Quest?

[Shyla]

Shyla (gossip): Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Hm! It seems someone in The Stairwell's Pinnacle is carrying a runestone!

[Shyla]

The Stairwell's Pinnacle
Atop flight after flight of stairs, the view from this vantage point is
quite magnificent. The stairwell spirals down below, in some places a
strong cream color, in others bright blue, and others are partially hued
with dark red. The stairwell ends at this point, connecting to a sturdy
floor of fibrous mushroom that has been set at a somewhat hazardous grade.
At the top of the slope lies a lustrous red cherrywood door, a strange
occurrence in this magical place, the only element not crafted from the
being of the mushroom. Elegant black drapes frame the doorways to the east
and west.
Exits: East West [Up] Down
There's fog as thick as pea soup in here...
Taron . is standing here.
Taron glows with a bright light!
Taron has a steady dark aura.
A dwarven mushroom tender is searching for ripe mushrooms.
A white-robed maiden with tiny white swan-like wings lounges here.
Hinoko the Tornado Matango spins around in dizzying patterns as it wobbles about.
Hinoko the Tornado Matango glows with a bright light!
*Shrouded in thick robes and shadows, a myconid peers out from the darkness.
New epic mob in myconids

[Shyla]

give rune cuvier
Ok.
Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Thank you, I shall take but a moment to decipher this.'

<730hp 388ma 245mv>

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'The Runestone of the Albatross! Good show!
These great birds are prolific travellers, soaring from continent to
continent with their enormous wings. Be wary of inclement weather, for
while powerful fliers, they do have their limits.'

<732hp 396ma 249mv>

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'I shall keep this runestone for safekeeping while you find the remaining eleven.'
Cuvier, the Fablesage puts the Runestone of the Albatross away.

[Shyla]

goss Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Hm! It seems someone in The Exploratory Tunnel is carrying a runestone!'
You gossip-- 'Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Hm! It seems someone in The Exploratory Tunnel is carrying a runestone!''

[Shyla]

give runestone cuvier
Ok.
Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Ah, excellent. Let me see the runestone for a second.'

<736hp 689ma 243mv>

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Hm. The Runestone of the Ankheg.
Terrifying creatures these. I had the misfortune of crossing one once.
They spat potent acid at me, and discharged powerful webs from their
insectoid bodies as I tried to flee. Their jaws are terrifying, and look
as if they could quite readily rend flesh from bone.'

<736hp 704ma 250mv>

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'I shall keep this runestone for safekeeping while you find the remaining ten.'
Cuvier, the Fablesage puts the Runestone of the Ankheg away.

[Teron]

Greetings.

Tonight at about 6am Pacific we had the final part of the quest, which meant that we had to collect 10 more runestones from various animals throughout the world.

Among them were:
a green dragon in Underdark
a giant toad in Lyme Sewers
a white wolf in Mount Mordi
the charred dragon in the Orc Mines
a millipede in the Temple Ruins
a two-headed cobra in Desert
a collosus heap (epic)
an eternal goo (that splits in two at ph/awful, but thanks to our bard Luna, we could be fighting only one of them at a time.)
trepadora articallo (epic mob)

After we gave all the runestones to Cuvier, it turns out it we weren't quite finished.

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'This is it! The final runestone! The
Runestone of the Yali! So very little is known about these mythical
monstrosities; I had dismissed tales of their existence until now.
Rumored to stalk the shadows, these feline predators supposedly pounce
upon their hapless prey with such force the earth trembles with the impact.
Fearsome roars have often been attributed to these legendary
carnivores, but are often dismissed as just thunder.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage cackles with glee!
Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'At long last. My centuries of waiting are over!'
Cuvier, the Fablesage puts the Runestone of the Yali away.
Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Many thanks heroes, for I could not have
retrieved all the runestones without your help. Allow me to properly
reward for your efforts.'
Cuvier, the Fablesage begins to rummage around in his cloak.

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Ah, here we go.'
Cuvier, the Fablesage gets a glowing seed from his cloak.

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Here is your reward, 'heroes'.'
As Cuvier, the Fablesage drops the seed, cruel brambles erupt from the ground,
binding you painfully in place!

The surrounding fauna begins to wither as Cuvier, the Fablesage`s
countenance begins to darken.
Cuvier, the Blighter says 'I really could not have done this without you.
Ages ago, this world condemned me for trying to replenish the dying fauna
of the world. Oh sure, using dead plants to make fertilizer is fine, but
reawakening their corpses using necromancy, and suddenly 'You've gone too
far!' Ah well. Bygones.'
Cuvier, the Blighter sighs.

Cuvier, the Blighter cackles maniacally.

