"What is it, Issk?" Nuhmudira looked at her protégé, closing the book she had been reading over her forefinger so as to not lose her place. She was dressed in her midnight blue and white robes, overseeing the construction of tunnels that stretched deep into the world.

 "We have reached the inner chamber. So, too, have the virindi."  Issk, a chomu sclavus, bowed his head and spread his hood wide. The gesture was an honorific offered only to the High Priestess of the faith. "She who sings" was due this reverence, especially when the news her underling delivered was disheartening. He awaited a response.

 "Send your best warriors to deter their progress. I will sing for assistance." She opened the book and watched as Issk rose to leave her presence. She called after him. "Issk, once warriors are in place, climb to the surface and recruit others to our cause." In her left hand, a new, simple-looking book appeared. "Give them this book. It will explain our cause more fully. The Isparians may question why I send you to speak to them, but they must be made to know that Aerbax means ill with his goals."

 Issk took the book, bowing his head and flourishing his hood once again.

     *****

Alatar is going to have a fit. That was Antius' first thought as he cleared the ridge and looked down into the valley. All of the existing maps of the area would need to be changed.

 The first terrified reports had come from the Sennon Valley and Hand-on-Sword settlements. Almost overnight, trees and grass had died, replaced by enormous mushrooms and other fungal growths. The whole area was now a twisted wasteland, utterly alien in the pale moonlight. 

 If we can't stop them, all of Dereth will look like this. It was a sobering thought.  He might have speculated further, had he not been frozen by the chittering sound behind him. Antius turned slowly, looking up at the blue-black armor, the burgundy eyes, the pincers poised to attack. One hand reached into his pocket for two of the gems that Ciandra had prepared for him, and he mentally thanked the Arcanum for their work. As he crushed the stones and their magic exploded around him, he drew his sword in a flash and lunged.

*****
"…capable of boiling the most corrosive of materials I have ever seen." Hiro grumbled, crumbling a sprig of henbane into a bubbling concoction. "I'll be, it did work. Do you see that, Ciandra? Who would have ever thought?" 

 Ciandra smiled and turned back to her class.

 "With the discovery of aqua vitae, we have ushered in a new era for alchemy on Dereth. I will be collating the notes for this latest find and distributing them as I can. Please, remain vigilant in your research and remember to turn in your findings to either myself or Hiro." She dismissed the class and pocketed the gem.

     *****

 "Garsh has failed." Niarltah said across the large stone table.

 "So too have your heroes." Muldaveus leaned forward, speaking directly at the leader of the tumeroks. "Our forces were routed despite being well provisioned and prepared." He leaned back as the tumerok leader nodded in agreement. "The question now is, what do we do next?"

 "When I led the massacre at Holtburg, so many years ago, it was only through tenacity and perseverance that I was able to bring my troops to victory. Even then, one Isparian proved to be a difficult foe for many. I have not forgotten those days." Niarltah paused. "Redouble our efforts. We have chosen our place for victory; winning at Fort Tethana will make that battle all the easier. If we fail at Tethana, there are always other options, newer options."

 "Yes," the gray giant agreed, then drew in a quick breath. "But what of the olthoi?"

 "For the moment they are of little concern. The ona I sent to track the whereabouts of the olthoi hives will return to us and warn us of how great the threat is. Let us focus upon the task at hand, Muldaveus."

Niarltah stood and walked across the room toward an enclave of great tumerok and lugian warriors. Muldaveus rose and followed close behind.
 
     *****  

Elysa stood on a balcony, unable to sleep.  She saw nothing in the night but stars–Alb'arel was behind her and Rez'arel had not yet risen.  And yet she knew that, somewhere in the night, Asheron was instructing his golems to repair the damage done to his tower.  Somewhere in the night, Antius scouted the new hives on her command.  Somewhere in the night, in the darkness...the olthoi waited.

