Zepher

With all the side quests finally posted I will now be able to respond to one final thing, though I really would love the hear from more people! Flare has asked me in private to elaborate on something, but I'm bringing it to the public, because it highlights once more what I tried to do with the side quests. I don't know if you mean bugging you in that it made you unhappy or if it nagged you - if it's the second, I'm glad, first one, less so, but I'll still explain it. Like I said, the side quests were meant to present some ideas, and allow the heroes to play with them. The ideas were really the new supplanting the old (which in turn CREATES lost information, which was the other theme of the quest) and where we ("we" being Heroica) may be in the span of history. My example would be this. Hybros' people WERE supplanted by the Paladins. The Old was killed by the New, and forgotten. And Hybros thinks that was bad. Yet when he was presented with BOTH the Lost Child and the Great Paladin, he supported the new and young. It's an interesting irony, and one that may prove a lot about the character v. his past. I also wanted to play with the cycle of the universe, and how nations rise and fall, and peoples do the same. How do we know that, though visually different, "The Darkness" from End of Times with Bonesy Jones is not "The Child" from the Lost Child? Yet Ellaria defended the Old in one case, and defended the Child in the other. Was she working against herself? Finally, what order should those quests have been in? They were presented all at once, mind you. Does it go like this: Lost Child Great Paladin Home Sweet Home Bonesy Jones OR maybe like this: Bonesy Jones Lost Child Great Paladin Home Sweet Home OR: Lost Child Our Eubric Bonesy Jones UNSEEN: Eubric Falls, Becomes Demons, Land Shifts Great Paladin Home Sweet Home (using the name Eubric from ancient texts) And on and on. They can really go in any order. So is there a way to prevent the fall, or is it natural? Should the new replace the old? Should Hybros' people been genocided (not a word) so that the new could rise, or was that wrong, or is it neither: just natural. Who knows. That's my explanation for the "Lost Child".

Side Quest: Home Sweet Home "Sell-swords, we've served on many a mission together. Presently, I guess we're looking for the rest of our group, whom we seem to have been separated from."

"Certainly," says Pigley. "He has deceived us twice, and we must not assume that he acts in the good or bad ways that Lord Chauncey may act." Pigley oinks. "Just as I imagine there are certain things we've done this quest that Lord Aventine would not be proud of. Or perhaps he would be." Pigley mumbles: "What do we know about Aventine, after all? Perhaps all I'm proud of he'd disapprove of, and all I regret he'd relish in. How do you know another mortal?" And with that the pig and crab retreat into their room. "I'm with you until the end of this," says XX confidently before ducking into his room. The next morning the heroes walk downstairs and find Zelphie sitting patiently at the table they left her at, sipping tea. Her glasses gleam in the morning light. It is the Sixth Day of the Week. M is no where to be seen. "Are we ready to go? Follow me. We will go deal with some miserable miscreants. They are weak souls. You will dislike them, I am sure. Striking them down will be easy for you." Zelphie leads the heroes out of town a little, into the forest. The going is a little quiet. The sun rises in the sky. It is a warm clear day. Up ahead, the heroes can hear two voices locked in jolly conversation. Zelphie stops. "These are servants of your employer. I will stay behind. I would like you to make your own judgement of them, without my own words or actions swaying you. But remember, this man and woman are deeply rotten. They have weak souls, but still make strong decisions. This is a great mistake on this plane. And remember, too, that you must kill them at the end of the conversation if you wish to see the duel tomorrow. That is what must be." She sits down against a trunk of a tree. "You're free to call me if you need me. I have no trouble helping you murder them if they put up a fight." She tilts her head back - but with her glasses on, it is impossible to tell if she is resting her eyes or not.

Side Quest: End of Times with Bonesy Jones

Side Quest: The Great Paladin "Hm... I am not sure." Hybros spoke as he walked behind the paladin. He was trying to take in the environment as he walked, but it was strange... elusive, hard to remember, as if he were in a dream. "A vision, or a dream I had... it feels like from a past life, maybe a past life of a past life... ehehm, I mean to say, in the world we existed in when we were digging, was the world that I once had a dream in. It was in a dungeon, belonging to Wren - I am sure you are familiar, eheh... a vision very similar to the world we are experiencing now." Hybros thought for a moment, then turned to Daneeka. "When I first met you, you sent me into Guffington's dream... is it possible that the same magic or machine that you used then is at work now?" He continued to look troubled as the paladin spoke. "I am not sure I agree... why must you force your belief on those who reside here? Have they caused you harm? Why can they not decide for themselves what is good and what is not?" The imp paused, recalling the argument that had been on his mind since delivering the AUIPIIUP. The Crimson Crown, the masked men and their fake Masked Man from the Guild of Invision, Guts, Posco, the Baron... "Who really gets to decide what is best for others?"

