Sir Simon

Sir Simon is a man of importance throughout the Britannian Age of Enlightenment. Together with his lady, Tessa, he has long been of service to Britannia, standing for  virtue and guarding over artifacts of great import. He appears in Ultima III through  VI.

Age of Darkness
A Sir Simon the Slayer was listed as part of a project known as the "Great Work" during the era of Exodus. This momentous undertaking, spearheaded by Lord British, sought to produce a series of detailed maps of Sosaria, based upon the exploratory travels of brave men and women. In his part of the Work, Simon explored and mapped the desolate settlement of Death Gulch, a city among the eastern islands of Sosaria known for its criminality and vice.

Age of Enlightenment
After the hellspawn's eventual defeat, Lord British sought to usher in a new era of scholarship and virtuous pursuits for his kingdom, which he rechristened Britannia. At the time when the young king put out a call for a champion to lead his people into this Age of Enlightenment, Simon could be found alongside Tessa in the village of Paws. Here, the nobleman awaited a hero who had attained partial Avatarhood in the newly established Eight Virtues, that he might bestow upon them knowledge of the Mystic Armour which had been entrusted to him by the smith, Zircon. When the Stranger arrived in the hamlet after having attained the blessings of the shrines, Simon revealed to them that he had hidden the equipment in the sacred Oak Grove of Empath Abbey.

Years after his encounter with the one who would become the Avatar, Simon and his wife would bear witness to the rise of Lord Blackthorn and his corrupt Oppression. Deeply loyal to Lord British even amidst such adversity, the two nobles would ally themselves with the kingdom's Resistance, fleeing to a remote keep known as Bordermarch and offering support to those who would defy the regent. Should the Avatar seek him out here, Simon would speak as to the importance of recovering the missing monarch's Crown Jewels, relaying knowledge of the powers possessed by the king's crown and sceptre, which the Avatar would eventually need to procure the sovereign's freedom.

Following Lord British's return from his imprisonment in the dungeon Doom, the vast Underworld which lay beneath Britannia collapsed - an event accompanied by great earthquakes and upheavals which would sink the isle of Bordermarch into the Great Sea. With his wife, Simon escaped his ruined castle, finding sanctuary on the Isle of Deeds, where he would eventually attain lordship over Serpent's Hold. The Avatar could again meet with the aging lord during their quests regarding the gargoyle invasion, and could learn from the nobleman of the mantra of Valor, which the graying knight had entrusted to the wandering bard, Culham.

Ultima V: Lazarus
In Ultima V: Lazarus, Sir Simon had become the Lord Mayor of Trinsic shortly after the Quest of the Avatar. He remained in that office until Lord Blackthorn's Oppression began, when he defied Blackthorn and refused to follow his laws. On the day of the Dark Siege, Lord Blackthorn, Sir Simon, and Lord Malone had sailed against Councilor Windemere's forces on the island of Windemere. Heavily outnumbered, Lord Malone thought they should have surely lost the day, but a dark force arose and wracked Councilor Windemere's ships, leaving Lord Blackthorn untouched. During the carnage, Lord Blackthorn disappeared, and by the time Sir Simon and Lord Malone arrived on the island, the inhabitants had all been slaughtered to a man. Sir Simon, realizing Blackthorn's evil nature fled to Trinsic becoming an outlaw. Blackthorn besieged Trinsic, and eventually conquered it. Sir Simon was then forced to flee to his fortress of Bordermarch. The noble lord lamented that he had once thought Blackthorn an adequate replacement in Lord British's absence, but had been mistaken, feeling he had betrayed Britannia and its true sovereign by initially supporting Blackthorn.

After fleeing to Bordermarch, Sir Simon had continued to oppose the Oppression through the help of Landon, whom Simon praised for his secrecy and efficiency. On Bordermarch, Sir Simon told the hero to speak to all the members of the castle to learn their tale, saying most chose to come together for daily meals except Binthus the cook, who preferred to merely serve, and Norcen, who chose to live by himself. The lord of the keep told the Avatar that Norcen helped guard the keep, and that the hero should mention having spoken to him.

Sir Simon told the hero to speak to his wife Lady Tessa about a secret entrance to Bordermarch that avoided mountain climbing. Sir Simon highly praised his wife's mystic abilities, complimenting her for scrying the location of their new home when they were forced to flee Trinsic.

After speaking to all other inhabitants of Bordermarch, Sir Simon would reveal to the hero that Lord British's Crown was located within Blackthorn's Palace, and that the Shadowlords personally held the Sceptre of Lord British.

Trivia

 * In the Nintendo remake of Ultima IV (where most character names were omitted and dialogue was significantly modified), Sir Simon can be identified with the fighter in the nearby pub, who gives the same information.
 * There is a barony within the Society for Creative Anachronism known as Bordermarch, which was founded by a Sir Simon of the Amber Isle and a Lady Tessa of the Gardens. This fief is in the greater kingdom of Ansteorra, where Richard Garriott has been known to participate in the persona of Shamino Salle' Dacil in the barony of Bryn Gwlad. The Ultima character is based upon this Sir Simon, following Garriott's penchant for giving his friends in the SCA in-game cameos.