Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City)

[djjacket]

Those characters who have been dead for more than 30 days will have all their remaining possessions seized by the Town; who sells them and uses the money collected for the marketing of the game.

What exactly does this mean? That you loose any and all progress? Is that just the current state or is this considered a core game play mechanic?

That was a previous measure that was taken to "sweep" abandoned accounts.  It took quite some "real" time before the players were considered "dead" and then there was a 30 day grace period of time to claim items and pass to heir before the accounts were considered abandoned. 
This is all past history and there are no longer "deaths" occurring i the game.  The underlying rules and mechanics are going through a overhaul.

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[CrazyLoaf]

[Syksy]

The House of the Maple Leaf has organized as follows:

HE Prince Syksy Syyskuu of Petrichor, Marquess of the Maple Leaf, Overseer of Weaponry, Arts, Consumption and Wikidom, 20th/I Bt of CK, Fatherhead of the Syyskuu Lineage, CEO of the Grizzly Bear, Grizzly Gear and Jovial Jester, AOK-K, AOD-Capt, KI, HB, CB, TB, CCB, SCB, GCB will continue as the head of the house and all authority of its matters fall under his principality.

Pilgrim Great Wizard Syksy II, Bearer of 'Kanteletar' (224) will continue as the heir to Syksy I, even if there is no death mechanic as of now. He is still far to the North, in the foreign and enchanting lands of Karelia, in search for a worthy bride. Sini Syyskuu, Guardian of Petrichor and Eleanor Syyskuu, Fair Maiden of Petrichor, with the former being the sister of Syksy I and latter the daughter of Syksy I, will continue working for the safety and infrastructure in Petrichor, where life is peaceful. They live there, where Syksy I also spends most of his time, if not on official business in town.

All the latter 3 characters will fall under principality of Syksy I and do not seek promotions nor other features of their own. Syksy I (char id 138) is the main "house", both in role play as well as game mechanic sense.

Letter officially signed with a gilded crest of a maple leaf, indicating official approval of The House of the Maple Leaf

[generalizethis]

Blue text is reserved for GM speaking.

> CRICHTON (130): 6114000, 19
  + PLATH (198): 25500
  = 6139500

Awaiting records of the Coronation event held, which would prompt levelup to L20 King. Also the proper name and title of #130 should mention the fact that he is reigning as His Majesty the King of Crypto Kingdom, please update. "HM The King", even though stuck to rpietila I for long years, is still properly just a title whose holder rotates. Due to the importance of the title, it should always override any other names and titles in use by its holder. In this case "Prince Crichton" should become "HM The King[...]" and when the Crown passes to another House, the 'Royal House of Crichton von Plath und zu CK' will be thus called and its head be entitled to "HRH" similar to Zechariah is now.

The coronation is dependent on three events:

The Quartermillennial Jubilee of Crypto Kingdom

- -

The GM has granted the King, the permission to be crowned in the Hall of Mirrors in the Royal Palace of Versailles, 9-C (or a place of his choice) earliest 1654, and the King has announced the event to be happen the next year, 1655.

- -

Is this information up to date still, are we going to parteeeeeh this weekend?

TBH, there's three things I'd like to see happen before we party.

1. Archduke Quest finished (I want to have the celebration take place with gambling and chat and a few hands of high stakes poker).

2. A BTC-->M gateway similar xmr.to added to increase Monero adoption and # of CK players (NewLiberity has agreed to look into this, but no updates as to implementation atm). Saddam's integration of a shifty button is a superior idea and is being implemented by him as we speak.

3. Be on the way to adding a CK asset to a cryptocurrency exchange.

#3 begs the question: what asset is best suited (from an efficiency and equality standpoint) to best represent our Kingdom as an asset on an exchange?

When those three things are accomplished (or at least a certainty as far implementation), we can party like we just don't care

1 and 2 are well on there way--though Syksy has taken a break to attend to other matters and Saddam is MIA ATM. The third is finished, but getting an exchange listing for the token seems an impossible task reserved for only the best assets.

