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 EPISODE 24: GRANDPA Previously posted:Mystic-in-training GADEN-KO seeks the mysterious DEEP CRADLE to complete his pilgrimage. The only man who knows its current whereabouts? DOCTOR JERRIAN, a Republic archaeologist lost to madness in the NIGHTMARE LANDS. Following the advice from JEFRY, the only other survivor of JERRIAN's expedition, JOLUNE heads deeper into the warped forest...   Doctor Jerrian's signal is coming from up ahead. More creepy caves. Yay. ...This is different. An old research base, maybe?  There he is... Doctor Kerrian! Hey! Doctor Kerrian!  Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Sel'Makor V'oss wgah'nagl fhtagn! Aaah! Turrets are cheating! Phew. Poor man. Killed by his impatience. Killed by us actually.  I'm just teasing, Master. ...Maybe I should have you read Master Hg'kell's “Rules for an Errant Padawan.” All 317 volumes.  From Jefry's ominous warning in the last episode, I was half expecting Dr Kerrian to have been mutated into a giant monster. It was disappointing to discover he was just some crazy dude. Booo.  BACK AT BASE...  Unfortunately, I was forced to kill him. Doctor Kerrian too, huh. That makes his journal even more important. Let me see... Please don't be encrypted...*bzzt*  It started like that. Here, the next entry's a few days later. ...following me about. I led them here, and now they're nameless. Brr. *bzzt* Listen, he said “switch.” The Deep Cradle's secret. Its altars grant enlightenment. We must go, before the path is changed. I don't want to leave Lefry here alone. We could take him with us? Maybe I can send a distress signal, but how long before I'm rescued? And what if the ritual wears off? The Deep Cradle isn't going anywhere... Perhaps. ...We'll stay here until rescue arrives. You can abandon Lefry instead, for DS points. It doesn't end well for him. SOME TERRIFYING CAMPFIRE STORIES LATER...  ...and later that night, Doctor Neill ate his own eyes. Maybe the two were related? I don't know.  Actually, these lands remind a bit of the forests back home. Only, worse. There was an incident, and Doctor Kerrian's team is gone. This man needs escorting home. He'll be safe with us, Master Jedi. Wait. Here--I found this near the Deep Cradle. It looks kind of valuable. Take it, please. I have no need of such things. Then give it to your order or something. Okay, I guess. They can store it with all their other Artifacts of Doom. Goodbye! Thanks for everything. IN THE DEPTHS OF THE NIGHTMARE LANDS...  Turn left at the enormous pile of corpses and... ...the Dark Heart. Ready, Nadia? As I'll ever be. Can you feel it? The Dark Side flows through this place like... like... blood through a... heart. A Dark Heart, then. Yeah... I was trying to come up with an original metaphor. The door is sealed? I wonder... What did Doctor Kerrian say about the switch? It was ”behind the third stone.” Ah ha!*clunk*   You'll be perfectly safe with me. Inside, my journey's end. Gaden-Ko's following us now. He doesn't do anything in battle, but he isn't attacked by enemies either, so it's not really an escort quest. Thank God.  The first altar. Life. ...Something's here.    You get swarmed by a stream of these critters while Gaden-Ko meditates.  That was intense! Poor kitties. Poor mutant kitty monsters. We're disturbing them in their home. I am finished. We move on.  Here is the second altar. Death. I must focus.    They're coming out of the walls! I am done. The final altar. Duty. Stand by for more angry cats. That's slightly ominous.*SMAAAASH!*   Rrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhgggghhhh!!!!!! The Abomination hits like a freight train, and can encase people in carbonite for a quick stun. Maybe it ate a bounty hunter once?  What... What even was that? The Dark Side changes living things. Inside and out. So, it was a... Voss? Or Gormak? Or maybe just a very unlucky tree frog. Who knows? I have finished my meditations. The way is open.  Here... [VIDEO: The Light in Your Eyes]  Grandfather? You died. The cave and the beast, before my rescue. I can't believe you just apologised to a ghost! I can't either! Talons in my flesh, Gaden-Ko. My breath fading. My last thought, failure. Grandfather, stop! Hope remains. We sprang from this Deep Cradle. The altars root us. Life, death, duty. These lands are corrupted; this apparition could be lying. Offering to revive dead loved ones is Evil Spirit 101. I... my family... No. I must accept. Learn from what is necessary. I cannot be selfish. You shoulder a Mystic's burden. Willingly. Training ends, Gaden-Ko. Grandfather, your death. I do not understand. Jedi. Your protection made this possible. The Jedi way is to serve. A reward is due. You walk a difficult path. If you seek truth, ask. ...Can you tell me who the First Son is? Wait, you can't just leave it at that! I can. And I have. Darkness lingers. Healing must begin, Jedi. Seek the divide. Gaden-Ko, farewell.  Your vision, what was it? Two suns. One alight. The other dead. A mountain to the stars.  The Three must know. NEXT TIME: So, what have we learned? BONUS CODEX CONTENT: The Deep Cradle posted:“All that is Voss comes from Voss,” run the words of an ancient Voss creation myth. According to tradition, the ruin known as the Deep Cradle marks the site where the Voss were born from the substance of the planet itself. Later stories tell of how one Voss returned to the Deep Cradle and drank from the fire at the planet’s heart; he knew he would perish, but that his sacrifice was necessary for the greater good. His prophetic dying words are said to have guided the ancient Voss safely through the wilderness, until they discovered the mountain where Voss-Ka now stands.
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| ← # ? Oct 19, 2014 20:03 |
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