Volume Ten Issue Twenty

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 .............._______          
 ............./      /            THE LEGENDARY TIMES
 ............/      /         http://www.legendmud.org/ 
 .........../      /.....______.._____.....______.._____.......____
 ........../      /...../     /./     \.../     /./     \...../    \
 ........./      /...../  ___/./  ____/../  ___/./  __   \.../  /\  \
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 ...../                / /./       /./     /./  /.../  /./       /
 ..../                /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD
 .../________________/      running on         mud.legendmud.org 9999

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 VOLUME TEN, NUMBER TWENTY                                   June 14, 2003
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                          TABLE OF CONTENTS
                          The Editor's Note

                        NEWS, REPORTS, UPDATES
                          Calendar of Events
                            Recent Updates
                    Immortal Help: Cans and Can'ts
                           Recent Q&A Topics

                             LEGENDITES
                           Splendiforous
                             CORRECTION

                              Clan News
                 The Hanseatic League Clan Disbands

                            The PK Front
                     Notice to All PKE Pkillers


           Power through Loss...Chapter 1, Section 3: By Enhander
                       Fire and Dreams, Part II
___                                                                   ___
\  |-----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                      The Editor's Note                          |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'

Ok, this "idea" report has been bugging me since I saw it: "How about
instead of changing every area constantly, you make new and improved ones
:P" This question seems to come up during each summer odyssey, probably
because we're putting so much emphasis on the existing world. Yes, it's a
goal to have every area file touched during these three months. Why?
Because many of them haven't been touched in the last nine months. Before
we started the Summer Odyssey idea, some hadn't been touched in years.

Lemme ask everyone this.... Which areas do you go to the most? Ones where
you see the problems you report never being fixed? Ones that give you
pleasant surprises when you find something new? Why should we waste
memory and cpu cycles on rooms, mobs and items that people are going to
abandon and never look at again?

Regular maintenance of areas is also part of the building departments
long-term goals. If you haven't read the post titled, 'LEGEND GOALS' on
the welcome board, or haven't read it in a long time, you might wanna go
check it out. The long term goals are still relevant although many of the
individual points will have changed or shifted since it was written.

The Builders' LONG TERM GOAL is to make Legend capable of supporting 150
players, that takes full advantage of the code and showcases it to best
effect, and that all areas are cohesive, well-designed, and balanced.

     No area, no matter how well-designed, is going to be completely
     balanced with the rest of the existing world when it's first
     installed. We wouldn't have the term "old gear" if they could.
     
Let's look at a couple of the examples of how to move toward that goal:

- make sure all areas use all code features

     Kinda hard to implement things that haven't been coded yet. Kinda
     sucks to find you can't build a house in the area you want because
     it isn't supported there. Kinda sucks to need some herbs and you're
     walking around and not seeing any because the area was built before
     the herbal skills were finished. Wouldn't it really suck to have
     affects saving over rent go in and NOT be able to find ways to deal
     with removing the bad ones?

- maintain all areas and fix all problems found

     To me, maintaining an area doesn't mean "let it remain at the same
     level as it was installed", but rather keep it up to current
     standards where it's also considered "cohesive, well-designed, and
     balanced" and people not only regularly visit it, but enjoy it. And
     yeah, I have a few of mine that I don't think are up to those
     standards yet, but I'm also a perfectionist.
   
     Any time you add new things, there's likely going to be some problem.
     New areas have tons of them and the first 3 months after an area is
     installed is pretty much only shaking the bugs out and fixing as many
     as you can so you don't frustrate the players. And it always amazes me
     the amount of small annoying little things that crop up in some of the
     oldest and "better maintained" areas even after nine years of players
     exploring these areas.
     
- add increased detail in all acts and conversations, quest hints where
  appropriate, and greater interactivity

     Again, at first install, the builder isn't going to have thought of
     ALL the logical ways to ask the mobs about their quests, or possibly
     all the different ways a quest step could be accomplished. By going
     back and responding to player feedback on these issues, ALL players
     benefit from it in the long run.

