Stories of Enroute

Stories of Enroute

Story goes that when Enroute left for the edge of the world, his pals, including Bragi, drank themselves into a stupor out of grief. Then, they had a brilliant idea. They decided to follow the example of "Aha's Fables" and compile their own nonsense as a tribute to their old friend. Time moved on, and Enroute and his friends had already left the tavern. Yet this book still lingers. Much like Enroute, it keeps popping up unannounced in the most unexpected places. Bragi's Version Did you know? Those "unannounced" arrivals are a stroke of luck that even Enroute himself cannot control. It's not about where he wants to be, but where he's needed most. He'll walk through a tavern teleporter and pop out in a public restroom on a planet facing total disaster. From the locals' perspective, a hero just emerged from the toilet to save the world. Naturally, they've affectionately dubbed this anonymous hero "Toilet Man." White Wasp's Version Mr. Enroute? My first encounter with him was on the mining planet Ezni-V. A young scholar had just arrived to give us lessons on human dignity, but the governor caught wind of it and took suppressive measures. We were at our wits' end when Enroute showed up. He traded a single coin for some ore, then the ore for a knife, then the knife for shoes. Before we knew it, bills were raining down everywhere. Today, those piles of cash aren't even worth one measly credit. Shepherd's Version *hiccup* Man, that guy used to charge through a dozen fights with two glasses in his hands, all the way from Layton to Reidmann, and his ice wouldn't even be melted by the end. He knew every tavern trick and every game of Elation in the universe. He and Bragi once had a bet to see who could outrun the watchdog on Wen-II. They both failed miserably, obviously. They say that dog even nearly got a piece of Aha's backside. Honestly, unless you're Akivili, you aren't outrunning that mutt. Old Lamp's Version Personally, I think Enroute took his aesthetics of Elation a bit too seriously. He'd go wherever people needed a laugh or wherever things were going south, throwing himself into the game like a chess piece just for the thrill. He seemed like a loose cannon, but he was actually an Elation fundamentalist through and through. He once secretly showed me a photo, enthusiastically introducing the "VIPs" around him in the shot and how much of a total legend they were in the battle against the Swarm. "So, where's the fun at?" the crowd chimed in. "You know the rules," he said, pulling out a Truly Fortunate Chess board. "No risk, no reward. If you can beat me, I'll give you some fun." Ophelia's Version Please, don't listen to those intoxicated idiots and their nonsensical ramblings. Even with a book of sifting sand that goes on forever, you couldn't list all of Enroute's adventures. There's always something new. He found the lost Ship of Fools in the Cavity System, tricked Macbeth into giving up a probability sword won in an Elation game, and even built a labyrinth of dad jokes to trap a Flying Devourer for the Architects. He once even spent a whole day to stump an Inquisition Spirit with his questions... wait, was that actually him? Maybe I've had one too many as well.