Damn, last night was fun. Scared the crap outta me but it was fun.

I start off the evening by muling anything sacred to me I'm likely to lose on
death. Evil Elvis is putting together a trip to the New Island to try and
complete the new mega-quest on Harvestgain, last server to finish parts 1 and 2
(sluice-gate bar and pyreal bellows). I'd like to go, even though I know I'm
likely to die without hope of body recovery inside of 10 minutes on the island.

It sucks being level 49 and not have healing. There's so many places you wanna
go but can't. Got my ass handed to me recovering Red Wolf's corpses in the
Lugian Excavations the previous night because I'd get swarmed and the health
potions couldn't keep up with the damage.

But what the hell, I'll treat it like Jahannan Vault. When I die, I lose mana
stones or wands I don't care about and just play to have fun. I couldn't kill
a diamond golem if it had bludgeon vuln XXIV on it but what the hell...

Its 7pm and Rimgar is online in the meeting hall. Who wants to go get the high
grade ore, he asks?

Well I have an hour to kill and some wounded pride to heal so I guess I'll go.

Unlike the night before we're done within five minutes of getting there. What a
difference a day makes. Unfortunately Valerion doesn't have item and has to run
back to Mayoi. Since I have time to kill and since running alone sucks, I hoof
it back with him along the beach.

Check the CoD HG web page and see that the island trip has been pushed back to
9pm est. I already told Stylgar I wasn't going to get the ore refined and when
I check he's logged off. Oh well, another hour to kill, I'll have Tracy summon
to the Pit and run up there myself. 20 uneventful minutes later I have a pile
of refined High Grade Chorizite, and there's about a dozen people there standing
around. I ask if anyone has a portal to the Crater and someone says "Yes, for a
C-Note".

Oh well, capitalism thrives in Dereth. I tell people I accept donations when
Tracy summons for them, but its mainly to pay for the comps she burns (and she
burns a LOT). I don't really do it to make money but if I do that's nice too.
This guy was purely there to make money which is ok I guess, just not my cup of
tea. Of course I'm not a level 54 monarch with 200 people in my allegiance,
either.

I still have money left over from my last trip to the Olthoi Horde so I pay for
the portal. Bunch of poor people were obviously waiting for someone with cash
to show up since a bunch took the portal with me. 10 minutes later I have my
ravenous sword, which is actually kinda nice when active, though I wish the base
were higher and it were a little faster.

Its still not even 9pm. People are asking for help recovering bodies to the
infernos in the lake but since I don't have any way to get back to the Crater if
I die (still holding onto my precious Olthoi Horde tie at this point) I really
can't help. A couple high levels go off to assist and I'm kinda glad I didn't
go when their death messages pop up in my chat window not 30 seconds later.

I'm not THAT afraid of Infernos when I have the proper equipment (i.e.
SuperPitspawnPeridotFrostTaichi) but if I died up there it would be messy.

So I recall to Ayan, restock on healing and stamina potions and pop into the
Baishi portal. Before I go, Kahni tells me Evil Elvis can't make it for the
island quest, which kinda sucks since he was basically the leader.

I get to Baishi at 10 minutes to 9 and there's *2* people in town. To make a
long story short (too late!) nobody else shows up and the whole thing is
cancelled. I find out the next day Hell Maker took a group there and finished
step 2 after 1am est which is WAY too late for me these days on work nights.

So its 9pm and I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go. I've been very blase'
about hunting lately since Turbine F$%KED us over with the BSD spawn nerf but I
figure I can always try to get into some Umbris near Ayan. I'm just not
terribly motivated about running around looking for stuff anymore, it just
wastes so much TIME.

Ordius calls me up and reminds me he wanted to go to the Mage Academy and burn
some keys with Movarl. I'm not crazy about the mage academy. I don't one hit
obsidians and trying to do so while an Iron Golem is beating on my back and
lightning traps are blasting me are not my idea of fun. Still, he wants to go
and I have the closest portal link there and I have nothing BETTER to do so what
the hell.

