Atlantis Times v1.1 v05n02 From: JJC%MP068@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM Date: Tue, 07 Feb 1995 06:08:59 +0000 ######################################################################## =-=-= Atlantis Times v1.1 Volume 5 Number 2 =-=-= =-= February 6, 1995 =-= ######################################################################## Words from The Big Guy: Please remember that the deadline for orders are 12:00 GMT on Sundays. Many of you are sending orders past that deadline. I will most likely start running the turns earlier, so make sure your orders are in on time. I fixed a bug where TRANSFER of MAGES could result in some spells getting unlearned. NOTE *** Atlantis is now closed. All full, no more starts. Just a reminder of the new AUTOTAX command: - AUTOTAX flag available. This is a new boolean command, similiar to GUARD and AVOID. If set, a unit will attempt to TAX every turn. If reset, no automatic TAXing will occur, though the TAX command will still work. AUTOTAX boolean is reset after a MOVE or SAIL command is executed. Send Times to: jjc@mpa15ab.mv-oc.unisys.com Send Orders to: JJC@MP068.MV-OC.UNISYS.COM Send problems/comments/bug reports/questions to me personally at: jjc@mpa15c.mv-oc.unisys.com I read the mail at the times address once a week, when I'm setting up the Times. I NEVER read mail where the orders go to, so don't send anything but orders there. Good luck, and enjoy. - TBG ######################################################################## What happened last time: In a big cave Undine met an old woman, sitting near a fireplace, offering her a cup of tea. "So, my daughter," Leandora, the old woman says, "Now look into the fire and tell me what you see!" "What I see?" asked Undine " I see a fire, flames and a cauldron hanging above it". "Oh no, no, no! Try to look behind the things. Try it." Undine is a little bit astonished, but she tries. And so she looks and looks ... and her little cat nestles to her. Undine feels a little bit dizzy and then she says: " I can see ..., I can see some ships coming over the ocean". "Which ships. Try to read the names." "It's like a dark cloud coming from the North. The names, the names: Blood ... something with blood, the ships are all covered with blood. And soldiers, strong soldiers, evil soldiers and beasts - it's so cold. I can read one name V O X on their banners. Undine awakes from her trance. She trembles for fear. "What is this?", she asks Leandora. "My daughter, what you have seen, is the danger for which I have been sent to warn you. There is a big evil coming down from the North. And I fear, you will have to finish studies and take arms against this evil." "Arms - I hate arms and weapons, I don't know how to fight. I will learn and study, that's all I want." The old woman nods saddly: "I know, my daughter, I know. But now it's the time to fight and not to study. If you don't end this evil all things you love will be destroyed: the flowers, the sunshine, the joy and the laughter. But you will not be alone. There will be others fighting beside you. And now you have to go back. I feel tired. This spell requires a lot of my power." The old woman begins to hum. Undine sees the tunnel open and she turns around, says goodbye to Leonora and she and her little cat are walking in that tunnel home to Tarraspan. Undine is thinking a lot about the warning and about what to do. What should be the first thing to do tomorrow? ----- to be continued ---- ######################################################################## Raistlin surveyed the work that he had done in the past year. He had nothing to start with and now he had ... nothing. He hung his head in despair. He had about 100 farmers that couldn't grow a patch of nettles and a small force of swordsmen that could be beaten by an angry millipede. To top this off it had started to snow and the workers were busy making snowmen and throwing snow at each other. "At least when things are this low, they cannot get any worse.", he thought. A breathless messenger approached him. "News, O mighty mage...", the messenger gasped. The mage looked down on him and awaited the tidings the messeneger brought. "Speak, ye Harbinger of Doom.", said the mage. "Uh... A being by the name of Lord Vox is invading our isle with a mighty army of undead creatures...", blurted the messenger. The mage looked grim. "Over my dead body.", the wizard hissed between clenched teeth. "Uh... That's the general idea...", quipped the messenger. "YOU ARE NOT MAKING ANY FRIENDS HERE YOU REALISE!", shouted the mage. "sorry", said the messenger. "You will be" "What do you mean?" "You, my young harbinger will be the leader of my army to attempt to stop the flow of evil onto my isle.", spoke the mage. The messenger looked devastated. If the mage had told him the world was going to end in 3 minutes he would have been happier than he was now. "Please Sir. You cannot be serious. I am no