Volume Nine Issue Twenty-Two
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= .............._______ ............./ / THE LEGENDARY TIMES ............/ / .........../ /.....______.._____.....______.._____.......____ ........../ /...../ /./ \.../ /./ \...../ \ ........./ /...../ ___/./ ____/../ ___/./ __ \.../ /\ \ ......../ /...../ /_.../ /....../ /_.../ /..\ >./ /./ / ......./ /...../ __/../ /____../ __/../ /.../ /./ /./ / ....../ /_____/__/__../ \_\ /./ /__../ /.../ /./ /_/ / ...../ / /./ /./ /./ /.../ /./ / ..../ /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD .../________________/ running on mud.legendmud.org 9999 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= http://www.legendmud.org/ ftp://ftp.legendmud.org/pub =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= VOLUME NINE, NUMBER TWENTY-TWO June 8, 2002 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= TABLE OF CONTENTS The Editor's Note NEWS, REPORTS, UPDATES Calendar of Events Recent Updates Ancient Era Spotlight: Ancient Nazca and the Andes Recent Q&A Topics DID YOU KNOW: Ping & Traceroute LEGENDITES Announcements Clan News Sweet Dreams are Made of This, Part 5 Hitch Your Wagon to a Star You Only Deliver Twice, Part 2 ___ ___ \ |-----------------------------------------------------------------| / /__| The Editor's Note |__\ '-----------------------------------------------------------------' I was thinking about what to write here last night as I was fixing dinner. I went to put something on the table when it hit me -- or rather, I stepped on it. Legos! Big chunky ones! Suddenly it all snapped into painfully-clear, throbbing points on the soul of my feet. All MUDs are made up of lots of little building blocks. Some moreso than others and some are made up of blocks where the colors just clash so garishly you can't look at it for very long. But learning how to make use of those blocks is what makes you successful at the game. Now, I'm not just talking about the ovbious ones that make up the landscape (rooms), and provide players with the means to advance their characters (mobs, items, skills and spells). But rather, I mean EVERY single command and function within the server code. It all fits together to form one large, cohesive work that hopefully players find fun and entertaining. Whether it's exploring, socializing, mobkill or pkill. While it's true, we haven't added, moved or changed many visible blocks lately, we have been shifting things below the surface and some not-so high profile blocks. But things also haven't been at a dead stand-still, which is a good thing. Anyway, to take this analogy where I was originally headed with it... What do the PLAYERS do with all these blocks and tools that are provided for them? Some play nicely and use them as they were intended. They get satisfaction from playing this way. That's fine; that's great! But these aren't going to be the people you hear complaining. What about the people who have convinced themselves that all they're holding is square pegs and the only places to put them are round holes? Yes, these are the ones you're going to hear most. It doesn't seem to help show them where the square holes are, or even how to take the tools they've got available and take and reshape their pegs so they do fit. I saw an interesting post on a MUD-Development list recently talking about PK and perceptions that it was dead on another mud. "The players who think 'PK is dead' are inevitably the players who are much more interested in bullying people than in using PK as a roleplaying tool. They like to engage in that ridiculous age-old MUD tradition of whining that the past was better." This mud usually sees about 1400 characters log in per day and saw 16679 PK deaths in the previous month. They also have some serious rules that go with who/where/how you can pkill. Bully? Kinda harsh, huh? It was interesting to compare and contrast that with what I've seen recently here on Legend. The clans that have more interest in RP are better organized and more willing to work with each other to use the tools available to them and still experience pkill much the way they would have before, but without the disruptive elements that came with oldstyle pk. The 'old-school' pkillers seem to be more interested in personal and almost OOC vengeance against anyone who attacks them. Seeking an eye for an eye (with interest, if possible) type revenge. Many claim they don't care about dying, but just listen to them holler and berate other people if they find themselves without the upperhand. Hmmm... sounds like a bully. Boo's append on the war board, "The so called 