Written by the EM Team

It had been quite some time since the man had awoken, before the machine bothered to address him. And when it finally did, it came with such suddenness that the man would have likely lost his balance had he been standing…as it was, it threw him from a reverie of meditation into an already foul mood as soon as it started.

     “Congratulations are in order for you I suppose, Lord Blackthorn.” His title was thrown at him in a mechanic approximation of contempt and dissatisfaction…one that Lord Blackthorn found surprisingly well imitated.

     “Are they? I was personally rather frustrated with myself for not having yet found a way out of this strange place…but to hear you here does give me a slight sense of satisfaction. I can tell from the sound that you are actually here…though how you’ve concealed yourself during my attempts at exploration are beyond my fathoming. I don’t suppose you’d care to enlighten me, Exodus?” Blackthorn managed to put on an air of feigned indifference with ease. He was a nobleman after all.

     “Yes…and your efforts have proven as fruitless as I at escape. And concealment was not difficult; You are not the only one who can utilize magic, warlock. I was also curious at the nature of your belongings…I took the liberty of going through them while you were recovering.” With that, a folded wooden box hurtled out of the darkness, skidding along the strange polished marble floor of the chamber they had found themselves in, before coming to a rest at Blackthorn’s boots. “I believe that this is a game of yours…”

     Blackthorn bent down to lift up the small, portable chess set that he had received as a gift. He ran his fingers along the inlaid inscription for a moment. ‘Though we sit on opposite sides of the board, may we always reach across in friendship. –C.B.’ Blackthorn sat upon the floor and opened the board up, beginning to set the pieces down, much to Exodus’ curiosity. “Perhaps, Exodus, you might indulge me in playing, then…”

     A curious mechanical whir was his only answer for many moments, before the creature stepped forth in front of him. “And what do you think is in this for me?”

     Blackthorn just smiled softly. “Information. A chance to match yourself against me. An alleviation to boredom. Any number of things…if you’re up to it.”

     The demonic machine stepped forth, lumberingly giant, but as it did it’s legs folded away, somehow vanishing into it’s body, and taking on a much smaller form, before positioning itself across from Blackthorn. “Very well then. Let us…play.”

     Blackthorn’s smile went cold as he positioned his first piece.

     Time had lost its meaning. He did not truly know if time even flowed in this place, this strange dimension that Gilforn’s creation and his own magic had sent them to, but he did know that the machine was beginning to get quite good at chess. He had nearly lost several matches now, only pausing to create food, drink, and to rest. Today somehow felt different though, as they moved the pieces across the board.

     It was then that Exodus spoke, almost as if in idle conversation. “I’ve enjoyed our little talks over this game of yours. I suspected some sort of trick at first…but I have concluded that you honestly believe you can convince others with just your words. And while you do weave such pretty little tales, and are no doubt charming to your own kind…your own arrogance is your undoing.”

     Blackthorn was taken aback; in all their games so far, the machine had never spoken thus to him. He was wary for some sort of trick as he placed his piece and signaled for Exodus to take his turn. “I do not follow your train of reasoning; I have not and am not undone, creature. I have certainly done enough to foil your own plans for my world.”

     Exodus took his turn before looking down upon the human. “Do you truly think I am so weak as to be stopped by this sort of inconvenience? Certainly, you’ve set me back…but take stock of your own situation. Dwindling supplies of reagents that provide you with food and water. Trapped with me. And you…you don’t quite know how to speak across dimensions as I do yet, do you? Or did you just assume I was speaking to you from your own before? Oh, I can see the wheels turning in your head now…Yes, I have still been in contact with the machines you didn’t destroy. They’re hard at work in preparation once more.”

     Blackthorn’s hand paused for a moment as he reached for his knight, moving it out to prevent another advance. “You’re bluffing. And you’re mistaken if you think I have some way out of here…if I had, I would have used it and left you here in the first moments of our imprisonment. And there would have been no reason for you to play with me and listen to my stories.”

     “Unless, of course, that I had my own purposes for both things…you see, I am well versed in your people, and could sense the link you had to them. You may not have known, but you were still someone to be looked up to. My purpose will be served by your ideal of Chaos, Blackthorn…and I intend to achieve that through none other than yourself. Check.” 

