An Unwilling Entrance

[Kadri]

It was late in the evening when the tavern doors blew open and the chilly, smoke-scented breeze invited itself inside. Two voices could be heard just beyond the threshold, barely audible over the wind - one exasperated, the other mulish.

"Come on! How will you ever make new friends if you don't stop killing goblins and the undead long enough to socialize every now and then?" a female voice cajoled.

"Why do I have to meet people? I'm fine the way things are now!" came the disgruntled reply.

"You're antisocial! Who ever heard of an antisocial hero? You don't see Rokmokkara--"

"Don't even go there." There was a snort. "Rokmokkara... honestly, I ask you...!"

At length, the owners of the two voices appeared in the doorway. The first, a rather short, youngish looking woman in glasses and blue jeans, appeared to be towing her companion into the room by force. A second taller, slightly older woman with short, dark hair and nondescript, unpolished chain mail followed soon after. She was attempting (unsuccessfully) to disengage her arm from the shorter girl's grip.

The shorter girl - who would come to be known as Kadri - paid her traveling companion no mind, and she proceeded to drag the uncomfortable looking hero to one of the empty tables. "Sit, please. And don't even think about Gating out on me, like you did the last time."

The tall woman - better known as the hero, Rael Avenyx - smirked at this little reminder and took a seat. "I'm sure that I could sneak out of here without using any Powers, if I put my mind to it," she muttered under her breath.

Kadri rolled her eyes, not deigning to reply to such a childish bit of stubbornness, and glanced around the tavern. She smiled and waved to the patrons that had noticed their entrance, trying to look friendly (and not like a woman that usually dragged people into - or out of - taverns on a regular basis).

~

Hello everyone~ I'm Kadri, and the antisocial grouch over there is my hero, Rael. (turns, glares) Wave to them, Rael.

Rael: ... (waves) ...

I am actually not new to Sryth. I was a non-AG member in 2009, until life intruded (and my computer died) and I lost track of the website. I still remember when the beginning scenarios were available to non-AG players. Fun times.

Anyway, I have been spending quite a bit of time cooped up in the hospital since August, and during those many hours of boredom (and insomnia) I just happened to rediscover the world of Sryth - and damned if I didn't upgrade to AG at Christmastime.

Being AG has made me something of an addict. Or I guess I should say, more of an addict... so I decided it was time to come and introduce myself (and Rael) to my fellow Sryth addicts here on the forums.

Rael: ... (grumbles) ...

Pleased to meet you all!

[scout1idf]

Welcome back to the game, and welcome to the forum!

[Young Ned]

Hi, Kadri! Nice introduction to both of you. :cool: Allow me to echo Scout and welcome you to the forum and (back) to the game! :)

Is Rael the same hero you had back in '09, or did you start fresh when you rediscovered the game?

[spencer]

Welcome to the game and forum, Kadri. Great intro.

[Kadri]

Hahaha~ Thank you, guys! It's great to be back in the game - although I really need to learn when to just save my progress and go to bed. I've turned into an insomniac on my weeks at home now, too! Oops...:rolleyes:

Is Rael the same hero you had back in '09, or did you start fresh when you rediscovered the game?

I started fresh. Sadly, I don't remember the name of my original hero... and since my account was non-AG and went inactive for a certain amount of time, it was eventually deleted. If I didn't have such fond memories of the game (and the old registration email), it would be like I'd never played at all.

[Oldschool]

Welcome to the forum Kadri.

Don't want to pry but I hope all is well and best wishes regarding the hospital.

And I'll chime in - very nice and nicely written intro. Excellent artwork as well (via your homepage). Make full use of the Creative Corner. :)

Nice sig and great profile pic/avatar. :) May have to "steal" that as it'd make a good screen saver on all the office computers. ;)

Also regarding your old account I did a little searching. Amazing and a bit discomfiting what is floating around on the net.

Wondering if this is (or was) your old character as it looks like a non AG prior to the start up scenarios being removed as the character has Necro? Or if it's a third or fourth "new" character?

Anyhoo, http://www.sryth.com/ci.php?f_c=pcp.inc&f_i=1d5417cxce2a2f4fc

I think the last updated time is inaccurate as me and Scout had a conversation a while back about it regarding a long absentee members character. Seems like it's updated automatically and independently from actual login/logoff/save times from what our alts showed. Still if it's a non AG I imagine it'd be purged after that long a time.

Again welcome and best wishes.

[texlaw1992]

You're probably the first to make blue jeans in Tysa look good (lol).

Welcome to the forum, and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[Kadri]

Thank you all so much for the warm welcome! :)

You're probably the first to make blue jeans in Tysa look good (lol).

Why thank you. I thought about wearing armor, but I'm just too short - most of it looks weird on me. I think I'll just stick to jeans. :cool:

And I'll chime in - very nice and nicely written intro. Excellent artwork as well (via your homepage). Make full use of the Creative Corner. :)

Haha~ Thank you, again. I'm used to putting my homepage down as just another fill-in-the-blank with the attitude of "no one ever actually clicks on these things" - so I appreciate that you took the time to check it out. I haven't done any Sryth-related work yet, but I will most certainly post in the Creative Corner if I ever do. ;)

Nice sig and great profile pic/avatar. :) May have to "steal" that as it'd make a good screen saver on all the office computers. ;)

Go for it! I love amusing avatars... I have an entire folder on my flash drive devoted to funny pictures, jokes, and other things for those days when I just need a laugh. XD

Also regarding your old account I did a little searching. Amazing and a bit discomfiting what is floating around on the net.

