Chapter 35, in which the Adventurers takes a rest on a cold island

Narudin
Narudin looked sadly at the devastation caused by the powerful rune as the carpet flew away from Elviths cave. So many lost, so many destroyed. Some of those were his closest friends...

"Damn, and I really liked that Number Four throwing knife" he sighed. "Not to mention restocking all those shurikens, throwing knifes and darts is going to cost a lot. Everything melted..."

The half-elf fell into a sullen silence for a moment, and then smiled a bit as his eyes fell on the Elviths cave. The whole of the facade had been disintegrated, although the back part was still intact.

"I wonder how Elvith is going to repair that" Narudin said with a chuckle, which froze on his lips as a thought struck him. "Did anyone actually see Elvith lately? Or was he caught in... that?"

Narudin stopped and sheltered his eyes, looking at the devastated cave. With his half-elven sight he was able to discern a figure stumble out from the back of the cave, looking a bit... confused.

"Seems as if he got through it alive after all" Narudin informed the rest.

With that he proceeded to examine his own wounds. Taking a water bag (yes, a water bag, albeit a very small one) out of one of his pouches, he carefully cleaned the cuts he could reach, spending the most on his pierced hand. Then he concentrated and, concentrating all the energy he could muster, intoned "Exura Gran". The cuts healed, though the wound on his hand did so only partially, and the fatigue remained. Lying down on the carpet, he said:

"I hope we'll find some time to rest on Senja? Only I would need to purchase some supplies, as I am more useless than usual without anything to throw or shoot at an enemy. Some time to recuperate from our wounds would also be useful."

He unfastened a bag and opened it, revealing a few Ultimate Healing runes.

"The last of my stock, I'm afraid. If anyone needs one, don't hesitate to use them. I shall have to find a rune seller on Senja, I hope they have some there. Do not worry about the funds, I have enough with me, I believe, and a bit hidden in Senja, too."

Red Un
Elvith was indeed very confused, especially since his memory of the last few hours had been wiped out. He picked through the remains of his cave.

"Hmm...it's barely a hunk of burning trash left..."

Meanwhile, Red Un snatched Narudins blue healing stone. Then he sat down and started pulling out the various crossbow bolts he had "acquired" and putting them in his backpack. Some of them had been a bit poisoned, so he felt a bit woozy, but he still managed to apply the healing rune to his wounds and then laid down on his stomach to look down at the landscape below.

Artemis Silverstone
Artemis reached over and took one of the runes from the backpack and snapped it in half - a little secret he learned, if a chipped rune can still be used then why not simply crack it in half and still have the power of a full rune in a smaller portion.

He tossed one half of the rune to Amelia and gripped the remaining half tightly and it glimmered and faded as his cuts, bruises and most importantly his fatigue ebbed away.

"Hmmm. I wonder what happened to Diamond?" Artemis said as he pulled out a small gold-leafed box from his cloak pocket. He turned a small dial on the lip of the box with a slight click. In the box were 52 thin, lacquered pieces of paper.
"Anyone wanna play a game of cards?"

Mategerold
Elwyn woke up from his nap, but still felt groggy and drained. The view below the carpet was spectacular: the scenery flying by at a tremendous speed, the landscape stretching forever off into the distance. However, Elwyn wasn't much in the mood to pay attention. Too much had happened in the past few days and it made him dizzy being so high.

"Hey Red Un," Elwyn yelled over the wind. "Do you think we could land outside Carlin to stock up on supplies and rest for a while, then go to Senja? This necromancer robe is kinda like a... dirty, disgusting, rotten, bloodstained necromancer robe. Besides, my family will be more than grateful for my rescue, and I’m sure they will pay for whatever you might need."
After hearing Red Un’s answer, Elwyn went back to sleep.

Narudin
Narudin spoke up at the mention of Carlin:

"I don't think we are very welcome in Carlin, I'm afraid. In fact, we ended up in Ab'Dendriel whilst escaping from Carlin. I think the Brotherhood has a strong influence there and we are most probably to be arrested - or perhaps even killed - on first sight. We left quite a mess last time, with getting Red Un out from the prison and all."

Narudin looked at his torn, burned and bloodied outfit and gave a heavy sigh.

"Nevertheless, I'm strongly for finding a bit of civilization before we go on looking for the Library. I didn't get a chance to clean myself in Elvith's cave, and my clothes definitely need some sewing. Any more and they'll fall apart all together."

Mategerold
"Oh," Elwyn laughed. "I guess sometimes it’s better not to ask. Lets just hope there’s at least some sort of outpost-village there..."


Knight of Darkness Fall
Katherine was quiet all these while after they left Elvith's house, perhaps the scene a few moments ago has left a not-so-good bitter after taste in her memory, especially after Red Un's Ultimate Explosion which razed the whole area leaving nothing to live.

Katherine looked at Narudin's torn clothing, and said: "Perhaps with some strings and sewing needles I could fix that up for you." Katherine took a few glances at his clothing. "Though it's quite bad actually, might even recommend you to get new sets."

