This story is a tale of Virtue from Ultima 9 - 2 books

[Shard] - Sosaria
[Type] - Fiction/History
[Book] - Purple - 40 pages (2)

[Title] - Shamino and the Spirits
[Author] - McCubbin the Wise


BOOK ONE



[Page 1]




*** Part One***



[Page 2]
There was once a
certain town, where the
inhabitants of the
graveyard had forgotten
their proper decorum. Not
a mere aimless revenant
or two, but a veritable
plague of lifeless stalkers.

[Page 3]
Most every night was
disturbed by a squad or
company of the dead
making riot, for the
creatures did not wander
aimlessly, but set them-
selves about the business
of terror and destruction

[Page 4]
with a methodical
efficiency that demanded
a malign will behind their
excursions.
It was obvious to the
villagers that this was
not a problem to be
dealt with by a few

[Page 5]
torches and pitchforks, or
a cantrip or two. So
they sent to Britain to
pray the King for aid.
Their call was answered
most expeditiously, for
Lord British bade none
other than Shamino the

[Page 6]
Ranger, first hero of
Britannia and best and
oldest friend to His
Majesty, to deal with the
situation.
Shamino soon arrived,
and set immediately about
his work with sword, bow

[Page 7]
and shield. The ranks of
the shambling revenants
he quickly reduced to a
few small piles of
putrescent but inanimate
flesh. With his way thus
cleared, he was able to
enter the graveyard

[Page 8]
itself, where he
discovered a newly opened
tunnel, which lead to an
ancient catacomb far
below.
In that dank and
haunted place, Shamino
found the source of the

[Page 9]
trouble, a lich, an ancient
and potent spirit from
the First Age of
Darkness.
For centuries the evil
thing had lain dormant in
its stygian tomb, but of
late it had bestirred

[Page 10]
itself, and in its ancient
malice had begun the
current harassment of
the living above.
So Shamino found the
thing, and there he slew
it, in a night-long battle
of blade and spell.

[Page 11]
With the evil wight
dead, Shamino elected to
remain in the town for a
while, to recover from
his battle, and to insure
that the restless evil
was indeed put down.
It was well he did, for

[Page 12]
scarce two nights after
the lich's most recent
and final death, a lad of
the village was brought
before Shamino in a
pitiable state of terror
and nervous exhaustion.

[Page 13]
When the lad had
calmed enough to speak
at last, he told how he
had gone to pass an hour
in the graveyard on a
dare, thinking the evil all
departed. But he had
scarce arrived when he

[Page 14]
was set upon, not by
crawling corpses, but by
a howling cloud of spirits.
He could not understand
their gibberings, but so
great was the force of
the despair and
desperation in their voices

[Page 15]
that he vouchsafed he
would have far preferred
to face an honest undead
body.
Shamino was not overly s
urprised to discover that
the lich's malice had
stirred up forces that

[Page 16]
its destruction had failed
to quell, so he spent the
day in preparation, and
that night took himself
again to the graveyard,
an hour or so before
midnight.

[Page 17]
He was through the g
ate scarcely a minute
when he was set upon by
the cloud of ghosts, and
the sorrow of their
incoherent wails and
moans tore at his very
soul. He sensed no evil in

[Page 18]
the things, but only a
terrible, lonely despair
that raked his soul and
mind.
But Shamino was made
of sterner stuff than
the village lad, and he
shut the howls out of his

[Page 19]
mind (for the things had
no power to touch him
physically), and made
certain preparations. At
last through arts that he
knew, the spirits were
quieted (albeit
temporarily), and held in

[Page 20]
that place before Shamino.
Then Shamino indicated
the first of the spirits,
and bade it, "You there,
speak now, and tell me
plainly why you haunt the
night."

[Page 21]
"In my life," the spirit
sighed, "I was rich, and
gloried in my riches, but
did nothing to use them
to help those around me,
and now I see my life
meant nothing."
"Your pride was great,"

[Page 22]
said Shamino, "but where
is it now? Look about
you, you rest in a grave
no finer than many of
the poor folk you ignored.
Rest now, and take
comfort in the Humility
of death."

[Page 23]
And the spirit heard
Shamino's words and,
acknowledging them,
vanished away.
(Now it may seem odd
that a restless spirit
would be banished at a
mere word, but Shamino

[Page 24]
the Ranger was no
common man, and when he
spoke on matters of
Spirituality, he spoke with
Authority, so that
creatures of the super-
natural planes might be
compelled by his very words.)

[Page 25]
Then the next spirit
spoke, and it said, "In my
life I put on airs, telling
folk that I was a hero,
or a noble, or possessed
skills that were not mine,
hoping thereby to find
friendship and fortune.

[Page 26]
And I see now that
everything I gained falsely w
as itself false."
"And yet," replied
Shamino, "you still take
on the seeming of that
which you are not, for
you pass among the living

[Page 27]
and trouble their lives.
Put dishonesty behind you
and be what you are.
Rest now in the Honesty
of death."
"In my life," said the
third spirit in its turn, "I
thought that I was a

[Page 28]
wolf among men, and the
weak were my prey. I
took the little that they
had, and thereby accrued
much for myself. But now
I mourn, for I was most
bitterly hated."

