Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
- 965 All Categories
- 17 Games
- 1 aw2-mapbp
- 365 Richland
- SDHSR
- 4 two-detroits
- 96 aw2e-dvfp
- 53 ISS Tsiolkovsky
- 82 Fury
- Urban Shadows
- 24 LadyB
- 11 AnR
- 4 Junk World 2.0
- 68 PnR
- 23 DRYH
- Jeffland
- The Few
- 11 Other
- 11 General
- 576 Complete
- 12 burning-empires
- 8 aota-jam
- 17 Uncharted Worlds
- Uncharted
- 23 nullptr-veil
- 9 ajax-motw
- 2 tqy-am
- 52 NOVA
- 11 Serene Apocalypse
- jenn-soti
- 63 SWAW
- 13 Blades
- 2 Fall Of Magic
- 12 Generations
- 25 LA Monsters
- tqy
- 32 nupocalypse
- 120 Snowpocalypse
- 136 Junkworld XIII
- 27 Big Maul
- 6 ESC
- 1 Murderous Ghosts
- 17 ANN_pilot
[In and Out] Castles and Grebes (1.4)
What do you want to do, Abby? I'm over by the big willow tree.
You find the tree Jace mentioned, and stroll over, to the far side. You haven't been made yet, by the people staring at the grebes, mostly motionless, clearly thinking or communicating with someone.
Jace appears to you in the shadow of the tree, materializing in a brief sparkle. I know you had to go to work, but I wish you'd been here when the second bird showed up. I was the only one here. How was your night? And what do you think we should do now?
She's asking you to make a decision, Trevian, what do you do?
Comments
Nothing too obvious, when the second bird arrived, but that backdrop NPC fishing at the end of the dock got an old-school quest-giver question-mark for like three seconds, then it disappeared. Other people showed up just after, so I didn't go out and check.
He's just holding his line out in the water, reeling it in and casting it out again in a predictable loop.
What do you do?
As you saunter casually to the end of the dock, Jace alongside, the fisherman ignores you. When you spend a moment looking out at the pair of birds, though, the old-school quest indicator Jace mentioned appears again.
When you engage the old man, he turns to look at you, blinking. "Why, hello there. I used to be an adventurer, like you, then I took an arrow in the knee. Now I just fish here, day in and day out. I suppose you're here to find out more about Razeth the Mad, eh? Well, old Izaak Walton isn't just a fisherman. In my day, I was regarded as quite the expert on matters draconian. Razel was once known as Gha'sulayam, and before the madness took him, he claimed much of these mountains. You will find his ancient lair there," he gestures with his pole at the backdrop of peaks, "Near the shrine to A'lyssor. The dragon is no longer there, but perhaps some clue is?" He returns to his fishing, and the question mark disappears.
Jace lets out a contented sigh. "I know Gha'sulayam and A'lyssor. Will need some research to find a location, though."
Jace sighs over the chat channel. Bloo and BrokeNL got into it pretty bad. You know Broke's a lawyer, right? He had this, like, thirty page contract, with shares divvied up based on seniority in the clan and "significant contributions," whatever that means. Bloo just started shouting for Broke to go fuck himself, called him a fascist. So, no, we don't need to share with the clan right now. There may not be a clan tomorrow. Everybody's cliqued up.
You reach the NPC. "So, do you have time to keep going, if I can figure out where the Shrine is?"
Wow, I don't normally get all preachy. I hope Jace gives me some slack about that one.
"Let's find the shrine, I've got a few minutes."
"Got it! I think I can get us there." Jace talks while you walk. And walk and walk. "A'Lyssor is deep Lore, and so is Gha'sulayam. She was the fertility goddess of the Lost Elves, who are mentioned as part of that one quest tree for Ardents. She pauses to focus on negotiating a climb. "Gha'sulayam is interesting. One of the Elder Dragons, but he just sort of disappears from Lore a thousand years before Game Time."
You walk, run, climb, slide and crawl for twenty minutes, until you finally see this:
Within the small shrine is a statue of A'Lyssor. Aside from that, the structure seems empty. There is nothing obvious nearby that looks like a potential "lair."
What do you do?
"Can you help me search the nearby area for a few? Maybe we can find an entrance."
You touch the statue's knee and it does not feel like stone. There is some give through the pressure pads of your gloves, and as you focus on the point where you are touching, the color begins to change, to warm, until it is most definitely flesh, even if it is still pale.
You look up to see:
Jace gasps as the goddess blinks slowly. A'Lyssor grips you on either side of the head with strong hands and pulls you to her for a long, deep kiss that engages the haptics in a new way, sending tingles through the contacts leading from the Oculus Rift and a quick humming vibration through your palms.
Once she has finished with that, she speaks in a rich, thrilling alto. "Gege 'ikun inunba. Bacen 'ikun inunba. Osen kahihe ikez enba? If I want you. You are mine. Why have you wakened me?"
What do you do?
I try to RP it since she's some kind of special NPC, "Goddess A'Lyssor," I bow my head as best as I can without leaving her embrace. I don't want to leave her embrace in the slightest, "My questmate and I seek Razeth the Mad, once known as Gha'sulayam. Can you aide us?"
