Lorenai Times - turn 50 From: jk@atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz (Jiri Klouda) Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 00:00:00 +0000 Lorenai Times, Turn 50 Month 10, Year 5 New features and bugs repaired: - Checker still doesn't know about new features, but I did lot of work on it this week. - Some new spells. It is interesting that gadget area is the one where is very easy to add some spell. I think I will divide this area into two or three new ones. - Now please try to avoid every combat that you must not take part in. The combat system will definitelly change this turn and I fear it will not work at all. Especially some specials, combat spells and so on. I expect problems with damage types and protections and many others. - I wouldn't believe how many typos remain still in the descriptions and even in event and error messages... many were reported each turn and still they are not all catched. I would like to remember that I reward each typo spoted with $50 tolars. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Admin Info: The next turn will be at Sunday 19 July evening 18:00 MET Submit your orders please before the Saturday 18:00 MET to let me time handle new and unexpected orders or scouts for the turn. If you submit orders at the last moment, you risk that your scouts will meet end of world or maybe few dragons *grin* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Player's submissions: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents Editor's Corner Area overviews I. Aglarond II. Dunbeath III. Hobitton IV. Minas Tirith V. Mystic Islands VI. Nogrod Announcements I. The Free Citizens Announcement in Arlon II. New Freehold Near Norgrod III. Reclaiming Rohan IV. Minas Tirith Iron Source V. News from the Tillers VI. News from the Malebrache Confederation VII. Disclaimer Stories/Poetry I. Religious dispute in Khazad II. The return of Skandrag (Around the World - part 6) III. The Merchant and The Priest (installment 5) IV. It's not that good, can you do better? V. Over hill and under hill... VI. The Demon VII. The Order of Leitbur Saga VIII.A pair of hungry 'pokes IX. Eternal Spring X. Vergeltung Miscellaneous I. Notes on the attacks in Dunbeath and Nogrod... II. New resources for players III. Newbie services in Lorenai City ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editor's Corner ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear readers, Now there were really good amount of articles, keep up the good work. I got two reports from Dunbeath and Hobitton. Those are temporary and I still need reporters for Arlon, Dol Guldur, Dunbeath and Hobitton. Nogrod and Aglarond reporters began from this issue on. I must tell everyone that reporters are individuals who are leading their own factions too so it's difficult to get completely objective point of view. All information given in overview might not be accurate or there might be even some slightly false information. So please forgive these reporters if they make mistake and report something that happened slightly different way. Mostly these reports should be true and they will give good impression of the situation in that area. Now I have done almost all the changes you suggested me (all that sounded reasonable and easy) so I would like to get some ideas how to develop the Lorenai Times further. HTML-times is under work, so I will inform you all about that later. Mail any comments/suggestion to attek-1@sci.fi. Atte Kotiranta P.S. Here are instructions how to send articles to the Lorenai Times. Don't use tabs. Linelenght 80. Send only normal ASCII. #TIMES faction_no passwd Description: <here your table of contents line> Location: Announcements, Stories, Misc. ----------------- Article ------------------- Article here.... ... #END ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Area overviews ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aglarond Since nothing of great interest has happened lately, I'll start my reporting career with a basic overview of Aglarond and Aglarond politics. The city of Aglarond itself is, of course, the center of the Aglarond region. Here is found the sole Magic Tower, and what is by far the richest ecomony. With high wages, high entertainment and (for older factions) high selling prices, it is the best and safest of the towns. Three large groups are obvious in Aglarond. None, strangely, have a sizable presence outside the city. By far the largest, the Delta Alliance holds around 3000 men in the city. The number of Delta mages in the city is less impressive since the disaster in Handan, but they are still the strongest alliance in the City. The other two Alliances in the city are the Culture and the Tartarean Legions, both of which seem content to simply grow larger and larger units of common men. Together, they probably total around 2000 men, with no mages. Various other factions make up about 1000 men and the majority of the mages in the tower. Directly outside the city, you run into the quiet but growing Oda Clan (169). Apparently with no enemies, they guard most of the Plains hexes outside Aglarond, letting anyone pass but not produce. Farther to the Southwest is the region controlled by the Greater Aglarond Confederation. Holding the city of Handan and the towns of Alghero and Salen, expect to be allowed through unharrassed, but also expect high taxes and almost no unguarded hexes. However GAC (as it is commonly called) is an extremely unofficial alliance - no one, not even the members, know who exactly is in it. Any faction with interests outside Aglarond is likely to be connected to GAC in one way or another. The 'Core' members appear to be several members of the Mercenaries Guild, The Eldar (123), Ondyon's Honor (161), Esgaltumielli (160), and Numenoreans (346). GAC can be reached quit easily be contacting any Aglarond Merc. In all other directions, the land is still largely unguarded - with the resultant opportunities and dangers from wandering monsters. Once you get 4-5 hexes away from Aglarond, you are nearly alone, at least for now. Kerowyn, Guildmaster of the Mercenaries Guild ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dunbeath The surprising Dark Riders invasion turned out to be more of a nuisance than a calamity - once the strength of the invading force had been assessed (at the cost of some brave suicide scouts and some bravely fighting guards) it was clear it would only be a matter of time. Duly, the main forces of the Dark Riders were wiped out on turn 49 (despite their having the tactical advantage of a free round of attacks) by a force from Vernlund, consisting mainly of Dunbeath Ferry units. The Dark Riders' reserve forces should also be cleared in a turn or two, thus making southern Dunbeath safe again. In the north, the attempt to open a sea lane to Mystara