My telus people finder

Not sure what else to call it, wondering what others have experienced.
Someone selling my FREE couch?
So I had my couch listed for free. It was in good shape and I honestly could have charged for it, but I wanted a family in need to have it.
Someone contacts me and we quickly agree to a pickup time. That time comes and they ask for a couple more hours. No issue, but then I get a weird response (not written in the best way) saying something about they are sending friends with a truck to pick it up and also something about them sending the "buyer" a finders fee by Venmo. I just thank them for the update and it was cool to come later.
People show up and I help them load the couch, then the lady hands me cash and thanks me. She is super excited for her new couch. I am confused but just thank her for the cash and assume they are insisting on paying for it. I chalk it up to a lucky day.
Later the person who had emailed checks in to make sure the people got the couch and says they gave cash because Venmo didn't work. Again confused, I just said there was no issue. She emails back and says again that they gave me cash and I needed to Venmo it to her.
Oh, wait... Is this a scam where someone out there grabs free stuff listings and posts them for a price on another platform?? Was she selling my free couch?
Thank God for the Craigslist email thing that protected my actual address. I'm not gonna respond and see what happens.

I'll start with the questions, and leave the background waffle to the end if anyone's interested.
UK-specific
1. Where to learn, from zero? I checked out https://www.gliding.co.uk/club-finde - and three clubs are all around 45 minutes (1hr with traffic) from me in North London (Finchley).

1. Booker
2. Chilterns
3. Dunstable

Does anyone have any direct experience/feedback on any of those? If I go ahead, ideally I'm looking for something fairly intensive as I have 6 months off work. Dunstable is the home of London Gliding Club, and seems to be the biggest/most established of the three. https://www.londonglidingclub.co.uk/fixed-price-to-solo seemed tempting - but when I called, it seemed to not be particularly organised.
I also read several mentions of https://www.lashamgliding.com/ residential course, and one Redditor from UK said they learnt in Hawaii, for the dependable wind.
2. Related to the above - given my middle-age, I sort of want to kick start things. Would a club be able to help with that, or would a dedicated course be better? I'm totally fine (in fact, like the idea of) going a bit slower after that, and being around to help others the whole day etc. But I don't want to spend two years of sporadic weekends in the initial stages, especially when I have weekdays available.
General
3. In the title I say "pretty sure". I was totally sure until I started watching "Pure Glide" on YouTube, and began to understand some of the risks. Also, two of the top results for "gliding uk reddit" are:

• https://www.reddit.com/Gliding/comments/137vqvu/how_safe_is_gliding_in_the_uk/
• https://www.reddit.com/Gliding/comments/15twbh9/two_gliding_incidents_in_the_uk_today/

It's not a deal breaker - but I guess I'm just looking to hear from (more) people how they rationalise that/deal with it. The Pure Glide guy seemed to be of the opinion some people managed it just by thinking it was never going to be them.
4. Looking for feedback on any folks that learnt in their forties/fifties? Did you find it manageable?
Background Waffle
I went for a glider flight on my 16th birthday, but it's only now, three decades later, I find myself having the time (or at least, the mental space for it). Part of me is worried I'm a bit too old to be starting, but hey ho.
I went for a trial flight out of Alford (Lincs Gliding Club), and even though conditions weren't great (apparently) for a winch launch, the kindly gentleman there happily took me up for two 3 to 4 minute flights. There was (understandably) no time for me to take the controls. Several other people helped prepare the glidewinch. Something about the community aspect appealed. I asked the instructor (who started flying when I was born), what he thought about gliding vs powered - and he said gliding is a sport, powered flight is transport.
Nonetheless I also tried a 1hr training flight from Elstree in a Cesna 172. On the plus side - the difference of just being able to fly for an hour was clear. But, there wasn't that community feel. And there also seemed to be a great deal more radio/taxiing process. Finally, my partner is scared of heights, and I have a dog. I don't imagine myself therefore actually flying anywhere in order to actually get there.
In short - I'm nearly ready to push the button on glider training, and looking, I guess, to hear some further opinions/ideas/suggestions I might have missed in my research thus far.

This may be a better question for privacy. However, I am dumbfounded that this happens.
I've been going down the rabbit-hole of identifying my digital footprint. In this process I've been doing a mass purge of all account/data found associated with me. Using various open source web scraping tools, Opt-out resources and scanning tools I have found that consistently, almost all data associated with me on People Finder / Databroker websites were published around the same time my investigation began. Re-enforcing this correlation is: All data about me on People Finder / Databroker websites has my step mother with her maiden associated with me. When I know for a fact, the only time in my life I have ever inputted/written her name down was on my SF-86.
Curious if anyone knows, but how does this information get out? If names, addresses, age, emails, phones, and relative associations from our interview/SF-86 is out here floating on the web, one can infer that ALL information provided in the interview process/SF-86 becomes publicly exposed to web/databrokers.
It is not explicitly implied that when we put in for a clearance that we are also putting all our information out for the world to see.
For the sake of curiosity, does anyone know exactly how this happens? Do the companies that execute the investigations use malicious background instigation tools? I am assuming these People Finders / Databrokers scrape the info from a public database that exposes who is up for investigation for a security clearance. If that's the case, how could that possibly be good for national security?

