Maple's Story!

Ariant
Part 20

 Spoiler

One day while walking through the town of Perion, the traveler heard a strange rumor. Recently, a band of foreigners from a far-off desert had come through the town, looking for Manji. Whatever they wanted of him, he did not agree to it, and so they left back for their desert. Now, Manji was beginning to regret his decision and wanted to send them some help, but he couldn't simply leave Perion defenseless. As the traveler walked by, Manji found the solution to his dilemma. He could send the traveler in his place! First, though, Manji needed proof that the traveler was up to the task. He asked him to defeat a mere 15 Dark Axe stumps, an easy task for almost anyone. Once he had completed this, Manji informed him that he could use his power to warp the traveler to the town that the group had come from, the mysterious desert village of Ariant. After a short time of preparation, the traveler found himself in Ariant in the blink of an eye.

Getting here was the easy part, however. As the traveler wandered through the streets of Ariant, he realized that this town looked quite impoverished. It made no sense; the stories of Ariant had always described it as a wealthy town from the sale of Lidium, an important mineral which could only be found in the Nihal Desert. Lidium powers the Aeroboats, keeps Orbis afloat, and even drives submarines! Being the sole provider of such a crucial item should have made the town the richest in the world. The traveler decided to ask one of the residents about what had happened, but not a single Ariant citizen would speak to him. As he walked through the town, he luckily spotted a man who seemed to be a foreigner. The foreigner greeted him heartily, glad to see another visitor to this village. He said his name was Byron, and that he was an anthropologist studying the culture here. The traveler expressed his dismay that none of the people here would talk to him, and asked Byron what he could do to fix that. Byron explained that the people of Ariant were suffering due to the reign of their Queen Areda, who was extremely greedy. This fact had made the townspeople angry, and since the only regular outsiders were those selling goods to the queen, they developed a distaste for all foreigners. Byron himself had gained the trust of the citizens by becoming one of them, and advised the traveler to do the same. It was easy to become one: all he would have to do is go to the legendary Oasis outside of the palace and drink from it.

So, with the possibility of communication now available, the traveler wandered through town to the Castle. It was suspended a few yards above the ground, with a huge fountain underneath, and the Oasis right in front of it. As the traveler stooped to drink from it, he felt a cool sensation wash over him. He then heard a man yell something, and looked over his shoulder. A Palace Guard was looking out from the castle, and said to stay away. The traveler thought the castle looked amazing, and wanted to explore, but there was no way he could sneak past the guard. "If you really, really want to enter the palace, then there might be a way for you to enter. If you show your allegiance to the Sultan, then I may let you in." The guard shouted down to him. The traveler climbed up and asked how he could show his allegiance. The guard, named Tigun, said that the easiest way would be to pay a tribute of 2,000 mesos. It wasn't much, but the traveler felt a twist in the pit of his stomach. A bribe, that's what it really is... Still, there was no other choice. The traveler handed over the mesos and received an Entry Pass to the Palace in exchange. Tigun said that as long as he had this pass, he could enter. Tigun tried to behave as though he had just done the traveler a great favor, but he also emphasized that the traveler could get as many as he wished should he lose the first. The traveler restrained his dislike for Tigun's behavior and quickly left the castle area.

Unsure of what to do now, the traveler decided to go back to Byron. Byron could tell instantly that the traveler had drank from the Oasis, and so could the other townspeople. Byron advised him to strike up conversations now, and see if he could get more favorable responses now. He decided to take this advice, and walked up to a girl who looked to be a dancer. She introduced herself as Sirin, and stated that she wished to develop a dance so great that she could perform it for the Sultan of Ariant himself. The problem was, her dance just wasn't fancy enough to get the attention of the palace. Since the traveler was from a different land, she thought that he might have a new perspective on what she should add. Before the traveler had a chance to speak, she suddenly decided on bells. Bells, Sirin claimed, would make the dance flashy enough to be allowed into the palace. The only way to get bells, however, would be to take them off of defeated Bellimoa, desert snakes. Sirin said she would need at least 20 bells to cover her entire dance costume. The traveler decided it would be best for him to help her, to hopefully get on the townspeople's good side. He ventured outside of town deep into the desert in search of the Bellimoa.

While he trudged through the desert, the traveler spotted a strange man standing near a large rock formation. He looked suspicious, as though he were hiding something. The traveler was suddenly reminded of why he had come to Ariant in the first place. Could this man be a member of the group that had approached Manji? There was only one way to find out, and so the traveler asked. The strange man laughed raucously, "that's what it is. Yes, I am a member of the Sand Bandits! So, will you help me then?" The traveler agreed, but he had a sudden bad feeling. Manji was a brave and honorable man; this Strange Guy behaved shifty. Why would such a man have approached Manji? Still, he had promised that he would help this group of "Sand Bandits", so he had no choice. The Strange Guy asked the traveler to collect 30 Cactus Stems, which he planned to dry and tie together into a rope. What bad deed could possibly be done with a rope? The traveler decided to fill the request, but he still had to get the Bells first. Many Bellimoa were scurrying away nearby, and the traveler took the opportunity to attack. He had 20 bells in no time, and returned to the town immediately. Sirin was quite pleased, and began sewing them to her costume immediately. Now, he needed those Cactus Stems. Just west of town, the traveler was surprised to find many young-looking cactuses wandering around! He soon discovered that by defeating these, he could obtain the Cactus Stems. They were quite weak, and it was easy to get enough. The traveler, careful not to prick himself on the needles, carried the stems to the Strange Guy. The Strange Guy cackled again and took the stems. Now, he had a new request: He claimed to need Poison Needles for the next part of their plan. He already had the poison made, but he would need needles. The ones from the Stems were much too small, and so needles would have to come from a more mature Cactus. Poison Needles? Poisoning any humans, even the enemy, was certainly not an honorable act... Still, he couldn't break his promise to Manji.

The more matured Royal Catus were much closer to the Strange Guy. The man needed at least 50 of their thorns for the needles. These Catus weren't much stronger than the others, so defeating them was simple. In only a few minutes the traveler had gathered enough, and he headed back to the Strange Guy. Once again, the Strange guy took the materials and showed little thanks. In fact, he had yet another request. The Strange Guy told the traveler to break in to the Palace and steal the Queen's Treasure! He advised the traveler to use hidden warps to move in and out of the castle quickly. The treasure was hidden in a table on the far side of the King's Room, the deepest part of the Castle. It wouldn't be easy... Would the Sand Bandits really ask a newcomer to do such an important task? The Queen's greed was well known, and so maybe if this treasure is stolen it would help the people of Ariant. The traveler once again set his bad feelings aside and decided to proceed.

Tigun did nothing to stop him, as he held up the Entry Pass, and the traveler used every warp point in the palace to jump deeper and deeper inside. It really was spectacular, but now was not the time for sightseeing. One last warp took the traveler from the entrance of the King's room to the table where the treasure was hidden. The Sultan was sleeping peacefully, almost unwakeable. The traveler snatched the treasure, a small yet glamorous ring, and leapt out a hidden exit. He quickly departed the Palace area and ran through the desert to the Strange Guy. It wouldn't take long for the guards to notice him, so he didn't stop until he had made it. As he ran through the desert, he noticed a young boy dressed in a heavy winter coat. What on earth could someone who was dressed like that be up to out here? He'd have to come back and investigate this later. Finally, the traveler was standing, breathless, in front of the Strange Guy. He handed over the ring, and the man started laughing again. "Thanks to your help, the Red Scor…er, I mean, Sand Bandits has been going very smoothly. Thank you. Hahaha… I hope you keep helping us down the road." he said. Red what? The traveler was immediately very suspicious, and left the area. He suddenly had the feeling he'd been duped. The instant recollection of the boy in the coat temporarily distracted him, however.

The traveler walked back a ways to where the boy had been kneeling. The boy barely even acknowledged his presence, as he was busy tending to a lone rose which was inexplicably growing in the dry sands. He asked the boy if he was okay, and if he was thirsty sitting in the sweltering heat in that heavy coat. The boy merely asked for water for the rose. Water... When hunting the Catus, the traveler had found a few bottles of water that were labeled "Desert Mist". He took them out and handed them to the boy, who promptly poured them over the rose. The traveler shook his head, but the boy suddenly began staring off into space. When he asked what he was staring at, the boy tried to point out a star on the horizon. The traveler gave him a strange look, as it was much too bright out here to see any stars. The boy agreed that it was hard to see, and said that he had heard of a device which can be used to see the stars better. The monster Meercat carried these telescopes around with it to keep a lookout for trouble on the horizon, but they could also be used to look at stars. The boy wanted 20 of them, but gave no reason as to why he needed so many. Meercats lived in a different part of the desert, so it'd have to wait for now.

