Episode N°14 – The Price of Knowledge
And it's not any future events that will help you resume a normal life within H.Q.
Summary
Guardian continues her confrontation with Miiko in the hallway. After venting her anger, Guardian runs back to her room and isolates herself for several days. Eventually she comes to terms with the fact that she has to move on and reminds herself that only some of the Guard knew about the potion. The rest of the guard members are still her friends and weren't involved in the betrayal. Guardian wants to prove herself to be a better person than the people who betrayed her so she decides to leave her room to do some missions.
Guardian heads toward the library to speak with Ykhar. Ykhar wonders where Guardian has been the last few days and Guardian decides to lie and claim she was just sick. Guardian a simple cleaning mission with Karenn and the next three days pass by in much the same manner, with Guardian resuming her duties for the Guard of El. She still ignores those guard members that were involved with the potion, however, she takes comfort in talking about the incident with Leiftan.
After Guardian's talk with Leiftan, she decides to visit Kero in the library. Unfortunately, he's not there so she wanders H.Q. looking for him. After checking several places, she eventually finds him recently returned to the library. Kero informs Guardian that she has an appointment to see a teacher the next morning about the fundamentals of Eldaryan history.
Guardian heads to the Refuge of El the next morning to meet her teacher. They head to the Fountain Park for some privacy and bump into Ykhar on the way. They're both surprised to see each other, but eventually Ykhar admits to being terrible at history and is there to take beginner courses.
The teacher starts the lesson by explaining that history wasn't accurately recorded until about a century ago. The early history of Eldarya is still only theoretical. As far as they can tell, Joan of Arc was the daughter of a human and a now extinct race of clairvoyant faeries called Arcadians. Her death was one of the early signs that the people of Earth were turning on the faeries. The Great Exile began about a century later, triggered by an event they call the Blue Sacrifice. The Blue Sacrifice was a powerful, never before attempted incantation. It was the faeries last ditch effort to save themselves. Three races formed a council and agreed to attempt the incantation: Dragons (a symbol of strength), Fenghuangs (a symbol of wisdom), and Daemons (a symbol of power). Dragons and Daemons were chosen to be sacrifices for the incantation, but the Daemons betrayed the council and didn't become sacrifices. In the end, only the Dragons sacrificed themselves. Due to the lack of proper sacrifices, the world of Eldarya was born with flaws. The poor soil quality, the portals, and everything else that has frustrated and confused Guardian can be traced back to the Daemons. However the Daemons didn't escape extinction because they were eventually all hunted down and killed by the early inhabitants of Eldarya.
After the history lesson, Guardian and Ykhar talk a bit about Earth. Ykhar is amazed by Earth technology and wants to write fantasy novels about them. She runs off to find Miko and Guardian heads off to see Kero about an exam he mentioned earlier.
The exam ends up being an evaluation for members of the Guard. For the first time in several days, Guardian has to speak to one of the leaders of the Guard. After Guardian completes the exam, the leader of her Guard speaks to her about the potion and expresses his regret about what happened. The conversation is awkward though and Guardian leaves for her room.
There is a small interlude with the leader of the Guard who kissed Guardian at this point. We see his thoughts before and after the kiss. After the interlude concludes, we go back to Guardian who is still troubled by what the leader of her Guard said earlier. She decides to seek out Leiftan again for advice. Leiftan advises Guardian to move on for her own sake or she may never be able to move forward. Guardian expresses doubt, but she's still happy to be able to confide in Leiftan and feels like they've grown closer.
After their talk, Guardian goes to the dining hall for dinner and then to the library to study. She studies until the library closes so Ykhar gives Guardian a key so she can stay after hours. Guardian finishes her book and starts to leave when an unlabeled book catches her eye. Inside the book are nothing but blank pages. Confused, she replaces the book on the shelf and heads to bed.
As Guardian is about to fall asleep, she hears pebbles hitting her window. She looks out and sees the masked man who gestures for her to join him. Guardian heads outside and finds the masked man, Ashkore (Ash), is the one who left her the note about the potion. He says he is sick of the Guardians of El's lies. A sudden noise interrupts their conversation. Ash tells Guardian to tell no one about their meeting and promises to talk to her again later. Before he goes, he promises to help Guardian return to her world and asks her to trust him.
