December 2000

Two Seers and one Champion were visually seen at the plays. At the end of the 30th showing, a man named Lincon gathered those willing to venture on a small quest. Also during the play, the Haven new Mage Tower reached it's 15,000th visitor! Korin the Scribe had announced a prize to the person who becomes the 15,000th visitor and it was none other than Monk of Paxlair. For being the 15,000th visitor he received 15k in gold and a suit of GM Valorite Full Plate armor. Korin says he'd like to thank Monk as well as everyone else who has visited Haven over the past 2 years and that they have definately made it a wonderful place to live!

This same play was held last year as well. Last year we had a week to get ready, this year we only had three days to practice. The same script that Mocqula Sisurmia wrote last year was used again, because it was done so well. The play was divided into 5 separate acts with a break in-between the 3rd and 4th acts in which an intermission was held so people could stretch their legs.

At the 29th showing, a lot of people showed up during the intermission. Many of those people from the 29th showing ended up coming to see the 30th showing as well. There were a few more mistakes by the cast during the play then last year, but that can be expected given the short amount of time we had to practice. Nevertheless, it was all in good fun, and everyone had just that! The cast for the play is as follows.
 

At the end of each showing a reception was held at the Mystic Lake Tavern in Haven. Everyone made their way to the Tavern and enjoyed free drinks, food, and good conversation. Here they were able to meet the cast and talk with anyone around. The City of Haven would like to thank everyone for coming to the play and helping them create something special just in time for the holidays!

This afternoon, I received a message from Dar, Guild Master of the Harpers. As you may or may not know, the Harpers are the most prolific guild in the land of Legends and have been busy preparing for a Trade Day, on January 14. The message outlined those plans, and Dar bids me pass to along the details to you.

The event, to be held in Harper Valley, will be hosted by the Harpers and sponsored by Angel's Halo. It seems King Dane and Dar have amassed an impressive number of vendors, including Angel's Halo, TrysBrother and the good folk of Freeport, to provide goods for the event. Animal tamers will be selling a variety of ridable critters, including ostards, llamas and horses.

There will also be blacksmiths on hand to sell new armor, weapons and shields or repair your items. Runes to the site are being distributed now, and for those that are "magic-impaired," gates will be arranged. Anyone wishing to sell articles at the event should contact Dar, as soon as time allows.

I'll have more information in an upcoming article, regarding the Harpers and the starting time of this event, so stay tuned. So mark the date on your calendar, the 14th of January. This promises to be quite an outing.

Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn

The letters have continued to pour in with kind remarks about the recent tragedy that claimed the life of Tipan (Kevin). As many of you may know, Kevin was an UO 'old timer' was one of the first players on the Legends Shard.

Two particular letters seem to summerize this kind man's life, both "in-game" and in the real world. I pass along these letters, now. Read on.

Twas strictly by chance that I happened upon a log cabin as I traveled along the roads searching, once again, for the finest merchants of the Legends shard. Little did I know that I would soon be touched by a friendship that will always have a place in my heart...

I began making daily visits to Ore 'N More (later changed to Merchants of Mayhem) in hopes of gathering all the little necessities to furnish my newly established potion shop on the road to Skara Brae. All that I needed was always there. If it was not, the proprietors, Tipan and his brother, Slimpickens, were always very accommodating.

Soon, my visits became very lengthy as conversation would strike up and we began to get to know one another on a more personal basis.

When I think of Tipan I think of kindness, generosity and wisdom. His devotion to the shop and his customers only scratches the surface of the devotion he had to his family. He spoke of them often with love and pride. Our many business dealings after the opening of the Halo were handled with a trust that, in a world of make believe, rarely exists. Anytime I had a question in regard to the game, I knew I could rely on Tip to either know the answer or to find it out for me. When I shared happenings in my life, he was compassionate, empathetic and always had a word of encouragement for me. He was most reliable as both a business associate and friend.

My habit of searching out the man in the black floppy hat daily has been a difficult one to break. With great honor, and at Mrs. Tip's request, we have set up a memorial to our dear friend, Tipan, at the museum on Angel Island. She most graciously donated the first set of valorite chain that he ever made, along with his beloved hat.

We have suffered a great loss, indeed, in this world of Legends. My heart aches for his family knowing what they have yet to endure in learning to live without him.

I am so very proud to say that he was my friend. I truly loved him and will miss him immensely.

Eternal Memory, my friend, Kevin. And to Michele and the children..God be with you.

Berceuse. GAOL

Well, how to begin. I've been playing UO for a long time and on many different shards. So I guess I will start with the first day I started in AOL legends. I started with my same char, Angus. He was a new warrior I started in vesper. As I was checking out vesper, I noticed there was no-one around so I decided to take a stroll to Minoc. As I was walking, I ran into another char name Tipan. From first impression he was a kind gentleman.

We talked for hours about many things and he offered his help in so many different ways. So he took me to his log cabin and there I noticed he had many venders where he supplied the two cities of Minoc and Vesper. At this point I realized how true and honest Tipan (Kevin) was. We talked again for many more hours about his life and about his game life. He offered to train me in many things so I accepted his offer. As a teacher he's the best and trust me I have had many teachers. He taught me many things and I became GM quickly. When I finally started my guild, LDA, he was there teaching me some more on how I should run it. Under his supervision my guild grew. I finally asked for his services again, to supply my warriors with weapons and armor and he graciously accepted.

From that point I knew we would be friends for along time. He would basically take me by the hand and show me where to hunt and the best place to make money. As I played day in and day out, he was always there in his cabin stocking his venders and always willing to help a new player. I always saw him with a new char, helping them.

One day I came to his log cabin and noticed the atmosphere was different. I realized Tipan was nowhere to be found. As I searched for my companion, I over heard some other char saying that Tipan (Kevin) had passed away. When I heard that, shivers ran down my spine and the whole game started feeling different. As soon as Angus confirmed the truth, he fell onto his knees and cried, knowing that his friend and teacher was gone forever. Tipan had touched many hearts in this game he will always be remembered as an honest, loyal, and true friend. Things in AOL legends will be different from now on.

I send out my love, heart, and soul to his family for it was a great loss in real life and in game life. HAIL TIPAN! His name and memory will live on forever. God bless you Kevin (Tipan) I will keep you alive.

I write this in loving memory (TIPAN)

Yours Truly,

Lord Angus, GM of LDA

There's little if anything I can add to these letters. To Kevin's family, our thoughts are with you.

Cyn

It has been rumored that there is a stranger about in Britannia that fits the description of the man who defeated Mondain. He is said to be courageous and noble beyond reproach.

The Followers of Virtue guild seek this man. It is believed that he is the one foretold by the prophecies to be capable of restoring light to the war-torn lands of Felucca. We wish to aid him in fulfilling his destiny, and to learn from his wisdom.

Should you encounter a man like this, please do what you can to determine the validity of these rumors.

The salvation of this world may be at hand.....praise be to the Virtues!!

May Virtue guide your way,
Craal Windstrom
Follower of Virtue

The oath that the elected officials took was as follows:

I swear allegiance to the Kingdom of Britannia and to our monarch Lord British and to swear to uphold the eight virtues that he has put forth. I pledge to help govern Yew in the best interests of all its citizens and, to the best of my ability, ensure that all of the citizen's diverse views are represented fairly.

The oaths proceeded among the other elected officials without incident. At the end of the ceremony, the newly elected mayor, Humphrey de Levant, closed with the following words:

Ladies, gentlemen, people of Yew. I would like to thank you, on behalf to this council, for your support and pledge that this council will do all in its power to represent your best interests. As mayor, I was chosen by the people of Yew to represent and serve the people of Yew. I am loyal, first and foremost, to Yew and her people, as is this Council, thank you.

We will convene regularly as per a schedule to be determined. That is all, and thank you, people of Yew.

The Grand Opening of the Last Chance Tavern was a success. The staff of the tavern and the members of KDC would like to thank everyone that came, and offer invitations to upcoming events. To recap what happened at the opening for those who couldn't make it.

The Winners of the Dueling Contest:
1st: Tyrock - 20,000gp
2nd: Phoenix - 10,000gp
3rd: Jamaal - 5,000gp

The Winner of the Clown Face Contest:
Khepri Serapis - 10,000gp

The Winner of the Drunken Bar Fight:
Mike - 10,000gp

The Winner of the Best Dress Award:
Martin (TgF) - 10,000gp

Random Door Prize Winner:
Sir Nivek - 5,000gp

We at the Last Chance Tavern hope to see you all again soon, and please remember we are opened 3-6pm (CST) weekdays and 2-7pm (CST) weekends. We are located just south of the Vesper Inn, and runes will be given out on request.



Rendex - Knight (PA) (KDC)

This is to announce the Virtue Regatta, a new years race around Britannia hosted by the Village of Virtue.

The race will begin at 7 pm pst sharp, Wednessday, January 3rd in front of the Ankh (117*35'S / 0*16'E) in the Village of Virtue Felucca Facet (the village is located west of Trinsic on the coast). At the starting point each ship's crew will be given a book containing the next set of coords, at this set of coords each ship will have to trade their book for the next set of coords and so on for four consecutive points on the Britannian globe. The first three ships to make it back to the University of Virtue will win a prize.Winning entails returning the last book to a member of VoV/VOV at the university

Prizes

• A snowy globe of Jhelom and 10K
• A bottle of Jaana's Hangover Remedy and 5K
• A Commemorative Coin and 2.5K

Each crew will require a captain, first mate and a ship; and will have to register by emailing the Village of Virtue with the names of all three by midnight pst Tuesday, January 2nd. Some helpful items to take on your journey are a sextant and map of the world. The VoV sailors have sailed the course and it takes appx. 2 hrs. to run, we will appreciate an honest race and that crews refrain from recalling to points near the given coordinates.

Gates will be available from the west Britain bank near the Artists Guild from 6:15 pm pst to 6:40 pm pst the day of the race.

Further inquires and registrations should be addressed Virtue Regatta and sent Here

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

Hail all!

GOD's new Store is Having its NEW YEARS DAY LOTTO. Come to the Four Factions Faire one screen S.E. of the Shadow Lords faction Building on the Felucca facet (Yew Crypts) and play!

Top Prize is 50k! Many assorted weapons and armor can also be won. Cost is 2k per box. These boxes sell fast so don't dawdle! Come Monday Morning and thanks for the Business!

The Council of Mages have been reduced to small, organized raids on cities. Meanwhile, the loyalists under Lord British have not shown much strength in recent days.

City Status (as of noon, 30 December):

• Britain: Minax
• Delucia: Shadowlords
• Magincia: Minax
• Minoc: Minax
• Moonglow: Minax
• Skara Brae: Shadowlords
• Trinsic: Minax
• Yew: Minax

• True Britannians: Madmartagan
• Council of Mages: Isabella
• Shadowlords: Vampiress
• Followers of Minax: Arkon

Addendum:

We have received word from the Shadowlords' camp in regards to their efforts. It appears that the use of innocents is not limited to one side, as the following report relates:

Hail,

I am writing to you to try to give you some more information on the
Faction fighting of late. Although the Minaxians hold six towns, the
Shadowlords have inflicted severe damage and casualties every night
in wave after wave of attacks. The reason the Shadowlords do not hold these towns is they were without a thief for more than 3 days. Many times Shadowlords took the Minax fort and held it. The Minaxians beat down and with no defenders then brought "innocent" tamers in with dragons and released the foul creatures. This did not faze the Shadowlords who are composed of many Citizens on Patrol, TG and other guilds. The dragons were easily defeated and the "innocents" were vanquished.

On Friday the same sort of battles took place. Minaxians bravely defending to no avail and Shadowlords completely clearing the Minax fort. This is when the Shadowlords obtained their towns. The followers of Minax were so distraught over their losses from the week that they have begun to use innocents and even attempted to kill a Shadowlord thief as he took the sigils with innocent players.

The message the Shadowlords send is "Enjoy your luck while you can for it is about to run out."

Sacred Cow

Shadowlords Reporter

Hail,

I would like to announce a quite momentous contest. We are fast approaching our 15,000th visitor to Haven's tower (now known as the new Chesapeake Mage Tower). In honor of this milestone we will be giving the 15,000 visitor a prize.

This prize will consist of a full suit of GM Valorite platemail armor as well as 15k in gold. The visitor will very likely happen this eve during the play "A Christmas Carol" that is currently being held in Haven. So please come by this eve and enjoy a wonderful play and perhaps win yourself a prize as well! The play is set to begin at 9:00pm EST so please come by early.

Also an armored man came to Haven last eve and said that there were a group of Gargoyles that had begun living near to Haven and said that we should gather those who would do battle with them as they represent a threat to the whole area south of Trinsic. So if you would seek battle then come to Haven shortly after the play is set to finish at 11:00pm EST. We have need of your blades and spells if you are able!Farewell for now!



Korin the Scribe
The Scribe of Haven
www.haven.uoguilds.com

RPGDot: Did you arrange any license issues with Origin/EA on using the brand Ultima?

Telemachos: Yes, when the project started we contacted Richard Garriott and made sure there wouldn't be any copyright issues. He was kind enough to allow us to continue with the project and agreed that "U1 - A legend is reborn" could be released as freeware.

RPGDot: Ultima 1 - A Legend Reborn; will it follow the original storyline of Ultima I, or where's the differences?

Telemachos: We decided to change the storyline some to make the game more RPG oriented rather than the hack'n'slash action game the original was. We'll do that by introducing alot of sub-quests, mainly given by NPC's you'll meet in taverns, on the streets of the towns, in the wilderness etc. Also by popular demand we'll remove the space-part from the original where suddenly had to fly a space craft and shoot down aliens and replace that by a quest more true to the fantasy genre. The overall plot of the game remains unchanged though so the final battle shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

Waking up from a fitful sleep, I arose to the usual pleasant surroundings of the temple.Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I had almost tripped over a blue book, laying next to my favorite chair.It’s common for me to fall asleep in my translations of ancient texts, but since when did I fall asleep on my chair?

I tried to lift the book, but it was held by a powerful magic…a magic that could only have been otherworldly.I opened the book and read the note therein:

Me want learn balance thing.Shabti say me is ‘portant.Me come again.Me stayin’ lycaeum with Anwar.Me visit Helper friend TUR too. Thank you.

Sarielle

I scratched my head as I finished reading.I could sense from the words a strange presence.A power I had not felt since my days as a lieutenant in the Dark one’s army.Now a Hierophant of Balance, I could sense a duality within the author of this note.

I contacted my friends, and Ashram, Ng, and the temple tailor, The elf lady Poppy appeared.They were also amazed at the note and wondered what it meant.Ng left suddenly, saying he would check the Lycaeum for clues.Sure enough, he found one…another book left by Sarielle:

Me want know difference Good and Evil.Callista say me Evil, but Helper say me Good.Maybe write here you can and say me what you know.

As I ran my fingers through the parchment on the paper, I couldn’t help but wonder about this inquisitive young girl. She was intelligent, yet a deep innocence.Poppy mentioned to me that she had met the young girl, and found her to be sweet and nice, but always scared and timid.Had this girl been a slave of Callista, or someone else? She reminded me so much of myself after losing my wife and child to Minax, that I found tears rolling down my cheek.I had never cried since my family’s death…until now. Sarielle,From what I have heard about thee, I do not see how you can be anything but yourself.You come off as a bright and cheerful child, with little wish to harm anyone.Even with what you have written so far, I have felt nothing but a kind and loving spirit.

So you know who I am, I am the Hierophant of Balance, Ku Kullin. Once I was a devotee to the Black one, but I was saved by the power of the Gold one, and now I am the chosen carrier of the word of Balance. I know the darkness that they speak of, and of its presence.You must never let the judgement of others define who you are.

As to your question, Good and evil are simply the actions you perform on the people around you. If you do things which improve or help others, you are doing what is good.If you do things that hurt others, it is Evil. Callista and Helper base their judgement on you by what they believe.

I hope to see you again, Sarielle…and I do hope you will stay a while…I would gladly welcome you when we meet again.

I fear for this child, if Callista the mad mage has something involved in her upbringing.I can only hope we can help this sweet child before that witch corrupts her.

Ku Kullin
Hierophant of Balance

Spirituality. Located on the far south-east side of the map. One of the most safe spots to enter Ilshenar is located here. Walking north a bit leads into a large forest where wild horses seem to be waiting for their new masters. Also in these forests a new species, the unicorn, can be found. The unicorn can be tamed, but I was unable to actually ride one. Also a white-skinned species of NPCs walked in this forest, with names like Xian, Klian, Piku and Liera. Any form of communication failed and their actual purpose eludes me. Walk to the east from here to find the entrance to what I call 'the dungeon of blood'. Skeletons guard the entrance and you'd better be sure that you want to see the inside of that dungeon because the exit of the dungeon is not functional at this moment, leaving you stranded inside... The hell cats, blood elementals, imps and the collector of souls will have a blast! At the far end of the dungeon one can find a new monster called 'succubus' that at this moment looks like a grey NPC. I am sure more impressive art will follow at a later date. Going farther north from the shrine leads to the Twin Oaks Tavern and beyond that to the spider forest where giant spiders and trolls await the lone traveller. Going west from the shrine leads to a sheep farm and beyond that lies the next shrine.

Sacrifice. Due north of this shrine lies a deserted town that is occupied by gazers and elder gazers. North-west of the shrine one can find a ratmen infested area and a very large dungeon-like cave where ratmen and earth elementals seem to be guarding a jewel mine. Moving farther north leads across a healer's forest to a path across the mountains.

Justice. The path leads north, then west, then south to the Justice shrine. The area swarms with imps, mongbats and headless ones, and close to the water the water elementals have their home. If you decide to use this moongate as destination, prepare for immediate battle upon arrival. Eventually the path leads south and west to another deserted town. Without a doubt built by humans but currently occupied by ogres, ratmen and lizard men. A narrow path leads north from the town into the mountains. (at this moment the path comes to a halt at a tunnel entrance, but should lead to a secluded mountain pass that ends with a dungeon entrance) South from the city a bridge takes the road into a thick forest where imps, mongbats, corpsers and reapers are plenty. Once over the bridge, going south through a small mountain pass leads to the next shrine.

Honesty. Located in the south-south-west area of the map. Honesty is another monster infested shrine, where mongbats, imps and gazers await the non-suspecting adventurer. Prepare to run north into the thick forest or west across a grassy mountain path to dodge the monsters. Going west eventually leads into the swamps, where alligators, large toads and lizardmen dwell. Be aware of the walking swamp tentacles there. All the way west lies a lizard men camp with a (non-functional) entrance to a cave or dungeon. Going south from the camp through a small pass leads to an area where imps, air elementals, efreets and fire elementals live. In that area another (non-functional) entrance to a swamp area secluded in the mountains can be found. In that swamp area I found two impressive beasts (other than the poison elementals that made life miserable), a nightmare and a horse named 'a ki-rin'. Possibly a named unicorn, perhaps another species altogether. Since the poison elementals got me first, there's little more I can tell about this horse. Going north from the lizard camp leads to a large swamp and grassland area, with the thick forest to the east. Located on the grassland is an undead shack, where all kind of lesser undead roam. Tucked away in the thick forest lies a large deserted building. Stairs on the ground floor lead down into a large dungeon, that has multiple exits. One (non-functional) exit leads back to the building, another (non-functional) exit leads to another building a bit more north in the thick forest, a third exit leads to the area with the poison elementals, nightmare and ki-rin horse and the fourth exit leads to the secluded mountain pass that eventually leads to the town occupied by ogres, ratmen and lizardmen. In that last pass I stumbled upon more of the white-skinned NPCs that also can be found near the Spirituality shrine. The dungeon itself is very large and is home for about all types of ratmen, undead, evil wizards and daemons.

Humility. At the north-west end of the large grass area one can find the shrine of Humility. This is also a reasonable safe entry point to Ilshenar, but rather far away from any form of civilization. Due north of it the undead haunt and to the east and north-east the thick forest extends. Be careful when travelling in that area. gazers, imps, trolls, fire elementals and efreet have been spotted amongst the thick foliage. Walking far north-east one can find the next shrine, which lies close to the 'hole' of the 'doughnut'.

Honor. Another hunting ground for monsters, that is to say... for monsters to hunt you! The thick undergrowth, verns and other jungle plants make it hard for you to see where to walk and the Giant Serpents and Wyverns seem to be able to move much faster than you. My advice: stay on the roads as much as possible. Going north-west of this shrine leads to a village of brigands, who *do* attack on sight. Luckily a healer's hut can be found east and far west of this village. Going all the way north west leads to an area where wyverns, drakes, dragons and elder gazers roam. Don't go there unless you have to. Going straight north from this shrine leads to a place where you can wade across the river to a regular forest (as opposed to the jungle before). It felt as if I was walking on water, but it can also have been the liches and lich lords chasing me there that made it look like that...

Valor. At the far north end of the forest one can find the Valor shrine, tucked away in a small mountain pass. Somewhere in the middle of the forest a healer lives in a hut. Forest ostards live in the forest, as do gazers, elder gazers, trolls and the occasional wyvern. Moving east you will eventually bump into some titans and cyclopean warriors that call the north part of the forest 'home'. Still moving east a narrow mountain path leads up into the mountains to the domain of the undead. A huge two-story stone building, about the size of two keeps, contains about everything a normal traveller would do anything to avoid. Liches, lich lords, dread spiders, poison elementals, rotting corpses, mummies, blood elementals, stone gargoyles, elder gazers and giant black widows will do their best to make your stay there as miserable as possible. Suppose you make it through the maze-like building, then you still need to work your way through the next mountain pass that leads down and is home to wyverns, drakes and a handful of harpies. Close to the exit of that pass lies the next shrine, so any sane traveller would have used a moongate to travel there.

Compassion. The final shrine, and possibly the most interesting one. Close by, to the south and to the east, you can find some settlements of people living in tents and wagons. Some of the more important shopkeepers can be found there; a bank, a healer, stables, a smith and a mage shop. Crossing two bridges to the east (*not* stopping at the undead infested haunted hause half-way) leads to a desert area where more settlements can be found with more healers, another bank, an inn, a jeweler, a provisioner, more stables and even more healers. Going north-east from the shrine leads past mountains that hold the nest of the Ancient Wyrm to a narrow mountain pass into volcano city. Once without a doubt a very pretty sight to see, currently infested with creatures such as daemons, stone harpies, succubii, lava lizards and other fierce creatures. At the far east side a mountain path leads to the aforementioned desert area. Going all the way south from the shrine one can find a mountain pass that leads across a bridge and ends north of the spider forest near the Twin Oaks Tavern, close to where we started this tour.

That concludes todays spectacle. I think I mentioned about all areas that I was able to visit in the past five days. There are a few non-functional entrances that I still need to figure out where they lead to, and there are some areas that I am going to visit again now that I have a better overview of the entire terrain. All in all these new lands offer quite a challenge for the more experienced player and explorers will have a blast visiting all the corners of Ilshenar. I can't wait to read about the lore that should come with this fine addition to Ultima Online. Who are these mysterious white skinned NPCs ? Why have at least three cities been taken over by monsters ? Who are these people living in tents and wagons ? So many questions, so much to see. For now I must say goodbye, but perhaps one day we shall meet in the mystic lands of Ilshenar.

Golgotha is in need of nobles! Golgotha Kingdom is in short supply of Barons, Council Members and Advisors.

If you live in the area between Britain and Trinsic in Felucca, then you are able to become a noble of the Golgothan Kingdom. Servitude in the court of Golgotha is a position of honor and great leadership. We are also in need of a Baron/Baroness for the town of Caendryl west of Trinsic. Any guilds that reside between Britain and Trinsic that wish to apply for representation to the Council may do so by sending a message to Lich Soulstealer at 78245748 on ICQ.

Lich Soulstealer is currently attempting to increase his magical powers by gathering various magical artifacts from around the realm. Last night, he reportedly drained the Candle of Leadership of its power.

We shall see how this develops...
--Sage Arthur

You can read everything about his thrilling adventure to Blackmores Inn to judge the quality of its ale, in our Establishment Reviews section.

LOK has been holding pvp tournaments at our tower for the last two weeks. The third fight night will be Saturday, December 30.
The rules are as follows:

• No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No magic armor and weapons allowed.
• No poisoned weapons, or poisoning weapons during battle.
• No use of summoning spells, offensive field spells, blade spirits, energy vortex, recall nor gate.
• No Stealing is allowed during battle.
• The only pre-casting allowed (casting done before the match countdown) is Magic Trap, Reactive Armor, and Magic Reflection.

The prizes are as follows:

• 1st Place 30k
• 2nd Place 15 k
• 3rd Place 5k

There is a 1k nonrefundable entry fee.

Gates will be provided from Britains west bank and Moonglow 30 mins before registration begins.
Registration starts at 8cst (6pst) Matches begin at 9cst (7pst)
The Tower is located north of Minoc near the farthest north cave.
This being in Trammel you will need to guild to our Dueling Stone.

Friday *Second Fiddle of LOK*

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

The Tales of a Traveller has been updated with a new look, which hopefully make the site easier to navigate as well as more enjoyable to look at.

The news are covering all the interesting things in world of Ultima Online (from UWO:O and traditional Ultimas as well, although the main focus is in UO) and matters that are role-playing related. The Tales of a Traveller reports news in European perspective, and perhaps giving a different edge to the news sometimes.

We are also now accepting Quest and Event news/announcement submissions on our "Britannia Today" -section. However this is at the moment limited only to Europa shard happenings. New and better Forum is also active and welcomes you to discuss matters on your mind.

To those who are new to the Tales of a Traveller note that we have a large Britannian (based on what happend Europa shard) Lore section detailing history of Britannia and philosophy of the Virtues. Link collection is one of the largest there is around role-playing on Europa shard.

I hope Tales of a Traveller inspires you, whether or not you play on Europa shard.

A friendly Traveller by the road is always willing to tell his tale, welcome to the Tales of a Traveller!

http://traveller.lemming.org/
Master Scribe,
Videric

What drawbacks do you feel there is in telling a story in an MMOG?

First of all, there's no coherent single source for the story. And usually, if you break the narrative down it reads like, "We kicked down a door, killed something, got the treasure. We rested, healed our wounds, and went to the next door, which we kicked down, then we killed something, then got the treasure." In a story, a little of that goes a long way.

Often people confuse the concept of plot and story. "King dies, queen dies," is a plot. "King dies, queen dies of a broken heart," is a story. In an on-line game, the players have to "fill in the colors" in their head that turns the plot of "kick door, kill monster, get treasure, repeat as needed," into a story, "the quest for the Silver Dagger," or whatever it is. That's the essence of heroic fantasy in the game reality. If you look at the earliest computer FRP's, for example the original Apple II version of Wizardry, it's line art, no plot, except what you read in the manual, which says you've got this wizard at the bottom of this maze, and you, the hero, must kill him. I've had people say, "It was a good story." It wasn't. It was a very basic computer game, primitive by today's standards, but because of that, the player had to build the fantasy in his or her head. That's why it worked.

For the full interview, look here. Then, comment on it over here.

Meetingpoints :

• Blackmore's Inn, 10pm CET (9pm GMT, 4pm EST), at coordinates 60°22' S, 36°59' W.
• MoT-Shop near Trinsic, on Trammel, 10.10pm CET (9.10 GMT, 4.10pm EST), coordinates 103°53' S, 32°20' E.

I am writing to inform everyone of the Grand Opening of the Last Chance Tavern. The tavern is located below the guard post in Vesper near the Ironwood Inn. Gates will be available from Moonglow or Vesper Banks. This event will be held on Saturday, December 30th at 11:00AM PST. Events will include a door prize, a Dueling Contest, an original event created by KDC called the Clown face Contest, drunken wrestling, and there will also be a prize for the best dressed of all that attend.

The Clown face Contest is where contestants get a bag of junk with which they have a specified amount of time to make the best looking clown face they can by placing items on the ground in front of them. Contestants may enter as individuals or as teams of no more than three people.

There will be no entry fee for any of the contests listed and prizes will total around 70k.

This event is sponsored by the Knights of the Divine Circle.

I hope to see you all there and dressed in your finest.

Sincerely,
Anthony, Templar (PA) of KDC
[email protected]

It seemed like a good idea at the time. A hospice of virtue had been secured in the heart of Caina, the city of the damned. The Heralds of the Awakening had acquired a small wooden shack that would serve as a pale beacon of Light against the churning darkness and chaos. Caina exists on the frigid, life-draining island of ice, whose negative-image-white landscape only served to deepen the contrast of the black deeds performed in the city's dark stone towers and bone-strewn streets.

Barely 10 days ago, Aleph Aeirs and the HOA announced a simple opening ceremony at the humble hospice. The citizens of Caina perceived the hospice's existence as a threat to their newly-enacted laws against the practice of virtue. During the opening ceremony, the Cainans -under the direction of Mayor Treadeau Du'rome- murdered most of the unarmed assembly of HOA members and supporters in cold blood. Aleph Aeirs was taken captive, only to have his life ritualistically sacrificed at the evil tower of Golgotha, wherein his soul was magically bound to the throne of Azalin, the Lich Lord.

Days later, Azalin himself presented to the HOA Caina's ultimatum for the return of Aleph's soul. The demand was simple: forfeiture of the HOA hospice to Caina. Faced with very limited options, the HoA debated a course of action to free Aleph. However, the unexpected charity of a kind-hearted citizen of Caina -who's identity shall be preserved in anonymity- provided us with a glimmer of hope. By communication with Callisto Gabriel, this mysterious Cainan revealed to the HoA a ritual of spirit-summoning, by which we might contact the restless spirits of Caina, possibly providing insight toward reclaiming Aleph's soul without abandoning our hard-won hospice. The spell would be performed in an icy cave of Caina known as the Well of Souls, a forsaken cavity where the ethereal fabric between life and death has worn gauze-thin.

Callisto quickly gathered the requisite components for the summoning spell, then we gathered with the HoA at the Wintermoor hospice to sketch out a plan of action. One tenet of the ritual was that only three Sages, who knew Aleph's heart well, would be allowed to perform the incantation. After brief discussion, it was decided that Callisto, Enyao, and I would attempt the summoning ritual. Flanked by dozens of supporters, the group hiked unopposed to the cave. Outside the small orifice, the guardian supporters aligned as a human (and demi-human) wall of protection to deter intervention by Cainaans. Once inside the eerie Well of Souls, Enyao, Callisto, and myself formed a circle and attended to the arcane mechanics of the ritual.

Our senses were distracted by the presence of apparitions and voices, unearthly and indescribable. Like mosquitos in a swamp, they buzzed in and out of our perception, leaving mental impressions of agony and distress, ancient imprints of desperation and vengeance. At every step of the otherwise simple procedure, we were accosted by leering ghastly visages and shocks of psychic anguish. As we recited the chant of summoning, a vague spirit coalesced within our prepared circle of binding. Louder we chanted, and the spirit took form. Callisto cast the spell of resurrection, and soon the shifting spirit gained a semblance of human form, named 'essence of Caina'. With unholy rage, the essence thrashed futilely against the boundaries of the binding circle, and when it realized the manner of its captivity it calmed a bit and began to speak.

The 'essence of Caina' did not have a single voice, its unearthly pitch and gender shifted randomly. The voice was that of a cantankerous old crone, flowing mid-sentence into a chorus of children, then becoming seductively feminine in tone. Through a single bodily entity, the legion of restless souls of Caina was giving urgent voice to their imprisonment and bitterness. A child's voice called out for rescue by his father; a murder victim screamed retribution on his killers in the dungeon Deceit; a husband swore vengeance on his wife's slayers. Callisto, Enyao, and I shouted at the 'essence' to give rise to Aleph's voice. The essence answered over time and many-voiced, "You bind me here... We are not pleased... He is the Skull's captive... He is within the chair... We are liberated through the skull...Free us...We see the selfish desires here... We see into your hearts... I know each of you... Give Lord Azalin back his hospice... That will give your blessed 'friend' back... You have worked great evil here... You have all sinned now... You are tainted by the spirit of the City... Who told you how to summon me! Let me go!"

At this point, the Dark General Navrip and Gray Hunter of the H^D managed to slip past the guards to enter the cave, and they demanded to know what was afoot. The voice of 'essence of Caina' seemingly hurled accusations toward Navrip saying, "He murdered my wife!". The voice shifted again and addressed Navrip as an ally, "They want answers, General. They are fools to oppose us." Almost lost among the cacophony of hatred, we heard Aleph's distinct voice. But the motives weren't Aleph's...the voice spat hatred and vengeance upon his loved ones, his wife Azrielle in particular, so we dismissed the voice as an impostor.

Discouraged by the lack of cooperation by the summoned 'essence of Caina', and having no means of dispelling the summoned entity - save murder, the three Sages vacated the cave, leaving the 'essence', Navrip, and Gray Hunter within. Our heads still pounding with the intensity of the urgent voices which assaulted our brains, we quickly gated to the shrine of Sacrifice to make some sense of what had transpired. Had the summoning spell been a waste of time, or was there some clue hidden among the maddening din of the voices of the dead?

In the short time since she has been helping at the hospice, I have noticed changes in Callisto's demeanor. The distortions have become more pronounced since our experience at the Well. She has become harsh and merciless in dealing with the healers and patients at the hospice. More recently, on retreat to our warm home of Cernhenge, I witnessed her slapping a barmaid at the Silver Stag Tavern for a minor spillage of wine.

Does the Well of Souls corrupt the virtuous, or has concern for Aleph Aeir's soul weighed more heavily on us all than we realize? Have I, as a good-inclined preserver of the Balance, aided the forces of Light in tilting the pendulum of Balance too far toward the Light by supporting the Caina hospice, only to see the pendulum's swing in its inevitable path deeper into Darkness? It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Zappa
humble sage
Heralds of the Awakening

It would appear that the Dark Powers of Caina begin to make their presence known, yes? *smiles darkly* The next few days should be most interesting indeed.

The gladiator games offer the possibility for the brave warriors around the world to fight against other gladiators and if successful to win the Tournament

Hail dark friends,

The battles that ring throughout our lands hold no meaning for me. For those battles are distant, yet I have a war which presents itself to me each day at my very doorstep.

The Mystic Council is returning from their undead state, and we, the Guardians, have sworn our lives to see this come about. Do not harm nor hinder the lich, or thy shall feel the cold sting of my trusty blade!

These are not some tales of fancy, but the true Adventures of Adam Ant

The evil of our lands are braggarts and enjoy nothing better than to tell grand tales of pillage and plunder. There is a place I know of, where the cutthroats and brigands tell their tales and share the renderings of their adventures.

Come read this Chronicle of Evil, but be discreet, for you would not want to draw this crowds attention to yourself!

-Adam Ant

http://www.game-master.net/

Hail all fellow Europeans!

It is hereby that we wish to invite you all to the Grand Opening of the Sword and Shovel Tavern on the facet of Trammel. The opening day will be Monday, the 1st of January 2001, at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET). For the Grand Opening we will be providing gates from the following cities:

Minoc

Vesper

Britain

The Tavern is located a bit south of the Minoc North Mines on Trammel, at the coordinates:

129o 54'N 79o 52'E

The tavern will be staffed on each:
Monday and Wednesday from 20.00 GMT till 23.00 GMT
Sunday from 14.30 GMT till 17.00 GMT

Outside of these hours our vendors will gladly help you to your needs.

At the Grand Opening on New Years Day we will have several fun things to do:

A Raffle

Contestants can purchase keys from Daryl, one of our vendors, with a unique number on them. In the course of the week people, who bought keys, will have to come and register their keys at the tavern, which will be done by Ryan Lightblade. The contestant will be given a unique ID number (if it checks out to be a sold key), with this number they can enter the raffle. On the raffle a random number will be chosen by use of a dice and cup, this number will be on one of the keys.
The winning key number will be awarded a big prize. No more then 2 tickets per person are allowed!

A big thanks goes out to Pad O'Lion and the Spiritwood Tavern for allowing us to use their system for a tavern raffle!

A Mining contest

Miners will be given 10 minutes to mine as many ingots as they can.
Point distribution will be given on the amount of ingots mined by each miner:

Iron ingots:
1 point

Coloured ingots:
2 points

The contest can be done in several seperate parts, depending upon the amount of miners attending. As everyone should have an equal chance of winning. The use of packhorses or packllamas is not allowed in the contest, nor is the use of any ridable animals.
All the mined ingots will have to be given to one of the tavern personell in a bag containing a book with the miner's name in it (these will be provided by us). The miner who will have the most points at the end of the contest will win a prize and a place in the Sword and Shovel 'Book of Fame'.
All the mined ingots will become property of the Sword and Shovel Tavern.

A Drunk relay race

This is a race around the mines and it's enviroments. Contestants will have to register as a group of 4 people. Every contestant will be given 9 bottles of ale, 3 of them will be taken to the checkpoints to await the arrival of their relay.
The contestant who will start at the tavern will be given 9 bottles of ale and a piece of cloth in the tavern colour, he will need to have finished all of the bottles before he races to the first checkpoint and he has to hand the cloth to the next contestant. Who then races for the next point and drinks the 9 bottles before he starts running and hands the cloth to his teammate when he arrives at the checkpoint, until the last person, with the cloth, arrives at the tavern again. The first group to arrive will have won the race, and will be awarded a prize and a place in the Sword and Shovel 'Book of Fame'.
Before the start of this race all regs and recall/gate scrolls will have to be handed to one of the tavern personell, they will be returned after the race. Yet again ridable animals are not allowed in this race.

A Tall tale telling contest

This is the time where you will be rewarded for telling the tallest tale you can! The taller the tale, the more chance of winning. Yet it all has to stay within the Ultima Online Universe so do NOT put in a relation to Real Life in it.
The winner will be awarded a prize and a place in the Sword and Shovel 'Book of Fame'.

An epic tale told by Tari, guildmistress of TPF.

In the evening Tari will tell an epic tale about the being known as Grendel. A sad story which shows us how wrong we can be at times.

We hope to welcome a lot of you at the opening of our fair tavern

The Sword and Shovel Tavern Staff,
Ryan Lightblade, Tavernkeeper
Cypher, Bartender
Vaenesse, Maid

Many guilds have come together to make some great things happen in the Shadowlord faction. We are trying to draw in the many other guilds and independants who are in Shadowlords and would like to contribute more to the faction's success.

In an effort to bring together more Shadowlords on Pacific, we would like to announce the opening of the Pacific Shadowlords message forum.

Our hope is that this forum will become a focal point for the active Shadowlords on Pacific to communicate, exchange ideas and keep informed on what is going on in the faction.

http://www.orderofbalance.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

You can also find links to the message board at www.orderofbalance.com

Thanks!

Mythra - TSL
Thomas Ravensha - ESF

The new leader of the Hero’s Gathering, Decimus, wished to make a trip to the Fort near Yew to rid the place of the dreadful little creatures known to all the world as orcs. When we first arrived it was rather devoid of life, just a few orc mages, orc lords and some large smelly ettins. When the band of Heroes piled into the blue moongate and through the entrance of the fort the majority of the orcs fled, leaving us with a nearly lifeless courtyard. But it was not lifeless for long! Before three minutes had passed the escaped orcs returned with hundreds of their friends and relations! Undead skeletal mages, ogres, ettins, trolls! It was so dreadfully frightening! But those clever heroes turned the tables on their ferocious enemies, they used the fort against the army of monsters! Before to long our brave heroes had taken care of the band of renegades and secured the area. All that was left to do was to sit around the orc’s fire and listen to our fearless leader speak in his calming voice about the horrible beasts we had just slain.

After Decimus was certain that the area had been cleared of the foul smelling vermin we all headed back through the moongate and into the meeting hall in Britain. As he was bidding us farewell he promised to have a more taxing adventure planned for next week. So, dear reader, make sure you make it out to next weeks Hero’s Gathering, and bring your sword! Remember, the Hero’s Gatherings are every Tuesday at 7pm Pacific time in the Britain Warriors Guild.