suffered a serious setback some turns ago, when a force of 20 sea worms (tactics 3, combat 5) decided they wanted some clipper soldiers for breakfast, lunch and dinner... Plans for equipping a force strong enough to tie these worms up in a nice little knot are underway. The island itself remains peaceful - the plea of the Dunbeath Coalition to keep the area a peaceful and open haven for all has so far been a success. The main problem is a terrible manpower shortage in Dunbeath City, which has driven up the prices of recruits to over 200 tolars per person. In Vernlund, the shipyard will again go back to full production now that the Dark Riders are neutralized, and in the city itself fisheries and butcheries are built - the next project is likely to be a port, the first on the world of Lorenai! And yes, exploration of the nearby archipelago goes on - you can watch the progress on the overview map on the Cartographer's Guild's homepage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hobbiton The Council has finally got its own webpage up and running, with lots of useful information even for factions who do not have any presence on the NW continent. And factions WITH a presence should most definitely take a look at the webpage, it contains an updated map of the whole continent, together with information about hex adminstrators and mayors. As a future service is rumored another map showing hexes where monsters have been sighted (and not yet disposed of). The exploration of the borders of the continent goes on, limited only by the number of hexes the GM has time to add each turn. Several new cities and towns have been found during the last turns, and new interesting areas wide open for settlers. The magic research and work goes on as actively as before, and a new abbreviation has popped up in the area - MDF for Magic Defense Forces. Altogether, Hobbiton still seems to be a paradise for those factions (new and old alike) who prefer a peaceful life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minas Tirith First north winds are arriving to our area as autum reaches its end. Faction leaders desperately search for some shelter for their units, and the most desperate among all are the Orc hordes. After the fall of Minas Morgul, a few months ago, fleeing orc units have reached western Ithilien killing everyone they meet. Where are they going? no one knows, and at the moment not many people can match those wandering orcs, well trained and equiped. Meanwhile the old fears have come again to everyone's mind, Tartarean Legion is here and closer than we could even expect. With their base located at Minas Morgul their scouts have already reached Minas Tirith and if they were able to beat the hordes so easily guess what can they do to all of us. Maybe Minas Tirith Alliances' warnings were not so catastrophist as some thought, now is time for these guys to show up and demonstrate how ready are they to face what was claimed as their main goal, stop the advance of the Tartarean Legion and defend our green lands from the evil legions of Murgul. Minas Tirith Times Reporter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mystic Islands Dear Readers, do you know the situation where you have a great idea, but nobody wants to accept that? If yes, then you know how big Grumpf is feeling right now. (If not, you are pretty dumb and cannot read anyway, you are most probably a big one). I thought it would be great for you readers, if you could read about the interesting persons in Mystara. So I asked 3 of them for an interview, and only 1 was kind enough to answer my questions. So what can I say, maybe they think they are to good for you my readers. So instead of 3 opinions you will get only one. But it is no one else than Goblin of the Black Company telling about his plans and views of the situation in Mystara. Enjoy. Interview: Grumpf: What is your long term goal? Goblin: To prosper. To make my employers prosper. In the long run, to search for Khatovar, legendary home of the Company, a search that will likely takes us throughout this world. Grumpf: What do you want to risk to get there? Goblin: Whatever is needed. Grumpf: How will you treat factions which oppose your goals? Goblin: As they deserve to be treated. Peaceful opposition will be met with diplomatic solutions; armed force shall be met with the same. The company will not be pushed by anyone. Grumpf: What do you think is the primary goal the community of factions in Mystara should pursue? Goblin: For now, expansion into the nearby regions and a clearing of the centaur horde to the south, and the creatures inhabiting the hills north of the city. Grumpf: Do you think there is potential for war among the Mystic Island inhabitants? What kind of potential could that be? Goblin: Yes. There are a number of factions large enough to think they could win a war of conquest against another. Hopefully, all factions will realize that the first faction to attack another is likely to be viewed as a threat by all other factions, and to be dealt with as such. Grumpf: How do you view factions from the outside, which plan to come to Mystic Island? Goblin: Depends on how they come. Much of the land they might seek is claimed by our employers, our friends, and/or potentially by ourselves. I'm sure that those who come peacefully to trade will be welcome; those who come seeking conquest are likely to find they've bitten off more than they can chew. Grumpf: What is the most important thing happening right now? Goblin: In the world as a whole, the Nogrod/Topas war. In Mystara, the campaign to clear the centaurs; since the exiling of the Overmind and his many followers, it's the only thing going on. Grumpf: The Malebrache Confederation is the only alliance of Mystic Island right now, what is your point of view regarding them? Goblin: They're good employers. They're fair, and they treat me with respect. Historically, not many mercs have been able to say that. Grumpf: If you could choose your starting position again, would you still choose Mystic Island? Goblin: Yes. Grumpf: You have one wish, what do you wish for? Goblin: We've got steady work, easy expansion of the company, and no current wars. What's not to like? Grumpf: Thank you for this interview. I hope my readers do agree that Goblin is without a doubt a VIP in Mystara. Next month we will meet again. Same time, same newspaper. Yours, Grumpf (Lorenai Times, Mystara Branch) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nogrod Another attack by Duke Firos to the south of Nogrod and another twenty dwarves to be added to the list of those slained. Yes, the war still continues as Topas�forces failed to show up. This was met with relief by some and dissapointment by other who had hoped for a definite end of the war. However the size of those gathered to defend the gate city