Genn Wintord

UP Reporter

    Not many guilds hold elections to choose a new leader. Many see this approach in choosing a guildmaster as weak and inherently flawed. The mining cooperative in Vesper is one guild that has started to hold elections to determine who will hold its highest offices for the coming year. They make their home at the Ore of Vesper hall. Unfortunately, a thief, named Gravunn, stole the ballot box directly after the election, and before the results could be gleaned.

    Gravunn took the ballot box and headed north and then veered east. A seer of the realm was asked by the current guild officials to recruit heroes to bring back the ballot box. The condition of the thief was not considered of any concern to the guild. "We will offer a reward for the return of our ballot box, but the thief – well, it is fair to say that we have no need to see him ever again. Do with him as thou doth wish."

    Many bold citizens went after the crafty thief. He had a large head start, but his pursuers were vigilant and determined. He was eventually cornered as he wandered the eastern coast. Even his skill at hiding and evading could not help him as the many courageous adventurers left him nowhere to run. When finally defeated, he was heard to say that the ship he was to meet could not be found. As Gravunn cursed his foul luck and untrustworthy accomplices, the heroes who caught him ( Dr. Squirrel, Landella, and Coz – among many others) swept up the stolen ballot box. Before returning to town with their quarry, they admonished Gravunn and told him to change his ways, or they would hunt him down again for any future wrong doings. Gravunn was reported as saying he would reform, but such words from a criminal are often empty words indeed.

    When the heroes returned to Vesper, their praises were sung by the town and by the mining cooperative. Filled with the virtue of humility, the heroes shared their reward with others who helped and acknowledged the city of Vesper as the reason for their valor. "But twas not the reward that drove me. To help the town of Vesper is far more important," proclaimed Dr. Squirrel as he was offered his reward.

    It was pieced together by those who interrogated Gravunn that the theft’s aim was to discredit the election process and to bring to light the frailty involved in such an "unnatural" method of selecting a leader. Gravunn was a mere lackey rather than the mastermind behind such a plan. The person or persons who staged the event are as yet unknown, but are believed to be affiliated with one of the older and more established guilds in Britannia. Whether or not their plan proved successful hath yet to be determined, but perhaps the goal was achieved even though the theft was thwarted. Gravunn is still at large, but is no longer considered a threat to anyone other than himself.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Thursday, February 12th 1998