New Ponies and Festivals

Diary entry by Wynniekins Cutthroat, level 75 Burglar, Gilrain


Dear Diary,

I'm so very sorry...there was nothing I could do. That evil Santhea-person just took you from my hands and off she went. She was positively scary, there was purple lighting buzzing all around her and stuff. And when she brought you back, she told me she would get you again whenever she fancies. And I'm only little, I can't stand up to her. And even Wyn, who should be big and strong and brave and all that, even she was hiding away from the evil Sith-lord. Though...how can a girl be a lord I wonder...

Be that as it may, I do apologise. But I think it might be easier for all of us to just let her abuse you once in a while. Because otherwise...I don't even want to think about what she'd do to the both of us, dear Diary. I'm just glad she didn't burn you or anything like that...

Now where were we last time? Oh yes, I was telling you about that stupid horse at Hengstacer Farm... I'm still doing my chores there whenever I can, and so is Ithil. However, she was talking about some weird old man, dressed all in white and a nice white horsie called Shadowfax... I think she's delusional again. Got clobbered over the head one too many times or something like that. Wouldn't surprise me considering where she goes every week. And if you're wondering where, Diary, to Orthanc...that's where. She's still trying to defeat that Saruman on Tier Two (and I still don't know what that means). At least she managed Lightning and Fire and Frost this week...but as there are trolls and giants there, I wouldn't be surprised if they hit her over the head a bit...or a bit more.

I for one am enjoying the quiet life right now, although it will become a bit busier come tomorrow. The Farmer's Faire is coming to town, and it's my first year attending. I'm sure there will be lots of food, drink and music, and as you know, that's the sort of thing I love most. Well, that and a bit of burglary. But there's always a way to combine stuff, isn't there. I could, for example, burgle some food, right? Very excited, and I hope it will meet my high expectations...

Oh, and I received a gift today. I think Wynnie did something steamy, which netted all of us a new means of transportation...a new pony in my case. It's called Hazy and I just love it. It's just the cutest ever, just look at the way it blows 'steam' from its nostrils! I absolutely love it.

Hazy the Cute, also known as a Noble Grey Pony

Oh dear, it's getting late and I still have to do my chores before lunch. I really have to be off. And I promise, Diary, Santhea won't hurt you. She just wants to express herself and all her evilness. We just, you know, have to get to know her better, and maybe we can learn something from her in the end...

Wynniekins Cutthroat, signing off.

I'm Sith and this is MY Diary

Diary entry by Santhea, Level 14 Sith Sorcerer, Tomb of Freedon Nadd


Diary!

Allow me to introduce myself to you, I am your new master. No more hobbits from that terribly cheerful 'Middle-earth', no. You are now dealing with the Dark and much more fun side of the Force. For I am Sith and I can ninja this diary if I want to, and whenever I want to! And if that little midget Wynniekins has a problem with is, let's see how she likes finding herself at the receiving end of purple lightning!

Right, so let's see. I am the latest, and best, addition to this disfunctional family of pointy ears, crazy humans and the occasional midget. But I don't roam the rolling hills of the Shire, or fight insane old men with a God-complex (but quite a sense of style...robes that change colour? Give!). Oh no. My home are the far reaches of the Galaxies, where war rages between the misguided fools of the Republic and the glorious forces of the Empire.

I have only recently joined the ranks of the Sith, having been a mere slave before, but I have already become an Apprentice to Lord Zash. She's...interesting to say the least and I am sure that I'll be able to learn a lot from her. I got to Dromund Kaas, seat of the Empire and the Order of the Sith, after spending time on Korriban, and achieved level 14 so far. After the dry desert, the jungle is a most brilliant hunting ground, and while some of my missions seem mundane, they all make me grow in power...and are quite lucrative as well.

I know there is still a long road ahead of me, and many skills still left to be learned, but I think I am on the right path. And if that path has to be littered with dead bodies, so be it!

