As I promised, the details for my Blog Picture contest are now going to be posted here.  I do hope someone will send in submissions.

By TaliaSolo
Commissioning Artists

I am looking for someone to draw a picture/portrait of me for my blog. You don't have to be a great artist, so long as you can accurately depict a picture of me/my NEaB avatar. Preferably the picture shouldn't be more than 150x150 pixels. Use your imagination and whatever resources you have, and don't feel restricted to drawing a simple portrait of my face! If you'd like to draw me running around somewhere, pulling a silly face, or even (if you hold a secret grudge against me) with snakes coming out of my mouth, I'll happily receive them all.

All submissions I receive will be showcased and credited on a future blog post, and the one I choose for my new Blog picture will receive a prize of 1.5 million gold. There might also be runner-up prizes (for silliest picture, best technique, etc) so get those pencils moving! The deadline for this one is Valentine's day, February 14th; hopefully that'll be enough time for all of you to finish something. Send all submission links via PO to TaliaSolo.

Now to the happenings in my life.  For the most part I've been working on Jhal-Abur, but if I don't feel like it, or have time to kill, I go adventuring.  I've finished quite a lot of quests already; those that remain in my journal usually have one of three things wrong with them:

1: A level 400 Boss Monster.

2: An odd quest bug/unfinished ending.

3: A horrible, time-consuming maze or puzzle of some sort.

Since I can't do much about raising my level that fast, or fixing any of the buggy quests, I've decided to take up the challenge and boggle my mind.  As of now, the Maze of Teleporters on the Land of Misery is my biggest challenge yet.  There are 196 teleport rooms, and four teleporters in each one, three of which will teleport you back to the start of the maze and force you to redo your tracks.  

Believe it or not, I am making a map of that maze, the old fashioned, pen-on-paper, trial-and-error style.  The same goes with freeing the Ironthal Mayor's daughter from her prison cell.  There are six weighted plates to activate and deactivate, and at least 60 or 70 different combinations to them that I can think of.  I believe I've tried 40 of those combinations already, but will have to spend time thinking of more (none of them worked).

Wish me luck, fellow adventurers.  If you've somehow managed to make it through these puzzles yourself, feel free to brag about it in the comment box below and offer tips for others on finishing these quests.  I've got to go for now, though.  Otherwise, I'll never make it out of King Autumn's Dungeon Maze.

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  My feast this year consisted of a baked chicken, beef stew, pumpkin pie, and some hot spiced wine to finish it off.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find cranberries or even a nice roast turkey here on NEaB.  I came so close as to find several of the rare birds on Naiades yesterday, though.  Their owners had stopped at the Inn in Dakru, and had parked their bombastic beasties right outside the town.  I attempted to get onto their good sides by finishing a quest for them, but the only thing I recieved was a turkey figurine-a mere rendition of the prized gobblers.  And, of course, I couldn't just go and steal the turkeys (they looked as if they would pack a kick) so I went home dejectedly to eat my chicken.

 Luckily, I was not alone.  You see, less than a week ago I married Master Nasrudin, who is currently sitting next to me and happily munching on cookies.  We met a while back, when he corrected me on some information in one of my blog posts (apparently he not only is the first sexiest person in NEaB, but the second and third as well).  Later on I treated him to some orange ice cream, and it just went on from there.  We had a nice quiet wedding at Flyby church, and hopefully will also lead a nice quiet NEaBian life together.  That is, if he remembers to pick up his own cookie crumbs.  

 And finally, my mommy's letter also arrived (just as Nasrudin was about to carve the chicken, too!)   It was several pages long (and most of the letter was relatively boring), so I'm just going to copy down the last few paragraphs here, which I feel are the most interesting.

  I don't believe you know our dog; we got him as a puppy right after you left.  His name is Chewbacca, and although he is a little shaggy, he's very loyal to us, especially your father, who likes to use him as a footrest.

  It's so nice to hear that you have friends now-I remember back when you were a kid, all you used to do was stick your nose into books and newfangled fantasy roleplay games.  Your friend Zorro asked some nice questions; I'm going to answer them all now.  The floating city is very different from the one on Naiades, for it does not float in the air but on the sea.  It is somewhat like a group of man-made islands, and is connected by bridges and channels in which a boat can float nicely.  It's a very nice place, very romantic to stroll along at night (although we are not yet sure what we shall do if a typhoon comes along to sweep it away).