     How many times have you run across this interesting little tidbit
     that a mob says that you feel just HAS to be a quest but doesn't
     seem to lead anywhere? Because of player feedback about such things,
     many of those lines that the builder thought sounded good, have
     become quests in their own right and ALL players could benefit from
     that in the long run, right?

So, back to the other part of that idea: "make new and improved ones"

New content is good. And yes, we do need more of it. But it's also easier
and quicker to get new content either in the forms of mobs, items, or
quests to the players by finding places in the existing world that could
use a boost. Likewise, it's also easier to experiment with some things in
an existing area and see how players react to it by putting it into an
installed area than to start from scratch and put an idea in the context
of a brand new 100-200 room area. In 1998, Arabia was the largest area
file at 408K, today it's 848k but no longer the biggest with both
installed and in progress areas being bigger. By comparison, a few files
haven't really changed in those 4 years.

As we've been adding to the code and increasing the builders' range of
possibilities, it's also increased the time it takes to put all those
tools together in one bundle. Player expectations about what all an area
can and should be have also risen over the years. There's no way that I
(or anyone else) could put in another area like Sherwood that was written
entirely in two weeks time and have people estatic over having it in the
game. 

The in progress areas are a mixed bag, some see regular progress, others
also haven't changed in those 5 years. I'm happy that things are changing
in the existing world, but yes, I understand the frustration of waiting
for that big rush of something new to explore. I also understand how it
is difficult to see the progress on the in progress areas that do get
regular work when all you get is a single line saying "it was worked on."

My personal goal for this odyssey is to improve the areas I maintain and
get in at least one expansion that's been sitting on my harddrive for way
too long. Once that's out of the way, I'll feel a lot less guilty about
taking some time to work on my two in progress areas.

Hope that gives some perspective on why we do the odyssey and not just
"maintain" but also improve existing areas and thus the players'
experience of the game.

Have a great week!

-Kaige
___                                                                   ___
\  |-----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                   LegendMUD Calendar of Events                  |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'
          [All times are system time unless otherwise specified]
                    [NOTE: new time for Q&A is 7:30 pm]
 
                                JUNE 
              The theme this month is Legend Summer Odyssey, 
                     focusing on the Ancient Era!
                         S  M Tu  W Th  F  S
                         1  2  3  4  5  6  7
                         8  9 10 11 12 13 14
                        15 16 17 18 19 20 21
                        22 23 24 25 26 27 28
                        29 30

Saturday,  June 14th         noon              Level-to-five contest
Sunday,    June 15th         5:00 pm           June Tinyplot
Tuesday,   June 17th         8:00 pm           Scavenger Hunt
Thursday,  June 19th         7:30 pm           Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Thursday,  June 26th         7:30 pm           Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Saturday,  June 28th         noon              Flag Hunt
Sunday,    June 29th         5:00 pm           June PK Event, TBA


Coming in July: Summer Odyssey continues, focusing on the medieval era!
 
___                                                                   ___
\  |-----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                          Recent Updates                         |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'