was impressive and many are now reassured of the safety there. The current war will be discussed more, of that you could be reassured. But now the lands outside Nogrod will be presented here. In Nogrod itself a single dwarf could be recruited at the cost of 133 tolars last month though you should add a bit more if you want to be certain of getting him. There are just over 70 factions present there. Just two months by pony to the north of Nogrod lies the Great Canyon. It should be of interest to new factions soon when the creatures that now blocks it are defeated. There is probably large lands beyond it. To the east lies Belegost which is currently closed for all. If you do want to travel to the unmapped territories of the north you should be able to pass to the north of Belegost at 80,33 or 80,32. If you want to travel to Khazad or beyond you may try to go south of Belegost. To the south lies Moria which marks the borders of the dwarven lands. Beyond this city lies Sherwood forest with its Wood Elves and to the east of it the Wide Plains stretches out for many miles with its plainsmen population. West of Nogrod lies the Cracked Montain and prevents anyone from going past them. As mentioned in the earlier article much of the land described are guarded and you might need to persuade some people to let you pass. A political map would be a great thing but for the moment this is almost impossible: The political border is not yet the same as the real one small pieces of land are guarded by different factions. Add to that a rampaging army of Topas that none wants to lead to his territory it will have to wait for awhile. The whole situation is completely unstable with a war going on and will so be until one side has won or the unlikely event of peace. Until the next times, Mistral Thrax. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Announcements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The free citizens of Arlon hereby proclaim the formation of a new Republic in the South, with headquarters in the twin towns Leighlin and Rath Luire and in the city of Braga. We don't want to risk that this land is claimed by a single mad Lord as has happened elsewhere in Lorenai, but wish to make sure that the people of Arlon remain in control. The hexes controlled by the free lands of Leighlin/Rath Luire/Braga (LRB) will be open and free for all to travel, visit and help enhance, and will be made safe from wandering monsters. The Republic of LRB is peaceful, and would prefer peaceful cooperation with all current and future neighbours, but is determined - at all costs - to keep this a free area for those Arlonites who wish only to live in peace. The western border of the Republic is along the 49/50 line, the eastern border is along the White Mountains (or along the coast further south). The northern border can be seen on the following map / \ / \ / \ / \____/ \____/ \ \ / \ / \53h21 / W \____/ \____/ \____/ h / \ / \ / \ i C / \____/ \____/ \ t \ / \ / \53h22 / e \____/ \____/ \____/ / \50j22 / \52f22 / \ M E / \____/ \____/ \ n \ / \51f23 / \53f23 / t \____/ \____/Leigh-\____/ s / \50f23 / \ lin / \ R / \____/ Rath \____/ \ \ / \ Luire/ \53f24 / \____/ \____/52f24 \____/ / \50h24 / \ / / \____/ \____/ \ / \51p25 / \ \____/ \____/ \ To join the Republic or help producing the land, please contact one of the senators. ce@kubism.ku.dk fjbranco@dec.uc.pt winky2u@hotmail.com jtg@uninova.pt gpm21@hotmail.com bidlo@falcor.karlin.mff.cuni.cz rwikman@ra.abo.fi "Because we care about the future". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New Freehold Near Norgrod It with Great Pleasure that The Roselight coalition announces the death of the Titan in 74,32 near Norgrod. We would also like to be the first to congratulate the Defenders of Norgrod for defeating *King* Topas as we are sure they will. Had we known of the impending attack several turn ago when we started our migration we would have stayed to help. With the defeat of the titan we would like to announce the formation of Roselight's freehold. we will be claiming a section of wilderness somewhere north of the Grand Canyon as our own. As we have not scouted the area we can not say for certain which areas we will claim at this point, however we will allow all non hostile factions to pass through our area freely and will allow factions to produce in our claimed area as long as no area is over produced. We welcome applications for membership in the Freehold, full members will get access to any scouting info, the right to tax protected hexes, and access to all spells and knowledge the the Freehold has. Be warned however that we are very selective in our membership and not all faction s will or even can be accepted. At this time the membership of the free hold consists of Roselight' Rangers The Rabid Dwarves and Balin's Iron Legions Ragnar Roselight Commander General of Roselight's Rangers High Protector of Roselight's Freehold. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Reclaiming Rohan In times long past the ancestors of the Rohirrim came to the aid of the Men of Gondor to push Sauron and his orc hordes back to the land of Mordor. For their faithful service, the lords of the Rohirrim were granted a Kingdom in the plains north of Minas Tirith, which became known as the land of Rohan. Since those times, the dangers of the world have driven the decendants of the Rohirrim to seek protection in the city of Minas Tirith, and abandon the plains of their birth. For too long the Riders of Rohan have bided their time in Minas Tirith while foul beasts have overrun their beloved plains. We shall do so no longer. >From this day foreward, every man, orc, and beast found on the plains of Rohan lives only at the sufferance of King Theoden and the Rohirrim. All good men of Minas Tirith are welcome to live in peace on our plains and under our watchful protection, with the knowledge that the beasts, orcs, and dark men that creep out of Mordor to threaten our region will be held at bay. For those travelling to our plains, beware our border guards! They are hard-hearted men who have been ordered to shun strangers, so that only those factions of Minas Tirith may enter. If you wish to enter the plains, declare yourselves openly and you shall pass. King Theoden Riders of Rohan 425 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >From the Minas Tirith Free Information League. Once again The MTFIL brings news and information from One of the most Politically diverse areas of Lorenai. Well it seems we have a new player in the game this turn. Minas Morgul appears to have fallen to the Tartarian Legion (sorry about any misspelling). It has been confirmed that Minas Morgul has been taken by an army lead by several powerful mages. This should lead to new and interesting developments as the factions in Osigaliath