TerraEarth: Fallen (Fallen Server)

[EverPhoenix]

chicken wrote:

EverPhoenix wrote: excellent, ill go with chicken then. i could use a drink, and drinking alone sucks i hope you're talking about pure, crystal clear mountain water, sipping directly from the well in the woods...

either that, or the crystal clear beverage served in 50mL glasses in most bars. either will do, really

[Metall Ark (XD®)]

Well i join Chicken and EverPhöenix. Maybe we will get some fun.

[Jason Tandro]

Following Arashi
---
psychokind


Following eFlare
---
Freedan
Rainichan


Traveling Alone
---
Chicken
EverPhoenix
Metall Ark


Undecided
---
Jafar


Inactive
---
Nurdof
Arkis


UNDECIDED! CHOOSE YOUR SIDES!

(At the end of the week, the games begin again! Get all your shopping and upgrading done now!)[/quote]

[inferiare]

Ahahahaha. This is unintentionally adding up to leave myself and Freedan alone, this is awesome.

[Jason Tandro]

psychokind
---

Psychokind heads to the ruins of Itory Village. What was once the green hills and airy cliffs of the land that had been home to the Moon Tribe was now a desolate wasteland of dust, rock and bone.

A fierce dust storm had kicked up. Psychokind had to wrap his cloak around his mouth so that he could breathe. Where could his master possibly be in this mess?

He found his way to the large stone shrine by one of the cliffs, and found that it was still, somehow, intact. He opened the door and went inside seeking shelter.

As he closed the door he turned and saw the chamber alight with a red glow. Sitting in a chair in front of him was his Master.

"Master!" Psychokind smiled bowing before him. "I alone have returned. Your one most faithful servant."

"I see that, my child. You shall be rewarded greatly," Arashi smiled as he raised his staff.

He brought it down gently upon psychokind's head and a strange purple glow began to emanate through psychokind.

"My second in command must be powerful enough to seek out the Lithographs," Arashi explained.

Psychokind felt a strange new power flood through his body.

"My lord, please explain." Psychokind asked.

"As I said, this world is a test program run by Fallen, an AI. I thought that the Data Disks, when combined, would lead me to him... but apparently they only showed this world for what it truly is.

You see the world that we all live in is an illusion. When the Data Disks were combined, the disasters that had been planned for it all occurred at once, destroying our world.

I will admit, I was concerned that I had been hasty in my plans, but then I strengthened my resolve and looked for a way to enter Fallen's realm.

And there is was, as sure as anything I could have predicted. A Viewing Table, ancient tool of the Moon Tribe for interstellar travel. Only this one, led into the core of TerraEarth. And it required assembly."

Arashi pointed to a stone basin in front of them. The basin was filled with a dark oozing material.

"This Viewing Table requires the addition of four Lithographs, which when combined create the cover for this table and allow us to use it for teleportation. These Lithographs are somewhere scattered throughout this planet... I know not where all of them are, but I have reason to believe the first of them lies within Darkwood Manor on Malizzo Island to the north."

Psychokind nodded. "And you require me to fetch these for you."

"Yes," Arashi nodded. "That gift that I gave you will allow you to touch the Lithographs. Ordinarily the sacred writings prevent people with dark hearts from holding them, but the spell bypasses that."

Psychokind nodded again.

"Itory is barren... my doing. But at North Cape you may yet find some refugees. Convince one to take you to the Island, and then bring me back that Lithograph."

---


Rainichan/ Freedan

Jason Tandro, Rainichan and Freedan arrive at the Tower of Babel.

"I was unaware you could teleport." Rainichan said.

"Apparently all Moderators can. It took me a long time to remember how though and I doubt I could teach you," Jason said, noting Rainichan's Administrator robes.

The door of the tower opened and they all went inside.

The inside of the Tower of Babel was the only place in the world they had seen so far that did not look completely destroyed. However there was an eerie silence about the place.

"You have arrived," came a voice from the back of the ground floor.

Walking towards them, came KaleFlame. He walked with a bit of a limp, but seemed otherwise un-hurt.

"KaleFlame! I thought you had died!" Freedan exclaimed, rushing towards him to give him a hug.

KaleFlame patted Freedan's back and then moved towards Rainichan and Jason.

"I won't say it wasn't a scary few hours, but when I awoke I found myself here. eFlare must have been looking out for me," KaleFlame explained. "He is waiting for us up above."

KaleFlame moved past Rainichan and Jason without so much as a flinch and proceeded to the elevator.