As the traveler walked back to Ariant, he passed by the Strange Guy once more. The man was adamant. He told the traveler that the ring, which they just stole, had been taken from them! The strange guy was convinced that Sirin was behind the theft. Sirin... How could she have gone against the Sand Bandits, when they were out to help the people of Ariant? Someone would have to confront her, the man said. The traveler agreed, not only due to his previous suspicions but because he had already met Sirin. He quickly ran back to town and talked to Sirin. When Sirin was accused of stealing this ring, she freely admitted it. The traveler was stunned that she didn't even try to hide the fact. He asked why she would interfere with the Sand Bandits, and she scoffed at him. "No way! That had nothing to do with Sand Bandits. What are you saying? The jewel hidden behind the rock is stolen by other bandits, and that's why I took it." Sirin said. Other bandits? That confirmed the traveler's suspicions. He HAD been tricked. He told Sirin about what the alleged "Sand Bandit" had made him do, and she agreed that it was not something the Sand Bandits would do. They are extremely secretive and certainly wouldn't trust such an important mission to a relative stranger. Sirin knew that the Strange Guy was a member of the Red Scorpions, a group of selfish bandits who keep all the spoils for their own good and do nothing to help the people of Ariant. The traveler was sickened by the thought of helping them, but he felt slightly better knowing that the loot he had given them was no longer in their hands. Sirin suggested that he take his own revenge on the Red Scorpions. The best way to do this would be to break into their treasure storehouse and steal much of their treasures. Then, to show his good faith to the people of Ariant, he could divvy up the spoils and split it amongst the good people there. She warned him, however, that the door needed a magic phrase to open. She didn't say what it was, but implied that he already knew it.

With these instructions, the traveler set out to the desert in search of their hideout. He thought the best place to look would be the area where the Strange Guy waits around. As the traveler snuck around, he discovered a hidden door behind the rock. He spoke the password: Open Sesame! The door allowed him to pass. Inside was a single chest, filled with treasures. The traveler took some from it, and split it into four bags. Once again he dashed back to Ariant. Sirin had mentioned that the houses of kind Ariant citizens were painted with circles on the doors, while those of Red Scorpion sympathisers had X's. One house at a time, the traveler left the bags of Jewelry. Once he had given them all out, he returned to Sirin. She told him not to feel bad about what he did before. In fact, sirin thought he ought to go back and keep a little of their treasure for himself. Well, it would be less treasure for the Red Scorpions... He agreed, and decided to go back to their hideout again. Before that, though, he decided that he probably ought to get those telescopes for the boy now. While walking to the desert, he took a small detour to hunt Meercats. Getting 20 telescopes was simple enough, and he stopped at the boy's location before going to the hideout. The boy was very happy, and immediately pointed the telescope to the same point in the sky. "Look at that star! That small yet beautiful star… is actually my home. Hopefully I'll be able to go back home someday." The boy said the traveler. Could this child really have come from space? It doesn't seem possible... the only things from space are the Grays and the Mateons... Something's not right. At any rate, the traveler continued on his way to the hideout. He gave the password, and reached into the chest to obtain the only remaining item, 5 ores. The traveler moved back to town.

Second part of Ariant to come at a later date.

Magatia
Where the story comes together. Major thanks to ZYXWVUT for all his help in translating Magatia's quests.
Part 14

 Spoiler

The latest town the Traveler visited was Magatia. Magatia was a special town hidden deep in the Nihal desert, under a perpetual cover of night time darkness. The town was based on the science of Alchemy, and were responsible for a lot of the things in the world. The only problem was, there were two sides to Alchemy: Life Alchemy, which involved living things, and the side that tries to mesh modern technology to Alchemy. The town had split into factions along these lines, and since then it's been a lot more difficult to get around. The two groups called themselves the Alcadno, life alchemists, and the Jenumists, science Alchemists. The traveler found a few of the members of the town who would talk to outsiders. The first person he talked to was Bedin, a Jenumist. Bedin was studying the monsters in the desert outside of town, which had been growing increasingly more violent lately. He believed that the Alcadno's experiments were having a detrimental effect on the wildlife of the desert. The Alcadno had been creating living machines using their alchemy, and Bedin and the Jenumists felt this ws against the laws of nature. Regardless of the reasons, he needed for someone to defeat the Sand Mole-Rats that had been chewing holes in the half built Aeroboats. The traveler went outside into the desert and killed them all fairly quickly, reporting back to Bedin after only a few moments. Bedin had found out that the Alcadno had been experimenting on the Sand Mole-Rats, and this was probably agitating them into being more troublesome than the other monsters. He was adamantly against what they were doing, and felt that the Alcadno's greatest atrocity was the combination of life and machine. Bedin realized he was starting to ramble, and thanked the traveler, sending him on his way.

The next person who talked to the traveler was Kinny, another Jenumist. She was a fairy from Orbis, and though young and not officially holding the title of Alchemist, she was quite gifted and had the talent of some of the professionals. Lately, she had been studying the Roids, the mechanical creatures the Alcadno had brought to life with Alchemy. She was worried what the other Jenumists might say if they saw her collecting pieces of these monsters, and so asked the traveler to gather up some pieces of their intricate wiring for her. The traveler agreed to help her with this, and snuck into the Alcadno's laboratories to fight the Roids and gather their components. The Roids were not particularly strong, so gathering their components was an easy task. Kinny was happy with these pieces, but it wasn't long before she finished studying them. The Alcadno had a more advanced model, the NeoHuRoid, which drug a huge power supply around behind it. This time, she needed some of the plugs which connected the HuRoid to its power supply, so that she might learn how to deliver energy with minimal power loss. The traveler again snuck into the Alcadno's laboratory, and now confronted the NeoHuRoids. They weren't much tougher than the ordinary Roids, but still posed a bigger threat. He gathered up the plugs as fast as he could, and ran back to Kinny. She easily found what she was looking for from them, and had one last task for him. She thanked him profusely, and he thought it was a little odd. She had one final request. The most powerful model the Alcadno had produced yet, the D.Roid, was roaming the deepest floors of their laboratory. This one dragged a mechanical heart around behind it in an enormous tube. She needed one of the Mechanical hearts, even if it was broken. The D.Roids were far more powerful than the other robots had been, but the traveler handled it with ease. He quickly brought the heart to Kinny, who rewarded him with a pair of special Machinist's gloves.
The traveler left Kinny, but soon found another fairy here in Magatia. Her name was Philia, and she was Kinny's mother. Philia said that despite Kinny's lively and enthusiastic appearance, she was actually quite ill. The Jenumists had no idea how to treat her, and even their leader, who also practiced magic, had no way to heal her. The traveler suggested that Philia talk to the Alcadno with their life alchemy, but she immediately replied that they would never help Jenumists... The only person who might be able to help Kinny was Ericsson of Orbis, who was a master of Fairy Magic. She handed him a letter, and asked that he please go to Orbis with it. He set out for the trip to Orbis, letter in hand. Once he got there, he hurried to Orbis Park to meet up with Ericsson. The traveler asked him if he knew Philia. He said that she was his sister, and had left Orbis long ago with an alchemist. The traveler handed Ericsson the letter, and he read it quickly. He was surprised to learn that he now had a niece, and that she was sick. He wanted to help her, and so came up with a list of items he would need to make the medicine. The traveler volunteered to help out by collecting these items, and set off for the Cloud Park to start. The medicine was called "A swallow of Moonlight", because it required a lot of the lunar pieces to create it. It was the perfect medicine for healing fairies. Ericsson used these to make it quickly, and handed it to the traveler along with a letter for Philia. With the cure in hand, he rushed back to Kinny. After a short ride to the Nihal Desert, the traveler met up with Philia and handed her the letter and the medicine. She thanked him and gave him a special powder which could return him to Magatia from anywhere in the Nihal Desert area.

When he had given Philia Kinny's medicine, he began walking through the town again. This time, an Alcadno approached him. Russelon was a studied man carrying a book and wearing a dark cloak. He warned the traveler about the scorpions outside of town. They were moderately dangerous, and had served as a dangerous obstacle for amateur Alchemists and tourists trying to leave the town. Russelon knew this from first hand experience, as once long ago a scorpion had damaged his right eye, and eventually he lost it. The Alcadno had formed a new mechanical eye for him, and now just by looking no one could tell it wasn't his natural eye. For this reason, he had joined up with them. Still, the process of incorporating machinery into living flesh wasn't perfect, and he had to take medicine to help his body cope from time to time. To make this medicine, he would need fifty of the Scorpion's stingers. The traveler was strong enough that the scorpions posed no threat to him, so it was easy to take their stingers. He brought them to Russelon. He was glad that he would not have to go out to face them again, and began working on the medicine. The original reason for developing this technology, that would integrate machine components with humans, was because the leader of the Alcadno had also lost an eye.

