Caleb is very, very surprised to find this out, considering that he just wanted to play a Nintendo game. There's a long while where he's just *staring* at the tree, like... well, okay. It's a huge tree, and it's sick, and...
That would probably be a good idea; Caleb's not entirely unfamiliar with fantasy settings, after all. It sort of comes with the territory of "dating a wild mage". Clearly this is a town in need of trouble, and it looks like... okay, well, shit. No PINpoint. At least the vibrosword's still there, and he's gonna need that.
Caleb steps forward into the town. If they need a hero, he can do that - he's been a hero before, anyway.
The town is, upon entering, nearly deserted, but a few holdouts still remain here and there, the type who will stay with a city to the end. One of them, upon Caleb's arrival, tells him to go see the king, apologizing for requesting such a thing in spite of his just having arrived.
Further questioning of the people reveal a few things:
1. The town is called Eolis, and the tree that grows above is the World Tree. 2. Dwarves have invaded the town and are causing havoc; this, in any game, is never a good thing. Enemies aren't supposed to be in the towns, damnit. 3. He should really go see the Guru first.
This last bit of information, provided by a pleasantly plump woman, points Caleb towards a large, gorgeous temple. Of course, it's up to him whether or not to follow this advice.
"Dwarves have invaded the towns? Are they duergar, or?" Caleb's unfortunate knowledge of Faerun is going to be entirely not helpful here. "It doesn't seem like the kind of thing dwarves normally do, from what I know of them."
The townsman he questions looks at him with a curious expression, then knocks the ash from his self-rolled cigarette.
"Can't say I know exactly what you mean, friend," he replies, at last. (Holy shit, they actually say more than the in game text!) "All I know is that they're running amuck. Been causing trouble for a good long time, really. It's gotten to the point where people are leaving for good. Sad, really." He shakes his head. "Here's hoping you have better luck than everybody else with this situation."
Caleb sighs and shakes his head. Any knowledge he has from Faerun on races, at least, is clearly not applicable here. He'd better go see the Guru, then. Hopefully if he does whatever it is they want him to, he'll be able to fix this and get back home. That makes sense, right?
The inside of the temple is solemn, the last refuge of God in a crumbling town. The Guru stands at a pulpit, flipping through a book. You get the feeling something's missing behind the Guru, almost like it was... censored.
The Guru speaks, after a bit. "You must be the one from the outside," he says. Wait, what?
"I assume so, considering I just ended up here as of... a few minutes ago, I suppose." Caleb is looking around quietly - he's not a big fan of religion, but he respects its place, and he is fully aware that there are gods who definitely do exist.
The Guru looks up from the book. "I was foretold in a dream by God that this might happen. I understand this is a bewildering situation for you, but fear not. We only ask you to go so far; our true champion shall take over for you when your task is complete," he says, a look of sad understanding crossing his face.
He reaches into a pocket in his robe and pulls out a ring. "You will need to see the king before you set out, but you will need identification. This ring will aid you in that. And... please, do not talk to others as if you are not from this world. I'm afraid they simply will not understand." A wise man, this Guru.
"I see," he says, and really, he's used to that. It makes it more difficult when he has absolutely no frame of reference for this world, and no guide (like Selene for Faerun) to tell him what he should and shouldn't know.
Well, old chap, looks like you're on your own. Caleb nods at the Guru after a moment. "Thank you." He slips the ring onto his finger and exits the church, looking about for... well, a castle, a palace, anything like that. Basically, "the nicest looking building in the area".
There's a huge castle across the bridge! ...a bridge unfortunately covered by strange, little spikey things. Thankfully, Caleb has a third dimension he can walk through to avoid them, and they don't seem overly aggressive, but they are a pain to navigate around, and do seem to home in on him a bit.
Caleb also has the ability to stab in a direction more than "straight ahead", which may in fact, help him. Something is telling him that these things are probably not friendly, based on... well, okay, they're moving towards him. Any townsfolk around to ask? If so, he will, with a "Are these things hostile?"
A townswoman huffs. "Miserable creatures, those. Those darn dwarves. I wish they'd just leave and never come back! Look at what they've done to our beloved town!"
"...well, that answers that." Caleb is about to find out if they're stab-able. He flips on the vibrosword, and gets... well, nothing. No superb cutting power for him, but it's still a Clan-made sword with 3067-ish technology (read; better than anything he's buying in this town).
He'll take a low swing at one of the spiked things; hopefully it'll be cut through. Take that, 8-bit games! He knows how three dimensional physics work!
Wait, where the hell is he, anyway?
Caleb looks down.
Okay, something is VERY WRONG here.
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Maybe he can go into town and figure out what the hell's going on here.
((This? Is epic win, for the record.))
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Caleb steps forward into the town. If they need a hero, he can do that - he's been a hero before, anyway.
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Further questioning of the people reveal a few things:
1. The town is called Eolis, and the tree that grows above is the World Tree.
2. Dwarves have invaded the town and are causing havoc; this, in any game, is never a good thing. Enemies aren't supposed to be in the towns, damnit.
3. He should really go see the Guru first.
This last bit of information, provided by a pleasantly plump woman, points Caleb towards a large, gorgeous temple. Of course, it's up to him whether or not to follow this advice.
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... thank you, Caleb.
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"Can't say I know exactly what you mean, friend," he replies, at last. (Holy shit, they actually say more than the in game text!) "All I know is that they're running amuck. Been causing trouble for a good long time, really. It's gotten to the point where people are leaving for good. Sad, really." He shakes his head. "Here's hoping you have better luck than everybody else with this situation."
Well. That's ominous.
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Right?
Bueller?
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The Guru speaks, after a bit. "You must be the one from the outside," he says. Wait, what?
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He reaches into a pocket in his robe and pulls out a ring. "You will need to see the king before you set out, but you will need identification. This ring will aid you in that. And... please, do not talk to others as if you are not from this world. I'm afraid they simply will not understand." A wise man, this Guru.
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Well, old chap, looks like you're on your own. Caleb nods at the Guru after a moment. "Thank you." He slips the ring onto his finger and exits the church, looking about for... well, a castle, a palace, anything like that. Basically, "the nicest looking building in the area".
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We're sure he can take 'em.
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Yes, dwarves. If you don't ask, we don't ask.
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He'll take a low swing at one of the spiked things; hopefully it'll be cut through. Take that, 8-bit games! He knows how three dimensional physics work!
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Looks like the route is clear. On the other side are a couple of training facilities and the castle itself. A guard waits at the door.
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