Cuvier, the Blighter says 'Know, this: It was I who freed the runestones,
upsetting the Equilibrium. But the infernal pebbles scattered before I
could sieze their power! Thanks to you, they are finally mine.
I finally have the power necessary to show them all! The world will rue
the day they condemned me. The very foundation of creation will tremble
before my might! '
The vines binding you in place begin to twist.

Cuvier, the Blighter reaches into the earth and exhumes the remains of a trepadora tropicallo.
Cuvier, the Blighter says 'I cannot have you interfering with my plans.
Behold, a sample of my work! '
Cuvier, the Blighter utters the words 'candusaxatunso'
The nearby plants quickly wither to dust!
A reawakened trepadora arcticallo rises from the remains.

Cuvier, the Blighter says 'Adieu, we will not meet again.'
Cuvier, the Blighter recites a major scroll of recall and disappears.

Trepadora arcticallo shrieks as it rises up and attacks!
The vines surrounding you quickly release their grasp!
Chispa the traveling druid collapses to the ground, severely weakened!
Trepadora arcticallo viciously massacres Kaylee with its whip.
Sam has lost his link.

Kaylee misses trepadora arcticallo with her pound.
Trepadora arcticallo viciously massacres Kaylee with its whip.
Trepadora arcticallo viciously massacres Kaylee with its sting.
Kaylee is dead! R.I.P.
Sam massacres trepadora arcticallo to small fragments with his slash.
Sam massacres trepadora arcticallo to small fragments with his slash.
Trepadora arcticallo flails about wildly with its icy tendrils!
You didn't utter the warcry! That wasn't very sporting...
The tendrils lash across your face, leaving a horrible gash!
Chispa the traveling druid says 'The traitorous fiend, he has drained my strength!'
Chispa the traveling druid says 'Allow me to provide what support I can!'
Chispa the traveling druid utters the words, 'waai kadagru'


Luckily, Chispa had temporarily made her room castable (and pushable, so the dead got pushed out), so we could actually kill the evil trepadora arcticallo.

Trepadora arcticallo is dead! R.I.P.
You receive 4659175 experience points as your share.
You are moving along the path to redemption.
You have gained five hundred honor.
Total exp for kill is 237154205.

Your blood freezes as you hear trepadora arcticallo's death cry.
Trepadora arcticallo's body shatters into a thousand icy pieces, piercing your flesh!
Everything trepadora arcticallo was carrying suddenly drops to the ground!

But that wasn't all.

We had to hunt down Cuvier, who run to the Olympus mountain, and slay some of the mobs he had reawakened.

Luckily, we didn't start off with killing the master druids from across the realm, who we spotted on the Olympus, so they assisted us in removing the barriers on our path, but we still had to kill
- Hinoko, the Grim Matango, an epic druid
- Widowent Fimbroothil, 280mil
- two eternal goos, which split into two each
- Cuvier himself, a 721mil mob, who shifted to different forms throughout the fight:

Cuvier raises his hands to the sky and rapidly turns into a vicious manticore (Cuvier)!

A vicious manticore (Cuvier)'s bones crunch under a well-aimed attack by Shyla!
A vicious manticore (Cuvier) misses Katie with his crush.
Katie skillfully parries the attack of a vicious manticore (Cuvier).
Katie's riposte viciously massacres a vicious manticore (Cuvier).
A vicious manticore (Cuvier) misses you with his sting.
A vicious manticore (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his whip.
A vicious manticore (Cuvier)'s bones crunch under a well-aimed attack by Toxis!
Katie massacres a vicious manticore (Cuvier) to small fragments with her slash.
Katie delivers a massive blow to one of a vicious manticore (Cuvier)'s vital organs.
Katie viciously massacres a vicious manticore (Cuvier) with her slash.

Cuvier raises his hands to the sky and rapidly turns into a giant floating squid (Cuvier)!
A giant floating squid (Cuvier) lashes about wildly with his numerous tentacles!
A giant floating squid (Cuvier) wallops you hard with his tentacles!

Katie skillfully parries the attack of a giant floating squid (Cuvier).
Katie's riposte viciously massacres a giant floating squid (Cuvier).
A giant floating squid (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his bite.
A giant floating squid (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his pound.
A giant floating squid (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his sting.
A giant floating squid (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his whip.
A giant floating squid (Cuvier)'s bones crunch under a well-aimed attack by Shyla!
Katie massacres a giant floating squid (Cuvier) to small fragments with her slash.
Katie delivers a massive blow to one of a giant floating squid (Cuvier)'s vital organs.
Katie viciously massacres a giant floating squid (Cuvier) with her slash.
You massacre a giant floating squid (Cuvier) to small fragments with your slash.
D05a giant floating squid (Cuvier) sprays an absurd amount of viscous ink at Sam, covering him completely! (I've already bugged this line :p)

Cuvier laughs manically as he taps into the power of the Runestone of the Minotaur!
Cuvier raises his hands to the sky and rapidly turns into a minotaur (Cuvier)!
A minotaur (Cuvier) charges into Kron and gores him with his horns!