    /\                            CODE UPDATES
   /  \     
  /    \            There were no code updates this week.
 /_    _\   
   |  |     
   |  |                         HELP FILE UPDATES
   |  |     
   |__|     General Topics:
    /\           ABBREVIATIONS, ACCEPT, DISORIENTED, EXPERIENCE, GAG,
   /  \          HEALING BALM, KILL, NEWBIE, POLLS, PROFESSION, PUT,
  /    \         REDEEM, WHO, WHOIS, WIMPY
 /_    _\   
   |  |     Skill Topics:
   |  |          ARCHER, BOWMAN, ENTRANCE, POISONING, SNIPER, TAINT
   |  |     
   |__|     Spell Topics:
    /\           BARKSKIN, CAUSE LIGHT WOUNDS, CREATE HOMUNCULUS, 
   /  \          DISPEL ILLUSION
  /    \    
 /_    _\   
   |  |                          SUMMER ODYSSEY            
   |  |                        ANCIENT ERA UPDATES            
   |  |                 
   |__|     If you want to suggest specific improvements or new additions          
    /\      to existing areas please don't hesitate to submit them on the          
   /  \     idea/bug/typo channels or drop mudmail to the builder            
  /    \    currently responsible for the area (check AREAINFO to find            
 /_    _\   out!) And please don't limit your ideas and suggestions to               
   |  |     just these three months!                   
   |  |                      
   |  |     ARABIAN NIGHTS
   |__|          Captain of the Guard tactics changed slightly. Changes      
    /\           to the mobs that call for assistance. If target fails,       
   /  \          they'll try again. Also mobs here are generally smarter
  /    \         about trying to headbutt nonhumans and won't try to            
 /_    _\        elbow or choke the undead. Tweaked resets some, tried            
   |  |          for a bit more variety for lowest levels. Various minor
   |  |          bugs and typos fixed.
   |  |     
   |__|     AZTECS, BEOWULF AND ROMAN BRITAIN  
    /\           Mobs here are generally smarter about trying to headbutt  
   /  \          nonhumans and won't try to elbow or choke the undead.
  /    \    
 /_    _\   ANCIENT GREECE
   |  |          - Clarified pieces of the Menelaus quest.
   |  |          - Gate guards will no longer open the gate due to
   |  |            hearing voices.
   |__|          - Townsfolk in Mycenae and Thebes recognize when you
    /\             have their king's favor now.
   /  \          - Linus has been fixed.
  /    \         - Temporary blessings will wear off, but remain across
 /_    _\          rents. Also adds in whois tags for blessings.
   |  |          - Non-agg sea creatures remove the blessing of Posiedon
   |  |            and Dogfish respect Posiedon's blessing. 
   |  |          - Attempts to make the suitor quest a bit less quirky.
   |__|          - Should be a little less difficult to get stuck in the
    /\             cyclops cave -- still not advisable to walk about
   /  \            without a light and/or a refill, though... there's a
  /    \           reason we have things called "emergency candles" these
 /_    _\          days - they work wonders in a pinch.  
   |  |          - Chiron takes a little while to make most items now.  
   |  |          - Pytheas should give you the polished shield now if you  
   |  |            left while he was making it.  
   |__|          - Restart time on a couple of quests has been tweaked so
    /\             you shouldn't have to wait quite so long. 
   /  \          - Immortals will no longer get transferred in some room
  /    \           acts.  
 /_    _\        - Hector shouldn't be as complacent if you walk into the 
   |  |            room after shooting him.  
   |  |          - Hector's horse loads the collar on death now - he no   
   |  |            longer wears it, to avoid getting bug reports like 'I
   |__|            damaged the collar during the fight but now it's
    /\             perfect!'
   /  \          - Plant diversity has increased in several locations.
  /    \           Herbs are finding footholds in more locations and
 /_    _\          trees have increased in number and variety.
   |  |          - Some food items load to furniture or other objects now
   |  |            -- if the food item you are looking for isn't where it
   |  |            used to be, see if there is a table, tree, or other
   |__|            place it could be sitting on/in.
    /\           - Loads some atmospheric items - furniture, etc.
   /  \          - Areas that logically should have been lit due to
  /    \           wealth of the inhabitants, are.
 /_    _\        - Various minor bugs and typos fixed.
   |  |     
   |  |     ANCIENT NAZCA
   |  |          Mobs here are generally smarter about trying to headbutt
   |__|          nonhumans and won't try to elbow or choke the undead.
    /\           Various minor bugs and typos fixed.
   /  \       
  /    \    CELTIC IRELAND
 /_    _\        Changes to the mobs that call for assistance. If target
   |  |          fails, they'll try again. Also mobs here are generally
   |  |          smarter about trying to headbutt nonhumans and won't try 
   |  |          to elbow or choke the undead. Seasoned warriors' tactics
   |__|          changed slightly. Burning roofs acts cleaned up a lot.
    /\           Pookahs should no longer appear in the pool. May see
   /  \          some new faces in SBI.
  /    \    
 /_    _\   
   |  |                              Other Area Updates
   |  |     
   |  |     THE CRUSADES
   |__|          Falcon quest fixed. Mobs should behave more logically --
    /\           those which did not need the amazing vision powers of
   /  \          holylight now have more appropriate abilities, they
  /    \         should no longer ascribe flesh to fleshless victims when
 /_    _\        fighting, and they should not be able to damage people   
   |  |          who are not in the room. Slay acts set players to 1hp.
   |  |     
   |  |     LEGENDS OF THE PAST
   |__|          If you keep trying to flee from Sylia, she'll now
    /\           inspire you.
   /  \     
  /    \    SHERWOOD
 /_    _\        BUILD QUERY SCRIPTORIUM no longer crashes the mud.
   |  |     
   |  |     
   |  |                    In Progress Area Updates
   |__|     
    /\      
   /  \     This section is intended to share what builders are working
  /    \    on behind the scenes. It is not a perfect record of progress
 /_    _\   as all builders do not commit updates every week. Badgering
   |  |     builders about their progress will get you flogged. 
   |  |     
   |  |             LadyAce       Kleinstadt (Update)
   |__|     

