We're Losing This Server

[Carkle Jackson]

Appreciate the feedback. Yes. This is a transitional chapter with a goal of character development and world building. You'll finally learn more about the elven lass in chapter 4.

[maskedmelonpai]

im lieking you story vey much. it feel a lot liek another famous bard I read about. please make sure you get a bath in you next installment. the grease and pee stuff made me unhappy :c

also, crows play cards because they are clever and they are on the backs of a lotta cards too. also, crows can retrieve floating objects from inaccessible spaces by depositing small heavy objects in the water to raise it level. did you know that?

i think too that when you finally find you elven girl again, she should have red hair because it is best.

[skarlorn]

screenshots plz

[xtraball]

Originally Posted by skarlorn [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

screenshots plz

Did that perv druid make a sextape ??

[Carkle Jackson]

The sounds of a city awakening and the blinding rays of the rising sun seemed to assault my senses simultaneously and I opened my eyes. I was laying in a soft bed. I had surmised that much before opening my eyes. Around me was the tasteful yet cheaply acquired decor of an inn. The floor was a hardwood that had been polished to a shine and covering the floor was a rug that had been woven and dyed a deep red and brown.

My clothes had been washed and folded and placed on the top of a bureau. My armor and weapons (looking freshly cleaned and polished), and my bags were sitting in a pile at the base of the bureau where they had been laid carefully.

The squeal of door hinges announced the arrival of a visitor. I looked towards the door and saw a small head covered in shaggy, salt and pepper hair poke into the room and look in my direction.

"Aah! You're awake!" The elderly halfling said and he pushed open the door the rest of the way and let himself into the room. He walked to the side of the room where a simple wooden chair had been set. The chair was similar to the one that I had spent a week in at Crow's but seemingly of a higher quality. The back of the chair was carved with the head of a lion.

The old halfling scooted the chair next to the side of the bed and then (with a lot of struggle) pulled himself up and into the chair. After seating himself comfortably (or as comfortably as a halfling can on a chair made for humans), he reached into the pouch at his waist and pulled out a pipe and what appeared to be a small bag of tobacco scented with spices. He carefully pinched some of the tobacco and dropped it into the bowl of his pipe and then put the stem of the pipe between his wrinkled lips. The old man tucked the bag of tobacco back into his pouch.

Fire flew from the old man's fingertips as he began to cast a spell. An orange light appeared in the bowl of his pipe and the old man began to huff and puff. Smoke began to drift up and out of his pipe. The old man inhaled sharply making his cheeks bulge. The smoke disappeared. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Pulling the pipe from his mouth, he blew out a large but thin stream of smoke with a contented sigh.

"My name is Gidgid. Druid of Rivervale" He began. "And you are Heathcliff. Bard of Freeport. And you are going to help me find my niece, Shantara."

The act of the old man using Flame Lick to light his pipe had been hypnotizing but his words returned me to my senses.

"Are you smoking tobacco or crack, dude?" I asked. I don't consider myself knowledgeable of everything about this server but of one thing I am certain. There is no way that a halfling can have a wood elf niece.

The old halfling snickered. "Okay. Adopted niece." He said. "Her father, Trackros, and I grouped together for many months and over time we became the best of friends. He was a ranger and he saved my life on many occasions. He loved Project 1999 and he encouraged his wife and grown daughter to play. He applied for and was granted an IP exemption so that he and his wife could play together. His daughter lived in an apartment of her own across town. His wife started a high elf cleric named Amberheals and his daughter started a wood elf rogue that she named Shantara. Trackros and I powerleveled Amberheals and Shantara to our levels so that we could all group together."

"Listen, Mother Goose." I interrupted rudely. "I have a terrible hangover and I just want to go back to..."

"The four of us went on many adventures together." He continued as if I had never spoken. "Those were amazing, glorious times but unfortunately, they came to an end. Trackros, Amberheals, Shantara, and I traveled to the dungeon of Old Sebilis to claim the NG camp. After gaining control of the camp, Amberheals announced that she had received a phone call from her work and they needed her to come in. I could heal, of course, so we decided to continue."

"This. Proved. Disastrous." He said with emphasis on each word. "Only a few minutes after Amberheals had camped out and left for work, Trackros made a bad pull and we were almost overwhelmed. We were able to kill off all of the mobs but during the fighting, Trackros was killed."

Tears had started to wet the old halfling's eyes. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, used it to dab his eyes and then blew his nose loudly into it.

"I begged Trackros not to do it!" The Druid wailed. "But he wouldn't listen. He just didn't want the group to end because he had made a sloppy pull."

The old man's head was now in his hands as he sobbed. "So, he alt-tabbed out and then opened a second instance of EverQuest on his same computer. He logged on Amberheals and rezzed himself. He twoboxed! But only long enough to rez himself."

By this point, Gidgid had cried himself out and was beginning to hyperventilate. With a visible effort, he pulled himself together and continued his story. "Trackros had just finished looting his corpse when Braknar appeared out of nowhere. Trackros and I exchanged a glance. We both knew this was bad news. The next thing I knew, the four of us were in The Estate of Unrest and Braknar was demanding that we run figure eights around the fountains. Trackros, Shantara, and I ran smoothly. We looked like figure skaters. But Amberheals... Oh Amberheals!" He wailed. "She kept bumping into walls and falling into the fountains."

Gidgid sniffled loudly and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. I made note of which hand it was so that I would remember to cut it off if he tried to touch me with it.

"Trackros cast me a furtive glance." Gidgid said. "Then he quickly whispered. 'Watch over Shantara for me!' A 'LD' appeared above his and Amberheals' heads and they were gone. Forever. Braknar turned to Shantara and I (and the assembled throng of Unrest) and said loudly, 'Pro Tip kids. Don't twobox!' Then he was gone."

"We were horrified!" Gidgid spat. "We were in shock! Without a word, I ported Shantara and I to the West Commonlands. She had an amazing internet connection and a solid state hard drive. By the time I had finished zoning, she was already gone. I searched everywhere for her. Every continent. I ported to every Druid portal. Nothing. Nobody had seen her. I decided on one last place to look for her. A place that I knew she'd always loved. A place where I knew she had made fond memories. I took the boat from the Butcherblock Mountains to the Sister Isle in the Ocean of Tears."

He leaned forward (looking me directly in my eyes) and said in a solemn voice. "And there I found YOU."

[xtraball]

So Shantara is the Elven lass ?

[Carkle Jackson]

Originally Posted by Carkle Jackson [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Without saying a word, the old man lifted the bottom flap of his tunic exposing the skin of his stomach. There on his stomach was an unmistakable scar. The scar was in the shape of two names and a heart. One of those names was mine. The other was the name of the wood elf lass. "Shantara", it said. At last! Her name!

xtraball... From the end of chapter 2. Emphasis added.

[xtraball]

Ohhhhh... OK.

She's disappeared then.... why ???

[Lhancelot]

This is great I like how you weave modern day technology and words with the EQ vernacular and lore. It's engaging and fun to read. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Carkle Jackson]

Originally Posted by xtraball [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Ohhhhh... OK.

She's disappeared then.... why ???

Sounds like the grief at losing her parents so tragically. But where did she go? Why hasn't she returned? And what does the old halfling want from Heathcliff? All of these questions and more will be answered in future chapters.