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WRITTEN BY
RAWEN WYNGFELD
3rd
week Sept 110 AD
I finally arrived in Cyrene
at the far end of the world. Steady Foot
(gods curse his name) was limping when we arrived, so have retired him
to the stable and loaded the other and headed to the magistrate to
deliver this message I agreed to take. Must have been something
important, too bad I can‘t read Egyptian. Thirty-Nine hundred gold and
a tiger was the reward, pretty nice. Headed to the marketplace to
unload some of my goods. Managed to sell the tiger for 13,080 gold.
Last tiger I managed to sell in Pante-something for a little over
10,000. So in all, accepting that message was good, can’t imagine what
pressing matter the messenger had to attend to, to not finish their
task for that kind of reward.
Went to the tavern for a good
meal and to contemplate my map to see
where to head next. I’m thinking, since no road farther west, back to
the east, but where? Some of the gossip I overhear helps narrow down
that I won’t be going towards Memphis. Seems a person named Andalib is
stealing from travelers down that way. Hope they catch them. There’s
been some sandstorms along the Merchant’s Gold Road, I’ll have to pass
north of there, so I hope they die down quickly. Another trader told me
that there’s some call for most of my items in Oc Eo, clear the other
side of the world, but I’ve never been there. I do have this other
message to deliver to Karakorum and I know there’s some good pickings
around there. Perhaps the reward will be as good.
Remembered that I have this
treasure map I got off another traveler. I
think they were half out of their gourd, but just maybe.. Part of this
map is saying the city of centaurs, seems I saw a few of those around
Tanais. So that settles it. I’ll head toward Karakorum, through Tanais.
Just hope those sand storms don’t catch me.
I approached Alexandria a few
days later, just as the gates were
closing for the night, so had to camp outside. Encountered an olive oil
vendor and traded him some of the tribal paint for some olive oil. I
think it’ll sell better around Karakorum than the paint. Stopped by the
marketplace here before getting a late start on the day and heading
toward Tyre. Word in the marketplace is that the sandstorms were headed
north and east, so I should have a clear way.
4th week Sept
Swept through Tyre, and made a quick
stop at the tavern to
hear gossip about the road ahead, then went on towards Damascus. I
think some of these traveling religious people cast spells, for some
unknown reason one talked me into giving him 22 of my coin.
Moving as fast as possible
and not stopping in Damascus. Mules are
pretty loaded down and I’m not moving as far or as fast as I’d like
each day. Steady Foot (gods curse his name) is anything but and hurting
himself every other day. So heading on toward Antioch painfully slowly.
Through Phygra, so far a quiet trip. Though I did see a tall creature
with odd splotches and a very long neck near the road one day, but it
seemed to have no interest in me and I none in it.
Made it to Trapezus and no
one is saying anything about the long
road to Tanais, so after camping for the night and doubling my stock of
food and water. I head out.
About halfway to Tanais, had
the opportunity to camp with a large
group of traders. One of them was kind enough to advise I hire a dowser
and huntman of some kind at Tanais, said if I get a couple good ones,
I won’t have to worry about carrying food and water for the animals.
Might also learn a thing or two from them and be able to find my own
when necessary.
Ugh! A bear came into camp in
the pitch black and stole most of our
food. Luckily, the mules didn’t spook and run off, but wish I’d had
someone here to help me restock. Luckily, a stranger on the road had
some extra and let me buy food and some water for 20 coins so I can
continue. First thing is to find a couple workers in the marketplace to
help out some.
1st week of October
Get into Tanais. First thing
I did was to go to the city center to
find a hunter and dowser, but there aren’t any to be had, only a scout.
I guess I’ll just have to continue on my way without one for now. Now
to see about this treasure map. Wonder of wonders, I passed the clue on
my way into town. Luckily, it only cost me a couple days and now I can
continue. Next clue is near Petra, which would be a backtrack for me,
so I think I’ll continue towards Karakorum and unload some of my items,
since I stocked up mostly for things that will sell well there. Then
we’ll see about going back towards Petra. Finding this clue has given
me some faith that maybe the fellow that gave this to me wasn’t quite
as crazy as I thought.
