Ultima VI: How the Other Side Lives

So apparently last week marked the second anniversary of Official Dragonship for me - my join date's listed as September 2, 2013. Funny, it still feels like it's only been a few months or so. But hey, what better way to celebrate than with another session of Ultima VI?

All this ash should come in handy.

When I last left off, I was gearing up for another trip, this time into the depths of Hythloth. I'd been informed by Sin'Vraal that his people dwelt on the other side of the world through the dungeon on the Isle of the Avatar, and there was no way I would be able to resolve anything between us if I didn't take the time to understand them.At the same time, this would not be a pleasant trek in the least - Hythloth was, after all, a cavern located on an island fraught with volcanic activity, all to lead me to a place where every resident likely despised me enough to desire my death.

Could I really do anything else in good conscience, though?

It seemed fitting that the closest to Hythloth the Orb of the Moons could take me as of yet was the Shrine of Humility. Carefully we wound our way through the explosive fumaroles still burbling on the island, then entered the caves. And sure enough, our path was perilous indeed. The ground shook on occasion, lava flowed profusely throughout the tunnels, the volatile nature of the fiery depths made manifest. Even worse were the beasts such an inferno was wont to attract - a few drakes here and there at first, but the deeper we went, we found ourselves fighting off the beguilements of demons, and the terrible might of dragons lurking amid the flame. I found myself leaning heavily on my magical abilities, and while the caverns proved a fine source of sulfurous ash (meaning I had little worry when it came to running low on reagents for Light spells), it was my dwindling stash of mandrake that I was truly worried about - I was burning through Great Heals like no tomorrow.

I wish learning new languages was this easy.

Yet eventually, battered, burned, and weary, we saw a sight we hardly expected to see here at the bottom of the world - a dwelling. Here was were Captain Johne now made his home - why he was content to settle here of all places eluded me, but it was good to see his friendly face. He too pleaded with me on behalf of the Gargoyles, having spent some time learning about their culture. He told me their lands, once as large as Britannia itself, were now reduced to a single city, their center of learning and government the only bastion of civilization left to them. We spoke a little of their society and their beliefs, but of most interest for the moment was their language. How was I to help and understand a people I could not communicate with? Johne provided me with a scroll of basic vocabulary, which I proceeded to pore over, and he also pointed me in the direction of Beh Lem, a Gargoyle child that had helped him learn the language himself. He stressed the importance of seeking him out, as the rest of the Gargoyles would likely attack me on sight without his presence in my company.

I found the youth just outside Hytholth's egress, just as the captain had said I would - they met at that particular spot rather regularly, at approximately that time of day. Beh Lem confirmed the fear his people had of me, but remarked it was not a fear either he or his father Valkadesh shared. Believeing his father, a respected scholar, might be able to help find a way to heal the rift between our respective peoples, he eagerly joined us and guided us around the mountains to his home - after, of course, I took a moment to outfit him properly, so that he wouldn't start exploding every few steps after an unprotected stroll through a swamp. He thought it best to avoid the heart of the city until we had a more concrete plan, and I saw no reason to dispute him.

Um... that's a problem.

Valkadesh did indeed prove helpful. He believed and believed strongly in the error of the Book of Prophecies and that I, the False Prophet it spoke of, could be reasoned with and in fact persuaded to help save his people rather than condemn them. It didn't take much for him to do so, as that had been my intent in coming, but the only thing he could think of as an alternative to sacrificing myself would be to return their most holy book, the Codex itself. He elaborated that 'sacrifice' could mean that of self, of others, or of valuables, and that perhaps Naxatilor, the wisest Gargoyle there was, might be able to help discern the nuances of the potential interpretations. But he warned me that it would be unsafe to wander the city without first surrendering myself to the Inquistor - to submit to the local authorities would be a way of demonstrating my goodwill toward them, thus making me less hated by the populace.

And so I made my way to the quarters of Draxinusom, who thundered about my audacity in coming, demanding to know what I was doing there and making it very clear that the presence of a Gargoyle child was the only reason he restrained himself from slaying me where I stood - Johne had been correct on that particular matter, it seemed. Though shaken a bit on the inside, I calmly informed the Inquisitor of my purpose - to surrender. Draxinusom was skeptical, but upon telling him I had been discussing with Valkadesh about how I could go about providing the needful sacrifice, he presented me with an amulet, telling me to don it as proof and demonstration of my submission. Dupre was uncomfortable with this, believing it to be a magical trap of some sort, but there was no other choice, the way I saw it. I removed my ankh and replaced it with the amulet, and that was that.

Gotta say, wasn't in a hurry to see this again.

As I made my way to Naxatilor's, the populace did indeed seem to relax slightly once they caught sight of the amulet around my neck. I made a note to see what I could learn from them after my meeting with the wisest of Gargoyles. Naxatilor confirmed that I was indeed fated to destroy their world, though he said that he found this surprising, as he could tell that I was truly a being of honor. We spent some time in discussion of what sacrifice truly meant, and he echoed what Valkadesh had told me - that in their language, it could mean sacrifice of the self, of others, or of items of value. Sacrifice of my self was something I had come to avoid, and it would hardly have been virtuous of me to resort to the sacrifice of one of my companions, and so that left items of value. The only thing of true value to both peoples was the Codex itself, and Naxatilor agreed that the only clear options were to give up my own life, or else return the Codex. It turned out that he was the one who drew the Codex out of the Void in the first place, and directed me to the Hall of Knowledge and the Book of Rituals to learn more about how that had been done and what might be needed to reverse the process - as well as retrieve the lens that lay within one of the chambers. As for the Codex's current location, he told me to speak with Captain Bolesh, recuperating at the healer's just to the north of his residence. He had just returned from the Shrine of the Codex, and could perhaps tell me more about how circumstances there lay.

Well that's depressing.

Having made several pilgrimages to the Shrine of the Codex on the previous adventure, it was perhaps not strictly necessary to pay Bolesh a visit, but I felt it would be at least a gesture of goodwill and faith to demonstrate a bit of concern for the well-being of Gargoyle captains. Much of what the recovering captain told me was indeed knowledge I already had - that there was a force surrounding the Shrine that prevented anyone but those on a sacred quest from approaching, that perhaps I could obtain a sacred quest from the Shrine of Singularity here in the realm of the Gargoyles, but that I would need to fly in order to reach it. I left Bolesh to rest and took some time to explore the rest of the city. I found the very slab I had been lashed to during the Gargoyles' initial attempt to sacrifice me, along with numerous graves, of the honored sacrifices and of those with no names, and a tomb where they laid their monarchs to rest - I chose to let them be. I spoke with some of the shopkeepers, none of which had names save that of their profession - the Foodmaker shared some of the local specialty with me (which turned out to be horsemeat!), the Weaponsmith spoke of the catacombs that housed shrines to the Gargoyle principles, the Goodscrafter blamed me for his depression and crisis of faith after the loss of his family in the wake of the cataclysms brought by the theft of the Codex. I spoke with two farmers who had very different ideas of how the wingless in their employ and care should be treated. But at the same time, I didn't want to overstay my welcome, and so I headed for Minoc, remembering mention somewhere in my travels that they knew the secrets of flight.

A brief conversation with Lady Isabella pointed me in Selganor's direction once more, and he in turn told me that the inventor of the balloon (though considering I had flown one many years prior, I personally thought it was more likely he was its re-inventor) had headed to Sutek's island, east of Serpent's Hold, something about a job he had there. And so I set sail once more, navigating the channels through the islands until I reached the one I remembered as the wizard Sutek's.

Uhhh... I'll just see myself to the exit.

