At the Heart of it All

Over the last couple of weeks I've been working on levelling another vampire named Viltrow. I finished it off tonight and was disappointed with the final base of 754 hp's. I did enjoy going back over some of the low level areas I never spend much time in, in particular Along the Forest Path. This area I hadn't been to in years - from memory the last time I did anything in that area was over 10 years ago when I was questing to join the Guild of Vampires and needed to get The Heart of the Forest.

This area has a few mini-quests in it. The first one starts at Theggory the knight:

A small ford
Exits: east southwest
A small creek winds spreads out through large rocks creating a small ford.
A large destrier paws the ground.
A tall man, clad in heraldic branded armor imposes his presence here.
Theggory the knight bows from the saddle.
Theggory the knight says 'Greeting my Lord.'
Theggory the knight wonders 'I am upon a great quest, mayhaps you could provide assistance?'

> say yes
You say 'yes'
Theggory the knight wonders 'Great!  Thank you for the aid in my quest.  Where may I find my groupmate Acwellan?'

> say a small camp
You say 'a small camp'
Theggory says to you 'I need further help from you, Viltrow. My group split up to try to find a cure for our ranger, Landue. He was bitten by a creature from a distant plane of existance. Normal cures here don't have any affect on the poisons that he is suffering from. I was contacted by a witch named Meadhbh. She told me she could help. I was to meet her in a village called Newfane to find out about an antivenom for my friend.
Alas, I can not go to find her, now. My friend Acwellan is in danger and I must go to him. Please go to find Meadhbh, the witch in Newfane. She travels to our plane of  existance through the Machine Dreams. Will you help Landue?
Please say "yes" if you will help him.

I got stuck on this mini-quest. I ended up sitting around in Newfane without coming across the witch. With the low level areas you can easily just level up past the limits for the quests. A more interesting quest was the one from Theggory's friend Acwellan the druid:

> say Theggory
You say 'Theggory'
Acwellan the druid says 'Yes, I sent out a message for aid to help me, help this forest.'
Acwellan the druid wonders 'All is not as healthy as it seems.  Could you help?'

> say yes
You say 'yes'
Acwellan the druid says 'The forest, and Nature herself thanks you.   The guardian of these'
Acwellan the druid says 'woods, a dryad has been driven from her tree.  She has since sought'
Acwellan the druid says 'refuge somewhere in the forest.  The problem is that she left the'
Acwellan the druid says 'symbol of her guardianship in her old home.  She needs to be found'
Acwellan the druid says 'and the symbol returned to her for the forest to regain its full'
Acwellan the druid says 'health. Call her by her name - Semlina - to summon her from her tree.'
Acwellan the druid says 'Then tell her you wish to help.'

 After exploring around the area I found the room that the druid was talking about:

A small glade
The simplicity of this glade exudes an almost magical aura of peace
and harmony, even your most aggressive urges are suppressed in this
place.   The vegetation seems to be in the epitome of life and vitality.
Exits: east west

> say semlina
You say 'semlina'
A thin and pale forest spirit steps from the center of the tree

> say help
You say 'help'
The dryad says 'Thank you mighty Adventurer.  The hope of this forest may rest in your'
The dryad says 'hands.  I have been driven from my tree by a group of foul and destructive'
The dryad says 'people.  Because I am the guardian of these woods I was able to shelter'
The dryad says 'here in a child of my own tree.   While the loss of the hurts me most'
The dryad says 'direly, it is the loss of the Heart of the Forest that matters more.'
The dryad says 'I need you to recover the Heart for in my weakened state I can only leave'
The dryad says 'this tree here for extremely short amounts of time.'
The dryad wonders 'Will you please help me?'

> say yes
You say 'yes'
The dryad says 'Oh thank you for your generous offer of aid.  The tree is the huge tree to'
The dryad says 'the east. I know that the vile ones have sheltered under the roots in my'
The dryad says 'precious tree.  Look for a secret door of bones in the pit at the trees base.'
The dryad says 'Once you are in the lair you need to make your way one of the rooms at the'
The dryad says 'end of the complex.  I know that the one of the band has a hidden room.  '
The dryad says 'In that room there is a secret unknown to the despoiler.  Open the branch'
The dryad says 'of roots to discover where the heart itself sits.  Then simply return the'
The dryad says 'Heart to me.'
The dryad Looks at you hopefully before fading slowly back into her adopted tree.