Luck! Encountered an
abandoned wagon of goods and managed to repack
my items some and just as I was finished, a group of bandits
approached. They allowed me to parley with them and took only some of
the food I was preparing to discard and the one hunk of gold I found in
the abandoned wagon. A couple days later, was sharing a meal with a
priest on the road who took pity on my story and insisted I take 143
coin.
After the long journey to
Sarae, I decided to take a few days to
let the animals recover a bit before going the final leg to Karakorum.
About the only gossip to be heard around town and in the taverns is
about that sandstorm that is still raging near Ninevah. Makes me glad I
didn’t decide to head toward Oc Eo after all. No huntsman or dowsers to
be found. But if I remember right, the next trail has plentiful water
and grazing so can maybe get by with not having as much with me.
Third week October
Finally make it to Karakorum
and was awarded 1137 in coins and
given a brute of a gladiator for the message delivered in a timely
manner. Sold the gladiator for over 7,000 coin. Traveled through the
town center and found a dowser, a woman by the name of Karera to hire,
so we’ll see if I can learn anything from her and just how good she is
at her job. Most of the items in my caravan will sell better at
Khankhan and Khanbali, so heading in that direction and we’ll see how
this worker does.
Karera's good at finding
water and I’m picking up some tricks, but the
woman eats more than the mules. Having to spend a lot of time hunting
and trying to find food for her. She’s also complaining that I don’t
provide shelter for her. Sleeping under the mules is good enough for
me, should be good enough for her, but I’ve turned around to go back
and find a tent.
First week of November
Landed in Khankhan and
relieved the caravan of 106 lbs of items and
gained over 25,000 gold. The trip was uneventful, though did lose my
way a time or two. Karera was a help with water, but a hinderance with
food, eating more than the mules though she worked 3 times less. No
hunters looking for work here, so heading on to Khanbalik to relieve
myself of most of the rest of my cargo.
In a little over month, I've traveled almost from one end of the known
world to the other. I've made a profit of over 100,000 coin gold. I
think it was a good trip.
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WRITTEN
BY DRAGONWINGS
I'll be revisiting
a few vents that seem to be coming back around and I
have a couple new ones as well. Pull up a chair and get me some juice
if youre gonna read it, Im out
BEWARE The
Color Pimp!!!
Yes, this one is
a revisit to one of my other vents from a while back.
But it needs to be brought up again. I'm also going to group the color
selling morons who don't read in this vent too.
Now, if you're a
color collector like myself, who respects peoples
colors, even tho you don't have to ( I'm the one who goes around
squalking "Player made rules are not enforcable" which is why my colors
rarely leave my stables ) Please ignore this rant, it's not about you.
Back in the day,
before I knew any better, I traded a few of my colors
to people, for colors that I was assured would stay under 3 in the
game. Of the 190 colors I've made/control, 144 of them are still at 1.
Twenty-five are at 2. Eighteen are at 3. The rest are between 4-7, and
are that way because they were X mas gifts for friends, or were that
way when I bought them.
I do an updated
search on my colors once a week, and it's stayed pretty
much where it's supposed to be. Most I'm not worried about, because I
own 95% of them. But here's my huge argument.
When I buy a CFG,
that I am told by the creater WILL STAY at less then
3, and I do a serach, and now theirs 10, I get pissed off.
When I do a color
trade with someone, and have guarenteed my color will
stay at 3, it does. As much as someone is willing to pay for a CFG, I
won't do it. It is unfair to the other person who has the color, and
doing another CFG wouldn't be right.
When I do a color
trade with someone, and they guarentee to me that the
color will stay under 3, and I do a search and there's 8...while my
color is still at 3, I'm not happy.
When I pay a
buttload for a CFG that I am guarenteed will stay below 3,
and the next thing I know the person is trying to peddle off a crap
load of cheap CFGs on the BB, it makes me wonder how many others have
been screwed over price wise.
