Menechtarun Sand in our Shoes :)

Before you even start reading this post, you need to make sure you've read Ophiga's epic piece of writing about the week before last's adventures. :) Since she was laying down the blog posts, I took the opportunity to remix a voice recording from that week as well. DJ Gleek Wondertwin presents the epic remix: Mantle of the Worldshaper is MINE! Enjoy that free mp3 kids. ;) (Thanks Spode, Lessah, and Ophiga for being willing victims of my voice sampling)

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I like taking trips to the beach. Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain and what not--sand in your toes. It's really a good life. On the other hand, trips to the desert aren't that great. Sure, you can recreate that whole desert scene from The Doors movie with your buddies and the Djinni, but what we learned last Sunday night with the static group is that deserts are hot, dry, and FULL OF FLASHY MUMMIES!


Armed with our brand newly purchased expansion packs for the Demon Sands of Menechtarun, we decided to take the long way in through the Desert Caravan instance entrance in House P.

We didn't have too many problems here as the Scorrow, Scorpions, Drow, and the cast of Lion King seemed to just throw themselves into our Blade barriers and firewalls. The group did a good job of fending off the waves of attackers and bosses on our way to the city oasis in the desert. The three chests at the end of the instance were a nice and unexpected bonus.


Unexpected? Yes, we were going in blind to this whole Menechtarun experience because our new guide, Lessah The Gamechanger, was sadly absent. This absentee-ism was both a blessing and a curse because it is nice sometimes to throw caution to the wind, but what if the wind was backdraft from Spode's codpiece? Not so fun then, is it?

(Seriously, for more codpiece and beholder jokes, you really should go read Ophiga's DDO post from last week . . . it's brilliant)

I mean . . . look at this mess of an instance we wandered into . . .


What you don't see in that map are the stacked levels and pathways through ramps leading up (and collapsable floors leading down) the ziggurat. It took us a bit to figure out where we were going and what we were doing.

The Tomb of the Wizard King or "The Chamber of Raiyum" is a level 12, VERY LONG (they ain't kiddin') instance nestled in a sandy pocket of the demon sands. You can read more about it here on the wiki. Yeah, it would have been helpful to have read that beforehand. I didn't even know you could skip these Djinni fights if you had the right item.


Ahh well, we got loot. ;-) We even got the three chests at the end.


It was painful getting that loot, well, more so for Ulan with his *cough* nine deaths was it? If you don't die with Team Spode, then you're just not trying hard enough. ;) I think by the end of the night it was around 2am for the east coasters. Luckily 4th of July was Monday, so we all had the day off . . . OH WAIT, Ulan is Canadian. *pats Ulan on the back* That's rough buddy. Thanks for keeping us all healthy.

By the end of the night we all took a level and called it good. Spode and I are sitting at level 13, and Ulan, Ophiga, and Lessah should now all be at level 12 (Level 12, right Lessah? Right?)

Anyway, next week will most likely bring more Menechtarun Desert adventures for Team Spode . . . except for Ophiga, who informed us she won't be able to make it this time around. I don't know, maybe we'll just all stand around and posture in the Marketplace instead.

Posturing? Oh yeah, we can totally do that now that we've been featured in Beckett's Massive Online Gamer magazine. ;) Check it out! TEAM SPODE VS. THE KOBOLDS!


Yup, that's Team Spode in Issue 32 (Sep/Oct 2011) on Pages 72-74 in an article written by yours truly! I wrote that many months ago truth be known . . . it was before Lessah Game Changer was in the group. That's OK, I managed to talk to the editor and sneak in a link to DDOCocktailHour on Page 74 for Lessah's sake.

Thanks for reading, listening, and experiencing all that is Team Spode!

Happy Dueling!