Scale's Obscure Lore Department

Schneider has been sort of self-appointed as Scale's Obscure Lore guy. He's worked with Uta on various projects, and has even brought the good Doctor in on some stuff, like with the Chaos Gates, because he had the knowledge of how they'd worked in the game prior to the current expansion. And he's been working on re-inventing flight. But it was the scene with the Hikkimori Kunie in Dun Loireag that changed the direction of his research recently, when we were told that one of the Shards of the Twilight Dragon was likely the source of our inability to fly.

So Schneider's been trying to run /that/ to ground, mostly unsuccessfully, Proph will be aware, which means he might be interested in what the Bandit King mentioned during New Years, about the Shards of the Twilight Dragon being used to shut off Ezzo and Yamato. That may at least hint to Schneider where to go from here.

Prophylaxis has been busy since the clear of the 11th floor. It seems as though he's barely even stopping for rest back at the clinic, his work taking him up and down the tower at all hours of the day as he sets into motion yet another mysterious scheme. But as it happens, Schneider catches him at just the right time. Prophylaxis has just returned from a sojourn to the seventh floor, and, after blitzing through a handful of appointments, is now taking visitors.

There are several pots of coffee on his desk, which may be an indication of just how much rest he's been getting.

"Come in," the doctor calls, "I've been told you have questions."

Schneider nods about having questions, but what he actually says is, "I wanted to report what I found out from Proteus. It had been hinted that she knew a bit about the Shards of the Twilight Dragon," he begins. "But it turns out what she knew about were called /Enigma/ Shards, and when assembled, form a relic, kind of like ..." He gestures to the preternaturally white hair he got when he assembled the shards in that airship, some time ago. "I told her how we evaded Tri Edge, and we agreed to keep our eyes open for what each other are seeking.

"Hmmn, is that so?" The doctor sips at a cup of rich, steamy dark beverage. "As it turns out, Proteus may have not have been as forthcoming as we'd like. She has encountered a Shard of the Twilight Dragon before, it seems. Though perhaps she may not have known what she was looking at at the time," Prophylaxis shrugs, "The Bandit King, in the presence of Proteus and some others, utilized one of the fragments of the Twilight Dragon to seal away Ezzo. The Queen piece, in fact. It may be why the barrier around Ezzo has held for so long."

"As for where we might find more," he shakes his head helplessly, "Sorry. That's something I don't know. I was kind of too preoccupied at the time to properly ask."

Schneider ahhhhhhhs as Proph explains what happened so long ago. "I wasn't there for that," he explains, though Proph would know this already. "She must be sidetracked by her current quest and forgot that older piece of Lore. But ... if ... wait, the Bandit King?" he asks. "That's a person we know, right? Isn't he the one .... ah, I get these people all mixed up. But he's someone we can find and talk to, yes?" Schneider asks. "It's someone else that's King of the Isle of Beginnings now?"

Proteus is not the type to forget lore. No, Prophylaxis is pretty sure she was just keeping her cards close to her chest, or else just didn't realize what it was she was looking at.

"You're thinking about Gilgamesh, the king of Carmina Gadelica and the realm of Uruk," Prophylaxis clarifies. "The Bandit King is the former ruler of the land of Ezzo. Now, I'm not exactly sure what they're up to. Mostly they seem to turn up when important things are happening. Gilgamesh seems to respect them, though. If you want to find him... I'm not actually sure what can be done. Maybe ask Gilgamesh?"

Schneider hrms to Proph, and nods as he explains that he /had/ gotten people mixed up. "Sorry, I'm used to Basketball. You get a net on either and, and five guys on a side, plus refs. /This/," he waves his hands to encompass the whole gameworld, "is way too complicated. I try to keep it all straight, but ..." He can only shrug. His efforts to keep things straight are less than effective.

But at the suggestion of starting with Gilgamesh, he nods. "I can do that. If he's the same /type of person/ as the Bandit King, he may know." Are super-high-level-Landers a type? "Or he may know how to get in contact with the Bandit King."

"Don't worry about it. Keeping things all lined up in a logical order is part of my job. I don't expect the same meticulousness from everyone I meet." Though at this point, there's probably more lore that Prophylaxis has forgotten than he's presently investigating. Oh well! That's what notes are for.

"Mmm, you might have better luck tracking down the Bandit King than most," the doctor explains. "He seems to have an affinity for those like you and Proteus who have made use of Enigma Pieces in order to secure power. It may be that he just happens to like Proteus in particular, but it's hard to say. Perhaps if you seek him out, he'll find you? Otherwise, you may wish to ask Wisteria or Setsuna to help you petition Gilgamesh for aid. They have a decent relationship with the old king."

Schneider nods gravely about Proph doing the thinking as part of his job. That's the coach's job in sports, so he's OK with that. And notes. He ohs about better luck tracking down the Bandit King, and nods, "I'll ask Setsuna to introduce me to Gilgamesh, and I'll ask Gilgamesh to help me find the Bandit King. If there's a way to detect those pieces, that'd be the best coup, of course," he muses. "Do you know if he kept the chess piece, or hid it somewhere, or if it's just put away someplace?"

Prophylaxis is basically a coach, in that he spends most of his time setting up and organizing plans for other people to execute. The reach of a single man is relatively limited, but if that man is a capable manager, suddenly so much more can be accomplished. The doctor takes another sip of coffee. "Good. Sounds like a plan. Of course, keep in mind that these pieces are often set in place to ensure that certain protections are maintained. It may be that they're even responsible for some of the advantages players enjoy, such as pain nullification and system protection. Take care in what you tamper with."

"But no, I do know where he put it, roughly speaking. As far as I've heard, he seems to have placed it permanently in Ezzo to maintain the barrier surrounding it."

Schneider looks confused about placing the Ezzo lock inside Ezzo. "Isn't that like putting the key to a jail cell inside the cell?" he wonders. "But I will see what I can do." And so saying, he heads out to let the doctor get back to work.