Mission:The Choice of Hope - Part One: The Long War

Part One: The Long War

Briefing

Our first order of business has to be the Tsoo. Protean is working within their organization to gather the components needed to summon Tielekku, but there is only so much he can do. If we do not prevent them from summoning the goddess, they will weaken her power, leaving us without a way to banish Mot.

I believe in some twisted way Tub Ci thinks he is doing the right thing, but I fear his sanity has been corrupted by the will of Mot. The Tsoo have spent years in Dark Astoria fighting the forces of Mot. They have become jaded to the point in believing only they can stop the creature, going so far as to believe they are above a goddess.

• So, we need to find Tub Ci and his god-killer sword.

Yes, exactly. Protean has reported to me where Tub Ci last was, which was in a storage warehouse that the Tsoo have for their new 'incarnate' powered ink. He should have the sword on him, as well.

We must get to that warehouse, recover any items to summon Tielekku, find Tub Ci, and take the sword from him. I can only assume this will happen with a thorough beating of Tub Ci. Afterwards, I will see if I can talk sense into him to join our cause, as he would make a worthy ally.

Myself and Scirocco will meet you at the warehouse; Scirocco is determined to do everything he can to rescue his lackey, Ice Mistral, and I believe he can be trusted as long as he has such a drive to his actions.

Find Tub Ci

Unnecessary Solicitation

You can't get in touch with Dream Doctor.

Mission Objective(s)

File:Map TSOO STORAGE.png

Map: TSOO_STORAGE

You go through various winding tunnels to get into the Tsoo warehouse, located deep underground.

• Find Tub Ci
  • Recover items to summon Tielekku
  • Find Tub Ci

You found several artifacts to summon Tielekku and the location of where Tub Ci is.

Enemies

Tsoo

Notable NPCs

• Dream Doctor (Ally)
• Scirocco (Ally)
• Hua Tov

NPC Ally Dialogue

At Entrance:

Scirocco: Character, let us go.

Dream Doctor: Tub Ci should be here, unless he has escaped. ... Let's hope he has not escaped.

Entering Next Room:

Dream Doctor: The Tsoo's new power comes from a dark source, Character. It is a combination of power from the well and souls. The Tsoo found an abundance of the latter here in Astoria.

Scirocco: Serafina and I have worked to research the nature of Mot and his absorption. We have discovered those who are strong enough are still alive within Mot, slowly being drained of their energy.

Upon Approaching Hua Tov:

Scirocco: Almost anyone who has been absorbed by Mot could, theoretically, still be saved, if we could get inside of the beast safely...

Upon Finding Artifacts:

Dream Doctor: Good work, Character, those artifacts will do well towards our ritual to summon Tielekku.

Tsoo Chatter

Before Combat:

Far Fire: The spirits of Astoria and the Circle of Thorns have gone a long way to giving us our new powers.

Serpent Blue Ink Man: Our Ancestor Spirits continue to empower us. We have grown beyond our limits.

---

Before Combat:

Eagle Blue Ink Man: I can hear it... whispers of the darkness in my mind...

Copper Serpent: Focus! You and I have come too far to be destroyed like the others.

---

Before Combat:

Dragon Blue Ink Man: The time has come. We have nearly everything required to summon the goddess.

Eagle Blue Ink Man: Tub Ci says he will become a new god and save us from the darkness of Mot.

Combat Start:

Dragon Blue Ink Man: Character! First Scirocco continues to get in our way, and now you return!

Hua Tov Dialogue

Before Combat:

Hua Tov: Tub Ci has made it out. Character and his / her cohorts will not get to him.

Combat Start:

Hua Tov: You've made a mistake coming here, Character! Tub Ci is gone, he will destroy the goddess Tielekku and then you!

Upon Defeat:

Hua Tov: Urgh... w-wait... what am I... Doing...?

Hua Tov

Briefing

Hua Tov coughs, seeming to be badly injured from not only your fight but from previous wounds. He was in no shape to even fight you in the first place.

I'm... sorry... Character... I don't know what overcame me...

You've been trying to... destroy Mot all of this time... and yet the Tsoo... we believed we were the only ones who could do it. Tub Ci has gone mad... and all of us willingly followed him... how many have we killed... have we sacrificed... to get where we are...?

It is not noble... it is not honorable... we were supposed to be better than... common gangsters... I wanted to... I WANTED to be better...

Tub Ci has fled to a local sewer system... he has the god-killer sword... p-please, you must stop him... you must save Astoria and the world from him...

