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Candyfloss sat on the grass outside her old clan house, tears streaming down her half elf cheeks. Her knapsacks sat beside her, along with some bags of her belongings. For the first time, she felt alone. Her guild had excluded her, tired of her behaviour. With a sigh, Candy, as she was known to her friends, stood up and placed her knapsacks over her shoulder. She had failed herself, her guild and her father.
Following the path out of town, she headed north to the one place she felt safe. Freelance. Placing her cape over her head she ran through the forests and up towards Mordu. It was getting late and she would have to spend the night there before attempting the caves of New Alencia. Entering the tavern to find a room, Candy removed her cape and placed it on a hanger. Smiling at the barkeep, she ordered a room and some wine before taking a seat.
On the other side of a bar, a fight started to break out.. Sensing some danger, Candy glasped at her sword and walked over.
"Excuse me....Sirs...Hello...STOP! AND BE QUIET!!" Candy shouted, making the men jump back.
Suddenly Candy felt a cold, knife press up against her cheek. With great agile, Candy turned and forced the knife away.
" You come in here and place a knife to people, and don't expect for someone to stand up to you..?" Candy spoke to her attacker. "Are you friend or foe?" Her attacker spoke. Candy stood still and looked into her attackers eyes.
"I am Candyfloss, I do no more than tavern sit and help less fortunate heal. I would see myself more as a friend than a foe...Unless you are one of them annoying people killers I hear about, then you shall find me to be your worst nightmare."
The attacker couldn't help but laugh.
"With your driftwood?"
Candy nodded, " Hey, do not judge a book by its cover."
With that Candy grabbed the attackers arm, snapped it down over her shoulder and kicked him above the shin. Watching him fall to the ground, she turned and placed her driftwood under his neck.
"Still think its the weapon the defines the person?" Candy smirked.
Removing her sword, she helped the attacker to his feet.
"Now I suggest you and your friends do yourselves a favour, and remove from my sight before I show you how the sword feels in your chest."
Standing defiant, Candy watched as they quickly escaped the tavern, then turning to the traveller they had set upon, she bowed and went back to her seat.
"Men!"She moaned to herself, sipping from her glass of wine.
The tavern remained quiet for the rest of the night, as Candy ate and drank. Resting back against her chair, she contemplated her future. She was no longer a Defender of Justice. She was now an outcast. Fallen from grace from her own stupidity. Sighing she left the main bar to head to bed. Unaware what tomorrow would bring.
The next morning, Candy packed up her knapsacks and hit the roads to Freelance once again. Making her way through the caves of the ancients, then up past New Alencia. Entering the gates of New Alencia, she sat down to catch her breath. It had been a long time since she had travelled for so long. especially with all her belongings on her back. Noticing Candy was struggling, a lady came to assist her. Smiling she spoke, "Here, child. Let me help you with these." Taking a couple of Candy's knapsacks, she carried them up the road..Worried , Candy followed until they came to a house. "Edro!" The woman spoke to the door. With that it opened, and the woman hushed Candy inside. Looking around, Candy noticed the big fire first. Walking over, she felt the flames heat sore over her and smiled. Her father had used to have a fire like this. Then sighing at the thought of her father, candy returned to the woman. "Take a seat, child." Candy did as she was told. The woman went to the stove and served Candy some hot soup. Taking another seat, the woman broke into elvish.
"Man eneth l n?" She asked Candy. "Candyfloss eneth n n" Candy replied, taking some bread off the plate and dipping it into the soup.
"Estannen Alatari. Manen naly ?"
"Im maer, Le hannon"
Alatari smiled, "That's good child. Your elvish is excellent, considering you are only half elvish."
"My father was a elf. He was very proud of his background, and brought me up to learn the ancestry." Thinking of her father again, Candy fell silent and finished her food.
"Thank you for the food, Miss Alatari, but I must leave..I plan to be in Freelance by nightfall."
Alatari looked shocked at Candy. "Freelance? My dear, You know that city is run by rogues right?!"
Candy nodded, "Its the only place I feel safe and at home. Plus my husband will be returning there any day soon." Candy smiled at the thought of her husband. Kenkle had been her first love. They'd done everything together, including when Candy had been exiled from the guild. Now he had found a place for them in his friends guild. Yet Candy wasn't ready to go back to a guild yet, she wanted some freedom and some independence.
"Well little Candy, if you do go to Freelance, perhaps you could do something for me? I need to pass a parcel to my friend up there. Cynthia. She works in the brothel up there, and I carved her a new cane. Could you save a old elf a journey and take it for me?"
Candy nodded. The least she could do was help Alatari, after she had fed her. Taking the parcel, Candy picked up her knappies and gave Alatari a hug. "Hantale, Alatari, M ra mesta"
"M ra mesta, Candyfloss, No galu govad gen"
The door opened again, and Candy exited. Looking back, she waved at Alatari. Somewhat blinded by the light, Candy seemed to take alot of wrong turns in the city, from finding herself down by the guilds, to a door protected by demons.
"God I hate this city!!" Candy complained.
Eventually Candy found the maze and picked up her speed. She would have to be fast up to Freelance so not to arouse suspicion. Stopping briefly, Candy wrapped herself in her dark cape, in an attempt to look like a rogue. Grunting to the people in the street, Candy made it to the tavern. Checking with the barkeep, she reserved a room. She would have to find a job to pay the room upkeep..Shouldn't be hard to get a job with 2 bars, cafe and a casino in town. Taking her seat, Candy opened up her telegrams. She noticed the writing on one, the other was fresh ink.
Candy read the one in Kenkles handwriting first.
"My beloved Candy, If you are reading this, You made it to Freelance safe and I am not yet there, I am in some trouble. But I shall be with you soon, I will send you some money to see you over until I can be with you. I love you my angel, Kenkle..x " Candy smiled, yet was slightly unsettled by this trouble he spoke off. Then opening her next telegram, Candy dropped her wine to the floor. Reading in disbelief, she felt tears streaming down her face.
"Miss Candyfloss, It is with great sorrow that I must inform you that your husband, Kenkle was slain this afternoon by some rogues on his entrance to Freelance. On his deathbed, he asked me to give something to you. I shall meet you at Zeffers bar, twenty one hrs from the mid of night. My condolences, Tadem, Your husbands friend and leader."
Candy looked for a clock to check the time. It was now almost twenty hours..Giving her one hour to compose herself and meet this Tadem. She wanted answers.
But first there was something she had to attend too. Disposing of her knapsacks in her bedroom, she removed the cane from Alatari, and set off towards the brothel.
Candy stood outside the brothel, and grimaced a little. Pulling her cloak over her head, she pushed the door open. Inside, loud music and bright lights almost deafened you or made you blind. Squinting, Candy located the bar and placed the cane down. Speaking from under the cape, Candy raised her voice.
"Hello, ma'am, Am looking for Cythnia. I hear shes the owner of this place." The barkeep nodded and pointed Candy to a curtained area. "Thank You." Candy picked the cane back up and headed towards the curtains. As soon as she got within steps of it, the curtains drew back. Candy stepped back, surprised. In front of her sat a small half orc woman, Teeth missing, and a eye patch.
"Yes child?" A horrible noise came out of the half orcs mouth. Candy gulped and walked over to the desk the half orc was sitting behind. "Are you Lady Cynthia, friend of the elven warrior, Alatari?" Candy asked.
The half orc nodded and indicated for Candy to take a seat. "And you are?" Candy removed her cloak and sat down at the opposite side of the desk. Feeling the horcs eyes scan over her, Candy felt uneasy, and struggled to get her words out.
"I am ...mhmm.. Candyfloss...I uhmmm.. I met Alatari in New Alencia, and she asked me to bring something to you.." Candy unwrapped the wrapping of the cane. Cynthia snatched the cane up. Eyeing its markings and carving, a smile broke across her face. "This is excellent, Oh Thank you child. Glad Alatari didn't have to make the trek...And sent me a rather attractive bringer. Normally she sends young men who ogle my girls. Not very nice. Now you, if your ever in need of a job, You find ol' cynthia here. I'll be sure pay you well."
Candy stood up in horror, "I'm sorry I must leave, I have to see someone over my husbands death. I bid you farewell." And with that Candy fled the brothel.
On the street it had started to rain, and slightly unnerved from her meeting with Cynthia she pondered if to go home, or get more upset meeting her husbands friend. Sighing Candy turned left towards the Zeffers bar. Entering, she noticed the bar was empty. Apart from a small gentlemen in the corner, noticing Candy, he rose to his feet. Candy walked over and greeted him. "Tadem?" Tadem nodded and helped Candy with her seat. "Miss Candy. Its an honour to finally meet you. Kenkle talked alot about you. I am very sorry for your lose." Candy nodded and bowed her head. A single tear formed in the corner of her eye. Noticing her upset, Tadem offered his hanker chief, and ordered her a wine. "Thank you, sir. Maybe you could help me with the knowings of my husbands death?"
Tadem sighed and placed his hands on Candy's. "I wish I could help you, but I was elsewhere in the battle. I only saw him at his death. My follow leader, Low Light is on his way, he was with Kenkle as they fought the rogues." At the point a cloaked figure burst through the door, and shouted about a possible attack on its way. Candy grabbed at her driftwood and took stance prepared. Tadem greeted the cloaked figure and was about to introduce his to Candy, when two more figures burst through the door. The cloaked figure pushed Candy back, and turning to Candy informed her to stay back. Candy growled and jumped over the small ling before battling with one of the orcs. "Do you have to smell so bad?" Candy shouted as she kicked the orc. The stench was making it hard for her to go near it. Suddenly she felt the bar shake as the orcs retreated. Candy glanced around and dusted herself down. Then taking her seat, she sipped her wine. "Sorry about that Miss Candy. Well...Now the introductions. Miss Candy this is..." Before Tadem could finish, the ling smiled and took her hand kissing it. "I am Low_Light. But please, Call me Low."
Tadem shook his head in disbelief with Low. Always the chancer, Tadem thought.
Candy politely smiled and removed her hand from Lows grasp. "Now, maybe we could find out the details of my husbands death? I am rather tired and would like to be resting. Its been a long day."
