Storyboards: Maochro

Maochro's story | Maochro's past | Maochro's aquests | Maochro's fishing trip | Maochro the legend | Adventures of Maochro | Xanya and Maochro | Maochro's journey

Maochro's story
A storyteller was walking towards a village he was familiar with. Children ran up to him and began to beg for a story. He chuckled and said,
“I’ve got a fairly good one for you all, just take me up to the barn and I’ll begin.” Once in the barn, they ran to their usual places and waited for him to begin. “Well. Let's see. Here is the story of how the Marvelous Maochro came to be in the clan of the Adventurers.” He pulled out a wineskin and took a big drink. It was a very hot day and a sudden breeze promised an early raining season. “Two twin brothers were working in the Drasnian Intelligence Service. Their names were Maochro and Blaze. Then one day, Blaze was sent out to spy on a high-ranking Grolim. Several weeks later, Maochro was sitting next to the river and saw a body floating down the river. It was Blaze. In his back was an adder sting! Apparently the Grolim had a Dagashi bodyguard. Maochro was so overcome with grief that he resigned from the Intelligence Service and tried his luck on the open road. He always stayed out of view of people. He would wait until nightfall and overtake someone in the night, kill him, and take all his gold. Mao would use the gold to buy what he could not steal. When he went into a store, his face was always covered with a black scarf. The Elite Legionnaires soon ran him out of Tol Rane for killing a prophet. He found solitude in the Temple of UL. Just like a broken hearted child, he cried. Soon, someone came before him and said, ‘Why do you cry?’ Mao replied, ‘My brother is dead, I don’t have a half-crown to my name, and I have no home.’ ‘Come with me,’ he said to Mao. The stranger told him that his name was Mortiris. Maochro was given some food and slept. When he awoke, he noticed a strange aura around him and a note at the edge of the cot he slept in. The note said, Welcome to the Adventurers. This is how Magnificent Maochro came to be a part of the Adventurers.” The storyteller then stood up, took another swig of wine, and left the barn.
A young farmhand came up to the vagabond and asked, “What is your name?”
The storyteller smiled and said, “I am Maochro.” With that, he jumped onto an Algar horse and rode into the distance. Nobody had seen the Algar horse there before.

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Maochro's past
Maochro’s past was a mystery, even to him. He picked over his story so many times that it was hard to tell the truth between what was truth and what was fiction. It all started the same. He knew that he once had a twin brother named Blaze and they worked for the Drasnian Intelligence Service. Mao was sitting on his chair in the Lounge, wondering about his long forgotten past. He didn’t realize that somebody had entered. Ordici poked
Maochro until Mao came out of his melancholy.
Ordici said, ‘What’s bothering you, Mao? Did you die again? Was it a shark or a demon? It wasn’t that screaming leech again, was it?’
Mao chuckled and said, ‘No, I didn’t die again. I will soon enough. Those demons and sharks are sneaky. The leeches wont get me again because I’m avoiding that river. The thing that is bothering me is that I have to write a story for the Adventurers about how I came to be in it, but I don’t remember what happened.
Ordici said, ‘It must have been all those deaths of yours that rattled your memory.’
Mao said, ‘How am I going to be able to write about my past when even I don’t remember it?’
Ordici looked sad and said, ‘Do you even remember where you came from? Mao stared into the fire and thought back to his childhood.
‘I remember I grew up in Boktor in Drasnia. I had a Drasnian mother named Porda and an Algarian father named Cho Molenstein. I also had many brothers and sister. The only brother I can remember is my twin, Blaze. The only sister I can remember is Emma.’
Ordici smiled and said, ‘It’s so obvious!’
Mao looked up and said, ‘Hmm?’
Ordici said, ‘Why don’t you go back to Drasnia and trace your roots?’
Maochro said, ‘What a brilliant idea! Lets go!’
Ordici and Maochro walked towards the portal room where they were stopped by Reidia who said, ‘What are you guys doing?’
Ordici was the one who answered. ‘We are off to Boktor to figure out Maochro’s past.’
Reidia said, ‘Can I come along?’
Maochro shrugged and said, ‘Sure.’
Reidia then said, ‘By the way, guys. I’m known to rip off my clothes.’
Maochro and Ordici both said, ‘We know.’
It took three weeks to get to Boktor. Maochro tried his hardest to remember where in the city he lived. A girl that appeared a bit younger than Maochro said, ‘Hello. Welcome to my mothers store. How may I help you?’ Maochro look at the girl, gasped and fell to his knees. The girl ran up to him and said, ‘Are you ok, sir?’
Maochro got up and said, ‘I’m all right. Aren’t you Emma?’
The girl looked surprised and said, ‘How did you know my name? I don’t remember ever seeing you around here and I’ve never left the city.’
Maochro said, ‘Emma, I’m your brother Maochro.’
Emma stuttered and said, ‘You can’t be Maochro. Maochro died with his brother Blaze.’
Maochro sighed and said, ‘No, Emma, I didn’t. I escaped from our captors, but he wasn’t quick enough.’
Emma said, ‘Then where have you been for the last few years?’
Mao said, ‘I was hiding from our enemies. It wasn’t too long before I started training with my sword so I could avenge the death of our brother.’
Emma, with a tear in her eye, said, ‘Why have you returned? The men that killed our brother fled to Cthol Murgos.
Maochro sighed and said, ‘I am trying to remember my past. Can you help me, dearest sister?’
Emma replied, ‘Of course Mao. Let me close the shop and we’ll go home.’ She put up the “Closed for the Day” sign and they left for Maochro’s childhood home.
As they left, Maochro coughed uneasily and said, ‘Reidia?’
She turned and said, ‘What?’
Maochro replied, ‘Please put some clothes on, we're about to see my mother.’ She giggled and put on some leather pants and a red shirt. They walked up to a door and Emma opened it. A flood of light hit them and they squinted their eyes. When their vision returned, they saw a beautiful fountain that was full of grape juice. Sitting on the fountain was a ten-year-old boy playing the lute. He looked up once, then his attention drifted back to the Arendish song that he was playing.
Maochro turned to Emma and asked, ‘Who is that?’
She said, ‘That’s your younger brother Zalat. Don’t you remember the time when he was crying and you rocked him to sleep? That was nine years ago. Nine-years Mao!’ She then broke down and cried.
The house was making memories of a beautiful childhood coming back to Maochro. Just as Mao was looking at an old bunk bed that belonged to him, a twelve-year-old girl ran down the hall chasing a fourteen-year-old boy, who apparently stole a bunch of money from her.
Mao jumped out in the hall and said, ‘What do you think you two are doing?’
In unison, with shocked voices, they said, ‘Maochro?’ After several minutes, he found out the girl was his sister Calla and the boy was his brother Harry. It wasn’t long before he remembered that these two always fought. He also remembered that he always broke up the arguments by helping them solve their problems. Mao couldn’t believe all of these memories that flooded back to him. Ordici was talking to some sixteen-year-old boy and Mao wondered whom he was. Just before Mao could get to him, the boy looked at him, and ran.
Ordici said, ‘Dude, your brothers is really shy! All I could get out of him was his name, Rasloc.’ Maochro then remembered that he was the one who taught Rasloc how to sword fight. Maochro was about ready to go when a hand grabbed his shoulder. Mao turned around and was face to face with his mother.
She asked, ‘Did you find what you needed?’
Maochro nodded his head and said, ‘Where is father?’
Porda sighed and said, ‘He died a couple years after the death of your brother.’
Maochro was overcome with grief. He cried himself to sleep.
In the morning, Reidia and Ordici, who said that it was time to go, woke him up. Ordici said, ‘Your family left for the market a few blocks down. Where should we go next?’
Maochro got up and said, ‘We’re off to the Drasnian Intelligence Head Quarters.’
They approached where the headquarters were supposed to be. To the dismay of Maochro, the headquarters were moved to the Academy. Mao cursed because every time he was supposed to go there, he would get lost. Reidia assured him that she knew the way.
After several wrong turns and going in circles, they ran into Javelin. Javelin stared at Maochro and said, ‘You’re alive? This is amazing. You were even able to hide from my spies, at least, after you left those Algar Shepherds.’
Maochro explained, ‘It was no big deal. I just spent a few months helping the shepherds guard their sheep. A pack of wolves came into the range, and I got rid of them. No big deal.’
They walked into the Drasnian Intelligence Office and saw piles upon piles of papers. Javelin said, ‘We were tracking you ever since you left the service. You and your brother were the youngest spies in Drasnia. You both were key parts in the decline of the Morindim in the arctic. Your Asturian Long Sword and his Rivan Long Sword were known throughout the entire north.’ Javelin pulled out a file and threw it on his desk. ‘This file contains what you did from when your brother was murdered to several months later when you left the Algars.’
Ordici looked in it, shrugged, and said, ‘You didn’t do much with your life. You gave a bit of gold to a beggar and built an outhouse, boring.’ Maochro had enough of Boktor.
He, Reidia, and Ordici left the city and went to Tol Rane. Mao remembered that he went from the Algar Plains to Tol Rane when he heard there was opportunity. As they entered the city, the legionnaires cheered for Mao. He couldn’t remember what he had done in Tol Rane to deserve this praise. It wasn’t until he came upon the palace that he remembered what he had done. The mayor ran up to him and gave him a bear hug. Maochro said to Ordici and Reidia, ‘I gave the mayor an antidote to a poison that seeped through his veins. Luckily I had just been given the antidote. One of my enemies caught up to me. He’s six feet under now. The shepherds gave me the antidote and left me.’ Maochro sighed and Reidia said, ‘Lets go back to Sendar.’
They entered through the east gate of Sendar and were greeted by bows from the city guard. However, one did not bow. Actually, he glared at Blaze.
Reidia said to Maochro, ‘Why’s he mad at you?’
Maochro said, ‘He killed me and wanted me to stay dead.’
Reidia said, ‘How could he have killed you when you’re alive?’
Maochro sighed and said, ‘All of my deaths have been illusion. Being poisoned by a leech was an illusion. Being shark poo was an illusion. Being beaten to a pulp by a Stable Master was an illusion. Also, being burned by a medium demon under the control of a high ranking Grolim was an illusion.’
It wasn’t long until they came into the lounge and sat down. Maochro sat in his chair. Reidia sat on the love seat and Ordici say on the large rug.
Maochro sighed and said, ‘I didn’t find out enough information to satisfy the clan for me to move up in the ranks.’ He took a big swig of milk and Mortiris appeared in the room. He said, ‘I have been invisible, Maochro, listening to you. After all that traveling, you didn’t once remember ever helping a fellow person out?’ Maochro realized he DID help people out. Everyone from his brothers and sisters to the mayor of Tol Rane where helped out by him. Mortiris smiled and said, ‘I see that you realize that you did learn many things that could help you with your future travels. What you learned is what it means to be an Adventurer. Do you remember the day that you we accepted you into the Adventurers, Maochro?’
Mao nodded his head and said, ‘Yes, Mortiris. I do remember it quite well, now. I had entered the city of Sendar after I helped the mayor of Tol Rane to regain his health. On the way over, a demon got in my way, and I attacked. By the time it was dead, I came limping into town.’ Mao continued, ‘I went into the temple of UL and slept on the altar. I had heard it had healing powers. I was sound asleep and I was awoken. I grabbed the hilt of my sword, about to kill the person who woke me. I then realized I couldn’t move, but my body was completely healed. The one who woke me,’ Mao said, ‘was you, Mortiris. You said you had watched me and said that I was worthy of the Adventurers Clan. As you left, I vowed that I would not let you down because, unlike the Algar Shepherds, you accepted me as one of your own.’
Mortiris said, ‘Now, just put that into words on the storyboard, and you’re done.’

