The Syrinx

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Story

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Prologue
Plot
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Cult of Meh
Rival Party
The Syrinx
Trees of Life
Quests


General Quest Info

Quest: side (non-essential)
Given by: Pan (S'Fauni)
Prerequisites: none
Rewards:

Provides access to: none


Description

Questgiver

The Troll Pan is the Master Teacher of Music. He lives alone in a house in Verdigris, the town in S'Fauni.

Purpose

The party has to find the Pan Flutes, which he named Syrinx after his true love, and prove that it cannot be claimed. If they do, they can keep the instrument and use it.

Walkthru

In each province of Karigor, there is an Obelisk that contains part of an encrypted message. Every Obelisk has been assigned a letter. Touch all the Obelisks and the message fragments are logged into the autonotes. When the message is complete, put them in the right order to deliver the magic word from the obelisks' assigned letters. Return to Pan with this proof and he will give you the Syrinx.

Decypher the message in the traditional manner by reading from top to bottom rather than from left to right. Read the resulting rhyme, which will point you to the Heart of the Forest in the province of Timberfall. Visit this place between 0:00 and 03:00 in the night of a full moon, and Tree #68 will be there in the center. Converse with it and get it to lift Pan's spell. Now, you can enter the Crypt of Carmenca below Tree #68. From the crypt, retrieve the treasure.


Notes

  • At any other time, Tree #68 will not be available.
  • The game contains several hints at the magic word and the location.

Obelisks

Messages

  • Message U (Goetia): AI_i.evartro_hy_ste_.l_agtch__ai
  • Message n (Serenity): __ml_,etsi_mc,iIu_nj_odnhahypyrs
  • Message c (Typhon Expanse): llylB__e_mmeo_e_rftuIvoytkonlod_
  • Message o (Eftling): oo_euItswee_uilcea_s'enm_eieaush
  • Message p (S'Fauni): nshdt_ote__tltdo!rhtl_'omsrscr_i
  • Message y (Murlank): ete__g__nitrd_,u__o_lttro_'se_ag
  • Message r (Soronne): l_aweahgttoenw_lIfma_o_esas.,lrh
  • Message i (Terrax): ymrivvia___a'ofd_resg_w.tw___oen
  • Message g (Mt. Pilanteko): _ytteedibcsstuonlos_iaa__auTpv_e
  • Message h (Nannaria): s__hn_enyapu_lr'im,bvnnTeytarefs
  • Message t (Timberfall): olw__m_._mertd_tv__eeythe_tke,rs
  • Message a (Etanasfeld): uoapwym_aenehnl_eapf_o_ertees_o!
  • Message b (Semiramis): lvsao_yYn_d.o'om_nlomni_ihr_erm
  • Message l (Ryft): ,e_irl_edf__utvencaryetnee_mne_
  • Message e (Sea of Mist): _,fnsola_osIg_eaoiye_,_i__sytwh

Resulting rhyme

"A lonely soul, I lost my love, my heart was filled with pain.
But even worse, I gave my love to hide my latest gain.

Years went by and time it came for me to spend some treasure.
I couldn`t though, it wouldn`t yield, for love I couldn`t measure!

I live not far from ancient homes, play just as before.
I`ll give my love to anyone, don`t want it anymore.

The night most eerie takes away the choir`s utter shyness.
Take my place, present your love, rewards are from his highness!"

Treasure

The last three items are all from MM3 (but the obsidian daggers didn't have the name Itzlacoliuhque), since S.H.E.LT.E.M. after all is the Guardian of Terra (MM3).


Pipes of Pan (lyrics)

The Pipes of Pan (Damh the Bard)

The idea for this song came about while I was driving across Dartmoor, and having to quickly avoid some of the local drivers. I began to wonder how long you had to live in a place before you stopped seeing the beauty that surrounded you. Before the journey stopped mattering, and the arrival was all that existed...

"Can you hear the distant thunder?
Can you see the Moon in the sky?
I can see a full horizon, the Sun raising his eye.
Arms lifted to greet the dawn,
As fiery eyes of wisdom shine,
A father dead, a Son of Suns,
A tear wiped away with a smile.