The heroes go up to the rooms that have been paid for them. XX pulls Purpearl aside before they step into their separate rooms. "Hey, Purpearl, just so you know. I don't break contracts. Whatever flying lady shows us tomorrow, my lot is with Aventine." Meanwhile, a little ways back, Russel and Pigley talk to Nerwen and Matthias. "It's too bad that Midge and Malty turned out evil. I have to say, I liked them! But enough of that, I suppose. All enemies will fall to the great Russel Ruffer's sword!" "Funny that he's evil all of a sudden," says Pigley quietly. "I like M. Liked him when he was Midge, liked him when he was Malty. Don't know why I shouldn't like him now." The pig snorts. "His employer doesn't change who he is. If he's a good guy, he's a good guy. That's all we've got to judge him on. Maybe we should judge his employer on that too." Pigley stares ahead at Purpearl and XX.

I really think that's the strength of Skrall, actually! I will be writing a long article on this post-102, but I think it's really interesting that Heroica has grown more amoral with time... and Skrall really stands out because he isn't exactly moral, but he's a rare hero because he questions his own actions and the world around him. It's a really beautiful trait, and makes for a wise character, even when he's lost path wise. I think it makes him one of the most admirable characters because of it.

As I post the side quests, I will also be writing up my running thoughts on Quest 107. I have a lot of them, and as always, I will just sort of ramble - read what interests you, ignore what doesn't! As I said, I'm very proud of the story. I don't know if it was a perfect quest, but I think it is a story I was proud of. Just the same as some things are better movies than books, or books than movies. So this may have not been the best quest, but the underlying story is one I'm proud of. It's ambiguous, yes, and it was more thematic than plot, but I'd like to push the envelope of Heroica a little, and sometimes that means getting weird and seeing what works. I'll discuss a few of the issues raised first: -The Library: I understand the objections, and I know it felt a little slow. I'm sorry that Skrall felt like a NPC at that point, WBD, but really I think that's a little bit both of our faults. Nyx didn't have to find anything down there, but she tried. Even more successfully, however, Ellaria refused to find knowledge. Though it apparently wasn't liked by the PCs, this was the moment that made me most proud of the quest. I try not to discuss the central theme of quests too much, but I think 107 was confusing and needs to be discussed, so I'll say a major theme of it was "is there such a thing as too much knowledge/should old knowledge be left behind". And the PCs here, without any guidance from myself, had the following exchange: I quoted the whole thing, because I thought it was so awesome. The PCs took what had happened in the quest and embodied the idea I wanted to get across. It was in character, it was strong, and we did it together. That was a moment where I really felt we had told a story together, and I think that's the greatest strengths of Heroica. -The Side Quests: I am glad I included them. They told a theme I don't think I could have told otherwise, which is really: "how much do we know?" and "where the hell are we in history?". As I publish all the side quests, I would like people to do this exercise: what order should they take place in? Is there overlap? I don't have a exact answer. I wanted to let players decide for themselves. I will discuss them a little bit down the line, but I think if Skrall needs to consider them insanity or dismiss them, that's what his character does. I think that by offering people different realities (on a large or small scale) you also offer them the choice of which ones they choose to except and reject, and I think that's what makes a person. After all, our lens of the world is what makes us us. -The NPCs: Deborah is an NPC I like. I think she did not have any "defining moments" this quest, as in she did no great actions. But I think I gave her a flavor, and laying down that line will allow her to be stronger when she returns (and she will). Read the first Wren quest - you only get a flavor of her there, and she doesn't do much but talk. But that laid down the pipes to a greater character. I think I'm a subtler writer than I was then, so perhaps it's less apparent. Conversely, perhaps I didn't do enough! As for why Heweyrt didn't just trust heroes... I don't know? What do you know about Heweyrt and Deborah and Gocklo so far? The Minoid was supposed to be a fun inclusion, but you're right, he came at a bad time and wasn't developed enough because of it. That's totally on me. I'll go into my reasoning about including him, but it's kind of negligible because it really didn't work out. SO, the quest itself: The Ji Pei errand was awkward, what with Ellaria and Hybros having just done a similar thing, but JimBee asked for them to be included and I was more than happy to oblige, because they let me wedge in Order Imperial as well. Earlier drafts of this quest had Jun descend with the heroes, which would have been cooler, I think, but too much perhaps, which is why it was cut. I also don't think I would have done Jun justice - I don't fully understand him yet, and I want to let Sandy take him where he ought to go before I mess with him. I had fun with the doctors, though, they're fun little side characters who I hope never end up doing too much, but stay around, like a certain pair of ex-paladins we all know. The Imperial Order is also fun. I think they're a cool paranoid society, and I'm always thankful that Kinto lets me borrow them. They are a joy to flesh out, and hopefully they aren't too unreasonable ever. Ser Abel is fun too. I'm sure you can tell why they were there - they were to plant the ideas that Ellaria articulated later. Some secrets are perhaps left buried. Zylstra was for JimBee. He wanted the assassins included, and the gnomish city made sense due to his recent exploits. I'll let CMP comment if he wants to. I asked CMP if Posco could be killed off, and he agreed, so that was that. The Witch and side quests were already discussed a bit above. But I will say one more thing: I am also glad that I included it because I think it utilized a strength of this forum. I have tried to present multiple realities at once in other mediums, and can't figure it out. In a book/movie/video game, you'd HAVE to experience them one at a time, and would be inclined to believe them in the order you read them. In this one, you really did receive all the input at once. Its an idea I want to utilize in my story telling in real life, so I was a little selfish in work shopping it here, but I really wanted to try it and I'm not unhappy with the results, as I said above. THANK YOU for letting me test some stuff out here. The end... I was again happy with. I think it's clear why, as I stated above. It wasn't perfect, but I had a great time. The void was hopefully fun for everyone. I wasn't originally going to have Wren in it, but I think she and Skrall have an intriguing relationship, and I wanted to give him something for his hard work this quest. I hope everyone felt serviced in the void. Would love to hear more thoughts - PC critiques are coming up soon, but again it is a great great joy playing with all of you. These four are some of the strongest PCs in the game, in my opinion, and I think/hope this quest made them stronger.