leader.", pleaded the lad. "Well, you had better be or you are dead. See?", Raistlin retorted. The mage brushed his velvet cloak aside and walked back into a cold bamboo hut that was his home. The messenger lookes around. These forces where a joke. No matter. He would lead them across this frozen land to hope, to victory, to a brave new world, to, to... certain doom. He sat with his head in his hands. A snowball hit him square in the head. A middle aged soldier came over and apologized. "Sorry about that sir, i appear to have missed my target." The messenger figured that if you are going to go then it is better to burn out than to fade away. He looked at the sorry specemins that were his troops and he spoke in a loud clear voice that shook the very souls of the men present. A faint tune filled the air as he spoke. Strands of the song "Land of hope and glory" caught the ears of those present. "Men", he said "we have a job to do. We must push back this oppressor that has marred our beautiful land. We will fight him where ever he may appear. We will fight him on the beaches. On the plains. In the forests and in the swamps, but we will never, ever give in to tyranny." Silence. Complete and utter silence. The record that was playing in the background was torn from the player and thrown away. "RIGHT THEN!", he screamed. "YOU!", he pointed at the snowball thrower. "GET DOWN AND GIVE ME ..... INFINITY." The rest of the soldiers looked on in a mixture of both awe and fear as this poor man was made to do press ups for the rest of his life. They ran over to where their wooden, practice swords lay and practiced until they fell with exhaustion. This new General was a killer. Something must be done about him. Perhaps if they survived this war they would string him up by his tendons and stretch him by over two feet. That would be cool. But first they had to survive. That, would be the hard part.... ######################################################################## Dear Leader of the Merry Pranksters (and partner of this evil-doer Vox), Be aware, that we, the peaceful inhabitants of this island (some of us known as Pacificia), are not such silly sheeps to believe what you tell. Not our helper and friend Larson, leader of Larson's Efficient Empire is the evil-doer and cruel conquerer. This is your boss Vox. Vox is our enemy and so are you, for you are allied with him. Vox is the name of the threatening for our existence. Vox robs, slaughters and conquers. He murders and does all evil things. But if you, dear Hans, say: Enough of this cruel slaughter and bloody work, I will live peacefully on this island. I will stay and enjoy this happy living with a lot of new friends, you are welcomed to the ALLIANCE OF PEACEFULL PEOPLE AGAINST VOX. Sincerely UNDINE young sorceress ######################################################################## On a far distant planet a messanger approaches the throne of The Emporer. The Emporer sits silent a moment and then speaks, "Yes, what is it?" "We've received our first transmission from Lord Fanatic concerning his progress on the world of Atlantis." "It is about time, his message has been late in coming." "Yes it has my lord." "Well, what is his report?" "'Greeting O Noble One, progress has been a little slow up to this time, but I have discovered something that I beleive will interest you a great deal. The local populace seems to be highly susceptible to bribary, had I known that before hand I would have surely brought a much greater supply of raw materials with me, especially silver as that is the base commodity here. However, the point of interest is this. I have recently acquired some of their primitive weaponry (swords and longbows would you beleive) and have begun to tax the local natives (a common practice as you know among all medieval civilizations), and lo and behold, the ignorance of the natives is such that I am then able to turn around and bribe the very peasants I just taxed into loyal submission. "'Of other interest, I have mastered the language of the world, and have begun negotiations with several organized groups of mercenaries and traders. In doing so I have been able to obtain a good deal of information about the surrounding land areas, as well as trading raw goods and materials for some of those commodities which are abundant on this world.'" "Yes, very interesting indeed Lord Fanatic," thought The Emporer, "I shall have to watch things closesly for a while I believe." ######################################################################## The kintore Observer couldnt believe his eyes. The dragon attacked from nowhere and caught the four groups of people by surprise. In one round the dragon had slaughtered them all ! The fire it breathed consuming 14 people at once It was horrible. He hoped it would end here but the dragon seemed not to be satisfied and it attacked again and again, each time the poor avoiding unit was struck dead before he knew what had hit him. And still the dragon attacked. 