scramble to protect themselves, and the MTA and any faction who now choose to ally with them prepare for an assault that should equal if not exceed the destruction soon to be seen in Norgrod. This also means that the Orc Hordes are on the move, it is assumed by this editor that they will be headed towards Kroll, but no confirmation of this has reached my desk as of this writing. On the gnome skills front or reporter has discovered that gnomes may have up to level 2 in lumberjack, and at least level 3 in mining and armoring. this will allow them to produce plate armor with unlead units somewhat making up for their limited combat skill. stay tuned for more news and information from Your leader in Free Information The Minas Tirith Free Information League ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ News from the Tillers I am here again with a few words form the Tillers, which especially those present in Minas Tirith area might find interesting. In 46th issue of the Times we expressed our concern over blocking hexes and announced our policy to prevent that - guarding some areas and declaring everyone neutral so that everyone could freely move through these areas. We have also promised to make everyone, who needs to produce in such areas, friendly if asked. Since we believe, that peace, cooperation and defense of our beautiful city is the main goal of most of the factions present there, we decided to go one step forward in our policy and to allow also producing in the areas under our guard without any objectives. That is why we have declared all Minas Tirith factions friendly, thus enabling those units of theirs, which reveal faction, to produce freely. We would still appreciate if we were contacted in advance to avoid overproduction, but it is no longer necessary in the case of emergency. We would also like to announce, that the Tillers sucessfully completed a trail through the Mound (64,65), leading from Minas Tirith to Penelor Fields (65,65). We hope that it will make everyone's journey to Osgiliath and generally south and east easier. The next plans are to continue the path to (65,65) and gradually improve it. We will keep you informed about every progress we make. Ligitar, the Reeve of the Tillers (448) magic mail: rydvan@ss1000.ms.mff.cuni.cz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ News from the Malebrache Confederation This turn, the Malebrache Confederation will again elect a leader. The Articles state that the Lord/Lady will lead the Confederation for ten turns, after which he/she may be reelected. The Lord may be removed at any time by a majority vote during his reign. The Lord is responsible for all "global" matters concerning the Confederation. This includes creating and maintaining diplomatic relationships, trade agreements with other continents, in fact to identify and achieve goals that are important to the Confederation's cause. In order to ease his duties, the Lord a appoints so called "Officers" for various tasks. Officers are in charge of a specific area, like magic, scouting or recruitment, and try to achieve the respective goal set by the Lord. So the goal of the responsible officer of magic, for example is to coordinate the magical activities of the Confederation. The past year has shown that Officers can be unable to do their duty for various reasons, so secondary officers will be appointed for the first time in Malebrache history. The contract with the mercenary "Black Company" has been prolonged by at least ten turns. The excellent work they provided left no doubt about this. By request of Goblin of the Black Company it shall be stated again that the Black Company is no Malebrache member, but a hired mercenary acting according to the laws of the Mercenary Guild and the stipulations of their current contract with the Malebrache. As usual all of these actions are supervised by the Crystal Acolytes. By turn 50 we count 20 members and already have more applications for turn 51. Each faction that is ready to honour the Articles will be accepted among us, no matter if you believe you would have nothing to contribute. The power of cooperating factions should never be underestimated. All in all the benefits for a faction which joins the Malebrache are to numerous to list here. Especially for all the questions which applicants may have we have our "Recruitment Officer" Onimandorian. Please contact him under: mschnel532@aol.com Or visit the homepage of the Brothers of the Night: http://members.aol.com/place02/ and read how the faction Onimandorian speaks for decided to join the Malebrache. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear readers, The editors of the Hobbiton Inquirer are dismayed at the sight of the instance of obvious provocation and shameless fraud that appeared in the last issue of the Times. We should like to emphasize that neither the Hobbiton Inquirer (THI) nor Western Lorenai Media Enterprises, Inc. (WME) have any part in the article posted therein. Also, we deny that our prime reporter Will Broadbuckle has writen even so much as a word of that particular piece. The editor of THI, as well as the real Will Broadbuckle hereby forego any responsibility for the contents of said article. We point out that the Kalethil family have not hired the services of any reporters that are on exclusive contracts with THI, or any other media owned or co-owned by WME, nor have they provided the appropriate compensation for using a name resembling that of our paper. Still, we do not insist on a compensation; a private apology will be satisfactory. If, from now on, any faction should like to use the advertising space in THI, they are requested to contact the publishers at rygal@ff.cuni.cz for authorization. The Publisher. [The Hobbiton Inquirer is a publication of Western Lorenai Media Enterprises, Inc., an exclusive enterprise of Elerion's Crusade, T.C.