But it WILL make you think!
This week we are giving your brains a workout! (Don't worry, we're pretty sure that Artix has slain all the zombies around, so your buffed-up brains should be PERFECTLY safe! /grin)

Yesterday Rolith released his Codemonkey Challenge for July and everyone on the forums was amazing as they pulled together and worked for over SEVEN hours to crack Rolith's code.  In the end, it was all thanks to one player (Rini) and her mother, who solved the riddle lightning quick once the last pieces of the puzzle fell into place.  Awesome job, guys! I love playing cheerleader in those threads!

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I can't believe it's that time again!

What time?

The fifth Thursday of the month.

... It's a long story, one that really doesn't make any sense even once you've read it.

Now, this challenge is different for several reasons.

For one, if you do it right, you won't fight a SINGLE tog (do it wrong... and boy howdy will you.)

They deserve a break every once and a while.

The other difference is, there is no brute force method to solving the puzzle.  There is no easy way to work things out.  Just randomly trying to solve it will NOT work.  There is a pattern and a puzzle to it, and you WILL need other players to find it.

To start this month's Code Monkey Challenge, you will need to visit Lymcrest and find the Code Monkey Tog (not that hard).  Once you've started the quest, you'll need to get the item (A Clue!).

The item's description is your ONLY clue.  You will need to find the SINGLE place in-game that will unlock the clue's details.  Once you do... the real puzzle begins. 

Good luck.  Cya on the Forums or on Twitter

6 Minutes after midnight, and more then 7 hours after it started, Rini and their mom managed to crack the code and solve the puzzle.

I amd seriously amazed by the number of people who participated this time!  I expected more players, but friends, family, and parents were pulled in as were many that have never tried a CMC before.  It was a lot of fun to watch you guys think sidways, backwards and upside down to solve it! 

Congratulations, I'm going to sleep!

P.S. - Why Codswallop? Why not.  It's a funny word!

So, everything we told you yesterday?  Is changing.
Sorry!  But don't worry, it will all be alright.  Because not only are you getting a DragonsGrasp quest on Friday, but on Thursday (oh happy, happy Thursday!) you're getting a Codemonkey Challenge from Rolith!*

He's told me some details about it, and I have to be honest.  This one sounds like knee-slapping, head-banging FUN!  And not the heavy metal, guitar-smashing kind of head-banging, either.  No, you'll definitely want to try solving this CMC on the forums with all your fellow players, because it's going to take a real group effort to solve.  What he's doing is something we've never done in ANY of our games, so be prepared to work hard! Rolith says it's going to be IMPOSSIBLE to solve with one character, so you're going to definitely have to work together.  Remember to play nice on Thursday when it releases or, so help me, I will TURN this game RIGHT AROUND and we will go back home WITHOUT getting icecream! OR pie. OR doomcookies.**

Why, you might ask, are the plans Lim so lovingly laid out yesterday being changed?  Because of surprises and secrets!  I've got a HUGE deadline looming over me like an angry, banananut-starved Gorillaphant and I've got to devote time to working on the secret project it's for.  SECRET PROJECT?!  Yup!  We are SO close to being done on it, and we haven't given you ANY details about it yet. It's going to be a big surprise, and I can't wait until I'm allowed to talk about it! (And it's entirely unrelated to DragonFable, but it IS something we've been asked for for a while now. Yay hints!)

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Yes yes, my loyal lab assistants in training! It is I, Lim, filling in for Alina on this fine Monday afternoon to bring you design notes. But don't worry about her; she's perfectly fine! Alina is merely preoccupied with one of the many super-top-secret projects that we have floating around the Underground Lab at any given time. So without further ado...

Science!

Void Magics, and the Mages that Wield Them!

Last week, we saw the fickle and ferocious Nythera go head-to-dripping mandible against a Decadere youngling. Quite the spectacle! Teeth gnashed, a spiked tail clashed, but ultimately the dragonmage proved too much for the grotesque little monster. Nythera then proceeded to…

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Piles of snow glint bright white in the light. Hero's hearts are thrillin' in spite of the chill in the weather!
No, it's not Frostval in July, although some of you were hoping for just that on the forums.  Sorry to disappoint!  But I think you'll REALLY want to figure out WHY it's snowing in July!  The implications of this are dire.  Better get sleuthing and double-check everything you know about snow, ice, and other ice-related things for clues!

