A Cappella Part 76 - Challenges

> Hey!

> Time has ben scarce... And you're churning these things out like you've

> got elves working on them or something.

Ah, well, RL has caught up to me, and the next few parts aren't anywhere near finished, so it may be a bit before the next one is out. I tend to write them in groups, and I may not have time to work on the next group for a few days at least.

> I'm just now getting caught up. All nice pieces. Liked Jarran's entrance

> at the fighting pits. I would have expected that of a bard, even if he is

> a battle-bard.

Hehehe, I thought so. He does have a touch of the dramatic in his soul.

> Nice touch with Val and the animals. It kinda sucked that you had to kill

> them and couldn't just lock them up in a cell and get the XP... And then

> there was the Beastmaster, whose fate should have been more painful.

I hated to have to kill them, too.

> This one showed nice insight into Ano's character. Very well done. And, of

> course, liked the Mazzy fight. I thought it was a little harsh of Ano to

> pretend he wasn't a healer. Granted the ogre didn't deserve any help, I

> just thought it was a touch cold of him to state it the he did.

True, but he was feeling rather cold at the moment. He has grown to like Mazzy, and this twit was threatening her for no good reason.

Besides, nobody in my stories is perfect. If you think he was being cold, well then, yeah, he was cold. But we all have our nasty moments.

> That's not to say I didn't get a kick out of that exchange, though. I like

> the relationship that Ano and Jah are building.

It sort of falls into the mutual respect category. They're not best buds or anything, but being the group's healers does put them working together a lot.

> Like this stuff lots! So, what's left til the dreaded Spellhold ?

Thanks! And we still have a few things to do before jumping onto the ship. There is more Harper stuff to deal with, Val hasn't straightened out his troubles with the sphere, and of course we haven't totally finished the slaver stuff. Then there's Trademeet and the druid grove, and Mazzy's quest. Possibly one or two mini-quests will get a mention. And last but not least, there are those Chapter 3 Shadow Thief quests they send you on before they let you get on the boat. So we still have some road to cover before *grim music* Spellhold.

> I just wanted to compliment you of making a knight/paladin character do

> something which I find worthy of those high moral standards, and not so

> often seen.

Oops, sorry. I knew you meant it as a compliment, I hope you don't think I was complaining or anything. I was pointing out a philisophical point, since so many people use righteous to mean the same as jerk. I wasn't trying to criticize your comment.

> Oops, sorry. I knew you meant it as a compliment, I hope you don't think I

> was complaining or anything. I was pointing out a philisophical point,

> since so many people use righteous to mean the same as jerk. I wasn't

> trying to criticize your comment.

No prob. And I agree, most often the word is used ironically.

That was a good if very grim look into poor Etoni's mind, both before and after the healing.

> “We did, but evidently my freelancing was taking too much business away from

> his own boys.

*snarl*

Didn't Hendak say that Lehtinan despised men like Etoni? Gee, why am I not in the least surprised that this didn't prevent him from making money off their miserable trade? Sickening hypocrite.

> The former slave leaned close to the priest, carefully examining his face

> in the gleaming armor.

An improvised mirror? So all that polishing is good for something, after all.

> “Hendak? I wonder if he will agree to the same bargain I had with Lehtinan.

>

> “Etoni! Surely you do not intend to go back to that life?”

You tell him, Anomen!

> “Anomen, don't go! I'm sorry, that was cruel. You will find love someday, I

> know you will. I just wished… you were so kind to me. I thought it would be

> nice to do something just because I wanted to, not because I was being paid to.”

*sigh* The poor boy must have had a really crappy life even before Lehtinan got him.

> Softly the priest said, “Leave that terrible life, Etoni. Stop destroying

> yourself one night at a time. It has worn away your ability to find honest

> friendship, even between the two of us. I offered you companionship, and you

> assumed that I wanted something from you in return. Your heart has been hardened.”

*blink*

Wow. He's really changed, and learned a lot. This is a man worthy of his knighthood, indeed. I salute thee, Sir Anomen.