We could put a four year limit on coronation, but I would want it held on a ship if the Jovial Jester's poker wing is still under construction.

[Roopatra]

Top of the World
Earn Happiness, Health Points, Wisdom, Promotions and Quartermillenial Great Council points from the new module 'Top of the World'

The importance of Wisdom is indeed rising in the Kingdom. All commoners (including new players) may rise levels by appearing in the top of the wisdom score daily during evaluation. To score points use consume command e.g.: consume can 100
Nobles may earn Titles by improving their wisdom and collecting Quartermillenial Great Council points.

Commoner promotions of 1661

Veronica Albertina has been promoted to L8 Doctor.

Bucket has been promoted to L3 Beginner.
Kipra has been promoted to L3 Beginner.
Cryptovzla has been promoted to L3 Beginner.
Taika has been promoted to L3 Beginner.

Congratulations to all the promoted! Special welcome to the new Doctor, may your wisdom be put to good use.

Nobles currently on the lead for Quartermillenial Great Council Nominations

HE Prince Syksy Syyskuu of Petrichor, Marquess of the Maple Leaf, Overseer of Weaponry, Arts, Consumption and Wikidom, 20th/I Bt of CK, Fatherhead of the Syyskuu Lineage, CEO of the Grizzly Bear, Grizzly Gear and Jester Corp, AOK-K, AOD-Capt, KI, HB, CB, TB, CCB, SCB, GCB. 72 points.

Baron Tombot 62 points.

Baron Lloyd, The Fourth Of His Name 51 points.

HSH TMA Blessed Heroic Cultured Duke of OZ, Patron of The Arts, 3rd/I Bt of CK, AOD-Col, OD-K, KH, RT-K, MG-4, RT-K, FBB, TB, CB, KFB, HB. 43 points.

TA Sir Mooo, the Blessed Margrave of Stonehaven, 29th/I Bt of CK, Councillor, AOK-K, AOD-Maj, Learned Naturalist, DOL-K, KI-K, MG-4, TB, KFB, CCB: 41 points.

Countess Erin the Red, Lady of Pada: 39 points.

A tie for 7th place: TMA Blessed Cultured Sir Hokusai, Earl of Ghibli, Zen Master, 14th/I Bt of CK, CB and Marquess Angus Greenthumb, Earl-Pretender of Karelia, Lord of Haljala, RM, TB, CCB 30 points. (if there is a tie in QGC-points, the winner is the one with more happiness points)

[CrazyLoaf]

Saw this over on the Pepecash thread. Nice to see "Big Naturals" ( where do they get these names? ) give CK a shoutout. If decentralized item ownership is such a big deal, it may be worth looking into this InstantDex platform or something like it.

 
This is where Bitcoin finally hits its stride and begins to shine - showing us the next level of abstraction of digital rarity, and you decry it for yet another centralized video game?  If the CryptoKingdom servers shut down, your assets are gone.. If the Pepe team were wiped clean from the Earth and the entire game were erased... you would still have your Pepes and a new game would begin to be built around them.  
  
That's the power of a decentralized asset.  You are trying to get us excited about the video game equivalent of fiat, when something far better already exists.  I do hope CryptoKingdom gets ported to the Aeon version of Counterparty, when it one day exists.  I would definitely be interested then.  
  

Crypto Kingdom needs a decentralized setup, otherwise it wont take off imo. One possibility would be to clone jl777's komodo setup for his instantdex which launches in a short while, which afaik allows for decentralised trading.

https://komodoplatform.com/dex-whitepaper/

The pepe meme is nothing compared to the rich detailed design of Crypto Kingdom as a full virtual world of assets and social networking opportunities, but I agree it needs decentralised asset trading so players can control their own assets. If that is achieved (decentralised trading and private control of keys), then Crypto Kingdom could become one of the largest crypto projects to date.

[generalizethis]

The third is finished, but getting an exchange listing for the token seems an impossible task reserved for only the best assets.

