August 2001

The child visited his dreams again that night, leading him onward through a twisted maze of burned buildings. Shadows danced along the husks of a long forgotten city like wraiths, as the sun sank behind a dark cloud bank. An eerie red glow gave a hellish hue to the twisted streets that wrapped their way up a hill to a massive building in the center of the ruins.

He was lead there, by the child, following the exact steps, and the precise footpath the young one was taking. It was a human boy, no older than seven or eight years, who held his hand and dragged him toward the ancient building. Catching a glance at himself in the remains of what once would have been a full length mirror, he was shocked at his appearance. His skin had grown sickly white, and his eyes glowed a fierce golden hue. His hair had changed from the dark blue hue worn by members of the Cult of the Black Dragon, to a deep black. Even his clothing was different.

The mage took one last glance at his new appearance, accepted it as part of the journey, and continue to follow the child up the hill. Again the boy held his hand and pulled him along, up winding pathways once paved in marble, but now nothing more than a barren dirt trail. Now the mage could get a more detailed view of the crumbling monolith upon the hill. It must have been a temple to someone... or something. The roof was supported by large obsidian columns, some of which were missing large chunks of the black rock they were fashioned from. The steps were also polished obsidian, stained with some unknown red markings.

The mage was truely fascinated with the structure before him, taking in the intricate design of the massive double ebony doors. The handles of the doors were carved from ivory, and looked to be wholly intact. The handles of these doors were opened by the young boy, who motioned for the mage to go inside.

Inside the temple was dark. No light penetrated the depths of the large antechamber the mage found himself in. It was cold as death inside. Beneath his feet, the mage found a large red carpet. Following the carpet, and noticing that the child that had been leading him had stayed at the door, the mage fumbled and felt his way up to a large parapet. He pulled himself up the side of it by grasping the iron railing that he could feel lining the top of the low wall. Once atop the parapet, he found himself face to face with a moongate.

It was no average moongate. It shone black, glimmering with sparkles of intense darkness, and emitting a stinging cold from it's surface. Staring deep into the black rift, the mage began to see a shape forming from within the gate. A hand began reaching out to him, and he was held in it's grip. He felt himself being pulled directly toward the gate, and the laughter of a child from somewhere behind him. And then an anger began to grow inside him.

He had not come this far, followed the child in his dreams to this place to be taken into this darkness. Struggling in the depths of his sleep, the mage fought against the hands, pulling the form inside toward him. For what seemed like hours the two entities struggled, the mage with his unbending will, and the form inside the gate with an eternally powerful darkness that spread out over eons.

The mage awoke in a sweat, barely able to come to the realization that he had been dreaming. Shaking the sleep from his eyes, he threw the covers off of his body, and turned to look out at the night sky. Feeling a slight throbbing pain on his wrist he looked down to find bruise marks. They were placed about his wrist in the shape of a tight grip.

One thing was entirely certain; the mage had come out of his dream unhindered. But was he himself anymore, or someone else entirely?

The masses gathered at the docks within the great city of Serpents
Hold awaiting the arrival of one landing party and one special relic.
The Drow of Bregan'Daerth hired to guard the Temple of Mondain and its
master from impending danger of looters and those who would try to claim

the relic for themselves swarmed the docks and the surrounding areas
with those from the temple who had not gone on this journey. Suddenly
from the south it came into sight, a mysterious ship carrying a single
box made from the famed Blackrock stone and within it the sacred relic
that had been sought after for so long.
"Drop the anchor and bring her closer to the dock!" Yelled the
captain of the ship. As it docked Mordain and his party stepped off the
boat and looked at those who awaited him. Looking on he first noticed
his Drow friend Blackend of whom he had set the arrangement for the
relics protection, nodding then shaking hands they greeted. After a few
moments when everyone was re-equanted the group set off for the bank.
As the large group headed for the bank many small fights broke out
in attempts to try to remove the relic from the hands of the Temple but
were quickly delt with and the group moved on. Upon reaching the bank
Mordain began to speak; "Those of you who have opposed the Temple of
Mondain, and have followed the long and unritious word of British shall
soon know the truth. For with the Skull of Mondain we shall show you
what you have missed all these years and you shall know the truth of
British and his tyranical ways." That being said the army disapeared
into the gate.
With the Skull of Mondain secured within the Temple of Mondain and
the ambition of its members their intentions will soon be made clear. It

is said in ancient texts that the Skull of Mondain holds the power of
new spells, has the ability to crush cities and can tell the location of

the most ancient relic of all...the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, all of
which are dangerous in the hands of the temple.

-A stranger

Denubis' soft robes made a slight whispering across the cold marble as he hurried on his way to the Seat of Knowledge Library. Master Khael waited his arrival, and he had been held up by a few apprentice mages who had ventured into the marble streets of Wind after their lessons. Denubis was still considered a journeyman by the Masters of Wind, but he could summon just as well as the Master Summoner, and he was as learned in the ways of changing as the Master Changer. At the end of this month he would be in his twelfth year in Wind. He would be up for a position as a Scholar of Wind. A very coveted position.

He covered the rest of the distance to the library in a few long strides, and flung open one of the massive oaken doors. Somewhere behind him he heard the calls of a dragon, possibly discouraging a traveller from visiting the city. Once inside the library, he headed directly over to Master Khael, who stood with Master Roake, the Master Summoner of Wind. The two were engaged in deep conversation when Denubis strode up. Much to Denubis' dismay, the two mages ceased their conversation and turned to stare at the young journeyman as he approached.

"Denubis," Master Roake nodded in greeting.

"Good day Master Roake," Denubis said with a smile, bowing as was customary to a mage of Master Roake's standard.

"Good day Master Khael," Denubis said, bowing again.

"Denubis," began Master Khael, "There is a very important meeting going on tonight in Moonglow at the Lycaeum. Master Roake and I will need to attend, which will leave you the only one here in charge of the library."

Denubis nodded, trying to hide his smile. It was a great honor to be left in charge of the centuries of magical knowledge that the Masters of Wind had gathered in their great library.

"Is this about the mad mage epidemic Master Khael?" Denubis asked, attempting to mask his excitement about his charge in conversation about the evident importance of the meeting about to take place.

"Aye, Denubis. This is a very grave situation we face. Britain's greatest General has asked that we meet to discuss movements that will be made to rectify the situation."

Denubis nodded.

"Well then Denubis," said Master Khael, donning his robes and smiling, "Don't let the place burn down around you."

Denubis chuckled and waved goodbye to the two Masters as they opened a gate for travel to Moonglow. Once it had shut, Denubis settled down in Master Khael's chair at the head desk of the library, and took in a deep breath looking at the vast amount of knowledge contained within.

Just as he was beginning to congratulate himself on earning such a rewarding task, the great oaken door of the library crept open with controlled care. A darkness had befallen the usually well lit streets of Wind. Were-lights would normally be glowing along the wide marble streets, but some blanket of blackness had swallowed them whole. From what little light the candle on Master Khael's desk shed, Denubis could make out golden eyes and pale white skin. The eyes came closer to Denubis, drawing all of his focus onto the glowing orbs inside the darkness. Then the darkness spoke to him, inside his head, in a place Denubis had once thought was private.

"Denubis, journeyman mage.... apprentice and lackey to Master Khael, the Master Namer of Wind."

