DemonicDarkwraith
ArchKnight DragonFable
|
 Maleurous Epilogue: Remembrance
Location: Falconreach (Book 3) -> Up -> Left -> Uaanta -> The Maleurous -> Notha Ly'Ehr -> The Epilogue: Remembrance
Level/Quest/Items required: Completion of Rebirth
Release Date: June 10th, 2022
Objective: All things have to have a beginning, and an end. And an ending is always bittersweet.
Objective completed: "As one journey ends, another begins. Such is the hero's story."
Experience rewarded: 0
Gold rewarded: 0
Monsters
None
NPCs
Key
Lock
Myalos
Notha
Spruce
Uaanta
Rewards
Charm of the Makers
Dialogue
*The next morning, in Book 3 Falconreach Inn, Spruce has finished cooking fish stew for you, your dragon, Uaanta, Notha, and Myalos.*
Spruce: Fish stew's ready, everyone!
*You, Uaanta, Notha, and Myalos are sitting one of the tables as your dragon eat fish stew below their table while Lock and Key observes them.*
Uaanta: I don't know...This doesn't feel right.
Notha: Is there something wrong with your stew? I can't say I've had anything quite like it before.
Notha: What do you think, Myalos?
Myalos: ...I do not have the required mechanical processes to ingest food.
Myalos: But I'm sure it's delicious.
Notha: Ah, right. We'll have to figure something out for that!
Notha: With your permission, of course.
Myalos: Of course.
Uaanta: No...the stew's fine. Delicious even.
*A brief pause before you and your companions discuss Remthalas' remains.*
Uaanta: Was it really okay to have Remthalas just...
*You assure Uaanta that Remthalas' remains are safe inside Lock and Key.*
<Character>: Uaanta...
<Character>: Lock and Key will make sure whatever remains of Kathool's influence does not escape.
Uaanta: You say that, but I find it hard to believe they're infallible.
Uaanta: The Makers are inside them too, after all. And if the madness that took Remthalas were to spread...
Uaanta: It seems risky.
Lock: The remains are dormant and secure.
Key: Risk is minimal.
Notha: Besides, it's only temporary! They just have to hold everything until we get back to Lhe'Shyiac!
Notha: Ahh...I'm not one for nostalgia, but it really has been quite a while.
Notha: Once I get a lab set up, maybe excavate a few artifacts...
Notha: We'll make a separate secure unit for Remthalas.
*As they continue to discuss Remthalas, you and your companions try to make sense on events that transpired during Remthalas' last shared dream.*
Uaanta: Hm.
Uaanta: Aequilibria, Whispers, Kathool...
Uaanta: I'm still trying to make sense of everything.
Uaanta: What...What happened to Remthalas?
Notha: I can't say I know anything about this Kathool entity, but as for Remthalas himself...
Notha: The way I understand it, Remthalas and his people were tasked by the Avatars with...
Notha: Hmm. Keeping watch over something or other.
Notha: Well, whatever it was broke free and the abyssal elves were enslaved.
Notha: Remthalas managed to escape, but never forgave the Avatars for abandoning them to their fate.
<Character>: Something that broke free and enslaved them...I think it's fair to say that was Kathool.
Notha: Oh. Right. That makes sense!
Uaanta: ...I...I see.
Uaanta: What we fought then, that was this...Kathool?
<Character>: No, I don't think so. Not entirely.
<Character>: It was different from the Kathool I encountered before. Similar...but different.
<Character>: I think...Remthalas maybe never truly escaped Kathool.
Notha: So Kathool's influence and Remthalas' desire for revenge against the Avatars and Aequilibria must have coalesced in his dreams.
<Character>: So he wasn't just angry about the Avatars, but Aequilibria too?
Notha: Ah, that might have been my fault.
Notha: Or at least, he learned of Aequilibria from me. I think.
Uaanta: It sounded like Kathool had some knowledge of Aequilibria and Whispers beyond your understanding, Notha.
Notha: Curious, that.
Notha: Whatever the case, I imagine the madness must have latched onto Remthalas' obsession and amplified it somewhat.
Notha: Kathool probably wasn't happy about the Avatars trying to contain it either.
<Character>: What do you think, Myalos? You've been pretty quiet.
Myalos: I...do not recognize any of these designations.
Myalos: I am sorry I cannot be of any more help.
Uaanta: It's okay, Myalos. We're just trying to make sense of everything.
Myalos: I do have a curiosity though. Remthalas mentioned things repeating or staying the same...
Myalos: Just how old is Kathool?
<Character>: When I first met it, it mentioned that we had met before.
<Character>: A lot of cryptic weirdness, just like this time.
*Scene shifts to focus on Myalos, acknowledging your efforts to understand Kathool.*
Uaanta: ...You don't suppose we get reincarnated or reborn after we die, do you?