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stories/Poetry ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Religious dispute in Khazad "Each time you enter a temple of Her you shall bow. In that way you shall always remember that the things that has been given you is not yours for eternity and that when your hand made wonders it was guided by Her wisdom." - The Book of Insights, Commandments of the Blessed. It began with Priest Hieronymus spotting one of the Guardians entering the small building where he together with about a hundred religious citizens prayed for those defending Nogrod. The Guardian, a young dwarf who had a scar on his chin that looked like a trace of claws, carefully laid down his sword at the entrance as is custom. And he bowed slowly and with great care. But he did not close his eyes! Instead he looked forward with a steady gaze fixed upon the candle at the altar. Then he crossed his legs and sat down among the others on the floor. Hieronymus, being an agened priest of the old school, was shocked. While he continued the his praying he pondered what he had just seen. All followers of Lend�wy had been teached to bow with closed eyes, just as it had been done for hundred of years. He knew that some groups had complained about this and openly argued to change it but still there had been no open display of this kind of behaviour! Hieronymus stood alongside Inquisitor Pentadius flanked by the rest of the priests. It was dark in the large underground chamber and only the torches of the priests lit up the room. The dim light seemed to enhance the terrible gaze of the inquisitor as he studied the young Guardian soldier kneeling before him. Now his eyes were closed! It even seemed as though he trembled with fear. "Lack of respect is one of the greatest threat against all civilized beings cause it is respect that keeps us from acting like animals," Pentadius stated while he walked around the soldier. "And lack of respect is what you have shown. You have insulted all who hold the traditions in high value and for that you shall be punished. With the authority granted to me as an Inquisitor I say that you are expulsed from our society and expulsed from Khazad-D�m to never return again. Forever!" He looked at the priests for reassurance. He was still not sure of his standing among them though he knew that at least Hieronymus supported him. In fact the Bishop of the city murmured approvingly right now. "Agreed," he said. "This will show those Changers that we do take our duty seriously." In the latest month the radical group of worshippers had been named the Changers. The question about closed eyes or not was only a small part of what they wanted to change. To Hieronymus it seemed as if the Changers wanted to take away all that which he respected and held high. "I beg of you, my revered brothers and of you as well, Inquisitor, do not do this to him," Lucanus said as he with compassion looked at the soldier still kneeling before them with closed eyes. "In fact there has yet not been any proclamanation of this matter, the Changers have not yet been outlawed!. I say that we let this pass and from now on start to better educate our followers so that they do not insult Her by mistake." He felt as if he had convinced the other priests and was satisfied. "Actually," Ambrosius began, shifting from one foot to another. He was the youngest of the dwarven priests and it was not often that he spoke before all his brethren. "Actually, I think that we should call to open debate about this argument. Perhaps it is time for a change. Perhaps we do not need to decide in this matter but rather let it be a question to be answered by each individual for himself." Namatianus, his golden-bearded friend coughed while the other priests looked at him with something that looked like contempt in their eyes. "Please go on," priest Chandarius said with a reassuring smile. "I at least am interested in where you find support for this." "Now is the time," Ambrosius thought. "Well if you look here on what is said by the Prophet Dogh�l on understanding the world.." he enthusiasticly began while trying to take up a parchment from his robe. However, as eager as he was to show what he had come upon, he happened to drop his torch. There was a moment of confusion while the priests tried to avoid getting their robes flame up and some of them shouted words of warning. "Enough!" Hieronymus shouted while sweeping his hand towards the fallen torch which made it blow out. The other silenced when they felt the divine energy being called upon by him. "While your words may perhaps have some truth in them, Ambrosius, this is not the time for a discussion. Let it be like this: If Kh�m here can convince us of not knowing our teachings of how to worship here, then he shall go free with just a warning. If he openly defied my Goddess I say may he be forever damned!" He turned towards the soldier, who still stood kneeling. "Now, Kh�m, I want to hear the truth: Did you know about what it meant to have your eyes open while bowing to Her? Did you not know that it is such arrogance not to give yourself completely?" What could he say? Kh�m knew that at least some of the priests were able to read the minds of the one they were speaking to and deiscern whatever they were truthful or not. Besides, he did not want to lie. He did not want todisgrace his family in that way. He also felt sure of his beliefs as he had talked to Lermo himself, the only High Man within miles and the only remaining of those that left with Chem�l for Belegost. He looked up and cleared his throat. The eyes of the Inquisitor seemed so cold! In that moment Krondan entered the chamber. The eyes of the priests turned towards him as he quickly walked up to them. It was a striking difference between this black-bearded commander and the priests. He bowed his head slightly in recognition and looked at Kh�m. "Stand up young man and leave us. You will leave with the southern patrol tomorrow. Go!" he commanded in anger as Kh�m quickly hurried out. Then he turned towards the priests. "If this is your opinion on how to solve this problem, Krondan, I am truly greatful that you are not one of us," Hieronymus said. It was known that Konstantius had asked Krondan to join the priestly ranks. He himself did however that he would serve Lend�wy better as Commander of the Guardians. "What are you doing?", Krondan asked, ignoring Hieronymus�insult. "Kh�m is just a boy, not a leader of a revolutionary group. He shouldn�t even have become a Guardian in a couple of years if this was normal times. However we need every man we got with the threat of that damned King under the Mountain and this tense situation in the city right now. What if Nogrod falls? Then we would surely need to fight for our homes! And what do you do? Argue among yourselves and lowers spirits with your accusations! Even trying to take away a soldier because of the way he bowes," he said as he looked at them furiously. The priests were used to the sudden outbursts of Krondan which has earned him his name. "I say this to you: Outside these Halls my people worship Her in any way they want!" He looked at them, daring any of them to argue over this with him. It was completely silent and Ambrosius could now feel the rift between them all. He felt very worried. Somehow, as Krondan leaved, he felt that this was just the beginning. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The return of Skandrag (Around the World - part 6) Weeks had passed now since the bear hunters had left Baerlin. Alamo had done some good studiing during the firsts days since the leave of the company, but now his thoughts were getting more and more troubled. Alamo wondered what would have become of his loyal followers, down south in those nasty hills. For the fifth time that day he climbed the stairs of the watchtower of Baerlin to look south, hoping to see his people return. He was about to climb back down after half an hour watching and seeing nothing but hills and trees, when he noticed a small figure. He watched it come nearer. Then he recognized the man, it was Skrandag, the dwarf! Skandrag, one of the 24 brave man, had returned! But what had become of his companions? Alamo flew down the stairs of the tower, and ran through the gates towards Skrandag. "Hail Skandrag! Good to see you again!" "Greetings master. It's good to be seen, I'm happy to be alive." "Seeing you fills me with joy, but also with fear. What may be the news you carry. Is it good or evil news?" "Some is good. But unfortunately more is bad. I'll tell you the story rightaway. But I'm very tired. I tried to get here as fast as possible by foot. I walked four long days with only a few hours rest." Alamo the First led Skandrag the Stonethrower to the "Inn of the Other Side" and ordered food and beer for the tired dwarf. After Skandrag had resolved most of his hunger, he started to tell his story. "Twenty-three days ago we left you in this town when we walked south. The first three days the road was in good condition. A few times we met some friendly dwarves who warned us not to go further south. Then the road changed into a small path. After some time even the path disappeared and we had to find the way by ourselves. This should be the area where the bears roam, we thought, so we started looking for those creatures. We had to keep close to eachother to make sure not to loose a member of the company. It must have been the 16th day of our journey when I noticed that Trojo and Pokan were missing. Then we heard a terrible scream coming from the woods behind us! It was the voice of Pokan. We ran back as fast as we could. Trojo and Pokan had found the bears, but it was too late to save them. They were on the ground, bleeding heavily with five bears around them. We attacked the bears with swords and sticks, but they were hard to hit. We finally killed four of the ugly creatures. One of them fled, but left a trail of blood. Four more of our people were killed during the battle: Aralad, Timo, Squabad and the young Balamir. That night we all sat by our fire feeling very sad about our lost comrades. The old Fargon stood up and said he was going for a little walk. A few minutes later we heard Fargon shouting. We ran to the place the shouting came from and saw Fargon fighting the bear that fled after the battle. We killed the bear, but Fargon was wounded badly. He sunk to the ground and said to me: "Skandrag, I'm dying. I knew this journey around the world would kill me someday. That moment has come. But you can make it to the end, I'm sure. So please take my sword and use it when you need to." Those were his last words. The next day I left the company to tell you about the battle." Tears came out of the eyes of Alamo. "Fargon is dead. Six others are killed. All just to hunt down a few bears. I will never forgive myself for sending you out to the south." "Do not blame yourself master, we all knew we could die on that bear hunt, you did not force us to go. Those seven lives are irreplacable, but we must go on. No more time to moarn. Things might become worse in the future if we don't move on." The next day Alamo and Skandrag left the town of Baerlin to find the other survivors. ------------ The Silver Green Rose (#223) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Merchant and The Priest (installment 5) "Now we are making good time" the merchant proclaimed. His advisors nudged their horses nearer to the wagon upon which the merchant perched to better hear his words. "If it weren't for these trees, we would soon be able to see those blasted priests." "And what do we do when we see them , Sir?" queried the master armorer. "Shall we descend on them and take their lives for leaving us unguarded in our encampment?" "Take their lives with what?" the master weaponsmith retorted. "We know they are well armed. We armed them ourselves with our best plate mail and weapons." "Ah, but we also have fine armor and weapons. They are but priests" the armorer replied. "Yes, but priests taught to battle. And do not forget their pesky birds" the weaponsmith spat. "I for one do not relish having my eyes pecked out by one of them." "QUIET!" roared the merchant. "We shall not fight the priests, instead we shall use them. Who knows what dangers lie ahead? Why not let these ungrateful priests find them first?" The advisors move away from the wagon and trek northward. Again the merchant has shown his wisdom. The sounds of the caravan die away. A bird begins to sing. From behind a tree the underpriest emerges and moves to the high priest. "So he pursues us" the underpriest murmurs. "If not for the eyes of our beauties he would have been upon us." "He is lucky that he did not stumble on us and try to attack" snarled the priest. "Though they know how to make swords, they are not trained in their use as we are. There would have been much blood shed, and most of it theirs." "But what shall we do now? Shall we shadow them and take them unawares?" "Oh, no my son. We shall do to them what they planned for us. Let them blaze the trail and find the perils. We shall watch from afar and benefit from their bravery" the priest chuckled. "Your wisdom is supreme" the underpriest bowed, making the Sign of the Eagle. (end of installment 5 - The Merchant and The Priest) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ode de ????? There once was a dwarf from Belegost, Who raised a mighty warhost, He talked so much s**t, Wherever he passed people would spit, But his flowers never ran short of compost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Over hill and under hill... A ragged, filthy elf trudged his way through the streets of Velka Kopanina, heading for the market square. The well-fed halflings that made this their home pinched their noses and backed away as he approached. Judging from the smell, the elf had been on the road (or off road?) for many weeks... Yulpoor, immune to his own B.O. by this time, ignored the halflings and headed straight for Bomfel's Rock and Ore Store. He greeted his old friend Bomfel, and ignoring the offer of a nice hot bath, proceeded to dump the contents of his pack onto the counter. Yulpoor pointed to the pile of beautifully-marbled rocks, the fine brown lines branching in an unusually organic manner. "ROOTSTONE!" Yulpoor cried! "And found not 10 mile from town!" Such a bold statement suprised Bomfel tremendously, as even HE had never found any rootstone near VK in all his years. He frowned at the prospector and looked closely at a specimen. He rapped the rock against a metal pan and listened intensely. He licked the rock and his