Years later, I stumbled across a rumor sold to me by the scribe in Sawato (28.7 S, 59.3 E), which reminded me of the grisly end of Abmin. It read:

There is said to be a drunken madman living in a tower to the south of Baishi (49.5 S, 62.5 E) who says something about the path of strife. If you wish to meet him, take the ridge that rises up to the south of Baishi, and follow it as it curves to the right. There stands the forsaken tower of evil. It is said that only those who shun safety and peace between fellow human spirits should consider meeting this madman, but I don't really know what that means.

I investigated this rumor, at great personal risk, and detailed below are my findings.

I found that to remove yourself from Asheron's protection, and become a player killer, you must swear allegiance to the demon Bael'Zharon at one of several altars his minions have provided for this purpose. The easiest to access is located in the depths of the Accursed Halls, to which the drunken madman near Baishi (49.5 S, 62.5 E) knows the path.

Be warned however - becoming a player killer is dangerous, and not to be undertaken lightly. The conversion is not permanent, but there is a three hour (in-game, logged on) time wait after taking the life of another before you can return to the Light.

Your first port of call is therefore Baishi (49.5 S, 62.5 E), where you should pick up some sake from the bartender. From there, make your way southwest to the Drunken Madman's Tower at (53S, 61E). You would be well-advised to read the note outside before handing the drunken madman your sake, and taking the portal out to the Walled Fort (21.6S, 74.6W) in the Direlands. From the Walled Fort, take the Outside the Accursed Halls Portal, and from there, enter the Accursed Halls. (Map can be found here )

Once in the halls, you will find yourself in a room with one vendor and an exit. Take the exit, and turn left. Follow the corridor into a large room, and take the exit on the left. Turn right, and follow the corridor to a Y junction upstairs. Take the left fork, follow the stairs, and you should find yourself in a raised area where you can go forwards and back downwards, or turn right and go up. Turn right here, and go straight across this room into a corridor. At the end of this corridor, turn left. You should now be facing a large room with a ramp in the middle of it. Take this ramp, and turn left at the top.

You should now be in front of the Altar of Bael'Zharon, which you must double-click to use. Once this is done, you will become one of Bael'Zharon's Chosen, a Player Killer (you are now a red dot on the radar screen). It should also be noted that as a Player Killer your corpse is free to be looted by other Player Killers, and once opened, lootable by all. You may not use the /permit add "person" to help you recover your corpse if that person is a Non Player Killer (NPK).

In my travels, I discovered that to return to Asheron's protection, you must use either Adja's Memorial under the Ithaenc Cathedral (Sanctuary), or journey to the Altar of Asheron, in the Trothyr's Rest Dungeon (10.4 N, 54.9 E) near Rithwic (10.6 N, 58.3 E). Three hours must have elapsed after taking the life of another before you will be permitted back into the Light, or the conversion will not be successful. Click here for a walkthough of returning to a NPK.

*Edited by Roewin October 9th, 2002.