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Maochro's aquests
Maochro collapsed on the couch in the Lounge because he hadn't had much sleep since he left to find himself in Drasnia and when he returned, knowing a little more about his past than he did before. He didn't get off that couch for several hours. He only awoke because he was hungry.
Mao felt like he should go to the bakery in Sendar. He hadn't been there for a while. He knew that Alviara was in Sendar and he could conjure a gate to her. As luck you have it, Alviara was in the Bakery and Maochro bought some sandwiches and cookies. Alviara gasped and after she regained her composure, said, "Maochro, I've been looking for you. Floyd the Quest Master needs you for some kind of journey."
Floyd watched as Maochro walked through his door. He swore and said,
"Hello Maochro. You are the last person I would ever chose for a quest, but you were the ONLY person who could do it. I do admit you have skill when it comes to getting anywhere, well, except maybe Melcene. Those elephants do hurt you, don't they?" Floyd laughed and continued, "Anyway, you need to go to the Great Fair and meet an Algarian horse trader. He needs some kind of job done. He says, it's going to be incredibly dangerous, this is why I called you. If you accept this quest I will make your platinum cutlass even better than it was before. Do you accept the quest?"
Maochro sighed and left the ancient quest master's room. He walked through the poor alley where he ran into a thief that really annoyed him. That thief won't bug anybody else ever again. He walked along the road until he got to the Market Square of Sendar. At this point, he pulled out his map, which told him to go west.
He bowed to the city guard as he left through the gate, into the forest. The forest had several butterflies in it that day, but Maochro was not in the mood to catch them. He turned north on the High Road until he came up to the Outer Ring of the Great Fair. Mao hated the Fair because it was easy to get lost.
After a few minutes, he found the Algarian horse trader. As soon as Maochro told him his name, the horse trader said,
"Yes, Floyd told me you would come. I asked why he couldn't go on this quest and he told me he was too old. Yeah right! I saw Floyd running through the fair, chasing them beautiful Rivan girls."
Maochro regained his composure and asked, "What is this quest you need done?"
He replied, "Of course. Several weeks ago, I was in Mal Zeth, doing business with the Imperial Guard. Unfortunately, I dropped a picture that is VERY important to me. I dropped it in the Imperial Complex."
Maochro sighed and said, "I'll do it."
He left the Great Fair and headed back to Sendar. In the Market Square, he pulled out his trusty map and sighed. To get to Mal Zeth, he had to go through Tol Rane. This is where the mayor he saved would try to keep him at the palace for a while. Yet, Maochro didn't have time because before he left the Fair, the trader told him to be back in two months.
Maochro left through the East Gate of Sendar and had an idea. He muttered the incantation to make him invisible. Now, he could walk through Tol Rane without anyone being the wiser. He opened the West Gate of Tol Rane, and to the surprise of everyone near the gate, nobody appeared to come in.
He soon came to the Center Market Square, where he ran into the mayor. Mao quickly ran down the road before the mayor could figure out what happened. Mao flew to the East Gate of Tol Rane, where he ran into another problem. How was he going to get past the legionnaires to open the gate? Luckily, the mayor called them over to him.
Maochro took his chance, opened the gate and ran out. After a bit, he became visible. He muttered to himself,
"Just in time." He decided not to become invisible. This was a big mistake. He followed the road and came face to face with a Medium Demon. It attacked Maochro!
Mao couldn't get his sword anywhere near it! All he could do is yell, "Somebody help me!"
Just then, a large black gate appeared. Reidia stepped out of the gate and started to help Mao. He said, "Thanks Rei. I owe you one." And with those words, he became invisible, then fled.
He ran all the way to Mal Zeth and found himself in the Imperial Complex. After a bit of searching, he found the picture! Now he could return to that Algar horse trader. He quickly became visible, then invisible so he was guaranteed to get past the evil demons and Tol Rane.
The time was almost up. He only had ten minutes to complete his quest and the Horse Trader was three miles away. He found a wild horse and rode all the way to the Horse Trader and gave him the picture. He said, "Congratulations Maochro. You made it back in time. Also, thanks for finding my horse. Because you delivered my picture back to me and returned my horse, I think you deserve a reward." As Maochro strolled into the clan hall, he had made 435 gold, 70 experience, and 40 aquest points.
When we last saw Maochro, he was strolling into his clan hall with a grin on his face. He went to the bank and deposited his 435 gold into his account. Just then, Ordici came in and said,
"Maochro! Take a look at this!"
It was a piece of paper that said:

