August 2000

Greetings All!

Allow me to introduce myself: I am Corwin of Amber, Leader of The Lost Order of Akalabeth on the Atlantic Shard of Ultima Online. I shall be attending the UO World Faire in Austin, Texas on November 10-11. I am looking to see what other players from the Atlantic shard will be there. It would be great to have the Atlantic community possibly meet at some point. So if you are going to be there, and you play on Atlantic, contact me! Let's try to organize a group and ensure that the Atlantic presence is felt!

Please feel free to contact me via ICQ 6581580, or email at [email protected] I look forward to meeting all of you!

Corwin of Amber

UO Guild Leader

The Lost Order of Akalabeth

For those of you who were interested in the UBB's Blacksmith School, I have sad news.

We of the United Blacksmiths have decided that it is in everyone's best interest to postpone the opening of the school, until certain issues within Britannia are resolved.

My sincere apologies to those of you who took the time to apply.

It is always a disappointment when circumstances out of our control ruin planned events, and we share Theros' regret in printing this announcement. Rest assured, we will be sure to inform the public when the school opens its doors.

And as a side note, be sure to read our General News section to protect yourself against the possible cause of this delay.

In another Online Gaming first, The Undead Lords will be hosting a LIVE web event in conjunction with a tournament! Visitors from around the world will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of this ultimate Player-versus-Player in-game event through UDL's bell to bell coverage including current tourney standings, screenshots, and commentary. Be part of history in the making, don't miss the opportunity of a lifetime!

Prizes
Grand Prize: 75% of the entry fees
Second Place: 25% of the entry fees
Anything Else: Nothing

Registration Information
Entrance Fee: 21,000 gold per team
Contact: Lector, ICQ 21385263
Entry Deadline: September 8th, 8PM EST.
You will be set into brackets on the night of the tournament through a random draw performed by Lector.

Tourney Rules
* No looting.
* No magic armor/weapons.
* No magic wands/staffs/items/clothing.
* No pets/summons/energy vortex.
* No hiding/stealth.
* No horses, llamas, or other mounts.
* No Precasting/drinking of potions prior to the fight starting.
* If you lose connection during the fight tuff cookies. No rematches.
* Anything else you can fit in your bag is legal.

Lector
~Lich Lord to Myrkul UDL~

'ello again all
This account jest in.

Last eve…. Last eve twas indeed something to remember, especially so that I slept on me belly that whole night… blasted beings of fire

Well, ye did nary want to hear my bickering, but a tale of what did so occur. Truth be told, there tis little tale to it and more so straight forward fact. I twas sitting within the Casino, counting the gold earned over the past week, when a raven fluttered through one of the open windows and perched itself on the wood before me. Unfastening the scroll tied about its leg, it gave a quick squawk and fluttered off as I read of what it had brought me. Twas word from fellow members of the Order that they had heard from Town Criers about our realm, that something was afoot about the forests East of Cove. Well, losing not a minute, I wrote a reply to meet me hence at the Cove gate and sent it off on another raven waiting nearby. Hurrying myself to the Scholomance, I picked up a rune for that orc betrodden place and was soon enough waiting at the gate for mine brothers in arms.

Twas a small wait, let me assure ye, and soon enough we where on our way. Twas easy going for a minute or so, the occasional clash of steel or the cry of a spell issuing forth from about us in that thick foliage. Eventually so, we came upon a drove of red robed mages, these having been quickly dispatched by those assisting me, Xavori, and Azuth. Continuing on, I think I saw one or two of those mages battling some of the wind elemental's that twere appearing… well, such could have been my mistake… at any rate, we found ourselves eventually within a small clearing, surrounded by reapers, with the oddest tree set in the middle uttering incantations against us. Did what we could to talk to the thing, it would offer no reply… so hence, as it continued its barrage of magic's, we took actions against. Twas at this time that many a mage appeared through their magic means, and proceeded to hit us with many a spell, laying low Xavori after a heavy barrage. Once the rest dispatched, we quickly proceeded to the tree, only to find it take up root and shift itself in the soil! Seemingly… rejuvenated, we cut this one down and watched in satisfaction as it fell with a creaking of ancient wood.

Twas soon enough that we disposed of the other trees… and no, I donna know what twas within the trunk of that mumbling tree we had cut down, as I twas to late in search. Anyway, as we finished in that clearing, a series of Fire beings, or Elemental's came into being right about us! I counted a dozen before twas to late, and myself fell with a smoldering back to the forest floor, surrounded by those foul beings of fire who looked down to me with those blank faces.

Eventually, our wounds tended to, we re-gathered what had not been stolen, and left that place before further creatures came to being in such massive numbers, to overpower us or the like.

Shardak

Thankee Shardak fer this news.
Yers in ale and tale,

Well folks, it's me again, and 'ere's a little treat fer ye,
A tale.

"I would like to see my casket, if you please, Milord," Shahrressa said to the neatly dressed banker. He wordlessly pulled forth a chest for her and she inserted a little iron key into the latch. It creaked slowly open on wide hinges, and Shah began sorting through it for the item she wanted.

"Hola, Shahrressa!" came a cheerful voice behind her. "It's good to see you today!"

Shah turned to look at the speaker and smiled broadly. "Shakti! It's good to see you too, you're looking well!" Shakti was Shahrressa's good friend and guildmate. Dressed in scarlet from head to toe, the magess made an impressive entrance wherever she went.

"Aye, you're looking well as well, Shahrressa," Shakti giggled over the pleasantries, and then asked the banker to bring her own strongbox. The two ladies chatted while they rummaged through their items.

"I don't know why I keep some of this junk in here," Shahrressa began, pushing a stray piece of white-blond hair from her eyes. "Its - "

Suddenly, a glowing blue gate opened behind them and three foul-smelling orcs stepped forth from the void within. "Get 'er! Bahwo dat red majuk humie!"

Surprised, Shahrressa pulled her kryss from its sheath even as Shakti began to wave her hands for a spell. "Unhand her, you foul fiends! Keep your hands off her!" she cried. One of the greenish humanoids had already clubbed Shakti across the head and she crumpled into their arms. Shahrressa's kryss cut through nothing but air as they drug her back through the moongate and it winked out.

Shahrressa stood on the site where the gate had opened. It still tingled with magic energy. But the creatures had taken Shakti! Shahrressa pounded the ground with her fists in frustration.

A piece of parchment was on the ground next to Shah's hand and she picked it up. It was a crumpled map, and when she opened it, she knew she had a clue. "I must take this to Wolfgang," Shahrressa said to herself, clutching it to her chest nervously. "He'll know what to do."

In an instant, Shahrressa had used what little magic was at her disposal and gated herself to the Guild Hall of the Urban Knights, a large stone structure near the city of Minoc . As luck would have it, her guildmaster, Wolfgang, was there. He listened to her tale with a grim face.

"Show me the map," he said, and Shahrressa wordlessly handed it to him. He stroked his chin as he studied it. "I have a feeling I know of these orcs. I have met them in battle before... and so has Shakti."

It was a poorly drawn map, simply a mountain range to the north, a city to the southeast, and a plain between. There was a big "X" on the mountain range. "It looks like Britain to me," Shahrressa told Wolfgang. He nodded.

"Well let's call the guild together and begin our rescue mission," he replied.

Messenger birds flew forth from the guild hall and before long, there was a group of eight of the Urban Knights, six men and two women, all with fire in their eyes and revenge in their hearts. Upon hearing what had happened, they all readied themselves to rescue their beloved guildsister Shakti and teach the orcs a lesson they would never forget.

Grimly, the mage Civ Kid opened a moongate and they all went through, single file. Shahrressa acted as scout, and kept looking at the map as a reference and led the group to the northwest. They stood at the edge of a grassy field and they could smell salt in the air from the sea. Shahrressa sighed heavily, and conceded.

"I'm afraid I have led us wrong. There is no coast on this map." Shahrressa could not hide the frustration in her voice, and she nervously ran her hands through her hair. Every wasted moment meant Shakti was in the orcs clutches that much longer. The group were standing near Britain where Shakti and Shahrressa had been banking when the orcs kidnapped Shakti.

The mage Warlord reached out his hand. "Here, Shahrressa... let me see the map."

His smokey-grey eyes grew wide. "I know where this is... this is north of us, not far off. And that crude "X" is over the dungeon they call 'Despise'."

Despise! Shahrressa had heard tell of the dungeon but had never ventured there. For one thing, it was deep within the mountains that cut through Britannia like a jagged blade, and south of the underground city of Wind. And for another, it was populated by the foulest murderers and criminals Britannia had known of late. It was the tainted opposite of the Virtue of Compassion, a mocking name for a cruel place.

And Shakti was held prisoner inside.

*****

With Warlord leading the way, they soon found the place. The Knights crept up to the dungeon entrance, staying as silent as only trained and seasoned knights could. Wolfgang stopped them at the forest's edge with a wave of his hand. Standing at the cave mouth, was a lone figure: an orc, wearing chain mail and high boots. The foul being spat on the ground and picked its nose. The warress Lilyth made a face of disgust and muttered something unintelligible under her breath. All of them felt that the sooner they rescued Shakti, the better.

With a mighty battle cry, the eight rescuers burst forth from their cover and killed the watchman before he could utter a warning. Then they entered the black hole of an entrance. There, they found the orcs had been waiting for them. Three of them grunted a challenge to the Urban Knights, and then began the attack.

It was dark inside the hole of Despise - dark, dank and full of rats. "Fah! Rats!" said Moonknight in disgust. "As if the orcs aren't enough!" He kicked one off the rail of the stone stairwell, sending it squealing into the darkness below.

Soon the cavern smelled of burnt orc and rat. Their carcasses lay strewn about the stairwell leading deeper into the dungeon. The walls literally dripped with vermin - snakes, scorpions, spiders, and of course, rats. Only an orc would find such a place suitable for living.

They descended the stairs quietly as possible, and Civ Kid cast a spell enabling the warriors to see in the darkened chamber. The deeper they went into the cavern, the colder the chill in the air. Streath wondered how far beneath the mountains they had traveled before they came upon a great stone block.

It seemed they had traveled down a wrong path! Time was running out and most of the Knights groaned in frustration as they touched the cold stone of the wall before them. But Warlord smiled, slyly. "Watch this," he told the group.

He pushed a bit of moss out of the way and revealed a stone lever imbedded in the wall. Lacing his fingers together and flexing them outwards, he then grabbed the lever with his right hand and pulled it down.

Blink!

In a second, he had disappeared! Civ Kid grinned while Shahrressa looked on incredulously. "Here's some magic even you can do, Shah," he teased his foster-sister as he, too, yanked on the stone lever. Wolfgang was on his heels.

Blink! Blink!

"Come on, Shah, join the crowd!" chuckled Lilyth as she was the next to pull and vanish. Shahrressa gulped, grasped the lever and tumbled down to the next level of the dungeon. Streath, Morpheus and Moonknight popped in behind her. "Ingenious device," Morpheus was saying. "I wonder who built this cavern? Surely no orc could design something like this."

They did not have too much time to ponder, however, before they heard harsh, raw voices down the passage. "Yub, dey clump da idjits adda door. Humies come fur Grishnak's red womahn."

Another voice said with a snort, "Den humies gonna git clumped. Grishnak gotta gut plan. Har! Har!"

Wolfgang's eyes narrowed. He should have known Grishnak was behind it all. He burst forth down the passage, with the others in close pursuit. Wolfgangs' blade cut off the head of one of the orcs, and Streath and Moonknight set the other two on fire. Shahrressa covered her ears as the creatures howled in pain while they died.

Around the corner and down a passage to the east, the Knights followed the footprints and litter that lay on the floor. This is too easy, thought Lilyth, and she was about to say something when suddenly, her point became moot.

From out of nowhere, vermin came streaming at them. They had been rounded up and held in a sort of pen, and the orcs unleashed the floodgates. Giant scorpions and spiders the size of a horse, snakes both big and small, and green globs of living acid-y slime came rushing at the warriors. Rats bit at the horses' ankles, making them rear and whinny in frustration. War horses were not easily shaken by vermin like rats, but even a war horse would be taxed when faced with a swarm this size. There must have been hundreds of them, and each Knight had his own set to deal with.

There was the acrid stench of magery and smoke began to fill the room as the mages set the crawling things on fire. Overtop of the squeaks and squeals of the dying vermin could be heard the clang of their swords and the whizz of magic. Wolfgang marveled at the cleverness of Grishnak. He had to admit, it was a brilliant ploy. But it would not be enough to stop the Urban Knights.

They trampled the carcasses and thundered down the tunnel. Ahead of them was an enormous cavern, with a rope bridge leading across an underwater lake to a tiny island. But on the bridge was a force of orcs to match the Knights. At their head was a large, ugly, green, bristled humanoid, one that smelled worse than the others. Wolf approached him, stopping five feet away from the creature. "Grishnak," he nodded, coldly. "I believe you hold a Lady against her will. Return her to me and you will live."

"Grishnak gut notink uf urs, stoopid Humie," the orc grunted. "Grishnak dink red Lady iz love Grishnak an iz gonna stay here."

The icy sound of Wolf's sword leaving its sheath echoed across the cavern. "I challenge you to a duel, Grishnak. Winner takes the Lady."

"Heh heh," Grishnak replied, bringing forth his own rusted weapon. "Stoopid humie gonna lose mojo blood now."

Swords drawn, they eyed each other. The bridge swayed with the weight of them. The other orcs gathered around behind Grishnak, cheering him on in their barely comprehensible language. The Knights were grim and kept an eye out for treachery, but made no move to interfere.

Wolf's sword came alive in his hand and sliced weightily into Grishnak. They circled each other across the wide span of the bridge, Wolf darting in to cut into his opponent, and Grishnak clumsily defending the blows. Grishnak smashed his rusted weapon onto Wolfs' shield arm, and the Knight fell to one knee. But he sprang up valiantly and sliced Grishnak's neck with the same motion. The Orc Leader fell with a thunk.

"Grrah!" the other orcs shouted, streaming past Wolf into the face of the other Knights. A battle waged at the bridge.

Lilyth snapped the neck of one orc with a mighty blow. Morpheus chanted, and managed to set another's boots aflame before being hit with a rock thrown by another. Orcs hurled stones at the Knights as they defended their leader. Streath had a moment to notice that Grishnak was a crumpled pile of armour on the bridge before he, too, set lightning onto an orc. Wolf turned around and attacked the orcs from behind.

"Get Grishnak to dah udder side," an orc shouted, and as a whole they picked up their fallen leader and sped back across the bridge. Hot on their tails were the Urban Knights. They galloped as fast as they could in pursuit.

But when they reached the island, they found nothing.

"Where is she?" Shahrressa growled, looking about in frustration. "Where is Shakti?"

"Where are the orcs?" questioned Civ Kid. "They must have gated out."

"What is that?" asked Streath. He had his hand over his eyes and was looking back over the bridge. In a moment, he had mounted his horse and fled back across. The group followed him.

Giant scorpions and spiders blocked the bridge. They pushed their way through them, for they knew otherwise the Knights would be trapped. Hacking and slashing, the Knights found themselves surrounded by vermin. "Clear it out!" came the call from Wolfgang, and, horses shrieking a challenge, they began yet another fight.

As many scorpions as Shahrressa killed, another would appear. She noticed only that she could no longer see the other Knights. It was almost as if she were being herded towards the rear of the cavern.

The sounds of magic and swords became more distant and still Shahrressa fought on. "Civ!" she called to her foster brother. "Civ, where are you, can you hear me, Civ!"

Suddenly, the scorpion before her stabbed her face with its giant stinger. Almost immediately, the burning wound began to swell; Shah could not see. She screamed in pain as her body began jerking in spasms. With a loud clatter, she dropped her kryss to the ground. Her horse reared to attack, but the scorpion exploded in a greenish gory mass and flattened against the cave floor.

Civ was at her side and helped her dismount, laying her body in his lap. Shah had her hands covering her face. "Be still, sister," Civ told her as he whispered soothing words over her form. In a moment, she began to stop trembling. Then, slowly, her skin colour changed from a greenish blue back to fresh pink. Civ had cured her of the poison that would assuredly have killed her had he not found her. He marveled at the circle of dead vermin surrounding them. Shahrressa had slain them all.

She looked into his eyes and smiled, throwing her arms about his neck. They held each other in silence for almost a minute. "Where are the others?" he asked, stroking her snow-white hair.

Shahrressa looked around. The cavern was quiet. "I don't know."

Then, they realized the plan of the orcs. The Urban Knights had become separated by the horde of vermin. Shahrressa and Civ were the only two that remained in the cavern. Judging by the trail of dead vermin, they assumed the others had headed back down the tunnel to the west.

****

Lilyth Noir sheathed her sword and assessed the damage. She quietly tied a bandage around the bite marks on her arm. Vermin lay dead all around her. Her horse lay dead beneath the carcass of a giant spider. Things were looking grim. Then, without warning, the magic that had enhanced her vision wore off and she groaned as she was plunged into darkness.

In the gloom of the passage, she rummaged through the pack strapped to her horses' saddle. "Ah, here it is," she whispered as she brought forth a small bottle of black potion: an elixir that would allow Lilyth to see even in total blackness. She fumbled with the stopper, pulled it out with an audible pop and put it to her lips. As the lichoriche-tasting liquid made its way through her system, her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the tunnel she was in, much like a cat who can see in the dark.

She regretted her action instantly. Materializing out of the blackness were three dozen gigantic rats, interspersed with venomous snakes standing poised to strike. The dark-haired warress had only seconds to pull her sword when they were upon her.

****

Streath found himself driven across the bridge. Cut off from the others, he forced his horse across the span to the island, and pushed as many of the chests he found there as he could across the path of the bridge. The vermin chasing him were screeching in their frenzy to get over his roadblock. He would not have much time.

The island he was on was barren except for the chests. Most of them were empty and he had little trouble adding them to his barrier. But one would not budge no matter how hard he tried. "What is in here?" he said out loud. His horse only snorted in reply.

Curiosity overcame him and he wiggled his fingers at the padlock holding the chest shut. Green sparks arced between his hands and the lock, and it popped open. He quickly slid the lock from the clasp and opened the chest.

To his surprise, a man jumped forth from the belly of the chest, and Streath saw that it was some type of trickery - the chest covered a hole beneath it, and that is why it would not budge. Four mages appeared in an instant, their murderous eyes all on the noble Mage with the Urban Knights colours.

"I am Oenix Mageslayer," said the first one, "and welcome to your worst nightmare!"

"Not this day," shouted Streath defiantly, "Kal Ort Por!"

And with a wink, he was magically gated to safety.

*****

Shahrressa and Civ mounted their horses and slowly tracked their guildmates. It was not long before they came to a cross in the tunnel. One went to the north, stairs led down a bit to the south, and before them lay the continuation of the tunnel they were in.

"Let's take the stairs," Civ decided. It was unspoken that they would not split up.

They descended the stair and before too long, heard a bubbling and creaking noise, accompanied by the smell of sulfur. Dead scorpions lay scattered about, scorpions and snakes. But as they rounded the corner, Shahrressa could see nothing of her guildmates. Civ peered across the swamp.

"What is that over there?" he asked, pointing at what seemed to be a gigantic rock.

Shahrressa squinted, and then jerked her head up in surprise. "By the Virtues, Civ, it's a dead horse!" She put heels to her mount and she and Civ slid across the slimy cobblestones surrounding the swampwater to the corpse. Civ reached it first and Shahrressa heard him curse. "Who is it?" she asked, pulling her horse to a halt.

"It's Wolf, stay back."

Shahrressa grabbed the reins of Civ's horse while he pulled a small pouch from the folds of his shirt and poured a powder of black pearl, garlic and ginseng into his hand, spreading it evenly over Wolf and whispering, "An Corp, Negate Death..." over and over again. Soon, with a flicker of light, Wolfgang took a great, shuddering breath and sat up. Civ slipped his hand behind Wolf's back. "Peace, Wolfgang, hold still just a minute." Shahrressa sighed relief and moved closer to them.

Wolf gained his bearings back quickly as Shahrressa applied bandages to his wounds. "Where is everyone?" he asked.

"We don't know," Civ replied. "You are the first we found. We were all separated by the onslaught."

"Aye, it was impossible to stay together in that mess," Wolf frowned. "Well, we must find the others and then find Shakti!"

*****

Moonknight crept silently down the passage, feeling his way with his hand on the cold stone wall. He had long ago abandoned his horse to the multitude of rats and snakes that had been pursuing him, and they seemed satisfied with that. At any rate, they no longer seemed interested in Moonknight.

Suddenly, Moon felt a bump beneath his hand and stopped. He felt it more thoroughly and discovered it was the frame of a stone door that was almost flush with the wall. Encouraged, he pushed it slowly, and it scraped against the floor. He peered inside from around the thick door.

There, sitting in a chair, was a mass of unbound, brown hair covering the face of a woman. Her scarlet dress had been torn and her head was hanging down, chin to chest. Her hands were tied behind her, but, judging by the number of scorched orc bodies against the wall, she was not tied without a struggle. It was Shakti! Moon did not hesitate for a moment before he pulled his dagger from its sheath in his boot and began slicing through the cords that bound his guildsister.

She groaned dizzily and growled low in her throat. "Don't even think about touching me!" she said, trying to turn around. "Shhh, Sister," he said in a soft voice. "It is I, Moonknight... I've come to rescue you!"

"Thank the heavens, I thought for a moment there you were one of those filthy orcs!"

Moonknight chuckled and cut the last of her binds. Shakti stood up and rubbed her wrists while Moonknight checked her over for wounds. She was dirty and her dress was in tatters, and she had a nasty bump on her head, but otherwise seemed fine. "Those orcs thought they had bested me," she said, "But I knew you would come. Are there others with you?"

Moonknight nodded. "Aye, eight of us including Wolfgang, but we were separated in the confusion. Come, Lady, let's get out of here!"

Shakti was rummaging through a pile of cloth. "Where is it!?!?" she was saying, half to herself. "I will not leave without it." Taking a deep, unsteady breath, she put her hands on her hips and surveyed the room.

Moonknight looked confused. "Shakti, come quickly, before they return!"

But Shakti made no move to escape. Then she laughed, triumphantly, and pounced on something that was under a rotted wood table. Moonknight began to wonder if her ordeal had made her go mad. But as she turned around, he saw what she had been digging for and grinned.

"I'm not going anywhere, without this!" she said indignantly, and plopped the scarlet wide-brimed hat atop her head, just as another door opened and two orcs stepped through it. Their pallid skin went ghostly white when they saw the empty chair.

Shakti whirled around and grinned at them. Moonknight was glad he was not on the receiving end of her vengeance.

*****

Wolf got his things together and sighed at his dead horse. "That was a good one," was all he said. They went back up the stone staircase, leaving the swamp behind them.

They hadn't gone four steps before they discovered the still body of Warlord. He was lying in the middle of an enormous, scorched circle. Vermin littered the edges of the circle; he had made an enormous explosion indeed as a final strike. But he still breathed; the three Knights quickly revived him. "Lilyth," he said, after Shah gave him some water to soothe his parched throat. "She's down the east passage."

They ran down the east passage as quickly as they could, only to find Lilly's crumpled form back at the bridge. Civ and Warlord combined their magics and soon, Lilly was breathing again. Warlord picked up her body and cradled it to his chest, relieved. "Warlord, take her back to the guildhall," Wolf asked the mage. He nodded, and with a twist of his wrist and a puff of smoke, they were gone.

And just in time, because from behind where Warlord had been standing, came more scorpions.

Wolfgang, Civ and Shahrressa fled down the passage to the west again, this time turning north at the crossroads. A flash of red caught their eye - something or someone was running down the hall. Moonknight ran into them from the doorway. "I freed her!" he cried. "She's after them, get out of here, more are coming!" He ran off down the passage after Shakti.

Wolf yelled after him, "Where are the other Knights?!"

"Streath and Morph are already gone back to the guildhall," Moon shouted back over his shoulder. "Gate out!"

A flash of blue lightning appeared next to them and Warlord appeared out of a moongate. "It's to the guildhall, go go go!" he shouted, and Shah, Wolf and Civ stepped through. The blue, oval gate dropped them off directly in front of the guildhouse, and winked out. But Warlord was not with them!

Warlord was about to step through the gate when he noticed a pack of orcs rushing down the passage. Dispelling the gate lest the beasts go through, he then let loose a string of fireballs at them. But the orcs kept running down the passage. Warlord followed them.

With gristled cries of "Get 'er! Get da red Lady fur Grishnak!" the orcs turned down the north passage. Warlord knew they chased Shakti and urged his horse even faster. Its hooves echoed down the tunnel and he could just catch a glimpse of her hat before the heads of the orcs. With a mighty roar, the mage set the orcs on fire, urging his horse past the flames. He scooped up Shakti as he passed and swung her into his saddle.

"Fancy meeting you here, Sister," he told her over his shoulder. Shakti turned her head to look behind her, and watched the orcs standing in a line, shaking their fists at them. On foot, the wretched orcs would never catch Warlord and Shakti before they, too, vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

Moonknight saw them go and wheeled down a side passage. In the dim light, he saw several pairs of glowing eyes and heard a hiss. He did not wait to find out what lay beyond the reach of his sight. "Kal Ort Por," he whispered, and was gone.

*****

Shakti relaxed in the hot tub at the guildhouse. Her tawny hair was coiled atop her head and she leaned back, the stone against her neck cool and refreshing. A cold drink was at hand, and she relished in the attention her friends were giving her.

"Tell us again what you did to Grishnak, Shakti," Shahrressa giggled as she filed Shakti's nails into their proper shape again. Lilyth was relaxing with them and her ears perked up.

"I haven't heard the tale yet, do tell!" The raven-haired warress was curious to know what had happened.

Shakti's mouth quirked with humour. "Aye, well," she chuckled. "Those fools gave me a heavy knock on the head or they'd have never gotten me that deep in the dungeon. I came to just as they were bringing me to Grishnak." She took a sip of her drink, enjoying every drop.

"So he says something intelligible, something like, "Now you womahn, yu gonna be Grishnak's womahn an make many babiez." Shakti thrust her jaw out and used a deep, grovely voice to make fun of the Head Orc. Shahrressa was beside herself with laughter at the mockery.

Shakti continued. "I said, 'Oh, Grishnak, never in all my days have I seen a sexier male! Come here, baby, and let me give you a big kiss." She exploded into peels of giggles.

Lilyth was shocked. "You didn't!" she grinned, while Shahrressa snickered with Shakti.

"I did." Shakti sipped more of her drink. "And he says, "Now dat mur like it" and made like he was going to kiss me. So.... I grabbed hold of his crotch and told him those three little words men just so love to hear." She paused dramatically, her smile turning into a chuckle.

Lilyth ventured a guess. "I love you?"

"No," Shakti said, mischievously. "Vas Ort Flam."

It took a second for Lilyth to realize that Shakti had said the spell for an instant explosion of fire! She stared at Shakti for a moment, and then the three women burst out laughing.

"I wish I could have seen Grishnak hopping around with his pants on fire," Shah said, wiping a tear from her eye.

Shakti smiled thoughtfully. "Aw, I think he liked it," she continued. "So they hit me again, ugh! how I tired of the knocks," she said, her jaw tightening a bit as she rubbed the top of her head. It was all still too fresh in her mind. "When I shook the fuzziness out of my head, Moon was behind me, cutting my bonds. And the rest, my good Sisters," she concluded, raising her glass high, "is history."

The three friends and guildmates rose their glasses in toast, clinking them together. "To the Urban Knights!" they said as one, and drank deeply.

A tale of Ultima Online by Shahrressa

Thankee Shahrressa fer this tale.
Yers in ale and tale,

Hail All,
I come to you this evening with great news. There is going to be a wedding among the ranks of the Knights of Britannia.

Furie, Guildmistress of KoB, and Tinkerer, Knight(Paladin) of KoB will be wed in the days to follow. I just wanted to congratulate both of you and I wish you both nothing but happiness. Everyone is welcome so bring your hanky and share in a wondrous event with us all!!!

You are cordially invited to the Wedding of Furie & Tinkerer - Come and rejoice with us as we begin our lives as one!!

Location: Nujel'm Palace
Time: Ceremony to begin at 7:30 pm CST On September 16th

DON'T BE LATE!!!! There will be food, merriment, and drinking at the palace after the wedding.
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!!

Phyre, Warrior of KoB

Greetings, citizens and friends of the City of Honor:

Fallon's resigning from the office of Mayor has left me as the Mayor of Trinsic. Unfortunately, for several reasons, [both in game and RL -as I am starting school again next week], I will not be able to fulfill the duties required of such a position. For this reason, and due to a number of people stepping down lately from their posts, the Trinsic Town Council will be holding a Mayoral election once again to allow a new willing citizen to take the mantle of Mayor at the public's discretion.

We are at this time once again taking nominations, this time for the office of Mayor of the Trinsic Town Council. If you'd like to run, please have someone else nominate you. You may not nominate yourself. All nominations will be done through the Trinsic egroup [[email protected]] as per the previous several elections. A path to join the egroup can be found at UOTrinsic.Net, (www.trinsic.uoguilds.com). The current charter lists in Article II, Section I specifically the demands required of a Mayoral candidate (ie. the Mayor may not have a criminal record under any circumstances among other things). I would suggest that you read not only this article, but the entire charter before signing on however. *smiles*

While nominations will be done through the egroup, discrepancies with the egroup's voting procedures in the past will be eliminated by using the UOTrinsic.Net's "Voting Booth" feature, which is clearly displayed at the top of the page, for the actual voting of the candidate.

The time for nominations through the egroup begins immediately and ends on Saturday September 2nd at 11:59:59 PM Central. Any nominations received after that deadline will be ineligible. The voting, again, will take place on UOTrinsic.Net and will end on the following Saturday September 9th at 11:59:59 PM Central. Thank you for bearing with us. Your support these past few months has been very well appreciated at events, meetings, and through the egroup. We hope that you will continue to show such enthusiasm for our government under its new leadership and continue to make Trinsic great.

Thy humble servant,
Nadia

First of all, because of limitations, I am trying to find a substitute for the school instead of holding it in the Lyaceum. Also, this is not going to be a trade school. It will be teaching intangible things as well, and will be an "Academy".

If someone has a castle or keep that they would rent the main room out of for the academy, I would be very grateful. You will receive compensation in the form of 50% of all collected tuition, and I can tell you a way to keep your castle or keep secure from the students wandering around. All the teachers will need to be friended, and in case you don't really trust them, there is a way to also keep the teachers out of every area except for the main room.

Also, I still need teachers! If you have *anything* that other people might like to know, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at [email protected]

Ng of the HCD

And here an announcement from the Moonglow City Council:

The City Council of Moonglow meets this Saturday, September 2nd at 19:00cet [6pm GMT] at the Councilor's Guild in Moonglow (Trammel).

All Moonglow citizens are welcome to attend and discuss and vote on city related projects.

More information about the Council can be found on http://here.at/moonglow

Yoldran,
Mayor of Moonglow

I received this note from Jack of Lumber, son of Jericho:

Alas I bring grave news. My father Jericho the guild master of The Brotherhood of Trinsic has been kidnapped. It is unknown when this happened but this evening on a visit to the guild house and my family home I found this note:

Checking the guild stone I was able to see that Jericho either willingly or was forced to leave the guild. At present the guild is leaderless, I know my father is still out there somewhere in body or spirit. It is time for the Brotherhood to pull together; a new leader must be elected. Rival guilds must be interrogated as this could be the work of either Clan Jade Falcon (who have been quite as of late) or the newly formed MOO Factions Loyal to Kofu. As writing this my brother Billy T Fish is preparing supplies for a search. We shall search every inch of this land and report on our findings, while we are away we trust the Brotherhood will conduct their own search, in that we wish them luck

Jack of Lumber son of Jericho

And another Tavern opening:

Grand Opening of the Stonekeep Taverna! 8pm GMT

Are you the strongest person in Sosaria? Do you think your superior technique can win over raw muscle? Come prove your might in the FIRST EVER "Sosaria's Strongest" competition at the Stonekeep Taverna. Remember, though, that the powers of mind are not at test here, but the powers of body. Wizards and warriors alike, test your physique and leave your spellbooks at home. 

What about them lumberjacking skills? Do you think you have the sharpest throw? Can you label trees from 20 yards? Come and find out who is the most accurate axe-thrower in a hair-raising indoor contest at the Stonekeep Taverna! The prizes are fabulous; the winner shall leave with a RARE item!

What would you do with thousands and thousands of gold pieces? You don't have to tell us, we are giving it away! And if we do not find a lucky winner in the lottery this week, the prize will grow. And then it will grow more!

And if you want to just come and watch all this excitement, enjoying the land's finest troubadours singing and playing, as well as the free drinks and food, and special giveaway gifts, come join us at the Stonekeep Taverna this coming Saturday at 8pm GMT

The Stonekeep Taverna can be found at the Yew crossroads, in Trammel

Vesper remains free!

*the tired and dirty messenger drops to his knee and starts unrolling his scroll*
British, when this message reaches you, know that Vesper is and will be a free city forever! Your forces have once again failed in oppressing your tyranny unto our city. Soon, the remains of your men will arrive in your castle to confirm the truth: the Vesper people will never allow a tyrant again. Heed this lesson to prevent needless bloodshed in the days that come.

Was signed,

Legolas, Leader of the Free Vesper Militia
D'Angelo, Commander of the Free Vesper Militia

An excerpt of the diary of Legolas on the very day of the battle.

6am.
Woke up at early dawn, immediately starting the preparations for the day ahead. Checking armor and weapons, stocking potions and bandages and string testing my trusty bow. As soon as my skills at magery allowed me, I transported myself and my steed to the bank of Vesper.

8am.
The town square was as busy as ever, merchants offering their wares and peasants passing by. A tense expression could be read of all the faces, everyone knowing that this very day was going to decide the future for all. I spotted the standard of the Militia soon enough and headed towards my men. 'Twas a splendid sight, the combination of arms, steel and the looks of determination in the eyes... Those men would go through hell itself to save the people of Vesper. As more and more left their homes and kissed their families goodbye to join our army, the sun rose above the horizon and delivered a splendid display of light and reflections of the men packed in steel. My trusted right hand, D'Angelo soon arrived on the scene, carrying with him the strategic plans for the coming battle. Men were divided into squads as we had to defend the many bridges.

1pm.
Word reached me that several groups of men have joined the cause of Vesper, and will aid us in battle. The men and women of the village of Morning Star stationed themselves at the northern bridge, close to their homes. Mercenaries calling themselves "the Decadanti" hid themselves in the numerous buildings along the western coast of the city. The Crimson Rogues, from the far forests of Yew, aligned themselves with the troops of Vesper. It was time to leave and wish each other luck.

2pm.
My squad dug itself in on the western coast of Vesper, defending the bridge leading directly to the bank. We could count on the help of the Decadanti mercs, who signalled us from their hideouts. Down to the south, Captain of the Guard, Slow, prepared his men. The waiting began...



4pm.
The first report came in, a rogue scout of the Knights and Mages of Kha has been put down! His presence alerted us that the arrival of the main force could not be long. Not long after, clash of steel could be heard to the north, signalling the start of an epic battle. D'Angelo, in charge of the northern forces soon reported decisive victory against a band a mercenaries dressed in green. Their banner read: Britannia Mercenary Company, Covetown. So far so good. I signalled D'Angelo to send part of his men down south, to aid my squad against the main force. The Crimson Rogues rode with them, and prepared for battle.

5pm.
The main force has been sighted, heading for my position, as expected! As the attack force on the south had also been dealt with, I ordered Slow to  bolster my forces. Their arrival marked the start of a bloodshed that will be remembered long after this day. The cavalry of the army of Kha set in it's charge and crashed into the line of defenders. They held firm and withstood the first wave. Suddenly jumping from their hiding spots, the Decadanti attacked in the back, causing chaos and fear. Even a dragon was lead into battle, although I have yet to find out which side it was on, such was the chaos. The warriors of Vesper stayed focused, however, and slew the attackers one by one. Even the knights of the Lord British Loyalists and the Children from the Light were not able to break our determination.

7pm.
The battle is over. Many a man and woman have found their end on this battlefield. Bodies littered the ground, grim looks on the lifeless faces. The outcome was clear, Vesper had overcome the onslaught once again! Before the sun set, the bodies of the fallen were taken to the cemetery and were buried. The efforts of those fallen today may never be forgotten. It was time to return to the city and start the celebration. The relieve visible on the faces of the citizens was a splendid sight, the cheers deafening. We were barely able to make our way trough the city, but managed to finally settle down in the tavern of the Morning Star village. It had been a hard day for all, and many retreated home soon, to get some well-deserved rest.


9pm.
Word reached the tavern that one guard of Vesper, Jonny, had been captured by forces yet unknown to us. This would certainly be a blemish upon a great day, but Jonny was indeed missing. A search was set out, without bearing any results. A great day ended grave, as the dark prevented us searching any further.

Any hints on the whereabouts of Jonny are appreciated. Just tell any of the present guards of the Militia what you heard or saw.

Yours truly,

I received this report from Xel'Naga, Leader of the Lord British Loyalists:

Hail to ye. 
For more than a week, the evil Free Vesper Militia and their allies have under siege by the forces of Lord British. The trade ships have been blocked, the city is almost out of supplies, and the evil powers inside the town is getting increasingly desperate.

In our efforts to prepare for the inevitable invasion, the forces of good have several times attacked the defenses, and the number of surviving guards have been drastically decreased. 

Last night, we tried to repeat our pattern, with a small and fast strike with a few knights, meant to destroy, pillage and burn the defenses. Unfortunately, the Militia saw this coming, and had prepared themselves. 

The strike team called in reinforcements, and the FVM called for their allies. What was meant to be a small mission suddenly turned into a vast carnage.

The battle was long and fierce, and lasted the entire day! In the end, however, it was clear that the forces of good would prevail. The number of casualties was high on both sides. Our attack force was at roughly 18, and the FVM were almost as many. Only 7 of the greatest warriors fighting for the Virtues survived.

Although we won, the cost was high. This war cannot go on! The FVM shall be eradicated in the name of his Majesty Lord British. 

Xel'Naga, Leader of the Lord British Loyalists

'ello, 'ello all,
Yet even more webtome news fer ye all!

Leiah's Rune Library website is now active once again at this location http://uo.tradespot.net/~runes/

The library is now under the management of the Trinsic Council of Honor as Lady Leiah has unfortunately departed the land of Britanna. She will be sorely missed.

Sidenote: the email listed for the TCoH in the Councils of Virtue page on the Atlantic shard needs to be changed from [email protected] to [email protected]. Thank you.

Nickola
Webmaster of TCoH and Leiah's Rune Library

Thankee Nickola fer this news!
Yers in ale and tale,

Here is the description of the Sword:

We are extremely proud to bring you this exclusive, limited edition sword (and dagger) from the most popular medieval Internet fantasy RPG in the world today. Fully authorized, authentic replicas inspired by Ultima Online. Weaponry that takes you beyond the amazing sights and sounds of the game. Each piece is individually hand made to bring life and authenticity to the set. Blades are made from high carbon steel and fully tempered, just as you would expect when things get a little dangerous in Brittania. Crossguard and pommel are solid brass, beautifully shaped in the outlined form of the ankh- life everlasting. The grip is wood covered in leather. The sword's ricasso is etched on each side with the Silver Serpent Shield to indicate the fraternity of Order (not the ankh as pictured). Comes with black leather sheath and Certificate of Authenticity. Are you with us? Overall- 43 1/2" * Blade- 36" long, 1 7/8" wide * Wt.- 3 lbs. 6 oz. #1466...$215 ($9.95 s/h) ** Ultima, the UO design and the UO Silver Serpent Logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved.

Handsome limited edition companion dagger that exactly mimics the Sword of Order (except the ricasso etching). Inspired by the largest Internet medieval gaming world, Ultima Online. High carbon steel blade has come in handy in Brittania and looks just as good at Renaissance Faires. The pommel and guard are solid brass. Handle is wood covered in leather. Comes with leather sheath and Certificate of Authenticity. Are you with us? Overall- 15 1/4" * Blade- 10" long, 1 7/8" wide * Wt. 14 oz. #1467...$95 ($6.95 s/h) **Ultima, the UO design and the UO Silver Serpent Logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved.

Due to the overwhelming response our first Guest Bard Night received a few weeks ago, some people didn't get the opportunity to share their songs, poems, or stories with us. We wish to remedy this situation by having a second Guest Bard Night at the tavern!

The event will be held on Sunday, September 3rd, from 9:00pm-11:00pm EST.

Those who didn't get the opportunity to share in our first Guest Bard Night event will be given the floor first!

And just like last time, everyone who shares a song, poem, or short story with us will receive a special green ale mug, with which to drink free ale for the evening, while supplies last!

The Kinship Village Tavern is located on the mainland just east of Skara Brae, at 56o4'S - 33o15'W. The tavern is open and tended every evening, so come any time you wish to share ale and companionship with others!

'ello again all,
This bit of news jest in.

Bloodstone Evermoore has a new website. It has information on Joining, members, ranks of Evermoore and a message board. I will soon be adding a news section, where you can get the latest BSE info and events, like a festival that is coming up... The web url is www.bloodstonealliance.homestead.com/main.html

I hope you all enjoy it, and check in soon for updates.
Knight Of Evermoore,
Jason Beelza

Thankee Jason fer this news
Yers in ale and tale,

This Friday, the 1st of September, the Stumbull Inn is proud to announce its first magery contest. The contest will begin at 8:00 pm under the central sun. The Stumbull Inn is located in Trammel, the first sandstone south of the Yew moongate (coordinates: 74x26N 37x45W).

Each contestant will be asked to summon 10 animals. Each animal has a random assigned point value. The mage with the most points wins the prize. We will be holding another version of this contest asking our mages to create food instead. Same rules apply. Scrolls can be used if you should like. Winner of the summon animals event will receive 100 of each reagant. Second place takes home 2,000 gp. Winner of the create food event will receive 50 of each reagant, and second place shall take home 1,000 gp.

After the mage events, The Stumbull Inn staff will be hosting a new event - Drunken Dice! Each contestant will be asked for a one time 500 gp entrance fee. The fee will be put into a kitty. After all monies are collected, the paid entrants will roll dice. Each entrant will receive two rolls. If anyone should roll double fives, they win half the kitty. This will also be played each and every Monday with our bartender Kahlan. But it gets better! You also have a second chance at winning! Each time you come to the tavern, you will have the opportunity to add 100 gold to the kitty and register to win. On Mondays at 8:00 pm CST, the owner of The Stumbull Inn, Fallon, will draw a name out of the hat of all those registered to play. If he draws your name, you win half the pot! If you have left for the evening, your winnings will be held for you through the following Monday bar shift. If you fail to claim it by then, the gold will be added back to the kitty.

The kitty will continue growing all the time and the more you play, the larger the winnings will be! The more friends you bring, the greater the pot will grow!

And don't forget, no matter what time you make it over to the Inn, there's always a steamy sizzling hot tub waiting for you!

Fallon & Forsaken

Heaven's Forge invites you to its grand opening.

Located in the area around Wrong dungeon, Heaven's Forge is a gathering of warriors, mages, rangers and craftspeople seeking the safety of the town militia, the fellowship of each other's company and the commerce of each other's services.

The grand opening begins Friday, September 1st at 8pm pdt and continues until Sunday night. Our official opening ceremony will occur at our town hall, the Moon Tower located at coordinates 124* 21' N, 57* 56' E on the east side of the mountains containing Wrong.

Friday, September 1, we'll have the opening of our two taverns and tours of the town. Basically we'll crawl back and forth between the pubs until we cannot stand any more. Celebration will continue until midnight or the last bottle of ale has been drunk.

Saturday, September 2, beginning at noon we'll have a variety of events throughout the day: fishing excursion with magical nets, elemental mining with stone pickaxes, multiple treasure hunts throughout the day, excursions into the dungeon Wrong and the dreaded Ice Cave, a lumberjacking and mining contest around 4pm and a grand archery and jousting tournament at 7pm.

Sunday, September 3, coincides with Skara Brae's Feast of Spirit so we'll move our celebration to the Skara Brae fairgrounds.

Word of this must have gotten out early for late last Saturday night a huge army of orcs descended upon the valley of our town out of three moongates formed at the entrance to Wrong. Many a valiant warrior, ranger, mage and bard met the assault and kept the town free of harm. We fear this may be just the first wave of an invasion upon our town.

For last minute details and more information about the town, please visit http://heavensforge.tripod.com

Come join us in this time of celebration. You may fall in love with the place and decide to never leave... at least, that is what we hope.