My brother married an actual psychopath. My brother (40) married the scummiest scum of the earth. Who can only be described as a whore, a psycho, sociopath and an all around terrible human being. It was against the wishes of EVERYONE. For back story…She had a child by another man… and only had him (in november) to live off the government. he met the stray hoe took care of her and her unborn child. they started dating in september and by christmas she had drained his bank account. He moved in with her days after christmas. Proposed. And got married sometime between march and june i honestly can not be bothered to know exactly when. The night before brother was admitted to the er for staph infection in his berries. After the “wedding” that was in the back yard of some pastor . they had a “reception”. Where i photographed/observed the following. A used tampon on washing machine. Shit filled diapers littering the nursery. A surreal amount of clothing on the bed. I said nah im good. And went home. The wedding was in may and she got my brother to legally adopt her child. Im forever convinced if not for my brother she would casey anthony her child. She Munchausened her kid and my brother. Self diagnosing the kid with autism. Pushed or made my brother fall and get multiple concussions. Drugged him with date rape drugs to keep control of him. She was a frequent flier to the ER going to the emergency room for unnecessary reasons. She refused to parent her child insisting that its the worlds job to teach him the bare minimum. She refused to clean as well. Her cockroaches had cockroaches. Cleanliness was mental illness for her. She kicked my brother out asking for divorce. But realized she had to leave bc he paid the bills. She stayed with whoever the hell would take her. Was forced to walk wherever she needed to go. And uttered the words “well i had to walk in the rain so theres my bath for the week” after growing tired of not having his card and money she came crawling back. She avoided parenting like the plague. Every excuse. Uti. Migraine. Yeast infection. Its a tuesday. When her son was 2 she left to go to another state and go to school for being a truck driver. Had no qualms of leaving her kid behind for weeks. Then she dropped out of 18 wheeler school. It seems the wheels on her bus fell off. For someone who doesnt believe proper hygiene was important she didnt believe bathing him and basic care was important. Feet encrusted in dirt and dirt under overgrown nails. It was so noticeable that when i cut his nails his teacher made comment about it. Her family was just as absent as you would expect. Her mother only went to the first birthday party when the child was 6. And didnt even know her own grandchild. Asked another child at the party if he had the best birthday! My mom looked at her and said “yeaaa thats the wrong kid…” Fast forward when the first born was 6 and she birthed her second. This had no change and her parenting never improved. Another child encrusted in dirt. After the youngest turned a year and a half my brother had knee surgery and stayed with us (me mom dad) to recover because she would have made him cook clean and parent. While he was healing for the week he was there she moved in her boyfriend AND girlfriend. By the way she not only a hoe she is a promiscuous hoe with no moral compass. I promised my mom id never call CPS however when the second was 2 i had a friend call cps. Like a special ops team cops went in at 2 am and gathered the children and brought them to me and my parents. We had the 2 year old and a friend of the hoe had the 8 year old. For 2 weeks my brother agonized over his kids being taken. And she had a vacation. She treated it as if having your kids repo’ed as a right of passage. Told the world. Told the teacher. And had the time of her stupid life. In the 2 weeks i had them i had minions collecting screenshots of statuses of her being a bad mother. Which was super easy bc every thought made it to facebook. Such as. “My dentist suggested i brush my teeth at least once a day” “i guess i was doing (brother) with the wrong meds and made him sick” “why dont grandparents raise our children” i gathered these gems and photographic evidence of the state of the house and cleanliness of children to cps, police and eventually divorce lawyer. During their time together the hoe broke my brother mentally spiritually emotionally physically financially. The food stamps ran out in the first week of every month spent on junk soda and unnecessary nonsense. They had to ask my mother for money that accumulated to the tune of $10,000 over 10 years. She is also a gofundme whore. She would start a gofundme 10-12 times a year for any and everything. She decided at one point to go back to school and did an amazon wishlist for school supplies and a gofundme for “gas food and other expenses”. Being the trash human she is she is friends with people of unsavory character. An actual crack head bought her entire amazon wishlist. Which she put on facebook. Yikes. At one point she found a dog and instead of finding the owner she finders keepers that poor pup. Making yet another gofundme for dog expenses. I told my friends i would paaaay them to claim the dog as theirs so my mother didnt pay for yet another mouth to feed. If youre curious about the gofundmes and if they were ever fruitful… when a bull milks a calf will her gofundme work. The final year of their marriage was no less chaotic. The christmas of 2019 she posted on facebook that its so wonderful that her husband is out working and her boyfriend is sleeping next to her and her girlfriend is cooking. Tagging the aforementioned on facebook. My brother was humiliated because infront of church members family and friends his marriage and all the stupidity that came with it was out in the open for all to judge. My brother was at the time a corrections officers and let his kind nature and naivety get him in trouble. A person asked him to take some taco bell to an inmate and in what could only be called a moment of stupidity (sorry mom) he did so. what he didnt know is they put drugs in it and when it was scanned he was arrested. My mom and dad had to bail him out too him home and around 3 am he called me “they voted me out” beyond confused i asked what the hell does that mean? As it turned out. Hoe boyfriend and girlfriend unanimously voted him out of the house. Mind you. Single wide trailer housing 4 adults 2 kids a dog and cats. June of 2020 he moved back in a month later if the children followed. after the actual breadwinner left the house the unemployed baboons could not pay the rent and were kicked out. The three went down to two with the girlfriend being let go. Hoe and boyfriend moved in with her mother. And boyfriend wrecked the car in my brothers name. Dui and head on collision. Car gone! The children stayed with us. The youngest was 2 at the time and began calling my mom “mommy” which pissed off the hoe. And she never contacted them. At the hearing for the divorce she stated all she wanted out of the relationship was not money or visitation. But her maiden name back. TAKE IT. AND LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE. She also used a photo of her kids on a gofundme to get sympathy and posted that to a fetish website. Seeing as the photo was them shirtless i believe that was on purpose. She dumped boyfriend and found a new love in new hampshire. She was in NH for 8 months with her new boyfriend and he lost his job so they moved back down. After a summer of no contact she called and told the children “when i get home we are going to….” And listed about 10 events places and activities to look forward to. None of which she delivered on. After not spending time with them again and choosing to give up her weekend with them to play video games for 30 HOURS STRAIGHT. She eventually in 2024 decided that her and her boyfriend were moving to Massachusetts. Seeing how she is a practicing witch my only hope is the salem witch trials reconvene. She married the dude she abandoned her kids for. On mothers day the children who no longer give a damn she exists were forced to call and tell her happy mothers day. Where the 6 year old proceeded to tell her the older brother got a phone and didnt wanna give her his number. She assured him that as his mother its quite alright to give mommy dearest the number to which the youngest said yea no he doesnt want to. The mouths of babes. She cried and posted on facebook not only do her children hate her but she had to give up her cats too. And wished the “real mom’s of the world a happy mothers day” shes a shit cat mom too! A week after we had spaghetti for dinner and the 6 year old said “i never used to like spaghetti. I only tried it at… whats her names house? Jordan? Yea her house” With their father engaged to a good Godly woman with morals and standards the worst mother to ever mother has been replaced and so far we are all living happily ever after. The moral of the story is if you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas what if you lay down with whores end up with bedbugs and that was a very costly moral

Hi guys, I'm 25 unemployed and I need a job. I would be glad to know where and how to find some legit opportunities. My curriculum isn't a good weapon sadly... At the moment I'm studying cybersecurity but I'm not looking for a job in this field yet because I know I'm not able to handle it, I just want a regular job because I can't find any opportunities where I'm living.
Recently I too a look at Telus and RWS, but I couldn't make Telus exam because it requires that you uses Google Chrome on your laptop, my "computer" is a Single Board Computer (arm64) and we don't have Google chrome for Linus + arm64 yet.
I will be trying RWS even though I heard people telling that they do not have a lot of jobs after you make the exams and everything.
So ye, I want some recommendations and I will be thankful if you give me some 👍

Hi all! 25F here. I live in small town rural Canada and my local Telus store is hiring for retail sales. I interviewed extremely well and they want me to do a 4 hour trial shift on Friday.
I have experience in customer service through grocery and working public-facing for a bank serving members, but I have no experience in anything commission based or “selling” people products.
I can deal with high pressure (worked at the bank during COVID and all the branches closed, that was me on the phone taking like 600 calls a day lol) and I’m very comfortable dealing with people.
I’m just wondering if I’m right for a job like this or if it’s even a good idea. So what do you think I should know?

So I was going through my pokébox earlier to delete all the pokemon that wouldn't be useful and I decided to recheck all of my marked mons while in the process... A lot of them would be S rank if their skills stack, but, I don't know how that works in game.
Which skills can stack and which won't? Is it between all pokemon in the party, or a single pokemon?
Like let's say a pokemon has berry finder S, ingredient finder S, research exp, ingredient finder M, and Skill trigger M; if you were to boost both Ingredient Finder skills to M, would those two skills stack?
I'm confused because in the past I've seen a lot of people say a pokemon isn't any good or is great based on it's base skills, which, is understandable, because you'll likely be working with those base skills for a long time, but... can those pokemon become better if you were to raise all of their skills to the maximum amount? Like even if they have two of the same skills, but at different levels in the beginning?

