You are not logged in.
(Bump/Update)
Well dressed but nefarious looking individuals have been spotted lurking around the Altmere slums and docks late at night.
These men are rumored to work for a well-known crime lord "Thaddeus Arkwright," based out of Cove. They have been offering work to those known to rub elbows in certain circles.
Opium Bottles 1,000 per
"The healers down in Blackwell has a few bottles of a highly effective opium. We'll pay for each bottle recovered."
Handwriting Samples - 2,000 per
"We have a forger in Cove who needs handwriting samples of Covian paperwork. We need examples of the seals they use, the format of their documents,
signature samples from their politicians, everything. We understand there's a couple Covian outposts along the Altmere boarder, and we'd rather documents turn
up missing here in Altmere than back in Cove. Hell, there may even be a few gathering dust in the old capital building."
Stolen Gems - 3,000 per bag
"Some amateurs managed to hit a caravan under our protection. A couple bags of gem stones were taken that we'd like recovered.
Pick it from their pockets or yank it from their dead hands, we don't care. Just get them back. The thugs in questions were last seen Northeast of Altmere."
(OOC: Keep in mind that these men would likely not offer these jobs to members of the militia or well-known do-gooders. Use your own discretion
whether or not you think they would offer you work.
To collect payment, simply drop the requested item into your bank box and double click.
In character; it's assumed that when you take the job you'll be given the name of a late night bank teller on Thaddeus' payroll,
as well as a password to give them when you have the item. They'll place the item in a lockbox belonging to one of Thaddeus' thugs.
When the item is recovered, the gold promised will be transferred to your characters account.
As with the bounties, we ask that solo players not clear the entire list in a single evening. Not as a rule, just as a favor.
We'd prefer everyone get a fair chance to partake in the missions. But if the jobs have been up for several days or you're doing them as a group; go nuts.)
The following individuals are wanted within the territory of Altmere and its surrounding counties!
Nevan 5,000
Last seen in Altmere
Amissa 5,000
Last seen in Blackwell
Quincy 5,000
Last seen south of Altmere
Davin 7,500
Last seen in Buccaneers Den
Edward Arkwright 7,500
Last seen northwest of Altmere
Eliza Arkwright 7,500
Last seen in Blackwell
Dario Arkwright 10,000
Last seen in Blackwell
(OOC Notice: The posters are placed in high traffic areas around Altmere. Each poster contains a drawing or physical description of the criminal.
The bounties are being placed by Vernon Blackwell, the heir to a noble house and supporter of the Altmere rebellion.
He is using his wealth to help clean up the area due to a lack of proper law enforcement. The funding has been sent in advance to the Altmere bank to cover the cost of these bounties.
Proof of the kill will be on the bounties corpse. Simply bring it to the bank, place it in your bank box, and double click.
We ask [Not as a rule, simply as a strongly encouraged favor] that players exploring the world by themselves not kill more than one bounty per day, so as to give other players a chance to search for them. Happy Hunting!)
Feeling nostalgic
Bump/update
Guard duty in the cells was often considered the worst possible shift. The walls were directly adjacent to the sewer system. The air was foul, as if some unseen filth could seep through the stone walls. The guard on duty wondered how the jails inhabitants ever managed to sleep down here. On occasion they would beat on the cell doors and had to be persuaded to be quiet; but tonight they were uncharacteristically obedient.
The guards attention was diverted from the silent metal doors as the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. “Huh… feels early, change in shift already?”
The second guard turned his head left and right as he entered the hallway. His movements were slow and purposeful, even for a military man. “I heard we have some high-profile guests?” the new guard asked in a refined tone.
“Yeah, guess you could say that...” the first guard answered as he motioned to one of the cells. “Some guy who kept calling himself an Arkwright, part of that group in Wallside that-”
In a single fluid motion, the second guard had gripped the first by the top of the head, and tilted his neck backward; driving a long knife upward in the same moment. The blade went between the bottom on the helmet and gorget, coming upward through the soft flesh in the middle of the jaw, through the roof of the mouth and into the brain cavity.
