Every bone in his body ached, his skin sagged, and most distressing of all, he was secreting a foul smelling, green liquid from his mouth. As he walked, or rather, shuffled, through the lamp-lit streets of Stormwind City's night, he spat another mouthful of the foul-smelling stuff into the canal. He'd always hated people who did that, but attempts to dispose of the spittle any other way had proven inadequate.
He started feeling light headed...what had done this to him? Surely, this was no simple sickness. A curse, perhaps. Something done by an Orcish warlock to that shipment of cheap grain he'd bought down by the harbor. Yes, that was it! He'd thought the merchant who had sold it to him looked untrustworthy. Probably came straight from Orgrimmar...nether blast the man.
He spat again, looking around. He needed to resupply his shop with better grain regardless of why his current stock was so bad. But even as cheap as the grain had been, he didn't know if he had enough money left to purchase a supply of better grain. Still, he couldn't EAT what he had, much less sell it.
One thing the illness didn't seem to affect was his appetite...he was so hungry. It'd been hours since he'd eaten, and thoughts of food seemed only to increase the amount of green puss flowing from his mouth.
This time he didn't even bother to turn towards the canal when he spat, spewing the green mess onto the pavement--just in time to catch the eyes of a beautiful young woman. Oddly, he didn't feel embarrassed for his crass behavior. He just stared at her, feeling something primal deep in his gut...and not the kind of feeling a lovely woman normally inspired in him. He began moving towards her.
His mouth hung open now, dribbling a green mess all over his chin. The woman's eyes widened when she saw it. She took a step back, and sputtered
"By the light, are you okay? What's that on your face!?"
Tobias' eyes were fixed on her now, as he responded;
"Feeeeeed...."
-----
"And the parrot says, 'Durotar, they've got em' all over the place!" Fent burst into laughter at his own joke, slapping his fellow patrolmen on the back with a 'clang' as he did so. "Come on, you can't tell me that isn't hilarious!" he shouted as the two of them walked through the streets of Stormwind.
"Sorry" Garrik responded, "I'm I little preoccupied with this story I've been thinking about...it's about a couple of gnomes who find this bracelet and--"
"What is that?" Fent interrupted, suddenly serious. Garrik looked over to see a woman lying in the street, with Tobias leaning over her.
"Hey! You there! Step away!" Fent shouted, drawing his sword and rushing forward, Garrik close on his heels. Tobias spared them only a glance, but that was enough for the two young guards to recognize what they saw. Enough for decade-old memories of their childhood, and the third war, to rush back to them from their nightmares.
"Ghoul!" shouted Fent, falling backwards and dropping his sword in terror. Garrik, meanwhile, drew his own sword and swung it with all the his strength, but the nimble undead easily leapt away, evading the blade, then sprang forward onto his attacker. By the time Garrik hit the ground, the ghoul's teeth were already biting into his throat, causing his howl of terror and pain to take the form of a gurgling sputter.
All his courage having fled, Fent made a scrambling dash to his feet, and set off at a mad dash for his life. But the ghoul was too quick for him, leaping again, landing on Fent's back and taking hold there with a grip like iron.
Facedown, pressed into the hard pavement, Fent began to hyperventilate, knowing he was about to die. Any second now he would feel the teeth of the creature sink into his spine, and he wouldn't feel anything ever again.
Instead, he heard a shout, and a crack, and an instant later, his head still pressed to the pavement, he saw the ghoul's head rolling along the ground to his side, harmlessly snapping its jowls at the air. For a heartbeat Fent just lay there, unmoving, unable to believe that he was safe. Then a powerful hand forcibly rolled him over, and he knew he was right to disbelieve in his safety.
A massive pile of muscle and rage stood over him, red skin barely covered by the bit of armor it wore. In its hand, it held an axe with a blade as large as Fent's torso. Before he could even scream, two more of the creatures appeared, spreading out to either side, as though they were securing the area.
A moment later, a woman stepped from behind the creature on top of Fent, and into his field of view. She wore long robes of fiery crimson, with hair to match. In her hand she carried a green, leaf-embossed staff, with a yellowing worgen's skull atop it. Her green eyes seemed afire with the emerald flames of the twisting nether. She ignored Fent, walking through the grisly scene as though it were perfectly ordinary, to look down at the ghoul's head. She stared at it quietly, as if contemplating how it got to be there. Then, with a motion too quick for the young guard to follow, she raised her staff and brought the butt straight down on the dismembered head, crushing it flat, and spattering the base of her robes with a green mess.