Notha: Oh? Such blasphemy from the holy warrior!
Uaanta: I'm only asking the question as a hypothetical.
Notha: That's how it starts, you know...
Uaanta: ...
Notha: Right. Too far. Sorry.
Notha: As for reincarnation...Hmm.
Notha: Even among the Exalted, there was no mention of people being reborn, or souls "returning" from death as it were.
Notha: At least, from my own studies. And it was certainly never a theory followed by Lhe'Shyiac in my time.
Notha: After all, I was directed by the throne to look into...longevity.
Notha: From my understanding, when people die, their mana typically returns over time to the Mana Core. What happens after that, I cannot say.
Notha: There are exceptions of course! But none that I have studied particularly in-depth.
<Character>: With how old Kathool seems to be, maybe it has trouble understanding what happens when it wakes.
<Character>: I know it recognized me. Or thought it did.
Myalos: ...Who knows?
Myalos: Maybe it is as ancient as I am, or older. And perhaps its memories are just as frayed.
*As you and your companions continue to banter, your dragon eats your bowl of fish stew on their table.*
Uaanta: ...Maybe it isn't right to keep the Makers as they are, if this is the sort of threat that they were protecting us from.
Notha: Ah, but we were able to protect ourselves!
Uaanta: We can't protect everyone.
Notha: And neither could the Avatars.
Notha: I can't say I'm not interested in Kathool, but from what we saw happened to Remthalas...
Notha: Some things are better left alone. For now, at least.
*You ask Myalos why did they fight against the Avatars as your dragon eats Myalos' bowl of fish stew.*
<Character>: Oh, that reminds me, Myalos!
Myalos: Yes, <Character>?
<Character>: How did Notha convince you to fight against the Avatars?
Myalos: Notha offered me that which I wanted most.
Myalos: Life. A new form.
Notha: I was very convincing!
Uaanta: That was all? That seems like a rather...lopsided transaction.
Myalos: If I survived, I did not know what would happen to me. Perhaps I would have been free.
Myalos: There is a very distinct possibility that the Avatars would have imprisoned me or attempted to coerce me into their service.
Notha: You freed Myalos from the uh...what was it again?
Myalos: A corrupting seed.
Myalos: Shadowscythe.
<Character>: The Shadowscythe... That's one of the things the Avatars were afraid of! And I think... Sepulchure had ties to it?
Uaanta: Ah, I recall the Makers bringing it up when we first met them. Sepulchure was that villain you fought before, wasn't he?
Notha: And as I learned from Myalos, it turns out the Shadowscythe are older than even the Exalted!
Uaanta: The Makers feared themselves becoming influenced by... something. But that seemed distinct from the Shadowscythe.
Notha: They feared the influence of the Whispers. Though I imagine they've been conflicted for a long while now.
Notha: It sounds like you've dealt with the Shadowscythe before, <Character>. Do you have any insight into this?
<Character>: Hmm. Sepulchure and the Mysterious Stranger were a lot more actively... evil than even some of the Maleurous.
Uaanta: Destructive forces of Doom.
Notha: Doom... Perhaps the Shadowscythe is a splinter of the Whispers? No. That doesn't make sense, if it came before.
Notha: I'm working with incomplete information. How exciting! This begs further research!
Uaanta: ...Right. So, Myalos. We freed you from the influence of Doom.
Uaanta: Why turn against the Makers?
Myalos: ...
Myalos: I was free, but I held no gratitude for the Avatars.
Myalos: Uaanta and <Character>, you freed me despite the Avatars' orders.
Myalos: They would have been just as content to see me destroyed or subjugated by themselves.
Myalos: I would never be free to exist while they remained.
Uaanta: You...you don't know that.
Myalos: Given their previous behavior patterns, it was a logical inference.
Uaanta: ...
Myalos: Despite Notha's eagerness, and her own obsessions, I never felt used or coerced, as I feared from Remthalas.
Notha: You see? Nothing underhanded or sneaky. I didn't force Myalos to do anything they didn't want to!
<Character>: That's...reassuring.
Uaanta: I suppose I can try to understand...
*After your dragon flies outside, your dragon goes back inside as the time of day has shifted to dusk before asking what happened to the egg of the Savior.*
<Dragon>: What about that other dragon egg? | *Curious growl*
Notha: What's up, <Dragon>? Stew disagreeing with you?
Lock: They are curious about the egg of the Savior.
Key: It was returned to the Avatars after the heroes defeated Voyna.
<Character>: Do you know what happened to it after? I hate to think of it lost in the Deadlands...
Notha: This egg is important, is it?
Lock: The egg contains the counterpart to <Dragon>.
Key: The Savior. The Creator.
Notha: Hmm. Nothing I've ever heard of. Sounds like Celestial or Aequilibria nonsense to me.
<Character>: Do you know what happened to it, Lock and Key?
