04/27/03
Lich Soulstealer

This sunday at 9:30 pm est, a caravan will be leaving New Cavitus to head to Yew. It will be supplying Golgothan forces in Yew with much needed supplies and raw materials. Any guards who wish to hire on to help protect this shipment please meet at the Britain Trammel Moongate no later then 9:15 pm est. to be gated to New Cavitus. There will be a 5k bonus given to all guards who safely get the caravan to our HQ in Yew. We do expect to have resistance along the way...so dont come wearing you best valorite armor.

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Grond
(UO Sonoma Reporter)
04/27/03 08:51 PM
Queen of the Undead Denounces Vecna, AoE to Attack Caravan!


Pluffina brought me a message which said that someone wished to speak with me about the Golgothan caravan to Yew... The "someone" turned out to be Kali Grey, the new guildmaster of Access of Evil, more commonly known as AoE. More messages were exchanged, and I set out to meet Kali in Dungeon Deceit, where the undead (and those who protect them) abound.

Kali met me at the entrance to the dungeon. "Hail," she said. "Please excuse Gna Kho Na in there... He is on medication and gets twitchy."

"Alright," I replied, thankful for the warning.

"Neira awaits," she said, and let me inside.

Neira?!? Queen and champion of the undead?! I had thought that I was here to speak with Kali, and perhaps others within AoE.

I followed Kali into the dungeon. In a chamber near the entrance, Ahriman, Gna Kho Na, and Circle – members of AoE – awaited, along with the dread Neira herself. She was shorter in person than I’d been lead to believe by the stories I’d heard, but she held the fabled red scimitar in her hand, and the members of AoE – a guild sworn to protect the Champions in the Feluccan dungeons – surrounded her protectively.

A pentagram with a brazier stood in the center of the room. The members of AoE surrounded it. Near the door, where I stood, the letters "AOE" were spelled out using freshly-cut ribs from some creatures. I looked at the carnage, and back at the people standing there. One of them was missing… Gna Kho Na had circle around, and stood behind me.

"Fresh meat?" I asked.

"Aye," Kali replied.

"Yes, you are!" said Gna Kho Na. "Er, um... Yes."

"That would be the twitchy one I warned you about," said Kali.

Then Neira spoke.

