Fount Porch Trade Post
Saturday, November 14th, 2:00 AM GMT.

Unrest in the Fyros population seems to be continuing. I would not be surprised if the Akenak councils were replaced soon, especially since it now seems a caravan has been lost and needs to be rescued…

Patriots and Friends of the Burning Desert!

The akenak are in need of help in retrieving a lost trade convoy. Warriors and those familiar with the Desert regions are needed in this urgent task. A gathering has been called at the Agora in Pyr at 4h, Nivia 30th of the 1st AC of 2547, and at 0h, Winderly 6th of the 2nd AC of 2547. The akenak will give further details at that time*.

The Empire thanks you for your assistance.

[*] saturday august 29th, 7pm GMT, and 2am GMT

We know the Fyros for their tempers, quick and fiery, but the commotions I have been observing recently have left me even more cautious than when I first arrived in this vineless land. The native friends that I have made have been complaining of a lack of voice in the actions of the empire. They say the Akenak make claims and excuses, but do not move in the directions the people desire.

A more detailed explanation was then given by Fyrosian Pythus Aedon some time later, who indicated “increased tension” was being felt, most notably at Cheapside market, where slogans against the ruling power were heard, and turned into a demonstration through the streets of Pyr, to Highmarket:

The crowd pushed their way into Highmarket and raucously accosted the vendors and patrons with their claims against the Akenak. To my surprise, several of the vendors cheered the group on. Fearing a riot was being incited, I made my way to Merchant’s Walk to contain the group with the help of other patrols approaching from the west and north. Thankfully the citizens quickly calmed when they noticed us approaching and peacefully dispersed.

And more recently, Be’rory Thogen of the Trykerfolk was surprised to find a note on the post he tied his packers on, a stern warning in Trykertongue to avoid the Burning Desert:

A warning to all traders! Beware the trade routes of the Burning Desert. Their maintenance has fallen to ill and bandits can be found roaming freely.
Many traders have not been properly compensated for their water deliveries.
If you trade these routes, it will be at your peril. Travel with guard if you must.

Curiously, the news seem not to have travelled to the lands of the Matis as of yet. We should keep a watchful eye on developments in the Fyros lands.

As you are no doubt aware, Kreios, Dennycrane and others have been making an effort to provide lower-level equipment on the shops, for the benefit of hominlings fresh off Silan. This is a much-needed effort, as it can be hard for the younger of us, sometimes, to find what they need.

Additionally, several of us have been thinking that it would be a nice social activity to stage regular marketplace events. There are multiple benefits to that:

• Make customers free of guild pressure, as many newcomers feel indebted to guilds for crafting them equipment for free.
• Provide the stage for a social event, with the possibility for other activities/events to take place on the side.
• Be an opportunity to create a new caste of pure crafters, who’d spend Atys weeks collecting mats to have them ready for orders on market day.
• Let intermediate crafters have an opportunity to craft for lower rates, and meet professional crafters.
• Provide an opportunity for harvesters to be present and provide materials, creating a professional relationship between crafters and harvesters.
• Due to the presence of many crafters, provide customers with greater choice and the possibility for customized equipment (choice of armor types and color, etc.).
• Let homins bring their own materials to crafters if they want to (or purchase them from harvesters).
• In the end, foster the development of a thriving economy.

Obviously, the buy/sell rates will have to be determined according to workable standards, but that should develop of its own, over time. For information, the “breakeven” point for NPC mats are currently set at 300%.

Some rules should be established as well, to make the marketplace lively and fair:

• Chat locally as much as possible, especially when establishing crafting needs and prices (be that Dappers or materials). Create chatter.
• Be respectful of all others at all times. Let competition between crafters be real, but not disdainful.
• Crafters may shout to advertise their services, within reasonable limits so everymin still has time to follow what’s going on.
• Crafters must wear their crafting titles at all times. Rotate titles if necessary.
• Crafters of all levels above 50 are welcome. Diggers of all levels above 50 are welcome.
• To prevent wasting materials, higher-level crafters should leave orders too low for them to lower-level crafters (when applicable).
• Crafters and harvesters are encouraged to bring full Packer(s) along, so no porting around or running back to apartment is necessary. If a crafter is low on one material, harvesters should be able to provide it for Dappers or mutually beneficial exchanges.
• No exchange should be made without a counterpart, so the recipient does not feel in any way bound to the crafter or harvester.
• Crafters are invited to stand within a reasonably short distance of one another, in a clear and visible area.
• The market event will be open for business for a little less than two Atysian days (~2 RL hours). Crafters are invited to stay during the full duration of the market activity, if possible.