Lock: We do not.
Key: Wherever the Avatars may have placed it before their slumber, we do not know.
*Your dragon goes back to the top of your table as you think that the egg of the Savior will be important again one day.*
<Dragon>: ...
<Character>: I'm sure it will turn up eventually. Important things tend to, after all!
Notha: They...certainly do...
*Your dragon glares at Notha.*
Uaanta: Enough, enough!
Uaanta: That's enough heavy talk for one night!
Uaanta: We should be celebrating our victory!
Uaanta: There'll be plenty more time to talk later, before we head back to...
Uaanta: ...back to Lhe'Shyiac.
*You and your companions think about their adventure.*
<Character>: We've had quite the adventure, haven't we?
Notha: ...
Uaanta: ...
Myalos: ...
<Character>: Doesn't have to end here.
Uaanta: ...I suppose the grandkids can take care of themselves a little longer...
Notha: There's still so much to see!
Myalos: I would like to explore more of this land, as well.
<Character>: You're all welcome to stay as long as you wish!
Uaanta: And I'm sure your adventures will one day lead you to Lhe'Shyiac as well.
Uaanta: You'll be welcome as a hero, of course!
Myalos: As one journey ends, another begins.
Myalos: Such is the hero's story.
Notha: So solemn! We need to lighten up a bit!
Notha: Hey, Spruce, can you get us a round of Moglinberry Juice or two? The good stuff!
Notha: The better stuff? I just want more.
Spruce: Sure thing!
Notha: Note to self: Procure a keg or two for transport back to Lhe'Shyiac. I'm sure there's plenty of room in Lock and Key!
Later, that evening.
*Nighttime, you look at Serenity's statue outside the Falconreach Inn as you reflect your encounters against Valtrith, Caitiff, and the Maleurous.*
<Character>: It's over. It's finally over, Serenity.
<Character>: From the cultists, to Valtrith...Caitiff, to Maleurous.
<Character>: ...But it's never over, is it?
<Character>: I know there will be more threats to Lore.
<Character>: More mysteries to uncover, more friends and foes.
<Character>: More struggles and loss.
*You continue to reflect your victories and failures.*
<Character>: More victories, and moments of peace.
<Character>: I'm lucky enough to be free to make my own choices, follow my own path.
<Character>: And I have the power and friends to see me safely through the dangers along the way.
<Character>: ...
<Character>: But sometimes, I can't save everyone.
<Character>: Is that fate or Destiny decreeing when someone's life must end?
<Character>: Is it Doom overwhelming and destroying, taking whatever it can?
<Character>: ...
If you side with Uaanta in Revolution:
Uaanta: Sounds like you have a lot on your mind, <Character>.
*Uaanta appears, sensing that you have a lot in your mind.*
<Character>: Hey, Uaanta.
Uaanta: I can't say I really know all the answers to this Destiny and Doom stuff either.
Uaanta: And whatever happened to Remthalas. It makes me feel so...helpless!
<Character>: How are you holding up?
Uaanta: What, because I'm old?
<Character>: No, I didn't mean- It's just been a lot...
Uaanta: I'm kidding, <Character>.
Uaanta: I'll admit, it's been a few years since my blade has had such a workout.
Uaanta: And of course, I miss my children and grandchildren!
Uaanta: And then there's...everything that happened to the Makers.
*Uaanta reflects on the Makers' dormancy and its impact on her.*
Uaanta: It's an odd feeling, knowing that they're no longer watching over me. Over Lhe'Shyiac.
Uaanta: ...Or perhaps they never really were.
Uaanta: Not entirely.
<Character>: It's a big revelation.
Uaanta: ...Something like that.
<Character>: Have you decided what you're going to do with that information?
Uaanta: ...
Uaanta: Oh, I'm sure Notha will find some way to spread it, or the rumor will get out on its own.
Uaanta: But I'm going to keep it to myself.
Uaanta: So many in Lhe'Shyiac are happy, thanks to what the Makers started. To turn that over for the sake of what, a petty truth?
<Character>: So nothing's going to change for you?
Uaanta: Far from it! Lhe'Shyiac isn't perfect. And there are those that need protecting.
Uaanta: Even those who doubt the Makers or the Holy Throne.
Uaanta: Ha. Such blasphemy coming from the mouth of Uaanta Fayt!
Uaanta: But I am no longer a tool of the Makers. I am a hero. And I choose to follow in your footsteps, <Character>.
<Character>: That's...I'm honored.
Uaanta: And if you ever find yourself visiting Lhe'Shyiac, do stop by for a visit! And maybe an adventure or two.
<Character>: Of course.
Uaanta: Ah, I better head back in. I could do with another bowl of stew.
Uaanta: And make sure Notha's not getting into any trouble.
<Character>: Right! I'll be back in a moment.
