A Deadly Wedding

Today was always going to be a day when I didn't get much actual playing done, at least until late afternoon, but I did at least manage to log RedRackham and CaptainScarlet in before breakfast. However, when Red tried to get the Animal Trainer in Randol to let his horse learn another level of its armour increase buff, the usual window didn't pop up - and, at eight o'clock, UK time, he disconnected, followed a few seconds later by CaptainScarlet.

However, after the inevitable first "the account is already logged in" attempt, both knights were soon back online and, once that 29th level of armour increase had been learnt, they both headed for Maargadum Jail on Auzura-4. It was obvious from the way the monsters tended to be at the far end of rooms that somebody else had entered just a few seconds earlier than Red and Cap - and it turned out to be another pet-levelling knight.

Cleverly, as he didn't have a red name, and thus would hit harder, he had taken the first death mask soldier, three levels higher than a lancer and thus a bit stronger, and was fighting it over by the side wall, so CaptainScarlet took the usual death mask lancer, and RedRackham moved along to the second one, a little further in and on the right. I did have slight misgivings about CaptainScarlet's position, as if the other knight left, the death mask soldier, an aggressive type, could wander back onto Cap... but I assumed he'd be there for a while.

When I checked after breakfast, with a view to moving Cap and his lancer past him further along the side, the other knight had left, and the soldier was indeed attacking CaptainScarlet, though luckily it hadn't fixed its attentions on the drake. So, Cap equipped his sword and killed it, and then moved, with his lancer, around close to the wall, so that by mid-morning the drake was halfway through level 44.

By the way, it's no coincidence that the two knights both have colourful names - as pet-levellers, to keep the damage they do to their foe down, they are both right at the "evil" end of the good/evil scale, as they've done enough player-killing to get there - though only of other characters of mine! That means they have red names. "Red Rackham" was a pirate who left a hoard of treasure for Tintin to discover, while of course the indestructible Captain Scarlet fights the menace of the Mysterons...and if he dies, is swiftly returned to life. Which of course his namesake is able to do, as well.

About mid-afternoon, Kaerella over on Cariae, my level 100 cleric, was able to log in, and check on the Condition of the Tomb of Theos there - and it was on 100% easy. So my level 110 archer Barbarienne logged in too, they made a party, and in they went. The ancient grey mummies room was free when we got there, but it wasn't long before a night shadow arrived with mobbing ambitions, followed by a mage, Ojejq, who really mobbed to the maximum, pulling the mummies from the corridor too. Still, I wasn't using pots or boosters, so I could afford to just keep going.

The night shadow soon realised he was outmatched, and moved on; and Ojejq didn't, in the end, stay very long, and did have at least the endearing habit of not picking up the gold, so that Kaerella would casually move close to the mage's previous killing spot, and, while fighting a newly-respawned mummy, send SirFrancis to clean the place up. And then, after that, I had the place to myself.

It wasn't a long session, although it did continue after the food break. Kae and Barb logged out at around ten to seven, UK time. By then Kaerella had added 3.23%, and Barbarienne was up by 2.97%; they'd gained 42 skill points each, and SirFrancis had added 4089 pet points, helped along a little by part of the evening's event, a couple of hours of double pet experience. As usual, it was late starting, needing a gamesage to appear in the forum shoutbox to relay the news to the GMs' office that the event hadn't started...sadly, the GMs did remember to switch it off later.

The reason for logging out then was that another wedding of Twisted guildies was scheduled for seven. MistressDomina was still wearing the lower-level armour, with MistressBlaze wearing the good stuff, so MD quickly downloaded her new 30-day "widowmaker" armour cover, to look much as she usually does. She registered for a party, and was picked up by the level 83 rogue SeriaLKilleR, who used Recall to move me direct to a hilltop in Juno, overlooking the pool in which, until the map was rather poorly updated, a fish used to swim. It may swim there still, but that particular spot can no longer be reached.

The wedding itself was handled by the gamesage irene_tas, or, as her characters on the various servers are called in-game, peaceIrene. Things didn't start very promptly, but then, weddings are like that - there was also a delay when the bride had a disconnection at a crucial point. One of the brides, that is - both MzTickle1 and xXMETHXx were in bridal outfits, as they are a healer and a rogue respectively, though Methy did wear a cowboy hat.

Elfnastysfriend was there, though Aszune, who earlier had been asking me about the timing, in the shoutbox, ended up watching the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie instead, she admitted to me later. Three or four members of the castle-owning (and non-Tomb-setting) guild DeadlyRebeLs were there (and I joked later in guild chat how nice it was to see all DR's members who hadn't been banned there), plus Dr.Jirri...and some people from a guild called InNecoVertiaS, friends of the (MzTickle1) bride apparently, who weren't on their best behaviour. When I saw a red name in the middle of the group, as we waited for the ceremony, I assumed that it was a red guild name, denoting the guild owning Merac castle... but someone, probably an InNecoVeritaS member called Crackavelli, had spawned some kind of "dark terra" monster... and it killed SeriaLKilleR. There was also a level 100 purple dragon spawned afterwards, which, with my lower armour, I kept well clear of, attacking from a distance.

Still, the ceremony itself went well, pauses apart. "Congrats to xXMETHXx and MzTickle1!!! May your bond remain strong for all the days to come!!" That was the general announcement; official in-game weddings do get something like that, as part of the arrangement. peaceIrene dropped some cake, and while trying not to appear too greedy MistressDomina did pick up a few pieces, and a candy or two as well... I didn't stay around too long afterwards, in case anything else potentially lethal got spawned.

CaptainScarlet had started some pet-levelling on Auzura-6 while the wedding was in progress; once MD had logged out, SirGalahad, my level 23 knight, logged in, got his Elizabeth's Enhancement buff, partied up with Cap, and headed for Prokion Temple for some sp-farming. His first trip got him 181 skill points, while reaching 99.43% - but when spending the sp, I found I was 2 short of getting one 149 sp skill, so went back, and got the extra 2 points, on 99.80%. Then Gal had a quick trip to the ebony mines to lose the experience, courtesy of a degraded golien commander - and returned to Prokion Temple, as soon as he'd got the Elizabuff again.

There was slightly more of the "dungeon time" hour in this run, so he just got 170 sp while reaching 99.80% again; he managed to spend that exact amount, and then finished his session with 34 more deaths, to get him ready for his next outing. The majority of the special skills are now at maximum; he just needs to finish alchemy, and the two big ones, armoursmith and weaponsmith.

There was time for RedRackham to log in for some pet-levelling after that, though the rate of pet point increase was back to normal. He was on Auzura-4, so was able to use the first death mask lancer, just as CaptainScarlet was doing on Auzura-6. Red's horse did reach level 31, so could now, technically, be made into a mount, if I didn't want the maximum attack and defence horse buffs. However, I always do like to aim for level 37, so that the buffs both reach level 10. CaptainScarlet, by the end of the evening, was still a couple of hours away from getting his drake into level 45, but had certainly made some useful progress during the day.