Account Center Maintenance – 05/24

Kai Schober

23 May 2012 18:07:33 EST

Greetings,

We will bring down the Account Center for a short maintenance tomorrow, Thursday May 24th, at 9:30am EDT (15:30 CEST). 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 12pm EDT (18:00 CEST).

Thank you for your understanding.

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NPC Spawn and House Customization Issues

Tim Chappell

23 May 2012 17:02:57 EST

Greetings,

It has come to our attention that there is a double NPC spawn issue as well as a house customization issue.

We are investigating the situation and should have a fix in place soon.

Thank you for your continued support.

Discuss this article.

THE YEW TIMES – A Newspaper for Sosaria

Kai Schober

23 May 2012 15:22:09 EST

Written by members of the UO community

Issue 3

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WORLD NEWS

Prankster Strikes Again

Law officials are on the lookout for the individual responsible for a recent prank, which left many with lower back injuries and hernias. With the land being absent of a monarch for far too long, the miraculous appearance of a sword in a stone seems to have addressed the people’s cries for order. Etched writing on the blade not concealed by the stone reads “Whosoever shall pulleth this sword from this stone shall become..” There are few citizens of the land not familiar with the old tale of how a squire once won a kingdom by pulling a similar sword from a stone. As word spread, the crowds began to gather, as determined individuals would try their hand at the task of drawing the sword, with no avail. Disgruntled citizens finally descended upon the boulder with sledgehammers and pickaxes in hand, revealing that the sword was reinforced with several pieces of rebar and the remaining writing on the sword stating “Cheater! LOL!”

Buccaneer’s Den Celebrates One-Thousandth Murder.

(Received by message in a bottle)

Citizens of Buc’s Den finally have something to cheer about; having hit an unprecedented one thousand murders within its borders. An official who asked to remain anonymous stated that many didn’t think that this day would ever come considering the slump in tourism over the last few years. The town’s most recent victim was found washed up on shore and there was some concern that the body may have drifted from somewhere else until the innkeeper, Stabby McGillicutty confirmed that the individual rented a room in his establishment the prior evening. The town expects a reasonable turnout and plans are in order for a life-size cake in the shape and likeness of the victim to be sliced into pieces by celebrants. Igor’s Men will perform vulgar sea shanties for the crowd and festivities will include a face-punching contest. Event organizers ask that outsiders don’t stare or make inconsiderate comments about the residents’ many wooden legs and hooks as there are those very sensitive about these sorts of things.

Woman Maimed in Horrible Cat Washing Incident

Following a poor error in judgement, 87 year old Opal Mayhews of Yew was savaged by her 75 pound Siamese by the name of Snapping Pussy, when she attempted to give it a bath. The elderly pensioner is recovering at the local healers and expected to regain consciousness in the next few days.

Dawn Of The Dead

A potential disaster was likely averted today as the Yew town guard disrupted a ritual being performed by a circle of necromancers at Queen Dawn’s gravesite. The leader of the group explained that they were concerned about the recent incidents of violence and disorder due to the vacancy in the rulership of the land, and they were just addressing the issue by bringing the former queen back to the throne. The town guard released the group on the condition that they never attempt the ritual in the future. Captain Roderick of the guard stated that with the recent chaos in Yew, the last thing the townspeople needed is for their former beloved monarch to be going on a rampage and eating their brains.

Middle-Aged Wolf-Boy Saga Ends In Bitter-Sweet Resolution

Repeated attempts to assimilate 40 something year old wolf-boy into human society have ultimately failed, as adoptive parents resolve to return Reggie back to his pack in the wilderness. “We have become so attached to him”, says adoptive mother, Joyce, “But, decades of living amongst wolves has ingrained in him certain behaviors that can’t be unlearned; like when he drags his hindquarters on the living room carpet.” Reggie will be released early this week with a small number of well-wishers present.

