[PP-F27] The Mysterious Divide, Part I: Dagan

[Morningstar 0]

"I'm not sure about the details, the whole thing seems pretty—not "hushed up", what's the saying I'm thinking of—"like unbroken ground", I think. Anyways, the whole thing seems like unbroken ground. I'm not even sure if anyone has attempted the quest, let alone complete it."

Morningstar sipped his tea. He found that Asphodel was a bit of an odd character. The broker knew a lot, more than the blonde was comfortable with, and yet he had never once used it to take advantage of him. In fact, he acted as if he were a private investigator for Morningstar and never took a dime. It was bizarre, really. If he tried to offer, the hairless man would say "Not today, Lightbringer," and then disappear without a trace. The only thing that Asphodel asked of him was that he kept their meetings a secret. He obliged, seeing no reason to ruin his relationship with someone willing to go as high as the Twenty-Seventh Floor to collect information for him. They met infrequently, about once or twice per month, and rarely spoke of anything outside of business. Asphodel remained an enigma; Morningstar tried and failed to dig up even a crumb of his history and there was no record of raid or guild participation whatsoever. Not a soul knew who the man was.

And yet, he knew who everyone was. Morningstar could bring up a name he had only heard in passing and Asphodel would return with pages detailing their time in Aincrad, their skill as a player, their friends, their enemies, and even their current whereabouts. Only God knew how but the man had mastered his craft.

Asphodel continued. "It's a long one—the quest, I mean. This is only a rumor but supposedly, it takes you through each region of Floor Twenty-Seven. Think you're up for something like that? Could take weeks to complete."

"If that's true then the rewards must match the difficulty, right?" Morningstar asked.

"Hard to say. It's like I said, I'm not sure if this has ever been done before. For all we know, you would be the first to accept this quest," Asphodel trailed off, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.

Something had diverted the broker's attention but Morningstar did not pick up on it. He tapped gently against his floral teacup, considering whether or not to take on the quest. It would be a blind run and that could be dangerous. There was no telling what he would run into on his journey through the territories. He begged another question.

"Do you know where the quest begins?"

"Yes, actually. Here, in town, at the Grand Library of Ronbaru," Asphodel's reply was followed by a slow sip from his own cup.

Morningstar had yet to visit the Grand Library, much to his dismay. There was always something else to do, something more important than wandering the halls of an information bank as legendary as Ronbaru's. He had always been a sucker for a good book; however, since being trapped in the game he had lost the habit of reading. Perhaps this was the perfect excuse—er, opportunity—to start over.

"I've got a few other things for you to chase if this isn't to your liking," the broker offered.

Morningstar's brows furrowed. "You say that like this isn't the greatest quest available to us."

Asphodel shrugged. "Yada yada, different tastes. So, you in or out?"

He had already made up his mind and yet, he hesitated. Could he afford to spend so much time on a quest with a boss raid on the horizon? And the players—why were they not flocking to it? He weighed the pros and cons in his mind, keeping eye contact with the broker the entire time, until he finally chose to provide an answer.

"Yeah," Morningstar finished off his tea, "I'm in."

 

[ lv. 32  ->   l. 32 / p. 0 ] MORNINGSTAR | HP: 700/700 | EN: 102/102 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 4 | MIT: 122 | LD: 5 | Stealth Rating: -5 | EN Cost: +1 (+0 on first 2 turns)   Hide contents notes. activating (1) yui's grace: 200*tier EXP boost   Hide contents equipped royal greatsword DMG III armor of fallen radiance  MIT III lexa's light ACC III battle-ready inventory n/a skills.   Hide contents mod count: 3/5 2HSS | RANK 5/5 precision, stamina, ferocity shift: tech HEAVY ARMOR | RANK 5/5 impetus, iron skin COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 5/5 night vision, detect ENERGIST CHARGE extra SURVIVAL buffs.   Hide contents statue n/a consumables  n/a paragon n/a arts.   Hide contents en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x11 -> x14 TECH-A | x16 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x16 | DELAY TECH-D | x16 | SHATTER misc.   Hide contents Rested | -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat. Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down). Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30. Tasty | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. Relaxed | Increases out-of-combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Basic Training | +5% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post. gathering n/a

Edited July 22, 2023 by Morningstar

[NIGHT 0]

where the player base's information fell short, perhaps something within the game itself would hold its secrets.

