May 31 - Happy Memorial Day! Sisoclyes was here this afternoon doing yet more alterations, is she saving up to buy Athens or what?, and she says she may be back late tonight. Norticles was also here tonight doing his normal thing, hanging out with his loyal subjects and basically confusing the heck out of everybody.
May 30 - Norticles came back tonight, holding court in Sid's bar in his throne. Nobody remembered the old business, and he couldn't find his prime minister, and when I mentioned trade routes with Thebes he went on a rant about how thebes and cutpurses would not be tolerated in his kingdom. After confusing us all with his beer and milk antics, he got up and left. Sid says he's a regular, always coming into the bar. Most of the folks around town humor him he said, since he's a poor, sad old man and the King thing makes him happy.
May 29 - Sisoclyes was back tonight as promised and opened up her list for twenty more alterations. Seems a bunch of bad eggs heard about this and wanted alterations too because while folks were waiting several waves of prowlers, bullies, hoplites, and thieves attacked the people waiting in line. A strange man named Norticles also showed up during the fighting, waving a wooden scepter around and claiming to be King of Athens. He thanked all his loyal subjects for saving his city (before he lost it) by collecting junk from the ground and passing it around to folks. In a word it was hilarious, I can't even begin to explain it all here… I'd ask around for a log though, it's worth seeing for yourself. Thanks for the update Vaftel and Garrock.
May 28 - Sisoclyes was here this afternoon altering weapons and armor for about ten people just east of the gate. Once again she did very nice work, everything from purple broadswords to metal flame breathing dragon head hilts. Once again she has impressed us all with her abilities. She also was said to have mentioned that she was going to be setting up her tent in other towns soon.
Oenope was visited early this morning by an odd little man who told her that she could find her husband in Anavyssos and then ran off giggling. Soon a group of Athens' finest were banded together by their fearless leader Ingonish to help her in case it was a trap. On the way to Anavyssos she said to have seen her husband running toward Fedmire's tent, seconds later they saw a giantwomen go running by also. When they got to the tent to check it out they found that the dark stairway that leads to Cresus' lair was back. Seems that this area is open for hunting, full of giant spiders, burglars, and hoplites (hoplites are members of the Greek legion, kinda like legionarries are to Rome, called such because of the large shields they carry…namely hoplons). Be careful when entering this area, it can be very tricky and the way in isn't the same way you get out.
When they finally got free of Cresus' maze, they headed off to Anavyssos but couldn't find any sign of him. But thankfully there was also no sign of it being a trap either. After searching high and low, they decided to call it a night. Oenope stayed behind saying she wanted to search more in the morning. Thanks Ingonish and Garrock!
May 27 - Vaftel was out hunting in vikings today beside that old house that's for sale up in Nittedal Bygd when he saw a weird light coming from one of the windows. Seconds later the ground started shaking, and a cat jumped off the balcony of the house and dashed off. Then when the ground finally quit rumbling, a bolt of lightning nearly hit him and stunned him for a good bit, then everything was quiet.
May 26 - Autolycus could be heard faintly in the bar tonight saying, "Why can't anyone hear me? What's this box on this table?"… Autolycus' voice grows fainter suddenly, as though he is walking away. "Hello? Hello? Where is everyone? Sind? Hello?" … You hear a voice growing fainter and fainter calling, "He…..llo? Even Sid's not here! What in Hades' blue boots has happened?" … There's a shimmer in the air, and you are almost sure you see Autolycus standing beside the bar, but the image fades quickly away. … The air shimmers and you see Autolycus looking intently at something in his hand. He glances up quickly as though seeing you as the image fades completely away. Well, it looks like he figured out the kronos stone, heh.
Oenope was back again this morning and guess who she was confronted by while working in the inn last night? Why Discord of course! Not only did Discord talk to Oenope, but she also gained her trust, the poor woman was under the impression that Discord was a nice woman (Apparently she had no idea she was a goddess, much less what she was the goddess of). She told Hyzenthlay and Ingonish that Discord took her shopping for new shoes and showed her the way to a shrine for Dionysus which she was looking for yesterday. After taking her to the shrine, Discord asked her about Sasebo's whereabouts and about the amphora she supposedly stole, luckily Oenope didn't know anything. Fearing that the sandals were cursed, Ingonish, Hyzenthlay, and Dordie took her to buy some more and then they went to The Smile of Dionysus to chat over an ewer of wine.