I made landing at his dock, and took note of the abundance of rabbits near the entrance of his abode. I thought little of them - until they began to attack, with sharper teeth than expected! It turned out the island was full of creatures that were not all that they appeared, the results of mad experiments - dual-headed creatures seemed to be the favorite, including alligators, cows, and those cursed giant ants I'd fended off earlier in the desert. Clearly Sutek had changed over the years. It took some careful searching and well-aimed spells (including Telekinesis just to lower his front gate!) to navigate his once-simple home. Energy fields, secret doors, levers, pull-chains... Sutek made use of all of them, and they were guarded by his frenzied experiments. It all culminated in another hydra, guarding the only passageway to both Sutek himself and the chambers beneath the structure. I tried speaking with the mad wizard, but he was of little help, only cackling when I asked about the balloonist, and telling me he was deep in the catacombs beneath his home. So down I plunged, fending off the most gigantic serpents I'd ever seen and wrestling with the riddles of a two-headed horse known as the Pushme-Pullyu. I feared the worst for the poor balloonist, but I did find one still-living friendly face beneath Sutek's. Gorn, a barbarian with a rather thick accent, lamented his lack of traveling companions, and so we invited him to join with us. The last I'd seen of him was in the depths of Blackthorn's dungeons - he seemed a tad simple, but well-meaning, and we were glad to have him along.

Our fears for the balloonist proved well-founded, as he lay dead in a corner of the deepest part of the catacombs. He did, however, carry the plans for his balloon on him, listing rope, a cauldron, a large silk bag, and a basket large enough to hold several people as the necessary materials. He also made mention of an anchor as excellent ballast should it prove necessary. And so it was off to the craftsmen of Britannia to gather what items I would need to construct the balloon. After a pit stop in Moonglow to once again restock reagents, I headed for Paws, where I bought rope, and Marissa confirmed she could make a bag out of silk, if I would procure it for her. Arbeth just down the road spun a good portion of my spider silk into thread, and in New Magincia, Charlotte wove the thread into a bolt of cloth. Then it was back to Minoc, where Michelle happily put her skills to the test and wove a basket large enough to fit all of us comfortably. Then it was back to Paws once more to get Marissa to sew the bag itself. Once she had finished, I followed the plans to put everything together, and voila! I was in the possession of my very own lighter-than-air device.

I wonder who that could be!

I headed back to the Gargoyle lands, and after boarding the balloon, I soared around the area for a while, looking for a place to pass over the mountains. The magic fan that had been among Hawkins' treasure proved a treasure indeed, as it made directing the balloon a good deal easier than if I'd had to subject myself to the whims of the weather, and didn't cost me any reagents. Eventually I found the Shrine of Singularity. I was uncertain as to whether the Shrine would bestow a sacred quest upon one not of the Gargoyles, but upon approaching the Shrine, a voice resonated in my head, asking me for whom I truly sought the Codex. A moment's consideration, and I gave the Shrine my reply - for everyone, both human and Gargoyle. The voice replied that my answer had been wise, but how could I work for the good of a race I did not truly understand? I was told to seek out the three Shrines of the Gargoyle principles - Control to the west, Passion to the east, Diligence to the south - where I would find a being exemplifying each principle. I was to return when I had done so.

I think this one's gonna need a rewrite.

I left the Shrine with a new sense of purpose, but there was one more thing left to do in the city. I hadn't yet paid a visit to the Hall of Knowledge, and Naxatilor had told me there was information (and an item) that I would need. The Caretaker of the Hall told me a bit about what lay within - one room held books of import to the Gargoyles, another relics of my own realm, and a third the lens I sought, along with the pedestal where something called the Vortex Cube once sat. Apparently it had been stolen some time ago, and rumor had it that it was taken to Stonegate. I made a note to drop by there when I had opportunity. In the meantime, I picked up the remains of the shattered lens, and learned of the retrieval of the Codex from the Void, of the relationships between winged and wingless Gargoyles, and a glimpse into what the Gargoyles interpreted of Britannia. Still musing over everything I just read, I took the lens to the Gargoyle Lensmaker, who repaired the one I had in my possession. Naxatilor was pleased when I showed it to him, and informed me I would need a second, made by a human lensmaker, which would also need to be concave.

That left me with much to do, but also much to sift through. So I decided to call it a day there, and give myself opportunity to let everything I had discovered about the Gargoyles sink in.

~~~

Let's take a moment to talk about contrast.

It's a powerful device in any sort of narrative. In fact, one could argue that it's just about necessary in order to give one a good sense of stakes. Why should one care about how things have changed, or might change if something isn't done, if one doesn't have a baseline to compare it to? But more than that, contrast is great fodder for conflict, for development, for friction and, eventually, the learning of lessons in a story. It's boring to read about two characters who are so similar that they agree on practically everything. There's nothing to move anything forward in that sort of situation - it's contrast that drives them to discuss and deliberate, to consider, to take action. Even if it's not strictly conflicting contrast, it's important to give a good sense of both sides of the story.

This session was practically all about the contrast. The Gargoyle Realm stands in pretty stark physical contrast to Britannia - sloping, pyramidal structures as opposed to the rectangularity of Britannian buildings, triangular signage with weird letters, holes of pure void that need to be skirted. The rocky, rough terrain of the city as opposed to the wide open spaces and clear roads of Britannia. The floating, tri-colored lights, the glowing heat sources, the mats the Gargoyles sleep on - practically everything in visual design and structure stands to distinguish Gargoyle society in stark contrast to Britannia, from nearly every angle.

But it's not just contrast in the sense of the visual, either. Even several of the residents serve as evident contrast to others. Farmer Krill is all business, believing the wingless under him need to be strong-armed and kept on tight metaphorical leashes, whereas Farmer Nash does less well, partly because he feels he should give the wingless more freedom to make their own decisions. The Weaponsmith is disgusted with the Goodscrafter, both having lost someone close to them in the cataclysms, yet the Weaponsmith clings tight to his beliefs and principles, finding solace in them, whereas the Goodscrafter falls into despair and depression, casting them aside. The willingness of Valkadesh compared to the thundering anger of Draxinusom, the fact half the town's residents don't even have names beyond their job - there are so many ways to stand the Gargoyles in contrast to each other, and yet this has the effect not of distinguishing them from Britannians, but portraying them as similar. Though representing two very different societies, these are all the sorts of problems humans face as well as the Gargoyles, and here, contrast isn't just used to differentiate, but to make the Gargoyles relatable. It's wonderfully utilized here, and as wildly dissimilar as the two worlds are meant to be, it's these little touches that reinforce what the player is trying to do - give both sides an opportunity to understand the other.

I also don't want to let this session go without mentioning how much I love the fact the balloon-building focuses on the craftsmen. The first part of the game involves hobnobbing with the uppity-ups, the ones in power - Lord British, his trusted advisors, the mayors. But the latter part of the game, it's all about the lower classes, and while pirates and thieves would probably be enough to demonstrate that, the game goes one step further, utilizing the more virtuous and good-natured lower classes in the form of the craftsmen scattered around Britannia. Great use of contrast once more, and I wish this sort of thing was done in more games. I mean come on - look at how excited Michelle is to help out in an endeavor like this!

~~~

I can't quite move on from a post in which I explore Gargish society without going into the language, but that's more fitting for a separate post. I've got a heck of a lot to say about that particular topic, considering that sort of thing is my bread and butter. But hopefully it'll be ready to get out there soon, and then I can gather the last few pieces I need to finish up Ultima VI - the end is in sight, folks!

Ultima VI: Pieces of Eight

(I suppose more accurately that should be 'Eight Pieces,' but 'Pieces of Eight' sounds considerably more piratey, and thus more fitting.)

As nice as it would have been to kick back for some much-needed - and arguably well-deserved - R&R on the lovely banks of scenic Dagger Isle, I only had a scant half of the map in my pockets, and four other pieces yet to seek out. Two lay in Britannia's dungeons, one in Shame, another in Wrong, and after my harrowing experience in Destard, I wasn't yet sure of the wisdom of chasing after those two yet. Perhaps a somewhat thin rationalization, admittedly, of my reluctance to do some more dungeon-delving without further magical backup, but there it was. So too did the scorching desert heat seem unappealing at the moment - Sin'Vraal was a capable sort, it wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself and whatever pirate might be making his way to confront the demon. And so there was my decision - it was off to Empath Abbey next, to seek out Nathaniel Moorehead and hope that he wouldn't send me on yet another wild goose chase.

I suppose I should have expected 'no response.'