Low nodded, "well maybe it would be better to leave it for tonight. I don't wish to see you upset ma'am, I shall walk you to the tavern. And maybe we could meet up tomorrow?"
Candy nodded, then standing up bowed to each of the gentleman and headed to the door. "Mhmm ..Oh Miss Candy?" Tadem shouted, and ran over to her. "As I said in my telegram, Kenkle had left me something to give to you." Taking Candys hand, he dropped a gold band into her small hand. Gasping Candy clutched at the wedding ring which had once sat proudly on her loves finger. Running out of the tavern, Candy could no longer hold back the tears.
The next morning, Candy woke up to a slight tapping on her door. Grabbing her gown, she walked to the door and opened it. "Good morning, ma'am. You have a gentleman friend waiting for you in the bar." Candy nodded and closed the door to dress.
Dressed all in black, Candy pulled her hair up at the back and wrapped it into a bun. Leaving the room, she placed Kenkles ring around a chain on her neck. As she walked into the bar, she noticed the gentleman in question. Low.
"Good morning Miss Candy. My condolences again, over the situation we meet." Candy showed little emotion and sat down, stern faced.
"Lets get this done, so I can go to mourn my beloved please." Candy spoke, somewhat frosty. Low sat across from Candy and started to explain :
Kenkle had set upon his journey to see Candy, and had reached Mordu in good time, where he met Low. Together they carried on thier journey and headed up towards New Alencia. Kenkle had heard of a new city close to New Alencia and wished to visit so he could buy his wife a present. Once buying Candy some tea, they set off back through the caves and up to New Alencia. It had been here Low had wished to stay for the night as it was growing both dark and cold. Kenkle then persuaded him it would be faster to get to Freelance, and explaining they could find Low a girl in the brothel and go to the casino for some fun. But as they got close to Freelance, they were set upon by a group of 6 rogues. Kenkle had tied his knapsack straps around him, and struggled to get them off for battle. They saw his weakness and set upon him. Luckily Tadem had also been in Freelance, waiting for Low. He had heard of a battle outside the gates and went to help his clanmates. While Tadem took care of some of the rogues. Low had gone to help Kenkle. But just as he slaughtered one of them, he turned to see Kenkle fall to the ground. Trying to revive him, he called for Tadem, as the rest of the rogues fled. Kenkle knew he was dying, and begged to be laid to rest in the lake. Arriving at the docks, Kenkle gave Tadem instructions to inform Candy, and to give her his ring. He didn't want Candy to be a widow for long. "Her beauty outshines Syndars brightest sun. She deserves to be loved, and to love in return.." And with them last words, Kenkle took his final breath.
Low took a breath. Looking at Candy crying he felt useless. Standing up, he placed his arms around her, and gave her a hug. "Miss Candy, My guild and I, well we are sorry for your loss. We also promised on Kenkles deathbed to look after you while you was going through these differcult times. I know at this time, You are in mourning. But we would like you to come with us and feel somewhat safe in these times of dark."
Candy wiped her tears on Low's sleeve. "Sorry.. Mhmm I doubt I would be very good company for your guild at this moment in time, If it does not offend you, I would like to take up residence in Freelance for the forseeable future." Low nodded in acceptance and took to his seat.
"Well I shall like to be able to visit you from time to time, to see how you are coping. Kenkle was a very good friend. And a noble fighter."
With that Low rose to his feet, bid Candy farewell, and exited the tavern. Strange fellow is that Gentlemen, Candy thought to herself..
The next few weeks were filled with sadness and darkness. Candy hardly left the safety of her bedroom at the tavern , unless she was called down for visitors. Low and Tadem were the main ones, occasionally with some of Kenkles friends and clan folk.
Thou one morning, Instead of the house keep knocking at her door, It was the tavern owner. "Good morning Ma'am" He greeted Candy. Candy noticed a stern look upon his face. "Good morning sir, mhmm How may I help you?" Candy gestured for the tavern owner to enter, and pulled him a chair. "Well Miss Candy, I have noticed that the money you pre payed the room with, is now running low. After tomorrow, You shall either have to pay again. Or leave. Am sorry, I know things are bad right now. But business is business.."
Candy gripped at her chain, and nodded.
"Of course sir, I shall have some money for you by tomorrow. Thank you most kindly for bringing this to my attention."
Candy escorted the tavern owner out of the bedroom, and walked down to the bar.
Strumming her fingers on the table, she struggled to think how she could make some money. The only thing she had of any value, where the two wedding rings. Could she really bare to give up her rings so soon after Kenkles death?
Sighing, Candy couldn't see another option and grabbed her cloak for the long trek to the back to Trollheim. As she got to Freelance gates, Candy shivered. Remembering Cynthia's words, she turned back and headed to the brothel. Pushing open the doors, Candy walked to the bar. The music and lights were off today. And she noticed Cynthia's curtains were open. Walking over she tapped on the desk where Cynthia sat.
"Miss Cynthia?.. My names Candyfloss. I came the other week, with.."
Cynthia stopped her mid sentence. "Yes I remember you my dear, What may I do for you?"
Candy sighed and undid her cloak, taking a seat.
"I come in search of a job, My rents almost up at the tavern, and I fail to find myself with any gold. I was going to sell my rings. but they have.. mhmm emotional baggage.."
Cynthia nodded and looked over Candy. With her small hourglass figure, and long blonde looks, Cynthia thought Candy would make an excellent dancer. Unfortunately, She also knew Candy was not ready for such work.
"Mhmm I can help my dear. How about some bar work?"
Candy nodded and took cynthia's hand, "Thank You...Oh Thank You!! I shall start tonight"
With that, Candy ran out the brothel and back to the tavern to inform the tavern owner. As she closed in on the tavern, she knocked into someone, and went flying onto the ground. "Watch where you are going you overgrown oaf!" Candy yelled at the figure. Turning around, the oaf laughed and helped Candy to her feet.
"Sorry Miss Candy, and I do believe I am a ling, not a oaf."
Dusting herself down, Candy noticed that it was Low who had sent her to the pavement.
"Oh, Low. I am so sorry..I was in a rush. Was completely my fault, and I shouldn't of bit your head off about it."
Low took Candys arm, and walked with her to the tavern.
"So why was you in such a rush to get back? Trouble?"
Low looked eager for there to be some trouble for him to deal with. Candy shook her head, "No. I wanted to tell the tavern owner about my new job, The one I can pay my rent with."
Low looked wary at Candy, "Job?"
"Yes, You know, that thing were woman make money... "They both laughed. "A woman like you shouldn't have to work. Too good for the likes of that." Candy laughed and kissed his cheek.
"First time I've ever seen you smile, Miss Candy."
Candy nodded and blushed, "Sorry, first time I've had something smile about.. You sounded just like.." "Kenkle" Low said, finishing her sentence, "God damn...Me and my big over sized. I am sorry Miss Candy."
Candy stopped and stood before Low.
"Don't be sorry. It felt good to be able smile and remember something good about him. And please, No more Miss Candy, we're friends now, no need for such formalities. Though if you wish to bow from time to time, feel free." Candy winked.
Low nodded and as he got to the tavern door, waited for Candy to open it. Puzzled, Candy looked at him and saw him smirking.
"Well You said no formalities, Don't have open the door to you now." Candy laughed and opened the door, quickly closing it before Low could enter, then took a seat. Suddenly Candy felt a tinge of sadness wash over her. She was having fun for the first time, since Kenkle had died. Crying, she failed to notice Low join her at the table. "Candy? whats wrong, my dear? Here have my hankerchief." Low passed her a torn cloth. Sobbing into it, Candy tried to break a sentence out.
"Am sorry....I just... Kenkle...I feel...so wrong...laughing .. you...Hes dead!"
Low sighed and took Candys hand, "Candy, Kenkle wanted you to live your own life. You think he would be happy knowing you are sat here crying because you had a laugh? He'd hate to see you like this. Now please. Cheer up. I'll buy you a cookie? "
Candy realised Low was right and passed him back the now soaked hankerchief.
"Chocolate cookie?" Candy asked, with a small smile. Low laughed and nodded before heading to the bar.
Low stood at the bar, and starred back at Candy, sighing. If only she would see him as more than a friend. He wanted to care for her, and follow Kenkles wishes of her finding love again. Thinking of Kenkles last words "Her beauty outshines Syndars brightest sun. She deserves to be loved, and to love in return..", Low felt himself agreeing. Now he just had to show her it was him that deserved her love.
After a while, Candy found herself almost back to her usual self. Working in the bar, she earn enough gold to stay in the tavern, and on her time off, she found herself in Low's company. Often smiling and laughing and sharing memories of her deceased husband. The one thing Low didn't know about Candy, was how or where she was working. Candy had decided to keep that to herself. Candy also found herself drown to Low. Feeling things she hadn't felt for someone since Kenkle. Was not helped by canoe rides on Lake Tarnok. One day, Candy woke up ready for a day at work. She'd made a decision the night before to tell Low how she felt about him. But first she had a late shift at work to contend with. She was now basically running the Brothel for Cynthia, while she was ill. Dressing in her finest dress, Candy brushed her hair and set off for work. "Good afternoon, Ma'am" The bar staff shouted from behind the bar.
"Good afternoon, Lacuna.." Candy replied back before closing the curtains and sitting at the desk. Hearing a small cough from behind the curtain, Candy stood back up and opened them up.
"Yes Lacuna?" Candy asked the small saurian girl standing before her. "One of the dancers called in sick, Would you like me to dance tonight? Apparently we are to have a big party in."
Candy shook her head, and patted Lacuna on the back. "No, Mhmmm I need bar staff, I guess I could do a lil dancing, Can't be too hard right?"
Then closing the curtains, Candy instantly regretted her decision. That night, Candy ran the bar as usual. Asking Lacuna to notify her for when the party arrived. As she dressed, Candy felt nerves wash over her. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but she needed the money, and the brothel needed the business. Soon, Lacunas head popped through the curtain. "Miss Candy, they're here." "Thank You Lacuna, Mhmmm give them drinks, sit them down...I'll be ready when the music starts..Give me five minutes though please."
