The Doomed Memory of Tou Tou - Part 1
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
It was the year 2000. I was fourteen and in junior high. When I wasn't trying to hold hands with girls, I was playing Perfect Dark at home. Or, more importantly, during those special times when my family could manage without our phone line for a few precious moments, I would connect to the magical world of Asheron's Call.
My character was not a powerful one, not by any means. It was my first MMO; every mechanic and statistic was bathed in mystery. The term "character template" was foreign to me. Instead, my attributes and skills consisted of whatever piqued my fancy at the time. War magic? That sounds cool. I bet it will go well with my sword skill...
I was a mess. But back then, it didn't matter. In those days, it was about discovery. Discovery and camaraderie.
I spent much of my time in a town called Tou Tou. (I never really learned the proper pronunciation, to me it was always homonymic to the pink, frilly thing.)
Tou Tou was a small village, off the beaten path. It sat upon a small peninsula near an ancient lighthouse that looked out over the pixely bay. The town was looked over by most, but on the Leafcull server, it was always populated. It was the official headquarters and home of the Silver Citadel, my guild (or rather, my "allegiance").
Any hour of the night, you could travel to the Tou Tou tavern, one of the first buildings on the way into town, and find a group chatting about the day's adventures. It was here that I stood, for hours on end. I do not recall how much of the conversation I contributed, nor do I know if I talked at all; rather much my time consisted of listening intently to the higher level players.
It was through such talk that I learned all about the land of Dereth and its inhabitants. Of the Lugian giants and the conniving Virindi. Here I first learned the name of the large insect-like creatures that I saw in the opening game cinematic, the ones that plagued the land. The Olthoi. From the tales told, it was probably a good thing that I had never come across one in person.
So there we sat, in Tou Tou tavern, the place we called home. Occasionally, when the fever of boredom took us, we would buy as many Small Beers as we could hold from the NPC barkeep downstairs, Mi Chi (who, unfortunately for her, got hit on a lot). She didn't talk much, but her pointy polygon boobs and size (literal) zero waist, kept us interested. After consuming copious amounts of (regrettably fake) alcohol, it would be time for the ceremonious mass suicide jump off of the aforementioned lighthouse.
During one of our calmer nights at the tavern, a hooded figure that I did not recognize walked upstairs to us. He stood for a moment, surveying, before asking, "is this the headquarters of the Silver Citadel?"
A few of us responded, asking if we could be of assistance.
"I found this note in the middle of the Direlands," he said, dropping the parchment in question on the floor. "Thought it might be of interest."
Everyone who was in the tavern walked over to examine the note. It read:
TO WHOM FINDS THIS, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO MY SURVIVAL FOR THIS NOTE TO BE DELIVERED TO THE SILVER CITADEL WHO RESIDE IN TOU TOU TAVERN.
FRIENDS, MY STUDIES HAVE DRAWN THE ATTEN--[the note is torn here, making most of the rest unreadable]
--EASE LEND YOUR ASSISTANCE. FIND MY JOURNAL. LEFT IN SHOUSHI. -TSUNG
I immediately recognized the name. Tsung was a regular in the tavern, though I did not know him personally.
The room was still for awhile, as everyone read the note a few times through. I wasn't quite sure what to think.
Finally, one of the higher-ups asked, "When's the last time someone saw Tsung?"
Again, silence.
"It has been at least a week or two." Someone said.
Another added, "That's not like him..."
"Shoushi isn't far, we should check it out," a leader declared.
And so began the journey to find Tsung. We set out immediately down the road, leaving the bearer of the message where he stood. At the time I felt like we should have probably given him something for his troubles, but I had little to offer. In hindsight, I realize now he and many others were all a part of the grandest of roleplays: a player quest.
Part 2
Part 2
Part 3
It was the year 2000. I was fourteen and in junior high. When I wasn't trying to hold hands with girls, I was playing Perfect Dark at home. Or, more importantly, during those special times when my family could manage without our phone line for a few precious moments, I would connect to the magical world of Asheron's Call.
My character was not a powerful one, not by any means. It was my first MMO; every mechanic and statistic was bathed in mystery. The term "character template" was foreign to me. Instead, my attributes and skills consisted of whatever piqued my fancy at the time. War magic? That sounds cool. I bet it will go well with my sword skill...
I was a mess. But back then, it didn't matter. In those days, it was about discovery. Discovery and camaraderie.
I spent much of my time in a town called Tou Tou. (I never really learned the proper pronunciation, to me it was always homonymic to the pink, frilly thing.)
Tou Tou was a small village, off the beaten path. It sat upon a small peninsula near an ancient lighthouse that looked out over the pixely bay. The town was looked over by most, but on the Leafcull server, it was always populated. It was the official headquarters and home of the Silver Citadel, my guild (or rather, my "allegiance").
Any hour of the night, you could travel to the Tou Tou tavern, one of the first buildings on the way into town, and find a group chatting about the day's adventures. It was here that I stood, for hours on end. I do not recall how much of the conversation I contributed, nor do I know if I talked at all; rather much my time consisted of listening intently to the higher level players.
It was through such talk that I learned all about the land of Dereth and its inhabitants. Of the Lugian giants and the conniving Virindi. Here I first learned the name of the large insect-like creatures that I saw in the opening game cinematic, the ones that plagued the land. The Olthoi. From the tales told, it was probably a good thing that I had never come across one in person.
So there we sat, in Tou Tou tavern, the place we called home. Occasionally, when the fever of boredom took us, we would buy as many Small Beers as we could hold from the NPC barkeep downstairs, Mi Chi (who, unfortunately for her, got hit on a lot). She didn't talk much, but her pointy polygon boobs and size (literal) zero waist, kept us interested. After consuming copious amounts of (regrettably fake) alcohol, it would be time for the ceremonious mass suicide jump off of the aforementioned lighthouse.
During one of our calmer nights at the tavern, a hooded figure that I did not recognize walked upstairs to us. He stood for a moment, surveying, before asking, "is this the headquarters of the Silver Citadel?"
A few of us responded, asking if we could be of assistance.
"I found this note in the middle of the Direlands," he said, dropping the parchment in question on the floor. "Thought it might be of interest."
Everyone who was in the tavern walked over to examine the note. It read:
TO WHOM FINDS THIS, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO MY SURVIVAL FOR THIS NOTE TO BE DELIVERED TO THE SILVER CITADEL WHO RESIDE IN TOU TOU TAVERN.
FRIENDS, MY STUDIES HAVE DRAWN THE ATTEN--[the note is torn here, making most of the rest unreadable]
--EASE LEND YOUR ASSISTANCE. FIND MY JOURNAL. LEFT IN SHOUSHI. -TSUNG
I immediately recognized the name. Tsung was a regular in the tavern, though I did not know him personally.
The room was still for awhile, as everyone read the note a few times through. I wasn't quite sure what to think.
Finally, one of the higher-ups asked, "When's the last time someone saw Tsung?"
Again, silence.
"It has been at least a week or two." Someone said.
Another added, "That's not like him..."
"Shoushi isn't far, we should check it out," a leader declared.
And so began the journey to find Tsung. We set out immediately down the road, leaving the bearer of the message where he stood. At the time I felt like we should have probably given him something for his troubles, but I had little to offer. In hindsight, I realize now he and many others were all a part of the grandest of roleplays: a player quest.
Part 2
posted by Trenton Kennedy at
11:03 AM
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