(Not so) Little Nythera is growing up!
Or, at least, becoming more mature.  Almost.  She's getting there!  In the latest quest, you'll again play from the viewpoint of Nythera as Elucidas sends her to talk to the DragonLords to get a better feel for how normal humans view Dragons.  And what better Dragonlords to talk to than... Elysia's parents?  Unfortunately, they have a task they MUST do- investigating a brand new monster from the Void- and Nythera is just the person to help with it!  But when Nythera faces this little baby, the results are VERY unexpected!

(It will eat your) Face-off!

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We've got silhouettes and Photoshops! It's a sibilant Sneak Peek THIS week!
Lets dive right in to an all-Nythera Saga Sneak Peek!  First up is this pretty baby, the newest Void monster! 

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Now is a great time to pick up our game cards!
That's right, if you've ever been to a Target store, you've probably seen our game cards sitting on the shelves.  And for a limited time, they are running an in-store only promotion where you can get a $20 dollar game card for only $18!  (Zhoom did the math, and says that means you are getting a really nice deal! $20 dollars worth of upgrades for only $18!)

          Twillies appwoves of these new game cawds!

The Target promotion will run from July 18th (it's in-stores now!) through July 31st, so be sure to stop by a Target store near you and check out our cards.  This is something you don't want to miss! And don't forget you can finally stack up cards to get bigger packages in the BattleOn Master Account Sysem.

MetroCon is this weekend!
If you're in the Tampa area (or even a ways out, one player told us he's coming all the way from Georgia), try to stop by MetroCon and say hi!  Artix and Nythera will be manning the swag table (we have some GREAT new items!) along with many of the other staff who work in the Secret Underground Lab.  (Just be sure not to show up dressed as a zombie or ghost.  I'm pretty sure Artix has a special battleaxe JUST for slaying Condead!)

Thyton will be sketching random pieces of art to hand out, so if you want a signed piece of his work, (which you can see throughout MechQuest and DragonFable) now's your chance!  We'll also try to set up a DVD showing gameplay AND clips from the terrible (and hilarious!) live-action ninja movies Artix and his crew have been filming at an undisclosed location.

Now how about that swag?

Cluck cluck moo!

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Oh, huh, this is new!! I like it.  Feels official or something.

We're going live as you read this and this week is the first week we're back at full force after Geo, and Alina and I all took turns wandering off in various directions for time off.  But now we're back, and both the summer's big storylines are continuing, as we'll see new quests from Vilmor and Nythera this week!

Nythera journeys deeper into the void as Alina continues the storyline! The next quest sees the Purple Mage's powers continue to grow, but will it be enough?  Along with the quest there are a bunch of new weapons from Lim dropping from this quest!

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The winners are here, at long last!
We had THOUSANDS of names to go through, so it took us a while.  But we've got a list of winners for you!  Some of the names were slightly altered or broken up into two, but all of the winners were Artix-approved!

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And the first post we'll make with it is with today's Sneak Peek!
Now, you may have noticed the tags under all of this month's DN entries. That's the new system! What's REALLY nice about it is that before we had to go into a web design program and use things like HTML and macros for shortcuts and all sorts of fiddling around to make things juuuuuuust right. And, as you may have noticed, very occasioanally the Design Notes page would explode and things would look all wonky. But those days are a thing of the past with this new, SHINY* system!

This sneak peek DN is a test of the new system AND a preview of what's to come this week!

Time for the Sneak Peek!
This week we'll have two brand-new quests for you! In the first, you'll be journeying to the village of Bask, where that nefarious felon crashlanded! But watch out for booby traps! (This warning is not a diversion. Or is it? Nope, definitely not.)

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Rolith, against all advice, dragged himself into work today to fight off bears, bugs and various other meanies to get the path fixed for you (and possibly get the rest of us sick as revenge)! Finally back in the office myself, it's nice to see everyone, though for some reason, it seems very shady and there are leaves everywhere....

