Volume Six Issue Thirty-Two

From The Legendary Times
Jump to navigation Jump to search
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  .............._______
  ............./      /            THE LEGENDARY TIMES
  ............/      /
  .........../      /.....______.._____.....______.._____.......____
  ........../      /...../     /./     \.../     /./     \...../    \
  ........./      /...../  ___/./  ____/../  ___/./  __.  \.../  /\  \
  ......../      /...../  /_.../  /....../  /_.../  /..\   >./  /./  /
  ......./      /...../  __/../  /____../  __/../  /.../  /./  /./  /
  ....../      /_____/__/__../  \_\  /./  /__../  /.../  /./  /_/  /
  ...../                / /./       /./     /./  /.../  /./       /
  ..../                /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD
  .../________________/       running on         mud.sig.net 9999
                                                 199.1.78.16 9999
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
http://mud.sig.net/                                  ftp://mud.sig.net/pub
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
VOLUME SIX, ISSUE THIRTY-TWO                              August 8th, 1999
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                             TABLE OF CONTENTS

          -             Upcoming Calendar of Events                  -

                               NEWS & REPORTS
          -                 The Immortal Report                      -
          -                 Upcoming PK Tourney                      -
          -                    XP Game Update                        -   
          -       Catch Someone Being Good, and Tell the World       -

                                 LEGENDITES
          -                    Announcements                         -
          -               A Violent Transformation                   -
          -                   The Portal Opens                       -
          -             Who?  CLeo Interviews McDougan               -

___                                                                    ___
\  |------------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                    UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS                   |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'

         [All times are system time unless otherwise specified]


                  <--*--< <--*--< August >--*--> >--*-->

Thursday, August 12,  7:00 pm             Q & A in OOC Auditorium
Saturday, August 14,  3:00 pm             2 on 2 Pkill Tourney 
Thursday, August 19,  7:00 pm             Q & A in OOC Auditorium
Friday, August 20th-August 22nd           LegendMeet in Detroit, Mich.
                                          See news board for details


___                                                                    ___
\  |------------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                          NEWS AND REPORTS                        |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'

                            The Immortal Report

Admin

Sandra warned a few people, pkenabled a few people, and did the usual online
stuff such as descriptions, strings and restrings. She also dealt with
several cheaters regarding their punishments.

Chocorua had a busy RL week, but put in a few hours online. Wraith typical
admin week -- talking to players, warnings, unarchives, etc.  Zandy spent
some time online, doing normal admin stuff, and answered some questions. 

Building

Rufus: Had a busy week at work and with RL things, but did some discussion
and research into the code. He'll soon have a new computer at home, which
will help.

Charity searched for and fixed some out of spec items, participated in a
number of immortal discussions. Cheyla dealt with a lot of RL stuff, put in a
few more mob acts and changed a few mob descs, played with resets a bit,
added in a few pcflags, did a string/restring or two.  Chimera did a bunch of
rooms for his area this week and a lot more general research for it. He wrote
out some basic acts for basically everyone in the area to inherit. Asked Kae
and Sandra and LadyAce a bunch of building questions, and helped Kae test
Malta.  Croaker did a few bugfixes in various areas, discussed some
builder/area type issues with some other builders. He set up some acts for
scavenger mobs, and worked a bit on mobs in Hades.

Kae did lots of testing and says thanks, Chimera, Oandlig, Stile, Charity,
and anyone she forgot - there's been a lot of people over the week helping
her. She finally got the new winmud to work and began looking at Crusades
again. She played around with general tweaking, atmosphere items, etc. for
long hours. LadyAce worked on Klein, adding in a few room descriptions, a few
object descriptions, a few mob acts. Mostly she did a reworking of all the
room acts, and got a lot of ideas written in for new mobs.  Rusalka was busy
with RL stuff, but is hoping to resume Legend-related work soon.  Wraith
finished his first pass through Greece's acts, checking and reading through
to make sure they all fit, and writing comments.

Coder

Ea wrote, tested, and installed the etheric archer spell, and dealt with bug
reports.

Chocorua got his linux box with the code base back online.