Congratulations Maochro! You have been promoted to Apprentice!

Mao was extremely happy, and decided to go to the Thieves Tavern in Sendar. There, he got incredibly drunk and had the time of his life, at least until the next day. He had a raging hangover and random clan members laughed at him. It took several hours before he could go see Floyd. Apparently, Mao was to go on another quest.
Floyd saw Maochro coming through his door and sighed. He then said, "Well. You didn't die. What a pity. Are you ready for another quest? "
Maochro said, "Yeah, but first, can I hear about those Rivan girls you were chasing?"
Floyd let out an embarrassed cough and said, "Maybe later. You need to see a flesh trader in Yar Nadrak at the Savage Flesh."
Maochro rode his white horse all the way to Yar Nadrak and found his way to the Savage Flesh, where the trader sold women. Needless to stay, I lingered there. The trader found out who I was and said,
"Here's the deal, Maochro. I left a glowing orb in Jarviksholm on Belar Road. Please find it and return it. "
Maochro knew better than to pay Mildred fifty gold to get to Jarviksholm, so he took his trusty raft and rode the seas to Jarviksholm. For the first time ever on the seas, sharks, crabs, or the octopus did not attack Mao. It took Mao only four days to get to the town and find the glowing orb on Belar Road.
Several days later, he returned to the Savage Flesh and claimed his reward, 359 gold and a blonde girl. It didn't take too long to get back to the clan hall and rest on the brass bed. While Maochro slept, Ordici came into the room and kissed the blonde girl. Mao woke up to the sight of his blonde kicking Ordici in the groin. Ouch!
As Ordici left the room, trying to get to the healer to make sure his family jewels weren't broken, Maochro got a summons from Sendar. The summons came from Zhuncta, a level 10 newbie. Mao had known this person for quite some time. Zhuncta lent him some gold a while back. Before Mao became an Adventurer.
Zhuncta said, "Maochro! My best friend! Can you help me out dude? I ran into trouble in Tol Rane and I was hoping you could help get my equipment back?"
Mao said, "Dude, you know I always help a friend in need. By the way, what happened? You had some good equipment. Were you fighting?"
Zhuncta looked uncomfortable and said, "Yes. I was fighting a Grolim and I don't understand. One second, I was kicking his butt and the next second, I'm blind. When my vision came back to me, the jerk somehow took all my eq and was out of sight. " Maochro groaned. He hated grolims, and he started his journey.
It took a surprisingly short time for Maochro to get to Tol Rane. Yet, finding the Grolim was trickier. He seemed talented and was encouraging everyone he met to forget his presence. Luckily, Mao had certain spells that could help. The Grolim saw Maochro and ran away from him. The Grolim was wearing Zhuncta's equipment!
Luckily, the Grolim ran into a wall and was knocked out. Maochro took back Zhuncta's eq and the Grolim's robe. When that Grolim would wake up, he'd realize he was naked in an alley. Maochro laughed about that during the trek back to the beautiful city of Sendar.
Maochro returned Zhuncta's eq and was welcomed with gratitude. As Zhuncta left, he turned around and something seemed unusual. It looked like two people occupied the same space. One was Zhuncta, and the other was a man with grey hair, a long beard, and a not so innocent quality of his eyes. After several minutes, Maochro finally understood the purpose of being an Apprentice.
Maochro then left the room and felt good about himself. As soon as he strolled into the clan hall, he saw a note on the wall. It told him that Floyd had another mission for him. Maochro groaned. Floyd did not like him.

In Sendar, Floyd was muttering to himself, "Maybe this quest will destroy Maochro. I sure hope so. "
Maochro came into the Ancient Questmaster's room and said, "Hello Ancience One, how may I be of service to your Lordship over the quests?"
Floyd glared at him and said, "Maochro, I'm not in the mood. You know I hate you yet, I have to send you on another quest. Please manage to die this time. " Floyd gave Maochro a piece of paper, and Mao left. The paper said,
"To the idiot: You must go to the General Store in Sendar, there, you will meet a grocer. She will tell you where to go."
When Maochro arrived, the grocer said, "Maochro, I need you to go to deliver this letter to Count Reldegan. It MUST be there within the next month. If you survive, I will pay you and give you a present."
Mao jumped upon his horse and rode him to the Manor of Reldegan. After bribing the guard, he walked in and climbed the steps. He saw Reldegan at the end of the hall. Maochro gave him the letter and the Count said, "Thank you Maochro! Now I know that the Grolim stole my candlestick. Return to the grocer now while I get some tar boiling. "
As Mao was riding home, an Algoroth appeared on the road and attacked! Maochro quickly got out his long sword and did some quick manoeuvring. The fight took ten minutes and the Algoroth's head went spinning. Mao jumped back onto his horse and road on to Sendar.
When he came back to the General Store, Mao saw the grocer kissing a goldfish. Mao coughed uneasily and the grocer said, "Well, you survived. I congratulate you. I don't see why Floyd whines so much about you. Anyway, I promised you pay. " She pulled out a purse and tossed it to Mao. It contained five gold coins, six silver coins, and one bronze coin. She also gave him a canvas bag that Mao threw into his net.

