Written by members of the UO community

Issue 2 – Edition 3

WORLD NEWS

Alchemist Labors for Naught

It was 12 years ago, that the great intellect and alchemist, Vig Parthus the Accomplished addressed the public before barring the door to his lab. He bid that no one disturb his work, for when he finally emerged from his bailiwick, he would present to the people that which mankind had been searching for since the beginning of time. After a decade of respecting the mages request, a concerned citizen determined that something was amiss, since no one had been bringing food to the alchemist for all those years. When the body was finally recovered, it was already in an advanced state of decomposition. There is only speculation of what Vig had been working on that would be such a boon to mankind. Scholars pointed out that Vig must have been working on a potion that would turn base metals into gold. Politicians were hoping for an elixir that they could give to their wives to make them believe their lies whenever they cheated on them. Women-folk lamented that they would never see the wonder-soap that would soften their hands while doing dishes.
 

Nuisance Charge Ends With Unusual Twist

It was a day of ordeals for Pepe, a young shepherd that tended the flocks in the Magincian fields. When he began to give the hue and cry of “Wolf! Wolf!”, all those within earshot came running to investigate. When the townsfolk asked for the reason for the alarm, the young herdsman appeared puzzled, according to witnesses. The assembled individuals dispersed, when the cry rose up again, and they returned yet again to find no wolf within the vicinity. This incident was repeated until the guards were called and the shepherd was charged with constituting a public nuisance. The young herdsman was questioned about some empty bottles of alcohol found in his lunch area, and vociferously denied that he had ever seen them. His employer arrived on the scene and upon hearing the news, discharged the worker on the spot. That night, the entire flock had disappeared without a trace. Fortunately for the young shepherd, he had been incarcerated at the time, or else would have been considered a primary suspect in the crime. Pepe has been released on his own recognizance following a witness coming forward with information as to the actual perpetrators involved in the crime. Allegedly, a ninja by the name of Mmmm Falafels and his sheep rustling associates have been assuming the wolf animal form and stealthing around the Yew sheep pens, baiting animal herders with the same scheme.

CURRENT NEWS

Cupid’s Vacation?

After weeks of pondering upon the upcoming holiday, Cupid lamented on how mortals had forgotten the gods of the lands. Almost everyone knows Cupid’s name only on Valentine’s Day because of his legendary deeds: spreading the spirit of love in the lands. Cupid grew curious of what humans would do if granted the power of inspiring love upon each other. He looked down at the toy arrows in Voluptas’s quiver and had of an idea. His daughter’s arrows were made to only affect people who were already in love with each other. Cupid’s contrived to leave an arrow for each person in Sosaria the night before Valentine’s Day and observe how they would use them. He also included a statue molded in his likeness as a hint to the present’s sender. The very next day he sat back with interest as he observed his handiwork. Many used the arrows on a loved one, others shot anyone and everyone within sight, while some even discarded them thoughtlessly. “Either way,” Cupid thought to himself, “At least they all know that the god of desire, affection and erotic love still lives.”

The Origin of Saint Patrick’s Day

In a distant land, in a time long forgotten, lived a man by the name of Saint Patrick; or Saint for short. Saint liked to wear pointy hats and dress in green and was well known throughout the town. One evening while he was tossing back a few cold ones at the tavern, he heard a great wailing and lamenting from the other drunkards. “The silver serpents are ruining the spawn,” they said. “There are far too many of them and their deadly poison kills far too quickly. They don’t even carry any decent loot!” So, Saint resolved to deal with the problem and armed himself with his snake slayer shillelagh with +25 swing speed increase and travelled the land, ridding it of the troublesome vipers. It took many real-time hours, but Saint finally managed to accomplish this Herculean task. He discretely returned to the tavern, and eavesdropped on the local conversations. “That Saint guy is a total tool. He is ruining the natural dye trade,” they cried. “You can’t get Silver Serpent venom anymore, and the vendors in Dublin are charging a mil per vial.” Then was Saint shamed, for he had not considered the consequences of his actions. He rose from his barstool and addressed the other barflies. He said, “I shall make amends for my careless actions, though I acted with good intent. So, today and on the anniversary of this day, there shall be a great celebration, and I will pay for all of the booze. We shall start drinking from sunrise, and parade through the streets. We shall start a custom of throwing beads to drunken strumpets so that they flash their dirty pillows to oggling bystanders….” And it is told that they spent the entire evening in the tavern, collaborating on these ideas until the first one fell asleep. Then those remaining drew lewd phrases and pictures onto the sleeping individual’s face then departed the tavern at dawn…snickering. It is told that these were the humble beginnings of Saint Patrick’s Day.