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TRAVELOGUE

Covetous

The dungeon Covetous or what some call Mount Covetous is located within the Mountains of Avarice south of the mining town of Minoc. The Mountains of Avarice was once a very profitable mining site for the collection of Blackrock and other valuable ores many years ago. The miners even unearthed an old tomb it is told. With the discovery of the tomb came pirates and thieves to the mines to search for treasure.

Over time the rogues had run out the miners from the mountain so they could continue to plunder uncontested. The current King of Thieves decided the mountain and its tunnels would be an ideal place to build a hidden fortress to rule over the thieves of the lands. The plans included a dining hall, and various quarters for the different ranks within the organization. Stealing certain desirable items would require special knowledge concerning those items and their locations, so a torture room and a prison was added as well. With an underground water source and a plentiful food supply from the surrounding woods, the mountain fortress became a hive of criminal activity.

With its nefarious reputation which became synonymous with greed itself, it was nicknamed ‘Covetous’ by the locals; a moniker which stuck until this very day. Unfortunately for the thieves, all good things finally came to an end when they had the misfortune of laying
their hands on a cursed artifact that damned them to forever walk the halls of their former home as its undead guardians.

Harpies have made their home near the entrance and can be seen venturing out at times in the search for food. It is rumored the the dungeon of greed has attracted a new visitor to it by the name of Cora the Sorceress when a rift opening into the void appeared within the dungeon.

Hooks Of The Sea

Since time immemorable, the oceans of our lands have brought us fish, dangers, and mystery. For years, sailors brought back tales of mysterious monoliths, leading to the discovery of the Serpent Pillars that lead to the Lost Lands. In days past, murders would use boats to roam the seas, preying on fisherfolk or miners, ransacking their ships’ and pillaging their goods. Since the building of the Floating Emporium, pirates have been roaming the waters once again to attack seafarers.

Gargoyles would design their own type of ship to better withstand attacks from the pirates as they transported their cargo across the oceans. Even the orcs, watching the battles from ashore would set about with plans for the construction of war vessels for the purposes of piracy and profit. Despite all the dangers, the fisherfolk would still venture out to catch thier fish in order to feed thier families and towns. Unbeknownst to many was the existence of an ancient society, which recently revealed themselves to the public. Through their years of efforts, they had devised clever ways of catching fish and documented the many species of crustaceans that thrive on the bottom of the oceans.

Their volumes of writings educated the people on the characteristics of the different types of fish and where they could be caught. Where did the Order of the Dragonfish come from? Where do they convene and study the things they do? This past week, they unveiled several new types of fish hook, previously unseen by the public. These items seem to possess specialized magical properties, wearing out after so many uses. I wonder if these Fish Monger’s know what is behind the recent phenomena alarming sailors; the ships and traps that are sucked below the waters surface, and the titanic difting shadows passing below that have unerved even the most veteran mariner.

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ADVERTISMENTS

Spoiled Food is a Thing of the Past

Are you tired of spoiled food? Have you had enough of over-salted meats and fish? Do your leftovers end up being throwaways? Then put those days of food poisoning and unpalatable fare behind you with Etherware. Etherware is the revolutionary sealable food storage system that utilizes ethereal forces to lock in freshness, because etherware generates a static bubble of inert time to prevent spoilage and keep food protected from diabolical chaos entities that prey on innocent foods. Don’t be fooled by expensive second hand storage like crates or bags or you’ll just end up with egg on your face. Reach for the patented food storage system with the Etherware Seal and look forward to many countless days of tasty leftovers.

Smart Home Protection

If you are like me, you are probably tired of inadequate home protection while you are away. Maybe you’ve had an unfortunate experience returning home, only to be attacked at the door by one or more merciless cutthroats. Some homeowners invest in expensive and unsightly traps only to find them sidestepped by the more clever killer. And Monster statue deterents?!! That’s just kids stuff!! That is why I developed the only natural murderer solution that received 4 stars from Militant Homeowner Magazine. Using an exclusive crossbreeding method we have created a plant that has the fullness of a large hedge, the elegance of a wisteria bush and the ferocity of a swamp tentacle. We call it the Anti-Murder Bush or the Ambush for short. There is no need to be concerned over rancid bodies littering your property because the Ambush consumes them for vital nutrients releasing a fragrant, fruity aroma that perfumes the air. And there is no reason to be worried about the safety of yourself or your family, because the Ambush is very selective in its feeding habits and only consumes the offal of humanity. So, why just buy one? The Ambush can be found where plants and landscaping goods are sold.

