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Maximius

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  1. You are correct but let me point out a few things. This is Blender, and I've only really started messing with it about two months ago, and in that time I've started a grad course. All I'll say is "Ooof." So I've actually done a bit of more complex modeling in LW, including finally texturing something and adding a normal map. I was getting better and right when my LW installation went kaput and refused to work even after total reinstalling, I had to jump over to Blender, which is when class started. While I was learning LW, actually only a little bit after it was given to me IIRC, was the holdup, then three months of working in the second or third most violent neighborhood in Philly, then meltdown. I was diagnosed with Post traumatic stress symptoms (I cannot imagine what PTS syndrome is like if these are only symptoms) and told to quit work and to move ASAP. Thats literally what my shrink prescribed for me. I probably should have taken the drugs she offered too but I hate pharmaceutical shit. But I was far from OK after leaving work. Ever have the feeling that someones going to shoot you in the head at any moment? I did, for roughly eight plus months. Even at home, at my computer, in the dark at night on my third floor, I would sometimes look up at my front window and think "If a stray bullet comes from the north side, what are the odds of it passing through my window and hitting me? Really, really small." And then I would move my chair anyway. I would get hyped, feeling better, and rip out a bunch of stuff, write papers, model, la la la, for a few days, then crash, paranoia, rage, dreams of buying a gun and killing those kids who robbed me, the works. I'm not dumping this on you as a guilt trip or anything, maestro, your criticisms are correct prima facie but you must understand the context too. This is not normal Max at all, I assure you. I'd like to see that model. And there is a lot of truth to what you say, no question. I will become much more independent in a short bit, you'll see. I was getting well set with LW actually, not only texturing but adding details with normals, like the war pick I made. I managed to finally place some "worked metal" details on the side of the pick literally the last time LW worked on my puter. I would like to dedicate myself to LW and Dan for a bit and really get into it as you describe, but thats not an option at this point. Perhaps once this course is over and I am only busy paying the fucking thing off, but LW doesn't work right now and I've got too much else on my plate at the moment for a OS reinstall which is what I think LW needs to get working again. Blender works so thats my focus at present.
  2. Hey sunshine, its been a while! I'd assumed the authorities had recaptured you... Thats the whole point of this thread though. Literally that is the point of it, stupid questions. If I can get an answer to a question quickly and it costs someone else nothing but two seconds of their typing time, whats the harm? Gets the job done faster, I don't care if its a stupid question. And I disagree, its a highly efficient way to learn. Now in a few paragraphs between spar and orb not only do I have duplicate, but I am starting to understand the difference between edit and object modes a bit better. In essence, I am calling on an expert system, one silly question brings three or four paragraphs of discussion of functions, which often are more "networked" answers than the more "linear" answers I would get out of a tutorial. Which by the way, at least for LW, universally suck in my opinion. Its obvious almost no one who makes those things, bless their labors and all, knows anything about teaching or instruction. Working things out for themselves is an agonizing way to learn, especially when you are entering an entirely new field as I did when I started modeling. I spent the first three or four months in LW thinking I couldn't use any of my projects because they weren't "glued" together. Only much later, in a stupid question post in fact, did I discover that upon exporting the parts of an object stay together regardless. How many nights I wasted trying to glue or weld or whatever and then discarding projects because they would warp when I did so. It seemed self evident to me that they would have to be joined somehow and anyway its impossible for a noob to determine what is a minor error and what might trash a lot of hard work. I never questioned it , while to those who were helping me such a point probably was too minor to even occur to them. And I'll happily admit I've found modeling one of the toughest things I've ever had to learn. I just did not take to it like I have other things, I would sit in frustration for days on end sometimes hating LW and myself because it wasn't flowing fast enough for me.