A minotaur (Cuvier)'s bones crunch under a well-aimed attack by Norks!
A minotaur (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his bite.
A minotaur (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his beat.
You are viciously massacred by a minotaur (Cuvier)'s sting.
A minotaur (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his whip.
Katie delivers a massive blow to one of a minotaur (Cuvier)'s vital organs.
Katie viciously massacres a minotaur (Cuvier) with her slash.
Katie massacres a minotaur (Cuvier) to small fragments with her slash.
You massacre a minotaur (Cuvier) to small fragments with your slash.
You massacre a minotaur (Cuvier) to small fragments with your slash.
A minotaur (Cuvier) snorts in fury as he enters a state of frenzy!

Cuvier laughs manically as he taps into the power of the Runestone of the Ankheg!
Cuvier raises his hands to the sky and rapidly turns into a terrifying ankheg (Cuvier)!
Shyla howls in agony as a terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) rears aback and spits a caustic green saliva over a terrifying ankheg (Cuvier)'s face.

A terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his crush.
A terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his bite.
A terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his beat.
A terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his sting.
A terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his whip.
Katie massacres a terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) to small fragments with her slash.
You massacre a terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) to small fragments with your slash.
You massacre a terrifying ankheg (Cuvier) to small fragments with your slash.

Katie skillfully parries the attack of a menacing basilisk (Cuvier).
Katie's riposte viciously massacres a menacing basilisk (Cuvier).
A menacing basilisk (Cuvier) misses Katie with his bite.
Katie partially dodges the attack with a last minute tumbling maneuver!
A menacing basilisk (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his pound.
A menacing basilisk (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his beat.
A menacing basilisk (Cuvier) viciously massacres Katie with his sting.
Katie delivers a massive blow to one of a menacing basilisk (Cuvier)'s vital organs.
Katie brutally massacres a menacing basilisk (Cuvier) with her slash.
Katie massacres a menacing basilisk (Cuvier) to small fragments with her slash.
Cuvier laughs manically as he taps into the power of the Runestone of the Chimaera!
Cuvier raises his hands to the sky and rapidly turns into a multi-headed chimaera (Cuvier)!
A multi-headed chimaera (Cuvier) breathes a cone of frost into the room!
Katie is blasted by a multi-headed chimaera (Cuvier)'s frost!

Mahkra brutally guts a hidorachikyu (Cuvier)!
A hidorachikyu (Cuvier) looks down in terror as his intestines spill out!
A hidorachikyu (Cuvier) is dead! R.I.P.
You receive 12868674 experience points as your share.
You have gained five hundred honor.
Total exp for kill is 721314469.

Your blood freezes as you hear a hidorachikyu (Cuvier)'s death cry.
A hidorachikyu (Cuvier) roars in fury as he is condemned again to the abyss!
Everything a hidorachikyu (Cuvier) was carrying suddenly drops to the ground!
You have gained ten drachma.

Rewards:
Apart from the great exp (25-270mil per mob total), the mobs had runestones, which gave 2-4 drachma, epic mobs gave honor and some mobs had their eq loaded or were loaded with octagonal tokens.

We also popped a few gems that were wheeled, one of the gems included a Rhodochrosite.

Cuvier was 721mil exp total, we got 10 dr for killing it and he had the following eq:
<used as light> a magical will-o-the-wisp
<worn on finger> an inked-eye ring
<worn on finger> a greenish ring
<worn around neck> a green avian scale
<worn on legs> black ivy legplates
<worn on feet> a pair of dolphin skin boots
<worn about body> a cloak of thorns..It has a soft glowing aura!
<worn about waist> a thick leather belt
<worn around wrist> a runed onyx bracelet
<worn around wrist> a moist vapour bracelet..It has a soft glowing aura!
<held> a runed taffeta pouch..It has a soft glowing aura!

This eq was mostly wheeled, except the druid prime leg plates eventually went to the only druid prime on anyway.

The group was led by Rynquald, Katie tanked, rest followed.

Thanks Chobbs and other imms for running the quest, it was lots of fun

Thanks Rynquald for leading, Katie for tanking and others for doing their jobs well.

