The book crumbles to dust in your hands.
You feel more knowledgable about make reagent.

Aww, was hoping for shipbuilding (I need +5% of it). Oh well, that 1.8m exp it
costs to train is just barely doable with the folklorist levels I have. Plus I
guess having make reagent at 109 base may increase the amount of power
reagents made.

Upgraded my class3 to a class4, added sailor quarters and ran some speed
tests. Results were pretty much as expected (lvl 6 nav):

LUC - FUR 1:54 Class3, 15 lvl 7 sailors
LUC - FUR 3:21 Class4, 15 lvl 7 sailors
LUC - FUR 2:08 Class4, 20 lvl 7 sailors

FUR - ROT 1:31 Class3, 15 lvl 7 sailors
FUR - ROT 1:42 Class4, 20 lvl 7 sailors

Slight hit in speed, but nothing major if you're going with max sailors. I'm
quite happy with this, now to do the lift/speed quests and max those too and
see how well this thing can fly (class3 was a bit limited in that, even with
lvl 6 lift mages).

| Minecrafting                   | 100 |

That took a good bit longer than I thought it would. Went up really fast in
the beginning, but the last few points slowed to a crawl. Now to figure out
what else besides skillbooks I can find down there (stored book count: 9).

Ruuben tells you 'CONGRATULATIONS! Few have ever possessed a creation such as
this, I hope you find it of continual aid in your endeavors. I know you will
do the Merchant's Guild proud.' 
Ruuben [merchant]: All hail Taerom!!! He has truly earned the rank of Master
Merchant, and built for himself an incredibly powerful toolbelt!

Finally finished the belt I started roughly 10 years ago, when I last was a
merchant. Next up ship quests for upgrading my class3 and / or hammering a
mountain of chests for personal use.

The book crumbles to dust in your hands.
You feel more knowledgable about bargain.

Decided to read one book just for the fun of it, they seem to be dropping like
crazy during minecrafting. Keeping a minimum of 3 stored for my next reinc
though. Bargain is not the most useful, but I hope not entirely useless
either. Already had it way above 100 so no idea if this will affect anything
really.

Found from a chest while minecrafting,

Ancient book of knowledge (friendly)
a pile of batium coins

Stashed the book, I now have two reserved for later use. I think I'll want to
optimize my next reinc in a way that gives me a good chance to hit a useful
skill with one of the books.

Finished my second batch of medium chests and they turned out nearly maxed
slots as well (one out of five was at -1). And more importantly:

Chest creation                 | 100 |

Time to start hammering 10+ slotters.

Completed my first four chests a few days ago:

a small bamboo sailor chest reinforced with ebony (open)
a small bamboo sailor chest reinforced with ebony (open)
a wood chest reinforced with bamboo (open)
a wood chest reinforced with bamboo (open)

Pretty good results considering I used the medium chest skeletons, especially
when it also resulted in +16 chest creation. One more batch of not-max
skeletons and I'll hopefully get to 100, and then I can really start chest
building.

Plans change (as they are wont to do). Yesterday I reinced merchant/folklorist/
(bard) for several reasons. First of all, I was looking at a reinc anyway as
age was becoming a problem. Second, I couldn't really do eq as every single
chest slot was full (now I can personally do a crapton of new chests). Third,
this reinc is good for supporting my secondary's alch research, and he can do
potions for the primary. And finally, change is refreshing. :)

I fully intend to return back to liberator / animist once I'm done with this,
because that was a really fun combo. I made 75 mil exp in that reinc (+60% to
my totals), explored & soloed new mobs & areas and even deffed a few bigger
things. Some people might not enjoy the semi-roleplayish side of it, but I
actually liked that too.

the black dread, 581469 exp

Scot the journeyman peasant joins your ghost army. (id: 7)
Dwayne the master ranger joins your ghost army. (id: 56)

First try at deffing something remotely bigger. Went pretty ok I think, didn't
die, only dismounted once, but did suck the most damage in the party. Though
that could be because I had my soul following (not tanking though) and it
sucked some area blasts, plus mount obviously tanks and I have no idea how
those are counted for party stats. Didn't dice anything, but did get a master
out of it, so overall quite happy considering my def set is newbie junk.

Ulath the christmas coder opens a door in thin air, scuttles in, running on
his 84 arms like a centipede.
Ulath the christmas coder gives you 1 gold coin.
Ulath the christmas coder exclaims 'Ela tuhlaa kaikkea kerralla!'
Ulath the christmas coder opens a door in thin air, jumps down on his 84 arms
and scuttles away.