Compared to my achievements, does it really matter that Ithilwen is working on killing Saruman on Tier 2 with her friends? Or that the Squirrel managed to get the fifth piece of her armour set? Or that Varnie and Gilerian have reached a new skill level? No it doesn't! And if you disagree, Diary, I'm sure you'd make for a nice little bonfire!

Apprentice Santhea, signing off to kill some more people.

A Quiet Summer of Chores?

Diary entry by Wynniekins Cutthroat, level 75 Burglar, Gilrain


Dear Diary,

How could you?! I turn my back on you for...okay, it was quite some time, but still... And what do you do? You run off with the crazy minstrel! Her of all people! I had a massive go at her and in the end we sort of agreed to disagree. She thinks I abandoned you and said if she sees you lying about, she would keep you company. Eventually though, she promised she would only ever 'borrow' you at festival times when I'm 'otherwise engaged', but still...

And then Wynnie was too lazy to write anything because of something called 'football'...what is that anyway? Once again, dear Diary, I am forced to come to but one conclusion...I'm surrounded by idiots! Well, not completely surrounded, there are some really nice peeps out there too, but you get my meaning...

Anyway, let me tell you about going home to the Shire and the festivities there. I don't think I've seen so much food and drink anywhere else in Middle-earth. Hobbits are the best! However, after visiting Moria I have to admit...grudgingly I might add...that dwarves are a close second when it comes to foodstuffs. But we're still the best, so hah!

I ate and drank and sang, and even went riding a bit, but when I saw little Miss Perfect's (also known as Ithilwen, Diary Thief) new horse I knew it wasn't for me. A Rohan theme? No thank you! But it seems I can't avoid Rohan despite my efforts to have a quiet and comfortable summer.

I received a letter summoning me to Combe. As it's a little village just north of Staddle and I just happened to be there anyway to visit some friends (who've left the Shire years ago to live in the more adventurous world of the Big Folk), I went there. What's the worst that could happen in Bree-land, eh? I think I must have been suffering from amnesia or something like that... Clearly I didn't think of Black Riders and Rangers turning into wraiths.

But 'luckily' it wasn't Nazgûl that were waiting for me in Combe. It was a wandering horse. And as it turned out, the stable hand in Combe was unable to take care of a horse...because he's a wuss! You probably can tell where this is going, dear Diary. Who was asked to do chores again? Me! I had to go find straw, I had to see to the new horseshoes. Me!

And now I'm sitting around at Hengstacer Farm looking after even more horses! What happened to my quiet summer?! At least Emma Rosethorn is a good cook... Positive thinking, Diary...

Ithil visits me at times, as does Wyn. They, too, have been asked to help with the chores, so at least I'm not alone. And yesterday Varnie popped up all giddy because she finally reached some sort of level cap of 65. She wasn't all that happy anymore after I pointed out that I was 75, even though I still don't know what that means. And after I said that soon we'd be able to be 85 she looked quite suicidal...oh well.

So off she went to Dunland, with a quick detour to Harndirion to pick up some armour, and if I don't hear from her again, I'll just assume that she go herself killed. Or that she's gonna sit around moping for years again.

Oh, Emma just called me to lunch so I better run. And Diary...don't you go wandering off to Minstrels again!

Wynniekins Cutthroat, signing off.

A Festival of Creeps

Diary entry by Ithilwen, level 75 Minstrel, Gilrain


Dear Diary of Wynniekins,

You have been officially ninjaed. Or rather, I took you up when the silly hobbit discarded you so very carelessly at the sight of pies and ale and pipeweed. Yes, she's run off to the Party Tree, leaving a note to not disturb her for the next two weeks. And she left you as well, Diary... Sad, isn't it?

But I'm nice, despite the things Wynniekins says about me, and am going to keep you company until she returns. Exit silly hobbit, enter balanced human.


So pretty! And very well-behaved as well. So what have I been up to lately? Well, let me tell you. The Spring Festival has started and that means a new horse is out and has to be added to my collection. This time around, I had to win two races as opposed to the previous festivals and get 40 Spring Leaves. Not that this was really an issue as I had some left-over Leaves from last year, and winning horse races is not exactly hard.