So I had my couch listed for free. It was in good shape and I honestly could have charged for it, but I wanted a family in need to have it.
Someone contacts me and we quickly agree to a pickup time. That time comes and they ask for a couple more hours. No issue, but then I get a weird response (not written in the best way) saying something about they are sending friends with a truck to pick it up and also something about them sending the "buyer" a finders fee by Venmo. I just thank them for the update and it was cool to come later.
People show up and I help them load the couch, then the lady hands me cash and thanks me. She is super excited for her new couch. I am confused but just thank her for the cash and assume they are insisting on paying for it. I chalk it up to a lucky day.
Later the person who had emailed checks in to make sure the people got the couch and says they gave cash because Venmo didn't work. Again confused, I just said there was no issue. She emails back and says again that they gave me cash and I needed to Venmo it to her.
Oh, wait... Is this a scam where someone out there grabs free stuff listings and posts them for a price on another platform?? Was she selling my free couch?
Thank God for the Craigslist email thing that protected my actual address. I'm not gonna respond and see what happens.

i don't see very recent posts about this. we'll be close to campbellford and i don't know a better sub to ask in lol
is starlink still the best but with a long waiting list?
we're on bell's wireless home internet waiting list and probably won't get it
we wanted rogers' wireless home internet through a portable cell service modem, but i'm reading that they cap video streaming to 3 mbps lol i'll have to confirm that.
telus offered a bit cheaper+better plan than rogers through koodo. 44/mo 100mbps unlimited. but my parents think koodo isn't reliable, or does telus change that?
i'd never even heard of xplornet, and read a lot of people hating on it and calling it xplodenet. their prices seem fine i guess even though it's half the speed. they seem like they might be popular out here though.

hello, I just finished my last semester but I have an issue with the class in the title. Unlike previous students who took the class other semesters ago and are now graduated. My semester was different. My semester for software engineering 2 involved the class working in a group of 4 to build a visa finder application for mobile for this lawyer at this company that handles a lot of legal paper work. we had to work on the app for the entire semester and meet the demands of the client. we had to meet and the demands were asking the user questions such as the ones for visa application, we had to include regions of continents for the people that were gonna apply for the visa, user interface, visual presentation, login functionality, registration and many others. I started my semester weak because my 2 other teams became unresponsive. only one reached out and stayed for the rest of the semester communicating, not that he was much useful, any task I gave him he slacked so at the end I had to do it myself most of everything, reports, phases of the project, and the application itself. school never taught me how to make an app for android so I had to find that out on my own. and after the project is done, this client will choose the best apps from the team and we will have to send her the file, with installation instructions, and how to use.
I ijust feel a bit cheated because students in previous semesters that had this class with this professor never had to deal with this extra responsability with this "client". and this person chooses the app and basically takes the free work from students and who knows what they are going to use it for. my theory is that she is gonna take the "prototype" of students work and hire free lance work to finish some minor things. Professor gave me a C for the class and Im not satisfied. I just want to hear others opinions about this and maybe give some clarity that my thought process is wrong. has any of you had to deal with this in your class for software engineering? because software engineering 1 and 2 we were not taught to make an app, we were just told to. Any feed back will be appreciated. thank you.
( I messaged my professor to talk in person because of my disatisfaction about my grade. hopefully I schedule in person meeting soon.)

I know I know, low effort/faq/no value/"oh god, not this again"/"google it, genius"/you get the picture type post. Hear me out please, this isn't low effort (I've actually put a decent amount of effort into this), I'm just desperate. I've used google and understand some things but, not enough. To be honest, a lot of my googling would show posts related to GW1 or would just show lot of "GW2 Population in 20XX" posts so, please let me ask a few questions here. Any and all answers appreciated, thanks in advance!
I've been on the hunt for MY MMO for years at this point. I just cannot enjoy Tab targetting, not enough to get past the slow starts a lot of MMOs have. I feel like high level/end game raiding would be fun even with tab targetting BUT, actually getting to that point means grinding hours upon hours upon hours of dull tab-target grinding (or you know, buying a character boost but, as I'd still be a new player, that's a stupid idea. Even I know that). That basically rules out the big 2 for me; WoW and FF14. I've tried, I really have. I've even bought expacs on both as a way to sunken cost fallacy myself into committing to them. It never works.
New World, Albion, SoLo (rip solo), Lost Ark, Neverwinter, BDO, ESO, PoE. Tried them all. I like a few, Albion is fun and they just launched an EU server which is great for my British ass but, not a huge PVP fan. ANYWAY, you don't need to know that. TO THE POINT; is GW2 for me? I have a few questions I wanna ask in an effort to answer that question.

1. How community focused/social is GW2?
   • Big fan of the FF14 community. Well, maybe not the community as a whole but, they seem friendly and it's a very SOCIAL game. That's great because I'm not trying to play an MMO so I can be alone the whole time you know? FF14 has a good dungeon finder, early game content was easy to find people to play with, ALL in game, none of it was external. Too many games rely too heavily on discord for their social components these days IMO.
   • And I guess just; how easy would it be to find people to play with.
2. GW2 has Action and tab target control schemes, I know that. How good is the Action side of it?
   • Does it feel half baked, be honest.
3. Kinda of similar to point 1, how much of the levelling is solo content?/What does levelling look like?
   • Okay close your eyes, just do it BUT, keep reading at the same time so I can guide you on this hypothetical journey. Pretend you're a wee baby seamus again, new to GW2, level 1 even, what do the next 10? 20? 50? However many hours it takes to level up? hours of your ingame life look like? Are you alone? Or with some friends you brought along (must be nice)? Did you meet new friends? Did you meet them ingame or was it on a discord server? Are you doing Point A to Point B style quests or are you grouping up to do actually cool and fun things? You get the point.
4. What is this games endgame?
   • See, here is when I prove that I DID infact do some googling of my own: Apparently, GW2 has a 'set your own goals' style end game. Whatever tf that means. And, apparently, that boils down to legendary crafting and/or fashion collecting for a lot of players. So.. wtf is legendary crafting? I hope it isn't LITERAL crafting. New World style, gather a million and one resources to make this resource 20 times so you can craft THIS other resource and NOW you make a weapon (or legendary weapon in this case). Basically what's the end game/what is legendary crafting/ how does one craft a legendary.
   • Does this game have raids? Big group content for end game?
5. Expansions. How do they work? No one knows.
   • That's a lie, I'm sure you all know. I'm sure I know, to be honest. They seem straightforward in GW2. Just beat main game, then do xpac 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 now. Could be wrong though. Elaborate please.
   • I think I own the first 2? I'm like 90% sure that Amazon Prime gave me a deal a few years ago where I could get them both for lik £10. So I did because, well, it seemed like a good deal and I'm British. I'm almost sure it's treason or something if you ignore a good deal.
   • Should I buy the other 2?
6. What is there to do, OUTSIDE OF COMBAT.
   • FF14 has housing and people just stand around being social, marying? Gathering, Trading etc. Anything along those lines here or is it ALL combat?
7. Guildwars 3 her? I hardly know her.
   • I don't know man, I saw something about Guild Wars 3 a few months back I think? This one I haven't googled yet and 100% could but, we're already here. Is Guildwars 3 happening? Anytime soon?
8. Is game for me?
   • Self explanatory. I feel like we've really bonded over these last few minutes to and hour (depending on how much ADHD you have). So, new best friend who knows me so well, do you think GW2 could be my forever MMO? What's that? You don't even really know me and need some more information? First of all, I'm kinda hurt but, if you insist! So:
     • Tab targetting = bad :(
     • Action combat = good :)
     • BAD action combat = bad >:(
     • Friendly people to play woth = good :)
     • Opportunities to actually play with those people = good :D
     • Having to use a Discord server to find said friendly people (essentially shouting into the void) = bad >:(
     • Large scale group content = good :)
     • Monotonous quest structure, of which I am mostly alone - bad >:(
   • So, GW2 for me?
9. If yes, do YOU want to play with me?
   • I'm clearly looking for people to play with, if I do end up commiting. So, lemme know.
   • Could start a guild? Do some warring? Maybe even 2 times? I don't know man.
10. Will this post be removed by moderators inside of 10 minutes?

