Two nights ago, I decided I wanted a special bow. I thought it might help me with the new goal I have set for myself: Killing a grizzly bear on my own. I didn't want anything too amazing… I only wanted to spend about 200 gps on it. But I wanted something better than what I could make or buy at an Archery Shop.

I asked Eedwick and Hearding if they would keep their eyes out for one. Eedwick the Helpful said he had one he would just give me. I told him that I had money now… not a lot, but certainly enough to pay him for a bow. He wouldn't let me. It was well-worn, but it was Free. It added 10 points to my archery score. I was excited. :>

The next night, Davian, Hearding, and I went hunting together. I wanted to hunt with others, because I was becoming tired of killing deer. We killed *lots* of stuff - but no deer. It's way more fun with friends.

While I did have lots of fun with Davian and Hearding, I didn't get much closer to my other goal: Becoming The Fair Janey. My bow is so slow, that it was very rare that I got a kill shot. They let me take most of the stuff though. They got the fame, I got the money. The thing is… I can always get money (I have a sewing kit). But it's terribly difficult for me to get fame. I can't kill fame-giving monsters on my own, and my weapon is too slow for me to get much fame when others are around. Oh well. I guess it'll happen eventually.

Hearding had to leave, so Davian and I walked back to Britain together. A guy came up and asked if we had seen any player killers about. His name was Iolo. I said no… and asked him if he wanted to walk back to Britain with us. He said okay. On the way there, I told Davian and Iolo that I was going to go look for another Special Bow for backup. Iolo said, "What kind of bow?" I said, "Just a bow. Nothing too spectacular/expensive though." He says, "How much do you want to spend?" I said, "No more than 500." He left to check his bank box.

He came back a bit later and said that he only had Crossbows… but would I like one of those? I said sure, that I would buy one to save for later. My bow is already slow enough, I can't switch to an even slower weapon yet. So I bought a Crossbow from Iolo. I thought this was totally hilarious, so I told my Bridge Partner from Wisconsin, and he said: "You actually MET Iolo?? That is soooo cool!!" I said, "Well, I don't think it was THE Iolo. He had brown hair, not gray. But yes, I bought a Crossbow from Iolo." Hehehehee…

So I went around to a bunch of vendors, and couldn't find one. I was standing at a tent south of Britain, and I saw that he had Magical Leather Leggings. Another guy came up. His name was Keith the Bowman. I said, "Keith, is this your vendor?" He said, "Aye." I said, "I want those leggings. :>" I was going to ask him how to buy from a player-vendor, since I had never done it before. But before I could… he had taken both pairs of magic leather leggings, and the magic leather gloves that were also in there, and opened a trade window.

I asked him how much he wanted for them… and he said I could have them. For Free. I thanked him very much… and told him I was on the way to Skara Brae (ooh that rhymes) to try to sell my studded bras. He asked if I was a tailor, and I said, "I suppose. I don't really know what I am yet." He said, "I have heard tailors can make leather hats now." I said, "Oooh - really?? Wait here… I will bring one to you!"

I quickly ran to find a hide-bearing animal… and came upon a Panther. I didn't know if I could kill a Panther, but I didn't want Keith to have to wait for me for too long. I killed it in about 5 shots. Which is pretty good, for me. :) I skinned it, and tailored a helm, just to make sure I could do it. Would be kind of embarrassing to have all those hides and not be able to make *one* helm, but stranger things have happened.

I ran back to Keith the Bowman, and gave him my first leather helm. :) He thanked me and said it looked much better than his feathered cap, and was much more comfortable than a metal helm. He said: "Have you ever tried chopping trees wearing a plate helm? It's hard on the neck!"

I asked him about how to buy from a player vendor. So he explained it to me, but cautioned me that some players aren't always honest about their items. He told me that his bows now have a Maker's Mark, so that I could be sure that his bows were Grandmaster-Made bows. To prove his point, he quickly carved a bow out of a nearby tree, and gave it to me. He said that he restocked his vendor every day, and sold his GM bows at 100 gps each, which I thought was a fair price. He also said he tries to buy all his items from Player Vendors, because it encourages crafts. Good idea, Keith.

Then I told him I was on the lookout for a Special Bow. He said that was a little trickier, since if I wanted to know about something that didn't have a maker's mark, I would need to use Item ID and Arms Lore. Keith told me where some honest and honorable vendors were. I wrote them down. We parted soon after, and I continued my Quest For A Special Bow.

Keith is Good. I hope I see him again. :)

I went to a loooot of vendors, but all anybody had was Crossbows. Crossbow of this… Crossbow of that… but then I found a Special Bow. I Arms Lored it, and it was looking pretty battered. Good thing I checked. It took a while, too, because my Arms Lore skill is only at 11.8 and refuses to move. A few vendors later, way down the coast, I finally found one. A Brand New, Substantial, Surpassingly Accurate Bow of Ruin. For 175 gps. I snapped it up. :>

I've been using Keith's bow (which works great, too!) since yesterday. I don't want to use the Special Bow until I have a backup one. And Keith stocks his vendor daily... so now I know where to get another Bow Crafted By Keith The Bowman when I need one. And in case any of you were wondering... it is a tent NE of the Britain Moongate... on the corner. :)

I wonder what will happen to Keith when they take away the tents.