August Tasks 2013
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Greetings to you, citizens of Tao Village.
You may recognize me. I am Gabriel, archbishop of the Order of the Sun. I work alongside my friend and deacon, Ezekiel, to bring spiritual refuge to your village. While we attempt to remain out of your affairs unless brought to us, we have taken notice of the hardships you’ve endured, as well as the current exodus of many Merchants from the village. There are some sort of politics involved in this, I’m sure, but we will not judge based on that, for my Creator has given me my place for other purposes.
For those willing to travel, I have received word of several tasks I’m authorized to give out to the teams registered in Tao. Though I find it remiss to offer such when we in the Order teach against material desires, there will most certainly be physical rewards for those who seek them. However, it is my hope that perhaps you will find spiritual reward in these errands, as well.
Let us start with what I have been given for the Merchants, since they are supposedly in the most need. I imagine that what I am about to ask of you will come naturally. The Order’s cathedral funds its missions and other undertakings with tithes collected from believers around the region. Regrettable, that we must use physical currency in order to accomplish these things, but it is wondrous that members of our Order are so willing to pool their resources together. Well... most of them. We have quite the trouble with some of our members abroad, who claim to support the Order, yet never give aid. It would be cruel to force them, of course. However, it is believed that you Merchants may be able to convince them where we could not. You are tasked with visiting a list of believers in any village or city you are allowed in, and collecting tithes from as many as you can. Collecting tithes is worth 1 point.
We have an annual delivery that must be made, as well. Prosphora has seen it fit to decorate the walls of our cathedral with wooden reliefs depicting Pokemon important to the Order over the years. It is respectful, so I can agree with it. Our reliefs are expertly crafted by one of ours in Mossy Village; a Scyther woodcarver. His work is of high quality. So much so, in fact, that Ghost-types have been known to attempt to possess his work and make them seem as though they’re coming to life. This is forbidden in the cathedral, of course, but something you may need to look out for as you make the delivery. Delivering the reliefs is worth 1 point.
While those of you belonging to the guild of Rogues may think I’d have little to do with you, you’d be quite surprised. Indeed, your goal of helping the downtrodden is respectable. Your methods are questionable, but it is not for the Order to condemn you for your ways. Rather, I’d like to personally extend an offering to you. If ever there was something you’ve done in your line of work that you regret, something that troubles you and riddles you with guilt, you are invited to make a pilgrimage to the cathedral. One of ours will privately hear you confess your grievances, and offer you peace of mind. Do not worry -- we are never to speak of the confessions we hear to any except the one who confessed. Confessing to your sin is worth 1 point.
I understand that many of you may prefer not to conform to our ways, and that is fine. While I would be overjoyed if you made the pilgrimage, we do have other work suitable for you. In Alomomola, our members face tyranny. The security force seeks to take from them a portion of their tithes meant for the Order, and is stooping to low methods such as threats of physical harm. Though I dislike the implications, these instructions are from Prosphora himself: you are to act anonymously, and counteract the security force’s efforts by any means necessary. Be it democracy, or striking terror through their ranks, I cannot stop you from making your best decision as you see fit. You simply must leave Alomomola a safer place for our Order. However, I must stress the anonymity; do not commit violence in the name of our church. Stopping the extortion of Order members is worth 1 point.
Ah, Rescuers. It does my heart good to see what you all do, not only for Tao Village, but for other parts of the region. So selfless you are in much of your work, I feel that some of our believers could learn from you. In fact, that is what is being asked of you! We ask that you make a journey to our cathedral, where some of our Order raise families in a wholesome, religious atmosphere. You will be speaking to our children of the virtues that drive you in your jobs as Rescuers; what drives you to stay on the moral side of things, unlike Rogues. What drives you to work without great monetary gain, unlike Merchants? We want our children to know these things. Just... try to leave out the adventure lust, if you bear any. We would prefer not to have our children quickly boring of the cathedral and our teachings. Telling virtuous stories to children is worth 1 point.
Some of this news is regrettable, and may require your urgent attention. A traveler from Mossy Village -- a Butterfree of unknown name -- fainted not far from the cathedral and was taken in. Our healers have identified what ails him, but it is grim. A rare disease that, if untreated, travels through the body and destroys vital organs. The only known treatment is created using underwater plants growing 2 miles from the cathedral’s coast. Therefore, only a Water-type Pokemon would be able to delve down far enough, as well as be able to harvest it. If your team does not have one, please quickly find another team who will help you... though I understand if you cannot. In such a case, I can only ask that you help make him comfortable in his final hours. Perhaps find out where his family lives, and respectfully inform them. Healing the traveler or comforting him in his final hours is worth 1 point.
