Two Hundred Lottery Jackpots. In a Row.
Sigh.
I simply do not understand, Rita. I’ve double-checked – no, triple checked – my calculations and I can’t find a single fault. The probability that the item got here is 99.99999999999999999993%. Do you see?
That means that there’s a greater chance that the mail arrived than there would be a magical valley full of unicorns right around the corner! Unbelievable… Can it really be that the whole theory of probability is incorrect? That quantum mechanics is just a load of random nonsense? It certainly seems so, however difficult it may to believe it. The evidence is of course completely overwhelming!
What? You think there’s mail now? HA!
Now, now, little Rita… Chances are 0.000000000000000000007% that some mail arrived; you’d have more chance of winning two hundred lottery jackpots in a row than to find a letter in that mailbox! Well, well. Give it a go, maybe you’ll strike it lucky? Hahaha!
While you do that, I’ll pack my bags. It’s time to go home.
Objectives: Check to see if any mail has arrived at Nic Stoneground’s camp.
Rewards: 150 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP, Yellow Winter Beanie Hat
Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)
Check the mail and prove Mrs Smartypants wrong…
WHAT?!!
A letter!!
I don’t believe it! How could this have happened?
This is absolutely the most important thing to have happened since the invention of the wheel! Every single scientific theory needs to be re-examined and re-evaluated.
Hmm? A single explanation, you say?
Haha, well let me tell you Rita, that in my calculations I’ve taken into account everything from black holes to continental drift, so I rather think there’s absolutely not a simple explanation as you suggest.
What do you mean the mailman maybe doesn’t come every day?
…
Wait… What do you mean?
…
Hang on! I’ve got it! Aha!
Exactly! If I factor in the fact that the mailman only ventures into this cold once or twice a week then my calculations are totally exact!
Haha!
Right. Enough fun now, there’s work to do!
Quest completed
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Tat Minus 37 Seconds
Let’s have a look at what it says here…
Aha! Exactly as my calculations predicted.
This is a letter from an entrepreneur who wants to come to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur to peddle his tat. His name is Folke and he says he’s coming by boat to Valedale and will be arriving soon.
Hmm… Now this is just a quick calculation off the top of my head Rita, so you mustn’t be angry if it’s a little off, but I think he’s going to arrive in… 37 seconds.
What are you still doing here, Rita? Ride out and meet him! Hurry! I need to calculate the best place for a ‘souvenir’ shop here at the camp, so I don’t want to be disturbed.
Objectives: Ride out to meet Folke by the pier in Valedale.
Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Meet Folke on the small dock next to the bridge in Valedale.
Good day to you!
Are you Nic Stoneground?
No? Your name is Rita?
Right. It says quite clearly here in my letter that a Mr Stoneground would meet me here at the pier today; are you sure you’re not him?
Yes, yes, okay, I suppose it doesn’t matter! I am in any case here to open a premier gift shop in the newly discovered Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. It sounded so incredibly exciting, not to mention lucrative, that I just had to come here and introduce my fabulous conversation pieces to a new audience!
I’m so excited! I think I’d better dance now!
Hoop-boopety-boop! Shoop-a-doop-woop!!
Oh, spiderbabies!! NOOOO!!
My luggage just fell into the river!!
Quest completed
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Folke’s Flyaway Store
HEEEELLLLPPP!!
Goods overboard!!
What?! You’re going to pick it all up?! If you’re going to do that, then hurry! My entire shop is in those boxes; if they’re destroyed, there won’t be a souvenir shop!
Objectives: Find Folke’s goods shipment which floated away down the Silversong River.
Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
Ride along the river bank and pick up the crates that floated away, then return to Folke.
Yippee! You found my precious commodities!
Quest completed
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Folke’s Hidden Dino Journey
Okay, okay, now I’ll be more careful, I promise. How are we going to get to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, by the way?
I’m going to be on horseback?! Oh my, is that even possibly? He looks a bit dangerous…
What’s that? Icerunner is the nicest horse in the world, you say? Okay then, I suppose I’ll just climb up…
Oof…
Ugh!