I summoned a moongate to Yew via the Orb of the Moons, and made my way down the meandering path to the Abbey. It was dark by the time I arrived, and I was surprised to note that Skara Brae was not the only haunted locale in Britannia - passing by the graveyard, I saw a good number of ghosts floating amongst the tombstones! They were less... distinct than Quentin had been, likely due to Quentin's death being a recent affair, and none of these ghosts seemed hostile in the least, simply the remnants of the graveyard's occupants that had decided to linger around a little longer for one reason or another. I left them alone to their own devices and awaited the morning.

When it came, I made my rounds among the townsfolk, asking after Nathaniel and if anybody knew where I could find him. Eventually I was directed to his widow - Nathaniel himself had been dead for some time, leaving what profit his piracy had brought about to his dear Sylaina, who lived off of that and what money she could make as a seamstress and embroiderer. She was familiar with the crap I sought, but here too was another snag - it had been kept in a locket of hers that was recently stolen by a band of wandering gypsies. I despaired of finding them in the vast landscape - Zoltan and his band had been tricky enough to track down when I was looking for them - but Sylana eased those fears when she told me that this particular band was known to frequent the road passing from Britain to Trinsic.

I did, for the record.

So pulling out my Orb of the Moons once more, I made my way to Trinsic, and sure enough, just north of the town, I caught sight of a traveling caravan, making camp just as night fell. This band were a rather less savory sort than Zoltan and his entourage. Indeed, while on the surface they seemed genial, nearly all of the actions they took were designed to either bilk me or distract me so they could take what gold I had for themselves. Even the piece of the map their leader Arturos held, which he himself said was hardly interesting, ended up costing me fifty gold once he learned that I did indeed have some use and desire for it. The exchange I'd made with the wisps meant I had more than enough to make the deal, but I was not sorry in the least to part ways with these folk.

From there I made my way to the Shrine of Sacrifice in the desert, and after a brush with some giant ants came across the cottage where Sin'Vraal called home. Hurriedly I warned him of the pirate that was likely headed his way to kill him, and after a moment, with a bit of a confused expression, he told me that he'd met a pirate once, but that he'd been dragged off by the very insects that I'd bumped into on my way here. It turned out they were numerous, building large mounds in the desert that they called home. It seemed that I would have to plunge into the depths of these tunnels that they dug in order to find the poor man - although it was hard to feel a good deal of pity for him, knowing that he'd intended to kill someone who, despite a frightening appearance, was rather a good sort at heart.

I didn't sign up to be an exterminator!

The ant caverns were extensive and winding, and I'm fairly certain I spent a good deal of time wandering in circles before I managed to push my way deeper into the colony. All the while we were beset upon by swarms of the beasts, though thankfully they proved just as squishy as their normal-sized versions. We were little worse for the wear even as we finally reached the body of the pirate Sin'Vraal had mentioned. There was something vaguely ironic about a man who had gone out into the desert seeking to kill, and ending up dead himself. He did indeed have a scrap of the map on him, so after taking it and paying our respects, we made our exit.

The skirmishes we had with the giant bugs were enough to give both Blaine and Dupre reason to visit one of the shrines again, so it was off the the Shrine of Compassion for Blaine and the Shrine of Valor for Dupre. It also bought me a bit of time to decide which of Shame or Wrong were the lesser of the two evils, for they now contained the only two pieces I had left to collect, and I couldn't stall the expedition any longer. Remembering what lay beneath Shame the last time I paid it a visit, I decided to head for Wrong, and we gated to Minoc, sailing across Lost Hope Bay to the dungeon's entrance. It still seemed to be functioning as a prison of some sort, as there were many monsters in cells. There was a guard keeping watch over a room that held the switches to many of them, and he lashed out unheedingly when we stepped in. Many of the creatures were locked and barred away, which meant we could safely pass them by, but the problems were complicated when we came across a dragon, which could summon demons. We took advantage of the natural chokepoint of the doorway to keep the dragon itself in check, and charm spells were flung left and right as the demon fought to turn Shamino against us - the poor ranger must have been so confused mentally when everything was said and done. Demons, dragons, drakes, we faced them all, until we came to a locked door guarded by a hydra. The creature couldn't do much to us from its position, though (seriously, I fought it THROUGH the door, which was... weird, to say the least), and it was a relatively simple fight. The room beyond looked empty, but I found it odd to have a room guarded by a magical lock and a hydra, and sure enough, closer inspection revealed a secret door that not only held a seventh piece of the map, but a new magical bow for Iolo, now that Blaine had caught up with most of the party and I didn't have to worry about him outdamaging the gypsy.

Note the hydra covering the door. How does that work?

Heartened by the fact that our trek through Wrong had been comparatively simple, we headed for Shame, hoping that things had changed since the last time we were in there. And for the most part, it had - there were many, many creatures that wished us ill in its depths, but most of them were the likes of skeletons, alligators, rats, and the like. Hardly a problem for any of us at this point. We did come across a reaper (that I SWEAR actually MOVED), which did take some time to deal with, and a cavern off a side corridor was absolutely filled with a mixture of trolls, mongbats, and headless, but a single explosion spell took care of them. In truth, the most arduous aspect of the trek was getting lost more than the monsters. I actually found myself wishing I'd paid a visit to the dungeon sooner, as it was absolutely littered with gold nuggets everywhere, and there wasn't much lack of torches and salvageable rations, either. Eventually I found Old Ybarra down at the bottom of the dungeon, starved and raving. He was all too happy to exchange his piece of the map for some of our food, though no matter how much we gave him it never seemed to be enough. He eventually collapsed, and having done all we could have for the man, we left him - but not before squashing the gremlins that danced about his little campsite. No wonder he'd had problems with food.

Ah, explosion spells. So useful.

With all eight pieces of the map in my possession, it was time to head back to Buccaneer's Den and get Homer to cough up the location of his own. Not before another trip to the shrines, however, as both Aric and Shamino wanted to reap the fruits of their battles in Shame. So after a jaunt to the Shrine of Honesty for Aric and the Shrine of Compassion for Shamino, we set sail once more for the den of pirates, and as the sun rose, we sought out Homer once more. Before he told us what we wanted to know, he made us promise to give him the storm cloak that lay among Hawkins' treasure trove. Reluctantly, we did so, and it turned out the final piece of the map was in his pocket the whole time. Should have known. He informed us the island in the upper left corner of the map was the Den itself, and once we arrived at the island indicated, he gave us directions to follow from the center of three standing stones we would find there. Once we pieced the map back together, it wasn't hard to find the island in question, and following Homer's directions and fighting off another hydra, we dug just to the south of a dead tree and found an entrance to another cavern.

It turned out that this was the cavern I should have been worried about, over Shame or Wrong. Hawkins' grave was the first thing we found, along with a few supplies, including a sextant, which would certainly come in handy. The pirate captain clearly was not well liked at all - even his epitaph read "He died a hard death and he deserved it." It wasn't hard to see why, if he went to the lengths to hide his treasure in such a dangerous place. Lava everywhere, demons and drakes hiding out on it, poison fields, traps everywhere, signs that outright lied to us, numerous slimes - this place threw everything it had at us, and we did not back down. Once again, I was glad I'd stocked up on reagents, as several spells came in handy during the trip. Vanish spells dealt with the traps we came across, fields were dispelled, and the Chain Lightning spell Aric had just gained access to just tore through the hordes of enemies hanging out in the lava. It was also an Explosion spell that blew down the door that led to the stash itself, and once we cleaned up the slimes crawling all over it, we claimed our prizes. Gold coins, gold nuggets, gems, invisibility rings, a magic fan which I suspected to be similar to the one (if not the same) that Utomo had mentioned back in Yew - to say nothing of the storm cloak Homer wanted so badly, and the object of this whole excursion in the first place, the silver tablet.

More than ready to be done with this place, we headed once more for the Shrine of Valor for Iolo to boost his strength, then back to the Lycaeum to give the tablet to Mariah. It took her some time to translate the tablet - whether I helped or hindered by peeking over her shoulder with a good deal of interest and the occasional remark, I still don't know - but eventually she had a good idea of what lay within the books pages, and it made my blood run cold.

