Dark Tides
Der Start im separaten Dungeon.
Der Dialog.
Der Ausgang der zu Mardoth führt...
...und in Umbra angekommen.
Von Mardoth the Ancient Necromancer bekam man einst die sogenannte Necromancer Newbie Quest Dark Tides angeboten. Heutzutage ist weder der NPC noch die Quest mehr verfügbar, da neue Charaktere (meistens) in New Haven starten.
Teil 1
An old man who looks to be 200 years old from the look of his translucently pale and heavily wrinkled skin, turns to you and gives you a half-cocked grin that makes you feel somewhat uneasy.
After a short pause, he begins to speak to you...
"Hmmm. What's this? Another budding necromancer to join the ranks of evil? Here... let me take a look at you... Ah yes... Very good! I sense the forces of evil are strong within you, child - but you need training so that you can learn to focus your skills against those aligned against our cause. You are destined to become a legendary Necromancer - with the proper training, that only I can give you.
Mardoth pauses just long enough to give you a wide, skin-crawling grin.
Let me introduce myself. I am Mardoth, the guildmaster of the Necromantic Brotherhood. I have taken it upon myself to train anyone willing to learn the dark arts of Necromancy. The path of destruction, decay, and obliteration is not an easy one. Only the most evil and the most dedicated can hope to master the sinister art of death.
I can lend you training and help supply you with equipment - in exchange for a few services rendered by you, of course. Nothing major, just a little death and destruction here and there - the tasks should be easy as a tasty meat pie for someone as treacherous and evil as yourself.
What do you say? Do we have a deal?"
Sobald man sein Angebot angenommen hat, antwortet Mardoth erfreut:
Teil 2
"Excellent choice, young apprentice of evil!
I will not waste our time with pleasantries. There is much work to be done - especially in light of the recent Paladin ambushes that we have suffered. The necromantic brotherhood is working towards the summoning of the elder daemon Kronus, who will rise from the Well of Tears to help us finally crush the Paladin forces that have plagued our land for so long now.
To summon Kronus, we must energize the Well of Tears with a series of dark rituals. Unfortunately the rituals needed to sufficiently energize the Well of Tears have been lost to us. Your task will be to recover one of the ritual scrolls needed for the summoning.
You will need to find the corpse of Arch Necromancer Maabus, which has been laid to rest in the Tomb of Elders. We believe his spirit may have memory of where we may find the scrolls needed for the summoning. You will need to awaken him from the slumber of death, using your Animate Dead spell, of course.
To reach the tomb, step onto the magical teleporter just to the West of where I am standing.
Once you have been teleported, follow the path, which will lead you to the tomb of Maabus.
One more thing before you go.
Should you get into trouble out there or should you lose your way, do not worry. I have given you a magical horn - a Horn of Retreat. Play the horn at any time to open a magical gateway that leads back to this tower.
Should your horn run out of charges simply hand me the horn to have it recharged.
Good luck friend."
Hier wurde man per Teleporter Tile, die sich immer noch im ehemaligen Tower von Mardoth befindet (aber nicht mehr funktioniert) gleich auf den richtigen Weg gebracht – nämlich gleich nördlich, ausserhalb von Umbra.
Teil 3
Maabus emits an ear-splitting screech as his body reanimates. He turns and angrily screams at you.
"YOU INFIDEL! HOW DARE YOU AWAKEN MAABUS!?!"
Maabus continues to scream at you angrily for some time. As he settles down, you explain to him the purpose of your visit Once you explain that you are on a quest to summon the elder daemon Kronus, Maabus begins to cooperate, and begins to speak in a more reasonable tone:
"Well why didn't you say so? If you're going to raise Kronus from the Well of Tears, you must first complete a long series of dark rituals. I once owned one of the scrolls needed for the summoning, but alas it was lost to me when I lost my life to a cowardly paladin ambush near the Paladin city of Light. They would have probably hidden the scroll in their precious crystal cave near the city.