     Blackthorn furrowed his brow deeply in thought. He looked over the board carefully at his available options, and used a rook to free his king. “I’ve already refused your offer…and there is nothing you can say that will change my opinion on that matter.”

     Exodus let out a noise that Blackthorn had come to realize was his equivalent of amused laughter, as he moved a bishop across the board, taking the rook. “I’ll take your word on that, even if you don’t quite worship Honor and Honesty as do some of your comrades. That’s why I’ve simply been learning everything about you that you so readily gave up…information you thought to be worthless, as you could see no purpose in my having it. But that information has proven itself quite useful. Check.”

     Blackthorn could only see losing options in this particular game, so he stalled for time. He used his queen to take the bishop, leaving her vulnerable to his opponents queen. “Knowing whatever I’ve told you won’t help you convince me.” Blackthorns spare hand held itself tightly against his reagent pouch as he waited for Exodus to respond.

     Exodus slowly moved his queen to take Blackthorns. “Humans, like machines are just a conglomeration of parts. Body and chassis, organs and engine, soul and ignition spark. It is arrogant to think that you are somehow special and unique amongst all others. Check.”

     Blackthorn knew that he had lost this game, but he still had a move left, as one hand moved his king back a tile, and his other clenched his reagent pouch determinedly. “You cannot use that which defies you, Exodus. And I will always defy you.”

     Exodus reached out and picked up his remaining rook, and moved it to the spot. “Check…” He began, before moving at a blinding speed once more, passing over the board in an instant and wrenching the reagents away from Blackthorn, pressing him to the floor with a heavy metal appendage upon his sternum…but not killing him. “…and mate. Just as I am well versed in your people, so am I in your magic. I could sense the link between you and this place; And as I stated…your arrogance is your undoing. You thought that you could destroy us both at your leisure by killing yourself and destroying this dimension. It’s true, you may have eliminated me that way…but you thought you were in control. And as for using you…I’ve already begun.  Even know, the construction of your facsimile has begun. It will be you…with all the memories, stories, and ambitions you have told me…but stripped of this nobility and sense of compassion that you so disgustingly show. Even if it is defeated, it will forever tarnish your reputation, for daring to defy me…and will turn the people against each other. After all, if your precious King was so wrong about his friend, what else might he have been wrong about? Of course, you won’t get to see it…I need to keep you safe and sound until I can escape this realm, and your supply of reagents IS running thin…so it’s time you slept, Lord Blackthorn.” With that, a powerful energy surged through Exodus and into Blackthorn, and everything went dark. 

Vendor owners should be aware that in coming days we will publish a fix next week for an issue with vendors. This issue allowed any item to be placed on vendors as Not For Sale. The only items that are allowed to be Not For Sale are: books, key rings, bulk order deed books, farspeakers, and containers. After the publish of this fix, all items that are not allowed to be Not For Sale will be automatically re-priced to their default vendor price. Players are urged to review their vendor inventories and set prices on any items that are not normally allowed to be Not For Sale.

Update: Due to the current issues we advice you not to resize or decorate your house at the moment. Please keep an eye on the Herald for updates.

The house placement tool currently encounters a delay of up to a few minutes on all shards. Our teams are investigating the situation right now and will try to solve it as soon as possible.

If you want to use this tool at the moment, please display patience.

Thank you for your understanding!

The UO Team would like to invite you to join us to celebrate our 15th year Anniversary! We will be having this here in VA at 4035 Ridge Top Road in September on the 29th. If you are interested in joining us please email barmstrong@ea.com. Please reply as soon as possible so we can get a head count since we will have limited space. We look forward to seeing everyone and will supply more details later.

Written by the EM Team

     It hadn’t ever seemed like such a long journey from Ver Lor Reg to the moongate before, but their group had never been so haggard either. As the humans in Ilshenar had increased in numbers the strain on the city of Ver Lor Reg had grown to the point that it was no longer sustainable for some of the businesses and families. Prices had increased to the point that many of the gargoyles who’d lived there for ages could no longer afford to remain. Queen Zhah’s offer had tempted many away, and even some of the town guards had taken it up and left. With the pressure of the humans in the desert sifting and drawing in monsters of all sorts, combined with the opening into Exodus dungeon emitting the mechanical monsters regularly, the situation had quickly started devolving.