"I just hope that we get to somewhere safe and without the bothersome Brotherhood. They are starting to freak me out all together." Katherine claimed, trying to make a freaked-out face.

Red Un
Red Un laughed.

"I don't think we'll have t'worry 'bout the Brotherhood for quite a while, since those spots on the ground we left back there were just about every member they had. 'Course, they aren't destroyed or anything, but I'm sure they're pretty crippled."

It was starting to get colder now as the carpet passed the edge of the main continent and speeded for the Ice Islands.

Knight of Darkness Fall
"Well, I'm glad that we won't be bothered by those pests for a while. But like all evil, we better keep our fingers crossed." Just as Katherine finished her sentence, her breath suddenly turned into a thin jet of water vapour, and the temperature surrounding them slowly dropped and air pressure slowly increasing.

Katherine reached into her backpack and pulled a mouth guard and a pair of mittens made from wool. She slipped the ears of the mouth guard around the back of her ears and adjusted the cover to cover her lips to prevent her lips from losing moisture. Then she slipped her hands into the cosy mittens and pulled her hood over her head and gently rubbed her hands together to generate some heat to warm herself.

"I guess this means that we're entering the Ice Isles..." Katherine's words were still audible and unaffected by the cover over her mouth. She sat down on the carpet, legs crossed and looked out over the horizon for any signs of mountains or Isles.

Red Un
Red Un got on his feet and sniffed in the air.

"Aaah, the good 'ol cold air o' the Ice Islands! I feel like... Hey Melrod! Go get me!"

He jumped of the carpet and fell through the air. Melrod shook his head.

"That, I say, that is the craziest person I've ever met. Insane, that is."

He flew quickly downward and caught Red Un a few hundred metres below. The half-dwarf grinned.

"That was fun!"

Artemis Silverstone
Artemis watched in horror as Red Un jumped off the carpet. "He must be one of the craziest men I've ever met." Artemis said to no one in particular.

When the carpet regained altitude, Artemis thought for a second and said " Hey why not?" and did a back flip off the edge of the carpet.

When the air rushed past his face Artemis felt himself being pumped full of adrenalin. He felt as though he could slay a dragon lord.

Amelia couldn't believe her eyes. First Red Un jumped off then her little brother repeated the crazy feat.

Tujex
"Is that really fun?" he asked as he watched people jumping off of the carpet. "Guess when you can fly... falling isn't really that fun." The temperature had begun to drop, and while others put on snow gear Tujex remained sitting cross-legged on the carpet. Those with a certain sixth sense might have sensed the warm aura his body was emitting to keep his body temperature normal. Becoming quite disturbed by the long silence, Tujex piped up and asked, "So anyone have any stories to tell to pass the time?"

Red Un
"Actually, I think we should pass the time catching Artemis 'fore he meets an untimely end, right Melrod?"

"Sure sure. But the next one to jump of my carpet I won't catch."

Melrod descended again, and managed to get under Artemis just in time. Then they went upwards again. Red Un peered towards the horizon.

"Hey look! I think that's Senja over there!"

Sarra Zoldan
As the carpet came closer to the island of Senja and the city with the same name, Kish stepped out through the door of the house she had been waiting in. Looking up towards the horizon, she could see the carpet and its heavy burden making its way towards the island.

As the carpet came within shouting distance from the city, Kish discharged a small energy ball into the air, which burst some two hundred feet up. Poking for the attention of the carpets' passengers, she waved at them and then stepped back inside the house from which she had emerged.

Red Un
The explosion lit up the waning day.

"Hey look! That girl did manage t'get outta there after all. Melrod, land at her house."

"Of course..."

The carpet flew downwards and hovered a few inches above the ground. Red Un stepped off.

"We meet again, it seems."

Sarra Zoldan
Turning in the doorway as Redwick called to her, she replied with a sardonic smile, light but cold.

"Yes, so it seems... but we cannot ever be sure of anything, can we?"

She smiled once again, an ironic smile. Gesturing towards the carpet and its passengers, she declared loudly:

"You are, just as I was, broken, torn and worn out. And no doubt, you are also hungry. Please, step into my house. I expected you to arrive a bit later, so I haven't prepared anything yet... leastwise, none of it is done as of yet. But I am sure I can procure some slices of ham, some brown bread and a wee bit of drink for us."

Eyeing Redwick critically, she added:

"I do not drink ale... beer, that is. At the most, I enjoy a touch of wine, but when I do, I do it where it is created. All I have in ways of drink out here is tea. Tea is good for your body, tastes wonderful, most of the time, and not to mention..."

She grinned mirthlessly towards the battle-worn group.

"...it helps keep the warmth on this cold, remote island."

Catching Narudin's eye, she voiced with her lips, without uttering the words:

"We need to talk..."

Once again speaking loudly, she stated to the group:

"There are sufficient people in this city to provide whatever supplies we shall need. Please let me know what you need, and I will speak with the appropriate people."

With that said, she turned and walked into the house.


Narudin
"We need to talk..."

The words formed on Kish's lips, as Narudin could well read them. You didn't become an assassin for a secret organisation without learning a number of spying methods, did You?

