@selax_bot, on Nov 5 2007, 03:35 PM, said in Slayer's Guide:

Ah, I see. Thank you for the update :) .

Good to see you around, by the way.

Thank you, and congratulations on becoming a moderator :). You have worked with a consistency of effort and skill that few could match to keep these boards running.

The server http://scrabab.com/cythera.htm is now up again, and hosting Slayer's website. While the site has changed very little from when Slayer sent it to me (I've added a couple of items, and that's it) I hope to have time to bring it more up to speed after my exams in a fortnight or so.

Don't hesitate to email me if you have any queries regarding the site!

Hello,

I am currently living in a different state from the server, but upon further investigation I discovered that the server has recently been upgraded to a newer version of OS X, which resulted in the site coming down. I can't provide any indication of when it will be back up, but I will be back home again by this time next week to fix things personally.

Of course moving the guide to the boards or to somewhere more stable (although http://scrabab.com/cythera.htm has been running it for quite a while now without problems) would be best.

Sorry for the down-time!

Adrian, having been violently sick with fear and worry, regained control of his senses. Witnessing the ease at which their undead assailants had been dispatched by the adventurers had put stength back into his frail limbs.
The adventurers gathered in the main chamber, with few remaining to guard the doors in case any skeletal reinforcements should arrive.
"So, we find the other three, then proceed to the other stronghold and get this book? You must wonder why an enormous demon doesn't have the resources to get it himself." Brianna suggested.
"Probably too large to fit through the door." Some one quipped.
Adrian, wearing the light chain mail vest he had been given, felt decidedly out of place.
"Perhaps," he said quietly "I should go back to the Tavern and search for Olivia there, once we have left this damned place."
The Scribe nodded sagely "It is unlikely that she is some how caught up in all this, but stay with us at least until we have found Starfall and Kerran. If your granddaughter is being held for whatever reason, she would likely be held with other prisoners. The strongholds are large, but they have only so many cells."
Adrian resigned himself to follow the group through the now deserted corridors of the ancient Stronghold. Several times he nearly cried, sensing that he had truly lost Olivia. The Scribe was right: this was an adventure was one of mages, undead and demons, not one of little girls and old men.

I think most people will end up in the 4th category, we all like Cythera, in which the fighting really does take a back seat to story-line.

On the other hand, I am addicted to Diablo 2, which can't possibly be described as having a "storyline", and couldn't stand Neverwinter Nights. I guess there is too much difference in game play to really make comparisons, though.

Adrian had been stunned by the entrance of the demon. He had fought breifly with ruffians, and fended off rat lizards in his youth. He had lived to see his father dragged into the ocean by tentactles, legs chewed by a single great maw- but this! This demon was far beyond his comprehension. For a moment he palled, breathing heavily to drive the stench of sulfur from his nostrils. A hand steadied him, and he sat heavily.
For a while the group questioned the wizard, Akheron, their tone becoming more venemous as the truth was revealed.
When the interrogation was complete, many of the groups members rushed through the hole the demon had created. Adrian stood shakily and, using the table for support, looked towards the hole.
This group of adventurers seemed far more intent on action and magic than finding his granddaughter, but he could not let Olivia just dissapear. It was her seventh birthday when the accident at the Tavern occured. Adrian wrapped his cloak tightly around his frail body, warding off a deep cold born of guilt and worry.
He was about to proceed through the hole when the Scribe caught him gently by the arm.
"I know it seems that your granddaughter is lost, but we will all do our best to find her. Try not to despair."
Adrian nodded. "It's just... it seems that this missing assistant has nothing to do with Olivia. I thought the Tavern had just collapsed, and then a demon comes charging through? I'm not meant for this kind of work. All I want is to find Olivia."
The Scribe walked a few feet to the bottom of the staircase and paused, turning to face the old man again. "More improbable things have happened. We will try to find your granddaughter and, perhaps, this Katherine too."
With that the Scribe ascended the stairs, followed closely by those members of the group who had not vanish through the tunnel bored by the demon's escape. Adrian drew his breath sharply and resolved to follow the group until he had found Olivia.
She was only a child, after all.

An akward silence followed the mage's statement, clearly drawn on by confusion. Adrian was the first to speak:
"Perhaps Olivia and Katherine are together? Two missing people in the one event..."
He was interrupted by the wizard. "Your assistant is missing too?! How much worse can things get?"
The Scribe then took charge of the situation. "This gentlemen is looking for his granddaughter, but perhaps he is right. You say you lost your assistant?"
"Lost my assistant? That's preposterous! That makes me sound like some dim-witted old man who can't keep track of his potions! I didn't lose her, she went missing!"
Another silence ensued. The wizard continued his rant "Well don't just stand there! I'm fairly certain gawking never helped find anyone."
"Well... Where did you last see her?" Asked one of the adventurers.
The wizard looked disgusted for a moment and sat in one of the arm chairs. He let out a large, exasperated sigh and began to explain.
"Katherine had just finished cleaning the last of my beakers, you see, they're always very dirty. It's because she burns the potions! I'm for ever telling her to turn the burners down, you see, quite a pyromaniac is my Katherine. You should have seen her when she was young! I mean, younger, obviously she's still young, or she wouldn't be cleaning beakers, she'd be brewing wine or something productive! I always told her that she should get into the wine business, those old salts haven't produced a good drop in, oh, I would say at least 30 years. She would be good, you know, very good at wine. All they need is a little knowledge of such things as alchem-"
Sideline interrupted the wizard's rambling monolog with a curt command:
"Start again. You say she was cleaning the beakers. What happened next?"
The wizard looked bewildered for a moment then broke into tears.
"It was probably my fault." he sobbed.
Brianna patted the wizard gently on the back. "Tell us what happened."