PR

LadyAce did the standard round of descs, strings, restrings, did the LT and a
Q & A. She answered various questions, on topics ranging from rules and bugs,
to the upcoming PK tourney and the new spell.

Chimera ran a quick question for a token trivia and worked on his revision of
the OOC. He also answered a bunch of questions for various people.  Joule is
settling back in and putting some of her new game ideas into action.


                    -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-

                        Upcoming PK Tourney                     

On Saturday, August 14th, LadyAce will be running a 2-on-2 Pkill Tournament.

Divisions are:

10-19 Featherweight
20-29 Lightweight
30-39 Middleweight
40-50 Heavyweight

Both members of the team must fall in the same division.

As far as vials & herbs: you'll get a "fresh set" of whatever you bring with
you, before  each fight. If you need ammo, please let me know what ty type.

Player files will be copied over at midnight on Friday the 13th, all
registration must be completed by then in order to participate.

Drop me a mudmail with your name & your partner's name, and your levels!

-LadyAce

                    -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-

                           XP GAME UPDATE

The xp game has been available for about a month now, and as of this writing,
16 characters have won tokens for completing the game. Another 14 have begun
the game but not finished yet. Characters who have completed the game range
in level from 8 to 50.

About 2/3 of the participants included comments on their scorecards, which
will be passed along to the builders as things to consider when doing area
updates. Thanks for your comments!

Some notes about the experiences of players thus far:
o All but two participants have gotten a level out of playing (the other
  two completed the game by visiting 25 areas).
o Less than 1/3 of characters have suffered a death while playing.
o More than 1/3 of characters have found a new xp room while playing.
o About 1/2 of players said they found at least one good mob or area they
  hadn't known about.
o Characters under level 20 are likely to gain a level before they even
  leave their starting era! (If this happens to you, just record your level
  and new xp to level, and keep going till you've explored 15 areas. Then,
  fill out the final information described in XPGAME_REDEEM, and send it.)

If you haven't tried this out yet, read the XPGAME helpfiles, and give some
thought to participating! While having to solo for a level may not be your
style, the careful explorer is rewarded with new knowledge of the mud's
areas, the oldbie-player/newbie-character is rewarded with a new way to stave
off boredom for awhile, and everyone is rewarded with a prize token just for
writing stuff down correctly!

Please talk to or mudmail Charity if you have any questions about how the xp
game works. Talk to any (non-inactive) immortal if you want to begin playing.
The xp game is once per character, so those of you with alts can play
multiple times (picking alts of different levels or abilities is
recommended).

                    -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-  -|-

             Catch Someone Being Good, and Tell the World

I got many, many nominations this week, thank you to everyone who sent one
in. This week...Sir Gales was caught being good!

I finally reached the level where I had the practices free to get VYA. I
tried and tried when I was on, for almost 2 days (rl days), to find someone
who could take me to get it. Alas, no-one would help me...  In desperation, I
offered 10k on auction: wtb guide to get VYA. SirGales immediately sent me a
tell saying "Done. Meet at Orkney." I left Tara, and met him at the grizzled
merchant, he showed me where the word could be gotten, and he returned me
home again. And the nicest part was... when it was all over... he turned the
10k gold down... A true Knight if ever there was one...

*cheer SirGales*

This is what it's all about, helping out those in need, asking nothing in 
return. . .

Gondar Radnog


             ________________________ 
            /                        \     
        o O | Wonder what folks are   |
  `\|||/    | doing over at LegendMUD?|
   (o o)    \________________________/
ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|___
__|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|
___                                                                    ___
\  |------------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|    LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World     |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'

                              Announcements        

======
Clans:
======

This week, the Children of Legend Clan was disbanded by Dupaq. The Warriors
of Dawn RP clan was formed. There is currently one free slot for the
formation of a new RP or PK clan.

                       {*} {*} {*} {*} {*} {*}

                       A Violent Transformation      

I sat, as I often do during my small breaks between cleaning the church
hearing confession or having masses, behind the altar. It's quiet there,
peaceful, and gives me time to collect my thoughts, or perhaps, daydream just
a little. But this day was different. Visitors come and go from this church
frequently, these two no exception, although their visits are not as patrons
of the church. Though today, this day, the usually polite and pleasant
twosome seemed silent, as though each had something to say to the other, but
were unsure of how to say it.