"Adequately done, Jhuughun. Next time, though, do try to be quick enough to save both of them." the woman said, speaking to the monster standing on Fent's chest. The creature growled at her, and Fent thought for sure it would tear her head from her narrow shoulders. But the woman merely raised an eyebrow, as if she was amused by the monster's implied threat, and carried on.
"Thaamon, Malateric," she said, looking at the two other demons in turn, "Take this young man back to his barracks. Ensure he gets there safely, then rejoin me at the meeting. Jhuughun, you will continue to accompany me as my escort. And get off the boy already, you're terrifying him."
Without another word, she turned and continued walking down the street. Jhuughun took one last snarling look at Fent before reluctantly resisting the urge to crush his skull underfoot, and following his mistress down the street.
Fent continued to lay there for several breaths. He was so surprised to still be alive that he couldn't think of what to do next. Then he scrambled to his feet to run after the woman, only to be stopped by two muscled, red arms blocking his path. The Thaamon and Malateric had been ordered to escort him to the barracks, and they didn't seem interested in any delays.
"Who are you?" he called after her, at a loss for anything better to ask. She was much further down the road now, and in the light of the moon he could only see her silhouette. But she turned, and he could swear he still saw her bright green eyes within her dark form.
"I am called Moreven...the Corpseseeker."
Then she continued on her way, and Fent allowed himself to be pushed in the direction of the barracks--so bewildered by her stare that he forgot to be afraid of the two demons herding him home.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Dread Citadel: Prologue--Chapter 1
Tobias Whetstone felt ill.
Monday, August 10, 2009
A Life Tap Too Far
Earlier this morning, it was announced on WoW.com that a new Warlock columnist is required. The brilliant among readers of this proclamation deduced that I am no longer filling that role. And, since I'm the kind of talky-fellow that likes to blather on endlessly when nobody is listening, I figured I'd give an explaination to the endless tubes of the internet.
Working at WoW.com has been one of the coolest experiences of my life thus far. The people I worked with there were not my coworkers and bosses; they were my colleagues. The work I did there was not drudgery; it excited and challenged me. And even the flames and trolls directed at me are not something I will look back on with scorn; they were my teachers. They gave me some small glimpse of what it means to write professionally. I would be lying if I said they never got to me--I remember a handful of comments which continued to mock me within my own mind for days after they were posted. But looking back, there's not a single one that I regret.
In fact, WoW.com has absolutely nothing to do with me resigning from my position there. Rather, I resigned because I had to accept that my disinterest in World of Warcraft wasn't going to go away anytime soon. In fact, I haven't played the game for its own sake since patch 3.1 dropped. I won't try to explain why I'm not interested any longer--attempting to express what it is about the game that keeps me playing would be a seven thousand word digression from a five hundred word post.
I kept playing, and I kept writing, because I loved working with WoW.com. I loved the people, I loved the challenges, and I loved what I learned. But over the last few months I've run dry. One can only keep writing about a subject they don't care about for so long before they need to recognize that their apathy isn't the passing phase they wish it was. So I regretfully informed my editors--who are far cooler than any bosses I'll ever have again--that I couldn't write anymore. And that, is that.
In a way its a bit of a relief. The biggest barrier between me, and writing actively, has always been guilt. It's the reason I stopped writing on Live Journal several years ago, and it's largely the reason I've been writing so sparsely lately. The guilt I was heaping upon myself because of columns I had failed to finish was like a vice on my brain. Now, perhaps, I can get back to basics, and start producing some things worth reading again. Probably not here at Curse of Senility of course--though I actually do have a few non-Warlock related WoW posts that I might pop out over the next few days.
I wish only the very best of luck to WoW.com in the search for a new Warlock writer. And to whoever gets the job: don't forget how lucky you are, and try to learn from those who degrade your work, rather than allow them to wound you.
Thanks for giving me a place to put my words.
Working at WoW.com has been one of the coolest experiences of my life thus far. The people I worked with there were not my coworkers and bosses; they were my colleagues. The work I did there was not drudgery; it excited and challenged me. And even the flames and trolls directed at me are not something I will look back on with scorn; they were my teachers. They gave me some small glimpse of what it means to write professionally. I would be lying if I said they never got to me--I remember a handful of comments which continued to mock me within my own mind for days after they were posted. But looking back, there's not a single one that I regret.