Darius, Magistrate for Heaven's Forge

There is a new bug/exploit that allows people to steal yer locked down items. It has been confirmed that it works, and people are braggin about what they have looted so far. I can't go into detail of the mechanics of the exploits, but I can tell you how to protect yourself...

1) Lock your house, they have to be inside for it to work.
2) If you have a public house, take out everything you hold dear and put it in your bank. Or make your house not public again.
3) If you have the marble/stone workshop where the first floor is open to all, unlock everything on that floor and move it upstairs.
4) Tell every last one of your friends so they can protect themselves

The Guild of Friends [GOF] is proud to announce the opening of Budweiser Tavern on Saturday, September 2nd at 7pm CST under the Trammel moon. To mark this event, many of our GM merchants will be present on site, ready to display and sell some of the lands' finest wares and crafts. The evening's slate also boasts a number of events including a scavenger hunt with a 50k prize to the winner. Gates will be provided to the event from Lord British's Castle [TRAMMEL] beginning at 6:45pm CST. Budweiser Tavern, again, is a Trammel establishment and can be found at coordinates (121o48N, 6o2E). Hope to see you there!

Interest Volunteer Terms

You may participate in the Interest Volunteer program for the term of 12 months from the day you finish training. At that point you must take a mandatory 90 day break. During that time you may participate in another volunteer program. After the three months have passed you may again request to join the Interest Program once more. These requests will be honored as long as during your break you continued to maintain an account in good standing. Your volunteer account will be reserved during that time. If you decide not to return your account will be reused after 90 days.

Faction System Information Updated

The latest updates and designs for the Faction System have been updated to General Testing. Please note that due to the extent of information included, the documentation has been divided into three separate sections. The updated Faction System will be available on a test shard in the near future. We will update you as soon as that shard becomes available.

Ripping the parchment into little pieces, White Lotus frowns. So Dark Widow has the amulet. Well, not for long. We need a plan. Pacing the room, Lotus curses the day she was given the amulet. By the Gods, we won't let Laz win.

Going to her desk, Lotus grabs the quill and writes a hasty note. Attaching it to the pigeon, she releases it into the air. No one gets the best of White Lotus, Laz you fool. Sanctuary will prevail. Abbot Eventide, say your prayers. Dark Widow, prepare to meet your maker...

Thunder rumbles to the north. Lightning flashes over the tower. Running to close the windows to keep out the storm, Lotus, out of the corner of her eye, sees the parchment on the floor. Picking it up, she scans the writing. As peals of her laughter ring out against dark tower walls, the plan unfolds.

Long live Sanctuary...........

Next Sunday, September 3rd, the Spiritwood Tavern will host another Lottery. Again it will be at 21.00 cet (8pm gmt).

The grand prize is 100.000 gold pieces! You can buy keys from the vendor outside the Tavern, but you need to register the keys with Aranlindale, by telling him your number(s). The keys cost 1000 gold pieces each. One person cannot buy more than two however. Perhaps that number will be the lucky number... Please try to buy one before Sunday. 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 and we are on Felluca.

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! :-)

Aranlindale, Spiritwood Tavern Barkeeper

Yesterday evening, as Rilla promised the day before, she was at her tent south of Minoc to revael the disturbances she felt and promised to tell the day before. By the time she closed her eyes and concentrated on her crystal ball, a large crowd of people already had gathered at the tent, silently waiting for Rilla's vision. After a short time whirling mists could be seen inside her crystal Rilla started to talk:

"It.. is of Trammel.. so there you should seek. For there this power is. This is what it said: In a city of stone, once proud, twice fallen. Stands a sentinel who holds the secret. The way is barred by ancient sigil, and only those who know can enter the lair once open to all now hidden in the mists till the brave uncover its mysteries.. with a word."

With the last word spoken Rilla's crystal ball shattered. "the.. power has destroyed the crystal! It .. was a huge beast", Rilla said after she regained her senses, staring at the splinters of her crystal ball.

After hearing the riddle several portals were opened and people rushed inside to locations unknown, probably seeking the word to enter Al'Cedra's Lair. A small party, consisting of Fushia Groan, Gui Zarith, Beneviste, Yoldran and me set off as well to find the answer to the riddle. What we found out I will nay tell yet, but suffice to say ye won't be dissapointed. Seek the answer yerselft, only two days are left till the first day of the next month, when the Lair of Al'Cedra will open.

I wish ye good luck on yer search.

Regards
Pad O'Lion

With a sudden grunt of anger, Ku Kullin ripped the parchment from the bulletin board, not believing what he was reading.

"That foolish thief!" Ku thought aloud, his hand clenched the parchment tightly. "He has no idea what he has in possession!"

"But you do know, my student?"

Ku turned to the ghostly image of his master and teacher, the Ophidian Mage, Harock'lat, now only a spectral image after sacrificing his life for him.

"The recent undead attacks, the growing hostilities in this world, and the lack of virtue in the hearts of people…how can I not sense it."

"There is great imbalance in the world, my pupil. Even as young as you are in understanding, your awareness of the serpent's powers is strong."

The warrior walked towards his horse, placing his cap upon his head as he mounted upon his steed, "The thief is way over his head, Harock'lat. I don't know why I feel this way, but I just know that if he isn't dead yet, whoever wrote that book will soon make him dead. We got to save him and get him out of this situation now."

The spectral ophidian shook his head as Ku galloped off, "The serpents twine in unusual ways among these humans."

Because the recent UO client patch 2.0.0f required that many of our customers download DirectX 7 and new sound card drivers without sufficient warning, we have determined it necessary to revert the patch. The patch revert process will work in the same way as a regular client patch, except the patched files will be replaced with the previous versions. We will be re-releasing the client patch 2.0.0f at a later date with specific instructions about any additional downloads from other sources that may be required.

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].

Hail good Sirs,

I bring news and a picture of yet another undead attack in our lands, but this time in Felucca.

I had returned to Britain to unload my gold and retire to the Inn for the night when the town cryer started calling out. They were begging for help over in Vesper as there was an undead invasion from the cemetery. I was tired and almost ignored the call for help and headed for bed, but then noticed how many others were carrying on about their business as though nothing was wrong. Of course, there was nothing in Britain (this time) so I thought if there was anything at all I could do to help I would do so. I arrived in Vesper by means of a magic scroll, armed my favourite silver kryss and headed for the cemetery.

As I approached I felt ill with the foul stench of rotting flesh and knew that the town crier had not raised false alarm. My horse, Mars, seemed nervous - perhaps detecting the danger that lie ahead. As I arrived, some brave soul came running towards me screaming, but it was too late. Before I could draw a bandage he fell at my feet, green with poison. I rushed forward and fought the liche that inflicted such harm. For a while all that I could hear was the groan of zombie, clatter of skeleton and cackle of liche. Flashes of light danced across the graves as I continued to swing my kryss. A few more brave, and not so brave, souls fell trying to thwart the attack and not in vain. Eventually the small group that had gathered to protect this town won the day.

I stopped to grab this picture, showing the last of the invasion, before finally laying my head on the hay. It was not an easy nights sleep after such an event though, I could only dream about where all these attacks were leading. Far too many lately for them to be a simple coincidence, so I urge everyone to keep their wits, and silver weapon, about them.

Safe travels,

Finsbury

The team of the European Rune Library located at Glorindar is organising a rune marking contest. If you think you have a rune for a nice spot: a place in nature, your decorated house,... then send it in and you can WIN (first place 25k, second place 15k and third place 10k).

The runes need to be given to Eldariel, you can contact him here to arrange a meeting or bring the runes to Glorindar (map) and make sure one of the citizen gives them to him.

* You can only send it in 2 different runes.
* Give your email adress and name so we can contact you
* They need to be send in before friday 8/9/2000
* Mark them on a spot that cant be easelly blocked

This contest is sponsored by the Britannia Merchants Guild, if you like to know more about them or want to join them, then contact them at icq number 85272013

The rune library team

Thank you!

Hail all, I'm a thief and I be proud of et. I don't fight much but I sneak's better den any of em. Anyvaz I got's to sneaking around a old crypt and found meself in a writing room of sorts. Well being the man I am, I took a look see around. Well I found me a book and reconized some of da names in it. Now im thinking I could sell dis here book for a perty penny to the right people or I could use it for me next fire. Up to you folks out der. If you want it let da word out and I be comin to yu. Im adding a bit of the text just to wet yur whistle.

From Lazareth's private notebooks:

The battle went as planned, the gems collected the required amount of negative energy. Those fool townsfolk with their lofty ideals of virtue and freedom fell headlong into my deception. They provided enough energy with their virtuous souls combined with the anguish and death the forces of chaos wrecked upon the city to empower the amulet with enough power reserves to more then complete the transformation.. It's unfortunate so many valuable allies had to perish in order to complete the ceremony of indenture. Alas such is the fate of a soldier.

The amulet literally throbs with the power contained within. Or so I'm told through the missive I have received from Dark Widow. I dare not trust sending a minion to collect the amulet - such untrained hands as those would most likely cause the item to discharge the energy it contains. No, this I must do myself.

*The next few lines are blurred out*

My current location of study is not appropriate to those of my needs or my station, perhaps once I have completed my business with Abbot Eventide I will transfer my residence to a location more fitting of one of my station. The poor Abbot is undergoing the same type of mental awareness I did before I accepted him as my lord. Only through self understanding and giving himself to the voices fully will he come to understand their true nature. That is of course if he is even one such as me, the blessings of my master are rare indeed. Perhaps once my own transformation-

*The page is torn here*

Cuchulain ap'Kes, a founding member of the town, spoke of the town's longevity despite the many times of adversity it and her citizens had faced. Also speaking at the dedication, and echoing the same sentiments, were Aeryk ap'Dalaigh, Ari ni'Dalaigh, and Kith Kanan.

The ceremony wasn't focused on the past traumas however, but instead on a message of peace and good will that has been a hallmark of Kinship Village since its inception. This is reflected in the inscription on the plaque at the statue.

"Dedicated to everyone past, present, and future, who contributes to the peace and longevity of Kinship Village."

After the lady of peace statue had been officially introduced, Kith Kanan directed everyone to the nearby fields for some games.

The first game was to run 1000 logs from one end of the arena to the other. There was an unlimited amount of trips allowed, but you could not set down the logs anywhere but on the recieving table. The event was timed and shortest time won. Julia started off the event with a time of 1 minute 16 seconds, which then held first place all the way through the last contestant, Cuchulain ap'Kes, who won with a time of 1:10. Bosula came in third with Antilles and Rook trailing.

The next game was a race wherein one person of a two man team ran to retrieve a specific fruit from crates at the far end. Whichever team grabbed the least of the named fruit lost the round and dropped out, the last team in wins. Cuchulain ap'Kes and Julia, the people who had taken 1st and 2nd in the previous game, teamed up and won this game as well. Loic Talecaster and Brianna Rosmar, both of The House of Rosmar, took second, and Ari ni'Dalaigh and Raina took third.

The last game is an ongoing one. It is the biggest, and daresay strangest, scavenger hunt ever. The 100 items in the list were announced that night and the next day this press release on the event was sent in.

The Grandmaster of Scavenger Hunts

Kinship Village, located on the mainland just east of Skara Brae in Felucca, is sponsoring the Grandmaster of Scavenger Hunts in conjunction with our recently completed Dedication Festival. We are inviting everyone to join in this contest.

All items on the list must be collected and approved by Kith Kanan before the prize will be awarded. You may collect these items alone or as part of a team. All items (with possible exception of the corn cobs) will be returned to you once you are verified as the prize winner.

The current prize is 50,000 GOLD AND A COMPLETE SUIT OF RANGER ARMOR! If the contest lasts longer than expected, the gold amount will be raised to 100,000, but don't delay else someone could beat you to it.

When you believe you have collected all 100 items on the list, contact Kith Kanan via ICQ #11706357.

And don't forget to visit the sponsoring town of this event, Kinship Village! Our tavern is staffed every evening so you are sure to find good companionship there and possibly even meet up with others who are working towards this contest if you're looking for a team!

Here is the list for any wishing to attempt the prize:

1. A weapon of vanquishing (including cleavers, pickaxes etc)
2. 100 ears of corn
3. 1 chair with blue seat
4. 1 red box containing every word ever written by Rutger Dag..(this is a trick one..you need to think laterally..wonder how many will figure out how to do this)
5. A normal hair dye
6. A Grandmaster marked Iron breastplate
7. A supremely accurate weapon
8. A Barrel of water
9. A roast pig
10. A metal chest
11. A lantern
12. A fishing pole
13. A Kiss from a Wyrm in Destard (will require a screenshot of you emoting *kiss* next to the ancient wyrm)
14. An order shield
15. 5 pieces of Blackmoor
16. A Grandmaster marked item crafted by someone with Black, Dark, Shadow or Night in their name
17. A wheat sheaf
18. 10 of each standard reagent
19. A grey potion keg
20. A barrel lid
21. A torso
22. A gold mark scroll
23. A dance with the Deceit Poison Elemental (will require a screenshot of you emoting *dances* next to the elemental)
24. A picture of you saying "Can you kick it..yes you can" to a dewd at britain bank (screenshot again)
25. An 8 charge runebook with a rune to each shrine
26. A rhyming poem written by you containing the final line.."So it wasnt her fault the lettuce flew off"
27. A special fishing net
28. 10 green bottles (wine)
29. A cat called Samuel
30. A diamond ring
31. A communication crystal
32. A firework wand
33. 17 ingots
34. A full map of the world
35. 2 dozen apples
36. 1 hide
37. A small painting
38. A weapon of ruin and ghouls touch
39. A full set of bone armour
40. 1 dozen eggs...(fried)
41. A rune to a vendor selling a magic sword for 1 gold piece
42. 50 blank scrolls
43. A set of paints
44. 1 of each instrument not including standing harp
45. 40 logs
46. 1 knife
47. 1 fork
48. 1 spoon
49. 1 scroll of each of the 8th level spells
50. A dog called Samuel
51. A pouch containing one of each gem
52. A skull
53. A pair of shoes
54. A pair of sandals
55. A pair of thigh boots
56. A pair of boots
57. A deadly poison potion
58. 5 Ressurection Scrolls
59. A book signed by each of the current Kinship bartenders
60. 15 oil cloths
61. A Gm marked leather tunic, marked by someone without the letters I or U in their name
62. A black staff
63. 3 jester hats..1 in blue, 1 in red, 1 in green
64. 1 full spellbook
65. A pitcher of Cider
66. A picture of you and 5 friends on top of Trinsic small bank (will require screenshot)
67. A half full bottle of ale
68. 16 purple bandages
69. A wand of harming with no charges
70. A ring of Teleporting with between 2 and 5 charges
71. 1 fish of each type including the magic ones
72. 2 cakes
73. 1 GM marked Armoire crafted by someone without an I or O in their name
74. 4 Felucca Stones
75. 4 Trammel Stones
76. 1 piece of each colour of ore not including Iron
77. 10 sausages
78. 1 scroll of each spell that begins with the letter I
79. A dartboard deed
80. A sextant
81. A completed treasure map
82. 9 cheeses
83. 1 Jar of Honey
84. A Chaos shield
85. A GM crafted Kite Shield, made by someone with more than one L in their name
86. 5 Peach Cobbler pies
87. 3 sewing kits
88. A picture of a *kiss* from someone in red..(will require screenshot)
89. 1 orc mask
90. 10 pieces of dough
91. 1 Candalabra
92. 50 Crossbow bolts
93. 1 Chessboard
94. A 10 diamond ring
95. A magical cloak with no charges
96. A silver dagger
97. 100 arrow shafts
98. 5 body sashes in different colours
99. A clock
100. Another 100 ears of corn in case I have eaten the first 100 by now

The Moonglow Town Council and Militia will be holding a graveside vigil at the Moonglow Graveyard (25°18'N 133°28'W) of the Trammel facet in order to ward off the repeated undead attacks that have been occurring on Moonglow. The vigil will begin at 9:30pm CST on the evening of Wednesday, August 30th, and will continue until 10:30pm CST.

Be sure to bring a candle and a bone crunching weapon!

Sylph Thornlight
Mayor of Moonglow
Moonglow Town Council

For the first time in Ultima Online history there will be a grand scale battle between Order and Chaos...the last group standing is victorious...

The only way to win this battle is for Chaos to get in Lord Brits Castle and for Order to get in Lord Blackthorn's.

Who ever can take control of the opponents castle first is victorious...

IF YOU'RE A GUILD MASTER THAT WISHES TO BATTLE EMAIL ME AT Scar.

BATTLE DOES NOT START UNTIL 7PM EST TIME NO ATTACKS ARE ALLOWED BY CHAOS OR ORDER UNTIL THEN.

-Scar

Those selected will gain the privilege to work with a professional news staff. The writing samples can be used from which to start building portfolios, will look good on any business resume, and can help make a nice entry into the gaming/media industry. Applicants should possess the following qualities:

• Ability to write interesting, non-fiction, industry related pieces
• Demonstrate editorial skills such as grammar, spelling, and proofreading
• Proficiency with basic HTML
• General knowledge of the gaming industry
• Ability to research articles using both the internet and printed media
• Approximately 10-15 hours available per week to write articles and assist with site updates

If interested, please email Xander with a brief description of your background, why you wish to be considered for the position, and (most importantly) a writing sample. Note: All writing samples must be pasted into the body of the email or submitted as a URL posted on the web somewhere. No attached files will be accepted.

The Battle for the Cursed Keep will again be held on Sunday, September 3rd. The keep doors will remain locked until 7PM Central Standard Time, and NO ONE, not even orcs, will be allowed into the keep prior to this time.

When the doors are unlocked, anyone may rush into the keep and take possession of it. Battle will then commence for one hour, and whoever controls the keep at 8PM CST will be friended and have control of the keep for one week. Further details can be found here.

If you do not have a character on Siege Perilous, but would like to participate in this MASSIVE battle, you may create an orc character and join the Shadowclan. Please refer to www.shadowclan.cx for details on creating an orc.

Stratics House of Commons This Week

• Atriarch House of Commons: This Tuesday, August 29th, at 7pm CST in #athoc. Lead Designer Serefina will be onhand to answer all your questions about the Lokai, the game's newest species.
• Origin House of Commons: This Wednesday, August 30th, at 7pm CST in #uwohoc. The Origin design team will be here to answer your questions about the development of this groundbreaking game. No topic has yet been set.

To access Stratics IRC, simply connect to one of the following servers than join the appropriate HOC channel.

• compu.stratics.com
• dhp.stratics.com
• frws.stratics.com
• intworks.stratics.com

Adellion Stratics

• Adellion Stratics has a new Developer Quotes Database. Now you can refer back to everything the Adellion developers have to say, and get a good understanding of everything about Adellion.

Anarchy Online Stratics

• Beta testing phase 2 has been launched! Have you dropped by AOS lately and filled out your application? There's just 1 more phase left!
• The AOS Advertisement and Guild Banner Contest ends Thursday! Be sure to drop by and submit an entry.

Asheron's Call Stratics

• Another new quest guide for your delectation: The Baron of Colier's Life Giving Amulet.
• Plus,some enhancements to the Spell database.

Atriarch Stratics

• This coming Tuesday, August 29th at 8pm Eastern Standard Time is the next Atriarch House of Commons chat! #athoc on Stratics IRC will play host to the Atriarch dev team, including our favorite IRC pal, Serafina Pechan. This time we'll be discussing the Lokai species, so explorers and adventurers come one, come all!. Just in case you haven't seen the Lokai Species Profile, be sure to check it out now. Get your questions ready and come prepared to hear some great new information!

EverQuest Stratics

• Be sure to join #everquest for the lastest Everquest chat!

Hero's Journey Stratics

• Wake yourself up this Monday morning with HJS's Editorials.
• Or dive into the game design discussion on the HJS forums.

Jumpgate Stratics

• New Screenshots from Pre-Release are being added to JumpGate Stratics daily.
• We will be holding our Second JumpGate House of Commons on Tuesday, September 18, at 7pm CST in channel #jghoc on Stratics IRC.

Neverwinter Stratics

The revamping of the Neverwinter Nights Stratics site is almost complete, a few more tweaks and adjustments and it will be ready for prime time!

What will the revamp of the site bring?

• A better menu system that is easier to navigate
• A more organized layout to the site so things are easier to find
• And it paves the way for the new content we are working on for your enjoyment!

Look for the announcement of the revamped site soon!

Origin Stratics

• We are pleased to announce our 2nd ORIGIN House of Commons scheduled for Wednesday, August 30th, at 7pm CST in #uwohoc. Members of the design team for Ultima Worlds Online:ORIGIN will be onhand to answer your questions. The topic will be General Discussion.
• Interested in finding out more on the cultures and groups being developed for ORIGIN to make it not just a game, but a living and breathing world? Then make sure to head on over to our brand new Cultures Section to read about The House of the Griffin, The Shadow Hunters, The Technocrats, and many others.

Dear All,

As you will have read the city of Moonglow was attacked by pirates Sunday past. Along with a number of other adventurers I was there to help, and to fight. Having gathered at Spiritwood the call came that pirates had been spotted, a number of gates were opened and the 15 or so adventurers filtered through. Expecting an attack from the south we collected around the gate and prepared ourselves.

Before long we realised our error. We hastened to the east gate where the first wave of pirates had already entered the city. To our surprise Kazarin himself was leading the assault. Our plan to capture him went aray when the guards joined in - on neither side. Anyone deemed to be fighting was executed, attackers and defenders alike! In the confusion Kazarin dissappeared. At the time it was unknown whether he was killed or had escaped but as his body was not found amongst the dead it is assumed he survived.

With the defenders fresh and unexpected the first pirate wave was beaten back. But the fight was anything but over. Outside the gates the pirates begain tho reinforce and regroup. We charged. Not having time to regroup they were quickly routed by those that had elected to charge. I shall appologise now to those that should be named during this reprt but one too many bumps to the head has left my memory not what it used to be!

Myself and two others gave chase, and charged right into their landing party. Shocked at our arrival their rections were slow and we cut a bloody swathe in their centre, but it would not last. We were quickly overwhelmed. Surrounded by 10 or more pirates I fought hard but it was a losing battle. My comrades on foot quickly vanished under a pile of pirates and were brutally slain. I continued to fight downing three of the pirates but to no avail, the others kept comming. Another fell to my blade but as I struck him down a mace shattered my shield and I became more vulnerable. (The shield was sold to me under the pretence of indestructability!)

The battle changing point then came. Another pirate fell leaving 6 now, however one of the murderous swine then turned his attention to my trusted steed Storm. A spear dove deep into his chest and his front legs gave out. I managed to block one blade but another slashed his neck and he fell lifeless to the floor. Badly wounded and severly lacking in protection I considered the better part of valor, however instinct told me to stay and fight. Drinking a set of yellow, white and blue potions I felt renewed and I continued to fight. I dove forward my scimitar embedding itself in a pirate chest. He fell and I got a clear view of the landing vessle. Apparently the gypsies accomanying the pirates felt that the fight was now unfair and so a number began incantations.

I turned to face the remaining pirates who turned and fled. Surprisingly unhappy at this event I turned back to the boat. A wave of flame hit me hard and I felt strength leave my body. Three water elementals! Surrounding me I began to take a real beating. Once the pirates saw whos side the elemntals were on they soon regained their courage and I came under a viscous onslaught. Resisting the magic of the elemntals I felt a blade penetrate my plate and drive through my side. Another slipped into my thigh and I turned to run. Slowly I made my way towards help, fighting as I went.

It was then i realised what I had happenned. I had passed behind the main lines where none of our other warriors could see me. Many pirates and elemantals were now engaged in combat with the town saviors and the fight looked to be swinging in our favour. I twisted a bandage round my leg and drank another healing potion. Fortunately a guard saw me as another pirate blow knocked me to the ground. As his sword raised to finish the job a massive halberd swung over my head decapitating my assailant. The guard strode on saying nothing.

I shiethed my blade and pulled my spellbook from its pouch. Mixing the reagents I muttered "In Vas Mani". I felt a surge of magical energy as my wounds closed and my body was repaired. I stood up tall and this time the incantation was different. "Corp Por". An energy bolt flew from my fingers knocking the oncomming pirate from his feet. Wasting no time I pouched my book and charged forward. He raised his blade weakly but to no avail. I arrived and kicked his blade away, my scimitar lept from its shieth slicing across his body and silencing his weak cries for mercy.

I looked around - the pirates were fleeing under the cover of elementals but these too were falling fast. I once again gave chase to the landing site but this time the area was filled with corpses and the those left did not hang around to fight. As the boat left I picked up my bow of power and let fly with some arrows. At least one more fell but there was not a lot to aim at so I turned back to see what fortunes I could find on my attackers bodies.

We returned to spititwood to regail our stories and drink to those lost. The day was won but Kazarin was still loose. As I sat calmly in the Inn I was reminded of something my mentor told me. "There are old warriors and there are bold warriors. There are no old bold warriors" (Elowan of Wind) A lesson I shall now hopefully learn!

I hope this sheds some light on the event and will encourage more of you to take up arms with us when Kazarin next rears his head - he shall not be so lucky again.

Arayel, Famed Warrior and 1st Ranger of The Knights of Death

Last sunday, the official positions for the Moonglow City Council were elected. Sadly, only 4 of the 8 candidates actually appeared and only three positions could be elected. The positions and the persons now holding them are:

Mayor: Yoldran
Town Constable: Kabach Cryonax
Council Advisor: Mysh

The elections were disturbed by the appearence of the guipsy Maia and her pirate companion Kazarin. Both were interested in taking influence on the elections. While Maia tried to bribe the candidates, Kazarin relied on threatening. The picture below shows Kazarin talking with the later elected mayor and Maia in the back.

Since Kazarin could not convince the people to become mayor of Moonglow by threatening them, he walked off enraged and later in the evening attacked Felucca Moonglow with his mateys to take revenge.

The City Council will hold its first meeting this saturday - september 2nd - 19:00cet at the councilor's guild in Trammel Moonglow. All Moonglow citizens are more than welcome to attend!

The sixth Minoc Horserace will be held on wednesday, august 30th, 20:00cet at the Minoc townhall on Trammel.

The route is shown on the map below. It starts at the townhall (1) and leads to the bridge crossing to the mine with the first checkpoint (2). From there, it leads up the serpent road to checkpoint 2, where you have to cross a line (3). Down again and eastward around the mine-mountain, leaving the stables to the right, the finish is found at "The Barnacle" inn (4).

Entry fee is 1000 coins. The money will be distributed by 50%, 35%, 15% for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Riders start in groups of 4. The winners of these startup races do a final. Only horses are allowed. Should there however be enough other animals, it is possible to start a "sheer-nightmare-race" for example.

May the fastest contestant win!
Best wishes,
Yoldran

As reported some days ago, a group of pirates approached Maia at the Moonglow Mayor Elections revealing to her, that they captured Sardisha Li'sant and would exchange her for 20.000gp. Maia agreed to meet the pirates at the Skara Brae docks the following Monday evening.

What Maia did nay know though was, that the pirates, lead by Freia, were hired by the town of Spiritwood to trick Maia, to lure her into a trap. The plan was to lead her to the Rangers Hall north of the Skara Brae docks, where little Ivy should steal a book of utmost importance from her, while the Pirates keep Maia occupied and provide an escape for Ivy if she succeeded.

Yesterday evening a group of Pirates gathered at the appointed meeting place at the docks, while another party hid at the Rangers Hall, waiting patiently for Maia's appearance. Over the time more and more people arrived at the docks though, and the plan seemed to be endangered since the newcomers did nay know about it and thought the pirates indeed had captured Sardisha. The pirates tried to explain the situation without revealing too much of the carefully crafted plan, though the gathered people of course were suspicious. After a while a detachment of the Guardsmen Militia arrived at the scene, suspiciously keepin an eye on the pirates.

It grew later and later, though nay a sign of Maia was to be seen. Apparently she would nay approach the pirates with that many unknown folk around, so people started to take cover near the docks.

Finally, night already had settled in, Maia arrived at the docks. Approaching the pirates, she asked to see Sardisha immediatly, though the pirates, eager to lay hand on gold promised to 'em started to snoop Maia for the gold. When they were satisfied they lead her away from the docks, up the road to the north, while a crowd of people was following behind.

Then everything happened very fast. After Maia entered the hall, Ivy who'd been hiding in the shadows acted quickly, took the book from Maia's backpack and started, protected by Kain Stormraven, to dash for the exit. The gathered crowd, too occupied by the events surrounding em, did nay witness those three little figures escaping from the house. Ivy, followed by Darcy, the tillerman of the pirate's ship, rushed towards the sea, boarding the waiting boat heading for the open sea ... to safety.

Back at the Ranger's Hall hell broke loose. Maia, attacked by the gathered crowd by fierce blows and deadly magic, could nay fend em off and finally collapsed. But, emerging from her body, roaring and ravaging, a wyvern as large as a dragon appeared, instantly attacking those who slew her. A many men died within the hall, and it seemed the Wyvern, which apparently is Maia's spirit animal would be victorious. Someone in the crowd though, I think it might have been Yoldran, warned the people: "She will raise in her human form again, if ye slay the beast!". The wyvern, throwing back its enormous head seemed to laugh, and stopped defending itself. It did come as expected, the wyvern was slain and from it's dead body Maia appeared again in human form, shouting and cursing, yelling that she will have her revenge.

While the battle at the docks still raged the book was brought to Rilla's tent south of Minoc where the book was shown around and people enjoyed their victory. A little later Rilla arrived and the book was given to her. She thanked everyone for helping her, especially the here of the day ... little Ivy. Then Rilla read from the Book of the Silver Wolf by Sarn Takhista:

This book will guarantee my safety, for in it are the records of deeds and accountings of others that will keep them from murdering me. I have served as keeper of records for almost 10 years now, and only because I am one of the few who can read and write. Yet not all is meant for my eyes. I will give this book to my best friend Gregor Li'sant, in the hope that he may keep it well hidden, and that I may stay alive. Maia and the rogue Daryen, have worked together for almost five years now. Below is what I found in the records, copied word for word and if anything happens to me, you will know what and why.

Sister Maia,

Death toll Crossroads:
17 in the last month, 4 were nobles and 1 irritating beggar by name of Scratch.

Vesper:
8 by the cemetary with the old poor lady trick, 3 by Vesper bank, tricked into their deaths

Moonglow:
3 Mages by poison dagger ... must get more from Magya. Too bad she only works for me to protect her brat. Reagent stock up by 20 per cent.

Magincia:
Still no success except looting the dead from the silver serpents. Nice idea.

Britain:
Nearly fifty of those culls and brigands me their deaths. Too bad they do not carry much cash.

The stock of armour is down. You must find a smith to work for you. Try that fool, Feyron Ironhand. Surely you can convince him to do the work we need! Your charms are ... legendary. Kazari has agreed to aid us, but only for gold. He seems to be more and more greedy lately. I wish I could find out what he has planned, but no woman can work her wiles on that man. He will meet his death someday, but he will not fear it. Maybe it will be by my hand. I never have taken much stock in gypsie law or justice. I would kill any who stood in my way, unlike you sister. You would be wise to remember that. Sarn is getting to be a nuisance. It may be time for him to have an ... accident. He wants to take Magya and Rilla away, and that must not happen. She is far too valuable to us. Maybe I shall have him followed when they leave. Why don't you have one of your orc minions do it. They will be happy to do in another hoomie, I'm sure. Karth will do whatever you say. Were he not orc, one would think the fool was in love with you. Who knows? Do what you will with him, but remember that Magya will guess it is our doing, so make it look like an accident. She loves the fool. More's the pity. She could have been very useful to me. Operations expand with two new assassins. I shall send their names to you shortly when I have finished their training. My goal will soon be reached, and I will have the power of all four elementals in my hands! When I do, no corner of Britannia will be safe from me. It still needs a few more years of study, but I do not care. In the end, it will be worth it. And you, sister, shall share in the profits. And Kazari shall, no doubt, get what he wants, too.

An interresting book, that's for sure, revealing much, though little at the same time. Many questions are still left unanswered, but we shall nay give up and aid Rilla wherever we can. Rilla shall be at her tent tonight, at 9pm cet.

Yours
Pad O'Lion

"Dear peoples of Britannia,

I regretfully announce that the opening of Ulthuan City will be delayed for at least 30 days. This has been the result of a dispute between members in this guild, stating we should not let Drow on the land we claimed for Old Ulthuan. We have shown no tolerance for the Drow, and many know my personal feelings towards Mori'Quessir (High Elven for Drow), but they have been granted a reprieve from British saying they have as much right to the land as we do, so thus is our arguement. So for now, the city of Ulthuan will remain under construction. I gaurantee it will not be longer than 30 days. But it light of this news, Lestat V'lorea, our resident head librarian, has sent me a letter, with some goods news.

Qurant
Ordermaster of The Order of Ulthuan
[email protected]

And here is the letter he attached from Lestat V'lorea:

"Ladies and Gentlemen,

For recent bad happenings which I am not at liberty to discuss, the opening of the city of Ulthuan, will be shortly stopped. Father Qurant I am sure will release a statement about the situation soon. But as for now, I, Lestat V'lorea, Scholar and Head Librarian of the TOU, am proud to announce Opening Ceremonies for the Ulthuan Library and Magika. Since the godlings are fixing a problem pertaining to bookshelves, libaries will soon be useful again. We here at he L&M have three stories of a wide variety of books, written by many various peoples of Britannia. We will have a opening ceremony where you will find many scholars there to answer your questions, and were are planning for a guest speaker. For now the ceremony will be planned for September 5th, but if the godlings take longer, we will reschedule. For runes to the library, contact the TOU at Qurant's email address, [email protected]."

Lestat V'lorea

Greetings all ! There are two announcements I'd like to make today.

First, as some of you know by now, we are changing the pit fights to Thursday nights. Contestant tickets go on sale at 8:30 eastern, and are limited, so if you intend on entering, be sure to come early. There is a set of general rules on our website Humility and complete, current rules are in a book on both the counter and patio of The Bloody Keg. It is strongly recommend that if you intend on entering the competition, that your use both of these sources (also, for their safety, please stable your mount before joining us)

Second, as we have been going through some changes, we are announcing this as a Grand Reopening of The Bloody Keg. We invite all to come for drink, food and friendship. Our bartenders are always up for a little wager on the fights, so don't come empty handed, unless you are competing. :) As a prize for our grand reopening, we are offering a small stone workshop, located just steps from the guard zone south west of Britain to the winner of 8/31/99.

There is a rune on the counter of the tavern if you would like to view the property in person.

As always, good luck, and we hope to see you there !
Tesla,
Mayor of Humility

I have made a couple of posts about the recent connection issues, and have already messaged Tyrant about them. I think we have a couple of different things going on here. The first are reported connection problems and lag (mainly on LS but I've also seen Atlantic and Pacific mentioned) from about 2 weeks ago or so. The other was a problem that occurred last week where a major fiber optic cable in Georgia (USA) was cut by some work crews. The repair of that took several hours and affected substantial section of the internet. Traffic had to be re-routed around this break, which meant for more conjested internet traffic lanes on other areas.

I am more concerned about the unknown in this, the connection problems that have been going on longer then that one day that the cable was damaged. I have seen quite a few emails the past few days from Tyrant and folks in network operations, basically working to stay on top of any possible problem. They are focusing attention on this. What I want to know are more details from you if you are having a connection problem still. Details such as how long has this been going on, what does your trace look like, etc. Not everyone will be able to connect smoothly when using the internet. The internet is not a wide open highway with flawless connection lanes. In fact, it only gets more crowded every day. If I can get some good information, then I can speak with some folks here and we can get this situation understood better and hopefully fixed as much as possible.

Melantus
Online Community Coordinator
Ultima Online
[email protected]

Zyrn has struck again! The news is dire indeed. It seems he has captured Jared and along with him, the Staff of Tempest's. Now that he has the staff he may have the power to defeat the benevolent dragon Zephyr, and destroy Aryslan. Zyrn gave Aryslan 24 hours to surrender! What ever shall we do?

Things are coming to a head. We will need help more than ever! Zyrn said 24 hours, that means sometime around 9:00 pm est.

Aryslan town leaders will meet Monday (8/28) at 8:00pm to decide on whether to surrender to Mazrim and Zyrn. We will need to raise the largest army ever seen to defend the town if we vote to fight instead of surrender. I implore all who hold Aryslan dear to come and show their support so that we may somehow survive!

Mayor Soloman

While doing a bit of exploring on the Isle of Moonglow, my mate JOHN discovered a patch of poppies growing. Normally a patch of poppies would not be odd, but we were in Felluca!!! We discussed the patch for a few minutes and the possiblities his find raises.

We decedied to look for more life in the area and found a small tree growing in the area too! These two signs of life carry hope. Perhaps our scorched world is in a rebirth.

Johari, V*A

On August 30th, and every subsequent Wednesday at 7pm CST (5pm PST), the Trammel-based Silver Stag Tavern hosts "Bardic Circle," a round table night for storytellers, poets, and the discussion of topics in Britannia. Refreshments and food will be sold at this event by local bartenders, while bards share tales of adventure, romance, and wonder around the rustic settings of the Silver Stag.

As the sun slowly set a chill fell over the defenders of Sanctuary. You could almost feel the tension in the air as we waited for the Army of Darkness to come. Hour after hour we waited with restless clanks of armor, the low murmur of voices and the occasional roar of a dragon filling the air.

Suddenly at exactly midnight the attack began! The sky was lit by spells and dragon flames as we got our first glimpse of the enemy. It was enough to cause any man to fear for his soul. Orcs with their terrible weapons of destruction, Vampires with their long fangs and gruesome appearances, Knights of Darkness, terrible mages, and human warriors all bent on our destruction! Then the battle was engaged. It swirled around the crossroads with men and creatures on both sides rapidly falling. There was no love lost here, no toying with your enemy, no quarter asked or given. This was a fight to the death plain and simple, a battle between good and evil with both intent on winning.

Our army of defenders were receiving heavy losses when a dragon's death scream filled the air! The loss of the dragon meant that it was time to pull in the reinforcements. From inside and on top of buildings our allies poured out, lashing out with sword and spell. For the first time the enemy realized that defeat was near, yet on they still fought! Not a single one retreated and it cost us mightily in life. Vampires were thrown down only to jump up and laugh at us; orcs fought with an inhuman ferocity even unto death itself it seemed. Evil warriors and mages banded together in a final hope of victory.

But it was not to be; the forces of Good overwhelmed them eventually and as the sun rose the final group of attackers were dispatched. The defenders, weary and all suffering from some types of wounds, gathered together. Out of the crowd White Lotus appeared with her group of defenders.

"Sanctuary was saved today by you, our loyal friends and allies!" she cried. "But the amulet was lost in the battle. Our spies report no rejoicing in the Camps of Evil so it could be a third party is now involved in this!"

All of us suffered mixed feelings at these words, joy for saving the citizens and city of Sanctuary, shock at hearing the amulet was lost, and dread at wondering who the third party was. We all gathered our wounded and dead and headed off to our respective towns wondering what was in store for us now, and what the future held.

[OOC: We the people of Sanctuary would like to thank all (good and evil) who participated in the battle by throwing a party in your honor! No hostilities will be tolerated; this is for your enjoyment only! This is a chance to bury the hatchet so to speak and get ready for the future events.]

Jon von Darkmoor, Ranger of The City of Sanctuary

"Dear Counselor Volunteers,

Due to changes in the industry regarding volunteers, effective
September 30, 2000, OSI will no longer provide free player accounts
or other added value to members of all UO Volunteer Programs."

"In order to keep your account active, you will need to provide a
billing option for your account prior to October 1st, 2000. To do this:

1.Visit http://www.ultima-registration.com
2. Select the option to "Modify Existing Account"
3. Again, select the option to "Modify An Account"
4. Log in using your current 'comped' account name and password
5. Select the option to "Set Up a Monthly Billing Plan"
6. Enter your updated account and billing information

We will be mailing volunteers a revised Terms of Service for those
that wish to remain in the Counselor program. In order to continue
to participate as a volunteer, you will need to sign and return this
ToS along with a photocopy of your driver's license or other ID that
can verify your age."

Hello Citizens of Great Lakes!

We The Counselors of the Central Region would like to invite you to our Counselor Party!

Each month we hold a Counselor Appreciation party for all Counselors in the Central Region and to honor those that have won Counselor of the Month! Please join us for food and drinks at the Britain Counselors Guild hall, in Trammel, on Tuesday August 29, at 8:00pm CST (9:00pm EST). The Guild hall can be found at (8°26'N 12°47'E) coordinates at the northern tip of the city between the stone mage's tower and Blackthorn's Island. We hope to see you all there!!

Thanks!

Lead Counselor Lady Destiny
Central Region
Ultima Online

The Drachenfels decorating contest for this year is started... it will be running thru to the end of October and all are welcome to come. The contest it :

• Free to enter
• No restriction on house design or chosen facet
• GRAND PRIZE of a Furniture Dye Tub to the winner
• Runners up prizes of cash and small houses
• Consolidation prizes of a fruitbasket to the worst dressed houses

The kind Drastin of Catskills Shard, Red Sonja of DF and Malfus of DF have sponsored this event and we hope to attract a large number of contestants. Icq me for more information on 60886272 or send me an email.

Thank you,

Malfus of DF

In my many travels throughout the universe, I have never seen a place quite so interesting as the world that you call Siege Perilous. I am told that only the most skilled and experienced warriors stand even a chance of survival in this land and, therefore, I intend to spend a great deal of time here so that I might see for myself how true warriors should behave themselves. It is vitally important that I get the most accurate information possible on this subject to complete my journals. So, I will be looking to you, the citizens of this land, to help provide me with the best information possible on important events and issues that go on here. In turn, I will gladly share my observations with you here so that, in the end, we will find ourselves collectively much wiser.

Also, in my journeys, I always make a special effort to frequent as many pubs and taverns as possible so that I can... eh... rate and document them. So far, the best guide I have found to places of this nature has been compiled here by the Pirates of the Codex If you have more information to share about this or any other types of establishments, I would love to hear about it.
See ya around,

Ford Prefect
Siege Perilous Reporter

Some concern has been expressed about a number of issues surrounding the Dove Murder plot in regards to the reward for Giddeon Night. I thought it might help those seeking the reward, especially those new to role play and some of the methods role players use to simulate "capture".

First, a quick recap of the reward as I know it thus far:

20K: Knights of Yew - for Night's live capture
20K: General Drankiotis Sokur - for Night's live capture if turned over to the proper authorities (ie. The Crown...or him as its representative)
10K: White Lotus Mages - for Night's live capture
10K: Community Center Vendors - for Night's live capture
30K: Valance the Healer, a one time assistant to Lady Dove - for Night's live capture
Standing Total: 90K...if he's alive

Now, the concern. How do you capture a person on Trammel, especially if you're not hilighted, when you can't even stamina block him? First, he may not always be on Trammel. True, he has been so far, but some events might find him on Felucca. Second, he will "play" his capture under the following conditions:

1. He is killed by a hilighted person(s) who remain at his body and wait for him either to return after resurrecting or resurrect him themselves. If they just walk off before he can get him back, he'll assume they left him for dead. That would be very unfortunate, both for claiming the reward and for Dove's return.

2. If Night is sufficiently out numbered and out maneuvered. He's no dumby, if hard pressed, he'll surrender. After all, he still has the stone with Dove's soul to bargain his way out if he has to. He loves profit, but there's no profit in dying.

For those wondering if anyone has even seen this murderer, Night has been spotted several times already but the scenarios didn't allow for him to be captured:

1. Nhil saw him in Kith Kanan's Trammel vendor tower (along the road that is Kinship mainstreet in Felucca). Though she was in no real danger since she isn't hilighted to him, she still played her character's natural reaction which was to slip outside and run for the docks.

2. GrayDeath ran into Night at the Skara Brae ferry. However, GrayDeath was on the ferry and Night was on his boat (Night was hoping to catch hilighted people using the ferry and pick them off from his boat). In that situation, there was no way for GrayDeath to physically reach Night. GrayDeath is a mage, so if he had been hilighted, he could have cast a spell. However, as he discovered when his friend came into view, Night had already set coordinates with the tillerman before GrayDeath ever spotted him, so with a word, he was sailing out of range. Under those conditions, he might have hit Night once with a spell, but he wouldn't have killed him with it (so I highly doubt being on either facet would have mattered).

