Tru
| Tru (Mr. Truth) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | Information Dealer |
| Hometown | Rien |
| Current Residence | Lith Harbor |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Human |
| Family | Neinheart (distant cousin) Lilin (distant cousin) |
| Affiliations | Lilin Aran Phantom Maple Alliance |
| Enemies | Black Mage Black Wings |
| Status | Alive |
Incidentally, he seems to have a particular fondness for polearms, as do many heroes in his place of origin. Not to call him heroic, as such.”
- ― Chronicler Ritt
Tru, known in full as Mr. Truth, is a member of the Rien Clan who works as an information dealer in Lith Harbor.
Story
Becoming an Information Dealer
Tru was a member of the Rien Clan, which had settled on Rien after the Black Mage was sealed away. Over the centuries, the Rien Clan continued passing down a prophecy of the Heroes' return, though many slowly began to lose faith. One by one, the clan began to , the clan settled on the icy island and awaited the return of the polearm hero. Over the centuries, the clan - known as the Rien Clan - continued passing down the prophecy of the Heroes' return, though many slowly began to lose faith. One by one, the clan began to leave Rien - including Tru - until only two siblings, Lilin and Neinheart von Rubistein, remained. Eventually, even Neinheart lost faith in the prophecy and decided that he would rather take fate into his own hands by finding the lost descendant of Empress Aria in order to have them become the next ruler of Maple World. Despite Tru's departure from Rien, he nevertheless remained on good terms with Lilin. After leaving Rien, Tru became an information dealer and started his own shop in Lith Harbor.
Investigating the Black Wings
After Aran awoke from the Black Mage's curse, Lilin sent the polearm hero to meet with Tru, believing that he could help her get stronger. Aran arrived at Lith Harbor and went to Tru's shop, where she gave him a letter of introduction from Lilin. After reading the letter, Tru was amazed by Aran's return and explained that he was also part of the Rien Clan, although he had left long ago after losing faith in the Heroes' return. He told Aran that Lilin had stubbornly refused to leave Rien, even when her brother had left, though he added that Lilin's faith had now been rewarded, for which he promised to help Aran in any way that he could. To help her get stronger, Tru suggested that she work as an informant for him, as it would help her get stronger and learn more about Maple World. He explained that there were all sorts of rumors circulating, such as a descendant of the Empress’ bloodline – long thought to have been ended – appearing and forming an order of knights, as well as some concerns that the Black Mage may soon be coming back. Tru then sent Aran on her first mission, which was to investigate the recent behavior of Orange Mushrooms in Henesys. There, Aran helped a mushroom researcher named Scarrs discover that the mushrooms in Henesys were being controlled by strange puppets. After helping Scarrs, Aran reported her findings to Tru, who was pleased by her discovery and noted that he would be able to sell the information for a decent price. He then explained that while she had been investigating the puppets, someone had been kidnapped by Golems in Henesys, with a puppet being responsible for the Golems' violent behavior. He then sent Aran to Henesys and asked her to learn more from Camila.
During her mission, Aran learned that a Black Wings officer named Francis was controlling the monsters in Henesys with his puppets. After Francis threatened Aran to stay out of his way, Aran returned to Tru's shop and explained what had happened. Tru explained that he had heard of the Black Wings and told her that he had thought that they were merely a hoax. He began to grow concerned that the Black Mage truly was on the verge of resurrection and resolved to look into the Black Wings. He then told Aran to inform Lilin about this latest development, adding that the return of the Heroes, the followers of the Black Mage, and the prophecy were all connected. Given how much Lilin had researched and believed in the Heroes, Tru told Aran that Lilin had a right to know as much as anyone, especially since she might be able to help them with her knowledge. Soon after, Tru asked Aran to investigate the strange monster activity in Perion, citing the similarities with the events in Henesys. After learning that Francis was controlling the monsters in Perion as well, Aran returned to Tru and reported what had happened in there. Tru then told Aran that the Puppeteer had been sighted in Ellinia, for which he asked her to speak with Rowen the Fairy, who was the one who had seen him. After discovering Francis's secret hideout, Aran defeated the Puppeteer and brought a document from his cave to Tru. Aran proceeded to soundly defeat Francis, though the Puppeteer nevertheless managed to escape. Aran then took a document from his cave and brought it to Tru. He realized that the document was written in code and told Aran to bring it to Lilin, who was a master codebreaker since her youth, as many of the legends about the Heroes had been written in code that she had meticulously deciphered. Aran brought the document to Lilin, who solved the code and learned that Francis' mission was to recover the Seal Stone of Victoria Island, and that he had been using his puppets to control the monsters of Victoria Island in order to find it.