Until next time,
Bega

We are currently planning to move the Great Lakes and Lake Superior shard to our East Coast server location before the end of January 2001. It has been the ultimate goal of OSI from the very beginning, to build the best, most redundant network presence for UO. This move will allow us to take advantage of our expanding network infrastructure by allowing us flexibility in our peering partners, which in turn will provide our customers with Extensive information on our future network and peering plans may be found on our Connectivity message board. Additionally, this move will allow us to transition the Lake Superior and Great Lakes shards to new and upgraded hardware.

To ease this transition and to help us address any connection issues prior to the move, Great Lakes and Lake Superior users may wish to use UO Trace to test your connection to the Atlantic, Catskills, or Chesapeake shards.

If you see any anomalies or excessive times, you may wish to forward a copy to our Network Team. You may do this by selecting ‘Copy’ from the ‘Edit’ menu in the UO Trace program and then pasting the information into an email message. Please forward any traceroute messages to [email protected].

The UO Trace program is available here.

We will post a moving and downtime schedule during the month of January.

Great Lakes and Lake Superior Pre-Move Information

We are currently planning to move the Great Lakes and Lake Superior shard to our East Coast server location before the end of January 2001. It has been the ultimate goal of OSI from the very beginning, to build the best, most redundant network presence for UO. This move will allow us to take advantage of our expanding network infrastructure by allowing us flexibility in our peering partners, which in turn will provide our customers with Extensive information on our future network and peering plans may be found on our Connectivity message board. Additionally, this move will allow us to transition the Lake Superior and Great Lakes shards to new and upgraded hardware.

To ease this transition and to help us address any connection issues prior to the move, Great Lakes and Lake Superior users may wish to use UO Trace to test your connection to the Atlantic, Catskills, or Chesapeake shards.

If you see any anomalies or excessive times, you may wish to forward a copy to our Network Team. You may do this by selecting 'Copy' from the 'Edit' menu in the UO Trace program and then pasting the information into an email message. Please forward any traceroute messages to [email protected].

The UO Trace program is available here.

We will post a moving and downtime schedule during the month of January.

While I sat at my breakfast table this morning, I recieved via carrier pigeon a tale of adventure from Viking WolfHeart. Impressed with the deeds of the people involved, I wish to share the tale with you. Should you wish to read of Viking WolfHeart's adventure in Shame, you can find the complete tale here.

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

When: Wednesday, December 27th, 2000.
Where: PaxLair, Twin Tower of Darkness, Roof Meeting Area
Time: 10:00PM, Immediately following the town meeting.

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

PaxLair 3rd Town Council to host bardic/storytelling competition!

Hello, my name is Aphra ben Morgh, Grandmaster Bard and unofficial member of the 3rd Paxlair Council. Alot of you don't know me, and this is a situation that I would surely like to remedy. What better way to get a bunch of people together than a with a contest of wit? So, I will be holding a small contest for those of you out there who delight in telling tales, and hearing them. There is no entrance fee, and prizes have not yet been decided, but let me stress the fact that it will be well worth your while to attend and participate. (The better the bard, the deeper the pockets...) The theme of this competition will be "Ribaldry", and prizes will be awarded based on how "Ribald" a story or song is, as well as for composition, technique, delivery, etc. In the interest of time, stories must be kept to a length of no more than five minutes per person, so make it short and sweet. Also, show good judgement when choosing a story, nothing overly offensive will be tolerated; good taste is expected. There will be live judges present. There will also be prizes for both performers and audience members.

I apologize for the short notice, and I thank you for giving me a chance to speak. I look forward to the night of entertainment ahead.

If anyone has questions, or would like to help out in any way, please contact AbM by ICQ# 9917588

Aphra ben Morgh
Grandmaster Bard

Greetings Travellers

I'd like to share with ya, what I was able to observe a few moons ago at the orc fort southwest of Yew. I was carefully sneaking through the woods surrounding the fort, when I heard shouts, drums and orcish battle cries. Immediately I sought cover and peered, through a crack in the wall, into the fort, holding my breath and paralysed with fear to be discovered by the orcish forces gathering.

Inside the fort the Severed Head Orcs were gathering, warriors, wielding gruesome weapons, riding giant beasts, shamans and wizards radiating a pure aura of evil. Amongst them though, a woman I could see, standing there as if she belonged there, talking to the gathered force without fear, while the orcs cheered and chanted their songs of war, apparently ready to leave fer and unknown destination. I do nay know why, but somehow I overcame my fear and carefully sneaked closer and closer till I was standing right beside and awful smelling orc, wielding a giant war hammer. Now I could hear the woman speak, telling them about an orc chieftain called Fragabor and that their force was needed to free him from imprisonment. The orcs addressed her as Maia ta shypsie, a name I had heard before, I'm quite sure, although surely nay connected to good memories. Accompanied by the orcish war cries she opened a portal and the orcs started to move through. Unsure of whether I should follow or not, I waited, waited till the last orc dissapeared and then, gathering all my strength I leaped into the portal myself and all grew dark.

After my eyes had adjusted to the darkness of what seemed to be some underground I cave, I started to follow the orcs into the darkness. After a few minutes we left the natural caves and emerged in some kind of prison. The stench down there was awful, and I had to stay back to recover my senses. It seemed, that the orcs were searching the cells, probably fer the one they call Frabagor. But find him, they did not and so they gathered again around Maia, while she opened another portal. Peering into the portal, I could see a dark place again, radiating pure evil I never witnessed before.

Again I jumped through the gate, hiding immediately after I had passed through on the other side. Peering around the corner I could see a huge red gargoyle guarding the passage which led deeper into the dungeon. The orcs heavily pressed forward, engaging in a battle with the guardians of the deep. War cries filled the air, arrows shot past me inches away, while their magic user summoned servants from hell to do his bidding. Struck with fear I barely breathed nor move, but stood frozen in a corner and watched the battle, where evil fought evil, a scene nay very common these days.

Finally the orcs managed to press through the door, leaving the gargoyle and a walking corpse behind them, while from further ahead the shattering evil laughter of Lich Lords could be heard! Nay need to say, that I started to tremble with fear and choose nay to follow em yet. Only when the hellish laughter died away I finally recovered from my fear and oh so carefully went after them. Passing through a corridor with prison cells on either side, I was able to spot the orcs battling the last resistance, blocking their advancement to what seemed to be a torturers chamber at the end of the corridor.

Inside the chamber a giant of an orc could be seen standing in shackles, which the orcs, cheering and shouting, quickly removed to set free Frabagor the Orc. "Me wus stuk der fur biggie tyme", Frabagor explained to his fellow orcs, while Maia prepared fer yet another portal. Shielding my eyes, I could see a dark spire rise at the other side of the portal, a place I had seen before, I was sure. Waiting patiently till the last orc stepped through, I followed them once again, hoping to escape from this place of terror.

And indeed I knew the place we emerged, Nohkmahr it was called, the evil city south of Yew. There the orcs gathered around Frabagor and Maia while Frabagor thanked them for his rescue, while Maia dropped piles of gold fer the now cheering orcish horde. Frabagor explained he had plans to free someone he called Daregard and said he would return on Thursmuun this week.

I had heard enough and could nay dare to stand there any longer, so I carefully sneaked away, leaving behind the gathered orcs, leaving behind the dark town, running fer the safety of the woods. What great evil did they free? Who is Daregard and what are their plans? That I do nay know, but mayhaps ye, dear ready can unveil their evil plots and prevent them from causing more harm to the world.

Travel with the blessing of the virtues.
A Ranger from the North

The holiday season is upon us and with it, our spirits soar and we look forward to the impending New Year with eager anticipation.

But all is not well, in the land of Legends. It is with great sadness that I must report the following. A cherished member of the Ultima Community has passed away, leaving behind a legacy of kindness, integrity and sincerity.

Thursday morning, I received word that Tipan (Kevin) had passed unexpectedly on Monday, Dec. 18th, leaving behind a grieving family and bewildered friends. In a game setting, where we sometimes forget that our comrades are 'real people,' you had only to be around Tipan for a short time to realize he was the genuine article. A real person, with a love for the game and life, in general. His integrity, honesty and personality established him as a 'shard favorite' and over time, Tipan came to enjoy a well-deserved status as somewhat of a legend among Legends.

He will be sorely missed by all that knew him. We at Stratics Legends News extend our deepest sympathies to the family and wish them nothing but the best, now and forever. Tipan is survived by his wife, Michele and their two children, Shane and Allyssa.

At this time, a formal Testimonial is being prepared by some of Tipan's closest in-game friends. Additionally, an in-game Memorial Service is being planned. I'll keep you posted on the details.

In Loving Memory of Tipan 12/01

Cyn of Legends

Valencia and Lionel Lionheart wish to announce they will be wed on Saturday, December 30th at 6:00 p.m. pacific time at their friend Ken's Tower. There will be someone gating from the west Britian bank fifteen minutes prior to the start of the event. It has finally happened. They are making it legal! Come one, come all to the wedding of the century!

Val Lionheart of OWR (Lionel's Lady)

Best wishes for the holidays from all of us on the Drachenfel News Team.

Safe travels,
Finsbury M'wa

Hail All,
Well it looks like im going to do it. I would like to say Merry Christmas on the behalf of all of the Great Lakes UOSS staff and wish you all a safe and happy holiday. And for everyone else that does not celbrate Christmas, Doesn't it feel good to be off work or school?

Holiday house decorating contest in Bree-land, 30000 gold prize. You have till Jan. 6th 2001

The event is sponsored by the Bree Gazette and the Prancing Pony Inn and Tavern.

Must have a house in Bree-land any where south of Britain and north of the river.

Bree-land is just south of Britain city. Check web site for details and http://people.mn.mediaone.net/rem2/breeland.html or email [email protected]

Happy Holidays from the village of Bree

Hear, hear ....

Today is a great day in history of mankind.
Today is the day the first economical revolution took place.

No more doing it all yourself, ...
No more hours of iron ore mining, ...
No more stealing rares out of town and getting killed, ...

Today is the day that a new auction site has opened.

I welcome thee to Hawkfield.com

All your needs will be fullfilled, wheter it be by a player run auction, or by a hawkfield.com guaranteed sale.

For those, who are smart, and like to be ahead of this revolution, don't hesitate and visit it now.

Point yourself to http://www.hawkfield.com and be amazed.

Hail all you lovely people at uo.stratics,

I am proud to present a newborn site that was first put up in 1997. The World of Doombringer has gone through many changes during the last year, just like I have myself. I moved from Sweden to the U.S in the end of this summer, and have finally got the time to put up the site that I have wanted to make for so long.

Alot of the material, such as all the screenshots for my chronicles (1997-2000), was brought to here on a Swedish hard drive, that was decoded by my friend and also guildmate Serenne so that he could burn the content on the hard drive to a CD.

This site has ment alot of work to put up, but it will hopefully be a contribution, as I together with my wife Nyte will cover a lot of personal inputs, and I have also put up a Ultima Vault. Most of the UO tips from us 2 UO veterans are overall UO tips, although we are playing on the Europa Shard.

I have been playing Ultima games since the mid 80's, and has always been fascinated by the Ultima history. The Ultima Vault was quite extensive when it was put up yesterday, and it will be updated. I will do some interesting comparisions in this project which is just as much a tribute to the Ultima Dragons as to the Ultima games themselves. All this under one roof at Axl & Nyte Doombringer's Ultima Online.

Go explore, and Rock the Nation!

Lord Axl Doombringer AKA Ravensgard Dragon

website at: http://linux.telnett.no/~doomworld
email: [email protected]

We are giving away a Sand Stone Patio... its the top prize...its the only prize!! BUT! to keep it cheap we are only selling 40 box's at 50k per box! You want a house? Take a chance at a great one!!!

We will also have the annual holiday lotto of 2k per box and a 50k top prize... lots of weaps and assorted goodies.... This is a lotto though, so don't play if yaw can't afford to lose :) This is all for the Store so its always 100%-150% pay out! Hope to see ya there.

Recently, I brought ye word of a new Viking King and his intentions to restore the Vikings to prominence. Well and good, I thought. Those Norsemen are
a robust bunch and the shard would be a more lively place for their resurgence. Little did I know just how lively things were about to become. This afternoon, while sitting in the Cat's Lair, I met with a courier who handed me the following message. As I read the parchment, I nearly spewed me mead! Read on and see what I mean.

To all nobles and to all town cryers. Most people wondered what ever happened to the Vikings and their great civilization. Some say that we ran away like cowards, some say that we are all but dead. No one knows the truth. It is true that my vast army of Vikings is all but gone Christian and now are nothing more but farmers and craftsman, yes that is all true.

At one point the Vikings did have meaning, we had a mission, we had life. We were sent down from Valhalla to stand strong against the Frost Giants who terrorize the world and strike fear even to the gods. Yes, we are, or were, the dead warriors, warriors of the past. All of us had died in battle before for our people and gods, and we were willing to do it again.

As you must know, Norsemen have been seen around here and there scattered about. After my second death in the betrayal of my fellow soldiers, we fell apart. My wife, their queen, has now married another and they rule together. They have all forgotten the old ways. They are no longer Vikings, for that word means "Fighting man" and as you can see they are just about all but that.

I am once again alive, by the kind heart of Odin and his trust, I am back, the True King of the Norsemen, or Vikings. I tend to take back what was mine and rule with a firm grip. If anyone should stand in my way so be it, may the gods see you in Valhalla shortly. I will bring back meaning to my people, I will bring back life.

As for now I begin my quest for total power, once I grow strong again, Viking will be known once more as a word that puts fear in the hearts of many. If the remaining Norse would join with me and show no sign of resistance then I shall welcome them. Hear my words with trust.

From the One True King,

Ronkar of Trout Dale

Until next we meet, safe journeys to ye, one and all!

Cyn

No time of the year fills an old Uruk's heart with joy quite like Christmas. In the hopes of filling your eve with good cheer, I've taken a plucked feather from a pigeon meal and written the following little doggerel verse.

Twas brillig and the slithey toves...

Twas the night before Christmas
And across the shard
Not a creature was singing -
Not even a bard.
But awake in his office,
Filing a report,
Sat Ith'unk the uruk
In old Willowport.
Cyn was still sleeping,
His snores they did wail.
Rand Al'Thor had passed out -
He'd drunk too much ale.
When all of a sudden
Somebody knocked twice -
They could tell by the cold
It was something from Ice.
The Ice Dungeon was legend
For it's foul spawn
And they hated when Ice Trolls
Showed up on their lawn.
The trio of newsmen climbed
Out to their porch,
With visions of frying in
A Kal Ort Por scorch.
But outside they saw
Tons of Ice Elemental!
"Tis worse," said Cyn,
"Then when you made me watch 'Yentl.'"
Things looked pretty grim
For our stratics boys
When from the far south
They heard such a noise!
From White Stone came Robin,
A-top a snowplow,
Riding beside him was Raven,
The despicable drow!
Stormfalcon rode near,
Armed with a cheese grater,
Riding by his side, from Bleanyc,
The elf Zeta.
"On S'nipe! On Mop'her! On Ga'wen!"
Robin sings,
"On Romans! On Harpers!
Get moving, Vikings!"
The battle was joined,
The elementals did fall,
Their grated up bodies
Looked like a snowfall.
So all guilds from Legends,
Each waring faction,
Had protected our heroes
From ending in traction.
Their new battle cry,
Reported by the Uruks:
"Merry Christmas, Elementals!
We rox and U sux."

At any rate, Merry Christmas folks. I'd rather be here with you than with the finest people in the world.

Praise Minax.

As a follow up to Finsbury's latest report, the illustrious Wulf von Trinsic sent us the following bulletin:

The next open market in Trinsic will be held held on Tuesday, December 26 at the Trinsic meeting hall on the Trammel facet. The time is 7 p.m. London time, which means 8 p.m. in Germany.

Depending on the amount of merchants and customers, the Guard of Trinsic will keep an eye on the market and send some guards for protection. In case only a few merchants participate, the number of guards will be reduced. The whole project is under construction and at the moment the market is held each Tuesday and Friday at the same time. We are in need of more vendors, so I would like to encourage all craftsman to set up a few tables for their wares.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas

Go with the Virtues!

This late breaking story just in from Aubrey Gawen, Curator of the Museum of Britannia. Read on.

Due to the holidays, which seems to be causing a complete lack of interest in the Regatta, I am postponing the event. After all, so many people said they wanted a boating event, the hectic holiday season MUST be the reason I have received no entries! So everyone have a happy holiday season with your families. I apologize for placing my event so close the holidays.

The Museum of Britannia is here to serve you, the people of legends. We will be here when you are ready! The new date of the event is 27 January 2000. Hope to see you there! If you are interested in participating in the regatta and winning a Christmas Bell, please contact me so I can plan for the number of participants and send you a copy of the rules.

Aubrey Gawen Curator, Museum of Britannia

Best wishes to one and all during this most festive holiday season!

Cyn

The party departed the Brazen Monkey Tavern, which lies adjacent to Beechel’s farm in western Britain, and traveled to the western entrance of Khaldun. After a brief exploration of that dungeon’s catacombs, the adventurers happened upon Vrandes and the spirit of Beechel Kire. Vrandes was described in Armande’s right-hand man, and as such the several warriors present quickly felled him. Simultaneously, other adventurers were journeying with Beechel to the surface. There, Beechel was revived and transported back to Britain, where he rested at the Sweet Dreams Inn.

Guards were set up at Beechel’s farm and the Tavern in case Armande should respond with a reprisal attack. This proved to be a wise decision as several Necromari emerged from the woods. Their enchanted tongues were no match for tempered steel and the attack consequently failed.

Armande and Scaramandine II are heads of two rival factions within the Necromari. Not much else is known about the Necromari, apart that they are an ancient magical society with a history of necromancy. It is said that Scaramandine the Elder was a member of this organization and was the original possessor of the Orb of Soul Seeking. Scaramandine had used a Spell of Focusing to craft the Orb into a weapon and may have used it to destroy an ancient kingdom where Minoc stands today. As a consequence, this organization was outlawed and Paladins led by Nevarre finally pursued its members to the dungeon Wrong.

The Orb was recovered and hidden in a cave near Wrong where it remained until it was recently discovered. Once loose, the Orb traveled to the Undead village of Necropolis, in Felucca. There, the Undead and others aided it. Once the entity within in grew in power, it led the Undead to a copy of the Spell of Focusing. However, either fearing that Scaramandine II or Armande may acquire the spell, the Orb moved on.

The Orb now can be found in Cove, Felucca.

Hail Ye!

Ye might know, that Rilla announced a contest to furnish and decorate her house. Everyone is invited to send in sketches of his or her design to Lady Seer Intaria. Please send in yer designs till January 1st 2001. The sketches will be reviewed by Talos and the best will be choosen fer implementation and a plaque with the name of the winner shall be put up fer recognition.

The next room to furnish will be the room which will function as Library and Museum in the future. Rilla's house can be found north-east of the Magincian bank on the Felucca Facet.

Good Luck everyone!

I entered the facet gate, ready to take my final raid as a True Brittanian. I had gotten the message that a major raid was happening and i did not want to miss this. I got to the TB gathering area to find about 3 or 4 dozen soldiers getting ready for battle. We stood around until the mages were ready, and then gated to Magnicia: the home of the Council. I was one of the first ones out of the gate, me and three others showed up on the outskirts and waited for the rest of the gates to open and let the army through. We exchanged wishes of luck to eachother until the army was ready to march.

We charged into Magnicia with stunning coordination. The organization soon broke and small bands of True Brittanians roamed the streets. Suddenly, I saw a man engulfed in a bright violet hugh. I asked him what his name was. "Gabrielle," he said. I realized then why he was colored that way: he possesed a ! ! sigil. I told him to ride fast and hard towards the coast. I stayed back and fought off the CoMies that had targeted the brave holder of the sigil. I soon fell back to the coast as well to find two other bodyguards fighting off the assassins. They had their backs to the waters and were yelling for someone to bring a boat. I looked in my pack. I couldnt believe it, the boat that I had wanted to sell so bad now was going to save Britain. I placed it in the water and unlocked the side. Gabrielle jumped on the boat along with the other bodyguards and I.

My tillerman looked at me, waiting for an order. I shouted, "Forward! Forward! Go Forward!" We lurched forward and soon found ouselves in the open ocean. After outrunning some water beasts and nearly getting lost, we saw good Britain on the horizon. I maneuvered the boat to the shore andopened the plank. We all jumped off and galloped all the way to the castle.

When we reached the throne room, Gabrielle placed the sigil on top of the podium and a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I patted my good llama on the back, she had never gotten tired thoughout this whole conflict. She looked up at me and grunted. I turned her and slowly trotted out of the throne room.

I later leaned that similar operations had captured the sigils of Minoc and Magnicia in addition to Britain. This great adventure has inspired me, I have decided not to quit TB, I will once again know the pride of serving the one true path of virtue, the one true adventure.

-Crispin

A bloody katana lay by William Smit IV's side, and against his chest he held tightly a wooden shield. He wore no armor but only a tattered robe that bore the insignia of "True Britannians."

From even a distance one could tell that he was clearly sobbing and shaking. But no one could tell, for he was well hidden! A flock of CoM troops hurriedly passed him by and entered into Lord British's throne room. Several minutes passed, and William was left to his grim thoughts.

"What have we done to deserve this? My oh my... One of them was in the HoA! O! Woe! I shall nary fight my brethren! This must be stopped!"

This and a thousand different thoughts passed through William's head. A few seconds later, the CoM had assembled in front of the castle and were escorting two people embellished in rays of light.

Finally, all was clear, and a couple healers could be seen tending the wounded Brits. William seemed to be looking over something in his backpack with much intent. As he stepped forth from his place of hiding, a white dove flew into the air. Upon the dove a message was borne, and it read as so:

"Hail, I stand aloft...amongst the carnage of Britain! I have thought long about the words of mine friends and leaders. GreyPawn once spoke of coming together to squash the threat of the Shadowlords in the realm of Felucca. But now it seems that an even greater threat is upon us: The Council of Mages!

It pains me to see followers of Virtue locked in war, but it seems that in a land we all share, war must be fought amongst brothers. There is once again a stranglehold placed upon all of us, but this time it is not the Shadowlords!

People are beginning to leave their Factions in fear of CoM rule. Loyalty is beginning to be something constantly questioned.... I ask that all faction leaders rally their troops! We must turn upon the monster that the Council of Mages have transformed themselves into!

We must rally ourselves and strike swiftly, or we shall be in a period of strife that may last a very long time! I do not represent any organization, but I do represent myself as a solemn soldier making a stand in the best way I can!"

William Smit IV
Sage of Justice, HoA
Moor Crusader, True Britannians
Councilor, Trinsic Council of Honor

The setup screen starts with a list of the minimum requirements for UO:3D

• Voodoo3, TNT2, Geforce quality or better video card with 16 megs of video texture memory
• Pentium II class or better CPU
• 32 megs of system RAM or better
• Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME
• *note: UO:3D will NOT run on Windows NT and Win2K is not officially supported.

Installing itself did not take very long, basically all that is done is copying files, and during the copying you are presented with a series of pictures that show off the new art. When all was done I started the client and expected to see Britannia in 3D soon. However, I had to download and install several patches first, for a total of about 25 Megabytes ! Don't do this on a slow connection :) A little while later all was done and the client started with the welcoming screen. The first thing you notice is that transitions are done very smooth. Most graphics and pictures do not simply pop-up on your screen, but they kinda fade in, which gives a very nice effect.

Since the Alpha Test Server was not on-line yet, I logged in on a regular shard to at least see what Britannia looks like now. The first thing you notice is that the 'old' and the 'new' art go along rather well. Objects in my house for instance all used the 'old' art, where my Avatar itself was presented with a 3D model. The grass and trees outside are made of new art too. One thing I immediately noticed is that spoken text appears over your body instead of over your head. Like I already noticed during the login sequence, all text and gumps fade in onto the screen, instead of just appearing, which looks rather nice. I ran back and forth a bit and even though the graphics card I tested on was below specs, the performance was good.

I decided to move around a bit and see what the new art looked like. The first thing I noticed is that not all artwork has been converted to 3D yet. Some animals and monsters are still shown with their old art, while others are already in 3D. Most of the animals have not changed much, a bull is still a bull and a pig is still a pig. Bigger changes are made to the set of monsters. A Giant Spider is really, well..., giant! With legs that are about as long as my height it looks frightening. And several monsters have really changed. The spectre, gazer and corpser for instance look different than before. The Earth Elemental is totally different, instead of a man of earth, it's now as if the earth itself is moveing around you and trying to crush you, a very interesting spectacle.

The artwork is not yet done, and during the Alpha test, new art will be added regularly. One thing I hope to see fixed soon is the clothing on certain NPCs. Sometimes the clothes of NPCs are not on their body, but glued to their feet, which looks kinda funny when they walk :) All in all I have to say I find the art impressive, and I am not that big a fan of 3D games. The performance on my machine was ok during these first looks, but I did notice a slow down in areas with lots of moving 3D art. I cannot really say if that is because of the TNT graphics card, the client itself or perhaps internet lag. The readme says that performance improvements for the client will be done at a later date, so we'll see if that does indeed make things better.

So much for the new client. Also on the CD is BlackIce Basic. This is a small version of BlackIce Defender, a PC and Network protection tool that can protect you from people trying to get access to your PC via the internet and thus be able to hack your UO account. This Basic edition does not actually protect you, but it *does* notify you when someone is trying to gain access to your PC. For true protection, the makers of BlackIce Basic basic advise you purchase the full product.

That's all for now, stay tuned for the next report, where I hope to bring some preliminary news about the new land Ilshenar and the cities 'volcano city', 'river city', 'spider forest' and 'swamp village'.

Most of the team will be away for the holidays, so there will be a small period with very few postings. Dont worry though, we will be back in good time for the new year!

Merry christmas from the team!

After I caught up, I asked an old friend, Erik StrongBow what was going on. He quickly informed me that apparently Ichabod was a lumberjack, who had been out chopping wood when he came upon a peculiar tree. When he chopped into it to get some wood, the sap from the tree fell onto him and poisoned him, turning his skin purple and slowly killing him. The sap also fell onto a bear, and mutated the creature into some beastly thing. Ichabod fled to get reinforcements, which were what us following the purple skinned lumberjack were.

...including one man named Ichabod Revent, who had purple skin.

It wasn't long before we came across the ill-fated bear, which was going on a rampage throughout the land between Vesper and Minoc, killing all the living things that crossed it path.

It wasn't long before we came across the ill-fated bear...

We set about killing the thing, but after a few minutes of casting all our strongest spells we realized that the magic wasn't having any effect, and the only way we would be able to kill it would be to work together at healing the warriors as they hit it with their melee weapons. None of us wanted to do it this way, as getting anywhere near the ferocious bear was enough to turn any man's blood cold, however it was the only way we could, and we soon had a system worked out where the mages would paralyze and heal while the warriors tried to get as many hits in as possible while staying alive.

After several minuets and several deaths, we eventually finished off the beast, ending it's miserable life, as I am sure having the poison running through it's veins wasn't pleasant. Almost as soon as the bear died, Ichabods skin was turned back to a normal tone and the poison was cured from his body. Somehow the death of the bear had proven a vaccine for him. He thanked us several times before he went off to hide the evil tree, to ensure that no one else ever came across it.

Several of us headed back to the Green Gryphon where Erik served us all drinks for the rest of the night, as we shared poems and stories of other such odd occurrences although none were as odd as the encounter with the Tree Blood.

As I explained earlier in the week, this idea was ignited by a sense of loss. The sense that, over time, so many of our colorful and inspirational folk have disappeared from the world of Sosaria. Thus, in the absence of a recorded history, their legacies are forever lost to future generations of Sosarians.

And of course, there are other reasons for recording the tales of our more prominent citizens. Many of the antics of my forebearers are absolutely hilarious, thus there is a great deal of entertainment value in some of these stories.

For the inaugural installment, I've chosen a pair of stalwart explorers. Two men who've spent a great deal of time and no little expense in mapping the shard, in it's infancy. Oh, there were many early explorers and adventurers that deserve notice. Marco Polo, Sangria, Rhodes, Sir Aubrey Gawen, Trysbrothers and Malvader to name only a few. And I shall relate their stories as well, in future episodes. But today, we feature the Dragon Twins, Lord Wolfgang and Lord Wilson TM. The first Grandmaster Tamers on the shard of Legends and fearless adventurers, both.

I first met the Twins in my initial week in the new land of Legends. We struck up a conversation and quickly formed a bond; the kind fashioned by kindred experiences in other lands. As we talked, I learned that one of the Twins had his sight set on visiting the Ancient Wyrm lair. Having some modest experience with the lower levels of Destard, I offered to mark a rune to the location. Now mind you, I had no desire to battle an Ancient Wyrm with my meager skills! My offer was to mark the rune and nothing more. But these two lunatics had plans of battling the terrible beast, besting the legendary Wyrm in combat!

And battle, they did, on numerous occasions. Sometimes alone and sometimes with other companions such as the worthy Hartsa Fire, they journeyed forth into the nether regions of Destard. And on many occassions, they enjoyed great success against the terrible Wyrm, a claim few can honestly make.

Then there was another time, a time I shall never forget. The issue of the fabled Black Liche was broached and the twins decided it was time they ventured into the bowels of Terratheon Keep! Now, I say to you, that is no good place for the faint of heart! Deep within the Keep lies death 'En masse' and horrors beyond imagination. At the center of the lowest level lies the coveted Star Room, the 'sometimes' home of the Black Liche.

Now it is rumored that the fearsome Black Liche possesses a treasure worth a Kings ransom. Many brave, or foolish adventurers have died in route to that legendary room, with few ever living long enough to lay eyes upon their destination.

But when I heard of plans being made by the Twins for such an excursion, I had no doubt that they would somehow succeed. Although neither explorer had any prior knowledge of the Keep or the exact whereabouts of the Star Room, I doubted not that they would win through.

After some little planning, the night of the quest was upon us.Being the first to arrive, I struck out for the Keep, in hopes of somehow winning my way past the numerous fiends and crossing the tightrope. Suffice it say, I never made it. Time after time, I returned and time after time, I died. And all the while, I was in constant contact with the Twins. Via pigeon, I followed their progress through the upper levels. Down into the lower regions they descended, past the fiery pit whence dwells the Nightmares. Eventually, they came to the pass in the swamps where hordes of Ophidians fill the paths. The battle reached epic proportions and I feared all was lost. Then, they were through the pass and onto the tightrope! Moments later, I received the victorious announcement that the Twins had reached the Star Room! I could tell you that I was surprised but that would be a falsehood. I could only grin and shake my head in admiration at the tenacity and resourcefulness of Wolfgang and Wilson, the Dragon twins.

Of course, the Twins have made other contributions to the land of Legends, having taken several pilgrims under their wings and providing support and guidance. Legends is a far stronger land for the Twins and to them I say, 'Salute!'

I hope you've enjoyed this brief look at two of Legends notable characters. I shall return with another Spotlight Chronicle on 1-15-01. Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

And Happy Holidays from the Legends News Team.

Cyn

The coming of an Avatar, Part I

Death; the destroyer of humanity and herald of time, known to those who live as the merciless reaper, the great destructor, and the unending pain and pestilence that writhes upon the face of civilization. Death is the same repulsive blemish that feeds upon the sweet embrace of nature's arms and the mocking fate that no mortal dares to travel. Death, however, as reveled and feared as it is, holds the paradox of life. There is life even in Death, and such was the irony that had enveloped the once invincible sorcerer and scholar of splendid enlightenment.

Dabbling within the arts of necromancy and sorcery, the ancient scholar was no stranger to death. The vivid realizations of what was beyond intrigued him, beckoning to him, tainting his soul with the promise of immortality, the kiss of death. After all, "Death, was only the beginning," or so he thought to discover many an endless night as he frivolously searched for the answers to life and death, answers so deeply enshrouded within the cloak of darkness no light could dare penetrate its splendor. The eerie beckoning of darkness, "the voice," filled with wisdom and comfort, reassurance that his hopes and dreams, his research, of the arcane would one day be fulfilled echoed throughout his thoughts, nagging at his mind, screaming within his ear until the brink of reality had nearly ceased to exist. The overwhelming reason of the voice, the guidance of his power consumed him. His dark and malevolent thoughts manifested as the newly risen entity within him scorned even his own fellow dark brethren. Thus, his path had began, his soul injected with "the voice" of reassurance and promise, entwining within him, thriving, and twisting his very soul into a creation undreamed of. His former body pulsated with the essence of immortality, or so he thought. His skin, transformed, metamorphisized by his gift, blood red and burning with an unquenchable fire and rage. His eyes black as night, yet shining with a gift of enlightenment and charismatic eloquence. His mortal and humanistic features now conformed, curbed towards the characteristics and heredity of a daemon yet his civilized manner remained. He was a scholar, a sorcerer, but now, he was something more. He was a priest and prophet of the voice.

Decay, disease, famine, the putrid smell of rotting flesh, the tidings of war upon the realm formerly known as Solaria, and the utter tyranny of the one called Beast British. A present that disgusted the voice and repulsed even the elderly scholar. Dreams of a glorious past, the infamous Age of Darkness, visions casted forth from his master of the once mighty Mondain, his legions of daemons and orcs, and the loyalty and truth of all that lived in such remorseful days. Such were the days of freedom and enlightenment. Such were the days destroyed by the order and halve-truths of virtues and the heathens of Beast British. 'Twas then the Age of Enlightenment was birthed and with it the resurrection of an ancient herald.

When One-Hand sunders,
the Dark will slumber
when Eight stones stand high,
the Dark will rise

Re-joined with his dark brethren, and allied with the impending forces of Minax, the priest waged war upon the realm, fighting for the reclamation of his ancestors and for the beckoning of the voice. The Enlightenment would be spread and the blood of all that opposed would be taken as tribute to the mighty, graceful, and deceitful deity that had bestowed him the rebellious gift. Victory rang as all allied with the forces of Britannia fled in utter cowardice, the lands ravaged, yet in acceptance of a new era of darkness. Yet, his victory was not complete. The heretic mage Nystul had opened a new mirrored dimension, another reality, and another land almost identical to that of which he had just fought. Enraged, the priest and scholar of the voice rallied his remaining legions, commanding them to march to the north and rally with the forces of Keeonean, general of Minax. Justice would not be escaped; all would feel the wrath of vengeance. Yet, the scholar was plagued with confusion, his disturbing realization that his conquests were frivolous with the existence of other dimensions and mirrored realities. His tribute to the voice inadequate. His legions in the north, slaughtered in betrayal by the wench Minax, all was lost to him, and once again he found himself boggled and searching for answers. In eager anticipation, and blinded by the ignorance of panic, the great scholar and priest attempted to open the legendary Black Gate upon the Great Pentacle of his tower. It was the voice's command he researched the substance known as blackrock, and unraveled the great mystery surrounding it. If other dimensions existed, as Nystul opened the gateway between them, there was still hope for the supremacy and service to his master. He would get his revenge upon the wench Minax, and all who opposed the enlightenment of the voice.

The Dark Tower of Baja, soon of Siege Perilous

Play: A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens- Bringing beautiful culture into UO.
When: Friday, December 29, 2000 and Saturday, December 30, 2000
Time: 9:00PM EST
Location: The Player-Run City of Haven on 29th and 30th. You can visit their website at www.haven.uoguilds.com

Inside Haven's Tower: The new Chesapeake Mage Tower


Bring in the holidays and new year with a celebration with The City of Haven! The play will be the the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, one that can be enjoyed by every cultured person!

Anyone who would be interested in helping with the production of this play, we are asking to give us a call. It would be 100% volunteer, you will not get paid for your services. This will be the same A Christmas Carol Events for Players held last year, www.erols.com/enter/EFP/.

Positions to be filled:
-Actors
-Props (put tables in the right place when we need them there ect)
-Intermission acts

Actors:
People to play the parts of the play characters. You must be able to type fast and well. No kewldoodish one word per line talking. Show us that you're responsible.

Props:
If you're interested in helping, but don't want the responsibility of having a huge role.

Intermission Acts:
We may have a short pause during the play for a joke, story, or something. If you have something you'd like to do during this time enlighten us and we'll see if we can fit you in.

These parts are not going to be easy to get. I'm going to be asking people I know personally if they're interested as well. I'd rather trust a long-time friend for doing something in the play, then a complete stranger. You really need to show us that you'd be perfect for the job. How you do that is up to you.

Send an email to [email protected] if you're interested.
Include what position you're looking for (sorry, one position per person). The positions to choose from are above.
Include who you are.
Include how you can be contacted (email, ICQ).
Include any affiliations you have (guilds ect).
If you wish to be an actor:Include no less then 2 paragraphs (8 sentences minimum) on why you think you'd be the ideal person for the job.

Azazel
[email protected]

Hail, I know this news is a bit late but Oasis will be holding a christmas party. There will be door prizes and tavern prizes!!!!! We will be having a few invites. Looking forward to seeing you there at 8pm EST in the Stumble Inn. The Tavern is located directly south of the shrine of Compassion (Trammel) in a log cabin.

P.S.: Bring Snow if you have any.

Thank you all,
Duncan Maclead, Mayor of Oasis

As a special treat, for all of you
UO2Pid brings you something new
It's a new story, about a d00d and his freinds
They way they act, it's a wonder they're not in the pen

So just follow the link to the page
Don't worry, access is "All Age".
Oh, and make sure to look for a special cameo
I'm not saying who it is, but, um, I can't think of
anything that rhymes with that word

http://home.att.net/~thexyg/grinch1.htm

Things were fairly quiet due to it being so close to the holidays, but still drew a number of patrons and it also enabled me to chat with some of the merchants without costing them too many sales. Naturally, my first stop was the alcahol stall where Raidri sold me some refreshing ale and told me a little about the market. It's held twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, at the Trinsic Meeting Hall and generally starts at about 8pm CET (7pm GMT). It was started by Guards of Honor (GoH) amongst others, with law and order maintained by ROBIN II and his Guards of Trinsic (GvT). All are invited to set-up stall and join the fun or come and spend some of your gold. Stalls vary from market to market and have included those selling arms and armour, food and magic scrolls. The merchants are friendly and prices very good, so good that I purchased a pet Ostard from Horatio as a present for a friend. I even managed to keep my shirt in a game of dice at King Goldemars gambling table.

It was nice to see some activity in my hometown once again.

Jonric: Do you feel the size of the audience or market for online worlds will expand rapidly enough to support the number of titles being developed? What are the main factors that will drive overall market expansion?

Paul Sage: I think the audience size depends on the penetration of PCs, and hopefully consoles, to the market, so yes, the audience is clearly big enough. What is not big enough is the genre that these games are falling under, and that is where I believe you will start to see the worst attrition. Many of the next several games have the same Sci-Fi / Fantasy type settings that are going to put off large markets. It is actually somewhat of a shame in a lot of ways, since the term PSW could mean so much more than what it currently does. The problem really is not the setting, since clearly Sci-Fi and Fantasy settings can be numerous and varied, but I think the perception of the market is, "Oh man, another swords and sorcery thing." That perception is going to be hard to overcome.

I believe, therefore, that we will see our first failure (opening and shutting down within one year, or never having turned a profit) within the next year. Many new PSW companies are packaged goods businesses that aren't used to being service organizations. When the service costs start soaring without revenue to back it up, some companies are going to learn a very harsh lesson. The main factors of expansion will be consoles opening up the market, and improvements in the internet. Once we see a firm console commitment to broadband, I think we will start to see a lot more people opening up to persistent state gaming.

Hail! My name is Eranius McCloud, humble scribe from the city of Trinsic, and I have several things to report regarding the kidnapping of Lady Rebecca. First of all, Lady Rebecca has not been found, and there are no reports that anyone has collected all of the books that are needed for the spell to release her from the secret prison that holds her. However, there are reports that books one, two, four, five and six have been found, but books three, seven, eight, and the book with the identity of the Dark Prophet (who knows the location of the secret prison) have not.

