Mom's Guide to the Galaxy

Dorkstock and Samhain

I had the pleasure last weekend of attending Dorkstock and the convention that hosts it, Gamehole Con, after a year off for the pandemic. Safety being a priority, the convention required proof of vaccination for those who are eligible (some attendees are too young for the vaccine) and the county currently requires masks for indoor gatherings, and the only place that ever felt crowded was the line for the food trucks. It was a lovely opportunity to be around friends again.

As is likely to happen at Dorkstock, we ran some Munchkin games (among others), but this time we ran them under the title of Munchkin Block Party. Each GameMaster (GM) selected two flavors of Munchkin, and multiple GMs were scheduled at the same time. When the players arrived for the scheduled event, they picked which Munchkin flavor they wanted to play: such as Munchkin Bites or Booty, Legends or Zombies. As an added bonus, we printed Munchkin playmats to track equipment and provided colored pencils for coloring, along with a wooden Munchkin/Dorkstock token; both were sent home with players afterwards (though not the pencils). A fabulous time was had by all.

Yet here we are, approaching Samhain, the religious holiday that predates Halloween, and I can’t help but think about the people we’ve lost. Samhain rituals honor the dead, remembering those who have gone before us, particularly any lost in the last year. For those of us living in the Northern hemisphere, and far enough north to have seasons, this coincides with the end of our growing seasons, which is evidenced as I frantically harvest the last tomatoes and peppers before a hard frost hit.

As you prepare your pumpkins, costumes, and candy, consider taking a few minutes to reflect on the people you would have liked to celebrate with this year who can no longer be with you. Globally, approximately 5 million people have been lost to the COVID pandemic. If you are among the fortunate who have not lost family members to it, spare that moment for someone who has.

Get vaccinated, gather safely, and hope that we learn from this global event.

The Quest calendar (continues)… part 16

Faris and her bodyguard, Kevin, follow a treacherous path to find dragon eggs.

As we travelled into the mountains, I hunted for food, saving rations for the rate occasion when I found nothing. Eventually I spotted what could be the entrance to the Dragon Temple, which we had to climb straight upwards to reach. After some near falls, we reached the top and found a rope bridge, barely safe to cross. We figured out the trick to the bridge, crossing safely until arrows whizzed by me head, fired by lizardfolk on the other side. Stepping carefully, I was able to shoot three of them, though the last one left an arrow in Kevin’s arm. Almost to the other side, I spotted a lizard slicing the rope, and shot him with an arrow. He fled as we crossed the remaining planks.

We continued our climb and were assaulted by another trio of lizardfolk. Frustrated, I quickly let fly two arrows, pausing just long enough to aim at the third as the first two fell. We proceeded to the – of course, closed – door, where I studied the four runes around it. As we were searching for dragon eggs, I touched the rune that most resembled an egg. It immediately lit up and the door glided open. I waved at Kevin to follow me as we explored the temple.

We passed through a grand entryway, scrambling through some rubble, then found a room with a large altar and some gold. We backtracked to a side passage, which led us to a collection of dragon eggs. The cave was warm, incubating dozens of eggs. I gathered several, making sure they weren’t close to hatching.

As we turned to leave, one of the eggs hatched. I moved cautiously towards it, offering one of my rations, which it ate eagerly. I’m calling it Egwin.

Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. As we exited the temple, we were attacked by a dragon spirit. It was an easy fight with Kevin guarding my back and Luc flinging himself at the spirit. In fact, Kevin only got hit once, by the dragon’s tail.

Faced with the daunting task of descending the mountain with a collection of dragon eggs, I quaffed an elixir that made me feel strong, resulting in a near effortless process. En route with the eggs, a crow swooped down bearing a message with Lord Fellmont’s crest. Edvarius indicated that I should hand off the eggs to a man outside Blissfaills, then travel to the Mirenvern Forest to collect the skeletal remains of a dragon. I found the man, Vicini, outside the gates, where we traded gold for the dragon eggs. I immediately set off for Mirinvern Forest.

The Quest calendar (continues)… part 15

Faris travels to the city of Blissfalls, and deals with some ruffians there before continuing on her search for dragon eggs nearby.

Along the way to Blissfalls, I came across a stone bridge. The water under it seemed calm, but something about the bridge itself felt strange. I paused and pulled some coins out, tossing them into the water, then rushed across as a troll emerged, searching for my coins. That gave me just the moment I needed to prepare for a fight, weaving and bobbing around the lumbering troll. I gave better than I got and in short order, defeated the monster. I limped the rest of the way to Blissfalls, where I had to pay to be admitted into the city.