  3. I've been writing this for a bit of fun the last few weeks, maybe it will serve as the basis of an FM some day. Im not a fiction writer usually so be gentle please! ######################################## ##################### The Head Librarian squinted in the flickering candlelight, his ancient eyes barely able to discern the characters written in the book he had laid before him on his table. His spectacles were at hand but his head ached from wearing them for countless hours, poring over these tomes. He was exhausted, night after night spent digging into Brottelbees multi volume "A Faire And Objektiff Account of the Hunidian Spice Trade Treatisse" for the damned tables of the major currency exchange rates during the reign of the Grand Arch Duke Corellius V. Soon it would be dawn and he was no closer to his goal, his memory not being what it once was he could no longer recall the volume's number. The set had come with an Index of course... Why, why had he left Index to the Brottelbees set at last convocation of Master Libriarians in the City? Why had he boasted of his finally complete set of Brottelbees books and why, thrice cursed to the Pit why did he leave it unguarded, trusting that illustrious company of adders to be above theft. He walked away for a minute to make a point to a colleague and returned to find his prize gone. That scurrilous rat Magby from the Western Free Hold Library had stolen it, no doubt, he'd gone out of his way to leer at the Head Librarian before slinking away guiltily. Drat the man! A fraud of a scholar, a sycophant who won his position by trickery and flattery, a cheat who stooped to base sorcery rather than read the texts himself.... "Bah!" He would get nothing more done today, best to sleep now. Get a fairly early start tomorrow. The Head Librarian creaked to his feet and pulled the knitted blanket closer around his frail frame. A sudden chill flushed through the room, had a window blow open? The autumn air was clean and crisp, he drew in a deep breath and yawned, stretched, and turned to the bedroom door. A figure in black stood before him. "GEEEYAH!" the old man shrieked and tumbled back into his chair. His heart was beating like a hammer, spots danced briefly before his eyes. He struggled to compose himself, obviously a thief, give him what he wants, oh dear, whatever he wants, sputtering "Who, ah, who, please who are you and what do you wish with me? I have some coins and jewels, they are yours, please..." The dark figure had not moved but to open his arms and hands wide and he now spoke in a low voice. "Forgive my thoughtlessness Head Librarian Queltonne, I should have announced my arrival in some manner. I wish you no harm at all and want nothing of yours other than the use of your skills. Please take a moment to catch your breath and let me explain myself. I will get straight to the point of my visiting you at this odd hour sir. The Head Librarian was still heaving in air but not as sharply now and he took a careful look at his guest. Hooded and masked, tools of the thieves trade secured around his waist, bow and dagger as well. "Please continue." "I am a thief as you guessed. You are a highly respected scholar and librarian with knowledge of the Libraries deepest vaults. I've watched you for a few weeks now, noted your late hours and solitary study, habits we share in fact. I had another candidate but I've chosen you, I've read some of your letters in the Citys papers and something tells me you are worth the risk I'm taking. A man who thinks and speaks for himself in this current political climate is a man with enemies, and therefore has the need of friends. Resourceful friends who can help keep all manner of wolves at bay." The Head Librarian started in spite of himself. "How.." "Fear not sir, I have not been spying on you for long nor have I rifled through your diary. I deduced it from your sharp tounged political discourses, your senior rank at this esteemed Library, and the current climate in the City's leadership as they fancy themselves. All taken together, its almost guaranteed that you would have powerful foes. You stand alone and above them all and they cluster round your ankles, scratching and clawing. Eventually they may decide that words are not enough. This is where our interests intertwine, sir." The Head Librarians lips twisted into an appraising smile. "An apt study of the situation, I salute your insightful gaze into human affairs. Please tell me more." "My usual course is to steal what I want, but I cannot steal a lifetime dedicated to this Library and its collection, the ability to navigate through all these books and find what one needs in a timely manner. For that I need you. I have a question for you sir, or rather several of them about a single topic. I am interested in the history of a certain Church of the Builders, not an active church but, well, one that is active in another way. You see, its a fallen church, its been abandoned for about a three hundred and seventy years, and the Builders have yet to try to reclaim it. I have an interest in fallen churches and what lies within them." "I was introduced to the existence of the church by accident, in a pile of old papers I came across. It was an old city watch account of an incident in an Old Southren district X. A fairly strange tale. The investigating officer wrote of a small riot on a mid-Fall night at about half past middle night. People spilling into the streets, in their nightclothes, crying out about a terrible dream, about fifty folk, and generally the stable city folk type not given to hysterics. The watch officers were able to quell the crowds anxiety with a few shouts of Order! The mob seemed confused and although none were actually harmed they were all terrified. Eventually the captain was able to interview them as a body and what I had found was his report to his superiors. He was a zealous officer of the watch and his account was detailed. It was a bit of strange reading, unique in my experience. And I've been to a few strange corners of the City." The Head Librarian smiled grimly despite himself and muttered "Indeed." The thief continued. "They spoke of a shared dream of some kind, of horrid organ music played as if by a madman with a hideous talent. More than the deafening noise, there was the echo, this was a repeated theme, an echo that gave one the sense of an organ being played in a void, an echo that seemed to stretch for countless leagues to the ear, its very size an assault upon the senses but one that at the same time transfixed the dreamers in place, paralyzed them for what seemed forever. The people interviewed were all in accord on these experiences, all had the same dream and the same reactions. Eventually they could take no more and awoke in a terror, all as a group it would seem. The watch noted that no one actually reported hearing an organ nor