38 Summer 533 (5/9/99)

It's strange to be back in town and to find that so many things have changed while others remain the same. I've been wandering around the expanded farms quite a bit learning my way around and being killed by snakes. Several people have reported problems with departing, so I am reluctant to venture far from the beaten track. With luck I'll be able to do a bit more exploring once I've gained some more training. In the meantime life is an endless hunt for rats...

51 Summer 533 (5/12/99)

I am slowly gaining back a small part of my former skills, and slowly learning my way around the new, improved Puddleby. I've been to a couple of the new places in and about town, but haven't had much time to explore farther afield, not that I'd survive long anyway. At least I have a little money to spend, now comes the big decision: ditch the blue shirt for my favorite green one, or just save up for the blessed day when I can buy a short sword. In the meantime, I'm writing up my memoirs of the Ripture War, but it's taking a long time because most of my spare moments are spent hunting rats.

59 Summer 533 (5/14/99)

I've heard more rumors about clans starting up, someone told me that Hunters had registered already (they must have been doing a heck of a lot of hunting). I also saw an exile who was still completely blue, there was another rumor that they had been pulled out of Adytum in that state by a summons to court. I am finally getting to the point where I can (sometimes) hit the big monsters when a bunch of us gang up on one in town, I even hit a Maha the other day. Of course, it still took a dozen of us to take it out.

71 Summer 533 (5/17/99)

I finished the first version of my Ripture War account, for what it's worth; a couple of people have looked at it and said they liked it. It seems sort of strange to have had all of this dealing with Dialyths and Tears and Soulglasses and everything and now here I am back hunting ants in the hive. Or just fighting vermine in the east field; there was a couple of giant crawlers out there the other day, and a zerk, and...well, you get the idea. At one point pretty much everybody was down, and then Falinea comes strolling by and we all jumped up fully healed; is she great or what! Giant crawlers are big, fast, and pack a mean punch, immediately after which they just sit there and let you whack at them for a while before they go on to their next meal.

2 Autumn 533 (5/22/99)

I have finally gotten to the point where I can hit a snake, although they still have no problem whacking me as well, and in a toe-to-toe battle the snake's going to win. With a few people to back me up I can kill the darn things, a big improvement over the first few days after the end of the War. On the down side, I managed to pick up a bad karma the other day, I'm not sure when (I usually miss the actual message at the time I get the BK, don't notice it until I come out of the Library a few days later), and I have no idea why, but it is such a drag to have someone feel that they have to curse you and to have no idea who they were or what they were peeved about. I have been trying to spend my karma points as fast as I can, up to over 100 GK given out now, but I keep waiting for that bad karma to decay away and it just never seems to happen.

14 Autumn 533 (5/25/99)

I got hit up for 50 coins by a Spriggin the other day; I was just walking through the East Field on my way back to town at the time, and I didn't notice the loss until later. I remember killing a Sprig before the War and getting some of my coins back, but at the moment I have such a hard time hitting the darn pests even with a bunch of people helping that it would have been pointless to try to kill it on my own anyway (and it probably would have helped himself to more of my hard-earned moolah). The good news is that I am now worthy to purchase a short sword, but right now I'm thinking that I'll just save my coins and try to get an axe a little sooner. I am a dwarf, after all.

22 Autumn 533 (5/27/99)

43 Autumn 533 (6/1/99)

Back in town after a few days away, not much has changed, except that Detached Spirits now seem a lot wimpier than I remember them being just a couple of weeks ago. They can still hit me, but I can whack them back now. I still can't hit a Great Rocko, but the young ones are no problem and I have hopes that I will soon be able to start doing the adults in, although they don't pay as well as they used to in the real old days. A little more training should have me in to the second circle, and a little more cash will get me an axe, but I saw the sunstone guy in the south field today and he was asking 1,600 coppers. Oh well, still no word that the sunstones don't crumble anyway...

59 Autumn 533 (6/5/99)

I still have that bad karma that I picked up a couple of weeks ago from an unknown admirer, and I still can't get in to second circle (they really want me to break down and study with Atkus, don't they), and I still don't have an axe, although this last is mostly because I'm waiting for the next Chaos Storm to drive down the prices (I hope). I have learned that I can now solo a Detached, that I can almost solo a snake, and I that I still can't hit those adult rockos with any regularity. Rumors are about that you can find new items such as Tor shells and Starbuck antlers lying around in the East Forest, but I haven't worked up the nerve to do much exploring yet, although the prospect of looking for wood makes it tempting to try. After all, I know I can outrun the Wendies!

67 Autumn 533 (6/7/99)

Picked up a couple of more ranks of training, and now I'm finally skilled enough at attack to make it in to second circle. This is similar to my training before the war, 15 ranks of body training followed by about 120 ranks of Evus to make the grade. Most of Evus seems to go to Balthus and Regia, I'm already one of their best students without even meeting them, with most of the rest going to Darkus and Histia and only a smidge to Atkus and Detha. The second circle room has been snazzed up a bit since I was last inside, although it's a bit strange using the sauna or jacuzzi with your clothes on (they really need to put in a locker room). At the risk of revealing the deep dark secrets of the fighter profession I present the following hilights:

79 Autumn 533 (6/10/99)

There was a bit of a Chaos Storm blew through, and now the clans are back. That's the good news. The bad news is that creatures are now faster, attack more often, and are worth a lot less coinage. In particular, almost everything I can hit is now worth...absolutely nothing! That's right, my income has dropped to practically zero; I even helped kill a wendie and got no coins. Thank goodness for large vermine, at least they still give a coin, if it weren't for them I really would have no income at all. In view of my change in economic status I am rethinking my purchase strategy, and right now my inclination is to forego the axe and just get a sunstone as soon as possible. I managed to make my way to the Meadow, now hidden beyond the north-east forest, dodging tons of wendies, giant vermines, and a tree giant, only to find the hollow tree was empty; by the time I track the guy down prices will probably be back up through the roof. To top it all off I'm starting to slaughter scavenger birds. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.