MMORP.ORG

I've posted my next Travelogue over at Brando's new website for roleplayers. It's a bridge story without pictures, mostly due to my lack of internet for the past 2 months. This won't be a regular thing, but I thought, if any of my readers aren't aware of the new site yet, they should be!

There's a thread with an explanation over at the official Darkfall forums.

http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?p=4524717#post4524717


and here is the link to the bridge story on the new website.

http://www.mmorp.org/entry.php?13-Darkfall-Travelogues-Ending-of-an-Era


And once again, I encourage you guys to give any feedback on these Travelogues. I love comments, and if you've got any things in game you want me to check out/post about, say so here!



Edit: For continuity's sake, I'll stick the "exclusive" story here.



That was how my first chapter in the land of Agon ended.

Our habits and lifestyles changed over the next month just as radically as our surroundings had. For the first few days, we kept quiet, only traveling at night, avoiding areas that looked like they might hold some dangerous creatures or men. The encounter with the raptors had left us shaken, and the other wildlife on Yssam was truly fearsome. There was an old beauty as well though. We discovered great elementals of fire and earth marching about the land, gods only knowing how many years they'd seen.

One of our more eager recruits wanted to do battle with the creatures, and refused to be talked down. I allowed him to make the attempt, but told him the rest of us wouldn't be around to help. We heard shouts of pain mere minutes later, and the recruit came running back to camp looking very battered and more than a little singed.

As we became more and more comfortable on Yssam, it became harder to maintain our low profile. Soon we had discovered actual cities, much like the ones back on the mainland, but the laws were different in each one, and they all seemed to attract the worst sorts of individuals.

We lived off the foreign land as well as we could. Many of the plants didn't appear to be edible, but the few that were tasted like they came from heaven itself, or that's how I felt anyway. Redham didn't quite care of eating "rabbit food".

However, our simple life as wandering adventurers did not last, and was soon changed forever.

One of the largest threats on Yssam was not the exotic creatures or poisonous wildlife, but the people that lived there. They were a cutthroat bunch that would rather shoot first than ask you why you were trespassing. It's a harsh world, and it's understandable that behavior like this would develop. But some went further than just defending their land. Some groups rode out in force, hunting other humans, laughing as they sliced.

I took great pains to avoid these lunatics, but the resolve of the company with me was not as strong. While the men were undoubtedly monsters, they were wealthy monsters. The land they controlled was extensive, and rich with farms and mines.

One morning, as I was laying in the mud with Redham Publius and the others, avoiding yet another raiding party, a recruit finally called it quits.

"I'm sick of being hunted like an animal, I'm sick of eating these foul smelling plants, and I'm sick of being cold all the time. You won't even allow us a fire!"

I raised my head to glance around, thanking the gods that the raiding party wasn't within earshot of the outburst. "Keep your voice down, they're hardly even over that hill! We don't have a fire because it would draw these murderers right to us!"

"You call them murderers but they're not that different from you or I" he responded coldly.

I sat up slowly, not sure how to react. "We aren't the ones riding around slaying anything that moves! And how would you know anyway? It's not like you can get one of them to talk, save when you hear their taunts as they run you through."

The recruit looked a bit unsure, but soon hooves were heard in the mud again and we all ducked back down. This seemed to steel his resolve and he angrily hissed "Yes, I did meet with one of them. He ran into me when he was on patrol. You know, we don't HAVE to fight eachother!"

Face pressed to the mud I glared, "You call THIS fighting?"

Getting more and more determined the recruit nearly shouted, "He offered for us to join them! We could live in houses, share the wealth from their raids, eat cooked meat again!"

I had no words to respond, the proposal was mad, I was aghast, but the others weren't quite so taken aback, and soon they appeared interested in hearing more from the recruit. We had a full blown discussion right there in the muck. It was clear within the first five minutes what the outcome would be. I fought as long as I could, but even Redham was against me. I implored them all to think about it throughout the day and then sleep on it, and the matter was put aside for a bit longer.

Before the night was even a quarter through, a thunderstorm kicked up, and our company, soaked and cold decided enough was enough. I reluctantly agreed, and that very night we gathered all our belongings and marched towards the lands of the marauders. The days that followed were every bit as bad as I feared they would be.