The gentleman, dark-haired, and rather tall, sat at the edge of one pew,
while the other, a woman, more beautiful than most I've seen in these parts,
sat a few feet from him. I sat still, not wanting to let them become aware
that I was hiding. They exchanged words for a time, and sadness filled my
heart as I peeked out from my hiding place and saw the look on each person's
face. She was hurt, and angry, and fear hid behind those dark eyes as well,
though she tried her best to hide it. Her words were non-feeling, as though
she had disconnected herself from any emotion towards the man that sat only a
short distance from her. He sighed, and pondered, looking up to the ceiling
for just a few seconds, but long enough that it seemed the conversation
ended. The two sat there, each looking at every inch of the church but where
the other sat, in an uncomfortable silence.

'Company comes,' the dark-haired man said, finally breaking the silence. How
he knew this, I was unsure.

The woman (he called her princess) inquired as to what he spoke of, and
replied neutrally, 'I have no interest in guests.'

His confusion showed in his face as he replied, 'But you will have interest
in this one.'

She assured him, 'By my mother's grave, I swear I have none.' Though he
may not have believed the words, her tone made me certain of them.

'None?'

'None,' the princess assured. And the look in her eyes convinced me,
if not him, of that statement.

He returned, quietly, 'I don't believe that.' And the room fell silent once
again, though I could hear my own heart beat in the space behind the altar.

As they sat again quietly, Sterling - I believe that is what she called
him, anyway - waited for his company to arrive, his thoughts were made
visible by the look on his face. Moments passed, though seemed like hours
in the silence, which was suddenly ended when a gentleman, with the eyes
of an angel(I swear it!), appeared in a soft, bright flash of white. The
air swirling gently around him. I almost jumped to my feet in surprise
and shock at such a man, but kept my thoughts with me, and quietly gasped
in awe. The couple greeted the angelic man, who bowed to each in return,
and I could do nothing but pray.

'You have called for me?' he spoke. The wisdom in his voice was amazing. 

Sterling stood, and replied, 'I have, yes.' 

The gentleman nodded, saying, 'You wish me to restore your soul?'

'I wish to be able to love this woman here, and can't do so without
being restored,' the dark-haired one said, as he glanced to the
princess and smiled slightly. What could he mean? I found myself asking
many questions in my mind, but no answers came to accompany them.

Just then, the princess stood, brushed her hand against her white gown,
and turned to the angelic one, 'Would you mind delivering it when you're
finished? Spain, near the Alhambra.' Her voice turned cold.

The gentleman, looking confused, inquired as to what she spoke of,
'Deliver what?'

'It,' she stated, pointing at Sterling.

His face, normally a polite smile, or glance upon it, sunk into sadness
as he turned to the angel, 'It would be me.' he spoke the words quietly,
as he hung his head. Lifting his eyes to meet hers, he said, 'I do this
for you, as well as me, you know.'

'I don't want this,' she said coldly, adding, 'Do it for your own reasons,
leave me out of it,' as she turned towards the door.

'Gentlemen, I bid you good day,' were the words she last spoke as she exited
the church, not to be seen here again this day.

'Before I agree, you must understand,' the gentleman began to explain. I
could have taken the chance then to leave, but my curiosity kept me
frozen in my hiding place. I had to hear the answers to the questions
my mind continued to ask.

'Yes?' Sterling sighed, still thinking of the princess, as would have been
obvious to any who would have been there.

'You must understand that what is done can be undone, and vice versa. But I
am only in the position to restore your soul once,' he continued. My ears
listened to every word as though he spoke only to me, 'After your soul is
restored, those who hold your name in forged contract will most probably try
to repossess you, or even worse...kill you.' These words scared me, and must
have scared the gentleman they were aimed towards, though he did not show
it.  'I understand,' he stated, 'I'm willing to face that.'

'You will need to be brave,' the angel continued, 'You will need to stay
clear of them as much as possible. Have you understood what I have told you?'