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Maochro's fishing trip

Maochro was feeling tired. He felt since he became an Adventurer, he had not had any kind of break. As Maochro left the general store, he noticed that the sky was full of light and it was a calm day. Ordici walked up the road to Maochro and said,
"Let's go do a bit of fishing. I know the perfect little lake. " Maochro nodded and they left for Lake.
The lake wasn't too far from the city so they didn't bother with horses. Ordici carried the poles while Mao carried the bait, spare hooks, and fishing line. As the lake came into view, Qethia came up from behind and scared Mao half to death. Qethia also carried a fishing pole and they sat by the lake.
Ordici got the first bite. He caught a rainbow trout. Qethia was standing in the lake when a lobster appeared. It squeezed it's claws on Qethia's thumb and was thrown thirty feet into the air, followed by a loud scream. Maochro bandaged his friend's hand and then continued fishing.
Maochro was quite upset because he hadn't caught a single fish. They all had a lunch of bread and cheese. They were going to save the fish for dinner, so they kept them in a pot full of water. It took several hours, but Maochro caught a giant fish and became happy. That night, they set their fishes on spits and roasted them. Mao's took the longest.
After setting up the tents, they practically fell asleep on top of their sleeping bags. Not even the howling of wolves or the hooting of owls could wake them. Not even the bear that tore holes in their tents woke them from their slumber. As each of them woke up in the morning, they didn't notice the holes in the tents as they pulled them down.
They decided to go back to Camaar. They were probably going to get into trouble for being gone. However, when they ran into Wylset, he just laughed and said, "You had your fun. Now take a bath, because you all smell like old fish and liquor." They all had a good laugh and the laughing echoed throughout all of Camaar.

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Maochro the legend
Maochro was remembering the fishing trip when Alviara ran up to him saying, "Maochro! We need your help! The Angarak Army is attacking and the Western Army is too drunk to do anything! You have to follow me!" Maochro ran as fast as he could.
Reidia was waiting for them in Seline. She ran up and said, "Maochro! The Army is invading and only you can stop them!"
Maochro muttered, "Why me?"
Reidia answered, "Because only you can wield this sword. It answers to no other. It only permitted me to carry it to you. " With a fluid motion, Reidia unsheathed the long blade and handed it to Mao, who twirled the blade around his head.
As he looked at it, he noticed the Ancient Drasnian Writing upon the blade. Reidia said, "This sword was created for your bloodline. It was forged by your great-great-great- great-great-great-great-great-great-great-... “ Three hours later, “great-great-great-grandfather's friend's uncle's daughter's nephew. "
Maochro then read the inscription in tiny print upon the blade, "Behold, for lo the armies of the East do battle upon the Kingdoms of the West, there is a chance that though the Armies of the West are comatose, one could bring victory to the homeland of the wielder of this blade. Turn Blade over."
Maochro turned the blade over and read, "The wielder of this blade can bring forth the blaze of justice and the lightning of victory. Lift high the Blade that was broken once yet is now remade and see thine enemies fall to thy might." He sighed and said, "Cool, a book on a blade." He then used the sword to slice some bread and cheese.
Maochro finished his lunch and mounted his horse. He then rode towards the armies of the East. When he got close to the camp, he saw that the Grolims were dancing! How is it possible? Grolims don't get drunk! He then realized it was a trap a little too late. Two Grolims of the Purple had snuck up behind him, and bound his wrists.
Mao was paraded into the evil Army of the Angaraks. He felt it was very inappropriate for the Grolims to have tankards of ale and REALLY getting drunk. One of the ones who looked like he was unconscious put up his head and winked at Mao. It was Zhuncta. Mao felt only slightly better.
As the Grolims took Maochro to the Altar of Torak, Zhuncta followed close behind with a dagger. A rope that was tied to the rope that bound his hands was pulling Mao along. Zhuncta then used his dagger to cut the ropes and they snuck off behind the tents. Obviously, the Purple Grolims were a bit drunk too. They hadn't noticed the lack of weight on the rope.
Maochro then climbed to the top of the highest hill closest to the Grolims. He yelled to the army, "BEHOLD! I AM MAOCHRO, THE FLAME OF THE WEST! "
He raised the blade and then twirled it, the blade caught fire and Mao pointed it at the dry grass of the plain that the Grolims were on. The land caught fire. All the Angaraks fled to their lands.
As soon as the Grolims retreated to the Angarak Kingdoms, he heard a voice of an old man saying, "Well, Maochro, the Flame of the West, I am proud of you, that fire was an illusion, it couldn't have hurt them. Yet, they THOUGHT that they felt the heat. Now, it is time for you to wake up. "
He pulled his long gray beard and Maochro found himself on a pile of hay in the stables of Camaar. At his side, was the blade with the Ancient Drasnian writing. Mao then said, "I shall call you Anduril, the Flame of the West."
As Maochro arose from the hay, he looked at Anduril. He was surprised that his sword had turned into a stick. Wait, no. It had to have been a stick before and Mao just had a hallucination. Nothing else made sense. He decided to walk over to the Adventurers Clan Hall and see if anyone was there.
While walking inside, he saw Eryador and said, "Hello, where is everyone?"
Eryador said, "Well, they've all gone to Lake Atun to stop a battle between the priests and the merchants. There was an incident that involved a merchant's son and a priest. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. Signal fires need to be lit across the escarpment for when the Adventurers escape, and I'm no good with fire. With my luck, I'd find a way to burn down the fields, even though there is nothing there to burn except trees."
Maochro ran back to the stables and took his horse. He rode to Sendar where he saw Zhuncta and some of his other friends. Mao explained what was happening, and they rode out to the escarpment. As they went along, they met some people that fled from Lake Atun. They all said that the fighting was about to begin.
It took a surprisingly short amount of time to reach their destination. They had ridden the horse hard, but they used them to drag the chopped down trees to the edge of the escarpment. Zhuncta and company stacked the woods across the escarpment, and filled each with naphtha soaked rags.
It took Maochro a couple minutes with his steel and flint to light a torch. He realized the fighting was starting and he didn't have much time. He jumped onto his horse, and stuck the arm with the torch out, and began to gallop. He hit each pile of wood and the naphtha immediately caught fire. Though it was night, all of the fire made it as bright as if it was late afternoon.
Suddenly, the fighting stopped. It sounded like the fighting stopped, yet, after a few minutes, a couple mobs then yelled,
"Down with the Adventurers!” From down below, the Adventurers saw the fires and ran straight for them. When they reached the top of the Escarpment, Ordici saw Maochro and said,
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Maochro, the Flame of the West. Thanks for guiding us. Glad to see you're not drunk anymore. You passed out in the stables and kept muttering. Sounded like you fought against a bunch of drunk Grolims and your title was the Flame of the West. So that's your title now, Maochro, the Flame of the West."