Side Quest: The Lost Child "No I can't say," says the creature sadly. "I've never met anything but that creature over there. Maybe I eat at the souls of all creatures," it hangs its head, "but I hope not." Death's Doorstep Battle Round Two >Deborah does nothing >Ellaria heals Deborah - Shield (All healed by 55, -1 ether) >Hybros heals Deborah - Failure (6) >Hybros does nothing >Minoid does nothing The Old v. Deborah - [120/2]-20=40 Damage The Enemies The Old Level 120 Ancient *Immune to Negative Effects (excluding Doomed) and Instant Kill* *Doomed (1 Rounds)* Health: 670/670 Special: End of Days - The Old grabs hold of the hero. The hero loses health equal to The Old's lost health divided by four. Drops: Nothing The Party Hybros (played by JimButcher) 53-year-old male imp Chi Monk *Hastened* *Immune to Cursed, Asleep, Blinded, Confused, Fragile, Weakened, Poisoned, Bleeding* *Immune to all elements except wood* *Intimidation* *Inspired* *Encouraged* *Blessed* (Party Leader) Level: 31 Power Bonus: 1 (6 in front row) * Defense: 0 Health: 106/106 (7+30+12+3*) Ether: 31/34 (30+3) Gold: 1184 Equipment: Golden Armor (user is permanently hastened and cursed, fire-, water-, earth-, wind-, ice-, lightning-, darkness-, light-elemental, grants immunity to Sleep, Blindness, Confusion, Frailty, and Weakening; bodywear), The Black Hat (Suitable for anyone, grantsIntimidation, immune to darkness and cursed, headwear), Fighting Boots (Power +5 on the front row; suitable to barbarians, knights, rogues, beast warriors, chi monks, dragoons, harlots, infiltrators, marauders, skirmishers, regulators and winged warriors), Inventory: • Sword of Ancestral Hatred (WP: 45.25 gains 1/4 WP every kill made with it; longsword), Zoot's Reaper (WP:15; scythe, suitable to Hybros), Clock Cog (WP:14, retrievable), Banana Bladerang (WP:9, damage all, retrievable), Justice (WP:8, causes blinded-effect, dagger), Twin Kunai (WP:6, dual strike, daggers), Spinning Bolas (WP: 5, deals the Slowed effect, but the effect is removed when retrieved; retrievable), Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1, retrievable), Crescent Shield (SP: 5, halved damage from elemental attacks, shield) • Sticky Gloves (gains 50% more gold, suitable for Rogues, handwear), Baron's Epaulets (Suitable for short heroes, grants Command over short NPCs), Cloak of the Blue Assassin (SP:1, suitable to Rogues; backwear), Cloak of the Red megablocksassin (Chance of Assassination is 1/3, suitable for Assassins; backwear), Sterile Gloves (grants immunity to poisoned- and bleeding-effects, handwear), • Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Opal • 13 Potions, 12 Grand Potions, 16 Health Cores, 11 Remedies, 2 Neutralizers, 3 Elixirs, 2 Phoenix Essences, 4 Phoenix Incenses, 2 Deadly Venoms, 3 Smoke Bombs, 3 Holy Bombs, 5 Nostrums, Mead, 2 Mulled Wines, Minimizing Dust, 3 Pumpkin Bombs (causes stunned-, poisoned-, asleep-, blinded-, sealed- and confused-effects to all opponents when used), 2 Gold Rings (Worth 15 gold; can be given to someone to make them enamored with the giver), Skeleton Decoy, Bone, 3 Grand Tonics, Soma • Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, 4 Mythril Shards, Crimson Haze (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects permanently) Ellaria Arbour (Sandy) 23 years old female human Druid Level 28 *Immune to Sealing, Poisoned and Bleeding* *Ignis Fatuus: permanently poisoned by 15* *Inspired* Power: 40 (27+12) Defense: 7 (3+4) Health: 88/88 (9+26+7+1) Ether: 9/40 (5+26+5+1+2) Gold: 93 Equipment: Ignis Fatuus (WP:12, permanently poisoned by 15, fire- and lighting-elemental staff), Robe of the Archmagi (SP:3, Max Ether +5, protects from sealing; bodywear), Sterile Gloves (immunity to poisoned and bleeding, handwear), Spider Helmet (SP:4, passes poisoned and bleeding effects to the enemy when the wearer is hit; headwear) Inventory: Weapons Sylvania's Crossbow (WP:10, wood-elemental crossbow), Pan Flute (WP: 7, instrument), Wizard's Staff (WP:1, fire-, wind-, water- and earth-elemental staff), Artefacts: Ranger's Quiver (WP: +1 to bows and crossbows. Suitable for rangers, beast warriors, infiltrators, and winged warriors), Spirit Robe (Renders wearer invisible to the enemy for the first three rounds of battle so they do not take free hits; backwear), Black Bandana (Power +3, pirate lingo; headwear), Spell Items: Scroll of Inspiration (Inspired for rest of battle, 10 ether, 50/50 chance) Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Frailty, Scroll of Weakening, Serenade of Water (Causes Water damage equal to the minstrel's level to all enemies per round for as long as the song is sung. Costs 10 ether per round. Battle Song), Ruby (Fire) Consumables: 3 Potions, 2 Grand Potions, 4 Health Cores, 4 Tonics, 5 Grand Tonics, Ether Core, Elixir, 2 Remedies, 2 Neutralizers, Tiger Balm, 2 Phoenix Essences, 2 Meads, 2 Smelling Salts, 2 Nostrum, 2 Soma, Ambrosia, Deadly Venom, 2 Smoke Bombs, Flash Bomb, 3 Fire Bombs, Ice Bomb, 2 Lightning Bombs, 2 Water Bombs, 2 Holy Bombs, Pumpkin Bomb (Causes stunned-, poisoned-, asleep-, blinded-, sealed- and confused-effects to all opponents when used.) Tools: Bedroll, Pickaxe, Telescope, Magic Compass, Magnifying Glass Deborah, The Golden Warden Level 25.3 Warden *Immune to Afraid, Cursed, Hexed, Instant Kill* *Inspired* Power Bonus: 0 Health: 94/94 SP: 20 Equipment: Crossbow (WP: 10), Deborah's Helm (SP: 4, Immune to Afraid), Deborah's Armor (SP: 6, Immunity to Cursed, Hexed and Instant Kill), Shield of the She-Wolf (SP: 10, on rolls of damage/free hits user deals SP to opponent if they survive the attack) Inventory: Mead, Grand Potion, Soma x2, Ambrosia Minoid 2.0 Level 21 Drilling Automaton HP: 33/33 SP: 2 Equipment: Minoid Drill Arm (WP: 10), Iron Shell (SP: 2), Scanning Eye (Allows the Minoid to analyze most foes before battle. If in battle, it can spend a turn to analyze the fight) Inventory: None The air smells of dry dirt, of brimstone, or heavy fog. They heroes turn around and striding towards them is a skeletal figure, a cape billowing behind him. As he walks a scythe fades into existence, gripped tightly in his hand. "Ellaria, Hybros, Deborah, do you mind if I join you for the end of this?" he asks is a drawling serpentine voice. The Stranger Level -- Health: --/-- Equipment: Scythe (WP: 0, Instant Kill, Rolls of Miss, Damage and Special Damage are considered hits) Ellaria felt like a huge stone was lifted from her chest. For a long time she couldn't do anything but breathe deeply with her eyes closed. Then she lifted her eyes to gaze at the cloaked stranger. "You are not a stranger to me, Death. I know all too well that all life must end, or it would not be living at all. But nevertheless I am immensely relieved that my daughter has not grabbed your hand. That means I can still find her in this lifetime. Thank you." She then turned to the menacing creature ahead of them. "I have no reason to give up now. Nothing stands in my way anymore!"

