May 2000

Time for Some Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Event: 1 vs. 1 Tournament Hosted by Lockstar
Place: Paws Outpost: Redroddy's Tavern and Training Hall (The Bar will be Open!)
Date: Tournament Saturday night June 3rd 8:00 pst (10 cst)

Entry Fee: 5k entry fee

Prizes:
1-prize 25k gold pieces
2-prize valorite set, archer, or plate set
3-prize gm set iron plate, archer, or leather. Winner picks which one.

Rules:

Anything goes except for a few things:

1. Unlimited trapped pouches
2. Unlimited band aids
3. Unlimited potions
4. No magic reflect items or amour with reflect
5. No summoning
6. Yes you can cast reflect on your self
7. Magic armour ok (remember no reflect)
8. Magic weapons ok (no reflect)
9. No magic weapons or armour with charges
10. No dp weapons

Now rules of conduct:

No looting

When tourney starts anyone who enters the fighting area will be ejected from the tower. Only staff members are allowed. A REPEAT VIOLATOR WILL BE BANNED FOR NO LESS THEN 24 HOURS. This is especially if one of the opponents die. There will be NO warnings, NO IF's, ANDS, or BUTS. ANYONE who loots will be banned permanently.

Hide if you can when others are fighting to reduce lag.

Please show manners too, some people seem to lose it at the mouth please restrain from foul language, it is always good to be polite to your opponents and fans.

Thank you

For more information you can visit Paws at their web site http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/cityofpaws/pawsoutpost.html

It has been reported to me the following which was found on Sonoma Notepads by Drizzt of Moonglow:

Here are a few more facts about the pale ones and their apparent counterparts, the ravens:

What we know:

* Pale ones are reptilian in nature
* A pale one (whose race has been named by Parnell, but which name escapes me at the moment--it's something like Kale'Jokar) led the attack on Moonglow which resulted in the destruction of the Mage Tower and the death of Qaladar.
* Parnell, apparently the most friendly of the pale ones,
is actively making maps of our world for his people. He will not say what they want the maps for.
* Parnell's race, according to him, is divided among those who would bring us war and those would befriend us. Parnell claims his people once populated our world before humanity came and killed them and chased them away.
* Parnell "warned" us that snow orcs are planning an attack on ibn's tribe in Glacia. Evidence was found on orcs supporting this claim. Parnell tells us it was the friends of his people who have contracted the orcs to perpetrate the planned invasion, as a result of food shortages. Parnell will not tell us who these "friends" of his people are or what their physiology is like.
* Ravens follow Parnell's people around in our world; Parnell has suggested that they are spies for his people watching him. Parnell suggests he endangers himself by talking to us.
* Parnell claims his people are physically much larger than humans.

What we do not know:

* We do not know which pale one it was that led the invasion of Moonglow. It may as well have been Parnell himself as far as we can tell--we could not identify him.
* We do not know why Parnell's race, whenever we encounter them, are soon followed by supernaturally strong ravens... nor why they FEAR these ravens.
* We do not know who these "friends" of Parnell's race are, or how they figure into things, except that they would allegedly make war against the al'suk (ibn's people) for lack of food.

And now, here's your daily dose of cliches and platitudes. Beware of casual dismissal of these most basic of truths:

--The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

--To ensure peace is to prepare for war.

Reader, reach your own conclusions about Parnell's race, in your own time. Perhaps we do not have enough evidence yet for you to do so--we certainly do not have all the facts.

It was also reported that Parnell loves the taste of human flesh and that he is a dragon of some sort, but that has yet to be confirmed. Shortly after Lora left a discussion broke out between Justin Allard, Lady Birmingham, Kira, and a few others about the Pale One's origins, intentions, and anatomy. Needless to say this was quite fruitless and when Bones and I went back in front of the "Y" to look around one more time for Lora, a raven showed up and began to circle about us.
After observing this strange phenomenon, McCoy and Justin went ahead and attacked the bird, which in turn fought back and quite hard. Little damage was done the the raven while the two attackers had to cast invisibility on themselves until the bird settled back down.
Once the bird went back to its "normal" activities, some one placed some raw meat down by the raven which it ate rather quickly. Two more pieces of raw meat were given to the bird and again, the bird ate it. Shortly after this, Justin and Tyril proceeded to kill two wandering healers and the bird went over and immediately pecked out the eyes of the fallen victims.

There is much that we do not understand about these Pale Ones and these ravens. So much so that we should not jump to any conclusions until we have a better understanding of these two "new" species. Let us do what Drizzt suggested and try to find out more about Parnell and his race as well as the ravens that seem to follow them and let us hope that the best laid intentions do not pave our road to hell. May the Great I Am guide and protect us through these unpredictable times.

Safe Journeys, signing off, this is...

Greetings!

After a few delays and many teasers, Issue 1 of "Death by the Stricken Hand" has been released.

You can read all about the epic tale of Prince Derian Ironfist and his comrades at:

http://www.aznkain.com/comics/

Feedback, both positive and negative, is most welcome!

Hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely Yours,
Kain
www.AznKain.com

Make sure to have your volume turned up with this one, as the music adds a lot to the atmosphere of the comic strip.

Hey hey hey! Theres a google of new stuff at HMGComics!

After formatting hard drives, not finding the right components, and a hundred Half-Life games later, I have made two new GM ICE comics. They include GM ICE: Episode 6: The Lost and GM ICE: Episode 7: The Purpose.

This might seem odd cause I already made GM ICE 6. I felt that more needed to be between The Attack and The Underground (Part 1), so I made these two. Episode 6 is now a burial ceremony for Lord British and episode 7 explains why Hamasu and Geon was created, why Lord British sent everyone to the Underground, and the importance of Forg (besides the fact that he is Hamasu).

I made a new GM ICE logo. This will take effect on all new comics, so the old image will still be on episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8. Kind of cunfusing, but you'll get used to it.

And last, I changed to gifs instead of jpegs. Gifs take up less space and look better.

So come on down! GM ICE, Conselor HAHAFUNNYFUNNY, and more!

Rentaur
Sitemaster,
www.hmgcomics.uoguilds.com

Fun, and a lot of ale, are to be had by all who attend so make a point to drop by and give your best wishes to the two soon to be Mr and Mrs Altair.

See you there!

And so I shall put out the call; Come one Come all! Bring us your tales and your song, your gossip on the legends of our lands, and your ears for hearin a fine story or two. A vote at the end of the eve will chose the best tale or song of the night. That winner shall receive a purse of 5,000 gold. So come, and share an eve with a story or two this Thursday night, June 1st.

The Journeys End Tavern In Moonglow, Feluccia. Just south of the Encyclopedia Magika. 9:00PM PST

~Eleana Coriel
Proprietor "Journey's End Tavern"

Thanks!

URL: http://thechosen.com/TyrantInter.htm

Chaos and Order had a rather large clash on Tuesday night. It seems that Order was in force around the East Britain bank protecting their land from whatever monsters or villains appear. Here they are shown, lined up proudly displaying their virtuous shields to the public.



A little while later, an organised Chaos raid appeared and attacked the order force. It is unclear who was the victor of this battle, however both sides suffered losses. After the inquisition, Order pursued Chaos to their tower and laid siege outisde.

It seems the citizens of Sosaria are doing Minax's job for her, no?

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Okay this was fairly peculiar evening... Was walking around, minding my own business, and the business of a few trolls and ettins and such... when, from nowhere this wall jumps out and attacks me...

I kid you not... a wall... and it attacked me...

Here's two Pictures... just to show it actually moved... too bad I didn't get enough to show it walking down the road....

Kinship Tavern patrons,

I wanted to warn you all that of late the Kinship Village tavern has been haunted heavily by restless spirits. I was not there when the first warning came from the gypsy lady Tatiana, but I have seen proof of it come true during my shift tonight.

While sitting and enjoying conversation with the patrons, we began noticing strange things. Bottles of ale began moving of their own accord, lanterns were turned on and off, and doors opening with no one near. If this was not enough, soon we began to see the stirrings of undead immediately outside the tavern door.

The patrons and I speculated that the ghosts may be stirring from the recent shipwreck caused by the plague and so we went outside to investigate. Sure enough, we followed the trail back to the shipwreck and found many more restless spirits there.

What does this mean? We do not know for certain. My guess is that they are restless because the real villian behind the plague is still out there. The man Benedict came to warn us of recently, Krelan.

Please be careful about the village and stay clear of the shipwreck that still lies along the coast just south. And if you see anything out of the ordinary, please report it.

Yours,

Mishca, Barmaid of Kinship Village

About 3 to 4 weeks ago, a gate opened up on the eastern shore of Skara Brae and the undead minions of Minax poured out of the gate. Brave warriors and mages of Britannia rushed to the site and was able to slaughter these foul creatures. After an inventory of the undead possessions, I came across a book written by none other than Minax. Unfortunately due to the affairs of my land holdings, I did not realize the importance of my find until now. This book may hold the key to taking back our lands. However, I will need the good citizens of Britannia to help decipher the secret code contained within the book.

Lord PinKy of KIS

'Magic Gates of the Undead' by Minax

To wreck havoc on the fools of Britannia, it is well for each of my minions to know how to create a magic gate that will permit the undead to travel to points of attack easily and without the risks that mortals will be able to enter our sanctuaries.

I have therefore devised a means by which we can create such magic gates.

This tome provides the knowledge that ye will need for that task.

It is vital to the success of our plans that this book never falls into the hands of mortals, for it does we may find that they will learn a way to use these gates against us.

Those who have been admitted to our circle will easily comprehend what is written here.

XcEtu ettr O

TwRXXn

LawE OOprS dtwon

LkWWErntu

Prtower P QrW

ZdRftG gheTwUg

Uwoperug

Pntr TuoZxnM

NsatuyoP

Please note that this event will occur on the Trammel Facet of Britannia.

The first Flea Market in Moonglow was such a huge success that the Defenders of Justice have decided to host another Tuesday, June 6th, this time in Trinsic. Calling all merchants, adventurers and future homeowners of Catskills! Come to Trinsic to buy and sell the best the best wares available in Sosaria.

Weapons, armor, scrolls, potions, magic items, house add-ons, furniture, rares, raw materials, city/dungeon runebook sets, moonstones and more!

Visit our Catskills Trading Message Board for up to date information about prices, to place large orders in advance, or just to ask any questions.

Special notes to Merchants who are planning to attend:

• Merchants are encouraged to visit the message board to let us know if and when they plan to attend. Advertise prices and take advance orders.
• SPAM: Merchants are asked to limit their use of macro spam to describe what they have for sale. Instead please create more detailed lists of items and prices in their portfolio. This is to prevent shoppers from getting overloaded while in attendence.

Where:

The Shining Path Armory and the Trinsic Meeting Hall (next to the Royal Bank of Trinsic)

Catskills Shard

Trammel Facet

When:

Tuesday, June 6th

8-11 PM EST

Sponsored by:

The Defenders of Justice

Organized by: Kerrigan, Earl of Justice (DoJ)

Hail Friends and citizens!
I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me for my long absence. I wish I knew a way to explain myself to gain your forgiveness. A month ago I decided to use the moongate to travel from Trinsic to Magincia. As far as I can remember, traveling through moongates has been a safe and reliable method but that day something happened to me which I can not explain. All I knew is when I woke, I was standing in a empty land. Land without ground or sky, I was standing in a void and nothing to guide me. I traveled endless for long time. Strange thing was, I was not hungry nor tired. It seems that in this land, there was no time! I knew time was passing for I was talking to myself and counting the seconds in my mind. I counted over 300 thousand before I gave up. I was losing all hopes and I thought to myself, I will be trapped in here forever. I grabbed my dagger and pierced my stomach hoping to end my life but I could not feel pain nor blood flow through the wound! I could not believe it. I thought to myself, this must be a curse, No! more like punishment. Then suddenly, I saw a patch of clouds and felt the breeze touch over my skin and hair. Then, I felt ground beneath my feet. I looked down and saw the beautiful grass and I heard birds singing in the distance. Everything looked out of focus. I blinked my eyes couple of times and rubbed it with haste. When I looked again, I could see the Trinsic walls! I was back! Thank God, I am back! I saw a citizen walking towards me. I ran fast as I could to meet him. I asked him what the day was and he told me. I was gone for more then a month. I have many things to catch up on. I will see you all on Tuesday and Wednesday night! I hope you all will welcome me back, if not, I will understand.
Theo.

It is certainly good to see an old familiar face back in Trinsic. Welcome back Theo, you were dearly missed and I am sure you will be embraced with open arms. May Mondain guide you well on your chosen path.

I make pictures of your caracters in UO. For free :)

You can look at samples at my site : http://hem.spray.se/ultimaonline/artgallery.html

If you want me to make your caracter please mail me at: [email protected] and tell me how you want him/her to look.

Eternia,
Mayoress of Minoc and GM of MMM
(Jessica S)

Jilla needs your help to clear her husbands name. He has committed murders and wants to repent his sins. Please come to the Haven Bank at 9pm pst on Tuesday the 30th of may to help.

Jilla of Haven

Thanks!

On Friday night, Jaerik and Janos Antero led a group of brave adventurers to try and find out exactly what the truth was behind Parnell's warnings of war between the 'snow orcs' and the al'Suq (or, the 'snow people' as he calls them). Ibn was called away at the last moment to a council meeting, so we were left to fend for ourselves in the hostile lands of Glacia. Undaunted, and more than a little foolhardy, our group immediately set off for the New Lands. Using Papua as a jumping off point, we then opened gates to the tree that stands where Yasmine was once imprisoned in ice. From there, we thought, it would be a pleasant walk to the caverns of Ice, where a tribe of orcs is known to live.

Unfortunately, fate had other things in mind for us, and we were set upon by several scores of orcs attempting to keep us from getting past the canyon leading into the caverns themselves. Long used to such battles, the battle-hardened warriors hacked through wave after wave of orcish flesh like so much dead wood. Just as I was about to join the fray, I noticed that there was a strange orc, an orcish messenger, standing right in front of the cavern entrance. Thinking he might carry a message of value to us, I magically transported myself next to him and attempted, foolishly it turned out, to speak to him. I tried to explain that we were merely trying to find out if his people intended to attack ibn's, and seemed to be making some progress. Perhaps he just wasn't paying attention, for suddenly he seemed to tire of my conversation and with two mighty blows of his axe knocked me unconscious.

I remember the rest of the battle in a haze, but I recall the same messenger leading a few advance scouts from our party into an ambush immediately inside Ice and barely escaping. After I was revived, I joined the rest of our group once more fighting for their lives against many times our number. Through teamwork and sound tactics, we once more destroyed the threat with a very small casualty list, most of those caused by the messenger himself. At this point, I recall the battle ending with the few mages we had throwing everything they had at the weakened messenger. I recall hearing some of our group asking that we spare him, so that we might question him later, but I knew what result that would have and so continued bathing him in magic fire until he stopped twitching, not without some satisfaction.

Thinking quickly, Generic, of the 1st, searched the corpse of the orc and found a short book titled 'ordurz,' which described a large force of orcs and a grave threat to ibn's people. A short discussion ended up with the group deciding to brave the orc fort inside the Ice caverns and maybe see if we could find out more. With Jaerik protesting our decision as suicide, we immediately ran straight into the orc fort. Thankfully, some unlucky adventurers who had happened to be caught there had already dealt with the large number of orcs outside. Once we made it inside the smaller cave where the fort was located, we realized that we were perhaps in over our heads. As far as the eye could see, orcs were pushing to get to us. With Jaerik calls for a withdrawl going unheeded, mages swiftly took the high ground and began casting spells of protection and healing on the warriors below. Although it would take a long time to cleanse the fort, it swiftly became apparent that we would emerge victorious, even against such incredibly odds. Our victory was not without some losses, but the healers among us were swift in bringing the fallen back to fighting condition.

While the wounded were being tended to and the last remaining resistance was dealt with, a few of us began poking around the fort, seeing if there was any reason for this incredible gathering of orcs. Near the entrance to the cavern, I uncovered another book of instructions, which once deciphered told how only a very small number of orcs were left at the fort, and that most were hidden in the snow around Glacia, to be ready to attack. This would mean that hundreds if not thousands of orcs would be ready to fall on the al'Suq. It would be very dire news indeed that we would bring to ibn on Sunday.

Sunday did eventually come around, and the people that showed up were evenly divided between those who had gone on Friday and those who wished to know what had happened. ibn and Yasmine al'Asifa showed up roughly at 9, and we began going over what was to be done. Obviously, these books show a very direct threat to the al'Suq, and something needs to be done.

Very quickly it was decided that defending against an invasion this size would be very costly. We contemplated several alternatives, but nothing was decided before Parnell made an appearance on the scene. Almost immediately a raven showed up, but he was driven off at the cost of a few lives, so that we could talk to Parnell in peace. Several of the people assembled there, ibn among them, were highly distrustful of Parnell, who has recently been wandering around making maps of our lands for some unknown purpose. He claimed that he himself could not return to the snow lands, for fear of his own people and their friends, but confirmed that this threat was large, and expressed the opinion that the orcs could be dealt with diplomatically. A lot of arguing passed back and forth, with various sides urging to trust or distrust Parnell and his people, but Yasmine, being the holder of the Terinak, decided for the al'Suq that they would extend some degree of trust and protection to Parnell, at least for now. Friends of the al'Suq are encouraged to do likewise, for their sake. Parnell made a few more comments, at least once accidentally referring to humans as possible 'pets,' which set tempers to rising. He also made reference to 'friends' of the Kale'Joka, his people, but would not elaborate out of fear of retribution. Perhaps the orcs will know more. Before much more could be said, a raven showed up again and Parnell ran off in fear, scampering up a mountainside.

This Wednesday at 9, in place of the races, ibn and Yasmine, hoping to head off any hostilities, will mount a diplomatic expedition to the orcs. We will bring a large enough force to show we cannot be bullied, but overall our mission is one of peace. We plan for the worst, but hope for the best.

--Cyril, GVD <#40228938>

The next Spiritwood Tavern Meet Market will be on Saturday the 3th of June at 21.00 cet (8pm gmt). Of course everyone is invited!

This time Lady Seer Intaria will auction herself to the public so do not miss her!

A few words about the Meet Market itself:
Anyone from the crowd can take the stage and tell something about him or herself. He or she then offers an hour of fun. This can range from a date to lessons in being a good guildmaster. From magery training to a dungeon trip. Or from catering a picknick to being best man at a wedding. As long as it lasts one hour (or longer or shorter if agreed upon). The buyer and seller set a date for this during the next two weeks (before the next Meet Market).
From then on the crowd may bid on this person while he or she advertises him or herself. Bids can go from 500 gold to 10.000 gold pieces or even more! Half of the gold will go to the tavern and the rest is for the seller. The tavern will use this gold for other events. And the gold should be paid after the Market is over (or at least in the week that follows). So if you would like to meet people, if you are in need of a good tailor or an alchemist or if you would like to show your partner how much you love him or her, come to the Spiritwood Tavern this saturday. Drinks and food will be free as always.

You can find the Spiritwood Tavern if you follow these directions: If you start at the Skara Brae docks right outside town, go east. Take the second road to your right (south) (at a crossroads). Keep going south untill the road turns eastwards. Keep following it and you will end up in Spiritwood. From the end of the road, go a little to the northeast and you'll see two large brick houses. The eastern one is the Spiritwood Tavern. The sextant coordinates are: 65S 27W.

If there are questions, please go to the #spiritwood IRC channel on the irc.stratics.com server or mail me at [email protected]. I hope to see you all there! :-)

Fenris, the Spiritwood Tavern Tavernkeeper.

Ever think you'd make a great PR guy? Maybe you're great a gimmicks or jingles... Whatever your skills might be I'm sure you can have a good chance of winning this new contest.

Come up with a new Atriarch slogan

It can be serious, funny, bizarre, whatever =) The important thing is that you do it soon! This contest will end July 3rd, so get your entries in before it's too late.

Head over to our Contest page to check it out now!

Thank you deeply,
-Adam Koehn (DarkSoul)
Project Manager, Atriarch Stratics

Grimoire Fight Night Results for (5/26/2000)

Wooooooooooo! We had some VERY close matches tonight due to the high caliber of the warriors in attendance.

Big, loud congratulations to all the fighters for doing a great job! Here are the results for the 1 vs. 1 matches.

1st place: Tempest
2nd place: Hyperion
3rd place: Zrew

Hyperion also took home a bonus of 10k for winning the bar brawl after the 1 vs 1 competition.

Everyone seemed to be in high spirits and as usual, the crowd, staff, and fighters were wonderful. Thanks for a great fight night!

Baby-Grimoire Staff =o)

Crossroads of Britannia welcomes our newest quest site into the fold. Introducing the Baja Quest News for all the latest news, quest and events on the Baja shard. The BQN has the latest information on player venues, Seer quests and RPC's and an extensive board listing of Baja's favorite haunts.

Take a look around, we think you'll be pleased. If you'd like to see something added to the BQN, contact us at [email protected].

Baja Quest News site

Thanks!

Niobe

email contact [email protected]

Thanks!

Today as I recalled into the town of Moonglow...I heard a faint sound....."Mooooo!" What! Cows? Here in Moonglow!? Can't be...then as I walked forward I noticed a mage..rambling on about how he tried to summon just one chicken, but the spell must have gone haywaire! It seems the town of Moonglow was under a full attack!

Thank you for this interesting piece of news!

Test your real life wits rather than artificial skills in Baja's first Golden Brew Chess Tournament. How many of you out there can say that you're Baja's greatest chess player? No one, because it has never been put to the test. Well now is your chance to get some serious bragging rights. There is no entrance fee, and all you need to do to register is to contact me via ICQ with your character name. The competition will begin on Sunday, June 11 at 10:00am Pacific time (1:00pm eastern). The tournament will be single elimination, which means if you lose, you're done. So don't lose :p

The last day to register will be Friday, June 9th, as I will need the 10th to bracket everyone up and organize the thing. The grand prize will be 25,000 gold pieces, second 15000, and third 5000. But does the prize money really matter? Isn't it all about being able to gloat that you and you alone are Baja's Chess Grandmaster?

Thanks! I hope to see all of you there!

Kristoffer of Baja (ICQ = 68784547)

Thank you and good luck with your tournament!

IFC Festival of Virtues Continues!!
After a brief respite, we are happy to invite one and all to the Icelandic Floating Community as the Festival of the Virtues continues! May 31st,

~The Festival of the Virtues!~

The Virtue of Sacrifice.

The placing of the interests of others and the ends of virtue over one's own well-being.

Sacrifice is the greatest gift of Love given with Courage.

Though sacrifice cannot be forced, we would like to encourage everyone to befriend a young newcomer to our lands, take them under your wing and tutelage, offer them a bit of your time and gold, and bring them to the IFC`s Charity Casino Night, to be held in conjunction with the Ace`s High Casino!

The IFC Presents...

Charity Casino Night at the Ace`s High Casino!

Beginning at 8pm, PST, in Felucca.

The Ace`s High Casino offers games of chance for the traveler, and on this night, the IFC would like to invite both young and old to take part in this fundraiser for the "Newbie Co operative Assistance Program".

All of the Casino`s winnings on this night will be donated to this great cause!

So join us, friend in tow, for games such as Ace`s High Craps, Roulette, and Slots!

June 1st,

~The Festival of the Virtues!~

The Virtue of Compassion.

The quality of empathy, of recognizing and sharing the feelings of others.

Compassion is born of Love alone.

With this in mind, I hope you will hear this tale and lend a hand.

The Rescue of Koryan Kuhre

I had been looking through the hold of the Perimeter a few nights ago, and I came across a dusty tome I hadn`t known I owned. It spoke of a man who was old when I was young, my grandfather, Koryan Kuhre. He was Chieftain when I was young and I remember nothing of him. Our people were nomadic then, and it was long before the spell of Armageddon was cast and opened the passages to Britannia.

I do not know when he disappeared, but it was likely on one of his raids. For it turns out that old Koryan was a pirate of the first order.How many of our people were also pirates at the time is unbeknownst tome, for the story speaks of people, not numbers.

In this tome, a man speaks of his meeting with Koryan`s ghost, and how the ghost spoke to him and of his sentence to roam the seas forever if his remains lie continuously in the cursed ground. The author explains that Koryan Kuhre had raided or attacked the village of magic casters who swore, and eventually received, revenge.

The contents of the old book are reprinted here:

"I thought I had lost my mind. I was travelling to Magincia when our crew encountered trouble in the form of many Sea Serpents. I urged themto turn but the fools attacked. They were killed, and the ship began sinking. I clung to the rubble waiting for the Serpents to devour me as they had devoured the others, but they swam off, apparently having had their fill of human.

As I lay there expecting to perish to the elements, a ship appeared in the distance. It was travelling at an amazing speed, for it reached me in no time at all. It stopped far too near me to be coincidence, and I climbed onto it from the rope ladder over its side. I spotted no one aboard. Who then, had been directing this vessel?

"I am Koryan Kuhre, and I alone am here"

I spun around and spotted an eerie sight. It was a spirit. What I could see of its face under the hood of its shroud appeared burnt, as did its hands.

I normally had to concentrate to understand the spirits but as my proficiency in the art increased, the less was required. "Who are you, Koryan Kuhre, that you roam the seas thus?"

"I was a scourge of the seas. I was raised amongst my people, a nomadic tribe, with a peaceful outlook, the son of a Chief. I was destined to rule them one day. Unlike my chieftains, however, I shrugged off our customs, and surrounded myself with the strong. With their complacent aid, we raided the villages near the shores, and overtook other ships we found at sea. My people loathed me, but could not abandon me, as I was the Chieftains son. My father was far too kind of heart to turn me away despite my crimes."

I stood transfixed by this appartion.

"Thus did it continue until we did come across a small coastal village, which we spent no time at all planning our attack, and pillaging. We were unprepared for what we would find there. The villages inhabitants were spellcasters of the highest order. Ones magic bound me where I stood, unable to do anything. One by one, my men were felled, those who did not perish immediately, were tortured, before my eyes, as I stood unable still to move. For me, they saved the cruelest of tortures."

"When the magical bindings were undone, I was bound by rope to the mast of my ship. My mens ships were placed around mine and fire was set to them. I could feel the heat from where I was tied, then, the ships all began to move slowly towards mine, the heat intensifying until finally, my ship also combusted. All the while I could hear the spellcasters uttering magical words, curses, as it turns out. My bounds caught fire as I stood there, in unendurable pain, my skin blistering, and I struggled against the ropes which quite suddenly snapped. Free of them I raced to the edge of the inferno, which was now my ship, and leapt over board. I struck the water, but was knocked unconscious by the falling rubble of the flotsam already in the water. I drowned."

"Since that fateful day, I have spent decades roaming the seas, unable to end this existence."

I screwed up the courage and asked, "It seems so fitting an end for one as calloused as yourself."

Koryan Kuhre`s ghost appeared to sigh, "Yes, and all this time has given me time to reflect. I strayed from my people, those who would have come to love me had I had the courage to uphold our convictions, our customs, our beliefs. Instead, I have squandered my existence, and I know not what has become of my people. This brings me perpetual, infinite sadness."

"Can there be no end to your torment? What can be done?" I inquired.

"My body lies in cursed ground, where the spellcasters have buried it, after retrieving it from the waters. If it were returned to my people, perhaps then, if the Æsir see fit, I can be forgiven for my transgressions upon those innocents whom I wronged, and allowed to rest."

My curiosity piqued, I began to ask how this could be done, but the cries of `Land Ho!' from across the waters caused me to turn away momentarily. When I returned my gaze to where the apparition had stood there was nothing. Suddenly the ship lurched and I was thrown overboard.

When I regained my wits, the ship was speeding away again, and I could see the name of the ship as it left; the Torment. How apt.

Shortly thereafter, I was rescued by those who had distracted me in the first place. They were surprised to see me there. My clothes were wet, and though I had been in the waters for mere moments, the wrinkles of my fingers and toes spoke of hours spent overboard. There was a note in my inner pocket, dry as can be. I read quietly to myself when I reached land.

"There is a map leading to my remains burial ground. If one could decipher the map, and defeat the guardian beasts, one could certainly return those remains to my people."

I searched my other pockets quickly. There was no map anywhere. On the ship? Could that be?

Years later, with the proceeds I earned as a teacher in Magincia, I would set out from time to time, searching for this spirit. Though I am not one to condone or sanction crimes, the sadness and regret that filled his words convinced me of a desire to repent, and so urge me to find him, and, as best I can, help him.

I cannot allow my resolve to falter, but I wish I were certain I had not imagined it."

Here the book ends. I ask you all now, to aid us in finding Koryan Kuhre. For if truly he regrets his actions, and wishes to repent, then he must be helped.

I ask you all, on this night of all nights to aid him.

It appears that to do so, you will need a vessel of some sort to sail the seas, and both, courage and compassion.

To find out more information on how to help, please come prepared to the Icelandic Floating Community on this day, at 7pm, PST.

We hope to see you there, may the Æsir keep you.

Earnst, IFC

I'd like to announce that Yew has finaly registered an IRC room. It is on the irc.stratics.com server and the room is #Yew-atl. This room will primarily be used by the Militia to coordinate their efforts. Should you have an emergency and need to get in touch with us, you may use this room. Although the Yew Militia is not an anti-pk guild, if we have enough people we may assist you against murderers. We hope to see you all there sometime, stop in and say hello!

Pyros
Vice-Mayor & Ambassador of Yew
Lieutenant of the Yew Militia
Yew Town Council

Greetings ladies and gentlemen,

I am sure you have all heard of a man named Fallout and his quest to become the king of the Felucca facet of our realm. At our weekly Trinsic Council of Honor meeting this issue came up. It seems that many councils are undecided on this matter and wait to see what the other councils are going to do.

This pressing issue calls for a summit of all town councils.

The Trinsic Council of Honor proposes that a date and time be set so that all councils may meet together to discuss these pressing issues.

We urge all council heads to make contact with Mayor Nova or myself to start arranging plans for this event.

Nova: ICQ #: 11377462 E-mail: [email protected]

Sir Talon Skyfire: ICQ # 10255104 E-mail: [email protected]

Trinsic Council of Honor web site: http://tcohatlantic.homestead.com/index.html

We urge all council heads or representatives to responde. Thank you.

Stand in Honor,

Sir Talon Skyfire, Knights of the Iron Cross

Scribe, Trinsic Council of Honor

Applications will be accepted until June 10, 2000. Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview with the council. These interviews will begin by approximately June 15, 2000. I thank you all for your interest.

Edmund Greyfox
COH Chairman

• To be announced next week.

The High Council of Britannia

Ever fancy having the power to hold an audiences attention captive by the very threads of your own words? Well this is your chance. On Monday, May 30th at 9:00 pm est, The Disciples of Mondain will be holding its first annual story telling contest at the Temple of Mondain. First prize will be awarded 10k in gold while second prize will be awared 5k in gold. The stories will be judged by Mordain and Endren Fenixfyre of the Disciples of Mondain. So come one, come all and show Britannia you have what it takes to weave your way through the audiences emotions and imagination. The Temple of Mondain is located at 69o 20'N, 43o 6E in Trammel. Runes to the temple can also be found at player run establishments such as The Museum of Memories, Sandlewood Box, The North Sentry TUR Village, RD's Storefront and Auction Place and Krista's Ranger Station.

Greetings all !

Once again, the Village of Humility would like to invite you to attend the Tuesday Night Pit Fights at the Bloody Keg Tavern. Congratulations to last weeks winner, Jaquis LeCroix, who took home a check for 5k!

All are welcome to enter the fight, but come early. Eight contestant tickets go on sale at 7:30 eastern, and the fights begin at approximately 8:00. You will find a complete set of rules on our website: Humility
As a precaution, we suggest stabling your mount for it's safety if possible. We hope to see you there!

I can't believe this happened, you never think that something this awful can happen to you until it does, how could this happen, there was no reason for it, I can't see the gain in it but it still happened.

The plan was to meet at the Gathered Spirits tavern for a day and just enjoy ourselves, get away from our daily lives and just have a bit of fun but obviously fate had other ideas about our day. I arrived earlier than planned so I took a seat and got myself a bottle of ale, after a few bottles I looked at my time piece which was a christmas gift from the friend I was meeting and then I realised that our meeting time was overdue, I thought for a second and decided to wait for her, she is never usualy late so she shouldn't be long now......another hour passed and still she had not arrived, i was getting worried by now, I had the feeling that something bad may have happened although that could also be put down to the amount of ale I had finished off by now.

I started to make my way back towards the church, we always walked the same way so I was hoping to maybe run into her on the way back, as i neared the church I saw a robe on the floor that had a striking resemblance to Lana's I hurried to pick it up, as i picked it up i noticed that there was blood all over it......I ran inside the church and started calling for Lana but there was no sound except of mice and rats scuttling around, I searched every room in the church but she was nowhere to be found.

That was 2 days ago and I have heard nothing or seen nothing that indecated where she is alive or dead, I have notified the authorities but as they told me, one blood stained robe isn't going to make there search easy.

I am asking the citizens of Britannia now for help, if you here or see anything that could indicate where Lana is then i emplore you to let your information known, I need all the help I can get if I have any chance of finding Lana.

She was just a simple Priest from The Church of Quarkism, she harmed no living creature in her life and is a friend to all, she didn't deserve this.

Morg

A blacksmithing Contest will be held on June 8th. In Trinsic's Shining Path Armory on Trammel.

For more details please visit Our site.
Prizes given to the winners will be:
1st Prize: House Pentagram Deed
2nd Prize: Large Forge and Anvil Deed

Rules and times can be found on the site. :)

#ultima-online is the 24 hour chatroom brought to you by Stratics IRC. You can access the Stratics network via the following servers, or by using our JAVA IRC client located at http://uo.stratics.com/irc

• dhp.stratics.com port 6667
• frws.stratics.com port 6667
• intworks.stratics.com port 6667

Visit us Monday the 5th to meet our special guest, Midas. Or, drop in any time for tips, news, and general conversation about Ultima Online.

OGD Website (OGD): http://golddragon.uoguilds.com

Disciples of Mondain (DM): http://home.earthlink.net/~draben1/

Bregan D'aerth (BDA):http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/5425/

The Charter of the Consensus

Written by the Dark Priest, Bal-Anon Dak

In the area of character portrayal and acting, no endeavor sees as many failures and difficulties as theater, where the coordination of actors and events is incredibly complex and fraught with miss-fires.

Role-playing communities are no different. Those who have been down the path of trying to organize the activities of people involved in a story will no doubt recall a painful process in which the egos of many needed to balanced with the goal of a particular plot-line. This is especially prevalent in the online community.

In fact, these difficulties are doubly evident in an environment where people do not see each other and communicate solely through the use of Internet. Imagine trying to coordinate a play in which you could only type out your instructions to the cast. On a large scale the problem becomes enormous.

In the online world of Ultima and others, one feeling resounds in the hearts of all who aspire to a deeper experience in the virtual world other than the thrill of monster bashing and Player to Player combat. It is the inevitable dread of losing the story under the crushing weight of events that constantly conspire to interfere with your most carefully crafted plots. Be it the individual who thinks its funny you are acting and heckles you every step of your way, or the in-opportune happening that totally ruins the most important element of your plot, or simply the lack of interest evidenced by those who previously could not give you enough praise for the storyline you had created.

Those of us who role-play have all been there. For us, living here in the realm of Atlantic, it has been as if for years the entire world conspired to tie us down into depths of mediocrity. But we are an assembly of guilds and people who have striven and succeeded. What unites us is the irrepressible knowledge that we can succeed. What bonds us is the certainty that we share a common goal. For in us, the story lives and will always live.

We are The Consensus, a coalition of guilds of all alignments, dedicated to one purpose alone: the betterment of the story. Together we pool our ideas and resources, ever striving for an end in which we have satisfied our creative urges, an end that happily will never come.

If you and yours share this direction and are seeking for kindred spirits, join us. You will find them here. If your interests lie elsewhere, such is the nature of humanity and far be it for us to tell you otherwise. We have few rules and require only your interest and ear.

http://www.gamecore.net/consensus/

Please note that the Contact page is functioning, however, any applications received shall be reviewed after the holiday weekend.

Greetings and Well Met Friends of Sonoma:

After traveling through other worlds for the past year, I have returned to the world of Sosaria. It is with much dismay though that I have found the lovely city of Oasis to be dead, if not structurally, certainly in spirit.

Upon returning to the city of Vesper I was duly approached by those that have remembered me from my days in Oasis, wondering what it was I was doing back, and if I was going to be attending to anything "special". After much thought, and with the generous support of Alexander IV, it is with great exuberance that I announce the return of "Fight Night".

Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain the ability to hold Fight Night in Oasis, so we have moved the location to the "Tower by the Sea", owned, and graciously supplied, by Lord Alexander the IV. Commencing this Saturday, June 3, at Noon PST, we will once again be holding the weekly Fight Night tradition. Since we are confining our efforts to the rooftop of the "Tower by the Sea", we will be fighting in classes. The first class will be Archery and as mentioned, will be starting at Noon PST. The second class, will be Melee and will commence at 4:00 p.m. PST. The last class, Magery, will be at 7:00 p.m. PST.

Prizes will be awarded for first and second place finishers. A vanquish weapon and 40,000 in gold will be awarded to the first place finishers, while a lesser weapon and 20,000 in gold will be awarded to the second place finishers.

Osprey will be the senior official for the Archery class, Roalin Darksbane will be the senior official for the Melee class, and I shall be watching over the Magery class. We are asking all those wishing to participate in the fights, to find their way to the "Tower by the Sea" at least an hour before their scheduled class begins to register with their respective official for their class.

Lastly we ask that everyone that comes to watch or participate, realize that we are holding these glorious fights for the enjoyment of all. We ask that you leave guild warfare, revenge, and down right nastiness, at the door. I'm certain that all of us can once again, meet for a few hours of fun and enjoyment, without senseless killing, and enjoy ourselves and discover just who are the best of the best of Sonoma.

Runes to the "Tower by the Sea" can be purchased at the Grand Master Emporium, located behind the Alchemy Vendor in Vesper for a mere 99 gold. You can also contact those involved in the running of the fights to "use" their runes to go to the "Tower by the Sea" to mark your own personal runes.

We look forward to seeing all of you next week, and the weeks to follow, and wish you all the very best in the competitions!

Bob Bowrest Lord Alexander the IV Osprey Roalin Darksbane Hammer Majim

The city of Scythe opened last eve amid a flurry of activity. Preparations for the gathering were hurried along as the hours to the opening ceremony grew shorter. Food, drink, and puppies were gathered from across Sosaria.

As the Master began his openining speech a rumble and some small explosions heralded the arrival of Lord Mordrok. After offering up the puppies for a quick game of Tear the Puppy - a game taught to the Tower members by Mordrok himself - Lord Mordrok declined and offered up a new game to those in attendence. Crush the Kitty. Lord Mordrok then summoned forth many kittens, which were quickly crushed, burned, torn, and exploded by eager participants. Later in the eve, Lord Mordrok had a special crate delivered by his pet demon to the party. It was full of more kittens, which of course were also treated as the first batch.

The Master Na-Krul gave a tour of the new city, starting with a brief stop in the new Temple of Scythe, located on the Dark Tower's third floor. This Temple houses the Tower's Well of Souls. A young lady by the name of Krystal Olivaw (last name spelling may be off) drank a potion of Serpentwyne and passed her soul into the well. While the Master finished off the ceremony and explained a few things to those present, Lord Mordrok passed around the young lady's heart.

The tour moved on to the city's town hall, alchemy center, assassin's guild, and the magical research center. On the outskirts of the city lay an abandoned house with antique crafting machines, to which the Tower has also laid claim.

The night concluded quietly, with smiles of contention upon the faces of those who have worked hard to bring about the dark dream of Scythe. May it flourish.

Paintings of this grand event may be seen at the following skypage:

http://www.geocities.com/miriam_baja/

By order of Lady Ivy,

Her Humble Servant,

Miriam

Seamstress of Baja

Thank you Miriam!

Last night the Murderer Lord Mordrok tried to take the Dawn Mage Tower from the Kingdom of Dawn by force. After a long and fierce battle against his summoned creatures which included many fire elementals and hell hounds, Mordrok disappeared from the battlefield after he realized we would not bow to his demands. I can tell you this, the man is quite mad. He told me that if I told him his white hat looked nice he would leave. I responded by saying "You will leave in a body bag." However he was not the only thing we had to deal with this night. Members of the Dark Tower who appear to be working for Mordrok entered the tower while we were busy fighting the spawn and blocked the doors from the inside. After making sure Mordrok was not in the area, we preceded to break down their magical barriers and enter the tower. They had set the bottom floor of the tower on fire with walls and walls of flame. After clearing the walls of flame and a long standoff, they left the tower and we proceeded to celebrate our small victory over Mordrok with food and drink. I am sure Mordrok will return but who knows what his intentions will be.

I would like to thank the citizens of Britannia who helped us defend our tower from this madman to include groups from The City of Avalon, The Legion of the Emerald Sashes and Savage Truth.

WildStar

Baroness

Kingdom of Dawn

Thank you for your news.

This week I have a new ImaNewbie toon for you and also a new episode of the Britannia Enquirer. This issue deals with the burning controversy of overpowered weapons so head on over to my site and check it out.

Added Saturday, May 27th:
- ImaNewbie Episode #109 - There's no place like home.
- The Britannia Enquirer - Volume 1, No 3

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

later...Tryon

The gaming industry has grown alot in the past years. It's advanced from text based muds to basic graphical games to the complex, in-depth games of the near future. Despite all these advances, there are still alot of fundamental problems with the games that concern all players, yet don't seem to get addressed by gaming companies.

To help combat that problem, a new web site has been launched today named Faustian Rants. After 12 years of online gaming Faust has had a great deal of experience involving Large Guild's, Game Design, PvP and the politics of the industry. Long ago he ran the Pagan Magic Research team which was a popular item regarding Ultima Online. Within that web site he used to include his rants and they were always quite popular. He now see's himself fit to rant and rave about topics such as EverQuest, Shadowbane, Ultima Online, and the Industry as a whole. After his recent visit to E3 he's got some Scoop on these topics as well!!

Check out Faustian Rants at http://www.llts.org/faust

Lost in UO - Bug Alert!

ok... it's not really a bug alert, but it could happen to you if you're not careful. Come on by and see the latest comic entitled "A bug's life (part 1)" to see how this insidious exploit works and how you can protect yourself from the effects.

You have been warned...

Also, watch the PK-Guildmaster dealing with the dragon (Part 4, 5 and 6).

http://lostinuo.xrgaming.net

All in all, it seems that Origin has made a good choice-providing the safe, more friendly environment that many players demand, but without crippling their original system and disappointing its die-hard devotees. If you abandoned Ultima Online for EverQuest or Asheron's Call because you didn't appreciate being the target of every adolescent power tripper with an enchanted sword, you may want to give it another try.

"Me wuz out clomping when mez got a parrot whu sed dat dem black horsieman wuz at our furt... Mez ran half wayz cross der land to the furt and wen me got der, mez saw meny ologs dat were in der furt attacking all dem humies and urks dat were wuz in dere. We wuz fiting fur a lung time and only one of uz uruks die. Dem Council uf Yew come tu help, but dem wuz late.

After der battle we saw dat horsieman but wez could nut catch him, he wuz playing hidee game wit us. We wuz in da room of our furt wen we noticed a buuk.

Dem humie VinYfod uf dem Council of Yew [CoY] say dat buuk speek. It sez we muve tu dem old humie wurld. Wez urks decide go tu dat feluka place, wens we git der, der wuz lot of shardiez but wez clomped dem all gud. Den wez find anudder buuk.

Wez did see der horsee man agin but he went hidee agin so wez couldnt speek to im. After making sure all shardies wuz clomped wez went bak to our furt and did sum more clomping."

Well, its a big holiday weekend this weekend. Sun, Friends and Fun are on the menu for many people who are heading out of town to the beach. For those of you sticking around, we have a fun event lined up for you this weekend!! Its the Arx Draconis Memorial Day weekend Blowout Lottery!!

This is a FREE event open to all players. To enter, you simply come to Arx Draconis at 2pm EST on Saturday the 27th of May. Go into the white OSI temple in the middle of the island. In there Syndicate members with "LLTS" over their heads will be calling out winners names randomly from the crowd. If you win (and many people will win as we have loads of prizes) head to the tavern next door to pick it up!

What sorts of things can you win? You can win rare items, reagents, weapons of great magical power (silver, force, vanq. and power), suits of GM made armor, moonstone bags and much more.

As we said above, its completely free to enter and open to everyone. In addition, Syndicate members with "LLTS" over their heads will be at all major banks about 30min before the lottery (in both Tram and Fel) gating people to the island. So hitch a ride if you need one!! Come on by this weekend and win some BIG prizes!

Dragons

Sounds like fun! Thankye for the news, Dragons.

Quentin Smithe came to ClownTown last night. He asked us to accompany him to the dungeon of Shame. We asked him the purpose of this expedition , he then explained that he had met Inmanilem a few days prior , and had handed the mysterious vial over to him. Inmanilem had examined the vial but returned it, shaking his head. The vial did not contain the blessed liquid he was seeking. After much thought Inmanilem decreed that he would need 8 blood vials to conduct a blessing ceremony upon .

"I'll ask the CLOWN community to aid me in this task!"

The expedition set off , deep down in to the dungeon of Shame. After trembling in the dark caves , for what seemed like ages , we finally stumbled upon a few frenzied blood elementals. The following fight was close , even though we outnumbered them. Having defeated the blood elementals and gathered the required blood vials we regrouped and started to head back to the surface. Suddenly the passage became crowded with gargoyles (a sabotage attempt from the cursed gargoyles?)and again our party had to engage in a fierce battle. Having bested the gargoyles we started off yet again on our return journey to ClownTown.

Arriving home we took to the immediate task of taking care of our wounded . A little later Inmanilem appeared and was met by Quentin who handed to him the blood vials. Inmanilem examined them closely and then started to gesture and chant. A few seconds later he stoped.

"It is done."