Hence why my
colors now go nowhere.
Although, there
is an upside to this issue.
I have gotten
colors dirt cheap from people:
"Yeah, I noticed
*insert color pimp's name here* has one of this
color...I can't sell it for what its worth, because there's no telling
if they'll turn around and try to CFG it to make a quick buck, so I
don't want it anymore."
Ive gotten a few
colors like that, for about 1/10th of what they're
worth that way. It's just a matter of time before the color pimp screws
over a few more people they gave their word to, and does it again.
BEWARE the color
pimp kids!!!
Go Back To
School
This rant is
connected to #7, observe.
Lately I've been
wanting to look at what's available for sale color wise, so here's the
ad I've been putting up on the BB:
WANTED - Rare
colors or CFG's to rare colors ( Less that 5 in the game
TOTAL ) Please include horse's link, and price desired, so that I may
look up who else owns the other of the color. Thank you.
Now, I've gotten
a bunch of replies. Here's some that make me question how educated
someone is:
"I have a one of
59 color I want 6 mil for him he's awesome *link* "
Said horse was 18
years old, not maxed, and below foundie stats.
And let's not even touch on the fact that they don't know their
numbers.
"I have a one of
3 and I want 40 mil for it."
Kay, the color
was something misspelled and not capitalized, like -red
bey wit a blaze and 3 green sox- Not only that, of the 3, one was up
for sale for 10 mil.
"I have a one of
7"
Alright...that's
nice...and you're messaging me...why now?
"HEY I HAVE A ONE
OF 7"
O.O That's
nice...I have a pet peeve about people who don't read.
"I have a couple
of rare colors, the one I have that is under 5 is this one *link* I
would like 5 mil for it."
*smacks Gong*
Nupe, ones owned by a color pimp.
"I have a rare
color that's one of 59 and it's a really great horse"
Oh lord not you
again.
Now, don't get me
wrong, I got some great messages from people who are
great breeders, and keep their colors rare. Heck, I even bought a
couple of CFGs that I really liked. It's nice to get messages that say
"I know you're great with colors, I have no problem selling to you, I
know I won't have to worry about it getting overbred."
When it comes to
responding to ads in general. Make sure you read the
ad. Most delete messages that have nothing to do with what they're
asking for. If someone is looking for rare colors, under 5, think
before you reply.
Brother Can
You Spare A Dime?
Ive been around
roughly 5 years now. I know the game pretty much
like the back of my hand. I'm slowly learning how to curb my spending
issues, but I work hard for what I have, just like most of you do.
There have been
times where novice players message me for game help (
cause that's why I be here lol ) and they have good genuine questions
that I can help with. A few days later, they may message me again,
about something else, and if I can, I help them, or I'll send them to
someone who can ( and if someone reading happens to be the one who
helped them, I thank you )
A good hard
working novice isn't very common any more. Oh yes, there
are a few. The ones who take their 100k, hold onto it, read through the
rules, learn about ways to make some money, ect.
This novice in
particular asked me if I knew some ways for a player
starting out to make some money. I went over how to check for good
maxed horses, making banners, and trialing and releasing horses. A few
days later she messages me, and was ecstatic that she had an extra 400k
from buying the cheap horses off the market and trialing them and found
a good trainer who event trained an Arabian for her for a discounted
rate because she was a new player, and spent all of her money on entry
fees. So she was playing the waiting game. I told her whatever the
horse made in it's first round of events, I'd send her that amount in a
contract.
So she was 7.6
mil richer, 3.8 from her Arabian, and 3.8 from me. That was a few
months ago, and I'd do it again.
This goes for all
players. You don't get anywhere by spaming ranches and begging for
things. Get off your ass and work for it.
Attention
WalMart Shoppers!!
Gawd. Rarely do I
go to WalMart anymore, as Target makes me happy. But
it's RIGHT by my house, and when a girl is out of feminie hygiene
products, close is better.
