Building the Camp, Phase 5 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

12 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

Tags

aint nobody got time for non-spherical fabric, no need for finger-crossing, preventing a hot air disaster, professor einstein, select parts for a total repair, the end of the hot air balloon repair project

Ain’t Nobody Got Time for Non-Spherical Fabric

Hmm, Rita, I believe our hot air balloon repair project may well be doomed to failure. Just look at this: the final piece of fabric that’s usable… And we’re miles away from the sewing being finished. It’s probably just as well that we abandon the whole thing.

Thanks for helping so far Rita, but this is the end. Perhaps we’ll see each other again in the future.

What? You want to give it another go? Why though? I can see from here that the fabric is just like a big tablecloth and it’s not even close to being spherical…

You haven’t sewn the edges together, you say?

…

Aha! I’ve got it!

You need to sew together the edges so that the balloon takes the shape of what I call “bag.” A potentially spherical unit that can be filled with gas.

It’s obvious!

That’s what you meant? Mm, that’s possible but you expressed yourself rather vaguely. You hypothesized an irrefutable theory, one of the greatest crimes against scientific etiquette. Who’ll ever understand you if you continue to communicate with such imprecise ambiguity?

Anyway, enough now. Here’s the last piece of fabric. Use it to sew the balloon together.

Objectives: Sew the balloon together.

Rewards: 60 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

-sigh-

Dismount your horse to place the fabric, then use the sewing needle on it. Speak to Prof Einstein when you are finished.

Great. Then we’ve got a whole balloon.

Quest completed

______________

No Need for Finger Crossing

Repairing the burner, Rita. Here’s the last part we haven’t tried yet. Since there aren’t any other parts out there in the Valley, this must be, by the laws of logic, the right part.

Trust the teachings of probability, Rita. There’s no need for finger-crossing or any other such nonsense. Just install this part in the burner and it’s fixed.

Objectives: Fix the burner on the hot air balloon.

Rewards: 50 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

If you say so, ma’am…

Dismount your horse to fix the burner then speak to Prof Einstein when you are finished with the repair.

There we go, Rita, wasn’t that easy?

Quest completed

______________

Select Parts for a Total Repair

So here we are Rita: the final piece of the puzzle. I’ve got these pieces together, and if my calculations are correct, then the basket should be fully repaired when you’ve added them.

So, let’s see if my theory works out. Hurry up.

Objectives: Repair the basket on the hot air balloon.

Rewards: 80 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Dismount your horse to repair the basket, then speak to Prof Einstein when you are finished.

There you go. My theory was correct. We’ve finally got to the final stage of our hot air balloon repair project!

Quest completed

______________

The End of the Hot Air Balloon Repair Project

We’re close now, Rita. Just one small step to go before we can leave this terrible place behind us in our beautiful balloon. Now I understand how my colleagues on the Apollo project at NASA felt when it was time to launch.

Here’s a canister filled with gas you collected from the geysers. You just need to connect it to the torch and light it, then we’re ready.

I’ll just stand myself over here and take cover behind the bench. There’s nothing to worry about, but if probability is against us, it’s unnecessary that we both perish in a burning inferno.

Objective: Assemble the gas tank, then light the burner.

Rewards: 70 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP

Dismount your horse to place the gas tank, then use the sparker to light the burner. Speak to Prof Einstein when the balloon is ready to go!

Well that went well! I never thought I’d be so happy to see such a primitive contraption work.

Quest completed

______________

Preventing a Hot Air Disaster

Hmm…

I’m a little unsure if the structure’s going to hold, Rita… Obviously, it’s very unlikely that the rope would snap when the balloon is a few hundred feet in the air, but just like before, it feels unnecessary for us both to go up and potentially perish in a tragic balloon crash. The logical thing to do is that you take a test flight and see to it that everything is working properly.

Rita, take a test flight to Silverglade Village and back. Then I can fly secure in the knowledge that the balloon is safe.

Objectives: Use the balloon to fly to Silverglade, then fly back afterwards.

Rewards: 150 Jorvik Shillings, 50 XP, Elsa Einstein’s Knitted Mittens

FINALLY! -cries in relief- Sweet freedom at last!

Click on the balloon to fly to Silverglade, then once you land, turn around and click it again to fly back to the valley. Speak to Prof Einstein to prove you made it back alive.

Looks like the test flight went well! However, while you were away, I carried out a little psychoanalysis on myself and have concluded that without long-term therapy, an air journey is simply impossible for me.

The helicopter crash has given me some issues in staying above the ground, and I’ll obviously develop a logical and scientific method of remedying this, but until then I’m forced to stay here. Sorry.

Rita, you’re free to use the balloon whenever you want to travel between Silverglade Village and this cursed, primitive valley.

Now you’ll have to excuse me, I need to devote all my capacities to finding a cure for my new-found fear of heights.

Quest completed

HAHAHAHAHA! Oh wait, you aren’t laughing? Oops, teehee, my bad….

May you forever dwell here and freeze your frigid little butt off, you miserable negative nancy.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

You can now freely travel between Dino Valley and Silverglade. The balloon automatically anchors wherever you happen to be, so all you need to do is ride up to it and click to board and be taken into the beautiful skies of Jorvik.

Thus concludes the building of the Stoneground Camp, for now….

Day 96, Unzombified and Ready to Dig – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

10 years no nobel prize, a beautiful reunion with old betty, a pickaxe in store, berzelius the engineer, final step, five bolts for battery volts, frank einstein, frank looks like he's feeling better, harley, having one's pick of the picks, more treasures of the valley, on the road with dino, professor einstein, professor jura, return of the old assistant, the lightning reunion, with a fully charged kallstone battery

Five Bolts for Battery Volts!

You prepare to charge the kallstone battery. Capture five lightning bolts, no more, no less, just like Berzelius the Engineer said.

Objectives: Charge the battery with five lightning strikes.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: 25 with The Stoneground Expedition

As soon as you accept the quest, the lightning will begin striking the battery. Be sure to count the strikes, and make sure you count exactly five strikes before removing the battery. If you pick it up before five strikes have hit, or after more than five strikes, you will have to start the quest over.

Click on the suitcase to pick up the battery.

The battery glows and sparkles, and you’re pretty nervous about what might happen if you dropped it on the ground… Better use that positive mental attitude!

Quest completed

______________

With a Fully-Charged Kallstone Battery

Now all you need to do is ride back to Berzelius the Engineer with the fully-charged battery. You remember what Professor Einstein said about how fully-charged kallstone needs to be handled very carefully and you decide to ride back nice and slowly…

(Tip: The faster you ride, the higher the risk that the battery will explode.)

Objectives: Ride back to Berzelius the Engineer with the fully-charged kallstone battery. Ride slowly; the faster you ride, the higher the risk that the battery will explode.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: 25 with The Stoneground Expedition

There is not a damage meter, like there is for the delivering eggs daily quest in Firgrove. You will get a popup warning to not ride so fast. It is best to ride at a canter or slower.

Hello Rita! You made it without being blown to bits! I knew you’d do it.

Quest completed

______________

Final Step

Now we’re almost finished, Rita. The only thing left to do is to attach the cables to Frank’s feet. Attach the battery and take cover behind the closest, largest rock. Maybe you’d want to take cover BEFORE you plug in the battery. That’s probably a better way of doing it. Haha!

Good luck! I’ll be behind the rocks over there while you do it, but remember: positive mental attitude! Don’t forget PMA, Rita!

Objectives: Attach the cables to Frank’s feet and plug in the battery.

Rewards: 50 Jorvik Shillings, 40 XP

Reputation: 40 with The Stoneground Expedition

Dismount your horse to place down the battery, then plug in the cables, then RUN!

Haha! Yes! It worked!

Quest completed

______________

Frank Looks Like He’s Feeling Better!

Frank seems to be looking a lot better, don’t you think, Rita?

Hey, why not go over and see if he’s okay?

Objectives: Talk to Frank.

Rewards: 5 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: with The Stoneground Expedition

He looks like he could really use a hairbrush, yet no worse for wear. But who am I to judge? He just got the equivalent of five bolts of lighting to the feet…

Glrbgh…

Fnys…

Aurk!

…

LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!

GLURRRGH!! PFTT!!!

Oohhhhh…

…

Okay, where am I?

Quest completed

______________

The Lightning Renunion

Oh my gosh, my head! It feels like I got struck by lightning right in my forehead!

Who are you?

Hang on, is that my sister Elsa over there? What’s she doing here? More importantly, what am I doing here?

Objectives: Talk to Elsa.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP

Reputation: 5 with The Stoneground Expedition

We saved your brother, with plenty of positive mental attitude!

Frank, you’re back! Oh, what a wonderful day!!

C’mere and give me a hug, dear brother!!

Oh, what a wonderful day…

Enough with feelings. Welcome to the horrible Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, Frank.

Quest completed

______________

10 Years, No Nobel Prize…

You’re probably wondering what’s been going on since you became zombified, Frank?

To cut a long story short: ten years ago, you were struck repeatedly in the head by lightning, which turned you into a so-called zombie.

Rita, the wonderfully competent individual standing beside you — along with Berzelius the Engineer — have worked together to cure you of your affliction.

Otherwise, not very much of interest has happened. Nobody in our family has won a Nobel Prize for more years than I’m happy with and no scientific breakthroughs of any significance have come along.

What’s that, Rita? Something exciting must have happened in the world, you say?

Actually, no. Some kind of country team won the World Cup in footsoccer kickball, apparently a lot of people found that interesting. Well, there were a lot of awful shouts and cheers outside my window, in any case.

Then there was some kind of Olympic something-or-other. Same thing there though, just a lot of awful noise.

Nope, Rita, nothing of interest has actually happened. Nobody succeeded in time travel, built an autonomous AI, created any kind of improved cola drink, or anything else of value.

Enough with this nonsense though. So, Frank Einstein! What are you going to do now?

Objectives: Talk to Frank.

Rewards: 5 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP, Pink Winter Beanie Hat

Reputation: 10 with The Stoneground Expedition

Well, Frank, that’s the gist of everything you’ve missed this past decade…

Hmm… Doesn’t sound like I’ve missed anything in particular then.

Now, I haven’t had a chance to explore much around here but I have a good feeling about this place!

My brain is sending clear signals that this is a place filled with archaeological treasure!

Quest completed

______________

A Pickaxe in Store

Yaaawwnnn…

Thanks so much for everything you’ve done, Rita. You seem as though you’re incredibly wise and strong, just like I was when I was younger!

Yaaaawwwnnn…

I actually feel rather tired, it feels like I need a rest. Bit of a shame, but my gut feeling is telling me that there’s plenty of exciting archaeological finds out here in the valley.

Hmm… Y’know Rita, you’ve got potential, it’s unmistakable. With my help you could be a master archaeologist in no time at all. What do you say? Do you want to learn the noble art of archaeology?!

Haha! Excellent Rita, you’re humming the right tune! I suppose I’m still a qualified member of A.A.E.’s archaeological department and I’ll be sure to speak highly of you on my return if you make good on that potential of yours!

This is exciting! Now I’m really starting to wake up! The first thing you need Rita is a proper pickaxe. Heavy, sharp, and lethal. No wimpy weakling tools here, no sir!

Brushes, gloves, and all that junk that all the newly-qualified rookie archaeologists use just feels like a whole load of nonsense to me. A real archaeologist knows that if a find can’t stand up to a proper whack with a pickaxe, then it’s not worth having in the first place.

Ask my sister Elsa if she’s got a pickaxe in storage? I’d much rather be asking my old assistant, Harley, for help, but who knows where he’s got to.

Objectives: Talk to Elsa Einstein.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: 25 with A.A.E.’s Archaeological Department

Speak to Professor Einstein if she perchance has a pickaxe you could use.

Yes Rita, what do you want now?

Frank wants a pickaxe? What would he want one of those for? Have I not helped him enough already?

Quest completed

______________

Return of the Old Assistant

Has to bother me the whole time… Pff.

Archaeology isn’t one of my bigger interests; Frank knows this. This is something he should really be asking his old assistant, Harley, about. They were like Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee before Frank disappeared…

Aha, I see. So Frank already mentioned Harley, his old assistant?

Today’s your lucky day Rita, I realized that as we’d cured Frank, he would — talkative as he is — disturb me constantly if I didn’t find anybody else to listen to his constant drivel. My calculations showed two possible solutions to restore calm: get the lightning to return Frank to normal, or find Harley and bring him back.

Obviously, I chose the option with Harley, because to recreate the lightning strikes is — as I’m sure you understand — very time consuming.