He handed the vials back to Quentin and told him to look after them , he then explained that the blessed vials had to be buried into the ground to finally set the cursed gargoyles at rest. We made a promise to guard and protect Quentin and the vials for the next five days.

The fifth day draws near and soon we will set off on, what at this time seems to be the final piece in this puzzle, a journey to bury the 8 vials.

Inmanilem assured us that the cursed gargoyles will be able to find peace once this is done.

We hope he is right.

An interesting story , thanks to Gloom "The Elder CLOWN" for sending it to us.

At the time of this report, the rules for the Dragon knights of OGD have been finalized. The first test will be at the Throne room of Lord British's castle at Trammel for OGD and allied guilds only, with the 8th being selected after the other 7 at Dragon's bay as well. Rules for OGD's Tournament will be found at http://www.golddragon.uoguilds.com/dknight.htm. The other cities will be appearing shortly as well.

Sponsor: The Three Musketeers
Location: The Salty Dog tavern, East Britain
Start Date: Jun 3 2000 9:00PM PST
End Date: Jun 4 2000 3:00AM PST

Fellow Citizens of Britannia!

The newly banded Three Musketeers (brothers Aramis, Porthos and Athos) will be hosting an informal get-together at The Salty Dog in East Britain (just north of the pond) on Saturday night, 3 June, at 9pm PST! If you have trouble getting there, meet someone at the bank in West Britain to either lead or gate you.

Since we've arrived in this fair land, we've seen very few community events, so we thought we'd throw a bash for everyone to get to know one another. We'll have some beer, wine and food on hand. But supplies are limited, so please feel free to bring something along! We encourage bards to show up and dazzle all with their sweet music, adventurers to shock us with their harrowing stories of perilous peril, artists to share their insight into the human condition, mages to entertain with a few tricks, craftsmen to entice us with their wares, and simply everyone else who just wants to tie one on!

Hope to see you there!

Armais, Athos and Porthos

You can contact them at [email protected]

The first ever ranger's hunt sponsored by The Journey's End Tavern in Moonglow ended in a reward of gold and a grand tale to be told! Gerald Montil, the wealthy old ranger who donates the prize of 10,000 gold for the hunt seemed more than pleased at the results of the night's sport. After a small trek into the wet lands of the Trinsic Swamps, Mithrandir of Sinn Fein, member of the AOL guild, came out with the "heart of the golden dread spider" in hand.

"I wandered aimlessly after transporting my comrades to the swamps, then I noticed a large gathering of filthy spiders, foaming at the mouth..." reported Mithrandir.

The Golden Dread Spider was found in his newly formed lair, surrounded by giant spiders and filth. Warriors of great skill took aim and killed the nest and its inhabitants. A task done by the hands of many. Congratulations to Mithrandir, and all the brave hunters who took place in this historic hunt!

Eleana Coriel announced that the hunts will take place yet again on June 8th at 9:00pm pst. Come one, come all for a night of good sport!

~Thoerid Tempor

Seeking Tales of Britannian Cities - Britain

Beyond the towering stone walls of Lord British's castle lies the great city of Britain; the City of Compassion. Located in the center of Britannia, this booming city is home to merchants, nobles, sailors, and any who travel seeking the heart of Britain. It is a rare Britannian who has not ventured within the city grounds.

Tell us a story about your experiences in the city of Britain. Do you frequent the shops and taverns, looking for adventures? Perhaps you've attended a performance at the famed King's Men Theater, studied music at the Conservatory, or attended a speech by Lord British.

Send an e-mail to [email protected] by Friday, June 2nd, and tell us a story of your experiences in Britain. Please be sure your story falls between 500-1000 words, and include "Britain" in your subject line. Please provide a name and phone number for verification of the story. Submissions to "uo-profiles" become the property of OSI and may be used for special events, promotions, and/or advertising. All submissions must be made by the original author and are subject to verification.

Sad news! Akasha, log time member of the Drachenfels community has destroyed her castle and left forever. This artist's rendering from the Drachenfel's Rares Guide, depicts the circumstances of this sad event.

Go with the Virtues!

Greetings mortals,

This evening, there will be a joust for all to participate in at the casino this evening. The rules are quite simple:

1) Bring thy own horse (required).
2) No magical items during the joust of ANY kind are permitted.
3) No magical modifiers to your person (bless, strength, potions, etc) are permitted during the joust.
4) No poison is permitted on the jousting weapons.
5) Bring with you, or purchase on site, a jousting weapon. The jousting weapons being a halberd for swordsmen, a spear for fencers, and a black staff for armsmen.
6) The judge's ruling is non-arguable.

If you wish to participate in the joust or just gamble at the casino, gates shall be provided in Skara Brae Counselors Hall (Felucca facet) from 6:00-6:30pm EST. There be no admission, just come and enjoy yourself *fanged grin*

Registration for the jousting event will be between 6:00-7:00pm EST, with me, at the casino. Once everyone hath registered, I shall give you a book containing a number. Listen for this number from me, when the jousting begins at 7:00pm EST. Jousting procedure is quite simple, the jousters shall align themselves in the designated areas. On my mark, you shall rush by each other, and try to land a hit on our opponent. Only one hit is permitted. If you stop to inflict more, you shall be disqualified. You shall continue until one opponent falls, or yields. The grand prize for this event is 20,000 gold pieces, along with a suit of armor exquisitely crafted by one of Caina's smiths. I look forward to seeing many of ye there!

Walk in Darkness,
Lucus

Yours in the Light,

More news from the UO Home Office:

"Hear ye, hear ye! If thou art a real roleplayer on Drachenfels, wanting to get new impressions and new friends, just join the Children of the Spring (Kinder der Quelle) in one of their most important religious celebrations.

"On the evening of June 3 at 4:00PM CST at the Hedge Maze on Trammel (or at our guild tower, if Trammel housing is allowed by then!), a bard competition will take place in the free nature and all children of the godess will come together in peace and joy. For more information just visit our archive and choose "More information about the spring moon". Since Drachenfels is a German shard the liturgy and the main language will be German, but English speaking visitors are welcome as well.

"May the blessings of the spring be with you!"

Go with the virtues!

The Dragon Clan has announced their sixth auction:

"We have scheduled our sixth in-game auction for May 28 at 8pm GMT in Dragon Town at the roof of the merchant tower. You can bring your item and Zarzal Dragon will try to sell it. PLEASE leave your horse at home!"

Go with the virtues!

The UO Home Office has published the following report regarding a poetry contest in Nu J'elem:

"The Bruderschaft de Ingrimm will be holding a poetry contest on May 28 at 6:00PM GMT next to the bank of Nu J'elem, Trammel."

Go with the Virtues!

Spiritwood Tavern Lottery!

This Sunday, May 28th , the Spiritwood Tavern will host another Lottery. Again it will be at 21.00 cet (8pm gmt).

This time the grand prize is 100.000 gold pieces! You can buy keys at the tavern all week and they cost 1000 gold pieces each. One person cannot buy more than two however. When that's done, you take your key to Fenris (who will be at the tavern almost every evening and you show it to him to verify if it's real. After that you tell him a number and he'll note it. Perhaps that number will be the lucky number... Please try to register as soon as possible. Good luck everyone!

You can find the Spiritwood Tavern if you follow these directions: If you start at the Skara Brae docks right outside town, go east. Take the second road to your right (south) (at a crossroads). Keep going south untill the road turns eastwards. Keep following it and you will end up in Spiritwood. From the end of the road, go a little to the northeast and you'll see two large brick houses. The eastern one is the Spiritwood Tavern. The sextant coordinates are: 65S 27W.

If there are questions, please go to the #spiritwood IRC channel on the irc.stratics.com server or mail me at [email protected]

I hope to see you all there! :-)

Fenris, the Spiritwood Tavern Tavernkeeper.

Thanks Fenris, and I'll have an ale while I'm at it please . . .

These cartoons are not like ImaNewbie, however, they are all real. Adam has created his own screen shot program (called Grabby) and the story is usually an account of how he spots someone in Wind, sneaks up on them, and engages them in combat. Much of the time he's victorious, sometimes he loses and occasionally they get away. It's always interesting...especially from a PvP perspective. I know I read those accounts trying to capture nuggets of info to help me become a better PvPer.

He goes into much more detail about his exploits on his web site http://www.adamant.uoguilds.com/, but we're going to concentrate today on his proposal for Angel Island. I came across it some time ago and thought it very detailed and interesting. Being somewhat skeptical, I figured it wouldn't go anywhere under OSI, but he's been getting a lot of support from the players and well...check out this Q & A session, go to the web site and see for yourself. Can one man change the world? Probably not, but with a legion of support behind him perhaps OSI will perk their little ears up and consider the possibility.

Pelle: So Adam, what is it you are trying to accomplish with the Angel Island Proposal?

Adam Ant: Well, it's easy really. Provide role-played deterrent to Player Killing.

Pelle: How would Angel Island help? I mean we already have stat-loss, which seems to work just fine.

Adam Ant: I am of the belief that healthy, role-played evil is a necessary ingredient in any online game. Without it, you take away much of the risk and consequently much of the excitement. Stat-loss is forcing Evil players to try to workaround the system. A good example of working around the system is the notoriety PK. You know someone that plays any one of a dozen tricks to get you to turn gray just so that they can fight and kill you.

Pelle: And Angel Island would help how?

Adam Ant: By creating a punishment that gets you off the streets so you cannot hurt anyone while at the same time providing an environment that is interesting enough so that you don't quite the game over it.

Pelle: Sort of like a Club Dread? :)

Adam Ant: Yea, sort of.

Pelle: Well then you want to reward criminals? I'm confused?

Adam Ant: No. What I want to do is get them off the streets. I mean with Mr. Evil locked-up at Angel Island, he's no longer staking out the crossroads and demanding your money or you life now is he?

Pelle: Ah, I think I see your point. It's like banishment to another part of the game where they cannot hurt any one.

Adam Ant: Exactly! Well, not exactly. On Angel Island, these criminals can still attack one another.

Pelle: Okay, so lets talk about Angel Island. Where is it and how do players get there?

Adam Ant: It could be many places, any island would do. Perhaps Buc's Den comes to mind. But there could be a problem with player owned houses. Another island that cannot have any houses would be ideal. Actually, there is no reason it could not be on a Trammel island now is there? With the current hold on housing, we could use Buc's Den on Trammel for Angel Island.

Pelle: Great idea, but how would players get there.

Adam Ant: I think there are lots of ways to do this but one obvious approach would be to provide permanent gates (perhaps red) that would accept anyone with a murder count > 4.

Pelle: You said anyone. Don't you mean only a ghost?

Adam Ant: Well we could restrict it to only a ghost, but why? Maybe we should allow a criminal to surrender and voluntarily enter the gate.

Pelle: Hmm, not sure I like murderers just walking back and forth at will.

Adam Ant: No, no, no. This is prison baby. The gate requires you have a murder count> 4 to get in and a murder count < 4 to get out. Those are the rules.

Pelle: Okay, I enter that gate, now what.

Adam Ant: Well, you are now naked, all you were carrying *poofed* at the gate. You'll be arriving at the Angel Island infirmary in your diaper. If you entered while a ghost, you will be resurrected without stat-loss. A fun thought I had here would be to get a backpack with a striped prison uniform and maybe a few other essentials. (Forget it merchant folks, these won't leave the island.)

Pelle: And?

Adam Ant: Well, for phase one of my proposal you only need to limit access to the island like is being done now for Haven. (Recall, Gate and boat access.) I believe this is sufficient to get Angel Island off the ground.

Pelle: Heh heh, I thought you said this would be fun or at least bearable for the inmate. This sounds like a fate worse than death!

Adam Ant: Oh, I don't know about that. There is all the mining, lumberjacking, tailoring etc... Plus there would be some NPCs with limited amounts of supplies, which are otherwise contraband.

Pelle: Like?

Adam Ant: Well, potions, bandages, reagents, weapons etc...There will likely be skirmishes and will be highly prized.

Pelle: What phase II and phase III, what happens here?

Adam Ant: Phase II and Phase II start to build on the basic island concept. One of the very exciting aspects of Phase II is that escape is not impossible. I think this will create cooperation among the inmates as they will certainly need each other it they plan to escape.

Pelle: Escape? I thought this was a place to get them off the streets? I thought they would be out of circulation for an extended amount of time?

Adam Ant: Don't confuse the prospect of escape with a sure thing. I've tried to engineer the escape scenarios such that by simply tweaking the items available on NPCs, the UO development team can adjust the likelihood of escape. I assume it will be very difficult to escape and most will not be able to escape at all. (And will probably die a lot trying.)

Pelle: What are these escape scenarios you mention? Is this the cave and rescue by boat?

Adam Ant: Yes. The cave is not unlike many of the dungeons already in existence. This cave would be one way to prevent outside help. The cave is also designed to be far more difficult for the individual than the group effort. Drake fodder and body shields if you will :) Basically the cave will be filled with monsters and you will need lanterns, torches, potions, bandages, heal regs and weapons. Also stealth walkers would be prevented from having an advantage by placing reveal tiles all about, preferably near the nastiest monsters.

Pelle: This could be a problem if the chosen island doesn't already have a dungeon or cave.

Adam Ant: True. I don't know how difficult a dungeon is to add to an island that doesn't already have one. However if you did have one and it didn't exit at the mainland, you could simply stick a permanent gate somewhere to act as the exit.

Pelle: Okay, so what is the boat rescue and how will it that achieved?

Adam Ant: Well there's the low tide / high tide idea from the proposal, but I came up with a new idea which I think is really cool. Basically you use the Treasure Hunting machinery that is already in place within the game. Level 5 maps that resolve to the island would generate a special Gate instead of (or in addition to) the normal treasure chest. This gate would serve as the exit portal for the inmate.

Pelle: Oh I see! The rescuers would need a GM Cartographer to decode the 'escape route' and to 'locate and dig the tunnel' off the island! Sweet!

Adam Ant: Yes, and the rescuers would need to contend with the extremely nasty that comes with a spawn as well as round-up their buddy they are trying to spring. This won't be an easy task. Maybe these maps should be a different color so they can be identified without being decoded?

Pelle: As difficult as a level 5 spawn is, players are still pretty good at defeating them. How could the developers tweak the difficulty?

Adam Ant: Hmm, well possibly impose a character weight limit that is half or a third of what it is on the main land. This would restrict the amount of reagents and weaponry they could carry. Another thought would be to simply increase the spawn or impose a time limit when the gate goes *poof*.

Pelle: Tell me about this high tide idea for rescues by sea.

Adam Ant: You would restrict access to the island by boat, probably using the same code the developers are currently doing with Haven. You would then enable some set of skills to determine when the 'high tide' would be and where the boat could safely dock. Once docked you would likely have to contend with a nasty spawn, get your comrade and get back on the boat before the tide went out.

Pelle: It's probably not terribly important, but what skills do you expect would be used to land the boat safely?

Adam Ant: Well the obvious choice would be cartography. Other tools to use may be the telescope, compass or possibly a crystal ball!

Pelle: Heh heh, you mean give the crystal ball some actual value? :)

Pelle: Anything else you would like our readers to know about the proposal?

Adam Ant: Two things really. Firstly, I love the idea of a new class of NPC on the island. Some of these NPC's are prison guards. Now these aren't the invulnerable guards that we have today, but simply well equipped guards that can kick the crap outa most inmates. Remember, you won't have your favorite katana to force here on Angel Island! To successfully 'take out' a guard you're likely going to need to team up with other inmates and you better not loose the fight either! If you should loose the battle and that NPC guard hooks up with other guards, that guard will both report you (increasing your sentence) and call on more guards to attack you. But sometimes using your head is better because some of the NPCs will be dirty and give information and may even take bribes.

Adam Ant: The other interesting aspect is blues on the island. As designed so far, they can only get to the island using the 'rescue by sea' method. But there is nothing stopping them from attacking and killing reds once they get there. What I'm proposing is that any blue characters coming to the island be flagged as gray to all reds (not other blues.)

Pelle: Why is this interesting and why is it even an issue?

Adam Ant: Well I think if you go out with the intent to kill a red, or for that matter to break a red out of prison, you are not innocent. Not in the real world and not in Sosaria. Therefore if you are blue and come to the island to seek revenge on a red and possible collect a bounty, you had better be prepared for the consequences. While you may be better armed, there are likely more reds here than your group and the inmates probably won't take too kindly to outsiders coming to Angel Island to pick fights.

Pelle: What's to stop a large group of blues from going there and just camping and continually harassing the reds, not that that's all bad :)

Adam Ant: Well if Angel Island is implemented with the 'high tide' mechanism for getting on the island, then the blues that are over staying their welcome may find their boat was destroyed on the rocks when the tide went out. Doh!

Pelle: Well that's all I have Mr. Ant. I would like to thank you for taking the time to talk with us here at stratics...

Adam Ant: Thank you Pelle for having me.

Once again that web site is: http://www.adamant.uoguilds.com/

Ai Edhel,

I stand before you to report our failure to reach the shrine of Justice in good order yester eve (Thursday). Unfortunately, owing to other commitments, only three of us were able to make the first attempt.

All went well until after we had passed the area of the crypts east of Yew and entered the actual promontory upon which the shrine is located. Our scouting trip showed little enemy activity two days ago yet, last night, the foul creatures of Minax were out in force. I can only assume that they knew we were coming. We were only some 300 yards from the shrine when we ran into a large group that had been lying in ambush for us. Huge creatures, like two-headed ogres, assailed us supported by lizardmen, ratmen and giant poisonous spiders. It became obvious that we were outclassed so I called to my two brethren to fall back to the crypts. Unfortunately, Valentine - our resident mage - was trapped and pinned by some of these creatures and failed to break free. I and our valiant bowman drew back, sorely hurt, to the crypt area where we realised Valentine had not folowed. I ordered him to return to Yew and went forward once more to look for my missing comrade. After fighting, running and hiding for some minutes I arrived at the shrine to find the area clear of monsters, and Edhel!

At some juncture, detecting our distress, Mistress Wood had despatched her protector, Elinarson, to assist us and I found a hastily scribbled note at the shrine to inform me that he was attempting to aid Valentine who was near death by the river. I summoned further help knowing of Mannix the Viking, an elf-friend and great healer, who immediately rode to our aid. Shortly after his arrival, the Lady's protector staggered into the shrine, bleeding and battered, to collapse upon it seeking healing. The shrine did not respond!

It would seem that the evil in the land has disabled the Shrine's healing powers, good friends, and that they can no longer be relied upon in time of need. Mannix applied bandages to Elinarson and restored him to full health using all his skills, but it was a close thing. Elinarson informed us of Valentine's location and the three of us went to collect him and Elinarson's goods which he was guarding. Once we knew all were hale and healthy we returned by means of Valentine's magicks to the fair town of Yew and thus do I end my report.

I must exhort ALL of Elvenkind to attend us this evening (Friday 26/5 20:00CET) at the Abbey on Trammel so that we may try once more to create a clear path to the shrine. Greater numbers can prevail, and what we learned yester eve will enable us to be prepared.

This time we shall succeed!

Tenna' telwan...

Erelast Orcrist

Recruiting for the Moonglow Defense Force

Time: 1:00 pm, CST

Date: May 28th and 29th

Where: Moonglow Telescope

All are welcome to speak and learn about the MDF. We guard the CoH (Council of Honesty) also defend the town of Moonglow and help other towns, as well. At this time, we are looking for " A Brink Wall." He attacked an elder council member during the last meeting. Currently, we are looking for his hide out.

If interested, please come by or contact Paddycat.

Thanks, Paddy, and continue the good work!

Here is a list of winners and the prizes they've won. I'll be in contact with each of you to arrange for delivery of your gift.

Athos De'Estats: A painting, donated by Gaal

Jasper Eclipse: 5k bank check, donated by Lock Goldlust

Elrond: 2 horses, donated by Seofon

Uther: Deeds for a large forge and anvil, donated by Crafter

Matt-the-Second: Deeds for a small forge and anvil, donated by Crafter

Iyanga: Bag of assorted goodies, donated by Jasper Eclipse

Rider: Keg of Greater Poison, donated by Antheras

Richard De'Vante: Three potion kegs, donated by Crafter

Antheras: A treasure map, donated by a handsome, mysterious benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous

Guild Mule: GM armor set of choice (ranger, chain or plate), donated by Giorgio Armani

Stratics would like to thank everyone who helped make this event so incredible: those who so generously donated door prizes; Melva, our "town cryer" who announced the event at the banks for us; the Siege Perilous volunteer team who, as always, gave their all; and most of all to the 40 players who came to participate - without your attendance and cooperation, none of this would have been possible.

I'll get the stories up as quickly as I can (though this will be a busy weekend for me as I am participating in the Austin Players' Gathering tonight and tomorrow.) If you would like to send a note expressing your feelings about the event, I will include your comments.

Greetings one and all,

'Twas a night not long ago that I sat in my comfortable little house, situated on a shorefront up near the northern forests. Winter was still several months away yet there was a nasty chill blowing in from the sea on this night and I was much pleased to sit near the fireplace, sipping on some wine I had bought from the brewery in Yew while I scribed a few lyrics for a song I had been working on lately. A combination of wine and the lovely warmth began to wear me down and as sleep almost overtook me a rapping on the door had me wide awake in an instant.

The hour was late... who in their right mind would be wandering in this area on a night like this? Still, not one to be rude, I opened the door and held a lantern high so as to see who would be requesting shelter and found I was facing three people, all in the brown and green shades of people who were used to living in the forest. Even though I stood aside so as to allow them entry they stood rooted to the spot, watching me from within their hooded cloaks. You could imagine my surprise as they removed their hoods revealing the angular faces, tilted eyes and slightly pointed ears of the elven people!

With the grace of a cat they entered my little house, taking in everything at a glance. I suddenly became aware of an odd sensation, something like a feeling of kinship towards these mysterious folk. Feeling rather at a loss for words I managed to offer them a seat and some wine to warm themselves with, which they accepted with humble thanks. The began, much to my surprise, by asking me about my parents. After hearing the story of my childhood they shared ominous looks and proceeded to tell me that my father, a man who served Trinsic as a paladin, was in fact an elf! Surely they were quite mistaken for I had seen him many a time and never did he have the telltale physical signs of not being human. They explained he would have used a magic to disguise himself, as many elven people have done over the years, to protect his ancetory. With broad smiles they proceeded to tell me that this made me half elven, and they had come to seek me out in the hoped I would join them within the new gathering of elves in the northern forests. Total shock is the only way I could describe what I felt at that moment. Me? A half elf? My mind raced as I stammered out that I would travel with them, even if just to search out inspiration for another song.

The days following were incredible for among the few gathered elves I immediately felt an empty space within me being filled by their companionship. Ever since I was a child have I loved music, and feel honored to have heard Iolo play in Britain, yet the skill they possed with harp and lute was unbelievable. Their craftwork was second to none and I truly felt that I was at home.

I sit here now, within the citadel of the elven people, again warmed by a comfortable fireplace and sipping on Yew wine, but surrounded by a beauty I thought could never exist. But the beauty is troubled... An ancient enemy of my people gathers in strength, namely the Orcs of Kor!

A horrid and barbaric race if ever there was one, seeking nothing more than to assault and threaten all who travel through their land.

So, it is with this problem that the elven folk seek to once again be reunited under the one banner of the great spirit Tauremorna and fight back against the minions of Kor. I ask ye now, people of Oceania-Britannia, do ye suffer from a longing that cannot seem to be fulfilled? Perhaps the ancient blood of the elven people flow's through your veins! The Elves of Sosaria gather once more and we call to all elven people in the lands to read through our ancient texts, which we have hidded away at -

http://members.xoom.com/Firkasse

The time of the elves has arisen once more, the Elves of Sosaria!

Despite the jubilation, all was not well after that. The Drow elf guild known as BDA (Bregan D'Aerth) appeared at the Sandlewood box, and proclaimed that they would side with the Black one and fight for him. It was rumored that the BDA was also seeking to eliminate Ryak of Sandlewood, but has not been confirmed.

Many guilds were represented there: PoC, OGE/CGG, YEW, LDH, OCA, and PTK. An open forum, people freely expressed their views and ideas concerning how the council might be shaped and what its functions would be.

One topic of discussion was the inclusion of some of Britannia's darker inhabitants. It was agreed that the council would be open for all to participate, regardless of demeanor or affiliation. Furie commented, "Mutual inter-guild cooperation is needed and the guilds must learn to help those not guilded and each other."

"What of the large red guilds? Would they be included, or at least invited?" Salo asked.

Furie responded, "We can only judge on actions, not on names. I have met many honorable GC."

The Yew council would be a starting point, the trailblazer for other towns and cities that might wish to organize councils of their own, then chose representatives from each of those council to participate in a council which attended to the concerns across the realm.

No policies or council business was decided that night. The purpose of this initial gathering was to test the waters for interest and cooperation. Finding that there would be ample amounts of both, a second meeting has been scheduled for Monday, June 5 th. Details will be released as they become available.

Attention Newbies! Join Us in a "Bunny Hunt"! Members of The Renshi Clan will be holding a special training event for new characters on the afternoon of May 27th! We will be meeting in the town of Moonglow (Trammel) on the Chesapeake shard at 1pm EST in the large field next to the bank. At 1:30pm, we will begin a two-hour journey through the Moonglow woodlands.

Along the way, "young" and neophyte players will have opportunities to combat some forest critters and lesser animals under the protective wing of experienced players. This will also be a chance to begin building stats and get familiar with working as a team. Magic-users are invited too! One of the benefits of the stroll through Moonglow is the opportunity for beginning spellcasters to fill their bags with the regents found growing wild throughout the woods. An extra benefit is that mages can build spell abilities while healing and curing other "bunny hunters".

This event is free for all! If you have a new character, please show up for this event! See the community calendar section for more information!

The Fair Fender
Renshi Clan (TRC)
"Shoguns of Harlem"

Hail all dark brethren and enemies! Everyone in the realm is hereby invited to attend our grand opening of Scythe on Saturday May 27 at 6pm PST! The Dark Tower is expanding its influence in the lands of Sosaria. We have claimed the peninsula, North of Trinsic Swamp as the foundation for our city. A new era of darkness shall be upon all, as we celebrate with food and drink. Events such as the ever popular, "Mordrok's Tear the Puppy", Sacrificing of Nobles, and of course drunken duels. The Master, Na-Krul will be on hand to deliver an opening speech and to show off our rather interesting collection of evil artifacts. Other buildings include, the magical research laboratory, which houses books on Ether.

Once more, all are welcome whether enemies or allies. Gates will be provided from Castle British for those who need it.

Let the Darkness of Scythe, touch all your hearts...

Beldock, Cabal of Ether DT

Thank you Beldock, that is the kind of news I like!

It seems pirates had swarmed into town with a few elementals backing them up. But these weren't any ordinary pirates...they were all women! I was hoping they be hot like Geena Davis in Cutthroat Island, but alas that wasn't the case. So, I chopped a few of them up and tried to find out what I had missed.

They came out of nowhere I was told. At least a hundred of them. An eyewitness, Bardo, relayed to me how the fighting was hot and heavy until someone's pet dragon made charbroil out of the wee lasses. After that point it was mop-up time.

So, the question is why are pirates attacking Trinsic? And why are they all women? Not that I mind...perhaps they come from a culture where the women fight and the men stay at home to cook.

If any of you pirate ladies are reading this I just want you to know I make a mean mongbat salad.

On Buccaneer's Den during a recent meeting of mysterious nature, three ancient tomes were presented to Adian O'Rourke (Guildmaster - Rangers of the Realm).

The full meaning and interpretation of these tomes is not yet complete as they have been inscribed using an uncommon dialect of the Elven language. Enough of the deciphering has however been done and verified to reveal that an ancient island known as Arnk existed (may still exist), which was home to the original clan of all Rangers in the land. Also revealed is the fact that this clan was comprised of both Elven and Human members.

Much is still to be discovered. What caused this island to become unknown? What caused the ancient Ranger clan to disband spreading their off spring and bloodline throughout Britannia?

The strange man who delivered the tomes to Adian O'Rourke hinted that certain members of RoR were direct descendants of the ancient clan's leaders. This appears to be the reason RoR was the chosen recipient of the tomes.

While the interpretation of the tomes will continue with the consultation of Britannia's scholars, the implications are already having an impact on Baja's future.

The Rangers of Spiritwood (one of Baja's oldest guilds) have reviewed the findings to date. They have become convinced that the Rangers of the Realm are the true inheritors of Ranger Lore, and the direct descendants of the ancient clan.

The Rangers of Spiritwood (RoS) have now cast down their stone and become members of the Rangers of the Realm (RoR) in support of the new knowledge.

This is a time of rejoicing among all rangers! History is being unveiled and the future path of rangers may soon be clear. The knowledge gained will benefit every ranger in the land as Ranger clans cooperate and share their proud heritage.

More information about the Tomes and the Buccaneer's Den meeting may be found on the RoR Website at http://www.vtours.com/ror

Thank you for your news, quite interesting...

The Arx Draconis Treasure Map Rune Library continues to expand offering Atlantic shards players a great free, public service.

For those who dont know, the TMap Rune Library is a service located in the player run city of Arx Draconis. It contains a huge selection of runes (far more than similar sites since it the oldest of its kind having more time to collect and categorize them) going to the spots of the known Treasure Maps. When you get a map you decode it it, locate where it is on the website map and record the rune number. Go to the TMap runes and recall off that rune and dig. No hunting. No wasting time.

Recently it has been expanded. A whole new selection of runes has been added. Already present are the TMap runes, mining spot runes, rare item spawn runes and all the standard runes like banks, healers, reg shops, inns etc.. Now added to the library is a worldwide grid of runes covering the dungeons and the surface world. There is no spot you cant get with 2-3 screens of in one recall now. Check out the additional webpage to support this feature.

In addition, the TMap runes is proud to announce a sister site will open up in the new lands as soon as housing is allowed. The runes are all marked and it will open the first day large houses are allowed on the same island but in the new lands. We aim to meet all you Treasure Hunting and rune needs in either world. Check us out!

Cartman
Arx Draconis Runekeeper

Greetings! The Jhelom City Council of Valor is currently looking for people to Fill in positions for the Council. The Following Positions are Available:
-Town Clerk
-Treasurer (Must be trusted by Mayor & Advisor)
-Guard Positions (Will be evalulated by Advisor, to see what position you will take)

If you are interested in any of these Positions Email Laein Simorian a http://uo.tradespot.net/~jhelom/

I will be Announcing Meeting Dates soon!

-Laein Simorian, Felucca Mayor of Jhelom

There me was, jus' a sittin outside of Sandlewood scribing a few of me favorite little spells to parchment, when me feels a strong wind a'blowing. Me hair quickly becomes tousled, falling or'e me eyes. Remembering the fine gentlemen nearby who had been sparring to help strengthen their muscles, I quickly brushed me hair from my eyes in the hopes of catchin' the eye of one of these fine warriors. To me owns dismay, when me eyes could see again, a black dragon near the size o' a small house be standing right there in front of everyone! 'Twas whispered by a few of the now defensive-minded warriors that this be the Black One himself! This beast begins telling us a lil' story so me grabs a new scroll from me backpack and starts penning down his words...

"Many many many centuries ago, the Gold One and I were having much the same battle. The Gold One had summoned 8 maidens of virtue. Each one an archmage capable of spells that would level whole countrysides. He gathered them near an ancient Yew tree to complete a powerful spell to bind me. Each one dressed in a silken robe of differing colors. I look on hidden from view by magic. They gathered and started ancient intonements. The Gold One turned away satisfied they could create the spell. She was going to find me and lure me to this place, little did she know I was there. As the words rolled off their lips... I took away my shroud of invisibility. Each of the maidens eyes were closed, but they sensed me like a cold chill. The first one had barely opened her eyes when my mouth had closed around her chest. The others leaped into action summoning spells and throwing them at me, each one sapping my strength. Another 2 fell to my fiery breath, five remained. They formed a line and hurled devastating spell after spell, each one burning into my flesh. One wing dropped limp, and rivers of blood ran from my side. Then I retaliated. Spells of the ancients and an almost unlimited pool of mana created a magewar like I've never seen. Shields of energy were raised, and as quickly, broken down. We fought for dominion over daemon and zombie hordes, over blessed creatures and dark mists. One by one, they ran out of magic to sustain the assault. Although horribly wounded, only one remained. I was equally as wounded though. I summoned my most powerful spell... The Darkness of Chaos. It shot out from me like... abhorring the very nature of life. Light twisted around it, and it was a pure bolt of chaos. Suddenly, a shimmering wall appeared between me and the maiden. The souls of those maidens I had killed, had gathered and formed a shield. The area around the maiden was horribly deformed, but she still stood. Then... she was gone. I heard a low growl behind me and I felt claws sink into my tail. I whipped around and there the Gold One stood. I lashed out with my teeth, catching her wing. Fire... spell... and claws, it became a blur of madness. She had invested much power into the maidens and I was horribly wounded. The battle seemed to last an eternity but finally the Gold One was almost dead. I myself was only hanging on by a thread. But she had no more reserves. Nothing left... and then I felt it. The 8th maiden had returned. She did not have enough power to bind me, but bolts of pure light struck me. In agony I whirled to face the maiden but I was too weak and slowly darkness fell upon my eyes. But without all 8, the best they could do was block me. They could not keep me from this land. So I was sent to a place... I could view this world and act upon it in small ways. It was like a shadowy realm... Like looking at a pond, only from the bottom, while you mortals looked at it from the top... And that's where I found allies. And when a wizard managed to open a rift to let me escape, but that is another story...."

With that, a guttural laugh could be heard as this dragon flies off ina' the distance... This occurred two evenins' ago, but me hands have been shakin' since that encounter so it weren't easy to read me scribbles as me hand was unsteady. I listened briefly to those brave men and women who weren't a'runnin fer cover when the dragon arrived. I penned the names of Scart, Valazar, Missy, and Chryse from TUR village, amongst many others such as Hugh the Hand an' Andrew Bishop. It weren't easy to understand much in the shouts that erupted from everyones mouth but m'thinks this dragon be the same one spotted at Dragon's Point, Dragon's Bay and TUR Village. Someone even mentioned 'twas the Black One who guided that foul smellin' Grak da Black and Bloodrock Orcs in their attempt to steal the seventh fragment from Sandlewood weeks past....Well, time fer me to be leavin'... I've a few more scrolls that remain unfinished and me customers be none too forgiving....

I am working now to update our own shard specific links section here at Stratics. Please check it out. If your website is not listed, please add it to our resource.

I am hoping to begin updating the Establishments section very soon and adding some Spotlight stories and interviews, which are currently works-in-progress. If you have suggestions for stories you'd like to see or know of something newsworthy we'd love to hear from you.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but as the magical gate opened a cold breeze seemed to blow in from the portal. One by one, the clansmembers stepped through the blue gate, leaving behind the sunny shores of Magincia to set foot on the solid tundra of Ice Island. The Honor Clan of Cernunnos had been investigating many false trails lately, but the rumored artifact-fragment found by the Holy Disciples of the Darkness had a ring of truth to it.

Centuries ago, perhaps before the age of Exodus, the silver cauldron of Cernunnos had been broken into fragments and scattered to the corners of the realm. From ancient druidic legend, this cauldron was a vessel that, when intact, would allow Cernunnos' followers to summon his incarnation. Cernunnos is known by many names; Pan, the Lord of the Hunt, the Horned God. Eleven fragments had been assembled by Cernunnos' devoted pagan followers, yet two pieces remained to be found. With this in mind, the HCC clansmembers drew their cloaks tightly against the numbing cold and trudged toward the headquarters of the HDD.

The Dark General Navrip Freemech met the HCC outside their building, flanked by the Nightlord Nexus GraveHeart and a cowering slave holding a leather bag. Zappa of the HCC spoke first, "Greetings, dark ones."
"Greetings, slaves of the light," Navrip countered. The HDD slave, Abel, began to chatter incoherently about deer and black smothering smoke. (Abel had been present when the cauldron fragment was discovered by the HDD. Perhaps he was reliving his traumatic experience of a deer-herd which had stampeded from the forest and struck down many of the HDD excavation team as the fragment was wrenched from the ground...)

According to the mutual terms of inspection, the HCC gave the slave a wide berth. At Navrip's command, Abel came to his senses and meekly laid the cauldron fragment in the snowy ground for public view. Navrip bellowed, "Hold the fragment up, slave!"
"I...obey," Abel whimpered, raising the silver fragment above his head with trembling hands. Callisto Gabriel of the HCC spoke, "We have seen many forgeries, and from this view we cannot tell the fragment's truth."
"There is one way to tell, by your own reports Navrip. Touch the fragment, and if it's legitimate it will burn your flesh....if you have any flesh under that mechanical armor ," Trekonn of HCC suggested. Trekonn's wife Alyce said, "Legend speaks of the cauldron fragment searing the flesh of dark-worshippers. If this holds true, it will surely scorch your evil hand, Navrip."
With great intensity, Navrip muttered, "Very well, if proof you require." He seized the silver fragment in his platemailed fist, and immediately his glove glowed red with heat. "Damn you!" he raged as he released his grip on the fragment, thrusting his arm into a snowy embankment to cool it.

Zappa nodded and smiled with satisfaction at the fragment's authenticity, and also for the pain it had dealt his enemy Navrip. "What are your terms of trade, Dark General? We would own this cauldron fragment, name your price. Gold, weapons, ships, even real estate." Slowly withdrawing his hand from the melting snow, Navrip intoned, "In exchange for the fragment, I require one of your member to pledge himself or herself unerringly to the darkness, and let me perform a ritual that will ensure their loyalty." Swifty, a Lodgeman of HCC retorted, "Never! That would bring dishonor to our clan, and Cernunnos would frown upon it." Navrip sneered, "Those are the terms. If you must have the fragment, then you'll be willing to make this trade. It's hardly an unreasonable sacrifice." Swifty and HCC henchman Devin Darkstarr responded in unison, "Then we will take the piece by force!" Nexus GraveHeart leaped in front of the slave Abel, drawing steel. "If ye wish a fight, then by all means, come at me!"

"We needn't resort to this, yet. I believe that Abel, holder of the fragment, will cooperate with us, when he sees the protection we can provide him," Callisto Gabriel's soothing words seemed to calm Abel's confused rantings. "Have you ever known freedom, Abel? I think you can find the strength to come with us, and we will set you free. Give us the fragment willingly, and we will free you from the clutches of the Disciples of Darkness." At these persuasions, Abel's eyes clouded over momentarily, and a glimmer of hope appeared on his face.
"Back in line, slave! You'll do as you are told by Me and no other!" Navrip shouted, verbally beating Abel into submission. "You have seven days to choose a sacrificial member for trade, pagans. Those are the terms, and if you value your broken silver pot you'll bring me a suitable soul."

Zappa replied slowly, "We may accept your terms, or we may not. But we will own the fragment, do not doubt that. The HCC will meet you in seven days, Disciples of Darkness." Alyce summoned a gate, and the Honor Clan of Cernunnos departed the frozen wastes, with heavy hearts because they knew a terrible decision had to be made, and little time to decide.

Zappa of the HCC

Vendui Wealen Williams,

Last night we, the Drow of Bregan D'Aerth, decided to stop by the Sandlewood for a drink, and perhaps some small ammount of sport. After a few moments of conversation with the human wealen that were present the glorious Dark One arrived outside. We watched him taunt the wealen for a few moments more and invited him to our stronghold.

Once we arrived the Jabberess struck a deal with the Masterful Dark One. The Drow of Bregan D'Aerth, with the full support of the Dark One, would like you and all wealen to know that we will support the cause of chaos until the end of time! Prepare yourself wealen... It will not be long before the Knights of Chaos ride forth to destroy all that you hold dear. Victory will be ours, and Chaos will reighn forever!

Bregan D'Aerth Ultrin!

Silence DeNue
Ul'Saruk
Bregan D'Aerth

UOSS is currently looking for active, talented citizens of Oceania 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 Oceania 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

Does the above describe you? Then what are you waiting for??? Apply... right now... do not hesitate! Simply fill out this brief questionnaire and fire off an email to [email protected] with "Oceania Application" as the subject.

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???

Applications are due no later than midnight June 7, 2000. There will be no exceptions!!!

Good luck to all applicants!

We are a guild of Bowyers, Carpenters, Tinkers, and Lumberjacks. Aligned together to help improve those crafts that are so important to us, and to make sure our crafts do not get over looked, and to make sure that any changes implemented will be changes that are needed to better our crafts. We are here to help other Bowyers, Carpenters, Tinkers, and Lumberjacks, in times of need, and to provide that last hope of glory in achieving the title of Grandmaster.

As we come together as one order, we will rise with our strength to help support each other and to contribute in any way we can as whole, as a family, as an Order of Woodcrafters.

I wish all BOW members a pleasant stay here :)

• Comedy and Shows
• General Boards
• General News
• Information
• Miscellaneous
• Organizations
• Shard Specific
• Tools and Utilities
• Trading
• Ultima Online 2

When you're all done in the UO Section, then also have a look at the Stratics Resource databases for Asheron's Call, Atriarch, Everquest, Heroes Journey, Jumpgate, Neverwinter Nights, Shadowbane and Sovereign.

Hail and well met. My name is Ramirez of LS from the Markee Dragon site. Some of you may know me from my work as the Head Moderator of the very successful Rares Forum at Markee Dragon. Well, I have recently been promoted to Webmaster of the Blackthorn site at Markee Dragon. In my new position I will be responsible for promoting, growing, and maintaining the site.

In case you don't know about the site, I'll give you a little background. The Blackthorn site is targeted at a more mature audience than the Masters of UO site. It is more lightly moderated and lacks the profanity filters we apply on the Good side. The Blackthorn site is also targeted at the darker side of UO: Player Killers, Thieves, Evil Roleplaying, and other dark aspects. We also offer free guild forum hosting for any of you GMs out there that need a place to call your own.

If you have any questions about the site, would like to volunteer, or need a guild forum hosted, feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Or, stop by the site at www.markeedragon.com/blackthorn. Or, if the darker side isn't quite your style, you can still find me on the nice side at www.markeedragon.com. I look forward to seeing you all in the forums.

Markee Dragon dares to expose the last 3 years in UO history!

UO Screenshots has been touting for the last year that it is the largest collection of Ultima Online screenshots. This large collection of shots has just received a major overhaul. Now with more shots covering everything from Pre-Alpha days, Screwups, bugs and exploits from the past. (Don't worry, we're not giving any shots of current day bugs. Only ones that have been fixed.)

We have worked hard on this site and turned it into a work of art. Come visit and take a flashback trip through the last 3 years of UO history.
http://www.markeedragon.com/uoscreen/

Markee Dragon
http://www.MarkeeDragon.com
http://www.uotwo.com

Being a sea-faring type, I have always found navigation to be a bit cumbersome, so I set out to write a simple program that would navigate my boat for me with out the need for dozens of macros.

Thus was born UORudder. This program is written in Visual Basic, and does not in anyway interfere with the datastream from UO. It simply - for lack of better terminology - sends multiple key stokes to UO spelling out what to do.

The download is only 1.5mb and the program is very handy. you can find it at: http://www.portz.yk.ca/uorudder.htm

thanks
Fiddles (S*S)
GM Bard
Baja

Just to let everyone know, housing will not start this weekend. We have more testing to accomplish and in truth, opening housing on Memorial Day weekend (when many players might be away on vacations) would not be a good idea.

The "Lum the Mad" website, in conjunction with the Crossroads Gaming Network, has hosted the first in a series of discussions among leading game developers about topics of interest in massively multiplayer online gaming.

This week's "Myschyf's Roundtable" deals with how to present a coherent fiction in online gaming. Participants include developers from Everquest, Ultima Online, Ultima Worlds Online: Origin (the former Ultima Online 2), Asheron's Call, Shadowbane, among many others.

The roundtable can be found at http://lum.xrgaming.net/roundtable/fiction/

Lum the Mad
http://lum.xrgaming.net/

The Magincian City Council will be holding it's first meeting Sunday, May 28th, at 1:00 PM EST in the Councilor's Guild Hall in Magincia on the Trammel facet. The topics to be discussed are:

I. Magincia's unique government of 2 ruling bodies
A. The City Council
B. The Senate

II. Magincia's Place in Sosoria
A. Other cities
B. Which Alliance is best for Magincia
C. Other councils
D. The future of Magincia

You can visit the Magincian Council's message board here.
You can visit the Magincian Senate's message boardhere.

Badrina,
Acting Mayor of Magincia

Thank you for this news Mayor Badrina, and good luck in your future endeavors!

Badrina has told me often that I am a master of storytelling. I hope now that you will bear with me as I tell a story that begins so long ago but has it's lesson today, in Sosaria and will continue to have it's lesson long after we are gone from Sosaria.

As many of you know, I had a birthday recently. It is significant to the world of Atlantic Shard in that it means I have been the Avatar of Agveran for an amazing 18 years of Earth time. The biggest moment In my career was in almost exactly 8 years ago. I was summoned by a mage named Rowena, who'sd land was being attacked by the dark mage, Shadow Weaver. Rowena told me to travel into the labyrinth and slay the dark mage. As I sought to find the poices of the broken seal to open the first barrier between me and the dark mages citadel, I learned that Shadow Weaver planned to find the staff of summoning and use it to become a god. Rowena appeared and told me to find the staff and use it before Shadow Weaver could. As I searched for the staff, I met a disillusioned cleric named Rhegad. He told me that he had belived that he served good but that he had been deceived by his leaders and served evil instead. He asked me if I truly knew what person dangeled the wires that led to my shoulders. At the time I could only imagine it to be the woman that summoned me. As my journey progressed, I learned that Shadow Weaver's true name was Abighael and she was angry that her father had been imprisoned by the God of magic. I realized I would have to use the staff to summon her father to save the world. When at last I met Shadow weaver I discovered that Rowena was Shadow Weaver and that she had tricked me into doing her dirty work for her. But she expected me to attack her so she could kill me and take the staff. Instead of attacking I summoned her father. He scolded his daughter and in shame she chose to repent for the harm she had done.