This series of events led to druids getting a lot of new forms, some of which are already being tested/used. Splork's written something about this already.

The full druid shapeshift form list looks like this now:

Level 1: Cat
Level 2: Cockroach Resistant to many damage types
Level 4: Ferret Steal; Pick Locks; Glance (at inventory)
Level 5: Sparrow Fly +peck
Level 7: Bloodhound Heightened smell; search
Level 9: Frog Water Breathing
Level 11: *Bat Echolocation; Fly
Level 13: Tree Immobile (mobs won't attack you)
Level 14: Armadillo Curl
Level 16: Porcupine Quill Armor
Level 18: Asp Bite
Level 20: Hawk Fly; Heightened vision; Gouge
Level 21: Crab Water Breathing; Scuttle; Pinch
Level 23: Boar Gore; Charge; Heightened Smell; Frenzy;
Critical hit
Level 24: SeaLion Water Breathing (Restricted Water); Slap
Level 26: Spider Bite; Web
Level 28: Cobra Bite; Spit; Climb; Shed
Level 30: Wolf Bite; Stalk
Level 32: Raptor Fly; Heightened vision; Shriek; Dive
Level 34: Crocodile Water Breathing, Bite
Level 36: Elephant Trample; Stomp; Bash
Level 38: Bear Roar; Maul; Hibernate
Level 40: Felid Pounce; Critical Hit; Stalk; Swipe
Level 40+25: Shark Water Breathing; Chomp; Critical Hit; Gorge;
Heightened Smell
Level 40+32: Equus Charge, Kick
Anoint (Unicorn Only)
Impale (Cartazonon/Karkadann)
Level 2x40: Wyvern Fly; Heightened smell;
Breath: lightning, frost
Level 2x40+25: Wurm Tunnel; Slime; Breath: lightning, frost, acid
Level 2x40+32: Griffon Fly; Heightened vision; Shriek, Dive
Level 3x40: Naga Water Breathing; Bite;
Breathe: lightning, acid, frost, gas
Level 3x40+25: Minotaur Gore; Bloodrage; Frenzy
** has the ability to chop with shapeshifting axe
Level 3x40+32: Roc Fly; Heightened vision, Gale, Gust
Level 4x40: Owlbear Swipe: body, head Fly; Heightened vision;
Heightened smell
Level 4x40+25: Cephalopod Constrict; Ink; Lash
Level 4x40+32: Albatross Soar
Level 5x40: Ankheg Spit; Web; Rend
Level 5x40+25: Manticore Sting; Resist Poison; Fly
Level 5x40+32: Spirit worm
Level 6x40: Dragon Bleed; Fly; Heightened smell;
Breathe: lightning, acid, frost, gas, fire
Level 6x40+25: Makara Water Breathing; Chomp; Rough Skin;
Level 6x40+32: Myrmecoleon Toss; Entrap; Rend
Level 7x40: *Phoenix Fly; Cry; Phase; Autoraise
Breathe: fire, duskfire
Level 7x40+25: Muscaliet Cauterize
Breathe: fire
Level 7x40+32: Chimaera Resist Poison; Bash
Breathe: lightning, acid, frost, gas, fire
Level 8x40: Serpent Constrict; Blast
Slime (Unagi)
Level 8x40+10: Basilisk Petrify; Shed; Bite
Level 8x40+20: Hidora Disaster; Extort
Level 8x40+30: Yali Pounce; Roar; Massive critical hit; Swipe; Stalk;
Level 9x40: *Piasa Capture; Entrance;
Blast: arctic, solar

For example, an Albatross can soar between continents now

You'll have to level your druid to play with the forms, though.

P.S. Inquire within, if you want a full 4mb log or more details from it.

[Rynquald]

Thanks for posting that excellent quest summary Taron. Also thanks to the imms for such a fun quest, and everyone who participated.

There's just a couple of things that I'd like to add to the summary, for posterity's sake.

These are Cuvier's reactions to the final ten runestones:

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Ah, the Runestone of the Manticore. Highly
poisonous, these hybrid creatures can sting their prey with their
cruel, scorpion like tails. Large, bat-like wings allow these predators to
take flight.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Can it be? The Runestone of the Ether Worm?
I did not think such creatures existed! These insubstantial creatures
are reputed to exist partially in the plane ethereal, being all but immune
to the stresses of this plane. It is rumored that they are voracious
predators of other inhabitants of the etherplane, but I cannot substantiate
this claim.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'The Runestone of the Makara! You astound
me. These crocodilian creatures have such rough skin that would be
predators often find themselves lacerated horribly by their own aggression.
Powerful jaws and an insatiable appetite allow these amphibious beasts to
chomp on lesser creatures with ease.

