Asheron's Call, Update Notes

Update Notes – November 2001 – The Gathering Storm

By Ellen Ripley, November 1, 2001

The loud sudden rumble of thunder was followed by a gasp and then a predictable shattering of porcelain on the rough stone floor. She would miss the pot, its once vibrant cerulean streaks long since faded to grey, but the tea that now pooled darkly on the floor was no loss. She had not had any worth drinking in over twenty years, and no crimsonthorn blend would ever be coming from Ispar. This Aluvian swill had become tolerable, over time.

She dismissed the shaken serving woman and her apologies, though not unkindly. It was the nature of people to be surprised easily. That was why she was necessary, after all. She twined a single thread of silver hair around her gnarled finger. Once the hair had been a lustrous red, and the finger elegant and smooth. She would not be here forever. But it would have to be long enough.

“I have found one suitable for your wishes.” The voice came from behind her. She had not heard him enter, nor was she aware of his presence until he spoke. It was annoying, that; but she had not stirred at the words, and she knew that annoyed him though he would never show it.

Lightning flashed outside as the rain first started to reach the castle. She turned slowly to face her visitor. “You could have been seen,” she said, more to release some of her irritation than any actual concern. He merely smiled.

She stood, not as swiftly or easily as in years past, but without tremble or pain. She wanted to look him in the face for this. “They will call me worse than ‘Monster’ should I be discovered at this game.” First her petulance, and now doubt. What benefit age if one was still afflicted by the weaknesses of the young?

“They already do,” he whispered, that damnable smile never leaving his face.

“Aye, true enough.” Would this be easier if she were younger? “It matters not. We do what we have to. Let the fools play with the infant queen. Let the Arcanum busy itself with the how of disruptions to portalspace instead of the why. We will not be diverted.” The horror of her intent paled against the horror of her inaction. She tried not to think of the book. And how it filled her dreams some nights. It was not about the book. This action is what Dereth required.

“Bring him to me.” She knew it would be a man. He would never bring her a woman for this. The smile disappeared as he nodded once and stepped back into the shadows of the dark room. She never heard her door open, but she knew he was gone.

Light filled the chamber as the cacophony of thunder resonated throughout the castle. She sat back down as the echoes of light faded from the room. A storm is come. The storm is coming.

* * *

Rain. He marveled at the rain. Wetness falling from the sky. A free and precious gift from the world. He wondered if it was possible that he could have ever taken the rain for granted. Had he ignored it? How foolish he had been.

The water continued to fall to the earth, each drop soaked up by the greedy dirt. But in a very few places the earth had had her fill and regurgitated the water back onto ground, letting its murky pools sit softly on her surface. He thought it was a fit metaphor for his situation. Except that he would not sit softly.

He knew Martine would be late. It would be his way of displaying superiority. And, indeed, he was superior. The man could not deny Martine’s power. He depended on it.

Lightning illuminated the small copse of trees he had taken shelter in, turning the trees and ferns to bleached, bone-colored ghosts of themselves. And in the white aftershock of light and sound, a violet shimmer appeared, coalescing before him into the figure he’d been expecting.

Physically, Martine seemed the same as he had appeared in previous meetings. But the glassy, disjointed look in his one human eye was new. Martine grimaced and muttered something too low for the man to hear. The man had suspected for awhile that the madness was worsening, but he wondered at what contingency plans would suffice should Martine prove too unstable. There were none. The man waited, knowing Martine would eventually speak.

“You continue to waste my time. You still have not provided me with the location. Where is he?” Martine’s voice sprung directly into his mind. The man sighed. He thought they were beyond this nonsense.

“Forget him, Martine. He is useless and old. Do not lose sight of your goal. It can happen. I can make it happen, once you assist me. Remember that. Remember what I can do for you. Why engage in a fool’s chase when all we could want is before us and near in hand?” The words had their intended effect. The vocal muttering stopped, and there was once again a hard and focused gleam in Martine’s eye.

“We have an agreement, then?” The man tried to keep most of his eagerness out of his voice, but not all. Let Martine concentrate on how he could exploit the man. That kept him from concentrating on other things.