The Seal Stone of Victoria Island
Around this time, Phantom awoke from the ice and began to reacquaint himself with the centuries of history that he had missed by helping his intelligence network aboard the Lumiere collect information. He was then hired by Tru, who asked him to help recover the Seal Stone of Victoria Island. Although Phantom told Tru that the Seal Stone was useless while the Black Mage was sealed, he nevertheless helped Tru obtain the Seal Stone. Soon after, however, Tru was attacked by Francis and another Black Wings officer named Baroq. Using his shapeshifting powers, Baroq disguised himself as Tru and called Aran to Tru's shop, where she found Tru tied unconscious to a chair, with Francis and a second Tru awaiting her. Francis thanked the second Tru, who revealed himself to be a shapeshifted Baroq. After Baroq left, Francis told Aran that the reason she had beaten him last time was because he had just come back from a battle with the Cygnus Knights, promising that he would be a much stronger foe this time around. Despite his boasting, Aran was once again able to defeat him with ease, forcing Francis to retreat. She then freed Tru, who thanked her for saving him. He was surprised that Francis would have gone so far, though he waved away Aran's apology and explained that she had come at the optimal time. Aran was confused by what he meant, and so Tru explained that Francis' drastic measures meant that the document which she had obtained from his cave was real, which confirmed that the Black Wings' goal was to recover the Seal Stone of Victoria Island.
He then presented the Seal Stone to a surprised Aran, revealing that he had already managed to acquire it. He explained that one of his business partners had been one step faster than them, and that their employer had managed to steal the Seal Stone first and deliver it to him, though the Black Wings had attacked his shop before he had gotten the chance to tell her and Lilin. Aran noted that his business partner's employer was quite impressive, to which Tru replied that it was rumored that he was a great thief, causing Aran to suddenly recall Phantom's name. As the Seal Stone wasn't safe with him, Tru asked Aran to bring it to Lilin for safekeeping, as Rien was home only to the Rien Clan, with many spells having been placed on it to keep it inaccessible to foreigners. He then told Aran that he would no longer assign her missions, as she had already made too big of a reputation for herself with the Black Wings to covertly gather information. He added that she had gained enough experience about Maple World to gather information for herself, and that she should focus on regaining her strength while he sent another informant to investigate Francis' hideout. He then told her that he would keep investigating the Black Wings and that he would contact her immediately if she learned more about the Seal Stone. Aran then brought the Seal Stone of Victoria Island to Lilin, who promised to keep it safe on Rien.
Hunt for the Seal Stones
Soon after, Tru contacted Aran and told her that he had expanded his intelligence network outside Victoria Island, allowing him to learn that something had happened in Orbis, which possibly involved the Black Wings. In Orbis, Aran discovered that the Black Wings were attempting to steal the Seal Stone of Orbis. Despite Aran's efforts, she was thwarted by Orchid and Hiver, who managed to subdue her and steal the Seal Stone. Frustrated, she returned to Tru and told him what had happened in Orbis. Tru reassured Aran that it hadn't been her fault, as the Black Wings had been prepared, especially with their leader having special powers as well. He then suggested that she report to Lilin back in Rien. Just like Tru, Lilin told Aran not to feel bad, as they had managed to learn that there were multiple Seal Stones. She also noted that the Black Wings had been planning the operation for a long time, meaning that it was all the more impressive that Aran had managed to save the Seal Stone of Victoria Island. She then told Aran to keep focusing on getting stronger, promising that she and Tru would keep the Seal Stone of Victoria Island safe in the meantime.
Some time later, Tru reached out to her and explained that he had gotten reports of Black Wings activity in Mu Lung. He then asked her to investigate Mr. Do, who had been in contact with one of the Black Wings. Mr. Do revealed that the Shadow Knight of the Black Wings was planning to steal the Seal Stone of Mu Lung, and though Aran attempted to stop them, she was unable to prevent the Black Wings from taking the Seal Stone. Nevertheless, Aran learned from Mu Gong that the Heroes had entrusted the Seal Stone to the chief of Mu Lung, who had constructed the Sealed Temple to safeguard it. He then told Aran that the loss of the Seal Stone may not have been significant, as he had believed that the reason the Sealed Temple was so heavily protected was because it was the legacy of the Heroes, adding that he didn't know the purpose of the Seal Stone. Aran was intrigued to learn that the Heroes had entrusted the Seal Stones, causing her to wonder whether Freud, who had hidden the Seal Stone of Orbis, was one of her comrades as well. She then returned to Tru and told him about the events in Mu Lung. Tru reassured Aran that she was growing stronger and that she would stop the Black Wings next time. He then told her to speak with Lilin about what she had learned in Mu Lung. Lilin was excited to learn that the Heroes had left behind the Seal Stones and told Aran that the information made up for losing the Seal Stone of Mu Lung. Aran was confused by how she had reached that conclusion, to which Lilin explained that by piecing together information on the Heroes, she could predict which places were likely to have the Seal Stones before the Black Wings found out. As always, she told Aran to focus on training while she researched the Heroes and Tru looked into the Black Wings. Following the mission to Mu Lung, Aran decided to search for Freud, but with no information on him other than his name, she met with Tru in order to learn more about him. After searching through his records, however, Tru was unable to find any information about Freud. He explained that since Freud had formed a Spirit Pact with an Onyx Dragon, there was no way that he would have missed Freud if he had returned to Maple World. However, he added that there was another magician in Maple World who appeared similar to Freud, for which he asked Aran whether it could be Freud using an alias. Despite having little memory about Freud, Aran instinctively knew that it wasn't like Freud to use an alias, causing her to conclude that his lookalike wasn't really him. Tru then suggested that the other Heroes may not have woken up yet, promising to let her know if he heard anything. Aran then left, wondering whether she would ever regain her memories.
