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<table width="100%" border="1"> <tr> <td align="center"> <table border="1" width="250px" align="center"> <tr> <td> <font size="5"> The Quest For Truth </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>
hieves seem to be gaining popularity of late.
The farce of a trial of Ricardo is still fresh in our minds, and now it seems that Goran Zarlov, driven either to madness or to treachery by the voices from within the blackrock, has stolen the famed Book of Truth!
<table border="1" width="70%" align="center"> <tr> <td> <table border="1" width="46px"> <tr> <td>
</td> </tr> </table> <font size="-1" face="Arial"><font face=italic>“The power is intoxicating, isn’t it?”</font>
Goran Zarlov grins wickedly as the voices from the nether continue to taunt him. He’s gotten used to these voices, though. For many months, they’ve been guiding him, taunting him, tormenting him. Soon, he will possess the ultimate truth, the ultimate knowledge of the multiverse, and even the darkest forces that govern the dimensions from beyond will be bound to his will. There’s just one thing that stands in his way…
Goran pulls out a chunk of blackrock out of his pack and begins chanting ancient words of arcane power. The words cascade within a howling wind. Without warning, a blast of nether energy erupts, and lambastes the Britannian Vault door. A residual crackle of nether energy emits from the ancient magic and then suddenly dissipates. Goran cannot help but to laugh maniacally at his accomplishment as he enters the chamber beyond.
Several floors above the Britannian Vault, the guards and other patrons feel the earth rumble. Some of them lose their footing. Furniture and the like topple over, and chaos immediately ensues amongst the inhabitants of the castle.
“To Arms! To Arms! Someone has invaded the sacred Vault!” Sir Geoffrey, the Captain of the Britannian Royal Guard, commands, and the Britannian Royal Guards respond accordingly, racing down stairs seldom traveled. Only the Britannian Royal Archmages knew of the magical means to reveal these hidden stairs, and apparently one of their ranks has betrayed them.
Goran firmly holds his prize high over his head, taunting out loud the voices that continue to infest his mind.
“Bring the Book of Truth to dungeon Despise, and then you will be rewarded.”
Moments before the Royal Guards confront their intruder, only Goran’s words of recall remain, echoing through a now empty chamber.
“The Book of Truth.” Sir Geoffrey pauses momentarily, feeling overwhelmed with despair. “It’s been stolen.”
Goran materializes outside the entrance of dungeon Despise. As he assesses his surroundings, he continues to hear voices in his head. This time, the voices blur together, chanting over and over in ancient tongues long forgotten. They bring him to his knees. He screams aloud.
As in a dream, shadowy apparitions, each with a commanding presence impossible to ignore, hover inside the entrance of Despise. They continue to assault his sanity with their dark words.
“Give us the Book… Now!” the terrible figures command.
Goran crawls toward the apparitions, tightly clenching the Book and the blackrock in his hands. Just as he gets inside the dungeon entrance, the Britannian Royal Guards arrive via magical gates. Several of the Britannian Royal Guard Archmages begin reciting words of destruction. Bolts of slaying energy soar through the air and reach their target in unison. The energy bolts react violently with the blackrock and the book in Goran’s possession. Goran’s scream of agony is abruptly cut off as a sudden blast of nether energy disintegrates him. The Book of Truth falls out of his grasp and vanishes before it even touches the ground.
“We must inform the Lycaeum immediately,” Senior Royal Archmage Zorla declares. Perhaps they can divine what just happened here.” </font>
</td> </tr> </table>
So, handed to strange apparitions just within the entrance of Dungeon Despise, the Book has vanished.
Four representatives of the Lycaeum, north-west of Moonglow, now stand vigil, assigning tasks to any who approach them, with the hope of retrieving the precious book from the foul creatures who subverted Zarlov.
Each one is easily identified, by the title they bear: Seeker of Truth.
<table width="20%" border="1" align="center"> <tr><td>
</td></tr> </table>
The book, it seems, is well hidden. However, it has become known that it is held by a monster, somewhere in one of the dungeons of the old lands.
The quest has been complicated by the foul creatures of evil, as they have distributed many false books amongst their numbers, and it is impossible for most of us to discern where the Truth actually lies.
Therefore, any and all books which are found, should be brought to one of the four, that they may attempt to weed out the truth from the lies.
As I found, the monsters are not the only guardians of the books. The evil that stalks the darkness of our lands is also intent on keeping them from our hands.
Just as I found the first one, it was wrenched from my hands by vampiric flames.
