The legends speak of one with a mysterious title. He has bravery beyond any before him (or lack thereof) and a name that graces the lips of all who speak it (or maybe you’ll just want to make fun of it). His title is not self-proclaimed. It is fitting. It is the title of a true hero. It is the title of “Fledgling Apprentice of an Apprentice’s Student.” That’s right. Erk returns. Gather and listen to to the legend.

Another day in Ludibrium doing nothing but fooling around. It’s just another day for our hero. Amusing himself with petty parlor tricks and overused jokes. [First picture.] “Look everyone! I have 6,666,666 mesos! Look! Isn’t that funny? That’s funny! Look! 666 mesos! Look! Look! …Hello?” Erk looks around puts his wallet away. “Oh well. I’ll just check my quest clipboard.” Erk pulls out the clipboard and immediately spots something that bothers him. “What? Mac and the Maintenance Manual? I thought I helped him out months ago! Oh, who cares. I’ll go check it out.” A few minutes later, after losing his way four to seven times, Erk finally approaches Mac. “It says here you need my help. Wait, I’ve never talked to you before. How can this be on here?” Mac laughed. “Oh, that? I put that on there after I drugged you and took you to my lab where I studied your brain and other important organs.” Erk stood speechless for a moment. “Okay. That’s creepy. So what do you need my help with?” Mac took out a small purple scroll and handed it to Erk. “I need you to break open the boxes around the factory and be sucked inside one to a Secret Factory. In there you’ll find lots of Trojans and one of them has this maintenance manual.” Erk looked up to Mac. “But wait, why can’t you just use that one?” Mac laughed. “You’re so naive. This is just a copy of the maintenance manual. I made it so I could show people what it looked like. It’s an exact replica.” “So why don’t you just use that?” Mac laughed. “What’re you, stupid, kid? Just go find it for me, okay?”

So without a reply, Erk walked away to find these boxes. After going through about 30, Erk began to contemplate some of the massive mysteries in the world. [2nd picture] After another 30 boxes, Erk slumped down next to an oversized die and opened his Book of Cleric Stuff. “Hmph.” He said, plopping down hard. “This stinks.” After he had studied over the book for a few minutes, he decided it was best that he pressed on, and wasn’t distracted by anything or anyone. [Picture 3]

Walking away frustrated, he kicked a box in anger. Suddenly, like a whirlwind, he was sucked inside with force that rivaled… Well, never you mind what it rivaled. Excited, he sped through a black void, his eyes closed, waiting anxiously to see what the Secret Factory would look like. He arrived as quickly as he had left the main factory. He slowly opened his eyes to look at the factory around him. He felt his heart race as he couldn’t wait any longer… [Picture 4]

After getting over his disappointment, he broke boxes containing many Trojans and breezed through them, finding the manual like it was the easiest thing he could do. [Picture 5] He returned to Mac triumphant, handing him the real manual. “Thank you! This is great! Now I have the real manual, and not just the copy! I’m sure I’ll promoted from my crappy job to CEO on these grounds alone! Thanks again! I have something for you. Hold out both your hands…” Erk did so, and found 5 black sacks in his hands. They were somewhat hard to carry, but he put them into his seemingly endless pocket of magical item space (you know, how he carries so many items) and thanked Mac. It was probably his least most honorable quest ever, but he was proud nonetheless.

So now, I hoped you enjoyed this. Don’t be afraid to leave comments and hit “Liked it.” I mean, I know you did, Riiiiight? *imposing stare*

If you haven’t already, you can see Erk’s previous two adventures by clicking on my MMOID badge and selected “Erk and the Not Quite Adventures of B3” and the 2nd in my little series “Erk and the Witchgrass of Misery Mire.” Special thanks goes to MissSoapy, for being one of the few to read my “Witchgrass” blog, as it was during Thanksgiving and that didn’t dawn on me at the time. So kudos to you, and to all who’ve read and commented! Who knows when the next in the series shall appear? Not even I. Next time I see a quest, I guess.
And in the interest of habit and tradition, this wonderful word shall appear again to signify the closing of this wonderous story.

Fin.