The voice was cold and rasping. Denubis twitched slightly under the gaze of the golden eyes.

"I come seeking the 'knowledge' hidden in the city of Wind," the darkness sneered at him, "You will show me what I have come looking for. For I have travelled far."

Denubis nodded, unable to do anything else. He rose stiffly from the chair behind the desk and walked ahead of the darkness, feeling the cold presence of it pushing him onward. Down into the lowest chamber of the library, in the basement, where the oldest books were kept, Denubis finally halted. Without moving his mouth, he could hear himself speak.

"This is where you will find what you seek, Master."

The darkness let him go. And he fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Only then, did he realize the horror of what he had done.

The books in the bookshelves of the cellar contained ancient magicks; spells long forgotten and not spoken by mortal men. In the books were contained some of the most powerful spells known on the face of Sosaria. And not even the Masters of Wind dared crack their covers. But the darkness that had herded Denubis forward into the cellar now stood gazing down into their passages, seeming to take in every word, every glyph, every rune. Some of the books were written in the language of wisps, which very few scholars had even come close to deciphering. The darkness appeared to be nothing more than a mortal man. A mage, who was quite possibly younger than Denubis. He was of average height, and dressed in a tunic of mottled gray which he wore over battle scarred black leather armor. On his head he wore a headband which tied back his long jet black hair. His eyes were golden, his skin white, and on his hand was a tattoo marking his alliegence to the Black One.

Denubis attempted to shrink back into the cold mortar of the floor beneath him. The mage unshouldered a backpack he wore around his left shoulder, and dropped several books inside. Then turning to Denubis he sneered and spoke a few words in a spidery language of magic that Denubis had never heard before. He felt himself being lifted from the floor, and felt his body begin to move back up the steps toward the main floors of the library.

The mage continued to carry him in this manner, his hand outstretched, with Denubis floating freely before him. When they reached the head desk again, the mage simply let him drop into a heap on the floor. Denubis could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes from the pain and humiliation he had suffered , and the fear of this man before him.

The voice was once again inside his head as the mage reached the door.

"Cry young Denubis, cry. Soon you will weep no more, for a man can only cry so many tears. And the pain I will cause this world will be more than any man has the tears to cry for."

And with that the were-lights returned to the marble streets of Wind, and the late night air of the caverns around it blew in cool through the library windows. Denubis sat huddled on the floor where he had been dropped; shaken and baffled, he would remain there late into the night until his masters returned from Moonglow.

The Masters of Wind held meetings late into the night, arguing over whom they should contact. The books that were taken were of great value. The one thing they could all agree on was that whoever this upstart mage was, he should be found and stopped immediately. While the arguments of the Masters trailed over the city streets and deep into the night, Denubis sat once more on the cold stone floor of the library's basement, staring at the empty space on the shelves where the books on the history of the Followers of Armageddon had once sat.

EdGuard stood in the yew healers with both hands up in the air whining in pain while Medic the healer of yew was Bandaging his ribs. Ed's teeth were gritting."Do ye have to be so rough Medic??!."

Medic grinned, "Ed ye big baby i have seen you take worse than this and not whine so much." Ed yelped as medic pulled the last bandage tight around his chest.

Medic sighed, "Ed ye are a brave man and i commend ye for yer work in this war, The drow are gone and ye need rest I advise ye to take a vacation and keep away from battle yer body is battered and bruised it needs rest..Another war hammer to those ribs will not be pleasant."

Ed grinned,"My thanks old friend and i will try to stay out of trouble but.....ye know trouble follows me everywhere i go, Farewell Medic thank you again," Ed winked and casted a recall disappearing, Medic shook his head and went back to work tending to the wounded in Yew.

Ed appeared infront of a large tower that looked very old and suffered some abuse over the years but it still stood proudly. Ed grinned and walked into the tower, heading to the second floor. Ed opened the door of the old meeting room where Holy Masters, Knights, Holy Grand Masters and friends had once sat dust had collected everywhere from the lack of use, Ed sighed and sat down reaching into his back for something to write with and began to write.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Norrath,

I am sorry for the lack of reports from brittania, things have been quite hectic i suppose i should start with the vile Drow. The Drow had set their eyes on serpents hold, a city of Lord British and the Base of our allies The Order Of The Silver Serpent. We fought for months with many victories and losses, we managed to push the drow out of serpents hold but...They have sailed off to minoc and we cannot stop them evil guilds have come to serpentshold seeking to claim the city for their own in the cities guard's weakness. The Cult of The Black Dragon, Bloodrock Orks, Sisters Of Enchantment, The Temple of Mondain and all of these evil guilds want the city some are looking for other cities like yew but the day yew is claimed by evil is the day i die.Moving on, Against all these guilds the four defenders left in brittania Vanion and Neco have done amazing but i would like to commend Naomi Artimage she is still but a child but has an amazing talent for battle she has survived battles a veteran warrior such as my self and general Nero have not. HCD and our allies do not have as many numbers as the evil guilds but we hold our own and are respected for our fighting abilites. Moving on...A strange disease has afflicted some of the mages driving them insane myself include, though thanks to the holy cross i have been healed but alas my hair has turned grey as a side affect. The other mages still seek a cure we do not know what could be wrong but we are closing in on something and the cure will be found soon. But perhaps the most distressing thing to occur yet is the black one has returned in human form, The Black One is a creature of pure evil and chaos who seeks to destroy the forces of good. He is perhaps my greatest enemy next to Junin Pince and I am the last Dragon Knight so it is my duty to see he is stopped and something the guild must not be involved in...All will work out in the end.
I pray this letter finds you Safely and wish you all well
-EdGuardo-Knight Defender
Dragon Knight Of Honesty

Ed rose up from the chair and tied the note to a magical pigeons foot, He whispered into its ear and began chanting a gate spell. A black gate formed and Ed picked the pigeon up and pushed him into the gate, shortly afterwards it vanished.Ed looked around one last time and headed to the third floor where many of the knights held their personal posessions. Ed's hands slid down the armoire wiping the dust off as it went, Ed opened it and inside was a fine full suit of archers armor with a sword hanging near it with a faint glow the words Black Noisy were etched in the sword. This sword had been given to him and enchanted by his old friend Black Noisy in the day when he fought the followers of armageddon those days seemed so far away now. Ed picked up the sword and waved it around, it had been too long since he wielded this sword...he missed it.Ed's ears perked up and he turned just in time to meet the sword coming for his head. The man stepped back a few paces into the light and revealed a muscular looking man wearing full platemail with an open face helm blue sash and cape. Ed took a few paces back and fell into the armoire at the sight of the man.

The man grinned,"Why Ed...Ye look like you have seen a ghost." Ed looked up at the man,"yer dead i saw it with my own eyes ye perished in the jungles of trinsic, I SAW IT."

Junin chuckled, "Ah yes i was dead thanks to you and your friends..but ah...my corpse was not damaged enough to prevent resurrection and so here i am and perhaps preparing for armageddon again or perhaps i want revenge, Who shall i start with yer guild?Perhaps yer lovely wife Nadia?Do ye dare stop me?

Ed's face turned a dark red and he leaped out of the armoire and brought his sword down hard. The two swords clashed together and they both came face to face.