The Rosetta Stone of Britannia

The book spoke of a prophecy of the Gargoyles, how they would know the approach of the end times of their race by the coming of a great evil, who would ravish their kind three times. This evil would be of another race, who would consider him a great prophet, but he would be false, not knowing the ways of the Gargoyles and leading them only to ruin. Upon his first arrival, he would desecrate the most holy place of the Gargoyles and steal their most holy relic, the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom. Secondly, he would descend into the bowels of the earth and cause the underworld to collapse, causing earthquakes and great ruin. The final time, he would come with warriors, to destroy the Gargoyle race forever. And the only way to avert this prophecy would be the sacrifice of this False Prophet.

Suddenly everything came into focus. I was that False Prophet. I had taken their sacred texts, desecrated their holiest place, shattered their world, and for that they had determined that I must die. And so they called up a moongate of their own, snatching up to sacrifice me in the name of saving their way of life.

This was not going to be something easily fixed.

Mariah suggested paying Sin'Vraal another visit, as he was no demon, but one of the Gargoyles himself, and I mentally chastised myself for not having realized this sooner - and not just that, but the lesson he so clearly represented that not all of a terrifying exterior, or indeed, a different way of life, were necessarily an enemy.

I made a few detours before heading back to the desert, mostly as a way of settling my reeling mind. I dropped by Xiao's to restock on reagents, went back to Homer to deliver the storm cloak as I'd promised (an Avatar does need to be honest and honorable, after all), exchanged the nuggets I'd found in Shame for coins, bought a new skiff (I'd left mine on the shores of the island where Hawkins buried his treasure), then finally made my way to the desert once more and took the time to catch up with Sin'Vraal.

Ya think?!

He told me a bit more about his kind, that he was not free among his people because despite the fact he had wings, he could not fly, and that ranked him among the wingless - the lower, working caste. He told me of their Temple of Singularity, the place that once held the Codex and the most holy place of the Gargoyles - and also the fact one needed to be able to fly to reach it. Upon telling him of my situation and what I hoped to do about it, he remarked on the point that 'sacrifice' could mean many things in the Gargoyle language. Wondering if this would all boil down to a matter of semantics, he suggested I seek out a Gargoyle scholar, and that I could reach those lands through the dungeon Hythloth.