The city itself was not impressive. I wandered through a stench-filled neighborhood where barely-dressed people slept on the street. A man asked me for spare coins, and I would have shared if it weren’t for his young partner who tried to help herself to them. And the prices were higher than I’ve ever seen, 7 gold for a basic health potion! The thieves guild had markings all over, and offered the challenge of stealing a bracelet from a local merchant. I was not up to the task. Being quite tired, I decided to rest at the Talabhash Inn, pondering why such an inhospitable town features a Church of Moordnin, a god who guards merchants and travelers. Just walking down the street was dangerous, a gnomish thug tried to rob me, but I ran away.

After resting, I stopped at the Rusty Tapp for a drink. The bartended, Ulric, mentioned having been robbed several times that week, apparently not uncommon in Blissfalls. He hired me to handle a local bandit group, the Dust Runners, paying me in advance. The thugs were waiting outside for me. I almost felt sorry for them. The one who stabbed me dragged herself away, leaving four of her companions dead on the street. I gave chase, turning the corner just as they entered a building, and they locked the door behind them. For a change, I actually managed to pick the lock.

They were waiting for me, of course, but looked shocked as my animal companions followed me into their hideout. Their shock didn’t last long… and neither did the fight. One bandit managed to stab me, and another was about to punch me when Fola lumbered in. The last bandit fled after seeing her ally struck down by a bear.

I spent some time exploring their hideout. What a dump! There certainly wasn’t a horde or riches like you’d expect from a successful group of bandits. I did find a locked chest, picked the lock, and salvaged a pair of potions and some gold. As I left, I found a beautiful red clock with golden trim, completely out of place in this dump. I put it on.

That turned into a decent paycheck, so I checked the local job board to earn a bit more. I watched a woman’s store for a day, tried unsuccessfully to locate a family heirloom, and lost some gold “cleansing my soul” at the Church of Moordnin. Then I booked a night at the Talabhash Inn, figuring a good night’s sleep was important before heading to the mountains. “Good” is erlative, with shrieking people, breaking glass, and fighting in the streets at all hours. After resting, I stopped at the local guild hall to see if anybody could assist on my quest, and ended up hiring a bodyguard named Kevin.

The Quest calendar (continues)… part 14

The wizard, Edvarius, is finally ready to leave with Faris for West Haven, though he proves fairly useless when encountering dangers on the road.

With the day to myself, I checked the local job board. I couldn’t find everything one woman lost in the river, though she was grateful for what I did retrieve. I fought off some thugs who were trying to strong-arm a merchant into the protection racket. And I gathered moer tassleroot.

I took my bundles of tassleroot to sell at Misty’s Mirecles, and bought some potions and rations for the return trip with the coin I earned. I picked up extra rations on the accurate assumption that the wizard would be useless at hunting. Lucky for him, I found ample game, fresh water, and a steady path, cutting almost a day off our journey.

Along the way, we found a tree laying across the road. It wasn’t a problem for us, but would be for a wagon, so I tried to move it. No luck. I borrowed an axe from another traveler and cleared enough of the tree to allow carts to pass. Exhausted, I quaffed a health potion to speed my recovery. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it seemed deliberate. Though probably not be the feral beasts that erupted from the woods as I was handing the axe back.

I swung the axe at the first beast as Luc launched himself at it. It swiped at my leg with its claws, leaving a streak of blood. I stumbled, missing the second monster entirely, regaining my blanace just in time to chop the head off the third one.

The crash of a tree striking the ground drew everybody’s attention. A giant beast, far larger than the ones just dispatched, loomed over us and used some kind of magic to paralyze everybody. My experience with animals allowed me to break free by slowly backing away and avoiding eye contact. Suddenly, it lunged towards me, sinking its teeth into my flesh. I am not ashamed to say I fled into the woods, leading the creature away from the other travelers. When I collapsed, exhausted, the beast was nowhere to be seen.

I returned to the road, reconvening with my travel companion. He requested we approach the city from a nearby hilltop, where he could cast a location spell, along with a protective blessing on the city. Or so he said. The components he used were not ones I’ve seen used for either of those spells before. I escorted the braggart, claiming to be more powerful than Godwin, to Lord Fellmont. He requested an audience with young Victor and more dragon eggs before I met with Rufus for my payment.

Rufus paid me with gold and urged me to seek out dragon eggs at Blissfalls immediately, at the Dragon Temple. Emphasizing the urgency, he handed me some meal rations. Not that I needed them, I was able to hunt and find water as I travelled.

A Fall Harvest

The sun has barely risen on this first Saturday in fall when I step outside for the first time today. Not to start the harvest, but to dump my coffee grounds from the French press into a garden spot. Today’s should be a large harvest, including pumpkins, possibly all four if they’re all solidly orange. And if all the pumpkins are picked, it turns into a bigger gardening effort to remove the remaining vines, opening access to the raspberries lurking behind them.

