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Chapter Summary:
Shot Heard Across the Galaxy A poor Shil'vati patrol goes looking for that Security Force that just got blasted in the last chapter
First Contact: We jump POV, where Elias gives them "pretty much the exact terms" of their invasion and occupation, turning it back on them.

Shot Heard Across the Galaxy

The summer had clung on by the tips of its fingernails despite the threatening change in season. The dry morning air heated quickly back to what Serenie had grown accustomed to, as if to deny the inevitable unwelcome encroachment of the biting cold night they'd just endured performing riot control in the center city.
Serenie learned some new insults over her comm as a pursuing Captain Goshen had watched the insurgent 'clear a building in a single bound like a retarded kangaroo with viagra in its tail.'" Serenie had never seen a kangaroo, but Earth's nature had fascinated her, and the loose familiarity caused her alone to laugh uproariously at the Captain’s breathless fury.
There were some other matters the Captain had muttered about, such as ‘lies turning truth’ that seemed to elude Serenie’s grasp. One thing that the Captain made certain Serenie did understand was the concept of punishment duty for her laughter. Double-shifts just seemed to be the order of the day, but being sent far afield with these people could hardly be called anything else. The scenery was occasionally something she’d have called nice, if it wasn’t for her present circumstance.
She was stuck with her new podmate, Zell, who it seemed just could not shut up.
"Look. All I'm saying is, they're hot. Hotter than the Security Forces 'squad' we're looking for. 'Squad.' Such a stupid-sounding word."
Serenie's expansive patrol pod had been shattered apart by casualties in the wake of Emperor's attack on Unification Square. The combat patrol had been dropped over twenty feet onto jagged concrete as the overpass they were sprinting across collapsed underneath them into rubble, courtesy of planted explosives. Serenie was one of the only ones to come out with relatively minor injuries and to make a full recovery. She'd even hobbled to the square on a broken leg, just in time to behold the horrific spectacle of the building’s collapse.
Now those cast off shards of incomplete pods had been shuffled and mixed up to serve with some temporarily deployed Shil'vati forces from out-of-state.
Two whole pods made up of the odd numbers from other units, sent to Delaware on punishment duty of their own came together to compose the new team of six out of the hodgepodge. Once Zell had used all her brain to do the math, she announced excitedly: ‘A grateful human boy for each of their rescuers.’
And so the two pods set off with initial enthusiasm, unburdened by much familiarity with one another. That had been three miles ago, and by now the excitement had given way to bitterness over how they were wasting time on a long walk across open, somewhat bleak bulldozed terrain that nature work crews had yet to reclaim, doing Search and Rescue for a bunch of deserters who didn't want to be found at all, instead of rounding up those 'mysterious hot insurgent guys.'
Serenie reflected that at least the razed structures and tall grasses offered a nice view of the vibrant colors the trees were starting to turn. A 'silver lining,' as the more optimistic locals liked to say. 'Well the square was utterly destroyed and you're led by an idiot from a green zone, but at least you're alive!'
The boys here were always upbeat. Then again, they were paid to take their clients' minds off their troubles. And she had to admit they worked better than the stupid Anarevoca. The deep rest in the arms of the man she'd visited while on mandatory medical and psychological leave had done more for her recovery and in then passing the evaluation than anything else she’d tried. She didn’t regret a moment or credit of the exchange, even if the bribes and fees to slip her out and get her the secret rendezvous did her accounts the same kind of damage as she herself had suffered.
She hoped Azraea hadn’t lowered the score just to get every soldier back on the front lines, and switched her line of thought. It did her no benefit to dwell on such things. ‘At least he let me sleep longer than I paid for’, she reflected, remembering the faintly sweet musk of where his shoulder met his neck, and how gently he’d run his fingernails along the back of her head, through her scalp until she fell asleep.
"The insurgents are not 'hot'," Serenie sputtered. "They're supposedly all too old, too set in their ways to adapt. You know, like, twice your age. You got a father-fucker fetish or something?" Serenie had already had more than an earful of this conversation, and repeating her rent-a-paramour’s comforting words buttressed her conviction. The honeyed sense of validation he’d whispered into her ears was better than dwelling on the possibility that the planet and all the men on it all just outright hated her.
"What, so you got your asses kicked by a bunch of daddies?" At Serenie's stare, her new podmate from New Jersey relented slightly. "Okay, fine. At least admit the idea of them is hot. So hot.” When Serenie didn’t bite, Zell kept going. “Come on- physically active, mysterious, and just need some love and affection before they realize we aren't so bad, and you win 'em over with -"
"-Yeah, alright, you find one, you try it, you tell me how it goes. If you survive and he’s somehow tolerating even someone like you, then I figure I can swipe him off you."
"Fuck no, we'll share, and you'll be grateful I'm so generous. Seriously, share the insurgency, I say. I can charm 'em so good we'll have peace within the day."
Serenie wondered how Zell had served this long and didn't realize human men tended to be fiercely monogamous. Maybe things were different where Zell served, though Serenie doubted it was.
"That's something I actually wanted to ask. I thought maybe you'd know." Serenie wasn’t sure why Zell might know anything, but it was at least in the area of Zell’s obvious obsessions. "How is 'fuck' an insult? Especially when the humans say words that mean 'fuck you,' but they use it as an insult. But even other forms of it mean ‘get fucked,’ or something."
"You sure it's an insult? Sounds like an invitation, if you ask me. Have you tried asking them ‘when’?"
Just one more addition to the ever-growing mountain of evidence that Zell was an idiot.
The new pod's equally new sergeant was little better, but at least when Sergeant Patmorica interrupted this time, it was focused on the mission. Her comm cut through the half-hearted banter as she made her periodic report at the required interval.
"Command, we've got eyes on a pretty good LZ on the crest of this hill, mark for exfiltration if necessary." Sergeant Patmorica pointed a gauntleted finger to the ridge on the far side of the field. Rote procedure; the last one she'd pointed to would be marked as a secondary. "Got a wide open view of that woods near where the patrol of Security Forces went missing- not seeing much out here in the field. Permission to move into the forest and check for them?"
Data Officer Borzun's voice floated back. "Granted. Relief forces will be en route if you find anything, ETA eleven minutes from Command."
The return signal sounded distant, quieter than normal. Something about that troubled her, but Serenie didn't want to draw the attention of a sergeant eager to prove she was capable of leading a couple pods, or feel she had to prove herself to the red zone veteran. Even more disturbing, Zell looked ready to start talking again.
"How are the other leads looking?" Serenie piped up quickly. At least the sergeant might offer something helpful, even if the information was secondhand.
"Not great. A lot of the people who are supposed to be patrolling looking for rebels are responding to the strikes and protests at the prisons, beating up protestors who weren't on any lists, trying to restore some semblance of order," Sergeant Patmorica responded with surprising candor.
"Be a real shame if no one's here. We could be out there helping," Zell picked up the line conversationally as they descended from the crest of the hill near the river, past an old sign that read 'Mister Pasta'. "Instead we're chasing down wayward Security Forces, who probably cut and ran."
"Best lead we've had so far," Patmorica responded.
"Have you heard anything about 'Camp Death'?"
"Just whispers. Nothing solid," Patmorica said, stepping over a half-buried old curb. The work here in leveling the town and returning it to nature had certainly been hurried and half-done. The ridge of the distant trees hadn't expanded outward much at all.
"Supposedly, it's somewhere in the North. We're in the North."
"What, you think Camp Death is actually in the middle of nowhere, somewhere out here? Come on, the town's leveled. There was a bomb that went off literally over there-" Serenie pointed across the rubble of the highway they were walking along. "-Some local shirtless kid pulled a Lieutenant out of the rubble."
"Doesn't seem to have been enough for them to consider saving the neighborhood. Not a chance it's out here; Work crews woulda spotted it."
"Guess the work crews finally got around to really taking the place apart before, you know, 'shit hit the fan.'
Human words were very evocative. Terrible situations lined with precious metals, feces being sprayed about by rapid physical impacts- the mental images they provided, disturbing though they often were, seemed silly enough to bring a smile that had been all too absent on the senior private's face ever since her time in Unification Square.
There used to be some roads here, but all that's been cut off. A bunch of trees, and no structures, no infrastructure, and a bunch of troops? That's just begging for an orbital strike."
"He might have the hostages there. Anywhere might."
The sergeant paused, contemplating something, then jumping into a private comm chat with Serenie, her voice coming through a bit more crisply. "Yeah, alright. Look, I read your file. You had your run-ins. You're still shaken, I understand that, but I need you to not jump at shadows, got that? You get to go on patrol with us, finding some lost boys who forgot how to read a map, and maybe lending your local expertise. But I have to weigh that against what you went through. The absolute last thing I need is you opening fire because one of the Security Forces guys sneezes, and it sets you off. Are we clear? Not everything's an insurgent. Not everything is done by insurgents."
"Ma'am," Serenie responded. "Understood. I'm cleared as ready for action." Idiot or not, Sergeant Patmorica was still her commanding officer for the time being, and she couldn't exactly relate her late night rendezvous in a red zone and say she was 'all better now.' Confessing such a violation was just begging to be written up.
"That's what I like to hear." Something about her answer or stature must have been conveyed while providing the words because they seemed to reassure Patmorica of her readiness. Serenie felt a ray of hope that she was really, well and truly had finally free from the aftereffects.
The rest of the walk along the treeline was blessedly quiet. Five minutes of peaceful walking. No idiots, no stupid orders, no more braggadocia. Even in full kit, Serenie enjoyed nature on earth in all its many mysterious and downright strange aspects. The morning chill felt crisp, and the crunch of dried parched dirt and grasses under her boots felt more alive than the steady beat of boots-on-plate aboard a starship's hull, no matter how large or ambient the white noise supplied.
It was as she reflected on the multitudinal ways the experience was different that she had a realization.
"There's something wrong."
"Is it that we got sent out without a vehicle? 'Cause I think we could have covered all this ground in a few seconds. Honestly, says everything that the Governess shipped us out here, but got tight-fisted with vehicles and equipment."
"No, everyone, be quiet!"
"You be quiet, Serenie!" The soldier in front of Zell snapped back.
"Shut up!" She hissed. Sergeant Patmorica spun on her heel. "Private Serenie. What are you-"
"Please, just- just- would you just listen!" A few seconds passed as everyone stared, either obeying or just shocked at the quiet girl's outburst.
"Listen...for what?" Zell finally broke the silence.
"Exactly. Do you hear anything? Birds? See any deer? Where are all the animals?"
"What's your point?"
"I think that we are not alone in this forest."
"Well, we were sent in to investigate where people disappeared to. Duh. It's a good thing if we aren't."
"But where are the animals?"
"I don't know. They migrate, right? Look." As if on cue, a tight formation of flying Canadian Geese passed overhead, honking. "There's your noisy animals right there."
Zell pointed and quipped. “Look sarge, insurgents!” The hand tracked the geese as they flew overhead.
Serenie felt trapped. How had some stranger from out-of-state been promoted to Sergeant and assigned to lead these pods, despite clearly never leading so much as a patrol in a yellow zone? Worse, Patmorica continued her teasing, likely to try and regain some face after her authority being openly challenged.
"Should we call it in? Tell Command: 'it's quiet' or ‘I saw some parrots’? With everything else going on in the state, do you think they'll laugh, or do you think they'll...?" The sergeant turned back to face the forest whose edge they were weaving in and out of, turning to start walking up the steep hill again, as if transfixed by something. "Hold on. I've got some thermal there and- hey, are you Ladies picking this up? I've got an IFF..."
Serenie dutifully reported her readings, grateful to at least get the topic changed. "I've got one friendly- two now. Security Forces standard."
Sergeant Patmorica pointed up the steep embankment she'd been about to start walking up. "I'm reading them as being straight ahead on my map. Confirm?"
This time someone else spoke up, and with all the fresh voices and full helmets, Serenie wasn't sure she could place them all. She was too busy staring at the collection of dead and dried branches lining the bottom of the hill.
What might leave such a large swath or create a clearing? A bear? She'd seen a video of one rubbing their backs against trees, one of the first to return to the state of Delaware, dubbed ‘DelaBear. These were certainly very large, unfamiliar trees. She’d never seen anything like them before, much as she’d never seen a Bear. To her mind, she might imagine such a large furry beast seeking out a suitably large tree, for some purpose or other. But she did not see any tufts of fur stuck in the grass or to the bark. And didn’t they only do that when shedding off their loose fur in Spring?
"It's two of the missing Security Forces," reported the sergeant somewhat spiritedly, leading the way toward the hill, the pod moving forward in her wake.
She crouched low again, taking a step back, eyes following where a serpentine footpath ascended the bluff. It was hard for her to make out if there were any footprints or animal tracks in the parched dirt, until at last she saw one near her own footprint. Conclusive evidence eluded her, but she thought she could make out a boot print, and searched her memory. Was it the pattern of the Security Forces uniforms? Was she just searching for signs and evidence, the conclusion already obvious in her mind?
Then she turned in place, and saw the many trampled grasses behind them, only noticeable once the patrol had reached where they had all converged. There were far, far too many to be the Security Forces.
"Zell. Zell! Hold here," Serenie whispered, putting her hand out to block her new podmate's progress.
"What?"
"Trust me."
"Privates! Fall in!"
Patmorica's tone was harsh. Serenie motioned like she was going to comply, freezing in place again the moment the sergeant's back was turned to her again. Something about this place seemed wrong. Where were the others of their 'squad'? And why hadn't they reached out to them on the comms yet?
Zell shook her hand free of Serenie's.
"Zell. Zell!"
Zell ignored her.
"Zell, will you stop thinking of fucking your father and turning your family tree into a circle for one depths-damned minute and listen to me!? Something. Is. Wrong."
"What?" Zell hissed, annoyedly. "I'm not getting in trouble just because you have 'a feeling'."
"There's some sort of structure up top. I'm getting metal readings. Way more than just their plate armor. Sensors are reading weird depressions on the way up, too. I'll relay it to your suits' telemetry. Are you receiving this?"
"How do I do that?" Zell asked, tapping her helmet. "Ah to the depths with it. Could it be caves?" Serenie's dimwitted podmate asked, clearly dreading that the answer potentially might be: 'Yes, now we have to go explore them.'
"Didn't you read your briefing? Delaware doesn't have caves." Serenie had read that first upon deployment, and then wondered where all the bats came from.
"Then what is-"
At that point, her comms dropped off completely, replaced with a sharp whine in her ear.
Communications lost. Signal lost.
"Ma'am, Sergeant? Zell? I've got a suit malfunction- I can't hear you." Serenie called out, pressing the button to retract the mouthpiece of her helmet. Her suit's connection to the satellites seemed to have cut out. Most of her HUD blanked out as she stepped forward to be heard, the device no longer receiving data to sync with the other suits and Command. The Friendly IFF signals had winked out as well.
Everyone seemed to be looking amongst each other, slowly coming closer together to be heard, faceplates retracting so they could speak, or touching helmets so the suit would pick up the vibrations.
So it wasn't just her, then, but her podmates, too. All of them were eyeing the hill, now, Serenie's sinking suspicion catching on. Then, everyone was calling out activity at once, some of them pointing in different directions, clumsily sighting down their rifles without the HUD to guide their targeting reticle.
"Everyone fall back. Rifles up- rifles up! Those are not friendlies!"
Movement from the crest of the ridge, figures pointing down at them, including the long barrels of unusual weaponry, the likes of which Serenie had seen glimpses of before, and again in her nightmares. Voices called out over one another, without a comms system to filter or grant priority.
"Motion! I've got motion!"
"It's an ambush!"
"Identify and surrender now! Lay down your weapons!" The sergeant yelled. There was no answer, but neither side opened fire. "Identify yourselves immediately!" Bellowed the sergeant, again, switching her command suit to loudly project her voice in the local tongue. "Surrender immediately!" Serenie was pulling Zell back. They were vastly outnumbered.
Those low, unmistakable, clipped and precise tones of the Emperor of Mankind that her translator didn't need to pick up had her heart thrumming in her ears too loud to even make out the words, no matter how clearly enunciated they were. She knew what they meant well enough, and her steps backward started carrying her out of the woods on instinct.
For what it was worth, her sergeant didn't balk, and renewed her demands.
"Surrender immediately! Lay down your arms!"
The response was as sudden as it was brutal. Where once Sergeant Patmorica had stood, now there was empty air. Something powerful cleaved her in half, a sharp roar of noise following as the hypersonic round split the air in a deafening thunderclap.
She hadn't quite been vaporized, rather jerked clean off her feet by a sudden and terrible impact, boots leaving the ground and her body separated at the middle, halves toppling to the ground and held together by the just as suddenly exposed entrails. The shock of the impact had surely killed her instantly.
Serenie turned on her heel and ran for her life.

First Blood

"Sur-ren-dar!" The call sounded out from the valley below. One of those few words the Shil'vati knew and uttered almost every time we met, often before we'd even begun fighting.
I grabbed the megaphone, irritated that I'd been kept waiting so long for them to show up. "We don't have enough facilities to take you all prisoner. Please elect your bravest, most stalwart defenders of your way of life, and have them step forward into the line of fire for us to dispose of. The remainder of you will be afforded the same kindness as you have given our civilians. As you're unfamiliar with democracy and the concept of 'voting,' we'll give you a moment to conform to our system of governance and culture, whether you like it or not. You get an unreasonably short amount of time to comply."
I tossed the Megaphone back down to Larry, who stared up at me with wide eyes. The sound of wind through the trees was all endured for now, a shocked silence settling in.
"What?" I asked, hefting the railgun up to my shoulder with a shrug and aiming down the sights at the one who continued to bellow threats. It seemed we had a volunteer. "Turnabout is fair play."
I raised an open hand to all those who had watched, and the stunned silence turned to eager discipline, men sighting irons and readying themselves to unleash hell as I lowered my hand slowly, indicating I was to take the first shot.
"The Emperor has given his orders!" He bellowed into the megaphone. "Hold the line! Hold for the signal!"
I squeezed off the first round, letting the railgun round kick- and this time I was braced for it. The shot took the woman right in the midsection, and tore her apart. Screaming and shouting from below- but no signs of an immediate mass surrender.
"FIRE!"
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On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings — Some British Band

I'm taking my R1S on its first long trip! The cat and I are going from the San Francisco Bay Area in California to Illinois. The cat isn't used to being in a car or traveling. What could go wrong?!
The visit to Illinois isn't for fun. I'm spending a month there for random health stuff that's not the purpose of this post. But the trip there and back should be fun. I've never seen some of those states before, except from the air, which doesn't really count, neither does being in an airport in a state. We're going to rough it as well. I would love to have had the top-of-car tent, but it wasn't in the cards. Instead, we would find a campsite and sleep inside.
Nibbler (a.k.a. cat) and I (a.k.a. food giver) left on Memorial Day. Now, before you tell me how stupid I am, firstly I all ready know, but also everyone in the Bay Area heads to Tahoe for a long weekend (or really every weekend, if we're being honest). We got to skip some pretty bad traffic jams that we saw in the opposite lane.
I can't describe to you how beautiful the Sierra Nevadas are—the towering mountains, the Truckee River, the fresh air, the sudden drop with only a 6-inch lip of asphalt to keep you from tumbling to your doom, the sun. Arriving in Truckee, we pass Donner Lake. I reflect upon how the Donner Party left from my hometown, late in the year, and with far too much luggage for the trip (including an absolutely ridiculous two-story covered wagon). How they decided to take a route no one else had ever taken. How they ended up dying and eating each other. And I realize that I hadn't eaten for a good three hours and can empathize. Luckily, Truckee has some pretty good restaurants! Ahhh....Margherita Pizza...
There's a paradigm shift when you own an electric vehicle. You begin to notice how many gas stations there are and how few chargers are around you. There's a lot more planning around how far it is to the next charger. This comes around to bite me in the butt not once but twice on this trip. Though the first time I blame on the guidance system...
The day ends uneventfully. We set up "camp" at a place south of Silver Springs, NV.
The next day, the first butt biting!
To Be Continued