was there an organ known to be anywhere near the district." " Someone in the group spoke out about the small old church,bounded by tall walls and long sealed by the Builders with chains and wards, at the far end of an alley that ran through the district. It had once had an organ but it that was nearly three hundred years ago since anyone had stepped foot into it.. The mention of this church brought a fresh round of excitement and terror from the group as the captain chronicled. Many seemed rather unfamiliar with the existence of the church although this could simply be the fact that it was sealed and generally shunned and had simply fallen from memory. The story was not well remembered even by those aged folk who knew it best, one grandmother told of not remembering the story of the church or the existence of its ivy cloaked gate since she was a young girl. The name of the church is St. Clabherds and although the details were lacking it proved an unhappy story. Something about a catastrophe, a demonic event that claimed several lives and that shut the doors of the church to its own founders. No one could recall anything more than this and with the church obviously inactive the watch had no incentive to delve any further. The captain made a note to contact the local Cathedral to request information about St. Clabherds but there was nothing like a reply in the pile of papers. He also noted that the night of the mob the Moon was especially full and bright, a benefit for his investigations." "This was a long time past but there are more current stories. I have a friend whom I pay to drink in that district close to where the church lies and keep an ear open. In the last two months he has heard more than once of a strange music that haunts the neighborhood. Something again of an organ, a huge pipe organ, stories of walking past the church on certain nights, always with a full moon, and hearing wild organ music, faint but definitely there and strangest of all it comes as if from under the ground. I myself have visited the end of that alley and looked upon the sealed gate, there is no unlocking those seals and brands nor the massive chains that loop the doors. Whomever sealed the church did so with a thoroughness." "You wish for me to find all I can about the history and nature of this Saint Clabherd's? That is certainly possible but it could take days, weeks perhaps to search the Library for all the known sources. Its not a task I could hand to you at the moment." "I understand this. I can make this worth the time and effort. I have skills of my own to offer. Here is my offer to you sir. As you see I need to learn all that is possible about Saint Clabherds past. Any scrap of information is important. If you can do this for me, I offer you a favor in return, my services at your disposal. No time limits to the offer, I need you now but I can arrange for you to find me when you need me. Consider it. I need an ally here and I can return that favor in kind. Will you think about it?" The Head Librarian had by now come to his considerable senses. This was an opportunity of the purest gold for both himself and his library. His reply was sure. "I have a number of requests to make of you sir, to be sure. First and foremost, you must forswear ever raiding this institution or its grounds. We treasure knowledge and as I'm sure a concerned individual such as yourself knows there are many rare and powerful manuscripts stored here. We have wizards on staff to maintain security on those fronts as well as some of the mechanical engines from the Inventors lodge upon the avenue." The Head Librarian paused, wiped his spectacles against his blanket, and then frowned again at the dark figure. "But something tells me those guardians would not necessarily be a hindrance to you. Be damned, my eyes are old but they are not so old as to account for my difficulty in seeing you clearly even here and now. You are no clumsy pinchpurse, I'll wager, not even a merely competent housebreaker. Whoever you are, your simple existence is a threat to this place. So I need your word, yes the word of a thief, that you will always come to me directly when you need the resources of this library and that you will never take what is not given to you. Can we be agreed upon this fundamentally?" The Thief laughed quietly behind his mask. "We are agreed sir. I will approach you for any thing I need directly. You have my word I will not leave with so much as a quill. The word of a Thief is good, as long as it to his advantage. This agreement will hold between us as long as you will assist me with this task. Afterwards, perhaps we can negotiate a longer term arrangement. What are your other demands?" "I have lost a book, a most precious book, an Index to an enormous history of the Southren Regions, the key to the set. I was exhibiting it and it was stolen. Its loss not only hurts our efforts here, it was a long lost text and we had scribes prepared to copy it for distribution, a great boon to the schools and libraries in the City. Its a thick volume bound in dark blue dyed leather, with silver clasps,very distinctive, like those in the set on that shelf behind you but much smaller, more like this one." The Head Librarian held up a random book from his desk. "I believe it was stolen by another Librarian, one Magby at the Western Free Hold Library. Can you find it and return it? Only another Librarian, or someone informed of its value to a Librarian, would have taken it and my senses tell me Magby. Will you do this for me as well? And can you do it with all possible haste? My work languishes without that book!" "I will do it and very soon. I am well acquainted with the Western Free Hold's grounds and it's interior. I will find Magby's office. I'll start on the assumption it will be kept close by or in a secure spot. I will find it if it is there." "That is all I have for you sir. In return, I will dig deeply into the archives and gather whatever I can about this Saint Clabherd's church for you. Give me at least one week before you return. When you return, come here and lightly rap upon the shutters before entering, I will await you at midnight." "We are agreed then, thank you sir. I will speak with you in one week." The figure melted into the shadows and the shutters swung close behind him as he slipped out of the window. The Head Librarian settled back into his chair. What a morning! This was a most unusual occurence, unheard of. What Librarian had ever made such a devils wager as to work with a thief? His reputation would be shattered if it came to the light that he was cavorting with the criminal underground. The risks were terrible. He was sure of that. Equally sure was he that the possible favors far too toothsome to pass by. Well, it was too late for regrets, the bones had been cast and the bets laid. This would at least prove interesting, he felt sure