In fact, WoW.com has absolutely nothing to do with me resigning from my position there. Rather, I resigned because I had to accept that my disinterest in World of Warcraft wasn't going to go away anytime soon. In fact, I haven't played the game for its own sake since patch 3.1 dropped. I won't try to explain why I'm not interested any longer--attempting to express what it is about the game that keeps me playing would be a seven thousand word digression from a five hundred word post.
I kept playing, and I kept writing, because I loved working with WoW.com. I loved the people, I loved the challenges, and I loved what I learned. But over the last few months I've run dry. One can only keep writing about a subject they don't care about for so long before they need to recognize that their apathy isn't the passing phase they wish it was. So I regretfully informed my editors--who are far cooler than any bosses I'll ever have again--that I couldn't write anymore. And that, is that.
In a way its a bit of a relief. The biggest barrier between me, and writing actively, has always been guilt. It's the reason I stopped writing on Live Journal several years ago, and it's largely the reason I've been writing so sparsely lately. The guilt I was heaping upon myself because of columns I had failed to finish was like a vice on my brain. Now, perhaps, I can get back to basics, and start producing some things worth reading again. Probably not here at Curse of Senility of course--though I actually do have a few non-Warlock related WoW posts that I might pop out over the next few days.
I wish only the very best of luck to WoW.com in the search for a new Warlock writer. And to whoever gets the job: don't forget how lucky you are, and try to learn from those who degrade your work, rather than allow them to wound you.
Thanks for giving me a place to put my words.
-LS
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Online Equivalent of a Major Life Decision
As I mentioned in my last post, I was forced to disband my raid group recently, largely due to scheduling problems. And since then, I haven't logged in much. I didn't even participate in Noblegarden--so that's at least another year until I can get my hands on the violet-proto drake. It's actually kinda funny; I always get into a slump this time of year. This is the third Children's Week since I started playing the game, but I've never actually participated before. Though, since there's no Children's Week achievements directly related to finding a new raid group, I guess I'm pretty off topic right now.
Raiding with friends is great. Sitting down with 10 of my pals and trying to take out 'Count Monsterton, the Evilest of the Bridge Trolls,' is part of why this game still holds any appeal to me at all. Unfortunately, schedules don't reconcile with one another just because people are friends, not unless everybody thinks it's important enough to plan their lives around. I've spent the last 18 months, off and on, trying to schedule raids with tanks who quit the game or have to spend every other weekend obliging their family, DPS whose work schedules fluctuate so much that it's impossible to raid with them unless you're willing to change the time of the raid every week, and healers who have to get up at 7 in the morning to make it to our 3pm raids, due to time differences. It doesn't work. I've tried every reasonable course of action I can think of, but half the time or more I end up sitting in /2 recruiting DPS who have deluded themselves into thinking that their 900 DPS is actually 4k DPS.
The worst part of it is that these players are not just my friends, they're the best damn tanks, healers, and DPS I know. I wish I could have them there on every run, because when I can actually get them into the same raid with one another, things are amazing. This is a group that full cleared Naxx in two attempts, even with some of our best players missing. But without consistency, it becomes difficult to maintain the level of knowledge I feel Blood Pact deserves.
So I'm faced with a simple question: how do I get the raiding I need? There are really only two answers. The first is most obvious: join a raid group. Or, failing that, start my own raid group. Of course, I could just wait around in trade every week for somebody to starting shouting "LFG DPS," but I don't think I need to waste my weekly wordcount on explaining why that's a bad idea. So, we come to the meat of the article. Join a raid group, or start one?
Pros:
1) A lot less work for me than the alternative. Which is good, because I'm a rather busy fellow.
2) Easier to shop around. If I join a raid group, run with them a couple times, and discover they suck, then it's no big deal. I tell them thanks, but it's not for me, and I shop around a bit more.
3) Experienced players. I'm not arrogant enough to think I'm the best. Hardly, there is a lot I could learn about how to raid and how to play. Not every group is going to have much of substance to teach me, but thanks to point #2, I could make such a quality one of my search criteria.
4) A ready-made raid group would be proven. Unless I do a terrible job of selecting who to run with, then I can be relatively sure I'll be able to clear significant amounts of content right off of the bat.