Now that he was introduced to the Alcadno and the Jenumists, he wanted to learn some more information on the history of Magatia. Why couldn't these two groups get along? He had heard a few of the townspeople whispering about a broker, a dealer of information in town. Though the two groups refused to talk to each other, they were still very interested in each other's research results, and these brokers would sell information to curious alchemists, for a price. The first broker that the traveler met was Broker Han. Han recognized him as an adventurer and a traveler right away. One look told him that the traveler was the curious type. He said that for 10,000 mesos, he could tell the traveler the entire history of Magatia.

The Alchemists had built the town of Magatia in the Nihal desert together, long ago after the Dark Magician had left the continent of Ossyria. The town is actually very prosperous, because foreign towns will pay large amounts of money for the experimental research data, but the division between the groups has made the town a sad and gloomy place. The Jenumists are pure Alchemists, combining magic and science into a flawless art, whereas the Alcadno specialize in Life Alchemy and fusing biology and mechanical parts. Alchemists, who are by their very nature secretive people, have become even less trusting since the split, and so outsiders visiting the city in hopes of learning the secrets of Alchemy are often turned away. The only solution was to join up with one of the groups. The traveler would have to pick if he wanted to learn more.

The traveler had to choose. He convinced Broker Han to give him the details on both. First, he asked about the Jenumists. Han said that Magatia was not just a town for scholars and research; the alchemists of Magatia fight for power more than any other town. Joining the Jenumists would not be easy; they considered themselves to be the true scholars, and had tough requirements to join. Momentarily dejected, the traveler asked if that meant it was impossible to join them. Han laughed, saying that he had methods. For 20,000 mesos, he could give the traveler an item to prove his research abilities and ensure his acceptance to the Jenumists. This time he asked him about the Alcadno. Unlike the Jenumists, they needed research to be handed in via a research paper. They're very picky about who they take since they deal with heavy machinery all the time, and because of the nature of their work they are looked down upon in many areas. Han could, for 20,000 mesos, obtain a Research Paper from an alchemist who owed him a favor. He also warned that the Alcadno had a strict interview system, and so there might be a quiz involved, not just handing in the paper. Han gave the traveler the paper, and then the answer to three questions, in order: Lithium, Grendel, and Alcaster. So, with this information in hand, the traveler picked a side, and headed for Mad at the Alcadno laboratory.

Mad took the paper, and saw it as simple enthusiasm to join. He said that the real test of skills is a quiz. So he asked the traveler a few questions:

The Alcadno do research on bringing Machinery to life. This involves lifeless dolls like Roid and NeoHuRoid. What stone is needed to bring these machines to life?

The traveler knew that this one must have the answer of Lithium, and he was right. Mad asked him another question:

To find the equation that creates the transmutation circle which controls the mechanical dolls, what Book is used?
There were four options for this one. "Grendel's Basic Mana Equation Theory", "Robeira's Magic Entry", "Jane's Alchemy for Beginners that a Monkey Could Do", and "Alcaster's Magic Equation Theory for Basic Alchemy". Remembering the order, the traveler knew it must be Grendel's theory. Thinking back, he remembered that Grendel had once performed life magic on the cursed dolls which caused the Zombie Lupins to come to life, so this made perfect sense. Fortunately, he was right. The final question was this:

Name the great Alchemist who created the Magic Rock, laid down the basics of the Aeroboat, and proved the initial effects on life magic. He had also once served as one of the 3 leaders of Magatia...

This one had to be Alcaster. Alcaster was one of the most well studied magicians, and he had lived for centuries. He created Magic Rocks and Summoning Rocks with ease through Alchemy, and was powerful enough to seal the dangerous Book of Ancient. Alcaster was, in fact, the right answer. So Alcaster had once led Magatia... The traveler was so surprised by this that he nearly forgot about the Alchemy quiz. Mad handed him the Alcadno cape, the signal that the traveler had joined their group.

Now that he had joined up with the Alcadno, many people were willing to trust him more. Russelon was one of them. He was now working on his specialty, medicines for diseases. He said that he was also good at making poisons... He jokingly asked the traveler for his finger to use in a potion, but as he stepped back, Russelon laughed and said he was kidding. To finish his latest medicine, he would need a special leaf full of the magic of life. The only problem was, they could only be found in the Jenumist's laboratory. They would certainly recognize Russelon, but perhaps the traveler could sneak in and get some of these. Take as much as you want to, he said, the Jenumist's opinions don't matter. The traveler was a bit turned off by this attitude, but still decided to collect these leaves. They were hard to get, but he managed to find all that Russselon needed. Russelon just laughed and quickly thanked him, returning to his work. The traveler began to wonder whether he had made the right choice...

While walking through Magatia's starlit streets, he began to wonder how Kinny was doing, and decided to pay Philia a visit. She didn't have good news for him; Kinny was beginning to feel better at first, but the medicine had suddenly stopped working. She begged him to visit Ericsson again. In the letter, he had warned her that the medicine had a high chance of failure, due to Kinny's special condition, so it wasn't exactly surprising. When he took this message back to Ericsson, he sighed. If only she were a fairy, he said. The traveler was perplexed; outwardly at least, Kinny looked like a fairy. Why didn't the medicine work? He revealed the truth behind her predicament: Kinny was not a full blooded fairy. While her mother Philia is a fairy, her father had been a human alchemist, and so neither the medicine of humans nor fairies was working to heal her illness. He decided that the only option was to use a more powerful fairy medicine, though it is dangerous. This medicine was called a "Swallow of Sunlight", and needed the magical sunpieces to create it. As soon as the traveler could get the materials to him, Ericsson set about brewing this stronger potion. He was still a bit hesitant, as it's too powerful for most children, but he finally admitted they had no choice. The traveler took this new medicine to Magatia as fast as possible, and handed it to Philia. She was very grateful, but she didn't get her hopes up. She knew that half-fairies had a tendency to be sickly, and that they were difficult to treat, but she wasn't going to give up hope.

The traveler again walked through Magatia, and this time was stopped by a mechanical man. First fairies, then alchemists and now robots! Magatia truly was a town with all kinds of secrets. He stopped to talk to this android. He introduced himself as Humanoid A. He said that he had lost the memory of his past, and no longer even knew who had created him. Still, he was satisfied with his life here in the town of Alchemy, and had a friend in Kinny. He wanted to make her a gift to show his gratitude for her friendship, but was unable to obtain the materials to create this gift due to his mechanical nature. He needed Steel Pieces and Reinforced Steel pieces, which could be found off the Iron Mutae and Reinforced Iron Mutae hiding in the Alcadno laboratories. The traveler headed off into the Alcadno laboratories, no longer needing to sneak past since he was now a member. He fought the Mutae, which were transformed by the emanating power of alchemy present down there. They weren't too hard to collect, and so he took them back to Humanoid A. He was pleased, and took the materials. A little later, he called the traveler back, and handed him a model of the Mutae that he had made. He asked him to take this to Kinny, and present it as a gift from him. She was really happy, because she had wanted this for her research for some time. The traveler left Kinny, pleased to have been able to help the poor girl again. He headed back to Humanoid A to report her thanks.

Humanoid A was staring off, thinking hard about something. When the traveler approached, he snapped out of it. He asked if the traveler had ever heard of a flower called the Snowfield Rose. When he saw the confused look on his face, he explained. The Snowfield Rose was a special flower, white and clear with a pungent aroma renowned by alchemists everywhere. He wanted one to give to Philia. Unfortunately, they were incredibly rare, and the only person that Humanoid A knew of that owned the seeds of this flower was the great Alcaster, currently residing in El Nath. He asked the traveler, who was acquainted with Alcaster, to retrieve it for him. He agreed, and set off for the distant town in the snowcapped mountains, El Nath.

After arriving in El Nath, he slid across the ice to meet Alcaster. When he explained why he was here, Alcaster was surprised that a non-alchemist was aware of the Snowfield Rose's existence. The seeds were so rare and valuable, however, that he could not just give these away for free. He had a small favor to ask in exchange for the seed. El Nath's residents were recently growing concerned about the actions of Leatty, a weak monster which lived in the small field between Orbis Tower and El Nath. They had been slowly tearing the tower apart, and something had to be done. The traveler agreed to wipe out a few Leatty in exchange for the rose. It was a simple task, and he completed it quickly. Alcaster held up his end of the bargain, and handed him a Snowfield Rose Seed. He reminded the traveler that only an alchemist could plant it, and with the advice he returned to Magatia quickly. There were some materials that Humanoid A had said were necessary, Mithril Pieces and Gelatin. These could only be obtained in the Alcadno and Jenumist laboratories, respectively, so once he arrived he went to each of these areas. Once had everything he headed back to Humanoid A. He thanked the traveler and begain planting the seed immediately.