of that as well. The Head Librarian rose, lifted the candle and turned towards his bedroom. "Wait, must lock the shutters behind my new friend." He turned again and went to the window. Then laughed and made his way to his bed. His new friend truly was skilled and apparently not completely inconsiderate of the old man. He had locked the bolt on the shutters on his way out. From the other side. One Week Later: The light tapping startled Head Librarian Queltonne from his nap. "My friend is here." he muttered and turned towards the shutters at the back of his study. The inky figure of the Thief formed out of the shadows and stopped at the edge of the sputtering circle of candlelight around the desk. "Greetings Head Librarian, how does the weeks end find you?" "Well, Thief, and you?" "Quite well. I have the book you requested." "Yes!" The Librarians heart leapt with joy, finally his work could move forward! Magby must be twisting with rage at this very moment! What happiness! The Thief stepped forward into the light of the candles and placed the blue bound volume into the Librarians hands. Queltonne trembled with excitement as he leafed through it. "No damage at first sight. What a happy day! This is an invaluable favor sir, you have advanced the good work of myself and countless other scholars. I am now truly in your debt." "There is more. This book was also in the safe with the Index. I am not familiar with the language but its obviously very old, perhaps pre-City even? I inspected it for needles or other traps already." The Thief handed the Librarian a small book bound in a strange glinting leather. Queltonne reached for the book, gasped at the glyphs worked into its cover, and turned instead to pick up a piece of parchment. He grasped the book inside the parchment as if avoiding its direct touch. "This, this... do you have any idea what it is you have here?" he gaped at the Thief. He dropped the book onto his desktop, turned to burn the scrap of parchment in the candles flame, and leaned over to begin digging into an overflowing drawer at the desks base. "None at all." "This is...wait one moment please....oh good here...this is a sorcerers personal spellbook, a sort of magicians diary if you will." Queltonne sat upright pulling on a pair of slim leather gloves. "Did you handle the book without wearing your gloves?" "No, I never handle anything without my gloves." "Good, because that leather you see there is the skin of a Pit demon, I am not sure what one exactly, Ruther in the department of Supernatural History would know, but the touch of that skin can at minimum cause a horrendous rash to break out if one has not warded against it." "Is it valuable? Or valuable for whats inside?" "Both, both almost undoubtably. The skin alone is nearly a fortune, its impossible to work demon leather without harsh magics that injure the practictioner. Let me see what it contains....Oh my, yes, it's quite old, maybe not pre-City but early, early City when the Builders had but one cathedral. Its the personal spell book of one Mortrix Paleogisties Vernuum, a fairly well accomplished spell caster from the looks of these fragments and notes. I know a dozen sorcerers who would pay a hefty fee for this little volume. I wonder what that ribbon worm Magby was doing with it. It is better off in my hands than his, I can assure you sir. But are you sure you wish to give it to me?" "Take it. I can always use a near fortune but I suspect working with you can yield more than one book ever could. Put it to good use or destroy it if it warrants it, it is yours to dispense with." "Well, Thief, you have certainly lived up to and far above the grounds of our original bond. I pray my pursuits have turned up half as valuable a payment in return." The Librarian paused, took a gulp from a cup of tea that was cooling by his elbow, then look questioningly up at his guest. "Something to drink, Thief, I have hot tea and biscuits here." "No, thank you though." "With pleasure, let me begin. St. Clabherds has a quite interesting history. Its scattered but a rather chilling picture is taking shape. Would you care for a seat?" Queltonne waved towards a wooden chair which the Thief glided towards and took. The Librarian adjusted his seat towards his guest and laced his fingers together on his lap. He began to speak. "St. Clabherds is quite old as well, not as old as this book but not much younger, maybe fifty or sixty years. Its exact date is lost, but I have crossed referenced it's existence in other texts from the period and it appears to have been consecrated roughly XXXX years ago. It was built during one of the first waves of Builder expansion after the local Pagan tribes had been brought under the hammer, so to speak. Like the first Cathedral, it was a fortress as well, albeit much smaller, and it had to hold off the occasional Pagan uprising or marauder band passing by. It did so successfully and held long enough for the City to grow to meet and incorporate it into itself fully, around one hundred years and some more on. No longer an outpost but now the holy meeting place for a new and growing district of a new and growing City. This is all from some very general early histories of the City, which have also provided me with a map to give to you that may prove interesting." Queltonne slurped more tea from his cup. "I then moved to the Libraries collection of Builder documents from the period. Nothing out of the ordinary or unusual in the archives up to that point about St. Clabherds. It was first a stout redoubt for the Builders as they moved to consolidate their hold over the settlements and small villages that would eventually marry with the City's growing core a few leagues away, now a district church with a strong and content flock. There were a succession of priests and assistants who lived and worked on the grounds but nothing is to be found beyond the mundane at the site. The high point of the reading was the account of the miller's wife who, having discovered her husband had a misstriss at his mill, and who overcame the pair as they were in a delicate state, bound them hand and foot and was proceeding to throw them into the mills great gears when the priest arrived and talked the stout woman out of such an outrage. That and some truly impressive ale house brawls were the worst of the early history of the Church and the district for that matter." He paused. "But that would change, drastically. After about another fifty years, a new priest came to St. Clabherds, a priest with a troubled background according to the accounts. This one Philatine Touren Veldemere, the son of a wealthy and powerful family who would play an influential and decidedly negative role in the history of the City in the century that followed this time, had become a Builder priest apparently to rid himself of a sordid past. Philatine had dabbled in the darker of