Anyway, I found Harley in the Himalayas looking for Frank and told him that Frank was here. If we take account of flight delays, the greenhouse effect, and the speed of light, he should arrive about… Now.

Well, well, would you look at that. There he is over there. He looks a little confused Rita, perhaps you want to go and see how things are with him?

…

That was a rhetorical question Rita, I was trying to tell you in a friendly way that I don’t want to be bothered anymore.

Off you go. Bye.

Objectives: Talk to Harley.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: 25 with A.A.E.’s Archaeological Department

So there’s that famous sisterly love that I’ve been hearing so much about….

Speak to Harley at his place near the gear shop.

Hello there. What even is this place?

The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur… Hmm…

I have a vague memory of having been here before. Weird, huh?

That doesn’t matter though, it’s nice to get the chance to see Frank again, my oldest and best friend. He looks just like normal!

Where’s he been these last ten years anyway?

It’s a long story, you say? Okay. I’ll let Frank fill me in later.

What’s your name, by the way?

Quest completed

______________

A Beautiful Reunion with Old Betty

Rita! Lovely to meet you.

Hmm… I really do have quite a strong feeling that I’ve been here before, but this is the first time I’ve been over to this side of Jorvik. Really weird. This feeling was even stronger when I was travelling through Silverglade… Maybe there’s something in the air.

Well anyway, Rita, there’s no need for you to stand here listening to me babble on. How can I help you?

A pickaxe for Frank?

Haha! Of course he wants a pickaxe! Of course…

This is Old Betty, Frank’s favorite pickaxe! Give it to him straight away.

He must have missed it terribly

Objectives: Give the pickaxe to Frank.

Rewards: 5 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP

Reputation: 25 with A.A.E.’s Archaeological Department

Deliver Old Betty to Frank.

Haha! Wow! Old Betty!

This old pickaxe, Rita! Well, well, what a beauty!

Quest completed

______________

Having One’s Pick of the Picks

Just look at this little marvel, Rita. With Old Betty, you can smash up any rock you want in no time at all!

She’s got an incredible swing, check this out!

Waaaaaaoooooowwww! Oh.

Pff. I’m obviously not in the same shape I used to be. Maybe it’s not the time for me to practice archaeology again just yet, Rita.

You’ll have the honor of using Old Betty and seeing if she’s as lethal as she used to be! Hmm… Right over there seems to be a good spot to get started!

Do you see it, Rita? Right there should be a great spot for a find!

If you come across a find, it’s just a case of getting the pickaxe out and giving it the old heave-ho! If you’re lucky, you’ll find something truly valuable when the dust settles. Go over there and swing away! You’ll see that there’s a real treasure trove there, you mark my words!

Good luck!

Objectives: Use the pickaxe to dig on the find site and return to Frank with what you’ve found.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: 25 with A.A.E.’s Archaeological Department

Dismount your horse to use the pickaxe on the rock near the tree behind Berzelius. Return to Frank when you have finished digging.

Oh, what a lovely sound!

I could hear it all the way from here when you smashed that site to bits! Lovely! Did you find anything of value?

Let me see? Amazing! A dinosaur skull! I don’t know much about these things, but nobody’s been here in the valley for ages, so it’s probably totally unknown to scientists.

Imagine finding a complete dinosaur skeleton?! You’d be famous!

Rita, use the pickaxe and go smashin’ around all the find sites nearby. Come back to me once you’ve found a complete skeleton and we’ll make sure you get to meet Professor Jura, Jorvik’s leading paleontologist.

If he likes the skeleton you’ve found, then he’ll give you the most fabulous rewards, I promise you that!

Quest completed

Dismount your horse to use the pickaxe on the dig sites located around the perimeter of the camp. You will know a dig site by the particular shape of the rock and a sparkle coming off the top of it when there is a find located inside it. You will also get a small popup message that says a find is nearby.

All of the dig sites are located in the camp FOR THIS QUEST ONLY.

Dig until you have found a complete skeleton which consists of:

3 large bones
1 skull
4 rib bones
2 small bones

When you have all the bones, you can trade them with Frank to unlock the next quest.

On the Road with Dino

Oh my stars! A complete dinosaur skeleton! Mindblowing!

Wow, Professor Jura at the paleontological facility is going to be blown away by this! You’ll almost definitely be able to name it after yourself! A Dinosaur Rita… Or, umm… Tyrannosaurus Rita! Nah, wait. Now I’ve got it!

A Ritaosaurus!! Hahaha!! Fantastic!

Say hello to Professor Jura from me, you’ll find him in Firgrove. He moved there recently because he likes the peace and quiet and in his later years but his brain is still sharp as a tack!

See you soon, Rita!

Objectives: Talk to Professor Jura in Firgrove.

Rewards: 100 Jorvik Shillings, 50 XP

Reputation: 100 with A.A.E.’s Archaeological Department

You can find Professor Jura in front of his house behind the sale horse stable, in Firgrove.

Good day to you! How can I be of assistance?

A dinosaur skeleton? I see…

From the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, you say? Never heard of it.

From Frank Einstein?! Isn’t he dead?

…

Yes, yes, let’s have a look then.

…

OOH LA LA! Well good gracious, this is quite remarkable! A totally new species! I absolutely must have this skeleton, you can have whatever you want in return!

Ho ho ho! Christmas has come early this year!

Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll be sending this straight to the museum in Jorvik City. My colleagues will be green with envy!

If you find any more skeletons, come here to me immediately. I promise I’ll reward you quite handsomely!

Quest completed

______________

More Treasures of the Valley

Thanks again Miss Rita, thank you for making a happy man very old… Umm, an old man very happy! I haven’t been this delighted since my nemesis, the despicable Professor Krita, dropped a brontosaurus bone on his foot! Oh, how he screeched! HAHAHA!

Hmm… Now I remember who that Frank person is. Frank Einstein! He was a truly promising archaeologist… A bit heavy-handed with the pickaxe perhaps, but great at tracking down relics and antiquities!

Didn’t he have a sister?

Elsie? Elsa! Elsa, was it?

Fabulous woman! My mustache feels like it’s curling up at the sides just thinking about her! She was so spontaneous, funny, and spiritual! Ahhh, those were the days! Ooh la la…!

Or am I thinking of Ms Curie? Hmm… The old memory banks aren’t what they used to be!

Now then, young miss Rita, if you should find more dinosaur skeletons, then I’m always willing to trade them against some of the old bits and bobs I have around here. Tell Frank I said hello! See you soon.

Objectives: Talk to Frank Einstein in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: 25 with A.A.E.’s Archaeological Department

You must be thinking of Ms Curie, because I can assure you that Elsa Einstein is most definitely not the woman you just described…

Return to Dino Valley and give him Jura’s regards.

Hey Rita! Tell me, how’d it go? What did Professor Jura say?

Haha! He loved it! I knew he would!

He was interested in more skeletons, you say? Aha. Hmm… I think we should be able to arrange something for him! This valley is packed with interesting find sites, I can just feel it!

Get out there and look around the valley! See what you can find, Rita! I imagine a good place to begin would be the area by the elevator to Valedale, or the area north of the lake.

Off you go! Find a complete dinosaur skeleton and swap it for something good with Professor Jura!

Quest completed

Please Note!

Dinosaur hunting is purely voluntary. Completing a skeleton does not give you any XP required to progress in the game, though there are exclusive items to be gained from trading skeletons.

When you have completed a skeleton, trade it with Professor Jura in Firgrove to receive a piece of the Winter Master outfit. After you have turned in a skeleton for the first time, you can continue trading with Jura to receive a new random piece of clothes. There are also extra special finds that you can trade with Harley in Dino Valley to receive a random equipment reward, as well.

How to Hunt Dino Bones:

Dismount your horse to use the pickaxe on the dig sites. You will know a dig site by the particular shape of the rock and a sparkle coming off the top of it when there is a find located inside it. You will also get a small popup message that says a find is nearby.

Not all dig sites are active all the time, and not all digs yield a dinosaur bone. There are MANY dig sites located around the valley, so you will have to check them often. When you have located an active dig site, you have a chance of either finding trash, or a dinosaur bone. When you do find a bone, it is random which one you find, so you may start to pile up lots of the same type of bone. Make sure you have room in your personal inventory to be able to carry around the bones that you find, as they cannot be stored in your stable closet inventory.

There are four different dinosaur skeletons to find, and each one can be found in a specific part of the valley.

Small Dinosaur – Around Nic Stoneground’s camp and the elevator
Unusual Dinosaur – Around the southeast area of the frozen lake
Mysterious Dinosaur – Around the northwest area of the frozen lake
Spectacular Dinosaur – In the Valley of the Frozen Mist

That’s all there is to it! Good luck and happy hunting!

Day 95, Preparing a Cure – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

26 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

a load of lifeless kallstone, an odd material, berzelius the engineer, more kick than 20000 car batteries, professor einstein, setting up lightning capture unit, setting up lightning capture unit part 2, use your imagination and a positive mental attitude, when lightning stirkes twice, withstands hurricanes and lightning

When Lightning Strikes Twice

Hi Rita! I’ve thought a little more about Frank’s affliction and I think I’ve got a solution!

My plan is quite simply genius, even if I do say so myself. Frank will surely be back to his old self in no time, with only a small chance that he’ll die a spectacular death. But life is full of risks, as my old dad used to say. We just need to keep our fingers crossed that it’ll go well! Have a positive mental attitude, Rita! PMA!

As I’m sure you’ll remember, Frank was sort of ‘zombified’ by a lightning strike to the head. The solution is as easy as it is logical!

We just need to subject his brain to a similarly strong electric shock, but this time we let the current flow in the opposite direction. My theory is that when Frank’s brain goes through this kind of inverted anti-lightning, it’ll go right back to all of its normal settings. Doesn’t that sound good?

You look a little bit skeptical, Rita, but you can trust me! You want to know if I’ve tried this technology before? Oh my days, of course not. The whole point is to be ground-breaking with this and hopefully take home one, maybe two Nobel prizes.

Now you’ll have to stop with all the questions, we can discuss more later. Here’s a lightning analysis unit; ride to the places I’ve marked out and push the button. The machine will analyze the area and let you know if it’s somewhere that lightning has struck twice in the past. Find such a place Rita and then I can tell you all about how to capture a lightning bolt.

Good luck!

Objectives: Use the lightning analysis unit on the spots that have been marked on the map. When you’ve found a place where lightning has struck twice, go back and tell Berzelius the Engineer.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: 20 with The Stoneground Expedition

Ride down to the lake and turn to the northeast. There is a small island, the location you need is at the top of the hill, when you follow a small spiral around the outside edge of the hill to get to the top.

You can check all of the areas marked on your map, but you can go directly to the one you need, to save time.

Good work. The place you’ve found is perfect!

Quest completed

______________

More Kick Than 20,000 Car Batteries!

So, now we’ve found a spot where lightning is going to strike enough times to be able to charge the super battery 100% with electricity! What super battery am I talking about? Why, this one right here that I ordered from cBay! It’s really great, Rita!

It only cost 1000 Jorvik Shillings and is apparently more effective than 20,000 car batteries! And if that wasn’t cool enough, it’s totally biodegradable, nicely designed, and can be used as a rather lovely footstool in the bedroom. Unbelievable, no? As soon as I read all about it, I ordered two!

A scam? What do you mean, scam?

You’re saying it’s a scam and I’ve been tricked? That it’s just some con artist who put the listing up on cBay to scam people’s money off them?

There’s really people who’d do that? That’s totally illogical!

Oh dear…

Well what do we do now?

“Cough, cough… Ahem!” (Professor Einstein seems very keen to get yours and Berzelius the Engineer’s attention…)

Objectives: Talk to Elsa Einstein.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP

Reputation: 5 with The Stoneground Expedition

Speak to Professor Einstein, she clearly has an idea, maybe even one that will fit into her calculations.

I couldn’t help but hear that you’re having a little battery problem. I wouldn’t usually poke my nose into other people’s work, except when a colleague has been subjected to this kind of swindling deception.

Berzelius, I’ve been here for a much longer time than you, almost an eternity, and during those two days, I’ve made an important discovery. A strange mineral by the name of kallstone.

Quest completed

______________

An Odd Mineral…

You understand… Kallstone is an odd material with quite remarkable properties. Even without having been able to take a close examination of some samples, I can see that it seems to have a remarkable capacity for energy storage. It also seems very unstable; the more energy it contains, the more sensitive it is to any kind of impact.

What happens if it’s subjected to external pressure or impact? Well, it explodes! With some considerable power, I might add.

Well well, enough with the explanations. You’ll need to find some kallstones that don’t contain any energy, ones that have been used and discharged. Let’s call it lifeless kallstone.

