+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The Olympia Times times@pbm.com | | October 26, 1994 issue g1-18 | | | | "No mistakes, no experience; | | turn 18 171 players no experience, no wisdom." | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+Questions, comments, to play: info@pbm.com
Olympia PBEM
* * *
Now hollow fires burn out to black, And lights are guttering low: Square your shoulders, lift your pack, And leave your friends and go.
Oh never fear, man, nought's to dread, Look not left nor right: In all the endless road you tread There's nothing but the night.
-- A.E. Housman
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Player-contributed press
Galley for sale soon in the Imperial City. Contact Bligh [s0u] for details.
So would it be possible to put a wall around Provincia to keep the AOO and Iron Nation factions in? Enquiring Minds
The Sen Clan anouces their claim to Thornclay and the adjacent provinces. Please do not use resources in the area without checking with us first. Small traveling parties are welcome
John Sen [m6f]
Observed in Imperial City, this fine Dark Night past.
... 22: Adam [j3n], with one riding horse, arrived from Forest [by22]. 23: Miles Falcon [g1s] sold ten opium [93] for 100 gold. 23: Adam [j3n] exited Imperial city [aa0m]. 24: Adam [j3n] arrived from Forest [by22]. ...
Seen here: ... Adam [j3n] Miles Falcon [g1s] ...
Will this depravity never end? The evidence against others seems quite damning, too.
[It is also worth noting that friend Miles was not perceivable to the naked eye before this little episode. So you can't sell something while hidden. All bow to the subtlety and skill of the Great Atnerks.]
PS. The issue of how to deal with these two miscreants seems moot - they probably got their just rewards in Fierce Winds. The last this humble correspondant saw of them, they were accompanying one Axomin and catapult, headed north for Mt. Olympus...
Nevermore to see the shores Of unhappy Provinia, land of wars Contested home of all Who roam the Olympian realm. Where once a king supreme Reigned fair with destiny and once again a king will come, He shall not be one, Of those who strive To build a state with Other's lives. He will be one afar Tis true. One not yet born, but someday soon....
discovered at the Oracle of Sybis
PILGRIMS AID SOCIETY
DANGER! War has broken out between the Iron Nation and Ancient Order of Olympians! ...what? You know already? Then I guess you all know to avoid the area from bx22 to by26. New nobles are encouraged to travel in parties of three or more and move quickly north or west of the combat area. Once you clear the Imperial City area, it becomes MUCH easier to recruit more peasants, harvest wood for weapons, and generally improve your condition.
As always, send inquiries to: Akmall Benhalla [p3p] Pilgrims Aid Society
Remember: Akmall says, "The only thing free in Olympia is burial arrangements."
> Some few months ago, a fellow named Bastrestric ther Archymonaged led > a faction that attacked and killed a bunch of random nobles. Common > banditry. Bastrestric thought he was being smart by not doing any of > the attacking himself, but he was quickly found out by some of his > victims.
> This Bastrestric ther Archymonaged fellow was spotted hiding in a > castle, the Chateau Olympique. The owner of the castle said he had a > treaty to defend Bastrestric ther Archymonaged, whether or not > Bastrestric ther Archymonaged was a common bandit. Well, that's > certainly throwing the gauntlet down.
Bastrestric was involved in some skirmishes with a couple of other factions way back during the first few turns of the game; I seem to remember most of the attacks being made by the other factions though.
But by Atnerks' brass balls, does it bloody matter one way or the other??? It is not remotely sensible or reasonable to make decisions affecting the future of the entire continent on the basis of a handful of minor skirmishes between two or three factions that happened a dozen turns ago!
I don't know why the Iron Nation attacked us, but I'm sure they had some sensible reason for it, like maybe considering us a potential threat to their welfare, something that would be reasonable grounds for starting a war.
> Along comes our furry hero, Dogmatix. He attacks the castle, and is > wiped out by a bug (bzzzt bzzt), although he might have perished > anyway during the counter-attack during the next month. The AOO > proclaims their mighty victory in battle (bzzz bzzz bzzzz). Talk about > sore winners! I suppose they have great hopes that there are more bugs > to save them next time (bzzz bzzzzzzzz).
Actually, no. *The reason Dogmatix is dead and Chateau Olympique still stands is that the AOO had enough forces in the vicinity to kill him before he could demolish the castle.* Rich did a trial rerun of the turn with the bug fixed and found that it made no difference - the bug fix only meant Dogmatix died slightly later rather than sooner - so he didn't bother replacing the original turn results.
> Should you be outraged? Well, first off, the AOO obviously believes > they can insult everyone's intelligence with impunity. That's enough > reason to attack them right there. Second, if the AOO wants to defend > common bandits, then they ought to be proud of their actions, own up ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > to them, and stop being surprised when they get attacked. Yeah, I'd be > outraged if I were you. Heck, if I were an AOO member, I'd be outraged > at my own leaders.
Oh, I am very proud of the AOO's successful defense of Chateau Olympique, first against Dogmatix, then last turn against an Iron Nation army of over five hundred men.
> I liked the good old days much better. Men were men, sheep were safe, > and merciless killers were proud of their trade, and didn't try to > hide behind outraged claims of innocence. Not like those lily-livered > AOO folks. Oh, I'd give me left testicle to see a good instantiation > of malevolent evil right now.
I think this is the first Olympia-type game in which us guys in the AOO *haven't* played warmongers who go around massacring everyone in sight (looking back nostalgically to all those people I slaughtered in Olympia 1 :)) and we still have to wade through half a dozen whingeing "mommy, I'm scared the AOO bogeymen are going to get me" messages in every issue of the Times. Goes to show how good we were at building up our reputation :) I agree with this guy (who is he? Ah, yet another lily-livered coward who hasn't the guts to sign his name to his article. No surprises there :)) about the malevolent evil though. The "Chronicles of Pain" were always the first thing I looked for every turn in the Times in Olympia 1 :) I don't think we'll have anything like that here though - well Dogmatix was a kamikaze terrorist so I suppose that's malevolent enough, but he didn't have any style. As for the Iron Nation, I don't know why they started this war, but I'll have to admit from what I know of them they seem to be honorable opponents and I imagine they honestly believed they had adequate reason for doing it. Maybe when the Mighty Armed Forces of Chaos come back we'll have some real evil bad guys :)
Amber [s0s]
Breaking the shore only means there is more travel ahead till I lay my head.
Hoping one day to find a way a time and place all my own.
Announcing! Discount Pikemen!
As reported in last month's Times, Lews Therin Telamon [m3m] is undercutting the price per pikemen charged by Rachet Storm [m7s].
We believd a reasonable cost would be 16 gold per pikemen, where you provide the peasent and the wood. We break this down:
3 gold Pikemen's pay 3 gold Profit on pikemen's pay 2 gold Pay worker to make pike 2 gold Profit on worker to make pike 2 gold Profit on training already provided peasent (I suggest this because the only cost to you is the day to train the character, no gold cost) 6 gold Pay noble 2 gold per day to make pike, train soldier, and then train pikemen. ------- 16 Gold Reasonable cost for training a pikemen when all supplies (peasant, wood) are provided.
If you are in the imperial city and believe that this is a reasonable cost per pikeman, and are willing to provide your own supplies (peasent & wood) contact Lews Therin Telamon [m3m] at m3m@g1.pbm.com
The Lord of the Morning, The Dragon, Lews Therin Telamon [m3m]
I hereby second the request that the AOO and IN publish a list of no go areas, and disputed lands (within reason) in order to aid neutral parties from becoming involved. This is not too much to ask, as I feel if the non AOO or IN allied factions becoming pissed off enough they will pose a serious threat to AOO and IN allies who will busy knocking the stuffing out of each other.