A few days later, the traveler decided to check back up on the Snowfield Rose. To his surprise, it was ready to bloom. Humanoid A had another favor to ask. In order to pick the rose, the warm touch of a human hand was needed to preserve it. If he tried to pick it himself, his mechanical hands would ruin the flower and it would crumble. To make sure it was ready, someone would need to pour five Dews of May on them, and the Snowfield Roses would be in perfect shape. They went to the special laboratory, and he gave the traveler the 5 dews. They were used to transmute Homunculi, but these had a nobler purpose. He placed them one at a time on the special platforms, and gradually five Snowfield Roses appeared. He tried to pick them, but each one wilted... There was finally one flower left, and he anxiously reached out to grasp it. Luckily, this one survived. Humanoid A happily led the traveler back out of the laboratory. He walked over to Philia, and slowly presented her with the Snowfield Rose. She was struck speechless, and seeing this the traveler left her to her thoughts.

There's way more Magatia, that's barely scratched the surface.


Victoria Island : Nautilus Harbor (And additional Pirate-based information)

Part 21

 Spoiler

One day, while traveling throughout Victoria Island, the traveler heard a strange rumor. The rumor claimed that an enormous metallic beast was rapidly approaching the shores of the island. Many people believed it was a monster sent to attack. If this were the case, something would certainly have to be done to stop it. Since the object's path seemed to be headed straight towards the southeastern side of the island, the traveler took off from Henesys. Midway through the forest, he ran into an odd-looking man standing guard outside of a large wooden structure. The man hailed him, and explained that he was a pirate. At first, the traveler readied for battle; he hadn't forgotten his last encounter with pirates at Herb Town, and was prepared to fight again. The man quickly reassured him that they were not in league with Lord Pirate and were, in fact, allies of the 4 wisemen of Victoria Island. They had come to Victoria, aboard their submarine Nautilus (The large "metallic beast" mentioned in the rumors) to help ward off the real coming threat: The Black Magician. The traveler was confused... Who is this magician? Why does he pose such a threat? The man guarding the entrance could not elaborate any further. The traveler would simply have to wait until the harbor was completed, and the ship could dock. The guard, Bart, bid him good day, and the traveler departed.

Time quickly passed, and soon the Nautilus's Harbor had been opened to everyone. As an adventurer, the traveler couldn't wait to get a glimpse inside this manmade behemoth, and headed to the town as quickly as possible. Upon entering the sub, he saw a number of ragged pirates bustling about. A sign was posted nearby displaying a simple map of the ship: He was on the midlevel, and the captain's room was on the upper deck. The traveler knew the only way he could learn more about the black Magician was by talking directly to the captain, and so he began to head that way.

In the hall, the traveler stopped upon catching sight of a suspicious paper resting atop the trash. He felt compelled to pick it up, and a quick examination proved it to be a fully written letter, addressed to Athena Pierce from the Captain of the Nautilus. Thinking it might give him some leverage to get in, he took it with him. The traveler didn't get much farther, however, as the Captain's bodyguard, Muirhat, stopped him dead in his tracks at the door to the ship's bridge. Muirhat demanded to know how the traveler had come into possession of this letter. He quickly explained that it had merely been lying as trash, and as Muirhat read the first few lines, he realized why. Muirhat said that the Captain had apparently been afraid to send this letter, and asked if the traveler would deliver it to Athena for her. The traveler agreed, hoping that by doing this, he would be able to learn some more about the sudden appearance of the pirates and the Black Magician.

One speedy trip to Henesys later, and the traveler was once again standing in front of Athena Pierce. She greeted him warmly, taking the letter with a slight look of confusion. This shifted to a happy sort of shock soon enough. Athena knew the traveler would be curious, and offered to explain the letter. He sat down and readied for another tale.

Part 22 (OMG STORY IN A STORY)

 Spoiler

It all began, Athena said, ages past. Long ago, Victoria and Ossyria were once connected. An event, which Athena did not care to elaborate on, caused the two continents to split apart into their current shape. A great hero named Testonen had fought against the Black Magician, a terrible ruler who caused the people of Ossyria to flee to Victoria. Testonen was able to subdue the Black Magician, at least temporarily, and thus granted Victoria Island a period of relative peace. It wasn't long, however, before The Black Magician began preparing for another attack. Testonen knew he had to stop this, and thus set out to track him down once more. Before doing so, however, he left his young daughter Kyrin in the care of Athena. Athena raised Kyrin in Henesys for quite a while, until one day when a meeting was held between the four wisemen. Kyrin, listening in, overheard her father's fate... And at once, decided it was her job to take on her father's legacy and continue tracking down the Black Magician. Kyrin disappeared that day, and hadn't been seen since... until now. Now, with the great ship Nautilus at her disposal, she had returned to her former home to begin recruiting more pirates. The Black Magician's return was imminent, and they would need more soldiers to help in the fight if they were to have any chance of success.

Part 23

 Spoiler

Athena had missed Kyrin, and knew it was time to meet her again. She couldn't just leave her post here in Henesys, however, and needed someone to take a message back to Kyrin. Seeing this as a ticket in to see the Captain, the traveler agreed to deliver whatever she needed. Athena reached aside and pulled up an Orgel, an object akin to a music box, and handed it to the traveler. He took it and began heading back to Nautilus. Upon arriving there, Muirhat let him through with no trouble. The traveler addressed Kyrin, and gave her the Orgel. Kyrin nearly became overwhelmed by emotion, but held her composure. She instantly realized what had happened, and began to make plans to see Athena. The traveler knew this wasn't the time to be asking for information, and took his leave.

He decided to finish exploring the Nautilus's wonders and took a trip around the ship. There were many individuals of many species here: Tangyoon, a panda chef from Mu Lung; Lord Jonathan, an ancient looking seagull who seemed to be capable of speech, but refused to do so; Porchay, the ship's engineer who was clearly from Aquarium; and, last but not least, a strange dolphin-like creature... Who spoke to the traveler when he approached! The dolphin introduced himself as Sharyl, prince of the Whalians. He was willing to explain, but he was growing weaker and weaker by the second, and had found himself without potions. The traveler handed him a Mana Elixir, and he immediately felt better. Suddenly, in a flash of light, he transformed from a dolphin into a humanoid figure! So that was a Whalian's true form? Sharyl elaborated that as the Prince of the Whalians, he was here to safeguard the Shining Stone, which his people had given to the Nautilus as a token of gratitude. It served as the source of power for the entire ship, but due to its overwhelming nature, it couldn't be handled by just anyone. Thus, he and a few others of his race were left aboard to monitor its usage. Sharyl suggested that the traveler touch the stone for himself and experience the power. Since it was such a short walk to the engine room, he did just that. As his hand came in contact with the stone, it glowed brightly for a moment, and he felt a surge of energy. he lifted his hand away and returned to Sharyl. Sharyl didn't even have to be told; he could tell just by looking that the traveler had actually touched it.

Having felt the stone's power for himself, Sharyl knew he could entrust the traveler with his next task. The ship, he explained, was not lit by the power of the Shining Stone; instead, the light came from captured creatures called Water Fireflies, which consume a special substance which forms in the deep ocean, the Vigor of the Sea. By consuming this, they can generate light. The traveler had seen these creatures before, deep in Aqua Road's canyon. However, the ship was running low on the Vigor of the Sea, and if more wasn't collected soon, then the water fireflies would all die, and the ship would turn dark. So, he asked the traveler to go to Aquarium and speak to Muse, who knew how to collect the Vigor of the Sea better than anyone. The only problem was that Vigor of the Sea needed to be contained in a special Magic Flask, in order to not degrade during the trip back. Since Muse had none to spare, someone would need to bring the Nautilus's flask to Aquarium. So, the traveler agreed, and took up the Nautilus's flask.

As he headed out the door, he noticed a mysterious creature, which looked strangely familiar... Oh no, it was a Book Ghost! Could the ship be under attack? No, he thought to himself, this monster isn't behaving like it wants to harm anyone, and no one aboard seems to be threatened by him. The traveler decided to see if he could talk to the Book Ghost. Surprisingly, it turned to greet him, wearing a funny set of glasses and a plainly fake beard. The Book Ghost said his name was Rolonay, and swore that he was nothing more than a human. The traveler decided to humor him and treated him as though he were human. Rolonay explained that he was known as a genius, and with such a reputation people from around the Maple World would frequently come to him for help. One of his more recent projects was for Dr. Kim of Omega Sector, and that he had just finished on this work. But, because of the vast influx of requests he had received since the ship docked, he couldn't possibly take the report in person. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, it could not be sent through conventional means, either. So, he needed the aid of a strong person to deliver the letter in person. Rolonay had no concerns about the traveler reading it, as the letter was encrypted. The traveler, already headed to Ossyria to fulfill Sharyl's request, didn't mind taking the extra trip to Omega Sector, and thus agreed to help Rolonay.