  ___                                                                  ___
  \  |----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
  /__|                 Immortal Help: Cans and Can'ts                 |__\
     '----------------------------------------------------------------'

Immortals are here to help you, sure, but under our rules and the
Immortal Code of Conduct, that help can only go so far. The past few
months have shown a few instances where the players don't understand how
far that help extends.

Many people don't understand we're not here to help you play the game -
or that it is technically illegal and a warnable offense for you to even
ask an immortal to help you with something that would give you an in-game
advantage. We get bombarded with people asking us to do this or do that -
and then keep asking after we say we can't or get all huffy and
disgruntled. We may tell you that if you ask again, you'll be warned for
it.

Rule number 6 in HELP RULES comes off as being quite specific about what
you're not allowed to ask imms to do - change your stats, reveal them
[before you can see them], or load items or mobs for you. But the last
piece stating, "to confer any other unfair advantage" covers a whole host
of other things - when a mob or item will repop, when a quest will reset,
directions to get someplace, what the formulas are behind skills and spells,
getting you experience or equipment, and many, many more.

So great, if we can't get you levels and we can't get you out of this
stupid maze area that you've been stuck in for hours and we can't tell
you what step to do next in this idiotic quest and we can't tank or heal
OR hit for you, then what good are we, right? For some people, that is
actually nearly true.

For the rest of you, though, there are still plenty of things an imm can
help you with.

We can help you come up with description or string ideas, sometimes even
register the description or do the string, or determine what item your
string is sitting on. We're here to get you out of those no-exit rooms
you sometimes get dumped in in the middle of quests and stuck in when the
acts aren't working quite right. We're here to help you get married, move
your furniture when you buy a new home, or help resolve administrative
problems. We're here to help you understand the rules.

And, just like many other people dealing with people, some imms help on a
more personal level and lend an ear when you need it or chit-chat to help
combat boredom.

This doesn't cover all of them, but it hopefully gives some of you a
better idea of what imms are allowed to help you with and what we're not.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  _______   ____    _______
 /  ___  \ / __ \  /  ___  \  Logs of Q&A sessions are available on the
 | /   \ | \ \/ /  | /   \ |  web pages for those who are unable to attend
 | |   | |  \  /   | \___/ |  or had to leave early. The most recent ones
 | |   | |  /  \/\ |  ___  |  are listed on the sitemap page or you can
 | | /\| | / /\  / | /   \ |  get a complete list on the Q&A index page
 | \_\ \ | \ \/  \ | \   / |  at the url below.
  \___\/_/  \__/\/ \_/   \_|

     http://www.legendmud.org/Community/lectures/QandA/QA_index.html

                              RECENT TOPICS

 o Changes for Surgery?              o Why is Perc Required to Fight?
 o Mobs Hit When Not in the Room?    o London Expansion?
 o Gunman Specialist is Impossible   o Bug with Object Damage and AC?
 o Unfair Mob Stats vs Balance?      o Illusions & Subjective Game Play
 o Bug with the Roses Again?         o General Suggestions/Questions

___                                                                    ___
\  |------------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|      LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World   |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'

              Myrella has reached 200 million experience!
   
