Quests & Challenges

[center][b][u]Day 20: SCORCHED FOREST[/u][/b][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Firebreather Cape] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained (in chronological order):[/b] [item=Dark Might Fragment][item=Frigid Bolt][item=Extinguished Jackalope][item=Frozen Might Fragment][item=Hydro Bolt][item=Vial of Hypnotic Sight][item=Sap][item=Augite Protector][item=Enchanted Acuity Fragment][item=Centaur Archer][item=Smoke Gyre][item=Searing Jackalope][item=Moss-Covered Golem][item=Perma Tempest Chest][item=Natural Acuity Fragment][item=Dark Bolt] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 6 h 6 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 1 h 24 minutes [b]Completed:[/b] No [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 20: [color=#461058] Today, Razelan decided to challenge Magenta to a bet: if Magenta could stay quiet for the entirety of the run, Razzy would give him a personal supply of hams for the week. Of course, Magenta being Magenta, accepted—and who would have known, he did it! To be honest, me, Ayano and Razelan spent most of the day waiting for the other shoe to drop or waiting for the cape to drop so that Magenta would celebrate and therefore lose the bet. He didn't even make a sound when he tripped over a mutagen bottle! (Impressive!) Yan-chan and I hid a chuckle at the irony, of course. Razzy had no such qualms and laughed out loud, which led to him being tackled by 'Genta and the two brawled for a bit until Razelan got the upper hand by freezing the Gaoler solid. Then Magenta broke through the ice and rode it as a surfboard over the next couple packs of enemies who had stopped to jeer at the fighting dragons, freezing [i]them[/i] solid. Guess that was a good thing for them because the ice then blocked Ayano's thrown cleaver (dam girl! Calm down!) but [i]didn't[/i] stop the insulted Imperial from lifting the [i]ice[/i] itself and tossing it around as if the block of frozen water was a ragdoll, complete with Centaur Archer stuffing. Oh dear—we didn't see any more enemies from then on. Wonder why... [/color][/i]

[center][b][u]Day 21: SCORCHED FOREST[/u][/b][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Firebreather Cape] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained (in chronological order):[/b] [item=Moss-Covered Golem][item=Centaur Archer][item=Gust Slash][item=Veteran's Shoulder Scars][item=Fiery Might Fragment][item=Zeeba Crate][item=Wintermane Crate][item=Steam Gyre][item=Smoky Gyre Crate][item=Dark Acuity Fragment][item=Crowned Bonepriest][item=Crimson Rogue Footpads][item=Tigerlily Lei] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 8 h 15 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 2 h 9 minutes [b]Completed:[/b] No [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 21: [color=#461058] I suppose that to say that life was a burden is an understatement. We started some new contracts with the local bed of oysters in order to start out some new technology Horizon's patented, and that led to lots of paperwork on both me and Scribe's part. In addition to that, things went awry when the packages of charged tungsten Starlight recently ordered went missing in the mail, and we slogged through the heap of legislations that resulted in to find it. Why does the new year bring its changes and troubles? Life doesn't stop. But either way, the end of the first school term saw a drop in visitors, and the clan was essentially left to unwind and prepare. Clay's gone out on his camp, Razelan is stocking up on food and Cosmo, Horizon and Zircon are continuing to perfect the shellphones. They're planning to sell some fancy customized cases, I hear. Anyway, back to the trip. Chrysocolla has been training a new set of fighters. However, although Ventia and Droserus have finished their training and are constantly finding new ways to make use of their magics (seriously, some of THAT stuff is scary), Alastrom isn't quite done yet. He's always been the most busy of the lot, so he's got less time to train. So when I brought up the idea of the challenge again, Chrysocolla decided to invite the Coatl to come. He accepted—never been in the Forest before, fresh meat and all that. So the four of us—Scribe, Chrysocolla, Alastrom and I, with the Guardian pushing my fishbowl-trolley—trooped out to the now-familiar burnt woods, with the kind of energy only those in need of a [/i][color=#461058]severe[i] venting could contain. I couldn't stop swimming in circles. Somewhat unfortunately for us, it was surprisingly uneventful. Not a lot of enemies were in the forest that day—not sure why—but we [/i]did[i] find someone's stash of crates, hidden in an old tree hollow. Somewhat burned, but Alastrom cleaned off most of the soot—luckily the tutorials for the paints and the paints (plus brushes) were unscathed. We even found an extra tutorial—and paints— for some nifty shoulder scars. A Centaur Archer came running up to us at one point, pleading for help. Turns out that the centaur's friend had gotten stuck in a tree—a Crowned Bonepriest whose legs had become tangled in a mass of reeds from a leftover bird nest while looking for eggs. Scribe went up to have a look, and found that the bird nest was still "haunted"—by a Steam Gyre, rendering the reeds sticky and hard to escape. A quick and friendly chat later, the Steam Gyre was taught to turn into a breeze of water vapour and both parties escaped the trap unscathed. EDIT: When I checked the bag of loot again, there was a small Moss-Covered Golem at the very bottom, curled up and sleeping soundly. What the shell? None of us remembered meeting this particular stoney stowaway, but I ended up scribbling it back into the loot log with the enchanted pen. ...Turns out, I'd misspelled "Moss-Covered Golem", resulting in it not showing up the first time. Whoops. EDIT 2: I DID IT AGAIN When looking through the apparel storage room, I noticed a Tigerlily Lei and a Crimson Footpads that we had somehow found. I knew they both [i]had[/i] to had come from yesterday's outing, so I hit myself on the head a bit and then stenciled them into the log. Don't remember how they got there, but... THIS IS WHY YOU PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU COLI PEOPLE. [/color][/i]

