Creature Harmonics (Epic)
| MIN LEVEL | START LOCATION | START REQUIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Magic Circle (Chamber of Vinthorp) (2,2) | Gate of the Abyss (Epic) |
InformationSteps:
Rewards
|
DetailsYou open the door and step into the crowded chamber. In the far corner you see a Mage working by a well used bench filled with various glass vials and elixirs. Sanders stands in the center of the chamber staring angrily at the Mage studiously ignoring him. Sanders nods and waves you into silence. He whispers, 'Vinthorp is busy at the moment, a crucial experiment apparently.' Sarcasm drips from every syllable, 'Vinthorp is brilliant theorist, he has a whole list of arcane discoveries as long as your arm. But he is not the easiest of people to get on with. He also has some strange ideas which he tries to find proof for. Sometimes they pay off, but mostly they just waste his time and frustrate everyone around him. But he will not listen, he just goes on and on trying to prove himself right.' Sanders glares at Vinthorp, 'Unfortunately for us, Vinthorp is a genius with Runic Iconography. If there is one person who can help us with identifying this unknown Glyph the Church is interested in, it's Vinthorp. We just have to wait till he's ready to listen to us.' You both wait and watch Vinthorp work with his potions and bottles. After a while you ask, 'What is he's working on?' Sanders shrugs, 'I don't know, something utterly preposterous I would imagine.' You then see Vinthorp working all alone on the fringes of magic being ignored by everyone. Maybe you should ask him if you could help him in some way. You see that Vinthorp is isolated in his studies, maybe you should ask him if you can help. You step past Sanders and stand next to Vinthorp and admire at the large array of bottles and glass tubing on Vinthrops workbench. The Mage ignores you, but when you don't leave he gives you a sideways glance. He says gruffly, 'What do you want, I'm busy.' You smile and ask him what he is working on. The Mage gives you another sideways glance, 'I believe that the world we live in is held together by a network of energies. We just need to find a way to interact with these energies. It could both revolutionize and simplify the way we use magic.' Behind you Sanders mutters under his breath, but you ignore him and say to Vinthorp, 'If I help you in your work, will you help me with mine?' The Old Mage frowns, 'That seems a fair trade. I do require some materials to push forward my studies. I am trying to find a link between the two dissimilar states. But I can't decide where to start.' Again from behind Sanders mutters, 'I would initially use essences from differing Creatures. I remember an interesting specimen called the Energy Sprint in the Crystal Caverns. It would be a good base to start from as it's such a strange being.' Vinthorp turns and looks for the first time directly at Sanders. He coughs and looks away embarrassed that he spoke and mumbled, 'That's what I would do anyway.' Vinthorp nods, 'That's a very good idea Findor. Creatures have definite natures and have more variation than minerals which I am trying at the moment. It would be a good starting point for the study. I have one problem though, I require somebody to acquire samples for the work. May I utilize your Warrior here? I don't wish to take advantage mind you.' Sanders then hand hands Vinthorp the communication from the Cathedral of Ways and says, 'That's all right, as long as you look at this when you have time, the Warrior is at your full disposal.' He then grins at you and leaves. Vinthorp folds his arms and smiles at you, 'Well, I rarely get help assigned to me. But I think we shall do as Findor suggests. One should not dismiss his comments too readily, a very shrewd Mage is Findor.' He then walks over to his desk and picks up a dusty tome and thumbs through it. 