Oenope mentioned several things that seemed particularly important. She said that her husband, Pentheus, was the vineyard owner's "right hand man" and that he was present during a conversation between the owner and a certain god named Dionysus. Apparently after this conversation, which was years ago, the vineyard crops began to grow year round. Another thing she mentioned was a cavern somewhere in her vineyard (we got a rough locale for the vineyard being between Piraeus and Fedmire's tent) and she said that there were stories of, get this, a dragon that lives there. She has seen neither the dragon or even the caverns for herself though. Thanks for the update Hyzenthlay.
Also, all you rogues out there…and rogues at heart, you might want to give caltrops another try. The previously useless trail decorations have been fixed and now work up to the standard we Athenians expect! Thanks to the folks who made this possible, hopefully we'll be seeing more of the same with other traps in the near future.
May 25 - A woman named Oenope came to the gate early this afternoon looking for her husband, Pentheus. Seems she thought he was going to a wine festival, but he's been gone too long and she got worried when she saw some lightning travelling down the road from inside her house. (Could she have gotten a different view of the same thing the naked centaur saw? She did mention getting up the courage to check it out and seeing a centaur gallop by and looking rather worried.) Seems she lived on a vineyard which they have abandoned now because all the men ran off a few weeks ago and they're running out of food and strange things have been happening. Now she is in Athens looking for her husband (after looking in Piraeus) and working at the Sweet Oblivi Inn for room and board. Thanks for the news Hyzenthlay!
May 24 - Seems a naked centaur showed up late tonight at the gate named Khelrus, a bunch of bandits in Piraeus stole his clothes, supplies, and dinars while he was sleeping. He said he was a fur-trader from Anavyssos and was camping near the tent with the creepy web in it when he saw a giantess running toward Athens. While this wouldn't be strange, he also added that she was sloshing around a glass of red wine in her other hand, lightning was striking at her heels, and he heard a female voice yelling, "Sasebo!" Thanks for the update Gabit and Apollonius.
May 23 - Harukia invaded early this morning with fat rats and green recruits, when that wave was easily dispatched he sent another mixed with some soldiers. Then after that wave was taken care of, guess what happened to Harukia? Say it with me everybody…he got killed! He was killed by Garrock, so Collin got mad and came and attacked us with more troops and some grizzles veterans to boot, and did his best to kill Garrock, which he did. Then he had a little chat with us as usual, he said that he didn't kill Borris, that he just told him to leave him alone and go feed the cats… he had no idea he'd be taken seriously. Then he gave his usual babble about toying with us, that he'd conquer us when he was ready by Ares' grace, and then left us with another room full of critters as he went back to the rock he crawled from under.
A merchant named Vilemptios also arrived in the bar this morning selling imported soap from Italy. Soap that makes bubbles with a little wand! Woohoo! He only let us get one per person, but each bottle seems to hold a good amount of bubble soap and he promises he'll come back later when we all run out.
May 22 - Discord popped in to the bar this morning, full of insults as usual. She was apparently looking for Sasebo for some reason, maybe this is one of those gods that she said were mad at her? When we wouldn't cooperate she zapped Vaftel across the room , sent Barabbus to look for Sasebo in the underworld, and then poofed off in a huff.
May 21 - Borris arrived at the gate tonight with his troops…troops which consisted of thieves, fat rats, prowlers, and robbers, quite a motley crew. After several waves he told us he had a secret but he couldn't tell or Collin would slit his throat. Under tremendous pressure, tickle torture, withheld candy, and even some reverse psychology, he told us that Collin was amassing a huge army and that he was in his…then he refused to go on. Finally after much more begging he left, soon after we heard a yelp and then…A whimper from a far, " I didn't tell them, honest!" and then some thuds and screams. Ooops…a few minutes later he was dead, and a few of us, of course, followed. Seems Collin was mad and fed him to some mean kitties, then told him if he makes him mad again that he'd make Borris disappear. When we got out Borris hid himself from Collin, shhh…I'm not telling where, you just know Collin reads this stuff too!