I knew what my next steps would have to be.

~~~

I rather like Ultima VI's sense of pacing - there's always something to do, and it's not all clumped together so you're spending long stretches of the game just running around without any true feeling of progress behind it unless you're intentionally doing so, which was a big problem back in Ultima II - but Sin'Vraal is probably the one point I've felt thus far where things get disrupted. It's too easy to get him to share the dialogue about the Gargoyles when you meet him while seeking out the pirate in the desert, and it kind of short-circuits that big revelation that should get dropped only once you get the tablet itself. That's just my writerly sensibilities talking, though, and considering that the whole pirate's treasure sidequest can be skipped in its entirety, it's a good thing there's a second method of getting at least an inkling of that bombshell in the game somewhere, an alternate path to the next plot point. I just wish it was via some other means, it feels a little odd to have that particular reveal happen "too soon."

...I don't think that's how names work.

This bit of the game also brought up something that I really appreciated about Ultima VI, the fact that it ties in not just to its immediate predecessor, but everything that's come before it. Granted, it does so by way of a few retcons and such, but I don't find them particular obtrusive, and moreover, it's not necessarily done in a way that makes it impenetrable for newcomers to the series. The Book of Prophecy basically interprets all of the Avatar's deeds during the Age of Enlightenment from another angle, and the Age of Darkness gets its time in the spotlight later in the game too. But at the same time, the game doesn't expect you to know everything that it's talking about, either - Mariah spells out that she thinks it's fairly clear the book is referring to your deeds, saving new players from both an infodump and confusion as to how in the world any of that relates to you. It's a nod to the series as a whole without being so hamhanded as to alienate anybody unfamiliar with canon in its entirety, and it's the way I think a series is best handled.

On a more personal note, it's taken me some time to get around to typing this up, mostly due to the fact that life has kind of gone a touch tumultuous again, but it has, to some extent, got me thinking about this blog and where I might go from here. No, don't worry, I've no intent of halting my efforts in the least - I'm actually discovering I'm enjoying this immensely, and while it's taking me longer to play through the games, I'm finding myself paying more attention to the detail work knowing that I'm going to be blogging about it later. I've actually learned a good deal through his venture, and that's what's got me thinking. As for what I'm thinking about - I think I'll save that until after I finish Ultima VI. That seems a good point for a 'state of the blog' type post, I think.

I'm eager to dive into this next portion of the game, as I'm excited to see what the Gargoyle Lands have in store for me and I've never really seen them before for myself, and I've got another post in the works focusing on the Gargish alphabet and what can be discerned from the Gargish language from it, but I'm not sure whether I'm going to toss that up before or after I venture through Hythloth and what lies beyond. But I'm nigh-giddy over getting it out there - I've been sitting on that one for a long time - so stay tuned! There's still a good deal ahead of me.

Ultima VI: A Pirate's Life For Me

Buccaneer's Den awaited. Past excursions to the island had taught a fair few of our number that the place was rough, and potentially dangerous. Yet thanks to our recent shopping spree, we were armed to the teeth with a wide array of spells and a few new weapons - not to mention clad in the finest armor that money could buy. So long as we kept alert and on our toes, we figured we would we be just fine. So we made our way to Paws and set sail due east, in search of the dread pirate Hawkins and his fearsome crew. I remembered Heftimus, back in Jhelom, mentioning that both the man and his ship were now long gone, but perhaps I would manage to find some clues nonetheless. That tablet had to be around somewhere, and there were answers that only it could provide me (and Mariah) with.

Sure, Homer. Sure. Whatever you say.

So I started in the natural place for one to look when seeking out knowledge of ships and pirates when in port - the tavern. And sure enough, there were captains galore in town, enough that practically the entire pub turned to face me whenever I addressed anyone by the title. There was the painter Captain Fox, of the Silver Stag, who seemed an amiable sort of chap. Captain Leodon of the Golden Hind made some rather disparaging comments about Captain John, who she considered a traitor for venturing to the other side of the world to join with the gargoyles. In her position, I might think the same, but having known John from my previous adventure, I couldn't help but wonder what his reasoning would be. He had, after all, been desperate to redeem himself, and to fall once again into vice and evil did not strike me as something he would come to easily - I made a note to seek him out and ask him if the chance arose. In the meantime, however, Leodon offered to join me in my current adventures, as did her companion Leona, another captain whose ship had sunk and was currently serving on Leodon's crew. I politely declined, content with the size of my little band for the time being. I also spent some time in conversation with Captain Elad, of the sunken ship Theodosia Marie, which he'd lost to a whirlpool just off of Bordermarch. Notably, he was drinking tea rather than the ales most of the rest of the tavern's patrons were chugging, having just recently given up drink. Though sullen and struggling, he seemed to be making a genuine effort to better himself - enough so that when he asked for the mantra of Honesty, I readily provided him with it, in the hopes that he would find a bit of encouragement welcome.

It was the shifty man with the cane in the corner that provided me with what I was looking for, though... or at least, led me closer to it. It turned out that he had been one of Hawkins' crew, and the man had been so reviled by even them, that they mutinied against him - though he was quick to claim he had absolutely nothing to do with the matter. When confronted about the matter of the tablet, he refused to tell me anything on account of not being a member of the guild. It became clear that I wasn't going to get a word out of him unless I found some way to join, distasteful as that felt. Homer did let slip the fact that I were looking to do so, Budo would be the one to talk to - the only problem was that I hadn't met anybody by that name anywhere on the island. Enrik (or Hammer, as he asked to be called), certainly had the sort of personality I'd expect for one who led a guild of any sort in the Den, but it was only through careful examination of the tavern's kitchen that I found the secret door that led to Budo's shop, which should have tipped me off in its own right.

...among other things.

Budo was a provisioner, and seemed a friendly if slightly bumbling sort - at least, until I made mention of the guild, and his whole demeanor changed. Immediately he was suspicious, asking who sent me, and after a bit of wheedling he explained what was needed to join the guild. Membership in the guild was indicated by a belt, but since there were only a limited number of belts in existence, I would need to take one for myself. I supposed that was fitting, needing to steal one in order to gain entry to a thieves' guild of sorts, but it still rubbed me the wrong way. Still, far better to steal one than to kill for one, and Budo seemed to be in agreement on at least that much. He told me of a guild member who dwelt beneath the sewers of Castle Britannia that he very much wanted to see... retire... and told me not to get any more violent about it than necessary. Considering his mention of how it would reflect poorly on the guild and incite unwanted questions, though, I think we had somewhat different reasons for wanting to avoid a fight.

I headed back to the castle and we plunged into the sewers, wandering our way through their dank and murky depths until a poison trap down a passageway signaled a few traps, which were easily avoided with judicious spellcasting. It did not, however, manage to keep us from blundering straight into a rigged doorway, which proceeded to explode on us as we sought out the guild member we suspected lived in the abode. She turned out to be sleeping - how she managed to do so while her front door was busy exploding in our faces, I'll never know - and a simple Pickpocket spell made swiping her belt a trifling matter. Figuring it would be better to split before she awoke, we hurried off and continued exploring the sewers - which, after a good deal of wandering around, turned out to connect to Buccaneer's Den, right behind Budo's shop. He welcomed me into the guild after I showed him the belt, and also offered me a discount on his wares, which I swiftly took advantage of, picking up a shovel and some gems while I was there. Chasing down a pirates' stash - I would likely have need of both.

This spell seems like it could wreak havoc by its very existence.

Homer all but confirmed it when I returned to him. Now a member of the guild, he was willing to tell me what he knew - mostly. He told me Hawkins had a map to his treasure, of which the tablet was doubtlessly among. The map itself, however, had been split amongst his former crew. Homer told me of five - the cook and first mate went to Trinsic, Hawknose headed for the desert to kill a demon, Ybarra went to Shame, another with only one hand made for Jhelom, and one other died in the wreckage of the Empire. He informed me he'd only tell me where his own piece of the map was once I'd found the rest of it, and that was that. Maps, buried treasure, lost relics... this was starting to sound like a swashbuckling adventure, all right.

During our adventures in the sewers, Blaine had gained enough experience for another level - that magic bow I'd bought him was doing the trick - and after considering for a moment I decided to take him to the Shrine of Valor, as he could use a bit more strength. Since we were close by, we paid Heftimus a visit in Jhelom. He did, after all, have only one hand, and sure enough, he was willing to tell us about his piece of the map for twenty pieces of eight - er, gold. Apparently he'd intended to use it for tinder during an expedition in Wrong, but got chased off before he set it aflame, and there it presumably still lies. Making a note of this, I headed for Trinsic next, since not one but two of Hawkins' former crew called it home. Sandy was the only one Homer had called by name, though, so I started with him. He was reluctant to speak on the matter, though he intimated he might be more willing if I would do him a favor - of obtaining him a dragon's egg, for a pastry of all things! Well, Shubin of Serpent's Hold had asked much the same thing of me, and Destard was a stone's throw to the west, so I gritted my teeth, shared a few resolute nods with my companions, and off we went.

I do not want to be here when all those eggs hatch.

Destard was absolutely swarming with draconic denizens, both drakes and fully grown dragons alike. At first we bore through the onslaught, confident in our abilities and our skills, but after striking down a few dragons and nursing our wounds with numerous healing spells, we decided a different strategy would be necessary. We could hold out for a time, yes, but the numbers we were encountering would surely wear us down eventually. Stealth would likely serve us better, as dragon eggs were not likely to be left unguarded. Unfortunately, I was not yet experienced enough to cast seventh level spells - including Mass Invisibility - and with six of us in the group, it would be very draining on our resources very quickly if we to rely on individual invisibility spells as our sole method of concealment.

Our adventures thus far, however, had turned up no less than four invisibility rings, and remembering this I quickly distributed them amongst the group, slipping them on and off as appropriate whenever Shamino made mention of the fact that he heard motion not far from us. Between them and the occasional Mass Protect spell, just for the sake of safety, we managed to plunge our way to the very bottom of the dungeon without much harassment from the dragons and their ilk at all. From there, I left the group in a small, secluded alcove near the ladder leading back toward the surface, leaving a few of my possessions with them in exchange for the rings they carried - if the one I was wearing wore out, I didn't want to be caught without any backup means. I made my way, invisible and alone, to the dragon's nest, taking two of their eggs for myself - one for Sandy, one for Shubin - and as much of their stash I was able to carry, which mostly consisted of gold nuggets and a weapon and shield or two.

Rest in peace, you poor shipwrecked souls.

I hightailed it back to the others with my prizes, and we quickly filtered through a moongate summoned by the Orb of the Moons back to Sandy, who told us of a few others of the former crew as thanks. There was one in Serpent's Hold - I was pretty sure this was Morchella, based on her reaction to Dupre's previous accusation - one lived as a hermit on Dagger Isle, Nathaniel Moorhead went to Empath Abbey, and the first mate came to Trinsic with Sandy and assumed a new name: the name of Whitsaber, none other than the town's mayor! Confronted with this fact, the mayor gave us his portion of the map in return for the promise that we would keep that knowledge to ourselves. We were only too happy to agree to this, as the mayor truly did seem to have reformed and kept the City of Honor running well.

Having been told the Empire had wrecked on the Cape of Heroes, I set sail once again to make for Serpent Isle, taking the time to explore the nearby islands and poke through the wreckage of any ships I came across. It took some doing, and many fights with ghosts and skeletons, the remnants of crewmembers too stubborn to let well enough alone when their ships went down, but I did eventually find the Empire itself, and the piece of the map wedged beneath the wreckage, clutched in the skeletal hands of a man who perished with his ship. From there it was back to Serpent's Hold, where sure enough, Morchella exchanged a piece of the map for a magic shield, which she'd intended to give to another but upon seeing it decided to keep for herself. I supposed it was a good thing I had little use for shields as it was - I'd picked up a replacement in the dragon hoard - and that I'd made one of my own during my last trip here for the Order of the Silver Serpent. I dropped off the second egg with Shubin, who thanked me profusely, and then I was off again.

...who would go this far out of their way to steal somebody's shoes?

I had found three pieces of the map, but there were still more to find. Since I was low on reagents after my run through Destard, with all those spells slung about, I opted to head for Moonglow and restock. Since it was in close proximity, after thanking Xiao for her services once more, I sailed north to Dagger Isle, seeking out the hermit that was supposed to live here. I found him on the north side of the island, a wild-eyed man named Bonn who seemed to have, simply put, lost it entirely. Much of what he said made little to no sense, and pretty much the only comprehensibly helpful piece of information was the fact his scrap of the map was apparently kept in his basement - which didn't help much when an entrance to one was not visible at all. Closer examination of his quarters, however, revealed a lever beneath a harpsichord (which was not a simple matter to move, let me tell you - there's a reason I play violin as well as piano, it's a lot more portable) which opened the way to the basement. Some rummaging about in his bags and boxes led to the fourth piece of the map - what looked to be about half of the thing in its entirety.

So satisfied with a job well done for now, I called it there.

~~~

Well, to be honest, I'm pretty sure I've got the better INT score.

Let's talk for a bit about magic, since it was on my mind a lot while I was playing through this session. My preferred character types in games have shifted a bit over the years, and it of course varies slightly from game to game, but as I've gotten older, I've tended to move away from the heavy-hitting front line warrior types and more toward the agile and intellectual types, conceptually speaking. I love mages in concept - characters who favor the mental game, wit and strategy and brainpower, where a judicious combination can wreak far more havoc on the enemy than simply raining blows down upon them in a vicious frontal assault.

In practice, though, there's only been two games where I've sincerely enjoyed playing a character that's a proper caster-type class, and those have been Kingdoms of Amalur and Dragon Age: Origins. Everything else, I tend to either favor a class that lets me use magic as more of a support mechanism rather than a primary means of action, or just a straight-up dexterity/agility-focused class. Why? Because there's too much that goes into setting up and/or playing a mage right. Not that they're not viable, it's just that I'm not willing to put in the time and effort to learn that specific curve because it interrupts the flow of the game too much for me. Either that or it just takes too many resources to really make it an effective means of combat - constant chugging of mana potions, resting after every two or three fights to refresh spells, the hesitance to cast a spell because what if I need that slot for something more important later, it's all something of a detriment to my enjoyment of playing a mage. Remember how spells were basically inventory items you paid for back in Ultimas I and II? That's how a lot of magic systems in games feel to me, more often than not, just in a bit more veiled guise. And I suppose that's a good thing, in some respects, because often spells have more powerful effects than just straight-up bashing with weapons, especially in combination with each other, and there needs to be some mitigating factor for the sake of balance. In practice, though, it feels rather more cumbersome to me than anything else.

