is going to say in response, but party out of character interaction can be very helpful. There's no point in playing this game if we can't enjoy it and sometimes someone's play style may just not be very compatible with yours, so it's a good idea to communicate about this before it gets out of hand and makes everyone frustrated. A good thing to remember is that no player is out to get you, we all want to have fun together, hopefully ( , ). If somebody says something in character that bothers your character, try not to let it translate into bothering you as a player and if someone says something out of character that bothers you, then just remember that there is a good chance that you are misunderstanding or misinterpreting what is being said. Always assume that the other players have good intentions, because, well, generally we do or at least we mean well. By the way, I was talking about Hoke here, but a lot can be applied to other players/characters as well. ST, you do need to watch out with your play style as well, I think, because frankly it seemed almost impossible for the party to communicate with Germ on any reasonable level. If you really enjoy playing the way, and you don't mind Germ being treated like he doesn't exist, then that may be fine, but just remember that the game is built on party interactions. So just make sure that you're doing your part to make the game enjoyable for those around you too and not just absorbed in Germ's world. By the way, I wanted to say that Throlar really is and has been great. Certainly one of the best characters to read on this quest. Torald is Torald and great fun. Sometimes, from your comments though, I get the impression that you are a bit bored. I'm not sure if that's just Torald talking or if you, as a player feel that you're not really being given a chance to shine. If the latter is the case and you feel sidelined by the other players, then just let them know and find a way of working things out better together. We aren't always in parties with people that we are used to or have a good dynamic with, but we can do our part to make the game more enjoyable for the others around us, and I think that as we do, we will find ourselves enjoying it more too. Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be so long. It's just the spirit of Arthur haunting us.

Overhearing, Annie's first mention of the rituals she performed, I shrug it off, but hearing her mentioning it again, I decide it is time to speak up to the quiet knight. "You made contact with Draconic spirits?" I say in some disbelief. "Dabbling in things that you are unfamiliar with can be dangerous business, little lady. You do know how powerful dragons are, do you not? A Draconic spirit, though. It could eat you out of your mind. Dealing in spiritual rituals is a dangerous business and not to be taking lightly, certainly not by one as young as yourself. If you want to know more about dragons, there are ones that you can meet physically, provided you show them the respect that is their due. Dealing with spirits though..."

I purchase the 5 Smoke Bombs for 10 Gold. I watch in interest as the mage instructs the barbarian in the arts of magic. The ways of the mage are changing, it appears. Perhaps people can actually handle magic these days. People are growing and learning. Petaldan stares in awe as Torald flings the chair about. "Wow! Are you becoming a mage too now?"

Haven't seen a male human teen rogue in a long time...

Fun quest to read, WaterbrickDown, as always. Hoke was hilariously awesome running around and trying to be Mister Perfect and fix all the parties' mistakes and all. It was all so perfectly Hoke. However, I think you need to watch out a bit that you don't sideline the others. Not sure, how they felt about it or if I'm just seeing it from the wrong perspective, but it did seem like Hoke was a bit too imposing on them. Not sure how to describe it exactly. The party didn't seem to have as much synergy as I would have liked to see.

I sell my Marauder's Mantle for 250 gold.