As Hadorix and Inky descended deeper and deeper into the lower levels of the palace he was amazed at how large the seemingly normal structure is. With the system of the Crown leading the way, it would be impossible for Hadorix to fail. This thought reassured him and left his thoughts free to wander. And wander they did, after all, he was rather uncertain of what ramifications his recent decisions would have on the Druid Order if The Great Tree were to discover them. Would his title as Archdruid be revoked? Would he be slain? Would he lose the Mystic Orchard?
Hadorix shook his head as if he could shake away such worries. The decision had been made. He had accepted the aid of the undead already in order to pursue the secrets of the Spider. Hadorix would even marry Alexus and become King of the vampires. He felt this would be the first decision down a path that would grant him the freedom to make his own decisions for his life.
With such thoughts running through his head, the journey went by relatively quickly. With the aid of the Crown Hadorix had no need to pay attention to his surroundings, and he quickly arrived at a rather small opening. He shapeshifted into a spider and continued on his way.
After traversing the path in spider form for what felt like hours, Hadorix suddenly felt the air around him begin to feel heavier. As this feeling increased, Inky began to get rather excited.
"You found it; it has been so many years since I last ventured into the master's lair. I wonder what remains of him?"
As she spoke, the path ahead suddenly opened into a wide chamber. Hadorix stopped to examine the room before entering. Inside the vast chamber machinery stretched as far as the eye could see. Every wall contained some variety of panels. Hadorix was taken aback with surprise. He had no idea what to expect to find in the lair of a great vampire assassin King, and yet this was definitely beyond his imagining.
Hadorix quickly entered the room and shifted back into human form. In this massive chamber, there would be no need to remain so small. As he entered the room began to come alive. As Hadorix admired the machinery, a creature stood from an alcove inside the wall to the right.
· Quest Complete. Find the tomb of the spider.
· Quest reward, enhanced absorption ability. "You have discovered a portion of the Spiders nature. As such, you have inherited the ability to absorb machines as well as organic lives. With this enhancement the sky is no longer the limit. Anything you slay will only increase your strength.
Hadorix glanced around in confusion. He saw no tomb, only machinery and the creature that continued to approach. Hadorix opted to speak first.
"My name is Hadorix. I am a human from the planet Earth. I don't know how I came to be on Pax, but I have since managed to gain a great many of the Spiders equipment."
The creature continued to move closer. As it approached, Hadorix was unsure to what it was. It looked like the God Anubis from Egyptian mythology on Earth. It had the head of a dog and the body of a human. The likeness was uncanny.
The creature responded, "From the look on your face you appear to have guessed a portion of the truth. I am a cyborg. You can call me Cy if you feel the need to call me anything at all. I am also the tomb of the spider as I was partially created from his flesh and I possess his mind. I have waited a great many years for your arrival."
Hadorix replied, "You have been waiting for me? How long have you been down here?"
Cy replied, "The passage of time is slightly different here than it is on Pax. By my estimation it has been at least 5,000 years since my body existed outside this machine. And yes, I have been waiting for you. Thought I admit, I do not know exactly what manner of creature you are, I did know someone would eventually arrive and claim the gifts I left behind. The fact that you were able to enter here makes it rather obvious that you managed to do so. However, there will be plenty of time in the future for such questions. Right now, there are a great many things you need to know. Will you stay awhile and listen to the story of an old man?"
Hadorix replied, "I would be honored to hear your story. Since I arrived on Pax, history is one thing that has been somewhat difficult to obtain."
Cy replied, "In my time, vampires ruled Pax. The dwarves, elves, and orcs provided us blood, as did the animals. Life was good and the planet lived in a relative state of peace and balance. Then one day everything changed. In the far north, something fell from the sky and caused a great impact. At this time, I had no idea the amount of damage this single event would cause to my home world and my empire. You see what fell from the sky contained life forms. I do not know if it were a spaceship or merely a meteor, this fact seems to be somewhat irrelevant. What does matter is from this impact The Great Tree and his Archdruid, a great blue dragon that primarily ventured in human form entered Pax.
I know what your thinking, how could two life forms cause a massive amount of damage? Originally, I thought the same. I didn't realize the danger they brought until the Great Tree began to open portals to other worlds. Every time he opened a portal more species descended upon Pax. In the beginning these creatures were all loyal to The Great Tree. It began to build an army and attack my kindred. The most devastating member of this army was known as the Spider. It possessed a great many of the items you now carry including the fangs. Those fangs sowed fear through the ranks of my armies. You gained them before entering the Pit. Clearly, I do not need to share the amount of devastation they managed to bring to my race. They claimed more and more land and infested Pax with plants and creature's native to many worlds. In a matter of months, half my planet had been lost and converted and The Great Tree began to call himself The World Tree. Rather Ironic, though I suppose when conquering a planet, it is easiest if your able to make creatures think you're the native species, and that you're the one under attack.
Seeing the vast devastation, the Spider brought to my people, I ventured out to the enemies' camp and slew him. You see, vampires excel in assassinations. With our natural talents, you could say we were born to the job. With my absorption talent, I managed to absorb a portion of the Spiders druid system. It is a copy of this system that exists in the crown that a friend helped me to create. I even claimed his familiar Inky, his title, most of his gear, and the very artifact you now stand in.
The World Tree became enraged. The Spider and its fangs were the most effective weapons against what it called the undead. With the fangs now in my hands, my race stood a chance at survival. He sent the blue dragon Anubis to destroy me.