The Heart would be impossible to find without the information from Semlina that the keyword to open the secret door is "branch". The heart itself is rather uninteresting:

> exam heart
You take a closer look at The Heart of the Forest in inventory...
This almost appears to be only a very large and highly polished knot of wood. Then it moves slightly. It pulses as if it has some magical connection.  You can feel a slight buzz in your hand from holding it.

> c id heart
Object 'The Heart of the Forest' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 1 trash, weight 1.
Special properties:  none
This trash has a gold value of 0.

The reward for handing in the heart is getting Semlina to cast blessing of Thoric on you. It felt a little underwhelming at first to just have a spell cast upon you but then I realised just how handy this spell is. It increases all of your stats by 3 and is automatically cast on you by the mysterious robed figure when a character below level 10 enters the Halls of Knowledge. However, what is special about getting Semlina to cast this spell is that she can do it for characters up to level 25. And sometimes a few extra stats while getting a couple more levels before upgrading some equipment is all you need.

Avatarhood and The Window

I finished levelling my drow warrior a couple of days ago:

Your slash cuts a templar!
You have now obtained experience level 50!
You suddenly feel a strange surge of power flow through your veins!

You have mastered yourself as far as mortally possible, and now
see immortality within your grasp...

Along with your new position you receive a new channel, to use this
channel type ': <message>' or 'imm <message>'.
These new commands/abilities are now available to you:

New Commands: Avtalk

New Abilities: Don't lose experience on death
               No longer see hunger or thirst messages

SEE ALSO: help avtalk

Your gain is: 15/1222 hp, 0/342 mana, 10/655 mv 3/97 prac.

I realised that this was the first character I had actually had reach level 50 in 2014. My levelling rate really has slowed down this year. The drow ended up with a base of 872 hit points - pretty average for a warrior. Overall I found the drow quite easy to level.

After reaching level 50 one of my aims with this warrior is to figure out where the new garments of the Ilythiiri set comes from. To do this I had no idea where to begin as there are so few clues as to where to begin. The best place to begin with as for finding hints is in Vast Horizons in particular the board in Ceirana's Window to the World:

This noteboard is interesting in that can only be reached by teleporting has several hints from the immortals to puzzles around the Realms of Despair. I didn't find any clues on the new sets but I did find the following notes interesting:

[195] Gonnil: Rumors
Sun Oct 20 07:39:18 2013
To: All
They say that the clover Starre seeks grows best upon a large mountain in
Camelot, and that a warm breeze in the right location may be a clue toward
finding it.

They say Jimmy doesn't actually have anything hidden among his shop items.

And even older notes such as:

 [ 89] Gonnil: A Hint
Fri May 28 21:43:47 2010
To: Explorers
It is actually possible to do something at the altar in the Lair of Dread.
But it requires having another object...

And I'm still sad nobody has killed the black pudding.

And:

[141] Gonnil: Rumors
Sun Sep 11 19:08:57 2011
To: All
Seems as though a few of the infamous Cubes of Wonders are still held in the
clutches of certain denizens of the Realms...

For one of them, the carrier lies waiting in the water.

For one of them, the carrier is surrounded by a cloud of acidic vapour. 

I was a little disappointed that there were no clues as to the new sets but maybe Gonnil will feel generous sometime soon with the clues. In the meantime I guess I'm just going to have to finish getting the warrior dressed and then start killing anything and everything I can in the hopes of a pop.

Calm Your Farm and More...

I've been slow on the updates lately. I haven't done any one major thing in the Realms of Despair of late but several little things so this post will be a bunch of snippets of things that are happening.