Would recommend looking at Tux Exchange. I would almost say wait for an XMR/AEON counterparty layer and, until then, see what can be done to have maybe a daily complete player ownership settlement stored in a decentralized manner. 

From Tux's FAQ:

"Question: How do new coins get listed on the exchange? Can I request a coin get added?"

"A We do NOT accept listing requests. Coins are discovered organically by our staff. Please do not ask to have a coin listed."

[Syksy]

HE Prince Syksy Syyskuu of Petrichor has no plans of selling anything out of ordinary after consulting the rules, but will naturally follow the progression of events with great interest

[MoneroMooo]

People of Crypto Kingdom! Oyez! Oyez!

Promotions based on CK-days have been made. Congratulations to the lucky recipients.

Prince LUIGI (10 mil)
Marquess HEIMO (5 mil)
Prince THUD (10 mil)
Earl SS (3 mil + 2 mil)
Prince DRC (10 mil + 5 mil)
Earl Gaben (no tax, as ancestor goin2mars was already Earl)
Prince HS-S3 (10 mil)
Earl DNALEOR3 (3 mil + 2 mil)
Baron NIKKE2 (2 mil)
Marquess FURIBLIZ (5mil + 3 mil + 2 mil)

All promotions are dated from 1661.
Promotees are requested to update their name/title at their convenience in their character page.

[goin2mars.]

A mind is a terrible thing to allow to run rampant of its own free will within a cage, left to feed on only a lack of wisdom and an abundance of hope for years on end. Blinding, almost deafening; the numbness to the marrow of the details can leave a human feeling cold.

Inasmuch as one can find an infinite source of knowledge of strolling from one interest to the next, as a dog follows a scent, it only takes but much of a lifetime to realize that a lifetime is a terrible thing left to bide in a cage.

No, a mind is a great thing to share, as knowledge gained only seemed infinite to those with such seemingly finite capacity. So it will be mine that will be cast.

A feigned attempt at protectionism through detraction tend to lead to loss aversion and deflection, traits that can only be attributed the the least of beings, for whom a cage is fit.

In order to become less of something, we must feed it more. To take ownership is a struggle from within, for which I am happy that since finding some semblance of self, I happened upon a story about a voice. A voice that challenges.

Maybe my voice, could one day be heard.

[goin2mars.]

Code:

                                                                                       ______......../////////   CK Quest Notification   \\\\\\\\\........______

The Earl of Vesrof has been having a terrible time with exactly 15 wolves eating his livestock in Chapelry 8-SW in Borough 8, and is looking for a demolisher, or demolishers of wolves or some sort.

While the location of their den or if they even originate from a den at all, is entirely unknown, they have undoubtedly been coming from the South or East.

They're probably in a cave of some sort.

While ordinarily a creature such as this wouldn't be a problem, the Earl's most favored coronet has been discovered to be undiscovered. In fact it may have temporarily ceased to exist. And it seems there's no available wolf killers for hire on the market.

Regardless, there will be no time to hunt down wolves on the Earl's part so assistance is surely required.

Your orders, if you choose to take on the adventures, are to report to Sir Gaben, who might pass down to you more orders, or you can just report that you killed the wolves.

(PM Sir_Gaben on IRC, or msg in CK chat, for the next ~12 hours while I sleep/not online, I'll roll a d20 once and send you some mead based on the (x/20 *200) Mead formula, you can get from 10-200 mead from some dude manually rolling a d20, which may or may not end up on the carpet no promises, and sending you free mead, posts to this thread will be disregarded, plz delete if this is against the rules, will edit post with ended when done)

Ended 01:04 23Feb2017 EST, Many thanks to Bucket, Marquess Loaf and Countess Erin.

[MoneroMooo]

"The square is bustling today", the Margrave thinks while crossing through on his horse. "It's been a while since I haven't seen such activity".

The horse stopped while the Margrave looked around, taking in the stalls on the side, the people milling about, some with sacks of grain, and even shapes moving  in the buildings, barely seen via the windows. The town seems indeed to be recovering from its long slumber.