The half-elf sighed inwardly, remembering there was still a price he was due to pay. He quite disliked the feeling, as it reminded him of the geas the Brotherhood had once put on him. The debt shackled him, limited his freedom which he valued very much. In truth, Narudin never understood the nature of such debts. He would help anyone who required his help, as discreetly as it was possible, and then shy away before they could utter a thanks. A queer combination of traits made up Narudin, that much could be said for sure.

Dismissing his internal thoughts, Narudin said out loud:

"If it is possible to find someone skilled with a needle in these parts, I would require my clothes to be repaired, or possibly even replaced." Narudin glanced downwards at the burned-out hole from a blow he had received from a fire-elemental a while back. "Who would believe an adventurer if he told how much he spends on clothing? Cuts, rips, bloodstains, not to mention what a Great Fireball does to You - It all adds up, in the end. This must be my sixth, no, seventh specially ordered Narudin's Adventuring Outfit which I destroyed in the last five years. That’s a fortune earned for my Venorian tailor."

The half-elf entered the house, continuing:

"Some bread will do for me, I am an easy person to please. And I would kill for a cup of tea" Narudin's lips twisted into a tired smile. "Although not now, admittedly. Any contracts will be agreed on after eight hours of solid sleep, a proper meal and some tea, if You may, Lady Kish." Narudin bowed courteously to their hostess. Regaining a vertical position he gave Kish a questioning stare. "Why such secrecy?" he thought as the others came into the house.


Red Un
"Hrmh, I've never had t'change my clothing, just unbuckling the armour now an' then."

He surveyed the small house.

"The most important supply for me right now would be sleep. But I think I'll need some food an' drink 'fore that. I've never considered myself too grumpy about what to drink, after all, I'm only half-dwarf, so some tea wouldn't hurt, I guess. And some 'o that good 'ol Ice Island fish would be nice."

He sat down on a chair and yawned. He blinked a bit, and closed his eyes. Then he opened them up wide and gasped.

"Oh crap... I shoulda figured. I need some tea! Now!"

Sarra Zoldan
Laughing at the merry half-dwarf's predicament, Kish went to the stove where a pot of tea was set on the hot plate, warmed by the firewood crackling beneath it. She opened the tin lid of the pot, stirred down a trifle of sugar and some milk, taken from two jars on a shelf over the stove, just beneath a small window, its shutters closed.

"You have no idea how hard it is to get ahold of milk in these parts."

Putting out a series of ceramic cups on the table placed only a few yards away from the stove, she retraced her steps and picked up the pot. Pouring some tea into each of the cups, she smiled apologetically.

"I'm afraid I do not have any porcelain or glass wares here. Both of them are terribly expensive, and prone to crack in shifting weather. Ceramic goods though... they tend to be a bit more hardy."

The room was not notoriously large, all in all. A round table, some seven feet across, was placed a couple of yards away from the stove, which in turn was set at the right wall when facing the room from the door.
A series of six chairs were placed around the table, their features made up from rough-cut oak.
Down to the left in the room there was a door leading into another room. This room, in turn, was filled mostly with inventory... not so much food as equipment of different sorts. Rope, shovels, pickaxes, lanterns... A smaller mining operation was placed inside and on top of a series of trunks, lining the walls. At the back of the room there was a small set of stairs leading up to a small room above. Under the stairs was also a trapdoor.
The stairs led up to a small room, containing a bed, a chest of drawers and a small basin, probably for washing oneself in before going to bed. There was also a small oven, to provide warmth and heating things.

After serving up the tea, Kish went into the adjoining room and opened the trap door. Lighting a torch, she made her way down a rickety ladder.
The room beneath was also a storage room, but here the trunks were mostly buried in the earthen floor, only the lids sticking out of it like squared wooden mushrooms.
Opening the closest of the trunks, she took out a side of ham. She then proceeded to close it, and opened the one next to it, taking out a cheese of about six pounds as well as some four loaves of brown bread.

Extinguishing her torch, she made her way up the ladder with some difficulty. Well up, she closed the trapdoor and went back into the first room, carrying her precious burden in her arms. Placing it down, one item at a time, on the table, she noted most of the other travellers had begun making themselves comfortable in whatever way they could.
Taking out a set of large knives from beneath the oven, she placed them next to the foodstuffs and then flashed a smile towards the group.

"So... is anyone hungry? Please help yourselves to the food."

Remembering Narudin's earlier plight, she added:

"And if you need new clothes or the like, let me know. I'll bring the list of required items as well as a couple of you around town, so we can gather what we need. Now, make yourselves comfortable for the time being."

Knight of Darkness Fall
Well, Katherine was certainly much glad that Kish managed to get out of that dreaded place safely after all. The group landed in front of Kish's house.

Kish invited everyone into her not-so-big but cosy house to get some rest and energy back, especially after they fought almost endlessly with the Brotherhood. If no one else was tired, Katherine was. To her surprise, Kish's house was nowhere near cold, though the house seemed small but it was huge enough to accommodate everyone. As everyone began to slowly get themselves comfortable, Kish disappeared around a corner and emerged minutes later with food in her arms.