There are instincts that you develop when you’re a parent. If you don’t have any children it might be a little hard to understand. If you have a toddler, for example, and they’re in the other room and silent for more than a few seconds, there’s a good chance they’re up to no good. I take that back, most of the time they’re doing nothing, but you still have to check. You feel a compulsion to check. I don’t think it’s a learned skill, I think it’s an actual instinct.
Paleolithic parents who didn’t check on their toddlers every few minutes, just to double check that they weren’t being stalked by smilodons were unlikely to have grandchildren and pass on their genes. You just feel you need to check, like getting goosebumps, a compulsion. I suppose it’s the same reason little kids are always demanding you look at them and what they’re doing.
I think that instinct starts to atrophy as your kids grow. They start learning to do things for themselves, and before you know it, they’re after their own privacy, not your attention. I don’t think it ever goes away though. I expect, decades from now, my own grown kids will visit and bring my grandkids with them. And the second I hear a baby crying in the earliest morning hours, I’ll be alert and ready for anything, sure as any old soldier who hears his name whispered in the dark of night.
I felt that alarm just the other day. First time in years. My boy came home from riding bikes with a couple of his friends. I’m pretty sure they worked out a scam where they asked each of their parents for a different new console for Christmas, and now they spend their weekends traveling between the three houses so they can play on all of them.
We all live in a nice neighborhood. A newer development than the one I grew up in, same town though. It’s the kind of place where kids are always playing in the streets, and the cars all routinely do under 20. My wife and I make sure the kids have helmets and pads, and we’re fine with the boy going out biking with his friends, as long as they stay in the neighborhood.
You know, a lot of people in my generation take some weird sort of pride in how irresponsible we used to be when we were young. I never wore a helmet. Rode to places, without telling any adults, that we never should have ridden to. Me and my friends would make impromptu jumps off of makeshift ramps and try to do stupid tricks, based loosely on stunts we’d seen on TV. Other people my age seem to wax nostalgic for that stuff and pretend it makes them somehow better people. I don’t get it. Sometimes I look back and shudder. We were lucky we escaped with only occasional bruises and road burns. It could have gone so much worse.
My son and his buddies came bustling in the front door at about 2 PM on a Saturday. They did the usual thing of raiding the kitchen for juice and his mother’s brownies, and I took that as my cue to abandon the television in the living room for my office. I was hardly noticing the chaos, by this point, it was becoming a regular weekend occurrence. But as I was just leaving, I caught something in the chatter. My boy said something about, “... that guy who was following us.”
He hadn’t said it any louder or more clearly than anything else they’d been talking about, all that stuff I’d been filtering out. Yet some deeper core process in my brain stem heard it, interpreted it, then hit the red alert button. My blood ran cold and every hair on my skin stood at attention.
I turned around and asked “Somebody followed you? What are you talking about?” I wasn’t consciously aware of how strict and stern my voice came out, yet when the jovial smiles dropped off of their faces it was apparent that it had been so.
“Huh?” my son said, his voice high-pitched and talking fast, like when he thinks he’s in trouble and needs to explain. “We thought we saw somebody following us. There wasn’t though. We didn’t really see anybody and we’d just spooked ourselves.”
“What did he look like?” I asked.
“Nothing? We really didn’t see anybody! Honest! I just saw something out of the corner of my eye! But there wasn’t really nobody there!”
“Yeah!,” said one of his buds. “Peripheral! Peripheral vision! I thought maybe I saw something too, but when I looked I didn’t see anything. I don’t have my glasses with me, but when I really looked I got a good look and there was nothing.”
The three boys had that semi-smiling but still concerned look that this was only a bizarre misunderstanding, but they were still being very sincere. “Were they in a car?”
“No, Dad, you don’t get it,” my boy continued, “They were small. We thought it was a kid.”
“Yeah,” said the third boy. “We thought maybe it was Tony Taylor’s stupid kid sister shadowing us. Getting close to throwing water balloons. Just cause she did that before.”
“If you didn’t get a good look how did you know it was a kid?”
“Because it was small!” my kid explained, though that wasn’t helping much. “What I mean is, at first I thought it was behind a little bush. It was way too small a bush to hide a grown-up. That’s why we thought it was probably Tony’s sister.”
“But you didn’t actually see Tony’s sister?” I asked.
“Nah,” said one of his buds. “And now that I think about it, that bush was probably too small for his sister too. It would have been silly. Like when a cartoon character hides behind a tiny object.”
“That’s why we think it was just in our heads,” explained the other boy, “That and the pole.”
“Yeah,” my son said. “The park on 14th and Taylor?” That was just a little community park, a single city block. Had a playground, lawn, a few trees, and some benches. “Anyway, we were riding past that, took a right on Taylor. And we were talking about how weird it would be if somebody really were following us. That’s when Brian thought he saw something. Behind a telephone pole.”
“I didn’t get a good look at it either,” the friend, Brian, “explained. Just thought I did. Know how you get up late at night to use the bathroom or whatever and you look down the hallway and you see a jacket or an office chair or something and because your eyes haven’t adjusted you think you see a ghost or burglar or something? Anyway, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned there wasn’t anything there.”
“Yeah, it was just like sometimes that happens, except this time it happened twice on the same bike ride, is all,” the other friend explained.
“And you’re sure there was nothing there?”
“Sure we’re sure,” my boy said. “We know because that time we checked. We each rode our bikes around the pole and there was nothing. Honest!”
“Hmmm,” I said. The whole thing seemed reasonable and nothing to be concerned about, you’d think.. The boys seemed to relax at my supposed acceptance. “Alright, sounds good. Hey, just let me know before you leave the house again, alright?” They all rushed to seem agreeable as I left the room, then quickly resumed their snacking and preceded to play their games.
I kept my ear out, just in case. My boy, at least this time, dutifully told me his friends were about to leave. He wasn’t very happy with me when I said they wouldn’t be riding home on their bikes, I was going to drive them home. The other boys didn’t complain, but I suppose it wasn’t their place, so my boy did the advocating for them, which I promptly ignored. I hate doing that, ignoring my kid’s talkback. My dad was the same way. It didn’t help that I struggled to get both of their bikes in the trunk, and it was a pain to get them back out again. My boy sulked in the front seat on the short ride back home. Arms folded on chest, eyes staring straight ahead, that lip thing they do. He seemed embarrassed for having what he thought was an over-protective parent. I suppose he was angry at me as well for acting, as far as he knew, irrationally. Maybe he thought he was being punished for some infraction he didn’t understand.
Well, it only got worse when we got home. I told him he wasn’t allowed to go out alone on his bike anymore. I’d only had to do that once before, when he was grounded, and back then he’d known exactly what he’d done wrong and he had it coming. Now? Well, he was confused, furious, maybe betrayed, probably a little brokenhearted? I can’t blame him. He tramped upstairs to his room to await the return of his mother, who was certain to give a sympathetic ear. I can’t imagine how upset he’ll be if he checks the garage tomorrow and finds I’ve removed his tires, just in case.
I wish I could explain it to him. I don’t even know how.
Where should I even begin? The town?
When I was about my son’s age I had just seen that movie, The Goonies. It had just come out in theaters. I really liked that movie, felt a strong connection. A lot of people do, can’t blame them, sort of a timeless classic. Except I wasn’t really into pirate’s treasure or the Fratellis, what really made me connect was a simple single shot, still in the first act. It’s right after they cross the threshold, and leave the house on their adventure. It was a shot of the boys, from above, maybe a crane shot or a helicopter shot, as they’re riding their bikes down a narrow forested lane, great big evergreen trees densely growing on the side of the road, they’re all wearing raincoats and the road is still wet from recent rain.
That was my childhood. I’ve spent my whole life in the Pacific Northwest. People talk to outsiders about the rain, and they might picture a lot of rainfall, but it’s not the volume, it’s the duration. We don’t get so much rain, it just drizzles slowly, on and on, for maybe eight or nine months out of the year. It doesn’t matter where I am, inside a house, traveling far abroad, anywhere I am I can close my eyes and still smell the air on a chilly afternoon, playing outdoors with my friends.
It’s not petrichor, that sudden intense smell you get when it first starts to rain after a long dry spell. No, this was almost the opposite, a clean smell, almost the opposite of a scent, since the rain seemed to scrub the air clean. The strongest scent and I mean that in the loosest sense possible, must have been the evergreen needles. Not pine needles, those were too strong, and there weren’t that many pines anyway. Douglas fir and red cedar predominated, again the root ‘domination’ seems hyperbole. Yet those scents were there, ephemeral as it is. Also, there was a sort of pleasant dirtiness to the smell, at least when you rode bikes. It wasn’t dirt, or mud, or dust. Dust couldn’t have existed except perhaps for a few fleeting weeks in August. I think, looking back, it was the mud puddles. All the potholes in all the asphalt suburban roads would fill up after rain with water the color of chocolate milk. We’d swerve our BMX bikes, or the knock-off brands, all the way across the street just to splash through those puddles and test our “suspensions.,” meaning our ankles and knees. The smell was always stronger after that. It had an earthiness to it. Perhaps it was petrichor’s lesser-known watery cousin.
There were other sensations too, permanently seared into my brain like grill marks. A constant chilliness that was easy to ignore, until you started working up a good heart rate on your bike, then you noticed your lungs were so cold it felt like burning. The sound of your tires on the wet pavement, particularly when careening downhill at high speed. For some reason, people in the mid-80s used to like to decorate their front porches with cheap, polyester windsocks. They were often vividly colored, usually rainbow, like prototype pride flags. When an occasional wind stirred up enough to gust, the windsocks would flap, and owning to the water-soaked polyester, make a wet slapping sound. It was loud, it was distinct, but you learned to ignore it as part of the background, along with the cawing of crows and distant passing cars.
That was my perception of Farmingham as a kid. The town itself? Just a typical Pacific Northwest town. That might not mean much for younger people or modern visitors, but there was a time when such towns were all the same. They were logging towns. It was the greatest resource of the area from the late 19th century, right up until about the 80s, when the whole thing collapsed. Portland, Seattle, they had a few things going on beyond just the timber industry, but all the hundreds of little towns and small cities revolved around logging, and my town was no exception.
I remember going to the museum. It had free admission, and it was a popular field trip destination for the local school system. It used to be the City Hall, a weird Queen Anne-style construction. Imagine a big Victorian house, but blown up to absurd proportions, and with all sorts of superfluous decorations. Made out of local timber, of course. They had a hall for art, I can’t even remember why, now. Maybe they were local artists. I only remember paintings of sailboats and topless women, which was a rare sight for a kid at the time. There was a hall filled with 19th-century household artifacts. Chamber pots and weird children's toys.
Then there was the logging section, which was the bulk of the museum. It’s strange how different things seemed to be in the early days of the logging industry, despite being only about a hundred years old, from my perspective in the 1980s. If you look back a hundred years from today, in the 1920s, you had automobiles, airplanes, electrical appliances, jazz music, radio programs, flappers, it doesn’t feel that far removed, does it? No TV, no internet, but it wouldn’t be that strange. 1880s? Different world.
Imagine red cedars, so big you could have a full logging crew, arms stretched out, just barely manage to encircle one for a photographer. Felling a single tree was the work of days. Men could rest and eat their lunches in the shelter of a cut made into a trunk, and not worry for safety or room. They had to cut their own little platforms into the trees many feet off the ground, just so the trunk was a little bit thinner, and thus hours of labor saved. They used those long, flexible two-man saws. And double-bit axes. They worked in the gloom of the shade with old gas lanterns. Once cut down from massive logs thirty feet in diameter, they’d float the logs downhill in sluices, like primitive wooden make-shift water slides. Or they’d haul them down to the nearest river, the logs pulled by donkeys on corduroy roads. They’d lay large amounts of grease on the roads, so the logs would slide easily. You could still smell the grease on the old tools on display in the museum. The bigger towns had streets where the loggers would slide the logs down greased skids all the way down to the sea, where they’d float in big logjams until the mills were ready for processing. They’d call such roads “skid-rows.” Because of all the activity, they’d end up being the worst parts of town. Local citizens wouldn’t want to live there, due to all the stink and noise. They’d be on the other side of the brothels and the opium dens. It would be the sort of place where the destitute and the insane would find themselves when they’d finally lost anything. To this day, “skidrow” remains a euphemism for the part of a city where the homeless encamp.
That was the lore I’d learned as a child. That was my “ancestry” I was supposed to respect and admire, which I did, wholeheartedly. There were things they left out, though. Things that you might have suspected, from a naive perspective, would be perfect for kids, all the folklore that came with the logging industry. The ghost stories, and the tall tales. I would have eaten that up. They do talk about that kind of thing in places far removed from the Pacific Northwest. But I had never heard about any of it. Things like the Hidebehind. No, that I’d have to discover for myself.
There were four of us on those bike adventures. Myself. Ralph, my best friend. A tough guy, the bad boy, the most worldly of us, which is a strange thing to say about an eight-year-old kid. India, an archetypal ‘80s tomboy. She was the coolest person I knew at the time. Looking back, I wonder what her home life was like. I think I remember problematic warning signs that I couldn’t have recognized when I was so young, but now raise flags. Then there was Ben. A goofy kid, a wild mop of hair, coke bottle glasses, type 1 diabetic which seemed to make him both a bit pampered by his mother, who was in charge of all his insulin, diet, and schedule, and conversely a real risk taker when she wasn’t around.
When we first saw it…
No, wait. This was the problem with starting the story. Where does it all begin? I’ll need to talk about my Grandfather as well. I’ve had two different perspectives on my Grandfather, on the man that he was. The first was the healthy able-bodied grandparent I’d known as a young child. Then there was the man, as I learned about him after he had passed.
There was a middle period, from when I was 6 to when I was 16, when I hardly understood him at all, as he was hit with a double whammy of both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's. His decline into an invalid was both steep and long drawn out. That part didn’t reflect who he was as a person.
What did I know of him when I was little? Well I knew he and my grandmother had a nice big house and some farmland, out in the broad flat valley north of Farmingham. Dairy country. It had been settled by Dutch immigrants back in the homesteading days. His family had been among the first pioneers in the county too. It didn’t register to me then that his surname was Norwegian, not Dutch. I knew he had served in the Navy in World War II, which I was immensely proud of for reasons I didn’t know why. I knew he had a job as a butcher in a nearby rural supermarket. He was a bit of a farmer too, more as a hobby and a side gig. He had a few cattle, but mostly grew and harvested hay to sell to the local dairies. I knew he had turned his garage into a machine shop, and could fix damn near anything. From the flat tires on my bicycle to the old flat-bed truck he’d haul hay with, to an old 1950s riding lawnmower he somehow managed to keep in working order. I knew he could draw a really cool cartoon cowboy, I knew he loved to watch football, and I knew the whiskers on his chin were very pokey, and they’d tickle you when he kissed you on the cheek, and that when you tried to rub the sensation away he’d laugh and laugh and laugh.
Then there were the parts of his life that I’d learn much later. Mostly from odd passing comments from relatives, or things I’d find in the public records. Like how he’d been a better grandfather than a father. Or how his life as I knew it had been a second, better life. He’d been born among the Norwegian settler community, way up in the deep, dark, forest-shrouded hills that rimmed the valley. He’d been a logger in his youth. Technologically he was only a generation or two from the ones I’d learned about in the museum. They’d replaced donkeys with diesel engines and corduroy roads with narrow gauge rail. It was still the same job, though. Dirty, dangerous, dark. Way back into those woods, living in little logging camps, civilization was always a several-day hike out. It became a vulgar sort of profession, filled with violent men, reprobates, and thieves. When my grandfather’s father was murdered on his front porch by a lunatic claiming he’d been wronged somehow, my grandfather hiked out of there, got into town, and joined the Navy. He vowed never to go back. The things he’d seen out in those woods were no good. He’d kept that existence away from me. Anyways…
Tommy Barker was the first of us to go missing. I say ‘us’ as if I knew him personally. I didn’t. He went to Farmingham Middle School, other side of town, and several grades above us. From our perspective, he may as well have been an adult living overseas.
Yet it felt like we got to know him. His face was everywhere, on TV, all over telephone poles. Everybody was talking about him. After he didn’t return from a friend’s house, everybody just sort of assumed, or maybe hoped, that he’d just gotten lost, or was trapped somewhere. They searched all the parks. Backyards, junkyards, refrigerators, trunks. Old-fashioned refrigerators, back before suction seals, had a simple handle with a latch that opened when you pulled on it. It wasn’t a problem when the fridges were in use and filled with food. But by the 80s old broke-down refrigerators started filling up backyards and junkyards, and they became deathtraps for kids playing hide-and-seek. The only opened from the outside. I remember thinking Tommy Barker was a little old to have likely been playing hide-and-seek, but people checked everywhere anyway. They never found him.
That was about the first time we saw the Hidebehind. Ben said he thought he saw somebody following us, looked like, maybe, a kid. We’d just slowly huffed our way up a moderately steep hill, Farmingham is full of them, and when we paused for a breather at the top, Ben said he saw it down the hill, closer to the base. Yet when we turned to look there was nothing there. Ben said he’d just seen it duck behind a car. That wasn’t the sort of behavior of a random kid minding his own business. Yet the slope afforded us a view under the car’s carriage, and except for the four tires, there were no signs of any feet hiding behind the body. At first, we thought he was pulling our leg. When he insisted he wasn’t, we started to tease him a little. He must have been seeing things, on account of his poor vision and thick glasses. The fact that those glasses afforded him vision as good as or better than any of us wasn’t something we considered.
The next person to disappear was Amy Brooks. Fifth-grader. Next elementary school over. I remember it feeling like when you’re traveling down the freeway, and there’s a big thunderstorm way down the road, but it keeps getting closer, and closer. I don’t remember what she looked like. Her face wasn’t plastered everywhere like Tommy’s had been. She was mentioned on the regional news, out of Seattle, her and Tommy together. Two missing kids from the same town in a short amount of time. The implication was as obvious as it was depraved. They didn’t think the kids were getting lost anymore. They didn’t do very much searching of backyards. The narratives changed too. Teachers started talking a lot about stranger danger. Local TV channels started recycling old After School Specials and public service announcements about the subject.
I’m not sure who saw it next. I think it was Ben again. We took him seriously this time though. I think. The one I’m sure I remember was soon after, and that time it was India who first saw it. It’s still crystal clear in my memory, almost forty years later, because that was the time I first saw it too. We were riding through a four-way stop, an Idaho Stop before they called it that, when India slammed to a stop, locking up her coaster brakes and leaving a long black streak of rubber on a dry patch of pavement. We stopped quickly after and asked what the problem was. We could tell by her face she’d seen it. She was still looking at it.
“I see it,” she whispered, unnecessarily. We all followed her gaze. We were looking, I don’t know, ten seconds? Twenty? We believed everything she said, we just couldn’t see it.
“Where?” Ralph asked.
“Four blocks down,” she whispered. “On the left. See the red car? Kinda rusty?” There was indeed a big old Lincoln Continental, looking pretty ratty and worn. I focused on that, still seeing nothing. “Past that, just to its right. See the street light pole? It’s just behind that.”
We also saw the pole she was talking about. Metal. Aluminum, I’d have guessed. It had different color patches, like metallic flakeboard. Like it’d had been melted together out of scrap.
I could see that clearly even from that distance. I saw nothing behind it. I could see plenty of other things in the background, cars, houses, bushes, front lawns, beauty bark landscape.. There was no indication of anything behind that pole.
And then it moved. It had been right there where she said it had been, yet it had somehow perfectly blended into the landscape, a trick of perspective. We didn’t see it at all until it moved, and almost as fast it had disappeared behind that light pole. We only got a hint. Brown in color, about our height in size.
We screamed. Short little startled screams, the involuntary sort that just burst out of you. Then we turned and started to pedal like mad, thoroughly spooked. We made it to the intersection of the next block when it was Ralph who screeched to a halt and shouted, “Wait!”
We slowed down and stopped, perhaps not as eagerly as we’d done when India yelled. Ralph was looking back over his shoulder, looking at that metal pole. “Did anybody see it move again?’ he asked. We all shook our heads in the negative. Ralph didn’t notice, but of course, he didn’t really need an answer, of course we hadn’t been watching.
“If it didn’t move, then it’s still there!” Ralph explained the obvious. It took a second to sink in, despite the obvious. “C’mon!” he shouted, and to our surprise, before we could react, he turned and took off, straight down the road, straight to where that thing had been lurking.
We were incredulous, but something about his order made us all follow hot on his heels. He was a sort of natural leader. I thought it was total foolishness, but I wasn’t going to let him go alone. I think I got out, “Are you crazy?!”
The wind was blowing hard past our faces as we raced as fast as we could, it made it hard to hear. Ralph shouted his response. “If it’s hiding that means its afraid!” That seemed reasonable, if not totally accurate. Lions hide from their prey before they attack. Then again, they don’t wait around when the whole herd charges. Really, the pole was coming up so fast there wasn’t a whole lot of time to argue. “Just blast past and look!” Ralph added. “We’re too fast! It won’t catch us.”
Sure, I thought to myself. Except maybe Ben, who always lagged behind the rest of us in a race. The lion would get Ben if any of us.
We rushed past that pole and all turned our heads to look. “See!” Ralph shouted in triumph. There was simply nothing there. A metal streetlight pole and nothing more. We stopped pedaling yet still sped on. “Hang on,” Ralph said, and at the next intersection he took a fast looping curve that threatened to crash us all, but we managed and curved behind him. We all came to the pole again where we stopped to see up close that there was nothing there, despite what we had seen moments before.
“Maybe it bilocated,” Ben offered. We groaned. We were all thinking it, but I think we were dismissive because it wasn’t as cool a word as ‘teleport.”
“Maybe it just moved when we weren’t looking,” I offered. That hadn’t been long, but that didn’t mean anything if it moved fast. The four of us slowly looked up from the base of the pole to our immediate surroundings. There were bushes. A car in a carport covered by a tarpaulin. The carport itself. Garbage cans. Stumps. Of course the ever-present trees. Whatever it was it could have been hiding behind anything. Maybe it was. We looked. Maybe it would make itself seen. None of us wanted that. “OK, let’s get going,” Ralph said, and we did so.
I got home feeling pretty shaken that afternoon. I felt safe at home. Except for the front room, which had a big bay window looking out onto the street, and the people who lived across it. There were plenty of garbage cans and telephone poles and stumps that a small, fast thing might hide behind. No, I felt more comfortable in my bedroom. There was a window, but a great thick conical cypress tree grew right in front of it, reaching way up over the roof of the house. If anything, it offered ME a place to hide, and peer out onto the street to either side of the tree. It was protective, as good as any heavy blanket.

I made a character and this sotry for star wars (i made this story for my English finals, i had a month to make it and got an A on it), the characters name is Saya Eban and is a character I have been thinking of for over a decade now (im not in my 2nd decade so since i was super young). Saya at this time is 13-14 years old and was given inspiration by almost all the other jedi and also star killer. He is human and with reliance on the force he can live up to 1000 years with hi peak being between 35, 40 ish to around 800 years of age. In terms of prime power level and potential, in my canon he is 3rd most powerful character just underneath luke and anikan Skywalkers, but could contend with them at some points. Little background: he was a prodigy in school before he became a padawan, he always had an intrest in a character named Ahsoka Tano but never became more than friends because of the Jedi teachings. He was a fast learning youngling and became a padawan earlier than most other younglings, becaming a padawan at the age of 11 - 12. He was in the first battle of Genesis but his troop transport ship was blasted out of the air, landing behind enemy lines leaving him the sole surviver, and scarring him, making him want to never see uneeded bloodshed ever again. He met Count Dooku before he had met Obi-Wan and Anikan on geonosis, he locked blades with him once... once, before he was thrown aside like a house fly, not worth his time, he was out until the retreat of the battle was initiated. This gave him night terrors and nightmares, after this day he could never sleep more than an hour, if that, before he woke up feeling the dark side creeping in. So he had learned to use sleep meditation. Sleep meditation allowed him to accelerate his trainings and connect greater to the force, he had unlocked 1/3 of his life now, the force helping his cells heal his body while he sat and meditated.
This story is of how he lived through one of the bloodiest battles and worst losses of the Republic, the battle of Sarrish, and of how he had obtained his later main star ship, a Kom'rk Mark 1 class star fightetransport, aka the Puro (i made this story before I have watched the 3rd season of the Mandalorian, as of right now i still haven't so Idk if thats in season 3 or not).
There is about 11,340 words in the story, and I don't 100% know of what I should make him look like so have your imaginations run wild.
Ok here we go:
Tales of Saya Eban's Puro
Chapter 1

 The battle of Sarrish was one of the worst battles of the Clone Wars, it was a great devastating loss to the Republic and the Jedi, and I was in the middle of it all. Before the battle I was doing some touch-ups on my A-wing Fighter. I had managed to get my hands on a hyperdrive that would fit in my small fighter, although being able to enter hyperspace without an external hyperdrive wing is very convenient, fast, and easy, it does slow my fighter and hinder some mobility, but not an uncontrollable amount of loss. Little did I know it'd save my life later that week. After I had finished my work, gotten it restocked for my next battle, I was called to the Jedi command center for a briefing by Master Yoda, saying it was an urgent mission and I was needed now, with his backwards way of speaking annoying me slightly. In a flash, I had gathered my battle ready loadout and headed off to the command center. When I entered the command center with the center planning table showing starships from both Confederate and Republic sides, One chasing another. I look and see Masters Yoda and Windu and a holoprojected Obi-Wan Kenobi surrounding the Table, with deeply serious thoughts in their eyes, fingers on their concentrating chins. When I swiftly strolled in, I was greeted with Master Windu's cheerful, but serious voice: "Ah, Padawan Eban, good you're here, come quick, we must act with persistence if we want to gain an upper hand in this war." "Master Windu, good to see you, you too Master Yoda, Master Kenobi, what's the situation?" Master Obi-Wan states, "We are currently chasing Separatist forces to the planet Sarrish and we will need some back up, could you bring your part of the 104th battalion right away, we have heavy casualties and they're going to have reinforcements when they reach the planet." "Is there not anyone closer than me, it may take a few days for me to get there, yall mabe finished by the time I get there!" I said with hope in my eyes. "I'm afraid that you're the only one that is available with the most minimal time of arrival, you'll have to be quick though, it will be anytime now they will reach the planet and have reinforcements. we need this win, it will be a great victory for the Republic if we are able to capture the planet." Stated Obi-Wan with certainty. "All other generals are on missions right as we speak, you are the only one that can provide back up at this current time." Master Windu added "Closer to Knight after this mission you will be, great padawan you are, your great swift improvements, Master Plo is pleased with, believe in you I do." Master Yoda said with a jolly old-man voice. "Now go, there's not much time to waste, gather your men and go help Obi-Wan!" Rushedly said by Master Windu. "With determination in my voice, I yell "Yes Masters, right away!" And like a flash, I was gone. As I'm running off, I catch a glimpse of a green swoosh and the sound of a bolt deflection. I stumble to a stop and put my legs in reverse to give curiosity the wheel. When I peer in, I see Master Skywalker and Ahsoka, along with roughly 8 clone troopers all in a circle around Ahsoka and her one blade ignited. Master Skywalker had her eyes welded to her as he walked around the trooper. I could see Captain Rex standing and watching as well, although he seems to be the only one who spotted me poking in my head. He motioned his finger to his lips as to tell me to shush and not interfere, so I watched with anticipation. And after a lifetime stillness ending in a second after Master Skywalker yelled "START!" And stun doughnuts fire from the blasters of the troopers, sending a volley of blue twords Ahsoka from all directions. With great flexibility I pair with, she jumps into the air, spinning like skates on a skate rink in mid air deflecting all incoming plasmic projectiles landing with swift grace ready for more, And more came, she stands in the center blade moving almost faster than what my eyes could keep up with, until that one bolt punches her right in the back, knocking her to the ground, diminishing the blade back into the hilt. I spring into the room, speaking with worry in my voice when I squeak out "Ahsoka! Master Skywalker, what was that!?" 

"She was just training deflecting blaster fire, she's going to be outmatched a lot in this war, and clones are better than droids to practice with." Anakin said with pride that she was able to last little over a minute, thats improvement.
"Well I guess you're not completely wrong, but your going to give her a brain injury at this rate! Could you not go a bit easier on her?"
"She'll never learn if I go easy on her." Master Skywalker said with little arrogance in his voice.
"W- well, here, l-let me wake her then." I stuttered as I walked up to Rex holding Ahsoka like he's a pillow.
"Rex, do you mind if I-"
"Not at all General, here." Rex said as I sat next to him holding Ahsoka's top half of her body.

 As he caringly sets Ahsoka's rhythmically beating top half in my lap, head facing the heavens, I softly lay my hand over her forehead, close my eyes, and concentrate. A few suspenseful seconds later, I take my hand off and observe Ahsoka's hand softly glide to her now curling forehead, eyes fluttering open. 

With a smile I voiced"Wakey Wakey warrior princess, have a good nap?" Smirking the whole time.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes Nicksters." She groaned with fading pain.
"What are you doing here?" She leisurely grumbled as she started to lie propped up by her desirable, fluorescent orange arms made of flexible muscle.
"I was walking by, and saw a 'damsel in distress', I HAD to come and 'save the day'." I joked, smirking the whole time, annoying her little bit more.
"You know I have been dying to use my force heal on you since I had learned it. I bet you don't even feel bad at all right now hm?" I said leaning in
Ahsoka starts to stand as to get a feel for her own body.
"You're right, I feel better than I did before, not bad for someone named Nicks." Ahsoka said smirking right back at me.
"Oh come on, that was one time, that was even before we became patiwans!" I said with little dramatics in my vocal verberations.
"Ok Master, I'm ready to try again." Ahsoka said to Master Skywalker
"Not now Ahsoka, we have a mission from the Jedi council we have to attend to while Obi-Wan is on his own mission." Anikan said to Ahsoka, elongating his 'not' like he usually does
"I'm actually about to go give help to Obi-Wan right now… WHICH I NEED TO GET PREPARED FOR NOW!! Karabast, got to go! See yah Ahsoka, Master, Rex." And like a ship entering hyperspace, I was gone.
Chapter 2

 After 2 boring days traveling in hyperspace, me and my 5 Veneter class Cruisers are nearing our destination, this would make 12 Cruisers for the Republic side. A new commander CT'-4112 or Zerek, debriefs on the battle situation. As I had sensed, Obi-Wan was outmatched seeing as backup was on planet Sarrish for the fleeing Separatist ships, now it's 11 Munificent class Cruisers and 2 command stations blockading the planet. Kenobi was starting to be pushed back, relying on our Cruisers longer ranged cannons to hope the Sepies didn't get too close. Our Cruisers have longer ranged main canons and toms of fighter room, while the Sepies Cruisers have more fire power at closer ranges with more fighters than our Vendor class Cruisers, at closer ranges, the Sepies would completely destroy a Venetor class Cruiser, but we have strategies and will power. 

"Glad to see a friendly face Saya." Kenobi said exhaustingly.
"Well, it looked like you needed help. You know I need to be the one to save everyone. I'll move into position to fortify our defenses to push the Sepies back and for us to make a plan. What is your fleet's condition?"
"We have 2 Venetors heavily damaged and the rest either have mild to no damage. And we have lost half our fighters as of now." Urgently said by Kenobi.
"Ok, I'm sending men and supplies to you right now, let me take the front so I can take the damage if they send another attack." I calmly said to Kenobi.
"Men battle positions and set all power to front cannons and shields. Venators get into pincer position and get ready for an attack. Fighters get ready to launch." I commanded to all my Cruisers
"Master, if you could, could you add in your undamaged Venetors? " I wandered and directed with much mastery, I even made Obi-Wan himself visually impressed considering my inexperienced mind in life, and especially war. I even managed to make him smile.
"Getting in position now." Obi-Wan stated, still smiling.
"Understood, While you get everything fixed, I'll see if I can weaken their defenses, it seems as if they're in attack positions so we gotta be ready for anything." I said in deep thought.
"Ok, 10 to 13, I like those odds, makes it even, more so for the Sepies." I grinned.
"Now Saya, remember this is still a battle, don't be too cocky, you're starting to remind me of Anakin." Obi-Wan said with conviction.
"Yes Master, sorry about that." I answered to Obi-Wan, pulling back a little.

 Just then, many starfighters come from the enemy Cruisers, hundreds of them lightning fast, closing distance fast. 

"All right men, time for some fun. Obi-Wan, if you want to take command of my control center, I'll lead this fight." I said before Obi-Wan could respond.
"Ok- but Saya! Blast, maybe he's too much like Anikan." Obi-Wan said defeatedly.
As I get into the hangar I yell "Alright Wolfpack, let's get goin!" Then I hop into my modified Jedi A-wing.
We rush out from the center roof door along the Cruiser with my squadron aka The Wolfpack, with me leading my 23 fighters into battle and many more friendly's following from the hangars.
"Ok Wolfpack, let's make a break for them Cruisers, get as many of them gone as possible. 411 you ready?" I asked R2-411. R2-411 bleeps with readiness.
"Ok, time to blow them out of the sky, remember, stay in formation" I commanded.
"Yes sir!" The Clones bellowed.

 Then we hit the swarm with a mighty thundering sound of lasers flying through the emptiness of space seeing one after one of enemy fighter droids dropping all over the place. Me and my Wolfpack fly through all the 2 winged Vulture droids that look like each wing was sideways and has 2 prongs each side for wings. They were way more quick and maneuverable than us, but we had a duty to win, and we won't lose today. It's like a firework show, but you're dodging all the fireworks, and they're aiming right at you. While we are defending the Venator Cruisers, they're mostly firing at the Sepies Cruisers, slowly dwindling their energy shields down. 

"Boys, I have a plan, but I'll need yall to get back to the Cruisers." I urged
"Obi-Wan, how's the 2 heavily damaged Cruisers? We've been out for a long while. They should be good by now right?" I questioned Master Kenobi.
"They're about to come back into the fight, but one of our Cruisers is at a quarter shield, few good hits or bombing runs and it's gone, what's your plan Saya?" Obi-Wan said, perplexed.
"Just give me an opening to the left Separatist control center, that's all I need to get on that ship." I stated with confidence.
"I'll try my best, but don't be stupid Saya, we can't afford to lose you."
"Yeah yeah I know, just get me an opening please Master!" I begged.