Could this be somehow related to the odd rumours about Zechariah's mystic experiences ? The timing certainly would certainly match, and the town wasn't exactly without its own experiences with the paranormal.

The Margrave took note of the activity and sent a note to an aide to buy some CK - a good proxy for the Kingdom's activity. He did not know what the future held, but he would certainly face it with more of a stake in the Kingdom and the town's future.

[Kipra]

There is a new power in town.
And it's getting stronger, it's getting stronger fast.

[Gaben.]

Code:

                                            ______......../////////   CK Quest Notification   \\\\\\\\\........______
...

I am sorry for abandoning my post after not more than four days of waiting, and wolves continue to eat our livestock.

The availability of this offer will continue for the rest of May, 1662.

(the computer froze, Sir_Gaben will be connecting to IRC on different hardware for the time being, anyone taking about wolves to goin2mars in IRC over the day will be sent mead shortly, and this is still ongoing for a little bit to allow some more time)

[generalizethis]

The King woke. His biggest concern was oddly not the rumors of a dark force or the threats from the spiritual realm. Being rational, he knew there were no ways to strategize around the random acts of gods or devils. His worry was not the economy that had yet to return to its former bustling as those controls were not in his hands, and his biggest concern was not that no one had grabbed the reigns of the most opportune way to gain foreign investment as no one seemed interested in the work involved and it's a waste of time to go against lack of motivation--even when it is in everyone's best interest--no, his BIGGEST concern was the coronation. And now that Dark Forces was on the warpath it seemed inevitable that they might try to interrupt the planned procedure (and the King, not fond of planned parties or Royal hubbub) decided to kill two birds with one stone.

"Is anyone awake?" he said walking the empty Palace.

Madam_Stoka, "I  am your Majesty."

"Just Crichton," he retorted, rolling his eyes, "It's too late at night to going on about all that--I imagine Hamlet would be telling us about how a King could pass through the guts of a beggar--and he was wiser than any of us."

Madam_Stoka chuckled, "He was a character in a play, so why not say Shakespeare?"

"Because a playwright can travel through the guts of Prince. Now we're going to pass some DOM and MUM through are guts and make official that which can pass as the hierarchal manifestation of nature's programing."

Madam_Stoka, "Sometimes I have no idea what you are saying."

"We're going to drink DOM and snort MUM and call it a coronation, so I'm officially King and dark forces can't crash the party in 1666."

Madam_Stoke, "DOM and MUM, I get!"

"Good, My Lady--be sure to send out a bottle of w1615p to everyone not in attendance."

Coronation 1662:

HMC_

Note: those who did not receive a bottle of w1615p, please send me a PM here and it will be sent to the proper address.

[goin2mars.]

Shaking off the weeks of slumber upon return seems difficult today, as if one were to blow the fog away with nothing more than their lungs, Sir goin2mars reaches for some ham and bread and promptly grabs the nearest beverage with caffeine in it and sets out

"The kingdom seems vivid today," he thinks to himself as he departs from the Civil Street office, which has a bed or two in the back for late nights at the office.

On his way to The King's Esplanade Square, he sees three familiar shapes speaking quietly among themselves. Two of them are lifting heavy stones made of what can only be described as molded powdered rock. Concrete was a word that came to mind, a term that could only adequately describe the devices.

The third was a female, a bubbly lass in her late twenties. Her physique matched her personality, average yet curvy, red hair, a couple of freckles strewn throughout her face that was quick to smile, cute, yet still unable to mask the fact that there was an undeniable lack of depth in her presence, as if every moment in her entire life could be summed up in the first ten minutes of speaking to her. Shallow, soft and fearful, but nothing more or less than to be expected from someone about to turn thirty. She had, until recently, been courted by the Earl's brother, and most certainly not the type to be lifting heavy stones. Her name was Amada.

Nonetheless, the huddle was a recurring situation as the three typically converse at this time of day.