the arcane arts and had been punished harshly by the authorities but spared death due to his families influence. After torture, he had originally been slated to remain a bond slave to the Builders for his crimes, living as a house servant within the walls of a holy site for the remainder of his days, boiling the bed linens and tilling the gardens. A shameful fate for the scion of an early City aristocractic clan." "But history would prove a stronger force than the will of the Builders judges. A zombie plague struck the City a few years after Philitine's drudgery had started. Hundreds of people died on a monthly turn, a steady drain on the population and the Builders were not spared. The undead began to squirm up in patches around the City and it would only be a matter of time before its newly established limits would be shattered and forced back due to the spreading anarchy. The Church, desperate for bodies to take up the hammer, began to offer the office of priest to almost anyone who would listen to their pitch for long enough. It was not a desirable task, it meant either battling revenants in the streets or cleansing the cemetaries and paupers pits to try to stem the outbreak. But for a disgraced noblemans son, it meant opportunity. And Philitine took it." "After swearing a number of heinous oaths and purging his body with rituals and trials, he was permitted to enter training at the Cathedral. He was a powerful fighter by all accounts, well read and eloquent to spare and his masters at the Cathedral noted his numerous proficiencies. He completed the training for priesthood, much shorter and less academically intensive in those grim days, and was ordained about three months after he had presented himself." The Head Librarian stopped for another sip of tea. "And something else besides all that that you may find of great interest. Philitine was apparently an organist of the first mark, trained by the City's musical elites." The Thief's eyes narrowed at this but he said nothing. "He must have adapted quickly to his new station and seized whatever chances Fortune placed before him, as he did quite well as a priest. He rose in power and favor quickly, as the archivist noted though there were whispers of family money influencing that ascendancy. It would not be unlike that particular family to first abandon their darkling child to the Church in a show of obediance then to reestablish ties with him when he had turned the situation towards his own advantage. Whatever the case, it seems Philitines dark past was soon washed aside in minds of the Church's fathers as his current value was well apparent and direly needed. The archivist is emphatic when he notes that this was to be a regretable decision on their part." "The zombies were eventually suppressed. The City's had held together but the equally daunting task of rebuilding and reorganizing their lives loomed. Philitine had earned great honor and note during the fight. He fought like a beast from the Pit according to his comrades, showing no fear of the undead even when facing superior numbers. On more than one occasion he had rallied his brothers and sisters back from the edge of overwhelming defeat with cries and shouts and a near manic joy for the battle. Some called him an avatar of the Builder but this was never officially sanctioned. But those with authority did not forget his deeds either, his superiors declared him purged, cleansed, and a beloved son. As a mark of their favor and no doubt with a need to fill vacant positions, they presented him with a prize normally reserved for priests much more senior." "Saint Clabherds?" "Correct. This would prove a horrendous error on their part. The old archivist noted that the first few months of his tenure as the priest were almost without incident. But five months after Philitine took the vows and assumed his role, something happened in the church, something apparently horrible, an obscenity that afterwards the Church authorities would not allow those involved to speak of under heavy oaths. Several residents of the district, whole families, had been in attendance, but no one could account for their whereabouts. Only one person who had actually been in the church while these sad events took place made it into the light of day, it was the caretaker of St. Clabherds. After fleeing whatever horrors had unfolded in there, he had fled to the bell tower and screaming and tolling the bells he warned the common folk away and demanded they alert the Builders to send forces into the church. What they found in there and what the caretaker saw were completely suppressed by the Church fathers but the archivist noted in a personal aside that he had heard drinking stories during his long time of service in the Church that spoke of two interesting points." "One was that preceeding the caretakers alarums, a hideous blaring organ music was heard throughout the neighborhood. As you know, St. Clabherds sits back a bit from the main intercourse but this noise was apparently somehow louder than the normal sounds made during service, for several folk came forward to testify to the terrible music. They were held then by the Church and warned in the direst tones of talking about the events with others. This is a fairly standard practice throughout the Church's history." "The second was something that was overheard from the caretaker who had come down from the tower after the alarm had gone out and made his way into the walled street that served as a kind of courtyard for the church. He was pale and wide eyed with terror the accounts go and was croaking something over and over, something about the "mountain of snakes and lights" and the "floor ate them, ate them all." He was quickly taken into the charge of the Church and whisked away, never to be seen or heard of again as far as I can see. This information is probably available at one of the larger Church libraries but getting past the security would be the easy part. Finding the information would take months at best." "This is all I have for you right now, Thief, come again next week and I'll have more I hope. Perhaps the picture can be drawn even clearer. In any event, my services are most humbly at your disposal." "Thank you for your labors, Head Librarian, you have given me some answers and many many more questions, but that is surely the nature of these things. Please do continue your searches, I feel that this task could prove most challenging and I need any scrap of an advantage I can muster. Good morn to you sir." "With diligence, Thief, with diligence. And good morn as well... Oh, and one more moment of your valuable time sir. Do you, umm, ever, in your travels, come across, ahh, old books? Even the scrap of paper that led you to St. Clabherds are tiny pieces of a bigger puzzle, that of the Citys past. We revel in solving such puzzles here. As a librarian, such a