'Ah yes. I see what Findor means about these Energy Spirits. Go back to the Magic Circle (Courtyard) and find the Western Minor Chamber, I shall activate the Portal to the Crystal Cavern (Nook). Meet me there.' Vinthorp waits for you in a strange crystal chamber. The old Mage smiles, 'Glad you got here Warrior, I would like you to search the Crystal Cavern (Entrance) for Energy Spirits. I require a Splinter of their essence, this recipe should describe what I require. Please return when you have the Splinter.' You receive 1 x Energy Spirit Splinter Recipe Vinthorp waits for you to return, 'Have you acquired the Energy Spirit Splinter for me yet?' The old Mage holds it up, 'It's much prettier than I thought it would be thank you Warrior. I now need a dissimilar essence and I seem to remember a demonic Creature nearby that would do nicely. But I need to go and check on something back at the Magic Circle, it should not take me long. Whilst I'm doing that I'd like you to go back into the Crystal Cavern (Entrance) and find the stairway to the Entora Mountains. Then enter the Burning Abyss, I shall meet you there.' The heat of the Burning Abyss assails you. Choking as the searing air scorches your lungs, you stagger along the rocky path. Eventually you find Vinthorp standing in the corner of this torturous realm. The old Mage smiles pleasantly at you as if he is strolling along a garden path, 'Hello Warrior. This is an... odd place is it not?' You look around and ask him, 'This looks like a level of hell itself. I thought the Bloodstone stopped the Demons from entering the realms.' Vinthorp gives you a sharp look, 'Well now, few mention the Bloodstone. The Artifact does seal a rift between our world of existence and theirs. But it is not a gate, that shuts a doorway completely. It's more like a net that catches the biggest fish, but lets the smallest ones through. So minor demons do creep into our realms, but they are nothing we cannot handle. Although this realm is called the Burning Abyss, it's not actually a hell domain. But rather the result of the hot blood of the world bubbling up to the surface from the unknown depths below. Saying that Demons do like it here. So they have infested this realm, so it might as well be called the Burning Abyss. It's as good a name as any.' Vinthorp then looks around, 'I have been interested in this Domain for some time now, but have not had the chance actually to come here myself. There are two items of interest to me. The first is a device called the Burning Soul Gem, it can be found in this rough area. I went back to the Circle to do some research but I'm sorry, the books don't actually pinpoint specifically where the Gem can be found. They only say it's here in the Burning Abyss. Which is not very useful.' 'The second is the Order of Gwain, they have a Temple somewhere in this Realm. After you have found a Burning Soul Gem, meet me in the Burning Abyss (Temple).' Vinthorp is about to walk away when he stops and turns to you, 'Oh, I saw a Wounded Warrior just around the corner, you best go check on him to see if he's alright.' You find Vinthorp gazing about in open fascination at the dark temple, 'Ah, there you are Warrior. I was beginnig to wonder where you had gone to. Have you managed to get me the Burning Soul Gem I asked for?' He takes the burning crystal skull from you, 'Well this is impressive. I will look forward to studying this back in my workshop.' He puts the Gem into his backpack, 'Well. There has been a question as to why the Order of Gwain that was sent here to clear out the Demonic presence within the Burning Abyss has failed to do so. All those who have tried have never returned, could you look see if you can find out why?' Search the Temple for a clue as to why the Mages sent to kill the Demons in the Burning Abyss have never returned You gain 600 Current Stamina. The dark temple is filled with insane fire Mages. You find that if you just stay quiet you can simply walk past them as they constantly mutter incoherently to themselves. As you continue through the Temple, you discover a burning pit with a strange woman with blazing skin and hair of fire hovering above it. She waves you over. You draw you weapon and carefully walk up to the flaming woman. Your first thought is that she is a Demon, but you do not feel the crippling fear when you get close to her, as you do when around the Demonic. Then you see her feet seem chained to the smoke rising out of the burning pit. She leans over you and sniffs the air, 'I smell the death of the Hellion around you. But you don't have magic coursing through your veins which is something I require. But my sisters are keeping all the cattle to themselves.' She then hands you a tablet of stone, 'This will show you how to make the Flame that I require to live in this Realm. Bring me the Flame of Rage that burns within the Crazed Fire Mages and I will reward you.' You receive 1 x Flame of Rage Recipe The strange woman waits for you to return, 'Have you the Flame of Rage I desire?' You give the Flame of Rage and are struck how similar it is to the Burning Soul Gem. She takes the Flame from you and holds it with both her hands so she does not drop it. 