As he approached, Nick, one of the weightlifters, strolled off, quickly acknowledging the Earl's presence before continuing off into the day.

"Hello you two, how goes the day?" the Earl questioned.

The lady turned in attention, adjusting her overcoat to exclaim "Hello Sir, a bit late in the day for you to come through here with coffee."

"The late nights at the office are to plan for a recent a lack in manpower at the factory, a shame that we had to let some of them go," returned the Earl.

He continued on, "But, a factory is not a place in which one should be fudging numbers to comply with an innate fear of having to learn to do one's job properly, nor is it a place that one should bear great personal sorrows to their co-workers for months on end, and especially it's not a place to sleep with no intent to produce, at least not with some expectation of repercussion."

The second weight lifter, Chris, walked over and joined in the conversation.

Amada said, "I've recently had some trouble of my own with some of the less desirable tenants of my community as well, I had to report their constant drug usage and fearmongering to my landlord who decided to evict them. I knew there was going to be trouble when my favored dog, Misty of Chincoteague, who likes everyone, had a sour personality on seeing them," she drolled on.

The towering mass named Chris stood in silence, it was obvious that he wanted to make conversation, but one could tell his mind was elsewhere, or at least heavily guarded, like most days. Not to be easily distracted, he returned to lifting the concrete weights.

The conversation continued on to various topics like her getting an article on the printing press for some baseless community organization and the Earl's brother and his muted choices back in 1661 based on the physical statistics of his courted partner, and the timing of such a choice, as the decision to part ways followed a short winter on valentines day.

The Earl's brother and Amada had bought a few bushels of strawberries, to be covered in chocolate and enjoyed together in celebration of some tradition foreign to Crypto Town, yet shared by Amanda's ancestors for centuries on their calendar day of 14 February. It was to be a celebration of joy and love between two human beings.

"He just packed up and left," she continued not visibly shaken "We made hundreds of strawberries of all types. There were ones with white chocolate and dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Some were covered with sprinkles, and some were topped with sea salt crystals, it was such a good time. But one minute I'm cleaning up, and the next I hear the door slam, and I've not heard a word since".

The Earl replied, "I saw some of those strawberries in my brothers house, I've been thinking of them as sad strawberries for some time now."

"I just don't know what to do, I haven't mentioned it to anyone for a year until just tonight," said Amada, glancing toward the remaining weightlifter. "I think they've gone bad now, as I've left them on the table ever since" she said referring to the strawberries.

She then asked, "Have you spoken to him?"

"I have, but in this instance the reasons for his choice confuse me as well. I did notice that he had left his half of strawberries in his cold chamber, untouched for weeks. They are still fresh, or were until yesterday, when I noticed they were beginning to turn" the Earl explained.

"I ate them, as a strawberry should not go to waste," he said, "and a strange vessel to hinge a relationship on" he thought to himself.

At this time, Chris rejoined the conversation, which went on to cover Amada's new name brand overcoat, and gracious tips from Chris to the Earl about techniques of lifting concrete weights safely.

The lightened conversation was a welcomed change to the impending indecision.

The Earl mentioned that he had a wolf resolution to attend to, and parted ways with the group. The rest of his trip to the Esplanade was introspective, focusing on the Sad Strawberries. For he had realized the reason they had been left in the cold was based on indecision, so he had eaten them to feed a wolf of some sort, or so he thought.

If I can devour my brother's sorrow, who through indecision would let some totally unrelated good spoil, will we be stronger as a house? To me, they're just strawberries. To her they're a symbol of a spoiled love. But to him they are to his own thoughts, yet there they still sat until yesterday, festering, but still fresh. It was in that moment, that I decided to eat them and feed the wolf.

Which one was fed I don't know, nor does it matter, but fortunately there's been a few brave souls well deserving of mead in the Kingdom, until such a time that wolves need to be killed off again.

[Red Erin]

I've started sending a few little bits of M2 here and there. Oh, nothing much, just to wet my feet a bit and start the fun
I'm curious to see who will notice and how fast it will all snowball

Enjoy!