> “I swear. Oh, I swear it on my life. Anomen, you don't know what this means

> to me.” He threw his arms around the priest, crying quietly.

Aww. I hope things will work out for him.

> The newcomer glared fiercely around the room, and stomped forward. He glanced

> down at Mazzy, and rasped out a nasty laugh. “What this? Baby paladin? Girl

> play dress-up like big warrior?”

*more snarling*

Oh look, one of my least favourite people. Prepare to have your arrogance shoved up where the sun doesn't shine, idiot!

> “The Shade Lord's dragon was over a hundred times larger than I, but I faced

> it. I will not let a vicious creature such as that go unpunished for such

> thoughtless cruelty.” Then the halfling made a sour face. “Besides, nobody

> calls me a pipsqueak and gets away with it.” She marched over to the pit.

Go, Mazzy!

You know, I can't help but wonder if the dev team was being intentionally devious with this quest. I've seen people complain about how this would-be paladin is a hypocrite for cheating, but I think the cheating would take place behind her back, and what's more, it's by no means necessary. As Mazzy demonstrates nicely in this story, she can wipe the floor with Gorf just fine. Maybe the option to cheat is really a test of the PC's character and her faith in her companions.

> She slashed across his leg, and Gorf bent over the deep wound, bellowing in

> pain. While he was distracted, she stabbed him, sinking the sword into his

> chest all the way to the hilt. The ogre groaned and fell to the floor.

And the crows goes wild! Someone buy her an ale, she's more than earned it.

> That was a good if very grim look into poor Etoni's mind, both before and

> after the healing.

Thanks! I work hard on characterizations and trying to make things as realistic as possible, so I appreciate the compliment.

> *snarl*

> Didn't Hendak say that Lehtinan despised men like Etoni? Gee, why am I

> not in the least surprised that this didn't prevent him from making money

> off their miserable trade? Sickening hypocrite.

What, and miss out on a money source? Not Lehtinan. And there were male prostitutes in the CC, but you only see them if you are playing a female PC.

> An improvised mirror? So all that polishing is good for something, after

> all.

*grin*

> You tell him, Anomen!

> *sigh* The poor boy must have had a really crappy life even before

> Lehtinan got him.

Oh, yeah. Forget all the 'hooker with a heart of gold' characters you see in the movies, in real life prostitutes have it really, really bad. Rapes, beatings, people robbing them, it's all part of the trade.

> *blink*

> Wow. He's really changed, and learned a lot. This is a man worthy of his

> knighthood, indeed. I salute thee, Sir Anomen.

Anomen is off blushing right now, but he said to pass on that he'd probably have done the same even if he'd failed the Test, because Etoni helped him out.

> Aww. I hope things will work out for him.

I don't know if Etoni will make any further appearances, but we'll keep a good thought.

> *more snarling*

> Oh look, one of my least favourite people. Prepare to have your arrogance

> shoved up where the sun doesn't shine, idiot!

Hehehe.

> Go, Mazzy!

> You know, I can't help but wonder if the dev team was being intentionally

> devious with this quest. I've seen people complain about how this would-be

> paladin is a hypocrite for cheating, but I think the cheating would take

> place behind her back, and what's more, it's by no means necessary. As

> Mazzy demonstrates nicely in this story, she can wipe the floor with Gorf

> just fine. Maybe the option to cheat is really a test of the PC's

> character and her faith in her companions.

I wondered about that, too. I didn't resort to any petty cheating, and Mazzy kicked his butt in seconds. Maybe it was a test, like you said, or maybe it was for people who picked her up real early in the game and weren't sure if she was high enough level yet.

> And the crows goes wild! Someone buy her an ale, she's more than earned

> it.

There will be plenty to go round that night. Hendak throws a good party.

