Flipz

"Are you sure you don't want to borrow my Jester's Hat? I don't see any disadvantage to it, since I won't be using it myself."

"One thing you'll learn, Master Dwarf--as a Hero, the roads are long, and the days longer. Only through life in the field can one truly get to know another." Arthur tries casting Recklessness on Boomingham again, then drinks another Grand Tonic. "Lady Nerwen, you may take my horse. The equine creatures of Brobric are strong, and can carry up to two Heroes. And if push comes to shove, I can always make an attempt to Windwalk. I will leave this amulet with Lady Ahviyalin, that it may be destroyed peaceably."

Random question: why is there not an offensive class based around plants a la Poison Ivy? *adds to the list of Expert Class options to finish*

"Here, Lord Boomingham--allow me to cast it for both of us--I'll just drink two Grand Tonics when I'm done. Sorry, Ellaria, I'll try that again once my Ether's up." "Oh, and Lord Boomingham, you should hold onto my spare Healing Staff--that way you can still heal us if you're Sealed."

OOC: I shouldn't have a Scroll of Sealing, I traded mine to Ellaria for this shiny armor. If you'd like to give me a free Scroll of Sealing, I won't complain, but... Arthur's feeling of joy fled as quickly as it had come. Wow. Didn't realize Althior was that far gone... "Is there no way to bring the poor creature to peace?" he asks, concerned.

Nice touch, having Lord Calabor (Q31) being the Quartermaster from the fight in the tents from Quest 4. Other thoughts: *The stores in Bric'lin suck. (Might want to change that if it's still supposed to represent the site it did in Q4... ) *R'klif had very little of interest last time. *Mopag was completely useless. *We really need to visit Brobric. *We really REALLY need to investigate Brobric Pass. *Despite everything, we have yet to fight the terrifying swilsbear. Also, is Lady Ahviyalin at all related to the unnamed female Elf we last saw here in R'klif discussing things in the Red House with Keveak and Davril?

So I've been re-reading Quest 4 since I got done working. It turns out, Brickdoctor actually created the first Lucky enemies in Heroica.

"I'll gladly hold on to those gems, and here are my Lens and my Scrolls, though I'll hold on to my Scrolls of Sleep, Blinding, and Weakening as you already have a copy of each." As Arthur takes the Sapphire, a sensation fills him like a wind blowing through him and bearing his spirit aloft. He smiles gently, for the first time in days. "So, Lady Ahvialyn, what exactly is the situation in R'klif? And, might I ask your aid in the proper use of this Elven artifact?" Arthur holds up the Amulet of the Elven Horse Rider.

As long as some person names their dragon Toothless, I will be very happy. Well, I guess Norbert would be okay as well, but still.

OOC: Yes, the Robe stats were in error, sorry--I'm also no longer immune to Sealed, unfortunately. Now that I'm a Mystic Knight, I should have 41 health (I actually forgot about that part, thanks for reminding me ), Ether should be unaffected. The Healing Staff was listed twice because I own two--the one I got from Johon and the one I got from Alexis when she gave up mage-ing. Power should go down by one now, since the Unlucky Horseshoe is unsuitable now--on the plus side, Ammit is suitable. His equipped weapon, shield, and Artifacts are currently: Sir Roderick's Sword, Arm Shield (SP:5), Duke's Coat-of-Arms (which should also be Immune to Fragile now), Zap-Tap Badge, and Overkill Gloves. Also, prepare yourself...I'm about to lend a bunch of people a bunch of stuff. "Sorry it took me so long, Lady Nerwen, Lady Ahvialyn...I had an unexpected encounter with a Veteran on my way out." 'Encounter' was an understatement--Arthur practically glowed from the events in the Marketplace. "Here, let me help ensure everyone is fully prepared." Arthur lends his Scarf of Misfortune to Alexander, his Jester's Hat to Throlar, and the Spider Leg to Nerwen. He also gives Throlar, Boomingham, and Nerwen a Smoke Bomb each, and Ellaria and Nerwen a Nostrum apiece. "Here, Miss Arbour, I think you'd be best suited to hold onto this," he says, giving her his Emergency Essence, before turning to Throlar. "No new Hero should leave the Hall without a Bedroll. Copper Fox sends this to you, with his regards." Arthur gives Throlar a Bedroll. "Lord Boomingham--might I borrow that Scroll of Recklessness from you for a moment so I can use it on myself?" He also uses his Scroll of Luck on himself. "If anyone else wants to benefit from the energies of my Scroll, say so--I bought additional Grand Tonics for precisely that reason." "Also, Lady Nerwen--if you wish to borrow my Lens and Scrolls for the duration of the Quest, or any of my spare Artifacts, you may do so. The same goes for you, Miss Arbour, if Lady Nerwen refuses. While we're on the subject, Miss Arbour, Master Vandangant--which of you would like to borrow my Unlucky Horseshoe? I cannot make use of it anymore, but either one of you can--and it has been of great use to me and my party in the past."

