Another question:

How do I get the white virtue stone in this game

They say its above this place called the serpents spine so I either need to use a ballon or blink spell.

But I am doing the balloon method so how does it work do I press "search" as the balloon is flying or do I land on the spot to search it, I am confused.

You land near the site and then search while on foot.

Not at all true. The shrines tell you when you become part-Avatar at each. "Thou art granted a vision!" and a big runic letter appears in front of your face, taking up the whole playable area of the screen.

You' re right, I never payed attention to the runes in the cutscenes
http://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Virtues_in_Ultima_IV
You still need to translate the runes and arrange them in the right order. I was thinking of Smith the Horse, who was supposed to give you the full axiom, but the developers forgot, that's why he gives you the hint in retrospect in Ultima V
http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Smith_the_Horse