Dear Diary,

I thought that I would be safe after escaping from The Disaster. Unfortunately, there's no such luck in this wretched world of today.

Like many others, I barely made it out of Stone Ville. We immediately banded together as a group, no matter what our origins or stories were. We were alive, we needed to survive, and that was enough for us. We walked away, walked and walked... so much walking. I didn't know feet could endure this much. Still, we needed to get far, find something new.

The storm hit without warning. We had been forced to set camp in the middle of everlasting plains, far from the protection of any trees or mountains. It turned into such a mess. Winds with the strength of the Gods ripped through our poor fabrics, and the thunder was so loud and frequent that even shouting didn't allow us to communicate. And the lightning, the lightning... Poor Bob, he never had a chance. He was the first to be stricken, before we could realize what was happening.

Chaos engulfed us, primitive instincts guiding us. Everyone took off running, grabbing whatever limited supplies they could. When the skies finally cleared, after what felt like eons, I realized that I was alone. Alone. I must have gotten confused and ran the wrong way. Some of the elders of our group knew of a location called... I don't remember now. It doesn't matter. It was Blood-something. It apparently had safe walls to protect us, to rebuild. This was lost to me, though. So I resumed walking. So much walking. My feet couldn't even hurt anymore.

At last, I found something. A tremendous place, filled with wonders! Was I dreaming? No, I couldn't be. This was it - safety! I reached it at sunset, looking forward to meet its inhabitants, find shelter, get some rest, be reborn! ... If only I had known... I could have avoided this cursed place. For, as the sun set, I realized something with horror: there were no lights. This marvel was getting absolutely, terribly dark, a mirror of how my mind was clouding after that brief feeling of relief. Something had happened here too. I need to find out what it is.

But, wait. What is this noise? Is there anybody there?

Oh no. NO.

They're coming!

They're coming...

...

---

UHC round 4 is live! Best of luck to everyone involved!

I wanted to set up specific rewards in Merit Points for completing specific objectives, like managing to kill other players, but some last minute thoughts make this impractical for now. I'm hoping to be able to flesh that out by next month.

On a related note, an update to the Merit Points system should be published sometime in the coming month. Stay tuned... and good luck!