(Chorus:)
All of my life I have seen many offerings,
To the Gods and all the wonder that they hold.
But how many people really can, hear the pipes of Pan?
As they sound across our sacred land of old.

"I can see a cloven hoof falling,
On the bare skin of the Earth.
I can see life returning, feel the triple One's rebirth.
Golden light dapples across the woodland,
As the Piper dances and plays his tune.
Herne the Hunter, Horned One,
Spirit of Man to the Moon."

(Chorus)

"Can you hear the pipes of Pan
On the warm Summer breeze?
If you can, can you feel him deep within you
As he penetrates the land?
May blossom to the bee,
The nectar of love is on her skin.
Heat returns as passions rise
And Beltane's dance begins, once again."

(Chorus 2x)


Story of Pan

When it became clear to the Ancients that war with the Kreegan was unavoidable, they appointed a Guardian to take the Seeds of the Worlds away and protect them at all costs. The S.H.E.L.T.E.M. guardian unit programmed for this mission, took off from the home (solar) system of the Ancients in a spacecraft shortly before the Silence, bringing the Seeds of the Worlds along. The Ancients assumed that the small craft controlled by one of their most sophisticated artificial intelligences would be able to hide from the Kreegan until the war was over and then they could retrieve it by issuing commands to the Guardian to return home, wherever in the universe it would be hiding at the time. Thus the Ancients installed the following priority of directives into the S.H.E.L.T.E.M.`s AI:

  1. Obey the Ancients.
  2. Protect the Seeds of the Worlds at all cost so they would not be stolen or destroyed.

The S.H.E.L.T.E.M. was never found by the Kreegan, but the severing of the Wire that caused the Silence, cut S.H.E.L.T.E.M.`s contact with the Ancients and it kept hiding and protecting the Seeds for hundreds of years. Of course, as we all know from MM1-5, S.H.E.L.T.E.M. units have a 'tendency' to 'slightly' malfunction and twist the obedience priorities of the Ancients. Constantly trying to improve it`s own neuristic problem solving capabilities to better be able to protect the Seeds, this S.H.E.L.T.E.M. unit in time realized that the Seeds must not be returned to the Ancients. Since the Ancients had entruseted the Seeds with it (the S.H.E.L.T.E.M. unit), that would mean the Ancients was less capable of protecting the seeds themselves and since the Seeds must be protected at all costs, the Ancients must not get them. That would be just fine, as long as the Ancients could not restore a Wire connection to give S.H.E.L.T.E.M. orders. The Guardian thus disabled the communications system in itself and the spacecraft.

Almost 600 years after the Kreegan/Ancients war, the S.H.E.L.T.E.M. unit realized the Ancients would soon find him by means other than the Wire. It decided to take the ultimate action to make sure the Seeds of the Worlds would never be harmed. Being close to Colony at the time, it directed its spacecraft towards it and achieved planetfall in the Timberfall region on the continent of Karigor. The very heat of the heart-formed spacecraft burned away all the vegetation where it hovered near the ground deep in the elvish forest. S.H.E.L.T.E.M. took the Seeds of the Worlds out of the craft and planted them around the perimeter of the heart-shaped barren spot.

A lone, young troll had seen the descending ship and his curiosity brought him to the new clearing soon after S.H.E.L.T.E.M. had planted all but the last of the Seeds, one he felt was special and thus wanted to plant in the middle of the clearing. Noticing the troll, S.H.E.L.T.E.M. was alarmed and almost fired his eradication blaster, but he also realized that he`s need help, if the final Seed was to be planted in the center. The only way it would survive was if it was planted after the devastating heat of the spacecraft was removed. S.H.E.L.T.E.M. planned to take off again and fly off to be intercepted by the Ancients, then destroy himself and the ship by activating his self-destruct mechanism. The Ancients was to believe the Seeds was destroyed with him, but even if they weren`t fooled, the Seeds would have grown far beyond sapling status by the time the Ancients found out where they were hidden. And, thus, S.H.E.L.T.E.M.`s mission would be accomplished. The Seeds would no longer be Seeds, and no harm had come to them and never would, nor could they any longer be stolen.

S.H.E.L.T.E.M. instructed the troll on the tasks he wanted him to perform, and left a chest with valuable gadgets with him before he took off, emphasizing the importance of the chest never being found in at least 500 years.