Update! Crickets!
There is a cricket in the vents of the underground lab which, being underground, is, of course, in constant darkness. Now I'm not sure whether to take a nap or go continue to go slowly insane.... Oo

Sorry for the late update everyone! Unfortunately the new path west of Oaklore is too buggy to be released tonight. I can't figure out what's wrong with it (the whole mysteriously disappearing in two spots is kinda a bummer) and Ghost is MIA, Rolith is sick, Artix kidnapped Zhoom and the random people outside that I shouted coding questions at just gave me weird looks. D:

We'll try to fix the 'splodiness as soon as possible so you can check out the new path.

It's been a crazy Friday! (Well, when isn't it a crazy Friday?)

I talked with Ghost on Tuesday and, with it being a short and with Alina out for most of the week and with Rolith not feeling well and with me up in a hand-shaped state most of the week visiting the Mom-Opal and the Dad-Silicate, that we'd do a fun, short release.

Then Ghost went crazy and made tons of stuff.

He rocks!

(Seriously, he's awesome. No, I see you eyeing him Cysero... he's my artist!)

Dragonsgrasp
Up for tonight we have the next quest in the Vilmor saga. You're tasked with fighting your way through what's left of the Dragonsgrasp Prison to rescue the one lone guard, Reggie, who stayed behind to make sure that the prisoners couldn't escape. Make sure to check your temporary inventory often as some of the prisoners have ransacked Vilmor's cell to get mementos that were left behind by the famous DragonLord! And as you're exploring the prison... watch out for Jingles... :o

Hunter's Paradise
The next bounty is also availble from Karina in Hunter's Paradise. Venture out to sea in search of the dangerous Nautiloid. You'll have to fight your way through packs of Unicorals, Sea Monkees (maybe even the famous Aqua Monkee!), Eels, Bottom Feeders and more to recover the beautiful rainbow Nautiloid shells!

Even More!
There's more coming tomorrow as well! The path between Sunbreeze Grove and Oaklore will open tomorrow, and you're definately going to want to explore it. There's rumors of a cave along it....

Taking a vacation from my vacation to bring you news!
I couldn't stay away when I have such exciting, and unexpected, news to bring you in this Wednesday's Sneak Peek! Ghost has been arting away in secret to bring you a BRAND NEW walkaround path!

For all those of you who want more and more of the land of Lore to be connected with walking paths, get ready to get excited!

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Cysero's magic is popping and the Ice golems are tall!
No, really, Cysero's magic pops. And snaps. And crackles. It's not like your everyday, run-of-the-mill magic! And he wants YOU to help him with his latest spell! Lim's not so sure that's a good idea, but hey, SCIENCE is all about experimentation, and you'll need to experiment with magic if you're ever going to choose between the two, right?

Ice golems have two ice elbows apiece. Gather them up, they're great for spells!

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Hey, you got a letter from Karina at Hunter's Paradise Inn!**

"Hello, Adventurers! I just wanted to thank you all for helping New Dawn make Lore a safer place! The travelling merchants are finding it less hazardous to move between towns, and Swordhaven's patrols are finding it easier to protect the towns thanks to you! Dragesvard is rarely attacked by Rhoddhu anymore, and the economy has gone up. The towns and villages of the North-East mountains no longer fear venturing to and from neighbouring towns for trading. And the miners who harvest all the minerals we use in our daily lives are not under constant threat of attack!

Things are going well here, and we've been seeing a few new merchants and travellers about recently. Scribbles is so ecstatic with all the new stories he's hearing about, he might even run out of ink! Everyone here is talking about you and your bravery! Even Teral, and you know him.. he hardly ever leaves the bonfire.

Unfortunately, I'm also writing you to ask for your help. You've already done so much for New Dawn, but we are still receiving new monster threats almost daily. Recently, the sea-faring merchants have been under constant attack. Their ships have been ravaged by nautiloids, and they have turned to us to ask for help! We have lost many brave sailors to these beasts, and the towns need their supplies. We are sending out our best monster hunters, and so I plead for your help.

Teral said that he has dealt with nautiloids in the past, and that he can make you some sturdy equipment and also some very exotic gear out of the resources you bring back from your hunts!

I'm counting on you, heroes. Thank you."

~ Karina

* Note: not releasing this week. Teasers tease you about UPCOMING releases.
** Hunter's Paradise Inn is hidden inside of Doomwood. To get there, travel south from Valencia and follow the path South-East. Be careful in that forest though, Doomwood is a dangerous place.