Echoes from the Caverns

Hello Everyone! Happy New Year! Finally back from a bit of a vacation and have more wonderful news for you:

Game Development

* New Log Homes

* Making of Yew (cont.)

* R48 Telethon Items (cont.)

News Announcements

* R49 Postmortem Telethon

* New Free Trial Continues!

* Job Opening: Office Admin / Executive Assistant

* Party: Portalarium Studio Grand Holiday Party – Jan. 12

* Weekend Flash Sale: Clocks

* Upcoming Events Calendar

Community Updates

* Creative Writing Contest Winners Announced!

* The Avatar’s Guide to Knowledge and Virtue Contest: Weekly Winners!

* Spotlight: The Metropolis of Moonglade

* Virtue Marathon 2018: Children’s Miracle Hospital Network

* Did You Know: Shroud Features Moondials?

* Recommended Project to Support: Denis Loubet Patreon

* Resources: Players Helping Players

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

* Making of Yew

* Map System Updates

* Wild Boars

* R48 Telethon Items (cont)

* New Movember Items (cont)

News Announcements

* R49 Postmortem Telethon

* New Free Trial Began This Week!

* Job Opening: Office Admin / Executive Assistant

* Party: Portalarium Studio Grand Holiday Party – Jan. 12

* Weekend Flash Sale: Winter Holidays

* Upcoming Events Calendar

Community Updates

* AERIE Fund Dev Crafting Competition & Charity Auction Results

* Contest: The New Britannia Carolers Creative Writing Contest

* Contest: The Avatar’s Guide to Knowledge and Virtue: Weekly Winners!

* Recommended Project to Support: Denis Loubet Patreon

* Resources: Players Helping Players

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next chapter in this wonderful story by Olthadur, entitled

The Pilgrimage of Virtue

Background music by Smartsound

Chapter 3, “Brittany to Nightshade Pass”

Docking was a long process. Longer than I care to remember. We had to wait our turn amid at least twenty boats in Spindrift Bay outside Brittany. We had to wait for some boats to leave and for our ship to be given permission to dock. When we finally disembarked we were thankful to be able to stand on solid, unmoving ground.

Brittany is huge. Larger than I expected. I could tell that many of us felt the same upon seeing it. I fear we would have gotten lost if we didn’t have the Tailor to guide us. We went to an inn, a crowded building whose name I couldn’t see. It had old, hard beds in it. It was not a comfortable sleep, but it was better than sleeping in the hold of the ship.

The next morning, we gathered in the common area of the inn. We were all very happy, bright and excited. This was the first real day of our pilgrimage.

We all sat at a long table and ordered breakfast. Some, like the Tailor looked comfortable in this busy place, while the Farmer and Scholar looked very out of place – even slightly frightened.

As time went on, the mood changed. Everyone started to warm up to our surroundings on a full stomach.

“What is our plan?” the Elder asked, sipping his third cup of tea,

Everyone looked shocked, surprised and even embarrassed. Here we were, in Brittany without a next step forward.

“Don’t you have a plan?” the Cook asked?

“Did I? When did I say I had a plan? I suggested we go on a pilgrimage, yes, but a plan…” he trailed off with a rough chuckle.

“Where are we going to go next? We are here in Novia proper. What Virtue should we seek first?” the Scholar said.

“Courage or Love,” the Sailor said, “Their cities are closest. Truth is too far, we would have to travel through one of the first two to get to the Truth’s city.”

“The city of Courage is Resolute, west of here, in South Paladis. The city of Love, Ardoris is south. Far south,” the Tailor said.

There was some discussion – philosophical and practical. Some argued a preferential order, others spiritual. Eventually, practicality won over all else.

“It would be easiest to go to Resolute, then Aerie, then Ardoris. Most roads, easiest travel,” the Tailor said.

We had a map at this point, stained now with tea, beer and grease from our meals. Yes, meals. We spoke through lunch, too. There were stubborn members of our group who needed an extraordinary amount of convincing.

After more discussion, we finally agreed on the Tailor’s path. Tomorrow we would head west to Nightshade Pass and into Resolute to see the City of Courage.

There were arguments that went on through the remainder of the day. Some were saying that we could go further, others saying that we could only go halfway to the pass. Expertise in travel versus experience. I stayed out of it and others did too. We were pilgrims, but we never were in agreement. I hope we would be soon.

It still felt like a vacation, though. All that had happened was a trip on a boat and a stay in an inn. We talked, argued, drank, laughed and ate more. It was a vacation and not really a pilgrimage yet.

I wondered what exactly would happen. Would we all be together when we left Ardoris at the end of our pilgrimage? Would some of us get frustrated, angry, or even perish along the way? The Elder already slowed us down; he was old. He never told us just how old, but I would say he is probably eighty years old, if not a good-looking ninety.

I feel like we are off to a rough start. It took us a day to agree on a path for the pilgrim...

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

* Play Release 49 Now!