 She remembered the weight of the quiver on her shoulder, the feel of the bow in her hand.  She remembered the horror of the Queen's hive, over a decade past now, remembered watching Thorsten die.  She had thought that it would be over, that her people would never face such a nightmare again. 

 So naïve, so wrong!  The olthoi were coming, and now she would have to take her people into the darkness once again. 

*****

A single claw reached over a shoulder and unfastened the mask; three tentacles stretched out to drag along the corridor of the newly constructed tunnel. A consul, independent entity Vincadi, made his way to where Aerbax stood. As Aerbax watched Vincadi in the tunnels, the mirror spoke to him from the energy source.

"Master Aerbax. Flesh being Nuhmudira has acquired the objective's locality. The tunnels of the flesh beings fill with a force set to invade our current position."

It requires more power to make the shift to the Singularity. Collect the specimen at any cost and fulfill your goal. You have progressed well. Do not allow a failure now.

"Our progress astounds even those who cannot comprehend our undertaking. See that the flesh beings are shackled. We will achieve our objective." The claw replaced the mask and the tentacles retreated beneath his tattered cloak. "I will bring forth the fleshless eyes. Vincadi, recruit the flesh beings to our cause and conduct your research, as well."

Vincadi's mask tilted slightly. "You believe that the meatbags will assist us?"

Is it wise to rely upon flawed beings to accomplish your work?

The questions came simultaneously and were parsed to different receptors. His answer came swiftly and without difficulty, "The 'meatbags' have proven ever predictable and reliable in assisting a cause they know nothing of. They will assist us, as they have before."

"Excellent."

Excellent.

The Ongoing Saga

Last month, a number of old enemies attacked Dereth – from the renegade Tumeroks and Lugians besieging Fort Tethana, to the deep holes beneath Martine’s Retreat dug by the minions of Aerbax, to the terrifying invasion of Asheron’s Island by the Olthoi.  No, this is not a safe time to be a human in Dereth, and the dangers continue to multiply.   Most recently, the power that rests below Yanshi has stirred – and thus come to the attention of two major powers, Nuhmudira and Aerbax.  Both seek it for their own purposes, and it has brought them into conflict with each other.  But this power is not easily harnessed, even by the likes of these two.…

While all of this rages on, some Derethians are turning to older sources of power in the hopes that these may prove to be more useful than previously thought.

The Sword of Lost Light

The August update includes a number of changes to the quest for the Sword of Lost Light, one of the original signature quests in the game.  The basic flow of the quest has not changed, but there are a number of changes to the swords themselves that deserve some comment.  For instance, it’s important to note that only new Swords of Lost Light, obtained after the August update, will be significantly different.  Pre-existing swords are no longer attuned (which means they can be given and hooked), but they just aren’t as good as the new swords.  The new swords are also not attuned, but infusing a new Sword of Lost Light not only improves it, but it also causes the sword to be wieldable only by the player who infused it. Note that the infusions themselves are still attuned.

Both the new Sword of Lost Light and the new Sword of Lost Hope have some other special properties, but you’ll have to discover those yourself.

New Alchemy Effects

Good news!  The enterprising alchemists at the Arcanum have discovered a new use for their skills.  Starting with the August update, alchemists will be able to craft gems that cast a beneficial spell on the user.  Gems can be created to cast the full suite of life magic protections (including Armor), as well as Regeneration, Rejuvenation, and Mana Renewal spells.  The strength of the gems ranges from a level 3 spell to a level 6 spell; experienced alchemists will find it fairly easy to create the lower gems, but the higher gems will be challenging for all but master alchemists.  These alchemy gems can be sold or traded, but be warned – one of the most important ingredients is not available in stores.

Alchemists should visit the Arcanum settlement near Xarabydun for more information.

“Your movement disrupted healing!”

Some time ago, we countered an animation exploit by enforcing a limit on how far a player could move during spellcasting and healing.  If you moved too far while attempting either of these actions, you would get the message, “Your movement disrupted spellcasting!” or “Your movement disrupted healing!” and the action would fail.