A few flights later, and the traveler found himself standing in the Aquarium Zoo talking to Muse. Muse had already heard what was going on, so he handed over the flask without delay. Muse said that it would take some time to gather the Vigor of the Sea, and that the traveler should do something else in the mean time. This was the perfect opportunity to deliver Rolonay's information, and so he began to head for Omega Sector. In the Command Center not long after, Dr. Kim took the report and began reading it through the computers there. Dr. Kim began commenting on this new information: "this graph depicts the relation between the wave of the alien's powers and the power of the ancient magicians." There was a connection between the Grays' mental powers and those held by the Black Magician! It was a great breakthrough, which Dr. Kim was extremely thankful for, and he asked the traveler to pass those thanks on to Rolonay. The traveler departed Omega Sector and made his way back to Aquarium. By the time he arrived, Muse had the Vigor of the Sea ready, and the flask full, and so he rushed it back to the Nautilus as quickly as possible. Sharyl was quite pleased, and began talking about how happy was Kyrin would be. The sparkle in his eyes as he spoke of Kyrin gave away his true feelings. It was obvious to the traveler that Sharyl was in love with Kyrin, and that fact, more so than the Shining Stone, was why he was aboard the Nautilus.

It became even more obvious once Sharyl revealed his final task for the traveler. When he had first boarded the Nautilus years ago, Sharyl had placed a "mother of pearl" in one of the giant clams that lived near the Shining Stone. By now, he claimed, it must be a huge pearl, and he wanted to give it to Kyrin. Muirhat, knowing how Sharyl felt, wouldn't let him anywhere near her, however, and thus he needed someone he could trust to deliver it for him. The traveler was touched by Sharyl's deep feelings and agreed to take it to her on his behalf. He pried open the clam and obtained the pearl, and then began his quick walk to the bridge. Unfortunately, Muirhat had the way squarely blocked off. He took the pearl away and told the traveler, "I better talk to Prince Sharyl about this myself. The Prince will be saddened by this. For you to carry out a personal order like this, you must be very close to Prince Sharyl. Next time you see him, make sure to console him." The traveler felt bad about having failed to deliver the pearl, but Muirhat insisted that Kyrin did not like to be doted upon, and that not delivering the pearl was for the best. He conveyed this news to a depressed Sharyl, who wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

So, the traveler granted this last wish to the Whalian prince and began to wander the lower deck. Here, he saw a pirate crouched against the wall, listening through some sort of device. The pirate, Baine, waved him over, and asked if he could hear the noise as well. The traveler listened, and he could make out an odd sound resonating throughout the hull of the Nautilus. He agreed this was strange, and Baine asked if the traveler could go out to Bart, who stood watch on the lookout tower, to see if he had seen anything that might be causing this sound. The traveler hadn't seen Bart since before the Harbor had been constructed, and wondered how he was doing. He headed outside to the lookout station, and saw Bart peering through a telescope at the horizon. When the traveler approached, and explained why he was sent, Bart nodded in appreciation. Yes, he had noticed something odd as well. He handed the traveler the logs of that day's observations and asked him to take these down to Baine. It was an issue of great importance, and they must be delivered quickly. So, he rushed down the decks and handed the report to Baine.

A few minutes later, after Baine had read the report, he looked up, and with a grave tone, explained that the Black Magician's spies were definitely behind this. They were undoubtedly collecting information on the Nautilus's return to Victoria. Something had to be done to stop this, and so the traveler volunteered. Baine said that the spies would look no different from ordinary monsters, but would be carrying a special token to signify they worked for the Black Magician. If this token could be returned to the Nautilus, then the threat may be contained. While the traveler was out hunting for this token, Baine would be forming a report to give to the Nautilus's officers. With the plan in place, the traveler set out to the outskirts of the Harbor in search of the spies.

He quickly came into possession of a token, which was somewhat worrisome. Did that mean there were many spies? No time to ponder this now, he thought. The token needs to be brought to Baine as soon as possible. Rushing back to the Nautilus, he handed over the token to Baine, who included it into a report, which he promptly sealed into the report. Baine asked the traveler to take the report to Muirhat, which he did. As Muirhat read over the report, he knew what must be done. The hideout of the Spies had been located, and it was necessary to defeat the lead Disciple of the Black Magician. To do this, he'd have to send someone in to the base. The traveler, having come this far, agreed, and went in to the area full of pigs. As pig after pig fell, one of them slowly morphed back into a black, spheroid form. This must be the leader! With a quick strike, it was down, and the traveler made his way back to Muirhat. For the moment, the Black Magician had been set back.

Masteria
New Leaf City
Part 17

 Spoiler

One day, during his journey, the traveler heard rumors that a new continent had recently arisen from the sea. Masteria, a legendary island that had supposedly sunk below the ocean one thousand years ago, was now visible from the coast of Victoria Island. After traveling to Kerning City, he discovered that a new subway route had opened up. The destination was called "New Leaf City," apparently a town that had been constructed on Masteria already. He boarded the subway quickly, and sat down. The train moved fast, and in mere moments they had arrived in the NLC Subway.

After climbing the stairs, the traveler emerged into a bustling town center. Standing near a sign that read, "Welcome to New Leaf City!" Stood a man who introduced himself as Mayor Icebyrd Slimm. The mayor thanked him for paying a visit to the newly opened city, and offered to explain a little bit about the town and the continent's history. The traveler seized the opportunity to learn more. First, he asked the mayor why he had built the city. Icebyrd explained that he had always wanted to build a city, after growing up in Kerning City. He decided to set out on a journey to discover how he could set up a city, and discovered several friends who would aid him in this endeavor: Professor Foxwit, a time traveling genius who had agreed to set up a museum; Jack Masque, a friendly bandit prince hailing from Amoria; his old thief friend, Lita Lawless, who now served as the town sheriff; John Barricade, an adventurer on a quest for knowledge; and lastly Elpam Gorlab, a stranger from another dimension whose motives were almost entirely a mystery. With the help of these individuals, Icebyrd had managed to build New Leaf City, essentially from the ground up, in next to no time. They did have a base to work off of, though; several of the larger structures dated back to the continent's initial heyday over a thousand years ago. One of these areas was the monster-ridden MesoGears, deep below an enormous clock tower called Bigger Ben. He mentioned that John Barricade had been exploring it in search of something, but couldn't elaborate. The next thing Icebyrd warned about was the Krakian Jungle, the dense wilderness area located at the outskirts of town. Dangerous monsters roamed the area, and there was a rumor about a lost city deep out there. The traveler was surprised at how quickly this enormous city had been constructed. Icebyrd sheepishly admitted that he had gotten some help from someone in bringing the continent back to the surface, but wouldn't divulge any more information yet. The last thing he said was that they had used the base of an ancient city, Olde Sapp Village, to construct the new town. With that, the traveler set out to explore the new areas as well as he could.

The first person he encountered was a strange man holding a rose, his face covered by a black mask. Curious, he approached him and started up a conversation. He introduced himself as Jack Masque; he said that he had left Amoria in shame. One day, while on a date with the Beautiful Amorian, Princess Restless, they were ambushed by Wolf Spiders, just as they were about to kiss. They both survived the attack, but since that day he has worn the mask in disgrace over his failure to protect the Princess, and will not remove it until he is able to regain his honor. To do this, he first needed to cut down on the population of the Wolf Spiders, and was recruiting the most powerful tourists passing through to help. Jack asked the traveler to wipe out a hundred of the Wolf Spiders at their den inside the Clock Tower on the far side of town, Bigger Ben. The traveler agreed to help and set off for Bigger Ben.

Before reaching it, however, he was stopped by a woman holding a boomerang. She said her name was Lita Lawless, which the traveler instantly recognized from Slimm's speech as the Sheriff. Lita mentioned that she had trained as a thief for some time, so she could understand the monsters' motives. She needed the visitors to help her protect the city by defeating 200 Gryphons and 200 Electrophants. These lived in the Krakian Jungle, which was in the opposite direction from Bigger Ben; the traveler decided to take out the Wolf Spiders first, and continued on down to their cave. After climbing the clock tower and entering through one of the clock faces, he descended through the inner workings of the clock. Near the bottom of the tower, he found a man holding a red whip. This person greeted the traveler as John Barricade, one of the two members of the Barricade Brothers Treasure Hunting Company. He was here to explore the MesoGears, the underground section of Bigger Ben. John could go no further unless someone cleared a path through the numerous species of monsters that lay beyond the next doorway. Since the traveler would have to pass through here anyway to reach the Wolf Spiders, he volunteered to help John. John asked that he kill at least 50 Killa Bees, 30 Mighty Maple Eaters, and 40 Fire Tusks. The list in mind, the traveler descended further down.