As Lacuna left, Candy poured herself a shot of barbarian whiskey. Then she removed her wedding ring for the first time, and also the chain, with Kenkles ring. As the music started playing, Candy exited the curtains and headed for the stage. Only as she reached the stage to dance, Candy noticed the party in the front row. The party she was meant to dance for. It was Low, Tadem and their guild, The Fallen Angels. Candy tried to get Lacunas attention, but as she did, Low caught sight of Candy. Shocked Low stood up and walked out. Candy followed as fast as she could, and as she neared, fell over her heels.
"Low..Stop, Please I can explain."
Low stopped and walked over to her. Then going into his pocket, he threw some gold down at her. "Should be enough for the show, Have a good night Miss Candy."
Candy got to her feet and followed him again. "Low, You have it all wrong. Please!" "What do I have wrong, Ma'am? That you work in the brothel? Is that how you have been paying your rent? Sleeping with men?! Hell I even believed the whole Kenkle is my only love story. And worse of all, I fell in love with a prostitute. More fool me"
"Am not a prostitute, and I didn't sleep with any guys. I just run the brothel. Well, the dancing part. I'm meant to be nothing more than bar keep. Am sorry Low, I honestly am. I wanted to tell you but I was scared."
"Scared of what? That I'd judge you? If You didn't know me, Miss Candy, by now. You'd never know me. But hey, Keep the change."
Candy eventually caught up to Low, and forced him to stop. "Low, I mean it, am sorry. I didn't want you thinking less of me. I had to pay my rent, But I swear, I never slept with them. I only served drinks."
Low looked at Candy and saw the tears streaming down her face. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her head.
"Silly Candy. I believe you. Am sorry for the way I acted, I just... For the last few weeks, I've been falling in love with you."
Candy lifted her head up, "what? But... I've been falling for you.." Low laughed, and took her hand.
"Marry me then?"
Candy looked surprised, and almost shocked. Yet for some reason, she found herself nodding in agreement. Whether was for comfort, or the fact he reminded her alot of her beloved Kenkle, she was not sure.
Weeks passed, and Candy found herself sat outside her old clan's new house. Sitting on the grass, she remembered her first days as a defender of justice, meeting Kenkle.. and sadly her exit. With her upcoming wedding, and being given leadership of The Fallen Angels, Candy should of been at her happiest. Yet with the constant arguments with Low, the wedding was starting to become the last thing she wanted. Tears rolled down Candys soft cheeks, her green eyes stinging from trying to hold them back. Sighing Candy looked at the time, Low would be home soon, and be expecting his dinner cooked on the table. She felt more like a slave, than a wife. Standing up, she wiped her cloak down. "I'm going to have to run at some speed to be home in time.." Candy thought to herself. Wrapping her cloak around her, Candy started to speed through the village. As she reached the open areas and forests, she was running so fast she didn't notice the person on the path..Thud! Candy fell to the ground. "Ouch! Watch where you are going Missy" the figure spoke, some anger detected in his tone. Candy helped the guy to his feet. "Am sorry, Sir. I was in a rush. I didn't watch where I was going. Here, let me help you pick these books up." Candy leant down onto her knees to assist the collecting of the books. As she reached for one, the figures hand fell under hers. Blushing, she removed her hand and stumbled an apology. Smiling the gentleman forgave her. Candy caught his eyes, so dark. Yet full of intelligence. "The names Marroc, Captain Marroc." Marroc bowed.
"Candyfloss, Its very nice to meet you Captain. Oh god. Look at the time, He'll be home...Oh am in trouble..I must go, was nice to meet you."
And with that Candy waved and ran as fast as she could. When she reached the home she shared with Low, she noticed he was not yet home. She'd only just started cooking when the door opened.
"Good evening, my dear" Low said, Kissing Candys cheek. "Hello Dear. My apologises for the late dinner, housework was tedius today." Low nodded, somewhat disapproving and went to his chair near the fire. As she cooked, All Candy could think about was the eyes of Marroc. And how soft his hand was against hers. Smiling stupidly, Candy sighed as she was snapped back to reality. "C'mon dear, I'm a working man here. I need my food!"
Candy quickly finished up the meal and placed it on the table. Sitting down opposite, Candy stopped listening after the first 10 complaints about her cooking, she was too busy remembering Marroc. She had to see him again.
The next morning, Candys search for Marroc started, She watched for him on her travels all day. Almost giving up hope, Candy ran into Cypruss Library to escape the rain. As she stood looking out the window, she felt a hand touch her shoulder.
"Good day Missy.." A smile broke across Candys face as she heard Marroc's voice. "Hello again Captain. What a lovely surprise." Marroc nodded and stood next to Candy.
"I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon Ma'am..But am glad I got to see you." Candys smile broadened. Feeling her cheeks blushing, she coughed and tried to avoid his eyes.
"Do you have time for a quick drink today? Or will "he" be home?" Marroc asked. ""He" is my fiance. And No..He won't be home till later, so yes I will join you for a drink."
Marroc's smile saddened a small part at the news of Fiance. He had not been able get Candy's half elvish beauty off his mind the whole night. And now he found out she was betrothed. Finding a small secluded table for them both, Marroc held the chair out for Candy and poured her some water.
"So...Tell me about yourself?" Marroc asked.
"Well..Am engaged to Low_ Light. Leader of The Fallen Angels, and I used to work as bar staff in the Brothel.. You?"
" Captain Marroc of Defenders of Justice. No lady. And I've never worked at the Brothel."
They both laughed and smiled. Candy liked Marroc, for some reason he made her feel safe, and alive again. For the next two hours, they sat drinking water and talking about their lives. Candy spent a whole hour complaining about her relationship. They even talked about Candy being a ex Defender of Justice. As it was before the time Marroc has joined, he had no knowledge of her from there. "You know, If things are that bad at home, You should leave. Why marry someone who treats you that way?" Candy shrugged, "Because Marroc, I have no where else to go." Marroc looked at her, with a look to indicate it was not true. "There's always places Miss Candy, and from what You have been telling me, Seems you have grown up alot in the last few months. You should talk to Wynn, and Jessebelle. Am sure they will find it in their hearts to forgive you, then maybe you can forgive yourself for your past mistakes and move on."
Candy nodded, deep in thought. Marroc was right, she knew this. And she did want to put things with her past right. Taking Marrocs hand, she leant in.
"Would you come with me? I feel somewhat more confident when I am with you."
"It would be an honour. Come with me now, we'll see Wynn and then You can deal with Low as you wish." Candy breathed in and stood up.
"Well if am not going to do this now, I never will...Lets get this done.."
As Marroc and Candy made the walk from Cypruss to Trollheim, Candy thought of all the possibilities that could happen. Wynn could say No to Candy reentering the clan house and she'd be stuck with Low, something that made Candy shiver. She wasn't looking for a place in the clan. Just a refuge so she could get her head clear, and decide her next step.
As they reached the crowded Trollheim, Marroc pulled her into the Tavern doors and looked at her, softly.
"Ready Candy?" With a nervous smile, Candy nodded and followed Marroc almost three small steps behind. Noticing Wynn in a corner, Candy stepped back to allow Marroc time to talk to Wynn and explain everything. The already swarming butterflies in her stomach grew as both Marroc and Wynn stood from their seats and walked towards Candy. Then Candy felt two petite arms pull her close and hug her. Somewhat surprised, she pulled back.
"Long time no see Candy. You look well. "Wynn spoke in her soft voice. Candy's butterflies started to ease up.
"Nice to see you too Wynn." Marroc took Candys hand and lead her to the table, where a small dwarf sat too. "This is Borin, Wynn's husband, and fellow leader in the clan." Candy bowed her head in respect.
"Good afternoon, Sir." Candy spoke, voice broken by nerves. Looking up from his paper, Borin removed the ale from his hand, and took Candys and shook it.
"Good afternoon, Miss Candy."
Candy smiled and felt at ease. Pulling her chair closer to the table, she listened as Wynn and Marroc spoke about some of the other clanmates. Names Candy remembered where mentioned along with some she had no idea of. "Jessebelle and Lord married?" Candy butted in after hearing the news. Wynn nodded and carried on talking. Every so often she would feel a reassuring squeeze of the hand from Marroc, followed by a smile crossing his face. Then eventually Wynn turned to Candy. "Candy, The clan will be delighted to have you stay while you deal with your problems. DoJ will always be a home to those in need. And well You have history with the clan, Some good...some ..well You know.." Candy nodded, "So I'll send Marroc with you to get your belongings. I can also ask Wolfwood.. More muscle ..Just in case."
Candy smiled and took to her feet. "Thank You Wynn, Borin. I really appreciate this. And I will repay your generosity, Anything you wish to know about one a days, any knowledge I can share, I will do so." And together Marroc and Candy left the tavern. Waiting at the gates for Wolfwood to show up, Marroc threw stones out of the gates. "Something up, Marroc?" Candy asked. Marroc shook his head and continued to throw the stones.
"Oww! Marroc You..." a gentlemen spoke coming towards them with a stone, "Bloody hurt my head." Marroc laughed and turned towards Candy.
"This is Wolfwood. Have excuse his language in front of ladies. Hes a sailor." Candy giggled and greeted Wolfwood.
"Call me wolfy for short,and hi."
As they entered Terra, Candy looked around uneasy. She was half hoping she could grab her stuff and get away before Low saw her..But unfortunately that wouldn't be the case.
Soon as her keys opened the door, Lows voice bellowed from upstairs.
"There you are, what time do You call this..?" Low stopped at the top of the stairs, and eyes Wolfy and Marroc, "And who are these? Men from your brothel days?"
Candy looked shocked, and with all her strength, slapped Low over the face. Marroc rushed to her side, and stood in front of her.
"Wolf, Get Candy out of here till she calms down, I'll grab her stuff." Wolfwood nodded and escorted Candy outside. "Nice slap. Remind me not get on the wrong side of you.." Candy sighed, and stood against the wall, listening to the arguments from inside.
"damn, Your hubby sure has a voice on him. Glad Marroc is keeping his calm. I've only seen him angry once, Was not nice.." Candy looked panicingly at the door. Soon Marroc came out, with all her stuff. Handing some of the bags to Wolfwood, he turned to Candy. "I think You need to talk to Low, we'll wait here hun." Candy nodded and entered the house.