Well, it would appear that there will be a large number of Necromancers, carion eating birds and animals in and around Mount Olympus for awhile.
There just a'int enought clerics to go around. However, what few there are that can resurect, are gonna make the big bucks this day, that's for sure.
Without castle defense bonus: Attacker loses 382 fighters, defender loses 570 fighters, attacker wins.
With castle defense bonus: Attacker loses 438 fighters, defender loses 224 fighters, defender wins.
Hmm... I think I will start building my castle now.
Anyone have any thoughts on how to prevent NPC prisoners from disappering when I free them? Maybe it's my breath...
Red Drake, of the Red Mysterions [u1p]
Diary: Fierce Winds, Day 10
I chaff at these delays! We lost several pikemen and peasants last month, and now I must stop to recruit and train more to replace the losses. It wasn't worth the piddling amount of gold of won. We will never catch up to our comrades at this rate. To make matters worse, Melis still has not completed his study of performing magical tasks, so we make be reduced to making and selling baskets this month just to make ends meet. How ignominous!
The war between Iron Nation and the AOO is pretty silly. In about ten turns, MAFOC will be strong enough to come back to this area and conquer whatever remains of BOTH of you!
-- Squire Adam
We finally make it to the plains. Look there, a grassy field rather like a pasture. Does anyone know what a grassy field is good for, or an enchanted forest, for that matter?
AOO and Marat
Due to your apparent and timely victory over the Iron Nation recently my doctors have advised a long rest in a distant land
. While I would have enjoyed trying to trim your forces my nutritionist has placed me on a low suicide diet. May your forces be tied up for years before you expand to all of Provinia and the surrounding lands. Negentropy [pz8]
Can anyone confirm the reports that either Cyclops or Centaurs require special weapons to attack? Any information gladly accepted, Barrabas [g5b]
The Olympia Atlas is accepting contributions, and is available for download! Be the first to contribute information for unexplored lands (Hades, Faery).
In the tradition of Oleg's Map (tm), the Atlas is a compilation of geographical information useful for explorers, traders, and adventurers. Best of all, it's absolutely free!
To contribute to the Atlas, simply send turn excerpts (cut out all the incriminating parts) that contain the following information:
o) Mapping data (region & route info) o) City market reports o) City skills lists o) Inner locations
and send it to sx6@g1.pbm.com. We'll include it into the next version of the Atlas.
The Atlas is available by ftp from your nearest PBM ftp site (ftp.erg.sri.com in the USA, check the PBM FAQ for other sites), in the directory /pub/pbm/olympia, as atlas.X, where X is the turn of the last update.
The Atlas is also available on the PBMGames forum on CompuServe, in the fantasy games section, as atlas.oly.
The turn 17 version of the atlas is currently available at both sites.
Brought to you by the Skulking Vermin (sx6)
DATELINE: Krussos, Snowmelt
With the coming of an early spring, ground has been broken in southern Krussos at the future site of the Krussos Institute of Technology (KIT). This building will come to house some of the greatest minds of Olympia as they strive to develop cutting edge technology. Interested parties who might wish to contribute to the endowment fund should contact Prof. Kupperman [d4g], Department of Anthropomorphism, KIT.
It has been bought to my master's attention that a bounty of 5000 gold has been placed onto his head, for what crime we do not know. Therefore, my master, Oberon, captain of the Excogitate Soliloquy, has ordered me to offer 10,000 pieces of gold for the head of whomever collects the 5000 pieces on his head.
My master would like to also point out that the chances of collecting the 10,000 from him is as likely as the chance of collecting 5000 for him!
May I also point out that anyone who spys on my master, gets the same pleasure as did the Pleasureboat or whatever ridiculous name it had.
Talltree
The guard at the gate of the Imperial City always got a laugh out of the new nobles leaving the city for the first time. They were so obvious. They would come to the gate with their meager following of peasants and soldiers. Then stand in the gate peering out. They looked like they expected to see a gauntlet of dragons with forks and knives waiting to receive them. But after seeing the steady stream of lumberjacks and traders going through the gate with out incident they would puff up their chests. Screw up their courage and boldly go where everyone had gone before.
Diary of a nervous traveller:
How could he have done such a terrible thing?? He had no answer. But the fact remained that he had done it. On the third day of the last month he had bound himself by oath to that terrible creature Mirage. Of course Mirage had treated him well so far, but he was certain that this kindness (also expressed in the name Mirage operated under- the Kindly ones- what a joke) was just a mask. But now he was oathbounded to him.
Jurij knew he would have to do as Mirage told him. The first thing had actually been to study magic, a task Jurij had liked. Although of course, magic was a very very dangerous thing.
Then Mirage had ordered him to the Royal Hunting Plains, to meet a certain Jostein. This Jostein character was certainly a most dubious fellow, an ignorant soldier, prone to violence. Jurij shuddered. But he went.
As went everything suddenly got foggy. Fog fog fog fog everywhere. But he went on. He reached the Royal Hunting Plains on the 20th, and found Jostein. Jostein was, as expected a dirty, angry, violent soldier. Dangerous fellow. Jurij knew he would have to be careful.
But Jostein was not the worst. Here was also a set of undeads! Glibbering, slavering, drooling, evil, ugly undeads. Wailing and moaning all the time. They should be slain! Killed!!! Murdered!!!
But he guessed they were dangerous. He needed someone brave to kill them. Maybe he could ask Sir Robin The Brave?
While making my way back toward the IC, I see BIG stack of Iron Nation nobles go into bx22. Maybe around IC is not good place to be. Maybe Drucartan is next place Rover go.
Rover back on air after Rover find safe place for Roverhouse.
The Rover bow-wow
THE BATTLE OF CHATEAU OLYMPIQUE After the recent battle at Mt Olympia, this issue of the Times will no doubt be filled with the taunts of victors and wails of the defeated. My character was at bx22, as a bystander most fortunately, and I think a brief overvew of the battle reveals some lessons for future combatants. The attackers brought with them, by my count, 39 nobles, 161 soldiers, 76 pikemen, 111 x-bow, 107 workers, 57 peasants, 1 catapult, and the normal assorted critters. By my count they lost 95% of their assets, had 17 nobles taken prisoner, and 9 more nobles wounded. I think the defenders lost 40% of their assets and I don't see any wounds. The most obvious question is why did all those nobles show up? It was a significant portion of the attackers strength, but what a gamble! If the attackers had brought only a few nobles, each side lost troops, and the attackers defeat could be quickly made good with more recruiting and training, but as it is, nobles do the recruiting and training and many are now in chains. I suspose many of the attacking players are looking at their remaining position and nobles and contemplating dropping, which would be loss for the rest of us. This was the last big battle of nobles. Second, come prepared for battle. Each attacking noble brought with him, on average, 4 soldiers, 2 pikemen, 3 x-bow, 3 workers, and 1 peasant. Most nobles could do better than that if only they devoted themselves to raising troops after 2 months, while this battle took place on turn 17. Some nobles came prepared, like Ellisif (e6w) with 4 soldiers, 16 pike, Willan Chantri (m3f) with 26 crossbowmen, Elder John (g1f) 18 crossbowmen, Brother MoonPlague (b5l) with 30 crossbowmen, and Karla (s5s) 21 crossbowmen. So what were the rest doing there? Battles will now be conducted by nobles specialized for the task.
The third point is leave the workers and peasants at home. Unless need to cut the payroll, what good were the 107 workers, representing 7 months of noble work? And 57 peasants, potential soldiers (times 5), potential crossbow (missle 25)? The attackers did not seem prepared to win. I am not so hard on the defenders, because defenders don't have the initiative and don't make the choice to attack. Perhaps now peasants will be become soldiers quicker, and nobles will avoid being cannon-fodder in some poor attempt of just being there.
