The Sludge, European Dead Zone, Earth
Ghost: This forest again… well, I can't say our last visit wasn't memorable. Let's see what we can find.
The Dark Forest
The Guardian enters the Dark Forest. A portal appears.
Ghost: Whoa! Um. Knock knock?
The Guardian goes through the portal.
Ghost: Gotta love the ambiance… Hey! Do you see that? Over there. The light.
The Guardian approaches an apparition of a Hunter.
Cayde: All I can think is, "If Rasputin had all those mighty tools, and it lost, what did it learn?"
The Guardian approaches another apparition of a Hunter.
Cayde: What's it going to try this time around? When I hear about the Dust Palace, and those Psion Flayers getting into Rasputin's mind, I wonder, "What would they talk about, Rasputin and those creatures?" Because I was a servant too. I was an instrument of war, bound to the will of a lesser master. But I learned to be something more…
The Guardian approaches an apparition of a Cabal Centurion.
Unknown: She leaves the rifle and walks across the naked obsidian into the swarm firing from the hip as she goes, each kick of the old revolver a word. The stone smokes around her where the arc fire lashes it, and the shrapnel guns throw up leaves of obsidian like glass butterflies. She shoots her bandoliers dry, and a team of Vandals in glassy stealth leap up to rush her with knives, but she raises her hand and burns them down with the golden gun, laughing.
As the Guardian moves on from the apparition, Fallen can be seen further along the path.
Ghost: Heads up! Fallen!
The Guardian defeats the Fallen and enters another portal.
Ghost: I think these Light projections might be lessons.
The Guardian approaches another apparition of a Hunter.
Unknown: "Think of how mysterious this system is," I said. "How much life sprang up when the Traveler came. Like the Ahamkara. Do you know the legends? The dragon that made promises?" And I pulled out the fossil with a flourish. She pulled out her knife and started to pick the dirt from her nails. That set me off. "You could never have brought down one of these," I said. "Ever. Not the greatest Hunter, not the brawniest Titan." Her eyes narrowed. She said, "Oh? Is that so?" And I saw right then that she wasn't going to pass on the challenge.
The Guardian approaches another apparition of a Hunter.
Cayde: My old friend Andal – he used to stand right here, right in this spot – he'd come up with these wild stories. He'd say, "You know Cayde, I've been examining the evidence, and personally I've come to think it's you. You're Rasputin: legendary Warmind, defender of Earth. And I wish you'd remember that, so you could reclaim your full power and save us all." You can see how that'd be embarrassing.
The Guardian approaches an apparition of a Hunter mid-Golden Gun.
Cayde: So I say what I want to say every day – it's no secret – I say, "Well, I'll go find it, then. I'll go tell Rasputin we need its help." And Ikora looks at me with one of those looks that – you know sometimes you talk to Ikora and you just think, "Wow, you are not even using a fraction of your brain on me, are you?" One of those looks. She says, "Cayde, the problem isn't just that we can't find Rasputin. The problem is it's not clear to any of us that Rasputin wants to be found."
The Guardian enters an area with the Shard.
Ghost: Another Shard of the Traveler! But we're not alone.
The Guardian defeats the Fallen.
Ghost: This Shard called us here. I'm sure of it.
The Guardian approaches the shard, reaching out to be filled with Light and becoming a Gunslinger.
Ghost: The Shard gave us a gift. Let's use it. I'm picking up Fallen radio chatter. They're calling reinforcements!
The Guardian defeats waves of Fallen and Bandaks Prime.
Ghost: Incredible. If that was a test, I think we aced it.
The Guardian enters a portal.
The Sludge, European Dead Zone
Ghost: I'm sure the Traveler called us to the forest deliberately. It's amazing that even a corrupted Shard can still do so much good.