Levelling and McFarming
The little drow warrior I posted about levelling earlier is ticking along nicely and got up to level 45 quite quickly. I slowed down a bit as I wanted to use him to explore a couple of lower level areas, one of which is MacMillan Family Farm. This area has puzzles and some nice equipment only accessible to characters under level 45. The first puzzle I came across was with the well. This one has similarities to spaces in the Barren Wastes in particular around the horned beast you need to kill for the facestompers. Here's what I've figured out:

Fork in the Road
The roadway comes to an intersection here, splitting around a simple well that supplies the farm with water. The chalky pebbled path leads off to the northwest, where a pair of large wooden barns can be seen. To the northeast a dirt road continues off towards a small farmhouse, and more orchards. To the north, large canyons can faintly be seen in the distance, making passage into the mountain near impossible from the farm.
Exits: south northeast northwest
An old stone well is here, shaded by a small cedar roof.

> exam well
You take a closer look at an old, stone well on the ground...
Created ages ago, this well is constructed from very large river rocks, plucked from the canyon beds below, held together with mortar. Once clean and polished, it is now all but covered with a thick green moss. The well is capped with a cedar roof, resting a few feet above the opening. The roof is supported by two large spruce posts, attached to the peaks of both sides. This well has supplied the farm with fresh water since its inception. There is a rope tied to one of the spruce posts, it trails off and coils into the grass behind the well.

> drop rope well
You grab the coil of rope and let it down to the darkness of the well below.

> climb down rope
You carefully climb over the well's ledge, and climb the rope down into the darkness below.

Deep Within the Well
Not very much is visible from the few strands of dust-filled light that filter down from the well entrance high up above. The smooth block walls spiral down to meet the shin high water of this underground river well beneath the earth's surface. Small ripples form around the few small slippery rocks that crest the surface of the otherwise calm water. The remains of the well's bucket can be seen strewn about just beneath the water's surface, torn into many pieces by some unknown force.
Exits: none

> exam rocks
Four larger rocks crest the waters surface, creating tiny islands. Many smaller rocks and pebbles blanket the spaces between the main four. Three of the larger rocks look quite secured, but one of them looks as though you could look under it.

> look under rock
As you go to look under the rock, an armored baloth jumps out at you, snapping!

Again leave no stone unturned. The fight against the armored baloth is on the tough side for a character under level 45 but when killed it has a chance of popping a piece of a better item.


Questing for Glory
I was lucky enough to be on when an immortal ran quest was on. This one involved finding snow shovels to help a stuck buffalo free. I found my first one on the Valley of the Elves as follows:

A Trail Less Travelled
Exits: down northeast southeast
A deluxe snow shovel lies here.
An antelope is here, peacefully munching on grass.

An antelope leaves southeast.

>g shovel
You get a deluxe snow shovel.

>c id shovel
Object 'a deluxe snow shovel found by Jessyl' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 51 treasure, weight 1.
Special properties:  none
This treasure has a gold value of 0.

>exam shovel
You take a closer look at a deluxe snow shovel found by Jessyl in inventory...
You see nothing special.

>Darkhaven Square
You are standing within the expanse of the famous Darkhaven Square. An immense stone statue of Duke Luther sits in the center of the square, surrounded by fountains of shimmering crystal water.  Gardens and shrubbery enhance the air of serenity and peace here in the center of the great city. A plaque set into the base of the fountain attracts your eye.  Cobblestone roads lead away in the four cardinal directions, while to the northeast
and northwest are forested paths.  The cathedral spires of Notre Dame de Sioux rise with majesty above the treetops to the northwest.
Exits: north east south west up northeast northwest
A large sundial lies here, useless during the night hours.
Torrents of flame flow a river of fire through the night sky above the square.
Stone fountains containing crystal clear water surround the Duke's statue.
(Fade) An enormous pile of snow seems to be slowly moving.
A snow covered buffalo is shrouded in flowing shadow and light.
(Hide) (Translucent) Rentuke StarSword-Belforte is hovering here.
(Hide) Lareawan Dawnbreaker is the voice inside your head [NC-ON] is hovering here.
Only a deluxe snow shovel will help dig out the snow.

>give shovel buffalo
You give a deluxe snow shovel found by Jessyl to a snow covered buffalo.
A snow covered buffalo thanks you heartily.