The lifeless kallstone can be transported without risk and used to build your own battery. Do you understand, Rita? Good, good…

Just keep in mind that when kallstone is fully charged, it’s also fully dangerous. Handle it with care!

Objectives: Talk to Berzelius the Engineer.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP

Reputation: 10 with The Stoneground Expedition

Tell Berzelius what you have learned from Elsa.

A kallstone battery… Genius!

Quest completed

______________

A Load of Lifeless Kallstone

Rita, you heard what Elsa Einstein said! Look for lifeless kallstone! I’ll look for a suitable container for our very own super battery, while you do that. Good luck!

Objectives: Look for lifeless, discharged kallstone and take it back to Berzelius the Engineer.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: 25 with The Stoneground Expedition

Ride around the area and pick up all of the lifeless kallstone you can find. When you have enough, return to Berzelius.

How much lifeless, discharged kallstone have you found Rita?

Great, this is definitely enough.

Me? Oh, I found this old bag here. Not exactly what I was imagining but I’m sure it’ll work. Positive mental attitude, Rita!

Quest completed

______________

Withstands Hurricanes. and Lightning.

So here we go, Rita! Now we’re really starting to get somewhere.

To be able to charge our home-made super battery, we’ll need a lightning rod to conduct the lightning with. I’m not exactly certain what we could use, but I suppose we’ll just have to improvise. Can you see if there’s anything around that’s long, metal, and looks like it can withstand hurricanes? And lightning?

Where would you find something like that? No idea, but use a positive mental attitude, Rita! PMA is A-OK!

Objectives: Look for something that looks suitable as a lightning conductor and take it to Berzelius the Engineer.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: 20 with The Stoneground Expedition

Hmm, how do you think a helicopter rotor would work? If it did, I know exactly where to find one!

Ride out to Professor Einstein’s crashed helicopter and retrieve one of the rotors and bring it to Berzelius.

Part of a helicopter’s rotor? Hmm! Why not?! I’m sure it’ll work just wonderfully.

Quest completed

______________

Use Your Imagination and a Positive Mental Attitude!

We need two wires which can transmit electricity from the lightning rod to the battery. The wires need to be able to withstand strong electrical currents and not just flake out after the first lightning strike. I can see on your face that you’re wondering where you might find something like that, but Rita, I know exactly how you’ll make this work!

Just use your imagination and a positive mental attitude! PMA, Rita! PMA!

Good luck, and head straight back when you’ve found two wires.

Objectives: Find things that could be used as electrical wires to run between a lightning conductor and the kallstone battery. Take whatever you find back to Berzelius the Engineer.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: 25 with The Stoneground Expedition

Search around the camp as well as the area surrounding the elevator. I’m sure you will find something of use. Return to Berzelius when you have found what you are looking for.

An elevator cable and a washing line?

Hehe, well why not?! I’m sure it’ll work perfectly, I can feel it.

Quest completed

______________

Setting Up Lightning Capture Units

Okay, Rita, this is going really well!

The next step is actually incredibly dangerous but I have a feeling that it’ll go just swimmingly. Just use that positive mental attitude and nothing terrible will happen!

Don’t look so worried, Rita! I’ll guide you every step of the way.

Here’s my latest invention: the Lightning Capture Unit. It’s super-easy to capture lightning with. Ride to the lightning-rich spot you found earlier and set the machine up there. It’s really important you put it all together in the right order otherwise it can go really rather horribly wrong. Explosions, blood, death, and all kinds of other awful things we probably wouldn’t enjoy. Haha, away with all that negativity, though! Get rid of those negative thoughts and it’ll be a piece of cake! PMA… You’ll see!

First things first, place the battery on the ground. Then set up the lightning rod, and lastly attach the cables between the battery and the lightning rod. Not so tough, right?

Repeat after me, Rita… Battery, lightning rod, cables. Battery, lightning rod, cables!

Haha, this’ll be like walk in the park, Rita!

Why are there two cables, you ask?

Well what luck you asked!

It’s of the utmost importance that you attach the elevator cable first and the washing line second, otherwise it’s guaranteed to explode. Heehee!

That’s just the way I’ve built the battery, so let’s repeat again:

Battery, lightning rod, elevator cable, washing line. Battery lightning rod, elevator cable, washing line!

When you’ve coupled everything together, it’s just a case of waiting for a thunderstorm. Capture five lightning bolts, then uncouple the cables from the battery. If the battery takes more than five lightning bolts, then it’ll go a teeny, tiny bit wrong. Explosions, blood, death, and all kinds of other awful things we spoke about earlier.

Rita, don’t look so sulky! Positive mental attitude!

Come back when you have a fully-charged battery and we’ll bring the old Frank back to life!

Objectives: Set up the Lightning Capture Unit at the spot you found earlier.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: 5 with The Stoneground Expedition

Ride out to the spot you found for the lightning strikes.

When you reach the spot, place the Lightning Capture Unit on the ground.

You’ve successfully assembled the Lightning Capture Unit. Now it’s just a case of plugging everything in.

Quest completed

______________

Setting Up Lightning Capture Unit (Part 2)

The Lightning Capture Unit is now set up. Now you just need to plug in the lightning rod, battery, and everything else in the right order.

You repeat again to yourself what Berzelius told you, “battery, lightning rod, elevator cable, washing line…”

Good luck!

Objectives: Set up the lightning capture unit. “Battery, lightning rod, elevator cable, washing line!” Just like Berzelius the Engineer said.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: 10 with The Stoneground Expedition

Place the battery on the ground near the unit. Set up the helicopter rotor on top of the stump. Hook up the elevator cable on the ground, then the washing line.

If you are not sure what goes where, you can click on the sparkles and it will tell you which item to use on that spot. Make sure you place each item in the correct spot or you will have to start over.

You’ve assembled the Lightning Capture Unit. Now you just need to wait for some horrible weather!

Quest completed

Return to the Lightning Capture Unit tomorrow.

Building the Camp, Phase 4 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

13 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

a biological and mechanical diagnosis, a dog day at the races, a serious case of lightning strikes, an escape route from this awful valley, balloon crash models, berzelius the engineer, chaos theory and a parallel universe, flagging up the flags, getting it right in the end, if it ain't broke don't fix it, overqualified for the job, paint a rumor, primitive methods in a primitive place, professor einstein, reassigned for good reasons, strong as an ox stubborn as a mule, swedenborg, the fabric gatherer, the hidden dinosaur race, this looks like a job for an engineer

Chaos Theory and a Parallel Universe

It’s no use Rita, the only logical conclusion to be drawn is that the ice on the lake is of inferior quality and that we should scrap all our plans for a race. It’s probably just as well that we finish all the projects here in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur at the same time, conditions for success, according to my calculations, only 4.2%.

So, that’s it. Nice to meet you Rita, maybe we’ll see each other again in the future.

Why are the cracks in the ice such a problem? Why can’t we just adapt the race route by hand? Rita! Such ramshackle improvisations will simply not suffice! Either the race follows our planned route, or there’ll be no race!

Why must everything conform to the plan, you ask? Think about it, Rita, the alternative is that instead the plan would bend and conform to reality…

Chaos! Do you see? Chaos!!

Hmm… Chaos…

…

Aha! I’ve got it!

The chaos theory Rita, have you heard of it? Okay, what about parallel universes, then?

No? Oh well, never mind.

It’s really very simple. If I re-write the plan so that it takes into account fluctuating multi-dimensional parameters, there will of course be an infinite number of optimal results. Do you understand?

Alright. Let me explain so you understand. If we find a crack, we simply change the race route away from it, you see?

That’s what you said in the first place?

Haha, I hardly think so Rita, you rambled on about some kind of random improvisation. It’s exactly that kind of randomness that has no place in this plan. My plan is exact!

Off you go now and look for cracks. Hurry up.

Objectives: Find cracks in the ice on the lake.

Rewards: 125 Jorvik Shillings, 60 XP, Black Winter Gloves

Reputation: (50 points toward building the camp)

Ride out on the lake and look for cracks along the race route. Report back to Professor Einstein when you are finished.

So, where were the cracks, Rita? Okay… Well, let’s just get their positions into my equations and… There we have it!

Now I know exactly how the race course should be routed.

Quest completed

______________

Flagging Up the Flags

Here are the finished race limit indication devices, Rita. Set them out at the spots I’ve marked along the course. Obviously, you don’t need to set up every single flag, just the most crucial ones. Nic said he’ll help put the rest of them up later, because I’ve got another job for you to be getting on with. So, yeah. Hurry up.

Objectives: Put out the flags in the places along the race route that Professor Einstein has indicated.

Rewards: 35 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Place out one of each flag at each checkpoint in the race; white on the left and red on the right.

Return to Professor Einstein when you have placed all of the flags.

Lovely. Then we’ve arrived at the next stage of our plan.

Quest completed

______________

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

So. Yes. As you probably already realize, we’ve arrived at yet another point in our plan which requires you to carry out an inspection of the mailbox. I’ll wait here.

Objectives: See if any mail has arrived at Nic Stoneground’s camp.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Yes, wouldn’t want your precious little brain to freeze, now would we?

Ahh, would you look at that? A letter! This time the probability was incredibly close to 100%, so I’ve already prepared all we need for the next stage of the plan.

How could I have been so sure?

Elementary, my dear Rita. I saw the mailman put something in the box.

Why didn’t I get the mail myself, if I saw it arrive?

Rita. We have established a most successful routine when I tell you to collect the post, and then you collect it. Why should we try to fix something that isn’t broken? That would be quite illogical, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Quest completed

______________

This Looks Like a Job For… An Engineer!

This letter is from Berzelius the Engineer, a leading biological engineer from the University of Jorvik. I’ve called in all my favors and it seems Berzelius the Engineer is the result of my efforts. If anybody can help Frank, it’s her.

Who’s going to take care of the race, you ask?

What do you mean, “take care of the race”?

…

Ohh, I see. I should’ve thought of that. In my plan, the race was taken care of by an autonomous AI system, but even something as simple as that isn’t possible in this valley. Ah well, Berzelius probably needs something to do after she’s helped Frank.

The Engineer has already been in Valedale for more than 2.7 hours. Ride there and get her, Rita. Make sure she gets here as quickly as possible. Hurry up.

Objectives: Ride to Valedale and talk to Berzelius the Engineer.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Ride to Valedale and meet Berzelius near the stables.

Hello there. I’m Berzelius the Engineer, and this is my dog Swedenborg!

Quest completed

______________

Reassigned for Good Reasons…

I’ve got no real idea quite why I’m here, but my boss ordered me to make my way here at the first possible opportunity. I’ve been reassigned, no doubt for all the best reasons, but nobody’s told me quite why yet.

Oh well. I’m sure that my new boss Professor Einstein can explain. I hope she’s got some exciting tasks for me… So, yes! How are we getting there?

You want me to ride with you on your horse?

We’re going where? Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur? Never heard of it.

Sounds exciting though!

Come on then, Swedenborg! Jump up on the nice horsey!

Objectives: Ride to Nic Stoneground’s camp with Berzelius the Engineer.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Ride back to the camp with Berzelius and Swedenborg.

Berzelius the Engineer, I presume?

Quest completed

______________

A Biological and Mechanical Diagnosis

Berzelius the Engineer, I’m your new managing supervisor, Elsa Einstein. I understand that you’re an expert in both biological and mechanical sciences. Your task is to diagnose my brother, Frank Einstein, and discover what exactly is wrong with him.

When you have completed your job, I have another incredibly important problem that you can no doubt help alleviate with a solution of some kind.

Objectives: Talk to Berzelius the Engineer again.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

He now goes by the name of Franke and he enjoys eating raw chicken legs.

Hmm… I suppose this person here is Frank Einstein?

Hmm…

Quest completed

______________

A Serious Case of Lightning Strikes…

This was really a very easy diagnosis, Professor.

After a simple visual inspection, I can immediately give you a precise answer to what Frank’s problem is. All symptoms indicate a severe case of multiple lightning strikes to the head.

What was the other problem you needed help with Professor Einstein?

Objectives: Talk to Professor Einstein again.

Rewards: 5 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

I guess she’s an expert for a reason…

Multiple lightning strikes to the head, you say? Well that was a very fast diagnosis, great work Berzelius. You truly are the expert I’ve been looking for. Now I’ll tell you all about your next task.

Quest completed

______________

Overqualified for the Job

Allow me to give you a little more background, Berzelius. I’m in the middle of executing a plan to turn this primitive place into a first-class research station of the very highest international standard. In this plan, I seem to have overlooked a minor detail, but I’m sure you can provide me with a solution to this slight complication.

