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Danilo Thann and The Shadowlord of Cowardice

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There is a new boss in town and we all know his name, Nosfentor Shadowlord of Cowardice.

The name may be known but most of us have not seen this new boss as there is a very long and dangerous quest that must be completed to enter his underground, underwater sunken ship world. I started the quest by myself not knowing how involved it was. After several steps finished death found me in a big way. At that time I called out to the community in frustration as I wanted to finish the quest fast and see this new underwater world plus the rumor going around was that we could actually walk on water! My calls went out in general chat, alliance chats, guilds chats….any chats I could find. After what some may call begging * laughs * the strong and generous Danilo Thann came to my rescue. Danilo told me that though a few brave have finished the quest alone it really takes a group or at least a buddy to finish the quest. I am all for team work and was so excited to get his help. We went forward with the quest and there were indeed deaths for both of us. Half way through helped arrived in the form of members of the ENVY, B*R and -Y- guilds. We now had numbers and it went much faster but with Danilo always in the lead. A huge thank you Danilo and everyone for the help.

 Since that day I have witnessed Danilo helping others with the quest and head hunts to the new boss. To my delight to get to the new boss one does walk on water ! Nosfentor and his dark wisps cause much death during the chase so I have a mini September Obituary Column from him below. Enjoy !

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blanc De blanc

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Danilo, Fishdip, Frog Knight

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Dread and Halen

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Frog Knight

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Joe D

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Max Damage and Damilo Thann

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The Black Wizard

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Veronica Lynn dead as Nosfentor looks over her corpse

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The King Attends Inaugural Celebration For Governor Tanda of Minoc

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The Grotto Tavern was the location this evening for the celebration of Governor Tanda. I arrived spot on time at six bells and I was warmly greeted. Tanda offered me an ale at the large and well designed bar shortly upon entering. She has always been a rather grand hostess even when the affair is relaxed one.

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I found a cozy table soon enough with the lovely Willa of the Yew-Wood to my left, Servious to my right and Walter Tyrell across from me.  Now that was a table emitting warmth and love. Willa has been around the land of Great Lakes almost as long as I have been. She will be quick to tell you she is always “a fixture…..like the moongate at Yew. ” Everyone was jolly and drinking spirits. It is no secret Walter likes his, he brought Tanda a case of some Moonglow beverage for the tavern but I have a feeling be was taking a nip or two before he arrived.

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As the spirits flowed so did the conversation. When you have ale and several politicians in the same room no doubt politics come up. I tried to steer away from that talk as much as possible as I drank from my pewter mug and consumed the amazing Minocian lamb Tanda served. That gal is one heck of a cook not to mention gardener.  On the subject of Tanda I must comment on her appearance for this special night. She had her hair braided in two braids laced with night blooming jasmine blossoms which filled the tavern with a heavenly scent. A pink doublet made by Loving Hands topped her dark textured skirt crafted by Vasortlem.

To everyone’s shock and delight the King himself walked through the tavern doors. It is so refreshing to have a King that walks among his people.

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After everyone calmed down from the excitement of the King actually being in the tavern Tanda offered the King libations and something to nosh on. The King preferred dessert before his meal and commented on what a tasty pumpkin pie Tanda made. As the beverages flowed the conversation went from topic to topic…from the Slavers and Pirate situation to Tanda’s lovely garden and waterfall. At some point a toast was made to the King and it lifted everyone’s spirits even higher which seemed impossible.

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It rang seven bells before I knew it and one hour passed  so very quickly. I made my way to the door excusing myself as I bowed to the King. It was made clear to all I had to exit as the Shadowlord Of Cowardice was calling for me ( more like barking, this is was I call my real life dog Vivian ). No doubt the rest of the evening was a howl and memorable.

CONGRATULATONS TO TANDA AND ALL THE GOVERNORS

Governor and Duchess of New Magincia Has Her Claws Out !

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Last night Miss Kitty spoke to a small group in the beautiful city of forever Spring, Zento.

Wrapped in a deep green Conjurer’s Robe with a two toned purple tangle worn tightly to show off her trim waistline the Governor projected great distress and concern for her city. As we all  know the history of Magincia has been a tragic one with much death and destruction with delayed then finally a rebuild. The honorable Miss Kitty claims citizens are moving once again away from her city and addressed the issue at the Governors meeting last week.

Often when one gets a room full of politicians the air steams with emotion and the fur flies, in this case cat fur!  To read the entire transcript of the meeting there is a post on the Great Lakes boards with the minutes.

Though several governors voiced concerned with issues, like having to wait six months or longer for a banner, it was Miss Kitty that asked the hard and often annoying questions. This put many people including the King in uncomfortable positions.

