The questioning begins… (Orignal Fiction by Xan)

Zander grasps the guard by the waist and the scruff of his neck and drops him on a nearby table, just as Beasley frees Jenny from her bonds. Before he released her from her bonds, she stood up and ran to Zander.

She flung herself at the giant, “Are you OK?” She almost mauls him as she searches for injuries.

“I am fine miss.” Zander tries to gently push her away. “Are YOU OK, m’lady?”

“You’re hurt!” Jenny gasps as she sees a glint of blood on Zander’s cloak. “Let me help you.”

Zander grins, shakes his head and mutters under his breath. A spark of electricity and the smell of ozone fill the air as Zander’s wounds seemingly vanish in a spark of lightning. “Please mistress, let me take care of your attackers.”

Jenny blushes after she realizes her intentions are becoming a bit too forward for someone like Zander. “Please, if I can get you anything…” Before she could finish, Zander winks towards her and smiles. “I will let you know.” He turns to the guard, squeezing the handle of his hammer and twisting it as it creaks in his hand. The others gather around the weakened guard, all also brandishing their weapons and smiling intimidating smiles. Beasley hops onto the table, dagger in hand. “What is the meaning of harming these fair people?” He moves the dagger under the guard’s neck as he grips him by the hair.

“I will not tell!” The guard spits in Beasley’s face. Zander slams the table with his open hand, rumbling the table.

Struggling to keep his balance, Beasley slips and nicks the guards chin. “If you don’t want me to nick you again, I suggest you start to talk.” The halfling pushes the tip of the dagger into the small cut and twisted the tip in the bone of the guards chin. “And I don’t think my large friend appreciated you disrespecting me like that. Now please tell me why you attacked these people in the bar.”

Now a bit more ‘motivated,’ the guard begins to stutter. “I-I-I, I mean, w-w-we…” Pushing the dagger up to his chin again, Beasley glares at the guard. “We always come at this time and take sacrifices to our god.”

“God?” Zander growls, “What GOD requires a human sacrifice.” Clearly angered by the comment, the half-ogre continues to grumble. “What is with the dragon crest on your armor? Where is your GOD now?” Slamming his hand on the table again, this time breaking off a small piece. “SPEAK!” Thunder seemed to roll somewhere in the distance.

“I’ll tell you whatever it is you want to know! Please, don’t hurt me.” The guard pleaded as though his life depended on it.

Still holding onto the frightened man hair, Beasley points with his dagger to the missing chunk of the table. “Then I suggest you tell us everything you know, my friend. I doubt you will get another warning from my hefty friend here.”

The guard sputtered out everything as though the words burned like hot soup on his lips. “The dragon is a symbol of our god. We worship irregularly, only when our leader calls us. When we are called we are asked to bring a sacrifice.” The guard began to snivel and cry. “Please…”

Beasley snorted a small laugh and glared at the guard, trying to keep up the menacing persona. “Go on baby, keep crying. Tell us what we need to know. Who is your leader?”

“No one knows his name! No one knows where he comes from other than a portal in our temple. Our temple is near the inn at the other end of town, but you will never get in.” Whimpering and crying the guard sputters out more information. “The stronghold is somewhere outside the city limits and it is linked only through the portal. That is the only way to reach our god or our leader.”

“Please, that is not the only way.” Mayvn rolls his eyes and puts a hand on his hip. “They had to build this stronghold, how did they get in to build it?” Mayvn slaps the guard with a soft hand.

“It is rumored that there is an entrance through the labyrinth where adventurers go to gain renown at the inn on the far end of town.” Solcloud looks up and makes eye contact with the rest of the party. With a knowing nod, they all knew of the labyrinth of which the guard spoke. The guard cried once more, “PLEASE, let me go! I have dishonored my god.” With a glint of light, a crunch of bone, and a splash of red the table collapsed as Zander’s hammer broke through the table and the guard together as they crumbled to the floor. Everyone, including Jenny, stared in awe at the cleric’s lack of resolve. Beasley was especially shocked as he was standing on the table before it was sundered into pieces by the mighty ogre. He stood up from the floor wiping the blood from his face.

“I am sorry,” Zander wipes a spatter off his chain mail. “I can’t tolerate anyone who worships a god like that. It is not natural.” Zander reached down to help the small man regain his feet.

The shocked little man looked up to the towering man, wiped the rest of the gore from his face, and looked to the giant. “Next time tap me on the shoulder or something. I like surprises as much as the next halfling, but that was a little too close for comfort my friend.” He smiled and patted the giant on the arm as he swaggers to his feet. Zander, with sorrow in his eyes looked down on the startled halfling.

“You are…” Zander gulped with caution, “all right?”