 After the words fleeted from my mouth, all the Cruisers fired a hole through the droid fleet with friendly fighters also making way for me to get through. I blast the afterburners straight through the enemy swarm that's been lesson by the commotion, just barely being hidden by smoke from a just destroyed fighter straight into the leftmost control ship hanger landing with an explosive entry. And immediately I jump out, igniting both, my straight emerald green saber in my left, and my yellow saber with a curved hilt similar to the Count's hilt himself in my right. I'll face him again one day, it's inevitable, like me. I land and immediately cut a group of B1 battle droids heads off with my yellow saber facing out, giving me more reach, but as I start to take fire from the army that quickly form from my landing, I swiftly doge left to right almost able to doge the sight of a human eye. Left, pop goes the heads of 3, right, pop goes 5, jump through the air on an almost straight path through the thick of the army, spinning with a light show if one were to be an onlooker at this chaotic organization of flying red plasmic bolts going to a mix of yellow and green, then proceeding to fly straight back at the shooter with twice the velocity. I land on my feet with a thunderous "BOOM" with what seems like an explosion that incinerates half of the whole hanger with an electric yellow glow seeming like yellow lighting exploded from the epicenter of the explosion. When the smoke cleared, it seemed that everything within a 5 meter radius was completely incinerated, and everything within 40 meter radius was heavily damaged, and any technology within eye shot was either scrape or short-circuiting, but all B1 battle droids and super battle droids were out. 

I sighed with relief with little heavy breathing when I looked around me, but with no time to rest, 6 Vulture droid fighters came through the hanger's magnetic shield door, transforming to walk on its pronged wings like they were legs. They scanned me and started raining a flurry of red down onto me, but with my lightning fast reflexes, I raised my sabers to block the incoming hellfire from all six fighter's. Then came the flurry being deflected in any direction possible, and I could just barely see the 6 droids started to surround me by going behind my back, but I ain't done yet. As I'm blocking, jumping, spinning, twisting on a micrometer, I stomp with a mighty force, launching through the air, slowly spinning straight for a Vulture that has became the prey. Bolts whizzing by me, inches, centimeters near my skin, singeing my arm hairs to their roots. I land on top of the droid with a thunderous boom crunching where my foot had landed, driving my sabers straight through the brain of the story high droid, with a counterclockwise rotation around my back, dragging my sabers across the metal of the droid, I leap off the droid landing with the feathers and fly forward with a flashing dash slicing through 2 other droids legs, leaving gravity do its magical job. 3 down, 3 to go, but with little time left. I launch forward running on hairs dipping and dodging blots, I leap up slicing through one leg of a droid and pushing off of its gravity taken hull, coming down on another droid's leg, cutting with ease. I land like a leaf in the autumn skies, and launch with a swift leap, flying my yellow saber straight down the middle of the 6th and final droid with no time to spare.

 I land with caution, ready to fend off another foe, but none came at that second, so I took the opportunity and ran with it straight to where the main reactors should lie. I swiftly sprint with force leaps through the air to get to the reactor, the ship is 270th of a circle with a ball where the command center is, the middle is the only connected between the back of the ball and the inner back of the circle, that's where the reactor is, im at the left most side, may take me a minute to reach it, but I can get there without being seen. My plan was to quickly fix and rewrite a Vulture droid's code to go with my command, not going to be the best work but it will work, hopefully. I had to act fast because I knew there were going to be hundreds more droids to come to see the commotion, I'd say within the minute. The codes used on the droids are not the best, because of mass production, so It was an easy fix, I just needed it to fly a small bit. It comes back to life with a putt to its movement, I directed it to start flying while I'm on its back, putting the whole time with smoke, just what I needed. I start to move forward as fast as possible. As we get around the hundreds of battle droids below, I'm starting to speed up, and as I see the reactor room, I could hear B1's yell " HEY! STOP! YOUR GOING TO FAST" in their robotic voice. Before I hit the Shield covering the reactor room, I jump off to the left where the blast door is for the room. With the distraction of the droid smashing into the shield, I use this time to slowly cut through the blast doors with both sabers starting at the bottom of the door, going up and around to form a circle I can fit through. I was through within a Minute, unnoticed, or so I was led to believe. When I get into the reactor room, I throw explosives all over the reactors, with a detonation in T minus 1 minute. I fly out of the room, calling for 411 to bring my ship as fast as possible, 55. Running across the hanger, I'm spotted by the hundreds of battle droids, which immediately start firing right as they see me 50. The explosion of the fighter droid caused a chain to nearby explosive barrels, exploding more Vulture droids causing tons of smoke and fires to spread around the hangar area, 45. As I'm running, my yellow saber is blocking multiple bolts flying at me while I'm jumping, spinning, performing acrobatic movements while being shot by hundreds of droids, from B1's, to super's, to droideka's, all firing at me, adding to the smoke, 35. Running with young blood in my veins, I perform 1, 2, 3 long jumps and leap onto the side of a slanted destroyed Vulture droid, 30. I jump up, reaching for the cloudy sky just as 411 swoops in predictively shoving my hand into the side of the sharp A-wing hull, 25. I grab the side of the hull and pull myself up into the cockpit, grabbing the controls, 20. I spin to the exit with roughly 67° of the hanger I need to shoot out of, I fire the afterburners using the circumference of the circle and my fighters movment to my advantage, 15. Pushing forward, I am drifting an A-wing around the hangar of a Separatist capital ship skimming the walls centimeters away from an explosive fiery death, 10. I barely screamed out of the hanger, to be able to see a view of the capital ship flying stright for the other Sepie capital ship, 5. Im still firing the afterburners to try and attempt to get a safe distance away from the soon to be collision sight, 4. I let 411 take the control's, 3. I turn my head to look back, 2. I see the collision of the 2 270° hangers, 1. I watch as i get the view of a star being formed right infront of my eyes, and seeing many Sepie Cruisers being absolutely engulfed by the flames, and a blast wave decimating the Vulture droids… blast wave…. BLAST WAVE! Just then I'm thrown far, along with the debri. I manged to gain control of the craft and start performing advanced monuvers to avoid being hit by debrie that will demolishe me and my tiny fighter. 

"Saya, can you hear me? Saya?" Master Obi-Wan Kenobi pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah master, I'm good, I'm fine. Woo…!" I said with a sigh of relief.
Chapter 3

 The explosion had decimated the Separatist forces leaving 4 Cruisers sustaining heavy or mild damages, but with an opening, Obi-Wan and I travel to the ground along with Captain Cody to go for a large ground assault. Master Obi-Wan's plan was to drop in and gather our troops and split them between Obi-Wan and commander Cody. We were west, they were east. The Separatists had the high ground seeing as they had a cliff to their advantage. Flying in on gunships, we were taking heavy fire from their anti aircraft cannons. Commander Cody and I are debriefing the squad on the way to the rally point, seeing gunships after gunship falling to the rocky ground in a fiery explosive ball of red hot metal, and screams, with no plants in sight, just rocks, gunships, and red streaks flying by. Explosions booming right next to us with our doors right open. We have been ordered and ordering troops to stay far away from the mountain top gun fortifying the mountain top of the cliff, leaving that gun for the gunships and the best of the clone troopers, or ARC (Advanced Recon Commandos) troopers to deal with that later, seeing as a ground assault is too dangerous for us. As some of the clones have said, it's not an easy mission, but hops are high. 

"30 seconds until landing." A clone trooper yelled to me and Cody.
Cody starts with "All right, listen up! Maintain squad formations, 'A' squad, You're on me-" ZZZZZEEEROW- BOOOM!
"Where hit!" I yell "Everyone! Hold on!"
Before we hit the ground I leap out of the gunship with a backwards somersault, force pulling all the troops out of the burning fireball heading for the ground, grabbing all of the men, including the 2 pilots at the front, breaking through the windows. I land like rain from the sky, catching the troops I just pulled out with my powers and have them roughly land on the fluffy rocks next to our now downed gunship, no casualties yet. I rush over to take cover under our gunship on its left side behind enemy lines. I sit and meditate as they come up with a plan.
"What's the status lieutenant?" Cody asked
"5 injured thanks to General Saya, but that's not that bad news… Does that Rock look familiar?" The lieutenant asked.
"Yea, the mountain, right where we're not supposed to be." Said Cody
"General Kenobi ordered us not to try taking this section from the ground." The lieutenant regenerated back again with what was already established.
"That's what he said…but what would the general do if he were here?" Cody rhetorically asked.
"Saya sir, what do you think?" A trooper asked me somewhat desperately.
"I think Cody should take this one, I've got your back Cody." I answered with my legs crossed, eyes closed, slightly levitating over the rocks.
"Eight-Eight-Six-Seven through Eight-Eight-Six-Nine and Saya, fix your grapples and come with me. Everybody, prepare for covering fire." Cody ordered.
I get up, eyes still shut, ready to block anything coming our way.
"NOW!" Cody yells, sprinting across what is our no-man's-land
I open my eyes, ignite my Sabers, Green in left, yellow in right, and dash towards the now incoming blaster fire. I sense it, left side, block, right side, deflect, one for Cody, deflected. We get to some stalagmites at the bottom of the mountain, sustaining heavy fire, I pose as a distraction for all the fire, deflecting as many blots as I can back at the metal men. One troop trips and falls, pow, bolt straight through the head. Cody and the men shoot the grappling hooks up towards the top of the mountain and start climbing. I jump from my spot reigniting my sabers, driving them through the mountain side, helping me grab hold with my feet. And when I look up, I see a grapple fall behind me. I tried to grab the rope but I was too late. When I managed to obtain it, he had already hit the ground. Another tragedy, one that never had to happen, life being wasted away. I look up, a droid stairs emotionlessly down into my emotion filled eyes. A blue bolt shoots past me, impacting the droid's head, sending the body backwards.
Cody and the other clone rises from the cliff side as I leap up from the side, landing in front of the clones and immediately start deflecting with my 2 sabers having nothing pass. Cody takes this opportunity to run around my defense and attacks the droids head on, bashing one droid with the butt of his rifle and swinging his rifle at another, destroying both of them. The droid manning the anti aircraft gun turns and aims at Cody. Instinctively I jump in front of the cannon as it fires, I deflect the large bolt away with my right yellow saber, knocking my body to the right, making me stumble. But with the motion throwing me to the right, I use the momentum to throw my green saber with my left hand, impaling the droid in the metal chest. Cody then hops onto the turret, points the gun at the droids firing at our men, and lets loose, destroying all in its reticle.
"Thanks General, I owe you one, ill getcha next time." Cody said slowly getting off the turret.
"You're alright my friend, just pay it forward, let's go see how Obi-Wan did." I slightly worried, staring off to the north.

 We group up at the randevu, where we have set base camp on the planet in a small raven a bit away from where we captured the cliff with some makeshift scouting towers dotted around our position. Obi-Wan had more resistance than what he had anticipated, he was a little banged up, but he was fine in the end. This was a huge victory seeing as we have been able to set base on a planet that allows us to get resources through this hyperspace route and onto parts of the army past this point. Before, General Grievous snipped our route to where we couldn't get resources to our army on the other side from Coruscant. 

Chapter 4

 12 hours later, we have rested and have managed to build up a good base incase of a surprise attack. We are still fighting a few fronts of Separatist holdouts with a fortress a few klicks west, or about 4 miles west. 

I sit in my tent meditating, reflecting back on the weeks events, and what Ahsoka was doing back at the temple, training hard. I recite what I did with an almost overwhelming amount of blaster fire attempting to fly into me, how I was just mostly averting the blots away from me and not in a direction that would benefit me most.
'RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE'

 The ground started to shake out of nowhere, breaking my peace. I rush out of my tent, only to be met with a face full of B2 battle droid. I jump back over my tent flipping onto my feet as I see my tent being lit into flames from heavy bolt fire flying at me. Igniting both my sabers, I deflect the incoming fire away from me up into the sky as much as I physically could. I took a glance around, it was becoming more sunlit as we fought. It was a slaughter, clones dying left and right, Kenobi was on the Command ship getting patched, so it was just me, and the clones down here, being manicured. With a swift right step, I change lightsaber form, combining my form 3, (defensive form blocking anything coming way, and either making, or waiting for an opening to strike) with a combination of form 2 (saber to saber form, putting least amount or saber movement and preferring precise efficient movements) and form 4 (saber from using the force to enhance physical abilities, and heavily utilizing fast acrobatic movements to move around and disorient the opponents, using wide sweeping saber movements to block and hit targets) I use the power if the many bolts to propel my body onto my right leg, crouching down and taking a huge lead in to the air. Looking around like it is moving in stop motion, I see thousands of droids around, completely outnumbering my men. Glancing down where I had jumped from, there seems to be a super battle droid rising from the ground, looking as if it has been there for at least a few days. Time seems to start like normal again, immediately I have to block bolts coming for my body, twisting, turning, deflecting every. single. bolt. right to another droid. I can't have any more unneeded deaths in my hands. I land with an impactful explosion of yellow lighting, rendering half of the electronics on the field obsolete. Shots fire over the wall, exploding near me. 

"Everyone, Retreat!" I yelled into the comms.
I ran towards the lieutenant that I had survived the crash with, he was running for a troop transport.
"Get to the ships, return to the Venators! Get Kenobi and relay what has happened!" Urgency blowing through my voice.

 I push him into the ship as it takes off. As it's doing so, I force push it away from the field as to be in less danger of being shot down. But rockets fly through the air, I reach through the force and grab onto the hurdling death traps, I grab 1, 2, crash them into one another, 3, grab, 4, grab, 5, miss. ERRROW… BOOOM! With a hopeless explosion, the ship bursts into an explosive ball of fire, right in front of my eyes, out of my grasp. Shots fly past my head from behind me, I ignite my sunlit yellow saber to block incoming bolts. No men, only metal remains, and it wants me dead. I dash for my ship on the other side of the airstrip, luckily barely touched from this horrible surprise party that invited everyone I very much dislike. Hopping into my A-wing, I lift-off dogging left, right, up, down, roll left, roll right, barely being passed by on all sides by cannon fire. When I reach the point past the clouds, there's a whole war above. Separatist forces have surprised Kenobi with an overwhelming number of ships, putting our war torn 12 Venators against 16 Munificent class Cruisers. We were greatly out matched. But the time I was in space we had lost 3 Vectors compared to there 1 lost. Droids noticed me coming from the planet and started to verge onto my position. 

"Obi-Wan! You there? Can you hear me?" I yelled, pulling evasive maneuvers.
"Saya, is that you?" Kenobi asked.
"Yes, we got surprised on the ground, seems the same happened here." I rushingly said.
"Yes, they came out of nowh-" Kenobi is cut off by a blaring siren from my cockpit.
"Wait, my ship is damaged, it's starting up my hyperdrive, 411 can you fix it?" I said dipping left and right while trying to stop the hyperdrive activation.
With a few bleeps of fear, I understand what's happening.
"When I was thrown from the capital ship explosive wave, I must have been hit near the hyperdrive, and explosions from my escape, along with the maneuvers I have been pulling, it may have caused damage that is registering a hyperdrive activation. Master Obi-Wan, I don't know, I-I don't know what to do!" I claimed with fear in my eyes.
"Can you deactivate the hyperdrive at all 411?" Kenobi asked
411 bleeps with a sad toon.
"Blast, Saya, does it say where you're going?"
"N- No, my council just says ERROR." I stated, now with much fear in my voice.

 I managed to steer my craft into the position of the hyperspace lane. 

"Tell Ahsoka good bye if I don't-" I get cut off when the the hyperdrive powered up woth a vvvvvvvvvvvVVVVERRRRRRR PEEOW, and just like that, me, my A-wing, and R2-411, are gone.
Chapter 5

 It's been days since the battle, mabe 2 or 3 days. Luckily I always keep many ration bars in my fighter to last me a good few days, along with my extra water and my ability to go into a deep meditative state, conserving food and water. Keeping me company is my meditation and 411. We have almost hit some unknown objects, could have been planets, asteroids, other ships, but we seem to be staying in hyperspace lanes luckily, or I would have been dead a long time ago. My class 2 hyperdrive could have taken me all over the galaxy by now, I could be heading towards Coruscant right now for all I know. 

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
My hyperdrive warning kicked on, showing that there is a massive gravity force in my path. The console flashed with big red dangerous letters "Exiting Hyperdrive" on the screen.
"YES! FINALLY!" I yelled with excitement.

 I watch through the glass to see a barren looking planet, and a similar looking moon, a moon I was heading to. I was moving fast, as I entered the moon's atmosphere, Im grabbing the controls, barely anything. My craft is red hot from the rate at which I'm coming in on. I'm grabbing the stick, pulling back as much as I can, as to try and save myself and 411 from a fiery death. I scraped by a big rocky mountain dealing more damage to my A-wing. 

"HOLD ON 411!"
"Come ooooon. Pull pull pullllll…. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!-" VERRROW BOOOOSH!!! The crash landing sounded like a bomb flying through the air, then landing on its target. I try to get from my seat just to find my strap and window will not open. Using my saber I cut off my seat strap and broke the window from the hinges and leaped out, taking 411 from the craft, swiftly landing on a tall mountainous rock. The craft seemed to have pushed through the land 50 meters from the initial impact spot. The area I was in seemed to be very rocky terrain with many rocky canyons and huge rocks that are almost mountainous. The sun was close to setting down for the night but was still a good hour away from sleeping.

 With the force by my side, I felt a very uneasy sensation telling me to stay out of sight. I duck down on the tall skinny rock taking 411 down with me. 411 confusingly bleeps when I do so. "Hey, I have a feeling right now, just keep quiet real quick, there's somebody coming. Trust me." Me and 411 peer over the edge looming over my crashed ship just as a group of 6 men in full armor covering their whole body fly in with jetpacks strapped to their backs, blasters in hand. As they land, they search around my wreckage, presumably looking for survivors. One seems to be ordering the others around, pointing at one to look in one direction, another a different direction, and scanning around for the unexpected visitor. I look down at my Wrist link, my distress signal wasn't sent, I guess that was damaged from entering the planet at such high speed with no deflector shields surrounding the ship like a protective blanket. 

"Blast, 411, what's your S.O.S signal situation, did it go through?" 411 beeps with a little drama like I should know it didn't go through.
"Well sorry for busting your rusty bolts you rowdy rancor, better to try than to just give up mister sassy pants. Maybe I should wipe your memory for a change, see how you like it."
"Now shush, don't want them to find us spying on them, won't look too good." I demand. "Now here, in case we get caught, I don't want them to know I'm a Jedi, so here, take my sabers, I'm not gonna need them anyways." I said shoving my lightsabers into 411's storage compartment and looking towards the crash again.

 Just then the suit of armor that had been commanding his squad bursts up into my view right on my face out of hyperspace blue. 

"Ah, found ya trespassers, you 2 are coming with me." Demanded the Mandalorian with a snickering sound in his voice as the others rise from the portal of the abyss from down below.

 It was a good thing my ropes where in the tent back on Sarrish, or this may have been an even worse situation, Mangalorians like them hate Jedi with a passion, and it's a good thing I always have a broken blaster in 411 for any cases where I need to blend in with a crowd or pose as a normal civilian; although, the ability to become a civilian at any point is great, I've had little need to do so much. I'm quite popular with the people for being one who tries to connect with the population as a fellow citizen. So I rarely stay in the temple for too long. I love being with the people and learning skills without the force, like being a mechanic, electrician, public speaker, security guard, an all around great person to talk with about anything. I'm quite known on all levels of Coruscant for being one of the most friendly Jedi to be around. Right now though, I need to focus on not being caught, at least That's what my gut is telling me. After they searched my character for any weapons and found the broken blaster that 411 had put in my holster where my lightsaber usually is, they were satisfied and pushed us into one of their big Kom'rk Mark 1 class Mandalorian starfightetransport ship. 

(Look in comments for 6th)