Once in the MesoGears, a swarm of Killa Bees immediately set down on attacking the traveler. They weren't difficult at all, however, and the traveler had taken out fifty of them in no time. The Maple Eaters were huge purple flowers with vicious looking teeth that were said to eat unwary passerby. The plants sprouted through the hard brick floors of the MesoGears. The traveler took them out from as far away as he could, but they grew back so quickly that he had defeated thirty before making his way to the next room. From here, there were two paths; the traveler took the upper one, and suddenly found himself in the Wolf Spiders' cave. They were fast, ruthless, powerful little mechanical monstrosities, and posed a great threat to anyone unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. Having encountered them, it was easy to see why they gave Jack such trouble. Still, they came in such huge numbers that it only took a few minutes to take out a hundred of them. Before turning back out of the MesoGears, he needed to find the Fire Tusks. Heading back to the previous room, the traveler took the lower route, entering a new room called the Fire Chamber. In here, dozens of Fire Tusks roamed around. While fighting, he spotted a tombstone sticking out of the floor. Once he approached it, he read the inscription: "Sunstone Grave - Tempt Fate, Discover the Path." The traveler was perplexed; he wondered if, perhaps, there were more of these graves in the MesoGears. His curiosity was enough to drive him deeper, after eliminating the remaining Fire Tusks. In the next room, the Ice Chamber, he found another one, this time reading: "Moonstone Grave - 30, 101, Hidden." This clue was even more confusing, and drove him further still. The following room appeared to be the last; there were no monsters in here, either. Another Tombstone stood in the center: "Here lies Christopher Crimsonheart, the immortal warrior." It didn't help him figure out the others any better. The traveler noted all three of the messages, and began to climb out of the Meso Gears.

After getting back up to John Barricade, he reported his success at clearing out the monsters. John praised him and started to talk about the treasure. The traveler asked him what else he had found. His list was quite long: the treasure of King Solomon's mines, Stonehenge, Captain Kidd's gold, the Knights Templar's treasure trove, the lost Dutchman's mine, the Sphinx Chamber, and many wrecked Galleons. He had chosen this career after graduating from college while studying History. After this, he and his brother decided that they wanted to live forever, and decided to find the Fountain of Youth. To the traveler's surprise, John claimed to have actually done so. His father was an archaeologist, and his brother, Jack, was now exploring something separate in Aqua Road. The traveler asked what John was doing here if his brother was all the way at Aquarium. John started telling a rather long story.

Subani was once a great and powerful magician who sacrificed himself to seal the evil and equally powerful demon, Naricain. Naricain's power was still present in the world today in the form of Dark Scrolls. There were rumors of more, though, and while traveling through the Purplewood Forests of Amoria not too long ago, John heard from the Glimmer Man that this treasure might be located near the MesoGears. He had followed the traveler down the path he cleared, and discovered some strange markings on the wall. The only way to translate them was with a special item called the "Hyper Glyph." Each one could only translate one character, however, and since there were 50 letters he would need 50 Glyphs. John said that Electrophants sometimes carried these, so that would be a good place to start. The traveler was glad he hadn't taken those out yet, and so he headed back out of Bigger Ben.

Now in New Leaf City's Town Center once more, the traveler reported his success with the Wolf Spiders to Jack Masque. In return, Jack handed him some Leaf Crystals, forged from the vines of a magic Ellinian plant, and explained his mask. He wore it because being defeated by the Wolf Spiders embarrassed him. He was still concerned, though, because he had a rival for the Princess's affection back in Amoria: Prince Vince. Jack had no more to say on the matter, though, so the traveler took the crystals and began walking towards the Jungle. As he passed, the Mayor called him over. While trying to clear parts of the jungle for construction of new areas, the machinery was being attacked by the monsters of the Krakian Jungle. Before they could resume, someone would have to deal with them, and Icebyrd felt that the traveler was the person to do it. He agreed; Icebyrd told him that he needed him to defeat a hundred Gryphons and get 150 Boomer Cores, the inner workings of the Boomer. The traveler kept walking. On this side of town, he noticed a huge metallic structure looming, and saw someone standing high up on its edge.

Curiosity again piqued, he climbed up and took a good look at the strange man; he wore a long, flowing black cloak with a large hood pulled up over his eyes, as if to shield him from the sunlight. His skin was an extremely pale blue tone, and he gave off an odd scent. He seemed to have noticed the traveler staring, and approached. He introduced himself as Elpam Gorlab, and asked for help. Elpam claimed to be from a place called Versal, a parallel universe to the world they were currently in. He had come here to observe, as he does from time to time; this time, however, his calculations to return were thrown off by the appearance of Amoria, and now he is stranded here. He explained that in Versal, Balrogs, which in the Maple World are amongst the fiercest of foes, are actually kind and loyal to humans. Similarly, the Mushmom, one of the mildest monsters in Maple World, is the cruelest and most dangerous of Versal. To return to his world, he needs to recalibrate his magnetic compass; the only things in the maple world capable of doing so are the Elpam Magnets, which are exclusively held by the Barnard class of Grays. He asked the traveler to bring him 30 of them. This would mean traveling all the way to Omega Sector, which was on the opposite side of the world; the traveler decided to put this off until he had finished his business here.

In the jungle, he found a region that was infested with Boomers. They were small, yellow walking explosives. As he tried to defeat them, he found that for each one that wasn't destroyed on the first hit, another one would appear. Additionally, if he didn't take them out fast enough, they could blow themselves up, creating a dangerous blast. The traveler harvested the cores as quickly as he was able to, defeating them each with a single blow. Once he had enough, he began to push deeper into the jungle. At an area called the Mountain Slopes, he found the Electrophants. They had a deceptive appearance; they looked just like the Fire Tusks, but with a different mechanical apparatus attached. The Electrophants, however, were significantly more powerful than the Fire Tusks. Nonetheless, the traveler began to wipe them out in large numbers, and after quite a while, had taken out all 200 that Lita had asked for. Some time later he had also collected all 50 of John Barricade's Hyper Glyphs as well. Both Lita and Icebyrd had said that the Gryphons lived at the furthest area of the jungle from the city, and knowing this the traveler continued walking until he came upon a cliff overlooking a huge drop. Gryphons darkened the skies, circle high above in large numbers. There were crystalline devices that had been mentioned by Icebyrd in his introduction, the Gear Portals. The traveler found he could use them to get out into the airspace over the cliff and take out the Gryphons hiding out of range. He moved from Portal to Portal, warping around adeptly until he had taken out two hundred of them. Upon finishing, the traveler ran back to the city, speeding up the process by jumping down the cliff face from the lowest possible point.

Back in New Leaf, the traveler first approached Icebyrd, who thanked him and immediately got the construction efforts going again. Next he moved on to Lita. She was quite impressed. The traveler wanted to ask her about something she had said earlier: that she was a thief. She explained that one day, after she tired of the life of a thief, she approached Dark Lord. Dark Lord proposed a test. If she could hit him, even just once, then he would grant this wish. Lita said that the REAL Dark Lord was much, much more powerful than his clone. Due to a lucky opportunity, she finally landed a blow, and headed off to New Leaf City with Icebyrd. Having finished her tale, she gave the traveler a special item and sent him on his way. Now, he set off for the last person he needed to see, John Barricade. John was quite excited to see the Hyper Glyphs, and began using them right away. Before he left, the traveler asked him to explain a bit more. John stated that he felt certain that Subani had left something here in Masteria. He said that, while exploring the Sphinx Chamber that he had mentioned earlier, he discovered a legend that was very close to the tale of Naricain and Subani; this legend foretells that the two will rise again to engage in battle once more. He also said that the legend mentioned another world. Hearing this, the traveler asked John if he had spoken with Elpam yet. John scoffed and muttered something about cheese, then said he hadn't, but it was a good idea. The traveler noticed that John had returned to translating, and told him that he would come back in a little while after he finished the translations. He returned to town and decided to rest for now.

Part 18

 Spoiler

The next day, the traveler set out for Bigger Ben once again. When he arrived, John Barricade had just finished the translations. He looked a little distraught. When the traveler asked about it, John explained that he had "borrowed" some robots from Professor Foxwit's secret lab to help him. When they finished their task and translated all the scraps, they suddenly went crazy and ran off into the jungle with them. John was very suspicious because Foxwit's things usually worked perfectly, but nonetheless someone needed to go out there and take the Map Pieces they had stolen back. The traveler volunteered to go into the Jungle, while John started to comb over the MesoGears once more.

In the Krakian Jungle, he kept moving until reaching the Mountain Slopes once again. Here, he could see the Robots Barricade had mentioned swarming across the rocky ground. They had wiry arms and screens on their chest that revealed their next moves. The traveler used this feature to his advantage, and set out destroying the robots to get the map pieces back. There were hundreds of robots roaming the jungle, so it took quite a while to gather up all 50 of them. After collecting the last piece, the traveler returned to John Barricade. John was pleased with the results, but since the robots had flipped out on him, he would have to reassemble the map by hand. John warned that it might take him a long time, but as soon as had completed it he would call the traveler back and they would go treasure hunting together. In return for helping him thus far, John gave him a special ring he'd found deep in the MesoGears: it had a faded inscription carved into it, which read "Subani" when looked at closely. The traveler put the ring in a safe place and returned to town. By now, he only had one errand left; it was time to head to Omega Sector and confront the Grays. Omega Sector was extremely far away, so the trip was going to take a long time.