Katherine took a small cup from the table by the cup's ear with her left hand, and supported the cup with her right hand. The heat emitted from the cup sent a warm sensation through both her hands. "MMmmm... It's heaven to drink a cup of hot tea in this kind of freezing weather." An innocent smile broke from Katherine's lips, a smile which had disappeared for some time ever since the group met with Brotherhood.

Katherine then slowly delivered the brim of the cup to her lips and took in small amounts of the tea to avoid scalding her tongue.

"Well thank you Kish! Food and drinks in this weather, just heaven!"

Red Un
"TEA! Great! Anything to keep me awake!"

Red Un grabbed a cup and gulped down its contents.

"Aah... Pretty darn good, not at all like that elven stuff."

He shook his head, and closed his eyes a bit again. But soon he opened them again.

"Oh dear, am I in a predicament! I gotta keep awake...more tea!"

Mategerold
Elwyn stepped off the carpet with an offbalance jolt, and it still took him a while to get used to being on land again. He looked out at the beautiful island of Senja. The air was sharp and crystal clear from the cold, and the tundra opened before him unhindered until it met the sea at the far shore. An icy wind blew around the thin mage, and he pulled his putrid cloak around him for warmth. The snow across the horizon was incredibly bright from the suns reflection as Elwyn looked out into the distance.
I haven't breathed air this clear since I climbed all the way to the top of the great tree of Ab'Dendriel, he though. This immediately reminded him of his parents. They had probably given up looking for him by now - it had been almost 3 years - but he should write a letter as fast as he could anyways.
"I’ll catch up with you guys in just a little bit," Elwyn said to the rest of the group. "Save some ham for me, Kish!"

He found the post office without much trouble, but had to beg the man working at the counter to let him have a letter and stamp for free. Finally the man gave in and Elwyn sat down to write.

Dear Mom and Dad,
It’s me, Elwyn! I’m sorry I made you worry so much, but this is the first time I had a chance to write to you. Shortly after setting out for the convention, I was ambushed by a group called The Brotherhood, and have been held captive ever since. Praise Priyla and Banor, a fearless group of adventurers happened to be passing by (well, more like being cornered by hordes of monsters by) me. The helped me leave with them, and I am greatly in their debt. Our current situation prevents me from seeing you, and I can’t just abandon these adventurers that saved my life. Once we fulfil our mission, I will return as soon as possible.
Please do not send anyone to find me, or even speak of this letter for a while. We are safe on Senja Island for the time being, and would like it to stay that way. However, as you can imagine, the Brotherhood stripped me of all my possessions when I was captured. I am stuck here on a freezing island with only a tattered cloak and a magic club. I feel the need to fulfil my duty to leech money of my parents.
Need List:
Backpack
20 Blank runes
8 Uh/Gfb/HMM runes
5 SD runes
Robe and Cloak
Boots
My Staff
10 Mana fluids
A razor (3 years!!)
Love,
Elwyn

Elwyn licked and stamped the letter, along with putting his own family seal on it, this one insuring only his mother and father could read it. The note appeared blank to anyone else. Dropping it in the mailbox, Elwyn headed back to Kish's house.

Tujex
Tujex stepped down from the carpet and walked towards the house. "One of the only places in Tibia I haven't been to..." he muttered. He shifted his pack straps so they were more comfortable on his back as he stepped into the house. As he examined the home he approached Kish leaning in and whispering in her ear. "Excuse me, but do you have a room I can change in?"

Sarra Zoldan
Giving Tujex a wry smile, she whispered back:

"Normally, only ladies ask me for that favour. In the back, up the stairs."

Having seen to Tujex problem, she turned back towards the ones sitting around the table.

"More tea, anyone?"

Red Un
"YES! More tea!"

Red Un seemed strangely agitated for some reason. He was struggling desperately to stay awake.

Sarra Zoldan
Giving off a wry chuckle, Kish poured some more tea into Redwick’s ceramic cup.

"If you keep this up, I wont have any more tea left. I'd better get to brewing some more right away."

Taking some water from a pitcher next to the oven, she filled the pot almost all the way, then added some herbs from jars on top of the shelf. She then proceeded to place the pot onto the hot surface on the oven with a tinny clank.

Knight of Darkness Fall
As soon as the herbs touched the surface of the water, a faint aroma slowly filled the air in the House.

"I must say Kish, those are some sweet-smelling herbs you have there. What are they anyway?" Katherine slowly got up from where she was sitting and holding her cup firmly in the palms of both her hands, she walked towards the kitchen to try to learn up a few cooking tips from Kish.

Red Un
Red Un got up from his chair and started to walk back and forward in the room.

"Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake..."

Then he stopped and sighed.

"Oh, what's the use...Hey, Mysterious Lady! Do ya know a place where I can get some sleep?"

Narudin
Narudin sat quietly in a corner, legs crossed, and absentmindedly sipped his tea while chewing on some bread he had found among the foodstuff which Kish had laid on the table. The half-elf was an easy one to feed, he had long ago grown accustomed to the food You usually ate when travelling. He could swallow anything edible if he had some tea to wash it down with.

