Caitlin Elopidat

UP:Baja

    Yew--Some of you may remember the Doom Tree. A large, black, dead, tree-creature with a penchant for spell casting, and a horde of worshipping ratmen. It had stolen the soul of a local magician named, Horace. It was defeated, Horace was rescued, and we thought perhaps we'd seen the last of it.

    Perhaps we were mistaken. A being of similar shape and power appeared in the old fort south of Yew this evening, and brought forth with it a host of undead. Ghouls, shades, spectors, ghosts, zombies, skeletons, hellhounds, and even a lich were at the mercy of the black, misshapen tree, which also cast spells at local residents.

    Brave warriors such as Hope, Carnivorous, and Mon's Smithette appeared from nowhere to battle the mysterious tree, and fought valiantly with it before it finally died with a horrible screech. It cast several offensive spells at the warriors, and did some damage to them before they were able to corner it and hack it to splinters.

    It was indeed a most foul creature, telling those who could hear it's rasping voice that it owned the land and all that stood near it were but it's slaves. It appeared to have the ability to raise undead forces to do it's bidding, and several frontal attacks on the monster were broken off due to the sudden appearance of ghosts and skeletons. At one point it even bound a lich to it's will and sent the horrid undead beast lurching toward the valiant warriors. The attack lasted for several minutes and was sustained until the tree finally fell.

    Perhaps a mighty shout of "Timber!" should have accompanied the tree's falling, but those in attendance had other things on their mind, like their own survival against the treacherous creature. It was a dark day indeed, for a while, but in the end, as these things often do, it ended in the death of that which sought to take the land of Britannia from it's citizens.

    Rumors have since suggested that this was something of a return for the Doom Tree, and that perhaps we still have not seen the last of it. Scholars and sages alike have no ideas as to where such a being would have come from, but they all agree that it is an instrument of chaos and darkness, and should be treated with the respect that such a creature deserves.

    Winslow the sage has promised to study the tree's origins, as well as the bark and trunk that was left behind in it's death, and perhaps soon enough we will know from whence it came. And hopefully, how to stop it from doing so again.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Wednesday, March 25th 1998