night was back, but only because she'd had the raid's puzzles at the forefront of her mind. and this time, in ronbaru, she was here for nothing more than its library... and maybe a short visit at a local restaurant, if only to mull over things, a compulsive urge to tear at mental scabs.

her entry into the building itself was proper, and quiet. it had to be, of course – she barely remembered to respect the books after her time away from such areas, and only held back on being brash at the last second, her usual behaviour with the rest of the realm. her next quandry, however, was in searching for the right book amongst the many others unwanted – and to seek out a librarian in this massive hoard meant she'd be lost in here for a long time.

so she paused, in her activities, as the door shut behind her. night folded her arms as she contemplated. how best should she approach her search...?

 

[ lv. 142  ->   l. 32 / p. 110 ] NIGHT | HP: 1080/1080 | EN: 146/146 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 44 | LD: 3 | BH: 59 | Stealth Rating: 6 Spoiler   Spoiler equipment. Silver Crescent Necklace ACC II, EVA II pretense.  VAMP-D II, HB II armilla. LD III, EVA   skills. Spoiler mod count: 5/7 2HSS | RANK 5/5 focus, stamina, precision shift: aoe CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 emergency recovery ENERGIST QUICK CHANGE SCOUTING FAMILIAR CHARGE EXTENDED MOD LIMIT extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING untraceable, vanish, surprise attack-t buffs. Spoiler paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting.

Edited July 22, 2023 by NIGHT

[Morningstar 0]

Morningstar wasted no time in parting ways with Asphodel. When the last of his tea had been emptied from his cup, he stood up and headed for the exit. The broker called after him.

"Same time next month, Lightbringer. I'll make sure to bring something a little more juicy," he chuckled.

Stepping out into the sunlight, Morningstar glanced around. The Grand Library stuck out like a sore thumb, towering above the rest of the buildings, which were meager in comparison. He moved in strides and when he eventually arrived at his destination, he gazed up at it in awe. The architecture was magnificent. One foot after another, he made his way up the steps and entered.

If he had to guess how many books the library owned, he would pick a number in the ten to fifteen thousand range. There were a lot of books, which was fitting considering the name. Despite the number of reading materials available, there were no players in his immediate field of view. He thought, perhaps, they were hidden behind the many, many shelves that took up much of the library's space.

He was not sure where to begin. Considering there were no librarians or staff to be found, he thought it best if he simply wandered around and explored the nooks and crannies of the library. He was bound to find something that hinted towards the quest if he searched hard enough.

Slowly, he snaked from aisle to aisle, picking through books as he passed and silently praying that a librarian would pop out from nearby and send him on his way. It was hard to enjoy his time there when he was on a mission. As he turned the next corner in his path, he finally came across another person. Not a librarian, a player.

"NIGHT?"

[NIGHT 0]

when star had found her, night was already rooting through several books, realizing that most of them were either blank or lacking in organizational order. she'd made a mess around her, enough to have had drawn attention were there patrolling librarians nearby – but if no one had come forth to stop her, then perhaps her guess to find one was simply correct; a waste of her time.

the woman was surprised to see someone else in the grand library, however, especially if it was a player she'd recognized. arms stuck in between shelves, night pulled herself away from the gap, releasing the books she'd wanted to grab with her hands, and backing away carefully. "star," she'd started, wanting to follow up with a "what are you doing here?" but ultimately failing as she tripped over a stack of books, stumbling around before she found her grip on one of the pillars they were compacted between.

not a good start for an introduction.

"sorry," was all night had to say for herself. "uh, i'm here in search of information about the floor itself. but nothing much is turning up." she quickly brushed the awkwardness off herself with two hands, patting down her tracksuit and folding her arms. "forget what happened earlier. anyway... what about you? not everyone has a reason to visit the grand library... especially when some of these books have completely empty pages..."

[Morningstar 0]

He almost moved to catch her but stopped when he realized she had found her footing. "It's okay," he stifled a chuckle, agreeing to put what had happened out of his mind. Picking a book from the shelf, he confirmed that it was a wordless husk.

"I was partially here for the reading but I guess that's out of the question," a disappointed frown formed on his face as he returned the book to its spot and tried another. "I'm also looking for a quest, though."