eyebrows shot up. Quickly he began rummaging around under the counter, and Yulpoor's excitement grew. Bomfel emerged with a small carven chest and revealed the contents to Yulpoor. >From the chest Bomfel removed a graduated cylendar, a small scale, and a series of small rocks, all shot through with the same brown rootlike seams. He carefully weighed Yulpoor's sample on the scale, and then selected a similarly-sized stone from his collection. He filled the cylendar half-full with water and placed Yulpoor's sample in it, carefully noting the displaced volume. Again, he repeated the procedure with his precious Rootstone sample. With chalk and board, he wrote out an algebraic equation and began plugging in numbers, allowing Yulpoor to watch closely as he made his calculations. Bomfel finished his task and turned the board to Yulpoor. "My friend, I am sorry to say, but what you got here is FOOLS ROOTSTONE!" A ragged, filthy elf trudged his way through the streets of Velka Kopanina, heading for the edge of town. The well-fed halflings that made this their home pinched their noses and backed away as he approached, and were glad to see old Yulpoor Stonefoot heading back out and taking his B.O. with him! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Demon The Demon looked down upon the nascent world searching for that fertile soil where his seeds of corruption might germinate and grow. He did not have to look far. As on many other worlds the citizens of Lorenai were obsessed by things, lots and lots of things. Things to weild, things to wear, things to admire, but above all else things to possess. Any citizen who has many things is considered better than one who has only a few, but not as good as one who has a great deal more. This system of owning things rules them, it is confusing, abitrary and suits their mentality well. In the war-torn lands of Lorenai he saw how the violent and the ignorant would commit unspeakable acts of butchery and barbarism to feed their hunger for more things. But this naked display of greed was somehow not quite so pleasing as the subtle and hidden canker that pervaded throughout the rest of their world. Even in the more enlightened and peaceful realms the people were still obsessed with gathering more things unto themselves. Nowhere was the virtue of humility appreciated or practiced, and it seemed that no matter how many things a citizen possessed his desire for more would be unquenched. He knew this to bo their greatest folly for in their quest to obtain more things the greed of the mighty could only spawn jealousy in the hearts of those who had fallen behind. From these sins the discord that they fear would grow. The Demon smiled, now he knew how to fuel the fires of evil within their souls. If the citizens of Lorenai desired things then things they shall have! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Order of Leitbur Saga It had surely been a long summer for Avram. Most in the sence that absolutely nothing special had happened. Well, if you except the finding of a new favourite drinking establishment or the hiring of a new even lovelier secretary. But those things were not what Avram wanted, he wanted action, he required action. So when he one day took his usual seat at the drinking establishment (The Red Bull) and had begun reading the latest local edition of the Osgiliath Times, he almost choked on his beer. Major Changes in Minas Morgul! A force led by major battle mages... Osgiliath may be next... Finally something was to happen. Avram quickly finished his drink and continued reading the article as he stormed out the door, nearly knocking down a guard patrol (they truly were everywhere) on his way to the brand new headquarters at Main Street. Once inside he had succeeded in calming himself down a bit; the threat wasn't to happen untill next summer. But that merely ment that there was no time to waste. Next summer was only a year away. So Avram quickly begun writing his orders, shouting at his new even lovelier secretary and then ran out the door to find a wagon headed for Minas Tirith. Once he had located a messenger pigeon (that was all he was able to find) he sent it of for the Magic Tower - his mages had to know what to do. And if he knew them correctly, the fools were probably sitting at a pub, flirting with the barmaid. Once the pigeon was of, he stormed to the barracks and told his guards what the next step should be. Then... ... he returned to The Red Bull, and ordered another drink. - I really need to get myself a messenger boy, he thought before he took a sip out of the beer mug. ****************************** Order Scribe: Bethan Leitbur Representing: Order Of Leitbur ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A pair of hungry 'pokes Billy-Bob: Ya know, seems to me there are other places to get horses from! I don' see why we hav' ta train Ponies when theres a place 'bout 2 months travel from here with horses. Waddaya think Billy-Ray. Billy-Ray: Dunno. Billy-Bob: Why? Once we start trainin' those blasted ponies, ya know Wally will make us stick around and we may NEVER get to smell a horse. Cummon Billy-Ray, lets get us some real horses! Billy-Ray: Dunno. Billy-Bob: But Why? Why dan' blast it. Billy-Ray: Jus' dunno. Billy-Bob: Well I'm not goin back. I'm puttin my foot down and Wally can jus' live with it. Are you commin or not! Billy-Ray: <Sigh> Billy-Bob (days later): $&!^ Billy-Ray, Wally cut off our funds. I can't believe he'd do a thing like that. It must be a mistake!!! Billy-Bob (still more days later): We haven't eaten anything fer a coupla days now but wild onions, and those lizzards yur real good at nabbin'. We could starve like this. If we ever get out of this alive, I'm goin to stuff Wally's @$$ with wild onions. You just wait an' see. Billy-Ray: Grrr. Advice: Be very VERY sure and remember to set your credit flag to off before you "buy max men". Be very, very sure or your cowboys will be eatin' them thar horses if they're lucky enough to be with them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Eternal Spring 'There's one place where spring never dies. Marvelous, wonderful valey of Lorenai city.' 'There are such places where spring never comes. Dirty, forsaken wastelands and swamps of Murgul.' - 'Everyone has its destiny. Date of judgement day. Judges. Scale.' 'And sentence.' - 'Who knows his own omen? Who knows friend's one?' 'Who knows the enemy's?' - 'Who does? Who? And who cares? Who?' 