Slashing Dragon was one of many who were able to attend Lifeblood of the Hearth, the third Hearth of Britannia festival for fans of Ultima and Shroud of the Avatar. In fact, Slash was actually running a quest at HoBLotH; he spent much of his time in the weeks leading up to the event turning his skills with procedural dungeon generation toward the creation of puzzles that players would have to solve in real life.

Having safely returned home from Austin, Texas, Slash has now penned a lengthy missive describing his time at HoBLotH…in an in-universe style, no less. Here is but a taste:

The Battle of Serpent’s Hold

After several more months of war, it all came down to a final battle. With Britain and his main castle being lost already, Lord British relocated his headquarters and the remaining of his army to Serpent’s Hold, staging an attack to Blackthorn’s castle at Terfin.

Blackthorne, on the other hand, assembled a huge fleet and sailed south from Buccaneer’s Den with his horde of pirates, rogues and madmen, confident that victory was close.

The fleet of Chaos landed north of Serpent’s Hold, and proceeded to assault the garrison meeting the remaining of the royal army. The battle went for hours and hours, and right in the middle of it, a great storm hit the battlefield, quenching the flame wind spells that the royal army was relying on to keep the invaders at bay. Still they fought hard in the muddy field, and the battle went on under the heavy rain until Lord British was hit by a purple lightning ray, and disappeared leaving no trace, while its remaining captains fell to the ground, unconscious.

Confused, the royal troops surrendered and were imprisoned in dungeons all around the land… Lord British’s daughter, princess Kinga British, had to flee to the deep forest of Yew, the only place safe from forces of Chaos, guarded by Sir Edward Vitralis, his personal bodyguard and bard, the Voyager Dragon, whose knowledge of the land was exceptional, and a small band of ancient rangers who claimed to come from the original Devil’s Guard. It is said that the fairies of the forest, being safe from the stone creatures who threatened them, provided protection to the princess by misleading all the parties sent to seek them.

Blackthorne had seized the throne of Britannia, with no one up to challenge him, and within months, the situation for the people didn’t become any better.

Do click on through to read the rest; I daresay that the events of the weekend would make for an excellent Ultima game in their own right…at least based on Slash’s excellent retelling thereof.