But before you go... Character... do you think... do you think the Tsoo... that I... can be forgiven... for everything that I've done? For all the horrors that I've caused...?

• You can be forgiven, Hua, if you want to be, if you are truly repentant.

Hua Tov lets out a small, weak smile.

I... do... want to be... forgiven.

Thank you... Character...

Hua Tov collapses, the life leaving his body.

• You've done too much to be forgiven, Hua.

Hua Tov remains silent at your words. A few moments later, a maw of Mot appears, devouring Hua!

• I don't have the right to judge you, Hua. You have to decide for yourself.

Hua Tov remains silent at your words. A few moments later, a maw of Mot appears, devouring Hua! It seems on his own, Hua Tov could not bring himself to choose hope or forgiveness.

Defeat Tub Ci and Recover the God-Killer Sword

Unnecessary Solicitation

You can't get in touch with Dream Doctor.

Mission Objective(s)

File:Map SEWERS TSOO SHOWDOWN.png

Map: SEWERS_TSOO_SHOWDOWN

Tub Ci is somewhere deep within these sewers, along with the sword that can take the power of a god.

• Defeat Tub Ci and Recover the God-Killer Sword
  • Defeat Tub Ci
  • 4 spirits to defeat to remove Tub Ci's invulnerability

You defeated Tub Ci and recovered the God-Killer Sword!

Enemies

Tsoo

Notable NPCs

• Dream Doctor (Ally)
• Scirocco (Ally)

NPC Ally Dialogue

At Entrance:

Dream Doctor: Tub Ci is cornered now. He cannot get away from us.

Moving Through Sewers:

Dream Doctor: We must do what we can to save Tub Ci.

Scirocco: Be on your guard. Tub Ci will be a dangerous opponent.

Tsoo Chatter

Before Combat:

Tiger Blue Ink Man: I never imagined it coming to this all these years ago...

Tiger Blue Ink Man: We are no mere gangsters anymore. We have risen beyond the Warriors, beyond the Freakshow...!

---

Before Combat:

Serpent Blue Ink Man: Have we gone wrong? Is this where we're supposed to go?

Far Fire: Do not think like that. Tub Ci will lead us to the victory we've been fighting for all these years.

---

Before Combat:

Tiger Blue Ink Man: We must defend Tub Ci from Character at all costs.

Dragon Blue Ink Man: The Incarnate believes that he / she can stop us. He / She is wrong.

Tub Ci Dialogue

Before Combat:

Tub Ci: Character is near. It is time.

Combat Start:

Tub Ci: Your time ends here, Character. You will not stop me from saving Astoria, our ancestors, and the world!

First Blood:

Tub Ci: Eat hot death!

75% Health:

Dream Doctor: He is absorbing more souls to power himself!

Tub Ci: You... willl NOT STOP ME!

50% Health:

Tub Ci: You all left us to save Astoria ourselves! And NOW you decide to come and help?! Leave us BE!

25% Health:

Tub Ci: I will not be stopped! Not by YOU, not by MOT! NOT BY ANYONE!

God-Killer Sword

You retrieved the God-Killer sword from Tub Ci after defeating him. The sword itself is twisted and looks like it would be useless in a normal fight. The only real use would be a stabbing motion, as the sides of the blade are covered with some sort of black substance that dulls it. The sword pulses an evil aura; the components that came together to create this must have been truly vile.

This sword could be used to take the power from Tielekku and a weakened Mot, should you choose to use it, though there's no telling how long the sword will actually last.

Debriefing

Scirocco and Ajax are dealing with Tub Ci as we speak. Tub Ci was able to resist Mot, but not the hatred that rested in his heart.

The man had spent too long here in Astoria and this hatred of his had grown. He wanted to save the world, yet he had grown to hate the world for abandoning Dark Astoria and for ignoring the threat that was growing.

The fog has been lifted from Tub Ci's eyes, thankfully, though he must still begin to atone for the horror that is his Tsoo 'incarnate' ink. They created the ink by using the cursed souls within Dark Astoria. Some spirits were from the Circle of Thorns, others were from the cursed souls trapped within Dark Astoria. So many have tried to gain immense power through different methods, Character, however, none of them reach the same level as the power granted from the Well... unfortunately.

At any rate, the Tsoo are no longer a threat, and we have what is required to summon Tielekku. I have members of the Midnight Squad working on the ritual as we speak, using David Hazen's runes to power it. We have one last threat to deal with, Character.