[Page 29]
"Why then do you still
trouble the living?" asked
Shamino. You regret your
lack of Compassion in
life, but I tell you to
rest, and thereby learn
Compassion from death,
which ends all pain and

[Page 30]
sorrow, even thine."
"In my life," the fourth
spirit began, "I ran from
danger, while those I
cared for stood and fell.
Now I see how much
finer it would have been
to have died in the glory

[Page 31]
and comfort of their
companionship, than to
have gone on to the g
uilty and futile life
which I led."
"And you are still
running," said Shamino, not
without kindness. "Let

[Page 32]
rest your fear, and
Valiantly embrace the
mystery of death. Your
friends and loved ones
await you."
The fifth spirit took up
the litany, saying, "In my
life, I stood up in

[Page 33]
defense of the guilty, to
gain by their friendship,
and spoke out against the
innocent when so bidden
by my masters. Can
there be any payment
now for the wrong I
did?"

[Page 34]
"You seek restitution
for your deeds, but you
flee the judge which all
men must face. If you
hunger for Justice, you
will find the Justice of
death, which is the
proper sentence of all in

[Page 35]
the end."
"I was a miser in life,"
said the sixth, "And I sat
alone with my wealth all
my days. I did nothing of
importance to anyone, not
even providing honest
work to those whom I

[Page 36]
might have hired, for I
valued my gold above
their service. Where is
my gold now?"
"Gold indeed is forever
beyond your reach, but
there remains one
Sacrifice within your

[Page 37]
power to make, and that
is to Sacrifice this sad
unlife to death, which
patiently awaits your
gift."
Now only two spirits
remained, swirling sadly in
the moonlight, and at last

[Page 38]
one was moved to speak.





Continued in Part II...




--------------------------------------------------------------------------BOOK TWO




[Page 1]




*** Part Two***



[Page 2]
"In my life, I served a
man who loved me, and
valued my service and
friendship above all else. I
betrayed him, seeking
greater wealth and power.
Now I see that I gained
nothing and lost all, for

[Page 3]
those I came to serve
saw me as only the worm
which I was."
"The evil you did was
very great," Shamino said
gravely, "And I cannot
offer you absolution. But
see now that one final

[Page 4]
obligation awaits you,
which you have yet to
fulfill. Will you not
Honorably go through the
final veil of death?
Then only final ghost
drifted on the breeze,
and seemed little inclined

[Page 5]
to speech, until at last
Shamino broke the silence.
"Speak, o spirit, and tell
me of the sin which
torments you in your
unnatural waking."
"I have not sinned," the
ghost replied, "for I honor

[Page 6]
the Virtues to the best
of my ability."
"Be that as it may, why
then do you thus linger
after your death?"
Shamino inquired.
"I am no dead ghost,"
the thing replied, "but

[Page 7]
have been cast out of
my own body by the evil
thing that formerly
haunted this place. Pray
reunite me with my body,
that I may resume my
rightful span of corporeal
years."

[Page 8]
Now such things are not
unknown, but to the keen
sight of Shamino, the
difference between a
living spirit and an
unliving shade is as clear
as the difference between
a strong young oak and

[Page 9]
an ancient rotting stump.
"You are mistaken,
friend," Shamino said with
all gentleness. "You are
truly dead, my word and
oath on that. You must
now go to your final
rest, and cease to

[Page 10]
trouble the living."
"You lie," howled the
spirit, "For I move and
see and speak. How then
can I be dead? I live!
I live!"
Then it tried to break
free of Shamino's

[Page 11]
binding and assail him, but
the wards were
well-wrought, and the
dismissal of the other
spirits had far weakened
the ghost's unnatural
energies.

[Page 12]
Then Shamino knew what
kept the spirit bound to
earth, for it is the
nature of the Spiritual
to see the reality of
things that are hidden
from the less gifted.

[Page 13]
This creature was most
damnably cursed, for its
curse was of its own
making. Where the other g
hosts had been
tormented by the
knowledge of their sin,
this one tortured itself

[Page 14]
by withholding knowledge.
The ghost lied to itself,
cowardly running from
death, hating itself and
its true nature. In this,
it rejected all three of
the great Principles,
which together compose

[Page 15]
the ultimate Virtue of
Spirituality.
Shamino stood for
awhile, regarding the
pathetic thing, and at
last he spoke. "I can do
nothing for you. Go about
your existence, if such it

[Page 16]
can be called." And he
dispelled his wards and
left that place forever.
As for the ghost, it
haunted the graveyard
thereafter. It no longer
had the power to
terrorize the living, but

[Page 17]
only lurked about, moaning
and sighing to itself in
the darkness of the
night, and of its own
delusion.

Thank you!!! I was hoping you had not gone away. I actually put a few of the books you have posted here into LS this past week.

nope still around just been insanely busy. Hey anyway you could post the locations of LS libraries in the top sticky thread "Library Locations"?

I really don't have an updated listing of Libraries.. there were some fine ones when I made my :Library Runebooks... but so many have moved without leaving 'forwarding addresses' or just disappeared. Perhaps others who know some up to date ones could help out.

I have a fairly extensive collection of old runebooks with runes, and reading materials in my house East of Luna on LS. I really need to update the runebooks though. The books I have available are East of Luna, three screens. My house is "Morrigainne's Daughters' and is open to the public. I also have made certain to set the bookcases where the books are housed to 'anyone', so that people can read them. All of the containers and books within must be set to 'anyone' as well, or they are not publicly viewable. Many places seem to not want others to read their materials.. or just forget to set the security for public viewing.