First, some random quotes...

"Meddle not in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger." -- Sam, 'Lord of the Rings' (yes, I found the quote's source)

But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

"I've got starfish down my pants!" "You and your hobbies." - Gonzo and Rezo the Rat in Muppet Treasure Island

DING! Made level 13 last night (now my pet bashes for 16 pts of damage, usually twice for every hit the monster gets, especially when my pet is buffed with the Burnout spell). Spent the start of the evening collecting one more batch of Crushbone Belts to take to Canloe Nusbeck in Kaldim for experience (ended up turning in 28 or 32 belts).

After that I wandered back to the Minotaur Valley in the Steamfont Mountains to hunt Rogue Clockworks, Steam Elementals, Earth Elementals, Lesser Ebon Drakes, Harpies, or anything else that would '/consider' blue or even. Jarius (Wood Elf Druid, lvl 14) joined me after a while and the two of us pulled almost non-stop for about 1 1/2 hours. Unfortunately, he got stomped by the Minotaur Lord early in the 1 1/2 hrs, so I had to pull by myself (at a slower pace) while I waited for him to come back from his bind point in the Butcherblock Mountains (a long way away). We probably tagged almost 2 bubbles of experience by the time we were done.

We were sitting around medding up and discussing good hunting spots for mid-teen players. I mentioned hunting wisps on Erud's Island (a long way from Steamfont), and he suggested some other places also on the continent of Odus (which is where Erud's Island is located). My only concern was that I wouldn't be able to shop or bank there, but he assured me that there were both good and evil towns on the continent. Somehow Jarius lined up a teleport for the two of us to travel directly from Steamfont Mountains to the Toxxulia Forest (he had a higher level player named Munnen transport us). So instead of a very long walk (which I was sorta looking forward to), I got a fast teleport to about as far away from Ak'Anon as you can get in the land of Norrath.

So I'll probably explore around here, hunt wisps, gain a level or 3 before taking the slow way back to Faydwer. I doubt I'll make it back to the continent of Faydwer for at least a week or two now (some of the zones that I have to walk through to get back are level 20+). If Jarius logs in tonight or tomorrow, we'll probably group up again and maybe go dungeon crawling (I need to check my pet control keys first).

I'm looking forward to my level 16 spells, they should let me seriously expand my damage output and protect myself better. Also, I get a new, more powerful pet (this time I'll probably buy all 4 pet types).

Phantom Leather - +AC 8-9, increased health regen, uses Cat's Eye Agates
Shielding - +HP 46-50, +MagicResist 12, +AC 12-14
Shock of Flame - fire based direct damage (DD) 91-97 hp for only 70 mana (this is a serious upgrade from my current staple, Shock of Blades, which only hits for 30-35 hp)
Staff of Warding - dmg 8 dly 38

Vorish of Morell-Thule, High Elf Mage lvl 13