Smith the Horse

Smith the Horse, a recurring character in the Ultima series, is a talking horse often found in the stable of Iolo's Hut near Yew. He has a predilection for sarcasm, but tries to give vital information. This advice, while crucial in the relevant context, is ultimately useless to the Avatar since it always relates to the hero's previous adventure.

Despite his strange personality quirk of being one game behind the times (or perhaps because of it), Smith is one of the more beloved NPCs among Ultima fans.

Biography
In Ultima IV, Smith appeared in the stables of Paws, where he would answer if spoken to, but had little to say. A young stable hand named Francesca would tell the Stranger of Smith and of his power of speech, after the hero dispatched a hostile bull named Red Eye.

In Ultima V, Smith could be encountered when the Avatar visited Iolo's hut again after initially departing from it. The stallion would admit to having forgotten to tell the hero something of import, and would impart that the "answer" was "Infinity," referencing the final riddle in the Abyss during Ultima IV.

In Ultima VI, Smith was the ultimate destination in a trans-Britannian scavenger hunt organized by Chuckles. When the Avatar spoke to him, he would reveal that he was on a mission to curb the amount of hay present in the kingdom, lest it engulfed the realm. He proudly proclaimed "Hay, thou hath met thy nemesis, thy doom, and his name is Smith!" If pressed for a clue, Smith would instruct the Avatar to remember to bring Lord British's Sandalwood Box when rescuing him from the Underworld, referring to the end game of Ultima V.

In Martian Dreams, Smith appeared in the nightmares of Wyatt Earp, offering the hero a clue if they would successfully buy him at the auction taking place in the dream. If the hero obliged, Smith would explain the significance of using some manner of gem in a holder on a great plateau (a reference to the use of the Kotl Gem to discover the lost city of Kotl in the Savage Empire) and would then continue, saying that Lord British's Castle and Dungeon Covetous had cook pots that could fly. (a reference to the construction of a hot air balloon in Ultima VI)

In Ultima VII, Smith proved glib and sarcastic, making belittling comments about the Avatar's intelligence, and joking about his own skills at interior decoration. No matter what the Avatar thought of them - Smith insisted the hero to be in bad taste. When finally pressured into providing a clue, under threats of being used in glue manufacture, Smith informed the Avatar that the gargoyles were not evil (a reference to the long past wars of Ultima VI), and that Rasputin was, in fact, an evil Martian. (a reference to Raxachk from Martian Dreams)

In Ultima VII Part Two, Smith made his last appearance in the series. He could be found in the Dream Realm which could be entered by those traveling through Gorlab Swamp. Here, in the guise of a nightmare, he explained the importance of Rudyom's Wand and the urgent necessity of destroying the Black Gate, referencing the end game events of Ultima VII. When it was explained to him that the clue was again useless, however, he apologized, and was on the verge of divulging a clue pertaining to the Avatar's current quest on Serpent Isle when he was awakened from his dream and vanished.

Trivia



 * The "useless hint" joke came about because Smith was supposed to give a vital clue in Ultima IV, but the programmers forgot to add it into his conversation tree. When designing Ultima V, they decided to put Smith back in the game and, as a joke, had him give the hint he was supposed to provide in Ultima IV. Following this, it became a running gag in the series to make Smith one game out-of-sync.
 * In Ultima IV, Smith is described as "a white stallion," which contradicts all his other Ultima appearances, where he is portrayed as a brownish roan horse.
 * In the NES-port of Ultima V, which has no horses, Bandaii will give Smith's clue in his place, explaining that the horse is in hiding for fear of being eaten.
 * In Ultima IX, a woman named Cleo in Dungeon Wrong stands accused of killing all the horses of Britannia and claims to be a friend of Smith's, alleging him to be located in a tree near Paws. Originally, the Avatar was supposed to find Smith's body there and return to Cleo, upon which she would have given a clue relating to Ultima VIII - in typical Smith fashion. However, while there are hanging horse carcasses to be found, none of them appear to be Smith and the easter egg usually cannot be triggered. Only in some cases due to a rare bug Cleo reveals the clue directly instead of speaking her usual lines when the Avatar meets her for the first time, telling him that the four titans are just a scheme plotted by The Guardian.