Paws

Description
Paws is a small coastal village south of Britain and north of the Fens of the Dead. Long noted for its horses, the hamlet eventually grew into a farming community, although tragically after the economic crisis brought upon it's agricultural industry during the seven year drought, the town became synonymous with poverty and destitution.

Age of Darkness
Paws likely had its origins in the early Age of Darkness, as a city bearing this name could be found in the Lands of Lord British, seemingly within the fiefdom of the Castle of the Lost King. At this era, Paws was situated within a forest a little ways south of the Dungeon of Montor, where it sported a number of shops, in addition to magical waters which often gifted those casting coins into them with boons of wealth or magic.

It is unknown if this original Paws was lost to the strange sundering of Sosaria which followed the defeat of Mondain, or if it was simply abandoned and relocated. Whatever the cause, a settlement called by its name was not seen again until the early Age of Enlightenment in Ultima IV.

Age of Enlightenment
After Lord British's rechristening of the land as Britannia and the ensuing renaissance of the arts and sciences, Paws became a village known for its horses - and was one of the only locales in the nascent realm with animals for sale, in addition to being home to the legendary talking stallion, Smith. During the Quest of the Avatar, the nobles Lord Simon and Lady Tessa could also be found in this small community, guarding the secrets of the Mystic Weapons and Armour.

By the time of the oppressive reign of Lord Blackthorn Ultima V, Paws had changed little, and was still a place of equestrians and stable-tenders. During this time, it appeared that some of the magic of old Paws' waters carried on through the ages, as the well which sprang from the ground at Wishing Well Horses still had the potency to grant wishes - like many other such springs in the land. As the years passed, Paws diversified its trades such that it developed thriving textile and agricultural industries, and was home for several decades to the Cat's Lair, an establishment run by the noted gamester and felinophile, Dr. Cat.

Age of Armageddon
Some twenty years before Ultima VII, Paws, by then largely a farming community, was hit severely by the seven-year drought, which rendered many farm workers destitute or homeless. As Britain expanded southward, the contrast in the two cities economies became increasingly pointed, with Paws slowly developing into a suburban slum of Britannia's capital. In this state of hardship and struggle, Paws became host to the Fellowship workers Feridwyn and Brita, who built and maintained a homeless shelter to provide relief to the community. The regulations of this home for the poor, however, were such that it only took in persons who joined the shelter's parent organization, a rule which created tension with those wary of the Fellowship's aims.

After the eventual disbandment of the Fellowship which followed the Avatar's destruction of the Black Gate, the shelter was closed, and while Feridwyn was intent on reopening it independently of the now banned society, it was never established if this came to fruition. Whatever occurred regarding this, the majority of the village was flooded during the Great Cataclysm, leaving no more than a few scattered huts standing on foul swampland.

By the time of Ultima IX, Paws was a ghettoized colony of exiles who had been sentenced to expulsion from Britain by the greater city's mayor, Aidon. This man, under the influence of the Guardian's columns, had taken to displacing those under his jurisdiction who suffered too greatly from sickness or poverty, using the veneer of compassionate public interest to justify their forcible relocation to Paws. Eventually, the Avatar was able to restore the Shrine of Compassion and to convince Aidon to abandon such practices, although Paws, itself, remained a barely habitable mire.

Ultima IV (Nintendo Port)

 * Teresa: stablehand

Ultima: The Avatar Adventures

 * Mysterious Moe: a small horse

Ultima V

 * Bandaii: mage
 * Danfits: proprietor of The Guild
 * Dr. Cat: tavernkeeper at The Cat's Lair
 * Ferru: stablemaster at Wishing Well Horses
 * Glinkie: adventurer
 * Lorien: innkeeper at The Smugglers' Inn

Ultima V: Lazarus

 * Andrea: farmer
 * Halward: miller
 * Windfer: druid

Ultima VI

 * Arbeth: weaver
 * Dr. Cat: tavernkeeper
 * Dorin: shepherd
 * Grison: miller
 * Hendle: slaughterer
 * Marissa: clothier
 * Merideth: child
 * Mortude: ropemaker
 * Patrick: bard
 * Thindle: weaver
 * Timothy: innkeeper
 * Ubermon: cheese maker



Ultima VII

 * Alina: concerned mother
 * Andrew: milk seller
 * Beverlea: shop owner
 * Brita: wife of Feridwyn
 * Camille: farmer
 * Fenn: beggar
 * Feridwyn: homeless shelter leader
 * Garritt: child
 * Komor: beggar
 * Merrick: former beggar
 * Morfin: slaughterer
 * Polly: tavern owner
 * Thurston: mill owner
 * Tobias: farmer child

Ultima VII (SNES Port)

 * Bear: dock worker
 * Benjamin: Fuqua's son; advocate against the Fellowship
 * Frances: mayor
 * Fuqua: chief guard
 * Gaydos: treasurer
 * Jason: barfly
 * Laura: provisioner
 * Loomis: innkeeper
 * Samuel: Fellowship Branch leader



Ultima IX

 * Barny: burning child
 * Bella: windmill operator
 * Hayley: healer
 * Jared: orphan child
 * Melvin: mage
 * Meribeth: daughter of mayor of Britain
 * Peg-leg Joe: beggar
 * Tristan: bandit
 * Ugh: Troll at the entrance bridge
 * Wilma: prisoner



Ultima I

 * Cold Steel Creations: weaponsmith
 * The Brown Bag: grocery
 * The Hammer -n- Anvil: armoury
 * Psychic Sam's Magical Emporium: magic shop
 * Quality Transport Ltd: transport shop
 * Teaser's House: tavern

Ultima IV

 * Folley Tavern: tavern
 * Light Armour: armoury
 * The Magics: apothecary
 * The Market: grocery
 * Stables: stables

Ultima V

 * The Cat's Lair: inn
 * The Guild: guild shop
 * The Smugglers' Inn: inn
 * Wishing Well Horses: stable

Ultima VI

 * The Cat's Lair: inn/tavern

Ultima VII

 * House of Items: shop
 * The Salty Dog: tavern

Things to see

 * Flour Mill
 * Homeless Shelter

Trivia

 * In Ultima I, the cities of Paws (in the Lands of Lord British), Owen (in the Lands of the Feudal Lords), Gauntlet (in the Lands of the Dark Unknown), and Wheeler (in the Lands of Danger and Despair) were facsimiles of each other. With identical layouts, stores, and occupants, these four settlements differed only in name and location.
 * Rather than the squalid, bog-ridden colony it eventually became, Paws appears to have once remained the functional and otherwise unremarkable town of previous installments in earlier drafts of Ultima IX. A screenshot of the game's world editor, originating from Bob White's tenure as lead designer, indicates little in the way of superficial deterioration in this version of Ascension.