• Time will tell. I really don't think this is low effort though. Please oh mighty reddit mods, I am pleading with your for but a HUMBLE chance. (I don't know why this bullet point looks different. I've edited it multiple times and it just isn't cooperating).

I just wanna say, I KNOW I will get told to just try it myself. I'm aware, I'm perfect capable of downloading it and playing right now. That won't answer ANY of my questions though, I won't be able to tell if the Action combat is any good at level 1. I won't know about Endgame or group contect, xpacs etc. Please, just indulgle me.
Thank you for coming to my TedTalk. (This post grew to be quite large so, I HAVE to be beating the low effort allegations. Surely).

Hi,
I just hit level 70
I would like at some point to do all raids in normal and heroic.
I imagine I need to gear up first, right now I'm in all greens from leveling, 247 average ilvl, cloak with 278 main stat.
What's the best way to get my ilvl and my cloak up?
What's the target ilvl / cloak lvl that I should reach before applying to pug raids without looking like an idiot?
I see those "Ward" raid things in the group finder, what is that? is it some kind of cheese where everybody equip the Ward metagem, healers spam heal on everyone and we obliterate bosses with the dmg released from the ward or something? In that case does that even matter what I'm wearing?
Thank you very much in advance
(For context, I'm a long time player who did MoP, hardcorely, when it was content, so I know the game but I completly stopped playing in any kind of multiplayer fashion for a while now, did not do a single Dragonflight raid, have no idea of the way people play current content anymore tbh, don't even know if people join vocal for pug raids or not. So basicly I'm 100% lost on the social landscape, I always was a heavy guild centric player so I have very low pug experience, but I know how to play the game)

I'm going to admit I'm not a snobby person, like, I don't consider myself a critic of games to the point where I get annoyed by the simplest things. But as a new player to this game, there are some things that are genuinely frustrating about this game and drive me up the wall and some other things that are just plain confusing....
First, the user interface is so frustrating. I get everything set up the exact way I want it, hide all the annoying spam text in the chat like the experience the reputation system messages etc.. Now I try out a new character or game mode I have to redo the entire thing all over again on every single character that I create. That's exhausting. The settings menu has so, so many options. It makes my head spin just navigating through it because there's so many things in there and even with the search bars, I find myself getting confused and lost easily
Second, finding the right people to play with has been a challenge. Like, why is it 10 times harder in this game than any other game I've played to find an active community of players? The guild finder is completely broken, doesn't even show you guilds that are active. The ones with most members are all inactive guilds, I got spam invited to about a dozen and I've tried all of them, they all end up the same way. Filled with inactive players who have never spoken once, or trolls who use it as their platform to talk about racist other controversial stuff.
Realms are also incredibly confusing and don't make sense... My friend told me that moon guard is a huge, really active server, so I made an Alliance character there And people are very talkative and friendly. So I made a hoard character as well to have everything on the same server. But there's no one on the horde side! The game did not warm me and no one really told me that on this specific exact server, it doesn't get matched with other servers out there. So it's only role-playing servers, which there are hardly any of for horde... So now I have several characters stuck on this awful horde server where no one plays, no guilds, no chat.
Comparatively, area 52 is a really good hoard server, but I can't put my alliance characters there because again, dead server for the other faction. WTF? This is so confusing!
Finally, classes are either brain dead, or the most complicated thing you have ever played in your entire life.
Someone was explaining how arcane made works to me and he said no, it's not simple by any means. In fact, it is a ridiculous 50 to 60 button opener, just to open during a raid. 60 buttons just to start your rotation during a raid? What the actual heck? fire mage is a little bit more forgiving but if you make a mistake it ruins your entire rotation and you plummet to the depths of the DPS board, so just don't ever make a mistake in your entire life ever, okay?
Hunters are kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum. Beastmaster Hunter has barely anything to do, you have so few buttons to press that it makes it almost impossible to be bad at your class, you could just pull something off of wowhead or icy veins and somehow do stupid amounts of damage in any dungeon or raid. Source, I've tried it myself. Adequately geared, and I topped the damage charts in the last pug normal and heroic raids I did, as well as keystone Master.... I don't get it, like it's so simple. I absolutely delete everything with it.
Evoker also seems fun to play, but is crazy complex to me, I barely understand what's going on half the time when I'm playing it and feel like I'm either doing horrible, or I'm somehow doing okay. Makes my head spin because it's the newest flavor and the amount of information out there that conflicts with one another is pretty staggering.
Demon Hunter seems to be crazy, So fun, fast pace, ridiculous amount of damage. Truly nothing like it that I've ever experienced before. It's really fun, but some things are hard to wrap my head around like some of the talents that people have chosen and placement of your character because you're melee and different things like that.
For tanking, druid bear is simple, fun, magical. Love it. Demon hunter is crazy complex, I can't figure it out, and seem to be a pretty awful tank....
Yeah. A lot of this is user error, I get overwhelmed easily. But dang is the game hard

IneffableFriendFinder! (Should I make an app?)
^{So, I’m going with a fiend and already know a few more who are, but I’m so curious about who among you I might run into there, what sorta brainrot you have and so on! And, I have a feeling some are going without knowing anyone else who are - maybe you’ll find someone in this thread who could be your IneffableBuddy?
Maybe we could do a little self-presentation thing, where we tell people about ourselves and link to the most important things want to share, like this:}
Hello, I am tismrot! 34 years old, pan/AFAB agender (she/hewhatever), and I write fics and draw. I like loud and repetitive music, not doing what I’m told and reading religious scripture for smut references.
I'm pretty good at calming people with social anxiety, so I offer my services to anyone who might feel a little bit antsy among strangers at the Con! My outgoing autism/ADHD makes it hard for me to separate between "person I've known forever" and "closest friend", so I consider everyone "friend" until proven otherwise :)
Hope to hear from you, and I hope that anyone who needs it can find someone to feel safe around!

