Linguistic Dragon reached a milestone in his Dragonhood recently:

So apparently last week marked the second anniversary of Official Dragonship for me – my join date’s listed as September 2, 2013. Funny, it still feels like it’s only been a few months or so. But hey, what better way to celebrate than with another session of Ultima VI?

And in that session of Ultima 6, he had occasion to explore the Gargoyle Realm:

It seemed fitting that the closest to Hythloth the Orb of the Moons could take me as of yet was the Shrine of Humility. Carefully we wound our way through the explosive fumaroles still burbling on the island, then entered the caves. And sure enough, our path was perilous indeed. The ground shook on occasion, lava flowed profusely throughout the tunnels, the volatile nature of the fiery depths made manifest. Even worse were the beasts such an inferno was wont to attract – a few drakes here and there at first, but the deeper we went, we found ourselves fighting off the beguilements of demons, and the terrible might of dragons lurking amid the flame. I found myself leaning heavily on my magical abilities, and while the caverns proved a fine source of sulfurous ash (meaning I had little worry when it came to running low on reagents for Light spells), it was my dwindling stash of mandrake that I was truly worried about – I was burning through Great Heals like no tomorrow.

Yet eventually, battered, burned, and weary, we saw a sight we hardly expected to see here at the bottom of the world – a dwelling. Here was were Captain Johne now made his home – why he was content to settle here of all places eluded me, but it was good to see his friendly face. He too pleaded with me on behalf of the Gargoyles, having spent some time learning about their culture. He told me their lands, once as large as Britannia itself, were now reduced to a single city, their center of learning and government the only bastion of civilization left to them. We spoke a little of their society and their beliefs, but of most interest for the moment was their language. How was I to help and understand a people I could not communicate with? Johne provided me with a scroll of basic vocabulary, which I proceeded to pore over, and he also pointed me in the direction of Beh Lem, a Gargoyle child that had helped him learn the language himself. He stressed the importance of seeking him out, as the rest of the Gargoyles would likely attack me on sight without his presence in my company.

And after finding Beh Lem — and learning why I tend to just skip past Hythloth by using the Orb of the Moons to get to one of the Gargoyle shrines, from whence I can simply get to where Beh Lem is by means of walking or skiff — Linguistic set about learning what the Gargoyles are all about:

… I made my way to the quarters of Draxinusom, who thundered about my audacity in coming, demanding to know what I was doing there and making it very clear that the presence of a Gargoyle child was the only reason he restrained himself from slaying me where I stood – Johne had been correct on that particular matter, it seemed. Though shaken a bit on the inside, I calmly informed the Inquisitor of my purpose – to surrender. Draxinusom was skeptical, but upon telling him I had been discussing with Valkadesh about how I could go about providing the needful sacrifice, he presented me with an amulet, telling me to don it as proof and demonstration of my submission. Dupre was uncomfortable with this, believing it to be a magical trap of some sort, but there was no other choice, the way I saw it. I removed my ankh and replaced it with the amulet, and that was that.

…

The only thing of true value to both peoples was the Codex itself, and Naxatilor agreed that the only clear options were to give up my own life, or else return the Codex. It turned out that he was the one who drew the Codex out of the Void in the first place, and directed me to the Hall of Knowledge and the Book of Rituals to learn more about how that had been done and what might be needed to reverse the process – as well as retrieve the lens that lay within one of the chambers. As for the Codex’s current location, he told me to speak with Captain Bolesh, recuperating at the healer’s just to the north of his residence. He had just returned from the Shrine of the Codex, and could perhaps tell me more about how circumstances there lay.

And after discovering the need for some means of flight, the pre-requisite for reaching the Temple of Singularity, Linguistic busied himself with the task of creating a hot air balloon:

Our fears for the balloonist proved well-founded, as he lay dead in a corner of the deepest part of the catacombs. He did, however, carry the plans for his balloon on him, listing rope, a cauldron, a large silk bag, and a basket large enough to hold several people as the necessary materials. He also made mention of an anchor as excellent ballast should it prove necessary. And so it was off to the craftsmen of Britannia to gather what items I would need to construct the balloon. After a pit stop in Moonglow to once again restock reagents, I headed for Paws, where I bought rope, and Marissa confirmed she could make a bag out of silk, if I would procure it for her. Arbeth just down the road spun a good portion of my spider silk into thread, and in New Magincia, Charlotte wove the thread into a bolt of cloth. Then it was back to Minoc, where Michelle happily put her skills to the test and wove a basket large enough to fit all of us comfortably. Then it was back to Paws once more to get Marissa to sew the bag itself. Once she had finished, I followed the plans to put everything together, and voila! I was in the possession of my very own lighter-than-air device.

And the subsequent visit to the temple proved most fruitful:

…I was told to seek out the three Shrines of the Gargoyle principles – Control to the west, Passion to the east, Diligence to the south – where I would find a being exemplifying each principle. I was to return when I had done so.

I left the Shrine with a new sense of purpose, but there was one more thing left to do in the city. I hadn’t yet paid a visit to the Hall of Knowledge, and Naxatilor had told me there was information (and an item) that I would need. The Caretaker of the Hall told me a bit about what lay within – one room held books of import to the Gargoyles, another relics of my own realm, and a third the lens I sought, along with the pedestal where something called the Vortex Cube once sat. Apparently it had been stolen some time ago, and rumor had it that it was taken to Stonegate. I made a note to drop by there when I had opportunity. In the meantime, I picked up the remains of the shattered lens, and learned of the retrieval of the Codex from the Void, of the relationships between winged and wingless Gargoyles, and a glimpse into what the Gargoyles interpreted of Britannia. Still musing over everything I just read, I took the lens to the Gargoyle Lensmaker, who repaired the one I had in my possession. Naxatilor was pleased when I showed it to him, and informed me I would need a second, made by a human lensmaker, which would also need to be concave.

If you can believe it — and you can, of course, because you know this is Linguistic Dragon we are dealing with here — there is still yet more to read than what has been excerpted above, including a number of thought-provoking comments on the design of the Gargoyle realm and the characters that populate it. It’s well worth a read in full, so why not click on through?