The troll who stood watching the heart-shaped spacecraft quickly disappear into space was both terrified and awestruck. The being that had commanded him to do his bidding, had looked like a puny human, yet it had emerged unscathed from a white-hot giant lump of metal, weakening Pan`s strength by it`s mere presence. It hadn`t actually spoken to Pan, but still the young troll had understood exactly what it was he was supposed to do. Now, however, the spaceman was gone and it was the last seed in his hands that was trying to speak to him. Sitting down on the lid of the black chest by his feet, the musician rested his giant hand in his lap, the seed within his palm. He laid his other hand on top of the seed, and closed his eyes.

Music sprang forth from the seed, the likes of which the experienced Pan had never heard before. Entranced, the troll sat listening to the magical tunes through the entire night. When the first rays of the morning sun emerged over the tree tops, the music abruptly ended, but Pan knew what he must do. He planted the seed as the spaceman had instructed him and burried the black chest deep in the earth, taking good care to camouflage the spot. He then sat out to gather his friends and fellow dancers for the next full moon.

When the full moon entered the sky next, Pan started playing the music the seed had taught him and the heart-shaped meadow slowly filled with satyrs and faries, dancing about the spot where the final seed was planted. By the end of the night, a seedling had sprouted in the middle of the heart. Around the perimeter of the Heart, several more shoots had emerged. This ceremony was repeated at every full moon for years to come, until the seedling had become a grown, white oak. Then one night of the full moon 50 years after the seeds had been planted, the ceremony was interrupted by a total eclipse of the moon. The faeries and the satyrs fled in fear of this omen, but Pan stayed. Then the oak spoke to him, and told him to excavate the black chest, and place it at its trunk. The oak taught Pan one more magical melody to play, and swallowed the black chest. When Pan played this last tune he had learnt, the oak faded from view and became almost invisible. Come morning, it was all gone.

When yet another full moon emerged, Pan still returned to play his music and the satyrs and faeries returned to dance. As years passed, the heart begun to fill with plants once more and the trees that had sprouted from the seeds planted around its perimeter begun to speak, hum and even chant along, as Pan played. The White Oak also came into view in a ghostly state at these nights. It never again spoke, but seemingly it kept growing into a mighty oak. When Pan occationally played the special tune from the night of the eclipse, the oak seemed to almost take solid form again, only to revert to its ghostly state when the melody changed. Every night of the full moon for two hundred years, Pan faithfully performed this ceremony. Then, the morning after his 200th ceremony, he knew he was relieved from his duty. The trees of the other seeds, however, had learn the tunes Pan had played, and they kept up their humming and chanting, especially strong at the full moons, and even still satyrs and faeries come to the spot to dance, and the great white oak fades into a blurry view for a few hours.

Pan soon realized that he was about to forget the magical music that had turned the white oak into its ghostly state and so he set about great efforts to preserve the tune. He accomplished this by transferring a part of his soul into his already magical Pan Flute, Syrinx. He also took upon him the task of having stone-slabs constructed at various points around the world in memory of his strange experiences.

Pan and Syrinx

As for Pan, on that fateful night more than 500 years ago, he was on his way to meet his dear love, Syrinx. He had just managed to get this enchanted flute, which he named after both her (Syrinx) and himself (Pan Flutes) and was expecting her to be thrilled about it.

The 'persuasiveness' of S.H.E.L.T.E.M., of course, stayed the troll, as stated in the story, but the treasure (the obelisk treasure) was a personal gift for Pan. After planting the last seed (# 68), Pan also had to hide the treasure, for it was too much to carry on with him to his meeting with Syrinx. Overwhelmingly in love and with his new magical instrument, Pan crafted the spell to hide the treasure chest within the seed. His love was the fuel of the spell, the magical flute the channelling instrument of the magical energies.

Pan had been delayed by this meeting with S.H.E.L.T.E.M., however and this delay proved disasterous. He arrived at Syrinx`s village, only an hour after a Goblin raid. Syrinx was dead, killed by the ruthless Goblins.

Pan used the meadow where the trees was planed to mourn his love Syrinx and the ceremony described above was actually a mourning, at least in the early years.

