Justin Augustine Task Force

File:Task Force Contact Justin Augustine 01.jpg

Justin Augustine

Contact: Justin Augustine
Level Range: 44 - 50
Notes: Requires 8 people
Zone: The Chantry
Location: 8776, 1537, -5293.5
Primary Enemy: Circle of Thorns, Soldiers of Rularuu
Name: The Saga of Faathim
Badge: Protector of Kindness Badge
Description: You saved the being known as Faathim the Kind from capture by the Circle of Thorns.

Missions

Agree to form a task force

Briefing

You can call me Justin Augustine. I'm a, well, a mystic of sorts. Working with the UN expedition. General Hammond's asked me to investigate some of the stranger things out here, and I think I may have found about the strangest. Floating out in the center of this area may be the key to understanding this whole place, but if I'm gonna figure it out, I'm gonna need help.

All right, Task Force Thoth, it's time to get on with what this is all about. Far out in the center of this region is a place called the Chantry. It's supposed to hold all kinds of vast and ancient secrets, including a powerful being the natives only refer to as 'The Kind One'. Now, a title like that can mean a lot of things in folklore, like trying to placate something monstrous. I think the key to understanding a lot of this place is going to be understanding the truth behind Chantry and what's inside it. And for that, I need your help.

Alright, before I send you deep into the islands around here, first order of business is to secure this position some. I've manage to keep the Rularuu from finding me here, but they're going to notice you lot coming and going. So, Iwant you to lower their numbers around the Path of Tears. Take out about 50 or so, that should put a dent in them.

General Hammond asked that I give you lot a code-name while you're working with me on this. He wants it to help keep track, but there's a whole other reason. Naming a thing, like a fellowship of heros, is a powerful kind of magic. There's a lot aligned against us, so if we're going to succeed here, we'll need every advantage we can get. I'm going to give your group the title Task Force Thoth, and let's hope that the powers that be are smiling on us.

Mission Objective(s)

• Battle Rularuu in Path of Tears
  • Defeat 50 Soldiers of Rularuu

You have defeated enough of the Rularuu to secure the area.

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Debriefing

Now that the Rularuu are a little less unruly, it's time to start the real work.

Travel to Bastion of Pain

Briefing

Time to do some investigation. Task Force Thoth, I'll need you lot to go to one of the island groups in here. It's called the Bastion of Pain, and it's the closest cluster of islands to where we are now. There's a monument there I'd like you to take a good look at, and get me some close-up photos.

This one's a two parter. First, you'll need to fight the Rularuu around the Bastion of Pain. Once you're fought enough to keep them from interfering, go tot he monument and record it for me. I think I'll be able to translate it. That might tell us something about what's really going on here.

Mission Objective(s)

• Battle on Bastion of Pain
  • Defeat 50 Soldiers of Rularuu

You have defeated enough of the Rularuu around the Bastion of Pain.

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Mission Objective(s)

• Visit Monument of Pain

You have been to the Monument of Pain, and made records of it for Justin Augustine.

Monument Records

You recorded these photos and measurements of the monument on the Bastion of Pain for Justin Augustine.

The Verse of Pain

Justin Augustine's translation of the writing on the monument of Denial reads:

'And the Kind One was made prisoner within his Chantry, And the Rularuu beset him in unending siege, And Faathim the Kind knew only anguish, For all his plans were cast down in ruin.'

Debriefing

Thanks for that one. you're all as good as gold. Now, give me a minute. This is very weird stuff.

Like trying to read Sumerian written with Aztec grammar and English slang.

I can give you a rough translation of this one, but we're gonna need to see more. Roughly, it would go:

'And the Kind One was made prisoner within his Chantry, And the Rularuu beset him in unending siege, And Faathim the Kind knew only anguish, For all his plans were cast down in ruin.'

Pretty heavy stuff, but it still doesn't tell us a lot. There's got to be more to this story.

