Ernesto

Ernesto is second in command of the Rangers of Moonshade, a city on the Serpent Isle during the time of Ultima VII Part Two.

Description
The Rangers of Moonshade were tasked with the dual functions of keeping the peace amongst the feuding denizens of the city and producing famous artisan wines. Ernesto served as an officer for Julia, commander of the Rangers.

Ernesto survived the destruction of the city when the Anarchy Bane, possessing the body of Shamino, overtook Moonshade and killed much of the populace. Whether he was under the sway of the bane or was simply overlooked during the slaughter is unknown.

Trivia

 * The model for Ernesto's character portrait is Origin employee Billy Cain, who was a writer for the Super Nintendo versions of The Savage Empire and Ultima VII, before taking the role of lead designer on Wing Commander: Prophecy. In the early 90s, Cain was also the bassist for Culture Shock, a local metal band acknowledged in the Ultima VII Part Two credits as "Official Serpent Isle Band". Other members of Culture Shock included Mike Fuger (guitar), BZ Lewis (guitar), and Jared Thurman (drums), who also appear in the game as Topo, Mortegro, and Sethys, respectively.


 * Ernesto's post-apocalypse dialogue is one of the few to survive the content changes Ultima VII Part Two endured in order to meet its deadline.


 * According to the game's original design documents, Ernesto was intended to have begun making bizarre magical wines after Shamino the Anarch overtook the city, which would have produced effects ranging from passing out, to going into rages, to stumbling along in drunken fits after imbibing a single sip of the brew.

Technical
Ernesto does not exist as a numbered NPC, but as a subset of the ranger shape. Eggs spawn him at different locations in town but are not timed correctly, at times causing him to disappear or duplicate.