I want you to start and finish the horse-borne contests we’ve organized on the nearby lake. You will also manage timing and answer questions from whichever horse-borne tourists may visit the area. With your knowledge of biology and mechanics, you’re perfectly suited to the role, if somewhat overqualified. Do you understand your duties?

Objectives: Talk to Berzelius the Engineer again.

Rewards: 30 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)

You may have been reassigned for good reasons, but we never said you would like it. Hey, at least be glad she hasn’t made you the designated mail-fetching-monkey.

Race leader?

Umm, I rather think that’s a little beneath my potential. A task like this would be so unchallenging that I would worry about how bad it would be for my psyche.

It’s an order, you say?

Are you sure? Well, in that case, Professor Einstein, I’m afraid I have to resign. I need to consider my health above anything else.

If I have an alternative solution?

Hmm…

Quest completed

______________

Strong as an Ox, Stubborn as a Mule

A solution that benefits everyone is if my dog Swedenborg takes care of the tasks around the horse races. He’s more than qualified for this kind of work, he appreciates the company, and he loves meeting new people as well!

How can a dog take care of such complex tasks, you ask?

Well, Rita, Swedenborg is no ordinary dog. I’ve made a few genetic adjustments here and there, implanting properties from other organisms to be able to make him into the smartest dog in the world. He’ll be able to take care of this without a doubt.

How he’s changed? Well, he’s as strong as an ox, as fast as a horse, has the warm and cozy fur as a sheep, and is stubborn as a mule. You understand the principle, right?

Talk to him yourself. His speech center isn’t especially well-developed but he understands everything you say to him. I myself am off to talk to Professor Einstein about how I think she should find some more suitable tasks for a researcher of my caliber.

Objectives: Talk to Swedenborg the dog.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Well, here goes nothing!

Baaaaaaaa!!

Quest completed

______________

A Dog Day at the Races

Muh?

(You explain to Swedenborg what he needs to do and ask him to follow you to the race area.)

Objectives: Take Swedenborg the dog to the race area.

Rewards: 35 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP

Reputation: (50 points toward building the camp)

Walk with Swedenborg down to the race start area near the hill down to the lake.

Neeeeeiiiiiigggggghhhhhhh!!!

Quest completed

______________

The Hidden Dinosaur Race

Cluck, cluck?

(Swedenborg wants to know if you want to take part in the race.)

Objectives: Race to the finish.

Rewards: 45 Jorvik Shillings, 40 XP

Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)

Warning! This race is hard!

There is one leap across open water that is especially difficult to achieve with low stats. I recommend using a fully leveled horse with high strength stat and gear with high jumping and strength bonuses.

When you have ~~completed~~ survived the race, speak to Swedenborg.

Baaaaa!

Quest completed

You can now compete in the race as a daily quest.

With that taken care of, speak to Professor Einstein again about the next order of business.

The Escape Route From This Awful Valley

Berzelius the Engineer and I have talked, and we’ve come up with a solution, Rita. The engineer is to begin a major biological experiment in the near future. She has a theory that, through genetic manipulation of the fir trees growing in the valley, we could accelerate the greenhouse effect locally. She believes that within three months we could have a tropical climate here! Incredible, no? I can picture it now: the lake has turned into a South Sea lagoon, palm trees instead of fir trees, a warm breeze instead of a biting north wind… Oooh, it’s simply wonderful…

So. Enough dreaming. Now we come to the next step in the plan. The balloon. I don’t think it’ll be too hard to repair it, but I haven’t examined it closely yet. Rita, examine the balloon and inspect the damage.

If we repair the hot air balloon Rita, we can get out of this dreary valley and fly wherever we want… Maybe the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva?

Or perhaps we can travel to the Galapagos Islands and walk in Darwin’s footsteps… Aaaahh…

Enough dreaming I said! Goodness, Rita. Inspect the balloon now. Hurry up.

Objectives: Examine the rest of Nic’s hot air balloon.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Well we definitely can’t inflate the balloon since we used all the fabric for the roof of the stable. Nice planning there, Einstein…

What did you say? The burner is broken, the balloon fabric is basically useless, and the basket is destroyed.

Well, okay. This is probably the first project of ours where I feel good about our chances of success.

Quest completed

______________

Balloon Crash Models

Your observations are consistent with my own findings, and luckily, I’ve already prepared a plan for this. According to a model I set up to calculate the location of all the balloon’s missing parts, we have incredibly good chances of repairing the balloon if we just collect enough bits of it.

I want you to ride down onto the ice and start looking for balloon parts. There’s probably a whole bunch of junk there too, so only bring back the stuff that seems useful.

Objectives: Look for parts of Nic’s crashed balloon on the lake ice.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 40 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Junk… Junk… Junk… Oooh what’s this?

When you have found enough parts for the balloon return to Professor Einstein.

Let me have a look at the parts you’ve found, Rita. Hmm…

Most of the parts are good enough to use but there’s not enough material here by a long shot. We’ll obviously not find any gas for the burner lying around on the ice either, but we’ll just have to find another way of getting hold of some, I suppose.

Quest completed

______________

Primitive Methods in a Primitive Place

Like I said, we need gas for the balloon. Normally, I’d be able to get hold of some very easily at my lab, but here we have to make do with more primitive methods. Here’s a natural gas acquisition device I made. Well, yes, Rita, it is indeed a balloon. Nicely observed.

I have deduced that in this awful valley there are a number of geysers, and it should be possible to fill the balloon with gas from them. It should be a simple task as long as you follow my instructions. As everyone knows, geysers are active in a most regular fashion.

What you need to do is hold the balloon above the geyser at just the right moment, immediately before it starts to spray water. Right in that moment, seconds before the water starts spraying, the concentration of gas is so high that it should be possible to fill the natural gas acquisition device. Do you understand?

Good. Off you go then. Hurry up.

Objectives: Fill the balloons with gas from the geysers all around the lake. You can only fill them with gas in the seconds before the geyser starts spraying water. The geysers are only active ever other minute, so you might need to wait a little while before the right moment comes…

Rewards: 60 Jorvik Shillings, 40 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Ride out to one of the two geyser fields around the lake. Dismount your horse and approach one of the geysers. The erupt at regular intervals. It is easiest to stay put at one geyser and wait for it to spout. You will have only a few seconds to use the balloon, so it is best to hold the balloon over the geyser, then release your cursor button when the sparkles appear.

Fill the two balloons, then return to Professor Einstein.

Glory be. This gas probably won’t be enough, but it’s a start.

Quest completed

______________

The Fabric Gatherer

In order to have a working balloon, we need to assemble the textiles you’ve collected into a single, spherical object. Well yes, exactly Rita, we’re going to sew a balloon.

Sew together the pieces of fabric you found and we’ll see if we’ve collected enough.

Objectives: Use the needle and thread to sew the pieces of fabric together.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Dismount your horse to begin repairing the balloon. Place the fabric, then use the needle to sew it together. When you have sewn all of the pieces, speak to Professor Einstein.

There wasn’t enough fabric? Hmm, I guessed as much. We’ll just have to collect more, simple as that.

Quest completed

______________

Getting It Right in the End…

A critical component of the balloon is the burner itself which fills the balloon with hot air. The burner is broken but there’s just one small part missing, and the burner is of course useless without it.

It’s not possible to say which part exactly is missing, so just try these parts to see if they fit.

Objectives: Repair the burner.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Dismount your horse to try repairing the burner. Test out the parts on it to see if they are the correct parts you need. Speak to Professor Einstein when you are done.

The parts were all wrong? Oh, I thought that might happen. The important missing piece must still be missing out on the ice.

Quest completed

______________

Paint a Rumor…

The basket that carries you underneath the balloon will also need to be repaired. It would be possible to carry passengers by asking them to hold onto rope dangling from the balloon, but it’s not exactly an optimal solution. My view is that since tourists have a tendency to spread rumors about dangers such as this, we should repair the basket in full, even if it takes a little extra time.

Take all the twigs, string and other things you found earlier, and try to repair the basket. Hurry up.

Objectives: Repair the hot air balloon’s basket.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Dismount your horse to begin repairing the basket. Place all of the material down, then speak to Professor Einstein.

It didn’t work out? The stuff you found wasn’t enough to repair it?

Ah well. I suppose it’s just a case of looking for more stuff then, Rita. If we do that at the same time as continuing with our attempts at a repair, then we’ll no doubt have a fully-functioning balloon in no time.

Quest completed

Return to Professor Einstein when you have completed Phase 4.

Building the Camp, Phase 3, Part 2 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

01 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

a horse free menu, a restaurant without a wine exepert, birth of a 3 star restaurant, calculating the perfect place the einstein way, cooks on thin ice, differing probabilities for different people, ed field, favorably frozen, franke, ice swimming not for everyone apparently, igor, logically planned fun, professor einstein, see horses and seahorses, suitable materials for race limit indication devices, surprise surprise reunited with a beloved brother, trond

Speak to Trond at Nic Stoneground’s camp to see how well he made it.

Calculating the Perfect Place: The Einstein Way

Hello Rita! Finally here!

Professor Einstein figured out that this is the perfect place for my little shop. She seems to know what’ she’s talking about, so I think I can trust her. Would you do me the honor of taking down the sign that shows the shop as being closed?

Thanks, that’s the only thing left to do before I can open.

Objectives: Take down the sign that shows the shop as being closed.

Rewards: 80 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (50 points toward building the camp)

Take down the closed sign to open the shop then speak to Trond when the shop is ready.

Thanks for all your help Rita! I hope you’ll visit me in my little shop sometime soon!

Now it’s time to open up! See ya soon Rita!

Quest completed

There is now a farm shop open at the camp that you can purchase hay and other horse treats.

Speak to Ed Field in front of Wolf Hall Inn to see if Igor and Franke have started their journey to Dino Valley.

Birth of a 3-Star Restaurant

Hi Rita! You just missed the transport to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. Igor and Franke just drove off with a truck full of everything they need to get started with setting up our 3-star restaurant.

You can just meet up with Igor at the camp and see that everything’s in order, right?

Objectives: Meet Igor and Franke at Nic Stoneground’s camp.

Rewards: 60 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Well, I’m here, but where are they? Maybe Professor Einstein knows where they are.

Igor? There’s been no Igor here?

I did just hear an awful noise from down by the lake though…

Quest completed

______________

Cooks on Thin Ice

You mean some kind of transport should’ve arrived with a cook, a waiter, and a whole heap of furniture? Mm, that noise I heard earlier could most likely have come from a truck driving straight into the lake. That’s really quite probable.

Why didn’t I check what the noise was? Rita, I’ve never really been that interested in vehicles, I’m afraid.

But, now I’m aware of the situation, it sounds as though it has every likelihood of being really rather serious. Hurry down to the lake and see if you can’t find the transport.

Objectives: Find Igor and Franke in the lake in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

You can get to them by going down to the lake on the camp side but there are large gaps in the ice and you have to take a very long way around.

The quickest way I found is to ride the road back toward the elevator, then turn off just on the other side of the camp.

Fraaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Quest completed

______________

Ice-Swimming, Not for Everyone. Apparently.

FRANK-E! FRANK-E! FRAAAAANK-EEEEE!

(Franke points to the open water beside him. You see Igor fighting for his life in the freezing water.)

Objectives: Get Igor out of the water!

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)

Oh no, the bug-eyed creep needs help. Whatever shall we do? -sarcasm-

Brrrr… Hehe… Thanks Rita… Hehe…

Quest completed

______________

See Horses and Seahorses

Cough!

Heh… Splutter!

Hehe… Oooh, Rita, now it feels… Cough… Much better… Splutter…

Hehe…

The truck is at the bottom of the lake Rita… Hehe… I drove the wrong way… Hehe…

Everything’s gone… Hehe…

Could you help me Rita…? Hehe…

Only if I stop eating horses? Hehe…

Mmmm, Rita… I’ve never eaten a horse in my life… Mmmm… Hehe… I promise you Rita… I make that promise to you… Hehe…

Okay, okay! I swear. Hehe… I swear on the grave of my lovely mother… Hehe…

I’ll never try to eat Icerunner… Hehe… Or any other horse for that matter…

Hehe…

Oooh, Rita, is it okay if I eat seahorses instead? Mmmm… Hehe…

Alright, alright, no seahorses either… Can’t we ride off to camp now? Hehe…

Objectives: Ride with Igor to the camp.

Rewards: 40 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

I still don’t trust you though, keep your hands off my horse!