              =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                              Splendiforous

Ok soon I will be running another literary salon game, for those who
don't remember basically it's a game where you bring along a poem, or
song, or scene from a play or movie and you act it out as best you can
using socials, moods, emotes, skills, props or anything else you can
within LegendMUD's codebase.

At this point, the theme will most likely be penny arcade, so anything
that was around during the black and white silent film era, or something
that has the same kind of style, I realise silent film restricts a bit
much so I'm open to close approximations.

The grand prize is a multicolor coupon, second prize is a singlecolor
coupon, and the boobie prize is a badge of courage and honor. If anyone
has a noncolor they can donate for third I'd be very appreciative and much
thanks to Sarevok and Nietzsche who donated the other prizes.

So start planning now! Fixed details will be announced soon!

love,
Professor Herbert.
   
              =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                             CORRECTION

We received the following slip of paper with the following anonymous note
hastily written on it:

     A couple of years ago, Sterling hit it 5 prize machine jackpots
     in a row. I do believe this beats the number given in the LT
     this week. There was even a rather big deal made about it by
     those that stood in the room with him when he kept hitting it.

Apologies to Sterling for forgetting that event!

     ___                                                          ___
     \  |--------------------------------------------------------|  /
     /__|                      Clan News                         |__\
        '--------------------------------------------------------'

               The Hanseatic League Clan was disbanded
            on Monday, June 9th, 2003, for low membership.

              =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

There are currently 21 RP clans and 2 PK clan. This leaves open slots
for nine (9) more clans to form. For more information, read HELP CLAN and
see the clan information list via the CLANS command while logged into the
game. For a basic handbook and reference guide for players interested in
starting and running a clan, we recommend that before you even type FORM,
you visit: http://www.legendmud.org/Reference/gm.html.

     ___                                                          ___
     \  |--------------------------------------------------------|  /
     /__|                    The PK Front                        |__\
        '--------------------------------------------------------'

                     Notice to All PKE Pkillers

THE HORDE, a clan soon to come needs your support. If you are an advid
pkiller or looking to just get involved in PKE for the first time, THE
HORDE may be the clan for you. A semi-evil clan hell bent on laying waste
to any and all clans that dwell on Legend. Grendels, Wardens, BAH!!!!
It's time for another clan to step up and show what their made of. So
drop me a note or send me a tell if you are interested in joining a clan
such as THE HORDE!

And if you go pke and don't want to join THE HORDE, then let this be my
warning to you. Once we are up in running, no crook or cranny will be
safe from THE HORDE!!!!!!

Mwuahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!

Cheap

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The PKE clans, The Wardens of the King and the Grendels, both have an
equal number of members now. The Wardens fielded two more members than
the Grendels this week to maintain their spot as clan with the most
active pkillers. The Infernals and the Knights of Legend followed behind
the Grendels each with a trio of members active in pkill this past week,
while The Necromancers and the Institute of Healing Arts each had a pair
of reporesentatives out in the field. The Society of Allies, Seven
Circles, IRA and Clan Smashum each had one member who had been active in
pkill last week.

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

In the past week there were 65 pk-related deaths involving 40 different
characters. Of those 40 characters, 13 of them were accept all and 16 of
them were PKE at the time. There were 33 pke vs pke battles that ended in
death. There are 36 PKE characters total. So come on, let's get YOUR name
up in lights! We can't report on it if you don't tell us about it!

If you witnessed or commit any glorious or nefarious deeds, send a short
report to us at the LT. If you are looking for a fight, recruiting, or
anything else related to PK (not necessarily PK Clan related), send it
in! It's free AND you'll get a prize token! Be a celebrity, the envy of
all your friends! Tick off your enemies or just tell your side of the
story! The possibilities are endless -- act today!!
 