So I push open
the glass doors that have sticky finger prints all over
them, grab a little basket ( Because if unsupervised kids get too close
to me, I can 'accidentally' whack them in the head with it ) and head
for the girly needs section.
I get there,
there is a woman, with a cart, standing in the middle of the isle, with
6 children running around her. 6. S-I-X.
I have no problem
with big families. One of my best friends is one of
13 kids. BUT all of those kids were behaved, and her parents were
amazing people.
This woman had 6,
all between the ages of 7 and maybe 1. And 3 of them
were in the big basket of the shopping cart, rocking the cart back and
forth, while the other 3 were throwing boxes of tissue at each other.
All I wanted were
my girly products.
The woman turned
around to put something back on a shelf, didn't say
one thing to her kids. And I saw she was in the motherly way yet again.
Ever had one of those moments where you wanna toss a box of...well...
child prevention devices in someone's cart? YEAH. Me too.
So I squeeze past
the woman, grab a box of girly thingies, all while
these kids are running and screaming around me. Reminded me of a scene
out of Saving Private Ryan, me grabbing what I needed, covering my
head, doing a tuck and roll while the kids are smacking each other and
diving out of the way of flying kleenex options..which are now
everywhere.
So once I safely
clear the section, box goes in hand basket thingie, Dragon heads
towards the check out lines.
WHOA wait, new
movies!
So I go back to
check new releases, Bird mentioned to me about the
Young Riders series out on DVD, and I was gonna go get it at Target,
but I figure, I'm here, I'll check for it.
SO, about this
time, one of those spemo skater punk kids with the
overly tight pants and the unkept hair and the bracelets and green tips
in his hair walks up next to me, and says "Hey."
Being the polite
person that I am, I looked over my shoulder, to see if he was talking
to someone else, and ignored him.
Apparently
unphased by my attempt to ignore him, he picks up a DVD and waves it
infront of my face, and says "Helloooooooooo"
*Grabs DVD from
him* "Can I help you with something?"
*Shrugs* "No, I
saw you, thought Id come over and say hi."
Oh. Good. God.
This kid is like
MAYBE 17. MAYBE. And I'm in jeans, a NBC tank top and
a straw cowboy hat. ( It was a GIRLY SUPPLY TRIP. I don't normally wear
the hat unless Im having a bad day at work. Hat tells people to piss
off.)
I've also been
told I look 19-21 on a normal basis. And I'm not even close.
So he won't go
away. "What are you buying?"
So I take the box
out of my handbasket and shove it in his face. "Im buying tampons
because Im on my PERIOD."
And he just
stands there. "Ohhh. That's cool."
Damn. Thought for
SURE that would scare him off.
"So, are you
doing anything later?"
*sigh* Look hun,
I'm flattered, really I am. But I don't think I'd ever
date anyone I've met at WalMart, plus the fact that you are WAY too
young for me."
As I'm walking
off he says "What...are you a Senior or something? I'll
be a senior in a year, it's not that big of an age difference.!"
So I walked back,
set my basket down, opened my purse, got out my driver's liscense and
stuck it in his face.
Him - "Oh holy
*insert any word of your choice, for argument sake I'll use the word
'crap'* I'm so sorry....is that a fake ID?"
Put ID back, pick
up basket, walk and get into line.
Lady who has
enough children to do a remake of the Sound Of Music is in
front of me in line. Kids are hitting each other with bags of
M&Ms...M&Ms are going EVERYWHERE. Spemo kid is trying to flag
me down to ask me about my fake ID. And then I hear it:
"Miss? I can help
you over at register 2"
Clutching my box
of girly sticks to my chest I rush to her line, where
there's no wait, no rude people, no candy flinging children, and no emo
skater boys who will have man part issues when they get older because
of their too tight pants.
She rings me up
quickly, while on the phone with a manager to come get
rid of the woman and her litter of children. Woman is now up to the
checker, causing quite a scene because she refuses to pay for the huge
lot of damaged good her kids destroyed. Police are being called. Tee
hee hee.
