Vaughn the Blacksmith

UP: Drachenfels

    The evening was warm and the wind blew gently in from the north. The streets of Trinsic were quieting as the day was coming to an end. All seemed normal and yet something was not right. I headed out of my shop to take a look around. There was a foul odor in the air but I could not place its origin. I called to out to a guard patrolling the streets “Do you feel something is not right tonight”. “Smithy I think ye have been at the fires to long. I suggest ye hit the tavern for an ale then call it an early night” the guard said as he slapped my shoulder in passing. Surely the guards could sense something was wrong, tis after all what they are trained to do.

    No sooner did the guard pass my person that he stopped and slumped over onto his halberd. I stepped closer and noticed he was staring off at nothing as if seeing something that was not there. Concerned for the safety of the people in Trinsic I rushed toward the town cryers. Along the way I noticed several other guards in the same dazed state.

    As I ran toward the town cryer the ground shook with the force of an earthquake, quickly followed by a deafening boom. I turned on my heels to see smoke rising from behind my shop. “Catapults” I yelled as I ran to the cryers. As I reached the cryers I now realized the origin of the foul odor…. ORCS. The Cryers were already yelling of the attack upon our city.

    The Orcs had sailed from the north and were raiding the city. Some how they had found a way to lull the guards allowing them access to the inner city. The air became thick with magic as gate after gate opened revealing warrior and mage alike readied for the fight at hand. Most were shocked to see Orcs inside the city walls yet fought with all the skill and raw power for which the warriors of this land are known.

    The battle raged through the night yet the Catapults still rained their destruction down upon the city I call home. The Catapults must be taken out. The warriors pressed the fight outside the gates to find and destroy the accursed war machines. The Orcs seeing the surge of warriors fell back to the catapults to defend them from destruction. The warriors cut through the orcs as though they were a breath on the wind and headed to the catapults. There was silence as the rain of explosions stopped. The warriors had done it, they had destroyed the catapults.

    Several warriors informed the cryers of a strange Crystal mounted to the mast of the lead orc ship. The cryers summoned Krylin the artifact keeper to examine the crystal. Krylin determined the crystal was an ancient artifact only know to us as The Crystal of Sleep for its true name has been lost with the passing of time. The keeper stated that the crystal if properly manipulated by a powerful mage could lull any creature into a waking sleep. The keeper removed the stone and cast a ward spell upon it to negate the effects it had upon the guards.

    Trinsic has once again returned to its tranquil state and all seems well except for dire repairs needed to be done on the city walls from the bombardments. One question arises in my mind. If the crystal required manipulating to work properly, who or what manipulated it? 

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Friday, June 11th 1999