Sadly, the force of the attack was so strong that I lost consciousness, and was unable to return to battle for a good while. A pox on the bugs that barred my return.
Still, the books are out there, in fair numbers! So, to the dungeons!
When a monster carrying a book falls, it seems the impact of the fall causes the book to emit a strange sound, not unlike that of a flute. So, for those who are considering mass slaughter of monsters in highly populated areas, keep in mind that it is helpful to be able to identify which beast was the last to fall!
The four who give the quests do reward those who bring the books to them!
One gift is a box of treasure, containing a magical item, and a large pile of gold.
Another is a sword, mighty, but ancient. It is plain to me, as a blacksmith of legendary renown, that the maker of this blade knew little of ways to make it more efficient. This blade is designed to strike a mightly blow, and little more. It is slow, cumbersome, and while deadly to the undead and the demonic, would never be my blade of choice for anything other than a civil ceremony.
For those who are interested, here are the precise specifications:
<table border="1" width="300px"> <tr> <td> Artifact rarity 7 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Undead Slayer </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Demon Slayer </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Damage Increase 55 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Physical Damage 100% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Weapon speed 5s </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Two handed weapon </td> </tr> </table>
Good against a rather sluggish skeleton, or an elderly balron, perhaps.
You will be rewarded with this blade, when you return twenty five books.
Yet another of the four gives a rare music gear, called "the Wanderer", for those who collect such things.
This is in exchange for ten books.
Lastly, another part of the virtue armor set has surfaced, namely the Gorget of Honesty. This provides the following:
<table border="1" width="300px"> <tr> <td> Physical Resist: 7% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Fire Resist: 7% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Cold Resist: 9% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Poison Resist: 5% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Energy Resist: 7% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Strength Requirement: 45 </td> </tr> </table>
When the suit is complete, all resists will increase by one.
However, I do question how virtuous one who parades around in a suit that screams "Look how virtuous I am" is...
Not that such a fellow would keep his suit intact for long, here on Siege.
A dim memory tells me that there was another Book of Truth, resting on a table within Gargoyle City. I will venture there soon, and find if that one, too, has been stolen.
Questions abound, however. What does the theft of the Book mean for us? Is it but a historical artifact, or does it still posess power?
Was it stolen to be used, or to keep knowledge from others?
Still, there is much adventure to be had, and many a book to be lifted from the corpses of dead monsters! </td> </tr> </table>
The farce of a trial of Ricardo is still fresh in our minds, and now it seems that Goran Zarlov, driven either to madness or to treachery by the voices from within the blackrock, has stolen the famed Book of Truth!
<table border="1" width="70%" align="center"> <tr> <td> <table border="1" width="46px"> <tr> <td>
Goran Zarlov grins wickedly as the voices from the nether continue to taunt him. He’s gotten used to these voices, though. For many months, they’ve been guiding him, taunting him, tormenting him. Soon, he will possess the ultimate truth, the ultimate knowledge of the multiverse, and even the darkest forces that govern the dimensions from beyond will be bound to his will. There’s just one thing that stands in his way…
Goran pulls out a chunk of blackrock out of his pack and begins chanting ancient words of arcane power. The words cascade within a howling wind. Without warning, a blast of nether energy erupts, and lambastes the Britannian Vault door. A residual crackle of nether energy emits from the ancient magic and then suddenly dissipates. Goran cannot help but to laugh maniacally at his accomplishment as he enters the chamber beyond.
Several floors above the Britannian Vault, the guards and other patrons feel the earth rumble. Some of them lose their footing. Furniture and the like topple over, and chaos immediately ensues amongst the inhabitants of the castle.
“To Arms! To Arms! Someone has invaded the sacred Vault!” Sir Geoffrey, the Captain of the Britannian Royal Guard, commands, and the Britannian Royal Guards respond accordingly, racing down stairs seldom traveled. Only the Britannian Royal Archmages knew of the magical means to reveal these hidden stairs, and apparently one of their ranks has betrayed them.
Goran firmly holds his prize high over his head, taunting out loud the voices that continue to infest his mind.
“Bring the Book of Truth to dungeon Despise, and then you will be rewarded.”
Moments before the Royal Guards confront their intruder, only Goran’s words of recall remain, echoing through a now empty chamber.
“The Book of Truth.” Sir Geoffrey pauses momentarily, feeling overwhelmed with despair. “It’s been stolen.”