Time heals all wounds, and the time came when Pan, despite his lost love, decided to dispell the cloaking magic, and retrieve his treasure. To his shock he realized that though he had the instrument, he couldn`t fuel a couterspell without the power of true love in his heart. He couldn`t get his treasure back from the Seed which was now a young white oak.

Over time, he realized that since Syrinx was his one, true love, he could never love again. He set about to erect giant stone slabs to ease the pain from his memory. All over Karigor he went before he was finally able to retreat to S'Fauni and settle as a Master Music teacher.

On the stone slabs (the obelisks) he engraved parts of a rhyme that combined to the following, when all stone slabs were visited:

"A lonely soul, I lost my love, my heart was filled with pain.
But even worse, I gave my love to hide my latest gain.

Years went by and time it came for me to spend some treasure.
I couldn`t though, it wouldn`t yield, for love I couldn`t measure!

I live not far from ancient homes, play just as before.
I`ll give my love to anyone, don`t want it anymore.

The night most eerie takes away the choir`s utter shyness.
Take my place, present your love, rewards are from his highness!"

When all obelisks have been visited, Pan will offer the Syrinx to the party upon their next visit, just as before, etcetera. Only, now the carrier of the Pan Flutes 'Syrinx', the character that 'plays' it on site at the full moon, must also be In Love. In Love must be a condition, just like Poisoned or Eradicated. This was part of a quest in MM3.


Timberfall

Sixty-seven guardians are always at attention.
An ancient curse, and doomed they were, to ever hold convention.

The night most eerie takes away the choir`s utter shyness.
The Heart will come alive and even sober up His Highness.

Pan he wove a spell of mist to keep the treasure hidden.
To break this spell, the boldest one, must play his love forbidden.

Deep within the dense, local forest, a glade will be surrounded by the 66 White Oaks that are outlining a heart-shape. The glade itself need not be heart-shaped and it should be overgrown enough so as not to be so easily spotted from above. The White Oaks should differ slightly from the other vegetation, so that the keen-eyed player may spot a heart shape when flying over the area. The maps (regular and mini) should not show the heart-shape. The glade must have enough space below the canopy of trees and other vegetation to allow a few satyrs and faeries to dance around the center spot (they will not normally be there, though). The center spot will be bare most of the time, grassy maybe, as bare soil will give away too much.

During the day, this will be all there is to it, except from the fact that clicking any one of the 66 trees will lead to conversation...

From dusk till dawn, a party nearing the area will hear a faint chant that will fade away before they actually get close enough to identify it`s source (the trees are humming/chanting the tune Pan has been playing over the years, but they quickly quiet down upon sensing the approaching player characters). They will still engage in conversation just as during the day.

From dusk till dawn every month on the night of the full moon, the trees will not stop their chanting even when the party enters the glade. They still speak normally if conversation is made. From dusk till midnight, a few satyrs and faeries enters the glade (one by one at irregular intervals i possible) and start dancing around the central spot. As more creatures arrive, instruments are added to the chant (If this is not possible to program, let there be instruments all night). From 3 am till dawn, they start departing in the same fashion. If attacked, the trees stop singing, the faeries flee and the satyrs attack and the ceremony does not start over until the next full moon.

From midnight till 3am, a ghostly outline of a huge white oak will be visible in he center spot. If, during this period, a party present at the glade 'uses' the artifact Pan Flutes called "Syrinx", the huge white oak will solidify, countering Pan`s spell from the background story (the Syrinx will play the same tune as the trees are chanting - whenever it is 'used'). Clicking the now solid oak, will lead to conversation and the party will be granted the obelisk treasure. The tree will remain solid afterwards and the ceremony will repeat no more.

Now what has this got to do with the obelisks? You cannot get the Syrinx without first having visited them all. Pan will give the Syrinx to the party when they visit him after having clicked all 15 obelisks. He will, however, not reveal anything about this before the obelisks are visited, nor will he tell them where to take the Syrinx or what to do with it. He only tells them that by taking the Syrinx, they are lifting a heavy burden from his shoulders. If they return to him after finding the treasure, however, he may spill his guts and tell them the entire story (the story from HIS point of view and understanding, that is).