              _______________________
             /                       \
        o O | Wonder what folks are   |
  `\|||/    | doing over at LegendMUD?|
   (o o)     \_______________________/
ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|___
__|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|

           Power through Loss...Chapter 1, Section 3: By Enhander

I lived with Joe and Kimberly for several years. In that time, I tended
to their crops, farmed the land, and took care of the animals. But
tragedy struck when Joe became ill with a sickness that was common to
human kind, they called it Cancer. When Joe passed away there was a small
funeral on the mountainside. I've never actually felt loss, it was more
of a paradox that was left in my, leaving my mind to ask the question,
"Why?" I had grown attached to Joe and Kim, and for the first time since
my family was murdered, I felt real loss. Human lives are so frail and
short, it makes me wonder how this planet survived for so long.

A year after Joe's passing, Kim feel ill to the cancer also. I didn't
understand what was happening at the time, but now I do. Kim's passing
was harder for me to take; she was like a mother to me. I stayed at the
farm for some time afterwards. It was there that I felt the first real
power of a Saiyan. I was outside training as I normally did, when I felt
a sudden urge of energy. Joe and Kim were on my mind, and I was grieving
their passing terribly, when suddenly I let out burst of power. The
ground beneath me began to shake violently, as did the mountainside.
Could this have been the actual Super Saiyan myth that my forefathers
told me about? The surge did not last long however, seconds later I fell
to the ground, completely out of power. However, I knew that I had
awakened something inside of me that was waiting to be unleashed, the
true power of a Saiyan.

Hours later I awoke, drowsy and weak. It was raining, as it did often,
and there was a cool breeze in the air. I slowly dragged myself inside
and fell into my bed. I soon drifted back into slumber and had a dream
that would answer some of the questions floating around in my head.

I was running down a long plain stretch. My people were fighting the
enemy that was opposing us. I looked up to find none other than Freiza. I
began to fly up to him when I felt a pain in the back of my head. The
last thing I saw was a large beam flying down toward the planet, and then
darkness.

I jolted up from the bed in a panic. For a moment I didn't know where I
was at. I waited there for a moment to regain composure. I sat there and
thought about what I should do. I was 20 now, and had no knowledge of
this planets history, I didn't know if I should blend in with modern
society or stay secluded in this mountain.

My decision would ultimately be the cause of my power, but also the cause
of my greatest loss.

                          To Be Continued...
                          End of Chapter 1
                    Next Chapter: The Saiyan Pride

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                       Fire and Dreams, Part II

The flickering image of the fire faded slowly from her mind as if she
were being pulled farther from the hearth, the blurred image of the
flames slowly dimming. She tried to clear her mind by shaking her head
but it felt extremely difficult to move. When she was finally able to
move again she opened her eyes and was startled to find that she was no
longer in her comfortable cottage, but outside a village, on a
well-traveled road.

She heard metal clanging against metal, and smelled a forge that had been
heated to melt metal for shaping. She looked around and saw a sign that
read, 'Weaponsmithing and repair,' and another that read 'Baked goods,'
and still another that read, 'Roasted to perfection, bring your own
filets.' She chuckled as she thought about how one would roast food at a
blacksmith's shop. She decided that she needed to step inside and see
this unique shop.

She took only a few steps and it seemed that she was standing right in
front of the door, 'Strange,' she thought, 'I thought I was farther
away... I must still be feeling the wine.'

She opened the door to the shop and was, again, amazed, first at how
clean things appeared, even around the forge, and then at the smith
himself. He was extremely large, his muscular back rippling with each
strike of the massive hammer on the red hot rods of iron.

She watched for a time, and then turned and walked to the far corner and
noticed fish, freshly roasted, lying on plates on the counter. There was
cod, herring, shad, striped bass, pike, and her favorite, salmon. She
licked her lips and realized that she was hungry. She cleared her throat
to get the smith's attention as he had finished his sword and was putting
it near the sharpening stone to cool more.

He turned around and she gasped and took a step back....

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