resource and the means to collect it, namely you, are nearly priceless. If you can, please consider keeping an eye alert for the odd bit of parchment or dusty scroll. I in turn can keep you appraised of information that passes through my hands that you may find useful. We not only deal in the past but we record the present and even forsee the future in our way. All that lies at your command in return for your labors for myself and my library." The Thief paused in his departure and half turned back to the older man. "You may rest assured that what I find, if I can return it safely and without undermining my own goals, will make its way into your hands. In return, you will become my eyes and ears both here and in the past. We are well met indeed sir. In one week then." And then he vanished like a wisp of smoke in a breeze. The Head Librarian turned at once and snatched up his prizes with the appetite of a child at a sweetshop counter. And paused for a moment to savor the thought of Magby's rage, his furious rage. That alone was worth the time spent reading for the Thief. That alone and then all this! He giggled madly to himself and raced to the safe in the floor. His treasures secured, he pinched the candle and groped his way to his bed. Within a few minutes, he slept as soundly as he had in years. Three Days Later: The Head Librarian finished with his morning relief, secured his cane, and shuffled absently down the hallway of his quarters towards the main hall and breakfast. As he entered the hall, young librarians and old called out greetings and wishes of good health as the library went about readying itself for another day of work. He responded with nods and waves and fatherly advice. "Yes children, good morn, yes, how are your studies Luddvick? Little Neena, have you finished your book on indexing as of yet? Master Instructor tells me you have some work to do, dearheart. Exams approach like a fast, cold wind for all of you, be prepared! Enjoy your studies and work hard, good morn!" The crowd parted around the aged but wiry figure of the Head Librarian. Novices carried food to the tables in squads, ate their plates empty, cleaned them in turns and scrubbed the mess afterwards. Senior librarians of various middling ranks directed these operations and then packed all off to the classrooms. The Library's Council, composed of the oldest Librarians, moved off towards their various projects. The Head Librarian glided past the din and into the kitchen proper, where the Library's only hired laborer, the Cook, sat poring over a recipie book and stuffing his mouth with steaming, heaping bites of flat iron cakes soaked in honey and butter. The Cooks fat, leering face was absorbed in the book and the food in equal measure, leaving no room for the Head Librarian. Intermittently he slurped down hot gulps of kafi, scented with some unfamiliar sweet spice undoubtably supplied by one of Cook's unsavory sources in the local produce supply network. He waited until the cook had engulfed a particularly large bite before speaking. "I hope you've spared a few of those cakes for me from your ravages." he snapped. The Cook started, his eyes bulged for a second as a particularly large bite barely squeaked down his throat, and he turned and rose to his ponderous feet, his white apron billowing about him like the sail of a ship, and affected an elaborate if slow bow. "Oh most exulted one, stalwart lighthouse against the storms of ignorance, your mornings sustenance awaits you in the oven. Piping hot, your worship, piping hot! Allow your humble servant to retrieve baked paradise for your grace." The Head Librarian slid onto the bench opposite the Cooks seat. The Cook slid a healthy pile of cakes onto a dish and placed it in front of him with a puffy hand. Cutlery and hot kafi, minus the exotic spice, appeared a moment later. "You greedy ape, think you can save all the new treats for yourself? Make with the spices, you miser." The Cook's obsequiously happy face suddenly hardened. "Bah, I truly did not think your withered senses could detect that delicate smell. I paid a pretty pile of coins for this smattering of Pithian dessert spice, I don't mind mentioning, from my own pocket." He stooped and added a rich syrup to the Head Librarians cup, then stirred it. His ponderous weight settled back down onto the opposite bench, eyes stabbing into the book while fork stabbed an entire quadrant of a flat cake and raised it into his maw. For his part, the Head Librarian barely looked up from his plate for a minute or so, except to sip the wonderfully fragrant kafi. Finally he spoke. "Delicious, as always. Have you seen the morning papers as of yet? I want to get them read before I go into my study for the day." "Here it is. Nothing of particular interest on the front sheet. Well, the bank down the end of the block was robbed last night, seems there was a real fracas, two guards seriously wounded and supposedly the thief took an arrow but still managed to slip away. With his haul, I should add. Rather exciting read." The Head Librarian nodded absently over his food, then suddenly a thought hit him. "I wonder..." "Wonder what, oh guardian of Truth?" "Err, nothing, umm, I'll finish this in my study in fact, I take it along, no bother, Ill let you get back to your next culinary debauch." The Head Librarian gather his food and drink onto a handy serving tray, tossed the mornings broadsheets in a roll onto the tray as well, and headed back towards his quarters. He mused to himself along the way. "Could it be him? I wonder, I wonder." The door shut behind him, he deposited the tray on his desk and walked over to the shutters to let in the morning light. As he pulled them open, he noticed a bright drop of fresh blood on the floor at the base of the window. He froze, then realized he was not alone. "My friend, its ok, I know you are here. I can help." From behind him in the shadow of a bookcase, the Thief spoke. "Please, then, lock your door so I may rest assured no one will disturb us." The Head Librarian moved swiftly to do so. When the latch was thrown, the Thief materialized out of the darkness and stumbled towards a nearby chair. The Head Librarian realized that the broken shaft of an arrow was sticking from his left side at a shallow angle of penetration. "Blast it man, it was you. Be still for one moment." The Head Librarian quickly gathered some clean rags, a flask of raw alcohol, and a pitcher and washbasin. He gingerly inspected the wound. "A bit of luck, if it was a degree or two more this way it would have speared you like a fish. I can remove this but it will hurt." "Do what you can." The Head Librarian glanced around the back of the wound and saw the arrow head had punch through cleanly. "I can pull it through, then I must apply pressure. Are you ready?" "Yes, do it." The Thief carefully shifted onto his good side. The Head Librarian