Mercurio Valmont hummed gently as he withdrew the knife, letting the guard fall to the floor unceremoniously. He then walked to the cell door as he withdrew a lockpick. The fallen guard had a keyring, but picking the lock would actually be faster than working through the various keys.
“Alright, Bertram...” Mercurio said as he felt the lock give way. “Don’t get too comfortable in there, Oliver has some questions he wants to ask you.” Mercurio pushed the door open and looked downward, his eyes narrowing. “Fucking damn it...” he hissed through his teeth.
“You’re going to have to repeat that...” Oliver stated gravely, several hours later.
“Looks like it was poison. Something high grade, probably a spider or scorpion venom with minimal alteration,” Mercurio explained as he picked up a glass of wine and sat across from Oliver.
“You’re absolutely certain… There’s no chance the food in the prison cells just turned foul?”
“I know my poisons, Oliver. This wasn’t some accidental fungus. I checked a couple other prisoners… someone poisoned the food and purged out all the cells.”
“Fucking hell...” Oliver snarled as he bolted upright, his chair falling over. “Bertram wasn’t just a senior enforcer… He was a damn Arkwright. He was blood. This is unforgivable, they’ve lost any chance to handle this diplomatically.”
“Need me to take care of it?” Mercurio asked as he inspected the color of his wine glass, turning it left and right gently.
“As much as I want to make sure this gets done right… I believe I have a more pressing issue for you, back in Cove. It’s a sensitive issue that I need handled quickly and discretely.”
“Sounds good. Just pay me for the last job and I’ll get right on it,” Mercurio stated not in sarcasm but as a statement of fact.
“Excuse me?” Oliver asked. “I hired you for the retrieval of Bertram. I don’t see him here.”
“I did my work flawlessly and Bertram was denied from you due to circumstances beyond my control. I’m still getting paid. If you don’t like it you can hire someone else for the Cove job.”
Oliver rolled his eyes gently. “Speak to Solomon outside. He’ll see about your payment. You know, if you were anyone else… I wouldn’t tolerate you speaking to me like that.”
“Good thing I’m not anyone else, then,” Mercurio stated as he took a sip of wine before setting the glass down. “If your little mercenary problem hasn’t been cleaned up by the time I get back from Cove, I’d be happy to take care of that as well.”
“There goes the neighborhood...” Oliver huffed in annoyance. He stood atop a fourth story balcony on the edge of Cove’s wealthier district, watching newly arrived soldiers march through the town square. After taking a long and final inhale from his cigar, he tossed it disdainfully on the marching soldiers below.
“How many are there this time?” Joan asked from inside the open doorway. She opened a bottle of vintage wine to help usher her brother back inside and began to pour three glasses for those present.
“Too many. More than last time. Between mass-recruitment and recalling soldiers from every corner of the map, there are at least twice as many soldiers in the city as there were five years ago.” Oliver nearly slammed the balcony doors shut as he reentered the suite.
“Calm down, Oliver...” Solomon asked in a firm voice. He nodded briefly to Joan as she passed him his glass of wine, before turning back to Oliver. “The family has experienced many highs and lows over the years, but we’ve always survived.”
“This is different. The plague has all but spread to our doorsteps and now we’re trapped in here with an ever-growing population of uniformed pricks. Our businesses are being shut down left and right. Agents of the family are being arrested left and right. Nothing gets in or out of the harbor without flying military colors and our exports have been crippled as a result.”
“I’m not normally one to agree with Oliver’s temper tantrums...” Joan chimed in with an audible sigh. “But they executed Marcel, last night. Even a few years ago, when the plague was further away and the military was more relaxed… they never would have pulled something like that. It would have gone to trial and we would have bought his way out. They’ve never given the rope to someone so high in the family, before. Tensions are high and we’ve turned into glorified scape-goats in the eyes of the bureaucracy. ‘No shipment this week? Blame the Arkwrights. Soldiers turned up missing? Blame the Arkwrights. Crime rates are up? Blame the Arkwrights.”
