Ultima VII: The Black Gate/Britain


 *  Population: 53 (17 in the castle, 36 in town)

Britain is by far the most populous city in the kingdom. It can easily be divided in two: the castle and the town. Since the castle has a smaller population and the most important characters (the king!), you should start there.

Passing through Paws
Paws is a village on the road from Trinsic to Britain. The game plot will send you here later (see: ../Paws/). Right now, just stop at the antique shop and purchase a sextant: it is the best deal all over the kingdom.

Give the sextant to the same character who holds the map. When you click on the map, a cross will mark your current position. Notice that it only works outdoors and in daytime.

Main plot

 * Lord British, Wislem, Chuckles, Geoffrey

First of all head north to Castle Britannia.

Meet Lord British in his throne room, on the north part of the castle. Talk about absolutely every topic he offers and you will get his Orb of the Moons as well as information on where your gear from the aftermath of Ultima VI is stashed. He'll also mention a murder in Britain that sounds suspiciously similar to the one in Trinsic. He suggests to talk with Clint the shipwright and Patterson the mayor, and also to visit ../Cove/ and talk to the mage Rudyom.

A book in Lord British's bedroom (in a bedtable) summarizes all the events in the series since Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness.

Anyway, head to the king's study room (the one with all the hunting trophies) and grab the key there. Now head north-east into the throne room and hunt for a lever in the room to the east. Pull it and head to the right to the kitchen. Lift the barrel and activate the switch, this opens a seemingly inaccessible room in the tower directly above you. Now find your way to a stairwell and go up. The north-western tower contains your gear. Be sure to take the spellbook and reagents (you need both for later) as well as the rest of the stuff. The north-eastern tower holds some plate armour and a shield.

Back downstairs, you can pocket the powder keg from the bottom-left room, being careful NOT to double-click it (it will blow up and kill some party members).

The winged gargoyle Wislem (usually in the throne room) asks you to tell Lord Draxinusom on Terfin about the murder of Inamo. You will naturally get there just by following the plot.

Geoffrey explains how to level up: earn experience by fighting enemies until you level-up; at that moment, you will earn 3 training points that you can spend at any trainer for different increases in the three main attributes (strength, dexterity, intelligence) and secondary attributes (combat and magic).

Talk to Chuckles in the castle courtyard to play The Game. The rules are simple: just use words of only one syllable. The scroll Chuckles rewards you with will give you some advice you should definitely take when the time comes.

Side quests

 * Miranda: Great Council room, east side
 * Weston: innocent prisoner, upper floor
 * Boots: cook
 * Charles: north side
 * Nell: north side

Miranda the coucillor (usually found in an east room) asks you to take a law to Lord Heather, mayor of ../Cove/ and bring it back signed by him. If you complete this side quest, you will get 20 experience points.

A cell on the roof in the south-west corner hold Weston prisoner. Talk to him and listen to his story. If you want, you can also look for Figg, who accused him (located in the royal orchard, just west of the castle). Then, report to Lord British. Upon completing this side quest, Weston will be freed and you will earn 20 experience points.

Boots the cook (usually found in the kitchen, north-east) will purchase any amount of mutton for 5 Gold apiece. She suggest to buy it from Morfin of Paws (3 GC per mutton). Actually, Fred (usually found in the farmers market, on the west side of Noble Road, just north of the south city entrance) sells mutton for the same price as Morfin, and he is half the distance from Boots. Purchase as much mutton as you can from Fred and sell it to Boots, then repeat. You will increase your money by 40% at every repetition.

Services

 * Nystul: royal magician

The royal mage Nystul sells spells and reagents for the highest prices in the kingdom. Still, there are four spells that you can only purchase from him. Right now, you should better purchase just the most important: Unlock Magic (then, level up the Avatar to level 4). This spell requires sulfurous ash and blood moss: keep an eye on these reagents.

Lore

 * Sherry the Mouse: a mouse
 * Inwisloklem: member of the Great Council
 * Benny: chief butler
 * Nanna: child maid
 * Kristy: child
 * Max: child of Miranda
 * Nicholas: child

Sherry asks for some cheese. If you give her some, she will simply thank you, and nothing more.

Talk to Nanna before looking for the town mayor, Patterson. He will comment on her opinions.

City of Britain
With a population of 36, the city outside the castle is about three times bigger than any other town in Britannia. It can be easy to miss someone. Luckily, during the day each character has a predetermined location.

The city of Britain is rather large and you could get lost. Two north-south roads allow a reference frame: Noble Road, from the south entrance, and Lord British Lane, that starts from the castle gates.

