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Double-posting but I just learned that Russ Nicholson, who did the covers and interior art for the Fabled Lands books (among many, many other things) died May 10, 2023.
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May 31, 2023 18:44
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 13:07 |
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Everyone posted:Double-posting but I just learned that Russ Nicholson, who did the covers and interior art for the Fabled Lands books (among many, many other things) died May 10, 2023. Oh really?! drat, I really like his artwork, too. When I was going back and forth through books 1 and 4 (seeing as none of it is in consecutive order) I caught glimpses of pretty cool art, in addition to what's already ITT. What a talented guy! 
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Jun 1, 2023 02:48
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His blog is chock-full of his work. Amazing talent. Some of it is  , mind you
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Jun 2, 2023 18:35
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i really like this one
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Jun 2, 2023 18:36
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Deciding that one hell of an opportunity just fell into his lap, Ableton agrees to the proposition. With that, he Luroc and Floril spit on their hands and shake on their new shared venture and promptly part ways after agreeing on a time and place to meet up, in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves. After this, Ableton spends the rest of that day wandering the city, listening out for rumors or other helpful info. Supposedly the nights out in the wilds can be rather cold, according to someone he spoke to - so, seeing as he's in town, Ableton visited the massive market and bought himself a wolf pelt cloak, to keep warm while out adventuring. Not long after however, Ableton found himself wandering the winding alleyways of the Thieves' Kitchen again. Just as Ableton realises this however, a dark, hooded figure emerges from an alcove ahead of him! Ableton notices this immediately however, and figures that there's probably at least one guy following him, about to put a knife between his ribs. So with that, Ableton instinctively darts to one side - and sure enough, two more hooded figures appear, stumbling forward! Seems like they weren't expecting their prey to be so quick on his feet, right when they spring their trap... "Curse you! Can't you two do anything right?!" Yells the first cutthroat, as he draws his blade. Ableton then draws his own dagger and nimbly ducks and weaves between his assailants, slashing and slicing all the while. Before long, all three are dead at his feet! Unfortunately it seems they're traveling light - no money on them at all. However, much to Ableton's shock, these thugs' daggers were coated with poison! (Luckily, none of them got a hit on him!) Sensing that this is something more than a simple mugging attempt, he has to wonder if words of his recent deeds have fallen upon the wrong ears... Nevertheless, Ableton won't let a few discount killers-for-hire deter him - he's got a fortune to swipe! So Ableton leaves the city via the south gate and heads east, to Avar Hordeth's villa. Upon arriving though, he has to admit - this Hordeth guy sure knows how to live! His villa is a big place made of white marble, with beautiful columns. Although he's never been to the western continent, Ableton can immediately tell that the building was made in the distinctive Atticalan style, which must've cost a fortune. While he was busy wondering why nobody's ever robbed this rich bastard before, Luroc materializes beside him. "Hey, you made it! Alright follow me and we'll wait for nightfall." Darkness falls, yet the villa looks as majestic as ever - practically glowing in the moonlight. Ableton observes four guards patrolling the perimetre. "Alright, we go in over the walls," Luroc states, "there's an inner courtyard. Floril will meet us inside. She should've bagged the vault keys by now, which will make our job easier. Just follow me and don't get caught." Without wasting further time, Luroc quickly slinks away towards the villa's outer wall. Once the nearest guard passes, he tosses a grappling hook and quickly scurries over. "Huh, I've gotta find out where he got that!" Ableton mutters to himself, as he uses the rope to clamber up and onto the roof. Now he and Luroc wait, overlooking the inner courtyard. Surveying the area, all you can see is a large round fountain with a beautiful statue in the middle - not a guard in sight. The two intruders quietly drop down into the courtyard and through an open door with a stairway leading down. At the bottom is a set of heavy bronze doors, as well as a guard sitting in a chair beside it, snoring loudly. Ableton moves his hand to his dagger, but Luroc stops him and whispers, "Don't worry. Floril drugged him - a body might just complicate matters later on." Shrugging, Ableton leaves the man to his dreams and follows Luroc into Avar Hordeth's treasure room. It's a long, low hall of a dark grey stone. Riches abound! Not only ingots of gold and silver, but also crates of art, bolts of silk and chests of gems! Truly the treasure trove of one of the richest merchants in the world! "Well," says Luroc, breaking the silence and snapping Ableton out of his daydreaming. "It's just a question of how much we can carry and get away with now, ain't it?" He says, eyeing Ableton suspiciously. Come to think of it, Ableton starts wondering whether he can trust Luroc too - since what's stopping him from trying to kill Ableton first and get away with all the gold, not a third of it? But as soon as these thoughts hit Ableton's mind, he snaps out of it - this is some kind of magic, that's pushing paranoid thoughts into his head! Ableton then spends the next few minutes talking some sense into Luroc, explaining the situation so that neither of them shove a knife into the other's back, and instead work together to take everything they can. Luroc agrees, then they quickly start grabbing whatever they can carry! Ableton knows they need to act fast before the magic can take hold once more. Moving quickly, he takes 500 shards (so now he's at just over 2000 cash in-hand), a casket of gems and pick up a strange bottle labelled 'Dust of Tranquility', examining it. Just at that moment, he hears a horrible screaming from behind him - it's Luroc, rushing him with a dagger! Looking down at the bottle, Ableton figures it's worth a shot - he unpops the cork and showers Luroc and them himself with the dust. After the first dust particles touch him, Luroc stops in his tracks. Ableton and he are now both feeling completely at ease, undoing the effects of whatever enchantment has been placed on this vault. "Feel better now? Good. Let's get the gently caress out of here, before we lose the plot completely!" Ableton says, tossing the empty bottle over his shoulder. Without further delay, the two (or one, at least) avoid a messy end and quickly dash out of the vault. Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Jun 6, 2023 |
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Jun 6, 2023 12:36
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Assuming nothing goes wrong during the escape, what should Ableton do? I can't confirm right now, but I believe there's a bank in this city, where he could deposit (and/or invest) some of his money for safe-keeping. Otherwise, he could just hang onto it and explore the steppes to the west, or spend a few hundred or so on a small house (which carries the risk of burglary, so it's technically not as good/safe as his sewer hideout in Yellowport), or even buy a ship and go sailing, etc.