As I step out
into the blazing 102 degree weather, a plastic bag
clutched triumphantly in my hand, only one line comes to mind.
"It's gonna be a good day Tater."
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WRITEN
BY
KAPRICORN
 Many people on VHR believe the
Arabian to be a
incredibly common horse, and would prefer to breed a rarer animal.
However, others are drawn to the beauty of the real-life Arabian.
Obviously, there is an huge difference. The real Arabian is a beautiful
creature with a mind, a living animal you can care for and really get
to know.
The VHR horses are pixels, and can't fill you with passion for horses.
A big difference.
There are many famous
Arabian
horses, including the great Muscat. He
was a Russian stallion bred at the Tersk Stud, then imported to America
by Howie Kale. He had a blaze with a distinctive crescent cut-out and
four white feet which carried his spectacular movement. He was one of
the first Russian Arabians to be imported to America for decades. In
1980, he was named National Champion Stallion of the United States and
Canada, he is also the 4th leading producer of Arabians all-time. He
sired a great amount of foals, the majority of them winning major
shows.
Going a little further
back
from the 80's, to the time when the
Thoroughbred's legacy began, I continue my article with the famous
three stallions. These stallions are; The Godolphin Arabian (1729), The
Darley Arabian (1704), and The Bylery Turk (1680s). These were the
foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred breed. Every Thoroughbred
around today can be traced back to one of those three lines. Each of
those three stallions were around in the 17th and 18th century.
The addition of Arabian
bloodlines bred to the native English mares led
to the creation of the General Stud Book in 1791 and the importance of
official registration of horses. One genetic study show that 95% of all
Thoroughbred stallions and geldings trace their male line to the Darley
Arabian. However, in Thoroughbred pedigrees of the 20th and 21st
century, most horses have more crosses to the Godolphin Arabian (13.8%)
than to the Darley Arabian (6.5%) when all lines of descent (male and
female) are considered. 
In 1997, Carol Maginn
felt
something missing in her life, the love of a
horse. She felt the memory of the fun she had with Arabians. She
considered purchasing one. Coincidently, about two weeks after, her
husband and her saw a beautiful barn full of the breed. A man came out
a introduced himself as Bob Battaglia and showed her some of the
horses. She was once again hooked on the Arabian horse. She started
competing competitively on horseback. Shortly after, she decided she
wanted to started a breeding programme. Her husband had recently
purchased a new home six months before, she couldn’t imagine how to
tell him she wanted to move. But again another coincidence occurred.
Her husband announced that he hated the rush of the city and wanted to
move to the country! She then purchased two Arabian mares, both
“straight Egyptian”. Her friends suggested that she should attend the
world championships in Paris, and states that she will never forget the
look on horses owners faces when their horses won championships… While
at the show, her friends told her the beautiful snow white mare Prima
Bella KA was available. Bella was a stunning mare and fairly well known
in the States. Carol told me she put up photo of Bella in her barn and
hello to all her mares including “Bella”. Unexpectedly, on Valentines
Day 2004 , Bella arrived at their farm. Bella blessed Bear Creek Ranch
with a 2005 grey colt, Bellisimo BCR. He is now expecting his first
foals.
Like life, however,
breeding
horses is not always joyful and exciting.
As high as someone can be with these horses, there are lows just as
deep. Sadly, in 2006, Carol lost one of her mares leaving a filly an
orphan. If that was not enough, another of her mares foaled the night
after foaled a colt with heart defect. She bred that mare again at a
farm with 24 hour guard, and the foal strangely caught an unknown
disease and died within four days. That mare is was 18yrs old and Carol
had almost given up hope of ever getting a foal out of her. This year,
however, the mare foaled a stunning filly by Vanylla Ice. She was
healthy strong, happy, the most amazing filly carol had ever bred.
This, as you will all expect, proves
that if you truly put your mind to it anything can happen! |
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