“The price we pay for the business we chose,” Solomon replied sharply. “Half the things they blame us for are actually true, after all.”
“And the other half is due to their own incompetence, but you don’t see them stringing up Sergeants and Magistrates,” Oliver sneered as he grabbed his glass of wine and downed half of it before slumping into his seat. “Things need to change. We need to leave Cove.”
“I beg your pardon?” Solomon asked as he leaned forward, his voice taking a grave tone. “Your father would never approve of you uprooting the family.”
“He doesn’t really have a say in the matter, does he?” Oliver challenged, much to the dismay of both Joan and Solomon.
“Your father has helmed the family syndicate for thirty years, you can’t just-”
“Twenty-nine years,” Oliver corrected sharply. “For the last year my father has been so bed ridden we can barely prop him up long enough to finish his soup. I don’t like it better than anyone else here but the reality of the situation is that my father barely has the strength to speak, let alone lead the syndicate.”
“What exactly are you proposing?” Joan asked.
“Cove is overrun with military and overzealous bureaucrats… They’re in a panic and they’ve pulled all of their resources from every outer territory. They’ve left a lot of their other cities to the wolves, so I say we take one of them for ourselves. I was thinking Altmere… The capital City of Altmere to be specific; named after the greater district it represents.”
“What makes you think you can hold it?” Solomon asked.
“The family has a small army under its command. An army gathering dust as we cower in the shadow of the Covian flag. We have the raw manpower to control the city abandoned by its protectors. We can establish foothold by taking over businesses, get people in debt to us with gambling and loan sharking… Once we have a presence we overthrow the local government outright and finally declare the Arkwright name one of nobility.” Oliver smirked triumphantly as he leaned back and finished his glass of wine.
“You can’t just con and back-stab your way to nobility, Oliver…” Solomon explained as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Who said you can’t? How do you think the current nobles got their titles? During a time of hardship, their ancestors took advantage of a bad situation and came out on top. Enough time passed, and now everyone just takes for granted that their spawn is better than everyone else. We take over Altmere, and everyone hates us for it for a few years. Eventually they accept it, and then later they take it for granted that that’s how it always was.”
“Cove won’t be happy about it… They won’t just let you walk in and claim their city,” Joan stated with concern.
Oliver perked a brow as he turned and motioned out the window. “Do you hear that marching? That’s the sound of Covian military hiking up their kilts and scurrying home. If they had the resources to protect Cove AND Altmere, they would. But they can’t and they’re not. For all they know Altmere will now be consumed by the undead horde. They’ll be pissed that we claimed Altmere but it will still be standing, and they’ll owe us for that. They’ll trade with us and tolerate the change in management out of necessity. Too many mainland nations have fallen for them to get picky about who they bargain with.”
“I’m not leaving Cove,” Joan stated firmly. “Things are hard right now, but this is where our roots are planted. We’ve invested too much to give it all up now.”
“The family is dying, Joan…. We can’t keep things going like they are now,” Oliver protested.
“Enough,” Solomon said as he lifted a hand. “We’re at a crossroads here… With your father out of commission, you both have equal control of the families interests. We need to find a solution you can both be happy with. Now, I was your fathers adviser for years… And if you’ll let me, I think I may have a compromise.”
The two siblings looked between each other briefly before turning back to Solomon.
“First of all…” Solomon said as he laced his fingers together on the table, his expression looked deep in thought. “Oliver is right, things cannot continue the way they have been. Cove has adopted a zero-tolerance for crime and we cannot continue the majority of our operations under this political climate. But uprooting the family in its entirety does not sound ideal to me, either… So… I propose that the two of you split the families assets. Oliver will take the majority of the families enforcers. Our numbers in Cove will be quite small as a result, but that will help us maintain a low profile. Joan will stay here, retaining the family businesses and this estate. We’ll be operating on a smaller scale, but we don’t have much choice at the moment.”