Agusta faction kk6
It's all very well knowing where the gates are, but what I want to know before jumping through one, is: who claims the other ends? In particular, if you have an ambush ready for my lightly loaded jumper, I'd rather be warned off in advance.
py4 (The Clan With No Name)
TRAVELER'S WARNING: Lumberjacks spending a night in a forest province on the eve of a new month must be very carefull where they encamp. The rapid regeneration of the trees during the night have left some careless workers impaled at the top of the new growth. Veteran lumberjacks will advise their apprentices to stay the night in clear ground.
The Scrabble Murders - Chapter Two ==================================
In the cramped passenger compartment, Holmes was rapidly donning an outfit he had summoned from the battered suitcase, shouting imprecations at the unfortunate cabbie he'd waved down back at Baker Street, breakfasting on an ancient-looking sandwich (also extracted from the case), shaving himself expertly with an elven dagger (presented to him by the grateful Potentate of Torba Bacor following "The Case of the Buried Onion") and searching the morning Times for the advice columns. "Doesn't make sense," he muttered, absently brushing breadcrumbs and shaving cream from his greatcoat, "they should can Miyuki and get one of those Van Buren twins back on the payroll."
"So," he continued, turning to his co-passenger, "notice anything *unusual* in the paper this morning?" He winked and whacked Watson affectionately on the crown with the rolled-up foolscap.
"Jolly good opening chapter to our latest adventure, eh? Top notch, top notch!" the doctor enthused.
Holmes rolled his eyes heavenward. "Haven't I told you time and again, when reading the Olympia Times, it is always the case that what is *not* written therein is of vastly greater interest than of whatever is! Now try again..."
Watson furrowed his brow in thought. "Ah! I have it! The Harbor- master's Report!"
"Capital, my good Man, Capital!" exclaimed Holmes while Watson beamed like a schoolboy. "Where the blue blazes was Horatio's Year Two Report? Now pay the driver and come along quickly!" Holmes leapt from the coach just as it came to a halt by the city docks and he immediately disappeared inside a dilapidated shack.
When Watson stepped out of the mid-morning sun into the gloomy hovel he gasped involuntarily at the scene he beheld. A grizzled old sailor lay face-down and motionless in a pool of clear liquid. Around his head and upper body the liquid darkened to an ugly crimson. Soldiers from the city garrison stood uncomfortably along the walls, eyeing their captain who, in turn, stood watching Holmes as he sat at a huge desk leafing swiftly through an oversized book. Holmes glanced up and nodded Watson toward the recumbant form. "He's not dead, of course, merely dead drunk. Kodva, I should warrent. Have a look."
Watson knelt down in the sticky, fishy-smelling pool and carefully rolled Horatio face-up while Holmes came forward to watch the examination. Watson began to tick off his visible symptoms; "Eyes glazed, breathing shallow, must have bloodied his nose when he Brodied out on the floor here. Ears are... Great Scott!!!"
"What is it Watson? Let me have a look!" Holmes shouldered the doctor to one side. A moment later he confirmed, "You're right, I've never seen so much ear hair in my li-"
"Er, Holmes, the *other* ear..." interjected Watson sotto voce.
Holmes flopped the harbormaster's head over and instantly felt a chill premonition. "Great, as you pointed out, Scott! There's something *in* there!" He fished around inside the doctor's omnipresent bag and selected a pair of surgical lazy tongs. Several soldiers fainted as he extended the instrument to its full length deep within the man's otic canal and deftly extracted his prize. He raised the tongs up for all to see, clamped firmly on a waxy scrabble tile clearly displaying the letter 'H'.
On the floor, the harbormaster's eyes fluttered. He groaned some- thing barely coherent and slipped back into deep unconsciousness.
"What did he say?" puzzled Watson.
"I believe it was 'regurgitate slowly', sir" suggested the Captain.
All present jumped as Holmes snapped his fingers like a rifle shot. "Excogitate Soliloquy! They've stolen a page from his logbook too! Quickly Watson, to the Orc Institute! I'll explain on the way!" Once again, he dashed out the door with the doctor hot on his heels.
To be continued...
__ __ / /\______________________________________________________________/ /\ \_\/ \_\/ | GateMastery, the final frontier? | |<--------------------------------------------------------------->| | | | The Gatemasters are here to help *You*. | | | | Here is how it works. We have already located five gateways | | and are rapidly pinning down another four. We want to help | | you help us. Send us in your gate readings and we will send | | you back other information we have that will help you to | | pin point the gateway. If you can pinpoint a gateway that | | we have not, then you get to become a full Gatemaster will | | access to all the gate information we have. | | | | Why do we do it this way? Well there is a large effort that | | must be made in locating gates, and we don't think it's fair | | that people free-load. So long as you are actively trying | | to locate new gateways, you will continue to get help. | | essentially people get out what they put it. We work this | | way to encourage people to contribute. | | | | Interested? Send mail to q4y. | _| _| / /\______________________________________________________________/ /\ \_\/ \_\/
Hello again gentle fellow Olympians. We, the Tytalus, are still looking for sale ports for valuable trade goods, and are willing to part with some piece of the bounty if we are directed to buyers for either:
Jeweled Eggs [118] or Saffron [254]
We thank all knowledgeable Olympian explorers for their cooperation, and, as an aside, express our fond hope that this messy conflict on the lands of Provinia should soon cease that trade might prosper over all of Olympia.
-- The Tytalus [cw9]
Vul Dragna threw a bottle onto the sand as his sailors began rowing the Kraken back into deep water, away from Castaway Island.
Ten nobles stood on the beach near the bottle. Until last month, these nobles had been strangers; now they were comrades, united in common cause: survival. They watched the Kraken slowly move away. They cursed Vul Dragna, its captain, for marooning them on this desolate island, now known as Castaway Island, somewhere in the Atnos Channel.
Rustic tore his eyes away from the retreating Kraken. "The bastard...he didn't even give me the 200 gold he had promised...".
Dorian shook his head slowly. "And all that talk about establishing a university, financing my studies; just castles in the sand...".
"Swept into the sea", Ilthraac said, "just like bloodly Dragna and his pirates.
"Well, we should read his message. Then we'll need shelter, water, food, rescue. Not much at all."
Ilthraac took the message from the bottle. He unfolded the parchment, began to read...
"To my former shipmates...
"Lads, it's a cruel thing I've done to you, but you're a strong, resourceful lot. You'll manage, no doubt. And if you don't, why, I'll be along to dig for your corpses, press 'em into service for the Brotherhood.
"But that's unpleasant talk, and I don't want to darken your spirits.
"So let me offer you a boon from my kind heart. You'll be skeptical, at first, but consider the alternative: begging another captain to give all ten of you a lift off this island, and none of you with any peasants or wood to barter. You bartered it all to me!
"And, naturally, my boys back in the Imperial City have branded you a mutinous crew, and explained how I just took my right as an honest captain to boot you from my ship.
"So it's me or a lifetime of coconuts and grass skirts, lads!
"Here's my deal. The Kraken will anchor just off the horizon. My other galley, the Leviathan, will meet with her shortly and transfer over a company of soldiers. I offer each of you passage aboard the Kraken back to the Imperial City, for a boarding fee of just 300 gold apiece. Now there's a deal for you! Can't spend gold on the island...
"That's my offer, lads. It's open for just five days. If you turn me down, I'll sail off and leave you to a dull existence. A hungry one, too; don't see much vegetation around you, though Dorian there would look mighty fine on a spit. Best hurry, if you've a mind to cook him. See, I've been through these parts before, and unless my charts are off, your island is inhabited by Cyclopses. Quite a number of them!
"Probably watching you right now..."