Jhal-Abur used to be very sparsely populated island, but recently a new Sultan has begun his reign, and he's ordered that the land be developed into a modernized place.  Rumors have it that there will be a University for higher education, although we don't yet know when that will come about, so we're very excited about that.  However, the Sahagobi desert is too vast and wasted for any developments to be made there.  Currently most of the towns are being built in the North part.  The islands surrounding it are also largely remote.  Kariq has been lucky so far, as we supply much of the Island's fish.

Your father wants to ask Zorro what he means by 'challenges at sea', but then again, he is a blockheaded nerfherder who thinks he's the king of the ocean very moody sort of man.  The Sea of Kariq is rather sheltered; not many people know about it, and therefore the catch is always very abundant.  It's a very wild place, and though I have never been there myself, rumors are spread about secret cults and undead skeletons that roam the seas.  Don't believe me, though, as I've never really been there myself.  Your father is more of an expert, but he's too lazy to write.

Well, I wish you a very happy thanksgiving.  With any luck, we will see you soon.

There are two criteria that I seek to meet whenever I go adventuring:

1: To find a wild, happy crazy playplace with tons of quests and things to do.

2: To explore unknown regions that make my heart pound in my chest and my feet turn icy blue.

Now that I have explored every (available) island on NEaB, I have decided to make a comprehensive list for those two criteria in order to promote tourism to those places.  The "top ten happy places" list will be written up as a gazette article, and hopefully you guys will be able to see it next week.  The "top ten scariest places" list will be put here as my blog feature, as it allows more space for description.

Here, then, is the list.  I wish all you fellow adventurers the best of luck on your travels.  Just remember to keep your wits around you.

 1: Naiades

This is one of the few places that really, REALLY made my feet turn blue in my boots.  Naiades is not the small, boring-looking island that it seems to be.  Whether they be underground, in the sky, or bobbing around in the ocean, there are many secret locations and quests that will send a chill through your bones.  If you can manage to get access to the library, you'll find several tomes containing much history about the Island's clouded past...including one so vivid that it could even shake a rook.  It is very important to keep a strong mind, as the terror of some of these places just might make you go insane.

2: Windberry

You may find a few humdrum places to visit, but do not be decieved.  The terror of this place is not in its past, but in its future...

3: Ravensvalle

This island, tucked away in a secluded part of the world, is guarded by a proverbial "door of death".  Out of many tries (and many deaths) I have only been able to open twice (and, due to lack of equipment, I could not venture much further than that).  If you are stuck on a quest or would enjoy risking your life to seek treasures, you might want to risk checking this place out.

4: Stormholt Islands

Stormholt Islands could be described as NEaB's hive of scum and villany.  There are some scary bosses, but rumors have it that there are several covert operations you could engage in, as well as a cursed funfair where you can go to enjoy deadly pleasures.

5: Blood Island

This place is primarily scary because of the bizarre nature of the quests and the high-level monsters that you are likely to find on your adventures.  There are, however, some friendly, helpful characters (although they might be a bit addled as well...)

6: Rubyia

Whether they be mad mages, pirates, or shapeshifters, there will always be some shifty characters on this island, some of which will attack you, or challenge you, or whisk you away to the void.  (And then, of course, there's always the chance that you could say something wrong and end up in hell).

7: Shara Ren

There are several interesting places to get lost in here, such as Treasure Isle, the Garden of Eternity, and several other places.  Just watch out for the monsters, and keep a compass with you at all times.

8: Ratre Islands

 The quests here are simple, but the places that you will visit stretch out long and wide.  There is also an affination for random objects and pentacles, which might both dazzle and disorient the calmest of adventurers.

9: Haven Isles

If getting into the island itself doesn't intimidate you, then the quests that you will FIND on the island will.  Not for the young (or the faint of heart).  

10: Reunador

You have an uncanny power to make things happen on Reunador.  Build houses up and watch them fall, run around catching crazy architects, dash your brains to bits attempting to solve puzzles...it's all up to you.