'I can't lose her, and will do all I can to prevent that,' Sterling stated
sadly. 'She loves me, you know. I understand what you've said, completely.'

The angel nodded, and then what I saw with my own eyes I still do not
believe. He raised his arms in the air, shouting the words, 'I call upon the
powers invested in me, from the Circle of Angels... This man wishes to
reclaim what was taken from him wrongly.' As he waved his hand to one side,
before I could catch my breath, a glowing halo of energy engulfed Sterling,
who could do nothing, it seemed, but peer about in amazement.

'VAREK DUROK FLEVRAK!' the angelic one shouted. The walls of the building
shook, and I thought for certain that they would cave in on us all. He raised
his hands to the now-glowing man's chest, pushing them right though him! In
the horror I jumped back from the altar, too afraid to care whether I was
seen or not. 'RESTORE HIS SOUL!' the angel shouted, as Sterling stood,
screaming in pain.

'What are you doing?!' His words were full of pain, and the difficulty of
getting them past his lips caused them to tremble. His emerald eyes wide, his
face pale, becoming moreso by the second, I thought for sure this man would
die here this day.

'Imbalance within your soul... Is... and now was. Balance is restored... And
Sterling has regained his soul,' the angel said, calmly. 'Sterling, your soul
is now restored. May you be careful with this second chance.' As easily as he
put them there, the angel removed his hands from the chest of the crumbling
gentleman, and with that, the energy that surrounded him vanished.

Sterling fell to his knees, forcing the words, 'It...hurts....What is
this?' before falling completely to the floor. And still, in the pain, and
the confusion, his mind focused on that one thing, 'I...I'm...restored?'

'Remember what I have told you,' the angelic gentleman said as he nodded,
'for I have done all I can. May luck be on your path forever....' He waved
his hands in the air, and by doing so a swirl of wind, accompanied by clouds
and a flash of light engulfed him. When the calm returned, the angel was
gone.

'I have to find her....' the words, almost too quiet to hear, came from the
body that lay on the ground a few feet from where I hid. In all that I have
seen in my days on this earth, his devotion struck me the most. Even as he
lay unable to move, he still wanted her with him.


                       {*} {*} {*} {*} {*} {*}

                          The Portal Opens

The blackened skies seem weighted with impending doom, cloaking the streets,
trees, fields, and mountains of the world. The screams over the druid
compounds of Tara are defeaning, intermixed with the sobs of pain and the
laughter of the torturers.

Strong winds blow throughout the streets of New Sodom, whistling in the empty
spaces of a large gallery set upon one of the townhouses, swirling scattered
debris around the room that crumbles to dust when trying to cross the space
between any two of the 9 black pillars around the room. At the center, a tall
man stands, oblivious to the wind, concentrating on an old dusty tome in
front of him.

"Esco domus, geropayati bhuudesco," he murmurs, the low tone of his voice
bristling with a certain power. "Lokemundux collux."

His chanting goes on a while longer, the long-forgotten words soon drowning
out the howling of the wind as his voice grows louder. As his voice reaches a
screaming level, the sky splits open with a inky blackness almost like a
mineshaft, reaching down to the center of the ring of pillars just before the
man.

A loud howling moan comes from the darkness as it gathers about the room,
flowing in like a thick syrup. Sparks of red snap about and concentrate in
two red glowing orbs near the top of the rising column of pure Dark. The
shape shimmers for a moment, and solidifies in a humanoid form, although
every feature except for the hideously glowing eyes is cloaked. "Ronnie, you
have done well," says the form, as the loud moan gathers into a voice. "I
feel as if I have the power to inhabit this world, and it is because of your
work."

"Thank you, my lord," says Ronnie. "But Agrabah still resists, and there are 
various Light blinders still running free."

"They will be dealt with. Who could oppose the direct power of the Dark Lord
now?"

Ronnie gives a satisfied grin. "Perfect. Now, about dividing things up among
my generals..."