Morningstar glanced about for a librarian. Still, nobody was around to act as his guide. He gently leaned against the sturdy bookshelf, his knit sweater a matching shade of brown. His grown-out hair was tied back comfortably. Not even his sword sat at his waist, which was unusual. The second book was full of writing but the majority of it was meaningless to him. He was not sure whether it was a history book or a cook book; it was written in some language he had never seen. Frankly, it looked made up.

It was a long shot but he decided to take it, his gaze leaving the gibberish on the page and returning to NIGHT's. "Any chance you've heard of the Mysterious Divide?"

[NIGHT 0]

she'd peered over his shoulder just to catch the letters on the page. undecipherable. just their luck.

but a quest? that was easier to pin point, night believed. "heard of it? try 'have i completed it?', because i have. it's the same series that handed out those words of power that i'd gotten leading up to the raid meeting."

the player took a step back, folding her arms. she hadn't exactly a reason to revisit the quest line, but given her lack of information from rummaging through the grand library, it would make for better sense to head down, physically, to the floor's individual environments and pick apart the clues as needed directly.

maybe there was something she'd missed.

"i'll admit, the broker i was talking to had already gotten the pointer towards dagan. wouldn't tell me where she got the tip from, but i heard it may have been in this library." night waved around, wondering if star would be interested in tracking down the employees not-present. "if you're starting on it, maybe we could head out together." she eyed the pile of empty books. "not like i had anything better to do, anyway."

[Morningstar 0]

"I'd wondered where you found those words of power. Never thought to ask."

He placed the unreadable book back on the shelf, neatly fitting it in with the rest. "I'd like the company. I'm not interrupting any fascinating reads?" He jested, peeking out around the corner. Corridors formed by bookshelves stretched out as far as Star could see. Tables in the center row sat unused and looked rather dusty, much like the books NIGHT had piled up. Maybe he was being harsh, but the library didn't appear to get much use.

"So," he turned back to the girl, "Librarians? Staff? Anyone? I haven't seen a single person since I walked in. Do we just wander around until we find someone?"

His broker had neglected to mention how haunting the place was. It was quiet, but not the way a library was meant to be. He didn't find it relaxing or welcoming. He found it creepy, like at any moment a ghost or ghoul would sneak up from around the corner and-

"Hello, and welcome to the Grand Library of Ronbaru," an old voice croaked.

"Jesus fu-"

[NIGHT 0]

night fought back the urge to smile, but set the side of her cheek to the back of her knuckles as she thought anyway, eyes closed. "i'm sure i could hallucinate a better fiction on the way to dagan," she decided, looking down the singular shelf-formed corridor the players had aligned themselves up within. and she kept quiet, unsuspecting, when she noticed a shadow approaching them from the far end. sure, she'd peered past star to look as well for a glance. at his commentary, she'd barely had time to raise a finger to gesture to --

"Hello, and welcome to the Grand Library of Ronbaru."

"Jesus fu-"

-- what was apparently an older man in ragged robes. in his hands, each, was a cane and an equally-unmarked tome, much like the rest they'd seen. and night wondered if it was upon coincidence that she found him familiar, although she'd chalk it up to the man's appearance jogging her memory more than the person himself.

"i suppose that's our someone," she answered star. to the man, she asked, "do you run this establishment here?"

amber eyes laid beyond that hood. he stroked his own beard, as though in contemplation. "well, i'm not so sure if the term running should be applicable here. but i suppose the library does benefit from my oversight. does that help you any?"

she glanced at star, hoping for a response, but recklessly chose not to wait for his input. "we were, err, hoping to learn more about the different territories... even so far as to consider visiting each of them... ourselves...? ... do you suppose you have any leads for us?" night gestured to the pile of books between the players. "we, uh... you could say we've been running into problems of our own here..."

[Morningstar 0]

Stroking his beard, the old man pondered NIGHT's question. "The territories, you say? Why, I don't doubt you've had trouble. You won't find anything of the sort in this section."

That wasn't exactly the problem she meant, but fair enough. Morningstar spoke up. "Could you tell us where we could find books about them? History, geography, culture—anything, really."

"Hmm. Let me think..." The librarian tapped his chin, glancing at isles and shelves. "Ah, yes! This way," he hurried them into the center lane and ushered them away from their mess. He looked back, embarrassed by the stack of books they had left behind, only to realize that it had somehow tidied itself up while their heads were turned. Odd.