Now, to business that all of you are free to take on, if you wish. We only have one pressing task that anyone can take on. Those who like tailoring may enjoy it, as it simply involves sewing together some of the Order’s shawls, like the ones Ezekiel and I wear. Sewing together shawls is worth 1 point. Our usual tailors seem to have their hands full with... *sigh*...
I am reluctant to tell you the rest of what I was told, but I suppose that would be dishonest of me. Prosphora has allowed two sects, the Path of Rain and the Path of Shine, to have embassy within the cathedral... and of course, they have petty squabbles with each other. Is it not disrespectful to the Creator to allow such a ruckus to be brought to His house of worship? Regardless... I’ve been instructed to ask you to settle their problems. It would seem that the disagreement is centered around the fact that both of their embassies must share the same room, and they both wish to decorate differently. This is... I mustn’t let it get the better of me. Assuming you do not find this ridiculous, help them to decorate the embassy room in a way that embodies both of their beliefs. Decorating the embassy room as requested is worth 1 point.
Once properly established, the embassies wish to offer their welcomes to all who would wish to join the Path of Rain, or Path of Shine. Note that you may not join both, and you must have helped them set up their embassy room first. Why? I suppose they are not used to making do with what is around them, as I am. Ah well... attached below my tasks is a brief introduction from both sides, explaining themselves. Joining the Path of Rain or the Path of Shine is worth 1 point.
With that out of the way... I would like to personally extend an invitation for you to join the Order of the Sun. Do not worry; regardless of whether you’ve chosen to join one of the Paths, or neither, the Order is open to you. There is one small caveat, however. Our recruitment requires a show of good faith; an act of charity, kindness, or other such virtues that show us you can find some good to do, if you look for it. Should you fulfill this requirement, you will be given a shawl much like mine, Ezekiel’s, and other members of the order. You are, of course, expected to respect our belief in the Creator at the very least. Should you honor us enough to join our beliefs, we would be quite pleased, but you are welcome at our side even if you have doubts. We are always willing to talk about such things. Displaying your good faith to the Order of the Sun and joining the Order, at least nominally, is worth 1 point.
It is my hope that these meager tasks come to mean much more to you if you choose to undertake them. For those who do exceptionally well, we are willing to entrust to you one of our orphaned eggs. As much as we’d like to raise all of them for the Order, we simply do not have the resources, nor enough loving parents at our disposal. It is my hope that you’ll be worthy of this trust when the little one hatches.
May the sun guide your steps!
Whew, okay...I told myself this’d be easy but I’m actually a little nervous right now! Greetings to all of you, and Groudon bless! My name is Leiro, and I’m here to serve as ambassador for the Path of Shine. Not to be confused with the Order of the Sun, that’s an easy mistake but they are two veeeery different things.
Oh I’m really excited to be here! I’ve come all the way from the Humming Oasis to spread word of our brotherhood, so I’m gonna try to keep this short for everyone’s sake! (Mostly my own, because I really want to explore, hnngh!) Time spent idle is time spent NOT enjoying life’s bounties, aye?
Now then...we at the Path of Shine worship the great sun God, Groudon. You haven’t heard of Groudon? He’s an extremely powerful being who brings us sunlight and warmth. Those bright sunny days we all enjoy so much? Groudon’s work through and through. It’s a reminder to all of us to live our lives to the fullest, and to be proud of who we are as individuals, as the sun shines brightly in the sky! Our religion encourages kindness and self-expression, and we want to share that with everyone, but there’s just one teeny tiny snag.
Prosphora...I mean er, Pope Prosphora gave us a place to set up in Cathedral Drop. That was very generous of him but he also designated the same place to our friends over at the Path of Rain. I mean, Path of Rain and Path of Shine get along really well, and we’ve shared the same place of worship for years, but come on! That little room is much smaller than the church back home! Sharon and I have been arguing about the decor all morning, and it’s stressing me out! She wants to put fountains everywhere and water curtains and that’s gonna be really distracting. Maybe some of you have a better idea of how we could go about this? Talk to her about it, I’m going to go find a nice rock to sunbathe on so you know where to find me!