"That still works?" Jason asked.

"As good as we could hope," KaleFlame explained, getting in.

---

The roof of the Tower had been turned into a refuge camp. Cloth had been drapped over areas to provide a tent from the elements and in the back, furthest from the elevator sat a man in black armor.

The four walked passed groups of people huddled into groups with rations of food beside them. They stopped at the desk and KaleFlame bowed. The others followed suit.

"So, you four have a desire to help?" eFlare sighed. "I was rather hoping Nurdof, Chicken and EverPhoenix would be the ones who assisted you, as opposed to this treasure hunter..."

"Your welcome," Jason scoffed.

"And this miss Rainichan who has been traveling with only a desire to clear her peoples name."

"What's wrong with that?" Rainichan asked.

"Your cause, while noble, is not the major issue at hand. In your fervor you risked surrendering it all to the enemy. I would have thought an Administrator would have known better," eFlare sighed. "But then none of us really remember how to do any of this, I suppose."

eFlare raised his sword and examined it carefully as he said his next words. "I apologize. I'm just a little irritated right now. Just when I thought we were rebuilding our world... What could we have wanted to forget about?!"

eFlare slammed his sword onto the desk in front of him and stood up.

"And now I hear that this Arashi is seeking four Lithographs that will recreate the gateway into the planets core. That he seeks to undo this Fallen program that guides life... He must be stopped."

"Frankly," Jason said. "There's not much we can do to stop him. The Lithographs are all guarded by the four Elemental Lords, or so it says. Can we compete with that kind of power?"

"There is hope," eFlare explained. "I know for a fact that one such Lithograph lies in the Sky Garden. It's in the Nazca Desert on the East Continent. Perhaps you should start your journey there."

"And the part where we have to defeat an master of the world to get this object?" Freedan asked.

"You may not need to fight at all. The Elemental Lords would not have been affected by this amnesia I am sure of it. Perhaps they might even be able to tell us what is going on..."

"Great plan, buddy," Jason sighs. "Go to faraway desert, find a mythical garden, find some way onto this mythical garden and then talk to a storybook ruler of the world, and possibly engage that ruler in combat."

eFlare walked up to Jason. "If you don't have any faith in the plan you are welcome to stay here."

Jason looked from side-to-side. Freedan seemed sympathetic to Jason, Raini looked annoyed by his whining and KaleFlame seemed scandalized.

Jason sighed. "I just wonder if there isn't a more productive way of doing things is all."

"If you have a suggestion I am all ears, but at the moment I think we must investigate the only lead we have,"eFlare said. "KaleFlame, you will accompany them. Jason, it's up to you."

Jason shrugged. "Might as well."

"Very well. Take some time to prepare yourself for the journey ahead and then when you are ready, KaleFlame can teleport you to the Nazca Desert," eFlare said.

---


Metall Ark, Chicken, EverPhoenix.


Chicken, Metall Ark and EverPhoenix arrived at what was once South Cape. A small group of refugees now huddled in the burnt out remains of the school house. The water supply had been spared, miraculously, and somebody had the foresight to stock up on food rations, which were now being carefully doled out to the survivors.

"I doubt we'll find a pub in this kind of environment," Chicken sighed.

"Jeez. Makes all our efforts at the Quest House seem kind of a waste doesn't it?" EverPhoenix nodded.

"You've been here before?" Metall Ark asked.

"Yeah, but not like this before, buddy," Chicken shook his head.

Sitting at a table, getting food was a familiar face. It was the girl Chicken had saved earlier.

"Hey!" Chicken waved. "I'm glad to see you survived! Are you okay?"

The girl smiled, but it seemed only half-so. She looked around her at the ruins of her town. "I suppose, considering."

Chicken nodded his head, almost embarrassed at his enthusiasm.

"Well, look who it isn't," came another voice.

Walking up to EverPhoenix was a man wearing a black vest with a scar near his lip and shocking green hair.

"Chimera," EverPhoenix cursed, raising his staff. "You want another beat down. Freedan isn't hear, but I'm a lot tougher than the last time we met."

"Chill you jets, Mr. Magic. I'm just a refugee too now, like all these folks," Chimera explained. "I keep the town safe from the Piranhas, and they let me eat."

"Heh. A pretty sad end to the notorious villain. You've been turned into a Public Servant," Chicken grinned.

"Don't remind me," Chimera scoffed. "So where is that knight in shining animosity? Don't tell me you two broke up."

