It was a bit sad parting from Schatten. Isaiah went back to the Voadkyn camp and bought a flower from the flower vendor. It only had a weight of 1. For comparison his carrying capacity was 330. The chainmail weighed 22. The dagger weighed 2. His sword of insanity weighed 8. Frustratingly these stats were not visible to players anywhere. However dropping something and picking it back up was an easy if not annoying method to determine an item’s weight. Incidentally, the first time Isaiah was created when he was a cleric/mage he didn’t try to max out his strength at 18. Carrying capacity was scaled with strength. A character with a 3 strength would be practically unplayable. Isaiah pondered this a bit as he digested the emotions of being separated from Schatten.
Isaiah sat there doing nothing for a bit. Being all alone was causing him to lose motivation. On reflection he kept checking the who list to see if Schatten logged off. It took a while but she did. He kicked himself for not offering to escort her back to her temple. However, he didn’t actually know where it was so such an offer might just show how little he knew of the lands. She could have escorted him back to the temple but who would be wearing the pants in that scenario?
Isaiah made the not-quick decision that it was time to take to the seas. He headed back west and found the path that led to the road that went south to Tharis and north to Shadow. From shadow he went east along that vast desert until he hit the sea. Dozens of notifications of ‘snake attacks you’ spammed by along with the descriptions of desert rooms. Each room had exactly the same name and it was much bigger than the darkwood. Eventually he could go east no further and stopped at a room saying he was on the shore of the saakrune sea. After that he passed out from exhaustion.
Grumble..
One of these days Isaiah needed to invest in a mount. He apparently had to learn this lesson over and over again. After a couple of minutes Isaiah regained consciousness. He didn’t dare move to another room because his stamina status was ‘falling over.’ He stayed still and let his stamina recover while he peered north and south.
To the north, there was a line of shore to the sea that ended up against a mountain. To the south there was a series of shore rooms that ended in a canyon. However, one of the shore rooms to the south had a eastern exit instead of butting up against the inpassible sea.
After getting enough stamina Isaiah headed south a bit and took the east exit. He found himself standing on a wooden pier. The only exit was back west. There was a sign and a ferry boat. Isaiah’s player thought there might be logistical problems with a port that was surrounded by a vast desert with nothing else in sight for as far as the eye could see but he tried not to overthink things.
Isaiah read the sign:
“You are at shadow dock. 0,36
The follow actions are available:
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
While reading the sign the ferry boat left the area. Apparently the ferry just comes and goes on it’s own schedule. Likely if he waited a bit the ferry would return. Isaiah just barely had enough money to buy a boat but he’d rather spend it on spell components. He wasn’t sure how much use he’d get out of his own boat. If it was just to go back and forth from deku island it might be a waste. After 15 minutes or so the ferry came back.
A ferry boat enters the area.
Isaiah looked over the ferry boat and it had a simple description:
This is a ferry boat. The cost for a ferry ride is 5 gold one you pay five gold you will be let on the ferry.
Typing ‘pay 5 gold’ put him into another room. It was a simple boat with two sailors manning a boat that can carry up to 10 passengers. There were some benches on the front of the boat where the passengers could ride.
Text started scrolling by:
The ferry leaves in 2 minutes.
The ferry leaves in 1 minute.
The ferry sails across the sea.
Beyond the ferry you see this:
You are on the saakrune sea.
Off to the west you can see a parched desert. There is nothing but water to the east.
The ferry sails across the sea
There is nothing but water for miles upon miles.
Water for miles upon miles. (this continued being each rooms description as the process continued every 15 seconds or so until the ferry got to the next stop.)
You are docked at the island of Laerad.
The massive island of Laerad's docks border a wasteland. The land is cracked and scorched belching up waves of sulfurous gas.
(Laerad was not his stop he’d have to ask someone about it later. Isaiah stayed put on the ferry.)
The ferry sails across the sea.
Nothing but water for miles and miles.
(Again this continued to spam across the screen for who knows how long.)
Then the sailors stopped at the next island.
Seafang Harbor
This old decayed dock is about 20 feet long and hangs over the green stinking sea. There is a thick gray fog hanging over the water.
(so the water is normal at the sea, but green on the dock, what is this some kind of industrial runoff?)
Isaiah got off the ferry and stepped onto the dock. He peered around. It seemed like the only way to go was east. The braved elf headed into the mist that was on the dock and east turned into a place called the Shadowlord Forest. Luckily the forest was not a huge sprawling grid. The paths were mostly straight and to the east it looked like there was a town. A bit east and north there was a tower. The line of sight east was completely straight; he could peer from the east entrance all the way to the west entrance.
The town’s name was Verbobone. It had a very simple layout for which he was thankful for. The main road went east and west like he saw earlier and there was a dead end road that headed north into some kind of haunted house at the dead end. He could tell it was a haunted house because the room’s description said ‘haunted house.’
Isaiah was walking around checking out the shops when something odd happened.
All the thieves suddenly wonder where Saturn's corpse may be found.
Then a few minutes later.
The grim reaper happily accepts Rygar’s soul.
Isaiah checked the who list. It seemed like a lot of deaths were piling up.
All the thieves suddenly wonder where Taaveti's corpse may be found.
Harmony enters.
Harmony reaches into a bag and throws a powder at your face.
The powder gets into your eyes blinding you!
Harmony starts casting a spell.
A bolt of lighting zaps into you.
HP: 10/60
(Isaiah panicked and started mashing west trying to get away)
The blinding powder stuns you and you can’t see.
The blinding powder stuns you and you can’t see.
Harmony start casting a spell.
(Isaiah tried to say “please stop” but all he got was the stunned message about the powder.)
A bolt of lightning zap into you.
HP: -23/60
You are at death's door your body is sleeping from you.
You die.
Then he got to see the death cutscene again.
.
.
.
Bane says: “Isaiah, would you be interested in the frequent dying program?”
(Isaiah wanted to say yes but prior experience taught him ghost just wail when they try to walk)
Lea (OOC): Everyone hide! Harmony is trying to kill the mud again!
Nightfall (OOC): Heh
The grim reaper cackles as he accepts designa’s soul.
Eventually Isaiah’s ghost went through the exit back to the church in Verbobone and he prayed to get a new body. Where he was killed there was no one. Just a sword of insanity, a bone dagger, a spellbook and a chainmail. He was again murdered by someone who he didn’t even know or interact with. All of his money was taken. All of his components he scrounged just gone in an instant. It sucked. After Isaiah grabbed his things he typed ‘quit’ and left for the night.