'elite' pkillers didn't tuck tail and run. They just found a mud better suited for their pkilling tastes. A mud where you can curse, loot, multi, group kill, and most importantly, actually pkill because everyone is pkillable." brings that to light better than I could explain it. It also shows why when the suggestion is made to recreate oldstyle pkill by simply forming two or more pkill clans that only accept each other, I keep hearing how much effort it would be and how it's more organization than they want. All it would take would be 12-16 characters (meaning about 6-8 players) and a meeting time to form the clans. After that, as long as the people were interested in making it work, it wouldn't require much organization. But for that type of player, clans don't mean anything, because they aren't looking for meaning, only a means to prove they're king of the hill. So maybe the effort they're talking about is actually in getting out of the inn/ooc and making the first move. Or figuring out just who it is you can attack. Or, just maybe, it's in actually trying to fight against someone who's just as skilled and experienced as you are, instead of picking on the new kid on the scene. PKOK didn't really changed the basic building blocks of PKILL, but it did provide more tools for the players to use. I've been approached several times and told 'If you'd only have sat the few bad apples down and explained the rules to them!' Well the continuous sitting down with people and their various disputes is what led to PKOK as many of the immorts didn't want to do away with it completely, but wanted to provide more tools to the players. I personally believe the fact that more players are now willing to enable their characters and participate as they wish, is a good thing. More people gaining pkill experience of ANY kind, means more people who are potential opponents. You just have to play your cards right and make sure you're a desirable opponent too. -Kaige ___ ___ \ |-----------------------------------------------------------------| / /__| LegendMUD Calendar of Events |__\ '-----------------------------------------------------------------' [All times are system time unless otherwise specified] June kicks off our 2002 Summer Odyssey in the Ancient Era. Join us on a journey through time to explore our world! JUNE Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Wednesday, June 12th 9:00 pm "Pankration" PK Tourney Thursday, June 13th 6:00 pm Q & A in the OOC Auditorium Saturday, June 15th 4:00 pm Ancient Trivia with LadyAce Wednesday, June 19th 9:00 pm Ancient Level to 5 Contest Thursday, June 20th 6:00 pm Q & A in the OOC Auditorium Wednesday, June 26th 9:00 pm Wednesday Night Game, TBA Thursday, June 27th 6:00 pm Q & A in the OOC Auditorium ___ ___ \ |-----------------------------------------------------------------| / /__| Recent Updates |__\ '-----------------------------------------------------------------' /\ CODE UPDATES / \ / \ The following code changes are slated to go in as soon as we /_ _\ can find and fix the problem that crashed us three times when | | we did the update on Friday. These may go in sooner than next | | Friday. Keep an eye on the welcome board for more news. | | |__| BALANCE CHANGES /\ o Lesser Elementals can no longer be taken out of their / \ element (see the help their files for details). Greater / \ Elementals are hurt while they spend time out of their /_ _\ element. | | o Weather now affects elementals. | | o Create Mages can now control fewer charmies at a time. The | | more charmies they have, the less chance they have to be |__| able to control another /\ o Animate dead hp formula modified / \ / \ MISC CHANGES /_ _\ o Items in housing now save differently. Both you and the | | house should now save every time you drop or takes from a | | house. | | o Grumpy mood |__| o "it's dead" part of the poke social is no longer there. /\ / \ / \ HELP FILE UPDATES /_ _\ | | The following helpfiles were recently updated: | | | | ARCHIVING, CATALOG, CLANS, COMBAT, COMPRESSION, CONNECTION, |__| EMOTE, EXPEL, GUN, HARNESS, HELP, HOUSING, IMMORT, INDUCT, /\ INSTALL, KILL, LEGENDS-PAST, LOOT, MAKE BANDAGE, NETLAG, / \ NEWBIE, NEWS, PING, PKILL, QUESTS, REDEEM, REJECTGIVES, / \ RENT, SHOPS, SIT, STATS, SUMMARY, TALK, TRACEROUTE, TUMBLE, /_ _\ and XP | | | | Thanks to all the players & imms who assisted in this update! | | |__| /\ SUMMER ODYSSEY / \ ANCIENT ERA UPDATES / \ /_ _\ If you want to suggest specific improvements or new additions | | to existing areas please don't hesitate to submit them with | | the idea/bug/typo commands or drop mudmail to the builder | | currently responsible for the area (check AREAINFO to find |__| out!) And don't limit ideas to just these three months! /\ / \ ANCIENT NAZCA / \ New mobs and some new items. Shuffles the levels of some /_ _\ mobs around. Be careful and consider everything. You can | | fall from the natural rock bridge in the Andes. Adds in | | forage items. Anything with a hunt act checks if they | | need a boat/fly/lost trail/not enough room and gives up. |__| /\ ARABIAN NIGHTS / \ Typo fix on the new cushions for housing and adds them to / \ some housing rooms. Anything with a hunt act checks if /_ _\ they need a boat/fly/lost trail/not enough room and gives | | up and walks home. Typo fixes. | | | | ROMAN BRITAIN, PICTISH COUNTRY |__| Anything with a hunt act checks if they need a /\ boat/fly/lost trail/not enough room and gives up and / \ walks home. / \ /_ _\ ANCIENT GREECE | | Anything with a hunt act checks if they need a | | boat/fly/lost trail/not enough room and gives up and | | walks home. The smith and boatmaker have different long |__| descriptions when they're open/closed. /\ / \ ANCIENT INDIA / \ Dhurtah checks if they need a boat/fly/lost trail/not /_ _\ enough room and gives up and walks home when hunting. | | Shops that sell herbs sell even numbers of them. | | | | CELTIC IRELAND, SHADOWLANDS |__| Anything with a hunt act checks if they need a /\ boat/fly/lost trail/not enough room and gives up and / \ walks home. A couple minor typos fixed. / \ /_ _\ Other Area Updates | | | | 1802 ALASKA | | Andreev's AC was the opposite of what it should have been |__| and has fixed, so he may be a bit different in fights /\ now. Walrus should have a tusk more often now if you've / \ already started the quest. Various bugs and typos fixed. / \ /_ _\ FRENCH & INDIAN WAR | | Belugas shouldn't be quite so numerous. Multiple tallow | | candles confusion resolved at the candlemakers. | | |__| HOSPITALLER MALTA /\ Typo fix on one of the roses. Crumbled/crumpled. / \ / \ MELBOURNE /_ _\ Fixes some bugs, primarily with gold assayer. | | | | SAN FRANCISCO | | Shortens the long desc on the ballot box. |__| /\ SHERWOOD / \ Rivets no longer burn. / \ /_ _\ TORTUGA | | Lowers the random on the drumming sound. | | | | 17th CENTURY SALEM, THE ALHAMBRA, THE CRUSADES, SOUTH SEAS |__| Various typo fixes. ___ ___ \ |----------------------------------------------------------------| / /__| Ancient Era Spotlight: Ancient Nazca and the Andes |__\ '----------------------------------------------------------------' Friday, June 7, circa 500 AD. Intrigued by the news of that something was happening on and around the Nazca plain, I decided to let my wandering feet take me that direction. As I approached the coast of Peru, seals and dolphins greeted my ship and followed for a short distance before playfully splashing me and slipping away again in the dark waters. After beaching my ship, and travelling inland over the dry, rocky terrain, I came upon a small village. One of the villagers was very hospitable and bid me to sleep on his spare mats for the night. The next morning, I awoke refreshed, although a bit stiff from sleeping on the ground, ready and eager to explore the village. A young lad carried water back and forth from the river to store in large clay jars. He pointed out the potter's hut to me, saying that he had made them. Across from the potter's, I was surprised to find a woman who was quite skilled in metalworking. The things she can do to a gold coin! But all was not well here on the plains. A sickness had stricken many of the villagers, especially the children. The local shaman was not having good luck with many of his patients. I asked if I could help, and was sent to find a cure high in the Andean mountains to the east. After crossing the river, the mountains were teeming with life. A large heron stared back curiously as he fished for his supper in the river. As I climbed higher into the mountains, I saw an ocelot hunting chinchillas -- not a pretty sight when they get caught. The herds of wild llamas grazing in the valleys, along the terraced slopes and atop the grassy plateaus were quite a sight to see. The mountains can be quite treacherous if you're not careful, the high crags and steep rock faces present danger when you least expect it. I nearly walked off the edge of a cliff before I saw it was there, so caught up in the scenery I was. I heard the angry snarl of a a large cat somewhere nearby and decided that I wasn't going to be its dinner. As I continued hiking, I came across a hut hidden deep in the mountains. But no one was home, so I retraced my steps back to the river. From