Travel to Bastion of Denial

Briefing

The first monument you looked at on the Bastion of Pain seemed to be telling part of a story. The others may have more of it. I'd like you to travel to the Bastion of Denial, clear out some of the Rularuu, and take a look at the monument there. It may have more of this story, or at least help what we have to make sense.

This one's another two parter. Same set-up as the last one. You'll need to fight the Rularuu around the Bastion of Denial to get them off-balance, then get to the monument and take some recordings and stuff for me. Easy for you, I'm sure.

Mission Objective(s)

• Battle on Bastion of Denial
  • Defeat 50 Soldiers of Rularuu

You have defeated enough of the Rularuu around the Bastion of Denial.

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Mission Objective(s)

• Visit Monument of Denial

You have been to the Monument of Denial, and made records of it for Justin Augustine.

Monument Records

You recorded these photos and measurements of the monument on the Bastion of Denial for Justin Augustine.

The Verse of Denial

Justin Augustine's translation of the writing on the monument of Denial reads:

'And Faathim formed the Chantry from the very air, And Faathim alone was master of it, And within the Chantry Faathim stood shielded from Rularuu's will, Here Faathim schemed for his freedom and his oblivion.'

Debriefing

Great job, all of you. Let me take a look at this.

These are getting harder to understand. I could swear that's greek, but that bit there looks like cuneiform, and I don't even know what that last bit it.

Okay, here's my best go:

'And Faathim formed the Chantry from the very air, And Faathim alone was master of it, And within the Chantry Faathim stood shielded from Rularuu's will, Here Faathim schemed for his freedom and his oblivion.'

I'm not completely sure that's right, but it's at least close. I think. We need to find out more.

Travel to Bastion of Guilt

Briefing

The first two monuments seemed to be telling part of a story, but we only have pieces of it. They're getting harder to translate, but we'll have to see what we can get from the next one, in the Bastion of Guilt.

You lot should have this set-up down by now. First thing to do is clear out some of the Rularuu, then get recordings of the monument for me. I'll see what I can do to translate them, and we'll go from there.

Mission Objective(s)

• Battle on Bastion of Guilt
  • Defeat 50 Soldiers of Rularuu

You have defeated enough of the Rularuu around the Bastion of Guilt.

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Mission Objective(s)

• Visit Monument of Guilt

You have been to the Monument of Guilt, and made records of it for Justin Augustine.

Monument Records

You recorded these photos and measurements of the monument on the Bastion of Guilt for Justin Augustine.

The Verse of Guilt

Justin Augustine's translation of the writing on the monument of Guilt reads:

'And when the world was split the Strong one Reained Loyal, And the Strong One called Faathim Traitor for his plans, And the Strong One called Faathim Traitor for his actions, For Strength would let none stray from Rularuu'

Debriefing

Great work, all, these are the best yet. Not too sure how much good it will be, though. I'm able to recognize less and less of this. Let me see if I can get anything.

Alright, I'll give it a bash, but I can't promise that this is anything close to accurate:

'And when the world was split the Strong one Remained Loyal, And the Strong One called Faathim Traitor for his plans, And the Strong One called Faathim Traitor for his actions, For Strength would let none stray from Rularuu'

I'm not that confidant about that, but it's the best I can do. At least I think I know what the next step's going to have to be.

Enter the Chantry and speak with Faathim the Kind

Briefing

I've done about all the translating that can be done without a better knowledge of the languages used. So, now's the time to try and find out more about the whole thing right from the source. Task Force Thoth, I need you to go into the Chantry itself and talk to Faathim the Kind.

The good news it I don't think Faathim will be out-right hostile. Bad news, of course, is that there's a lot of things surrounding the entrance who probably will be hostile.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak to Faathim

Missing Completion Message

Faathim the Kind

Debriefing

I am Faathim, called the Kind One. You are all welcome before me, members of Task Force Thoth. I have watched you from within my Chantry, and I know what you seek. I will tell you that you have learned nothing untrue or false.

I am the master of the Chantry,
and I am its prisoner,
and I am a traitor above all.