Magic was extremely useful this update.

So I've found myself musing on the fact that I've actually used a pretty heavy amount of magic as I play through Ultima VI, and not just that, but actively looking for opportunities to use my spells. I'm hardly playing as a full-out mage proper, but I'm making more use of magic than I typically do, and I haven't exactly figured out why yet, either. Maybe part of it is due to the fact that magic is simply more convenient than some of the other options there are for doing certain things. Take curing poison, for instance. Red potions are an option, but aren't sold anywhere, so you're working off a limited inventory. There's healers, but the cost of garlic and ginseng to cast the appropriate spell is considerably less than what they charge, and what's more, it can be cast anywhere. Then there's the fact it's relatively simple to measure my resources. I never have to guess how many times I can cast a spell before my reagents are depleted - Ultima VI conveniently tells me right there on the screen when I choose a spell. Running out of MP isn't a problem, because I'm still capable on the battlefield without using spells - I don't have to rely on them, and so I can sprinkle them throughout combat as needed rather than just push and push and push them so hard that I have to constantly find means to regain the points to cast them.

Or maybe it's just because they bring about some interesting effects and look cool. I mean, the awesome factor is part of the draw of messing with magic in a game.

But whatever it is, I'm liking the fact I'm taking advantage of it whenever I can. It's a mark of a good game that leads a player to want to find opportunities for all the tools at their disposal, rather than simply thinking, "I've already got a method that works for doing this, so I'm just not going to worry about it." It was a blast stealthing my way through Destard with the invisibility resources at my disposal, and I found myself poring through my spellbook to see what else might help mitigate whatever might come my way in the dungeon, it made for a very different perspective on the crawl. I'm hoping for more moments like this as I wander through the rest of the game.

I... I guess...?

Halfway through the search for the map - that just leaves Shame, Wrong, Empath Abbey, and the desert. Everything from here on out is something that I've never experienced in-game before - heck, half this update was. I'm looking forward to chasing down the last four pieces, and doubly so when it comes to what it all leads to. Ultima VI has grown on me a lot - my sessions are getting longer, which is both a blessing and a curse, a blessing in that I get a lot done and have a good deal of fun while doing it, a curse in that it means I have a lot to cover when it comes time to write everything up, and that it takes me longer to get back to it afterward! I think it's time to draw this entry to a close, though - I've got a few questions to ask in Empath Abbey, and I don't think they can wait much longer.

Ultima VI: Honest Work, Honest Pay

After getting tossed about on the Britannian seas for a while, I managed to land my skiff on the shores of New Magincia, the bleating of sheep mingling with the noise of the waves. A glint of metal just off the pier made me pause for a moment before I entered the town proper - it seemed someone had decided to hide a magic shield beneath a plant nearby. Surely it belonged to someone - I let it be for the moment, striving (as ever) to remain virtuous, but I'll admit it was tempting. It would have been moreso if more of my little band actually used shields, too. Shamino was the only one really making use of a shield - Dupre and Seggallion used two-handed melee weapons, Iolo and Blaine ranged weapons, and Aric kept his spellbook at the ready in his off-hand instead. So with curiosity satisfied and virtue intact, we proceeded into the pastoral village, waving to the farmers working in the fields.

Awfully tempting...

I mentioned back in Ultima IV how much I enjoyed the aesthetic of the ruins of Magincia, especially since it provided such a stark contrast to the rest of the game. I feel much the same about New Magincia as it's portrayed in Ultima V and VI. It's always been the "odd duck" of the eight cities of virtue, whether it's the ruins of the old city or the simple, rural nature of the new, and that feels rather fitting to me, considering it's the town centered on humility, which is also something of the "misfit" of the eight virtues, independent of the three principles. Were I Britannian myself, I suspect that New Magincia would rank high on my list of favorite vacation spots.

Anyway, as usual, my goal in the village was to seek out the Rune entrusted to its mayor's care, and it didn't take me long to track down Lord Antonio. He was a pleasant sort, content with life and pleased at the fact there were few disputes for him to resolve. It left him time to pursue his hobbies, which included a few magic tricks which he was quite happy to perform for my eager band. He told me he would give me the rune in return for the name of the most humble person in New Magincia, which meant a leisurely stroll through town getting to know the populace. William spoke of the low but important work he dealt in as a farmer, as it provided food for all the other professions with more noble connotations (and also made mention of his hippo carvings). Aurendir the shepherd was once a mighty mage with wealth and a castle all his own, which he gave up after a visit to the Shrine of Humility - apparently it was such a moving experience that he decided to change his entire lifestyle. Charlotte the weaver, Dunbar the tavernkeep, even my old friend Katrina - they all made their case for the simple nature of their work and how well they clung to the tenets of humility. But it didn't quite ring true for any of them - humility, after all, was a delicate thing, easily shattered by pride, even pride in one's own humility.

This guy's got the right idea.

It was Conor the fisherman who truly seemed to exemplify the virtue of humility, the only one of the townsfolk not to offer up himself as that highest of examples amongst the New Magincians, and uncertain of who to lift up as one out of reluctance to commend any of his neighbors over another. Antonio smiled when I gave him my answer, and pressed the Rune of Humility into my hands in reply - he had proven himself a good keeper for the rune, ensuring it was given only to those who truly understood what a humble man looked like.

Still musing over my experience in the village, we headed for the Isle of the Avatar and the Shrine of Humility that awaited upon it. I encountered my first marine beasts along this particular voyage - I skirted a feud between a sea serpent and some squids, only to end up attacked by both right on the edges of the Isle. And as if fending them off wasn't enough, the gargoyles set to guard the Shrine seemed to favor ranged combat themselves - no less than seven wingless guards stood in our way, all of them armed with a boomerang, and a winged gargoyle set to command them all. It was a rough battle, as many small cuts can make for very large wounds, but in the end perseverance won the day. We cut down the wingless one by one, and as they fell, the flying boomerangs thinned, giving us more room to deal with the winged - though in truth, his assault was so fervent that he did himself in, standing too close to the fumaroles on the volcanic island and not bothering to keep out of range of his own explosive spells. It took a few Great Heal castings, but we claimed the moonstone once more, and after a good rest and a level for Iolo, we sold the spoils of our fight and headed for Moonglow - and if New Magincia is where I'd vacation, then Moonglow is where I'd live. A city full of scholars, magic, and a stone's throw from the land's biggest library? Count me in!

No wonder Mariah and I got along back in U4. She's a linguist too!

Lord Aganar was taking a stroll near where we docked on Verity Isle, and told us that he had given the rune of Honesty to Beyvin for safekeeping, a very honest man who lived with Penumbra. Yet while I heard talk of her ability to read the future from some of the townsfolk, Penumbra herself proved somewhat elusive. While exploring the city, I of course spent some time in the Lycaeum, where Thariand, a student of Nicodemus - who I realized I hadn't taken the time to find when I was last in Yew - told me of some of the tomes to be found in the library, and how they were organized. Or at least, where I could find a book about how the library was organized, or I could if it wasn't already checked out. Mariah was there in the Lycaeum as well, and after catching up for a bit I showed her the gargoyle book Iolo had been carrying. She recognized a few of the runes, telling me it was entitled "The Book of Prophecy" and that she had a silver tablet that she thought would help in translating the rest of it - or half of one, at least. She told me to seek out the gypsies she had bought it from to find out what happened to the other half. I kept this in mind as I paid a visit to Xiao, who sold me a few spells and reagents, and also told me to seek out the Wisps before learning spells of the eighth circle.