Cons:
1) Loot distribution isn't up to me. I'm quite used to, what I consider, the perfect loot system. I've never actually run into another guild that used it, though I know at least some other people do. Finding those people might be difficult though.
2) If something is going horribly wrong, then all I can do is make a suggestion. If the raid leader doesn't like it, I have to deal with mounting repair bills while he fumbles to find a solution.
3) Availability. Most good raid groups have spots that open and close as applicants join, and groups that accept anybody anytime are usually absolutely atrocious. This might make Pro-point #2 a bit difficult.
4) I'm a leader. That's not to say that I'm the best leader, but being in charge of a project causes the project to bring me an immeasurably larger amount of pleasure (or pain) than simply being a component part of the project does. That's not to say I can't handle being subordinate, nor that I can't enjoy being a subordinate. It's just not my strong suit.
Screenshots haven't worked so well since 3.1, but here's a picture of me, as the only member of my potential new guild, rocking the DPS meter in Kara!
Pros:
1) I like being the guy in charge. And sure, it sucks balls when I fail to do things right, I've demonstrated in the past that I can do things right.
2) Any success is something I can feel much more proud of than I would be able to if I joined a raid group rather than formed my own.
3) Loot distribution will be up to me, so I'll be able to stick with the system I'm most comfortable with.
4) I can continue raiding with those members of my old raiding group who are able to commit to the raiding times I set.
Cons:
1) Mistakes are my mistakes. Obviously I can't know everything, and sometimes things just...go wrong. But if a group is bad, then it's the raid leader's fault for putting together a bad group.
2) I would need to do somewhere between a shit ton and a fuck ton of work to keep everything running smoothly.
3) It would take a lot of time to actually get a group together.
4) Even if I force everybody in the raid to go through an interview process that includes a few heroics, I can't be sure of how well they'll work together in a larger group.
I've been wrestling with this decision for a week now, and I'm still no closer to a real decision. At first, I was determined to find a raid group I liked, and try to join it. It would be fast, and I would finally be relieved of all the stress that had built up over the last few weeks. But at the same time, I knew I was coming off of a string of failures, and wasn't in the best emotional state to make that decision. It didn't take much time for me to realize how much I would hate dealing with being some other raid leader's subordinate. It's a weakness of mine, but it's not one I can simply wish away.
Over the last week, I've been talking with friends who have known me and raided with me for a long time about what they think I should do. One of my friends told me that I should join another raiding group, at least for awhile. His rationale was that I could learn a lot about how other people manage their groups, and it would help me progress more quickly than starting my own group would. Another friend finds the idea of me playing any part in a raid other than leading--or at least assistant leading--almost laughable. Talking to her, I'm surprised my pals haven't organized an intervention for my power addiction.
Even without input from my friends, I've had a tough time settling on a decision. For the last seven months or so, I've had a lot of ideas I wanted to implement in a new raiding group, and this is a golden opportunity to put those ideas into practice. But the process of finding people interested in joining the group, making sure they're fit to be part of the group, and getting started on clearing content will take time. A lot of time. A problem I wouldn't have if I joined another person's group.
Whatever I choose, it needs to be soon. I haven't killed KT in almost a month, and that's just silly. Haven't even seen Ulduar yet.
Any suggestions would be keen.
Raiding with friends is great. Sitting down with 10 of my pals and trying to take out 'Count Monsterton, the Evilest of the Bridge Trolls,' is part of why this game still holds any appeal to me at all. Unfortunately, schedules don't reconcile with one another just because people are friends, not unless everybody thinks it's important enough to plan their lives around. I've spent the last 18 months, off and on, trying to schedule raids with tanks who quit the game or have to spend every other weekend obliging their family, DPS whose work schedules fluctuate so much that it's impossible to raid with them unless you're willing to change the time of the raid every week, and healers who have to get up at 7 in the morning to make it to our 3pm raids, due to time differences. It doesn't work. I've tried every reasonable course of action I can think of, but half the time or more I end up sitting in /2 recruiting DPS who have deluded themselves into thinking that their 900 DPS is actually 4k DPS.
The worst part of it is that these players are not just my friends, they're the best damn tanks, healers, and DPS I know. I wish I could have them there on every run, because when I can actually get them into the same raid with one another, things are amazing. This is a group that full cleared Naxx in two attempts, even with some of our best players missing. But without consistency, it becomes difficult to maintain the level of knowledge I feel Blood Pact deserves.