PAGE 3

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TRAVELOGUE

The Prison of Wrong

Wrong is an underground prison that the Yew Court utilized years ago during the days when Justice was considered that the accused were guilty until proven otherwise. A relic of a forgotten era; it was and is still one of the most feared prisons in the land due to the many souls that had died there. Deep within the prison is a torture room, which most can only imagine what horrors had occurred there, or even the purpose to create such a room. Even the kitchen doesn’t seem to have been sanitary enough for human purposes, so it is questionable what was served to prisoners in the past. There are also no known records of their crimes or even of who were incarcerated there. They seem to have been lost or crumbled away with the passing of time. The ancient and long abandoned prison complex is located at the western shores of Lost Hope Bay. Humanoids and beasts have taken up residency in the old prison for their own reasons. Is something drawing the brigands and other cruel beings to inhabit the dungeon of Wrong, or is there something hidden there over the years since it was last run as a prison… besides all the lost hopes of its prisoners? We may never know.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Keep the Magic of Winter Alive

The snows will be disappearing soon, but you can still keep some of that winter magic trapped all year round inside our limited edition snowglobe. The Sosarian Mint Collection brings you our latest addition, ‘Winter Memories of Destard.” Crafted of fine frostwood, each figurine in the scene is painstakingly hand painted in such detail that they almost come to life. You can make out every detail of the tiny adventurers; their brows tinged with the sweat of desperation and fear as they flee for their lives from the dungeon. You can see the panicked look in their eyes as they search for the nearest snow pile to douse the flames erupting from their clothing. Each snowglobe is a delight to behold, and for only 4 payments of 2500 gold, it can be yours. If you act now, you can also order for 30 days, two favorites, “Liches Ate My Heart in Deceit” and “PK Gangbang in Covetous.” If you wish, you can receive your set all at once. Best order with Grandmastercharge, Britannian Express or COD with a 10 gp service charge.

Let Us Take Care of Dinner Tonight!!!

If there’s a seafood lover in you, then you should try the seafood restaurant that received the Golden Conch award two years running. At Buster’s Crabs, we have a great atmosphere and a friendly staff who are here to make you feel welcome. This week’s special is our irresistable Walrus Steaks. We select the finest and laziest walruses on the tundra and club them to perfection. Only when they are at the peak of tenderness, do we ice pack them for shipment and grill them up for you. If you are looking for a family dining experience, why not invite your parents out for one of our weekend specials. We have a Beachcomber™ platter that mom will enjoy and a Hooker™ that will put a smile on dad’s face. Or, why not just invite out a whole gang of friends? We hope you bring enough of them and your appetites, because we offer the one ton steamed Scalis Party Claw™**, lowered onto your table by block and tackle. But, please remember to place a reservation a week in advance so we can begin cooking it.

** Giant tub of melted butter 15,000 gold extra.

HUMOR

Crime and Punishment

Judge: You have stood before me five times already.

Thief: Your honor, when I like a fellow, I like to give him all my business.

Leg Up

Beggar: Can you help me out, sir. As you can see, I’ve lost my leg.

Nobleman: Sorry, I haven’t seen it. Have you tried putting an ad in the classifieds?

