I went to this event :) Yaaay! Actually, I was lacking much else to do, so, seeing as it was Wednesday night, I decided to go sit in front of Trinsic's Paladin Hall on the chance of bumping into Crawworth with a quest. As luck would have it, exactly that happened. I ran smack right into the man as he was just setting off to round up citizens to fight the Zog Cabal out at Relvinians fabled Hedge Maze.

You see: Crawworth
Plutos the Elf: Crawworth?!
Crawworth: Attention Citizens of Trinsic!
Crawworth: The Zog Cabal are gathering at the hedge maze!
Crawworth: Capture them alive if you can! Trinsic is counting on you!
Crawworth: I'll go get others...
Plutos the Elf: Alive? How can this be done?
Rainman: Gathering, then we shall see the Zog?
Crawworth: I have never died
Crawworth: Aye, bring them to me...
Rainman: What are they like?
Rainman: what manner of weapon is best on them?
Crawworth: They are mages most sinister.
Crawworth: Magic, steel, whatever ye can muster.
Rainman: Ah! Thanks for the tip!
Crawworth: I shall gather more troops - thou'rt the first to know, so ye have an advantage
Rainman: Hah, You mean we shall be outnumbered :)
Plutos the Elf: *Grins*

.

A group immediately formed of about 4, and we attempted to cast a gate on someones rune. However, that rune was defective in some manner (sheesh, these amateur mages), and so we were forced to recall of my own rune, which is marked to the INSIDE of the hedge maze. The group of us were immediately assaulted by about 2 ettins, and their supporting cast of 10 or so Orcs. After fighting them a while, with no casualties, we were joined by about three more, bringing our number to seven. The monsters were all killed, so we all immediately walked toward the secret hillside entrance, one even ventured inside for a moment and grabbed a glance at 5 robed figures inside the old Relvinian laboratory. Were all suddenly surrounded by another 10 orcs and two ettins. Another battle erupted, and again we killed all of them with no losses. Then, we all gathered once more at the "secret" hillside entrance. This time, 5 figures began walking out, and stopped just before coming out from underneath the hillside.

Blaaz: The end is nigh!
Erian: Why have ye chosen to invade our lair?
Blaaz: An Ex Por
Erian: Corp Por
You are attacking Erian!
Nick of Time: Thou art evil and have shamed our land
Blaaz is attacking you!
You can not move!
Erian: Corp Por
Blaaz: Corp Por
You can move!
Tarkan: Vas Ort Grav
Bathsheba: In Por Ylem
Erian: Corp Por
Blaaz: Corp Por
Nick of Time: In Vas Mani
Rainman: Thou hast gotten lucky, I shall heal and regroup!
Rainman: In Vas Mani
You see Bathsheba attacking Azram the dark!
Tarkan: Flam Kal Des Ylem
You are dead.

{Funny Aside here: Um, well, Hrm.... this isn't what I expected. I mean, sure, the guys were roleplaying well. But, who would've thought this would happen. Listen to this irony:. Joe goes to quests regularly, he Get's Pk'd at a number of the events because of opportunistic TankMage killers, suddenly, 80% of the PK's become extinct (Thank YOU!! Reputation Patch!), so what do the "gods" do? They roleplay Mages with the strength of Dragons, wearing specially colored platemail(they had to have at least 1000+ hit points each) who kill, then loot, then kill again, repeat. I'm not bitter, I just think its really really funny.}

Now this is when things really began to happen! (hehe, right after I died.) The five of them chased our small group all around the inside open areas of the maze, killing three others. Two managed to either recall away, or hide somewhere within. What followed was uninterrupted Carnage for about 35-45 minutes. Non stop, these guys continually casted 6th circle and higher spells at whoever came near them. Their own strength was unsurpassed by anything human. Neither swords,maces, bolts, arrows, or the most powerful magics were able to do much more than scratch them. After 35-45 minutes, they each still had at least 95% of their hit points. I remember one person was lucky enough to get TWO Meteor Swarms off on at least two of them, and they didn't even flinch, their health bars showed no damage. The total death count by their hands had to be in the hundreds. Occasionally, one or two would retreat back into Relvinians Laboratory for a few minutes, and then return to the carnage. Why this was done is not known. I assume they were using some "device" to replenish their vast mana supply, or perhaps trick the world into lowering their own murder counts. I think it appropriate to note, that I WAS NEVER LAGGED THROUGH THE ENTIRE AFFAIR. (Once again, I log into Atlantic from my home in Los Angeles) Aye, it is true, my lag never increased one iota during the entire battle, and there had to be at least a few times when the number of people and monsters in the same 3-screen area numbered in the hundreds. So, for that, Hat's off to OSI, it seems the lag-free massive quest is now finally a reality.

Here are the screenshots I managed to grab after death. The rune one is my Moonglow rune, and proof that the Zog Looted my corpse. (bastards :P) The others are paperdolls of the Zog Members I managed to grab

.

But wait, there's more! What follows is some of the chatter I managed to Grab from the Zog Cabal during the massacre.