There! Just don’t ride too fast, what if I feel off and hit my head or something?!
Objectives: Ride to Nic Stoneground’s camp with Folke and his consignment.
Rewards: 35 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Take the usual route to the camp. You can take the elevator if you so choose too. Deliver Folke to the area near Professor Einstein, and he will automatically disembark.
Oh my, oh my! What a ride! Well, I suppose at least I’m alive!
Quest completed
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Best Spot in Camp!
Hmm… I was led to believe that this place would be swarming with tourists. Where exactly are they? I can’t see them.
Umm…
I’m not entirely sure this is such a great idea after all…
You think I should talk to Professor Einstein first? Okay, I suppose someone with a name like that could probably explain everything.
Objectives: Talk to Professor Einstein.
Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP
Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)
I’m sure she’s had it all perfectly planned out according to proper data analysis….
Welcome to you, Folke. We’ve been expecting you, and you’ll be simply thrilled to learn that I’ve prepared everything down to the very finest detail. My calculations show that your tat shop – I mean, luxury souvenir and conversation piece emporium – will make a profit of 83% in its first year. My calculations also show that the absolute best place for your shop is over there. Right where I’m pointing.
Oh my, no! How ludicrous, I won’t be taking questions. Please. Just stand yourself where I’m pointing.
A little more to the left…
Take a step back…
Exactly there.
Quest completed
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A Great Spot for Folke’s Shop
So Rita, you can very well take care of the details and make sure Folke gets started with his store. Since I made the mistake of not counting the irregular mail delivery, we’re lagging behind in our plans. So let me get to work. Give Folke a big welcome and tell him that I expect him to pay his first rent in 4.7 days.
Objectives: Talk to Folke.
Rewards: 5 Jorvik Shillings, 5 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
Speak to Folke by his new shop location.
Hmm…
Yes, that Professor Einstein certainly seems to know what she’s talking about, Rita. This place really feels perfect. I’ll probably stay here for at least a little while and see how it goes.
Quest completed
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Don’t Quit ‘Til the Shop’s Fit!
Could you help me carry my cratefuls of goods here? They’re such heavy boxes that I’m not sure I could do it alone.
Objectives: Help Folke carry his crates to the location for the shop.
Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
Pick up each box, one by one, and place them near Folke. Speak to him again when you have moved all of the boxes.
NOTE!
For some reason, the sound effect of the boxes dropping, is stupid loud, so if you have the game through headphones, I would advice turning down your volume for this quest.
Thanks! Now it’s time to get started with a little shop-fitting. It’ll be done in o time, just you wait and see!
Quest completed
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I Saw the Sign and It Opened Up the Shop…
This is going to be perfect, Rita. My luxury souvenir conversation pieces will sell like hotcakes! Professor Einstein herself said it’s a guaranteed success and if you can’t trust a person of that name, who can you trust?
Anyway, thanks for all your help Rita. You know what? You can have the honor of taking down the sign that lets everyone know the shop is closed… That’s all there is left to do before I can open my shop.
Objectives: Take down the sign saying the shop is closed.
Rewards: 75 Jorvik Shillings, 50 XP
Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)
Take down the closed sign and let’s get this thing going!
There we go! Now I’ll just stand here in my shop and wait for the customers to flock to my luxury conversation pieces. Come by and say hello sometime soon, won’t you? Wish me luck! Have a lovely day, Rita!
Quest completed
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Water, Water Everywhere… Or…
So, now we’ve got Folke on-site selling his souvenirs and his tat, that’s one less job on the to-do list!
Ah, now we arrive at the next point in our plan: basic facilities. Since the average temperature in this inhospitable and extremely unsuitable place for research is so far below freezing, it doesn’t matter that we’re surrounded by water. You surely know I’m talking about all the snow and ice around here.
We need water in liquid form, and luckily I was far-sighted enough to have brought with me one of my inventions, the Hydro-Detecto 2000! With this incredible piece of genius, even the most uneducated amateur is sure to find a water source within mere minutes. When the water source is suitably spotted, you just have to drill into the ground until the water starts to spray up!