But there is more than thoe three elements. I will provide you with this. It is a series of tasks that need the attention of heroes and it is written in languages that Justin Augustine will understand. You reward shall be rightousness in your work, and furtherance of your knowledge.

I ask only this: You must remember that something learned cannot be unlearned, and nothing can ever be undone.

An Engraved Tablet

This stone tablet has been engraved in what looks like a series of ever more complex languages by Faathim the Kind.

Debriefing

Glad to hear you got such a welcome reception, if a bit on the cryptic side. Still, this list of Faathim's could be very useful. Give me a bit, I'll see what I can get out of this.

Battle the Rularuu around the Path of Rage

Briefing

I've been able to translate some of this list of 'Heroic Deeds' Faathim gave you. First one sounds like something you can handle. It's a request to battle the Rularuu down around the Path of Rage near the Chantry. Might be a good idea to do it at that.

I'm not sure exactly what Faathim the Kind wants with this task, but it seems pretty innocuous. While you're working on that, I'm going to look back over my notes with what I've learned from translating the first part of this.

Mission Objective(s)

• Battle Rularuu in Path of Rage
  • Defeat 50 Soldiers of Rularuu

You have defeated enough of the Rularuu to complete Faathim's first mission.

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Debriefing

All right, now that I've had a bit of time, I think I may have made a breakthrough on this. It might shed a light on a lot of things we've found already. How would you all like to take a visit back to Firebase Zulu?

Help Dr. Boyd in Firebase Zulu

Briefing

Just translating the list of tasks Faathim gave you is teaching me a lot about the languages used here. In fact, some of what I've learned may be very useful to some of the other people working in the Shard. I've been communicating with Dr. Boyd, over in the Firebase Zulu area. He thinks he might be on the verge of a breakthrough in his own translations due to this new information, but he's going to need some help. While I'm working on translating more of Faathim's list, how about you lot go over and lend him a hand?

Thanks. I hope that Dr. Boyd's work will shed some light on my own. The more I understand, the stranger this gets.

Mission Objective(s)

• Meet with Dr. Boyd

Dr. Boyd

Briefing

Ah! Hello there! So, would the illustrious Task Force Thoth, eh? Goodgoodgood. Now, I've asked for your assistance for two major things. First, with the new translations by Mr. Augustine we're getting closer to understanding what these amazing monuments may really mean. That's really the trick you see: Meaning. They have different levels of them. The monuments, I mean. We already know something about them, but that's like knowing a bit about nuclear engineering. Don't want to go building a reactor when you haven't gotten to the chapter on cooling system. With some of the powerful beings reported out here, well, you get the analogy. So, I need new, fresh records of several Monuments around the area. Many of them were damaged at some time in the past, so getting close-up images is vital. Which was the second thing. The, ah, Rularuu have gotten very agitated about my work recently, which is the other reason I requested your aid. Be on the lookout for them.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Echo

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Monuments around Zulu

You gathered these images and measurements of the monuments in the Firebase Zulu area for Dr. Bruce Boyd. With the knowledge gained by Justin Augustine, they may yield new information.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Sierra

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Sierra

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Sierra

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Sierra

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Tango

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Tango

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Tango

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Record monument at Tango

You've taken photos and measurements of this monument.

Mission Objective(s)

• Return Records to Dr. Boyd

Dr. Boyd

Briefing

Ah, Task Force Thoth! Dozens of thanks. Let me take a look at this lovely research.

Hmm...

Very interesting...

The monuments speak more about a deal between 'The People' and another great power, or powers. The Rularuu come up a great number of times, in fact it appears that the people are at once told to worship and obey the Rularuu, but are also warned against worshipping them. Perhaps it means that the people were to worship a philosophy or religion or god, but not the creatures themselves. It also specifically mentions several powerful Rularuu. I can't make out many of the names, but three stand out, I've seen them before. The passage goes:

'And give over your strong to Ruladak that he may work them, And give over your injuries to Faathim that he may heal them, And give over your outcast to Lanaru that he may execute them, For you will know that they are Rularuu and are to be obeyed.'

