Well, that’s that. I’ve put my affairs in order and sorted everything out, and so from today I will no longer be writing here.

Instead I will be at my new website, which is still currently under construction, but at the very least you can expect me to carry over my fiction writing and start up some sort of blog. The content won’t be about WoW, but if you think you might enjoy whatever I end up doing then feel free to head over and watch that space. This space will remain here, but won’t be updated.

Goodbye then, dear readers, and thank you for taking the time to listen to my ramblings over the past few years. It would have been nice to hit 300 posts (this is number 269) but what can you do? I’ve still been here a lot longer than I ever thought I would be (April 2009 to present) and I’ve enjoyed every minute! I hope you have too.

Best wishes,

Veliaf.

DHM visits per month. Click to enlarge.

Some stats about my blog that you might be interested to read (correct as of the time of posting):

• 346 actual comments
• 8964 spam comments
• 719 tags
• My busiest ever month was December 2009, with 7410 views in the month
• My busiest ever day was Tuesday 8th December 2009, with 381 views
• In 2009, 17,022 people viewed the site, compared to 45,879 in 2010
• That’s 62,901 total views

Vel.

***

The horse walked slowly into the sleeping village. It was led by a slim, dark-haired woman robed in a black-edged purple dress. Draped across the horse’s saddle lay a man wrapped in a torn and bloody traveling cloak. He was obviously seriously injured, with a wide gash across his forehead, and was not moving.

The woman stopped outside the stables at the inn and tethered the horse before turning to check on the man. She then briefly disappeared inside before returning with a stable-hand, who lifted down the injured traveler and carried him into the inn. The woman made to follow but paused in the doorway, glancing left at the forest’s edge. She was certain something had moved in the corner of her eye, but the trees were still. She frowned and continued inside.

***

Overhead, a shadow shifted imperceptibly. But the fox could neither see nor hear anything. Growling dismissively, it continued its search.

For some time now, I have been deliberating as to whether or not I will continue blogging here at der Hexenmeister, and unfortunately I have now come to a decision – I will not.

While you can read about the issue in greater detail in my earlier post, the main problem is that for me, as well as many of you no doubt, this blog is intrinsically linked with World of Warcraft, a game and community with which I am no longer involved. I simply wouldn’t feel comfortable with changing the entire theme of the blog and associating the name with another topic, but I am likewise unhappy with the blog as it currently exists; in a rather subsistent state. The only real option that then remains is to wind things up and move on.

With that said, you can still rest assured about several things. Firstly, DHM will stay exactly where it is – while no new content will appear after I leave, I will retain ownership of the blog and make sure that all the existing content remains online and available. I’d like to think that at least some of the posts I’ve written might be interesting to someone in the future! Secondly, I will not be giving up blogging. I don’t know where, when, or on what topic, but I will continue to blog – and that will include more fictional writing, such as the continuation of my Memoirs series. More details will follow.

I won’t be finishing things off here immediately – there are one or two more posts I’d like to write yet – but it won’t be long. Stay tuned for more information, anyway.

Vel.

P.S. In case you hadn’t guessed, no Weekly Warlock Wind-Up this week.

FENCE   HITCH

TOAST   DELAY

STEMS   TONIC

TASTY   PIECE

PAPER   SHORE

GLAND   SLATE

But what was this word? Find out after the break…

Well, here’s what you should have put in for each row:

• P (giving pence and pitch)
• R (giving roast and relay)
• I (giving items and ionic)
• N (giving nasty and niece)
• C (giving caper and chore)
• E (giving eland and elate)

So the word to be read downwards was PRINCE! Perhaps now the title of these puzzle posts makes more sense, hm?

I’ll see you on Monday for the next puzzle.

Vel.

P.S. Yes, eland is a word!

FENCE   HITCH

TOAST   DELAY

STEMS   TONIC

TASTY   PIECE

PAPER   SHORE

GLAND   SLATE

Best of luck! If you’re good, I’ll tell you the answer on Friday.

Vel.

ENJOY   DILEMMA

CHEAPSKATE   CREAMY

Well, perhaps it was a little arcane, but the trick was to spot that…

• Enjoy -> Joy
• Dilemma -> Emma
• Cheapskate -> Kate
• Creamy -> Amy

That’s right; they all ended in girls’ names! Perhaps you’ll have better luck on Monday with the next puzzle, anyway.

Vel.

ENJOY   DILEMMA

CHEAPSKATE   CREAMY

Vel.

On a dark, stormy night you are driving past a bus stop. Waiting at the stop are an old woman who looks as if she is about to die, an old friend who once saved your life, and the partner you’ve been dreaming of. Knowing that you can only take one passenger in your car, what should you do?

Did you get it right? Can there even be a morally right answer? Find out after the break…

Well, as some of you correctly inferred from the title of the post, the idea was to think outside the box a little. Ultimately, the solution would be to help the old woman into the car and then let your trusted friend drive her to hospital while you wait at the bus stop with your dream partner.

Well done to those of you who got it! Stay tuned for another puzzle, as always, on Monday.

Vel.

P.S. Of course there was going to be an answer, or it would be a rather silly question to choose.