Watersoaked remains of a Journal:
Mountains! Everywhere Mountains! We have been sailing along this strange coast for months now, and all I have seen is Mountains. The men are starting to grumble and I fear that we shall have a mutiny. If we do not site land that we can leave the ship on, I will have to.....
"There is no substitute for victory."
--Gen. Douglas McArthur
"What the hell was that?" "Oh, you were dead- but we took care of that." "I was _dead_? You _took_care_ of it?" What the hell happened?" "It's a long story... Well, what happened was that I was there, but you didn't know I was there. A friend of mine was there, but he didn't know I was there either, so he attacked me--" "He didn't know you were there, so he attacked you? A friend of yours?" "Yeah, that's right. Anyway, because he didn't know I was there, he attacked me. Now, since you didn't know I was there, you leaped in to defend me-- "Well, you didn't know why you were jumping in, but it was to defend me, as I said. Anyway, since you were defending me, and my friend was attacking me--" "Wait. I don't want to know. You say I was dead, but I'm alright now, right?" "Fit as a fiddle." "Okay, I'll just pretend this whole thing never happened. So, have I missed anything?"
THE CONDE NASTY TRAVELLER
(The monthly review of activities of interest to the modern action tourist.)
An Inside Look at Battle Surfing -- by Kristian Armorcorps
I am standing here on the battlements of Chateau Olympique, at this very moment under attack by a large army, to give you a closer look at a new, exciting, but very dangerous sport. With me are two of its most famous practitioners. In everyday life they appear to be average nobles, pursuing unexceptional tasks like flogging peasants or pillaging the territories of their neighbors. However, both these men have a secret occupation. Let's give them an opportunity to describe it in their own words.
"Lord Alfred, do you have a minute."
"Why, yes, m'lady. How can I help you."
"Perhaps you could explain what you've been doing for the past several hours, going in and out of the castle in the middle of a raging battle. And I notice you're not carrying any weapons."
"Well, that's true. Somehow, there's just not much enjoyment anymore in whacking people. A while ago the thought hit me that I could have more fun by participating in battles without really fighting. So that's what I'm doing here. I heard a big bunch of Iron Nation nobles were going to attack the castle, so I came to Mt. Olympus, and sure enough, they've showed up. Now, while the battle is going on, I'm running in and out of the castle, between the armies. I've gotten pretty good at dodging arrows and boiling oil, but those harpies screaming at the West Bastion have given me some scary moments"
"I'm sorry - how is this supposed to be fun?"
"Anybody can chop off a head. I mean, I do it myself still, from time to time. Just to keep my hand in, y'know. No, this is much better. Nobody doubts my courage after one of these. I get a chance to pull some really gnarly moves too! And the thrill it gives me -- almost like a wizard's lightning bolt, or a gerbil's.... Well, excuse me, I see another charge coming from Harold Hardrada, and I want to go lay down in front of it."
"Well, good luck Alfred, hope to see you later for drinks. Don't forget to bring your gerbils. Now, also with me is Lord Bartholomew Augusta, who I understand has travelled quite a distance to be here today."
"That's right, Kristian. This looks to be the mother-in-law of all battles. We've been waiting for this one for months, and I'm delighted to be here."
"I understand that a group of you are working on starting organized compettion, with scoring, judges, and so on?"
"Yes, that's right. It will be handled under the auspices of the Nobles Competition in Armor Association. We're negotiating a contract with the tele-wizards guild for astral broadcast rights. We're hoping to put on our first event in West Provenia next month. Big prizes for the winners, and probably advertizing contracts from Imperial Cities biggest armorers"
"Tell me, Barth. Do you get hurt very often doing this?"
"Not much more than an occasional broken bone, usually. Of course, if I get killed, I have life insurance, which pays a priest to resurrect me. Takes weeks to get rotten smell out of my clothes, though."
"What's been the most memorable moment for you in today's battle."
"It has to be the individual combat between Benelux and Huseyin Ibn Ibrahim over on the North Wall a couple hours ago. I happened to be right there when it started, and was able to move right in between them of them several times while they stopped to catch their breath. I pulled off some rude maneuvers that made them both madder than Hades, but that's part of the fun. Too bad about Huseyin, but that's how things go. So tell me Kristian, why are YOU here?"
"It's very simple, really. I just like to watch."
(Which is worse - sea serpents, pirates, or the odor of your shipmates. Next month, Kristian takes an ocean voyage.)
NOTICE: Large quantities of used arms and armor for sale. Recently collected from a nearby battlefield. Low prices, minimal rust. Come to the Little Shop of Armor. Ask for Sid
Tired? Homeless? Yearning to be free? Well, the Olympian transport corporation can help YOU out. We offer a wide vartiety of voyages to places as far away from Provenia as possible. Our rates are low too, especially if you can row. Come to the Imperial City docks. Follow your nose.
M.V., prop.
Crystal's Bargain Shoppe is proud to offer the following extraordinary commodities: - Pikes - Crossbows - Winged Horses These incredible items of extraordinary value can be yours within a month! Just make me an offer and we'll deal! Crystal [m2g]
I've discovered a marvellous new Scrying subskill "Identify Anonymous Times Postings". Contact me for details.
I write this for my master who is currently held prisoner in Chateau Olympique as a result of a failed attack on the castle. I hide in the woods nearby its battle scarred walls, knowing that come morning I too must surrender if there is just a small chance that we yet may be free. Free to explore other lands and put Provinia behind us. I shall find out come first light what honor our foe holds. Grey Warder [h3s]
____________________________________________________________________________ <<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>> >> DDDDD IIII SSSS CCC OOOO VV VV EEEEEE RRRRR IIII EEEEE SSSS << << DD DDD II SS SS CC CC OO OO VV VV EE EE RR RR II EE E SS SS >> >> DD DD II SS CC OO OO VV VV EE RR RR II EE SS << << DD DD II SSSS CC OO OO VV VV EEEE RRRRR II EEEE SSSS >> >> DD DD II SS CC OO OO VVVV EE RR RR II EE SS << << DD DDD II SS SS CC CC OO OO VV EE EE RR RR II EE E SS SS >> >> DDDDD IIII SSSS CCC OOOO VV EEEEEE RR RR IIII EEEEE SSSS << <<__________________________________________________________________________>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~) ) Due to a lack of recent subscriber submissions, 'Discoveries' is ( ( folding its operations after 8 issues. The editor would like to ) ) thank our subscribers for their loyalty over the past few years, and ( ( especially those who submitted information for publication. ) ) I am saddened to see this change in our lives, and would like to ( ( apologize to the people of Olympia for allowing this unfortunate ) ) circumstance to occur. ( ( The Olympia Atlas will still be available and is running strong. ) ) please contact The Skulking Vermin [sx6], for information on the ( ( atlas. ) ) ( ( ) ) - The Crimson Sage [w0l] ( (________________________________________________________________________)
Oh look, the long anticipated AOO v IN war has started! Hang on a minute. It also looks to be over with a resounding defeat for the IN. This must mean Provinia is now in the uncontested hands of Marat. Will the IN rally or will the IN flee to parts unknown. Who knows? Who cares?
The Observer
The sound of axes biting deep into green wood rang through the small clearing. Towards one end, an ancient tree toppled with a crash, and a swarm of woodsmen descended upon it, ready to reduce it to lengths of shaped wood and add it to the steadily growing pile that dominated the clearing.
"Are we still on schedule?" the noble who spoke fingered the crystaline hilt of his sword as he watched the busy woodsmen.
"Aye, sire." one of the peasant leaders answered, while scratching tally marks on a roll of soft bark. "At this rate, we will be able to move on-" *THUNK* The peasant stopped in mid-word.
"What..?" the noble watched, astonished as the peasant crumpled to the ground. And then, as cries of pain and surprise began from the workmen he saw the crossbow bolt standing out from the man's back.