there, I passed through the village and headed south into the desert. Miles of long, nearly-straight lines of white rocks created stylized paintings that could only be properly viewed from a great height. Did these people possess some form of air travel -- balloons perhaps? I had seen no evidence of them in the village. Were they pictures for their gods viewing pleasure as well as a giant solar calendar? Could be. Seemed the most logical explanation I could come up with. It certainly didn't resemble an industrial airfield! The hunter, whom I met out in the desert, didn't have any answers either. So I decided that I would return to the village and stay with the man who had been so hospitable before, and return later to further investigate this land of extremes and mystery. Finlay, the wanderer. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= While this area tries to offer something for all levels, characters under level 15 are best suited for this area. If you are interested in learning more about the Nazcan culture before experiencing it 'firsthand', here are a few web sites that can get you started: Nazca Culture and Ancient Civilizations in Peru: http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/prehistory/latinamerica/south/cultures/nazca.html http://www.rain.org/~pjenkin/civiliz/civiliza.html http://www.unmuseum.org/nazca.htm http://www.crystalinks.com/nasca.html http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/rosalind.htm Nazca Lines: http://exn.ca/mysticplaces/Nazca.cfm http://nazcalines.homestead.com/ http://skepdic.com/nazca.html =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _______ ____ _______ / ___ \ / __ \ / ___ \ Logs of Q&A sessions are available on the | / \ | \ \/ / | / \ | web pages for those who are unable to attend | | | | \ / | \___/ | or had to leave early. The most recent ones | | | | / \/\ | ___ | are listed on the sitemap page or you can | | /\| | / /\ / | / \ | get a complete list on the Q&A index page | \_\ \ | \ \/ \ | \ / | at the url below. \___\/_/ \__/\/ \_/ \_| http://www.legendmud.org/Community/lectures/QandA/QA_index.html RECENT TOPICS o Recent Net Problems o Changes to Elementals o Ripping out PKOK/PK Discussion o Unposted Updates? o Reject and Accept All o Sword Sheaths? o Items Reversing when Renting? o Where to Report Bugs? o Sniper Changes? o More on Elemental Changes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _____ / _ \ DID YOU KNOW: Tips and tricks and little-used features /__/ \ \ / / Have you ever been unable to connect to Legend for more than / / an hour? Then when you finally connect again, you wonder if /__/ or why it was down and felt silly about asking on channels? __ / \ Sometimes it is a problem with Legend's game server -- the \__/ game hung for a while before it crashed or crashed repeatedly _____ before it came back up. The TIME command lists when the mud / _ \ last started up, beneath the moon phase line. This will show /__/ \ \ whether the mud has restarted recently when you get online. / / / / Sometimes, it is a network problem. There are generally /__/ multiple machines between yours and the mud machine. If one of __ these machines has a problem, you may not be able to connect / \ or experience lag when others aren't. Also, people coming in \__/ along a different network path may be able to connect while _____ you cannot. / _ \ /__/ \ \ So how do you tell the difference while you are sitting there / / hoping to connect (or re-connect if you lost link)? If you / / eventually reconnect, then you know the game didn't crash -- /__/ it was purely a network issue. Depending on your operating __ system and access, you may be able to use some tools, such as / \ ping and traceroute, that can help determine if the problem is \__/ network-related or not. _____ / _ \ Unix-flavored systems generally can use these from the /__/ \ \ command-prompt. Windows may not have support depending on the / / version - from a command window, the commands are ping and / / tracert. Macs may or may not have the commands, depending on /__/ the version - OSX has the commands from your Darwin shell. For __ older MacOS systems, there are apps available that will / \ perform these functions. \__/ _____ Ping basically checks to see if the host can be found and / _ \ how long it takes to get a response. The basic command is: /__/ \ \ / / ping legendmud.org / / /__/ You may have to use the command: ping -c 4 legendmud.org if __ you get an unending string of responses or an error message. / \ \__/ Traceroute (or tracert in windows) returns information for _____ every hop between you and the host - so