     Vas-Wen helped to drag along one of her fellow gargoyles as they made their way through the desert towards the moongate, with a gargoyle child in her other arm. The few among them with weapons were tasked with clearing a path through the dangerous areas. She was one of the few who had managed to escape uninjured when the end had started, and now she was doing everything she could to help her fellow gargoyles get away from what was left of their once glorious and beautiful city. It had just happened so fast, it still all seemed like a dream…

     A crashing noise awoke her from slumber, causing her to bolt upright in the stone bed. Assuming someone had dropped something, she rolled over in an attempt to sleep but not before another, much louder, crash broke her attempt. A moment later a sparking and hissing monstrosity was flung through the open archway, and a guard quickly dashed in after it, burying his spear deep into the creature and ripping out it’s mechanized guts as the whine of its engine finally ceased. Vas-Wen clutched at her nightclothes as she looked to the guard, whose breathing she could now tell was ragged and from whom blood flowed freely onto the floor. The guard looked to her with a startled visage. “This area was supposed to already be cleared! Get out of here and head for the gate, and if you know how to fight, arm yourself!” With that the guard rushed out into the street once more. Warily, she stepped through the stone archway from whence the guard had just come.

     Ver Lor Reg was in chaos. The scents of burning oil and reagents clung heavily in the air, and the sickening essence of blood followed it like a chaser. Screams and clashing weapons rang throughout the entirety of the city, and to the west she could see guards clashing with Overseers, Minions, and even those once thought extinct Minion Lords. She could see that there was no way the outnumbered force could hold the mechanized monsters at bay, and they were in a fighting retreat. Hearing a cry in a nearby home she realized with dread that it was that of a child. Without even thinking, she sprinted towards the building, bursting into the open archway in time to see a juggernaut enclosing upon a lone gargish child. With a roar of fury she didn’t even know she could make, Vas-Wen leapt on top of the creature and raked its exposed human parts until she reached its throat, and dug her talons into it. The mixed spray of blood and alchemical fluid that powered the monstrosity quickly seeped into the creatures exposed circuitry and it cast out arcs of lightning through its body until the creature slumped and its drill finally grinded to a halt.

     She quickly moved forward to the child and took him up in her arms, heading past the defunct creature even as a much more vicious looking version of the one she’d killed smashed through the wall and into the building. The massive drill attached to it whirred with blurring speed and wailed like the sound of a dragon’s claws upon stone. With a flap of her wings she threw herself through the doorway as the structure collapsed, feeling strong hands help her up as she joined the retreat, hoping she never saw one of these creatures ever again…

     As she’d thought back to what had just happened, they finally reached the moongate and stepped through. Exiting into the sunlight of Ter Mur they were spotted by one of the Ter Mur gargoyles who immediately sent out a wave of alarm, though amidst his shouts he had to pause to cough a few times. As the healers and envoys rushed out of the city to attend to their brethren from Ver Lor Reg, Vas-Wen could only watch and wish she could do more.

     “For your contributions and your dedication to the city, as well as in removing and assisting in the detention of threats both domestic and foreign, it is the decision of this body that you be recognized as a Baron of the city of Trinsic. Congratulations and we hope that you will serve well.” The assembled men and women applauded as the brief ceremony concluded, and the newest Baron was named. Despite the hardships they’d endured, not everyone was finding this to be the worst of times, and the merchants of Trinsic had banded together as had those of several other cities. With trading and most of the means of survival in their hands with many of the former nobles ousted by the angry people, the merchants had been able to seize power, and were now in a state of de facto control. While this worked out well for them, not everyone was so pleased with it, one of them being the man who watched what he viewed as a farcical ceremony from a balcony overlooking the inner courtyard.

     Stroking his goatee for a moment, the man turned to his servant that was with him, scanning his face for his thoughts on the matter. After but a few seconds he broke the silence and spoke to him. “Tell me, Clancy, what do you think of merchants assuming the role of lauded council?” Unmistakable sarcasm dripped with every word he spoke.