Main plot

 * Patterson
 * Clint
 * Batlin
 * Sentri
 * Shamino

Lord British suggested to talk to Patterson the mayor and Clint the shipwright. Let us start with the former. Leave the castle and go south along Lord British Lane, then turn east at the first crossroad to find the entrance to the town hall. Patterson gives informations about the ritualistic murder of Finster a few years earlier. He also mentions his wife Judith and his political opponent Brownie: see below, in the "Side quests" section.

Clint can be found at the south end of Lord British Lane. Ask him about the Crown Jewel. For more information about the ship, you should ask to the leader of the Fellowship.

The Fellowship Hall is south-west from the castle, on the west side of Noble Road, just south of the theatre. Interrogate Batlin about everything (he tells you that Elizabeth and Abraham have headed to Minoc), and will also ask you if you wish to join the Fellowship. If you agree, you will start the optional but difficult side-quest involving ../The Fellowship and Dungeon Destard/ (actually, you can choose between joining the Fellowship or getting the magic carpet, that you will learn about in ../Cove/). Before you leave, grab the blue key near the yellow potion and open the chest in the west room. You'll find an interesting note and 48 gold, so take them if you want. Since your companions say nothing, it means it is not considered stealing (as in "stealing from thieves").

Now head off and hunt for Sentri. He lives in the west of town, just south-west from the Fellowship Hall. He is more than a plain fighter, he is a trainer. Better yet he offers free Dexterity (and combat) training, with no limit to the number of sessions he'll give. You'll find a key in his bedroom that will provide access to his armoury.


 * Sentri's armoury:
 * Morning star & two-handed sword;
 * Plate armour, plate leggings, ganuntlets and great helm.

Next head to the Blue Boar tavern and get Shamino on your party (hold off on doing this if you want to see a funny tryst involving him and his latest girl, see below). The tavern is between Noble Road and Lord British Lane. Be sure to ask for your pocketwatch as this allows you to find the exact time of day without hunting for a sundial; very useful for some parts of the game.

Side quests
There are many things to do in Britain.


 * Judith (Patterson's infidelity)
 * Brownie (Patterson's infidelity, Brownie's pumpkins)
 * Candice (Patterson's infidelity)
 * Gaye (Raymundo's audition)
 * Raymundo (Raymundo's audition)
 * Figg (Weston's story)
 * Mack (Mack's eggs, hoe of destruction)

Patterson mentioned his wife Judith. She can be found at the Music Hall, just south-west from the castle, across the road. She is very unhappy with her husband. The farmer Brownie, who lives in the east end of town before the bridge, has more information about the problem.

Now head into the museum, that is just south of the music hall. Talk to Candice, the museum curator, and she will reveal that she is Patterson's lover. Head into the right-hand room and grab the stones and swamp boots. Your companions won't complain about you stealing as these items were yours in the first place. Candice will even explain you how to use the stones for teleporting. Before using the Mark spell, know that ach stone is "marked" with a location by default, as follows: 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 (The best prices for the Mark and Recall spells are from Mariah in ../Moonglow/.)
 * Blue: Shrine of Honesty (isle with Dungeon Despise)
 * Yellow: Shrine of Compassion (near Cove)
 * Red: Shrine of Valor (isle south of Jhelom)
 * Green: Shrine of Justice (north-east from Empath Abbey)
 * Orange: Shrine of Sacrifice (east of Vesper)
 * Purple: Shrine of Honor (south of Trinsic)
 * White: Castle Britannia
 * Black: Britain, inside the provisioner's shop

At the end of a Fellowship meeting (at midnight) you can talk to Patterson while he is inconveniently near to Candice (that is, on the same screen). If you miss them, you can find the couple at Candice's home, that is at the extreme north of town, just next the north-east tower of the castle. He will admit his fault and promise to be faithful to his wife from now on. Upon completing this side quest, you get 60 experience points.

In the meanwhile, Brownie needed some help to move his pumpkins. Pick up the 27 pumpkins that are at the north end of his field (still on the east end of town) and bring them to him. Upon completing this task, you will receive 27 gold coins (every little helps).

Raymundo is the dramaturgist at the royal theatre, just south-west of the castle. He will invite the Avatar to an audition, but he requires the candidate to wear an Avatar costume. You can buy one from Gaye the clothier for 30 gold coins. Her shop is to the south, between Noble Road and Lord British Lane. After the audition, you will receive 20 experience points.

Beyond Brownie's farm lives Mack. He raises chicken and will pay 1 gold coin per egg, but his chicken lay a limited amount of eggs per day. More interesting, he owns the Hoe of Destruction, but he lost the key to the shack in Lock Lake, that is near ../Cove/. Since the game lacks any way to swim or dive, you can already expect that a fish probably swallowed that key. Also double-click the downed spaceship in the nearby field to hear the Wing Commander theme song.