There is a teleporter in the corner of this tomb. It will transport you near the crystal cave at which I believe one of the calling scrolls is hidden. Good luck."
Maabus' body slumps back into the coffin as your magic expires.
Nun wurde man per Teleporter Tile wiederum an den nächsten Ort gebracht, nämlich direkt vor Horus the Guardian's Höhle, östlich des Stadttores von Luna.
Teil 4
Die Quest ging mit einem Gespräch des Wächters weiter:
An old man, dressed in slightly tattered armor, whom you recognize to be a Paladin stands before the Crystal Cave staring blankly into the space in front of him. As he begins to speak to you, you realize this man is blind. You attempt to persuade the blind man that you are a Paladin seeking to inspect the scroll of calling...
"Greetings Traveler!
You seek entrance to the Crystal Cave, home of the Calling Scroll? Hmmm. You reek of death and decay, brother. You reek of death like a Necromancer, but you claim to be a Paladin in hopes that I will grant thee passage into the cave?
Please don't think ill of me for this, but I'm just a blind old man looking to keep the brotherhood of Paladins safe from the clutches of the elder daemon Kronus. The Necromancers have been after this particular scroll for quite some time, so we must take all the security precautions we can.
Before I can let you pass into the Crystal Cave, you must speak to me the secret word that is kept in the Scroll of Abraxus in the Vault of Secrets at the Paladin city of Light. It's the only way that I can be sure you are who you claim to be, since Necromancers cannot enter the Vault due to powerful protective magic that the brotherhood has blessed the vault with."
Teil 5
Nun wurde man zurück zu Mardoth geschickt, da man Hilfe beim Betreten des Vault of Secrets bräuchte.
Mordath looks at you expectantly until you tell him that you failed to retrieve the scroll.
You failed? Very unfortunate... So you must find your way into the paladin's Vault of Secrets, eh? Well, you won't be able to get in - there is a powerful magic aura that protects the Vault from all Necromancers. We simply cannot enter. However, that's not to say your familiar spirit can't.
Mordath grins with obvious satisfaction as he explains to you the details of the Summon Familiar spell to you... which will allow you to summon a scavenging Horde Minion to steal the scroll.
Very well. You are prepared to go. Take the teleporter just to the west of where I am standing to transport to the Paladin city of Light. Once you have arrived in the city, follow the road of glowing runes to the Vault of Secrets. You know what to do."
Nun wurde man direkt zum Stadttor Ost teleportiert, von wo aus man dann den Stadtweg rechterhand mit den leuchtenden Runen nahm, bis man im [[Vault of Secrets] ankam.
Teil 6
You have arrived in the Vault of Secrets. You can feel the protective magic in this place restricting you, making you feel nearly claustrophobic.
Just ahead of you and out of your reach, you see a collection of scrolls and books, one of them entitled "Scroll of Abraxus". You can only assume that this scroll holds the current password required to enter the Crystal Cove.
This would be a good opportunity to summon your familiar. Since your familiar is not a Necromancer, it will not be affected by the anti-magic aura that surrounds the Vault. Summon your familiar with the Summon Familiar spell.
Nun musste man den Horde Minion beschwören, der sich sofort die Scroll schnappen ging, mit der Meldung: "You instinctively will your familiar to fetch the book for you." In seinem Backpack liess sich dann die Scroll of Abraxus finden und herausnehmen.
Weiter gings dann folgendermassen:
You have obtained the Scroll of Abraxus, which contains the secret password needed to gain passage into the Crystal Cave where the Scroll of Calling is kept. Read the scroll (double click) and figure out the password.
One you have the password, return to the Crystal Cave and speak the password to the guard.
If you do not know the way to the Crystal Cave from the Paladin City, you can use the magic teleporter located just outside the vault.
