Hello faithful readers. And welcome to Phase 2 of Trion’s Rift anniversary, The Parade of the Dragons. Last week, the Carnival started quietly, a few early traders and stalls opening up outside Sanctum and in Shimmersand. But this week things really kick off. There are more games, more people at the carnivals, and more prizes to win. Well, I say prizes, but what I mean is a prize ticket. You have to save up enough to be able to buy anything. I’m aiming for a mount. But you all know my luck with mounts. I’ll probably only be able to afford it on the last day of the carnival.
The main quest for this week involves helping upgrade the Guardian balloons for the parade. Also, I'm supposed to gather 'Guardian Might Cores' from somewhere called 'Parade gathering areas'. Once I've got them I've to take them to Aenycha outside Sanctum.
Right. Let's get on that, shall we?
Er… problem is, I have no idea what it all means. The information is a little sparse.
I travel around a bit, searching for these parade gathering areas, but eventually give up and take to the font of all knowledge. The interweb.
Ah, I see. Got it now. It seems that you have to check your map. The light blue shield shows where there is a dragon parade currently traveling across the land. You have to make your way over there, post haste, and follow along behind the parade, feeling all patriotic and stuff.
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Follow me, everyone. I am the King of this parade.
As these parades pass by certain gathering locations, (sometimes indicated by Guardian or Defiant flags), crowds of cheering onlookers will appear. While they're all cheering, crystals appear on the ground. These are the Might Cores. Loot them and then right click on one. This will give you a quest. (Basically, you have to take it back to Aenycha. Once you do that, she asks you to collect as many more of the cores as you can.)
I'll get back to collecting cores later on. Right now, I decide to head back to Shimmersand, to see if the Carnival there has picked up a bit. Turns out it has.
Remember last week I was saying I'd love a Mario Kart type mini game? Well, Trion obviously took my words to heart, seeing as I'm such an important person, and spent the past week furiously programming. (This is all untrue. Ed.) Because one of the new games in the Carnival is a mounted race around the shoreline.
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"Are you sure he's OK? He seems a little off color."
You can choose from three mounts, and the aim is to make it through the checkpoints and back again before your time runs out. A word of warning, though. I started out on my first race blissfully unaware of any danger. That is, until I accidentally ran through a crowd of Defiant NPCs who took umbrage to being trampled with Casper the friendly ghost horse. You can probably guess how that worked out. Hint: it didn't. I died.
Next up, a fashion show. Yes, you heard me right. Caedryn was busy wandering around the Carnival, minding his own business, when he was approached by a tall, well-dressed woman. Her name? Madam Lawler. Madam Lawler has obviously seen what a fine figure of a dwarf Caedryn is and she has asked him to take part in her fashion show. What can I say? The woman has taste.
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Caedryn practices his "Blue Steel" look.
There's also the chance of a little quest work, but it's definitely not for the low level. Unless you have a group with you. One of the Carnival security officers, a man called Kenuvan, has asked me to take care of a conman called Monte. Seems he's been scamming the carnival-goers and has amassed a tidy fortune. But Kenuvan can't take care of Monte in the way he'd prefer to, so wants you to go in 'heavy-handed' so to speak. Basically, he wants me to find the stolen goods and kill Monte. Heavy.
I try. I really do. But there are these vicious velociraptor type beasties that won't let me get close. I need to wait for a group to head in, then I'll join in and take all the cred-- I mean, I'll join in and help.
I give up and head onto the boat again for the last new game. And this one seems more to Caedyn's taste. A satyr called Bylhix challenges me to finish 15 pints of carnival wine before he timer expires. Pah. Easy.
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Bring. It. On.
Caedyn gets started, except, er, it's not as easy as it first seemed. After about ten bottles, Caedryn is feeling a bit… tipsy.
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Urgh... never again.
Caedryn fails that game, and decides to call it a day. His liver needs time to recuperate. A bit of light travel and collecting some more cores might be the answer. That, and a lot of water.
