Itty finds a nice shady leaf
Holiday Season is here again!!!
For some of us it is a time to relax put your feet up catch that sun and have some fun.
For others its a time to get on and do those quests, or compare and see what season armour is best.
It is the beginning of a new life for those that have finishing or starting college or their degrees. The nerves are running high as they embark on their new lives.
Itty sits and ponders about life in general
So as GL I need to write something useful here =P
Something that may advise us with my wondrous vast knowledge.
I will do my best.
Holiday Agenda:
On a sunny day/ Night (Rare and mostly uncommon)-
Take a walk, go and have coffee/ Tea with a friend, Meet a Boy, Meet a Girl, Read a book in the Park. See a Movie, Make love to your Wife/ Husband, Go out for dinner, Talk with eachother, Have a Drink down at the Local, Go dancing…Get the idea? Go and live you only get to do it once =)
Itty was parched after her wanderings
On a Rainy (Yes! we have lots of those I know) Day-
Well basically more of the above only cosier because its wet outside, and when your done with that! Ok log in to World of Warcraft, exchange holiday stories with your guildies, have a good old banter with your online mates, crack open a bottle of wine (that is what I do anyway). Take your main on a vacation to some exotic place. Do some obscure quest you have wanted to do, and so on…
But most of all make sure that what ever you do you enjoy doing it, and don't ever regret what you have done.
*Life is something that everyone should try at least once.
Henry J. Tillman
Security
It is with the news that yet another UNITY member account has been hacked that we ask all our members to check their PCs regularly.
If you have a Windows machine you can even install some free tools to help (yes I know that Macs are not normally affected thank you):
| Anti-virus | AVG | Avast |
|---|---|---|
| Firewall | Zone Alarms | Sunbelt Personal Firewall |
| Anti-spyware | Spybot | Microsoft Defender |
Recently there has been notes on the login screen to patch even more holes in the system and an updated online guide to account security here.
The best news is that Blizzard have recognied the problem and are in the process of usinf Security Tokens to tackle the issue:
DigitalTrends reports:
Blizzard makes reasonable efforts to make sure World of Warcraft accounts are secure, but in a world of keyloggers, network sniffers, Trojan horses, and plain-old bad passwords, it's not exactly uncommon for a WOW player to have his or her account accessed without permission, then find that everything their in-world character had that was remotely sellable was…gone.
To help combat the problem, Blizzard has announced it plans to offer a Blizzard Authenticator token for World of Warcraft accounts: the token will generate a short-term six-digit security code whenever a user presses a button. The user must then use that code along with their normal account name and password in order to log into the account. The token doesn't replace the security questions Blizzard associates with each account, but helps ensure that only users who physically have the correct token can access an account.
Read the full story here
Just remember to keep your account safe.
Stelli Reporting…
Hello everyone :-) Stelli reporting, mmh…
What have i been up to since we last spoke ? Lots actually !
I was looking into those Talent thingies we all have and I may have discovered something ! I think they must be different for each class. For example: its difficult to see how arcane, fire and frost trees would benefit a Warrior. You heard it first from a Mage ! This could be a world exclusive !
Anyway, that aside, I was looking to improve the DPS rating a tad, mainly to see if I can put that rather delectable Flameshield (/drool) back in his place. I discovered that by swapping some of the values, all sorts of things became possible, some good some not so good. So, I have had a damn good fiddle with things, changing values, looking at the pretty colours and trying to figure things out. The net result being that I have now completely cocked things up ! I am 2,500 Gold down and I can barely ignite dry paper with my Pyroblast :-(
On the bright side I still have polymorph :-) (where would i be without this delightful little spell ?)