it should display the / _ \ path across the net from your machine to the mud machine and /__/ \ \ the amount of time it took for a response. If there is a / / problem along the way, this could be causing your connection / / problem (or your lag!). /__/ __ For more information on these commands, see HELP PING and HELP / \ TRACEROUTE while online. You should also read HELP CONNECTION, \__/ HELP NETLAG and HELP REIMBURSE. Stay within your rent limit! ___ ___ \ |----------------------------------------------------------------| / /__| LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World |__\ '----------------------------------------------------------------' Kastina has reached 300 million experience! Sigrid has reached 200 million experience! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A small piece of paper slipped under the door of our office had the following written on it: I have left the Knights of Legend, because they have disgraced the name of the Knights of the old. I will still uphold the code that the Knigts of Old used and act as one. I will be open to any challenges and not afraid of any fair fight that is brought to me. I no longer will be known as 'a solemn knight cloaked in shadows.' Nor will you see me as 'An innocent-looking knight stands here, surrounded by a shroud of sorrow.' I wish to be known as Sir Delandel, Knight of the 'Old Code' and seen as 'An old and hardened knight struggles to find the source of what was once good.' Sincerely, Sir Delandel. One wonders which version of the Knight's Code, Isam is in possession of, and who will be on a crusade to retrieve it. Perhaps Sir Delandel won't have to search far? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Heritage After countless hours of tedious study, High Lord Rahvin has discovered his true heritage and title, and has accepted his surname. He shall now be known as Lord Rahvin von Darkmoor. ___ ___ \ |----------------------------------------------------------------| / /__| Clan News |__\ '----------------------------------------------------------------' The Insane Asylum clan was disbanded on Friday, June 7th. Tacked up outside the now boarded up hospital was this notice: Several of our institution's wardens staged a mutiny, and since then staff numbers have been steadily in decline. As it was unsafe to continue treating mental patients with the staff on hand it was decided unanimously that we discontinue operations and refer current patients to other services. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Sincerely, EiSA =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Syndicate seems to be in possession of one of the IRA flags. Sandman was seen spitting on it in disgust. When asked asked about it, he said, 'Any IRA can come reclaim this crappy flag.. but til then its mine =p.' =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Every PK Clan had at least one member participating in the pk scene this week! The IRA had the most active members this past week with the Grendels close behind. The Grand Coven had the next highest number of members who were active in PK. The rest of the clans showed little activity on the PK front with the Hermetics being the quietest. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There were 56 pkill deaths in the last week, so come on, let's get YOUR name up in lights! Have you witnessed/commited any glorious or nefarious deeds? Send a short report to us at the LT. If you are looking for a fight, recruiting, or anything else related to the pk world, advertise here with us! It's free AND you'll get a token! Be a celebrity, the envy of all your friends! Tick off your enemies or just tell your side of the story! The possibilities are endless -- act today!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There are currently 17 RP clans and 8 PK clans. This leaves open slots for seven (7) more clans to form. For more information, read HELP CLAN and see the clan information list via the CLANS command while logged into the game. For a basic handbook and reference for players interested in founding and running a clan, visit . _______________________ / \ o O | Wonder what folks are | `\|||/ | doing over at LegendMUD?