"This is a place of learning." Motioning to the seemingly endless rows of books, the old man smiled mischievously. "Of course, finding answers has a funny way of creating more questions. The more we learn about farming practices, the more interested we become in the crystals that make the growth possible. The more natural resources we locate in Srona, the more we wonder why those same resources aren't distributed evenly through the land. And after the Misadventure of Mistrek..."

"Who's Mistrek?" Star whispered to NIGHT.

"...we find ourselves asking how one man could possibly manage to fit inside a-" With a quick wave of his hand, the NPC cut off his little diversion. "Oh, that doesn't matter much. What does matter is the most important question of all, and the one the Lapis Society was founded on..."

"And what's a Lapis Society?" He whispered again.

"...The Universal Truth. The 'big one.'" After a dramatic pause, the snowy-haired man threw his arms out wide, his brown robe flapping theatrically. "Why the territories exist at all!" 

[NIGHT 0]

honestly, they wouldn't find anything in this section. night, deadpanned, looked to their new guide quiet, before giving the empty books a pitiful look. as the duo were lead elsewhere, night choosing not to let her gaze wander, she listened intently to the lecture afforded to them. most that he spoke of, she knew. what little she didn't...

"Who's Mistrek?"

"i don't know."

neither did star, apparently.

she'd whispered back, still watching the librarian monologue.

"And what's a Lapis Society?"

her brows furrowed again, unsure if she should've taken offense to their teacher, "i don't know."

"...The Universal Truth," he'd said, "the 'big one.'" And in a grand gesture did he raise his hands, almost as though to point out how little they still knew about what they had to do next.

"Why the territories exist at all!" 

night pursed her lips, the tips of her fingers as her hands were held together brushing up against her mouth. and as she sent away the tension in her body, she responded to star under her breath, "you know, maybe a book could've helped us with that one..."

it didn't matter what they'd remarked, apparently, for it seemed as though their guide was one to continue his speech so long as they followed him around -- which, they did, even if one of them had objected to doing so partway through. it was only upon the mention of a donation and a journal did night's interest peak... but only briefly, because the chatter about what wasn't as important made what was fall away instead.

in the end, neither of them were given the--

"here," their guide finally said, pulling out a specific leather journal from the shelves that seemed indistinct from the others that populated it. bound by string and dyed a shade of teal, night passed it down to star after receiving it, half hoping he would be able to decipher better the mess of a description in both their heads. "a copy of the original. not that i'm sure if the front of it would be of any use to you! but if you open the book to the last page, upon it, the last entry, it is as i'd said."

what. er. what did he say.

night struggled to smile back to the man she didn't get a name from as she glanced to star's investigation (or lack thereof). and, just like before, how it mattered not what she did, so too did the librarian usher them out with a wave of his hand and a grin. "now go! the most prominent figures would have the key -- or clue -- that i'm sure we'll be looking for. they may have no idea what you're talking about. but on the other hand, they may. i'm willing to take that risk if it means uncovering the truth."

it was only upon their backs being turned that night directed her last jab to star. "he means we're the ones taking that risk on his behalf, truly..."

[Morningstar 0]

Star dusted off the old journal and turned to the last page. He skimmed it, not really reading the words, and not really listening to the old man either. Suddenly, they were being pushed out, and he shut the book in surprise. "My whole life is a risk these days," He mumbled.

Outside, he took another look at the journal. They'd been tasked with uncovering what was claimed to be a "universal truth" and given an anonymous library donation to do it. "I feel like I missed out on a prerequisite quest or ten," he said flipping through aimlessly. Returning to the end, he read a few phrases aloud. "The most important phrase... best forgotten... you've done the quest before, yeah? What's the context?"

He was prompted by a notification to travel northward, to the territory of Dagan, and assumed NIGHT had been as well. A stable worker wandered by, towing horses along with him. Star waved him down like a taxi, in need of a rental. "Hope you like horses," he remarked to NIGHT.

[NIGHT 0]

night shrugged at his question. and then, as though to reiterate one of the only few points she did remember from the librarian's speech, she spread out her hands in a 'grand gesture' and lowered the pitch of her voice.

