Ancient Wisdom (Epic)
| MIN LEVEL | START LOCATION | START REQUIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Utapo Tomb (Gate) (3,17) | Creature Harmonics (Epic) |
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DetailsYou enter the dark Utapo Tomb, you hear a ominous chittering in the unknown depths of the pyramid. Carris stands in a corner drinking from her hip flask. The half-orc raises her flask in a friendly salute, 'You made it, about time. Vinthorp is always so pushy when it comes to new discoveries like this. He got a lead on your little ol' rune.' Carris opens a scroll and looks at the large rune drawn on it, 'This rune was found in the Cathedral of Ways. But they can't identify it. The spell is so ancient that they don't understand it. Vinthorp thought we should ask someone who is old enough to know. There was also something to do with the Elya Desert, but ... I got lost at that point. Vinthorp always tells me way too much stuff that I don't need to know. Anyway, within this Tomb is a Lich. Tales say that if we survive the Tomb, we can ask the Lich one question.' Carris rolls up the scroll and waves it, 'I think we have our question. We just need to get through this Tomb.' 'There is a way to the Corridors, but it's blocked by a Spell Ward. The Ward is a pillar of fire that consumes anyone who goes near the exit to the Corridors. Look for a way to get past the Spell Ward, return to me when you have succeeded.' At the center of the Gate you find a huge statue sitting on a majestic throne. In the statue's right hand is a mace, but its left reaches out to you as if asking for something... You place the Royal symbol of authority into the left hand of the statue. Its eyes flash with green fire for a moment then with a grinding of heavy stone, the statue rests its left arm on its leg. The Cruciger shines in the gloom of the ancient tomb. Then a voice murmurs from within the statue, 'You may now pass.' You should return to Carris and tell her what you have done Carris waits for your return, 'Did you find a way to get rid of the Spell Ward?' Carris takes a last swig of her hips flask, 'Right then, let's go.' Meet Carris in the Utapo Tomb (Corridors) The Corridors of the Upato Tomb are filled knee deep with sand. You do not have to wade very far before you find Carris with both her axes drawn. The half-orc turns to answer you when her eyes narrow, then her axe flashes a cat's whisker from your head. Behind you, you hear a heavy thump of something falling over. Turning, you see a huge arm fading into the sand. Carris growls, 'These things pull you under the sand, you best deal with them.' Shatter 200 Choking Sand You return to Carris and she smiles broadly at you, 'You dealt with 200 Choking Sand yet?' The half-orc looks around, 'Well, it looks clear enough. Let's get outta here before that spell decides to get all uppity again. Spells in my experience need a Mage to dispel them, we Warriors can just wear them out for a bit. But they have an annoying habit of coming back when you least expect them. Magic, who needs it!' Meet Carris in the Utapo Tomb (Ascending Stair) The half orc waves you over, her axes drawn she looks edgy to say the least... Carris growls at you, 'You seen those Skeletons? What's with the arms! That's not only greedy, it's cheating I say. But we need to get past them, but they don't seem to be guarding the door out of here, but rather those weird Dragon heads. You... errrr... go figure it out.' The Skeletons are guarding the stones for some reason, investigate the Southern Dragon head and find out why Before you is a strange gaping stone Dragon's head. You bend down and look closely at the odd stone carving. Half expecting fire to come blasting out of it, you don't look directly down the mouth. There is no clue as to why it's there, you are about to walk away when a Saber Skeleton comes marching down the corridor. You step back into the shadows and wait for it to pass by, it will only delay you in going back to tell Carris. We should maybe ask Vinthorp about it what the Dragon carving might mean. From your hidden vantage point, you see the Skeleton walk up to the Dragon head, it stands next to it and slowly looks around the small chamber. As it turns you see that one of the Skeleton's sabers comes close to the mouth of the carving. As it does so, the mouth of the Dragon starts to close. Then as the Saber Skeleton moves on the mouth opens wide again. You should try giving the Dragon Carving a South Wind Sabre, maybe something will happen You return to the Dragon Carving, you saw when the South Wind Sabre from the Saber Skeletons was close to the Dragon's head it moved. Maybe you should offer the carving one to see what happens. The Sabre Skeletons do not give up their swords easily, but eventually, you took one from them. Standing next to the Dragon carving you wave the sword over the mouth and it moves as if to eat it. Not wanting to disappoint it, you slowly push the blade of the saber into the dragon's mouth. The dragon's mouth snaps tightly around the blade and its eyes suddenly blaze with fire. To your right you hear a load "CLUNK" come from the large stone door that leads out of the Ascending Stair. You saw another Dragon carving to the East, you should check that out You find another Dragon Carving, you should try to feed it a East Wind Sabre. Like the Southern Dragon Carving, you slip the blade of the East Wind Saber into the open mouth of the Dragon Head. Its