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The skittish man looked over his shoulder before he made his way up the creaky steps of the tavern. He wasn't supposed to be here but he didn't have a choice. There was an evil coming...an evil so vile and so horrible that the fate of every man, woman and child in the surrounding kingdom would be in mortal danger if he didn't seek help. Two nights ago, he had been followed. The undead black bird was nearly silent when it stalked in the treetops among the gnarled branches. He looked again over his shoulder to see if he could spot the bird but to his surprise, the undead creature was no where to be seen. Each step towards the tavern doors entrance echoed audibly, and despite the boisterous noise coming from inside, the creaks and groans under his weight seemed to weigh heavily into the night. With a shaky, outstretched hand, the man opened the door and entered the tavern. He was immediately greeted with warm air, the smell of ale, and a symphony of music coming from the stage just left of the bar. The atmosphere of the tavern seemed to calm the man's nerves and he made his way through the crowd to settle at the bar. "Whadda having, sir." The short, burly barkeep asked as he wiped down a glass and threw the rag over his shoulder. The barkeep was bald with a dark brown beard that was trimmed neat and cut short to the neck. He had kind brown eyes that seemed trustworthy and to the skittish man, he felt comfortable around the barkeep, even though it had been mere seconds since he sat down. He wasn't really sure what he wanted though. The long journey had taken a toll on his body and he had actually grown sick to his stomach over the last day's ride to get here. "I, um...well," the man cleared his throat, "I'm actually looking for someone." He said to the barkeep. "Aye?" The barkeep asked. "So nottin to drink fer ya? Maybe some hot boar stew? It's the best in all the kingdom." As if his stomach ache was instantly cured, the sound of boar stew made the skittish man's mouth salivate. How long had it been since he last ate, he thought to himself. Two days? "Actually, the boar stew does sound quite nice. I'll have a bowl of that." "Comin' right up!" The barkeep announced cheerfully and scurried off to the kitchen. When he came back just a few seconds later, he had a faded blue bowl filled with the piping hot stew. The smell of the boar nearly cramped the man's stomach up as he realized just how hungry he was. He nearly snatched the bowl out of the barkeep's but restrained himself. "There ya go, sir. Gallup's world famous boar stew. Hell, we took down der beast not twelve hours ago so ya know its gonna be gurd!" "Thank you very much. And you must be Gallup?" the man replied with a thankful nod. "Nah, dat's me brother. I'm Garrick, the most handsome barkeep in all the land!" The barkeep chuckled so loud it nearly drowned out the music. After a moment, he caught himself and turned back to a more serious demeanor. "So...ya say yer lookin for someone, eh? Gotta name?" "I don't know the man's name, per say. I've heard him called numerous things if I'm being completely honest. The Red Wolf?" Garrick paused a minute, his eyes shifting to the back of the bar. "Well...I do know a man by dat name but he's not to be bothered at da moment." "Really?" the man sat up from his boar stew, almost excited. "I dare say, it's rather urgent that I speak to this man. It's a matter of life and death!" Garrick saw the terror in this man's eyes and almost felt sorry for him. The barkeep got down low to the bar to whisper something. The skittish man leaned down with him but couldn't hear the words over the music. Then, Garrick nudged his head towards the back of the bar where his eyes shifted earlier. The man turned his gaze in that direction and saw a leather clad man sitting by himself drinking a mug of ale. His features where like that of a warrior; well muscled and tight jawed. He appeared to be tall with his legs stretched out under the table, one foot crossing over the other. His skin was fair, which made his other features stand out like a sore thumb. Atop his head was a mess of wavy red hair. Even in the dimness of the bar you could tell. And with that