* R48 Telethon Items

* New Movember Items

News Announcements

* Q1 2018 Schedule and Candidate Launch Date

* R48 Postmortem Missed Questions

* Pledge Reward Replacements

* R48 Lot Deed Raffle Winners

* Job Opening: Office Admin / Executive Assistant

* Party: Portalarium Studio Grand Holiday Party – Jan. 12

* Upcoming Events Calendar

Community Updates

* R49 Dance Party: Special Guest DJ Darkstarr

* Spotlight: Festival – Player Owned Town

* AERIE Fund Dev Crafting Competition & Charity Auction

* Contest: The New Britannia Carolers Creative Writing Contest

* Contest: The Avatar’s Guide to Knowledge and Virtue: Weekly Winners!

* Recommended Project to Support: Town of Salem’s The Savior of Salem

* Resources: Players Helping Players

Hi Everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying the game! Here is the update for this week:

Game Development

* The Making of East Longfall Wetland

* The Making of Elysium Mines (cont.)

* Soltown Inn Remodel

News Announcements

* Make a Difference: 2017 Charitable Giving Report

* Free Trial (aka Visitor System) Updates

* R49 on QA Server

* BrightLocker’s Crowd Equity Campaign Shroud of the Avatar Perks

* Community Wellness with the Meretz Fitness App

* Weekend Flash Sale: Cozy Up by the Fire

* Upcoming Events Calendar

Community Updates

* R49 Dance Party: Special Guest DJ Darkstarr

* Spotlight: Whyte Roc – Player Owned Town

* AERIE Fund Dev Crafting Competition & Charity Auction

* Contest: The Avatar’s Guide to Knowledge and Virtue: 1st Weekly Winners!

* Party: Portalarium Studio Grand Holiday Party – Jan. 12

* Resources: Players Helping Players

* Recommended Project to Support: The Saga of Lucimia MMORPG

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next chapter in this wonderful story by Olthadur, entitled

The Pilgrimage of Virtue

Background music by Smartsound

Chapter 2 – The Soldier’s Tale

It was cold on the ship. I spent the majority of the journey below decks and I was still cold. I wouldn’t have been able to write anything if it was just the temperature, but there was the rocking too. There was a fire, which helped keep us warm, but I thought it was folly. I was assured it wasn’t.

The journey was long – a lot longer than many of us thought. There was small talk, some excitement about reaching Novia proper. Nothing really happened until the Tailor spoke.

“This is going to be a long pilgrimage if we cannot find something to do with times like these,” he said.

There was agreement through the room.

“We need to do something to pass the time. As we are a diverse group, we need to come up with something that we can all partake in equally and fairly.”

There was then a long debate about what we would do – games, knitting, cooking – utterly ridiculous things too that I doubt the one who suggested them could do.

Finally, the Tailor said: “What about stories? We can all tell stories when we have a long leg of our pilgrimage. I think we will be on this ship for quite some time so why not start now?”

“What kind of story?” the Scholar asked.

“Well, we are on a pilgrimage of Virtue, why not stories of Virtue? We have all heard them, and probably have even experienced something that falls in line with the Virtues.”

“Like a fable or something?” the Farmer asked.

“Yes. Anything really. To pass the time and remain true to our pilgrimage.” the Tailor responded.

We were all agreed.

There was another long pause. We all began thinking of stories that would pass the time and fit with the theme of our pilgrimage. The Soldier came down to check on us. He sat and listened to our discussion as we searched for someone and something to talk about.

“You want to hear about Courage?” he said, his voice rougher than it usually was. The hold went silent.

“Everyone knows about war. They hear about it, read about it – some even dream about it. People travel to see great battlefields of past wars imagining the strategies and skill the generals had. Others imagine the individuals that stood on the ground, weapon in hand. They hope to imagine the thrill of battle, the desire to know you are defending something bigger than just you – a village or a way of life. Everyone always goes to battlefields after the battles are done. They should go before.

“I heard a story about a scout. He had been chosen to head out to locate the rumoured forces of his nation’s enemies. There was rumour of an attack, but no evidence. His nations armies would not be allowed to march unless there was evidence of a threat. This scout’s general was prudent and sent the scout out to find evidence instead of waiting to see if evidence showed up.

“You have to understand me, we are talking about rumour. Everyone was on edge. If they waited, they might be overrun. If they acted without threat, they may create a threat in neighbouring nations, or end the career of the general.

“When the scout asked where to go the general didn’t have a location. The enemies were in the east, so that was where the general suggested to go first. But the north had mountain passes they may try to go through. Or, if they had allies and money, they may come from the south via fleet.

” ‘I am only one scout, how can I go in three directions?