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'My, my. The Runestone of the Myrmecoleon!
Lesser learned individuals still refer to these devious predators as
antlions. Intelligent beings, myrmecoleons are known to entrap pray in
large sandtraps as they lie in wait nearby. Serrated mandibles rend
their victims to pieces and toss them aside with astounding strength.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'The Runestone of the Muscaliet! Now there
is an unusual creature. Always burning but never consumed, these rabbit
like fellows are quite mischievious. Known to breathe intense gouts
of fire when bored, these tiny beasts are also known to gore
passerbys with their tiny tusks. I have heard rumors that after they
wound their victims, they would cauterize their wounds, healing them.
Why do they do this? No one knows.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'This is... this is the Runestone of the Chimaera!
Nature has never seen such a fearsome amalgamation of creatures. Able to
breathe a variety of powerful magics, these creatures are not to be
trifled with. Its ram's head has also been known to bash hapless victims
so hard that it sends them reeling.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'Impossible?! The Runestone of the Serpent?!
Amazing! Able to constrict their opponents with their powerful bodies,
few escape an encounter with these serpentine beasts. Depending on the
species, these arcane creatures can unleash potent blasts with their
deadly breath.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'The Runestone of the Basilisk! Do you know what
you have found?! These serpent kings are masters of death! Their mere
gaze have been known to critically wound or turn lesser mortals to stone.
Potent poisons laces their corrosive saliva, empowering their powerful
bite. Should anything ill befall them, basilisks are known to shed their
skin, recovering from almost any ailment.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'The Runestone of the Hidora. Harbingers of
Disaster. Heralds of the Cataclysm. Ruinmongers. Powerful beyond our
mortal comprehension, these multi-headed monstrosities extort their
surrounding to feed their formidable might. Legend tells of their uncanny
ability to create disasters seeming on whim. Pray you never have to
deal with one.'

Cuvier, the Fablesage says 'This is it! The final runestone! The
Runestone of the Yali! So very little is known about these mythical
monstrosities; I had dismissed tales of their existence until now.
Rumored to stalk the shadows, these feline predators supposedly pounce
upon their hapless prey with such force the earth trembles with the impact.
Fearsome roars have often been attributed to these legendary
carnivores, but are often dismissed as just thunder.'

And here's a 'group' from the very end of the quest, captured several rounds before Cuvier was killed:

Group 'Quest' is led by Rynquald and consists of:
(Point) Katie [Wa:4.37 1053hp 201ma 455mv] E.Tempest! | C.Sapphire!
(Front) Taron [Wa:3.27 668hp 10ma 226mv] violet garnet/obsidian
(Front) Mahkra [Wa:3.31 956hp 327ma 296mv] Azurite
(Front) Cizin [Th:8.21 1095hp 21ma 483mv] star sapphires
(Front) Skyv [Mo:5.26 977hp 405ma 365mv] gytopaz
(Front) Sam [Wa:3.33 1002hp 415ma 332mv] azurite/violet garnet
(Front) Dsfren [Wa:6.31 1161hp 74ma 415mv] Emerald/Amethyst
(Front) Kron [Wa:4.26 1040hp 65ma 382mv] ---
(Front) Stab [Th:4.38 919hp 211ma 415mv] jasper/mage4's
(Front) Stun [Wa:4.22 998hp 239ma 360mv] 40539 | webmistress | rhodo
(Front) Wimpy [Ne:6.34 943hp 352ma 321mv] star sapphires!
(Dead) Vortex [Ne:3.27 -36hp 625ma 210mv] ---

(Leader) Rynquald [Ma:4.35 606hp 446ma 268mv] tiger eye
Kaylee [Ma:3.29 551hp 162ma 229mv] tourmaline
Luna [Ba:1.38 746hp 160ma 219mv] Black Ivy Legplates!
Tuk [Ma:6.27 1447hp 343ma 125mv] ---
Element [Ma:3.30 682hp 420ma 219mv] ---
Norks [Cl:3.31 629hp 139ma 220mv] ---
Zuzu [Cl:6.31 827hp 54ma 305mv] :)
Spinky [Th:2.33 726hp 20ma 225mv] ---
Tbg [Cl:2.36 576hp 523ma 207mv] healr #`1
Roku [Dr:3.25 737hp 578ma 236mv] malachite
Shyla [Cl:4.25 736hp 407ma 276mv] Blue Iolite
Laurieds [Wa:0.20 363hp 153ma 149mv] ---
Toxis [Cl:7.26 836hp 450ma 368mv] malachite / light blue iolite
Ferrum [Th:3.32 878hp 9ma 365mv] ---