“Yes my short tempered friend. I am fine, but you know I really wanted to ask his bag of bones more about this temple of his.” He looked down at the grisly mess on the floor. “I suppose now our only option is for me to ‘investigate.” With a wink, he turned to his companions. “I guess I am off to burgle… er… search the temple for more information about this cult and their.” Beasley paused and looked to the cleric still wielding his hammer waiting approval to continue. Zander only hinted of a smile, but Beasley continued. “This cult and their ‘god’ need to be unearthed. We cannot let this town continue to live in fear of kidnappings and loss of life.”

Solcloud cleared his throat. “I do not condone thievery and burglary to discover evil.” He fondled the hilt of his sheathed sword and continued, looking down on the small man, still trying to climb his way out of the macabre. “Evil begets evil little one. What will breaking and entering afford us?”

“Might I have a word?” The thin peacock of a man tapped the paladin on the shoulder politely. “It is said that we should fight fire, with fire too. There are songs about it, you know.” Mayvn puffed up his chest, as if he had enlightened a child to the way water becomes steam.

Zander chuckled as he put his hammer away and bent down to pick up the table pieces, looking towards Jenny in apology. He addressed Mayvn in amusement, “Our poet speaks! Please, go on; tell us more of your ‘song.’ What else does it say?”

Mayvn cleared his throat. “Well, I can’t remember now.” He began to slouch again, his puffed up chest depressed. “I just agree with the little one. I think we should send him in, no use in us all being… well, you know what I mean. Let’s have the thief investigate.” Beasley looked up to Mayvn and grimaced, but decided it was no use to fight the seemingly obvious truth that he was a thief at heart.

“All right, I will investigate and return in the morning.” Beasley looked to the group. “I think you all should get some rest.” With that order and a wink to the giant, the little man dashes out of the room.

The paladin and the bard, fatigued by the night’s events, hauled their tired bodies back up the stairs. The giant bent over the body as Jenny knelt down to clean the mess. Zander smiled, as she looked up to him in genuine appreciation and gratitude for their help.

New Moon Theater Reservation PART 2

HOPE YOU LIKE THE NEW TRAILER!

I am following up from the previous posting regarding anyone who would like to reserve tickets for 'New Moon'

I have been contacted by Larry Miller Group to see if we would again be interested in a ‘private’ showing of the next Twilight Saga movie. I thought I would put ‘feelers’ out to see who would want to go. I am sure that the tickets will have an extra built in to the price – the concession. Last time it was the price of a normal ticket plus $5 which was given to you as a gift card to use at the concessions.

There is a possibility that there might be a pre-screening the day before the national release date – and, I won’t know that for certain until I tie up a theater.

Please let me know your thoughts – I would need at least 300-325 tickets to be purchased. Just ask your friends/family/twilighters and see what kind of interest you get and then get back to me – then we will make the decision.

The movie comes out Friday, November 20th – less than 2 months away!

In addition I have been given the go ahead to offer Gift Certificates to 1% of those tickets sold. If we sell out a 300 seat theater that will be 3 Gift Certificates to J!NX.



The Experienced Noob is going to try to find other items to give away. Please let me know with a post here and an email to TheExperiencedNoob@Gmail.Com if you would like to come or if you would like to help with a give away.

Thanks to all!

The Bar Brawl... (Original Fiction by Xan)

Charging down the stairs, Solcloud jumps the last three steps. “Down with evil, justice must be carried out!” He crashes into two guards standing near the stairs. Sword in hand he swings wildly at the closest guard. Taking a mighty gash out of one of the shocked guards arm before he even had a chance to raise his sword.
Zander follows suit, with a mighty roar he lumbers down the stairway, wielding the hammer in his long arms he smashes into the second guard. The hammer connects directly on the unknown soldiers’ breastplate. The guard yelps in pain as he raises his sword, but quickly drops his sword when he felt his rib pierce his lungs and he gasped for air.

Beasley dives under the nearest table, slashing at the guards’ feet. Bringing the maimed guard fighting the paladin to his knees with a gash to the back of his leg, where his armor was thin.

Mayvn stood at the top of the staircase. Singing a mighty dirge, ushering the other fighters to greatness as he fires a shot from his crossbow at the third guard closing in on the group. The bolt strikes the guard in the arm, just as he approaches the fray.

The giant roars as his adversary falls to the ground, his armor crushed from the potent Hammer of Smiting. He lumbers towards the third guard. The man sees this giant approaching and turns to run away. Zander roars in hot pursuit.

The guard is gasping as he tries to fend off the paladin with his heavy sword and the halfling hiding in the shadows of the tables. Beasley is shocked at how fast the guards fall at the efficiency of these seemingly unskilled fighters that are his friends. Then the thought rushes to his head that they do not know what these guards were doing at the bar in the first place. “Leave one alive!” He shouts in the direction of the paladin and the cleric.