Anubis did not initially think I was a threat. As such, he sent out machines to slay me rather than coming in person. It is this action alone that saved me and my people from utter destruction, you see every time I slew a machine, I would absorb it into myself. The more I absorbed the more machine I became. I imagine at this point in time you are considering my appearance. In large part this period was the primary factor that aided me in becoming the cyborg you now see in front of you. While this was unexpected, it did come with benefits. As a vampire I had along life span, but I was not immortal. As I incorporated more machinery into myself, I began to realize that at some point, as long as my energy source did not become depleted, I would be able to live forever. I also gained the ability to wield the fangs you now possess. Initially they would cause me great damage every time I touched them. With robotic hands however, that no longer became a concern.
Eventually Anubis grew tired of sending out his machines and he came in person. He and I fought a great battle over the course of many months. Unfortunately for the World Tree, absorbing the machines gave me the ability to communicate with Anubis telepathically. Their bond to him became my advantage. Over the months Anubis and I spoke at great length of many things. The more we spoke the more he began to question the information he had been given by the World Tree, you see The World Tree has a method of twisting information and portions of reality to its will. Anubis felt he was doing a great service to the galaxy by aiding The World Tree. That is why he became the Archdruid for this seedling of the tree. Yes, I said seedling. The World Tree that came to Pax was merely the seed of a far larger and greater being in the galaxy. Eventually Anubis felt that his actions were wrong, and he stopped fighting. The conversation however continued.
When Anubis left the battlefield, he confronted the World Tree. While I do not know most of the details of this confrontation, I do know the result. Anubis resigned from his position as Archdruid and left the World Tree's service. Without Anubis and the Spider leading the armies, the war began to reduce in effectiveness. At this point, I returned to my people. We rose and attacked the armies of the World Tree. Due to the World Trees ability to create portals to other worlds and convince the creatures he summoned that I was the invader, my forces were beaten back again and again. It mattered little how strong my people were, the enemy's numbers were unlimited.
Seeing that eventually we would be defeated and ultimately eradicated, Anubis made a decision that would forever change Pax. He created a vast machinery network throughout the planet. This network created many changes. It limited the movement of the World Tree to a single location. It eliminated the World Trees control of the portals, while it could still create them, it could no longer control where the summoned creatures would spawn. This greatly reduced the number of creatures the World Tree could spawn. Lastly, and most importantly, it limited the power of creatures that could be brought to Pax. Anything above a grade D super would be put to sleep unless they were in the Spiders lair, or the World Trees grove.
By this point in the war, my forces had already been reduced to a fraction of what they were. Pockets of resistance existed across the planet, but they no longer had a united front. With our inability to move and control the battlefield, the battle eventually ended. After forcing an end to the war, Anubis resided with me here for a time. He created all the machinery you see around you as well as the crown you wear on your head. This has multiple purposes. For one, were I to desire to, I can add this place to the throne of the vampire settlement. With a suitable power source, it could eliminate the restriction for maximum super grade on Pax and allow me to again move freely. Though admittedly were it to be added to the World Trees Mystic Grove, The World Tree would have the same option. Fortunately, this place is well hidden and only a few power sources exist on Pax with enough power. Also, The World Tree has yet to find an Archdruid with enough ability to claim territory since Anubis left the order. This is rather fortunate as one of the few sources exists near the World Tree. It is called the Well of Souls, and the World Tree has long sought to reclaim it.
Alas, I am rambling. The other primary functions Anubis incorporated into this location include the chamber you saw me rise from that enables my body to stay alive and my brain to connect with the planet, and the ability to have a tie to secondary dimensions. I utilized this function to provide a prison called Melatonin to my heir, he was able to put a great many of the World Trees allies to sleep and imprison them. It also gave him a place to store the creatures above Grade D that went to sleep from the war. In this the World Tree and I agreed to allow my heir to gather all the sleeping beings on Pax that were above Grade D in Melatonin prison, as those that were asleep in the cryochambers in Melatonin would not age as they would in Pax.
Now I am sure you are wondering what your role in all of this is. Before you ask, no I do not desire to create another war between my kind and the World Tree. I do, however, fear the day the World Tree is able to recruit a capable Archdruid and claim the Well of Souls. The Well is the only power source the Mystic Orchard is capable of easily incorporating and utilizing. I fear that time has now come. The Well of Souls is now a part of the Mystic Orchard. Hadorix, you must protect my people. Do not allow the Archdruid to claim and absorb this place. I will upload my memories to your system in order to eliminate the possibility of my trying to deceive you. Everything I know, you will know. This is the true legacy of the Spider."
· Quest complete. Find the Spiders tomb.
· Quest complete. Obtain the Spiders Legacy.
· Gained soul stone, Spiders Lair.
· Gained Legacy of the Spider. Effects unknown.
· Quest Received. Decisions, Decisions. "You have now received the Spiders Legacy. Understanding the truth of the Spiders words, as Archdruid, you now have a decision to make. Your decision will determine the fate of Pax."
o Required tasks:
§ Confront the World Tree
o Optional task
§ Place the Soul Stone of the Spiders Lair in the Mystic Orchard
§ Combine the warehouse with the Spiders Lair.
§ Revive Anubis and try to gain the secrets of the druid order.
§ Eliminate the World Tree
§ Eliminate the Spider.
§ Renounce making a decision and enter a cryochamber in the Melatonin prison.
§ Reveal your status as Archdruid to the Spider.
§ Continue with the marriage of Alexus and claim the mantle of King of vampires.
§ Destroy the undead and cement your place by the World Trees side
§ Combine the system in the crown with your own system.
§ Hidden tasks exist.
· Quest Reward will depend upon the choices made.
Hadorix was at this point dumbfounded. The Spider had freely uploaded his entire memory into Hadorix mind. Hadorix went through the last thousands of years in the blink of an eye. Once he had time to process this information, he assumed it would cause a significant increase in his abilities as an assassin as well as his absorption ability.