The System was a scam, period.
I had leveled up five whole times after our fight against the Wendigo and I had not received any kind of reward. Sure, my mana pool had grown a little bit and my [Mana Exhaustion] had been slowly receding, but other than that I wasn’t getting stronger, faster or more agile. I didn’t even have a measly new skill to show for it.
“What a scam, I want a refund.” I muttered.
“I already told you, there was only a small chance for the Wendigo to have an elemental crystal. You only start seeing stuff like that after level fifty.” Elincia huffed in front of me. The mountainous path was steep but at least we had left the forest behind. Elincia had told me that Farcrest was just beyond the mountain range.
“People should get shit after leveling up five damn times!” I angrily said as if Elincia was somehow responsible for the shitty progression system.
The white haired woman suddenly stopped and turned around. For an instant I thought she was going to scold me but then, out of nowhere, she put her hands on my shoulders and locked her eyes onto mine. I tried to control my face reddening with little success and hoped she would attribute it to the arduous hike.
“I’m sorry to break this down to you, Robert Clarke, but support classes don’t get crap from the System.” Elincia said with a solemn tone just to smile a moment later. “In any case, you should be happy because your mana pool is so huge. Scholars are known for having lots of mana but, dude, you are on another level.”
One thing was sure, I wasn’t getting used to receiving compliments any time soon.
[Awareness]: You are absolutely correct.
I ignored the System prompt. At least I was getting very good at doing that.
“The amount of mana you need to materialize a [Mana Blade] without a skill is ridiculous. Are you sure you are a low level Scholar?” Elincia asked as we resumed the march. As we came near the edge of the Farlands, she grew more relaxed.
There haven't been any signs of monsters since the previous night.
“You still don’t believe me?” I replied.
“At this point you could say you are the son of a Fire Dragon and a virginal maiden and I’d believe you.” Elincia shrugged her shoulders. “It might be a long shot but, have you ever been to a System Shrine?”
As good a liar as I was, I couldn’t just bullshit my way out of such a direct question. Elincia was too keen for that. A System Shrine sounded like basic knowledge.
“Haven’t heard about that in my life.” I replied.
Elincia stopped for a second and gave me one of her looks of disbelief that made me feel like a kid without his homework. I wondered if she had practiced that expression. After all, she had five stacks of [Favorite Teacher], she might as well have experience publicly shaming kids.
“You don’t have System Shrines in the City of Light?” Elincia asked in disbelief.
I just shrugged my shoulders to avoid giving an answer. Also, there was the fact that the hike was taking a toll on my lungs. I didn’t know how Elincia could sustain a conversation at this pace. If I knew I was going to get transported to a magical world, I would’ve exercised more back on Earth.
“The System blocks certain titles from low level individuals.” Elincia started explaining. “Let’s say a Lv.1 Soldier survives a scuffle against a flock of Fire Dragons and gets the [Dragon Killer] title which gives fire resistance. There is a high chance the System withholds the title from the Soldier on the basis that [Dragon Killer] is an overpowered title for a mere Lv.1.”
I nodded. It made sense the System had a method to prevent power leveling, if only to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Earth would be plunged into chaos very quickly if suddenly a bunch of people with godly powers appeared out of nowhere.
“With the help of a System Shrine and a competent System Zealot the Soldier could fully unlock [Dragon Killer] even without the required level.” Elincia finished with her explanation. “Maybe you are benefiting from a hidden title.”
“Maybe,” I replied.
I couldn’t imagine having any useful titles considering how ordinary my life has been before arriving in the Farlands. When I was in college, I was able to comfortably outdrink all my group of friends, but then I lost that skill just after graduating. And there was the fact my only title at level one was [Lonely Boy] so my hopes of having a nice hidden title weren’t particularly high.
“Does Farcrest have a System Shrine?” I asked.
My question prompted a dry laugh from Elincia.
“Don’t get your hopes too high. Farcrest is a shithole.” She warned me as we climbed a rocky path between the two mountain ranges that separated the Farlands from the Kingdom of Ebros. We were almost there.
“Why is there a town so close to the Farlands anyway?” I asked.
Elincia lent me her hand and helped me climb a steep boulder.
“To prevent monsters from pouring into the Kingdom. Think of Farcrest as a cork.” Elincia pulled me up the boulder.
Suddenly, we were on top of the path between two mountain ranges. I glanced down the valley ahead expecting to see a handful of rustic cabins scattered across a modest patch of farmland with a rotten palisade and a muddy road; however, Farcrest was a town in its own right. It was located on the top of a soft hill, surrounded by a high stone wall with several watchtowers. An impressive church made of the same dark stone rose above the thatched rooftops and, on the highest part of the hill, a great hall, half palace, half fortress, dominated the valley.
“Doesn’t look like a shithole to me.” I said as we started the descent from the other side of the hill. It looked like a picturesque European medieval town.
“You’ll see.” Elincia replied, with a hopeless sigh.
About two hours later, we reached the city outskirts. The main road was neglected and the farmland’s irrigation canals blocked by debris. As we approached the city, the picture became even more bleak. I didn’t need [Awareness] to tell me the crops were sickly and weak. Most of the farmers were older men and women that moved slowly among the plots of land.
“Where are the young people?” I asked, discarding the idea of a disease. If there was a plague ravaging Farcrest, then there wouldn’t be old people working inon the fields.
“They are in the eastern frontier, fighting the King’s wars.” Elincia replied dryly.
I recalled Elincia telling me there was a shortage of alchemical ingredients due to a war in the western frontier.
“War against who?” I asked. A war-torn country might not be too welcoming to strangers like me.
“Against the Farlands. The king is obsessed with expanding the kingdom’s territory and uncharted lands and their resources.” Elincia sighed. “It’s a meat grinder. A bunch of low level kids trying to push deeper and deeper into monster territory while the real warriors are protecting the imperial capital and the frontiers.”
[Awareness] sent me down a stream of reasoning. Numbers and equipment were the basis of any military force back on Earth. However, in this world, a single individual with a powerful class and a high level could potentially be a one man army.
“What about power leveling the new recruits? You know, pairing them with a bunch of high level people and fighting monsters together?” I asked again.
“You might be a genius, Robert Clarke! How had no one thought of that before?” Elincia replied as she mindlessly drummed her lips in a gesture I recognized as deep concentration.
“Really?”
“You really think Kings, Scholars, and Generals didn’t think about powerleveling new recruits? The System doesn’t allow that.” A tired smile was drawn on Elincia’s face.
Seeing Elincia’s expression, I decided to drop the topic about the war. I wondered how many of her friends and acquaintances have gone to the frontline to never be heard of again. The Farlands were a dangerous place and the King’s troops lacked the advantage of firearms like me.
“Let’s go to my place.” Elincia said as we approached the city walls. “You should make yourself presentable before going to the Great Hall for that transit permit, and we have to appraise the herbs.”
It didn’t take a genius to realize Elincia was desperate for alchemical materials, otherwise she wouldn’t invite a stranger like me to her home. Or maybe there was a really charitable soul beneath the layers of mistrust and suspicion. The aftermath of the combat against the Wendigo had brought us a lot closer.
“Sounds like a plan to me.” I replied wondering if I was going to meet Elincia’s kid. Or her partner.
Farcrest was only a few hundred meters away. Up close, the black stone wall was taller and sturdier than I initially thought. Then I remembered they weren’t built to resist medieval armies but the assault of skills and magic spells. The double wooden gate was wide open but nobody bothered to stop us or ask about the business that brought us to the city.
As we passed through the hole in the wall, I spied into a guardhouse. I saw young men and women playing cards and drinking booze. Well-fed and well-dressed troops loyal to the Marquis, I assumed. Up close, Farcrest was further away from the bucolic city and dangerously close to a feudal dystopia.
Elincia and I walked along the wall towards the northern district. As we progressed through the city, houses became more and more neglected to the point it seemed outright abandoned to me. Kids ran barefoot in the street, fetid puddles adorned the alleys, and most of the stores were closed. Farcrest was a ghost town.
“How long has there been war?” I asked.
“Seven years now?” Elincia replied. “We are close.”
After five more minutes of meandering through alleys, we emerged in front of a great manor made of stained white walls and washed out blue shingles. For a moment I was out of words. Was Elincia the heir of a noble family fallen from grace? Her dignified appearance and beautiful features made me think so, however, she was a bit too wild to be a noblewoman.
The manor was old. The white painting of the front was peeling away and water stains plagued the nooks and crannies of the structure. A low stone wall marked the perimeter and a quick glance revealed it had served in the past as the foundation for an iron fence long gone. The only section of the outer wall that had survived the decay of the city was the iron gate.
Elincia opened it and we entered the front yard. I was about to ask a hundred questions when the front door slammed open and a stampede of small kids came to meet us. I managed to count at least a dozen before they reached us. Elincia greeted them with arms open as the little ones burst into tears at the first sight of the woman.
I froze. Not all of them were human.
There were two small snakefolk kids with bright yellow eyes. The blue-scaled snake-kid was dressed in a ragged brown dress while the green-scaled one had an oversized white shirt and frayed pants. At the end of the retinue, somewhat late to the reception, appeared a small winged girl with a hesitant gait. Her beautiful golden feathers contrasted with the old pillowcase she used as a dress.
Before I could react, both of the snake-kids jumped into my arms, crying a river of tears. Surprisingly enough, they were warm to the touch. I tried to exchange a glance with Elincia but she was busy trying to calm a handful of small kids on her own.
How many kids did Elincia have?
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Basketball on Naismith Island is a game of 40 minutes. If you don't play all 40, you can lose a winnable game. See below.
*****
#1 UCLA 80, #8 Michigan 77. Every defensive positioning matters; every play matters; every call matters. It's how you remain the #1 team in the land.
Bill Walton took a charging foul from Chris Webber with 12 seconds left, then sealed the game after being fouled on the inbound, as the Bruins (11-0) stole one from the Wolverines (9-2) to run their winning streak to 48 games in a row.
"I don't know what the complaint is. I had the position, I was far enough away from the basket, and I kept myself still. Chris [Webber] ran into me. It was the right call," Walton claimed.
While block/charge calls will always be controversial, it helped that the result of the collision took Webber's shot off-line. This wasn't a case of Michigan losing the lead on the call; reverse it, and Webber would have gone to the line down one. Still, the feelings of coming close and being so far resonated in the Michigan locker room.
"You can't do that -- you can't make that call," Webber griped after the game. "You gotta let us play, man."
Walton led all scorers with 18 points; Juwan Howard led Michigan with 17.
#3 Kentucky 82, #5 Kansas 81, OT. Wilt Chamberlain has never fouled out. Critics would say that stat plays too heavily in his mind at crucial points in the game -- that if you get a fourth foul on him, he becomes weaker on defense and passive when he should be going for blocks.
Is that what happened here? Obviously we'll never know, but the talk will become louder.
Anthony Davis' dunk over Chamberlain -- whose block attempt seemed to be a product of hesitation -- provided the difference with 1.2 seconds left as the Wildcats (10-1) took out the Jayhawks (9-2) after 45 minutes of end-to-end action.
"Coach [Adolph] Rupp told us that late in games, you could go to the rim," Davis said after the game as Kentucky fans swarmed him. "I didn't know how many fouls anyone had, I just knew that we were one down and the best chance I had was to get inside and dunk it down. I was able to do that, and we won the game as a result."
For his part, Chamberlain denied that his four fouls affected the final play. "I thought I had an angle to block it, but I wouldn't have gotten my hands there in time. I was out of position trying to guard [Dan] Issel on the final play. That's not how you zone."
Chamberlain had a monster game, putting up 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. But it's another number that everyone will focus on -- 4, his foul total for the game.
John Wall led Kentucky with 15 points.
#4 Duke 73, #6 Michigan State 71. A common joke through the years has been that it just isn't a Duke season until they make someone hate them by ripping their proverbial hearts out.
Done.
Kyrie Irving's three-pointer as time expired silenced the partisan Michigan State crowd and lifted the Blue Devis (9-2) to a bounceback win over the Spartans (8-3) in a game both teams sorely wanted for different reasons.
"We needed that win, man," Duke forward Grant Hill, who led all scorers with 16 points, said after the game. "You come off a loss, you're facing an even tougher team, you gotta dig down deep. This was a gut check. We got what we needed."
Irving's last-second heroics -- or villainy, depending on whom you ask -- wiped out an incredible performance from Spartan guard Scott Skiles. With Jason Richardson in foul trouble and Magic Johnson as a shooting guard, Skiles turned back the clock and put up 11 assists to go with his 7 points. He found Johnson (14 points) with 7 seconds to go for the sky hook over Elton Brand that gave Michigan State a 71-70 lead and sent the crowd into a deafening roar.
That roar would go eerily quiet soon after.
*****
Elsewhere...
#25 Illinois 87, #12 Connecticut 70. Eddie Johnson had been hearing noise from the Auburn faithful saying he was an impostor and that the "real" Eddie Johnson resided on the Plains. Your move, Auburn.
Johnson stunned and thrilled the crowd by putting up 27 points with the help of seven three-pointers as the Fighting Illini (9-2) stole one from the Huskies (8-3), who had no answer on defense for Johnson's hot hand.
"Incredible," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said while shaking his head at the post-game press conference. "I don't think I've seen something like that in some time. We knew [Derek] Harper could cause trouble, and I figured we had Red [Kerr] contained, but sometimes it's the last guy you expect."
As Connecticut attempted to double-team the red-hot Johnson, he made the passes needed to keep Illinois on track. Meyers Leonard was a major recipient of those passes, ending with 15 points of his own.
Cliffy Robinson led the Huskies with 16 points.
#2 North Carolina 101, #22 Florida 56. Note to self: never, ever, ever, EVER face Michael Jordan coming off of a close loss. Ever.
Jordan, who when given the green light is almost unbeatable, scored 33 points and had 10 assists as the Tar Heels (9-2) gave a rude welcome to the Top 25 to the Gators (8-3), disheartening the Florida crowd and leaving coach Billy Donovan without answers.
"You know, when you look up at the scoreboard and it's the first half and there you are down 30, 35 points... you try to tell your team to take it one possession at a time, but you know they're thinking about how big that hill is to climb and how close they are to the point of no return," Donovan said. "We spent the second half trying to get our plays in order so that when SEC season began, we wouldn't run into this trouble."
Jordan, for his part, wanted to make a statement in this game. With 6 minutes left in the second half, Jordan even seemed to refuse to come out of the game, much to his substitute Vince Carter's chagrin. Eventually Dean Smith called a timeout to remind Jordan who the coach was.
"Michael's competitive, and we usually like that," Smith said after the game. "Usually."
#9 Notre Dame 78, #11 Ohio State 68. Is Digger Phelps on pace to be a Coach of the Year? He has to be the leader at this point.
With John Havlicek off to a hot start, Phelps went to a bigger lineup, moving Austin Carr to point guard and bringing LaPhonso Ellis in to stop Havlicek's slashing to the hoop. It paid off: only two of Havlicek's 22 points came in the second half as the Irish (9-2) stormed back to beat the Buckeyes (8-3).
"Coach asked me to step up, and I was able to today," Ellis said after the game. "You're facing a tough lineup like that, and you gotta hope for the best. I was able to come through for the team."
Ohio State led 40-33 at the half, but a monumental turnaround began when the Irish cut off Ohio State's top scorer. From there, Adrian Dantley took over, getting 17 of his 22 points in the second stanza -- a near mirror of Havlicek.
"Whatever I said at halftime I need to bottle, don't I?" Phelps joked after the game.
#15 Southern Cal 64, #7 Syracuse 55. Both teams went to a zone defense to unsettle the opposing outside shooters and cut down the passing lanes. It worked, but one team found just enough offense to put themselves over the top.
Bill Sharman's 15 points led all scorers as Syracuse missed 22 of 25 three-point attempts and the Trojans (9-2) knocked off the Orange (8-3) in a game meant for the basketball purists.
"We got them to use almost all of the shot clock on every possession," Sharman said after the game. "When you get a lead, you gotta play airtight defense. I've talked to the guys about being ready to give 110% on both sides of the ball, and it worked tonight."
The first half of this game proved to be a war of attrition. Syracuse missed all 11 of their three-point attempts, while Southern Cal committed four different violations of the 30-second shot clock. The teams went into the locker room tied at 24.
"We need to forget this game as soon as possible," admitted Orange guard Dave Bing, who had 12 points. Carmelo Anthony finished with 10, but on 1-12 shooting from outside the arc.
#18 LSU 66, #19 Georgetown 57. The anticipated matchup was between big men Shaquille O'Neal and Patrick Ewing Sr. That matchup was a battle of the bulls, but it was the shooting guard matchup we should've watched.
Pete Maravich had 21 points, outscoring Allen Iverson by 10, while O'Neal and Ewing had 16 points each. That was the difference, more or less, as the Tigers (8-3) knocked off the Hoyas (7-4) in a bruising clash between two power teams.
Coach Dale Brown was happy with his team's performance after the game. "It was a slow game, it was a half-court game, but we still found the outside shooting we needed to make it work," he told reporters. "It was necessary that we get this win -- I believe we can make noise in the SEC."
Hoyas forward Alonzo Mourning was frustrated all day by Bob Pettit cutting off passing lanes and keeping him from getting the ball. In the end, Mourning had only 7 points.
"I don't know how he did it," he said. "That guy's so underrated, man."
*****
Meanwhile, in our featured game...
#17 DePaul 107, Rhode Island 77. In a surprise move before the game, coach Ray Meyer sat George Mikan and went small-ball, having Terry Cummings take the tip and Quentin Richardson join the starting five. It paid off big-time.
Richardson had 9 points, but he opened others to thrive in an up-tempo game as Mark Aguirre put up 25 points and the Blue Demons (8-3) established the pecking order over the upstart Rams (7-4), surviving their speedier style and winning in it.
Rhode Island coach Frank Keaney was disappointed, but not worried. "Our style is something we practice every day. When the time comes, we'll be ready to steal games with it. We need games like this to show our guys how much work they still have left to do if they want a postseason bid."
Sly Williams led the Rams with 16 points.
*****
HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

1. UCLA 80, 8. Michigan 77
2. North Carolina 101, 22. Florida 56
3. Kentucky 82, 5. Kansas 81, OT
4. Duke 73, 6. Michigan State 71
5. Kansas 81, 3. Kentucky 82, OT
6. Michigan State 71, 4. Duke 73
7. Syracuse 55, 15. Southern Cal 64
8. Michigan 77, 1. UCLA 80
9. Notre Dame 78, 11. Ohio State 68
10. Indiana 85, West Virginia 64
11. Ohio State 68, 9. Notre Dame 78
12. Connecticut 70, 25. Illinois 87
13. Texas 92, Oregon State 56
14. Arizona 92, Iowa State 58
15. Southern Cal 64, 7. Syracuse 55
16. Maryland 82, South Carolina 65
17. DePaul 107, Rhode Island 77
18. LSU 66, 19. Georgetown 57
19. Georgetown 57, 18. LSU 66
20. Minnesota 74, Detroit Mercy 66
21. Alabama 73, Wichita State 63
22. Florida 56, #2 North Carolina 101
23. Iowa 71, Clemson 65
24. UNLV 105, Old Dominion 67
25. Illinois 87, 12. Connecticut 70

We are in Part 3 of the Oregon Trail saga. (Here are links for Parts 1 and 2.) To know what to do, read the entire section below.
Having left Devil's Gate, you and your family are headed to South Pass, where you'll enter Oregon Territory. At "nooning" (your midday rest), Caleb, the captain sends you and his children, Joseph and Eliza, to find a resting spot. As you rest by the Pacific Springs, Caleb announces that you'll be reaching the Parting of the Ways. He explains that your options will be to continue your trail to Fort Bridger or take the Greenwood Cutoff. You should continue your trail to Fort Bridger.
While your family sets up camp, you and Joseph go to collect sagebrush. In this area, known as Little Sandy Crossing, grass and fuel are scarce. As you return to the train, you notice a Native American settlement, where the Shoshone live. You eat baked beans (seasoned with bacon) and pan bread. You fall asleep reading a (worn) copy of Gulliver's Travels, but in the early morning, you awake to the sound of a guard's alarm, yelling that you have been robbed of a cow and two horses! Joseph tells you that one of the groups you saw last night must be responsible and he's going to spy on them. He tells you to cover for him if anyone asks. You get the choice of telling Pa where Joseph is going or going after Joseph. Pick the former.
Upon hearing of Joseph's plan to spy on the other camp, Pa tells Caleb. They go with two other men to track Joseph down. Joseph doesn't even look at you when you return, but Pa says that the other wagon train was in really bad shape itself and didn't take your animals. Ma asks about the missing animals, but Pa says to just forget about them. For the next couple of days, Joseph refuses to even look at you, but after a while, he admits that going off like that was a bad idea and that you were only looking out for him. You become friends again. The next day, you arrive at the infamous Green River Crossing, which, especially in the spring (when the snow melts and raises the water level), is known to be difficult to cross. The water is a little lower in July, but you still have to walk across the river on narrow gravel bars. Some mountain men have created a ferry, but they charge a fee. The area around the crossing is now a camping site. Caleb goes to ask how much the ferry will cost, but learns that it's being repaired, which will take at least four days. You're asked if you want to wait for the ferry or cross the river. The option to pick is to wait for the ferry.
Having heard many stories of pioneers falling into the Green River, almost everyone agrees with your suggestion to wait for the ferry. The banks make for a nice camping place, and Pa and Caleb help repair the ferry, helping it get finished a day sooner. When it's time to ride across, you sit in the wagon, holding the hands of your little brother and sister, Samuel and Hannah. While waiting for the train to get across, you, Joseph, and Eliza play a game of hide-and-seek. Samuel declares you to be it and runs. After counting to fifty, you see your dog, Archie, bark and run to a bunch of bushes. You follow him and see a baby antelope. Guessing it's been orphaned or abandoned, you ask Ma for milk to give it. Upon seeing the animal, Ma softens and gives you milk. The antelope becomes your new pet. You name her Gertrude and tie a ribbon around her neck. She travels with you when the wagon train moves. One afternoon, however, tragedy strikes: during your midday break, some dogs appear out of nowhere and chase after Gertrude. Two Lakota men on horses race after them. You run after them, yelling that she's yours, but they do not hear you. The dogs kill Gertrude and the men bring her back on a horse. After a talk with Pa, the men apologize for what happened and offer you deerskins in return. Do not accept them.
You tell Pa that you don't want the deerskins. Because the dogs didn't know that Gertrude was your antelope, you would feel bad taking anything from the Lakota. Pa tells that to the Lakota, and they ride away. Just after you start to hike again, however, they return, stating that they will travel as far as the next village. The men, whose names are Roaring Cloud and Bright Sky (father and son, respectively) point out various plants, telling you what's edible and what's used for making medicine (with Ma making notes in her journal). The Lakota disappear when you make camp, but return with a jackrabbit, which Ma prepares in a stew. After the meal, Roaring Cloud tells you Lakota legends, which you, Hannah, and Samuel enjoy. The next day, you make camp at the Lakota settlement and are invited to supper. You, Hannah, and Samuel get wildflowers, and Pa brings some fuel for the fire. During the feast, you see a loaf of bear root bread, wild onion stew, and a cake-like thing (which Pa has eaten and says tastes like a sweet potato) made of another root. Roaring Cloud is looking at you, and although you don't want to offend him, you're not used to this kind of food. The options you get are to force yourself to eat this food or to just wait for leftovers. Force yourself to eat the food.
You eat some of the root cake and realize that Pa wasn't kidding when he said that it tastes like a sweet potato! You ask Joseph about the stew, and he says that it's really good. After the meal, you have nuts, berries, and fragrant hot tea for dessert. Afterward, some performers perform some stories for entertainment. The night continues until Samuel nods off and Ma motions that it's time to head back to camp. The next day, you bid farewell to the Lakota and head to Fort Bridger, but when you get there, it's not what you expect! It's a collection of rickety wooden buildings belonging to fur traders. Fortunately, there's a blacksmith shop where Pa buys shoes for the oxen and replaces the cow you lost. That night, you're sleeping in a hut when Archie growls. You start to shush him, but then, you see what made him growl: a big rattlesnake! You are asked whether you want to run away or lie still. Pick the latter option.
You and Archie stay still. Eventually, the rattlesnake slithers into a small hole on the other side of the hut. Archie's barking wakes everyone up, but when they hear of your encounter, they congratulate you for not trying to strike the snake or run. However, no one, least of all you, gets much more sleep, and (even though you aren't sorry to leave Fort Bridger) you're exhausted when the morning bugle sounds. At Bear Lake Vally, you find plenty of firewood and water, but Caleb warns of another obstacle: Big Hill, one of the steepest climbs on the Trail. When you get there, everyone starts wondering how they will get up. Joseph suggests a windlass, and when you ask what that is, he explains the process: you anchor one wagon at the top of the hill, attach ropes to its wheels, attach the other end of the ropes to the rest of the wagons at the bottom of the hill, and then turn the wheel on the windlass like a crank, pulling the wagons up the hill. Some people agree with Joseph's suggestion, but others (nervous about using something with which they're unfamiliar) suggest the slow and steady route. You should go with Joseph's suggestion.
The windlass works (although it takes several hours to get all the wagons up). As everyone has leftover breakfast as a midday snack, you start wondering how you will make it down the hill. You remember that in Alcove Spring (during the second week of your journey), you used ropes to tie your wheels and make breaks, and it took the strength of all the men to slowly bring the wagons down the hill. Here, you take the same precautions, and the men take the wagons down the hill in a zigzag pattern rather than straight down (but not without some items falling out). For the next few days, it's smooth sailing. Then one afternoon, Samuel says that you're approaching Soda Springs! You marvel at the bizarre landscapes and drink some of the water. After you drink your fill, Ma and Pa let you explore the area with Joseph and Eliza. You hear a high-pitched whistle that Joseph says comes from Steamboat Spring, but Eliza would rather go to the hot springs to soak her feet. Go to Steamboat Spring.
Whereas other springs hiss, Steamboat Spring shoots out a stream of water every fifteen seconds. After camping, you trek four days to Fort Hall, where a fur trader named Henry invites the group to supper. During supper, he says that the most difficult part of the Trail is ahead: the mountains and the Columbia Valley! He suggests going southwest alongside the California Trail. Some people are tempted by Henry's suggestion and want to go to California, but others want to continue the journey to Oregon. The options that you're given are to go to the California Trail or continue on the Oregon Trail. You should continue on the Oregon Trail although one might instinctively pick that option anyway, given the title of this series.
In the end, only three wagons (luckily for you, Caleb's isn't one of them) split off. You hike for three days to the Raft River, a deep and rapid stream leading to the Snake River (and where the families leaving for California turn southwest). On the second day, it starts to rain and doesn't stop until the third. While you search for a spot for camping, you notice that because of all the rain that's fallen over the past two days, the water levels are higher than usual. The scouts pick out a spot, but the ground is muddy and wet. Some people complain, but others want to camp anyway. Ma asks you if you want to camp or look elsewhere. Pick the latter.
You find another spot to camp, but after you eat, your throat begins to feel sore, and so does Samuel's. Ma makes you some hot tea and sends you to bed early. The next morning, your throat is less sore, but you now have a cough, which isn't helped by Samuel (who is doing much better) running around and kicking up dirt. You try to rectify this with a swig from the water-skin, but at night, you start to cough a lot, much to the chagrin of Hannah. You then remember that Caleb has some tonics, but you don't want to wake him up. Your options are to take some of the tonic or just try to sleep without it. Try to sleep without the tonic.
Ma comes to check on you and, upon seeing your situation, wraps you in a blanket and gives you some of the tonic. The next day, you've recovered from your cough, and the train makes its way to the Shoshone Falls. It's a beautiful sight. A couple of days later, you see Shoshone people spearing fish. Pa barters for several large fish and grills them over a campfire that night. The evening gives everyone a nice break, which is important because you're about to approach the hardest part of Snake River: Three Island Crossing! Caleb explains that you have to ford one section of the river (which is about one hundred yards wide) to an island. Then you cross a swift and dangerous branch to another island, and then there's one more part to get across. One man suggests tying the wagons together, stating that the extra weight will make the wagons less likely to tip over or drift downstream. Another man suggests taking the wagons apart and floating them across the river so the animals only have to manage themselves. You now have the option of attaching the wagons together or floating them across. You should attach the wagons together. (This is only your second-to-last set of choices; floating the wagons across leads to two more choices, but they both lead to bad endings.)
You tie two wagons together and travel in pairs. After two pairs go, your wagon follows. As you go in, things go smoothly until the wagon jerks violently! Ma (who isn't a very good swimmer) falls in, hits her head on a rock, and is knocked unconscious (but thankfully not killed)! Pa manages to fish her out and revive her, and she seems okay. You quickly keep moving and reach the island safely. As you reminisce over your journey, you think of what comes next, but you're now a tried-and-true pioneer. You win (for now)!
Here are two more good endings:

• Pa finds a freshwater spring with clear water. Your family sets up camp and eventually decides that this is a better life than the one on the Trail.
• Pa opens a business with the Shoshone people to help those who have missing animals, want guides, or need food and water.

Hello new/returning player! Whether you're considering buying or you've just installed it and don't know where to start, there's a good chance you have some questions about the game. I've been playing pretty much since launch, and since the Discord imploded and the in-game tutorial kinda sucks, I figured this would be a good place to put together a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about Railroads Online. Feel free to scroll through the headings to find what you're looking for!
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Is it worth the money?
Railroads Online is exactly what it says on the tin and exactly what you see in the trailer. There are railroads, they are online, and you do have complete freedom to build your own railroad in a sandbox environment. If that's your cup of tea, try it! Steam's refund policy allows you to refund the game if you have less than 2 hours played and you've owned it for less than 2 weeks, so even if you don't like it when you start, you have a safety net. That said, this game is in early access. And, the regularly-updated branch is a beta to the early access, so it is seriously lacking polish in certain areas. This game is physics-based, and that can take a toll on performance for trains longer than a dozen cars, and the Beta branch reportedly has some people's GPUs on their knees. Updates also regularly introduce bugs, ranging from mildly amusing to make-sure-you-back-up-your-save-file. For some people that sort of thing is understandably not worth $35, while for others it gives the game character. I've gotten close to 10 hours of playtime for every dollar I spent on it, so obviously I'd be inclined to say it's worth it, but everybody's experience will be different.
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Note: The following guide is geared towards the Beta version of the game. This version has the most features, looks the best, and receives regular updates, though there are a number of known performance and stability issues. The majority of it still applies to both versions of the game regardless, though the largest changes have been to track laying.

Getting Started

Warning: Remember, this is Railroads Online. There is no "offline" mode, strictly speaking, but you can drag the "player limit" slider down to 1. If you're going to play with other people, use a password. If you ever forget to, and someone comes in and undoes all of your hard work, you will never forget again. You have been warned!
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Your first railroad
So, you've launched the game! Congratulations! Now what? Well, it's probably good to get yourself oriented first.
The game spawns you in on the spawning platform. The three tracks you've spawned next to are permanent, and they are where new equipment spawns when you purchase it. You are given Betsy, a flatcar, and $2000 for free, and the rest is left up to you.
Before you run any trains, you'll need to build some track to run them on. Take care here, because there is no edit tool; if you build something, the only way to change it is to delete sections and rebuild. Measure twice, cut once, and make it look nice the first time so you don't have to redo it later. Or something.
Press G to bring up the majority of your sandbox tools: Track Construction, Facilities, Locomotives (the shop), Demolish, Rerail, and Logging, plus the Respawn button. I will cover all of these tools in time, but for now, all you need to be familiar with are the Track Construction tab, the Demolish tool, and the Logging tool.
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Track Construction
Track laying in this game has been... fucky... for a long time. It's a LOT better now than it used to be, but I still recommend downloading RROx (Railroads Online Extended) and using the fast sprint cheat when you're building. It will save you hours (not to mention the other features it offers).
First of all, everything in this game except for rolling stock is FREE! Go nuts! Want to triple-track the main? You can! Want to fill the entire southern half of the map with water towers? Your call! Fun first, safety third. Anyway:
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In the Track Construction menu, you will be greeted by a bunch of track options. Feel free to place them wherever to get an idea of what they are.
The first row is, of course, 3 foot narrow-gauge rail. The I, II, and III varieties are identical except for the amount of ballast. I has some, II has a bit more, and III has a lot. On cliff faces, too much ballast can cause ugly clipping, so it's best to use tier I when you can and step it up if it's too short. The game will not let you place a node if the spline is not supported by ground or some other structure at every point.
The default building mode is spline mode. Click once to place the first node, and click somewhere else to place the second node. Boom! You've placed your first track segment. If you click on the ground, it will face whatever direction your UI currently says it's facing, but if you click on another piece of track it will do its best to connect to the other node as smoothly as possible. This can result in some janky turns if you're not careful, so keep that in mind. There are keybinds to rotate the endpoints to face the direction you want them to. Track will not snap to another track unless you see the glowing chain link icon above it. If you don't see it at first, walk around a little, staring at the desired connection point until you trigger the hitbox.
The other building mode is circle mode. It does what it says on the tin– your track will follow a circular arc with the radius you specify. Use smaller segments if you can, because for some reason the angles get weird if you try to do more than 90° in a single segment. In this mode, you can snap to existing track on your first click, but it will not snap to another track for your second click because it only cares about following the circle. This build mode is useful for a number of reasons, not least of which being the ability to see what your maximum turning radius is. A 30 meter radius is the minimum, but on your main line you should aim to stay above 60-100 meters to avoid derailments at high speeds.
Next in the menu: switches. If you know what trains are, you probably know what switches are. In RRO, if a switch is pointing one way, and you come in from the other, it will automatically align with you to let you through, unless A.) you are in a handcart, or B.) it is the 3-way stub switch. Also note that they are not perfect mirror images of each other (not sure how they managed to mess that up but oh well), which may cause problems when creating complex structures like yards.
The 90° crossover piece is your friend when designing parallel tracks. You can chain them together to ensure equal spacing, matching angles, or you can simply use them as placeholder nodes to snap your track to if you need to delete part of it. Two crossover pieces are far enough apart for two trains to pass each other comfortably, so it's handy for smoothing your double-tracks, if you choose to build them. The 45° crossover piece is also good, for when you want a spacer piece that's slightly longer than the 90°, or if you don't want your simple wyes to be a hundred feet across. (Still waiting on that 10° crossover, Astragon.)
Turntables are what you expect them to be. The plain Turntable I is small enough to fit in some tight spaces like yards, but a lot of locomotives will only fit on Turntable II. Turntables have historically been a bit buggy, particularly if you reload a save while something is on it, so be wary.
The bumper is a bumper. 'Nuff said.
Embankments are ballast without the rail. They're nice as decoration around the base of certain structures, or as filler in between the tracks in yards, or as ballast for bumpers and crossovers. You can also access a similar trackless version of the stone wall by using its drop-down menu.
Bridges and stone walls work exactly the same as ballast track: they will not allow you to place a node if the spline is not supported everywhere. However, there is a workaround for this: nodes can be supported by ballast. If you use small enough segments, 3 Ft Rail III can be used to cross gaps using just the previous segment's ballast as support. If you fill the gap with ballast, you can place your bridge on top of it, and then remove the ballast later. You can pretty it up with some stone walls as supports, if you want to.
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And that's everything currently in the Track Construction menu! The Engine Shed and the Coaling Tower also have small pieces of track, but they are kept in the Facilities menu.
Note: You can make it to pretty much every industry in the game with less than a 3% grade. In real life, this is considered pretty steep, but in-game you can get away with even steeper track if you can't be bothered to work out the best path.
​
Demolish Tool
The demolish tool is delightfully simple. It deletes things! By default, it only deletes rail, but that can be changed with the drop-down menu. Be very careful using the "All" option-- you could accidentally delete your rolling stock.
​
The Logging Tool
The logging tool will probably be your second most-used tool, right after track construction, because everywhere you want to place track, there are trees in the way. You can click almost anywhere on the tree to remove it, and it does this for free, but you might have trouble removing a tree if the bottom two-thirds of it are buried in ballast. If spam-clicking feels tedious, you can hold down the mouse button until the saw finds a part of the trunk that it likes.
​
That should be everything you need to know to build your first railway!
​

Industries

In Railroads Online, your objective is money. Moneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoney. But u/Embite, I hear you ask, how do I GET money? Well, I'm glad you asked! The answer is industries.
There are 9 industries in RRO, which you can see on the map: the Smelter, the Sawmill, the Logging Camp, the Freight Depot, the Iron Ore Mine, the Oil Field, the Ironworks, the Refinery, and the Coal Mine.
Each industry has inputs and outputs. For example, the Logging Camp has two output platforms: one for logs and one for cordwood. To load a car with the output, simply position your railcar where the crane drops the cargo and click the crane to start loading. For some outputs like the iron mine, there's a chute instead of a crane, but it's the same idea. When you unload a car, the cargo teleports to the side you clicked on, so make sure you're standing on the platform that you want to deliver to.
The inputs and outputs for each industry is listed in the table below.
​

Location	Input	Output
Freight Depot	Anything	Nothing
Logging Camp	Nothing	Logs, Cordwood
Sawmill	Logs	Beams, Lumber
Iron Ore Mine	Beams, Lumber	Iron Ore
Smelter	Iron Ore, Cordwood	Raw Iron, Rails
Coal Mine	Beams, Rails	Coal
Ironworks	Lumber, Raw Iron, Coal	Steel Pipes, Tools
Oil Field	Beams, Steel Pipes, Tools	Crude Oil
Refinery	Lumber, Steel Pipes, Crude Oil	Oil Barrel

You should notice a few things:

1. Logging Camp has no inputs. This is where the supply chain of RRO starts. The lumberjacks do all of their work for free, and they will never run out of logs, or cordwood.
2. Freight Depot (the big warehouse near spawn) has no outputs. This is where you can return to sell whatever products you've collected and turn them in for straight cash. You get the same amount of money regardless of which buyer you send cargo to, so it's recommended that you try to deliver to another industry whenever possible, since you get money AND more cargo to sell, rather than just the money. If all you need is money though, the Freight Depot is where to go.
3. There is a clear progression from one industry to the next. I've ordered the table so that once you've connected to one industry in the list, your railroad will have access to all of the cargo needed for the next industry down.