As the yelp of desperation leaves his lips, time seems to slow down as Solcloud’s sword cuts through the final guard facing him. Zander’s hammer drops the fleeing guard to his knees and Mayvn’s bolt leaves his crossbow soaring to finish off the same guard. Zander heard the call and tries to leap in front of the bolt to save the kneeling guard now going pale. Luckily, the bolt flies wide and misses its target. The guard rolls his eyes back into his head and he drops to the ground passed out. Zander breathes a deep breath and says a prayer to Othr and the guard slowly opens his eyes. The limbering giant grabs the guard by his armor and begins to drag him down the street back to the bar where the rest of the party waits. Kicking and screaming the guard yells for help, the bystanders on the street only watch the giant and the guard shuffle down the street and into the bar.

MoMoment #11 - Home Sweet Home

Hello all,

The last two weeks I had traveled back to Chicago where I grew up and I don't know about you, I enjoy going back to Chi-town.

I did not have that much time to visit all the places I like or people to visit but still very fun.

I was thinking, in WoW, have you ever returned home?

What does that mean?

Well I look at it this way, we all have at least one (to 10 mains if you are an alt-aholic) and many of us are partial to one server, one guild, you name it.
So if you did level or was on a server, in a guild for a long time and than transferred to another server/guild (no matter what the reason) did you ever go back (for a visit)?

For me, I was looking from the inside out. I started on the Balanzzar server horde side with my friend from Chicago and we made lots of friends and started a guild that grew to 300+! We were mainly the leveling guild for that server, and I am not kidding. We easily provided the raiding guilds on that server with at least 20-30 60s at the time. I still have over 10 characters on that server but the friends I had made are just down to a few. People either left for another guild (many did come back and left again), many transferred to another server because Balanzzar has always been a low pop server and ALWAYS hard to get good groups together let alone raids; some people even quit the game (again for many reasons).

It was nice to see some people come back and have fun with the guild and people they leveled up to 60 with back in the day.

I have heard on many podcasts how many people have leveled on one server, one guild from day one! I think that is so cool! Fantastic!! GREAT!!!!

Have you returned to your "birth place" = the first server/guild you leveled on?
I understand there are also many that are not that sentimental as I am but I don't think I am alone.

I do miss the first friends I made in wow and I do stay in contact with some of them, even daily with some. I have even had the chance to meet some as they were traveling or when I was.

I am curious what all of you have to say. Let us know if you are sentimental or think I am mental. Well don't tell me that I know that already.

Where is your home sweet home in wow?

Thank you

The Room... (Original Fiction by Xan)

Inside the room, there are four beds. Amazingly equipped to handle three large men and a smaller bed that seems to have been brought in. The beds are nothing special, but seem to have clean sheets.

“That sweet angel,” Zander puts his hands on his hips. “That young child has provided us the best room in the house! She will be offered a mighty thanks and a blessing from Othr in the morning.”

“That girl sure had a sweet spot for you, my large companion.” Mayvn slaps the large cleric on the back. “My hat’s off to you my good man.”

“Take your hat off for anyone, peacock!” Solcloud scoffs at the play on words.

“That hat could provide cover for anyone hiding behind you, including Zander!”

“Just because you don’t have enough fashion sense to clothe yourself in the finer things.” Mayvn huffs. “Don’t take it out on me.”

“SHHHHHH!” Zander orders. “Something is the matter!

“I hear it too!” Solcloud draws his sword. “Let’s check it out.”

“Are you mad?” Beasley pipes up. “You couldn’t sneak up on an elephant stampede through an inn full of ale bottles! Zander and I will go.”

“Aye.” Zander winks at his small friend. “Don’t worry though, we will return before we have too much fun.” He draws his hammer and ushers the little man out the door. He turns to the other two and places a finger over his lips.

Down the hallway, Beasley sticks to the shadows. Quieter than a mouse he scurries down the hallway. The sounds of a commotion in the bar, tables being overturned, women screaming and men barking orders.

“Don’t let that one get away! Tie them up with the others!”

Beasley looks around the corner and down the stairway to see three men in full armor tying people together. He sees another man shout to the other three. “These will be perfect! They will all come to the tower!”

Beasley makes his way back down the dark hallway to meet Zander. “Let’s get the others. Jenny is in trouble.”

“What! No one hurts her!” Zander takes a step towards the stairway Beasley grabs his leg.

“NO! We need the others! Then we can come back and teach them all a lesson.” Beasley spoke sharply and quietly. “Now come on, let’s get the others.”
They rush quietly back down the hallway to the room where the others wait their return.

“The inn is under siege!” Beasley, panting, throws the door open. “We must help them!”

“Evil is at our doorstep and we wait like children from a monster under our beds!” Solcloud unsheathes his sword, raises it in the air. “Evil must perish!”
The Paladin runs out the door, followed by Zander as the march down the hallway.

The halfling pops his head in the room. “Well, you coming, Silky?”

“Wait for me!” Mayvn yells to the others as he grabs his lute and Betsy II as he runs down the hallway.