'When Ruler of All Evil comes noone survives!' - ----, ruler of the southern hemisphere Xylla, mistress of northern hemisphere ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On his voyages through the dreams of Nogrod's defenders He heard them laugh, he heard them cry. Between them walked the ghosts of past and long forgotten heroes. One of them got His attention by singing a strange song in a strange and alien language. Vergeltung Aus dieser Richtung wird er kommen, Wir haben keine Zeit zu verlieren! Macht Euch bereit! Man sieht sie schon! Sie werden immer groesser, Sie n�hern sich unsrer Traut. Macht Euch bereit! Und denkt nur an Gneiss. Nieder mit ihnen Nieder, Nieder! R�der drehen, Wimpel flattern, Sekunden rinnen, fertig - Jetzt! Gewehre rattern, wir kaempfen bis zuletzt! Blut flie�t da, Blut flie�t hier Gewalt erzeugt Gewalt. Smilling and knowing, He walked away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Miscellaneous ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Notes on the attacks in Dunbeath and Nogrod... As the inhabitants of Nogrod and Dunbeath have noticed, in both cities a lonesome madman attacked the guard! Actually these madmen aren't so mad after all. Probably their acts signal great changes in the future, and their names will be remembered with respect in their factions. Because what this units were doing was a sacrifice for their factions. A sacrifice, because they payed with death for their actions. But, what they were doing wasn't foolishness. They just tested the defenses of the city. Now everyone in the two cities knows who will be defending the city, how many people will join the guards, etc... I'm not suprised that this kind of thing is happening in Nogrod, now that King Topas virtually continues a siege of the town. But I thought Dunbeath were safe, maybe we'll have to leave this wonderful city soon too...? Do we have to fear an attack? Why are the speakers of the Dunbeath Coalition so silent about this incident? Am I paranoid? ;) If anyone has any information please tell about them(in the Times), because right now ideas are swirling in my mind, and I can't decide what to do, what to think! (Is the Dunbeath Coalition showing its force, or testing the defense of the City this way, or...?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New resources for players I have added new page to my Web Site "Golden GATE", or "Web Graphics from Vladimir" I want to post there some tips for players, surprisedly but, so few most players know about how does game work. Please look at this and if you have any corrections or additions please send me. http://www.vcode.com/www/lorenai and look there for Tips & Tricks. Also here is some examples from this page. Most answers come from Jiri, who patiently replayed on my e-mails, some from my misstakes, turn errors : How does teaching work? - By teaching you can save a lot of money. Teaching doesn't reduce the course time, it just gives double points. If in a common course your unit will get 12 points in 8 days, by teaching this unit you will spend the same amount of money, and the same amount of time, but you get 24 points instead. A teacher can be only a leader, and he must have same type of skill, at least 1 level higher than the students. Teachers can teach no more than 10 men at one time, but it may be multiple units. Unit 0001 1-24 teach 6666, 3333, 2222, 1111 This assumes units 6666, 3333, 2222, 1111 are studying a skill that unit XXXX has available. I am not sure if a teacher can teach multiple skills at the same time, but I will try soon. Can I stop build and comeback after turn? - So far yes, I did start building by one unit then left before it was finished. And after 1 turn I sent another unit inside to finish building.I don't know if it is bug in game or some addidion. If two factions are in one HEX who will guard, if both factions set guard at the same time? - The faction who was earliest in this HEX. I got my HEX what I should do next? -First be sure you have plenty of resources. And be ready for wages to be lower than in city, in most cases by 15-16 tolars per turn per man. But your upkeep will still behigh, and even worse in winter ... P.S. My goal not to build other Lorenai manual, more as short tips in economy and strategy of the game. Golden GATE Faction 396 lorenai@vcode.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newbie services in Lorenai City =============================== 1) Herbs It has come to my knowledge, that some newbie players have invested time and money in herb collectors in Lorenai City, and now have big problems selling their products on the market. To help you at least somewhat, I have decided to offer the following service to newbies: Each turn I'll buy at most 5 herbs at a price of 96 tolars/herb from newbie players - preference will be given to factions in big economic trouble. If you want to get rid of your herbs at this price, contact faction 43 at mailto://rwikman@aton.abo.fi and inform me about your economic situation. In addition, each turn I'll buy at most 5 herbs at a price of 48 tolars/herb from any faction(s), principle first come, first served, no questions asked :) 2) Food Several turns ago, I posted a call for cooperation concerning the livestock population in one of the Circle Hills hexes. Some (well, two...) factions contacted me after that, and we now have the pleasure to tell you, that soon the Lorenai Food and Catering Service will open its business. Members of this company are factions 43, 292 and 360. Faction 43 is responsible for the harvesting of livestock and the building of a butchery, while factions 292 and 360 will supply the foodmakers and the marketing of the food. All details are not worked out yet, but also here we plan to offer special rates for newbies - part of the production will be set aside for newbies at prices below 12 tolars per food unit. Part might be set aside for our own needs, and part sold to highest bidder(s). Since there are quite a few Lorenai factions with a monthly upkeep of 14 tolars or more, you might be interested in bidding 13 tolars or more. Bids below 13 tolars will not be considered, such food we will just sell on the Lorenai market ourselves. Advance inquiries and preliminary bids may be sent to faction 360 at mailto://richterf@alpha.bke.hu 3) Markets To fight the inflationary spiral which was driving up the price of high elven recruits I began a project of building markets in all Circle Hills hexes some 10-15 turns ago, and now the project is complete! There are markets in ALL 6 Circle Hills hexes - the last two to be completed were the ones in the SE and NE hexes. Prices in these hexes are expected to reach their optimal level in 3-5 more turns - the other markets are already optimally operational. So, if the prices in Lorenai City seem too high for your purse, why not make a trip to a Circle Hills market instead! Ragnar's Lorenai City Service Company (faction 43) mailto://rwikman@aton.abo.fi ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Jiri Klouda, Student of Informatics at Charles University System Administrator of Novell Netware in Math department mailto: jk@atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~jk Up