I grab the Mickey Mouse bandana to keep dirt out of my hair, a fanny pack for my phone to make up for shallow pockets, and after a brief hesitation, with a step out the front door, my Tigger gardening sweater. Gardening shoes, gloves, and the clippers are acquired in the garage, then I pull a couple small beheaded sunflower stalks on my way to harvesting the pumpkins. As I cut the stalk for the second one, I realize one vine has a baby pumpkin, with flower still attached. The odds are against it ripening, but I leave that one streak of vine while removing the rest, not realizing it was the wrong vine until later.

The spaghetti squash vines are mostly withered already, but the cucumber and acorn squash vines still have some green and young fruit. The acorn squash, like the pumpkin, surprises me with new fruit. I clear the spaghetti squash vines, along with some weeds (mostly mulberries) that were hiding beneath them.

I carry handfuls of fruit to the bench by the garage, peering in the side door at the cats who glaringly say I should be feeding them again. They don’t seem reassured when I tell them I’ll be in after the harvesting that uses clippers. In my mind, that’s just the sweet peppers. In fact, I have one glove off before I remember there’s a muskmelon as well, and the cats are already fed when I realize, while changing the kitty litter, that I need clippers for the okra. Okra is handled slightly differently, since I keep count of that harvest: 73 (so far) compared to last year’s 353. (I have fewer okra plants this year, so the difference is reasonable.)

Cherry & yellow pear tomatoes in a pot, sweet peppers, acorn squash, purple okra, a muskmelon, spaghetti squash, a cucumber, and pumpkins

Having stopped most tomato harvests in recent weeks because the container was full, I select my largest pot, and start at the smallest tomato section, which is by the acorn squash, working my way up to the overflowing keyhole bed. The container decision is a good one; today’s tomato harvest is about double my normal effort. Now I just need some heavy cream and a bottle of V8 for a delightful tomato soup, which may be served with a side of bacon-wrapped acorn squash.

The Quest calendar (continues)… part 13

Having helped extinguish fires in Ironfell, Faris seeks out Edvarius for the return trip to West Haven. Unfortunately, Edvarius isn’t quite done with his local tasks yet.

I sought out Edvarius the following morning, to see if he could leave now that the giant had been dispatched. I talked him into an extra bit of coin for dealing with the giant, and he asked me to travel south to see what was poisoning the water. I reluctantly agreed – with a promise of payment – and set off with my mule and boat to explore various branches off the river. I gathered more tasselroot as I was able, eventually finding a small cave with a terrible odor emanating from within.

I gathered some fresh herbs, tucked them into a cloth, and covered my nose before proceeding into the cave. My boat slid quietly through the water into the darkness. I heard a strange noise just before three toothy monsters dropped into my boat from above, and was bitten by one of them. I slayed them and rapidly retrieved my belongings from the sinking boat, leaving the mule waiting for my return.

My animal companions followed me into a series of rooms within the cave. I found a dwarven corpse, reminding me of how perilous this cave was. I stuck close to the river path after that, noting that he also carried a vial of dragon egg ooze, though broken.

Upon reaching the deepest cavern, I found hundreds of slimy eggs in the water. The eggs themselves were transparent, clearly showing some kind of insects inside. The film on the eggs was causing the water to foam, and that foam was flowing out to the river. I carefully transplanted the eggs to the firm ground near the back of the cave, then judiciously set them all on fire to eliminate this plague upon the river. As I finished, a loud screech echoed throughout the cave, and a massive insect came lumbering towards me.

I dashed in, striking the giant beast, dodging its vicious mandibles. It almost grabbed me with its pincers once, but Richard swooped down and stunned it. It spit acid on me; I recovered and slayed it with my next strike.

That done, I retrieved my mule and began the walk back to Ironfell. A man passed me with a rowboat, but refused me a ride. As I walked, I harvested more tasselroot and munched some rations. On my eventual return to Ironfell, I sought out Edvarius again. He paid me the agreed upon amount and we arranged to meet the next morning to depart for West Haven.

Have you considered your What Ifs?

Between watching Loki and What If…?, I’ve spent a bit of time considering significant choices in my life that would have altered where I am today. Unlike Marvel, I don’t know what my alternate timelines would have been, but I can certainly identify major decisions I made. I’m only considering actual decisions that I made, rather than my parents’ decisions in my youth or things outside my control.

When I started college, I intended to follow my undergraduate degree with law school. Over the years, I wavered on that, considering a graduate focus on international studies instead. Then I took more computer classes. And wrote up a resume for the first time, which included many computer skills. In my final undergraduate semester, I made the decision to take the GRE rather than the LSAT and apply for a graduate program in computers. Either would have been an interesting path.