"He's at the Tower of Babel and to be honest I have no clue what he's doing. Now if you'll let us be, we'd like to get something to drink," EverPhoenix hissed.

"Oh, well you're in luck. The Seaside Cave has become the virtual hang-out place now. Tons of alcohol survived this disaster and the guy who owns it all - some bloke named Seamus Kilarney - is making mad money off of it... not that money has a whole lot of value now anyways," Chimera patted EverPhoenix's shoulder and moved towards the city gates. "Happy hunting kids."

"Wanna get a drink?" EverPhoenix asked.

"Or maybe check out the town I suppose," Metall Ark suggested.

[chicken]

i guess we should check out the town first, i wanna know more about what happened here. alcohol is bad for the people anyways, the guy should destroy it all, it keeps their heads clear.

[psychokind]

I will not disappoint you, master.

I'm heading for Itory.

[Jason Tandro]

psychokind wrote:

I will not disappoint you, master. I'm heading for Itory.

You're in Itory... that was a fast journey . Do you mean North Cape, perhaps?

[EverPhoenix]

i might offer to buy chimera a drink, and ask about what happened since. a bit of a change from the mood of that encounter, but still. see how he reacts.

[Freedan]

"Hold on, eFlare. This 'Jason' may be a treasure hunter, and our administrator friend may be fighting for her own people, but I, for one, don't particularly care about their motives. Whatever their reasons for traveling, allies are allies; they're here, and willing to travel with me. Right now, it looks like I could use all the help I can get."

*Turns to Jason*

"eFlare said that fighting these Elemental Lords may not be necessary. In that case, it's a good thing you have me along. I'm currently an agent; one who has trained in Spy methods. One of the skills one learns as an agent is how to channel their natural charisma, and use it to persuade others. I've done it before, at Santa's workshop back in Evergreen. That was only an elf worker; if I were to really focus, I'm sure I could do much more.

I may be able to talk to these Lords, and convince them to help our cause without having to fight anyone.

As for preparations, I've finished equipping myself, and my skill training is currently up to date. I'm ready to leave when everyone else is."

[psychokind]

Jason Tandro wrote:

psychokind wrote: I will not disappoint you, master. I'm heading for Itory. You're in Itory... that was a fast journey . Do you mean North Cape, perhaps?

sorry, my bad North Cape, of course

[inferiare]

The urge to throw a Magic Missile at everyone in the vicinity was growing. It was growing really, really fast. "A spy and a 'treasure hunter'. Fantastic, this is just the happy storybook jaunt down the goldenrod road that I always wanted to have," Raini said with a sigh and a palm to her face. It didn't seem like there was much choice in the matter though, and when that ideal kept creeping up on her, she threw her arms into the air.

"Yeah yeah fine, to the Nazca Desert then." And with a glance to eFlare, the words finally formed in a nice, non-aggressive way to respond to him in regard to her 'forgetting' things: "You realize that things are forgotten for a reason, right? I'm not exactly thrilled about forgetting, but if we forgot for a reason, we might regain the knowledge of that and forget all over again. You aren't afraid of that possibility?"

A pause. It was starting to get aggressive, wasn't it? "Plus, I don't exactly like being glowered at for something I can't help."

Whoops.

[EverPhoenix]

are we waiting for everyone to respond? or are there set intervals for this?

[Jason Tandro]

EP: I was waiting for Raini to reply. The next stuff will go up tonight.

[Jason Tandro]

Freedan / Rainichan:

"Playing Devil's Advocate," eFlare began. "Is fear of being persecuted really worth trying to dig up all this information. As you say. What if we have chosen as a people to forget this. To forget what happened to us? Then with the information restored we can choose to forget again. And the cycle will continue over and over again rendering our lives meaningless."

"Therefore I deduce that we could not have done this to ourselves. At least not entirely on our own. The information we know may hold more than just the salvation of those who descended from the moon tribe, or as they are known now: Half-Demons."

"In the end it doesn't really matter," KaleFlame added. "Ethical obligations aside, that does not change the desires of our hearts. We won't rest until this information is restored to us."

"Memories and me don't get along," Jason threw in. "I'm just in this for the handsome reward that you promised."

Raini turned to eFlare scandalized. "So you're buying help?"

"Everybody has a price," eFlare nodded. "I assume you want something that benefits you, as does Freedan. We all work towards our own ends. Instead of hiding beside some great noble cause the truly honest men will admit that there is something in it for them."

