Mission:Glory and Dark Tidings - Chapter Four: Operation Sciritae

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Chapter Four: Operation Sciritae

Briefing

Character. It is, as always, a sigh of great relief that accompanies your presence. Please, make yourself comfortable. We have much to discuss.

Sister Valeria pulls a bit of parchment out from under her tunic.

This note contains the name and location of a stubborn and powerful Cimeroran traitor that we have been trying to capture for months. Of the few phalanxes left uncaptured, he would be the closest to the top leadership, so our best attempt to locate Dorjan is likely with him.

I need you to capture General Gorgidas alive! And if any crystals grow within, please destroy them with impunity!

  • I'll take care of it.

You may be curious of the secrecy in this note. I went to great lengths to personally exchange favors to obtain this information from sources that I could trust - and I still do not trust more than half the people I spoke with to do anything more than cleaning my sandals.

Many prisoners of war were persuaded to assist in a manner that would be ill-fitting a civilized democracy. Alas, the ends will justify the means if you are able to capture Gorgidas and locate Dorjan.

If you or I were caught with this information in a more formal setting, the consequences would be dire. When you are certain you have the location, burn the note.

Unnecessary Solicitation

Remember, we need him alive!

Mission Objective(s)

Once inside, you burn the note as Valeria asked.

  • Capture General Gorgidas
    • Capture Gorgidas alive!
      • Shatter the crystal
      • Defeat Logic Knot!

General Gorgidas seemed poised to assist you, but was overtaken by a Nictus buried in him and instead you tangled with a Dark One! After dealing with the one called Logic Knot, you were able to collapse another Shadow Crystal. This time, you got lucky, and were able to recover a shard of it not devoured in its collapse. Someone's got to be able to do something with this.

Enemies

Cimeroran Traitors
Nictus
Ravenna Conclave

Notable NPCs

Dark Praefectus Dialogue
Gorgidas Dialogue
General Gorgidas
Briefing

General Gorgidas looks up at you with steely resolve. You can tell from his posture that he no longer poses a threat to you, but the man looks every bit as dangerous as the moment you locked eyes.

You have beaten me in combat. You have earned my respect and I submit to you in defeat.

Now, I suppose, you have a choice. What is to be my fate?