This lesson hit home recently when I was talking to Ender Wiggins. He warned me to beware of the golems and then texplained the golems were mindless and instead of wasting my time on them i had to find their puppet masters. There it is again. Who pulls the strings?

Who pulls your strings? Who's cause do you really serve? Are you really serving the cause that you believe in? It is so easy to say yes I am serving the right cause. But have you really stopped to think? When you are rude to a player that has a friend that is less than perfect are you really serving the cause of light? Or are you helping to isolate him for his enemies? And when you go to rescue a maidne are you really sure what it is you are doing? I know that twice I have rescued a maiden and found she is really a demon or medusa seeking to please her master at my expense.

I hope that I serve the cause of light, for that is the cause I believe in. What about you? Do you support the cause that you belive in?

With 18 long years of virtue,

Hengist the Armsman,
The Avatar of Agveran

It was gone, the Mage Tower, that floating stone edifice that had so long been a beacon of light, and hope for aspiring mages. Shattered and broken, like the two men whose bodies lay at his feet, and their dreams of a better world.

Bitterly he turned from the steps, and slowly trudged to where others stood, friends and his wife, but in the haze of his mind, he saw only a blur, and the flashes of memories. The lizard men appearing out of nowhere and attacking at once, those gathered at the Moonglow Tavern rushing to its defense. Bodies everywhere in the town proper as many died to the surprise attack, impaled upon the spears of lizard warrior shock troops.

That damn raven feasting upon the fallen, malevolent evil clear in its eyes. Somehow, that single raven was connected, and how Janos and his Aegis had tried to slay it repeatedly, only to have it flee like the coward it was.

Then that pale stranger...The headlong rush back to the Mage Tower as friends called for him. Seeing that chalky flesh so much like Parnell, and clearly one of his race. Another rush of lizardmen, and more fighting, more death. And then... the fire, and the lightning, crashing down around the tower, and an explosion to rock the heavens.

And it was gone, the Mage Tower, the whole building. Standing on that ledge, seeing the broken look upon Qaladar's face. Then more lightning, and a voice laughing, as Qaladar too was struck down from the heavens.

Then nothing... silence. And so began the moans of the wounded, and the long process of recovery began. But this was not a light defeat, not a casual battle. A pale stranger had come bringing war and death, and cost the lives of many. Parnell the half dragon claims this was one of his kind that does not like man. He claims the lizardmen are "pets" to his people. And he claims to want to help avert this war.

Shaking his head to clear the shock and pain, Janos set off for home, to find his wife, mulled wine, and soft sheets, and to forget for now. But much needed to be done in the coming days, and many would need to rise to fill the roles required.

Unfortunate, but... Thanks!

*puts pen to scroll*

Hail and well met. My name is Julianna, a scholar currently working for the Lycaeum in the wake of the slaughter there a fortnight ago (more on that event later). We were slowly rebuilding the college since the attack, and in the chaos, none of the scholars noticed Robyn's departure. She has not been unknown to abandon a lecture in the past, much to the consternation of her superiors and friends alike, but she has not been seen in over a week now, and the concern here is growing.

Knowing she was working with a group of adventurers on a quest for a number of Orcish artifacts, I checked her office for clues, and on the last page of her journal found this entry:

"The eve started out calmly enough... a group had gathered to join me in my quest to find the remaining artifacts of Grugnub the orc chief. The mages at the Lycaeum were already busily at work examining the tunic we had recovered previously. In their examination, they discovered many magical symbols etched in the armor - but the spells appeared botched in some way, and the enchantments were far weaker than they were intended to be.

We began to discuss the significance of this, and why Yar the Black seemed so interested in the items, when the distinctive sound of orcs could be heard from the direction of the Lycaeum. Soon, the orcish grunts and yells escalated to a deafening cacophony, mingled with the screams of dying scholars. One of them made it to my office and warned us that the Lycaeum was under attack!

We quickly headed inside the college where we found an orcish army tearing through the college, bent on finding someone or something. Mages and scholars attempted to stop them in vain, and although many perished, I believe that if it was not for the brave souls that had joined me that eve, the college would have been lost.

On the body of their leader, we found a crumpled letter. I have included a transcript below:

"The tunic is quite ordinary looking, and made of shadow iron. Find it, and dispose of any humans in your path. K'dor'nac is displeased with our current setbacks, and it is best if we do not disappoint him again. I will be in Trinsic tracking down the next artifact. Send an agent there in one week, and have him meet me at the Keg and Anchor. I will have further instructions then.

-Yar the Black"

It seems Yar took a great risk in sending the orcs to recover the tunic, and although he did not get what he came for, many brave souls paid the price. There is more than meets the eye here, and I am especially troubled by the mention of the name 'K'dor'nac'. Some suggested that it was a demon's name, and I have a vague recollection of seeing the name in my readings. Perhaps more will come to light with further investigations. However, one thing is clear. Yar and his master want these artifacts, and they are willing to take great risks to acquire them. I suspect something truly evil is afoot.

In the morrow, I set off for Trinsic in the hopes of tracking down Yar and discovering his plans.

-Robyn ap Mir"

I emplore any able adventurer willing to help us find Robyn to meet me at her office this Friday at 8PM o' the clock (Pacific). Her office is the two-story sandstone building behind the Lycaeum's north exit.

Thank thee!

-Julianna the Scribe

As many of ye know.. the hunts scheduled for las' Tuesday eve was interrupted by a horde of Lizard Men invadin the isle of Moonglow. It seems they went as far as to destroy the Mage Tower itself! But alas.. that is a story I know little about. And so we shall meet, this Thursday Eve at 9:00PM PST at the Journeys End Tavern in Moonglow, just south of the Encyclopedia Magica in the lands of Feluccia. Again tis advised that ye be ready fer quite the hunt as this beast is said to be strong! Huntin in teams is advised, but nae required. Whom ever finds and slays the beast shall be rewarded with 10,000 gold coin. Assumin' they can bring back suitable evidence of the kill, as well as a good tale along wit' it.

So come one come all, represent your guild! Your home town! Your family! Show your skills of the hunt!

~Eleana Coriel, Proprietor, Journey's End Tavern

PVP Tournament: Looking for people to help organize a large scale PVP tournament.

This is PLAPS. It seems that the PVP scene on LS has been kinda slow these past few weeks, so I'm moving to organize a large scale PVP tournament which will cater to all styles of fighting.

Anyone who is interested can either contact me via icq (2112954) or e-mail. I would appreciate as much help as I can possibly get. I'm hoping to get someone from each bracket (i.e mage, dexer, etc.) to help me to get this thing underway. If we make this thing large enough, then we can offer some decent prizes for once - none of this, "Wow, you just received a silver scimitar of force!" crap.

Thanks,
PLAPS

Good luck, Plaps! Keep us posted.

Edmund Greyfox
COH Chairman

Finally, I have put together a design for Lake Superior! This design is different than the other "PK" shirts I have created for other shards. If interested, place your order within two weeks. Most orders take 4 to 5 days for delivery, Visa and Mastercard are accepted.

The designs may be viewed here

Enjoy!!!
Brimstone

Thanks, Brimstone!

I was sitting in front of the Knights Pub in Destiny last eve, playfully shooting my Lord Cromwell with a toy bow, when I saw what at first appeared to be a pack of dire wolves roaming town. We didn't think anything of it until one of them shot a ball of flame at a citizen. Well, I quickly realized that this wasn't a mere dire wolf, which is common around our town, but was instead a hell hound, which is rare indeed.

I equipped a real bow, slapped a bandage on Cromwell, made sure I had my kryss and shield, and rode my horse into the center of the group. There was a fair amount of us having a merry time bashing on these hounds. 'Twas overkill to be honest.

Well, I guess we were having too much fun and irked Minax or something. Next thing we know there's a horde of Lich Lords, Bone Magi, and Skeleton Knights having a merry time bashing on us! Destiny protectors are always just a short yell away, and soon the town was filled with them.

It was a ferocious battle, and the undead army before us summoned forth the unseen menace of Lag Lords. Many of us reported feeling as if we were moving in quicksand, and some even passed out from the unseen menace.

My brother Knights and Citizens fought with all we had. In an instant, the battle was over. There were a few casualties on our side, but the ground was littered with the foul remains of the undead. Minax had been forced back, for the time being at least.

Now, this isn't the first time she's tried to overwhelm us with her forces, but I'm glad to report that she never gets far in Destiny. We're still a safe haven for travelers, even after the recent desolation and battles.

Many of us Knights of the Forgotten Way, and not a few Citizens of Destiny, would like everyone tae know that if Minax strikes, they can feel free to call upon us. We've enough experience with her constant attacks to help fend her off.

Signed,
Arcanus of House Jaoshim
General of Arms, KFW

Are these attacks really masterminded by the Dark Mistress or is another evildoer hiding under her black shadow, letting her take the blame for his own maliciousness?

Be safe, citizens of Destiny. Thank you, Arcanus, for this information.

If you have resources or skills you would like to barter for someone else's resources or skills, this will provide the setting for you to make those contacts. It may be a way to get scrolls for your spellbook, arrows, potions, clothes, and other personal needs. Guilds may come in the hopes of seeking recruits, or recruits seeking guilds to join. Groups which are planning events might wish to discuss their plots and get some feedback or assistance in implementing their storylines. Owners of player venues who wish to have their establishments listed (or updated) on Stratics, please bring a rune and schedule a time for us to visit.

Door prizes are being donated by a number of people and are still being accepted. To register to win a door prize, bring a re-markable rune (destination unimportant), renamed with your name and a method of contacting you (messageboard URL, ICQ number, or e-mail address.) These runes will be recycled, when the new SP Stratics Center opens, for the Stratics Rune Library. (A deed has been generously donated by Talon Freerunner. We await the lifting of the building freeze to place it.) You need not be present to win, but you must be present to enter, one entry per person.

Prizes pledged for the event so far include:

two horses

a painting

a keg of Greater Poison

deeds for forges and anvils (large and small)

5k bank check

Serpents Hold may be reached from the mainland using the gate in the Britain castle courtyard. This is a two-way portal, so you will be able to make it back to the mainland after the event with no trouble. The war room is a short walk northwest from the moongate structure in Serpent's Hold.

Donations for door prizes are still being accepted. To submit a pledge, or for more information, you may e-mail or visit the Siege Player's Forum

I'm glad to tell you that our casino will be opened again on Saturday the 27th of May (this Saturday coming) at 9:00PM GMT.

Every one is welcome in the casino.And don't forget to bring an unmarked rune for the lottery. If you want to know what games we have, how to play , house rules or the location of Dargoth casino then please feel free to visit our website at http://www.logofactory.net/uo/casino/

Hope to see you there, farewell and be safe.

Thanks to Papy Joe and good luck to all that take part!

This particular announcement was from Lockstar of the Paws Outpost.

Place: Redroddy's Tavern and Training Hall.
Event: Tournament
Date: Saturday night, May 27th 8:00 pst
Entry Fee: 5k

Prizes:
1-Prize 25k gold pieces
2-Prize valorite set archer or plate set
3-Prize gm set iron plate,archer,or leather winner picks

Rules:
Anything goes except for a few things
1. Unlimited trapped pouches
2. Unlimited band aids
3. Unlimited potions
4. No magic reflect items or amour with reflect
5. No summoning
6. Yes you can cast reflect on your self
7. Magic Armour ok (remember no reflect)
8. Magic weapons ok (no reflect)

Rules of conduct: No looting
When tourney starts any body, I mean any body!, enters the fighting area will be ejected from the tower. Only staff members will be allowed.
Hide if you can when others are fighting to reduce lag.
Please show manners, some people seem to loose it at the mouth, please restrain from foul language.
Thank you

More information can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/cityofpaws/pawsoutpost.html

Friday Night Event at Grimoire Arena.
Friday May 26, 2000 @ (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST) 1 on 1

2,500gp Entry Fee

Grand Prize is 50% of the entry fees collected, 2nd place is 30%, 3rd place is 20%.

Here are the rules:
· No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No magic armor and weapons allowed.
· 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.
· Up to three trapped bags/chests to break paralyze. They may be re-trapped during the battle.
· No Stealing is allowed during battle.
· Only 1 set of armor is allowed per match. As many shields as you need.
· The Spell Des Mani (Weaken) is not allowed.
· The Double Hit weapon swing is not allowed. If you do not know how to use it, then don't worry about it. We will not demonstrate, but we know how it works.

Disclaimers:
· All contestants are subject to snooping by Grimoire 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 that disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after the event.
· If Grimoire cancels an event for any reason at any time during the course of the event, all entry fees will be returned to the contestants.
· Any contestants that are perma banned for any reason after the entry fee has been paid, will forfeit the gold. This gold will be paid out to the winners of the event.
· If you leave the arena after the entry fee is paid and you fail to return before the event begins, the entry fee is forfeit and will be paid to the winners of the event.
· In the event that a contestant loses connection during the event, the Event Coordinator will make a decision as to the possibility of a rematch. That decision stands and may not be disputed. Any disputes will be handled after the event.
· A connection loss during combat events where the roof is sealed off, will result in an automatic forfeit. The contestant will be banned until after the Battle Arena is clear.
· The Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

Entry fee is 2,500 Gold per person.
To avoid confusion, registration will start at 8:30 PM PST, and end at 9:00 PM PST. No late entries. Tournament will start at 9:10 PM Grand Prize is 50% of the entry fees collected, 2nd place is 30%, 3rd place is 20%.

We must have a minimum of 4 people to start this event!
This event takes place in the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena. Once you have entered the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena, all Contestants are bound by the Rules of the Battle Arena. Failure to follow these rules may result in your death or banishment from the Arena. http://www.battlevortex.com/grimoire/tourney_rules_overall.html Contestants and Spectators must observe and obey all the Village Laws. Failure to do so can end in your death or banishment from the village. http://www.battlevortex.com/grimoire/grimoire_rules.html For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit: http://grimoire.battlevortex.com/

Lost-Event Coordinator

Hail All,

Wednesday, May 31st, I'll be hosting the second Trivia Contest of the Pacific Mage Tower. Come test your knowledge of UO and the Pacific shard against your fellow players! Questions will range from general UO trivia, to specific Pacific-based info. Some will be easy "gimmees" and others are sure to twist your grey matter like a sponge.
The contest will be limited to the first 10 players to register. Registration will begin promptly at 8:00pm Pacific time. To register, you must simply hand me a book with your name in it as soon as you can, once my clock hits 8:00. I will announce, "Registration open". Once I have 10 books(or a minimum of three), registration will close, and the contest will begin.
All participants will need to have a second book to write down their answers. This will be a silent contest! I will ask 10 questions, and all participating will be expected to write down their best answers in their books. Anyone blurting out answers will be disqualified and removed from the premises. I wish to keep the pace of the questions quick, so I ask the participants to refrain from talking during the contest.
A total of 10 questions will be asked, each worth a varying number of points. Partial answers can gain some points, and bad spelling will lose some points. Promptly at the end of the last question, each participant must hand in their answer book that includes their name and their numbered answers.
There will be a brief recess, while I tally each players points. I will then announce the answers and the winners. Shortly after,prizes will be paid out. Spectators are welcome, you are asked to remain quiet during the contest, though. The contest will be held on the roof of the Tower. As I am the sponsor of this contest I reserve right to make on-the-spot changes or additions to the rules, and hold final judgement in any contest decisions.


First Place: Large Dragon Ship, 6000 gold

Second Place: 5000 gold

Third Place: 3000 gold

Entry fee is two books as described above. Cross-shard travelers are welcome, as some of the Pacific-related questions are tough enough that shard veterans may have no clue!

Gate travel to the Tower before the event starts is being arranged. So far, we have Belldandy gating from the Yew Abbey starting just before 8pm.
Remember to check for the letters "PMT" floating above her head. Look for updates to see if more locations are covered.

With a little luck, last years champ, Molly Hatchet, may return to astound you with her knowledge of the UO world. ; )

You think you know a lot? Prove it.
Sandrah, Red Robes, PMT

P.S. As always, standard Mage Tower etiquette applies. Do not kill, steal, or loot without permission, regardless of past history, while at the Tower.

A mysterious pigeon came in from Skara Brae with the following message:

"The Vikings, led by Ronkar the king and Zelda the queen are going to take over the parts of the town of Skara Brae that are not under town guards. We plan to set up a tavern and shops, making a player run town. We already have the farms up ad running. We are not sure about the name, right now we are leaning towards Karinthia."

Hail to Minax!

Peltier of Britain sent me a pigeon with the following tidbits of information:

"In Britian, there are two major "groups" forming up. Sadly, we can't have guilds yet due to the lack of housing and, thus, the inability to place guildstones. The first group calls themselves the "Warlords". I have seen at least 7 different characters with "Warlord xxxx" at the 1st Bank. Their leader is 'Warlord Rob.' The second is a more loose-knit group, which I belong to. We are tentatively looking at a guild name of Legends of Virtue, or Warriors of Legend, but I personally have not had much impact/input on the guild name. There are about 6 potential guild members so far. Our leader is Sir Hightower.

"As for tradesman while doing business at the Bank of Britain, I have seen horses being sold for 5 gold, iron ingots being sold for 3 to 5 gold each, fish steaks being sold for 1 gold each, magic scrolls being sold at 10 gold per level of scroll, and runebooks being sold for 1000 to 2000 gold dependig on the number of charges. In addition, I am starting to see some magic & silver weapons being sold as people are moving on to killing higher-level monsters.

"Confirmed GM skills seen so far include Sword, Mace, Fencing, Parry, Tactics, Healing, and Anatomy. I have seen Miners, Smiths and Stoics at the master level, and Magery, Scribe, Eval Int, Tamer, Detect Hidden, Lockpicking, and Cartography at the adept level.

"People tend to be adventuring to Deceit to "The Wall" to fight Bone Knights, to Deceit to do battle with Liches and Lich Lords, to Shame to slay Elementals, to Covetous to conquer Harpies, and to the Lost Lands to slaughter Cyclops."

All Hail Minax!

Janos Antero: Welcome to the bard and the healer, right now the AoL (guild) tower and soon to be opening township.
Elise Antero: Hello
Vladimir Taltos: Milady...
McCoy: Hail milady
JA: My wife Elise, Vlad...
JA: If you haven't met her
EA: *smiles* We did a while back.
VT: I will place that rune at my public house just outside of Ocllo
JA: Let us go in, Thank you... I am looking to get the place known and all help is appreciated .
EA: It's quiet right now.
VT: Too quiet?
JA: Well this is our guild house and normally a few use the lawn to practice. Well where would be most comfortable?
VT: It is thy house, please pick the place ye would be most comfortable...
JA: Getting me to sit still always seems a challenge
VT: First off, thank ye for thy time...
JA: *smiles and nods*
VT: So, what do ye think of Lich Soulstealer?
EA: *frowns at the name*
JA: Of the "man"?
VT: *nods*
JA: Or of his dreams or should I say illusions of grandure?
VT: That sums him up...
JA: Well, I first met lich battling Minax, as one of the three generals of the UAS. He and I battled several times and his attempts to feel important failed more than once, much to my delight.
VT: And several others, I am sure...
JA: I think everyone has tried to take a piece of him by now. I almost feel I should get in line just to combat him. Thankfully our meetings were blessedly few and until recently I had put the would be power out of my mind and concerned myself with my new home, and real evil.
VT: Again, like most had....
JA: Killing his master set him back, but like a dutiful slave he carries on insane dreams of conquest. I have much scorn, and little respect for him. After Balart, the Warlords, and so many other calculating evil doers using raw power to try to bludgeon us seems rather, passe', if I may sound so jaded.
EA: *laughs*
VT: *chides* But he claims that with his bracelet he will have 50 spirits to do his bidding... *ponders* Whatever that may be...
JA: *nods* So he claims and plans. I have my own ideas as well though. I became immensed in this all at the weekly meeting of Ceridwen, an old friend, and one of the few who does great work unrecognized here. The spirit Kryl needed help and I couldn't stand aside and let Lich gain more power.
VT: He claims to have the water... stolen from Lady Birmingham's lab I heard...
JA: *nods* I believe he does sadly, Bree is missing some, but without the soulgem it is a stalemate. I hold the spirit of Kryl, keeping him in abbeyance for the time.
VT: What say ye to his hiring of the ISA to help him?
EA: *frowns*
JA: In fact, I arranged a little surprise for him the other day. A rather annoyed Balron spirit inside a fake soulgem he so "cleverly" stole. *smirks*
VT: *grins*
JA: From what I hear, the Balron wrecked half his labs and nearly ate him twice before it was subdued.
VT: He did mention that when I spoke with him, but failed to say how bad he faired...
JA: The IAS is not something I have dealt with before, but PAS has long been an ally of Aegis and KingDavid has told me as much as he can to help me combat them.
VT: So thy guild will not stand alone then?
JA: Nay, AoL is powerful and shall do her best alone, but should the need arise we have 40 allies awaiting the battle call. Only once before have I been forced to gather all our allies to stop Balart long ago and then nearly 100 men stood behind my banner. Alone, not counting the others who directed forces at that battle so TFA will have a fight. *smiles thinly* And I do not take kindly to my home being invaded.
EA: Lich is going to need a few more friends.
VT: So tell me, Milady...
EA: Yes?
VT: I heard ye were present when the book of Warding was taken from the Magi, is this true?
EA: *nods*
VT: I will try not to say his name again in thy presence, but he claims ye helped... small, but to some extent...
EA: Naw, I asked those there not to help. I tried to get them to stop what they were doing.
VT: Tis good to hear...
EA: They had no concept of what he was doing. *smiles*
JA: *squeezes her hand gently*
VT: So ye saw the party kill the Magi?
EA: It all happened so fast, but aye I did.
VT: Most unfortunate, but as long as he has the book, he will be a threat...
EA: *nods sadly* Even without he has read it by now and knows what it contains.
JA: As long as his rotting head, and rotted brain lay attached to what remains of his body he remains a threat.
VT: Have ye discovered any means to counter his new found knowledge?
JA: Slaying him and his lieutenants
VT: *grins*
JA: Garet was defeated by Jayce Kylathew and then his body was lunch for one Parnell, a new comer to our land whom has a taste for humans. *wry grin*
EA: Poor Parnell.
VT: I see...
Cyril: OK...hiya everyone!
JA: Vlad, meet Cyril of GVD An associate and master of magic I often consult.
McCoy: Hail.
VT: Hail and well met sir? Are ye familiar with the term, Phalactory, Janos?
EA: *grins* Hiya Cyril.
JA: *nods*
VT: Any hopes in finding the lich's?
JA: The repository of his essence and power, aye in time aye. First I need to find the rat hole he hides in and smoke him out
VT: *grins*
EA: It must be in the crypts somewhere.
Cyril: Lich seems to have exhibited a few characteristics unlike most liches, though... For example, he seems to be a bit more powerful, and *far* less cunning. *smiles*
EA: *laughs*
JA: The smell of Lich is much worse than your average dead as well. *fans his nose*
VT: One thing I noticed is that a lich can't travel too far from his phalactory and with as much traveling as he has done and the distances involved he must carry it from time to time...
EA: Aye, and he travels often to the crypts....
Cyril: Did he confirm to you that he does indeed possess a phylactery?
VT: Aye...
EA: He has said to me he has.
Cyril: Well at least he was conventionally created
JA: It's my belief he is trying to transform himself and in the long process to demi-lichdom. He has found a way to extend the time removed.
VT: Ah...
Cyril: That would be good for most of ye, and bad for those such as Janos and myself.
JA: I have my suspicions anyway... I came from a land different from this one where magic is more common...
VT: Interesting...
JA: ...and magical power more extreme
Cyril: *coughs*
JA: One of the most feared creatures is a demilich, a type of evolved lich perhaps upon a quest to god hood but I have never stopped to ask one.
Cyril: But ye forget, Janos, a demilich is generally only a threat if disturbed. He would venture more away from the land of th' living, and further into spirit realms...which could cause no end of trouble.
VT: I have heard that demi-liches are mere remnants of their decayed body...
JA: Well certainly Lich's brain has decayed....
Cyril: If ye prod too hard, ye awaken 'em, which is never a good thing. I think it more likely that Soulstealer is merely looking for more power in this realm unlike so many liches, he seems more interested in magic knowledge for temporal power, rather than for its own sake, would ye nay say, Jan?
JA: Hmm, guesses gain us nothing. I am focused upon stopping him regardless of his reasons. Sadly everything between lich and I has become a stalemate.
VT: His motives after gaining more power remain hidden at best once he gains such... What about this wand of Daemons he has talked about? Any luck in finding it yet?
JA: For each clue we find he too finds one.
Cyril: Aye, he is more effectively countered than defeated, we have found.
VT: So that is what thy main efforts are aimed at this point, to find the wand first?
JA: As of yet I have played defensively in this dangerous game. I am learning more of Lich as the days go by and would not leap into battle with him without as much knowledge as I may. I have only countered his plans and am loath to show him my full power.
Cyril: Aye, and watching him often pays off when he inevitably makes a mistake
JA: Until then I must wait and merely counter him. *grins* And should he find the wand I have a magical toy of my own he fears terribly. *pats the fork across his lap*
Cyril: The cost of a frontal assault would be higher than it is worth. *smiles*
EA: Needless to say, the wand is a concern.
VT: *smirks*
Cyril: One immunity lich seems to have neglected...
McCoy: Silver vanquish war fork?!
JA: See how dealing with Lich is easy with the abuse my own men and women give me?
Cyril: Not so complicated as all that, McCoy...
VT: Well the only definate pattern to the creature is his overconfidence he claims he doesn't have...
McCoy: *smiles*
Cyril: *laughs*
JA: *laughs* Isn't that the way of the proud to claim to be the most meek?
VT: The Great I Am humbles the likes of him...
Cyril: Well, we have done well enough so far at thwarting him. 'tis always better to let him feel he is accomplishing his goal and misdirect him.
JA: The real question is the battle good vs evil or my ego vs liches ego? Only time may tell. *grins*
VT: *smiles*
Cyril: If 'tis the latter, then I have certainly chosen the side to be on. *hides in the shadow of Janos' ego*
VT: And what plan ye to do if he does get all the artifacts?
JA: We can't let that happen, but should it, then they must be reclaimed and Lich slain.
Cyril: Not that slaying lich isn't already fairly high on our list
EA: *nods in agreement*
VT: *nods*
JA: His attitude of scorn toward others, and other life is the biggest threat he faces.
Tulula: Perhaps destroying the artifact itself would be the only way to prevent such things. *shrugs*
Cyril: Unlikely, 'tis in the nature of artifacts to not enjoy being destroyed
JA: More so than myself and all those gathered against him even he has many foes all of whom seek his downfall.
VT: Lich commented that even though the spirits can be struck down, that the bracelet will bring them back... again and again... And the only way to defeat him will be to destroy that thing which he claims wont happen.
JA: Ibram Gaunt hates him with a burning desire, as does Xornicarn Altair and countless others.
VT: *agrees*
JA: Should the time come, and the need be great enough, I have a few tricks up my sleeve but prefer not to say too much mroe at this time.
VT: Understood...
Cyril: Aye, it seems that Soulstealer's only allies are the undead.
McCoy: Are they going to aid thee in thy fight against him?
EA: Ibram is.
JA: Nay McCoy, or not directly. They want his power as much as his defeat and I would not topple one petty would be tyrant only to have to topple another months later.
VT: What about the commoners and other adventurers, how may they aid thee?
Cyril: We would hope not to involve commoners. They tend to come out of these things how shall I say....dead.
JA: While I make this fight personal this is a matter that concerns all men and women of Sosoria and I shall not refuse any who come with a pure heart and a wish to see the light triumph. Even I am not such a fool to reject the aide of all who would help.
Cyril: Aye, but remember Janos, each person on our side who falls on the battlefield may rise to fight against us. *grins*
JA: *smiles sweetly* Only if Lich survives the battle
Tulula: Be careful though, with such things said he may try to send spys...
JA: I don't plan on allowing that.
Cyril: We hardly need an army to accomplish *that* goal, Janos.
VT: I would say his network may have already infiltrated...
McCoy: He does have a vast network of spies!
VT: His spies during the struggle of Trinny were well informed...
JA: Let us leave it at the infiltration is mutual such as my knowledge of a certain Balron rampage.
VT: *grins*
EA: *laughs*
JA: Oh what I wouldn't have paid to see the look upon his face.
Cyril: Aye, th' best way to keep a secret is not to share it until 'tis too late.
VT: What about those 50 white diamonds he plans to use for the bracelet?
JA: If we can stop him from getting Kryl the diamonds are moot...
EA: Kryl is safe.
JA: ...and I think they might look good around Elise's neck.
VT: Have ye thought of a way to flaw any of them?
JA: Perhaps I should make a point of claiming them... Aye, I hope to... Seizing the diamonds may become more viable in time, but until I know my foe better, I will only checkmate him.
VT: Well, I do nay want to take up anymore of thy time, but do ye have anything else ye would care to add or expound upon?
JA: Lich will fail as others, betters, have. It's a matter of time, and I urge all of pure heart and noble spirit to seek me in stopping this would be fool from damaging a land already far too torn with war, strife, and conflict. If this land and its people, my adopted home, is to EVER see peace everyone must willingly fight evil. Join the light and work toward making this a land of peace, freedom, and hope without such no amount of power, no number of soldiers, nothing can save us, but with it, we can change the future and bring about the dawn of a golden age.
Cyril: Hmm... Did ye get that our estimation of Lich is particularly low? I believe that is the most important thing said here tonight. *grins*
Cian Bloodbane: *wipes a tear*
VT: May the Great I Am guide us all in what we do to claim the prize of freedom of the likes of Lich Soulstealer and his ilk...
EA: *nods in agreement*
Tulula: *smiles and nods*
JA: I have ranted enough, and forgive both my arrogance, and my long wind.
Cian Bloodbane: *claps*
JA: I have enjoyed this, and thank you.
VT: Thanks again for thy time...
JA: Thank you.
VT: Safe Journeys to thee. May the Great I Am smile upon thee.
JA: Good travels and safe journeys to you both.

For those of you who are looking to assist Janos, ye can contact him at his public tower. If ye need a rune to recall off of, ye can find one in the Ocllo County General Store located just northeast of the Ocllo bank. There you can find a rune book on the floor containing a rune to his tower. Let us not sit idle, but put Lich down before it is too late.

Safe Journeys, signing off, this is...

May 23, 2000

Come one Come all to the first trophy hunt to be sponsored out of the Journeys End Tavern in Moonglow!

Gerald Emontil, a kind and wealthy ol' Ranger hath asked me to allow a hunt to be sponsored every other week from the Tavern.

He says he has many a tale to tell and many a beast yet to hunt. But alas, the poor ol' man has a leg worse than mine. So.. he has asked that he be allowed to sponsor anyone who would to hunt on his behalf!

He offers 10,000 gold to the team and or individual who can bring back the evidence of the kill.

Now be warned, he says that some of these beasts are quite deadly, and it may be in yer best interest to hunt in groups.

We meet tomorrow eve, Tuesday, at 8:15pm pst for the first hunt sponsored out of the tavern located just south of the Encyclopedia Magica in Moonglow.

Mr. Emontil will give all the information on what ye will be huntin and where at that time. Be ready fer a good hunt!

~Eleana Coriel, Proprietor Journeys End Tavern

"Another tale of the new House Test shard"

To whom it may concern,

I, too, found this House Test shard. I'd noted its existence earlier, but didn't quite have the courage to drop what I was doing in Catskills and see for myself, until Stratics advertised it on the 20th. So, off I go wandering into the unknown when, lo and behold ...

Mistake Number One.

It seems that my uncertainty cost me a spot on a single shard (though it IS only a test). Nearly every space I could find (even when I sold my castle deed and traded it in for others of lesser girth) was filled with towers and the like. And because I was on the Trammel side, I could not place single room houses. Lord British expressly forbade the building of such houses until the larger ones were done, it seems.

Two story house deed in hand, I go to Felucca...

Mistake Number Two.

I'd truly never appreciated the player killings in Felucca, and never came across them much before the lands were split asunder. However, a shard where one can set their own skills and stats wherever they please seems to have been a breeding ground for those out to wreak havoc on wandering fools. After finally finding a place for my home near the mountains west of the shrine of Spirituality, I went to wander some more, to Minoc in hopes of some idle mining (because it isn't something I usually do) and basically planning to set up a small area of my own, no matter how temporary it will be once the House Shard goes and the *real* building commences. However, Trammel had softened me to player killers, and lo, my first excursion into the mines of Minoc, I was set upon by two rogues. Death was imminent, as was the loss of my house key. (luckily I had a spare in the bank)

Soon after my return to the living, I came across a kind soul (Note sarcasm; my naiveté` is truly astounding) who had killed the rogues and offered to return my reagents that I had lost to them (50 of each, allotted to us at the beginning of this shard). However, he claimed that he had not been able to get the other things (moonstones, runes that I had set to my new abode, and its key), and was sorry for my loss. I took it as that, bid him a heartfelt 'thank you', and went about doing what I had come to do.

However, growing bored, I joined in on the ruckus when I was accosted by another murderer, and died yet again. However, I noted that my previous killers joined in on the side of my benefactor, the two whom he had recently killed, and meant to overpower this other murderer with numbers. What side was he on? Did he suddenly forget that the two at his side were once at his own throat? Or was this player killing so base that one took friends where another was willing to fight at your side for the brief period?

Obviously it didn't work; her house was right behind her, and she banned them from entering.

Shortly after, my friend died in another round of mindless player killing. As I drew near, I saw a small case on his deceased person. Curiosity won over my politeness, and I drew it from his dead hand, to find all the missing things I had noted to him earlier that I had lost. In a test-for it could have been anyone's runes and keys-I quickly used the rune. Note my lack of surprise when I am suddenly standing at the foot of my own doorway, and I try the key to the house. Of course, it worked.

However, the novelty of the new House Test shard and my patience had worn thin by now. In disgust, I left, returning to Catskills.

To your note that the House Test shard is a good place to see if your dream home will fit where you want it to; I found a much easier solution to that question about a month ago when I bought my own house in anticipation of Lord British opening the lands again. In Yew I found a Land Surveillance spy glass (looks like an ordinary spy glass) in one of the shops there. With it, I was able to test the land to see if my house would fit, as it has settings for about every house available. It will take note of geographic deformities (trees, rocks, hills), and tell you if your house will fit in the place you have designated. I have found it a beneficial tool in planning my house plot.

I just hope that the displacement of people per shard helps ease the availability of land when it happens.

Yours Truly,

Jen W. (Player)

aka. Alexis StarFyre

Catskills

It has been done. Months of preparation and study have finally come together in one last surge of hope for you, the people. Though the ... expectations of the spell were not quite as planned, where you now stand is our New World. A better world, free from the fears wrought by the temptress, Minax.

As many may know, the minions of the dark lady have ruthlessly struck at a number of our fair cities. Vile creatures led by fanatical generals disrupted our way of life. Even our very guards, sworn to protect all, were disabled with an insidious spell that caused them to see all threats as common occurrences. Many rallied their forces to aid the good citizens, however the constant threat managed to overwhelm even their fervent vigor.

Then Trinsic fell completely. A darkened sea of undead, called forth by the black temple in the city's heart, swarmed the gates laying waste to all in its path. All walks of humanity brought valiant efforts forth, yet could not stem the tide. Always more would come, seeking; killing; destroying. With the power of the moon keys this blight eventually ended, and the temple was shattered, but the cost was very high.

Knowing this was only one small spark of light in a vast encroaching darkness, our king sought my aid in discovering a solution - a solution that would protect his citizens from what he knew was to come. One final and irrevocable. For long days and nights I searched the vaults of the castle and libraries. Mystical tomes were discarded stack by stack; scrolls tossed aside with barely a cursory glance. It began to seem an almost pointless quest until I happened across an old leather bound book tucked away in a cabinet. Many pages were decayed beyond legibility yet when coupled with what Shamino learned while a prisoner in the realm of Minax, I knew this was what I sought.

I will not lie to you when I say I was unsure as to the effects of the spell within the tome as well as the stone devices for which it called. Many of the passages offered obscure references to sealing off threats, evil, and other such stuff. But when the man dying of thirst is unsure the glass of water is safe to drink, he will do so anyway out of desperation. And I was parched.

In haste the stone obelisks were carved and placed in the cities of Britannia. Eight in all, they sat waiting for the proper words to ignite the magic they would gather. Words I myself would speak to them from the book. As you are well able to see, I made my decision and began the incantation.

I stood at the largest of the stone structures in Britain as I opened the tome and started. All over the land I could sense the other structures ignite with life and burst to the heavens above. Pure energy as I have never felt in all of my years of arcane studies tore through me; cradled me in its grasp. I pulsed with the magic, drew it into me. Then released it into the night sky. As the incantation neared completion, a moonstone fell from a pouch on my belt and landed on the ground. After a few seconds, the moonstone buried itself in the ground and an unusual looking moongate sprung into being in its place. I felt myself being drawn into the strange moongate. What occurred next is possibly beyond even the bards to put into words. The air split and shifted. In one breath I was staring into an endless torrent of light, the next I was looking over a pristine landscape. The world I had always dreamed of. Our world. With a silent roar of thunder my consciousness slid from my grasp.

I awoke to find the ancient tome no more then scattered ashes across my robe. The loss of such a vessel of knowledge made me momentarily wince in pain of loss; yet I could barely think of that in light of what I hoped had been accomplished. A hand helped me up from the ground then as a familiar voice spoke to me, "It is done." I felt elation grip me as I stared at the world around me in pride. That feeling slowly fled though as I stared upon the wistful face of my liege and friend.

It was done indeed...

- Nystul

Stories abound as to where Lord Blackthorn has been for the duration of the current crisis that grips our land. Via an inside contact close to Blackthorn I was given some insight and details into Blackthorn's travels. Within days of the fall of Trinsic, Lord Blackthorn disappeared and was not seen again until our liege Lord British gave his speech last week. Prior to the speech Lord Blackthorn held counsel with Nystul, the court mage, in his castle on the lake. My source related the following information from this meeting.

It seems Blackthorn had, using great magicks, disguised himself and traveled to the lands from which this plague of evil has spewed forth - the lands of Minax. He described a land not unlike our own except for the foul corruption, which seemed to be almost alive and spreading out in every direction. He told of a city very much like out own beloved Trinsic with walls that appeared to be made of black rock. Upon closer inspection he was surprised to see that the stone was not black, but simply scorched and covered with a fine soot. Rubbing aside the soot, a fine polished white marble could be seen. Looking around, not a speck of this fine marble could be seen anywhere in the city. The whole of this place had been devastated and left to rot.

Outside of the city Blackthorn said he saw creatures that were strange, and yet familiar. Among these was a skeleton bearing a bow and seeming to glow with a sickening yellow aura. Nystul confirmed that these beasts had been part of Minax's invasion of Trinsic and that they were quite a formidable foe.

The land itself was stripped and barren. Nowhere in his journeys did he find one tree standing. All had been cut and used to fulfill various needs. The grasses were brown and rotting. The entire landscape was simply a wasteland of decay. This world was a dying world.

As the story is related to me, I am told a look of sheer grief struck Lord Blackthorn's face as he began to describe the people of this land. Beyond the massing groups of warriors, bearing the cold deathly looks of men who would sooner perish then lose a fight for their leader, were the common people; a people who have had their wills been broken. A land of strong but sullen men giving their lives willingly at the whim of their mistress, Minax. She ruled the land and none would stand against her. Those who tried perished, and not slowly I am assured. As seen in Trinsic, men were hung from stakes and fires were lit beneath them. Other ghastly things, I dare not describe, were done to those who would fail their mistress.

Finally, Blackthorn told Nystul he would not oppose what the mage and Lord British had planned. Only offering caution as to the consequences.

It would seem that there might be more behind Minax invading our land then the lust for revenge. It seems she is a ruler with very little left to preside over. Except now she wishes to reign here in our beloved Britannia.

Hear ye! Hear ye!

I proudly announce the first Pirate Festival at the Red Skull Bay. Landlubbr`s and Pirates are welcome to come and celebrate with the United Pirates.

Many games will take place and alot of gold can be won. Ale , wine and other alcoholic drink`s can be purchased of the legendary Pirate Barkeeper Loni. Take part in one of the drinking spree`s and gobble spree`s.

The Festival will start on Saturday the 27th at the Jolly Roger at 7:00 pm EST.

If you wish to come to this special festival just follow this link to the info page: http://www.geocities.com/jfbroich/festival.html

This little piece of info jest in fer all of ye.

The meeting planned for last Sunday had to be rescheduled at last minute. Sorry to those of you who showed up. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 24th, again at 9:15pm EST. Please all those interested in West Yew University come to this meeting, I will be discussing the changes soon to take place. We will also be taking request on what you all think should be done in the future to improve the schools worth to the community. Once again this meeting is open to the Atlantic community, so all are welcome. Staff members are required to go. A special invitation goes out to, the Yew Mayor, Yew Militia, The Infernal Cult of Necromancy, and to the Citizens of Dalriada, and a very special invitation to Queen Andrasta, King Ebon Praetor, and Mordru of The Kingdom of Dalriada.

Thank ye again, and hope to see alot of you there.

Covet-Guildmistress and Administrator of WYU

Thankee lass fer the news, and g'luck at the meetin.

Yers in ale and tale,

Britain Militia's Reve wrote of the experiences he had that night:

It all began innocently enough, a bunch of veteran warriors meeting at the gate of the Vesper graveyard, talking about a bold move to invade the [lost lands] and take "The Star Room". Being the novice that I am, I think that this is a chamber at the bottom of Terathan Keep. I foolishly chose to go along. We met at the appointed time, about 20 of us. The Blood Clan and the Brotherhood of Ta'Kier appeared to be best represented. I carried the best equipment I could summon for the day, which due to an unfortunate accident on my way to the site was not that much (dog-eared ringmail, mostly).

From a crypt basement in the Vesper graveyard we entered the new lands. A mage gated us to the base of the Keep. I had never been to this place and was attempting to stay in the supposedly safe middle of the pack.

Our initial progress into the walls of the Keep was quite rapid. We had, as I said, many veteran warriors among us. Many of these Terathan warriors and drones were falling like flies. I saw much gold on the ground not picked up and I pocketed what I felt was not an obscene share. This would all come to naught, as I would later learn.

We got into a central chamber of the Keep and completely cleared it of vermin. At this point, the most daring started descending a series of ladders into the bowels of the keep. This was not a good idea. Soon, the first lost souls started trickling up the top ladder to the room we were in, reporting the presence of a dragon down below. As it seemed like the better part of the fighting body had now passed down the ladder, and resolving to stay towards the middle of the pack, I decided it was my turn to go down the ladder.

This decision to go down the ladder while the smell of burning flesh drifted up the hole and shrill cries and screams reached my ears was, of course, the wrong decision. I was also worried that if all went down the ladder I would be left alone in the top chamber, while more Terathans regularly arrived at intervals.

Descending the ladder the first thing I noticed was that underground places with no windows to the outside world are very dark. I perceived that I was in a small chamber, but I was uncertain of the floor. A wounded fighter lay next to me, furiously bandaging his wounds. The cries were louder, but I could see no creatures other than my companion fighting man. I took a few steps forward, and fell...

Down a second ladder. My back was seriously injured, and I was on my side. Bones littered this chamber. I rolled, trying to get up, and fell...

Down a third ladder. It was pitch black, but very hot. I sensed...a presence in the room. Screams were everywhere. Before I could see anything to strike at, powerful claws began to rend me. All went black.

When I regained consciousness, I was in the upper chamber, above the ladders. A healer named Katohya was binding my wounds with wondrous efficiency. Within a few short moments I was on my feet, my robe turned ash-grey. All of my armor and weapons were gone, no doubt in the bowels of the keep. As soon as the healer saw that I was well he moved on to the next victim.

I struggled with my dizziness and fog.

One by one, defeated warriors ascended the ladder to be healed. Most were in very bad shape. Various alternatives were proposed to get past the dragon at the bottom of the keep. Reports came back of a second dragon, or a drake, and possibly a balron.

I located a spare pack of mine which contained a fresh robe with the Britain Militia's purple, and noticed that my blessed cloak had suddenly appeared there, rather than with the rest of my gear at the bottom of the keep. I donned this fresh-looking clothing. I was able to locate a sword somewhere among the littered Terathan bodies in the room.

The leaders of the attack continued to confer. Some spoke of somehow bringing in a dragon-taming specialist, but others said that such a person was either too far away or would have to get through too many of the Keep's outer defenses.

I felt completely useless without my trusty bow and 200 arrows, specially prepared for the trip. No doubt they were in splinters at the bottom of the keep.

A sense of dread slowly came upon me. I no longer thought of going to the "Star Room". I realized that as far away from the Star Room as we were, we were already deep within the walls of the Terathan Keep. I saw that the passageway leading back out was now filled with Terathan Warriors, Drones and Matriarchs.

For some reason, they were not entering the room we were in. This was something I could not understand, because the doorway appeared to be open between the chamber we were in and the next one. At that point another warrior explained to me that two skilled in the art of hiding had physically placed their bodies in the doorway, preventing the Terathans from passing into the room we were in.

I listened to the odd sounds of the mass of Terathans pressed into the next chamber. They seemed to be aware of our presence, and made noises of frustration. Despite the sword I had found on the ground and our low numbers made me feel very afraid if one of the hidden ones were to slip up and suddenly let the entire mass of evil creatures in.

I wanted to be home...back in Britain.

I cast about for a better weapon than the flimsy sword I carried. Beneath another Terathan corpse I located what would have been an impressive weapon in other circumstances, a bardiche. It was to be my only great prize of the night.

Bloodied warrior after bloodied warrior returned to the chamber, and a murmuring discussion began as the mass of Terathans filled the room next to ours to the boiling point.

An authoritative-looking mage entered the room, seemingly unscathed in the disaster before. "We are leaving," he announced. "I am going to cast a gate to the Papua Bank, but it will only be open for a few seconds. We must all step into it, and be gone." It seemed as if everyone in the room heard him. I focused on the shimmering blue gate as it rose out of the floor, and leapt through it to the bright and sweet-looking safety of the Papua Bank...