'I don't understand. The Fascination within the Flame has a powerful component that is actually from our essence. It's as if my Sisters actually have attachment to the very cattle that they harvest. No - this can't be true, the mortals only use is to serve our needs. I must look into this further. You may have this Recipe, now go before I change my mind about consuming you.' You receive 1 x Potion of Searing Rage Recipe You should return to Vinthorp and tell him what you have found Vinthorp stands in the dark Temple waiting for you, 'Did you find out anything about the Order of Gwain?' You describe to the Old Mage the strange Fire Naiad, and her desire for Rage from the Crazed Fire Mages. You guess that the strange Naiad has put a glamor on the Mages, then drink the Rage from them. Vinthorp listens then sighs deeply, 'So it looks like the Order of Gwain has been dominated by Naiads. They are creatures of Fae and not to be trusted, but I am told that those who serve them have their lives extended substantially. That s such a shame, that the Order has fallen under the spell of the Fae. This is out of our league I'm afraid Warrior, I will have to send a report to Findor and he shall have to sort this out with help from The Light.' Vinthorp takes out a strange gemstone, 'I'm sorry Warrior but this cannot wait. I can't just let those brave Mages jump to the whims of Fae. I will send an associate to help you whilst I'm gone. I want you to go back to the Crystal Cavern (Entrance). You get there by returning to the Burning Abyss (Level 1) and find the stairway back to the Entora Mountains. Enter the Crystal Caves and meet Carris. She will tell you what to do. Oh - by the way, Carris is a half-orc. So watch what you say to her, I shall catch up with you when I can.' Without another word Vinthorp holds the gemstone to his chest and mutters a word and instantly vanishes in a flash of light. You are left alone in the dark temple, you had best meet Carris in the Crystal Cavern (Entrance) You gain 600 Current Stamina. You return back to the familiar Crystal Caverns. Siting in the glistening cave you find a Half Orc drinking from a well worn hip flask. She looks up at you, 'Nice one, I gots myself a good rest but everything comes to an end sometime.' She puts the stopper back in her flask and takes out a battered scrap of parchment, 'From this, we needs to have taken care of a whole bunch-o Gargoyles. Right then. Off you go. We needs 200 Gargoyles deaded. No needs ta worry, I'll be sit'n right here when ya done.' Carris gives you a toothy grins and waves you off. Carris grins up at you, 'You got rid of those Gargoyles yet?' The cheeky grin fades a little from her face, 'All 200 of 'em?!?' You simply nod, confused. Carris gets up, 'Vinthorp mentioned that you could get a job done, but I'm impressed nevertheless. Well, I have to say that the job is done. But I did see some Goblins scampering around.' The Half Orc's mouth twists in disgust, 'Whatever those little buggers are up to, I'll can bet my last gold it's no good. I saw them crawling around the stair to the Grotto. Meet me there and we'll see what them wretches are doing.' Meet Carris the the Grotto You find Carris glaring furiously all around her. The Half Orc growls, 'I saw them little sneaks crawling around, and if they are here, then someone else is too. Search the Grotto for anything that looks outta place. Whilst your at it slaughter 200 of them Goblins. I hates Goblins...' The Grotto is cold, silent and dark. You are surprised to find a glow of light within the gloom. You get closer to the strange glow when an angry voice booms out the murk, 'How dare you violate my chambers and kill my helpers.' You turn to see a Mage standing just outside the light, 'I shall have my pound of flesh as debt for this outrage! You are obstructing my work, that is something I cannot forgive...' The Mage shakes a battered hammer at you then turns into the dark. You must defend yourself against the enraged Jinsar (Elite), you might also need to get help with this enemy by forming a Group.rn Return to Carris when you have defeated the Mage You gain 600 Current Stamina. Carris stands over numerous Goblin corpses when you return, 'You found something in the Grotto?' You describe the Casting Circle and meeting the enraged Mage who seems to be working on something. Carris nods, 'I bet it's all those vicious Gargoyles littering the place. All you need to make a Golem is a Essence Spring, a bunch of rocks and a hammer.' She shrugs, 'Well, I guess I'm oversimplifying things. But that s the gist of it.' Carris then gives you a piercing look, 'You murdered the Mage good and proper I take it?' You smile and nod. Carris breaths a sigh of relief, 'All's well that ends well. We should make our way to the other crystal caves, they are called the Luminous Den (Level 1). Vinthorp mentioned we should head in that direction when we had dealt with the task the Magic Circle had given us. </strong>Use the Luminous Path and meet me in the Luminous Den (Level 1).