3. Members of one hunting party (many of them hilighted) somehow stumbled on Night hiding behind the building across from Dove's Community Center (I assume one was tracking and zeroed in on Night...the man had already "walked over" Night but should not have received any "you push something invisable" message on Trammel...so I am assuming he was a tracker). A mage came up to reveal where the other person indicated. Night tried to recall three times and all three times the location was blocked. Meanwhile, the mage cast invisability by mistake and the others there were caught in a nasty bit of lag-wind. Night made a bee-line for the Skara Brae shoreline and was out to sea in minutes.

So...he has been spotted, he is out there to catch, and I will follow those two methods allowing for capture if either scenario occur. Now, standing in front of Night with only a sword and saying "halt" will most likely get you either an arrow in your backside or a fleeting glimpse of Night as he runs in the opposite direction. One person, especially if they are not hilighted, does not constitute "out numbered".

One method of trapping him exists out there already...but you have to ask the people who know it (so far they haven't had enough people to try it). Does that seem like I'm saying go out and track down the people who have been most active thus far? Of course. That was my original intent with this whole plot...to afford players a reason to meet other players that they otherwise wouldn't have met.

Hope that helps,
Player of Giddeon Night

Hail All,

I come to you this evening with great news. There is going to be a wedding among the ranks of the Knights of Britannia.

Furie, Guildmistress of KoB, and Tinkerer, Knight(Paladin) of KoB will be wed in the days to follow. I just wanted to congratulate both of you and I wish you both nothing but happiness. Everyone Is welcome so bring your hanky and share in a wondrous event with us all!!!

You Are Cordially Invited To The Wedding Of Furie & Tinkerer Come and rejoice with us as we begin our lives as one!!

• Location: Nujel'm Palace
• Time: Ceremony to begin at 7:30 pm CST On Sept.20th

DON'T BE LATE!!!! There will be food, merriment, and drinking at the palace after the wedding.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!!

Phyre, Warrior of KoB

One day, not so long ago, I was just a simple orc with a scholary interest in the hummie language. I was a target (for ridicule and thrown objects) to hummies and orcs alike. Now, mere months later, I am a high profile editor for this very shard! What happened, you ask?

Simple! I took my knack for writing and parlayed it into an exciting career as a reporter for UOSS stratics. Well, perhaps "career" is a strong choice of words for a volunteer profession, but it sure beats mining in terms of keeping the mind alive.

Perhaps writing for UOSS AOL Legends can help you achieve a new life! I am currently looking for active, talented citizens of our shard to supplement our outstanding two-humanoid 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 Legends (thanks Queen Xavier!) 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 and Praise Minax!

The following event was reported on the UO Calender of Events.

The Brotherhood of the Arcane is sponsoring a Trinsic Flee Market on September 2 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm EST. Read on for details:

"Ok all you folks who love the city of Trisnic (sic) it's time to come back to your city and have some fun and make some cash at the same time. Looking for that special sword or just in need of some fish steaks? Well here's your chance to buy sell trade and role play. Guilds can also set up for recuiting."

Praise Minax!

Client Patch 2.00f Update

We have released a client patch to address crash issues related to mage hats. Additionally, this patch updates support for DirectX 7.0. If you do not have DirectX 7.0 installed on your computer, you will be unable to hear sound effects and music unless you upgrade your DirectX version. You may download the correct version at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp .

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] .

It's my distinct pleasure to bring you this latest message from the esteemed Marco Polo. The second "Champion of Britannia" tourney has been scheduled. Warriors and battle mages from across the land are invited to test their prowess in the pits of Jhelom! For further information, read on, pilgrims.

Greetings Adventurer's. It comes that time again, the time for a Swordsman take out his blade and sharpen it back to life. It is time for the studious mage to refresh her knowledge in the arcane arts. It is time for the wandering bard to visit the lands of Felucca inside the Jhelom Fighting Pits, to prepare a tale of valor and glory from a tournament know as the Champions of Britannia. Yes, friends, the second tournament of one of Sosaria's greatest events! I, Marco Polo, will be your host once again to see who is the mightiest person of all the lands. As things stand from the last tournament, Comedus, Guildmaster of Gladiators holds the title as Champion of Britannia. The tournament will be held this upcoming weekend on the 2nd of September, at 8 PM CST, and will close all entries at 9 PM CST (basically a one hour window to get a ticket into the match). The fees to enter still are 1k. If you are going to be late, I must be notified 48 hours before the tournament. The latest one can be is 45 mins. The Grand Prize stands at 30k currently, but may be raised due to contributing guilds. I will give an update on the tournament come midweek and the end result of those guilds that have contributed. The rules of the match are the same as the last:

All magical items during the match, except spellbooks, reagents, and scrolls, will not be allowed. This does include Glacial Staffs...

GM armor and weaponry are allowed.

No poisoned weapons will be allowed.

The will be no creatures of any sort (including horses) allowed in a match.

Mages will be held responsible for how many reagents they bring into a match.

Regents will be provided for sale be an allocated vendor in the arena. This also applies with armor, weapons, and bandages.

If you exit the fighting line once, it will be considered a warning. Exiting twice will be considered your forfeiture to the match.

The grand prize to the victor will be awarded after the match at the bank in Jhelom in the form of a check from Marco Polo.

All players are expected to act in a peacetime manner when they are not in a match, until the tourney is declared over.

There will be no looting, whatsoever, after a match.

The entrance fee is nonrefundable, so if you pay, you'd better fight.

I hope to see a crowd of high-spirited individuals when time of the tournament begins.

Marco Polo, Guildmaster of Legends of Sosaria
"Fortune and Glory, Kid... Fortune and Glory..." ~Indiana Jones

Congratulations to Comedus for taking the first event. It's my understanding that he defeated a battle mage in the final event, to claim the title of "Champion of Britannia". I'd also like to congratulate the mage for a fine showing, but alas, his name has not been supplied to me. (hint, hint)

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

The runelibary is on Fire Ilse Trammel and run by Platax Spinnatus. It has a good system to find the rune to the place you need. There are also vendors. 2 Vendors who sell reagents, one sells scrolls and a GM smith will be added later this coming week. The vendors are stocked twice a day (at least) and handle fair prices (50NS for 250gpc, for example) The UO AM coordinates are x4638 y3282. It really is a place worth visiting.

Hail !

A few days ago, a captain of the Britain guards, Berkeley, came to the western bank of Britain and told all of the heroes gathered there about an ambush of Orcs against a guard patrol between Britain and Trinsic.

He asked us to gather a task force and releave the poor souls who were faced with an overwhelming enemy. Even the Town Criers tried to get more people to join the holy quest against this evil brethren.

Unfortunately there were only a few men and women brave enough to face this dire threat and so only a small group ventured out to help the courageous guards and bring rightful vengeance upon the cowardly orc hordes.

Shortly before the bridge we found the gruesome remains of the former guard patrol, all of them already eaten. Only a few enemy corpses were left to decay and we saw that only two members of the patrol could prevail until we came to the rescue. The following fights were terrible and although we could heal one of the guardsmen, Derfel, he later lost his life against a bunch of orcs and some evil mages.

After what seemed a very long time, we finally were victorious and had crushed all Orc forces and their allies, the ettins, trolls and some traitorous human mages in the region, but to our sadness only one member of the patrol survived the battles, the fair Magdalen.

The dutiful maiden headed right back after the attack to her current station at Trinsic to report the incident, while we went back to Britain and received a personal recommendation from the guard captain and promised him to stand ready and face any crisis that may be coming forth in the near future.

Peace be with thee.

Gideon.

Hail ye!

Yesterday evening, while I was observing the election of the Moonglow Mayor, I overheard a very intriguing conversation between two smelly pirates and Maia the Gypsie. Apparently those two courageous pirates dared to blackmail Maia, completely unaware that their lives were in grave danger to be taken from 'em. It seems those pirates, belonging to a crew, led by a captain named Freia, somehow managed to kidnap Sardisha Li'sant, the outlawed gypsie girl of Clayne Achyron, who was aiding the Guardsmen Militia and Spiritwood to unveil some of Maia's plots. Maia, who thought Sardisha to be dead, seemed very surprised and furious when she heard, Sardisha was still alive. Eagerly she agreed to meet the Pirates at the Skara Brae Docks on Monday evening, bringing 20.000gp to pay those filthy pirates.

 

An Observer

Regards
Pad O'Lion

This evening, as I was suffering from a bout of greater poison, an arrow riddled pigeon lit upon my faithful horse, Honor. Being a bird of "impeckable manners," (pun intended) said bird waited patiently while I gasped and groaned my way to the safety of a waiting ship. After quaffing a cure potion or two, I relieved the bird of its' message. Sent by Comedus, of the Gladiator Guild, the message was brief and to the point. War has descended upon the barren lands of Felucca! Read on, pilgrims.

Hail and well met! Be it known to all people, that the War faction of the Gladiators has declared war on the evil forces of LoD, or Legion of Death! The Powers of good shall prevail against these misfits. Our forces are far superior in experience and skill if not numbers. Any honorable warrior or magician may join the fight of good and evil on the Felucca facet. If ye follow the Virtues and wish to join this just and worthy struggle, send word to Comedus and I'll forward directions to the New Roman Empire.

Maximus and Comedus
Legends first and only Dynamic Duo

I'm sure that blacksmiths across the land rejoice to hear such news. Ith'unk will certainly be beside himself when he learns of this titanic struggle between us "hummies". Stay tuned for further developements.

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

A somberness presided over the small room in Dove the Healer's Community Center, despite the number of occupants. Mercedes, the grandmaster leather merchant, rested her chin on her cupped hands and let out a long sigh. Kerwin, seated next to her, nodded his unspoken agreement. The cloth and clothing vendor, Azina, attempted to avoid the discomfort of current events by looking forlornly out the east facing window.

"Well, what a sorry lot we all are," chided Alyssand, breaking the silence. She cast her gaze about her colleagues, and shook her head. "This villian, Night or whatever he calls himself, strikes down that sweet old lady, right in the next room while we were all jabberin' on about business, and now here we sit...full of 'isn't it aweful' but not moving an inch to help." The eyes of her fellow vendors quickly found great interest in the floor boards or the tops of their boots.

Derek spoke up meekly from his bench. "We ain't no buncha warriors, Alyssand. What'cha 'spect merchants, the likes o' we, can be doin' 'bout all this anyhow?"

Alyssand glared needles from her corner at having their impotence in the matter laid out so plainly. "We ain't even much merchants lately," Julius chimed in, "what with all our masters busy in the man hunt. I've not had new stock in a week." The others nodded in reference to their similar lack of inventory.

"Well, we can't just sit here, learning of events second hand from gossipy patrons," retorted Alyssand, desperate to find some meaningful course of action.

Clint cleared his throat. The others fell silent as the eldest of their number straightened on his bench. "There is the ransom," he began, scanning the others under grey brows. "We may not fight. We may only be merchants, as you say. But we know the value of a coin." His fellows nodded their agreement.

Julius caught on the quickest. "Aye...aye, the ransom," he said, loosening his purse string and peering into the pouch. "I've 1,500 or more from my earnings." He looked back up at his senior.

Clint nodded once. "I've over 2,000 m'self I'd add."

A flurry of counting followed. Julius, his bags almost always emptied of food and bandages by needy clients, passed around one of his pouches. By the time it made the rounds, 10,000 coin filled it to bursting. Clint eyed the contents and nodded satisfactorily.

"Poor woman," Azina murmured to herself, turning again to the window, "checking up on us for comforts, cookies and drink, the very minutes before she died."

"Aye," answered Clint,"but this might help and tis all we can do." The rest echoed his opinion.

"Give the coin ta that older fella, Beren, that chops wood 'ere. 'ell 'old it fer us in the crates til someone comes claimin' it," put in Kerwin. "e's a trustworthy sort. Ma master done got free lumber from 'im fer bows, so's I doubt coin 'as much of a shine fer 'im."

Later that night, Beren was charged with the coin...10,000 gold offered by the vendors of Dove's Community Center for the arrest of her killer, Giddeon Night.

Tired of running through the woods all day and night, and not finding a thing? Want to settle down a bit, but just don't know what to do with all the free time? Ever thought of becoming a blacksmith, but never got around to it due to a lack of funds and knowlege?

Well, now's the perfect time! We, the United Blacksmiths of Britannia, have decided to help out aspiring young blacksmiths. Join us next Saturday, September 9th, at 5:00pm EST for the grand opening of one of the very first schools dedicated solely to blacksmiths!

The gathering will take place at the school house, a log cabin located right behind the Britain Graveyard, near the northwest corner; just look for the gathering of people.

In addition to the United Blacksmiths opening our doors to the public, students of the school will receive detailed classroom instruction on the workings of metal smithing. Additionally, all students will be friended to the school house and issued a secure chest to hold their class materials and equipment.

Classroom instruction will include lectures by guest speakers, detailed information on blacksmithing, and even field trips all over the land! Students will also receive tools to gather raw materials.

Best of all, it's free! The tuition, the tools, housing. All you have to do is show up for class!

Interested yet? Need more information? Drop by the school and speak with any UBB member, or contact me via pigeon, at 29749420!

And you can always contact us through the message board available here, or fill out an application for enrollment in our school!

I would like to announce that my good friend, Aureal Glimmermoon of the Cult of the Azure Dragon, and Alabaster Slade of the Black Company are engaged and going to get married, the date has not been set yet but I will keep everyone updated on the wedding. Congratulations and good luck to you both.

Amazon Princess of the Order of the Crescent Moon,
Kina Dragmire

Hail Great Lakes!

The Farland Clan would like to invite you all to a get together this September 2nd (Saturday), Labor Day weekend. We will be dining at Smokey Joe's restaurant at 2 pm (CST). It is located in Carbondale, Illinois at the corner of Highway 51 (Illinois Avenue) and College Street. Illinois Avenue is commonly called "The Strip" to the locals. In the event the crowd gets too large for the restaurant we will move to a banquet hall. We don't want the fire marshalls crashing us. Price of attendance is what you spend on your food.

We hope to see a lot of people there for some great food and some great conversation!

Also I would like to thank our Great Lakes reporter Nephalia for posting our announcements. We will post a follow up about the fun we had.

Fair Winds,
Angus Farland

Greetings,

If you didn't manage to get to the grand opening of the Stumbull Inn, we are truly sorry. It was a tremendous opening and we are very grateful to all who participated. Through the efforts of a LOT of visitors and staff, the night went better than could have been expected. We were honored to be visited by Seer Zianna who gave us her best wishes and visited through most of the night, even soaking her feet in the hot tub to rest from her travels. We were also graced by the visits of two counselors and a companion who unfortunately I will have to leave anonymous as I was away picking up additional supplies of liquor at the time. *grins*

At seven o'clock under the central skies, we opened to a small crowd of ten visitors. This quickly grew into a more sizable crowd of over thirty people or more. Some folks would leave only to be replaced by more visitors! As the tongues of the crowd got looser with ales and fine liquors, we moved into a storytelling session of "Best Deaths" we had witnessed or experienced. Some were humorous, and others tragic and spellbinding. We did, in fact, lose track of time and unfortunately had to limit the amount of participants which is a shame. Perhaps we will host this again, as I for one, was intrigued by the patrons experiences! The "best death" story was told by Malis Farland who was awarded a 5k prize in gold for his efforts. The 2nd prize of 2k was won by Caiden and Zero coming in at third was awarded colored sandals. I assure you that the judging was difficult as each contestant had a unique story to tell!

At the ending of the storytelling, we moved into auctioning some "rare" and "semi rare" items from the tavern, most gracious donations to the tavern from our resident rare hunter Lady Sierra who boasts a vendor on the premises. Red Devil himself and Sheena McBlade of RD's auction house in Felucca were on hand to auction off the items such as empty fruit baskets, a vanquishing scimitar, closed barrels, whips, sandals, and too much to list. We raised a considerable amount of gold to put into future events and would like to extend a hearty THANK YOU to all who bid and to Red Devil (who really knows how to work a crowd!) and Sheena for taking the time to help out!

Now it turned to my favorite event of the night, where I had the pleasure to award the winner of the "house raffle" contest their new home. Altair had purchased the winning key to the locked chest, and together we moongated to Skara Brae in Felucca where he was presented his first home. Together, myself, and his two companions Jade Moon and Melody Jax had the pleasure of seeing his excitement as he moved in. I only wish everyone could have come along with us!

Upon my return I found the "drunken darts" competition well underway being hosted by a newcomer to the tavern Snowflake. Fortunately, no one missed the target in their drunken state! We ended up extending the grand opening well into the late hours of the night and the last of the tired staff finally rested around 1 am.
In conclusion there is no possible way that I can properly thank all who attended. We were honored by the Mayor of TarValon Zebulon, and the Mayor of Athel Thoren showing at the event. EdGuardo Preceptor of HCD, Helper prominent member of TUR, and so many more VIPs paid a visit, it was simply overwhelming to say the least. Finally, I would like to thank all the staff who gave of themselves so much to bring this off. Satan Himself for donating time and ingots to give away free gm weapons and armor to all who asked! Sierra for her generous donations and assisting in the auction and registering guests. Snowflake for stepping in to help run an event when frankly we were sooo worn out. Special thanks to Zebulon for covering the bar for me so well. Like to hire him full time if he wasn't a mayor *snicker* Thanks to Zorn for passing out runes in Britain and helping with the heavy drink consumption. (whew over 300 bottles in an hour). A hearty welcome to our newest bartender Danath Daekar and Jack Flannigan, our Senior Bartender (ladies, beware!). We are most grateful for the help! And lastly to my wife Forsaken who without her organizational skills, this never would have been possible.

Thanks to you all that I may have missed. Be sure to come on back and visit. We have only just begun!

Fallon
Mayor of Trinsic
Owner Stumbull Inn

As the tide of light and darkness toils back and forth, please take a moment to stop in to hear one side of the story. The City State of MoonGlow will be holding a sermon on the Virtues. This week will touch on the Virtue of Sacrifice and the sacrifice of the soldier Garner. The Church is located south of the MTC Head Quarters on the pennisula.

Where: Church of Honesty
When: Sunday 26th at 9:30 PM

Yours in Light,
Cerdic

Lord Agnacio Aug 20 2000 5:05PM

Hail Citizens of Britannia,

Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Agnacio, a scholarly noble born in the City of Skara Brae. In my time I have read many a book, and pondered over many a tale, but nothing has intrigued me more than that of the history of our land. Countless hours of my life have been poured into reading about great wars, monstrous villains, valiant heroes, and most recently, hallmark festivals that have yet to be equaled - such as the once-proud Skara Brae tradition of the Feast of Spirits.

Long fallen into disuse, on one of the hottest days of the summer, when the sun brings the most light to the soul, all citizens gathered around to hold this Feast of Spirits. Every single year this Feast was held, Skara Brae, the City of Spirituality, would close its shops and begin celebration. This was a time for citizens to sit back, and reflect upon all that made their Spirits soar. They would mingle with other citizens, play games, attend shows, challenge each other at various contests, and most importantly, enjoy themselves and their lives. To conclude, a huge banquet would mark the end of the Feast, with friends confiding in friends their resolutions for the upcoming year.

However, none of this happens anymore. As time went by, year after year, the tradition began to die. Each year as more and more of the townspeople became obsessed with their busy lives, there was no time to attend. Fewer and fewer people continued to attend, until no one showed at all.

Yet the death of this Feast was only the symptom of a much larger problem. Can you not sense the decline of Spirit throughout the land? As I make my strolls through the towns, everywhere I look stand more and more disheartened people going about their daily tasks, for no reason other than they know nothing better. Hard work and toil has chipped away at our Spirit for so very long, that a Virtue, which once served as our guiding beacon, has become muddled and obscured, and as result we have become lost.

It is for that very reason that I sought out my new partner, the merchant Bert, and have invested a great fortune into constructing the massive Faire Grounds upon his land. Mark my word citizens, the Feast of Spirits will be held once again. Let us all rejoice in games and show and good cheer! Let us make plans for our future and renew our Spirit! It shall be not just a time of joy, but also a time of thought, as we reflect upon those qualities that make our Spirits soar.

With no further hesitation:

I Cordially Invite You To Attend the Skara Brae Feast of Spirits

Date: Sunday, Sept. 3, 2000

Time: Noon PST to Midnight PST

Where: The Skara Brae Faire Grounds, located North-East of Skara Brae, at 47o 32'S 25o 47'W, in Trammel

What to Expect: Food, fun, drink and game! There are currently many events planned, ranging from scavenger hunts to arena brawls against rare and exotic beasts, however...

Why should my associates and I be the only ones allowed to provide for a good time? We wish to open it up to you, and to all citizens, to run events at the Feast. This is a chance for your guild, city, tavern, town, etc. to stand up and be noticed, and to do so in a way that benefits countless others. Come, be creative, and share the Spirit you have with everyone!

Now, for a number of reasons, ranging from avoiding scheduling conflicts (e.g. use of the stage), to ensuring that all events are kept within the Spirit of the event, I ask that you please submit all events prior for approval. To make this easy for all involved, I ask that all submissions be made using the following format:

Name of Event:

Organization/Person Holding the Event:

Needed Faire Facilities (Stage, Arena, Tables, Bar, Pond, etc.):

Requested Time to Start Event (PST) (Include three):

Estimated Length of Event:

Event Description:

Any Other Information/Comments You Wish to Include:

The deadline for event submissions will be Wednesday, August 30, but it is strongly recommended you get your submissions in early to secure one of your requested timeslots.

As a final note, I will be extremely busy with preparation work these next couple of weeks, so I ask that you please direct any questions, or event submissions, towards Seer Eliar.

Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to seeing you at the Feast!

Your Friend,
Lord Agnacio

By: Hank Danger Aug 15 2000 7:53PM

Agnacio, nobleman of Skara Brae, and Bert, the Magincian merchant who became Skara Brae's largest landowner overnight, announced today that they were entering a partnership. The move puzzled and confused many people, both among those who watch the nobility and those who track the land's merchants.

"It must be a great move for Bert", said Jeremy, a scribe in Yew. "He has found an independently wealthy nobleman to partner with, but I truly wonder what Agnacio thinks he will get out of it. Something like this has to have a very specific purpose."

Goriel, a Trinsic shop owner, was equally puzzled. "I personally don't see what Bert is looking for here. Agnacio is known as a bit of a philantropist, but he has no real interest in the mechant's craft. He can supply gold, of course, but I know of a dozen potential partners for Bert who are equally wealthy and who would prove more useful on the commercial side of things." While the pair has not revealed the purpose of their partnership, one immediate result has been felt. Skara Brae's craftsmen were asked for one last flurry of activity as Agnacio's plan came together today, and the purpose behind the nobleman's purchases has been revealed. Today on Bert's fields near Skara Brae stands a stage, an arena, a statue, a banquet table... and more.

"Agnacio's craftsmen are very talented", said the famed architect Benton. "Not only are these constructions well-made and well-designed, they've also been erected almost overnight. That must have taken a lot of work, and I must say, I am impressed." Strong approval from a man who has been known to harshly critique the style of Lord Blackthorne's residence.

Prominently displayed on banners around the field are the words, "Skara Brae Faire Grounds". It seems Agnacio's intent was to give Skara Brae one thing it was direly missing: a place to hold its festivals and holidays.

Rachel, a fighter from Jhelom, was especially excited by the closed arena. "A fine place for dueling", she comments. "Just the right size, not so large that one has to run forever to catch his opponent, but not so small as to make strategy useless." "My friend and I snuck in and tried the stage", said Jean, a young lass of the town who aspires to be a bard. "There's lots of seating for the audience and I love how the sound carries."

Not all mysteries have been solved in Skara Brae, however. "Looking at the calendar, I see no holidays coming", said Jessica, scribe to the town's mayor. "Agnacio might be preparing for the next big feast, but that is a few months from now, so why all the haste?"

Some, like Jean, don't care. "I think Agnacio and Bert are planning a party, and whatever the occasion, I plan to enjoy myself."

The time hath come.
This is a notice to the inhabitants of Baja that the fine shop of Despise Outfitters will be temporarily closing its doors on or about the 31st of August.

This is only temporary, as my country has called for my assistance and it is my duty to go. We will be reopening sometime in December with a grand reopening party, contests and prizes will be awarded. This shop has a long history as it was placed many moons ago by a fine man named Doc. Over time we became friends and the house became my base for my mining operations. About eight months ago Doc found his time was short, and as a gift of eternal friendship passed the mining hut to me. As I toiled my way to Grandmaster Smith, I found many people who agreed that this would make a fine quality weapons and armor shop. Soon Despise Outfitters was opened.

In seven short months we have had almost 7,000 visitors to our humble place, and more come each day. I feel that I will let my regulars down, knowing that they will no longer get there daily fresh armor and wepons, along with the bandages and potions needed to vanquish evil. We still will have some activity in the time of closure. Sepultera II and Logan II have graciously offered to keep the building in good repair, also offering ressurections, curing, and healing services to those in need. As always we do not discriminate based on profession or notority. Murderers are welcome alongside the glorious lords as long as everyone gets along.

When the time to reopen comes, prizes to attendees will include: GM crafted armor and weapons along with high quality magic items. We plan on a large scale dungeon crawl and several contests in the front yard. I have included a portrait of our little shop, along with the radar map showing the location. We are easy to locate, settled between the pass from Britain to the dungeon Despise. I hope to see many of you prior to the closure and even more after we open again, bigger and better.

With that said, I bid you good day and safe travels!
Riccardo
Grandmaster Smith, owner Despise Outfitters

The Valhallan Legion is proud to present a CHICKEN FIGHT on the 26th of August, next Saturday at 9pm Pacific Time!

There will be a 2,000 gold entrance fee and you bring the chicken, the winner gets 3/4 of the total pot!

Do not worry about troublesome players, anyone who trys to PVP in the tower will be BANNER immediatly by TVL bouncers, all should feel safe!

Want more information? Goto the official TVL webpage.

Hope to see you there!

Fulgar, Dread Captain of The Valhallan Legion

Thankye, Fulgar, for this announcement.

To the honorable Lord British and Knights of the noblest order of Britain, I bring forth this proposal.

You will perhaps wonder that an obscure person, who has not the honor to be known to your lordship, should presume to address you in this manner. But that a man who has written something with a design to promote Useful Knowledge and Virtue in the world should make choice of your lordship for his patron, will not be thought strange by any one that is not altogether unacquainted with the present state of the virtue and learning, and consequently ignorant how great an ornament and support you are to both.

Yet, nothing could have induced me to make you this present of my poor
endeavors, were I not encouraged by that candour and native goodness which is so bright a part in your lordship's character. I might add, my lord, that the extraordinary favour and bounty you have been pleased to show towards our Society gave me hopes you would not be unwilling to countenance the studies of my idea. These considerations determined me to lay this proposal at your lordship's feet, and the rather because I was ambitious to have it known that I am with the truest and most profound respect, on account of that learning and virtue which the world so justly admires in your lordship.

You’re lordship's most humble and devoted servant
Theo


WHAT I here make public has, after a long and scrupulous thought, seemed to me evidently true and useful to establish a governing body in city of Britain (Trammel). Whether it is so or not, I am content the reader should impartially examine the possibilities. I like to forward an open invitation to anyone who is willing to put forth his or her heart and soul to help in this cause. I know many have tried and all have failed but if we don’t’ try then we have failed already. Below is list of my ideas, a starting point and I am open to yours.

Governing Body

Parliament
Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
Lord Chancellor
Chancellors
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Secretary of Defense
Head of House of Lords
Secretary of Treasury
Head of House of Commons
Secretary of Culture

House Commons
None at this point!

House of Lords
Captain of the Guard
Captain of King’s Bodyguard
Knights of Order


I make it my request that the reader suspend his/her judgment till he/she has once at least read the whole through with that degree of attention and thought which the subject matter shall seem to deserve.

I am not pointing myself as Prime Minister and on one will be guaranteed any position in the house for helping. Once the framework is created then everyone who is interested in a position will be elected by open vote. The framework includes, the charter, responsibilities for each positions, and codes of conduct. I know there are people out there who share the same vision as I do. I need people with a vision, destination and a compass and less in need of road map. We often don’t know what the terrain ahead will be like or what we will need to go through. Much will depend on our judgment at the time but an inner compass will always give us directions. I always believe that you can buy a person’s hand but you can’t by his/her heart. Person’s heart is where his/her enthusiasm is. You can buy person’s back but you can’t buy his/her brain. That’s where his/her creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness are. Please join me this Saturday night(September, 2) in the Lord British’s throne room at 8pm CST.

Your Servant,
Theo

ICQ# 12237255
Email: [email protected]

Taull Stranger and Charlie Tuna are pleased to announce the opening of their new store, Outback Outfitters, and pub, the Kangaroo Saloon. All Catskills residents are invited to attend the grand opening celebration this Saturday, August 26, starting at 10pm EST.

The activities will take place at the saloon, located at 114o15'N, 9o59'W, on a peninsula north of the Justice shrine. Gates and recall runes will be provided on the south side of the First Bank of Britain from 9:50pm to 10:05pm and again from 10:55pm to 11:05pm.

The first 100 customers who arrive between 10pm and 11pm will receive a free application of deadly poison to a weapon of their choice.

And from 11pm to midnight, there will be free weapon and armor repairs, in addition to free crafting of weapons, armor, furniture and house add-ons for those who supply the raw materials.

Throughout the night, free food and booze will be provided, along with a number of door prizes, including scrolls, grandmaster armor and weapons, potion kegs, rune books, treasure maps, magic weapons, and more!

Come join us for a cold beverage, a game of checkers, a chance at great prizes, and the opportunity to make new friends!

"We are currently optimizing our game to support the T2A (The Second Age) client only. Our records indicate that you have not yet upgraded to the T2A version. At this time, we are offering to supply you with the T2A CD free of charge. To ensure that you receive the CD, you need to be sure that your shipping/billing address in our Account Management System is accurate."

I would like to announce the Grand Opening of the Knights Rest Tavern, to be held at 1:00pm EST this Sunday, August 27th.

The Knights Rest is located due east of the Yew Abbey, and southeast of the Yew Moongate. I hope to see you there!

A man by the name of Todd came into Aryslan one evening while we were planning our nightly trasure hunt. He clamed he had a map of his that needed done, so we decided to help him do it.

After we found his treasure and began to retire for the night, Zyrn the elementalist attacked the town and specifically, invaded the new Church of Aryslan. Its not known why the church was attacked, the only thing the citizens came up with was becouse the treasure hunters met there, he wanted it destroyed.

The next evening Todd came again to Aryslan for another treasure hunt. As we went on our hunt, we reminded him that Elindor the Mage waas looking for him. We then returned to Aryslan to find Elindor at the town center, and the two began to talk.

Todd's real name was discovered, it was Jared. Jared knew Elindor from long ago it seems, and Elindor had Jared hide a special chest away for him in the swamps of Britain. Elindor asked Jared if he knew where the map was that lead the way to the treasure. Jared them told everyone he had sold the treasure map to a man named Jacob.

Jared proceeded to tell us that Jacob could be found in the towns that start with the letter M. That lead us to many towns, so our forces were split and we made our search for him. We began looking on the town shipwrights.

Lexia Hakkendyn found Jacob in the Moonglow Shipwright. The citizens of Aryslan heard of this and quickly made thier way to his location. He proceeded to tell us of a place where pillars stand in a circle. He wanted us to make a map for him at that location, and Barnibus of the Iron Brigade knew of this place. Jacob told us he would only wait a half an hour for us, for itf we did not return he would leave Moonglow. We made our way to the location in the jungles, only to hear the Banshee cries as we always do in Aryslan, when the undead invade.

After hearing the echos in the woods, we came closer to the pillars that stood in a circle. Barnibus quickly began to make the map, but undead started attacking form all directions, along with Zyrn the elementalist. Many citizens gave thier lives so that we could protect Barnibus so he could make his map. He made the map, and we made our way back to Jacob in Moonglow.

Upon arrival i told him of what happened to us while making the map, he seemed to know Zyrn quite well, and told us he used to be a mage in Moonglow. The mages guild casted him out. We gave him the map we made, and then he gave us the map we were looking for, the map to the Staff of the Tempests.

Returning to Aryslan, i found in the woods to the west at the pool of Gaia, Cordell Swiftmender, a healer that now resides at the pool. I asked him many htings, he seems to know much about Mazrim and Aryslan. I reccomend you all take a visit to him, for he has much information for everyone. Saying these key words i have found, will let you know much about Mazrim and Aryslan. The keys words i found are as follows...news, Elindor, Aryslan, Zyrn, Zephyr, Staff of Tempests, healer, colleagues, pool, flowers, hail, mazrim, elementals, fence, signs, more. I am sure there are many other commands out there, and i look forward to hearing what else Cordell has to say about the war of Mazrim vs' Aryslan. He is also known as the town crier.

Jared eventually showed up after an hour and half, telling us the map that Jacob gave us was sending us to the swamps of Britain. We then made our way to the swamps, battling many lizardmen before finding the treasure itself, the staff of Tempests. The staff was hidden in the bottom of the treasure chest. Elindor made a deal with Jared. Jared could keep the gold found in the treasure as payment, however the special items inside the chests were to go to Elindor and the leaders of Aryslan. Jared was very happy to see the staff, as were all of us, for we have been searching for it for months now. Also a tempest elemental, which was blue, seemed to be guarding the staff. It attacked us with all kinds of elementals.

We returned to Aryslan once again to give the staff back to Elindor. Upon our return, we returned to a destroyed and ruin town. undead covered the town in every direction, and bodied everywhere. It seems Zyrn attacked the town while most of our forces were away looking for the staff. The undead turned our once beutiful eagle statue into a rotten crow statue with glowing red eyes. To make matters worse, Jared was seen running away form Aryslan with the Staff of Tempests. Right as we thought the war was in our favor, now is against us more then ever.

Jamlyn Hakkendyn

While in the Lich Lord room, Zyrn the Elementalist appeared and threatened Lost Wun and Angel Eyes. He told them to leave at once. Since they were being attacked by a Lich Lord and not knowing Zyrn's strength, they were forced to flee.

The two warriors decided to return to Deciet and entered the first room where the Water Elementals roam. To their suprise, there was Zyrn himself atop the center stone in the room. He once again threatened the two by summoning the room full of Water Elementals.

Angel Eyes then asked to speak with him and asked what he wanted. He began to speak of Mazrim and The City of Aryslan. Not knowing too much about his history there, Zyrn mocked Angel Eyes and threatend all to leave at once. The Water Elementals began to close in. Before the warriors fled again, Angel Eyes shouted "As long as warriors as I exist, you will never take control." Zyrn responded with "Oh, is that so?" The encounter ended with Angel Eyes saying "Remember my name." Zyrn's last words were " Oh, I will." The Elementals then proceeded with a full attack forcing the warriors to leave the dungeon. Angel Eyes, Lost Wun and thier guild, The NeX Lords, will now spend their time seeking out Zyrn and be fully involved in this situation. Angel Eyes and The Nex Lords have a few more words for Zyrn...

More records of this enounter can be found here.

Wedding of the Century! Come one, Come all!

The Glorious Lord StudPuppy and Glorious Lady Dolcinea are to be wed the night of September 23rd, in Lord British's Castle in Trammel at 8PM Eastern. Reception to follow.

The bride and groom have spared no expense to make this a memorable day for the Chesapeake community. Help these two join their altruistic forces and unrelenting love. Many players who needed help in any way as they started in the game were probably touched by their generosity and kindness. They have given alot to this community, so lets make this a great event for them. All are invited.

Any one interested in helping please feel free to e-mail me.

"For reasons that will be explained at the start of the festival, the founders of Kinship Village have decided to rededicate the lovely statue that sits behind the Kinship Village Hall.

In conjunction with this rededication, we will be having a celebration festival to which everyone is invited! We plan to celebrate the village, it's people, it's visitors - everyone who has taken part in our long, rich history, and everyone who will take part in its future. Come to see the newly dedicated statue and participate in the festival events!

On Sunday, August 27th at 7pm EDT Eastern, the festival will begin just behind the Kinship Village Hall at the Statue. Hosted by Kith Kanan of Clan N'eilean, of Kinship Village, a number of events are planned througout the course of the evening.

7:00pm - 7:30pm: The Statue Rededication

A brief speech will be given at the statue by three of the village founders - Cuchulain ap'Kes, Aeryk ap'Dalaigh, and Ari ni'Dalaigh. The founders will "unveil" the new statue and talk about what the dedication means.

7:30pm - 8:30pm: The Walk Of Might

Returning by popular demand! There will be two tables, each with 1000 logs, placed a distance apart. Each contestant must lift all the logs and take them to the opposite table. The Contestant need not lift all the logs at once, and can take as many trips back and forth as are needed. The event is timed and the fastest to do it wins. The judges timekeeping is the only relevant time, and his decision is final. Once an amount of logs are picked up, they may not be dropped until the contestant reaches the other table. Magical assistance is not allowed, nor is cutting the logs into boards, or using a pack animal or other creature. The contestants take turns during the challenge.

8:30pm - 9:30pm: The Great Fruit Race

This is a variation on the game played at the Neilean Christmas party last year; those of you who attended that party will recognize and be familiar with the rules. The contestants enter in pairs, with one person designated as receiver, and the other as grabber. All contestants line up at a mark on the fields, with crates filled with dozens of fruits placed on the opposite side of the field. After the host counts to three, all grabbers must run across to the crates, grab as many fruits as they can, and run back and hand them to the receiver. Once all the fruits are taken, each receiver counts how many fruits their team was able to acquire, with the team with the least being knocked out. The host refills the crates with a new fruit for a few more rounds, until a winner is determined through who has the most fruit at the end of the competition.

9:30pm - 10:30pm: The Impersonation Game

There will be a restriction on the number of entrants allowed into this contest. Each contestant has five minutes to do an impersonation of as many people as they can. Each contestant is only allowed to impersonate by dressing up and using emotes; they cannot speak. The contestant can only continue onto their next impersonation when someone in the crowd shouts the correct name of who they were impersonating, at which point the contestant must emote *correct* before continuing onto the next impersonation. The winner is the contestant who performs the most impersonations in their alloted five minutes. Again, the timekeeper's watch is the only relevant one.

10:30pm: Scavenger Hunt

This is the all time Scavenger Hunt, on a scale previously unheard of! Details remain locked behind magically sealed doors to prevent anyone getting a head start. This competition will last until a winner is found.

Please note, all event times are approximate - each event will start after the previous and end when it's done."

This sounds like an incredible event, and all citizens are encouraged to attend! If you don't know where Kinship is, follow the road leading east out of mainland Skara Brae to locate it.

The Vesper City Government has recently been faced with a problem that has upset many adventurers and caused companies to lose a lot of money. The whole trouble started a few months ago, with the disappearance of wandering healers slightly north and east of Vesper city.

Disappearing citizens was a common occurrence during these times, so no one turned their heads when this was reported. New suspicions arose, however, as more healers began to disappear.

Adventurers were begining to worry, for without the assistance of wandering healers, an unfortunate accident could lead to the loss of all their belongings.

Bodies of the missing healers began to turn up, as well as new victims, all completely mutilated.

"Ve don't know vat ist 'appening to zese 'ealers," said a local detective. "From vat I have found, der ist no vay een determing vat.. or 'oo did zese."

The Vesper City Government has found it is now difficult to find wandering healers for hire for this area.

"Everyone leaves for that area from our healer establishment in Yew," says one of the healers offered a job in the woods, "but they never came back, nor was any word heard from them."

Detectives are begining to scavenge the area in an effort to find clues that will reveal information regarding this mystery, but nothing has been discovered.

"These bodies are so mutilated, or so efficiently disposed of, that we have no idea where to start. No broken twigs, no footprints, not even one bent blade of grass! This is either a very smart monster or some kind of... I don't know words to describe a human who could accomplish this!"

There have been no eye witnesses as we expect that anyone who saw this thing never lived to tell the tale. We urge caution for all citizens wanting to venture into this area, and would like the public to know investigators are working on narrowing down the source of this problem...

On September 4th (Labor Day), Leif's First Annual Reagent Auction will be held, at the following locations:

• Felucca: "The Griffon Ironworks", 131o55'N - 52o14'E

• Trammel: "Leif's Reagents", 131o55'N - 52o14'E

The primary auction site will be on the Felucca facet, but you may place bids from the Trammel facet. Should communications crystals not be functioning at the time, I will have someone relaying the bids via ICQ.

8:00am EST - Registration

When you arrive at either auction site, you will be required to place a 60,000 gold piece bank check deposit to enter. This is to keep people from fooling around and causing trouble once the auction starts. If you cause trouble, out you go and the check stays. Simple as that. At registration, you will be given a book with your bidding number in it to be used during the auction. The book will also be used for the silent auction later in the day (see below for details).

9:55am EST - Communication Check

Prior to the start of the auction, we will conduct a communication check. This will be to determine if everybody at the auction can be heard by the bid checkers. We will ask everyone to sound off their bid number in sequential order, starting with 001, to see if they can be heard. This will not be effected by your connection to the game. That, I'm afraid, is up to you to maintain.

10:00am EST - Reagent Auction Begins

When the reagent auction begins, we will ask that you refrain from any unnecessary conversation or gestures. To place a bid on the current lot being auctioned, simply say or yell your bid number followed by the amount you are offering, separated by a slash.

Please do not use "k" or "K" for thousand values, and be sure to use commas to separate the zeros of large bids (i.e. 60,000). This will significantly reduce confusion regarding amounts bid.

After successfully purchasing a lot, we would ask that you make your way to the registrar to pay for your purchase. You do not have to claim your goods then, but payment will be required at this time. Any lots that are not paid for by the end of the auction will be reauctioned. Goods can be collected at breaks or at a later date to be arranged.

Lots being offered during the reagent auction can be found here.

1:00pm EST - Lunch Break

A one hour break will be held, possibly sooner, depending on the length of the reagent auction.

2:00pm EST - Item Auction

At this point, items will go up for auction, using the same system as detailed above for reagents.

Lots being offered during the item auction can be found here.

A break will be held at 4:00pm EST, if necessary, and the event is set to conclude at 5:00pm EST, at which point all business matters will need to be wrapped up.

A bottle of wine, a round of strong Vesper cheese, and a copy of the previous day's town crier sheet. Well stocked for several hours of comfort, Giddeon Night laid back against the large river oak. He set the champagne flute close at hand on one of the flatter roots that held the tiny island together somewhere off the coast of Trinsic. He sampled the cheese with a connoisuer's palate and settled into a little light reading. "Rewards for Giddeon Night Reach 50,000" His eyes narrowed as he skimmed over the print. He paused to fill his glass, then continued down the page.

"Combined ransoms for the outlaw Giddeon Night, suspected murderer of Dove the Healer, have reached 50,000 gold. Kicked off by the Knights of Yew's Morpheus von Streliz with 10,000, the virtuous protectors of the wooded north recently raised their offer to 20,000, with the stipulation that Night must be delivered alive. This bounty has been augmented by General Drankiotis Sokus, Officer of the Crown, with another 20,000 if Night is delivered into royal custody. Finally, The White Lotus Mages have upped the ante with thier own offer of 10,000 gold. Sources indicate that Giddeon Night, also traveling by the alias of Jhubal, is frequently disguised in varrying garb, though he is not thought to employ an actual diguise kit. He is described as a bald, dark skinned man of uncommon stature. His prefered method of transportation, no doubt to avoid detection, is travel by ship. All authorities seem bent on his capture, rather than delivery of his head. Any citizens attempting to approach Night are urged to use extreme caution."

Night arched an eyebrow. He finished the wine slowly, contemplating the possible ramifications that this steadily rising sum might have on his plans. Certainly, he would no longer be able to employ the Pirates for help, as he had in the foiled ambush planned against the Knights of Yew the previous evening. The 1,000 gold he had offered for each knight's head hadn't secured him even one, what with the Pirates having been slaughtered by a much larger, unexpected force consisting not only of knights, but Shadow Rangers and Free Corps. With that sort of opposition, and now this size bounty, Night would fully expect his sometime cohorts to turn on him without a second thought. "For that much," he mused to himself with a wry grin, "I might turn myself in."

Event Information

The Dove Murder plot is an open player-run event, occuring mainly in Trammel. It is intended to bring players together so that interaction in this plot might lead to increased interaction in future play, through introducing citizens to other fine people they might not otherwise have met. It is an open-ended, unscripted plot. This means that player actions and reactions drive the plot itself and the nightly events are determined more by participants than by myself and those helping me run the story.

However, being a lover of realism in my role play, do not expect answers or clues to be readily handed out. The character of Giddeon Night will be working hard to avoid capture (though I do promise to have him in-game from 8:00pm-11:00pm EST every night until his capture, so he is out there to be found). Those unfamiliar with the plot thus far will want to contact the groups that have been working on the case to gain any previously acquired leads.