After some silliness trying to summon a portal that can't be summoned, recalling
and linking the right way, we're off. I make 30k in loot killing 3 workers
waiting for Movarl to download the dungeon and we're finally, hesitatingly on
our way. Suddenly it comes to me I have a lich seal and am less than 2 klicks
from the Bandit Castle standing stone, the final piece of the Frore map I don't
have. We laugh, we cry, we lag for about 20 minutes but we finally find the
damned thing half-way up the side of this obnoxious snow/ice covered mountain
and I get the final piece of the map. I'm somewhat annoyed I can't
cut-and-paste the warning letter into a parchment like I've done for the other 2
but I don't wanna spend a lot of time figuring it out since the other two guys
still have a long run to get where they wanna go.

Rach' mann tells you, "Are you available?"

That's never a good sign. Its never a good sign when anyone asks you that but
when UberArcherFromHell Rach' mann is asking if you're available it a just plain
ol' SUCKY sign.

With visions of diamond golems on the obsidian plains I ask him what's up.

Well, seems he had this little accident at the bottom of the Crater Caves...

"The whole place exploded around me", he says.

Yuck. I haven't messed with Magma golems since the last Source outing there in
MAY. Couldn't touch 'em then, couldn't handle the magic, etc. Yeah, that was
20 levels ago but STILL... Who else can come? Rach talks with Hunters Chase
and it turns out Flip used to OWN Magma Golems with his 300 war skill and is
anxious to get back in the saddle. Unfortunately nobody else is available,
though to his credit Ordius asks if we need his help.

While I'm standing there talking via Radio Dereth with Rach outside Bandit
Castle, someone announces and opens a portal to Crater Village which I
thankfully hop aboard. Log in Desiree and hand Rach
PitspawnSuperPeridotFrostTaichiFromHell (+7/+7 7-14 Frost speed 35) and wait for
the two of 'em at the crater.

I have to tell you I'm some nervous as we make our way down to the lower level.
Magmas were pretty nasty last time I messed with 'em and I still don't know how
I'm gonna do against 'em. I'm not as worried about the fire elementals as I
seemed to do pretty well against them in the Jahannan Fire Stone vault, even
though there were a bunch of warriors and Deao with me at the time.

We buff up and I ask advice on whether to use bludgeon or fire bane on my
shield. Flip suggests both, which I promptly do, though I have to do a second
Stam to Mana to do it.

We hop down and are in immediate contact with a Magma Golem. Flip says a couple
Zojak's and the damn thing is GONE, just that fast. Not too shabby... then he
lays down to recover stam so I hand him half my stamina potions which are pretty
overrated for a sword fighter anyway. They're more like extra mana potions than
anything.

We head down and make a turn to the right at a T intersection and run into the
first of the flammas, flares and Infernos. They are dispatched pretty easily
for me, since they seem to be keying on Flip more. Not being targeted
immediately is a welcome surprise for me.

Then a Magma golem shows up. And he wants me. He wants me BAD.

Thankfully he's too stupid to talk around the edge of the ramp that's holding
him back. Couple of Zojaks later and he's also a pile of molten rock on the
floor. We proceed down a little further, run into a couple of magmas and
eliminate them relatively quickly though I'm reminded just how FAST they are. I
think they are more impressive than the diamonds becuase I think they don't LOOK
like they should be that fast. Its at this point I'm really glad to have both
flame and bludgeon bane V on my shield as numerous flammas and infernos join in
the festivities. Thankfully the golems are dispatched quickly, which makes
dispatching the elementals that much faster.

About this time Rach starts to have doubts about our path and suggests we might
be going the wrong way. Since I know our buffs are probably due to start
dropping soon I suggest we back all the way out, rebuff and try again since
we're not yet all that far from the entrance. We start back the way we came
when we come to the room previously containing a magma golem.