look, the man sitting in the corner gazed back. The look paralyzed the skittish man as he noticed the piecing blue eyes burning through him. They were the eyes of a wolf. Gulping down hard, the skittish man grabbed his hot bowl and made his way over towards the red-haired man. As he stood before him, the red haired man held his gaze the entire time. "Go away." he muttered, his voice gruff and raspy. Almost as if he hadn't spoken in days. "But sir..." "I said. Go. Away." He cut off the skittish man and pointed back towards the bar. The skittish man, feeling more confident this time, sat his bowl down on the table, pulled out the chair on the other side, and sat down. "Sir, my name is Sibis Davizo and I have come looking for the Red Wolf." Sibis was fully expecting to be cut off again and was surprised when he wasn't, so, he continued on. "And I am in need of your service. It has come highly recommended that YOU are the best scout in all the kingdom and that when it comes to finding things, there are none better." There was a long instance of silence between the two men before the red-haired man spoke. "Go on..." "So, are you the one they call The Red Wolf?" "It's possible. Why don't you tell me what you need first and maybe I'll tell you who I am." "Very well... as I've said before, rumor has it that you can track things down better than anyone. Whether that be people, items or more exotic things. I'll cut to the chase because time is of the essence. I am in search of something called the Book of Life. This book has immense power." "Why search for a book that's only been rumored to exist?" The red-haired man asked as he leaned forward now, interested in what Sibis Davizo was saying. "I was told the only way to defeat Dedd Lyft the Necromancer was by obtaining the Book of Life. Somewhere in it's pages is a spell that could destroy him and his undead army." The red-haired man shook his head slowly. His face was expressionless but his eyes showed something. They showed fear. "Come with me. It's too dangerous to talk here..." ************************************************** Hello All!! Welcome to another challenge! I'm very excited about this one for a number of reasons. 1) My birthday is right in the middle of this challenge! 2) I'm doing some creative writing! and 3) I'm kicking ass in the gym AND the kitchen! This challenge is all about writing, eating, lifting and gearing up for the holidays. Won't you join me?? Goal 1: Tevior "The Red Wolf" Bindreft This goal is all about writing. I loooooove creative writing. I looooove creating fun and interesting characters. To do this goal justice means I need to write little excerpts like the one above and work to do that 2-3x a week. Nothing major, just write for 15-20 min and see what I come up with. I'm hoping to build a fun story for everyone (and myself) and maybe turn this into something I do on a more regular basis! Here's what Tevior looks like: but think wavy red hair and reddish stubble instead. My inspiration is this guy: Possible Points: +2 END, +1 CHA Goal 2: Dedd Lyft the Necromancer Dedd Lyft is the main villian in my story. This is a play on for Deadlift, obviously, but you already knew that, didn't you?? . @Jarric made a good point on my last challenge: "don't be afraid of deadlifts. Just take them serious and you'll be ok." And...that's exactly what I'm gonna do! I'm fine with trap bar deadlifts...but it's traditional deadlifts that have always scared me because I didn't want to hurt my back. I'm usually really solid in practicing good form with ALL my lifts, but I've stayed away from barbell deadlifts in favor of trap bar for a while now. The idea behind this goal is to practice barbell deadlifts at least 1x a week and work on getting better doing those. They don't have to be heavy but ideally I would like to find my 1rm sooner or later. Possible Points: +3 STR Goal 3: Up the Intensity Between lifting 3x a week, I also want to add in 1-2 KB workouts on my off days as well as add in a sprint day on Saturdays. This is about sweating and getting out of my comfort zone. I have a plethora of KB workouts I can do, AND, I have a 35# and 45# KB I can use at the house. I'll be posting my KB metcon's when I do them for