| (o o) \_______________________/ ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________ _____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|___ __|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| Sweet Dreams are Made of This, Part 5 He faded into consciousness to the sound of voices. He sat up, terrified, thinking the villagers had found him again... but these voices were different, unusual. They muttered, they whispered, they screamed, not one voice like any of the others. Then one voice burbled 'Once-mortal... why are you here?. Nathan looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, when the question was hissed at him 'What are you. Once-mortal, speak... What brings you here?' Looking around frantically, he shouted 'I donb�t know. I was being beaten, for something I couldnb�t help. Who are you??' The voices seemed to retreat, as if discussing something, then yet another voice, sounding like it was right next to him, screeched 'You should not have been in that world... you did not belong... Here, you belong, once-mortal. The land of dreams...' 'My name is Nathan,' he yelled at the voices, angry and afraid, 'Why do you keep calling me once-mortal?!?' An emotionless voice intoned, 'That is not your name... You are not mortal... you are not who you say you are... who are you. What are you. You belong in the world of dreams, not in the land of flesh. Who are you, once-mortal?' He realized that they could somehow see everything about him... and by what they said, he wasnb�t human anymore. He thought about this, as voices danced about him, laughing, crying, singing 'Who are you. Who are you? What are you, living dream man? Remembering a conversation with the wizard that had happened a while before the experiment, he remembered a word the wizard had used for dreams and the things that lived there... and so he answered. 'I am Chimaera.' The voices paused, and one spoke to him, sounding frightened, 'You are true. We shall take you somewhere that you can grow and learn about yourself. A place where you will not be feared as you were, but where you can become more of yourself. Learn, learn and return to us to teach us... teach us of the world of flesh, where we may not tread.' 'I will. Take me there, or show me the way, and I will go,' he spoke, confused but relieved to be free of the taunting questions, the incessant barrage of voices driving him to the now-crumbling edges of his sanity. Each night, he returned to the world of dreams... teaching, learning, being changed by the presence of the dreams, even occasionally looking into the dreams of his wife and daughter to make sure they were safe and the wizardb�s bargain kept... .and in the strangeness growing in his mind, he learned one truth... a truth that would shape the rest of his life... Some dreams... are nightmares. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Hitch Your Wagon to a Star On a peaceful evening outside of Klein, two figures sat watching the stars. One turned to the other and asked 'Some say that the stars tell stories... is that true?' The other pondered and replied 'Some do.' She pointed upwards to a box shaped patterns of stars in the sky. 'The Great Wagon... and see, if you follow the stars on the right side of the wagon, they lead to that star...that's the star that's constant.' The other looked, and then pointed to one group of stars that looked like a giant ladle. 'The slaves called it the drinking gourd... they used it to find 'north.' Moira nodded solemnly and tried to remember whether that star was the nose or the tail of the Little Bear. Or was it the Little Rabbit? The Little Ferret? Ever so nonchalantly, Asher took her hand and asked 'What is the story of the Great Wagon?' She pondered. She had heard something about a great wagon story a while back. Maybe from her grandmother? She stalled. 'Well, there are several versions....' And then plunged in.... 'Once there was a group of smugglers. If you go through one of those time portals, and go back to my village, you find that the land is all in great farms owned by people from across the water. And my tribesmen, kinsmen, they farm it for the owners.' 'Now, the people from across the water rule all the land and waters around it,' you say. Their Queen charges for everything that is brought in and out.' Moira pondered for a moment. 'I think the word is 'tarrif.'' Asher nodded and muttered to himself 'Feudalism in its infancy.' He helpfully noted 'Yes, a tax on what is bought or sold.' Moira continued. 'They are a different tribe...many different tribes. And my kinspeople hate them. Evey so often, they burn one of the owners' castles. Given that they used to burn the next villages' mud huts, I'm not sure things have changed that much. And so they try not to pay the..taxes, as you call them, because they don't want the owners' Queen to have the money.' 'So anyway, there was a smugglers ship. She was called the Light Dawn. At least in the variation I heard . . . fastest ship there ever was. And she was the pride of the coast.' 