Well, that sounds quite ominous, doesn't it? I'll keep working, there's so much here. Thanks again for all your help, Task Force Thoth, you've really been fantastic.

An old verse

Dr. Boyd's translations of the monuments found in the area around Firebase Zulu yielded the following ominous verse:

'And give over your strong to Ruladak that he may work them, And give over your injuries to Faathim that he may heal them, And give over your outcast to Lanaru that he may execute them, For you will know that they are Rularuu and are to be obeyed.'

Debriefing

Thanks for helping Dr. Boyd, Task Force Thoth. The information we've found already about Faathim has me worried about doing the tasks he asked about, but clearly something must have changed between whenever those monuments were written and now. In those monuments Faathim is called one of the Rularuu, but the monuments out here call him a traitor and the Rularuu are attacking him. The next task is really hard to translate, but I should have it for you shortly. I may have something else that we can do, first.

You're a tenacious lot, you are. When I gave you the name Task Force Thoth, I was hoping it would help deflect bad fortune. If we've got this far, it must have worked some.

Travel to Bastion of Shame

Briefing

I think I have Faathim's next task translated, but you'll need to test out what I've learned of the language first. Best way to do that is on one of the monuments that I wasn't able to understand. So, are you ready to examine the monument over at the Bastion of Shame?

Back to the old pattern, right? First thing is to clear out some of the Rularuu, then get recordings of the monument for me. I'll see how much more I can translate this time, and that should tell us if I have this next task translated right or not.

Mission Objective(s)

• Battle on Bastion of Shame
  • Defeat 50 Soldiers of Rularuu

You have defeated enough of the Rularuu around the Bastion of Shame.

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Mission Objective(s)

• Visit Monument of Shame

You have been to the Monument of Shame, and made records of it for Justin Augustine.

Monument Records

You recorded these photos and measurements of the monument on the Bastion of Shame for Justin Augustine.

The Verse of Shame

Justin Augustine's translation of the writing on the monument of Shame reads:

'And by word and trickery the Traitor Faathim's work was done, And the Mad One rose up with rage to split the world asunder, And the Rularuu lost their truth and the People their master, For Faathim's betrayal hid all from Rularuu's power.'

Debriefing

You always come through, you do. Let me get the photos from you, and I'll have a go at this.

I get this. Like Sanskrit, only backwards and written in a phonetic alphabet. Easy.

Okay, if I'm reading this one right, the gist of it is something like this:

'And by word and trickery the Traitor Faathim's work was done, And the Mad One rose up with rage to split the world asunder, And the Rularuu lost their truth and the People their master, For Faathim's betrayal hid all from Rularuu's power.'

It's not too much clearer, but I do know that it's correct. I'll puzzle on it, but the important thing is I'm now pretty sure I translated Faathim's next task correctly.

Check out Faathim's 'Interlopers'

Briefing

Alright, Task Force Thoth, here's what I've got. Faathim his given us some information about some 'Interlopers who wish only harm to the people of the Shadow Shard', end quote. He's got some places these 'interlopers' can be found marked out. I'm still not sure what game he's playing, but it's a good bet that it should be checked out.

I've marked the point for you, it's in the Cascades. Don't know how Faathim knows about it, but he may be showing that his awareness stretches beyond his walls. Defeat whatever you find in there. Finding out who these 'Interlopers' are could be very important. Somehow I don't think an entity like Faathim is going to give out tasks like this for no reason.

Mission Objective(s)

You feel a dark chill, as if something tenous as a spirit was rushing past you.

• Defeat all 'Interlopers'

Primary Enemies

Circle of Thorns

Notable NPCs

• Madness Mage? (Circle of Thorns Madness Mage)

Circle of Thorns Dialog

Death Mage: "Is there no place in this accursed cosmos where we are not beset by do-gooders!"
Madness Mage?: "Ah, the heroes called Task Force Thoth. How is that you dog our steps?"