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Adventures of Maochro
Maochro was last seen making his horse gallop away from Reidia, Cohak, and the Nyissan girl. It wasn't long before he fell off his horse. Once again, he began to cough up blood. Maochro knew something was wrong. He NEVER coughed up blood after getting drunk. This was the result of something else.
He suddenly realized! There was another Nyissan in that bar besides the girl! Several things clicked in his head. He just figured out that he had been poisoned! No wonder he was coughing up blood. He gathered himself together and through himself onto Shadowfax's back. He had enough strength to tell his horse, "Shadowfax, show me the meaning of haste. Take me to Camaar!" He then passed out.
He began to come too when he realized he was lying on a cot. He thought to himself, "I guess I'm either in heaven or the Adventurer's healer's room. I don't think I was evil enough to go to Hell." He heard voices, but he couldn't place them. Before he passed out again, he smelled an unusual fragrance.
Maochro awoke and the first face he saw was Ordici's. Ordici then said, "Come on Mao, can't you go for one night without getting drunk?" Maochro grinned and punched his friend. Ordici then told Maochro what had happened.
Apparently, Shadowfax had entered Camaar and found Qethia. She then took Maochro to the Adventurer healer. The healer told her that Maochro was an inch from death. The only thing that could save him was Adara's Rose.
Qethia knew the only place to get flowers was the flower shop in the park of Camaar. She quickly ran there and bought a lot of the flowers. She muttered, "He owes me big." She ran with the flowers straight to the healer. The healer then put them around his bed. Qethia then left to find some food. Ordici had come in then and the healer told him everything.
When Ordici finished the story, Maochro said, "Wow. I guess I was right. I was poisoned." Ordici then said, "The healer told me it was a mix of the poison and the amount of alcohol you drink!" Maochro sighed and said, "Oh, all right. I won't drink as much anymore. It may be a nice change to go to bed sober and wake up without a migraine. Now, Ordici, I need sleep. I can't stand the, 'I told you so, ' right now."
Qethia then came in and said, "Maochro! You owe me a half crown for saving you!" Maochro muttered and gave Qeth a Tolnedran half crown and fell asleep.
Maochro was upset that he had been poisoned. However, he did nothing to find the guy that poisoned him. Instead, he just ate. That poison made him lose 2 days of eating, and he wanted to catch up with his normal food consumption. Every time Ordici passed by, he would make a joke about Maochro's eating habits.
After a week since the incident, a young boy came to the Adventurer Clan Hall. The guard at the door was screaming at the boy. Maochro ran to the door and saw the guard about to punch the boy.
Maochro yelled, "Leave him alone! That's my brother Zaloc!"
The guard shrugged and said, "All right, as long as you can vouch for him."
Once they entered the hall, Zaloc said, "Maochro, something has come up. Uncle Trun is missing!" Maochro was thrown back at that statement. Uncle Trun was his favorite uncle.
Maochro replied, "Where was he last seen?"
Zaloc said, "He was on a business trip in Yar Nadrak. A note was found in his room. Apparently, someone has taken him for ransom. They're asking for 20 gold crowns!"
Maochro was in shock. His uncle was gone, and his kidnappers demanded 20 gold crowns. Maochro then said, "Is he worth 20 gold crowns?"
Zaloc glared at his brother and said, "Don't joke like that. The reason why I've come is that you're the only one who has that much gold. Also, I've heard the Adventurers could do anything! "
Maochro somberly told his brother, "Zaloc, I'm sorry. I do not have 20 gold crowns. However, I do have 10 gold crowns. How many do you have?"
Zaloc replied, "I was able to get 5. We still need another 5."
Maochro began to think of which of his clan mates had 5 gold crowns and would give them to him. He immediately thought of his friend, Ordici. Unfortunately, Ordici was in Tol Honeth for vacation. Maochro and Zaloc made their preparations and rode towards Tol Honeth.

The two brothers galloped towards Tol Honeth to find Ordici. It was nearing sunset when they decided to make camp. As they sat by the Fire, Zaloc said,
“Maochro, we've been on the road for a week. How long will it before we get to Tol Honeth?”
Maochro replied, "Let's see. We've gone seventy leagues. It's another two hundred leagues to Tol Honeth. It should take us twenty more days to get there. "
Zaloc sighed and said, "The note said we had four months to get the gold and arrive in Yar Nadrak. How long will it take?"
Maochro thought for a moment and brought out his map. He then said, "Alright, it will have taken a month to get to Tol Honeth. That's including the week it's going to take us to find Ordici." He continued, "Since we don't want to go through Ulgoland or Maragor, we're going to have to use a month to get to Camaar. I have a friend there that can take us by ship to Kotu. That'll cut a lot off our time. It's a Cherek war boat that we'll be taken in. That'll take us around five days if we have good weather. From Kotu, we'll go to Yar Nadrak. That'll take three weeks to do because of the mountains.
He continued, "I've been in Yar Nadrak a few times, so I can find my way quite well. The whole trip should take three months with good weather. If we run into bad weather, it'll be up to chance if we get there in less than four months. " Zaloc felt a little better. Of course, his brother's last statement didn't help much.
Zaloc looked at the map and realized that even though Maochro had picked the longer route, it would take less time to get to Yar Nadrak if they went by boat instead of going through Maragor. Zaloc suddenly discovered a flaw and said, "Maochro, what of our horses? Will your friend allow them on his boat?"
Maochro then said, First of all, it's a ship. Second of all, he will allow the horses on his SHIP as long as you don't call it a boat. That shut Zaloc up.

Twenty-one days later, they arrived in Tol Honeth. They spent a day waiting for a fever of Zaloc's to pass. Anyway, they arrived at the gate, a guard began to talk to them.
“Before you may pass into this city, you must agree to the following rules. Please don't say anything until I'm done.” He cleared his throat and said, "One, No form of magic, sorcery, witchcraft, or wizardry. Two, there is to be no form of verbal, physical, emotional, mental, or sexual abuse to Tolnedran citizens. "
Several hours later, "And finally, rule eight hundred twenty-nine, the is to be no sacrificing goats, cows, horses, dogs, pigs, chickens, or birds to unknown gods. You may sacrifice cats. Do you agree to the aforementioned rules? " Maochro and Zaloc suddenly woke up and they agreed to the rules. It was getting late, so they decided to stay the night in the Lion Inn.
It was dawn when the brothers woke up. After they had breakfast, they began searching the city for Ordici. It was hard to keep Zaloc out of all the shops. He never could resist haggling with someone. They were about to go home when they noticed a familiar face sitting at the edge of the docks. Maochro then told Zaloc to wait there.
Maochro then stood behind Ordici and yelled, "BOO! "
Ordici then fell off the dock. Luckily, the part of the dock they were at was near the shallow water.
Ordici bellowed, "Maochro! What in Belar's name are you doing here?!" Maochro laughed and fished his friend out of the water. They soon began discussing Mao's uncle.
Ordici then said, "You scare me into getting a bath and you ask me for money? Now, you didn't help me save my aunt, why should I help you save your uncle?"
Maochro then punched his friend and once again explained that neither of them could save her. It took a lot of swearing. Eventually, Ordici gave his friend the necessary gold, and Maochro went back to the Lion Inn. There, he met up with his brother in the room and said,
"Zaloc, get packing. We're off to Camaar. I got the gold. " They were off within the hour.