“What about the family vault?” Oliver asked eagerly. “I’ll need funding for this.”
“The vault’s contents stay where they are, here in Cove. Joan is going to need those funds to keep the family out from under the Baron’s boot heel. You’ll be given some start-up capital, and that’s all. Besides, if you’re going to be taking over an entire city; it’s for the best that you arrive hungry. You’ll be more eager to start staking claim, that way.”
Oliver scowled gently. “Fine… Joan gets ninety percent of the vault, but I get ninety percent of the enforcers.”
“I’d rather we each take eighty percent, respectively… That way neither of us is too crippled by the arrangement,” Joan suggested.
“Deal,” Oliver answered eagerly as he stood and shook his sisters hand. With a confident grin, he then walked across the room and began to browse the wine shelf. “Do we have any Altmere vintage? I should start getting a taste for it.”
By order of Magistrate Richard Colbourne, the following individuals are wanted Dead within the city and greater territory of Altmere.
Caldwell Oxford 1,000
Wanted for murder and armed robbery. Commands a small group of bandits, whereabouts unknown.
Luk Tol – 2,000
An imp that has been causing problems for the city. Imps are lesser demons that are mischievous in nature, their crimes often range from minor theft and pranks, all the way to arson and outright murder. This particular imp declaring himself “Luk Tol” has been setting small fires within the city walls, the most recent fire resulting in a fatal causality. His exact whereabouts are unknown, but he is often spotted flying to and from the north-west walls.
Gur’Mrug, 4,000
A large band of orcs has claimed the shrine of compassion. Some traveling healers attempted to visit the shrine only to slaughtered, with only a single survivor. The survivor reports that the band of orcs was being lead by shamans in white ritual paint. Amongst these orcish shamans was one who called him “Gur’Mrug,” who seemed to be the leader. The orcs may be trying to defile the shrine, or perhaps they just want control of the oasis (and thus the entire desert region by extension). Whatever their purpose, they cannot be allowed to remain on this holy ground.
Recckeki 5,000
Despite our best efforts, the rats have made another resurgence. Reports indicate that there is a new swarm lord leading the rats and helping them stay organized, one message we recovered had the name “Recckeki” crudely written amongst some notes. It is a high priority that these creatures be flushed out before they overpopulate.
[OOC notes: To collect most bounties, you will need an axe. Double click the axe, then select the body of your bounty. The bounty will be cut into pieces, including a head bearing the name of the target. Turn this head in to any city official to claim your bounty. Non-human targets cannot be cut up in this fashion, but will have some other piece of evidence in their loot. If you are having a hard time finding us online in order to turn in bounties, you may contact us in the discord group or on steam.)
No one told me this was a thing!!
Hope life is treating you all well.
Built a big ass crazy dungeon that you never got to see. Cause I love you and whatnot.
Merry Chistmas, everyone.
Hope you guys got what you wanted for the holidays. I didn't get -nearly- as much coal as I would have prefered.
*A jack of diamonds is pinned to the front door of the sheriff's office via a balanced throwing knife. There is writing on the card.*
"I will rob the Keres vault.
-Leech"
Psh. Marcus Blake WISHES he could be as note worthy as Oliver Something!
Sid Flint
Wanted for robbery.
Reward: 50 gold
Daniel Bret
Wanted for robbery
Reward: 50 gold
Chester Ruthford
Wanted for murder
Reward: 75 gold
Lurd
Large troll wanted for murder and destruction of livestock
Reward: 100 gold
David Arkwright
Wanted for grand theft.
Reward: 150 gold
Lester Denman
Wanted for murder.
Reward: 150 gold
[Each bounty includes a brief description or drawing of the individual]
(Npc’s can be mutilated by use of an axe on their corpse, one of the body parts will be a head with a name specific to the npc it came from. Use these heads to claim bounties).
I can't really see us making portable forges... IC I don't see how they're being transported but almost more importantly; we want resource gathering to more difficult, if anything; and I see turning ore into ingots on the fly as being a huge problem for resource inflation.
