Darkfall Day 8 - Part II

Making your way into the interior of Yssam is what I imagine stepping into the Yucatan is like. But with Raptors. There are fascinating ruins that look like something from Central America but haunted by the shades of fallen elves...and other things. The mountains all around are green and jagged. The valleys are filled with large strange flowering plants that look like they might eat you.

We found out about the Raptors close-up as a couple came to gnaw on us. And we stumbled across a goblin village near a desolate clanstone whose warriors were tough and agile. Fortunately we didn't have too much trouble evading them once it became obvious our Mana Missiles weren't going to do the trick.

As we made our way along the southern coast, we began to hear the sounds of logging, so we switched to crouch-walking through the high grasses and slipping behind trees. At one point Valucis scouted ahead and came sneaking back when he realized there was someone directly on the other side of the tree he was leaning against casting spells and buffing up! Could be they were macroing, and at any rate I suspect now they might have been part of our alliance, but we had no way to know at the time. With one of us naked but for newbie weapons and the other not a lot better off, we decided to practice discretion.

Night fell and we crept along in a purple darkness, sure that some wandering clan would come upon us and send us back to the clanstone. At one point we stopped, Valucis behind a large rock, me behind a tree, and the sounds of someone walking through the forest seemed awfully near. Just as we were ready to move along, Val lost his connection again and had to reboot his computer. Sucked for him, I'm sure, but being the guy sitting there behind a tree waiting for him to come back was no picknick either ;) When he got back, we decided to sprint along and put some distance between us and the sounds of active habitation.

As the sun rose, we finally made our way back to the coast and prepared to head south. I'm not sure if it was then or after we had swam a ways from island to island that we came upon a clanstone near a beach. I do remember that we were glad to be able to bind again further along into our journey so that if we died we at least wouldn't have to make such a long trek back.

It was then that we stumbled on the Mahirim. He was red and naked and at low health, having respawned, I suppose, at the very clanstone we were travelling to. Without a word spoken we both attacked, sending a fierce volley of Mana Missiles at him. For such a big dog he was very quick. He dodged our slow spells fairly easily, and ducked behind a large tree. We ran around it from different sides, but it seemed he'd given us the slip, and quickly, too. All around the little cove we looked, to no avail. But as I was walking back to the clanstone, there he was, hidden behind a tree. A master move, really. He'd given us the slip and set us up for an ambush while gathering his health back. Out came the newbie pole arm, slashing at us mericlessly. We dodged in an out and tried to flank him but were getting hit an awful lot and not doing enough damage back to panick him. I was getting to the worse of it and dove under the water to escpae for a moment. It sounded like he might be behind me, but then I saw Valucis's health meter dropping. I came up for a quick breath and dived again to come around curve or rocks and try to get some health and mana back.

Unfortunately Val went down. I felt bad about saving my own skin, but he rightfully pointed out that I was the one that still had something to lose, including my mount. Still, I would like to be able to say we hung tight and focused our attacks, but it didn't happen. With more practice maybe we'll be formidable. At this point, we got whacked by a naked Mahirim.

Val had bound to the clanstone there, so he respawned in short order, only to be chased again. I tried to get on land and mount to use my horse as a weapon, but they were taking the chase southwards across the water, hopping from small island to outcropping. So I swam in that general direction and tried to coordinate with my clanmate to gather back together. I believe he had a second death then, but swimming and diving, we were finally able to reconnect.

The last part of our journey brought us, drenched in seawater and blood, to the northern peninsula that was our destination. We ended up approaching the city from the south across a narrow bridge beneath imposing walls with ivory spikes and dark towers. The place felt immense and not a little confusing. As we approached the city's clanstone, Valucis kissed it, and I can't say I blame him one bit.

An epic journey, my friend.