My only request, in that this is a role played event, is to please limit your knowledge to what is only your in-character knowledge. Posted stories on Stratics and other forums will be used to give behind the scenes enjoyment, to flesh out the story. However, unless posted as in-character information, such as the original bounties, these stories are not to be viewed as information your character is truly privy to nor should be acting on in-game.

Lake Superior Test

In preparation for the upcoming publish, we have published a recent backup of the Lake Superior shard to Test Lake Superior. We are primarily concerned with testing the upcoming lockdown and secure changes and we urge that all interested Lake Superior home owners visit the shard to help us test these changes. A list of changes and features in the upcoming publish is available in Testing for Next Update.

We will announce a schedule for the upcoming publish in the near future.

UO World Faire and UWO: ORIGIN External Test

The UWO: ORIGIN external test is soon to be the hottest ticket in town, and we want to guarantee a spot for you! As a special bonus, Ultima Online players who attend the UO World Faire this November 10th and 11th will be automatically included in an early stage of the ORIGIN external testing process. While you're in Texas, we'll even give you an exclusive sneak peek at the progress of ORIGIN!

To be automatically included in the selected ORIGIN external test, you must register for and attend the Ultima Online World Faire as a current Ultima Online subscriber. Additionally, you must be a current subscriber of Ultima Online in good standing at the time of the external test.

Come to Austin. Meet your UO friends. Meet the UO staff. And be the first on your block to converse with a Meer, battle with a Juka, or leave your mark in the future of Britannia. Visit the Ultima Online World Faire site today to register!

***ImaNewbie does Britannia*** New 'toon, New Enquirer!

Hail and Well you know the rest. Theres a new 'toon posted on my site, a new edition of the Britannia Enquirer (all about Ice Staffs) complete with a mini-rant, and updated news on the opening of ImaTown. Lots to see :) Check it out!

Added Friday, August 25th:

• ImaNewbie Episode #120 - I Don't Get NO Respect
  
• The Britannia Enquirer Vol. 1 No. 13 - Scenes We'd Like to See

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

Ultima Online Meets Seven Samurai?

This week's PlanetFargo on GameSpy.com features the desperate exploits of a small group of Ultima Online chicken farmers trying to save their village from a ruthless band of Player-Killers. Kurosawa would be proud!

http://www.gamespy.com/fargo/ultimaonline_a.shtm

Client Patch 2.00f

We will be releasing a client patch on Monday, August 28th to address crash issues related to mage hats.

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].

Just an update for the people looking to be jurors at the Mr.Crabbs case and other cases for TCS. The Temple Basil was talking about was the Temple of the Black One...

Its north of Trinsic and south of the swamps.

As the battle nears the end Jon sheathes his sword and surveys the carnage. Citizens and Allies of Sanctuary, and Orcs and Cult members lay dead or dying in the streets.

"The attacks are building in intensity and our scouts have watched a large army approaching" says White Lotus.

When is it due to arrive? I ask.
Serpico and Rup are readying the troops. Our allies are ready.

"Tomorrow night the battle for Sanctury begins it seems, all these fights are just to weaken our defenses and scout our strength" ,she says.

"Well we better get ready, Evil will NOT take this city while any of us still breathe" I say and I head off to locate what is left of the Rangers and brace ourselves for another skirmish.

All aspiring or accomplished authors are encouraged to pen their works in a purple book, and submit it to the Mercenary Inn's staff to be judged. Winners will get 5,000-15,000 gold pieces (based on placing). In addition, the 1st place winner will receive a random rare item. Also, all winners will have their book put on display at the Inn. Visit the Mercenary Inn Website for further details.

Also, a reminder that the auction set to be held last week, and postponed due to server issues, will take place Tonight at 8:00PM PST. Look further down this page our our previous items regarding this auction.

We need orcs!! Nug, the leader of the Brotherhood of Orcs (leeder uv Da Bruderhud uv Urks, as he puts it), is awaiting results on a bloodtest to determine if he is the true son of the great fallen Grugnub. If the test returns positive, then Nug will be given a task to complete by the archeologist, Robyn ap Mir, who is holding Grugnub's helm. If he completes this, and perhaps other, tasks, then he wil be awarded his father's (faderz) helmet. This helm means a great deal to Nug, and he believes he will need your help. Any orcs who come will be inducted into the Brotherhood if they wish.

Please come help us Sunday 6:00 PST at the home of Robyn ap Mir, located in East Britain. Just follow the road east from the Northern Bridge.

This map was sketched on the back of the note.

Just a quick remonder of the Aryslan pvP Tournament. It is scheduled for 4PM Eastern time on Saturday, August 26th.

Rules are:

No magic weapons

No poisoned weapons

No magic armor

For more information, and a map to Aryslan, please see their web site.

Thanks Khal'abbil !

Nazgul (icq=60193301) has set up a homepage for this event and wishes to organize it... well... weekly. It will take place on Felucca near Vesper, starting on Saturday the 26th (tomorrow) at 2am CET (7pm Central US Time, 1am BST). I can't say much more, you will get all the information you need there, such as rules and so on, and you can contact him if you have any question.

Have fun !

"Hi,
after receiving feedback about the "send text to UO window" option not
working correct any more I have just released VCalc version 3.2.1
including a fix for that. You may download the tool at:
http://www.ultima-worlds.de/files/vcalc_e.html.

Version 4.0 is still in the making and will come (the plan is a
release around Nov) with a totally new look and feel and basically
all the stuff included that one could sell - won't be a freebee
anymore though..."

Best Regards,
Balberith

Greetings all !
There are two announcements I'd like to make today.

First, as some of you know by now, we are changing the pit fights to Thursday nights. Contestant tickets go on sale at 8:30 eastern, and are limited, so if you intend on entering, be sure to come early.

There is a set of general rules on our website Humility and complete, current rules are in a book on both the counter and patio of The Bloody Keg. It is strongly recommend that if you intend on entering the competition, that your use both of these sources (also, for their safety, please stable your mount before joining us)

Second, as we have been going through some changes, we are announcing this as a Grand Reopening of The Bloody Keg. We invite all to come for drink, food and friendship. Our bartenders are always up for a little wager on the fights, so don't come empty handed, unless you are competing. :)

As a prize for our grand reopening, we are offering a small stone workshop, located just steps from the guard zone south west of Britain to the winner of 8/31/99.




There is a rune on the counter of the tavern if you would like to view the property in person.

As always, good luck, and we hope to see you there !
Tesla,
Mayor of Humility

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

On Saturday, the 26th day of the month of August, Spiritwood shall hold a Market, where merry traders and craftsmen will offer their wares to customers all over the lands. The Market shall be open from 9pm CET right outside the Spiritwood Tavern.

Of course traders from abroad are most welcome to offer their wares as well.

The Spiritwood Traders and Crafters

Hail all!

The battle yesterday was a close defeat... After our first line broke and was routed by the villainous warriors of Kha, the second line seemed to hold out. It was then that a second group of attackers, made up of mercenaries, hit our rear. Although these mercs seemed unexperienced in combat, they succeeded in distraction our attention from the main army. If it was not for the brave warriors of the village of Morning Star, the battle would have been an even greater massacre. After the clouds of dust settled only two warriors of Kha could be seen standing. It's clear that, although defeated, we have struck Kha a fierce blow. They cannot afford such a massacre again. After the battle a unit of reserve troops bearing the standard of Kha has been seen capturing the southern part of the city, driving the habitants north. It is not advised to travel in these parts of town without backup, as KMK patrols will no doubt be present.

This map has been drawn up by my scouts, displaying the zones of control in our city. It is ill advised to travel anywhere near or even inside of the red zone.

The alliance between the group of mercenaries, the Decadanti, and the Free Vesper Militia does not exist. Not long ago a FVM patrol could be seen disposing of a Decadanti raiding party at the Vesper bank! Would we attack our own allies? The Militia will only serve the interest of the citizens of Vesper, which will explain our cause of action. The Decadanti are particularly interested in the blood of the Knights and Mages of Kha at this moment, which happen to be our worst enemies. There's no reason for us to disturb that. *grins* Our dedication will be the safety of our people, Decadanti parties in the city will be dealt with accordingly.

Every Vesper citizen willing to fight for his/her city is welcome within our ranks! Frankly spoken, we need you at this most gravest of hours.

In an effort to organize all Chesapeake attendees and bring back as much information as possible from the World Faire, we have set up a message board.

The intention of this board is to exchange travel and lodging information, to organize the information collection from sessions, and to provide information on the Chesapeake Gathering on Sat. Nov 11th.

Please feel free to also use the board to organize car pools and other travel accommodations, as well.

We are hoping to get many of you, that will be attending, set up to bring back the news and discussions from the sessions you attend. If you feel like you are able to write up a comprehensive and thorough report of the session, please use the message board to let us know.

So much will be going on, so join us on the forum to let us know that you will be with us in Austin.

Thank you and we hope to see you in Austin!
--Angel Storm
Owner/Editor
UOChesapeake Daily News

***ImaTown Opening***News, Pics, Lottery Winners, more...!

Hail! The grand opening of ImaTown on Pacific happened on Saturday and it was something else! Talk about a party! Anyway I have Screenshots, stories, the Lottery and Fancy Dress contest Winners and a whole bunch more now up on my site. Check it out in the expanded ImaTown Section.

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

Origin Stratics is pleased to announce an Origin House of Commons scheduled for Wednesday, August 30th, at 7pm CST in #uwohoc. Members of the design team for Ultima Worlds Online: Origin will be onhand to answer your questions. The topic will be announced prior to the event.

To join the conference, simply boot your favorite IRC client and type /join #uwohoc after connecting to one of the following servers. Or, make use of our Stratics Java Client.

• irc.stratics.com
• frws.stratics.com
• irc.stratics.dhp.com
• compu.stratics.com
• intworks.stratics.com

The Tavern of the Sea announces the grand opening on Fri, Sep 1st.
There will be free drinks, dize competition and of course lots of people!

We will also be holding a PvP Tournament, with prizes to match your skills!

Prices:
First place - 100.000gp
Second place - 50.000 gp
Third place - 25.000 gp

For information on the Tournament, please visit our homepage.

Mark or buy a rune, and be sure to join us on the 1st.!
Hope to see you there!

Forsaken JAHEIRA

The traveler entered Hawk's Nest Tower, seeking refreshment and refuge. Greeting him was Captain Hook, Fleet Purser of FCB. As the traveler brushed the dirt of the Trammel road from his tunic, he told Hook he had walked from Skara Brae, seeking the treasures of the realm. "I tell you, sir, I have heard of many strange new objects throughout the land--green fishing nets, buckets, baskets and the like. I have been seeking them for my master who wishes to purchase rare objects, as well as majik weapons and armor of high quality."

"Then, sir," Hook replied "Your travels are over. For at the roof of this very establishment will soon be a public auction of such goods." "Can such be true?" the amazed traveler queried. "Aye" said Hook. "This very Sunday eve, when the Eastern sky is at what the mages call eight of the clock. One-half hour before peddlers from across the realm will bring their goods to submit. These folk love the auction 'cause the goods are auctioned for free for them thanks to the Fishing Council of Britannia."

"Then, with thy permission, I will stay and await this wondrous event. Mayhaps my travels may then end and I can return to my home." Replied the traveler as he quaffed the last of his ale and found a bed for the night.

All auction rules and information can be found at: http://home.wmis.net/~gretchen/auction.htm.

Gem,
Fleet Captain FCB Great Lakes

On August 31st at 8:00 pm CST two events will be held at the Final Justice tower in Yew located at 44o 7'N, 26o 9'E on the Felucca facet.

• The first event will be a scavenger hunt. The prize for that event will be a properly placed house located at 37o 58'N, 92o 23'E on the Felucca facet. In case the winner of the scavenger hunt already has a placed house, the winner may choose the house or 50000 gold. The scavenger hunt requires a 250 gold entry fee.

• The second event will begin at 9:30 pm. The second event will be a single elimination King of the Tower tournament. The tournament will start with two contestants entering the tower. The loser leaves the tower. The winner stays and the next contestant enters the tower. The order in which contestants will enter the tower will be randomly determined. Pets and mounts may not be used by contestants in the tournament. Poisoned blades may be used. Other tournament rules will be posted at www.geocities.com/finaljusticeguild. The King of the Tower single elimination tournament requires a 500 gold entry fee. All entry fees for the King of the Tower tournament will be used as prize money.

Other contest rules may be found at www.geocities.com/finaljusticeguild.

Access into the tower during the King of the Tower tournament will be restricted to Final Justice Guild Members, contestants and characters who have purchased ringside seats. A silent auction will be held for ringside seats to the event. Only 10 will be available. Email your bid to [email protected]. Watching this event will be very educational for those not familiar with, or even experienced PvPers, that want to learn new tactics.

Escorts will be available from Vesper Bank in Trammel or Felucca. Escorts will gate contestants to the Guild Tower in Yew. Contestants from Trammel will then be partied and a facet gate will be provided to get to Felucca. Escorts will be available at 7:00, 7:30, and 7:45 pm CST.

Check www.geocities.com/finaljusticeguild for more information.

Mahr Castellan
Events coordinator for Final Justice

"Dear all citizens of Britannia. During these dangerous times in which the unvirtuous times that the traitors to Sanctuary have caused. In allying myself with Lazereth, he promised councilship. Since then, I have exercised by powers as part of the Council and proceeded with Lazereth's orders. I have arrested Mr. Crabbs on grounds of treason. I will be holding a trial against this man in which I will be the honored judge. I wish to seek only the most virtuous as jurors so that no mistake can be made if these men are truely guilty."

"Mr. Crabbs is just the first of the traitors to be arrested. Many more will come. If you wish to be one of these eight jurors to trial Mr. Crabbs, you must understand he is not the first that you will judge. Your job will continue on until all are tried, and all are either convicted or set free. We must make a statement during this trial. That we are not forgiving, but we are not blind to truth. If any are innocent, they will be set free."

"I and others will be meeting with possible jurors tommorow (Friday, August 25, at 10 central). We will select those that we feel will do their best to rid not just Sanctuary, but Britiannia of some of the most vile criminals ever seen before. I thank all of you and hope that your prayers are with us as we seek out the most virtuous way to counteract these Chaotic Hordes."

Hail,
I am sorry to inform you all that this event has been rescheduled until further notice... There seems to be too many other events happening on Saturday night. Therefor I will keep an update onto when it will happen.

Thank you very much,
BeBadd

Hail to ye.

The masquerade is over.

The alliance between the Free Vesper Militia and us, the Lord British Loyalists, has been decietfully broken by the FVM.

The Free Vesper Militia has been secretly allying with the forces of evil for a long time now. Though we suspected this to be the case, we didn't believe it. We didn't WANT to believe that the FVM was, and is, in league with Minax.

This unholy alliance became evident when the Lord British Loyalists were investigating the Decadenti, an evil guild, who was performing some kind of hellish ceremony in Deciet. When we entered the room, Jonny of the FVM ran past us out of the room. Then, we were attacked by the Decadenti, who were well aware that we were coming.

Shortly after, it was reported by countless eyewithnesses, that the FVM were employing the Decadenti for their army, fighting against the KMK, who are fighting for the Virtues. This is a clear and intentional violation of article 2,4 and 8 in the peace treaty!

So far, the FVM has managed to cause disruption between the KMK and the Lord British Loyalists, while having the benefits of a hellish ally.

But now, the forces of Good have been united! The deciet and treason of the FVM shall not be forgotten. We shall drive the FVM away from the city of Vesper, to remove the evil seed, that has been allowed to grow in Vesper for far too long!

Xel'Naga, Leader of the Lord British Loyalists.
[email protected]
ICQ#: 2064 3899

I arranged that our army massed in minoc, this would mean a long voyage by sea from our island. The journey was long but the men where in high spirits.

All our weapons and armour where new ready once again to wage war for the right of the Virtues. But none of us knew what to expect in Vesper had Free Vesper Militia seeked another alliance our inelegance of this was limited.

We arrived in minoc a few more Knights and Mages of Kha from our out posts on main land arrived .We set our plans and line of men where formed .Our march began towards Vesper

The battle
There was need to speak to Free Vesper Militia as we saw that they have indeed seeked a n alliance with Morning Star Patrol and Deciante there battle lies where formed. I sent our first line in they charge arrows filled the air the sound of swords hit shield and armour was deafening. Then all melees broke out FVM soldiers broke ranks and charges I gave the commanded to charge with all our force bodies laid motionless of the ground. Then I saw legolas with his trusty bow I could not hold myself I charged right at him I struck with all my might with my war axe and again a arrow glanced my helmet and gassed close to my right eye I fell to the ground motionless and did not gain consensus till the battle had ended.

Knights and Mages of Kha where victorious although we where out number the gods of Kha had smiled upon us once again. I was blinded in my right eye and it was one of Legolas the leader of FVM arrows that done this.

Now we all must ask ourselves something are FVM lost there minds why have they seeked and alliance with Decadenti they know they are friends of Tanq the murder of citizens.

Vesper shall be untied again with Lord British there will never be any independent town in this land

Nameless one Lord of Kha

"...Enduriel led Azderak and myself to the farm house in Moonglow where he was kept captive by Giddeon Night, also known as Jhubal. When we arrived we were visited by a woman named Faith, who spoke three sentences, the last two heard as follows:

• "Compassion will weep"

• "for Night's next victim"

If the virtue Compassion holds any in Britannia dear, it is Lady Dove of the Community Center. This prompted us to immediately gate to her establishment to find her, and once there, we called for the assistance of Byond. He met us at the Community Center and organized us into a search parties, and we soon ascertained Lady Dove was safe resting in Haven.

We posted watches for Giddeon Night's appearance, with Enduriel watching the Britain moongate, and Byond Yew, Azderak Moonglow, Xellos Skara and myself watching the Trinsic moongate.

After some time, Byond left his watch and returned to the Community Center, only to find Lady Dove murdered.

Her body was found near some crates and a rune book leading to a village named the Fellowship, located near Trinsic. It is unknown what was in those crates, but Night must have had a reason to commit such an act.

We continued to search Trinsic, and informed many individuals of Night's perfidy, but did not find him.

Giddeon Night has gone too far and must be stopped. I personally will pay 10,000 gold to the one who brings us the verifiable whereabouts of this monster, who goes by the names Giddeon Night and Jhubal."

"General Drankiotis Sokus, Official of the Crown, has given orders to all guards in the cities of Britannia to be on the lookout for the criminal known as both Jhubal and Giddeon Night. At every moongate and outpost, guards are stopping any individual that resembles the murderer.

Any person that brings in the criminal alive to Britannian authorities will be paid 20,000 gold pieces. Simply escort him to any jail, and contact Drankiotus Solus through his pigeon, 8950393."

I am the Expert Warrior Elrond. As I walked by the bank, the town crier was bellowing: "Mad Mages leading Daemon army towards town from the west HELP!"

Naturally, there was a huge flood of noble warriors heading to the call for arms to fight the daemons and Evil Mages.

They suddenly appeared out of thin air everywhere casting poison fields and other harm full spells as quickly as they could utter the archaic words.

As more warriors came to join the fray, so did the number of red robed corpses of the Evil Mages and vile Daemons increase.

To lighten the mood, out of the constant screaming of "THAT MAGE LOOTED MY REGS!", the sly "The Hand of GOD" pulled a prank on everyone by polymorphing into a daemon himself.

When the Mages and Daemons finally retreated, we all went back to the bank.

Everyone felt that there actions were not in vain as the town crier ceased crying for help, but heralded our Victory!

Elrond

Hail !

I bring thee this from the front lines of a most terrifying battle : Vesper Cemetary was the subject of an undead invasion!

I arrived shortly after the attack started. At first there were only a few skeletons and zombies attacking, but soon Evil Mages summoned rows of foul Liches and Lich Lords to attack the gathering band of heroes made aware by the town criers of Britannia. I grabbed a few words from Sakatori - one of the Evil Mages.

• Me : Do you not have any remorse for your actions at the present time?
• Him : Nay! Tis you who should be showing remorse for *Your actions* ! You will regret talking to me...
• Me : Right.... why are you here?
• Him : To punish thee for what thou hast done to our homes!
• Me : What have we done to your homes?

And with that a crowd arrived and boxed in this most evil of Mages, slaying him where he stood. His last words were "Ye mothers were cows, explaining why thou look like one!"

More and more Evil Mages emerged and summoned more and more foul beasts, but eventually, the band of heroes were victorious in pushing back the monsters and the sky rained with weapons and armour (Mayhaps a sign of thanks from the Lord himself?) Twas a glorious battle, and many fine warriors lost their lives... but we were victorious!

The fact I wasn't able to get more from this Mage leaves many unanswered questions ! What have we done to their homes, why should we show remorse ? I am sure this will be answered in time...

Charlotte of Drachenfels

Greetings and Salutations Good Citizens!
The Trinsic Town Council proudly announces that our second horse race WILL be held this Saturday eve at 7:00 pm under the central sun as secheduled. I have adjusted the time of this event, so that everyone will still be able to attend the Bachelor/Bachelorette auction that eve. *smile*

Please register at the healer's with myself (Forsaken) between 6:30 and 6:50 pm central. I will accept only 15 riders, as we will be having three races with five riders in each. There is no registration fee for this event, and cash awards will be given. 1st place for each run will be 10,000 gp, 2nd place will receive 5,000. The three 5th place winners from each race will then race again for a chance to win 2,000 gp.

I look forward to seeing you there, and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Peace unto you,
Sake
Senior Senator

Hail Friends !

We really need your help now. Let us tell our volunteerstaff of the Euro-Shards how much you appreciate the work they do. The Counselor-of-the-Month-Award [CoM] and (newly) Companion-of-the-Month-Award [COoM] are the chance to do so :

"The Volunteers are players who sacrifice a part of their spare time for other players. One part are the Companions (People who help the Young players) and one part are the Counselors (Players in blue robes who try to aid in difficult situations).

These two groups are the spearhead of customer-service of OSI and experience some problems with some players who sometimes adress them in a rather rude way. To provide them some pleasure, the 'Merchants on Tour' revives the vote for the 'Counselor of the Month [CoM]' and the 'Companion of the Month [COoM]'. You will find the vote-script down on this page. We count the votes, evaluate and publish them. A copy will be send also to the Volunteer-Leaders.

To improve the incentive we spend at DF for the COoM 5000 gp and for the CoM 10000 gp (for a char of his/her choice). Please support our idea and maybe some additional sponsors will arise (maybe some special-items would be nice too).

Additionally we raffle a surprise-prize among the voters."

To vote, take a look at our voting-page.

Thanks.

Hi Freunde !

Heute benötigen wir dringend Eure Hilfe. Wir möchten Euch animieren dem Volunteerstaff der Euro-Shards für ihre viele tagtägliche Arbeit zu danken. Nun gibt es die Gelegenheit durch den Counselor-of-the-Month [CoM] and -neu- den Companion-of-the-Month-Award [COoM] :

"Die Freiwilligen (Volunteers) sind Spieler, welche einen Teil Ihrer Freizeit für ihre Mitspieler opfern. Dabei handelt es sich einerseits um Companions (das sind Mitspieler, welche den Young's helfen) und andererseits um Counselor (das sind Mitspieler, welche in blaue Roben gekleidet sind und in schwierigen Situation mit Rat & Tat zur Seite stehen.

Diese beiden Gruppen sind die vorderste Speerspitze im Kundensupport von OSI und kriegen so manches Problem recht rüde an den Kopf geworfen. Um etwas Sonnenschein in ihren Tag zu bringen, haben sich die 'Merchants on Tour' entschlossen, die Wahl zum 'Counselor of the Month [CoM]' und des 'Companion of the Month [COoM]' zu unterstützen. Dazu gibt es hier das Wahlscript, welches von uns ausgewertet und jeden Monat veröffentlicht wird. Eine Kopie geht auch an die jeweiligen Leader der Volunteers.

Um einen Anreiz zu bieten, stellen wir für den COoM 5000 UO-Goldstücke und für den CoM 10000 UO-Goldstücke (für einen Char seiner/ihrer Wahl) für DF zur Verfügung. Wir würden uns auch über zusätzliche Sponsoren freuen, welche diese Idee unterstützen (auch diverse Gegenstände können gespendet werden).

Zusätzlich verlosen wir unter den Wählern einen Überraschungspreis." Bitte werft einen Blick auf unsere Wahlseite.

Vielen Dank für Eure Aufmerksamkeit.

Raknar the Merchant [MoT]

It was a warm summer evening, yesterday in Spiritwood. A group of people had gathered at the Spiritwood Tavern to say farewell to Aaron Ravenheart, who leaves for a for a long journey to lands afar. The group enjoyed their ale and food and talked of adventures they had mastered in the past. Slowly it grew dark outside, when Rilla Thakista entered the Tavern. Been away to gather information about her lost father and Maia's plans, we were glad to see her again and welcomed her warmly. To our surprise Rilla asked us to step outside the tavern with her, as she had to introduce someone to us. Leaning against the wall at the Spiritwood Tavern we saw a man, a man wearing the same colors as Rilla herself, indicating, that this man too was a gypsie and of Rilla's clayne. "This is Davros of my clayne.", she introduced the shy man, "He will take care of yer horses!". Quite speechless the gathered crowd looked at each other, but then the silence was broken by cheers of joy. Finally someone was found to take care of Spiritwood's animals and protect em from harm.

After everyone had welcomed Davros we returned to the Tavern and Rilla told us, what she had found out recently: "Kazari knows who Icewynd is .. and where she is. He plans to attack Moonglow .. on Saturday .. I have heard from Sardisha. Then perhaps you can find out from him .. what this is all about. There is rumour to.. of something foul he has planned for the day after. As I find more about Sunday..I shall leave word in the book in the tavern, that I have put on the counter." She further explained, that Maia did nay seek the Clayn Historiae as we thought, she apparently was looking for something else, which Rilla believes is now in Maia's possession and which has to be found out about at all cost.

People enjoyed their time in Spiritwood till early morning. There are rumours of a full plated warrior walking aimlessly around Spiritwood, hunted by a man in a gold rimmed black robe. I do nay know much about that accident, only what Ivy told me, but ye know little children and their fantastic stories. All in all this was an eventful day in Spiritwood, we lost a friend and found new ones ...

Farewell Aaron, may the virtues shine on thee, while we wait for yer return, and welcome Davros to the humble town of Spiritwood.

Regards
Pad O'Lion

(ooc: Thanks to IGM Talos and Lady Seer Intaria for their efforts, from the Spiritwood Community.)

Hail friends !

The Merchants on Tour are rich enough already and are willing to invest in some Quests & Adventures. We thought of something special for all UO-Players and constructed the Quest & Raffle - Vendor. This is a special vendor who holds informations and tools for events and provides adventure and fun for the community. We start with a raffle and calculated prizes with a total amount of 70000 gp.

Please take a look at it here.

By the way : Uncle Zifnab just finished his 5th story... Check it out !

Raknar [MoT]

Hi Freunde !

Die Merchants on Tour haben nun genug Geld gescheffelt und geben einen Teil davon in Zukunft für Quests & Adventures aus. Wir haben uns dabei wieder etwas ganz Besonderes für die vielen Spieler von UO ausgedacht. Wir konstruierten den Quest & Tombola - Vendor. Dabei handelt es sich um einen Vendor, welcher regelmäßig ein Ereignis betreut und den Abenteurern Abwechslung und Spaß bringen soll. Zum Start beginnen wir mit einer Tombola und schütten insgesamt Preise im Wert von 70000 gp aus.

Nähere Informationen bekommt man hier.

Ganz nebenbei : Uncle Zifnab erzählte uns seine fünfte Geschichte.

Raknar the Merchant [MoT]

Ar! I'm back mates, after a psuedo long period of time. I jest wanted to say 'ello to of ye that 'ave been waitin fer some news wit a salty flare to it! *grins evily*

That bein said, on wit the latest and greatest.

Hail,
I would like to invite all to come visit the Grand opening of my tavern, the Jungle tiger inn This saterday the 26th, we will be having a few events to celebrate the grand opening, they are:

CASTING CONTEST, cast certain spells, from 1st circle to 8th circle if you fizzle then your out, who ever lasts the longest wins a 10k prize.

DART THROWING,Throw 10 times at the target, we will add up your score, who ever gets the highest wins a 5k prize we will be holding this event 2 times.

FOOTRACE TO TRINSIC, no horses, recalls etc., before the race ill describe the route you must take, there will be waypoints along the way to make sure no one is cheating, first person to make it to trinsic and then make it back wins the prize is 10k.

The Event will be taking place at 7:00 pm EST to whenever everyone leaves, I will be havinging someone at brit bank gateing to the jungle tiger inn a starting at about 6:30 till 7:10 you can also walk there from trinsic, from the southern tip of the hidden valley, and walking in a westerly/south westernly direction, untill you come to a clearing that seems to split off with trails below it, that should be the jungle tiger inn, I hope alot of people come to have some fun, and drink some ale!

Thank you,
Fred

Thankee Fred fer this news, thar can never be too many taverns!

Yers in ale and tale,

Hail and Well Met,
My name is Skippy El Fin and I am the Head Teacher At The West Yew University located on the yew peninsula in Trammel. I have a bit of news for ye. On Sat August 26th at 7:00pm EST we will be holding a graduation ceremony for a fine bunch of students, feel free to come and watch or possibly recruit for your guild. WYU is in need of a few good teachers. We are looking for people willing to devote a little bit of time into helping students. This includes helping them hunt, train skills and pass along the lessons ye had to learn the hard way. the only requirement is that you have at least One Grandmaster skill. Ye may ICQ me at 60634027 if ye are interested. We are also gladly accepting students, if ye are new to the land or just need a nudge in the right direction feel free to stop by.

Thank You,
Skippy El Fin
Head Teacher WYU

Ok I'm hosting three PvP tournaments on 3 consecutive nights (August 25, 26, and 27). One for warriors only, one for mages only, and one for mixed. There is NO entry fee, and NO looting that makes this a risk-free tournament. 20k prize on each tournament and a 10k bonus for a free-for-all among the champs. I have posted the details on UO event calendar so go check it out here.

Viewers are welcome so long as you don't interfere, and there will be plenty of free food and drink.

E-Mail [email protected] if you would like to participate.

Thank you for the information, good luck to you!

Attention fair citizens of Atlantic!

On Thursday August 24 "The Rich Mans Inn" will be having its "official" grand opening. The party starts 10:30 PM EST and will run till whenever the tavern is empty.

Our Inn is located on the Trammel Facet on the Atlantic shard. It is a large marble houes. We are at the sextant coordinates 96o 51'n 52o 47'e or across the sea to the west of Minoc. Gates will be provided at the Britain Healer Shop next to the "Sweet Dream Inn" (The local Inn) by Gomorrah from 10:20 PM EST to 10:40 PM EST.

We will have several events that eve. Minrva the Gypsy will be there reading palms at some point during the evening.

Rares will be auctioned on the roof. Some of our rare items include Full ranger suit, a basket, and a whip....other smaller items will be auctioned as well. If you have any items you wish to auction on this eve please contact me by pigeon at 55432884.

The drinks and food is free. If we run out then we will go get more... our visitors are important to us. If you see someone at the event in the guild QST then please keep in mind that they are roleplayers and are playing characters at my inn. These Characters have personalities all there own and are more than happy to interact with you as they do each other. Hope to see you all there
Alan the Barkeep

Hello,

Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Bill Gates of the guild Order of the Silver Dragon (OSD). Over my years in the land of Britannia I have acquired many things including 4 small houses. In the interest of helping my fellow citizens to own a house of their own, I will be raffling off my houses one by one over the next few weeks. The process by which I will raffle each house is detailed below. This is a OSD sanctioned event and is open to everyone.

1: I have made a single copy of the original house key and placed it on a key ring with multiple other blank keys. None of the keys are labelled and I will not test them all to see which fits the house.

2: The keys will be placed on a vendor at the Frosty Hook Tavern in the city of Wintermoor at the southern-most tip of Ice Island. The keys will sell for 3000 gold per key.

3: Once all of the keys are sold, a rune to the house will be locked down inside the Frosty Hook. I will not disclose the location of the house other than to say it is a prime location for miners, lumberjacks, smiths, treasure hunters, tailors or almost any other sort of crafts person.

The winner will be announced here on Stratics, on the OSD message board (http://www.sitepowerup.com/mb/view.asp?BoardID=110915) and on Tradespot (http://uo.tradespot.net/cgi-bin/boards/Atlantic.cgi).

Thank you and good luck!

Bill Gates, OSD

Thank you for the news, good luck to the entrants.

Black Dye Tub Changes

Players will no longer be able to dye the true black (solid black) dye tubs to another color.

Lock Down and Secure Changes

Changes to lock downs and secures to account for various situations.

Access to secure containers can now be assigned by the house owner.

• When a house owner makes a container secure a window will appear with the following options:
  • Accessible by only owners and co-owners,
  • Accessible by only owners, co-owners and friends.

Locking down secure items in houses will change in the following ways:

• Only the player that locked down an item or the owner of the house will be able to unlock that particular item. This will not change previously locked down items until they become re-locked down.
• Items on top of or below other locked down items will be accessible.
• Players will be able to use dyes on any dye tub, including ones that are locked down. However, black dye tubs will no longer be dyeable under any circumstances. This will affect all previous black dye tubs that exist.
• Keys on a keyring will not count toward the lock down total in a house. The keys within the keyring will not decay, however the keyring itself will still subject to normal decay situations.
• Players will be able to use any locked down container, except a secure container. Note that items inside of a container cannot be locked down unless the container itself is also locked down. As stated above, locked down items will only be able to be released by the player that locked the item down, or by the owner of the house.

The following items will be useable when locked down:

• Runes may be used for recalling.
• Treasure maps may be viewed by anyone.
• Rune books will allow recall scrolls to be added by anyone to increase the amount of charges.
• Visitors to a house will be able to recall to a location from a locked down rune book in that house.
• Books will be readable by house visitors.
• Visitors to a house will not be able to scribe text into a locked down purple book.
• Candelabras and lanterns that are locked down will be operable by the house owner, co-owner, and friends of the house.
• Musical instruments will be operable.
• Locked down dyes will be useable on locked down dye tubs (except true black dye tubs which will not be dyeable as described above.)
• Locked down mugs, glasses, cups, buckets, and tubs will be useable by anyone.

Changes to Young players and New characters:
"Young" player items will be changed in the following ways:

• Ranger armor (green armor) will be removed from the "young" player ticket options
• In the place of Ranger Armor, "young" players will have the option for a spellbook. This spellbook will contain all of the spells within the first four circles of spellcasting.
• All newly created character's starting gold will be increased to 1000 gold, from the current 100 gold, regardless of the play age of the account they exist on.

Various Changes and Fixes.
The following changes and updates will be added to Ultima Online:

• Tamers will be able to loot monsters that their pets kill. The same damage looting rules still apply if other players or creatures are involved in the kill.
• Thieves will have a chance to snoop and remain hidden. This will be based on a check against their hiding skill. At zero hiding skill, a player will be revealed when snooping 100% of the time. At 100 hiding, a player will be revealed 50% of the time when snooping.
• Human NPC's in Wind will be able to call for guards if witnessing a criminal action or if noticing a murderer.
• Boats will not be able to become drydocked unless the boat's anchor is down.

The best-selling RPG series of all time has revolutionized online gaming and now has inspired a weaponry set for the ages. Interact with thousands of players simultaneously in this breakthrough internet fantasy world and enjoy a "relic" for yourself that truly brings the game to life. Coming this September, is the Sword of Order and companion dagger (it can be seen in our fantasy section soon). Completely unique in design and fully authorized. This is your chance to own a limited edition that takes its inspiration from the UO world.

Hail All,

There will be an Avalon Induction Ceremony for the new Govenment officals Saturday Night, at 8pm Est. time and will end when the last person walks out the doors. It will take place (spawn permitting) on the roof level on the Avalon Town Hall. I ask you to wear formal attire, you might want to keep the old sword and shield handy incase of a quick spawn up.

The ceremony will feature the new Avalon Government officals being sworn into their rank, and given their title. I ask all the officals that are being sworn in to arrive a half hour before the start of the ceremony for a quick fill in on what will happen. Food and refreshments will be on hand for your consumption. I look to have a good turnout and most of all to have a great party! See you all there!!!

Avalon Prime Minister

*Reiko*

Don't forget to attend our UOCC in #Ultima-online tomorrow on stratics-irc on august 24th at 7:00 pm CST.

This Celebrity Chat will be with Arch Companion ACB, Assistant Arch Companion Miriamele, and Senior Companion Zotica. Please bring all your questions, they will be there to answer them all for you.

You can reach #ultima-online by connecting to one of the following Stratics servers with your preferred IRC client and typing /join #ultima-online.

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

Or by going to http://uo.stratics.com/irc/uoirc.shtml

Greetings,

TheMAG_Eu
Chan. Admin of #ultima-online

KoA Golden Knights #40: 1v1 Combat Event
Hosted by Lamagra of the Crystal Consortium, KoA.

 

Date: Friday, August 25, 2000 @ 8 PM CST

 

When: Registration from 7:50-8:15pm cst and the event begins at 8:20pm cst

 

Where: KoA Alliance Village (http://www.allianceknights.com/village.html)

 

Entry Fee: 300gp per contestant. Spectators Free

 

This is a one versus one single elimination combat event.  Two contestants
will fight in a ring for no more than 5 minutes.  Judges decide the winner
at the end of the 5 minutes if both contestants are still alive.  First place gets 7000 and 2nd 3000

 

Rules:

 

-- No Magic Items, No magic Armor, No magic Weapons. If anything is seen on
you saying "a magic ..." you are disqualified.
-- Pre Drinking and Precasting is allowed.
-- All potions are allowed.
-- No pets or mounts are allowed
-- Poisoned Weapons are not allowed.
-- No summoning or field spells.  (ex: poison field)
-- No Looting of any kind

 

Reminders to Spectators:

 

-- Please do not equip your bows in case explosion potions accidentally hit
you
-- Please try to stable or feed your mounts prior to the event. Wild mounts
are a problem..
-- Please no casting, sparring and fighting around the ring
-- Absolutely no spectators in the fighting ring at any time after the event
begins
-- Cheering for your friends is encouraged

 

Ramsonne (KoA), Lord of Scholars

Suilad, nosse en Tel'Quessir, ar' mellonea yassen quell corm! Hail, fellow Elves of the Atlantic Shard, and friends with good heart!

The Elven Kingdom of Asur'Herenion was formed as a haven for good-hearted elves of all the ancient races. Our goals are to strengthen the bonds of friendship, love, compassion, and virtue of all elves of the Atlantic shard, both amongst themselves and with the good-hearted humans of light. We also seek to rid the lands of bigotry and hatred. Come visit our web-tome at www.geocities.com/asurherenion, to learn more about us, and feel free to share your thoughts with us at our forum.

Aa' lasser en lle coia orn n' omenta gurtha!
Khyl'Dran ([email protected])
King of Asur'herenion

Hello, this is DragonMaster again and I had a little update on the races this weekend.

The event will now be held in Trammel, at the Star Chamber. I am asking Melantus to let me borrow some Ostards for the Ostard race, but besides that everything else is the same. If you can't get to the Star Chamber, meet at Moonglow bank at 8 Pacific Time Saturday. You will then be gated to the Star Chamber. If you can't get to moonglow, use the stuck option and select Moonglow as the city you desire to arrive in.

Hope you have fun and show up.

Well met friends,

Mystra's Honor Guard has decided to open up its weekly PvP tournament to the public. We invite all warriors, archers, and mages to come on out and join in the combat. The tournament is being held Sunday, August 28th at 8 PM PST, at the Jhelom Dueling Pit. The individual competition is the first event, and it is a single elimination tournament, with no-holds barred fighting. In the past we have seen many epic fights, perhaps you will be the next one to fight a "duel for the ages." The second event, is a guild fight, with three members representing each guild, in a free for all fight, where the last man/guild standing is the winner.

Since the event takes place on the Trammel facet, being part of a guild is required. However, if you are not currently a member of a guild, please contact us anyhow, and we can make some temporary arrangement. We also ask that any individual's and guilds that are interested please contact us for a complete set of rules, and guidelines. This also allows us to notify all participating guilds whom they need to declare war on before coming to the event. We hope to see many new faces in attendance at this, one of the finest tournaments on the Pacific Shard.

-Nero Rathe, Mystra's Guardian, Guildmaster MHG

Despite the relative short existence of Legends, certain groups have laid claim to all manner of titles and strongholds within the realm. I've met most of the folk in this land, although, some I know better than others. This latest message comes from someone I know very well, indeed. I know Lord Herc to be among the most honorable men in the realm. Today, he sends a message clarifying the official position of Valor, as a player community. Read on, pilgrims.

Hail fellow citizens of Legends and Britannia. Let me introduce myself. I am the new Guild Master of the Order of Might. I am writing this to let citizens know that O^M is still viable and strong in will if not man power. All our old tenants still stand. As the new GM of O^M (which is as much a shock to me as it is to you) I thought that the cities of Britannia should hear what we stand for. First and foremost we are guild of the Virtues. A guild of Honor and tolerance for all people. We are also a merchant guild, a fisher guild, a guild for all types of players . Not just a warrior guild, we're a comunity guild . I've ben hearing that since we do not war others that something is wrong with us. What that may be I have no idea. I've also heard the oxymoronic statement that without war there's no peace (I would like to understand that one better) but I say that someone has to stand for peace in this land . We just are not a warring guild. We are strictly a peacful community-oriented guild , a "people" guild. I also would like to invite any who are interested in joinig to contact me. Our rules are simple. Be honest and fair minded. You must have and maintain a good title to be a member. (good fame and karma) This one is very strictly enforced. Also, Valor is a growing merchant mecca and I would like to invite all merchants to set up shop in Valor. We have plenty of room and the Valor Merchants Assocation will welcome you. Just drop by and visit Trybrothers Supply. He seems to be around town a lot for info on the Merchant Assocation. We are committed to making Valor the best "one-stop-shop" town in the game. All merchants are welcome. I also invite all citizens to come to the party.

Strong player-communities make for strong shards and I always enjoy hearing news from these towns. If your "player-run" town has news or would like to announce an event, please send me a message. Your pigeons are safe with me, although I can't speak for the Grand Orcster. Ith'unk has a fondness for anything with feathers. Except arrows. He respectfully requests that you keep those to yourself.

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

"The night began with the discovery of a book placed outside of Winterfell Keep, written by Lord Pythos to remind us that on this eve, we would meet to try and resolve the conflicts with Ventryn.

Once Pythos arrived, it was decided by the majority to try and save Ventryn, based on information found within a journal of Ventryn's, which had been located by Captain Eggcup of Winterfell.

A plan was made for a small group to travel to Ventryn's lair in Felucca and tell him we had the journal, in an effort to reach a compromise. The group departed, with the rest of the army stayed behind, not knowing what to expect.

Many guilds and independent citizens came out to help the people of Winterfell this dark night, and the assembled defenders were soon under attack, the undead swarming their ranks felling many in the onslaught.

A vile creature surrounded by a crimson glow, called an Arch Lich, appeared during the course of the battle, and was seemingly more powerful than all the other enemy forces combined. Eventually, though, he fell beneath the feet of the heroes, as well.

The group who had gone to Ventryn's Lair returned with sad tidings, stating Ventryn could not be reasoned with.

We had one choice left to save him, and the army sped towards Trinsic to try and use it. Once there, a small band entered the realm of the dead to search for Alexandra, Ventryn's daughter. After finding the spirit of Alexandra, the band was restored to life, but Ventryn's daughter had been dead too long, and could not be resurrected.

As hope seemed lost, Thain returned with the relic, the Fallshorn Sword. Raising it in the air, a magic issued forth and Alexandra came to us in a state similiar to Lord Pythos'.

Quickly, Pythos explained to Alexandra the situation. The army then travelled to the grave of Lord Pythos, the secret entrance to Ventryn's Lair. At the stone wall, the words "DarkShine" were spoken, and we were able to enter into the dark chambers of Lord Ventryn.

It was there that Alexandra confronted her father, causing him to hang his head in shame. He then asked if she and those he had wronged could forgive him. Many said aye, but many others said nay, as the pain and hurt he had caused ran deep.

He told us that armies were on the way to both Winterfell and Olypmus and he was unable to turn them back. He stated that they no longer listened to his orders, but that he would go and fight with us against them.

Most of the army quickly sped away to defend the castle and the keep, but a few lingered behind. One was Thain, who raised the Fallshorn Blade, which had undergone a transformation. It was now golden, bearing the name "Storm Cleaver". At last, the relic was truly restored, and with it, Ventryn could be slain if he proved dishonest in his return to the "light"...