It is rumored that the Drows are working feverishly to find all the books to complete the spell. Perhaps they want to do harm to Lady Rebecca, or perhaps they just wish to walk away laughing with a half million of K*V's gold.......whatever their goal, it is assuredly a sinister one.

The spawn of these books is very volatile. It has been rumored that the spawns have been increasing, and reports have come in from all over the lands about these books being found. When the books spawn they get picked up quickly or they disappear, so it is important to go back and check locations that you may have searched in before.

It is not known whether Kyrnia is alive or dead in that prison, and with Lady Rebecca trapped in the prison with her, there is no telling what danger Kyrnia (or whatever else may be in there) presents to Lady Rebecca. It seems clear, however, that with each passing day the danger to Lady Rebecca increases.

Eranius McCloud, Scribe of Trinsic

A quick note to let you know that I've updated the song site...

Just added a new 'lyrics only' song to the Songs page, just in time for Christmas! It's called "The UO Christmas Song (Newbies Roasting in a Field of Fire)". I had intended to do the usual full production, but a serious cold has kept me from being able to sing it (bad news to some, perhaps good news to others... ;) At any rate, I hope you enjoy it - and wish you all a safe and happy holiday season!

And, thanks go to Ed McManus for doing the second UO Parody Songs music video! He used the parody song "Going To Trammel"... Head over and check it out, if you'd like (disclaimer: video content and direction were entirely Ed's :)

Also - stay tuned! 2001 will bring lots of new songs - and - some BIG news coming shortly after New Year's!

Thanks again for all the support...

Meanwhile, Forsythe, the sponsor of the event and owner of the YMCA, worked busily in the back room, laying out the prizes and preparing for the drawing. As 8 o'clock approached Forsythe annonced that the drawings would begin shortly. By this time, the entire first floor of the YMCA was jammed with people. There was not a single place to stand. When 8 o'clock finally arrived, Forsythe began.

His first announcement was that there were going to be two bonus drawings that evening! The prizes 50,000gp (and later 100,000gp) each! This only increased the tension building in the room. As people became wrestless, Forsythe knew it was time to begin. With fireworks and special effects galore, Forsythe drew the first number, 569. The audience grew silent, each person checking his/her ticket(s). However, everyone's hearts sank as one woman, Charlette came forward with the winning ticket.

While Forsythe verified that Charlette indeed had the winning ticket, the people awaited the next drawing. Soon Forsythe emerge and announced that Charlette was the winner of the grand prize; a set of blessed, unlootable, gold-hued (a non-dyeable color) clothing. To complement this she was given a full suit of gold armor and a gold gift box. Forsythe then announced that the second drawing would begin shortly.

Henceforth, each drawing was held, the winner entering the back room and his/her ticket being verified. Gryan was the winner of the 2nd Prize of 300,000gp. Joye came in 3rd with a 200,000gp prize. Malekith came in 4th, receiving 100,000gp. Andy came in fifth, Malekith in 6th, and TheHolyhealer in 7th, each revceiving 100,000gp as well. NOTE: The 7th drawing occured because a additional number was drawn before the person with the winning ticket could get the attention of Forsythe.

Once the final winner was announced people began to leave the establishment. Many were disappointed; however, they still had an enjoyable time. Overall, around 1000 tickets were sold for the raffle. Within ten minutes, all but a handful had left. Those that remained, congratulated the winners and sat down to converse over an ale or two. Overall, it was a most enjoyable evening!

--Sage Arthur

People of Britannia, I’m sure by now most of us have unwrapped our gift from the gods and are eagerly trying to find someone who has snowballs or the person who has the snow globe of ‘your’ town.

Never fear! Stonekeep (home of the Guardsmen Militia) will be holding a celebration of gifts on Saturday 23rd December. We will have four sub events:

8.10pm GMT – Grand Snowball fight

Everyone brings out their snowballs, and goes into the allocated area (the tavern and surroundings) and will get to pelt each other will snowballs! Guaranteed to be great fun, but remember to wrap up warm them snowballs are really cold on yer face!

8.30pm GMT – Organised Bell Ringing

After the fun of the snowballs, everyone who has a bell will group together in sub groups of bells with the same kind and we will have a grand mixture of music! Our specialist conductor will be on hand to make sure everyone knows where to stand and when to ring!

8.40pm GMT – Swapping of Gifts

Wish to swap the snowy scene of Trinsic for one of Cove? Well here is your chance, everyone can swap there gifts, be it bells, globes or snowballs!

9pm GMT – A Visit from Santa

That’s right! Father Christmas will come and give out some small gifts to the people.
(Value of presents: 500-1000gp)

So come join the fun at Stonekeep at 8pm GMT on Saturday, meet outside the tavern!

Stonekeep can be found by going south from the graveyard in Yew, it is in a clearing at Yew Crossroads which the road runs through. Stonekeep is in the Trammel facet.

Angus Og & Marshall Drakan

Event organisers of Stonekeep

And yet another message has come to me via a very haggard pigeon, regarding the Drow. It's been a long time since a shard issue has caused this much response. In fact, perhaps only the Warlords of World Domination ever stirred this much interest.

The latest message comes from Stormfalcon of the recently reactivated Order of Might. Read on, pilgrims!

We extend this notice to the Drow that pose a threat to the people of Willowport....

If you should happen to harm any of Britannia's denizens, especially those that inhabit the town of Willowport, you shall quickly find your pointy-eared, dark-skinned heads separated from your bodies. The Order of Might will not tolerate your evil antics in this realm, and will declare war upon your people. We will ensure this war lasts until you are pushed back into the underground sewer from which you crept. We have been busily preparing for such an event and we will not back down from our pledge to protect Britannia.

Stormfalcon of New Valor

Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn

Translated from Orkish:
Last night at the orc fort to the southeast of Yew a very large host of various insects not only spawned but attacked the fort. These included scorpions, giant spider, and a few dread spiders also. The battle was fierce, many orc fell to the poison, and in the end it was the majoka orcs who were the deciding factor as they kept everyone healed during the event. After the floor of the fort was completely covered with insect bodies, I went outside to look around. Though it is only a hunch, I believe I saw the culprit in disguise. A priest of mondain by the name of Hardy, yet instead of normal font color for a preist, he had a dark purple color which is well known as the color of seers. Many shinies were sacrificed to appease the WarGod just in case.
Snarf 'xug

The Day of the Reaper
by Raziel Maleki

As I was walking to Minoc today to visit an old smithy friend of mine, I managed to bump into a rather disturbed old miner. I was perplexed as to why he would be running away from the mines and mumbling to himself in such a manner. He looked as if he had seen the reaper himself. My curiosity piqued, I decided to take a little detour from Minoc and headed in the direction that the miner had come from.

After a goodly walk I found myself in the township of Coventry, at the front steps of the Screaming Liche Café. No sooner had I arrived then I did see one of the locals of Coventry by the name of Fury. He seemed a bit frantic at first, but as I attempted to comfort him, he calmed rather quickly. In short, hastily spoken sentences Fury told me of an attack by earthen elementals that had come from the caves west of their town. I asked for an escort to the cave he spoke of and Fury was more then willing to oblige.

After a short trek, we found ourselves at the entrance to the cave, where I was instantly dismayed by what I saw. I had seen some carnage in my days, but this night topped it all. There hardly seemed a place to walk as I stepped through the mangled bodies of the masses – men, women, and elementals alike. Interviewing some of the survivors of the ordeal, I came to find out that a beast known as “The Reaper Lord” had summoned these elementals to ravage the lands. I imagine, if it was not for the brave souls who fought this lord and his minions, that all of Minoc might have been laid to siege.

So, to those brave warriors who fought with such valor, I thank ye one and all. I can walk the streets with a feeling of ease knowing such gallant warriors walk our lands.

To all the Leaders of the towns:
My Lord seeks that thou shouldst come forth, leaders of thy mighty towns and do battle with him. Should ye win, he may be persuaded to give ye the cure to this disease. Should ye lose, which ye will, control of thy town is ours, and we may do to it as we please. We have also extended with gracious offer to Vienne, as her pitiful begging amuse us. As for what should happen if Vienne loses, only my master knows as of yet.

From the Desk of Thy Master,
Nox Maelstrom

Mongbats Arrive - Delucia Prepared
by Sabrina Rouell

Delucia, a quaint town in the lost lands commonly known as the City of Ruins, was assaulted the other day by a rather large swarm of Mongbats and Headless.

Delucia is known for the gardens and abundance of animals nearby - the Shepherds herd their animals there for the nice grassy areas, and often set to taming the wild animals around the perimeter of the town. The town itself is fairly secure, as there is a guard tower over the North entrance, with the surrounding mountains supplying a natural barrier to attacks.

The Mongbats came from the north, out of the woods, and headed south towards Delucia. They seemed to be in search of a more abundant food source - either that, or they were growing tired of the type of food that was provided for them.

The town crier heard word of this Mongbat army, and made haste to make sure that the Delucia residents were prepared to protect the town.

Following the path that leads out of town, I encountered many groups of Mongbats heading south. A company of warriors was already at hand, trying to force the mongbats back to their homes. The Mongbats army was large, however, and some of combatants had to let a few go through in order to save their own lives. Thankfully, a contingent of Guards stood ready by the entrance of Delucia, finishing off any Mongbats that managed to make their way to the city gate.

Further to the North, the Mongbat hordes were still heading towards town, and the native animals were swift in their attempts to keep them at a distance. The normally docile creatures fought bravely, but lost to the number of Mongbats that came through.

In the end, the warriors prevailed and the Mongbats retreated back to the woods from which they came. Delucia was once again safe from harm. I wonder if the residents are considering other methods of keeping out the vermin in the future. Only time will tell.

Until next time, safe travels to you!

A Loud Awakening by Sabrina Rouell

As part of my daily travels, strolling through the township of Britain, I noticed a strange quiet has settled throughout the normally busy city streets. After running around a bit, I finally found a single soul standing near the First Bank of Britain. The gentleman seemed to be in a hurry himself, and when I asked him where everyone had disappeared to, he gave me an odd look and quickly exclaimed, “There’s a commotion in the graveyard!” before rushing off himself. I decided that I should investigate this “commotion” in person, so I wandered off in the direction of the graveyard to have a look.

When I arrived at the cemetery grounds I was greeted with a unique sight indeed! It seems a dragon was making a lot of noise in the area, causing the undead to wake from their “eternal” slumber. The scaly beast seemed to focus his efforts at the entrance of the cemetery, to prevent the warriors from making headway into the main grounds. Scattered about the yard, skeletal knights and mages were causing chaos with their rusted swords and mumbled incantations. The undead didn’t seem to care that the dragon had awoken them – they focused their attention on the warriors that had arrived to quiet things down. The dragon, on the other hand, seemed content to simply create more noise and, eventually, upset the warriors.

The gathered adventurers soon turned their efforts away from battling the undead, instead setting their sights on the dragon, in hopes that if they could succeed in quieting the beast, the undead would return to their graves.

The battle was fierce, but with all the warriors and mages targeting the dragon, it proved short. The enormous beast was swiftly slain, and, as the adventurers had hoped, with the dragon dead no more undead rose from their coffins to torment the living.

All was quiet once again in the cemetery - and busy once again in the streets of Britain.

8pm EST Sat 23rd December

Sextant cordnates 70o 24' North 27o 50' East (Trammel)

The town of new folenn is opening on Saturday 23rd. There will be games, tours of the town, an auction and many fine wares for sale as well as a banquet. Gates from Britain bank and moonglow bank will be available half an hour before the start. Come and join the festivities.

Uberfish
Event Organizer

It seems the saga of the Drow continues to grow, both in scope and severity. Alas, I can claim no firsthand knowledge and can only gleam bits and pieces of information from the many messages that I've received. And as my sworn duty demands, I bring to you the latest information on this situation.

Dear Cyn:

You along with others may not know the true threat these Drow are, But we elves do. That have already destroyed Old Bleanyc and now have Willowports in there sights.

Although our relations with the humans there is not too good, we can't set by and watch the Drow gain power. But after their attack on old Bleanyc we elves were forced to spread out and lessen our numbers. We have been searching out our Elven brothers and sisters but have yet to find any of them. We hope that you could help us in finding them by spreading the news that they are needed.

We are still rebuilding Bleanyc is a secretive spot but also we are training blade singers and other mighty warriors to help deal with the Drow. But sadly right now our numbers are just not large enough to do anything. So any elves that are reading this please contact us your help is greatly need in these dark days to come.

Cyn

It seems another couple has tied the knot in the fabled lands of Legends. Last Tuesday evening, Lector Hughes and Lady Marty NiGregor exchanged vows before an assembly of three dozen onlookers. The wedding, which took place in the Elven community of Bleanyc was conducted by the esteemed Silverleaf. We at Stratics Legends News congratulate the couple and wish them nothing less than the best.

If you should happen to see the happy couple about town, please take a moment to extend kindest regards! And as usual, until next we meet, safe journeys to you all.

Cyn the Cynner

This just in from the good folks at Willowport, in response to the earlier Drow statements. Looks like this issue is heating up so read on!

Ug point ear drowsie elfs!

Ga'Wen heer yur wuurds ub me laff et dem! King Mo'Pher leeb Uruk krown to Ga'Wen wen hem go tu der beyond. Hem sayz "Tak car ub me peepolz til me com back!" soz me du dat! Stupid point earz sen threts to town ub Willowport.

Dem sayz dem com tu tak it away. Hummies ub Willowpot be ar frens! Dem welc'm Uruks and dem traad wid Uruks, soz Willowport en'mies be Uruks en'mies! Terra mayor ub Willowport sayz dat we nub attack dem les dem attack us and me re'spec Terra dec'sion, bud me tink dat dem hummies nub no how dang'rous dem dark point earz be. Bud Ga'Wen be redi! *Ga'wen reaches into box and removes the Uruk crown* Me nub wan tu do dis. Me wan tu guard krown til King Mo'Pher return, bud me du wut me hab tu for uruks peepol. Dis be Ga'Wen Halforc cor'nation! Cor'nation by fire an warz! Uruks, lyke dwarfs, hab long mem'ry an we noz dem evil elfies! Me hep Mayor Terra tri fer peeze, bud der Uruks be redi fer warz! Point earz hoo com tu Willowport en peeze nub need feer Uruks. Bud ib Point earz com wid swords out, Uruk tribe wil cut off point ears an feed dem tu der wulfs! Ib der Point ears wan warz, der Uruks gib id tu dem! We protec' ar huts an der huts ub ar frenz!

So say Ga'Wen Halforc King ub der Uruks ub Willowport!

Whew! Easy for Ga'Wen to say! My Orc is a bit rusty but I think I understand. I'll continue to keep an eye on this issue. In the meanwhile, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn

More news on the Drow situation. In fact, messages are coming in faster than I can sort them! I'm up to my ears in pigeon...feathers... at the current time. One particular note needs passed along forthwith. This missive was sent to me by Raven Brighfeather. Raven writes:

I was recently handed a scroll. When I opened it I found this:

Perhaps I have been too rash. I think we should truly discuss this over meeting to devise a treatise. One which will benefit us both. I think we should meet in your town of willow po...? I care not for the name, really.

Perhaps since I am a kind being I will allow you to set the place and the time but know this. I will not hold for more than 2 days time. If I hear no response that is relevant to this, I will kill off The Elven people with our new Toxin and I will set wrath on Sosaria...but I hope this does not need to come. Do not force me. I have seen the light I want friend ship shall we dance the dance of peace? *dark grin* Or will I be forced to kill all of you?

Xi. Quelith turin! Dialiasa Kormasn lsde torm velvius.

Hmmm... Well, there you have it. A note portending friendship or an ominous threat? You decide. A final, peculiar note. I've yet to hear or see the name of this Drow or the Clan name of these Drows in question. Does anyone have that information?

Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn

Yet again have the site moved, update your bookmarks and link pages...
The new site address is: http://courant.lemming.org.

There might still be afew "bugs" on the page, but the main parts work right now.
Thanks.

Elv'eng - Andune
~ A humble roleplayer in Felucca ~

The Blind Gazer's Hanukkah 2000 Party!

The time of Hanukkah is upon us, and this year the Blind Gazer in Trammel is having a small Hanukkah party, complete with presents, contests and prizes!

On the last day of Hanukkah, the 28th of December, we shall be lighting the Menorah on the roof and have as much fun as we can. Starting at 6PM we shall have food, drinks and celebration! There's even an auction planned for later in the evening!

All the details at http://www.thepoke.net/kaya/hanukkah/

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Kaya at 72584954

Happy Holidays!

Kaya of Minoc

Introducing UO Customer eSupport

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the customer support provided for Ultima Online, we are pleased to introduce the new UO Customer eSupport System. This searchable knowledge base will allow you to contact us via email, browse frequently asked support questions, find answers to common questions about Ultima Online, and rate the helpfulness of the information you receive.

The UO Customer eSupport System has been integrated into our website via our Contacts page so that we may immediately start providing our customers with enhanced eSupport. The UO Customer eSupport System is currently only available for English language support. We hope you'll take the time to explore and experience this new addition!

Ultima Online Third Dawn Alpha Test

We are pleased to announce the start of alpha testing for Ultima Online: Third Dawn! Players participating in the alpha testing phase will begin receiving their CDs and testing instructions in the next several days and are free to log in and start testing as soon as they've received their CDs. Additionally, a new shard named "Alpha 3rd Dawn" will be appearing in the shard listing. This shard is open to all players, but only those with the Third Dawn alpha client will be able to access the new lands through the moongates of Britannia on this shard. The Third Dawn client may be used with any Ultima Online shard, but the new land of Ilshenar is only available on the Alpha 3rd Dawn shard.

As a reminder, this is an alpha testing phase, and as such, we ask that participants keep in mind the known issues list. This list will appear as an in-game message, as a file titled "readme3d.txt" in your Third Dawn directory, and on the Third Dawn bug reporting message board. In addition to known issues, there may also be significant changes made to the game during this phase, and some of the changes may require substantial file downloads - including an approximate 25 megabyte patch download to Third Dawn following installation of the alpha CD. While we will do our best to avoid patches of this size in the future, alpha testers should be aware of the possibility of significant patching. Finally, alpha testers should pay close attention to the Third Dawn bug reporting message board and the "readme3d.txt" file for detailed instructions from the Quality Assurance team explaining the current testing focus and instructions for bug submissions.

During the Third Dawn testing stages, the game is not supported by EA technical or customer support. Game issues that are considered bugs should only be directed to the Third Dawn bug reporting message board. This message board will open to the public on Friday, December 22nd, and can be accessed from the UO Message Boards at http://boards.uo.com.

We appreciate the effort of all of our testers during this early stage of alpha testing and we look forward to sharing the new look of Ultima Online with all of our fans.

It was about 6:00 in trammel Great Lakes when I heard the town crier scream "To Arms, Brigands are attacking at the Yew Crossroads!". Quickly I searched through my runebooks for my rune to Yew, recalled, and made my way to the crossroads...When I got there the chaos was horrendous.

Many the body of a dead, honorable Sosarian littered the ground, along with the numerous body of the murderous brigands. I quickly joined the fight...towards when the slew of brigands lessened up, I noticed a dark man named Robert d'Guy rummaging through the brigands pack looking for something I guess is very important to him...

I walked up to him and said, "You wont find it, we have it." He told me he had no time for my games and looked through one more pack. He walked a few paces ahead of me and a moongate opened at his very feet which he stepped through at the last moment it was open, I stepped through before him along with Duo Maxwell the Liche Slayer of TUR.

Before Duo got there it was me and Robert, strangely enough his name appeared purple to me, then he vanished when Duo arrived...We quickly performed a search of the area, but he was gone...I hope this information is somehow useful...

Lord Dai Kaioshin
Great Lakes

I was at the Yew bank when I hears about this latest attack. Seems he's a sent em to the crossroads of Yew to start a lil fracas. Ya see, Yew be MY stompin grounds, an there haint no way they gonna have a party without me there throwin a jig err two.

Well I gets there, after fallin off me new scaly bug eatin' Ostard a time err two, (Think the damned thing chuckled about that) ta see many of them red fellers creatin 9 types o' chaos. As typical, I runs in all hootin an hoollerin... An runs out with 7, ifn there was one, determined ta turn me into a new improved arrow butte.

Thank tha gods fer that feller kept me breathin with magiks, I never gots 'is name but I kin tell ya Im gunna name me first born after him. Fer a bit there felt like I was hostin a Yew tour. After leadin them brigands backs inta the fray an lettin the other defenders takes their fury outs on em, I gets a chance to look around. (N smack me Ostard in the back o' the 'ead fer finding every low branch he could durin our lil tour.)

Then I sees Mr. d'Guy off in the distance handin out gold as if hes the Virtue Claus. Tellin dem murderers to finds "it" and to looks fer "it". As I finally gets close enough to give 'im a piece o' me mind, (n about 3/4 of me kryss) I sees him spat n say: "It must not be here. Come! we will check the other side."

Oh greats! methinks, now I gotta go chase 'im in two worlds. Oh well, as long as theres a pub nearby, I donts think I kin complain too much. Mebbe they will have a chef that kin serve a good roast Ostard....

Ocelot Atross
TURnip Farmer

Ok let me clarify a few things. Nystul and Lord British did not just go through the trouble of opening Trammel on a whim. :) Minax had taken Trinsic, was ravaging the landscape, and had polluted the Shrines of Virtue. The Shrines was the last straw for LB. The shrines are the physical embodiment of his whole belief system. Seeing this action take place was the point at which he decided to risk casting such a powerful spell.

As for the FoA? Martoo and company are all dead, save the mysterious FoA leader who is held prisoner some where in the world. Who was he? Will there ever be some answers to those mysteries surrounding the FoA? Stay tuned. ;)

Minax is still plotting in the dark corners of Felucca.

So very weird things have been happening with a little know mage in Moonglow...named Revlo.

and a fellowed named Gilforn...is about to make the discovery of a lifetime.

As Third Dawn nears release who knows what kind of strange and interesting things are going to happen. Or better still what evil lies beyond Britannia waiting to be released.

*speaks no more*

--Eidolon, Lead Event Designer

Hello good readers! For the past week I had been studying the Orb of Soul Seeking in Necropolis. The undead where kind enough to leave me alone while I did my research. But as I recalled in yesterday, a few scattered brigand corpses lay on the ground but there was no orb! Needless to say I was a bit confused, so I started asking the undead there. One of them told me that a man named Spyte stole it. When I asked if it was Spyte the Knife my horrors where confirmed. As we stood around talking I suggested that Spyte might have taken it to the village of Edinburgh and a few moments later, Armande deSade appeared out of thin air! We all rushed over to him and asked him about the orb. He then ran to the spot it had once been and shrieked in rage. He thought we had hidden it. At this he said we will pay and dissapeared. At that moment, several ettins, orcs and brigands appeared! We fought for our lives and finally beat them back. Being the frail mage that I am I got stuck in some mud and was chopped in twain by an orc lord. Afterwords, Armande reappeared and finally decided to talk with the Ancient One Zombie Rothgar. It seems that both Armande and Scarmadine II both claim to be the leader of the necromari. Additionally, each claims the other is an imposter. Thank ye for listening and I will have more the moment I hear it!

Ashen-Shugar

Addendum:

We have learned that there will be a rescue attempt for Beechel Kire on Friday, December 22 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Apparently, the Defenders of Justice were the benefactor and now possess the Orb. Armand has learned of this and kidnapped Beechel in hopes of an exchange. Beechel is being guarded by the Arch Lich Kaltviel. Adventurers are to assemble at the Brazen Monkey Tavern in the farmlands west of Britain, Felucca at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

Tis my pleasure to inform you of my happy return to my Kingdom, Darkness. After having swept into seclusion at the loss of my beloved husband, Memphisto, I have in my travels met a new man who's past is shaded but future is bright. Our storyline lies as follows: Children of Darkness Story. I am sending you this as a re-introduction to CoD in Catskills and our history, so that you can know more about the people of Darkness and our many good deeds.

The first order of business upon my return is to re-establish my guild to its former glory. The Children of Darkness is going to have a Recruiting Day on December 23rd at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on the Felucca facet. We will be holding this recruitment at the former Shrine of Spirituality, now called the Death Shrine since its desecration by Minax. Everyone is to meet up at Lord British's castle in the state room no later than 8:30 p.m. Eastern. The group will be given an introduction to the history of the Kingdom and our guild by our Queen, Lady Pandora. Then the group will be invited to tour the facilities that make up our player ran city of Vamp's Lair. They should also be well acquainted with the Companion program, since we are trying to re-instate our Companion Guild status. They should also be completely unafraid of Felucca, since our Kingdom resides there. We are a role playing guild, but not in the traditional sense. We have a set theme and storyline for the guild and we encourage members to develop a storyline for each of their characters that seamlessly mingles with the guild's main theme. We do not exercise the common practices of the role-playing society; we do not speak in Elizabethean, nor do we follow the Honor System. However, we do have a few set of rules that all citizens of our Kingdom must follow. We are well connected with the Player Vs. Player community, having a player ran PvP City that hosts many tournaments, contests, and events for the PvP community, as well as the role-playing society.

All applicants are encouraged to visit our guild's website here and fill out the application for CoD I, before they visit with the Queen, Lady Pandora. All applicants are also encouraged to use the messaging system known as ICQ for guild communication.

Thanks,

The Lady Pandora,
Queen of the Kingdom of Darkness
Guildmistress for the Children of Darkness

My time is brief, so I will be short and to the point. While in PaxLair this eve, a woman from Havenwood came looking for me... the very same woman who was immune to the plague spread by Nox... she happened upon myself and Kaelyn, known to many as "Snowdrop," as we discussed matters in my small quarters next to my pub in downtown Pax... through a serious of fortuitious circumstances, both Kaelyn and I came to a conclusion as to what saved this woman from succumbing to the effects of the plague... due to the circumstances of her upbringing in the icy wastes, Allisandria's body had somehow "adapted" to the environment, essentially lowering her body temperature to that of ice... when she produced the bottle Nox had thrown at her the night prior, our suspicions were confirmed after Kaleyn used her burgeoning powers of sorcery to test the reaction of the residue inside to different extremes of temperature... in the end we confirmed that extreme cold can indeed stop all activity of this virus, although we are not yet sure if this in fact kills it. Needless to say, this was a major breakthrough in plague research. It does not, however, at least as yet, offer a cure... of that we must continue to work on. Freezing those infected is obviously not an option... but whatever is done, must needs be done quickly. Sir Erus, newest Paladin of Mythndale, has succumbed completely to the plague... we know not how long he can hold on. Many more around the realm lie in the same straits. As such, I hereby declare a temporary halt to all hostilities between Mythndale and the Wraiths as Kaelyn will need access to the Wraith's research thus far to attempt to find a cure. Kaelyn's life is dedicated to the path of healing, and she proved tonight what I've known since she told me of her true heritage... her power's, which she thought monstrous, will serve to hone her innate abilities to heal to unheard of levels. Powers that she felt would only corrupt her and harm those around her have shown they can indeed be harnessed and used by her for the good of others. I only hope that she can learn to focus them enough to defeat this virus before it is too late...

Govannon Mac Lyr

I see that much has not yet changed: the legacy of King Lear still holds true; when offering one's valuables in trust of goodwill, one often receives nothing more than silence at one's return. Oftentimes I hope the best in people, I hope that when presented with the ability to do more with one's self than suit one's own desires, people will do said things out of goodwill. Again, I find myself not only alone in this matter, but actually more so; for I too fail often to aid others when they need help: never again shall I fall prey to this.

So then, I shall do more than merely pose the question, I shall answer it myself. Now that my hopes at something wholesome, a benevolent return, seem out of my grasp, a tragic bliss I shall not know for myself, I offer my rage, my hate my unyielding presence as passion incarnate; for you all, I shall assume my former self: malice unbound and woe unending. Let the bells toll their sickly peel, let winged flights of dark set sail and when the sun sets, let the wind carry with it the hushed creep of my vorpal name...

Let he who once reigned in darkness return; from ashes carried aloft by the four winds, may a blightful cloud descend and set forth to lay siege to the land, to rain and drown the old, to make clean the path for the second coming.

I shall ask ahead of my crimes for forgiveness, I find no option but to sacrifice my hopes yet again to the lances of apathy, and the opiated hunger of the herd. May you all in time find it in yer hearts to remember the villain who made possible yer adventures to come. Until then, rest well...

We received this message from Kurt of the Green Gargoyle Restaurant & Bar in Britain:

Greetings!

I am in need of staff to help run the restaurant every evening. No in-game skills are required, but I am looking for anyone who can roleplay and be a polite, efficient waiter/waitress. Cooking skill is a plus, but is not necessary. Character names are important, I don't want people with silly or offensive names. 

Waiters are not paid but most customers will tip you (some tip large amounts, too). Staff don't have to do a regular shift, but we are open from 6-10GMT every day so obviously you are needed during this time - but it isn't essential to turn up, so long as there is always at least one person there.

Food and drink is actually served for free in the restaurant. We are situated a short distance from the East Bank, Britain, Trammel.

The pictures included show the location of the Green Gargoyle and also a picture of the restaurant's exterior.

Email me at [email protected] or ICQ 22789326 if you are interested in working.

Thanks,
Kurt

Thank ye, people of Morningstar fer yer invitation:

Reminder of Wedding tomorrow 

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Let it be known throughout the vast lands of Britannia and to all reaches of the world that the Glorious Lady Shia of the Town of Morning Star will marry the Honourable and Admirable Kha Danny. All who hear these words are formally invited to witness the joining of Lady Shia and Kha Danny in marriage on the 21st day of the 12th month on the 22nd hour (10pm GMT) in the Town of Morning Star.
The marriage ceremony will be shortly followed by a feast and games to celebrate the coming together of the couple.

Be it also known that this be no ordinary wedding for Lady Shia and Kha Danny are also the founders and Leaders of the town Morning Star, and as such declare a week of celebration.

Ros

Best wishes to the couple!
Pad O'Lion

Client Patch 2.0.4a

We are currently releasing client patch 2.0.4a which will resolve issues affecting health status updates.

If you have any difficulty receiving this patch, please check the following:

• Check the "Patch" directory within your Ultima Online directory (the default location is C:\\Program Files\Ultima Online\Patch). This directory should be empty. Any files in this directory should be deleted.
• If you are unable to connect to the patch server at all, and are using an original (Non-T2A) version of Ultima Online, you may need to update your verinfo file. For details on updating this file, please see the information posted at http://support.uo.com/tech_6.html.
• Run a virus scan on your computer.

If after trying the above, you are still experiencing difficulty patching the Ultima Online client, please contact Technical Support at [email protected].

Nobles and Seekers of Adventure will have the following changes:

• When a Noble or Seeker of Adventure is attacked outside of town limits, they will call "henchmen" for assistance.
• Henchmen that can come to the aid of a Noble or Seeker of Adventure will have increased fighting ability. Some will use archery.
• The Noble or Seeker of Adventure cannot be killed until the henchmen are dealt with (killed).
• Henchmen will carry some of the gold from the noble or seeker of adventure as payment for coming to their rescue.
• After a short time, the henchmen will leave the noble or seeker of adventure and return from where they came.

Catskills Faction System Reset

On Tuesday evening (December 19th), issues with the faction system on the Catskills shard resulted in the activation of two instances of the faction system at the same time. As a result of this, only data on the new members of the faction system was being saved to the database.

To resolve this, we have determined it necessary to reset the faction system on the Catskills shard. Players who are currently joined to a faction will retain their membership and any earned faction silver. However, all kill points and deficits will be deleted and all towns and sigils will be reset back to their original state (as they were at the time of the faction system publish).

We regret that in order to fix this system drastic measures need be taken, but feel it is the only way to resolve the issue fairly to all customers who play on the Catskills shard. At this time, scoring for the faction system has been disabled on the shard, and we will provide an update before resetting the system as a whole.

Catskills Shard Update

We are bringing the Catskills shard internal in preparation for the faction system reset. The shard will complete one backup once it is brought internal. The shard should return to service in the next 1.5 to 2 hours.

I've just received a pigeon from Sir Aubrey, Curator of the Museum of Britannia. Oh, happy day! It seems the Museum is hosting another gala affair and the entire shard is invited! But wait...I'll let Sir Aubrey tell you, himself. Here is the message, presented in its' entirety.

Museum of Britannia announces 1000th (almost) Visitor Celebration and First Annual Willowport Regatta!

The Museum of Britannia is closing in on its 1000th visitor! This is a milestone for us and we want to celebrate! (at this time, we are at 800 visitors and may not make 1000 by January 6th, but we will call it 1000th so we can celebrate anyway!) This will be a fund raising event for the Museum of Britannia.

Among the events at this celebration will be the 1st Annual Willowport Regatta; a boating relay race! All citizens of Britannia with a boat are eligible to enter. Entry fee for the race will be 5000gp.

Why so high? The prize for this competition will be a Buldoz Christmas bell! (valued by some at 60k!) In addition, if the winner has no other guild attachments, I will add him or her to the museum stone with the guild title of "Yachtsman" so all will know of their skill in seamanship! This title will stay in place until the winner resigns from the Museum guild or until the next Regatta where they will have to defend their title. The winner's ship's log will also go on display in the museum.

Also at this event will be a return of the Drunken Dagger Bar Brawl and the Summoning tourney which were such hits at the Museum Grand opening, and will have prizes provided by the museum. There will be no entry fees for these events.

Betting on the Regatta will be allowed, but not sponsored by the museum.

For more information on the rules of the race check out the post on the Stratics message board and the Museum web site... http://members.aol.com/museumofbritania/mob/home.htm

Aubrey Gawen Curator, Museum of Britannia

Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all. Cyn of Legends

In past months, I've received no end of messages bearing word of impending doom. In most cases, the messages were toothless meanderings from impotent impostors. All boast and bluster. Yet, this afternoon, I received a rather unusual message. If this particular scroll bears truth, then perhaps the Land of Legends is indeed entering into perilous times. Read on and judge for thine selves.

We have finally succeeded in our ultimate plans . We have destroyed that disgusting Wood Elf . Soon all of the races shall bow before us as we truly deserve rule upon this land. It is the right of All Drow. We, known as the Drow, have long awaited a moment to strike . It has been entertaining watching you all these years . You prospered and grew.

This happend because we let it happen. Now it is our turn. You have had your time to bask and now it is our time . This is a wonderful time for you as you will be allowed to live and serve us. If you do not bow before us we will be set to destroy with such a force you will all tremble.Yet we are kind. My confused Elven cousins, join us! Bask in the darkness before you allow the change to occur for humanity. The dwarves, and even those digusting Gnomes will only harm you . Have you not learned, yet?

Will you join us or will we be forced to destroy you in such a demeaning way as a plauge? Yes, we have one set for you. The filthy blood taken from Hiric's warm corpse was enough for us to create a toxin so vile that you would fall within a matter of Days. We will give you but one chance. One chance, only. If you choose not to join us we will release the poisons into your home lands. Your Oaks shall wither, the meadows shall give way to barren deserts much like your first home.

For the dwaves, you will perish and nothing else much need be said. You have tunneled into our domain and know too much. Die with honor. Humans, you filth! We will see to it that you die in a gruesome war if you do not bow before us. Already we have set fires to your estates as it is time for us to lead this land into the true glory it deserves!

We are the Drow and we are very real. All who wish to join this Alliance may do so but alas we will not forgive the scummy dwarves. Humans will be treated well until they give reason for us not to. As for my cousins, join us and you will live very peacefully.

Cyn

As I trudge my way back through the west Trinsic jungles, having just bought supplies from Britannia Provisions and visiting the Paladin's Library; I would like to take the time to introduce myself to the citizens of Napa Valley as a new rookie reporter. Until recently I have been a poet and teacher at the Univerisy of Virtue in the Village of Virtue, but have taken on a new role in the hopes of meeting new people and sharing their stories with you. I must be off to make it home before nightfall.

If you look here on the right you can see UO Stat Calc, an off-line stand alone stats calculator, based on the proposed rules for derived attribute calculation. The formulas can be changed so that if the in concept section is altered, you can input the new formulas accordingly. It also helps to plan your stats in advance. This tool does not interact with Ultima Online in any shape or form and is safe to use. If it crashes when started, it might need either vb5 or vb6 runtime dll's, which are available for download at the UO Stat Calc page.

If you look here on the left you can see a series of truly amazing pictures of an Ultima Online house, rendered in 3D. It took Deane about one and a half months to create this series of pictures, and I have to admit that they are of stunning quality. Thanks for sharing that with all of us Deane!

UOSS is currently looking for active, talented citizens of Great Lakes to add to our crack team of top-notch Ultima Online reporters. As a volunteer you are required to:

• Be a talented writer
• Be an active, knowledgeable member of the Great Lakes community
• Be willing to attend events and quests, interview VIPs, report news of interest to the community
• Be able to dedicate a minimum of six hours per week to writing and/or posting news items
• Have a familiarity with basic HTML
• Be pro-active

1. Real name
2. Contact email address
3. ICQ number (if applicable)
4. Character name (this must be the name of the character you will be using as your potential shard reporter)
5. Rate your HTML knowledge from 1-10, where 1 is poor and 10 is phenomenal
6. Answer this: Why do you wish to be a shard reporter for UOSS?
7. Include a brief writing sample, no more than 500 words (pictures are not welcomed and no attachments)
8. Any questions???

Good luck to all applicants!

The Restless Ghost Tavern (20o33'N 24o32'E)(http://communities.msn.com/restlessghost) will have it's grand opening on Friday December 22nd at 8:00 pm EST.

There will be Free Present Giveaway Sponsored by The Black Dragon Knights Guild to the first 50 Young customers that stop in as well as the first 50 veteran players as well that stop in. The party will last until 11:00 pm EST.

Here is a small list of things that will be given away (until supplies run out).

Food, 1 Glacial Staff, 1 Dragon, Hair Cut Deeds, Full spell books (young only), Rune Books, Cloth, Armor ( all colors ), Full potion Kegs, Magic Weapons, Wands, Spell Regs ( at least 1,000 of each), At Least 250,000 gold!,

Hope to see you all there!
Village Idiot ( The Barkeep and Owner) Guild Jester BDK

The bounteous seas have been merciful. A fine harvest of fish and wonderous fish has been collected for the warehouses of Paxlair, to help see the citizenry there through the next month of the winter. Though famine may be eminent across Felucca, Paxlair will be able to help the needy.

Noble souls are welcome to participate in the Caravan - Farmers with grains, Herdsmen with livestock, Monks with ales or wines, Alchemists with potions of curing and healing, one and all - gather ye at the Skara Brae Ferry (mainland) this evening at 8pm. Our caravan of emergency goods will depart immediately for Paxlair.

With Plague rampant in the land and Famine in the background, only by thinking ahead may the innocent be saved from the increasing desolation of war-torn Felucca. May this Caravan be only the first potential trade route established from city to city.

Zog

The door slammed open and a cold winter wind rushed in to fill the confines of the Mythndale Town Hall, the fire guttering in the fireplace as the gust cold air assaulted it. Govannon looked past the man framed in the doorway, and saw that the trees in the forest beyond swayed with only the faintest of breezes. He grunted a hello to the man he'd never before met, but had seen and heard of his greatness many times in the past.

"Ye've a lot o' friends concerned, Mikail... friends who seek ye out e'en now."

The man standing in the doorway grinned wickedly, and let the door fall slowly shut behind him. Despite the repairs Guv had recently done to spruce the place up after purchasing it, a tiny scream seemed to escape from the hinges as the door closed.

"Friends?" he chuckled, "Aye, I'm sure they'd love to find me..."

Not in the mood to toy around with this man, already having to deal with Vienne and her Wraiths in the meeting hastily convened to deal with the baen sidhe, and the threat of the plague, Guv got straight to the point.

"Mikail, we've not met before, other than in passing. But I know ye to a good man, thus I give ye the chance tae speak for yourself afore I believe the rumors spoken by your brethern the Knights."