  • On your feet, soldier. We speak as equals.
General Gorgidas rises to his feet, confused. He grabs your forearm for a Cimeroran handshake in a show of gratitude.
Well met, God-spawn. I was not expecting mercy today. Or any day, since the coward Romulus disappeared with his Dark Mentor from elsewhen. If I am not to be executed today, then what purpose do I serve for my life-debt?
You glance in the direction of the Shadow Crystal.
  • Tell me about these crystals, and the Dark Mentor.
The Dark Ones are not unified, Character. I do not feign understanding, for it is dark magic and beyond my mortal comprehension. The ones who came under the banner of the Dark Mentor, they are not from this time. They are from elsewhen, silver-tongued tricksters with promises of power and conquest.
They lured Romulus, that young fool, into joining them. And when they were routed, the Dark Mentor that you call Requiem, he became mad with rage. He slipped into a state of inky nothingness and was gone for weeks.
In his absence, Dorjan revisited us. I had seen Dorjan many a time in my youth, staunch of heart and tempered of soul, but it had been many seasons since I last saw him, when Romulus was but a whelp. He appeared suddenly, as if no time had passed, but was utterly corrupted by the forces of the Dark Ones.
It broke my heart, O Mighty One, to see someone so revered become such a pale imitation of one's self in virtue.
  • Continue...
Gorgidas continues, as you have not interjected.
Dorjan must have known that his faith in Romulus was misplaced, and sought to rectify the state of affairs left in his absence. He rushed to us, like a hero with glorious purpose, speaking quickly and convincingly that the Dark Ones were not here to bring about the twilight of humanity, but to usher it into a new dawn. I was skeptical, but my healing wounds from the intolerant Valeria convinced me to try the prettier of two evils.
I followed the man I once loved as a leader and respected as a friend back into the foothills, where I was greeted by a camp of comrades a thousand strong, but changed. They burned with a fire in their soul that many of them never had before. They could... wield magic. I wanted to flee, but valor prevented me from expressing such cowardice. Deeper into their camp I went, and settled in. Weeks passed before I saw something that changed me forever.
  • What was that?
General Gorgidas puts his hand up quickly.
I am a modestly educated man, Character. But I cannot begin to try and describe the nature of what I saw. It was at once fire, and ice, and stone, and pure dark magic. When Dorjan approached it, he could draw more Dark Ones from it. It seemed to be endless, how he could find Dark Ones and gift them to the troops for empowerment.
When the time came for me, I drew my sword and refused. I wanted nothing more than to prove my worth without the assistance of these vile clouds.
Gorgidas looks down at the ground.
It was in that moment that I felt truly powerless, as I slashed at the air and howled in rage, impotently. The Dark One rushed me like I was not even there, and then it was gone. I felt it creep upon my soul and I steeled my nerves for a battle I had never fought before. As I collapsed into a fevered dream, the Dark One that called itself 'Logic Knot' attempted to overcome me. I fought it for what felt like months, in that quiet solitude.
Then, suddenly, it gave up. I awoke and mere minutes had passed. I have been relegated to camping with these infernal crystals ever since.
  • Why are you telling me this?
General Gorgidas laughs and licks his lips.
When a victory is all but assured, you are permitted to monologue, are you not? Ha ha ha... I've told you as many truths as I have lies as I get to know my prey... you've been enormously entertaining to watch and analyze. It doesn't matter how much you know and if you live to tell the tale, the research is complete and the loop is closed. All you can do now... is struggle against inevitability.
Gorgidas was an interesting host.
I understand why these animals are so revered amongst their kin. They are honed, relentless warriors, with hearts of gold and brains of steel. A perfect combination to corrupt. It's a shame he had to keep on living, not knowing the gift I could have been. But in the end, it brought you to me, and now I can have the host I've been looking for!
  • Logic Knot, I presume?
Gorgidas looks at you with a feral appetite.
It is time that you embraced the eternal dominion of the Nictus! We are legion, and you cannot hope to stop us!
  • Fight Logic Knot!
  • Okay, get to the point Droneicus...
This selection loops to another branch of this conversation which is already documented.
  • Dorjan was...?
Gorgidas looks at you with a realization that you truly are an outlander.
Dorjan... he could have been Emperor. Never had I ever known a man more spirited, fair, just, and strong than he. And somehow, he was corrupted so utterly that the person before me was but a demon wearing his flesh. So twisted was the Dorjan I met that my stomach nearly turned.
Dorjan must have known that his faith in Romulus was misplaced, and sought to rectify the state of affairs left in his absence. He rushed to us, like a hero with glorious purpose, speaking quickly and convincingly that the Dark Ones were not here to bring about the twilight of humanity, but to usher it into a new dawn. I was skeptical, but my wounds from the intolerant Valeria convinced me to try the prettier of two evils.
I followed the man I once loved and respected back into the foothills, where I was greeted by a camp of comrades a thousand strong, but changed. They burned with a fire in their soul that many of them never had before. They could... wield magic. I wanted to flee, but valor prevented me from expressing such cowardice. Deeper into their camp I went, and settled in.
Weeks passed before I saw something that changed me forever.
  • What was that?
This selection loops to another branch of this conversation which is already documented.
  • Fate? Hmm, I haven't decided yet.
General Gorgidas stays bowed, a look of confusion taking over his body. He glances up at you again with a look of concern on his face. He stands up slowly and without aggression.
Your methods and motives are elusive, God-spawn. Unlike the coward I once served and his Dark Mentor from elsewhen, I find little enjoyment from those in power withholding information for amusement.
If I am not to be executed today, then what purpose do I serve for my life-debt?
You glance in the direction of the Shadow Crystal.
  • Tell me about these crystals, and the Dark Mentor.
This selection loops to another branch of this conversation which is already documented.
  • Any ally to Romulus is an enemy of mine.
General Gorgidas stares up at you again with a look of rage on his face. He rises to his feet, defiantly.
Romulus? Bah!
Gorgidas spits at the ground with the utterance of the name.
That coward is no ally of mine. I rode with him when he campaigned for the honor of seating himself on the throne of Cimerora. A man of action, he was. Where he went, great deeds followed. Then the Dark Mentor came along, with promises of power and conquest in lands unheard of and time yet to pass. Romulus was drunk with the idea of power and glory since the Fates chose Imperious to be their champion, and he lost his vision.
He was no longer fighting for his land, his people. He was only fighting for himself and glory. Should I ever see him or his harpy allies, his fell beasts, I would slay him on sight! Now, if your quarrel is with this coward, let me be the first of assistance.
You glance in the direction of the Shadow Crystal.
  • If you detest Romulus, why do you continue to raid Cimerora?
Gorgidas nearly chokes on your accusation.
Ah, I see. I've been branded a fiend, a scofflaw, a traitor. And when we came to repent, to atone for our wayward decisions, we were treated like animals. The red cloth we bore on our breasts were enough to exclude us from any consideration. We were attacked on sight! We were not a raiding party, until they made us one.
But on the day in which Sister Valeria stuck me with her pilum, I heard a whisper. Down into the cave of a Dark One I retreated, bleeding at every step.
Gorgidas rubs his midsection idly while telling the tale.
It was there I found bewildered, lost, and masterless Dark Ones. They set upon me immediately, but upon seeing my red cloth, I was welcomed as a champion. O God-spawn, you must know what it feels like to be welcomed home by strangers as one of their own. To be lauded and appreciated as the savior, for doing nothing more than what you believed was right.
But it was a farce, as all brokers of powers cling to. Soon, I felt the bonds of servitude creeping upon my soul, and my resolve faltered.
  • Go on.
This selection loops to another branch of this conversation which is already documented.
  • Tell me about these crystals, and the Dark Mentor.
This selection loops to another branch of this conversation which is already documented.
Logic Knot Emerges
Clue
The Death of Gorgidas

