Sorry about how long it took me to get this web site updated. I'm just now coming off a long period of burnout. Hopefully I'll keep active a lot longer this time... --SB
I've noticed a tendency lately of the family neglecting their writing. Since the momentous upheaval which resulted in an entire branch of our family cutting all ties with a different branch, I think that resuming our writings may have theraputic value.
I've glanced over each of our logbooks and suddenly realized that, what seems so fresh in our memories, may be forgotten in time, and without fully chronicling the details, this entry may make little sense. Therefore, let me roll back the clock...
Previously, it was mentioned that Dumzgwortz had become much smarter (probably by "rerolling"), and had adopted a new name, Barzgwortz. He also adopted a somewhat unpalatable attitude, probably picked up from LightFingersZgwortz (aka LFZgwortz), who he had been seen hanging about with.
Now, LF has always been a bit on the shady side - you'd have to keep a close eye on your valuables whenever you spoke with him. But recently he's been even more, well... sinister. We're not quite sure what it was, but it was enough that we didn't invite him to stay in the family house, and Bar decided to stay with LF rather than return to live with myself, Zig, Wiz, and Chi.
Then the rumors started. Madzgwortz had escaped from the asylum in our original hometown and was on the loose. Worse yet, *Darkzgwortz* had been seen in Nork. Suddenly, Bar and LF's behaviour seemed significant. Had they been consorting with Dark, even though every family member for years has been instructed that doing so would result in terrible things?
I went to confront Bar on the matter, as I was the one closest to him before his change. He confirmed our worst fears. Dark *is* somewhere here in Nork. He has broken Mad out of the asylum, and has somehow convinced him to move to Nork, although he seems to have gotten lost on the way. Bar and LF have taken up Dark's cause, and while they haven't done anything yet which I can really censure, it's only a matter of time.
After some consultation, Wiz, Chi, Zig and I have decided that we can't stay here and watch Dark bring Nork down to his level. We're therefore working on moving away from here. There is a land across the sea known as Aleria, which might seem to fit the bill, but we each need to obtain a certain sash to get there, and that's going to take some work on all of our parts. Harsher still will be survival in the new world, so we've all undertaken a period of intense training.
It may be a few months before we can sail for the new land, however. Since there seems to be two mirror images of Nork which can be reached via new portals, we've all moved to one of those images, to minimize our contact with Dark and his minions.
In the meantime, Chi has been teaching me the secrets of fighting without weapons. I've found this to be a superior way of fighting, since it leaves my hands free for other things.
An interesting thing happened today. I was meditating at our house when Wiz came in, wearing virtually nothing. He looked worried, and related to me his dilemma. While exploring the dangerous area known as -4, he fell victim to a group of monsters who took all of his magical items and dumped them on the floor. Without those items, he is helpless to reacquire them himself, so he turned to me to ask my assistance again, as he had done the last time this happened.
After giving him instructions on how one should meditate before attempting foolhardy exploration (perhaps he will learn more from this than he has previously), I agreed to help him out of his predicament.
I had once visited the place about which he spoke, and found it beyond my skill, but my skill is more that it once was, and my intentions different - I believed, correctly, that running to the place where Wiz had departed his previous life without stopping to fight would be most efficatious, and I recovered his items without delay.
Perhaps I have reached the point where I, too, am ready to explore further.
I've been watching over Doc's shoulder as he writes, and I feel he has described the family situation adequately. I do have a few things to add, however, having spent the most time in the past with Mad, before his... accident.
If I were to run into Mad today, I'd try to help him. He's never been a truly bad or evil person, but ever since his... accident... he simply has no concept of right or wrong. Today, he'd be likely to try anything if he thought it would be entertaining, be it something good such as rescuing a helpless kitten, to something terrible such as baking that kitten in a pie because he heard a rhyme about it, or wondered what baked kitten tasted like.
We put Mad in an asylum to protect him from himself. He once jumped off a cliff into shark infested waters because he wanted to "...swim with the little fishies...", as he put it. If he were released here in Nork, I hate to see what kind of chaos might ensue. Unlike Du... Bar, I mean, Mad would be the sort who'd walk into the Red Dragon's lair to see if the Dragon was ticklish, then hop into the Dragon's mouth wondering what it would be like to be eaten, and then reroll himself to see how it would feel to be a woman or an Outcast, or something equally crazy. With the way death seems to have no permanance here, I think Mad will have a field day. I only hope it's not at the expense of the poor townspeople...
Speaking of death, I did it again...
Making things more difficult is the tendency of these creatures to band together in groups of 4 or even more. Fortunately for me, my Ice Storm discipline is superb at breaking up such groups, leaving the few survivors to be easy pickings for my Energy Missiles.
Still, there are many distractions down there... Perhaps the most annoying of which is the dreaded Lag beast. These amorphous energy beings are nominally inoffensive, and can hardly be noticed, since whenever they come into view, you're perceptions are frozen for a short time, I presume due to some kind of psionic power. Thus, you never see them directly, but you know they've been there because several seconds of your life have disappeared from your recollection.
This can be an incredibly deadly thing, since the other monsters don't seem to be affected, and should a Lag Beast cross your path while you are in combat, you may find yourself hit several times before you recover, and possibly even killed outright. This is what happened to me. I was in combat with an Ogre and a Thumper, when one of the Lag Beasts must have run across my path. Next thing I knew, I was a ghost floating above my body, and saw to my horror that all of my items had been stripped off my body and unceremoniously dumped on the floor. Fortunately, when the Healer recalled me, I was able to find Chi, who bravely ran down to where I had died and recovered my most important magical items for me.
I'm told that the Lag Beasts have been running rampant throughout Nork and Aleria recently. I wish someone would hire an exterminator...
Doc has urged me to write something in here, but what is there to say? Train, train, train. That's all I seem to do lately. Well, that's gonna change, Real Soon Now. In the meantime, theres a pretty little lady waiting for me over at the pub, and I'm not gonna keep her waiting any longer. I've *almost* gotten my fill of wenching, and am nearly ready to go back to the old Paladinhood, but... not quite yet... <grin>
Heh. I've just read what Doc wrote about us earlier today. LF is getting quite good at swiping the rest of the family's logbooks for a quick peek, then putting them back so they don't notice. He still can't pick pockets worth a damn, yet, though.
Just to set matters straight - Dark *isn't* here. Not yet, at least. Sure, we've been talking with him, and some of the things he says make sense, though most of the time he's spouting that egomaniacal crap. In the meantime, he's out hunting for Madzgwortz. Says something about us needing him to try out the crazy stuff we wouldn't be caught dead doing. Anyway, we'll play along with him as long as it suits us.
I gave up on that whole greatsword thing recently and switched to a Halberd. Now, *that* is one hell of a weapon. And it's a great conversation opener - just ask the girl who I just had to show my "long, hard, pole" to...
The following entry seems to be an inventory of some kind. LFZgwortz seems to have been fond of making inventory lists in his journal at times...
32 Robes - small knife hole in backSoon, my children. Patience is a virtue...