[center][b][u]Day 22: SCORCHED FOREST[/u][/b][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Firebreather Cape] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained (in chronological order):[/b] [item=Firey Acuity Fragment][item=Dark Acuity Fragment][item=Zeeba][item=Wintermane Spearman][item=Extinguished Jackalope][item=Charged Acuity Fragment] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 8 h 47 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 32 minutes [b]Completed:[/b] No [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 22: [color=#461058] Today was a shorter one than normal—Scribe and I had some tutoring lessons to supervise afterwards, so instead we trooped out for half an hour. (Probably was a bad idea.) Magenta and Chrysocolla went around running enemies over and setting well-placed traps to try find our cape, while me and Scribe chatted in my fishbowl and made some last-minute decisions as well as reviewing the lecture notes. (Very late, yes.) At one point a spear went *thunk* off the glass, and we looked up—to see a young Spearman trot out of the forest apologizing, then narrowing their eyes and asking what a dragon was doing with a Maren in the middle of the Scorched Forest. Apparently they thought that Scribe had kidnapped me, and we had to clear some things up. But the Spearman was pretty interested to hear of a land underneath the water though, sooooooo... we let them come along. An Extinguished Jackalope nearly fell into the fishbowl at one point. It jumped off the cliff above us—I think it was doing some sort of trick jump—but missed and landed with a *splat* in front of the bowl instead. Immediately Scribe cast Aid on the poor thing, healed it up and whatnot. A Zeeba came galloping down the cliff as well—at least he landed better than his Jackalope friend did, and asked us if the Jackalope was okay. He was, so the two explained that they were doing a parkour challenge over this patch of the forest and normally there was a deep pond where we were for landing in. That explained the large ditch and unusual moisture in the air around that area—but there hadn't been any water when we'd arrived. So we called Magenta, explained the situation, and he pushed my fishbowl out of the ditch before Scribe refilled the pond with some Drowns. We then watched as the two completed the challenge successfully, celebrating when they crossed the finish line. Fun! [/color][/i]

A quick, hasty scribble shows signs of excitement on the last page:


INPROMPTU DIARY ENTRY:

So we were in the Sandswept Delta, showing Pestis around with Magenta and Chrysocolla. We found a Smoldering Flamecaller Puppet, sitting lonely by itself inside a tree hollow. We decided to take it and give it to Katsumi as a gift (she'll like the warmth), but then I remembered the Coliseum challenge required a deity doll for the Sandswept Delta. I suppose this means we can skip the Delta when we finish the Forest. I couldn't get a picture to prove it though, so hopefully it still counts.