Arch quizzes are always worth it!

116877: Lilian, ghost of amazon princess

Sonia the grandmaster armoursmith joins your ghost army. (id: 17)

A really unexpected bonus, first grandmaster gained from a mob ever. This
wasn't a solo kill attempt, I just wanted her bracelet to start my (vlw) wis
swap. I was a bit worried about the Wiki listing her as having skill drain,
but either I dodged them all or she didn't cast it. Also had I not decided to
reinc once ancient, I would never have risked my +10 dodge, but having done so
has allowed me to widen my kill range to potential skill drainers.

Hit 'old' yesterday, which is another personal first if you don't count Asmo
sacs. It also caused me to change my plans a bit. I decided that instead of
fighting for a full youth I'll reinc once I hit 'ancient', and because I want
to try something new I'll pick Templar as my 3rd guild instead of Tarmalen.
Twiddling with the reinc sim I ended up with a lvl 90, 230m incarnation with
25 Templar levels which seemed rather fun. So the goal now is to reach 230m
totals before 'ancient'.

70477: Prince Glubux Frox, heir to the throne, envy of all crab kind

You unlock the cell.
King Frex Frox steps out of the cell!
King Frex Frox exclaims 'Free at last after being captivated by
my own son!'
Congratulations! You have just completed Find frex frox!
You receive 4364 gold as a reward for completing the quest.
You receive 4 training points.
King Frex Frox says 'Taerom, have this ring of my ancestors as a sign of my
true gratitude.'
King Frex Frox says 'I am forever grateful.'

Two manned this with Delion (tarmadruid). Technically doable solo, but so much
easier with a friendly neighbourhood mudpitter. Not even close to getting to
train another statpoint, but the ring is pretty nice and having one more quest
is never bad.

129165: a powerful gibberling blockading the forest

Another almost-but-not-enough in my search for a cooler top solo kill. This
one was also a first time, and moreover I got to romp through one of my all
time favorite areas again. Secladin is very nuanced for a newbie area, has a
good story, a quest that requires a bit of thought without having impossible
syntaxes and even a few pieces of newbie eq - all of which I enjoyed back when
I was an actual newbie. This time only the blocker offered any real
resistance, though unfortunately the exit from the last mob took me back
outside the blocked area, and the gibberling had respawned, so I didn't get to
see what happens if I complete the quest.

120513: A four-armed skeleton coated in black gore stands here wailing

Sigh, this one was also too small to make top solo. Yes, I know I could just
choose which kill I want to show, but I kinda want it to actually be the
biggest. And hopefully cooler than the current 'a huge spider'. Died once to
the pre-Ebon form thanks to stun+crit, which I managed to run from but then it
tracked while I was waiting for the stun to clear (didn't want to risk
stumbling back to his room).

This was actually my first time soloing Ebon Bane, so despite it not being the
top, I'm quite happy to add it to my kill list.

Gained another liberated ghost based boonpoint! Think I'll use it to max ghost
slash mastery, and then it'll be either trying ghost armour boons or the newly
added "can kill good mobs better" boon with activity boonpoints to figure out
what I'll start working on next.

,---------------------------------------------.
| Boons                            6          |
|---------------------------------------------|
| Banes                            2          |
| Leadership and activity          0          |
| Quests                           1          |
| Liberated ghosts                 4          |
|---------------------------------------------|
| Points available                 1          |
`---------------------------------------------'

Updated my exping plan a bit. Train all skills to a minimum of 92%, all arcane
casting skills to 100% and regular skills cheaper or equal to 'kick' in cost
to 100%. That last bit requires overtraining with my 98% skillmax, but with
the cheaper skills it's still just doable. After all that exping is done, I'll
finally read the +8% skillbook and hopefully profit. :)

Target: +64.29m exp.

113286: A drow in a grey robe is mixing some flasks.

Bugger, still no new top solo. I had soloed this one once before as an
aelena/folklorist, so I was pretty sure it was doable in this reinc as well,
but back then it was worth ~150k (not sure if this was tune, random, or if I
had some bonus then). On top of it this was a neutral Drow, meaning my skills
didn't work at full capacity and didn't get a ghost for the kill. Oh well,
guess I'll wait for prosperity event and try for a new solo record then.

