Flipz

Arthur whips his head back to face Pretzel, and for a brief moment there is fire in his eyes before it is quickly extinguished. "Be glad you do not know of the Dark Lady. Good people died to protect this city from her." "As for Princess Ella--she is both. Princess and prophetess, Septrine and seer, heir to the throne and heir to the Spirit Pools." OOC: Came so close to making an LotR reference, but I'll let it be in case Zeph wants to make it later.

Tensi--the nice thing about that blade is it ignores row as well as defense, so you can hit from the Back Row at full power.

Arthur nods, accepting the Bones. "Master Tarn of Valco. We fought together, briefly, in Dastan--he and a former friend of mine were instrumental in aiding the princess during their Quest, and I was one of the ones who fought to save her from Chaos Beasts during the battle in the palace." A shadow passes briefly over his face. "Speaking of which, Tarn--when we get a chance back in the Hall, we should speak. There are some...details...of the night we defeated Wren that you deserve to know." He clears his throat. "But that's a conversation for another time. Master U'Voros, is there anything we should know before we meet with Princess Ella?"

OOC: Made a last-minute Marketplace run, I should be down to 348 Gold and should now have 1 more Mead and 2 more Smelling Salts. Also, somewhere along the way my SP:10 Arm Shield got lost, I've added it back now. Oh, should also strike through the Ancient crown and anything else I sent off during Tidings--I'll get a list to you in a second. Ah, Dastan. Those were the days... "Greetings, Master U'Voros, I'm Arthur Regulus--I fought alongside Master Tarn at Drakencourt. It's been far too long since I've had word from Dastan--how has the Empire fared since then?" OOC: OK, I had already deleted the 2 Grand Tonics from my inventory, so that leaves the Ancient Crown and Sticky Gloves as sent off for Grogmas. We'll see if Sandy lets Ella respond before we meet her in person. "Oh, Master Tarn, since you're the only one of us who can use these, I'll let you hang on to them for now. And here, you have more need of this helmet than me at the moment, you can borrow it as well." Arthur smiles and lends Tarn his Unlucky Horseshoe, his Gladiator Trident, and his Spider Leg spear, as well as his Helmet of the Duplovian guard. "Master...Monk, is it? You should hang onto Ammit, my Staff of Ennon, and one of my Healing Staves while we're on this Quest."

Arthur quickly speeds through the Marketplace, buying two Smelling Salts and a Mead for 65 Gold. 413-65=348 gold

It's awesome. I'd hate to see it overused, but it makes Berserkers a little less...hampered...compared to the rest of the party. Also a great counter to effect-dealers and dual-strikers. In other news, what is the piece used for Atramor's torso? I thought it was Barbossa's navy jacket at first, but now I can't tell WHAT it is. And same question for the legs.

Endgame can delay all he wants, I'm having rendering issues. And I'm getting rather busy again anyway. Also, Zeph, nice new effect. I'll definitely be stealing it in the future. Question though (the same question I've asked a friend of mine who's decided he's going to stage manage two shows WHILE maintaining a full-time college schedule and being production manager for a small theatre company): how do you plan to not die while running 92? ...also, more important question: what story arc is 93 a part of? It's not Russel, obviously, it's not Guffington (I think)...is it sort of a spiritual Wren arc spin-off? Ah, don't mind me, I'm just happy to be back in the saddle again.

I'd have the note about Bleeding and Cursed say "Bleeding and cursed do not currently stack, however." Also, I left the items I gave away in Tidings of Comfort and Joy in my stats page so you can easily see what they are/do, I'll delete them once I get my phat lootz return presents. Now, regarding my Duke's Coat-of-Arms: That should now grant me blanket immunity to poisons, yes? That would match with a few other Artifacts that currently exist. Also, I'll assume my Scroll of Poisoning now grants "Poisoned 10" instead of Badly Poisoned?

Buy a bedroll. Particularly as a Mage, you'll need it early on to replenish your Ether count, which will go down alarmingly fast. As for broomsticks...well, your class can start with a broomstick-type weapon, which deals full damage from the Back Row as a melee attack, which it does by flying...so I'd say it's fine during combat.

Arthur slumps back dejectedly, half anticipating and half dreading the replies that awaited him. Unable to find a comfortable position, he stands up suddenly and determinedly walks out of the Hall.

Mind-numbingly complex and unlikely to lead anywhere helpful? Yup, that's going on my Facebook. (Names changed of course. ) That may happen to me, too--I got a 3DS for Christmas, and then bought X today. Zeph, if the sequel to Pokémon X and Y are called "XX" and "YY", we may need to get Nyx a costume change. (Though actually now that I think of it, YY would make a good secret-identity for Nyx if she and XX did some sort of power team-up... )

Don't forget "and only bother with it for the purpose of collecting the all-powerful trading cards". (Seriously, though, I'm obsessed--I've been voting EVERY 8 hours for the winter sale cards, even though I still need more exp to get to Level 5 so I can actually earn my reward. ) I should add you guys on Steam, might be fun to have an all-Heroica TF2 tourney sometime. Or Dungeon Defenders--anyone who likes Heroica will like it, and it and all its DLC is SUPER cheap right now--definitely worth a look.

