Closing the Book
Title | Closing the Book |
---|---|
Number | 4 Quests Total |
Date | * Q1: 25 April 2011 * Q2: 2 May 2011 * Q3: 8 August 2011 * Q4: 9 August 2011 |
Players | Tyler (GM), Aaron (Q1 - Q2), Isabel, Steve (Q1 - Q2), Alicia (Q1 - Q2), Kevin2 (Q2), Greg (Q3 - Q4), Robert (Q3 - Q4), Bishop (Q3 - Q4) |
Characters | Philip (Q1 - Q2), Marianne, Michael (Q1 - Q2), Siliya (Q3 - Q4), Ganchi (Q1, Q3 - Q4), Cail (Q1, Q3), Manadur (Q1 - Q2), Luffy (Q2), Saja (Q2), Alexander (Q3 - Q4), Mortimer (Q3 - Q4), Liner (Q3 - Q4), Jejre (Q3) |
Setting | * Q1: Hanqing Square, Nuhau,Handora, Disparatus * Q1 - Q2: Police Station & Manadur's Cabin, Ostfold, Disparatus * Q2: Svaldon, Disparatus * Q3: Pizza Cabaret, Eutropia, United Provinces, Disparatus * Q3: Train & Ganchi's Home, United Provinces, Disparatus * Q4: Abandoned Warehouse, United Provinces, Disparatus |
Timeline Summary
Backstory
On the 4th of April in 2323 AE, certain people had the following message delivered to them:
"Hello. I wish to gather you and many others together for a display of strength on Monday the 25th of April around noon, at Hanqing Square in the city of Nuhau, Handora.
Whether you know it or not, you have impressive inner power, and I believe your attendance will be a great benefit to everyone. Don't worry, you will not need to do too much there, and you will be well-paid for your participation in this event. Consider it a gift."
Quest 1 - The Imprisoned Lich
- The summary of Quest 1 is the extended summary taken from the recap between Quests 2 and 3, rather than the one from the timeline.
When the day arrives, Marianne Lavelle, Philip Throne, Siliya Katen, and Michael Azrael wait inside a restaurant at the square as noon approaches. Suddenly, people in the middle of the square start exploding, and more leading outward. Despite numerous casualties, a decent number of people manage to escape the square in time, including Marianne, Philip, Siliya, and Michael.
The four begin investigating the incident, joined by an acquaintance by the name of Cail Milons. Cail notes that he's seen this before, that there was once a killer with the ability to make people explode just like this, someone by the name of Manadur. A friend of Cail's, August Games winner and "Hawk-Killer" Ganchi Hiaba, informs them that he went after Manadur once and ended up being killed by the same ability. He got better.
After Ganchi told the group of four how to find him, they went up to Ostfold to confront Manadur. They arrive at his cabin to find themselves attacked by Manadur, who they discover to be a lich. After finding himself unable to make them explode, they pin Manadur down and convince him to talk over "tea".
He explains that at some point during the Two Year Gap, someone set up a barrier around his home, preventing zombies of any sort from passing through, meaning he could not have been in Handora earlier that day. The lich adds that, as far as he knows, his ability is unique, and is intrigued at someone being able to replicate it. This reminds Marianne of something similiar: the Book of Quests, a book with the ability to copy powers, stolen by an unidentified person known to use the phrase "Consider it a gift" as a sort of signature.
The group heads for a nearby post office which has been keeping Manadur's mail following his devouring of a postal worker and find two letters from the unknown person. It seemed that any letters sent from 2320 onward had care taken to not have any fingerprints on them, but older letters, such as one of the ones sent to Manadur, did. Obtaining a fingerprint that wasn't in a police database, they decided to head to a hotel for a night's rest.
Quest 2 - Following Breadcrumbs
- The summary of Quest 2 is the extended summary taken from the recap between Quests 2 and 3, rather than the one from the timeline.
With their only leads being the untraced fingerprint and the possibility of Manadur knowing something more, they headed back to Manadur's cabin the next day. They talk to him about the contents of the letters, which implied he had met with the writer at least once before the Two Year Gap. Then Luffy shows up out of nowhere.
Manadur says that it'd be tough to remember someone specific from nearly five years ago, but that it was likely one of the various young heroes who attempted to defeat him for glory. He listed off two Thuwadian twins, a werewolf, and three mercenaries, one black, one Handoran, and one with a turban.