(sorry Kipra if I stole your thunder)

[generalizethis]

War Games Announced

All Royal Forces are recalled to within the borders of CryptoTown, Mobile forces (100% mobility units) will maintain separate roaming basepoints throughout the Town's walls. Royal Guard and 1st regiment are to be stationed near Palace of Versailles--King will reside there with all Royal effects. Training detachment #3 will scout the parameters of the Town's walls. Training Detachment #1 and #2 are to be stationed in the Citadel to bulwark the cannon units.

By order of HM the King

ATTN GM

Research Proposal: Chain-Shot

We are told that one can chain two cannonballs together and have artillery that mows though infantry forces--we wish to pursue this technology and have it ready within the next 1-2 years. Please inform the Military on how best to proceed with development.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain-shot

Research Proposal: Shipwright

We wish to build a Navy for trade, exploration and defense, please inform us on how to get this started--it seems insane for a nation in the modern times to have neither sea trade or exploration.

Also, what would be a quick estimate as to the costs (sci, sto1, bld, etc.) to build roads connecting current Town and Counties? Also, a real estimate for Plath to Town would likely be carried through without delay.


ATTN NOBLES:

Our roads are in a terrible state and must be upgraded, so we propose that SCI, BLD and STO1 be used to see to the matter. This is a matter for the whole Town and all Counties, so the military and/or King will not foot the bill alone, so Nobles should come to agreement on the matter as soon as estimated costs are issued and construction begin.

HMC_



*Also, due the fines associated with M2, any fines levied against HMC or his surrogates (Madam_Stoka, Plath, Crichton, King, UFO or OldDuchy) will be doubled and fined payable to King Corp--this will be accounted cumulatively, so 1mil in m2 is more of a fine than the 5k that put the character over.

[djjacket]

The Duke of North Face as presented M2 Gifts to the following - I have enjoyed our friendship and conversations and wish you prosperity:

Luigi
saddam
Loaf
Roopatra

[goin2mars.]

Long ago it was observed that for a kingdom to be wonderful, great wonders must be present in every extent of a kingdom. Some happened upon such fantastic wonders by luck, and some by determination, but most of all, each must be realized to be wonderful, and taken or shared accordingly. For without wisdom, one could be faced with a new wonder every day only to boldly see right past it.

For one, it’s wonderful that crops in Crypto Town continue to grow with absolutely no need for irrigation, or water for that matter, a rarity that is unique to those walls.

“Perhaps by some form of enchantment of the seeds themselves,” Earl goin2mars groggily thought to himself.

Another wonder is that there is a church, a bishop, and numerous references to the divine, but no common religious knowledge seems to be shared among the people of Crypto Town. Whether there is one god, or thousands, remains elusive to this day after hundreds of years of recorded history. The veiled secrecy of the devout has not gone unnoticed.

It wasn’t until some time after the expeditions outside the Walls began, that he realized that the Kingdom is by no means a usual place, and is indeed full of wonder. Extraordinary really, as were few parts of the world beyond it.

Only two things have remained steadfast to date in his understanding of the kingdom: Death and Taxes. And even death has shied from the kingdom for at least a generation now, while the requirement to sustain oneself has come and gone with the breeze.

Another thought rolled through him, “Who can one pray to in order to thank for such a path?” Perhaps this is a story that will continue to unfold, or even resurface, as both light and darkness route life into the kingdom. Some kingdoms he had met in his travels regarded their rulers as gods.

A shudder diffuses through his body as he rises from his slumber. He stretches, extending his arms to the clouds. They fall, briefly stopping their descent to wipe the night’s sweat from his brow.

“These thoughts may get one killed,” he thinks to himself as he packs his gear, shaking off those half thoughts that only tend to come within the last few moments of semi-consciousness following sleep.