Back at the Papua Bank, all seemed to be good friends. Wounds were bound and new sets of armor were donned. The comradeship of an unsuccessful combat is indeed sweet.

It almost seemed as an afterthought...

"Where are the hiders? The hiders in the door?"

"I told everyone to go through the gate", said the mage, "but it is closed now".

A grim realization came upon us. Neither of the hiders were mages. True, they had been known to stay hidden for hours at a time on end, but eventually they would weaken and in a moment of fatigue reveal themselves to the horde of Terathans in the next room...

...and they would be devoured.

What Reve does not mention in his tale is the involvement of PTK in bungling the field trip. The outing was discussed in various forums, particularly Battle Vortex where Moldarion stated, "On behalf of myself and the other members of the Star Room Trip welcome party, I come here to declare that anyone who enters Terathans Keep will be dealt with in the same manner as last night. Since day 1 of Seige, our small group has lived in the Keep. We have fought many PK guilds in our time there, and because of our efforts the Keep has remained a profitable and safe home for us."

This remark was parried with venomous responses, best illustrated by this quote from Sonja Gringkov, who said:

*foresees the formation of the Terathan Liberation Force in the near future*

It appears you had not read in advance what the point to the Star Room trek was. We were not looking for player combat, as it was stated in the original post announcing the trip that guild related hostilities would be left back outside the Vesper graveyard.

Were we seeking riches or weapons? No. Personally, my pack contained my backup weapon, bandages and a bag with ale, wine, ribs, roast birds, bread, muffins and cookies. We were headed out to have a party and to look at something many of us had never seen before.

Many citizens voiced their disapproval of PTK's actions, citing that the guild had broken one of the sacred unwritten laws of the realm: Thou shalt not disrupt shard-wide events.

Plans are now underway for another trip to the Terathan Keep, a second attempt to have the Star Chamber party. Details will be announced as they become available. It will be interesting to see how this saga unfolds.

We've set a new world's record! Well, a record for Grimoire anyway :)

At tonight's Gladiator event, we had a total of 20 fighters! This resulted in over a dozen 1 on 1 fights and a huge bar brawl afterwards.

Congratulations to NightshadE for rising to the top of the 1 vs 1 competition and for taking home 10k in prize money. Also, congratulations to Hyperion for being the last man standing in the HUGE bar brawl. Hyperion also took home 10k in prize gps.

Like last week's Gladiator event, these fights are unique because the combatants enter the arena naked (Pelle's note: Was this part your idea, Baby? ;> ), only armed with their skills. They must rely on their raw skills and cunning to survive by using various armor, weapons, and supplies scattered on the ground. Hats off to all the fearless fighters!

Thank you to Kelly Kindred, Arch Bishop Horshack, Craggan, Lost and Cardinal Fear for making this event possible. And last but not least, my thanks to the audience for being so supportive. *group hug*

Baby-Grimoire staff =o)

McCoy: Hail!
Lich Soulstealer: Hail, welcome to my humble home.
Vladimir Taltos: Hail...
LS: Hail Vlad, It has been some time. Shall we head downstairs?
VT: Aye, where are the rest of your dregs?
LS: They are about doing dirty deeds, but they were here earlier.
VT: I see.
LS: So, what is it you seek?
VT: What can ye tell me of this book ye have aquired?
LS: The book of warding?
VT: Aye...
LS: It is an ancient manuscript that deals with the spirit realm.
VT: I see.
LS: It was formerly a possession of a magi...
VT: And you got it from a... right... Is he dead?
LS: ...named Krial. Indeed, he is dead, but not by my hand.
VT: How did you get Janos and company to get the book for you and what could you have said to make them trust you?
LS: Janos had nothing to do with getting the book.
VT: *smirks* Ok...
LS: But his wife did follow the group. Their minds were easily swayed.
McCoy: So did his wife betray him or was she beguiled by thee?
LS: No, she to was misled as were the others. Some creatures have such frail minds. It is rather "ammusing".
VT: Your magic is that much stronger now?
LS: My power, yes.
VT: What part of Juo'nar did you tap into and what did you gain from it?
LS: My ability to summon a spirit is greatly enhanced. There is no way to "tap into" a nother beings power. You have to drain the remainder of it.
VT: I heard that you drained what you could from the remnants of Juonar...
LS: Aye.
McCoy: How was that done?
VT: Sort of like a Leach instead of a Lich, eh?
VT: *grins*
LS: I was able to use what remaines I hd salvaged to that affect. Nay. A Lich thrives off the power and death of others. And a Lich will destroy other Liches to gain there power.
VT: So what have you "gained" from Juo'nar then?
LS: I was able to use what little power I coud drain to enhance my own, but if Jou'nar were to ever return, it would leave me.
VT: That's still a vauge answer...
LS: Aye, I shall not give my secrets away.
McCoy: Are ye trying to summon Jou'nar?
LS: Nay. I cannot summon Jou'nar.
VT: What about contact from Minax...? Why has she been so quiet?
LS: I would not say she has been that quiet. *looks around* Would you?
VT: All she did was swap worlds, so to speak... Her presnece in Trammel seems moot..
LS: Aye, Nystul has been able to ward her away.
VT: So she hasnt really won...
LS: In this land, yes. She has been able to twist it to serve her needs. That is why the the shrines no longer glow with the virtues. *Cackle*
VT: So how have your plans gone since Juonar's defeat?
LS: Very well.
VT: Care to elaborate?
LS: I have been able to locate many artifacts to aid me.
LS: Namely, the Book of Warding.....
VT: Right...
LS: Then I was able to steal special water from the laboratory of Lady Birmingham.
VT: Oh really?
LS: It is useful to me for my summoning spell.
VT: What about the bracelet...?
LS: This bracelet? *waves arm in the air* This bracelet is only miniscule compared to the actual bracelet that I require.
VT: Havent found Kryl's spirit yet, eh?
LS: *growls* Nay.
VT: *smiles*
VT: I'd tell you where he is, but then again... I'm not here to for that...
VT: *smirks*
LS: OH, do not delude yourself. I do know where he is. I do know where it is kept and he will be returned to me or there will be much suffering.
VT: I was just trying to confirm whether you knew where or not... Thanks...
VT: *smiles*
LS: Indeed...
VT: And if he refuses to make the bracelet?
LS: He has no choice as long as I hold his essence then he is mine.
VT: Well, if you lost control of him once... Whats to say it wont happen again?
LS: TO lose control has many meanings. I can control him in mortal form and in spirit form when he is close.
VT: I'm sure there are wards to prevent this...
LS: Possibly, but I hold the tome that would contain them.
VT: There is always an opposite to another thing... Why would you keep the book here in such a vulnerable place?
LS: The book is not here. The book is saftely hidden.
VT: So you wouldn't be able to show me it then...
LS: *Evil Grin* It would take more time then I am willing to waste to get it.
VT: What about the 50 gems... do they have to be of a special nature?
LS: Diamonds... That is the only requirement. Perfectly cut and the bracelet must be inscribed with runes of power.
VT: Well... There are several different types of diamonds you know... Blue, pink... No flaws...
LS: White diamonds to represent a perfect soul.
VT: And where are you going to get those from?
LS: I have the materials already procurred.
VT: I see... as to your perfection comment... Only those who give themselves to the Great I Am can be made perfect...
LS: *Evil Laugh* I have not seen the "I Am". Who is he so that I may take his power as well?!
VT: Probably because ye were cast out from his presence... *smirks*
LS: Perhaps, but that is of another matter.
VT: What is the 4th artifact? *looking through notes*
LS: Is a special wand... a wand of Daemons...
VT: And you know where it is at?
LS: Not at the moment, but I have ways to locate it just as I located the book.
VT: No offense, but I hope you never will... *grins*
LS: Hmmm... I see. Many have thought as you do.
VT: It was bad enough with Juonar and the lot...
LS: *Cackle* Jou'nar was powerful, but he was presumptous as well and he underestimated his opponents. I am not that young or foolish.
VT: Aye... But ye are not as powerful either... And what did you intend on doing with these 50 spirits?
LS: Aye, but I do not have a demi power backing my own either and as for the spirits... they will serve me as I see fit.
VT: You cant take a town with em... And I am sure they can be killed...
LS: They can be disembodied, but they cannot be destroyed as long as there essence are intact.
VT: A good thing for a cleric or priest to know... Which means the bracelet will be destroyed...
LS: The bracelet is magical.
VT: And when it is, will it take thy arm with it? *smirks*
LS: *Cackle* Bodies are easy to replace.
VT: *smiles* Of course...
LS: For a Lich it is a trivial upset. When the phylactery is intact the spirit live.
VT: There must be some grand scheme in mind for doing all this troublesome work...
LS: Aye, there is.
VT: Which is...?
LS: But why should I disclose my secrets? It would set others to stop me and these pesky mortals are troublesom enough as it is.
VT: Well, if ye are so sure of victory... what have ye to lose?
LS: Oh, victory is eminant, but disclosing my plans may upset it.
VT: I have heard that before... from thee... *grimaces*
LS: And I do still thrive do I not? Where others have perished I have not.
VT: Only like the flea on a dogs back... Quite the annoyance...
LS: And I shall continue to plague this land until Demi Lichdom is achieved which is the dream of all Liches, Ultimate power.
VT: Well,... as soon as your phalactory is found with the book... I am sure you will no longer be a problem... eh??
LS: There is more a chance of the book being found then my phalactory.
VT: Well, I have heard you can't travel too far from it... At least Liches can't...
LS: *Cackle* Mayhaps.
VT: So for you to go where you have gone... which is all over... Ye are probably carrying it some of the time... *smiles*
LS: *Evil Grin* Perhaps, but that is for me to know. Is it not?
VT: So, if some party were to set upon thee, they could get lucky...
LS: There is no soul that would know when or where.
VT: Im just using deductive reasoning...
LS: And since I am rarely seen about then it would be highly unlikly. I am not a fool.
VT: Luck can only run good for so long, sir...
LS: I do not believe in "luck". There is no such thing.
VT: I see... Anything else ye would care to speak of before we end this?
LS: Only that the fool Janos Antero had best take great care or much suffering shall come to him.
VT: He better take great care?
LS: Aye.
VT: So is that a threat to him?
LS: *Cackle* Take it as you will. He knows my intentions to him.
VT: It's not for me to take... It wasn't meant for me...
LS: My forces are mounting. I shall have Kryl.
VT: One last thing...
LS: Hmmm?
VT: Who is the Insane Army of Sonoma and what are they doing for you?
LS: The IAS? They would be my conscripts. A mercenery band.
VT: *nods* And they are going to do what?
LS: They will do what they are ordered to do.
VT: Kill Janos?
LS: What ever I deem fit to have them do.
VT: Steal the Gem Stone?
LS: If I feel it necessary.
LS: Oh, the gem will be mine reguardless...
VT: I guess time will tell...
LS: Aye... I have told you much, now I must be on my way.
VT: I am good at what I do....
LS: Aye.
VT: It's the trusting face... *smirk*
LS: Indeed.
VT: Nothing else then?
LS: Nay.
VT: Respectfully then... thank thee for thy time...
LS: Aye, I have eternity. Farewell Young reporter.
VT: May Janos stop thee "dead" in thy tracks... *grins*

One thing is for sure, Lich still has his overconfidence which is good for Janos Anteros' efforts to find the wand of Daemons before Lich does. Janos needs your help in doing this and to help keep Lich from finding Kryl's spirit. Hopefully I will be able to speak with Janos to see what sort of help he needs so that we may thwart Lich's efforts yet again... May the Great I Am guide is in all that we do to defeat Lich Soulstealer.

Safe Journeys, signing off, this is...

The Dark one has been busy...but worry not...so has the warriors of the Gold one.

IFC Open this Saturday

Hail all!

I would like to announce the Icelandic Floating Community in Trammel will be open this Saturday, May 27th, beginning at 3pm, PST, until 4:30pm, PST.

There will be food and drink for everyone, as well as a Dungeon Crawl should there be an adequate number of warriors at that time.

So come on out, enjoy the fresh air, the company, the food, and most importantly, the ale! Come and make sport of having the Snow Elementalsand Frost Trolls in the area chase you back to the ships, where you can safely dispose of them.

We hope to see you there.

May the Æsir keep you!

Earnst, IFC.

Ever since Old Knight's appearance at the Crossroads Fortress near the desert, there has been talk of giving rebirth to the ancient structure. Exar Kun and I set out to retrieve Old Knight from Serpent's Hold for more training at the fortress. Once we found the weaver of tale, lore, and wisdom it was evident that we would have to sail back due to his disliking of magical gates. Several people awaited at the Crossroads Fortress for training, tales, and a hunt. We arrived a bit late, but all was well.

Some of us were surprised to find that the training that eve had little to do with combative skill but rather a training in knowledge. Old Knight further explained what knighthood is, what it meant in his day, and how the fortress was used. Passing a torch so to speak. Emmeril's son Seroth, awed by Old Knight's presence, asked fundamental questions about knighthood that were answered in a manner that enlightened all.

Tales and training moved into a discussion of how the fortress, now dormant, could be occupied again. Many had grand visions and ideas of what the place 'could' become. The Crossroads Fortress will become a place where knights can train together, plan tactics, and support one another in need. A place where different the knights of Chesapeake can gather as one. The Crossroads Fortress will also be used as a meeting place to discuss how and where they can best deploy their joined forces to ward of evil and protect the innocent.

The Knights of PaxLair and the Guardians of the Alliance are committed to this cause. We invite the virtueous knights of this land to join us in this cause. Please contact Emmeril of PxK or Johari of =G= if you wish to walk this path with us.

Hail,
I speak to you know of a serious matter. Much of my efforts, since deciding to settle in this small clearing surrounding this strange lake, have been directed at fighting the evils that seem to constantly bring harm and misery to this land. Now with Minax and her forces firmly entrenched in our lands we have no choice but to once again take up sword and shield in defense of our home. For although our liege has give us this new land called Trammel, I cannot, no matter how much it resembles our home, leave this land to her wanton destruction.

When last I spoke it was over a new discovery I had made of the connections of the virtues. The Web of Virtues as I am calling it. I continue to study and gather information but there is one thing that I have discovered. All of the virtues are connected and in turn are connected to all the people of our land. This is why Minax has corrupted the shrines. She hopes by doing so that she will corrupt the virtues themselves and thus the people themselves. But the shrines are but symbols of the virtues. And although they hold much power the true power of each virtue lies within us.

So I state here and now for all who will hear. I pledge my support and that of Haven to our Liege, Lord British. Our warriors along with the Sword of Truth and the Hammer are hereby dedicated to nothing short of the removal of Minax and her forces from our lands. No more will evil walk unchallenged. For I have foreseen a great ending. If this is to come tomorrow or many years from now I do not know. But I do know this. Long ago an artifact of great power was sent here. It has lain undiscovered for countless years, until now. The reason it was sent here is clear to me now. It was sent to be used in the hour of our need. That need is now. The Hammer of Creation must awaken!

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

The Yew Council of Justice will meet tonight, May 22, at the Court of Truth. This will be the first meeting and it is open to all who live in Yew. We would encourage other guilds to attend from different cities as well.

The meeting starts at 8:00pm EST. If you have any questions you can contact Khelek Naure. Sorry for the short notice. If we don't get a good turn out, we will have another meeting soon.

In an interview this morning, Naure explained that this is an organizational meeting. "I want to suggest the idea to the guilds of Yew and then we can decide whether we should elect members or appoint oursleves. Hopefully, other cities will follow our lead and a High Council can be formed, but for now starting a Yew Town Council will do."

He went on to state that the purpose of the Yew Council of Justice will be, "To bring together the guilds of Yew for the good of our area. We have a problem with orcs and drow, but those are minor. The town council can discuss current affairs and hopefully unite to find solutions. As well as bring another element of roleplay into the game."

Tonight's agenda will feature an explanation of his vision for this council and the exploration of how best to bring these ideas into the realm. Khelek is hopeful that enough interest and support can be generated to begin structuring groups of this sort across Siege Perilous. "There are people who play large parts in the community who I hope show up. Whether I have success or not tonight, I am going to continue to try and bring a town council together. It would allow greater communication and protection of the citizens and guilds of Yew."

Thanks, Khelek!

Have you ever had one of those days when nothing seems to go your way? We at ALBE feel your pain, and have made a special comic just for you. "One of Those Days" features a typical day when all you want to do is use your power hour, but the inevitable thwarts all your attempts. So direct your browser on over to ABLE where the monkeys rule and the big purple elephants roam free!

A Little Bit of Everything
http://www.albecomics.com/

To Erandthor, Lord of Elves.

Vendui'
I hope this reaches you, though I know not, and I must trust the creatures of the forest to deliver it to you, for I have been arrested for defending myself against the werewolf know as Darkfur.

A number of nights ago mysterious murders began and the guard of Spiritwood and a detective named Ghostfyr began to investigate. They had the help of me and another ranger of the nearby woods in tracking the killer. The other ranger reported to me that he had seen the killed and heard it being addressed as Darkfur.

The next night, once again, I travelled to the tavern for a drink and any information that I had not heard. As the evening grey old I noticed a man hiding in the shadows, clearly scared. After managing to calm him down and after many useless attempts at talking to him it dawned on me he was deaf. I quickly took out a book and a pen and began to write a question.By the end of the night I knew several things and was extremely worried. The deaf man had told me he had seen a wolf on the top of the tower nearby with someone talking to it; he said one word about this master, Bhaal. I travelled to the library with a sinking feeling in my heart. When I arrived at the library I was relieved to close the solid doors behind me, and I was relieved to be away from the fading light of day. After much searching, to my relief, I found a single book on Bhaal. I opened it, dreading what I would find, and what I saw was worse than I expected. Only two pages had not been ripped out, but they said this.

'Bhaal, Lord of Murder (assassins)' Is the very essence of evil. He takes the form of humans when the is trouble on Sosaria. He uses werewolves as him guardians and servants.

This brought great fear to my heart and I sent off a pigeon to Amos detailing the recent events. I then wrapped my heavy cloak around me and made off into the woods for Skara Brae, running with all my speed trying to reach town before nightfall. Almost at town I heard the distinctive howling and moaning of a ghost, I backed up slowly down the road to where the ghost stood moaning. After much trying I finally established a connection to the spiritworld. He told me it was a victim of the dreaded wolf and wasin the deepest pits of hell, when I asked what to do it simply said 'Leave this down or suffer the fate of others'. Chilled by the day's events I was relieved to catch the last ferry over to the island and gratefully paid my coins for a room in the inn for the night.

The very next night I was drinking in the tavern of Spiritwood when I heard a commotion from outside. Apparently a man named Darkfur was threatening some men outside, when I heard this name spoken, I ran like the wind to the door to see the man disappearing into the gloom of the trees. I chased after him and tracked him down along with some of the local guards. After apprehending him we took him, handcuffed, to the town hall tower. We stayed with him did the glorious light of dawn came flooding through the tower windows, so we decided to leave him to go about our day, and we left a single guard with him.

That day, when it was fast approaching midday, I went to talk to the creature in the tower. I was relieved to see the guard awake and fine and the man sitting in his cell quietly. I opened the heavy door of the strongest dwarven metal and approached the disgusting man. I started asking him about the killing but got answers of no use to us. After much questioning I asked about Bhaal, the slime laughed and said we would all die, and the only reason we lived at the moment was because we amused him. Slightly worried by this I asked how long he would be amused by us, all he said to this was, 'Why not ask Ghostfyr?' and he laughed a laugh that chilled the very essence of my soul.

I left the tower after this and travelled to the tavern, anxious to know about Ghostfyr. I asked the barman of him and he solemnly went into the storeroom and came out holding a worn leather bag, and handed it to me. As soon as I opened it the stench of death came pouring into my nostrils nearly making me vomit. After I mustered the strength to look in a saw the remains of ghostfyr and a blood covered book, which I carefully removed. The book carried a sickening message from the werewolf and I was ever more glad to have him under lock and key.

The last of the events is perhaps the most strange. That night I, and I number of the local guards, went to the cell to hold the trial and possible execution of this vile creature. We arrived at the tower and settled down to wait for the judge to arrive. But the creature began to taunt us, I went to the cell door and opened it and took back my hand to hit the beast, but to my shock he lunged at me, kicking and punching. I was caught off guard and my first reaction was to reach for my silver sword and strike the beast, which I did, killing it with one stroke.

The local guard then had no choice but to arrest me, and I am to be tried soon. I fear for these people, for they do not know the full extent of what is happening. Sosaria is in more danger than ever before.

Yours,
Sylis Larpt, Son of Erandthor

I shall pack my largest sword next time I venture near Spiritwood.

--Stav Korwell

Thanks!

Greetings all !

Once again, the Village of Humility would like to invite you to attend the Tuesday Night Pit Fights at the Bloody Keg Tavern. Congratulations to last weeks winner, Onslaught, who took home a check for 5k! All are welcome to enter the fight, but come early. Eight contestant tickets go on sale at 7:30 eastern, and the fights begin at approximately 8:00. You will find a complete set of rules on our website: Humility

We hope to see you there!

King Fallout attended the meeting of the Trinsic Council of Honor today to try and win support for his quest to become king of Sosaria. He began by announcing that Anna, the rebel leader in Yew, had been arrested and turned over to the leader of the Yew militia and the real mayor of Yew. No word has yet been received as to the fate of the sage of valor, though fallout had attempted to negotiate his release yesterday.

Fallout then told the council that if the Shadow Clans did not release the sage, war would be declared on the shadow clans. He named guilds that were supporting his efforts and he spelled out his proposals for making Sosaria safer if he were to become king.

The first proposal was to create an elite guard that would patrol each city that is under attack. These guards would protect the lives of those who are unable to fight to protect themselves and aid those who are trying to develop their skills in battle.

He also announced that the existing town councils would remain in place. He plans to speak to each council at one of their meetings to sea support for his cause.

Fallout extended an appeal to Goodman to not close his rune library. Fallout also extended a call to arms to all who are able to fight. He asked that if you are able report to all towns under attack and drive the monsters off. If Minax sees that no more towns will fall then she will give up and return to her own tortured realm.

Yours in Virtue,

Hengist the Armsman

Box Dinner Auction!

HEAR YE ALL LADIES!!!

The Green Gryphon will be putting on a very special and fun event! And, it will take all of ye ta make it an outstanding success!!!

The auction will be the splendid dinners ye bring ta the Gryphon. This will be totally anonymous, only the Auctioneer and ye will know whos dinner is on the block! Therefore, both ye and the gentleman that wins yer dinner will be in for a surprise! A pleasant one I hope.

The proceeds will go towards the upkeep and future events of The Green Gryphon.

Each Lady needs to bring in her special container:
1. A dinner fer two
2. A rune marked to a lovely place to dine
3. A book with her name in it.. and any special description of her meal.
4. Anything ta make yer meal individualized and special.

Auction to be held on: June 2nd, at 9pm PST
Deadline to signup is: June 1 before Noon PST
Contact Desire` by pidegon at: ICQ: 74727804 or by letter at:this adress

ALSO: If there is any experienced auctioneers out there.. please contact Desire`, immediately!

HEAR YE ALL GENTLEMEN!!!!

Gentlemen .. bring yer pockets full of gold ta win a ladies attention and dinner fer a evening.. a meal filled with delicatiable goodies on June 2.. Do not be late! For ye might just miss out of a meal and a friend of a lifetime!

West Yew University is holding an open meeting tonight, Sunday May 21st, at 9:15pm EST. This meeting is to consult the upcoming changes the school shall be making. I request that anyone interested in the school and in its community around it to be at the WYU-Campus Tower at or before 9:15pm. All staff members are required to go. Also a special invitation goes out to the mayor of Yew, the Yew Militia, The Infernal Cult of Necromancy, and all the citizens of Dalriada. This meeting should be fairly short, please come and participate, all are welcome.

Thank ye,
Covet-Guildmistress and Administrator of WYU

Thank you for this notice Covet, I look forward to seeing everyone there!

The player run city of Arx Draconis.has undergone some changes recently both in content in game as well as on the website. Here is a highlight of those changes so you can take advantage of these services:

• The Treasure Map rune library has added some new runes to its collection. The TMaps building allows Treasure Hunters to decode a map and then recall right to the location its buried. No walking. No hunting. No sailing. Recall in and dig it up. More than 8400 groups have already done just that.
• Two new shops have opened just behind the tower on AD. Each is stocked with a wide range of high quality goods all priced at the standard AD prices. Check them out!
• A NEW Rune Library was added to the island. There already exists a wide range of runes in 3 spots on the island taking you to all major banks, dungeons, mining spots etc.. This new set is detailed on the website in the section labeled "Rune Library". It is a "grid" of runes that cover the entire world, all islands and all dungeons. You can get to any spot in the world (within a screen or two) in one recall now. You simply lookup the rune you need on the map and go recall off of it. These runes are located upstairs from the Treasure Map Runes
• The Black Dagger site has opened. TBD is a site that offers everything you need to be a successful merchant in the UO World. Essays on treaasure hunting, rare items and much much more cover its pages. Its linked off the Arx Draconis webpage now.
• ImaNewbie now lives on Arx Draconis. He lives in a small house just south of the tower and would love to meet you. He attends many AD events and is always looking to meet new players, swap stories etc.. Check out his comic and check him out in game.
• The AD Webpage price list and vendor lists have been updated with current information. You can find the vendor that sells your product and his price much easier now.

Arx Draconis meets all of a players merchant needs. Stop on by and see for yourself! We look forward to meeting you!

Signed: Arx Draconis Staff

Thank you this news friends!

As house placement in Trammel rushes towards us (at the speed of a rather drunken snail) I've decided its high time to see what the leaders of the five most well known establishments to see what plans they have;

• Cathair Suthainn
• Clown Town
• Deepwater
• Glorindar
• Spiritwood Tavern

I wrote an identical letter to Queen Rosamar of the EKC who live in Cathair Suthainn, Lady Valkyria the Mayor of Clown Town, Dardan Brook of Deepwater, Eldariel of Glorindar and Fenris the Spiritwood tavern keeper. In this letter I sent a series of questions and awaited their responses. Very soon the answers came, and now I shall pass them onto you.

1. Do you intend to move your establishment to Trammel when it arrives? If so will you be moving to the same location on the facet or another? Also, how are you manoeuvring around the one house per account issue?

Eldariel: Yes, we are planning to move. We are hoping to move to a larger and more beautiful spot. But I can't tell you which one:). Some of us have 2 accounts, others have sold their old house already and others are just waiting to see what will happen, so it's not really a problem.

2. How do you expect the opening of placement in Trammel will affect your establishment in the long run? If you're staying in Felucca will your attitude to murderers adjust in any manner?

Dardan Brook: A lot changed when Trammel opened. People scattered all over the lands, and from my viewpoint people settled down and started to wait for the new housing that were promised. I am certain that once we have housing and can build on our communities again, in the new lands, this will settle down and we will once again see more active communities.

Eldariel: It can turn out very well, because we have the chance to move to a bigger location. But for it really to work they need to do a few other things like adding an alliance option on the guild stone and changing the looting rules.

3. Do you think player-run establishments were given a fair deal when OSI decided that the new land should be the pvp free one and ignored requests to make it easier for establishments to survive?

Eldariel: No it wasn't a fair deal for the role-players. They took the side of the pvpers who are in greater numbers --> more cash.

4. For those of you moving, do you have all the deeds you require, or are you still fund raising? In addition, how did/will you find those funds?

Eldariel: We bought our deeds weeks ago, we are now waiting, waiting and waiting. We bought one guild tower with money donated by the members. All other buildings are bought by individual members.

I would like to thank all five of you once again for replying to my letter. I sincerely hope that your settlements will prosper in both Felucca and Trammel.

Note: Although the Spiritwood Tavern is staying where it is, Stratics understands there are plans for the town of Spiritwood to be present on Trammel as well. More news as we get it.

Chin'guk of the orcs sent me the following piece of information:

"This book was found in the upper room of the Yew fort we have taken over lately:

"Shortly after the book had been found, someone (or something) was felt (more than seen) near the fort... One could call him 'a dark horseman' or some such (can't remember if it was black or dark). His name appeared, but he vanished immediately afterwards.

"We tried to contact him, but he didn't answer, and as we were having problems at that time, we couldn't inspect the matter further... I would like to add that he was really stealthy, as we never SAW him despite our transpar. circle)... he seemed to be able to vanish whenever he wished, and to appear somewhere else mere seconds later (seer work?)... Then after some time, he didn't appear anymore... Was this black horseman the "messenger" ?

"What can we do... this book frightens me I must say, but it intrigues me even more..."

Has some dark power set it's eyes on the new orc clan? Only time will tell! The Drachenfels News Team will be sure to keep you up to date with the latest developments in this story.

Go with the Virtues!

She sits alone at the old oak writing table surrounded by papers, with what looks to be official seals, and bits of feather quills scattered about. Her face grows intent as she reads and then rereads the vellum parchment before her. Her eyes are dark green today as if to reflect the cloudy skies visible through the one small open window. A lantern on the corner of the desk provides the only cheerful light that bounces off the shiny sheen of her deep sea green dress.

She knows how important this missive is to try and save Goodman's Rune library. She knows how hard Goodman worked to provide the citizens with the most fantastic treasure hunt rune library in the world and how frustrated he has become beseeching the gods to no avail for help for his beloved library. She has worked on the letter with great care and much thought. Her eyes seek out the majestic black raven sitting on top of a bookcase near the window. She smiles at it mischievously and makes soft cooing sounds. The raven's obsidian feathers rustling & rising in response to the woman he has been watching intently. She clears her throat and begins to read carefully to the raven.

To the Citizens of the world known as Sosaria Atlantic,
It is my great distress to inform you that Goodman's Rune Library is now closed forever and Goodman will depart our land unless we rally around him now and show our support for his extraordinary amount of work to make this world a better place. I spoke to many of you last night as we stood around the closed doors in shock and I know given a place to focus our concern perhaps we can yet save the Library and convince Goodman to stay with us. Those of you that frequented the Library know how special it was and he was. Please help me raise and outcry loud enough the Gods will surely have to listen. Below I have provided a place to write your thoughts.

Save Goodman's Rune Library

Andrasta,
Queen of Dalriada [TK]
GreyPawn (Atlantic)

And even when they remain in the online world, players interact in ways that extend beyond the guidelines of the game. In the online multiplayer game EverQuest, for example, 55,000 subscribers [ed. I believe their player base is actually much higher than this] may be playing at the same time during a peak period, and they're doing far more than slaying monsters. In this and other fantasy adventure games, like Ultima Online, some characters run inns; others are bards or thespians who give performances. Quake players make short movies out of the game's graphics. In other words, players are innovating, using the ostensible plot as mere landscape for their own creations. And they are forming communities that can exist only in a virtual space.

To read the entire article head to The Seattle Times' version of More than a game...

All those who already responded to the poll should go back and re-enter their responses.

The winner of the second Heroes of the Realm Tournament has been declared!!

Shane, - Forgotten - was our winner Saturday night.

Please visit the page and follow the Heroes link at the top for more information....

Heroes of the Realm Tournament

- Vladimyr, Head Bouncer, Pair-A-Dice Casino

Come one! Come all! The first ever GCT Guild auction is here! Join your fellow citizens of Britannia in an exciting auction of Black clothes, Weapons, Armor, Spells, Spellbooks, and More! And if That doesn't make you want to come, we will also be having an auction of a 7 circle spell book and a full set of bone armor! We all hope to see you in Yew,(Felucca) South of the abbey and the fork in the road, at 8:15 Pm MST on May 22nd, tonight!
If you don't come, you don't know what you're missing!

The Journey...

On a hot summer afternoon sometime in July of 1997, my life changed dramatically, though I didn't really know it at the time. I stumbled across a little website with a cute animated dragon and the title of Ultima Online. As I perused through the website reading the FAQ and various game features of a soon to be released massively multiplayer game, I knew I had finally found the next game that would keep me up till dawn, like any game worth its salt should. The game looked bold and innovative, offering for the first time the freedom to live another life in an alternate world along with thousands of other players, and to provide its patrons the chance to make their own meaningful impact in whatever way they saw fit. During my lunch hour that afternoon I somehow stumbled into a little chat channel with some players discussing various aspects of this new game. Included in that channel was one Designer Dragon, who I spoke with for about 5 minutes amidst the crowd of eager people sharing various ideas and thoughts.

In the months that followed, I lived and breathed Ultima Online as 'Runesaber', both in-game and out-of-game on the various message boards which sprang up around the game. Who was Runesaber to be? When I created him I didn't really know, so I made up his name to fit a myriad of possibilities either as a warrior or mage. He became a blacksmith. And how fitting that my carefully laid plans for my character had changed in this new game so that I would end up in a place I never expected. In UO, just about anything is possible. Sometimes I felt I was dictating the journey, other times I felt the journey was beckoning me down other unknown paths. That was the magic of this new world.

Today, almost three years later, I have had the most honored privilege of ushering in the 3rd and largest, most significant era of this great game, Ultima Online: Renaissance, as Lead Programmer of the UO project. Quite an unexpected path I have traveled from that first chat in 1997!

Has UO reached its own journey's end? Has my journey come to an end?

Ultima Online:Renaissance is not a destination. It's a stage and a foundation, built by a team of passionate people to ensure the ongoing journey of UO continues on just as steadily as it has since the beginning.

And as with all great journeys, it is with a touch of sadness and reflection that we see certain participants leave the path and pursue other ventures in other worlds near and far. But with the departure of the great people that shaped UO into its current form, the journey for UO does not end nor does my journey with UO.

I invite you all to come partake in the present Ultima Online, as new history unfolds from day to day. The greatest event in online gaming is currently underway, but just as I did not immediately see the relevance of that one afternoon in July, so all of you may not realize the meaning of the events of today. At a later day, we will all be able to look back upon the present with fondness, at another exciting phase of this great, ongoing journey.

Runesabre
Adventurer
Ultima Online Development Team

It appears that the majority of folks spend 25%-75% of their time fighting monsters. 26.5% of the respondents indicated they spend 25%-49% of their time monster fighting, while 25.9% are monster fighting 50%-74% of the time. 19.7% of you only spend 1%-24% of your in-game time fighting monsters, while 16.4% of the respondents spend a hefty 75%-89% of their time slaying foul creatures. 8% of you are hard core monster slayers (90+% of your time), and the pacifists amongst us (no monster fighting) account for only 3.2%.

This week, we would like you to let us know how you earn the majority of your income in UO. So head on over to our Periodic Poll, and let us know!

As many of you know, the last two weeks I asked you to let me know the top reason you like, or dislike, UO:R. Well, the response was fantastic, and I am busy tabulating the results, which will be posted them later this week.

It all started yesterday evening. The sun was setting over ol' Spiritwood, and our sparring hour just ended, when me and a couple of friends headed from the Tower to the Spiritwood Tavern to have a few bottles o'ale. As we reached the Tavern, Shelby the Towncryer started to announce some disturbing news: "Ogres seen west of Vesper!", she cried. Not thinking twice a mage who stood nearby opened a magic portal to the town of Vesper.

Upon arriving at the seatown of Vesper, we at once equipped our weapons and charged the vile band of Ogres, that already had forced their way into the town. It did nay take long to vanquish the marauding party, and soon the town was free again of ravaging monsters. The towncryer though, still announced Ogre sightings west of Vesper. We decided then to travel a bit out of town and scout the area. Alas nay a Ogre was to be found west of Vesper, so we returned slowly, thinking that the attack on the town might have ended. Entering from the northern bridge, I saw a young girl with almost white hair. Her large eyes, set in a beautiful face seemed to scan the area constantly while she offered to sell some goods to the villagers passing her.

"Selling Goods", she yelled. "Selling a Necklace", she shouted. "A necklace?", I thought, wasn't a necklace what the Ogre sought in Vesper? Wasn't that the reason for the Ogres to attack the town? I approached the girl and asked her about the price of that necklace, and if I might see it. She pointed at her neck, and told me, that the price for the necklace was a 1000 gold pieces. I started to bargain with her about the necklace, though then I was more interested in her, than the necklace. Finally we agreed. We were to escort her out of town in safety in exchange for the necklace. All to happy I agreed, while she tried to remove the necklace. Quite surprised she said though, that she could nay remove the necklace, as it would nay open anymore.

She desperately tried to force the necklace off her neck, though to no avail. I then tried to remove the cursed item, and to our all surprise the lock sprang open and the necklace fell right into my hands. I stared at the precious jewellery and with trembling hands put it into my backpack. Then, before I could react a shadowy figure stalked me from behind and with the skilled hands of a thief the figure stole the necklace and run off. The town guards immediately set off to capture the scoundrel, though they were nay fast enough.

I then returned to the girl named Darcie, and with a deep sigh I told her about what had happened. I did nay feel very good, as it was my fault that the necklace was stolen. Darcie, silent for a moment, then proposed to set out after the thief, leading us to the western bridge, leading out of town. When we reached the outskirts of Vesper, she gave me a tattered treasure map, explaining, that she did nay want it to fall into the Ogre's hands.

Upon reaching the end of the bridge, we suddenly were under attack. It was an ambush, as a large band of Ogres, Ettins and Orcs charged from the woods. Shouting their barbaric warcries it did nay take em long to reach us and soon a battle was raging at the bridge. Keeping my promise, I did nay step far from Darcie, trying to protect her from harm, though it seemed, that the leading Ogre was after her.

Desperately I tried to bandage her wounds while she ran for her life, shouting and screaming for help, though I could nay save her life. She collapsed right at my feet, crushed by a terrible blow of the hideous Ogre Lord. She dropped dead right beside me, while I still held the bandages, that would have saved her life, in my trembling hands. "Revenge!", I cried, to the Ogre looming over her dead body, aiming my bow at the mighty creature. Even with the combined efforts of the gathered warriors it took some time till we managed to kill the Ogre Lords. Fatigued I dropped to the ground, weeping silently over Darcie's body. I could nay keep my promise, I could nay save her life ... it was my fault.

Silently I guarded her body, still hoping that she might return, though finally when her body decayed I gathered her belongings and stored them safely in my backpack. It was then, when a paladin stepped from the woods, thanking us for the our efforts and handing me a reward of 6000 gold pieces. Silently I looked up at the paladin, and told her, that I was nay worthy of a reward, though she insisted, and so I accepted the reward.

We then returned to the Spiritwood Tavern, where I told the story of todays events to the gathered people. It was nay a glorious day, the day I could nay keep the promise given to a lady. Mayhaps one day she will return, and till that day I shall keep her belongings safe at my bank.

Duncan Dalwhinie
Tiro Imperitus
Custodes Fati

Thank you Duncan, do keep us informed . . .

I welcome all to come and watch CLOWN's Parade through Britain (Felucca) on Sunday 21st May at 21:00 GMT / 22:00 CET.

The Parade will start off at The Council Hall and work its way across the top road towards the East Bank, moving down from there towards the Southern most bridge in Britain, across this and past the tailors, past the West Bank and moving up the furthest Western road towards British's Castle.

I have asked Fenris of Spiritwood Tavern to open up his Tavern in the middle of the Streets of Britain. If he gets everything he requires for this there will be food and drink, chairs and tables and hopefully plenty of staff to wait on you.

This Parade is to help celebrate some Students of CLOWN that have reached there goal in becoming titled CLOWN's.

So please come line the street of Britain (Felucca) and cheer the CLOWN's along.

Thank you in advance,
Plague The True CLOWN : )

Thank you Plague

Just a quick note to let you know I've just uploaded the latest parody song - "Hey Dewd", based on "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. I'd gotten some requests to 'do one for the roleplayers', so there you go... sort of... :) Plenty of fun getting poked in every direction there...

Also, thanks for being patient with me as I moved my 'mail center' - some of you didn't get last weeks update of "Loot Take Boogie", so please check that one out while you're at the site!

One last thing - on the mp3 page I've added some code that let's visitors vote to place the site in the TradeSpot Ultima Top 25 Sites list - I'd appreciate you voting while you're there. It looks like they reset the counter every week, so please vote again if you already have before... ;)

That's it for now - and stay tuned, as some interesting projects are coming *very* soon (lot's of excitement brewing behind the scenes). As always, thanks very much for your continued support!

Midas, Ultima Parody Songs
http://www.digiphobia.com/ultimasongs

After a wonderful night of tale and song, the Moonglow Tavern received its new name. After a bit of controversy involvin the locals, me wait staff, and the first proposed name.. "The Buxom Wench", the second runner up "Journey's End", submitted by Rand al'Thor, was chosen as the final name. Janos Antero the submitter of the first name did receive 10,000 gold as well as a "honored guest" status at the tavern even though we were unable to keep the lad's clever name. Mr. al'Thor is awarded the same for his "The Journey's End" submission.

Thank ye all who stopped by the aid in the namin' of the tavern and I do hope to see ye all again soon. Stop by for an ale, conversation, the most recent news of adventure in the lands, or a good ol' fashioned home cooked meal.

We will keep the soup on fer ye!

~Eleana Coriel, Proprietor

Yep, that's right, for all of you people who keep emailing me and saying "MAKE MORE TOONS!" I have a special treat for you.

In addition to a new ImaNewbie episode, I have added a brand new comic feature I call "The Britannia Enquirer". The first two issues are up and posted so be sure to check them out while you are at my site. I hope for this to become a regular weekly feature so now there is even more reasons to make sure and bookmark my site and come back often.

Added Friday, May 19th:
- ImaNewbie Episode #108 - We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto (conclusion)
- The Britannia Enquirer - Volume 1, No's 1 and 2

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

Tryon

Most of you are aware that the House Test shard has opened for testing the placement of houses. I had logged onto it while it was still named "House Test (pen)" and was surprised when I was greeted by the eerie sound of silence when I arrived on the streets of Britain. I was also greeted by a message on a scroll, similar to the journal scroll, that said: "Updates ********* January 11, 1999 *********".

I decided it was time to investigate my bank box to see what treasures laid within it. I was very disappointed to discover it empty. It was no wonder the streets where silent, either everyone had decided to go home or they where out working, trying to raise the gold needed to buy a house to place.

Hail fellow gamblers...

We're proud to announce that Dargoth Casino will be opened This Saturday 20th May at 22:00 CET (9:00pm GMT).

We run a total of 6 differents games (including a lottery)

Feel free to check up games rules and how to play, and also the location map of Dargoth Casino at : http://www.logofactory.net/uo/casino/

Hope to See you there ;)

Farewell and G'luck to Dices Throwing...
Papy Joe
Casino Master.

PS: We'll be opened every Saturday at the same starting hour...

Sounds good!

After a Championship Tournament organised by The Custodes Fati had ended, many of the contestants and the organisers of the event went to the tavern to celebrate and honour the new champion of The Custodes Fati : Kris Sateer. One man did not join the festivities, this man was Amos of The Custodes Pax, he remained behind attend to some matters...

When all of a sudden Pad O'Lions pigeon was flying directly towards him as fast as it wings would take it, with a request for assistance near The Spiritwood Tavern as a crime had been committed...a most horrible crime.

Upon his arrival Amos witnessed a young lad running away with great haste being followed closely by Lady Shri of the Custodes Fati and several others. Moving to intercept the lad, his trusty horse Thunder quickly caught up with him and with one hand the lad was no longer in touch of the ground and had no means of escape.

As was told by the pursuers the lad had wrongfully taken a bag which presumably held evidence concerning the crime.

Confiscating the evidence the crime scene was examined and the witnesses questioned...

The following is an official publication from The Custodes Pax :

From : Amos of The Custodes Pax
Date : Tuesday May 16th
Place : Spiritwood
Subject: Double Murder Investigation

Today the remains of two not identified human males has been found on the doorsteps of The Spiritwood Tavern, between the remains we found a note saying "Heed this as a warning".

A warning to what ? and to whom ??? these are all questions we are currently trying to find answers to,

When we do we'll be posting another such bulletin like this one. For now I urge any and all to be even more careful when walking alone and avoid travel after nightfall.

I've ordered that guards and patrols within Spiritwood borders be increased to insure the safety of us all, rest assured we are doing everything in our power to solve this crime and apprehend whomever or whatever responsible.

There have been reports of a wolf sighted near the crime scene, this may have been a coincidence but the way it acted somehow gave many of the witnesses the impression it was not merely a coincidence.

If anyone has any further information, contact me or one of The Custodes Pax immediately, all information is of the utmost importance and it may be just the vital piece we've been waiting/searching for.

Signed,
Amos of The Custodes Pax
Defender Of Justice

The next day, Amos heard some turmoil near the Tavern... Without giving it a second thought he changed his course and rode to the tavern.... where there was again signs of another crime... after dismounting he quickly examined the remains and ordered the body to removed at once.

After speaking with the eyewitnesses his suspicions were confirmed... another murder like the ones of last night had been committed... and yet again a wolf was sighted... however this time eye witnesses reported it to be a man who could change himself to a wolf whenever he pleased. Two brave warriors followed it...but alas their prey was deviously clever in covering it's trail and lost them when it found a pack of wolves...

After hearing Amos speak with the eyewitnesses I have spoken briefly with Amos and he could provide me with some additional details... he had learned only minutes ago. The two murder victims of last night were both secluded healers, they who travel in the forests and live there... aiding others in their hour of need... if they so deserve such aid.

It seems to be a pattern, but how and why is still somewhat of a mystery, Amos refused to give me any of his ideas/thoughts but promised me he would tell me when he felt this to be safe to discuss, as now the investigation is still on going and information is kept secret in hope the chances to stop these murders are as high as we can make them.

Fortunately a detective from Britain travelled to Spiritwood to request the aid of Amos and The Custodes Pax and in return offer his assistance... to join forces in solving several murders. Spread across the entire Skara Brae region...

After speaking with Ghostfyr and a few others a special team was formed, one that will work together, exchange information in a joined effort to stop these murders plaguing our lands. To restore law & order and make it safe once more to travel during the night.

As their meeting was a secret I was have no knowledge about what was discussed...but I am certain we will hear more of this soon.

