Via Town Criers:

Lord Dupre issues a worldwide call to arms to counter the spread of Exodus on 6/22/2012.

Watch town criers,  UOEM and  Atlantic EM Forum for times.

When a notice is posted that reads there is an “emergency meeting of the Knights of the Crux Ansata” people generally tend to come prepared for a fight. This meeting would prove to be no exception. Most of those gathered were battle ready, some with dragons in tow. A smaller group must have read the entire posting and did indeed dress nicely; they looked ready for a night on the town. Ultimately it would not matter what attire they wore because a battle would indeed be at hand. However in this upcoming battle the Knights will not have to hone their swords but their wits. They will face the fiercest opponent in history, the legal system and Lady Justice herself. Well, in all honesty, MOST of the Knights will have that battle. Sadly, not all of them support their leader.

The voice of dissention could be heard long before Lord Dupre entered the Hall of the Silver Serpent. Sir Hethe Idem and a few others appear ready to declare an end to the Crux Ansata and throw Lady Amandine to the wolves. One can only wonder what ulterior motives Sir Idem has in mind, if any. The motives of those who joined him in opposition to Danica have not hid their motives in quite a while. There has been a small section of Crux followers who sing the praises of Exodus to anyone who will listen for the last month or so. They used the news of Danica’s arrest as yet another opportunity to attempt and rally people around their cause, having Exodus rule over all Sosaria.

The facts in the case are just that; facts. Lady Amandine herself does not dispute the largest charge she will most likely face. Reddish is dead by her hands, or sword to be more exact. The grey area they will all have to manipulate is motive. Was his death justified? What his death legal given the current status of Martial Law imposed on us all?  Those topics and more are being discussed by some of the Crux Knights here: http://uo2.stratics.com/community/threads/in-defense-of-lady-amandine.274627/ Come join in the fun.

There are quite a few times in life when every one of us find ourselves tested. The standard pass/fail type of testing we run across in the various disciplines of magic or melee skills is common. Seldom do we encounter the type of testing which tests our morals, our values and most importantly our loyalty to the nth degree. The moment Lord Dupre asked for her armor and her sword, Lady Amandine began that test in her life. Only time will tell how it will end. For those few who will sit in judgment of her that very test draws near. Will they be loyal to what they hold dear – The Virtues and Justice? Or will they hold to their loyalty and allegiance to Lady Amandine? Or will the facts in the case allow them to remain loyal to both at the same time? Will the Knights follow Lady Amandine’s latest request of them; “I expect all of you to judge me honestly and truly”? Once again, only time will tell.

To be one of the judges in the upcoming trial keep a watch on http://atlantic.uoem.net/ and http://uo2.stratics.com/community/forums/atlantic-em-forum.461/.

“You did what?!” Lady Amandine screamed across the table at the man looking down at her.

  “I let her go.” He looked down on her more out of pity, he knew more than most how heavy the burden she carried was.

  “You cannot do that, I don’t care who you are!”

  “You more than anyone knows that I can.”

  She glared at him. “I cannot lead this country if you are going to step into Yew prison and release KNOWN terrorists and traitors.”

  “I think it is time you took a bit of a break Danica, you have dealt with personal tragedy, mental distress…”

  She interrupted. “This isn’t about that, this is about Law and Order!”

  He spoke calmly and clearly. “You murdered a man in cold blood and dragged his body across Britain. Does THAT sound like law and order to you Danica?” He used her first name again, one that she rarely heard anymore, those with any sense had long stopped using it.  

“That man was a criminal, a thief and a traitor.”

  “So you murdered him and tore him to pieces for information, to find yet another man whom you ordered the Royal Guard to execute without trial.” The dark-headed man spoke calmly and clearly. He was a rock that broke the waves of emotion that Lady Amandine piled upon him.  

“It wasn’t like that.” She was nearly defeated, she was not used to having her logic tested. It had been a long time since anyone had second guessed her, or her decisions.  