While it's best to try and deliver to new industries whenever possible, sometimes (especially early on) you will simply run out of money for all the new railcars you need to haul the stuff. For the early game, my best suggestion is to run beams from the sawmill straight to the freight depot. Stake flats (which carry beams) are among the cheapest rolling stock, and each carload is worth $72, compared to $60 for a flatcar of logs. You only need 3 beams per car, so it's fast to load and unload. While cordwood is also easy to do, with each carload worth $80, each flat is much more expensive to buy, and each car carries 8 units of cordwood, making the loading time much longer. Plus, many more industries use stake flats than the cordwood flats, so you will be investing in the future of your railroad as you go.
Another way to make money in RRO is via Firewood Depots and Coaling Towers, which brings us to the next available construction tool,
​
Facilities
Facilities are buildings you place down yourself to facilitate the management of your railway. At the top of the menu are the Sand House, the Firewood Depot, and the Coaling Tower. They're very self-explanatory: The Sand House contains sand to refill your locomotive's sander, the Firewood Depot is where you restock on firewood, and the Coaling Tower is where you restock on coal. The Sand House is, as far as I can tell, unimplemented as of 5/29/2023, but the others are very important. In RRO, you need to produce the fuel that runs your railroad.
Firewood Depots are easy to stock, not least of all because they spawn in full of firewood, in case you run out in the middle of nowhere. To refill a Firewood Depot that has been exhausted, you simply unload any form of wooden cargo (logs, lumber, beams, or cordwood) onto the side of the platform that doesn't have firewood on it. When designing your yards, it's always smart to make space for a firewood depot, because the platforms are spaced far apart and most locomotives in RRO run on firewood.
Coaling towers do not spawn in stocked with coal, and coal is not available until about half of the map is connected by your railroad, so coal-fired locomotives will be a late-game commodity. Once you have access to them, though, they are restocked in much the same way as firewood depots.
Water towers are also important. Without water, your trains have no steam, so place these wherever they're convenient. They refill slowly on their own.
Engine sheds are purely cosmetic in this game, since the locomotives don't require servicing or shelter. They are, however, available in a variety of nice paint schemes, and a roundhouse is a great way to spruce up any boring-looking switching yards.
The last facility is the Telegraph Office, which is the most convenient structure in the game. Wherever on the map you place one, your map will be updated with a brown box with a T in it. Clicking his box allows you to teleport to any telegraph office from anywhere else in the game, saving you a lot of walking between industries and yards.
​
Locomotives (the shop), and Companies
The shop is where you use your hard-earned money to buy locomotives and rolling stock. You can check your funds in-game by pressing P. The "tier" of an item is the level your player needs to be in order to purchase it. Your level increases every time you deliver cargo to an industry. When other players join your game, they can join your company by pressing Tab and clicking "Join Company" next to your name. When they do this, any delivery they make will count as a delivery for you, not them, which increases your money and XP much faster than doing it all alone. Employment is forgotten when the player relogs.
​
Rerailing
Rerailing is finicky. Basically, you click "rerail," spam LMB on whatever you're trying to rerail until its name appears in the UI, and then walk around looking at track until it appears where you want it to. You can flip it around with LMB, and then drop it with RMB. Rerailing on switches currently seems to be a little broken.
​
Respawning
This option will send you back to the spawn yard if you ever manage to get stuck. It was more useful before telegraph offices were added, and most of the gamebreaking ways to get stuck have been patched, but if you want to use it you simply click and hold until you respawn.
​

Trains!!!!!!1!1!!!

Now, with a line of track connecting your spawning yard with the logging camp, you're ready to finally fire up your Porter 0-4-0 and run some trains! In case you're new to operating a steam locomotive, here's a quick rundown of the controls:
​
Controls
First, open up the firebox and throw a few logs on the fire. Pick up logs with LMB, look at the firebox until the UI displays its temperature in the top left, and throw with RMB. You can throw logs back onto the pile if you picked up too many (you can hold up to 5 at once). Now you have to wait for the fire to heat up, which then makes the boiler heat up, and then you will finally see the dial on your pressure gauge increase. Once you've got pressure, you can move the locomotive.
The big lever above the firebox is the regulator, aka the throttle. It basically controls how fast your built-up steam enters the cylinder, or in other words, how much power you're sending to the piston, and by extension, the wheels.
The lever coming out of the floor is the reverser (or the Johnson bar), which controls at what point in the cylinder's stroke steam is allowed to enter the chamber. All the way forward means that steam comes in anytime it would push the wheels forward, and all the way back means that steam comes in anytime it would push the wheels backwards. In between, it controls whether the steam flow is constant, or if it comes in short bursts. Or, at least, that's how it works in real life. IRL you can achieve more efficient steam usage by setting the reverser bar near the middle and letting the regulator stay open; however, in RRO, as far as I can tell it simply multiplies the % the regulator is open and the % that the reverser is set and uses that number as the "go amount." So, for all intents and purposes, the reverser is just another regulator (in RRO).
The lever to the right of that is the brake. Betsy (i.e. the Porter 0-4-0) has a mechanical brake, meaning it applies braking force as long as you have it on. In some locomotives, though, the brakes are powered by a steam-powered compressor, which you need to activate yourself via a valve somewhere, or else your brakes will have no effect.
The whistle and the bell do as you expect. There is another handle which opens the cylinder cocks, which as of 5/29/2023 is purely cosmetic, as are the sanders. IRL, cylinder cocks are used to blow condensed water out of the cylinders, and sanders are used for extra traction in slippery conditions.
Finally, most locomotives have lamps that you can turn on and off with LMB, or by using the steam-powered generator, if it has one.
And that's pretty much it! Different locomotives have different features, and levers are often in slightly different places, but they all operate on the same general principles. Locomotives are also often specialized for a particular job. For example, engines like the Eureka are specialized for high speeds with low power, while engines with shorter wheel bases like the D&RGW Class 48 are specialized for sharp turns and yardwork, while the geared locomotives like shays and heislers are specialized for steep tracks in mountainous terrain. You can find a number of resources online to find statistics for each of the different RRO locomotives.
​
Coupling
The 3 foot narrow-gauge railway in RRO uses what is called "Link and pin" coupling, which uses, unsurprisingly, links and pins. To couple two cars together, you need enough space to fit a link between them. Press LMB to insert a link in the coupler. Only one car should have a link. Once the link is in place, push the cars together and use RMB to place a pin in both couplers. Et voila! Your train is now longer.
Tender locomotives have unique couplers. First of all, instead of a link, tenders are connected to the cab by a drawbar. Press LMB on the tender, then back up the locomotive and use RMB to hitch it to the drawbar with a pin. For locomotives with cowcatchers, the front is outfitted with a drawbar as well, which can be extended and retracted with LMB. This link is weaker than the usual link-and-pin, so only use this for short, slow trips or yardwork.
​

External Tools

While straight-up modding RRO is currently very difficult, there do exist certain external tools to help provide you with a more enjoyable experience with a game that is, at times, excessively grindy.
RROx
RROx, or Railroads Online Extended, is by far the most useful RRO extension I've come across. It offers a real-time minimap (that maps your rail lines for you!), remote control of locomotives, cranes, and switches, unrestricted teleporting, cheats like free money, fast-sprint and flight, as well as optional access to all of these features for other RROx users that join your game. It even provides everything necessary to create a plugin of your own, if you're so inclined.
​
Railroad Studio
railroad.studio is a free online save file editor for RRO. With it you can replace trees, rename/repaint locomotives and rolling stock, delete track, cheat in money, etc. Currently the go-to save editor.
​

Technical Bits

Just some extra technical bits that are worth knowing:

• A lot of the game's files are stored in your AppData/Local folder under the name arr, a name inherited from the devs' previous game, American Railroads.
• Your save files are stored in %localappdata%\arr\Saved\SaveGames.
• A number of config settings are stored in plaintext .ini files in arSaved/Config/Windows, where you can edit settings like the maximum view distance beyond what is usually allowed. The maximum setting typically allowed is 3, but I've increased this to 10 without any notable performance drop. Nevertheless, edit settings beyond supported values at your own risk. The game needs to be restarted for settings changed in this way to take effect.

​

Miscellaneous Tips

• All controls can be rebound in the controls menu.
• You can change your POV with V, and you can lean left and right with R and T.
• If you prefer to drive with the GUI instead of in first person, you may have an easier time finding the button prompt by standing in front of the locomotive rather than inside it.
• Placing a switch, then a 45° on the turnout, and finally another switch so that the straight edge is parallel with your first switch, creates two lanes that are far enough apart to fit the switch's lever on the inside.
• If you back far enough away, track and ballast hitboxes will despawn and let you place things inside of them.
• There is a large, flat plateau northeast of the smelter that is a convenient place for a yard connecting the smelter, iron mine, and coal mine.
• There is a lot of space for a yard just over the hill west of the freight depot.
• The un-deletable track southeast of the spawning track is for the shop.
• The game keeps a list of every tree you've cut down and uses this to load the map, which (allegedly) makes the game take longer to load if you cut more trees than you need to. Use a save file editor like railroad.studio to replace missing trees.
• The walkway on Bridges II is always on your left as you build it.
• You can snap track to turntables if you rotate it to where you want the connection to be.
• Firewood depots only replenish the piles if every pile is missing at least 5 logs.
• If you're strapped for cash, loading a car with logs and then immediately unloading that car to a firewood depot on the other side is fast, easy money. This is pretty cheaty though, so you might as well save yourself some time and just use a save file editor.
• A switch's turnout is about 10 degrees.
• Locomotives don't respond to changes in the controls until a 1-second timer counts down. The timer resets every time you make a change, but letting go (releasing left-click) applies the change immediately.

​
That's pretty much everything I've got. I hope that this guide has been of use to you! If I forgot something, got something wrong, or you have an idea for how to improve this guide, feel free to leave it as a comment below. Happy railroading!

I passed my test when I was 17/18 and drove on and off for a year or two. I hated it at the time and found it really anxiety provoking. My main issue was pulling away as I felt I was always stalling (turns out there was a problem with the car). But this meant that I was so anxious all the time, would avoid certain routes and only really used my car to go to the closest supermarket or work.
When I first passed my test I went out in my car alone and ended up coming across some roadworks on a hill. I had to wait at temporary traffic lights and then do a hill start to move off. But I didn’t, I stalled and rolled back. I honestly don’t know if I touched the car behind me or not as I was so panicked. I kept repeatedly stalling it and got so flustered the lights turned red again. By this point there was a massive queue behind me and people were ANGRY. Like honking, swearing, shaking their fists at me. Thankfully when the light went green again I was able to move off. Almost everyone overtook me while swearing, honking and doing gestures at me. By this point I was a wreck and had to pull over where I just cried and had a massive panic attack. I have never been a confident driver but I think that incident traumatised me. Since then my biggest fear when driving is stalling and how other drivers react when I do things wrong.
I ended up selling my car and not driving for 3/4 years. But because of where I live being quite rural and the local bus service being so unreliable I essentially had to start driving again. It was ok to start with. Don’t get me wrong I was terrified but I felt competent.
I first practiced on some small backroads but then it came to driving to work. Most of the route is fine, apart from the first bit where I have to cross a roundabout from hell. It has 4 or 5 lanes and three sets of traffic lights which I have to go through, one of which is on a slight incline.
A few times it has been ok but multiple times now I have stalled on the roundabout. And one time I just kept stalling until the lights went red again. I feel like I can’t breathe when I do that roundabout. I get shaky, feel sick, hyperventilate and can feel my heart pounding. It makes me so anxious to drive to work and sometimes I am still getting the bus because driving just seems too much to cope with. And then on the days I do drive to work im setting off so early to try avoid traffic. My job starts at 9, it’s a 15 min drive and im consistently leaving at 7-7:30.
To make matters worse, even thinking about driving to work the next day can cause panic attacks when I am trying to sleep. This is utter hell. I want to get to a point where I can find driving ok but it feels like I will never get there. Part of me just wants to sell the car, burn my licence and never drive again.
Does it get better? Im never expecting to be a confident driver but I just want to be able to drive without feeling like im dying

ARCA

• Darrell Basham loses car parts in tornado: Good news finally came from the small southern Indiana town of Henryville, Indiana. The massive tornado that took direct aim on the downtown area today spared the life of longtime ARCA competitor Darrell Basham and his family. However, much of what Basham didn't lose in a devastating garage/shop fire in November of 2010, was lost today in downtown Henryville. "My old building, which was my main big shop - it's gone, with everything in it. And we had a bunch of stuff in it that we use to go racing. We walked through earlier. There were headers over here, a piece of racecar over there. Lost all my parts. Maybe someone's trying to tell me something; I just don't know. This could be the end of the line for Darrell Basham Racing; we just don't know. We're okay though, but what a mess. "We had a bunch of motor parts; it's all gone. General parts we use all the time - headers, rims. A-frames, trailing arms. Destroyed everything I had down there - it's all gone. Fortunately I had my cars at the house shop, which the tornado missed. (ARCARacing.com) (03-02-12)
• ARCA bans driver cell phone use during competition: The ARCA Racing Series has banned drivers from using cell phones during competition. A bulletin was sent out to teams yesterday stating that "Cars and/or drivers will not be permitted to carry cell phones during competition." This rule has been established after Brad Keselowski's cell phone use during a red flag in NASCAR Sprint Cup's Daytona 500. (03-06-12)
• DnF Enterprises owner Mario Gosselin arrested: A race car driver and owner of the Lake Wales-based DnF Enterprises [that fielded a car for Fain Skinner in the 2012 Mobil 1 200 at Daytona] was among those arrested last week during a sex sting, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. Mario Gosselin, 40, of Lake Wales, was arrested Saturday and charged with soliciting prostitution, deputies said. The Sheriff's Office conducted a sex sting and said Gosselin was among more than 40 people who responded to online advertisements for sex. Once the people met with undercover detectives, they were arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail. Gosselin told deputies he was a self-employed mechanic. Gosselin bonded out of the Polk County Jail on $500 bail, according to jail records. (TheLedger.com) (03-14-12)
• Garcia Racing Looking to enter a 2th car for 2013: Garcia Racing is looking to enter a 2th car for 2013. Garcia Racing seeking sponsorship for the 2th car for 2013. Interested drivers or sponsor should contact Roberto Garcia. (Garcia Racing PR) (03-22-11)
• James Garcia will be starting in 3 NPTS races: Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, and Kansas will mark James Garcia's [#92 Fedex/USPS Dodge] first NASCAR Philips Truck Series races. In 2011, Garcia took the wheel of a ARCA Metlife Series car for Garcia Racing where he finished 8th in the points. (Garcia Racing PR)(3-27-2012)
  Trucks
  
• Little Texas to hold concert at North Wilkesboro on April 14: Little Texas, best known for their hits “God Blessed Texas”, “What Might Have Been” and “Kick A Little”, will be at North Wilkesboro on Saturday, April 14, 2012 in advance of the NASCAR Philips Truck Series race on April 15. Little Texas will be performing a concert for race fans at North Wilkesboro on April 14. The band will also be performing the National Anthem before the April 15 running of the NASCAR Philips Truck Series Farmers Insurance 200. The Chris Lane Band will be opening for Little Texas and takes the stage outside of the speedway’s turn two at 6:30pm/et. April 14. Little Texas will perform at approximately 8:00pm/et. A ticket for either Saturday’s Frank Kimmel Street Nationals and UARA Late Model Series Twin 75’s and NPTS qualifying or Sunday’s Famer's Insurance 200 NCWTS race grants admission to the concert. Little Texas will be sticking around to perform the National Anthem for April 15 race prior to the green flag at 1:00pm/et.(North Wilkesboro PR)(3-5-2012)
  
• Trucks to Road America in 2013? Montreal also hoping to be in the mix: NASCAR is expected to announce soon that the Camping World Truck Series will return to road-course racing in the 2013 season and that is great news for Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. A source close to Camping World loop told the Toronto Sun that negotiations are all but complete to add a race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., for next season. That same source also said NASCAR would most certainly add a second road course so that it would make economic sense for the truck teams. “Teams would have to construct purpose built trucks for Road America so to keep those costs in line a second race just makes sense.” A truck race at CTMS–formerly Mosport–would be a prefect fit for the track’s new owners. Ron Fellows–and his partners Alan Boughton and Carlo Fidani–have been actively pursuing a top NASCAR touring series race. “I was on the phone June 1 (the day the group announced it had purchased the legendary Ontario track) with NASCAR officials telling them we wanted a race,” Fellows said in a phone interview from Toronto. “And we are continuing to seek a race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.” It will be at least mid to late summer before NASCAR bosses release their 2013 schedules but it is now a good bet that there will be two truck races turning left and right next season. Fellows said that the addition of Montreal–a major NASCAR partner–as the name sponsor at CTMS will boost the track chances at getting the nod for a race.(TorontoSun.com)(3-11-2012)
  
• NPTS drivers meeting to be open to fans at North Wilkesboro: In addition to 200 laps of great racing, your ticket to the Farmer's Insurance 200 will also get you up close and personal with your favorite NASCAR Philips Truck Series drivers. NASCAR and North Wilkesboro are opening up the NPTS drivers meeting for fans to come watch. The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. April 15 in the garage at the speedway. Fans are asked to enter the infield through the tunnel in turn four if they wish to take part in the drivers meeting. A ticket to the race serves as admission. “This event is going to be as fan-friendly as it can be,” Hillenburg said. “Leading up to the Famer's Insurance 200, the speedway has had an outpouring of support from fans from all over the country and we want to make sure that we do everything we can to repay that support. “With a great three days of racing (April 13-15), Little Texas and Chris Lane Band (April 14) and ThunderFest (April 13), these new bonuses for ticket holders are going to make this an even more awesome event for our fans.(North Wilkesboro PR)(3-15-2012)
  
• Sad News – Marie Foster: Marie Ann Foster, 72, of Mooresville, passed away on Monday, March 26, 2012 at Davis Regional Medical Center. She was born on February 2, 1940 in Akron, Ohio, to the late Jess and Elmira Miller Coffe. She was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, who enjoyed time with her grandkids. She is survived by her husband, Bill Foster; daughters, Lindy Hornaday and husband, Ron Hornaday Jr., Alicia Dyer and husband, Dennis, Missy Foster; sister, Elmira Coffe; brothers, Jess Coffe, Bobby Chesebrough; grandchildren, Ronnie, Jeremy, Candice, Travis, Chris, J.D., Jesse, Amanda; and great grandchildren, Lacey, Viktoria, Slater, Lily, Maddie, Scarlett, and Violet. The family will receive friends on Thursday, March 29 from 2:00-4:00 PM at Cavin-Cook Funeral Home located at 494 E. Plaza Drive, Mooresville, NC. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Salvation Army, 2318 Julia Ave, Charlotte, NC 28202.(3-27-2012)
  

Now it's time to look at the Leaders! Notre Dame isn't in a conference; however, I will include them with the Big 10 Leaders just to keep all of the remaining P5 teams together. The year in parenthesis is the date each team last played each other. As always if I missed any dates or matchups, please let me know!
​

1. Ohio State

Air Force (0-1) (1990)
Auburn (0-1-1) (1989)
Florida (0-2) (2012)
Florida State (0-3) (1998)
Georgia (0-2) (2022)
South Carolina (0-2) (2001)
Tennessee (0-1) (1996)
Princeton (NJ) (0-1-1) (1928)
Cornell (NY) (0-2) (1940)
Centre (KY) (0-1) (1895)
Carlisle Indian School (PA) (0-1) (1904)
​
​

1. Penn State

Arkansas (0-1) (2022)
Clemson (0-1) (1988)
Florida (0-3) (2010)
North Carolina (0-1) (1943)
Oklahoma (0-2) (1986)
Toledo (0-1) (2000)
Vanderbilt (0-1) (1957)
Harvard (MA) (0-3-2) (1932)
Yale (CT) (0-7) (1906)
Waynesburg (PA) (0-2) (1932)
Steelton YMCA (PA) (0-1) (1902)
Princeton (NJ) (0-5) (1900)
Homestead AC (PA) (0-1) (1901)
Duquesne AC (PA) (0-3) (1900)
Columbia (NY) (0-2) (1934)
​

1. Indiana

Auburn (0-1) (1990)
Boston College (0-1) (1938)
California (0-2) (1970)
Florida State (0-1) (1986)
North Carolina (0-2) (1999)
North Carolina State (0-4) (2001)
Oklahoma State (0-1-1) (2007)
Ole Miss (0-1) (2020)
Southern Cal (0-4) (1982)
Tennessee (0-2) (2020)
Texas (0-3) (1966)
TCU (0-4) (1972)
Virginia Tech (0-1) (1993)
Xavier (OH) (0-1) (1933)
Tufts (MA) (0-1) (1916)
Iowa Navy Pre-Flight (0-1) (1942)
Indianapolis Light Artillery (IN) (0-1) (1895)
Harvard (MA) (0-2) (1927)
Great Lakes NTS (IL) (0-1) (1943)
Fordham (NY) (0-1) (1939)
Detroit (MI) (0-1) (1941)
Colgate (NY) (0-1) (1929)
Camp Zachary Taylor (KY) (0-1) (1918)
​
​
4.Purdue
Arizona State (0-1) (2004)
Auburn (0-1) (2018)
Bowling Green (0-3) (2015)
Georgia (0-2) (2003)
Hawaii (0-1) (2006)
LSU (0-1) (2022)
Louisville (0-1-1) (2017)
Navy (0-2) (1944)
Northern Illinois (0-2) (2013)
Rutgers (0-2) (2020)
Texas (0-2) (1951)
UCLA (0-3-2) (1980)
Virginia Tech (0-1) (2015)
Washington State (0-1) (2001)
Santa Clara (CA) (0-1) (1939)
Iowa Navy Pre-Flight (0-1) (1944)
Chicago University Football Club (IL) (0-1) (1890)
​
​

1. Wisconsin

Florida State (0-1) (2008)
Georgia (0-2) (2005)
Kentucky (0-1) (1984)
Oklahoma (0-2) (1970)
Pittsburgh (0-3) (1967)
South Carolina (0-1) (2014)
Tennessee (0-2) (2008)
Texas (0-1) (1939)
TCU (0-1-1) (2011)
Washington (0-4) (1992)
Columbia (NY) (0-1) (1940)
Carlisle Indian School (PA) (0-1) (1896)
Calumet Club (WI) (0-1) (1889)
​
​

1. Illinois

Alabama (0-1) (1982)
Clemson (0-1) (1991)
Eastern Michigan (0-1) (2019)
Florida (0-2) (1988)
Fresno State (0-2) (2010)
Hawaii (0-1) (1992)
LSU (0-1) (2002)
Maryland (0-2) (2021)
Navy (0-1) (1979)
North Carolina (0-4) (2016)
Notre Dame (0-11-1) (1968)
Oregon State (0-1) (1965)
South Florida (0-2) (2018)
Southern Miss (0-2) (2002)
Texas A&M (0-2) (1976)
Tulane (0-1) (1970)
UTSA (0-1) (2021)
Great Lakes NTS (IL) (0-3-1) (1942)
Iowa Navy Pre-Flight (0-1) (1943)
Indianapolis Light Artillery (IN) (0-1) (1894)
Chicago Naval Reserve (IL) (0-1) (1918)
Chicago AA (IL) (0-3) (1895)
Carlisle Indian School (PA) (0-2) (1898)
​