To her surprise, she saw Low crying in his chair. "Why do this to me, Candy? I thought You loved me. The marriage is only a few days away. Will you be home in time?" Low looked up at Candy.
"Am sorry Low, am not going to marry you. You're not the man I thought you was." Candy turned away, and as she walked out the door, she dropped her ring on the table next to it.
"Come back Candy! I can change! If you leave now,don't bother coming back..And guys, You're welcome to her, crazy woman she is. Should of left her at that brothel. You'd of been able pay for her.."
Candy looked in horror as Marroc walked over to Low.
"Sir, I suggest you go back to the house. Candy's leaving you and if you have any sense, You will be best to leave her be from now on. Or you will have me to deal with." Marroc took Candys hand and lead them away and back to the clan house.
"Am sorry guys," Candy spoke up before they entered the house, "I didn't mean to be this much trouble.."
Marroc shook his head, "Don't worry your pretty little head Candy. We got your back." Candy smiled and followed Wolfwood inside. Stepping into the hall, she found Wynn, Borin and Jessebelle waiting for her. "Welcome home, Candy" Jessebelle spoke, hugging Candy.
Soon as Candy had been introduced to everyone in the guild, Marroc took her to one side. "Come with me." He said. Candy followed him into a room. The room was small and stuffy. Dust made Candy sneeze. "Bless you." Marroc said smiling. "Is this my bedroom?" Candy asked worringly.
Marroc laughed and put the light on, "Not yours no. Its just a small hideaway. I just wanted to give you something. Turn around." Candy did as she was told, and giggled as she felt his hands close to her neck. Lifting her hair up, Marroc placed a chain around Candy's neck. "Oh...Marroc!! my chain.. Thank You..Oh Thank You Marroc.." In the excitement, Candy landed a kiss on Marroc's lips. Neither of them pulled away, and when they did, both wore a somewhat goofy smile on their faces, cheeks both blushing red. "Mhmmm...well that was unexpected..but enjoyed." Marroc spoke first. Candy nodded.
"Sorry..I shouldn't of done that. Not so soon after me and Low." Candy turned away.
"Hun, From what you've said to me, the love between you and Low, broke down a long time ago.. And well I'm attracted to you. I'd like to buy your patronage."
Candy thought this was an insult to her. Slapping Marroc soundly across the face,she reached for the door. "I am not for sale. I may of worked in the Brothel, but am certainly not one of them girls!"
Marroc looked humbly at her, "Candy, that's not what I meant. I meant I would like to have your company..I enjoy being around you. I'm sorry." Candy removed her hand from the handle, and looked at him.
"I would like that too, "Then leaning in she whispered softly in his ear. "Two things though. You don't have to buy my company, thats free for you...And well am attracted to you too." Marroc smiled, and leaned in for another kiss.
"However, I am recently single. I don't want to rush into something. I did that with Low, and well look how that ended. Goodnight Marroc." Candy kissed his cheek and left for her bedroom.
Marroc leant against the door.
"Well, Its a start.." He smiled, thinking to himself.


text:
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation Seeks A Southeastern States Manager
States in Region: AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, OH, SC, TN, and WV.
The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation is seeking a Southeastern States Manager to manage the region's state affairs. In the Southeastern region you will serve as an interface with the existing regional state legislative sportsmen's caucuses under the National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses (NASC) program and respective members of the Governors Sportsmen's Caucus (GSC) program by providing counsel, tracking and disseminating information regarding relevant legislative, administrative (regulatory) and programmatic issues and caucus infrastructure. This position also serves as the lead contact for the respective state natural resource agencies, industry partners and non-governmental organizations, and includes responsibility for organizational, event planning, and fundraising assistance. The Southeastern States Manager will also serve as a point of contact for states establishing a caucus and will assist with the formation and development of regional state advisory councils.
Analyze and track state legislation of interest to sportsmen.
Serve as point of contact for inquiries from legislators/conservation organizations interested in establishing a state caucus.
Serve as a clearinghouse for information relevant to state caucus legislators about sportsmen's issues, including pertinent federal regulatory/legislative issues.
Liaise and provide counsel to the various state legislative sportsmen's caucuses, GSC members and state advisory councils.
Assist with events/event planning including individual state caucus events and the NASC mid-year and annual meetings.
Represent CSF at state caucus functions, meetings, and events.
Develop content for an electronic newsletter for state issues and state caucus activity.
Facilitate communication and serve as a network between CSF partners, state and federal natural resource agencies, and members of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, the NASC and the GSC.
Required Qualifications
Minimum of Bachelor's Degree.
Knowledge of the legislative process and experience working with state legislatures, Congress or governmental agencies.
Supporter of hunting, fishing, trapping, and professional fish and wildlife management.
Ability to establish priorities, work independently, and process objectives with little supervision.
Willingness to travel.
Proficient with Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat.
Willingness to train in Washington, DC for 6 months to a year.
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, three references, transcripts and a writing sample to Kelli Wagner at firstname.lastname@example.com or mail to:
Kelli Wagner
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
110 North Carolina Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
States Involved
Share this page
Your opinion counts
What do you think is the most important policy issue impacting sportsmen and women in the 2018 legislative session?Vote Here
- Facilitating voter registration at the time of hunting/fishing license purchase (8.81%)
- Addressing Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer populations (15.33%)
- Increasing public access to private lands (26.82%)
- Granting more fish and wildlife management authority to the states (28.74%)
- Other (20.31%)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
It looks like the shy and retiring CEO of Microsoft Steve "there is a kind of hush" Ballmer has written a cheque for more than a billion greenbacks to secure his deal with Nokia.
According to Bloomberg, Steve will pay Nokia Oyj more than $1 billion to promote and develop Windows-based handsets as part of their smartphone software agreement. In turn Nokia will buy Windows for its phones.
There are other benefits in the glorious five year plan. Nokia will not have to spend cash on R&D and Ballmer has a big customer for his Windows Mobile OS. Nokia's royalty payments will Ballmer make a profit on the accord even after the payments to Nokia.
It also kept the outfit from moving to Android.
Some of the payment to Nokia would be made before the company starts selling the phones, meaning Microsoft bears some upfront cost in the partnership.
Both sides need the deal to work and many of Nokia's shareholders think the outfit has signed up to a Ballmer albatross which does not even come with wafers.
Nokia shares dropped 26 percent since the accord was unveiled February 11.
Another interesting thing from the deal is that it gives Redmond Nokia's patent portfolio. Ballmer gets to use Nokia's Navteq mapping products for functions such as geolocation services and selling local advertising and coupons tied to a user's position.


text: On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:00:13 -0500 "Mumia W.." <email@example.com> wrote: > On 07/10/2008 10:37 PM, Celejar wrote: > > [...] > > http://lizzie.freehostia.com/newegg-pdf.jpg > > > > That is a mess. > > > I see the same problem when printing to an actual printer, to a > > CUPS-PDF virtual printer, and when using IW's native print-to-file > > functionality. > > > > Is there any other information I can provide? > > > > Let's hope the PDFfonts avenue helps. It seems that some bad font > calculations occurred, and it may be due to bad font substitutions. I posted some pdffonts output in another message in this thread, but as I said there, I have no idea what any of it means. > Install the fonts required by the application that produces the invoice. > If that's not possible, get very close substitutions. The pages I'm printing are from websites; they aren't produced by any application I'm running. What font packages should I have installed? I think I have a pretty standard set, but it's possible I'm missing something important. > Also try inkscape 0.46, which can read, convert and fix some kinds of > PDF files. Thanks, I'll look into that. Celejar -- mailmin.sourceforge.net - remote access via secure (OpenPGP) email ssuds.sourceforge.net - A Simple Sudoku Solver and Generator


text:
I Have a Favorite Doll
Personal Stories, Advice, and Support 2 People
I'm 35 and Still Have a Favorite!Every since I was in first grade, I have had a Fisher-price My Frined Mandy doll. Her name was Mandy already. I didn't name her. Many people think that I named her after the Barry Manilow song, but she came with that name. Mandy has been through so much...
debmichelle 36-40 0 May 28, 2008


text:
Hello Everyone,
Disclaimer: I am a Kickstarter creator. I am not selling a service. Just trying to inform other creators of a good one.
I know a big question when launching a campaign is "how do I boost traffic or get in front of people?" This is now my 3rd Kickstarter campaign and I have tried a few promotion services. None of them worked before today. The day before yesterday Mark the co-founder of BackerClub contacted me via Twitter. He did the typical "Check out my website" pitch but I noticed something different. He already tweeted my campaign to not only his followers but also BackerClub followers telling them "Everyone go back it." I thought that was awesome so I checked out BackerClub. Turns out they have a pretty good following and I liked their business model. You do not have to pay for their service until your project funds. If your project doesn't fund you don't owe them anything. So I figured what could hurt and submitted my project to them. It was approved and they promoted it yesterday. As of today I have received 101 backers for $3,476 from BackerClub and they keep coming in. The surge of activity sky rocketed me to #1 in the food category and top 20 live projects overall on Kickstarter. So BackerClub works. I have seen some people say that they didn't get anything from BackerClub. Well... if your campaign isn't done well or your product isn't great then nobody will by it regardless of the promotion. BackerClub can only put your campaign in front of active backers. It is your job to make a great campaign that makes the backers get out their wallets.
Hope this helps someone,


text:
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Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 5008
Location: Online. duh
Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:24 am
Post subject:
So can someone point me towards a guide that explains the nitty gritty of how the rank and level systems work?
Johnson - Hanks 2020
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 1:21 am
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Nep on Nep violence is dumb.
bears fall, everyone dies
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Posts: 1171
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 4:45 am
Post subject:
Lord Mistborn wrote:
fectin wrote:
I've noticed a weird pattern, and it seems to be repeatable: cashing in more tickets
at the same time
consistently produces rarer draws in each pack.
I haven't played much, so my sample size is fairly small. But it's a big enough difference to be noticeable, and it seems to be reproducible going forward.