Drop Igor off at the camp. I guess Franke will just have to find his own way. Sorry, dude…

Thanks Rita… Hehe…

Quest completed

______________

A Horse-Free Menu

Hehe…

All of the equipment for the restaurant has gone… Hehe.. Lost forever…

Hehe… I guess I’ll just have to start on a smaller scale than I’d first hoped… Hehe… No barbecue night, to start with… Hehe… Vegetarian maybe? Oh, Rita, no horses on the menu, I promise… Hehe…

There were actually a few things from the truck lying around by the lake Rita… I saw them when I was floating around… Hehe… Crates that hadn’t sunk… Hehe… If we’re lucky, Rita… I hope we’re lucky… Hehe…

Would you be able to ride down and… Hehe… Get them Rita? It’d be very nice of you, hehe…

Objectives: Look for the wooden crates down by the frozen lake.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Ride back down to where you rescued Igor, and pick up the crates that you can find, then return to the camp.

Ohhh, mmm… Look at that… Hehe… Seems as though a few items made it… Hehe…

Now Rita… Let’s open them up and see what’s inside… Hehe…

Hehe… Chairs… Hehe, mmm… Tables… Oohhh and a few little goodies, Rita…

This should be okay… I can open the restaurant with these lovely articles, Rita… Even if it’ll be a little on the lean side… Hehe…

Rita, hehe… You’re welcome, so welcome, to join us anytime for something to eat… Hehe… And as for Icerunner… Well, I’d love to have him for dinner… Hehe… To join us for dinner, I mean… Mmm… Hehe… Then I declare this restaurant open… Hehe…

Quest completed

______________

A Restaurant Without A Wine Expert

Where’s Franke, by the way? Why is he over there bothering Professor Einstein? Oohhh hehe…

Objectives: Talk to Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 100 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (50 points toward building the camp)

Is it just me or does there seem to be a familial resemblance?

Frank?!

…

Frank, is that really you?!

Professor Frank E?

You’ve been gone for years!!

My beloved brother…!!

Quest completed

______________

Surprise, Surprise! Reunited with a Beloved Brother!

Frank’s alive! Oh wow, Rita! My genius brother Frank is really alive!!

But what on earth has happened to him?! He’s acting like some kind of zombie… Something terrible must have happened to him… But don’t be afraid! I’m going to help you! Me and Rita, a reliable character I’ve stumbled across in this awful valley.

Rita! Say hello to Frank!

Objectives: Talk to Professor Einstein again.

Rewards: 90 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: 100 with The Stoneground Expedition

What are the odds!

Oh, Rita, how wonderful! It seems as though Frank really likes you!

Oh, Frank… My dear, dear brother…

Right. Good. Enough with the sentimentality. No time here for feelings.

It’s time for me to call in all the favors I’m owed by my colleagues at the university: I’m going to make sure that we get a delivery of all the very best and most advanced medical equipment available. That way I can diagnose Frank and then find a cure for whatever bizarre affliction is tormenting him.

This will take time, but Frank disappeared ten years ago, so another couple days won’t make any difference. Until then, we’ve got other business to be getting on with. We mustn’t let such things distract us from our plan!

Quest completed

______________

Logically Planned Fun

Ah well Rita… There’s nothing we can do to help Frank right now, so there’s no point in wasting any more time thinking about it. You’ve no doubt already concluded what the next logical step of our plan is, hmm?

No?

Hmm… Okay. I’ll explain. We’ve already built facilities for horses here, so clearly the next step is to ensure that there’s something for horses and their riders to do. I hear that races are very popular, which means the construction of a race course has a very obvious place here in our plans. A race course which is both challenging and fun. Yes.

Nic had an idea – which was surprisingly not that bad… He said we should try to create a race course which gets people more interested in learning about science and nature at the same time as racing! With a combination of fun, some kind of learning, and sport.

That nobody’s though of it before? I know! It’ll be an international superhit, as Nic put it.

Ah well, enough with enthusiasm. First, we need to work out that the route I’ve already calculated doesn’t include intolerable risks for the riders. I want you to ride out onto the ice and make sure there are no more than three deep cracks along my proposed route.

Mostly just a mere formality – they’re very simple calculations – but you know as well as I do at this stage that we can’t take anything for granted when probability is involved.

So there we go. Off with you now.

Objectives: Look for cracks in the ice on the lake.

Rewards: 30 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Inspect the marked areas on your map. Then return to Professor Einstein.

So, no cracks in the ice. Splendid. Full steam ahead then!

What? Three cracks? Unbelievable…

Ah well, I suppose I’ll just have to go over my calculations again and determine a new optimal race course. While I’m busy with that, there are lots of other things you could be getting on with before we open up the race.

Quest completed

______________

Favorably Frozen

For the races, we need markers which indicate where competitors are supposed to ride. These usually come in the form of flags, but it took me just under four minutes to work out seven different designs that are better than flags. Again, though, we’re limited by the depressing technological level of this environment so I suppose we’ll just have to stick to whatever materials we can find around here and of course follow the tradition of flags when it comes to marking the outer limits of the course.

A bonus – the only bonus – of the cold climate here is that the ice is really strong. I have – using thorough experiments – arrived at the conclusion that the best way to construct race limit indication devices is by using icicles. Icicles that you’ll of course have to collect, you understand.

Collect icicles so we can make race limit indication devices.

Objectives: Find icicles for Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 40 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Collect several large icicles from around the camp. Be sure not to break them!

Hmm…

These icicles are of a relatively acceptable quality. Good work Rita.

Quest completed

______________

Suitable Materials for Race Limit Indication Devices

Traditionally, race limit indication devices (or flags as you people might call them) are constructed from differently colored fabrics depending on whether they stand on the left or right-hand sides of the checkpoints. Far from optimal, if you ask me, but I suppose we have to consider how regular racers aren’t as rational as you or I, and may struggle to see the obvious advantages of a multidimensional matrix structure where – with a mere glance – the flag shows everything from optimum speed and angle, to the current longitude and height above sea level. People are usually very narrow-minded and not open to new ideas, Rita. People make me sick.

To construct our race limit indication devices, we need appropriate material. I’ve noticed that there’s a variety of lichen in different colors here in the valley. Collect the white, black, and red lichen. Hurry up.

Objectives: Gather white, black, and red lichen for Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

The lichen hangs in little triangles off the tree branches around the camp. Collect enough of each color, then return to Professor Einstein.

Lichen. Hugely suboptimal material, but it’s not as though we can be very choosy out here in the sticks…

Quest completed

______________

Differing Probabilities for Different People

My calculations once again show that the chance of the mail having arrived has risen to the level that it’s once again worth your while to investigate the mailbox. The probability hasn’t reached a level where it would also be worth the hassle for me, so according to the laws of logic, the job lands quite neatly in your lap. Off you pop.

Objectives: Check if any mail has arrived at Nic Stoneground’s camp.

Rewards: 30 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

-sighs-

No mail? Thought so.

Quest completed

Return to Professor Einstein when you have completed Phase 3

Building the Camp, Phase 3, Part 1 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

24 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

a difference of transport based opinion, an elevatorphobe's nightmare, an unexpected test, dino waiters and dino wine experts, ed field, every loser wins every winner loses, everyone loves cake and hotdogs, franke, franke franke, future proof future roof, good news for some, igor, instead of a guitar, instead of concrete and diamonds, instead of startop cola and tuna, into the oven, no obstacles left to a great restaurant, nobly refraining from the first bite, one too many cooks, planks for strength, professor einstein, project epcgf-01x, rational people don't eat hay, restaurant at the end of the universe, so close yet so far, sweeter than a kitten, the calculations promise near certainty, the dulcet tones of a birchwood horn, trond, water water everywhere literally everywhere, we don't endorse main course horse

Water, Water, Everywhere. Literally Everywhere.

I simply do not understand what’s wrong with the Hydro-Detecto 2000, Rita, there’s probably no point in continuing.

What could be wrong? I don’t know.

It’s an incredibly complex device but to give you a nice plain description, we could say that it records all of the water within a fixed radius and indicates where there’s a certain amount of water.

Ice? What’s that got to do with the price of fish? Is to do with anything?

There’s ice everywhere, Rita!

…

Ice is water, obviously! What are you asking about ice for?!

…

How could I be so stupid?! This climate is terrible, the cold is going straight to my head!

Haha! Can you imagine… I hadn’t set the Hydro-Detecto 2000 to disregard frozen water.

Hahaha!

…

So, enough with the jokes. Back to work.

Here, now I’ve recalibrated the Hydro-Detecto 2000, except this time I’ve done it correctly. Now it’ll ignore the frozen water which by any logic should make it a piece of cake to find a proper water source.

So, you know what to do Rita. Find the location of the water source and use the drill.

Objectives: Use the Hydro-Detecto 2000 to find a water source. Drill in the location it tells you to.

Rewards: 100 Jorvik Shillings, 50 XP, Orange Winter Vest

Reputation: (100 points toward building the camp)

Search around to find the water source then dismount your horse to use the drill. Return to Professor Einstein when you have found the water.

HA! I knew it would work!

So, now we just need to harness the water for utilization, Rita.

Quest completed

______________

Every Loser Wins, Every Winner Loses

Whilst you’ve been gathering building materials for the Equine Protection, Care, and Guardianship Facility, I’ve designed a well that’s adapted to this climate, complete with fan heaters and speakers that play soothing music specially composed for horses, built of materials that don’t require maintenance for hundreds of years.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anyone that would deliver two tons of plutonium here in under six months. This darned remote ice age valley is causing me all kinds of hassle.

Instead, I ordered this all-in-one well construction kit from JKEA. I’ve studied the instructions for hours and even though it seems to make perfect sense, it’s so horrifyingly complex that even I’m unable to actually work out how to begin. Rarely have I been forced to admit that I’ve been intellectually defeated but in this case, I give up. Every loser wins, and every winner loses. We’ll have to wait six months for the plutonium shipment, Rita.

You want to have a try? No. There’s no point, Rita. You’re putting your mental health at risk if you so much as attempt to read the first few lines.

Hmm? It can’t be that difficult, you say?! Well, I say. Try then, Rita, but I wash my hands of the whole thing. Don’t blame me if your brain explodes.

Objectives: Use the all-in-one well-building kit from JKEA to construct the well at the spot you found water. Put it together using the tool included in the kit.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Dismount your horse and place the crate on the spot where you found water. Then use the hammer to build the well. Return to Professor Einstein when you are finished and we’ll see whose head explodes when you complete this seemingly insurmountable task…

How on earth is that possible? You managed to assemble the well!!

I’ve clearly underestimated you, Rita. Fancy, there’s finally an intellectual equal here in the valley for me to communicate with. At last, the spiritual drought I have been exposed to reaches its end!

Tell me dear Rita, what are your thoughts on the dynamic quantum field theory?

You don’t know much about it?

What do you think about the latest advances in seismic relativity linguistics?

It doesn’t sound especially interesting to you?

…

…

It was probably just luck that was on your side when you managed to build the well, Rita. Well, back to the desert of my soul.

Quest completed

______________

PROJECT EPCGF-01X

We can get started with the construction of the Equine Protection, Care, and Guardianship Facility now that we’ve gathered the necessary materials. Shouldn’t we find a simpler name for it, by the way, Rita?

We’ll call it simply, Project EPCGF-01X. Simple and logical!

Start by placing the logs on the sites I’ve marked out. It shouldn’t take longer than 58 seconds; get a move on so we can continue with the next step.

Objectives: Lay down the logs on the places indicated by Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

The stable will be built near the new well. Place the logs for the frame, then return to Professor Einstein when you are finished.

Magnificent. Now we can proceed with the next steps of Project EPCGF-01X.

Quest completed

______________

Planks for Strength

The logs you’ve erected, according to my durability calculations, won’t stand up to the pressures that Project EPCGF-01X will no doubt place upon them.

This is why you should of course mount these planks – which I so accurately foresaw the necessity of – on the logs in order to reinforce the construction.

Objectives: Mount the planks on the logs where Professor Einstein has indicated.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Place a plank, then use the hammer to set it in place. Do this to all of the planks, then return to Professor Einstein.

Sumptuous. We’ve now arrived at the next stage of Project EPCGF-01X: roof assembly.

Quest completed

______________

Future Proof Future Roof

With the frame now constructed, Project EPCGF-01X is on track to completion, and our next step is to install a roof. My initial idea was to cast the latest nano-materials with built-in solar cells, but hopes of finding a modern roof were dashed, as always, by this brutish environment.

After weighing all the alternatives against each other, I eventually came to the conclusion that the cloth the hot air balloon is made of would suffice, even if it is a sub-optimal alternative.

I’ve cut a piece of the canvas with perfect measurements, so you only need to attach it above the logs.

It’s an incredibly easy task, I expect you see you back very soon.