Sasebo was killed earlier this morning twice, and our brave and intrepid adventurer Vaftel was the only one to go down after her. She was killed by a maenad apparently who was looking for that item she had stolen the other day, but she'd already hidden it. Sasebo was still looking for someplace to hide and figured she might hide out in Hades for a while (they only let Iris and Hermes down there after all and I doubt she made them mad at her). Just as she was telling this to Vaftel, a cold wind blew through the room and a maenad appeared. Before Vaftel could do anything it grabbed Sasebo and ran. Sasebo yelled for Vaftel to run which he did until he wondered to himself why he was running from a little maenad and stopped to confront it. Needless to say when it caught up to him it wasn't as easy to hit as the maenads we're used to. When Vaftel asked what it wanted with Sasebo, she told him it was none of his business, of course Vaftel said he was making it his business, and she just laughed at him and walked away. Thanks for the update Vaftel.
May 19 - We had a nice break from death today, if you can call it that. For those of you who didn't die and missed it, here's what happened. Thanks to Llorien for pointing this out.
Scheherazade just fell dead at your feet… wait a minute… she's not dead… she vanished!
At the very moment you feel your last thread of life snap in two, a sudden flash of golden sparks surrounds you! The world spins and swirls for a moment then in an instant you find yourself in the palm of Ares!
Ares says, "Here's the thing. Discord and Deimos are playing a game called handball. Winner gets to be my second in command next time I take on Hercules. Just one problem, we need a ball and well… you didn't look busy."
Before you can protest, you are launched towards Discord who quickly slaps you away into a wall. You bounce hard towards Deimos who nervously slaps you… straight out a nearby window! You hear Ares yell, "Point, Discord!" just as the world turns into a shower of golden sparks…
WHUMP
And you ended up in the shaded garden. For those of you who don't know, Deimos is Strife's replacement, the new god of umm…well, strife. So hopefully we'll see more of him in the future, his constant blundering and fighting with Discord is quite entertaining.
Discord and Gabrielle showed up in the mentor garden today and chatted with folks also. She looked pretty good, taking into account her being dead and all, hehe. She ran off, to hunt of all things, pretty soon after arriving, but Autolycus stuck around to chat a bit more before leaving himself. Autolycus then showed up in the Hero's Welcome later that night and met up with a man named Hiram who he said he met near Thebes. Apparently Autolycus had some drinks with him then left him with the tab and Hiram was a bit peeved. A man named Rollo also appeared at the bar who Autolycus apparently stole some money from and who was out to have Autolycus lynched. Both of these men are apparently citizens of Thebes, they are burying their dead and allowing citizens to leave the city, but no admittance to outsiders just yet.
After Ixla told his fortune, Autolycus showed us a pretty nice rock he had on his person which he says he is just sure is a shard of the kronos stone. Autolycus shows you a shimmering stone. The surface of the stone glitters coldly as though dusted with ice. Rollo and Hiram both also claim to have seen the glittery vest in passing, as has Autolycus. After Autolycus left, Rollo and Hiram both stayed to chat with us for quite a while, very interesting folks.
May 18 - Fatima arrived at some point tonight and had some information on the kronos stones, I don't know much beyond this except the riddle she gave. "It's in the place you do not fuss….above the man with the petasus." A petasus is a traveller's hat, like the one Hermes wears. This is just this storyteller's opinion, but the place you do not fuss seems to be hair, and the petasus…maybe it's under the hat of one of Hermes' statues whatever it is, I donno.
Later that night a new merchant came to the bar named Sisoclyes. She was looking to set up shop soon and gave a couple of us some alterations, I guess so we can be walking advertisements, hehe. Now you may be asking…hmmm, what does this new alterer alter, and to this I would say…Armor and Weapons! Yup, you heard it here first (well maybe not), so keep an eye out for her in the (hopefully) near future.