After 2 weeks of prog (couldn't clear) with pugs in the realm of party finder I'm now confident that thaemine G3 is not that hard after getting used to his patterns even though I didn't clear I don't find this gate impossible to clear, don't get me wrong this gate is definitely harder then anything we have experience before, but it's definitely clearable even on alts on ilvl. The real issue according to my Bible is from players side, less dps = more patterns = more chances of death, also don't forget thaemine generate gauge over time mean more one shot patterns. I have joined alot of prog groups which average dps is half then what they should do, I know that usually prog party do less damage, but when I join x50 prog partys and find the avg damage is very low at 300-275 there is nothing preventing you from dpsing at this stage of the fight what is the issue, also those support who spam heal for one person are criminals some times I hit my biggest dps skill for 200m during the first sword encounter and some times I only hit for 110m-140m it's definitely sup diff. This post is not to make gate keeping worse then it's already has, my Bible says item level and glowing weapon even mighty elixir doesn't do a shit in hand of bozo. People need to take step back and address the real issue (your hands), no shame on relaying on bible to improve, I was averaging 7-10 when first start proging, now with good sup I average 14-16m but it's not gonna help me clear when there is 4 other party members avging 7-8m, sorry long text but I'm really sick of these posts blaming the difficulty of this raid when the issue are very clear for everyone but no one will admit he's not that good I'm the same as you avg player but I tried very hard to improve for the clear. is it wrong to expect every other pt members to do the same? Sorry for my English not my native

I am M(32) moved to France to work as an engineer.I always knew , work won’t bring me the indépendance of location and speech and so, I parallely started studying the Amazon business model (FBA) , and very soon invested all what I saved(13k euros) into a product and selling it in UK, only to be able to make 250k of net revenue of 90k in profits in about 8 months , expanding from one product line to 21 different products in (gaps in the market in the same niche) both in UK , Germany and USA. Along With that I co-founded 2 other companies with 2 more products in two other(baking and toilet cleaning) niches and now having 3 product lines in USA only in the 8 months period mark .
Now , If I achieve whatever I wrote at the start of the year , I would be able to leave my engineering job very soon .
Now all I can think of is expansion and networking with great product finders that have the hunger to invest their time with “my money to invest” with a stake in the company and jointly run the E-commerce brand.
I never want to retire .I just want to retire from the work and as for my business and growing my e commerce brand , I would continue on this until I no more can.
If I can resume what I did 1. Looked for what everyone needs in mass.

1. Making improvements that people need without changing how the consumer interact with the product(no drastic changes).
   
2. Validated the idea with a test inventory
   

4.Built a money making asset.

Sorry, this is long and will probably get buried. But I had to say my piece about this crap, specifically paragraphs 8-11 in the March 2024 WT, Study Article 11.
https://www.jw.borg/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=E&prefer=lang&docid=2024322
(Remove the "b" from "borg.")
Their deliberate ignorance is bottomless. Any human who cares to learn about abuse and its effect on victims, including what to do and not to do to help them, can easily educate themselves on the basics in less than an hour. They have had so many opportunities to correct their course, and they have chosen to close their eyes and double down. Unfortunately for the women victims of domestic abuse, including emotional abuse, the Governing Body, speaking in the name of God, heaps additional abuse and gaslighting on their shoulders.
Let's break it down:
First, the subheading is titled, “Persevere When Your Spouse Disappoints You.”
They employ maximal manipulation right out of the gate, framing abuse not as actual damaging behavior actively inflicted by one spouse on another, but as merely the subjective perception of disappointment by the victim. They further conflate abuse with mere “difficulties" and imperfections common to all marriages. Notice this line:
“They may, in time, display traits that were not noticeable before the wedding.”
Allow me to decode what has happened here. Women have complained about mistreatment by their husbands and have been told the onus was on them to get to know their men before marrying them. This particular line in the article is in response to people trying to educate them about how narcissists behave early in the relationship. They hide their abusive traits and lovebomb, lovebomb, lovebomb. We see here that the GB have been made aware of this, but choose to close their ears and refuse to be educated, purposely using the victims’ explanations against them with dismissiveness.
Next, they offer a line that is music to the ears of an abuser:
“Instead of recognizing that each has a part in the problem and therefore should work to resolve it, they may blame their mate.”
This plays right into a narcissist’s hands. “Well, if you would do X, then I wouldn't have to yell at you!” In truth, the innocent spouse shares NO blame for the abusive behavior of their partner, but this misinformed bulls**t from the GB will ensure that the wife is kept more distressed, confused, and chasing ever-shifting goal posts. And they further afflict her by saying, with shaking heads and clucking tongues, that some “may even come to see separation or divorce as the solution. But is giving up on marriage the answer?" So they use shame and guilt to cut off her only route of escape.
Next, they dump the example of Abigail on the heads of these women. Nabal must have been severely abusive, and one shudders to think how terrifying it was for Abigail to have been stuck in that marriage. And in those patriarchal times, stuck she was. So how repulsive it is for the GB to claim that Abigail remained with that man out of respect for Jehovah's standard of marriage! They claim she could have “found an easy way out." How? By stepping aside and allowing David to murder Nabal and all of the other men in the household! But the reason she chose not to use this ‘easy way out,’ we are told, was not to avoid a massacre, but because she viewed marriage “as a sacred arrangement.”
Rubbing salt in the wound, the GB also doesn't miss the opportunity to mention that Abigail "was also willing to apologize for a wrong that she did not commit,” adding, "Clearly Jehovah loved this brave, unselfish woman.” So, women, be ready to apologize and take the blame your abuser is actively throwing on you, because this will make Jehovah love you. Whereas, if you resist and try to hold your boundaries, not so much.
After showing this horrific example of Abigail and Nabal, the question for paragraph 11 makes sure to point out that “respecting the marriage arrangement even if their mate is difficult to live with (like Nabal)” is an expectation from Jehovah.
The GB tops off this bulls**t sandwich with one more fresh, stinking pile. They give the (probably made up or embellished) experience of Carmen, a sister who put up with her husband's verbal abuse for... wait for it... 50 years! As per always, they put the responsibility of managing the abuse on the wife. “‘As the years went by, I learned to be more discerning and to speak tactfully to my husband.’” Translation: Carmen had to learn to become small, suppress her voice, and walk on eggshells for 50 years so that her husband would hopefully hurt her less often.
The burden is always on the abused one in the JW org. They say that “you can trust that Jehovah will support you and help you to persevere.” It's never pointed out that Jehovah did nothing at all to help Abigail. He didn't kill Nabal to save her; he was only exacting punishment for Nabal's disrespect to Jehovah's king. Had there been no run-in with David, Abigail would have rotted there for the rest of her days. What they also don't say is that in this organization, Jehovah's “support" often looks like the abuser getting praise and privileges, while He is happy to let you continue suffering, expecting you to keep quiet and keep that pretty smile on your face. Fuck them all.