The Forest is going to take FOREVER!

...oh, right! That's what I was missing.

[center][b][u]Day 23: SCORCHED FOREST[/u][/b][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Firebreather Cape] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained (in chronological order):[/b] [item=Augite Protector][item=Leaf Bolt][item=Zeeba][item=Hydro Bolt][item=Earthen Acuity Fragment][item=Dented Iron Helmet][item=Crowned Bonepriest][item=Shining Acuity Fragment][item=Tigerlily Lei][item=Diseased Acuity Fragment][item=Tigerlily Garland][item=Natural Might Fragment][item=Blazing Slash][item=Dark Might Fragment][item=Secondary Gene: Spirit (Gaoler)][item=Centaur Archer][item=Sap][item=Smoke Gyre][item=Brown Birdskull Necklace][item=Natural Acuity Fragment][item=Frozen Might Fragment][item=Wintermane Spearman][item=Tigerlily Flowerfall] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 10 h 12 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 1 hr 25 min [b]Completed:[/b] No [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 23: [color=#461058] I decided to take some waterproof canvases and paints and paint... whatever took my fancy while the dragons did their thing, and ended up attracting quite a crowd. Turns out a lot of Clanners have NEVER seen paint. I painted on an Augite Protector who wanted indigo fur like its Zeeba friend, a Bonepriest who liked rainbows, and even did some necklace customization of a Birdskull Necklace for a Wintermane Spearman. Perfect for an artsy day! I even drew an *epic* poster of a newly-born Smoke Gyre bursting out of the ashes of a newly-burnt tree, surrounded by falling orange petals. Razelan asked to put it up in the restaurant, and I agreed—good art should not go to waste! P.S. Katsumi really liked the doll. The Flamecaller did turn her into a dragon, so I guess that's fitting for her. P.P.S. We were interrupted by a mutagen bottle bouncing off of my fishbowl and landing in front of Magenta. He was about to step on it, too, but we stopped him beforehand because its label was for Gaolers. Don't slip don't trip. [/color][/i]

[center][b][u]Day 24: SCORCHED FOREST[/u][/b][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Firebreather Cape] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained (in chronological order):[/b] [item=Disorient][item=Wintermane Spearman][item=Zephyr Bolt][item=Tigerlily Tail Lei][item=Extinguished Jackalope] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 10 h 56 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 44 min 35 secs [b]Completed:[/b] No [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 24: [color=#461058] Water versus Earth has just cooled down—and we’re all itching to relax! So Magenta suggested hopping into the Scorched Forest and getting some loot. We approved. It was a pretty uneventful day. It seemed like all of the Scorched Forests’ inhabitants had disappeared—both the hostile and benign ones. Was this an ambush? Either way in the end we left the Scorched Forest on guard and somewhat confused… until we ran into an Extinguished Jackalope and a Wintermane Spearman arguing over a tiny lei. The Jackalope explained that most of the Scorched Forest’s inhabitants were preparing for the Flameforger's Festival in a couple of weeks. They were getting ready by making leis to wear during the festival, but both forgot who made the tigerlily lei they were arguing over. So Scribe pointed out that we had a bunch of tigerlily leis back at home—she could call Blueberry to fly one over. Funnily enough, they wanted to come along to the Centre instead, and experience how the dragons celebrated! I suppose it is a dragon festival after all. (Note: Don’t ask me how a jackalope with no opposable thumbs made flower leis, because I don’t know either.) [/color][/i]