Sasebo also showed up after Sisoclyes left saying that she was in a weeeeee bit of trubble. She was a tad more drunk than usual, and it seems that she has a wittle group of gods mad at her because she stole something. So she is off hiding from them, she wouldn't tell us what she stole or what gods were mad at her, but she made it sound like we'd never see her again. She also mentioned that Fedmire had run away, fast…again she doesn't know why.
May 17 - The Peiraic gate was swarmed by tiny brown rats tonight, one of those huge jumping up from the well type swarms. Dozens and dozens of them attacked and were finally driven back. After a comment about someone ignoring my commanding presence at the gate, a bunch of critics starting yelling from the peanut gallery about my latest performance. When they were done arguing back and forth (I tend to have to agree with the guy that said mere words couldn't describe how good my recital was) we heard the cries of frantic fans from the well and then…yup you guessed it, another huge swarm of tiny brown rats.
May 15 - Harukia showed up early this morning followed by a bunch of bullies. As is his usual way he got himself killed almost immediately and Collin had to run in and fuss at all of us. Collin himself proved a harder target, as usual, and survived the confrontation while he sent out grizzled old veterans to attack us. After his usual, "Join the dark side Luke" speeches and laughing at petty attempts to try to kill him, he ran off…no doubt to plan his next unsuccessful attack on Athens. Thanks once again for the news Vaftel.
May 14 - Discord was nice enough to show up early this morning and start zapping people and pass around the hallucinations as she seems so keen at doing. While she was going zap happy she managed to kill Silvershaodw, then she sent a bunch of beggars with really big sword (what happened to the dented tin cups?) who proceeded to slice into the Athenian uppercrust. After the beggars were chased back to their crates, Discord sent a large chicken to attack at the gate while she ran off to look for Bonk… and she says *WE* won't let the chicken thing rest, hehe. After the big chicken was killed, a bunch of baby chickens flocked to the gate behind a skeleton to meet the same fate at the end of folks' swords. Remember next time you see a beggar asking for a hand out, give him a dinar…it might stop another uprising! Thanks for the update Vaftel and Anika.
May 10 - The sign at the gate of Thebes has finally been taken down and replaced with the following, "Large, bold letters proclaim: -*GOOD NEWS! THE PLAGUE IS OVER! PRAISE THE GODS AND PASS THE ALE!*- Beneath the happy message is some print so fine that you must step closer to read it." The handwritten message seem to be from our old friend Autolycus, he's not getting that vest before me! "Looking for a colorful vest; will trade large ruby for same. -A." Thanks to Hyzenthaly for pointing out the sign change.
May 6 - Seems the critters were restless last night as the gate was swarmed by dozens of savages, coyotes and leopards. Just seemed to be another one of those "Hey, we're bored so we're going to come attack you" invasions.
May 5 - Announcement: Ares wishes to take this opportunity to inform the various evil denizens of the lands (ruffians, brawlers, savages, reprehensible rogues, robbers, skeletons, zombies… etc.) that your contracts have been renewed with an approximate 10% pay raise. Please be aware that the sudden death penalty clause is still in effect for abject failure in your missions to thwart noble selfless acts of the good heroes and heroines of Athens and that your pets were not included in the contract negotiations. (translation, critters are gonna drop a bit more treasure)
May 3 - Bonk was out near Annavysos when this red fire ant ran in and showed him a grape that it had in its mouth. Unfortunately before he could react he was swept away by Aeolus, god of the four winds and close friend of the punt demons. Later the ant showed up at the Peiraic gate and apparently pointed toward it just before a group of vineyard workers attacked along with some baby spiders. Several times during the fight the ant reappeared, let out a "screeeech!" then ran off out the gate. After beating down all the workers the ant came back again and pointed out the gate once more. After a bit of searching some more workers were spotted outside of Thebes, where the ant also showed up again along with Sasebo who's apparently gotten a tad stronger. She was smacking the vineyard workers for over 1000 and had a 2 to-hit on them, a tad better than when we last saw her hunting rowdies.
When we asked her about her new found strength she said she'd explain it later after all the workers were killed and refused to speak more about it. While we were fighting she fell to the ground coughing and gagging and yelled at us to leave her. Apparently after we left her, Garrock and Nikos went back to check up on her and she said something about not making deals with the devil when a light came down and took her away.