Only took us about a month, but now here we are and ready to get us a sword!
Wow long flavor. Anyways, inviting Dogfish44 to Central Processing: (Hard Mode)
Also taking the quest The Legacy of the Old Gods
Extra Chapter 4: The Legend of Gygax
After returning to the ship from my latest mission, I was quite exhausted and decided to return to my room for a well deserved rest. As I opened the door to my quarters however, I noticed a white envelope on the floor, with the word "Lorien" on the front. I hadn't really met the guy that much, just a short conversation with him when we got marooned here and a short couple of encounters when the ship was attacked. Curious, I opened the letter and read it's contents.
Meet me in my quarters, hero, I may have a request for you.
-Lorien
I thought it was a rather short letter, couldn't he have just approached me? Perhaps my newfound reputation was making it difficult to find me without attracting attention, but still. I was a bit suspicious, but I decided to check out his request anyways...after I took a short nap.
Six hours later, I was at the door to Lorien's room. He had a room in one of the more luxurious cabins of the ship, though I hardly ever saw him out of the room unless something bad was happening. I started to wonder about the mysterious individual, he had just sorta shown up immediately after the incident at the peak of Stormrage Mountain, and nobody really recognized him, besides the champion, a few gym leaders, and Linna, who was equally as mysterious, though quite a bit more friendly. I thought back to the attack on the ship, and remembered the incident where Lorien had saved Wallace from an Archeops attack. Normally I wouldn't have thought anything of it, blue flames, while uncommon, weren't unheard of on Pokemon attacks. However, I never saw a Pokemon with him during his time on the ship, even during the attack. It was a rather curious situation, if he didn't have any Pokemon, where did the blue flame that saved Wallace come from?
I shrugged and dispelled these thoughts in my head for a bit. I started to knock as was courtesy, but before I could Lorien opened the door as if he knew I was there already. "Welcome, hero, I was waiting for you", he said to me. Then, he shot a suspicious look down both sides of the corridor, looking for something. After seeing the hall clear of anybody, he invited me inside. His shadiness was starting to make me uneasy, but after a few moments I went inside.
After I was seated, he began "I've heard a lot about your deeds on behalf of the Expedition. Yet, I can't say I'm completely comfortable in offering you this task. But if you believe into your own resources enough to keep listening, I will provide you with the knowledge you'll need to go through it". The man filled a cup with some hot tea and offered it to me, but I graciously declined. He simply shrugged, then filled a cup for himself and started his tale, while sipping the tea slowly.
"In a distant past, when this world was still rife with chaos and strife, the Old Gods were at the pinnacle of their might, and the few humans squirmed under their heel. It was an age unlike the one you live in, where Poke Balls didn't exist and where humans and Pokemon waged war against each other.
However, one brave hero finally rose and standed against the Gods.
He readed his sword and fought them here, on this island. Eventually, he managed to vanquish them, thanks to his courage - but also thanks to a sword. A sword whose name was lost in the mists of the past, yet still full of its power. The name of Gygax.
No one knows what happened to the sword after this epic confrontation, or to the hero who last wielded its hilt. However, it may be possible to reforge the mythical weapon - and I'm afraid it may very well be necessary, for the evil that once was defeated may soon awake again."
I sat there perplexed at this rather strange tale. Old Gods? Gygax? None of this was making a whole lot of sense to me. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of his tale was that such things may awaken again. I wasn't sure whether this was simply a tall tale, meant to symbolize the actual threat, or whether the legend was in fact literal. In either case, it was clear that there was a lot more going on here than met the eye. After spending a few moments thinking about this, I asked "That's quite an interesting tale you have there, but how could it be possible to reforge such a sword, if it even exists?".
Lorien chuckled a bit at this, then said "Oh it exists hero, there is no doubt about that". Then he continued, "The answer likely lies within the abandoned shrine, hero. But I know one thing: this weapon wasn't shaped in everyday iron. No, it had been forged in a very rare alloy, which combined the toughness of steel with a surprising lightness that made it exceptionally potent".