Ed snarled,"Junin If you harm a hair on my wifes head or touch my friends or my guild you will regret it i will make sure myself that yer corpse is chopped into bits so yer spirit will never be recovered again."

Junin laughed,"I think not EdGuardo, You and your friends shall pay dearly for the pain you have caused the FoA..Speaking of which Martoo and Zendella should be getting free from their prisons right about now and coming to meet me, Though i would love to stay and kill you it is not the time and I have a meeting to attend to...This ends now."

Junin managed to push ed back and as he did with his free hand he summoned a bolt of pure energy and hurled it Ed. Ed tried to avoid the bolt but its path was clear there was no room to run. The bolt stuck ed in the chest throwing him into the nearby stone wall and sent him crashing down head first. Energy rippled all around Ed's body from the attack and his head was bleeding from the hit on the ground. Ed started to raise when junin came up with a swift kick to Ed's face and everything went to black.....

Ed awoke the next morning with dried blood on his face and an extreme headache, he groaned as he lifted himself off the floor and stared around the tower. Junin had left him there...But why?? He knew not but his friends and allies should be warned that the Followers Of Armageddon have returned. Plans had to be made and soon to find their laid and Stop them....before anyone was hurt or they had the necessary ingredients for the spell of Armageddon.

The Days ahead were filled with many meetings of old friends who had not seen each other in a long time and planning began...to strike at the heart of the FoA and defeat them once and for all.

*Blood Red flyer found on the doors of Establishments all around Britannia*

The Coven of the Secret Shadow and the Sisters of Enchantment present to you

THE NEXT GREAT EVENT IN BRITTANIA!!
Deadly Link, a Bloody good game show...

Tuesday, September 4th, at 8pm by the central skies, Watch as..

YEW TOWN MILITIA
Battles
THE KNIGHTS OF THE EMERALD TARTAN

Join us in the audience as we test the intelligence of TWO guilds. They will be pitted against each other in a lethal battle of the minds

Whats the best part?? You Get to Choose Who Dies!!

Late in the day, Raistlin, rescued the son of Basil, Ramirez, from Deceit where he had been locked up by Kandalor. Raistlin had previously helped Kandalor with Boromir imprison Ramirez. The imprisonment was to secure the power of Kandalor while Basil was off searching for India.

Ramirez was unchained and taken back to the Cult's Temple in Caelum Mortuss. Upon arrival he was put into clothes. The Cultist tried to talk with Ramirez, but unfortunately his hair had grown to congested under the mask Kandalor had placed on him. A book with writing materials were gathered for Ramirez. Question and answers were traded amongst those gathered.

Sadly the first question asked by Ramirez was the whereabouts of his father. Andrew Bishop explained to him that his father had been killed fighting the liche Larcalin. Shocked with this news, Ramirez asked other questions, including as to where his father's body was. Raistlin and Andrew both were saddened to say it hadn't been recovered, but that they were still trying. Other questions as to people he had known continued. Most of the answers brought bad news.

Finally Ramirez told them that the sunlight was giving him a massive headache. He retreated to the upstairs of the temple where it was a bit darker and fell asleep in the old throne his father used to sit in.

After a failed rescue attempt by the Order of the Silver Serpent, the Coven of Witches known as the Sisters of Enchantment released Daniel the Apothecary for no clear reason. "They just let me go!" Says the healer. Though Daniel shows no ill-effects from his visit with the sisters, opponents to the coven insist that he is under some sort of magical influence. Nevertheless, Daniel was allowed to continue his practice on healing the mage Katlyn DuBois, the belle of General Nero, Commanding Lord of the True Britannians. During one of his examinations, Daniel found a large notebook in her backpack. As it was suspicious looking, he turned it into the OSS guard on duty.

The notebook was then taken to the Lycaeum for study by the librarians there. Its cover was set in Leather, and its pages printed in runic. It took several days to be fully translated, but the completed work is indeed a chilling revelation:

June 12, 345

Today I was sent on an errand to the Frozen Wastelands in order to retrieve a glacial stave for my master, Bestrada. I was teleporting over a snowdrift where I encountered what appeared to be a man. I remember thinking it odd, that a stranger should be out this far into the barren wilderness. Slowly, I approached him.. something about him was different, though I dont know what. It struck a chord of fear within me. Mevertheless, I arrived by his side. Clutched in his frozen hand was a pipe of some sort. Upon examination, it appeared to be used to burn nightshade. Tenatively, I took some of my own nightshade and placed it in the pipe. Soon, I felt the bliss of the smoke which eminated from the pipe. It brought some warmth from the bleak and frozen surroundings. Still, I was uneasy about the frozen corpse next to me.. uneasy but curious. After several attempts, I was able to open a moongate to my room at my masters home, I pushed the corpse through and continued my quest for the Glacial Stave without incident. The corpse is here with me now, and beginning to thaw. I must find a place to hide this doscovery, lest my master set it ablaze.

January 20, 346

I was able to hide the corpse in our basement, where I buried it in the soft ground. All that is, except the pipe, which I keep for myself. I have been upable to return her to examine it because of my masters prying eyes. Today, though he is off on a journey to a conference in Moonglow. I was able to easily unearth the body by teleporting it from the ground onto the worktable. The man appears to have been somewhat wealthy, as his garments are of a finer texture. I surmize he was a mage perhaps, his pockets are full of reagents, most notably nightshade, which I keep for myself. I have tried casting An Corp on the corpse to no avail. I fear my skills with magery are not sufficient enough to perform the ritual. I will have to steal a scroll from my masters library once I get the chance.

(there are dozens of ruined pages between this entry and the next)

November 4, 346

I killed my master today. The old toad discovered my efforts in the basement. Odd though, that he should not have caused as much of a threat as I thought. Perhaps it iw because of the strange flow of ether eminating from this corpse. At any rate, my Lightning incantation offed the old man in one shot. Truly, something about this corpse has empowered me so. I shall take it to my friends at the mages academy, perhaps together we can find the source of this mans incredible power.

(more damaged pages)

January 1, 347

We each carry a piece of the man with us now, something about his body empowers us so that nothing can stand in our way! I myself chose his fingers. I carry them in a satchel near my reagents. some of the other carry theirs on necklaces or chains. After the incidents at the academy, we felt it would be best if we fled to the Lost Lands. One of my mage friends has a meritable idea on how to secure our place in this world. He proposes that we construct our own facet gate to the 4th facet of Minax. We know that the world Minax hails from has been completely destroyed, and so it is our understanding that forcing a gate open to that facet will cause everythng from our facet to be drawn into it. As more living creatures are pulled through the gate, it will grow larger, eventually encompassing all of Britannia. It is important that we flee quickly to the lands of Ilshenar if we succeed. There we will subjugate the monsters and live as kings!

January 2, 347

The Facet Gate did not draw objects into it, instead, something else came through. Some kind of light! My skin is a sickly pale, and my friends are doubled over in pain.

(the rest of the text on this page has been marked out by a pen, the following is what the Librarians were able to decipher)

Not everything died... land of Minax.. inhabits today... resist.