The battles were long and hard, but the noble won in the end, with the help of Ventryn and the restored Qua'Tel. Winterfell and it's allies were safe.

The only regret is that Xenthyl would not trust Ventryn to free him from his Soul Binder armor, leaving him to wander as a tortured soul. It is hoped that one day, he will be freed."

And it is this regret that could come back to haunt the city of Winterfell and its allies. Citizens should keep a careful eye out for the one known as Xenthyl, and report his appearance immediately.

"First let me introduce myself. My name is Telos Agralia, Grandmaster Blacksmith, and proprietor of the Brazen Monkey Tavern. My tavern lies in the wheat fields in the west part of the city of Britain, nestled close to the mountains. For several years now, I have served the needs of miners, blacksmiths and farmers alike, in this, the more rural part of the city proper.

My tale starts on last Thursday eve, on a most dreary night, and it finds myself behind the bar of tavern carefully examining the accounting books in exasperation.

For two years now, my tavern has supplied the needs of the working members of the valley, and sold them a good ale when their work was done. But lately, business has fallen off to nothing. When Lord British opened up the facet gates and evacuated his citizens to Trammel, most of the hard working citizens of the valley moved on to safer ground.

The few regular patrons that I held onto were a small group of adventurers from the Moonglow Defenders of Justice, who had taken up residence at the bar awhile back. These jolly folks were friends of mine that I had adventured with when I was a member of their guild before I had set my sword down to learn the complicated art of blacksmithing. I enjoyed having them around as they entertained the miners with their wild stories of killing dragons and balrons. Lately, there hadn’t been many people to tell the stories to, and my profits were showing the wear. So I continued to examine the books and stare past the lanterns at the empty seats of my bar late into the night.

But this night was not destined to stay boring for long.

The silence was suddenly broken when the door to the tavern burst open, Delenn of Minnabar, one of my regular patrons, running in. She was wearing a death robe, hastily thrown on after a wandering healer had resurrected her. I asked what had happened, and she explained to me that she had been killed just outside my bar, in the wheat field to the north.

I instantly went to the chest where I store my armor and weapons, and prepared to go help her reclaim her lost possessions. The valley itself was usually very safe and quiet, but on the rare occasion, a lone orc or ettin would wander into the valley and harass the local workers. I was used to this, and often went to slay these wayward beasts to protect the usually defenseless inhabitants of the valley.

But as I strapped on my weapon and listened to Delenn’s tale, I suddenly came to a complete halt. "You were killed by what?"

"A lich", replied Del.

I didn’t know what to do. I had never seen undead in the valley before, much less a lich. After the minute of shock had passed, I finished arming myself and slowly stalked out of the door. I kept mumbling to myself, "Come on Telos you have killed liches before, this cant be that bad..."

But my newly supplied courage left me in a flash when I turned the corner of the bar and walked into the field. Before me was a whole gathering of undead, several shades, wraithes and liches milling around the field looking for victims.

I instantly cried out for the Britain town guard and several of them appeared to quickly dispatch some of the undead. As quickly as they were killed, however, new ones would come from the ground to replace them. Surveying the scene, I tried to determine what was going on, and it was then I noticed a huge creature in the middle of the field.

Hovering at that spot was the Ghost of Eric, a huge blue colored shade, harassing a local farmer named Beechal Kire. The ghost was chasing Beechal around and letting out a wail that was filled with the anguish of the dead.

I ran to grab Beechal by the collar and settle the poor man down, asking him what was going on. He seemed to be completely clueless of anything except his immediate danger, however. I noticed the ghost made no offensive move other than his wailing, so for the moment, I felt no danger from him. I proceeded to question the poor farmer to figure out what had caused these undead to be stirred from their graves.

He finally sobered and explained to me that earlier that evening, the ghost had appeared in his house and hovered in front of a picture of Beechal’s family that was on the wall, letting out an agonizing cry. He had then come out to the field and hovered around, wailing and calling up the dead to terrorize the area. I asked him if he knew who this Eric was, to which Beechal implored me he had no idea.

I continued to ask him if he had noticed anything strange happening lately, but he insisted that he didn’t know anything, stating he was just a poor farmer who hadn’t even had any luck at that lately. I asked him to explain, and he told me that for the last year, he had had terrible luck with this particular field. Crops kept failing, his oxen had taken sick and now his field was infested with undead.

I thought for a minute and tried to determine what had caused these undead to be disturbed. Since the field had recently been plowed, I wondered if it was possible Eric’s family had been buried here long ago, and now the farmer had inadvertantly disturbed their graves. I thought this was possibly the message Eric was trying to pass on!

With this idea in hand Beechal and myself grabbed a couple of shovels and began to dig where the ghost had been hovering, soon unearthing a large bloody bag! When I pulled it up and opened it, I immediately bent over to loose my supper.

Inside the bag was a grizzly scene. We had found six mutilated bodies. As we inspected the bag, Eric’s ghost rose high into the air and let out a scream that chilled my spine to the bone. It was full of anger, hate and mourning, on a level I couldn’t comprehend. I grabbed Beechal once again and asked him what evil had been done here, demanding to know if he had committed this atrocity. Beechal stared back at me with scared eyes, once again insisting that he knew nothing of the matter and that he was just a poor farmer trying to make a living. I have seen the fear in a man’s eyes right before he dies, and looking into his, I knew that at that moment, he was incapable of lying.

"We need to give these bodies a proper burial before this Eric gets angrier", I said, and we gathered up the bodies and took them to the closest healer that we could find. We instructed the healer to sanctify the bodies and bury them properly, to which he consented.

As the healer left, I saw the ghost of Eric let out a low moan that seemed to be a sigh of relief, and watched as he slowly disappeared into the night. Just as suddenly, the rest of the undead slipped back into the ground, and once again, the quiet of the valley returned.

Beechal, Del and myself were all visibly shaken by the events that had transpired, and I suggested that we return to the tavern for some strong ale. All agreed with a silent nod.

As we sat in the bar sipping our ale, we discussed the events in very low tones. Slowly, the talk turned to speculation as to what evil had been done here. Who would kill a man and his family, mutilate the bodies, and bury them in the ground. Beechal pointed out that the bodies had been buried very shallow and seemed to have been buried in a hurry. We all speculated as to who Eric was and where the bodies had come from, but no answers could be drawn.

As we parted ways for the evening Beechal promised that he would look into who this Eric was and try to find any clues that he could as to the origin of the evil that had been committed. He promised me that he would come back to visit me on the following Thursday eve and give me all of the information that he had found. I told him that I would rally the local citizens and call out the Defenders of Justice to aid in solving this problem, no matter what it takes."

The candidate INTERVIEWS and ELECTIONS for the official positions in the Moonglow City Council will take place on saturday, august 26th, 19:00cet [6pm GMT], in the Lycaeum on Moonglow island on Trammel.

The candidates will present themselves and their ideas with a small speech and can be questioned thereafter. When all candidates for one position have finished their interview, the elections for this position will take place.

You can inform yourself about the candidates as well as the council on our skypage http://here.at/moonglow

ALL MOONGLOW CITIZENS CAN VOTE ON THESE ELECTIONS AND SHOULD DO SO. DON'T MISS THE CHANCE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF OUR TOWN!

The fifth Minoc Horserace will be held on wednesday, august 23rd, 20:00cet at the Minoc townhall on Trammel.

The route is shown on the map below. It starts at the townhall (1) and leads to the bridge crossing to the mine with the first checkpoint (2). From there, it leads up the serpent road to checkpoint 2, where you have to cross a line (3). Down again and eastward around the mine-mountain, leaving the stables to the right, the finish is found at "The Barnacle" inn (4).

Entry fee is 1000 coins. The money will be distributed by 50%, 35%, 15% for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Riders start in groups of 4. The winners of these startup races do a final. Only horses are allowed. Should there however be enough other animals, it is possible to start a "sheer-nightmare-race" for example.

May the fastest contestant win!
Best wishes,
Yoldran
([email protected])

"We of the Pax Sosaria guild would like to announce the wedding of two of our friends and guildmates, Katsy and Alucard. These two have been friends a long time, and are finally tying the knot.

The event is scheduled for Monday, August 28th, and is to begin at 8pm EST, in the Nu'jelm Palace. There will be plenty of cake for everyone at the reception!

Everyone who would like to attend this event is welcome. After the couple has stated their vows, there will be a party where you will be able to chat with the bride and groom.

Did we mention there will be plenty of cake, ale, wine, and milk (for those of you that don't drink) to go around?

Grab a friend and come to Nu'jelm to witness the marriage of this loving couple.

More information can be found at the Pax Sosaria skypage. Gates will be provided to Nujel'm from major Trammel city banks beginning at 7:30pm EST. Just head to your local bank and look for a Pax Sosaria (Pax) member to recieve a free gate to the wedding of Alucard and Katsy!

All of the members of Pax Sosaria (Pax) would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to both of our friends and guildmates in their upcoming union.

For more information, please contact Jduluoz or Alucard.

The United Pirates now announce the second Black Market of Catskills!

Many shiploads of loot and plunder have been gathered throughout da last month, and valuable and useful wares will be sold fer very low prices on dis Black Market...weapons, armor, crafted items, and so on.

Everybody is welcome ta go shopping on Friday, August 25th, at 7 pm EST, on da Buccaneer's Den docks.

Fer details about dis event, check out da United Pirates skypage.

Hail all,
It is time for the first ever BeBadd and EdGuardo Bachelor and Bachelorette auction. That's right Ed and I. We would like to ask all you single Ladys and Gents to peigon me via icq at 16685951 or email me at [email protected] to let me know who is interested. This event will happen Saturday if it doesn't run through any other events. There is more info to come as the week moves on.

Now you're thinking why would I spend my money on something like a bachelor and bachelorette. Other then the fact that they are your slave for 2 hours.

All money raised will go to the Great Lakes roleplaying community. Thirty percent will go to the Museum on Memories because Kaelyn agreed to allow us to use her wonderful Tower. Then another 30% will go into the "Evil" roleplaying communities. And the last 40% percent will go to many other roleplaying communities like Trinsic Town Council and The City of Sactuary...

Remember if your interested icq 16685951 or email me at [email protected]

Thank you,
BeBadd, RDB LT.

I am very sad in writing this letter to you, but I'm afraid it is an event that must be told.

Last night, I received word the gypsy Tatiana needed help in dealing with Benedict and such. I went to her tent and walked around in it, looking for her or any clues to as what I should do.

While waiting, I met a man named Kyle Duskwalker. We talked for a while in the camp, and discovered we were both there to aid Tatiana.

He eventually decided to travel to the Second Age while I waited at the camp for Tatiana, and he later returned with a book he found in Shame, written by Benedict.

After finding Tatiana, we gave the letter to her, which she read over, frowning. She told us she saw her own death and the death of her band.

Tatiana instructed us to seek out any information on Benedict or his location, and then to gather in Kinship at 8pm EST.

When Kyle returned after searching the Second Age again, we looked out the window and saw a ghost, beckoning us to a circle of nightshade!

The ghost turned out to be the ghost of Allen, a student of Benedict. He told us that Benedict was his master and that he studied under him for a time. After realizing the evil that Benedict truly was, Allen fled and sought refuge in Wind, studying there and practically living in its libraries. After months of research, Allen decided to try to stop Benedict, but Benedict knew he was coming. Benedict soon put Allen in a deep trance that left him helpless in the clutches of sleep.

When he awoke he saw himself chained up for one of Benedict's experiments. Benedict then used him for a guinea pig, eventually killing him.

The ghost warned us that Benedict was creating something called a plague elemental, eliciting a number of undead to rise from the ground and try to kill us. After the battle, Allen's ghost flickered out of view.

We all returned to the Kinship tavern to wait for Tatiana to appear and give us instructions. Upon arriving, she told us that we must venture into the dungeon Shame and find a cure for the plague that has struck her band. If we didn't find it in one hour, she and her band of gypsies would die.

We quickly traveled to the deepest level of Shame, and fought blood elementals, mages, Benedict's plague elementals, and Benedict himself. Luckily a dragon named Death was on our side, along with a skilled bard, to assist the warriors and mages in felling those that opposed us.

Near the end of our battles, Kyle discovered the cure, which we quickly returned to the gypsy camp. After applying the cure to her band and herself, Tatiana called for a celebration!

Those assembled returned to Kinship to celebrate, but sadly, I missed the gate and had no stones of which to recall off. Those of us left behind decided to travel using the stationary moongates.

When we eventually arrived in Kinship, it was a sad scene. Dead bodies littered the grass and Tatiana was nowhere to be found.

Asking around, I discovered Benedict, aided by many mages, attacked, and in the struggle, both Benedict and Tatiana were killed.

We all were very sad and sulked in the tavern, not knowing what to do. Both Benedict and Tatiana were dead.

But then, outside, Tatiana's ghost flickered into view. Everyone rushed outside and tried to speak to her, but were unable to communicate with her spirit. It was then that I remembered Allen telling us that ghosts could speak within a circle of nightshade. I lead them there, and sure enough, Tatiana manifested in ghost form within the circle. She told us that Benedict was dead, and that although she died, her band was safe and cured.

Greetings and Salutations!

Fine Warriors and Mages of Britainia. Friday, September 1st The Black Watch will hold a Player vs. Player Tournament, at Black Watch Tower. The Tournament will start at 8pm MST. Single elimination matches will determine the winner and prizes will be awarded for the 1st and 2nd place winners. The tournament will be open to all those who wish to attend. No magic weapons will be allowed-GM weapons and armor only. Each contestant will be allowed 10 bandages, 3 Greater Healing Potions, and 3 Greater Cure Potions. All combatants will be snooped prior to their match to make sure each match is fair. A 1000gp entry fee will be collected as part of the prize fee, with all of the entry fee going to the 1st place winner.

1st place Prize: a Full set of Ranger Armor, And All the entry fees.
2nd place Prize: 25k

Black Watch Tower is located on the Felucca facet, north west of Britain, south of the road, west of the Brit Swamp, right next to the Copenhagen Pub. Gates will be available to Black Watch Tower from Britain, around 7 MST. REDS are allowed and All members will be guilded to avoid murder counts. Anyone who attempts to disrupt the event will be quickly dealt with. Hope to see all there! Strength And Honor!

Koric
Captain of The Black Watch

Part of the orcish warriors code deals with the importance of getting really, really drunk now and again. It seems like an opportunity for debauchery of this sort has reared it's sloshed head in the town of Valor, as witnessed by this letter from Lord Bogahen Stormfalcon:

"We as the Lords of the Order of Might are appalled at the rumors of the disbandment of our guild. It is true we have been experiencing a bit of a depression, and, as a result, have lost two Lords and several guildmates during the confusion. This does not mean we are giving up. With Lord Herc as the new guildmaster we hope to move forward into a new era that will serve as a Renaissance of Valor. For there isn't a Mongbats chance at Britain's west bank that Order of Might will become just a memory.

"We will be hosting a party at the fair city of Valor this Wednesday, the twenty-third day of the month of August, from 9:30 PM EST till the last drunk staggers out of town, to celebrate the new glory of our guild. All citizens of Britannia are welcome, for there will be free food and drink for all.

"We hope to have festivities and such in the future, such as an outdoor market, and jousting tournaments. I thank thee for your time friends, and hope that I may meet thee Wednesday. "

Praise Minax!

Hello, I'd like to provide the announcement of a new town opening on Europa: 

The town of Mistweir would like to welcome one and all to our Grand Festival! The Festival will be held on the 27th of August from 18.00 to 22.00 CET in the town of Mistweir located at 110o 33'N 55o 53'E (southeast of Wrong) on the Trammel facet. 

Events to include an opening blessing given by the Priest Alminster, followed by a cooking contest, a town rally, a darts contest, a wool coloring game, a grand festival dinner, a lottery, and a drunken polymorph race! Many grand prizes will be awarded to winners of the events to include the following top awards like a runebook collection, magical weapons of choice, 100 of each reagent, 20k in gold, and a complete collection of semi rare foods! 

We are still looking for poets and musicians to show off their work, so please visit our sky pages and let us know if you'd like to provide entertainment for the festival.

Please visit the following pages for further information

Town of Mistweir

Mistweir Townhall Board

Regards 
Pad O'Lion

Lockdown Changes

Much of the new lockdown code exists on TC at this moment. We will be doing many integration checks this week on lockdown code. I would like to encourage those of you with lockdown concerns to test everything you can on TC this week, especially if your server gets put on to TC. Please send me any feedback you have on the changes.

The Stumbull Inn will be hosting a "Rares" auction during our grand opening on Fri, Aug 25th starting at 7:00 pm under the central sun. Items to be auctioned include : Empty fruit baskets, closed lid barrels, square toolbox, chisels, colored sandals, whips, Buckets, 300 anniv "Mondain's Defeat" bag, and much more!

We are also raffling off a small house in Felucca. 50 keys have been placed on a vendor (Agnes) at 2.5k apiece. On the 25th or when all keys are sold, we will be placing a locked chest on the floor. The lucky key will open the chest and win you a new home. With only 50 keys theirs a pretty good chance it could be you, so head out and get yours now. Hey buy em all! Only comes out to 150k altogether which is pretty cheap for a placed home! The house itself is located in sight of Skara Brae near the Yew "whip" ranger huts.

Also that night we will be hosting a "Best Death Story" (5 contestants max) with cash prizes As well as a "drunken darts" competition. Again cash prizes will be awarded!

Not enough to get you to come over? How about door prizes of valorite armor sets, a large dragon boat valued at 17+k, shadow and gm armor sets just for showing up and registering. Our in-house blacksmith will be on hand making FREE gm weapons for anyone who desires one of your choice.

Our vendors regularly carry rares, shipwreck items, and gm armor from "Satan Himself". In stock now on the vendors are empty fruit baskets, chisels, dried herbs, paint and brushes, and many other rare and semi-rare items so come on out, mark or buy a rune, and be sure to join us on the 25th!

The Stumbull Inn is located 1 screen south of the Yew moongate. It is a sandstone patio with a public hottub on the roof. Sextant coordinates are 74x31 N 37x45 W and we are located on the Trammel facet of Brittania. Hope to see you there!

Forsaken
Co-Owner Stumbull Inn

A fix for mediation, that will prevent players from receiving improper "stopped meditating" messages.

Players will be able to perform beneficial acts upon blue human NPC's in Trammel.

Hello, I am planning on doing a little racing, both on horse and without this Saturday at 8 Pacific Time. My name is DragonMaster and here is what I plan to do.

This Saturday, the 26'th of August, at 8 PM Pacific Time, there will be a horse derby. The derby shall be held at ImaTown and gates will be provided from the East Bank of Britain in the Trammel Facet between 7:45 and 8:00.

You don't have to be a citizen of Pacific to join in this event, you can join even if you've never played on Pacific! It will be a horse-racing Tournament. We will see how many rounds are needed depending on the number of players that show up.

2 players will be matched up and will race each other, the winner will advance to the next round, and the looser will be eliminated. There will be cloth that will mark the boundaries, and the winner will get 10k and anything extra that is donated.

If you are unable to acquire a horse for the event, then you can participate in the Runner Race. The rules will be the same as the horse race, but you just won't be on a horse. You can participate in both the Horse Races and the Human Races if you so choose.

Spectators are also welcome, and betting will be allowed and even encouraged, so come on out and cheer on your mates even if you don't want to race! I look forward to seeing you all there, and I hope you all have fun!

We, the citizens of Sanctuary, wish to thank all of the brave guilds and people who came to our tower last night. In our hour of need, you responded with offers of help. As long as Laz and his foul friends are allowed to terrorize our city, no one is safe.

White Lotus has given the amulet to a trusted friend to keep. Laz must never get his fiendish hands on it. The thought of him gaining more power, is beyond anything we can imagine.

We shall be holding a strategy meeting Wednesday evening at 7 PM CST at our tower in Sanctuary, Trammel. Serpico will be setting up our defense against this great evil. All guilds and people who
wish to help us defend Sanctuary should plan to attend. We will set up our defense at this time.

Do not let this evil spread thru out the lands. Help stop it now before it is too late. Sanctuary is an honorable city that has grown and thrived thru tragedy, hope, dreams smashed and now this evil.
We thank ye all for your assistance. Our hearts were lifted at the sight of so many brave souls willing to help.

Long Live Sanctuary........


Submitted by Jon von Darkmoor - Ranger of Sanctuary

(OOC : if you need directions you can check our map at http://www.angelfire.com/journal/CityOfJustice/index.html on the main page is a description and under the shops tab is a overhead view. The tower is the one right next to the 2.Or you can Icq White Lotus at 30624507)

I've received notification from JUSTAMULE, that the armor donations which began on Monday, will continue on the 22nd and 23rd. For those of you without access to Stonehenge or a sundial, that's tonight and tommorrow night. As a courtesy to JUSTAMULE, I've reprinted the original story, adding the "update" information. So read on, pilgrims!

Hail! I wish to mention that on Tues. and Wens. night, at 9:00 p.m. EST., I will be donating approx. 500-700 pieces of armor of various types. Most pieces are "average" although some of the armor is below average quality. I've created a very new blacksmith and wish to donate equipment to worthy guilds. Terms of distribution are:

Guilds must be roleplay oriented.

Individuals who assist new players with outfitting their characters are also eligible.

I will distribute items according to your need. There will also be a potion vender there with low rates if that is needed. The give away will be at my log cabin in Trammel just 6-8 screen down the shore line east of Britain. It has 2 vendors outside of it and one of them will have VERY low prices on wire and other semi-rares to help younger players decorate their new houses. Please come. Guilds currently in war are NOT eligible for the give-away. This event is for strictly for new players or guilds that help them. I, myself am in a war guild. My wish is to help some of our younger UO players get a start.
JUSTAMULE
GM - alch/poisoner/swordsman

Well, there you have it. I'm anxious to see how many of our new citizens take advantage of this event.

Until next we meet, Be well!

Saturday August 19th at 1:00pm was a very special time for every member of the Rangers of the Realm (RoR) and for many Rangers in the land. At this time, all came together in spirit as two most beloved RoR members were joined in marriage.

Grey Holland (OI of RoR) and Draco DeFalcon (OW of RoR) exchange vows.

Loren (OC of RoR) and Seraphim (OW of RoR) attended to the bride, while Adian O'Rourke (GM of RoR) and Cernos'sen (OC of RoR) stood with the groom.

The ceremony was said to be one of the best ever held and the party that followed went long into the day. The Rangers of the Realm and especially the happy couple would like to thank all who attended. *deep bows all round*

I wish the newlyweds well.

I was wandering through Vesper as I saw Legolas, Slow and a few guards near the bank, they seemed to be alarmed by something. Next to Legolas was an old man, he was soaked in his own blood, the man was attacked by a group of mercenaries...

I ran to the man and tried to heal him, but his wounds where to severe to be healed, even by a Master healer. Legolas asked me to gather some men to arrest these mercenaries, Dead or Alive ....... Just as I wanted to gather some men, a magic gate opened .. we did not have to search for the bandits. Decadanti warriors and mages appeared... They armed themselves the moment they saw us.

Diplomatic as Legolas is he tried to reason with the mercenaries, though with no success. One of the Decadanti warriors grabbed his sword, I did not hesitate and shot an arrow , and he dropped dead on the ground! The rest of the Decadanti warriors targeted Legolas, but a group of guards lead by Slow could prevent this. I could hardly see through the thick layer of dirt and dust..

All of a sudden all was quiet, I looked around and saw Legolas attacking the last of the Decadanti warriors... All the Decadanti warriors and mages had fallen, and for what ?? I am sure that these poor souls are possessed, taken by an evil god .. I had seen this happen to a good friend, Tanq whom killed his guards during his hearing..

We prevailed, We will always prevail .... for we are fighting, not for control but for freedom .. freedom for our children freedom for all

Captain D'Angelo
Free Vesper Militia

By now I hope people are preparing their teams to participate in the quest. If your team was in last year's quest and will be returning please point that out when you register your team. There is a few little special things planned for the guilds that are returning for the second time.

As always visit http://humility.chessienet.com/ for all the latest detailed information about the quest.

Here is an update on some of the things players have mentioned to me in the past couple of weeks or so:
1) Magery in towns - Some more critical items have taken priority, but this is still going to be taken care of. Because of our earlier statements about doing it correctly (it affects some other systems), we have to do some additions to what are called "regions". This means a good bit of work to be fully done properly, but it will happen. We know it's important to many players. It needs to take place before factions, and we do not want to delay factions.
2) Resource spawn (wood from trees) - We are checking into this one right now. Some of the player suggestions will give a good direction to look. I tested this myself and the wood on trees is spawning, but the overall spawn needs to be looked at in a code manner.
3) Vendor customization - we are working on a way to keep the naming and greeting of vendors from being abused. It won't be much longer on this one, but it will not be in the very next update. It will not be put on a back burner and left there.
4) Lock down changes - This isn't on TC as previously reported, however it should be shortly. This change has received a lot of attention. I should have an update on it within the next couple of days or so.
5) Veteran player rewards - Another item that is not on a back burner. The part of it that makes sure of the account information (such as account age, etc) is ready. The front-end system for it needs to be done. There have been some high priority items that have come through and taken away resources from items like this one. However it is still on the list and will also happen.
6) Factions - Adrick and Evocare continue to talk to the players directly about this, getting information. They also actively participate in the faction testing when possible, to get a better feel for the system. We will be making a very large write-up of information on it soon.
7) Fishing/serpents - We know about the loot from serpents, and a need for some type of adjustment there. I'm not sure of an ETA for this. However an analysis of it will take place, then we will understand what action to do that would work best.

I should have more information on these soon, as well as updates to "general testing' and "testing for next update" within a few days. There are many other issues from the players, and I am trying to keep everything in order and pass along the information. Just because an item isn't mentioned here or mentioned on the web page someplace doesn't mean it will not get fixed. We just have to proceed in an orderly manner, and can get to more issues once we get some of these out of the way.
Some other items we are considering, which are not immediate but still important to us, are things like: Fellucca's popularity, craftsmen and non-combat enjoyment, and the economy. I am also still reading the feedback from players in regards to PvP.

Melantus
Online Community Coordinator
Ultima Online
[email protected]

Oh, horrors! Temporary insanity has befallen mine humble self. I, Cyn of the Perpetual Hangover, posted an incorrect date for the West Winds Tavern Grand Opening. Due to the confusion, the event has been rescheduled for Wensday, the 23rd day of August, at 7 p.m., EST. My apoplogies to Zelda and patrons, alike. Therefore, the first round of food and drink will be on Ith'unk! *the crowd cheers wildly* Salut!

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

To Lazareth and his minions,

I read your demands......laughed and then got angry.

I think the regs and evil thoughts have decayed thy brain. Ye accuse the council of many things but the one thing they are guilty of, ye never mention. Loyalty to a dream that they all have. Ye can spout lies, tell tales and try to drive us apart. But the truth will win out.

As to your demands, we shall never allow thee to become Lord of Sanctuary. With our last breath, we will beat thee and your filthy minions away from the city.

I have your amulet safely put away. Never shall thee get it.

I call upon all the honest, loyal citizens of Sanctuary to not give up hope. We can and will defeat this evil, foul presence that has descended upon our city.

Basil and URK, ye shall be driven out as well. We maybe a small force but we are driven by the knowledge that we have right on our side.

I, White Lotus, Councilwoman of Sanctuary call upon ALL God Fearing people of Britannia to aid us in defeating the evil that sits on our doorstep waiting for us to fall.

I will never give up our dream for Sanctuary no matter what.

If ye can aid us, please message me at #30624507 ASAP.

To the citizens of Sanctuary, now is the time to show Britannia what we of Sanctuary stand for.

Lazareth, your time has come to join the citizens of Hell. Prepare to meet your maker.

Ask not for whom the Bell tolls, It tolls for Thee.

Aryslan will be hosting a Treasure Hunt every night until Saturday the 26th of August. We invite all who would like to join us. Please come prepared with whatever you will need to fight the monsters awaiting us.

The hunts will start at 8 p.m. Eastern time and we will gather beforehand in front of the Aryslan Church located directly East of the Aryslan Town Center. If you wish a map done then bring that too! Hope to see you there!!

It was early this morning, maybe around 12-1, when my friend Jebei and I decided to go to the Ice Cave in search of a magical Ice Staff.

When had gone to the dungeon earlier this day, I had found that giant ice serpents weren't too plentiful, but this time it was overrun with them. We in fought the cave for quite some time but showed no sign of ceasing there attack. We decided to escape to the surface only to find that there too was overrun. We fought side-by-side with a few tamers and their dragons.

We were beginning to have casualties when suddenly, Cordell Swiftmender and some of his healer friends appeared. He explained that he and his friends had heard of heavy hunting and decided to come see. Soon after he arrive the serpents came full force. Jebei and I decided to look for the source of the mess and not too far from the entrance, I found it, the serpents' nest. Jebei stayed to fight them off while I went to signal the others.

At one point, I happened to spot an unusual mage, I didn't quite catch his name nor purpose, but soon after he disappeared, the serpents began to as well. In place of their nest was a healthy amount of gold. Later on, two white wyrms raged through the inside of the cave causing quite a scene as well. Oddly enough though, in all this commotion, not one of us came across an ice staff.

-Solidus

After looking for the cool new staves in Ice Dungeon I went back to Felucca to restock at my house. I decided to take a look at some of the player towns I used to go to not so long ago. Every town was deserted, no one had any people in them at peak hours. Some cities like PaxLair seemed to be deserted for so long, the monsters that spawn around the city made their way into it.

When I came to Haven it was empty as well, but I looked around and stumbled on their tavern. There were more people in the tavern then I've seen in the other cities combined. I also got to see their new building on the east side of the lake. You don't often see any player towns still remodeling these days.

The crowd in the tavern didn't stay together very long. A few people left when I got there, but the tavern was active nonetheless! I've been to Haven before and they aren't 24/7, but I guess they do have lots of activity when their tavern is open.

I don't belong to Haven, I spend most of my time in Trammel. I just thought I'd tell some other people about this, since I wouldn't mind seeing a lot more activity in the player towns. I think I may even go back to Felucca every once in a while, now. :-)

Most of the towns and taverns are still having special activities, and most still have scheduled hours of operation.

Keep your eyes open to the Chesapeake News for information on events and special activities. Also, see the tavern's or town's web site for information on scheduled hours and activities.

Pfredd Mudd

The grey dawn found me patching my wounds again and wondering what I had done wrong this time. It seems I can never escape the bowels of Deciet in any other form than the spiritual. Finding my way back to the Village of Humility, I discovered that my brothers Torez and Drizzt were about the Clan Tower. Gathering with good companions always cheers up the newly living, and before long we were discussing what we might be about on an overcast day. Drizzt, wondering about the doings of the Olag Hai Clan, suggested we conduct a raid on the orc fort near Paxlair. We had no idea what was in store for us.

Jumping through a cold portal opened by our studious mage, Torez pointed the way to Paxlair via arts most magical. The world seemed to spin as a roaring sound drowned out all thought, and the next thing I knew we were standing behind the Paxlair Twin Towers. The weather was worse, and rain was coming down in sheets. Ah, well - that's typical luck for me. At least we weren't in Trammel.

I thought I might be confused. My eyes were focusing on a shimmering presence near the Bell Tower that seemed to fade in and out. Drizzt and Torez investigated, and confirmed that what I saw was true - it was the Gatekeeper again. It seemed agitated, wanting to say something or pass on some communication, flittering about as the rain dripped off the bells in torrents. Thunder rumbled as lightning crashed down nearby. I was sorely tempted to get an ale in the Ladies of the Lair tavern, as I was quite sure I couldn't interperet the wailing of spirits. At this point, some old pirate stopped by, and our education began via the efforts of this persistent spirit. So much for the raid on the Olag's.

The grizzled pirate turned out to be a medium, and before long his eyes rolled up into his skull as he chanted to bring his powers to bear. Before long, the ghost communicated that those present should seek out Mayor Winfield, and utter the word 'Zandrum' in his presence. Fortunately, with the weather so bad, Winfield was found easily - hard at work, as usual, in his office. It was good to escape the downpour in that warm and welcoming place. Muttering the word 'Zandrum', Drizzt stepped back as the Mayor looked up with a very intense look in his eyes. It turns out that Mayor Winfield, at some point in his past, had waged great battles with an individual named Zandrum. Battles, it seems, he barely emerged victorious from. Battles, it seems, that complicate his upcoming bond with Morgaine of Shadowcove, Battles that have left former companions serving as tavern wenches... but that comes later.

Mayor Winfield suggested that we return to the ghost, and have the medium utter the word 'Mesterfor' to the Gatekeeper. After drinking some of his own blood laced with Blackmoor, the medium entered into a very long seance with the spirit, which was lured back unto the presence of Mayor Winfield. There some really strange things were said as the air became even more oppressive.

Gatekeeper:

" At a time leading to your bonding, Zandrum will test thee, sir Mayor. This test shall involve your friends and their faith in that which they hold true. The time of the test will come in the days to follow. Keep knowledge of Mesterfor in your hand, you will need it "

At this time, a magic weapon and a treasure trove of golden coin was deposited by the spirit on the desk of the Mayor. Winfield's worst fear had come to pass, and confirmation of the return of Zandrum was at hand. Drizzt took up the mysterious Halberd, and Winfield elaborated on missing peices of his history as it related to Zandrum of ages long past. Winfield inquired as to where we might journey to talk safely, and Torez spoke of an ensorcelled pentagram at Humility. Another cold portal was opened, and after some nausea and loss of equilibrium, the Hemp Clan Tower materialized around us. Ahh. I don't know which is worse - thundering downpours or the humidity of the Jungle. Little did I know that the humidity would do little to warm me when the Mayor told us more atop the tower roof. The cold still has not departed my bones...

It turns out that three ritualists once aided Mayor Winfield in trapping Zandrum in the afterlife. Casting mighty magicks, they evidently did trick Zandrum into entering a ritual pentagram during a battle waged long ago. Somehow, this led to Zandrums spirit being harvested by the Gatekeeper and sealed in realms beyond our own. But evidently not sealed away forever... at this point, the medium started convulsing and we had to put a branch wrapped in dragonhide leather between his jaws to keep him from biting off his tongue. As his thrashing died down and his eyes went white again, the Gatekeeper manifested. After more translation, the following communication took place:

Gatekeeper:

" a ceremony and ritual must be changed to attract the spirit. Zandrum remains in spirit form, and is trapped thus by the gatekeeper. His powers are much as they were before. He exists in part with the Terathon. He now holds a common bond with them. Before thy bonding, Winfield, Zandrum must be banished back to the underworld. Zandrum shall appear where the Terathon dwell. Mesterfor shall reveal Zandrum's location ".

Evidently, all this was too much for the medium, and he shuddered one last time and perished, his soul consumed by the Gatekeeper. After the body was buried, Winfield elaborated on the method of ending the threat of Zandrum. Indications of setting up a special pentagram atop the Humility roof, obtaining several of each necromantic reagent, exceptionally crafted stools dyed blood-red, candle placement, these tasks and more were outlined. Winfield elaborated, telling of old sayings of power used to invoke the power of the ritual to trap the essence of the spirit of Zandrum. Evidently one must find the essence of Zandrum in the Terathon stronghold, lure it back to the Humility pentagram, invoke the Gatekeeper, and utter the proper sayings very precisely to achieve a positive resolution to the issue. If not done exactly... I fear what might occur. At this point Winfield was questioned regarding whether the heroes of the former ritual still lived in the lands, heroes who might speak of the sayings to us, and thus did Warriors of The Hemp Clan find themselves journeying to the mirrored lands. This was a pain greater than any I can recall, being surrounded by warped virtue in the land of gold and honey. It seems like everyone there has several pet dragons!.

Winfield led us to the Shattered Skull Tavern, where we encountered one Praedra Latronis, a tavern wench. When Praedra's eyes alit upon Winfield Torez had to jump between them! Praedra had murder in her eyes and the atmosphere grew chilled and tense. It seems that Praedra was one of the former three ritualists that had aided Winfield in trapping Zandrum in the former battle. She seemed to hold Winfield accountable for the current lowly experience she lived with, after having lost her power on Winfield's behalf.

It turns out the old sayings were thus:

" a mortals breath becomes cold with the moon "
" a mortals heart becomes cold with the stone "
" a mortals mind becomes cold with the gate "

As these sayings were of the past, Praedra and Winfield suggested that new phrases, though similar, should be prepared for the next ritual. After Drizzt wondered why he adventured with the worlds dumbest fencer and most distracted arch-mage, he figured out the following alterations to restore the power to the sayings:

" a spirits breath is warmed and returned by the sun "
" a spirits heart becomes warmed by fire and returned by the water "
" a spirits mind is returned by the gatekeeper "

After continuing to admonish Winfield for his shadowy dealings with her in the past, Praedra confimed that these new sayings would be sufficient to complete the ritual if all things were set up properly around the pentagram at the Hemp Clan Tower in Humility. A heart was mentioned, then another body part - a brain. At this point, the evil of Trammel did lure our brother Torez away from us, and we hope he is not trapped in that realm still.

Thus does the mystery unravel. It appears Mesterfor must be used to determine the location of Zandrums Terathon-bonded essence in the Terathon fortress. A battle must be waged there, and if we are graced with victory, and the essence returned to the specially charged pentagram, a ritual may then be performed. Perhaps the evil shall be ended and Winfield freed to pursue his dedication to Morgaine, but only if everything is done properly. Would that we had a chronic champion who would overcome this adversity!. I suppose we can only pray - I am sure these labors are only for the steadfast, willing to risk much to see what transpires.

These events are predicted to occur after the Paxlair council meeting this coming Wednesday. As this is an event established by citizens creating lore for other citizens, in a desire to celebrate the uniqueness of our world and our relationships one to another, I ask that all patience and assistence be rendered as the evening progresses and the tale unfolds. If you are with us, and seek to aid the realms by keeping Zandrum at bay, attend the Mayor as he closes the council meeting at 10pm by the Eastern star in Paxlair this Wednesday. A journey to Humility afterwards is all that stands between you and your part in the history of Chesapeake. Be wary, for only the most prepared should venture into the realm of the Terathon's... and the terrible hunger of the bonded spirit Zandrum!.

DoomFyre, Lotus Eater, THC

The conference will take place in #adhoc on the Stratics IRC network. House of Commons chats are public IRC conferences held in Stratics IRC with the game developers, wherein players get to submit their questions to be answered live. Come and find out what Adellion is all about!

To join the chat, type /join #adhoc once you connect. You can access the Stratics IRC network via the following servers or by using our Stratics Java Client.

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

Adellion Stratics New Stratics Site!!

• Stratics is pleased to welcome the newest site to our network. Adellion is an exciting MMORPG in development which differs from others on the market in that absolutely no client will be needed. The game will be playable via your own web browser. For more information, check out our Stratics Preview.
• The first ever Adellion House of Commons will occur Sunday, August 27th, at 2pm CST in #adhoc. Stop by to find out about this groundbreaking game.

Anarchy Online Stratics

• Thanks to all those who attended the Stratics HoC with Anarchy Online Developers Amor, Rintrah and Tommy. The conference was a great success.
• Here at AOS, we've decided to extend our Guild and Advertisement Banner Contest to the end of August. Winners will receive extended publicity and a prize from the Anarchy-Online developer Funcom.

Asheron's Call Stratics

• Interested in getting that Hollow Katar to give you an edge against overbuffed Mages? Have a look at our new Hollow Weapons Quest Guide.
• Last week's Zone Developer Chat Log is now available. See what questions got answers in our Chat Archives.

Atriarch Stratics

• Here at Atriarch Stratics we're all buzzing about the new species profile that was just released. An Atriarch House of Commons focusing on this new species, the Lokai, has been scheduled for August 29th at 7pm CST.
• Remember you can always come to hang out and chat with both us at Atriarch Stratics and frequently the developers as well. Check out our IRC page for more info, then come over to #atriarch and join us!

EverQuest Stratics

• Vaalyn L’Quella, Jeweler, Tailor and Hater of Kodiaks, has provided a new Guide to Tailoring. Learn about one of the most useful "newbie" tradeskills in EverQuest!
• The EverQuest Client Color Editor has been revised again to support the latest changes to EverQuest this week, including automatic logging and additional custom colors.
• Meet the EQSS Staff! Each week, we are putting up a new bio of our volunteer staff who work so hard to keep EQSS running so well. This week, its our very own SuperCow, Thundolfe!

Hero's Journey Stratics

The Journal has now moved to a bi-weekly schedule.... so:

• Start the week off with some MMORPG design articles!
• When you're done with that, enjoy swapping thoughts and ideas on MMORPGs in the Hero's Journey Stratics Forums or #herosjourney chatroom.

Jumpgate Stratics

• Drop by the Stratics Jumpgate Forums for the latest discussion development and factions within the Jumpgate world.

Neverwinter Stratics

• We have made a few changes to help streamline the forum discussions about Neverwinter Nights and its current state of development by consolidating the Master's Hall and NWN DevBoard into one forum. The Master's Hall will reopen when Neverwinter Nights is release mid-2001. You can now find all of these discussions on the NWN DevBoard. There are some great discussions in this forum so please come join us!

Origin Stratics

• DEV MUSINGS - Are you new to the ORIGIN-watch and wanting to find out what's been going on in the five months since the Dev Team has gone public with the game? Never fear, Stratics is here! Make sure to check out our Dev Musings Section, which not only keeps an expansive database of every single quote ever made by the Dev Team, but even allows you to search by Topic, Dev Team Member, or even Keyword. A must for the ORIGIN Researcher as well!
• JINX'S RAMBLINGS - In Jinx's latest article, we find him tackling that very difficult topic known as Player Killing. Have opinions about how this will be handled in ORIGIN? Then make sure to head on over to Jinx's Ramblings to read his article, titled "Flipping the Switch", then post on our PvP Forum with your own thoughts.

Ultima-Online Stratics

• Not new at all, but interesting nevertheless. Come visit the Ideas Den where our readers can post ideas on improving UO and other readers can vote on these ideas. Ideas that get lots of votes are promoted to the Ideas Hall and the ideas that our readers voted for the most are promoted to the Ideas Hall of Fame. The Ideas Den is the best way to share your ideas and find out what the rest of the UO Community thinks of them.
• Also a classic, Xavori's Darkside of UO, visited by many readers in the past years. Allow Xavori to explain how to play the role of an evil character in UO without resorting to purely killing others. Learn the tricks of the trade from the master, who is probably the best known villain in the history of UO, only outclassed by Mondain and Minax.

I've often heard it commented that "altruism" should be the great 9th Virtue. Selflessness is an inspiration to those of us who aspire to the Virtues, and with that in mind, I bring you this message.

Hail! I wish to mention that on Monday night at 8:00 est I will be donating approx. 500-700 pieces of armor of various types. Most pieces are "average" although some of the armor is below average quality. I've created a very new blacksmith and wish to donate equipment to worthy guilds. Terms of distribution are:

Guilds must be roleplay oriented.

Individuals who assist new players with outfitting their characters are also eligible.

I will distribute items according to your need. There will also be a potion vender there with low rates if that is needed.The give away will be at my log cabin in Trammel just 6-8 screen down the shore line east of Britian.It has 2 vendors outside of it and one of them will have VERY low prices on wire and other semi rares to help younger players decorate ther new houses. Please come. Guilds currently in war are NOT eligable for the give away. This event is for strictly for new players or guilds that help them. I, myself am in a war guild. My wish is to help some of our younger UO players get a start.
JUSTAMULE GM - alch/piosoner/swordsman

I'm sure this act of benevolence will be greatly appreciated by the newer inhabitants of Legends. Well done, JUSTAMULE

Until next we meet, safe journeys to you all.

Have an RP guild, but no where to call home? Do you find yourself up most nights wishing you were apart of a community? THEN NOW IS YOUR CHANCE! The Player Run City of Haven in Felucca has just obtained a 3 room, and want to give it to you! That's right! For a limited time only Haven will be searching the lands for a dependable Role Playing guild. Should one be found, Haven will give the guild complete control over it's new 3 room building!

The guild will be able to control the building, decide how to decorate it, and how to operate it. The guild will never own the building. The building will stay owned by Haven the entire time, but Haven will allow people the guild specifies to be co-owned! In order to qualify for this once-in-a-life-time offer, the guild must be a role playing guild, and must make the 3 room it's new base of operations!

The guild must also qualify in the following:

• Maintain a continual level of activity. Should the guild stop being active at anytime, it will lose control of the 3 room!
• Have at least 5 members.
• Order and Chaos guilds not accepted!
• The GM must be able to speak fluent english! The kind of english they teach you in American High School!
• If ANY member has a name sPeL1eD 1iKe ThIz, your guild will not be accepted!
• An already well developed reputation in the Chesapeake Role Playing community is an instant bonus!
• Guilds created just to qualify for this offer will be not accepted! Your guild must already be formed and functioning properly.

