Tanma

Wow, excellent cliff face. Noting the updated pictures, I have to say the interior is even better. The large amount of provisions should let them hide for weeks, until their foes give up. And with so many exit points, a siege is impossible. The only thing I find a little off is the lack of sleeping accommodations. Forestmen might be great trackers and hunters, but they still need to sleep every now and again.

De'kra awoke, to find the sky pleasantly dark. As he gained at the sky, he felt a sudden wave of hate and disgust. The stars in the sky hurt more than the sun's light on the best of days. But at least they won't be there long, already the sun was starting to emerge into the sky. De'kra walked away, and sat down in his dark corner again. As he sat there he wondered what a dean man looks like.

De'kra winces, uncomfortable with trusting the strangers of the hall. "I not know most heroes here," he said, "I not know if they trustable. But great hero say; "Danger anvil on which trust forged." Not exact quote, but close. I rest now, you learn more, tell I?" After hearing their response, De'kra walked away to get some sleep in. He didn't need it, but he enjoyed sleep. He never remember his dreams, but each time he woke up he felt a rush of sadness and joy. It was like remembering an old friend.

De'kra shrugs, and drops the matter. Personally the shade thinks knowledge is power, and only by informing and discussing things with allies could a good plan be made. Keeping secrets or ignoring the truth will only create danger, and hurt the ones uninformed. After a time he clicks, "You have quested, right? What it like when questing? What I need know about quests for future?

De'kra looked puzzled and asked, "Pure evil? Not one good trait? I find hard understand, but I not know islands well. You think knowledge about Abraxas will help future? Dean-man manifestation of pride, maybe he uses pride. Dean-man might used pride of Zed to make Zed help him. Wizard leader vanished first, Zed second in line for throne. And first thing red wizard said, recorded in library, wizards were very proud. The wizards might in danger, Cronk quick in mind."

De'kra returned to the hall from the library. The shade walked carefully over to Hybros and the Orc, careful to avoid the light. "I ask library-ape about dean-man," added De'kra, "He say Abraxas dean-man manifestation of pride. There dean-men for other negative emotions also, not know their names. Do you know what demon exactly?"

De'kra thanked Byblos for the information, and began to head back to the hall. De'kra still wasn't sure what a dean-man was, but they appear to be entities tied to negative emotions. Perhaps they fed on the emotions of mortals, which is why Abraxas was fed souls. Either way, the dots were coming together.

De'kra entered the library from the hall, his hand trying to block out the bright sunlight. Quickly he dove into the books, trying to understand this world. All the while he could feel the light, batting against his back. There was a feeling there, a sense of mental pain. What was the source of this pain? Diving into the books, the shade found that that information was a little scanty on older matters. However there was plenty of information on the three most recent quests. De'kra could see the connection that Orc knight had noticed, but who was this Abraxas? There also was some information on the seven houses and the original heroes. It turns out there were only six houses, the seventh was a rising power. Somehow the number was comforting, as if six was a more spiritual number than seven. The Bonapartes sounded interesting as well, he would have to try to aid them in a quest sometime. On the matter of the Veterans, De'kra found the Fey One the most interesting. The mysteries behind that Veteran reminded De'kra of his own shrouded past, not to mention they both shared a certain feature. Glad to understand more about the Free Islands, De'kra went to the Librarian. "Who Abraxas?" asked the shade, "I might say name wrong."

De'kra nodded and clicked, "I think I know place like Free Islands. There one nation, and six villages. One leader per village, leaders focus on only their villages. Those villages fought, their leaders lead charge. The fight for power destroyed them. I should check Lie-bury, need know world. Thank for help, lucky quests." The shade walked away, headed towards the Library.

Oh good, I was worried it would be too easy. After all, he is not only an amnesic, but his native tongue isn't "Freespeech." Not to mention he doesn't understand some concepts(for example; souls). But over time he will get better.

De'kra shrugged. "Credit not I, Orc made theory. I only heard theory. Who Shadeaux exactly? They one of seven houses, right? They one and crown? I not like crown house, symbol say they rulers. But there six other houses also there. What seven houses do?"

De'kra clicked, "I old mind mostly missing, I only get glimpses. Maybe it ghost? Gases not touchable either, also gases see-through. I ask of souls because Orc and human mentioned them. Human said heroes find captured souls. Orc mention...dean man...in Mage hut. Orc suggest souls food for dean man. Any of you know more?"

De'kra made a laughing click, and explained what he had thought a soul was. "Soul mind after death," mused the shade, "I think I know mind after death, I think I heard of gas people. Gas people take over other people, if villager has no mind. Know what gas people called? Also, I not know I race either, I call I shade because I shadow of person, I echo.