From Repayment:

On Saturday, the Yew Militia muster was convening at the Abbey as normal. Hesperis ( Commander ), me, Training Dummy, Hawk, Sinjin ( Citizen of the city)and Althea Greenfay were all gathered having the normal conversation of people who hadnt seen eachother in a while. When the known outcast link made his appearance. First he did curse Althea trying to bring a reaction from her, but when this failed, he started telling what he would like to do to fellow Militia Alex. At this point i walked up to him, and with some encouragement with my spear asked him to move away. At this point he did start to cast spells onto me, poisoning and explodes were heard being uttered. I felt blast after blast hit me, but my fellow Militia did heal me in time, whiles others cast unto him and fired upon him to drive him off. As he ran i cried "after him men, he must be arrested". We found him upstairs cowering in a corner and asked him to give himself up. Now it seens that a force of Sisters of Enchantment S*E just HAPPENED to be around ( likely story) and said what were we planning to do, while they distracted us with conversation, the criminal link did run for the stairs, and into a waiting moongate casted By the S*E leader Leshyani Rianne. Hawk, Sinjin and Training Dummy gave chase, the heat of battle overpowering their common sense. The gate vanished splitting the Yew forces in half. Suddenly a pigeon arrived into my hands from Sinjen, telling of the Sisters with links' help ambushing our Militia, with only him escaping. Seems they attacked them as they conversed with link, then link helped finish the job. Due to our prolonged aid to Serpents Hold, we havent the manpower to capture Leshyani Rianne and link at this time. But we have heard that they are building up forces to try to take our town. But they also are busy with the Serpent Hold war, so are battles will probably most likely be in that fortress city. Already S*E seem to think that they can walk into our Abbey and attack us freely, but hopefully they will stop this once they get bored. Thats all i have to say, on this matter. The matter is in the Mayor and Commanders hands.

recalling to the Abbey in Yew I am approached by the Mayor of Yew. Exchanging Words with the Elf, he departs asking Training Dummy to go to the Inn. I heard of link becoming a criminal in his own city and remembers what he went through. Recalling back to his house he sends for one of his informants. After the informant steps up to theguarded door he is unnerving as he has done this before. I sneak up to the door behind the sleeping guard posted there, and patiently wait for an oportunity to present itself. After the guard leaves and some more waiting, an oppertunity does present itself as someone waking up from the bed where Eldirar, Training Dummy, and link are meeting. Slipping into the shadows of the room without being noticed, I start to listen. They talk about many things. When I entered I noticed that there are many within the City of Yew want many of their own brothers dead or driven out of the city.

They also talk about how the Sisters of Enchantment and the Cult of the Black Dragon are willing to be allies and that the Holy Cross Defenders are willing to fight them. Remaining hidden, I jot down names of those wishing to have them to relieve Yew of their command. 7 total members, all of them are very good in battle. By this time Dane Rominger comes in and starts playing "Duck Duck Goose" with the three. After some convincing by link to have Dane leave, he leaves some cheese and wine (chuckles) and departs. It was at this time that they suspected a communication Crystal in use. How wrong they were. After a long quiet time where they were passing notes between themselves, of which I have no idea, but can only guess. After what seemed an eternity, they felt safe to speak once again. How more wrong they were. They then started talking about the rules of war, of which they were standard, no loot, no trash talk, death for 15 minutes. After agreeing that thier services in Serpents Hold are over, they depart their separate ways.

FCB's Gem sent this to us on a fishy smelling piece of parchment:

Britannia's favorite public slaughter happens again this Sunday at 4 p.m. EST (3 p.m. CST). The stinky fun-loving fishers of the Fishing Council of Britannia (FCB) will donate special fishing nets worth tens of thousands of gold for the amusement of the citizenry. The fishers of the FCB bring their fish nets to the Trammel Maginica docks. We cast them onto the sea, 2, 3, or even 4 at time. As any proper fisher knows, but many landlubbers do not, each net spawns sea serpents, water elementals, and even the deadly kraken (who sometimes carry ropes or SOS bottles as loot). 'Tis great fun--many of the citizens die, but there is a friendly healer at the end of the dock who will quickly resurrect the victims. We will provide gates from Britain Main Bank. The land-lubbers soon learn how tough a fisher must be---this is not a job for the weak or faint-hearted; but the rewards are great.

Taken from the Sister's Scribe...

Tonight my Sisters found the lost mage Katlyn DuBois, held against her will by Nero, the knave. Well lucky for us we had the formula to rescue her from her misery! Of course we lacked the Roots of which were needed and spoke of. Well first, the Mage had to be free of the hold that the "knights" had over her.
Lady Shadow and Worf got her prepared to travel as Aureal led them to the dungeon to get the needed root. Then she came back valiantly as they were left in the dungeon lost in the dark. Good job Aureal! The the three did the deed by first taking Katlyn to the guild house of the Sisters, then to the Magickal Library where the Sisters were hard at their research for the cure to end this suffering.
Then with the spotty research we had done with the books we found on the subject, a cure was tried with Lady Aureal taking Katlyn's poison in herself in vain to purge the disease out of the Mad Mage's system.

Then the big, bad, mean old Nero and his goons came to take her back just as Aureal fell to the poison. Poor Aureal! Even Daniel the Apothecary couldn't help her.
I saw them all arrive at the guildhouse with Aureal's weakened form. Helping her to bed, they all cried for the cure to this mage's plague. Several Sisters returned to the library to study more, but many others decided to procure the root and the Apothecary on their own.
They returned to Nujelm in search of the frail old Daniel. Nepthus Otek, Worf and Leshyani found him.

In a quick jog to Daniel's house, he got the roots, and came willingly to the Sister's house to help aid in the research for the cure. Such a noble man! He seemed to be able to work wonders!
In the meantime the main force of Sisters succeeded in diverting the minions of Nero in his protection of the Witch, Katlyn DuBois while she slumbered at the Nujelm Inn. Such a clever ploy! I am soo proud of my Elders!
*giggles with joy*
And back here at the Sister's compound, Daniel is safe, dreaming of the formula i imagine.....
*giggles*


...Signed by Leshyani herself...

I sense that Nero will seek the healer. We shall find the cure Nero, don't yew worry! Tweedle de dee! fiddle fo fum! It shall pass! Blessed be! Giggle de dee!

Brianna Lavendar
Sister's Scribe

Earlier today, the Mad Mage Katlyn Dubois was found in Nujle'm. Corespondants from the Island jewel report that a massive island-wide manhunt was conducted to find her. Members from KET, RKB, BKP, OSS, and SH among others shared in the responsibilities for the search.


When the mage was found, she was most definately not in her right mind. When she was finally restrained, General Nero, her lover approached her and calmed her down. After a bit of confusion, she was brought to Daniel the Apothecary, the foremost healer of Nujle'm.



Daniel revealed that through the use of an Ancient Mandrake Root he could make a postion that could possibly cure the Mad Mages. Firthermore, he related that the Mages affliction was some sort of magical disease. The more a particular mage uses his magical powers, the more mad they become.

Daniel also knew the location where the Ancient Mandrake Root might be procured. An unstable substance, it must be handled with much care, and so it was decided that Daniel would have to go along in order to get the root.


So, the Adventurers, Including General Nero, Daniel, and Edguardo travelled to the dungeon shame in search of the fabled root, leaving 2 guards behind in Daniel's Workshop to protect the ailing DuBois.