At last, pen dragging across the paper with hesitation, Arthur writes his final letter. Its motion continued by morbid curiosity or some other force, Arthur didn't know, but as he dragged out word after word, he felt a growing compulsion to complete his bizarre task. 'Dear' Valentine Zeigfried, I want to know one thing: why? From the moment I first met you, you've brought me nothing but ill fortune. When the truth about you and my father came out, you shattered his standing amongst our community, and so when he vanished my family struggled to recover. When you reappeared with the V-mail system--which, let me remind you, you stole from my father--it heralded a downturn in my battle and my journey as a Hero, and the start of my journey back into darkness. In last year's Lottery, you sent me a worthless prize, this year none at all, and the gifts you sent out last Grogmas marked the beginning of the end for us all. Now this? Why do you insist on tormenting me? Is it not bad enough that you stole my father's work for your own gain, without appearing at the worst times of my life to rub in how alone and rejected I am? So tell me: why did you find it necessary to barge into my life? And why do you keep showing up, in spite of the pain you know it brings? I look forward to an honest and thorough response. --Arthur Justus Regulus VII At the last minute, Arthur encloses 2 Grand Tonics. Before he can think better of his decision, the letter is gone--and there would be no recalling it. He didn't know what had drawn him to address the woman who had shattered his family this time instead of any other, but what was done was done, and he'd have to hope the answers would bring him some measure of peace.

One more letter...this one perhaps the most important. Still trying to decide what to send with it (or if I should send an item), but I'm very excited to see what this person says to Arthur...if I can manage to get it out before the deadline.

The letter had been sent, yet still more paper remained. He thought and thought--who would truly be worth supporting the theft of his father's invention?--but only two individuals came to mind. Sighing, he began his second letter. Dear Master Isaac Shawe, I hope that things in R'klif are going well. We never really got to speak after the warlord was defeated--I just wanted to let you know how much I admire your foresight in preparing a place for your House should worse come to worse. I only hope that Heroica will take heed and make similar preparations of its own. Regardless, I am proud to have helped House Shadeaux in strengthening its position in Uland, and hope I may aid you again soon. In the meantime, please allow me to offer you these Sticky Gloves--they have aided me greatly in earning Gold in the past, and I hope that they may aid you and House Shadeaux in doing the same. Humbly yours, Arthur Justus Regulus VII

Merry Christmas, all! Hopefully I'll be able to work out my other two letters before the event ends tomorrow.

After pondering for an inordinate amount of time, Arthur finally decides to write a letter. Dear Ella, What a surprise and a pleasure it was to learn you are in Eubric! Some friends and I were just discussing the Spirit Pools and peoples' connection to them, and your name came up. I'm sad to hear of your and the Oracle's troubles, however. I have no knowledge on how to deal with visions and prophecies, and had in fact considered sailing to Dastan to seek your and Vipera's counsel about my own nocturnal nightmares...though I am not entirely certain what reception I would have received anyway. At any rate, I know that as a child I found some small comfort in clinging to the artifacts of my ancestry when the night terrors grew too great, so with that in mind I am enclosing the Ancient Crown that once belonged to your great great uncle Emperor Brunt. If nothing else, perhaps it may remind you of home. --Arthur Justus Regulus VII P.S. It looks like Tarn just discovered your Quest pitch a few moments ago. If his smile gets any bigger there shall be no room for it in the hall, and the rest of us Heroes will be forced out onto the streets. Then again, some of us could probably use the fresh air... :P

Alone again, Arthur sees two new pitches posted. Ella...? Here? And the Academy...Lyren and Nuitan! Torn, Arthur quickly pens his name for Quests 92 and 93.

I'm happy to do it, and can definitely use the practice.

That or wait for 15 minutes.

Just make a second post, I think? I think the idea is to make it easier for Sandy to keep track of what he's responded to and what he hasn't.

"Wow...sheesh. Makes my trip to R'klif sound like a picnic." The letters burst into appearance with an all-too familiar Etherial vibration. Arthur scowls, his good mood thoroughly ruined. "'Scuse me..." He quickly gets up and walks off, Sorrow's necromantic cant echoing his own feelings. A strong, silent figure manages to catch Arthur's eye. "Xander? Is that you?" He quickly conjures up another chair. "It's been a long time since Bric'bay--I hardly recognized you. I take it you have the weapon we corresponded about?" Arthur slides over 170 Gold. "Got back a couple of weeks ago from a trip to R'klif to help Lord Normorn. We ended up meeting and lending a hand to Isaac Shawe, but he didn't seem to appreciate our efforts as much as he did yours all that time ago."

He should change his name to Wolf first. Then it's be really stale. (One of the big disappointments of the special, IMO. )

Yaaaay! I already know exactly which Hero I'm going to make an Artifact for, and I know exactly what the core concept should be. Endgame, you brought it on yourself.

"I'm all ears."