Taking out a lone knife he had discovered at the bottom of one of his pouches (a Number 7, just the thing You needed if You wanted to slice someone’s throat open), Narudin walked to the table and took himself another slice of bread. Carefully and with great precision, he sliced himself a thin piece of ham and put it on the bread. The contented half-elf then sunk his teeth into the sandwich, resuming his cross-legged position in the corner.

Not for long, though. His tattered clothes were getting uncomfortable, they were shredded in many places and half a sleeve was completely torn off. Despite Narudin's natural ability to feel natural in most situations, this was not a good way to be dressed, especially on the Ice Islands. Finishing the last drop of the tea, he stood up and approached Kish.

"I was wondering if You could show me where I could mend or buy new clothes now? I've been to Senja a few times, but I don't remember noticing any tailors here. Of course, I am able to pay whatever the price for a proper outfit."

Braldril
Braldril walked around and sat down drinking some water. Man I am sleepy... he thought to himself. He leaned back against the wall and fell asleep.

Tujex
After freshening up and changing his clothes, Tujex slid down the stair rail and returned to where everyone rested. He took a dagger from his pants pocket, and examined the shimmering blade. Following Narudin, Tujex made himself a sandwich as well and sat in an available chair. He passed glances to everyone in the room, his eyes landing on Braldril who had fallen asleep. He bit into his sandwich and swallowed it down. "Just lookin' at him makes me sleepy," he muttered before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Tranquillity
Tranquillity took some ham and cut it into large slices and then piled it on top of a piece of bread. Slowly she began eating. "Hmmm... the Ice Islands," she said. "I'd nearly forgotten how... cold they were." She took sip of her tea. "I know I couldn't stand to live in this cold but the islands themselves are quite pretty."

With a shrug she returned to her meal. "Why did you decide to take up residence all the way out here Kish?"

Red Un
Red Un sat down on a chair. He blinked a bit, and finally rested his head against the table.

"Okay y'bastards...'ere I come..." he muttered and fell asleep...

Red Un dreamed of a huge chamber, with a long table filled with beer and food, and many merry dwarves laughing and singing.

A pretty usual dream of his.

He sat down at the table and joined in with the others, drinking beer and eating food. Just then, the gates to the chamber slammed open. A group of black-robed men was standing outside.

"Redwick Undersoor! We've come for you!"

Red Un looked up.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I guess that when we wiped y'out before, a whole bunch 'o ya decided to do the soul-brain trick on me."

"Yes! And we shall torture you in your dreams until you die of madness!"

"Sounds pretty nasty."

Suddenly, a sword appeared besides the half-dwarf, and he grabbed it. The whole bunch of (former) Brotherhood members all charged at him.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the sleeping half-dwarf moved his head back and forth, muttering slightly.

Tujex
Tujex licked his fingers as he swallowed the last of his sandwich. He looked to Red Un who looked as if he was having a pretty bad or rather happy dream. "Wonder what dwarves dream about?" he muttered to himself as he turned to look out the window.


Artemis Silverstone
Artemis was leaning against a wall near the door. His eyes were moving back and forth up and down in the stage of deep sleep called REM (rapid eye movement). He was being chased by a shadow through a freezing desert in his small-clothes.

Artemis heard a loud creak of a chair being moved, which he interpreted as ice breaking. He tripped and fell down and down.

Amelia barely saw something moving from the corner of her eye. She leapt to catch her brother before he smashed into the floor. "Hmmm. Maybe we should get you to a chair or something" she said to the sleeping form in her arms.

Diamond had decided that it was time to go back to Artemis. She could feel him and knew he was off to the far north-west but she realized she had no idea how to get to him.

Red Un
Red Un fought off the robed men for a while, but realised that he couldn't hold them off for very long. He rushed towards the door...

It felt like it took an eternity to get there, like it often does in dreams, but finally he reached it, threw it open and rushed outside.

He was now in a very thick forest. As he looked back, there was no trace of the door left. He started running through the woods, stumbling over roots and cutting his cheeks on the sharp branches...

Tranquillity
Tranquillity stared down at Red Un's sleeping form. He looked as if he was having a rather bad dream. He was mumbling something and wriggling around.

She started to shake him. "Red Un." she shook harder. "Red Un, wake up!"

Red Un
"Mzgrwlbrlhmph..."

Red Un opened his eyes.

"Waddya 'ave t'wake me for? I almost 'ad 'em. I gotta finish this dream, or I'll go mad..."

He laid his head down on the table again and went back to sleep.

Sarra Zoldan
With the shared attention of both Katherine and Narudin, Kish resorted to smiling towards Katherine and pointing with her right hand to the labels on the jars at the shelf.

"Have a look for yourself."

Turning her attention to Narudin, she smiled again, but this time without mirth.

"There're a few people capable of sowing in this town, and they do it to increase their somewhat sparse income. There're usually some garments in the general item shop. And if not, I'm sure we can persuade him to work something out. He's quite good at leatherworking."