While Neros party was busy seeking the Ancient Mandrake Root, the Sisters of Enchantment were hatching their own scheme to cure the ill woman. They overpowered the guard at the workshop and took DuBois to the Magincia Library, where they felt they had found a cure.

When Nero and company finally returned from their Quest, they found only a beaten and bruised Cadet Josh Westbank, who reported that the Sisters had taken Dubois. Acting quickly, the party travelled to the Sisters headquarters, and there finding nothing, travelled to magincia, where it was a well known fact the sisters had visited before.

The group arrived just in time to witness the last portions of what looked to be some sort of transferrence ritual. The Witch Aureal then poisoned herself and committed suicide. With Nero on the scene, he was able to calm the poor DuBois while Daniel administered his cure. Once DuBios was returned to the clean air of Nujle'm, she began to recover, although she was quite weak.

General Nero and Alec DeLeon carried her to a posh room in the Nujle'm in, where again guards were posted in order to protect the ill-fated mage.

Shortly thereafter, the Sisters returned to recapture their prize, but met with opposition. Wishing for a peaceful solution, the sisters of Enchantment were given multiple opportunities to leave the premesis, but refused. A policing force consisting of members from HCD, OSS, RKR, RKB, and HG was assembled and the siters were forcibly removed from the inn.

Katlyn DuBois is said to be resting comfortably, and Daniel the Apothecary expects that she should soon regain enough strength to converse candidly with investigators.

In the later hours of the evening a small party of pirates beganraiding the Sandlewoodbox Tavern! They began asking questions as to thelocation of the Temple of Mondain and then finally demanding to know itslocation or the tavern would be burnt. When the patrons of the greattavern asked why they would seek the Temple of Mondain they replied "Wewants what's theys lookin fer." They also made mention that it is wortha lot of gold to them and they want this relic. Upon the refusal to divulge the location and many attempts to Swedethese raiders they attacked many of the patrons including the Cult ofthe Black Dragon which was an unwise move as they were forced back andslaughtered. However I can see that interest in this quest of the Templeof Mondain's has been and still is growing. What could they be afterthat has new groups of people so invested they would risk the lives oftheir people to attain it? I can only imagine they are looking for the same relic that wasmentioned by the traveling bard a few days prior and that whatever thisitem is it must hold great value. There is mounting stress that othergroups and more raiders will continue to make attacks until this relichas surfaced. It is however very clear that those within the Temple of Mondain areup to something as their leader Mordain and many of its members have notbeen seen since the publication of the traveling bard. Other members ofthe Temple have been seen in various spots and when asked what they areup to their reply is always the same..."Soon we shall hear the voice ofMondain."I fear for what lay ahead.

From Dugald of KET:

The morning sun shone down on the Minoc miners camp, the August sunbeams finding their way through the various holes in the canvas tents. One particularly bright beam leapt from the tent wall to the eyes and face of Terrance MacFee, miner extraordinaire (and drunkard more extraordinaire).

“Auch! Gie the lanthorn oot o’ me face afore I thrash ye good man!”

Seeing that no movement was forthcoming, and that the light was getting brighter, Terrance wearily opened one blood shot eye and quickly shut it with a time honored Scottish curse. The sunlight had pierced his eye and announced hangover time was here. Realizing that it was the sun and that it would not go away, Terrance decided to awaken.

He got up off his cot, careful not to agitate his raging hangover, and dunked his head in a bucket of water to freshen up. Hmm, he thought to himself, need to remember to change that bucket of water occasionally. He threw his wet, wild, partly matted hair back, wrapped his kilt about him, and prepared for the day.

“I cannae keep this up foorever. If only I could find the moother lood, I would buy me a right proper haime like the posh folk have, wi a fireplace… on the inside.”

Terrance had been having valorite dreams, dreams of riches untold. Whoever could stake their claim on the mother load first would be rich beyond their wildest dreams! All the miners dreamed of the day that they would not have to go back to that dark, cold, hole in the ground where death is your constant companion.

Terrance stumbled outside the tent yawning. He stretched and looked around the camp for Natasha.

“Natasha! Natasha!” From around a tent she walked, raven hair, luxuriant in the morning sun. “Ah, Natasha, ye’ve been a bad lass agin, have ye?” Natasha raised her head and fixed one deep brown eye upon him. “Neigh! – exclaimed Natasha, as she flicked flies away with her tail. Terrance stroked Natasha’s long nose as he reached into her pack, pulling out the one thing he needed the most – a flask of 12 year-old, single malt whiskey to dull the hangover. “Ah, noo there’s a good lass!” Terrance took two good swigs of his “medicine”, and loaded Natasha’s packs with mining tools. Natasha looked on with seeming impatience as he loaded the packs.

She was a gypsy girl in the beginning, and when the caravanserai passed through Terrance’s little village, he fell in love with her at first sight. Gold changed hands and Natasha was his. She was a loyal beast with only one flaw – you had to repeat yourself frequently, for she was only fluent in the gypsy’s tongue.

“Natasha, follow me! Natasha, follow me!” This was emphasized with several pulls of the rope attached to her bridle, as Terrance made his way to the mines. On his way out of the camp, he passed other miners who were starting their day as well.

“Good morrow to you, Lord MacFee; on your way to strike the “moother lood”? – chuckled one of the independent miners. There were several of these in the camp, men from all over Sosaria who were just here to strike it rich. Terrance returned a sneer and did not reply. For this man, or perhaps another like him, started last night’s fight, which resulted in lumps and bruises all around, of which Terrance had his fair share.

“Why, Lord MacFee, do you not talk to the peasantry now?” Terrance turned his face red.

“Aye, come hither an I’ll speak to ye wi both me fists!”

The rope having slacked, Natasha saw her opportunity and took off up the mountain at a run.

All the fight drained out of Terrance as he saw his pack horse galloping up the hill, and he turned to give chase.

“Natasha come back, come back, come back! Dinnae be offended by this daft dough heed of a man!” – He called, figuring he could at least get one good insult in before he chased after her.

He chased Natasha for over half an hour, not being able to run as fast as she. She had made her way south passing several mines, over the ridge, and up the mountain. He finally caught up with her as she grazed peacefully on lush dark grasses on a mountain plateau. Upon reaching her, she looked up at him as if to say, “vhat is it, dahling?”

“Auch!” Wheeze, wheeze – he wheezed. “Ye’re a right naughty lass, ye are!”

As he caught his breath, he noticed that the vegetation in one spot was unusually dark. Stepping close to examine it, he realized that the darkness came from a cave behind the vines. Pulling aside the vines, one could see a natural cave going back an undetermined distance. Terrance’s heart skipped a beat from excitement, and he lit a lantern, all thoughts of Natasha’s indiscretion gone.

Most of the other mines were merely caves that had been worked further back. And the majority of mines around Minoc were overworked, making it hard to find fresh ore. Could this be an undiscovered cave, he wondered, as he stepped within…? He dragged Natasha inside the cave with him, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dim glow cast by the lantern. The walls of the cave resembled a clear starry night sky – twinkling stars of valorite ore reflected the lantern light back at him.

A sound grew within the cave, and bubbled forth and rang from wall to wall. Terrance was puzzled, and looked from side to side to find the source of the sound. He realized that it was he making the noise – he was laughing like a mad man!