Wondering if this is (or was) your old character as it looks like a non AG prior to the start up scenarios being removed as the character has Necro? Or if it's a third or fourth "new" character?

Anyhoo, http://www.sryth.com/ci.php?f_c=pcp.inc&f_i=1d5417cxce2a2f4fc

I think the last updated time is inaccurate as me and Scout had a conversation a while back about it regarding a long absentee members character. Seems like it's updated automatically and independently from actual login/logoff/save times from what our alts showed. Still if it's a non AG I imagine it'd be purged after that long a time.

Hahaha~ That is one of my old characters... but it is not my original hero. (Darn it, I wish I could remember her name! :rolleyes:)

Ava is/was my "test" character when I rediscovered Sryth a couple of months ago, and she's the one who finally convinced me to upgrade to AG - after several weeks of reeeeaally wanting to log in and play, and constantly getting the "the server is full, try again later" message.

And you're right about the date being off - because I haven't logged into her since I became AG and decided to start harassing Rael. XD

Don't want to pry but I hope all is well and best wishes regarding the hospital.

Thank you. My son is actually the patient, not me. He was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in August, and we have spent the majority of the last six months in-patient at MD Anderson. He was two years old at the time of his diagnosis, but he turned three in September. So far, he has been tolerating the chemotherapy fairly well, and his prognosis (at this time) looks good.

AML is one of the rarer forms of childhood leukemia, and it's treatment plan is (usually) very aggressive, very strong chemotherapy. I've heard doctors compare it to the intensity of a transplant - only without the transplant - but we have been blessed with very good doctors, and very good luck, so far.

We were actually just released from the hospital on Saturday, after four days of in-patient chemo treatments - his fifth round of chemo, altogether - and he's been running around like a little monkey since we got home. He will probably start to feel pretty bad in a few days, once his white cell count completely bottoms out, but it's really amazing what little kids can withstand and bounce back from.

[Young Ned]

I thought about wearing armor, but I'm just too short - most of it looks weird on me. I think I'll just stick to jeans. :cool:
Sounds like you need some good hobbit armor! ;)

Thank you. My son is actually the patient, not me. He was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in August, and we have spent the majority of the last six months in-patient at MD Anderson. He was two years old at the time of his diagnosis, but he turned three in September. So far, he has been tolerating the chemotherapy fairly well, and his prognosis (at this time) looks good.

AML is one of the rarer forms of childhood leukemia, and it's treatment plan is (usually) very aggressive, very strong chemotherapy. I've heard doctors compare it to the intensity of a transplant - only without the transplant - but we have been blessed with very good doctors, and very good luck, so far.

We were actually just released from the hospital on Saturday, after four days of in-patient chemo treatments - his fifth round of chemo, altogether - and he's been running around like a little monkey since we got home. He will probably start to feel pretty bad in a few days, once his white cell count completely bottoms out, but it's really amazing what little kids can withstand and bounce back from.
Oh, dear, I'm so sorry to hear about your son. Glad to hear he's doing well so far, and you have my best wishes that he continues to do well and eventually recovers.

[Kadri]

Sounds like you need some good hobbit armor! ;)

Yeeeeeesssss.... That would work. XD

Oh, dear, I'm so sorry to hear about your son. Glad to hear he's doing well so far, and you have my best wishes that he continues to do well and eventually recovers.

Thanks. We actually had a clinic visit this morning, and everything is still looking good. I thought for sure that he would need a transfusion since we just came off of chemo, but his blood values are actually going to hold out until Friday. I'm glad, because that gives him another couple of days before he starts feeling crummy. :)

Anyway, I'll probably not make many mentions of hospital-related things here (since I'm the forum noob and don't really know anyone here yet), but at least if I disappear for a few days you guys will know that that's probably where I've disappeared to. :)

[texlaw1992]

My best wishes again. I just noticed you're in Texas too, so at least the medical care is good (especially in the Houston area).

[Kadri]

My best wishes again. I just noticed you're in Texas too, so at least the medical care is good (especially in the Houston area).

Thank you again. Yes, we have been very fortunate in that the Houston medical center is not far away from where we live, so we don't have a really long commute back and forth. I have met patients at MD Anderson that have to drive 12+ hours into Houston from other states... and even families that have flown in from other countries, like Russia and several of the Middle Eastern countries.

Although truly, I am grateful that we've had any at-home time at all. A few years ago, AML patients were not allowed to go home for recovery in-between chemo treatments, and they would have to live in the hospital for the 6-9+ months that they were receiving chemotherapy. We were in-patient for 28 days after Bug's initial diagnosis and his first round of chemo, and it was horrible - I can't imagine being there for even longer, and I feel terrible for the other families that have super-long stays. (The last time we were there, someone on the pediatric floor had been in for 93+ days... :()