Stumble Inn

Guest: Does the water always come through the roof like that?

Innkeeper: No sir, only when it rains.

CLASSIFIEDS
 
I need help with a problem. I have a house in the woods a short distance from a reaper. For the most part, I have always kept a safe distance. A few days ago, there was a storm and the reaper was uprooted and blown onto its back. By the way, they do make a sound when they fall over when no one is around. This one has been crying out “Why?!! Why?!!” for three straight days and I have not been able to get a wink of sleep since. I would be perfectly willing to pay a good 30 gold pieces to anyone who will put the thing out of its misery. I would do it myself, but I’m afraid it will try to fireball me. If you are interested in making some pocket money, I live in a small plaster 2 story by the waterfall in Yew. The reaper is screaming pretty loud, so it’s easy to locate.

If you crave falafel, drop by for the grand opening of ‘Thanks for Mutton’; the first falafel stand in the land. We are conveniently located next to the Britain moongate, open from 10 am to 10pm 7 days a week.

If you are vertically challenged and mentally stable, then a future employment opportunity is within your grasp. We are looking for an individual to don the outfit and play a leprechaun for our St Patrick’s Day Celebration. Your duties will be to keep the party going and do leprechaun related things like dancing jigs and singing songs about drinking. If the party starts to lose momentum, you might start a conga line or whatever your little heart desires. No one will pick you up and throw you, unless you enjoy that sort of thing; in which case people will pick you up and throw you. Please, be mentally stable. We are still paying for the error in judgement in getting a giant turkey drunk at the last Thanksgiving party. We are looking for a jovial to sometimes sassy leprechaun; not an angry, bottle-smashing, groin-punching, stabby leprechaun. Other than that, it is all you can drink. There is expected to be plenty of trampy wenches present, so even a leprechaun should have no problem ‘getting lucky’ that night. Interested parties should apply in person at the mayor’s office in Yew.

ARTS AND LIVING

Caveat Emptor

It appears that the Blacksmiths and Tailors have been holding out on us when it comes to handing out the better Bulk Orders Deeds. Those looking to get their hands on tapestries, exotic rugs and finer wares had better be willing to cross some palms with coin. These smooth operators will tell you that it is due to hard times, but it just seems to be a “sign of the times” where everyone is out to rob other people’s nests while feathering their own.

This Month’s Horoscope

The Peddler-January
You have a dream of building a ladder to the stars. That way, you can probably catch them naked in their dressing rooms.

The Mongbat-February
When the police ask you, tell them that you like to dig holes as a past time. They’ll believe that.

The Phoenix-March
Take advantage of that urge to control everything and everyone around you. People will be very stupid and predictable, so feel free to second guess them. You’ll be glad that you did.

The Sea Dragon-April
Your actions effect people’s lives as a stone creates ripples in a pond. However, directly pushing people into ponds is far more fun though. just pondering..

The Hermit-May
When things are not going well, a voice in your head will sometimes say “Why me?” Then another voice will say “Because you’re an idiot! Everyone hates you!” Then the first voice will begin crying, and this will go on for the rest of the day.

The Llama-June
Do you know what’s crazy? Trying to overextend yourself far beyond your emotion limits. That, and some guy in an loincloth running around with an cleaver.

The Ancient Wyrm-July
Don’t be afraid to share your hopes and your dreams with those close to you. Why not also share your inner demons with them as well? And why just limit sharing those feelings with those close to you when complete strangers would do just as well?

The Anvil-August
Finishing an important task is an unlikely prospect today. You are beset by numerous obstacles, and general delays that follow no pattern. Rather than judge yourself too harshly, realize that evil forces are conspiring against you.

The Weaver-September
You will be stuck in a confined space with a smelly and unattractive individual in the near future. Could this be the soulmate you’ve been searching for all your life?

The Wisp-October
When you have sunk to the most abysmal depths and things seem most hopeless, someone special will step into your life and remind you of how hopeless your situation is.

