Mambo Equinox

Spring came late to Aden after a hard winter. The autumnal Wrath of Gran Kain was still fresh in the memories of the townsfolk, and the winter had brought such horrors as Abyss Lake, the Elemental Ruins, and the Sanctuary of Evil. The people of Aden needed a holiday to revive their spirits and restore their hope.

Colbert, Captain of the Golden Team in Giran, met with Grand Chamberlain Orville to plan a celebration for Men and Elves throughout Aden. Tradition held that the Spring Rabbit would visit all the hens and ducks, and he would magic their eggs into Spring Festival Eggs. But Orville had heard rumors that the Rabbit could not be found. Worse, Colbert had received many petitions from the townsfolk declaring that their prized hens and ducks had vanished seemingly overnight! Was some dark spirit trying to destroy the hopes of the good people of Aden?

Colbert nominated Barrett, an up-and-coming soldier, as the Spring Festival Captain, and tasked him to find the Spring Rabbit, Mambo. Colbert spoke frankly to Barrett. If he could not find the Rabbit, Barrett must instead find a way to locate the hens and ducks, so that the people could hold their celebration.

Barrett gathered his gear, including as many haste potions as he could carry, and set out across the lands of Aden.

Barrett searched high and low for any sign of the Mambo Rabbit. In Werldern Town, they said orcs chased him into the Forest of Mirrors, where a Dire Bear got him. In Heine, they said Ramia came out of the second floor of the Heine Caves and poisoned him, or maybe a Turtle Dragon snapped him up. Passing through Windawood to Woodbec, Barrett heard stories of wild dogs and Dire Bats, all chasing the poor rabbit. The knight traveled to Gludin Town, where apparently a Lycanthrope turned him into a wererabbit. Barrett sailed to Talking Island, where some said a Stone Golem squished him, while others said a Dwarf stuffed him, and yet others said he died valiantly in a death match. Barrett even passed by the Elven Village, where a pretty elf girl sang to him a tale of Pan claiming the Mambo Rabbit as his own son. But in Kent, they said Kurtz skewered him one night and fried him up.

Barrett traveled to Aden, where the peasants swore Cerenis turned the rabbit into a statue so that spring would never come.

He traveled to Ivory Tower Town, where the rabbit supposedly joined a pack of Saint Bernards in their fight with Snow Tigers, but all were lost in an snowstorm of Yetis and Ice Men, pouring from the Crystal Cavern.

He traveled to Singing Island, where a merchant swore the rabbit had become a pet of a Succubus Queen.

He even traveled to Orc Town, where Lyra told him the rabbit had sailed away for a life of randy adventures. Barrett had a final drink, and planned to return home come morning. Although his heart was heavy, he had no answer for his Captain.

Barrett woke early, before the night’s fog had lifted, and found himself wandering the piers and docks to clear his head before commencing on the long journey home. He was there when a ship loomed up through the mist to ease into port. He could only make out half of the ship’s name: Tricksy… the rest was lost. He wanted to ask the crew if they’d seen either a rabbit on the high seas or any sign of hens or ducks in faraway lands, when with a giant WHUMP! someone from the ship landed next to him, shaking the planks and nearly bowling him over and into the chill waves.

Barrett reached for his silver sword, but a heavy hand caught him and sat him squarely against some crates. The figure was large – taller than Barrett, and massively rotund, but covered up in a heavy cloak. Barett saw a face full of white or silver hair hidden beneath a hood.

The figure seemed to be laughing silently, for his whole body was shaking. But he didn’t seem to be a threat.

Barrett relaxed slightly, and drew himself up. “Pardon, bosun, have you traveled far?”

The figure nodded sharply, and for a moment, something – a scarf? A long braid of hair? A floppy ear? – tried to poke out of his hood.

“I am in search of the Spring Rabbit of Giran. If you have traveled far, perhaps you have seen him?”

The large figure shook his head, and his cloak slipped a little, revealing a chest thick with white hair and an orange vest. He quickly pulled his cloak back into place with a heavy grunt.

“Then perhaps you have seen or heard of any of the good birds of Aden?”

Again the figure shook his head, but this time when the cloak slipped, Barrett glimpsed some enormous staff strapped beneath the cloth.