Guardian is then surprised by the man who she made the potion with. He apologies profusely and Guardian considers Leiftan's advice again before answering that she will try to forgive him, but doesn't want to promise anything yet. He accepts and offers to walk her back to her room.
Once again, Guardian tries to fall asleep, but once again something wakes her up. This time, it's an awful noise that seems to have awoken the rest of the Guard as well. Guardian leaves her room and finds Miiko ordering a crowd to return to their rooms. As Guardian returns to her room, a cry from the library stops her in her tracks. Guardian joins Jamon and rushes to the library. They find Ykhar in tears and Kero panicking. Guardian looks around and sees blank books everywhere. She doesn't have time to ask questions before Miiko arrives and kicks her out. Still concerned, Guardian leaves the library to see if anyone knows what happened.
It's not long before Kero asks Guardian to accompany him back to the library because they need to ask her some questions. She enters the library and finds all the important members of the Guard have gathered there. Miiko shows Guardian the blank book she noticed the other night. Miiko explains that the book held a creature that feeds on knowledge. After it escaped with the unknowing help of Guardian, it feasted on the library and turned everything it touched into blank books. Guardian is eventually dismissed and she heads back to her bedroom feeling oddly guilty. However, Guardian wonders if it could've been something more. She wonders if Ashkore had anything to do with the events in the library. Guardian decides she must either tell the Guard about Ashkore or keep his visit a secret.
After making her decision, Guardian decides to offer Kero and Ykhar her help with the library. Ykhar is angry, but asks Guardian to run to Purral for ink and papyrus. She drops off the supplies and as she leaves the library she bumps into a very agitated Miiko who warns her a creature has attacked someone. Miiko tells Guardian to take refuge in the Crystal Room. Guardian dashes for the Crystal Room, but is distracted when she sees a weird seal covering the doorway. Suddenly she hears growling and a large dark shape with glowing red eyes forms in front of her. She fights for her life, but isn't able to land a hit. Luckily, a tall woman jumps in front of the demonic shape and causes it to flee. Her name is Cameria, a hamadryad, and she invites Guardian to tag along with her to find Miiko.
They find Miiko addressing the high ranking members of the Guard. Cameria informs Miiko that she confronted the creature. Guardian is told that the creature can steal the knowledge and memories of a person. Guardian insists on helping to search for the creature and Miiko eventually agrees, even letting Guardian choose who she wants to do the search with her. After Guardian makes her choice, she overhears Miiko pulling aside the man she chose and telling him to be extra careful protecting Guardian because Miiko still feels terrible about the potion.
Guardian strikes out with her companion of choice to round up any stragglers. They come across Mery, but are forced to escort him to the Crystal Room alone when his mother refuses to leave their house. The pair decide to ask Ewelein to go and convince Mery's mother to join everyone else in taking shelter. They also run into Purreru and find Alajea in the gardens. After taking one last look for any stray people, Miiko declares that everyone seems to be safe in the Crystal Room and directs everyone to the dining hall where she appoints Guardian to act as bait. The trap works and the creature is sealed in a book.
There's a short interlude at this point where Miiko questions Cameria about her quest to finds shards in the mines of Grand Yamisse. Cameria produces a pouch full of crystals, but says she found the majority of them when after she followed up on a lead about missing faery children and their companions. They learn that a woman is behind these disappearances.
Seven days pass. Miiko declares that she will restrict access to the Crystal Room and Guardian officially loses her access to the restricted part of the library (not that there's anything left to read). Guardian submerses herself in work, but still can't let go of her anger.
After working on a companion grooming job with Alajea, Guardian goes to file her report and finds that Ykhar still isn't over what happened with the library. Guardian escapes the gloomy room quickly, but stops in her tracks when she overhears some people in the hallway saying that another member of the Guard was attacked.
Outfit
This episode does not have any new outfits.
Quest Items
| Name | Purpose | Where to find |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning Equipment | To clean H.Q. | Given by Karenn |
Hidden Items
This episode does not have any hidden items.
Illustrations
Trivia
- Our character can now reach level 16.
- 2 new exploration sites: Bamboo Forest and Mountain Flank.
- In this episode we meet Cameria and Enthraa.