anyone interested. Possible Points: +2 DEX, +1 END Goal 4: #SmoothPanther I'm on a 5-day streak right now and don't plan on breaking this. Stretching has been something I neglect. A lot. And I'm never going to perform well in the gym unless I limber up and take care of myself better. I work hard. Now, I need to stretch hard as well. I'll be following Nsima Inyang's Smooth Panther routines each and every day. I'll also be posting these for anyone interested or maybe you just want to follow along with me?? Possible Points: +2 CON, +1 DEX Goal 5: Carnivore-ish If you've been following me recently, you know that I've adapted a carnivor-ish eating style. Basically, this means TONS of protein. TONS of fat. And SOME carbs...like 100-150g a day total or less. I'll mainly be eating red meat loaded up with butter and bacon grease with some rice and potatoes thrown in there every now and again. The idea is NO sweets until my birthday, which I will indefinitely have a cake, and then it's back to the grind after my b-day weekend. Thanksgiving is also a small pass as I'll probably have some pumpkin pie or something. But, my diet consists of almost NO veggies and hardly any fruit. If I do have fruit, it'll be some blueberries or something. But otherwise, it's ALL meat ALL the time. Possible Points: +1 CON, +2 WIS And there you have it folks. Thanks for following along and I hope you enjoy my story thus far Wolf

A few days following the start of this new challenge will mark the date I entered this world....50 years ago... Not too bad for an old lady if I do say so myself... Recap from prior challenges this year below I've lost a lot this year, a lot has changed for me...if you had asked me before where I would be at this point in my life it would damn sure not be here! My marriage is essentially "married companions" we love each other but more than that is not happening in the foreseeable future...we do enjoy each others company and we are a 'safe space' for the other. I used to think I was interested in dating, but right now I find I'm more interested in working on me...I have a tendency to lose myself in relationships, and I'm a pretty awesome individual that doesn't need to go anywhere just because I'm with someone...so this is going to be about 'finding' and keeping me! I had a goal of losing 50 lbs by my 50th birthday...I got halfway there...I'm re-committing myself to losing the rest, and working on losing the excess rolls that seem to not want to go anywhere! I want to not jiggle when I move and try to get rid of this 'hip dip' thing that I've had most of my life...wish me luck I also had a goal of running a 5k entirely and completing a 10k, neither one of those happened either but I did set a new PR for my 5k...the 10k should be done by the end of the year and I have a goal to train for a 15k in March. I'm okay if I never completely run any of them, I run intervals and that's more than I ever did before! The Plan.... Run: I'm following NYAR 10K training plan currently, so points for when I do what is scheduled (including rest days) Eat: Continue making the 24 hour plan, eat on plan when hungry, stop when full. Calm: Three times a week (at least) take time for me, this can be journaling, crocheting, or time to read. This also includes excursions with friends, or anything else I want it to! ommit: (yes I know, spelling, but work with me here) anything that does not work for or serve me...this year is about being a bit selfish. I'm also going to 'ommit' some debt this year, we'll pay off the first major expense and possibly get two eliminated! I have a goal of completing 10 items on my bucket list between now and my next birthday, hopefully by my next challenge the following will be completed: Get Passport Visit Key West Go Parasailing Go Snorkeling (I was going to say scuba diving but I'm claustrophobic so we'll see how snorkeling goes first) Get my motorcycle license (again...been 30 years since I had it) That's one a week...should be a good start! On with the show! Disclaimer, I'm a kinky lesbian in an open relationship. My threads used to have a tendency to get rather interesting (it's been years but I can hope it happens again ) and I have had people unsubscribe because of that...

