Well, here it is, the Sunday after the Saturday before… the only real difference is that himself and I started off in Telara, and ended up in Dusken! After we both turned level 49 on Ember Isle, we found that the Lycini ambassador in Meridian was only too happy to send us off to fight in either Dusken or Brevane – so we went… to Dusken 🙂 First, though, we had to establish a base of operations (so to speak) closer to the two areas because Meridian, although being the Capital city of the Defiants, only has Skill Trainers who can train up to level 300 (Masters level) in all the skills – to train up to a higher level (Grand Master and Savant) you need to go to Tempest Bay, the jumping off point for Dusken and Brevane. So, I’d just reached 300 in Foraging, and was sitting on 280 in Butchering – and himself was getting very close to 300 in both Mining and Butchering, so we took ourselves off to Tempest Bay and “Hearthed” ourselves there (“Hearthed” – a left-over term from our days playing World of Warcraft, where using a magic stone to transport you back to your point of origin was called “Hearthing” – I think it stems from the old-fashioned term for your dwelling place – your “hearth and home”) Then we went back to the Lycini ambassador in Meridian, said that we were ready to do our bit for – er – King and Country? I don’t think there is a “king” anywhere in the game?! There is a Queen, but she doesn’t really figure in the game much – it’s really very non-political, despite all of the different factions competing for your services! We arrived in the Kingdom of Pelladane (so! I guess there must be a king there somewhere, after all! The Queen was standing around giving orders when we arrived, too! 🙂 ) and we got our first taste of Dusken flora and fauna. I was quite surprised! The mobs there were all level 50 – the mobs we’d just been dealing with on Ember Isle were level 52, and level 52 Elites! Mind you, this is the Dusken “starting out, please don’t feed our wildlife your fingers and heads” area – we know from experience that they’ll get tougher! We played until about 5 o’clock, then went back to Tempest Bay and dusted down. I did a few editing bits to a long(ish) email that I’m writing to my friend, and messed around with a new idea for my Bookmarks page, and then went off for my evening Stair Walk (which reminds me – where’s my cup of coffee?!) All in all, it was a good day rampaging through the tropical wilds of Ember Isle, and frolicking on the beaches at Ferric Harbor. We did die a couple of times on Ember Isle, when we stupidly decided to vanquish a small Invasion force on our own. Normally it’s a mere bagatelle, and the two of us can polish them off with no trouble. This, unfortunately, was an Invasion force made up of level 52 Elites, which fact we didn’t realise until it was far too late, and they were killing us very quickly indeed! Himself went down first – I still hadn’t realised that they were Elites – but things were going from “worse” to “dire”, and I was lucky enough to find my “Feign Death” (playing possum) hot key, just in the nick of time. I was what is technically called “slivered” – that is, I had a teeny “sliver” of life left in me. Later on, I wasn’t so lucky! We’d managed to get ourselves a little too close to another Elite Invasion force, and unfortunately they noticed us and set upon us with wild abandon. I’d moved my “Feign Death” hot key to a “more easily reached in a hurry” one, so I pressed it, and confidently collapsed at the feet of the Invasion Boss, going “Aaarrggghh!”, and spurting blood most realistically! (I was quite proud of my performance! I reckon they should give me an Oscar! 😉 ) But you see, the whole trick to “Playing Possum” successfully is to lie absolutely still! You freeze! You hold your breath! You’re supposed to look dead! And what did I do? I swiveled around to see which way they were going, and promptly stood up! Do you think they noticed me? The “Feign Death” function has a cool down cycle, and you can’t press it again for a few seconds… Oh, they noticed me alright! I was dead “dead” before I could say “Oh bother“!! I was not impressed with myself! 🙂 Ah well, these things do happen from time to time… One thing that I had forgotten, though, was just how s-l-o-w the haul from level 45 to level 50 is! 
We were lucky to go up a level today…
Weigh-in this morning. Well, it was spectacular, that’s fer sure! I went from 95.7kg to 95.2kg! Five points! That’s a very big drop! And though very gratifying, I really wish that it hadn’t (been such a big drop) I’d much rather go down in increments of two… or even one point – the more you go down in one er… lot (or whatever) the more you’re – not just likely to, but certain-sure to – bounce back up again the next day, and/or the day after that! Now I don’t want to get on the scales in the morning – I bet I’ll have bounced back to around something like 95.8kg again! 😦
And as for tomorrow, well… I’m not having my hair done this week – I’m going to have to rough it on my own for a while, I’m afraid, so it looks like more of my usual fare. Stair Walks, Rift, and graphics – same old, same old. If I can work up the enthusiasm to research rug shops, we may go out on Tuesday looking for a rug for the lounge room. It’d be good to get it before the coffee table arrives on Thursday – it’s always a headache trying to put a large rug down under existing furniture – and it won’t be as easy to move this new coffee table around as the old coffee table was… I mean, is… The old coffee table has eighteen? (I think there are 18?) Sienese tiles set out under the glass. I’m pretty sure they’re just loose under the glass, otherwise Mum wouldn’t have been able to crack one when she dropped something heavy on the table. Anyway, the table is rather dilapidated and scruffy (and it’s not very big, which is why I wanted a new one) but the tiles I most definitely must keep. They came out from Italy with us when I was five and a half years old (no, I won’t tell you what year it was! 😉 ) and they represent all of the contrade (small territorial districts) from in and around Siena, in Tuscany (where we’re from) The Palio is a very famous bare back horse race, held twice a year in the central square in Siena. The race has its roots in medieval times and I actually got to see it, in all its finery – one of my cousins was actually chosen to be one of the flag bearers 🙂 Anyway, that’s why I absolutely have to keep those tiles – I want to have them framed in three plaques, to hang on the wall we don’t have yet. I know if you visit the link above, you’ll read that there are 17 contrade – our last tile is a different, it looks like a rhino, or something… And on that somewhat contentious note, I shall bid you all a fond “buona notte” until tomorrow night, with a stern admonishment to bee good, don’t squash that loaf of bread, and above all… stay safe! 🙂 ciao, all! 🙂
My Word! 