“Danica, I am going to need your sword, and your armor.” He did not flinch, but she did.  

“Like hell you will!”

  “Danica, your sword and your armor.”

  “No damned way.” She stood and put her hand on her sword.

  “Think carefully Commandant, do you really want to draw *THAT* sword against *ME*?”

  He peered into her in a way that only Addie had done before, and she found that her sword would not come from its scabbard. It was at that moment that she realized that she had in fact been wrong, in this and in other things. Even the Sword Caliburn, the great sword of the realm had found her at fault.

  “By Royal warrant I arrest you in the name of the Crown of Britannia, to be held and bound over for trial in Yew. I cannot allow our nation to divide Danica, my friend would not like it, *I* would be remiss if I did not intercede here. I am sure Lord Simeon and Lord Edom would agree.”

  Danica removed her armor in front of the man, he had already disarmed her and taken her pride. Her modesty was pointless by this point.  

“I will carry the sword for now, as is my right. Your armor will be kept by Lord Edom.”

  Not once had the man raised his voice, threatened her or pressed himself upon her. He had disarmed her totally by his own leadership and bearing.

  As she was escorted through the streets of Jhelom by a cadre of her own knights to Yew she couldn’t help but admire the man’s style and grace. So few leaders had his ability and mastery, maybe her knights would be in good hands after all.

  Once in Yew, the walls pressed in on her. Lady Amandine was alone, the cold bars and hard stone felt like a womb. She wondered if she would escape it with her life.

As the time to begin drew near most of those in attendance sheepishly looked around at the crowd gathered and thought they would all be in for a tough fight. Thoughts on the probability of increased numbers of their own corpses crept in. A few had a glimmer in their eye hoping that Exodus would reign supreme, but that’s enough about those evil folk in Sosaria for now.

Eagerly they jumped through the gate provided by the good Professor. Personally, I was unsure if they were in a hurry to start the fight or if they just wanted to get away from Darius and his constant mouth running. Either way, it had begun. Once through the gate a pathetic tortured figure stood. Claiming to hail from Minoc, a place of recent murders, the figure admitted to helping the machine father. I found myself wondering what kind of Father is pleased by pain, and only allows them to have hands in order to fix things when they break. I was barely able to come to the realization of an evil one when I saw a barely alive volunteer blaze by with a Minion Guardian hot on her trail. Which was closely followed by a fallen volunteer speaking the language of the Ghost.

It seemed the fight was underway already. There were no cautious walks down a narrow corridor waiting for an ambush, no opening of doors and fearing a trap. When you assist the Professor you expect ambushes to happen, it goes with the territory of being where you shouldn’t be and sneaking around. It was refreshing to be on the other side of the ambush for once. The guardians of the figures never saw what hit them before it was too late. Already dazed and redlined before most could react, the battle seemed well in hand. Until those dang Exodus Dragons appeared. With every Mur Kal Ort more companions were set ablaze. Those in the mob who had witnessed these abominations in previous encounters seemed to have a strategy that enabled them to survive. After some time the mighty red beasts met their demise.

Once the Professor saw everything that intended to do him harm was gone, he switched from his sword swinging mentality back to his inquisitive nature. After a quick head count of all the tortured beings, it was found out one was just a little different, a little less beaten. As usual the Professor had found something somewhat rare to investigate. Even the worst leaders will admit your plans are only as good as the people involved, and their ability to keep their mouth shut. Fortunately for those in attendance, they had run across a blabbermouth. Claiming his mind was sharper than the others, something the Machine Father would probably disagree on, he went on to tell a tale of something called a Harvesting Chamber. Giving us the words that were the key to opening the door, he assured us if we acted fast we could foil one plan of his master.