After at last reaching the base, the traveler set off down the Kulan Fields to find some Barnard Grays. Elpam had said these magnets were rare, and he wasn't exaggerating; only a handful of the Grays actually possessed them. The traveler had to defeat many before he gathered as much as Elpam had requested. Once he had them, though, he passed back through Omega, and noticed that a new person was setting up shop. His name was Spindle, and he claimed to have been capable of forging brand new items out of very rare materials. The traveler had none of these materials at the time, so he had to go on. One long trip back to New Leaf City later, and he found himself standing on the tower next to Elpam once more.

Elpam quickly recalibrated his compass with the magnets, but had another problem to deal with: in order to return to Versal, he would need to go back in time to the point where his previous attempts had failed. To do this, he would need solidified shards of time called "Temporal Fragments." Each one was worth approximately 1 second of time. Due to the time-altering nature of the item, the only place it could be found was in Ludibrium's Clock Tower, not far from the Time Sphere. Elpam said that Tick-tocks often collected them, so they would be a good place to start. The traveler sighed, but he really wanted to help Elpam, so he agreed. He would have to go all the way back to Ludus Lake again.

One more equally long trip later, the traveler was in Ludibrium. He descended through the clock tower to the path of time and began defeating the Tick-tocks. It had been a long time since he was here, but he fell into the rhythm of the area and in no time had all of the Temporal Fragments. The traveler boarded the Ludibrium train (hoping it would be the last time for a while.) and returned to New Leaf City. He handed over the Fragments to Elpam, who was quite grateful. The traveler decided that, in return for his favor, he deserved a few more answers, and so decided to ask Elpam why his skin was pale. Elpam explained that in Versal, this skin tone was the norm; they only had 3 months of sunlight each year, so everyone was naturally pale. He promised the traveler that once he had devised a way to bring others with him to Versal, he would be the first one.

As he headed for the subway, the Mayor once again stopped him. Icebyrd thanked him for all his hard work helping the residents of the city. Since the traveler was already so involved, the mayor felt it was only fair to give him more of the story. Having just finished up with Elpam, the traveler decided to ask Icebyrd about Versal. He answered that there were rumors that it might be possible to open a portal there from somewhere within the city, but he wasn't sure how. Confused, the traveler asked him why he wouldn't know something about a city he built. Icebyrd explained that he had actually rebuilt the city. When Masteria arose from the ocean, there was the remains of an ancient town here: Old Sappe Village. The foundations of the city were over a thousand years old. This included things like the Gear Portals, as well as their power sources, which now also fueled the Foxwit doors. Not all of it was being used yet, though; Icebyrd was a bit superstitious about the old legends, like the tale of the immortal warriors, or the one about the mad scientist, or the threat from outer space. He also stated that the legendary Subani and Naricain were from Masteria. The traveler was intrigued, and pressed Mayor Slimm for more.

Icebyrd told the traveler of Masterian civilization from before it sunk: It was once populated by a powerful, advanced people. Unfortunately, their hubris was their downfall, and due to some accident the entire continent was lost. The Mayor made a deal with a man to have the island raised for some price. When the traveler asked for details, he declined to elaborate. The mayor hurriedly dismissed the topic and went to get the reward. When he came back, the traveler was awarded with the enormous Warrior's Throne. With his prize in tow, the traveler decided to call it a day and head back to Kerning.

Haunted House
Part 19

 Spoiler

On the traveler's next visit to Masteria, he heard that an offroad Taxi had discovered a new area on the continent, in the Phantom Forest. It was the old Prendergast Mansion, the home of the once famous Prendergast Toy Factory. As the traveler approached the broken down mansion, an old man stepped out and blocked his path. "You want a word of advice about the house? STAY OUT OF THERE! It's haunted!" The old man explained that the master of the house, Jonas, used to be a master toymaker, renowned across the world. He would often hold parties near this time of year, where he would give out toys to the children in costumes. Unfortunately, one year, his daughter Sophilia died in an accident, and Jonas went insane with grief. He withdrew from the world, turned off his toy factory, and hid in the workshop. Suddenly, one day, the machine turned back on, and began pumping out toys again. This time, however, the toys had become monsters, twisted into evil by the powerful sorrow Jonas felt. The traveler thought it sounded exciting, and wanted to enter the mansion to see if he could find any ghosts. Old Man Tom shook his head and gave up. He pointed to the door, and the traveler entered.

The mansion's foyer was huge. Inside, the traveler met a Butler, named Edmunds. He looked concerned. As the traveler approached, Edmunds turned abruptly, scared out of his wits. Upon seeing him, the butler breathed a sigh of relief. He decided to ask for a favor. The mansion's fireplaces were running out of wood. To keep the fires going, he would need more. Unfortunately, most of the housekeeping staff had left; he was here all alone, and the mansion was far too big for him to care for himself. If the traveler could gather some firewood, it would be a great help. Always willing to lend a hand, the traveler agreed. Before sending him on his way, Edmunds decided to exlpain a bit to him, since he seemed unaware of the Mansion's history. Ever since Jonas stopped producing toys, the legend of the Prendergast Toy Company has faded into memory, and along with it the mansion had decayed. He was always the object of affection for many women due to this fame, and ended up marrying a total of 7 times. He always grew bored of his wives, getting wrapped up in his work, and they eventually left him. His last wife, Ludmilla, still lived here. She enjoyed her lavish life here, and had no qualms about nagging her servants. She was the one complaining about how cold it was, leading to the need for firewood. It didn't take long to gather enough, and once he returned, Edmunds agreed to answer all his questions. The traveler asked for some help navigating the mansion, which Edmunds graciously provided. Next, he pointed to the pictures on the wall. Edmunds showed him Ludmilla, Jonas, and Sophilia's photos. He recommended that if he was busy, he should see Ludmilla.

The traveler, taking this advice, walked through the hallways until stumbling in to the Vanity Room. Upon entering, Ludmilla immediately began ordering him around, assuming he was a servant. She was feeling lonely, and wished to speak to someone. The traveler took pity on her, even as unpleasant as she was. Ludmilla was complaining about how she hadn't seen Jonas for such a long time, ever since Sophilia (whom she referred to as "His little brat") died. Ludmilla thought that she could lure him out, though, if she gave him some of his favorite food, Cherry Pie, from Old Sappe Village. For a moment, the traveler was confused, but he left the room as soon as possible to get away from Ludmilla. The name was familiar, but he was certain he had never been to any town by that name. Suddenly, he remembered where he had heard it: the Mayor of New Leaf City had said that his town was built on the ruins of Old Sappe. Still, why would Ludmilla refer to New Leaf by that name, when Old Sappe hadn't existed for over a thousand years? Things weren't quite adding up... At any rate, he went to New Leaf City and purchased the Cherry Pie for her and returned to the Vanity Room. She tried setting the pies out for him, but Jonas never emerged. Now, her earrings were missing, and she claimed to have a ball to attend later. Ludmilla claimed that Sophilia used to take them, but now that Sophilia is no longer alive and the housekeepers are all gone, she had no one to blame for stealing them. The traveler agreed to find them for her, and left the room.

In the hallway, he saw many dolls wandering around which resembled Sophilia. Might they have taken the earrings? After defeating a few, the answer became obvious. The traveler walked through the hallway, defeating doll after doll, until eventually he found himself in a bedroom with an enormous picture on the wall. Standing beneath it was a small girl, who resembled the one in the picture. The traveler thought she might be Sophilia but... that couldn't possibly be. He decided to talk to her. She asked him if he had seen her doll. Surprised, the traveler blurted out that there were hundreds of dolls around the house. The girl said that her father had been making more sophisticated dolls all the time, but the one she was looking for was the first he made. She looked so upset, the traveler gladly agreed to help her find it. The girl thought that Ludmilla might have it, as she was always taking her toys away. Before he could go back to Ludmilla, though, he had to finish gathering up the Tarrymore and Sepha earrings. It didn't take long; most of the dolls had a set. After he found them, he headed back to the Vanity Room and gave them to her. Ludmilla threw a ragged doll at him, claiming she found it at the foot of the stairs some time ago and then lost it in her closet. The traveler wondered if this was the doll that the girl he had seen before was searching for. He quickly fled from Ludmilla's presence, fearing she'd have more terrible tasks for him to do. The best thing to do now, he decided, was to head over to the girl's room and hand her the doll. Once the traveler reached her room, he handed her the doll. She was extremely happy, and shared some of her favorite candy with him.