Frowning towards Narudin’s shredded pieces of clothing, she turned to pick up a small leather pouch from inside a jar on the shelf. The ceramic jar was labelled "Star herb".
Bouncing the pouch up and down on her palm, she gave Narudin a thoughtful look.

"You'll need something warm enough to survive the wintry landscape of Senja, as well as something offering a bit of protection. Preferably, both those properties in one."

Muttering to herself, she added:

"I sure hope he's got a lot of whities in."

Chortling, Kish put her arm under Narudin's. Pulling him towards the door, she gave off a small chuckle.

"Come then, my good man! There is more than one deal that needs to be done, 'ere we can set out again."

Letting go of Narudin's arm, she quickly paced out through the door and started down the street, only turning for an instant to make sure Narudin was following her.

Narudin
Narudin was, in fact, right behind her when Kish turned around. After his initial confusion, when he was suddenly ushered in his tattered clothes onto the freezing street, the half-elf shrugged and followed their hostess down the street.

"Do not fear" he said with a small smile. "I shall not get lost that easily. I admit I have troubles when it comes to swamps" he thought about this for a moment. "And probably deserts, too, but cities and towns are what You could call... my natural environment."

Sarra Zoldan
"Excellent!"

Grinning towards Narudin, she continued to pace down the street. After they were outside of earshot from the house, however, her expression turned dark and serious.

"There is still a matter of a debt to be settled."

Never relenting her choice of pace, she opened the leather pouch she carried in her hand. Dipping three slender fingers into the pouch, she withdrew a gemstone the size of a cherry, sparkling azure blue. She regarded the gem in the light reflected from the snow covering the village cobblestones.
Not even glancing at him once, she asked in a low tone of voice:

"What do you suppose it is I want from you?"

Narudin
Narudin tilted his head to one side, and answered half-jokingly, but half-serious, too.

"My soul?"

Tranquillity
Tranquillity watched Narudin and Kish go out the door hand in hand and smiled. Tranquillity looked around her for a moment. Red Un was on the table asleep, Artemis’ sleeping form was being lowered into a chair by the girl who had appeared in Ab'Dendriel, while Tujex stared out the window and muttered.

Tranquillity shook her head and headed out the door to go look around the island. It never hurt to know a bit about where you were and Tranquillity hadn't been to the ice islands for a very long time.

Sarra Zoldan
"Your soul?"

Kish gave off a mirthless chuckle.

"I have enough junk lying around in my... home. I have no need for your soul. Not to mention I wouldn't know how to contain it."

Pursing her lips in thought, she tilted her head back and forth as they kept walking.

"No... I was more into something that would be of use to me."

Shaking her head, mostly to herself, she added:

"As a matter of fact, I have no idea what to ask of you."

Her forehead creased and her eyes narrowed as she seemed to remember something. Muttering to herself and now and then nodding towards the purse in her hand, she seemed to reach a conclusion. Her eyes were a mystery when she met Narudin's gaze.

"Alright... Narudin, if that really is your name. Your task shall be four-fold."

She deposited the blue gem in the pouch and tied the pouch to her belt. Stopping, she held out her right hand towards Narudin, palm upwards. Three small shards of gems started circling around a green flame in the centre of her palm. The shards were red, blue and yellow in turn.

"The green flame is your final task. Choose a colour of one of the three gems, and I will deliver your first task to you. I will not reveal more of them until the first has been completed."

Red Un
Red Un returned to the dark forest, and started running again. He ran and ran and ran but didn't seem to get anywhere (another common event in dreams). He knew that the Brotherhood members were in pursuit, but he didn't dare to look back.

Finally, he reached a small glade. There he saw another robed man.

"Oh man...I give up..."

"Don't do that, Redwick Undersoor."

The man pulled down his hood. It was the leader of the TBI infiltrators, the former scribe.

"Oh. OH!"

Red Un realised that he had done a horrible mistake some time ago.

"You guys died too when I blew up the Brotherhood?"

The man from TBI smiled.

"Well, most of us did. But it doesn't matter, we wouldn't have had much to do after you destroyed the Brotherhood anyway. We would probably have to return to Thais, and there I presume that the King would have been pretty upset about not knowing about us. I don't know where the others went, but I went to a pretty nice place."

"Um. What are you doin' in my head then?"

"Well, The Powers That Be wanted to make sure that those who died really died, not that they just hid in your brain for the rest of your days."

"How very thoughtful of The Powers..."

"Yes. But now we have to set up our plan..."

In the real world, there was a slight smile on Red Un's lips.

Knight of Darkness Fall
With Kish, Narudin and Red Un each doing their own "businesses", the house was rather quiet compared to a few moments ago, when it was buzzing with excitement and noise.

The Ice Isles, a place that Katherine has never been to ever since she set foot in Tibia through a portal. It was only through mouths of people that she has heard of this snowy place. Katherine looked through the window. The lands in front and beyond were totally covered with a white blanket, even though it didn’t seem to be even snowing at all. Just not far away from where they were staying, there were small trails of smoke slowly climbing to the greyish sky.

