Mack

Mack
Mack, from Ultima VII
Species:	human
Appearances
Ultima VII Location: Britain

Mack is a chicken farmer living on the outskirts of Britain.

Description

Mack was a devoted star-gazer who had been severely affected by a strange encounter he had in his fields. Described by his friends Brownie, Diane and Kelly as being a bit strange – even insane – the harried chicken farmer had, in reality, made genuine and accidental contact with an extra-terrestrial ship while looking into the skies one night – an incident which his fellow Britons were slow to believe.

As Mack would explain it, he had long noticed the phenomenon of shooting stars in the Britannian sky. One night, against all expectations, one of these falling bolts of light fell into his field with a cataclysmic explosion, revealing itself to be a strange machine bearing a fearsome alien "tigerlion" within it. The shocked farmer, witnessing it emerge, heard it say the words "Kill Wrathy" before it stepped forward, accidentally and fatally impaling itself on Mack's serendipitously enchanted Hoe of Destruction

Ever since that night, the bewildered Britannian attempted to explain the encounter to others – but to little avail. While the bizarre fallen device remained in one of his fields as a testament to his encounter, Mack had eaten the body of the "tigerlion" – destroying much of the evidence of his otherworldly visitor.

If asked about (comparatively) more mundane matters, such as his magically enhanced farming implement which had slain the beast, Mack would explain that he had some time ago hired a wizard to empower his hoe to better cut weeds. However, due to the disturbances in the ethereal waves which had left many mages insane or with lost memories, the enchanter had confused his request with that of a warrior who wished his blade to better be able to smite his foes. Unfortunately for the farmer, the knight – now burdened with a sword of weed cutting – had slain the magician before the orders could be corrected, leaving him with a "Hoe of Destruction." Not one with a pressing need for powerful weaponry, Mack had consigned the tool to his storage shed, the key to which he had lost during a fishing expedition to Lock Lake. Having no use for such an artifact, the farmer kindly willed it to the Avatar, should the hero be able to extricate it from its current resting place.

Aside from such fantastical stories, Mack had a practical and simple job for the Avatar should the hero wish to earn some wages. Being, after all his strange adventures, a simple chicken farmer, Mack had need of somebody to gather eggs for him, and would pay the hero a gold coin a piece for each one gathered.

Lore

“	And two farmers, Brownie and Mack, each pay gold for unskilled labor. Brownie needs help picking pumpkins from his patch and Mack does not usually have time to gather the eggs from his chicken coop every three hours. – from Key to the Black Gate (Ultima VII)

Trivia

• The "tigerlion" is a member of the Kilrathi, a sapient race of bipedal feline aliens which eventually come to be embroiled in a bloody war against Terran humanity in the Wing Commander series (also by Origin Systems). The starship which has landed in Mack's field is a Kilrathi Superfighter.
• Mack himself may be a reference to real life New Mexican rancher William "Mack" Brazel, whose ranch was the site of the mysterious debris field that became the focus of what is now known as the "Roswell UFO Incident."
• The shed containing the Hoe of Destruction may be opened with a key found in one of the dead fish surrounding Lock Lake. A more inelegant solution to acquiring the weapon, however, may be produced with calculated use of a powder keg or cannon. The key for the secret chest south of Trinsic also works.

Gallery

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  The Kilrathi fighter in Mack's field

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  Where to find Mack's key