I went on to then find two more shovels in The Mire, one in Ocean Keep and another in the Desert of Despair. With 2 glory per shovel the prize 'm now only 7 glory short of an extra damage roll.


Barbarian Adventures
A couple of fellow members of Arcanes have recently finished levelling barbarians and needed to get the dressed up so I've helped people kill a couple of mobs with barbarian items. The first was the yeti - this mob is frustrating with it's low pop rates and the timing needed to kill it so you have a chance of getting a claw.

After this we've also been killing the enormous manticore. This mob has been strange in that it does not appear every reboot and I'm not even sure what area it is officially in as when you use the where command in his room it gives you a message about not knowing where you are. In the end we had few problems killing the manticore. Of all the barbarian equipment mobs this is the easiest where the good old choke, flee, quit, relog, repeat... method works well. End result being:

You choke the life out of an enormous manticore as he struggles to break your grasp!
You injure an enormous manticore!
An enormous manticore is DEAD!!
You lose your death-grip on your victim's neck.
An enormous manticore lets out a horrendous cry that rises high into the air before disappating. A portion of an enormous manticore's head is ripped off as it falls to the ground. An enormous manticore catches his guts in his hands as they pour through his fatal wound!
You get 1054000 gold coins from the corpse of an enormous manticore.
The corpse of an enormous manticore holds:
     the horned helm of the plains wanderer

Underworld Grinding
All this week I've been setting myself up in The Underworld grinding away at making some Maniacal Tendencies. The strategy for this is simple - kill Eylops with a warrior using non-magic weapons and an immobilizing mage immobilizing away. Once down grab the keys, switch the warrior to wielding a Nasr and then have the warrior/mage team kill Rage and Fury and fingers crossed pop an essence off each. Repeating this for a week I managed to pop 8 of each. Connecting these and then sacrificing them using an augurer with 22 luck resulted in the following 7 times:

>g rage birch; g fury birch; connect rage fury; drop unfettered;sac unf
You get the essence of rage from a small birch chest.

You get the essence of fury from a small birch chest.

You cobble the pieces together...
 ...suddenly they snap into place, creating Unfettered Delirium!

You drop Unfettered Delirium.

A'enari gives you one gold coin for your sacrifice of Unfettered Delirium.

On the 6th attempt out of 8 however...

>g rage birch; g fury birch; connect rage fury; drop unfettered;sac unf
You get the essence of rage from a small birch chest.

You get the essence of fury from a small birch chest.

You cobble the pieces together...
 ...suddenly they snap into place, creating Unfettered Delirium!

You drop Unfettered Delirium.

A'enari gives you one gold coin for your sacrifice of Unfettered Delirium.
Strange sounds rise up from the ground echoing in a chorus of insane laughter. A twirling mist forms about the ground, bringing an immediate chill to the air. As you look down you spy a strange looking helmet which has appeared by arcane means.
You get Maniacal Tendencies.

I'm hoping to continue grinding away for another week or two in the hopes of making three Maniacal   Tendencies - one for my drow warrior, one to use a prize for an Arcanes quest and one to sell/trade for other items.

More Reading
I've also been reading a couple of blogs by other players. Firstly Graham's blog at http://gsbarcanes.blogspot.com. Its still kind of new but it shows a different point of view of happenings around the Realms.

Secondly Syldir's Corner of Despair at http://realmsofdespair.info/blogs/Syldir/. A very different blog to mine and well worth checking out.

Skulking About

I've been finding it difficult to find enough time to do what I'd like in the Reals of Despair lately. I started a major project in real life 8 weeks ago. It was meant to be for 3 weeks however it keeps being extended. Hopefully though it is nearly complete.

Recently there have been a couple of major updates to the Realms of Despair including the new area The Wilds and the introduction of two new racial equipment sets. I've been wanting to have a good look for the drow but found trying to kill random mobs on my only avatar drow character - a mediocrely dressed nephandi was more trouble than it was worth. My solution to this problem was to make a new drow and decided to go for a warrior since they are easy to level and decent for killing things solo at level 50.