As I finished graduate school, I interviewed with several companies on campus, and one flew me into the Chicago O’Hare airport just before Thanksgiving for an interview. If you’ve never flown into Chicago, it’s pretty amazing to see from the air how much green space there is because of the many forest preserves. Once on the ground, all I saw was the route to my hotel, from there to the interview (not far at all), and then back to the airport. But I flew home with a job offer and a reasonably good impression of the area. A couple months later, I was able to explore a little while selecting an apartment, and I’ve stayed in the Chicagoland area since then.

An important what if for me is what if I hadn’t gone to that first local gaming convention, so many years ago? Except I realized, that wasn’t the right what if. It was actually at GenCon that summer, when I kept returning to the Out of the Box Publishing booth to play Shipwrecked, even after I bought the game. One of those times, a couple playing with me handed me a flyer to a Thanksgiving weekend gaming convention. Attending that convention resulted in joining my current role-playing group, meeting my ex-husband, and most importantly, the eventual birth of my daughter. All because I enjoyed a game.

Thoughts on For the Wolf

This was a fairly recent review, published in the May 1, 2021 issue of Booklist. I appreciated the reimagining of fairy tales in this story, the first in the Wilderwood series, and am looking forward to seeing which other fairy tales Whitten pulls into the series.

Red’s tragic destiny kicks off Hannah Whitten’s debut novel, For the Wolf, as she prepares to enter the Wilderwood. Second daughters of the royal family are expected to sacrifice themselves to the Wolf when they turn twenty. Red arrives haggard, attacked by the forest itself, at a castle, discovering that the famed Wolf is actually a man, as the fairy tale suddenly transitions from Little Red Riding Hood to Beauty and the Beast. The Wolf’s attempts to contain her to the castle are a guilt-ridden, Herculean effort to shelter her from the woods; he failed to protect the previous second daughters. But Red’s magic makes her a powerful ally as he struggles to repair the woods, preventing the arrival of dark creatures from the Shadowlands. They are hampered by Red’s sister, Neve, and her betrothed, unsuspecting accomplices of an evil priestess seeking to release the Five Kings, mistakenly believed to be gods, from the Shadowlands. Whitten reaches a satisfying, yet unexpected, conclusion while setting up the next book in the Wilderwood series.

Thoughts on 10,000 Bones

Every so often, I look back at the books I’ve reviewed and am surprised at some of the reviews I’ve forgotten to share here. This review of 10,000 Bones by Joe Ollinger was originally published in the February 1, 2019 issue of Booklist. Yes, really, more than 2 years ago. 10,000 Bones is such an easy read, focusing on the character development and culture with light glimpses at the science, I’m considering re-reading it in the near future.

A couple centuries in the future, in 10,000 Bones, Joe Ollinger has spread humanity across the far reaches of the galaxy, colonizing a dozen habitable planets. This particular planet, Brink has minimal calcium, so the government declared it to be the official currency. This has led to other governments suppressing calcium shipments in order to maintain favorable exchange rates, illnesses relating to calcium deficiencies, and a government agency responsible for finding black market calcium and recovering it. Taryn Dare is a Collections Agent, collecting a bonus based on the weight of the illegally circulated calcium she recovers, as seen in her opening salvo when she chases down a busboy who is stealing chicken bones from his work. Bones are processed by genetically engineered chalk weevils that extract the calcium. Not surprisingly, there’s a black market for human remains as well, and a simple corpse recovery turns into Taryn’s biggest case yet. Taryn teams up with a Commerce Board auditor who’s investigating a calcium shortfall in the system, uncovering a vast conspiracy that places both of their lives in danger.

The Paramount Theatre restarts their Broadway Series with Kinky Boots

More than a year after it was originally scheduled, the Paramount Theatre in Aurora has restarted their Broadway Series with Kinky Boots, an amusing musical about a floundering shoe company whose new owner decides to produce a line of high-heeled boots for drag queens. In a typical Broadway style, the story is both funny and moving, with lessons about accepting yourself and people around you.

But hey, isn’t there still a pandemic going on? Why yes, there is. The Paramount Theatre implemented a strict COVID policy, requiring proof of full vaccination and photo ID for people who are eligible for the vaccine, a negative COVID test for people unable (or ineligible, for children under 12) to get the vaccine, and masks for everybody in attendance. (Noting that this particular show is recommended for ages 12 and up due to sexual content and adult language.)

It makes for a different sort of look at the theatre. I’m sure some people color coordinate their masks and attire. Clearly, I’m not one of them. The only people I saw unmasked inside were the cast, the occasional group taking a quick photo with the backdrop, and people quickly sipping drinks and replacing their masks.

I was delighted to return to a live show, and particularly this one, which garnered a standing ovation during the final song. I’m look forward to the other shows this season, hoping that as more people get vaccinated and this pandemic fades into memory, the performers will be able to see the smiling faces in the audience once again.