Offer is limited time only, don't delay, email us today!

-Azazel, Tavern Manager
[email protected]

The ad that was placed in the Trammel news paper read as follows :

"Are you tired of not knowing who your father is, being picked last to play football, do you suffer from ticks and are just plain ugly ? Well we have the product you are looking for and for only $19.95 we can change your life please don't wait supplies are limited."

The response was overwhelming and to our suprise only Orcs showed up with a few human onlookers we sold out in under 10 minutes.

I made two new comics, one of them being one HELL OF A LONG COMIC. Its GM ICE, I had to divide it up into 3 pages. Longest comic so far with 24 frames.

The other comic is Fame: At a Price, where I learn why being famous sucks.

I also added a few pictures, one of IrmaDufus, one of Rentaur, Judeccan and ImaNoying bowing down to our god. I think I added another, but then again I'm tired and don't really want to look.

ImaTown opens this weekend, on the 19th. The day after is CJ's birthday. w00t. Anyway, just telling you I will be there taking pics, thanks to my l33t c4|3le modem. If you want to purchace something off me, I have a vendor! In the ImaTown mall, look for Ayuna (ugly name). I have scrolls, rares, and a sudo-japanese bandana! w00t!

So get your beverage and get in here!

--Rentaur
Sitemaster, HMGComics
www.hmgcomics.uoguilds.com

The Neriak Library

Neriak, the center of Evil on the world of Norrath, houses a great library, known as the Neriak Library, which contains the greatest compendium of knowledge regarding all aspects of evil upon Norrath.

In our quest to become the center for evil in the entire Universe, we have opened areas for discussion of life as a shadow-dweller upon other realms - such as Britannia and Dereth.

We would like to invite all those who walk in the shadows to come and discuss these realms with us at the Library.

[ooc: Neriak.COM [at http://www.neriak.com/forums.html] has added forums for disucssion of playing evil in Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, and Shadowbane - come on over and talk!]

Starting on the 23rd, and every Wednesday afterwards around 5pm PST, the Silver Stag will be holding "Bardic Circle", a round table night for storytellers, poets, and discussion of topics in Britannia. Refreshments and food will be sold at this event by local bartenders, while players will tell tales of adventure, romance, and tales of wonder around the rustic settings of the Silver Stag.

For those of you unsure about where the Silver Stag is, check out our Website for information to our location.

Oh, happy day! In a land where chaos and strife is the usual fare, a truly newsworthy event is about to transpire. A new tavern is about to open for business! Read on pilgrims for details on the happy occasion.

Hail Cyn,
This is Zelda. I have decided to open the Westwind tavern out of my tower.. I am hoping that the AOL Legends Staff of Stratics can attend. The grand opening of The Westwind Tavern will be held Wensday night, at 7 PM EST. Come one and all for great ale and food. The tavern is located on the right hand side of the road from Britain to the northern swamps, almost touching the swamps. There are many vendors nearby so even if you aren't staying for the ale, it's worth a look. There won't be many glamorous events planned (since I am saving them for later) but the events will include gambling, darts, swamp races, a scavenger hunt, and more. If you can't make the event don't worry. The tavern will be open during the day (most of the time) and nightly from 12am-4am est. So stop by and have a drink!
Zelda
60313939 icq

I intend to make this grand opening a high priority. Ale is somewhat repugnant to my sophisticated palate, but I'll be more than happy to sample the mead. As for Ith'unk, if you truly want the High Orcster to appear, I'd suggest adding some specialty items to the menu. Like pigeon stew, pigeon gumbo, fried pigeon, pigeon fricassee', pigeon-lettuce and tomato sandwiches, etc...

Safe journeys to you all and remember, don't drink and recall. The life you save may be mine.

35th Assembly of the 5th High Council

Date: Monday, August 21st, 2000
Time: 10 PM EST/9 PM CST
Location: Magincia Parliament Building

Agenda:

• Introduction of new Ambassadors
• Other items of interest to be announced at the meeting

The High Council of Britannia

Searching for Tales of Britannia: Deceit and Wrong

Our search for tales of Britannian dungeons continues with two more dungeons: Deceit and Wrong.

On the frozen plains of Dagger Island sits the yawning entrance to the dungeon Deceit, an underground deathtrap teeming with the vilest of undead waiting to add the unsuspecting and unarmed traveler to their midst. Have you braved the dark and clammy depths to battle gruesome lich lords?

In the mountains north of Minoc lies the entrance to the dungeon Wrong. A former prison, Wrong is now roamed by packs of ogres, ettins, and trolls, all waiting patiently for a wandering traveler to pass through in need of a club to the head. Have you traversed the corridors of Wrong, or battled the dreaded ogre lords?

Send an e-mail to [email protected] by Friday, August 25th, and tell us a story of your experiences in Deceit or Wrong. Please be sure your story falls between 500-1000 words, and include "Deceit" or "Wrong" 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.

House Contest Details:
Win a small house on Felucca side!! (Option: if you do not want the house, you can still play to win, the house will be deeded and you can sell the deed for $44,000 at the architects)

Beginning August 18 to the end of the contest August 23, 100 Keys are on sale at the Mythndale Tavern for 500 gold each, on Vendor named Caryn If the key you buy opens the locked prize chest, the house (or deed your choice) is yours.

Come try your key Wed. night at Mythndale's House Party (28o 33S - 14o 28E, tavern located south of Britain, just off the road to Trinsic).

Party Agenda: Wed. Aug 23rd, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. EST
8 p.m. - Recruiting for town guards for info. See the Mythndale sky page http://www.members.home.net/astralwind/myth/.
9 p.m. - The prize box will be available to try keys; key must be given to a Mythndale staff member to verify that it is a correct key.
8 - 10 p.m. Best Dress Contest - wear your best outfits, from silly to sophisticated, staff will choose their favorites and award prizes through out the evening ranging from 1k to 10k in gold (total of 12 prizes to be awarded).

(Note: in the event that the winning key is not sold, the gold that is on the vendor will be awarded as a prize in a drawing of names of all guests present at 10 p.m. Aug. 23rd)

This week's guests are: Arch Companion ACB, Assistant Arch Companion Miriamele, and Senior Companion Zotica. Please stop by with your questions about the Companion program.

You can reach #ultima-online by connecting to the following Stratics servers with your preferred IRC client and typing /join #ultima-online.

• dhp.stratics.com, port 6667


• frws.stratics.com, port 6667


• intworks.stratics.com, port 6667


• compu.stratics.com, port 6667

Candidate phase for Moonglow elections ends this sunday!

The candidate phase for the elections in Moonglow ends this sunday - august 20th - 24:00cet! So if you would like to candidate for an official position in the city council, please fill out the application form on our skypage http://here.at/moonglow (moonglow council --> elections). Be sure to have a person living in Moonglow that is nominating you for the postition!

You can inform yourself about all candidates with the candidate list on the same skypage.

In the coming week, the election process will proceed with the candidate interviews. Here the candidates will present themselves and their ideas with a small speech and you can ask them questions. The exact date will be posted here.

Best wishes, Yoldran

Prepare Yerselves Matees!

The Fishing Council of Britannia be holding anutter auction Sunday August 27.

We sell only rares, power or vanquishing weapons or invulnerable or fortification armor. Some of the new special fishing nets are sure to appear. If you wish to sell yer items, we will auction them fer free fer you. However, please observe the rules.

You may drop items off for sale this Tuesday August 22 between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. EST at the Hawks Nest Tower (Trammel). Auction rules and map are posted at http://home.wmis.net/~gretchen/auction.htm

Gem, GL Fleet Captain FCB

Hail!

Here is my account of my viewing of Al'Cedra yestersay morning...this happened at 12:48 PM GMT on the 17th.

I had just been woken up but a few minutes ago after sleeping in the Barnacle Inn. Usually I sleep well into the morning, but something told me to get up at sunrise today. I aimlessly walked down the streets of Minoc and came upon the so-called Nameless One, the leader of the knights and mages of Kha. He was speaking to a subordinate and, having nothing else to do, sat upon a bench a few yards to the west of where they were standing, closed my eyess sleepily, and listened. I got bored after a short while; the nameless one was muttering something about possible means of gaining the favor of public opinion in Vesper, conquering the city, and withholding the city from Lord British or somesuch when I heard a great roaring, like to that of a dragon, coming from the southeast and felt a great gust of wind that nearly knocked me off the bench. I opened my eyes and found that the creator of the terribly loud noise and the gust of wind was, indeed, a dragon. She followed after the descriptions of Al'Cedra. She flew south to north in a path just east of the Nameless one and him minion; I followed in pursuit as the Nameless one stood still, looking a bit dazed, but she was much too fast for me to keep up with. She said nothing and no one but I seemed to notice her. The Nameless one said he had been too intent on the discussion at hand to notice anything. I left, my joy at seeing the glorious Trammel dragon a bit tainted with disgust.

Lanfear

Tonight I was in Skara Brae, trying to buy a few reagents (increasingly difficult with the current black pearl shortage on Trammel) when I and my fellow mages were accosted by two "Witch-hunters".

These men proceded to terrify the gathered mages with threats of burning by the command of Lord British.

Can it be that we honest mages are now to be branded witches, and burnt at the stake?

Thanks.

The Admirable Raven

Hail,

Today was the grand opening of The Grand Geneva on the Great Lakes shard but some real life matter have come up so I have to postpone the grand opening one more week. So the grand opening will now be held on Saturday, August 26th rather then today Saturday, August 19th.

On the upside there are two very nice estates up for auctioning on our website submitted by to very fine gentlemen that I have met myself. If you are a player on the Great Lakes shard and looking for a nice place to call your own you need to take a look for yourself. Along with screen shots and information posted by the owners I have taken the liberty of marking runes and locking them down on the floor of The Grand Geneva so you may go and take a look at them.

On a final note, if you are or have a trades character and are interested in being a part of player ran establishment. Please feel free to fill out the membership application. We are currently recruiting of all skills including but not limited to carpenters, scribes, miners, lumberjacks, alchemists, fishermen, etc. So if you are looking for a little something extra in your UO life. Fill out an application and we will be sure to give you a call.

Again I apologize for the delay in the grand opening date.

Good Journeys,
Soul Keeper
Royal Duke GM, CkH
Founder of The Grand Geneva

Hail,

After reading the BNN article and the hint given on the new item, I decided to give it a try. I went to a place thats cold, as suggested. Outside the ice dungeon I hunted on anything that moved. My first guess was that it would be the snow elementals, but to my surprise I found a very strange staff on a Giant Ice Serpent. The staff is said to be a Glacial staff. It looks like its made of ice. After further investigation (armslore) by my friend Jezamyn we found out that the staff is best used by a mage, and has 2 modes of operation. These modes can be triggered by saying the words "In Corp Del" or "An Ex Del" when holding the staff. You hear mysterious sounds when you change mode.

I did little experimenting with it sofar, but I can describe a few things I found out.

When the staff is used in In Corp Del mode it uses ALL your mana in 1 blast, the blast seems to do damage, but I have no idea how much. It killed a bull in one shot, but did nothing on a heavily damage drake. Besides its scary to lose 100 mana with 1 spell.

The An Ex Del mode, makes the sound of a paralyse and seems to paralyse the target, but only for a very short time.

I guess a lot more research is needed to find out all about this, but I hope this is a good start.

Srikrit Ta Lir of Clan Wulf (Drachenfels)

We've also heard that there may be two types of Staves out there. According to Blur, he found 2. One of them has the trigger phases "Des Corp Del" and "An Ex Del", the other is activated by saying "In Corp Del" and "Des Corp Del". If any other types are found, make sure to let us know!

Continuing my lonely journey through Felucca (is there anybody else here?), I was stunned to discover an exhausted pigeon that had somehow managed to plant and active a Felucca moonstone. Of course, out of respect for its skill, I ate it immediately. The note, from Za’ul, read as follows:

“I have 2 pieces of news I wish to report. First, Herc has been named as guild master of the Order of Might.

“Second, Valor town has been experiencing many changes. We have lost several citizens in the last 24 hours, and as a result, I am sad to report that the poetry competition will have to be postponed until things around town, and within the Order of Might have had a chance to settle down.

“I am sure that this is tedious to those of you who were wanting to participate, and because of this, I will be raising the prize pay-out as follows: 30k to first place, 20k to second place, and 10k to third. The topic will still be 'Honor', and the date will be posted at a later time.”

On a serious note, I had prepared several bawdy orcish limericks about “honor,” so I hope the contest is rescheduled soon.

Praise Minax!

Fellow Britannians, Hail and Well Met

Tis I, ImaNewbie, Lord Mayor of ImaTown here to tell thee of a glorious event about to take place in the lands of Trammel on the Shard of Pacific. On Saturday, August 19th, at 6:00pm (pacific time) we proudly open the doors of "ImaTown" to all the citizens of Britannia. We hereby invite you to come and partake in the events, revelry and general good times. OVER 2 MILLION (UO) IN PRIZES!

Gates should be available from most major town banks, for about a half-hour prior to opening.

Rather than print the entire details here I will direct you to the ImaTown section of my website where I have placed full town information, event details and detailed maps of how to get to ImaTown. Just head to the ImaNewbie does Britannia main page and click the ImaTown logo.

http://www.imanewbie.com/

Come one, come all. Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
ImaNewbie, Lord Mayor of ImaTown
Guildmaster of the L.O.S.E.R.S.

We announce the 11th auction in Dragon Town on Sunday 20th August at 8pm CET (7pm GB, 2pm EDT). The auction can only run if OSI enable the comm crystals again. If not, we have to cancel the auction, sorry.

The place of the auction is as every time Dragon Town (Felucca) on top of the merchant tower. A introduction for the auction and a map to the town can be found here at the homepage. Please read the introduction at our page ! This should solve many questions.

The collection of wares is open right now. If you have something contact Zarzal on ICQ 9611261 or visit the tower in the evening hours. Please use the time and don't bring all the items in the last 5 minutes in front of the auction. This is hard to handle, thank you.

To prevent attacks from people who like to make trouble we have a snoop service installed. You only enter the tower WITHOUT any explosion potions and shooting weapons. Some guild members auf the Dragon Clan will check you. Don't bring such things to the auction or you will be ejected right now.

Don't bring your pets with you, let them in the stables. While the auction of a item is in progress please stop talking, joking about the prices or practice anything. This will spam the logs due the comm crystals that we must use to hear everything. Giving comments to the prices while the auction is in progress is unfair. After the item is sold, feel free to say something, but PLEASE, not in the auction. thank you.

Ragards

Lady Zarzal Dragon

Do you have comments on our House of Commons program? Suggestions for ways we can improve it? Questions about what companies we have HOC programs set up with? Check out our brand new House of Commons Forum and let us know what you think!

The Plague is Predicted to Strike Again!

Kardian McLean - August 17th, 2000

I am starting to dread writing these reports to you, gentle readers, as my news is so rarely good.

Having spent a great deal of time with the gypsy woman, Tatiana Tasovich and her merry band, over the last months, it is with great concern that I bring you this next bit of news.

Tatiana has had another vision of the plague. This time she was left drained and quite shaken by the vision. For almost an hour after it, she could not even bring herself to give voice to what she had seen. When finally she was able to, she told of the dread plague and how it was going to strike again...only this time it would strike her own people.

After the band and I finally absorbed this bit of news, she continued her tale in a quiet voice that shook with the emotions her vision had caused her. I fear, dear readers, that Tatiana has also foreseen her own death by this plague.

The plague is to strike in two days, on the eve of Saturday of this week. Many preparations have begun to try to avoid this dread fate, yet all are worried it will not be enough. All food and water has been quarantined and is being rigorously checked by the band to ensure that it is safe to consume.

But I must ask you, brave readers, to please aid us in preventing this from occurring. Tatiana has aided us so many times in averting disaster. I call upon each and every one of you to please do all that you can to help us save the life of this woman and her people. Seek out Benedict and learn all that you can of this latest threat. Hopefully somewhere the answers to stopping this dread event exist and one of you will find them.

For anyone interested in assisting Tatiana with the oncoming plague, her tent can be found in the gypsy camp in southern Minoc. Additionally, the individual known as Benedict is known to take residence in the strange building discovered in the Lost Lands many months back, which was connected to a teleporter located in the Delucian Caves. And as a historical note, the Village of Kinship fell victim to the first wave of the disease, so research into this location may reveal useful information.

There will be a new game played at Kinship Tavern every Tuesday night from 8pm - 10pm EST, during Boswick the Barkeep's shift, and everyone is welcome to join the fun!

This is how it works:

Everyone who wishes to play the game pays a one time registration fee of 500 gold. All of the gold you give for the game goes directly into the pot, including your registration fee. Once you've paid the registration, each Tuesday when you come to the tavern you will have one opportunity to add 100 gold to the pot and roll the dice. If your roll is double 6's, YOU WIN HALF THE POT!

But that's not all - you have a second chance of winning! Each Tuesday at the end of his shift, Boswick will draw one name out of a hat of all those registered to play. If he draws your name and you visited the tavern that evening, YOU WIN HALF THE POT!

If you've already left for the evening, your winnings will be held for you through the following Tuesday bar shift. If you fail to claim it by then, the gold will be added back to the pot.

As you can see, the pot will continue growing all the time and the more you play, the larger the winnings will be! It just takes one short visit to the tavern each Tuesday evening to be a potential winner! Bring your friends! The more players, the larger the pot will grow.

Kinship Tavern is located inside the Kinship Village Hall, just east of mainland Skara Brae on the Felucca facet. The tavern is tended by a barkeep every evening, so come any time and enjoy the companionship!

Orlando and Minervas small one family caravan wandered it ways south out
of the Minoc camp. Orlando handling the 2 pack mules loaded down with
il-gotten gain. All the while pan handling and running his usual Gypsy
con-games with the passing parties. Minerva keeping the tamed sheep and
chickens in check, she had tempted them away from the farmers yards in
Minoc ofcourse. Life to Orlando and Minerva was fast, loose and always
on the move. But thats the way they liked it. It was there lot in this
world. Gypsy's, see the world while living off its stupidity and
gulibility.

As the road forked, SE to Vesper and west along the southern edge of the
Covetous range, Orlando beats the mules till they turned west. West
towards Britain, Yew, Trinsic. West to where the really gulible, an
rich, people lived.

As they troad on, Orlando smelled a change in the air. He was used to
the smell of the ore From Mt. Kendell, back at the camp. He was used to
the fainter smells from the covetous range as the circled from north to
south to west. But as the sun began to set something smelled odd.
Minerva noticed something to, but with her it was her eyes that told a
tale. Minerva swore she had seen a faint glint of gold and a flash of
red amongst the trees. She was sure she had seen it several times. But
as she turned her head to look closer it was gone. After the second such
feeling Minerva caught Orlando's attention. She motioned for Orlando to
halt the mules and be alert. At just that moment Orlando recognized the
smell. He pointed to the tree line an turned to yell at Minerva.......
"ORC!!!!"

From the tree line he watched. The hatred swelling in him as the small
putred band of Gypsy's passed down the road. Was this the group? he
wasn't sure, for that matter he didn't care. They where Gypsy's, they
would pay for the sins there kind creates in the world, for the sin they
did unto him.  His human mothers screams still rang in his mind. The
look on his human step fathers face as the blood turned tainted an the
life force left him. They had did it to him, to his newly found
connection to a man he could have called father.

Glur'Kun remembered just 2 weeks prior.....

He was meeting his mother at the summer hiding place, near the Minoc
hunting lodge. They didn't know but The man mother called "husband" was
trailing them both. A rogue Troll wounded, alone, hungry, and berserked
found "husbands" trail of set upon him.  Glur'Kun and his mother heard
the fight. Gloria Recognized her husbands war cry. She paniced an ran to
see the situation. Glur'Kun, seeing the pain on his mothers face, drew
his bow. Two shots flew from his nibble fingers in a single breath. Both
landed critical blows. One thru the trolls eye, while the other found
the Trolls heart. The Troll collapsed in a pile and died on the spot. As
they attended "husband" Glur'Kun swore he saw an Orc fleeing thru the
trees. Could that be him? he thought.

At the Minoc Lodge mother attended "husband" wounds. One afternoon as
his condition improved, the "husband" called for his younger saviour.
"Glur'Kun, come befor me" his voice shaking between fraility and an
echoing boom. "I have been watching you, and your Mother, for quite some
time. I had heard rumors amongst the house staff of you many yrs ago"
The story trailed on an on for hrs. How Miles, the "Husband", had sent
trainers and teachers to secretly replace the nuns, monks and peasants
that he was "hiding" amongst. All in tribute to his brides belief that
Glur'Kun had been "sent" to her for a purpose.  So, as the story died
down with the fire, the two "men" drifted off to sleep.

In the midst of the night Glur'Kun awoke with a start from a noise in
Miles bed. A Gypsy assassin had been sent to kill Miles. But why? for
what purpose. Miles had also been awakend by the clumsy oaf of a Gypsy.
They struggled and fought as Glur'Kun lundged for the intruder. Glur'Kun
snapped the mans neck an threw him to the floor. But it was to late for
Miles. He felt the posion flowing painfully threw his veins. Miles
mumbled to Glur'kun "Its Silver Serpent for sure, I've seen the signs
befor" Glur'Kun called for his mother and for Miles squire Gwayne. Miles
ask Glur'kun to be still an listen while he still had time to speak.

Glur'Kun I want you to take this lodge as your home. Gwayne will be sure
to its upkeep while you are away.

Away? but where am I going Sir Miles? asked Glur'Kun.

You are going to avenge the life that this world has given you. Orcs
stole your human heredity and now Human trash would steal all that I can
give you. I wouldst work to show you to be a decent caring creature and
win your acceptance to the King. Despite your mixed heritage. But alas I
shall not be able to now, I can feel the life leaving me now Glur'Kun."

Miles turns to his squire.... "Gwayne come here. This night you shall
equipt Glur'Kun in my Archers hunting armor. You know the set, Gold
breast chainmail with Shadow Plate accessories"

"Gloria give Glur'Kun that Red silk Night Eyes cloak you where saving
for his birthday, tonight instead"

Gloria eyes spread wide...

"You didnt think I knew about that either did you my dearest" mumbled
Miles.

Miles face quickly began to change as Gwayne outfitted Glur'Kun. Gloria
fell upon her husband an began to weep loadly.  Miles lifted his hand to
point at a double axe, covered in dried blood, that hung on the wall of
the lodge. Miles tried to speak again, But words never left his lips.
His arm fell limp as the life left his body.

Gwayne walked to the axe an removed it from the scounces that attached
it to the wall. Handed it to Glur'Kun saying....

I think Sir Miles wanted you to have this as well. He got it off a kill
he made 3 yrs ago. Glur'Kun looked at the axe handle. It had a rough
crude carved name in the handle "Glurk".  The axe belonged to your true
father Glur'Kun and the blood is his too. Your father was Glurk the ORC
!

The word "ORC" wrang thru his memory at the exact moment it wrang thru
his ears. Orlando stood on the road yelling to Minerva...... ORC !!!!!!

The arrows flew from Glur'Kuns fingers striking Orlando in 3 places. One
in each arm and the 3rd in the upper thigh of his left leg. Orlando
collapsed to the ground as Glur'Kun bounded from the trees headed for
the road.

Minerva drew her dagger in rage in ran towards this strangely dressed
pig-man. She took a swipe at it face when they collided in rage.

Glur'Kun grabbed Minerva by the throat with one hand. Catching the
dagger arm with his other hand. "Women, I shall not kill you tonight.
Tonight you shall live to deliver a message. If your swift and lucky,
your companion shall live as well"

After a brief strungle, the realization hit Minerva she should
co-operate if she wanted to live and save herself and Orlando.

Glur'Kun overturned a small cart that was lying abandoned by the
roadside and attached it to one of the mules packs after cutting loose
it baggs. An orcs Double axe fell from the bags. Blood and more rage
boiled in Glur'Kuns mind.

 He approached Minerva who had gone to the aid of Orlando. "Get him into
the cart now" Glur'Kun ordered.

"He'll die If I move him now" she whined.

Glur'Kun brandished the newly found axe. "You want the arrows removed?"
"Whacked" down came the axe, Across the thigh just above the arrow. The
leg severed, Orlando jolted awake with a howl of the dying. Bats, Birds
and the like startled and flew from the trees with the scream from
Orlandos pain filled mind.

If you want him to live, get him in that cart now and move !! I shall be
watching. Get this scroll case to the Britainnia "Stratics" criers or
you and he shall perish by my hand befor the sun sets tomorrow.

Glur'Kun took a lit torch an buried it into the open wound that was
Orlandos leg. "GO!!" he hollard over Orlandos pain.

By dawn Minerva arrived exhausted at the Britain road guard station
south of the swamp. She fell from the mule she had beaten all night to
get her. As the guards rushed to her aid she handed them a scroll. "Get
this to the Brittain criers hurry" She turned an ran to Orlando.

Orlando body was gone. But how? where? She threw her hands to the sky an
screamed with rage to what ever was listening in the heavens. She fell
exhausted into the cart. When she fell she noticed she fell upon
somthing in the shadowy dawn light. A double bladed Orcish style axe
covered in human blood, Orlandos blood to be sure she thought.

She turned for the guard with the scroll, but was headed SW on horse
back and out of earshot.

Within 2 hrs the scroll was in the criers hands, it read......

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

I, Glur'Kun of the Bloody Axe, do here by give notice To the powers that
be and the powers that wish to be. The down trodden of this world shall
avenge themselves of your selfish and oppressive ideals, laws and way of
life. I, and any of those that wish to join me, shall remove from this
world the filth of the Gypsy and Orc races. Any that ally themselves
with such trash shall meet my wrath as well. We shall also remove the
prejuidicial snobbery of the Order and Chaos ranks. 

For any that wish to join my cause can meet near the east bridge of the
Miners camp on Sunday Aug 20 at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT. I shall be about and
will know those that are genuine and those that are there for stupidity
and self righteousness.

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

***IMATOWN OPENS SATURDAY***

Fellow Britannians, Hail and Well Met

Tis I, ImaNewbie, Lord Mayor of ImaTown here to tell thee of a glorious event about to take place in the lands of Trammel on the Shard of Pacific. On Saturday, August 19th, at 6:00pm (pacific time) we proudly open the doors of "ImaTown" to all the citizens of Britannia. We hereby invite you to come and partake in the events, revelry and general good times. OVER 2 MILLION (UO) IN PRIZES!

Gates should be available from most major town banks, for about a half-hour prior to opening.

Rather than print the entire details here I will direct you to the ImaTown section of my website where I have placed full town information, event details and detailed maps of how to get to ImaTown. Just head to the ImaNewbie does Britannia main page and click the ImaTown logo.

www.imanewbie.com

Come one, come all. Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
ImaNewbie, Lord Mayor of ImaTown
Guildmaster of the L.O.S.E.R.S.

My friends, I appologize for my recent absense.  Our lives are often a complex thing and mine has been more so lately than I can honestly say I believed it would have been.  Fortunately I'm finally catching up to speed now and after my long journey, I'm prepared to return full time to my job, reporting the news!

Hmmm... it cold be that the item is already out there. But this guess isn't even warm. :)

Also, another possible coincidence (or maybe not) was the story put up on BNN just today called "Common Ground". Just in case, I would suggest reading this tale, as there may be some hints buried within it.

If you discover what it is, make sure to let us know, along with a story of what happened. Thanks!

"Einst prächtig wie kaum ein andres war

Dann schmächtig und recht unscheinbar

Des alten Greises wohl bekannt

Des jungen Herrns ganz unbekannt

Zum alten Glanz wolln wir dich bringen

Geeinte Kraft wird das erzwingen

Ein neues Dorf, das soll es werden

Mit Engagement und nicht nur reden

Diese Tat wir ham vollbracht

Laden ein zur neuen Pracht

Am dritten Sonntag zu gegebner Stunde

Wird offiziell die frohe Kunde

Die Stund die soll die siebte sein

Und Lindost wird für immer sein

Lindost läd euch alle ein

Zu mehr als Bier und Wein

So kommet doch an diesem Tage

Und feiert mit bei dem Gelage."

Mit diesem Brief richte ich mich an alle Einwohner Britannias. Der Grund, warum ich diese Zeilen verfasse, ist einfach :

Wir, die Bewohner Lindost´s, moechten alle Buerger dieses schoenen Landes dazu einladen, die Eroeffnung unseres Dorf mitzufeiern. Es soll ein wahrhaft festliches Ereignis werden, weshalb wir uns auch einiges haben einfallen lassen :

• Nach der Eroeffnungsrede (19:00Uhr) wird es neben einem Pferderennen ( 19:30 Uhr ; wer sich vorab anmelden will tut dies bitte hier ),
• auch noch einen Catch the Horse Wettbewerb,
• eine Game Show (beide ab 20:15 Uhr)
• und eine Auktion (21:15 Uhr) geben ;
• alle mit sehr verlockenden Preisen.

Wem dies jedoch nicht zusagt, der sei uns dennoch willkommen ; haben wir doch noch eine Menge Verkaeufer ueber das Dorf verteilt, die zu einem gemuetlichen Einkaufsbummel einladen. Schank und Schmaus werden an diesem Tag natuerlich kostenlos in der Taverne von unseren lieblichen Kellnerinnen verteilt. Und wer den langen Weg nach Hause am Abend nicht mehr antreten will, der wird im Inn "Zum mueden Holzfaeller" eine gemuetliche Unterkunft finden.

Ab 18:30 Uhr werden wir einen Gateservice von allen groesseren Staedten nach Lindost anbieten. Aber auch per pedes sind wir leicht zu erreichen.

Wir freuen uns darauf, mit Euch gemeinsam bis spät in die Nacht zu Ehren von Lindost zu feiern ! Obblinox, Offene Handelsgesellschaft Britannia [OHB]

And now the crappy translation I managed to take care of :

This letter is adressed to all the inhabitants of Britannia.

We, citizens of Lindost, wish to invite all the people of our lands to party for the opening of our Village. After the beginning of the party (7pm CET, 6pm British time, 1pm EDT), some events will take place :

• A Horse Race, at 7.30pm CET. To register for this race, please contact us using this link,
• A "Catch the Horse" contest (after 8.15pm CET),
• A Game Show (after 8.15pm CET),
• An Auction from 9.15pm CET...
• ... all of which will include very interesting prizes !

If one's desires are not fulfilled with all these, he can still come and visit our numerous vendors spreaded around the village. Food and drinks will of course be free that night in our Tavern, and if any of you feels too exhausted to go back home late at night, he will find a comfortable hosting at the "Mueden Holzfaeller" (The Weary Lumberjack).

From 6.30pm CET (5.30pm British time, half past noon EDT), a gate service will be provided to Lindost from the most important cities of the world. Still, as you can see on the map, going on foot is still easy. We hope to have a good time with all of you to celebrate the birth of Lindost.

Obblinox [OHB]

Good Friends,

Though I am still taking messages on what people would like to bring, I thought a list of what we have thus far might be in order. Knowing how people's weekends fill up quickly, a final notice with time to plan one's schedule accordingly seemed wise.

Day/Date: Sunday, 8-20

Caravan Departure:
from the Vesper bank at 3:00 pm est

Market Opens:
upon arrival of the caravan in Minoc, approx. 3:30 pm until 6:00 pm est.

Place:
the square surrounding the large statue in the center of Minoc.

Below is a listing of what I have confirmed, though I have a sneaking suspicion (from past experience) that a great deal more will simply show up that day:

• GM and near GM smiths
• GM tailors
• GM carpenters (house add-ons and more)
• GM tamer (and all the exotic pets)
• ingot dealer
• scribes
• at least one mobile tavern
• a wandering "game show host"

*PLEASE...bring your own booth furniture

Next, a list of what I would still like to see for people's shopping pleasure:

• alchemists
• other raw materials (hides & lumber)
• any other entertainment

On this last item, that of entertainment, if you've ever had a small event in mind and never thought you could get the crowd to try it out on, here's your chance. Perhaps its a small event, a game, a competition, a comical booth (we had a kissing booth at the first market), fortune teller, gambling table, or a new song you'd like to sing. What ever they might be, bring them all. Again, this is your market, the Trammel Market. Make of it what you will and I'm sure we'll all enjoy it.

One last reminder if you've a special need for your activity. The area we are in has several very nice accomodations for other possible uses:

• Minoc Bank (for obvious reasons)
• Gypsy Camp
• Empty (NPC) buildings just next to the market square
• The Forgery (NPC blacksmith shop)

Two final happenings at the market, one for the buyers and one for the merchants:

1. Receipt Drawing
Those merchants who wish to participate should bring a good number of writable books. When a customer makes a purchase, the merchant writes that person's name in the book and holds on to it until the end of the market...one receipt per customer (NOT per purchase). Near 6:00 pm, I will collect all the books and draw the winner. They will receive a check for 5,000 gold. If the merchant would like, possibly to bolster their sales, they might wish to award some prize from their booth as well to the lucky winner. Optional, of course. You will need to be present at the drawing to win.

2. Booth Decoration Competition
I will also be looking for the best decorated booth. Originality and theme are the determining factors in this competition. Given that some merchants can only be present for a portion of the entire market, the winner need not be present at the end of the day. I will be taking notes on each booth throughout the day. Winner receives a check for 5,000 gold.

With such potential for a wonderful day at the market, I hope to see all of you in Minoc this Sunday.

Dove the Healer

Chesapeake Update

In the last twenty-four hours, the Chesapeake shard has experienced a combination of hardware and software issues that, in addition to bringing the shard down, hindered our ability to save a complete backup of the shard. As a result, we are currently in the process of reverting the shard to its last completed backup, which was completed at approximately 3:00 PM EST, Thursday, August 17th.

We are currently monitoring the Chesapeake shard internally and will keep the shard internal until we feel the issue has been resolved. We will update you again once the shard has returned.

Due to the extended downtime over the last twenty-four hours, the shard will not go down for scheduled maintenance on Saturday, August 19th.

As we were preparing to storm The cult of the Black Dragons tower a pigeon arrived. The message it carried said that Basil was willing to negotiate for the reward and a certain amulet that is kept in Sanctuary's tower. Our Negotiator Erwin Rommel opened a dialogue with Basil and a time was set to meet with him and give us our beloved Lotus back.

We gathered as many people as we could to Sanctuary's Tower for the exchange. Tension grew as the night wore on. Suddenly we see a scout come to the tower and ride off! As we prepared for the exchange, we see Basil Stag Hare and few of his troops approaching. Then from another direction we see two Members of the Bloodrock clan coming! To top it off a gate opens and a Drow Representative of

The Learners of Lolth steps out!. We knew in our hearts that we would face the battle of our lives. We met in the first floor of the tower for the exchange. Our main concern was for Lotus, who had obviously been tortured repeatedly. Basil seemed to get agitated as the negotiations went on demanding The Amulet and asking where it was.

While most of us had no clue what he was talking about I, at least, had heard of it and its mystical powers. The only person that could release it was White Lotus. As if reading my mind Basil ordered his men to take Lotus to retrieve the Amulet. Suddely Lotus broke free and ran up the stairs. This was our moment to act and we attacked. We put up a valiant fight but it was over quickly.

As I lay there with the life fading from me I could see Basil's terrible visage over me screaming WHERE IS THE AMULET!!!. Then all went black. I woke to see a healer leaning over me calling me back to my body. Everywhere lay bodies of the dead and wounded. We were defeated in combat and in our hearts until we heard that maybe White Lotus was alive and free!

Regardless of our injury's we banded together and searched the tower. We found her behind a wall hanging in her room unconscious but alive. Where she gained the strength to break free and hide I'll never know. The moment we found her there was rejoicing through out the tower. We knew our deaths were not in vain and Basil had gone away with nothing!

After comparing notes with my fellow defenders we came to these conclusions:
The Urks seemed happy to let us humans kill each other and really were only in it for the gold. Basil will undoubtedly be back for the amulet and its mysterious powers. The Evil Mage Lazareth is still out there biding his time for revenge against Sanctuary. Where this new Drow clan came from is beyond us but we now know they are enemies.

Tonight Good was victorious, but we know realize its just a matter of time before evil takes over. We cannot hold out for long by ourselves and put this call out to all forces of Good, We will welcome your aid!

Jon von Darkmoor - Ranger of Sanctuary

In the last twenty-four hours, the Chesapeake shard has experienced a combination of hardware and software issues that, in addition to bringing the shard down, hindered our ability to save a complete backup of the shard. As a result, we are currently in the process of reverting the shard to its last completed backup, which was completed at approximately 3:00 PM EST, Thursday, August 17th.

We are currently monitoring the Chesapeake shard internally and will keep the shard internal until we feel the issue has been resolved. We will update you again once the shard has returned.

Due to the extended downtime over the last twenty-four hours, the shard will not go down for scheduled maintenance on Saturday, August 19th.

The Brave Men Shop is nearing it's goal of 10,000 customers. Maik Huneke sent in the following reminder:

"I hope you are still interested in our little event. We have placed a small marble shop in a very good mining location. We will place 100 keys at each 1000 Gold into a vendor. I guess it won`t be the very last key bought that fits!

"We will give further details on the quest on our page, as we are still in the planning of this. We have had 9800 customers so far, so we think this will take place within the next 2 weeks. Maybe faster, now that this has been posted!"

Go with the virtues.

Jasmine, head of the Homeless Chef Fund, sent us the following cancellation notice:

"Thanks to your generous natures, the Homeless Chef Fund has been a success! The proposed House Auction has been called off when it was realized that selling privately through the Homeless Chef Fund was an easier and quicker way of helping the homeless. So far, at least 6 lucky inhabitants of Drachenfels have found homes with us because of your charity! For those still requiring assistance, we still have two small towers and a sandstone patio house available, all on Trammel. Offers must be made fast as the price can get very high in a very short space of time. We can also direct you towards places where houses for sale may be found.

"The Homeless Chef Fund would also like to thank certain citizens for their selflessness in the funding of the Homeless Chef Fund : Gullian, Aeris, Jadzia, Rivendell and all of old Moonglow! They may be interested to know a house was FINALLY bought and placed with their generous proceeds and that a rune library will be opened inside, yet to be completed.

"We thank Drachenfels for their time and money!"

Go with the virtues!

PvP Discussion Thread

To help focus all the PvP discussion going on, lets keep it all under this one thread here. That makes it easier for everyone including myself to refer back to. The main things I would like to see discussed are the future of PvP, not the past "glory days". The reason I say this is because there were factors involved with PvP that were game flaws and imbalances, one being pre-casting.
One thing that I have heard about pre-casting interests me, and I think is a major concern with PvP supporters. The ability to have more of a direct control over the outcome and the methods of reaching that outcome seem to be what players say is needed. I have heard some say instead of combat being more like a roll of the dice, players should be able to have play-tactics and possibly be able to perform combinations of moves and so forth that would add an element of true skill to combat. Do you feel this way? Post here and tell me. I want to know the attraction of PvP before more recent changes. Is the attraction truly the playstyles possible through more complex combat, or was it the imbalance that a swordsman/mage could impose with pre-casting and instant hitting? (One example of an imbalance)
This does make a difference, because we do want players to have more fun at UO. However adding imbalances or re-introducing game flaws is not a desireable thing. Tell me if you think it's possible to add the "fun" being mentioned without adding pre-casting, or instant hitting.

Melantus
Online Community Coordinator
Ultima Online
[email protected]

A messenger has tracked me down once more, to deliver this timely missive. It should prove of particular interest to those of the warrior disciplines. My mead grows stale, so I'll not tarry long with prose. Read on, pilgrims!

Greetings Fellow Adventurers! I have some rather upsetting news to deliver about the Champions of Britannia Tournament. The time that I hoped to have scheduled must be pushed back one day to Saturday due to an unexpected occurrence with my outside activities... So, in order to make it up to the rest of the of the anxious warriors out there, I will be raising the grand prize of the tournament to 25k. Hopefully this will also get the attention of others that were considering taking part, to sign up and join in the festivity.

Sincerely,
Marco Polo,
Guildmaster of Legends of Sosaria

I trust this minor setback won't affect the anticipated, large turnout. To those of you who intend to particiapte..."Salut!"

This Saturday, the 19th from 5pm (EST) to 11pm, the Asylum of Perdition is hosting a grand Casino event. Drink are half price, and all citizens of Caina receive free tokens for this momentous event.

Games and the location can be found through this link- ebonskull.org/caina. As well, gates to the Casino shall be opened in Fellucca Skara Brae and Vesper.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Shardak Mardas

Ugh der humies! The time has come to pay homage to the Bludgod. In keeping with the traditions of the ancient orcs, the mighty Qog, Warboss of the Stormreaver Orc Clan, has decreed that next Sunday (8/27) there will be a festival to celebrate. There will be much horsemeat and fine Orcish ale for all. As well there will be many events for both human and orc alike. The events are as follows.

1. Belching Contest - Best Role-played belch wins 20,000 gold pieces. Judges will look for originality and quality.
2. Insult Contest - Best Orcish insult wins 30,000 gold pieces.
3. Drinking Contest - First humie or orc that drinks 5 bottles of ale wins 15,000 gold pieces.
4. Clomp the Boss - Humans will dawn Orcish armor and pick up Orcish weapons to fight the various leaders of the clan. If they succeed in defeating the orc they win 2500 gold pieces. You will only be able to compete in this event once per boss. Each boss will be assigned for half hour shifts.
5. Team Clomp - Teams of three will dawn Orcish armor and use orc weapons to fight each other in a special arena set up at the festival. The wining team will receive 60,000 gold pieces.
6. Rat Fights - Contestants will pay 500 gold to buy a rat. They will then have the rats fight to the death. Contestants are not allowed to assist their rat in any way. Whomever rat is still alive at the end wins. The winner will receive the pot.

The festival will take place at the Scarlet Tower on the facet of Felucca. Gates will be provided from the East Bank of Britain, the Bank of Moonglow and the West Bank of Trinsic from 1 pm to 2 pm EST. The Festival will then begin promptly at 2 pm EST. All of Britannia is invited to attend. However, my master Qog has stated one rule. The Festival of the Bludgod is a time of peace for the orcs. All wars must be left at the towns from which ye came.

Farewell everyone and praise the Bludgod!

Scribe of Qog

Just when we despair that the forces of Light hold a festival, the forces of Darkness announce one of theirs. Excellent. *smiles darkly* Yours in Infinite Darkness,

Friday night August 18th at 8 by the eastern sun we will begin a celebration of the Midsummer's Night. This celebration of the Summer Solstice is a tradition among Faeries as well as Wood Nymphs and some other creatures of the realm. We are a little late this year but we intend to celebrate as though it were the very night. There is a tradition of dancing around Faery fires and merriment, drinking is a must and clothing is optional.

We are hoping you will bring some magic item to donate as we plan to have a week of compassion to help the people of Britain and would like to give these items away to them as a reward for acts of kindness. This event is sponsored by the Britain Council of Compassion. We hope you will join us at the Festival grounds in Trammel just southwest of Britain.

Yours In Light,
Molly, Lady of Events [BRI], SST, HoA

Thank ye Molly for this news. We do so hope that the creatures of Light and Nature enjoy themselves. *cackles* Walk in Darkness,

King BreeOge and Queen Amelia are to be married at Castle British, and a Raffle is to be held at the Knights of the Inquisition Tavern after the wedding. Prizes include 2 checks for 100k, various semi-rare items and magical items. Everyone is welcome to attend and win the prizes, and best of all just have FUN! Rune or gate will be provided from Throne Room to Tavern.

Once again, the place to be is Castle British on Trammel, on Saturday, August 19, from 5:00-9:00 PM (Pacific Time). Best of luck to the marrying couple!

I recently has the pleasure of journeying through the Felucca facet, and found it full of much beauty. Dead trees, spinal columns, ah, all the things that reminded me of being a young orc in love!

But enough waxing poetic. I was distressed to find a pigeon with this note tied around it's throat, cutting off air to the poor bird. The note is from the Legion of Death:

"We are sick of everyone being scared. We are desperate for wars. We will not turn down any. No questions asked. We will war everyone. We have completely dominated the Legends shard. We have guilds who are so afraid of us that they won't even come to the bank in Britain. So if you don't war or join us you will be just another slave to fear. War us or join us! Pick a side!"

Praise Minax!

As you may or may not have heard already, our dear Kazola has been duplicated in the most sinister of means. One of the land's old enemies has resurfaced; Relk the Waiter. With the aid of Mordain of DM, Relk was able to clone Kazola using some sort of ritual he uncovered in the ruins near his home. This new Kazola gradually became agressive towards those around her, and sided with Relk.