</strong>' You gain 5 Max Stamina. You enter another crystal cave, within the cool darkness you find Carris deep in conversation with Vinthorp. Vinthorp smiles at you, 'Good to see you again [USERNAME]. I am pleased that you and Carris get on. She's very impressed with you, which is not easy to do.' Carris shrugs and takes another shot of her hip flask. Vinthorp continues, 'Carris was just telling me that you found a Mage hidden in a Grotto back in the Crystal Caverns. Can you tell me his name?' Carris snorts, 'Whats it matter? The cretin is dead and gone.' The old Mage leans on his staff, 'I do see your point my friend, but one does have a curiosity to what drove the Mage to such endeavors.' Carris is about so say something else when you quickly say, 'Jinsar, his name was Jinsar.' Vinthorp hums in thought, then after a moment says. 'I can't say that I have ever heard of that name. But then, I don't know everyone at the Magic Circle. But I take it that this Jinsar was not entirely mentally stable...' You say, 'He was lucid when I spoke to him, but he was in the hole making Golems with nobody but Goblins helping him. Which does not sound sane.' Carris giggles at your understatement but Vintrop frowns, 'Being insane does not mean he had no talent. Actually, quite the reverse as the mad don't necessarily accept what cannot be achieved. So the crazy are quite dangerous if left to their own devices. I just have a nagging feeling that we have not seen the last of Jinsar. Such dedication does not go without rewards.' He takes a sharp breath, 'But that is not why we are here, I still require materials for my study. There are reports of an odd sheep in this Realm, I think it would add some quirkiness to the study. Search this Realm and find the Grotesque Sheep and take its Crux. Or its base essence. This recipe will describe what I mean.' You receive Grotesque Crux Recipe Carris holds a chunk of sharp crystal which Vinthorp inspects closely, 'Did you manage to get me the Grotesque Crux?' Carris looks at the pretty Orb as Vinthorp takes it from you. As he holds it he mutters several words under his breath. The purple flame forms different runes as he mumbles, then goes back to a purple flame. After a few moments he frowns, 'The purple flame denotes undeath, but there are several overtones within the spell weaving that hint at crafting rather than summoning.' Carris looks vacantly at Vinthorp who smiles and says, 'You summon a Zombie but craft a Golem. It's two different methods to achieve the desired result. Zombies are quite different from Golems so they require a different approach in making them. But this Crux points to someone who does not have a firm grasp of how things are done. The crafting of the undead sheep is simple and is actually quite ingenious. But a Sheep is a fairly basic creature. A walking humanoid Zombie has more complexities to it. You would think it would be the other way round, but the four legs of the Sheep gives a more stable base for the undead, so it is simpler for it to stay upright.' He then asks you, 'Did you find a disc or plate of some kind that had a single rune carved on it?' You tell him of the Carved Spell Tablet and he nods. 'Yes, just as I suspected. Someone is using the Golem crafting process on dead tissue instead of a mineral or metal. I suspect that this is simply an experiment, but it shows an unhealthy mischief in the mind of the Spell Weaver. Whilst you were gone Carris spotted what looks like another Golem made from crystal. I would like you to check to see if there are any similarities with the Grotesque Sheep. Take this Luminous Crystal Core Recipe and return to me when you have constructed the Core.' Carris takes a deep swig from her hip flask then says, 'I'll go scout about to see if there are any other strange Creatures wandering about. I will not take long, see ya soon.' You return to find Vinthorp staring intently into the Crux, 'Ah, good you're back. Have you managed to get the Luminous Crystal Core for me yet?' The