At last nights gathering Miss Kitty looked directly at me and said, ” Lady Lava, the people sitting at that meeting were nothing but a bunch of bobble heads and you can please quote me on that. ”  Miss Kitty went on to explain to the crowd that she had hoped governors could make real changes in the game but the fact is it is nothing but a bunch of people roleplaying and no resolves get made and the King has no power over the Devs. Mesanna has the real power and she is a very busy gal.

On the topic of roleplay, I have always been a fan of it. Great Lakes has a deep and long history of RP and frankly there is not enough of it these days. Our EMs have helped keep it alive. As the wise Martyna Z’muir says, ” Great Lakes EMs have done an event per week for four years now. They have done more on this shard than most other shards combined “.

Maybe Miss Kitty has shed some light on this position of governor which may help future applicants. Regardless you can bet the next meeting the fur will fly again, her claws will be out and everyone will be in danger of getting cat scratch fever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Friday The 13th At Camp

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Friday the 13th is steeped deep in lore and history. There are many thoughts on what to avoid when this day comes upon us. These tales did not stop people from gathering in the Hall and many arrived early including Agilaz, Lady Alice, Meanie Monster, Skye, Lady Martya Z’muir, Lost and Seeking, Euphoria, Sentinal, Xevei, Bataeo Oreph, Lady Camilla, Ixtab and Ian to name a few.

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As the crowd grew excitement filled the air then a very strange man named Oscar appeared. He projected extremely annoyed and started complaining of his current employment. Oscar has been the caretaker for two local camps and with his aging years it all appeared overwhelming to him. Though the summer camp season was behind him he has been the winter caretaker of these camps the past two years. Oscar informed the crowd that the next day was his last day of employment, he was retiring. He moaned that he could not take it anymore and was not returning for his last day of work. His voice grew louder as he grabbed his ears claiming he often heard the crying voices of children at the campgrounds. The next thing we all witnessed is blood pouring from his ears !!! If that were not strange enough he transformed into a strange creature not of this world, wiggled about then was gone. Everyone looked around in disbelief. All that was left behind was a sticky pool of blood staining the wooden planks of the floor.

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Magical gates then opened and we carefully entered them. These gates transported people to the two camps. Once inside the camp grounds it is clear things are not as they should be. The first thing I noticed was a trail of bloody footprints. Before one could say holy hail storm a Sudden Storm appears, knocking those on mounts right off onto the ground and dazing them.  This Sudden Storm was nasty and took several lives.

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Ras Thavas, one of the many Sudden Storm victims

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The Sudden Storm subsides and what appears from thin air are Angry Trees that start to dance about thrashing their limbs to and fro. These were indeed angry trees resulting in yet even more deaths including that of famed Great Lakes citizen Thorreain.

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Thorreain, death by tree

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The brave camp visitors slave the Angry Tree and upon its death out popped a child named Chip. Everyone is shocked by this child’s appearance. Chip claims he has been trapped inside the tree some time and that all summer long a shadowy figure had been following him. As he is speaking to the crowd there seems to be a small shift in the earth and rocks come tumbling down upon him and crush him!

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In Chips place the Ghost Of The Abandoned Camper appears all white and pasty. His sorrow conjures up Homesickness and as we all know homesickness is never a good thing.

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Once Homesickness is overcome the ghost wants everyone to sing camp songs. Not a single soul was in the mood for such things after so much death and strangeness. Not happy with this the Ghost Of The Abandoned Camper shouted out that all will be dead with him together forever. With that fire rained down in massive amounts and indeed death was upon us all.

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This is proof that one should always be leery on Friday the 13th.

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THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN TO OUR WONDERFUL EMs  FOR A GREAT EVENT.

 

 

 

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A Beggar’s Diet Is Not Gluten Free, 16th Anniversary, Deco and Halloween

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In my 13 * cough cough * plus years in the realm of Ultima Online there are several skills I have not fulfilled and until recently begging was one of them. Last month I set out to GM begging as Halloween is right around the corner.

As I started to train this skill it became clear very soon on that beggars have terrible diets. It appears all one gets is pizza, greasy stew and a lot of gluten bread. Of course there is a little booze and water to wash it all done, a lot of water!

As I read on Stratics, Heartwood was the place to gain this skill and that is where I spent hour upon hour begging my little heart out. I also took the opportunity to truly beg and I did that in General Chat. To my delight the generous great people of Great Lakes sold me pinks and blues to quicken my rise. Then there were really really great people that gave scrolls free of charge and I would like to thank these kind souls including Ang, NightStriker, ONYX, Riley, Cadius, Thanatos and Ronin.

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To my surprise there were others honing the begging skill at the same time as me and it is always night to have company. Lexi’s was one of them.

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Not only did I receive help in General Chat but I met a player from Lake Superior named Kalia visiting our shard. We had a lovely conversation about the upcoming holidays and plot deco style and designs. She invited me to visit her shard and I took a well needed break from begging to check out her designs on Lake Superior and I would like to share them with you. One is perfect for Halloween.