Holy... shit, Trevian.
Egegos izerun izkina, a egegos gakaba izkina? Are you here to worship me, or are you here to question me?
She strokes your hair for a moment before placing her hands on your shoulders. Flames begin to flicker behind the dark irises of her eyes.
What do you do?
She leans down to sniff at the base of your neck. I smell the blood of Empires in you, little one. Living and dead, both. You are more than you know, I think.
She strokes your hair for a moment before placing her hands on your shoulders. Flames begin to flicker behind the dark irises of her eyes.
I will give you a secret, in exchange for this elf you have brought with you. She will be ample sacrifice and she reminds me of my lost people. What say you, little prince?
What do you do?
I look back at this goddess, "How long will you... keep her? She is my questmate, goddess A'Lyssor. I need her aid to defeat the menace that threatens our realm."
Trev, I do not want to be a sacrifice. I would rather not win the money than not participate in this quest, and none of my alts is up to snuff right now.
The goddess's eyes flash. I will keep her until you return to me with an appropriate libation, and no longer. I assure you, she will be unharmed.
In a flash, A'Lyssor is standing in front of Jace, reaching out a hand to stroke her cheek. She might even enjoy it, yes?
Uh, Trevian? What the hell?
This is new. Completely. You have never had an interaction like this with an NPC before.
What do you do?
Ummm... I've been keeping track of the boards. People are being cagey about spoilers, obviously, but apparently some of the quest instances are one-time only, unique. Procedurally generated, maybe? Anyway, we'd lose the last hour, be behind. If we started again. Also, your pal Roddik and his FenixBoyz are bragging about progress. Prolly bullshit, right? Get the secret, go, leave me with her for now, I'll check the Lore for what she's thirsty for...
The goddess has turned back to you, gazing with those burning eyes.
Your phone buzzes.
From: Jessi You making it over tonight? I'm horrrrrrny.In game. I bow to her, "My questmate will stay with you. Please treat her well, if you so wish. Where might I find the libation you require, my deity?"
I'll keep my toon in, in case it's in-game time she's looking for. I've got duplex goggles, I can research and keep an eye on the game at the same time. Do you have a hot date or something? 1.4 Billion dollars, Abby.
There is a palm wine, made on the shores of Kahanu'ii. I would wish to taste this again, princeling. Bring this to me, and you will have your secret and your elf.
Your elf? Can I kill her, Abby?
In game. I bow to her, "Very well, goddess A'Lyssor. I will quest for the Kahanu'ii palm wine." I head out of the shrine and start making my way to Kahanu'ii.
I pull the visor enough to send a text back to Jessi:
Roomie broke up with BF. Big drama. Will be there soon. Will make your dreams come true.Then I'm porting over to Kahanu'ii as fast as I can. Wine -> shrine -> free Jace -> secret -> log out -> go to Jessi's.
I can do this. I can do this!
Trev, the palm wine is another quest, but it's selling on the secondary market for 20K gold. How're your pockets? Might be able to avoid the hassle and get to your... whatever... sooner.
"I've got 16K right now, and a topaz worth 5K. I can squeak by with it. Give me a couple to hit the bank and the merchant. Be Ar Bee."
I'll grab my stuff and do the secondary market option, then swing back to turn-in with the goddess. I'm curious... what's she doing to Jace's toon?
After spending most of your reserves, you acquire your goal. You re-enter the shrine, and the goddess and your friend are nowhere to be seen. You have a sealed decanter of pricey Kahanu'ii palm wine in your 90-slot rucksack. Abaddon, what do you do?
Silence, except for the wind through the columns. Nothing happens.
She's in the game, you can see that from clan status in your HUD. But no response over the chat channel. Also, your phone buzzes again.
You check your phone. Another message from Jessi. Just a picture:
Jessi, you've learned, is one of those people that gets horny when she smokes up. Usually a good thing.
You're about to pull the visor back down when an IM pings on your phone, to the address associated with the clan forums.
From: Jace This place is cool, but I can't chat out. The goddess is trying to seduce me, I think.Text to Jessi: hahaha, nice! About to roll out.To Jace: Go ahead and tap that! lol I've got the loot for turn-in. Tell her I can give her the wine. I need to log soon.From: Jace She says, "Libations are offered, not given." Whatever that means?From: Jessi I'm eating a popsicle.The wine doesn't pool on the stone, but rather seems to be drunk in by it. Jace and the Goddess appear before you, locked in a deep kiss. They pull apart and the goddess hands you a rolled-up map and a key.
The entrance is marked on this map and the key will open it. Do come back and worship me more. It is long and long since I have had any creatures offer me their devotions.
When you give Jace a look, her toon shrugs. "What? Look at her. She's hot!"
I take the map and key, then bow, "Thank you. I am sure my questmate and I will return, very soon." I smirk, "Especially Jace."
"I really need to log, Gina. Want to hit this in the AM?"
Unless she whines, I will log off, and take that wine bottle and myself to Jessi's.
The goddess becomes a statue once more, with an enigmatic smile.
"I should probably sleep. I'm on call tomorrow, so I'll be around most of the day unless there's a general pet emergency in Lansing. Be good." And with that, she logs off.