The entrance to the Harvesting Chamber was well guarded. Whatever guarded it was a skilled, crafty and formidable opponent. It shifted forms in attempts to confuse. It took on the mirror image of those that were battling it. It bounced from one area of the entrance to the other, and would change its appearance in mid flight. It would not simply stand still for the beating the crowd intended to deliver. They would have to work for it, run for it even. Finally, out of breath, panting and haggard looking they had defeated the last of whatever it was, and pushed onward.

Making their way up the hill to a clearing that held several rooms off of it, the crew found the ground littered with objects. Among the items were multiple books. they were all simply titled – Welcome and did not have an author. In the pages it told of a conspiracy to create sophisticated doppelgangers, murder key figures from Britannia and replace them with these duplicates. The book went on to explain their first two targets would be Danica Amandine and Professor Yusef Ad-Din. Who oddly enough, are the two main people who are trying to thwart Exodus’ plans of domination.

The day won, everyone returned to The Lycaeum. Before taking his leave Professor Yusef mentioned to everyone when it comes to the true identity of Exodus, it seems some hold the theory that Exodus Dungeon, or Power Core, is itself Exodus. Those who heard it stood around pondering the possibility as someone in the back posed their own scenario for The Professor. An unnerving situation that seemed to shake him to his core. What if Exodus has other Harvesting Chambers and they are further along in their little project? Suddenly The Professor no longer felt safe in being out. He was already walking away as he asked those around to inform Lady Amandine of the plot. The agreement to do so was immediately given by several.

One thing is certain. This is not the end. One can only imagine how Lady Amandine will react to the threat on her life. She seems to me to be one that never takes a serious threat lightly. Rest up folks, surely you will all be called on again.

In the words of the Professor, may the virtues shine on us all.

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With the exception of Darius the wise, a well behaved crowd gathered at the Lycaeum to assist Professor Yusef Ad-Din. It was widely known the higher ups assigned him the task of studying the Exodus Nexi popping up all over Sosaria. Some knew of his reluctance in doing so.  During the inspections he witnessed the devices summoning evil creatures which made up close examination virtually impossible. When he relayed his findings to the staff they cared more about their inquisitive nature than for the Professors safety. It was rumored The Dean himself had said there was no price that is worth more than the truth, sadly that included Yusef’s life as well it seemed.

Upon his arrival he appeared rather eager. Eager to get the dangerous task at hand completed and get back home to Theresa. Those in attendance soon found out there would be no simple walk around those homes infested with the Nexi but would be journeying to the heart of the Power Core it’s self. A few in the crowd looked more than a little worried, while a smaller group seemed to have been longing for that type of news. Some of the smaller group had already made their opinions of Exodus well known, and had even made veiled threats to some of The Crux Ansata leadership because they had the nerve to disagree with their opinion.

Armed with his scimitar, and some type of magical buckler that was designed to detect and record the magical signals of the Nexus devices, the Professor had high hopes he would be able to decode the signal if he could get close enough to the source. When asked if we would accompany him not a person in attendance turned him down. With a reminder for us to stay close to him Yusef forged ahead of the mob to open a portal to one of the locations.

With anticipation, excitement and concern the legion of ragtag companions waited. They looked around for the portal and waited even longer. With concern for the Professor’s safety we all looked around to each other wondering if he had met his demise too quickly. Thoughts began to creep in that the portal would never come. Dread filled more than a few who were wondering if we would have to break horrendous news to Theresa. Finally word began to trickle through the crowd about how the Professor, in his zeal to get the job done, had cast the wrong spell. He was alive and fine! He was merely doing his best to remember the incantation needed to open the portal. Finally the magical portal opened, and with a couple of complaints which were being drowned out by much laughter at the Professor’s expense, the mob entered.

As we trickled in the Professor was already hard at work trying to record and decode the signals. Out of thin air appeared a machine ghost that was trying to attack Yusef in attempts to stop him. The mob took it down without even breaking a sweat. As we continued along more of the ghost’s appeared along with Exodus Lords, each of which were put down faster than the town drunk can down a shot or liquor. Most were relieved as we were seemingly in for an easy night. Too many times the good Professor had called us to his aid, and a bloodbath ensued. A nice leisurely stroll with him with an occasional rogue that could be knocked off in seconds was a nice change of pace.  