It is my belief that there was some trickery involved in this ritual. First, Kazola was not, as Relk claims, a willing participant. She was blackmailed. Relk had me captive in the dankest corner of Hythloth, and refused to release me until Kazola agreed to be subjected to the ritual. Also, rumors are aboud that a part of the scroll involved in the ritual was torn off shortly before hand.

Recently, a reporter friend of mine was able to track down Relk and hold an interview with him. A transcript of this interview can be found here. It provides a bit more insight into the events surrounding Kazola's clone. Be wary all, I fear there is still more to this story than myself or anyone but Relk may be aware of.

-Redlowwinski

These are various fixes to be added to UO:

• The House Survey Tool will be updated to have the same rulesets apply to the newer models on the survey tool as apply to the older models. This will correct problems in certain specific situations with the newer model surveying.

• The magical scrolls purchased from NPC shopkeepers in towns will be corrected to function properly.

• Rideable mounts will have their stamina increased to allow for further distance riding.

• Random Stealing:
  Players will again be able to steal random items from players without getting the "too heavy to be stolen" message. The random steal will still check the weight of the random item and factor that into the success or failure of the steal attempt.

Friday Night Event at Grimoire Arena.
Friday August 18th, @ (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST)

2 vs.2, NO ENTRY FEE! First place 25K, second place 15K, third place 10K. This event is sponsored by Tempest, who generously donated his prize gps from previous Grimoire events.

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.
· No Stealing is allowed during battle.
· The Spell Des Mani (Weaken) is not allowed, nor can you cast Bless on an opponent. Casting Bless on an opponent will result in immediate loss of match.

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 who disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after 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 Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

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 25K gps, 2nd place is 15K gps, 3rd place is 10K gps.

We must have a minimum of 4 teams 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.shtml

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.shtml

For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit: http://www.battlevortex.com/grimoire/index.shtml

Hope to see you there!
Baby-Grimoire Staff

Yestereve, I twas passing through the City of Haven and happened into our tower. When I got inside, me bones chilled at the site twhich lay before me. In front of me twas a blueish skeleton! Him did call himself Zyrn the Elementalist. As soon as he didst appear out of thin air, ran upstairs to the top of the tower he did! I followed em fast as me feet could go, and I twas wrong in thinkin' things couldn't get much stranger! There before me stood the skeleton, and it twas speakin in our tongue! It spoke to itself whilst reading a book on the tower. Then, as fast as it appeared, it twas gone!

Shortly there after Mayor Amber came by the tower. I told her what I be seein' and we didst agree it be strange. As we were talking the skeleton appeared once more! This time it ran down the stairs and before we could follow, all these elementals started appearin out of no where. Twas just the two of us, and we weren't any match for an army of elementals! Me prayers been answered and the elementals disappeared. I never been seeing any monster appear and then just run off!

When we were sure the cost be clear we headed to the tavern. A few more people showed up and I did serve them all drinks. Tis here I learned of the book the skeleton been reading there top the tower. Twas the journal our hunting party got from Astaroth in Ice Dungeon. Astaroth tried to fight us off, claiming the dungeon to be his! We did get the last laugh when our warriors slayed him. Though he had strange powers over all elementals, seem like he could control em or something. The journal the skeleton took an interest to explains Astaroth's research in the dungeon! Why I fear this skeleton been getting delusions of grandeur and be trying to start where Astaroth left off!

I knowst not where Zyrn be going wit any of this. He didn't show up again that night, but I been getting a strange feeling we's be seeing him again. I fear for Haven and also for the City of Corwyn, who joined us in our hunt that night. If Zyrn twas a friend of Astaroth, he may have a bone or two to pick wit us. Haven not a town of warriors, we don't have the man power to fight armies of elementals. If yous feel up for a fight or two ten come have a bight or two at our Mystic Lake Tavern. I can't promise ye any action, but I have a feeling something might happen if we's get a large crowd. Come during our open hours on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday 8-11PM EST. If we's get more then 5 people on Saturday, then I hold special Tavern Games with prizes for the winners!!

(from the scrolls of the Azure Dragons)
The sun began to set, and those who would be considered as the next DragonKnight of Humility gathered 'pon the roof o' the Temple o' Nexchronosis. Ra'Dian Fl'Gith, Elder Priest of the Cult of the Azure Dragons was charged with the task of determining who wouldst succeed Aureal of the Azure Dragons. So didst they gather, and as the sun's light grew brightest before setting, Ra'Dian spake.

"I shall be describing several situations, and several possible outcomes to these situations. Please answer them in the manner that would best suit you." Thus began the first stage o' the decision. Ye are atop a hill, staring out into the coming dawn. Before ye coming up a path, a small group o' men comes. As they near, they look battered and beaten from the depths o' war. Ye know not who they are, and know not whether they be good or evil. They ask for food and a place to sleep for the eve, and wonder if ye can provide. Would you... Tell them that ye feel badly for their plight, but know not where they might rest or dine; Offer to take them to thy home and feed them, and shelter them; Direct them to the nearest town, and give them a loaf o' bread for the trip; Or point them in a direction away from town and home in fear that they may truly be brigands?

You and your best friend have adventured for years, always sharing the fame and treasure that was to be found by protecting yer town. This eve, a band o' renegade Ophidian Zealots were seen by ye and yer friend slithering towards yer village. Knowing that they would mean naught but harm, ye move to intercept them, and find that a band o' warriors have already begun to dispatch them. Would you... Quietly spread word that ye and he did not do as he said, and that he is exaggerating your role; Go along with what he says with a knowing smile upon your lips, but not speaking o' the battle; Simply brush away any comments made, and allow your friend to live in the spotlight, whilst telling your closest friends what really happened; Or publicly denounce what he said, making sure all knew the truth?

You are wandering through the Lost Lands, and come upon the body o' a fallen soul near the City of the Dead. There is no sign o' anyone else about, nor do you sense his spirit. You can tell his pack is quite hefty, and there is much hours o' fighting told in the tales o' his treasures. Would you... Wait there until ye were near certain that he wouldnae return, and then take the belongings from his remains; Wait there, if need be, hold his belongings, and await his return so that his items would be safely returned to him; Continue on your way as though ye hadnae come upon the corpse; Or wait there until his remains and treasure became one with the netherworld?

You have been accused of stealing food from the local village farmer. However, you know that the true thief is a man who has had hard luck, and has not been able to feed his family... you saw him take the food. Punishment for the crime of theft is the loss of a hand. Would you... Confess to the theft and take whatever punishment the law decided; Implicate the man, and tell fully of where and what you saw him do; Attempt to swiftly leave the village, never to return; Or attempt to speak to the authorities on his behalf, knowing that it could possibly lead to him being punished for his crime?

The local militia is recruiting young and middle-aged men for a war that they expect will be high in casualty. They have declared that fifty men will be needed to go off on what will likely be a suicide mission. No one knows your true age, and in truth, you are a couple of years older than the age they are recruiting for. If you stay out of the war, your best friend's son is next on the list, and would be the last person to go on this mission. Would you... Attempt to sneak ahead of the mission and retrieve information as to what kind of attack they would expect, so as to give them advantage in the coming battle, knowing that one man would easier travel than fifty; Volunteer for the war so that your best friend's son might be saved the horrors of the war; Attempt to take yourself and your friends and family far away from the oncoming war, that you might live on without fear; Or go to the enemy camp and surrender yourself in hopes that you might be able to talk peace into the minds of those who would bring death.

Ra'Dian collected the tomes from those present, and swiftly thumbed through them. One by one he then led each o' the participants to the ground floor o' the tower for the test o' strength. Each were given five choices as to how best display their strength: To gather a group and fight an ancient wyrm in the bowels o' Destard; To be taken to an unknown murderer's house to face him; To not fight, knowing that they possessed the strength, and that they need not prove it; To fight unarmed against Ra'Dian; Or to fight an ogrelord alone in Wrong. As their answers were given, Ra'Dian took them to the meeting room 'pon the second floor and brought down the next.

Whilst in the end, the decision was most difficult, only one couldst be chosen. From amongst those present, one would take the role o' the DragonKnight o' Humility. "I will start this by saying that this was not an easy decision at all. Truly we have gathered here a group o' very virtuous and noble people. And I am very glad that ye all came this evening. For those who are not chosen this eve, I certainly encourage ye all to return for the next choosing of the DragonKnight of Humility... The questions will be different, as will the ends... And I am certain one of ye may be next. However, when faced with a choice, and never a tougher one I have faced, in the end, there could be but one." Ra'Dian looked over those gathered, his eyes moving from Dark Widow to Nak'a'Shr, on to Durrock and Arakasi. Danny's youth and determination echoed in his mind as he looked over at Ryu, and to his close friend, SNARG. Finally his eyes rested on he who would become the new DragonKnight. "Tis my honor and privilege to name the next DragonKnight of Humility. Tristam, please step forward."

Tristam arose and Ra'Dian passed to him the black sash of the DragonKnight of Humility, colored in the hue of the virtue he wouldst defend. "I pass to thee the Sash of Humility. Wear it well. Congratulations!" And so it would be written that Tristam would be known as the Second DragonKnight of Humility, succeeding Aureal of the Azure Dragons. A smile passed Ra'Dian's lips, for he knew this was the beginning of a Draconan tradition; a tradition that would likely live on after he left this realm.

May humility and the dragongods smile upon us always.

Visit http://www.alterythem.com/cad for more information on the Cult of the Azure Dragons.

Ra'Dian Fl'Gith

Tonight was a night The Deciples of Mondain will never forget. Nor will many people that tended to Nystles side. Nystle was found very ill at the Temple of Mondain. The source of illness was unknown so word of his illness spred quickly.

The Deciples started to search for anyone with the knowledge of the Arcane Arts. Rian of Cult of the Azure Dragon was brought to Nystles side quickly. Rain casted spells that he thought would cure Nystle of his illness. Nystles skin started to go back to a healthy colour when he had a turn for the worst.

All hope of saving Nystle was low. Then they found a man named Kallendbor. Who without his book of curing Nystle would not survive. Kallendbor figured out that the source of Nystles illness what from a very rare sting from a "Soul" Bug as he called it. It's stinger is like a simbiant and when it stings its prey the stinger itself imbeds into the skin and not only steals the life force of its prey, but the soul as well.

Kallendbor found the cure for this sting in his books but the potion needed a special ingrediants to make. However it was not a common ingrediant. It was Dragons Blood.

The Deciples searched all over Decite. The only known origin of this ingrediants. They searched long and hard and eventually found it. Bringing it back to Kallendbor just in time was a good thing. Nystle was as close to dead as possible.

Nystle did survive and will continue to get healthier as time goes on...

The following recollection of the festivities comes courtesy of Snow, a citizen of Edinburgh and bowyer in the ranks of its founding organization...

"I started my night in Vesper, announcing the event and handing out runes to those that showed interest. I soon received word that the Moonglow crier had run out of runes, so I quickly travelled there to hand out the remainder of my rune supply. I soon ran out of runes, but citizens were very helpful, and gated those without runes to the city for me...

I got to Edinburgh to find that the city was overflowing with people from all around the world. Some I had seen while handing out runes, others I knew from long ago. Vulcan Lars, a citizen of Edinburgh, was greeting everyone to our fair city while I tried to show people to the areas they were interested in. Many were pulling books from their packs for entry in the prize drawing that would be held at the end of the evening.

The line at the crafting table within Frederick Adam's house was very busy, with fair patrons waiting patiently to have a household item crafted for them by the wonderful grandmaster carpenters staffing the table.

At nine o'clock, we announced that a scavenger hunt within Wrong would be held, eliciting a mass exodus to the dungeon's entrance. Once the lists had been dispensed, the participants swarmed the depths of Wrong in search of the items, with the denizens of the dungeon unprepared for what hit them.

After about twenty minutes, Teakis Moonstrike exited the dungeon, and demonstrated to the judges he had acquired all the necessary items. As the first place winner, he received a set of exceptional golden plate mail, along with a keg of cure and heal potions.

A long time afterward, when some thought the contest over, a citizen named God came through with all of the items on the list, winning a set of exceptional studded leather for his brave efforts.

Soon afterwards, Mercury Mage arrived from within the dungeon, huffing and puffing with the items in tow. He was awarded an exceptional set of leather of armor for his third place finish.

At this point, we called the remaining participants back to the township for the final drawing of door prizes.

Everyone assembled on the front steps of the Edinburgh Academy for the announcing of the winners, with some patrons quietly retiring to the tavern for a drink.

After the door prizes were awarded, members of the Britannian Order of Woodcrafters went upstairs in Frederick's house to discuss the evening and begin planning for the next event.

In retrospect, I realized that our town had a very successful evening, with over fifty patrons arriving to shop, visit, meet new friends and have some fun!

We are currently planning our next event, so keep an eye out for our announcements, as Edinburgh will once again open its doors for all to come and celebrate!"

I had a chance to visit the city of Edinburgh, and was very impressed by the aesthetics and sheer size of the city. Myriad shops and vendors exist throughout the town, and the local tavern is a beautiful setting in which to spend a romantic evening.

To see the city through your own eyes, walk south of Wrong, with the Town Hall lying at coordinates 110o7'N 42o32'E. The city spans the length of the mountain range, with buildings extending into the surrounding forest. The citizens will appreciate your patronage!

S-Mart will be hosting an auction this Saturday, August 19, 2000 at 8pm EST. The auction will be held at the S-Mart Auction house which is northeast from Minoc and north-northeast from Vesper. The sextant coordinates are 139'28" N, 129'52" E. Also, for your convenience, Myrrden will be providing free runes and gates to the auction house at the West Britain Bank from 7-7:55pm EST. The auction will begin promptly at 8pm EST. Please note the following rules to help make the auction go smoothly for all involved:

• No fighting, casting, or unnecessary talking during the auction please. If you must talk, form a party with your friends.
• Turn off your UNICODE in the uo.cfg file so that your voice can be heard more than 4 tiles away.
• All sales are final and must be paid in full immediately following the auction.

If you wish to sell items at the auction please follow this procedure:

• Place the items (no more than 4 please) in a bag with a book.
• The book should have your name as the author and should contain your ICQ or email address and any minimum bids on the items you wish to sell.
• Bring the bag with your items to the shop by 8pm EST
• There is, and never will be, any charge for using the auction! I run it for the players!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or ICQ me. Be sure to come by the auction, you never know what kind of great deals you might find! We need items to sell so bring something when you come! Hope to see you there Saturday at 8pm EST! Remember, shop smart, shop S-Mart!

Foster
Owner
S-Mart Auction House
[email protected]
ICQ# 75760974

The town council in Moonglow is holding elections for its official positions. We are looking for dedicated Moonglow citizens who wish to work as Mayor, Vice Mayor, Treasurer, Town Constable, Council Advisor, Towncrier or Guard Captain!

The election will proceed in three steps:

1 Candidate nomination
2 Candidate interview/ questioning
3 Elections

Phase one - candidate nomination - will probably end this sunday, august 20th, 24:00cet.

To apply for one of the above positions, fill out the application form on the election page at the Moonlgow City skypage, found at http://here.at/moonglow There you will also find a description of what the positions are about and how the Council is structured.

A list of candidates who already have applied is published on the council skypage. Take a look there to inform yourself about them before the elections start.

If you have any questions concerning the elections, don't hesitate to contact me!

Best wishes,
Yoldran
Mayor of Moonlgow

While traveling around the forests of Felucca today, I happened upon a small blonde lady huddled near a dead tree. She wore the robe of death and a dazed look on her face. I stopped to see if I could be of aid. Upon looking closer I noticed her name. White Lotus-Honoured Council-TCS.

At the time, the title meant nothing to me. I dismounted from my steed, bowed and asked if I could be of help. She looked up with vacant eyes and smiled. As I reached out to take her hand to help her up, she pulled back, stood up and ran towards the bridge.

I mounted and tried to follow her. She ran like the hounds from hell were after her. I called her name. She stopped, turned to look at me and spoke but one word. "Laz"

Soon I was surrounded by monsters of all kinds and had to fight my way thru them. After I dispatched them, I looked for her but she had disappeared.

I searched for awhile and then slowly made my way to Yew. I forgot about her until I saw a person with the same guild name. As I rushed to ask if he knew her, he recalled away. Asking around the bank, I discovered that TCS was actually The City of Sanctuary.

I don't know what she was doing or what had befallen her, but she didn't seem in her right state of mind.

For your information, I was traveling in the forests around Yew and Britain in Felucca. It was near an L-shaped bridge that I spotted her.

I am hoping that she shall be found and returned to her home.

Adieu

Anyone with any information regarding the whereabouts of the Lady White Lotus or the Mage Laz, Please contact the City of Sanctuary immediately!

Jon von Darkmoor
-Ranger of Sanctuary

This letter reached the guild HQ recently:

As you know KMK believe that your alliance with LBL is false, you cannot have an independent in a land controlled by Lord British. We believe the Virtues of this land have been broken by you and now we declare war on you FVM. You will refrain from calling Vesper your own. You will refrain from telling KMK to leave this town. As far as we are concerned FVM has no rights in Vesper and that they are a bunch of thugs. We will stop you by any means whatsoever from you taking full control if this city. We fight for the Virtues and the right to bring this land as one nation. This means no independent towns.

May the Gods have mercy on your souls. Nameless One, Lord of Kha

The declaration of war on our City came not as a surprise, and was met with the same determination and tenacity that characterized the previous sieges. The motives of Kha are obviously set upon conquering Vesper and controlling it by themselves. Our treaty with British is not false, as both sides have sworn upon the Virtues to uphold it's implications. I am sure the Leader of the Loyalists will back my words here. Therefore, the Free Vesper Militia will continue it's duty for the people of Vesper and that includes upholding the law and order in and around the town. We are backed by the support of numerous citizens and several villages surrounding the city, all interested in keeping Vesper a free and peaceful town. Never will the Militia totally control the city, because freedom is our very cause. Instead, we will pave the way for the election of a mayor and allow Vesper to become an independent state. Kha will have to face an entire region in their mad struggle for power.

Regards,

Legolas, leader of the Free Vesper Militia
E-mail: [email protected]
ICQ: 70258367
URL: www.freevespermilitia.com

These races will be held in their usual location. That is, in Felucca, at the Britain Race Tracks. Directions can be found here.

These races consist of several heats, in which a number of riders are pitted against each other. From each heat, there is one winner who advances to the Finals. The champion of the Finals takes home a bag of 10,000 gold peices! All are welcome and encouraged to attend, either to race or to spectate.

On an out-of-character note, for those of you that may not know, ibn al'Asifa was an RPC. RPCs, or Role-Played Characters, are Seers who shed their green robes to become citizens of Britannia. These Seers hold and contribute to quests and events in this form. Ibn's Seer was lost in the fiasco that occurred in late July. I personally find it very inspiring that the Sonoma Role-playing community can pick up and continue events like this without a hitch. Those running this event now should be applauded for their efforts.

(The map, and the information on ibn al'Asifa are courtesy of Crossroads of Britannia.)

The town of Aryslan was quiet for sometime during the day, but as the evening began to set in, the evil also came to town. Xavier of the Caitiff, along with Zann of the CFM came into town and started attacking Trogot, the Captain of the town guard. We were able to ward off those who attacked. I quickly called in the guard, as i knew more trouble was on its way.

Shortly after, earth elementals started entering the town center, attacking form all directions. Our forces were surrounded in the town center, with nowhere to go. We had to stand our ground, or fall to the elementals. I tried to make sure everyone would stay together, and fight as one team. The citizens fought off many elementals, but they became too many for us. Zyrn the elementalist laid a trap for us, and we fell right into it.

The citizens tried to run away from the town center, only to find armies of elementals of each kind in every direction of the town, going from the Pool of Gaia to the new Church of Aryslan, we fell into Zyrn's trap. Zyrn was attacking all parts of the town, and there was no escape. The elementals took over the town, killing all the people in its limits. We were lucky enough to have reinforcements come and help the wounded, to strike back and take back the town center.

After retaking the town center, we gathered our forces only to find another army comming from the tower of souls, an army of skeletons and zombies. Hundreds of these undead came into the town center and seemed to stay there, awaiting something. We could not stand and allow them to take over the town center, so we attacked them, losing many of our forces, eventually we defeated them.

To make mattters worse, while the undead were invading the town, the murderer named SiK began attacking those people who strayed off from the town center. SiK is a known murderer around the town, he has killed a good number of people in Aryslan and other towns, Luckily we chased him off to the new western royal guard tower in Aryslan, and took care of him there. SiK was very good at what he did, look out for him, perhaps this is not the last we have seen of him.

As the evening went on, a trouble maked named Vulcan came into town attacking those who were red and claiming he was the strongest in town. After a long chasedown, Vulcan was finally defeated. This was one of the very few times the CFM and the town of Aryslan brought our forces together to defeat the outside threats on the town.

It is still not fully known why Zyrn is attacking Aryslan the way he is, and what Mazrim really wants with us. Time will tell i suppose...

Jamlyn Hakkendyn

Run and mantained by the Druids, The Library of Shadowmoor is one of the largest libraries in the land. Ancient tomes of arcane knoweldge, along with the most common novels and tales can be found on its shelves.

From the words of Stilgar, the librarian:

"When the guild moved to the land now known as Trammel and built the village of Shadowmoor, I felt that the time to make my private collection available to the public had arrived. This is the result of a lifetime of efforts: I traveled to the far towns and villages, met with the most strange and unexpected people, gathered the news and rumors and verified them with long quests. Now, with the help of my apprentice Darkwind and the rest of the Druids, the library is a realty, and I am proud of it."

To the western side of Shadowmoor, a bit aside, lays the Druids Tower. It can be reached easily from the Yew Moongate: it is the first village building to the North-North-East of the moongate itself. This is the tower where the druids live and perform their arts. This is also the place where the library can be found.

Upon entering the tower, you will find the main library room. Here are kept most of the books. A reading table is also provided, along with a guide to the library itself. Using the guide you will easily find the bookshelf containing the books that are of interest to you.

Due to the current limitations to the locked down containers that the Gods imposed on us, access to the library is somewhat tricky. The Tower itself is a public building. Every visitor can access it and read the Library guide. However, in order to actually access the books (that are of course on the bookshelves), the visitor must be friended to the building. So, if you want to read or have a look at the libraty, contact Stilgar, the librarian. He will meet you and, by friending you to the tower, allow you to access the library. Unfortunately, the purple books locked down in containers such as the bookshelves can be edited by the friends of the Tower (this is another problem with the recent Gods update). This means that to preserve the integrity of the library, Stilgar will let you be friended to the tower only for the limited time of your visit. Upon leaving the tower, you will be removed from the friends list. Should you need another visit, just arrange a new visit with the librarian.

Let's listen the comment from Darkwind the Apprentice on this issue:

"We understand that all of this is annoying. Actually, we druids are the first victims of these new rules. Alas, there is nothing that we can do to avoid all these troubles. Hopefully soon the rules will be changed, and the locked down containers will be freely inspectionable by the visitors of a Public building - not to mention that these empty-looking bookshelves are really non-sense when the libraries in Britannia and in the other towns are filled with books!".

Number of books currently in the Library: 180

For a complete list of the titles and authors, along with more details on the Library and the Druids, you may want to visit the Shadow Rangers skypages.

Nathan Longbow

Lord Ventryn presented his account of events during an interview with me on Saturday, including a long history of Stormguard and how the initial finding of the relics erupted into civil war. He describes how Lord Pythos was largely responsible for the civil war, and reveals his initial interest in the relics and his actions on acquiring them. He admits to destroying Stormguard, as well as entrapping Xenthyl to do his bidding. He then accounts his dealings with Qua'Tel, including Qua'Tel's eventual betrayal. He bemoans Winterfell's involvement. Finally, he indicates how the fifth and final relic relates to the first four. The following is the tale he told me verbatim. He spoke haltingly, but at great length. It was indeed fortunate that I so happened to have a spare journal.

(begin quote)
To understand better, I shall give ye some history first. The ancient estate of Stormguard. It once rested where Northwood currently exists, where Winterfell once called home. I once was part of the council of ancient Stormguard, the ruling council of the community. Eight members, including myself and my brother Adrian Pythos. Ardian however, was the lead council member. Stormguard was his. A community he founded and constructed based on the principles of ancient relics. Relics that were believed to be only a legend. And as time passed, the members of the community began to accept that the relics were mere legend, and nothing more. The legend of the relics was well known. Their origin was a mystery, but it was believed that whoever possessed the relics would rule over a grand and magnificent community and would inherit the power to make all of their dreams a reality. People strove to be the individual worthy of the relics. They strove to be honorable, strong-willed and confident. But as the memory of the relics faded, it was obvious Stormguard would need to make changes and so we did.

We formed a larger army, expanded the estate, and appointed new council members. Even with the belief that the relics were only a legend, the community began to thrive. However, all of this changed and all at once. A patrol of guardsmen outside of Stormguard located an unusual terrain within the forests. Lead by Thallus and Xenthyl Fallshorn, the two brothers quickly reported their findings to the council. The council decided to investigate the terrain which seemed to radiate an odd…it is hard to explain in words, it is only something to behold. The council traveled to the location and unearthed a seal. The seal was studied for several weeks and was eventually broken by several high mages of the Council, including myself. Within the seal were two relics: the Gauntlets of the Storms and the Helm of Thunder. The legendary relics located at a time when they were nearly forgotten. However, debate quickly began between the council and the community. According to legend, the relics were rightfully those of whoever located them. Whoever released them from the seal. Then the individual would become the rightful ruler of Stormguard, and so the debate began. The relics were located by the Fallshorn brothers but released by the council. Who would be the bearer of the relics? Some believed Ardian Pythos, the current ruler should possess the relics. Others believed that the Fallshorn brothers should share the power as the new rulers. Ardian did not convey his belief and stated that he would accept whatever decision was made. A foolish decision. Rather than take a stand he let Stormguard fall into a civil war.

The news quickly filtered down to the members of the community and each turned against the other and the council itself split. The only decision that Pythos made was a foolish one. He had the Fallshorn brothers guard the relics during this time of war. They were to protect the well being of the relics until a decision was made. I was appalled and shamed to be Ardian’s brother. He had crumbled away into nothing, a shell of the man I once knew, no longer was he confident and strong. But now too weak-willed to make decisions for himself. Rather than take a stand and make his thoughts known. He let his own community crumble before his eyes. I decided I would take matters into mine own hands. I will nay deceive ye, I became consumed by the frustration, the anger brought about by Ardian’s embarrassing state. I believed I could remedy his poor decisions and end the war. But I became more the consumed. I became obsessed with proving to Ardian that I was the rightful ruler of Stormguard. And that he was weak and worthless and soon I had decided that I would end the war by any means necessary. I casted a spell of motivation upon Xenthyl to steal the relics and deliver them to me. I would discover a means to destroy them. And then there would be nothing more to war over. Little did I know the power of the spell for Xenthyl slayed his own brother just to get the relics. However, he was caught and the relics were lost. Lost for my cause at least. They were recovered and again protected. And Xenthyl was charged with the murder of his own brother.

I was overcome with anger, however. Even though he had slain his brother, I was still preoccupied with his failure. The relics were still out of my reach. And before another opportunity arose to take possession of them, Ardian finally made a decision. The relics would be sealed once again in new locations to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. Pythos finally saw the affairs as I did. The relics did not bring their supposed peace and prosperity, but only death! Brother against brother! Sister against sister! So they were sealed again, out of reach and in hidden locations known only by a select few. Xenthyl was soon sentenced to his death. I was safe however, no one knew it was I who was responsible for Xenthyl’s actions. On the morn of Xenthyl’s execution however, I interfered with the proceedings and, in a way, saved him from death. Of course he was grateful, believing that he was pardoned. I was still angry however, and enraged at his failure. The relics would still be uncovered, I would locate them, and use them to accomplish what my brother had failed at. I bound Xenthyl to yet another powerful spell, his soul was bound to my control, within the Soul Binder armor. An armor constructed of dark energies. Which would make Xenthyl subject to my motivations. I commanded him to return to Stormguard and seek revenge on my brother. See…I left out one part of the tale. The reason that my anger was so overwhelming: my daughter Alexandra.

She had rebelled against me during the war. And served under Ardian’s army. While I was angered she was still my daughter. Ardian however, stationed her with a small guard patrol. Long before necessary training was complete. She was inexperienced in battle. She had never fought before. Nor did she have any experience. She was killed on the battlefield by members of Stormguard that she could have once called allies before Ardian brought about the civil war. Ardian was, and still is, responsible for my daughter’s death. He is selfish, and cowardly, only seeking fame and glory when it comes easily. Of course, I was quickly found out. Once Xenthyl returned to Stormguard in an attempt to slay the remaining council members under my command, I was banished from Stormguard. It was then that I knew there was no hope for Stormguard and after a short period of time, I returned to the community and destroyed it with my own hands. All that remained was to locate the relics. And rather than use them to benefit others, others that seemed to have no care for one another, I would use them for my own intentions. And for ages. I devoted all of my time to locating information regarding their location. And in that time, I discovered that there were two more relics. Four total. With Xenthyl under my control, I knew I would find them eventually. He searched the lands while I researched more regarding their existence. And in time, he located Thain Fallshorn. His own descendant, a descendant of Thallus Fallshorn directly. The brother Xenthyl had slain. If anyone would lead us directly to the relics, it would be Thain.

Xenthyl observed him in secret for quite sometime. And I searched the lands for someone as powerful as myself to ally with. I found an elementalist, Qua’Tel, whose power nearly rivaled mine. I told him the tale, much like I did you, and of course, promised him power. He agreed to aid me, of course. However, I soon discovered he had learned much about the relics, but hid information from me. His desire was to betray me, and use the relics for his own intentions. I attempted to destroy him and he attempted the same against me. We left our battle on even ground however, both nearly defeated. And I remained in hiding. While Xenthyl continued to learn more about Thain, the descendant. I did not return until sometime later when I found the Crypts to be a fitting home. The modern tale begins there. I would conjure an evil force, a force that could locate the relics and I could finally take them into my rightful possession. Many interfered of course, ye know, for the fame and the glory. Just like Ardian. All of them failed. And even Qua’Tel returned briefly during this period telling of how he would defeat me. I nearly killed him and he fled once again into hiding. I began investigating the area that Stormguard once rested upon, where Northwood exists and where Winterfell once lived.

Little did I know its inhabitants would interfere. Apparently they had had interactions with Ardian’s spirit in the past. His tormented soul, who tried to warn them of the danger believing that they were safe. He was laid to rest near Compassion. I traveled there, and imprisoned his soul, so he would interfere no more. Winterfell, however, and their allies continued to interfere where they did not belong. And Xenthyl he began to break free from the Soul Binder. His true self communicating information to Winterfell that would aid them. So as ye can see, I had to become a bit more vicious. And then came Thain. Apparently he had already located some of the relics, and Xenthyl the fool did not discover this. He had located the relics and freed them from their seals to prevent me from locating them. How he knew of me remains a mystery. Probably another of Xenthyl’s failures. But he hid the relics in new locations, hoping that they would be more difficult to find. Then he confronted me, and I rid him of his memory. A powerful magical blow and his memory was lost. And now with the relics in new locations, I could find them without the descendant’s help since they were free from their magical seals. The tale continues of course and some of it ye know, but to jump ahead, I easily deceived them. Multiple times. They are far too trusting. And all four of the relics came into my possession. Then news came of a fifth relic. And information regarding it was scarce. But it was believed that this fifth relic could channel the energy of the first four, directly, and only with the fifth relic could the true power of the relics be released. It is obvious now why this relic was never chronicled to prevent those with vile intentions from using the relics for vile purposes. And oddly enough, ironic almost, the fifth relic is the Fallshorn blade. Which was passed down to the descendant Thain. It seems the Fallshorns, the wretched Fallshorns, are destined on interfering with me. I had imprisoned Thain fairly recently, but before I did, he had sealed the Fallshorn blade in the magical seal that the Helm of Thunder was located in, outside of Trinsic. Only recently was it uncovered, and it is now in the possession of those who oppose me. And then I located a town crier, and told him the tale.
(end quote)

He then went on to state that his primary concern is with Winterfell and Thain. He had offered peace to their allies, in specific the Purple Guardians of Honor, and was awaiting an answer. Apparently this offer was declined, and Lord Ventryn later went on to attack the Purple Guardian's castle, Olympus, as well as the Winterfell Keep.

After the two battles, Lord Ardian Pythos appeared and I brought up Lord Ventryn's account of the civil war and its cause. Lord Pythos did not deny Lord Ventryn's charges and admitted that errors were made by both he and Lord Ventryn. After Pict Fox related Lord Ventryn's conciliatory tone, Lord Pythos offered that it may be possible to save Lord Ventryn and change his ways. However, he left that as a decision to be discussed further.

--Tymaron

A cold rain blew into the forest of Yew. It was a cloudy and unpleasant day. The falcon, Vengence began to approach the abbey as I depositing some gold into my bank box from my journey in the past weekend. The falcon flew through the front doors and landed on my shoulder. It carried a small letter in its mouth.

As I opened the letter I read that Ventryn was preparing for a mass attack this eve, on both Winterfell Keep, and Castle Olympus. It wasnt exactly surprising that he was going to attack Winterfell or Olympus, but instead attack both at the same time. I pulled my silver longsword out of the box, and casted recall to Olympus.

The cold rain was replaced with a refreshing breeze from the Vesper Bay to the west. The forces of Purple Guardians of Honor, Guardians of Light, WInterfell, and many other guilds of Northwood were gathering and prepare to split into two groups, one to defend Olympus, one to defend Winterfell.

As the Guardians of Light, myself, and a few others went to Winterfell, a Skeletal Scout was revealed and dispatched, showing that the attacks were going to come soon.

As we arrived in northwood, a large swarm of deamons, lich lord, and bone magi were seen far to the west, led by a Cacodeamon. The distance they were at gave us enough time to set up our lines, and draw our swords.

As the deamons approached us from the west, a swarm of Bone magi pulled themselves out of the ground to the east. A group suddenly rushed to the east side so we wouldnt be hit from behind.

We charged the hordes, with warriors thrusting their swords and spears into the deamons, while mages summoned an onslaught of energy bolts into their chests, causing the deamons' lives to be dispatched before their otherworldly bodies hit the ground.

With a few simple swings of Axes and flamestrikes from the mages near the keep doors, the skeletal warriors', and mages' bones fell to the ground. The forces were stil incoming from both sides, but they were being held off. It was at this time Lord Pythos returned to the keep.

Qua'Tel was dead, slain by Ventryn's forces. Thain was missing as well, but not dead. It had been over a week since the Fallshorn sword ha been recovered, and time was growing short before we must make an attack on Ventryn. Pythos then left us for a few moments to inform those at Olympus of the news of Thain and Qua'Tel.

This was the time Ventryn decided to show himself once again. It was the normal taunts and threats, but once again he became enraged when someone mentioned his daughter, Alexandra, and decided to leave.

Pythos arrived and a plan needed to be made. Many had ideas, but it was obvious that without the Fallshorn sword, it was impossible to destroy Ventryn in the Trammel facet. It was obvious that we would need to lure Ventryn to Felucca, but it would be hard to do such, since he knows what will happen. His daughter would be the key, she had told us that she would return to the Trinsic west gate now and again, should we ever need her.

It was obvious that she was his greatest weakness, for no matter how much he hated and destroyed, he still loved her. Perhaps that would change him, force him to renounce his dark ways, and end his evil. If she could not convince him to end his evil, then we may be forced to destroy him. It was the best plan, seeing as Thain was missing, and we had no way to destroy Ventryn in Trammel.

Then, the date. It was agreed by most we must do it soon, and we must do it at a time when the largest force may gather. It was agreed that next Sunday, at 7 by the central skies Winterfell, The Purple Guardians of Honor, and Guardians of Light shall meet at Winterfell Keep for the final battle to either convince Ventryn to end his evil, or to be forced to end Ventryn's life.

-Gorion, Governor of Trinsic

Both positions require solid experience working in a Linux/Apache environment.

The two positions include:

Primary Duties Include:
This person must work well with others and be willing to work in a team environment. He or she will be working closely with our development team while assisting in maintaining, designing and developing new and existing web-based systems (i.e. HTML pages, Java/Javascript, and CGI/Perl applications, etc.).

Skills Required:
A solid understanding of advanced HTML. Experience in setting up and maintaining Javascript, Java Applets and CGI/Perl scripts are also required. MySQL, PHP and ASP experience are a big plus, but not required.

Primary Duties Include:
This person must work well with others and be willing to work in a team environment. Working closely with our development team this person will help develop custom Perl/CGI applications and also enhance existing scripts. He or she will also analyze our existing use of MySQL technology and also help in the development and maintenance of new and existing MySQL/Perl related applications on the Stratics network.

Skills Required:
Proven experience with CGI/Perl and MySQL. This position requires that the person have an in-depth knowledge of Perl and MySQL running in a Linux environment.

We look forward to hearing from you!

This eve brings to us the choosing o' a new DragonKnight o' Humility to succeed Aureal of the Cult of the Azure Dragons. The trial will include a test o' Humility, in which those who wish become the next DragonKnight will be asked a series o' questions, and their answers shall be entombed in a book. The final test o' Humility will be trial by weapon. Once both trials be complete, the decision shall be made as to who shall be the next DragonKnight o' Humility. This event shall take place at the Temple o' Nexchronosis (labeled as the Tower of Nexchronosis on our map), 'pon the roof. It shall commence directly at 8:00pm under Central Skies, so it would best serve ye to arrive early if ye wish t' participate. If by 8:15, none hae arrived to pose themselves as a candidate for the DragonKnight, we shall announce that Aureal remains DragonKnight until next year (ooc - next month). Any who would come to be the next DragonKnight o' Humility must understand these three important roles that come w' the sash: (1) This is a temporary position, and when time comes to pass the sash to the third DragonKnight of Humility, ye must be willing to part w' the sash; (2) Any who are chosen are expected to act w' honor and humility at all times, and work w' the other DragonKnights to promote the virtues across the lands; (3) As Dracona be the city o' Humility, ye will be expected to keep close ties w' the Cult o' the Azure Dragons, and report any news of events to them during yer time as a DragonKnight. So if ye are o' honor and virtue, and wish to be known as the DragonKnight o' Humility, please come this eve to be tested.

OTHER COMING EVENTS: The search for the Fourth Tome of Dragonkind has been pushed back to Ven'Xac (one week back to Sunday, August 27, 2000 at 7:00pm CST). All folk o' honor and virtue are invited to come and aid us in recovering this tome. Also, a second DRAGONKNIGHT HUNT hae been announced for Sep'Vytec (Wednesday, August 23, 2000 at 8:00pm CST... please arrive early for the hunt will commence immediately at 8:00pm CST). Unlike the last hunt which was solely for DragonKnights, this hunt shall be open to all members o' the honorable and virtuous communities. The DragonKnights shall be the guests o' honor, and determine where the hunt shall preside, but as we got much inquiry last time, and the hunt went well, it hae been decided to open it up to others as well.

Should ye hae any questions about any o' these events, please contact us here or visit oursky page. May the dragongods watch o'er us always.


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Elder Priest, Cult of the Azure Dragons

Nothing heats the blood like a rousing pvp tourney. And it looks like an esteemed member of our community has planned a tourney that promises to be quite the social event. Read on, pilgrims.

Hail Adventurers! I am Marco Polo, Guild Master of one of this shards finest adventurer's guilds. Today I speak on behalf of all the other warrior spirits out there, saying that a tournament is needed. So, with that, I will conduct a tournament system that I would like to call the "Champions of Britannia." It will be held in Felucca inside the Fighting Pits of Jhelom. The show time starts at 8:00 PM CST. I wish to welcome all to join in with this festivity! The tournament will be based on elimination rules. There will be two divisions: Mage and Warriors. They will each fight till one reaches the top of their class. Then it will be warrior vs. mage. The entrance fee for the tournament will be 1k from each individual whom enters. Spectators will be allowed in for free (of course), but are urged to stay away from the fighting lines. The Grand Prize of the match will be 15k. The rules of the tournament will be as followed:

All magical items during the match, except spellbooks, regeants, and scrolls, will not be allowed.

GM armor and weaponry are allowed.

No poisoned weapons will be allowed.

The will be no creatures of any sort (including horses) allowed in a match.

Mages will be held responsible for how many regeants they bring into a match. Regeants will be provided for sale be an allocated vendor in the arena. This also applies with armor, weapons, and bandages.

If you exit the fighting line once, it will be considered a warning. Exiting twice will be considered your forfeiture to the match.

The grand prize to the victor will be awarded after the match at the bank in Jhelom in the form of a check from Marco Polo.

All players are expected to act in a peace-time manner when they are not in a match, until the tourney is declared over.

There will be no looting, whatsoever, after a match.

The entrance fee is nonrefundable, so if you pay, you'd better fight.

The tournament will be conducted by the book, and its rules will be strictly enforced. Failure to obey its rules will cause forfeiture from the tournament.

Best of luck to all.

Marco Polo, Guild Master of Legends of Sosaria @L@"

Sounds like great fun! I will endeavor to see you all there. Hmm..a question, Marco. The aforementioned regs vendor will sell mead, won't he?

by: Prellis the scribe Aug 15 2000 5:07PM

For more days than many cared to remember, they had stood guard over each of the posts of obsidian. Day and night defenders had gathered at the post locations, each dedicated to defend the realm from the threat of Nostur’yl, the threat of his plans for these posts. And day and night their dedication was tested.

The attacks came in many forms, whether loyal minion of Nostur’yl or the daemon himself, each attack seemed to grow in severity. Red-cloaked assassins appeared from the shadows to strike fast at the defenders and flee. Assassins believed previously to be allied with Nostur’yl, until a battle between the two was witnessed. Whether sent to help or hinder Nostur’yl in claiming the posts, the attacks from the assassins still hurt the defenses of those gathered.

With each attack, doubt began to creep into the defender’s minds as several locations fell with Nostur’yl claiming a total of six posts throughout. Two final posts remained protected, one housed within the town of Minoc, the second within Serpent’s Hold. The desperation caused by the loss of six of the obsidian posts brought the need for a solution, a solution that had been voiced by many throughout the campaign. The Wyrm Liane.

Perhaps it was the chill in the voices of the humans she had come to know that struck the urgency of the matter, perhaps it was Liane’s need for revenge on the daemon for the trickery at the trial; either way the ancient wyrm agreed to consider the plan which was brought to her. More days passed, with the ancient wyrm appearing occasionally at Serpent’s Hold to gauge the merit of the plan, all the while the attacks continued.

The final attack from Nostur’yl upon the Minoc location came almost as if it was expected, the defenders standing ready before he even appeared. Battle raged from that instant on, with the daemon seemingly retreating into the woods, drawing defenders out from their formation only to be cut down away from their healing mages. It seemed almost as if the daemon was unstoppable, and then Liane appeared. Faced with an enemy of near equal match and outnumbered by the guardians of the obsidian post, Nostur’yl fled.

Wasting no time and not wishing to grant Nostur’yl the opportunity to summon aid, the ancient wyrm approached the tent which had stood as home to the obsidian post for so long. The tent was cleared after some discussion of what was to occur, with Liane remaining inside alone. Warriors peered over one another’s shoulders to witness Liane take possession of the post.

Unable to fly while burdened with the weight of the post, the ancient wyrm called for boats to transport her out to sea. The ships were brought, and Liane as well as many of the defenders boarded each, then set sail. Far out on the ocean they traveled before a halt was called. Using her great strength, the post was tossed into the water and sank quickly to the bottom, out of reach for the daemon born of fire.

Having returned to Minoc while the ancient wyrm was disposing of the post, Nostur’yl learned of its capture. The remaining defenders were attacked in a fit of rage by the daemon as he attempted to discern the location of Liane and his post. Not finding any answers and full of anger, he left Minoc with plans of his own.

Some time later that same eve, armed fully and well stocked, the defenders gathered at the final post resting at Serpent’s Hold. While they waited, strategies were laid out for a form of defense, mages to heal the warriors and poison weapons made available. Time passed slowly and some wondered if the beast would come for the post at all. The answer came in the form of two daemons marked with silver hides, followed closely by Nostur’yl himself.

For several waves they struck, each time beaten back by the defenders with many lives being lost in the battle. Each time they were repelled, Nostur’yl would return moments later with newly summoned daemons in tow. For three strikes the defenders reigned victorious as the elite daemons fell to their deaths and Nostur’yl shifted his essence from solid to almost vapor and fled. Hope was rekindled in the spirits of the defenders for the beast could be driven off.