The Unicorn-November
When drinking excessively, leave the crossbow at home. The other wedding guests will thank you

The Wanderer-December
You wil be pinned under a fallen tree in the woods this week. The good news is that you will not be alone,as 5,000 others that got this same horoscope will be pinned under the same tree right next to you.
 

Written by the EM Team

Intermission Fiction

    Stumbling, he grasps onto the railing leading out of the cellar as the distant sounds of unrest echo throughout the empty building around him. Taking another drink from the somewhat depleted bottle of wine in his hand he makes his way through the corridors to the balcony, until the bottle slips from his grasp. In his attempt to grab it he falls, and knocks aside a piece of fabric with a jingle. His eyes are drawn to the weathered and tattered hat.  A memory long past is conjured before his eyes as he feels a profound sadness, noticing the missing bell upon a lone corner.  His hand reaches for it, fingers almost grazing the fabric before he stops, instead grasping once more for the bottle of wine. With a grumble he rights himself and staggers away from the hat, leaving it as forgotten as he had been, and heads back to the wine cellar once more.

    Wislem stretched his wings once in agitation before running his talons along his horns, counting out the profits the smithy had made that week. The current state of affairs with the Juka was definitely troublesome. It was hard to predict how it’d affect them, but the recent bevy of adventurers that had shown up was proving to be a great boon to their economy. For Wislem, despite record amounts of profit, he couldn’t help but feel the adventurers were only the first wave of a new tide. He had little doubts that the city could weather any storm, whatever disturbance was occurring…Ver Lor Reg had stood as a bastion, a sanctum of safety for ages now. It was about time that it had drawn more attention and proved to be more profitable.

    Despite everything seemingly going their way, he’d heard talk of a few who were considering Zhah’s offer. Come, she had implored them, and together we can forge a future stronger than we can apart. Zhah’s plea was not one that was ignored, but it was also seen for that which it truly was as well. It was a play on her part to increase the strength of Ter Mur, but it would cause Ver Lor Reg to be weakened, and the Councilors had told her they appreciated her offer, but aside from the current trading would take no immediate action. In recent days it had almost become a bit of a running joke between the gargoyles of Ver Lor Reg; Had they taken her up on it, they’d have missed out on this sudden surge in activity. There had been a few who hadn’t done so well during this sudden influx, like poor Kharas Zhem of the golem factory, who was having a tough time acquiring the necessary parts for his mechanical monsters. Wislem heard the chime of a clock behind him, and frowned as he realized he’d wasted nearly an hour in his head like this. The only true fear he could muster with any grain of reality was that of harboring the wounded Jukan and their Shirron…He’d tried to speak with one of the Councilors about transferring them to Mistas, but had been ignored. Couldn’t win them all, he thought with a bit of a wistful smile as he packed away the profits of the day. Heading through the marbled streets of the city the sun shone down gloriously, and the sound of one of the fountains was soothing to his ears.

Update 10:15 am EDT: The maintenance is over. All functions of the account center are available again.

Greetings,

We will bring down the Account Center for a short maintenance tomorrow, Thursday March 15th, at 9am EDT (14:00 CET). During the maintenance you will not be able to change subscription or redeem game codes.

At the moment we anticipate the Account Center to be back online at 11:45am EDT (16:45 CET).

Thank you for your understanding.

We have added a new program to the list of approved 3rd party programs for UO.

Ultima Mapper is the new mapping application for Ultima Online Classic and Enhanced clients that allows users to share the entire experience. It’s features include:

• Coordinate and Facet Tracking
• Connected User Health Status
• Automatically Marks Corpses Upon Death
• Follow any Player on the Map
• Crystal and Corrupt Crystal Portal Commands
• Boat Commands
• And much more

A list of all approved 3rd party programs can be found here in the EA knowledgebase.

We have received reports that some players are having issues patching.