"And just where are we going to find a mythical alloy on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere?" I asked.
"On this very ship, actually", replied the blue-haired man. I felt a slight twinge of aggression, most likely aimed at my rather sarcastic way of asking the question. "There is a component of the Central Processing Unit that was crafted with the help of an alloy with the properties we're looking for. However, as you may know, the CPU has been corrupted by the local magnetic fields, and thus it may be unsafe to get close to it - let alone open it. Yet, if you feel up to the task, just remember this: for the alloy to be usable as the foundation of our work, you must not damage it significantly. It may be difficult, but you must try your best to shut down the CPU without compromising the alloy's integrity."
"Uh, actually I already shut that down remember? The Metagross down there was fried and the CPU fixed, right?" I said.
"Not quite," he replied "you managed to cure the symptom, but not the disease. Now there are reports of the CPU going haywire again. If you want the alloy, you're going to have to find out what is really causing the CPU to malfunction, and deal with it. Now then, if you have no more questions, I suggest you start preparing to retrieve the alloy with your partner...Dogfish44? You people have awfully bizarre names nowadays."
"That's just his username, not his actual name." I clarified. Strange, you'd think he'd have known that. "At any rate, how on Earth do you know all of this? This is the first time I've ever heard of it."
Lorien made just the slightest hint of a smile, and then said "That's for me to know and for you to know in due time. Let's just say my sources are quite reliable."
"Well, all right." I said "Goodbye then."
I took my leave, and then started preparing for another run into the CPU. I talked to Drake to cross reference Lorien's story, and indeed the CPU was acting up again, they just hadn't announced it this time lest they make the trainers worry that the CPU would never be fixed. Then I decided to talk to my buddy Harold to see if he would be willing to follow me. Naturally he agreed. In fact, he had just gotten through talking to Lorien himself. After some strategizing and the approval of Drake, we headed into the depths of the CPU to fix it once and for all.
After returning to the ship from my latest mission, I was quite exhausted and decided to return to my room for a well deserved rest. As I opened the door to my quarters however, I noticed a white envelope on the floor, with the word "Lorien" on the front. I hadn't really met the guy that much, just a short conversation with him when we got marooned here and a short couple of encounters when the ship was attacked. Curious, I opened the letter and read it's contents.
Meet me in my quarters, hero, I may have a request for you.
-Lorien
I thought it was a rather short letter, couldn't he have just approached me? Perhaps my newfound reputation was making it difficult to find me without attracting attention, but still. I was a bit suspicious, but I decided to check out his request anyways...after I took a short nap.
Six hours later, I was at the door to Lorien's room. He had a room in one of the more luxurious cabins of the ship, though I hardly ever saw him out of the room unless something bad was happening. I started to wonder about the mysterious individual, he had just sorta shown up immediately after the incident at the peak of Stormrage Mountain, and nobody really recognized him, besides the champion, a few gym leaders, and Linna, who was equally as mysterious, though quite a bit more friendly. I thought back to the attack on the ship, and remembered the incident where Lorien had saved Wallace from an Archeops attack. Normally I wouldn't have thought anything of it, blue flames, while uncommon, weren't unheard of on Pokemon attacks. However, I never saw a Pokemon with him during his time on the ship, even during the attack. It was a rather curious situation, if he didn't have any Pokemon, where did the blue flame that saved Wallace come from?
I shrugged and dispelled these thoughts in my head for a bit. I started to knock as was courtesy, but before I could Lorien opened the door as if he knew I was there already. "Welcome, hero, I was waiting for you", he said to me. Then, he shot a suspicious look down both sides of the corridor, looking for something. After seeing the hall clear of anybody, he invited me inside. His shadiness was starting to make me uneasy, but after a few moments I went inside.