old Mage takes the glowing pyramid from you, 'Well now, this is different.' He again holds it in both hands and mutters slowly under his breath. As he does so several runes from in the glowing light within the crystal. Vinthorp looks at you earnestly, 'You found another carved disc on the Crystal Golem, what did it look like?' You describe the Inscribed Rune Circle and Vinthorp listens intently, 'So, the Crystal Golem focus was different from the Grotesque Sheep focus. I would assume that is due to the Spell Weaver being more practiced with constructing Golems than Undead. The spell focus is more intricate on the Golem but it does show a certain flourish in the casting. Or maybe pride...' Carris walks up to you both and sits down. Vinthorp looks down at the normally buoyant half orc, 'Are you alright?' Carris nods curtly and takes out her faithful hip flask and drinks deeply. 'I found more of them Golems. But the Gargoyle Enforcers seem to be ordering the other Gargoyles about.' Vinthorp takes a sharp intake of breath, 'That seems to point to a hierarchy of order. Maybe a beginnings of a social structure.' He pats Carris on the shoulder, 'You have done well my friend, rest a while.' The old Mage then looks back at the Luminous Crystal Core in his hand, 'I must say that this does seem overly complex for basic Golem. It's as if the Caster who crafted it is trying to make some sort of point. But we need to find out who is behind this. I suspect that this Gargoyle Enforcer might be a good place to look. Every Incantation has the fingerprints of the Spell Weaver. Make this Mystic Conjunction Recipe from the Golem Enforcer, and bring it to me. If we are lucky, I can study it and try to discover who is responsible for making the Golems.' You receive 1 x Luminous Mystic Conjunction Recipe You return to find Vinthorp talking to Carris, 'Have you managed to construct the Luminous Mystic Conjunction I asked for?' Vinthorp holds the Crystal in front of him and mutters under his breath. Within the crystal, runes form and then dissipate like mist. The old Mage frowns, then asks you. 'Did you find any runes or magical glyphs within the Enforcer?' You tell him that you only found a single Rune, but that was extremely faint. Vinthorp squints at you, I'm sorry, did you say faint?' You shrug, and nod. The old Mage frowns again, 'For a spell weaving to work, the caster must form the rune completely or it simply will not give the required effect. All magic devices must have a defined shape to retain the magical energies required for the spell to function. What you mention seems to imply that the Glyph was poorly formed, but if that were the case the arcane energies would pull the device apart.' Carris then asks, 'What if you have an existing Rune and you copy it? Would that not save time and energy?' Vinthorp gives the half-orc a withering glare, 'No Carris. Each Rune has to be made anew, or the energies held within the device would erode the definition of the very Glyph itself and again the Rune would be torn apart. Any Mage learns that fact in their elementary teaching.' Carris growls and stands up, 'So when you say it would "erode the definition," how is that different from fading?' Vinthorp looks at her, then down at his feet. Carris continues, 'Did you ever think that just maybe, the Mage that did this did not have the benefit of a Magic Circle education?' Vinthorp then clears his throat and looks like he is going to say something else, but under the angry glare of a furious Carris, he wisely changes his mind. Carris takes a swig of her hip flask then, 'Well you can consider the intricacies of Magic. I'm gonna go look in the Crystal Cavern (Gargoyles Den Level 1) and see if there is anything there.' She then stalks off without another word. You watch her go and Vinthorp puts the Conjunction away in his backpack, 'She has a point of course. It's just that I would not think of it. Copying a rune would be like holding a sword by its blade. It's just not done. Well, we had best follow her, I don't want her getting into trouble.' Find Carris in the Crystal Cavern (Gargoyles Den level 1) You gain 600 Current Stamina. You and Vinthorp follow Carris into the Gargoyles Den. It does not take you long to find the half orc, but when you do she looks exhausted. Vinthorp see Carris bent over and struggling for breath, 'Carris!' he calls out instinctively and she looks around at the sound of her name. She points behind you and you draw your weapon. Behind you you see a small gang Gargoyles running towards