Just as I was about to leave, Amos called my name and requested I come closer. I moved towards their table and after a brief introduction I was thanked for my assistence and handed this note :

From : Amos of The Custodes Pax
Date : Wednesday May 17th
Place : Spiritwood
Subject: Multiple Murder Investigation

To any and all who have information about the ongoing murder investigation report this information either to myself or a member of The Custodes Pax. All information however unimportant it may seem please do take the time and effort to report it, as it is quite often when the little things are that allow us to capture a criminal.

Further more a reward of 10.000 gold crowns is waiting for the person or persons who can provide information which will lead to the understanding of the motives of these killings, the identity of the killer or the apprehension of these persons.

Signed,
Amos of The Custodes Pax
Defender Of Justice

I hope they are able to catch whoever is responsible soon, these murders are too horrible for words.

Many thanks to the adventurer that sent this tale.

BUM Weekly Friday Night Joust and Mage Tourney

Thanks!

Thanks, Janos, for the insight.

An Account of the IFC`s Festival of Virtues!

On the 17th of May, the Icelandic Floating Community opened its arms welcoming all who would join them in the celebration of the virtues. In a time where the evil seem so predominant, and the virtuous face obstacles at every turn, honouring the virtues seemed the finestmethod to remind us all of why we strive continuously for the betterment of ourselves and our world.

Thus was it, that on this date, we were joined by friends and newcomer alike, in our attempt to bring the virtues once again to the forefront.Friends stood by one another and shared stories, or simply made them upon the spot, and peoples spirits seemed high.

I was forced to avert my eyes more then once, as some appeared wearing nothing, in preparation of our event to honour the virtue of Humility. Trying hard not to break eye contact with some of them proved far more difficult than anticipated.

The first event would be our Drunk Naked Race, which would take our participants through the caverns of Niflheim. I believe there could truly be nothing more humiliating than running naked and inebriated through one of the most dangerous blights of our lands.

When Sadoriss of the DWJ and Galius Androctus were in position at the checkpoints, the participants were then gated to the starting point. After a misdirected gate, and a sudden attack by the denizens of the dungeon, we managed to finally begin the race.

All participants were given a full bottle of ale, which they were required to consume entirely before they were allowed to begin running, and on my word, they were off.

Just in time, for as I stood there speaking with Dodd, the Seers and Elders, a White Wyrm rounded the corner.

The Seers and Elders proved they could fend for themselves. I, on the other hand, would need an army.

Time to be off!

I arrived at the starting point just in time to ascertain the winner of the race, Erik Strongbow! All that needed be done was to verify that he had indeed crossed both checkpoints.

Following the race, we put the food and drink in the holds of the ships,presented Erik with a prize of a 10000 gold check, and were off to the dungeon of ice. The antipode of the virtue of Humility is known to bethe Stygian Abyss, but as it seems a great deal more difficult to find then Humility itself, we opted for a jaunt through Niflheim in its stead, where we avenged ourselves, humbly, upon the denizens. The White Wyrm being no exception.

The following night we were again joined by our brothers and sisters at the Icelandic Floating Community, but this time, it was in Valour! Although I was to learn a little more of Humility again on this night. With everything in place, a ring laid out for us by the kind Elder Dreams, we began our ordeal with the uncooperative Snow Elementals for what was to be our Snow Elemental One on One Competition.

If ye`ve noticed of late, Minax`s influence has taught the creatures a little bit more beyond the tactic of linear battle. At every turn the Snow Elementals baffled me, obviously overwhelmed by the number of targets available, and in its glee, somehow refused to attack the combatant in the ring. After trying several ideas to remedy this problem, with the help of Elder Dreams, we were beaten. Thus was the participants gold returned to them, my spirits low.

It was shortly afterwards, standing about discussing various themes with the people there, that Ross Kun offered this idea in its stead! Why not use a creature which we can more easily control? An Energy Vortex.

Many of the would be Snow Elemental competitions participants seemed enthusiastic of the idea, and so was the ring laid out again, with a lone participant in the middle. Though not enforced as strictly, the rules for this competition remained the same, as one by one, contestants fought for their lives valorously, each vying for the highest time.

The times were as such:

Fraek - 1:35 10 000 gold grand prize
Kraken - 1:14 8000 gold second prize
Lillith Bane - 1:08
Eirik - 1:02
Galius Androctus - 0:38
Danad - 0:32
Ross Kun - 0:19
Celtain Britain - 0:10
Luciana Diviner - 0:07
Dodd - 0:06.5
August West - 0:06 5000 Consolation Prize

Following the impromptu Energy Vortex One on One Competition, many of those present joined us in our assault upon Valour`s antipode, Destard.

Valorously we battled the large reptilian inhabitants of that dungeon in the name of Valour, till our bodies no longer held us upright, and we grew too weary to continue.

I would like to thank all those who helped make this possible with the least amount of chaos possible. There are far too many of you to list, but I assure you, you are not, nor will you be, forgotten.

I would also like to thank all of the participants, and Sampson, I am sorry you did not get to defend your title as reigning Snow Elemental One on One champion.

It is my hope that you will join us next week as we continue the Festival of the Virtues with our focus being the virtues of Sacrifice, and Honesty. The dates will be announced shortly. Please keep you attention on these and our scrolls for further information.

Thus, in the Virtues were we joined.

May the Æsir keep you!

Earnst, IFC.

For more information on the IFC, please visit our scrolls at: members.home.com/mongbat/ifc/

House Placement Test Opens

We have commenced testing house placement on the Test Center shard and invite everyone to stop by and join the test! The first testing phase will include 'open' housing placement, meaning all houses, of all types and sizes, may be placed on both facets during this phase. Rather than require you rush out and earn gold on Test Center, we'll be placing a castle deed and eight recall runes in your backpack when you enter the game. The recall runes are set to the locations of the eight architects of Britannia. To test housing types other than the castle, simply sell your castle back and buy other house deeds.

Mae govannen Traveller......... Before telling you my news I found, I introduce myself briefly: I am an elven Bard who seeks out to understand the humans and their lives. I studied these strange folks on many occasions and it seems that this is the reason I am now burdened with knowledge I didn't ever wanna know.......

It appeared some weeks ago, after the days when Trinsic was set free from the evil (though evil and good are human signs) named Jou`Nar and Minax, as I walked in the woods near Yew, listening to the voices of my friends, the animals, and composing a new song. I saw a Dryad, spirit of the woods, who are invisible to the eyes of the humans, due to their ignorance of such lives, which came near to me.

Dryads are very rare and even I shivered when this creature approached, as you never know what they keep in mind - killing innocents harassing their woods is just as possible as helping strangers, who lost their way. It talked to me, exactly one sentence, and vanished.

"Listen to the black, winged messenger and the clouds will return....."

I was happy when it vanished and hastily returned to my camp. I fell asleep as I reached my camp, extraordinary exhausted and then I had that dream which ties me to it.

I was standing under a sunny, blue sky, birds singing, hare rushing peacefull. A shadow darkened the sun for the part of a second and a raven, as big as a dog landed in front of me, staring cold. It croaked and the sounds changed into words.

" There are two spirits, the Red and the Blue, hidden since ages..... bound together and the third...... waiting for freedom...... lost souls, tormented by humans....... only the one who listens can find them........ and times will change"

A final sore croaked and the raven flew away. Clouds from across the horizon started to darken my dream...........

I awoke sweating and confused. Since this day, something drives me towards seeking those spirits, even if I am not convinced that I should find them, but I cant change it, I am bound to my dreams. I tried to forget this dream and it worked for some time, but now the dream comes back........ Everyday I dream the same and it weakens me, my soul feels burned from it and I am now looking for the spirits, sleepless.................

Amin anta, Amin anta...........

Diola lle, Traveller and watch out for the clouds.......
Feanor Tir-Endor

Might this lead to something further? Thank you for sharing your tale.

Choose ye this day whom ye shall help, Janos Antero or Lich Soulstealer. The choice is yours...

Safe Journeys, signing off, this is...

Greetings.

I would like to invite the shard to the Drachenfels Mage Tower, Located in the desert by Valendor (Felucca) on May 20 at 7pm CET (6pm GMT, 1pm EST). We will be having the first of our weekly summoning contests. There is a 1k entrance fee that will go to funding the new DMT in Trammel.

It comes down to two people casting the 5th circle spell Summon Creature. The two creatures will combat each other, and bets are encouraged. 20 minutes before the event begins there will be people at Britain West Bank, Vesper, and Moonglow gating people to the Mage Tower.

I look forward to seeing everyone there.

River Blackstar

Khan of the Blackstar

I was having a quiet drink in Yew last night, after cleansing the local cemetary of the vile undead, when I began to hear disturbing reports. It would seem that the local orc fort has indeed been taken over by a more intelligent, and possibly more agressive, group of orcs.

Travellers were talking of little else. Many had passed by the area on their way to Yew only to be confronted by an organised band of orcs calling themselves the 'Uruk-Hai'. I am assured by a local scholar that this is simply the orc word for the elite among their own kind. Reports place the size of this band at anything from 6 up 25 orcs. I would suspect that some of our patrons here have exaggerated the number of orcs they encountered - possibly to cover their embarassment at being assailed by fewer and running! Many gave gold to the orcs and were allowed safe passage through the fort area. Some seemed in good humour, telling me that a mere pittance of only five gold pieces is enough to placate the aggressors, owing to the fact that they think five is a very large number.

Several local hunters saw the orcs gang up on and brutally kill members of the previously ascendant orc clan in the area. It would seem no quarter was given in these battles and the results were very bloody. Others were happy about this turn of events since they had witnessed the orcs feasting upon the corpses of some brigands that had plagued Yew of late - one can only assume that the brigands were foolish enough to refuse to hand over a 'tribbut' for the orc god.

These orcs regard horses as food and I did hear that one unfortunate knight had his horse killed and eaten before his eyes. the man was distraught and his companion made threats but was met by derision and - my apologies to any ladies reading this - fetid bodily acts from the orcs. I have seen a sketch of the scene and must say that I too would feel threatened by these foul denizens of evil.

I have also heard that some of the local Elves may be banding together to hunt the orcs - I would advise them to travel well armed, and guard their horses carefully!

Yours,

Rabin Siggursson

We received many other reports, including one stating that an orcish emissary named Ber'guk had met Lord VinYafod, Councilmaster of the Council of Yew. They both agreed to hold a meeting in the next days to discuss the future of the area around Yew.

More information soon in our Headlines.

Kinship (May 15)--Tatiana the gypsy, whose scrying ability is known far and wide, issued another dire prediction for the village of Kinship on Monday night. She stated that "the dead are restless" and "seek vengeance for what slew them." She went on to add that "the dead will haunt the town soon if the vengeance is not given to them." She continued and stated that she has been keeping logs of her visions in her tent in Minoc. She also added that it has been reported that her crystal gives hints of things that she had seen. Later, Gorion, Embassary to Trinsic, asked a few questions of her. In response to whether or not Benedict could be trusted, Tatiana urged caution. Whether or not she had heard of Krelan, she said she knew him not. Gorion also asked whether or not "The Masters", which were mentioned in Benedict's Journal, had anything to do with Minax. Tatiana warned him not to assume such things, lest the truth be blind to him.

--Tymaron

This is dire news for the people of Kinship. May the Virtues keep you safe!

Thank you, Tymaron, for the information!

Hail citizens! Want a house for almost 1/6th the price of a house deed? Or for 1/20th the price for a placed small? Or maybe you just don't want to wait for housing placement in Trammel, the PvP - lands? Or maybe you want a house in Felucca that's only 5 minutes away from a town?

Well, if so, then you're in luck. Because the Holy Disciples of Darkness are raffling off their house outside of Skara Brae. All you have to do to enter is come to the Holy Disciples' house in Caina on Ice Island or contact Navrip Freemech at ICQ 4926053 and buy a key from the vendor there. The house is right in front of Golgatha and the vendor's name is Zoe. There are 100 keys total with 20 keys being randomly placed on the vendor at any time. Each key is priced at 7000 gold. Once all of the keys are sold, there will be a recall rune to the house placed in the house in Caina. Once there, just go to the house and check to see if the key fits. If it does, then you are the winner!

We wish everyone who enters good luck!

Navrip Freemech

UO Jobs - Internet Developer

Are you an experienced Internet Developer? You may be just what we're looking for to expand the Origin team. We are currently searching for an Internet Developer to assist in the creation and maintenance of Internet applications and to support the creation of compelling and interactive programming designed to encourage game fans to enter and explore our worlds. Additionally, the ideal candidate will assist in high-level coding during HTML production/implementation and will identify and explore cutting edge programming technologies for web site development. As always, we are particularly interested in applicants from within our community and look forward to hearing from you!

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Proficiency with Perl and SQL.
• Experience with Internet tools.
• Ability to write and implement JavaScript and HTML.
• Must understand SQL and demonstrate query writing ability.
• Must possess an understanding of server administration.
• Computer science degree or 2-3 years Internet programming experience desired.
• Must possess the ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment, thrive in a team atmosphere, and effectively work with all levels of management. For immediate consideration, please send a cover letter and resume to:

Attn: Human Resources
5918 West Courtyard Drive
Austin, Tx. 78730.
Or fax (512) 346-7905
Or send email to [email protected]

Please indicate the job title (Internet Developer) for which you are applying. Origin is an equal opportunity employer.

URL: http://thechosen.com/Cal_Inter.htm

Retro is famous for some incredible work he did with the Australasian
Ultima Online Shard Appeal site. After successfully getting a shard
down under, he has started a new site that focuses on the UO and
gaming community in Australia. In this interview, Retro explains
how he was successful in getting a shard for his country and how
working with a positive attitude can get things done with large
gaming companies like EA / Origin.

Find this incredible interview here:
http://www.markeedragon.com/retro.htm

Come one, come all, to the Drunk Mud Wrestling contest, sponsored by Cassima Takier of the DTM Guild, in association with Imperial Productions.

Rules:

1. Bring 3 FULL jugs of cider.
2. You must be wearing your bathing suits (Ladies, white bikini's are the BIG thing this year) and with nothing in your pack except the cider. Have your friends hold your stuff.
3. When the whistle blows, you begin to drink your cider. Once you have drank all three, you may enter the arena.
4. NO hiding allowed.
5. If you die, you must stand to the side. There will be no looting as there will be nothing to loot on the bodies. Last man standing wins first place.

The Prizes:

First Place - A painting

Second Place - An SoS

Third Place - A metal chest

It will be held this Sunday, May 21st at 8pm Pacific time at the WC Tower located near DTM land.

Hope to see many of you there!

Snow
Senator, The Imperium

Thanks, Snow!

Friday Gladiator Event at Grimoire Arena.
Friday May 19th, @ (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST)
1 on 1 and Bar Fight Gladiator Event
10k First Place 1 on 1
10k First Place Bar Fight

NO ENTRY FEE

Here are the rules:

You can only use the resources on the battlefield. Thievery is allowed. Magic is limited to the scrolls on the battlefield. If you loose connection during the fight, you forfeit the match unless your opponent agrees to a re-match.

· No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No armor and weapons allowed.
· Up to three trapped bags/chests to break paralyze. They may be re-trapped during the battle.
· The Spell Des Mani (Weaken) is not allowed.
· The Double Hit weapon swing is not allowed. If you do not know how to use it, then don't worry about it. We will not demonstrate, but we know how it works.

Disclaimers:
· All contestants are subject to snooping by Grimoire 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 that 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.

We must have a minimum of 4 people to start this event!

This event takes place in the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena. Once you have entered the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena, all Contestants are bound by the Rules of the Battle Arena. Failure to follow these rules may result in your death or banishment from the Arena. http://www.battlevortex.com/grimoire/tourney_rules_overall.html Contestants and Spectators must observe and obey all the Village Laws. Failure to do so can end in your death or banishment from the village. http://www.battlevortex.com/grimoire/grimoire_rules.html For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit: http://grimoire.battlevortex.com/

Lost-Grimoire Event Coordinator

Safe Journeys,

Vladimir Taltos

Almost three weeks ago I posted of a major battle near Yew right before the introduction of Renaissance. Thomas Songbird, a bard of the Sambrook Pub and Winery, came in contact with a mysterious map that turned him into a lightning rod for orc aggression.

After an attack on the Pub he fled to the Blackcomb tower where another major attack took place lead by a green orc. The brave warriors led by Bladesong were able to repulse the orc army and Songbird escaped.

This leads us to Monday night. Once again the orcs were after Songbird who held up in the tower. Waves of orcs, ettins, trolls and orges descended upon them. With razor sharp blades and trusty arrows they stopped them in their tracks...that is until the green orc finally showed herself.

Yes, that's right. I said herself. It seems the leader who name was Scorn was one mean mama. Brazenly, she swept the defenders aside and made her way with powerful magic inside the tower.

It was at this point Thomas Songbird panicked and made a run for it. He was cut down to size by the frenzied mass at the door. While a ghost he was captured by Scorn's terrible magic. This seemed to be part of her plan because immediately they disappeared.

In the aftermath of this bloody battle there was a wide spread search for Thomas, but he was no where to be found. Soon, Elder Tulcumir came and informed everyone Thomas Songbird had been taken by Scorn to Shame.

For those who wish to help find the Bard of Yew please meet at the Blackcomb tower today 5/17 10:15 est/6:15 pst. There is a map to the tower here

Announcing the next Fishing Council of Britannia (FCB) auction on Sunday May 21 at 5 p.m. EST. Our sailors sell only items of highest quality and rarity. Even Red Dragon shops at our auctions! (Well, he walked by once, but we're quite sure he nodded...) Some featured items at this week's auction include a full ranger suit, haircut deed, full jars, fruitbasket, and bucket. More items arriving daily. Runes can be found at Cove Merchants Guild and Wanda's Wondrous Wares (small shop behind RD's tower).Gates will be cast from Britain main bank.

Auction rules and location are to be found at http://home.wmis.net/~gretchen/auction.html

Gem, FCB Great Lakes Fleet Captain

Date: Sunday, May 21, 2000

Time: 10:00p EST

Place: Temple of the Avatar, mainland Skara Brae, Felucca

Hail Fellow Travelers!

The Temple of the Avatar will be hosting what hopes to be a weekly sermon given by various people throughout the realm. This Sunday night, the Oracle of Courage, Jackdeth, will be giving a sermon on the principle of Courage. Please join us on what should be an entertaining night, and perhaps afterwards, we all can congregate at the nearby Valiant Drunkard. Thank you, and I hope to see you all there.

Inia Geoffrensis

Spiritwood Tavern Meet Market!

The next Spiritwood Tavern Meet Market will be on Saturday the 20th of May at 21.00 cet (8pm gmt). Of course everyone is invited!

A few words about the Meet Market itself: Anyone from the crowd can take the stage and tell something about him or herself. He or she then offers an hour of fun. This can range from a date to lessons in being a good guildmaster. From magery training to a dungeon trip. Or from catering a picnic to being best man at a wedding. As long as it lasts one hour (or longer or shorter if agreed upon). The buyer and seller set a date for this during the next two weeks (before the next Meet Market).

From then on the crowd may bid on this person while he or she advertises him or herself. Bids can go from 500 gold to 10.000 gold pieces or even more! Half of the gold will go to the tavern and the rest is for the seller. The tavern will use this gold for other events. And the gold should be paid after the Market is over (or at least in the week that follows). So if you would like to meet people, if you are in need of a good tailor or an alchemist or if you would like to show your partner how much you love him or her, come to the Spiritwood Tavern this Saturday. Drinks and food will be free as always.

You can find the Spiritwood Tavern if you follow these directions: If you start at the Skara Brae docks right outside town, go east. Take the second road to your right (south) (at a crossroads). Keep going south until the road turns eastwards. Keep following it and you will end up in Spiritwood. From the end of the road, go a little to the northeast and you'll see two large brick houses. The eastern one is the Spiritwood Tavern. The sextant coordinates are: 65S 27W.

I hope to see you all there! :-)

Fenris
Spiritwood Tavern Tavernkeeper.

Thank you.

Greetings all,

Let me introduce myself, I am Ghostfyr of the Sosarian Detective Agency and it is my grave duty to inform all of Britannia of a tragic occurrence last night. It seems Skara Brae and Spiritwood are being haunted by a horrific serial killer and this individual struck at a remote farm between Skara and Spiritwood, mauling 4 farm labourers. 'Tis a strange story but our involvement in this case began two nights ago.

Our headquarters received reports from our Skara division of a strange occurrence at Spiritwood tavern. It was a bleak evening. The lights of the tavern shone out like a beacon and the music from within flooded the nearby woods. However, the night's drinking and gambling was interrupted when a knock at the door was heard. The drunken warriors and mages leapt up to discover a fleeing shadow running to the woods and a parcel left on the steps. The bag was hastily opened to reveal a sickening array of lifeless limbs and organs. The smell suffocated the tavernfolk and they dropped the bag whilst it leaked blood turning the stone red.

Yesterday morning I was sent a pigeon by the head of the SDA instructing me to investigate. It was roughly noon when I set out on my journey from Britain and I didn't see the campfires of the peasant village near Skara until late evening. The air was cold, the moon was full and I was hungry and tired. I decided to seek lodgings in the village and not a tavern in Skara. The ferrymaster to Skara island had long since packed up and headed off home so it was fortunate that a family happily took me in.

A good night's sleep was violently shattered by horrible screams and shouts of anguish from what seemed like miles away. I jumped out of bed, grabbed a torch and headed off into the night. Near the village crossroads I encountered the other peasants, farmers and ranchers in a circle, shivering in the rain. I asked them where the noise had come from and they just pointed down the road to Spiritwood. I jogged along the winding road past the remaining few houses and into the blackest wood I have ever seen; I'm not sure why I decided to leave the road, I suppose you could call it a hunch, but it paid off. The forest was silent, you couldn't even hear the splatter of the rain on the leaves but I continued on, ever deeper into the thick vegetation. Between the trees a light caught my attention and ignited my path as I ran, nearing a building. Never in all my days have I felt so removed from the rest of humanity as I did last night, and never had I before encountered the horror that was contained in that farm.

The door was wide open and the carpet drenched in blood. I ventured in to find the four dismembered corpses of the unfortunate souls who once lived there strewn across the floor. I have to admit was terrified that who or whatever did that might still be close by. I didn't stick around for long. I plan to visit Spiritwood tavern today and interview witnesses to see if anyone can explain who the mystery man was. I only hope they will be more helpful than the village dwellers who foolishly believe supernatural powers are at work.

If you have any information or you are a witness of either the events at Spritwood tavern or the brutal murders please contact me at [email protected]

Signed
Ghostfyr the Detective

Thank you for sharing this with us Ghostfyr, and I hope the aid you seek is forthcoming.

Scritus sends the following report regarding the Merchants on Tour Horse Racing Grand Prix:

"The first race in the new season is over. And I was overwhelmed by the masses of spectators. Unfortunately this again caused some acoustic problems. So for all who didn't hear me....or left early....

"The Winner of the Grand Prix of Nujel'm is Falk (AdG) from Minoc. Close behind in second is Delorion. In the third place is Styx. The Report of the race is now ready for viewing at the Drachenfels Horse Racing Grand Prix site."

Go with the Virtues!

The tavern bustled with people , barely visable in the crowd the bar keeper Fenris thanked the attenders and began to draw the lottery.The building went silent in anticipation as Fenris rolled the dice."Number 3!" , the first

"Number 3!" , the first number was drawn , closely followed by the number 2 and the finishing number 3.

The crowd groaned and cursed with dissapointment , "The Winner is..." "Andre of the guild TNL!".Fenris jestured to the winner and he joined him at the bar to collect this winnings of 100,000 gold pieces!

After the majority of crowd had left , I had a few quiet words with Fenris about his future plans for the tavern.He informed me that he was currently looking for new barstaff to aid him in the running and operating of the tavern.He also informed me of the meet market to be held this weekend and the continuation of these events on a weekley basis(lottery and meetmarket).

If you want more information on the Spiritwood tavern or wish to become part of the taverns staff then you may wish to check out #spiritwood on Irc.Stratics.Com (port 6667) or mail the tavern at [email protected].

Directions to the Spiritwood tavern(Fellucia) are as follows.

Start at the Skara Brae docks right outside town, go east. Take the secondroad to your right (south at a crossroads). Keep going south untill theroad turns eastwards. Keep following it and you will end up in Spiritwood.From the end of the road, go a little to the northeast and you'll see twolarge brick houses. The eastern one is the Spiritwood Tavern. The sextant coordinates are: 65S 27W.

Thanks to Fenris and the Spiritwood tavern for hosting this event.

The nightfall had silently come upon the shrine of chaos, when the dark ankh was illuminated by a blue mist, as a moongate formed. From it came the Lichdrow Chaszmyr and two cloaked figures. They quickly started a ritual too dark to be here describe. After their wicked chanting had ceased, a specter appeared, as dark as can be, and quickly gained a more concrete form. Shahrazad, queen of the Elves, observed this ritual from a distance. She knew she could not interfere, that it was too late and doing so would just further the problems. What she saw terrified her. Narae'Dran, the Father of King Khyl'Dran had just been resurrected upon that pedestal, and surely was here to bring back the havoc that he once had cast upon his people. Shahrazad quickly came back to her throne room, deep in thought, when a messenger approached her.

"Hail, my queen," he bowed, "Richtor Darkbane is here to speak to thee." Richtor was one of the greatest Human Elf-Friends ever to earn such title. She nodded and requested that he be permitted entrance. The protection of the queen was essential now that Khyl'Dran was gone, and a tight security had been set up. Shahrazad saw the two Royal Guards go into full attention at the door at the entrance of Richtor Darkbane.

"Greetings Queen Shahrazad," said the human, bowing. "I come to thee with great news. A party I arranged this eve might have been successful in recovering the gem that entraps Khyl'Dran." The queen smiled, relieved. "Indeed? That is great news. Bring it to me so that the council can decide as soon as possible how to find a way to break this terrible spell!" Richtor said he had to be off to get it in time to bring it to her. He muttered magical words and disappeared.

One day later Richtor had found the soulgem where Chaszmyr had hidden it deep in the dungeon of Deceit. Much to the credit of many others, such as Gul'edhel, Sparhawk, Lari'Sa, and Rylorien. He wished to hurry and take the gem to the queen, but she was not present when he came to leave it to her. He decided not to hand it to anyone else, being it was such a delicate piece, a gem that held the soul of their ruler.

Richtor kept the gem with him, in the necklace. That same day he disappeared mysteriously....

My heart goes out to the Elven Kingdom of Asur'Herenion! I can only imagine their frustration, what with Richtor Darkbane missing and the resurrection of the wicked Narae'Dran, Father of King Khyl'Dran. We shall keep abreast on the happenings and share them here, in the hopes that any information we uncover can assist the elves in this dark time.

Yours in the Light,

This event, brought to you by Stratics, will give Siege citizens the opportunity to exchange goods and services with other members of the community. If you have resources or skills you would like to barter for someone else's resources or skills, this would be a good time to do that. It could be a chance to get scrolls for your spellbooks, arrows, potions, clothes, etc.Guilds which are recruiting might wish to have representatives on hand to talk about their guild and speak with potential members. Groups which are planning events might wish to discuss their plots and get some feedback or assistance in implementing their storylines. Owners of player venues who wish to have their establishments listed (or updated) on Stratics, please bring a rune and schedule a time for us to visit.

Door prizes are being donated by a number of people and are still being accepted. To register to win a door prize, bring a re-markable rune (destination unimportant), renamed with your name and a method of contacting you (messageboard URL, ICQ number, or e-mail address.) These runes will be recycled when the new SP Stratics Center opens. (A deed has been generously donated by Talon Freerunner. We await the lifting of the building freeze to place it.) You need not be present to win, but you must be present to enter, one entry per person. A complete listing of door prizes will be published next week.

The Swap Meet is open to the entire SP community. The location of Serpent's Hold was chosen for it's easy accessibility from Nystul's Gate in the Britain Castle courtyard. Should a group of 'dubious integrity" express a legitimate interest in participating, we will gladly hold the event elsewhere, provided we are able to arrange for adequate security. Any change in the venue, date or time will be promptly announced.

If you would like to assist in the organization of this event, have questions, would like to announce a particular item you have to trade/would like to trade for, or wish to donate a door prize, you may send an e-mail or post a message on the Siege Players' Forum.

We look forward to the Swap Meet and hope to see you all there.

UOSS is currently looking for active, talented citizens of the shards 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 Ultima Online 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!

Hail good people,

Well, it is time to dust off your armor and sharpen your sword; it is time to go to battle. We will be having Desert Storm II starting this Thursday at 7pm PST, 9pm CST, 10pm EST in the Safe Haven Tower.

The rules will be the same as before except this time there will be the following changes:

1) No summoning deamons.
2) No magic resist items allowed.
3) The first round will start at 7pm PST. The first round teams will be made up of guilds/people as you choose. When you die you can come back to the tower to get another cape. The teams from the 2nd round on will be randomly determined (by me). Once a clear winner from the first round is determined we will start a second round. The winner of the first round can choose to stay together and defend the desert, but be prepared for everyone to be gunning for the champ.
4) No teaming up.
5) Leave your blessed capes at home or in the bank.
6) Have fun.

For those of you that do not remember the rules from the first time around they go as follows:

We will give you each a cape and robe to wear of a given color. You then enter the desert and stay until you loose your cape.

If you no longer have a cape you must leave the desert and return to Safe Haven and join another team. No bringing your own capes!!!

This is a looting event. The goal is to be the team/person with the most capes at the end of the night. So when you kill someone make sure to get their cape and what ever else you need to continue fighting.

If you want to take part as either a warrior or an offical please ICQ me at 15036368.

Luxor
Mayor of Safe Haven, your event capital

For a complete listing of the rules and regulations of Desert Storm, visit the Safe Haven board or contact Luxor.

Brandy of DTM, in association with The Shrub Garden Inn & Tavern present:

The Murderer's Marathon Across Britannia

Think you can beat the town guards in a race across town? This Friday Night, May 19 at 12:00am EST (that's really Saturday morning at 12am), all contestants and officials will meet at The Shrub Garden Inn and Tavern.

Get out your favorite running sandals, boots, hell, go barefoot, and get ready to race across 12 major Britannian cities!

For details and registration, please direct your browsers here.

Thank you,
Alora, The Shrub Garden Inn & Tavern

One can only hope the guards don't eat their Wheaties that day! Best of luck to all the contests and thanks to Alora for sponsoring another innovative event.

Looks like we got us even more town news.....

The grand city of Magincia is in need of council members. We need a Mayor, Viceroy, Ambassador, Town clerk, Event Coordinator, Trade Administrator, and Captain of the Guard. Magincia is a proud city so you should spend some time in Magincia.

Council meetings should be held at the counsellor's guild in Magincia. Please contact mr by pigeon at 800527.

Magincia also has a senate. 9 senators are required to fill the senate. The senate meets in the senate chamber. If you would like to form a senate message me also at 800527.

Let's show pride in our city!

Badrina the Swashbuckler!

Thankee mate fer the news, and g'luck in findin the right blokes to fill them thar roles.

Yers in ale and tale,

Further information has been forwarded to our office regarding this weekends' orc activities. Different sources paint a more complete picture of this We received the following information from Rabin Siggursson, renowned slayer of undead:

"I write in response to thy missive about the new orcs in the area of Cove. I have it on good authority from travelers in the area that the said orcs left the fort at Cove after many battles with the local orc clan (in which they seem to have been victorious). They were then seen in Cove where a human mage is believed to have opened a moongate for them at the request of this' Ghoti'.

"The latest information I have acquired would seem to indicate that they assaulted a brigand camp somewhere north west of Britain and then laid siege to the orcs at Yew. Early reports from shepherds in the area tell of many orcs who formerly inhabited the Yew Fort wandering the countryside in small groups. It would seem that this is the fort now occupied by the new orc clan.

"Travelers in that area say they have met with requests for 'Tribbut' from these new orcs and that reports of their looking like humans have been exaggerated. A healer from the Yew area assures me that he has seen plenty of orcs and this band looks just like all the others, although possibly better equipped."

Finally, I discovered a report from the orcs themselves titled Storm Clouds Gather. This report confirms that the orcs kidnapped the orc fisherman Ghoti from the Skara Brae docks, and that they have claimed the Yew orc fort. The orc Puddlegum appears to be their leader, if one can truly be said to lead orcs.

Finally, one bit of confusing information; several eyewitnesses report that, far from calling the kidnapped orc "Ghoti," some of the orcs were calling him "Fish." The reasons for this are unknown as of this writing, though some scholars are insisting that "fish" is how "Ghoti" is pronounced.

We will keep you updated as this story develops. Go with the Virtues!

Exciting news from UO Stratics Community News Reporter Casanova! We received the following note earlier today:

"I'm just dropping a line here to notify you of my upcoming wedding. Ayaluna and I will get married on the 20th of May at the Nujelm Palace in candyland.. err Trammel ;-)

"The wedding will start at 8 p.m. local shard time (GMT), followed by the wedding party directly in place."

Kind Regards, Casanova

Go With the Virtues!

Hail friends:

Some of you may have seen the rumors posted on the various fansites regarding the UO Live Team. I'd like to take a quick moment and talk about those rumors.

Firstly, yes a couple of the UO Live members have recently left the team and some other members have been shifted to other projects. As with any organization, as new opportunities arise within a company, people move to different projects. Of course, as people move to different projects, that opens up opportunities for other people to take their place, both internally and externally, which is why we are interviewing for design and programming positions. Some of those positions will be filled by people within Origin who have an intimate knowledge of the game and the community.

Secondly, I need to dispel the rumor that the current (and future) UO Live Team does not contain people who have played the game. That is completely untrue. The current team does in fact have developers who played the game and virtually every person we have interviewed for the UO Live positions is a current UO player. After all is said and done, the UO Live Team will more then likely have more people (both in percentage and total number) who have played UO than the previous team.

For those of you worried about housing and the faction system, I am happy to be able to tell you that testing on both of these systems has started already. The Test Center shard for housing is currently available and the faction system Test Shard is up, but internal at the moment. We expect the faction system Test Shard to be available by the weekend.

Best regards,
Calandryll
Manager of Community Services

A group of adventurers, led by Jurri the Rogue, recently unearthed an ancient tome in a treasure chest on a small island north of Trinsic. Jurri revealed that this book, called Tome of the Blood Candles, had been written by a band of dark monks who engaged in forbidden arcane practices. According to the Rogue, he had been employed to retrieve the Tome by Vilendra, the Emerald Enchantress.

This same Emerald Enchantress was involved in the abduction of gypsy Doria Romanov's husband, Bryce Barington. Vilendra cast a spell of forgetting on Bryce and also a love spell to make Bryce love only her.

According to Jurri, the Emerald Enchantress has bigger plans than just dalliance with Bryce. Vilendra's specialty is magical spells which control the thoughts of others. The evil sorceress claims that if she casts three great spells, when the spells are completed and aligned with each other she will have the power to control the minds of everyone on the shard! Vilendra is now gathering artifacts and ingredients for the three spells of power, and the Tome of the Blood Candles contains secrets of making the forbidden Blood Candles to use in one of her arcane rites.

Doria now seeks to find Vilendra, for she knows that if she finds the lair of the Enchantress, there she will find her husband, Bryce. She also is concerned with the rumors about the three great spells Vilendra plans and wishes to stop the evil sorceress at all costs.

Adventurers who want to help Doria find Vilendra and thwart her evil plans are invited to come to Doria's tent in Skara Brae on Tuesday, May 16, at 7 PM (Pacific Time). Doria's tent is just north of the Skara bank.

Stav Korwell

Although Inmanilem was hurt badly a few days ago - He once again came and tried to communicate with us. The matter must be very urgent for him.

Baratus was one of the first people who tried to talk with him, and as the Clown he his, he heard the voice of The RingMaster in the back of his head
"Give him the translated version of the gargish codex".

After had read the codex Inmanilem seemed to be able to speak our language although not perfect as there was still words he spoke in gargish.

After a long conversation with him and both our species trying to understand one another he said what was later translated into:
"water healing artefact"
(more time will be spend in translating this)

He kept, from what we could understand, talking about the artefact, and how he needed it to help him. We mentioned Quentin Smithe has visited our town a number of times and dug up a vial on one occasion in the ruins in CLOWN Town.

The last words Inmanilem spoke were "Inmanilem nes ven quentin re lok about beninailem" which translated to "Inmanilem must find Quentin to talk about artefact", and on this note he flew off quicker than we could keep up and we lost him.

And as he vanished an army of Gargoyles appeared - but was quickly dispatched.

Sincerely

Lady Valkyria

And from another correspondent:

As soon as we had got rid off all the gargoyles that were attacking, and many other monsters around at the time, we quickly organised a search party to Britain. Me, Baratus, Infinytas and Dain Lavrans. We searched high and low for Quentin and Inmanilem but found nothing so we headed back to CLOWN Town in hope that they may off appeared there but they had not.

From this eve I feel we have made great progress with Inmanilem and hope that this may lead to peace amongst the CLOWN's and gargoyles in our Town.

Baratus made first contact with Inmanilem and him the Translated gargoyle codex that helped him to speak some of our language. If you see Baratus and Infinytas, please congratulate them on a job well done!

Plague
The True CLOWN

Thank you both, and good luck in the search for Quentin Smithe! The location of CLOWN Town can be found in the establishment section on the left, so if anyone thinks they have any information, why not go and pay them a visit.

Hail to ye. I know that we have all witnessed the decay, that now engulfs the facet of Felucca. With despair we have watched the trees rot, the rivers turn poisonous, and the advancement of the forces of Minax.

The question is, can these changes be reversed? Along with sage Bugg, I have studied some ancient writings, which seem promising.

According to these writings, Minax was banished to another dimension following the destruction of Exodus. Escaping from this dimension was not easy, but somehow, Minax returned to Britannia.

The ancient writings speak of a "Dimensional Banishment", ceremony more than spellcasting. None of these writings contain a complete description of the ceremony, but by comparing several books, we may figure out how this was done, thus we may be able to restore this Dimensional Banishment.

The risk of failure is great, but should we succeed, the facet of Felucca would be safe for years to come. We would have two safe worlds, instead of just one.

In our efforts to redo the ancient ceremony, the Lord British Loyalists have already gathered most of the strange and rare reagents needed in this ceremony.

However, some things are still unclear to us. We do not know where we are to perform this ceremony. Should anyone know where in Britannia we can find an ancient temple, crafted by the remains of Exodus, we would truly appreciate if he or she could send a letter to me at [email protected]

Other than that, there seem to be a strange link between the Followers of Armageddon and Exodus. We do not know in what way these two events were connected, so if anyone knows of a such link, please send a letter to the Lord British Loyalists at the above address.

If these two questions are solved, according to our current schedule, the facet of Felucca should be safe by next Sunday. Be warned, though, that the risk of failure is great, as is the risk of sabotage from the followers of Minax.

This shall not prevent us from attempting to banish Minax to another dimension.

Yours
Xel'Naga
Leader of the Lord British Loyalists.

Many thanks for writing.

The Heroes of the Realm Tournament Champion Has Been Declared!

Ladies and Gentlemen, a champion has been declared!! Ikeelu, General of the Vicious Knights was our champion at Saturday night's tournament. For pictures and the page dedicated in his honor, please visit the site and click on the "Heroes" link at the top of the page.

Heroes of the Realm Tournament

- Vladimyr, Head Bouncer, Pair-A-Dice Casino

Hail and well met! I am Deuce the new events co-ordinator for the UBB (United Blacksmiths of Britannia). We are scheduling an educational
event for saturday May the 27th at 3pm CST USA time. The event will be held in Trammel at the blacksmith guild in Britannia (if you need
directions just e-mail me at [email protected]). We have two speakers scheduled at this time and are going to go over which items to make to
get better skill advancement. The two speakers are Grand Masters of their craft (blacksmith) and were picked for their knowledge. They are
each going to talk then take questions afterwards!

There is also going to be a side event. We are going to make items for people who bring ingots! We will make you armor or weapons of your
choice. But remember even a Grand Master will still make mistakes so bring more ingots than you will need! This will be a free items making
event so all you need is to bring your ingots and let us know what you want. Please bag your ingots when you give them to the Smith. This will
make it easier to get your items back to you. And for those of you who feel guilty about getting something for nothing, you can do like I
do..... Tip the smith!

We are hoping for a great turn out! And everything is free! So if you are a Smith under the Grand Master level, or if you are a Grand Master
Smith and have been wandering how to make archer armor when there is no option for it, then come to the event. The educational and the item
events are free and open to all!

Two events in one ?!! How am I going to do it? Just let me worry about that! Come and be educated and get free armor. What is the harm in
learning things and getting free stuff?!! Heck, I have given myself a week and a half, I may even try to get some food and ale together.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Deuce, Events Co-ordinator for UBB

This event sounds very educational and worth the time checking out for all those who are blacksmiths in training.

May Mondain bless you on your chosen path!

In addition to the move, Brimstone, has set up, for a very limited time, CBA Logoed merchandise to be purchased thru Cafe Press. Brimstone designed the CBA Logo used on the merchandise so make sure to click the magnifying glass to see it up close. You can choose from T-shirts, mugs and a mousepad. A must have for all bards! Make your orders here.

The CBA is always welcoming new friends, be sure to enjoy the Library of many bardic tales including the infamous Vlad Talon Collection. Shardmasters are needed on several shards, so if you have an interest be sure to see if your shard is in need on the Contact Us page.

Great news! The GxD Magic Weapons & Armor Price Guides can now be downloaded from the GxD Web site! These files are courtesy of Dracos Moira of the Pacific Shard. These files are available in Excel or Quattro Pro format. Enjoy!

- Dracos Moira

The Logic Stone - an interesting, on-going UO related story. Readers can make choices within the story which will either lead to an ending or to a progression of the story. There are also hints which readers may try to guess via the "thoughts and views" board, or they can use the hints to make choices on what they will do next. Each update to the story ends with a "death" ending, a "hook" ending, and sometimes a "happily-ever-after" ending. Check it out here: The Logic Stone

The winner for Grimoire's first Gladiator fight night was....*drum rolls*

Tempest!! He took home a total of 25k after winning the Gladiator 1 vs 1 and the following bar fight.

This was a unique event because the participants entered the arena unclothed and without possessions. They were only armed with their skills and the fighting gear was scattered around the arena for them to pick up. This was a true test of a player's resourcefulness.

The staff and spectators were great as usual and many thanks to Craggan for making this event possible.

Baby-Grimoire Staff =o)

I apologize to all the people that we had lined up to participate in our Castle Capture the Flag Event. From what I saw, it would have been an "all night" thing (from when the servers opened to when they closed). I am VERY sorry, but my friends and I are having some problems in real life that require canceling the event. Most of us are not going to be on for about a week or so. Again I am VERY sorry to all the people who were willing to play. Don't drink and summon...have fun and play well....

We are all very sorry to hear this Roy. I know I was looking forward to this event. Hope your problems are quickly settled and your back in armor soon.

In Regards to the Festival of the Virtues

There will be a few small changes in regards to the Festival of the Virtues, due to unnavoidable circumstance. Instead of its intended dates of May 17th-20th & May 25th-27th, we will draw the Festival out to two days a week. The first two days of the Festival will still be on the 17th & 18th of May, and will focus on the Virtues of Humility and Valour. The following week, we will focus on anther two Virtues, and we will announce this date quite shortly. News of the Festival will be posted at the beginning of each week.

We hope you will join us for the beginning of the Festival of the Virtues on May 17th & May 18th to honour Humility and Valour, and to take part in the festivities. Here are a few things you can expect at the Icelandic Floating Community on those dates.

May 17th,

The Festival of the Virtues Begins!

The Virtue of Humility.

Humility. The recognition of the worthiness of all beings, and the perception of one's own place among them, regardless of one's own personal accomplishments or mistakes in the world.

Humility is independant of the three primary principals.

As such, we shall on this night cast away our pride, and stand, quite literally, naked before the forces of the world, be they as they may. The Icelandic Floating Community invite you to take part in our

Naked Drunken Race!

Beginning at 7pm, PST, at the IFC in Felucca.

Starting inside the caverns of Ice, near the entrance to the Ice Fiends lair, one will be required to ingest several bottles of liquor then run, naked and drunk, through the caverns. Racing against all the others in a race to the finish! You will be required to run south along the path indicated by the map, past many predators who make their home in those frozen caves.

There will be posts at several key points, hidden against danger, to ensure that all participants follow the intended path to the finish line.

Due to the danger inherent to the caves of Ice, I ask that none of the participants carry anything of value upon them. It is also permissible to finish as a ghost, as long as you do so visibly. (In War Mode so we can tell which way you are travelling. Failure to do so will disqualify you)

The prize for this race is a cheque for 10 000 gold.

We hope to see you there! May the Æsir keep you!

May 18th,

The Festival of Virtues!

The Virtue of Valour.

The courage to uphold virtue, even in the face of physical or psychological threat.

Valor relies solely on Courage

So then do we put forth the call to the courageous, to the brave and the valourous, to aid in the protecting of our lands by propagating our reputation amongst the inhabitants of the icelands. Join us for the

Snow Elemental 1 on 1 Competition!

The Goal!
To survive as long as possible within an arena battling alone against a Snow Elemental!

The Place!
The Icelandic Floating Community in Trammel

The Time!
8pm, PST

The Prize!
The total entry fee collected!

The Cost!
1000 gold per combatant, and perhaps a little dignity.

The Rules!
The combatant enters the ring, and awaits the appearance of the Snow Elemental. (Which will be lured by a member of the IFC) Immediately upon spying the elemental, the combatant will enter War Mode, and begin attacking to ensure the Elementals attention will be focused upon them once the Lure recalls away. (Archers must be disarmed until the Elemental enters the arena to avoid unfair advantages before the contest truly begins) Once the Snow Elemental enters the arena, the timer will begin.
The combatant must remain within the ring! 30 seconds will be subtracted from the combatants score everytime they step outside of the arena. (You are responsible even if you accidentally activate Pathfinding) Upon the combatants demise, the Snow elemental will be dispatched quickly, and the combatant resurected. The combatant can employ ONLY 10 of either Greater heal spells, Greater heal potions, or bandages. In short, only 10 heals per match! We will be watching!
NO Magic weapons or Magic Armour is allowed.
NO Poisoned Weapons.
NO usage of the paralyze spell.
NO energy or paralyze field spells.
NO summoning spells of any kind. (Elementals, Blade Spirits, Summon Creatures or Energy Vortex.)
SPELLS CANNOT BE CAST UNTIL THE ELEMENTAL HAS ENTERED THE ARENA!
Other offensive spells or Scrolls are permitted.
NO EXCEPTIONS!