So I'm faced with a simple question: how do I get the raiding I need? There are really only two answers. The first is most obvious: join a raid group. Or, failing that, start my own raid group. Of course, I could just wait around in trade every week for somebody to starting shouting "LFG DPS," but I don't think I need to waste my weekly wordcount on explaining why that's a bad idea. So, we come to the meat of the article. Join a raid group, or start one?
Join a Raiding Group
Pros:
1) A lot less work for me than the alternative. Which is good, because I'm a rather busy fellow.
2) Easier to shop around. If I join a raid group, run with them a couple times, and discover they suck, then it's no big deal. I tell them thanks, but it's not for me, and I shop around a bit more.
3) Experienced players. I'm not arrogant enough to think I'm the best. Hardly, there is a lot I could learn about how to raid and how to play. Not every group is going to have much of substance to teach me, but thanks to point #2, I could make such a quality one of my search criteria.
4) A ready-made raid group would be proven. Unless I do a terrible job of selecting who to run with, then I can be relatively sure I'll be able to clear significant amounts of content right off of the bat.
Cons:
1) Loot distribution isn't up to me. I'm quite used to, what I consider, the perfect loot system. I've never actually run into another guild that used it, though I know at least some other people do. Finding those people might be difficult though.
2) If something is going horribly wrong, then all I can do is make a suggestion. If the raid leader doesn't like it, I have to deal with mounting repair bills while he fumbles to find a solution.
3) Availability. Most good raid groups have spots that open and close as applicants join, and groups that accept anybody anytime are usually absolutely atrocious. This might make Pro-point #2 a bit difficult.
4) I'm a leader. That's not to say that I'm the best leader, but being in charge of a project causes the project to bring me an immeasurably larger amount of pleasure (or pain) than simply being a component part of the project does. That's not to say I can't handle being subordinate, nor that I can't enjoy being a subordinate. It's just not my strong suit.
Start a Raiding Group
Pros:
1) I like being the guy in charge. And sure, it sucks balls when I fail to do things right, I've demonstrated in the past that I can do things right.
2) Any success is something I can feel much more proud of than I would be able to if I joined a raid group rather than formed my own.
3) Loot distribution will be up to me, so I'll be able to stick with the system I'm most comfortable with.
4) I can continue raiding with those members of my old raiding group who are able to commit to the raiding times I set.
Cons:
1) Mistakes are my mistakes. Obviously I can't know everything, and sometimes things just...go wrong. But if a group is bad, then it's the raid leader's fault for putting together a bad group.
2) I would need to do somewhere between a shit ton and a fuck ton of work to keep everything running smoothly.
3) It would take a lot of time to actually get a group together.
4) Even if I force everybody in the raid to go through an interview process that includes a few heroics, I can't be sure of how well they'll work together in a larger group.
I've been wrestling with this decision for a week now, and I'm still no closer to a real decision. At first, I was determined to find a raid group I liked, and try to join it. It would be fast, and I would finally be relieved of all the stress that had built up over the last few weeks. But at the same time, I knew I was coming off of a string of failures, and wasn't in the best emotional state to make that decision. It didn't take much time for me to realize how much I would hate dealing with being some other raid leader's subordinate. It's a weakness of mine, but it's not one I can simply wish away.
Over the last week, I've been talking with friends who have known me and raided with me for a long time about what they think I should do. One of my friends told me that I should join another raiding group, at least for awhile. His rationale was that I could learn a lot about how other people manage their groups, and it would help me progress more quickly than starting my own group would. Another friend finds the idea of me playing any part in a raid other than leading--or at least assistant leading--almost laughable. Talking to her, I'm surprised my pals haven't organized an intervention for my power addiction.
Even without input from my friends, I've had a tough time settling on a decision. For the last seven months or so, I've had a lot of ideas I wanted to implement in a new raiding group, and this is a golden opportunity to put those ideas into practice. But the process of finding people interested in joining the group, making sure they're fit to be part of the group, and getting started on clearing content will take time. A lot of time. A problem I wouldn't have if I joined another person's group.
Whatever I choose, it needs to be soon. I haven't killed KT in almost a month, and that's just silly. Haven't even seen Ulduar yet.
Any suggestions would be keen.
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