Blaaz: Knaves!
Bathsheba: Leave these grounds!
Blaaz: How dare thee desecrate our grounds!
Erian: Kill him!
Blaaz: Leave the Zog lair!
Tarkan: Feel your world end.
Blaaz: Thou wilt be destroyed!
Blaaz: Fear the Zog!
Bathsheba: LEAVE THESE GROUNDS@

[I think it interesting to note here that my journal contains tons of examples of Bathsheba's Offensive Spell Macros. Each time she cast a spell, there was the old "flooding" after the power words to disguise what spell she was casting. This is an old PK/PVP trick that no longer works, and didn't work during this event. I was informed that this particular incident was simply the case of a seer without enough time to clear his/her macros out :( Oh, well, I suppose it is of little consequence.]

Blaaz: Did you think that fool Crawworth would save thee?
Erian: damned orcs
Blaaz: He will be destroyed with the rest of ye!
Bathsheba: Has that knave Crawworth sent thee?
Tarkan: Ye shalt fall to us.
Tarkan: We are the Zog!
Bathsheba: Drat
Bathsheba: Erian I am in need of his pearl and nightshade
Erian: Come hither, and I wilt equip thee.
Tarkan: Foolish minions are caught in bloodlust!
Erian: Prepare thyself, for the end is near!
Blaaz: Knave!
Blaaz: The Zog Cabal shall spell they Doom!
Bathsheba: DAMNED ORCS
Erian: the knave didst escape
Blaaz: Remember what Sage Winslow said! [Is Sage Winslow a Traitor? Is he in cahoots?]
Bathsheba: Why do we pay these fools
Blaaz: We will destroy you all!
Blaaz: Yes!
Blaaz: Allow Crawworth to send you to your dooms!
Blaaz: Leave at once!
Blaaz: The Zog will not tolerate thy presence here!
Tarkan: Know me as the Zog!
Tarkan: The end of all you know approaches!

THERE'S STILL MORE!!

After ALL that was said and done, and those five Zog Cabal were finally defeated. They were actually killed, after a while they discontinued replenishing their mana by means of their "device". One was caught and surrounded by (no lie) about 30 players outside the laboratory. Hitting him so fast with so many bolts and blades he was eventually taken down. The other four engaged in an extremely heated battle with about 10-12 experienced PvP'ers inside the Lab. 7 player deaths resulted, and 2 Zog deaths. The other two were badly wounded (and out of mana for the most part) and to be truthful, I never actually saw the final Zog member die, I just saw the final two being chased out of the lab and up the cavern stairs.

Looted from their bodies was some specially colored platemail, and clothing. As well as several specially colored books that were locked shut. One of these was given to Crawworth for study. Several others still exist, in the hands of the players of Atlantic. Here's a screenshot of one of the books :)

OK, Now I'm done :) Please read the Official OSI posting on this quest. It's copied below for you.

From the TC Newspaper, 6/25/98

Zog Cabalists Battle Against Loyal Citizens of Trinsic
Caitlin Elopidat

UP: Britannia

Trinsic -- The news traveled quickly through the streets of Trinsic, even faster than CrawWorth could spread it himself. The Zog Cabal had been seen. At least two members of the elusive cult had been spotted transporting supplies from the forest north of Trinsic to an unknown location. As soon as the word reached the streets the good citizens reacted.

As he has had to do so many times before, CrawWorth, no longer the captain of the Trinsic guard but still a loyal citizen, rallied every available man and woman to march into the forests in search of the elusive Cabalists. His instinct was right, at least in this case, because the Zog were found just minutes outside of Trinsic's main gate. But they were not alone.

Hordes of orcs, ettins, and ogres awaited the growing crowd, thronged with warriors and mages, ready to test their mettle against these legions of evil doers who have been responsible for at least two deaths so far. It appears as though the cabal had enlisted the aid of the humanoid creatures to help them move their supplies from an unknown location somewhere between Trinsic and Britain to a new location, another mysteriously unseen fortress.

It is suspected, by CrawWorth and his cronies at least, that the Cabal has several unknown locations from which they conduct their business. A few months ago CrawWorth traveled to Ocllo because of an anonymous tip that informed him of one of their hidden lairs. It's no secret that Juo'nar had a childhood home on the isle of Ocllo, and it's possible that this was one of the Zog's meeting places.

Even more frightening is the rumor that the Zog Cabal has a base on the same southern isle that houses the shrine of Honor. Such proximity to a beautiful and sacred place causes chills to run down the spine of all who consider the implications.

The Cabalists who were discovered (various reports have their number listed between 2 and 5) were hearty opponents, and destroyed many before being dispatched themselves. Many witnesses claim that they made reference to CrawWorth as being a fool for believing he could even begin to challenge their might. Another, fouler rumor, was overheard at one of the bars in Trinsic. That rumor was that at least one of the Cabalists implied that Winslow was a friend to the Cabal, and would never let CrawWorth live with the information he holds.

It is known that the Cabalists were truly amazing when they decided to fight. It took literaly tens of men to best each one of them. It is not known how they fought for so long against such overwhelming odds, but it is for sure that they fought with more strength than any one man should be able to possess.

What is the real truth? Perhaps no one knows. But if Winslow is involved with this Cabal, then can any of us be safe? And perhaps it's just a rumor. Or perhaps the Cabal has planted this rumor on purpose, to make us doubt one of our truly respectable sources of information.

Thursday, June 25, 1998