Hi Everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying the game! I’ll be going it alone this week while Asclepius is having some great family time. Here is the update for this week:

Game Development

* The Making of Elysium Mines

* Release 47 Telethon Items

News Announcements

* Release 48 Postmortem Telethon Results

* Moustache of the Avatar Movember Results

* BrightLocker’s Crowd Equity Campaign Shroud of the Avatar Perks

* Community Wellness with the Meretz Fitness App

* New Free Trial Continues! Runs thru Dec. 13

* Upcoming Events Calendar

Community Updates

* AERIE Fund Dev Crafting Competition & Charity Auction

* Contest: The Avatar’s Guide to Knowledge and Virtue

* Party: Portalarium Studio Grand Holiday Party – Jan. 12

* Resources: Players Helping Players

* Recommended Project to Support: Denis Loubet Patreon

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

* Armor of Truth Full Set

* The Making of East Longfall Wetland

* Norgard Barbarians

* New Maps Added: Blood River Outskirts & Solace Bridge Outskirts

News Announcements

* 2017 Spooky Items & Crown Bonus Extended to Dec. 1

* R47 Postmortem Missed Questions

* Reminder: Release 48 Postmortem Telethon – Dec.1

* Survey: Your Shroud of the Avatar General Experience

* BrightLocker’s Crowd Equity Campaign Shroud of the Avatar Perks

* Community Wellness with the Meretz Fitness App

* Harvest Weekend Sale

* New Free Trial Begins! Runs thru Dec. 13

* Livestream: Artifacts & Virtue Gear

* Upcoming Events Calendar

Community Updates

* Spotlight: New Fawn – Player Owned Town

* AERIE Fund Dev Crafting Competition & Charity Auction

* Contest: The Avatar’s Guide to Knowledge and Virtue

* Party: Portalarium Studio Grand Holiday Party – Jan. 12

* Resources: Players Helping Players

* Recommended Project to Support: Town of Salem’s The Savior of Salem

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with a wonderful new story from Olthadir, entitled

The Pilgrimage of Virtue

Background music by Smartsound

Chapter 1, “Prologue and Introductions”

When we left Owl’s Head the sun was already high enough overhead to start descending. I doubt we would make it very far today. The plan was to go to Brittany. We only got to Kingsport.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. There are nine of us and a good majority of us are not used to travelling. We ended up leaving Owl’s Head much later than I expected. I was at the Fire Lotus Tavern at sun up.

Hours of slow walking later and we arrive in Kingsport just after nightfall. And I am foolishly staying up, writing down the first days journey by candlelight in the inn.

Truly, I should begin with what the journey is about other than the ravings of a tired and impatient traveller.

This entire endeavour – called a ‘pilgrimage’ by some – really began about a week ago in Fire Lotus Tavern. The talk going around was about the large quantity of Outlanders entering our lands. We discussed who they were, where they came from and why they were here. Some of us were pleased, thankful even. Businesses were booming, we had more coin coming in than usual. Work was good. For some, business was too good, they couldn’t keep up with the new demand. Others were driven out of business by powerful Outworlders who seemingly could work through the night.

As we spoke and drank more the conversation became more and more heated. These Outlanders were called Outlanders because they don’t really belong here. They don’t understand Novia like a Novian. If they are here to help, why are they causing so much trouble for a lot of us?

Don’t get me wrong, we do need help. The world is in trouble. Whatever madness caused the moon to shatter and end the Obsidian Empire hasn’t just disappeared and left. We all know that. Lord British knows that – Outlander that he is. He supposedly saved other worlds before coming here. If you believe that, that is your own problem.

The reality is he is here and he has a very large following and there are hundreds if not thousands of Outlanders in Novia. So, what are we going to do?

A few drinks later, we considered our situation.

First, Lord British’s plan to help isn’t all that bad. We all agreed that the virtues he was describing were all well and good. We could not find immediate fault in them.

The major issue, however, is the huge amount of Outlanders rushing into Novia ‘helping’ us.

Lord British’s virtues are easy enough to understand. They would take long to really enact and follow. But the fact that Outlanders have been brought, or called, whatever you believe, is downright insulting. Why can’t we figure them out ourselves and save our own land?

That was the beginning of this pilgrimage. Nine Novians decided to travel our home land, learning all we can about Lord British’s virtues. We intend to show that we Novians can care for ourselves and do not need Outlanders to save us.

We intend to become Avatars.

For posterity sake, I suppose I should describe out ragtag group.

We were organized by the individuals who solidified our intent and brought us together: the Smith, the Cook and the Elder.

The Elder is the reason we took nearly more than a day to get from Owl’s Head to Kingsport. He will be the reason for a good deal of delays, I’m sure. As much as I cursed him today I would wager that we wouldn’t be a group of pilgrims actually going on this pilgrimage if it wasn’t for him. He was the main voice in going out into Novia and exploring the Virtues.

Hi Everyone! Here is the news of the week! Hope you are enjoying Release 48!

* Play Release 48 Now!

* Winter 2017 and R47 Telethon Items

* Release 48 Postmortem Telethon – Dec.1

* Release 48 Major Artifact Changes Clarifications

* Survey: Your Shroud of the Avatar Gameplay Experience

* BrightLocker’s Crowd Equity Campaign Shroud of the Avatar Perks

* Community Wellness with the Meretz Fitness App

* Cyber Monday Crown Bonus Continues

* Russian Version Launch Sale Week 3: Home and Outdoor Decorations

* Livestream: Scottie’s Yuletide Gifts

* R47 Lot Deed Raffle Winners

* Upcoming Events Calendar

* Contest: The Avatar’s Guide to Knowledge and Virtue

* Party: Portalarium Studio Grand Holiday Party – Jan. 12

* Event: R48 Welcome Quest in Veritas Sanctuary

* Resources: Players Helping Players

* Recommended Project to Support: Underworld Ascendant