          ____________________________________________________________
         /                                                            \
        /    __  __  __   __  __   ______    WHY?          WHERE?     /
       /    / / / / / /  / / / /  / __  /          WHEN?             /
      /    / / / / / /  / /_/ /  / / / /  WHAT?           WITH?     /
     /    / / / / / /  / __  /  / / / /                            /
    /    /  \/  \/ /  / / / /  / /_/ /   We've got the answers!   /
   /     \________/  /_/ /_/  /_____/                            /
  /                                     - By the angel CLeo -   /
  \____________________________________________________________/


Hello fellow Legenders!

     This week, I was walking along Tara's roads and I ended up at the
inn. There he was, sitting at a table, telling his tales and real life
events from the past to the people.  

     I hope you enjoy and... understand... what this week's interviewee
had to tell us!

Name: Thalgenael McDougan (a.k.a. McDougan)
Occupation: Village "Droonk", shepherd and distiller of "usquebeg".


Q - 'What is your favorite meal?'
A - 'Favrorite meal? Haggis, lash!'

Q - 'What is your favorite song?'
A - 'Oh, shong... Weel, Ca' the yowes I wad hae tae say.  Ye
oondershtand me, aye?'
(CLeo) 'Uh... *hesitation* yes...'
(McDougan) 'Och! Joosht Scottish wi' a shlur, lash.  It'sh nae like ye
canna hae heard all the wordssh.  But I shupposhe many a mickle makesh a
muckle, ash the expreshion gaesh.'

Q - 'If you could have anything in the world right now, what would it
be?'
A - 'A pub, wi' a shupply o' verr shtrong usquebeg.'

Q - 'If you could go back in the past and change something, what would
it be?'
A - 'Oh, weel...   More in m'time the trooble shtarted.  Bloody Edward.
The pasht ish the good timesh for Scotland, aye? Washnae until that
bloody English king shet hish eyesh on we Shcotsh tha' we had trooble,
aye? And the oother Edwardsh ash weel! All three o' them! Keep 'em oot
o' scotland, thatsh wha' I wad want. Or at leasht capture Edward Twa at
Brannockburn. Boot,  though we held them off, in the end, we losht a lot
to it.'

Q - 'What, in your opinion, is the best kind of drink ever made until
this day?'
A - 'Usquebeg! Shpecially m'home brew.  *shakes a glass of scotch*'

Q - 'Is it true you fear coffee?' you say.
A - 'Usquebeghial? Shomething like tha'.  Boot, aye... can ye imagine
the hangover? Twas warned ne'er tae shober, or the conshequenshesh
cauld be verr bad.  Dunnae much like water either. Takesh oof the
protechtive grime if it getsh on ye.  Tha'sh aboot the coffee, tha.'

Q - 'What do you think of Richard, the innkeeper?'
A - 'Weel, he be eenglish, boot at leasht he keepsh a wee gutter oot
back for me tae hae. English bugger, boot aulright.  Wadnae coonshide
him a friend, thoo.'

Q - 'Where would you say, is the best place for a vacation?'
A - 'Shcotland!  Tae be shpeshific, all o' it!' 

Q - 'If I could grant you a wish, what would it be?'
A - 'Wish? Weel,I'm boot a shimple lad, sae...  haw aboot a nishe
hogshead o' usquebeg daily? aye?'

Q - 'A few last words of advice for our readers?'
A - 'Dreenk usquebeg, keeps ye plague-free. Beshidesh,itsh guid for ye. 
Keepsh ye haeing a good shlur.  Och aye!'

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
That concludes another edition of "Who?"  I would like to remind you
that most of the people interviewed were picked randomly.

I am open to interviewing people on requests as long as there is a good
reason (example: the person is well known, is a GM, is an old legend
player, is a person who achieved something extraordinary or other
valuable reasons).

I do give myself the right to decline requests if be needed, but doubt I
will decline any.

Do not forget that you may send in some questions that you would like me
to ask to my guest.  Just take a piece of paper, write them down, and
mud mail it to me.

Until next time...  May luck be on your path forever!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD. Please send
all replies, additions, or corrections to our address at [email protected]
for inclusion in the next edition. We, however, reserve the right to
moderate this discussion, and may object to some submissions.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=