Debriefing

Why am I not surprised that Faathim's 'Interlopers' would be the The Circle of Thorns? They've been spotted out here before, but this may be more significant. The same 'Interloper' symbols used in that last task appear in all the rest of Faathim's list.

Travel to Bastion of Sorrow

Briefing

I'm still in mid-translation with the next task of Faathim's list, so while I'm finishing that, it might be a really good time to check out the next monument, over on the Bastion of Sorrow.

The old pattern has worked well so far, no reason to stop now, eh? First thing is to clear out some of the Rularuu around the Bastion of Sorrow, then get recordings of the monument for me. I should be able to finish the translation easy this time.

Mission Objective(s)

• Battle on Bastion of Sorrow
  • Defeat 50 Soldiers of Rularuu

You have defeated enough of the Rularuu around the Bastion of Sorrow.

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Mission Objective(s)

• Visit Monument of Sorrow

You have been to the Monument of Sorrow, and made records of it for Justin Augustine.

Monument Records

You recorded these photos and measurements of the monument on the Bastion of Sorrow for Justin Augustine.

The Verse of Sorrow

Justin Augustine's translation of the writing on the monument of Sorrow reads:

'And Kindness and Strength shook the world with battle, And by clever stratagem Strength was caught and bound, And Kindness was trapped as well within its fortress, While Madness burned with rage and battled all.'

Debriefing

Superb work, as always. Let me see...

'And Kindness and Strength shook the world with battle, And by clever stratagem Strength was caught and bound, And Kindness was trapped as well within its fortress, While Madness burned with rage and battled all.'

I think I'm starting to understand this saga. Let me think on it. In the meantime, I think that the next of Faathim's tasks may be a bit urgent.

You have been so much help, but there is much left to do and time is going fast. So, I have asked Lieutenant Colonel Flynn, and he has given me a radio to use to keep in touch with you.

Investigate the Circle's activities on the Bastion of Guilt

Briefing

Faathim's next task is on the Bastion of Guilt. It talks about fighting the 'Interlopers', who I'm assuming are going to be the Circle of Thorns. It also warns about 'Harm done to innocents', and if the Circle's involved, that's never far behind.

I'm really worried about that 'harm done to innocents' warning. Concentrate on that, rescuing any captives there. You can defeat any Circle types you find, of course, but concentrate on getting people out of there safe.

Faathim's been straight so far, just all cryptic. Entities like him, that's how they work. But if people are getting hurt while he waits for us to puzzle it out, then I'm not going to be pleased.

Mission Objective(s)

The chanting of the Circle's spells echoes off the smooth stone walls.

• Save innocents from harm
  • Save the last native!, 3 natives

You rescued the native captives from the Circle of Thorns.

Primary Enemies

Circle of Thorns

Notable NPCs

• Captive Native x2 (Hostage)
• Captive Researcher (Hostage)
• Ruin Mage? (Circle of Thorns Ruin Mage)

Circle of Thorns Dialog

Death Mage: "You do not understand. Though innocents shall suffer, we will do great good."
Ruin Mage?: "Did the 'Kind One' send you Task Force Thoth? Is that all you are now, pawns of Rularuu?"

Captive Dialog

Captive Native: "They wanted us alive, but for some horrible purpose."
Captive Native: "Great Heroes, we thought we were done for!"
Captive Researcher: "They captured me to help them keep the natives alive."

Debriefing

The Circle has a lot of sick uses for people, but something about all of this seems strange. Why is Faathim interested in them? What are the Circle up to, and what do they need natives for? We don't even know how the Circle's gotten out here. It's almost time to get some answers out of Faathim the Kind, but there's one more piece of the puzzle we should get first.

Briefing

Mission Objective(s)

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Debriefing

Briefing

Mission Objective(s)

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Debriefing

Briefing

Mission Objective(s)

Primary Enemies

Soldiers of Rularuu

Debriefing

Badge

Completion of the task force earns a hero the Protector of Kindness Badge.

Protector of Kindness

You saved the being known as Faathim the Kind from capture by the Circle of Thorns.