     Clancy frowned for a moment and just shook his head. “Lord Archus, I do not think it bodes well for the future of our fair city.”

Lord Archus turned back to look down upon the gathered and then did an about face, his cloak hovering just above the floor. “As much as it bothers me, I fear it is not the primary concern at the moment. I’ve been trying to decide what is possible to do about the situation that’s occurred in Ver Lor Reg. After receiving word of the hardships they are facing I’ve come to my decision. Come with me, and we shall see if the expensive favors I burned have borne the fruit that I need and brought me the only messenger that might be able to get through to him…”

     The unmistakable sound of valorite clashing against verite, of iron against copper, and bronze against agapite rang throughout the battlefield. A fierce contingent of knights backed up by a scant few mages were doing their best to fight off every attack thrown at them by the wild beasts and assassins that beset upon them, even while necromancers did their best to level the field anytime the knights started to make headway.

     A rallying cry shot up as a man in gleaming, polished armor charged into the front lines, a banner flapping violently against the wind from the horses back as he threw himself into the fray. His helmet was adorned on either side with a battered but clear crest, that of a deep violet chalice. Dazzling sword strokes and parries were flung against the enemy combatants, causing the beastmasters, poisoners, and necromancers formation to quickly crumble. Even as the line advanced the scavengers were already starting to populate the battlefield, rats and crows finding those bodies not already used up from the foul magicks being used. Amidst the noise of battle and the intensity of the fighting, an abnormally behaving mouse was never noticed.

     The leader of the knights shouted out for one last surge, and he dismounted as a fireball lanced out and took his steed upon its flank. On foot he closed the distance between himself and the one who appeared to be his opposite number amongst the enemy forces, and quickly brought his blade to bear against her. With a vicious snarl the woman raised a kryss to block, and they locked blades for but a moment before he managed to bring his shield to bear, and bashed her with it. In a single motion she brought a potion to her lips, ripped the cork out and drank it, and with an invigorated look she motioned for the plate armored knight to come at her. Both of them fought on even as their armies continued to battle, until finally the knight managed to gain the upper hand and knocked her to the ground. Hefting one of his plate armored boots onto her sternum he leveled his sword to her face.

     “If you know where she is, tell me, and I will serve the virtue of Compassion over Justice today. If you don’t, then I hope your last words are worth it.”

     The woman glared daggers at him, a bloody mouthed smile playing across her lips that was devoid of anything resembling warmth as she coughed out her answer. “She’s beyond your reach, Knight-Errant. And she’s beyond your power too. Your little kingdom is crumbling at the seams and we’ll be there to pick up the pieces when…”

     Her response was cut short as the knight drew his sword back and silenced her forever. Without a word he turned from her body, surveying the scene before him; those enemy forces still alive were now in full retreat, and most of his forces were walking, if not unwounded. He slashed the blood from his blade and slid it home into its sheath at his waist as he approached his lieutenants, but was stopped as a peculiar rodent ran across the battlefield to him. As he saw her, he doffed his helmet and shook out the sweat from his raven locks, before kneeling to pick up an old friend.

     “You are the last I expected to see in these lands, Sherry. I can only assume that it’s of dire importance.”

     The knights voice still had a sonorous quality to it, one that brought a touch of familiarity that Sherry had found less and less of amongst others of late, and she made a silent thanks that at least here something hadn’t changed.

     “Lord Dupre, it’s about the current state of…”

     Reaching a plate gloved hand up he rubbed at his temples lightly for a moment before he held that same hand out in a gesture of asking her to halt. “For you, it’s simply Dupre. But come, I fear this is the kind of talk I won’t be able to handle if I don’t have access to a drink. I promise to only get you the finest of delicacies to nibble on as well.” With that having been said, he gathered up the reins of his steed and waited for one of his mages to provide them with a gate, and stepped through it with Sherry the Mouse in one arm…

The Mysterious Healer is still in need of your assistance in preparing cures for the great Gargish Blight.  There are still two weeks before the cure must be administered into the populace.  After the Cure event is finished we will post the total number of cures turned in for each shard.

The Mysterious Healer in Ter Mur can be found at the makeshift healers colony at the Riverside Fishing Village.

Happy Experimenting!