Captain Decamp

When you need to fill your lantern or lamp
Reach for the oil by Captain Decamp.
Decamp’s fish oil burns much stronger,
than other oils when the nights get longer.
Captain DeCamp Fish Oil. Burns longer. Burns safer.
One bottle lasts 2 whole months.

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CLASSIFIEDS

Shipmates Need For Special Mission

Captain Dantes is looking for a crew of 14 doughty mariners who will accompany him on a special mission. Candidates should have a cast iron stomach, a will of steel, and a bladder of some strong material like steel that is not subject to rust as iron does. Particular desired skills are sailing, cannon operation, harpooning, and swimming if necessary. The good captain will discuss the details of the mission as he reviews prospective candidates at the Modest Damsel Inn in New Magincia this week.

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ARTS AND LIVING

Dear Tabi,
I am just a guy looking for a little peace and quiet. I used to live next to some broad who turned her house into some sort of parrot sanctuary, and I started looking for greener pastures. After finding a nice isolated locale, I enjoyed a brief period of peace. That is until one of ‘those guys’ moved in; you know, the homeowner whose house walls are made of cascading water. Not only is it an obscene waste of water, but it looks absurd. Not only do I have problems getting to sleep with the noise next door, but I have to get up three times a night to pee. What does a guy have to do to get himself some peace.
Signed,
Going over the edge.

Dear Over the Edge,
I empathize with you over the current situation though it could be worse… Imagine the waterfall being a gigantic bird bath for the parrots… Lots of sqawking and ungodly amounts of bird droppings everywhere. Perhaps I am looking at the glass half full in saying that, but I would drop by the closest cotton field and make some legendary ear muffs in hopes of catching a few ZZZzzz’s.
Sweet Dreams,
Tabi

Dear Tabi,
Recently, while doing the laundy, I discovered that several of my husband’s shirts had lipstick stains on the collars. When I confronted him on the issue, he dismissed my suspicions as foolish, as he said it was well known that malicious sprites and gremlins go about causing mischief and disharmony in happy households. Well, as out of character as it is for me, I dropped the issue for the time being. I first wanted to ask some close friends about this gremlin issue, but I was afraid of either being branded as naive or have my husband’s possible infidelity being the topic of gossip. Tabi, what should I do?
Signed,
Getting Down and Dirty

Dear Down and Dirty,
I admire your candid and brave resolve. The Gremlins and Sprites of Sosaria have taken the wrap for alot of shenanghins. On their behalf, I thank you for taking a stand against the wishy washy cads that misrepresent them. Though, please do not mistake me as thier advocate.
I can surmise from your letter that you are far from naive and not content with the line your significant is trying to hand you. Sounds to me like he needs a little help with being collared and I am not talking bout lipstick…. The best way to deal with that is to strike while the “iron’s hot”! No more skirting the issue! Sock it to him and let him know you are far from being a push-over: that story does not wash and you will not have the wool pulled over your eyes. Stick it to him and show him that the Ladies of Sosaria refuse to be hampered by some ole wives tale passed down through the years. Be the woman you are and hold true to your spotless record as he airs his dirty laundry (of which I hope you are insisting he do)…
Cheering you on!
Tabi

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HorroScopes

The Peddler-January
Others are sensitive, and their feelings are easily hurt this morning. This is the day you’ve been waiting for.

The Mongbat-February
Remember, people who live in grass houses should not throw hot objects.

The Phoenix-March
The five second rule had been effectively doubled for you. You may now safely consume food items dropped on the ground if picked up within 10 seconds.