Yours, Hekla
(invaluable input from Inifuss, Dennycrane, Gilgameesh, Lexsi, Amian and a few others)

[ The first market event will take place in Fairhaven, south of the Stables, on Saturday, August 8, 2009, between 20:00GMT and 22:00GMT. It will become a weekly event. We should discuss whether it would be useful to stage marketplaces in other capital cities eventually, either simultaneously, or as a rotation. ]

[ Cross-posted on the roleplay forums and main forums. ]

Fortunately, the Trykers were able to complete their surveillance camps in time, in part thanks to the help of the Silt Sculptors tribe, whose close ties with Lady Ailan is well-known. Other lands also received welcome help from friendly tribes. But the multiplication of Kitins on the surface started to become a great problem for diggers in New Trykoth, and it impaired our freedom of movement. More importantly, their omnipresence impaired the progress of deliveries where the camps had not yet been completed, in Matis and Zoari lands.

Doubts appeared in the hearts of homins. If the camps were built too late, would we have to fear the onslaught a full-scale Kitin Invasion? Could the population of Kitins yet be curbed, and eradicated?

[ retrospective status announcement | eradication status ]

Had it already been sixty years since homins dared come up to the surface, the old bark of Atys? Yes, 2483. Sixty-two years… Were Trykers still alive who remembered it? So few even recalled the building of the temples, and the dreaded kitin invasions. But Lady Ailan had urged us to look towards what lay ahead of us.

The times our enemies could easily move around in our lands, under the noses of our People, have to come to an end! she had said, and Trykers had rejoiced. But then she had raised her hand and warned us all. Even more so, because I have recently been informed of a strange increase in Kitin activity. Trykers and friends of the Trykers stood thunderstruck. Surveillance camps had to be erected, she had urged. Materials needed to be gathered. Building materials delivered. It was time to build again, for our safety, and that of all hominity. This is a grand project, worthy of the architectural genius of the Tryker, which will assure that we will never again be taken by surprise! And they had all cheered!

Soon the defenders of New Trykoth set out to gather what was needed, keeping the delivery teams busy. Oh, the camps didn’t yet look like much, but they were slowly being put together, and would soon make us all proud, and most of all, keep us safe against the growing Kitin menace.

For the Kitins of the Depths had resurfaced, in many places all over the lands, white and ominous. When Marile  reported the presence of evil Goo in Darkmoor, which had already infected a Stinga, homins redoubled their efforts. The surveillance camps would have to be completed soon! Surely it wasn’t too late to prevent a full-scale invasion!

People of the Lakes! New Trykoth is counting on you and will reward loyalty! Tryka! Meer! Sella! Glory to the people!

There will also be an Atys-wide event on Saturday, June 13th at 19:00 GMT:

In autumn of the 1st AC in 2546*, the leaders of the four peoples were each seeking to assemble their people. Thus it was that during that time, the town criers of the Desert Empire, of the Forest Kingdom, of the Federation of New Trykoth and of the Theocracy of the Witherings called for all homins to gather.

Following the announcements, Patriots, Subjects, Citizens, Initiates and non-citizens of all races met their respective leaders at the same time*, converging on the Agora in Pyr, the Yrkanis Stage, Fairhaven’s Frogmore Place and the Grand Place of Zora.

Even though none of the announcers gave reason for the meetings, rumor ran rampant across the bark of Atys. The activities of the imperial, royal, federal and dynastic agents gave reason to believe that the leaders were, each on their own, working on comparable projects and would be calling for their peoples’ help and good will in short time.

– Source

To me, the dubious parts are the slightly dumbed-down missions that seem to be appearing, and which I wouldn’t like to see multiply all over the place. The good part is, this last patch shows an intent to strengthen the core and get the fundamentals in place.

One visible online update is the integration of the suggestion box. I’d be particularly excited to see something like the involvement of tribes in “politics” put forward eventually, but there’s many other suggestions that could be worth implementing, that don’t take as much development effort.

Of course, developers are not bound to implementing what’s posted there just because it’s popular, and they need to be leading the project and take their own decisions if it is to keep integrity and cohesion; nevertheless, the suggestions should give them welcome ideas to keep Atys evolving, as it should.

A roguish guild of Kamists, Hearts of Thunder, has decided to test our strength. We count on all the willing to help us defend this fine Outpost and shelter Dgambi from the inappropriate intrusion and influence of the Kamists in the Lakelands!

Artisans and friends, be ready!