In a stunning turn of events you'd never seen before, General Gorgidas had been unknowingly harboring a Nictus within him, blind to the truth of his fate. When he let his guard down for long enough, the Nictus tore itself from his body in rage, killing him. It could not allow you to live with the knowledge he had given you, and tried to stop you at all costs.

Ambush! Reducing the Shadow Crystal to 75% health triggers an ambush by one wave of Nictus, as well as the Shadowy Defender.

Shadowy Defender: The path is under attack!
Shadowy Defender: Kill the godlings!

Ambush! Reducing the Shadow Crystal to 50% health triggers an ambush by one wave of Nictus, as well as the Dark Cimeroran Outlander.

Dark Cimeroran Outlander: You cannot stop us! We are already here!
Dark Cimeroran Outlander: This cycle is doomed to repeat forever... and we have far more patience!

Ambush! Reducing the Shadow Crystal to 25% health triggers an ambush by one wave of Ravenna Conclave, including the Guardian Circe.

Guardian Circe: Do not impede the crystal's growth!
Guardian Circe: You will suffer for this!
Clue
Femme Fatale

A Sybil, acting like a guardian to the crystal, lamented that you were depriving it from growing... But wasn't it already fully grown?

Debriefing

Sister Valeria listens to you with great focus and intent.

So, Gorgidas was consumed by a Dark One, and you slew the beast within him? This is vexing news that leaves me unfulfilled.

On one side of the argument, you've slain a Dark One and nobody could be happier about that. But on the other side, Gorgidas sounded like he could have been the key to finding Dorjan and the center of this net.

We need a new plan of attack.

I said I would not rest until I knew the name of our threat. I whisper it to you now, in confidence it will not leave your lips...

The enemy calls themselves The Path of the Dark, and they hail from Ravenna. They are not to be underestimated - their leader, Livia, is a social and political force. We must foil their plot without destabilizing the entirety of the empire in the process.

You explain to Valeria that you have obtained a cold, odorous fragment of the Shadow Crystal in Gorgidas's cave.

By the Gods! Why would you carry that around with you? Its evil emanates from all sides, and assaults all of my senses! Get rid of it, before it brings eternal...

midnight... upon us. Midnight! The Mystics of Midnight that protect the God-Path, they are the ones who brought you all to us. Ask the Mystics of Midnight if they have any insight!

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