1. Rutgers

Alabama (0-2) (1981)
Arizona State (0-2) (2005)
Auburn (0-1) (1982)
California (0-2) (2001)
Florida (0-1-1) (1986)
Fresno State (0-2) (2013)
Georgia Tech (0-1) (1921)
Houston (0-1) (2013)
Iowa (0-3) (2022)
Miami (FL) (0-11) (2003)
Minnesota (0-3) (2022)
Nebraska (0-6) (2022)
Notre Dame (0-5) (2022)
Ohio State (0-9) (2022)
Texas (0-2) (1999)
Wake Forest (0-3) (2021)
Washington (0-2) (2017)
Wisconsin (0-4) (2021)
Williams (MA) (0-2) (1888)
West Chester (PA) (0-1) (1935)
Washington (MD) (0-1) (1910)
Washington & Jefferson (PA) (0-3) (1926)
Tampa (FL) (0-1) (1973)
Seton Hall (NJ) (0-1) (1905)
Quantico Marines (VA) (0-1)
Maryland University (0-1) (1904)
Knickerbocker AC (NY) (0-1) (1899)
Jefferson Medical College (PA) (0-1) (1907)
Irving Football Club (NY) (0-1) (1896)
Great Lakes NTS (IL) (0-1) (1918)
Elizabeth AC (NJ) (0-2) (1896)
Detroit (MI) (0-1) (1920)
Dartmouth (NH) (0-1) (1952)
Crescent AC (NY) (0-1) (1894)
Brooklyn (NY) (0-1) (1943)
Bethany (WV) (0-1) (1922)
​
​

1. Notre Dame

Georgia (0-3) (2019)
Marshall (0-1) (2022)
Oklahoma State (0-1) (2021)
Oregon State (0-2) (2004)
Tulsa (0-1) (2010)
UConn (0-1) (2009)
Yale (CT) (0-1) (1914)
Indianapolis Light Artillery (IN) (0-1) (1895)
Chicago (IL) (0-4) (1899)
​
https://innismaggiore.com/news/blog/grading-the-new-big-ten-logo/
*I would also like to thank everyone who has joined me on this journey through CFB history!

tldr

• trail finding over / down ridges difficult
• pretty camp spots
• glutton for pain
• when will the pain stop
• 10/10 would do it again 😂 😂

CalTopo: https://caltopo.com/m/RN320
Imgur: https://imgur.com/a/d8oLtkI
Started sunday. late. as usual. Got on trail about 3:15
the hike up is no joke. super steep. only one 'bad' water crossing (i suck at balance. also im buying poles next month.. getting too old)
very pretty waterfalls.
had a medium hard time finding trail when going over the ridge.
was also some snow / mud which which slowed me down prob 25 min splits day 1 with the gain and mud.
cool camp sites up on the ridge though. sadly some dumb ass left an obnoxious fort tepee of widow makers..
went down to the valley and camped only like 8 miles in. I should have just kept going another 4...
there were maybe 7 parties in the first 4 miles ;( . but happily no one again until first few miles from parking on other side of loop
the long flat part is pretty.
but would be hell weather in summer imho.
for some reason the trail goes through the meadow for many miles, no cover, all sun. even covered pike in summer gets too hot. why make that trail choice when there are trees 100 feet away...
some tiny fish though! how did they get up there?!
annnnd then again i had a real hard time finding the trail on the 2nd ridge descent.
I think it's part of CO trail? it needs a lot of love. not only down trees but trail was not easy to spot.
idk maybe i just suck.
I ended up down the wrong drainage. to my credit, I'm not the only one. part of reason I went astray were other footsteps.
It was either a large (and mostly dry) drainage bed or a maybe a wide game trail.
ended up almost a mile off trail and down hill. ugh. bush wacking up with wet ground and downed trees SUCKED
so imho bring a map and have good skills or pray your gps doesn't die
prob better once clears up a bit or maybe the trail society does maintenance.
bc that is not my experiences with CO trail: well maintained, busy as fuck, little green mountain signs every few hundred feet.
given my poor life choices had to do almost 19 miles on monday with that off trail excursion
;( capital O Ouch

Character Application

• Discord Name: imNotGoodAtNaming#3022
• Name and House: Addam Frey
• Age: 18
• Appearance: Addam is, unlike his great-grandfather Forrest, a man clearly not built to wield a sword. Though tall, his slender and rather wiry build gives him a rather unimposing presence. He wears his hair slightly too long, hanging low across his eyes and curling around his neck, and his gaze seems permanently wary, always on edge. Addam seldom smiles in public, and dark bags beneath his eyes bely the troublesome relationship he has with sleep. Much like how his grandfather Franklyn made up for his lack of swordsmanship with his impressive stewardship abilities, Addam makes up for his own faults with an impressive ability to talk, peddle information, and play the other side of the game.
• Gifts: Gossiper
• Skills: Cautious (e), Espionage, Torturer, Subtle
• Talents: Hunting, Riding, Swimming, Whittling
• Negative Traits: N/A
• Starting Titles: Lord of the Crossing
• Starting Location: Feast/King’s Landing
• Family Tree: House Frey in 207 AC
• Alternate Characters: N/A for now

Timeline

• 187 AC: Perianne Frey, Addam’s elder sister, is born to Symond Frey and Marilda Celtigar.
• 189 AC: Addam and Marissa Frey are born to Symond and Marilda.
• 194 AC: Addam begins his tutelage under Symond. As the heir’s heir, his father gives him a well-rounded education — involving stewardship, military command, and diplomacy, alongside the usual nobleman's education.
• 200 AC: Symond dies whilst riding along the Green Fork, after his horse slips along the slippery rocks — falling into the river and trapping Symond underneath. Symond drowns before his horse can be lifted off him, leaving Addam as heir.
• 203 AC: Frey Regency Crisis
  • 2nd Moon: Lord Franklyn Frey dies, Addam Frey becomes Lord. Perwyn Frey is named regent in Lord Franklyn’s will.
  • 3rd Moon: While traveling, Perwyn Frey’s camp is set upon by supposed bandits. Perwyn Frey and his son Theomore Frey die; Celesse Frey survives after riding away into the woods on her lonesome. Osmund Frey is the new regent.
  • 5th Moon: A catspaw breaks into the East Castle and sets the Lord’s chambers ablaze. Addam and Marissa are rescued from within by men loyal to Lyonel Frey and House Nayland, but Marissa gets briefly trapped beneath a burning log. Marissa’s face is permanently disfigured as a result.
  • 6th Moon: Osmund Frey and his youngest son Raymond Frey are murdered in their beds. Osmund’s eldest son, Walton Frey, rides with his sister Sarra to his mother’s home at Breaker's Beak, and does not return until Bertram is arrested. Bertram Frey is named regent.
  • 7th Moon: “Black Benfrey” Rivers, bastard son of Bertram Frey, is caught trying to contact catspaws and other shady figures in a town nearby Hag’s Mire, and is arrested. Bertram attempts to downplay his bastard’s actions as those of a rogue bastard — but Addam secretly goes behind his Uncle’s back and orders Black Benfrey to be tortured for information.
  • 8th Moon: Under torture, Black Benfrey admits his own role and the role of his father in the death of Perwyn, Theomore, Osmund, and Raymond, as well as the attack on Addam himself. Bertram is arrested by Lyonel’s men.
  • 9th Moon: Eamon Frey leaves the Twins, under suspicion of being involved in Bertram and Benfrey’s plots, but with no firm evidence available. Addam orders a dozen Frey guards to attempt to chase Eamon down, but Eamon evades them and rides into Mallister lands before he can be caught. From Seagard, he takes a ship south.
  • 10th Moon: Bertram and Black Benfrey are executed. Lyonel is offered the regency, but refuses. Addam’s mother, Marilda Celtigar, is declared Regent.
• 204 AC: Lyonel Frey leaves the Twins — coincidentally also riding to Seagard.
• 205 AC: On his sixteenth name day, Addam begins to rule in his own right.
• 206 AC: Arrangements for a betrothal between Addam Frey and Alys Blackwood begins.
• 206 AC: Perianne Frey leaves the Twins and marries Osric Dustin.
• 207 AC: Marissa Frey leaves the Twins and marries Paxter Redwyne.
• 207 AC: Addam Frey leaves the Twins and travels towards King’s Landing.

Auxiliary Character Application

• Name and House: Eamon “the Exile” Frey
• Age: 27
• Appearance: Eamon shares the common Frey look; brown hair and brown eyes, with light facial hair. However, years of stress resulting from his exile from his homeland has aged him beyond his years — worry lines surround his eyes, and his brows are nearly always furrowed. Unlike his Lordly cousin, Eamon clearly does take after Forrest Frey’s martial legacy — being well-built from years training with swords and armor. Despite his status in exile, Eamon remains proud of his heritage and station. He spends gold freely on clothes, jewelry, horses, and other objects of luxury befitting a noble, and a brooch emblazoned with the sigil of House Frey is always visible on his body: a reminder of what he has been forced away from.
• Gifts: Duelist
• Skills: Swords, Tactician, Defender
• Talents: Hunting, Swimming, Cyvasse
• Negative Traits: N/A
• Starting Titles: Scion of House Frey
• Starting Location: With the household of House Lannister of Lannisport

Auxiliary Character Timeline

• 177 AC: Benfrey Rivers, illegitimate son of Bertram Frey, is born.
• 180 AC: Eamon Frey, son of Bertram Frey and Darla Haigh, is born.
• 186 AC: Eamon begins to squire for Symond Frey, his uncle and heir to the Twins.
• 194 AC: Eamon excels at swordplay, and begins to undergo more strenuous and personal training with his Uncle.
• 198 AC: Eamon leads a group of Frey knights in battling and capturing a group of bandits along the Frey Plains. For this, he is knighted by Symond.
• 200 AC: Symond drowns in the Green Fork after a freak riding accident. Eamon is greatly affected by the death of his mentor.
• 203 AC: Frey Regency Crisis
  • Despite Eamon being Bertram’s son, Bertram almost does not view Eamon as his own. Bertram sees Eamon’s close relationship to the late Symond as evidence of Eamon being untrustworthy, and does not entrust Eamon with his plot to seize control of the regency — and subsequently the Lordship of the Crossing.
  • As Freys begin to die every week or two, Eamon is terrified alongside the rest of his family. He is sent to Haigh Hill for a few months — ostensibly to keep him safe from the chaos of the Twins.
  • Black Benfrey and Bertram are subsequently arrested and interrogated. Neither give any inclination that Eamon has been involved in their plans, but Addam is nevertheless suspicious of him.
  • Eamon returns to the Twins and witnesses the execution of his half-brother and his father. He swears to Addam of having no part in his father’s treason — but Addam seems unperturbed. The next day, Eamon departs from the Twins and rides West.
  • Addam’s prior suspicions about Eamon seem to have been confirmed, and he dispatches a dozen Frey guards to ride after Eamon, but the guards do not catch Eamon before Eamon enters Mallister lands. The guards don’t cross into Mallister lands, not wishing to spark a bigger incident.
• 203 AC: Eamon is welcomed in the household of Seagard, remaining there briefly to catch his breath and prepare himself for the journey.
• 204 AC: Eamon departs from Seagard onboard a trading ship, and sails south. The ship docks in Lannisport, and he disembarks. With his inheritance from his father and his own personal allowance, he has a decent amount of gold — and finds lodgings in a high-brow inn.
• 205 AC: Attending a social event in Lannisport, Eamon meets Tyshara Lannister. The two court briefly.
• 206 AC: Eamon and Tyshara marry.
• 207 AC: Eamon reluctantly tags along with the Lannisters towards King’s Landing — hoping to stay far away from his cousin, who has doubtlessly received word of his marriage to a Lannister and wishes to see Eamon arrested.

Archetype NPCs

• Ser Lyle Nayland — Swords
  • Ser Lyle Nayland is Addam’s sworn sword, and Addam’s good-uncle through his late sister’s marriage to Lyonel Frey. Lyle was the one who saved Addam and Marissa during the burning of the Lord’s chambers, and earned Addam’s respect and loyalty for this action. He remains one of the few individuals who Addam legitimately trusts and, as Addam’s protector, is an ever present shadow behind Addam.
• Ser Olyvar Charlton — Tactician
  • Ser Olyvar Charlton is another one of Addam’s close confidantes. Olyvar was close to Addam’s father Symond, and has subsequently joined up with Addam’s entourage. Olyvar’s specialty lies in command, and he has been entrusted as Addam’s primary battlefield commander — given Addam’s own rather lacking personal ability in command.

Hey, Does anyone have any experience with this gravel route to Mt. Diablo? I am coming from the Discovery Bay and I don't really want to cycle all the way to the north entrance road and kamoot is suggesting this route (Oak Hill Lane>Prospectors Gap Road>Rhine Canyon Road>Green Ranch Road and then 3 miles on the Summit Road). Does anyone have any ideas if these roads are doable with a gravel bike (looking at gradients on Kamoot it doesn't seem that bad; max gradient 19%) and if they are open for cyclists? Any input is greatly appreciated.
https://preview.redd.it/235ceeo7a13b1.jpg?width=1527&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c4cc3b06a1d88d4ca876837bd65a2db3f9d6036

https://www.lotro.com/update-notes/lotro-update-36-release-notes-en
​

Update 36 Release Notes

Here are the release notes for Update 36: Gondor Renewed, released on Wednesday, May 31st, 2023.

Of Special Note:

A New Story Begins in A Renewed King's Gondor!

After the defeat of Sauron, King Elessar and Queen Arwen seek to bring peace to their kingdom, but the danger is not gone and new foes seek to threaten Gondor. Adventure awaits in the new zone of King's Gondor East, set after the War of the Ring when fresh breezes have dispersed the fumes of the Dawnless Day and allowed the sun to shine again! Discover the beginning of a new Epic-style storyline, 'The Song of Waves and Wind,' and team up with Legolas, Gimli, and friends both old and new to investigate the continuing threat of the Heirs of Castamir!
The Song of Waves and Wind
A new story debuts with Gondor Renewed called "The Song of Waves and Wind"! For characters level 140. Start the first chapter by speaking to Glindor in Minas Tirith (Midsummer)! This new story is available to anyone who is VIP, purchases the "Gondor Renewed" quest pack, or who purchases quest packs associated with the story that are released in the future.
King's Gondor Awaits
Gone are the gloomy dark skies, replaced with bright and sunny fields and hills. Players familiar with the original Central and Eastern Gondor regions will be familiar with King's Gondor from a navigation standpoint, but there are new additions, and places players previously could not go are now open to allow for further exploration!
The Quest Pack "Gondor Renewed" unlocks more than 80 quests and Deeds for level 140 characters. Includes King's Gondor East and The Song of Waves and Wind. Free to VIPs!
How do I get to King's Gondor?
Go to Minas Tirith (After Battle) and head South through the Pelennor Fields. Where there once stood an impassable is no more! Questing begins in this area of the Pelennor Fields and in the under-construction version of The Harlond. From there, you can explore Gondor up to Linhir, where the gates are currently closed.​

Landscape Difficulty: The Paths of Valour!

We have reworked the Landscape Difficulty setting system introduced with Treebeard and are now opening it to the general game worlds as an option! Read full details about this new Landscape Difficulty option in the release notes below.​ A new Faction and new rewards are now available by playing these higher difficulties. Activate your difficulty and adjust it in the future by speaking with a Hardened Traveller, which can be found in major hubs and new player zones throughout Middle-earth:
​

• Outside of the Prancing Pony in Bree
• Near the Stable Masters outside of the 21st Hall
• Just inside of the exit of Post-Raid Archet
• Just outside of Mossward
• Along the road Northward out of Celondim
• Just outside the door to Thorin's Hall
• Down the road from the Hobbit starter area exit waypoint

There are titles available for activating a difficulty of 3 or higher and keeping it there from level 10 to level 50, and then to level 130 respectively. The title granted depends on the class you play, but can be used by any character on your account. Make sure to select your Landscape Difficulty prior to achieving level 10 to be eligible for these titles! In order to earn these titles, you must keep the difficulty system active for the entire leveling span from level 10 thru 50/130. Entering areas of the game world where it is temporarily suppressed will not invalidate your title attempt, however turning it down or off via the Hardened Traveller will.

More Delvings!

More Delvings are now available! The Annúminas instances Glinghant, Haudh Valandil, and the Great Barrows instances Sambrog, Thadûr and The Maze have been converted to be playable as Delvings! Find them in the Instance Finder (Control+J by default).​

News and Notes

Classes

​

• Several player stun-removal skills were inappropriately flagged as 'Immediate' causing them to occasionally cancel themselves and fail to free you from stuns. These skills are now correctly 'Fast' rather than 'Immediate' skills.
• High Elf, Beorning, and Stout Axe Dwarf racial recall skills can now be used while mounted on any steed.
• Beorning
  
  • The Beorning Trait "Battle Born" now correctly gives additional critical damage for off-hand weapons.
• Brawler
  
  • The Brawler mounted combat skill "Take Breath" will now properly update the incoming healing rating when active.
  • Innate Strength: Raw Power
    • Fixed description of the trait to state that it grants +2.5/+5/+7.5/+10%.
    • No change was made to the actual bonus granted by the trait, This is purely a tooltip change to have it reflect real values.
  • Tracery Innate Strength: Damage/Threat
    • Skill bonus has been modified [+10%->+5%], but is now added directly to the value of Innate Strength: Raw Power buff, which makes it considerably more effective than it was previously.
• Burglar
  
  • Aim skill now works with 'Throw Knife'.
• Captain
  
  • Fighting Withdrawal can now be used while rooted to free yourself.
  • The class deed "Fear the Darkness" should now properly advance even if "Courageous Convocation" is traited.
  • Captain skill "Defensive Strike" is now properly affected by the tracery "Single Target Attack Damage".
  • The buff from Inspire: Self-motivation should now correctly overwrite itself rather than failing to apply when you still have a few seconds of duration remaining from your previous skill use.
• Champion
  
  • Blood Rage and Continuous Blood Rage are now both correctly labeled Fast, rather than Immediate, skills. This prevents you from accidentally double-clicking the skill and putting it on cooldown without gaining the CC-removal effect.
  • Tracery Swift Strike: Damage & Power Cost
    • Renamed to Swift Strike/Blade: Damage & Power Restore
    • Tracery now increases the Power restored by Swift Strike rather than reducing the (now non-existent) Power cost. Magnitude changed from [-33%->+20%].
• Guardian
  
  • The Cardolan Essence of Retaliation effects' durations no longer benefit from the War-chant duration legacy.
• Lore-master
  
  • Clever Escape is now a Fast skill. This prevents you from accidentally double-clicking the skill and putting it on cooldown without gaining the CC-removal effect.
• Rune-keeper
  
  • The skill "Do Not Fall this Day" no longer breaks the target of the skill out of Stealth.
• Warden
  
  • "Forced March" will no longer be toggled off when you enter combat. It still only applies a bonus to your out of combat Run Speed.
  • Seared Flesh now appropriately benefits from bonuses to your Fire Damage.
  • Readied Blade's buff now provides Disarm Immunity for its duration.
  • The trait 'Movement Training' now correctly increases Mitigation ratings from the Conviction and Dance of War buffs.
  • Damage dealt by the trait 'Taking Advantage' increased.

Crafting

​

• The crafting ingredients "Tuft of Torahammas' Fur", "Great Hoary Aurochs Hide" and "Speckled Shell Fragment" can now all be stored in crafting carryalls.
• Beasts in the Ettenmoors that drop crafting hides will now correctly drop Gundabad Hides instead of Eorlingas Hides.
• Crafters can now make two new tiers of selectable craftable essence boxes.
• Gundabad Skarn Deposits have been renamed to Brilliant Skarn Deposits.
• Frost-rimed Black Ash Branches have been renamed to Heavy Wind-swept Black Ash Branches.

Items & Rewards

​

• The Homestead Steed can now be correctly placed on a hitching post by hobbit, dwarf, and Stout-axe dwarf characters.
• Might-based selection boxes no longer reference or contain medium armour.
• Many medium Might-based armour pieces obtained from quests from levels 1-75 have been updated from medium to heavy armour.
• Enemies in Moria no longer drop obsolete Legendary Item rewards.
• The Distillation set now properly identifies itself as a Distillation set and not a Crock Pot.
• Incomparable Earrings received from the 3-stack instances from Return to Carn Dûm have had the names of their set bonuses changed to reflect the stats given by the items in their groups.
• The "Dwarf-make Helm" cosmetic has been renamed to "Dwarf-make Circlet".
• The Champion Legendary Item Tracery "Brutal Strikes Damage" now only appears in The Berserker barter profiles.
• The decorative band on the Sightseer's Straw Hat will now correctly display dye colors.
• The weapon Candelleth's Hammer is now categorized correctly in the Auction House.
• The Veteran of Helm's Deep Quartermaster now offers items for Beornings and Brawlers.
• The Homestead Steed can now be used in Zirakzigil as well as in Caras Galadhon and other appropriate areas in Lothlórien.

Landscape Difficulty

​

• We have reworked the Landscape Difficulty setting system introduced originally to Treebeard and made it available as an option to the general game worlds!
• We've added a new Faction and reward structure called The Paths of Valour that can be advanced by playing on higher difficulties.
• You can activate your difficulty setting by speaking with the Hardened Traveller that can be found in major hubs and new player zones who will offer you an array of quests representing the different difficulty levels.
  • Upon accepting and completing one of these quests, your challenges on the roads of Middle-earth will increase substantially.
  • The difficulty system turns itself off in group instances (3+), in the Ettenmoors, and any time the Delving system is activated. It will reactivate when you leave any of these areas.
• There are titles available for activating a difficulty of 3 or higher and keeping it there from level 10 to level 50, and then to level 130 respectively. The title granted depends on the class you play through with, but can be used by any character on your account.
  • In order to earn these titles, you must keep the difficulty system active for the entire leveling span from level 10 thru 50/130. Entering areas of the game world where it is temporarily suppressed will not invalidate your title attempt, however turning it down or off via the Hardened Traveller will.
  • Existing characters above level 10 will not be able to earn the titles themselves, but will be able to use those titles if they are earned by another character on your account.
• When playing at Fearless or higher, enemies of your own level or higher may drop Tokens of Heroism.
  • These can be turned in to complete weekly tasks from the Hardened Traveller, which will increase your reputation with the Paths of Valour faction.
  • At Fearless difficulty (3-6), these tokens can drop for up to 3 members in a Fellowship.
  • At Heroic difficulty (7+) they can drop for up to 6 members in a Fellowship.
  • The drop rate of these tokens increases somewhat with higher difficulties.
• The difficulty settings and effects are pretty much the same as they were on Treebeard, though we've changed up the names a bit, and added a few variations to the hotspot effects you can encounter under the Eye of Sauron.
• The Hardened Traveller has a menu of barter rewards that include a small set of Reputation accelerators for the faction and Morale/Power potions. More importantly, he also offers an array of 8 new Epic variations of familiar emotes which you will be able to find on the Collections panel.

General Landscape Changes:

​

• Court of Celeborn now has a map.
• Floating objects in the Allegiance Halls and in Mordor have been grounded.
• Incorrect textures in Minas Tirith has been resolved.

Localization

​

• Stablemaster map text has been updated for the German game client.

Missions and Delvings

​

• Delving Barter Vendors and Mission Givers have also been added to all our Skirmish Camps. We did this to make it easier to turn in delving quests no matter where players are. Delving Mission Givers have also been given that title as a role to make it easy to spot them.
• Created a Selectable Delving Extraordinary Box that only drops in instances at tiers 7+. While still rare, new instances have a significantly higher drop rate for this item.
• The Delving Tracery Archive Travel Skill no longer has any reputation requirements.
• Mission: Jorthkyn and the Hounds
  • The Mission now appropriately identifies that you need to kill 8 wargs along with the 8 Jorthkyn to advance the quest.
  • The Mission had some pesky low-level monsters that really wanted to get in on the fight. They have been reprimanded to stay in their lanes.
• Fixed an issue with the mission "Dangerous Deliveries" where the player would pick the pie up twice upon completing the induction to pick up the pie.
• The bridge in the mission Patrol the Township that was bereft of physics has found its physics and will now support your character as it should.
• Before the Shadow missions that referred to previous mission givers have been updated with references to current mission givers.
• The mission "The Nettinglade" had a single cocoon that decided it didn't want to sparkle. The spider responsible has been admonished and though it pledged to swallow all Light in the world, it relented and allowed it's cocoon to sparkle once again.
• Delving Reward Changes:
  • Delving Selectable Crafting Boxes that drop at tier 7 and above can now be disenchanted instead for 20 Delvings Writs. These boxes now have a six hour expiration timer on them. These changes do not affect existing Crafting Boxes.
  • Changed how many writs completing Delving quests give. Tier 1-3 now give 10 writs, Tier 4-6 give 20 writs, Tier 7-9 give 30 writs and Tier 10-12 give 40 writs.
  • Two new cosmetic pets added to Delving Barter.
  • Delving armour will now be disenchantable for more Delving Writs. Common armour will disenchant for 10 writs, rare armour will disenchant for 20 writs, incomparable armour for 30 writs.
  • Added Tier 1 and Tier 2 Essence Boxes to the Delving Barter for Writs, and removed Tier 0.
  • Added Morale and Power Potions to the Delving Barter for Writs. Morale and Power potions also drop as rewards from high tier instance Delving Chests.
• Delving Mission Givers in Skirmish Camps now give Weekly Delving Quests.
• Mission - Defilers in the Dale - Corrected a visual bug where the cauldron's contents and bubbles could become visibly offset after being destroyed.
• Rewards that drop from Delvings have been updated with new Delving-specific icons.