200 men fell without getting a single blow in return. He wanted to help but knew that this would be useless, he would probably die but for now he wanted to cling to life. The slaughted seemed to go on for an age and then suddenly it stoped. The dragon was satisfied, for now..... What a collection of stuff it had ! After all those wins its trophies of war were impressive ! 91 horses for a start ! What would a dragon do with 91 horses ? Why couldn't it eat them and leave the people in peace. He decided that staying here annother month would be toying with fate and that he should get away while he could. ######################################################################## THE LUMBERJACKS OF BERGLAND, part V Against all odds the life in the swamp still remained peacefully annother month. Mullin was pleased, but his the leader of the south trade caravan, who just joined him in his tent, was not. He was the legendary Meridan and his convoys had never failed the union he worked for, but due to the war in Skommer he was forced to stay an extra month in Bergland. The two men was waiting on work from the outside world, a annother union caravan was spotted and they hoped it would bring news from the war. The caravan brought indead news of the war, but more importen was the workers that came with it. The union had desided to heighten production and where sending in a whole fresh crew of workers. The now sessioned lumberjacks laught at the exausted looking newcommers, quite forgetting lost they where just a half year ago. The leader of the workers pressended a battle report for Mullin: REPORT FROM THE BATTLE FOR DOMINACE OF SKOMMER The tropps of Atlantraz and Westar union marched against the one who called himself king of Skommer. Leading the attack where the four knights of the mark riding silver grey horses. The army that where raised in the name of SKA was not great in numbers, but their knowlege of battle where better. Every warior carried sword or bow, but indeed some unarmed peasent and workers had also met to watch the struggel. As this great army approached the battle field where the fight where to take place, the Army of the king moved silently in position behind the farmers. At a wink from their leader they attack and started slauthering the unarmed workers and peasents. The SKA-army where cut of from attacking to defend the peasents as they where position on the oposite side. For a moment it looked like it would be a catastrophy as the king wreck havoc among the populace. It was then the true powers of the field approach the struggeling masses. They where old men, but their held the gift of magic. They where Oakleaf, Miano de Lavita and Cizerra Mud. They where the great magician of the Counsel of Magic They silenced the Enemy in one dreadful stroke 13 workers where lost in the battle and Arzeen the kings court magiancian was taken to answer for the Counsil of magic. He will stand trial to be dispelled from Atlantis. End of report Mullin was worried about the news, "Magic" he thought, "Isn't it our army that is powerful" << TO BE CONTINUED >> ######################################################################## Malice wiped the last bit of Grey matter from her chin as the body of Moe's former band member toppled to the floor. "That was a most wonderful dinner.", she said with a loud belch. "Guard, I am still hungry! Bring me another prosoner from moe land. Make it a band leader this time." "But mistress. He was the last one. There are no more until another shipment comes from Vox", the guard replied. Malice's eyes narowed dangerously, "Oh very well. Take some soldiers to Lord Vox's camp and drop off the ten casks of blood we recovered from the last group of prosoners. AND BRING ME MORE MOE BRAONS" THe guard left to begin his task. ######################################################################## Part 9 - Neighbors "Well sir, I saw at least seven different groups on my excursion," said one of Gurithim's scouts to Gurithim. Gurithim started to sigh. He knew that this area was crowded, but he was just beginning to learn that it was, in fact, even more crowded than he had imagined. Before he could even finish his sigh someone walked up to him. "I'm Huck, sir, and I'm just returning from my scouting expedition. I saw at least ten different factions. We have a LOT of neighbors sir." Gurithim sighed again. Since he had never gotten the chance to properly finish his first sigh, this sigh caused his lungs to get confused and send back both sighs, sending him into fits of coughing. When he was finished, he checked to make sure that there were no leftover sighs hanging around, and then began a deep, cleansing sigh. Just then another scout walked up, but one of Gurithim's men standing nearby had witnessed the preceeding exchange was able to distract him long enough for Gurithim to complete his sigh. It