"To arms!" he shouted and drew his sword, its glassine blade shining with an inner light. "We are attacked!"
From out of the brush to the east of the clearing, a line of pikemen advanced, shouting. "Vengence!!" was their cry. A steady rain of arrows and bolts from behind them swept the workmen.
"Let loose the lions!" one of the defenders shouted, and another threw back his head and called, a deep, echoing roar. He was answered with another roar from beyond the stack of lumber, and a huge, regal cat stepped into the clearing. It was followed by a second, and a third, and still more. The lions, growling softly, advanced on the pikemen. The line of pikemen halted, and braced their weapons, the points menacing the approaching beasts.
The lead cat stopped just short of the blades of the pikes, and snarled at the obstruction. Then, lightning quick he batted the pike aside and sprang at the man behind it. Midway through his leap, a spear thrown from within the woods struck the beast in the throat and knocked it back. As if still held in invisible hands, the spear twisted, ripping out the cat's throat before tearing free and sailing back along the path it had come, to settle in the grasp of the lean, tattooed noble who stepped out from the shelter of the trees. He threw the spear again, with deadly accuracy. Two shadows passed over him as a pair of man-sized hawks dove, scattering the great cats.
"Rally round me!" a defender shouted and waved his gleaming blade. "Push them back!" He charged the pikemen. In a blur of motion, a large wolf burst from the forest to one side, and leaped at him, driving him to the earth as his blade flew to one side. Several pikemen rushed towards him, as the remaining men in the clearing broke and fled.
Some hours later, the grey-clad noble studied the line of captive nobles, guarded by crossbowmen and several of his wolves. "Why?" one of them asked him bitterly. "We did nothing to you!"
The beastmaster looked back at him coldly. "If I thought the lession would do you any good," he replied, "I'd warn you in the future that, the next time you chance upon a lone noble, you consider that he might have friends before you kill him." He watched a look of understanding come over the prisoner's face. "But that lession would do you no good, anymore." He turned to the guards and nodded.
The crossbowmen raised their weapons...
All this toil, sweat and conflict! Why? What is the point? Are we not all ultimately doomed in any case? Is not all endeavor, in fact all existence, doomed from the start to end in eternal void and nothingness? Would it not be a truer affinity with nature to begin the destruction now? Tear down all human constructs and evidence of human existence! Repudiate all human effort and institutions! Alas! there seems to be no means to erase the befoulments knows as cities, Use the RAZE command! Use the QUIT command! Retreat from this mockery of meaning! Embrace Sweet Oblivion!
Have a nice day! Nihilists for a Better Tomorrow
The peace treaty arranged between the IN and the AOO after last month's dustup remains obscure in detail, but apparently the broad points are:
- the IN nobles in bx22 (those surviving, anyway
) hand over all/most of their possessions this turn; - they go into quarantine in the castle (?!) or another of the structures in bx22 so that their good faith can be verified (how?); - they will be escorted back to IC next turn; - All of the IN leaves Provinia. As usual it is not known whether the AOO will actually insist that anyone on their side actually observe the terms of the treaty...
Rumour has it that a certain IN noble is offering a wager (*real-world* bets!!!) that enough of the AOO will sort-of-accidentally-repudiate the peace terms to massacre the defenceless IN nobles once their troops have been handed over to the AOO - or that some excuse will be manufactured to say that the IN broke the terms first...
O ye of little faith!!! Anyone know who it is? He/she/it deserves nomination as Olympic Paranoiac of the Year! Just because none of the AOO have taken up the offer...money for jam if they're sincere...
(to be fair (?) they may not be privy to it themselves, after all it would be *very* bad etiquette to offer it to them
) ...and anyone else who believes in the good faith of the AOO, takes the bet, and loses will be nominated Olympic Suckers of the Year. Oh yes, for any such I can make available a number of bridges, for sale at knockdown prices...
WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!!
As a public service announcement I just have to let you all know of some Olympia treachery... As you all know there are pirates around. One of thier favorite pastimes is to get nobles to board their ships in port, strand them on desert islands, kill them, and then use necromancy to steal the noble points.
DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TRICK! (unless you have noble points to give away!)
Steer clear of these pirates, their accomplices, and their ships:
Ship: Leviathan [gf0m] (thats zero not the letter O) Nobles: Doublecross [e6o] (thats the letter o not zero) Phrygain [r0s] (that zero not the letter O) Lykain [u3t] Locrian [l1q] Mixolydian [i0g] (that zero not the letter O)
BEWARE!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!
THE MARTYRS OF CHATEAU OLYMPIQUE
Arianhrod Ellisif Pwyll ap Llyr Huseyin ibn Ibrahim Sir Galahad the Chaste Sir Lancelot the Bold Rachet Storm Dusty Oregutter Silver Mist Boron Sir Patrick of Locklear Helen Synthia Sir Robert of Morrison Adam Big Lane Karla
Overheard outside Castle Olympique last month: ---------------------------------------------
HARALD Hello.
MAN on castle wall 'Allo. Whoo is eet?
HARALD I am King Harald and these are my Knights of the Iron Table. Whose castle is this?
MAN This is the castle of my master, Guy de Loimbard Marat.
HARALD Please go and tell your master that we have been charged by God with a sacred quest, and if he will give us food and shelter this night, he may join us in our quest for the Holy Grail.
MAN Well, I'll ask him, but I don't think he'll be very keen. He's already got one, you see.
HARALD What?
GALAHAD He says they've already got one.
(They are stunned.)
HARALD Are you sure he's got one?
MAN Oh yes. It's very nice.
HARALD Well ... can we come up and have a look?
MAN Of course not. You are ECA pigs.
HARALD Well, what are you then?
MAN I'm AOO. Why do you think I have this outrageous accent, you silly King.
GALAHAD What are you doing in Provinia?
MAN Mind your own business.
HARALD If you will not show us the Grail we shall storm your castle.
(Murmurs of assent)
MAN You don't frighten us, ECA pig-dog. Go boil your bottom, son of a silly person. I blow my nose on you so-called Harald King, you and your silly ECA k ... niggets.
(He puts hands to his ears and blows a raspberry.)
GALAHAD What a strange person.
HARALD Now look here, my good man.
MAN I don't want to talk to you, no more, you empty-headed animal, food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries.
GALAHAD Is there someone else up there we could talk to?
MAN No. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.
HARALD Now this is your last chance. I've been more than reasonab ...
Now that is my final offer. If you are not prepared to agree to my demands, I shall be forced to take ... Oh Christ!
(A cow come flying over the battlements, mooing aggressively. The cow lands on Galahad's page, squashing him completely.)
HARALD Right! Knights! Forward!
(HARALD leads a charge toward the castle despite being bombarded by a variety of farm animals.)
HARALD Run away! Run away!
(Credit and apologies to Monty Python.)
From the Captain of the Tai Lung,
We're finally back at sea. The great birds are a great asset to our militrary strength, but are not popular with the sailors who have to clean the deck. The giant spiders are less trouble as long as they are not building webs. The Princess has contributed greatly to morale since we rescued her, although she continues to be in a somewhat weakened condition (60,60,0) from her captivity.
The lands of Tarculin, Bayarth, Pesbrand, and Denestria are hereby claimed by MacBeth for the use of his allies and descendants. Interlopers will be viewed with extreme suspicion and prejudice.
Hello, all! Say--how come there are so many cities located on the Olympia Atlas map that aren't included in the listing of their names and prices and skills? Surely you all didn't just pass by those cities without ever visiting them....
************************************************** **** NEWS FLASH! **************** NEWS FLASH! **** ************* BANDITS ON MT OLYMPUS! *************
Imperial City, AP. The rampaging bandits and brigands of the the Emperor's Forest have spilled over onto Mt Olympus. Law abiding citizens should stay in their homes, and bolt the doors!