Martine looked at him and raised his one eyebrow. The man almost laughed at this one human trait in someone who so little resembled one. But when laughter risked death, it was easy to bring under control.

“An agreement? That would imply we are equals. I make no bargains with you, lesser. You will eventually provide to me what you have promised, or I will destroy you. There is your agreement.”

“And have you accomplished it?” The man had to shout over the boom of the thunder. While Martine could talk into his mind, he couldn’t read from it.

“It has begun. The process will take some time.” Martine turned away, perhaps upset over this admission to the limits of his power. “I will come find you again when it has finished.” Martine raised his hands and disappeared in another shivering blast of violet.

The man moved to the spot where Martine had been. How strange that for all his power Martine still relied on these physical gestures, like a child that still crawled after it had finally gained the strength to walk. Lightning flashed bright overhead, and for a brief time the man was once again lost in amazement at the beauty of the world. How rich and vibrant it was.

But this world was so very empty. He would fix that. As the rain soaked into his skin, and thunder assaulted his ears, he reveled in the storm. He reveled in the thought of the storm to come.

The Virindi have been defeated, and their allies, the Tumeroks, have retreated to the desert and Direlands from whence they came. The Virindi fortresses, marring the skylines of the capital cities, have been banished with the defeat of the rogue contingent, their taint removed at long last.

This is a time of great joy. Housing settlements established by the Zaikhal Arcanum are filling quickly, yet the Order continues to fund the building of more homes. To further assist new deed holders, the magi of the Arcanum have established a system of portals to housing communities, and placed them throughout the established cities. Each system is easily recognized, resting beneath the watch of a stalwart sentinel.

As the demand for houses increases, the Arcanum and their agents have made efforts to beautify the communities they have built. They have transported trees and added fountains to the central square to enhance the community feel. To assist in the growth of these communities the Arcanum has lifted the ban on trading the Writs that they supply.

Dereth has entered a new age of growth. Expeditions to Marae Lassel have yielded impressive rewards, with adventurers hunting together in greater numbers for the experience of a day shared in the fellowship of friends. These forays are bolstered by comrades-in-arms, new and old, banding together with crossbowmen and macers, respectively faster or lighter on their feet than before. New qualities to weapons, armor, and jewelry have further eased the hunt by including a way for users to gauge the mana remaining in an item.

Even the tales of a new Olthoi Brood Queen cannot dishearten the spirits of the Isparians. The efforts of Queen Strathelar and the Zaikhal Arcanum have given the people a new hope that they cling to with a ferocity they have not displayed since the time of the Hopeslayer’s defeat. There is nothing they cannot face.

At the horizon, storm clouds gather.

Highlights include:

  • Allegiances can now purchase their own Mansions on the landscape. No longer will you have to go to Meeting Halls to hold your meetings!
  • More homes! More hooks and more items to put on them! What more could you want?
  • Further enhancements to the fellowship system make hunting together worth more than ever! Go get your friends and enjoy the experience!
  • Items now display a Mana bar to let you know when they need to be refilled.
  • Mosswarts have undergone a change–check and see how they look.
  • Some weapons have had their burdens lowered to make them easier to carry–mace users and thrown weapons experts rejoice!
  • Creatures will no longer spend the experience they gain. NPCs will hand back items that they cannot use. The night is not so dark anymore.
  • Players now regain Stamina and heal a little bit faster than before.

New Functionality

  • Monarchs of large allegiances can now purchase Mansions on the landscape. Monarchs can use /house guest add_allegiance to allow all their allegiance into their Mansion and /house guest remove_allegiance to remove them all and turn this function off.
  • Players now get significant bonuses in earning experience points while in fellowships. The percentage of experience points one gets is in proportion to the size of the fellowship. See the November Letter to the Players for more details.
  • Magic items now display “Mana bars” below the name of the item when selected. This makes it easier to determine the Mana remaining in an item.
  • Owners of houses can now use @house hooks on/off to turn the visibility of their hooks on and off.

