I’ve been busy with work the last while, I have my Windows 7 launch party the day after tomorrow, pre-Halloween parties and my costume isn’t done yet.  More next week…

I’ve had a bit of trouble with Windows 7 and reinstalling LotRO lately — more Turbine’s fault than Microsoft’s.  I’ll post more tomorrow, finally got LotRO working again.

Across the hills and down the narrow ways,
  And up the valley where the free winds sweep,
  The earth is folded in an ermined sleep
That mocks the melting mirth of myriad Mays.
Departed her disheartening duns and grays,
  And all her crusty black is covered deep.
  Dark streams are locked in Winter’s donjon-keep,
And made to shine with keen, unwonted rays.
O icy mantle, and deceitful snow!
  What world-old liars in your hearts ye are!
  Are there not still the darkened seam and scar
Beneath the brightness that you fain would show?
Come from the cover with thy blot and blur,
O reeking Earth, thou whited sepulchre!

Part 3 of 5

[[Originally published in the 1913 collection The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Paul Dunbar.]]

All the leaves are brown (All the leaves are brown)
And the sky is gray (And the sky is gray)
I’ve been for a walk (I’ve been for a walk)
On a winter’s day (On a winter’s day)
If I didn’t tell her (If I didn’t tell her)
I could leave today (I could leave today)
Galadriel dreaming (Galadriel dreaming)
On such a winter’s day (Galadriel dreaming)
On such a winter’s day (Galadriel dreaming)
On such a winter’s day
Part 2 of 5

[[In all fairness, I should say that this picture was manipulated (which should be somewhat obvious).  I didn't want to wait for night to fall in game, so I removed Brubaker, desaturated the picture, then put Brubaker back in.  I then shrunk the picture of Galadriel's Garden, pasted it in and drew the thought bubbles leading up to it.  I don't know, does it look too cartoony?  Also, the last post was a quote from a "Simon and Garfunkel" song and this is a quote from a "The Mamas and the Papas" song.  I did change California to Galadriel in this song quote because the Warrior Queen California doesn't exist in Lord of the Rings Online, but the Warrior Queen Galadriel does (also her garden is pretty).]]

A winter’s day
In a deep and dark december;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.

Part 1 of 5

I was recently in Annuminas, working on deeds and rep with the Wardens up there and I came across this lovely view. I took a screenshot in Ultra High and Very Low settings, just to better see what the difference was. As it turns out, quite a lot. The Ultra High setting has waves on the distant water, it renders far off mountains and trees, there’s a wealth of detail on the buildings, banners, some nearby trees. On the Very Low setting, even the shape of the towers changed — they lost some balconies and defining features and became more pillar-like, more streamlined.

Here they are, for your viewing enjoyment. I reccomend clicking on each one to see the large picture, downloading each, then you can load them both up and Alt-Tab back and forth to see exactly how it changed.

Ultra High Graphics SettingsAnd now for some sort of text to set the two pictures off because the post editor doesn't actually look like the post and the captions would be off otherwise...Very Low Graphics Settings

Very Low Graphics Settings

The gates of Fornost loomed in front of me.  Such wasn’t that unusual, gates were typically built tall to allow standards to pass without the need to dip, fall or otherwise bow and standing close to any wall gives the appearance that the wall is almost stretching back, ready to topple, but the feeling was stronger from these particular gates.  They literally forbade me to enter — I could almost feel the palpable dread that exuded from them, but I, a Warden who had defeated Hwandrin, Brúmbereth and Grimreaver; The Lost One; Kranklûk, Thrug, Dhaub, Narkû; General Talug; Igash the Fanatic; the Caerog of Nalâ-dûm; Ergoth and her brood; Âmbal, Bashkuga, Thaguzg.  I am master of myself and I pushed through the door.  If only, though, it could have been you.

The battle commences

You silently creep through the doors.  You attack the Blogmal orcs and goblins, the Wargs, even the Jarn-olog trolls.  You wrestle with them in a desperate struggle.  You bear mute testimony to what vicious things those creatures are capable of, what they have, in fact, already done.  You dispatch the shades of men who lived a life of darkness, who died a cowards death by their own hand, whose spirits remain trapped in a malevolent darkness.  You lose your voice for a time as the miasmic humours that coat the foul waters of the swamps burn your throat.  You rescue and release the spoils of war that the orcs took — innocent people.  You attempt, though, to bring closure to the ongoing battle between the orcs and those who wish to preserve and fight for the land their families have owned for centuries.

