Holy Heart Quest

Design by Llevram

Unused Items used in these Quests:

While you scorn the now-dead Sorceress, you feel pity for the heart, that seems to call to you. You wonder what a little more Holy Water might do ....

It has taken you almost a full day to acquire a fair amount of Holy Water .. and none too soon, you can tell as the beating of the heart has grown fainter by the hour, that its final hour was almost here.

After dousing the Heart of the Sorceress with Holy Water, you see a miraculous change occur. The rest of the blackness fades from the Heart and it begins beating stronger, and stronger. One of the more pious members of your party identifies it as a Holy Heart, that of a Priest. Great ... so, is there a guy in robes laying around anywhere that needs a transplant?

As you carried your newest trinket across Dominus these past few days, you have noted a few things:

1) The strength of the heart beat has noticeably faded, and no further amount of Holy Water or any other substances seems to be of any help.

2) Every time you travel the Arnika-Trynton road, the heart beat picks up strength and beats more rapidly. About 2/3 of the way from Arnika to Trynton. But it always returns to normal, the closer you get to either Arnika or Trynton.

Seven days have now passed since you freed the Holy Heart from the Sorceress Queen's curse, and this looks to be its last. You have spent that last 2 days camped on the Arnika-Trynton road, when it finally dawns on you that the beating is always strongest at the crossroads to the cemetery.

You may have realized it sooner, but the thought of digging up bodies, looking for a Priest to match your heart, was an idea that was itself, trying to stay buried.

After dispatching the roaming Mummy, you note a robed corpse hanging in the mausoleum ... missing its heart! And the one in your hand is beating so fast, your Bard's rendition of Rousing Drums would probably slow it down! This has to be it!

As you place the Holy Heart back in the dessicated cavity from which it came, the body starts to animate. (Days later, thinking back on this episode, you marvel at yourself, thinking: "What did you expect?!?")

In a high-pitched Trynnie voice, the corpse intones:

"I, Lardas, Priest to the Trynnie owe you a debt that I can never repay. You have delivered my heart, my soul, from the evil one who claimed it, allowing me to finally find peace. As I now depart this land, I have only time to offer you this token of my eternal gratitude. Bear it to my kind, and they may repay you, in kind.

Good luck weary adventurers and may fortune shine upon you, and guide you to the cosmic circle."

With that, the body goes slack once again .. silent .. still ... dead.

(Party receives Trynnie Token and 75,000 experience points)

So begins the

Baruta Bomb Quest

Upon arriving at the base tree and presenting the token to Chief Gari, you were a bit let down, when all he offered was his gratitude for your service to their beloved Priest ... and an offer to take his place (once you saved Dominus).

"Ok, Gari, nice offer, we'll think about it. Is Fuzzfas in do you know? Ah, nevermind, we'll just pop in and surprise him ..."

Fuzzfas was a different matter and seemed quite moved, almost to tears, by your account of Lardas' fate. But when you showed him the token, he perked right up!

"Oh, that's right ... he is the one I loaned Madras' token to. I forgot all about that. Well, that's neither here nor there, but I would appreciate it if you could return it to Madras for me. Oh, and hey! In the mean time, I've been working on the formula for a new potion, a real stinker! He, he!

I call it a Baruta Bomb. All I think I need is some Baruta Chum and a some Dust of Dessication. I would go get the Chum myself, but you know how us Trynnies are around the Rynjin! Yuch!"

Hmm, Baruta Bomb you say ... sounds interesting. OK, we're off to go Baruta fishing, after we swing by Madras!

As you depart Fuzzfas hut, you hear him mumbling something to himself about "not having to explain to Lardas about his dead frog".

So begins the

Portable Telescope Quest

Pulling himself from his sorrow, he asks if Lardas happened to have a long shiny object with him. When you indicate that he, to your knowledge, did not, Madras is further saddened.

"Rats! That was another new project I had just finished working on ... a portable one of these", he says, pointing to the large metal object that takes up the center of his hut (and then some).

'By the way', you ask, 'what is THAT'?

"Oh, just my telescope .. it lets me see what is going on anywhere on Dominus. I had just finished a portable model, when Lardas was heading off in the tunnels to Arnika ... the last we saw of him ... and my portable model!"

'Hmm, portable you say, ... you say, ... what!? Tunnels? To Arnika?!'

"Oh yes, I am sure I mentioned them before. We used to use them all the time, before, when it was safe. I told Lardas to take the portable, and keep an eye out. If only he had listened, he would still be here today ... with my portable!"

Noting how broken up Madras is about the loss of his latest gadget, you figure it might be of some use to you, in one fashion or another. So you offer to retrieve it, hoping to also get directions to these tunnels in the bargain.

And just as you planned, Madras is more than happy to tell you how to use the token in the Hall of the Rising Elms, to open the secret passage to the tunnel entrance. He also provides you with a small piece of paper, a crude sketch at best, showing the layout of the major tunnels in the system.