My first problem with levelling the warrior though was that I was low on a lot of low level equipment in particular items from the Sentinel and Gauntlet areas. These two areas have lots of great items on them especially for getting your damage roll up. The problem with the Gauntlet area is you need a sentinel item to unlock the door to the area ever since years ago they made it impossible to use the portal spell to create a doorway to the area. The problem with sentinel items are they tend to be like pens for me in real life - I'm always lending them out to people, never getting them back and then can't find one when I personally need it.

To get a sentinel one must get it off the Skulk.

Talking to Papa Kurst at the start of the area tells you a little about his story:

Kusnir
This part of the village is the square, onto which the small collection of two storey whitewashed buildings face. Visible from here are such structures as a temple, an inn and several small shops, though none of them appear to contain much of interest to an adventurer. Netmakers, boatbuilders and fisherman congregate nearby, all profiting from the bustling trade made possible by the fish-rich waters of Lake Spendlowe, which lies to the southwest; its waters are visible from here. Several villagers stop and stare at you, curious at your strange attire and foreign ways. Many of the smaller settlements of the Realms are rather parochial, and it seems that Kusnir is no different. A busy inn lies to
the north; doubtless you will find sustenance and perhaps information in this place.
Exits: north east west
A grizzled old man stares in concern at the walls of the inn.
Papa Kurst says 'Greetings, fair adventurer, and welcome to Kusnir.'
Papa Kurst says 'I wish I could welcome you under more pleasant '
Papa Kurst says 'circumstances, but our little village is in dire peril.'
Papa Kurst frowns.
Papa Kurst says 'Kusnir has recently become the hunting ground of a beast,'
Papa Kurst says 'we presume it to be a Skulk, which slips in during the'
Papa Kurst says 'night and slays the weak and elderly. Normally we would'
Papa Kurst says 'have the means to deal with such a threat, but this being'
Papa Kurst says 'has proved to be... Unusual. Tell me yes, if you'd hear more.'
Papa Kurst raises an eyebrow expectantly, awaiting your reply.

> tell kurst yes
You tell Papa Kurst 'yes'
The grizzled old man says to you 'The skulk has the village living in fear.'

The tricky part with the Skulk is he hides away right at the end of the area and only characters below level 20 can travel through the Sentinel area. Killing some of the mobs requires magic weapons and on a drow they can quickly mess up your alignment too far towards the good side of the alignment spectrum. Add on that once you do get to the Skulk's lair there is a good chance he won't be there since he appears once per reboot at a random time. If you are lucky though and he is there then you need to say the right words...

The Skulk's Lair
This plain rocky chamber is unremarkable in appearance and content; what is remarkable is the nature of the beast that inhabits it. Namely, a Skulk. The same red writing you saw in the village covers the walls here, with little variation (Skulks aren't very bright, it would appear some force has possessed the foul beast and caused it to scribble such graffiti). The question is, what is the riddle behind the whole mystery you have thus far
uncovered? Perhaps the Skulk will know.
Exits: west
(Hide) A thin white creature huddles near the wall.
As you approach the Skulk, a voice speaks inside your head.
The Sentinel tells you 'At last you have found me! Pray, take me'
The Sentinel tells you 'from the hand of this vile creature, and'
The Sentinel tells you 'place me on your own. There is an evil force'
The Sentinel tells you 'at work in the world, and I need you to take'
The Sentinel tells you 'me and wield my power for the common good. I'
The Sentinel tells you 'would ask that you spare the Skulk, for it'
The Sentinel tells you 'has borne me well, despite its evil nature.'
The skulk looks at you imploringly, proffering the Sentinel. What say you?
The Sentinel tells you 'Will you take me? Speak thus if so!'

> say i will take you
You say 'i will take you'
The skulk smiles happily.
A tear rolls down the creature's cheek.
The skulk stops using The Sentinel.
Someone exclaims 'No! We have so much more to do! Please, skulk, wear me!'
The skulk thinks, 'Hmmmm.'
The skulk gives you The Sentinel.
The Sentinel yells 'Hark, Gauntlet of Evil, I come for thee!'
With this final gesture, the Skulk slips outside into the darkness.
 