So I went to the Shire and Bree and got my Race Tokens and did a few quests in the Hedge Maze and voilà, we have ourselves a new horsie. I'm really loving it as it foreshadows where we are going to head this autumn (or so I've been told). Simbelmynë are small white flowers that commonly grow on the barrows of the kings of Rohan and having a Simbelmynë Steed and matching tunics, dresses and cloaks is just lovely. The seamstresses must have been really busy.

I've also been rather mean to the hobbitses of the Shire, or more precisely, the blasted Inn League. Those awfully nice and lovey dovey hobbits make my skin crawl, so I made it my mission to sabotage them whenever and wherever possible. And it so happens that there are dwarves who share my feelings towards those...those midgets! Pesky little critters, the lot of them (well, maybe not Wynniekins, but I'm telling you that Frodo is seriously annoying and I only really talked to him once in Rivendell). So I joined the Ale Association and have the highest standing possible with them. They call me a Creep, and I'm proud of it!

Other than that, I have been killing real creeps in the Ettenmoors again. I really don't know what's going on there, but every time us Free Peoples turn our backs on that particular area of Eriador, the minions of Angmar overrun everything again. Including the keeps. But it's kinda fun to vanquish them as the more we kill, the better rewards we get from the lovely folk up in Glân Vraig. Not too long ago, I got a new horse from them for example, it's a bit slow but still very nice to look at. My friend Wyn isn't too happy about me having it though, she mumbled something about having wanted it for ages and some such. But it's not my fault that I go to the Moors and she isn't, is it? And they also give you titles...and right now I can't wait to finally reach enough standing with them to be called Lieutenant. Just think... Lieutenant Ithilwen. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

But I have to head off. There's more dark deeds to be done on behalf of my Dwarven friends, and more creeps to be killed. And maybe, just maybe I'll even have time to head back into the Tower of Orthanc. We shall see...

Ithilwen, riding off for now, but might be back later.

Festival time?

Diary entry by Wynniekins Cutthroat, level 75 Burglar, Gilrain


Dear Diary,

It's spring time and I am beginning to wonder when we will be celebrating the coming of warner weather and longer days. The people of Stangard, nice as they are, have no clue how to put together a party. Not that I really blame them. Before I got there, they had rationing and all that 'good' stuff. Now they're slowly getting back on their feet, but a festival is probably not the most important thing on their minds.

So I will have to head back to Bree and the Shire. I have to admit I sometimes do miss the rolling hills of the Green Hill Country and the splashing of little hobbits in the Water. And at times I can't think of anything better than a pie and a glass of ale in the Green Dragon at the end of a long day avoiding doing chores...

Don't get me wrong, dear Diary, I'm not homesick and want to go back home all of a sudden. I still very much love my life as an adventurer, but times of festival should be spent amongst people who know how to celebrate in style. And when it comes to partying, eating and drinking, it's us hobbits that really know how to go about stuffs. So going home for the summer, eh, spring might be a good idea.

According to Miss Crazy Minstrel and her weird calendar, festivals should kick off next Thursday all over Middle-earth, so I'm really excited already as I might get a new pony from the races. And Ithil will definitely add the newest horse to her ever-growing collection. Seriously, I don't want to know how much she has to pay in upkeep for her stables...

Other than looking forward to the festivities, I was once again dragged into Orthanc...Acid is still a no-go. But Ithil said they made some good progress on Shadow, I guess that's at least something. And yesterday she went to the Ettenmoors to kill some evil creeps and apparently had lots of fun doing so.

But I'm really looking forward to tomorrow as we are going back to Mirkwood to visit the Lieutenant of Dol Guldur...hopefully he'll give us his lovely Unwelcome Mat this time around. Until then I will just sit quietly and eat the steaming pie someone just placed in front of me.

Wynniekins Cutthroat, signing off.

Better than Bilbo!