Things were progressing great. Yusef appeared to have the reading under control, and we had the beasts under control, until one of the dreaded golden exodus lords reared its nasty head. The thing about Ilshenar is just when you think you have things handled, it loves to throw a curve to you. All Kill could be heard almost in unison from many tamers in the crowd. To which the pets shook their heads and walked off as if they were saying, “Hell no! You handle it.” Left with their spells, weapons and wits everyone rallied and eventually overtook the golden rascal.

The Professor began explaining some of the coding and how it started off with a bunch of ones and zeros, but also had another layer of coding along with it. Seeing as how we had things under control to a fair degree he began chatting to us about the technomancy as he called it, and wondering about the power and how it fuels it’s self. It was at that time everyone in the group began wondering. In unison we all wondered how we would survive. Out of the darkness stepped a huge red Exodus Dragon. I am not, nor have I ever been a linguist. But during our battle I came to understand that Mur Kal Ort is Exodus Dragonese for “You will fry”. Every time the red abomination uttered those words people would definitely fry. We eventually slayed the beast, but the fires still raged. Quite a few died in the inferno as they tried to retrieve their spoils of victory. One everyone was resurrected by skilled healers and dressed for more battle it was time to journey to another location.

Immediately upon arriving you could not avoid noticing the lone person standing in the open area. Arlem Dudro stood motionless. When the Professor approached and began examining him he noticed his heart was where a Gargoyles heart would be, however the man seemed to be human. That would only be the tip of the iceberg when it came to strange things about Arlem. He rambled on about his machine father Exodus transforming him into the being he is now. He babbled about his father representing diligence, and how Ver Lor Reg would be the first but not the last.

In all honesty, I lost track of Arlem’s rants. Everyone’s attention turned to more pressing matters. As we were all focused on the half human-half gargoyle total monstrosity that is Arlem Dudro it left our left flank vulnerable. Rather large Cult Destroyers started attacking. The Destroyers were fierce and formidable opponents, but the mob prevailed as usual. Once the assault had ceased we once again turned to this thing called Arlem.

Once again he began his spiel and this time admitted he was from the Cult of the Diligent and Exodus, his machine father, was their God. Once again our focus had been diverted. We allowed ourselves to be sucked into the drama and left an opening. Before anyone realized yet another Exodus Dragon materialized out of thin air and began frying people again. During the ensuing battle, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Yusef wrapping tape around the mouth and head of Arlem. I guess on occasion even a very inquisitive Professor of Antiquities grows tired of babble. I could not avoid snickering.

Thankfully on occasion patterns emerge. The battle with the second Exodus Dragon went much like the first. The only difference being some of the names of the corpses littering the floor. Once we recovered we ventured to our last area of the night.

The area was a rather small one. It was dark, dank and smelled more than a little like death. Cries of night-sight please, could be heard. More than a few in the crowd began whispering about how such a confined place is never a good thing. Many, many bloodbaths have taken place in such areas. A slight sense of gloom and doom filled the air. Even the bravest of the fighters in the crowd held their weapon a little tighter and if they had shields they were moved to a better defensive posture. The tamers pushed forward and made sure their pets were ready to strike at the first sign of aggression. Some of the braver spell casters were already casting their most powerful spells, while the more timid mages were already casting the reliable invisible spell. Through the darkness we could not see the Gargoyle Stomper crouched in the corner, but it was there, waiting patiently.

When the group drew within striking distance the Stomper did not merely spring into action, he vaulted. With the quickness of lightning, the sound of thunder and the fury of Hell he attacked. He tore through our front ranks like a Succubus rips through a noob. Fortunately we were ready for an attack, just not an attack of his magnitude. The losses would have been devastating had we not been ready on some level. I am not entirely sure how, or when, we got the upper hand in the fight. But we did. Somehow, someway, we had…. Or so we thought.