After catching his breath, he reflected that he was rich. Not just ordinary rich; really, really rich: as in hire-somebody-to-carry-my-gold-around rich. A giggle escaped him, and then all became quiet as he soberly realized that he best hurry for this would not be a secret forever.

“Natasha auld girl, I’ll be a laird after this, an I’ll live in a grand toor.”

Terrance and Natasha proceeded further in to the cave to see how far the valorite vein ran. After about a dozen steps filled with sparkling blue ore, Terrance was forcefully pushed aside as Natasha turned around and bolted for the exit.

Auch, bloody Mondain’s pit!!! Terrance exclaimed, as he regained his feet. Suddenly, he heard the crackle of gravel under a booted foot come from behind him. He turned to see a shadowy form appear in the back of the cave. It was dressed in black oily leather of old design and inhuman workmanship. Its face was as black as a vein of coal in a darkened mine, and was framed with long hair as white as an old man’s beard. It released a loud hiss and an incomprehensible word was spoken from a delicate shaped fanged mouth. Terrance threw the lantern at the apparition and turned to flee. He stumbled on a rock and fell coming face to face with a broken human skull. He heard a whistling sound as a crossbow bolt flew by him. He stopped thinking and his body took over, running blindly through the cave toward the exit. Soon after, he passed Natasha on his way down the hill.

That evening, laughter rang out from the pub. “Nae, nae, I dinnae josh wi ye! I tell ye ‘tis true, ‘twas the Black Annis! Exclaimed Terrance. The tavern was split between those laughing, and those murmuring and making the sign against the evil eye, and then spitting on the floor. Terrance had been telling his story for some time as people bought him drinks, and there was a great deal of spit upon the floor, much to the irritation of the proprietor. Terrance was careful to omit any mention of any ore and conveniently did not remember the location of the cave. “It jus appear froom naewher sittin on a pillar o fire wi human boons unner it an as joolry roun its neck!! An it spit fire at me, fur I heerd it woosh by me ear!!

A lone voice rang out as Terrance paused to take a swig of ale. “So, Terrance, tell oos how ye got awa froom this long-legged ghoolie?” People turned to see who had spoken and saw “Red” MacKinnes, the most veteran of the local miners. But Red was not making fun, he had a serious look on his face…

“Waal na, Red, I am believing I did run like the wind wi its tail on fire.” Terrance said as he produced a healthy belch, and causing new fits of laughter among the patrons of the tavern.

“The Black Annis tis but a fable for the wee bairns, a bed time stoory to keep the wee ones in bed at night.” Said Angus Cadotte, the local provisioner. This pronouncement produced a new round of finger forking and spitting. “Tis nae true.” Having said his piece, Angus sat back down.

“Well, I dinnae knoo aboot nae Bl… err.. whuther it be true or no, but I can tell ye that sumthing stirs, for the Knights of the Emerald Tartan and their Highland Guard have doubled their patrols of the toown. I overheard the Sergeant Major of the guard speak of the Drow of Braegan D’aerth, whoever they ur, an how they ur searching for them. This was said by the barkeep as he polished another pewter mug.

“Auch! Let the k-nigh-its and the men-at-arms worry aboot the whatchacallits and gie us another roond of ale!” Said a burly miner, and drunken laughter once again spilled out the tavern door.

*Screams in pain*…Feedle Fee Fiddle Fo..if you knew my pain….*babbles to herself mindlessly*

*scribbles in big letters…..*

Hahaha I got him! He wouldn’t stop looking at me!! Alazraham…Old dead man….*scratches her neck roughly, leaving streaks of blood* I got Away I did I did!!!
I ran so fast that they cant find me!! *laughs insanely* that chaser tried to stop me with his An Ex Por and it Stuck to him!!!!!!!! HAHAHA!! Now he’s a carrier of this plague…The other chaser was just to slow for my rapid feet! NO!! I can’t recall to my home..to safety…MAKE THE PAIN STOP!!!!!!
I ducked into that gate..CURSES!!!..The frozen tundra of dungeon Ice….It froze my bones. But it didn’t take my life!!
*bites at her now jagged fingernails*

My pleas to Nero have gone unanswered and now I’m sure he wants me locked up..like he did those mages, THOSE MAGES!!! I must locate them..where are They?? *eyes register excruciating pain* They have been to Trinsic, Vesper…Where next? Feedle Fee Fiddle Fo..Solve a riddle and away you go…

A city of Sand A city of White
Ancient Herbs,
Mages Delight.
An Island Alone An Island Asea
A Root to be had
Come find me!!!

K. Dubois

From Nero:

Nero sits upon the east Serpent Warrior's tower on the northern part of Serpent's Hold, overlooking the vast ocean before him. In the distance he can see a small fleet of ships sailing south of the Isle of Deeds; from his spyglass he could see that they bore the insignia of the Drow of Bregan D'Aerthe, one of the invaders who for the past month or so, has engaged in war against the City of Serpent's Hold and their allies. In the midst of the war, Cult of the Black Dragon and the Temple of Mondain had taken advantage of the weakened state of the city's defenses to also enter the city, and while they each had different reasons for their prescense, in the end they all wished to lay claim on the Bastion of Courage. The battles had been fierce, but the war was at best a stalemate, neither side being a clear victor, both sides had sustained heavy casualties... the drow decision to leave the island did not make any sense. Now the drow were fleeing south, to a city not of Warriors and Knights, but of simple blacksmiths, miners and tinkers. What cowardice! The failure of the drow to take the stronghold of Serpent's Hold would force them to regroup on the mainland and replenish their treasury by ceasing a town with little military prescense... then they would most likely once again make an attempt at a large military city, once they had the resources to do so. This would not do... once the Cult invaders and Temple priests had been disposed of, Nero would send reinforcements to Minoc to assist their allies of the Highland Guard. The drow would be finished off in Minoc.

Nero of Tenebrae
Serpent General
Order of the Silver Serpent
True Britannians

As written by the Sister's Scribe...

Leshyani Rianne, our enchanting mistress went last night to the BAC meeting in Lord British's Castle with mixed emotions. How could we possibly help the wandering mages find themselves again? Would those there accept us? Would we leave alive to tell about it? Well fortunately, the answer to all of these was Yes...we could.

The meeting was drole and boring for the most part, except for the interjections of El Gringo of B-D, objecting to it all. But that was to be expected. Helped decide on a "justice" that i am sure would equally be unfair and biased to all that stood before him. Hmmm... And then Katlyn duBois walzed in the meeting room, craving her roots. Roots! The ancient root talked abotu amongst all the mages, sick or healthy. What power would they hold? It was up to us to find out!
Then as the meeting was getting dull again, the topic of these mages came up! Alazarham was hesitant to admit that there was a problem, and then, Katlyn decided to do something about it. And boy did she ever! In a fit of madness she attacked the old man and killed him.

At that moment Leshyani realized something HAD to be done soon. This mage outbreak was getting out of control. So she did what any sane upstanding citizen of the community would do. She offered to help find a cure. How to do this may you ask? She offered the Sisters help to the BAC, which they graciously agreed to with Nero of Tenebrae's approval. But of course. Cant have witches roaming a King's city can we? Well not without its protector's agreement at least.