Why is the Emperor allowing such things? Maybe it is time to move to another continent, and find a new Emperor? Or maybe the Emperor should be replaced? Maybe the Emperor is dead?
But whatever the case. It is obvious that Provinia is not safe for law abiding citizens!
Where were they? He looked out over the Stony Plain but could not see them yet. And Torba Bacor was not that large. Were they in Delorn? Dolgan? Quickrock? Had someone really hauled wood from the Strangleroot Forest onto the Dragonrock to build an inn? He wondered. The other faction who claimed to come as a police force was now strangely silent. Were they ever really here? Claims without names were too common these days. He had not come to claim but to explore and adventure. "Perhaps we should go look for them," he said to his growing army. For now, he would wait for them, but soon he would go looking. He was not interested in conquest, simply contact. All he wished was his freedom.
Can't afford a riding horse? Stop by the Mellow Yellow Pub (Angus McAttle, Propreitor [sic]) to pick up a couple of coconut halves. Combined with a peasant, you can then MAKE 999 to produce a "Trusty Steed Concorde". For a limited time, with each pair purchased receive one free 16 oz. spam juice.
Mt. Olympus once again wins the award for most death and destruction.
Mt. Olympus [bx22], mountain, in Provinia, civ-6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 28: Hotspur [h9t], with 35 workers, entered Chateau Olympique [s85]. 28: Genji [x8x], with 20 peasants, arrived from the east. 28: Harald Hardrada [f0p], with two soldiers, one pikeman, one wild horse, 28: nine riding horses, eight wolves, eight harpies, two oxen, arrived from 28: the east, accompanied by: 28: Uther the Unrelenting [l6u], with 12 soldiers 28: Ali ibn Salim [d1g] 28: Angry peasant [ii6t], angry peasants, number: 32 28: Angry peasant [do6a], angry peasants, number: 20 28: Arianhrod [d4u], with three peasants, 14 crossbowmen 28: Ellisif [e6w], with four soldiers, 15 pikemen, one peasant 28: Ulf Uspaksson [j9y], wearing crystal armor [cx8o], with 12 peasants, 28: eight pikemen 28: Pwyll ap Llyr [s1y], with three workers, three pikemen, six peasants, 28: five soldiers 28: Huseyin ibn Ibrahim [l4b], with 27 workers, three peasants, 28: five pikemen 28: Hunahpu [a1j], with two peasants, one archer, two crossbowmen 28: Nephthys [w9y], with one worker, seven soldiers, seven pikemen 28: Sir Galahad the Chaste [k7x] 28: Sir Lancelot the Bold [b3w] 28: Rachet Storm [m7s], with five wild horses, two rats, eight giant 28: birds, four wolves 28: Rusty Ironhand [x7a], with six pikemen, eight soldiers 28: Cotton Mather [i4b], with three peasants, 17 workers 28: Black Ooot [y1i], wielding Sword of Pantarastar [bc2m], with 28: six soldiers, six pikemen 28: Dusty Oregutter [y5a], with eight pikemen, three peasants, 28: three workers, six soldiers 28: Silver Mist [r3o], conjurer, with eight pikemen, six workers, 28: six soldiers 28: Grey Warder [h3s], with 12 workers, three pikemen, five soldiers 28: Increase Mather [w2t], with ten peasants, 11 workers 28: Willan Chantri [m3f], with 26 crossbowmen 28: Dionysis [n8d], with ten soldiers, four pikemen, six workers 28: Boron [q5k], with 12 workers, two pikemen, six soldiers 28: Laural of the Tempest [x1x], conjurer 28: Sir Patrick of Locklear [n9d], with seven peasants 28: Karla [s5s], with six workers, 21 crossbowmen 28: Marleen [i3v], with three peasants, two soldiers 28: Dodson [q0e], with five peasants 28: Elder John [g1f], with 18 crossbowmen 28: Brother MoonPlague [b5l], with 30 crossbowmen 28: Helen [d6m], with 12 soldiers 28: Percival the Prim [r7m], prisoner 28: Viliz [l1n], with 23 peasants, 45 soldiers, arrived from the north. 29: Genji [x8x], with 20 peasants, entered Chateau Olympique [s85]. 29: Viliz [l1n], with 23 peasants, 45 soldiers, entered Chateau 29: Olympique [s85]. 29: Alfred [z3k], with 15 workers, exited Lost Dutchman's Mine [j21]. 29: Alfred [z3k], with 15 workers, entered Chateau Olympique [s85]. 29: Alfred [z3k] exited Chateau Olympique [s85]. 29: Harald Hardrada [f0p] attacks Chateau Olympique [s85]! 29: 29: Harald Hardrada [f0p], with two soldiers, one pikeman, one wild 29: horse, nine riding horses, eight wolves, eight harpies, two oxen, 29: accompanied by: 29: Uther the Unrelenting [l6u], with 12 soldiers 29: Ali ibn Salim [d1g] 29: Angry peasant [ii6t], angry peasants, number: 32 29: Angry peasant [do6a], angry peasants, number: 20 29: Arianhrod [d4u], behind 7, with three peasants, 14 crossbowmen 29: Ellisif [e6w], with four soldiers, 15 pikemen, one peasant 29: Ulf Uspaksson [j9y], wearing crystal armor [cx8o], with 29: 12 peasants, eight pikemen 29: Pwyll ap Llyr [s1y], with three workers, three pikemen, 29: six peasants, five soldiers 29: Huseyin ibn Ibrahim [l4b], with 27 workers, three peasants, 29: five pikemen 29: Hunahpu [a1j], behind 1, with two peasants, one archer, 29: two crossbowmen 29: Nephthys [w9y], with one worker, seven soldiers, seven pikemen 29: Sir Galahad the Chaste [k7x] 29: Sir Lancelot the Bold [b3w], behind 9 29: Rachet Storm [m7s], with five wild horses, two rats, eight giant 29: birds, four wolves 29: Rusty Ironhand [x7a], with six pikemen, eight soldiers 29: Cotton Mather [i4b], with three peasants, 17 workers 29: Black Ooot [y1i], wielding Sword of Pantarastar [bc2m], with 29: six soldiers, six pikemen 29: Dusty Oregutter [y5a], with eight pikemen, three peasants, 29: three workers, six soldiers 29: Silver Mist [r3o], conjurer, with eight pikemen, six workers, 29: six soldiers 29: Grey Warder [h3s], with 12 workers, three pikemen, five soldiers 29: Increase Mather [w2t], with ten peasants, 11 workers 29: Willan Chantri [m3f], behind 9, with 26 crossbowmen 29: Dionysis [n8d], with ten soldiers, four pikemen, six workers 29: Boron [q5k], with 12 workers, two pikemen, six soldiers 29: Laural of the Tempest [x1x], conjurer, behind 9 29: Sir Patrick of Locklear [n9d], with seven peasants 29: Dodson [q0e], with five peasants 29: Elder John [g1f], behind 9, with 18 crossbowmen 29: Brother MoonPlague [b5l], behind 9, with 30 crossbowmen 29: Helen [d6m], with 12 soldiers 29: Axomin [k0d], behind 9, with seven soldiers, one catapult, 29: three workers 29: Stilwell [w7w], behind 9, with 12 soldiers 29: Synthia [l2z] 29: Miles Falcon [g1s], with eight soldiers 29: Sir Robert of Morrison [g9o] 29: Adam [j3n], with seven soldiers 29: Doger [y1u], with 33 soldiers 29: Big Lane [g8u], with two soldiers 29: Karla [s5s], behind 9, with six workers, 21 crossbowmen 29: Marleen [i3v], with two peasants, three soldiers 29: 29: Chateau Olympique [s85], castle, defense 40, owner: 29: Marat [g3y], duke, with 11 soldiers, ten pikemen, 102 crossbowmen, 29: one riding horse, five swordsmen, 15 workers 29: Angry peasant [es1b], angry peasants, number: 14 29: Athelfrar [m6g], behind 1, with 28 elite archers, one soldier, 29: 39 peasants 29: Charmen [q5z], with three crossbowmen, three workers 29: Benelux [z0z], with eight peasants, five crossbowmen, one soldier 29: Bellabane [o3z], with five peasants, two workers, one pikeman 29: The Jester [o3t], ally, with three peasants 29: Shay Tollin [n3h], priest, ally, with six peasants, 17 soldiers, 29: six pikemen, one riding horse 29: Hermes [c9q], ally, with 25 peasants, one ox 29: Holy Man [w6n], priest, behind 2, ally 29: Rabble Rouser [c1q], behind 2, ally 29: Angry peasant [gy3s], angry peasants, number: 12, ally 29: Angry peasant [bg5u], angry peasants, number: 14, ally 29: Angry peasant [in3q], angry peasants, number: 27, ally 29: Gardener [q5o], behind 2, ally, with two riding horses 29: Bumbling Hordes [hr0v], undead, number: 47, ally, with 22 workers, 29: nine soldiers 29: Warmaster [m9l], behind 2, ally, with six archers, 21 crossbowmen 29: Boadicea [iy5g], barbarians, number: 5, ally 29: Hotspur [h9t], ally, with 35 workers 29: Genji [x8x], ally 29: Viliz [l1n], ally, with 23 peasants, 45 soldiers 29: 29: Marat [g3y] is victorious! 29: 29: Marat lost 39 peasants, 41 workers, 37 soldiers, six pikemen, 29: one swordsman, 50 crossbowmen, 24 angry peasants, 23 undead, 29: three barbarians. 29: 29: Harald Hardrada lost 52 peasants, 98 workers, 142 soldiers, 29: 74 pikemen, 50 angry peasants, two rats, four giant birds, 29: four harpies, 12 wolves. 29: Ali ibn Salim [d1g] was wounded. 29: Angry peasant [ii6t] was destroyed. 29: Angry peasant [do6a] was destroyed. 29: Arianhrod [d4u] was taken prisoner. 29: Ellisif [e6w] was taken prisoner. 29: Ulf Uspaksson [j9y] was wounded. 29: Pwyll ap Llyr [s1y] was taken prisoner. 29: Huseyin ibn Ibrahim [l4b] was taken prisoner. 29: Nephthys [w9y] was wounded. 29: Sir Galahad the Chaste [k7x] was taken prisoner. 29: Sir Lancelot the Bold [b3w] was taken prisoner. 29: Rachet Storm [m7s] was taken prisoner. 29: Rusty Ironhand [x7a] was wounded. 29: Cotton Mather [i4b] was wounded. 29: Dusty Oregutter [y5a] was taken prisoner. 29: Silver Mist [r3o] was taken prisoner. 29: Increase Mather [w2t] was wounded. 29: Dionysis [n8d] was wounded. 29: Boron [q5k] was taken prisoner. 29: Sir Patrick of Locklear [n9d] was taken prisoner. 29: Dodson [q0e] was wounded. 29: Helen [d6m] was taken prisoner. 29: Synthia [l2z] was taken prisoner. 29: Sir Robert of Morrison [g9o] was taken prisoner. 29: Adam [j3n] was taken prisoner. 29: Big Lane [g8u] was taken prisoner. 29: Karla [s5s] was taken prisoner. 29: Marleen [i3v] was wounded. 29: 29: Alfred [z3k] recruited one peasant. 30: Alfred [z3k], with one peasant, entered Chateau Olympique [s85]. 30: Alfred [z3k], with one peasant, exited Chateau Olympique [s85]. 30: Cotton Mather [i4b] recruited one peasant. 30: Black Ooot [y1i] recruited one peasant. 30: Increase Mather [w2t] recruited one peasant.
Province controlled by Chateau Olympique [s85], castle, in Mt. Olympus [bx22] Ruled by Marat [g3y], duke
Routes leaving Mt. Olympus: North, plain, to Royal hunting plains [bw22], 7 days East, forest, to Emperor's forest [bx23], 8 days South, to Forest [by22], 8 days West, plain, to Royal hunting plains [bx21], 7 days Up, cloud, to Cloud [bn2m], Cloudlands, impassable
Inner locations: Lair [ao9s], lair, 1 day Chateau Olympique [s85], castle, defense 40, 16% damaged, owner: Marat [g3y], duke, with two peasants, five soldiers, ten pikemen, 94 crossbowmen, one riding horse, four swordsmen, 13 workers, five wild horses, four giant birds, accompanied by: Angry peasant [es1b], angry peasants, number: 9 Athelfrar [m6g], "who has walked the paths of the Dead", with 29 elite archers, 39 peasants Charmen [q5z], with one worker Benelux [z0z], with five peasants, two crossbowmen Bellabane [o3z], with three peasants, two workers Arianhrod [d4u], prisoner Ellisif [e6w], "a young woman of mystical appearance", prisoner Pwyll ap Llyr [s1y], prisoner Huseyin ibn Ibrahim [l4b], "dishevelled and mumbling obscurely", prisoner Sir Galahad the Chaste [k7x], "Oh please, just a little peril!", prisoner Sir Lancelot the Bold [b3w], "In my own particular ah ... Idiom", prisoner Rachet Storm [m7s], prisoner Dusty Oregutter [y5a], prisoner Silver Mist [r3o], conjurer, prisoner Boron [q5k], prisoner Sir Patrick of Locklear [n9d], prisoner Helen [d6m], prisoner Synthia [l2z], prisoner Sir Robert of Morrison [g9o], prisoner Adam [j3n], prisoner Big Lane [g8u], prisoner Karla [s5s], prisoner The Jester [o3t], "That was no lady, that was my wife!", with two peasants Shay Tollin [n3h], priest, "a fervent Disciple of the Wanderer", with two peasants, 14 soldiers, three pikemen, one riding horse Hermes [c9q], with seven peasants, one ox Holy Man [w6n], priest, accompanied by: Rabble Rouser [c1q] Angry peasant [gy3s], angry peasants, number: 7 Angry peasant [bg5u], angry peasants, number: 9 Angry peasant [in3q], angry peasants, number: 18 Gardener [q5o], with two riding horses, accompanied by: Bumbling Hordes [hr0v], undead, number: 24, "player owned and operated", with ten workers, five soldiers Warmaster [m9l], with six archers, 21 crossbowmen Boadicea [iy5g], barbarians, number: 2, "Just travelling..." Hotspur [h9t], with 16 workers Genji [x8x] Viliz [l1n], with eight peasants, 26 soldiers Tower of the Art [q45], tower, defense 20, owner: Trogenius [j7t], with one riding horse Bastrestric ther Archymonaged [x9i], mage tower of the wheel [w63], tower, defense 20 Sky Reach [x26], tower, defense 20 Tower of Power [l72], tower, defense 20 Pillar of Fire [x60], tower, defense 20 Lost Dutchman's Mine [j21], mine, depth 2 Temple of the Gods [e65], temple
It is windy.