Greetings,

Here are the publish notes to accompany publish 75 coming to TC1. Read and enjoy!

Publish 75.0.0

Global Arc

Acts 3 and 4 for the awakening have been completed.  Please keep an eye on your Town Criers for upcoming news.  Continue on with this quest and you too can have your own heirlooms.  As always watch the herald for future fiction.

Clean up Britannia – 4 new dyes

• Glossy Fuchsia
• Deep Blue
• Vibrant Seagreen
• Murky Amber

Faction Score System

• All faction scores will be reset to 0
• All Faction members will return to Rank 1
• Faction score now decays at a rate of 1% (rounded down) of score per day. Scores of 199 or below will decay 1 point per day. Scores of 200 to 299 lose 2 points per day, etc..
• Players with 0 Faction score will always be assigned Rank 1 and are no longer counted in Faction membership totals when determining the size of ranking brackets.

Faction Pet Combat Fixes

• Faction players may now order their pets to attack member of the same faction
• Pets will now correctly guard against attacks from same-faction players
• If a faction player attacks the summoned creature of a member of the same faction, the summoned creature will retaliate
• Summoned creatures will attack aggressors who are in the same faction as the summoner

Commodity Broker Fixes

• 
   Commodity Brokers can now deal in brilliant amber, parrot wafers, taint, putrefaction, scourge, and all Spellweaving scrolls
• 
   Commodity Brokers now identify and can trade in exceptionally crafted commodities. Any exceptional items that are “hidden” in Commodity Broker inventory will become accessible by the owner, allowing retrieval or price setting.
• 
   The Commodity Broker window has been widened to better accomodate the longer commodity item names
• 
   Enhanced Bandages are now named “Enhanced Bandage” instead of “Clean Bandage”
• 
   Commodity Brokers now deal in Enhanced Bandages

Poison Cure Changes – Increased chance to Cure

Greater Cure Potion:

25% chance to cure lethal poison

45% chance to cure deadly poison

75% chance to cure greater poison

100% chance to cure standard and lesser poison

Cure Potion:

15% chance to cure lethal poison

30% chance to cure deadly poison

50% chance to cure greater poison

100% chance to cure standard and lesser poison

Lesser Cure Potion:

5% chance to cure lethal poison

10% chance to cure deadly poison

15% chance to cure greater poison

40% chance to cure standard poison

100% chance to cure lesser poison

• It is no longer possible to obtain extra empty bottles by drinking Invisibility Potions
• The Damage Eater property now counts as a property for Imbuing and Unraveling purposes. The property weight is 90%; the normal cap is 6% (this is 100% intensity), and the “overcap” maximum is 9% (150% intensity). A 9% Damage Eater counts as 135% weighted intensity.
• Items turned in for Clean Up Britannia now only go to the Cavern of the Discarded at the intended 1% rate.
• NPCs can no longer become Angry Rioters or Angry Protesters if they are in the Yew Prison
• Players can no longer attack prisoners in Wrong. Monsters, however, still can attack the prisoners as they are being escorted.
• The Britannian Ship now travels at maximum ship speed, whether it was initially placed from drydock or from a new deed.
• Players mounts will no longer randomly become auto-stabled on login
• Archery no longer allows players to trigger special moves on weapons with Use Best Weapon Skill
• 
  Potion Kegs now update their weight when used on a gardening plant
• 
  Brokers will no longer open the gates to their animal pens
• 
  Shame and Wrong loot generation now produces better quality item from tougher creatures
• 
  City Banner deeds can be purchased from the City Guards by those with sufficient City Loyalty
• 
  There are two new foundation sets in House Customization: Gothic and Board and Batten (require account entitlements)
• 
  Scroll of Alacrity effect will now pause when the character logs out and the timer resumes on next login
• 
  The Focusing Gem of Virtue Bane can no longer be used on runic hammers
• 
  Shame monsters now have Fame and Karma ratings more in line with their toughness
• 
  The Hungry Ogre no longer drops an empty bag as part of its loot 