Neira: Hail and well met Young Grond!!
Grond: Hail, Neira! What a... lovely home you have!
Kali: She has a message for Golgotha.
Neira: First and foremost, I would like to express my outrage at this so-called God of the Undead. He is an Imposter and will be dealt with by my Protectors as well as my own minions. I am the One and the only, the Alpha and Omega of the undead and I do not plan on relinquishing the throne to some wanna-be demi-god such as the imposter Lord Vecna. He belongs to me and I – we – will quell his followers tonight as a lesson to him and anyone who opposes!
Gna Kho Na: He use big words , you splain to Mo?
(Khali Grey reached into her pack and took out some pills for Gna Kho Na.)
Grond: This doth not bode well for those hired as guards...
Neira: Those who are hired as guards are not my concern. These so-called guards will be dealt with as well.
Kali: We were to be guards before Niera heard of it. As her protectors, ‘tis our duty to show them the light.
Neira: Indeed it is Lady Kali
Kali: Niera herself may make a showing tonight...
Grond: So the pretentions of the would-be lich-god are the reason that AoE will not protect Golgotha's caravan?
Kali: To show he unhappiness of that false god, aye.
Neira: Yes, it is his lies that were brought to my attention that will be his demise.
(Gna Kho Na crept up behind me, and spoke in a quiet voice which I could scarcely distinguish from the surrounding dungeon noise. I did not answer at first.)
Gna Kho Na: Excuse me but , I gathered you a snack. You be hungry?
Kali: ‘Tis best to answer Mo. He is hard to control.
Neira: He's a bit on edge.
Gna Kho Na: you be hungry?
Grond: Aye, Mo. I be some'at hungry
(He handed me a severed human head.)
Gna Kho Na: Is good, no?
Grond: I thank ye... I have always wanted to get ahead. (Not wanting to offend the somewhat unbalanced murderer, I did my best to pretend to eat. *munch, munch*)
Kali: You should feel honored! He doesn't share well...
(A mummy appeared behind me, and the members of AoE quickly dispatched it.)
Neira: You are safe with us as you see.
Kali: My apology, Niera.
Neira: It is ok...they seem to be on edge as well. They have even attacked me tonight, since they are on edge as to who the rightful ruler is.
Gna Kho Na: Victims are so scarce these days!
Kali: Golgotha has stirred the undead world – and not in a good way!
Grond: Dark Neira, how came ye to be connected with AoE?
Neira: They are my protectors... and the protectors of every Champion.
(Gna Kho Na twitched.)
Grond: I begin to understand.
(Gna Kho Na twitched again.)
Neira: They came to me in a time when we were being hunted, and offered us their services for eternity. For that we are grateful, and will continue to provide them with Scrolls of Power to better enhance their fighting skills.
Grond: Kali, how came ye to be the master of AoE? Did something nefarious befall the previous guild master?
(Gna Kho Na twitched.)
Kali: Nay. He has taken leave for a short time, and handed his title to me. He is still with A0E, just not as often.
Grond: Ah.
Neira: I fear I did not wish him well before his short departure.
Kali: He will come visit as time allows.
(Gna Kho Na twitched. In a gigantic spider web in the far corner, a silk-wrapped bundle about the size and shape of a human squirmed a little, then subsided. Kali’s eyes caught mine as I looked away from the bundle.)
Kali: Aye. (With a nod toward the bundle) He did ask the wrong questions.
(Circle grinned.)
Grond: Neira, if ye could get a message to the people of Sosaria, what would it be?
Neira: It would be simple: Do not impersonate a god, and I will be seeing all worthy opponents in my Lair when summoned. I wish them Luck in their adventures.
(Gna Kho Na twitched. Kali began to calm him, soothing him, trying to get him to relax. A mummy sauntered up and began attacking… the group dispatched it quickly.)
Grond: Do ye harbor ill will 'gainst those who enter here and slay thy followers?
Neira: Not in the least bit....I exact revenge ten-fold for all minions which they kill. And if they happen to best me in a fight, I reward them. I welcome them all!
Kali: ... and we will be here to meet them as well!
Neira: For without Good there would be no Evil, and I would not exist.
(Circle nodded. Gna Kho Na began walking up behind me, twitching all the while.)
Kali: Mo is growing twitchy again. He thinks he is sneaking up on you... He has a distorted reality.
Neira: Gna Kho Ma, please behave yourself and leave Master Grond be.
Kali: (Nodded toward a corpse against the far wall) Or ye end up like George over there. (To me:) His view of life is an odd one. But you are safe.
Gna Kho Na: You join?
(I tried to think of better questions to ask – ‘twas not every day that Neira appears for an interview! Yet Neira’s presence before me, and Gna Kho Na’s behind me, seemed to render my mind blank... Neira seemed to notice my discomfort.)
Neira: Take your time
Gna Kho Na: you join? You fight?
Grond: Nay, Mo, I be merely a miner - not worth fighting! My highest combat skill is "apprentice macer."
Gna Kho Na: You stick axe in mountain. Make fall down on them. You fight.
Neira: Please Carry my message forward, and assure the great people of Sosaria that order will be returned amongst the ranks of the Undead.
Gna Kho Na: We teach you the ways.
Grond: Have ye any plans to conquer, outside of Dungeon Deceit?
Gna Kho Na: Have we not already?
Neira: That is for the future, my friend. In time...
Gna Kho Na: You see we roam the lands as freely as we do our home.
Kali: I warned you about Mo. Now you see why.
Grond: Have ye any affiliation with the factions which battle for control?
Gna Kho Na: Yes. We kill. They make ground lumpy.
Kali: Nay.
Neira: Nay, we do not have any affiliations with the wars of Humans. We do not follow any faction.
Kali: We are our own faction.

