Howard: "We haven't known each other for long."

Don: "There's Steve and Charlie. They were among the first to join our little group. Charlie's an uplifted Badger, an ex police officer, and a custodian at the college during his retirement. He joined up, feeling his digging skills and physical strength would be an asset. Steve on the other hand is an uplifted rabbit and our ancient language expert. He's the one we call when we need precursor text translated."

"Then there's Zeke and Rowan, two anthropomorph brothers who live in Hopefall. The two come from a village that places a high importance on forging and a sort of ancestor worship. They're both skilled with swords, and Zeke is a bit of a rogue in that he's good at moving around unseen. Their swords are, apparently, forged using the souls of their ancestors. I have to admit, I had my doubts about whether that was really the case, but then we met this weird guy called Nikolai..."

"Anyway... Then we've got Dakota. He joined right after the attack on Hopefall. He's a Kangaroo, and has a lot of experience as an archaeologist. Always good to have more experience around. And then, finally, there's Hawk. He was apparently a Champion, but apparently left before the Cataclysm. He doesn't know what happened."

Howard: "Not well."

Don: "Only one expedition has been made to the City of Ghosts in the past, and only one person of a team of around 30 made it back. He described something stalking them through the water that they couldn't see. He described how everyone else vanished in flashes of light, some being carried high into the air before disappearing in front of his eyes. He described mechanical voices and mechanical noises, though he couldn't recall much of what was being said."

Howard: "I suppose part of our job will be to figure out what happened to the last group to get here. Preferably before it can happen to us..."

Don: "I don't suppose you'd have any idea what might have happened, Halphas? Any specific demon type you know of that can turn invisible and make people disappear?"

Howard: "You might think it would be one of the more legendary artifacts we've uncovered, or the key stones we are looking for now. But my favorite discovery so far has to be that strange broken scale we found while investigating the suspected epicenter of the Cataclysm. I have no idea what it's from, whether it's from some kind of animal, or if it's metal or stone. But just having it around gave me a sense of calm. I don't know what caused it to break, as it seems nearly indestructible."

Don: "Yeah, unfortunately whatever we find isn't ours to keep. We turn it all over to the Hopefall Archives and Artifact Research Department, so the pieces of that scale-like thing are stored away at the university."

Howard: "There have been numerous discoveries that were either meaningless or put our lives in danger while ultimately yielding little in the way of enlightenment. Ultimately, however, I cannot say I regret any of our discoveries, only that the time could have been spent on different expeditions. If I had to choose one, however, I would say I wish I had never gone to the desecrated shrine of that demon, Cupiditas. It was where I first encountered... those statues..."

Don: "Yeah, and the closer we got to the shrine, the more I felt like the thing was just... trying to suck the life out of the air. Considering the small animal bones and dead plants littering the area, that was probably a good guess."

Howard: "Sure. Plenty, from each era of Precursor civilization. Atlantis, Excalibur, a host of more religious artifacts, and more. We tend to have a greater interest in the artifacts from the last 1000 years of humanity. The Anthropomorph Genesis Files are a series of documents supposedly detailing all research, development, and decisions regarding the creation of the Anthropomorph species. While it would be reasonable to assume such documents once existed, as we know the precursors created our species and many were known for rather meticulous documentation of processes and procedures, the odds of those documents still existing after 100 thousand years is slim."

"Then there are supposed weapons. Originally, Legionnaire's sword, Regicide, was believed to be a myth. It was supposedly able to pierce any known armor, and even be capable of wounding gods and demons. It would have been invaluable in our fight against the Raiders, and in protecting ourselves against more supernatural forces. Unfortunately, according to Legionnaire, he shattered Regicide and dumped the pieces somewhere in the outer reaches of space, so while we know it existed, it's inaccessible and unusable. His current sword, while equally powerful, is cursed and so only he can wield it."

"Other artifacts that have been referenced include: The 'Chaotic Systems Predictor', which was capable of allowing a person to see into the future. The Nightmare weapons, a set of weapons said to be made of frozen blood and able to paralyze victims with terror. The Heart of Phlegethon, said to have been taken from an archdemon's chest and preserved in a specialized container. The Artifacts of Diligitis, including blood, fangs, scales, and claws, each holding vast power. And, of course, the six Keys to the Ruins of Hope, which are what we're searching for now."

Howard: "It really depends on the location, honestly. Because of the decentralized, yet connected, society we have, culture tends to be different from town to town. Though you tend to also see some blending and mixing of cultural inspiration between directly connected settlements. This all includes music as well. I tend to favor music from around the area of Hopefall. It tends to mix the use of traditional instruments made from natural materials from the jungle and precursor materials from the Ruins. The lyrics generally revolve around history or historical fiction. Stories of heroism, that kind of thing."

Don: "I tend to like humancore, precursor punk, ancient-futurism... That sort of thing! All of that typically is a celebration of precursor technology, using either human instruments, or instruments using precursor materials, and generally has a mix of sort of space-age high-tech synthetic sounds, but with a sort of eerie, mysterious quality to it."