After I was seated, he began "I've heard a lot about your deeds on behalf of the Expedition. Yet, I can't say I'm completely comfortable in offering you this task. But if you believe into your own resources enough to keep listening, I will provide you with the knowledge you'll need to go through it". The man filled a cup with some hot tea and offered it to me, but I graciously declined. He simply shrugged, then filled a cup for himself and started his tale, while sipping the tea slowly.
"In a distant past, when this world was still rife with chaos and strife, the Old Gods were at the pinnacle of their might, and the few humans squirmed under their heel. It was an age unlike the one you live in, where Poke Balls didn't exist and where humans and Pokemon waged war against each other.
However, one brave hero finally rose and standed against the Gods.
He readed his sword and fought them here, on this island. Eventually, he managed to vanquish them, thanks to his courage - but also thanks to a sword. A sword whose name was lost in the mists of the past, yet still full of its power. The name of Gygax.
No one knows what happened to the sword after this epic confrontation, or to the hero who last wielded its hilt. However, it may be possible to reforge the mythical weapon - and I'm afraid it may very well be necessary, for the evil that once was defeated may soon awake again."
I sat there perplexed at this rather strange tale. Old Gods? Gygax? None of this was making a whole lot of sense to me. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of his tale was that such things may awaken again. I wasn't sure whether this was simply a tall tale, meant to symbolize the actual threat, or whether the legend was in fact literal. In either case, it was clear that there was a lot more going on here than met the eye. After spending a few moments thinking about this, I asked "That's quite an interesting tale you have there, but how could it be possible to reforge such a sword, if it even exists?".
Lorien chuckled a bit at this, then said "Oh it exists hero, there is no doubt about that". Then he continued, "The answer likely lies within the abandoned shrine, hero. But I know one thing: this weapon wasn't shaped in everyday iron. No, it had been forged in a very rare alloy, which combined the toughness of steel with a surprising lightness that made it exceptionally potent".
"And just where are we going to find a mythical alloy on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere?" I asked.
"On this very ship, actually", replied the blue-haired man. I felt a slight twinge of aggression, most likely aimed at my rather sarcastic way of asking the question. "There is a component of the Central Processing Unit that was crafted with the help of an alloy with the properties we're looking for. However, as you may know, the CPU has been corrupted by the local magnetic fields, and thus it may be unsafe to get close to it - let alone open it. Yet, if you feel up to the task, just remember this: for the alloy to be usable as the foundation of our work, you must not damage it significantly. It may be difficult, but you must try your best to shut down the CPU without compromising the alloy's integrity."
"Uh, actually I already shut that down remember? The Metagross down there was fried and the CPU fixed, right?" I said.
"Not quite," he replied "you managed to cure the symptom, but not the disease. Now there are reports of the CPU going haywire again. If you want the alloy, you're going to have to find out what is really causing the CPU to malfunction, and deal with it. Now then, if you have no more questions, I suggest you start preparing to retrieve the alloy with your partner...Dogfish44? You people have awfully bizarre names nowadays."
"That's just his username, not his actual name." I clarified. Strange, you'd think he'd have known that. "At any rate, how on Earth do you know all of this? This is the first time I've ever heard of it."
Lorien made just the slightest hint of a smile, and then said "That's for me to know and for you to know in due time. Let's just say my sources are quite reliable."
"Well, all right." I said "Goodbye then."
I took my leave, and then started preparing for another run into the CPU. I talked to Drake to cross reference Lorien's story, and indeed the CPU was acting up again, they just hadn't announced it this time lest they make the trainers worry that the CPU would never be fixed. Then I decided to talk to my buddy Harold to see if he would be willing to follow me. Naturally he agreed. In fact, he had just gotten through talking to Lorien himself. After some strategizing and the approval of Drake, we headed into the depths of the CPU to fix it once and for all.
Wow long flavor. Anyways, inviting Dogfish44 to Central Processing: (Hard Mode)
Also taking the quest The Legacy of the Old Gods
