The Dark and Light Side of Albia

I was about ready to hand the spotlight over to Halvor, but he decided that a nice nap on the island would suit him best! As with many C1 Grendels, he has enjoyed a fairly quiet life in Albia. Although he has spent some time with the Norns, solitude was the happiest time for Halvor. His grayed features brought a little bit of sadness: I could still remember how tiny he was as a baby, and it was nearly time for him to pass on. When it did happen, Halvor would certainly be surrounded with love.

I found Husby all alone. For a moment, I thought she was enjoying the music, until I realized that she was huddled on the ground and shivering. Although she was not ill, it was clear that she was quite cold. A couple of tickles on the nose was just the cure she needed! Husby and I traveled back to the garden, all the while enjoying the sunshine. The temple can be a gloomy area of the world, and Husby was quite excited to find a new area for the time being! Her spirit also perked up as soon as she found Erikstad, Glein, and Leira. Perhaps the bleakness of the lonely life let the coldness creep in.

The outlook for Arnes was still fairly grim. He only moved two or three times during his life, and the fact that he was stuck on the boat meant that I was unable to even offer him a comforting pat on the head. His life force dipped down to around 48%, even though I continued to desperately try to convince him to eat. The worst part occurred just before this photo was taken: Some of the other Norns decided to slap Arnes, who was pretty much defenseless. His learning disability makes it almost impossible for him to perform an action. Dalselv was the main culprit. Apparently bullying exists in Creatures, and I hated how little I could do to protect Arnes.

On a happier note, Kleppstad managed to travel to the settlement all by himself! Halvor also joined him for part of the journey, although it was the Norn who seemed to be on a mission. I caught up with him and decided to reunite him with some of the females. Normally, I would have left him to his own devices. However, Kleppstad was the only male who seemed able to properly take care of himself. Thus, he was the only fertile male in Albia. He had mixed feelings about this position: The smile on his face expressed pure joy, yet he ran away!

Our first stop was the jukebox. Kleppstad was very eager to learn a new word, although he somehow thought that it wanted his honey. He held up his honeypot numerous times and seemed to be talking to the jukebox! At least he avoided turning it on: The incessant music is enough to send every creature running! Kleppstad also got to hang onto his beloved honey. There was no way he wanted to give it up, even if it was for some colorful new object. It was shiny, but that didn’t compare to the lovely ways of honey! Nothing could live up to that sticky goo’s reputation.

Across the world Kleppstad went! When he came across the cable car, I expected to have to fight him for the controls. Amazingly, he remained as still as could be, and flashed me a few quick smiles. Not once did he reach for the lever! I was thrilled to finally have a Norn who could appreciate the landscape and sit still long enough to ride above the garden in style. Normally my Norns love to wrestle with me for control of the various modes of transportation. If Kleppstad could have looked down, he might not have seen too much. The small group of garden Norns had migrated to the incubator, and the nearest Norn was Husby. Ironically, she had returned to the temple and jungle area. I suppose she was just drawn to the area. Some Norns prefer to travel, while others tend to flock to one particular area at different times of their lives.

To my surprise, I noticed a strange sight near the garden: Glein had prematurely aged, and I thought that he was just taking another rest. Upon closer inspection, though, I was astonished to find that this elder was actually Innhavet! He was completely unrelated to Glein, so the early aging process could not have been genetic. This is a documented issue with Creatures 1, though: Some Norns just age more quickly with no explanation. The unfortunate news was that he had never fathered an egg, and now he was getting rather old. Maybe that would make his bucket list!

In a romantic turn of events, Kleppstad and Husby found one another in her formerly lonely, cold temple. After a lot of fruitless kiss popping, I was ready to give up on the idea of another pregnancy. However, nature has its way! Husby knew what to expect, but apparently Kleppstad wanted to see his egg immediately. Hopefully he would be lucky enough to see it soon!