Ceridwen the Historian

UP: Sonoma

    Note: If you wish to read about the Insidiae�s history, refer to �History of the Insidiae.�

    After a long period of no activity whatsoever, the group of vile thieves known as the Insidiae have resurfaced. Why? That is not yet known. It began perhaps three weeks hence, when the sinister Lord Grythak was seen at a dinner party held at my home in Britain. I thought little of it at the time, as he was gone in an instant, and could not be found again that evening. But, more recently, a clerk at the eastern branch of the First Bank of Britain named Groen Ferro saw him once again.

    It was an evening a week ago, just as the bankers evening shift had begun. Mr. Ferro walked outside for a bit of fresh air, and saw a glint of green metal reflect off the setting sun�s rays. He moved closer and saw Grythak wielding his poison green blade, Venom�s Bite, and two shady looking characters. He can remember hearing Grythak mention �a job which must soon be done.� He had not the time to call for the guards before the figures vanished around a building.

    When this news reached me, I immediately sent a dispatch to Nujel�m to retrieve Frederick, a guard who has been trying to apprehend Grythak and the Insidiae for months. A day later I received a response: he would arrive by boat on the evening of Wednesday, October 6. I also sent word out to those I knew might be able to help, and we met at the Britain Public Library to discuss matters.

    It turned out a game was being played upon us. As soon as Frederick arrived, Grythak stepped from the shadows and poisoned him. This occurred in town! Grythak had hired doubles of himself around Britain to distract the guards. Later I learned that each of them wore bone armor exactly like that of Grythak, and wielded a scimitar made of Verite, hand poisoned to simulate the look of Venom�s Bite itself. The guards were nowhere near the Library when he showed himself. Grythak threatened Frederick and I, and then tried to escape to the north, closely followed by Frederick and many brave souls. A chase ensued, but at the end Grythak tricked them all by erecting two false gates. By the time they learned where his true destination was, he was long gone.

    Later in the evening, the sinister lord made a fatal mistake � he again showed himself at the Yew Merry Center for All (a public building near the Yew graveyards). The warriors and magi gathered there were not about to let the masked man escape once again � they surrounded, and triumphantly slew him. The only thing that dampened the evening was the fact that Grythak�s vile blade, Venom�s Bite, disappeared from the corpse.

    It seems this is the end of Grythak�s leadership of the Insidiae. Will the infamous group be able to stand without its long-time leader? Or, is the Insidiae threat yet to be defeated? I feel we will soon know.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Monday, October 11th 1999