• Snow has been removed from Britannia
• Reduced duration of the slow walk effect for splintering weapons to correct time of 4 seconds
• Mobs are no longer able to bleed attack players who are in bleed attack immune forms.
• Soul Charge properly works on the cool down period for 40 seconds.
• Bestial Suit (Berserk Effect) Update: Players can no longer remain in stealth while in rage. Berserk timeout duration lowered to 5 seconds from 15
• Increased natural poison resistance to 20% of the player’s poisoning skill.
• If you are wearing Morph Earrings your elven items will not be sent to your bank upon death
• The Dryad bow will no longer spawn with a throwing skill
• Players have to be within 2 tiles to dress a Mannequin or vendor
• Night Terrors will no longer teleport players  to a stuck location
• The Binding rope is blessed now
• The Pilots wheel will retain being blessed in deed form
• Norton the Fisher should no longer be missing from the New Haven Docks
• You will no longer to make exceptional Enchanted Apple.
• If a runebook hue is 0, it will no longer be changed to default hue automatically.
• Black dye tub will have a localized name.
• You will be able to add “blessed” status to various hooded robes.

Classic client  7.0.24

Classic Client Patcher Update

The classic client patcher has now been updated to streamline the patching process for the Classic Client.  This change should cut down on patching errors a lot of our players have experienced.  A new installer can be found on our download page.

• Cliloc Changes
• Fixed client crash during the intro movie

Enhanced Client  4.0.24

Item Property Classifier

The character abilities window now features a detailed listing with descriptions of all active item properties that your character has from equipment. It also displays a detailed list of all available properties that can be displayed.

• Fixed crash when dynamic objects or mobiles are drawn and deleted continually.
• Cliloc Changes

     So just what happened at the Legends vs. Lake Superior T-hunt challenge?

     Legends’ defending champions, the Gold Diggers were geared up and ready to rock and roll!  You could tell this was a team prepared for anything.  Well almost anything as would soon been seen, but I’m getting ahead of myself… The Gold Diggers members included, Hawk Eye, Casper, InViSiBlE, Bulldog, and Nadalia.

     Lake Superior’s team drifted in, no team color, no name and one or two of their members had been recruited only an hour or two before.  Did any of this bother them?  Not in the least!  They were here to battle for their shard, and they intended to win!  Their newly acquired team name reflected their attitude; team Awesome Sauce.  The members of this team were, Taeara Mi’aken, Rockhound, Draken, All Mighty, and Kalina.

     Introductions made, rules read and it was game on!  Both teams were off like a shot, but Murphy and his law of ‘what can go wrong, will go wrong’ always seems to come into play during the first few maps. 

     For Lake Superior’s Awesome Sauce, it was finding that first chest.  Dig here, dig there, dig dig dig.  Where’s the chest?? 

     Legends’ Gold Diggers had no problems with map one.  It was map two when Murphy showed himself.  The Gold Diggers decoded the map, and then realized they didn’t have a rune to the general location of the chest.  There was only one way they would be able to get to the chest – by boat.  Did any of them have a boat?  No.  So off they went on a shopping spree in Luna.

     This allowed Lake Superior’s Team Awesome Sauce to catch up and get ahead (slightly) of Legends’ Gold Diggers.  But Murphy wasn’t done yet.  Lake Superior’s team Awesome Sauce was his next victim. 

     With map three completed the team Awesome Sauce is waiting to trade the completed map for the next map.  Their t-hunter had one problem, ‘I lost the map!’  The verdict was passed down to give the team the new map and let them go.  ‘Take the map and go!’ The trade window drops.  ‘Take the map and go!’  By then the t-hunter had found the completed map and drops it into the trade window, maps exchanged, they were off!

     The two teams were now neck and neck right to the very end when Legends’ team Gold Diggers gated in and sat down a mere 35 seconds – that’s right, seconds before Lake Superior’s team Awesome Sauce.