Official Episode Guide
Episode Guide
The official guide for this episode has not been posted to the forums yet.
We apologize for any inconveniences.
It’s on that note that this journal entry ends.
See you next time in Episode 15!
Love'o'Meter Guide
Key:
- A. Green answers have a positive effect on the character. +
- B. Red answers have a negative effect on the character. -
- C. Blue answers have no effect on the character. =
- D. Black answers have not been discovered on the wiki.
Guardian
—
- A. (Try to pass by on the left side of the gallytrot) (Correct choice) =
- B. (Try to pass by on the right side of the gallytrot) =
—
- A. (Run for the stairs) =
- B. (Try to trick it) (Correct choice) =
—
- A. (I shouldn't open this book.) (Better choice) =
- B. (I should open this book.) =
—
- A. I suggest Ezarel and I go in one direction, and Nevra and Valkyon go in the other! =
- B. I suggest Nevra and I go in one direction, and Ezarel and Valkyon go in the other! =
- C. I suggest Valkyon and I go in one direction, and Ezarel and Nevra go in the other! =
Nevra
「Dialogue」
- A. It wouldn't be the "Bullfighter guard" of the opera "Carmen" =
- B. It wouldn't be "Miller, you sleep"? =
- C. (I doubt he knows the last piece of Sia...) =
「Dialogue」
- A. Happy! =
- B. Without way, thank you. -
「Boo.」
- A. I am not scared of you. -
- B. (He actually did surprise me.) +
- C. Nevra... (I rolled my eyes.) =
「Weeell, Yhkar will be mad at you for a while, but that's not really important.」
- A. I don't want her to be mad at me, I like Yhkar! =
- B. As if I needed her to aggravate me further... -
- C. I'm going to go make puppy eyes at her so that she'll forgive me. +
「Dialogue」
- A. It's true that you're so much to fall that I can not help but want to be by your side... +
- B. I would rather go with Ezarel. -
「Dialogue」
- A. Me? I'm fine. My parents, on the other hand... (With Valkyon & Ezarel too) -
- B. Unfortunately, yes. =
- C. I'm fine, it didn't have time to do anything. =
Ezarel
「If I take peppermint, borage flower, bluish, chocolate chips, and moogliz milk, I get?」
- A. A truly disgusting mix? =
- B. A potion that makes people happy? (Correct choice) =
- C. An elixir of confusion? =
「What can be done or achieved through alchemy?」
- A. Potions, mainly. =
- B. Whatever you want as long as the ingredients are compatible. (Correct choice) =
- C. Gold!! =
「I'm trying.」
- A. I can see that. =
- B. (I don't know what to say to him.) -
- C. What if you just let things happen? +
「Dialogue」
- A. Nothing that concerns you. +
- B. Nothing at all. -
- C. What are you doing here? =
「Dialogue」
- A. Are you challenging me? +
- B. Oh, stop mocking me. I feel really bad. =
- C. Oh, let it go. -
「Does that mean I'm going to have to tolerate you?」
- A. Uh, yes, unfortunately... +
- B. It's more me that's going to have to tolerate your presence! -
「Sorry, she's not listening at all... She's having a panic attack and it's above my skill level. We should go find Ewelein.」
- A. Ok. =
- B. Do you want me to try and reason with her? =
「Are you ok, {$Psudeo}? Are you hurt at all? Are all your memories intact?」
- A. Me? I'm fine. My parents, on the other hand... (With Valkyon & Nevra too) -
- B. (How about I mess with him a little?) B-but...who are you? =
- C. I'm fine, it didn't have time to do anything. =
—
- A. I'll admit, I still resent them quite a lot. =
- B. I shouldn't have been quite so...harsh. = (+ with Miiko)
Valkyon
「Dialogue」
- A. (As talkative as ever from what I can see.) =
- B. (What a jerk!) =
「Dialogue」
- A. That's nice, thank you. +
- B. Ok, thanks. =
- C. You don't need to force yourself. =
—
- A. Could you at least announce your presence before you start lecturing me? -
- B. Excuse me? +
- C. Oh really? Why not? =
「Dialogue」
- A. Oh? What kind? +
- B. Valkyon the implacable makes errors? I can hardly believe it. -
- C. What's the worst of your mistakes? =
「Dialogue」
