Makkan Geme

UP : Near Cove (Sonoma)

    Bright orange flames shot out from the orc fort near Cove last night, and apparently the fire was work of the orcs themselves. It happened during a large-scale orc invasion, with dozens of orcs, orc captains, orc mages, and orc lords.

    A powerful orc lord was seen by the warriors inside the fort running around near the fort's entrance with a torch in his hand. Just moments after another mighty wave of orcs appeared in the fort to attack the brave fighters, the powerful orc lord screamed out, "Now you will not escape the fort! Attack orcs!" Then the orc lord set fire to the only passageway in or out of the fort.

    The powerful orc lord that set the exit-blocking blaze died shortly after starting the fire, but apparently his cries were a signal to dozens of orcs in hiding. Those orcs rushed the fighters remaining in the orc fort.

    The fire had many a human warrior trapped inside the fort, as they didn't want to risk taking burn damage in addition to the blows they had already taken from the massive orc rush.

    One fighter who came staggering out of the fort bruised and battered told the Town Cryer's Cove correspondent, "I was down in my health a bit, but not near death, and then that fire in the entrance started. Well, that cinched it, I had to stay and fight or die then. I couldn't risk running through the deep fire to get back out in the condition I was in.

    Word of an earlier orc invasion had apparently made it to the fighters of Britannia, as there were a good number of warriors already inside the fort. But for many, after the fire started blocking the entryway, it was time to battle or die.

    Many of the warriors looking for battle action began to cry out with shouts of joy over the large battle that erupted around them as the orcs began to fall under the onslaught of their weapons.

    In the end, the human warriors were victorious, beating back the orc onslaught until every last orc had perished. After the battle, many of the magic users in the orc fort area resorted to healing spells to make it back through the fire.

    "I was beaten and bloody, but still alive," said one, "However, that fire was still burning bright, so I had to heal up before plunging into the blaze to get out. It was a good tactic by the orcs because it kept many of us running around inside the fort instead of escaping."

    A good tactic indeed, Britannian citizens are warned to be wary of this possible trap in case the orcs use it again in the future.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Thursday, March 26th 1998