PvMP

​

• We have adjusted the distribution of Infamy/Renown while grouped. In the past, there was a modifier that increased the value of player kills when more than 6 kill contributors were involved. This resulted in the value of a single kill, while in a raid, to be valued over 2x what the kill should have been worth.
  • We have adjusted this modifier to make these values - in the absence of any other modifiers - equivalent to equal distribution of the infamy value of the kill.
  • We have adjusted the bonus modifier to infamy/renown gains when killing ranked players. This change rewards a higher contribution bonus for killing players of a higher rank.
• The War-spoils Carry-all icons have been updated and no longer display a bottle of liquid
• Lootboxes found by monster players now always drop 3 items from three specific tables:
  • Table 1 includes potions, barter lockboxes, and the potential for 500 commendations with weighting toward the barter box, and then equivalent draws for the remaining items.
  • Table 2 includes an equal chance for random perk items from a pool of 5 items.
  • The 3rd table has an equal chance to drop a single Audacity upgrade scroll, 2 Audacity upgrade scrolls, Lord's Symbols, Captain's Marks, 1k Commendations, 1.5k Commendations or a new Cosmetic Selection Box.
    • The Cosmetic Selection Box contains 2 new skins for each class. Previews are available on NPCs present near the Gramsfoot retreat circle.
    • The Selection Box also contains several new cosmetic weapons: Thrâng's Sword, a silvered scimitar, a spider-clan trident, an off-hand Gundabad mace, a Spider-clan staff, an Easterling Ghost Bow, and a new Dunharrow Shield.
    • The Box also contains a new cosmetic type that can be slotted into appearance Corruptions to change the style of your 'March!' skill emitted effects. These include: a white glow, fire trail, acid trail, and a "blue-foot" trail.
• The eggs around Grodris in the Isendeep Mine will now hatch if disturbed during the battle against the matron.
• Fixed an issue with the first and second marshal rewards not providing keys to the chest. The quests for First and Second marshal now correctly reward the key to the chest.
• Tokens of Valour will now go into the War-spoils Carry-all.
• Updated the new Monster Play tutorial to reference using skills on training dummy Kelsen, Jalessa, or Light training-dummy Orion. If you choose the other training dummies you are locked in combat for the full duration of the spawn - which is five minutes. This is bad. Please use the safety dummies. Use those initial skill training dummy Kelsen, Jalessa, or Light training-dummy Orion.
• First Marshal An and Tyrant Uzulthrang are back in action and ready to rush Tol Ascarnen when the opposition is in control. The rewards on the quests to use these two is increased significantly. Each has also been buffed appropriately.
• All values and costs for Lainedhal's Insignias were reduced. You can now purchase the old versions for nostalgia, but the tier 15 version is available to all rank 1 players and better for 2000 commendations and has a 1m cooldown just as the monster player brand.
• The Rank 9 mount available in monster play now has a full +68% movement bonus because it should have been upgraded along with all other mounts that are this hard to get.
• We adjusted the damage done by Spider Hatchlings to be more in line with creatures that are level 140.
• There was a bug introduced when we lowered the cost of monster play potions where we did not lower the amount purchasable from the barter NPC. This has been corrected and now you can only purchase in stacks of three.
• Mazauk and Old Goldhead have been refreshed and stand ready to help you capture Lugazag or Tirith Rhaw.
• Old U21 gear was using old Audacity values. This has been reduced to 1.
• Freepside Ettenmoors quests now award considerably more IXP when completed.
• The Freepside weekly quest, 'Battle Across the Ettenmoors' now gives slightly improved rewards.
• Many monster player skill power costs have been adjusted. In particular, several healing skills cost substantially more power.
• The base critical heal multiplier for most Creepside heals has been reduced from 1.5 to 1.2.
• Increased damage of ranger session play skills.
• Orc Defiler
  
  • Cooldowns reduced for Fertile Slime and Fungal Spores.
  • Fungal Spores initial heal potency reduced.
  • Enhanced Fungal Spores now rolls for a critical heal on each pulse, rather than following the critical outcome of the initial skill use.
  • Fertile Slime no longer has an initial heal.
  • Healing from Improved Blessing of Darkness now occurs every 1 second, rather than every 2 seconds.
  • Constant Pain now pulses healing every 2 seconds, and will restore some power to the defiler when it does.
• Orc Reaver
  
  • Blade Toss now only applies its slow and/or knockdown effects to targets facing away from you.
• Spider Weaver
  
  • Several spider animations should no longer slow down when you gain attack speed buffs.
  • Trapdoor Sanctuary now lasts 10 seconds; when traited, it will heal 5% of your max health each second.
• New Potions (of Bravery and Essence) are now correctly usable by the Free Peoples.
  
• Insignias now have a 3 minute cooldown and provide 15 seconds of combat state immunity (Tyrant Brands still have a 1 minute cooldown and only provide 5 seconds of immunity for now).
  
• Alwuld the Item Trader now carries the updated Morale and Power potions.
  
• Potions of Essence now correctly restore different amounts of Power, according to their quality and rank requirements.
  

Quests, Deeds and Instances

​

• Tier 4 of Gwathrenost, the Witch-king's Citadel is available.
• All slayer deeds in the Wells of Langflood, will now properly reward players with LOTRO Points.
• Gwathrenost, the Witch-king's Citadel - The final Objective of 'The Storming of Gwathrenost' now functions similarly to 'Into the Hiddenhoard, allowing the Player the choice of whether or not to abandon the quest after completing it. The option to complete the quest via the Quest Actions panel was causing some players to mistakenly erase their progress in a given reset cycle, so this has been removed.
• Azanulbizar - Quest: Death in the Dale - The quest guide for this quest has been corrected to highlight the proper area.
• Azanulbizar - Quest: Elusive Prey - The quest guide now properly highlights the general locations of all the Rare foes in Azanulbizar.
• Sagroth - The Sewer Water debuff that can be applied to players during the Gárvadach encounter now carries the resistance type "disease" instead of "corruption".
• Several fading or overlapping combat music bugs have been fixed in the Race of Man and hobbit tutorials, the Archet raid, and the Trouble at Tuckborough skirmish.

Miscellaneous

​

• The Allegiance panel can now be resized an additional horizontal distance.
• Certain Brawler Belt Buckles were appearing under the Lore-master class in searches in the Auction House. That has been fixed.
• Upgraded the compiler used to compile the 32 bit game client to make it compatible with upgraded OpenAL.
• Clydesdale mounts can now be used in Thorin's Hall and the Hall Under the Mountain
• The Assistant Stable-master at Elrond's Stables in Rivendell douses the horse less frequently.
• Facepaint rewards acquired from Hobnanigans now correctly shows on Human avatars.
• The Draught Horse cosmetic pets received in the Homesteads and Harvests Coffers have been renamed to "Miniature" Draught horses.
• Matching full size Draught horse cosmetic pet tomes have been granted (account-wide) to everyone that purchased the Homesteads and Harvests Coffers.
• The Homestead Steed mount scale has been increased to match the expected size of a draught horse. Many animation issues have been resolved for the Homestead Steed mount as well.
• Updated the icon for the Stoorvales/Clegur Milestone and for the Clegur travel skills.
• Several Run Speed buffs and debuffs were overwriting effects of greater potency. Player-applied Run Speed Effects should now only overwrite effects of the same kind (out of combat speed buff, in combat speed buff, or debuff) and the most potent effect should always be the one which is actively applied.

Known Issues:

​

• In French and German the Tokens of Heroism may display as Tokens of Valour.
• The Stable-master panel in Collections has not been updated to include King's Gondor.
• The Deeds "Boar-slayer of Lower Lebennin" and "Boar-slayer of Lower Lebennin (Advanced)" are not bestowing/advancing properly.

Chapter LXXXIII
​
Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.
​
"PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT!!!" A harsh voice barked out.
​
The dragues grunted and whined as they continued to chop and hack at the thick trees that covered the south of the Duval Estate. It was slow going since they were using basic axes and handsaws. The dumb things couldn't be trusted with anything more advanced.
​
At least that was what Morty, and everyone else, thought. Morty placed a ice pack to his aching head as he nursed a stiff drink. He could only vaguely recall the Ball. He was excited, then annoyed, then angry. Oh yeah, the City Council and the Mayor stood him up.
​
Then he recalled something about swearing vengeance afterwards. He winced as a great tree fell to the ground with a groan, and a wet squelch as a drague failed to get away in time. Vengeance was for another day, he thought.
​
He wanted his industry up and running yesterday, and he was annoyed that it was such slow going to get the forest cleared. The workforge was being rebuilt as they worked. In the meantime, the logs were being trimmed and stored in a hastily built shed to shelter them from the weather.
​
He didn't need the whole forest cleared, just enough for a decent path/road to haul the stone, ore, and lead from the deposits back here for storage and processing.
​
But even that was taking too long for Morty. So today, instead of dealing with matters involving the town, he decided to oversee the lumber operation. The back brick wall has since been torn down and the brick repurposed for other things around the base camp.
​
What stood now was a wide open view of the various oaks, pines, maples, beech and cedars that covered the area. Now he just had to tear it up. At least he will when the dragues would stop dying from the falling lumber!
​
"TIMBER!!!" The harsh call of the Red Cap foreman came as a solid trunk of pine fell.
​
The various work crews of the dragues scattered this time save for a handful that were either squished under the pine or lost appendages to it. The ones still alive were dragged away to the drague housing quarters. Small shanty shacks that were barely held together.
​
Morty followed and glanced inside, curious as how the dragues were made compared to the rest. It was pretty similar to the rest of the goblins. Save for the fact the pool was a murky almost dirty dishwater color instead of the vibrant green of the other goblin pools. It also spawned 3-5 at a time instead of just a single goblin every few seconds.
​
Then again, given the rate they died it wasn't surprising to see them being pumped out faster and in a higher volume, especially if the near constant stream of dead dragues being thrown into the pools to "refresh" them was anything to go by.
​
Morty, curiosity satisfied, went back to observing the operation. He stood under a pavilion with one of the smarter goblins as they gibbered about plans for collecting the lumber more efficiently. While they did so the Red Caps and other goblin grunts were patrolling the area, keeping the dragues in line as well as keeping an eye out for anything that might wish them harm.
​
Which wasn't much at any rate. Other than a brief skirmish with a boar their presence scared away anything else. A bugbeabigfoot/whatever they called themselves came up and gave Morty a brief report.
​
All is well, the halflings were where they were every time they reported back. Though the scout did report that some of them, and a handful of humans, were doing some minor foresting on the west-side of the forest that Morty was clearing.
​
Nothing that was any issue, Morty thought. Though he would have to either send someone or go himself and make sure that the halflings knew what was and wasn't theirs.
​
But from the report it wasn't anything to worry about yet. Maybe he can keep a tree line that could separate the two, a natural boundary so to speak. He knew that when he started doing full scale agriculture that the walking spuds would be his natural, and only, competitors. But that was a future Morty problem, today Morty was dealing with just clearing more than a few feet of trees!
​
The only good thing about the dragues was the same advantage that the other greenskins had, numbers. That was about it, they were too dumb to do anything complex, and too weak to do much of anything else. As soon as 10 new ones joined the work crews, twice that were hauled away, dead from exhaustion or some random act of violence between them.
​
Goblins were naturally petty. But the dragues seemed even worse! They could barely work together, they required a Red Cap or someone else of higher rank to keep them in line just to prevent them from offing one another.
​
It seemed to Morty that a caste system had naturally formed. Him and the sisters at the top, the Red Caps and other house/smart goblins making the next step. Though he's started to notice a bit of a rivalry between the two groups. The Red Caps maintained that their military mentality and organization was better, and that they in turn were better than the house/smart goblins. The house/smart goblins in turn believed they were better as they were better educated and learned than the Red Caps.
​
Morty has had to intervene between fights in the manor already. He's limited the house staff to serving only himself and the sisters and relegated some dragues to serving the Red Caps. This has resulted in more incidents of violence against the dragues for spillage and other instances of "carelessness". But the serving staff were grateful to not be dealing with the "brutish" Red Caps.
​
After them it went the goblin grunts, and finally the dragues. Not like Morty cared though. As long as they did what they were told he could care less. He watched a log get dragged away on a hastily built sled as he sipped his drink.
​
Out the corner of his eye he could see some of the smart goblins continue to tinker with the remnants of the scrapped vehicles. He heard them talking about building a "hauling kart" to better haul the lumber and future deposits they were going to exploit.
​
From what he's seen of the plans so far he would be surprised if it ran at all if it didn't explode, again.
​
That wasn't the only thing being worked on either at the moment though. While his armee was being trained and drilled as it continued to grow, he was expanding the area around the manor.
​
A few guard posts were being built along the road to the manor, and he's already drew up plans to build some housing for the soldiery, either in town or here on the grounds. It'll keep them happy and content, and if he puts them in town then they can be quick and ready to deal with any... malcontents.
​
As soon as the workforge is up and running he also wants more artillery. Either cannons or mortars. If only there was sulfur and saltpeter nearby then his armee could be entirely independent!
​
But you can't have everything. Though he wasn't sure what would be cheaper, ordering a bulk order of gunpowder or the ingredients to make it himself. Another problem for future Morty.
​
The workforge would also need to be expanded or liquified into separate specialized factories for processing the lead and iron. As well as a masonry to work stone. He wanted his manor turned into a fort by Christmas! A big stone starfort surrounding the manor itself! Walls lined with cannons! Sure it wouldn't deal with Apaches and Tomahawk missiles. But it was better than nothing!
​
The thrown together lumbermill was first on the list though. The fact that it burned up with the rest of the workforge was an annoyance that he didn't want to deal with again. So while the workforge was being rebuilt the lumbermill was being built away from it. Once it was up and running he can resume his lumber processing.
-----
The Colonel had returned to the pawnshop. Though he was hesitant to enter. The same feelings from last night returned, worse than before. This time he was painfully aware of the new sensation in his breeches!
​
Once was a coincidence, twice was a pattern, was the human saying wasn't it, he thought as he shuffled. The fact that it's happened twice, and both times was in the presence, or even thought, of the pawnbroker, was enough to confirm his theory.
​
The other Red Caps were little better as the metamorphosis seemed to spring on them with little thought or feeling, he wasn't sure if it was sudden or if it had been happening for some time and they just didn't realize it.
​
Either way, it was something that the Red Caps now had to deal with. Sooner rather than later. Since yesterday the number of Red Cap recruits has fallen to pitiful levels. There would usually be potential in new spawns that would make it fairly obvious right from the get-go that they were worthy of donning the colors.
​
But that was rarer and rarer as time went by, and now he was sure that the days of drawing recruits from the spawning goblin pools was at an end.
​
He walked through the door as a little bell chimed above. Alerting Molly the pawnbroker of his presence. She actually smiled when she saw him. Which just made his nerves worse!
"Hello Colonel! How's the patrol goin'?"
​
He swallowed nervously.
"It's going as well as usual. Another nest is in the process of being put to the sword as we speak. Though there were also reports of a lone individual skulking about sometime last night."
​
She nodded with a smirk. It was actually kinda cute that the uniformed man was so nervous around her. A nice change from the hot and bothered country boys from one of the farms or ranches that would swagger in and try and pull their country boy charm on her.
"Heard about that this mornin'. Find out who it was?"
​
"We did not. I wanted to make sure that those under my- OUR protection weren't bothered by the incident!" He hastily corrected.
​
Yup, definitely cute, she thought as he continued to sweat and shuffle in her presence.
"Nope, as you can see everythin' is where its supposed to be."
​
He nodded his head at her words.
"Good! Good. Well, unless you would like to report anything than I will take my leave!"
​
He didn't wait for a reply before turning on his heel and making for the door. But then he stopped just as his hand reached for the door. He took a deep breath and turned around and looked at the still smirking pawnbroker.
"Though, if you are not doing anything tonight? Would you care to go for a nightly walk with me?"
​
"Why Colonel?! Are you asking me out once more?! And so soon?!" She asked with faux scandal in her voice.
​
"Y-y-your right, my apologies. It was improper as to inquire again so soon. I'll take my leave then." The Colonel said and turned to leave once more, a bit dejected that his offer was rebuked and ashamed that he couldn't wait a proper amount of time before asking her again!
​
"WAIT?!" Molly called.
​
He looked back at the pawnbroker.
​
"I was only teasin' a little! I would love to go for a walk with you tonight. If you still want?"
​
The Colonel smiled and nodded.
"Of course! I'll meet you after your work is finished?"
​
"That'd be fine!" She stated with a smile.
​
The Colonel left with a bit more pep in his step, though his nerves were shot from the situation. Another date, he thought excitedly! With his courtship of the pawnbroker going ahead now he just needed to get permission from the General to advance it when the time is appropriate.
​
The Colonel returned to the manor and searched for Morty, after asking around he found him in his study. As was the head butler, who looked to be speaking with Morty about something as well.
​
"-he staff are beginning to feel certain things that are not common among our kind Master. I have an idea what might be happening and I would like to inform you-"
​
"I desire to mate." The Colonel stated simply as he grew tired of the head butler's rambling.
​
Morty's only response was to spit and choke on his bourbon.
​
[First] [Prev] [Next]

MM Romance

Kindle Unlimited

• Hunter's Descent (Mischief and Monsters #2) by Alice Winters - https://a.co/d/cK7Wy9b - (series must be read in order, established relationship, paranormal/fantasy, action, humor, monster x monster hunter)
  
• Wolfgang (Vampire's Mate #5) by Grae Bryan - https://a.co/d/dfYNPC7 - (series must be read in order, paranormal, fated mates, vampire mc, 'psychopath' mc, turned without consent)
  
• Out of The Wild Night (Coven Ties #2) by Marina Vivancos - https://a.co/d/4V6ssHx - (fantasy, biokink, D/s, check CWs)
  
• Full Throttle (Lights Out) by Lisa Henry - https://a.co/d/iY74qHb - (multi-author series, contemporary, F1, hidden relationship, pining)
  
• Mr. Frisky: An MM Age Play Romance (Playhouse Daddies #2) by Joe Satoria - https://a.co/d/3tISJZp - (contemporary, dad's best friend, Daddy kink, age play)
  
• Guarding Axel (Dark Forest Pack #3) by Annabelle Jacobs - https://a.co/d/5y7k9Zn - (paranormal, fae mc, wolf shifter, second chance)
  
• Model (The Club Oxygen Series #9) by Cole Denton - https://a.co/d/bYU7hRn - (contemporary, dark?, BDSM?, very cryptic blurb)
  
• Crimes of Passion by Jack Harbon - https://a.co/d/aIuJmZs - (contemporary, BIPOC, rivals-to-lovers, forced proximity)
  
• Deadly Desire: An MM Dragon-shifter Romance (The Last Mortals #3) by Silvana Falcon - https://a.co/d/iB4fmjn - (paranormal, dragon shifter mc, assassin mc, assassin/target, fated mates, hurt/comfort)
  
• Protecting His Pack (North American Wolves #1) by Morgan Elektra - https://a.co/d/3qUNc8Y - (paranormal, widower mc, single parent mc, wolf shifters)
  
• A Bridge in the Desert by S.A. Sommers - https://a.co/d/9NihOuo - (contemporary, mystery, suspense, missing daughter, man who raised her x biological father)
  
• His Mafia Captor (Dark M/M Mafia Romance) (Toscano Doms #3) by Leo Rivers - https://a.co/d/j3YDo8R - (contemporary, dark, mafia, captocaptive, BDSM, dubcon-noncon)
  
• Man On: A Celebration of Love on the Pitch (The Black Jacks of Detroit #3) by Liz Crowe - https://a.co/d/dOhyRxe - (contemporary, soccer, rivals-to-lovers, teammates-to-lovers)
  
• Don't Look Back in Anger (Two Tribes #3) by Kristian Parker - https://a.co/d/j2V9hSZ - (contemporary, mafia, back from the dead, second chance)
  
• Reuben's Hot and Cold (Clover Hill Romance #9) by M. Arbon - https://a.co/d/07xfDzG - (contemporary, accidentally ended up in a relationship, workaholic mcs, relationship trouble)
  
• The Hero In Me: MM Superhero Enemies to Lovers Romance by Kaylee Kane - https://a.co/d/5kqoQSR - (superhero x supervillain, hidden identity, aliens, D/s, the superhero is an asshole, the supervillain is an au pair for a dog)
  
• Day Break (The Vampire Defense Agency #4) by Katherine Diane - https://a.co/d/isghyPG - (paranormal, vampires, forced proximity, antagonism-to-lovers, action, suspense)
  
• Fallen Fire: The Complete Series (Fallen Fire #1-4) by Richard Amos - https://a.co/d/evg8fCo - (collection, urban fantasy, action, adventure, mystery, slowburn, paranormal beings)
  
• Scorching Submission (Master, May I?) by Candace Lark - https://a.co/d/1xJewXO - (contemporary, antagonism-to-lovers, fake relationship, BDSM)
  

Kobo Plus

• Against the Rush (Philadelphia Power) by Susan Scott Shelley & Chantal Mer - Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/against-the-rush & Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/646488297/Against-the-Rush-Philadelphia-Power-1 - (contemporary, hockey, daughter's coach, busy schedules / long-distance-relationship)
  
• Make Like Mountains (Liquid Onyx #2) by BL Jones - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/make-like-mountains - (series must be read in order, superheroes, love triangle or MMM, mc with anxiety, humor)
  

Other

• Off The Ice: Young Adult Gay Romance (Chesterford Coyotes #1) by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey - https://a.co/d/5hqVSTC - (YA, contemporary, hockey, coming-of-age, high school, rivals-to-lovers, teammates-to-lovers)
  
• The Gay Best Friend by Nicolas DiDomizio - https://a.co/d/2GSabu9 - (contemporary, romcom, forced proximity, jock/nerd, famous golfer mc, mc with anxiety)
  
• Elf Shot (Monster Dads) by TA Moore, illustrated by Emily Y Chan - https://a.co/d/b6N4OQq - (illustrated edition, paranormal, mystery, agent x suspect, single parent mc)
  
• Monster Hall Pass (Monster Dads) by Bru Baker, illustrated by Emily Y Chan - https://a.co/d/31vDrMW - (illustrated edition, paranormal, vampire mc, fae prince mc, enemies-to-lovers, single parent mc)
  
• Wolf at First Sight (Monster Dads) by Rhys Ford, illustrated by Emily Y Chan - https://a.co/d/8w22YLp - (illustrated edition, paranormal, wolf shifter x unaware human, cop mc, single parent mc)
  
• Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 6 (Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu #6) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - https://a.co/d/in3e9Ge - (series must be read in order, fantasy, gods)
  
• Big Gay Wedding: A Novel by Byron Lane - https://a.co/d/0E2g66N - (contemporary, established relationship, small town isn't ready for all the glitter)
  

Other Queer Romance

Kindle Unlimited

• Choose Us (CHOOSE ME & CHOOSE US #2) by Nicole Spencer-Skillen - https://a.co/d/3gikfKC - (FF, series must be read in order, contemporary, second chance, set in Japan)
  
• Covetousness: A Sensual Pride and Prejudice Sequel (Unconventional Love) by Rosemarie Thorson - https://a.co/d/3ipBk2Y - (MMF, historical, Pride and Prejudice retelling/sequel, Mr Darcy x Mrs Darcy x Colonel Fitzwilliam, infertility or trouble conceiving, blurb emphasizes how extremely erotic this story is)
  
• When Ivy Met Adam : A second chance, forced proximity, sexy, queer love-triangle romance by Jennifer J. Coldwater - https://a.co/d/giJUiLM - (MF, contemporary, second chance, love triangle, forced proximity, bisexual/pansexual mc, based on biblical story of Eve)
  
• Girl Gets Ghosted: A Lesbian Romance Novella by Waverly Decker - https://a.co/d/2uZQKvv - (FF, paranormal, ghost mc, amnesia)
  
• Broken Women Fight Back (Tales of the Undead & Depraved #3) by Adrian J. Smith - https://a.co/d/1WMm5Mj - (FF, series must be read in order, fantasy/sci-fi, established relationship(?), zombie-shifting pirate captain mc (!!!))
  

Kobo Plus

• Santa's Sacking: an M/Enby sweet with heat Christmas romance by Jaxon Knight - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/santa-s-sacking - (MX, contemporary, helping with the Christmas pageant, holidays)

Scribd

• Stiletto: A Novel by Brenda Peterson - https://www.scribd.com/book/635084908/Stiletto-A-Novel - (FF, contemporary, thriller, mystery, detective x suspect, unclear whether this has a HEA since one mc could be the murderer)

Other

• An Island Princess Starts a Scandal (Las Leonas #2) by Adriana Herrera - https://a.co/d/b6rxicq - (FF, historical, nobility, forbidden relationship, scandal, set in Paris)
  
• That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey - https://a.co/d/j6XDqze - (FF, contemporary, divorced mc, summer camp)
  
• The Professor by Elia Johnson - https://a.co/d/caCaVC7 - (FF, contemporary, professostudent, college, forbidden relationship)
  
• Not Too Old (A Mountain to Coast Romance #2) by Ann Tonnell - https://a.co/d/7VbNQZB - (FF, contemporary, 60+ mcs, protesting a parking ticket)
  
• Chef's Choice by TJ Alexander - https://a.co/d/0efeJpw - (MF, contemporary, romcom, two trans mcs, fake relationship)
  
• House of Longing by Tara Calaby - https://a.co/d/5054GNO - (FF, historical, forbidden relationship, admitted to asylum)
  

Audiobooks

MM Romance

• Wyn (Monstrous #3.5) by Lily Mayne, narrated by Michael Lesley - https://a.co/d/1DgnG2G - (post-apocalyptic, monsters, alternate dimension, established relationship, grumpy/sunshine, only soft for his mate)
  
• The Gay Best Friend by Nicolas DiDomizio, narrated by Daniel Henning - https://a.co/d/cGmquaL - (contemporary, romcom, forced proximity, jock/nerd, famous golfer mc, mc with anxiety)
  
• Big Gay Wedding: A Novel by Byron Lane, narrated by Noah Galvin - https://a.co/d/fXBsXsc - (contemporary, established relationship, small town isn't ready for all the glitter)
  

Other Queer Romance

• Chef's Choice by TJ Alexander, narrated by Nicky Endres - https://a.co/d/cGmquaL - (MF, contemporary, romcom, two trans mcs, fake relationship)
  
• Silver Moon (Wolves of Wolf's Point #1) by Catherine Lundoff, narrated by Em Eldridge - https://a.co/d/2pBQ1p0 - (FF, paranormal, romantic subplot, sexuality awakening, menopause triggers lycanthropy, lots of middle-aged werewolves, action, suspense)
  
• An Island Princess Starts a Scandal (Las Leonas #2) by Adriana Herrera, narrated by Nneka Okoye - https://a.co/d/0wffVrT - (FF, historical, nobility, forbidden relationship, scandal, set in Paris)
  
• That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey, narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker - https://a.co/d/aJZ5ClH - (FF, contemporary, divorced mc, summer camp)
  

