July 31, 2006

Welcome to the new Alliance of Heroes Newsletter! Those of you who have

been around with us a while may remember the monthly newsletters we sent

out some years ago. Well, this is similar but will be done on a quarterly

basis. Look forward to expansion on articles in the future as we get the

presses running full speed!

Table of Contents

Game News: New PM, Tracking, Sonic Improvements, Harvest Time

Current Events: Mentor Fair, Fairies!, Piraeus Update, Crete

Premium News: New Guru, Stand Alones, Merchants!

.~*~. Game News .~*~.

NEW PRODUCT MANAGER ANNOUNCED

For those of you who have been living under a rock, Alliance of Heroes is

now under the new management of Jubalee! One of her first acts as the new

PM was to hold a forum to listen to Athenian suggestions, and to see that

all typos and bugs were corrected. That done, the focus is now to the

future and it's looking bright!

LOCAL GIANT COUPLE RETIRES

After a long career out in the wilds hunting for a living, Baybee and

Bubba have retired from the tracking game and opened up a smokehouse deep

in the Hymettus Foothills. Now their secret hunting grounds are available

to you for your spearing pleasure! Just east of Athens, this forest full

of wild game had been previously unknown to the citizens as Bubba had

done his best to keep it hidden. Now in retirement, though, he and his

wife are lending their skillful hands to preparing your fresh kills into

tasty morsels. So grab yourself a boar spear and head out into the woods

to track yourself down some wild game... there'll be good eatin' tonight!

SONIC ATTACKS TO SEE IMPROVEMENTS

Tired of screaming your throat dry just to have to finish off that

vicious rat with your sword? Want to wail back at banshees and give those

screeching goblins a run for their dinars? Are you using your voice to

entertain at parties when you could be out howling dirges for enemies of

the state? Well, fret no more! Changes to the sonic system are up and

coming and they should see noticeable improvements. So dust off your lyre

and march into battle with your head held high and voice even higher...

ears everywhere will be in peril.

ALL HALLOW'S EVE ON THE HORIZON

Harvest time will soon be at an end as the long dead of winter

approaches. What other spirits will rise to as Persephone descends into

the Underworld? Join us at the end of October to see what the mentors

have planned for All Hallow's Eve. Look forward for another round of

trick or treating as well as some other surprises!

.~*~. Current Events .~*~.

MURDER AT MENTOR FAIR HOAX!

The weekend of July 30th was an eventful one for mentors and fair-goers

alike as a proposed donation to the mentor society turned into murder

during the festivities. But even with a corpse on their hands, the

mentors put on a solid show with games all weekend to be enjoyed by young

and old. Prizes were handed out like candy and fun was had by all! The

few spirits dampened by the murder were turned on their ear as the

multiple killings proved to be nothing more than Thalia, the muse of

comedy, posing as a reporter in order to write-up a real life murder

mystery for her own entertainment. Captain Trachys of the Athenian

Militia City Watch and Bumblonicus were on hand trying to solve the

impossible case as was the newly made Lance Constable Cleft. When reached

for comment, Captain Trachys simply stated, ""There was no stiff. There

was no weapon. There was no murder." Lance Constable Cleft do not salute

who was standing nearby added, "Cleft see one." The interview was cut

short as the giant troll was ordered to salute and this reporter barely

escaped with his life.

FAE-LIKE CREATURES SPOTTED IN ATHENS

The Iron Tongue of Midnight hath told twelve strange people have been

seen around Athens as of late and there's some rumors that they are

actually Fair Folk from the north. This reporter can't say one way or

another, but the Athenian Council for Dealing with Magical Beings has

advised all Athenians to remain in their homes and not to make any

contact with anything or anyone suspicious. The advisory came through a

slot under the President of the ACDMB's door, as he has not been

available for comment for the last six years after a particularly bad run

in with a nearsighted basilisk.

LOCAL WARLORD MAKES GOOD

Piraeus clean up under way under the capable management of its relatively

new ruler, Drakontas, Piraeus has been cleaned back up to near its former

glory and the streets are once more populated with citizens going about

their daily business. The magnanimous warlord even paid for a new tavern

called the Dragon's Lair to be built in the southern part of the town,

serving up such colorfully named drinks such as Assassin kisses and

Athenian Deathwishes. We have been assured that, despite the names, none

of the drinks are deadly.

He has also renovated the gate previously known as Asty with a tasteful

decoration of Ares and a few striking rubies, quite brilliantly naming

the gate after himself. When Vasileios, Captain of the Guard, was

reached, he commented, "Cleanliness and order are not matters of

instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you

must cultivate a taste for them." This reporter couldn't agree more.

CORRUPTION IN CRETE CONCLUDED

Unknowingly living under a terrible despot out to rule the world for the

past several months, the island of Crete was in for a wake-up call. You

might remember Crete making the headlines several years ago when the

citizens of Athens routed out a terrible minotaur from the labyrinthine

tunnels beneath the island. Now they have faced a threat above ground.

Kakosarchigos was a saint in the eyes of the Cretans, promising them

peace and security while actually delivering deception and terror.

Talos, the bronze guardian, was brought forth to guard the island by this

benefactor, but as the people of Athens soon realized upon arrival, the

giant was a fake. Kakosarchigos had built the machine to fool the

citizens into living under his rule and anyone who got too close to the

truth was turned into an animal and slain. Our resident news maker

Autolycus found this out the hard way. We went to the streets of

Chersonissos and talked to Zakro of Zakro's Smithy about the

situation. "I can't believe we put all our trust in that man! Drowning in

his own machine is too good for him!" Angry words from someone who has

seen the worst of man.

.~*~. Premium News .~*~.

NEW PREMIUM GURU ANNOUNCED

A new GM has joined Holyph in making sure the members of the Estate get

what they deserve! Please welcome GM Sunako to the Premium staff. As a

gesture of good will, Estate members have received a 10% discount from

all merchants in the game, as well as the ability to check their full

dinar status (including bank accounts) with wealth from anywhere. They

are also now able to use promissory notes to pay for things when they are

not holding enough dinars as long as they have enough to cover the

purchase in the bank.

STAND ALONE HOMES FOR SALE

At the last Premium Meeting, available stand alone homes were listed out

and a few new ones made available for the convenience of our Estate

Members. The homes still available can be found in-game on page 8 of the

Premium Gazette. For a limited time, the extravagant homes in Delphi have

also been lowered in cost. These homes will be seeing significant

renovations in the future that will up their property value so grab them

while you still can!

MERCHANTS AND ALTERERS GALORE

The new Premium Gurus are working hard to see that merchants continue to

visit the estate monthly for the forseeable future, and that the

occasional alterer drops by to treat Estate members to true style! A new

permanent catering merchant has also taken up residence in the Diamond

Estate and can be found near the dining hall. Rumor has it that another

permanent merchant may be joining it soon that will provide access to

hundreds of items only accessible by Estate Members! A special never

before seen merchant is slated to make a visit to the estate in the next

month as well, so get your dinars ready!