you. Kill 8 Gargoyles to defend Vinthorp Carris catches her breath, 'Hhhhh... hha...have you got rid of the last of them Gargoyles?' The half orc grins and stretches, 'Serves me right for storming off without thinking. I got jumped by a bunch of Gargoyles. There were lots of them, but I should be better than that! There is one thing they did say. They screamed that "You shall not interfere with the Creator!" They seemed to be defending the Gargoyles Den Level 2.' Vinthorp looks at the dark entrance nearby, 'We should go take a look in the Gargoyles Den Level 2 and introduce ourselves to this Creator. I have some questions about their technique.' You hear the sounds of battle long before you find Carris and Vinthorp, but when you do they are surrounded by enraged Gargoyles. The old Mage sees you and slams his staff into the floor and a wave of fire consumes the Gargoyles. He waves you over. You hesitate at the demonstration of sheer power from the old Mage, the way Vinthorp destroyed the Gargoyles was almost casual. Carris continues to look for other enemies. Vinthorp steps over the ring of Gargoyle rubble and says, 'We found the Mage responsible for constructing all these Gargoyles. But it's not a Mage at all, it's actually a Gargoyle that claims he is the "Son of Jinsar". That fool, Jinsar constructed a sentient Golem and discarded it as defective. He could not even recognize his own masterpiece. Anyway, the Golem calls itself Mortek the Bright, and it is experimenting with building Gargoyles to prove to Jinsar that he is worthy of him. This explains the faults in the construction of the Golems as Mortek is only guessing at what he is doing.' 'Unfortunately, Mortek has learnt of Jinsars death and is now out for revenge. We really can't have an angry Golem constructing an army down here. Hunt down and kill Mortek the Bright (Elite). I doubt you will have many problems with him, Mortek is not as mighty or bright as he thinks he is.' You return to find Carris cutting down any Gargoyles that come near and Vinthorp sifting through the shattered Golem rocks apparently in a world of his own. He looks up at you and smiles, 'Have you destroyed Mortek the Bright (Elite) yet?' Vinthorp discards a rock, 'Well that is a shame really. A self-aware Gargoyle is a tremendous achievement by Jinsar. Not only that, but Mortek also made other Gargoyles which shows an amazing level of ingenuity. It's a loss to the scholarship that we could not study Mortek in depth. But then we had no option. We cannot let a vengeful Creature make a Gargoyle army and he was intent on killing us. But he did have his reasons, we had just murdered his maker.' Carris shouts over to the introspective Mage, 'Vinthorp, don't be sad that you weren't brutally slaughtered! You should be happy, because now you know it's possible to make a thinking Gargoyle. Your problem now is to puzzle out how Jinsar did it!' The old Mage stands slowly and drops the stone he was looking at, 'I suppose your right, I'm not going to find anything amongst these stones now. I also have a task to do for the Warrior here. I need to get back to the Magic Circle to start it.' The half-orc looks over her shoulder after shattering another Gargoyle, 'So wot task is that then?' Vinthrop stands staring at the rocks at his feet, 'These are shattered Gargoyle, how often do you get that? I bet they are useful for something...' He then looks over to Carris, 'We had a deal, the Warrior would help me gather materials for my study, and I would do some research into a Rune the Cathedral of Ways found. I guess I should get started on that.' He then picks up a stone and puts it into his backpack. Vinthorp then smiles at you, 'I must thank you [USERNAME] for helping me acquire these Creature Materials. I now have a wide variety which will help me start my studies. I shall now return to the Magic Circle and look into the Rune you wanted to investigate. Although I'll need some time to investigate the Rune I'm guessing, so just rest up and recover until I have something for you.' With that Vinthorp holds a crystal to his chest and mumbles something under his breath and he vanishes in a flash of light. Carris snorts at you, 'Well now, guess we'll just take the long way back to the Magic Circle. No use standing around here while we wait. Let's head back to the Magic Circle (Chamber of Vinthorp). I'll meet ya there!" Return to the Magic Circle (Chamber of Vinthorp) and take the Stairway to Magic Circle (Vinthorp's Study). You receive 30,426 Xp + 10 Max Stamina. |