Again the newcomer smiled darkly, revealing the barest hint of gleaming white fangs. "A 'good' man? Ho ho, I'm afraid our opinions might differ there sir... I am, after all, my mother's son." The smile remained on his face as he awaited the question he knew would be asked.

"And who would that be?"

"Why, the prince, Charity Justene, of course..."

A slight hiss escaped Guv's clenched teeth, and those gathered for the meeting fell deathly silent. Even Vienne's incessant prattling about her 'Enlightenment' was stilled at this news.

"I see," exhaled Govannon. "Tis sad news indeed... the man I'd heard so much of no longer exists. Very well. When ye leave that door, know that if caught doing harm to any within Mythndale or the woods beyond will bring about your death at the hands of me Guards. The Clan is welcomed here, so long as they seek to harm none. Step out o' those bounds, and ye'll die a second death."

Mikail smiled, still standing just inside the doorway. He strode up the center aisle towards Govannon, pulling a rolled up parchment from somewhere inside his armor, and held it out to Guv. "I'm sure my bretheren will be here soon, might I ask that ye hand this over to them?"

"Aye, I can do that. Know however that the Knights have been kind to me in the past... should ye seek to harm any o' them, I will be at their side to hunt ye down."

Mikail merely nodded, unphased. Looking over towards Cherokee Rose, sitting beside Guv's desk, he smiled, then looked back to gaze directly into Govannon's eyes. "By the way, congratulations. The boy and girl will be strong."

Taken aback momentarily, Guv let slip from his lips... "boy... and... girl?" He heard Cher's gasp behind him, and turned to look at her. Her eyes registered the same shock as did his. He turned back to Mikail, recovering himself quickly, thinking, 'Twins... a bit of a surprise, aye... but nothing earth shattering.' He was reminded of the prophecy in the book Cher's family had passed down from the progenitor of her line, but shook that quickly from his mind as well. No time for dark thoughts now. He must not let this one get the advantage over him. He bared his teeth slightly at Mikail, sensing the threat implied by his mentioning the children, and the dark one smiled back.

"Fear not, I have no designs on you or your line. If I did, it would be too late for you anyway..."

Guv's body tensed, and his lips pulled back into a snarl, revealing his strong white teeth, canines not nearly as sharp, but nearly twice as large. Unarmed as he was, his sword scabbarded and leaning against the chair behind his desk, he would pit his strong jaws and hands against those of this arrogant bastard any day if it came to that. Somewhere in the red mists of his mind, however, he knew this one was baiting him, this one who was once Mikail DeAngel. He let the snarl slide, but his body remained rigid.

"Ye may leave now," he said, in a tone that had everyone in the room on edge. The bastard smiled and turned on his feet, and strode out the door. The door slammed behind him, and Guv exhaled sharply. He turned to see his love, Cherokee, sitting behind him, surprise and a bit of fear still in her eyes. He knew she had read the book as well... even if she didn't belive it, news of more than one child coming to them would be distressing, as it was only one more puzzle piece that fell into place according to that damned prophecy. Again, he heard the wailing of the hinges and spun around to face the door, automatically crouching, ready to spring at whatever came through...

Mikail stood in the doorway, atop his massive steed. He looked down at Guv with a smirk, and said, simply, "I leave now." He turned and rode off into the forest, laughing wildly, leaving the door open behind him.

------------------------------------------------------------

The meeting continued for a bit, but Guv could not focus his mind on the problems at hand. All that was known of both the banshee, and the plague, had already been discussed, and nothing else was being accomplished. Once Vienne started talk of her 'Enlightenment' again and the bickering ensued he called the meeting to an end, and bid everyone leave to work on what they had learned. He turned to Cher and wrapped her in his arms, and they spoke of this news... and whether or not Mikail, now Justene, had merely thought it amusing to trick them, or indeed somehow knew something beyond their ken. Within moments, however, the door opened again, and four Knights of the Eternal Flame entered. Guv greeted them quickly, without formality, telling them they had just missed Mikail, and that he had a scroll Mikail wished them to read. He handed it over, and heard their curses and exclamations as they read it, their fingers traveling furiously over the neatly penned lines of reddish ink to take it all in at a glance. In the excited conversation that followed between the four, Guv caught only one thing with clarity...

"WHAT?!?!" he bellowed, "Mikail has Tajah?!!?" He slammed his fist against the small desk, and heard one of the legs shatter beneath the impact. "BADB'S BREASTS!" he cursed. "If I'd known, I would have stopped him just now!" Tajah most likely did not remember him, as they had never formally met, but the woman had done him a great kindness in the past, coming to his aid when he was in need. When he heard of what Mikail was doing to her his blood boiled and raged. Immediately, the commander within him shouted his orders. "Then why are ye here?!? Gather the Knights, organize yourself into squads, man all the shrines 5 deep, each squad with a pigeon! Whate'er Mikail has become, he is as crafty as e'er now, if not more so. If Lord Kainen does not act swiftly, and with force, Tajah will be lost!" He heard the men muttering over what they would do to Mikail when and if they found him, but still they made no move to leave. "Dammit, Mikail is not your concern! Tajah's safety is your priority! Mikail can be dealt with later, and know that I will aid ye in whatever way I am able in this, e'en if it means patrolling the shrines alone!"

Sufficiently spurred, the men rose and made for the door with hasty farewells. Guv followed them to the front door, and frowned down at the garlic paste smeared around the entrance. He had been assured by the gypsy that it would hold off any vampires who tried to cross it. 'Bah,' he thought, 'what made me think I could trust a gypsy... then again, Mikail did not remain long, and left abruptly... maybe it had some small effect... cannae hurt to leave it there...'

He closed and locked the door, then turned to see Cherokee right behind him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and stroked the lock of raven hair which always fell over right eye, kissing the forehead underneath. They each had silent questions in their eyes, but both knew neither had answers.

"Come Love, lets get ye upstairs... I'll prepare a hot bath we can both relax in, aye? I think we both need some rest, and we can go see your cousin Lady Crystal with our questions tomorrow... if anyone can answer them, t'will be she."

Govannon Mac Lyr

Let us congratulate the happy couple Lord Eonic and Sylvia:

Hail and well met sosarian citizens,

Tonight the Lord Eonic and the fair maiden Sylvia were joined in matrimony in the chapel of the Nu'Jelm Palace in Trammel, Europa.

The ceremony was performed by Counselor Lady Fantasia and was witnessed by a host of illustrious guests, of whom most were cloaked in blue robes and robes of some other colors as well.

After the happy couple had been wed, a strange shepherd with a shepherds staff named Talos appeard in a column of fire, herded the blue robed figures together and out of the palace.

Before the mysterious guest left as well, he congratulated the newly wed.

My best wishes for the couple too, Liadan.

And now we know why the help queue can sometimes take so long to move, all the counselors can be found in masses together at places with free beer and food, it seems. Thanks IGM Talos for getting those lazy smurfs back to work ;)

Best wishes
Pad O'Lion

Current investigations into the recent undead risings in Britain and Vesper have led to few answers, but one has come up that leaves me troubled: Grave robbers. Bad enough that there are rare collectors selling coconuts for enough money to buy a large boat, but now they are looking for treasures in the bodies of the dead? Have these villains know no shame?

The undead cling to what was once theirs in life, and to steal such treasures from their corpses not only desecrates their bodies, but also disturbs their souls. They feel violated and offended, and it is not surprising that they would raise up to torment the living. How would any of you feel if someone pulled something precious of yours from you?

I send this in the hopes that those that are doing this evil will cease their activities and return the stolen property before the dead strike their vengeance upon us once more. You have no idea the power the dead have, and you walk a fine edge from disaster, for you and all of Sosaria.

As for the current desecration, I will be consulting with my brothers as to a course of action, including a ritual of cleansing to appease the offended spirits of the dead sometime this week. I only hope that the damage these grave robbers have wrought will not have further harm to our world.

Ku Kullin
Hierophant of Balance

Hail kind news-collectors.

We would like to celebrate Christmas with a special gift for all UO players. We created an UO-Crossword and hope you will enjoy it.

Some action will take place in the next few days. Please take note of our next events on Drachenfels :

• Wednesday 20.12.2000 - Dungeoncrawl : We will take a look into the fire-passage and beyond into T2A. A large group will provide some protection, and you will see places you wouldn't reach alone. This event will start at 10pm CET (9pm GMT, 4pm EST) at our Trinsic shop on Trammel, and gates will be provided to our destination.
• Thursday 21.12.2000 - Christmas-raffle : Our raffle-vendor on Trammel will be filled around 9pm CET (8pm GMT, 3pm EST). We will give away some chests filled with nice presents, and the main-prize will be as much gold as you are able to carry.
• Saturday 23.12.2000 - Quest : Starting at Trinsic West-bank on Trammel at 10.30pm CET (9.30 GMT, 4.30pm EST). We will send you on a hunt throughout Trinsic. The winner will earn 25'000gp, the second 15'000gp and the third 10000gp.
• Sunday 24.12.2000 - Christmas : We will celebrate this event in our Tower (South-West of Wrong, a rune to it can be found in our Trinsic-shop). The celebration will start at 11.30pm CET (10.30pm GMT, 5.30pm EST) and will last several hours to offer the possibility for everyone to drop in. Talk, eat, drink and share gifts with your UO-friends.

Raknar the Merchant [MoT]

In a secret meeting among the members of the Serpent Council, a proposal was struck and a city became the home of balance.

Last night, members of the Serpent Council as well as the allied guilds convened at the temple to ratify a proposal: establish a colonial government in the frontier town of Delucia. Many of the reasons for this included natural resources, archaeological discoveries, and a spiritual tie to the land that spawned the way of Balance. In a unanimous decision of the members in attendance, the Serpent council established the Delucia town council. As part of their government, the following were agreed upon:

• Three leaders or magistrates would be created to govern the city, each with powers and limitations to their office:
  1. Town Magistrate: The town magistrate would govern the city, acting as the voice of the people in affairs of state. The town magistrate would delegate power to the city in regards to town cohesion, such as treasurers, event coordinators, and ambassadors. The other two magistrates would ratify these assignments.
  2. Captain of the guard: The captain of the guard or war magistrate, would be in charge of the local law enforcement and town militia. The captain of the guard would delegate authority to the city in regards to military power, such as promoting officers, enlisting and dismissing soldiers, and requisitioning armor and weapons. The other two magistrates would ratify these assignments.
  3. Chief Justicar: The chief Justicar, would be the spiritual advisor of the city, and would act as judge and enforcer of the law. The justicar would delegate authority to those of law enforcement, such as attorneys, assistant judges, and other law based assignments, all ratified by the other two magistrates.
• All citizens of Delucia will be granted equal rights and privileges under the new government, and in time, will be granted the right to become candidates for governmental positions.
• All magistrates will serve one term of 4 months (real time). During the first day of the third month, candidates from each allied guild will run for office during that final month. No magistrate will be allowed reelection more then once.
• Current law will be based on Serpent council edicts, and will be amended by council members or by concerned citizens who wish to propose amendments and additions to the current law.

After the meeting, many of the members gated to the city, to oversee the founding of their new government. It was decided that the City bank would be a perfect location for the magistrate's office. The north castle was designated as the governmental palace and meeting hall (all they need are tables and chairs and they'd be set). Ashram of the Serpents of Balance was elected as temporary Captain of the guard until one could be elected.

Elections for the first magistrates will occur this January 1st and last until the end of that month.

He was promptly asked to get off his horse, in which he did, apologizing for his rude behavior, and after he had dismounted he announced to all of the Patrons that he had just heard some news from the local town crier. He told us that the Yew Cemetery was under an attack by the Undead, and all hands that could lend some help in defeating the army of lifeless monsters were needed at once!

Most of us sprung to our feet and rushed to the stable master where we claimed our mounts, and then headed straight to the Cemetery from there. I, after checking my reagent bag, realized I was low on root and was forced to make a detour trip to the bank to restock. I cursed the lost time, however I assumed it would be better to show up late and be able to help then show up early and run out of reagents.

After filling my reagent bag to the brim, I rushed to the Yew Cemetery to find countless undead corpses along the road. Sadly though, there were many human corpses strung among them as well. It took me several minutes to actually reach the Cemetery from the road, having to force my way past the hoards of mostly skeletons, but once I had reached the burial ground I quickly wished I hadn't.

Standing before me were hundreds of bone knights, lichs, lich lords, skeletal knights, zombies, bone magi, and more monsters that I couldn't even name! Mumbling under my breath about how poorly this boded, I started healing the warriors that were beginning to fall and tossing bolts of energy at random undead. After just a few minutes of this, and still seeing that the great hoard hadn't grown any less, I started to wander if the defenders would truly be victorious in this battle, and if my previously full reagent bag would last me much longer.

It was at this point that I saw a tall warrior atop a brown horse, swinging his large broadsword like lightning, cleaving the undead at a rate I had never though possible. I quickly recognized him as the same warrior that had told us of the Yew Cemetery attack in the Great Horns, which mind you seemed a very long way away at the time. I was immediately baffled by his incredible strength, as he took hits that would have proven to fatal to any normal man, and shrugged them off as if it had been a slap from an infant child. After a few seconds in thought I recalled his name from the Tavern, Christopher Surin.

It was at this point that I saw a tall warrior atop a brown horse, swinging his large broadsword like lightning, cleaving the undead at a rate I had never though possible.

After several more minutes of fighting, with other defenders such as myself being inspired by the new warrior's great slaughter of the undead, we soon had rallied together, and with the help of two Dragons, quelled most of the undead.

While the last few lichs were hunted down, I sat and talked with a few other warriors, as we pondered where the attack had come from and who was behind it. We reached no likely answers, and instead were left simply guessing. Whatever the story is behind it, I do not think it looks good for the future of what should be the peaceful lands of Trammel. I wouldn't be surprised if more attacks such as this one soon occur, and I urge you all to be on the lookout, and listen to the Town Criers attentively. I also thank all those who gave their life defending the Cemetery, and Yew. The sacrifices were not in vain.

Aside from Phoenix Armor, Furniture Dye Tub, Clothing Bless Deed, Eggnog, and Deamon Armor, there are many vanq's mixed among oddities you just might be interested in. Many bells and globes tonight also, including full sets.

Follow your Tramell compass to the castle located at 88o 14'N 170o27'W which is south of the entrance to Despise along the water.

For complete lists of rules, items and info visit us here.We hope to see you there!

Impys' Staff

The events chronicled many months ago in the Alliance Village during the Eye of the Lizard have been re-opened due to recent attacks and information gathered. We will continue to place all information concerning the lizardmen into this history of events until the situation ends or we are no longer able to do so. No matter what the outcome is, it is important this record is kept for others and for future generations to come.  

http://www.allianceknights.com/lizard.html  

Galahad
Knights of the Alliance

From the Office of the High Justicar, High Court of Britannia:  

The Kingdom of Britannia vs. Squat  

Where: Upper courtroom of the Court of Truth in Yew, Felucca Facet
When: Wednesday, December 20th, 8:00 PM CST  

The trial of Squat will commence at Eight in the evening, Wednesday, December 20th. Lady Faith will serve as prosecutor for the trial, with Za'afiel D'Aerno acting as defense. Presiding Justice will be Lady Carina. Once again, the crimes are as follows:  

• Planning in the escape of Yew Prison
• Conspiracy to murder Clio Temesa  

~Jonn Goodthorne~
High Justicar
The High Court of Britannia

Hello there, I am LadyBlue Duchess of Harmony and I just wanted to give you this info on our event we are having December 21, between 7pm CST to 11pm cst

Upcoming Events

Welcome to the Holiday Event!

Join us in the Celebration of Christmas and the New Year with fun, food, and prizes for the winners of our events.

December 21, 2000 at 7 pm CST to 11 pm CST Starting at the Boars Head Tavern.

Christmas Caroling & Tour of Homes at 7pm CST. Join us in a tour of Harmony the building with the best decorations wins 5k!

Water Elemental Summoning Contest 8pm CST. Bring plenty of Reagents and try and summon the most water elementals in the given time frame. This event will be held at Silver Serpent Training Academy. 1st prize will be 10K.

Yes back by popular demand is the Horse Race starting at 9:30pm CST. The race will begin at the Guard Post in Harmony and will end at the swamps. Bring your finest steeds (no Nightmares) and win. Prizes go out to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.

Holiday Ball & Story telling Contest 10pm CST. After a hard day of fun and play come sit and chat with fellow friends and guild mates. Listen to the Bards tell there tells of Christmas. Food and Drinks are included, just come in and sit down and enjoy the evening at the Boars Head Tavern.

  http://www.cityontheweb.com/harmony/whatsnew.htm  

Please visit this site it has all the information on it.

Yours Truely,
LadyBlue Duchess of Harmony

In this week's poll, we would like to know what your expirence was like, if you joined one.

So head on over to our Periodic Poll and let us know!

You can read his review by clicking on the Great Horn Tavern in the Establishments list on the left side menu.

'Tis a chill and dreary morn, that I sit in that noted establishment, the Cat's Lair. 'Tis a day of reflection, a day of memories, some as bright as the fire that crackles inside the stone lined hearth...some as cold as the slate gray sky, without. As I listen to the pitter of rain against the slate, I reminisce. So many have come to this land. So many...I've now been in the world of Ultima since the days of the Cataclysm, called 'Beta,' by some. I have known industrious crafts masters and prosperous merchants. Heroes of acclaim and villains whose very names caused the blood to run cold. I have known fearless adventurers and reclusive hermits. So many people..most who's names, at best, now lay inside the dust covered tomes of some scholar's library, if they remain at all. And at worst? At worst, they are forgotten by all who knew them, their deeds forever consigned to anonymity.

And this is our great loss, that our predecessors shall never know of the wondrous, and sometimes vile deeds, committed by their forebearers. Thus, it is with this in mind, that I've decided, with Ith'unk blessing, to enter into a 'project.' The project, hereafter known as the Spotlight Chronicles, shall undertake the monumental task or featuring those who's deeds have somehow contributed to the vast and complex world known as Legends.

It is my intention to chronicle the adventures of some noteworthy individual(s) on a bimonthly basis. The first installment of this feature will debut on the 22nd of December. And the subject(s) of the initial article, you may ask? For the initial installment, I've chosen two noteworthy individuals. Some may know them as prosperous merchants. To others, they are fearless explorers, ever searching for the deepest secrets of this mysterious land. And to those of us who knew them in the 'early days', they are known as The Dragon Twins. I speak of Lord Wolfgang and Lord Wilson TM, two stalwart comrades who's deeds are widely acclaimed by those who understand the difficulties of settling a new shard. Look for the article, "Taming Legends, the Spotlight Chronicles," on the 22nd day of December. Until then, I bid thee safe journeys.

Cyn

Client Patch 2.0.4

We are targeting to release client patch 2.0.4 on Wednesday, December 20th (CST). The client patch will remove the tips and update messages, fix an issue with the default desktops, and update language files.

If you have any difficulty receiving this patch, please check the following:

• Check the "Patch" directory within your Ultima Online directory (the default location is C:\\Program Files\Ultima Online\Patch). This directory should be empty. Any files in this directory should be deleted.
• If you are unable to connect to the patch server at all, and are using an original (Non-T2A) version of Ultima Online, you may need to update your verinfo file. For details on updating this file, please see the information posted at http://support.uo.com/tech_6.html.
• Run a virus scan on your computer. If after trying the above, you are still experiencing difficulty patching the Ultima Online client, please contact Technical Support at [email protected].

Get into the spirit of the Holidays with a Christmas parade through Trinsic!

The Trinsic Council of Honor is sponsoring a Holiday Parade on Saturday, December 23 at 4 PM (eastern). We will begin at the West Gate of Trinsic (Trammel) and proceed throughout the town. St. Nicholas, his reindeer, and celebrants of all kinds will be there. Old Nick may even have some presents for the good little boys and girls of the realm, so join us as we welcome the Holiday season!

Annunzio, Trinsic Council of Honor
Atlantic Shard Town Councils Public Events Calendar
Trinsic Council of Honor

Thank ye, Annunzio. Give our regards to Old Nick. We doubt we'll be seeing him this holiday season. *chuckles*

I sat atop my lazy mare, my arms crossed, holding my bow tightly. I hoped that I would not have to use it, because causing any -unwanted- pain or suffering to any of the people here, with all their alliances and the like, would likely prove to be most deadly for me. So I stood near the house next to the hospise, where the battle would take place. Already there were ten or so of the finest soldiers the Order of the Ebon Skull had to offer. Bows, swords, and magic tomes were held at various angles. Some of them seemed to be decaying.

As I sat, cursing my luck and wondering how the rest of the Guardians of Lore were doing with their liquor, a man - or I think it was a man, he seemed more dead than alive - approached me and offered to run me through with his blade - he felt that my entrails would have certain curative properties to his blade, but, fortunately, his attentions turned elsewhere, and my entrails stayed put.

After this dose of holiday cheer, the lightbringers arrived via a blue moongate - though I had expected them to walk in from Wintermoor for some reason, this was perfectly acceptable. One decaying man, with a totally unpronounable name, atop a black ostard seemed to think this quite the advantage - I heard him chuckling rather evily as the giant bird squawked. Then, a bit of faction related skirmishing broke out - nothing really too serious, only a few fatalities, for which side I know not. I cast an enchantment of magical reflection on myself, in case some mage thought me to be an acceptable target.

Then, I overheard Aleph and one of the Ebon Skull representatives - the same one that wanted so badly to eviserate me earlier- discussing the hospice. Apparently Aleph attempted to learn towards moderation, trying to discuss the "hours of operation" of the hospice. The Ebon Skull, however, felt that "no hours" was a better reply.

Then, some orcs lept atop the group from their hiding spots under the snow. As they were being dispatched, I heard Aleph chuckling about healing the orcs... He seemed rather calm for a man who even I knew was about to be dispatched in a rather vile manner. Then it happened, the refusal. The fates of the lightbringers was sealed. The man who had been atop the black ostard cast the first energy field (or so he claimed when I had an ale at the Hungry Halfling afterwards) that blocked a full frontal charge. Other fields sprung up, fencing the lightbringers on the steps of the hospise. I waited for cries of "In Grav", but instead, hideous fields of poison, reeking of the death and decay that filled the very city, arose in the cage of death that the Order had created for the lightbringers. They fled inside, but some died before the curative supplies of the hospise could be put to use.

Then the mages led a sort of retaliation, though they seemed to know it to be a useless motion. Blasts of energy and fire rocked the OES ranks, followed by scattered explosions. My horse rared back, attempting to flee, but I held my ground. The undead ranks remained unbroken, and returned with a volley of magic and arrows that laid low the lightbringers. Their blood poured onto the ice and froze, the steps of the hospice, the house of healing, trickled with blood and bodies lay about in all manners of frozen, rigid poses. The undead stood, none of them fallen, though some seemed to be munching on the still fresh bodies, blood congealing between their teeth.

The rest of the Order charged into the house, bringing out Aleph unharmed. At this I was surprised, I had most expected carnage of all sorts to be inflicted upon Aleph, I had expected his death, and then the subsequent punishment of his killer. But the order remained true to the name order, and Aleph was marched off to the tower of Golgotha. I followed, but one of the Order asked me to leave the tower. My nose and I agreed.

Some men claim that the bezerker murderers of the wilds are frightening, or perhaps the small groups of killers claiming allegance to a particular faction in order to kill more people. I know better than this - for while those undead might have let me live to watch thier rather gory glory, I know that they act in accordance with one another, and he who wounds one shall feel the fury of the whole. I fled that place for warmer climates, away from the zombies, skeletons, wraiths, and vampires that lapped at the quickly freezing blood on the snow that day. I had an ale. The nightmares, however, would not soon fade from my dreams.

Thank ye, Garrett Granth. Make sure ye watch your step on that red ice.. tis a bit slippery. *smiles darkly*

He opened the door of the Tribunal Hall swiftly and efficiently; he was on a mission, the laws of his city were in danger and thus his own credibility was on the line. He hummed a bit as his boots stepped into the freshly fallen snow; he started to muse about what color the snow would be before the night was finished. “Blood” he mumbled underneath his breath, “The snow shall be covered in the blood of fools and at the day our soldiers shall bath in its pools.”

He sighed as he has the tendency to do when in deep contemplation, it was then that he turned a corner and reached the steps of Golgotha. “Greetings, Mayor” one of the guards said with the utmost respect but he was too focused in thought to acknowledge the salutation as the doors to the tower and slowly creaked opened. Within the hallowed halls of Golgotha, he found his commanders, prepared and ready for battle. He listened to them bicker and banter back and forth about strategy but his mind was in other places, he was planning for victory and the events that were to unfold afterwards. After much discussion, they agreed on the arms and make up of the soldiers that were going to go forth to enforce the law.

He then took his turn for bantering and gave his spiel about the terms of the action; the first was that no one but himself was to speak at any time, second being that upon his cry of Etheng that the attack would begin and lastly that the one by the name of Aleph Aeirs would be taken alive. The soldiers, undead and living gathered about the Mayor in a small circle and gave a small prayer to Entropy and Oblivion. The meeting was over with and they began to convene outside of the tower to gather mounts and sharpen swords…

He however strode out firmly by himself to the Hospice; he fell back into his own mind once again… So, they wish to setup a Hospice to spread the virtues to Caina? This will not be, it is against our laws and against our own doctrine more importantly if they are allowed to get by with this without bloodshed then my own authority is demeaned… He arrived at the Hospice way ahead of his soldiers and kicked at the snow in front of the small building, he thought it strange that such a small place could cause him such a large headache but he understood that such is the way of politics. About then the mounted force of death knights and corrupted paladins rode in behind him and took a formal position behind their leader with the footed soldiers arriving later taking a position further in the back.

He paced up and down the lines of soldiers not out of nervousness but out of anticipation; the workers of this hospice had yet to arrive and he was anticipating a beautiful slaughter… On his thirteenth full walk of his lines, a magical gate appeared from the ether directly in front of him and out stepped a whole contingent from the Heralds of Awakening. It took them a moment to become reoriented from the shock of gate travel but he noticed as soon as they had full use of their mouths that they were yapping away about “Virtues” and the over used line of “We are here in peace”. He put a stop to this soon enough and declared for their spokesman to step forth and so he did bravely and defiantly. It was Aleph Aeirs, he told Aeirs his stipulations, that the Hospice was going to be surrendered immediately to Caina or there was going to be a battle. The brave but foolish Aleph said this was unacceptable…

The Mayor turned his back away from the bold spokesman and preceded to walk into his line of horsemen it was at this time he shrugged nonchalantly and yelled “Etheng”. The horsemen and footmen charged forward into battle with the light bringers but he was already on his way walking back to Golgotha when he heard the first death spasms of mortals. By the time, he reached the third floor of Golgotha the sounds of the battle outside could be clearly heard. He no longer cared to look out the windows and took a seat in the Ebon Council’s chambers, awaiting the return of his soldiers with their captive. It happened, not as soon as he would have liked, but it happened nevertheless with Navrip the Dark General leading the force of soldiers and their captive to the Council Chambers. The General posted sentries on the outside of the room and a demonic chorus of accusations and insults were flung at the defiant Aleph.

It soon became apparent that there was no choice for him and that poor Aleph was not about to surrender to his mind and body to be held for trial in Caina. So the Mayor had reached his last option and pulled a book from his satchel and unfolded it upon the table… His fingers flipped through the pages of the book at near superhuman speed until he found the incantations that he need. He called for Rune and Amon to bound Aleph and sit him in the throne of bones. They did so and looked a bit puzzled as the struggling Aleph was placed in their Master’s throne; it was then that he motion for two of the soldiers to come forward, he smiled and motioned towards Aeirs’ belly. “Run him through” he whispered with uncanny joy, it was then that the defiant leader of the Heralds showed the first signs of fear or terror as the swords of the soldiers were plunged into his gut and his entrails spilled out into his lap… The last thing Aleph seen before he crossed over he shroud were his hands filled with his own bowels.

He sighed as he had a hundred other times this evening and looked towards the necromancer and cleric that bound the mortal body to the chair. “Now that unpleasantly is over with, follow the instructions in my book and bind his soul to the Master’s chair.” He nodded to the two and told them to commence but he was not going to stay around for the ritual. He was already on his way out of the Council room and down the steps to his home; this job was beneath him, he had more important things to think about… He was going home to revel in the fact that Aleph Aeir’s immortal essence was captured within the wood and bone of his Master’s chair and that sadistic fact was going to keep him amused for days… “Treadeau, you have done well,” a voice whispered to him as he opened the doors of the Tribunal Hall.

Ah.. tis time for us to rest our weary bones, yes? Time for us to take a seat in our beloved throne of bones. *chuckles*

I was in the private bedroom, sewing together different outfits to try on, when I heard someone coming up the stairs. Hastily I shoved my project back into the cabinet, just as the bedroom door opened and my younger sister Calliope entered.

"What's that?" she asked, observing my quick attempt at concealment.

I breathed a little sigh of relief and retrieved the garment from the wardrobe. "I was just trying some things on," I told her.

She looked at me with interest. Our family shares a strong sense of curiosity; none of us can stand to leave a mystery nprodded. "Why were you trying to hide it from me?" she asked without rancor. Calliope is probably the most even-tempered of us all. She didn't object to my secrecy, she was just intrigued by it.

I beamed. "I wasn't hiding it from you. I thought you were Rotund. Did I tell you I gave him a key to the bedroom?"

"Yes, you warned us all not to run around unclothed. I think for those of us inclined to do so, your warning has just made them that much more likely to engage in it." She looked at the clothing in my hands. "All right then, why were you hiding it from Rotund?"

My smile became even wider, if possible. "Because the groom shouldn't see the bride in her dress before the wedding!"

Finally I'd managed to shake her unwavering calm. Her jaw dropped. "Groom? Bride?! WEDDING?!"

For the next few minutes we engaged in the kind of shrieky giggling and hugging that only females seem to do when one of their number receives wonderful news. Naturally she insisted on hearing all the details. Rotund has been visiting us (well, mostly me) for quite some time, bringing me lovely presents and supplying me with hides to practice tailoring on. (Thanks to his efforts I hope to be a GM quite soon.)

Last night he accompanied me as I chopped wood, as he often does. Lumberjacking is a tiresome activity, but his company makes it much more pleasant. I chopped wood while he hunted more hides, and dispatched any dangerous beasts that wandered close. Toward dawn I judged I'd gathered enough wood, and asked him to show me a bridge that he'd told me about nearby. I had never travelled so far south before. When working alone I stay close to the inn, but when out with Rotund I feel safe enough to travel farther afield.

We strolled to the bridge, admiring the towering statues that flanked the little pond. I stood gazing over the railing at the calm water below.

As we stood admiring the view, Rotund said offhandedly, "You know, Katrina, someday... I mean to take you to Nu'jelm palace and walk you down the aisle."

I must admit I wasn't entirely taken by surprise; both Katherine and Calliope had speculated on just such an occurrence. Still, it was something else again to hear it brought up by Rotund himself. "Are you serious?" I asked. My heart seemed to start tap-dancing in my chest.

"Aye," he said. I stood gazing out over the water, lost in speculation, until his next question brought me back. "Would you have me if I asked?"

No doubt any of my sisters would have known just how to respond to such a question. I, however, was completely flustered. "Are you asking?" I hedged.

"Aye," he answered.

I could only blink at him in astonishment. Before my amazed eyes, he pulled out a ring and held it out to me.

"Will ye have me?" he said.

For a moment I could only stare. Then I realized that he couldn't hear my thoughts and I would have to actually speak them. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "Yes!"

He slipped the ring onto my finger. I don't know whose hands were shaking more! Then for the first time, we kissed.

We spent several more blissful minutes talking about dates and places, although I think we were both too giddy to really get any useful planning done. Then we wandered back toward the Draig Gwa to find my sisters and tell them the good news.

"Although I don't think one particular sister will be too happy," remarked Rotund. He has run across my less-than-pleasant sister on occasion.

"I can deal with her," I replied confidently. After all, she is my sister.

After we had arrived at the inn, Rotund gallantly offered to go to the "harpy room" and slay the beasts to get feathers for me. I told him to be careful, and the moment he was out the door dashed upstairs to begin trying on outfits.

Together Cal and I found one we thought was suitable--pretty without being gaudy. "Katherine's silver sandals would go perfectly with this," I said, pirouetting. "Do you think she'll let me borrow them?"

"You know perfectly well she'll GIVE them to you, if you want." She straightened a sleeve and stood back to admire the overall effect. "I think you'll be lovely!"

Before I could reply, we heard the familar odd hum of someone recalling into the town square. Quickly Cal helped me shrug off the outfit and throw on my usual pink skirt and blouse. As Rotund's footsteps crossed the porch, I dashed downstairs and threw myself onto the stool by the counter.

If he noticed my dishevelled attire, he was too much a gentleman to comment. He proudly handed me a huge sack of feathers, relating his adventures in the harpy room as I listened enraptured. These escapades always sound so exciting to someone like myself, who leads a tame, unremarkable existence! I managed to convince him to accept an armful of free arrows for his assistance, and went about fletching as we waited for a Counsellor to help us arrange the wedding.

Thank ye Katrina.

Winds of War? I think not. Seems more like a petty brawl as the streets of our great capitol are the sight of petty brawls between the factions. What is most notable about these skirmishes is the generally poor showing of True Britannians. Minax's minions, the Shadowlords, and Council of Mages are abundant in the street squabbles, but only occasionally do we see a solitary True Brit, who is inevitably outnumbered and defeated!

The time has come to organize! I say "Wait no longer!" Call a Council of War and let us begin to clear the streets of our fair capitol at least. To that end, I call on each and every one of you to send in your news. We cannot organize without intelligence from all fronts.

Unite! Organize! Plan! Defend and Attack as a Body!

Only time shall tell what shall become of this noble, yet daunting cause.

The First Annual Dungeon Exploration lead by the Riders of Virtue and the Cavaliers

Our two guilds are working together to help players explore new dungeons that they have not seen before while helping rid Brittania of the foul beasts hiding in these dreadful places. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the adventure.

What is really happening?

The Riders of Virtue(RVt) and the Cavaliers(CVL) will open gates from the Stables west of Britain, Trammel to a different dungeon every week. We will provide gates back to Britain at the end of the exploration about 1-1.5 hours later. We will provide Healers and Mages to resurrect fallen explorers. In addition, we will have Tamers on site with Dragons if we need to beat back the monsters so you can try to recover your stuff (This is a dangerous adventure so don't bring anything you can't afford to lose). We will also have some people helping to lead the way through each dungeon so no one gets too lost unless they want to.

The first dungeon will be DESPISE on Friday, December 29th at 8 p.m. Eastern.

For more details of future explorations look here.

If you have questions please post them on The Cavaliers Message Board here.

It was a serene day. I was busy mining up precious ore needed for weapons making. The sun on my back, a gentle breeze on my face, I wish it could have lasted forever. Suddenly, My praetorian and good friend Sir Clutch approached me from a newly formed moongate.

"You must hurry! The eastern crossroads are being attacked by Brigands!" he exclaimed. "What?!" I replied. "Get as many as you can and meet me at the crossroads!"

I quickly recalled back to the Dark Elf Tavern and put on my armor and grabbed my sword. I stepped over to the runebook and chanted "Kal Ort Por." No soon had I spoke those words I was amidst a large battle that was already underway. Valiantly the many warriors who came after hearing the cry for help started picking off the brigands one by one. But it would seem that 3 more would appear for every one we could kill.

It was then when I noticed him, the Vile Robert d'Guy. Unlike the other warriors he was searching the bodies of the brigands that were fallen.

"Another looter," I sighed in disgust "I hope a brigand runs him through." I watched him move from body to body as I fought off each attacker, then I heard him utter, "Blast it all!" as he kicked the corpse of a brigand, "Where is it? Brigands, You pay them and they still can't to do anything right!" That remark stopped me in my tracks. I charged up to the man, "What are you searching for!" I exclaimed.

"None of your business," he replied, as he continued to search more bodies. "I just heard you say that you called these men!" I yelled. "So what if I did" he retorted playfully. "You're beginning to bother me, why don't you just move along." "I should kill you where you stand for those remarks!" I screamed. "So? What are you going to do about it little man?" he said with a smirk on his face, "Now why don't you run along and play with the rest of your friends."

Angrily I clutched my sword, I would run him through if I could. But the magic of Nystul's spell prohibited such violence, even if the man is scum.

"Call off your men." I said sternly, "There is no need to spill the blood of the innocent." I am sure that he said something sarcastic, however I could not hear him over the crowd, he resumed his search then got up and told me, "When I find what I'm looking for I'll be rich and You'll know." A gate then appeared before him and he stepped through, disappearing into the blue-hued beyond.

"Not so fast!" I yelled as I stepped into the gate after him. When I appeared on the other side I found myself at the crossroads between Minoc and Vesper. Right in front of the archway to Bucc's Den. Sir Clutch and a few others accompanied me through. I told them to search the area, just as I walked into the archway and teleported myself to Bucc's Den.

Alas it was all for naught, upon arriving there was nothing. Robert d'Guy had already disappeared. Who is this man? But more importantly, what was he searching for? I'm am sure that this individual has no good intentions for it.

Ashram, Lord of Balance
Serpent Council

*tacked to the Empath Abbey message board*

Yew Election Result Announcement

To the people of Yew,

The Yew Town Council and Mayorial elections are now complete. Below you will find the results as reported to the Yew Justices Bink and Thorinson on this evening of Monday, December the 18th.

Total ballots cast = 101

C = votes for council seat
M = votes for mayor

Certyl Jr (C - 7 / M - 3)
Derghaust (C - 10 / M - 3)
Glokkpod (C - 49 / M - 7)
Haplo (C - 23 / M - 1)
Humphrey de Levant (C - 15 / M - 36)
Katya de Courtney (C - 47 / M - 2)
Marrukah (C - 14 / M - 1)
Morrighan (C - 8 / M - 1)
Paul Atreides (C - 33 / M - 4)
Rowen Mayfaire (C - 12 / M - 4)
Samson Prat (C - 9 / M - 2)
Selayna (C - 55 / M - 9)
Swiftwind (C - 11 / M - 6)
Takako (C - 10 / M - 0)
Timothy (C - 21 / M - 2)
Whipperwhill (C - 54 / M - 16)

* It should be noted that not every voter decided to choose nominees for all four council seats, nor did every voter choose a mayor.

Yew Town Council:

Glokkpod
Katya de Courtney
Selayna
Whipperwhill

Yew Mayor:

Humphrey de Levant

The Yew Justices are planning a ceremony to swear in the new council once all electees have been notified. The ceremony time, date and location will be made available as soon as possible.

Dove
Healer of Yew
Temporary Registrar

This is Lead Randomist of the Aboveground Resistance here.

We will be starting to do weekly events after Christmas, but we need your help!

The Aboveground Resistance is in dire need of funding. So we may be able to do such games as "Bunny Boom Bag Ball", a CTF style game that requires no killing. Or other random things. But we need funding to give prizes, or to buy needed items for the events. So we are asking YOU, to help fund the aboveground. We accept towers, gold, and your eternal soul.

Please contact the Lead Randomist if you wish to join or donate: [email protected]
ICQ: 4165904

-Qan Golddust
http://resistance.terrashare.com

From the Scrolls of the Cult of the Azure Dragons
Fol'Xac, Year of the Terathan Gambit

The Enforcer stood and looked into the mirror, setting his shadow-iron helm on the table before him. His deep red eyes began to brighten with an inhuman glow, soft at first, and then, bright and powerful, almost pulsating as a heartbeat would. He could feel a pain growing deep within, a pain that had no tangible form. ~~~ A hand landed upon his shoulder, and the glow from his eyes subsided, cooled by a soft blue light. He recognized the presence behind him and smiled slightly.