Miscellaneous Improvements and Changes

  • Last month we fixed a longstanding bug where certain monster generators in dungeons randomly stopped spawning. There were no cases of “broken” dungeons reported in October, so we believe this bug has been laid to rest.
  • There was a bug where certain high-level monsters could spend their earned xp to raise their skills with extreme speed, potentially making them nigh-invulnerable to players in a short amount of time. These monsters have been flagged in such a way that they no longer gain experience points.
  • The Mosswarts were sad because all the other semi-sentient races were getting makeovers and they weren’t. Now they are less sad.
  • The hit points regeneration rate for characters has roughly tripled. The Stamina regeneration rate has increased slightly. Mana regeneration rate remains untouched.
  • Server-side checks have been introduced so that players’ spells or healing kit attempts are interrupted if they move too far from their starting point when they began their action. As a result of this fix, the limitations on jumping too frequently have been removed.
  • There are 150 new Cottages in the game.
  • Writs are now givable.
  • New portal networks have been added to Dereth, allowing easier access to many housing settlements. These housing settlements now have official names.
  • Cottages now contain 50 total hooks, 25 of which are usable at any one time. Villas and Mansions will undergo similar makeovers in the next few months.
  • Most weapons, and some other items in the game, can now be displayed on house hooks.
  • NPCs, except for Town Criers, will no longer “eat” items that they don’t know how to respond to. They will instead give these items back, letting you know that they can’t use them. Town Criers will still accept any item, allowing you to dispose of unwanted equipment, so be cautious when interacting with them.
  • Most town vendors now have their function (e.g., “Bowyer,”“Blacksmith”) in their names.
  • @help files have been given an extensive revamping.
  • Nighttime visibility has been increased.
  • Dabus, maces, morningstars, and tofuns have had their burden reduced.
  • Most thrown weapons have had their burden reduced.
  • Crossbow’s reload time has been reduced.

Minor Details

  • There was a problem where players’ characters other than their house-owning character would log in and receive a message stating that their house had been lost due to non-payment of maintenance. The message was erroneous, and the message bug has been removed.
  • The Mansion placed in the Dires has been removed. At present all housing will be placed in Osteth.
  • Housing hooks have new art.
  • Many existing housing settlements have been gussied up.
  • Radar coordinates and spell durations are now the default display options.
  • The bug where using the “Give Selected” keyboard shortcut crashed the client if the selected person had logged off has been fixed.
  • Inventory panel now functions smoother with the stretch UI.
  • Certain dresses and certain robes will now have unique colored icons when dyed.
  • Blackfire Atlan weapons now have a new particle effect.
  • The two Canescent Mattekar robes have been graphically updated.
  • The thrown vision of Railrea’s harpoon had a description for a spear, not a thrown weapon. This has been fixed.
  • The Siraluun unarmed weapon had a bug where it was not enchantable. This has been fixed.
  • Tumerok landscape invasions and the Virindi towers have been removed.
  • The Virindi purple haze has been dispelled from Dereth. The rainy season has taken its place.
  • There was a location where one could run up to the level-limited Marescent Plateau on the island. This bug has been fixed.
  • Destination point for Singularity Caul portal has been moved so that players don’t get teleported out through the exit portal.
  • The reward for Olthoi Claws for the ML collector has been reduced to 5,000 xp and a treated healing kit.
  • The Tumerok-wielded Palenqual weapons have been made unappraisable.
  • When selecting an item, a green bar flashes under the name of the item. This green bar was so bright it made reading the text difficult. This bar has been dimmed so that the text is instantly readable.
  • There are now Pawn Shopkeepers in the various gambling halls.
  • Miscellaneous typos in the use strings of Town Criers on Marae Lassel have been fixed.
  • The anonymous use string on the Beer Keg has been removed to stop players’ spamming of it.
  • There was a bug where collectors on Marae Lassel would send out local broadcasts when awarding experience points (making everyone in the area get a text message saying they had been awarded experience, even though no actual experience was awarded), instead of directed tells. This has been fixed.
  • The Olthoi Queen has been tweaked so that she hits for more damage. Her other stats remain unchanged.