Go ahead, Rita, here’s the Hydro-Detecto 2000 and a climate-relevant drill.
So. Press the big red button to start the Hydro-Detecto 2000.
Right, now it’s on. Good, good.
Now, hold it just in front of you and listen. The closer you are to a water source, the more noise the Hydro-Detecto 2000 makes. When you’re close enough, it will show you exactly where to drill. Simple, huh?
It should not take you more than two, maximum, three minutes to find water, so get moving! We’ve much to do and can’t afford more delays!
Objectives: Listen to the sound coming from the Hydro-Detecto 2000. The closer you are to a water source, the more sound it’ll make. When you’ve found the source, use the drill.
Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
Ride around the area marked on your map. It make take a few passes for you to find the source. The orange sparkles will pop up exactly where the source is. Once you have found it, dismount your horse and use the drill from your inventory.
Return to Professor Einstein when you are done.
Excellent, Rita! Now we have a water source, we can proceed with the other critical parts of our plan.
What do you mean, no water?
The Hydro-Detecto 2000 didn’t work?! Impossible! You must’ve done something wrong in some way. Wait, so you’re saying that you did exactly as I showed you and drilled in the place it told you to drill?
Most unusual… Perhaps I should take a look at the device and try some troubleshooting.
Quest completed
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A Facility Worth Occupying
Well, this is just typical.
If we don’t find water, we can’t continue with the next step in our plan. As luck would have it, I’ve found a temporary solution: a project we can occupy ourselves with until the Hydro-Detecto 2000 works properly.
We’re going to build a place where riders can take care of their horses: a Horse Care Facility, to be exact. I’ve been told that horses are very popular around this part of Jorvik, so it should work in attracting a few extra tourists.
You’re a rider, so you can help me with this project. I must admit that biology isn’t my strongest suit, so with your help, we’ll be able to build something that’s both practical and effective.
So, if you get started by picking a few things up for me: one hundred steel girders, three tons of concrete, and 6139 nails. Hmm? Where would you get that?
Ohhhh, of course! We’re in the middle of nowhere… The edges of the most obscure and outlying corners of the known universe. Ah well, we’ll just have to use whatever we can find here instead.
Let me think…
…
Aha! I’ve got it!
Rita, fir branches! A satisfactory substitute for the concrete floor I’d first considered. Get LOADS of fir branches! Go!
Objectives: Gather fir branches for Professor Einstein.
Rewards: 15 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Ride around the area and pick up all of the fir branches that you find. Return to Professor Einstein when you have found enough.
Was that all you could find? Sigh. Ah well, you’ll just have to find more later.
Quest completed
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Gather Logs to Build With
After having rationally and logically gone through all the alternatives, I’ve decided that the best and most suitable replacement for steel girders are logs gathered from the surrounding wilderness. They obviously need to be the right size, so you should only bring back units of the correct dimensions.
So, now that’ I’ve shown you how they should look, you can toodle off and look for logs Off you go, Rita.
Objectives: Gather logs for Professor Einstein.
Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Pick up the logs that are scattered around the camp, then return to Professor Einstein.
Is that all the logs you could find? Hmm, suppose you’ll just have to get some more later.
Quest completed
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Einstein’s Mail Calculations
Now that I’ve taken into account the oddly sporadic mail delivery times to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, probability calculations are now giving more realistic results Now the chance that there’ll be more letters from interested parties is 54%, enough that it should be very interesting to investigate the mailbox.
I myself can’t step away from the fire without my body’s freezing process becoming unstoppable. That’s scientific fact. You’re better equipped for this awful climate, so it must then, logically, be you who performs the task. So, away with you now.
Objectives: Check if any mail has arrived to Nic Stoneground’s camp.
Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings 20 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
Seriously, I could almost do this in my sleep by now…
No mail? Ah well. We’ve got our project to construct a horse care facility to be getting on while we wait.
Quest completed
Return to Professor Einstein when you have completed Phase 2.
