Puzzles

After receiving the small scroll from the Wandering Merchant Grandpa, Ryu immediately stepped away from the hustle and bustle of Eldoria, looking for a quieter place to open it.He found a wooden bench under a big tree far from the hustle and bustle of the market. His curiosity boiled. What was the clue that Grandpa had said?

Carefully, Ryu unrolled the parchment tied with hemp thread.The scroll was not big, only the size of his palm, and its surface felt very old, a little rough on his fingers. The contents were not what he had imagined.

It wasn't a detailed map, but a series of foreign symbols that formed a pattern. Below it, were written a few lines of sentences in a language he could understand, but the meaning felt very mysterious.

[Clues from the Ancient Scroll:]

Where the oldest star roots reach,

There, the whispers of the past sing.

Moonlight guides the searching soul,

To the silent heart, where history sleeps.

Only under the shadows that keep dancing,

The gates to truth will open.

Ryu read the sentences over and over again, trying to digest their meaning. "The oldest star root?" "Whispers of the past?" "A silent heart, where history sleeps?" And the "shadows that keep dancing"? This all sounds like an old puzzle, not a clear mission guide.

He glanced at the symbols at the top of the scroll.

A faint pop-up appeared in the corner of his vision:

[Item Obtained: Ancient Clue Scroll (x1) - Lore Artifact]

[New Quest Received: 'Forgotten Whispers']

[Objective: Solve the puzzle of the Ancient Clue Scroll. Reward: Access to the Hidden Area,lore points]

Ryu smiled faintly. A "Lore Artifact"? This confirmed his suspicion that Aethelgard was much more than just a game. He now has a real hidden quest, a mystery he must solve.Boredom had completely disappeared, replaced by a strong urge to uncover what was hidden behind those poetic words.

Ryu stared at the Ancient Instruction Scroll in his hand. The foreign symbols and poetic lines swirled in his mind."The oldest star roots reach out," he murmured. "A silent heart, where history sleeps." This was not a puzzle that could be solved by ordinary ingenuity. He needed more information.

Ryu's instincts as a Thief tell him that information is the most valuable currency.And where better to look for ancient information than in the place where knowledge is stored? The library.Every city or village in a fantasy game has some sort of library or archive.

He returned to the streets of Eldoria, his eyes searching for a suitable building. It didn't take long for him to find a small stone building somewhat hidden behind the houses.The door was made of dark wood and above it hung a small plaque in the shape of an open book.

Ryu pushed open the slightly heavy door and stepped inside. The smell of old paper and dust filled the air. This was the Library of Eldoria.The room was small, with wooden shelves crowded with worn-looking scrolls and books. Dim light filtered through the gaps in the windows, illuminating the dust particles dancing in the air.

In the middle of the room, sat a tired but friendly old female NPC, with glasses perched on her nose, reading a large book. She was Elara, the Librarian.

"Excuse me, Grandma Elara," Ryu said. "I'm looking for information on... ancient symbols." He showed Elara the Ancient Scroll of Instructions.

Elara took the scroll, her graying eyebrows raising slightly. Her sharp eyes scanned the runes and poetic text. "This... this is ancient writing. Not just any writing," she murmured.

He stood up slowly, running his fingers along the bookshelves. "I remember reading something vague about this..."

He stopped in front of a shelf filled with dusty scrolls. After a moment, he pulled out a large roll of parchment bound with leather string.The scroll looked very old, much older than the others. He spread it out on the table.

"This is part of a larger chronicle," Elara said, her finger pointing to several symbols similar to those on Ryu's scroll. "These symbols... these are Primordial Runes. The language of the Whispering of the Gods era, before the great races fully rose."

Ryu felt a vibration within him. The Primordial Rune. This was a direct link to the lore of Aethelgard's creation.

"Here... there is a poem similar to yours," Elara continued, pointing to the faint lines."Where the roots of the oldest stars reach, there the whispers of the past sing... This refers to the World Tree Yggdrasil.It is said that its roots reach across all reality, and the first stars of Aethelgard were the fruits of its branches. However, no one knows where its main location is now."

Elara sighed. "The rest... 'a silent heart, where history sleeps', and 'shadows that continue to dance'... are too vague even for me.Perhaps referring to the ruins of a lost civilization, or a place hidden by time. Many of Aethelgard's secrets remain locked in ancient myth."

Elara returned the Ancient Scroll of Instructions to Ryu. "I'm sorry, kid. My knowledge is limited. But if you really want to dig deeper, maybe you could look into the Ethereal Explorer Network.They are a group obsessed with ancient lore and artifacts. I hear one of their bases is in the great city of Silverwood, up north."

[Updated Quest Log: 'Forgotten Whispers' (Stage 1 Completed)]

[New Clue: Yggdrasil World Tree (Unknown Location). Search the Ethereal Explorer Network in Silverwood.]

[Reward: Lore Points (x10)]

Ryu nodded. He didn't get an instant answer, but he did get a much better clue. The World Tree Yggdrasil. Primordial Runes. And a society focused on ancient lore! His curiosity now had a greater purpose, and a clearer direction.