As a fire crackles just a few yards away, his troop stirs as the morning rations were doled out, newly acquired just last week. The local traders had referred to it as “cheese”. While not all foodstuffs that exist in the Kingdom can be can be called useful, this fantastic morsel was just that and more; however, it was quickly discovered that not all could easily digest the delicacy and tend to favor vegetables and meat.

Wrapped by the slab and stored in paper or wax, the cheese had served as an effective ration on this journey. Easily divisible, very nutritious, compact and demonstrated to hold up reasonably well through the days, the price paid in Forte Spagnolo Red was well worth the trade, as domestic wines always met a high demand outside the Kingdom.

While the methods of harvesting such a product from the land were not yet known to the Earl, possibly some of the artisan varieties of cheese could one day be imported into the Kingdom when the news of such a delight reaches it.

Looking around, upon exhaling the arid morning air, the Earl sees the flat open world as if for the first time, and it becomes apparent why water was on his mind.

Bordered by mountains in the direct North, the Reunvaad Desert was far from desolate as the Earl’s eyes swept over cacti and shrubbery of all shapes, with the occasional reptile to be spotted and even more birds on the morning hunt. A dried up riverbed danced through the sandy hills to the west, which terminated at the base of the scant mineral pools shadowed by seemingly dormant geysers that reached no less than ten yards high each. It was a short distance from these that their camp was set up.

They had arrived here after a month’s journey North from Crypto Town, well past the gates of Kunda, after receiving word from the local township of Yohilo that its Alpaca farm had been accosted by a vile beast known to the locals as a Delin. Alpaca’s were a large part of the livelihood in this town, for here their fur grew three times as thick and dense as anywhere else known in the world. Often appearing as large puff balls, it really was a sight to see one in a full coat. The fur was used to make various commodities like wool sweaters, trousers and of course socks. The town would use the various textiles in trade.

The townsfolk mentioned that Delins were known to roost in temperate climates, near sources of water. They slept on the edges of small pools of water during the night, often traveling in pairs, but no more than four to a group. Their bodies would excrete a foul cursed substance during the day that would cling to their black fur, giving them the appearance of having emerged from a muddy stream, a substance that they would typically wash off in the small pools of water before nesting for the night.

A quadruped, about a third the size of a horse, and about two times faster, the Delin’s main food supply were the lizards and birds that had unknowingly drank from the pools of tainted water, only to die of their poison some time later. Their mouths were full of small, sharp prickly fangs. Their scent was unmistakable in the mineral pools, which had become toxic with their residue. A shrewd, vicious animal to say the least. The den in which the Earl had made camp seemed to be abandoned by the Delins in trade for the river flowing through the township of Yohilo.

The Earl’s expedition had arrived to investigate the cause displacement of the creatures, in trade for a few of the local livestock, some gold and knowledge of cheese-making upon successful resolution of their Delin problem.

A lieutenant approaches and reports, “Sir, last night’s watch has discovered some fresh tracks heading to the east, toward Yohilo”

The lieutenant was a man in his mid thirties, with short black hair, tattoos of some design could be seen on his arms, a sword and a pistol sat at his waist, he always seemed to be reaching for them as if to be ready for an engagement at a half-moments notice. Years of service were apparent in his speech and posture.

“This confirms that we’ve found the source of the creatures, then,” replied the Earl.

The lieuntenant continued, “Should I send out a few privates to deal with the creatures?”

“No,” said the Earl, “We should attempt to avoid a confrontation with these beasts for as long as possible. As long as we don’t know why they’re leaving the desert, only more will be met.”

The lieutenant cleared his throat and responded, “As you wish, Sir, I think our best course of action for the day is to explore the local area to learn what has caused the Delins to move to the town.”

“I agree, ready the troops and we will set out within the hour”

The camp was packed up swiftly and the horses were tended to, the troop of ten servicemen appeared to be awaiting word.

The Earl instructed, “We will split up in half, five of you will be setting traps and following the dried up riverbed, and the other five will come with me and we will investigate the geysers.”

With the command, one group led by the Lieutenant grabbed netting and rope, and departed into the morning sun.