Soon after, Tru contacted Aran and asked her whether she had ever heard of Ludibrium. He explained that it was a land full of toys, which had been frozen in time so that the toys would always be needed by the children who didn't grow up there. However, he revealed that one of the two clock towers that managed the flow of time in Ludibrium had broken down, causing a portal to appear that led centuries in the past. He explained that Lilin had analyzed reports of the time period, which had caused her to conclude that it was a time when the Heroes had still been active. After Aran entered the portal, she arrived in Ellin Forest of the past, where she met with Athena Pierce and discovered that the Heroes had left behind a letter to Athena. As the laws of time prevented Aran from reading it, Athena suggested that since she was an elf, and thus had a long lifespan, she could keep the letter and instructed Aran to find her in the present day. After returning to her own time, Aran told Tru what had happened in Ellin Forest and asked him who Athena Pierce was. She was surprised to learn that Athena was one of the most famous people in Maple World, both as the instructor for bowmen and as an influential leader of Victoria Island. Aran then went to the Bowman Instructional School, where she found that Hiver and Baroq had already gotten there first after eavesdropping on her conversation with Athena in Ellin Forest. After Hiver was driven away, Athena gave Aran the letter that she had kept for hundreds of years. Aran then took the letter to Tru, who found that it was completely unreadable. He realized that it was written in code, and that since Hiver had already read it, the Black Wings likely already knew the contents of the letter. Tru told Aran that Lilin would be able to decipher it, and so Aran went to Rien and showed the letter to her. Lilin realized that the code was extremely complicated, with several layers of encryption. After deciphering the letter, Lilin learned that it had been written by Aran to the former Empress and that the letter simply said to take care of the Seal Stone of Ereve. Aran quickly warned the Cygnus Knights that the Black Wings were planning to take the Seal Stone, allowing the Knights to prepare their defenses.
Invasion of Rien
After Phantom began investigating the Black Wings, he met with Tru, who greeted him and began reminiscing about their old adventure together, laughing that he never would have guessed at the time that Phantom was one of the legendary Heroes. Getting to the point, he told Phantom that he had been gathering information on the Seal Stones ever since their adventure. Phantom told Tru that he had heard that someone had almost stolen the Seal Stone of Victoria Island from Aran, but Tru explained that it had been difficult for Aran to protect both the Seal Stone of Victoria Island and the Seal Stone of Ereve. He then told Phantom that he had been tracking Puppeteer Francis, and that he had discovered that Francis had made himself a hideout in the Golem Temple. Phantom infiltrated the hideout and attacked Francis, who was easily defeated. While interrogating him, Phantom learned that Francis had learned where the Seal Stone of Victoria Island was. Realizing that Tru may be in danger, Phantom returned to Lith Harbor in order to warn him. He told Tru how he had beaten the information out of Francis and asked if the Seal Stone was still safe, to which Tru explained that he had given it to Aran to safeguard in Rien and promised to warn Lilin about a possible Black Wings attack, adding that he would reach out if anything came up. Some time later, Tru contacted Aran and warned her that a suspicious ship was sailing towards Rien, and that he suspected the Black Wings were behind it. He asked Aran to quickly head to Rien in order to defend the island, promising to send reinforcements to help. Tru then contacted Phantom about a mysterious ship sailing towards Rien. Thanks to Tru's warning, Phantom and Aran were able to stop the Black Wings from taking the Seal Stone of Victoria Island.
NPC
Tru's Info Shop
Tru's Info Shop (Aran Quest)
| Tru | |||
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| Location | Cutscene | ||
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Gallery
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NPC Portrait of Tru