Now that he had met the Mansion's other residents, the traveler decided to look for Jonas. He recalled that Edmunds had said that the Toy Workshop could be accessed from the Library, and began heading that way. Upon arrival, he discovered a man who was stooped over the controls of an enormous machine that was pumping out toys. It had to be Jonas. The man turned around, and began questioning the traveler. "What are you doing here? You are not Sophilia!" The traveler asked if he was the one creating all these monster toys. Jonas only heard "toy" but admitted to it. He said that a tool had fallen into the machine and nearly broken it. He needed to replace it, but in order to do that he'd have to get firewood, Screws, and Springs. Jonas couldn't leave the machine running unattended. Thinking that by replacing the part, the toy monsters might return to normal, the traveler volunteered to get the pieces.

It didn't take long, and as soon as he had gathered all the pieces, he brought them back to Jonas. Jonas thanked the traveler, and in no time had the parts installed. As Jonas stepped back to admire his work, the traveler felt compelled to ask why the machine was still pumping out monster toys, faster than ever. He answered, "No, no, the broken Assembler was merely slowing down production, that's all. Now that my we're back to full production, I can turn my attention back to the task at hand... finishing the newest model of my line of dolls!" The traveler was slackjawed. Didn't Prendergast know what these toys were doing? Still, he held some trust in Jonas, and was willing to listen to his next request. His latest project was assembling a doll that looked eerily like Sophilia. To finish it, he would need some doll hair. Unfortunately, he had no more in stock up here in the workshop. Jonas decided that it would be best to collect some Locks of Doll hair from some of the older doll models. He also claimed to need some candy, which left the traveler perplexed. Still, he went out to the mansion's hallways and defeated the monster dolls, taking locks of hair from each. Collecting them was simple enough, and he already had the candy from his earlier encounter with the girl. Upon returning to the toy workshop, Jonas quickly grabbed the items from him and put the finishing touches on his Sophilia doll. He handed it to the traveler, asking him to take this doll to Sophilia. The traveler didn't really know what to do, but he decided to take it to the girl.

The traveler walked up to the girl's room. She stared blankly at the new doll. "This doll doesn't look much like me at all," she said. She had a point; there was something off about the way it looked. "Can you please take Annabelia to Father?" she asked. He was surprised for a moment. Could this really be Sophilia? Edmunds and Tom had said she died... Still, he was already too involved. The traveler agreed to take the doll back to Jonas. when he got back to the Workshop and handed it to Jonas, he looked disgusted for a moment at the tattered state of the doll, then realized what it was. "This is the first doll I made for her..." he said. He was suddenly stunned. "She named this doll after her mother..." For a moment, it seemed like he was reliving the events of Sophilia's death. Instantly, he snapped back and cried out. "MY WORKSHOP! MY TOYS! ...What have I done?" Jonas couldn't believe what had become of his once beautiful toys. worse yet, it was impossible to stop the machine after it had been operating for so long. He begged the traveler to help him. Glad that poor Jonas had finally regained his senses, the traveler gladly agreed. Jonas said that they must destroy the toys the machin was producing before they could escape from the house. The Psycho Jacks, Nightmares, and Sophilia Dolls were coming out in enormous numbers, and they could potentially overrun the entire continent.

He ran through the house, eliminating toy monster after toy monster. Prendergast was right, there was certainly no shortage of them. After he had destroyed a lot of each variety, he made his way back to the Workshop. Jonas smiled, and handed over his Toymaker gear to the traveler. "I have chosen to retire from this craft. It is past my time here," he said. The traveler decided to ask Jonas about Sophilia. She was his first, and only, daughter. At the time, he had not yet become a famous toymaker, but was only a humble carpenter. He couldn't afford to buy toys for her, so he started making them by hand. For some time, they were happy; Until the day when Annabelia died. To distract himself (And Sophilia) from their sorrow, he kept making new and better toys. As time went on, his business grew, and his toys became wildly popular. He became so busy with his company that he had little time to spend with Sophilia anymore. He married all those women so that Sophilia might have a chance to have a mother again, but no one could ever take Annabelia's place. As he finished his story, Jonas asked the traveler for one last favor: to take the key to his Workshop, so that the machines could never build these evil toys again.

Feeling a bit melancholy, the traveler exited the house. As he did, Old Man Tom spoke up. "Where did you get that Key? Let me see that!" he shouted. The traveler explained what had happened to him inside the mansion. Tom had a hard time believing it at first... "Jonas... Jonas has been dead for decades!" Tom introduced himself formally: His name was Tomlin Prendergast, Jonas' younger brother. He told the tale of what led to his brother's death: after Sophilia's accident, poor Jonas lost it. He locked himself in his workshop, refusing to see anyone, ignoring their pleas for him to eat. The toy machine shut down, and they heard nothing from the room. Then, some time later, the noises of the Toy Machine started up once more. They waited, hoping that he would come out, but he did not. About this time, the housekeeping staff began to claim they saw Sophilia's ghost, and deserted the mansion. Even Tom saw her. It wasn't long before the once active mansion lay empty of all but Edmunds, the loyal head butler, and Ludmilla, who couldn't leave her life of luxury. Eventually, Edmunds began to beg Tom to use his Workshop Key and go talk to Jonas. When he went to the workshop and opened the door, he discovered his brother's body, slumped over the machine in a room that was completely filled with toys.

"Standing there, in front of my brother's lifeless body, his huge mechanical contraption looming above me... I couldn't help but feel that somehow part of Jonas' spirit, his grief, had entered his Toy Machine. As if it had heard my thoughts, the machine began to crank out toys... monstrous toys I had never seen before! They were my brother's toys... but twisted, hateful. In my haste and fright, I dropped my key as I fled the house. I... I have never gone back in since." Tom finished. He slid the key in his pocket and brought out a shiny necklace. Tom said it was a protective talisman that Jonas had made for Sophilia's birthday. The traveler graciously accepted the gift, and set out away from the haunted Prendergast mansion.

Crimsonwood Keep

Part 25

 Tale of the Headless Horseman

In the time before Masteria's disappearance, during the Keep's war with the Alchemist of Krakia, there were a number of legendary figures; one of the greatest by far was the warrior known as Killian. He was known for his mastery of the fire element and his berserker fighting style, often harming friend and foe alike. However, he wasn't always so fierce, and during times of peace he frequently spent time with another legendary figure, the chaos magician LeFay. LeFay herself was a powerful sorceress and a student of Ridley. She often created new and bizarre magical artifacts, many of which were useless, though some, such as the Glitter Gloves, remain popular to this day. Due to her chaotic nature and desire to perform more and more outrageous spells, she eventually left Crimsonwood to further practice her art without having to obey their strict rules and regulations. Killian was rather dismayed, but he continued to pay her visits even at her distant post in the Krakian Jungle.

Not long after she left, however, the Krakians began their assault on Crimsonwood. With a war raging across the land of Masteria, Killian was no longer able to trek out to LeFay. As he grew more and more worried about her, he began to grow out of control, until finally the Warrior Grandmaster commanded him to go out and find her. He fought the Krakians every inch of the way, until finally stumbling upon LeFay's residence, only to witness a terrible scene. Laid out before him was a jungle alight with fire, burning to the ground his love's home. LeFay herself was being held in a torture device, while the smug-faced Alchemist watched with pleasure. Killian became enraged, and wiped out every single Krakian in the area. The Alchemist, who was not at all displeased at the fact that he had just lost hundreds of soldiers, stopped Killian in mid-air and gave him an ultimatum: Become his personal test subject, or watch LeFay die. Faced with this, he had no choice, and relented. The Alchemist took both his subject Killian and LeFay, his insurance, back to Krakia, and began his experimentation. This went on for two whole years, until Finally the Alchemist took what he learned and applied it to create a horrible new type of soldier for his army that would march on Crimsonwood. Now, for this fiery battalion, he needed a general... and had just the man in mind. The Alchemist gave Killian another dilemma: Lead his army against the Keep, Killian's former home, or let LeFay die. This was an even more impossible choice than the last, and rather than make it, he used all of his fiery power, until his head was consumed by the flames.

Since Killian was no longer around to choose, the Alchemist decided for him. By placing a carved out old pumpkin on his shoulders and "enticing" LeFay into performing a spell, he again gave life to Killian's headless body. Since he no longer needed LeFay to coerce Killian, he transformed her into a pink horse, and having his newly created headless abomination mount it, unleashed the Headless Horseman as his newest captain. The Headless Horseman began terrorizing the Keep's soldiers, wiping them out in huge numbers. After countless battles, the Elite Mage Rafael devised a clever trick. By casting a complex spell upon the Headless Horseman, he sent it off on an eternal mission to search out its real head. Of course, this real head had been burned to ashes and no longer existed, so he would never find it. Thus, the Headless Horseman roamed the Phantom Forest forever, out of the way of the war that waged around him, fruitlessly searching for a head that he could never find.

EDIT:
Oh yeah, if you have any problem with something written here (factually. It's possible I can make a mistake ) then bring it up, or if there's any particular part of the lore you'd like me to investigate, ask away.