Then tragedy struck. Allies of Nostur’yl attacked the defenders in the form of the Cult of Infernal Necromancy as the fourth wave of daemons arrived. The fight atop the battlements began anew, with Nostur’yl and his most recently summoned daemon wading through the warriors while his allies struck out and separated the forces.

Corpse upon corpse stacked high against stone walls, the scent of death overpowering any but the most veteran of warrior, causing many to lose concentration in the battle. A simple mistake made, and another warrior fell to join their comrades before them. The tide had turned against the forces of good.

The area immediately surrounding the post was cleared of any living defender by the two daemons. Nostur’yl stood before the post as his daemonic minion fell back, keeping the living warriors from reaching its master. The great beast reached down and hoisted the obsidian post into the air with a roar of triumph just as the silver skinned daemon fell to the swords of the defenders. It didn’t matter though, this time the only retreat from Nostur’yl was in victory, claiming his prize. He waded across the corpses and those still living, ignoring any attack offered until outside of the battlements where he vanished in the battle soaked air.

Factions Test Comments

I'd like to start getting more organized feedback on factions. Rather than open a new board, I'm going to post this here and lock it to the top of the page. Feel free to post all faction related information, comments, debates, and suggestions here.

Thanks all!

This coming Friday the 18th is Free Furniture Day at A Little Bit of Everything!

From 20.00 (BST) on Friday 18th our skilled artisan will be happy to manufacture up to tens items of furniture for your home completely free of charge provided you bring along the resources.

Bring a bag containing: the resources - include some spare as even Tarquille is only human - and a book with you name, contact details and the ten items you want making. Note that Tarquille is just about able to make anvils and small forges, items like beds are currently outside of his capabilities.

Whilst at the shop feel free to make use of the facilities, including outdoor hot-tub, and check out the tavern behind the shop for your refreshment needs.

It is hopes that the Yew Militia will be on hand to keep order and demonstrate their skills.

We look forward to seeing you at the shop on Friday. It's 30 paves NE of the Yew Moongate. UOAM X801 Y718 or 68 54N 10 53E.

Signed
The Management

Hail and well met,

as I mentioned some tima ago, the Heroes of the Lance will open their Inn on august 20th. Well, we're now done, with most of the work, so, you're all invited to bring you auction items to our tower. We're there every evening from 6.00pm to 9.00pm CET. Please give the items to Kyndra or Therion. For more information, visit www.heroeslance.de -> Inn of the Last Home-section. The Inn can be found here:

I would also like to invite all female blacksmiths who are interested in our Miss Blacksmith Election, to contact me until saturday 8/19/00. You don't have to be GM smith to win, also you need a good sense of fashion :) (further info on the website). And finally, to all miners and smith...there will be a ingots-sales-day. There you can buy or sell ingots. A Inn-Town gate-service is availible.

Best regards,
Therion the Gray,
High Warrior (Herald)
Heroes of the Lance

Hail to thee all

I Nameless one Lord of Kha have made this declaration, That Free Vesper Militia will remove them self’s from Vesper in 3 days.

The reasons why Knights and Mages of Kha have done this are simple to all that follow the Virtues. No one controls any town unless they are a King or a Tyrant; we feel that Free Vesper Militia have no King so this makes them tyrants. Tyrants that Lord British gave a Treaty to for independence of Vesper. I have tried to speak to Lord British Loyalist but they do not listen their ears and eyes are closed. Xal`naga leader of Lord British Loyalist says you can break a treaty has he is a man of his word. So his Lord British is Word more important than is citizen.

I also believe that Lord British will need to use force, as words do not work when your land is in civil war. Although Knights and Mages of Kha seeked an alliance with Lord British Loyalist to assist then if needed, we where refused but Knights of Mages will not cross arms with Lord British unless he forgets his Virtues and decides to keep is treaty with Free Vesper Militia.

Legolas mark my word leave Vesper in 3 days .I give you 3 days has you will need time to sort out your affairs. After the 3 days Knights and Mages of Kha will use Force to remove you.

To all that fight with Free Vesper Militia do not cross my path

Fare thee well
Nameless one
Lord of Kha

"Corp Por!" Klavis spoke, and the monstrous elder daemon fell to his spell. I rushed in to help collect speak with him. "Good shot" I said. "That was a tough one... but what really has my interest is those cultists I hear in the summoning chamber... let's go see what all the commotion's about." So Klavis Verge and I, Pikkle Ffolger, crept into the mighty chamber very carefully, not to be surprised by any new balrons that came after us. Then we saw him; Agares. In the bloody summoning circle there stood a giant deamon, surrounded by evil cultists. But this was no regular beast, he was smart! He was intelligent! He boomed out over the room "I am Agares! You have awoken me from my sleep! You shall pay!" He then proceeded to walk towards us, and cast some spells. When he did this, I knew he wasn't on our side, no sir. "RUN!" I yelled, but Verge was braver, or stupider, than I, and in turn said "Kal Vas Flam." But I was gone. I had run back into the small room in the corner to hide. I was soon followed by Verge, and Agares on his tail. Klavis stepped on the teleport tile just behind me, which took us to a safe, adjacent room to hide from daemons and balrons as we normally did. But I knew this wouldn't suffice this time. I watched in horror as Agares tried to use the teleporters. As he found the right one he was in the small, confined room with us. I knew it was over, so I quickly panicked and magically fled to my tower. I of course had the intention to go back, but not with my treasures I carried, as there was no point in losing them when I didn't need to. I transported back to the room, and found myself with my back to the wall along with Klavis Verge. Standing in front of us was the behemoth Agares. He boomed about being angry because he was awakened by those cultists. "Can you lead me to the surface of this hellhole?" he said. We both answered that we could magically transport him to the surface. "Considering that would tear me to shreds," he bellowed "I suggest you walk me to the surface if you don't want to end up dead like those cultists. "Wh-wh-who killed them sire?" I asked Agares. "I DID FOOL!" I knew we were in trouble. I noticed by now that a balron had made its way to the teleporter room, trapping us in. It was focused on destroying me, but I was safe in the small room as it was too stupid to use the teleporters. We conferenced with Agares. The bottom line was he needed us to guide him through Hythloth to the surface or he would destroy us. I looked over at Verge as he looked back. "Should we?" He said. "Sure, but-" I started, but by then he had run over the teleporter and was already on his way through the balron room, and Agares was behind him. They left me with the balron still focused on me, ignoring both of them as they ran by. I swallowed hard, then jumped on the teleporter and ran as fast as I could possibly go. I followed Verge as fast as I could, and was gaining, but so was the beast on MY tail. He was always a few feet behind, and if I stumbled at all I knew I would be lunch meat. I ran PAST Agares, and then Verge on my way to the top. I stumbled up stairs as I knew the balron would not follow me up there, and this was the way to the surface anyway. I had left Klavis Verge, Agares, and the balron behind, but I knew both of them would follow, so I kept running. I knew the dangers of this dungeon so I hurried past all the snakes and orcs. There was even a gargoyle growling at me. I ran down a hall and stepped on a trap that sent me back to the front of the hall. I was dumbfounded, and looked around, and was surrounded by orcs and hell hounds. They leaped at me, but I dodged and ran down some more stairs and hid up against a wall. The orcs looked for me, but could not find me. But this was the least of my worries. Where was Verge? Where was Agares? I knew I could not last long alone down there, but I had to find them or Agares would destroy me. I ran through the second level and explored, trying to find my way up and trying to find Verge. After many setbacks, and lots of retreating, I found the teleporter to the first floor. I made it through, and ran through the maze. I opened a door and there was Agares. I ran past him, trying not to give him a chance to speak (or be mad.) I didn't ask where Verge was. All he said was "HURRY FOOL! There's only a few minutes left!" I ran ahead, running up some more stairs past more orcs. Agares flew after me. As we ran up the last stairs I told him we were almost there. I stumbled up the stairs and was outside at last! I stood under the roof of the entrance, and waited for Agares. He took a few seconds, but came up. When he stood under the roof with me, he let out an evil laugh. I feared the worst. What had happened to Klavis Verge? I asked him "A-a-a-are you pleased sire?" "Yes, I am, you did well. Here is your reward mortal" At that, he dropped 3153 gold and a weird wand. I scooped it up. "After I step into the sun I shall disappear. Wish me luck." "Good luck m'lord. Farewell." So he stepped out from under the roof and exploded into a flash of light. I looked at this strange wand. As I examined it it let off a bright firework. I was very pleased. I then transported myself back down into the balron lair and got myself into the hiding place. There I saw Lord Zalbag, a friend of mine. "Did you hear about Agares!?" I asked him. "Yeah, I spoke with him and Verge. Klavis got killed by that balron that was after you. When you made it upstairs it turned on Verge. But he's alright, I got his stuff for him and he'll be right back." I felt very guilty... it was my fault Verge had died. Then Verge showed up and explained the story I had just heard.

I related my story to him, and told him of the treasure. "Cool" he said. After that I was very tired, and went home to my tower for a long night's nap.

by Pikkle Ffolger

Due to unforseen real life circumstances, the ceremony wherein Baja's player-city of >Avalon (Felucca) would swear-in it's new leaders is postponed. Originally planned on the night of Sunday, August 13th, the celebration is delayed until further notice. Updated information shall be posted at the first available opportunity.

For more information, please refer to the Avalon Web site at http://avaloncity.cjb.net, and it's Public Forum at http://www.sitepowerup.com/mb/view.asp?BoardID=100307.

-Nobody, websmith of Avalon

The Grand opening of the "Fat Horse tavern" and "Fairhaven Mall" will be on August 18 at 9 pm CST till 12 am CST. Both buildings are located in the new player run city of "Fairhaven". Fairhaven is located east of the Yew abbey at the coordinates 70 39' N 37 58' W you will find our mall, just to the north west of that you will find the Fat Horse tavern. The city itself consists of 5 public buildings and 4 private buildings at this time, but we are expanding slowly but surely. On the night of the grandopening ceremonies we will have food, fun, drinks, and door prizes which will include a set of ranger armor. There will also be a Horse race that evening, so bring your trusty stead ready to race the winner of the race will receive a set of ranger armor and 20K gold, so come prepared to race. Rules of the race will be explained the night of the race.

At this time do not have a website yet, but will have one up and running before too long. Fairhaven plans to schedule at least two events a month which are open to the public on Baja, some come see what we are all about.

Silkon

On Tuesday, August 22nd at 8PM CST, The Drunken Lizard Pub of Sanctuary, will hold the first of many "Chicken Fight Nights". Bring your best fighting chicken to the pub and join in the fun. The rules and prize information will be given out prior to the fight,but to start with - Chickens cannot wear armor or use any weapons. Chickens cannot use magic or be the by products of a magic spell (polymorph. Food and drink will be provided.......... The Pub is located in the City of Sanctuary near the Crossroads of Britain and Minoc. Just go to the fort at the crossroads and head southwest into the desert to the tower.

BTW..ye must clean up after your own chicken .

Jon von Darkmoor - Ranger of Sanctuary

Bardic night, 21.00 CET on Tuesday 15th of August

All the friends of good music and merry, 'tis true! Bardic night is a night for bards to show their talents and audience to enjoy this art with perhaps a pint of beer or glass of fine wine. The event will be held inside the Trade Caravan Fortress, which is a bit north from Cove. For detailed map of location, look at the tome from this address: http://caravan.lemming.org/.

Thank you,
Videric Gaveston
http://caravan.lemming.org/

Yer surely aware, dear readers, about those latest rumours regarding metal elementals who emerge from the rock itself to hunt the unweary miner who disturbed their vein. Yesterday a group of couragous adventurers, accompanied by Einon Zarith, a Spiritwood miner, set off to investigate those rumours and find proof about "The Miner's Bane".

The first area they investigated were the mountains near Delucia in the new lands. The party, consisting of Einon, Rowan, Dogei and two strange men of the Custodes Fati, called Albion and Lee. Einon, equipped with this special pickaxe found on a gargoyle's corpse, sweating and coughing dug deeper and deeper, till suddenly a rumbling could be heard and emerging from the rocks itself was an elemental of Bronze. The gathered warriors took care of this shiny, metalic monster from the depths of earth, but not without loosing on of em.

After diggin up a few of those monstrous golems the party returned to Spiritwood, as they wanted to search for a vein consisting of valorite. They travelled to the south, past the Spirit Woods to the mountain range called the Destard Mountains. By this time Aranlindale, himself a retired miner, and now barkeep of the Spiritwood Tavern and a man from the Trinsic Swamp called Cougar joined the adventurers.

After a short break in the woods, east of Destard they continued their search, but they were nay that lucky to stumble upon a valorite elemental, though they found some lesser ones. One of them was breathing some strange gas at the warriors fighting it, engulfing em and robbing em of their breath. I was told, that this gas did a lot of damage and it was pure luck they survived this encounter.

A litte later, Sir Ruth, the Spiritwood Librarian joined em as well. He seemed very interrested in those strange creatures, as he had never seen one before. Einon, digging the whole day grew very tired then, and after they dug up a golden elemental they called it a day, returning to Spiritwood to share their news.

Yours
Pad O'Lion

A few days ago Spiritwood was troubled by a marauding band of pirates. Led by their captain, a lass called Freia, this vile band of Brigands robbed unweary travellers in Spiritwood. They even went that far as to occupy the Spiritwood Tavern and demand tribute from the shocked guests. Due to the effort of Aaron Ravenheart this plague was stopped though, and the band of troublemakers driven away.

Be careful travellers, if ye spot those pirates, head for Spiritwood and contact the authorities.

Aranlindale, Barkeep of the Spiritwood Tavern

By: Janis Williams Aug 14 2000 3:41PM

Skara Brae's craftsmen have always been an industrious lot, since hard work strengthens the spirit so dear to the residents of this township. This month, however, their work ethic has been put to a harsh test, as a large number of huge requests for their work has been received.

"It's incredible", explains Devin, a carpenter. "Normally at this time of the year, people only request replacement furniture for redecorating their homes a bit and maybe replace a broken table or two. But this year... First the housing boom, and now this fellow who comes in and orders several thousand boards! Not furniture, not chests, just the boards. What could someone possibly want to do with just boards, let alone several thousand?"

His partner, the lumberjack Edward, agrees. "I am going to have to travel far afield, maybe as far as Yew, to find all that wood", he explains. "And even then it's going to be rough. I have three people already all over the forest and I'm going to have to add two more or I'm not going to meet it!"

Other craftsmen, running the gamut of Skara Brae's market, have received similar outlandish requests. "With my neighbor passed away and his lands in the hands of some merchant, I have the largest farm of the region", the farmer Joseph announces proudly. "I didn't expect the kind of order I'd get, though. Lord Agnacio asked to make ready enough food for well over two hundred people!" The benefits of this unexpected boom extend to other Britannian cities. "I've had to import all kinds of cattle from all over Britannia", Dwayne recounts. "And I'm going to have to do the same with grain and vegetables."

The person responsible for this mini-boom is none other than the famed Lord Agnacio, Skara Brae's wealthiest nobleman. Met by our reporters at his manor, Agnacio was mysterious as to the whys and wherefores of his orders. "You'll see", was his message. "I promise you won't be disappointed. I am going to resurrect a long-lost Skara Braean tradition", was the most he would say.

Whatever Lord Agnacio is planning, it must be soon, if the time limits of the orders is any guide. "Requests for rounded stones are already pretty rare", explains Gwen, a stonecutter of Skara Brae. "Spires and round towers are completely out of fashion. But the man not only wants them, he gave me less than a week to cut them!" She indicates she will have to hire additional apprentices to finish the job in time without neglecting her other customers. The specifics of the order are also puzzling. "With the curvature he asks for, whatever he intends to build can't be more than two paces across."

But the gold is too good to pass up. "Twelve coins a stone -- thrice the usual price!" says Gwen with a glint in her eye. "Whoever it is, he has a lot of gold to throw about", Devin concurs. "Agnacio paid me twice the usual fare for the boards!" "And then he negotiated a price with me for getting the logs", Edward adds. "I tried to tell him that Devin's price already included my own fee, but he'd hear none of it." In total, he counts, the boards will give the pair four times their usual revenue. "I don't know why Agnacio wants any of these", Gwen concludes, "but if he's willing to spend so much gold, we'll do our best to accomodate him. It's our job, after all."

By: Hank Danger Aug 13 2000 4:04PM

Ambrose, one of Skara Brae's most influential landowners, quietly passed away two weeks ago, after a long and drawn out sickness. Also long and drawn out is the story of the slow decay of his lands. Once, under Ambrose's expert management, the fields had not only been the largest, but also the most productive of the township. For several years already he had been bedridden by illness, forcing him to hire managers to direct the laborers toiling at his fields -- an unhappy succession, as each manager in turn proved unable to properly direct the seedings and reapings, instead depleting the land's fertility. Ambrose hired and fired an average of two of them per year, to no avail, as the land continued to lose its value through misuse and abuse. Now that the grieving is over, the late Ambrose's neighbors voice concerns over what will happen to the wide swaths of land owned by Ambrose.

"He was the biggest landowner around here", recalls Dwayne, who was Ambrose's closest neighbor. "Of course his land was being overused, but if you leave it fallow for a few years, it can be fertile again." Also problematic is the land's new owner. "Ambrose's nephew ended up being his heir", Dwayne says. "He was some sort of merchant who lived in Magincia, and he sure ain’t any better than the last lot of helpers. At least Ambrose had the sense to hire farmers to work on his fields, this man’s been hiring carpenters…"

The heir in question, as a quick visit to Ambrose's attorney informed us, is a Magincian merchant named Bert; mostly a caravan master, he has nonetheless tried his hand in just about every commercial endeavor known to Britannians. Unfortunately Bert was negotiating a deal in Jhelom when we came by his home in Magincia, and thus was unable to comment.

Regardless of who owns them, however, more concerns remain about whether the economy can support so many farms. "There's a lot of arms in Britannia", explains Laura, who owns a single farm a long while away from Ambrose's lands. "Every time I go to market there's more stalls, but not a lot more customers. I'm worried that the smaller farms may get crowded out by big ones like Ambrose's."

"It was almost a good thing for the region that Ambrose's farms slowly lost their production", Dwayne says, seeming almost ashamed at the notion. "There was already more supply than demand, and if the arms had been producing like they had ten years ago some of the smaller farmers would've had to leave."

"I was almost hoping that this merchant fellow would forget about the land, but with all the activity over there as of late, he seems to be up to something...", Dwayne concluded.

Whilst nursing mine grievous and myriad, dragon-inflicted wounds in a Skara Brae tavern, I chanced upon this bit of news. Thinking it perhaps of some interest to those of the "warrior disciplines," I pass it along. Read on pilgrims.

"Hail and well met, good people of Legends. By official proclamation, I Maximus, Guildmaster of The Gladiators, announce the promotion of Comedus, to the position of War Leader of the Honor Guard. Comedus, a warrior of unusual courage and resolve, shall be in charge of selecting and training members of the Honor Guard. The new War Leader brings several years of war experience to the Guard and shall be instrumental in forging our forces into worthy protectors of the New Roman Empire. Anyone desiring information of the Empire may contact Comedus with pigeon (icq) at #55624850."

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

This in from Dragons in regard to the city of Arx Draconis and its many events this week.

Arx Draconis Festival Week kicked off with a blast this past Sunday with the opening event, a public Lottery. 50 or so players participated in this free event and 25 prizes were handed out.

For the next 6 days there are fun events every day for players to participate in. Here is the schedule for the week (*Note* All events take place on Arx Draconis in Trammel or Felucca):

Monday -> Easter Egg Hunt (both Facets 7pm EST)

Tuesday -> Costume Contest in Dragon Claw Tavern In Felucca (7pm EST)

Wednesday -> Craftsman Night (both facets 7pm EST)

Thursday -> House Decorating Contest Finals (Winners and screen shots posted on News sites)

Friday -> Rune Library Related Event (7pmEST, Felucca)

Saturday -> Scavenger Hunt (2pm EST, Starts In Felucca but covers both Facets)

About 30min before each event, Syndicate members (recognized by their blue robes and LLTS over their heads) will be at the banks in both facets offering gates to the event. Gates home afterwards will also be provided. All events are FREE of charge and open to the public!! Come on by!

-Dragons-

Thank ye Dragons. Evil luck to ye and the city activities. Yours in Infinite Darkness,

The pigeon winged it's way across the deep jungle's west of Trinsic. The message it carried was wrapped around a single arrow, so as to instantly inform the recipient of the urgency of the news. The pigeon tucked its wings in slightly as it dived towards the sandstone house....

"Now you listen here chair! I want you to face east! Very simple! Why won't you face east?!" *picks chair up, sets it down again* "South?? SOUTH!! That's it! I'll show you chair!" Just as I was pulling out the hatchet that would end the existence of this exceptionally uncooperative chair I heard the unmistakable "Uh-oh" of the Britannian pigeon system. Glad to get away from the tedious task of decoratin' I almost ran to retrieve the pigeon, only to stop dead in my tracks upon viewing the arrow it clasped in its beak. My heart leapt to my throat upon reading the message:

"XTerra has been kidnapped! The rescue party is gathering at Sandlewood now!"

I only paused long enough to check that I had enough bandages and reagents before I leapt on my horse and spoke the words that would take me to The Sandlewood Box.

I appeared in the clearing to see BlackAngel, Aleric the Green, Gil Shatterstone, Andrew Bishop, Ng, Sir Robin, Ryan Nighthawk, and Furie were just about to leave as I appeared in the clearing... BlackAngel revealed that the notorious Blookrock Urks were responsible for the kidnapping of XTerra, and the good Lady Furie led us to the second floor of Sandlewood where she quickly spoke the incantation and traced the rune that would open a gate to the Bloodrock fort.

The party poured through the gate and ran the short distance to the gates of the imposing Urk fort. Andrew, Aleric and BlackAngel were the first to reach the doors of the fort. Swords drawn, a few well placed kicks knocked the doors off their hinges. To the south a rescue party from the Temple of Mondain could be seen rushing through the trees towards the fort. Night fell.

The orcs leered through their helms at the rescue party, torchlight sparkling on their ringmail armor and axe blades. "Ho ho ho ho! Tu layt hummies! She Grurag's wyf jat!" Vrishnak chortled. BlackAngel glanced at me and we slowly picked our way through the Urks and towards the back of the fort. Grurag was the only urk standing guard of his new "wyf", with the rest of the Urks behind us BlackAngel and I made out move. BlackAngel, sword gleaming in the torchlight, used the flat of his blade to push his way past Grurag, while I chose to use the words "Rel Por" to gain entrance to the area XTerra was being held. The words of magic alerted the Mojoka Bidash that all was not well with the prisoner. He quickly conjured a wall of pure energy, but he was too late. BlackAngel, Grurag, XTerra and myself were now in the enclosure, and Bidash's Energy field did nothing but aid our escape! BlackAngel quickly cut XTerra's bonds while I busied myself crushing Mandrake Root, Black Pearl, and Sulfurous Ash atop my rune for the Sandlewood Box. Smoke began rising from the rune and I was certain that I had failed in opening the gate, when suddenly the swirling blue doorway sprang up from the ground! BlackAngel grabbed XTerra's hand and pulled her into the gateway. Behind me I could here the orcish mages chanting spells with which to get past the Energy Field, and above that Andrew Bishop hailed the rescue force from the Temple and cried "Alright.. let's blow this thing open!!! Kill them all!!!" With that I steered myself into the moongate right before the magic dissipated.

The battle at the urk fort raged on, the Urks fought valiantly, but the sheer size of the Human forces gave the Humans the upper hand, and in the end the rescue was a total and complete success! And so, the Urks were defeated and XTerra was returned safely to her love Mordain!

-Tristam

More information on the Gargoyle Pickaxe and special
elemental

My friend, Marverick Alas of W-F, and me traveled to
the new lands in search of these unique Gargoyle pickaxes. After landing my
ship, the Lusty Mermaid, at the shore of the desert region, we were
immediately confronted by Wyverns, ophidians, imps, scorpions, and more
importantly, Stone gargoyles. After a long set of hard battles and near
fatal close calls, we both managed to collect a gargoyle pickaxe
each.

Upon use of a wand of Identification, we found the pickaxe
was labeled, "A large pickaxe for ore extraction." It didn't seem to
be any more different then any other pickaxe, aside from its unusual
durability. It seems that the gargoyles have to make their pickaxes extra
strong, to survive the abuse they give them due to their superior strength.
This also gives me a disturbing thought that the stone gargoyles are not
only intelligent, but also capable of manufacturing weapons and
tools.

Once we acquired our prizes, we returned to Marv's guild
house in Trinsic, where he got his miner, Tiberius Alas, to use the pickaxe
for a test run. We walked a few leagues from the house and he found himself
a nice Bronze ore vein. He began to hit the vein as I watched on, Kryss in
hand. He was amazed that the bronze ore was spewing out Gold ore instead. I
never saw Tiberius so pleased.

WIDTH=152 HEIGHT=134>

Suddenly something like rocks erupted from behind
him. In moments an earth elemental appeared, only it was made from pure
Bronze ore! Tiberius ran as I stood there, for the first time in ages,
crippled with shock. The Elemental ran faster then any elemental I ever
faced, and pummeled on Tiberius repeatedly. Then the really amazing thing
happened. The creature stopped and a column of White-hot steam erupted,
boiling my associate alive.

As Tiberius fell to his death, the
elemental turned his attentions to me. I was not ready for such a fight so
I ran back to the guild house, the bronze elemental hot on my heels. With a
quick action, I opened the door, jumped in, and slammed it shut! The Bronze
elemental grumbled at the door as I stood there in shameful fear and
amazement. The creature was nothing I had ever faced before, and I wasn't
going to take a chance on taking on this creature without a plan. It was
then that Tiberius' ghost appeared before me, wailing a ghostly swear word
at me for letting him die. To make up for it, I began to pull him back to
this realm with my healing skills.

Once I resurrected Tiberius, I
turned my attentions to the Elemental. I could tell the creature was the
strongest thing I've ever seen, and was as fast as quicksilver. Tiberius,
furious at the elemental, magically banned the creature from the house,
letting it fume at the side of the steps. Taking the advantage, I opened
the door and crept closer to the elemental, which snarled like it was
chewing on granite. I hit it in the chest with my kryss of vanquishing;
carving a deep gash into the creature's midriff, but that only seemed to
make him more angry.

HSPACE=12 WIDTH=212 HEIGHT=203>

Suddenly I found myself screaming in
pain as a column of steam erupted around me. I instinctively covered my
face with my shield, but the heated water and air superheated my chainmail
armor and burned my skin until it was red as an imp's backside. I jumped
back into the house, where I was amazed as the elemental hit me again with
a column of steam, erupting magically through the floorboards of the
house!

Finally managing to heal my seared body, I returned to face
the elemental several more times, each time carving a little more out of
it, each time being forced back after hitting me with the hot steam bath.
Finally, the creature seemed to have had enough and began to move away. I
leapt at the chance and drove my kryss into its back, letting it collapse
into a heap of rubble. As I knelt in exhaustion, I found the elemental body
was covered with bronze ore fragments. There was so much, me and Tiberious
had to drag it into the house together to get it all in for
smelting.

Once we got things quieted down, we went back out to try
another one, this time a dull copper vein. He struck the vein repeatedly
with the pickaxe, producing only shadow ore this time. Suddenly the
fragments pulled themselves together, creating a shadow elemental!
Expecting this one to be like the bronze brother, we both ran to a nearby
tower and watched it from afar. It didn't seem at all interested in
killing anyone at first, and in fact, it appeared to be docile.

"Wait here." I said to Tiberious as I walked out of the tower. I
planned to move it closer to get a drawing of it for this paper. Suddenly
it turned towards me and bega

About the Recent Mining Additions

I am very concerned and troubled over what I have been reading from home since yesterday about the new item introduced. I will start from the beginning to summarize: A new item was introduced. This item, as with the others so far, have not been announced. Details about the items have been kept secret. Many players like this, and understand that doing this is meant to provide fun and discovery. Finding out how the items work, and where to get them has produced a lot of positive feedback. Now I'll continue on to this latest item. Rumors started spreading that were incorrect, saying OSI was causing monsters to spawn on miners as they worked. This really portrayed an inaccurate picture, so I gave some hints. We posted a story that helped explain the occurrances on BNN and linked to it from the mining threads on here. Still the incorrect rumors grew. Some players even stated they were cancelling their accounts, based on incorrect information. The truth is, your mining has not changed unless you use this special item. You don't have to participate if you dont want to with it.

However, what I am troubled about is the underlying anger with OSI. I and Calandryll have been working hard the past few months to improve the relationship between the players and OSI. We have been the voice of the players in meetings here and so forth. Sometimes it is a loud voice, but we feel that better communication between those that work on UO and those that play it is essential. Designers for UO are personally going to the players and asking for input. Recently when there were concerns from players over the lock down changes, I asked for good information from them. They needed to tell their side of the story, and I wanted to hear it. I passed along all information that would provide a better understanding. As far as I was concerned, this needed a closer look and with the players help we were able to get good feedback. Designer Sage responded to this concern. He replied that the lock down changes did need a re-structure of some type, one that would work better for the players (including player run establishments). This is good communication and something that I want to continue.

I will conclude by saying this: If a change comes about that you do not like, then come and talk to me about it. Before seeking out the cancellation page, come to these boards or my email and let me know your concerns. There may be things about the change that you are not aware of, or perhaps you can tell me what is wrong and I can get a line of communication open between you and the Dev Team. Not everyone in the game will be happy about everything. We have many thousands of players, all with different needs. However this underlying feeling that OSI does not care or will not help the players is something I am determined to correct. Whenever the players are upset, I see this. Whenever players say they will cancel their accounts without even knowing the entire story or talking to me first, then I see this. What I see is that the communication and relationship between UO and it's players needs improvement. With any relationship, both sides must become involved and be willing to participate. We are heading down a new direction that will hopefully improve gameplay within UO. One example is the addition of new items. Such a change on this scale is uncommon for UO. There are many more changes as well, all of which we hope will improve the gameplay for our players and make things more fun. As we head in this new direction, I need to be able to talk to you as a player and hear your opinions. I also need to hear your complaints. Rumors can hinder good communication especially when given credit by any who hear it.

Communicating and adding unaccounced items seem like two opposites. We still want the fun of unannounced items and will continue with that. However we do not want such additions to be a negative impact. I am hopeful that you see our desire to improve communication with our players. I am also hopeful that by continuing in this pattern that we can break down any barriers that might exist.

Melantus
Online Community Coordinator
Ultima Online
[email protected]

This morning, the Yew and Cove cemeteries were rocked by large spawns of skeletons, zombies, lich lords, and two unique and new members of the undead family: A Wicked Liche, and a Poisoned Skeleton. At about 11:00pm PST, the Yew cemetery was engulfed with undead that seemed to dig their way out of their tombs. It appeared that the undead were summoned by the evil mages and were sent to attack the people coming to defend.

The battle lasted a short time before a new sight appeared: A Blood Red lich lord appeared, labeled as a "Wicked Liche", walked out of the crypts, and began attacking violently. Despite its powerful spells and wicked clawing attacks, the lich was overpowered by the experienced defenders, and was soon dispatched to the void. Not long after, a mysterious spawning of magical weapons, armor and jewelry appeared on the ground, allowing the defenders to fill their packs with the loot.

As soon as the Yew cemetery quieted down, a new attack appeared at the Cove cemetery. Again, the same brand of undead and mages appeared, attacking the defenders that came with vigor. Not long after the majority of the attackers finished off the load of evil undead, a bright green skeleton appeared, labeled as a "Poisoned Skeleton" attacked, striking with bony fingers and a viscous poisoning attack. Unlike other skeletons, this one held up longer under even silver attacks, far greater then a skeleton knight ever did; however, this undead was soon turned to bones, as the defenders finished it off with extreme prejudice. Once the creature was slain, new spawns of magic items littered the floor, as if the earth itself was thanking the defenders for stopping the undead.

As a professional warrior, I can safely say that this was another example of the strange and foreboding new monsters that have been appearing as of lately in this realm. I have not felt the virtues wain a bit, yet when I see these new creatures appear, I can only wonder if Minax truly is making herself known on Trammel. Her agents surely must have made it to this realm and are causing all this.

Or…could it be someone a lot worse then Minax doing this?

Ku Kullin--Colonel of the Trinsic Town Militia

Here is another new feature that is starting to hit the boards, and I have seen first hand.

About 5 Days ago, my and My love needed to get to the Evil mage tower to mark a rune. On the way there we ran into a few orcs. Zantaria is a very very skilled warrior with the max you can have for health. She is a GM healer and a dex monkey, but lacking in the int department, so I took my mage to mark the runes while she did the fighting.

Well, while getting closer and closer to the evil mages we came to many orc spawns. All dealt with quickly, but then there was this one group. It had al of the orc family in it. Orcs, Orc mage, orc Lord. Well as you know, the orc mage does not start casting unless attacked first, so we let him be for now. the hard hitting orc lord was the first real target. But then it hit her, and hit her again. Her health drooped to around 10 from 100 in about two hits!! We were amazed to see such power, and thought we made a mistake on the type of monsters that were there, but we did not. After some running ground and killing it, we went on to clear out the little orcs, with no trouble. But HOW did this happen? Sure the loot was 600 gold, but that much damage we have never seen from an orc lord. Well the group was building again, and this time it was the Orc Mages turn to die. She attack sit and it starts to cast. All the other orcs were hitting her, but not much damage. After a bit she needed me to cast heal on her, so I did. She was Back to full health 100! hit points. Then FLAMES come from the Orc Mage, it casted a Flame strike on her, and she was DEAD!! I had JUST healed her to FULL health and it killed her!

So I ran! Got my stuff together, Ressed her and we went back. We got all the things from her body, including the SILVER weapon she had been using to kill the orcs with!

Yes that's right, the Silver weapon vs the Orc Lord and the Orc Mage caused THEM to do double Damage to HER! We know it was the weapon that caused this because she switched the weapons to a NON Silver and the damage from the higher level Orcs was back down to normal levels

That is all I have seen so far. But this was in the Fire Caves in T2A, and we have played for almost 3 years each. As far as other weapons vs. other monsters, this is yet un-reasearched, but I hope that UO Stratics can let this information out and have the players do the research =)

Again, could this be intended? I think its another feature of the new patch. New weapons, new monsters, new Damage =) A good patch full of secrets

Thank you
- JD

Thanks for the insight JD !

Anarchy Online Stratics

• Join us in #aohoc this Wednesday at 2pm CST (20:00 GMT) for an Anarchy Online House of Commons chat with the developers. The conference will take place on the Stratics IRC network.
• In a guild? Consider yourself a graphic artist? Perhaps you're just obsessed with MMORPGs? Be sure to create and submit your banner ideas for Anarchy Online Stratics's Guild and Advertisement banner contest!

Asheron's Call Stratics

• Presenting a new multifunction Quest Walkthrough and Tale: The Acolytes by Brianthe.
• Plus: the AC Stratics links DB is looking a little empty. Add your entries here.

Atriarch Stratics

• This week Atriarch Stratics will be announcing the two winners of the Slogans contest, in addition to welcoming a new member to our team. Congratulations, Jeff and Phronk! While I'm at it, congratulations to Zepath, our new writer / reporter as well! *smile*
• Remember you can always come to hang out and chat with both us at Atriarch Stratics and frequently the developers as well. Check out our IRC page for more info, then come over to #atriarch and join us!

EverQuest Stratics

• This week, EverQuest gained a new feature allowing users to customize the color of text based on the subject. Almost immediately after this change was implemented, EQSS released a utility to allow users to edit the text without manipulating an INI file or knowing RGB Codes. Now, EQSS introduces the EverQuest Client Editor Version 2.0! This utility does everything version 1 did but allows the user to see text against screenshots taken themselves!
• EverQuest Stratics will be present at the EverQuest Festival 2000 in Houston Texas. Learn more at the EQSS EQFest Page.

Hero's Journey Stratics

• HJS proudly presents the 15th issue of the Hero's Journal! Read about MMORPG design philosophy, fiction, MMORPG and architecture and more!
• HJS also has a weekly Top Ten, and an excellent design discussion forum for Hero's Journey. If MMORPG design and/or virtual worlds interest you, check it out.

Neverwinter Stratics

• Now that Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition has been released, We are now expecting more to be revealed about the new rules and how they are implemented in Neverwinter Nights. We will be covering this information indepth on the site to help Neverwinter DMs understand how to use the new rules on their servers.
• There are some changes coming to the site in the near future - so please keep an eye out - it will not be long now!

Origin Stratics

ORIGIN Stratics is proud to announce two great exclusives this week!

• Ahriman, the Minister of Fiction, sat down with us recently for an Interview. He answers questions about himself, about the fiction of Ultima, and what the Dev Team has in store for us. Head to our Interview Section to read for yourself.
• Our 2nd Exclusive Screenshot in the Fansite Screenshot Series! In this picture we have a Jukan and a Human interacting in the city of Logos. Both Jukan and Kinetic Armor are prominantly displayed. So check out our Screenshot Gallery now!

Ultima-Online Stratics

• The buzzword of the week is Ore Elemental. This fascinating new monster type is yet another surprise addition to the game. Keep your eyes on the Hunter's Guide where we display all known info on all monster and animal types.
• If you want to chat with fellow gamers about UO you can do so in #ultima-online on Stratics IRC. If you're interested in checking some statistics and read a collection of random quotes from that channel, have a look at the freshly opened #ultima-online statistics section.

Hail and well met,

I am writing to inform the people of Britannia about the opening of The Grand Geneva. The Grand Geneva has much to offer including auctions, vendors, and treasure hunting services. Have a house you are wanting to get rid of? Have mass quantities of raw materials? Auction it off using our live "Auction Board". Have weapons and armor that you want to get top dollar for? Submit the items to the auction house for auctioning using our "Submit Item" form. Always getting treasure maps and yet hard to find a treasure hunter to help you find that metal chest you are wanting to get your hands on? Contact us and we will take you to get what is rightfully yours no matter what level map it may be. All info pertaining to The Grand Geneva may be found at www.CrimsonKnights.com/ultima.html

Information about events to be held on our Grand Opening auction on August 19th will be posted later in the week.

May you all have safe journeys,
Soul Keeper

It is my pleasure to announce that I have once again joined the Pacific Team here at UO Stratics as a Shard Reporter. I greatly look forward to serving all of you by getting the news to you promptly and in an orderly fashion.

Just to let those of you who don’t remember me from last time know a little about me. I am a Tamer who also takes a liking to the Bardic Skills, and I can often be found in my new home of Skara Brae by the Bank, or in any one of the many taverns that grace our fair land. If ever you see me and have a bit of news you think is newsworthy feel free to grab my attention and let me hear it.

Thankyou and once again I look forward to serving each and every one of you.

Aiglos

WoW! We had a big turn out for the 2 vs. 2 at Grimoire this Friday! Here are the results:

1st place, 15K: Tempest & Shakespeare
2nd place, 10K: Miner Jim & Spawn
3rd place, 5K: Dark Elf & Kadgar

HUGE thanks to everyone who helped! Thank you to Lost, Craggan, Kelly
Kindred, Aman'Ra, Fiona Pentell, Mianoumi, Crazy Sammy, and Pelle Svanslos for helping the event run so smoothly!

I hope everyone had fun and I hope to see you all at next week's event =o)

Baby-Grimoire Staff

Angels Haven was hosting its normal run through of the night food, ale and orcs for all to slay. When suddenly groaning and eerie sounds came from above.

The staff and customers slowly crept upstairs to the AoA meeting hall where dead bodies and corpses scatter the ground. Inside the locked room to the right ghosts were sitting in the chairs having a conversation. All their names said they were druids. The local drunk always said that druids haunted the place but no one took caution of a drunk mans tales. The "druids" vanished after seeing the living and the customers ran terrified.

Angels Haven Invites you to help solve the mystery of the druids. Who are they? Where did they come from? And why are they scaring off the Angels Haven Customers?

- Gig founder of Angels Haven
www.gigsnail.com

Hail Lords 'n Ladies of Britannia! I am Tristam, one of the new reporters for the grand shard of Great Lakes. Felucca is my home, and in my opinion the best thing about Trammel are the Felucca moonstones. *grins*
You can often find me prowling the lands of Felucca, normally I can be caught at; The "Village" of the UnRuled, The Sandlewood Box, The Temple of Mondain, Krista's Rangerstation, and many other places most chaps consider to be "of interest". Please don't hesitate ta send me any bit of news you may find in your own roamings of Britannia, and remember, even the slightest, most "trivial" occurrence can be the beginnings of a Grand Quest!
I hope to see you in Felucca living the exciting life, but should the news be happening in Trammel.... I'm sure you'll find me there. *winks*

-Tristam

Hail friends,

We at Victoria are announcing our first planned weekly event.  It is going to be a 2 on 2 duel to the death, featuring 1 mage and 1 warrior.  These duels will be held in Trammel right in our town!  Just come to Victoria (located about a minute North of Vesper bank or east of Minoc) to sign up right before the event or ICQ 36227060 for more detailed directions and info.  In order to fight, it is required that you join our official Victorian Dueling Guild prior to the fight, and there is also a 1000 gp entry fee per each team.  The Grand Prize will be 20,000 gp + 2 Gm Studded leather suits. 2nd place will be recieving 5,000gp.  Please support our new community by signing up and let's keep this a fun, yet competitive event! Thanks! What follows is a brief list of rules for the contestants.  

-FrOsT BiTe (Mayor of Victoria)

The honorable Gurney, Minister of Defense of the Trinsic Town Militia, and Countess Tiera, Deputy Mayor of the Trinsic Town Council, do proudly proclaim the date of their betrothal to be this Monday, the 14th of August at the Nu'Jelm Palace. All friends of the groom, of the bride, of the city of Trinsic, or well-wishers of any ilk are most welcome to attend the festivities. The ceremony will begin on the hour of 8 PM by the Central skies of Trammel and will be followed by a reception with food, stories and celebration. Note: those involved in the ceremony should plan to attend at 7 PM or as early as possible.

From Steve Pettitt
I saw the dragon Al'Cedra yesterday too, flying down the southern road from the Empath Abbey in Yew. Its name was in purple, but it didnt say anything.

From Wandrell
Today, a little while ago, i saw that dragon from the quest in Magincia, when i went out from the tinkers shop with my character called Dregnar, but when i run to the grey dragon i lost it of sight and i didn't find it again.

From Liquid Sky
I too have seen the Al'cedra in Vesper on Sunday. I chased it over the east bridge in vesper, to the magic shop and to a small house, it turned and said "disappearing" and left without another word.

From Sean Parkin
Al'Cedra Spotted in Britain. Whilst on business in the city of Britain, the large shadowy figure of Al'cedra swooped quickly past. I gave chase, but could not keep up the pace.

From Xel'Naga, Leader of the Lord British Loyalists
A few minutes ago, Al'cedra the Trammel Dragon was sighted in Britain. It spoke the following words:
"When we are young, wandering the face of Britannia wondering what your Dreams might be worth Learning that you are only immortal; For a limited time."
Then it flew up in the air, towards the east. After a few seconds, it suddenly disappeared from our eyes. It is true, it can make itself invisible!

The fourth Minoc Horserace will be held on august 16th, 20:00cet at the Minoc townhall on Trammel.

The route is shown on the map below. It starts at the townhall (1) and leads to the bridge crossing to the mine with the first checkpoint (2). From there, it leads up the serpent road to checkpoint 2, where you have to cross a line (3). Down again and eastward around the mine-mountain, leaving the stables to the right, the finish is found at "The Barnacle" inn (4).

Entry fee is 1000 coins. Winner gets all. Riders start in groups of 4. The winners of these startup races do a final. Only horses are allowed. Should there however be enough other animals, it is possible to start a "sheer-nightmare-race" for example.

May the fastest contestant win!
Best wishes,
Yoldran

The Order of Ulthuan is proud to announce that the city of Ulthuan will open on September 1st, 2000! There will be a smithy with Grandmaster employees to service your weapon and armor needs, the Ulthuan Library and Magika for all you mages, scribes, and book collectors, and a tailor's shop that sews the finest threads in all the lands! We are also trying to construct a tavern where all you warriors can find the smoothest ales, and hardest liquors that your stomachs can handle. The future site of Ulthuan is located southeast of the great town of Spiritwood, along the Destard mountain range, in the Felucca facet. As for now the Ulthuan Library and Magika is already open to the public. For contact information please refer to the TOU's skypage at http://toulthuan.cjb.net

See you there,
Ordermaster Qurant