After Miss DuBois fled the castle, why here comes the Knave..err Knight himself! After Nero and El Gringo have a heated discussion on the neutrality of the meeting, which of course ends in Gringo being forced to leave the premises, Leshyani approaches Nero to ask him. And of course he agrees to let us go to Magincia to help find a cure. Why wouldnt he? Its his Mistress that were helping after all, isnt it?
And so earlier today, Leshyani with a small group of the most knowledgeable Witches set out to go to Magincia and to start looking for the books and research that would help the sick and help us as well. As we arrive, we notice no patrons, no citizens, not even a librarian! Well we cant have this, now can we? So of course we have to set up shop to go through the thousands of books that are shelved in this great storehouse of knowledge.

Hours pass and then suddenly, Leshyani exclaims that she has found something! Excitedly we all file over to see what it is. And boy, were we surprised to find it too! I think the Sisters shall like perusing these books, in the name of study or otherwise.
*giggles*

Brianna Lavendar
Scribe to Leshyani Rianne

Just in from the floors of Lord Britishes castle and the BAC meeting:








The Mad Mages have made an Assassination attempt on Marquis Alazraham, Speaker for the Britannian Affairs Committee. Katlyn DuBois, the romantic interest of Serpent General Nero of the Order of the Silver Serpent was confirmed by 6 witnesses as assaulting the elderly speaker. The magical DuBois was successful in her magical assault, seperating the Marquis' consciousness from his body. Though death is not usually a permanent occurrence in our realm, it has been proven that the infirm or elderly have more trouble returning to the realm of the living. Sources inside the King's Castle report the experience to have taken quite a toll on the Marquis' health.

After her suprise assault, DuBois was pursued throughout the city by the meeting's attendees before escaping through a passerby's moongate.

In response to this, the newly elected Lord High Justice of the BAC, Adolphus, issued a warrant for the capture and detainment of DuBois. Citizens are encouraged to inform their local constabluary upon sighting her.

Other than the assassination incident, the Committee was able to confirm the election of High Justice Adolphus and was also able to approve a reduction of seats in the Trinsic Senate. The new Senate will consist of 3 persons.

We'll bring you more information about the Katlyn Dubois situation as it develops.

From Marquis Alazraham:

I've called for a BAC meeting on Tuesday, August 14 at 8 PM Central Time. The meeting will be held in the conference room on the first floor of Castle Britannia (south of the throne room). Because the True Britannians need this space in Felucca, we will hold the meeting in Trammel.

We'll be discussing these mage attacks, the situation in Serpent's Hold, and the addition of a High Justice. I hope you'll come and attend!

In sincerity,
Marquis Alazraham

General Nero posted this tidbit on the Heralds duscussion forum:

I have set up an IRC channel and message board to centralize alot of the discussion regarding the war scenarios.

Check them out:

Board: http://pub59.ezboard.com/forderofthesilverserpentfrm11

Channel:
#GLRPWAR
Stratics IRC server

From Fixxxer:

After a break, GLRPC will be hosting interviews once again. Our next interview will be held on Wednesday, August 15th at 8:00pm EST. Join us at that time to see Klaitu (aka Alec DeLeon of BKP, Nick Seafort) get questioned by our newest interviewer Ash. The interview will be held in the #RPCI channel. For directions on how the interviews work and a archive of past ones, visit our webpage at http://frontpage.home.net/ktulu/glrpc.htm Thanks!

From a Mysterious Figure:

The cave was dark and silent, no one could see the carnage of the battle that had happened moments ago or the lone figure limping over to the wall and resting against it. He was armored well in fine chainmail, over it he wore a shredded yellow tunic and blue kilt around his waist. Sweat was rolling off the mans face, soaking the blue bandana on his head and his yellow shirt was covered in blood. He ran his hand along the bloody wound on his chest, it was still buzzing with pain and he was finding it harder to breathe with every passing moment. He knew his lung had collapsed and he had no healing potions or reagents left, his only chance was to get to the surface where his friends were. He looked around the room for an escape but all the passages were sealed, the only route of escape had collapsed and it would take weeks for anyone to clear the passage.
Edguardo sighed, He was the last Knight Of The Holy Cross in Britannia, soon to be a dead one and he only prayed that the cross would send another capable knight to take his place. This would be his final resting-place, buried underneath the earth with the bodies of friends and foes scattered about. His thoughts began to drift back to his friends he had gotten this far only by their aid and sacrifices, He would never forget them. Ed pulled the ring off of his finger and looked at the inscription inside "Property of Nadia", it brought a smile and tears to Ed's face as he realized that he would never again see the woman that he loved so much, it only made the pain worse. The ring brought back fond memories of their time together and the happiest moment in his life, their wedding and now he would never see her again.

Suddenly a bright white light began to brighten the room up it started out small and slowly began to form into the shape of a door, the light was lighting the entire cavern, it could only be some sort of sorcery. Ed groaned as he stepped infront of the strange looking gate, he could see two figures coming towards him from a white void. Ed's movements had become sluggish and his breathing more heavy, he didn’t have much time left but he took up a battle stance waiting for the two figures to emerge. Ed coughed up some blood and muttered, "Cant they let a man die in Peace?". Ed's thoughts began to drift back to the events which had brought him here.

...(to be continued)

By popular demand, the Jhelom Town Council is hosting another scavenger hunt. Our last one was a great success and we hope this one will be even better! Come on your own or bring a few friends and enter as a team. As always with the JTC, expect a couple of tough clues. Are you up to the challenge?

There will be an entry fee of 5k per person or team. All entry fees will be returned as prize money.
We will begin registering contestants shortly before 2 and hand out clue books around 2:15 to begin the event.

Where: The Morning Star Inn, Jhelom, Trammel
When: Sunday August 12th, 2:00 p.m. Central

1st Place 50% of entry fees
2nd Place 30% of entry fees
3rd Place 20% of entry fees

As cited in the last report, the Mages made their way thru the towns of Minoc. Not finding much in Minoc, they advanced to Vesper where they encountered a gathering of townsfolk. Their pleas for the Ancient Mandrake root on their screaming lips. Several people were alarmed and quickly ran off in the opposite direction of the mages. Although they were mere steps from the Vesper Mage Shoppe, they continued to question the passers by of the root and its location. Several people were overheard saying, “They are crazy, what is wrong with them?”

Anthraxus, one of the Mages attacked another one of his Fellowship in a desperate attempt to find the root. Turin another one of the Mages, began to attack a passer-by that just seemed to be listening to the goings on of the group. Katlyn Dubois, quickly casting In Vas Mani to heal herself and then In Flam Grav to return Turin’s attack. Shockingly enough slaying him where he stood! Stunned Ms. Dubois stumbled back, not meaning to kill the Mage, but to just stun him.
Another Citizen began screaming MURDER! MURDER! Further shaking the girl. A hushed murmur rippled through the crowd.

During the commotion several Cultist of the Black Dragon entered the city, at first amused by the Mages, but then determined to discover more about this mysterious root they were screaming about. Boromir attempted to cajole the mages to trust him and the Cult; that most certainly they would aid in locating the special root.