And with this you are now set to adventure into the Sentinel. After a couple of trips around the Gauntlet I managed to get my drow warrior up to level 24 and had it dressed as follows:

You are using:
<used as light>      black depravity
<worn on finger>     a gold ring
<worn on finger>     a gold ring set with jade
<worn around neck>   a spiked collar
<worn around neck>   a spiked collar
<worn on body>       (Glowing) white scale mail
<worn on head>       an iron nasal helm
<worn on legs>       leggings of dark dragonscale
<worn on feet>       a pair of dancing slippers
<worn on hands>      (Humming) The Gauntlet
<worn on arms>       quilted leather sleeves
<worn about body>    the Duke's robes
<worn about waist>   (Humming) a belt of sharp spikes
<worn around wrist>  a lion-crested bracer
<worn around wrist>  a lion-crested bracer
<wielded>            a silvery longsword with black runes
<dual wielded>       a silvery longsword with black runes
<worn on ears>       the earrings of Solace
<worn on eyes>       visor of enlightenment
<worn on back>       [nothing]
<worn over face>     [nothing]
<worn around ankle>  [nothing]
<worn around ankle>  [nothing]

With this set up my warrior has 56 damage roll - enough to race through the following levels and hopefully up to level 50 soon enough. And hopefully soon I'll have enough time to do more on the game I'd like and less skulking around myself.

 

Bonus Weekend

This weekend I logged on to not one but two exciting events in the Realms of Despair. The first was a change to the announcement of the day to:

The second exciting event was the following questnews:

 

I didn't waste anytime with the summer breeze quest, logged on my ranger and started running around all over the place to find them. My first success was in Transylvania as follows:

A Trail In The Eastern Forest
As you push through the dense forest growth, you notice blood stains cover almost all of the forest floor.  The silence is ominous, and you wish for the peacefulness of more familiar territory.  You may travel north or south along the trail, or head west towards a lighter area of the forest.
Exits: north south west
A summer breeze drifts through the air.
A little brown bunny rabbit nestles into the greenery.

>g summer
You get a summer breeze.

>c id summer
Object 'a summer breeze found by Jessyl' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 51 treasure, weight 1.
Special properties:  none
This treasure has a gold value of 0.

I continued questing after this and found another four summer breezes between Northern Plains, Dunhill and a couple of other places. In the end I found my fifth summer breeze and handed in 5 minutes before the end of the quest:

Darkhaven General Assembly
This vast room--the largest in the whole building--was designed for meetings of massive segments of the population. Rows upon rows of blue-padded benches line the walls like bleachers, and a small stage rises above the floor at the south end of the giant room, lit by gigantic torches. The floor of the room is tiled  in glimmering silver-veined marble, and the walls are draped in luxurious gold velvet. Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling like icy stalactites. Despite the ample seating, there is still plenty of room to walk, and grand balls have been held here in the past.
Exits: north
(Ascendant Goddess) (Red Aura) Destre is shrouded in a demonic aura. [Sanc]

Destre smiles happily.

>ngree
You nod in greeting to everyone present.

Destre says 'all set :>'

>give summer dest
You give a summer breeze found by Jessyl to Destre.

Your glory has been increased by 10.

>tail
You wag your tail. Feeling happy?

Destre cheers you on like it's going out of style.

>say Thanks for the quest
You say 'Thanks for the quest'

Destre says 'welcome :>'

After this it was time to get into the levelling spirit. I started myself a new druid after losing the password to my old one and with the double experience I got it levelled up fast. One thing I found exciting was while levelling the druid I came across a low level quest I had never seen before:

 > The Darkhaven Bakery
Upon entering the Darkhaven Bakery, you find yourself surrounded by citizens of the marvelous city, each waiting in line for their daily bread.  Gazing eastward, you see a farmer's shop which sells all forms of dairy products.
A butcher's shop also lies to the west, while an opening in the tent to the south leads back out onto Market Street.
There is a small sign here.
Exits: east south west
An important looking scroll hangs from a wooden board.
Nimmith, Darkhaven's famed baker, is here.
Nimmith Looks you over.
Nimmith says to you 'Yes, you will do.'
Nimmith claps you rather roughly on your back.
Nimmith grumbles.
Nimmith goes on 'My usual shipment of flour from the Shire is three days late and I am running low. There will be some unhappy customers if I dont have their bread ready when they come in. I suspect marauders in the Forest of Tears. Go to the mill there. And hurry! I must have that flour.'
Nimmith rolls up his sleeves and starts kneading dough.