The month of travelling seemed to go by quickly. The two brothers were talking about old times during the trip. Before they knew it, they entered the south gate of Camaar. Maochro then said, "I have to go the clan hall, check in, and find out what has been happening. " Zaloc stayed behind while his older brother entered the Adventurer Clan Hall.
He noticed that Urmela wasn't in the hall, so he left a note on her desk saying that he was off to Yar Nadrak. Maochro then looked at the notice board. The thing that caught his attention was a note stating that there was a new person in the clan. A voice from behind Mao said,
"Hi. I'm Xanya. Who are you?"
Maochro spun around and saw a Dryad. "I'm Maochro."
Her eyes brightened and then said, "I've heard of you. The other members of the clan say great things about you. I'm new here. Can you show me around the clan hall? I've never been here before. " Maochro decided that he'd have plenty of time to show the new clannie around the hall. As Maochro was about to leave, Xanya said, “Where are you going?”
Maochro replied, "I'm going to Yar Nadrak."
She said, "Can I come?"
Mao shrugged and told her, "All right. Let's go find my brother."
Before they started looking for Zaloc, Maochro dropped off his sword at the weapon shop to get sharpened. It didn't take long to find Zaloc. He was found in a tavern. It took quite some time to explain that Xanya was to come with them. Zaloc shrugged and agreed for her to come along.
After they all had a drink, they walked to the docks. There were quite a few ships in the port. Xanya was a bit scared because she never travelled over water. Maochro comforted her and went in search of his friend. They soon came up to the largest ship. On the deck, there was a tall man with a red beard. Maochro then shouted up to him,
"Ahoy Barak!"
Maochro climbed up the ship and said, "What have you been up to, friend?"
Barak replied, "Well, I took this guy with a hundred sheep over to Kotu a couple months ago. It wasn't pretty. Then, about a month ago, a few people asked me to help guard them while they were camping. When I woke up one day, my pants were pulls down and my butt was hurting. "
Mao said, "Well, that happens. Anyway, my brother and I need to go to Kotu. An incident has occurred in the family, and we have to go from Kotu to Yar Nadrak. Can you take us to the port in Kotu?"
Barak replied, "Of course. " They boarded the ship and they were soon underway.
The trip was miserable. It may have been the greatest ship afloat, but you know what they say, the bigger the ship, the bigger the seasickness. Mao's brother spent most of his time puking. Barak and Maochro were always catching up on old times. They both had fairly boring lives. Luckily, the ship arrived in port sooner than they expected.
After Zaloc regained himself, he said, "Where too now?"
Mao sighed and said, "Through the mountains, and then we'll arrive in Yar Nadrak to save our uncle."

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Xanya and Maochro
Maochro galloped into Camaar on Shadowfax's back. Of course, Shadowfax wanted to show off, so Mao let him do so. Once he was done, the horse was put into the stables and Mao walked into the hall.
Ordici saw him and said, "Mao, we've got a new clannie. It's your turn to train. By the way, you may recognize the girl."
Mao shrugged and searched for a new face.
It didn't take long. He saw a young girl talking to Qethia. In one glance, Maochro saw his childhood flash before his eyes. Always on the outer regions of his vision, he saw a young girl that had been his neighbour for as long as he could remember. He suddenly realized that he had a crush on her, but hadn't realized it until that moment.
Qethia smiled and said, "Here he is, Xanya. It's Maochro who will give you the tour of the clan hall." Maochro smiled and took her for the tour. Half of the time, he was stuttering. Xanya kept giggling at his stuttering and this made him blush. Once the tour was over, Maochro had to lock himself in his room to keep himself from saying stupid like, “I love you."

It was a month after Xanya had joined the Adventurers. Within her first week, Maochro was sent on a quest and he hadn't returned yet. She felt sad that he was gone while she had to stay behind and clean the floors. Since she was the newest member, she had to help clean the hall.
The next day, Maochro returned to the hall. His beautiful robe was in tatters, his face was dirty, and the soles of his boots were gone. Also, he had blood all over him. He winked at Xanya and walked to the healer. Xanya was worried that Maochro was going to die. After the healer cleaned him up a bit, Xanya realized the blood wasn't his because she saw no open wound.
She asked, "What happened to you?" As they walked towards the lockers, Maochro, in his tattered clothing, said,
"I had to kill some weird creature. I don't know it's name, but I barely made it out alive. Luckily my sword is fairly long." He then chuckled. Maochro then opened his locker and pulled out some black equipment with flames painted on.
As they walked to the lounge, he explained what happened during his quest. Once he was done explaining, they were sitting on the bench in the lounge, staring into each other's eyes. After a few seconds, their lips were locked. Xanya blushed, as did Maochro. He coughed uncomfortably and Xanya walked off to her room.
He sighed and snuck into Jhelya's room and stole a piece of parchment. He used it to write a beautiful love note to Xanya. Once he finished, he slipped it under Xanya's door. Mao ran off so he wouldn't be seen. But, Xanya opened the door, looked at the letter and smiled at Maochro.

The next morning, Xanya woke up with a huge migraine. She muttered to herself, "What happened?" She got out of bed and got dressed. She looked at her hands and saw a diamond ring. She blinked and heard someone knocking at the door. Her head was throbbing now. She opened the door and saw Maochro standing there. He kissed her and Xanya blinked.
She said, "Uh, what are you doing here? And do you know what happened to me yesterday?" Maochro explained their trip through the park and she groaned. She then said, "I said yes? I have always liked you a lot. That's why we've been dating, but I'm not ready to get married yet. I don't understand why I can't remember what happened. The last thing I remember is drinking ale in the tavern."
Maochro suddenly realized she was drunk yesterday. He became quite sad when Xanya took off the ring he got her and gave it back. As he walked back to his room, he began to cry. Reidia came up to him in the hall and said, "What's wrong, Mao?" He didn't say a word as he walked into his room and shut his door.
While Maochro was sobbing in his room, Xanya was feeling incredibly sick. Reidia eventually came in and sighed. She said, "You've been hanging around Mao too long. He used to get drunk all the time." She giggled and Xanya glared at her friend. It took several hours for her to get over her hangover. She felt much better about that, but she was upset because Rei told her that Maochro was in tears.
Xanya took a walk through the park and heard a strange tune. It was a flute. She followed the entrancing music towards the tree in the middle of two paths. A tiny group of people tossed coins towards the tree because the wonderful music was coming from somebody playing a flute in the tree. It was Maochro.
Maochro saw Xanya and continued to play. He thought to himself, "Now that she's watching, I guess it's time."
All of a sudden, his pianissimo tune suddenly turned into a heart-breaking fortissimo tune. Everyone nearby burst into tears at the beautiful music. Not even Xanya could stay there. She fled to a place where she could secretly cry.

