A Gold Crown and a Copper Piece from Ultima I
In Ultima I Shamino is a lord in the Land of Danger and Despair. As those who have played Serpent's Isle know, this is not the last we are to hear of that matter...
It is, however, another matter I wish to ponder: Shamino asks thee to go forth and slay a Balron. Once the stranger completes this quest and returns to Shamino he says the following: "For this I shall tell thee to take nine items from my storerooms - but only nine! The king also gives thee a white gem!"
As ye may know Shamino is the name, which Richard Garriott wore as a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism. So Shamino is in other words an RG alter ego. Now it proves that 9 core ultimas were made before Richard Garriott left Origin. I know that some may say this connection is far fetched, but still it puzzles me. The only thing which was connected to the number nine in Ultima I was the number of dungeons on each continent. Yet, that could hardly hold any importance in this matter or?
Why exactly nine things? And why exactly in the Quest given by Shamino?
Is this indeed just a coincidence or is it to be read as a strange sign of prediction written to be read only in the light of retrospection?
If it was, then it would indeed not be the first time that that kind of prediction happened. Those who played Ultima I might well remember, that the symbol of the Ankh and symbol of The Codex of Ultimate Wisdom were both to be found in Ultima I. Both in the manual on page 6 (the ankh) and page 18 (the codex), but also on the back of the very coins of the realm. It should be noted, that both of these symbols first played a role from Ultima IV and onward.