After listening to your feedback and examining the system, we’ve made two small changes.  First, Non-Player Killers are no longer affected by this restriction at all.  As the exploit was primarily used during PK fights, we felt that the limit was unnecessary in NPK play.

In addition, we have increased the allowable radius for Player Killers slightly.  This should still prevent the exploit while reducing some of the frustration that players feel when lag or other issues cause them to fail their actions due to movement.

Item Enchantment Changes

Starting with the August update, we’ve made two small changes to the way players use Item Enchantment – casting spells on your opponent’s weapons, and casting spells on individual ammunition.

Enchanting Wielded Objects

In the past, casting Blood Loather on an enemy’s sword or Brittlemail on an enemy’s shield was quite easy.  If the item had no inherent magic resistance—and as long as you could target the object and cast the spell—you didn’t have to worry about being resisted.  Unfortunately, this had the side effect of making high levels of Item Enchantment skill less valuable than high levels of other magic schools, as there was no resistance that you needed to overcome.

Starting this month, however, wielded objects that do not have their own inherent magic resistance will now be able to benefit from the Magic Defense of their wielder.  This will only affect negative spells cast by an outside agent, not beneficial spells or any spells innate to the object.  In addition, if an item is unenchantable, it remains unenchantable.

Enchanting Ammunition

Previously, it was possible to cast Item Enchantment spells on a single arrow, bolt, or atlatl dart.  This led to situations where, with proper preparation, players could cause large amounts of damage with single shots.  This was unfortunately causing some difficulties with balancing quest monsters, so starting with the August update, ammunition is no longer a valid target for Item Enchantment spells.

Bugs Stomped

We’re very pleased to announce that we’ve tracked down and (we believe) fixed a number of long-standing bugs.  Although we would normally save this type of announcement for the Build Notes, these particular bugs have caused us more than enough grief, and we are very excited to see the end of them.

• Coordinates should no longer disappear from below the radar when it is in the 3D part of the screen.
  
• If you start to open a corpse or container, and then change your mind, you will no longer be forced to run back to it the next time you go into combat mode.
  
• Sometimes players would have difficulty IDing an object – they would find that for some reason the game simply wouldn’t display any details about the object.  This could be fixed temporarily by IDing a different object and then returning to the first.  We believe we have fixed this issue.  (As a side effect of this fix, you may notice the ID panel closing more frequently.  For example if you ID an object in a container and then close the container, the ID panel will now close as well, although before it would sometimes remain open.)
  
• In addition, you can also now ID objects that are in packs even when the packs are in another container, such as housing storage.

Renegade Bows and Crossbows

As many of you know, the Renegade Bow and Renegade Crossbow initially came into the game with incorrect wield requirements.  Our July hotfix adjusted these requirements, but if you had wielded one of these weapons before the hotfix, it was possible to continue wielding it even if you did not meet the new requirements.

The first time that you enter the game after the August event, these weapons will check to make sure that you can legitimately wield them.  If you do not meet the wield requirements, the weapon will be removed from your hand and a message will be displayed on your screen.  If you have room in your main pack, the weapon will be placed there.  If you do not have room in your main pack, however, the weapon will drop on the ground in front of you.  We suggest that if you are currently wielding one of these weapons, and you no longer meet the wield requirements, that you unwield the weapon now in order to avoid being surprised after the update.

Those are the most important updates for this month.  Of course, in addition to the changes mentioned here, you can expect plenty of exciting new content and the continuation of our ongoing storyline.  See you in Dereth!

They used poking weapons and weapons that crushed, and they called upon the same light that it had used once before. Then she began talking to other children, the children of her firstborn, and she learned that these littler creatures had been hurting them for several years. Anger flooded through her.

She issued new commands to her children. Her mind spread into theirs and she stirred. The diggers turned their attention west, toward where the littler creatures lived. She could smell them. She could feel them moving about on the surface. She summoned the builders and her first children and their children. New hives needed to be constructed and defended. Nests needed to be built to call her children, while she made the ponderous climb to the surface.

