Theobald Waldemir

UP: Great Lakes

The past weeks have seen increased Brigand activity along the road leading to Britain from Minoc. The reason for this was unclear, until as of late. In secret, caravans laden with gold have been traveling from Minoc, destined for the royal mints of Britain. As it turned out, the secret was not very well-kept, as the first two such caravans were attacked and looted. The third attempt at passage found it�s way safely to Britain, after Wellsink the Minter, charged with the gold�s safety, recruited guards from the population of Minoc and Vesper.

�The response was amazing,� says Wellsink, who was questioned after his return to Minoc, �a veritable army accompanied the four pack horses that made up the Caravan. The Brigands didn�t have a chance!�

The greatest threat to the caravan came at the wooden watchtower, just north of Britain. There, the group was met by a woman in a guard�s uniform, who offered to guard the caravan the remaining way to the city. The attendant mercenaries were not fooled, however, and quickly unmasked the guard for what she was- a brigand. This false guard summoned her fellows from the woods, and the battle raged in earnest. The attackers were driven off, and hunted down. The body of Jacobe, the guardsman assigned to the watchtower, was later found in the woods nearby.

Bordas, the notorious leader of a group of highwaymen which once preyed upon travelers going to and from Trinsic, has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the caravans. Whether or not his story can be believed is up for debate, as most of his followers were slain, following the robbery of Veldin the noble. Veldin hired a group of mercenaries, who pursued the brigands back to their palisade fort south of Yew, and slew all of those present, with the exception of Bordas, who fled.

Regardless, the gold from the initial two caravans was never recovered. The total value of the nearly pure stolen gold, is just shy of seven hundred thousand gold coins. A princely sum, indeed.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Thursday, March 9th 2000