Practice makes perfect!

M morphs again. "His necklace. It holds great stores of ether." M grins, but it is no longer the grin of Malty - this grin is malicious. The heroes realize suddenly that they know very little about M. "I wouldn't concern yourself with it, though. Either Aventine wins, and he'll keep it, or he'll die, and it will burn. That's what the deal with the devil entails." M's smile continues. "Another thing our employer told us that your's did not tell you." "No one makes the right choice all the time. But if you do not get punished for making the wrong choice, you will not learn." Zelphie sips her tea, and her glasses fog up. "You cannot be punished, hero, because you cannot die. If you made a mistake and mighty Matthias was killed, you would be unlikely to make that mistake again. You would learn right from wrong, strong from weak. But the Veterans have robbed you of this, and have made the world a worse place. What you say is exactly the root of the problem - we should not want to be on the same right side next time around, but you should, pitiful Purpearl, wish to be on the right side this time around. And without being punished for your grave grave stupid error, how are you to learn, you poor fool?" Zelphie's glasses glint, the fog now gone. "Perhaps enough pain will teach you properly. But that is not my job today. I promise that no harm will come to you. Now, are you, like the noble Nerwen, ready to retire?"

I've tried it before and I'll try it again!

I'll be posting side-quests from 107 later today, hopefully.

"I'm ready." Boomingham stands up. "Be careful, Dragon."

"He did nothing of the sort. He trusts that you will come to see his side of things. My quest was totally different. That bastard Aventine bribed Bors to take a weapon from him. He had Bors run off. Hoped that without his artifact, he'd not have to fight in the duel. Chauncey didn't want the demon to think he was cheating, so he sent me after Bors. I ran into you, I wasn't keeping an eye on you. Course, once I heard the roads between Ve'er and R'Klif were dangerous, and I knew you were coming that way, I didn't mind waiting for you to catch up." "I know that arrogant Aventine told you heroes that he did not have his weapon. That is one of many lies he told you." Zelphie then turns to Purpearl, and smiles pityingly. "I do not know what it is like to be a hero now. After the events of the genocide the Veterans enacted, I left the Hall to clear my head shortly. I intended fully to return, but by the time I was ready to they had acquired an artifact that I strongly do not believe should belong to heroes. It makes you nearly immortal. You cannot die as a hero. This is a great folly, horrible heroes. You may all live, and do whatever you please. How are we to know that you are the people who should be making decisions? Can't the weak lead the strong? When I was a hero, if you made a wrong choice, you were dead. Now, that is not the case. How are you to learn to make right choices? How are you supposed to grow strong, to be leader, to be people who have the authority to make terrible choices." Zelphie shakes her head. "You are gods, but what have you done to earn it. Your bodies are strong now, but your souls are weaker than ever, and that is true plague, horrendous heroes. Look at you now, on the wrong side of this, and what do you care? It doesn't matter to you. There are no stakes, you'll live whatever. It is terrible." "But surely you wish to know your egregious employer's awful deeds, and why Lord Chauncey is so sure you will join him? Or do you perhaps wish to retire, and see tomorrow how vile annoying Aventine is? In my experience, actions speak louder than words, and your eyes tell you the truth more easily than my telling you what I have seen."

Quite alright! I like Zelphie as she is!

"It was just an idea," grumbles Boomingham with a beleaguered smile. "Looks like you're stuck with us a short while more, dear."