Grond: Neira, your name has but lately become known in Sosarian history... Why had we not heard of ye 'ere ye sent your altar as a challenge for those who would fight ye?
Neira: I am as old as the very sun that warms your crops, but I am new to this world. I do plan, however, on taking over this world as I did my last.
(I shuddered. Neira grinned.)
Grond: Will't be a reign of undead, then?
Neira: Indeed it will. Undead, and necromancers.
(I began to ponder taking up necromancy. Neira, as if reading my mind, spoke.)
Neira: It would be a good trade.
Gna Kho Na: For a fighter. Not a mountain killer.
Grond: What was it that brought ye to this world? Had we attracted your interest in some way?
Neira: What brought me to this world was the fading light I saw in the distance. I came to rejuvenate this world.
Grond: Rejuvenate? In what way, I prithee?
Neira: You see the dying light was brought upon by the new world of Trammel. It deserted this land, and left it barren, after stripping its resources.
Gna Kho Na: Like miners. ‘N’ such. (He twitched.)
Neira: I plan to rejuvenate it in the ways of old by bringing a new breed to power. They will go forth and conquer all, therefore depleting the resources of trammel and re-establishing our resources so that they will have to come to us and beg!
Grond: Is't your intention, then, to conquer not only Felucca, but the other facets as well?
Neira: The other facets will conquer themselves when they are thru draining them. I will still be here however. (She smiled broadly.) Waiting with open arms, of course! (With that, she winked! Gna Kno Na twitched.)
Kali: Mo, go find something to kill.
Gna Kho Na: I smell a stranger.
Kali: ... and not Grond.
Grond: Thank ye for the clarification!
(Neira laughed.)
Kali: Only way to stop his twitching
(Circle began to twitch. Kali sighed, and reached for more medication.)
Grond: I thank ye for the rare opportunity to speak with you...
Neira: You are welcomed
Grond: ... and thank you all for not killing me. ... so far
Neira: You are doing a great service
Kali: Grond, be sure to make the real Queen of the Undead’s message known!
Neira: My word is beyond contestation.
(Suddenly, a traveler appeared. "Run!" he called to me. The group around me sprang to action. "In Nox!" "In Nox!" "Corp Por!" "In Jux Mani Xen!" The traveler fell in a heap, nearly at my feet. I looked down at the corpse of Phadin Syn.)
Neira: Thank you my Protectors
Kali: Mo must have run him in. Mo likes his prey to run.
Grond: Is there aught else ye wish to tell me, before I take my leave?
Neira: Nay, I pray thee good journeys, friend.
Kali: No, my members are getting twitchy.
Neira: I’ll be seeing you... eventually
Kali: Watch out for Mo on your way out!
Grond: I thank ye! Good night, or day, as the case may be.
Kali: Farewell.
Neira: Farwell.
Grond: Farewell!

I waved, and headed down the corridor. Wary of Gna Kho Na, after a short distance, I hid. Before I had time to draw a rune book from my pack, the members of AoE galloped past on their ethereal steeds. One or two paused for a moment where I was hiding, sniffing the air... and then rode on. Hands shaking, I pulled my rune book from my pack, stealthed out the dungeon’s entrance, and Recalled home. I had only a few hours before tonight's assault to write the story down and get it to the scribes who would publish it.

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LichKing
(UO Sonoma Reporter)
04/27/03 11:53 PM
Caravan From Golgotha

I had heard some rumors that the Golgothans had planned on making a small caravan for goods, which they planned on transporting from New Cavitus, their headquarters, to the conscripted house they had siezed in Yew. I had also heard that they were hiring people... So, I went in search of their scouts. However, I did not seem able to find any. Luckily, I knew where New Cavitus was, and set out there on foot. When I first arrived, I was greeted by a small swarm of reds, mostly from LuT, who recognized me and went back to waiting for the liches who were in charge of the caravan. That is, except for one, who pounced upon me, and quickly took my life. However, I came prepared to be attacked, and stashed all of my armor and equipment, so I was not worried about losing anything. After realizing I was not a Golgothan (A confusing matter, i'm sure, since I am also a lich) Friagrim decided to let me be.

I walked indoors, shaking off the dizziness of a recent death, and was greeted by a fellow reporter, Grond, who had also come to watch the proceedings. We talked for a short while, waiting for the liches of Golgotha to arrive. Slowly but surely, members of =G= arrived, one by one, and set out to fight the reds massing outside. More often than not, they would return in a grey robe, calling out their current score on how many lives they had taken. Shortly after this excitement, Lich Lord Vecna himself arrived. With renewed vigor, the fighting to claim the area around their base of operation was undertaken once more.

The fighting continued, and soon, I began to wonder if it would ever end, and the procession to Yew would ever begin. Through it all, people began to question who their allies were, and more specifically, were not. When posed with this question, Vecna offered up an answer that seemed to make quite a bit of sense, at least to myself.

With much confusion, the present force regrouped inside, to discuss their battle plan (I make this sound much simpler than it truly was). They devised a rather sneaky plan to leave east while the murderers and thieves were occupying themselves with killing each other, and run to the mountain range. This, they did without a hitch. Once there, the group slid north along the range, on the lookout for incoming red names. However, towards the end of the mountains, Ivana came out from the shadows and attacked, then ran off, to avoid dying at the hands of the crowd. This in itself caused it's own brand of confusion, as Vecna had declared that LuT was not to be attacked, claiming them to be allies.

The assembly soon came to rest in front of the Y. They paused to catch their breath, when the thieves caught up with them. They began to fight, and slowly withdrew to the northwest. Bob Hiroshima, the only red Golgothan present, turned back, being close to the guard zone, to wait at New Cavitus for the rest to return. Before long, the undead had made it to the Yew borders, and waltzed unchallenged through the streets, and soon came to the conscripted house, Lady Bree's. It seems that the supplies made it to Yew, tightening their grip on the city... What is to become of Yew now?