“Ra’Dian, you finally snuck upon me.” ~~~ “What troubles ye, ol’ friend?” Ra’Dian’s voice was filled with wisdom, and yet, the elf was young compared to him. ~~~ “The war. I do not see how the Britains defend that coward of a king. How do they not see that Felucca was destroyed, ravaged by Minax, only because the king thought of retreat to another facet before defending his own lands. The people who died at Trinsic; they were not of British’s guard. They were of Sosaria. Everywhere I look, I see blood, the blood of innocents, of former friends; and it is all brought because a coward king would not defend his own people.”

The Enforcer turned away from the mirror and looked into Ra’Dian’s deep blue eyes. ~~~ “This war willnae be easy,” Ra’Dian said, and the Enforcer detected a long-passed memory in his voice. “No war e’er be. An’ ol’ friends oft times stand on opposing sides o’ the battle field. Perhaps someday all will be restored to right; perhaps not. Only time shall tell.”

~~~ “I saw Nero last eve.” ~~~ Ra’Dian’s lips formed a true grin. “How be the ol’ man?” ~~~ “Unique as ever.” Nemesis smiled. “He still believes in his path, still believes that we are traitors... still believes that someday I shall come to ask forgiveness of our Lord British.” ~~~ “This be what pains ye, is it nae?” Ra’Dian asked, and the Enforcer nodded his head ever slightly. “Dinnae think thae ye are starin’ into the eyes o’ a fool. Nero may swear his allegiance t’ Lord British, but he isnae a fool. Idealistic and misguided perhaps, but nae a fool. Just as he prays ye see British is the true leader o’ this land, I am certain ye too wish he twas allied w’ us.

Such is the nature o’ respect among enemies.” ~~~ “It is difficult, my lord Ra’Dian. Most difficult.” The Enforcer frowned. “Above that, word is spreading rapidly through the British that we are as evil as the Shadowlords and Minax. That we are taking targets wherever they may be... and yet, Dracona is as under siege as the major cities, and perhaps our edginess has flowed over into other battles.” ~~~ “Tis to be expected, Nemesis. None would behave differently; but ye know in your heart that your truest enemies lie in the Shadowlords and the Minax followers. Ye know this to be true, and ye hae acted ‘pon it.”

Ra’Dian placed his hands upon a medallion and his form began to shimmer in a soft blue light. “Just remember thae yer reasoning is oft correct. Dinnae doubt thyself so much, Enforcer. Tis a sad time in the world, but ye and Nero... ye see the world similarly.” ~~~ The Enforcer bowed his head, and smiled softly. It was true that after seeing Nero, that he had spent time fighting side by side with a few of those in the violet robes of British; that he had stood by their side and helped vanquish members of the Shadowlords and the followers of Minax. And it had felt good. Perhaps there was hope. Perhaps someday, the war would be over...

~~~ And until then, he would deal with the inner pain; the memory of the Dragothan war that had been responsible for his title. He looked back at the mirror and reflected briefly of the memory of his name, almost lost to time. Remembering that the title NEMESIS ENFORCER placed him as a Royal Guard to the Dragothan Emperor at the end of the Second Age of Dragons... and remembering the pain of the loss of an ancient friend during that war. He would pray that someday, rather than mourn another lost friend, he and Nero would again fight side by side.

~ NEMESIS ENFORCER ~
~ Inquisitor of the Council of Mages ~
~ Protector of Dracona ~
~ Leader of the Cult of the Azure Dragons ~

For more information on the Cult of the Azure Dragons, please contact us via messenger at [email protected] or visit our webstone at http://www.alterythem.com or visit our continuum on Stratics-IRC at #cadpublic (irc.stratics.com).

Slightly apprehensive at the prospect of traveling alone, Gaiya walked on dilligently, carefully following the instructions the nive man in Vesper gave her on how to reach this city called Aryslan. After what seemed like hours she suddenly came upon a clearing and there looming in front of her was a massive Tower with Guild banners hanging from its outter walls. Looking around she took note that no one seemed to be about. As she walked around she began to pass the shops surrounding the huge structure. Looking to her right a sign caught her eye.

"Sew What?.."

Turning towards the cozy little shop her curiosity got the best of her. Somewhat shy in nature she slowly peeked through the door and glanced upon a woman working dilligently on a loom. Hearing the door Ortha turned around to see who had enetered.

"Lex! what brings you to the tailor shop? I thought Rhea made all your clothes? Come in and sit with me a bit while i finish this yarn."

Looking puzzled Gaiya entered the shop slowly and began to regard the woman.

"Excuse me but my name is not Lex..."

Glancing to her left a chest of excuisitely crafted garments caught her eye. Letting out a squeel she fell to her knees and began rumaging carefully through the beautiful garments.

Looking more than a bit puzzled, Ortha studied the young lady that looked exactly like her Guildmistress down to the blue streak on the left side of her face. Whispering to herself she took mental note.

"White skunk streak, pale complexion, bright blue eyes, blue birthmark...if the girl didnt deny it id swear on my life that was Lex."

Approaching the girl slowly, Ortha crouched down beside her.

Gaiya D'Azaroth and Ortha

Tethering his worn steed to the pole provided just outside the Tavern, Coryan looked up and surveyed the new building with an appreciative eye. Walking wearily to the door he stepped inside unsure of whether or not he would reach his goal in coming to the Wolfs Den Tavern. Amazed at the lush decor he surveyed the crowd in search of an old friend.

Turning back to his comrades, Grishnak commented on the tattered looking scoundrel that walked in the door. All 5 of the men looked up from thier game of cards and stared at the man looking suspiciously around the room. Looking at him closely, Gnolan thought something was familiar about the man. Narrowing his eyes he attempted to study the hooded man more closely.

Feeling they eyes in the room boreing into him, Coryan slowly removed the hood which protected the mane of forest green hair that made him stand out among men.

As surprise swept accross Gnolans face his comrades were startked when he jumped out of his chair knocking it down in the process. They watched in bewilderment as Gnolan strode purposefully towards the man whom they had been pondering only moments earlier. Thinking Gnolan sensed danger all the men began to prepare for a fight.

A movement in the back caught Coryans eye and as he turned and looked at the man walking briskly towards him a slow grin spread accross his face.

As the two men seemed to wrestle in a bear hug, Gnolans comrades unable to discern the difference sprang to action. Surrounding the men, Grishnak and Aidan drew thier weapons while Hel and Rapiers hands began to glow with magikal anticipation. Looking around them and then back at each other both men began to laugh.

"Guys calm down. Id like to introduce you to a childhood buddy of mine. Coryan this is Grishnak, Rapier, Aidan M and Hel Spites. Guys this is Coryan D'Azaroth."

Feeling rather foolish the men bagan to chat and invited Coryan to join them so that he may catch up on old times with Gnolan and so that they may get to know him better.

Looking thoughtful, Gnolan sat in silence for a few moments.

"Whats wrong Gnol?"

Gnolan Baht and Coryan D'Azaroth

As I dismissed the Royal Court for the evening, none other than Duke Tanis of Englewood appeared out of thin air and began speaking to us. He informed us that he had been brought back from the Abyss by a daemon named Konstas. He also informed us that the daemon Konstas would ravage the land and bring war across the world. He then dissapeared as quickly as he had appeared. Later that evening, the reborn and now evil Tanis came to Havenwood and slaughtered almost a score of knights and guardsmen as his fury was unleashed upon us. They hesitated to fight one of thier former friend and compatriot. It cost many of them thier lives.

Talimor deMonte'
King of Havenwood

Before you ask, this isn't a fake, it was a small event which happened today. Thanks to Petit Okus for the picture.

The Enforcer stared at the High Priestess, her long blonde locks blowing in the breeze that often pervaded the roof of the tower. Up here, atop the Temple of Nexchronosis, the temple itself, he stared into her green eyes and wondered if perhaps she had lost her mind.
"How can you be so certain of this choice?"

"Of all who came forth, this spirit was the most in tune to the virtue of Humility. And you will obey my decision in this. Ra'Dian left you the remainder of the guild, doll, but in matters of spirtuality, I am
the final authority."

Tre'Lianne's voice was even and calm, but the Enforcer could tell that he was treading on thin ground.

"I know that blasted elf would approve of this choice, if only for its future potential... but it has more than one potential."
Nemesis said, as he let out a long sigh. "However, I will abide by your decision."

"Nem, you know that this has the potential to draw peace to Dracona. In this time of great war, perhaps we and they can set aside our differences."

Tre'Lianne's voice was now soothing, but the Enforcer knew her words were only a possible future.

"Too, my lady, it could bring further attention to Dracona, and to the lands about. Are you certain that this Storm is your choice of successor to Tristam?"

"Yes, Nemesis, I am certain. Storm of the Guild of Friends shall be the next DragonKnight of Humility." Tre'Lianne smiled.

"I know many futures are possible, but of this I am sure... only a future where we abide by our own humility and allow our enemies, those who were once our friends but follow under British's flag now that we follow the Council's... only a future where we can be honorable enough to look beyond barriers and annoint those who are deserving. Only that future is proper."

The Enforcer frowned for a moment, and then let out a long laugh.

"By the gods, woman, you sounded like Ra'Dian for a moment there."

Her eyes twinkling, she smiled, and turned to retreat down into the tower.

"That, my friend, is why you are the war priest, and I the high
priestess..."

Following her in, he proceeded to the meeting room and set pen to paper... It was time to announce that Storm of the Guild of Friends, allied to the True Britannians, would be the successor to Tristam and Aureal, as the third DragonKnight of Humility.

(OOC - Our apologies for the delay in announcing this to the public... it has been chosen for a couple of weeks, but real life delays have prevented me from getting notice up
sooner... due to this, the trials for the Fourth DragonKnight of Humility will not begin until mid-February. - NEMESIS ENFORCER, Leader of the Cult of the Azure Dragons.)

For more information about the Cult of the Azure Dragons, please visit our webstone at http://www.alterythem.com/cad or send message to [email protected]

Sunday evening, during the Yew Yule festival, an official from the Britannia Courts came with myself and issued this court summons to Kazola.

"Kazola -

Your presence is required at the Yew Court on January
Second. You are charged with illegal possession of
the tavern known as "Kazola's Treetop Keg and Winery".
Your guilt or innocence will be proven in the civil
case of Kazola vs. Kazola. You have until that time
to choose who you want to defend you. Prosecution
will be led by Relk the Waiter."

Afterwards, a heated arguement errupted amongst myself, the imposter Kazola to whom this summons was issued, and her friends. I am most disgusted with the attitude all of the real Kazola's so-called-friends have taken. They either wish to forget all this happened, or are siding with the imposter; while I, alone, am left to defend and help the REAL Kazola. Well, I suppose this entire matter shall be setteled soon enough.

But when will this shindig take place? We would like to say the party shall be held 25th of December, as is traditional. However we understand most people will be spending the day with they're families and will not be thinking of a computer at that time. So instead of having it on the 25th, the Stratics Xmas Party shall be held on Saturday night, 23rd of December. The festivities will start at 6:30pm and go through the night. We have schedualed for a certain time however poeple are welcome to stay until they can walk home :)

And what exactly will be happening throughout the night? Well, we had planned Oceania's FIRST EVER SNOWBALL FIGHT. However, it seems someone has jumped in before us! :P So, to start the night off with a bang, we will host Oceania's SECOND EVER SNOWBALL FIGHT! Everyone should bring along a pile of snow, some gloves and a warm cloak. After everyone is a little chilled, we'll move in for a meal provided by Diangelo Grey's restaurant and then afterwards we'll have a time for people to exchange any presents they would like to. So what this means is, if theres someone you'd like to give a gift to, bring it along and then towards the end of the night you can thwack it to them. If you dont have anyone you'd like to give a gift to, bring one anyways in case you meet someone you like, or you could always keep it for yourself :)

This party is open to anyone and everyone on our shard. This includes people who rarely get invites/credit for the jobs they do, the counsellers, GMs and Seer(s). So come down this saturday night, a rune is within the Stratics Keep, bring snow, a present and a smile - we'll provide everything else!

Ah, this seems the month for surprises! Yet another defunct guild has returned to the lands and seeks to reestablish itself as a force in the land. I recently met with another old acquaintance, who has undertaken the task resurrecting the Order of Might. He has released an official statement that I bring to you, now.

Greetings citizens of Britannia. I, Stormfalcon am pleased to announce the rebirth of the Order of Might. As many of the new comers to our great lands do not realize the Order of Might existed and flourished in the summer months, in the player-town Valor. As summer came to a close in the lands, so did the Order, and it was all but forgotten. Now is it's time to return. I, Stormfalcon, will be assuming the duties of leadership in this resurrected guild. Although all starts are slow, I hope to have the guild and community running as it should in no time. As of now though I am focusing on rebuilding the numbers of the guild, and bringing houses into our town, New Valor. This town of course does not exist where Valor itself did so long ago. New Valor is at the location known as Trinsic Pond. For those adept in the use of the sextant, the coordinates are 120 degrees 45 minutes South, 27 degrees 33 minutes East. We will, just as the old order did, host events and activities from our town. I will keep all of you informed as to when such things will happen. For information regarding the guild or the placement of vendors in our town feel free to contact me. Safe travels, friends.

Stormfalcon of New Valor

Of particular interest is Stormfalcon's intention to host events and activities. I'll keep you abreast of these developments, as they occur. Until we meet again, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn

Since there are many ways to bump a stat over 100, and several methods can be combined, I'll add a little survey to this news item. If you know a way to combine several methods to raise a stat considerably over 100, then please drop us a line at [email protected]. We'll compile the results into a nice overview of how to raise Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence to amazing levels. See if your method can be the one that reaches the highest level.

As Santa had recently visited Britannia leaving gifts for us all, there were plenty of snowballs flying around, as Lord HellSpawn found when he arrived late. The BBQ was neglected a little and at one point the whole area was in flames, though I'm sure the mages had a hand in it too. Fortunately, with all the snowballs at hand we quickly extinguished it before it had spread too far. Entertainment was also provided as a few stepped up to recite poems, mages compared summoned creatures and then Lord HellSpawn dazzled everyone with some of his magic party tricks.

It was good to meet up with so many of the regulars from the UOSS Drachenfels Board and find they are as friendly off board as they are on it. My thanks to the Old Ranger for organising the picnic, for the food and especially for the ribs. I look forward to the next get-together.

I have urgent news to inform you of! Being a scholar myself I was peeking around the selection of tomes in the vast library of Mythndale and stumbled upon a book in the back, written by the retired librarian/scholar of PaxLair - Tacitus.

It seems as though Tacitus's stay among the living has ended abruptly and these were his last and final words. He speaks of a young man who the Mayor knows named Claudius, an orphan whom Tacitus had been taking care of. Please use caution when breaking this news to him, Tacitus showed much concern for the boy. Tacitus tells us of a warning however, that inside the tomb of Claudius's mother is a warning of great peril that Tacitus says "will open a new chapter in Brittania's history". I led a party of three men into PaxLair to find this boy Claudius but came to no avail, no one knew him, and no one had seen the Mayor. I spoke to the craftman Eli, and he said Winfield had been even missing as of late, not even showing up to the most recent town meeting.

I am a servant to Brittania and will do everything in my power to protect it, please, if the Mayor should read this, I would like to know his thoughts on it and who this Claudius boy is.

-Argoth
-Magi of Mythndale

Greetings!
*The shadowy figure steps forth, wearing a smart black suit.*

I am Bob, a vampire of far away lands. I have been through these lands, wracked with the foul stench of plague at every corner. I have observed thy plight and decided to take action. I have been around the village of Mythndale, inciting those I could find to my cause. Citizens, Invading Orcs, even the Wraiths[if at some cost...]. I have begun to seek a solution to our problem. If you wish this plague to end, join me in the Wraith Outpost of Mythndale, where by the kind permission of the Wraithes I have set up my experiments in their laboratories, the only ones of their kind in the whole of Britannia. We seek to discover possible cures if we can. Come to physically help, possible give useful knowledge, and most importantly: Find a Specimen of the Plague! We require patients for testing. For the location of the Wraith Outpost, please visit www.chessienet.com/mythndale . Thank ye All Kindly,

Thy servant Bob.

The town of Dragons Watch will be meeting to form an official government on DEC. 20th at 9 eastern. The subject discussed will be:
What type of government to have. Election of this government and a town constitution.

All citizen of Britania are welcome to take part in this ground breaking evening. The meeting will be ran by John McBain of ATD.

Gates will be provided from Vesper 30 minutes prior to the meeting.

Dragons Watch is north of Vesper on the Fel side. This is a great opprotunity for anyone wishing to get in on the ground level of a new town.

John McBain

• Events This Week - On Monday, December 18th at 6pm CST in #eqhoc, an EverQuest House of Commons will occur. And on Thursday, December 21st, at 7pm CST, join us in #jghoc for another JumpGate House of Commons.
• Stratics Central - Our interview section was recently revamped, with new content added. Visit to find over 30 new interviews about your favorite games. And don't forget to visit Thundolfe's Barnyard for humorous commentary on the industry.
• Stage 1 Stratics - Dawn Stratics will conclude its first contest, the Balacee Birthmark Contest, this week. Check out the entries!
• Anarchy Online Stratics - Missed out on the HoC? Check out AO Stratics to catch up on latest info from the developers of Anarchy-Online. View the HOC logs here!
• Asheron's Call Stratics - Our Meet the Devs section was updated with an interview featuring Nik Davidson of Turbine. See what he has to say!
• Atriarch Stratics - Are you interested in meeting other members of the Atriarch community? How about the developers? If so, stop by #atriarch on Stratics IRC.
• Camelot Stratics - Camelot Stratics presents another art submission submitted by a fan, also make sure to check out our new Camelot Tales section, where dedicated storytellers will post their stories.
• Everquest Stratics - The EverQuest Stratics team will be hosting the second EQ House of Commons with Verant's developers on Monday, December 18th, 2000 at 4pm PST in the #eqhoc channel on irc.stratics.com! Keep checking http://eq.stratics.com for details and updates!
• JumpGate Stratics - Join us Thursday at 7pm CST for another JumpGate HOC. The chat will take place in #jghoc.
• Neverwinter Stratics - Neverwinter Stratics would like to announce the opening of its newest forum, The Twisted Tankard. It is a place where you can drop in, sit a spell, share a tale or meet some new friends. Drop by! The ale is cool and the welcome warm!
• Origin Stratics - Check out our new Magic System section. Pulled from various sources (Chats, Interviews, etc) the section covers varying aspects of magic in Origin, including Elemental Magic, Hybrid Magic, Master Magic, Moonglobes, Reagents, and even Food.
• Shadowbane Stratics - Want to know why Wolfpack thinks Shadowbane won't fail? Read this post by Ashen Temper, Wolfpack's Internet Relations Manager!
• Ultima Online Stratics - Holiday Gifts that are being given to all players can be traded on our newly opened Holiday Gift Trade Forum. Then be sure to Calculate your derived attributes Health, Stamina and Mana according to the proposed changes.

Hail,

I ran into Shabum, owner of the traveling circus, and we spoke briefly about it. He told me that since the theft of the bears has been cleared, the first performance of the circus would start this tuesday (the 19th December) at 9pm CET (8pm GMT, 3pm EST).

Farewell
Conrad, noble of Trinsic,
Paladin of Justice.

The raffle drawing will be held at a party on Dec. 21st, 2000 at 8:00 pm PST. You must be present to win! The sponsor of this event is the owner of the YMCA, Forsythe. The raffle has a plethora of generous prizes available. There will be 4 drawings in total with the winner of each drawing recieving a different prize. The following is a list of the prizes:

Prize 1: Gamemaster created, unique set of clothing. The clothing is hued the same color as gold armor and cannot be stolen or looted. Additionally, this grand prize comes with a full set of golden armor, a Kite Shield of invulnerability, and a golden gift box.
Prize 2: 300,000 gold pieces!!
Prize 3: 200,000 gold pieces!
Prize 4: 100,000 gold pieces.

As you can see, that grand prize is mighty impressive! The cost of a ticket is 1,000gp and there are more than enough tickets to go around.

For a full set of the details, visit the vendor Francis at the YMCA. Directions to the YMCA are available here.

On Saturday, December 9th, a small group of merchants and adventurers gathered at the Empath Abbey in Yew in preparation for a trade caravan to Trinsic.

After everyone had arrived, we made our way to the coast, by the Court of Truth. From there, we set out on a long journey, spanning most of the Britannian continent, to our first destination, the Shrine of Honor. Though the trip was long, the small party, divided onto two boats, passed along the waters practically unmolested, with only a few stray sea serpents to menace us.

We regrouped at the Shrine of Honor, one of the most understated and hidden of the Virtue Shrines. Here, I gave a short speech on Honor:

"Hello, friends, and thank you for joining us today.
Honor, for me is one of the most difficult to define of all the virtues, because it is the most pervasive.
Honor should inform us in all we do, at each moment in our lives.
It informs us in the way we treat our friends, and the way we treat our enemies.
It is with us in the heat of battle, and it is with us while we relax at the tavern.
Honor means, quite simply, that we believe that there is a set of principles which we must live by, and that we will not stray from these principles.
Think of this...if you could do as you pleased, without having to face the consequences, what would you do?
If you could kill your most hated enemy in his sleep, though you believe in Valor, would you do so?
If you could steal from a wealthy tyrant, though you believe in Honesty, would you?
This is what we must think of when we think of Honor...the willingness to live by our beliefs,
And to die by them
But never to abandon them in our weaker moments.
Thank you all for coming."

After the speech, we made our way overland to Trinsic, following Hartham's Path for most of the journey, and entering the city through Smuggler's Gate (though I can assure you all, our duties were paid in full.) Shortly after we began to make preparations for the bazaar, merchants, revelers and adventurers from all across Britannia began to show up. Among the many goods that were proffered there were weapons, scrolls, books, magical items, and copious amounts of food and ale. Thanks to everyone who attended, and helped out with this event!

Thank ye Annunzio.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Sage Arthur. I have lived in Britannia for all my life, going to school at the Moonglow Lyceum and learning the ways of sagehood. I have seen many things in my day and travelled to many exotic locales in search of the one thing that we all search for -- understanding.

"I cannot stress the importance that knowledge plays in my life and I have made it my mission to allow others to have access to that knowledge. As such I have accepted the awesome responsibility of becoming a Shard Reporter for our lands.

"This adventure will be a difficult one as many times news is hidden or confined to certain people. I feel it is my duty to bridge that gap and find a way to provide everyone with news and information about our great land. "As I said earlier, the task of reporting is not an easy one, and I require your help. I would like to extend an invitation for you all to send me any information that you might run across. To you it may seem insignificant, but it may be part of a much larger puzzle. Additionally, I would like to invite you to send me information about events that you know of. If you do not know if it is truly an event, then still send it in. Any correspondence is welcome.

"My only hope in being a Shard Reporter is that I will be able to live up to the standards of those before me. I shall give my fullest effort to work with you all to make a community that is well informed and exciting."

With a slight bow the man walks off to his desk.

After their quick exit, I sat pondering whether I should go to the Orc fort myself to see what these adventurers had been speaking of, or sit back in Empath continuing my tedious conversations with the resident Monks. It didn't take much time before I decided to risk the journey. I grabbed a thousand gold and an ostard for tribute, and headed to the Orc Fort as quick as I could.

Upon arriving I found many Orcs surrounding a few Seers and Elders. They were droning on about some "krimp" that had just occurred and some sort of game that was about to occur when they noticed me. They immediately rushed me with their maces at the ready, but I quickly offered my tribute, and after some harassment they decided to let me stay. I wander now if it was more because they needed a scorekeeper then that they enjoyed my company.

At any rate, I quickly asked several questions to see what exactly was occuring. Apparently, the Orcs had challenged the Seers and Elders to a game of darts. If the Orcs won, the Robed Ones would have to be the Orcs pugs for a period of time, undergoing all the menial tasks that pugs do within their clan. However, if the Ancients won, the Orcs had to dress in pink, go to the home of the Ancient Order of Elves, and sing about how much they loved the "elbsies". This I found quite amusing, and I sat back to watch what I hoped would be a good game of darts.

The Orcs went first, and after a brief pep talk from King Kor, the first Orc stepped up to the line and threw his dart and missed the dartboard completely. After some brief mumbling, the next Orc took his place and threw his dart, this one scoring 5 points. Better then the first, Kor grumbles a little less but was still far from happy. The third toss for the Orcs scored 10 points, which brought a hearty cheer from their side, however their glee did not last long. The next two throws missed, and the one after that scored a measly 1 point.

At this point Kor attempted to get his Orcs riled up, giving a brief speech telling them what would happen and how embarrassed they would be if they failed to win this game. The Orcs began to cheer up, and soon all of them were chanting to their Barbaric God Nograh. Hoping to ride out the enthusiasm, Kor placed another Orc at the tossing line and ordered him to toss his dagger. The enthusiasm was once again short lived though, as the dagger completely missed the dartboard and almost hit my head. The Orcs, grumbling under their breath, watched hopelessly as the next and last Orc threw his dart, missing the board as well. Disappointed with the low score of 16 points that they had managed to attain, and fearful of what might soon occur, the Orcs took their place along the sides as the Seers stepped up to throw.

...and soon all of them were chanting to their Barbaric God Nograh.

The first Seer hit with a 5 pointer, earning him a clap from his peers. The second barely nicked the board and was awarded only a point, and the third failed to hit the dartboard at all, earning him a few sarcastic complements with his team. At this point Seer Masara stepped up, and unleashed what seemed like two darts, but upon viewing the dartboard only a 20 point shot showed, and so she was awarded 20 points. She also got several groans from the Orc side as they realized they had just lost. The last Seer earned 5 points for his throw. The Seers had earned an overall 31 points and had thus won the Dart competition.

They quickly rushed to get the pink clothes as the Orcs sat around, dreading what was about to occur. When the Seers returned, it took the Orc leaders several minutes to force all the Orcs, or at least the majority of them to put on the pink clothes and honor the bet. The whole time every Orc was mumbling about something or another. A gate was then opened to Trammel, and the Orcs of Kor went through, going into the land they so hated, wearing bright pink. Once they arrived, I gladly opened a Gate to the Elven Guild house, where several Elves, who had been sitting around talking quietly among themselves were greeted with a large troop of odorous Orcs in pink clothes. I'm sure they must have been quite surprised.

...going into the land they so hated, wearing bright pink.

After the Orcs had arrived, they went into the Villa, and praised the might of the Ancient Order of Elves, led in song by Sarlock Longbow. Then, while both Elves and Seers laughed till tears flowed from their eyes, the Orcs wished us all a Merry Christmas.

As soon as the Seers had agreed that the debt had been paid, the Orcs ripped off their pink clothes, burned them, (while almost burning down the Elven Villa), and returned to their homeland in Yew, humbled and ashamed.

...the Orcs ripped off their pink clothes, burned them...

I would like to thank both the Seers and the Orcs for quite a wonderful evening; I don't think I have ever laughed that hard in all the many years of my life.

Good day, lords 'n ladies of Britannia. This evenin' to help us all get in the holiday spirit there shall be a great feast in the City of Yew, Felucca at 8:00 pm central time.

Small tables will be set up here and there through out the downtown area, and a great feast will be spread out in front of the Yew Archery shop (South East part of Yew Downtown). Santa will be there to hear what people would like for Christmas this year, and strolling minstrels will sing songs and perhaps tell a story or two for the enjoyment of all.

At 8:45ish, perhaps 9:00 we will have a Christmas Tree building competition, basic supplies will be provided, but…. all participants are free to use anything they may bring with them. Also, everyone that may have piles of snow is asked to bring them *smiles*. I can't wait to see everyone!

-Tristam

City Status

• Britain: Shadowlords
• Delucia: Shadowlords
• Magincia: Shadowlords
• Minoc: Shadowlords
• Moonglow: Shadowlords
• Skara Brae: Independent
• Trinsic: Shadowlords
• Yew: Shadowlords

• True Britannians: Madmardagan
• Mages Council: Zuckuss
• Shadowlords: Malice
• Followers of Minax: Arkon

Kinship Village Yuletide Festival
Date: Sunday, December 17th
Time: Starting at 8pm Eastern

Kinship Village would like to invite everyone to come and enjoy the season during our Yuletide Festival. Kinship Village is located on the mainland just east of Skara Brae in Felucca. Mishca will be the host of this festival, which will begin with the Village Snowball Fight at 7pm Eastern. Each of the following events will begin promptly at the completion of the previous event.

Village Snowball Fight
Location: The entire village area and nearby farm fields.

Anyone who has the available snow pile is welcome to participate in this event. It will be a free-for-all snowball fight among the village buildings and farm fields. Don't forget your gloves (and your snow piles)! This event will last approximately half an hour, allowing the guests time to arrive for the later events.

Secret Santa Gift Exchange
Location: Kinship Village Forge (in the center of the village just south of the tavern).

Everyone who is interested in participating in the exchange needs to bring one gift in some sort of holiday wrapping (a red bag for example) to exchange. You will be randomly matched up with another participant during the exchange by the host of the festival.

Please bring an appropriate gift - i.e. something of value. Examples include (but are not limited to): GM made armor or weapons, caskets of greater heal or cure potions, housing additions, rare or semi-rare items, etc.

Holiday Caroling
Location: Kinship Village Forge (in the center of the village just south of the tavern).

As in past holiday parties in Kinship Village, we are going to have a completely interactive round of holiday caroling. If you've been involved in this before, you know how much fun it is. For all those who haven't yet experienced it, be sure not to miss this event!

Santa's Reindeer Race
Location: Contestants will congregate at the Kinship Village stables (next to the tavern) to receive their costume and reindeer. The course location will be disclosed at the start of the event.

Up to 20 contestants will be able to participate in this event (first come, first serve). Each participate will be given a tamed "reindeer", a small amount of food for it, and a Santa Clause costume. A course will be set up that runs through the village and each contestant will line up at the starting point with their reindeer. This race will be run in 5 "heats". The winners of each of the first 4 heats will win the heat prize then compete in the fifth heat for the grand prize. When the host shouts "Go," they will run as fast as they can to the finish line with their reindeer in tow. The first team (both person and reindeer together) to cross the finish line wins that heat. The winner of the 5th heat gets the grand prize. Rules: Contestants must be on foot, no horses. Contestants will be allowed to use refresh potions, but no magic spells either on themselves or others. Contestants from each heat must transfer their reindeer to the contestants of the next heat.

The heat prizes for this contest will be 1,000 gold each.
The grand prize for this contest will be 10,000 gold!

Feast Clan Dalaigh
Location: Just south of the village center along the road.

Clan Dalaigh of Kinship will be holding the feast portion of the festival, with free food and drink for all located in the Dalaigh clanhouse in the village. Participants will be lead to the clanhouse when it is time for this event.

Kinship Forge

Hail! Well 'tis the season etc. so I thought I would make a slight departure from the regular 'toons to bring you a special Christmas 'toon starring none other than Santa himself. Head on over to my site and see what happens to Jolly Ol' St. Nick when he arrives in Britannia ready to hand out presents and good cheer to the citizenry.

Added Dec 15th, 2000

Episode #130 - Santa Claus is Coming to Brit

ImaNewbie does Britannia http://www.imanewbie.com/

later...Tryon

Announcing a Mith Sword Circle event: 1vs1 tourney
Sponsored by: Order of the Sacred Rose (OSR)

When: Tuesday December 19, 2000

Where: At the Mages Tower, City of Mith (Felucca location at www.mith.com)

Time: 6:30 PM Pacific, 8:30 PM Central, 9:30 PM Eastern. Entry closed promptly at 6:40 PM.

Featuring: NO ENTRY FEE, 1st place 25K gps, 2nd place 15K gps, and 3rd place 10K gps.

Here are the rules:

· No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No magic armor or weapons allowed.
· The use of Chaos/Order shields is not permitted.
· No pre-poisoned weapons. They may be poisoned during the battle.
· No use of summoning spells, field spells, blade spirits, energy vortex, recall or gate.
· No Stealing is allowed during battle.
· The Spell Des Mani (Weaken) is not allowed, nor can you cast Bless on an opponent. Casting Bless on an opponent will result in immediate loss of match.

- No pets.(i.e.: Dragons, Nightmares, Drakes)
- No Looting.!!! Looting will NOT be allowed!!! Punishable by death.
- No drinking of potions before the match begins.
- No Outside assistance. No leaving the Sword Circle area once matches begin.
- No Stepping outside the fighting circle. Doing so will mean you have forfeit the fight.
- To prevent lag, we ask that everyone hides during the fights that they are not involved in.

Disclaimers:

· A match will not be repeated because one or both of the contestants experienced lag or a server disconnect. The decision whether or not to fight, is left up to the individual contestant. The event Coordinator may cancel the event if shard instability is ongoing. All decisions made by the Event Coordinator are final. Any disputes will be handled after the event
· All contestants are subject to snooping by OSR Staff to ensure everyone is participating fairly.
· The Event Coordinator's decision on all matches is final and will not be disputed during the event.
· Anyone who disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after the event.
· The Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

Gabe, Guardian OSR

Hail,

I have just completed an update to my UO Text Reader tool. This update gives options that should help performance on low-end systems in laggy situations. It can be found at here, as can the rest of my utilities. Enjoy!

Clarence
Guildmaster, Healers of Chesapeake

Ultima Online: Third Dawn (which will include the 2D client) will be released by EA Games in the UK in March 2001.

Launch of UOwar.com!

UOwar.com gives you the latest warnews from the bloody faction war on the Europa shard.

If you're tired of the confusion of the faction war and would like to know more about who's winning and losing, who the leaders are and what they do, do visit us at http://UOwar.com.

UOwar.com

The Lost Artisans have recently uncovered the Sosorian Chronicles It is currently being decoded by the Lord High Scribe of the OLA , known as Theodin.

You can find the Chronicles here: http://www.lost-artisans.org.uk/sos-chron.html . So far , the page includes the first parchment from these chronicles and more will be posted , at the rate of about 1 per four day period.

Taishakutin

Com steals its first Town Sigil and more!
Com lead by AfE stole its first Town Sigil and brought it back to the Com stronghold. On Sunday at 1:00 Deluica was captured. At 1:16 Britain was captured and at 1:53 Yew was captured. The group doing the taking of the Town Sigils included Sanglant, Synestra and Masterful. By 3:00 they had taken Trinsic and Skara Brae and Magincia.

Minax steals Town Sigils from Com
At around 3:00 Sunday Minax showed up with Gord, Dog of War, Merc, Rampagh D'lon, Cyanide, smoky and Shreds among others and stole the Town Sigils back. They took the Sigils back via the Moongates to Moonglow. On the way to Moonglow they had to stop at several Moongates to wait for the Moongates cycle. After about 20 minutes they made it to Moonglow where they moved up the eastern edge of town on the way to the Encyclopedia Magika in North Moonglow. After going over to Papula they quickly finished their trip at the Minax Stronghold. After another 20 minutes we had all of the Town Sigils except for Moonglow and Minoc.

Com takes four Town Sigils back.
Com after trashing several cities decided to raid Minax's Stronghold. Lead by Mad Tamer, Madusa and others they quickly overcame the light defense force. Taking four of the Town Sigils they headed back towards the Com Stronghold but not before taking down two Minax faction members. As one of the members of the Com attacking force I was handed the Magincia Town Sigil to run back to our Stronghold. This was the first time I had done this. It was very interesting not being able to recall. I felt very much like the "marked man". We did get all four of the Town Sigils back to our Stronghold in about 10 minutes.

Com defends Town Sigils.
Getting the Town Sigils back to the Stronghold we began the process of defending the Stronghold. This time with enough people around we able to get organized. During the evening Minax attack three times. The first two times they were beaten back. On the second attempt they had almost broken into the Stronghold with a spirited attacked. The second attempt was finally beaten back when a resourceful mage started casting poison fields and fire fields into the attackers.

Com defends Town Sigils Part II.
The last attack by Minax was well coordinated with a large attack force that started at 9:45 PST. Some of the most famous fighters and mages in Britannia were leading the way into Com. Among them Galen Leader of Lod, Daukk Leader of G D, Hobbs, Lucenthawk, Demesto, raging lunatic, Soulkeeper, and others.

A large group of Com faction members had left the stronghold a few minutes earlier. Minax of course knew this because of Tapu a confirmed spy for Minax. (He can be seen in the lower part of the picture next to my dead body). There were also several other lurkers inside the Stronghold all that evening showing that Minax spy network is well constructed. The Stronghold being lightly manned was easily overcome by the concentrated attack of Minax.

Minax also put a large holding force in town to eliminate reinforcements. I would guess that Minax's total attack group was around 40-50 members including spies. It took an hour or so for all the Town Sigils to be stolen back due to the fact that this reporter had killed Minax's thief a few minutes before the Minax attack. Once the thief's sprit had recovered he started the process of stealing Com Town Sigils.

Archangel Shadowlords Leader Elected
The Shadowlords elected archangel as the first Shadowlords leader. How will archangel deal with Minax? Will he look to the other two factions as allies against Minax? Can he lead the Shadowlords into capturing their first town?

Sunkist now Leads True Britannia's
As one of the smallest factions can Sunkist increase membership? Sunkist seems to be relatively unknown even among he/her factions members. With a lot of factors against this faction Sunkist has a hard road ahead. Will he/she look towards other factions as allies?

Longshot Elected Leader of Com
Longshot has been elected leader of the second largest guild on the shard. Com is one of the only guilds to have taken and held town sigils for even a few hours. With recent attacks on Magincia it has been very hard for the faction get together. Can he over come the communication problems in the faction?

Gorechild elected Leader of Minax
Gorechild has been elected the very first leader of the most powerful faction on the shard. No surprise as he is one the best warriors on the shard with a long history of victories. He was at one point one of the most feared killers in most parts of Britannia. He is a longstanding member of Lod. Attempting to get an interview from him I was dead before I even got a word out.

Thank ye again

Sincerely

Durham Stargazer Mage, Baja, Executive Editor UO Journal

Thank ye to all that came to talk with Santa or just to to play in the games. I'd like to specially thank Ursula, Mirabel, Sleath, and the AoV members for help with decorating the tavern and gathering some supplies.

Thank you very much all of ye!

The night started out with everyone coming over to the Village hall to have a seat on Santa's knee to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Santa talked to many many children last night. At a table next to Santa, Athena, the Gypsy Queen, was giving near year fortune readings. Unfortunately she soon felt very drained and passed out during a reading.

After about an hour Santa and his reindeer left, yelling "Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight!" to all at the tavern. With that he, his reindeer and helper, flew out of site.

Anvil showed up at the tavern, and began the caroling contest. The winners of the event where:

• 1st place: Kita Talith (with 15 out of 15 correct)
• 2nd place: Ursula (with 14 out of 15 correct)
• 3rd place: Mirabel (with 9 out of 15 correct)

After prizes were given and congratulations exchanged, Anvil started the second event.

Here folks got part of Santa's christmas list, as he had lost his bag filled with goodies. Everyone had an hour to return with as many goodies as they could. The winners of this event were:

• 1st place:Maston Stamper (all items in)
• 2nd place:Mirabel (all items in)
• 3rd place:Bronwyn (all items but 1 in)

All in all I hope ye had as much fun at the party as those that hosted it did having it for ye.

*wishing ye and yers a very merry christmas* Pictures can be found here.

Veteran Rewards Testing

We will be restoring a recent game backup of the Great Lakes shard to a test shard in the next several days, and we urge Great Lakes players to drop by and join in Veterans Reward phased testing. The current phase in testing will allow reward choices to only those accounts with 36 months or more of active status. You do not need to have a current character on Great Lakes in order to help test. Any 36+ month account can create character(s) on the Great Lakes Test shard to test the rewards system. The rewards system may have to be deactivated for some hours at a time during these tests. If you do not see the system on when you arrive, try again in awhile!

We look forward to seeing you on the test shard!

A new version of UOTamer has now been released that adds to the existing program and fixes a couple bugs.