'One night, becuase she always sailed at night with no lights, the load was particularly large with some cargo.' She paused a moment. 'They never say what it was in the stories. But some say there were guns in her hold, while others say it was only cloth. She had been taking on water and was due for repairs. But an extrodinary large hiring price had been offered for her cargo. And the captain was greedy.' And paused ever so dramatically. 'The sea was wild that night. And they had to sail through a particularly dangerous stretch. The coast is uneven there. In some places there are rocks that stick up only inches below the surface of the water, and if you do not know that they are there, you will hit them.' Asher cringed at the thought and solemnly nodded. 'The Light Dawn was sailing back from England that night. England, you see, is where the people across the water lived. Or rather, came from. It was a terrible night for sailing. The winds were wild.' 'And the ship, loaded down in the water, came up against one of the rocks. Some say that the helmsmen was a mere boy. Others say that he was drunk. And still others, that he was in the pay of the English.' 'But if he was, it stood him no profit.' '...which would not be a good business venture then,' Asher noted solemnly. 'The rocks where the ships fell up against were close enough so that they could hear the shouts and cries of the mariners across the waters. But too far to see. And the English soldiers were patrolling the shore.' 'They were all assumed lost. But the strange thing was...that is, none of the men aboard her were ever seen again. Nor the ship. Nor its cargo.' 'None of the bodies washed up.' Asher raised his eyebrow. 'They didn't find the wreckage?' Moira shook her head. 'Nor the timbers. Or cargo.' Asher blinked and turned his head to look at Moira, who was oblivious to anything but her tale (including the annoying chirps of the local song birds). 'That is, they searched the waters of the coast nearby and the saw nothing. It was uncanny...and after, stories of the ships started going around. Some say that they saw it floating above the waters in the twilight of the evening.' 'Not touching water?' Asher asked. Moira nodded solemnly. 'Now, the people of my village have taken up the newfangled religion. They observe it in places called churches.' Asher suddenly looked quite quiet. 'But their hearts are still with the old gods. And some said that the gods had chosen to punish those men for smuggling. But others said that the gods had rescued them.' 'And if you looked up in the sky at night, you would see the ship up there.' She pointed upward. 'Thus the Great Wagon?' remarked a ruggedly handsome surgeon. Moira was aghast. How had she got a wagon mixed up with a ship?! 'Er, some call it a wagon, but it's really a ship... portaging, perhaps,' she mumbled, 'on the great Starry Road.' She stole a glance at Asher. Did he believe it? Or had he realized that she had no idea of what she was talking about? He merely smiled to himself. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= You Only Deliver Twice, Part 2 When each of the delivery people went on a run, they took two deliveries at a time. They used to do more at a time, but there were more and more complaints about the third delivery being cold, squashed, blood splatted from the delivery person having to make a violent delivery, or, in cases where the delivery person didn't survive the first two deliveries, the third didn't arrive at all. So after spending a fortune on consultants, the management decided that they should only delivered twice before returning back to base. When he'd been collecting his deliveries and getting ready to be transported to the delivery time/space co-ordinates, he'd noticed Henderson was also getting ready to leave. A quick glance at Henderson's deliveries revealed that, as per usual, they were stupifyingly easy. No chance of an encounter with unfriendly pygmies. No chance of accidental beheading. Infact the only danger was possibly getting a papercut from the bag the delivery came in. Then he looked at his own deliveries. The first was for a Mr. Polly Parrot with the address "somewhere in the medieval caribean". The second had such bad hand writing on the name that he couldn't read it and the address co-ordinates would put him in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. While he had heard stories of people being mutilated by parrots in that era, neither really posed any obvious danger. But with missing addresses and unrecognisable names they weren't actually going to be fun. So, while no one was looking, he switched the second deliveries around. Henderson could go and get lost in the Atlantic looking for Mr. Whoever, and with any luck would never be seen again. Meanwhile, he'd do a nice peaceful delivery to the penthouse suite in a nice un-dangerous high class hotel on some tropical island resort. It'd be the easiest delivery he'd had since that day he was attacked by what he thought were a herd of rabid iguanas, but what turned out to be just a pack of laid back lizards who enjoyed eating soap powder. He smiled and looked at his watch. Time to move on. He turned to Redbeard who was noisily munching on his vegetarian curry. 