was a good sigh, as far as sighs go, and Gurithim was pleased...at least for now. ######################################################################## May the curse fall upon the messangers bringing the orders to TBG. The great Chafin sent away a messanger in the month of december to give a spiritual report to TBG and the great god Agrik. After a roughly a month The Chafin sent away a new messenger to once more report to the divine beeings. But what happens the messenger from february is so fast that he runs past the first messenger. The TBG and Agrik decideds that this unortodox behaviour should be punished and sends down a small temporariliy curse on the peaceful people of The Octagonal Pit. Confusion is created. People who belives they are riding east are in fact riding west, others belive they are leaving ships just anchored when they in reality still are sailing on the high sees. Others sail straigth to hostile shores in the belief that they will be greeted with friendship. When shall this confusion stop will the curse go away in the following month or I'm I just imagining all Yours truly E. Atmuch, reporter for the Atlantis Time ######################################################################## Lord Vox sat alone, deep within the Citadel, whistling sadly on a tiny finger-bone flute. He was remarkably proficient at the little instrument, if you allowed for the long claws that limited his finger movement. Sadness was an unexpected feeling, rather alien, in fact. At first the escape of Hogli the Advisor had caused only rage, an emotion familiar to both Lord Vox and his abundant prey. But after nearly all the servants had been dismembered, and Hogli's subterranean chambers reduced to rubble, the rage seemed no longer to have a direction, and was replaced slowly by a vague loneliness, a sense of loss. Hogli was truly gone, vanished through a mystical gate to another far land. But there was little enough time for brooding. Hogli's treasonous acts explained the recent disasters in Hansalia and Gresiria. Vox had simply placed too much trust in his Advisor, a mistake he would avoid from now on. The new Advisor hung on the wall, a gilded frame surrounding a silvered glass. Vox turned to it and asked: "Now, what should we do about Big Moe? And our restless acquaintances and scattered nobility to the north?" A fearsome visage grinned back, showing the rows upon rows of teeth, some feral yellow, others brownish-black. "Yes, I thought so. Death! Bloodshed! Reave and Destroy!!" Vox howled in sinister, bitter laughter, then brought his clawed fist down on the mirror, shattering it. These new Advisors were far more satisfying, if not as tasty. Spirits somewhat improved, Lord Vox settled back in the huge stone chair and opened the Times. While it was certainly all lies and propaganda, the paper rarely failed to amuse. And sure enough, there on page two... "PAUGH!! Heh-heh-heh-heh! The Alliance of Peaceful People Against Vox! APPV! Now THERE'S an organization with a higher purpose!" Vox chuckled mightily, licking the folds of hide that passed for his lips. "Heh! As if they wouldn't be Grand Conquerers themselves if they had the chance. Perhaps we should name them the Alliance of Peaceful People Eager To Imitate Their Enemy, eh? Now what would that be..." Lord Vox suddenly found himself with a huge appetite. It was time to visit the Temple and select a suitable sacrifice. And after dinner, a glass of that fine, if young, Moe Syrah. The Moe's blood, though a little blue, seemed to keep flowing in excellent quantities. But the stocks of Diamante were nearly exhausted, and Vox would certainly need to replenish this...luckily, he knew just where to find a supply! ######################################################################## Le petit peuple de Tristam se rassemblaient autour de l'etrange boite mettalique tombee du ciel. Quelle etait cette etrange chose.L'air increduble chancun tentait de comprendre les mots qui en sortaient, Avec les pire difficultes car la voix semblait brouillee par des sons etranges. "....Les Fr... Parlent aux ...cais ...scrrrrr...et maintenant quelques messages personnels... Jean a de longues moustaches...scrrr...Robert revient de la chasse....uuuiiii....srrrr...les sanglots longs de l'automne... ....je repete...les sanglots longs de l'automne...." Que pouvait bien signifier tout cela.... La semaine prochaine,plus encore sur le voix mysterieuses de la boite metallique. C'etait les chroniques de Tristam. ######################################################################## Atikup (UofZ): The University army was victorious in their fight to reestablish a new school in Jervbygd. The divided army of Jazkat was forced to retreat and regroup. "The victory was easier than expected," said General Duncan from Zamora. "The long-haired troops just ran away. We expected a second wave of troops to arrive this month. This retreat gave us opportunity to join