1. The new program now lets you store and control up to 5 pets.
2. Adds a Guard Me Button
3. Allows the user to turn off the Release Button
4. Fixes a problem where macros were not saved

UOTamer is a simple utility to help tamer manage their pets and commands without the need for macro keys on their keyboard. As with all the programs I create, UOTamer does not interfer with the datastream of UO and only passes keystrokes to the UO window. While this program is not UOPro approved (the program is closed) it meets the spirit of UOPro and the original intent and guidlines that were set out by OSI.

Other programs that are available are:

UORudder V3.0 - A boat navigation utility that is a must have for anyone who sails the seas of Ultima Online
UOHome Owner V1.0 - A house command management tool.

All these tools can be found at http://uo.stratics.com/tools

comments can be sent to [email protected]

Happy trading !!

I'd like to tell everyone on the Atlantic Shard that The Order of the Endless Knot is hosting a Christmas party this Sunday (the 17th) at 7:00 to whatever time it might end.

There will be plenty of food and drink for everyone. Not to mention games and prizes. Everyone is invited as long as they are content to have fun.

Gates to the Party will be given between 6:30 and 7:00, at the entrance of Wrong (Trammel Facet). Hope to see you there!

Sincerly,
Tiso (Guildmaster)

Thank ye Tiso for this announcement.

Hail all,

The town of Prodigus on the Trammel facet, featuring the Rich Man's Inn, is pleased to announce the opening of its webpage. You can visit us at www.geocities.com/uoprodigus. Please visit our message board tell us your thoughts. Come see the town locals. Check the calender and see what is new in Prodigus. Intrested in hosting an event at our town? You can contact us here about your wonderful event.

I would once again like to thank all who have been coming to our bar nights. It has been a real pleasure serving you. Bar nights are Mon-Thur 9-10pmEST. If you do not have a rune but wish to get one, please ICQ me at 55432884.

Thank you.
--Alan the Barkeep--

Evil luck to your town Barkeep.

Su'Zal stood in the shadows of the Main Gate. The thief was depressed. Depressed and afraid. The nearly constant raids of the evil undead servants of the Shadowlords and the minions of Minax had driven all the gullable citizens of Britain into their homes. Their valuables locked safely away. Su'Zal was hungry, but no gold was available to lift. No gold means no food. The vile attackers seemed to destroy all in their path, and Su'Zal was afraid he would be next. Britain had its small squad of defenders, but they were no match for the overwhelming number of evil ones.

Suddenly, the thief heard his named called. "Hey Su'Zal, get over here!", a red-robed mage called out. The thief darted his eyes left and right then stammered "Wha...What? I haven't done nuttin..." Rager, a well known member of the Descendants of Darkness, continued "Shaddup! You are a thief, right?" Su'Zal was caught off guard and was not sure how to reply. The mage did not wait for an answer "We need you to do something for the good of Britain. We need you to steal something. We will go with you and ensure your safety as you perform this task." The thief was quite taken aback with this information, and replied "Lemme get this straight, you want me to steal somethin', and you all will protect me while I do this?!" Rager nodded. "And what is in this for me?" Su'Zal demanded. The mage could promise nothing in return, so the thief pondered a bit. After some thought, Su'Zal agreed to perform the task, thinking that perhaps he might wind up with a bit of gold or food anyway.

A short while later a considerable number of knights and mages had amassed and were preparing to escort the thief to his target. He had no idea where he was going, nor what he was to steal, but with this number of powerful escorts, Su'Zal felt safe. When the blue moongate was opened and several of the surrounding people had entered, the thief was ordered to step into it as well. An instant later, Su'Zal found himself blinking, trying to see light in a dark cavern. The foul smell of rotting flesh burned his nose. The oozing slime on the walls stained his clothing. Right away, he began to regret his agreement to perform this task. "Stay back and out of the way until we call for you!" barked Baalzephor, one of the red-robed escorts. Su'Zal found this command easy to obey, since he could simply sneak away and hide in the shadows.

After all the people had arrived through the moongate, the force began pushing further into the cavern. As they advanced, the thief sneaked up behind them and found a quiet place in the shadows nearby. Suddenly the clanging of blades and magical smoke filled the cavern. The thief turned to run, but realized he had no idea where he was nor how to get out. It was at this moment that he truly began to realize his mistake in accepting this task. Cries of pain echoed through the corridors as the evil servants battled the Britannians. Unable to assist in any way, Su'Zal slinked further into the shadows and covered his face with his hands. How he wished he was back in Britain!

Eventually the thief and his escorts were able to push through into the innermost room of the undead stronghold. It was there that Su'Zal first learned of sigils and the true purpose of his involvment. He was escorted to this horrible place to steal the sigil of Britain and return it to the Britannian stronghold. Only by succeeding in this would Britain once again be safe. Only then would the citizens emerge from their homes. Only then might their valuables be accessible to one such as he. He must succeed! His future depends on it!

Su'Zal quickly grabbed the Town Sigil of Britain and turned to retreat. Upon stealing the sigil he was immediately surrounded in a brilliant violet hue. "By the powers! What has happened to me?! I may as well have a target painted on me!" Jack the Mad reminded the thief of his escorts and told him not to worry. "Just stick with us and you will be OK" Jack said as he headed for the exit. Everyone began working their way back towards the area where they first entered the caverns. Su'Zal, now brightly highlighted, stayed near the back of the pack, and hid in the shadows when he could.

All of a sudden a large force of undead charged into the middle of the ranks of Britannians. A huge battle ensued with humans and undead falling quickly. The thief slinked away further into the shadows, shuddering at the sight of the carnage. One by one the Britannians fell until Su'Zal was the only mortal left in the caverns. Dispair quickly overcame the thief. How he longed to be back in Britain! Even the suspicious gaze of Lord British's guards would be a welcome relief from this hell. As he hid there in the cavern, Su'Zal began to think about his mother. How she had detested the life he had chosen. How she begged him to get a real job and do something decent for a change. He wondered if she had learned of the peril he is in now, and how he was attempting to do something good for Britain. All of these thoughts gave way to dispair once again. Su'Zal knew the end was near.

The thief had been hiding for what seemed like days. He had given up all hope and was simply waiting for the evil beings to discover his location. Suddenly, from out of the shadows came a hushed voice. Su'Zal instantly recognized it as the voice of Oliver, one of the Britannian supporters who he had seen around town. Oliver whispered "Don't give up, I hear that a force is being assembled to rescue you and the sigil." Su'Zal took a deep but quiet breath, renewed with the slightest of hope. Perhaps he could withstand a few more hours in this hole afterall.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the halls. Many footsteps. Su'Zal tighened his stance, trying to be as invisible as possible. Muffled voices revealed that the approaching group were human. Could they be Britannians? The thief's spirits soared! When the knights rounded the bend in the cavern, Su'Zal could make out the images of several familiar Britannians. Someone called for him to appear. When the thief and the rescuers were together, the plan was clear - they were going to charge out of the cavern at full speed. It seemed most of the evil servants were away from their stronghold and it would be fairly easy to escape via the single entrance above ground. When everyone was ready, the group charged out of the darkness, with the knights and mages destroying the few servants that stood in the way.

Once outside, Su'Zal took a few moments to adjust his eyes to the sunlight. "RUN! RUN ALL THE WAY TO BRITAIN!" was yelled, so the thief took off, with a few escorts, in the direction of Britain. Very little resistance was encountered along the way, which the escorts dispatched with ease. As Su'Zal entered the town of Britain, cheers rang out. The citizens understood what was at stake and ran to greet the thief and his escorts. As Su'Zal approached the castle gates, throngs of Britannians stood in defense of the castle. A break in the crowd opened and Su'Zal hurriedly ran on to the castle. He had to get the sigil to its resting place in the castle throne room before it was too late.

With the sigil returned to its rightful owners, Su'Zal was able to breathe a long sigh of relief. His job was done, he had succeeded. The citizens partied long into the night. A bountiful feast was prepared at the castle, and the hungry thief ate his fill. As he downed the last of his bottle of ale, Su'Zal headed off in search of his mother. He must make sure she knows of the good deed he had performed this day. Along the way, the thief kept a wary eye for pockets that needed emptying.

Thank ye Su'Zal for this interesting tale.

Arx Draconis Festival Week is nearing its halfway point!! So far we have had 3 event nights with stunning success. Each event was so well received we had to stop gating in more people in order to get the many people attending going in the fun competitions.

On Sunday the Winter Ball took place. As part of this event there was a 10 item Scavenger Hunt. Players scattered far and wide to find them in the fastest time. The first 2 places were separated by a mere 30 seconds and both persons sure are packrats to have all of those items in their house :) Winners took home either a black dye tub, a suit of GM valorite plate or a double axe of vanquishing.

On Monday the Easter Egg Hunt took place. 35 bags filled with a book were hidden around Arx Draconis. Each book was worth differing point values but no one knew how much since they were encoded. Players searched high and low and the winner ended up with 34 points with second place taking 11 and 3rd place with 10. Winners took home either a kryss of power, a GM valorite plate suit or a full keg of potions.

On Tuesday night there was held the "When Animals Go Bad" fights. Players bet on which animals would win the fights and the winner were those who got all the fights right splitting a large cash prize.

As always Arx Draconis

Thank ye Dragons for this bit 'o news.

When: This Sunday, Dec 17, after serverup(9pm CST)
Where: East Britain Bank, Trammel
Who: You!
What: Read On!

Treasure Hunter's of Britannia, Hokuto is happy to announce a shardwide event!

Simply bring your tattered treasure map(level 3 and 4 Trammel maps preferred) to the time and place mentioned above and a THB guildmember will be happy to dig it for you for free! The maps will become free-for-alls. Once the chest has been dug up and unlocked, the contents of the chest will be fair and open game to anyone who comes along! Of course, with so many people grabbing so quickly, the spawn will become quite interesting! So come prepared to probably fight, maybe die, and certainly meet some new friends! We will be forming parties as people arrive and heading off in teams. If you arrive at the bank and no one is there, wait a few minutes for a returning party to join the next one. As stated before, these maps are free-for-alls so no guarantees are made. While utmost preference will be given to Trammel maps, we may possibly encounter Felucca maps. There will also be time for Q&A as well as general discussions on the finer points of treasure hunting. THB will not be responsible for any deaths, injuries or loss of properties so make sure youre regs are well packed and armor in good repair!

Hope to see you there!

Cortez RedStar
Level 4 Treasure Hunter of Hokuto for Hire
Treasure Hunters of Britannia * Hokuto Chapter GM
Co-Proprietor of The Tattered Map
[email protected]

Celebrate the Holiday Season with your friends at VaH.

December 17th at 8pm Central Time (6pm PST) VaH will celebrate there second annual Holiday Season with all their good friends on Napa valley. Join us in this festive get together! There will be good food, drink, cheer, Polar Bear wrestling and Snowball contests! (bring your snow if you have some) Gates will be provided from Magincia Bank to VaH Guild Tower in the town of Atlantica between 8pm and 8:30 pm.

Hope to see you all there!

Yours truly,
Lady Caitlynd

We will be bringing the Lake Superior shard down following its next completed backup cycle to publish the shard with the holiday gifts and items listed in Testing for Next Update .

The shard will be down for approximately 1.5 hours and the publish will be active upon its return.

We will be bringing the Lake Superior shard down following its next completed backup cycle to publish the shard with the holiday gifts and items listed in Testing for Next Update .

The shard will be down for approximately 1.5 hours and the publish will be active upon its return.

Thank ye Angus fer sending in this information:

Welcome to the Stonekeep market on Friday 15th of December starting 20:00 GMT. Merchants, traders, adventurers and craftsmen are all welcome to buy or sell, or to just partake in the generic market atmosphere and meet a lot of people from across the lands. Who knows, you might just find what you are looking for at the Stonekeep market, just north of Yew crossroads. The market is held outdoors, and a table is provided upon request. To secure a good spot for your table, come in advance

Yours,

Angus Og [#9555730]
Head Barkeeper
Stonekeep Tavern

My name is Eranius McCloud, scribe from the city of Trinsic, and I have terrible news to report! In the early morning hours Lady Rebecca was abducted from the Valor Castle and nobody has heard from her since. The kidnappers were reportedly wearing hooded black robes, so nobody is quite sure of who did this dastardly deed. Accusations are flying wildly, and the Shadowlords, the Dead Presidents, and a group of ex-K*V rogues known as the Drows have all been suggested as possible perpetrators.

Regardless, a scout (who paid with his life) has reported that Lady Rebecca is being held in a magical prison that even her great powers cannot penetrate. The scout was not able to clearly identify the exact location of this prison, but he did mention that it is rumored to be the exact same magical prison that holds the ancient undead mage Kyrnia.

With her flowing white hair and her blazing red eyes, Kyrnia once wrought great havoc upon the lands of Brittania with her ancient magical powers. Eventually the people of Brittania were able to trick her into a magical prison and trap her there, and she has remained there ever since.

There is only one way to break the magical barrier and release those contained inside the prison.........the "Doomsday Spell". The secret to the spell was considered so volatile to the population of Brittania that it was divided into 8 different books, with each book containing one of the words of power and one of the needed reagents for the spell.

These books magically appear and disappear in various towns and dungeons of Brittania on a regular basis. There are multiple copies of some of the books, but a couple of the books are extremely rare and difficult to find. An additional book contains the identity of the Dark Prophet. The Dark Prophet is the only one who knows for certain the location of the magical prison, and once someone proves that they are worthy by presenting the necessary reagents to the Dark Prophet he will take them to the location of the prison.

The Foundation of Valor is determined to get Lady Rebecca safely back to Valor Castle, and is offering a half million (500000) gold and a glacial ice staff as a reward to the person or team who can cast the spell and set Lady Rebecca free from this prison. This quest will likely be very difficult and incredibly dangerous, and thus such a high reward is justified. I wish all who take on this quest the best of luck......

Eranius McCloud, Scribe of Trinsic

Fashioning the Orb's Bane
Erik Valstrom
Dec 14 2000 10:35PM

There are times when I wish I were much younger... when I could buckle on my swordbelt, don my chainmail and close helm, and ride off to do battle with the forces of evil. Those were the days! Alas, the only sounds of battle I hear nowadays are those which ring in my ears from distant memory, while reports of fighting are told me by the survivors or participants thereof. Aye, and they are all narrated while we sit comfortably near hearthside, at table, over a mug of cider at a fashionable pub somewhere far removed from conflict.

Such were the circumstances surrounding a number of tales told me of events concerning the Orb of Soul Seeking, recently discovered affixed to the ground within spitting distance of the steps of Necropolis' dark and forbidding Keep on Felucca. For many days I had gleaned and gathered information about the Orb from various sources, some eyewitnesses, being sure to keep the wine bottle at bay from them until they had completed their stories. Now I am able to reliably and thoroughly construct a tale of my own, hopefully shedding more light upon the mystery surrounding the diabolical artifact that plagued fair Edinburgh Village for so long and which now claims victims of Yew's citizenry.

The Orb is evidently the repository, perhaps prison, for an otherworld entity, which has expressed desire to be free of its confines. This being calls itself Io, and is able to take forms easily recognized by most all Britannians: first a poison elemental and, at present, a green-hued gargoyle. These are not, in actuality, the entity itself but are mere emanations of it sent to speak to its allies and to hunt for food--the souls of humans, "those of great evil or of great good." And it has not had to do this alone. It has been fed steadily by those of the Crimson Alliance and the Shadowclan Orcs, whom it seems to have an affinity for, and perhaps an alliance with. Its power grows quickly as a result.

Onto this scene two necromancers have reappeared who harbor as much desire for control of the Orb as they have hate for one another: Armande deSade and Scaramandine II, leaders of factions of the Necromari, both of whom I have had the dubious privilege of meeting. While Armande is evidently trying to wrest control of the Orb for his own foul ends, Scaramandine has enlisted the aid of the Justice Defenders of Moonglow and citizens of the Village of Edinburgh, to fashion a weapon capable of shattering the Orb. I have learned that they found a suit of ancient and enchanted verite plate, smelted it and forged three weapons which Scaramandine is in the process of enchanting. The hope is that one of these weapons will succeed in smashing the Orb, ending its reign of terror forever. In doing so, it seems Scaramandine wishes to release the soul of his forbear and namesake, held in bondage by Io.

Yet Armande is aware of this all, and just a short time ago unleashed his might and minions against the laboratory where Scaramandine sought to continue his enchantments on the weapons, hoping no doubt to disrupt the proceedings. Fortunately Scaramandine had many able defenders with him who met every challenge hurled against them: waves of Necromari mage lords, apprentice mages, their brigand allies from Wrong, swarms of elementals of all kinds, and one fashioned from the bodies of the dead: a powerful flesh elemental. The battle at the lab was long and hotly contested.

Several defenders fell fighting, but none would give ground. In the end, they inflicted far greater losses upon their adversaries than they themselves sustained. At the height of the battle a few Necromari succeeded in entering the lab to attack the necromancer at work inside, but they were slain as well, some of them by spells from the defenders outside the lab. What damage, if any, they did to the spellcasting of Scaramandine is unknown, as the Necromari leader would not say.

Only time will tell if the enchantments on the weapons will succeed, and this must be done with haste. For though it is believed that neither Armande nor Scaramandine possess a certain Spell of Focusing, which would enable them to use the Orb's powers just as their forbears did so long ago against the citizens of Minoc, both men seek the spell. Should either find it and use it, the fashioning of the Orb's Bane will likely be a matter of too little, too late.

*Tacked to the Empath Abbey message board*

Fellow Citizens of Yew,

The Lady Melisane has asked, due to pressing personal matters, that I take over the final stages of voting for the upcoming Yew Town Council elections. I will attempt to remain as close as possible to the ideas she shared with me on the subject.

Nominees:

First, a listing of the final nominees for the positions of council and mayor. Remember that we are choosing four council members and one mayor in this election.

• Haplo - Black Rose Society
• Paul Atreides
• Samson Prat - Fellowship of Malik
• Glokpod - ekirh king
• Takako
• Whipperwhill - TFC
• Marrukah
• Rowen Mayfair - Phantom Menace
• Selayna - White Lotus Mages
• Swiftwind
• Derghaust
• Morrighan - Upholders of Virtue
• Humphrey de Levant - Keepers of Justice
• Katya de Courtney - Knights of Yew
• Certyl Jr.
• Timothy - The Free Corps

Final Registration:

Both Melisane and myself have attempted to notify potential Yew citizens of the registration process and to make ourselves available, either in person or by courier. We do not wish any Yew citizen who desires to vote to be left out, and yet, with the right to vote comes the responsibility to register. I will be available to register potential voters one more evening before the elections:

Friday, Dec. 12th
8:00-10:00 p.m.(Eastern)
Empath Abbey (Trammel)

Voting Schedule:

It is my desire to offer several dates and times for the vote so that people of every schedule might find a time convenient for them. Also, it is hoped that by providing several opportunities, the lines will be kept to a minimum. I do ask for your patience, however, in that I may be the only registrar available to collect votes.

Saturday, Dec. 16
9:00-10:00 a.m. Eastern
1:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern
8:00-10:00 p.m. Eastern

Sunday, Dec. 17
2:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern
8:00-10:00 p.m. Eastern

Monday, Dec. 18
7:00-9:00 p.m. Eastern

Voting Location:

Several locations had been offered, including the Shadowmoor library and my own house at the Yew crossroads. After some consideration, I have decided that a more neutral and centrally located polling location is best.

Voting will take place in the Trammel version of Kent's Last Pint. For those unfamiliar with this building, it is the farm house along the northern shore and lying directly between the Mill and the Courthouse.

Yew Elections Voting Place

Not only does the front room provide chairs for waiting voters, but volunteer entertainers and barkeeps might help to make the wait less tedious. It is hoped that its use will continue far past these three evenings and that Trammel Yew might enjoy the commraderie that the Kent's of Felucca Yew provided in years past.

Voting Procedures:

Registered voters will be admitted one at a time into the back room to vote. As provided by Melisane, they will be asked to take an oath of allegiance to Yew before voting. This is being asked now, as opposed to during registration, for the privacy it provides and the anonimity of those citizens who choose not to take the oath and thus forfiet their vote. Again, we wish no one ill in what should be a unifying practice for Yew.

The oath is as follows:

I swear that I will uphold the 8 virtues of Britannia, that I will knowingly do no wrong to Yew or its citizens, and that I will honor and abide the decisions made by the Yew Council and its appointed staff.

Voters will then be handed a book listing the nominees. They will be asked to indicate their four choices for council and one choice for mayor.

Each voter's name will be recorded along with their vote.

Further questions concerning the election process may be directed to my mailing address [email protected]. I would happy to respond to any inquiries, though I am not registering via mail. If you should happen to miss registration for this election, I will endeavor to register you for the next.

Any procedures used in this election will, of course, be subject to change by the new council. I anticipate their wisdom and guidance in refining the Yew electoral process.

Dove, Healer of Yew
Temporary registrar

There will be a Social Gathering sponsored by the Legions of Dark Nations at the Nujel'm Palace Gardens in Nujel'm, Trammel on Saturday, December 16th, 9 p.m. Eastern. Everyone will need to dress formal and bring a date if possible, but not required. There will be food, drinks, and dancing. Everyone is welcome and welcome to bring friends.

In order to find the most skilled crew of Britannia, the Pirates of Buccaneer's Den are inviting all guilds for a big sea battle event. Of course, the pirates are convinced that nobody will beat their crew. Different guilds can participate to fight against each other in one big sea battle. This event will be held in the bay of Buccaneer's Den in Trammel, so only guilds highlighted with each other can attend. Make sure your guildmaster is available in case we have to set up highlighting. The event will take place on Saturday, December 16th at 6 p.m. Eastern. Meeting point is the Bucceneer's Den docks in Trammel. Each crew has to bring their own ship. A crew has lost with either the ship is abandoned, or all members aboard it are dead, leave the battle area, or if they surrender. Please read our rules carefully. Also, there is a map of the battle area contained within the rules. You'll find the rules here: Buccaneer's Den Sea Battle Rules

Hawkeye Pike
Pirates of Buccaneer's Den

hear ye hear ye all are invited to the first miller's shack auction. The event will be held on the 15th of december at 8 by the central sky.

many things will be raffled off including:

• fishing net
• black sandals
• glacier staff

Just to name a few! Come early to submit your auction items limit of 2 per customer. No submission fee necessary.

This is a villa so NO horses, dragons or nightmares. We are located on the Trammel facet at the sextant coordinates:111°53’N X 1°15’E NO exceptions! Hope to see you there and please have fun!.

Leila.

With elections done with, and Mr. Beemu our new factions leader, things have taken a turn for the best for the members of the Council of Mages. Earlier in the day, all 5 stones were in the Britain compound, and they were repeatedly attacked by people trying to retain them. Much kudos go to Britain for holding off the factions for as long as they did!

But, as I was saying, with the elections done, we started placing vendors and guards in our town with the help of our new sheriff, Venus Noompsy!

The first order of business was to lay siege on the Brits in what was to be a total routing. Dragons, mares, and everything imaginable was thrown at us, only to be batted down, their corpses joining their masters. The True Brits held us out of their throne room for probably about 10 minutes (the shortest time they've held it so far, it usually takes about 30 minutes.

It might've been another long standoff if not for the Valiant efforts of one Amborse! In true story book fashion, he yelled:'FOLLOW MY LEAD, TROOPS' and stormed in through the narrow passageway, deadly poisoned traps and all, into a group of about 7 powerful mages.

Luckily he was able to live through the ordeal, and troop after troop rushed in after his, forcing the britannians to retreat further into the stronghold, until they were all dead. We ended up getting every single sigil back.

Now the question is, can we hold them?

Greetings citizens of Britannia. I bring to you a tale of orcish origin, which my good friend Rotjeknor, the orcish scribe, told to me.

Ug vrend , mez hab storie fur lats wot be many guud!
It begin wen tribe eldar send mez pijon dat us olog vrend needs help. Olog vrend Nuk'togh lib unda dem brige thingey, him hab shinie stoon dere dat was his pride! Hoowah! Him hab uvver olog wif name Ghachak gard shinie stoon when him away. But when him com back, shinie stone gon an olog Ghachak be gone tuu! Nub guud!
So olog vrend come tu uruk fur helping, olog say Ghachak be in da hummie mojoka maze were dere be manie bad hummies. Uruk som hummies an dark pixie go help olog vrend! Hoowah!
Wez go to da middel of da maze, dem hummies call dat demun towa, dere be nuffing dere at first but den dere be demuns an dem small demun tingies all around us! Wez nub scared so wez clomp! Hoowah! Wez clomped dem all, dem be eesie hur hur nub uruk or vrendlie hummie go ded!
Dere wos no olog dere, so mez go luuk tru da maze wif mojo telipurt, it guud but cost many rejin, dat nub guud. So dere mez see da olog, but dere be many mojo tree an floatie eyes all around! nub guud! mez make mojo rune dere an go back to uvvas, wez all go in wif da mojo gate, be BIG clomping dere but wez win! Hoowah! agin nub uruk ur vrendlie hummie go ded hur hur.
Da clan elder puddy talk wif da olog Ghachak, him say him nub liek mojo, him hide ere but get attacked by mojo tree an floatee eyes, nub guud. Wez take da olog tu da warhall an us olog vrend Nuk'togh be dere waitin. Da dub ologs go talk an wez find out ugrz still hab da shinie stoon, dat nub guud! But dem olog vrends be safe, dem be very hungree tuu, mez gib many fishie fuuds but it nub enuf! So wez go to da tavrn tingey called blakmoooores or so were wez got free cidur an big piggies! Hoowah!
Wez drink manie cidur an eat manie piggies an dem ologs get full so dem go home to da brige tingey again, wez gib big hugs an den gug'ye!

Greetings friend! I have a good story to tell you!
It began when the clan elder sent me a pidgeon about our troll friend needing help. Our troll friend Nuk'togh lives under a bridge, he had a shining stone which was his pride! Jippie! He had an other troll called Ghackhak guard the stone when he was away for a bit. But when he came back, the shining stone was gone and also the troll Ghachak was nowhere to be found! That is not good!
So the troll friend came to the orcs for helping, the troll said that Ghachak was in the magic maze where the evil human mages roam. The orcs, some humans and a drow went to help the troll friend! Jippie!
We went to the middle of the maze, humans call that building there the daemon tower, there was nothing there ar first but then suddenly there where daemons and gargoyles all around us! We weren't scared so we fought them! Jippie! We killed them all, they where easy as no orcs or friendly humans died!
There was no troll there, so I went teleporting around the mage to look for him, that was nice but it also cost me many magic reagents, which was less nice. So there I see the troll, but there where many reapers and gazers around! not good at all! I mark a rune there and teleport back to the others, we all went in with a gate travel spell and a HUGE fight emerged but we won! Jippie! Again no orcs or friendly humans went down he he
The tribe elder talked some with the troll Ghachak, he said he didn't like magic, that he hid here but got attacked by reapers and gazers which was not good. We take the troll to our warhall and our troll friend Nuk'togh was waiting there. The two trolls talked with each other and we found out that the ogres still have the shiny stone, that's no good! But nontheless both the trolls where safe but very hungry as well, I gave them many fish steaks but they could not be filled up! So we went to Blackmore's tavern near skara brae docks and we got free roast pigs and alcaholic beverages! Jippie!
We drank much alcoholic beverages and ate many roast pigs and the trolls finally got full and they decided to go home to the bridge, we gave each other big hugs and then said out goodbyes!

Well I thought this was a very interesting story and I am delighted to share it with all of you!
Faithfully yours,
-Jolly Roger

If you are part of the Drachenfels Shadowlords Faction you are invited to visit our homepage. Here you will find news on the things that are happening in the Faction as well as a board to chat with fellow Shadowlords.

We hereby wish to announce the 15. auction in Dragon Town on Sunday, 17.december 2000 at 8pm CET (7pm GMT, 2pm EST).
The place of the auction is as every time Dragon Town (Felucca) on top of the merchant tower. A introduction for the auction and a map to the town can be found on our website. Please read the introduction at our page. This should answer all questions.

This time it's a special weapon auction. Only weapons, only one per person, without exceptions. The collection of wares is open right now. If you wish to sell a weapon, please contact Zarzal on ICQ 9611261 or visit the tower in the evening hours. Please use the time and don't bring all the items in the last 5 minutes in front of the auction. This is hard to handle, thank you.

To prevent attacks from people who like to make trouble we have a snoop service installed. You only enter the tower WITHOUT any explosion potions and shooting weapons. Some guild members auf the Dragon Clan will check you. Don't bring such things to the auction or you will be ejected immediately. Don't bring your pets with you, let them in the stables. Outside, pets are targeted by troublemakers. We are not able to protect them. While the auction of a item is in progress please stop talking, joking about the prices or practice anything. This would spam the logs due the comm crystals that we must use to hear everything. Giving comments to the prices while the auction is in progress is unfair. After the item is sold, feel free to say something, but PLEASE, not during the auction itself. Thank you.

Regards
Lady Zarzal

Ultima Online Support receives thousands of email letters every day from UO players around the world. Our team works to answer your questions, concerns, suggestions, and calls for help about everything from account questions to house lockdowns to llamas and ostards. We're always striving to find new ways to increase the level of customer service provided through our email support, and we'd like to ask your help in beta testing a new option.

The UO Customer eSupport System is a searchable knowledge base through which you can find answers to common questions about Ultima Online, browse frequently asked questions, send email, and rate the helpfulness of the information you find within the system. We are currently beta-testing this application and plan to release it to the public early next week. However, we can certainly use your comments and feedback! If you have a question or concern regarding Ultima Online, we hope you'll take the time over the next several days to visit the eSupport System and try it out. Does it offer valid and timely answers to questions? Is it easy to navigate and understand? Would you use it again to find answer to your questions? Simply send us your comments and feedback using the new system - we're interesting in hearing your opinions!

The UO Customer eSupport System is located at http://uo.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/uo. We hope you'll drop by and join in the testing!

We will be publishing the changes listed in Testing for Next Update to all shards (excluding Sonoma) to be active following their Friday, December 15th scheduled maintenance period (local server time). This publish will include holiday gifts and holiday tree activation.

The changes will be added to Latest Game Updates once the publish is active on all shards.

Thank ye Shri for this wonderful report of the Second Spiritwood Talent Show:

T'was early this past Sunday evening that the faithful art-lovers among us gathered in the splendid surrounds of Spiritwood's Theatre in the Clouds to see the latest offerings from our more creatively gifted colleagues. In the fine clear evening light they huddled at the edge of the stage, their faces glowing expectantly in the lamp light as the first intrepid artiste strode the boards. 

As a sure fire opening act, Gideon Oakenhome stepped forward to set the evening in motion with a crowd pleasing Ventriloquism Act. Firstly, he called for a volunteer from the crowd, my humble self as it came to pass, and then he caused to issue forth several amusing and unmentionable comments from mine own lips! The audience roared its approval and I swiftly moved events along to the next act. 

This was an act entitled The Amazing Disappearing Nudist in which Pad O'Lion, that well know figure about town, caused his assistant, the lovely and skimpily attired Noa Zarith, to vanish after stepping into a box which had previously been certified by members of the audience as totally empty. Noa gingerly stepped into this nondescript box and then, wielding a mighty Magic Staff and uttering words of power, the Amazing O'Lion caused him to vanish and miraculously re-appear on the lawn outside the Town Hall. The crowd was astonished. 

  The audience was then thrilled and delighted by a veritable smorgasbord of works by the famed Bard and Showman Aeribian, who graced us with a selection of his finest hits. These included ballads and limericks on a wide range of subjects such as that catchy ditty "The Lich in Deceit that has the Big Feet", the "Ballad of Daemona the Mage and her awfully big Rage" and the "Elemental's Pick-nic". The crowd was beside itself with joy…

Next up, we had a show of endurance the likes of which many had never seen before nor are likely to ever see again. No, it was not a man in single combat with three Dragons. It was not a daredevil throwing himself off of the tower into a damp sponge below, it was not even the thought of being strapped to a front row seat forced to watch the faction wars at the Britanian Bank! It was the astonishing Mike McCoy drinking 13 full bottles of strong whisky in quick succession as the audience cheered him on with clapping hands and stomping feet. After this breath-taking feat, Mike was lead away by the local police and invited to enjoy the hospitality of the town jail where he might sleep off the effects of his act. I can report that 24 hour later he was still reeling from the event….

That well-known weaver of arcane energies Mythradin the Mage followed this quickly, (after the stage had been cleaned up). He stepped into the foot lights for a simple but elegant display of conjuring during which he astounded and thrilled the crowd by removing his hat and then producing a full grown Hind from within it! We gazed in wonder, pondering how he managed to keep his hair so clean, all things considered. After he had replaced it upon his head, many watched his hat for further signs of life for the remainder of the evening. 

Following this the audience were thoroughly bewitched by a haunting ballad performed by the luscious Fuschia Groan, whose dulcet tones and swaying hips brought about a collective stupor over the assembled crowd. 

Just the thing to bring us to our final performance of the evening, which was a Fable as told by Cat of the House of Oakenhome. This story, of the Great Spirit and the choosing of the King of the Avians was both captivating and  instructive as it contained at its heart, as do all good fables, an important lesson in morality. Thus was brought a fine ending to the night's presentation and all that was left was to select the winner of the Grand Prize for best performance. This was done by asking the assembled audience to vote through their applause for the act they found most compelling. Though it was a close run thing, (perhaps just a little bit influenced by the fact that it was the night of her Birthday), Cat walked away with the final Grand Prize, a unique work of art created by Spiritwood's own Artist in Residence An'Luan. 

As the lights dimmed once more, the merry crowd wandered off to attend a birthday feast in the nearby tower of the Custodes Fati, and the Spiritwood Theatre in the Clouds fell silent once more…

That is, until the next show.

Here's Kathleen right from the Lycaeum where the "Miss Drachenfels 2000" contest just ended. A well organized contest, and a whole lot of fun for everybody participating and watching.
Due to the nature of the contest theres not much to tell about this, so here's the ranking :

1. Lady Koltanerask - first prize
2. Lady Cornelia - second prize
3. Lady Cita - third prize

The prices contained various sets of Grandmaster crafted armor. We're looking forward for more of such funny and peaceful events.

Best regards,
Kathleen

Fairhaven Winter Festival

The village of Fairhaven is proud to announce its first annual Winter Festival. The festival is comprised of three events that will each take place at 7:00pm PST this weekend december 15th, 16th, and 17th.

Event 1: Horse Race
Location: Fairhaven Community Center
Time: 7:00pm PST, Dec. 15th
Prizes: 50,000 gold for first place, 15,000 gold for 2nd-4th place
Overview: Participants will race from the gates of Empath Abbey to the docks on the eastern half of Skara Brae while collecting 5 checkpoint items. Only horses will be allowed for this event. Players will meet at the community center and once instructions are given gates will be provided to the starting line.

Event 2: Cockfights
Location: Fairhaven Community Center
Time: 7:00pm PST, Dec. 16th
Overview: Ten matches of chicken versus chicken will be held. Player can bet on the outcome with other players or with the judges. Like before, instructions will be given first at the commuity center and then gates will be providided to the event location.

Event 3: Scavenger Hunt
Location: Location: Fairhaven Community Center
Time: 7:00pm PST, Dec. 15th
Prizes: GM Valorite Plate Set, Glacier Staff, 60,000 gold
Overview: To win one of the prizes, participants must assemble a set of items. Each prize has its own unique set of items that needs to be gathered. Groups of up to 5 players will be allowed, and players are encouraged to group with trustworthy friends beforehand. Instructions will be given and the event starts when the items are named. The first group to return will a full set of items wins the corresponding prize.

So come one, come all, to the gala event of the season. Refreshments will be provided and a good time is guaranteed.

Please contact us at FHVillage.com if ye have any questions or concerns

Silkon

The death count begins. Tanis of Englewood, a fiefdom in Havenwood fell dead in the meeting of the city meeting on Tuesday night. Tanis served as both the lord of Englewood and a commander in the Havenwood Royal Army. He will be missed. The plague appears to of spread from Havenwood, to Mythyndale, Nidaros and Equinox. Valiant Kurzan of Equinox appears to of placed a sef imposed exile upon himself and is missing. Many more become stricken every day. The thief, Vargoth Nalzak seems to again be at large but is being tracked down. He seems to primarily be a carrier, for he does not seem deeply stricken with it. Be cautious if you sight him. We havee a few leads upon a cure but nothing is solid yet... Tanis appears to of had very weak resistacne to the plague...Most of its victims will take much more time to fall.

Thank You

On December 16th at 7:00 EST, will be Nidaros' Christmas charity event! What is that you ask? Well, if you donate two pieces of armour, weapons, shields, or 50 of each reagent, you will be entered in a raffle for 20.000 gp. The items you donate will be given out to young players in Haven. PLEASE HELP!!!! Bars will also be open and the town knights will be dueling each other. And yes, of course you can bet!!!

So All please come out and help out the Christmas spirit.

Marlene
Knights for Nidaros

The night began in the Brazen Monkey tavern, in the farmlands west of Britain, Felucca. Upon Scaramandine’s arrival, he was advised by the barkeep that Armand had learned of the planned activities through the journal kept at the tavern. Scaramandine, nevertheless, decided to proceed.

As Scaramandine could instantly journey to the locale, he found it difficult to escort the party through conventional means. The party thereupon journeyed to Delucia and rejoined him at the eastern gate. Scaramandine once again found it impossible to directly take the party to the lab, as that location had been blocked off from magical entry. Finally, he sent us to a location near the lab, but still had to carry us one by one over the overgrown thickets that protect the place.

Defenders gather their breath after an attack while Scaramandine II mixes ingredients in Benedict's old lab on Terra Sanctum

A tired Scaramandine emerged from the lab, and handed the enchantments to Aiefe, a Defender of Justice, for safekeeping. He stated that he would probably still need one more enchantment. On the frequent necromari attacks, he said that they have a base in nearby Khaldun. It was speculated that a journey to that fabled dungeon might ultimately be in order.

One last beast of Armand’s creation would appear, a flesh elemental. It took the efforts of the entire party to bring it down, and Scaramandine joined in the struggle. Finally, it yielded. The bar against magical entry only works one way, and the party left the island to nearby Papua.

Details of the Party:

-The party will start at Eight (8:00) PM Eastern Standard Time, on Saturday December 16 2000.
-Drinks and Food will be served on the house.
-We will have a Tree Lighting Celebration.
-There will be several contests where you can win semi-rare items.
-Everyone will go home with a present :)
-There will be a dart competition and a drunken tale telling contest.
-Near the end of the party we will have a snowball fight outside. (Bring your piles of snow from the OSI Christmas presents.)
-The Party will end after the Snowball fight! (Around 10 PM).
-And Much more!

All are welcome! Be sure to attend! It will be a blast!

Sextant Coordinates are: 81o 33'N, 23o 50'E
Directions to the Silver Dragon can be found here:
http://www.geocities.com/uosilverdragon/visit.html
Most other information can be found at the Silver Dragon Winery & Tavern's home page: http://www.geocities.com/uosilverdragon/main.html

Dwalin of Chesapeake

A man by name of Vargoth Nalzak has been sighted in Havenwood! Be wary of this man for he carries plague from Serpents Hold! Several citizens are already infected. If he and the others are not cured we may have a serious epidemic throughout the entire facet, perhaps even the shard! Guards have been ordered to arrest and detain this man until a cure can be found.

Talimor deMonte'
King of Havenwood

After the Knight tournament held in Britain, participants and guests gathered at the Mythndale Tavern for refreshments. As people chatted about the various going ons in the realm, the Gatekeeper appeared. Many curious onlookers watched as Maya Rose translated the words of the Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper guards the Underworld, which is a realm between our world and the Void. At one point, the being asked to speak with Vienne who was present, but peaceful in her spreading of the Enlightenment, which I have learned are teachings from the Void. The being had many things to say about Mythndale and the Enlightenment. Here are a few quotes from the Gatekeeper:

"Enlightenment forms a bond between many. That is not the only bond, there are many."

