Hope you are all enjoying the Midsummer's Faire. I've been working in the background and trying to avoid the drubbing booth.

Thank you for all your good questions. I'll try to answer them all, in no certain order.

The two Premium Token Auctions will not require any money; the items have been donated to members by the Estate Holders.

The silver auction, open to everyone, not just Estate Holders, will be a regular auction, requiring funds.

The Premium Token Auction items, each unique in appearance, though perhaps not in function, are of the finest quality. There will be some wondrous things at both auctions.

Estate holders who have had continuous membership for at least 24 months may attend the first auction on Nov. 6, Saturday night, 8 p.m. EST. If you have been a member less than 24 months, you may attend the second auction, 1 p.m. EST, Sunday, Nov. 7.

Those who become estate holders on Friday may attend the auction on Sunday. I'm happy to welcome all newcomers, and I hope when they see what benefits premium membership provides, they will stick around.

You may check how long you have had uninterrupted membership by typing in the game Premium 10. If you believe that is in error, please write billing@simutronics.com, or use the Do not assist about this, because Gamemasters cannot look at billing records.

The Premium feature was blinky for a few hours after it was activated, but it should be working fine now.

I'm not at liberty to disclose anything regarding the numbers of premium members.

DR-Meriel's original proposal was that the dividing line be set be above and below 1.5 years of membership. However, the decision was made that the dividing line would be between 2 years, as it was felt that folks who have been long term subscribers for the entire 2 years deserved special consideration."

Based on the experience with the token auction in Platinum, the auctions could last as long as 4-6 hours, so if you cannot be there at the beginning, you won't miss out. You may come and go as you wish.

You must be present to bid. There is nothing tangible in the way of an object, a token, to hand off to others. The token allows you to bid. With the token, you are set for bidding. When you "win" an item, you are unset for bidding.

Here's the way it will work.

At the festival grounds, you will see an auction tent. Standing outside will be a clerk. He will check your length of membership, you ask him for a token. He will give you one, one per account.

Inside the tent, the auctioneer will place one item on the table, then hold it up for you to see. He'll give the description and call for the bidding to start. If you want that item, you put your token in a hopper. If your token is chosen from a random drawing, you get the item. You get to bid on each item you wish until your token is chosen. Again, no money is required for the token auction.

As in all auctions, not everyone will get something. But everyone will have an equal chance.

This token auction is in addition to the Long -Term Benefits previously discussed.

The Estate Holders team has been working on mechanics of the benefits package, and you have seen some of the results. The use of scrolls for alterations and Premium 10 are two of the essential elements of the claiming process.

We know we missed the deadline of Oct. 31, and we are working furiously to get this completed. It is very important to all of us. We are hoping for a release soon.

I hope you will enjoy this event. Lots of people have been working very hard for your enjoyment.

Watch for more details in Premium News.

~Winnow