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Jasper McCarrin
UP: Britannia
I sit at home. At my writing desk. Empty ale bottles
at my feet. Collected writings scattered throughout the room. I will regret
that later. But for now, I wish only to numb the feelings coursing through
my head. I have learned the meaning of despair.
Not for myself. Oh no. For my dear friend, Julia.
And for two men I barely knew, but had spoken to oh so recently. Branson
One-Thumb... the image of blood trickling across his lips as his eyes
slowly glazed over is etched forever in my head. Sir Duquelle... I can
only pretend to know what he must have gone through. Dragged from the
castle. Did he go willingly? Unsuspecting? Trusting? Or was he threatened
and cajoled until he realized the choice was not his? Murdered. His dead
body hacked apart and left on display. Almost as if they wished it to
be... **pause**
As if they wished his remains to be found. Hmmm...
Infinite methods of disposing of someone must be possible.
A truer course would seem to have been to leave Sir Duquelle helpless
at the bottom of a dungeon.
He would never have escaped alive. There would have been no reason to
suspect the FOA. I can think of nothing to be gained by leaving his mutilated
corpse at one of their hideouts. What possible reason would there be for
that? Did they want us to find Sir Duquelle's remains? And, more importantly,
why? **shiver**
And Julia. As kind and generous a person as ye will
ever meet. She possesses a heart as big as all Britannia, and she would
give to any who need. Whether asked or not. The idea of destroying anything
or anyone would have no place with Julia. Sir Geoffrey may be one of the
bravest men in the realm, but he is a fool if he thinks Julia involved
with the Followers of Armageddon.
It sickens me to even think her name associated with the wretched miscreants
who so routinely commit such vile acts of depravity. If those like Julia
were truly a part of the FOA, the name would have been changed to the
Followers of Altruism rather than of Armageddon.
Resolved to finding a way to help Julia, my thoughts
drift to rumors I've heard of late. Rumors that GThunk
the troll has been seen not far from Vesper.
I remember my first encounter with he and his brother, GSplat. They were
attacking Vesper in hopes of capturing the lands north of here. I'll never
forget my surprise at actually hearing a troll speak. I had the... fortune?...
to be face to face with both of them at one point during the attack. Despite
my terror and the danger of my situation, the one thought I could not
escape at the time was that someone needs to teach these two creatures
some basic grammar. I did manage to escape harm, though. Since that time,
I know that GSplat has been killed. I wonder what GThunk is after? I wonder
if he can conjugate yet?
My head is pounding. Time for more ale...
From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Thursday, October
1st 1998
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