On the other hand, I could see small forging shacks built in strategic locations being an option. If the problem is that there's no forge on a far end of the map, one could be built in that location. Granted, the shack may be taken over periodically by brigands or orcs that will have to be cleared out. I think that might be a fair tradeoff.
Stanton Fletch & Bolton Fletch
Also known as the “butcher brothers.”
Wanted for severe medical malpractice, human experimentation and murder.
Reward: 50 gold a head or 150 for the pair.
Zeth’Ruk
Orcish shaman wanted for crimes against humanity.
Reward: 150 gold
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
David Arkwright
Wanted for grand theft.
Reward: 100 gold
Lester Denman
Wanted for murder.
Reward: 100 gold
[Each bounty includes a brief description or drawing of the individual]
(Npc’s can be mutilated by use of an axe on their corpse, one of the body parts will be a head with a name specific to the npc it came from. Use these heads to claim bounties).
(All bounties have been claimed)
The following outlaws are currently wanted, Dead or Alive, by order of Blackwell.
Drake Anselme
Wanted for Robbery
Reward: 50 gold
Luthor Faust
Wanted for Murder
Reward: 100 gold
Sarah Ipsly
Wanted for Assault
Reward: 75 gold
Rolf Pert
Wanted for Murder
Reward: 100 gold
Trent Huxley
Wanted for Desertion
Reward: 120 gold
If the persons in question refuse to come quietly, you may claim the bounty by turning over their head to the deputy or sheriff.
[Each bounty includes a brief description or drawing of the individual]
(Npc’s can be mutilated by use of an axe on their corpse, one of the body parts will be a head with a name specific to the npc it came from. Use these heads to claim bounties).
Isaac Keres has been struggling with a fever, as well as low approval ratings.
Nathan Vane has had no high profile bounties to hunt in a while, and has taken to hobbies such as bullying the locals and starting bar fights.
As we spread word of the shards relaunch, we thought it time to release an update on some of the new features you will get to see on the shard.
Now, we know how much everyone loves what UO turned into with the last several expansions, and so we’ve taken a few pages directly out of that book.
First of all, we’ve made mongbats into a playable race. We’ve gotten rid of their default hue and instead you will be able to pick from a variety of neon greens, blues, and purples. We’ve given them a variety of hairstyles ranging from frizzy afros to mullet/ponytails that you can choose from.
Now, we know a small handful of you might be thinking “that’s dumb.” And to rub your face in just how profoundly wrong you are, we’ve added new dungeons and cities that you can ONLY enter if you’re playing a mongbat. So take that all you "I think I just want to keep playing a human” naysayers.
We also know that what people really want is more stuff. Preferably a wide variety of holiday knick-knacks that will be promptly shoved into the far corners of your houses and never thought of again. We can’t think of a single better way to spend our time as developers than making these items. So, we’ve included giant inflatable Santas, plastic reindeer that your characters will struggle for three hours to nail to their roof, various Thanksgiving entrees that your characters can eat until they’ve been prompted to vomit, labor day recliners, April-Fools dog poop and slutty Halloween costumes to name just a few of the exciting items you will receive throughout the year.
We intend to have you accumulate these items until you are literally eye-balls deep in their splendor. Then, we’re going to introduce a “spring cleaning” feature in which you can dump all of this useless junk in exchange for yet more junk.
But that’s not all!!!
By popular demand, we’re also releasing level 50 artifacts. These will be needed in order for you to kill the new monsters we’ve created, which will literally kill you by blinking unless you spend days at a time gathering the new artifacts.
Most of the new monsters we’ve released are the same monsters you’ve already seen, but we’ve brilliantly turned them a bright primary color with increased stats. That way you know you’re getting a new experience.
Oh! And we’ve added a new magic-based skill called “Arcane Ubercast” that will immediately make every other form of magic in the game completely useless. Just delete all of your characters and make Arcane Ubercasters. There’s no point in playing anymore unless you do.
