November 2, 2008

Mana? What's that?
by Loreis

Lerris, at long last, entered into her third class. She chose Warrior, she told us, because she is enjoying beating things up. Once again into the cavern, once again to push the button, and once again, staggering under the weight of everything she was wearing, now clutched in her hands. Pocket full, sachet full, inventory full. Ah bliss! One swirly potion later, she crawled to her locker, panting slightly. Lerris opened her locker, and was able to put a whopping 7 items within before she ran into a slight problem. No room, and Lerris had to wait until level 6 to mail anything. I have to admit, I giggled. So off she went, partly clothed, bashing and kicking, trying to reach level 6 as soon as possible.

"Wheee!" Lerris shouted, dashing (ok limping) back to the post office. Many, many minutes and gold later, she had mailed everything unnecessary to her storage Cleric, sorted the rest of her equipment, purchased scrolls of identity, and then she was slapped in the face with one HUGE problem. Warriors have no mana. None. Zip. And it decreases as they level. This might pose a problem, she thought. Tearing through Medievia, she searched for Warrior friendly mana equipment. She found some, and began setting her mana mode. Along the way, she managed to reach level 10 fairly easily. Lerris prowled the Mage quarter, killing imps, and within a corpse she found a dragon crystal! At the exact moment she ripped it from the bloody corpse, the dragon crystal she had just BOUGHT on auction for six million gold was dropped into her hand by a happy little auction imp. Lerris closed her eyes, and gently pounded her head on the walkway.

There is some news - Lerris, thanks to those two dragon crystals, has maximum everything, she is fully practiced, skills honed. She is madly in love with slashing, and laughs out loud everytime she uses that skill. (Something about decapitated raccoons, I think.) Lerris is a level 17 Warrior after two days of fierce battling. She has not died yet, but she's my granddaughter, and she will die. She has my habit of rushing into battle without a second thought, ignoring the idea of considering a mob before you kick it, and venturing into realms far beyond her skill level. It brings a tear to my eye...

For those of you following Lerris's chronicles, a note about her hoarding. This multiclass, we think, may have been the catalyst for change. Lerris is using her storage Cleric, not keeping every little thing she finds, and dropping and sacrificing uneaten food. We are all very proud of her. To whomever left all that mint tea in the post office, your timing was perfect: she had just drop/sacced 12 feather quills! Lerris will continue to struggle with no mana, so if you happen by, cast a sanctuary spell, maybe an armor and a bless? And be patient with our little Warrior-she's trying to remember to put the cleric in the back of the form, and that damage roll is so much more important than hit roll to a brute Warrior. She may lead a form or two in the coming weeks; remind her, gently, to try not to bring a form of level 17-20 adventurers to Stornaway Castle, or Castiack. I swear, Lerris is not trying to get anyone killed. She just needs reminding that she has no mana, is no longer a Cleric or a Thief, and that 86 mana is not enough to be effective for anything of substance.

We do not know when Lerris will become a Hero. We do know that laughter, joy, blood, cursing and pain will be plentiful between now and then. Oh. Lerris has a brother, Len. I plan to stalk...err....follow him around as well, and hope to have his adventures penned soon. Until then-Loreis has left the building :)