Black arrowheads embedded in the decayed tooth-marked bones of hobbits, kicked into forgotten corners, bear out Bartelot Took’s assertion.  Hobbits had indeed fought in the battle of Norbury, as they termed it, translated from the original elvish Fornost.  In the far distant past, Kings had reined over Norbury and decrepit old tomes in the Shire spoke of how those Kings of Arthedain had been known, recognized and revered.  Such reverence was long in the past now, though.

Megoriath is no more

I spoke earlier of acts that you undertook, but (Dear Reader) I misspoke.  They are acts that I wish could have been done by another, that I could have stayed home by a warm fire. . . no, I continue to misspeak.  Those were acts that I wish would have not had be undertaken by anyone.  I wish that the world was other than it is, that we could eat, drink, work, be merry and live our lives without the constant fear of death underlying all our activities.  Having completed the story of Amarthiel, I wished to settle matters, as I’m sure you would as well.  I wished to find the four wraiths, the spirits of those four traitors beguiled by the Witch-king’s champion, those whose treachery had thrown open the gates of Fornost to the hordes outside.  I found the first one earlier today, Megoriath is his name.  I can report to you, Dear Reader, that Megoriath is now at peace.  Tonight, I shall rest.

Having defeated the Ever-seer, I stand ready to fight Thaurlach (click the image for a larger version).

Having successfully fished in Nornuan’s den, I decided to find what fishes might lie in the grotto where Thaurlach had been imprisoned.  I’d known Glathlírel for years and had often visited her to discuss matters of the day.  Waiting, as she was, for Thaurlach to eventually break free, she was often woefully behind in current events.  As it happened, it turned out that I was the one woefully behind in what had recently occurred.  The Ever-seer, the one who’d been tasked with overseeing Thaurlach’s imprisonment had conspired with foul orcs to release Thaurlach!  I fought my way through crowds of orcs, winning the giants to our side and showing them the lies of the Ever-seer and arrived at Glathlírel’s side just as Thaurlach began to break free!  I helped her cleanse the waters and defeated the Ever-seer, then began my mighty battle with Thaurlach.  The room quaked and my sight often grew dim with dread at an impending defeat, but it seemed as if all the allies I’d ever fought with who’d ever been defeated stood by my side.  Solid and live they seemed, not pale amorphous ghosts bound for all eternity, it was as though my former comrades had been restored to life just for this one battle.  With their help, Thaurlach was overthrown, for I could not have completed that dread task single handedly.

Having defeated Thaurlach, I began fishing, to see what fishes might come (click image for a larger version).

As I settled down to my previous goal, a good bit of fishing, I talked with Glathlírel about what she might do.  It had been so long for her, so many, many, many years and now that the weight of watching over Thaurlach had been lifted from her shoulders, it seemed to her that the weight of the years began to make itself known.  She spoke of perhaps traveling, perhaps seeing if there was some way to make herself useful again to the cause of right, she spoke perhaps of traveling West.  She didn’t know what to do at that time, but I provided a listening ear as I fished.  The catch was somewhat profitable — I have at the least provided dinner for myself.  I enumerate here for you my catch of the day.  Although perhaps not so astonishing in retrospect, I caught several fish big enough to be worthy of being mounted on plaques on my wall.  I see now how Nornuan contributed to the ecology of his place and dispatched the larger fishes who found their way into his quarters.  I found:

4 Minnows
1 Goldfish
1 Rudd
3 Bullheads
5 Dace
1 Rusty Hammer
3 Barbels
1 Ball of Gunk
3 Catfish
And the following will all be mounted:
1 Cunning Catfish
1 Barbarous Barbel
1 Ruthless Rudd
1 Superb Smelt

Some have questioned how that enormous turtle manages to survive in that little room.  He’s obviously too big to get out, what could he be eating?   Well, other than unwary adventurers who stumble into his lair.  I’ve discovered his secret.

(click on the picture for a larger version)

I found…
1 Catfish
2 Rusty Daggers
1 Bitterling
2 Barbels
2 Goldfish
1 Rusty Hammer
3 Smelts
1 Dace
1 Minnow
2 Charrs
1 Bullhead
1 Barbarous Barbel (I may mount this one on a plaque)

There’s plenty of fish in there — he probably eats really well (and doubly well when he manages to catch an unwary fisherman looking for a new choice spot).

Ok, since I didn’t receive an email, I’m fairly confident that I did not win the contest.  So, here’s what I submitted.  It was based on this picture:

No, not the one on the right, the roan on the left.  See, there’s already a grey/white horse in the game.  There’s already a black horse, a chocolate horse, a palomino, a blond sorrel, there are several types that are already in the game.  So I tried to design something new, something that I (at least) and other people (possibly) would want to get, like that roan.

That was probably too red — it looks like it spent too much time in the sun and now has a terrible sunburn.  Eh, you win some, you lose some.