> You know, I can't help but wonder if the dev team was being intentionally

> devious with this quest. I've seen people complain about how this would-be

> paladin is a hypocrite for cheating, but I think the cheating would take

> place behind her back, and what's more, it's by no means necessary. As

> Mazzy demonstrates nicely in this story, she can wipe the floor with Gorf

> just fine. Maybe the option to cheat is really a test of the PC's

> character and her faith in her companions.

I always thought so. I never cheated because I thought Mazzy wouldn't approve, and that I would have to respect her views if she is my companion. And with that haste she doesn't even have to break a sweat, of course.

> I always thought so. I never cheated because I thought Mazzy wouldn't

> approve, and that I would have to respect her views if she is my

> companion. And with that haste she doesn't even have to break a sweat, of

> course.

I've never found any dialogue showing that Mazzy knew about drugging Gorf, or that she found out afterward. That would have made a good conflict, because I'm sure she would have gotten mad if she knew. Probably Bioware didn't have that in the game because there are too many players out there that think if the game allows you to do it, you should.

I remember laughing myself sick after the game first came out at all the people who couldn't wrap their head around the idea of moral consequenses. You'd see all these posts on the game boards that said things like "I killed this person just for the fun of it and now I need them" or "I was nasty to this person and now they won't speak to me. Why?" And just recently, I saw someone posting, "I need the blood of a silver dragon to make this armor, but I'm playing a good character. How can I kill the dragon and still stay good?" People had to gently explain to the person that only an evil character would kill the silver dragon, and if you were playing a good PC you weren't supposed to want the armor. But like I said, the player thought it was something they were supposed to do just because it was in the game.

> You know, I can't help but wonder if the dev team was being intentionally

> devious with this quest. I've seen people complain about how this would-be

> paladin is a hypocrite for cheating, but I think the cheating would take

> place behind her back, and what's more, it's by no means necessary. As

> Mazzy demonstrates nicely in this story, she can wipe the floor with Gorf

> just fine. Maybe the option to cheat is really a test of the PC's

> character and her faith in her companions.

Stupid question (from the girl who didn't notice Imoen's hair was pink): um, you can cheat? Um...how? Not that I'm about to, but I never knew about that.

> Stupid question (from the girl who didn't notice Imoen's hair was pink):

> um, you can cheat? Um...how? Not that I'm about to, but I never knew about

> that.

I personally didn't cheat, but I read about it in a walkthrough. Evidently if you hang around long enough, someone will offer to sell you a potion to drug Gorf and make him sluggish so that Mazzy is almost certain to win. It's a cheap trick, and the only reasons I can think of for doing it is either you have no confidence in her or you think it's funny to make her think she won fairly when she didn't.

> I personally didn't cheat, but I read about it in a walkthrough. Evidently

> if you hang around long enough, someone will offer to sell you a potion to

> drug Gorf and make him sluggish so that Mazzy is almost certain to win.

> It's a cheap trick, and the only reasons I can think of for doing it is

> either you have no confidence in her or you think it's funny to make her

> think she won fairly when she didn't.

Ooooooh. Thank you!

Yeah, with Mazzy's talents, Gorf is already in way over his head (sorry, couldn't resist) even w/o additional, um, assistance.

Thanks for the heads-up.

(Apologies if this is a little incoherent. I'm dreadfully underslept and generically cranky.)

> “Lehtinan is dead, and I am going to take you to someone who can help you.

> Come with me, my friend.”

The only thing I regret about this quest is that I couldn't kill Lehtinan myself--though I will grant that Hendak had a much more personal reason to do so.

> “You are not a stranger, you are a good friend. Only swear to me that you

> will no longer be a prostitute, and will earn a respectable living, and it

> is yours.”

> “I swear. Oh, I swear it on my life. Anomen, you don't know what this

> means to me.” He threw his arms around the priest, crying quietly.

> “I think I do,” Anomen said softly. He gently patted the smaller man on

> the back, and gave him a brief kiss on the forehead. “The priests here

> will look after you until you feel able to start your new life, and I hope

> it is a happy one. Goodbye, Etoni.”