"I hope there's someone with a lower level character to help me with this quest so they can kill the mobs faster and I just tag" This is a thing I never thought I'd say out loud while playing any MMO ever.
I wasn't playing WoW over these last years since the end of BFA. I was super hyped about going back to the MoP years since I did raid a whole lot of heroic Siege of Orgrimmar and finished the brawler's guild back then, when it was something of an achievement.
I'm 100% sure no one on blizzard played this on a normal pace up to level 70 and through into Heroic Garrosh, It's an unbelievable fuckup how much weaker I am on my level 70 than I am on a fresh level 10 character. I even tested it. On my warlock, on any Heroic Dungeon, I can't be hit by mechanics, I just die to anything, I got 300k hp, anything can hit me for at least 200k... Usually the big AoE effects that will give you some opportunity to move away with some seconds will tick me once and I'm dead. I redid the same heroic dungeon on a completely fresh warrior, level 10 arms with the fresh cape with Infinite Power XII, that's like +150 strength and +40% versatility. I was soloing everything not caring about aoe effects or if bosses aggroed on me due to my sheer dps and versa, even with only slam, whirlwind and execute I was able to deal about 75% of the whole dungeon damage, with mostly everyone being between the levels 61 and 68.
On the ad they showed a cloak of infinite potential with +234% Exp gain, I was looking thought streams and videos, and I saw no one with a cloak above 185% experience... and that would be on level 69, I really thought I'd get something like 200% extra exp at lvl 50. I thought we could get onto runescape leagues levels of faster experience, but I was tricked onto that.
Now I'm trapped with a level 70 that can barely quest properly now, I can't run heroic dungeons unless lower level people will carry me through since anything that touches me kills me and I can't raid properly (unless I go for raid finder). The only activity I can do to make my character stronger is geting threads, and that's it. Getting +12 random stat every now and then and hope I can reach some level within these 3 months. I thought this mode would be less about grinding and more about skipping steps into the fun (raiding/reaching extreme levels of strength), but it looks like it's only an extremely slow grind during the first 2 months of level 70.
I know about the exploit that was running, and I know I could've gone for that, but I got a life and didn't think it'd matter that much, I just finished leveling my character on sunday morning and the exploit was fixed around that time... too bad, if I knew I'd need it so much I'd gone for it.
Now I paid for a 3 month subscription for a game I wasn't playing, I won't play this mode anymore since I can't do anything on my character that feels weak... and I got about 15 hours of gameplay out of the 3 months I paid for.
This is so unpolished I can't believe they released this in this way, the bronze grind is extreme, and the sheer amount of threads you need is insane, it should probably be considered a scam and legal action should come into blizzard's way, it's impossible to release something this bad and just get away with it. They deliberately made the earlier levels feel like you're stronger just so they could pull the rug on 70 and surprise-grind you into slow as fuck +12 bonuses until you can reach a passable level so you can at least survive 3 ticks of an AoE instead of instant death.
I don't even know how to feel, got scammed back in D3 release in 2012, and just let it pass, got scammed with WoD being the worst xpac and let it pass, then I told myself I'd never get scammed by blizzard again since BFA and here I am, what the fuck.

The title should be self explanatory, but for mor context:
One of the main reasons I like playing mmo's is so I don't feel like I'm playing alone. (I usually play solo games outside ffxiv) however, recently I've been feeling a lot more lonely since I rarely see the same people and am not in any discords to join a vc or something.
I usually spend my time helping people through the party finder by posting my generic "i'm here to help with whatever I can" PF or by joining people that post asking for help of their own.
I'm not in any FC (they stress me out and rarely feel like friends imo) and am not in any groups because I'm not really sure how to find them.
I'm on NA and frequently DC hop. Please help, I don't wanna feel like a lone wanderer anymore.

I’ve always wanted to see what Israel is like, as I’m thinking I’d prefer a more socialistic state with people who have my values and celebrate my traditions… Basically, it would be great to be around fellow Jews. Does anyone know if it’s possible for a 41 year old to be finder for their first birthright trip? I’ve never even been out of this country before, sounds like it would be a great way to find out if moving there is a goal.
Thanks everyone!