Failure to abide by these rules will result in your immediate disqualification.

The Reality!
Combatants will be snooped, to ensure that they are carrying nothing more than their weapons, armor, reagents, no more than 10 potions and/ or bandages. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Spectators MUST remain on the ships, or atop the incline!!!!
All mounts MUST be kept upon the ships to prevent them from attacking the Snow Elemental.

Thank you and we hope to see you there!
May the Æsir keep you.

Icelandic Floating Community Open in Trammel this Tuesday!!

This Tuesday, May 16th, the IFC will be open and staffed by Niko. Between the hours of 3:30pm-5pm, PST, there will be merchants present, peddling their wares. If you happen to be a merchant, please feel free to stop by with your wares also. A Hunt will also be put together following the merchants bazaar, so stop by, warrior and mage alike. While here, stock yourself with the wares for sale here.

We hope to see you here.

May the Æsir keep you!

Earnst, IFC

The possibilities are endless in Trammel. You can feel the energy all around you. The tingling down your spine as the hair on your arms stand on end, the feeling is truely haunting. It was at this point, Varrus asked me to wear a blindfold for he was taking me to where he planned to build his city, the city of Sanctuary. Understanding the necessity for secrecy due to the expecting land rush, I obliged. Varrus then recited an incantation and I stepped into the darkening void.

Upon removing my blindfold, I was greeted with unlimited green pastures. Surely I was hallucinating for I've never seen such sights in all my time in Felucca. It was a pleasant experience. After descending from my natural euphoria, it was time to discuss the city that will soon greet many visitors in these surroundings. I sat next to Varrus on a grassy knoll and began asking him some questions.

Endren: How did you first begin visualizing the city of Sanctuary?

Varrus: To be honest I always felt something was missing in the land of Felucca. So Basically it was either a choice of plodding along the same path or trying to build something better for all of us. The City came as second nature because Trammel will allow for placement of new houses, thus giving me the actual chance to build on it. I also felt a city would be better then just a guild because that might only create an elitist group where only the guild members could actually interact in the level we are trying to build.

Endren: Why the name "Sanctuary"?

Varrus: The city and spot was founded by a lost garrison of soldiers that were aiding in the defense of villagers while Nystul's gates were evacuating this village. The soldiers came through the gate while the villagers told them that this was to be their Sanctuary. The name stuck from that time on. There is much more to this story, but that's the short of it.

Endren: What is it that this city represents to you? And what do you see the city becoming in the future?

Varrus: To me, it is the place where I will strap on my trusty sword and walk the dusty streets, talking to the townsfolk and live a fulfilled life. Once the city is placed, I would like to see it become as busy as Britain. I would like every person to come and visit us even if just for a day. I can see this city as the starting point of a new style of life in Britannia.

Endren: So I'm taking this means Sanctuary will be open to everyone and not just a certain class of people?

Varrus: Everyone will be invited to be part of the city. Anyone that has been working with me on this project knows I am very strict on that matter. I will NOT allow any type elitist attitude grow within the city.

Endren: Who is all involved at the moment with the formation of this city?

Varrus: At this point we have some very key members and none of this would be possible without them. Matthias a friend and co-founder of the city. Aricia Delong has put large amounts of work into the city and her advice has kept us focused on the short term goals. Others that have also put a lot of time and effort into this are Serpico, Nausicaa, Kalos Bendaris, Taliq Aziel, Bain and Natrim Amory.

I would just like to mention that without their help this project would never have gotten any further then a dream. Thanks guys!

Well it seems as if Varrus and the rest have a lot of work ahead of them. After spending some time with him, I have come to realize that a true visionary is a person who is not afraid to dream but also a person who is not afraid to live that dream. With Mondain's blessings, I wish these people the best of luck in this vast project. I look forward to walking the streets in the city of Sanctuary.

For anyone interested in either aiding on the building of the city of Sanctuary or becoming a citizen, you can find more information at The City of Sanctuary Message Board.

May Mondain guide you on your chosen path.

Today a rag-tag band of thieves raided our banks of Britannia. They showed organization and tactical maneuverability. Since the world-change, my men's power has dropped drastically. No longer do we possess the power to strike these ruffians down at first site; no, now we are forced to give chase and catch them before they can be brought to justice. This has proved to be a most difficult feat, but not an impossible one and the people still fear the city guards.

Two guilds known as the Army of Thieves and Brotherhood of the Hand all but took over Britain's east and west banks. They forced me to call a stage three alert, spreading my men short, and testing our limits. Most of the time the thieves were brought to justice, but there were too many times when they got away. These thieves know their trade well, and seemed to know how to get around the Guard's enforcement of the law.

The raids came without warning, at 0800 this morning, the West Bank of Britain was literally crawling with rogues. The AT and *H* abbreviation could be seen everywhere one looked, and keeping track of them all proved most difficult. Then the calls for help started pouring in. Robbing was happing all over and I'm willing to say that almost every citizen present reported something lost. Pretty soon people started leaving the West Bank to get away from the thieves. As could have been predicted this caused the thieves to move to the East Bank, continuing their reign of terror there.

We happened to have a sketch artist at the scene of the crime, and she drew three pictures for us. As you can see the thieves were almost mocking the guards. One tactic they used was to stand around an unsuspecting citizen, and simultaneously steal from that person. This caused two guards per thief to teleport in, swamping the bank with unwanted spam and cries of death. The thieves that didn't get away left an intricate design with their corpses on the ground.

I have heard of AT and *H* before. At first I wasn't sure, but I knew I knew them from somewhere. These are the very guilds who captured the City of Haven just a few 'morrows ago. Not to mention have the City of Ocllo well under their thumb. Haven, being a city not under Lord British's rule, was powerless to stop them. Hell, Ocllo is under Lord British rule, and THEY couldn't even stop them. During Haven's occupation, I sent the Mayor a message offering any services we may be able to provide. To my utter surprise, had the message returned to learn that the Mayor had been kidnapped by the rogues! The city was eventually liberated and Mayor returned safely, but today's events suggest that AT and *H* have very well not been defeated.

As can be suspected I do not trust these rogues one bit. I shall put in a request tomorrow for more men, to ensure we have the upper hand. Along with that request I will make sure the Guard Captains in Moonglow, Vesper, Minoc, Yew, and all the other cities are on full alert. These rogues are not to be underestimated.

-Herman Miller, Captain of Guard, Lord British 52nd
Links:
Army of Thieves [ http://home.mgfairfax.rr.com/askme/ ]
Brotherhood of the Hand [ http://Goalzila.homestead.com/bothmain.html ]

You've read about it in the news! You've defended the townships attacked during the quest for the Golden Tome fragments! You've heard of the rivalry between the Bloodrock Clan and the Sandlewood Box crew. Let's settle this dispute once and for all ....... On the FAMIL...errr...CLAN FEUD!! Yes, folks, it'll be a battle of the wits in TUR Village on Wednesday night, May 17th at 8:30 pm central. Please come and be a part of our studio audience as representatives from the Bloodrock Clan and patrons of the Sandlewood Box Tavern attempt to match answers to what the SURVEY SAYS! There'll be food, drinks and doorprizes. Bring a rune with your name on it to participate. (In the interest of taping, please check your rowdiness at the door.)

The Clan Feud will be held atop the TUR Village Dragon Roost Tavern located well Northeast of the Yew moongate in Yew wilderness (92o 54'N, 23o 7'W). Runes to TUR Village are located at Cove Merchant Guild, Krista's Ranger Station, and the Sandlewood Box. For a map and complete directions, check out the Village page at http://www.theunruled.com.

Outy & Skye of the TURs

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ithunk, articulate orc and temporary shard reporter for AOL Legends. Until Xena Dragon has the opportunity to recruit and train a decent human staff for AOL Legends, I will be serving as your reporter. I look forward to hearing about all the different human events on the shard. Perhaps I'll even send some of my orc brethren to participate. Har har.

If you any news or ideas for stories you'd like me to investigate, please contact me at the AOL Legends Home Office.

Hail Minax!

Announcing the Moonglow's Friday Night Flee Market (Trammel Facet/Catskills)

Having trouble buying exceptional weapons and armor in Trammel? Need to restock your supply of greater heal potions or recall scrolls? Want to stock up on moonstones or buy a city or dungeon runebook?

The Defenders of Justice will be sponsoring a Flee Market in Moonglow, Friday the 19th of May. Blacksmiths, tailors, fletchers, alchemists, scribes and merchants of all types are invited to attend to sell their wares in the lovely island city of Moonglow. Miners, lumberjacks and others who wish to get a fair price for their stocks of raw materials should not miss this opportunity. Adventures who need restock their supplies or simply need their armor repaired are invited to puruse the fine merchandise on display (remember to tip your Blacksmith for making repairs to armor and weapons!).

Visit our Catskills Trading Message Board for up to date information about prices, to place large orders in advance, or just to ask any questions.

Special notes to Merchants who are planning to attend:

1) Merchants are encouraged to visit the message board to sign up for a half-hour or hour time slot to sell their wares. This is to help ensure that we don't have 5 alchemists from 7-8 and then none for the rest of the night.
2) SPAM: Merchants are asked to severly limit their use of macro spam to describe what they have for sale. Instead please create more detail lists of items and prices in their portfolio. This is to prevent shoppers from getting overloaded while in attendence.

Where:
Second Defense Armory (next to the Moonglow Bank)
Catskills Shard
Trammel Facet

When:
Friday, May 19th
7-10pm

Sponsored by:
The Defenders of Justice

Organized by:
Kerrigan, Earl of Justice (DoJ)

Good luck to the merchants and buyers alike!

The Guantlets of the Storms, the second of four Stormguard relics needed to defeat Lord Ventryn, has been recovered by Thain Fallshorn and the Kingdom of Winterfell.

A modest group left Winterfell Tower on Saturday evening led by Thain to find the dragon with which Thain left in care of the artifact. He led us to a cave north of the desecrated Shrine of Compassion where he believed was the dragon's lair.

The dragon was not present; however, a book was soon discovered which detailed directions to a location somewhere north of the Lost Lands city of Papua.

The group arrived at the location and found the dragon, Parados. Thain peacefully approached it, and asked for his heirloom. However, the dragon did not trust Thain nor the party, and asked that they perform a small task to prove their worth.

This task involved dispelling an evil which was festering a small ways to the north. The monsters defeated, the party returned to the dragon, only to find it mortally wounded. In the party's absence, it had been tricked by Ventryn to reveal the location of the Guantlets, which were hidden back in its lair near Compassion.

The party quickly returned to the site, only to find it swarming with undead. After a long battle, the minions under Ventryn finally yielded. Ella, who had somehow acquired the Gauntlets, gave them to Thain. Shortly thereafter, Lord Ventryn arrived and attempted to destroy Ella. However, he was stayed by the warriors at the scene, and a pursuit through the desert sands ensued.

Ventryn was half-dead before he arrived at the grave of Lord Patmos and mysteriously vanished. The party returned to Northwood, successful in their recovery of the Guantlets, and rested.

--Tymaron

This is indeed good news for the people of Winterfell! Congratulations on the victory, and good luck with your efforts to recover the missing two relics!

Thank you Tymaron for the information!

To all who are concerned about the plague threat,

Tonight while I was working my normal shift, and just before I left to go home, Benedict came into the Kinship Village tavern. He was very nervous, and rightfully so with his involvement in the plague ship that wrecked not long ago on the coast near our village and the attacks of mages on the town. He asked that we not harm him and let him share his information.

Benedict told us that someone named Krelan was behind the plague and had made him do all the awful things he had done. He also told us that there is an old man named Ewan who has a cure for the plague and the only way to stop it is to find him. However, since Krelan has recently kidnapped Ewan, we must find him first.

I am not a fighter, so I am leaving it to those of you who are to do what you can to help. I know that Benedict has done some awful things in the past, but I believe he is telling the truth. Benedict says that if we can find Krelan and rescue Ewan, we will see an end to the plague threat. Please help.

I imagine Benedict will be bringing his information back to the Kinship Village tavern in a few days. The barkeeps will do their best to get the information to those who seek to help as soon as we hear it. If any of you wish to try to hear it for yourself, the barkeeps are on duty between the hours of 8pm - 11pm eastern every night of the week.

Peace to you all,

Mishca, Barmaid of Kinship Village

Benedict, the developer of the poison responsible for several deaths recently, arrived in Kinship Sunday night and asked for help. The skeptical tavern patrons listened as Benedict admitted that he was responsible for developing the poison, and that he was forced to do so by a person named Krelan.

He warned that since Ewan the Yew brewer had developed a cure, Krelan will attempt another poisoning attempt. He advised the tavern that Krelan must be stopped and Ewan rescued in order to stop the on-coming plague. He further revealed the magic word used to gain access to the lab from a platform found in the Delucian caves.

After Benedict left, a small group left Kinship and confirmed the magic word, which was 'ranatos'.

--Tymaron

The plague is responsible for several deaths already, and it has citizens from Trinsic to Yew frightened for their lives. I pray Ewan can be found alive and well!

Thank you Mishca and Tymaron for sharing this information!

Thanks Batir !

Hear Ye
Hear Ye
Hear Ye,

As the sun casts its life giving rays upon the earth, releasing it from winters dark grip and once more calling forth the spirit of renewal, it is time for we too, the peoples of the land to come together, join hands and lift our collective spirit towards the heavens in celebration of the Spring!

We, the proud people of Spiritwood are thrilled to announce the coming of Spring Fest, a Festival of celebration and renewal.

Come one, come all and join in the event of the season. Share in the delights of the many spectacles, take part in the collective celebrations and help us to welcome the Spring.

Spring Fest will be held on Sunday, the 4th of June in the blessed township of Spiritwood, (Felucca).

To find the town of Spiritwood, start at the Skara Brae docks on the mainland, go east. Take the second road to your right (south, at a crossroads). Keep going south untill the road turns eastwards. Keep following it and you will end up in Spiritwood.

From the end of the road, go a little to the northeast and you'll see two large brick houses. The eastern one is the Spiritwood Tavern. The sextant coordinates are: 65S 27W.

Celebrations will commence at 8 PM GMT, or 21:00 CET, and will include a Joust of Champions, a Talent Competition, a Fashion Show, and more!

Further details will be coming soon, but mark you calendars now good people, for Spring Fest is heading your way!

Shri
of Custodes Fati

Many thanks Shri.

Rumors have filtered in from citizens in Cove that a strange new clan of orcs have claimed the Cove orc fort for their own. Led by a mysterious orc named Ghoti, who apparently spends most of his time fishing in Skara Brae, this clan defeated the orcs living in the fort, and held it for most of Sunday. These new orcs look oddly human, though their behavior and, according to at least one report, odor leaves no doubt about their true nature.

Pug'Yula, representative of the orcs, had this to say:

"We Uruk-Hai. We kik shardees owt vrum fort. We take fort for livv. Hummies no come fort, it Uruk place!"

Who are these mysterious new orcs? The UOSS Drachenfels News Team will bring you updates as they arrive.

Go with the virtues!

On Wednesday May 17th at 8:00pm EDT there will be a large group hunt to the ophidian lair sponsored by the Duir of Yew and the Heartkin guild. We will all meet in Moonglow in Trammel in the field to the west of the bank at approximately 7:30pm for a briefing and then we will head down to Papua and walk the rest of the way to the Lair. If you wish to join us, please contact Lady Tygress. You can reach her on ICQ at 62133870 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Thanks,
Lady Tygress of Chesapeake

As I awoke to a mighty wailing and knashing of teeth I saw a huge pack, almost a legion of dire wolves leaping and bounding out of the bracken and fallen trees, all horrible growling sounds and drooling jowls. Seems the Yew woods have been infested with none other than wolves!
They teamed out of the woods attacking the first thing they saw, mainly us... After a short battle with the Guardsmen Militia rushing at the wolves and visa versa, while I went towards them with a pair of scissors, a tailoring kit,a large club and a gleam in my eye willing to tend to the wounded wolves...
Now I Know how these reports are written so....
Where did this beasts come from? Did they run out of wandering healers and peasants too eat?
Are they controlled by something bigger and more evil smelling than Captain Llew's morning breath?
Who knows? Does it matter? Am I rambling on trying to bulk out this report?

Yours,
Simon
Tinker of The Guardsmen Militia

Thanks fer the report, friend. *Wipes wolf blood of his shield*

Yours truly,

ClownTown is still under heavily attacks by Gargoyles.

Under the last attack Inmanilem once again came to our aid? But unfortunately he was misunderstood and was heavily attacked by the defenders of ClownTown. How severe his wounds was I can not tell, only that he escaped heavily bleeding.

I urge everyone NOT to attack him.

The one thing we must do is to ensure that Inmanilem gets a copy of translated Gargish Codex. A copy of the codex should be located in every house in ClownTown. If you have access to any houses, make sure you know where the codex is located so that you fast can go and get it when he returns - if he returns.

Sincerely
Lady Valkyria

I was out hunting in the forests of Britain and came upon her corpse lying silently in a clearing. I quickly gathered her things knowing that be brigands would be more than happy to keep them for their own means. I then returned to Britain and began my search for the young lady in question.

I even went to the Registrar so that I would know the real Reenuk from an impostor, but alas my calls for her fell upon deaf ears. If someone could put me in touch with Reenuk I'd be most grateful, her things must be returned.

So Reenuk, if these are your things please get in touch with Kas Valentine.

This week we want to know what percentage of your in-game time do you spend fighting monsters. so head on over to our Periodic Poll and let us know.

Last week, I asked all of you who didn't like UO:R to send me one reason you didn't like it. The response was great, with over 500 of you sending in a response.

This week, I am asking why you like UO:R. Please send an e-mail to [email protected], with ONE reason you like UO:R, other than land for new houses. Those of you who sent me reasons you liked it last week, please re-send your reason. Please do not send any more reasons you dont like UO:R, as the time for that was last week.

I will compile all the results from both polls, and publish it here next week.

Greetings all!

Once again, the Village of Humility would like to invite you to attend the Tuesday Night Pit Fights at the Bloody Keg Tavern. I would like to take this opportunity to say, The fights are EVERY Tuesday night, even if you don't see it posted here on Stratics. (sometimes they get busy, and the announcement does not get posted) Last weeks fights were the smoothest ever, thanks to a revision in the rules, and was a great success.

All are welcome to enter the fight, but come early. Contestant tickets go on sale at 7:30 eastern, and are limited. You will find a complete set of rules on our website: Humility

We hope to see you there!

The Caina Cock fights will once again take place this Wednesday (the 17th) in the city of Caina on Ice Island at the Asylum of Perdition Casino. The registration starts at 10:00 PM EST and the actual fights start at 10:30 PM sharp. The entrance fee is 500 gold per cock. Chickens will be available at the Asylum, but in limited number. It is highly recommended that you bring your own chicken. Gates will be provided from Skara Brae, Britain, and Serpent's Hold at 10:00 PM. The winner of the fights receives half of the entrance fees as a prize.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Navrip Freemech

It had been a frustrating night already. I was so close to being able to resurrect heroes with my healing skill but just haven't been able to gain. In vain, I travelled to arctic islae and then to Yew, where I was killed and lost only my regs and my bandages. I returned to the Crimson sands of Evermoore while Tanya and Dr Fate searched for the monsters that stole my regs.

While I was there I spied three unidentified human corpses on the ground outside of the tavern. I received a message by pigeon that pirates had attacked. Since i had no regs or bandages, I hid and summoned help. As i hid I spied three sailors dashing about so I called for help again. When Kamorra arrived, we went in search of the sailors.

We found them by our sparring field. The one we spoke to was named Angus. He told us a tale of a stolen treasure map and two murderous pirates hiding to the north. I questioned Angus and from him learned that the murderers had gone to someplace north of the bay that our town is on. I deduced that the best place for a treasure to be hidden was the ruined house that Hengist and i have investigated on a number of occasions. I suggested this to Angus and he thought I must be right. He asked pandora to go an look. As Pandora searched, I summoned as much help as I could. I even considered calling Ender.

Pandora came running to tell us that they pirates and murderers were, indeed, in the ruined house near the passage to Delucia. We fimnished our preperations and set uout after them. The pirates came at us like mad men. We slew many but only Docotor Fate reamined unharmed. I myself took down three of them with my maul before being knocked to the etheral. I found a healer and returned to my corporal state wearing a death robe. I attmepted to weave back in to retrieve my maul and fight but the pirates were everywhere and I had to run every time. I attempted desperatly to summon help from Ace but he got lost looking for us. I came across Doctor fate running up and down the coast casting spells at the pirates that had been chasing him. Suddenly it was all over. The pirates rushed to their shoips and sailed off. as I found my body and retrieved my belongings I learned that another group had slain the murderers and this caused the pirates to lose heart and flee.

I know not who the brave team was that slew the murderers and drove the pirates away but we thank them and hope they appreciate the efforts we put forthe to aid them as well.

Shadow Weaver the Healer

---

The community of Crimson Sands of Evermoore has continued to grow. We have suffered minimal damage from the invoked devastation. We have hired a tavern keeper and have placed vendors. Now we are seeking contact with the city councils of Britain. We have contact with Britain and now Jhelom. We would like to establish contact with the other city councils.

We are willing to help in any way we can. We have 27 veterans seeking to help the cities of Sosaria in any way that we can. If you represent a city council please contact me by pigeon 800527 or come to our town of Crimson Sands of Evermoore. You can reach our town by rune in Goodman's Rune Library on northern shore of Magincia, in guarded area.

Thank you for your time

Hengist the Armsman

All-out PvP Event! May 18, 6:00 PM PST

Anyone can join. This event will be held in Felucca at the clearing north of Vesper. The clearing will be the "arena" in which all participants are to stay. Non-participants are to form a perimeter around the clearing.

Rules:

• No looting
• No leaving the arena
• No magic reflect items
• No paralyzing
• No teaming up
• No robes for the participants. Skirts are the only clothing allowed.
• No attacking anyone wearing a white robe.
• No runes

All participants will be searched for any of the above items.

"After having read your report about Wisps, I became aware that I wasn't the only one to have a such encounter with the strange blue orbs. I encountered one just outside the Dungeon of Shame. It approched me, and having heard this in a rumor, I made the statement, "Hail wisp" , "How art thou today?". The Wisp seemed to reply in somewhat jibberish. Knowing their affinity for music, i played my harp. With great response, it brought me some regents (as payment I suppose). I have found that, although not violent creatures , wisps can also help in battle(I know this as one has healed me before)." - Blaze Nightwolf

Many thanks to Blaze for this interesting update on the investigation of Wisps.

4/28/00

Last Friday night began as every Friday night for the past six months as travellers gathered from all over the world to watch or participate in our weekly Golden Knights event in the Alliance Village. The Golden Knights event is a different type of event held every week which has become increasingly popular over the past couple of months, attracting large crowds of contestants and spectators. Occasionally we have had a vistor or two that attempted to interrupt the event, but we have never had any real problems and our village has always been a peaceful place to live in. We never expected what was to come later that night...

This weeks event was a battle of warriors one on one. The fighting was fierce and went on for hours as many great warriors battled it out in a arena inside the village. During the event, some of the spectators noticed a strange visitor that had suddenly appeared who also seemed to be somewhat out of place. A tall woman with black hair dressed in the brown garments of a ranger stood in back watching the event. There was a sinister aura around her that many commented on, but we have had many interesting types come to the event and we passed over the first hint of the danger that was to come. The next hint was when she began commenting on the event and killing in general. Often we heard her say the event was a waste of time because there was nothing to be gained by killing each other in a ring, but she could not leave because she found herself strangly attracted to the fighting, the blood, and to death. This went on throughout the event and those near her began to think she was insane, but those of us running the event dismissed this as just another unique visitor to the event. Near the end of the event she suddenly disappeared just as quickly as she came. Those nearby her and those watching her during the event were thrilled to see this dark presence leave and hoped she would not return. Unfortunately this was also the final sign, the foreshadowing of what was to come.

The final two fighters, Sabastian and Silex, were facing off in the arena. After fighting matches for hours both warriors were exhausted, but Sabastian found a reserve of energy and was able to finally beat back Silex to win this weeks Golden Knights event. The crowd began to cheer when the final winner was declared, but suddenly those cheers turned into screams as spectators in the back began to point at something coming from the jungle. Those of us running the event immediately went to investigate and to our astonishment we saw there was a large group of red robed mages advancing on the village shooting fireballs and lightning bolts at everything near them. The call was sent out for more help and everyone there quickly prepared for the long battle to come. In the beginning it seemed we would easily overtake the forces sent against us. A few began to comment on how easy this was when howls echoed through the fighting and hellhounds began to appear all around with the mages. This was when many of the warriors and mages fighting to protect the village first voiced the name of Minax.

Was it possible? We have always thought the wars were in the cities and our villages and towns were safe from the evils far away. How very wrong we were. It became obvious when a army of orcs and undead decended on the village next to the red robed mages and the hell hounds. What had started as a public event in a peaceful village was turning into a pitched battle to the amazement of everyone there. Those defending the village fought on, but began to know fear as creatures never seen before began coming into the battle. Giant Black Widow Spiders, all kinds of elementals including strange tornado looking creatures called Zephyrs, Blood Tentacles, which looked like corpsers, but they were red and moved around to attack anything near them. The most frightening creature looked like a dragon, but it was green and covered in mold. It seemed impossible, but we were beginning to lose our community to the forces of Minax! Many defending the village began to fall and it appeared all was lost, but a few brave souls took up a rallying cry which was echoed by many during the rest of the battle. "Defend our village from the forces of Minax! This village will not fall!" The defenders fought back wave after wave of mages, orcs, undead, ettins, hellhounds, and more with renewed strength, and with words of defiance on our lips, we began to drive back the invading horde. After a hour of continuous fighting it was over and we were victorious, but it felt much like a hollow victory.

The peace of our community was shattered by the realities of war and we are now left with many questions. Even now I am unable to recall the name of the strange woman who was at the event. Its like my mind has been made to forget who she was, but I remember what she looked like and the resemblance to Minax is frightening. Was it really Minax in disguise? Maybe none of us will ever know, but I doubt we have seen the last of her. I believe she thought it would be easy to take our village and she was wrong. A person as evil as her will not let that go. Many thanks must go out to the members of the Knights of the Alliance and the guilds friends and allies for remaining to successfully defend the Alliance Village against the horde of evil. The help and sacrifices of all those defending the village will always be greatly appreciated. We may be the first community outside of the cities to be attacked, but we have not seen the last of Minax, and I highly doubt we will be the only community to see these attacks. Prepare to defend your communities while you have a chance.

5/12/00

Once again, the Alliance Village was the site of a attack by the forces of Minax during the night of our Golden Knights event. It was almost as if there was a aura of evil in the air throughout the event. Spectators were looking over their shoulders and horses would continuously try to break free of their restraints. Something was definately amiss, but as they say the show must go on! We began to prepare a guarding force just in case during the event and they patrolled the borders of the village until the attack.

Tonight's event ended and, unlike the last time, all remained quiet even though everyone was expecting something bad to happen. Everyone in attendance relaxed and spectators began to make their way home. After a large part of the group had left, the rest of us were just talking when a wild yell split the night from the jungle. Everyone immediately took out their weapons having a good idea what was about to come. Out came a massive ettin with a large group of orcs behind it. The fighting was once again fierce and this week only the orcs and ettins were sent to test the defenses of the village. After about twenty minutes of battling, the remaining orcs fled in retreat.

The defenders began to cheer when out from a tree walked the woman who is the cause of the attacks. She is the same woman that was at our last event just before the last attack. Unlike last time I remember her name. Lady Karel. I do not know if that is her real name or if it is Minax in disguise, but we could all feel the evil surrounding her just standing next to her. She began to laugh at us and commented on the big mess we made with the orcs. She then turned around and walked away. I yelled for her to stop and she said "Until next time". I tried to talk to her and she began laughing at us again. One of the defenders couldnt take it anymore and started shooting her with his crossbow. She quickly said farewell and disappeared from sight.

I do not know what to make of tonights attack. It felt like we were being toyed with in preperation for a very large attack to come. I hope I am wrong, but I have heard of the attacks on other towns and we have now survived two attacks of our own. What is the exact purpose behind these attacks and if these are only small invasions to test our strength, what will the real invasion be like? Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question. All we can do is prepare for the worst to come along with all of our neighboring towns and defend our homes to the last man if thats what it takes for us to win.

Galahad
Knights of the Alliance

Thank you, Galahad, for providing these facts. Our thoughts are with you and your community during these times of crisis.

Twas a feast to celebrate the coming together of three guilds, in common cause to rid the realm of the Orc uprising. Many Knights and Mages shared tales of battles, as well as mugs of fine Ale.

Among the stories of past conquests, the name of the Orcs of Kor appeared several times. Some were of defeat, others were of victories, although pure hatred tinged all comments.

The three Guildmasters then gathered and raised their glasses, a Toast to the downfall of the Orcs, and to the uniting of the three guilds, Virtuous Knights of the Realms, Salt of the Earth, and Heaven & Earth.

All joined in, and the feast continued with renewed merriment.

A glutteral cry to their Vile God was all the warning that the gathering received. Bursting into the area, charged more than a score of Orcs, hacking at who ever they could. The response was swift, and the united guild members met them with equal ferocity, many of the orcs were surrounded and quickly slain, while a larger group to the rear feared better.

The combined might of the United guilds proved too powerful for this Warband of Orcs, and soon the last few surviving Orcs were fleeing for the safety of their fort.



Upon the ground lay two members of the feasting party, yet many more orc bodies, torn and broken, littered the battle field.

Gathering themselves the Guilds prepared to take the fight ot the Orcs, and assault their fort. Splitting into two groups, they entered two magical portals that took them to both the front and rear gates of the Fort.

Learned from previous attacks, they choose not to charge into the front gate, instead Mages and archers targeted those Orcs upon the battlements, slaying orc after orc.

At the rear of the fort, a group of Knights pushed heavy crates aside and charged in, catching the Clanmaster Grukk undefend by warrior Orcs. A brief melee and with no assistance from a Sharman to provide him healing, Grukk fell under the Knights blows. Without command the Orcs began to lose co-ordination in their fighting, although the nearest to the fallen body of Grukk raced to strike down the Knight who had delivered the killing blow. Trapped by the crates, the Sir Gerrard stood his ground vailantly, but the three orcs proved to much for him, and the Knights blood joined that of the Clan Master.

At the front gate, many Orc corpses littered the ground and the battlements were soon empty. After many minutes, Victory for the United Guilds was achieved, with any remaining Orcs fleeing for cover, or hiding among the many barrels and crates.

Leaving the cowering orcs to lick their wounds, the United Guilds returned to the VKR village, where another feast was held in celebration of the two victories they had achieved this night.

Together, people of the Realms can fight this uprising of the Foul Orcs of Kor, and see peace return to the lands.

Anastasia
Honoured Scribe VKR

"I remember way back before those blasted 'Lost Lands' were discovered." he grunted, downing his ale in one gulp and indicating his need for another to the barmaid wandering from table to table. There were a few murmurs for refills from his younger company briefly then the old man continued, "the rewards for being a good swordsman back then were better too", directing his remark at a small group of mages sitting at the next table. This finally seemed to register a common ground with the other warriors sitting with him, "what kind of rewards then, 'old man'" the apparent leader of the younger group sneered, "leather caps and short swords?"

This obviously hurt the older warrior as he solemnly looked down at the table, a few minutes passed and he reached into one of the many pouches hanging from his cloak and pulled out a small black lump. "Blackrock" he hissed quietly, the men at the table looked bewildered slightly, but many of the older warriors especially the mages shifted uneasily in their chairs. "Blocks the use of magic" he continued, his voice barely above a whisper, "only a handful of fragments remain since the mines they were found in have been sealed". A few silent moments in the inn passed, then suddenly a cry of pain as a hand wandering to the mysterious substance dripped with blood and the old man wiped a small dagger against his sleeve. "I may be old, but I am still as faster than any thieving tramp that tries to steal from me", he put his great hand over the now dwarfed piece of blackrock and quickly dropped it back into one of the many pouches. This caused a few morbid chuckles from surrounding people, still uneasy from what they had seen. "If it wasn't for the damned increased guard, you would be a dead man, be glad your taxes go to increased guarding of our cities young man", he looked up and smiled sarcastically at one of the guards standing in the corner of the room like a statue.

These last few minutes had obviously taken it's toll on the young warriors he was talking to, as they murmured an excuse, paid for their ale, and left. Looking at the clock hanging from the wall above the bar, I realised that I should be making my way to Yew before nightfall. So I too called for the barmaid to pay for my drink, not before however, writing a few words on a scrap of parchment for the old man who had brought a smile to my face...

"I bet a piece of blackrock that small only protects your body, be careful someone doesn't corp por your legs"

FireFox

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

• Be a talented writer
• Become an active, knowledgeable member of the Legends 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
• Have flawless Spelling and Grammar

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 UO Stratics?
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!

Enjoy!

With all the pomp and circumstance of the opening of a new 7-11, AOL Legends went online at approximately 11pm EST, May 10th. Ithunk, orc reporter, wandered about Britain on the Trammel moon for about twenty minutes before wandering into his first fellow human, a gentleman who usually plays on Baja. It was another ten minutes before Ithunk ran into another human being.

While UO has been quick to advertise their new AOL shard, the same cannot be said of AOL. While experienced UO players will have little trouble accessing this new shard, assuming they have AOL accounts, I fail to see how the shard is going to attract masses of new users by being AOL exclusive. AOL is only listing Ultima Online in very little boxes under X-treme Games on their Game Channel.

While my conection was better than it is when I play on Drachenfels (I live in Hawaii - how could it not be?), I still experienced some severe lag, even with only two other players online, leading me to fear that, at least for Ithunk, this shard might be more accurately named "AOL Cemetary."

Aloha and Goodnight.

Ithunk/AOL Legends

Right now, for a limited time, AOL members can register a new account in Ultima Online , the Internet's leading online game, and receive a FREE Ultima Online: Renaissance game CD along with 30 FREE days of game play-a $20.00 retail value.

Time is running out. Sign up today for the Austin UO Player's Luncheon to be held at 1pm on Sunday, May 28th, 2000 at the Scarborough Faire near Waxahachie Texas. Tickets for the lunch are $25 per person, this includes Faire ticket and lunch ticket. You can pay by credit card or electronic transfer online by using http://www.paypal.com You must pay for your tickets by this next Friday, May 19th, to receive the group discount.

To date, 85 guests are signed up to attend the luncheon, including 5 staff personnel from OSI, and famous players such as Kazola of the Treetop Keg and Winery on Great Lakes http://kewl.com/kazolas/, and Arakasi, creator of the Out of Character comics http://www.outofcharacter.com. Arakasi has created a logo for this event, and you can purchase tshirts, mugs, and mouse pads bearing his artwork at Cafe Press http://www.cafepress.com/uopl/

You can check the latest news and view the guest list on the UOLunch webpage http://enigma.sss.org/~uolunch I also took the time today to post links to pictures of past luncheons on the page. If you have further questions after reviewing the webpage, please email me [email protected] I am looking forward to seeing you there!!

Heather-GL

I was walking to the town of Yew on the Felucca Facet, to tend to my shop just East of Empath Abby. On my way there, I encountered a group passing by in the forest. At first their silent, stealthy steps were surprising, it was by sheer luck that I had been able to pinpoint them throughout he dense Yew forests at all. I soon recognized them at however, they were the elves of the Kingdom of Asur'Herenion. Having met the kindly King Khyl'Dran, I counted them as friends and approached them. However, their usual cheerful aspect was substituted by a grim look, as if something terrible had happened.

"Friends...pardon my frankness, but what is the matter? Is something amiss?" I asked.

"Indeed something is, Aleph Aeirs," Said one elf. "Our King, Khyl'Dran, has disappeared in some manner I do nay comprehend...He was trapped, somehow, inside a crystal by use of some obscure form of magic."

I was stunned, it took a moment for the information to sink in. "This is horrid news...who did this thing?" I inquired.

"Come inside and I will tell you," Said the elf. He beckoned me towards an opening in the thick forest. Inside, the elves had created an hidden encampment. They served me some elven wine and offered me a seat around the fire.

"It is the Drow. This, a group that had once been taken for granted, They were not considered a threat," explained the elf, "but they have erred, we have all erred. The Drow are the greatest threat of all..."

I sipped from my elven whine, deep in thought. It was true that the Drow were not seen as a threat, so to speak. No one had considered it, until now.

The elf continued: "Our king had gone to speak diplomatically with the Lichdrow Chaszmyr. It was there that he was taken by Nai Asonod, a defector from our kingdom who joined the Lichdrow's guild Agrach Dyrr. I know little more. But we are seeking all information we can find."

I was incensed and inspired to action immediately. Although human, I have a special place in my heart for the elven culture. To think the Drow would look to make them suffer so!

I stood, thanking the elves for their hospitality.

"Tell me friends, where would I be most likely to find Nai Asonod?" I asked.

"Look to Caina, he is known to frequent that damnable city." Said one of the elves.

"Friends, I am just one man, but I will attempt to gather some information...perhaps shed light on this nightmare."

The elves around the fire simply looked at me and nodded. The fire sparkled in their eyes, a deep sadness in their expression.

I nodded in return, thanked them once again, making my way to Caina.

The city was deadly cold, being located in the frozen wastelands of Dagger Isle. I made a point not to spend too much time in this wretched city, one for the environs, the other because I have never been all that..welcome. I chose to begin my hunt for this Nai Asonod in the Tower of Skulls.

I stepping on the stairs and walking into the tower, my head swooned. Decay and dust, the very nature of the tower, had an ill effect on my being. Shaking off the sensation, I surveyed the scene. Nai Asonod was no where to be seen. I decided to check the upper levels of the tower, hoping that I could either find him, or clues to his whereabouts.

As luck would have it, (so to speak) there he was. He was on the second floor of Golgotha, engrossed in a an ancient manuscript, the like which I had never before seen.

Nai looked up from the ancient tome, his silver hair spilling out across the dark knight armor he wore. He knew me by sight, yet I had never met him in person.

"Greetings Aleph, interested in the..happenings as of late, or so I hear..."

His smile was disturbing, as he toyed with a diamond necklace around his neck.

I was quiet for a moment, not certain where to begin. Here he was, the antagonist. I was certain of myself when I left the elves in the clearing...but faced with Nai Asonod himself, I wasn't all that sure what to say.

"Come then, Aleph..I offer you a chair, how can I help you in your search for knowledge?"

I smiled nervously. "Well, to begin, I am very interested in verifying rumors I have heard. As you may know, I am a member of the press. As a professional courtesy I approach you first. Virtues forbid I share news of these happenings without knowing the facts first."

At the mention of the Virtues, he chuckled softly. I took a moment to glance at the tome he had been studying. I could make out one line, but it made no sense to me. Something concerning the entrapment of Eldritch Daemons known as Arcanaloth...

He abruptly closed the book. Startled, I jumped. "Well, good Aleph...I see you are a bit..uneasy in my presence....let me first assure you that you are safe, in body and in mind. And that is well that the public should know of the goings on...it is the Truth...and the truth, tis said, shall set ye free."

He shifted his slight elven frame in the large throne, a wickedly bladed ax rested beside him, leaning against the wall.

He proffered forth a glass of blood red liqueur. "Some wine, before I make the tale known?"

I am certain the disgust showed on my face. The smell of the liquid was not foreign to me, it was blood wine. "Oh..well, I...well see, I am not known to partake in...beverage of that nature. I thank thee none the less."

I did however take the seat offered. "However, I would gladly hear the details of recent events, sans the libation of course..."

He shrugged and set the goblet of bloodwine down on a mahogany desk. "Well then, I shall tarry no longer... Up until most recently, I was a member of the Kingdom of the Elves, known as the Asur'Herenion. As a member, I was a trusted individual, the Ambassador, a friend to all, and like a father to most."

He appeared slightly saddened, perhaps by some memory or realization, but he quickly shrugged it off, continuing to speak. "After some doings and much thinking on my part, I decided it best to leave them, as I, obviously, am not a child of light." He took a long sip of the wine, and began again. "After much deliberation on my part, as well as the Lich Drow Chaszmyr's, and after many jibes and taunts, mocking and mental beatings by the hands of my one time friends, I decided to take matters a step further, and came upon a plan to capture none other than Khyl'Dran, the King of the Asur'Herenion." He smiled darkly and held the diamond of necklace up to be seen. "Sometimes...there is no way to escape what fate deals out...." He said, as he let the chain drop back to his chest.

The words left my lips as soon as they entered my head. "Captured..in that necklace there? But..how? How could you do such a thing?"

He smiled darkly and twirled the gem to sparkle in the dim light. "Yes..very perceptive, Aleph, this gem is the means of containment..but how you ask? To understand this you must first understand who implemented the process, at least in part. I am not from this plane of existence. I hail from a land known as Faerun. There, I was a great mage and a feared warrior" He chuckled laconically at this. "Though the better part of my magic is worthless here..." He looked at the gem bemusedly. "...Sometimes I find a place...where the power is sufficient to make it work correctly, thus we have this.

My determination grew, and I took a deep breath. It was more important to gather information, I simply had to keep my temper in check. "So the rumors are indeed true. I am...stunned to say the least." I look closely at the diamond necklace. "You have done a horrible thing here, tell me..what are your intentions now? Surely you realize that an event of this nature cannot go unavenged..."

He smiled and put the necklace back on his neck. "A horrible thing, eh? Perceptions based upon perceptions would suggest this, yes. But, would you like to know the Truth of it, Aleph?"

I nodded "Aye, I would."

"I do this that the balance of darkness and light may be maintained...not out of malice or spite. I hold Khyl'Dran in Temporal Stasis, whilst his father, the recently resurrected Naera'Dran...who has been in the pits of the Abyss, stewing in madness for his dark allegiances....will form the Dark Kingdom...the counter balance to the Herenion....Dark Elves, to set the scales back aright in favor of neutrality..." He shrugged. "I mean no harm to the entrapped monarch...unless I am provoked to it."

I shook my head, saddened by this state of affairs, confused as to the logic of that statement. "All this to weaken the Kingdom of Asur'Herenion?" I countered. "Pardon my frankness, but it would appear that Naera'Dran is not the only one stewing in madness. You say that you mean no harm, but surely you can see how those who pledge allegiance to King Khyl'Dran would consider this imprisonment the very definition of harm... "

He was most amused by this, shaking his head he chuckled darkly. "Always the same idealistic response. So typical, so very predictable. In any case, spare me this exploration of morality. I have shared with you the information you seek, tell me, what more is there to know? The monarch son resides here, to better facilitate the resurrection of the father." He held the necklace up once again.

"Surely you know that others will intervene, surely you understand that the elves will not just sit back and allow this to continue!" I said.

At this he chuckled once more. "You would have Justice then, aye?" His chuckle turned to a laugh. "You haven't the foggiest notion of the depth of this issue. Tread lightly Aeirs, and be prepared for the outcome should you decide to meddle any further in this business..."He said as he stood.

I stood as well. "Certainly you do not expect people to sit idle while the elves suffer, do you?"

He smiled, looking directly into my eyes. "On the contrary, I certainly do hope they take action..."

He leaned over the table that held the tome, it opened as he passed his hand over the top. "Now Aleph, I have some work to do here,...unless you would care to watch me..." He said in a malevolent tone.

But I had seen and heard enough. His intentions were clear, and I could nay stand by and watch him practice his dark magicks. "I think not, thank you for your time, we will speak again..." I said curtly.

With that he chuckled once more. "Oh yes, yes we shall..."

With that, words of powers passed my lips and I was away.

Zarzal Dragon posted the following message to the Dragon Clan News Page:

"Next in-game auction will be held in Dragon Town at the merchant tower on Sunday, May 14, begining at 20:00 CET GMT-1 MEST). We will start to collect goods at 19:00."

Go with the Virtues!

The presence of a dragon can instill even the most valiant warrior with a sense of dread. The presence of a dragon, speaking in the human tongue and covered with black scales isn't something oft' seen in these lands. But last night, a dragon known as The Black One, shook the very ground he walked upon as he lumbered towards me and m'lady XTerra as we were conversing outside The Sandlewood Box. When he spoke, his tone was mocking and frightening. He scoffed at the attempts being made to restore the Gold One's Tome of Virtue. He foretold of bringing utter chaos to the world and demanded that we denounce our love for the virtues. He even cackled at the supposed demise of the Gold One, which brought whispers of concern from those in attendance. By this time, a small crowd had gathered outside on this dark night and began murmuring amongst themselves "Could this dragon be telling the truth?" "Is the Gold One truly lost to us?". The Black One laughed at our questions, obviously amused with what he considered to be no threat to him or his plans. Conjuring powers beyond our comprehension, this foul beast summoned a small legion of orcs who attacked us on sight. The Black One laughed as we desperately tried to fight against this sudden onslaught. With a snarl he departed...

After having slain the orcs and healing the wounds sustained in the minor skirmish, we determined our best course of action lie in visiting the Temple of the Gold One. Our hope was to disprove the claims of this black dragon, that of the death of the Gold One and her children. Upon arriving at the sacred temple, Red William tried in vain to summon the Gold One to no avail. Nor could the presence of the Gold One be felt among us. A look, not unlike that of a son mourning the death of his father, crossed Red's face. A tear trickled down the fair cheek of Heather. And colored drained from the druid Elwynn's face as an uneasiness fell upon everyone in the temple, an emptiness in our hearts.

We hope to learn more in the days to come... Be wary of the approach of The Black One.

Have you had trouble finding that stable master? Can't seem to locate a thief guildmaster? Stuck as a ghost because the healers went to lunch? Wondering where all the NPCS are? Well ALBE can tell you! We have a new comic entitled "Can't Take A Hint" and it's available for you right now now now! So come on down to ALBE where the prices are always low and the deals are hot hot hot!