"Well, seems like they are preparing dinner as well..." Katherine thought.

Then, she heard the door swung open and saw Tranquillity walking out. She pulled her coat closer to her and started to walk around to do some exploration.

"I guess I’ll just browse thru the Library that Kish has in her house..." Katherine walked away from the window and headed for the small bookcase that Kish has. Katherine briskly ran her fingers through the rows of books and saw a book titled [Time Portal of Tibia].

"This seems interesting..." Katherine smiled to herself and gently slid the book out and sat on the sofa.

Narudin
"Bah, tasks. I hope You don't mean riddles and such, as I am a lousy guesser."

Narudin looked at the whirling shards, smiling in an amused way.

"If the choice is mine to make, I shall choose the blue gem first. It is my favourite colour, the colour of the sky and the sea and it rather matches my eyes."

The half-elf shuddered slightly, and continued:

"But perhaps I could finally buy my clothes? I have no amazing powers with which I can keep warm in low temperatures. Curiously enough, I seem to be surrounded with many strange people recently in that matter. Red Um stays warm, but then again, he's a half-dwarf, so I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose. Tujex never seems to get cold. Anymore and I'll start thinking I'm the odd one out....

But I talk too much, this adventure is making me too chatty. Let us work with facts. It is a fact, that I will freeze in this temperature if I stay here any longer. I admit that You have a cozy house, Lady Kish, but the outside is a bit too chilly for me. So if we may...?"

Narudin vaguely pointed down the street.

Red Un
As the whole bunch of robed men emerged into the glade, they saw Red Un standing at the other end of it. He waved his hands.

"C'mon ya damn stupid cultists! I haven't got all day!"

They all ran towards him. Just as they were about to reach him, a white hole appeared in front of the half-dwarf, and since they had gained such momentum they couldn't stop themselves from plunging through it. Red Un stepped out from behind the hole which seemed to hang in the air.

"That's all of them, I guess."

The former scribe emerged from some nearby tree.

"Yes, I believe so. Now I'm going back to my afterlife."

"Um...where are they goin' then?"

"I have absolutely no idea, but I'm sure that they deserve it."

"Okay...Well, have fun in the afterlife!"

"I will."

The man from TBI stepped towards the hole. He paused just before he was about to enter.

"Oh, and Jenna says hi."

Then he entered the hole, which then closed.

And Red Un awoke.

"Hrmh... Well, that cleared up some things."

Mategerold
Elwyn was now very tired again, the days excitement degenerating into dull exhaustion. He had a cup of tea, but he didn't really notice any effects besides making him more complacent and thus tired. This is ridiculous, Elwyn thought, why do I need to stay up? My parcel won’t arrive for another 3 days, and it’s freezing outside with only this tattered robe on.

"Goodnight..." he said to those left in the house, and then he went to a small room with a comfortable bed in the back of the house.

Red Un
"Hmmh? It's not day yet? Well, I guess I gotta find m'self a better place t'sleep then..."

Red Un rose from the chair and looked around.

"Ah, a corner! I've slept in many a corner in my days."

He walked over to the corner and found the best position to sleep in. Then he slept in the corner.

Tujex
Tujex was growing quite bored of just sitting around. He stood and walked out of the house, not seeming to be affected at all by the seemingly cold weather. "What would I do without you?" he sarcastically asked his inner demon which chuckled inside him. He smiled and began walking, taking in everything around him. "It's amazing. I've been all over this great land called Tibia and visited many other places people thought never existed. I've visited both heaven and hell, and a world exactly opposite to mine. I've battle gods and people who could destroy cities with a thought. Yet I've never-ever been to this island" he said, catching the attention of the people around him. He smiled and looked up to the sky, overhearing someone asking himself how he could stand the temperature without having any form of warming clothes. He chuckled and continued his journey through the freezing town.

Red Un
Being freed from the souls of the Brotherhood, Red Un could finally enjoy some nice, peaceful dreaming...

Knight of Darkness Fall
Sitting comfortably in the sofa, Katherine held the book with her two hands and looked at the cover of the book again, [Time Portal of Tibia]. "I guess this book might have some personal answers that I might be looking for..." Katherine said to herself.

The cover of the book was made from leather, but it didn’t seem to be from any known creatures on Tibia. The glow on the leather seemed to have faded, being left on the shelf. The wordings on the cover were wooden carvings and mounted into the leather cover, and the perimeter of the wordings were embedded with gold.

Katherine gently flipped the cover open, fearing that any brute force might just tear the book apart. Immediately, her sense of smell was greeted by a pungent smell of old, yellowing paper. "Phew! This book must have been decades!"

Being closed for such a long time, the pages seem to have bonded themselves to each other. Katherine took more than the usual time to flip the first few pages. Using an old-folk technique, Katherine gently wet the tip of her right middle and index finger with the tip of her tongue and flipped the pages, which actually did help a lot.

Then, after the first two pages, a warning sentence appeared on the third WARNING: ALL INFORMATION STATED HERE MIGHT NOT BE TOTALLY TRUE AS MUCH OF THEM WERE STILL UNDISCOVERED. FIND IT IF YOU DARE. BUT BE WARNED!