I am a ruggedly handsome ginger who has the ability to run...All. Damn. Day! Who am I? Well I’m Guy Dangerous, of course! Welcome to my Temple Run themed challenge, runners and explorers alike! Yep, that’s me. I’m working on my best Blue Steel face. This challenge is about running and surviving...surviving those evil Demon Monkeys to be exact!! *Shudders* Those things scare the CRAP outta me! Their empty, soulless eyes make me pee just a little... So, the plan is to avoid those scary bastards for as long as I can. And how will I do that, you ask? By running my stark white ginger butt off. But why, Mr. Guy Dangerous, are you being chased by those scary evil demon monkeys?? And my response is, “Coins!”….but more truthfully it’s about a funny lookin Golden Idol that was ripe for the taking. Did I swipe the idol for myself? You bet your bottom dollar I did! That thing has to be worth a FORTUNE and when the locals said it was mystical and sacred...well, it was enough to seduce me. I took the dare. UnFORTUNately the second I grabbed the idol was the second those furry, skull faced chimps took after me like bats outta hell... And yes...that's me...screaming like a girl at the top of my lungs.. Annnnyyywho...So, I’m on the run now and I need y’alls help. All you need to do is loosen up those opposable thumbs and swipe left to help me go left….or swipe right to help me go right. Swipe up is jump and down is slide. Think you thumb warriors can manage that?? OH! Let’s not forget leaning. Lean left for left lean right for...yeah, you got this... Right? Are you sure??? Because my life is on the line here guys and gals and these demon monkeys are hungry- I need to know you are ready! Ok, good! I new I could count on you, Explorer! Now, time's a wastin’, so let’s crack some evil monkey skulls and get ready to run! Goal #1: Don’t. Look. Back. Run 2-3x a week. Shoot for 3. Be cool with 2. Anything less than 2x a week results in being evil demon monkey fodder. The goal: 50+ miles. Really shoot for 60. The New Goal here is to just cover as many miles as you can while becoming a "fat-adapted " athlete. I'll re-work the 60 mile goal next challenge. Honestly, i'm shooting more for 75 next time Goal #2: Mind the Gap and take a Nap 1x 20+ min daily nap. This should be easy. Always go for MOAR when opportunity strikes. Goal #3: “Hey Derek, you know what’s good for a hurt shoulder? If you lick my butthole.” MOAR shoulder PT. Daily. Lighter on the OHP days-No Macho Man shit. Goal #4: PvP’s and Accountability Run PvP with my UK brother and sister (TBD for this) and accountability with @Laghail and @mr_willes (and the other dirty gents). Keep up with both. Also, record the jump rope video because I owe @RedStone Whoooooaaaaa baby! That was a good test run! I think you and I are gonna get along juuuust fine. Well don’t let up now, Explorer, we got lots more ground to cover! Yeeaaahhhh...let’s not let this happen, m’kay Real Talk with Wolfie: Hey guys and gals, welcome to my challenge this go round. Thanks for joining me I’m fired up and on a path of obsessive seriousness about getting myself to an ultramarathon level by the end of next year and that path starts now. Every run counts. It’s about building that mindset in the longer miles and training both that and my body in a way that I can be safe and successful. First, I want to knock out a half after the baby is born, maybe before. I definitely want to be go for a full around this time next year if not before and another half just to have those miles (and experience under my belt) I would love for one of these halves to be a Spartan Beast because I am the Wearspartan afterall. I think the PSE program is going to take me far. Especially once I get up to running the 10 miles they usually have scheduled on Saturday’s. I want to test a few benchmarks this challenge, like my 1 mile time and my 5k time just to get some #’s out there. Honestly, I’ll probably test my 10k towards the end of the challenge since I’ve been hitting about 6 miles as it is on my longer runs. Fueling. This is now more crucial than ever. I need to start experimenting and see what works and what doesn’t. Especially how much water I’ll need per hour and calories on longer runs. Electrolytes, gels, H2O, gear..it’s all going to be a factor. Using fat for fuel opposed to carbs is something else I'll be looking into. This means my diet should reflect more of a paleo/keto type structure. Batch cooking and adding in lots of healthy fats will be a core focus with food this challenge. I will be posting meals occasionally to keep myself accountable. I’m using Zero Week to knock out the remaining 13 miles from last challenge. Once those 13 are crushed, I will have set out to do what I challenged myself to do. To cover 50 miles. 40 was the actual goal but 50 meant a reward (and maybe a little pride ). I got lucky my reward was a free pair of shoes from my brother. This challenge will "run" through my birthday, November 14th. I'll be turning the ripe age of 30 and I want to do something crazy. TBD there. Inspirations this challenge are: Timothy Olson, Dean Karnazes and Guy Dangerous lol. Tim Dean And we all know Guy… Les do dis. Wolf