Diary entry by Wynniekins Cutthroat, level 75 Burglar, Gilrain


Dear Diary,

So on Saturday I was asked to come to Enedwaith and help defeat a dragon. Draigoch the Red has taken up residence in the mountains and all sorts of people are out to get him (or rather his treasure). When I heard the word 'dragon' my first thought was 'Bilbo!'

I grew up with stories of the Lonely Mountain, Esgaroth, and of course Smaug the Golden, and always thought Bilbo was the greatest hobbit ever! I mean, he was in the presence of a dragon and lived to tell the tale simply because he was so clever. Every year, my friends and I would beg Bilbo to tell us again of his adventures, and while he always complained in the end he always did.

And now it was apparently up to me to be the contracted Hobbit Burglar. I mean, if Bilbo Baggins could do it, so can Miss Wynniekins Cutthroat, right? First I tried to sneakily pinch the treasure chest, but it's quite big and heavy...and then there's all that gold at the bottom of the cave. I'm awesome, but I really couldn't carry all of that stuff off.

So we decided to fight him and whenever he fell down I was supposed to be something sneaky so some of us could do a coordinated attack on him. The pressure was something else... Luckily another burglar was with us, so we could alternate.

And finally it was done! Draigoch the Red was defeated, but not before killing the other burglar by bringing down the cave on top of his head. And I once again proved just how brave I am and climbed the dragon's corpse. And while no one was looking, I snuck three scales into my pocket...much better than some silly golden cup if I say so myself, Mr Baggins! But I was nice and let the Squirrel have them in the end. She's a very happy Runie now with a new and very shiny cloak.

And I'm running late for a barbecue, so I must away...

Wynniekins Cutthroat, signing off.

Mirkwood Hates Me...

Diary entry by Wynniekins Cutthroat, level 75 Burglar, Gilrain


Dear Diary,

I can't believe I let people talk me into this... I was sitting at a cooking fire in Stangard enjoying a pint of Strawberry Ale when some of my 'friends' started talking about going back to Mirkwood to maybe get some shinies. I was assured that it was going to be easy, even if we were exploring Dol Guldur itself.

The reality was...different. We got there, the twelve of us, called our friends who only sometimes come out (I totally understand my herbalist friend...she's a hobbit and needs sustenance) and got ready to fight stuff. Initially, stuff turned out to be some kind of lights that somehow learned how to reflect damage. I nearly killed myself, dear Diary! I wish lights could talk and teach me how it's done. Would be awesome.

There were also bats and bat-ladies, but at the end it turned out that it was all the work of this sorcerer who we sort of annihilated. I'd been told that I might get a really shiny bracelet from one of his chests...but of course it wasn't there. Well, maybe he traded it to Dol Guldur, I was told. We should go there next, I was told. Go there on your own, I should have said.

But no, I followed like a lost puppy dog. Twice we had to fight drakes, animated suits of armour, trolls, orcs, weird swirly things, and so on. And twice we got two chests with no bracelet. I think I was conned! I just don't quite know by who... 'They' claimed it was a glitch, must be. Others got the same bracelet after all. Which strikes me as odd. How can other people have the exact same bracelet? Confused much...

By the time I got back to Stangard (I have to admit that it's my new home base so to speak) Ithil came running up to me all excitedly and told me about Lighting and Fire & Frost Tier II. First I stared at her blankly. Then I stared at her some more. And then I decided that she completely lost the plot. If she ever had it. And I have some serious doubts about that.

And then she said I should join for Acid Tier II... And I did, unfortunately. We failed. And not just once. I lost count at the fifth attempt or so. At least I had a lovely dinner to return to. Say what you will, but food really is a cheer-you-up. At least for a hobbit like me. It most certainly helped me endure Squirrel telling me of her newest adventures in Orthanc yesterday. She apparently got the Acid and Shadow locks...great, I hope someone locks her up with them!

But it's not all bad. The whole of Mirkwood may hate me, but that's because I'm so awesome. And I have friends where it counts. Like this lovely little girl who is just bringing me my lunch...

Wynniekins Cutthroat, signing off.