There and Back Again: Chapter 2

A Novel written by the legendary Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, recounting the tales of intrigue, excitement, mystery, adventure, and combat he has shared with Gandalf The Gray.

My next quest with Gandalf began on a cool, and unseasonably sunny, winter day. We embarked upon a fast-paced mission in a new land.

As is Gandalf's custom, advance forces were sent out to quell uprisings in the neighboring native lands. Gandalf entered into an alliance with two of his neighbors: Yoshi-san and Nitrox. Gandalf also made peace with two neighbors, Kafka and Creatrix. Peace with Kafka (who shared borders with both Gandalf and Yoshi) came only because Gandalf's offer of peace to RyanG was rejected. Thus, the plan became for Gandalf, to fight through BjorksMaster to RyanG and to fight through Nerds Revenge to Creatrix, and for Yoshi-san, to fight through Kafka to RyanG.

Initial battles proceeded nicely against BjorksMaster and NerdsRevenge, but Kafka was able to stall Yoshi-san for some time. Bjorks proved quite adept with the starpiercer spell, but the combined attack from Gandalf and RyanG proved to be too much. RyanG and Gandalf agreed to offer Bjorks survival, but Bjorks declared that he would fight Gandalf to the death, and Gandalf granted his wish.

Creatrix and Endor began pushing heavily on Nerds Revenge at the same time that RyanG, along with the help of Czar, began a full assault against Gandalf. Yoshi was still stalled against Kafka, so Gandalf did his best to block RyanG's attack, while concentrating on Czar.

Friends and Foes

Ally	Started	Status	Outcome
Yoshi-san	Cycle 1	Alliance	Fought side-by-side the entire game
Nitrox	Cycle 1	Alliance	No common foes, but fury-farmed the entire game
Creatrix	Cycle ?	Alliance	Fought together against Nerds Revenge and Czar
Krynn	Cycle ?	Common Opponent	Helped fight RyanG
Snort	Cycle ?	Common Opponent	Helped fight RyanG
xcaliber	Cycle ?	NAP	Agreed to peace when borders met
Ladyblu	Cycle ?	NAP, Common Opponent	Agreed to peace when borders met, then helped fight RyanG and Momster

Opponent	Started	Ended	Outcome
BjorksMaster	Cycle 5	Cycle ?	Eliminated
Nerds Revenge	Cycle ?	Cycle ?	Eliminated by Creatrix, Endor, and WTBH
RyanG	Cycle ?	Cycle ?	Agreed to peace and Common Opponent

Conclusion

This two-tick-per-day game was intense! The game started with a three-way alliance between Yoshi-san, Nitrox, and I. BjorksMaster was my first opponent - and insisted we fight to the death, even after RyanG and I offered him a survival region. RyanG declared war on me, also, and Czar joined in the fight. Yoshi came to aide me after getting through Kafka, and I held off RyanG while dealing with Czar. Creatrix joined our alliance, and helped me finish off Czar, while Yoshi and I concentrated on RyanG. We temporarily took the upper hand, but RyanG's Wooden Attack eventually began to wear us down. We were competing against a rival alliance - RyanG, Momster, and WaterDios, and that made for some interesting battles. Eventually, Nitrox wore down Momster, other friends joined our effort (Jodyman01, Ladyblu, Krynn, and Snort), and Yoshi and I made peace with RyanG, in order to attack Shadowjack. Creatrix cast out, and the Incinerak Alliance won the day.