     Congratulations to Legends’ team Gold Diggers the winners of this t-hunt match!  And to Lake Superior’s team Awesome Sauce, a job well done! 

Sosaria Reels had the chance to grab Jeff Skalski, the Ultima Franchise Producer and published the video interview today.

Head over to Stratics and see what Jeff has to say about his job, about our plans for Ultima Online and about the 15th anniversary.

Greetings Intrepid Adventurers of Sosaria!

We are pleased to kickoff the next chapter in our epic live event, The Awakening.  Act II will no doubt bring you face to face with unseen perils within the wilds of Ilshenar.  Many of you have been inquiring about the strange collapses within the Mountain passes there, perhaps these require further investigation? We encourage you to explore the area and wish you the best of luck in your adventures!

See you in game,
The UO Team
 

Written by the EM Team

     “Look, if you listen to me and stick close and keep your mouth shut we’re not going to have any problems. And now that you’ve gotten us this far, I’m taking the lead.” Callie grumbled quietly to her guide as they crept silently through the metallic passageways and past numerous sentries. She wiped a hand across her brow and brushed her blonde bangs from her face.  “We just need to make sure we don’t get spotted”. As they passed near one of the far walls of the mapped area, Balthan the guide found his attention caught by a long rusted wreck of machinery and slagged walls. Just as he was about to comment he felt himself run into the back of the archaeologist in front of him who turned and glared at him. “Watch where you’re going.” She hissed fiercely under her breath. She gestured for Balthan to turn around and began to remove some special equipment from his pack, tools that were not fashioned by human hands. With the tools in hand, she began to dismantle the mounting of one of the peculiar glowing wall panels, and removing a large console nearby with multicolored buttons. She spoke excitedly and quietly while she did so. “This will be the find of the century, you know. It’ll be put in the Vesper museum with our names on it and they’ll never forget us.”
 

     With a snipping noise she managed to disconnect the last strut holding the console in place, and she tucked the tools back into the guides pack. She removed the strange panel first and broke the wires going to it and tucked it into the guides pack. Grasping the console, she tugged and pulled, but she couldn’t seem to remove it. She changed the way she grasped at it, and felt the strangely colored shapes on the front give way slightly, before she managed to rip the console away from the final bolt holding it in place. As it came away the structure seemed to pulse around them, energy flowing through conduits in the structure as she hurriedly tucked the console away. “Let’s get out of here while we’ve still got the chance.” A vicious tremor began to run through the structure, strong enough that she felt herself shift from side to side. “Time to go”, Callie said as she removed two of the recall scrolls from the pack, handing one to the guide and waiting for him to go. As Balthan vanished from sight, a red robed mage rounded the corner and began to chant words of power, and as she cast the words of power to recall she felt a blinding pain as her body  teleported, and then there was blackness.

     Harlann adjusted the scratchy robes that disguised her true identity as she left the city of Lakeshire and made her way through one of the shimmering blue portals. Despite her familiarity with their magical nature she always felt a tingle of trepidation at utilizing the portals, but soon found herself back at the white marble building that ensconced the gate that served the shrine of Compassion. Disguised as one of the meer’s mages, she found that many of the more irritating creatures such as the ratmen gave her a wide berth. She’d gone against the Shirron’s wishes to visit the Meer, but she’d managed to gather important information, and she was certain that the Shirron would forgive her when she presented this new revelation to him. She quickly went over in her mind what she would say as she made her way to the mountain passage that led through to the castle that the Jukan’s had been using as a fortress for some time. The nightmares and visions that had been plaguing their kind were not universal, but they were shared by the Meer; The Meer did not have an explanation for the phenomena nor was it an attempt by them to attack the Jukans; And perhaps most importantly of all, none of the gargoyles of Ver Lor Reg nor any of the gypsies in their encampments reported similar things. As she passed through the mountainside passage she felt a vicious tremor run through the tunnel and a shaking of the ground that caused her sense of balance to momentarily dizzy her.