"the universal truth... why the territories exist at all!"

thankfully, they'd only just entered the heart of the city once night's little act was done, so she didn't have to worry about embarrassing herself too much. instead, she fell into step beside him. "something about the territories either being one in the first place, or finding out the reason why this floor's split into five." or was it the crystals? night couldn't tell. either way, the moment star hailed down some horses, night shook her head.

"i've never ridden," she admitted. "i guess i'll get to learn now?"

it turns out that cardinal had total support for mounts, if she wasn't sure on how to execute it. so they left ronbaru, the night city giving way to the craggy fields of the territory north over, dagan. night remembered how she didn't think such a locale should've been suited for farming at all in the first place, but perhaps that too was part of the mystery they had to solve.

"here, there was a cave in, i think."

the horses took them to the entrance of vesh. the players dismounted, in full view of the town square -- and in proximity of the jeers from inside the town hall. night pointed over to the crowd of farmers almost spilling out onto the streets. "guess the chaos isn't that hard to find. though i'm not sure if that's what you'd want to start with if you're searching for clues here... i haven't checked the rest of the town yet, after all."

[Morningstar 0]

"Cave in? That doesn't sound good."

The town was a mess. Voices cried out around them, a mix of begging and general anger erupting from swarms of townspeople. "Note to self: avoid Dagan after they lose a hockey game." He didn't crack a smile, but meant it as a joke. They pushed through Town Hall, all the way to the back, where the Guild Representative's Office was. "'Scuse me," he slipped past a few angry farmers and found the office door. He knocked thrice, to no avail. He tried the knob. "Oh, it's unlocked. Why is it unlocked?" he asked NIGHT rhetorically. 

Inside was the Guild Leader. It was clear by the way he held himself how stressed and tired he was. Star pointed backwards. "So, is this about the cave in, or—"

"Hey! How'd you get in here?" Tiberius shouted, scrambling up in a panic.

"Uh... the door? While I've got you, is there anything you can tell us about—"

"Wait! You two look capable. Please—please help me! The ceiling of a mountain cave gave in and trapped many of our farmers! Please, you must save them!"

Star made a brief glance at NIGHT before responding. "Okay... what I was going to ask was—"

"Anything! Anything at all! But please, save the farmers first!"

[NIGHT 0]

"we have hockey in aincrad?"

now night was half joking. she followed star through the crowd, and was surprised at the lack of an answer at the door knock. why was it unlocked though? star let himself in. she simply tagged along.

and then the begging began.

she raised a brow, turning to star. "yeah," she said, "that sounds about right for a quest npc, don't you think?" so, with a shrug, she turned to tiberius. "sure. point us towards it -- which way's the cave in?"

they left as soon as they got their directions. further into dagan territory, past the city was a region more mountainous, where a number of tunnel entrances could be found. on foot, they walked, because night wasn't sure about the logistics of bringing their horses along. they got to the site of the incident, even as lost as they seemed to be, because there was already a gathering of townsfolk present to indicate that was where they were meant to go.

"it'll be dark down there," night said, rummaging through her inventory. if she was being honest, she had completely forgotten to come prepared since the last she'd visited the caves. the player peered into the darkness, and forgot she didn't have night vision active -- nor searching. so night cursed instead, hating how she was blinded by the dark. she turned to star with a fold of her arms.

"the best i can do is sneak in and be quiet, lest another cave in occurs. they'd be put in more peril. what've you got on hand?"

[Morningstar 0]

Morningstar thought about what he had in his inventory. "Some rope. A bit of wood, maybe. Night vision."

Rubble sealed the greater part of the cave's entrance, keeping the farmers trapped somewhere deep within. He took a look at the largest of the boulders. Even if he were to remove his heavy armor, he wasn't sure he could squeeze past. "If we can move that big one, I think its safe enough for me to climb in," he lied. It was obviously not safe enough. Still, they had farmers to help out.

Star's armor rematerialized as a pair of athletic pants and a t-shirt. If he was going in, he was losing the extra bulk. "Pretty sure I can figure out some jank pully mechanism. Just need someone to like, pull it. I don't think I have the upper body strength to lift anything like that."

Immediately, he got to work, doing things and stuff with wood and rope.

"Look. Wow. Pully."

He pulled aside a few strong-looking NPCs, ordering them here and there. "Ok. Now on the count of three, I'd like you all to pull on the rope as hard as you can."

"One. Two. Three!"

And up it went.