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Maochro's Journey
It was late at night in the city of Camaar in Sendaria. A somewhat-aged man sat upon the ground in front of the Lion Inn. He wore a ragged cloak and mantle. At some point, they probably were quite beautiful. They seem to have had embroidered flames on them, which have been faded almost to the point of not being able to recognize them. This man was holding out a chipped wooden bowl. A once powerful man had allowed himself to fall into disrepair.

The cloaked man sighed and stood up. It wasn't long until he was walking through the streets of this city. Much had happened through the years to this seemingly vagabond. Thoughts of his past filled through his head. He had joined the Adventurer Clan nearly forty years ago. He had trained a large portion of the clan and it gave him a good feeling. It was only a month ago when his robes were whole and vibrant.

After a heated discussion with the clan leader, he decided to go off into the world and explore. It had been quite some time since he actually had gone exploring. However, he needed some funds. He was not allowed back into the clan hall until he made a report on certain cities of the world. This is where his gold was kept. Now, he had to start from scratch. Even though his instrumentation brought in SOME money, it just wasn't enough to buy supplies for his trip.

As of right now, he didn't even have a home. This is why he was outside, begging, in a worn out cloak. He swore to himself that he would get a new cloak when he could get the money for it. These memories were depressing for him. As he sighed, he tripped over something. He muttered as he got up and looked at what he tripped over. It was a tiny bag. He looked inside and found some copper and silver in it. He could now get his supplies!

As dawn broke, the beggar walked into several shops and bought enough food and water to last him a while. He also bought a very old horse for his beautiful horse was stuck in the stables in the clan hall, where he could not go. As he looked back, Camaar began to shrink into the distance.

Maochro was abroad in the world again!

It took quite some time for Maochro to reach the city of Sendar. Several leagues before he reached it, his old horse died. He knew that the horse wasn't going to live too long, but he had hoped it would have lived longer. At least long enough to get him to Sendar. His food had already run out and he hoped to make it to the capital fast enough, but he grew hungry. Using his amazing ranger skills, he trapped a rabbit and found some berries. The years hadn't affected him very much.

He reached Sendar at about midafternoon. His first act of business was to get some more money. Here, the people had a bit more money to throw around and they appeared to like great music. It didn't take long for Master Maochro to pull out his pipes and begin to play a little ditty. Soon, his purse became quite heavier and he decided to suspend his playing so he could take an overview of the city.

It hadn't changed in several years. Many of the shops were still there, though they were owned by the sons of the previous owners. It didn't take long for him to find the smithy. As soon as he had entered, he overheard two men talking. One was older than the other. Mao knew the older one, but couldn't put a name to the younger one. After the young one ran out the old one said, "What can I do ye for? My, you appear a bit travel worn, friend."

Mao grinned and said, "You old dog! It's me, Maochro!" The old smith gasped and took a hardy laugh, "Well so ye are. Well so ye are. It's been a little over 40 years since I last saw you. You were trying to join some clan. How'd ya do? Did ya get in? " Maochro replied, "Of course I got in. In fact, I'm the Commanding Guardian of the Adventurer Clan."

This continued for a couple hours. Eventually, Mao figured that nothing of importance was going on in Sendar except for the fact that turnips have gone down in price. Before he left, the old smith gave Maochro a bit of money for the trip. He now had enough to refill his stocks and buy a decent horse. In fact, he had enough for an Algarian horse. After he had bought his supplies, he galloped out of the city to who knows where.

After quite sometime, Maochro approached the city in which he was born, Boktor. As he entered the city, he looked to the roof of a building and did a quick movement of his fingers. A man could be heard gasping, sighing, and he jumped down from the building. He then said, "How in the world did you know I was there? I've been out of the Academy for nearly five years."

Maochro grinned and replied, "You must have had rotten teachers. Didn't you know that you are supposed to space out your breaths to match the footsteps of the one you wish to watch." The young man sighed and they had a long drawn out conversation over tactics of spying and happenings in the city. Apparently, the bakery on the corner was sold to a loser. Mao sighed at this fact because he loved the doughnuts the baker would make for him. They would never taste the same.

Soon, the young spy had to report to his superiors and Mao went in search of his family. It'd been several years since his last visit. It didn't take him very long to enter his old neighborhood. It took him even less time to find his house. To his horror, the house was completely empty! He ran up and down the stairs looking for any trace of his family. Judging by the amount of dust, Maochro realized his family hadn't lived here in several years.

He ran down the road into the tailor's store. He was met by a young man who said, "Yikes! Your clothes are atrocious! Is this why you have come in here? " Mao rolled his eyes and said, "I don't care to change my clothes yet. Now, I see a resemblance of you to your father. Bring him to me."

An old man soon entered the room and said, "Maochro? I haven't seen you in many years! Where have you been? " Mao then said, "Well, I've been inducted into the Adventurer Clan. Now, can you tell me what happened to my family?" The old tailor said, "About ten years ago, your mother became ill and couldn't stand city life. They moved out to a village out east. "

Maochro said, "Well, I'll pay a visit to them someday. But I think I'm going to go to Kotu. I haven't been there in a while." The old tailor blinked and said, "Wait a second! I just realized that I was supposed to give you something. Your mother wanted me to give this to you. " He reached into his pocket and pulled out a decent sized purse. The purse was tossed to Mao. He grinned and gave his goodbyes. Soon, the somewhat aged Adventurer was riding out of the city.

It took about a week to get from Boktor to the port city of Kotu. As Master Maochro looked around the city, he noticed that it hadn't changed a bit. It was still full of intrigue and poverty in certain areas. Where Mao was to go was a little house in a dark alley. There, he would meet an old friend.

When he opened the door, he saw that the inside was incredibly clean and tidy. It was beautiful compared to the outside. His host grinned broadly and said, "It's about time you showed up! I got your letter months ago." Maochro chuckled and said, "It's been way too long Madacolo. I still don't understand why you came here instead of staying in Sendar."

Madacolo sighed and said, "Well, my healing talents weren't able to pay the bills so I moved here. Port cities are always full of injured sailors that need to be helped. Plus, the pay is great. " Mao rolled his eyes and said, "Mac, why in the world are you living in a house that is falling apart from the outside?"

Madacolo grinned and said, "A priest isn't supposed to be rich and have a big house. This is why the outside of my house APPEARS to be falling apart. In fact, it is so well put together that it'd probably last a century. But, nobody ever looks in here so I can surround myself around finery. But I do have to thank you. " Maochro looked confused, "What for?"

Madacolo said, "Well, thanks to you, I had the courage to go out into the world and explore my talents. If you really thought about it, I am perhaps the richest man in Kotu. However, nobody knows about it, except perhaps the spies, but I doubt that even they know. In fact I think I owe you a bit just for helping me. "

Mao shook his head and said, "No. I am an Adventurer and I don't take money from friends unless they're other Adventurers. All I need is some supplies and a fast ship, I'm going to hang around Tolnedra for a while." Mac said, "I'll get you some supplies, I'll hire you a Cherek warship, but I won't hear of not giving you money! Here!" And with that, he thrust a bag of coins in it into the hand of Maochro. When Mao looked in it, it had several gold and silver coins. When he was going to argue, he noticed that Mac had thrown him out of the building.

