Saturday, November 16, 2024

Ultima IV: Paws & Yew

Going north from Trinsic, up around two river basins and a swampland, was a village in the hills - Paws.

  • Lady Tessa and Lord Simon are found in the armour shop, and when asked about the mystics that Zircon sold to them, explain that only an eight-part Avatar may find them.
  • A secret door in the armour shop leads to a reagent seller, whose stock is no different from the one in Moonglow, but prices are different - I bolded the better deals.
    • $3 for sulfurous ash
    • $4 for ginseng
    • $2 for garlic
    • $9 for spider silk
    • $6 for blood moss
    • $7 for black pearls
  • Following the Trinsic mage's tip, I tip the bartender at Folley Tavern and ask about mandrake roots, and he bucks for a bigger tip. Eventually, he tells me to seek Calumny, who I know can be found in Yew.
  • A druid visiting the market for rations tells me that the castle hides a secret entrance to the depths below.
  • For $400, which is most of my gold at this point, I buy a horse. The stables are locked, though.
  • A young mage tells me that his master Mentorian lives in hidden village in Lock Lake, and will teach the Gate spell.


Not too much farther up the coast, Brittany Bay and the castle were in sight. My map didn't quite align right, so I had to chop the segments up a bit, leaving the southern region partially fractured - I intend to correct this later.

For now, I visited Lord British for healing and leveling - Julia, Dupre, and myself gained levels.

And I spoke to Hawkwind:

  • Honesty - Ready for elevation.
  • Compassion - None
  • Sacrifice - Little
  • Spirituality - Some
  • Humility - Some
  • Honor - Some
  • Valor - Ready for elevation
  • Justice - Some


Spirituality and honesty improved - often the townfolk will ask personal questions, and truthful answers improve your score in the latter category.

 

Much of Britannia remained unexplored still, and I ventured in a northwesterly direction to see what I might see. The horse, sadly, doesn't actually improve your speed. I'm not entirely sure what it does, in fact.

The dense, sight-blocking trees of The Deep Forest which dominates Britannia's northwest isn't much fun to map out, but it turned out to be necessary - the important city of Yew hides within.


 

Mapping out Yew is a bit annoying, but it's nothing compared to the 3,000 tree hell of its Sosarian version.

  • The guards tell me that justice is inspired by love and guided by truth.
  • A nameless druid tells me that the shrine of justice is to the northeast, and that I should speak to Talfourd of the rune.
  • A councilman outside the courtroom tells me that the druids chant the mantra.
  • Said druids around the campfire in the northwest quadrant chant "BEH."
  • Jaana is also found here, and joins the quest for justice. I immediately give her a spare sling and leather armor.
  • Talfourd sits in the hall of justice. When asked about the rune, he asks if I am completely innocent - I deny, and he tells me to search the jail cells.
  • The jailer directs me to the felons' cell and warns me to watch my back. The rune is hidden here, beside an ornery cellmate.


  • While I'm here, I visit the misdemeanants' cell, occupied by two beggars, who I donate to in an effort to raise my compassion score.
  • I visit the healers and donate some blood and money.
  • Calumny is found on the east outskirts of town. He tells me that mandrake root is found in the fens of the dead and the bloody plains, and that the quickness spell only requires one bloodmoss, not two as the spellbook claims.

 

The shrine of justice is a bit of a walk and, sigh, surrounded by swampland, but I go there to meditate.

That is barely different from what the shrine of honor said!


My world map:

4 comments:

  1. You have to (Y)ell GIDDYUP to have the horse give you extra speed. (Y)ell again to have it slow down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, thanks! It's even mentioned in the reference card.

      Delete
  2. Not related to Ultima, but I've recently purchased a game called UFO 50, which is a collection of 50 games from a (fictional) defunct company from the 80's. It's interesting, like the devs have built a fictional version of this blog; games later in the chronology iterate on ideas from earlier games in the chronology, and the first game in the collection is deliberately obtuse and crude, as if it was designed by someone who was brand new to game design from a time period where best practices hadn't solidified yet (which, in universe, is true).

    I know you've got your hands full at the moment with the whaling log, but I thought you might find it interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've heard of UFO 50. It sounds like a pretty neat idea and I can't imagine ever having time for it.

      Delete

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