mouth snaps shut around it and its eyes blaze with fire. From the large stone door, you hear a faint "Clunk". There was another Dragon Carving to the north, you should investigate it. By the Northern wall of the Ascending Stair you find another Dragon Carving. Maybe you should give it a North Wind Sabre. You slide the blade of the North Wind Saber into the open mouth of the Dragon Carving. The mouth snaps shut and the eyes blaze with fire. There is just one more craving left, it is located to the west. You find the final Dragon Carving near the western wall of the Ascending Stair. Maybe giving it the West Wind Sabre will do some thing... You slip the final Sabre into the carving's open mouth and it bites down as the sword snaps into place. The eyes burst into fire as the others did. You then hear a low grinding sound coming from the direction of the large stone doors, you guess they have opened. You should go tell Carris what you have done. Carris takes another swig from her hip flask, 'You figured out what those Skeletons are up to?' You tell her that the Skeletons were guarding Dragon Carvings because they are the locks to the door that leads up the Gallery. Carris puts the stopper in her flask and grins at you, 'I'm sure Vinthorp would tell us a whole bunch about snakes and what it all means. But I'm just glad the doors open, nice one Warrior. These Skeletons are like spiders, they got too many arms. They creep me out, let's go.' Meet Carris in the Gallery You do not have to walk far before you find Carris. She stands with both her axes drawn ready for battle. The half-orc grunts at you, 'Our way is blocked again, Warrior. There are powerful lion statues that prowl these halls. Go find a way to unlock the way, but be careful. These statues are not to be taken lightly. The Gallery is not a peaceful place, the strange Lions attack you on sight. But as you walk through the Gallery you find a huge sitting Lion. Its head swivels slowly and it glares at you. You grip your weapon tightly as you slowly approach the Lion. It stares at you for what seems an eternity, then it lowers its mighty head. In a deep voice of rich tones and resonance, it growls, 'Well met Warrior. I note that you do not follow the correct rite of greeting, but as a stranger, you do give me honor. So I shall let the greeting pass. Many who come here just attack when they see me. I am pleased that not all are unthinking. But I must warn you, Warrior, do not come any closer as I must kill you. Unless...' He lifts his front paw and you see a shining brass scroll untouched by the ages. 'If you wish to see our Lord, you must serve me to prove you wish us no harm. The way you do this is simple. You must live.' The Lion then gently nudges the brass scroll and it rolls across to you. 'Bring me a Heart of Battle.' The Statue then sits back and resumes its silent imperious stare. You receive 1 x Heart of Battle Recipe The Lion sits and looks at you coldly, 'Greetings Warrior, have you managed to take the Heart of Battle from the Guardians?' Under the unblinking stare of the mighty stone Lion, you hold up the beating stone heart. The giant Statue bends its massive head and gently takes the Heart from you with its mouth. With a hideous crunching, it devours it, 'I praise you Warrior, you have bested the Guardians. You can now enter the Sanctum for your final hurdle.' The Lion then rises slowly to its feet. You step back and reach for your weapon instinctively as you realize the true power and strength of the beast. Fear grips your throat and you fight for breath. The Lion swings its mighty head away from you, 'Now go Warrior.' It murmurs, 'I must reward the Guardians for their failure.' Without another word the beast leaps soundless down a corridor and the sounds of battle quickly follow. You should return to Carris and tell her the way is clear Carris shatters a Guardian with a casual flurry of her axes, 'Did you unlock the door outta here?' The half-orc nods, 'Right then, lead on. Things are beginning to look up I think. But I noticed that the stone cats seem to be running from something. They are not paying much attention to where they are going.' You look around and say, 'The Guardian's situation has altered recently. We don't want to get in the way of what they are running from, we should leave at once.' Carris slaps you on the shoulder, 'All right, I'll lead. Don't want you whining later that I held you up do we.' She laughs and walks off in the direction of the Sanctum. Meet Carris in the Sanctum Carris stands in the chill of the Sanctum with her axes drawn glancing round nervously. She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves, 'I scouted about for a bit and found some undead snakes flying about. So watch your back, you don't want one of them sneaking up on you! I also found a large switch near the center of the Sanctum, you should check it out.' There is a pervasive aura of twisting malice in the Sanctum. You feel that you are trespassing where you should not be should be. As you walk through the cold ancient Tomb you find a stone door and a large switch in front of it. But as you start to approach the Lever to open the door a swarm of Serpent Phantoms rushes you. Destroy 30 Serpent Phantoms to approach the Lever. After the last of the Serpent Phantoms that were guarding the Lever fall before you, you walk up to it. The nature of the Utapo Tomb has always been to test you to open a door, then advance to the next