     Bursting through into the sunlight, she could feel the immense power that was being channeled due to the way it raised her hackles. No Jukan mage could be the source of this kind of power, so it must be an attack. “Evacuate, brethren! This is an attack!” The startled guards turned at what sounded like a Jukan voice, but squared themselves off with her on sight of her Meer outfit. She quickly took a breath and centered herself in the Art of the Way, and charged forward with her staff held at one side. She had no time to argue with them, and instead feinted left before fluidly slipping past the guard on the right and sending him crashing to the ground with a well placed strike to the back of his knee. She planted the staff into the ground hard and vaulted midway up the castle’s wall, scaling it quickly as her own people’s arrows glanced off the walls around her.

     The entire castle was shaking as she managed to reach the apex. Tumbling and diving, she narrowly evaded one of the mechanical Juggernaut’s charges by planting her iron sheathed staff between herself and it’s mighty drill and spinning past it, breaking through to one of the back corner stairwells. As one of the red robed controllers fled past her, she saw him stop and begin to unleash a spell, but she’d already made it to the other side of the room and dove down a set of stairs, rolling and coming up on her feet at the bottom. Her body groaned in protest from the impact of the stairs but she refused to let it break her concentration. Her Shirron was mere seconds away and she ran for the door even as the whole structure suddenly seemed to leap a few feet to one side. She flung open the door just as a berserk juggernaut crashed through a wall in front of her and out into the sunlight. She rushed past it and jerked on the handle of the door to the Shirron’s chambers and stepped through as a lightning fast arm reached out and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her high above the ground. She attempted to choke out a warning but could not past the iron grip of the towering Juka in front of her, until she managed to remove her cowl, and the Shirron let her fall to the ground.

     “I hope you can explain this, Waymaster Harlann. A massive magical attack by the Meer just as you return from a spying expedition I refused to authorize?”

     “Shirron, we must evacuate. This is not an attack by the Meer, and they are suffering the same as we are, but we must flee!”

     “A Shirron of the Juka does not flee from any foe!”

     “The Juka need their leader. Forgive me, Great Mother.” With that, Waymaster Harlann twirled forward, bringing her staff around feinting towards her leader with it, before dropping and sweeping his legs. As the massive Jukan hit the ground a fresh tremor arose and she leveled a devastating blow of her staff to his temple, before throwing her staff aside. With the Shirron unconscious, she managed to get him on her back and stagger her way out through the hole that the juggernaut had left. As she did so she heard a loud twang of a bowstring as her right leg gave out from underneath her. Glancing down she could see the shaft of the arrow sticking out of her calf, but she rose to her feet again as the ground began to give way and the shouts from the fortress redoubled. Blasts of magic from Jukan mages and arrows peppered the area around her, until she felt her vision flash white from the effects of a mind blast spell.  She focused herself in the Way once more and pushed her screaming muscles as hard as she could, managing to get outside of where she could feel the center of the magic before her leg surrendered to the wound and she fell gracelessly to the ground. As she felt blackness creeping into the edges of her vision, a hundred or more screams rose up at once from the castle behind her and then suddenly were no more. She could still feel the ground shaking and she drew on every reserve of energy she could muster, forcing herself to push farther, her vision blurring and swaying as she did, and the weight of her Shirron pulling harder with each passing moment. She felt the terrain changing beneath her feet, as grass gave way to dirt, and dirt to sand. She could feel the Shirron’s heavy breathing even as everything seemed to be falling apart around her. A cacophonic noise unlike anything she’d ever heard ripped through the air and sent a cloud of debris and smoke raining throughout the area as she stumbled to her knees amidst a set of grand pillars in the desert. “Great Mother save us…” she whispered as rocks and pieces of the castle rained down into the desert around her before she mercifully succumbed to the encroaching darkness.