'I don't suppose you guys have a boat I can borrow?,' he asked. 'I need to get going to my next delivery.' He looked at Redbeard's termite infested leg. 'In return I could bring you a can of insect repelent with your next order.' Redbeard smiled but didn't stop eating. He gestured towards a battered fishing boat resting a little further down the beach. 'Thanks,' said the delivery boy as he set off down the beach. 'Enjoy your meal!' With that he climbed aboard the boat and began rowing in the direction of his next delivery. After traveling for some time he checked the delivery co-ordinates against his tracking device. He was getting close, but looking around he didn't see any islands, let alone any high class hotels with penthouse suites. But then as he squinted into the distance he saw something in the water. It could be a small island, he thought. The hotel he was looking for must be pretty exclusive if its way out here on this tiny island. Exclusive ment expensive. Expensive ment a rich customer. Rich customers sometimes ment a wallet straining sized tip! He began to row quickly towards it. As he got closer he realised the island was moving towards him. And it was green. And it was slimey. And it didn't have a hotel on it. Infact, it didn't look much like an island at all. He checked the tag on the delivery, trying to make out the name. MEANWHILE... In another time and place, James Henderson, Dial-A-Curry's best delivery boy, stood outside the door of the penthouse suite of a high class hotel. He congratulated himself for the 422nd time on spotting the swapped deliveries just in time, and switching them back without being seen. There was a reason that damn fool was second best, he thought to himself. He was stupid, that's why. Couldn't even do a simple delivery swap properly. He smiled to himself as the door to the penthouse suite was answered by 14 scantily clad supermodels. He smiled even more when he discovered that scantily clad supermodels consider curry an aphrodisiac. And he laughed himself stupid when he thought of what was about to happen to that damn fool in the Atlantic ocean. BACK IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN... Dial-A-Curry's second best delivery boy suddenly realized he'd seen this delivery before. Wasn't it the one he'd swapped with Henderson's?? It couldn't be! No one had seen him swap them. Had they? As he tried to read the tag again he realized the name wasn't unreadable, it was just upside down. He turned it up the right way and read it. "Mr. Terrifying Sea Serpent". 'Bugger,' he said to himself as what he'd thought was an island raised its gigantic head out of the ocean and towered above him. He stood in the rocking boat and held the delivery aloft. 'Did you order a curry?' he yelled up at the serpent, hoping that all it was after was the food it had ordered, and that it was a good tipper. It didn't answer. It just looked at him hungrily, its pointy teeth looking pointier by the second. He sighed. He hated troublesome customers almost as much as he hated James Henderson. He'd have to fight his way out yet again. He looked around the boat for some sort of anti-sea serpent weapon. All he found was a complimentary Dial-A-Curry tooth pick that came with the delivery. He brandished the tooth pick menacingly at the sea serpent. 'Ok then,' he said. 'Come 'n get it!' The sea serpent dived its huge head down at him and in one gulp ate the curry whole. Unfortunately, Dial-A-Curry's second best delivery boy was still holding it at the time. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD. Please send replies, additions, or corrections to our address at [email protected] for inclusion in the next edition. All subscription options are now handled at this url: http://www.legendmud.org/lists/listinfo/legendarytimes For RP submissions, copyright ownership remains with the author. We do reserve the right to moderate the forum and edit or reject any submission. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=