Terror needed to make its presence felt in these littler creatures. It—the tall one—needed to suffer as she now suffered, knowing that a littler creature had slain one of her firstborn. It had seen to that death; she could feel that much from the straining voices of the children of the firstborn. It would suffer as it watched its children die.

New Functionality and Content

• The new Direlands stronghold, Candeth Keep, is nearly finished and bustling with activity!
• New Alchemy gems!  Alchemists now have the ability to craft gems that cast life protection spells. See the Letter to the Players for the details of these new effects.
• The Sword of Lost Light quest has been updated! For more details, see the Letter to the Players.
• Dereth's artisans have quickly responded to the new Sturdy Steel Keys by designing a new keyring!
• A combat defense modifier has been adjusted to allow players to hit monsters more reliably. For more information, please see the most recent Developer Diary.

Miscellaneous Improvements and Changes

• The town criers are talking again! Whatever their grudge was last month, they seem to have gotten over it.
• Aaminah of Ayan Baqur now points the way to her husband's final resting place.
• Runed Chests can now be found at many more points of interest.
• Isparian Weapons (but not Weeping Weapons) are now hookable, as is the Panaq.
• The Apprentice Mask Makers, in an effort to prove their worth to their employers, will change a repaired Virindi Profatrix Mask into a more modern style.
• The level restrictions for the olthoi hives on Asheron's island have been adjusted slightly.
• You can no longer charge a mana stone by using it on a retained (tinkered with leather) item. This prevents retained items from being accidentally destroyed with a mana stone.
• Tinkering an item with Moonstone now increases its maximum mana by 250. This will not affect items that were previously tinkered with Moonstone.
• The allowable movement radius for healing and casting spells has been increased for PK players, and the restriction radius has been removed altogether for non-PKs. See the Letter to the Players for more details.
• The Nuhmudira Quest (Nuhmudira's Gorget and the Encrusted Bloodstone) has been changed slightly:
  • You can no longer choose to both save her and abandon her. Your choice is now permanent. When faced with the choice, it should now be clearer how to proceed.
  • If you've gotten stuck somewhere in the quest, speak to Balthazar in Lin.
  • You can now pick up one of each type of the Encrusted Bloodstones each week; if you've lost your Bloodstone you can get another.
• Item Magic changes: Wielded weapons will now take on the Magic Defense of their wielder against negative spells, unless they have their own intrinsic resistance. Also, it is no longer possible to cast Item Magic on individual pieces of missile ammunition. For more information, see the Letter to the Players.
• Your radar coordinates should no longer disappear when you have the radar in the 3D area of your screen.
• You should no longer be forced to run back towards a container or corpse if you abort opening it and then go into combat mode.
• ID'ing objects should now be considerably more reliable. See the Letter to the Players to more details.
• A bug that prevented the special qualities of the Renegade Bow and Renegade Crossbow from working should now be fixed.
• If you are wielding a Renegade Bow or Renegade Crossbow but do not meet the wield requirements, upon first login it will be removed from your hand. For more information, see the Letter to the Players.
• Older quest weapons that had negative Mana Conversion modifiers have been fixed.
• The Melee Defense and Missile Defense tattoos were intended to cast Moderate cantrips—this has now been fixed.

• The Dauloi's damage variance has been improved slightly.
• Porcelain salvage should now be easier to find.
• Aun Mareura in Timaru seems to be interested in uncarved Singularity Keys.
• Feruza ibn Salaq has increased his library of wall and ring spells.
• Ulgrim's new Golden Gromnie is firmly nailed down.
• You can now drop stoups and flagons properly.
• The snowman who was on vacation near Ayan Baqur has packed his bags and gone home.
• A handful of creatures have been tweaked for balance.
• Minor artwork issues with Koji's Beast and the Renegade Bow have been corrected.
• Grammar fixes: Remmick's speech is improved, and no more Bandageses!