[center][b][u]Day 25: SCORCHED FOREST[/u][/b][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Firebreather Cape] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained:[/b] [item=Augite Protector Crate][item=Magic Coral Chest][item=Moss-Covered Golem]x2 [item=Extinguished Jackalope][item=Red-Winged Owlcat][item=Smoke Gyre]x3 [item=Arcane Runestone][item=Secondary Gene: Morph] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 11 h 54 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 57 min 47 secs [b]Completed:[/b] No [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 25: To briefly break character: I decided to take an extended break from FR to focus on studies. I realised two days ago, when I had free time and Wavecrest dragged me on, that Coli'ing with one hand while doing work with the other hand helped me focus. Like. A lot. Like I worked twice as fast a lot. So I guess this is back on? For now? We'll see if this trick continues to work, but in the meantime, enjoy. Since it's been two and a half years since the last entry there will be time disparities but suspend your disbelief please. My writing style has also likely changed but hopefully it won't be too noticeable. I also made the decision to no longer consider battlestones items of importance (unless it's stuff like Eliminate or Rally), and to not put things in chronological order because it would take me too long to write down when things dropped or not. EDIT: Another note. I had actually spent some time in Volcanic Vents, before going to the Forest, so I don't actually know if the Morph gene was from VV or from SF. I'm going to assume it wasn't though, because it's more fun that way :P [color=#461058] Ayano was working on an ice sculpture--a pretty recent hobby of hers, but dang if she isn't talented--so it was just Razelan, Magenta and I. Normally I would have insisted to stay at the Centre and help with Wavecrest, but Scribe practically pushed me out the door and locked it behind us. (At least I brought some paperwork with me today.) So I just did paperwork while the dragons did their thing! Funny how focused one can get even when you're gently bumping along a slightly uneven and rocky path. At one point Magenta dropped a chest into my bowl, then apologised at the glare I gave him and said it was a Wavecrest chest that he thought I'd want a look at. (I did.) At another point I was interrupted by a very startled Jackalope that sent my pile of finished forms flying! Oops! It had become Extinguished by the time we fished it out but it didn't seem to mind too horribly, so I just sorted my papers again and got back to work. And the next time I looked up it was noon and there were no less than three Smoke Gyres, two Moss-Covered Golems, an Owlcat and a Extinguished Jackalope all perching on Magenta's horns or riding on his back. I nearly dropped my stylus in shock! The dragons filled me in quickly on the trek back to the shore. Turns out, the Jackalope had been leading them to a treasure cache as an apology for falling into my bowl, but on the way a firestorm started kicking up, so Magenta threw up a shield to protect the three of us (obviously the Jackalope didn't need it) and we kept going. (I hadn't even noticed... oops?) Apparently at some point, the two Mossy Golems had ducked inside the shield to avoid the flying embers--Magenta didn't really remember when but he also didn't really mind as they were pretty calm. Our motley group reached the cache, which held one of those body-painting tutorial crates, an Arcane runestone, and a Morph mutation vial (all of which we pocketed), and then we decided to stay put for a while to weather out the storm. When it cleared, Razelan had looked up to find three Smoke Gyres that had been curiously circling the weird orb of water. And then around five minutes later I looked up and you get the idea. The storm had left us almost out of fresh water to use for protection from the elements--hence why we were headed home. Overall, good trip! Productive, in terms of loot and paperwork. Weather could have been better though--shame that the Forest doesn't have a weather report. No Firebreather cape but I'm certain that if we keep trying we'll find it... eventually. [/color][/i]