Objectives: Assemble the roof on Project EPCGF-01X.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Place the balloon cloth as the roof on the the new stable then return to Professor Einstein when you are finished.

Sublime. Now we’ve arrived at the final step in Project EPCGF-01X: laying the floor.

Quest completed

______________

Instead of Concrete and Diamonds

Project EPCGF-01X can now be rounded off with one final task: the construction of the floor. Instead of a concrete floor with an industrial diamond coating with would have held up for millions of years, I have – after sincere and determined consideration – reached the conclusion that the fir branches you collected will have to do.

Lay out the branches as flooring, Rita.

Objectives: Lay the floor and complete Project EPCGF-01X.

Reputation: 50 Jorvik Shillings, 50 XP

Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)

Lay down the fir branches and your new stable will be complete from top to bottom!

Exquisite. Project EPCGF-01X has reached completion. I think we’ve done a good job Rita, let’s give ourselves a little applause.

So, enough with all this giddiness. We have a near-eternity left before this place can be thought of as adequate for even the most rudimentary research.

Quest completed

______________

The Calculations Promise Near-Certainty

According to my calculations, we can almost certainly count on the mail having been delivered now. Ride over and check the mailbox, Rita.

Objectives: Check to see if any mail has arrived at Nic Stoneground’s camp.

Rewards: 65 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (15 toward building the camp)

Retrieve the mail like everyone seems to think you were born to do.

So, were my calculations correct? Was there any mail?

Two letters!!

The chance of that was indeed slight, but not zero. We should be grateful that “luck” seems to be on our side for once.

Quest completed

______________

Rational People Don’t Eat Hay

Well, well, yet another salesman wants to set up shop here at our camp. Hmm…

He wants to sell hay, apples, picnic baskets, that sort of thing. Who in the world wants to buy hay? What rational person would eat hay?!

Horses, you say? Ah true, horses do eat hay. Biology isn’t my best subject, you see.

Well, you’ll have to collect this person. A hay-shop isn’t something I expected in my calculations, but I suppose it can’t do any harm? The person in question has sent the letter from Valedale and writes that he intends to go here on foot.

Hmm… The letter was sent several days ago so it’s odd that we’ve yet to meet this person. Ride towards Valedale and see if you can find out what’s happened, Rita.

Objectives: Ride to Valedale and see if you can find the shopkeeper trying to get to Nic Stoneground’s camp.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

You’ll find the wayward shopkeeper at the top of the old elevator.

Hello! Is it me you’re looking for?

Quest completed

______________

An Elevatorphobe’s Nightmare

I’ve been standing here for two full days trying to figure out how I’m going to get down. I don’t like elevators, you see.

I’d probably dare to go down the elevator if I didn’t have all this heavy stuff with me. It weights so much, what if it’s overloaded and collapses?!

You’ve used the elevator with your horse, you say? Well, I suppose it weighs quite a lot, so that’s quite reassuring…

But, but…

What if the elevator got all worn out when you’ve been riding up and down in it with that horse?! It may not be built for such strain. Have you ever considered that?!

What?

You can go down with the merchandise in the elevator for me? Wow, that’d be perfect! Thank you very much!

Objectives: take the goods and leave them by the bottom of the elevator.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Take Trond’s goods to the bottom of the elevator, then ride back up and speak to him.

Hello again! Are the goods in place at the bottom of the elevator?

Fantastic! Now it’s just me that needs to get down…

Quest completed

______________

So Close, Yet So Far…

Like I said, I don’t like elevators.

Or, well, “don’t like” is probably putting it a little mildly, hehe.

I go into a full and horrifying panic just from being near an elevator, so I’m sure you’ll understand why I got a little bit stuck here. I’ve really tried, but it just never works out… It’s probably best if I just turn around and move to Silverglade Village; it’s nice and flat there, and there’s not an elevator to be seen.

You’ll help me? Oh, how lovely!

Get up on your horse? Okay, but, umm… How will we get down if we don’t take the elevator? You know a way? Okay, I trust you but just don’t ride too close to that elevator!

Objectives: Get yourselves down the cliff without using the elevator.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Take the trail down the side of the cliff that you used when you first discovered the valley. You do not have to race down this time. Drop Trond off at the bottom where you left his crates.

Whew! Finally down! That’s probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done… Using an elevator suddenly doesn’t feel quite so scary.

Quest completed

Return to Trond tomorrow.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Instead of StarTop Cola and Tuna

Here’s the letter we’ve been waiting for Rita! Something that always pull the tourists in is food. I usually get by on tinned tuna and StarTop Cola. 8 liters for 40 Jorvik Shillings, but most people aren’t as rational as you and I, and happily spend a small fortune on their food.

Anyway, this chap Ed Field seems to be bouncing off the walls with excitement of opening a restaurant here. He apparently runs Jorvik’s most successful guest house, the Wolf Hall Inn, but his entrepreneurial senses see the huge business opportunity in being the first to start up at our up-and-coming tourist magnet!

I honestly believe he’s a little bit insane Rita… To run a successful restaurant here is even more impossible than calculating the exact value of Pi, but people have achieved the impossible before… Everyone said the universe was going to explode, but I managed to divide by zero and it rather seems as though the universe is still here!

Rita, before I overload your poor little brain, you should ride over to this Ed Field character and see what his intentions are.

Objectives: Ride out and talk to Ed Field at Wolf Hall Inn.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Speak to Ed Field in front of the Wolf Hall Inn, in Harvest Counties.

Hey there Rita! What can I do for you?

Quest completed

______________

Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Rita! Did Professor Einstein send you? Awesome!

This idea is absolutely epic: opening another restaurant there, another branch of the Wolf Hall Inn empire!

An incredible roadside hangout where bus-loads of tourists are gonna stop, eat my culinary masterpieces and see entertainingly entertaining entertainment!

I’m way too busy to do this myself, so I’m leaving the responsibility to one of my best employees. Our new kitchen assistant Igor is showing tons of promise, and has really been eager to advance!

He’s going to be perfect as our new chef-waiter-bouncer-tour group leader-manager-cabaret artist!

No way, Rita! I’m not insane! Haha!

It won’t work to just set him loose on the job without first seeing what he’s made of. He’s only been here two days so there’s a chance I’ve misjudged him, even if I am an amazing judge of character.

You can chat to him if you like… See if you can find any cracks in his amazing personality!

Objectives: Talk to Igor.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Dismount your horse to enter the door into the kitchen. Speak to Igor inside.

Hehe…

Quest completed

______________

We Don’t Endorse Main Course Horse

Hehehe… Dinosaurs… Sounds delicious! Hehe…

So, you’re taking me to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur? Hehe… On board your glorious horse… I saw it outside… What’s its name? Icerunner? Hehe… A little salt… A couple hours in the oven… An apple stuffed into the mouth… Hehe… What? Do I want to eat Icerunner?

Oh, no, no, no, Icerunner is safe now my sweet child, I’d never do such a thing… I promise. Hehehe…

Mmmmm…

(Igor licks his lips and seems to have forgotten that he’s staring pretty intensely at Icerunner. You decide it’s best to speak to Ed Field again.)

Objectives: Tell Ed Field about Igor.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Exit the kitchen and speak to Ed Field about your creeps from Igor.

He wanted to EAT Icerunner?! Are you sure?!

Quest completed

______________

One-Too-Many Cooks?

Now, now, let’s not be hasty! All geniuses are a little eccentric and I’m sure he didn’t mean it seriously… He was joking with you! Chefs and cooks, y’know… Always a little bit special. Haha!

You don’t think he was joking and that he wants to actually eat your actual horse?

Yeah, yeah, well let’s not get all hung up on the details. This is like one of those problems-that-isn’t-really-a-problem kinda things. Like, imagine if we didn’t have a chef at all? THAT would be a problem.

Well anyway, if you don’t think he’s up to the job, then we’ll just have to test him out.

Hmm…

Try and come up with some ways to put his cookery talents to the test, at the same time giving him a trial run on his financial and entertainment skills. If he doesn’t pass the test, I promise we’ll find someone else!

Objectives: Talk to Igor again.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Return to the kitchen and tell Igor about your plans to test him.

Hehe… Mmm, Icerunner… I’ve missed you… Hehe…

Quest completed

______________

Everyone Loves Cake and Hotdogs!

So Rita… Hehe… You want proof that I can really make delicious flavorful food?

Okay, I’ll make for you my signature dish, Rita… Hehe… I call it Igor’s Paradiso Luxury Taste-Party Gateaux… Hehe… Mmmmm…

You need to help me find some luxury ingredients, Rita… Hehe… Eggs, flour, sugar, cream, strawberries, and one secret special magic ingredient… Hotdogs… Mmmm… Hehe… None of those ingredients are here in the pantry, but they’re certainly in Mr Ed Field’s storage… Hehe…

Get them for me, Rita… Secure those delicious goods for Igor… Hehe… Mmm…

Away with you now, Rita… But you, Icerunner… You can stay here, you big beauty…

What?! I won’t eat Icerunner, Rita… I promise… Hehe… So off you go, Rita…

(You really don’t trust Igor. Who knows what’ll end up in the food if he gets to run the restaurant? You think it’s best to find some other ingredients than those he’s asked for, just to make sure the tests don’t go as well as they should.)

Objectives: Find fake ingredients for Igor.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Leave the kitchen and search around the Wolf Hall Inn to find things for Igor to cook with.

Billiards balls, stones, and rotten eggs. Luxury ingredients, indeed.

Return to Igor when you have found all of your ‘luxury ingredients.’

Ooohhh thank you… Hehe…

Soon, you will have the joy of tasting the finest food you’ve ever eaten… Hehe…

Quest completed

______________

Into the Oven

Let’s see now… Hehe… Take a step back so I can prepare my Paradiso Luxury Taste-Party Gateaux… Hehe…

You too, Icerunner… We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you… Not right now, anyway… Hehe…

So there we have it… Into the oven goes the cake… Hehe…

Objectives: Talk to Igor again.

Rewards: 30 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Eck, do you smell that??

Viola! Igor’s Paradiso Luxury Taste-Party Gateaux! Hehe…

Hmm… Doesn’t smell quite like normal…

Quest completed

______________

Nobly Refraining from the First Bite

Hehe… Would you like to try some delicious, delicious cake, Rita? Hehe… Almost as delicious as barbequed hor… Hehe… Of course, umm… I don’t eat horses… Hehe… Mmmmm…

You think Mr Ed Field should have the honor of tasting the first bite?

That’s very noble of you Rita, hehe… Well, well, I really hope he likes it, Rita… Hehe…

Objectives: Give Igor’s Paradiso Luxury Taste-Party Gateaux to Ed Field.

Rewards: 40 Jorvik Shillings, 60 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

I claim no responsibility for this!

Bring the train wreck of a cake to Ed Field.

Oooh! Check that out! What a creation! Igor’s Paradiso Luxury Taste-Party Gateaux! I just have to try it.

Chomp! Hmm…

Scoff! Ooooooohhhh…

…

…

This… This is…

THIS IS THE GREATEST CAKE I’VE EVER EATEN! PARADISO INDEED!

Quest completed

Well, that didn’t go as planned. Return to the kitchen to try another test on Igor.

Instead of a Guitar

Hehe… So Mr Ed Field wants to see if I can give the guests an entertainingly entertaining time? Hehe… He…

He.

….

Errrrmmmm… Entertainment isn’t exactly my thing… Hehe… But I can maybe play a little guitar for the guests… Hehe… Bring my guitar to me, Rita…

(You really don’t trust Igor. Who knows what’ll end up in the food if he gets to run the restaurant? You think it’s best to find some other kind of instrument for Igor instead of his guitar, just to make sure the tests don’t go as well as they should.)

Objectives: Find some other kind of instrument than a guitar for Igor to play.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Exit the kitchen and see if you can find some other kind of instrument. Return to Igor when you have found your prize.

Umm, Rita… That’s not a guitar… Hehe…

What, is that all? Hehe… Oh, Rita…

Quest completed

______________

The Dulcet Tones of a Birchwood Horn

Hehe… Are you sure Mr Ed Field will like this? Hehe… I’ve never played a birchwood horn before, Rita… It’s not at all hard you say? Mr Ed Field loves wind instruments? Hehe… Okay then, Rita… But what should I play? Mr Ed Field can’t get enough of progressive improvised jazz, you say? Hehe… Okay then, Rita… Hehe…

Objectives: Ask Ed Field what he thought of Igor’s entertainment.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 45 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Beautiful, err, music?

…

…

Sniffle!

Magic. Simply magic.