"Odd statement coming from you, eFlare," Freedan said. "Considering you are our ruler."

"I am just an emissary for boxxleman, our God. I have no right to want for anything, but I do. As administrator anything I want I can get. Now would you rather I pretend to be some high and mighty savior or admit that there is a benefit to all this?" eFlare asked.

Raini nodded her head. "I kind of get what you're saying. That Arashi, all he could talk about was how he was going to save the world."

"So, will you help us?" eFlare asked.

"I'm already in, provided the gems are in place," Jason nodded.

"I began this mission with KaleFlame I see no reason to stop now," Freedan agreed.

"And you, Miss Raini?" eFlare asked.



psychokind:

You arrive at North Cape. The cold wind of the north still blows here, and the ruined shacks that were once the houses and shops are covered in snow. A small group of refugees sit next to a fire, surrounded by makeshift lean-tos and tents.

You approach a man sitting in a boat, fishing.

"I need passage to Malizzo Island," you demand.

"This is the only boat in town left and I need to catch some fish," the man explained.

"You can catch them from the dock," psychokind retorted.

"Maybe so, but why should I help you?" the man asked.

"You will be handsomely rewarded by my benefactor," psychokind explained.

"Benefactor? Look I got no need for-"

Psychokind lifted the man up by his throat. His eyes turned blood red and he threw the man onto the shore. His eyes returned to normal and he spoke calmly.

"I am commandeering this boat. I shall return it to you in the same shape in which I took it."

And with that the boat sailed towards Malizzo Island.

<<Travel Time: 1 Day>>

---

EverPhoenix/ Chicken/ Metall Ark/ Nurdof

"Hey wait a second!" EverPhoenix shouted towards Chimera.

But it was too late. The man had already left.

"You guys!" Came a voice.

EverPhoenix and Chicken looked down the beach and saw a familiar looking dwarf running up towards them.

"Nurdof!" Chicken cried.

"What have you been doing?" EverPhoenix shouted, embracing him.

"Oh you know, small tasks. Helping out the town. Watching all my hard work destroyed when a massive devastation suddenly occurred," Nurdof sighed. "This place is a disaster area."

"And this is?" Metall Ark asked.

"An old comrade," EverPhoenix nodded.

"What has been going on?" Chicken asked.

"You mean you didn't know?" Nurdof asked. "It's been about two days since it happened."

"Shortly after we parted ways, there was a large cultist movement of people who swore that the end was nigh. They called themselves the Agents of Darkness. We were fine letting them rant, until they started conscripting people to their cause."

"The Mayor had me deal with them. Took down about a half dozen myself. Well once they retreated we thought everything would be fine. But then two days ago, the town all blacked out at the same time. Every villager. When we awoke... this was what was waiting for us."

"Well we're nothing if not adaptive. We all took this sudden devastation in stride. We assembled rations, built shelters and made this town work again. But it's not exactly the home we remember."

"Any problems with outsiders?" Chicken asked.

Nurdof shook his head. "I see where you're going, but no. The Agents of Darkness never returned and the Chimera Clan... well you saw what happened to Chimera."

EverPhoenix nodded his head. "What about this Seamus Kilarney?"

Nurdof rolled his eyes. "Fancy you should mention that. I just came from talking to him. He owns the wine cellar and now fancies himself something of a prince. Still pays taxes to the mayor, of course, but he makes more than that and then some with his pub. I don't mind him churning out a profit, but this isn't the time to do it."

"I agree," Chicken nodded. "A little wine in celebration is fine, but making it a thriving business in the middle of a disaster area seems a bit tacky to me."

"The weird thing is that Seamus seems to live in that seaside cave. And he's been acting... a little weird lately," Nurdof sighed.

"How so?" EverPhoenix asked.

"Well he never shows up for his rations for one thing. Refuses work detail... but that was all part of his usual routine. Lately, that is as of about six hours ago, he's been acting very reserved. Closed his bar after I left. Said he needed some 'rest'," Nurdof explained.

"Makes sense. The man can't run it all the time can he?" Metall Ark asked.

"He's hired three people to run the shifts so he can have it open every daylight hour. The sun won't set for another five or six hours and it's closed," Nurdof explained.

EverPhoenix grunted. "Hmph. That is bizarre. Should we go check it out?"

"I'd like to. I was going to go ask the Mayor to help me, but you two should do just fine, I daresay," Nurdof nodded.

"All right then? Are we in agreement?" Chicken asks.