Hey Everyone! Since I’m in new and uncharted territory right now, I thought I would introduce myself. Names Wild Wolf but most people call me Wolfie I’ve been with the Rangers for the past 2 years now and it’s been a wonderful stint with even better people but now my workouts have shifted more to an iron heavy routine whereas normally, I’m more of a BW/Calisthenics enthusiast who plays around with kettlebells and parkour and other fun equipment. They call me the Werespartan because I went from “not a fan of running and never covering more than 5 miles at one time” to running the Spartan Beast with fellow NF Ranger, @EricMN and ended up covering 12+ miles that day and over 4 ½ hours on the course. Fuckin A, right? So, I like to dabble in a lot of things. Well, whilst “dabbling in things“ back at the end of January this year, I fell on my shoulder and caused a Type 2 AC joint separation. BUMMER!! ...I know. A type 2 AC separation is something I can live with, but it greatly effects my lifting game. Overhead press is basically out...clean and press, front squats...even backsquat’s. It’s been since last September/October since I’ve lifted real weights so I had NO idea what my shoulder would tolerate. Thankfully, I’ve gotten back into a lifting routine and I’m now on my second week of 3x a week. Last week was a little funky because I decided in the beginning that I wanted to do the Juggernaut 2.0 program and then mid-week decided I needed something a little more basic and decided to go with Starting Strength. So, Friday and Monday, the 24th marked the first 2 days of Starting Strength. My lifts are as followed: A Day Zercher Squat 3x5 Bench Press (partial reps stopping 2 blocks (6-8 inches) above chest) 3x5 Rack Pull 1x5 B Day Zercher Squat 3x5 Bent over row 3x5 Rack pull 1x5 This prolly looks a lot different than someone else’s Starting Strength big lifts but none of these lifts compromise my shoulder and that’s what’s important. I haven’t figured out what to do about the power clean/clean when I hit the next phase of SS but maybe I can employ the help of you fine, iron bending folks when the time comes. My #’s are not very impressive but I’ll shoot up in no time and I’m excited about adding some lean muscle back onto my already lean frame. My challenge will continue off my last 2 challenges over in the Ranger’s guild. It follows the story of Ryan, an up and coming hacker who is discovered by a hacktivist group called DedSec and one of its prodigy’s, Marcus Holloway. Marcus is grooming Ryan aka W0lf, to be a l337 hacker and help DedSec take down the evil spying corporation, Blume. All this is based off the upcoming video game, .Watch Dogs 2, which releases November 15th, the day after my birthday! If you would like to check out the last two challenges, I have them linked in my signature and down below in the profile post. The story and the theme are all related to me trying to get my A+ certification and move on from there. My 365-day challenge to myself is to complete A+, Security+, Network+ and then move onto Linux+ all by this time next year. I also want to get into some programming like Python. Right now, I work at a job I don’t really like but it pays me decent money. I want to work somewhere...doing something I’m actually interested in and hacking/IT stuff, especially the deeper level stuff REALLY interest me. And then working out again… I hope to get in the groove with Starting Strength because this past week has been wonderful. I missed working out and I missed lifting to be specific. The change of scenery should be fun because I already recognize a few familiar ugly mugs around here. *Cough* Rurik, Willes, and Volki *Cough* Here are my goals below: A+ Training- No more fucking around-shoot for 4-6 hours of trainings a week. FINISH the 801 Module and prep for the exam Starting Strength 3x a week-get to gym earlier to have more time for accessory work Focus on mobility and “limberness” on off days. Gaelic Football and/or Parkour on the weekends. Mass Gain-get back on your protein shake/post workout smoothie game to help with mass gain. Lots of water. Lots of sleep-take naps during the day if needed Cool things going on this Challenge: My birthday is November 14th! (W00t! 29!) Halloween-I'm going as Ace Ventura...lol. Thanksgiving-I usually attend 4-6 of these because of split families and in-laws. This means lots of leftovers but more importantly "bulk food". I could just load up on turkey, sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes w/ brown gravy and any choice of yummy veggie tray... Yep! I can't wait for Thanksgiving. Finally getting my hair trimmed/cut-got an appoint for the 5th. I know that sounds girly but whatev's I've been growing that shit for over 11 months now lol. I've discovered I have "locks" as my sister and wife call them lol and I think I inspired our very own @Volki to grow his out as well? It won't be a drastic cut but I need some shape bad. I almost have a mullet. Almost. Thanks for having me Warriors! W0lf