Good lord, how do you people all manage to handle work AND Heroica like you do?! I'm only working for family, and I STILL end up way behind everyone else here!

Music for Arthur's Training: Arthur develops over time. Yes, he does have a lot of different connections, but they rise and fade in importance in his life. Everything he's a part of is directly tied to one of the Quests or events he's been on, though--and I've specifically filled in his background now, which means things can't really be written into his backstory anymore. If you'd like a list: *Engineering expertise (side-effect of my own abilities) (Q17) *Ties to Knyghton and the Lion Knights (Q17, Q31) *Ties to Dastan (Q31) *Ties to Chaos (Q31, Q38, Q53) *Connection to the Spirit Pools and Zeigfrieds through Valentine Zeigfried (Q38, though note that Arthur is unaware of the source) *Connection to the Ji Pei (via Quest/Reputation) (Q51, also plays on the engineering skills from Q17) *Connection to Byblos (plays on Chaos, Dastan, and character in general) *Connection to Town Watch/Wolfgang conflict (post-Q53, Q66, Q70) Arthur also has connections to many other Heroes, and thus ties indirectly to some of their stories through them. Yeah, it may have gotten lost amongst the big gold-nerf discussion. (Though I could have sworn I mentioned it when I was still trying to buy your shield.) I apparently fail at foreshadowing, though.

Oh, dear--I had been planning to switch to Mystic Knight since before the end of 70--I thought you knew. I'll switch back if it's a problem, though I'll have to completely redo my consumable purchases.

*Prior to Thormanil arriving in the Training Room* As Arthur leaves through the door he had frozen earlier, what he had earlier taken for a cloth-covered crate suddenly seems to rise up of its own accord. Arthur moves for his weapon, before realizing that the figure revealed was none other than the Copper Fox. "I take it you saw what happened...before...then?" The Copper Fox smiles reassuringly. "Not my place to interfere. You kept things well in hand. But I wanted to talk about you, Arthur. You seem...dissatisfied with your current skill set." Arthur gives the Copper Fox an appraising, slightly concerned look. "Just how much of the conversation in the Hall do you Veterans monitor?" Fox laughs. "Both more and less than you'd imagine. But your caution serves you well." He allows the moment to pass before asking, "So, are you going to ask me for training, or are you going to try and become a Mystic Knight all by yourself?" Arthur raises an appreciative eyebrow. Fox grins. "Your diplomacy is impressive even without a shield to back it up. It was the obvious choice." He pulls out his weapon, a halberd that seems improbably large to have been hidden so completely. "Ready to begin?" The battle was swift and fierce. Arthur's elemental blasts continued to stagger the Copper Fox, but the Veteran took hit after hit and still kept charging. Arthur's roguish skills allowed him to retreat and dodge, but his spells had little effect on his opponent, and the Veteran's far-reaching weapon prevented Arthur from getting enough distance to throw his horseshoe properly--and without his familiar robe, he found himself both exposed and short on Ether. Arthur soon found himself on the defensive, backed into the Marketplace. "Come on, Regulus, stand up to me! If not for yourself, then for those you wish to protect!" A changed gleam enters the Watchman's eyes. At the next opportunity, Arthur backs against a table of Anwyl's goods--when the Copper Fox's next blow strikes, Arthur coolly leans out of the way, the halberd catching the edge of an arm-mounted shield and throwing the now-dented plate high into the air. Arthur leaps acrobatically, first to the table, then boosting off the staff portion of the halberd as it belatedly stabbed straight toward him. Arthur pivots sharply, his back arching into a backflip over the Copper Fox's head as he catches the shield in midair. He lands in a crouch, his new shield protecting his body from the savage blow the Veteran aims at him with his backswing. As he backs toward Fabian's stall, he continues to fend off hit after hit as he removes the heavy Coat-of Arms from his pack. Off-balance from this action, however, the Veteran's next blow sends Arthur reeling into Fabian's furnace, prompting a cry of alarm from the disturbed Elven owner. He needn't have bothered. Arthur's entire body lights with a surge of Etherial energy, both the shield and the armor gleaming with an identical glow of enchantment as the mage climbs out of the flames. Grabbing a small trinket from a rack to throw at the Veteran, he uses the opening to finish placing the armor on himself, slapping a sparking badge onto the breast as he moves to follow up the attack with Ammit, his newest weapon gleaming like a supernova. To his surprise, Fox evades the blow and swings the butt end of the weapon up into the younger man's face, forcing him to stumble backwards. The next thing Arthur knows, the agile Veteran is behind him, the pointed tip of his weapon ready to impale the Watchman. With no time to do anything else, Arthur commands a bolt of lightning to erupt from his gem, through his body, and out through his blade, turning the momentum of his fall into a spinning attack. The Etherial energy bursts out of him, far stronger than he had ever imagined, transforming into a raging whirlwind of elemental energy that tears the weapon from the Copper Fox's grasp and sends the man flying into the side of Portia's shack. The storm tears a hole in Arthur's money back, the golden coins scattering around the Marketplace as they rained to the ground. At last, the energy fades, and, stowing his blade, Arthur offers a hand to the fallen Veteran. Fox grins as he lets the younger man help him up. "Now that is a Spellspin. I see you learned well from Ablesword, Private Regulus." Arthur nods, still unwilling to accept the praise for his awesome display of power. He bends to pick up his scattered coin, but Fox stops him. "No need," the Veteran says, pressing a new bag on him. "I took the liberty of preparing a few things that might help you in your next Quest. I'll make sure the right people are properly paid." Arthur smiles, and makes to leave, but as he reaches the exit Copper Fox calls out to him. "Oh, and one more thing." Fox grabs a Bedroll from Gnomeo's shed and tosses it to the Mystic Knight. "There's a new Hero on your Quest. Watch out for him, will you?" Arthur nods, and with that he is on his way.