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Jun 7, 2023 07:33
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Major Isoor posted:Assuming nothing goes wrong during the escape, what should Ableton do? I can't confirm right now, but I believe there's a bank in this city, where he could deposit (and/or invest) some of his money for safe-keeping. Otherwise, he could just hang onto it and explore the steppes to the west, or spend a few hundred or so on a small house (which carries the risk of burglary, so it's technically not as good/safe as his sewer hideout in Yellowport), or even buy a ship and go sailing, etc. I think he should buy a ship, and see what life is like out on the ocean
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Jun 7, 2023 09:15
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That Little Demon posted:I think he should buy a ship, and see what life is like out on the ocean  Although maybe it might be safer to head back to Yellowport before buying one?
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Jun 7, 2023 23:56
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Alright, I'll check the harbour out later, all going well. Yarimura is a pretty big city, so hopefully they stock the full range of ships. One question though: The ship name. Does anyone have a good, ship-worthy name for our future vessel? After giving it some thought I've got a potential name (or a placeholder until a better one is thought up, by someone) that fits with the audio software TLD started, with Ableton's name: The Audacity, named after the audio editing tool I use! 
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Jun 8, 2023 01:25
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Major Isoor posted:Alright, I'll check the harbour out later, all going well. Yarimura is a pretty big city, so hopefully they stock the full range of ships. The Going Fruityloopz
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Jun 8, 2023 01:28
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Major Isoor posted:Alright, I'll check the harbour out later, all going well. Yarimura is a pretty big city, so hopefully they stock the full range of ships. HMS Sputtering GarageBand
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Jun 8, 2023 10:52
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 13:07 |
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Dashing out of the vault, Ableton stops to look around and listen - thankfully, there's no noise and the guard is still asleep. He and Luroc then dash back to the wall, grapple up and drop over the other side to make their escape! (Additionally, Ableton's thievery skills have improved, as a result of this endeavour) Not long after, they find themselves back in the Severed Hand Inn with Floril, drinking with the locals while laughing and congratulating one another over their earnings. After divvying everything up, Ableton's total share is 1350 shards! "That was quite possibly the biggest sting of the century! I look forward to doing business *hic* with you again, good sir!" Luroc slurs his goodbye to Ableton sometime later, while staggering out of the Inn. After this however, the rest of the evening becomes a bit of a blur. He wakes up the next morning to find himself on the deck of a ship alongside a puddle of vomit. After asking around, it would appear that he bought himself a galleon. A real top-of-the-line vessel, capable of making any voyage. A far cry from the measly skiff he bought back home, at the start of his adventures! He's also got a rather good crew with it, which is nice. Deciding to make the most of his recent acquisition, (which cost a little over a thousand shards) Ableton orders the crew to set sail, heading towards the rising sun. After cruising along for a few hours, Ableton heads south towards Disaster Bay, as he knows this coastline - he's been along here on his search for Damor and then on the rescue mission into Nerech, after all. Ableton and his crew have a few close calls with reefs in Disaster Bay (no wonder they call it that! Maybe it should be avoided in the future), before gliding alongside the craggy cliffs of Nerech. In the distance he can see a few hunched-over figures watching the ship from afar, but Ableton knows better than to go ashore. Not long after however, a member of his crew calls out, alerting Ableton of the presence of another ship. Looking around, sure enough, Ableton spots a galleon much like his, heading in the same direction. "Sir, judging from the flag," a crewman with a spyglass pipes up, "I believe it's Avar Hordeth. And it looks like his vessel is on a course to intercept! They seem to be signaling to us, requesting that we parley." With a sinking feeling, Ableton is sure someone said too much last night... this is too soon to be a coincidence. "Alright, pull alongside. Looks like I'm going to have to have a chat with this Avar fellow." Just as the ship (named the Sea Centaur, it would seem) pulls up alongside Ableton's galleon, he puffs up his chest and does his best to look like a seasoned captain, rather than a severely hungover thief. However, just at this moment, an imposing man in armour standing on the poop deck comes into view opposite Ableton. (Accompanied by many marines, looks like) That would be Avar then, I imagine, Ableton thinks to himself, as he gives the man his most nonchalant wave. "I knew it! That's the thieving gently caress who stitched me up!" The man yells to his men, pointing at Ableton and shattering any illusion of confidence he has. "I'm gonna string you up like your thievin' friends! Get 'em, men!" "Well, gently caress." Ableton succinctly summarizes the situation he now finds himself in, just as several grappling hooks are hurled across the gap and lock Ableton's ship against Avar's. (Also, assuming Ableton makes it out of this with an intact ship, what should he do from here? Cruise around before returning to Yarimura? Sail around and explore the Violet Sea? Or go anywhere else in particular?) Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Jun 11, 2023 |
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Jun 11, 2023 14:06
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