test. The large Lever seems to imply a simple action to opening the final door... You reach out to it but pause. It seems too simple. Too easy. You should look around for something else, you can always come back and pull the Lever if you don't find anything. In the corner of the Sanctum you find a beautiful ornament of the Sun. It shines a warm light within the cold darkness of of the Utapo Tomb. The light washes over you with its warm embrace. You stare at the shimmering light within the orb of the Sun. You then wonder what Vinthorp would say about this, you bet he would love this. Then you smile at the memory of Carris' rant about Vinthorp, "I'm sure Vinthorp would tell us a whole bunch about snakes and what it all means. But I'm just glad the doors open..." Absently you wonder what snakes did mean to the Utapo. The only thing you have seen related to it was that Icon, with a snake eating a sun... Your heart leaps in your chest, the Sanctum is filled with Snakes, and there is a Sun. You wonder if maybe you could get the Serpent Phantoms to attack the ornament somehow, like the Icon. You step closer and examine the shining orb for any markings or clues. But you find nothing, then as you look down at the base of the ornament what you first thought was part of the decoration is in fact a row of brass scrolls. You look around, but there is no one around. You then reach out and take a scroll. You receive 1 x Utapo Serpent of Time Recipe You should construct the Serpent of Time and see what you can do with it Within the cold darkness of the Utapo Tomb a beautiful Ornament of the Sun shimmers. You hold the Snake in front of the Sun Ornament and for a moment nothing happens. Then to your surprise the brass Snake suddenly squirms in your hand and lunges at the Sun, sinking its ruby fangs deep into it. You stare in shock as the snake then starts to drink golden light from the Orb. As the snake drains the light its skin boils and starts to warp, you take a step back as the small metallic snake then starts to twist and grow before your very eyes. You take another step when you realize that as the snake drinks the golden light from the Sun the darkness of the tomb starts to creep back enveloping you in its murky embrace. Your attention then is drawn back to the snake, as it empties the Sun completely, you are amazed to see that the snake that once fit in your hand is now wider than both your arms outstretched and is about 14 feet long. The brass scales then start to fall from its skin and you see in horror the ghostly form of a Serpent Phantom start to free itself from the smothering cocoon of the thin brass shell. You turn and run. Now you know how the Serpent Phantoms are replaced within the Tomb. You had best return back to the Lever and see if that opens the door out of the Sanctum. You run back to the Lever looking over your shoulder as you go, expecting the Phantom Serpent you accidentally made to be lunging for you out of the dark. As you turn the corner and enter the small chamber, you are surprised to see Carris standing next to the Lever grinning at you. Behind her, the door is open revealing a corridor stretching into darkness. She takes a long swig from her hip flask, 'No, I just came to see if you were all right. When I got there was a loud click and the doors simply opened. Whatever you did it worked. Come on, let's get this done. I'd like to get some fresh air and Sun.' She then turns and walks through the open door into the darkness beyond. You grimace, you have had more than enough of the Sun for a while. Follow Carris into the Catacomb You enter the Catacomb and your eyes are drawn immediately to the Lich looking at you with a vaguely uninterested gaze. On either side of the throne stand finely crafted statues, one of a Sun and the other a Snake rearing up as if to strike. Carris hisses quietly, and waves you over. The sight of a fearful Carris unnerves you more than you would imagine. She leans in close and whispers, 'That is no ordinary Undead. He is the Priest-King of the Utapo people, now you don't have an audience with a King without a gift. Go get one.' You stare back dumbfounded and say, 'What do I get him?' Carris clenches her teeth, anger flashes in her eyes, 'Do I look like an expert in Undead Royalty? Just get something, something nice.' Get... "something nice" for the Priest-King of the Utapo Carris glares at you, 'What gift have you got for the Priest King?' The half-orc stares at you in shock, 'You got him whaaaat, a Dagger? He's a King, I doubt he will need some cutlery for when he gets peckish! What were you thinking.' In exasperation, she says, 'Let me look at it.' You hand the Dagger of Time to her, Carris' eyes go wide with admiration. 