The words of Brianna, floating disembodied up the shaft, almost sent Adrian to tears. He bit his lower lip, squeezed his eyes shut for a second and stepped timidly towards the edge of the shaft. He could see several figures moving dimly at the bottom.
"Excuse me!" he called.
The adventureres in the pit looked up at him questioningly.
"That young girl's name is Brianna." the Scribe added helpfully.
"Brianna!" Adrian yelled, his voice echoing almost immediately.
"How can I help you?" came the reply, dry and airy.
"I'm missing my granddaughter. Her name's Ol-" Adrian's voice broke into a half sob, choked back at the last moment. "Her name's Olivia." he continued. "She's only seven, unable to fend for herself. If she came to harm I... I don't know what I would do. This gentlemen up here suggested I ask you to take a look around."
Brianna was silent for a moment; there was almost certainly no little girl in the small alcove. "I'll have a look. Could she be somewhere else in the tavern?"
"She was sitting in a chair right over that hole. I'll take a look elsewhere though."

After a thorough search of the Tavern and the surrounding streets, now approaching darkness, Adrian concluded that Olivia must be down the hole somewhere.
The Scribe tested the arrows with his staff and nodded to Adrian, "It should be fine once you get to the staircase."
Adrian descended hesitantly, his pants catching on the rough walls of the hole. Upon reaching the staircase the elderly man steadied himself and called to Brianna.
"Is it safe to come down?"

"Olivia?"
The question (uttered in shock) had come from behind a greying beard. The owner of this beard was an elderly man who sat in possibly the only chair not upturned in the chaos. Before him were the splintered remains of a table, a peice of cake and a cloak, white fur complimenting the small size of the garmet.
The elderly man stood in alarm and ran straight from the tavern into the street, shouting his query with a raspy voice "Olivia? Olivia!? LIV!?". The man burst into a fit of coughing, and, stuggling to catch his breath, passed out.
When he awoke the man was staring into the eyes of a worried Tavern patron. He sat and began his questioning anew "Olivia? Have you seen my grand-daughter?"
The Tavern patron shook her head and pointed towards an even older man clasping a staff and sitting straight. "He might know what happened to your grand-daughter,he's a regular."
The elderly man leapt to his feet and, after steadying himself, strode purposefully towards the Scribe.
"Sir! My name is Adrian. A young lady pointed me towards you, said you were a regular and might know what was going on. Do you know what happened to my grand-daughter? She was sitting opposite me when this damn tavern collapsed. Have you seen Olivia?"

This post has been edited by Avatara : 09 March 2007 - 04:21 PM

In answer to your question about when the game takes place:

@dusk_bot, on May 14 2006, 05:34 PM, said in Cythera Timeline:

...It seems that the game takes place in around the year 918, as Hadrian tells you that his mother passed away "recently" and she died in 917.

005: Odemia is settled as a hunting village "5 years after our arrival from Thera". -Mage Anisa

113: Catamarca "founded in 113 as a retreat for the first Tyrant". -Mage Anisa, Spas of Catamarca

152: The First Tyrant “exiled the Mages in 152.” from Cademia. -Mage Anisa, History of Kythera

153: Pnyx "...founded in 153 by the exiled Mages...” -Mage Anisa

158: Chrysothemus born (Alaric’s mother). -Gravestone in Catamarca

174: “174 when the Second Tyrant built the Citadel.” -Spas of Catamarca

180: Cipher Manuscript discovered in "...the bottom of a chest in the library oh Pnyx." -Histroy of the Cipher Manuscript

184: Abydos founded “In 184... down the coast from Pnyx.” -Mage Anisa

192: Abydos destroyed "...when all communication from there was cut off. When an expedition was sent, they discovered everybody gone from the settlement, but no sign of violence.” -Mage Anisa

201: Chrysothemus dies (Alaric’s mother). -Gravestone in Catamarca

203: Diones the Elder personally begins investigations into the "Cult of Scylla" -Report on Hidden Chiefs and the Cult of Scylla

216: Alaric “...appeared in 216. He ended their rule.” -Mage Anisa

219: The "...current system of government was established" and the "...return of us Mages.” -Mage Anisa

303: Kosha is founded by “...House Comana in 303.” -Mage Anisa

663: First golem "...created...by a mage whose name is obscured in history." -Mage Anisa

700: Golems are "...still being created" despite known problems. -Mage Anisa

720: Golems "...had been outlawed," and "...an attempt to destroy existing 'wild' golems was begun." Mage Anisa

742: Unknown event. -Rings through-out Cythera bearing the inscription “742 - Will to Union”. Semius the golem hunter "...disappeared here in Cademia..." -Mage Anisa

870: Lyons born (Hadrian’s father). -Gravestone in Catamarca

873: Andra born (Hadrian’s mother). -Gravestone in Catamarca

878: Hapmondis born (unknown). -Gravestone in Catamarca

882: Andromache born (unknown). -Gravestone in Catamarca

910: Lyons dies (Hadrian’s father). -Gravestone in Catamarca

917: Andra dies (Hadrian’s mother). -Gravestone in Catamarca

918: Andromache dies (unknown). Hapmondis (unknown) dies. -Gravestones in Catamarca

I think the 600 years of silence (or about that) is because during that time Alaric ruled benevolently and effectively; there is little to talk about with no uprisings or cults etc.
As for the date on the Webboard-Cythera... not more than 50 years after the game, is my guess, as many of the characters (such as Hadrian, Lindus) are still alive.

My post record is terrible: I get all enthusiastic at the start of a TS then lose interest, or get busy or something... but if you'll have me back, I'd be more than happy to give it another try. I miss this webboard.