Love stories
No reward comes from solving these love stories, but they add lore and depth to the setting.


 * Charles: castle servant
 * Jeanette: barmaid working at the Blue Boar Tavern
 * Willy: baker
 * Lucy: owner of the Blue Boar Tavern

Charles (in the Castle) loves Jeanette, who loves Willy, who loves Gaye, who cares little. If Lucy is nearby when you talk to Jeanette, the former will put some sense into the latter's head, and this "love quadrangle" will be solved. No reward for the Avatar, though.


 * Nell: castle servant
 * Carrocio: overseer of the play ground

Nell is the room maid in the castle. Talk to her, and you will discover that she is pregnant. The father is, with all probability, the puppet master Carrocio, who works in the playground just south-west of the castle. You can talk to both, and keep their secret, or you can reveal it to Nell's brother, Charles.

Take Carrocio's strength test. It is free, and if your strength attribute is high enough (some training will help here) you'll win a toy dragon. The other toy in the "set", a Treasure Troll, is only found on James, one of the Avatar actors (with the Interactions mod it can also be crafted by the player).


 * James: owner and proprietor of the Wayfarer's Inn

James owns and runs the inn in town (one of the most expensive ones in the kingdom: stay away!). His wife Cynthia works at the royal mint, and he is afraid she will get tired of him. Talk to both

Services
Buyers:
 * Cynthia: director of the Royal Mint
 * Sean: jeweler
 * Kessler: apothecary

Unlike any previous Ultima (except for Ultima 2), it is impossible to sell surplus weapons and armours. In Ultima 7, all you can do is exchange treasures for gold coins.

Cynthia of the Royal Mint will exchange gold nuggets for 30 Gold Coins and gold bars for 100 Gold Coins. Her office is just outside Castle Britannia, across the road to the south-east. It is one of the few buildings with entrance from the west.

Sean the jeweller will buy any jewel you found for 30 Gold Coins. His shop can be found at the south end of Lord British Lane (after two bends) on the west side, in front of the shipwright.

Kessler the apothecary will buy any vial of silver serpent venom for 50 God Coins. His shop is on the west side of Noble Road, north of the market.

Sellers:
 * Trainers: Sentri, Denby, Zella
 * Provisions: Greg
 * Food sellers: Fred, Kelly, Gordon, Willy, Jeanette, Lucy
 * Healer: Csil
 * Weapons dealers: Coop (ranged weapons) and Grayson (close-combat weapons and armours)
 * Innkeeper: James
 * Stable keeper: Diane

Money making
Besides killing, there are a few legitimate ways to make money.


 *  Trade mutton between Fred and Boots

(See above, in the castle)


 *  Bake bread for Willy

Visit the baker and talk to him for a bit. Eventually the option to work for him will come up, so agree to this. He'll give you five gold for every five loaves, so get baking!


 * 1) Double-click on a bag of flour and then click on a clear space on a tabletop.
 * 2) Double-click on the bucket of water (in the SW corner) and then click on the flour (Interactions mod only)
 * 3) Pick up the ball of dough and place it in the oven.
 * 4) Pocket the finished loaf.
 * 5) Once you have five, talk to him to claim your payment.

Note that the mantlepiece above the hearth is also a baking surface! Every flat spot on there except for the far left corner can produce bread. You'll know it's working when your companions say their standard overcooking lines. This means that the bakery can actually produce six loaves at a time. This helps a lot when the baker's own baking takes up all the room and delays your own being put in to cook.

Note that any bread you bake yourself is yours and can be pocketed or eaten straight from the oven without penalty. Also note that if you make a quantity of loaves that isn't divisible by five you won't get full price for the additional ones. Also note that if you help the baker by putting his dough in the oven that bread will actually count as yours, thus allowing faster income.


 *  Pick eggs for Mack


 * 1) Collect eggs
 * 2) Sell to Mack

This occupation can net you just about 3 Gold Coins per day.


 *  Make bandages using Gaye's tools


 * 1) Double-click on a bale of wool and then click on the spinning wheel to make thread
 * 2) Double-click on the thread and then click on the loom to make cloth
 * 3) Double-click on shears and then click on some cloth or clothes to make bandages
 * 4) Double-click on bandages and click on a party member to partially heal him or her

Note that the colour of the thread is random, but the cloth and clothes made from it seem to maintain that same colour.

Lore

 * Amber: actress at the Royal Theatre and Shamino's girlfriend
 * Jesse: actor at the Royal Theatre
 * Millie: recruiter for the Fellowship
 * Neno: musician
 * Snaz: beggar
 * Stuart: actor at the Royal Theatre