On the other hand, this is exactly how people get caught in magical thinking. So, has anyone else seen this behavior?
It's probably just a psychological thing. If you open a bunch of packs obviously your're more likely to draw rares. Any when you open a lot of pack in succession you'll tend to go through the uninteresting packs faster and thus interesting ones will stand out more.
I just opened 4 boosters and the only pack where I didn't get one rare was the one where I got two.
Although last year I once opened like a dozen packs in a single go and nothing special seemed to happen.
FrankTrollman wrote:
Actually, our blood banking system is set up
the way you'd want it to be if you were a secret vampire conspiracy.
Last edited by maglag on Thu Mar 16, 2017 4:46 am; edited 1 time in total
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:00 pm
Post subject:
What this game does right:
No mana screw. No need for mana fixing.
Faction Differentiation handled through "leaders" instead of mana colors -- opponents still have some idea what to expect at the start of the match.
The mulligan rule is quick and workable and makes a lot of "bad draws" seem like a consequence of player choice.
On top of the mana curve, single-color mana and mulligan rule: starting player handsize is notably smaller than maximum player handsize -- so being unable to play a card on the first turn or two does not put a player down on card ratios the way it does in MtG.
One overriding mechanic per faction (not quite unique per faction as Path to Purg counts Shadows) makes learning game in chunks easy.
Most of the faction mechanics enable tactical-in-game choices to effect game outcome a great deal -- thus the challenge is not merely pregame optimization.
Evolution points are another resource to manage that make in game tactical choices very meaningful.
Evolution points and additional card draw negate (and sometimes invert) first-player board and mana advantages.
Handing out unique "basic" cards for tutorials and solo play makes sure all players have access to many core tools.
Partitioning "Haste" into two abilities is really good design for a game with no out-of turn reactions nor defensive combat tricks
Only one evasion ability reduces complex interactions between abilities.
What the game does wrong:
Many Legendaries being better than you is pure pay-to-win.
Too many lengthy and pointless animations.
The lack of a way to pause turn timer even briefly during a match is pretty glaring. A once-per-game-per player "I need two minutes" pause button would literally double the amount of time I could play.
Starting life also being hard life limit reduces effectiveness of healing and increases effectiveness of direct-to-damage to the face.
Ability interaction still gets more complex than I would like in corner cases (Cost reductions don't apply to Enhance costs; Ward on a follower with active Ambush or 'Cannot be attacked"; simultaneous timing triggers resolving from left to right.)
Johnson - Hanks 2020
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 6:35 pm
Post subject:
While I broadly agree with that assessment, I just want to mention one thing in particular that stood out because it's the only thing I unambiguously completely disagree with:
Starting life also being hard life limit reduces effectiveness of healing and increases effectiveness of direct-to-damage to the face.
This statement is true but I disagree that the effect is bad. Lifegain is already very strong in this game - in Haven, pure Elana decks are not that weak, Elana Seraph is good, Control Blood's vampiric healing is good, and many neutral cards that heal (including Unicorn Dancer Unica, Healing Angel, and Lucifer) are all used VERY often in many decks. If you could heal above 20, it would make a lot of already dominant strategies even better and would reduce other decks' effectiveness dramatically. The game is pretty balanced with the life maximum, and among other things it acts as a factor to make it less likely games will stall out to the 'play your topdeck every turn, you have no other cards in hand left' phase even playing against life-gaining decks. By having a hard maximum of life as it does, a lot of combo decks can plan around ways to deal with that maximum life, and things like Wolf Bolt decks are playable.
The rest of your points I either agree with or think there are legitimate arguments for both sides.
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Posts: 4965
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:36 pm
Post subject:
Josh_Kablack wrote:
Many Legendaries being better than you is pure pay-to-win.
It's more "pay-to-win-as-a-control-deck." The cheapest legendaries are 3 mana, and most of the ones in the 3-6 range either suck or don't have an immediate effect on the board (or are Albert and are actually meant to be played with 9 mana) - which makes them a very bad play for an aggro deck that is supposed to be wrapping up the game around that time. You can really feel that in the total vial cost when trying to put together a control deck versus an aggro deck; a good control blood deck will have as many legendaries as a good aggro blood deck has golds (and the aggro blood deck won't run any legendaries at all).
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Serious Badass
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 27305
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 10:38 pm
Post subject:
The exception of course is Forestcraft, which is Pay-to-Win at all speeds. Forestcraft Aggro decks are full of Legendaries and Golds, and Forestcraft Control decks are... full of Legendaries and Golds. Fucking Forestcraft, it's
really hard
to make a deck that isn't a pile of ass without a playset of Ancient Elves, and that's 10,500 vials or buying the pregen deck three times just for that.
Anyway, they've released a lot more of the new set. Havencraft gets some weird stuff that has a place in some decks that are fringe now. Does Guardian Sun getting an Aegis as a win condition landing on turn 8 make that deck not suck? Elana's Prayer gets an archer that does face damage when you heal - giving the deck a much higher chance of getting value from incidental healing. Tarnished Grail is conceptually exactly Seraph in that you play it on Turn 8, then you play accelerants on Turn 9. but it damages all followers when you drop it (making turn 8 less of a "wait for death" turn) and when it goes off you "just" get a bunch of Satan cards, you don't straight up win. But basically it slots directly into Seraph, giving them a 4th, 5th, or 6th Seraph in their deck if that is what they want. So other than Storm, which appears to get a lump of coal in its stockings, all the Havencraft decks get new toys.
Forestcraft goes deep on Control. Jungle Wardens, new Crystal Fairies, Man Eating Groves, and the Elf Queen who resets your fucking life total once per game. I don't know if this archetype is going to be a thing, but it gets a
of support. Roach decks get a perfectly decent Beetle Warrior to enhance the playstyle.
Swordcraft gets a bunch of support for the Commander Deck. It's a deck that uses the Support Cannon to get huge damage sprays when it plays commanders and then uses Luminous Mages to freevolve Gawain to make commanders cheaper while it has a hand full of Commanders. I don't even know if that's a deck that's going to work, but it looks like it has enough support that it might. Other than that it looks like just some Control Sword toys.
Shadow gets a bunch of support for midrange Necromancy with a sideline of Tyrant Combo. Necromancy aggro and Tyrant Combo were already decent, and I think this Necromancy midrange deck has legs. There's a thing they are trying to do with Death's Ledger for Nephthys decks, but I don't think Nephthys decks actually care.
Rune has some weird shit for Dirt Rune, which is hard to evaluate because Dirt Rune. A few spells that might end up finding places in various Daria or D-Shift builds, but nothing amazing. The big deal is Ginger, the Wordwielder. She, like Daria before her, is just a whole new archetype in a box. You drop her and then you can fill your play space with Lucifers and Zeuses and shit. It's a Neutralcraft Rune deck that did not previously exist in any form. Is it good? I have no idea. Ginger decks are supposed to attack the format from a completely different angle, and maybe it's going to work. My big problem is that I don't see how you make a Ginger deck for less than forty thousand vials, so it's going to be super hard to test.
Blood gets a nice 7 cost Storm finisher in the Soul Dominator. Also it gets the Blood Moon, which is an amulet that declares you in Vengeance for a few turns. That's a small boost for Storm Blood (which was good) and a huge boost for Vengeance Blood (which was bad). The big deal I think is Baphomet Combo. On turn 5 you can Baphomet and cost discount a 5 power creature. So you can play a Maelstrom Serpent on turn 6, which just puts 5 5/5 creatures into play, making you win the game instantly on turn 7. Is that gonna be reliable enough to be more than a meme deck? Maybe.
Dragon gets a lot of support for Neutralcraft Rampdragon. Israfil and the Warcyclone both really want there to be a Dragon Pendant in play when they go off
would like you to ramp them out quickly. They get a new Legendary that is a combination of ramp and Lucifer at 5 mana, which is very good. Also there are some more storm cards: a 2/2 Bane for 3 that Storms in Overflow and an Ultimate Carrot for 8 mana that is an 8/4 that faces your opponent for 3 every time you play or replay it. Storm Dragon was already good, so that looks good. Discard Dragon looks like it still sucks and all the cards that discard things are trap cards. And finally, there are more Orcas? I don't
they are printing enough dolphin based cards that you can make a Neptune deck, but we seem to be heading in that direction.
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:57 am
Post subject:
I am in agreement that a hard life cap is good.
Where I have problems is that Piercing Rune Levi needed a nerf and that dual-silverbolt Forestcraft is so strong in the meta because that cap is at 20. I'd be much happier if you could have just a bit of overhealing.
Edit: Alternately, the game could add direct damage countermeasures such as making Timeless Witch's ability more common and stapling it on a couple of Ambush or otherwise resistant-to-targeting followers -- but that seems clumsy when there are already a bunch of healing cards extant is the game.
Johnson - Hanks 2020
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 6:47 pm
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Another point in my "done right" column:
Interaction between creature combat and removal has a pretty gosh-durn good cost curve and card ratios:
A lot of cheaper removal is damage-dealing or capped by remaining defense meaning that these effects synergize with attacking followers due to the game's ablative follower defense system.
A lot of followers have effects (fanfare, last word) that still give value against removal.
Most higher-cost removal gives value in addition to removal.
Johnson - Hanks 2020
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 10:12 pm
Post subject:
I'm still slumming it and it's been hilarious. I've been running a janky slow paced blood deck that runs Yurius, a bunch of life gain and some high quality removal and it's kinda funny how many forestcraft players are clearly running according to some sort of internal script and cheerfully walk right into eminently avoidable haymakers. Like, I I keep having dudes durdle around as I peck at their life total and then the late turns come around and suddenly they realize they're behind on board control and start doing dumb shit like trying to ram their Rhinoceroaches and fairy bullshit into my
Flood Behemoths
for some dumb ass reason. There's no way this would work if I start playing ranked again but I don't care because it's still funny.
bears fall, everyone dies
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Posts: 5177
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:15 am
Post subject:
Any of y'all using Gourmet Emperor Kaiser?
I put 3 of them in my shadowcraft deck as a renewable source of shadows and sacrifices for necro-assassin. Also got 3 shadow reapers but only using 2 in the deck, maybe try a shadow weenie deck with it.
