http://www.uosecondage.com/PicOfDay/SS20090515.jpg
is entirely incorrect and wrong for this era. The party system was actually added with the UO:Rennisance patch, as evidenced by archived UO publish notes dated 28 Apr 2000 00:00:00 EST(making them nearly a year beyond the target era.) This is a gaping hole in an otherwise good replication of t2a, please fix this issue and remove the party system.
Relevant Publish Notes
The Party System
The party system will allow players to adventure together and communicate more effectively.