Sionia
Chapter 14
Map First Previous
“Lord Wyatt, you are needed” Called Lars that shook me out of my fascinating reading about dragon neuts.
“Yes.” I said as I pulled back the curtain.
“The city guard requests to speak with you. They are restricting entrance to Avalon given the latest attack by Mardor at Black Gate of Rowan.” Lars explained with a salute and chest bump
With a sigh, I handed my book to Gus and exited the carriage and was very impressed with the massive three story gatehouse and huge stone block readouts connected on each side. I was met by a forty something looking man of average build with black hair and dark eyes flanked by six fully fitted out soldiers.
“I am Rhys Redith captain of the guard here in Avalon. You must be Count Ryan Wyatt.” Rhys introduced himself with the question.
“Yes, I am Ryan Wyatt.” I responded with a frown and knotted brow.
“We have been expecting your arrival. The king has ordered us to assist you and provide hospitality. I am to escort you to the fortress and the rest of your party to Duggan's inn.” Said Rhys with a salute and formal bow.
“That will not do! I have several wards under my care which several are nobility.” I objected to the plan given.
“I was not aware. I will of course take you to the fortress where Lady Ludmilla will address your concerns.” Replied Rhys with a salute and bow then motioned for me to follow.
“Follow him, Jace .” I said to my new driver and climbed into the carriage.
The bridge over the north side of the Paradise River to the island of Avalon was very long at around a quarter mile or so. The readouts of the gatehouse extended a good ways into the river which had several firing positions. I suspected that the river rose and fell with a possible rainy and dry season which was why the readouts could prevent an army from getting behind the gatehouse or access to the bridge from land. The island side gatehouse was flush with the city walls and protruded into the river was equally as impressive with a descent sized recessed portico and draw bridge porch extension.
Thinking back to my travels through Europe, I decided Avalon looked like the city of East Looe, Cornwall in England but not as topographically elevated and with more renaissance style architecture than back on earth. The Roman style arched bridge was very much what we just rode across. The fortress of Avalon itself was at the highest point which was off to the left on the far east side of the island and most up stream point on the islands.
The Fortress keep was decent but still half the size of Duke Boasag's Buanna. I realized that the reason for putting my servants at an inn was because of the lack of space. However, I was determined to stay with my wards no matter the violation of etiquette it might cause. As my carriage pulled up to the entrance with the fortress that had both iron gates and metal reinforced wooden doors that were a good six feet wide and twelve feet tall each. These doors were set into no less than a three foot thick wall.
Passing through the gate was a small bricked paved courtyard that was about forty to fifty feet wide in a more or less oval shape. I saw a host of servants and two well dressed ladies waiting at the main doors to the fortress's central keep.
“Lord Wyatt, welcome to Avalon. I am Viscountess Ludmilla Skafhoggr and this is my mother Baroness Grogda Wode.” Stated a quiet plump pretty faced brown haired woman in a gaudy yellow with purple accented dress with unicorns all over it and a matching unicorn hat whose horn protruded a good foot from her forehead.
“Yes, it is a very deep pleasure to meet you as well.” Stated Lady Grogda a good looking woman who seemed to be in her mid to late thirties with black hair and unusual olive colored eyes. Her lite brown dress was quiet plain compared to her daughter's which was kind of comical in their contrast.
“The pleasure is mine for sure in meeting you ladies.” I said pouring it on a bit thick with a formal bow and sweep of my arm.
“I do not understand. Why are all your people with you?” Lady Ludmilla asked looking toward Captain Rhys but speaking to me.
“I have many wards under my protection. Thus, it is impossible to leave them alone without my presence as there are many who would try and take advantage of helpless young girls.” I stated but that failed miserably when Freya and the other three Asgardians approached fully armed with their swords.
“I would hardly call them helpless!” Spat Lady Grogda with a bit of contempt as the Asgardians were better looking than her.
“Despite appearances, they need my protection. After all, I am their guardian as I freed them from captivity.” I responded with a bit of admonishment in my voice.
“Yes, we have heard the tale. You are quiet the knight in shinning armor.” Lady Ludmilla said with obvious sarcasm.
“It is what it is. The wards will be with me wherever I am. If that is at an inn or camping on the side of the road, so bit it.” I stated with irritation.
“Do not be silly. We can host your wards and personal attendant. However, we must insist that the rest stay in the inn over there.” Lady Ludmilla said pointing to a three story building that was about fifty yards away.
“That is closer than expected. However, I accept. My people can stay at the inn while you host me and my wards.” I stated with another formal bow.
“Good, now come and we will see to your comfort.” Lady Ludmilla said with a bit of a laugh with Lady Grogda giving a small laugh and a wicked grin.
I immediately turned to Lars, Razor and Meowth and ordered that they maintain a watch on the carts and carriage around the clock as I did not want any lapse where someone would try to take advantage. I called to the wolf kin brothers to continue to protect the girls inside the fortress. Pointing to Lars, I told him to take our prisoner Andros to the adventure's guild office and turn him over and letting them know he was caught trying to steal from me. Tell them I will see them on morrow to see if Andros was telling the truth or just lying. Turning with a smile and motioned to Freya and the girls to follow me with Gus right behind me.
The inside of the fortress was decently furnished though it had more of the appearance of a military outpost than a holding of wealth as it looked quiet spartan. I was led to an upper chamber where Lady Grogda had already ordered a bath filled by the time we had arrived.
“I will see to you personally!” Lady Grogda stated with that same wicked grin again.
I suddenly felt as though I was a piece of meat put on display before a hungry wolf. I steeled myself to not recoil as I just felt off with this lady.
“See to your master's baggage.” Lady Grogda ordered Gus who was surprised by the command.
Gus gave me a slight shaking of his head and left the chamber. Lady Grogda then proceeded to strip me with efficiency. Once I was naked, she suddenly took her time looking at my nakedness. She even traced my scars on my back with a click of her tongue. Walking over to the tub, I climbed in and sat down.
“Spoil sport” Said Lady Grogda as she grabbed a wash cloth.
“Do not get my wounds wet.” I said warning Lady Groda of what the doctor had told me.
“Why? Your wound is almost well healed. The stitches can be pulled out except here” Stated Lady Grogda and tapped me on my left shoulder blade.
“I have been using a special salve from the high elves. I did not realize it was healing that fast. However, I was warned that getting my wound wet would effect my healing.” I repeated what Doctor Zalzwarth told me.
“Very well.” Groda conceded.
Lady Grogda began washing me where she was absolutely taking her time. It was obvious that she was deliberately feeling me up for her own pleasure. When she grasped my manhood. I stood up and said, “The water is cold and I am tired and hungry!”
“Humph” Pouted Lady Grogda her displeasure but began to rinse me.
Just as I was stepping out of the tub, Gus entered slightly out of breath as he had run to get my clothes with Lukas my footman helping. I sighed with relief as Gus helped me don my dressing gown.
“Old Maude will be here momentarily to apply your salve.” Gus said with a salute.
“Very good.” I replied to Gus then turned to Lady Grogda and said, “I was told you are a Dowager Baroness. Is that not so?” I blatantly asked appearing as innocent as I could.
“I will see you at the dinner bell hour.” Lady Groda said with a sort of half wave salute and stormed out of the chamber in a huff.
“Thank you, Gus. I actually thought I would have to literally fight to save my personal honor.” I remarked with a laugh.
“It was my pleasure, Lord Wyatt.” Gus responded and joined me in laughing.
Old Maude came about twenty minutes later and applied my salve and chatted about how excited she was to be in Avalon and wanting to visit one of the apothecary shops. I gave her permission but have one of the guards accompany her.
About an hour later and I was fully shaven and dressed, I heard a large bell ringing from a bell tower not far away from my chamber. With that, I headed down to the great hall that was just off the main entrance way. I was met by Lady Ludmilla who escorted me to Viscount Skafhoggr chair where she seated herself to my left. Lady Grogda appeared wearing a new pink dress and seated herself to my right. The one missing was the Viscount.
“Where is Lord Skafhoggr?” I asked Lady Ludmilla with a raised eyebrow.
“He is meeting with one of the military commanders. I believe they are deciding on how large a levy they must raise to battle the bastards of Mardor.” Replied Lady Ludmilla as she clapped her hands for servants to begin serving the evening meal.
Four exhausting hours later, I was back in my chamber with my nerves completely shot. The constant fawning and mindless chatter from Lady Ludmilla as well as the constant groping from Lady Grogda under the table had stained me to the max. I was ready for bed and was glad to sink into the lavender scented sheets. Gus grabbed a thin pallet and two blankets. Blowing out the candles he stepped into the hallway closing the door behind him. He would sleep outside my door as custom demands while traveling.
A little over a half an hour later after Gus left, the door opened and closed quickly. I could not see in the darkness but relaxed when Freya spoke softly and slipped into bed with me. Freya did her magic on me as she mounted me taking me to new heights of pleasure. I quickly forgot all about the overly eager pursuit of the Dowager Baroness as I shared the pleasures of being with Freya. After we had sated ourselves completely, we slept peacefully in a loving embrace.
The morning came with a knock on my door that woke both Freya and I. I moaned but Freya nudged me on the chin.
“Time to wake you lazy bones.” Freya said with a laugh.
“I am not a morning person.” I said with a groan.
“Don't I know it! You were quiet the beast were you not?” Freya teased then laughed at me.
The knock on the door was more instant as I rose and put on my dressing gown. Opening the door slightly was Gus and the Dowager Baroness.
“It is early, what is it?” I asked.
“We have prepared a very special meal for you this morning.” Said Lady Grogda with a frown while she tried to look around me into the chamber.
“I see. Well, give me some time to properly dress and I will be down shortly.” I stated and continued to Gus “Have Lukas bring my shaving kit.”