I have a question, are we allowed to add new information to our characters as they come up? I am not talking about class, power, health, gold, or inventory, but the background information. So for instance, let's say your character has amnesia, like De'kra. And over time, the amnesic learns that the name they are using is wrong, or that their race is not what they thought it was. Something that doesn't affect quests directly, only your character. If this occurs, would you be allowed to edit your character's profile?

De'kra turned to the stranger, sizing him up. "Soul of death? Explain. Also, you know I race? What I race like?" Knowing a connection to the dead, De'kra revised his theory. It seemed like souls were scavengers, feasting on the dead. Maybe the souls acted as a clean up crew, making sure that the city wasn't polluted by corpses. Without them, the city would be diseased. That is why capturing or eating a soul is wrong, without them the city will fall under a plague.

De'kra nods, and clicks, "What soul look like? I hear heroes from quests talk about captured soul. Is it a kind of beast?" De'kra waited for a response, curious to know what a soul resembles, so that he knows not to let others eat them.

Wow, these are incredible. How did you get the Octblock to stand up, the cell blocks(?) are at such an odd angle, I would have thought support was impossible. Many of them put me in the mind of Myst, with their puzzling designs and their exotic feel. My personal favorite is the Tetra Pyramid, regarding which I have a question. it looks as though you can remove sections of the TP, or at least the top. Does this mean that you can separate it into four smaller pyramids?

De'kra nodded at the ogres' outburst, figuring that it was a cultural thing. "Slavery bad," the shade said when the Ogre calmed, "same and hate. Keeps you divided. But a monster of mind not looks enslaving people sounds...familiar. I not know why." As he replied, De'kra heard a Orc propose a theory that the captured souls were food for an "evil thing." Still unsure what a soul was, the shade wondered if it was a type of creature, that normally is forbidden to eat, because of it's powers or rarity. So in stealing a "soul-beast," and using it as food, a terrible crime was committed.

De'kra shook his head and clicked, "Not now. But Mockthril now for sell, for forty gold. Have one or other of you been on quests yet? What quests like?" The shade listened carefully to what the Elf and Ogre said next, as he needed to know what he was getting himself in for. After all, all he knew about Heroica is bits and pieces of things he heard on the way here, and what that nice smelling hermit told him.

De'kra turned to face the elf and clicked, "City...fast? Tone of city also feels...delicate? Like walk on volcanic ground, one wrong step, you in lava. Not...necessarily bad, but changes coming. In marketplace I see weapons that fire projectiles without bow or magic. That big change, now less skilled and weaker people might take down foes with kill-force. Hand Cannons could make rangers not necessary, or least less requirements. But I hope not, rangers of land. Land needs a voice in fast city, or land die. I read city right?"

De'kra nodded slowly, glad to know to call the green creatures Orcs. "Why Orcs invaded?" he asked suddenly, "Where Orcs first from? When war?" Then with a slower apologitic pace he continued, "Sorry, I need knowledge. I...memory not-full, only know last year. The rest not there. Not...even know age. I five thousand years, three years, two hundred fifteen years? There not way to know. You know of I race?" OOC: I can see that. Still, it might be nice to see non Tolkien races, like Kitsune or Minotaurs.

De'kra winced as his mind searched it's memory. With a deep breath he clicked, "Sorry, I not drinker. You know why most heroes are Hooman or Elth? I not...from here, I not know." The shade looked at the large figure, sizing him up. The ogre was a large creature, yet something in De'kra's mind told him that he had seen bigger. There was someone so big, he could life up the main isle of the Free Islands.

As he watched the other denizens of the hall, De'kra noticed that the majority were either human, or Elven. There also was a fair amount of hybrids of the two races, with attributes from both races. Other races were in short supply. It wasn't that the humans and elves were the only major race native to the Free Islamds, there also was a large amount of green skinned people too. So why were so few of them heroes?

As De'kra listened from afar, he heard a vibrant figure mention a thing called a soul. What was a soul? It had a connotation of importance in the knight's tone, like capturing one was horrible. As he pondered this, he heard the knight say he was formerly frozen in time. Something about that stroke a chord, that time shouldn't be meddled with. But De'kra stayed silent, observing the heroes as they talked.

It may look like Rheneas, but remember, that train had only two pairs of wheels, this steam engine has three. It does bare a resemblance to Skarloey, as he received another pair of wheels when he got his cab, if I remember correctly, but the train feels too long for Skarloey. Who is this "Arthur" though, I am unfamiliar with his work. The most recent train I remember was Lady, from the movie. In other news, great models of trains. Is that a window I spy on the diesel? Both of them flow nicely, the gold looks a little odd on the steam engine though. The line texture on the diesel looks great.