As Arthur passes through amidst his training, his whirlwind shopping spree leaves every vendor there just a little bit richer. OOC shopping list because I don't have a lot of time and the training scene takes place in the streets of Eubric anyway. 4x Mead (60 gold) 4x Nostrum (140 Gold) 2x Phoenix Essence (100 gold) 1x Shield (SP:5) (50 gold) Imbue Scroll of Frailty into Duke's Coat-of-Arms (50 gold) 14x Grand Tonic (420 gold) 1x Ambrosia (60 gold) 1x Bedroll (5 gold) 1x Amulet of the Elven Horse Rider (20 gold) 5x Smoke Bomb (25 gold) Total: 930 Gold spent (454 Gold left)

It'll be interesting to see, that's for sure. I even built a dragon for him (we were originally going to train together), but whether or not it's useable depends on the dragon Sandy creates for him (since my build is too big to be the hatchling).

"Not a problem...it's what I do." "Yeah...I think I will. Thanks, Thormanil." He briefly stops by Dyric and Haldor before he goes. "Well, I'm off. Dyric, could I have that Elixir for 20 gold?" Bidding farewell to Dyric and stopping to do the same for De'kra, Arthur leaves the Hall, heading through the Marketplace on his way to his new mission.

Note that there will be a shopping spree--I have yet to finalize the details, but expect a fair number of Grand Tonics and possibly some other consumables.

I may or may not be online tomorrow, so I'm going to let Legonater run Arthur in my absence if anyone really needs him.

Psst...Pie, hate to say it, but Namyrra gets nothing from that Magnetic Mojo in the Fields.

Arthur sat down in a chair and leaned back, allowing his elemental powers to flicker on and off, on and off, first an icicle from finger to finger, then an arc of lightning, then a shadowy mist...the Etherial display continued as he began to speak. "Hm. I guess you're right. I mean, look at Nyx, Cinna, Hoke. None of them seem to have fallen into madness...I guess the problem comes in that I don't trust myself." He sits, thinking. "I wonder if Copper Fox would let me train to be a Knight? Can you imagine that, Master Nihai? Being able to protect your compatriots with your mighty shield...having your words have meaning to others? That's something money can't buy...and let's be honest, when was the last time either of our abilities to Flee have done anyone any good?"

Arthur brooded silently as he accepted the sword. "Do you think Mages are trustworthy, Master Nihai? Or for that matter, anyone who uses Ether?"

"Old man...mage, perhaps?" He looks at the blade, glowing in response to his arrival. On impulse, he slides 150 Gold across the table. Now why did I do that? I can't even use the blasted thing. Too late to rethink now, though... He pauses, standing in silence for about a minute. Finally he asks, "Master Nihai...why did you switch to a Raider after having been a Shaman?"

I'm up for this as well. Actually, it works REALLY well for the enemies in my Quest, who tend to be smarter than the average mooks--gives them a chance to adapt their strategies in response to the Heroes.

Arthur isn't quite sure what to say. 'Wiser than Nerwen?' Is she back in the Hall? I'd best speak to her at some point, then. He stands up. "Well, thanks for the kind words, anyway--and I would say the same of you, Master Grimwald--but I don't think this is the sort of thing I'm going to solve with reason. At this point...I just need some time to think." He slowly walks away from the trio, leaving all of them--himself included--with a lot to think about. As he passes by Thormanil, he notices the Raider polishing a strange blade that thrums with an Etherial glow. "Master Nihai...good to see you again. A shame our plans for the Fields never worked out." He eyes the unusual weapon with a wary eye. "Where did you get that weapon, may I ask? It is...unusual, to say the least."