He convinces them that a raw meal would help his memory, and Siliya grabs a few deer for him. After a small feast, he lists off some names he remembered, only two of which stuck out to the group: Saja the blind assassin from the Olympiad, and Ganchi. With the group satisfied with this information, Manadur notes that he'll be able to escape if they succeed in killing his captor, and wishes them luck for that.
Siliya recalls that they had to list home addresses and give fingerprints for the Olympiad, which both Saja and Ganchi had participated in. Checking these records, they find where each of them live. The ever-useful Siliya notes that Ganchi's fingerprint seems to be closest to the one they have, but she can't be positive it's a match. After a brief visit to Saja where they gained little new information, they took a flight back to Handora to see Ganchi...
Interlude
- This is taken from the recap between Quests 2 and 3, rather than from the timeline.
Unfortunately, when the group arrived at Ganchi's address, they found the place abandoned. He owned the place, but it was a decoy that he rarely actually used. Days went by with no new information, but the group continued searching for clues to his whereabouts. The group disbanded after a time, losing hope of finding him by searching.
Quest 3 - Jejre's Message
On August 8th, Cail Milons tells Marianne Lavelle the location of Ganchi's actual home. Joined by Mortimer Harrison, Alexander, and Liner, she heads there and finds a particularly unusual page from the Book of Quests. It activates a holographic recording from over 2,000 years previous, where Jejre gives them information and teleports them to Ganchi.
Quest 4 - The Rewind
The group appears at the warehouse Ganchi is hiding in and they confront him. He stalls as the sigil charges, explaining some of his goals, and giving his backstory. However, he manages to activate it in the Original Timeline and transports back to 2320. However, in the Current Timeline, the Original Timeline's Ganchi prevents the Current Timeline Ganchi from going back in time. The group tries to bring the Current Timeline Ganchi into custody, but the original rescues him.
Notes
- This saga was split up between Epic v4 and v5 due to the schism which temporarily split Epic's playerbase.
- The timeline split at the end of Quest 4 was a result of the the Epic schism, as a way to show how both Epic v5 and Arcane Legacy (the planned off-shoot game) could both be canon, with Arcane Legacy being the Original Timeline, and Epic v5 being the Current Timeline. However, due to Arcane Legacy's failure, and Epic's reunification in 2013, this was rendered moot.
- Before the Epic schism, the original plan with the end of this saga was for Ganchi to be a final boss battle, where he would die. It was also planned to possibly ask Nick if he wanted to briefly return so that Isaac could make a heroic sacrifice to help them defeat Ganchi, as Nick planned to retire the character at the time.
- First appearance of Alexander. Although he made an earlier chronological appearance at the end of Corporate Issue II, that appearance was written a few days after Quests 3 and 4.
- Quests 3 and 4 are not only the only appearances of Liner, but also Bishop's only participation in Epic after leaving in October 2009.
Book of Quests Arc | ||||||||||
Player | Three Years Ago | Lost to History 1 | The Chemist's Last Chance | Lost to History 2 | Lost to History 3 | Closing the Book 1 | Closing the Book 2 | Closing the Book 3 | What's Past is Prologue | Closing the Book 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyler | Edjejre | Kri-Yut | Edjejre | |||||||
Earth | Ajoita Olta | Ganchi Hiaba | Ganchi Hiaba | |||||||
Manly Trio | Jolene Ketelsen | Doviko Olta | Manadur | Jejre | Manadur | |||||
Marcus Mull | David Groven | Cail Milons | Saja Aamodt | Cail Milons | ||||||
Isabel | Marianne Lavelle | Marianne Lavelle | ||||||||
Aaron | Aaron (Old Epic) | Mike West | Mike West | Philip Throne | ||||||
Alicia | Elentra Arcamenel | Siliya Katen | Siliya Katen | |||||||
Kevin2 | Luffy | Keith "Gin" Tonic | Keith "Gin" Tonic | Luffy | ||||||
Kristen | Rosalie | |||||||||
Jared | Skorax | Oujou | Oujou | |||||||
Nick | Nick Cobalt | Iota Vandir | Iota Vandir | |||||||
James | Kangetsu | Kangetsu | ||||||||
Steve | Michael Azrael | Michael Azrael | ||||||||
Robert | Mortimer Harrison | |||||||||
Greg | Alexander | |||||||||
Bishop | Liner |