The Sea Dragon-April:
Be particularly prepared this week…. By keeping your lantern filled with Captain Decamp’s Fish Oil. **

** this horoscope prediction sponsored by Captain Decamp Fish Oil. Burns longer. Burns safer.

The Hermit -May
You have become too predictable lately. See? I knew you were going to say that.

The Llama-June
If you can’t join them, then beat them.. ruthlessly.

The Ancient Wyrm-July
Remember, every person gets to sell out just 3 times in life. If you have sold out twice already, plan out carefully on how you will sell out your last time. If you have sold out only once, then all the better.

The Anvil-August
When life gives you lemons, you can be certain that it’s a conspiracy by the sugar producers to exploit recipients of cheap 3 gp lemons (which mysteriously just happen to fall into their hands, by the way) to coerce them to make lemon-aide using their obscenely marked up sacks of sugar. I mean, like 500 gp a sack. It’s just criminal. Stop being a pawn of the oppressive sugar cartels keeping their jackboots on the faces of the people. Down with the sugar cartels!

The Weaver-September
The flagon with the dragon holds the pellet with the poison, the chalice from the palace holds the brew that is true. This phrase will become very useful to you in the near future.

The Wisp-October
You will directly confront something that has been hidden, forgotten, or ignored for a long time. It could be a past relationship that went sour. It could be a powerful evil entity imprisoned in the darkness that you unwittingly release upon the world. You’re probably thinking, “Yeah, that relationship sucked. I hope I never see that person again.”

The Unicorn-November
A mystic llama herder will visit your town and will personally unfold for you the secrets to the universe in all of it’s majesty. Offer void where prohibited.

The Wanderer-December
Remember when you were told years ago that if you sneezed with your eyes opened, your eyeballs would pop out, and you didn’t believe them? Well guess what?
That’s exacly what happens, and it isn’t pretty. You will actually see the surprised look on your own face for just a split second… Just kidding.. You will buy a nice hat this week, and you will receive a ton of compliments on your new look, and will feel very confident about your latest fashion statement.

Discuss this article.

Halberds from Covetous

Kai Schober

22 May 2012 12:37:21 EST

The revamp of Covetous introduced with Publish 76 came with a small bug. If you happen to find etheral halberds please don’t consider yourself too lucky, because you are not supposed to get them and we’ll remove all of them in an upcoming fix.

DDiscuss this article.

Publish 76.0 Comes to All Shards – 05/22

Tim Chappell

21 May 2012 16:55:03 EST

Greetings,

We will push Publish 76.0 to all shards during the next early morning maintenance cycle on May 22. In preparation for the publish, the map files in Ver Lor Reg will be out of sync until then.

For your reading pleasure, here are the completed notes:

Publish 76.0.0

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Global Arc – The Awakening

• The Awakening – Act VI Quest added
  • This quest will be active during Act VI of “The Awakening” beginning July of 2012 and will end August 12th, 2012. The NPC will tell you how much time is remaining each time you turn an item in on your specific shard.
  • During this Quest players will assist in concocting alchemical preparations. The alchemy skill is not required, but does provide a slight benefit.
  • The Alchemical Preparations are concocted by completing a puzzle that requires various combinations of specific ingredients.
  • The ingredients will always be the same, but the quantity required will change with each iteration of the puzzle.
  • Players will be able to complete the puzzle as many times as they wish, and are encouraged to try and procure as many preparations as possible.
  • The more preparations that are turned in, the higher the ranking when rewards are distributed.
  • There are four rewards available in both human gargoyle versions where applicable. The type of reward you receive is based on the race of the player who turns in the preparations.
    • Tier 1 – Sash recognizing your achievement
    • Tier 2 – Asclepius
      • When equipped during a complete healing cycle, the staff will provide a 20% bonus to damage healed using bandages.
    • Tier 3 – Hygieia’s Amulet
      • When equipped Hygieia’s Amulet gives a 15% bonus to Alchemy.
    • Tier 4 – Bracers of Alchemical Devastation
      • Occupy the Sleeve Armor slot
      • Hit Fireball 40% damage based on Wrestling or Anatomy & Evaluating Intelligence
      • Mana Regeneration 5
      • Faster Cast Recovery 3
      • Physical Resist 15%
      • Fire Resist 10%
      • Cold Resist 10%
      • Poison Resist 10%
      • Energy Resist 10%
  • It is possible to get all four rewards if you are among the top contributors during the event and any combination thereof (Tier 3, 2, and 1, or Tier 2 and 1, or Tier 1 only).
  • It is also possible to not receive anything if your contributions are not on par with the distribution of other contributors.
• More details will be available from an NPC and through fiction posted on the Herald when this portion of “The Awakening” goes live.