I have been raiding a great deal of late, Gruel the Lary (tho there was precious little porridge from what i saw), um….Maggies Dom and even Snakes Palace ! I had some nice bits and pieces drop too, which of course helped enormously after my catestrophic Talent fiddling. Also i have been getting some badges and Dee Kay Pee. (It has to be said here, that I am praying for a new robe or cloak at the moment. I have simply run out of badge display room on my existing gear.) I am a little unsure what this Dee Kay Pee thingie is, it appears to be some sort of points system. Though for the life me, i cannot tell for what. I rather fancy it is a 'looks' rating. My Dee Kay Pee score is a negative one….
My sheep studies have resulted in a remarkable (and unexpected !) breakthrough. I can now make myself invisible. This means I can creep right up behind one of the blighters without being seen. Fantastic ! AND of course, if the sheep can't see me, neither can those cursed Sheeps Protectorate people ! DOUBLE FANTASTIC !!! :-)
This has encouraged me to persue my experiments and studies a lot further. So if I am not around I may be tied up with these :-)
Must go now, Nursie is calling. I have to take some special Mage food these days. I'm not sure if its related but I seem to spend an awfully long time asleep now…*Yawn !*. So be good and remember: Serda is mine ! and Itty must be obeyed and Lucklas…..moist *yawwnnn !* sticky……………zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Moonstone
Well, being asked to get off my fat ass, it's almost as rotund as a gnomes!, to provide something for the summer newsletter I decided to give you the first public preview of a work in progress..
Oak.
Moonstone, part one The Villa
The fortified villa stood on a low rise protected by a wall the height of two tall men, once it had been the summer retreat of a minor lord, it's purpose now was more sinister. Now, a guard tower over shadowed the main gate, built in a different local stone and style than the walls and main building. Within the tower the occasional silhouette of two guards could been seen pacing back and forth. From the guard tower a pennant hung lazily in the still night air, displaying a red wolf on a black field, the mark of a minor member of the Lupus Brotherhood.
Marcus waited quietly in the dark shadows thrown by some bushes a short distance from the villa and considered the Lupus Brotherhood. A nastier more evil band of cut-throats and thieves were not known in the seven kingdoms. Only the fact that the land they controlled lay between two great houses with a five-generation blood feud, stayed the hand of the High King. Despite the fact that the Brotherhood robbed those who travelled his roads and assaulted his loyal subjects, the position between these two bitter enemies also stopped a war that could tear the kingdom apart. For, if war started, each house would call on blood oaths owed them by other house's and each of these houses would, in turn, call on oaths owed to them. In the tangled politics and bloodlines of the clans, everyone would be involved. The resulting war would leave little of the High Kings domain remaining.
Although Marcus understood the necessity of not allowing such a war to start, he still despised the politics that had to rely on an evil as wicked as the Brotherhood to maintain the peace. Without the Brotherhood, so many lives would be different, so many lives could have been and so many deaths avoided. Sighing to himself at the argument he was again having with himself, Marcus focused his wandering mind by checking everything again, starting with his sword & scabbard, wrapped like a babe to stop any rattle. His head and short sword he had smeared with lampblack to conceal any reflection from the face of the Goddess who rode high and full tonight. He glanced down and saw his fathers' ring on his finger. The sight of the small twist of sliver and Moonstone brought back the familiar feelings of loss and anger. As he settled in to wait, he made a silent prayer to the Goddess for luck in his mission of vengeance.
After several hours of waiting, when Marcus was sure that the lateness of the hour would have even the most vigilant of guards lacking in alertness, he started to move closer to the villas walls. As he did so, the Goddess chose to hide her face briefly behind the clouds.
Taking this as an answer to his earlier prayer, Marcus sprinted to a point on the wall where a small refuse pile had built up, making the leap to the top a little less difficult. With a silent leap he quickly pulled himself up and lay flat on the wall, briefly surveying the courtyard within.
Seeing nothing that worried him and hearing no cry of alarm he dropped silently into the courtyard and crouched, as at that moment the Goddess decided to show her face again. Marcus smiled and thanked her for the boon she had bestowed him so far.