The Earl’s group headed toward the geysers. He had thought it odd that they had been there a night and morning and had seen no activity from the geysers, which would normally feed the various mineral pools in the area. Thinking that a lack of water was the most likely cause for relocation, the group arrived to find the geysers were indeed dormant.

Upon closer investigation of the geysers, the group discovered that large stones had been dumped into the geysers by some obviously malevolent entity. The stones weren’t even local to the area, and there was little doubt that they had purposely been placed there.

The Earl’s team decided to clear the rocks away using the same explosive powder used in their pistols. Carefully the privates placed wrapped charges of the powder in different places on the top of the geysers, connected together by a slow burning fuse.

After the plan had been set, and all charges were ready, the Earl made sure his troops were clear of the area and then had one of them light the fuse. The other group was not within range, but they had set a rally point to the camp from last night for later in the day. As the fuse was lit, they each ran to the camp and waited for a few seconds before hearing a loud crack, followed by a torrent of steam and water that could undoubtedly be heard for miles.

A cloud of sand, dirt and water filled the area, making the air noticeably denser upon breathing it in. With that, the pools began to fill.

Having done what was asked of him, the Earl and team returned to the rally point to await their comrades. Later in the day, the other team arrived with a freshly netted Delin. The creature had been surprised by the blast and returned to a pool of water it had considered its refuge, where the Lieutenant had laid a five meter net at the base of. It was taken by surprise twice that day, as the spring snare net trap had adequately served to capture the animal long enough to subdue it and knock it unconscious. One of the privates was thrown across the back of a horse, noticeably damaged.

He had been poisoned, the toxin leaching from the Delins skin had entered the privates body by way of a jagged looking cut that was suffered in the encounter. While the wound itself wasn’t grievous and would heal with time, the private seemed to not have enough of it to spare. His breathing was labored and painful.

The unconscious animal was deftly placed into a cage on their carriage, and with that they set off hurriedly toward Yohilo. As they entered the town screaming for help, the town seemed to come alive almost immediately. A pair of townsfolk lifted the private from the horse and brought him to the town doctor. The Earl follow them into a shack that served as a respite for the ill.

Immediately the private was laid down on a cot and the doctor was informed that the substance that was on the Delin had come into contact with the private’s open wound. Without saying a word, the doctor unwrapped a block of cheese and began patiently feeding to the largely unconscious private.

“This is no time for cheese!” The Earl bellowed. “This man is near death, is there anything you can do for him?”

The doctor held up his hand, as if to tell the Earl to wait. It was in that moment that the Earl noticed that color had begun returning to the privates face. Still not lucid, his breathing returned to normal. Realizing that some trickery must have happened, the Earl inquisitively questioned the doctor.

The conversation between the two led the Earl to discover that “cheese” in the local language means “cure”, and their willingness to trade it to the group just a week ago for some wine was actually in their best interest.

The rest of the townsfolk were gracious upon hearing the news, and a celebration was thrown at once. As the waters returned to the rich mineral pools, the Delins that had been poisoning the towns water supply would surely return to their natural habitat, allowing the river to naturally cleanse itself. The stragglers would make good game for the younger hunters of the town.

They had created a large fire in the center of town, and people everywhere were passing around various cheeses, meat and vegetables, and hanging all sorts of decorations from trees and local buildings. There was synchronized dancing and chanting in a language that the Earl was unaccustomed to, and a few of the single women of the town made attempts to seduce the Earl and his companions. The celebration lasted well into the night.

In the morning, as the festivities of the night before were still being cleaned up, the local mayor settled his debt the Earl’s party. They were given a couple of alpacas, some gold and some cheese for their troubles. In turn the group departed with some of the black pistol powder that was used to open up the geyser, should the situation repeat itself.

The mayor had a local farmer dictate to one of the townsfolk that knew how to write a recipe for making a simple cheese, and with that the party left with the Delin in tow. The creatures acquired could easily be used for trade in the next town, or possibly returned to Crypto Kingdom some day.