I've started this thread because I think there are many simple questions that doesn't deserve a thread to themselves, that can be answered in a response or two.

So here's mine:

What's the difference between absynthe and absinthe? My fountain spews out both. Which is the cool dreamweaver one?

Absinthe is the dreamweaver buff. Absynthe gives you the smiley faces of DOOM.

Why is the Dwarven Kingdom 'splintered'? What happened to it during the Taint Wars?

rereading right now. The king of the dwarves was killed in the Taint wars and then Angkrag was destroyed by the taint. All this was happening as the Dwarf kingdoms revolted against Hallifax. I think Angkrag was the dwarf capitol, so when it was destroy then they had to choose Southgard or Rockholm and, well the rest is history?

...Dreamweavery buff one gives smilies.

I thought it made you drunk.

Re: Absi/ynthe

They're the same to my knowledge, just different spelling. Those things that come from the fountain were coded in the same way they were elsewhere, in Aetolia or somewhere, because it also gives kawhe (which I heard is from somewhere else).

Re: Dwarven Kingdom

Angkrag was a fresh mining colony, yet unclaimed by anyone so I really don't think it was said capital. Dwarven Kingdom was trying to claim it on the premise that everything in the mountains is theirs whilst Hallifax fought valiantly for at least a share of the resources. They didn't actually get into a fight over it, just discussions, but then taint swept over Angkrag and pretty much solved the problem for them. The king was, indeed, slain by a 'Taint Army', but one not lead by anyone, it was more or less the mob that gathered at the edges of the cloud.

Makes you wonder though... where -was- said kingdom in fact? Definitely not Rockholm since the taint didn't reach so far to the north. So probably Southguard as the help file reads: Ruled by the Beldame Ethilwen Varrim, only descendent of the last dwarven king who died during the Taint Wars. So either it was Southguard or we have yet another place to discover in the future in the mountains. The defenders were 'dispersed' so it is likely they just had to flee altogether and found the two separate kingdoms.

Most likely someone who has done either side of the honour quest knows more.

Does anyone have any detailed information on the Catacombs of the Dead?

Akui has some IC thoughts about it, but I would like to know how valid they are. I know that it is on the ethereal plane, and was used by the Holy Celestian Empire's Ur'guard as a strike base that let them launch attacks anywhere. Now it is full of various undead in various states of mindlessness.

I was wondering if there was anything more concrete on its origins and such.

I distinctly remember experimenting with absynthe that someone foisted off on me (around last Christmas, with the presents and vials and whatnot). Not only did it not give me the dreamweaver boosts, it gave me a plague of smiley faces that persisted even during dreamform.

According to the histories, the Catacombs of the Dead were created by the Vernal God Urlach, Master of Death. These were used by both Urlach and Klangratch in getting their armies across Lusternia quickly. The Catacombs of the Dead were just one small part of the network of gates Urlach had created. I'm assuming it is just on the Ethereal plane for mechanical reasons, as they didn't want to have to go to the trouble of making an entirely new plane just for the Catacombs. Technically, I think they are just on their own plane, but also linked to the Prime Material.

Yeah, I did the same thing to Alban. Oops!

Jeeze, I remember that. At the time I didn't even know there was two different kinds.

Sorry if this is a dumb question... but is there life outside the Basin of Life?

And... do the rivers empty into the seas, or do the seas empty out into the rivers?

Wasn't there that event where someone from Jojobo or some other jungle up north came into the Basin?

Rivers empty into the seas from the mouths of the rivers in the mountains, I believe.

Yes. In fact, I believe there is a place on the mountain where you can see other things outside the basin.

Has anyone confirmed how many years after the Taint Wars Estarra came through?

Why is it, that teachers teach, and farmers farm, but fingers don't fing, and grocers don't groc?

Just sayin'.

Mouths are where rivers come out.

Rivers always flow downhill, so their source is in the mountains and their mouths are at the seas.

I don't think there is a exact date but I thought it was about 100 years after the Fall of Celest.

In a play, can one person have more than one role?