'Ummm, that's really nice.' She looks closely at the handle, 'Is this a ruby handle!' You nod. Carris smiles and gives the Dagger back to you, 'I take it back, that's a great gift. You should also have this to show the King what the Rune looks like. I got it from Vinthorp.' She then shoves you in the direction of the throne, 'Well go on. Ask him if he recognizes the Rune?' You receive 1 x Rune of Mystery Approach the Priest-King of the Utapo and ask him if he can identify the Rune found in the Cathedral of Ways. Carris looks at you with concern, 'Are you alright? I don't think the Lich did any spell casting. But you can never be sure with these powerful wizards. I saw he gave you something, what was it?' Carris stares at the two small potion bottles, 'Thanks, errrr what are they?' You smile and tell her that the Priest King thought she deserved more potent weapons. You feel the eyes of the Lich on you, and you whisper, 'Apply venom to each of your axe blades, he said to use the entire vial.' Carris is about to refuse when you cock your head and she gives a weak grin at the sight of the Undead King staring at her. She smiles weakly, then takes the stopper off the first of the small bottles and carefully pours the green liquid over her axe blade. There is no smell, but you hear a hiss as the emerald venom spreads over the silver-gray steel. Carris then gasps as the green liquid suddenly sinks into the blade and a jade sheen bubbles up from within. Behind you, you hear a rasping laugh. 'The weapon will now poison as well as cut. You can touch the blade, but do not let it draw blood. Be very careful when you sharpen your axe Warrior Orc.' Carris smiles wildly, completely forgetting herself, and steps past you whilst quickly opening the second vial. She says excitedly to the Undead King as she pours the venom carefully over her other hand axe, 'So how long will this enchantment last?' There is a stunned silence as the Priest-King of the Utapo looks down at Carris. Kings are not used to being addressed like common shopkeepers on their own Throne. But Carris simply stares at her newly enchanted axes and swishes them through the air. Laughing at the faint green mist that now follows the arc of her weapons. The cold anger of the King slowly seeps away as he sees the enraptured Warrior testing out her empowered axes. You are shocked when he slowly rises and steps down from his thrown toward the oblivious Orc. He then reaches out and catches the axe with his withered fingers. The blade stops as if it has struck a fortress wall. Carris blinks in surprise at the Lich not only being there but also his sheer strength. He just smiles and takes the axe gently from her. He then traces with his clawed finger a rune on the flat of the blade. A symbol shines for a moment then fades into the steel. He hands it back to the stunned orc, 'May I have the other?' the Lich rasps. You see every instinct of the warrior is to never give up her weapon. But faced with the choking fear of the Lich being so close to her, she slowly hands over her axe. The Priest King smiles and traces another rune onto the blade and hands it back. He then turns slowly and returns to his throne. 'The enchantment will now last as long as the blades exist.' He then leans back as if to sleep. 'I'm sorry, but I am drained. Also, your presence is becoming vexing. I have nothing against you personally. In fact, you are both extremely entertaining. It's just that... I find the Living difficult to be around.' He then dismisses you both with a casual wave of his clawed hand. You should use the Hidden Stair to return to the Gate You find Carris admiring her newly enchanted axes. It's nice to see her so pleased, you don't want to say anything that might ruin it. But unfortunately, it can't be helped. You ask, 'Have you told Vinthorp what happened?' Carris does not stop doing a flowing flurry with her axes and watching the green streams of mist arcing from them carefully. She kicks her backpack towards you, 'Just shake it, the Crystal Ball in his office shines as you do so.' She continues with the complex movement, the arcs of mist slowly becoming more distinct as the axes cut the air. You retrieve the ornate silver mirror and shake it. It does not take long for your reflection to fade and Vinthorp to stare out at you. 'Oh, hello Warrior. I expected Carris.' Then a sudden fear grips the old mage, 'Is she alright?!?' Carris laughs, 'I'm fine you old coot' she calls over her shoulder as she watches the green ribbons of mist coil around her. Vinthrop smiles in relief, 'So, how did it go Warrior?' You tell him that the Priest King gave you some words to speak to the Spirit. The old mage mouths something under his breath, 'I see, most interesting. So the Rune was actually a Seal.' He then picks up a sheet of parchment, 'Perhaps I should pay the Cathedral a visit. I would very much like to be there as you speak these words' He puts the parchment down, 'Carris, I hope you are up for another little adventure. Meet me there, will you?' Only when you put the mirror back into her backpack and stand and stare at her does Carris eventually stop. Dark green streamers surround her, then slowly fade. 'Try and walk through the arcs would you.' She says excitedly. You take a step towards her, your skin instantly starts to tingle and then burn. You hastily step back. Carris beams, 'I thought so.' She steps through fading poison arcs. 'If you hold the axes the poison does not affect you.' You frown and say, 'I thought the Priest King said it had to cut before it poisoned someone.' The half-orc picks up her backpack, 'Well, the cut would bite into your opponent getting the poison into the skin. But you sweat so liquid can come out of skin. Maybe the green mist is small enough to get in where the sweat gets out.' You follow her logic, honestly surprised but keeping that to yourself. Carris sheaths her axes carefully, 'I heard something about Vinthorp wanting to meet us at the Cathedral of Ways. Why do we need to go there?' You tell her about the Seal and the words that you must speak to the Spirit. Carris grimaces, 'More undead stuff, huh? Fine. Let's go. We don't want to keep Vinthorp waiting.' You receive 47,228 Xp |