We continued throwing everything we could at the savage barbarian and at some point must have made it beyond angry. Sure, the fight had been tough up to that point, but suddenly it shifted from tough to impossible. The creature bounded around the room in a fit of rage. It pummeled, bashed, and stomped everyone and anything in its path. In the wake of his attack corpses and death robes littered the ground like blades of grass. He had not killed us all, but had gotten very close to it. The battle raged as survivors fought feverishly while trying to get companions back on their feet to help. Almost every time we got back to half ranks, the vile beast would once again stomp us back into the ground. It seemed like a pointless battle. Had we not been able to see the life force being beaten out of it slowly but surely, a large portion of the crowd would have run away. Eventually more companions learned how to defend the beasts fits of rage and survive the onslaught. After what seemed to be an eternity three corpses of Gargoyle Stompers lay dead on the blood soaked floor.

Our task for the night complete we journeyed back to the Lycaeum. Once we were all bandaged up so we would not stain the floor red and coherent enough to understand Professor Yusef went into some of the things he discovered during our quest. If I understand him correctly there are two signals. One signal he is unable to decode. The other signal seemingly has two variables in it. One variable is a set of letters and numbers; it appears to possibly be coordinates. The other variable is a number but it keeps decreasing itself at regular intervals. Most in the crowd and the Professor agree that sounds like a countdown, which is seldom a good thing.

It would seem everyone’s efforts have uncovered a few things. There is a bizarre cult being led by their God Exodus. There is a probable countdown underway; for what we honestly don’t know, but most countdowns are accompanied be a rather large explosion or invasion afterwards. The main thing we have uncovered is the Professor is adept in decoding signals. When the Professor left us for the evening he gave us his thanks, and urged us to be careful and cautious. It seems only fitting that I close this out for thanking Professor Yusef for taking on this monstrous task (even in the face of The Dean’s tyranny) in hopes of helping us all. We all urge you to be careful, cautious and swift in decoding the rest of the signal. Godspeed Professor, all of our futures and lives could hang in the balance.

Until next time, may The Virtues guide our path.

There will be an EM Tiberies event, this Wednesday May 9, at 8:30pm Eastern.
Start point is the Lycaeum (Verity Isle).
Come to help Professor Yusef Ad-Din investigate the Exodus Nexuses. He’s going straight for the source.
The title of this event is “The Awakening: Under Blood Red Skies.”

If you are unsure where the Lycaeum is…

1- From Moonglow take the Western Road which dead ends at the Lycaeum.

2- Too lazy to walk? From downtown Moonglow,  take the North West teleporter pad in the hedge maze.

There will be an EM Tiberies event, Saturday 25 February 2012, at 8pm Eastern Time/7pm Central Time

Start place will be the Miyabi Inn in Zento, Tokuno Islands (Makato-Jima), just as the last two.

I’ll probably put up a gate at EM hall but it’s best if you’re at the Inn to start, just in case I forget. The last 2 events, the gate wasn’t needed though.

Professor Yusef Ad-Din continues to lead the people down the Path of Galahad, in an attempt to find some unity in these dark times, and (hopefully? perhaps?) find the Virtugreel.

Saturday is step 3.

Assuming EM Bennu’s Bear leaves enough left of you for another event a few days later…..

There will be an EM Tiberies event, Saturday 11 February 2012, at 7pm Eastern Time. Start place will be the Miyabi Inn in Zento, Tokuno Islands (Makato-Jima). I’ll probably put up a gate at EM hall but it’s best if you’re at the Inn, just in case I forget.

Professor Yusef Ad-Din has heard about the appearance of the mysterious floating lady at the last event, and is now more-determined than ever to find the Virtugreel, to let it serve as a symbol of unity and virtue in these most-dark of times.

The lady said to “follow the path of Galahad.” Saturday is step 1.