Lore/Story Wynncraft: To An End - Hunted mode rework - Part 2

Stairway To The Sky

Hello everyone! This is the second installment in Wynncraft: To An End, a series within Hunted mode where I rework all of the quests and add some major mechanics, giving the players more pvp encounters, adding pseudo teams, and a new intriguing aspect of Choice while journeying through Wynn.

(I highly recommend you read post #1 before reading this, just to get a better understanding of mechanics and what I am doing with these reworks. Link here: Wynncraft: To An End - Hunted mode rework - Part 1)

PRESENTING: WYNNCRAFT: TO AN END

Spoiler: What is To An End? (Endgame spoiler)

The To An End quests will trigger upon activating Hunted mode when creating a new character. They give the player a chance to see what the entire game would be like if they fought for the dark side, but they can still fight the darkness as they do.

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To An End - Mechanics and Updates:

Items:
Determination is a ring that can be obtained if the player spends the time and effort to kill the Hulking Zombie found in the Recruit quest. It is a leveling up ring. If equipped, the ring receives 10% of whatever XP the player collects. It has the form of a crafted ring, with durability, but its attributes are based on what the player has in their ingredient pouch. A random 3 ingredients that the player has the appropriate level to use in their normal crafting in their pouch, the ring meeting that same level requirement, and they will be applied. This will happen whenever the ring levels up, same amount of XP required as the player per level. (I know this might not be particularly balanced, but it is a fun idea. If you have suggestions, appreciate :)

Quest types:
Throughout To An End, there will be three main categories of quests, with a few exceptions here and there. There are quests where the player will have a Choice between taking the light and dark paths, quests where the player takes the dark path while believing they are taking the light path, and quests where the player fully takes the dark path.

In simple terms:
Recruit - Choice
Stairway To The Sky - Misguided
Poisoning the Pest - Evil

(Ik PtP is not out yet, mini spoiler)

PvP encounters:
This will mainly be covered in section #3 and #4, but suffice it to say (for now) that PvP and all hunted encounters will partially be influenced by the player’s first Choice and every one after.

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This post is the rework of the Enzan’s Brother quest which has been renamed as Stairway To The Sky. It presents a very interesting piece of lore and also gives some life to the surrounding world that exists.

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Some forms of notation I will be using:

Normal text used to describe what is occurring in the quest
Important Stuff
Name: Text used for dialogue
*In Game Text, not dialogue, that has to be read*
-Notes about functions of various things-


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Stairway To The Sky - What does the sky hold?

The beginning is exactly the same as normal, with Enzan giving some information about his life and directions to Therck, but after that, it gets fun.

As the player heads towards the stairs along the Emerald Trail that Therck stands by, the landscape is noticeably different. Instead of just the stubs of a staircase, there are steps that stretch all the way into the sky, reaching a point where they are no longer visible.

-The emerald arch at the entrance to Nivla Woods appears not to be present at this time, after the quest, it is-

The player will approach the stairs and see that Therck is standing at the bottom of the stairs arguing with the Caravan Driver, of all people.

Therck:
-I don’t care what you say!
-I am going to climb these stairs, possessed magic crystal or not!
-I am making it up there and you cannot stop me!

Caravan Driver:
-Can you please just listen to me for one moment?
-If you make it to the top, you will die!
-Oh, is that you, Playername?
-Please help me talk some sense into this lunatic.

Therck:
-Lunatic!?
-Who are you?
-...
-Oh, Enzan sent you?
-Yes, I suppose I can help you, but only if you help me first.
-This ‘lunatic’ is in my way, and so I cannot climb these stairs. You need to do it for me and bring back this power source at the top so I can climb it myself.
-Let me know when you are done. I’ll still be arguing with this buffoon.

Caravan Driver:
-Playername, can I speak to you privately for a moment?
-At the top of these stairs is an immense power source. Way too much for any one individual to hold.
-This poor fool will only hurt himself terribly.
-It would be best for everyone if the power source was not accessible.
-Please take this explosive device and use it on the stairs, about halfway up.
-Watch out for wind gusts though, as a fall from that height would be a bit painful.

The player will begin climbing the stairs. Throughout their ascension, there will be just a few Wind Gusts, mobs that have no hostile AI. They will be drifting slowly across the stairs (sideways). If the player touches one then the following message will appear:
*A wind gust nearly blows you off the stairs. You head to the bottom to recover your equilibrium*
The player will then have to redo the ascension.

After a little bit of climbing the stairs, the player will reach the area where the explosive device must be placed. They cannot climb any higher, as there are numerous wind gusts blocking the path forward, too many to possibly make it through.

The player will set the explosive device then the following message will show:
*You placed the device, and probably should get out of here*
The player is then teleported to the bottom and a cutscene begins.

-Cutscene description follows-

-The player will be above the stairs looking at where the explosive device is blinking. Therck and the Caravan Driver can be seen standing, glaring at each other, at the bottom. Off in the distance, at the top of the stairs, a glowing white light is visible.

-The explosive device detonates and chunks of stone go flying everywhere.

-The view shifts to down by the entrance to Nivla Woods. A villager can be seen standing there, with a large chunk of vibrating quartz embedded with an emerald. A chunk of rock falls straight above them. The villager moves out of the way, but drops his rock. When the two boulders collide, there is a flash of energy and the rock and emerald bounce up, forming the Emerald Arch. The quartz is gone.

-The view shifts one final time to some random spot deep in the woods. Looking up, the bright glowing object that was seen earlier is visible, rapidly falling. The Caravan Driver walks out from behind a tree and stands under it. The item finishes falling and he catches it. As he does so, it flashes red for the briefest second, then the glow diminishes to a non-blinding level. The caravan driver holds it for a second, then walks off into the woods.

-The cutscene ends-

The player is standing next to Therck, at the bottom of what remains of the majestic staircase.

Therck:
-He really was a lunatic!
-That explosion of his could have hurt you or me badly.
-At least I don’t have to climb as far to reach the top now…
-But I’m feeling tired, and would need something to help me…
-Something like an Energy Mushroom
-Alas, some other time…

-The quest ends here-


Quest notes:
*Not only did a villager make it into the heart of Wynn with some charged quartz, it was fully fused with an emerald, a device that is not commonly seen, having only been mentioned in various obscure articles.
*The reaction that occurs when the quartz gets hit by the chunk of rock is alluding to the explosive nature of charged quartz that is observed in the Rise of the Quartron quest series.
(I have a really fun idea for what to do with that quest)
*Therck is somewhat of a Therck
*The Caravan Driver appears again! Though he will not be seen for the next few quests, the player will definitely have interactions with him in the future.

General notes:
*This is a misguided quest. The player believes they are helping residents of Wynn, but does blowing up some stairs really help anyone? And those poor Wind Gusts, losing their home…
*Slightly shorter of a quest, could be split fairly easily into five stages.
*Quest #2 was a lot of fun to make and I am looking forward to making the next few and slowly revealing how To An End works. :)

Like always, feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading,
KingNarwhal74

 

im starting to suspect that caravan driver has some secrets hes not telling is about...

but i am an absolute sucker for misguided by the narrative on god, wonder what the fully dark path will hold ️️