Sunken Graveyards and ?

Well, that Koma Den was fun and interesting. Let's try the Sunken Graveyard now...

First things first. I give the Wicked Scimitar to OPUB, since she has the experience to use it, and I equip the Silver Temple Sword she traded me. (What better weapon for going into a Graveyard with, eh?) I wander a little bit, and meet a Bereaver, Nothing at all like what I expected a Bereaver to look like, I must say. (Sorry, private joke- I submitted the Bereaver to the programmer as a creature submission, they kept the name but changed the beastie. C'est la vie. Still, it's cool to meet something sort of out of my head...) Anyway, that and a few more creatures die on my sword, and eventually I come to the Sunken Graveyard. I head on in, and kill a Dart Owl. Then the Shifting Wraith. Surprise, it dies easily on my silver weapon. I don't know what frustrated Skizlum about this. My treasure? One Golden Ocular. Hmmph, I think I liked the Koma Dens better. I make camp near the Graveyard, and settle in for the night.

Something snuffles through my Camp during the dark hours, and I follow it to the rumored Collapsed Vault. Based on what Skizlum has said, I don't think I'll be able to do much there, though, so I leave it alone for now, and head back to town, killing a Sand Thug as I go. The Tower Ruins that I explored a few turns back gnaw at me anew, so I hop a train, and head north. On my way, I find yet another new creature- a Blood Mouse. It dies easy, as you might expect from the name. In any case, on to the Ruins, and down I go. This time, of course, my Lockpick doesn't break, but once again I discover that wrestling seems to be my weak point. The Three-Horned Roach and I battle to a standstill, and I depart, unenthused. I think, however, that I might keep trying until I get it right.

Short attention span theatre, that's me. A monster in search of a cause. I nap for a month or so, and at the end, One Pumped-Up Babe shows up and trasfers me some stuff (a Gold Ring, a Small Lockpick and two Dragon Ichor). In return, I transfer over some Bow Strings and my Jade Snake Ring. I think I got the better of the deal. I head back towards town, offing a few minor creatures, and run through the new Jossmen Imperial Bank- Killar Branch. The Jossman there tells me how to set up an account, and how to do withdrawals and deposits. Me, I'm poor, so I wander right past. I move on to the Far Post, buy some stuff for myself and for Skizlum, and teleport! Wait, I'm still here. Hmm, perhaps I should have listened more closely to Kabuki. The spell only teleports you from Temple to Temple. I thought it would transfer you to a Temple from anywhere. Sigh. Now what?

Okay, so I can't teleport. Next best bet? I'll hop the train. Since I'm at a Far Post, I pawn some stuff (koala teeth, purple lotus leaves, porququills), and then head over to the train station. In no time flat, I'm in Dillon. I wander through the Slaughtered Plodder (nothing new, though), and slide past the Dillon Jossman Imperial Bank. Out into the wilderness- I scare the heck out of a Chasuck, and catch me a Plodder. I pop in on some Loggerheads, killing one tragically, climb a Kongo-Mongo Tree for no real reason or purpose, and settle in for the night. Oh, what's this? Another group's cache! While something inside me screams "RUN!" at the top of its lungs, greed takes over my hands and I fill up on all the junk found therein. Now I have stuff to do for the next several turns- I can get rid of all this. One oddity of note- Rolly-plate Greaves. Guess I'll equip 'em and see if they're any good.

I'm awoken durng my napping by a dark figure. Cowering, he moves forward, and in submission meekly hands me a Great Light Sword. I accept this token, and graciously allow him to leave undamaged. (Okay, okay, he was a monster who wished to remain anonymous, and I'd worked out a trade between him, OPUB, me, and another of that players' monsters. Allow me my flights.) In any case, morning comes, and off I go. I equip my Great Light Sword. I equip my Gold Ring. I equip my Rolly-plate Greaves. I examine myself, and note that Rolly-plate Greaves are only AC 2. Oh, well, I'm in a hurry. I'll unequip 'em tomorrow. While I'm dressing, a Loggerhead comes out of his camp, and we exchange a quick round of battle, but we decide to leave each other alive. Live and let live, well, it's not my motto, really, but it seems to apply these days. Actually, the rest of my day goes that way. A Huffinpuffer barely escapes me alive, but then I do actually manage to kill a Six-Headed Adder. I start ridding the stuff I found in that cache yesterday, and set up camp for the night, knowing that I'll see something brand new in the morning!