[center][b][u]Day 26: SCORCHED FOREST[/u][/b][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Firebreather Cape] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained:[/b] [item=Zeeba Crate][item=Vial of Hypnotic Sight][item=Brown Birdskull Armband][item=Nebula Starsilk Shawl][item=Red Birdskull Wingpiece][item=Teardrop Citrine Tail Ring][item=Searing Jackalope][item=Moss-Covered Golem][item=Umberhorn Qiriq][item=Extinguished Jackalope][item=Zeeba]x2 [item=Clown Charger][item=Centaur Archer][item=Crowned Bonepriest][item=Banded Owlcat][item=Firebreather Cape] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 13 h 24 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 1 hour 30 mins 12 secs [b]Completed:[/b] Yes [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 25: [color=#461058] LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO *ahem* As you can probably tell, yes, we did it! WE FOUND THE CAPE! HAHA! HUZZAH, EVEN! Oh, Ayano's going to be so mad that we did it without her. Hehehehehe. Today I decided to bring out some paperwork again! This time it was finances and budgeting, so I dusted off the mathematics skills from my student days and got cracking. Magenta started singing some sea shanties during a lull in fights. The racket attracted a Crowned Bonepriest, who began accompaniment by rustling its exoskeleton, and a Centaur Archer who twanged along while restringing their bow. (The Bonepriest was definitely a sight to see I tell you. Talented, though.) At some point Razelan let out a yelp, and we all looked over to see a Umberhorn Qiriq chewing on his tail. I just about fell over laughing, and so did Magenta, so it was up to Razelan himself to pry the teething Qiriq off his tail and accidentally unceremoniously yeet it into the sky in his flailing. The flying Umberhorn Qiriq knocked a Moss-Covered Golem out of a tree, which landed on two sleeping Zeebas, and the result was that when Razelan's panicked apologies and offers of cured meat didn't work we quickly started running away very fast indeed. On the bright side, we practically ran straight into a Zeeba crate! On the less bright side, Magenta almost stepped on a Clown Charger, so when the apologies didn't work (again) we had to start running (again). (Well, I say running but I really mean Magenta and Razelan sprinting as fast as they can while Magenta pushes my trolley with a wing and I hold on for dear life.) And finally, how we came across the cape: just when I was almost finished with the week's finances, we came across two Jackalopes and an Owlcat comparing their stashes of shiny things, which consisted of various apparel items and a Vial of Hypnotic Sight--when we saw that the Owlcat had a Firebreather cape draped across their plumage. Razelan actually slapped a paw over Magenta's muzzle, and one friendly chat later we had three new companions in tow (all interested in the prospect of shiny underwater things) and their collection of loot. INCLUDING THE CAPE! HURRAH! Next up, Silkstrewn Wreckage! Ohohohohohoho. Finally a change of scenery. I can't wait. [/color][/i]