As an added bonus, we’re giving mongbat characters an additional 200 skill in Arcane Ubercast. Humans will receive -5000 because let’s face it, anyone who doesn’t want to try our new features should suffer for their closed-mindedness.
And don’t even get me started on the mountable cyborg llamas with built in rocket launcher. Only mongbat characters will be able to ride these, unless you have the level 36 fuzzy boots of cyborg llama riding.
As a side note, we’re also working on a giant city with a complex infrastructure, a new system for skill gain that replaces grinding, a new layout for resources that will make crafting more challenging and profitable, a setting that should produce plenty of conflict and intriguing role-play, and a bunch of other crap that I seriously doubt anyone cares about. In retrospect, we really should have put more of that time and energy into the neon mongbats.
More updates to come. Looking forward to playing with all of you again!
That's alright, Cray. In his fever induced state, Isaac has started spreading rumors around the estate that Craystor is actually a blackberry cobbler.
People of Blackwell. I’ve recently come down with an illness that may leave me bedridden for quite some time. While I’m of able mind as I write this, the fever has been steadily rising and I fear I will soon not be able to carry on my mayoral duties until I have recovered. The disease is not the plague, and is non-fatal, but I may be out of commission for nearly a month. I’ve been informed it’s something similar to the common cold, but far worse.
In my absence, I’ve decide to appoint an acting mayor. For this position, I have selected one “Rurik Keres.”
He has acted as a personal advisor to me during my time as mayor, and even before the fact, during my campaign.
The acting mayor is to have all the same duties and powers as the true mayor, with the following exceptions.
1. An acting mayor may not omit an existing law.
2. An acting mayor may not alter an existing law.
3. An acting mayor may add a new law, only if that new law does not contradict an existing law.
4. An acting mayor may only declare a Stage One or Stage Two Crisis if the decision is seconded by another public official (Knight-Preceptor, Sheriff, Captain, Deputy.)
5. An acting mayor must relinquish their position once the true mayor is capable of resuming their duties.
I apologize in advance for my absence, but I have full faith in Rurik. I look forward to returning to my duties, and serving the town again as soon as I am possibly able.
Signed,
Isaac Keres IV, Mayor of Blackwell
I lost internet access recently (I’m borrowing WiFi from Burger King as I type this) and it may be a bit before I can get it working again. In addition to this, I’m going to be going out of town soon and won’t have access to UO while I’m away. So even if I get internet access before then, there won’t be much point in coming back only for a few days, and getting wrapped up in a bunch of awesome plots only to have to drop them like a newborn giraffe right away. THEN when I get back from vacation, I may need to get caught up on some writing before returning…
SO, all told… I may not be back until the middle of September. Maybe sooner, and maybe I’ll pop in here and there at certain points against my better judgment. I’ll also be checking the board now and again, even if I’m not logging into UO.
I’m giving Isaac Keres the flu, and will make an IC post so there’s a reason for the mayor not being around. Although I’ll just put “illness” because I’m not sure if we even know what the flu is, in-game…
Try not to burn down Blackwell, and try not to spam Hoagie and Torrak with too many building requests while they’re short a GM. =P
See you guys soon!
To Father Erik or Sister Serena,
There is a man in the town cell who is suspected of unlicensed use of magic.
He says he was placed in charge of keeping the dead in their graves, but that he is not a member of the church. He claims to use a “thread” that binds a portion of someone’s soul to this world, as a means to command dead to stay in their graves; also claiming that he could use this power to make the dead rise if he wished.
At one point he said that the church of the Avatar has no right to judge him, and that only “Rahjul” may judge him.
No known witchcraft items were found on him. It is also worth mentioning that despite his “efforts” to keep the dead in their graves, Hew Fella and my late cousin Brianna Keres have been terrorizing the town as undead abominations. It is possible he is nothing more than a humble fraud.
He is to be kept in holding until one of you has questioned him. He does not possess the proper branding.
Signed,
Isaac Keres IV, Mayor of Blackwell