Genn Wintord

UP: Lake Superior

Melindra Locke was found dead in woods near Moonglow Monday evening with a stab wound in her left shoulder. After close examination, cause of death was found to be poison, identified by a green residue in and around the wound. Melindra was a maid for Avridas, owner of the Keg and Anchor. She cleaned both the tavern and his personal residence.

A witness said he was hunting for some deer in the woods and heard a woman�s scream, so he followed the sound to see what was happening. As he got closer, a man rushed past him with a short spear. The screaming stopped just before he got to the woman, and he found her body crumpled next to a tree, her right hand clutching at her left shoulder. He called out to her, but there was no reply; he was too late to help. He ran to the nearest guards and told them what he had seen and gave them a description of the man. While one of the guards accompanied the witness back to the body, another guard, Stanford Regnold, asked some townspeople if they knew a man fitting the description the witness had given. A couple of men at an armor shop said the description sounded like that of Morgus Zaerin.

Regnold recruited a group of adventurers to help him hunt down Morgus. The town criers yelled for help and guided the adventurers in the right direction. They tracked Morgus through a secret passage through the mountains south of Trinsic with hopes of capturing him alive. Morgus gave chase and refused to surrender until it was too late; he yielded only as someone struck the fatal blow. Upon inspection, it was found that Morgus� short spear had some poison residue on it that appeared to be the same as the poison found on Melindra�s body. There is no known motive at this time.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Tuesday, January 11th, 2000