For our final featured Tale of the Underworld, I will let Grandmaster Bard Holt Ironfell make his own introduction.

Follow Grandmaster Bard Holt Ironfell and his most trusted friends as they escape a world where the villains have already won, in order to protect a dangerous secret. Stepping through an ancient and hidden moongate, they end up lost in a vast and foreign Underworld, only to encounter a horrifying evil of the depths.

A Forgotten Secret in the Underworld
as told by Grandmaster Bard Holt Ironfell

Or for those weary of reading, just listen! – Narrated by the bard himself.

Perhaps you think all adventures end well, but travel with trusted friends long enough, and you witness death, and worse. That is the Underworld as I know it: death, and worse. I have been but once, and only great necessity would drive me back. I shall tell you my tale. Perhaps in doing so, I shall save your life, or make the wise amongst you forget the idea altogether.

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Not all adventures turn out the way we plan, and not all partnerships are profitable.  But sometimes when things go wrong, the only person we have to blame is ourselves. In today’s tale of the Underworld, Vandigeth weaves a story of adventure and betrayal while illustrating the danger of losing sight of Virtue in “The Cavern”.

The Cavern

She stood on the rocky precipice looking out upon the dense rock that filled this cavern. The sound of water filled the air before her; its smell gave what little freshness there was to be had in this dank place. A humid mist permeated the air and diffused the light across the cavern.

Jumping down from her precipice, she rejoined her companions across a small wooden bridge over the sheltered river. The stalagmites and other cavernous formations spoke to the absolute timelessness of this place. To her left was a modest waterfall, an obvious inlet of moisture from the surface far above this place.

The tread of one’s shoe was important here unless great care were taken. Moisture put off by the river both beautified the cavern but acted as a deadly host to her earnest companions. A simple mistake with one’s footing could result in a fall into the river below, or gravity between the rock and one’s head. However, she had much more experience moving through these so-called ‘catacombs’ than any of her companions.

Finally, she caught up to the companions. Two of them, both male, were a wealthier sort from the cities. Flush with cash and equipment, they hired her to guide them across the continent on a pilgrimage to a famous shrine of Honor. Both were showing their inexperience now as they began to question her about the caves to which she had become so familiar.

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Shroud of the Avatar will be home to many adventurous souls; many of which will team up with others in their quest for glory and riches.  And in the end, they may discover something more precious than fame and fortune; they might instead find lasting friendship. Thus, it seemed fitting that our next featured Tale of the Underworld be one of both adventure and fellowship. Presenting, “The Expedition” by Archaaz.

The Expedition

Noor sat silent and still upon a high outcropping overlooking the town of Niverale, nestled in the distant valley below. The sun had not yet pierced the horizon, and the world was still bathed in the gray miasma of early morning. A sudden late autumn breeze whistled down from the mountains above, and she pulled her woolen cloak tighter against the chill.

Her perch afforded a splendid view of the town, spread out along both sides of the narrow valley, split by the gentle river Vuryn- a river that would slow to a frozen trickle with onset of the winter snows, and swell to a raging torrent with the spring thaw. Smoke from a hundred chimneys curled upward, dissipating wistfully into the pale, predawn sky.

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Today’s featured Tale of the Underworld is one of our shorter entries, but a testament that a powerful story need not be lengthy.  Without further delay, I present, “The Warrior and the Flower” by Tekkamansoul.

The Warrior and the Flower

The warrior opened his eyes.

Cold, hard ground. A far-off glow. The sound of a river.

What happened?

He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t listen. His eyes refused to focus; his brain, to recall where he was or what he was doing.

With a forceful grunt and an exertion of muscles strained beyond their limits, he managed to prop an arm beneath him and roll over onto his back.

Thud. The pain was unbearable.

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First off, I want to say how humbled both myself and the team were by the amount of amazing stories that were submitted.  What I thought would be an easy task in selecting the best turned out to be quite the epic quest!  One that I must admit, I could not complete without some alterations to my plan!  Which is why every day this week, I will be publishing one of our favorite FIVE Tales of the Underworld!

Today, we begin with a tale of unexpected adventure.  Join me in celebrating Corlag the Bard’s Tale of the Underworld.

Krelm and the Underworld – Part 1
A Shroud of the Avatar Fan Fiction

It all started when Krelm ventured north east into the forest, to hunt for a stag to feed his family. It had been a lean year for crops, and what little they had after their tithes had not lasted long. They would starve if he didn’t make the journey. That would be a worse fate than risking the danger that lie within these woods.

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This week’s Community Spotlight star will be very familiar to our UO fans!  Markee Dragon, a longtime community leader for UO, has been an advocate and voice for Shroud since its conception, with his interviews with Richard reaching thousands of fans and his Shroud of the Avatar Fansite offering a home to all those with a passion for New Britannia!  He is currently hosting a live SotA roundtable each week on Saturdays from 5 to 6pm Eastern at www.twitch.tv/markeedragon. If you missed this week’s episode, you can watch it right here; AND get a sneak peek at the exclusive Warrior Concept Art featured on the show!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BdjTPII-yZA#!

The great thing about Markee Dragon’s Roundtables is that ANYONE can join.  And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if a Dev or two manage to sneak into future broadcasts! If you would like to participate, you can join via Google Hangouts. And in addition to exclusive “sneak peaks” of content and Dev interviews, once SotA is launched, Markee plans to air game-play live streams and create YouTube episodes for content a well.  For now, check out his Shroud of the Avatar channel on YouTube to catch up on all the interviews and roundtables you may have missed!