The Dispel Field spell she sold turned out to be particularly useful, in that it let me pass through several fields blocking passage in a building I'd encountered earlier (which was just as mysterious as the vacant house for sale where I could see blood through the window!) It turned out to be Penumbra's residence, and after telling my future - which involved a Vortex and a broken lens that must be made whole that needed to be used with another lens - she informed me that Beyvin was in fact dead, likely from being rather lacking when it came to tact, and that the rune had been buried with him. It took me some time to find an entrance to the crypts beneath Moonglow, but I eventually found one behind a locked door in Xiao's residence. Carefully I made my way through, battling the occasional skeleton, slime, or acid slug, and boggling as to why in the world someone would bury their loved ones with a stick of butter. Eventually I found Beyvin's tomb - locked. There was a note, however, which implied that Manrel, a man with the symbol of the Codex tattooed on his head I'd met earlier, was Beyvin's cousin, and he was willing to let me borrow the key if I agreed to take some flowers to his cousin's tomb. I was quite happy to do so, and after I'd made my return I found myself with the last rune I needed. From there it was a quick trip north to Dagger Isle and the Shrine of Honesty, which I found... unguarded, strangely enough. It was a simple matter to claim the last moonstone, and with that, I had reclaimed all eight shrines in the name of Britannia.

Who buries a body with butter?!

So I sought to tie up a few loose ends before pursuing the other half of the silver tablet in earnest. I stopped by Lord British's castle to store a few things and sell off some unnecessary equipment, then headed back to Yew to find Nicodemus and pick up a spell or two. In the process, I caught sight of some wisps, and upon recalling Xiao's directive I spoke to them. They introduced themselves as some sort of interdimensional information brokers, and would be willing to arrange an exchange for knowledge that was "sufficiently dense." They provided a sample of something they considered not particularly powerful or important - which turned out to be the Armageddon spell (!) of all things. Though I was somewhat dubious as to the wisdom behind it, I headed to the Lycaeum to find something they might think useful. My skill in wandering the stacks (which is fairly considerable by this point - numerous visits to Powell's Books have helped with that) proved put to the test, but not only did I manage to find a book of Lost Mantras which might serve such a purpose, but also a copy of The Wizard of Oz, which I remembered being told Lord British himself had been looking for. After browsing for a little while longer - there were some interesting books hidden away in there, Seggallion was particularly intrigued by the one about his homeland - I headed for the castle and presented the monarch with the copy he'd been looking for, and he rewarded me with several peering gems for my trouble. Then it was back to Yew to return to the wisps. While wandering the area looking for them, Aric gained another level (maxing out his stats in the process) and I also bumped into Zoltan once more, who turned out to be the one who had given the tablet to Mariah in the first place. He in turn had been paid to take it to the Lycaeum by Captain John, but the pirate Hawkins had ambushed them along the way and taken the other half. It seemed apparent that a stop in Buccaneer's Den to ask after the dread pirate would be in order.

That's... not really all that helpful for understanding your system.