Are there any cornerstone "must craft" cards for each -craft?
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:17 am
Post subject:
The Gourmet Emperor can sometimes slot into midrange/control decks, but without rush/storm/ward it's overall a pretty slow card.
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Serious Badass
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 27305
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:59 am
Post subject:
I've seen Gourmet Emperor used in a number of decks. Shadowcraft more often than others, but I don't think that's a great fit. The Gourmet Emperor's Carrot parade makes sure that you always have something to spend 2 mana on, which makes it good in decks that otherwise might
have something to spend two mana on.
So basically the Ultimate Carrot is decent in a grindy control deck with a lot of high priced cards that might otherwise not be able to spend all their mana. I think people should consider using Gourmet Emperor Kaiser in like Control Blood and shit. Because sometimes you have a 7 mana play but 9 play orbs or some shit, and getting a carrot on the table is "better than nothing." Also, when most of your deck is removal effects, making sure you always have a body on the table threatening to chip away at your opponent's life force is a decent source of inevitability - even if that body is just a 2/2 Carrot.
I don't think that really sums up the way Shadow is played. The most controlling Shadow list is 3478 Nephthys (as opposed to the more midrange 23478 Nephthys), and that deck doesn't give a single rat's ass about mana efficiency or inevitability on turns 9+. Really it just needs to stay alive because turn 8 puts Mordecai into play one way or the other, and that's more inevitability than Ouroboros. For Ultimate Carrot to be good, you really have to be saying "Well, I'm good at killing all my opponent's stuff, but I still need a win condition" and that is
a Nephthys issue. At all.
As for mandatory crafting:
Levi. You need 3 Levi no matter what flavor of Rune you are playing. Daria and D-Shift want it because of the spellboost, Dirt Rune wants it because of the tempo, and if Ginger Rune turns out to be good, it's still going to run 3 for early board clearing.
Vania. Control? Aggro? Storm Midrange? Doesn't matter. You will have 3 copies of Vania. If Blood Moon and Maelstrom Serpent are enough to make Vengeance Blood good, it will also pack 3 Vanias.
Forte. Whether she's the top of your curve in an aggro deck or the first hitter you play in a Satan deck, you still should be playing the full playset.
Ancient Elf. Also Tia. Purgatory, Silverbolt, Rose Queen, or Roach, you're still going to play the Legendary Walls, because they do aggro, combo, and control. And yes, the new Control Forest deck is going to play both of those as 3-ofs as well.
Albert. You don't actually need 3, some decks get by with 2. But he's the top of the curve for Aggro
he's a finisher for Control
a solid tempo play for Midrange.
There is actually very little overlap in gold or legendary cards between Storm Haven, Elana Haven, Seraph Haven, and Guardian Sun Haven. You're probably going to be running some number of Themis' Decrees and Tribunals, but it won't necessarily be 3 of either.
Foul Tempest I suppose. There isn't a whole lot of overlap in card choices between Nephthys, Tyrant Combo, and Aggro. Aggro and Tyrant Combo both play Cerberus, but Nephthys has no use for 5 mana fanfare followers.
As you can see, the two cheapest competitive decks are Aggro Blood and Daria Rune. Both rely on class specific
cards rather than Legendaries. You can do a mass liquefaction and netneck either one with a starting account. The most expensive faction is Forest, where even the leanest aggro deck is still over thirty thousand vials.
I expect all of the new decks from Tempest to be really expensive in vials. For fuck's sake, Ginger Rune runs two Legendary 4/4s whose text begins "The other Legendaries in your hand..." And Commander Sword runs a gold card whose text begins "For the rest of the game, when you play a Gold or Legendary follower..." Even the new Midrange Necromancy featuring Tyrant wants 3 Minty and 3 Cerberus.
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:50 am
Post subject:
Control blood definitely does not need or even particularly want Vania. Control blood runs lifegain to offset the health cost of blood's discounted removal/draw and then makes their opponent cry with legendary neutrals like Bahamut, Odin, Lucifer, and Sahaquiel. Bats do not really fit into that paradigm; Queen Vampire may very well be the only card in a control blood deck that generates bats, and the only reason it's there is because it's a total 6/6 for 6 among three creatures, two of which have ward. Sure, it does extra chip damage if you have a Vania on the table, but who cares? It's turn 6 and you've virtually guaranteed yourself a turn 7, where you'll play something crazy like Sahaquiel into Odin and guarantee yourself a turn 8. Meanwhile, that Vania could have been a unicorn dancer with a stupid name, forcing your opponent to attack into random shit you don't care about while you ramp closer and closer to the motherfuckin' 13/13 that is Bahamut, or maybe "only" a Temptress Vampire.
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Posts: 3043
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 10:25 am
Post subject:
While we're on the subject of bat shenanigans I'd like to take a moment to rep Veight, Vampire Noble. He's a 3/2 body for 3 with ward and unless he draws removal he's crapping out another cheap body before he hits the canvas. He's only a silver, so get 3, because he'll do just fine whether you're aggro or budget control.
bears fall, everyone dies
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Posts: 4965
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:23 am
Post subject:
Veight is basically a must for an aggro blood deck - realistically 4/3 worth of total value for 3 mana and it synergizes with all the other bat shit you're running.
Veight is... awkward to fit into control blood, not because it isn't a great card (again, 4/3 worth of total value for 3 mana,
), but because it's too close on the mana curve to important lifegain cards like Unicorn Dancer Unica and Healing Angel. The existence of those cards - and the need to avoid overstuffing your
deck with cheap creatures - make Veight damn hard to justify, and instead you end up grabbing "defensive" creatures from the 4-5 range like righteous devil (drain) and goblinmount demon (ward) which give your deck a better curve.
But I have seen budget control blood decks that basically drop a bunch of other stuff (lifegain, ward creatures, legendary finishers) in order to fit a sort of bat-based subcombo in; usually, vania, veight, night horde, and vampire queen. I'm not sure how I feel about that, other than "well, at least it's probably cheaper."
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Posts: 3043
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:09 pm
Post subject:
It's definitely cheaper, mostly because eking out extra damage here and there tends to be way more compatible with just throwing your randomly drawn 5+ cost rares into a pile and going to war--for better or worse "Budget Control" is often just code for "My Collection Has Too Many Holes To Run True Midrange." That's not great, but there are match ups where you can make it work well enough to get your dailies over without too much fuss. I wouldn't recommend spending vials with
that kind of thing in mind, but as we've already discussed Veight is also a worthy inclusion in aggro decks too, so I figured my boy was worth a shout out.
bears fall, everyone dies
Last edited by Whipstitch on Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:31 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Serious Badass
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 27305
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:19 pm
Post subject:
I think Aggro, Control, and Midrange all want to be running some amount of bat shit. It's too good to ignore and the synergies are too strong. The Vampire Queen gives Ward to the bats made by either of her kids. Vania does face damage for bats made by her brother or her mom.
I don't think you run the
bat package in any deck. Control isn't interested in spending 2 mana for a 1/1 Forest bat and 3 points of face damage, so the Castle is not a thing they are going to want. They also aren't going to want Summon Bloodkin. I don't think Aggro is really that interested in a Vampire Queen.
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Posts: 4965
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:32 am
Post subject:
The problem with fitting bat shit into a control blood deck is the other shit you could have instead. Here's a basic "I need to survive until turn 7-8, when the fun really starts" framework a control blood deck might run:
Unicorn Dancer Unica (2/2 for 2, lifegain)
Healing Angel (2/3 for 3, lifegain)
Wardrobe Raider (3/4 for 4, evolve for removal and lifegain)
Righteous Devil (2/5 for 4, attack for removal/lifegain if in vengeance)
Goblinmount Demon (3/7 for 5, ward)
Queen Vampire (total 6/6 for 6, partial ward)
Vania is a 2/2 for 2 that provides chip damage when bats hit the field. Unica is a 2/2 for 2 that provides lifegain every turn. It's obvious why Vania makes it into aggro decks and Unica makes it into control decks. They are identical chassis at an identical cost, but one has a special ability which makes the game shorter and the other has a special ability which makes the game longer.
Veight and his bat are both one pump chumps (I have never had a game where an unevolved Veight got to attack twice, and I have never had a game where I felt good about evolving Veight), so they're going to dish out a total of 4 damage and then leave the board. But healing angel is a 2/3, and if played on curve will probably be able to attack twice for the same 4 damage total - except she
hits the table with lifegain. Veight makes it into aggro decks because he synergizes with Vania for extra chip, and Healing Angel makes it into control because she makes you die slower.
But you want to fit bat shit in your deck? Sure. You drop healing angel to make room for Veight. You cut some copies of wardrobe raider, righteous devil, and goblinmount demon to make room for Vania. That pushes your curve a little lower, but it's good synergy. You take three of your ~10-12 removal spells and replace them with night horde. You're already running Queen Vampire, because she's amazing. Was it worth it? In the end, I am inclined to say no. Vania is just straight up chip damage, and Veight's presence is only justifiable in the context of Vania.
While we're talking about bloodcraft decks, here are mine. Bloodcraft is pretty much the only faction I've invested enough in to that my deck composition reflects interesting choices instead of whatever I've been able to cobble together out of my packs.
Aggro Blood
Click here to see the hidden message (It might contain spoilers)
3x ambling wraith
3x bloodwolf
3x vania
3x yurius
2x mini soul devil
3x veight
3x imp lancer
3x razory claw
3x summon bloodkin
2x angelic barrage
3x night horde
2x dance of death
2x demonic storm
3x bloodfed flowerbed
2x vampiric fortress
*I'm running 6 one drops, but only three are creatures. I've seen people run more, but Cursebrand Vampire is awful and I feel like an idiot everytime I draw it.
*The 4 card slots currently held by Mini Soul Devil and Angelic Barrage represent my greatest struggle in building this deck. I've tried lots of different ways to fill those four cards; Lilith, Killer Devil, Midnight Vampire. I'm pretty happy with Mini Soul Devil. Angelic Barrage is an ongoing experiment.