swiftly pulled the arrow through the wound and clamped down clean rags onto the holes. The Thief flinched, coughed in pain, and then placed his hands over the rags to hold them in place. The Head Librarian gestured to him "I must secure that bandage, come, here follow me. Lay on my bed here, hold on. He quickly worked a bandage around the Thiefs midsection, securing the rags over the wounds. "Lay down, let me put a pillow under your side here, good. Dear dear my boy, what did you get into there at that bank?" "News... news travels fast I see. I found a young country guard with a fast bow arm. I'll warrant he won't be that fast now though." The Head Librarian paused at this grim statement, then continued his ministrations. He started to speak when a loud knock came from the door. He started up, called out for patience, helped the Thief to his feet and then faced a decision. "Damnit, there is no other way. Follow me Thief, I have to show you a secret of our fair Library. If my predecessor saw me revealing this to the likes of you he would bludgeon me with his dissertation." The Head Librarian dashed to the fireplace, pressed on two small stones on either side of the chimney, and behind the Thief by the bedside a small panel door opened in the wall. "In you go, follow the small stairs up to the garret. Its cramped but there are chairs and such. Avoid lighting a fire until I give the all clear. Take this water to quench yourself, I'll bring more. Now go, go, I must see whats afoot." The Thief paused as if to speak, then turned and limped through the doorway. It clicked shut behind him. "Coming damn it all, coming!" the Head Librarian shouted to the door and ripped it open to find Novice Neena in a terrible state. "Master, the City Watch are here, they say they are searching for a thief and that he is thought to still be hiding in the neighborhood. The thief who robbed the bank!" "I'll come in one second, child, tell them Im coming, now run!" The novice disappeared and the Head Librarian spun around and started looking wildly around the room. Not too many blood drops, he grabbed a rag and wiped those he found. His hands were trembling as he worked, for behind him he heard the tramp of booted feet. There, that looked like that was it, nothing more to see... "Open in the name of the Baron!" the cry came with a pounding of an armored fist. The Head Librarian steeled his heart, tossed the rag into the fireplace, and strode to his chamber door. "Good morn, young captain, what brings you to our establishment of knowledge?" he inquired.
  4. Jeebus H Crimpets, I figured it out, I wasn't hitting the Right mouse button to switch between them. What a pain in the ass that was. Oh well, on to more important things. Like how do I clone an object in Blender? Here is a current project: http://aycu19.webshots.com/image/29218/200...30176044_rs.jpg But I need to put four legs around the underside of that ring around the alembic, I don't want to make four unique ones but I cannot find a Clone function anywhere. Am I once again missing the obvious?
  5. Just like HalfLifeless 2, Episode: Who Cares?. Just a pile of eventually boring tunnel shootouts and puzzles with wrecked cars. I immensely enjoyed the game itself at first, I thought the combat was fun and original, the battles with flyers and the tripods were fantastic, other worldly, very immersive. But it started with invading the Combine tower, tunnel clearing, and episode 2 was more of the same. I think it will be the same with installment style production of games.When its on a schedule and must be done at a certain time in a particular way, my guess is that it will get redundant pretty fast. How hard would it be to build a game engine from scratch, could it be done on the timescale of the Mod for example or is it a totally different level of time and effort?
  6. Would it be possible to make a set of AI that are sleepers, wearing nightgowns and saying sleepy things, that mappers could use? They could have a few special features, for example each sleeper has a unique relationship with its particular bed. The sleeper can awaken, look around and cause trouble for the Thief, but when he KOs them, and puts them back into their bed, and only their original bed, that particular situation does not trigger the AIs reaction to seeing a body. Of course I have no idea how to do that but it doesn't seem impossible on its face. It just seems that if a guard, who would know the sleep habits of the castle back and forth from being up all the time watching people at night, would have a good idea if someone was sleeping in someone elses bed. If he sees the Captain of the guard sleeping in the scullery maids cot, he is going to know something is not right at best he would wake the captain, assuming he was drinking, and take him to his quarters. So I have no problem with guards alerting when they see a body in a bed, even if you could "arrange" it properly. But if a sleeper is KOd and then placed back into his or her own bed, that should not really be something that would set off the guards right away. I would not even see the need for arranging the body, as long as its on its own bed it would be cool. Again this is supposing these things are possible.
  7. Heres another site, I tried that one and it put an ad up on my screen I couldn't get down. http://files-upload.com/files/516949/wine_..._tray_set.blend
  8. I'm going to be learning to use this in class, there are lots of models to play with under the file menu. Its supposedly not too hard to learn to make these things either. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/
  9. Thanks for all your replies, I'm glad thats all settled. I'm giving up Microshaft with this Vista piece of shit coming down the tubes. After we move to the suburbs, which by the way is soon praise Satan, and I get a job and a bunch of other important stuff, then Im going to try to load Linux. Actually, I have an old 1 gig HD thats still quite new, if I could slave it to my Dells HD with XP, could I not install Linux or rather one of its prepackaged versions on that to learn how to use it, then switch the whole beast over eventually? It would be a great way to learn without having to lose computer usage time learning a new OS. Is this feasible?
  10. http://fileho.com/download/6556cc954983/wi...-set.blend.html There it is, thanks for taking a look at it.
  11. I tried unparenting them, nothing worked. I've just started making something else, no big deal, but thanks for the help all. Give me a few days and Ill have this next item at least modeled.
  12. I was arguing with a buddy, an electrical engineer who swears by Macs and claims that anything done well is done on a Mac at some point to make it better, even stuff started on PCs. I know that each has an advantage over the other is some departments, but I wanted to see what the current status was.