I had one last stop to make before that, though. I brought the book of Lost Mantras to the wisps, who deemed it sufficient and found a buyer who wanted to trade substance instead of information. They seemed to think this was a poor trade, but I was already dubious of the sort of information they considered valuable and assured them it was perfectly fine by me. As a result, all six of us found our pockets stuffed to the brim with gold - more gold than we'd come across in our adventure thus far, and indeed ever expected to come across, period! That one last stop turned into several, as I immediately went on a grand shopping spree across the land, visiting Rudyom, Nicodemus, Horance and Xiao in turn to pack my spellbook full of every last spell they could offer me, along with two staves from Nicodemus for enchantment purposes when I was able to cast seventh circle spells, then off to Trinsic to buy a set of magic armor and magic helms for the six of us, along with a warhammer for Seggallion to make better use of his strength, then to Britian to pick up a magic bow for Blaine in order to give him better chances of gaining further experience amongst our ragtag group - and even after all that spending, I still had more gold left over than I could carry on my own! I certainly won't be lacking for funds for a time yet - and that's a good thing, as I expect things are going to get rougher from here on out. Armed with new weapons, new armor, and new spells, we were ready to head to Buccaneer's Den and track down the other half of the silver tablet, wherever that trip would take us.

~~~

While playing through this particular session (which incidentally made me rethink my comments on the lack of random encounters from my last post - I stumbled across a fair few while looking for the wisps, including my first fights with reapers, one of which found me against no less than four!) there was one thing that kept popping into my head, and that was this article on the depth of NPCs in Ultima VI. It popped up on my radar via the Ultima Codex some time ago, and running through New Magincia and Moonglow really put me in mind of it - there were a lot of moments during this session that made the NPCs really come alive, that made them feel like actual characters that served more purpose than just Plot Exposition Via Text Dump or Generic Background Flavor. There's a lot to the NPCs of Ultima VI that are there simply for character flavor, like William's hippo carving and Antonio's magic tricks. There's moments that give you a sense of the characters' actions when you're not around - Shamino knows Stelnar, and they exchange familiar when you meet him. It's suggested that Iolo and Conor have crossed paths before via a flicker of recognition on the bard's face when you meet him, and Conor confirms it when you ask him, but doesn't elaborate much on the topic. Characters are memorable, and I think part of that is because they've all got some detail that distinguishes them from the rest of the cast - and at the same time, doesn't drown you in everything about those characters. Less really is more sometimes, and I think it works to Ultima VI's benefit. It's just enough flavor to get you interested, without so much that it becomes overbearing and heavy-handed.

It's a nice touch that there's clearly more to characters than they tell you.

And on the subject of Conor, I have to spend a moment talking about him, too. He's the only resident of New Magincia not to claim that he has some right to the title of Most Humble In Town, and that's the most obvious method of solving Antonio's "puzzle." I've seen a bit of fun poked at the game and its presentation of humility here and there due to this, but I think there's more here than just that simple statement. Humility is perhaps the most nuanced of the eight virtues, and that can be hard to capture properly. I think Conor does rather a fine job of it, though. There's a quote by C. S. Lewis that the humble man "will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility, he will not be thinking about himself at all." That pretty much describes how Conor is written to a T. I think it's worth noting that beyond being the only one not to espouse his own humility, he's also written in a such a way that he espouses very little about himself at all - most of the other townsfolk will gladly speak at length about themselves or their profession or their interests, but you hardly ever get more than a sentence or two out of Conor at a time. He's contrastive to the rest of the populace in almost every facet of his speech patterns and word choice, and while a lot of it is subtle, that fact, that ability to make a character truly feel like he stands apart from his neighbors while still making him feel like a proper character - that impresses me. A lot.

I'm getting very close to the portion of the game that I haven't played through before - once I make my way through Buccaneer's Den and steal a belt, it'll be uncharted territory for me. I've picked up one or two of the easier map pieces before, but that's about the farthest I've made it in the game. There's dangers and adventure and excitement just waiting out there for me - and I'm eager to get to it!

Newly outfitted and ready to go!

Ultima VI: Getting Lost

Britannia is big.

Okay, okay, so I'm not actually certain whether the game world of Ultima VI, in any sort of measurable terms, is any bigger or smaller than its predecessors, but I've played Ultima IV so often that I know its general layout practically like the back of my hand, and Ultima V didn't shake things up much in that respect, so it made getting around and knowing the relative positions of everything a fairly simple matter. Ultima VI, however... while (almost) everything is in the same general position, the shift from dual-scale to single-scale has meant that my sense of... well, scale, has been somewhat off and I'm finding it fairly easy to get lost when I'm not sticking to the roads. Which, I suppose, is actually reasonably realistic, though it's making it a bit of a chore to figure out where I am in relation to everything sometimes.

How the heck would you WIELD it?!

It also means, however, that I have a greater appreciation for Ultima VI's map, on account of the fact that I've had to scrutinize it considerably more than I have for any of the other games up until this point. And to its great credit, it's remarkably detailed and very well reflective of the game world - and yet it conveys that information in a rather unique style all its own, as well. It complements the game itself very well, and I'm finding myself wishing that I could have played Ultima IV all those years ago when I first went through it with the original map as well.

But on to the game itself! As can probably be surmised from my musings on how easy it is to get lost, I did so a couple times during this particular session. Having freed the five shrines accessible via the mainland, it was now time to hit the high seas and explore the islands. I'd bought a skiff in Britain at the tail end of my last session, so after a few minutes' worth of figuring out the commands to board, exit, and carry it around, I shoved off from the pier and turned my vessel to the south. It was on this maiden voyage that I first got a real sense of the size of Britannia and my need to re-learn the landscape - I found a shipwreck in what I thought was the southern tip of the main continent, guarded by ghosts and skeletons galore, until I remembered that I hadn't passed Paws yet and was, in fact, currently sailing through the Fens of the Dead! Serpent's Hold - my first stop on my marine journey - would be quite a voyage yet.

After that brief confusion in the Fens, I resolved to stick closer to the coast until I was certain I'd passed Trinsic, and once the walled city came into view, I paid close attention to the pattern of islands on my map and tried to match them up with where I was. I found another wreck on an long, thin strip off land just off the coast of the city of Honor, and made a note to come visit it again later - I had things to do, places to go, people to see! (Although it did amuse me that ships apparently can do 30 points of damage. I wonder how you wield one of those?)

Dunno about that, but your help is welcome.

I carefully navigated my way through the islands until I reached the Isle of Deeds - does that archipelago have an official name, incidentally? - and the official grounds of Britannia's knightly order, Serpent's Hold. As tends to be typical, I first poked my head into the local tavern, since a fair few types pass through the doors of such establishments, and it's a good way to meet people and pick up the flavor of the settlement. The first person I spoke to was Koronada, a fortuitous meeting indeed as he turned out to be the guildmaster of the Order of the Silver Serpent. The son of the lighthouse keeper of Greyhaven (or at least, keeper until it was destroyed by an earthquake), he now served as the head of the Order, and took the stories of my previous deeds as evidence enough of my worthiness to join its ranks - though he still wished me to make my own shield before letting me in officially, which Gherick could help with. We said our goodbyes and my attentions turned to a burly man named Seggalion, who, after telling me his story of his arrival from a place called Ashtalarea through a moongate, expressed his desire to join my quest in the hopes of meeting someone who might be able to help him get home, or at the very least assist the people who helped him by aiding in the effort. Moved by his story and its similarities to my own, I agreed.

Having thereby increased our little band to six, we next spoke with Sir Caradon, who originally hailed from Yew. He told us that he had fought the gargoyles near the Shrine of Honesty, speaking of some substance that they ingested that made them fight like living cyclones. His tale spoke of a fierce and harsh battle, of which there were few survivors, though I admittedly found myself wondering just how well the young knight adhered to the virtue of the shrine he fought by. Our last meeting in the tavern was with Shubin the cook, who asked if we could bring him a dragon egg if we came across one - he apparently needs one to cook Magincian Pastry, a recipe he learned from Sandy of Trinsic. We'll have to see about that one - that would be no small task.

The tests of Humility continue.

There were a few other figures we met while exploring Serpent's Hold. Tessa and Simon I remembered from my last adventure, the two of them settled in Serpent's Hold once Bordermarch sank in the resultant earthquake once Lord British had been rescued. There was also a woman named Morchella who balked at Dupre's accusation of being a pirate, and refused to talk to us further. Baron de Hugh, a man in training on the island, mentioned his desire to gather an army to go defeat the "mighty demon" Sin'Vraal, referring to him as a malevolent creature lording over all sorts of miscreants in the desert. The knowledge Sin'Vraal was still around was information I filed away for later use - if Baron de Hugh's bravado was not so obviously a mask covering his lack of skill, I might have been more worried for him.

Gherick, the local smith, was indeed helpful in crafting me a proper shield for the Order with a gold nugget and viewing gem (Seggalion happily provided us with the items from his own personal stash), and to thank him for his help we purchased a halberd for Dupre to use. We trained for a bit with Loubet the fencing master, exchanging friendly greetings and caught up with our old acquaintance Sentri, showed Koronada the shield Gherick had crafted for me, and then set sail to the west, aiming for Jhelom. It only occurred to me afterward that I forgot to follow up on Chuckles' clue while I was in the vicinity, but I was sure I would be back again later.

I came across more wrecks - and more ghosts and skeletons guarding them - amongst the islands on the way to the city of Valor, and Dupre's new weapon was tested as we fought them all off. We gave the island that held the Shrine of Valor a wide berth for the time being - we didn't want to get ourselves into the fight we expected there until we were prepared to reclaim the Shrine proper. Skirting the island meant it wasn't long before we made landing in Jhelom itself, though, and we were met by an impoverished sailor with a hook for a hand. He asked if I could spare a doubloon for him, and after I obliged, he regaled me with his tale. His name was Heftimus McPry, a name once feared in Buccaneer's Den, but he had fallen from grace since his fight with Captain Hawkins that lost him a hand - which Hawkins promptly threw to the sharks. A nasty figure by all accounts, to be sure, that elevated him into infamous legend.

Odysseus you're not.

I had more pressing matters to see to at the moment, however, and sought out the town's leader. Zellivan seemed quite a decent man, and we exchanged a few stories of past battles fought for a time. It seemed the only battle he fought now was attempting to keep the boisterous residents of Jhelom in line these days, though that in itself seemed an unenviable task to me. When asked, he told me the Rune of Valor had been given away in a tournament, the winner of which would be entrusted with its care. He told me, with a sly sort of grin, that 'no man' was the winner - had I been a cyclops, this might have confused me more, but thankfully I'd read my Homer and asked Nomaan about it when I bumped into him at the local smith. In return he spun me a tale of the raucous celebration after the tournament in the pub, where a large rat scooped up the Rune when it fell out of Nomaan's hands and rushed it into its little hole. Too small a space for anyone to reach it, there it likely remained.

With this bit of knowledge, our next stop was obvious. We made our way to the Sword and Keg, where Shamino waved to a man wearing a rather distinct, oddly-shaped helm and exchanged a few bits of news. The man was named Stelnar Starhelm, whom Shamino had traveled with before. He introduced himself as a monster-slayer, killing wisps and gargoyles for the past year in Spiritwood. He too wished to go slay Sin'Vraal, with no regard for the part he had played in the rescue of Lord British. He did suggest that he may be found where we last met him, however, so that was another useful piece of information. Stelnar also made a remark that ugliness is only skin deep, just like beauty, which seemed a bit odd coming from him though no less well to keep in mind.

I wonder where the rat found that ring...

It was Andy the serving girl who seemed the most sensible out of the lot in the tavern, though - which, considering the bluster of most of the fighters in the area, was a bit less surprising than it might have sounded. It was she who actually thought of a way to retrieve the Rune of Valor from the rat hole, having remembered stories of Sherry the Talking Mouse in Lord British's castle, who might be convinced to help out. Dupre was dubious, but sure enough, a trip to the castle proved fruitful, as Sherry readily agreed to make the trip in exchange for a bit of cheese, and not only did she emerge from the hole in the wall of the Sword and Keg with the Rune, but with a magic ring as well! We took her back to the castle and said goodbye, with many thanks for her help, then set sail over the wine-dark sea for the Shrine of Valor. It was a rather arduous fight - it seemed like the gargoyles sent their strongest to guard the Shrine, and we certainly proved our Valor as we fought tooth and nail against them. It was rough, but we did emerge victorious, and after reclaiming the moonstone, we turned our sights to New Magincia, where I decided to call it a day.

~~~

It occurred to me while sailing the high seas just how little combat I've encountered in this game. I mean, I knew that pacifist runs were a thing for Ultima VI, but I've run into remarkably few random encounters as I meander from place to place. I can probably count them on one hand when I was running about the mainland, and sailing about probably doubled that number. I'm not entirely sure what I think about that - on the one hand, it's nice not to constantly be interrupted every few steps with beasties, but on the other, I'd like at least a little something to shake up the exploration. Maybe it's because I've mostly stuck to the paths thus far, I'm expecting the dungeons to be another matter entirely once I get to them.

Writer's block is a nasty thing when it rears its ugly head (I've been sitting on this post for a few weeks now because of it), but I seem to be through it for the moment, and I'm eager to free those last two shrines and move on to a segment of the game I've never really done much with. Onward to the island of shepherds!

Another suggestion all may not be as it seems...