“Right away, Lord Wyatt.” Gus said as he motioned down the hall where I assumed Lukas was.
About forty five minutes later and having snuck Freya out of my chamber, I was fully shaved and dressed in my dark red outfit and black beret hat that actually looked really good on me. Upon entering the great hall, I saw Lady Ludmilla seated. Lady Grogda taking me by the arm led me again to the Viscount's chair where she seated herself next to me.
“Where is Lord Skafhoggr, Lady Ludmilla?” I asked her directly.
Lady Ludmilla was quiet for a moment then said, “I guess he is sleeping. The meetings with the military commanders drag on for hours and hours. I hardly ever see him these days.” Lady Ludmilla said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Is that so. Very well as it can not be helped. Please send my regards to Lord Skafhoggr for his hospitality. I was informed that the king would have a messages for me that Lord Skafhoggr was to give me. Could you ask Lord Skafhoggr for them?” I asked as I suspected something was just not right.
“Oh. Ah. I will of course ask my Lord Vincent for the king's message once morning meal is finished.” Lady Ludmilla said and looked discombobulated.
“I see. Please do so. The king ordered me to arrive in Camelot immediately. I can not dally and spend extra time as I normally would do. I hope you understand.” I said making extra emphasis on the king's order part.
“Yes. What the king commands we all must obey.” Lady Ludmilla said sourly but not looking at me.
Lady Ludmilla then clapped her hands and the servants brought in the morning meal. What surprised me was my meal was different from everyone else. Looking at both Lady Ludmilla and Lady Grogda something in the back on my head screamed warning warning.
The silver plate before me was a type of stew with a strong overpowering spice scent. I frowned and began to think hard and fast.
“This is a specialty from the High Valley region. I hope you like it.” Lady Grogda said with no expression at all.
My alarm bells went off even stronger this time. A footman came over to fill my cup which I deliberately knocked over and profusely apologized for my clumsiness.
“You know, I am from the High Valley region too. I have never been a fan of overly spiced foods. Lets see how spicy it is.” I stated and took a scoop with a spoon and handed it to the footman to taste.
The footman was surprised but more than happy to taste the food as it was obvious that food for the staff was very plain and simple.
“You should not do that! It is not right!” Lady Grogda said as she stood up showing more alarm than outrage.
The footman had already consumed the sample where he at first looked like he liked it. However, he suddenly started to choke as his face turned bright red and falling to his knees. Lady Ludmilla stood up in horror as the footman was gagging begging for water. I handed him my silver chalice with what I assumed was apple cider where he chugged it down then begged for more.
Finally, after three more cups of water given by another footman, first footman just lay on his back almost in a stupor. It was as if his mind was blank.
“What is this?” I asked as I pointed to my meal looking at both Lady Ludmilla and Lady Grogda.
“I do not know!” Said Lady Ludmilla looking at her mother with a strange look.
“Do not give me that! What did you do?” I demanded with a my voiced raised and now pointing my finger at them.
“It was a love potion. It was to make you like me.” Said Lady Grogda meekly and looking sheepishly at the ground.
“Seriously! That was more than a simple love potion!” I yelled my outrage.
“I swear that is all it was. I had to hide its not so pleasant taste with spice.” Lady Grogda stated her defense but still not able to look me in the eye.
“Lady Ludmilla, I must now ask that you bring me the king's message as I am now leaving Avalon.” I commanded with rage in my countenance.
Lady Ludmilla fled the great hall without replying. Lady Grogda just sat down with her head down looking at the floor saying nothing.
With exasperation, I called out to my people. “House of Wyatt, Ladies and girls we are leaving! Quickly gather your things and be out front within a little span!”
With that, I stormed out of the great hall to the shock of all present. Up in the guest chamber, I changed clothes into my bluejeans, a blue shirt and a tan leather vest. Pulling on my boots and strapping on my weapons belt, I looked over seeing Gus and Lukas already packed up my discarded clothing and was ready to leave as they were staying clear of my angry outbursts.
Down at the carts, I ordered my guards to ready themselves to leave. I sent Lukas to call all the servants in the inn to be ready to leave immediately. Razor and Meowth jumped down from their perch on the first two carriages with questioning looks.
“They tried to poison me! Can you believe it?” I said angrily as I swept my arm to point at the fortress.
“Meow Lord Wyatt, that is clawful. Do you want meow to use them like a scratching post?” Asked Meowth as her tail went straight in what I assumed was either surprise or anger.
Razor just gave a low grumbling growl with teeth bared as he looked at the fortress.
Forty minutes later as my people were loading up, Lady Ludmilla approached with her head down.
“I am sorry Lord Wyatt. It seems you do not have any messages from the king.” Lady Ludmilla said never once looking me in the eye.
“I see. Send a message to the king that I left Avalon today and as commanded traveling as quickly as I can. The king is expecting my update so make sure it is properly sent!” I said with a warning.
I ordered a florse saddled for I needed fresh air as I was still furious. I actually led our people out and toward the main north south road which Nick panicked a bit and settled with riding next to me. As we approached the main crossroads of the city, I saw a large dinning hall and ordered a halt for all of our people to have breakfast. The meal consisted of roasted mutton, eggs, apple pancakes and apple jam. They also had fresh chilled milk and apple cider which really went well with the sweet dishes. Our group apparently cleaned them out and they had to turn away a few customers until mid day.
After breakfast, I went to the adventurer's guild that was a few buildings to the south. It was a four story building of decent size. I allowed Old Maude with a one of the house guards to go to the apothecary shop across the road along with the two Alphardian servants Aura and Sylvia. Inside the adventurer's guild, I asked for Marine as instructed. It was then I learned that Marine was Zack Talley's girl where they were to marry soon as she proudly let me know her good news.
“Zack said to tell you this is a level one escort. Whatever that means.” I repeated what Zack had told me to say.
“Thank you. It simply means Zack thinks there would be no problems and just being present is enough to discourage any potential thieves. The total is two hundred fifty denari for basic escort with an A ranked adventurer.” Marine said with a smile
After paying the fee for the job request, I asked Marine to speak to someone about Andros that was brought in by Lars one of my house guards.
“I am Supervisor Etan Borg and assistant to Guild Master Henry Stewart. It is a pleasure to be at your service Count Wyatt.” Stated Etan with a salute and bow.
“Pleasure is mine.” I replied with a salute and nod of my head.
“We have investigated Andros. His party the Finders of Avalon specialize in retrieving lost items or stolen goods from thieves. It appears his party was specifically requested to recover a lost ventu volpis. We do not have any more details for the job other than this.” Etan stated as he read from a page in his hand.
“Who hired them to steal from me? Make no mistake, they were hired to steal from me!” I said as I was showing my anger and frustration.
“Normally, we would not disclose who posted job requests to those not apart of the contract. However, given the circumstances, I was instructed to tell you it was Viscountess Lady Ludmilla. It seems she contracted and paid a merchant from Xanadu for a ventu volpis. It is our understanding that merchant was placed on a Quenya trade ship where he will go on trial for his many crimes in Svarta. The Finders of Avalon should not have tried to take your ventu volpis. Nor should they have taken on the job given the crimes of the merchant without more information.” Etan explained what the guild knew.
“What will happen to Andros?” I asked frankly.
“The Guild Master will hold a hearing with S and A ranked members who will advise on the issues. I expect he will be found guilty but will escape the ten year punishment. More like one to two years of labor for the guild doing low ranked jobs that no one wants while being supervised by myself or a C ranked or higher adventurer. His pay will be one third of normal with the rest going to repay the guild and costs associated with his lapse in judgment.” Etan replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I see. The thing that irks me is they attacked my people and wounded one of my guards with a slinger's stone.” I explained my outrage.
“I was not aware of this fact. Master Stewart will compensate you as the law requires. Unfortunately, Master Stewart left for Camelot for meetings with the war counsel on Astria's response to the Empire's latest invasion. I will send a filoxis to let Master Stewart know that there was injury, offense and honor requirements. I understand you will be traveling to Camelot and am certain Master Stewart will seek you out to give you a formal apology and see you are properly compensated.” Etan stated with a salute and bow.
“Good enough. Let me know the outcome of the hearing for Andros. I do not like loose ends and a potential enemy looking for revenge.” I said mater of factually.
“Understood. I will relay your concerns to Master Stewart. Etan replied with another salute and bow.
Leaving the adventure's guild, I decided to visit the tradesman's guild and merchant's storefront while Old Maude was still busy across the street. The girls came with me as they had been requesting things like combs, brushes and scented oils plus a few other special feminine items they needed.
Once all the girls got what they were needing and getting those items stowed with their baggage, Old Maude came back with a small crate filled with items to make medicines. While the baggage was being loaded and sorted, I went to see the information broker's desk and inquired about Chamberlain Robert Duffy. I paid the requested fee of one erythro given his status in the city. I was shown a file which listed the qualities, character and known habits of Robert. There was a section about vices and food preferences. The only vice was seeing a woman who was a widow listed as a paid mistress. Basically, Robert was a straight as an arrow honorable man. I smiled as the report made me feel better about who I was helping.
Finally, with everyone loaded up, we headed out of the city of Avalon over the southern main bridge and gate that was just like the north one but slightly longer with a guard tower protected draw bridge section to let ships pass. After about two hours, I had calmed down enough that I rode in the carriage as was expected of a person of rank. I just looked out seeing nothing but the vast wheat fields of the Capital Region realizing how lucky I had been to escape the evils of the ladies of Fortress Avalon.