*Vampiric Fortress continues to be a card that I have in the deck because I feel obligated to have it in the deck. It is occasionally useful, but just as often it seems to sit in my hand being completely useless because the conditions aren't there to trigger it. Which is weird, because the deck has plenty of bat shit going on. But the bat shit ends up being very transient; bats come and go.
Control Blood
Click here to see the hidden message (It might contain spoilers)
3x unicorn dancer unica
3x healing angel
3x wardrobe raider
3x righteous devil
3x goblinmount demon
1x mastema
1x athena
1x medusa
1x sahaquiel
1x bloodhungry matriarch
1x lucifer
1x furiae
2x bahamut
1x blood pact
3x vampiric kiss
3x call of cocytus
3x diabolic drain
3x revelation
3x dire bond
*Where's the Queen Vampire, you ask? Well, she's a fucking legendary. That shit's expensive. The plan is to swap out 2x of Wardrobe Raider/Righteous Devil/Goblinmount Demon (not sure which yet) and my 1x of Mastema for 3x Queen Vampire. That's what I'm working on right now.
*Those last 8 followers, the 6+ costed golds/legendaries, probably look like an assortment of random bullshit to you. That's because they are. Those are cards I've lucked into, and honestly it's not a bad collection. I'm not even sure what the end goal is, but it definitely includes 2-3x of Temptress Vampire; Medusa and Furiae are definitely the first two on the chopping block to make that happen.
*I want to point out that a lot of this deck's removal doubles as lifegain; Wardrobe Raider, Vampiric Kiss, Diabolic Drain. Diabolic Drain, in particular, is just amazing. I have seriously had individual turns where I bounced back from 8 staring at lethal to 16 staring at an empty board.
*If you wanted the moar bats version of this deck, you'd do something like swapping 3x Healing Angel, 1x Righteous Devil, 2x Goblinmount Demon, and 3x Call of Cocytus for 3x Vania, 3x Veight, and 3x Night Horde.
Last edited by DSMatticus on Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:51 am; edited 3 times in total
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Posts: 3043
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:04 am
Post subject:
I dunno, I hate Rhinoceroaches and Centaur Vanguards super bad, so it's hard for me to give up entirely on having a ward critter cheap enough to be thrown out there in the same turn as a Hungering Horde or whatever.
bears fall, everyone dies
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Posts: 5177
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 5:17 am
Post subject:
Just got a Vania, bloodcraft is still my weakest faction and the one I'm least interested in mechanically but it's a start.
Earthrite Rune has been my favorite so far. My deck's key cards are...
Click here to see the hidden message (It might contain spoilers)
-Olivia (9): lets me use evolution aggressively
-Anne, Belle of Mysteria (8): Helps clean out weenies, Grea helps clear weaker wards and deal damage next turn
-Juno's Lab (7): countdown 3 makes a guardian golem at end of turn, earthrite to start off with a guardian golem, I might craft another one
-Alchemical lore (7)x2: Clears battlefield, but considering swapping it out as by the time I have this card there may be multiple 4+ toughness foes. I don't fight forestcraft often and usually swordcraft doesn't make it to turn 7+
-Professor of Taboos (6): uses earthrite to destroy enemies at end of turn, destroyed enemies become my zombies, I might craft another one.
-Ancient Alchemist (5): 2/4 with earthrite put 3 conjure guardians in hand. Considering crafting more.
Remi & Rami, Witchy Duo (4) x2: a 3/4 for 4 is mediocre, but evolving lets me earthrite a guardian golem
Veteran Alchemist (4): 2/5 for 4 is durable and earthrite to restore 5, a defensive card that helps against aggressive decks
Uriel (4): 3/3 that fetches an amulet from deck into hand, stuck in because I drew this rare recently
-Dwarf alchemist (2) x3: 2/2 that puts a 1 point sigil in hand, evolving to search for earthrite is handy to have
-Levi (2): Just crafted one to see how good he is in an earth rite deck
-Unicorn dancer (2): guardian golems are wards so seeing if this could be useful for healing up damage
-Golem protection (5): summon a guardian golem and earthrite to give all guardian golems of mine +2/+2. Seems like a 50% chance I get to buff two golems with this.
-Fissure Bomb (4) x3: deal 5 and earthrite to summon a guardian. Would replace with rarer cards but this is what I've got
-rite of exorcism (3): enhance 5 to destroy pesky amulets
-magic missile (2) x3: handy spell for spot removal or finishing a lucky foe off
-Alchemist's Workshop (4) x3: summons a guardian golem and leaves a sigil for earth rite.
-Price of Magic (3): banish enemy with 2 or less defense, handy against last words, especially mordecai
-Petrifaction (3) x2: earthrite to banish enemy followers/amulets, I like it but running out of earth sigils is a concern
-Red hot rituals (2) x2: deal 2, pretty straightforward and leaves a sigil
-Kaleidoscopic glow (2): use it to delay opponent or reuse red hot ritual
-scrap iron smelter(1): summons a 0/2 ward, mostly useful for the sigil and delying opponents a bit.
I want to roll over opponents with a horde of guardian golems, but the "deal 3 to all" rune and shadow spells hurt. I used to use Crafty Warlocks but found they got pinged to death by elf kids or magic missiles and I wound up with a clogged field. Juno's lab, Professor of Taboos, Ancient Alchemist, and Golem protection seem like cards I should get more of.
Last edited by OgreBattle on Wed Mar 22, 2017 5:50 am; edited 1 time in total
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Posts: 5008
Location: Online. duh
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:41 pm
Post subject:
Hrm, I have yet to earn my rupees for the "Complete a Private Match" assignment -- if anyone wants to beat up on my collection of cards I oughtta liquefy into something cohesive my player ID is 308 602 204,
Johnson - Hanks 2020
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Posts: 171
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:33 pm
Post subject:
If you want to grind through the 20 Private Matches thing fairly fast, check the
reddit thread
and you can find opponents.
In general I can't really suggest you liquify stuff en masse right now, when we're not long from the expansion dropping - most anything you liquify now could conceivably turn out to be useful, depending how things shake when ToG hits.
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Posts: 4965
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 6:56 am
Post subject:
OgreBattle wrote:
Just got a Vania, bloodcraft is still my weakest faction and the one I'm least interested in mechanically but it's a start.
Yeah, vengeance is kind of underwhelming. Part of it is that the mechanic itself is kind of limited, and part of it is that there are a lot of badly designed vengeance cards - sort of like the developers weren't sure how the mechanic was going to play out and just needed a bunch of filler.
I mean, let's be honest; if you go into vengeance,
you are probably about to die
. It's most likely turn 5+ so people are playing scary things, your enemy just put you below 10 health so they presumably have some kind of board presence, and your life total is dangerously low. Under those circumstances, there are very few abilities you actually give a shit about. You care about storm and face damage, because you can use those to kill your enemy before they kill you. You care about rush and removal, because you can use those to clear your opponent's side of the board and buy yourself another turn. You care about ward and lifegain, because you can use those to negate a bunch of damage and buy yourself another turn. And... that's pretty much it. You know what you absolutely do not give a shit about? Abilityless cards with fanfare: +X/+X if in vengeance. To get any value out of vengeance, you have to play those cards while dying, but they do absolutely fuck all to stop you from dying on the turn you play them. They hit the board slightly bigger, do nothing, and then you press end turn and die. Unfortunately, this describes a fuckton of vengeance cards.
I think it's clear they imagined the mechanic as some kind of "get incremental value for riding the line between life and death," but that did not work the fuck out and realistically was never going to work the fuck out. In the end, the only vengeance cards people seem to care about are Diabolic Drain, Revelation, Righteous Devil, and Alucard.
Diabolic Drain does 4 damage to an enemy follower and heals you for 2. It normally costs 5, but only costs
1 (one!)
in vengeance.
Revelation does 8 damage to all followers. It normally costs 8, but only costs four in vengeance.
Righteous Devil gains bane and drain if played while in vengeance. This makes him an incredibly sexy outlet for evolution points. Here's a hypothetical turn 5; play righteous devil, play diabolic drain, evolve righteous devil, attack. You should kill two creatures, gain 6 life, and be left with a 4/X. Very comparable to wardrobe raider, where'd you dish out 10 damage total, gain 4 life, and "probably" be left with a 4/Y where Y is smaller than X.
Alucard is a 4/4 for 7 with storm who gives you 4 life if played while in vengeance.
Notice what all of those cards do? You're losing, which is how you ended up in vengeance, and then those cards make you stop losing. There are basically no aggro vengeance cards, and that's not really surprising. A card that is only economical in the mid-late game after you've taken a bunch of damage is fundamentally not an aggro card. The best you could do is add "fanfare: gain storm if in vengeance" to a bunch of cheap blood cards OR make a gold version of imp lancer that's something like 4/5 for 6, gain +1/+1 and storm if in vengeance. That's the only thing that would make aggro blood look at vengeance like it's worth betting on. I guess you could make a gold, 3-point razory claw that does more damage in vengeance but is less economical out of it; razory claw is already a solid finisher, so a finisher that specifically gets bigger when you're trying to close out the game would probably be tempting. But at that point, I'd be seriously concerned about giving blood
too much
direct oomph.
Last edited by DSMatticus on Thu Mar 23, 2017 6:58 am; edited 2 times in total
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Posts: 5177
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 7:00 am
Post subject:
I figure vengeance could'e worked in a way like shadows, but instead of graveyard cards it's how much damage you've taken. Call it 'blood'
So somebody crimson sorcery's you in the face, you gain 3 blood and now cards that are "Blood (3)" will activate and spend your 3 blood.
Last edited by OgreBattle on Thu Mar 23, 2017 7:01 am; edited 1 time in total
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Click here to print the obituary below
In Memory of
Robert Johnson
November 30, 1924 - June 30, 2013
Robert Johnson
West Des Moines
Robert Johnson, 89, passed away on Sunday, June 30, 2013 at Fountain West Health Center in West Des Moines. A Memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Friday, July 12, 2013 at West Des Moines Christian Church with interment at Resthaven Cemetery at 1:30 p.m.