Oh and by the way, for any of you hoping to actually join the path of Shine, it’s totally free! We run this entirely on donations and hard work. That said, I do kinda need help with a little thing-a-thing before we can even think about having a proper initiation for our new recruits. You see uh...I was in such a hurry to leave the Oasis that I completely forgot to bring food for our initiation ceremony. I tried to sneak into the forest to pick some myself, but there’s a big nasty Crobat there who keeps dive bombing me and...and...I kinda got scared and dropped the basket. It’d be really nice if you could all come with me next time, it’ll get done faster and with that many of us there, we can all clap our hands and disorient his sonar so he flies into trees. It’s gonna be hilarious! Help me out with this and I’ll see to it you get a sunny spot at the party as well as one of our beaded sashes, which you can wear any way you please! Help fend off or disorient the Crobat so Leiro can pick berries for the Path of Shine's initiation ceremony. Performing this task will allow you to claim a Continent Sash. This task may only be performed if you have joined the Path of Shine.
Hi there, and Kyogre bless. I’m Sharon, ambassador for the Path of Rain. You’ve probably already met my friend Leiro so I’ll go ahead and clear this up right now - I did not used to be a boy as an Azurill, and if he tells you otherwise, you have my express permission to call him a liar and tweak his tail in my stead!
Anyway, we acolytes of the Path of Rain worship the God Kyogre, a mighty Legendary Pokemon who brings rain to cleanse the land, providing water to quench our thirst and wash away impurities. We believe in unity and charity, that we are all drops of rain in a shower and our combined efforts will make this world a better place for all to live in. We don’t...party quite as hard as the acolytes of Shine, but we have a rather beautiful choir and our hymns are a perfect way to relax after a stressful day. However...if you miss too many baths, you’ll probably get struck by a thunderbolt because Kyogre can’t stand filthy acolytes.
...That was a joke! Don’t look so shocked! Shocked, get it. Ah, forget it, that sounded better in my head.
Anyway, the Order of the Sun gave us a charming little room to set up in that smells like it might have been a food storage at some point. Very kind of them, but we’re expected to share it with the worshipers from the Path of Shine and um...there’s not enough room. I want a nice fountain in the middle for balance purposes, but Leiro says it’s going to be too centralizing. Psh, as if that would be any more obnoxious than covering the floor with sand or putting statues everywhere like he wanted, I mean really.
I’m sure there’s a lot of you out there who have the gift of creativity on your side. If we’re going to share the room, we may as well use a design that we’ll both be happy with. Sometimes an outsider’s point of view can bring a refreshing answer to a stale problem. Any suggestions, my fine friends?
Oh, and I’m very happy to see that so many of you are eager to learn more about our ways. We’re going to have a rite of initiation for our newest brothers and sisters down at the river once everything is sorted. Unfortunately, I went down there to check on it earlier and well...the river’s dry! It’s all muddy and horrible and it seems like a landslide further up stream is to blame. I was planning on marching up there to do something about the problem myself, but those are some very big boulders blocking the stream.
No match for me of course. I could split them in half with one punch...or maybe two, but the issue here is the fallout. I don’t want boulders flying about and defacing the landscape, so it’s best we handle this responsibly with a group to clean up the rubble. Help me destroy rocks and get the water flowing safely again and I’ll be more than happy to add you to the list of devotees and hand out all the swag that comes with it...that better not be your sole reason for wanting to join!
...when I say swag I’m just talking about the garment, by the way. It’s not actually like, real swag...that was supposed to be a joke. Helping Sharon destroy the large boulders blocking the river will allow you to claim a Sea Basin Hood. This task may only be performed if you have joined the Path of Rain.
Adoption: There are many orphaned children without homes. For five points, you can adopt any Normal-, Grass-, Fire-, Water-, Electric-, Ground-, or Flying-type egg (including dual-types).
Accessories: For completing the associated task and joining the Path of Rain or the Path of Shine, or for completing the associated task and joining the Order of the Sun, you may receive one accessory for each task. Although you may receive the Aureola Collar regardless of your Path choice, you may only receive the Continent Sash if your team (or a member) has joined the Path of Shine, or the Sea Basin Hood if your team (or a member) has joined the Path of Rain. Multiple team members can individually choose to follow one Path or the other if they participate in the relevant ambassador's tasks, but cannot follow both, and cannot wear both the Sea Basin Hood and the Continent Sash together. Furthermore, there are no extra points awarded for having team members join different Paths.
Aureola Collar: This shawl is worn by members of the Order of the Sun. Differences in the design often indicate rank; this plain shawl is worn by most members of the Order, particularly initiates.
Continent Sash: This sash, worn by members of the Path of Shine, is made from exceptionally breathable fabric.
Sea Basin Hood: This hood, worn by members of the Path of Rain, provides good protection from the elements, such as rain or snow.
Evolution: For ten points, you may receive an Evolution Scroll.
The deadline for this set of tasks and for claiming rewards is before the end of September 20th(11:59pm PST).