Moving in the shadow of the wall, Marcus made his way towards a building that, from its smell, could only be the stables. Now came the hard part, having to move across the open courtyard to the main buildings of the villa. He looked to his left and right for anyone or anything that may betray his presence within the villa grounds. Seeing nothing to worry about, Marcus rushed over the open courtyard to the villa doors, taking one more look around him he grabbed the iron door ring. As he faced the door and turned the handle smiling to himself, he saw a brief flash of a light, then all went black.
Slowly the blackness gave way to greyness. This persisted for a while with a pain in the back of Marcus’s head that meant he would have welcomed the blackness again. Slowly he attempted to sit up. Then wished he hadn’t, as he dryly retched, and collapsed again. Deciding to just lie there and look, he reopened his eyes. The sight he saw was not encouraging. Stone walls, a little slit window, a big wooden door, it looked like a dungeon. He took a deep breath through his nose, the cloying odour of rotting straw and excrement smelled like a dungeon too. Marcus closed his eyes and cursed his luck. None of his scouting, nor his bribes to the household’s servants, had revealed anything about the villa being protected by magick.
Contemplating his fate was not a pleasant pastime. If he was lucky they would consider him a thief but not even thieves liked a thief, even less, one who they found unconscious in their courtyard. His contemplation didn’t last for long. At that moment the sound of the door's massive bolt being slid, encouraged movement. By the time the door was open Marcus had pulled himself up right. He gazed at the two bizarre figures that faced him, mouth agape. He had been expecting to see guards, maybe even a slaver (a common fate for victims of the Brotherhood), not the strangely beautiful, tall woman in leather armour who stared at him, with cold grey eyes.
Marcus's eyes were drawn to the sword at the womans side. Although it was in a plain leather scabbard that looked as utilitarian as the rest of her garb, the hilt, guard and pommel were intricately forged in to an anamorphic design made from a silvered metal. The pommel was in the shape of a hawks head with two ruby coloured gems for eyes. Gems that appeared to glow with fire.
Marcus briefly wondered how a member of an organisation like the lupus, could afford such a prize, before remembering his own sabre, which was now probably being worn by one of the guards who had found him. As was his family ring. Soul gems were expensive, flawless gems cut by the fire of the moon and polished on the hem of the Goddesses cloak. At least, that was the only answer an artifactor would give when asked how they were made. Marcus had been told that story himself by Mali, his old tutor. Whilst he did not know how they were made he did know how they were used, a focus or store for magical energies. His now missing ring had once held magic, or so his father had told him in happier times. Whoever this woman was, she must be very dangerous or very protected, to be carrying such a valuable item in a fortress of thieves and murderers.
A sword that was made with such care would probably cost the same as a thoroughbred desert horse. And, if the gems really were soul gems and not a clever piece of metalwork by a master sword smith, it was worth a lot more then that…
Marcus, took a more appraising look at the woman who had entered. She saw his measured look, sneered and spat right at him. Marcus swore and swivelled his upper body to avoid getting hit. He looked back up to see the woman with an evil grin on her face that distored her beauty, her hand on the hilt of her sword, almost daring him to try.
A slight noise behind her drew Marcus's attention, as a second person entered the room. A small rotund man wearing robes cut in the style of the nordlands.
The man looked straight at Marcus with eyes that were milky white and obviously blind. In a quiet voice he spoke, "So Marcus of Longrock, how do you feel this morn ?"
To Marcus's ears the question was said with such real concern in it's tone, that it took a second for the fact that man knew his name, to sink in to his fuddled mind.
"How do you know of me ? Who are you ?" Marcus replied, raising his hand to point and taking a step forward.
With a speed that he'd never seen before, the woman moved between him and the blue robed man. In those three paces, she also managed to draw a blade, the point of which now rested a fingers breadth from his throat.
"Melith, stop that our… guest is probably more then a little confused at the moment. You can play later"
She lowered the sword and moved slightly to the side. Marcus noted however, the sword remained bared and that she was watching his every move with eyes as blue and hard as the tempered blade in her hand.