- A. You're not binding. +
- B. Still happy. -
「Dialogue」
- A. Me? I'm fine. My parents, on the other hand... (With Ezarel & Nevra too) -
- B. Nothing happened to me this time. =
- C. I'm fine, it didn't have time to do anything. =
Leiftan
「No... We'd let you leave, if you wanted and if we were certain you'd be safe.」
- A. Really? +
- B. I'm having a tough time believing you. =
- C. (Of course, take me for an idiot.) -
「Are you still angry?」
- A. I'm not angry. =
- B. How could I not be? =
Kero
「Do you still not want to talk about it?」
- A. Let's just say it's a problem I want to deal with alone. +
- B. I'm afraid it might be too much of a blow to your innocence and perception of people in the group. -
- C. Not for the moment... Maybe later. (More dialogue) =
「Dialogue」
- A. (Accept the hug from Kero) =
- B. (Refuse the hug from Kero) =
「Seriously...if she did that for herself, maybe she would for others too.」
- A. We live in hope. =
- B. I hope so, especially for your sake. +
- C. People rarely change. -
「Maybe we shouldn't have trusted you.」
- A. Oh, well that's nice. You make a mistake, and I'm the one that pays for it. -
- B. ...
- C. Sorry.
Alajea
「He's often in the library with his nose in a book. Is he not there?」
- A. No, he's not... =
- B. It's funny, Karenn said exactly the same thing! But no, he isn't. =
「No one...」
- A. Alajea... You don't happen to have a boyfriend you're not talking about, do you? +
- B. Ok, I won't push it. =
- C. Ok. (And in any case, I don't care.) -
—
- A. It was nice to look after familiars. +
- B. What an awful mission though, grooming familiars for Purreru. =
「I'm a member of the Guard of El, not Purreru's employee. Members of the can't choose what they want to do.」
- A. You could leave the guard and join the Purrekos? =
- B. I'm serious, talk to Miiko about it. =
- C. (This isn't really my problem, I'd rather not keep talking about this.) =
Ykhar
「You're feeling better now, I hope?!」
- A. Yes, don't worry about it. =
- B. Not really, but I don't want to talk about it... -
- C. I'm trying. +
「Dialogue」
- A. I'm genuinely sorry, I don't know how to redeem myself... +
- B. It's fine, it could happen to anyone, this type of error. =
- C. I'm not responsible, you should've put this book under a seal instead of being so easily in reach. -
Cameria
「Hmm, do you want to come with me to find her? It'll be safer with two of us.」
- A. Well, I'm just a foot away from the Crystal Room, I might as well take refuge. -
- B. You're right. Also, I cold probably talk to Miiko about what I've seen of that thing. +
- C. If you want, but I don't want to be a burden. =
「Don't feel guilty about it, you did nothing but your duty.」
- A. (She seems as kind as anything, this Cameria.) =
- B. (I don't know why, but I don't trust her.) =
- C. (I don't know this girl well enough to judge her.) =
Miiko
「Are you alright, at least? Are all your memories intact?」
- A. Yes, why do you ask? =
- B. Yes, although my parents' aren't. -
- C. (I-I don't understand what she's trying to tell me...) =
Chrome
—
- A. Must be dust in my eye... =
- B. (I pulled a sulky face, and seized this chance to tease him.) It's because that was such a mean thing for you to say... +
Karenn
「He's not in the library? With his nose in a book, as usual?」
- A. Well no, not this time... =
- B. He doesn't do that all the time. =
- C. Haha, Alajea said exactly the same thing, but no, he isn't. =
Cryllis
「Dialogue」
- A. (I'd prefer to lie to him.) -
- B. (I don't want to lie to him, but I can't tell him the truth.) +
Mery
「My mom. She wants me to eat broccoli...it's yucky poop!!!」
- A. Nooo, it's delicious! And it'll make you really strong! =
- B. (Well, I can't tell him she's wrong, but I can't back her up either. That would be such an adult thing to do. =
- C. I know how you feel, it's really disgusting to eat. =
Purrekos
「Dialogue」
- A. Likewise. =
- B. The pleasure is mine. =
- C. Not in my case. =