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Talk about a great cake shop ! My teeth hurt just looking at it.

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Floating Graveyard

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I did indeed GM begging and all is set for a month of Trick or Treating. Before that though we will all celebrate UOs 16th year anniversary. Soon there will be a gift bag dropped in our packs to commemorate the anniversary. I am most excited about the enormous venus fly trap plant.

Autumn is already in the air and I look forward to the seasonal change. Thank you again to everyone that helped me GM begging. It is not too late for you. Get those begging skills warmed up before October rolls around.

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IDOC Highlights August Obituary Column

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NOTTA THING, Mafia, ONYX, Maj, Divinity and Josephine Stone

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blanc De blanc

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” Cute ” Clair

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Darkfire

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Dilemma and ONYX

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Halaster

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HOMURAKTU

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Jade

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John

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Josephine Stone

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Lukan

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MIKA

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Morgan

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Nadeshiko

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Name Torque

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Reny Chase

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trout

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WHO CARES

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Wolfgang

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Greetings all from Big Bear Lake high in the mountains of southern California. I am on a ten day holiday and sadly will not be able to attend this years beach party in the realm but I am having my own party on a real beach. My fisher however whom has won fishing contests in the past during these in game parties is not happy!

Below are the details for this beach party from EM Elizabella on Saturdays event starting at 4PM CDT.

Fondly, Lady Lava

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The weather is beautiful, but summer is almost gone. Let’s enjoy the last afternoon of August by going to the beach! We can fish and share home-crafted drinks! Wear your cutest beach outfit!
Don’t worry about monsters under the boardwalk nibbling off your toes. The beach has been completely peaceful lately. There have been reports of dragons dying of boredom and being swallowed up by the shifting sands.

• For the beach weigh-in, only Autumn Dragonfish, Spring Dragonfish, and classic Big Fish caught August 31, 2013 qualify. Each type will be compared against others of the same type. If your fish does not win, you may have it back.
• Bring your own crafted liquors to share with each other.
• There will be a gate from the Counselor Hall.

…..This just in from EM Malachi …..

 

 

 

You receive an ornate invitation:

The Imperial Empress of Tokuno and His Majesty King Blackthorn of Britannia will sign a treaty of peace and prosperity between their two nations on Saturday, August the Seventeenth, at eight o’clock in the evening.
King Blackthorn invites the honorable governors of Britannia to accompany His Majesty to witness the signing of the treaty that they helped ratify. His Majesty extends welcome to all officials of the Crown who wish to be present for this historic event.

A note scrawled at the bottom of the invitation: It might be best to be on hand to provide additional security. Meet at our Britain headquarters for further instructions. -M. Grey

 

 

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Melian Fills MOA With The Scent of Vanilla

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It had been many months since I attended an auction at MOA. Thursday evening is when this classic event takes place however I am in meetings on Thursdays and can rarely attend. This past Thursday I happen to have a free day and to my delight I happened upon Melian in the Luna Bank. She was opening gates to MOA and I popped right in!

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To my delight my very good old Friend Pratt was running the auction. This was the first time I have seen him in 2013 ! He was great as usual entertaining the patrons and hawking the items and of course gold give-aways. He was assisted by the charming DJ Scorp and the lovely Princess Melody.

Many of the usual cast of characters were in the house including BriarRose, Rachel, Winter, Rathgar, Willa of the Yew-Wood, Lady Moonrush, Captain Murphy, Tye Weatherlight, Lord Thorreain, Kathrina, Lady Fifi LaForge, Veronica Lynn, Czarzers, Dread, Galen and Exodeus, to name a few.

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Melian always does a top job on decorating the auction house and the place was filled with the scent of yellow, white, orange and purple vanilla blossoms. Not only did they fill the room with a heavenly scent ( some say the scent of exotic dancers, something I know nothing about ) they looked pretty. Event Horizon claimed, ” She had to put something in here as many of us stink from hunting. “

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As always great things went for sale and a wide variety. The event ended with the auction of 20 barbed runic kits which Iggy The Great snagged for 40 million.

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MOA always feels like an old friend and it was great to see it up and running and so vibrant.

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Beating The Summer Heat and A Little Death

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August is one of the hottest summer months for many of us. The G-V Guild last night gave people a chance to cool off at waters edge, oh yes, and possibly die at it. The guild held a net toss at Bucs Den, off the dock and on the shore.

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The usual deep sea creatures made an appearance but it was the fiercest of them all most wanted to appear, Scalis. Not only did he appear but three times !

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Fishy Mc Hook was the one in charge of this event and his calls out in general chat kept up as did arrivals of people and of course deaths. Below are a few images of some of the casualties. This event lasted well over an hour. Thank you G-V for this summer event.

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Aberration

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Ryan and Lockpicker

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Sir Joe D

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