General Nero of Tenebrae rode in, seeing the death that lay about in the street of Vesper, he turned to the Mages asking why they were once again wreaking havoc on the innocent Citizens.
Still quite shaken, Miss Dubois pointed to the remains of Turin, “General, It was I. I am the one guilty of his murder.” Hanging her head in shame. Stepping up beside the young woman, “I am sure it was in self defense Katlyn, I am sure you wouldn’t commit a crime, I have seen your heart, it is not in you to do so,” touching her shoulder gently. The General distracted by her, missed seeing Boromir and his guild mate Eli Drachen open a moongate and push the Mage Anthraxus through it.

As luck would have it, Xterra was there and suggested they try to locate them in Caelum Mortuus in the Felluca facet. As they gated to the Facet gate, they happened upon the Cultist’s again. This time, engaging them in battle to distract them from their abduction of the Mage. Katlyn meanwhile tried to speak with the crazed Anthraxus, realizing he was making little sense; she looked up to see Nero racing past her in pursuit of Eli Drachen. Following behind them, she didn’t notice Boromir slink up beside the Mage and pushed him through the facet gate.

Loosing Eli in the woods, and realizing that the Mage was now gone with the Cultist, they hastened to Caelum Mortuus. Upon entering the city, Nero was immediately besieged by several cultists. Katlyn seeing that they were holding the Mage within the Keep, she ran in to try to free him. “Anthraxus, Come with me NOW!!,” she plead, opening a gate to Serpents Hold. Emerging from the shadows of the darkened corner Belaying Pin Bob struck at her viciously with his club. Her head throbbing with pain, she escaped with Anthraxus through the gate. The blows blurring her vision, she stumbled towards the Counselor Guild thinking that the Mage was following her. She turned to tell him to hurry up and he was not there. Realizing it was too late to return to get him, her own life would be in peril, she paced waiting Nero’s return to his post in the city.

A letter found on the step of the Couselors Guild in Serpents Hold………


My Dearest Nero,

I searched for you this eve, I fear I am not myself…I don’t know how but I ended up in the City of Britain. My mind cleared and I found myself surrounded by kind strangers, only one of whom I knew. Barth VanDorn seeing that I was not well sent out his best pigeons in search of you. Finally a young man named Aryn aided me to my home where I rested for a while before penning this. Alas, Dear Nero, if this letter finds you, you must help the Mages…


Your truly,

Katlyn Dubois

Violence throughout our realm is on the rise, we've gotten several reports of what appear to be unprovoked attacks on innocent townfolk. In each of the attacks, a mage is always the agressor. None of the mages have been captured as of yet, and few of their victims survive. Those survivors who are questioned only serve to create more questions for investigators. Our investigative reporters were able to retrieve this report from the Britannian Affairs Committee, it appears to be a transcript of an interview with shopkeeper in Britain (his name has been withheld here to protect the innocent):

"Ahh, well I was attending to my customers here at the Britain Mage shop, when a group of mages in brightly colored robes entered. This didn't strike me as odd, we get mages in here all the time.. it is a mage shop after all! Oh, where was I? Oh.. yes, the mages entered, and they started to peruse my goods. Their leader (well, I think he was their leader, he was the only one who spoke a word) asked me for Ancient Mandrake Root."

"Can you believe it? Some young mage asking ME for Ancient Mandrake Root? Do you have any idea how expensive those are? Ahh, yes.. well.. to make a long story short, when I told them I didnt have any Ancient Mandrake Root, they just seemed to get more agitated. One of them cast a summon creature spell, and before I knew what was happening there was this foul smelling slime coming after me.. It was terribly frightful, so much so that I.. well.. fainted."

"Luckily there was a warrior in the shop at the time who managed to kill the slime before it touched me with that... well.. nasty, nasty foul smelling epidermis. I don't know where those delinquent mages went, but they took my whole supply of Mandrake Root.. all of it the common Mandrake you find anywhere in Britannia today."

Just hours after their incarceration by General Nero, a small raiding party led by Pirate Captain Balashumi Divine has sneaked into the Trinsic Jail and freed the captive Pirates. Sources with the Trinsic Senate exclaim that the escap is "An Outrage". The Senate has vowed to look into the matter of how they could have escaped from such a secure facility. Two guards were found dead on the scene with no wounds. The Kilted Police suspect poisoning.

"The jailbreak took place shortly after a guard rotation, the guards on duty had just returned from their evening meal." explains Commissioner Alec DeLeon. Food from the Guards mess has been sent to the citys most prominent alchemists for analysis.

In related news, the mages who had been imprisoned along with the Pirates were released earlier in the day by the Trinsic Magistrate. The Pirates, however were not so lucky.

This news from Tinuviel Fawn of the Great Lakes Gossip Guild:

I browsed the vendors stalls this eve in Trinsic at their Faire. I was hunting for a new pair of blue sandles, mine being so worn thin but the travels I had made recently across the land. Partaking of some fresh fish steaks that were being offered, i glanced up to see none other than the Great General Nero and a pretty young lass holding hands and chatting to each other. *smiles* Oviously oblivious to the others that milled about in the square. I stood closer to the wall so i could eavesdrop on them... *laughs*...that's my job ya know!! Sounds to me like they have both been smitten by Eros..I wont go into the details...and thank god it is nothing like I hear when I pass by Goldberry's house...But that is another story...and i'm afraid She would be mad at me and fire me if i told that tale.
Keep an eye out for these young lovers...you never know..Nero settling down could be a good thing...He's always seemed a bit uptight to me!!

Trinsics Merchant Faire was supposed to be a boon to the economy, instead it proved to be a heated battle between Pirates and the Fellowship of mages.. with patrons caught in the Middle.

It was shortly after 7 O'clock PM that the Mages Fellowship appeared, each asking for something called "Ancient Mandrake Root" They seemed simple enough, but were a bit odd. One of them tried to eat a magical rune that had been left on the floor!

Among the Fellowship of mages was EdGuardo and Redlow.. Though to the best of my knowledge they are not memebers of the Mages fellowship, they most certainly were kindred spirits. Certainly, they seemed out of place, and not like themselves.

Shortly after the Mages Felloswhip began perusing the Faires goods, a group of pirates led by Balashumi Divine accosted them. The pirates claimed that the Fellowship had hired them to kidnap a man named Daniel the Apothecary. Apparently they had done so, but the mages refused to pay for the deed.



Agsin, the mages refused to pay the pirates at the fair, and a brawl ensued. The pirates against the mages. The battle caused many innocent folk to leave. Thankfully, General Nero of the Order of the Silver serpent was on hand to arrest the brawlers and detain them.

Seeing this, members of the Cult of the Black Dragon were appaled and demanded the release of the mages. They tried constantly to magically unlock the chains which bound the prisoners hand and foot.



When the entourage arrived at the Trinsic Jail, both the pirates and the mages were incarcerated. The Cult of the Black Dragon continued to protest until Marquis Alazraham arrived and assured everyone that the prisoners would be treated with due process.

Later, when the prisoners were questioned, they appeared to be suffering from headaches, and kept demanding a cure.. a Cure to what? Nobody seems to know. The mages were mostly incoherant, shouting things such as "how do your fingers taste? May I have them?" Certainly not the words of a rational man.

Our buddy Redlow from http://redlow.net sent us this update:

It's that time of month again. A new survey has been published to Redlow.net. While there, be sure to check out the latest ABT and psuedo-ABT spin offs as well as the current competition - Name that Book!(tm) for your chance to win a potted plant deed on the Great Lakes shard. -Redlowwinski