[center][b][u]Day 27: SILK-STREWN WRECKAGE[/u][/b][/center] [i][color=#461058] The Silk-Strewn Wreckage is one of the venues that was recently discovered, so the party and I aren't really familiar with it. I suppose it'll be good for us to do some exploring! Frostbite asked us to collect some samples of the silk around for him, because he's interested in its ductile properties and using them for armor-clothing. Something like that. We've also been tasked with capturing a fire grub swarm for Pestis to see if she can engineer some form of infertile control for them. I'm not a huge fan of bugs--especially not massive ones--so it's probably a good thing I'll be staying in my bowl. Magenta doesn't really like the idea of the silk either... hope we find this Scene fast. [/color][/i] [center][i]In the fifth Coli venue, RNG gave to me One silky scene One spicy doll One scorched cape Thirty leafy packs And a sleeping baby bumble just for me[/i][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Scene: Silk-Strewn Wreckage] [/center] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained:[/b] [item=Leviathan Blues Chest][item=Oceanic Fins Chest][item=Fire Grub Swarm][item=Assassin Bug][item=Hornworm Viperpillar][item=Blue Hamble][item=Shy Bagwitch][item=Jolly Mushroom Basket][item=Jolly Mushroom Frill][item=Scene: Silk-Strewn Wreckage] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 1 hour 2 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 1 hour 1 min 49 secs [b]Completed:[/b] Yes [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 27: [color=#461058] Lootcifer must have been feeling merciful after the disaster that was the cape, because a little over an hour in we found the painting we were after propped up against an alcove in the wreckage. Yay! Before that, though, it was a somewhat-miserable time of picking our way through the sticky, thin webbing that coated almost every visible surface and not getting the trolley stuck on anything. (Perhaps I shouldn't have come along. Oh dear...) Magenta even brought a set of rubber boots and gloves to protect his furry paws (that became rather smeared with glow worm gunk, fire grub gunk and monster dust rather quickly). Early on, Razelan spotted a small fire grub swarm hanging around an abandoned basket of mushrooms, so he froze the lot (their faces were pretty funny--frozen in shock!) and bagged it for Pestis to have fun with when we got back. We eventually came to a junction with paths northeast and west, but there was a rather large Hornworm Viperpillar blocking our way to the junction. Turns out it was having problems with stuck segment shed; so Magenta helpfully dabbed a wad of silk in water and got the offending segment off. I can't imagine how itchy it must have been, given how the Hornworm sighed in relief after it was done. How do Serthis deal with it? I'll ask Sunset next time I see them. Not long after that, we found both a Shy Bagwitch and a Blue Hamble struggling against the tangles of silk that held them prisoner. We decided to help free them, but an incoming swarm of glow worms (that made me wish that we'd either brought Alastrom along or one of his blowtorches) interrupted the rescue mission . One dragon stomping stampede and a lot of squashed glow worms later, the coast was free and Magenta formed some watery blades to deftly slice both Hamble and Bagwitch out of their silken prisons. The poor Hamble was quite covered in gunk, though, so Magenta gave it a quick rinse down and off it flew to go find shelter. The Bagwitch was not so fickle, and led us to a stash of Wavecrest chests! After parting ways we turned a corner and there the painting was, so we picked it up, celebrated, and began heading home. On the way out, we overheard the sounds of a commotion, and a few seconds later some Assassin Bugs and Colony Killers dueling a massive swarm of glow worms and fire grubs backed up into our view. Magenta and Razelan jumped in to help, spearing worms and grubs alike out of the air with watery spears and icy shards, and I even was able to daze a few with some bolts of water from my bowl! When the swarms were cleared out, we thanked the bugs for their service and traded them some cured meat snacks, in return for a few well-spun spools of silk for Frostbite. He might have to wait a little while, though, because we're thinking about heading straight for Blooming Grove. There's still some time left in the day, after all, and I haven't quite finished these forms yet... [/color][/i]