"That will have to be on your own gold, haughty hero," says Zelphie with a faint smile. She leads the heroes into town, into an old tavern. Only Nerwen recognizes it, a place from long ago in her time as a hero. Outside the Inn, Mac turns to the heroes. "Hey, thanks for all the help, but this don't look like a thing I should be involving myself with. So I'm going to go find somewhere else to catch some shut eye." He shakes Alexis' hand. "Thanks for the help again." He gives a little wave and sets off down the street. By the time the heroes return their attention to Zelphie, she's already stepped into the tavern. The heroes follow. "The rooms are already paid for," she explains. "But if you'd like to ask any questions, please feel free. Lord Chauncey has asked me to explain anything you wish. He's certain, you see, that over the next few hours you will wish to fight to defend him instead of that abhorrent Aventine. Oh, and M, was your errand a success?" "Sent me to Hel and back, but I got it." Malty smiles at the heroes. "You saved me a huge pain in my behind by killing Bors, damn traitor." Malty suddenly looks a little paler. His eyes grow wide. He is a spitting image of the Mopag that helped Zelphie kidnap Aventine. And suddenly he shrinks down and looks up at them somberly. "Course it might have been a bit quicker if you hadn't killed him in such a bloody public spot." Midge climbs into a chair next to Zelphie. "I'm more than willing to answer any questions as well. Chauncey's a better man than that coward Aventine. Would love to see you fight on the good side, heroes." He stares at them. "I'm M of Manyfaces, if you want to know. A Changeling."

Sure, that'd be great! I greatly greatly prefer your design for the character - I simply don't have the parts.

Boomingham glances at Alice. "That young girl is from Dastan as well. Could you carry her over the sea?"

Boomingham slumps in a corner too. "I will be joining Karie and the Dragon. I'm hardly tired, but anyone else who needs sleep should do the same. Dragon, what will you be doing after these two hours of guarding? Flying home?"

Side quests will go up later in the week, unfortunately - I have a massive amount of homework at the beginning of the week. I think you make a lot of good points, JimBee! I actually like more ponderous quests over all, but I'm still trying to make them work. Letting characters breath and talk to each other for a while is something I think is incredibly important, and is something I think quests would benefit even more from. I just don't think I've gotten it down pat yet, but it's something I think could be really fantastic if I learn how to do it properly. It will slow down quests, but hopefully I will find a way to make it feel like it's not slow. I will absolutely respond to everything else when I post all my thoughts, but that's something I really wanted to comment on now because its something I'm both extremely proud to implement but still working on executing. EDIT: Also, just a note, Heweyrt is not of the Crimson Crown.

I'm extremely happy to have Zelphie back. It's been over a year since I played her, I think.

"Oh my delightful dunces, how little you know!" She chuckles. "I am not helping you - I am helping myself. Lord Chauncey has hired me for these seven days, and so I must do whatever he tells me. He has asked me to greet you heroes and to take you to the duel, but he has also asked me to do away with some vile villains - henchmen of Lord Aventine's. So I thought I would kill two birds with one stone." Her glasses gleam in the setting sun. "Come, it is the end of the day. Tomorrow will be the sixth, and you do not need to be at the duel until the seventh. Stay with me until mid-day tomorrow, and, if I do not reveal the place of the duel by then, you are free to wander the woods until you find it. Aventine and Chauncey, you will recall, found their demon in the woods. Look around you, fickle fools." The heroes glance around... behind them is a huge expanse of forest... surely too much to find someone in. "You can trust me, or you cannot trust me. The choice is yours. Chauncey has given me gold to pay for your lodgings for the evening - perhaps we can continue to discuss all this over a cup of tea?"

Well, 107 is over! I am proud of it. I don't think it was perfect, but I had fun, and hopefully I pushed the boundaries a little. I am not sure that the story I wanted to tell translates well into a quest. Like with 92 (which I was also proud of) I feel there may have been too much... I don't know. Meandering of thought, and not enough drive. It makes for a story I am personally proud of, but I'm not sure if it's a particularly fun quest to play through. Hopefully it wasn't a bad quest to play through, at least. I've learned from my mistakes too late, too, because none of my remaining quests will be the sort of exploration of idea that 92 and 107 were. Give me your thoughts, and in exchange I will give you my thoughts later! EDIT: I forgot to mention, though I will obviously do character critiques at some point: Jimbee, thank you for letting me host this quest. I am honored that I got to tell the story of the imps that you so carefully crafted for so long. Hybros is a fantastic character, and I hope I did not disappoint. Pandora, WBD, and Sandy: thank you for coming along. Though this was clearly a Hybros quest, I hope you felt your characters were properly serviced as well. Nyx, Skrall and Ellaria are fantastic, and I hope that they all felt like they had some forward movement as characters this quest, and that I didn't make Hybros so central that you felt they were overshadowed.