Gardening System

• Vanilla has been added to the Gardening System.
• Vanilla seeds can be found on Exodus mobs inside Exodus Dungeon.
• Vanilla plants will produce vanilla and additional vanilla seeds.
• Vanilla plants cannot be cross pollinated with other plants.
• It is possible to get mutant colored vanilla plants using conventional gardening techniques.

Covetous Dungeon Revamp

• Level One – Still a great place to farm feathers but added a few surprises.
• Level Two – Contains the Void Pool
  • Covetous Level 2 represents a new style of PvM for Ultima Online. Instead of farming monsters for treasure, the players’ task is to defend the Void Pool from Cora’s minions. Cora will invade the dungeon with endless waves of monsters. Each wave is tougher than the last. The monsters do not drop loot, and instead players score points for making kills or assisting in making kills.
• Level Three – Cora and her Minions
  • When she was denied advanced knowledge of mana by the Codex of Infinite Wisdom, the sorceress Cora became enraged. In her pique, she poured all of her enormous energy into a magical spell and focused it onto the Codex. Despite the sheer power of the Codex, she wrested a few pages from its binding.
  • The magical blast also bored a hole through the Void between Places, anchored by a section of stone from the Codex’s podium. Cora and the pages from the Codex were pushed through the hole in space.
  • The far end of the hole erupted into the middle of Dungeon Covetous. Injured, and with her own ability to channel mana damaged, Cora retreated deeper into the dungeon. Over time, she recovered, and now sends minions enhanced by magic to attempt to capture more pages of knowledge from within the Void Pool.
  • Use of travel spells near the Void Pool in Covetous is impossible because of the twist in space, so Cora must gate her minions into the dungeon from a distance.
• Void Pool Points
  • Once you have gained enough void pool points visit Vela the Sorceress in Cove.

New Artifacts found in Covetous

• Prismatic Lenses
  • Hit Point Regeneration: 2
  • Stamina Regeneration: 3
  • Damage Increase: 25%
  • Poison Resist: 17%
  • Physical Resist: 18 %
  • Cold Resist: 7 %
  • Energy Resist: 6 %
  • Fire resist 4 %
  • HLD 30%
• Hephaestus
  • Self repair 5
  • Reflect Physical 15%
  • Defense Chance Increase 15%
  • Lower Mana Cost 8%
  • Physical Resist 15%
  • Fire Resist 1%
  • Faster Casting 2
  • Spell Channeling
  • Parry 10
• Bracelet of Protection
  • Hit Point Increase 5
  • Hit Point Regeneration 10
  • Defense Chance Increase 5%
  • Random Damage Eater 15%
• Blight of the Tundra
  • Stamina Regeneration 10
  • Damage Increase 50%
  • Cold Damage 100%
  • Cold Resist 15%
  • Swing Speed Increase 45%
  • HCI 15%
  • Str Increase 5
  • Random Slayer
• Bright blade
  • Hit Stamina Leech 100%
  • Stamina regeneration 3
  • Damage Increase 50%
  • Swing Speed Increase 40
  • Faster casting 1
  • Fire Damage 100%
  • HCI 10%
  • Splintering 20%

Decay Point Change

• Factions, Virtue, and City Loyality points will not decay if you log in daily anytime after maintenance.
• Except to the rule is faction points will decay if they are over a hundred regardless if you log in or not.

