In fact, I hated ch 17 more than I did Orcs. And I didn't think that was possible cause I REALLY hated the Orcs & Goblins chapter...
^^This.
Some of the things I remember most about playing this game:
The Saturday we finally got the 4th tourney chest for the first time. What? It was a big deal back then!
Our first 10th tourney chest (a couple years later, so yep, still a big deal!)
The first FA we finished in the top 10. Our regular rank was 140-something at the time.
Granite: I live near the Granite Capital of the World; I see trucks hauling granite from the quarries around here regularly irl. I have a granite retaining wall at the front of my yard near the highway. There are old houses made from granite in this area. Never in my wildest dreams had it occurred to me there could be a shortage of granite. Then, I met the Dwarves in Elvenar.... Really glad I hung around with the Fairies longer than absolutely necessary to recover from what I thought was the trauma from the Dwarves. Nope, not even close to traumatic, it can now be looked upon as a fond memory of my naivete.
Because I met the Orcs. That's trauma. At best can be seen as the ungainly, adolescent phase of growth for the city. Since when did Elves (or Humans either for that matter, though I've never been a Human in Elvenar) think it was a good architectural move to design their houses along the same lines as a giant toilet? And the fashionable color for absolutely everything? Flat, muddy brown. Variations with assorted tints of yellow and/or green swirls very 'in'. Color can also be easily replicated in a baby diaper. Ew. Not only do we have to live with this daily, we're also going to be here for. ev. er. while I collect enough dung (ew...again...I was recently collecting ambrosia, what happened to that?!) to deliver enough mushrooms so they'll get high and wander off! I absolutely thought the Woodelves were the cutest little boogers I'd ever seen!
The years pass, I meet new races, have new experiences. Learn about mana and divine seeds and how to best make and use those resources. Then I went sailing, in what Elvenar generously called *ships*. Little did I know, they were rickety dinghies with one broken oar that struggled to stay afloat holding a couple dozen oysters for the pearls I needed in vast quantities. Some other *ships* were equipped with one cane fishing pole, some string and a hook, but it wouldn't have mattered. Even if I'd had proper equipment/space: There were not enough shrimp in all the oceans of Elvenar...
I am now parked for the foreseeable future in that city. I've recently decided to move my other city forward in chapters after the first of the year. It's been parked at unlocking Ch16 for awhile. But, I'm not sure the city that went through that growth phase first will ever be ready to move forward, lol!