Marcus decided to make his next move a short one backwards, whilst muttering "By the Goddess ! 'confused' he says…?".
Looking towards Marcus, blue robe said, "Well I suppose I could answer those questions for you". Pausing briefly, he reached into his robe a pulled out Marcus's ring and threw it for him to catch. Which he did and placed it back on his hand.
Smiling now, blue robe continued, "As to how I know who you are, let's just say I wasn't sure until just now. When you put on that ring."
With a pointed look towards the lass, who responded by raising her blade into a more aggressive posture, the blind man said, "Well I'm sorry but for now and the remainder of your short life, you will have to remain confused. Your 'punishment' for entering the brotherhood's temple, must be applied'
"TEMPLE!!, what do you mean temple !?" Marcus seriously considered rushing forward until he noted the blood lust in the woman's eye's.
Glancing back towards the blind man, he saw some sort of wand in his hand A sickly looking rough cut branch, topped with a tanished silver claw holding a gem that sucked the colours out of the room, dimming everthing to shades of washed out grey.
"Did you know young Marcus, that your ring can only be worn be the male heir of your house ? A minor magick, it's original purpose probably to ensure that one of your misbegotten ancestors didn't place a bastard, sired by a tavern wench, on the high seat of the house."
Marcus just stared at the blind man, mouth agape, as he continued to talk. "Of course all of this was before your great grandfather gambled it all away, the house, lands and rights and then killed himself in a rather amusing drinking binge"
He paused and pointed the wand at Marcus. "And now this. The last heir of a fallen line attempts to avenge a murdered father… and fails. Did you know your father begged us to kill him at the end ? - after Mel here, had had her way with him ?". Nodding his head towards the now grinning woman, he continued, "her appetites are many and… well, shall we say, an acquired taste ?"
Marcus somehow found himself closer to the blind man. His fist's clenched but the lass was once again too quick for him to pass. This time she slashed down with her blade, which gleamed with a poisonous glint and sliced through his leather jerkin, leaving a burning slash a hands breath wide in his side.
Gasping, Marcus fell back against the wall and slipped slowly down, holding the leaking wound.
With a little laugh the blind man raised the wand again and pointed it directly at Marcus. "And now you die. Just like your father". With a word that Marcus didn't understand, he activated the wand. All the colour flashed back into the room with a swirl that emitted from the gem. In reflex, Marcus raised his hand to ward off the expected blow. The light appeared to reflect from his rings Moonstone, which, with an explosion of light, colour and sound, cracked in half. Marcus once again, fell into a dark void.
In the cell the mage picked himself up off the floor and spat blood out of his mouth. With a glance at the hole where the wall had once been and at the rapidly shrinking grey sphere that was all that remained of the rip in reality (which had apparently been caused by the clash of mighty opposed magicks), wondered if that damn ring might have held a little more magick then he'd originally thought. Throwing his broken wand into the corner, he finally heard the mewing coming from the corridor outside. Looking through the door he saw Mel, who was holding the stump of her right arm. A desperate look in her tearful eyes.
Elsewhere…
Marcus once again awoke in a strange place. At first he thought himself still in the cell, until he realised that above him was an open night sky. But, he still lay on a stone floor and against the rough walls of the cell. Slowly picking himself up, careful of the slash in his side which still stung but appeared to have ceased bleeding, he saw that he and part of the cell now stood in a wooded glade. On the floor by his feet lay the leather clad woman’s sword arm and, still grasped in the lifeless hand, her short sword.
With a closer look to the night sky Marcus realised that the stars were in no pattern that he recognised. Where ever he was, it was far from home and he was well and truly lost. Picking a direction at random, he started to walk. As the sky lightened he came across a small village. By the strange design of the houses and lack of any brock, Marcus was sure he was no longer in the seven kingdoms.
"Oh, by the faces of the Goddess…" he said, as he went forth to learn about his new home and maybe find a way back to his old one. He finally had a face, if not a name, for his fathers murderer and his now one armed pet.