"Beware of the bond that could weaken the bond of Enlightenment."

"This town must become a link to both (Void and Underworld) in time. For it's physical gate will become a gate of (a) new dimension."

"This I foresee. I speak of only truth. I foresee the future."

I became a bit disturbed when these quotes were reported to me because they seem to imply that Mythndale will be a gate to the Underworld and the Void.

Sages and scholars of the realm, we need your assistance. If you have insights or wisdom to share concerning the Gatekeeper’s words, please send them to me at [email protected]

Thank you
Jovian Mystic
Mythndale Sky Page Mystic

The Shadar Logoth Story

When the darkness hit it's apex and the light seemed to never be near, they arrived. The Four Elder Gods who banished Lord Rakknarr; failing in their attempt to get The Vikings Of Britannia to do their bidding; took mortal form and continued their Quest to destroy the Lord Of Souls. The Demon, The BeastKing, The Celestial, and the StarBearer. Sensing their coming, Lord Rakknarr prepared his Family and friends for the upcoming battle and banished three of the four Elders to the realm in which they came. All but The Demon. His plans grew, and he took the form of Lord Rakknarr's Most Trusted Members and used their emotion to fuel his Dark Power. It was when it was at its most powerful that he did strike. Lord Rakknarr was taken captive by unseen forces and placed into a Crystal and buried right behind the House Of The Imperium. But he did not stay captive long. One late eve, fire rustled in the dry leaves. The very Earth gave way and split like an old wound being reopened. You could almost hear the Earth scream as Lord Rakknarr broke free of his prison and was catapulted from the molten fires below. As he levitated in the night sky, his anger was apparent and his body was ablaze with power and with but a wave of his hand, buildings erected. One after another they burst from the ground destroying what might have been there. He summoned his Family and friends with but a blink and they witnessed the birth ff Shadar Logoth. A haven in these war torn lands for all that seek it. A place of peace, built from war. A place of protection and a reason to stay in these Minax-Owned lands. Feel free to visit any time day or night. Workers, guards and bar keeps patrol the town as oft as they can. We now have a reason to venture into the Land-Facet known as Felucca, and that reason is Shadar Logoth.

Name of town: Shadar Logoth

Location: 111o 10'N 126o 54'E (Felucca Facet)

Town's website: Shadar Logoth

Head of the town: Lord Rakknarr

When it was founded: October 1st, 2000

Principal Organization: The PhM Guild (The Phantom Menace)

Map to Shadar Logoth detailing relation to the Shrine of Sacrifice, Felucca

The guild Steele Thistle will be holding a rares and other item auction on the 16th of December at 7pm cst. This auction will be held in the Britannia Theatre on the Trammel facet.

There will be many rares auctioned off:

• Pieces of ranger armor
• Hair restyle deeds
• Even Dragons!

You will find many other items of great worth and interest as well. Information may be obtained from Scian Dubh, or icq 61538968.

Guildmaster of Steele Thistle. Slainte!!
Bona na Croin!!

Hear ye, hear ye !
After a furious fight all eight rabbits showed great tactics and also maximum endurance. After the arena was set and Glug set up the first fight the "Hooray !" and "Hooowah !" was reported to be heard as far as the Skara Brae ferries. The rabbit sponsors lined up thus:

Round 1:

• Traaak´nok(orc) beat Jadziah(human)
• Luchtaine(human) beat Niv'uk(orc)
• Blackmore(human) beat Julakgh(orc)
• Pushdug-Hosh(orc) beat Faustus(human)

Semi-Finals:

• Traaak'nok beat Luchtaine
• Blackmore beat Pushdug-Hosh

Final:

• Traaak'nok beat Blackmore

The prizes won:

• Traaak´nok (Champion) - 30,000 Gold
• Luchtaine (tied 3rd place) - Double-Axe of Ogre slashing
• Pushdug-Hosh (tied 3rd place) - Scimitar of Ogre trashing

After the champion was crowned, most of the attendants had a huge amount of food and drink (mostly "Cidur"). The Champion himself then made an unexpected announcement. Quote: "Mez nub need da shinies. Mez want tu donate dis shinies tu da tuvern for dem uruks and dem humies to hev manee piggies and cidur !" All attendants cheered for this very generous gesture that is really appreciated! At the end of the night all of us were happy about the great entertainment we had and decided to repeat this event for sure. Pictures of the event can be found at Blackmores Inn.
And what of the champion rabbit? Traaak'nok declared "Wez eet him ? Yub wez eet him !" *clomp* "Dere Blackmore, meek him crispy !"

Blackmore Inoxi, Tavernkeeper

I now live a little way outside of Britain, a far cry from my home village near Trinsic where I started out. My surname is a little unusual and I have been asked of it's origin (pronounced 'Mer-w-ar' in case you wondered ;)). It's derived from the Lizardman word for the name of my home village. During the Minax invasion of Britannia, while my brother and I fought to drive evil from the city of Trinsic, our homes, family and friends were destroyed by a group of lizardmen. We returned and took vengeance on those greenskins that remained. We took the name to honor our friends and family and as a reminder of our origins, wherever we may roam. Should it make a lizard think before attacking, then all the better.

I then spent some far happier times in the desert town of Valendor where I made many friends and found some peace to read from magic tomes. Once the means of travel to Trammel was discovered, I couldn't resist exploring and sold up to move over. I occasionally still find time to further my studies of arcane lore, but I find that I'm usually far to busy travelling and meeting new people which brings me to my role with Stratics. I continue to travel and meet interesting people, people like you, and I can share anything of interest that I may hear or see. If you are organising an event, have some news to share or a place for us to visit, please let us know and if you see me around then please give a hail. I look forward to seeing you.

Safe travels,
Finsbury M'wa

Well, a finely roasted Christmas ostard (a frenzied one, at that) arrived at my office door today from the fine elves of Bleanyc with the following message:

"Bleanyc wants to welcome everyone to play along in a decorating contest. But this isn't any plain old 'decorate your house' thing. No No! You must have the most 'Christmasy' looking house to win. So hurry up and go hang your Christmas lights and build yourself a 'Santa Claws,' because if you win you will recieve 20k for the first prize and even if yours isn't the best, we will give you a free 'joliday outfit' just for playing along. Judging for the contest will start immediatly, but the final picks won't be until Dec 22. If you wish to enter simply contact me and I will get your house entered today! Good and happy holidays from the fine elves in Bleanyc!"

Praise Santa!

Thank ye Aiela fer sending in this announcement:

TWISTER LOTTERY - the finest lottery in Britannia!

The Twisters Of Fate justice guild proudly announces the Twister Lottery now open to the public. 

You are all invited to take part and win!

Its a rollover week this week and the jackpot prize is expected to exceed 100,000 gold! There are also additional prizes on offer to the lucky winners.

Please take a few moments to check our website for all the details http://www.twister-lottery.co.uk 

remember.... it could be you!....

Best of Luck
Aiela Topura

The Twister Lottery is a weekly event sponsored by the Twisters of Fate. The next lottery will be held on Saturday, December 16th at the sextant coordinates 91°8'N 63°8'E on the Trammel Facet. Good luck everyone!

Please see the following U-Hall thread for details.

We will post further details as we receive them.

I Lead-Randomist, of The (AboveGround)Resistance will be holding the first of many events by the Resistance. We will be trekking into Khaldun, not to kill, slay and loot. But a gauntlet style, run into the dungeon to place a "Flag" at the furthermost point we can get to. We will be using tactics, and stealth We do not mean the skills either. The event will be on this coming saturday of the 16th At 7:00.

Still not interested? Read more about it on The (AboveGround) Resistance! http://resistance.terrashare.com

-Lead Randomist,
Qan Golddust

Hear Ye..Hear Ye!!

The LARGEST, BIGGEST, MOST AWESOME in-game AUCTION on Napa Valley
Shard, is coming to you on December 17th, 4pm Pacific!

RARES..RARES..RARES GALORE!

If you wish to preview the items, you can find the tower at 95o58'n
26o43'e. Runes are also being handed out at the West Britain bank
therefore keep checking. On the 3rd floor of the tower, you may look at all the items which are in chests. A list of items is available to you on the vendor in that room. Each item is numbered in the book as they are in the chests. Please feel free to browse around. If you have any questions, please E-mail us at [email protected]. I will endeavor to reply to you at my earliest convenience.

Some of the rares available for auction are
a wash basin
easter eggs
blood tile
eye of newt (rare necro reag)

Additionally, some weapons are also being auctioned!

POWER AND VANQS!

Rules of conduct are listed in the book. Please review these and ensure you understand. It is imperative to the success of this auction, and in the best interest of all visitors that you abide by these rules.

Refreshments will be served on the bottom level, just visit our vendors.

Absentee bids are being accepted. Please message me at the above email address. All absentee bids MUST be in by December 16th at midnight Pacific time.

Announcing a Mith Sword Circle event: 1vs1 tourney
Sponsored by: Order of the Sacred Rose (OSR)

When: Tuesday December 12, 2000

Where: At the Mages Tower, City of Mith (Felucca location at www.mith.com)

Time: 6:30 PM Pacific, 8:30 PM Central, 9:30 PM Eastern. Entry closed promptly at 6:40 PM.

Featuring: NO ENTRY FEE, 1st place 25K gps, 2nd place 15K gps, and 3rd place 10K gps.

Here are the rules:

· No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No magic armor or weapons allowed.
· The use of Chaos/Order shields is not permitted.
· No pre-poisoned weapons. They may be poisoned during the battle.
· No use of summoning spells, field spells, blade spirits, energy vortex, recall or gate.
· No Stealing is allowed during battle.
· The Spell Des Mani (Weaken) is not allowed, nor can you cast Bless on an opponent. Casting Bless on an opponent will result in immediate loss of match.

- No pets.(i.e.: Dragons, Nightmares, Drakes)
- No Looting.!!! Looting will NOT be allowed!!! Punishable by death.
- No drinking of potions before the match begins.
- No Outside assistance. No leaving the Sword Circle area once matches begin.
- No Stepping outside the fighting circle. Doing so will mean you have forfeit the fight.
- To prevent lag, we ask that everyone hides during the fights that they are not involved in.

The Shire of Wispwood is holding a scavenger hunt on Friday December the 15th at 10pm EST. The meeting point for the event is the Golden Unicorn Tavern.

Rules:
The purpose of this event is to find all of the items on the list in an hour and a half. There will be teams. Each team will consist of two and only two people. There is no entry fee. The prize is 20K. This will go to the team that finds all or the most, of the items on the item list. Incase of a tie, each team will be given 10k. The item list will be given out on the night of the hunt.

You can register your team on the night of the hunt or before by emailing me at : [email protected] . For directions or more information on the Shire of Wispwood please visit http://www.wispwood.homestead.com/

Serlesh, Events Coordinator of Wispwood

The public mayoral election for the town of Safe Haven will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Voting booths shall be set up inside Safe Haven Tower for voters to come and make their decision. For this election, all residents of the Siege Perilous shard will be allowed to come and cast their one vote. The timeframe for this open voting process will last from 12PM CST till 12AM CST.

Residents of Safe Haven, defenders and those in the surrounding area will however, be able to cast votes before the election day so that thier votes have a better chance to be casted. Those votes casted early by these people will be counted as TWO votes and will be added to the total on tuesday. To cast your vote early, contact Luxor or Shaar Barista to do so.

We ask that during the election day that all conflicts be put aside in Safe Haven so that we can bring forth a new era in our town peacefully. Drinks, food and entertainment will be provided throughout the day as well.

Although this is not a perfect voting system, due to time restraints, a registration system that is not ready, we believe that this is the best system to go forward with.

I also encourage all interested parties to read our election pages to find out more about the candidates here:
http://safehaven.gishnet.com/electionmain.html


Thanks and good luck to all the candidates

Shaar Barista

Chatting with thy friends over ale at the local pub, you see a glowing man glide gracefully through the door with a small parchment in his hand. Garbed within a long red robe, he walks quietly to the announcement board. Thinking nothing of him, ye continue to talk of your adventurers of the day. However you are unable to withdraw thy interest in the familiar man. Before thou can'st stop to speak with him, ye turn to find him gone. Looking around puzzled, ye eyes catch the parchment that he had tacked to the board. You rise with your companions and slowly crowd around, reading it's contents....

"Attention fair citizens of Britannia. Tay M'real GM and Seer-Avatar of the Order of the Virtue Cross (oVc), proudly announces his engagement to Ryentha Watcher, Lady of Sacrifice of the Virtue Council of oVc. The two will be wed on Wednesday of the 12th month, on the 27th Day, of this year (12-27-00). The wedding will begin at 8 p.m Eastern time on the bridge located on the western side of the Trinsic Park. Afterwards, refreshments and the reception will be held in the Trinsic Meeting Hall. All friends and strangers are welcomed to the occasion, gifts are not a requirment. We hope to see thee there to share in our joining."

Yours in Virtue,
Tay M'real (oVc)

Greetings from the Lords of Endeavor! We are announcing the Grand Opening of our very own Taven of the Celestial Moon, located on the Trammel facet of the Atlantic Shard. The event will begin promptly at 11:00AM EST, Saturday, December 16th, and last till the clock strikes midnight. All food and drinks are on the house, guests are invited to come visit and partake of the fine ale and food available 7 days a week at the Tavern. Also, members of the Realm are invited to participate in many of the opening day festivities, including a Lottery complete with magic weapons of all kinds, magical items, GM quality weapons and armor, runebooks, and many other prizes. In addition, the hightlight of the grand opening is a poetry and story-telling contest contest, the winners taking home a generous prize of gold. Transportation will be provided by the Lords of Endeavor at both the East and West Britain Banks, as well as Vesper, Trinsic, and Skara Brae. Come one, come all to the Grand Opening of the LoE Tavern of the Celestial Moon!

Hope to see you there!

Xalain N'Jare
Guildmaster

Smell of salt air and drying fish wafted into the Frosty Hook as the door banged open. A figure wrapped in cloak and scarf hobbled in, hampered by the lag of a leg. All the patrons in the bar fell silent as his walking stick thumped across the floor towards a table. Settling himself with a groan, he unwraps the frosted scarf from his face and throws his hood back, revealing shock of white hair.

‘Ale’ he shouts to the wench behind the bar. ‘And be quick about it.’

Grimacing with distaste, the barmaid drew a flagon of ale and approached his table from behind, knowing the visage she would see if she approached him head on. A sudden coughing fit overcomes the man and he leans to the side and spits on the floor, revealing the wide scar that runs from chin to ear and the milky white of an unseeing eye.

In the corner, three fishermen, more boys than men, jostle and challenge each other, till, finally, one stands and approaches the table of the one legged man. Looking up, the man gives the boy a glaring look. Clearing his throat, the boy speaks.

‘S-sir,’ his voice breaking.

‘What is it boy?’

‘I-is it true sir? Where you one of them?’

The sneer on the old mans face tightened the scar on the side of his face, making it resemble a flesh colored skull. Then, a shadow passes over his face, and his lips purse. Kicking the chair across the table from him back, he speaks. ‘Boys like you have asked that question neigh on twenty years now. Ah reckon it’s time to answer ya.’ Startled, the boy looks to his peers across the room for support, then quickly settles down in the chair, greedy for the story. ‘Yes boy, I was. I was there with Vic Twenty and the rest of the Urban navy,’ says the old man, thus settling a question that has burned in the minds of the citizens of Wintermoor for a generation.

Shocked into boldness, the boy gestured towards the man’s stump.

‘Is that what happened to that?’ Realizing where his boldness has taken him, the boy cringes back in his chair. Instead of lashing out, the old man seemed to be staring at something in the distance, something across time and space, to a cold winter morning long ago. Slowly the man begins to speak again.

The cold winds whip salt flavored water over the bow of the boat. Vic Twenty, High Admiral of the Urban Navy shouts orders to his crew. The Urban Knights know they will be outnumbered both by in numbers and in ships, yet still they must try.

‘Ships ho!’ shouted Eric from the crow’s nest.

Grabbing his spyglass, Vic spotted the blood red crest upon the sails.

‘You were right Lilyth, they are headed for their brethren in Cove’ he says to the red-haired Elf beside him. Gripping the mast, he began to plan the battle ahead.

Grishnak hurled the contents of his stomach over the side of the Broken Fang and swore again that he’d never drink the cheap ale they serve at the Hungry Halfling again. Looking up, he saw Sugrod, Cap’n of the Broken Fang, laughing at him. Too sick to take a swing at him, Grishnak made a mental note to teach him respect if he ever made it to land alive.

‘Ey cheefy, it nub so bad. Dis beh nice waddah. Har Har!’

Giving Sugrod an evil look, Grishnak turned and bent over the side of the boat again. The shout of the lookout jerks his head back up.

‘Urban Nites! Der, ded ahed!’

So close. So damn close. They were within sight of the Cove Orc Fort, where the Orcs had agreed to help. Grishnak could see the docks with the local clan members standing ready to help offload cargo, but he could also see the sails of the Urban Navy moving to cut them off.

No longer sea sick, Grishnak snatched up his axe.

The two fleets sped toward each other and met in a clash of fire and magic. Flog and Farnub hurled noxious fields of poison and burning clouds of flame atop the ships of the Urban fleet. Zog’Rue and Durgoth fired bolt after bolt from their crossbows. Aboard the Urban vessels, Vixon, Greg, and Lylith manned the small catapults, hurling exploding purple potion bottles at the Orcish ships. Both fleets passed through each other, then turned and approached again. Vic Twenty deftly maneuvered his ship between the Broken Fang and the Bloody Claw, dealing death to both and throwing the Orc sailors into confusion. Seeing his chance, Fugluk swung out on a line and landed atop the Urban ship, swinging left and right with his axe. Vixen fell with an Orc dart in her throat, while explosions rocked the Orcish ships, sending Orcs flailing into the water. Snarling in fury, Vic Twenty lept at Fugluk, only to fall before his axe, a bleeding wound to his head knocking him unconscious. Lilyth Noir stabbed the Orc captain in the back with her dagger and he fell atop Vic.

With the Urban flagship now dead in the water, the Orcs surrounded it and lept aboard, smelling victory. Grishnak stood atop the plank, battling two armored knights, only to be knocked off balance and plunge into the sea by a crossbow bolt. Grunk lept across to avenge his chief only to meet the same fate.

The Urban fleet was rallying, pushing the Orcs back to their own vessels. Taking the fight aboard the Broken Fang, the Urban forces swept the remaining Orcs over the side. Gasping for breath, the looked about boat. In the hold, they found what they were looking for. Smiling to herself, Lilyth drew a carrot from her pouch.

‘Here guys, it’s okay,’ she spoke softly.

‘It’s okay. Come on.’

With her kind words and carrots, the frightened reindeer in the hold came out into the sunlight. Donner, Cupid, and Blitzen stood on wobbly legs in the sunlight.

Their prize secured, the Urban Knights sailed for the Britain docks.

Sinking beneath the water, Grishnak cut the leather bindings on his armor with a dagger then swam for the surface. Sputtering water, he watched as his foe sailed off. Cursing, he began to swim for the shoreline.

The old man fell silent, his story done. The youth sat there in amazement, honored to be in the presence of one of the valiant who fought the Orcs to save Christmas

Over 110 million in auction sales in 8 weeks time!

How much better can you get than that? If you are curious, visit my auction on Wednesday of every week and find out. I've got some of the best humans in Britannia working for me and they are poised for another great week of auctioning and games on Wednesday night. Don't forget to submit items no later than Tuesday of each week. Contact any staff member on the site in order to get your goods in for next week. The next auction will be held on Wednesday, December 13th from 8PM to 10PM Central Time.

Follow your Tramell compass to the castle located at 88o 14'N 170o27'W which is south of the entrance to Despise along the water.

For complete lists of rules, items and info visit us here.We hope to see you there!

Impys' Staff

Caina has been the seat of power for the Shadow Conclave since the organization’s beginnings nevertheless the city has went far too long without a semblance of government or a document that sets the guidelines for governance. Now it is time for a revolution in political theory in the hearts and minds of our citizens. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I bring the document of my authorship that will bring about that change. A document that guarantees and solidifies the power of the Tribunal over Caina.

It is with that said I now proudly introduce to the citizens of Britannia, the Cainan Compact, a document to be emulated and imitated by governments for centuries to come. I shall give to you the ringing words of the Preamble of our Compact that establishes the foundations and goals for our Tribunal:

We, the members of the Tribunal of Entropy, each representative acting in its sovereign and independent character and with the aim of forming a permanent governing body, establish justice, and secure the blessings of Oblivion and Entropy to our posterity and ourselves. To accomplish this we invoke the favor and guidance of unholy guiding Darkness to ordain and establish these Articles.

Walk in Darkness,
Treadeau Du’rome

(A full copy of the Cainan Compact can be found at http://www.ebonskull.org/caina/ under the Tribunal section.)

As of 5.3av*, the Tiberian Temples of Virtue will be officially ordaining Knights. Tiberian Knighthood is not a guild. Knighthood is open to anyone and everyone who applies and meets the following criteria...

1) The applicant must be a grand master in at least one combat related skill.

2) The applicant must have read all of Tiberius' virtuous teachings to date (currently about ten books, available to be read at any of the Tiberian Temples) and, mainly, be very familiar with "Tiberius' Primary Virtues."

3) The applicant must have and keep a positive Karma, and be willing to dedicate his or her life to living strictly in a virtuous manner at all times. In this, the applicant must have proven to the Temple a history of virtuous and charitable behavior.

4) When the applicant is ready, s/he must be able to pass an oral virtue test, tailored specifically for him/her.

5) The applicant must take the oath of the Tiberian Knight at a special ceremony, in which s/he is knighted by Tiberius himself.

Upon completion, the Knight will be given four sashes: red to symbolize Compassion, yellow to symbolize Reason, blue to symbolize Discipline, and silver as the symbol of complete virtue. The Knight's name is then added to the official Temple registry of knights, where anyone can come to the Temple to confirm a Knight's status and know that s/he is one of the most virtuous and trustworthy in all of Britannia.

If you would like to apply for Knighthood and feel you meet the requirements, please put your name and contact information in the signup book at the First Temple. Tiberius' teachings can be read at any of the three Tiberian Temples...

First Tiberian Temple of Virtue, founded 0.1av*
(a short ways outside Skara Brea along the main road)
48o 30'N, 1o 45'W

Second Tiberian Temple of Virtue, founded 3.12av*
(just outside the swamps north of Trinsic)
5o 32'N, 56o 40'E

Third Tiberian Temple of Virtue, founded 4.14av*
(north of Britain and west of Vesper, along the road to Yew and just outside the desert)
79o 21'N, 47o 31'E

For more questions, please contact Tiberius' messenger.

Sincerely,

Lucius,
Grand Tiberian Philosopher

The Tiberian Temples of Virtue are dedicated to helping adventurers seek the virtuous life through the philosophic teachings of Tiberius.

*note: All dates are based on the Tiberian Calendar. For more information on this, please visit one of the Temples.

Council of Mages attacks Moonglow
By Durham Stargazer
Thursday night Com attacked Moonglow fighting Shadowlord's and Lod over a several hour period. Com was later seen in number of other cities Britain, Skara Brea. Unable to protect Magincia town sigil it was lost to Lod.

Minax has captured all but Moonglow
By Durham Stargazer
Looks like Minax in three short days has dominated all but Moonglow. Lead by Lod, Minax has stolen all the town sigils except for Moonglow sigil. Will Moonglow fall tonight to Minax? Will the other factions work together against Minax in the future? What is known is Minax lead by Lod is dominating our lands and cities!

Council of Mages attacks Minax Stronghold
By Durham Stargazer
Around 9:45 Friday night shard time Com conducted an attack in force on Minax's Stronghold. Over 50-faction member took part in the assault. Minax fell back as the onslaught of mages approached the stronghold's entrance. Fighting to the front gate of the fort Com held out making several attempts to break into the interior of the stronghold. But Minax was strong and held fast. It was nearly 15 minutes before the attack was finally repulsed. Com falling back to Moonglow fought several holding engagements over the next hour.

Saturday News

Minax controls all Town Sigils
By Ven Thaalar
Minax owns Moonglow now. Friday night or early Saturday Morning Minax took Moonglow's Town sigil to their stronghold and held it. They have now captured the last town sigil. On Monday evening or Thursday in the early morning Moonglow will become available again. As will the other town sigils that will be neutral today and tomorrow. A faction can hold a city for 3 days before the process start over again. Will any of the factions be able to stop Minax?

Com raids Moonglow and chases Minax out.
By Ven Thaalar
Working in small-organized teams Com gated on top of the Moonglow bank. Com was out numbered as they took Minax on in Moonglow Saturday evening. A short exchange accrued with numerous Minax members falling under the fury of the mages attack. Minax soon chased out of town by Com. True to Minax's faction size and organization they begin to return in numbers. Minax returned to Moonglow a few minutes later but Com was already in Britain hounding the Shadowlords.

Sincerely

Durham Stargazer
Mage, Baja, Executive Editor target="_blank">UO Journalbr>

Publish Update

We will be publishing the changes, including holiday gifts and trees, listed in Testing for Next Update to the Sonoma Shard. This publish will be active on the shard following its Tuesday, December 12th maintenance period, barring any unforeseen downtimes. We will continue to monitor the Sonoma shard for any issues that may arise, and will continue to publish to all remaining shards as soon as possible.

The changes will be added to Latest Game Updates once the publish is active on all shards.

The Crimson Triad raided the weekly meeting of the Legion of the Emerald Sashes last Sunday. During the ensuing confusion, High Lady Dori was pushed through a facet gate and taken prisoner by Darkfire of TCT. With the help of Lord Phoenix and the Knights of Steel, we caught up with TCT.

After neutralizing several of Darkfire's minions, we engaged in some small talk ("we're gonna kill you if you don't take us to Dori"). This did not have the desired effect on Darkfire, and he seemed to revel in his death a few moments later. It was at this point that we realized we were at an impasse. We could think only of force and Darkfire gathers strength from death. What to do?

Over the next few days, we had some unexpected visitors in our Legion halls. First, a vaporous apparition of our departed founder, Octavious Monet, stopped in to give a motivational message that we all took courage from. Later, a taunting jester named Poe, that seemed to be tortured at the mention of kindness, and a dark presence that seemed to command him. Also visiting was Opalescence, Quest Knight of Compassion. It was through her wisdom that we began to learn clues about our tormentors.

Today, we received word that Lady Dori had indeed given Darkfire the slip and was hiding out in a small cottage on the outskirts of Nujel'm. Naturally, we all rushed to her side to learn the news and render aid. Little did we know that TCT's spies were already about watching our movements in hopes of recapturing Lady Dori. Our rush to help her placed her again in danger of being retaken, so we immediately set out to disguise and relocate her.

As the Legion was travelling some were separated from the group and encountered one of Darkfire's minions, Ivanna Darksong. We began asking questions and observed a curious behavior whenever she began to give out information about Darkfire. She became ill and convulsed in pain. Blisters appeared on her skin as if she were being scorched by some remote source. Legionnaires, showing compassion, healed her repeatedly while encouraging her to talk. Though she was in obvious pain and distress, Ivanna was able to give us some vital clues to how TCT operates.

Until we discover a way to release Darkfire's control over his minions we are encouraging High Lady Dori to remain in hiding.

Reported by:

Lord Vadin
Lord of Magi
Legion of the Emerald Sashes

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

The new community, Kingdom of Dreams, is hosting their very first event, The One Festival, on Friday December 22, 2000 at the Skara Brae fairgrounds! Meet the members of our community for food, drink, and a whole lot of fun! The Festival will open at 5 PM Pacific Time with a Merchant Flea Market, bring your best craftsmen, blacksmiths, rares sellers and sell your items at your regular or discounted prizes! Also customers are needed to come look at what is offered... for trading, selling, or buying, this is for everyone!

We will have many events and contests on hand to attract everyone! Participate in the warrior, mage, or free for all class Player vs. Player tournaments! Animal fights as well, bet on the animal you think will win!

Contests will include an apple eating contest, an ale drinking contest, participate in the costume/dress contest or match your wits in the chess tournament. Fun to be had by all and food and drink will be served free as well! Come join us for this fine festival and check the shedule below for each event.

From 4:30 PM PST until 6 PM mages will be on hand at Moonglow and Britain to gate you to this fabulous event! Just look for the K^D abbreviation! Or you can walk to the fairgrounds by walking directly East of the Skara Brae docks!

Schedule for The One Festival

The Festival will kick off at 5 PM Pacific Standard Time with the opening of the Flea Market/Swap Meet. An event staff person will be on hand to organize the merchants. Merchants are urged to arrive at the fairgrounds at 4:30 PM (gates can and will be provided if needed) so the staff can address the merchants to the "rules and standards" of selling at our event. The cost to sell here is free, just bring it free of attitude as well! People may start buying, selling, trading at 5 PM.

5:10 PM PvP Tourney Entries.We will begin entry for the PvP tournament. a separate guild stone will be used for event purposes to participate so we can fight. There will be 3 classes. Warrior, Mage, and a free for all.

Warrior Class - All GM weapon/armor. Only potions allowed are greater heal potions. NO POISON. NO MAGERY. Ressurections will be on hand (or the loser may yield before they die, in which case the other shall back off IF THEY CAN or otherwise be disqualified.) NO LOOTING. Fighting is to stay within the pit 1 vs 1.

Mage Class - Same rules apply except anything goes magic wise! Bring your best Mages!

Free For All - Anything goes. Mages can fight warriors. Bring your BEST PvP character to this one! Only GM weps and armor. But poisoning, potions, magery are allowed!

All fighting will be done in the "fighters pit" at the Skara fairgrounds. You must join our temporary guild to participate, and several of our STRONG characters will be on hand to "gank" anyone causing serious mischief (looting) and maybe GM support as well to help us.

5K entry fee and prizes are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of each category depending on how much our entry fee comes to. Event will start when all entries are in!

5:20 PM Animal Fight Entries. Bring your favorite animal (NOT MONSTER --- ie mares, dragons) to this event and let the animals duke it out. When owner says "yield" or "stop" fight is over and Vets will be there to heal the animals and separate them. Bets can be taken aside by other players if you wish! Once again a 5K entry fee and prizes awarded to 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winners.

5:30 PM Apple Eating Contest. Meet at the apple tree at the fairgrounds for our apple eating contest. It's free to enter and Prizes include:

1st Place - 15K
2nd Place - 10K
3rd Place - 5K

A set number of apples will be placed in bags and the first person to eat all the apples in the bag and hand the empty bag to the judge wins! Make sure you come with an empty stomach and feel free to Spew apple juice every where afterwards! :) Or just head on over to the next event, drinking ale!

5:50 PM Ale Drinking Contest. Come see how fast you can get drunk! Entry is free to everyone! A set number of bottles of ale will be deposited in bags and handed to everyone by our friendly bartenders/judges. First one to drink all their ale and get drunkest the fastest wins the prize!

1st Place - 15K
2nd Place - 10K
3rd Place - 5k

6:00 PM Chess Tournament Entries. A 1K entry fee to participate in this single elimination chess tournament. Winner takes all! Be the #1 chess player in all of Britannia! Chessboards will be provided and sore losers shall be escorted immediately. Bring your thinking cap and enjoy a nice relaxing game of chess! This is excellent for all you Britannian chess lovers out there! Tournament will start when entries are in.

6:30 PM Costume/Dress contest entries. The final event of the evening and possibly the best! Come be a part of the costume/dress contest! 3 judges will be there to judge on originality and other categories. Be a part of the audience and have a chance to vote for best of show! No recounts needed! The contest will begin at 7 PM.

Prizes include:

1st place (judges) - 15K
2nd place (judges)- 10K
3rd place (judges) - 5K
Best of Show (Audience) - 20K

We hope to see you all at our festival and learn about our wonderful kingdom we have and possibly be interested in joining and helping with out next event. But most of all, come to have fun and see the wonderous things we can do together on this fabulous game! Thank thee!

-Hanibal

The town of Heaven’s Forge invites you to join them in their first annual Winter’s Solstice Festival.

Date: Friday, December 15th, 2000
Time: beginning at 7pm pst
Place: Darkmor tavern below entrance to Wrong

The events will benefit the Heaven's Forge Outreach Fund, a newly established fund to aid those new to the lands and needy citizens of Heaven's Forge. The fund also will assist in the sponsorship of future festivals and events in Heaven's Forge. We’ll have poetry, song, dancing, drinking, eating and merry making aplenty. We’ll also be holding several events for your enjoyment and participation.

Heaven’s Forge lies within the valley below the entrance to Wrong and along its east side. You’ll find Darkmor tavern at the south-easternmost edge of the valley itself.

Details of the events and a map to the location can be found at the Heaven’s Forge website.

Darius, Mayor of Heaven’s Forge

Thank ye Durathor fer the invitation:

Hail to thee!

On Friday 15th December the Drunken Guard Tavern will be holding the great moonstone race, the aim is to collect as many moonstones as possible in a certain amount of time which will be 30 minutes. To enter this competition you will need to bring with you 500gp and a rune with your name on it. The rules are: No packhorses, you must hunt alone and their is no restriction on where you can hunt. The winner will receive 15,000 gold coins and get their name in the book of winners for the great collectors race. The event will be held at The Drunken Guard Taven in Ravenmoor coordsinates; 41°39 N 48°26 E. The event begins at 8pm GMT so aim to get their earlier, it will end at 8:30pm gmt but competitors will have 5 minutes after that to get back, drinks and food will be served for spectators.

Farwell and hope to see you there!
Durathor
Tavernkeeper, Drunken Guard Tavern
Ravenmoor

And yet another Tavern opens it's doors!

Hail,

I would like to announce the Grand opening of The Blooded Body Tavern. An Establishment of The Crimson Rogues. The tavern is a safe house for all those who stand against Lord British. We welcome anyone and have only one house rule no fighting inside.

The grand opening will be held at 7:30pm (GMT) Sunday Night and there will be free drinks and food. At 8:00pm there will be a grand lottery. Tickets will be 1000 gold pieces each. Send a pigeon to 64125667 for an advance order, or come to the Tavern from 7:00 onwards.

After the lottery there will be gambling games and such. The tavern is located in a clearing east of the Brigands Camp (Trammel). It is the Log cabin in the South East of the clearing.

Yours
Dari Finch.

Thank ye Videric fer the reminder:

I would like to remind everyone of Masquerade held on Tuesday the 12th of December at the Trade Caravan of Cove Fortress.

To remind of the rules, as this is a masquerade everyone is required to wear a costume. So remember to take one with you when you come.

The Masquerade will take place at Tuesday the 12th of December, 21.00 (CET).

To read more on how to dress and prepare, please read the Events section of http://caravan.lemming.org/

Videric Gaveston
High Merchant of the Trade Caravan of Cove

A cool breeze came from Minoc to the west. The evening was quite brisk, and was the perfect environment for a bit of training with my fellow guildmates. Starla and I were with a small group of Legionnaires a bit west of Minoc, training in the arcane arts when a fire elemental appeared from the forest to the north.

I thought nothing much of it, believing it was one the many common local creatures, but suddenly the cold breeze grew stonger and a bit of the nearby river began to freeze. This bit of ice soon took the form of ice elementals, and more fire elementals came from the forest. Suddenly, I realized most of them were after me. I jumped on my horse and tried to manuver around them. Within moments, the road to the east was blocked by giant black widow spiders.

The air crackled and in a brilliant flash of lightning, Artarion appeared. My guildmates were still trying to take down the elementals, but I was surrounded, trying to fend off what I could with my blade. Suddenly, a spider tore its fangs into my thigh and I was severely poisoned. Suddenly, everything became black and I fell off my steed.

While I was in a half-conscious state, Artarion looked over me and spoke:

Good, I have achieved my objective. Listen well, Gorion, for I shall not say this again. I know that the Rangers have been keeping Qua'Tel safe, and I know he has recently recovered. I suggest from now on you, and those in Yew tell me next time. What you have just witnessed is nothing compared to my true power. In a few days, much will change in Yew, trust me, much will change...

In another bolt of lightning, Artarion disappeared, giving my friends the change they needed to heal me. After I had regained my composure, I set out to Yew to warn them of the coming days.

The Artisans of Britannia will be holding a picnic at our guildhouse on December 16th, 8 p.m. Eastern. Three door prizes will be given out and all registered players will be eligible to win one. To register, ICQ me at 79379220. Our guildhouse is located at the swamp's edge south of Skara Brae (near the Destard dungeon). It is the only sandstone and patio house there. If you don't know where that is gates will be provided at least 15 minutes prior to the event at the east bank in Britain, Trammel. PLEASE register so that I will have an educated guess on how many tables to set up. New members will be accepted after the feasting and the fun. There will be a "grand" prize that will be 1,000 gold pieces to enter: a full GM shadow plate complete with two heater shields. In addition, chess, checkers and dice tournaments will be held.

Draco Smithfist
Event Chairman
Artisans of Britainnia

The United Pirates and the Pirates of Buccaneer`s Den hold de`r 6th Black Market

Are ye interested in buying cheap wares? Ye need some armor or weapons or house add-ons or other crafted items fer a good price?

Or are ye interested in selling your goods to other people?

Then visit da sixth Black Market on Catskills! It will take place on Friday, December 15th at 8 pm EST on da Buccaneer's Den docks on da Trammel facet!

If ye visit da Black Market, be aware that ye will come across smugglers, beggars, pirates, robbers, alcoholics and thieves, basically da worst scum of Britannia.

All da landlubbr's are welcome to drop by and buy some of our high quality and low priced goods! For details about this event, visit here: Black Market

Here is a map to da location:

Location to Black Market--Buccaneer's Den, Trammel

Hook of the United Pirates
and Pirates of Buccaneer's Den

Kinship Village Yuletide Festival
Date: Sunday, December 17th
Time: Starting at 8pm Eastern

Kinship Village would like to invite everyone to come and enjoy the season during our Yuletide Festival. Kinship Village is located on the mainland just east of Skara Brae in Felucca. Mishca will be the host of this festival, which will begin with the Village Snowball Fight at 7pm Eastern. Each of the following events will begin promptly at the completion of the previous event.

Village Snowball Fight
Location: The entire village area and nearby farm fields.

Anyone who has the available snow pile is welcome to participate in this event. It will be a free-for-all snowball fight among the village buildings and farm fields. Don't forget your gloves (and your snow piles)! This event will last approximately half an hour, allowing the guests time to arrive for the later events.

Secret Santa Gift Exchange
Location: Kinship Village Forge (in the center of the village just south of the tavern).

Everyone who is interested in participating in the exchange needs to bring one gift in some sort of holiday wrapping (a red bag for example) to exchange. You will be randomly matched up with another participant during the exchange by the host of the festival.

Please bring an appropriate gift - i.e. something of value. Examples include (but are not limited to): GM made armor or weapons, caskets of greater heal or cure potions, housing additions, rare or semi-rare items, etc.

Holiday Caroling
Location: Kinship Village Forge (in the center of the village just south of the tavern).

As in past holiday parties in Kinship Village, we are going to have a completely interactive round of holiday caroling. If you've been involved in this before, you know how much fun it is. For all those who haven't yet experienced it, be sure not to miss this event!

Santa's Reindeer Race
Location: Contestants will congregate at the Kinship Village stables (next to the tavern) to receive their costume and reindeer. The course location will be disclosed at the start of the event.

Up to 20 contestants will be able to participate in this event (first come, first serve). Each participate will be given a tamed "reindeer", a small amount of food for it, and a Santa Clause costume. A course will be set up that runs through the village and each contestant will line up at the starting point with their reindeer. This race will be run in 5 "heats". The winners of each of the first 4 heats will win the heat prize then compete in the fifth heat for the grand prize. When the host shouts "Go," they will run as fast as they can to the finish line with their reindeer in tow. The first team (both person and reindeer together) to cross the finish line wins that heat. The winner of the 5th heat gets the grand prize. Rules: Contestants must be on foot, no horses. Contestants will be allowed to use refresh potions, but no magic spells either on themselves or others. Contestants from each heat must transfer their reindeer to the contestants of the next heat.