Want to know what else?! That's not all! If you click on the provided link in the next 15 minutes, you'll have a chance to enter our new CONTEST! That's right folks, ALBE is celebrating it's 40,000th hit, and you have a chance to enter to WIN WIN WIN! Best of all it's FREE FREE FREE!

Thanx,
¬Azazel
A Little Bit of Everything
http://www.albecomics.com/

Purple Potion Capture the Flag

There will be two teams; a red team and a green team.

Hail Adventurers!

There are more than 200 exciting and funny stories about adventures in Britannia available, including about 800 screenshots. I added an Adventurer's Guide which shows information about all the important places in Britannia. This site is not only great for new players, who wish to gather information about Britannia, but also for Veteran players who want to find out what there is to discover in their world.

Have fun reading!
McBykar

Ultima Online Travelogues http://www.extraweb.com/ultima/

More information can be found at their website: http://www.steppenstones.com/rbd/heroes/

Hi there! Last week Tryon's attempt to rescue ImaNewbie from the convent didn't exactly go as planned. Now the two of them are chained side-by-side to a wall and things don't look good. Head on over to my site and check out the latest. Also a new midi for you and some new polls.

Added Friday, May 12th: Episode #107 - We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto (Part 5)

ImaNewbie does Britannia

http://www.imanewbie.com

later...Tryon

MASSIVE CASTLE WAR OF CAPTURE THE FLAG:

On wednesday May 17th (Next Wednesday) the Spiritwood Tavern will host a Chess Night for all comers. The games commence at 20.00 CET (7pm GMT) and will continute throughout the night.

So if you are good at playing chess and you like a good night out , come to the Spiritwood Tavern on wednesday and prove your chessplaying skills!

Directions to the Spiritwood Tavern (Fellucia)as given by Aranlindale.

Start at the Skara Brae docks right outside town, go east. Take the secondroad to your right (south at a crossroads). Keep going south untill theroad turns eastwards. Keep following it and you will end up in Spiritwood.From the end of the road, go a little to the northeast and you'll see twolarge brick houses. The eastern one is the Spiritwood Tavern.
The sextant coordinates are: 65S 27W.

Thanks to Aranlindale, the Spiritwood Tavern Bartender , for this information.

You can find information about the chess evening and other events hosted by the Spiritwood Tavern by visiting #spiritwood on Irc.Stratics.com (port 6667)or by E-mailing the staff there at [email protected]

The recently opened Moonglow Tavern, found just south of the Encyclopedia Magika, is proud to announce its first ever "Evening of Tale and Song". Hosted by Lienna Revyan, the tavern's house bard, the night promises to be filled with great talent. Bards from through out the lands are invited to come and share their craft and enjoy an evening of spirits and hospitality. Whether ye be a bard by trade, or simply by hobby, we invite ye to share your work! Enthusiasts of a fine tale and good wine are also invited to enjoy the eve.

Along with the enjoyment of the best bards in the land, Eleana Coriel, the taverns proprietor, is holding a "Name the Tavern" contest. A vote at the end of the eve by the patrons themselves, will decide the winning name. The creative individual who renames the tavern will win 10,000 gold and a life long "honored quest" status at the tavern. This includes free ale and food for the winner and a guest nightly for life! So come one, come all, Thursday, May 18th at 9:00 p.m. PST, join Eleana Coriel and Lienna Revyan for a night of enjoyment!

~Theorid Tempor

I received an urgent message last night. It read: "Please help is needed, I am being attacked by many gargoyles, they keep coming. I don't think i can hold them off on my own, come quickly."
Plague - the True CLOWN.

Later Plague told us:
"It was not long before help from my brothers and sisters arrived, for I could breath a sigh of relief as they started to destroy some of the gargoyles. Although there was still much work to be done here.

"As we fought the blasted gargoyles the strange green Gargoyle known as Inmanilem appeared and started to fly around, as close to any humans as possible from what I could see. He started to speak some words:

"Anpor,
"Anpor Vaskorpagra
"An Inkorp!

"He seemed to be around me quite a bit so I started to shout out some gargish of what little I know.

"Inmanilem auks (Inmanilem help, )
"no lok gargl ling (no speak gargoyle language, )
"and inwis hiuman gargl (teach human gargoyle.)

"All these phrases did not seem to get a certain response as he kept shouting out the three gargish phrases I mentioned earlier on.

"Anyhow, after some time of repeating him self, Inmanilem vanished and many great warriors and mages finished off what was left of these red winged creatures."

Thank you to all who helped defend against this attack on our town.

Inmanilem was never harmed - most of us tried to protect -and communicate with him. Unfortunately the gargish codex had somehow vanished from the school.

New codex has been placed in most houses in ClownTown now.

Here is a translation of the gargish words Inmanilem spoke of:

Stop
Stop great battle
Don't kill!

Was he telling the gargoyles to stop attacking us?, or was he telling us to stop attacking the gargoyles? Did he mean something completely different altogether?

These are all questions that only Inmanilem can answer for us, if only we could get some quality time to speak with him, but until then we shall stand tall and defend our town till the last man or woman standing.

Sincere
Lady Valkyria

Many thanks Valkyria.

Citizens!

With the creation of the facets of Trammel and Felucca in response to the threat of Minax, the High Council of Britannia has been faced with a difficult decision. Do we follow our liege and so many loyal citizens to Trammel or do we stay in Felucca to aid the resistance against Minax and her allies?

The High Council has never been a military organization, though we have aided and sponsored some. Thus, we feel it is our duty to follow the government into Trammel and there organize support for the loyal forces remaining in Felucca. This was not a decision easily reached. However, we are all convinced that this is the best course of action for all those that the High Council serves.

Of course, being in Trammel has the added advantage that we will be able to aid and coordinate the incoming citizens from Felucca, which is a factor that weighed heavily in our discussions.

We of the High Council of Britannia look forward to the promise of the future that awaits all citizens of the Realm in Trammel, but we shall never forget our homes we have left behind in Felucca. And, one day, we shall drive Minax and her minions from it and reclaim our birthplace.

Captain Sagan Adai
2nd Seat, High Council -- Trinsic
Speaking on behalf of the High Council of Britannia

The day was starting to grow old , the last rays of the once hot noon sun cut through the chinks in the surrounding trees. The forest of Yew was relatively quiet , and apart from a small scuffle with a few stray orcs the days hunt had been very dull. Though making money was not the prime objective of this trip to Yew as on this occasion I had with me a young warrior who was sister to a tailor friend of mine.

Having set off around dawn from the center of Britain, promising her brothers to return her in one piece , me and my companion Reenuk had made a steady pace in the direction of Yew. Our first encounter was with a rather bewildered orc.Bibub , as that is what I believe the beast was called , was spotted attempting to get at the contents of a small birds nest in the lower branches of a great Yew tree.I gestured to my young companion to engage the beast , which she did with surprising skill , which you would not expect coming from a family of tailors!. After dispatching the Orc with great ease we headed on . Reenuk lagged behind a little , she seemed to be fascinated by the huge forest (being accustomed mainly to the urban jungle that is the city of Britain) , and as I wandered on I became aware that I could no longer hear her behind me , remembering the promise I had made earlier I headed back with haste.

I stooped low , hiding behind a small bush I strained to listen to the conversation which could be heard coming from behind the entwined branches."What , somones coming?", the voice was distinctly Reenuks and as it seemed she was in no immediate danger I stepped out from behind the bush. As I did so a bluey white flash streaked infont of me , acting as a barricade between me and Reenuk , the creature (which I knew to be a wisp) seemed to growl at me in a low pitch and changed its tone of colour to a deep sea blue."Silly wisp , hes my friend!", Reenuk seemed to be addressing the wisp and too my amasement it responded and changed again back into to its docile state. It appeared that Reenuk had acquired rather a strange new friend.

The wisp buzzed and crackled as it glided in a smooth arc around Reenuks head , it hummed a strange tune when she spoke and then to my amazement started to speak in our own tounge!."Treasure Munch Munch , Tasty" the wisp spoke , my jaw dropped , "You eat treasure ?" I asked dumfounded "Me Dinner!" it replied with great enthusiasm and the proceeded to whizz and bounce around in excitement.

Having got no more response out of the wisp who now seemed to be performing some kind of audio visual show for us , we pressed on and headed for home. On the way back many thoughts where passing through my head. I had seen many wisps prior to this encounter none of which responded or even seem to notice me at all , so why was the creature we encountered today so responsive to us? and inparticular what did it find so fascinating in Reenuk?.

After I dropped Reenuk home , I decided to do a little research into any similar encounters which may have been documented at Britain's library down by the docks. The library was just closing as I arrived , but as I knew the librarian fairly well she let me in to browse the shelves for 5 minuets.

A quick search had delivered to me just what I was looking for , a book I had spotted some time ago called "Talking To Wisps" by Heigel of Moonglow. The book states various observations about "wispish" , the language of the wisps , the details of which I have quoted below.

"The wispish language seems to only contain one vowel, the letter Y. However, the letters W, C, M, and L seem to be treated grammatically as vowels, and in addition every letter is followed by what sounds to the human ear like a glottal stop. It is possible that the glottal stop is considered a vowel as well.
Wisps do make use of what sounds to us like pitch and emphasis shifts similar to exclamations and questions.
The average word in wispish seems to consist of three phonemes and three glottal stops, plus possibly a pitch shift. It often sounds burning or crackling. Some have speculated that what we are analyzing is in fact nothing more than the very air crackling near the wisp's glow, and not language, but this is of course unlikely. " - Talking to Wisps by Heigel of Moonglow

At last! some documentation proving that it was possible (to some extent) to converse with wisps , but now a completely new question formed in my mind "What Purpose do wisps serve?". Knowing the answer to this question could not be found within the library , I bid the librarian good day and promptly left.

Snuggling up in bed that evening the days events ran through my head and I began to ponder the things the wisp had said to us "Munch Munch" , "Me dinner" Could wisps really eat gold? also its defensiveness of Reenuk confused me greatly.

After great perusal I decided to investigate these Wisp creatures but ,*Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwn* , I also decided that it could wait until tomorrow!
Watch this space!

If you have any interesting tales or information which you think might aid my on going investigation , please send them into me.

Also if you are interested in reading the rest of "Talking to wisps" , you will find it along side other great UO in one of the many libraries across Britannia

Virtuous Knights of the Realms appeals for new members.

Hath thy noticed of late, that on nearly any orc slain in the realm,
Ye can find a crude note stuffed into his backpack. If ye were to decipher the crude writings, ye would find the following message 'Join Orcs Of Kor, Serve mighty Da'Nogra, slay our enemies, Come to Orc Fort south of Yew'.

One only has to travel the road south of Yew to be accosted by the foul scum demanding tribute to their vile and false God. Everyday sees the clan numbers increase, currently just short of one hundred inhabit the fort, busily reading their weapons for war, and their campaign of terror.

Located a short distance to the North in a wide clearing, Is the Guild Headquarters of the Virtuous Knights of the Realms.

Every day the Knights continually repel the repetitive assault's from the blood thirsty Orcs

Thwarting the orcs quest for domination of the realm, and their craving to see the Virtues crushed.

[Battles are conducted daily from Australian 6pm EST to 12pm EST]

The Knights hath met the battle valiantly and with all the courage they can Muster, but face astounding three to one odds.

And so the Virtuous Knights of the Realms put forth a call to any Worthy Knights that wish to join our ranks, and bolster the defence of Realm and uphold the Sacred Virtues.

We also welcome those who art skilled in other spheres, be they a Mage, Priest or Tamers.

For those who are yet young to the Realm, we can help see to thy training, and provide guidance for ye to attain the title of Knight.

If thou art interested, visit our tree of Knowledge, http://members.iinet.net.au/~rambler/ , And help the Virtuous Knights of the Realms defend Britainnia against the Orc Horde.

-Artamis
Guildmaster of Virtuous Knights of the Realm

As a loyal resident of the Atlantic shard for over two years, I felt it was time for me to give something back to you, the citizens of Britannia. You have all helped me, and countless others to gain the experience it takes to become a strong player and the fellowship needed to live a confident, honorable life. As a Quest & Event reporter, I will try to bring our many crusades and combats alive through words. I trust that my stay here at UOSS will be enriching and enlightening for all of us, as we acquire a greater sense of community through the participation of the many events and quests that shape our gaming world.

The best of luck to all, in your adventures and in life.

May our paths lead us to friendship!

Have an event you'd like all Britannians to know about? Please feel free to contact any one of the Quest & Event reporters.

Client Patch 2.0.0b

We will be releasing a client patch later today to address the issues with health bars not updating properly. Note that this fix will not be active until the next server maintenance following the release of the patch.

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/c_issue.html.
• Run a virus scan on your computer. Undetected viruses may cause conflicts with patching Ultima Online. For information on up-to-date virus detection software, please visit http://www.hitchhikers.net/antivirus/antivirus-dis.phtml.

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

This is SHAUN, Protector of the Feeble, reporting some of the latest Battlezone news. I would like you all to recognize the PLAPS, in my opinion the would-be victor of the tournament. He delivered two battles of such intensity that the entire crowd, when asked who they think won the battle, shouted his name. I hope for him to participate in the next tournament so I can take some screens and post them on the Battlezone site im going to be launching. You can expect to see the site in about a week.

Battlezone is held every week on Saturday, Noon, PST. Entry fee is 1,000 gp, with the winner taking 20% of the collected fees and a randomly selected magic weapon.

Rules: no looting, no magic or poisoned weapons(magic armor is ok).

Location:The Evil Empire guildhouse

Directions: Go to the Minoc bank, then head northeast until you see a bridge, cross it. Continue heading east (just follow the side of the mountain) and you will see another bridge. Cross it and there will be a road. Follow the road until you see tower, it should be called "The Best Prices in Brit". That is where the tournament Battlezone will take place.

Shaun
Protector of the Feeble

For more information about the tournament, please contact Shaun. Our best wishes to him as he continues his efforts to sponsor this up and coming tournament each week.

I was walking around the world, as I do when I get bored and I stumbled across this just a little ways away from the entrance to destard and thought it was strange so I thought I would send it in. I went into destard but didn't find anything else. I guess a dragon killed him or something.

-Torum Firestar

Now this find would be interesting in itself, but as with most things in our realm, there is a story behind it. The tale begins with a young paladin in Trinsic. While searching through some old relics, this paladin came across a powerful sword. Realizing its power, he sought to take it to the shrine of Sacrifice for safe keeping. But tales of the find leaked out beyond the Paladin's order, and evil men were waiting for him upon his arrival. He managed, with the aid of the sword, to defeat them, but alas, he lost his life doing so.

Now, it is said that the shrine took the sword into its safekeeping and was waiting for the right time to act. The history of events tells that the shrine instructed the lost spirit of the paladin to bring adventurers to its sacred grounds, so that the sword may be returned to the world of men.

It is then that a ghost appeared on the bridge north of Vesper. Never saying a word and seemingly unable to be resurrected, he always stayed a few steps away from any one who would approach. He wordlessly lured those around him to follow to the Shrine of Sacrifice, occasionally blinking in and out of sight. The adventurers that followed defeated a group of bandits that had come seeking the sword. If that were not fascinating enough, they were then addressed by the shrine itself!

"Take this talisman...Seek out William the smith, in Vesper... Give it into his care, and you shall be rewarded...May the path of Sacrifice guide you..."

The adventurers then travelled to the Ironworks in Vesper, where William the Smith purchased the weapon for 2000 gold pieces. Rumor of the sword reached Gregory Ironhand, Guildmaster of the Moonglow Tinker's Guild.

At his request, those present sought out Lord Hiram to claim the artifact. They met Hiram and his noble companion, Valthorp. They found them to be two very obnoxious spoiled rich boys. In the end, they ended up trying to kill Hiram in town, and Hiram escaped with the sword. The two nobles were seen a second time. This time, the players managed to find them and Gregory at the same time. At this point, Gregory examined the sword and determined that it was indeed the Sword of Sacrifice. But then, the nobles escaped. Adventurers searched desperately for them throughout the night. But the nobles had fled north and along the way were ambushed by bandits. The sword was then used by Hiram, killing him in the process. Seeing his fallen friend, Valthorp took the sword and ran to Vesper.

En route to Vesper, Valthorp was ambushed by more bandits, yet this time the sword was taken. Valthorp was found later moping about the Vesper tavern, mourning the loss of his friend and pointing players to Buc's den for the Sword of Sacrifice. A large party of adventurers headed to Buc's Den to seek the sword. There, they were attacked by Thieve's guild brigands, and met a rogue who for a bribe, would tell them the information they needed.

It was discovered that the sword was being stored in the thieves hall, and was being smuggled off the island the following Friday on a supply ship. The players were then attacked by red cloaked assassins, warriors that reputedly appear, attack, and disappear just as quickly...

A large party of adventurers headed to the island, and intercepted the assassins and their cargo. Among the cargo captured was a crate of swords. Gregory was able to pick out the right one. It is then that a thief by the name of Breiswight stole the sword, eluding those who pursued him.

The thief obviously met his demise outside of the dungeon Destard, (as shown in the rendering submitted by Torum Firestar) and the evidence would suggest that it was at the hands...or claws...of a dragon. About this time, an ancient red wyrm began to make appearances throughout the realm. It was later discovered that this same ancient wyrm was in posession of the Sword of Sacrifice. Deduction suggests that the dragon responsible for the untimely end of the thief Breiswight is indeed this ancient wyrm.

There are many questions, that much is certain. Recent accounts tell of the ancient wyrm being attacked by this mysterious band of red cloaked assassins. Who are these assassins, and who is behind their involvment in these events? The sword itself is sought by many different organizations within the realm. The ancient wyrm does indeed posses this sword and it is suggested that the wyrm wishes to trade the sword for something of import. What that trade is, or what it would define as important is not yet clear.

This Sword of Sacrifice is deadly powerful weapon. A relic once belonging to the Paladins of Trinsic, we know that it can kill man or beast in one blow...but with one caveat. Upon using the sword, the wielder will lose their life as well.

I shudder to think of the ramifications should this sword fall into the wrong hands. I look forward to your thoughts friends.

Yours in the light,

"No Recall for Aggressors" Fix

The "no recall for aggressors" system will be fixed so that:

• You will not be able to recall while you are a criminal.
• You will not be able to recall while you are an aggressor to a player.
• Being an aggressor to a monster or NPC will not stop you from recalling.
• Attacking a pet of a murderer or criminal will not stop you from recalling as neither of these actions will make you a criminal.

Seeking Tales of Britannian Cities - Buccaneer's Den

Whether surrounded by towering stone walls or threaded with narrow dirt pathways, imbued with one of the virtues or no, the cities of Britannia each bear distinct differences and personalities, much like their inhabitants. Over the next few weeks we'll be spotlighting your tales of the cities of Britannia: from battlefields to boutiques. And we'll be starting our series with the city of Buccaneer's Den.

Home to brigands, brawlers, and thieves, the dirt paths of Buccaneer's Den belie the plundered wealth of Britannia that is oft passed quietly from hand to hand to make its way back to the 'respectable' shops and boutiques. No guards roam the streets, for the law in this island town is handed down by others than the King. In all, Buccaneer's Den is not a city to visit casually.

Tell us a story about your experiences in Buccaneer's Den. Do you call the pathways, the trees, and the taverns home? Or perhaps you only discovered the town after a misguided weekend sail from Magincia. Do you often spend time there? Or avoid it carefully?

Send an e-mail to [email protected] by Friday, May 19th, and tell us a story of your experiences in Buccaneer's Den. Please be sure your story falls between 500-1000 words, and include "Buc's Den" in your subject line. Please provide a name and phone number for verification of the story. Submissions to "uo-profiles" become the property of OSI and may be used for special events, promotions, and/or advertising. All submissions must be made by the original author and are subject to verification.

Hear ye! Hear ye! All friends of Wintermoor! The Two-Year anniversary of the Atlantic Museum has been a general success. We would like to thank all of the hundred some odd attendees of the celebration for making the evening both entertaining and interesting.

The evening started off with a harbinger of good will by Order, the only living tamed Ancient Wyrm in all the shards of Britannia. This is the only living species of its kind, and Wintermoor was honored by the wondrous creature's presence. Heracles, Keeper of the Wyrm visited the city prior to the beginning of the festivities with his magnificent companion to wish Wintermoor well.

Subsequently the evening kicked off with "The Riddling Session" held by Benin Tarek, Taverner of Wintermoor and Janus the Wintermoor Patron comprising of 10 of the most difficult brain stompers for citizens to solve. The contest was held in the Frosty Hook Tavern, which was packed to the brim with citizens from all over Britannia. For each riddle solved, a check for 25k was awarded, for a total of 250k given away to the lucky contestants! The Riddles included questions such as "At night they come without being fetched, and by day they are lost without being stolen." (answer: stars).

Next, a regatta for those with a maritime disposition was arranged by Squall of DOM. Several Ships left the harbors of the naval academy to race around the tip of ice isle and end back at the naval academy. Other citizens and participants were recruited to referee the event. The boats set sail at a rapid pace.... And the winds graced the sails of Jack, the contestant who won first prize of a check for 100k and Lodi, the runner up who won a check for 50k.

Third was Xanthar's Surprise Treasure Room, which consisted of a small house filled with 40+ barrels. Some of these barrels were trapped, some were not... the only way to find out was to open them. Contestants lined up in front of the Surprise Treasure room behind a white line breathlessly awaiting the opening of the doors; for not only were some of the barrels trapped, but some of them had grand prizes including a wig, 200 of each colored ingot, full jars, plants, and other oddities. Winners like Paulus, Mayor of Dalriada were lucky enough to find the lucky barrels and take home the rares within.

Next Wintermoor was visited by the mysterious and sagacious Greta the Witch (see Greta's Tale as previously entered). The Witch guided the citizens and visitors to various parts of Wintermoor by giving mysterious clues to find the 5 books needed to prevent the destruction of the Museums. The Dark Book was the last book found. The winners received various prizes including open book, two clothing bless deeds, and hair style deed.

Throughout all of these events, contestants bought raffles tickets for the house deed giveaway. This consisted of 100 runes marked to various parts of Wintermoor. The winning rune was a secret location where Xanthar was waiting to award the citizen with a small tower deed to place within the lands of Trammel. The lucky winner of this prize was Michael the Grandmaster Healer.

Finally, the Museum doors opened, and several new and interesting rares were viewed by Atlantic citizens for the first time including blood red chain tunic, small vase, a necklace *etched for valor*, coil of rope, and several other items of interest. Unfortunately, this part of the evening went somewhat awry, as the gifts arranged for all the contestants hidden in various parts of the museums decayed! Many were disappointed by this, but the evening went on despite all this, and the participants in general maintained a positive outlook.

Add all these events together with two white wyrm invasions with wyrms carrying various treasures including paintings and semi rares, and quest to overtake the Orc Clan's Captured Keep made this evening chock full of festivities.

The Mayor of Wintermoor would like to especially thank Ronde de Guileri, Vahl, Benin Tarek, Janus, Squall of DOM, Ncr guild, the Orc Clan, Vasamatrix of SDA for their contribution to the event. And of course none of this could have happened without the participants themselves.

Thank ye all for attending, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the next event....coming soon to a Museum near you.

The Wintermoor Town Cryer.

Yours in the Light,

I'm a respectable sea cap'n that's all I is!

It had been a frustrating night already. I was so close to being able to resurrect heroes with my healing skill but just haven't been able to gain. In vain, I travelled to arctic islae and then to Yew, where I was killed and lost only my regs and my bandages. I returned to the Crimson sands of Evermoore while Tanya and Dr Fate searched for the monsters that stole my regs.

While I was there I spied three unidentified human corpses on the ground outside of the tavern. I received a message by pigeon that pirates had attacked. Since i had no regs or bandages, I hid and summoned help. As i hid I spied three sailors dashing about so I called for help again. When Kamorra arrived, we went in search of the sailors.

We found them by our sparring field. The one we spoke to was named Angus. He told us a tale of a stolen treasure map and two murderous pirates hiding to the north. I questioned Angus and from him learned that the murderers had gone to someplace north of the bay that our town is on. I deduced that the best place for a treasure to be hidden was the ruined house that Hengist and i have investigated on a number of occasions. I suggested this to Angus and he thought I must be right. He asked pandora to go an look. As Pandora searched, I summoned as much help as I could. I even considered calling Ender.

Pandora came running to tell us that they pirates and murderers were, indeed, in the ruined house near the passage to Delucia. We fimnished our preperations and set uout after them. The pirates came at us like mad men. We slew many but only Docotor Fate reamined unharmed. I myself took down three of them with my maul before being knocked to the etheral. I found a healer and returned to my corporal state wearing a death robe. I attmepted to weave back in to retrieve my maul and fight but the pirates were everywhere and I had to run every time. I attempted desperatly to summon help from Ace but he got lost looking for us. I came across Doctor fate running up and down the coast casting spells at the pirates that had been chasing him. Suddenly it was all over. The pirates rushed to their shoips and sailed off. as I found my body and retrieved my belongings I learned that another group had slain the murderers and this caused the pirates to lose heart and flee.

I know not who the brave team was that slew the murderers and drove the pirates away but we thank them and hope they appreciate the efforts we put forthe to aid them as well.

Shadow Weaver the Healer

Thankee fer the recount of yer adventures, I'll be sure to keep me eye out fer them bandit's so I can find thar ship and....erm, sink it! Yah! That's it, sink it so's they can't sail no more!

Yers in ale and tale,

Aint it jest wonderful when folks come together to get thin's done? *smiles*

The Trinsic Council of Honor will be holding its weekly meeting this Sunday at 1:00 PM in the Counselors Guildhall Southwest of the West City gate. All who are interested are encouraged to attend.

~Talon Skyfire Trinsic Council of Honor

I 'ope all goes well mate and thankee fer the information.

Yers in ale and tale>

Now if'n this 'ere keeps up, everyone'll be a bloody politician! *evil grin*

Jest kiddin mates, enjoy this..

Hear ye, hear ye! The candidates for the Britain City Ambassador will be addressing the public tonight (Thursday, May 11). Come out and meet them, and hear what they have to say! Ballot Box location will be provided after the speeches.

Candidates for the position are:

• Wren Hapswill
• Merlin

Speeches will begin at 7:00pm (EST) and will be at The King's Men Theater in West Britain, Trammel Facet. The election polls will be open until Sunday night.

Don't miss it!

Katherine, Grandmaster Healer

Historian, Britain City Council

Ciaran, Lia Fail Empire (Atlantic)

G'luck to ye Wren and Merlin, and thankee Katherine fer sendin us this news.

Yers in ale and tale,

Golden Knights #28: THE BATTLE GROUNDS

Date: Friday, May 12, 2000 @ 8:00 PM CST

When: Registration from 7:50-8:15pm CST; The event begins at 8:20 PM CST

Where: KoA Alliance Village

Entry Fee: 300gp per contestant. Spectators Free

Find all the details at: http://www.allianceknights.com/entrance.html

URL: www.thechosen.com/flash/UOL.swf

Join the Yew Town Council in celebrating the open ranges of Trammel on Saturday, May 13th at 7:00 CST.

We are having a BBQ outside the abbey in Trammel. We've got grub and some suds for you to enjoy and of course we have some games planned and some great prizes as well. Perhaps some Trammel rune books and some gold we found in the rich hills of Trammel.

Best dressed Cowgirl and Cowboy
Horse race (teams of 4 members)
Cattle Round-up

So y'all, come on visit us in the wilds of Trammel and gorge yourself on the grub of the new lands.

If you have questions, please contact me at
[email protected]

Mythra, Mayor of Yew

Seizing this as a golden opportunity to launch a quick-strike attack on the unprepared orcs, Ryak gathered the defenders and informed them of this most unexpected news. Plans were quickly laid out... the Bloodrock fort was to be attacked immediately and Grak da Black must fall by means of magic or metal. The seventh fragment must be recovered at all costs. Mages began chanting their words of power and shimmering blue moongates were opened as a result. Brave warriors, men and women, young and old, eagerly stepped through the gates with the battle cry of "For the Gold One!".

The ensuing battle was not a sight for the squeamish of stomach. The clash of steel on steel, the air filled with the residue of magic, as orcs and humans clashed in an epic that will be re-told for generations to come. The orcs, caught unprepared, were slaughtered mercilessly till they regrouped and counterattacked, bringing many a brave warrior to their knees. The rally cry of "Recover the fragment" sounded throughout the night as the attackers once again gained the upper hand, flooding the fort with sheer numbers laying waste to the orcs inside. The black orc, Grak da Black, was outnumbered beyond hope. The precision slice of a warrior's sword cleaved his head from his shoulders as fell to the blood stained ground. Cheers of triumph and victory rose amongst the now dormant battlefield. A battered man named Draco went down on one knee, placed his broadsword on the ground and tore free the seventh fragment from the cold lifeless hand of Grak da Black.

Cheers of triumph and victory rose amongst the now dormant battlefield, the orcs had been defeated and the fragment recovered!

The defenders of the tome gated back to The Sandlewood Box leaving the stench of death behind, save those who remained to heal the wounded or provide the proper burial for the brave souls who fell to the Bloodrock and allied orc clans. Back at the tavern, whispers turned into panicked shouts as everyone inquired as to the whereabouts of the fragment, a concerned look on many faces. Finally, a humble man named Draco stepped forth with his head bowed and presented unto Ryak the seventh piece of the Gold One's Tome of Virtue, asking not for reward but merely stating "For the Gold One". A short celebration followed before everyone made their way to the town of Dragons Bay to return the fragment to its' rightful home. Red William of Dragons Bay graciously accepted the return of this long sought after fragment, the virtue of Valor, and heartedly proclaimed his thanks to all who helped recover it. As the evening wore on, conversation amongst the crowd slowly moved away from the victory that was tonight, to the future which lay ahead and the selection of the famed Dragon Knights.....

-Ryak

We will be releasing a client patch in within the next 30 minutes that will activate the features currently in testing.

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/c_issue.html.
• Run a virus scan on your computer. Undetected viruses may cause conflicts with patching Ultima Online. For information on up-to-date virus detection software, please visit http://www.hitchhikers.net/antivirus/antivirus-dis.phtml.

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

Song of the Dead:

People of Yew...PLEASE take heed this warning! I have heard the song of the dead, and this can only mean one thing... HE has returned to this world.

It was a very quiet night at the Abbey this night, perhaps I was not the only one to feel his presence. It was not long before the candle in my room was snuffed out, that I lay myself to bed. Sleep was peaceful...as it always was after a night of honest, good work; but, my dreams soon turned into nightmares as the song of the dead mingled with my thoughts.

Though the voice was that of a young girl, the image in my mind was that of the Death Knight, the Guardian's first champion. I called to him, demanding reason for his return... he only laughed. He looked at me with his deathly, cold eyes; flames, blue flames, the flames of the damned!!

"Lord Kracus!" I called to him. "Why have you returned to us? What wrong have we committed to deserve your return?" My fear soon turned to anger, what could we have possibly done?

"That name has no meaning for me." His booming voice shook my innards. "The Death Knight is no longer, I am Cor'Bael, Lord of the Damned, master of dreams."

A daemon! Indeed it was true, the Guardian had forgiven his past failures, and with the new lands, so innocent, came his second chance at glory.

He stepped closer to me, he was there, yet he wasn't. I could clearly see his ancient armor, classic, stained in the blood of his enemies; but, it was though they hung from a body that was not truly solid. But, never the less, he WAS real, one look into those flames that were his eyes could freeze a man's blood.

"Do you really think the master would allow you mortals to escape his grasp?" He tightened his fist. "New lands bring with them new opportunities...glory for the Guardian." He laughed, mockingly at me. "Your land of milk and honey will flow red with blood as it did in the past...prepare yourselves!"

Then, he reached out with a mailed fist, clawing for my throat; and as I woke up in a pool of my own sweat, I knew I was to warn you right away.

Friar Ulin, Empath Abbey.

Hail to thee,

For I am Necro, I am part of thee Pulsar Family. I was born in a tribe of Necromancers, One day I was thrown out of my tribes for beleife in a great evil, after my years of running and hidding I found some children who had parents that died defendiong their children. Lizardmen and Ratmen took their lives and burned their well build home. I took care of thy children and rebuilt their home. I then felt the great evil coming. I studied for days...nights...and weeks. I was in a trance when I saw a form... a body... it said, "I am Minax, now you will be punished!" Sudden pain was felt throughout my body. I was sick for days worse and worse every day. I travelled to the town of Necropolis and seeked answer the spirts of Necromancers. They said that I had a curse of no other I would slowly decay and become one with the undead. I asked if there was a cure... "only thy soul mate"... I wondered where mine was. One day my whole hand was bone I then knew that my soul mate could here me through a trance. I began searching while I was in a trance, I saw a woman... and said, " I am Necro, I need thy help." She wispered back "who are ye... why do you look like that?" I responded "I have a curse, one of no other. I am slowly decaying and I have found ye. I beleive ye are my soul mate because this trance has let me to ye." She smiled and said, "...Ye are..." She vanished, but before she did she mumbled something. When I awoken I had noticed that my bald head was no more. I had grown thick white hair. My hand had skin I felt releived. I then knew I was cured. As soon as I got up a voice entered my head, "Ye are smart young evil. You may be cured but I have already taken Britiannia!" I found the children where older than they were when I fell asleep. They locked the door. I said what is it? They said "Evil! Somebody hasth taken over Britiannia. Trees are soaking in blood, bones cover thy land, and everyone is running."

"Where?"

"To the other world"

"Other world?"

"Yes, Felucca"

"How do we get there?"

"With this"

As one of the children showed me a stone. "It is called a moonstone. We must use it before it's to late!" We ran outside and the oldest child was digging a hole for the stone. After a while a moongate apeared. "Hurry!" said the children. When I walked through it was a nice clean air. I looked back as the gate was closing I saw monsters running at us. It closed.After a year or so venturing this Mirror World. We heard from many people who came through to this world. After a while I wanted to destroy this Minax. I searched for her and I heard reports that in the old world she was seen. I wonder until this day that if i will ever be able to see the dying eyes of Minax.

T2A Travel Change

The voice triggered teleporters will have the same delay placed on them as player cast gates. Players will now be required to wait a minimum two seconds when traveling via this method. Attempting to travel to and from the T2A lands multiple times will cause this wait period to grow longer. The waiting period will cap at approximately 32 seconds before resetting to two seconds.

Well, the Europa community asked for it... So I bumped them up to the top of the list and here it is: The EUROPA "PK" shirt. It says, "I killed 453 people on EUROPA and all I got was this stinkin' shirt!".

So, if you are interested in a shirt, mug or mousepad - head over to: http://www.cafepress.com/guildware/

Thanks, enjoy!

Brimstone of Akalabeth

Thanks for the update! Nice shirts! *Runs off to get a mousepad*

Yours truly,

UO.com Message Boards Open

The UO.com message boards are officially open! Come join us and discuss everything about Ultima Online, from development to support.

The UO.com Message Boards are divided into five overall topics, including:

• Connectivity - find information and advice on server and connectivity issues
• Development - discuss game features and development with other players and members of the UO development team
• Role-Playing - discuss UO events and quests, or participate in in-character role-playing
• In-Game Support - find answers to in-game support questions, or share your knowledge with others
• Trading and Selling - trade and sell Ultima Online items. Please note: this topic is restricted to in-game transactions only.

To get started you'll need to register here for a MyUO account, and head for the new message boards at either http://boards.uo.com or http://my.uo.com/boards/. You'll need to register just one more time with the name you wish to use when posting on the boards. We recommend this be a different name than your MyUO account name. We'll send you a password and you'll be free to explore the new boards.

Finally, before you run off to set up your account, we'd like to point out a few features of the message boards.

• Search - allows you to search the full message board for topics or words of interest. You can also use this tool to search by sub-topics as well.
• Edit Profile - use this section to add or remove information from your profile, change your message display settings, and update your email address. By default, your profile will display only your total number of posts.
• Send Private - allows you to send private messages to other message board users
• Check Private - allows you to read any private messages you have received. When you have new messages, a short notice will appear at the top of the message board.
• Who's Online - displays a current list of users online
• FAQ - a list of frequently asked questions about the message boards
• Logout - Closes your message board session. If you share your computer, please note that logging out of MyUO does not log you out of the bulletin boards.

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Service-Wide Downtime Update We are currently on schedule to take down and restart all Ultima Online shards starting at approximately 4:00PM Central Time today, May 11th. We expect all of the shards to be available again approximately two hours after they go down.

Should this schedule be delayed, we will announce a new schedule in this section of the site.

MyUO Issues Resolved

Problems with improperly displayed language versions of MyUO should now be resolved. If you are still experiencing problems with MyUO, simply log out of MyUO and log back in. You can use this link to log out http://my.uo.com/cgi-bin/myuo.pl?logout=1

If you continue to have problems, please send email to [email protected].

I was born near Skara Brae, a small homestead with just me and my father, a humble woodcutter. I helped my father all throughout my youth, though I would spend most of my time talking rather than working. It was good for business as I got older, he would bring in the wood and I would sell it. I met people from all walks of life and could not imagine anything better than that.

One day Father returned from town with a sorrow filled face. He told me news of how there was a group of people searching for those who could go around and speak to many others throughout the realm, and share this news with those who were unable for whatever reason to go themselves. He said that these reporters would have the opportunity to travel the realm and meet new people. I was growing more and more excited by the minute, and he, being the kind father, simply smiled.

"Go," he demanded. "It is what ye were meant to do. I can nay get ye to stay here a minute without ye running off and making a new friend. This way ye will get to leave Skara and see the world." He smiled slowly as he pulled out a pack from the chest near his bed. We filled it with all I would need, left our small home, and walked in silence towards town.

Since that evening I heard many tales of wonder and heroics, and I hope to one day share them with ye. If ye see me in Britannia, feel free to stop and talk with me. Keep reading here for more from me and my fellow reporters here at UOSS Quest and Event News.

It seems that the cities of the realm are goin a bit nuts these days, 'ere is yet another plea fer officials.

Hail and Well Met,

The town of Jhelom is in need. We are seeking persons to fill various positions in the towns government. There are positions in all areas that need to be filled. We need a Mayor, Viceroy, Ambassador, Town clerk, Event Coordinator, Trade Administrator, and Captain of the Guard (who will be selected from Jhelom Guard applicants.) There are also council seats open. All applications accepted and reviewed equally. Some positions will require an interview and others will be voted on by all peoples applying. If you think you can help or know of somebody that might be interested Contact the Sage of Valor at:

[email protected] or send a pigeon to 1440697. Place Jhelom Town in the request for Authorization.

Greetings,

Are you bored of your everyday existence? Do you crave excitement, adventure and good friends? Are you man enough to face a lich lord and stomp on his foot then poke him in the eyes and call him a mongbat? Are you women enough to hunt down a balron and grab him by the most intimate of areas? If so then you could be just the type of person the Jhelom Guard is looking for. We promise to pay you nothing and maybe get you killed, but there will be women and men dressed in skimpy warriors outfits. So if you think you have what it takes contact the Sage of Valor at:

[email protected] or send a pigeon to 1440697. Place Jhelom Guard in the request for Authorization.

Thank You,

Wildboy, Sage of Valor

G'luck in yer search fer the right blokes Wildboy, and g'luck to all of ye that apply.

Yers in ale and tale,

I just received this disturbing news from one of our paladins;

"From our newest lands of Trammel, I stepped back once more in the only too familiar lands of Felucca, in Clown Town. No sooner had my vision returned, but I was greeted with some gargoyles, a scouting party as I slashed the invaders down, with aid from my clown brother, Saurze. I stepped inside, the well-illuminated Clown School, and spoke for a moment to Catrina. Before my very eyes, Gargoyles, many of them, at least twenty, began to rampage through Clown Town.

Lady Corail, and myself saw a red flagged Gargoyle, normal in appearance, and name. He immediately attacked Lady Corail, so I leaped at the creature, attacking with great haste, as more and more Gargoyles, appeared around us. The creature, yelled out the words "An es Terresta Yu", Lady Corail, or myself could not comprehend its meaning. I replied in crude English, "I cannot speak gargish", it repeated itself, from the words it spoke, I could only get a rough grasp of what it was trying to say, it repeated itself, I replied once more "This is Clown Town, it is ours". The gargoyles, clearly didn't seem to think this way as they proceeded to attack us.

Soon, reinforcements, aided Corail, Saurze and myself and no sooner had they appeared, but indeed the gargoyles were gone. Searching the corpse of the red Gargoyle, revealed nothing. Perhaps Illamaniem could shed some light on the happenings, or one of the architects we have met, Benon Tragg, or Quentin Smithe. I hope soon, we can perhaps find some equilibrium with the Gargoyles, war is often needless, especially, when two species cannot communicate.

Regards,
Baratus, the Paladin Clown"

A quick translation of the gargish words could be something like:

"None are there" - Was he looking for his fellow gargoyles?
Or
"Not exist there" - Does he mean the clowns? We are not allowed on the beach, or was he looking for the entrance to the secret room? More studies will continue this very night - when we will gather all the elders and seek deep in books and dungeons for answers.

Sincerely
Lady Valkyria

Thank you for passing this on to us Valkyria, I also hope that the situation may be eased.

*puts pen to scroll *

We gathered in Britain to see what Julianna was able to decipher from the strange Orcish text we retrieved from Yar's camp the previous week. But she was nowhere to be found. As it is not Julianna's nature to be so late, I became worried. Not moments later, a band of Yar's thugs burst into Sage Advice and attacked the folk gathering there. It was obviously a trap set by Yar to trap us, but an unsuccessful one as the assembly of brave warriors and mages made quick work of the brigands.

It was certain now that Julianna had been forcefully taken, and we immediately set off for the brigand's camp, knowing full well that another trap was surely to await us. Yar was there, Julianna in his clutches. The battle that followed was furious, and once again Yar managed to slip away before we could dispatch the vile mage.

After thanking us for the rescue, Julianna drew for us a map based on the directions she had deciphered from the Orcish book. We quickly realized that the geography mapped the area around the dungeon of Wrong. This was surely the place where the great orc battle had taken place so long ago, and where the remains of Gorgu were laid to rest, along with the tunic we sought.

Again, we readied our weapons and spells, and stepped through the moongates into a vast plain infested with orcs. For the second time this eve a fierce battle ensued, and the assembled orcs began to fall to our numbers.

At the height of the battle, a few of the adventurers discovered a cave, and as we fought therein I could not help but notice the orc remains that littered the floor there. Could this have been Gorgu's resting place?

After the battle subsided, I took out my archeological kit and began to examine the bones littering the floor. No sooner had I disturbed the remains that a number of ghostly orcs appeared, and among them the spirit of Gorgu himself! After much discussion, it was discovered that he did indeed have the tunic we sought, but he would only turn it over once we had gathered the mortal remains of him and his fellow orcs and return them to their tribal lands.

With the help of my companions, we accomplished this task, and at the old tribal lands, Gorgu handed the tunic of Grugnub over to me. Although plain in appearance, I suspect there is more to it than meets the eye.

The mages here at the Lycaeum are studying it even as we speak, and I am now looking for clues to the locations of the remaining artifacts. Any who would join me in this endeavor are invited to meet me at my office at the Lycaeum. It is in the two-story sandstone building directly behind the Lycaeum's north exit. I will be in my office on Friday, May 12th, at 8PM o' the clock.

Thank thee!

-Robyn ap Mir, Archeologist and Lecturer The Lycaeum, Moonglow

A child has come to us in search of a family, in search of protection and in search of guidance. Her name is Eve. A child of destiny wandered lost through a land unknown to her after watching her mother be brutally murdered by an evil sorceress. Who later turned her evil intentions upon the child by conjuring a deamon from the bowels of hell to hunt her.

Created from powers beyond, she is now our destiny. Found by SteelMageBoy wandering near the city of Paxlair, he took it upon his kind heart to care for this infant. Providing her with food and clothing, SteelMageBoy cared for her until the fateful day when evil came upon them.

The wraiths arrived at his dwelling demanding he hand her to them. After having his wish of a child finally fulfilled he would not relinquish his dream so easily to such vile creatures. Placing himself between Eve and the evil wraiths, he stood awaiting the assault that was sure to come. Moments before it happened he spotted a solution standing behind the Wraiths. Uziel of the Catiff happened upon the scene.

Desperate for Eve's safety, SteelMageBoy enlisted Uziel's aid and requested that he take her to a safe place. SteelMageBoy kept the wraiths at bay while Uziel made their escape. His thoughts brought him to Aryslan and into OsR's care and mine. Asking our assistance and protection he relinquished his hold on Eve and gave her to us.

While in our care. SteelMageBoy took Eve to Paxlair. As he spoke to her there, he felt a strange power radiating from her. Long ago he himself was once of the gods but relinquished his power in exchange for a mortal soul. Though he attempted to regain his power later on it was to no avail, but now with this child he slowly felt power begin to surge through his being.

As he stood in wonder a voice called to him. "You must protect Eve for she is your future. She holds within her the power to bring balance to this accursed world. Should she fall into the grasp of evil she will bring death and destruction, but, should she remain pure at heart, she will bring light to this land."

Upon returning to Aryslan they came across Orcs attacking the town. During the attack the Wraiths joined the Orcs in their destructive intentions. Narrowly escaping the Wraiths, Eve was once again safe.

It is said that the Wraiths are able to sense her power. If that is so then other evil will soon become aware of this child that is blessed and yet cursed with this special gift. They will hunt her until the end.

Mazrim has been revived and is stronger then ever now that his master has been defeated. His power has escalated to the point where he can even slay gods. What is feared the most is that once Mazrim joins his forces and power with Lilith, there will be no hope for mages to be of any use. Therefore all will lie within the hands of our warriors. Upon Eve's request Jamlyn and I have adopted her as our daughter and as such will do everything in our power to keep this child from evil. I ask the aid of all that follow the virtues. I ask of you to help protect this child that will bring order to this world of Chaos.

Aryslan is a player run town on the Chesapeake Shard. For more and continuing news go to http://chadarius.com/aryslan.