 This led to a short trip to The Shire for the following:

Bywater Road
You stand on Bywater Road, the busiest street in all of Shiredom.  The road
continues to the east and west.  A large, imposing building lies to the south.
You catch a glimpse of the Brandywine River to the north.
Exits: [north] east south west
The Miller is here, overseeing his busy mill workers.
'You're from Nimmith. I can tell by the flour dust all over you. No respect for personal space is all I'll say on the matter.'
The Miller chuckles politely.
'I knew that he would send someone when we were late. 
A wolf got my last delivery boy and I havent hired another yet. '
The Miller snaps his fingers and a millworker appears with a sack of flour.
The millworker gives the sack to the Miller.
The Miller gives you a sack of flour.
'Hurry now. Nimmith relies on these shipments.'

The flour was then returned to Nimmith for the following result:

The Darkhaven Bakery
Upon entering the Darkhaven Bakery, you find yourself surrounded by citizens of the marvelous city, each waiting in line for their daily bread.  Gazing eastward, you see a farmer's shop which sells all forms of dairy products.
A butcher's shop also lies to the west, while an opening in the tent to the south leads back out onto Market Street.
There is a small sign here.
Exits: east south west
An important looking scroll hangs from a wooden board.
Nimmith, Darkhaven's famed baker, is here.
Nimmith says to you 'Varlok, did I mention that the Western Trade Route would be the best way to go? Did you find the Shire?
If you have my flour, please give it to me.'

Nimmith says 'The Shire better bring that next flour shipment soon...'

> give flour nimmith
You give a sack of flour to Nimmith.
Nimmith claps you rather roughly on your back.
Nimmith exclaims 'Well done and just in time, Varlok! My thanks!'
Nimmith gives you 100,000 coins.

It is amazing the little quests scattered through the game you can easily pass over.

I thought it was great idea for the immortals to test the double experience out. It has been well thought out and advertised on the twitter account:

The proof of the success of this initiative will be when the mudstats site updates its numbers. I can't wait to see what new initiative the immortals have lined up next...

Levelling

I haven't posted on here for a few months due to not actually being on Realms of Despair lately. This has been due to the usual business of reality and frustratingly when I have had the time to play the game has had problems with its server. This is quite unusual in the history of the game as over the last 20 years there has rarely been as much downtime as of late. Thankfully the busy immortals of the realms have restored the sever.

In the mean time when I have been on I've been working on levelling a new thief. I already have 2 level 50 thieves - one a neutral aligned half-troll and the other a neutral aligned pixie. Thieves are handy classes that can do damage and dodge hits well. The aim of the new thief though is to have a devout dwarf since I have gained some decent devout thief equipment I can't use.

Overall I have levelled about 30 characters up to level 50. One of the most commonly asked questions by new players (and experienced players) is "Where is a good place to level?" This all depends on how well equipped you are, what you are levelling and what characters do you have to back up with. I level with a devout cleric and a path of balance mage nearby to do heals, spell ups and to immobilize the necessary mobs. Before I had these characters it could still be done with a lot more purple potions from New Darkhaven. My personal favourite areas to level in are:

1 - 5: Academy
5 - 15: Shattered Refuge, Land of the Fire Newts
15 - 25: Darkhaven Art Gallery, Coral Depths
25 - 35: Tower of Enlightenment
35 - 45: Revelation City, Tree of Life, Cursed Lands
45 - 50: Kings Castle

I often level my characters with an evil alignment though not many other people do this. I still find it easy enough to equip them evilly. Others also often use other areas but the above are usually empty so as to make it less competitive.