It was the next day when Mao came to the boat docks and saw a large Cherek warship. Mao was muttering about how much was being spent on this. He approached the ship and met the captain. He said, "Well, you must be this Maochro I keep hearing about you and your travels. Madacolo left your supplies on my ship. You may put your horse down in the hold. We'll be leaving now. I believe Madacolo left you a small gift in your chambers."

Maochro knew where the guest chambers on the ship were. The design of the ship is universal in Cherek. Before he opened the door, the ship left port. After he opened the door, he saw a box on his bed. A note on it said: Have a good trip Maochro. I have included some more silver and gold. Good luck trying to get this back to me. By now, the captain has taken the ship out of port. I made sure he took off before you had a chance to get to your chambers. Maochro cursed.

They had been out at sea for quite some time. The captain found Maochro on the deck and asked him, "I know that we're going to Tolnedra but where? Do you want me to land in Tol Vordue? " Maochro shook his head and said, "No, captain. I want you to land in some remote cove about 30 leagues above the Wood of the Dryad." The captain nodded and they kept sailing.

Once they arrived at a remote cove, Maochro put his supplies on his horse and realized there was another horse with his. It had a tag on it that said it was form Madacolo and for Maochro. He rolled his eyes and loaded a lot of the supplies on it. They then got off the ship and rode off eastward. It didn't take long for him to arrive in the city of Tol Borune.

Maochro rode with dignity through the streets of Tol Borune though his cloak and mantle were so faded that they almost appeared to be white. His first act was to find the Lion Inn which was at the most southern point of the city. He enjoyed riding through the park, listening to the beautiful sound of songbirds. As he rode down Main Street, he could hear people shopping and haggling. It took about 10 minutes for him to finally reach the Lion Inn.

The man that appeared to be the runner of the inn was sitting on the floor. He said, "Hello, sir. My name is Noris and I don't really care what you do here. My stupid brother owns this place. If it just happened to burn down, I'd be blamed, so please don't do that." Maochro rolled his eyes and paid for a room. Before he went to his room, he put his horses in the stables so they could rest for a while.

It was about time for him to start searching for information. He decided that he'd see what was going on in the temple. He heard that the high priest was having some problems. It took him only a few minutes to reach the Temple of Nedra. He walked up to the altar and said, "Hello, Holy One." The High Priest of Nedra said, "Oh, hello Maochro. I'm having a problem. I think that someone stole the Nedra amulet! I need it to get in the back room. Can you please try to locate it?"

It took Maochro the better part of a week to try to locate it. It was about noon when he decided to have something to eat and get a bit of fishing in at the pond. While he was eating, he saw something shimmering on the top of the lake. As soon as he finished, he dove in and saw a pendant that said The Holy Pendant of Nedra! He grabbed it and ran back to the temple. He found the High Priest and returned it and asked, "I found it floating in the water. How is that possible? "

The High Priest grinned and said, "It's made of a substance called plastic. It's incredibly rare. Now, time for your reward. Here's some silver. Also, I'll give you some information about the happenings around here. I have my priests snag stuff from the Drasnian Embassy to gain information." For the next couple hours, the High Priest spoke of how a carnival had left town a while back and of the different shopkeepers that quit and of some new laws passed that had no real meaning.

After his conversation with the High Priest, there was no reason to remain in the city of Tol Borune. He grabbed his horse and put his silver reward into his moneybag which started to seem heavy. Maochro shrugged and rode off toward the capital city of Tolnedra, Tol Honeth. He figured that it wouldn't take him very long to get there. He had two fairly quick horses.

It took even less time than he thought. As he entered the southern gate, the guard tried to determine what his business was. After a bit of a bit of fighting, the bruised guard allowed Maochro to pass into the city. It didn't take too long for him to find the street of embassies. After asking for a while, he was able to determine where the Drasnian Embassy was.

The Drasnian ambassador had a long discussion with Maochro. Mao realized that there was still quite a bit of political turmoil and the like. People still turned black and blue and green in the face. Some even were bent over backwards because some of the poisons used were making all the muscles in their body contract. Also, there were several people setting up shop in the city.

After about an hour, Maochro was seen leaving the Drasnian Embassy. He looked down and saw that his robes were now white and gray. There was not a single trace of the flames that once were upon his robes. He sighed and realized it was time to buy new clothes. After much searching he saw a building with a sign that said The Greatest Tailor in all of Tolnedra. Perhaps this would be the place where he could get new clothes.

After he met the tailor he said, "Over the years, I have had these robes and this mantle. At one point, they were beautifully done in a flame motif. The colors were vibrant and I could be seen from quite a distance. Can you recreate these robes?" The tailor replied, "Well, I can sort of recreate them, but I can make them better.” After taking dozens of measurements, Maochro was sent off to do whatever he wanted while the clothes were being made.

After a few days Maochro returned. The tailor gave Maochro a blindfold and began to pull out the new items of clothing. When the blindfold was removed, Maochro was face to face with a mirror and gasped. His robes and mantle were beautiful! They weren't bright at all. They were dark and foreboding. The flames were scarlet. He could no longer really call himself the Flame of the West. He decided to take up the title of the Stealer of Souls that he had earned while telling stories in the Camaar bars. Also, the cobbler made boots to match his new outfit.

It was about a month after Maochro got his new outfit that he arrived before the gates of Camaar. It was about dawn so the gates were not open. The guard shouted down from the wall, "Who would you be and what do you want? " The Stealer of Souls looked up and shouted, "It is I! I am Master Maochro Khayos, the Stealer of Souls and Commanding Guardian of the Adventurer Clan! I wish to enter the city in which I live!"

The guard gasped. He heard that Maochro had left months ago and it seemed that he would never return. He said, "I apologize for keeping you waiting, please enter the city. And with that, he opened the gate and Maochro rode in with both of his horses. It took a few minutes before he came to the gateway of the Adventurer Clan Hall. He threw a pebble at the window of the leader's room and shouted, "I'm back!"

However, the window did not open. Instead, the gate of the clan hall opened and the clan leader stepped out of the clan hall. He said, "Maochro, you have been told not to return until you gathered information about those cities I told you I needed information on. Have you the information? And what's with the new clothes? " Maochro grinned and said, "Yes, here is my report of every one of those cities you gave me." He handed over the notebook filled with the reports.

He then said, "Due to me being on the street, my old robes fell into disrepair. While I was in Tol Honeth, I bought this new outfit. It's made to last forever. " The leader blinked and said, "How in the world could you afford that? I made sure that your money was locked in the vault." Maochro grinned once again and said, "Well, I came into quite a bit of cash from my friend Madacolo, the High Priest of Nedra, and my mother. I think I'm going to put it all into my account. "

It was a week after Maochro began to count how much money he had earned. He gasped when he realized he nearly doubled what he had in the clan account to begin with. Maochro chuckled and said to himself, "I should go exploring more often."

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