  13. I'm almost scared to want to watch this, they are going to mangle it no doubt: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/maindetails
  14. Not sure whats going on. I tried unlocking per Badcog and ALT mode switching per Orb but it only got me so far. When I hit alt, I can then move both objects around in object mode, but when I return to edit mode only the glass is selected. If I try to select the bottle in object mode, it selects both the glass and the object. Heres a pic of the screen in object mode: http://aycu10.webshots.com/image/29329/200...31176437_rs.jpg Heres one in edit: http://aycu12.webshots.com/image/29131/200...99840177_rs.jpg Thanks as usual!
  15. Maximius

    Funny stuff

    http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...:en-US:official
  16. They were probably trying to spook me with visions of snapped ankles and fingers and such. I personally find soccer and rugby and all to be a hell of a lot more interesting to watch and even to try to play than US football. I was a bookworm raised by a football family, uncle was almost a coach for the Miami Dolphins years ago, knew Tom Landry personally, cousins were all football heroes, so it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. @Dem-we played smear the queer as well (forgive the homophobic title readers as we were twelve year olds) , one old gym coach used to blow his top because we would rather play that or frisbee tag (or Tron as we called it) than stupid ass football or all that crap. Not that the games themselves are bad, its the hype, the stupidity of the big organized sports that turned me off.
  17. When I lived in Orlando a few years back, I used to drink at this Irish pub downtown. This place was actually owned by an Irish guy and most of his staff were Irish too. Great little pub for that crapsink of a town. But the point is that every Saturday these guys got together to play something they called "Celtic" football. I asked if they meant rugby and they said no, its even more primitive than rugby. My buddy and I decided to go out with the team one Saturday and screw around. We never made it to the match but at the pub that night I had no regrets, as one of the guys who played had had his front eight teeth kicked out by accident. Come to think of it, another buddy in Florida who was a amateur soccer player broke his ankle at a match I went to watch. Fuck sports.
  18. Something in Blender it throwing me, if anyone can assist. I've made a wine bottle and glass set, but something odd has taken place and I don't know how to change it back. I made the bottle first, and its still there, but now that I've been working on the glass I cannot select the bottle or interact with it in any way. Its still there, and there is this little dot down by the corner of its bounding box like a tab that I tried to select but cannot. Is it in a different layer or something? I did not select any new layers or anything that I can remember. I could just remake the whole thing and probably will anyway but if anyone can piece that together I would appreciate it.
  19. I bet she wouldn't appreciate this though: http://www.liquidass.com/
  20. http://www.assinthebox.com/sites/assinthebox/index.cfm
  21. Holy crap does that game look fun. I'm not even going to download the demo until the semester is over, I know how weak I can be....
  22. It may be too that while LW was literally one of the first software programs I've ever tried to seriously study( I usually learn what I need to and end it there with office platforms etc.) learning Blender feels easier because its not the first time. Both in terms of knowing what you are doing and thinking you can do it and do stuff with it. If you get my drift. To make a vase in LW, I had to learn LW and learn how to construct a vase, or anything else. Now, I have good ideas already in place for how to make those objects and can simply proceed with the technical problems. If I can get this other HD installed, and get some real memory going, Im probably going to install both. But still, Blender feels lighter somehow. Its good to have access to both of course, learning one has synergy with learning another. BTW here is some software I will be working with in my course. Its called NetLogo, we are using it to construct simple scientific models. I have not played around with it yet though myself, got too much reading right now. Edit: Duh, forgot the link. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/
  23. Of course LightWave does but it seems to still be much more menu driven. And more, theres just a feel to Blender that is somehow smoother, more friendly once you get past its somewhat odd initial features. Its hard to say exactly why. For some reason things seem to make more sense. When I started Lightwave, I struggled mightily with it. Nothing seemed intuitive, not one bit. I finally got going and still learning new things was a bit of a chore, even stuff that later seemed really easy and straightforward. Ive only been on Blender a month or so and yet I am already feeling a lot more comfortable every time I use it. Im hardly proficient but it can feel it coming a lot faster than with LW. Learning LW first of course helped in a general way, but not enough to account for it all. Also, it doesn't hog system resources like Lightwave does, it seems anyway. I can run Blender, GIMP, Firefox w/o a hitch. For Lightwave I had to shut down all security and the web, boot it up, then slowly open things back up. If I missed a step, Lightwave would lock up in mid boot up and I would have to restart the puter to get it to work. Im sure you can do a lot with LW you cannot do with Blender but no big deal, I'm not that good yet anyway. Blender is definitely the way to go for the noobie modeler IMHO.
  24. Im glad you find it helpful spar, I sure as hell do. I wish the Lightwave people would put out something similar, it such a breeze with a key map.
  25. I have a question about Blender. Im making a vase and I cannot seal off the ends of it. I don't know how to: 1. Select individual points, not just edges, if this is possible. 2. Select an area and fill it automatically, if possible. Here is a picture to demonstrate what I'm talking about. http://www.UploadYourImages.com/view/70145...nder_vase_1.jpg I want to fill in or join those points or something that are currently selected, create polys in the middle, whatever. If this is not the best way to make the object, I'd appreciate some pointers, but I've always found this way best in LightWave. Blender is starting to get a little fun to use, its really keyboard driven and with that keyboard map in the Wiki Im gettting more comfortable. It seems a lot more intuitive than LightWave. I would definitely recommend any new users to give Blender a try first and then tangle with LightWave later if you want.
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