Teil 7
Nun gings weiter wieder zur Crystal Cave, entweder per Teleporter gleich um die Ecke beim Vault, oder per Pedes zum östlichen Stadttor hinaus. Der Text der Scroll of Abraxus las sich wie folgt:
We have taken great measures to ensure the safety of the Scroll of Calling, which we have so valiantly taken from the Necromancer Maabus during the battle of the wood nearly 200 years ago.
The scroll must never fall into the hands of the Necromancers again, lest they use it to summon the ancient daemon Kronus. The scroll of calling is a necessity in the series of dark rites the Necromancers must perform to once again re-awaken Kronus.
Should Kronus ever rise again, the days of the Paladins, and indeed humanity as we know it will be numbered.
For this reason, we have posted the honorable Horus, former General of the Northern Legions to guard the entrance of the Crystal Cave where we keep the Scroll of Calling. Horus was infused with magical life from the tree of Urywen during his last battle. The power gave him eternal life, but it also, unfortunately, took his eye sight.
Since Horus cannot see those he admits to the Crystal Cave, he will only allow those that know the secret password to enter. Speak the following word to Horus to grant you passage to the Crystal Cave:
Urywen
Do not speak this password anywhere except when seeking passage into the Crystal Cave, as our adversaries are lurking in the shadows - they are everywhere.
Go with the light, friend
Frater Melkeer
Bei Horus the Guardian angekommen, musste man mittels Kontextmenu das Passwort aufsagen. Horus liess einen nun herein:
"Very well Paladin, you have proven to me your identity. I grant thee passage.
Be careful however - I've heard that the cave has been infested with a vermin of some sort. Our high Lord Melkeer was supposed to send some troops to clear the vermin out of the cave, but that was last wee already. I fear that he forgot.
If you can find it in your goodness to dispose of at least 5 of these vermin in there, I shall reward your efforts. If however, you are too busy, and I would understand if you were, don't bother with the vermin.
You may now pass through the energy barrier to enter the Crystal Cave. Take care honorable Paladin soul. Walk in the light my friend."
Teil 8
In einer goldenen Kiste am Boden fand man nun einen Haufen Scrolls und man konnte nur eine einzige dann "mitnehmen". Die Calling of Kronus Scroll war schwarz. Hatte man die Tiere (Skittering Hoppers) noch zusätzlich getötet, erhielt man von Horus bei Ausgang noch eine Belohnung.
"I thank you for going out of your way to clean out some of the vermin in that cave - here is your reward a bag containing 500 gold coins plus a strange and magical artifact that should come in handy in your travels.
Take care young paladin!"
Und danach gings zurück zu Mardoth.
Teil 9
Er war natürlich total glücklich, dass man die Scroll ergattert hatte:
"You have returned with the scroll! I knew I could count on you. You can now perform the rite of calling at the Well of Tears. This ritual will help charge the Well to prepare for the coming of Kronus. You are prepared to do your part young Necromancer!
Just outside of this tower, you will find a path lined with red lanterns. Follow this path to get to the Well of Tears. Once you have arrived at the Well, use the scroll to perform the ritual of calling. Performing the rite will empower the well and bring us that much closer to the arrival of Kronus.
Once you have completed the ritual, return here for your promised reward."
Wieder gings nach draussen, die Well of Tears in sehr kurzer Distanz zum Tower von Mardoth.
Teil 10
Zurück zu Mardoth zum letzten Mal, der sich überschwenglich bedankte:
"You have done as I asked. I knew I could count on you from the moment you walked in here!
The forces of evil are strong within you. You will become a great Necromancer in this life - perhaps even the greatest.
My work for you is done here. I release you from my service to go into the world and fight for our cause...
Oh... I almost forgot - your reward. Here is a magical weapon and 2000 gold for you, in the form of a check. Don't spend it all in one place though, eh?
In your pack, you will find an Enchanted Sextant. Use this sextant to guide you to the nearest bank.
Farewell and stay true to the ways of the shadow..."