Bob was born January 30, 1924 in Fort Dodge, IA to Arthur and Mabel (Kentoff) Johnson. He was a manager for Sunbeam in Des Moines and worked for Electronic Engineering after retirement. Bob was a WWII Army Veteran. He was a Ball Turret Gunner in England and flew 30 missions on a B17. He graduated from Fort Dodge High School and attended Drake University. Bob graduated from the University of Iowa and was on a championship wrestling team. He was a lifelong avid Iowa Hawkeye fan. Bob was a member of West Des Moines Christian Church and he enjoyed spending time with his family and his friends at the church.
Bob is survived by his four children, Dee (Brad) Johnson of Los Gatos, CA, Christine Johnson of Denver, CO, Gary Hayward of Ankeny and Linda (Gary) Porth of Waukee; nine grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Roberta Johnson in 1969; second wife, Beatrice Johnson in 2011 and two brothers, Arthur and Richard Johnson.
Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday at the West Des Moines Christian Church. Memorial contributions may be directed to Iowa Hospice or the West Des Moines Christian Church.
Memorial Service
Friday, July 12, 2013 | 11:00a.m.
West Des Moines Christian Church
4501 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Driving Directions
Friday, July 12, 2013 | 10:00a.m. - 11:00a.m.
West Des Moines Christian Church
4501 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Driving Directions


text:
To Fix Health Care, Some Study Developing World
Cost-Effective Medical Practices Deployed in Poor Nations Deliver Good Results, but Can They Work in the U.S.?
When doctors running the AIDS clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham wanted to increase the number of patients who showed up for treatment, they turned to an unusual place for help: southern Africa.
"Project Connect" is based on a program used in AIDS clinics in Zambia. In the Alabama program, patients were given appointments with doctors within five days of calling the clinic. Blood tests were taken during the first visit. A social worker did an interview, trying to identify and address any issues that might prevent patients from coming back. The no-show rate dropped from 31% in 2007 to 18% through June 2009.
"We recognized that we had a problem and that Zambia had already come up with an affordable solution that could work here," says Michael Saag, a pre-eminent AIDS doctor and founding director of the Alabama clinic.
With health-care costs soaring in the U.S. and more than 50,000 new HIV infections every year, many are starting to ask: If it can be done over there, why can't we do it here?
The obstacles range from the complexities of insurance reimbursement to regulations designed to protect patients. Another hurdle is cultural: There is a deep-seated reluctance to accept that simpler and less expensive treatments like those used abroad might be good enough.
"We're building Cadillacs, and they're offering us VW Beetles," says William Vodra, who drafted U.S. Food & Drug Administration rules while working at the agency, and now specializes in regulatory issues involving medical products as a lawyer at Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C.
Bruce Walker, director of the Partners AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, worries that imported practices -- and possibly lower standards -- would be adopted only for disadvantaged patients in the U.S. But Dr. Walker believes it will be too costly for the U.S. to continue to rely on current practices. "You have to find a way of changing the approach slightly while still providing outstanding care," he says.
That is why solutions deployed in developing countries are getting more attention. "We learned from Africa that in a very resource-limited setting, you can do very effective chronic care delivery that doesn't have to be overmedicalized," says Mark Dybul, who was the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator under President George W. Bush. "These are models we can learn a lot from."
For Heidi Behforouz, it has been an education. Dr. Behforouz started running the Prevention and Access to Care and Treatment Project in Boston based on a program first used successfully in rural Haiti. PACT trains community health workers to persuade AIDS patients to adhere to treatment regimens. The hope is this will reduce rates of emergency-room use and hospitalizations, big drivers of health costs.
The strategy appears to work; according to data PACT collected, total medical expenses for 20 patients fell 40%. But PACT, which is expanding to sites in New York, still pays for the program out of private donations and fund raising, since insurers don't cover it.
Dr. Behforouz presented data to an advisory council that recommended to the Massachusetts State Legislature that community health workers be trained and reimbursed, but the process for approval is likely to take years before it is implemented, if ever. "This is still a nascent field," Dr. Behforouz says. "They don't wear white coats. Their training is different than doctors or nurses. It's hard to get them recognized as health-care workers."
Similar barriers exist for low-cost health technologies, which are easier to launch in the developing world than in the U.S. Daktari Diagnostics in Cambridge, Mass., developed a hand-held, $8 device that takes a critical blood test in six minutes to determine when to start AIDS treatment.
That is much faster and cheaper than the more sophisticated version of the test performed in the U.S., which can cost more than $50, requires an expensive machine and takes a couple of days to get results back. Daktari will begin rolling out the device next year in India, Brazil, Rwanda, Botswana and South Africa -- but not in the U.S.
William Rodriguez, who founded Daktari after leaving his job as chief medical officer for the William J. Clinton Foundation, says that when he started to raise money for the venture, "the first question investors asked us is why we were not marketing this in the U.S."
One of the main reasons was that Daktari's test is less accurate, at 90% precision, than the version used in the U.S., which is as high as 97%. Even if a trial demonstrated that the test was accurate enough to offer good clinical care -- something Dr. Rodriguez and some AIDS doctors say is the case -- the company's founders worried that it would be too difficult and too costly to convince insurers, labs and doctors to switch to the Daktari test.
"In the developing world, people are willing to make the tradeoff in accuracy for simplicity and low cost," says Dr. Rodriguez. "In the U.S., that kind of trade-off is a hard sell."
In Alabama, Dr. Saag notes that the high rate of new HIV infections in rural parts of the state -- estimated 1% to 2% annually -- is lower than in Zambia. But it is on a par with some African countries, such as Niger and Benin. And the challenges of poverty and stigma associated with AIDS are the same in rural Alabama as they are in parts of Africa, he says. "There are spots here where you can't tell if it's Zambia or Alabama."
Bolstered by the success of "Project Connect," Dr. Saag began thinking about programs that worked in Zambia to address perceptions of AIDS. Stigma about the disease, he believed, was one of the main reasons why people refused to be tested for AIDS, spreading the disease and resulting in the need for more expensive health interventions.
This fall, a Zambian group that developed a novel program to increase AIDS testing will travel to Alabama. Dr. Saag wants his team to study their model to possibly adapt it in Alabama. He calls the project "Zambama."
Write to Amy Dockser Marcus at email@example.com
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The governing Conservatives have used their majority muscle to shut down an investigation into an alleged breach of privilege that saw two New Democrat MPs barred from the Commons, albeit briefly, by the RCMP.
The move came after House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer sided with NDP MPs Nathan Cullen and Craig Scott, who had both lodged formal complaints in recent weeks over their respective run-ins with the Mounties.
- RCMP's Parliament Hill security takeover to begin 'immediately'
- Analysis: RCMP Hill security plan could raise constitutional issues
- May: New security plan means Oct. 22 'heroes' being demoted
In a ruling handed down Tuesday, Scheer concluded there were sufficient grounds to allow Scott to put forward a motion to have the House affairs committee look into the larger issue of access on the Hill.
But after two hours of debate, the Conservatives quashed the motion by a 145-117 vote.
"I wasn't expecting this at all," Cullen told CBC News. "I'm more angry than I am confused — this is such a terrible precedent."
In Cullen's case, which took place on April 30, he and several Commons colleagues were heading back to the House for a vote when the parliamentary shuttle bus that was ferrying them back to Centre Block was stopped by the RCMP just outside the east doors.
While the delay was relatively short — just over 74 seconds, according to the RCMP — it very nearly resulted in the whole busload of MPs missing the vote, a scenario that might have had significant consequences in a minority government setting.
"I've never heard of a government, or any party, overriding the Speaker and saying that MPs being able to vote is not important," Cullen said.
"I just don't know of anything else more important. That's why the place exists."
Just days after Cullen's near miss, Scott was forced to cool his heels outside Centre Block while a delegation of visiting dignitaries was escorted inside the building. That prompted him to file a complaint of his own.
Speaker sides with MPs
The two incidents, the Speaker told the House on Tuesday, "have served as a clear reminder that members not only require but are entitled to access to the parliamentary precinct at all times, without interference" — a right he noted was "uncontested."
And while he acknowledged the reality of the post-Oct. 22 security environment, he agreed the NDP MPs' experiences "have certainly seemed to highlight" concerns that were already being raised over the potential conflict between parliamentary privilege and policing the precinct.
"I recently had occasion to discuss this challenge with [RCMP] Commissioner [Bob] Paulson, who agrees that all protective personnel need to know the community they serve," he told his colleagues.
"They need to be sensitive and responsive to the community they serve, and they need to be familiar with the expectations of the community they serve. This includes having the primary function of this place top of mind as they go about performing their duties."
Still, Scheer stressed MPs also "need to be mindful" that increased security "does require adjustments."
'Some slippage' expected: Tory MP
During debate, nearly all opposition members to speak voiced their support for a thorough review.
Nova Scotia MP Gerald Keddy, who was the only Conservative to take part in the debate, felt differently.
In a brief intervention, he stressed the need to find a "balance" between privilege and security.
"I expect there will be some slippage and some mistakes made along the way," he admitted.
"But that is why we as parliamentarians need to involve ourselves in this ongoing process, because it is, quite frankly, a new world we live in since October."
'Fundamental to our democracy'
In March, the House passed a motion to put the RCMP in charge of policing the parliamentary precinct. Previously, each chamber had its own independent security force, although there were already plans underway to merge the two units before the attacks of last fall.
The recently tabled budget implementation bill will make that change official.
The Liberals voted to support the plan but New Democrats opposed the move, which they warned could result in a blurring of the lines between the legislative and executive branches of government, as the RCMP ultimately reports to Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.
It's unlikely this latest development will assuage those fears.
"The executive can not [have] control over the legislature, and deny opposition members the right to vote through their security force," Cullen pointed out to CBC News.
"That's the whole point. That's why you separate the powers ... it's absolutely fundamental to our democracy."
In response to a query from CBC News, RCMP spokeswoman Brigitte Mineault said the force was aware the issue had come up in the House.
"The RCMP continually strives to respect the privilege of access of parliamentarians while ensuring their safety and that of other people who visit or work on Parliament Hill," she said.
"The RCMP will continue to work with parliamentarians and security partners on Parliament Hill to strike that right balance."
Read House Speaker Andrew Scheer's ruling
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