Barrett sighed, “Without the rabbit, without our feathered friends, the townsfolk can have no Spring Equinox. I must return home and let my lords know. I hope the rabbit is all right, but … it’s as if some dire power wants to ensure spring will never come to Aden.”

As Barrett turned from the docks, the figure seemed to ponder for a long minute. Suddenly, he sprang across the pier with another loud THUMP and caught Barrett before he vanished into the fog.

The hood bent so close to Barrett’s face his nose was tickled by the figure’s whiskers. He could only see one twinkling eye, the other was dark. When the figure spoke, his breath smelled green and minty.

“Mate, doncha worry about your festival. I know ‘your’ rabbit, wherever he is, is doing what he wants. More fun than sitting at home and painting eggs, at any rate. As for the quackers, let’s say I have a … a friend … who knows a prayer or two to Maphr and Eva. I’ll … eh, he’ll … put in a good word for you. I’m sure if you looked hard enough in the wilderness, or even recruited some hardy adventurers, you could find all the eggs you need. Go home and see if I’m lyin’. I think you’ll be happy, Mambo will be happy, and with some luck all the people of Aden will be happy.”

Barrett had scarcely nodded when the figure leapt back into the fog and was gone.

With a strange sense, Barrett collected himself and traveled back to Giran. He even spotted a few hens on the way back home, and rescued them from a number of hungry foxes. He knew what he had to do, and took up a spot in Giran Square. He would call on the good, heroic men and women and elves, and even willing dark elves, who passed his way and ask for their aid. With their help, they would properly celebrate the equinox and usher spring into Aden.

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Detail

Join us on the Depardieu, Ken Rauhel, and Lands of Aden servers for The Mambo Equinox Event!

MAMBO EQUINOX PHASE I: SPRING FESTIVAL (April 13 - April 20)

The Spring Festival Captain takes his place in Giran Square and asks adventurers to search for the Lost Hens and Ducks. Player can bring him back Fresh Eggs (laid by Lost Hens and Ducks), and trade them for Brave Spring Festival Eggs (acts like Potion of Bravery), Wafer-Like Spring Festival Eggs (acts like Elven Wafer), or Mind-Clearing Spring Festival Eggs (acts like Potion of Mana).

NOTE: These Spring Festival Eggs can be used by any class.

Or, a number of Fresh Eggs can be exchanged for an Amulet of Rabbitkind (polymorphs character into Spring Rabbit).

The ducks and hens are good natured birds, and killing them will result in an alignment penalty.

Beware of the foxes out to get the wandering ducks and hens!

**NOTE: Player can trade Amulets of Rabbitkind and Fresh Eggs! Be aware that these items WILL BE REMOVED at the end of the event. Keep this in mind when considering buying these items from other players.**

MAMBO EQUINOX PHASE II: EGG RAISING EVENT (April 14, noon - April 16, 11:59 pm, Central time)

Two new figures, the Hatcher and Caregiver, appear in following towns:

- Gludin Town
- Orc Town
- Windawood
- Silver Knight Town
- Giran
- Heine
- Ivory Tower Town
- Aden City

Visit the Caregiver to receive one Egg (1 per character). Characters must be level 10 to receive an Egg, and Eggs cannot be traded or deleted. The character will also receive a Time Card, which can be used to see in which interval your Egg last received care.

• At every interval, a character can visit the Caregiver to give care to Egg. There is no charge to apply care to the Egg.

- Care can be give to your Egg once every interval. There are 20 intervals total, each is 3 hours long.
- Each time the Egg receives care, it improves in quality
- When first receiving your Egg or getting your Egg back from the Nursery, you must wait until the next interval before applying care to your Egg.
- There are 10 levels of quality (from Hollow Shell, level 1, to Glowing Mambo Egg, level 10)
- If a character misses 4 intervals, the Egg drops one level in quality (eventually becoming a Rotten Egg). Longer periods of neglect result in a greater degradation in the Egg's quality.
- Rotten Eggs cannot receive any more care, but they can be hatched

• Eggs can be stored in the Egg Nursery to prevent loss of quality

- Talk to the Caregiver to put the Egg in the Nursery
- Characters receive an Egg Nursery Key as receipt
- There is no charge to store or recover the Egg from the Nursery

• Hatcher will offer to hatch Eggs after 20 intervals

- Higher quality Eggs have better odds of turning into more rare items