Update Notes – July 2001 – Lost in the New Horizon
Martine grinned as the last of the mages fell before the onslaught of the Rifts’ attack. He had been following the party for quite some time, a group of Life wizards that had been much too pleased with their recent advancement in spell research.
Apparently the new spells had not been quite enough. He looked at the blood-stained clothes of the mages. Such new colors the Isparians sported these days. A little morbid but appropriate, given the circumstances.
He wished he had time to explore this new island. So much death and destruction. His spies had reported that there was unrest amongst certain groups of the Isparians, looking for more and more adventure. He remembered a time when he too, thought that he needed a new frontier, a new area for exploration. He had gotten what he had wished for. He anticipated a similar amount of pain in store for these little humans.
If only he had free time, he could pick and choose at how best to sow the seeds of chaos. His old Virindi chums here had actually assembled a sizable force, and he didn’t know whether the Isparians would be up to the challenge. Martine’s plans since killing Alayne had not gone exactly as intended. A new Singularity here on Auberean would not make those plans any easier to accomplish.
And on another front, his old Exploration Society friends had had the audacity to keep on going. Struggling and pathetic, yes, but still surviving. And still helping people. Information and order disseminated to the new Ispar arrivals. No, no, no, this would not do.
But, as he reminded himself, if he had free time, which he most assuredly did not, it would take many months before his plans reached fruition. If he did not ensure their success, then none of the rest would matter.
Martine smiled once more at the broken bodies as he portaled back to his sanctuary. Feazh Zhapaj, indeed.
As the skies continue to be tainted by the purple hue of portal space, the Virindi rebels under Levistras have reinforced their forces to claim Dereth as their own. Opposing forces, loyal to the Directive principles all Virindi have followed until now, have done the same, hampering the efforts of the rebels. The loyalists have begun diverting shipments of Quiddity Ingots, intended for the rebels’ Tumerok minions, to Isparian settlements. At the same time, those loyal to the Directive have summoned more forces to Dereth, including powerful Virindi Inquisitors, in the hopes of bringing all the rebels in line with the will of the Quiddity.
This influx of forces opened a path for brave (or foolhardy) Isparians to follow to a place known to the Virindi as the Singularity Caul. In the past, this island had been used by the Hopeslayer’s forces, but was now claimed by the rogue Virindi. From here, the Virindi hoped to establish their New Singularity and bring all of Dereth under its control.
While no apparent Virindi facilities could be found on the Caul, the Isparians discovered one near the town of Rithwic. This facility was a Virindi prison, used to hold rogue elements before their destruction or return to the Quiddity. In an ironic twist, the Virindi Master overseeing the facility had begun to exhibit the same corruption observed in the rebels, individuality. This corruption went so far that he even took on a name: Dirrich. His death at the hands of Isparian adventurers resulted in quick reprisals from the Virindi, as more powerful Virindi and their servants were found throughout the Direlands.
As the Virindi conflict seemed to escalate around them, Isparians exploring the center of the Singularity Caul stumbled into a meeting between elements of the Quiddity and a representative of the Rebels. Responding to attacks from these two forces, the Isparians destroyed the representatives, and in the process destroyed any hope of a peaceful end to the conflict.
Perhaps with the hope of reaching an agreement with the Isparians, Althoucault, Speaker of the New Directive, appeared near Wai Jhou. Distrustful of the Virindi’s intent, the Speaker was attacked on sight and destroyed. His final thoughts were transmitted to those who had struck him down–they were doomed. And now the people found themselves embroiled in a war between two parties, both intent on their destruction.
The dog days of Derethian summer have arrived. Temperatures rise ever higher, leaving those who wander the wilds sweltering in their heavy armor and thick robes. With the approach of Summer Solstice, the deadly Virindi accelerate their campaign against the residents of Dereth.
With the defeat of the Inculcator, their stranglehold on Ayan Baqur was broken and the beleaguered townsfolk returned. Yet only a fool would believe the Virindi so readily defeated. Surely they plan to strike again, to retaliate with powerful new servants and weapons. The question is where and when. Once again, the legions of Ispar must venture forth to stem the tides of war.
Rumors spread like wildfire of a strange new land, shrouded in mystery and swarming with never-before-seen foes. Perhaps those willing to risk life and limb can find a chance to defeat the intractable foe on this strange new land… Or perhaps it will prove but a short route to a violent and unpleasant demise.
Even in the darkest times, there has always been good news for the citizens of Dereth. Travelers of late have returned to the towns of Osteth garbed in regal new colors, and bearing weapons of devastating power. The Consortium of Archmages has finally discerned the location of the final Essence, completing the seventh circle of the Arcane. One can only hope these developments have come in time to stave off the advance of the Virindi.
Miscellaneous Improvements:
- Level 7 Life Magic is in.
- Advanced titles for Guild of Bestowers are in. Bestowers also give hats for advanced titles in Alchemy, Cooking and Fletching. Really, we mean it this time.
- New summer dye colors available. Winter (!) dye plants removed from landscape.
Minor Details:
- Component buyer values can now be changed while the vendor is open, and take effect immediately (though it won’t remove items from your buy list that are already there).
- Component buyer “not enough … ” error message cleaned up a little — players can raise the number of components they want in the F6 panel and not confuse it.
- Essence of Enchantment now grants Weapon Ignorance 7.
- Upped the Spellcraft on Lightning Streak 6 traps. Better pull out the shockproof undies you put away when you outgrew Ash Gromnies?
- Changed Quiddity Orb quest timers to seven days.
- Fixed some instances where Bestowers’ Guild puzzle pieces were showing up as blue casino tokens where they SHOULD have shown up as small orange orbs.
- Shadow Fragments and Crystal Fragments now have unique icons, for easier differentiation of the various types, and to cut down the possibility of bait-and-switch trading scams.
- Koujia armor should now sort properly with the white undies. When the undies changed to white, the new color was bleeding through improperly, ruining some people’s ensembles.
- Ayan Baqur is now (mostly) back to normal.
- Mud Golems were dropping Muddy Towels 100% of the time due to a small typo in the % chance of not dropping Pyreal Motes. Now they should drop towels at the same rate as Water Golems.