Pirates and Merchants in Tokuno

• We have added Pirates and Merchant ships to Tokuno waters.

Bug Fixes

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• Certain peculiar seeds will no longer be unidentified when removing them from a seed box.
• The Alchemist in Ter Mur should now sell glass blowing tools.
• The crystal portal will take the speaker to the Ilshenar Gypsy Bank when the words “Ilshenar Mint” are spoken.
• Hail Storm can no longer be cast thru walls.
• Hail Storm will now have diminishing returns like the other area effect spells in the game.
• All Bard Mastery Party abilities are now subject to a beneficial action check.
• The Crystal Lotus question has been fixed.
• Display cases can now be dyed with the furniture dye tub when in deed form.
• Plant pigments that are the same hue will automatically stack in your backpack.
• The 10th Anniversary Sculpture can now be turned with the deco tool without any issues.
• Faction points that were not scaled correctly have been addressed.
• Fixed the issue with Health Bars disappearing.
• Players will no longer be able to summon harbingers on Test Center.
• Void Pool will provide additional information such as how much longer till the spawn starts and what wave you are on.
• Castle Ladders should be functioning correctly.
• The visible chest behind the damaged Tokuno ship has been fixed.
• The Shirron has been moved to The Mistas Rigsit in Ilshenar.
• Reduced the soul charge cool down time to 15 seconds.

Classic Client 7.0.25

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Classic Client Patcher Update

• Cliloc Changes
• Due to patch system changes, this specific patch will require an extend time frame to download. Please note this is will make patching for lower connection speeds easier in the future.

Enhanced Client 4.0.25

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• Cliloc Changes

Wayback Wednesday Review

Tim Chappell

18 May 2012 18:53:08 EST

Kai Schober, Bonnie ‘Mesanna’ Armstrong and many others from the Mythic team joined Rob ‘Grakulen’ Lashley and Hillary ‘Pokket’ Nicole for their Wayback Wednesday series on MMORPG.com’s Twitch TV channel.

They grouped up to face the various hordes inhabiting the newly redesigned Covetous Dungeon on TC1. The live stream took place on Wednesday, 5/16 and lasted for over two hours!

Did you miss it? If so, MMORPG posted the videos on their site:

Video 1

Video 2

Discuss this article.

Ultima Online at Wayback Wednesday

Kai Schober

15 May 2012 17:33:15 EST

MMORPG.com’s Twitch TV channel is going to visit Ultima Online tomorrow night, 05/16, in its Wayback Wednesday series. The session will launch at 9:30pm EDT (3:30am CEST).
The hosts Rob ‘Grakulen’ Lashley and Hillary ‘Pokket’ Nicole will be joined by Bonnie ‘Mesanna’ Armstrong and other members of the Ultima Online team to explore the game on Test Center 1 and talk about its 15 years of history.

Join us on the channel tomorrow night!

Discuss this article.

The Awakening – Act IV Part 2

Kai Schober

11 May 2012 12:44:19 EST

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…

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Pub 76.0 Comes to Origin

Kai Schober

7 May 2012 18:10:12 EST

Greetings,

Publish 76.0 comes to Origin tonight. These are the changes to the Publish 76.0 Notes:

Publish Notes to Origin

• Fixed the issue with Health Bars disappearing
• Players will no longer be able to summon harbingers on Test Center
• Vela was moved to Cove since Minoc is a faction town.
• Void Pool will provide additional information such as who much longer till the spawn starts and what wave you are on.

Patch notes to both Classic and Enhanced Client

• Cliloc changes

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Oceania Maintenance – 05/08

Tim Chappell

7 May 2012 16:03:56 EST

Greetings,

We will bring down Oceania for service provider maintenance tomorrow, Tuesday May 8th, at 3 pm EDT (21:00 CEST). Only the Oceania shard will be affected during this time.

At this moment we anticipate the shard to be back online no later then 6 pm EDT (24:00 CEST).

Thank you for your understanding.

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