[center][b][u]Day 28: BLOOMING GROVE[/u][/b][/center] [i][color=#461058] The Blooming Grove has got to be one of my favourite venues, mainly because of how heavenly it smells. (I am SO lucky that my particular kind of Maren can breathe air. Smells are SO great!) Magenta had training with the Ragepuffs and Razelan was working on some new recipes today, so the party was Alastrom, Droserus and I instead. Droserus was especially interested in picking up some Terra Shells for the greenhouses and gardens, so we decided to keep an extra eye out for those, though he wouldn't tell us why he was sure the dryads wouldn't see a problem with it. Well, I trust him, but I'm a little worried... [/color][/i] [center][i]In the sixth Coli venue, RNG gave to me Twenty pohip planters One silky scene One spicy doll One scorched cape Thirty leafy packs And a sleeping baby bumble just for me[/i][/center] [center][b]ITEM(S) REQUIRED:[/b] [item=Pohip Planter] x 20 [/center] [b]PROGRESS: 11/20 [/b] ----- [b]Items of importance obtained:[/b] [item=Crimson Rogue Cape][item=White Wooly Antennae][item=Terra Tortoise][item=White Rot Deer][item=Buttercup Strangler][item=Alstroemeria Fox][item=Ancient Gene Parchment: Pachy] [b]Total time taken:[/b] 1 hour 4 minutes [b]Time taken:[/b] 1 hr 4 mins 16 secs [b]Completed:[/b] No [b]Comments:[/b] [i] Day 28: [color=#461058] Okay, so we did not end up going out again yesterday. What was supposed to be a brief drop off of our loot and fire grub popsicles turned into a taste-testing of Euria's Wavecrest bars for this year. (Milk chocolate with dried salted giant kelp shreds, raisins and satin violet petals. The mix of textures was surprisingly good.) And by then the sun was setting and we would be late for dinner, so we just decided to call it a day. On the other hand, Droserus and Alastrom were both down to clown in the Blooming Grove today, so we set out bright and early hoping to run into a lot of Flowering Pohips. Turns out we may have arrived TOO early. Most of the ones we found were still snoozing so we carefully tiptoed around them, or quietly pinched their Pohip Planters with Droserus's vines. Also, to clarify something--we do not go around mercilessly stomping whoever comes in our path. (Fire grubs and glow worms are an exception.) Seeing me (very clearly a Maren chilling) with the party is usually a good enough sign for most creatures to leave us alone; so we just end up fighting the ones that see the dragons first and attack without asking questions, or the ones who got dared by their friends to start a fight (teenagers, huh). Besides, we usually only die from disease or old age; monsters regenerate from their dust around a week after they've been poofed, a little confused but otherwise alright, though the regeneration can be a little disorienting (speaking from experience). (Though if we get poofed enough times in a short period of time the ending might be a different story...) Anyways Pohips are, uh, not very bright, so when they're awake they're Very aggressive despite (many!) attempts to get them to chill the Tidelord out. Plus they trample the mushrooms when they're acting territorial, which is often. So in that sense, I guess we were lucky that so many of them were still asleep? Being chased by a stampede of angry Pohips is an experience that I NEVER want to have again. (When we were just starting out in the Coli, a faun triggered a falling petal trap on us as a prank. It made Razelan sneeze, which woke up the Pohip herd.) Speaking of mushrooms! I got to say hi to a Moonlight Fungi friend of mine. Their name's Pat, and they're really good at dressmaking, so it wasn't much surprise that we ran into them working on a piece--a fetching red cape. They even asked Alastrom to model it for them and were so happy with the results that they asked him to keep it. (Alastrom was too polite to decline, which I'll probably laugh about with Pat later.) Pat also told us about a rogue White Rot Deer causing problems for two forests of dryads nearby, and at this point both forests just really wanted it gone and could we possibly go get rid of it because hearing these dryads talk about it and nothing else all the time is really tiring? Yeah, sure, I said, so off we went to hunt down a wooden magical construct. We found it pretty quickly, in what was supposed to be one of the clades' groves--all the white rot growing around was a reasonable sign--and one flame bolt later it was taken care of, much to the relief of the dryads who were then able to move back into their home. Nice. All this time Droserus had been collecting any shed terra shells he could see and sticking them in a rucksack, so the dryads were also pretty amused when they saw the massive dirt-covered bag slung over his shoulders. Turns out, they'd been having a problem with too many terra shells as well. As Droserus had apparently predicted, the recent balmy weather was encouraging terra shell shed, which in turn was encouraging Strangler breeding and growth, and that had led to an exponential growth of (currently hibernating) Strangler seeds which would turn into an aggressive, snapping, blooming problem when spring came around in a few weeks. The current solution the forests had thought of was to collect any undecomposed terra shells they saw and cull the current Strangler population by some hundred numbers. (And both forests had collected several HUNDRED terra shells each, so that's how Droserus came home with a dozen large rucksacks of them!) We stopped for lunch in a clearing, and cracked our coolers open to see what Razelan had been thinking up. Razelan made Alastrom and I some very nice grilled eels (with rice and some coral kelp wraps on the side for me) and Droserus got a big bowl of fried hamsters, with larger chunks of pan-seared seal and whole rabbit mixed in. (It sounds odd, but then you remember Droserus is a pretty large Wildclaw with an equally large appetite.) An Alstroemeria Fox came sniffing at the smell, so Droserus fed it a couple chunks of rabbit from his plate. It even let him pet it on the head! There was a pair of false white moth antennae attached to its ears for some reason. Maybe the work of a mischievous faun? After lunch, we thought it about time we headed home, because I got a call from Scribe that there was a last-day-of-Wavecrest party happening and that we'd miss it if we didn't get back in time. So after saying bye to Pat, Alastrom wheeled my bowl towards the portal and we hopped through just in time for the bash. [/color][/i]