Who knew Igor was such a wonderfully gifted musician? He’s going to be a runaway hit with the guests with those kinds of beautiful melodies. So beautifully gentle… Reminds me of my mama’s lullabies. I feel so relaxed and harmonized…

Quest completed

That definitely didn’t go as planned. Return to the kitchen to give Igor one more test as a last ditch effort to ruin his chances of going to Dino Valley.

An Unexpected Test

Hehe… Oh, Rita… You want proof that I can handle finances?

Hehe… I swear I’m an economic maverick, Rita… I swear this to you, my friend… Hehe… I actually have a degree from the University of Jorvik in business economics… Hehe… Here, take a look at my precious certificate… Hehe… It’s beautiful, Rita… So beautiful… Hehe…

Take a look over there, Rita… Look very closely at my ledger hehe… It shows every single Jorvik Shilling that I’ve spent on food here at Wolf Hall Inn… Hehe… Mmm…

Show it to Mr Ed Field and he’ll surely see that my finances are made of solid gold… Hehe… He has nothing to worry about, Rita… Tell him Igor will never let him down, hehe…

(You really don’t trust Igor. Who knows what’ll end up in the food if he gets to run the restaurant? If you had a pen, you could add a few extra zeros here and there, just to fiddle with the ledger and make sure Ed Field sees that the tests don’t go as well as they should for Igor.)

Objectives: Falsify the numbers in Igor’s ledger and give it to Ed Field.

Rewards: 30 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Pick up the pen on the kitchen counter, then use it on the ledger that is set out on the table near the door.

When you are done messing things up, take the ledger out to Ed Field.

Oooh! A ledger? Igor has recorded every single Jorvik Shilling he’s spent here at Wolf Hall Inn? Magic! What attention to detail he’s got!

I should read it very carefully, you say? Is that really necessary?

Okay, okay, I’ll take a closer look.

Now, let’s see here…

…

… 2lb flour, 200 Jorvik Shillings! Hmm…

…

… 1 gallon of milk, 5,000 Jorvik Shillings! Oooookaaaayy…

…

… 1 egg, 100,000 Jorvik Shillings!!!

Oh my gosh Rita, I don’t know what to say…

…

THE GUY IS A FLAMING GENIUS! He truly knows what we should be spending money on! This 100,000 Jorvik Shilling egg must have been something truly incredible, obviously worth every single Shilling! There’s always a price for quality, Rita, that’s what I always say! You get what you pay for in this world!

Quest completed

______________

Good News for Some

Sweet! Like, megasweet!

Igor exceeds every expectation I could ever have had!

Rita, couldn’t you take him with you on horseback to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur?

No? Alright, no worries. I’ll arrange transport for him, you just need to meet him there. Go give him the good news, Rita!

Objectives: Give Igor the good news.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Well, at least we tried…

Return to the kitchen and tell Igor that he gets to go.

Hehe… I passed the tests, Rita?

Mr Ed Field was happy? Hehe… I knew he would be…

Quest completed

______________

A Difference of Transport-Based Opinion

So, I’ll just jump behind you on Icerunner?

No? Hehe… And I was looking forward to getting to know Icerunner a lot better… Hehe…

Mr Ed Field maybe has arranged for me to have a horse of my own… Hehe… Perfect… I was starting to get a little hungry… Ask Mr Ed Field about it… Hehe…

Objectives: Talk to Ed Field again.

Rewards: 40 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Tell Ed Field what you think about Igor’s idea.

What?! Igor wants to EAT a horse?

Hahaha! He’s just joking with you, I’m sure. What a guy, eh? It’s just awesome that he has such epic humor!

Quest completed

______________

Sweeter Than a Kitten

I’ve got a car to take him to Valedale, so don’t worry. Hmm? You don’t trust him at all? For real, you mean?

Hmm… Okay, okay. I’ve got total confidence in Igor but I can of course try and work something out, since it’s you, Rita.

Igor is amazing in every way, but he’s going to be so busy with the restaurant that it’s probably best I send one of my best employees along with you both.

Here’s my keychain. Unlock the door to the storage up there and tell Franke to come here. You don’t need to worry, Franke’s a diamond guy with a heart of gold… He gets a little bit aggro sometimes, but just give him this chicken leg and he’ll be putty in your hands. Sweeter than a kitten.

Objectives: Unlock the door to Ed Field’s storage and talk to Franke.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Go up to the storage and dismount your horse to use the key.

FRANKEEEEEEEE!!!

Quest completed

______________

Franke

Fraaaaaaaaaaankeeeeeeeeeee… Franke! FRANKEEEEEEE!!!

(Franke seems to be in some kind of distress. Or is he just hungry?)

Objectives: Give the chicken leg to Franke.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Hopefully this will calm him down…

Chomp! Chomp!

Quest completed

______________

Franke, Franke

Fraaaaankeeeee…

Franke?

(You beckon Franke to follow you. He seems to understand what you mean.)

Objectives: Take Franke to Ed Field.

Rewards: 35 Jorvik Shillings, 35 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Walk with Franke down to Ed Field. Stay close to him and he will keep moving. If you get too far away he will stop, confused where to go.

Hello big guy! Aww, Franke, it’s been ages! You look great. Lost weight?

Quest completed

______________

Dino Waiters and Dino Wine Experts

Franke, my bestest buddy in the whole of Jorvik, what do you say to this: how do you fancy being a waiter and wine expert at my new restaurant in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur?

Objectives: Talk to Franke.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Well, Franke, what do you think?

Frank…. Eeeeeeeeehhhhh!

Quest completed

______________

No Obstacles Left to a Great Restaurant

FRANK-EEEEEEHHH!!!

Objectives: Talk to Ed Field.

Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

I’ll take that as a yes?

Sweet! What a team we’ve got together, Rita!

Quest completed

Return to Ed Field tomorrow.

Building the Camp, Phase 1 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

11 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

at least zero degrees kelvin, one-way trip to the stone age, professor einstein, putting the plans on ice, take your customs with you, the next step is clearly totally logical

Speak with Professor Einstein about her plans to start building Nic Stoneground’s camp into a proper research facility.

One-Way Trip to the Stone Age

Rita, can you answer me something?

How on earth is someone supposed to conduct serious research here? It’s like I’ve taken a one-way trip to the Stone Age!

What’s that? Nic wondered if I wanted to take responsibility for the state of the camp? Hmm… Probably the first intelligent thought to come out of that man his whole life.

I’ll see to it that this becomes a first-class research facility of the very highest international standard.

First, I need to set out a plan.

Rita! A pen and paper at once so that the planning can begin!

Objectives: Get a pen and paper for Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)

Fetch the pen and paper that is set out on the benches near Nic. Bring both items to Elsa.

Ah, a pen and paper. Thank you Rita.

Now let the planning begin!

Quest completed

______________

At Least Zero Degrees Kelvin

Hmm…

Brr…!

What’s going on?!

Brr…! It’s so cold that my brain has almost frozen solid. The temperature must be at least zero degrees Kelvin… Brr…!

Look Rita! The fire’s gone out!

Brrrrr…!!

Rita!! Don’t just stand there! Do something! Get something appropriately flammable immediately, before we freeze to death! Sticks, branches, twigs… Anything! Brrr…!

Objectives: Find dry firewood that can be thrown on the fire.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: (5 point toward building the camp)

Search around the area of the camp and pick up any firewood you see. Return to Elsa when you have found enough firewood.

Brrr… Y-y-y-you f-f-f-found tw-tw-t-twigs…

Brrr…

Quest completed

______________

Putting the Plans on Ice

The f-f-f-fire has g-g-gone out. S-s-s-so c-c-cold!

P-p-p-put the t-t-twigs on the f-f-fire. Qu-qu-quick, Rita!

Brrr… Hurry!

T-t-t-take this lighter and light the f-f-f-fire…

Objectives: Set the twigs down on the fire and light it using the lighter you were given by Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

Place the twigs from your inventory, then dismount your horse to use the lighter. Speak to Elsa again when you have lit the fire.

Oooh, heat at last! How lovely! Aaaaahhh….

That was probably the most horrific situation I’ve ever found myself in, Rita, this is truly a deadly cold, getting right into your joints and deep down in your bones. How do we attract the world’s leading researchers in this climate?

Quiet. Shh… Let me think, Rita…

Hmm…

Aha! I’ve got it!

Quest completed

______________

Take Your Customs With You

My logical thinking is really in top form today, Rita. Hush now and listen to my plan!

The first step that must be implemented is of course to mark the way here so that the potential candidates for our research center can at least find their way here.

Since the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur is at a technological level comparable to the Stone Age, it is particularly appropriate that we adjust our methods accordingly.

Do you understand, Rita? No?!

Well then. Let me give you a suitably Stone Age explanation…

Ugg. Bring torches. Go towards elevator. Ugg ugg. Stick torches in torch holders. Ugg. Light torches with lighter. Ugg ugg ugg.

…

Mmm, that was a bit rude, wasn’t it, Rita? It’s this cold that gets me all cranky. Sorry.

But come now, off you go.

Objectives: Set up and illuminate torches along the road between the lift to Valedale and Nic Stoneground’s camp.

Rewards: 40 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)

Ride along the Explorer’s Road, between Nic’s camp and the elevator. Place the torches from your inventory and use the lighter to start them alight. Return to Elsa when all of the torches have been lit.

Great! A well-lit path here is the most basic underlying part of my plan. Now let’s continue.

Quest completed

______________

The Next Step is Clearly Totally Logical

Let me clarify our position, Rita, so that you understand our precarious situation.

We’re a long way from A.A.E.’s headquarters and can’t just expect any financial assistance from them in the near future. Just to fill in the most basic forms would take me at least three months. Before the application has been processed and the money has been paid, we are talking about a minimum of two and a half years at least.

We don’t have time to wait for that, as I’m sure you can understand.

What should we do?

Well, Rita? That’s obvious! We will…

…

We will…

…

Umm…

Aha! Now I have it!

The rational and logical thing to do is to lease land in the camp to souvenir salesmen and to attract tourists who want to share our discoveries and so on and so forth. A simple enough idea, don’t you think, Rita?

So, you know what the next step is, right? No?!

Think logically now. It’s pretty obvious… Okay, I’ll explain. We’re just waiting for the letter to arrive.

What letter, you ask?!

The letter from all the souvenir salesmen who want to peddle their tat here of course! Come, away with you now! See if there are any letters in the mailbox.

Objectives: Check the mailbox to see if any mail has arrived to Nic Stoneground’s camp.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)

You should be getting pretty good at checking the mailboxes by now…

Nothing in the mailbox?

Most illogical. According to my calculations, the likelihood of something having arrived was almost 100%.

Well, well, that’s the probability theory for you; one can never be sure. That’s the whole point.

Hmm. You’ve got lots of work to be getting on with here in any case. It’s just a case of getting on with the renovation work until the letter arrives.

Unfortunately, I’ve got no time to be helping with that sort of thing, I need to go over my calculations so that I can give a more exact prediction of when the mail’s going to come.

Most peculiar…

Quest completed

Return to Professor Einstein when you have completed Phase 1.

Day 93, Gathering Data – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

09 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Maggie Oldcamp in Story Quests

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

an a.a.e. colleague comes crashing in, bad news never had good timing, drilling for ice cores, exploration inauguration, explore the frozen valelake, exploring the nic stoneground way, helicopter replacement 1 horsepower, mail in the dale, nic stoneground, professor einstein, reply from a.a.e., research in exile, send the samples, skeleton samples for a.a.e., test your kit

Now there should’ve been some mail! Can you ride over to the mailbox for incoming mail and check if anything’s been delivered? Almost regretting putting the mailboxes so far away…

Objectives: Check Nic’s inbox to see if any mail has arrived.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP

Reputation: 20 with The Stoneground Expedition

Ride over to the mailbox and retrieve the mail and bring it to Nic.

See! Brilliant! A letter! Ooh, from A.A.E. as well! They say they support me fully in my explorations out here in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, and that I should expect a supply of new resources soon! This is excellent news!

They also write that they’re happy to hear I’m actually alive, and that they thought I’d disappeared forever. We’ve got you to thank for that, Rita!

Quest completed

______________

Exploration Inauguration

So there we go, Rita! The camp seems to be in some kind of order, even if it clearly needs a few improvements to bring up the comfort levels a little… But most importantly, we’ve made a start and we’ve got the support of A.A.E. Now our exploration expedition can begin for real!

Do you want to help me explore the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur?

Objectives: Accept that you want to help Nic with his discovery of the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur.

Rewards: 35 Jorvik Shillings, 35 XP, Pink Science Jacket

Reputation: 35 with The Stoneground Expedition

We’ll go down in history!

Fantastic! This is great! Then we’re a team! As a thank you, every day this week I’m going to share all of my information! Everything I know about this place!