Goran materializes outside the entrance of dungeon Despise. As he assesses his surroundings, he continues to hear voices in his head. This time, the voices blur together, chanting over and over in ancient tongues long forgotten. They bring him to his knees. He screams aloud.
As in a dream, shadowy apparitions, each with a commanding presence impossible to ignore, hover inside the entrance of Despise. They continue to assault his sanity with their dark words.
“Give us the Book… Now!” the terrible figures command.
Goran crawls toward the apparitions, tightly clenching the Book and the blackrock in his hands. Just as he gets inside the dungeon entrance, the Britannian Royal Guards arrive via magical gates. Several of the Britannian Royal Guard Archmages begin reciting words of destruction. Bolts of slaying energy soar through the air and reach their target in unison. The energy bolts react violently with the blackrock and the book in Goran’s possession. Goran’s scream of agony is abruptly cut off as a sudden blast of nether energy disintegrates him. The Book of Truth falls out of his grasp and vanishes before it even touches the ground.
“We must inform the Lycaeum immediately,” Senior Royal Archmage Zorla declares. Perhaps they can divine what just happened here.” </font>
</td> </tr> </table>
So, handed to strange apparitions just within the entrance of Dungeon Despise, the Book has vanished.
Four representatives of the Lycaeum, north-west of Moonglow, now stand vigil, assigning tasks to any who approach them, with the hope of retrieving the precious book from the foul creatures who subverted Zarlov.
Each one is easily identified, by the title they bear: Seeker of Truth.
<table width="20%" border="1" align="center"> <tr><td>
The book, it seems, is well hidden. However, it has become known that it is held by a monster, somewhere in one of the dungeons of the old lands.
The quest has been complicated by the foul creatures of evil, as they have distributed many false books amongst their numbers, and it is impossible for most of us to discern where the Truth actually lies.
Therefore, any and all books which are found, should be brought to one of the four, that they may attempt to weed out the truth from the lies.
As I found, the monsters are not the only guardians of the books. The evil that stalks the darkness of our lands is also intent on keeping them from our hands.
Just as I found the first one, it was wrenched from my hands by vampiric flames.
Sadly, the force of the attack was so strong that I lost consciousness, and was unable to return to battle for a good while. A pox on the bugs that barred my return.
Still, the books are out there, in fair numbers! So, to the dungeons!
When a monster carrying a book falls, it seems the impact of the fall causes the book to emit a strange sound, not unlike that of a flute. So, for those who are considering mass slaughter of monsters in highly populated areas, keep in mind that it is helpful to be able to identify which beast was the last to fall!
The four who give the quests do reward those who bring the books to them!
One gift is a box of treasure, containing a magical item, and a large pile of gold.
Another is a sword, mighty, but ancient. It is plain to me, as a blacksmith of legendary renown, that the maker of this blade knew little of ways to make it more efficient. This blade is designed to strike a mightly blow, and little more. It is slow, cumbersome, and while deadly to the undead and the demonic, would never be my blade of choice for anything other than a civil ceremony.
For those who are interested, here are the precise specifications:
<table border="1" width="300px"> <tr> <td> Artifact rarity 7 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Undead Slayer </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Demon Slayer </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Damage Increase 55 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Physical Damage 100% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Weapon speed 5s </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Two handed weapon </td> </tr> </table>
Good against a rather sluggish skeleton, or an elderly balron, perhaps.
You will be rewarded with this blade, when you return twenty five books.
Yet another of the four gives a rare music gear, called "the Wanderer", for those who collect such things.
This is in exchange for ten books.
Lastly, another part of the virtue armor set has surfaced, namely the Gorget of Honesty. This provides the following:
<table border="1" width="300px"> <tr> <td> Physical Resist: 7% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Fire Resist: 7% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Cold Resist: 9% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Poison Resist: 5% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Energy Resist: 7% </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Strength Requirement: 45 </td> </tr> </table>
When the suit is complete, all resists will increase by one.
However, I do question how virtuous one who parades around in a suit that screams "Look how virtuous I am" is...
Not that such a fellow would keep his suit intact for long, here on Siege.
A dim memory tells me that there was another Book of Truth, resting on a table within Gargoyle City. I will venture there soon, and find if that one, too, has been stolen.
Questions abound, however. What does the theft of the Book mean for us? Is it but a historical artifact, or does it still posess power?
Was it stolen to be used, or to keep knowledge from others?
Still, there is much adventure to be had, and many a book to be lifted from the corpses of dead monsters! </td> </tr> </table>
