Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

[Tari]

---

Tari frowned at the chest sitting in front of her. She'd taken the time to travel to this dungeon, fought through countless animated dead to get here, and yet she was certain she wasn’t here for this trash.
Her frown deepened “Why did I trust him? Tis a fool's errand,” she muttered under her breath.

Several days prior, Tari had been traveling just south of Luna browsing vendors for scrolls that the Mystics in Ter Mur couldn’t provide. Aggravated by the lack of stocked shops and having to resort to shopping to find scrolls made by humans that had learned the art of Mysticism better than her own people, Tari walked up to the next vendor in line.

“Show me your wares” Tari grumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I’m afraid I don’t have what you seek…and neither does any vendor.” Tari jumped back, startled at the reply. The figure she mistook for yet another vendor blended in fine with the surroundings; mismatched clothes, glacial staff, and a rather odd looking hat. However, instead of the expressionless face of a vendor, she gazed into eyes as deep as the void. Unnerved but unwilling to show it, she stepped forward.

“What do you mean no one has what I seek? I am looking for a few simple scrolls; someone must have them for sale!”

“Yes, yes…the scrolls are here,” stated the figure as he gestured to a vendor clad in a pink shirt and fire orange short pants standing off to the side “but what you truly seek isn’t here. I’ve looked into your soul, and while you flutter about looking for scrolls, what you really seek is adventure.”

The figure was right. Ever since Tari left Ter Mur, she had been roaming the lands looking for likeminded people to travel and fight with; people she could raise a glass with one minute and be raising hell with the next. Her own people were proud and noble, but too uptight for her tastes. A free-spirited gargoyle didn’t really have much of a place in a city like Ter Mur, so when the moongate opened south of the city, she left. Her family did not want her to go; her father wanted her to stay and use her mystical talents to defend the city from the void creatures, and her mother wanted to teach her more of the fine art of tailoring. Tari wanted neither.

The figure leaned closer to Tari. “Gather your scrolls, and travel to the Shrine of Honor. From there, head south along the mountain until you find a ruined tower. Enter, and find this.” He handed Tari a map of what appeared to be a castle. One of the rooms was circled, and beside it was scribbled some runes. “Go now,” said the figure “and find what you seek.” With that, the figure opened a dark gate and stepped through. Tari considered pursuing him, but the gate vanished before she could make up her mind. Feeling excitement well inside her, she purchased the scrolls she needed from the goofy looking vendor and recalled away.

Now, days later, Tari was rather unhappy. Skeletons, zombies, shades, liches, and all manners of death had tried their best to convert her to their ranks. She had a few close calls, but finally had made it to the room noted on the map. Her heart leapt when she saw the chest, but upon opening it all she found were some dusty books and a few illegible scrolls. In frustration she lashed out at the chest and its assortment of uselessness with an energy bolt, causing the chest to explode and its contents scatter about the room. As she prepared to recall back to a tavern to drown her anger, a glimmer caught her eye. On the floor where the chest had been sitting was a small hook screwed into a stone in the floor. Tari leaned over, grasped the hook and pulled. Slowly, the stone pulled free revealing a small stash of goods. A few gems, a book, and a strange red disk with black circles engraved. Perhaps this is what she was after? She turned the disk over, and on the bottom were the same runes as on the map. Great! Tari pocketed her find and recalled out to celebrate.

Later that evening, Tari sat on the edge of a bed in New Haven’s inn. She had been flipping through the book she found with the strange disk. Apparently, the fellow that wrote this book had been contacted by the same figure she encountered outside Luna. In detail, the author had described how he had traveled the lands looking for a good home for Tari. His last entry was about a town he had come across beside the Bog of Desolation in Felucca. He wrote of the hospitality he was given, the friendliness of the town's inhabitants, and the town meeting he attended. The last line stood out to her. "Tari, this is what you've been seeking. Come here." She closed the book, confused. She'd traveled to that bog before, and there was no town there. Perhaps the author was from a different place or time? Tari turned to the disk sitting beside her. She had translated the runes on the disk earlier in the evening...Vas Kal Por Ort Rel Ylem. In human language "Great Summon Movement Magic Change Matter". Perhaps this disk would transport her to where and when the author of the book had been? Taking a deep breath, Tari closed her eyes, focused her mind, and spoke the Words. Magic swirled around her, engulfing her in it's embrace. The world faded from around her; first the sights, then the sound, and finally everything went dark.

What seemed like a few minutes later, Tari felt the magic disappear. She opened her eyes to find herself stripped down to her underwear, standing in Moonglow! Panic started to set in before she realized she was invisible. She glanced around, looking for anything to cover herself with when a pack appeared at her feet. Not one to pass up an opportunity like this, she bent down and looked inside. Relief washed over her when she saw her belongings...and all of her clothes. She quickly got dressed, grabbed the pack, and then it hit her...there were people here. More people in Moonglow than she had ever seen. Tari smiled, and headed to the nearest moongate. Only one way to tell if she was in the correct place and time or not...