(owing to the reddit character limit, I'm posting this in two parts, but it's one contiguous story)
There are instincts that you develop when you’re a parent. If you don’t have any children it might be a little hard to understand. If you have a toddler, for example, and they’re in the other room and silent for more than a few seconds, there’s a good chance they’re up to no good. I take that back, most of the time they’re doing nothing, but you still have to check. You feel a compulsion to check. I don’t think it’s a learned skill, I think it’s an actual instinct.
Paleolithic parents who didn’t check on their toddlers every few minutes, just to double check that they weren’t being stalked by smilodons were unlikely to have grandchildren and pass on their genes. You just feel you need to check, like getting goosebumps, a compulsion. I suppose it’s the same reason little kids are always demanding you look at them and what they’re doing.
I think that instinct starts to atrophy as your kids grow. They start learning to do things for themselves, and before you know it, they’re after their own privacy, not your attention. I don’t think it ever goes away though. I expect, decades from now, my own grown kids will visit and bring my grandkids with them. And the second I hear a baby crying in the earliest morning hours, I’ll be alert and ready for anything, sure as any old soldier who hears his name whispered in the dark of night.
I felt that alarm just the other day. First time in years. My boy came home from riding bikes with a couple of his friends. I’m pretty sure they worked out a scam where they asked each of their parents for a different new console for Christmas, and now they spend their weekends traveling between the three houses so they can play on all of them.
We all live in a nice neighborhood. A newer development than the one I grew up in, same town though. It’s the kind of place where kids are always playing in the streets, and the cars all routinely do under 20. My wife and I make sure the kids have helmets and pads, and we’re fine with the boy going out biking with his friends, as long as they stay in the neighborhood.
You know, a lot of people in my generation take some weird sort of pride in how irresponsible we used to be when we were young. I never wore a helmet. Rode to places, without telling any adults, that we never should have ridden to. Me and my friends would make impromptu jumps off of makeshift ramps and try to do stupid tricks, based loosely on stunts we’d seen on TV. Other people my age seem to wax nostalgic for that stuff and pretend it makes them somehow better people. I don’t get it. Sometimes I look back and shudder. We were lucky we escaped with only occasional bruises and road burns. It could have gone so much worse.
My son and his buddies came bustling in the front door at about 2 PM on a Saturday. They did the usual thing of raiding the kitchen for juice and his mother’s brownies, and I took that as my cue to abandon the television in the living room for my office. I was hardly noticing the chaos, by this point, it was becoming a regular weekend occurrence. But as I was just leaving, I caught something in the chatter. My boy said something about, “... that guy who was following us.”
He hadn’t said it any louder or more clearly than anything else they’d been talking about, all that stuff I’d been filtering out. Yet some deeper core process in my brain stem heard it, interpreted it, then hit the red alert button. My blood ran cold and every hair on my skin stood at attention.
I turned around and asked “Somebody followed you? What are you talking about?” I wasn’t consciously aware of how strict and stern my voice came out, yet when the jovial smiles dropped off of their faces it was apparent that it had been so.
“Huh?” my son said, his voice high-pitched and talking fast, like when he thinks he’s in trouble and needs to explain. “We thought we saw somebody following us. There wasn’t though. We didn’t really see anybody and we’d just spooked ourselves.”
“What did he look like?” I asked.
“Nothing? We really didn’t see anybody! Honest! I just saw something out of the corner of my eye! But there wasn’t really nobody there!”
“Yeah!,” said one of his buds. “Peripheral! Peripheral vision! I thought maybe I saw something too, but when I looked I didn’t see anything. I don’t have my glasses with me, but when I really looked I got a good look and there was nothing.”
The three boys had that semi-smiling but still concerned look that this was only a bizarre misunderstanding, but they were still being very sincere. “Were they in a car?”
“No, Dad, you don’t get it,” my boy continued, “They were small. We thought it was a kid.”
“Yeah,” said the third boy. “We thought maybe it was Tony Taylor’s stupid kid sister shadowing us. Getting close to throwing water balloons. Just cause she did that before.”
“If you didn’t get a good look how did you know it was a kid?”
“Because it was small!” my kid explained, though that wasn’t helping much. “What I mean is, at first I thought it was behind a little bush. It was way too small a bush to hide a grown-up. That’s why we thought it was probably Tony’s sister.”
“But you didn’t actually see Tony’s sister?” I asked.
“Nah,” said one of his buds. “And now that I think about it, that bush was probably too small for his sister too. It would have been silly. Like when a cartoon character hides behind a tiny object.”
“That’s why we think it was just in our heads,” explained the other boy, “That and the pole.”
“Yeah,” my son said. “The park on 14th and Taylor?” That was just a little community park, a single city block. Had a playground, lawn, a few trees, and some benches. “Anyway, we were riding past that, took a right on Taylor. And we were talking about how weird it would be if somebody really were following us. That’s when Brian thought he saw something. Behind a telephone pole.”
“I didn’t get a good look at it either,” the friend, Brian, “explained. Just thought I did. Know how you get up late at night to use the bathroom or whatever and you look down the hallway and you see a jacket or an office chair or something and because your eyes haven’t adjusted you think you see a ghost or burglar or something? Anyway, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned there wasn’t anything there.”
“Yeah, it was just like sometimes that happens, except this time it happened twice on the same bike ride, is all,” the other friend explained.
“And you’re sure there was nothing there?”
“Sure we’re sure,” my boy said. “We know because that time we checked. We each rode our bikes around the pole and there was nothing. Honest!”
“Hmmm,” I said. The whole thing seemed reasonable and nothing to be concerned about, you’d think.. The boys seemed to relax at my supposed acceptance. “Alright, sounds good. Hey, just let me know before you leave the house again, alright?” They all rushed to seem agreeable as I left the room, then quickly resumed their snacking and preceded to play their games.
I kept my ear out, just in case. My boy, at least this time, dutifully told me his friends were about to leave. He wasn’t very happy with me when I said they wouldn’t be riding home on their bikes, I was going to drive them home. The other boys didn’t complain, but I suppose it wasn’t their place, so my boy did the advocating for them, which I promptly ignored. I hate doing that, ignoring my kid’s talkback. My dad was the same way. It didn’t help that I struggled to get both of their bikes in the trunk, and it was a pain to get them back out again. My boy sulked in the front seat on the short ride back home. Arms folded on chest, eyes staring straight ahead, that lip thing they do. He seemed embarrassed for having what he thought was an over-protective parent. I suppose he was angry at me as well for acting, as far as he knew, irrationally. Maybe he thought he was being punished for some infraction he didn’t understand.
Well, it only got worse when we got home. I told him he wasn’t allowed to go out alone on his bike anymore. I’d only had to do that once before, when he was grounded, and back then he’d known exactly what he’d done wrong and he had it coming. Now? Well, he was confused, furious, maybe betrayed, probably a little brokenhearted? I can’t blame him. He tramped upstairs to his room to await the return of his mother, who was certain to give a sympathetic ear. I can’t imagine how upset he’ll be if he checks the garage tomorrow and finds I’ve removed his tires, just in case.
I wish I could explain it to him. I don’t even know how.
Where should I even begin? The town?
When I was about my son’s age I had just seen that movie, The Goonies. It had just come out in theaters. I really liked that movie, felt a strong connection. A lot of people do, can’t blame them, sort of a timeless classic. Except I wasn’t really into pirate’s treasure or the Fratellis, what really made me connect was a simple single shot, still in the first act. It’s right after they cross the threshold, and leave the house on their adventure. It was a shot of the boys, from above, maybe a crane shot or a helicopter shot, as they’re riding their bikes down a narrow forested lane, great big evergreen trees densely growing on the side of the road, they’re all wearing raincoats and the road is still wet from recent rain.
That was my childhood. I’ve spent my whole life in the Pacific Northwest. People talk to outsiders about the rain, and they might picture a lot of rainfall, but it’s not the volume, it’s the duration. We don’t get so much rain, it just drizzles slowly, on and on, for maybe eight or nine months out of the year. It doesn’t matter where I am, inside a house, traveling far abroad, anywhere I am I can close my eyes and still smell the air on a chilly afternoon, playing outdoors with my friends.
It’s not petrichor, that sudden intense smell you get when it first starts to rain after a long dry spell. No, this was almost the opposite, a clean smell, almost the opposite of a scent, since the rain seemed to scrub the air clean. The strongest scent and I mean that in the loosest sense possible, must have been the evergreen needles. Not pine needles, those were too strong, and there weren’t that many pines anyway. Douglas fir and red cedar predominated, again the root ‘domination’ seems hyperbole. Yet those scents were there, ephemeral as it is. Also, there was a sort of pleasant dirtiness to the smell, at least when you rode bikes. It wasn’t dirt, or mud, or dust. Dust couldn’t have existed except perhaps for a few fleeting weeks in August. I think, looking back, it was the mud puddles. All the potholes in all the asphalt suburban roads would fill up after rain with water the color of chocolate milk. We’d swerve our BMX bikes, or the knock-off brands, all the way across the street just to splash through those puddles and test our “suspensions.,” meaning our ankles and knees. The smell was always stronger after that. It had an earthiness to it. Perhaps it was petrichor’s lesser-known watery cousin.
There were other sensations too, permanently seared into my brain like grill marks. A constant chilliness that was easy to ignore, until you started working up a good heart rate on your bike, then you noticed your lungs were so cold it felt like burning. The sound of your tires on the wet pavement, particularly when careening downhill at high speed. For some reason, people in the mid-80s used to like to decorate their front porches with cheap, polyester windsocks. They were often vividly colored, usually rainbow, like prototype pride flags. When an occasional wind stirred up enough to gust, the windsocks would flap, and owning to the water-soaked polyester, make a wet slapping sound. It was loud, it was distinct, but you learned to ignore it as part of the background, along with the cawing of crows and distant passing cars.
That was my perception of Farmingham as a kid. The town itself? Just a typical Pacific Northwest town. That might not mean much for younger people or modern visitors, but there was a time when such towns were all the same. They were logging towns. It was the greatest resource of the area from the late 19th century, right up until about the 80s, when the whole thing collapsed. Portland, Seattle, they had a few things going on beyond just the timber industry, but all the hundreds of little towns and small cities revolved around logging, and my town was no exception.
I remember going to the museum. It had free admission, and it was a popular field trip destination for the local school system. It used to be the City Hall, a weird Queen Anne-style construction. Imagine a big Victorian house, but blown up to absurd proportions, and with all sorts of superfluous decorations. Made out of local timber, of course. They had a hall for art, I can’t even remember why, now. Maybe they were local artists. I only remember paintings of sailboats and topless women, which was a rare sight for a kid at the time. There was a hall filled with 19th-century household artifacts. Chamber pots and weird children's toys.
Then there was the logging section, which was the bulk of the museum. It’s strange how different things seemed to be in the early days of the logging industry, despite being only about a hundred years old, from my perspective in the 1980s. If you look back a hundred years from today, in the 1920s, you had automobiles, airplanes, electrical appliances, jazz music, radio programs, flappers, it doesn’t feel that far removed, does it? No TV, no internet, but it wouldn’t be that strange. 1880s? Different world.
Imagine red cedars, so big you could have a full logging crew, arms stretched out, just barely manage to encircle one for a photographer. Felling a single tree was the work of days. Men could rest and eat their lunches in the shelter of a cut made into a trunk, and not worry for safety or room. They had to cut their own little platforms into the trees many feet off the ground, just so the trunk was a little bit thinner, and thus hours of labor saved. They used those long, flexible two-man saws. And double-bit axes. They worked in the gloom of the shade with old gas lanterns. Once cut down from massive logs thirty feet in diameter, they’d float the logs downhill in sluices, like primitive wooden make-shift water slides. Or they’d haul them down to the nearest river, the logs pulled by donkeys on corduroy roads. They’d lay large amounts of grease on the roads, so the logs would slide easily. You could still smell the grease on the old tools on display in the museum. The bigger towns had streets where the loggers would slide the logs down greased skids all the way down to the sea, where they’d float in big logjams until the mills were ready for processing. They’d call such roads “skid-rows.” Because of all the activity, they’d end up being the worst parts of town. Local citizens wouldn’t want to live there, due to all the stink and noise. They’d be on the other side of the brothels and the opium dens. It would be the sort of place where the destitute and the insane would find themselves when they’d finally lost anything. To this day, “skidrow” remains a euphemism for the part of a city where the homeless encamp.
That was the lore I’d learned as a child. That was my “ancestry” I was supposed to respect and admire, which I did, wholeheartedly. There were things they left out, though. Things that you might have suspected, from a naive perspective, would be perfect for kids, all the folklore that came with the logging industry. The ghost stories, and the tall tales. I would have eaten that up. They do talk about that kind of thing in places far removed from the Pacific Northwest. But I had never heard about any of it. Things like the Hidebehind. No, that I’d have to discover for myself.
There were four of us on those bike adventures. Myself. Ralph, my best friend. A tough guy, the bad boy, the most worldly of us, which is a strange thing to say about an eight-year-old kid. India, an archetypal ‘80s tomboy. She was the coolest person I knew at the time. Looking back, I wonder what her home life was like. I think I remember problematic warning signs that I couldn’t have recognized when I was so young, but now raise flags. Then there was Ben. A goofy kid, a wild mop of hair, coke bottle glasses, type 1 diabetic which seemed to make him both a bit pampered by his mother, who was in charge of all his insulin, diet, and schedule, and conversely a real risk taker when she wasn’t around.
When we first saw it…
No, wait. This was the problem with starting the story. Where does it all begin? I’ll need to talk about my Grandfather as well. I’ve had two different perspectives on my Grandfather, on the man that he was. The first was the healthy able-bodied grandparent I’d known as a young child. Then there was the man, as I learned about him after he had passed.
There was a middle period, from when I was 6 to when I was 16, when I hardly understood him at all, as he was hit with a double whammy of both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's. His decline into an invalid was both steep and long drawn out. That part didn’t reflect who he was as a person.
What did I know of him when I was little? Well I knew he and my grandmother had a nice big house and some farmland, out in the broad flat valley north of Farmingham. Dairy country. It had been settled by Dutch immigrants back in the homesteading days. His family had been among the first pioneers in the county too. It didn’t register to me then that his surname was Norwegian, not Dutch. I knew he had served in the Navy in World War II, which I was immensely proud of for reasons I didn’t know why. I knew he had a job as a butcher in a nearby rural supermarket. He was a bit of a farmer too, more as a hobby and a side gig. He had a few cattle, but mostly grew and harvested hay to sell to the local dairies. I knew he had turned his garage into a machine shop, and could fix damn near anything. From the flat tires on my bicycle to the old flat-bed truck he’d haul hay with, to an old 1950s riding lawnmower he somehow managed to keep in working order. I knew he could draw a really cool cartoon cowboy, I knew he loved to watch football, and I knew the whiskers on his chin were very pokey, and they’d tickle you when he kissed you on the cheek, and that when you tried to rub the sensation away he’d laugh and laugh and laugh.
Then there were the parts of his life that I’d learn much later. Mostly from odd passing comments from relatives, or things I’d find in the public records. Like how he’d been a better grandfather than a father. Or how his life as I knew it had been a second, better life. He’d been born among the Norwegian settler community, way up in the deep, dark, forest-shrouded hills that rimmed the valley. He’d been a logger in his youth. Technologically he was only a generation or two from the ones I’d learned about in the museum. They’d replaced donkeys with diesel engines and corduroy roads with narrow gauge rail. It was still the same job, though. Dirty, dangerous, dark. Way back into those woods, living in little logging camps, civilization was always a several-day hike out. It became a vulgar sort of profession, filled with violent men, reprobates, and thieves. When my grandfather’s father was murdered on his front porch by a lunatic claiming he’d been wronged somehow, my grandfather hiked out of there, got into town, and joined the Navy. He vowed never to go back. The things he’d seen out in those woods were no good. He’d kept that existence away from me. Anyways…
Tommy Barker was the first of us to go missing. I say ‘us’ as if I knew him personally. I didn’t. He went to Farmingham Middle School, other side of town, and several grades above us. From our perspective, he may as well have been an adult living overseas.
Yet it felt like we got to know him. His face was everywhere, on TV, all over telephone poles. Everybody was talking about him. After he didn’t return from a friend’s house, everybody just sort of assumed, or maybe hoped, that he’d just gotten lost, or was trapped somewhere. They searched all the parks. Backyards, junkyards, refrigerators, trunks. Old-fashioned refrigerators, back before suction seals, had a simple handle with a latch that opened when you pulled on it. It wasn’t a problem when the fridges were in use and filled with food. But by the 80s old broke-down refrigerators started filling up backyards and junkyards, and they became deathtraps for kids playing hide-and-seek. The only opened from the outside. I remember thinking Tommy Barker was a little old to have likely been playing hide-and-seek, but people checked everywhere anyway. They never found him.
That was about the first time we saw the Hidebehind. Ben said he thought he saw somebody following us, looked like, maybe, a kid. We’d just slowly huffed our way up a moderately steep hill, Farmingham is full of them, and when we paused for a breather at the top, Ben said he saw it down the hill, closer to the base. Yet when we turned to look there was nothing there. Ben said he’d just seen it duck behind a car. That wasn’t the sort of behavior of a random kid minding his own business. Yet the slope afforded us a view under the car’s carriage, and except for the four tires, there were no signs of any feet hiding behind the body. At first, we thought he was pulling our leg. When he insisted he wasn’t, we started to tease him a little. He must have been seeing things, on account of his poor vision and thick glasses. The fact that those glasses afforded him vision as good as or better than any of us wasn’t something we considered.
The next person to disappear was Amy Brooks. Fifth-grader. Next elementary school over. I remember it feeling like when you’re traveling down the freeway, and there’s a big thunderstorm way down the road, but it keeps getting closer, and closer. I don’t remember what she looked like. Her face wasn’t plastered everywhere like Tommy’s had been. She was mentioned on the regional news, out of Seattle, her and Tommy together. Two missing kids from the same town in a short amount of time. The implication was as obvious as it was depraved. They didn’t think the kids were getting lost anymore. They didn’t do very much searching of backyards. The narratives changed too. Teachers started talking a lot about stranger danger. Local TV channels started recycling old After School Specials and public service announcements about the subject.
I’m not sure who saw it next. I think it was Ben again. We took him seriously this time though. I think. The one I’m sure I remember was soon after, and that time it was India who first saw it. It’s still crystal clear in my memory, almost forty years later, because that was the time I first saw it too. We were riding through a four-way stop, an Idaho Stop before they called it that, when India slammed to a stop, locking up her coaster brakes and leaving a long black streak of rubber on a dry patch of pavement. We stopped quickly after and asked what the problem was. We could tell by her face she’d seen it. She was still looking at it.
“I see it,” she whispered, unnecessarily. We all followed her gaze. We were looking, I don’t know, ten seconds? Twenty? We believed everything she said, we just couldn’t see it.
“Where?” Ralph asked.
“Four blocks down,” she whispered. “On the left. See the red car? Kinda rusty?” There was indeed a big old Lincoln Continental, looking pretty ratty and worn. I focused on that, still seeing nothing. “Past that, just to its right. See the street light pole? It’s just behind that.”
We also saw the pole she was talking about. Metal. Aluminum, I’d have guessed. It had different color patches, like metallic flakeboard. Like it’d had been melted together out of scrap.
I could see that clearly even from that distance. I saw nothing behind it. I could see plenty of other things in the background, cars, houses, bushes, front lawns, beauty bark landscape.. There was no indication of anything behind that pole.
And then it moved. It had been right there where she said it had been, yet it had somehow perfectly blended into the landscape, a trick of perspective. We didn’t see it at all until it moved, and almost as fast it had disappeared behind that light pole. We only got a hint. Brown in color, about our height in size.
We screamed. Short little startled screams, the involuntary sort that just burst out of you. Then we turned and started to pedal like mad, thoroughly spooked. We made it to the intersection of the next block when it was Ralph who screeched to a halt and shouted, “Wait!”
We slowed down and stopped, perhaps not as eagerly as we’d done when India yelled. Ralph was looking back over his shoulder, looking at that metal pole. “Did anybody see it move again?’ he asked. We all shook our heads in the negative. Ralph didn’t notice, but of course, he didn’t really need an answer, of course we hadn’t been watching.
“If it didn’t move, then it’s still there!” Ralph explained the obvious. It took a second to sink in, despite the obvious. “C’mon!” he shouted, and to our surprise, before we could react, he turned and took off, straight down the road, straight to where that thing had been lurking.
We were incredulous, but something about his order made us all follow hot on his heels. He was a sort of natural leader. I thought it was total foolishness, but I wasn’t going to let him go alone. I think I got out, “Are you crazy?!”
The wind was blowing hard past our faces as we raced as fast as we could, it made it hard to hear. Ralph shouted his response. “If it’s hiding that means its afraid!” That seemed reasonable, if not totally accurate. Lions hide from their prey before they attack. Then again, they don’t wait around when the whole herd charges. Really, the pole was coming up so fast there wasn’t a whole lot of time to argue. “Just blast past and look!” Ralph added. “We’re too fast! It won’t catch us.”
Sure, I thought to myself. Except maybe Ben, who always lagged behind the rest of us in a race. The lion would get Ben if any of us.
We rushed past that pole and all turned our heads to look. “See!” Ralph shouted in triumph. There was simply nothing there. A metal streetlight pole and nothing more. We stopped pedaling yet still sped on. “Hang on,” Ralph said, and at the next intersection he took a fast looping curve that threatened to crash us all, but we managed and curved behind him. We all came to the pole again where we stopped to see up close that there was nothing there, despite what we had seen moments before.
“Maybe it bilocated,” Ben offered. We groaned. We were all thinking it, but I think we were dismissive because it wasn’t as cool a word as ‘teleport.”
“Maybe it just moved when we weren’t looking,” I offered. That hadn’t been long, but that didn’t mean anything if it moved fast. The four of us slowly looked up from the base of the pole to our immediate surroundings. There were bushes. A car in a carport covered by a tarpaulin. The carport itself. Garbage cans. Stumps. Of course the ever-present trees. Whatever it was it could have been hiding behind anything. Maybe it was. We looked. Maybe it would make itself seen. None of us wanted that. “OK, let’s get going,” Ralph said, and we did so.
I got home feeling pretty shaken that afternoon. I felt safe at home. Except for the front room, which had a big bay window looking out onto the street, and the people who lived across it. There were plenty of garbage cans and telephone poles and stumps that a small, fast thing might hide behind. No, I felt more comfortable in my bedroom. There was a window, but a great thick conical cypress tree grew right in front of it, reaching way up over the roof of the house. If anything, it offered ME a place to hide, and peer out onto the street to either side of the tree. It was protective, as good as any heavy blanket.

I have done some bike camping at French Creek state park, and down by the shore. But I am looking for some more places to go locally. Green lane park seems to be a place close by, but the website isn't super helpful concerning what's there. Access to water is a must because hucking water is not viable. Electric would be cool too but less necessary.
I'm not against multimodal transportation. To camp down at the shore, for example, I took the AC train from 30 street, and rode down the shoreline to Cape May.
My preference is not to have to drive, but I will drive to avoid a shit portion of a ride.

So I’m fairly new to the modding scene on console. I’ve read different articles about LO and it isn’t very clear for certain mods where they go. I was wondering as the title suggests if I could get any advice for my LO on how to improve performance/stop conflicting mods ruining things, i.e. interior conflicts
1.USSEP 2.Campfire: Complete Camping Overhaul 3.USMP 4.eFPS 2.3 5.SLaWF 6.Cutting Room Floor 7.Bushcraft 8.Dragon UI 9.A Quality World Map (Classic/all roads) 10.Main Theme Replacer w/ Nerevar Rising 11.Font Replacer Eadui 12.Cheat Room (XB1) 13.Survival Mode Settings 14.Civil War Quest Immersion Bundle 15.Darker Brotherhood V2 16.Better Thieving Updated 17.[XB1] Recover Cities 18.Sheo’s Skyrim Landscape and 4K mountains 19.DAWN: Dramatic Atmospheres etc 20.A Greener Skyrim 21.Happy Little Trees 22.David’s Trees 23.EEKs Renthal Flora Collection 24.Riften Summer Edition Green Grass 25.Whiterun Summer Edition Green Grass 26.Remove Misc Flora 27.Better Water 2 (4K) for Realistic Water 2 28.Blended Shorelines 29.Hyperborean Snow 30.Better Skyrim Snow 31.Snowy landscapes in snowy regions 32.Audio SFX overhaul 33.Magical Forces and FX bundle 34.Luminescence - A lighting overhaul 35.Northern Towns: Weistone and Port Amon 36.Environs The Shrines of Talos 37.Solstheim Reborn 38.Bridges,Ferries and Fords 39.Skyrim Better Roads 40.Happy Little Trees - DLC Trees 41.Capital Windhelm Expansion 42.RedBag’s Solitude 43.Riften Docks overhaul & Southwood exp 44.The Great Cities, Towns and Villages Bundle 45.Capital Whiterun Expansion 46.Riverwood By Nesbit 47.Stendarr Rising 48.[XB1] Skaal Village Overhaul 49.Simple Raven Rock Expansion 50.Better Tel Mithryn 51.Fortified Whiterun Compatible version 52.Sky Haven Temple Gardens 1k 53.JK’s Whiterun Outskirts 54.Imperial Fort Battlements 55.Greater Markarth Expansion 56.Skyrim Border Holds 57.Ryn’s Farms AIO 58.[XB1] Julihah’s Old Town Riften 59.Draco’s Lakeview Manor Upgrades 60.ClefJ’s Fort Dawnguard 61.Draco’s Heljarchen Upgrades 62.Draco’s Windstad Upgrades 63.Windstad Mine XB1 64.Heljarchen Farm XB1 65.DK’s Realistic and Lore Friendly Ships 66.Huntsman’s Hut 67.Anise’s Cabin (without Anise) 68.Windhelm Lighthouse (New) 69.Whispering Waters XB1 70.Winterhold Beacon 71.Castle Volkihar Rebuilt 72.Environs The Greenwood Shack 73.Environs Ruined Tundra Farmhouse 74.Environs Western Watchtower 75.Point The Way 76.Bring Out Your Dead 77.JK’s Interiors AIO 78. Chantry College of Winterhold 79. Raven Rock Interiors Morvayn Manor 80.Raven Rock Interiors Severin Manor 81.Better Innteriors 82.Better Innteriors- JK’s Interiors Compatible 83.Tem’s Houses AiO 84.Anna’s Honeyside 85.Anna’s Hjerim 86.Anna’s Proudspire Manor 87.Anna’s Breezehome 88.Anna’s Vilndrel Hall 89.Raven Rock Interiors- Raven Rock Temple 90.Less Interior Fog 91.Fort Dawnguard Brighter and Cleaner 92. Civil War and Guards Armory 93.Zim’s Immersive Artifacts 94.Kukatsuo Thane Weapon Replacer 95.Chainmail Armor 1k 96.ArteFakes Unique Artifacts Replacer 97.Nordic Fur Armor 1k 98.Wearable Lanterns 99.Skyrim Reputation 100.Immersive Citizens AI Overhaul 101.Misc dialogue edits and more dialogue options 102.IronDusk33 Compendium 103.Modern Combat AI 104.DAR Smooth Animations 105.[XB1] Marry Almost Anyone 106.[XB1] Adopt Almost Any Child 107.Epic Crab’s Lawbringer+ 108.Sensible Horses and Travel 109.Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions 110.Immersive Patrols 111.Realistic Conversation (XB1) 112.Rich Merchants of Skyrim (XB1) 113.Peaceful Hearthfire 114.Big Leap 3X Jump 115.Jarl’s Complete Character Overhaul 116.Fashions of the Fourth Era 117.Beards 118.Brows 119.Elegant Jarls (XB1) 120.Alternate Start Live Another Life 121.From the Rift to the Reach 122.Add On- SMIM Performance 123.HD Terrrain LOD Mesh 124.Rally’s All the things bundle 125.A dance with diverse dragons 126.Skyland Happy Little Trees Bark 127.Sigils Of Skyrim 128.Skyland Furniture 129.Darker Blended Roads 130.ZZJay’s Horse Overhaul 131.Animated Water Forge & ELSOPA fix 132.Flickering Meshes Fix- SMIM 133.Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods 134.Landscape Seam Fixes 135.Improved Performance 136.SLaWF Patch_ Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods 137.JK’s Whiterun Outskirts and Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods Patch 138.Better Innteriors- The Great Cities,Towns and Villages Bundle Patch 139.JK’s Whiterun Outskirts and Capital Whiterun Expansion Patch 140.SLaWF Patch_SMIM 141.Project Immersion JK’s Interiors Patch 142.Whiterun Outskirts and Cutting Room Floor Patch 143.Whiterun Outskirts and Immersive Citizens Patch 144.USMP Immersive Citizens Patch 145.RedBag’s Solitude and USSEP Patch 146.USMP Cutting Room Floor Patch 147.Uncap FPS