The heat prizes for this contest will be 1,000 gold each.
The grand prize for this contest will be 10,000 gold!

Feast Clan Dalaigh
Location: Just south of the village center along the road.

Clan Dalaigh of Kinship will be holding the feast portion of the festival, with free food and drink for all located in the Dalaigh clanhouse in the village. Participants will be lead to the clanhouse when it is time for this event.

Kinship Forge

Those of us who've been in this world for any length of time, know one unalienable truth. That truth is, "People come, and people go." Massive guilds appear over night, then suddenly and without apparent cause, disappear the next. Over the years, I've seen guilds boasting exceedingly large numbers, disappear without a trace, never to be heard of again. Can anyone say, "Warlords?"

Furthermore, it seems that when a guild leaves a shard, it's almost a given that the guild is gone forever, never to be heard from again. On those rare occasions when a guild does resurface, it's truly a noteworthy event. Thus, the reason for this story.

A few days ago, I was conducting my weekly survey of the local taverns when I somehow found myself in that abysmal place known as Dungeon Shame. My first thought was "Where is the nearest tavern?" My second thought was, "How in the Nine Planes of the Netherworld did I come to be in Shame?" I decided to have another flagon of mead and ponder my plight, and that brought me full circle to my first thought. No taverns, therefore no mead. "A pox upon this evil place!" I shouted. So I struck out in search of some sign of civilization...i.e. an Inn, a tavern, a bootlegger. Surely some enterprising entrepreneur had set up a shop somewhere in this dreadful hole, I reasoned.

So I set out upon a well traveled path, evading the clumsy though brutal earth elementals and those pesky air elementals. Deeper and deeper into the dungeon I wandered. As I rounded a large protrusion of rock, I heard the distinctive clang of steel on pumice. Some mighty warrior giving an earth elemental "what for," I surmised. Then, my boot scuffed something...and in the darkness I could make out the inert forms of what looked like dead 'earthies.' Invoking a 'light' spell, I was amazed to find not a few, but dozens of the monsters whose lifeless forms littered the cavern floor. Someone had been very busy.

A few more steps, and I found him. An old friend, as it turned out, and someone I had not since seen since the days of Valor. It was Eldroth and he was dispatching elementals with an almost casual effort. "Hail," I called out in greeting, keeping one eye on his sword. He was swinging that massive weapon with such precision and ferocity, I dared not walk blindly into it's path. "Well met!" he returned. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, during which time he slew another half dozen of the foul abominations. Not wanting to distract him from his task, I bid him farewell and turned to leave, when he called out. "I have news for you, something that may be of interest to your readers." Well, and good, I thought. If I don't die from thirst, I shall at least have a story for all my troubles. And what news would that be?" I asked. Eldroth thwacked another elemental and with a grin said, "The Vikings have returned to Legends." And that is news, indeed.

In the early days of Legends, the Vikings were a formidable guild, mighty in the ways of war, and 'community minded', particpating in contests and hosting tournements. They had disappeared, almost over night. Here one day, gone the next. The reason for the sudden departure had been somewhat of a mystery, as the Vikings had been well on their way to building a thriving community.

"We have new leadership," explained Eldroth. "King Velthor has assumed the throne and we've relocated the city. I would have you announce our return to the Land of Legends, if you would." Hurriedly, I reached for pen and parchment from my pack. I quickly copied the compass coordinates to the new Viking community and approximate location, by landmark. Directions to the city are as follows: 75 24'N 30 9'E, northwest of the Shrine of Compassion.

I accepted Eldroth's invitation to visit the community as soon as time permits, and with that, I bid my old friend adieu and went about my way. Two days later, I awoke in a vermin infested dockside inn, situated along the waterfront of Orc Village, near Cove. Much to my chagrin, I was sporting naught but a monumental headache, a battered orc mask and a tattoo reading "Cyn Loves Helga." I have yet to find out who Helga is. But that's a story for another time. With some effort, I made my way forthwith to civilization, with this story...and no little thirst. To the Vikings, I extend a hearty "Hail and well met."

Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn the Snockered

Publish Update

We will be publishing the changes, including holiday gifts and trees, listed in Testing for Next Update to the Sonoma Shard. This publish will be active on the shard following its Tuesday, December 12th maintenance period, barring any unforeseen downtimes. We will continue to monitor the Sonoma shard for any issues that may arise, and will continue to publish to all remaining shards as soon as possible.

The changes will be added to Latest Game Updates once the publish is active on all shards.

Pacific Training Institute is pleased to announce our first Christmas Ball on December 22, 2000. Event starts at 5 pm Pacific Time, and will end at 12 pm Pacific Time.(all times listed in Pac time zone)

Location: Lord British Throne Room BRITAIN

Events as followed:

5pm - 6pm Open bar
6pm - 7pm Dinner
7pm - 9 pm Dancing Contest prizes awarded as follows:

First place: couple: best dance methods 12k
Second place: couple: best dance methods 5k
First place: single : best dance methods 6k
Second place: single: best dance method 5k

9pm to 10 pm

First place: Best dressed couple: 12k (per couple)
First place: Best dressed person , male, 6k
First place: Best dressed person-female- 6k
Second Place: Best dressed couple 10k (per couple)
Second Place: Best dressed person, male, 5k
Second Place: Best dressed person, female 5k

10pm to 11pm

Grab bag gift exchange:
Rules for the grab bag exchange is no more than 100 gold or less then 100 gold to be spent on an item, placed in a non colored bag. These bags will be placed in a chest, then handed out to individuals.

11pm to midnight social hour

Lady Advantium
Founder of Pacific Training Institute
Email: [email protected]

• Events This Week - An Anarchy Online House of Commons will will occur this Sunday, at 2pm CST, in #aohoc. On Monday, December 18th at 6pm CST in #eqhoc, an Everquest House of Commons will occur.
• Stratics Central - This week, Stratics Central will debut its newest column entitled Thundolfe's Barnyard. Be sure to check it out for humorous commentary on the Massively Multiplayer industry and community.
• Stage 1 Stratics - Dawn Stratics is continuing its Balacee Birthmark Contest. Be sure to check it out here and then enter to win!
• Adellion Stratics - Another great Adellion House of Commons developer chat occurred on Sunday. Check back soon for the conference logs!
• Anarchy Online Stratics - New Movie Exclusive! AO Stratics scores a new movie from the creators of Anarchy-Online's CGI cinematics! Drop in and download now.
• Asheron's Call Stratics - Will December see the climatic end of the first chapter in Dereth's ongoing story? Can Turbine surpass the ground-breaking events of the last month? Keep up with all that happens in December's event with AC Stratics' Child of Daralet event guide.
• Atriarch Stratics - Want to stay on top of the Atriarch community? Want to chat with World Fusion designers as they drop by? Visit #atriarch today.
• Camelot Stratics - The very first Camelot Stratics HoC was a GREAT success, over 122 people showed up, read the whole chat with the Camelot devs here.
• Everquest Stratics - The EverQuest Stratics team will be hosting the second EQ House of Commons with Verant's developers on Monday, December 18th, 2000 at 4pm PST in the #eqhoc channel on irc.stratics.com! Keep checking http://eq.stratics.com for details and updates!
• JumpGate Stratics - Another JumpGate HOC is coming soon! Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 21st.
• Neocron Stratics - Submit! Submit! Submit! The Neocron Stratics Fan Media section is now launched. Unleash the creativity and submit your artwork, music, and writings today!
• Neverwinter Stratics - Be sure to check out the Neverwinter Nights Worlds Server Database - a resource for locating a NWN server that suits your play-style and preferred environment. You can search the database for a server you like or add your server information!
• Origin Stratics - As more and more information becomes available about the various cities of New Britannia, our Conceptual Atlas continues to grow. Make sure to check it out, especially our newest addition - a map of the City of Britain!
• Shadowbane Stratics - We now have concept art, lore, and starting statistics for every race in Shadowbane. You can also download an exclusive QuickTime movie featuring the character creation process of an Aelfborn Male Rogue.
• Ultima Online Stratics - Missed the last exciting UOHOC? Then be sure to check out the logs. The focus of this discussion was factions, Third Dawn, and In Concept.

In the evolution of every shard, certain events occur that have special significance. Communities are established, Guilds are created and people forge relationships. Sometimes those relationships last but a brief time, serving a mutual purpose and little more. Then, there are other relationships that flourish, standing 'trials by fire' and the tests of Time. It is with gladness of heart that I bring to you, a tale of one such relationship. On Sunday, in the Grand Hall of Serpents Hold, Sir GryphoN and the Lady Raven Midnite, exchanged vows of commitment and became husband and wife.

As is often the case with midday events, many notable faces were missing from the throng of well-wishers. However, the turnout was nonetheless impressive. Folk from throughout the realm were on hand to witness the momentous occasion. Warring guilds took time out for the gala. Human and drawven warriors sat side by side with their elven counterparts, as the couple stood and repeated vows of devotion. The venerable Uncle Dullblade, Elder Druid of Sylver Myst, presided over the ceremony. Lord Blackie stood with GryphoN as Best Man, while the lovely Elizabeth escorted Raven as her Maid of Honor. Quendyl served as Usher.

Tried as I might, the magic of "screen shot" eluded me and sadly, I have no picture of the event. However, I do have several lasting impressions, all of which are positive. My hat goes off to the guests who attended. The most successful of the UO shards are those with strong event participation. Those shards attract quality folk and those folk in turn, help make a thriving shard even more successful. Sunday, I saw signs of all that Legends can be.

GryphoN and Raven are to be commended for the tremendous effort both made to insure that the guests had a good and lasting impression of the event. And a special 'thank you' goes out to Lord Blackie for holding a grand reception for the couple at his tower. And, well...the mead was simply outstanding. Even my sophisticated palate was impressed by the local vintage.

Here's to the happy couple and the future of an interactive shard community...Huzzah! Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn of Legends, your friendly neighborhood Stratics Reporter

Tonight, Talbot Asha'mal and Syrina hosted a story telling evening at the LFE tower on Trammel. Including themselves, there were 15 people in attendance. Syrina had laid on cookies and milk for all attendees to snack on during the event.

Talbot introduced the event, telling how Syrina had asked him for a tale one evening, and being somewhat dour and lacking in skill at spinning a good tale, he failed to cheer her up with his attempt. Thus, he brought us all together this evening to pass on our tales of heroism, sadness and friendship, with Syrina sitting by to judge the tales and award a prize for the one that moved her the most. The theme of the tales was to be "The First" - be it the first time the teller met someone, visited somehwere or performed a heroic deed. Though I had a short tale in mind, I chose not to tell it this evening, choosing instead to take notes on all tales told to relate them to you here.

First up was Little White Dove, never being the shy girl. Her tale came from her younger days as a new adveturess, a little known and little skilled macer/thief who lived in the Old Lands.

One day, her friend Buzz came to tell her of a wonderous new land that had been discovered, and talked her into taking a trip with him to tour these new wonders. Being an excitable young lass, she readily agreed, wanting to see the fantastic creatures and strange sights Buzz had promised. When his gate appeared in Moonglow, she was somewhat disappointed, and made her mind known to him. He instructed her o the use of a magical transportation device, and standing on it, she muttered "Recdu" and found herself in a mud hut in the small town of Papua. The first thing to capture her attention were what she referred to as "Big Footed Things" - strange birds that people had tamed and were even riding! She soon learnt that these creatures were called Ostards by those that new.

With her interest piqued, Buzz led her out into the swamps where she ran across some ferocious Snake People, very agressive folk who set about her and her party of friends. With the huge trees casting their dark shadows, she soon lost contact with the party and ran for her very life. Lost and alone, and very very frightened, she ran until she was eventually rescued by her friends. Together again, Buzz took her off to see some Spider Folk, another unknown race to the inexperienced Little White Dove. These spoke in a strange tongue and seemed to hate all humans, and again they were forced to fight for their lives.Next, Buzz led them out into the desert, where Dove seemed to come alive. She loved it here, seeing Wyverns, Imps and giant Gargoyles! She vowed to one day return.

The next port of call, off to the south and west was an orc fort. Little White Dove was slightly disappointed at this announcement, having fought and overcome several orcs herself and wanting to see something different instead of the same old mace fodder. However, she was somewhat shocked when she discovered to the immediate south of the Orc Fort was a ruin filled with Skeletons and ghouls! So shocked was she at this discovery, she fell over dead at the hands of the first bone knight to attack her!

Needless to say, she eventually got ressurected, and immediately started packing her belongings from the old lands to move to Papua, where she lived happily, adapting herself from a mace fighter to a bard/archer to cope better with the desert creatures. And there she stayed, wandering and hunting the desert until the day the Lia Fail Empire was formed, when she returned to be with her family once again.

To great applause, Dove sat down again, while the audience rearranged themselves, since the wind on top of the tower was strong this evening, and many could not hear the story over its constant howling. Huddling round the centre of the auditorium, Dr. Dolittle announced that a close friend of his had a tale to share with us. Talbot asked him to bring his friend to the circle that we might hear his story. We were somewhat surprised when Doc led Mr. Ed into the circle, his horse!! Well, it was a strange sight to see what appeared to my eyes to be a horse whispering into the ear of its owner, and that owner relaying a tale seen from a horses eyes....

This story, began Doc (Or Mr. Ed) could be called "A Horses Tale" (Or should that be Tail?). When young, Mr. Ed roamed the pastures and forests of the Isle of Haven with the rest of his herd. Each day, they would have races among the young of the herd, and they would spend days on end frolicking in the warm sunshine. (Many words passed from Mr. Ed's lips regarding the flavour and crunchyness of apples and the wonders of dew covered clover at this point, as the listeners sat enraptured by this talking horse.) Though life was good for Mr. Ed and the herd, he came to realise he was not the same as the other horses, for while they cared only for their races and their frolicks, he often found himself wondering about the world beyond the meadows and woods, especially about the strange creatures he glimpsed occasionally that walked on two legs! He wondered how they could possibly manage this trick, though the other horses were just as puzzled by the strange thoughts of Mr. Ed. and encouraged him to live life as it was meant to be, for he was a popular young horse, and among the fastest of the herd.

Now one fine day, Mr. Ed glimpsed a movement at the edge of the meadow. to his surprise, he saw an actual two-leg coming onto the meadow, approaching the herd. He walked forward a little to get a better view, to see what it was doing. The two-leg walked right up to the herd, and came face to face with Mr. Ed! As it stood there, it started making sounds, strange words that Mr. Ed seemed somehow to understand, "Good Horse", "Come here Horse" it said. "Ah, I must be a horse" thought Mr. Ed. "I have always wanted a pet like you", " I promise to take good care of you", the two-leg continued on as Mr. Ed noticed he was hiding something behind his back! Being a curious young hourse, he moved round to get a better look, and was delighted to see that the two-leg had a big, juicy, red apple. Mr. Ed's first thought was that this two-leg must be the fastest of his herd to have won such a prize apple! As he continued speaking, the two-leg held out the apple, and Mr. Ed took a tentative bite, the two-leg encouraged him more with his kind words, and Mr. Ed finished the apple and then rewarded the two-leg with a big sloppy horse-kiss! Mr. Ed learned his new friend was called Dr. Dolittle, who has come to be his best friend ever, and that is the tale of how they met.

Mr. Ed was rewarded with warm and hearty applause and many apples for this tale, never before had we heard a horse tell a story! Talbot stood forward again as Mr. Ed was led away by the good Doc, and asked for the next speaker to step forward. People seemed reluctant to follow a speaking horse, and it took the courage of our well-loved sister Moonstone to stand and volunteer her story. Before she spoke, though, Talbot suggested we move the event to a less windy place since the winds had grown and people were having great problems hearing what was being said. Thus we moved to Syrina's home on the outskirts of Vesper.

When younger and less worldly, Moonstone used to be in a guild known as SYF, led by her good friend and guild master Zubirel. Over time, Zubirel came to have problems with a personal demon known as RL, and eventually left these lands. With his departure, the guild drifted apart and finally broke up completely, leaving Moonstone alone and seemingly friendless. However, as she sat alone in her house, she kept seeing a strange little man running past who would stop and bow every time he passed. Initially, she thought this little man to be a mere child, and she learned that his name was simply Cookie. He was very nice to her, offering friendship while she was alone, and one day he took her to a place called LFE clearing. There she found all manner of strange events going on. Expecially amusing she found, was the woman archer who kept tripping and falling over dead while trying to shoot her bow! All the peple there were very kind to the lonely Moonstone, offering her the warmth and friendship she missed so much from her SYF days. she hung around with these nice people and eventually joined them as a full member of the Lia Fail Empire. She is now no longer alone, ahving the love of some great sisters, and some really crazy brothers whom she has grown to love very much. That was the heart-warming tale of Moonstones first coming to the LFE, told so much more eloquently by her than my short notes here can convey.

Hugs and applause followed Moonstone to her place in the circle of listeners, and Talbot asked for the next person to step forward to relate their tale. Scruffy mentioned that he had a story to tell, and was immediately pushed to the centre of the circle as the audience craved more tales. Looking slightly abashed, he muttered something about not being ready and not wanting to go next, but Little White Dove fingered her bow string in that cute but meaningful way she has, and Scruffy quickly organised his journals to tell the tale of his first encounter with an outlaw murderer!

When very young, Scruffy used to hang out and hunt with his good friends from the KOE guild, especially with the leader, Eggo, whom he respected very much, and who had taught him many useful skills. Another close friend was the mighty warrior Tanis, and with these two, he felt safe when outside in the wilderness. He had heard tales spoken of by men with little health wearing white robes of monsters who lurked outside of town called PK's, and it was after hearing one of these tales that he, Eggo and Tanis were preparing to out to face the mighty gargoyles east of Britain. As they hunted the dense forests, Scruffy heard a tinkling sound making him somewhat confused and scared, and he spied a scarcely dressed man with a red hue to his name lurking in the forest nearby. Scruffy's path took him close to this man, who eyed him warily, seemingly to jusdge his weaknesses and strengths, when suddenly, Scruffy saw the cooling body of the mighty Tanis lying in the woods! Wondering what could have slain him so quickly, he froze to the spot, unable to take a step further! Suddenly, Eggo leapt from the bushes at the red man, screaming words of magical power, words echoed by the murderer. Scruffy remained rooted to the spot, fearing he was a coward as he watched Eggo fall to the magics of the man. Anger grew inside him, he knew he had to do something, and blidly, he charged and swung his katana at the murderer. Unbelieveably, he hit the evil man and hurt him and the man turned and ran. Confidence spurred him on to continue the attack, and he believed the man to be beat, and took a path round to allow him to rescue the equipment dropped by his friends as they died. As he grabbed what he could, the murderer returned and unleashed fell magicks on the young warrior, once again frozen and unable to move! "Guess who's gonna die now?" the man asked, and alsmost on the verge of death, Scruffy managed to run a short way and hide again, knowing he was well out-matched. When it seemed safe, Scruffy made his way cautiously to the bank where he saw the murderer talking with his friends, freshly back from the local healing station. With a yell, he charged again, this time more controlled and with an accurate aim. The murderer turned tail and ran at this latest onslaught, and Scruffy returned to the bank, pleased to have run him off when suddenly, he was hit again! He knew this time he was beaten, but also knew he learned valuable lessons that day, lessons and values he still abides by today.

Scruffy stepped to the side again, looking slightly relieved that he ahd managed to get the story out, and was warmly applauded by the audience who had gasped and marvelled at the tension and bravery in his story. Once again, though Talbot stepped forward to move things along, asking for one more tale to be told before Syrina decided who was to win the evenings prize. Among our number this evening was a young lass who had apparently travelled to our world from the Shard of Europa (though her Skara Brae accent seemed to mark her as a local to my ears), the lady's name was Solitaire and she told the story of a wonderous and magical book she was privelidged to hold for a while at the whim of the Gods.

Solitaire, on her home world, is a great mage, a woman of power held in respect by many as one who wields her power wisely and lives by the virtues. One fine evening, she was asked by her husband (who incidentally shares my name - Rotund- I never knew there were two of that name!) to open a magical gate so he may conclude some business or other in the town of Britain. a gate spell is an oft-used spell for Solitaire, and she quickly prepared her reagents and bagean the casting, after the words of power were spoken, she felt the mana drain out of her and watched as the reagents were consumed, and the gate opened. Then closed a fraction of a second later! thinking she had perhaps intoned a word wrongly, or used a corrrupt ingredient, she cast the spell a second time, and the gate opened, the mana drained from her, and the reagents were burned up by the casting, all as normal. Then the gate disappeared a fraction of a second later! Again she tried and again the gate opened and closed with her magical powers being drained from her, tired out from her efforts, she let her head drop and there on the floor was a pure white book, just where the gate had opened. She picked up the book and opened its ice white cover to discover it was a spell book, complete in every way as her own, but inscribed with the title "The Book of Youth" and with a cover of purest white while her own was the traditional red of all mages of the land. She opened the book at the gate spell, and tried to cast the spell from this book instead of her own. The gate opened and remained open!

That night, she took the book home and spent the entire evening and the next day experimenting with it, and indeed in every way it was exactly the same as her own spell book, only bearing the mystical title and shimmering white colouring. The mysterious draining of her magical powers before its appearance and the failure of the simple gate spell, she believed, had allowed her Goddess to reach through and allow her to wield the book as her own. She raised her thanks to her Goddess, and kept the beautiful spellbook about her person day and night. Many remarked upon its uniqueness and beauty, and many offered huge and improbable sums to buy it from her. Her belief in her Goddess and her pride at being chosen to wield such a wonderful tool allowed her resist unimaginable wealth and to keep the book safely in her own hands.

One morning, though, knowing she had gone to sleep with the book in her hands, Solitaire awoke to find the book gone. In vain she searched all her bags, boxes and bank for the book. Again, it seemed to the sad mage, that her Goddess had decided it was time that the book passed onto another servant. Enquiries throughout the land told her that it had indeed passed from her world to another, unknown place. Offering her prayers to her Goddess, Solitaire thanked Her for allowing her to use the book for a few short weeks, and her hopes that it had passed to other worthy hands.

A sad tale to end the evening as we all shared Solitaire's sorrow in her heart-rending tale of gain and loss, with every emotion plain to see in her eyes as her memories were related to us. More than one member of the audience wiped away a tear at her loss.

Talbot called the meeting to a close following Solitaires story, and passed the announcement of the best story over to Syrina. Syrina was obviously ill at ease having to make such a difficult decision, each tale told with the passion of the teller, and each one recieved equally well by the audience. She pondered a moment while we muttered among ourselves as to who's story we enjoyed the most. As Syrina looked up to make the announcement, it was obvious to us who had won the prize for the best tale of the evening, Syrina still had a tear to wipe away from Solitiares story, and it was indeed Solitaire who won the prize for telling the best story. Talbot stepped forward and presented the proud young lady with a beautiful glacial staff of pure ice, the first he had ever snatched from the frozen lands, a fitting prize for the young lady from Europa who had won and lost her book of pure white. The audience were asked to vote among themselves for the awarding of the second prize, of a piece of golden Bloodmoss. So close was the voting on the matter that several recounts were needed, the prize being awarded, reclaimed and awareded again to Scruffy who narrowly beat Moonstone for second place.

An excellent evening entertainment was had by all, and Syrina has promised to hold another event some time in the future, to which we all look forward to with enthusiasm.

The event had 15 people turn up to speak or listen, and all were equally welcomed. Those present were:-

Talbot Asha'mal
Syrina
Little White Dove
Solitaire
Rooster
Tysis
Moonstar
Michele
Dr. Dolittle
Rotund
Bodar
YourTextHere
Goose
Scruffy
Neutral Drow

Notes taken by, with apologies for the brevity and missing details in the summarised stories here:-

Rotund

Thank ye Rotund, for submitting this interesting read.

Grishnak threw off his ratty fur covering and sat up. The ferocious pounding in his head reminded him of the ale soaked night before. In a foul mood, he rummaged about in the dirt for his helmet. Plopping it on his head, he stepped out into the sunlight, bloodshot eyes tightening in pain.

Seeing an Orc hunched over near the pig pen, he wandered over curiously. Here he found Zha’Kira snuffling and wiping her nose.

‘Wut wrong lil wun,’ Grishnak asked.

Startled, Zha’Kira spun around, then seeing who spoke to her, cast her eyes downward and dug a toe in the dirt.

‘Nuttin.’

‘Bah!’ Grishnak smacked her lightly across the head. ‘Ju blah wut wrong!’

Snuffling once more, Zha’Kira mumbled something. Smacking her again, Grishnak demanded she speak up.

‘Meh nub gunna get nub pwesents,’ Zha’Kira finally whined.

Taken aback, Grishnak turned to the Orc next to him to ask if he had heard right, only to find there was no other Orc, he was just seeing double again from the cheap ale.

‘Bah! Wut da fark ju blahing?’ he demanded. ‘Wut pwesents?’

‘Well, dem humies and pointiess gunna get dese pwesents frum da fat pointie wid da red clothes, but him nub bwing anyting for Orcs.’

Thinking this was very unjust, Grishnak summoned his advisors. Sitting about the table, Grishnak, Qog, Zhan’ee, and Fugluk waited impatiently for Snarfu. Finally, Snarfu burst into the room, scrolls dropping from his arms.

‘Meh find it’ Snaru shouted happily. ‘Der dis fat elbzie dat flies abut wunce a year und gibs pwesents and yum yums to da humie runts and elbzie runts.’

‘Ey! Why nub any pwesents fur Orcs’ demanded Qog.

‘Well, him unly gib pwesents to da “gudda runts” ‘ Snarfu said.

Dodging the bottle thrown at him Snarfu hastily added, ‘Ey! It be da humie ideerz of wut iz guddah, nub wut is really gudda! Dey tink dat clumping and theebing and taking iz being nub gudda and dem runts dat do dat nub get pwesents!’

The grumbling and cursing subsided for a bit as each Orc about the table thought that over. Finally Qog asked what Orcs could do to get some presents.

‘Well, nub clump any more’ Snarfu replied, this time not quit dodging the bottle thrown at him and getting sprayed with stale ale as the bottle shattered on his forehead. Picking himself up and righting his chair again, he offered another suggestion. ‘Den agun, mebby we could just take dem?’

‘Ey, now meh likes dat ideer,’ Zhan’ee chimed in. ‘Ware dis humie be?’

Searching for the right scroll, Snarfu finally holds up a map of the world and points to the jungle-covered islands of Jhelom.

‘Rite here! Dis be da snow island.’ He exclaimed proudly. ‘Him hab mojo castle der wid elbzies dat makee him pwesents fur ebrywun.’ With wide grins, a plan was laid.

Santa sat at his desk, fingers stained with ink as he furiously wrote in his list and muttering to himself, much to the consternation of the overworked elves trying to keep up with their paperwork. ‘Alena, good girl; Vanessa, good girl; Jenny, bad girl; Sabrina, good girl…’ he was muttering when Dominic, Second Tinker, Toy Division, came running up.

‘Santa! You better come take a look at this.’

Looking up with an exasperated look on his face, Santa gestured at the reams of paper covering his desk.

‘No time! No time! Christmas is coming and I’ve so much work to do. Whatever it is, just deal with it.’

With that Santa returned to his writing and muttering. ‘Johnny, good boy; Wolfgang, good boy; Aldroud, bad boy…’

Sighing, Dominic went back up the stairs and out onto the south wall. There stood Richard, Third Cookie Cutter, Baking Division, watching something over the walls.

‘What did he say,’ Richard said without turning.

Gulping Dominic replied, ‘He said to deal with it.’

Finally turning, Richard raised an eyebrow, then turned back to face the sea to watch the approaching ships, laidened with Orcs geared for war. Hefting the rolling pin in his hand he commented, ‘I don’t think this will quite do the trick, old chum.’

The Broken Fang and the Bloody Claw beached in front of the castle and sea sick Orcs clawed over each other to fall down onto the snow. Then picking themselves up, they let loose a mighty warcry and hurled themselves at the castle doors.

‘Hooorahhh!’ they cried as they burst through the doors.

‘See here, what is the meaning of this,’ demanded the bespectacled elf in charge of the Records Division. Grund’Pug replied by burying his axe into the elf’s head. Startled and shocked elves ran about, lists of good and bad girls and boys getting mixed up.

Quick thinking Silver, Santa’s major-domo summoned a gate.

‘Santa! In here,’ shoving Santa into the gate, Silver looked back in time to see the last of the Record Keeping Division fall before the Orc blades. Blinking back tears, Silver hurled himself into the shimmering blue gate.

Orcs rampaged throughout Santa’s Castle. Grund’Pug, Xer’Gug, and Duglug swept up the Toy Making Division. A surprised Baking Division hurled jars of honey, slowing down Glakbar and Grunk, but in the end it mattered not. Richard’s hand still clutched the rolling pin tightly. The rest of Richard’s body was scattered about the courtyard, remnants of Snarfu’s magical spells.

Zha’Kira and Zha’Shiek came running back into the main hall, bags bulging with goodies.

‘Yay! We hab da pwesents now!’ they cried. A grinning Grishnak turned to Qog and told him to complete the final part of the Orc plan.

Qog hurried over to the stables and started open the doors, releasing the reindeer. Har Haring to himself, he spurned them along with a whip. As the Orcs set fires to the castle, Qog and Sugrod herded the reindeer aboard the Orc ships of war.

‘Der, now dat fat elbzie nub can gib pwesents tu anywun else,’ Qog told Sugrod when all the reindeer were aboard.

Laughing the Orcs sailed away, the remnants of Santa’s Castle burning behind them.

Oh such jolly news! *chuckles* And a Merry Christmas to all this year indeed. *smiles darkly* Thank ye, Grishnak for this heart warming tale.

Tis the Season...

And in the spirit of the season the Council of Compassion would like your help.

The Council was first created to spread the virtue of Compassion, especially to the many "young" folk who walk the streets of Britain. We have sponsored small giveaways and soon hope to create a weekly flea market where citizens can exchange goods, and where the poor among us may find some bargains or handouts. Indeed, we have many other ideas, but we need your help.

Although the Council has existed for many months, it has recently lost some of it's members as they have moved on to other opportunities.  Would you be interested in serving on this Council? What we seek are individuals who are willing and eager to help others--that is--individuals who value the virtue of compassion.

If you'd like to learn more about joining the Council of Compassion please contact Benito Gundar, at [email protected] as soon as possible. There will be a public meeting this Tuesday, December 12th, in the Basement of the Salty Dog Pub at 8 p.m. EST (Trammel), located just above the East Bank, for all those interested. We will be discussing some of the upcoming ideas for events, as well as taking suggestions for future events. All are more then welcomed to attend.

Hope to see you there!

December 13th through December 16th
Various times (all Central)

tel'Mithrim will be hosting a festival to celebrate the winter solstice. It will begin on Wednesday the 13th at 8pm CST and last through Saturday the 16th. There will be several individual events, culminating in a bardic contest where the bards of the land will sing songs of rebirth on Saturday night.

For specific details on the times of each event, visit http://www.grey-company.org/SilverArrow/messages/8055.html

Destiny Mayoral Inauguration
Sunday, December 10, 8pm Central, Destiny Mage Tower Roof

This Sunday, citizens of the town of Destiny will honor Mayor Dren Jootz, as he retires from his position and officially inducts Carina, Destiny's Mayor-elect. We cordially invite all friends of Mayor Jootz and Destiny to come join us for well-wishes and toasts to a good man, who has done a great job.

-Chino, Destiny Librarian

The Fishing Council of Britannia (FCB) wishes to thank all who attended our first ever Fishing net event. We went to the Magincia docks and cast green fishing nets into the deep water there. Up from the depths came serpents, deep sea serpents, water elementals--and the deadliest of them all--the Kraken. At one point we faced three Kraken and the the bones of our dead littered the Magincia docks.

FCB wishes to thank those who brought extra nets. We do promise to do it again soon. We wish all landlubbers to appreciate how tough the lives of the fisherfolk can be. For more information on fishing, visit fcb.xrgaming.net.

Finally, FCB salutes our newest recruit, Pitot, who thought of this fine entertainment.

Gem

The following note was found nailed to Kazola's Tavern's door, covering up the note previously posted there..

My fellow Britannians, and especially my loyal patrons, A note was posted on this door yesterday, confusing a great many of you. I would like to assure you that I, the real Kazola, am indeed still the owner of this tavern.

As the other "Kazola" mentioned, there was indeed a clone created at the ceremony that took place at the Temple of Mondain a few months ago, but I am not that clone. Relk the Waiter is NOT whom you may think he is - in case you've forgotten, he was arrested, sentenced, and tried for the crime of poisoning the food in the long-gone Sages' Tale Inn.

He was found guilty, and was executed in the tavern's own courtyard. He was restored to life months later, with the approval of some of Yew's leading citizens, who believed he had reformed. Sadly, he has not.

The reason the cloning ceremony took place at all, was because Relk had kidnapped my good friend Redlowwinski, and informed me that I must participate in a ritual if I wished to see him returned safely. Attempts to discover Redlow's location failed, and I was forced to take part in the ceremony, which was performed by Mordain. Mordain later informed me he was not aware of what the ceremony would actually do, nor did he know of Redlow's kidnapping.

During this ceremony, a clone of me appeared. This clone, who believes herself to be the true Kazola, immediately took offense to my presence, and emphatically stated she was the original, confusing all who had attended the ceremony. Relk the Waiter then took her on as his protege, and they attempted to establish their own tavern in the lands of Trammel, as they were unable to gain any support from those who knew I was the true Kazola.

I had not heard anything about this clone for quite a while, and was hoping that we had seen the last of her. Unfortunately, she has returned, and is becoming an even larger annoyance. As you read here yesterday, she is now attempting to legally gain control of what is rightfully mine.

"Kazola", I am sorry to hear of how Relk has poisoned your mind. I had hoped we could become friends, perhaps even sisters, in a sense, but I see that this is now impossible. Your claims are completely unfounded, and your suit against me is an abuse of our court system. I invite you to take whatever legal action you desire, as it will settle this matter of identity once and for all.

To all my patrons - I apologize for the confusion, and assure you that the tavern will continue to run as it always has, under its true owner. I have no desire to relinquish the tavern, and most certainly not to someone who is slandering my good name. Business will continue as usual, and I know I can count on your support in the days ahead. Thank you all for being not only the best of customers, but also the best of friends.

- Kazola of Felucca
Holy Cross Defenders

The King's Crier recently made the formal announcement of a saddening event to befall the citizenry. Apparently, the Royal Chamberlain was enroute to the fair capital of the realm from concluding royal business on the King's behalf in Yew when his entourage was savagely attacked on the road. The King's guards fought valiantly but were ultimately defeated and the entire entourage was either slain or is presently missing. Among the bodies found at the massacre were the Royal Chamberlain himself, several attendants and minor officials and the entire contingent of the armed royal escorts. Sensitive royal documents and several hundred thousand of the King's gold were missing as well, most likely looted after the fray. No survivors, if any are left, have come forward with word as to the specifics of this tragic event. No one is sure who is behind the attack but justice ministers suspect a band of well armed brigands. The Royal Chamberlain will be sadly missed and was responsible for much of the day to day operations of the King's Court, maintaining the Royal Treasury, the estates of Lord British and overseeing the numerous royal ministers. No word yet on who the King will select as a replacement although several lords of the realm's many great houses are hoping to be asked by the King to fill the royal post.

Smaug:I am talking with Tryon, Creator of ImaNewbie, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Tryon: Hrmmm, well I have been playing UO since nearly the beginning. I was one of the many that came over from Diablo and Battle Net. I had been doing a web site called Tryon's Diablo Cartoon Page at the time so it just seemed natural to start one up for UO. Thus ImaNewbie was born. Other than that nothing too special about me cept maybe that I am Canadian :)

Smaug: It seems that ImaNewbie has been growing up as of late, and is acting more like a veteran player is this your intention?
Tryon: Well I guess maybe unintentionally. I mean there is only so many ways Ima can get killed and then have someone or something stand over him and yell U SUCK! In three years even he has to have picked up a few tricks along the way.

Smaug: The LOSER guild has been rather active as of lately with ImaTown opening. Do the LSR's have any other plans that do not involve the town?
Tryon: Well the LOSERS are always available to attend other player run functions, you know, weddings, faires, bar mitzvahs, funerals, etc. We cant always have everyone of us there but we try to make a showing.

Smaug: Bar mitzvahs? Is there code in the game for that now?
Tryon:No idea, hehe. Maybe we can get tailors to make those little round hats[kippot] they wear. Don't get me started on political correctness.

Smaug:Are there any wedding bells in the future for you and Irma?
Tryon:Ah the proverbial question. Well let's just say that Ima and Irma are soulmates. They will never be truly apart. Whether they ever tie the knot though is a deep dark secret. Its funny how many people keep wanting them to get married. Maybe they figure that will stop Ima's little flirtations but I am not sure that would do it. He seems to have a weakness for the ladies.

Smaug: Does ImaTown have anything planned for Christmas?
Tryon:Well we will probably do something or other Irma will probably be decorating up the tavern like she did for Halloween. I am not sure how much time I will be ingame over the holidays. I may just try and have some Real Life holiday fun for a change.

Smaug:Can you tell us anything about a future plotline in the ImaNewbie series?
Tryon:Well you will have to ask ImaNewbie about that. I lost control of him a long time ago. Its like when I go to do a toon now I am not sure who is pulling the strings. You know, kinda like the old Twilight Zone story about the ventriloquist's dummy that takes over the ventriloquist.

Smaug:Why did you choose to sell shirts on your site?
Tryon:Well I gotta eat too. No seriously, a ton of people kept emailing me saying when are you going to make some Ima T-Shirts so one day I decided to do it. What with setting up to take all the credit cards, designing and printing up the shirts and now packaging and mailing them I am not sure I would do it again, but so far response has been really good. I have had orders from all over the world. One day I expect to be walking down a street in Katmandu or somewhere and have someone walk past me wearing one, that would be kinda cool.

Smaug:How much do you make per shirt?
Tryon:Heh well with all the time I have put in on them, lets just say people are not being ripped off. It isn't just the printing costs, its making up the masters, running back and forth from the printers, ordering sizes hardly anyone orders so I will have stock, the book keeping for the income tax man, the packaging, running down to the post office to mail them etc. Its actually a lot of work for not a hell of a lot of gain.

Smaug:OK, now I am sure many of our readers have questions as to your views on ingame issues. What do you think of factions?
Tryon:Well, to tell you the truth, my opinion is really no opinion. I have read up on factions and may do some toons on it as it develops but it's not something I really will be getting into in a big way. I never have been that big into guild warring, taking over towns etc.

Smaug:What about rewards?
Tryon:Dangit! I just wish they would get them finalized and give them out. I think its a great idea. I definitely want one of those ethereal animals. Plus it will be nice to see the price of furniture dye tubs come down which I think it will once there are a lot more of them. I am not terribly impressed by the cloaks or the dye tub that supposedly lets you dye colors you cannot normally. I used that screenshot on the UO site and a dye tub and got colors that were so close they were nearly impossible to distinguish. The leather dye tub is kinda cool too. I would like to see some of the rewards like I did in my toon, you know, like rideable dragons, pack wyrms and houseboats :)

Smaug:Not house boats! How would us poor fishers survive?
Tryon:Hehe, well I think it would take an awful long time to completely clog up all the water areas in UO with houseboats. There would still be room to fish.

Smaug:What are your views on the fact that now order/chaos can fight in trammel?
Tryon:Well my opinion is it will probably result in the same idiots having their wars right in front of the bank. I think that it would be ok but they should keep the warring outside city limits. Some people are so starved for attention ingame that they figure they have to do everything outside a bank to get noticed. Remember summoned elementals?

Smaug:Thank you very much Tryon
Tryon:Your welcome, did I pass? :)