up with the reinforcements. We are stronger than ever. It won't be long before we retake Jervbygd and can start rebuilding." No comment was available from the Jazkat leader, Big Moe. Adrano (UofZ): A small band of recent graduates from the University of Zamora wanted to establish a small school of arts and crafts. "We heard that the people of Hansalia where peaceful and that inspired us," said the founder of the school. "Arts and crafts. Nothing could be more harmless than that." Their plans to start this school are now threatened by a large force flying the flag of The Efficient Empire. One of the graduates was attacked without warning last month. This month the remaining graduates are threatened. "How can they do this?" continued the founder. "We are unarmed and peaceful. But [the slain graduate] was not even warned. He was displaying signs that were not threatening, just instructions on how to contact us. Not one message was received from them." ######################################################################## -Martin, you look happy, what are the good news? -Well, We have established our colony in the forest south of here. And if everything goes well we will start the phase two in the next month. -I know, by the way our explorers in the far north have encountered spies from the pranksters. Give the order to kill any of them on sight. Other explorers mentioned a big disembark in the nnorth of the island two month ago. They are relative new factions. -Are they dangerous? -I don't know. But they are at least one year afar. -No probelm for the moment. -Yes, for the moment. -Good. Let's thank Iape. ######################################################################## Hans looked around the room. He was used to living mostly alone, since he was invisible to most of the denizens of Atlantis. But without someone to confide in, how could he have a conversation worthy of the Times? A thought popped into his head, "I'll just talk to myself! That way, I can spill my thoughts out for everyone to read, and I don't need some trusted advisor to talk to." Hans was not big on trusted advisors; they tended to disappear to other worlds when you weren't watching. "So tell me Hans, why is the name of the Merry Pranksters besmirched across the land of Atlantis? We are just a band of peaceful entertainers! Why, I don't think there are even 2000 Merry Pranksters in all of Atlantis, and yet people speak of us as if we were the scourge of the world." "Well Hans, it's obvious. If you ally yourself with, how shall I put this, 'active' factions, you have to expect a certain bit of hostility to come with the territory." "What do they expect us to do, Hans, _attack_ Lord Vox's mad Skinflayers and the efficient troops of PATO? We would be crushed in a single month! It seems obvious that allying our- selves with these folks was the only reasonable option. What chance to a band of peace-loving folks have without some strong allies?" "Well, then there is the matter of spying on other factions..." "Spying! Spying!!! We just like to explore! You can't very well be a 'band of wandering entertainers' if you just sit around in one place, can you? And if we share information with our allies, I'm sure other alliances do the same." ..... So all of you factions that keep attacking innocent "Prankster Emisarry"s, give some thought to it. Who is the evil one, the peaceful Merry Pranksters, who have never even issued an ATTACK order, or you, who slaughters an innocent and defenseless man? Hans Shadowspawn, leader of the Merry Prankster Association for World Peace and Better Living. ######################################################################## BEWARE THE GREAT EVIL IN MOUNTAINS! - Part 7 Battles were fought with 4 Lemurian dragons this turn. The most viscoius battle took place in a mountain province when two dragons launched an all out attack. I was used to raids, so this attack tactic is an unpleasant surprise. Not only do the dragons get a free round, they get battle rounds and a pursuit round. While 2 dragons were killed, more than 1100 men fell. No further dragons awakened, so the dragon population has fallen to 5. Lord Vox and his allies are not faring well in their invasion of Pacificia (the name chosen by the inhabitants). They seem to hope that the readers of the Times have very short memories, and don't remember what Vox is up to on Moe's island and Bananaland. Don't be fooled, ask any resident of Bananaland or Moe's island, what you can expect living under Vox's rule. [Note that living is probably not the best verb to describe what happens to you when Vox arrives]. The above report generated by the scribes of faction 59, "The Efficient Empire", formerly "Larson's Adventurers", reachable at "Bill_Larson@ncsu.edu" ######################################################################## =-=-= END TIMES 502 =-=-= ######################################################################## Up