There's this really tall black hunk of rock there that is glistening.

Only it has arms, legs, and what could pass for eyes and a mouth as it turns
towards em.

I look at my frost sword and my sword gloves. Um, these aren't going to be very
goddamned effective.

You never saw anyone backing up as fast as I did as the Obsidian Golem advanced
on me, while I pulled off my gloves, put on my axe III gauntlets and switched to
my previously muled BD V hammer I brought out of retirement just for this
evenings island trip... so I could have pull a beating stick out of my ass when
that random diamond golem spawned on top of me and I could do 20 damage before
it sent me on a one-hit one-way trip to the lifestone.

Flip however comes to my rescue with a Zojak or two and the damned thing focuses
in on him!

Great, ghar-robe al 30 crown wearing mage starts tanking an obisidian golem
while I try beating on it from behind. Well, let me tell you, 9-10 damage a hit
is just not gonna cut it, even with Rach pounding on it and I know we're in
trouble when Flip starts healing. And healing. And healing.

Flip doesn't have life. This is heal self I he's casting.

Suddenly, after an eternity the damned thing crumbles into a pile and Flip is
still standing there.

Jesus, the guy must have rocks in his head to withstand that pounding. ;)

Still, this *is* the guy who killed the Shadow Captain during the invasion of
Fort Tethana.

We run up, take a different route and come across a robe wearing figure of Rach
on the ground.

Cool, at least we're going the right way. Now it seriously time to rebuff.

All the way to the top, get jumped by a magma golema and almost die. Flip has
just enough mana to kill the damned thing as my buffs have run out.

We rebuff and head back down. Take a left and...

....we're surrounded by 2 Infernos, at least 4 flares and 2-3 magmas. And they
are all very upset about my frost taichi and want to discuss it with me.

"Remember when I said the place exploded?" Rach asks.

Thank God for my 185 buffed magic defense. I resist a few spells from the
infernos, flares and magmas, enough to keep me alive long enough to drink 8
(yes, 8) health potions and run the hell out of there at 50 life. Pull out my
life orb, heal to full, grab my sword and run my ass back down to Flip and Rach
who are still beating on the monsters. This time its a little different with
them not all focused on me and we make quick work of all of them. I know the
Inferno is a real danger to the others so I focus on him first and the rest
crumble pretty easily.

Remember what I said about not having healing? That's the difference, right
there. I have to run at 50 life instead of healing as long as I take damage.

We make our way further down the corridors and meet up with some solitary
monsters which are dispatched with ease. Come across a matty-coat wearing Rach
on the ground and he's surprised he made it up this far.

Since we're all brain dead we decide to go see where the pyreal bellows are.

Make our way to the bottom and its a scene right out of the current quest.
Glowing orange furnaces putting out heat damage every few seconds guarded by 8
magmas.

"Too many for us" I say.

"Not if we pin them" says Flip.

Did I mention how brain-dead I am? What do you want for a 122 focus?

We take a minute to rebuff and inch closer to the entrance where 2 magmas are
trying to get us through the wall. After a few swipes trying to hit the one
closest and realizing its too high up I say "screw it" and charge into the room
to beat on the thing. With Rach shooting from below and me hitting from above
and Flip blasting the other ones in the room they are all quickly dispatched.
There are several in a magma pit which Rach and Flip shoot from above, and Rach
runs around the pit and grabs the bellows when they're dead.

Several lame gem filled chests later we're portalling out with everyone intact.

It was a real rush doing that with only the three of us and there were moments
where my heart was really beating, especially at the point where we were
surrounded. I just hate having to run away while the other guys can stand and
fight but then again level 65 isn't... too... oh fuck it, never mind.

A good time was had by all. Especially since nobody died. Not even me.

Special thanks to Flip for coming through when it counted, and Rach for
convincing me we could do it.

'Nuff said.