Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue

Warner Books published a novel sharing the name of this game, nominally set between Ultimas 4 and 5, under their "Questar Fantasy" imprint. It was printed in January of 1991, written by renowned fantasy author Lynn Abbey. Its ISBN is 0445210656 and it is the first in a series of Ultima novels, followed by another one by Lynn Abbey a year later, The Temper of Wisdom, and a Technocrat trilogy by a different author and under a different publisher.

The Forge of Virtue's back page blurb reads:

BRITANNIA... is the wondrous land Lord British made with his own hands. A place where magic is science and evil a fading memory. A society of universal enlightenment now so close to perfection that both its creator and heroic Avator (sic) believe -- unfortunately -- that Britannia can be safe without them.

THE FORGE OF VIRTUE

Four young adventurers: Lord Ironhawk's son Jordan Hawson, beautiful Althea, a headstrong blacksmith named Drum, and Jordan's kid brother Squirt heed a mystic globe's dark warning to find Balthan, Althea's magician brother.

It is a quest that will take them through the perils of trolls, harpies, and gypsies until they discover the mission is far more crucial than they ever imagined. A vast evil has sunk its claws into Britannia. Lord British's ruling Council of Mages is in hiding, its members marked for death. And only the elusive Balthan knows the truth behind it all.