I re-equip my Iron Greaves, and feel much better. Not much out here- I wander a bit and find no creatures. I climb a Kongo-Mongo tree, and lo and behold I find one of the much rumored Roach Hollows. Not much to speak of- I kill two Roaches and find no treasure. Oh, well, they can't all be amazing. I make my way back to the River, and smack dab in the middle there's a Troll Shoppe. This wasn't here just a few months ago. I wander in, and a Troll offers to teach me some voodoo. I pay to learn about Black Lotus Tar, and he takes me inside and introduces me to a Zoingot who teaches me about Armor Wax instead. One of these guys isn't too smart... The Zoingot also tells me how to be an informer (Imagine, him thinking Reepicheep could be a rat!), but the troll moves back in and leads me away. Interesting, very interesting...

Hey, isn't that Skizlum on the other side of the bridge!?! She waves me over, and tosses me some stuff over the Trolls' outstretched arms. A Dragonbone. A Dragon Flagon. Two Dragon Ichor. Wow. Skizlum must be desperate for space. I quickly look through my stuff for something of equivalent value to hand back, and come up with two Squzskins, which I quickly toss over. Skizlum seems... well, not enthusiastic. I decide that discretion is the better part of valor, and I turn around instead of crossing the bridge. Not much else to report, as I find no creatures, plants, or places. Well, at least I know not to come back this way.

Faux Mauss. Pretty. Moss, not Mouse. All this time, I've been assuming it was something else. It dies easy, though. Oddly enough, one square over I meet a Grabber Bush. Several plants of various types too. Hmm. Anyway, as I can't quite get to town this turn, I pop back in at an Ancient Graveyard. My first trip in, I find a Golden Lion Tankard, of all things. Temple Treasures in a Graveyard? But just crap in a Sunken Graveyard? My head hurts. In any case, four more trips in gets me the usual array of small stuff, and I settle in for the night.

Well, I guess things balance out in the long run. Three trips into that same Graveyard gets me no treasure whatsoever. Oh, well, back to town. I run through the new Dillon Branch of the Jossman Imperial Bank. They tell me about the same stuff that they told me about in Killar, plus they tell me about their life insurance policies. Thanks, but no thanks. Anyway, I head for the railway, and let the Zoingot know whats up with those yucky Bridge Trolls. He isn't amused. He slides me a couple Zoingo Silver Coins, and tells me about the Voodoo Master. It seems there's more to these guys than I suspected. Back to the Inn, where I sell lots o' stuff, and settle in to a room for the night. Apparently recognizing some of my dragon stuff, the Innkeeper comes and talks to me about Kadar the Black. Interesting. He tells me about the history of the Dragons, and also tells me that the Dragon Flagon is the key to their lairs. Hmm, its time to start looking in some dark places, I think. Hey, there's a fellow Northern Knight here- Ramandu. I'm stronger, badder, tougher, healthier. Smile.

Hey, it's another Northern Knight! Price Caspian! I bow, and covertly compare myself. He's tougher than me, but I'm badder, stronger, and healthier. Good enough. Back to the Train Station, where I make further enquiries about the Voodoo Master. He's here! Cool. We chat for a bit, and he offers to teach me the secret of the long-rumored Xanxu Construct. However, he seems to be asking a bit more cash than I have (I'm young and poor, remember). Hmm, maybe at some point in the future. Meanwhile, I gotta get some cash. Let's go ask the Loggerheads. Here's an oddity- on the way there, I find a crashed balloon stuck in the top of a Kongo-Mongo Tree. Anyway, Loggerheads. I make the acquaintance of three of them, but two of them I have to bury. So sad. Well, I collect a little bit of treasure, which I'll have to sell back at the Inn. Hmm, maybe I'll return here tomorrow...

I sell some stuff at the Inn (since I can't auto sell or auto collect bounty when my head is still groggy from just waking up in the too comfy Inn), and head back out. I kill a Huffinpuffer and two Flesh Eaters, and I'm rewarded for my efforts at a Kabuki Prayer Stone. I also find a Roach Hollow in the top of that Kongo-Mongo Tree that I saw the balloon in, but, unfortunately, no treasure is in it. I also did better with the Loggerheads last turn- I still kill two, but in four trips through this time. Oh, well, back to the Inn, and back to a probably lengthy nap while I try to figure out what to do with myself.

I wake up and move onwards and westwards.