May 9 [PaxLair, Felucca, Chesapeake] Mayor Winfield of PaxLair will sign new laws for PaxLair at the start of the weekly PaxLair City Meeting. This will occur at 8PM Eastern Daylight Time at the North Tower in PaxLair on Wednesday, May 10th. These laws will affect citizens and visitors alike.

"Law is the basis for Justice," Mayor Winfield said. "And Justice is a basis for Defense. These new laws will go a long way in establishing an equitable Justice system for our citizens, residents, and visitors. People will thus know better if they break a law inside PaxLair and if they are subject to arrest and being brought to trial.

"I have full faith in our Senior Magistrate Neo of Lothlore to conduct fair and speedy trials for accused criminals of our City. Such is a difficult endeavor as many criminals flee the scene and go unapprehended. Many opportunities now exist for detectives, lawyers, and City guards to gather evidence, prosecute or defend, and apprehend the accused. Our City Meeting should discuss how people may apply for various positions.

"I am also seeking a Chancellor of Justice. This Chancellor will oversee our Justice System and its futher development on my behalf, ensure the proper interpretation of law, and see that Justice is carried out quickly and fairly. Those interested may apply to me in person or by mail service. Please include a biography, statement of prior service in court cases and Justice, and references." The Laws to be signed by Mayor Winfield and further explanations are contained on the PaxLair Site. People are encouraged to review these laws and provide feedback to Mayor Winfield before the signing ceremony on Wednesday. As always, all are welcome to attend the City Meeting.

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

Sincerely,
Winfield, Mayor of PaxLair
Email: Mayor Winfield
PaxLair City Page: www.chessienet.com/paxlair/new
PaxLair FAQ: www.chessienet.com/paxlair/new/faq

On 04/27/00, The shrine cleansing ceremony of Compassion was overshadowed by other events. The adventurers gathered in Jhelom at around 8:30pm. From there we gated to the Shrine of Compassion. Those who wanted to speak on Compassion did so. Falcon lead us in a chant of the mantra of virtues. The chant was of the relation of the virtues to one another.

After this, we gathered around the death vortex and carried out a ritual intended to weaken the death vortex by interrupting its mana power flow. This ritual was based on the one submitted by Darius Morn-Kar. The ritual started with four mages summoning one of the four types of elementals (water, earth, fire, and air) and asked for that element's help in the ritual. After sending it back to its element, all the mages tried to cast Mana Drain on the death vortex or in the area near the death vortex. The non-mages supported the shrine by chanting its mantra during the draining. The ritual had no visible immediate effect.

On Saturday (04/29/00), it was noticed that the shrine of Justice had its ankh. In the following days, I checked many of the shrines and noticed they, too, had their ankhs. Monday (05/08/00), Justice's ankh had once again been removed, but Humility still had its ankh as of Tuesday (05/09/00). At this time, it is not known if our rituals caused the ankhs to return or if some other force affected the shrines. (Possibly, Lord British's servants or the council of mages?) More research is needed.

The shrine cleansing ceremonies will continue. Thus Monday, I am calling any virtuous Britannians to take to part in an attempt to cleanse one of the shrines of virtue. If the minions of Dread Lady Minax oppose us, be prepared for battles of mind, body and spirit. Those interested in taking part, should meet at the Jhelom Bank between 8pm and 8:30pm CST. Any suggestions of what this ceremony should include, please email them to me.

Sara Gules
Wandering Healer, PoC

Sara's sketches of the shrines may be viewed here. Thanks, Sara!

Marcus ventures to the War Room; people grew restless to act against Minax

Marcus Aggravaine was there at Devon's house on Friday (4/28/00). He was there surveying the new damage to his fence and the change to land in Cove. Pigeons were sent relaying news of his appearance. Many curious and hopeful Britannians were soon there. He was intrigue by news from around Britannia. He was finally given the message from Devon to stay in Cove. After hearing about the blood in throne room and the War Room in Serpent's Hold, He decided to ignore that advice and go see these things for himself. He readied his weapon and marched out of Cove. A bevy of adventurers followed him. The adventurers were able to persuad him to take a mystical blue gate to Britain.

Once in Britain, the adventures were beset by a large group of lizardmen. More adventurers joined our ranks and more lizardmen impeded our progress a little. Upon reaching the throne room, he inspected the blood. He, along with many others, hoped it was not from any Britannians. He then wanted to see the king. Many Britannians want to see king. Many also wished the king did not rule from seclusion. Seeking news, Marcus and the adventurers headed to the war room in Serpent's Hold.

Upon reaching the war room, neither Lord British nor any other the Britannia leader was to be found. According the honor guard Garron, "He's in conference with Nystul - many plans to be made, not all here." Marcus thought it best not to disturb the king. Other didn't quite agree with him. Marcus wanted to go back to Cove, but others were not quite done.

Many want to act and were displeased with the Britannian rulers lack of action:

Glendor: Now wait a minute! Enough of this navel gazing! Night after night, we fight, always on the defense, always backing away. Enough! We need to strike back. No more cowering under Nystul's spells. Have we not mages or detectives? Are we merely cannon fodder? I say we take matters into our own hands. Our very homes are unsafe. Our world is different. What's with these structures and nasty bits Minax leaves like cow dung across the land? Enough blather. Sara can contact me; I can bring unlimited force to bear. Good luck in your chatting. People need protection out there.

Kira Lynn'Dannae: We should be the ones in his council. We are the ones dying and fighting. British has done nothing.

Grot: Why does he not ask those who have been defending the cities for our council and aid? We fight tooth and nail nightly against all manner of beasts and we know best what the form these attacks have taken. We want to help on a greater scale, but are not given the chance.

Gaal: I fear this is yet another example of how Lord British does nay care for us... This be his planning room, yes? Yet he is not here. And how long was Trinsic without guards... even after it was retaken by so many? He devotes little time to his people.

Whistler Mirror: The shrine of spirituality. I seen it with my own eyes. It's a vortex of death.

Other questioned why we wait:

Marcus Aggravaine: Know thee where to strike? Aye, we have warriors without peer among us, but if we know not where the enemy lies...

Legacy: Can't fight an invisible enemy.

Sara Gules: But, unfortunately, we have no information.

Marcus Aggravaine: Have thee an idea where to begin looking?

Cellesmerelda: So, if we do take the matters into our hands, where do we go?

Marcus Aggravaine: His Lordship is under grievous trials!

Glendor: All the more reason for us to act. Kira Lynn'Dannae: Then pass it to someone who can handle the problems.

The gathered people levied their dissatisfaction upon Marcus Aggravaine. He, having no position among the "elite" who are council to Lord British, had no answers. But Marcus, like other citizen defenders, had only questions and a spirit to fight. The adventurers left an exhausted Marcus to tend and talk about bees in Cove for the rest of the night.

We, citizens of Sosaria, may have to find the answers for ourselves (if they even exist).

Sara Gules
Wandering Healer, PoC

Sara also sent these documents for your inspection:

Marcus and adventurers fighting lizardmen

Marcus in War Room

Unedited transcript of the War Room discussion

Thank you, Lady Sara, for this enlightening news.

• Game Economics
• A role-player's guide to developing character history
• Two stories about the post-cataclysm world of Vigil
• Details on the new Hero's History Contest
• Five descriptive colored maps
• A new essay on the history of Hero's Journey

Oh, and one more thing... the deadline for the Hero's History contest is almost upon us - prizes include a free character portrait and a MadCatz Panther XL joystick - (s)he who hesitates is lost. So check out the latest issue of the Hero's Journal, you'll be glad you did.

UO.com Message Boards Delay

The opening of the UO.com message boards has been delayed until Thursday, May 11th while we address server issues related to the boards. A further announcement will be made with instructions for signing up and accessing the boards on Thursday.

Service-wide Downtime

We are currently planning to take down and restart all Ultima Online shards at approximately 4:00PM Central Time on Thursday, May 11th. At that time we will be updating a change to the global service system that must be published to all shards at the same time. This target time will be confirmed in an additional announcement on Thursday.

The crossroads of Britain are like a war zone. The reds here just want to live a nice life in our villa but there are way too many anti-reds. WE CAN'T EVEN GO OUTSIDE! My name is "a chicken" on the Test Shard. Come check it out if you have the time.

This looked intriguing, so I dressed up in my "healer browns", bought a horse and headed off to the crossroads of Britannia. Upon arriving at the crossroads, I moved off into the thicket in order to place a Felucca Moonstone on ground.

Stepping through the Moongate, I was first greeted by the sight of many corpses on the ground. People where running everywhere. It did not seem to matter what color you were. Blues were attacking reds and reds were attacking blues, this was exactly what I expected, but I did not expect to see them attacking each other. No one was safe.

Upon gaining admittance to one of the reds homes, I asked him why he participated in this madness. He claimed it was exciting and he did this daily. As I was standing there talking, people would come to the door and attack those inside the house. Some of those in the house would rush out and attack those outside. There were always people running around, and way to many ghosts to even try to count.

This particular red had formed a guild which has about 20 members right now. In order to become a member, one must PK and be willing to help provide materials and items for the guild house.

After leaving the reds home, I spoke with some blues about why they did this. The blue I spoke with said he enjoyed the action and excitement. While speaking, I noticed none of the blues where in a guild, when I asked why, he said it was because of how often the Test Shard renewed itself.

About this time, someone cast Energy Vortex right next to me. It was not long before my words where oOooOOoo. The blue I was speaking with healed me, but not in time to save my horse. He then asked me to hurry up in gathering my things as more and more people were arriving.

I decided it was about time to leave as the War Zone was starting to become very hot. I bid everyone farewell, and as I left I saw the blue and the red, both of whom I had spoken with, engage in a fierce battle. I did not stay to see who would win. They had both said earlier that it didn't matter who won. Sometimes the blues won, sometimes the reds won. It was all about having fun.

While speaking with them, I had asked both of them some of the same questions. One of which was if they had main characters on other shards, both did and both have also been playing UO for a long time.

If your looking for some fast paced action and you don't know where to go, I suggest you head over to the crossroads near Britain in Felucca. You will not be disappointed.

Craggan's Friday Night Event at Grimoire Arena
Friday May 14th, @ (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST)
1 on 1 Gladiator Event

Here are the rules:

You can only use the resources on the battlefield.
Thievery is allowed.
Magic is limited to the scrolls on the battlefield. If you loose connection during the fight, you forfeit the match unless your opponent agrees to a re-match.

· No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No armor and weapons allowed.
· Up to three trapped bags/chests to break paralyze. They may be re-trapped during the battle.
· The Spell Des Mani (Weaken) is not allowed.
· The Double Hit weapon swing is not allowed. If you do not know how to use it, then don't worry about it. We will not demonstrate, but we know how it works.

Disclaimers:
· All contestants are subject to snooping by Grimoire 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 that disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after the event.
· If Grimoire cancels an event for any reason at any time during the course of the event, all entry fees will be returned to the contestants.
· Any contestants that are perma banned for any reason after the entry fee has been paid, will forfeit the gold. This gold will be paid out to the winners of the event.
· If you leave the arena after the entry fee is paid and you fail to return before the event begins, the entry fee is forfeit and will be paid to the winners of the event.
· The Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

We must have a minimum of 4 people to start this event!

This event takes place in the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena. Once you have entered the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena, all Contestants are bound by the Rules of the Battle Arena. Failure to follow these rules may result in your death or banishment from the Arena. http://www.battlevortex.com/grimoire/tourney_rules_overall.html Contestants and Spectators must observe and obey all the Village Laws. Failure to do so can end in your death or banishment from the village. http://www.battlevortex.com/grimoire/grimoire_rules.html For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit: http://grimoire.battlevortex.com/

Lost

Your typical boat thief however , conforms to none of the above rules.

The ghost floated softly over to what had once been its body , the body (which had obviously had been slashed at by several swords) lay face down in a large pool of blood and was surrounded by various limbs and body parts , "OOoooOoooOOOoo" it moaned. I looked hopefully at the thin wavy figure that stood infront of me ."Well..." I said , "You had better run to town".

"Believe me gov`nor , crime does pay"

It was a sunny morning in the city of Britain , the streets where beginning to wake up as they where filled with the steps of many people on there way to work. I wondered purposefully down towards the docks , the cool sea breeze could be felt filtering in-between the various shops and houses as it traveled deep behind me and further onwards into town.

Arriving at the shipwrights , I stood and admired the craftsmanship of the various sea vessels which where anchored on the docks outside."Oi gov`nor , you want to buy a boat?" , the voice came from a small man who was standing beside me "Erm..." I said , "Thou art not the shipwright". The man smiled and opened his jacket , which contained a large score of ship keys. "You do want a boat...... right?" he spoke , still smiling.

After discovering that the boats my newly found friend was selling were infact stolen , I reassuringly declined and departed. Later that day however I found myself heading back towards the docks , in search of the boat thief.

Again I found the man standing on the docks , this time however he seemed to be taking part in a legal profession , fishing."Hail to thee" I spoke , he turned round a little suprised."So" he said smirking "You want a boat after all?" , "No" I said "I want a story".

Thus began the idea behind this report. After explaining that I was infact a reporter , not a member of the town guard the man introduced himself (He requested at the time that I did not give his real name , so I shall now on refer to him as Bob) and we arranged to meet the following day outside the cities main bank.

The rain pored heavily down upon the roof of Britain's main bank , I took shelter inside and decided to check my bank balance while waiting.Bob appeared 45 minuets later , grinning as always."Has the rain affected your timepiece?" I said coldly , "Ha Ha" he replied "I have been busy getting this" and produced a ship key from his pocket.

Bleeeuuuuggghhhh , convulsions rippled through my stomach as the warm fluid based substance left my mouth , it is sad(and embarrassing) to reveal that I am perhaps one of the only people in the world that gets travel sick from using moongates. The ship stood tall before us , bobbing furiously in the fierce storm that whipped the shoreline "Where are we" I shouted , competing with the raging wind and crashing sea , "North east of Yew" Bob replied "Help me get this gang plank out". Having readied the ship , persuaded the tiller man that the boat had been won in a game of cards and plotted our course we set sail.

We where at sea for some time , with the storm still raging nothing could be seen."art thou sure you know where were going" I shouted upto bob who was in the crows nest , "aye" he replied half attentively whilst gazing through a spyglass.

The storm gradually died down and visibility was returned to us , we had moved about 200 yds from the shore , "I thought you said you knew what you where doing" I shouted again up to the crows nest "I do" replied bob , "Tiller man , head 1 mile west and moore us within sight of Yew". The boat speeded off in the direction of Yew.

The day was now getting old , the sun was beginning to set upon the horizon and the air was getting cold. Having docked and locked the boat we left and headed towards Yew. Reaching the outskirts of the small town I realised I should really be heading back to Britain."I must go now friend" I spoke with much pain due to the long journey ahead , "art thou sure?" Bob replied " I will open a moongate to transport thee there , if thee wish?".Being given this alternative made me realise how much fun walking really is."No" I said hastily "I need some exercise anyway" . "Very well then" said bob " I hope we shall meet again soon!" , "Goodbye!".

Having bid farewell to my new friend , I headed off east on one of my most used shortcuts to Britain.

I had not gone far when my steady pace was interrupted by a blood curdling scream , it had come from behind me. Fearing that someone had run into one of the local brigand groups I drew my sword and ran swiftly back.

Indeed as I feared , a poor fellow had been ambushed by a gang of murderers. I approached the dieing man with caution."Bob?!?" I said shocked to find that the dieing man was infact my rather unsavory companion . "Euuughhhhaa" he moaned in pain."Mingus ", his voice could barely be heard , "Mingus" "gather my things together for me". His body sagged as he breathed his last breath of air , then there was silence. I rummaged around among what was left of his corpse and gathered his things together. Then I waited.

By the end of the day Bob had been resurrected in Yew and his belongings had been returned to him. As for me I had the rather long walk back to Britain , which in the end was rather profitable.

The moral of this story goes out to all ship owners/users , be weary when securing your boat.

All that is required to steal a boat is the ship key .Once obtained the thief can cast "Recall" upon the key and will be transported directly to the position of your boat. Then all that is required is for the thief to do is "dry dock" the boat after which he will be presented with a new set of keys.And thats that , you no longer own your boat!.A rather amusing situation which "bob" told me of involved a ship that he once found unlocked with the ship key stored in the hold , given such circumstances the owner may as well have given his boat away!.

My thanks go out to "Bob" for his help on this report.

It seems the vil ones are gettin a bit more organized, a little bird passed this on to me, figured some of ye may be interested.

Caina, the First City of Evil in Sosaria, is holding elections for its very own Mayor over the next two weeks. The city of Caina can be found on the northern tip of Dagger (Ice) Isle and its web tome can be found here. In addition to a few of the highlighted duties below, the Mayor will generally be in charge of making Caina a more vile place to exist for those creatures of darkness and mortals with evil and anti-virtue in their hearts.

This most corrupt of positions shall be responsible for the appointing and holding of elections for other town officials such as Vice-Mayor, Ambassador, Historian, Merchant Lord and Event Coordinator to name a few.

The Mayor must also maintain the daily operation of the Citizens of Caina guild stone (CIN).

As Chairman of the Caina Council, the Mayor shall also be responsible for the enforcing of the city laws through the iron, poisoned swords of the Caina Guard and their vicious Captain.

The Mayor shall keep peace between the guilds and organizations that call Caina home.

With the Caina Council the Mayor shall strive to bring forth the darkness within the city and spread it throughout the land through various campaigns on many different battlefields and arenas from the physical to the political.

If ye think ye have the lack of heart to perform service for this dastardly place then perform the rites necessary to be considered by the evil Powers that be.

The elections shall run for roughly two weeks at which point the best man, woman or monster for the job shall be contacted and given the opportunity to promote evil and injustice in the realm by being Mayor of Caina.

Walk in Darkness,

Azalin

Lich Lord of the Ebon Skull

Founder of the Shadow Conclave

I reckon now we'll jest 'ave to find out who's gonna run eh? Good luck to those of ye that do.

Yers in ale and tale,

Hi all !

I am happy to announce a new co-operation with a new sponsor : The Merchants on Tour. They sell excellent wares in Trinsic and made it possible for me to increase the price for the Champion of the total season to 45.000GP ! Also all other prices have been increased that in total I'll give out 141.000GP over the whole season.

Is that interesting for YOU? There are only few places left. So be quick to join. Find out more about the races on our website, and about our sponsor, the Merchants on Tour.

If you simply want to watch the race or place a bet, be sure to be at the Grand Prix of Nujel'm, on Sunday the 14th May, 7pm CET ((6pm GMT, 1 pm EST). Meeting is at the green-white chessboard platform in Nujel'm south of the bank and inn in Trammel.

I hope to see you all there !

Scritus

Love was in the air around Grimoire on Saturday. I had been fortunate enough to snag an invitation for the wedding of Fear and Kelly Kindred. Never realizing evil players had time for lovey dovey stuff, I remembered the Samantha Fox song: Naughty Girls Need Love Too and realized love is just as important as cheetos, or breathing. Perhaps if more PKs got some lovin' they'd have better things to do than whack other players in Shame.

Anyway, I was late for the very important date. Arriving at the Blackcomb tower I hoping to find a rune to the Isle of Fire. It was there before, sitting out in the open, but now was gone. I called a comrade and they were able to gate me over. Only problem was I didn't have any boots. Earlier that day I had been roughed up by a pack of mean orcs who stole my shoes. I guess they would have taken my lunch money too if I had any.

Normally, I'm a good citizen, but since I was going to Grimoire I got in the spirit of things by stealing some sandals. I planned to replace them later, I swear!

Running up the stairs to the Tower of Immortality I arrived just as the main ceremony was finishing up. Apologizing, I grabbed a seat in the back. Seer Aria, in her final appearance, served as the priest. When she made the union official the modest crowd toasted the couple. I briefly noticed that instead of a red carpet the bride had walked over scattered skeleton bones. Nice touch.

Any resemblance to an orderly, peaceful ceremony ended when Craggan threw an explosion my way. He said he loved me and knowing him these low-key assaults were just love taps. More fights broke out as the boys and girls in red pounded each other silly. Who said murderers didn't know how to have fun?

In the midst of it all, standing calmly with his bride, Fear thanked his well wishers. I over heard him mention something about stepping down as mayor and immediately hurried over to find out what he meant. It seemed that with the introduction of Renaissance he was making some adjustments in his life. For the better. Something about taking up macramé in his old age. ;)

I asked him what this meant for the dark side of Napa. Most everyone seemed as shocked as I was over this declaration. He assured everyone Grimmy would continue. The transition between mayorship would go as smoothly as possible.

So Fear and Kelly...where ever you go I wish you the best! I know Grimoire will miss you both, but like a famous writer once said: ...if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

Wedding Vows Spoken By Lady Aria.

We are here this day to witness the pledge of unity between Cardinal Fear and his beloved Kelly Kindred.

Tis said by some that those of evil intent cannot love another for they love themselves too deeply, but this day we see that that is false for the two before me now share a bond of love and blood.

I ask you Kelly Kindred, do you come to this place of your own accord to pledge your vow to this man?

I ask you Cardinal Fear, do you come to this place of your own accord to pledge your vow to this woman?

*hands each of them a dagger*

Cardinal slice your palm and Kelly do the same. Now clasp hands to mingle your life essence and you bind your lives in your blood and your pledge.

With this I ask of you Kelly Kindred, do you now bind your life to that of Cardinal Fear to share in the love and blood that makes your hearts sing as one?

With this I ask of you Cardinal Fear, do you now bind your life to that of Kelly Kindred to share in the love and blood that makes your hearts sing as one?

With the pledges you speak before the assembled, and the blood you share, I now bind you in the unity of marriage. Let all know that anyone who spills the blood of one faces the vengeance of both.

I wish you both a life filled with the joy you find in bringing terror, fear and death to others.

Introducing UO.com Message Boards

You can be heard at UO.com! The official UO.com Message Boards will be opening on Wednesday, May 10th and we hope you'll stop by and join us. The message boards have been designed to provide a forum for communication with novice and veteran Ultima Online players alike and will be monitored by Origin staff.

The UO.com Message Boards are divided into five overall topics, including:

• Connectivity - find information and advice on server and connectivity issues
• Development - discuss game features and development with other players and members of the UO development team
• Role-Playing - discuss UO events and quests, or participate in in-character role-playing
• In-Game Support - find answers to in-game support questions, or share your knowledge with others
• Trading and Selling - trade and sell Ultima Online items. Please note: this topic is restricted to in-game transactions only. Private messaging is also supported, allowing you to further discuss board issues with your friends or to continue discussions with new acquaintances.

The UO.com Message Boards are open to all UO players with active Ultima Online subscriptions and are available within MyUO. To join us on the UO.com Message Boards, you'll need to sign up for a free MyUO account here. When we open the message boards on May 10th, a link will appear on your MyUO homepage - in the meantime, you can enjoy the personalized news and events available through MyUO, or even view your personal character paperdolls via the web. We will post an additional announcement as soon as the message boards are open, and we look forward to seeing you there!

The Best of the Best Tournament

Place: Deceit duel room (That room west of the 3-way bridge)

Date/Time: Over 2 weeks, May 18-May31. Specific duel dates and times are set by the individuals.

Entry Fee: 3k

Prize Money: 1st place: 75% of entry fees, 2nd place 25%

This is a 1 on 1 tournament, designed so that resource management will be as important as pvp skill, the rules are as follows:

No 8th circle spells

No Summons

No pets (including horses, and any of Alora's man-harem)

No magic items or weapons

No hiding/stealthing

Maximum of 5 potions of your choice

Maximum 35 of each reagent

Maximum 1 pouch, can be retrapped during the battle

No defensive spells may be cast before the battle begins

No pre-poisoned weapons, weapons may be poisoned during battle if you choose to select a poisonpotion as one of your 5

Referees will be present at each duel and will monitor for violations. Referees will not be associated with the guild of either dueler.

Scheduling: A round of duels will occur each week starting on May 18-May 25. The duelers must find a time during this week suitable to both of them, and contact one of the referees. If for some reason you or your opponent are unable to agree upon a time during that week, the match is forfeit. If both combatants agree that this was purely the fault of one of the combatants, the other may advance to the next round on a bye.

Those looking to sign up email me with your character name and guild affiliation. Also if you wish to referee, email me at the same address.

Good luck to all the participants and thanks to Ishamael for organizing this event.

The Place: Wok 'n Sushi in Franklin, NJ

The Fee: $20.00 door fee...all you can eat.

The Date: This Saturday, May 13th

The Time: 1:00pm to 4:00pm

The Dress: Casual

Anyone that feels like sharing their adventures and interests with fellow UO players is welcome!

http://www.expedia.com is good for directions, put in your starting point and enter either Hardyston, Franklin, or Hamburg as your destinations, they are all near the Wok 'n Sushi.

For more information email
[email protected]

This bit of news jest in..

Announcing the Caina Cock Fights! After over a month break, the popular Unter Brae Cock Fighting League will reopen. However, they are now to take place in the infamous city of Caina, on Ice Island. The first of these competitions will take place this Wednesday at 10:00 PM EST at the Asylum of Perdition in Caina. The entrance fee is 500 gold per chicken entered. The rules are simple... No outside interference, no cock-enhancing spells, and the last cock standing wins. The winner gets half the entrance fee normally, but for this special reopening, the entire pot goes to the winners!

Navrip Freemech

Thankee mate fer the information and good luck wit the fights!

Yers in ale and tale,

Here ye! Here ye!

Ye are cordially invited to the grand openin' of the Moonglow Tavern. Just a few steps to the south of the Encyclopedia Magika on the isle of Moonglow, The Moonglow Tavern will officially open its doors at 9:00pm PST on Thursday Eve the 11th day of May. Come drink upon free ale, listen to grand tales from a talented young lass! Dine upon the best fish and beast available. Come one come all!

~Eleana Coriel, Proprietor The Moonglow Tavern

The 7th Council of Honesty meeting on Wednesday, May 3rd was to be my last as chair. Sure we had business... The investigation into the murder of the elf was ongoing and the need for the Moonglow Defense Force (MDF) continues but Edmund Greyfox and Paddycat, respectively, had each under control and their reports were expected to be interesting but relatively routine. There was also the sad news of the departures of Owen Simeon and Brother Michael from the Council but we had lost members before and had survived. For me, however, the highlight was to be the announcement that I would be handing over the chairmanship to Edmund Greyfox. I could then return to the roles with which I was much more comfortable - those of a simple businessman and councilor.

Unfortunately, two anarchists had other ideas...

They did not stand out especially. In fact, one did not stand out at all until it was too late. The first, Alerilyll, stood quietly throughout the meeting and appeared to be listening to the reports presented while her accomplice, A Brick Wall, hid in the shadows. It was not until the last agenda item was covered and the meeting had been opened up to the floor that chaos ensued. With cries of anger and calls for the death of the council, A Brick Wall came out of hiding and attacked me. Seriously wounded, I was thankfully able to avoid a similar attack by Alerilyll. After the attacks, both attempted to flee the premises. I regained my wits and was able to obtain healing quickly enough to find that Alerilyll had already been apprehended by councilors Loren Silverleaf, Edmund Greyfox, and Paddycat. A Brick Wall escaped, seemingly into thin air.

Subsequent interrogation of Alerilyll yielded little information except for her statement that she had been commanded by "my master" to bring about the death of the council. She neither revealed the name of her master nor the reasons for the attacks. Paddycat, Loren Silverleaf, and members of the MDF then escorted her to a jail cell in the Yew prison to await adjudication. A warrant has now been issued for the arrest of A Brick Wall for attempted murder. Paddycat and the MDF will be heading up the investigation into this issue.

Respectfully Submitted,
Lord Buzz Aldridge

As of this writing, A Brick Wall remains at large. Our thanks to Councilman Aldridge for bringing us this news.

Sara Gules sent us this news the next day:

Lord British retreats to Serpent's Hold

As the blood on the throne room suggests, Lord British's castle seems to be no longer safe for the leaders of Britannia. Court Mage Nystul has made a permanent blue gate between the castle and Serpent's Hold. As a Town Cryer puts it, "Nystul has opened a gate to the safety of Serpent's Hold in Castle British!"

Upon exiting the gate in Serpent's Hold, there is a blue and gold structure and an honor guard named Hugh. He will tell you about Nystul's eight blue and gold towers that maintain a spell to protect Serpent's Hold from Minax's forces. Hugh also mentions the north hall on the island has been converted to a war room.

There is also an honor guard, Timlin, with his catapult, in the bank of Serpent's Hold. He tells about Hugh by "the main generator" and about the war room in north hall.

The war room is very impressive. Garron, the honor guard and only person present, is there for you to talk to. Garron says that Nystul and Lord British are in conference elsewhere. One thing to note, when a person says "Help"(as in "How can I help?"), Garron replies, "We've need of brave folk and good spies throughout Britannia."

"Spies?" we asked.

"Those folk that would keep an eye on Minax's army, and report back." When asked where we might report, he answered, "Our Liege would surely be interested in any bit of information on Minax's camp."

It is good that Lord British is interested in information. I wonder how one reports this information to our Liege? :-\ This does give one hope that there are clues to be found in the devastated Britannia. If you cannot find Lord British, you can send in your report to the local news webscroll.

Sara Gules
Wandering Healer(PoC)

Thanks to Sara, once again, for her tireless efforts in helping bring the news from around the realm to its citizens.

More sketches of Siege under Siege may be viewed here. You might also wish to read Glendor's account of his encounter with Keeonean here.

I scrambled to my feet, gathering my sketching charcoals which had tumbled out of my pack when I fell. I dared not look up, hearing the moans of the undead Keeonean had unleashed, knowing from the hideous cackling of the lich lords that they were dangerously close to me. I threw my belongings into my satchel and raised my head, checking the path between my precarious position and the Abbey where I hoped to find refuge. Looming between me and the stone structure was the largest beast I had ever seen. Coal black, eyes glowing red, it opened its mouth and bellowed at me. Completely paralyzed by panic, I froze, unable to do anything but watch its leathery wings fan out behind it as it moved closer still on its massive cloven hoofs. I felt my eyes rolling back into my head, and my the voice in my head which had been shouting at me "RUN! MOVE! GO!" grew eerily quiet. Sleep washed over me in an instant, followed by a bright flash of pain, then peace.

Suddenly, I was standing and everything was gray. I looked to the ground and saw myself lying there, splayed out and lifeless. A lich plodded over and rifled though my bag, helping himself to the only piece of jewelry I owned, a small gold bracelet. I grumbled at him in my ghostly tongue and he jeered back at me, smiling a detestable grin as he slid the bracelet onto his own rotted wrist and modeled it to antagonize me.

Hasbro ran past my remains, wincing as he saw my rumpled body. "I'll try to get backup!" he shouted to his comrades hidden in the hedges. He was following the great black beast which had done me in and was now being taunted by Alexander Lebaun.

Bards are a different lot than most people. Alex is certainly a confirmation of this phenomenon. An excitable sort, he is quick-witted and sharp-tongued and his verbal taunts are as renowned as his musical abilities. He was dancing around the black beast, picking out an abstract little tune that seemed to agitate it but also held it at bay. "You ain't sh- but a punk, big boy!" he heckled. Others approached, drawing their blades. Alexander chased them off. "DON'T TOUCH LORD. I GOT HIM." He continued to play, attempting to provoke the beast to attack a nearby orc lord. The two evildoers regarded each other and began to snarl warnings between them.

I saw Kichera bend over my corpse. From his belt pouch, he pulled bandages and salve, tending my wounds and reciting the incantation that would reunite my spirit with my broken body. I could feel myself being pulled from the Netherrealm, through darkness and light, then opened my eyes to see Kichera's warm smile. He recited more words of power, strengthening my body, then helped me to my feet.

Lebaun was still working on the beast, which I knew now was called The Lord of the Abyss. Other warriors were running up to take swings at it, mages lobbed fiery balls of energy at it, and Alexander was determined to fell the foul beast himself.

"Don't touch lord!!!" he bellowed, never missing a beat between yelling and playing his haunting tune. "I AM PROVOKING HIM! LET A BARD WORK, PEOPLE!"

Warsaw tossed a few Flamestrikes at the balron, keeping a safe distance and eyeing it disdainfully. Finally, it fell and Alexander leaped up onto it's chest and danced a merry jig. "Told ya I wanted one!" he laughed.

"He wasn't sh- but a punk."

Shawn Mckagen smiled up at Lebaun. "Now, I want Keeonean. I want his blood and I want his soul and I want them both right now."

By creating a diversion with the Lord of the Abyss appearing, Keeonean had managed to implement his troops and flee the battlefield, or so we thought. The sudden manifestation of a rotting corpse let us know he was still lurking, tiptoeing around us, the unseen maestro in a macabre orchestration of death and destruction.

Hasbro recoiled when he spotted the lime green zombie ambling our direction. "Noooooooo!"

Alexander turned to see what had enlarged Hasbro's eyes to the size of saucers and scrambled down from his trophy. 'That thing is a CORPSE!" he squealed. ACK!"

"Holy sh-....' Occy murmured as he looked around for safer ground from which to launch a spear.

Let me say that I have learned many valuable things during my brief tenure thus far as a reporter. This was one of them: 'Just because a pigeon delivers a message to you does not mean you have to read it immediately. Tuck the note away and see to it that you are not in a dangerous place before you look at it." Unfortunately, it took this experience with the rotting corpse to teach me that lesson. I was still a bit loopy from my earlier visit to the Netherrealm and wasn't thinking too clearly and was rather weak-kneed. When the note arrived, I immediately unrolled the parchment and began to read. I looked up just in time to see one slender, slimy digit reach out and touch my arm.

I read once about a man who'd been bitten by a silver serpent and miraculously survived. His description of the sensations associated with that - the tear of his flesh as the fangs sunk in, the blazing heat of the poison entering his body, the fire of it coursing through his veins - were unparalleled by the damage inflicted upon my poor person by the mere fingertip of the rotting corpse. My throat tightened, my stomach began to spasm and my skin burned as though I had been plunged headfirst into a fully-stoked forge. The last thing I was aware of before I fell was the gentle hands of Sara Gules trying to heal me.

The thing stumbled toward Alexander Lebaun as Hasbro shouted, "KILL THE ROTTEN!!! KILL THE ROTTEN!!!"

Occy let out a low whistle and mumbled, "Damn."

Lebaun the bard was leaping around, playing furiously to ward it off, hair flying madly. "Give me something to aim this at!!!"

Siegesan looked around helplessly. "There was an evil around here earlier."

Raven began to spasm uncontrollably and the healers rushed to his aid, one of them nearly getting skewered by his flailing katana. As the mages threw a variety of energy forms at it, the animated corpse kept moving, unharmed, through the crowd.

Dimn Dithlagok tried to be heard over the din. "You can't use spells on it!"

Max Mortem nodded in agreement. "It'll smoke ya in a second!"

Catching a brief flash of chestnut hair against golden armor, Hasbro shouted, "Keeonean!" but the vision was gone before he could finish the exclamation.

The warriors steeled their nerves and surrounded the harbinger of death, healers pressing in behind them to keep them strong for the fight they knew would be arduous.

"Holy, this thing is tough," Yukon growled.

Kush shouted at it as he measured another arrow to his goal, "DIE YOU SPAWN FROM HELL!!"

Valor shouted, "Help! We need more people!"

When I opened my eyes, Alexander Lebaun, George Taylor and Shawn Mckagen were gathered around. George patted my hand. "Welcome to Siege. Two deaths in ten minutes?"

I sighed. "I was reading a pigeon note. Looked up just in time to see I was dying."

George snickered behind his hand. "If you plan on continuing doing that, may I suggest you practice hiding more?"

Rather than risk irreparably embarrassing myself by dying a third time in less than an half an hour, I accompanied a group to Cove to check on the situation there. The town was overflowing with gazers of all varieties, headless ones, hell hounds and giant black widows. Despite Kaltar's heavy infantry, the defenders of Cove were bravely managing to keep the city from going under. Their names deserve to be preserved for posterity in recognition of their fortitude: Eustace, Mike, Dene Trianon, Darth, Glendor, Goo the Lowly, and Playko. To be sure, there were others about who also aided in the defense of Cove, but unfortunately my time there, in the midst of the raging battles, did not permit me to gather the names of all who should be acknowledged.

Vesper was my next stop. I passed through a portal from Cove and found myself inside the bank where a large crowd was gathered in the entrance. Trolls were attacking in all directions, both inside the bank and throughout the city. I climbed onto a chair to see what was in the center of the ring of mages and fighters and caught a glimpse of hideous green that made me shiver. Another rotting corpse.

Sir Don shook his head. "No one can kill it."

Some of the faces in the crowd I recognized: Puttz, Jack-O-Shadows, Sonja Gringkov, Laird Blain, Serpenti, and Illusion. The mere sight of that foul creature had my stomach in knots and I had to make my way out of the bank before I was unwell. I did not fear being called a coward so much as I trembled at the thought of being touched by another of those repugnant zombies.

My stomach began to settle as I left Vesper behind me. I found the moongate and stepped through, finding myself in Yew, once again. The air was still and there was no sound, not even the persistant sound of birds and mongbats which had been heard there for as long as I could remember. I walked to the Abbey, expecting to find the grounds littered with bones and blood, but all was calm and relatively clean. Too calm. Too clean. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end suddenly I was shivering from the cold, though no breeze had brought the frigid air. Sara Gules opened the heavy door and our eyes met, both knowing what the other was feeling without a word passing between us.

A shiver went up my spine so strongly that I convulsed from it. I saw Sara quaver at the same moment. Abruptly, lich lords and their minions appeared as though they had risen from the very ground.

Sara whispered, "Minax is about." It was a statement I believed without seeing anything tangible to support it. A rare circumstance in my line of work.

"Did you see her?" I asked.

"Nay, but people I trust did."

We were looking around the grounds, half yearning to catch a glimpse of the dread lady, half afraid we would get it. "No sign of her," I said, hoping my voice would not betray my relief, "only her handiwork."

Into the wee hours of the night and for another twenty-four hours, the attacks continued in the major cities. The next night, I was unable to leave Britain, trapped in the artists' guild with Jaques as Minax's toadies tried to come at us through the very walls. With some help, we managed to fend them off, but with each wave that fell, reinforcements appeared in greater numbers than the last. It was the same throughout the realm. Each time, the Britannian forces held their ground as best they could, though the guardians were growing weary and running short on supplies. Minax's determination to hold her thumb over the realm is unwavering and leaves our countrymen wondering what will become of the lands they have given their all to protect.

Gate Travel Change

Players will now be required to wait a minimum two seconds between player-cast gate trips. Attempting to pass through a single, player-cast gate multiple times will cause this wait period to grow longer.

Please note: this change was incorrectly announced as a change to static moongates. The eight moongates have not changed at this time.

Narga Saiyen's Destiny

Narga Saiyen is one of the remaining scions of the Saiyen elven family of the Wynd Tribe. Nearly all of the Wynd Tribe were killed by her archenemy Vysantha Dennae of the Clan of Vampires. They have had a long conflict against each other since the day of the Wynd Tribe's demise and the death of Narga's mother. During the decimation, Narga was able to save her little sister Kya and took her to Vesper while Narga worked in the mines of Minoc.

There she met her soon-to-be husband John Henry. They toiled in the mines for months and when an assassin sent by Vysantha Dennae tried to take the life of Narga, John Henry saved her from certain death and they knew they would be together for a long time. After making enough money to provide for her sister and her magical studies, she sent Kya to Magencia under the tutelage of Duncan Idaho, a resident mage there. Soon, Narga Saiyen set out to explore the world along with John Henry and eventually came upon Pfredd Mudd and with her immense curiosity and skill with a pen, she became a UOSS Shard Reporter.

After many months of wandering the world for news, Narga finally caught up with her sister Kya, grown up and well taught in the arcane arts of magic and now a member of the Coven of the Black Rose. Eventually, Narga's reporting duties led her to the steps of the Black Spire of Gehenna, home of the Clan of Vampires where she confronted Vysantha Dennae once again and barely left with her life. But Vysantha had also been severely injured and retreated to the shadows where she awaits the right moment to strike again.

Nowadays, Narga Saiyen continues reporting for UOSS Chesapeake and will soon be married to John Henry. Always curious, Narga travels the world searching for the perfect story.

It is not about the creation of a non PvP land, or changes to the combat system. You can find the petition at http://195.224.150.234/ultima/

A representative of COLT, the London company which hosts the Europa and Drachenfels servers, responded on the Stratics Europa forum. Here is his post:

Hello,

My name is Neil McRae - I'm Director of Network Engineering for COLT Internet - my job is to run the COLT Internet backbone. I'm also a gamer, although I don't play UO but I do understand how frustrating it is when someone kills you just because a packet gets lost on the network.

We receive a lot of email on connectivity issues with the European Shards, nine times out of ten it's nothing that we can do very much about without the assistance of a number of other ISP's, that might sound like a cop out to many of you but we do make ever effort to look into any problems with connectivity to our network.

I would like to respond to a couple of points made later in the forum:

What Cuscaden says is worth listening too. Sagonari states in one of his replies is "the problems start at COLT".

The above statement may seems true but in actual fact it is 50% wrong. When your packets travel across the Internet they travel in two directions. Packets travel out of your computer and packets travel into your computer. In most cases the way these packets flow is different. So the packets travel from your computer down one route. The packets to your computer use another. This often makes the traceroute that UOTrace displays look like all the problems are within our network. Often when we traceroute back to the source [i.e. your computer] we find that the route back isn't ideal. In this case we look for another route back and if that route back is any better we will change our configuration to use that route but this usually requires the assistance of a few ISP's. Also most ISP's tend to have lots of free *outgoing* bandwidth but very little free *incoming* bandwidth and this can also cause UOTrace to show that the problems are within the COLT network also. Again this is more often than not wrong. [What do most people do when they are online? Download web pages :-)].

In my personal experience free ISP's tend to heavily overbook their bandwidth and provide poor service and any serious gamer should avoid them as much as possible. But your mileage may vary.

COLT Internet has a totally open peering policy, this means that we will peer with any ISP that is close to the borders of our network, i.e. at the same exchange point [LINX / AMS-IX / DE-CIX / SFINX / TIX / ESPANIX / MIXITA / BNIX / VIX], however other ISP's are not so open - if you are selecting an ISP ask them if the peer with COLT Internet [Mention that COLT is AS number 8220] ask them for a traceroute server to check the way they route the traffic.

Also we are not in Greece I'm afraid, but if your ISP is connected to IBM/ATT or Global One in Greece, you should see good connectivity as we peer with these companies in London and other locations.

A list of what countries we are in can be found at www.colt-telecom.com.

On our network today there are no links that are over 70% utilisation at peak and the peak's tend to be early afternoon. When the links on our network reach 70% we automatically order and upgrade.

If you do have a problem with connectivity to us please take the following steps in order to rectify them, +ALWAYS+ make sure that you record the DATE AND TIME of the problem and also a record of the traceroute from UOTrace. Additionally if you know what your IP address is please supply that information it helps us alot. PLEASE DO *NOT* EDIT THE TRACEROUTE!

Here are the steps to take:

1) Contact *YOUR OWN* ISP first.

More often than not you will find that your ISP had a brief problem for some reason.

2) If your ISP can't find a problem - ask them to contact their ISP or to contact us, COLT Internet, [they will know how to reach us].

If you don't get any help from either of the above then I'd strongly recommend changing ISP.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me at [email protected] I will make every effort to respond to queries assuming you follow the procedure outlined above. Please mark emails with the subject ULTIMA ONLINE.

Regards,
Neil J. McRae - COLT Internet
[email protected]

Well it's great to see someone responding to these concerns. As always, you can post your views to our forum.

AOL Sosaria Renamed

Legends of Kesmai, a multi-player online role-playing game appearing on America Online, recently announced that it will be shutting down on May 29th. Island of Kesmai opened in 1984 and later became Legends of Kesmai. The game was one of the forerunners in the online role-playing game industry, paving the way for a multitude of games to come, including Ultima Online. In honor of Legends of Kesmai, we have decided to rename our new America Online shard to AOL: Legends.

While online games in their present form have been around for a relatively short while, Legends of Kesmai has had great impact and with AOL: Legends we hope to continue the tradition of quality gameplay.

In addition, the following was just posted to FYI:

AOL Legends Test

In preparation for the official opening on May 10th, AOL Legends Test will, later today, begin accepting logins from AOL dialup connections only. To see the AOL Legends Test option in your shard selection screen, you must be directly dialed into AOL. The shard does not currently support telnet or LAN connections, though we are working to provide these as quickly as possible. We hope you'll take the time to stop by AOL Legends Test and look forward to seeing you on this, our 22nd shard.

Hoho!
Silli uhmans. Uu gittin dummer ebery day. Grak led da uruk klanz riit intu uu'r tabern an dug up da sef tome riit undur uu nozez! Hoho! Grool nub laff dat hurd in lung tiam!

Da Bludchok'rz wull hab fesibal tu Krenbluk fer gittin da sef tome. NOOOOGRAAAAHH KRENBLUK! Wen we dun duin dat, den we kum bak fer da last sah ise's. Su jus wayt der uhmans, we kumin bak tu da Sandlewood Box bery suun. Wen uu seih da Urukish sturm kumin, uu bettur run awey. NOOOOGRRAAAAAHH!
Grool

Though I detest Orcs, and it has been quite some time since I have had to deal with their likes, I have translated their document as accurately as possible:

"Silly humans. You are getting dumber every day. Grak da Black lead the orc clans right into your tavern and dug up the 7th tome right under your noses! I have not laughed that hard in a long time. The Bloodrock Orcs will have a festival to Krenbluk (Orcish God) for getting the 7th tome. When we are done doing that, then we can come back for the last 6. So just wait there humans, we are coming back to the Sandlewood Box very soon. When you see the Orcish Storm coming, you better run away."

Anyone wishing to help defend Sandlewood can reach it by recalling from a rune at Museum of Memories, Cove Merchants Guild, Krista's Ranger Station, or the North Sentry at the TUR village. The Bloodrock can be found at www.bloodrock.uoguilds.com.