Seen here: Garrison [ji9q], garrison, on guard, with ten soldiers Bartholemew Agusta [p4r] Harald Hardrada [f0p], "with a banner of a black raven on a red field", with one wild horse, nine riding horses, four harpies, two oxen, accompanied by: Percival the Prim [r7m], prisoner Uther the Unrelenting [l6u] Ali ibn Salim [d1g], "'I've never seen these people before in my life!'" Ulf Uspaksson [j9y], wearing crystal armor [cx8o], "Chief Marshal of the realm" Hunahpu [a1j], "one of the Hero Twins", with two peasants, one archer, two crossbowmen Nephthys [w9y], "a fierce hawk-eyed egyptian beauty" Rusty Ironhand [x7a] Cotton Mather [i4b], with one peasant Black Ooot [y1i], wielding Sword of Pantarastar [bc2m], "A dark man in a darker mood" Grey Warder [h3s] Increase Mather [w2t], with one peasant Willan Chantri [m3f], with 26 crossbowmen Dionysis [n8d] Laural of the Tempest [x1x], conjurer Dodson [q0e] Elder John [g1f], with 18 crossbowmen Brother MoonPlague [b5l], with 20 crossbowmen Axomin [k0d], with seven soldiers, one catapult, three workers Stilwell [w7w], with 12 soldiers Miles Falcon [g1s] Doger [y1u] Marleen [i3v] Alfred [z3k], with one peasant
The banner headline shouted: W A R ! ! IN and AOO in Struggle for Olympus ! He read no further. Time to collect that 25 gold he was owed and head out for parts unknown.
INN & OUTT is now open at Faelgrar! Come and visit! And if you need workers or wood, we are selling them too (at Faelgrar market place)!
Brother Fidar [f8t]
News Flash:
Massive population loss in Provincia. Due to the nobles of the Iron Nation selflessly sacrificing themselves against the stone walls of the AOO fortress, the population of Provincia has dropped radically overnight. Nobles in the Imperial City will soon be leaving in droves to claim the abandoned holdings of the Iron Nation. Get it while it's still there. Eastward Ho!
Fear and Loathing in Olympia Editors Note: The Times received the following information last month, 1: > use orb "Raoul Duke" 1: > A vision of Shadowglades swamp south [cj10] appears: 1: 1: > Seen here: 1: Raoul Duke [?0?] "Passed out in the Captains cabin" A courier was dispatched to retrieve Mr. Dukes postings....
I live in a quiet place, where any sound at night means something is about to happen: You come awake fast- thinking, what does that mean? Usually nothing. But sometimes......it's hard to adjust to a city gig where the night is full of sounds, all of them comfortably routine. Horses, drunken voices, footsteps.....no way to relax; so you round up some nobles, get out on the Ocean . . .high speed cruising on the HIGH SEAS... Yes, yes indeed, just what I needed until the first mate took the helm... Ignore that nightmare in Dinsdales quarters. Just another ugly refugee from the Love Generation, some doom-struck gimp who couldn't handle the pressure. My first mate has never been able to accept the notion -often espoused by reformed potion abusers and especially popular with those on probation-that you can get a lot higher without potions than with them. And neither have I for that matter. But I once lived down the hill from Dr. ---on---Road [name deleted at insistence of publisher's lawyer] a former Orc oil guru who later claimed to have made that long jump from alchemical frenzy to preternatural consciousness. One fine afternoon in the first rising curl of what would soon become the Great Atnos Potion Wave I stopped by the Good Doctor's temple with the idea of asking him what sort of advice he might have for a neighbor with a healthy curiosity for Orc oil. I left my horse on the road and lumbered up his gravel path, pausing to wave pleasantly to his wife, who was working in the garden under the brim of a huge seeding hat . . . a good scene, I thought: The old man is inside brewing up one of his fantastic potion-stews, and here we see his woman out in the garden, pruning carrots, or whatever . . . humming while she works, some tune I failed to recognize. Humming. Yes . . . but it would be nearly ten years before I would recognize that sound for what it was: Like a Mage far gone in the Om, ---was trying to humm me off. That was no old lady out there in that garden; it was the good doctor himself- and his humming was a frantic attempt to block me out of his higher consciousness. I made several attempts to make myself clear: Just a neighbor come to call and ask the doctor's advice about gobbling some Orc oil in my shack just down the hill from his temple. I did after all, have weapons. And I liked to use them. "Kill?" I realized I could never properly explain that word to this creature toiling here in its garden. Had it ever eaten meat? Could it conjugate the verb "hunt?" Did it understand hunger? Or grasp the fact that my income averaged around 32 gold a month that year? No . . . no hope of communication in this place. I recognized that-but not soon enough to keep the potion doctor from humming me all the way down his pathway and onto my horse and down the mountain. Forget Orc oil, I thought. Look what it's done to that poor bastard. So I stuck with pipeweed and rum for another six months or so, until I moved into Atnos and found myself one night in a place called "Dr. Pain's Inn and Shipyard." And that was that. One grey lump of sugar and BOOM. In my mind I was right back in the doctor's garden. Not on the surface, but underneath-poking up through that finely cultivated earth like some kind of mutant mushroom. A victim of the Potion Explosion. A natural street freak, just eating whatever came by. I recall one night at Dr. Pain's Inn, when a road-person came in with a large pack on his back, shouting: "Anybody want some ORC . . .OIL . . .? I got all the makin's right here. All I need is a place to cook." The manager was on him at once, mumbling, "Cool it, cool it, come back to my office." I never saw him after that night, but before he was taken away, the road-person distributed his samples. Huge white spansules. I went into the men's room to eat mine. But only half at first, I thought. Good thinking, but a hard thing to accomplish under the circumstances. I ate the first half, but spilled the rest on the sleeve of my red tunic . . . And then, wondering what to do with it, I saw Calvin Trillion come in. "What's the trouble," he said. "Well," I said. "All this white stuff on my sleeve is pure crystalline Orc oil." He said nothing: Merely grabbed my arm and began sucking on it. A very gross tableau. I wondered what would happen if some AOO type might wander in and catch us in the act. Screw him, I thought. With a bit of luck, it'll ruin his life-forever thinking that just behind some narrow door in all his favorite Inns, men in red tunics are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know. Would he dare to suck a sleeve? Probably not. Play it safe. Pretend you never saw it. . . .
To those concerned about repeated choruses of "Spam, spam, etc...", it must have been last Wednesday night. You see, Wednesday night is Karaoke night and we had these geeky visitors from the East who kept requesting that song. Atleast those savages didn't show up in the Inn again, I get tired of all those old Ventures covers.
Anything to sell a pint or three.
The Mellow Yellow Pub [y77], outside of Yellowleaf where the surfing is far out. Angus McAttle [b60], proprietor.
Shay Tollin's gaze returned from the infinity above him, as a look of shock and horror filled his visage. Gathering up his few acolytes, he left the black marble temple and headed to see Sarrail.
"Closed for lunch? Sarrail must see farther in the future than even I."
Shay and his followers trudged up the mountain, coming finally to the gates of the Chateau.
"I have business with the Duke! I saw a dread vision, my temple overrun!"
"Come inside, old man. You'll be safe with the Duke."
The guard whispered to his buddy, "Stupid old man. There hasn't been any fighting here in over a year!"
The guard would come to regret those words, as only days later he lay dying, having successfully defended the castle from crazed bandits whose corpses now laid bloating in the springtime sun. In the end, he too regretted not heeding the wisdom of the Wanderer.
To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. -- Sun Tzu
The Imperial City Logging Corporation is open for business. Contact mmwang@mv.us.adobe.com if you wish to place an order for wood.
Well, what do I find in the last issue of the "TIMES", but some joker using _my_ faction ID on a false message.
***THIS GOES BEYOND THE PALE***, IMHO. Post all of the anonymous misleading messages you like, but leave ALL factional and player names >off<. Starting right now, I will not post ANY faction-signed messages in the Times >>>without<<< signing my name and giving my Email address you can contact me at for verification.
In other words, "caveat emptor".
Tony Baldacci Varangian Freeholders (sb0) DAZCapn@aol.com