If you side with Notha in Revolution:
Notha: Doing some difficult thinking, <Character>?
*Notha appears, sensing that you have a lot in your mind.*
<Character>: Hey, Notha.
<Character>: Well, recent events have given me a lot to think about.
Notha: Good and Evil, Destiny and Doom...
Notha: All these higher concepts and influences.
Notha: Even beyond those, such as Kathool!
Notha: Who knows how many...things are watching and playing with us?
*You ask Notha what to do against these concepts.
<Character>: So what do we do?
<Character>: There's enough trouble on Lore as it is without heroes searching beyond for beings that may one day look at us the wrong way.
Notha: We balance ourselves, <Character>.
Notha: And if anything, such as The Makers, wish to impose their will on us, then we fight back!
Notha: And we win. Just as we have already.
Notha: As for searching beyond...I'm certainly not satisfied with the answers I've gotten so far.
Notha: Maybe one day, when you get bored of being the hero of Lore, you'll find me. Or I'll find you.
<Character>: ...Or maybe you'll poke something you shouldn't have and I won't have much of a choice.
Notha: You always have a choice, <Character>.
Notha: Nothing is impossible.
*Notha pauses before asking you that you are friends with her.*
Notha: Are we friends?
<Character>: What?
Notha: Never mind.
<Character>: I...was just surprised! That's quite the tone shift.
Notha: Oh.
Notha: Sorry.
<Character>: I think...After everything we've been through...
<Character>: Hmm.
<Character>: What do you think, Notha? Are we friends?
Notha: I...
Notha: I don't know.
Notha: I'd like to be.
<Character>: Then that's a good start.
<Character>: I'm sure you'll meet plenty of other people on your adventures, too!
*You remind Notha that she caused the Makers' dormancy.*
<Character>: With the Avatars gone, whatever happens, whatever you decide to do, however you interact with others...
<Character>: It's all your own actions and words.
Notha: Ha. I did put a lot of blame on the Makers. The Avatars.
Notha: But even then, my actions are and were always truly my own.
Notha: Thank you for that reminder, <Character>.
Notha: I'm free, after all. Free to make mistakes, to learn and grow.
<Character>: You know, I'd bet there are a lot of people in Lhe'Shyiac who feel the way you did.
<Character>: Who feel like they've done everything right, according to the Makers, yet still find themselves suffering.
Notha: ...I was lucky.
Notha: But yes. There are certainly those who could do with some...freedom.
Notha: Oh, but I did promise Uaanta I wouldn't start a revolution.
<Character>: You've had so much time to process that anger and betrayal.
<Character>: Those you help might need more...productive ways to channel that anger, besides violence or lashing out.
Notha: Hmm...
*You seem to think that Notha is still planning a revolution.*
<Character>: You're still thinking about starting a revolution, aren't you.
Notha: Maaaaaaaaaybe.
Notha: If I just accidentally let word slip, and someone else spreads it, it's not really me starting things, is it?
Notha: I'm not actually telling people to take up arms!
Notha: Ah...but a clandestine group of researchers and adventurers sounds exciting too!
Notha: ...I'll just have to see which path feels more interesting! Or maybe I'll follow both!
<Character>: What about Uaanta?
Notha: I do want to be her friend, too, I suppose...
Notha: Ah! So many decisions! How exciting!
Notha: Speaking of which...
Notha: Right now, I am going to decide to go in and get another mug of Moglinberry juice, for example.
Notha: Such freedom is absolutely incredible!
<Character>: ...Right.
<Character>: I'll see you later, Notha.
Notha: ...Or maybe I could get Cocoaberry juice. Or mix them together! Surely someone's tried that before?
*After speaking with Uaanta or Notha, you return to look on Serenity's statue.*
<Character>: ...
<Character>: ...So many discoveries to be made.
<Character>: So many mysteries to solve, questions to answer.
<Character>: Adventures to be had!
<Character>: ...I better head back in before <Dragon> gets up to any mischief.
*You run off from Serenity's statue to check with your dragon; meanwhile, separated by no more than a tree, Lock and Key discuss their allies' victory.*
Lock: They seem happy with their results.
Key: As they should be. They were victorious.
Lock: Would they be upset if we were to leave?
Key: They would.
Lock: ...
Key: ...
Lock: Emotional attachment can be conducive to observational endeavors.
Key: Then the observation shall continue.
Lock: We still have much to learn.
Key: We still have much to share.
*Scene pans upward to the moon on the sky.*
THE END
Complete Quest
Other information
Completion of this quest unlocks Voidcutter shop.
Completion of this quest unlocks the quest chain Defiers of Fate, beginning with the quest Recreation!.
This quest's dialogue was modified on June 12th, 2022; any retired content has been archived here.
< Message edited by DemonicDarkwraith -- 2/5/2023 16:02:29 >
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