Ul Tannek (Part 1)

OOC: Some context. This was Darkfall's very first live event. It had been built up all week with mini events: GMs handing out little quests in the game world if you happened upon them. In one of these GM quests, a few players stole a powerful artifact from the NPC faction The Knights of Malregard The only screenshots that exist are from my xfire, which have the UI, something I think you can all live with for the sake of recounting this historic time. It was, in my opinion, the most confusing, and best event Aventurine has ever done. In fact, the confusion and misinformation directly led to a lot of the fun. What's more, the result of the event impacted the game world in a few subtle ways. The folks stealing the artifact are mentioned in a few quest lines in the game. And now, we start.





I'd ventured far afield exploring Agon's north. It was far more ruthless than I was used to. The further I traveled the more I began to feel that the summer lands of Mercia had been coddling me. In the north, entire cities were in ruins. The dead walked in every graveyard, in every temple. Strange demons patrolled cities that were once thriving. Volcanoes and acidic pits dotted the landscape.

I pushed farther forward, and reached Morak, the land of the Orks.

I knew no lore for these places. I had no context. The only knowledge I had was that a goblin revolution occurred. They threw off the shackles of their Ork master and and became burdens for everyone in Agon. After seeing some of the landscapes, it became clear why Orks were such fearsome warriors. The world they knew was fire rock and blood, and it shaped them thus.


Eventually I reached the cold Northlands. With little to look forward to but deep snow drifts and frozen landscapes, I decided to turn back south east. I was edging closer to the center of Agon, where the great Pall was.

I stopped in towns that weren't overrun by monsters, picking up bits and pieces of world gossip. It was in a human settlement that I heard some folks mention a familiar name.

"They stole it right out of their vault. The Knights of Malregard are wroth, it was their most powerful relic."
Another voice answered "And does anyone know who is behind it?"
"Some merchant family, the Ul Tanneks, that's the name on everyone's lips."

I remembered the Knights. They'd conquered the native Imric tribes when the Mercians came from across the sea. They were the strongest warrior guild in all of Agon. Who would be powerful enough to steal from them?

I followed the trail, asking from town to town, and story became clearer. The Ul Tanneks were a wealthy family based in Rubiyat. They had some kind of connection to the cult that worshiped the Red Pharaoh. That cult had many times tried to find ways to open doors to the great Pyramid and bring their sleeping Demi-God, Ur-Khamset, back into the world. This was clearly not a family to be trusted, and the knowledge that they were stealing powerful weapons didn't settle well for me.

As days passed the family was spoken of more and more frequently. There was a different story in almost every town, but one fact was always the same. The Ul Tanneks were seeking warriors to escort their caravan sometime in the near future. I knew I needed to get to Rubiyat, though it was almost an entire world away.




I rode every day, staying off the roads as much as time allowed, only pausing to rest and to bind in new cities along the way. Hard riding had rubbed the skin on my legs raw and made every muscle ache, but I at least made it to the western shores of Agon, ready to head to Rubiyat.

In one of the free Elven cities on the coast there was a great gathering of people, trading all information they knew about the Ul Tanneks. Many were swayed by the promise of gold and favor, and determined to find and protect the caravan. Another large group swore that they'd destroy this caravan before it even had a chance to set out. Nobody was entirely sure where the caravan would leave from. It seems the Ul Tanneks had wisely planted a few rumors to get their enemies headed in the wrong direction. But their protectors didn't know where to go either.

I was still uneasy about the whole situation. The cult that the Ul Tannek's belonged to could not be anything but evil. I decided it was within my best interest to get close to this family and try to discern their true agenda. I signed on with the defenders and when the awaited day came, I set off to try to find the caravan.

Dubious Recruiters and Wanderlust

I'd walked south for a change of scenery and to visit some nostalgic places. The half sunken Nithron towers were still poking out of the swamps. The sarlids and the spiders swarmed around the base of Hildershall's mountain, just as they had in my greener days. But, in Hildershall itself, I saw something quite new.




There were two men in the city talking together. I watched as they began sneaking up behind a person working the city forge. I stood on the rooftops, not wanting to get caught up in what was to happen.



Together they cast spells on the crafter and launched him backwards into a wall. I looked up at the guard towers, but they remained silent. No lightning came down to smite the two men. Puzzling. Their victim was equally surprised it seemed. He stared at his assailants, and they simply stood there and smiled back at him. There was nothing left for him to do but try to get back to his work. As he approached the forge, the men once again hit him with spells, and this time he shot a fireball back at them. Immediately the guard towers awoke.

Blue blasts of energy forked down from the towers, frying the craftsman where he stood. The two men laughed and looted his body with a quickness. Then they saw me.

"Hoy, you there! I recognize you from around Sandbrook, Signus yeah?" The man was wearing very little, and only had the most basic magical staff, but his intelligent eyes seemed menacing. "Would you care to join us? We could always use another hand, we run a very lucrative business." His partner chuckled at that.

"What exactly do you do?" Once again, despite knowing it'd be best just to leave, I was too curious to let it alone.

Very bluntly, he gave me his pitch. "Well, my friends and I go around from village to village and uh, weed out the foolish ones. We like to provoke folks a bit and if we find a particularly thickheaded one, we find a loophole in the laws and get them to attack us, then reap the rewards. Very simple!" He must have seen the look on my face; he appealed to me. "Now come on, they deserve it for being so careless. Asides, we do it to everyone, not just the new recruits, hell we don't even stick to just humans. We're a very liberal clan!" He tried to give a winning smile.

Truthfully, I considered it. I'd left most of my friends behind, I couldn't really accomplish anything on my own, and I wasn't doing anything of worth. I had no direction. Maybe this clan is what I needed? I could limit myself to just raiding the Alfar or some scum down south even, if my conscience plagued me too much.



"I'll consider it" I told the man. "Let me go back to Sandbrook and settle some affairs first. I'll be in touch." The man nodded and walked off. I had no business left in Sandbrook but I needed some time to think, and I feared what these people would do if I refused them. They left out the front gates ahead of me and began to harass another traveler. I took the long way home while I thought about my future in Agon.




I got to Sandbrook and paused at my vault, not sure what to do next. I looked around. The bright light sparkling against the water looked inviting, so I grabbed my fishing rod and ran to the shore. I sat for a long while just relaxing in the sun, counting my catches.



Before long I found myself wishing for a boat, which reminded me of Piratejim, and the crew of our last vessel. My mood was ruined, so after I dragged my haul back to town, I set out again to wander.

I walked along the shores of the south sea until I came upon a lighthouse. It was an ancient building, but man made. It lacked the freakish height of the Nithron ruins. Perhaps it was built by the Chal d Eans before the Plague and Flood? The fire at its top still burned, but nobody manned the tower, no buildings surrounded it. Agon still held many mysteries.



I sat on the shore until the sun started setting, then began to move north. I walked with the lighthouse still on my mind, and as light faded entirely from the sky, I made up my mind. There was still too much to see in Agon to mope around familiar hunting grounds. I would travel again, as I hadn't done since first landing here. I was already walking north and decided to keep that course. I'd never been very far that way, since my brief run in with the Fire Dragon, and for fear of Ork patrols. But now, I was ready. With the stars in the sky and a new moon rising, I started again.