*sniffles* And this is why I love Anomen so much--despite the way he behaves early in the game, I can completely see him doing this. He is fiercely loyal to those he cares about, and will do all that he can to protect and help them. You showed this beautifully.

> Mazzy stiffened and turned to stare angrily at the ogre. “Of whom do you

> speak, oaf?” Anomen saw her eyes flashing. She did indeed look like a

> paladin in miniature. The previous day when the group had gone to the Five

> Flagons, Jarran had given her a suit of magical plate mail that had been

> in the group's storage trunk, and personally Anomen thought she cut a

> rather impressive figure in it.

*grins* My, how things change...

> As the ogre stomped away, the group gathered around Mazzy, having heard

> the raised voices. Jarran said worriedly, “Mazzy, are you sure about this?

> That… that thing is five times your size.”

Go Mazzy! Speaking as one of the short, I highly approve.

> Anomen and Jaheira looked at each other. The druid gave the priest a wry

> smile and said, “I do not see any healers here, do you, Sir Anomen?”

> “None at all, Lady Jaheira,” Anomen said calmly as the party returned to

> their table for a well-earned drink.

*snicker* Yeah, it's cold, but I liked it.

Wonderful as always. I love the way you can combine humor and intense emotion so seamlessly.

> (Apologies if this is a little incoherent. I'm dreadfully underslept and

> generically cranky.)

Same here. RL is not being kind at the moment.

> The only thing I regret about this quest is that I couldn't kill Lehtinan

> myself--though I will grant that Hendak had a much more personal reason to

> do so.

I know, the first time through I tried to help out and Hendak turned hostile. Luckily I had saved just before that.

> *sniffles* And this is why I love Anomen so much--despite the way he

> behaves early in the game, I can completely see him doing this. He is

> fiercely loyal to those he cares about, and will do all that he can to

> protect and help them. You showed this beautifully.

Thanks. There is a lot in the game to show that Anomen has a very protective personality, and takes the well-being of the people he cares about seriously.

> *grins* My, how things change...

Hehe, yes indeed.

> Go Mazzy! Speaking as one of the short, I highly approve.

As a fellow one of the short, I enjoyed it too.

> *snicker* Yeah, it's cold, but I liked it.

Sometimes cold is called for.

> Wonderful as always. I love the way you can combine humor and intense

> emotion so seamlessly.

*blush* Thankee.

> As a fellow one of the short, I enjoyed it too.

What's with us shorties? I also look like a hobbit or an ewok. In army I was by far the shortest soldier in the whole base (about 400 men and women not counting the professional soldiers). And then I tried to run with them, saddled with a heavy equipment planned to be carried by someone 25 cm taller than me in snow that reached my groin... great going.

> What's with us shorties? I also look like a hobbit or an ewok. In army I

> was by far the shortest soldier in the whole base (about 400 men and women

> not counting the professional soldiers). And then I tried to run with

> them, saddled with a heavy equipment planned to be carried by someone 25

> cm taller than me in snow that reached my groin... great going.

*grin* Must be an attempt to compensate. I picked a less dangerous method, I married a man over a foot taller than I am. By heavens, my kids are getting better genes than I wound up with. I make jokes that I'm the victim of a genetic conspiracy, three of my four grandparents were the shortest children in their families, and the fourth was the shortest of the sons.

> *grin* Must be an attempt to compensate. I picked a less dangerous method,

> I married a man over a foot taller than I am. By heavens, my kids are

> getting better genes than I wound up with. I make jokes that I'm the

> victim of a genetic conspiracy, three of my four grandparents were the

> shortest children in their families, and the fourth was the shortest of

> the sons.

My husband is just as short as I am, but in his case it is because of illness he had as a child. It also has made him infertile. (But on the other hand, he says that it was just agony when his feet where misshapen and he could not walk as a child so it is perhpas for the best). Now he mostly is okay, he has even done karate, but sometimes he's in real pain and it is horrible when you can't do anything