Quest completed

______________

Exploring the Nic Stoneground Way

We can all explore and find things in many different ways. Some ways are better than others and some are, well, garbage. You should remain aware that different approaches are necessary for different purposes, and you should always ask yourself: “What is the purpose of my expedition?” The answer will always let you know the approaches you should take, which Will then make it clear to you what equipment you should have.

I want to finish off my map of this area. You’ll need my half-finished map, a pen, and a pair of binoculars to check angles and figure out different positions and such. At the same time, I also want you to capture images of some places and that’s of course easiest if you use a camera. With a half-finished map, pen, tripod binoculars, and camera, you should be fully equipped for the task.

I will send you out to the places where I feel it’s important to fully document the geography and thus complete the map. Don’t leave anything behind at the places you document. An explorer must never lose sight of their equipment, because that’s how expeditions fail!

Understood?

Objectives: Listen to Nic’s instruction on how to carry out some successful exploration.

Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP

Reputation: 20 with The Stoneground Expedition

Time to become an explorer for real!

Right, then. A summary: Using triangulation, you’ll work out the distances between different distances and so be able to complete the map, and take pictures using the camera I’ll give you. Completely clear, right?

Quest completed

______________

Test Your Kit!

Oh, you want to test the equipment first? Clever! A real adventurer always tests their kits. How about this then? Take the kit out and try documenting that spot over there by the edge of the camp. Have a go, and come back to me when you’re done. Then we can go over the procedure one last time before you head off on your expedition!

Objectives: Give the adventure kit a test run. Use the equipment in the spots indicated just outside the camp.

Rewards: 90 Jorvik Shillings, 35 XP

Reputation: 30 with The Stoneground Expedition

Go over near the large tree south of Nic’s camp.

To completely explore a location, three objectives must be completed.

Use the camera three times (on the areas that are higher off the ground)
Use the tripod (place the tripod, use the tripod, then pick it up
Use the map (place the map on the little snowy table, use the marker on the map, then pick it up)

Make sure you don’t leave any of your equipment behind! Return to Nic when you have explored the area near the camp.

That looked promising! I suppose you could’ve held the camera a little higher up and changed the shutter settings to be able to get a better exposure to compensate for the snow reflections. Otherwise, it was okay!

Quest completed

______________

Explore the Frozen Valelake

Right-o! Here, take the equipment and you can be off on your first real expedition! I think you could probably get started by exploring and documenting the Frozen Valelake down there. The lake makes up a central part of the crater. The water level is now much lower than it was at the time when the lake filled the whole crater…

As always with ice: Be careful! It can break, and there are cracks to look out for! You need to be very, very careful if you don’t want to fall through into the icy water.

Come back to me for a debrief when you’ve documented the four places on the Frozen Valelake!

Objectives: Document and explore the places marked on the map.

Rewards: 65 Jorvik Shillings, 35 XP

Reputation: 30 with The Stoneground Expedition

Use the same procedure to explore the four areas marked on your map. Don’t forget your equipment out on the lake!

Return to Nic when all of the areas have been explored.

WOW! You’ve found The Hidden Dinosaur!! I’ve only ever heard mention of it in the old travelogues of the early adventurers, and I’ve always wanted to see it for myself!

I feel strangely elated over this awesome skeleton, some kind of connection from the past that I can’t quite put my finger on… A little like I’ve got a really strong déjá vu.

You’ve taken some really outstanding pictures! I’ll work through some of this new information and I might come up with some additional information related to this later. May even need to send a report to A.A.E. about this and see if they have any more information for me…

We need to know more!

Quest completed

______________

Skeleton Samples for A.A.E.

We need to analyze the bones! Take skeletal samples from various locations on the skeleton with this test doodad. The paleontological department at A.A.E. will then analyze the samples.

What I said?

Polenta? No, no, haha! Polenta is a tasty corn porridge. Ha ha!

P-A-L-E-O-N-T-O-L-O-G-Y! Paleontology is the study of prehistoric life and organisms. Cool, huh?

So really, we’re all paleontologists here in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. We’re real scientists!

Umm… Sorry. Sciencewoman and… Uh… Sciencehorse. Hmm… Oh, you say scientists whether it be men, boys, women, girls, or horses. Don’t ask me why.

Objectives: Use the test equipment to take paleontological tests of the huge dinosaur skeleton.

Rewards: 75 Jorvik Shillings, 35 XP

Reputation: 30 with The Stoneground Expedition

Ride out to the dinosaur and take samples from several places on the skeleton, then return to Nic when you are finished.

Thanks! The paleontologists at A.A.E. are dying to see these test results!

Quest completed

______________

Drilling for Ice Cores

The ice is old. For a scientist, it can tell us a lot about the past. If you study the different layers of ice, you can learn about what the climate was like before. This lower lake ice has been properly protected from outside influences until the big collapse in 1912…

A.A.E. has expressed a lot of interest in this, and want us to drill out ice cores to send to them for analysis!

While you’re out on thin ice, can you take some ice samples? Take this ice drill and drill for ice cores that we can send to A.A.E.

Objectives: Use the ice drill to drill out cores of ice to be sent away for scientific analysis.

Rewards: 65 Jorvik Shillings, 35 XP

Reputation: 30 with The Stoneground Expedition

Ride out on the ice and dismount your horse to use the auger. Collect three core samples, then return to Nic.

Great ice cores! Now we just need to send them with super fast mail so that they don’t melt on the way… I’ll pack them in fabric, styrofoam, foil so they should survive the journey…

Quest completed

______________

Mail in the Dale

Ooh, Rita, didn’t that sound like something fluttering into the mailbox over there?

Mmm! I promise! I heard it very clearly. Could you just run over and grab the letter and I’ll get my glasses out while you collect it?

Objectives: Check if there’s any mail for Nic Stoneground.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: 5 with The Stoneground Expedition

Mail gopher again…

There was a letter? Knew it!

Let’s have a look… I couldn’t find my glasses but this letter is written so properly that it should be fine to read anyway.

Quest completed

______________

Send the Samples

There we go, those samples are all packed into boxes and ready to be sent. Can you take them over to the outgoing mailbox and try squeezing them in there? It’s really important that they get to A.A.E. so that they can see my work here is in full swing!

Objectives: Mail both boxes containing the test samples. Place them in the outgoing mailbox.

Rewards: 75 Jorvik Shillings, 35 XP

Reputation: 30 with The Stoneground Expedition

Put the two boxes into the big red mailbox, then speak to Nic again.

Thanks for all your help, Rita! It’ll be really exciting to hear what A.A.E. has to say about these!

Quest completed

______________

An A.A.E. Colleague Comes Crashing In…

Hmm… I don’t know whether this is good news or not, Rita. Professor Einstein from Jorvik City University is apparently on her way here. Have you heard of her?

No, no, not that Professor Einstein. I’m talking about Professor Elsa Einstein: The world’s leading researcher in the field of quantum semantics. You’ve never heard of her? Lucky you, I was about to say.

You see, Elsa Einstein is known for her meticulous accuracy and precise planning in everything she takes on, contrary to how I usually structure my research, you might say.

What she’ll do here? There’s nothing here that’s got anything to do with her research, so I’ve no idea. All I know is that if she and I work together, it’ll go belly up within hours.

She’s apparently on her way here by helicopter; she must be mad! The winds over the valley took my balloon down straight away, so I’d hate to think what the bad weather would do to a helicopter!

Let’s see… Says here she should have gotten here yesterday, apparently. The mail isn’t so fast here, Rita, haha!

Wait! Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Rita?

Exactly! The weird noise we heard earlier must’ve been Professor Einstein’s helicopter crashing! We have to save her, Rita!

The sound came from the other side of the lake, I’m sure of it. Ride there and look and I’ll see if I can find my first aid kit or something else useful in the refrigerator. Hurry Rita, hurry!

Objectives: Find Professor Einstein’s crashed helicopter.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: 10 with The Stoneground Expedition

Ride out onto the lake to see if you can find Elsa and her crashed helicopter.

Hmm. Who are you?

Well hello to you, Rita, I’m Professor Elsa Einstein. Are you by any chance a qualified helicopter mechanic?

No? How about Chinese? Do you speak Chinese?

No?

Blast. My knowledge of helicopters is basic at best and the manual I found is in Chinese, which is one of the few languages I’ve yet to master.

You have to understand that I simply don’t have time to spend 3.7 days – through reasoning and logical thinking – to learn either how helicopters work, or indeed the Chinese language from the manual. By that time, I’ll have frozen to death in this miserable place.

Quest completed

______________

Helicopter Replacement: 1 Horsepower…

Well, now you’ve turned up, a solution to my problem appeared. Such good fortune. Two people should, without risking your horse’s health, be able to sit on horseback with each other and ride along with the same efficiency to the nearest place with some kind of civilized temperature.

Now Rita, how does one get up in the saddle? In theory, it’s very simple but I notice that in practice, it’s more difficult to perform my movements in the order and accuracy as the theory requires. You’ll help me?

Thank you. That was kind of you. Now you get to steer this vehicle to civilization before my body temperature reaches a critically low level.

Objectives: Ride to Nic Stoneground’s camp with Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP

Reputation: 5 with The Stoneground Expedition

Steer your four legged ‘vehicle’ back to Nic’s camp.

Mhm. What on earth is this place?

Oh, would you look at that. Nic Stoneground.

Quest completed

______________

Bad News Never Had Good Timing

Nic Stoneground, I see you’ve used, as ever, your unstoppable talent for ineptitude to build some kind of camp. How will you ever be able to conduct serious research in this kind of uncivilized setting?

We can discus this issue later, I see that you have a fire that burns and it must be only a matter of minutes before my extremities have frozen to the point that you could snap off a finger.

Nic, before I warm myself by the fire I must remember to convey the greetings of the board of the university. They want to express their congratulations to you on your discovery of this valley, and they look forward to the first results of your expedition here with great excitement. They also say that they will unfortunately not be able to fund your research any further before they get to see some real results.

And with that said, Rita, I can now declare that never have I been so happy to be close to such a primitive fire.

Aaaah, precious warmth!

Objectives: Talk to Nic Stoneground.

Rewards: 5 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP

Reputation: 15 with The Stoneground Expedition

Tell Nic the news, the bad news, I guess…

Oh dear, oh dear. No more funding! That’s quite the setback…

Quest completed

______________

Research in Exile

Oh, Rita… If I’m ever going to be able to make any proper discoveries, I can’t have Professor Einstein poking around all the time. What’s she doing here anyway? She hasn’t said anything?

What? If she’s related to Albert?

Well, yes she is, but she’s from the smart side of the family.

Hmm… If she thinks this camp is so awful then she’s welcome to improve whatever she wants, just as long as she doesn’t bother me and my epic plans. Tell her that from me, Rita.

Objectives: Talk to Professor Einstein.

Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP

Reputation: 30 with The Stoneground Expedition

Oh gee, guys, way to act like respectable adults…

Hello to you again, young Rita. What am I up to?

Well, I… Umm, you know…

Right, listen. My recent experiments with the practical application of quantum dynamics weren’t so popular with the management at the university. They were a bit miffed that I’d built a very small nuclear reactor in order to generate enough power to run my devices. I assured them that it was harmless but apparently it didn’t matter; they were completely irrational and refused to listen to my entirely logical explanations.

To cut a long story short, we agreed that I would pursue my research elsewhere until this whole affair has settled down because apparently the authorities weren’t very happy that someone had built a hydrogen bomb in the middle of Jorvik City.

Why did I build a hydrogen bomb?

It was just a completely ordinary and entirely banal experiment; I’d never intended to detonate the bomb for real, and certainly not right then in any case. Well, well, not everybody can be rational. The university management found for some reason that this distant, isolated location they’d just heard about sounded perfect for me to conduct my research in. So here I am. Unfortunately, all my equipment was lost in the helicopter crash.

So, I don’t really know what to do now.

Quest completed

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Tag Archives: professor einstein

Building the Camp, Phase 5 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

Day 96, Unzombified and Ready to Dig – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

How to Hunt Dino Bones:

Day 95, Preparing a Cure – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

Return to the Lightning Capture Unit tomorrow.

Building the Camp, Phase 4 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

Return to Professor Einstein when you have completed Phase 4.

Building the Camp, Phase 3, Part 2 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

Return to Professor Einstein when you have completed Phase 3

Building the Camp, Phase 3, Part 1 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

Return to Trond tomorrow.

Return to Ed Field tomorrow.

Building the Camp, Phase 1 – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

Day 93, Gathering Data – Dino Valley Spoiler Alert

Return to Nic Stoneground tomorrow.