113786: A long, coiled wyrm is crawling around (crippled)

Still not a top solo kill worth. Hadn't seen this version of the mob before,
and consequently failed to dodge the acid spray special a few times. Died
once, when I kept moving after a stun and stumbled back into his room. This
one felt tougher than the last, was really expecting it to be higher exp
worth. Don't think I'll be doing more of these solo until I can get at least
some sort of def set. Guess I need to go solo all the Spider GMs next. :)

Upgraded my ships's navigator from rank 4 to rank 6, so that's 2.5m more spent
on the ship. Speed boost is noticeable at least on tradelanes, rank 4 spent
2:44 running from Lucentium to Furnachia, and rank 6 spent 1:49. Speed wasn't
the reason for the upgrade though, but to be able to set longer paths. Maybe
now I can start using the ship more widely as a regen spot.

63825: an athletic looking oriental man practicing some weird form

Another in the series of always wanted to try solo. Went much easier than
'bookmob', but then this was a pretty appropriate challenge for the exp value.
Didn't know they block the normal exit though, so the first run was a frantic
search for the maze command and got hit with spider touch (among other
things). That slowed things down a bit, but other than that no big trouble
soloing it.

122640: The ghostly form of a banshee floats through (crippled) (undead)

Didn't feel like exping today, so went for a new solo kill. I've always wanted
to try solo this one ever since finding (and dying to) it the first time. Took
quite a bit of time, and then it wasn't actually big enough expwise to make
number 1 solo (it's quite a bit more challenging than the value suggests).
Still, a decent notch for the list of solo kills I think.

Just made a new plan for exping, to train every skill I can to either guild
max or 92%. Why 92%? Because the next skillbook (already have one stashed)
will give +8%, and I want to maximize the chance to 'benefit' from the book,
even if it hits some silly skill. The exceptions will be skills that I cannot
train to guild max yet due to having low Tarma levels, and 'Battery', because
I'll never be able to use bluds anyway.

In short, target +50821700 exp.

25 mil exp gained in this reinc, for a total of 152 mil plus change. I don't
think I've ever made that much in a single reinc, not counting alchemist
potion research (can't remember how much that was) or early rebirth exploring.
Next up, +50 mil in this reinc.

Your boons and banes: swordsmith, master swordsmith and grandmaster
swordsmith.
You select Marcos, the grandmaster weaponsmith. [##########]

a truly pure ghost bastard sword, super sharp <red glow>

Trying to get back into mudding after a rather lengthy break. The above ghost
sword was something I've wanted to try ever since starting Liberators, ie.
what kind of ghost sword does a max ghost + max boons give you. It's a fairly
futile effort since the sword only lasts for a boot (or 3 weeks when given to
animist soul), but satisfying pointless curiosity is one of the more amusing
parts of the game. :)

Total of 150049226 experience spent on character.

I rebirthed in 2005, debirthed in 2007 and this is the first time since then
that I've reached 150m exp. Meaning I now have the highest totals I've ever
had, yay! (and sad that the top is at only 150m)

Ancient book of knowledge (friendly)

Another one of those dropped from a random small mob. This time I'll stash it
for later, since I'm actually gaining exp and might be able to max some skills
first. Book status for the reinc so far: +10 dodge, +9 burial ceremony.

Gained a rep based liberator boon point some time yesterday! Now I can start
taking the ghost slash boons, hopefully they'll have as major an effect as the
ghost link boons did (those really changed a 'meh' spell to 'awesome').

,---------------------------------------------.
| Boons                            6          |
|---------------------------------------------|
| Banes                            2          |
| Leadership and activity          0          |
| Quests                           1          |
| Liberated ghosts                 3          |
|---------------------------------------------|
| Points available                 0          |
`---------------------------------------------'

The book crumbles to dust in your hands.
You feel more knowledgable about burial ceremony.

+9 burial ceremony, not quite as awesome as the +10 dodge from the previous
book, but after that I suppose I can't complain. :)

Eula the journeyman peasant joins your ghost army. (id: 6)
A large cavity replaces Someone's chest.
Someone is DEAD, R.I.P.
Congratulations! You have just completed Ether realms 2!

44805: an ethereal minotaur, its black eyes fixed at you

Success on the first try, but it was really close. I was running out of sps,
my mount was about to die and I was forced to use my only master level soldier
when my journeymen wore out. I've completed all the liberator quests that I
can for now, next ones would require master level ghosts or above and I don't
have many of those. Theoretically killing Grimoor should be possible, but I
don't really have a set to go def tanking.

Marty the journeyman priest joins your ghost army. (id: 7)
A large cavity replaces Someone's chest.
Someone is DEAD, R.I.P.
You feel slightly better at fighting with your soul companion.
Congratulations! You have just completed Ether realms 1!

42265: an ethereal beast, a chilling sight indeed

Yay, that was rather intense. Being chased by maybe 10 hunters and half a
dozen lurkers didn't give too much time to think about where to move and made
mapping the place impossible. This was my 2nd attempt today, and 3rd overall
(the first two of course ended in death).

Your seance is done. You place the ghost lily ceremonially on the ground.
You hear someone whisper 'I sense potential in you... Please, let me help
you.'
Pauline the journeyman armoursmith joins your ghost army. (id: 102)
Congratulations! You have just completed Remember the fallen 2!
The pure white lily starts to glow faintly. Soon after that, it turns to a
floating white vapor that rises into air and vanishes.

6 liberator quests completed, next up are ether realms 1 and 2. Last time I
tried those it ended horribly, partly because I wasn't prepared for it and
partly because I used the wrong ghost and didn't even realize which mob I was
hunting. This time I'll try to do those with a little bit more thought.

You give a bloody chunk of minced meat to Dog.
The dog looks gratefully at you.
The dog eats the chunk of meat with great enjoyment.
A mighty voice says: You have solved the quest.
Congratulations! You have just completed It's dog!
You receive 18610 gold as a reward for completing the quest.
You receive 4 training points.

Actually managed to solo this one too, gaining a new top solo kill for the
reinc (a huge spider, 132711 exp). Also got the last few training points for
that elusive 1 point of con, and finally:

Hit Points     Spell Points     Endurance Points
 1000/1000        680/680            396/396

Funtop croaks 'Ah, almost forgot your reward!'
Congratulations! You have just completed Competing architects!
You receive 1206 gold as a reward for completing the quest.
You receive 2 training points.
Funtop gives you a firm handshake, and as you pull back you notice that he
left a ring in your hand.

Another fun little quest, and this one required no killing. Now all I need to
do is complete a "not very hard" quest and I'll reach my training point goal
(for now).

The King kneels before all in the room in prayer, celebrating the return of
the Book of Faith to his possession.
Congratulations! You have just completed Caves of orac!
You receive 398 gold as a reward for completing the quest.
You receive 2 training points.
You give Oracian Book Of Faith <red glow> to King.

A simple, fun little quest. Before my rebirth/debirth and the continent tune I
used to solo quite a bit in Orac, so I know the quest well. I just hadn't
gotten around to completing it until now. 5 more training points to go.

Congratulations! You have just completed A day at the circus!
You receive 420 gold as a reward for completing the quest.
You receive 2 training points.

Congratulations! You passed the 'A Day at the Circus' quest.
You give A lion's severed head to Ernesto.
Ernesto says 'Good job. I knew you wouldn't let me down. Thank you! .'
Taerom completed the 'A Day at the Circus' quest.

Another head hunting quest done, another 2 training points closer to that
point of con. Still need 7 more points, but there are a few quests that I
already know how to solve that I just haven't gotten around to doing, so this
shouldn't be too hard.

The farmers wife quickly snatches the head and in return gives you a fresh
apple pie
Congratulations! You have just completed Save the farmers!
You receive 630 gold as a reward for completing the quest.
You receive 2 training points.
You give A bloody wyvern head to Wife.

What an annoyingly resistant mob to solo. Only thing that did any damage was
radiant slash (magic), and even that was partially resisted. Got it done
eventually, but still need a few more quests to get enough training points for
another point of con (and 1k hpmax).

10m exp gained now in this reinc. That's more than the total exp gained in all
the reincs I've been in since 2008, when the 'show reincs' logging started.

Really enjoying this liberator/animist combo, having fun with the game again.
I like how both guilds, and liberators in particular, have other stuff to do
besides just exp grinding. The missions may not be much, but they're just
enough of a break to occasionally go map a new area or run through one that
isn't part of my usual route to keep me interested.

Gnome hits the ball with his club.
Golf ball flies south.
It seems to land at forest.
The ball seems to go to the hole.
Gnome exclaims 'Holy donkey balls! I nailed it!'  
Gnome says 'Eagle! Only two strikes! I'll give you something very nice.'   
Gnome gives you Ancient book of knowledge (friendly).
Gnome says 'Oh, found this strange thing as well. You can have it as a
souvenir.'    
Gnome gives you a small wooden penny.
Gnome says 'Okay. That's enough for golf. Maybe something else to do then.'

The book crumbles to dust in your hands.
You feel more knowledgable about dodge.

+10 dodge, not bad for a liberator/animist. The gnome was a completely random
little golfer in a forest on Laenor, didn't even know something like that
existed. Let's hope I can stick to this reinc for a while.