"Well Master, seems like this book might not be of much help to us after all..." Whisky spoke.

"We'll never know, unless we try..."

Red Un
Red Un snored...

Tujex
Tujex figured it was about time he made his way back to the house. The people still looked at him awkwardly, and children occasionally ran up to him to see if he was even real. He shrugged it all off though. With his being half-demon, he was used to all the attention people gave him. He looked to his feet, watching the prints he left in the snow as he walked. Whilst doing so, he bumped into a rather large man who looked more like a polar bear in his large whitecoat. The man growled at Tujex, who didn't flinch at the man's rough face, rancid breath, or his crooked teeth. Tujex smiled smugly at the giant as he brushed passed him. The man grew furious and tossed one mighty fist at Tujex, but found his hand buried under many feet of snow. Tujex was behind the man, one hand buried in his pocket and the other balled into a fist. Tujex struck the man in his back, knocking him unconscious in the snow. The people crowded around the man and Tujex, everyone seeming amazed and astonished that such a small man had such great strength. "Trouble follows me wherever I go," he muttered as he walked away from the crowd, trying to find his way to the house.

Tranquillity
Tranquillity watched as Tujex sent a large man tumbling face first into the snow then calmly walk away, ignoring the stares of the crowd. Quickly Tranquillity approached him from behind and fell in step next to him. "Keeping a low profile I see. If you are trying to reach Kish's house it is off that way." She indicated a path off to their right. "I'll see you later" she said with a smile and headed off in the direction of the house. "You look like you would prefer to be alone."

Red Un
Meanwhile, Melrod had hidden his carpet in the house, and decided to take a stroll through the town.

After a while he arrived at the only bar on Senja, a small one right next to the ferryman's house. It was a pretty empty place, for there wasn't usually many people coming to Senja. But here and there sat a few fishermen and hunters. They were rough, strong and bearded men who had long since adapted to the unkind weather of the north. They were telling each other stories about fishes they had caught and wolves they had slain. Melrod made his way to the counter.

"Give, I say, give me a glass of your finest wine!"

The barkeeper, just as rough, strong and bearded as the rest of the customers, looked curiously at the white-skinned and strangely dressed newcomer.

"We've only got beer. And pr'haps some milk."

"Oh... In that case, give me a glass of beer."

The bartender poured up beer in a wooden mug and handed it over. Melrod paid with a Daraman coin. The bartender studied the coin.

"You get around a bit, don't you?"

"Why yes, I've been all over the world, seen many strange things and heard many a tale!"

"Oh really?"

The rest of the clientele of the bar had gathered around him now. These people rarely went further away from their homes than to a nearby island. The newcomer was very strange-looking in their eyes.

Melrod was a bit uncomfortable, being surrounded by the muscular, fur-clothed hunters and fishermen.

"Erm...would you like to hear one?"

"Sure."

And soon Melrod fell into his usual routine of outrageous lies...

Sarra Zoldan
"Yes, of course."

The blue gem lit up, still in its course around the green flame dancing on Kish's palm. She closed her hand, and the gems and flame evaporated.

Setting their course down the street, Kish began giving instructions to Narudin.

"Your first task will be, as you have chosen, to collect a Proteus Star. A Proteus Star is a large blue gem, about an inch across and often slightly pointed in two reverse ends. It often sparkles with an inner light."

Kish veered into a shop to her right, a rather nondescript building made out of stout wood. Heading over to the desk, she plucked some twenty-odd gold coins as well as the small blue gem she had been studying earlier, from her pouch. Signalling to the man behind the desk with her hand, pointing at some white pelts in a corner, and then at Narudin, she put the money and the gem on the desk. The man behind the desk took the items and went into an adjoining room. Kish did not for a second seize in her instruction.

"I have long wanted a Proteus Star, for reasons that are my own, and I suppose it is only fair that you be the one to retrieve it for me. We will undoubtedly come across some treasure in our travels, and if we find one, I intend to claim it as my own."

While they were talking, the man came back from the other room with two large leather sacks. Nodding towards him, Kish put one of the bags across her right shoulder and handed the other one to Naurdin.

Heading out the door, she set off back towards the house.

"You can change clothes once we reach the house."

Narudin
"If I ever come across any reference about such a Gem, I shall surly investigate" said Narudin, but Kish had already at the door. Sighing, the half-elf followed her, shivering as the winter once again engulfed him.

Strangely enough, Narudin didn't know much about a gem called the Proteus Star, but then again, he hadn't put much study into mineralogy yet. Currently he was on a level enabling him to assess the value of most of the common gems and other precious and semi-precious stones, but he never went into the fine details of gemmology. It was only proof on how much there was to learn in the world.

Upon entering the house, Narudin excused everyone and made his way where Tujex had changed in earlier.


Red Un
Melrod was enjoying quite some popularity. The other customers of the bar brought him drinks to make him tell even more amazing (and, of course, completely false) tales.

"And then..., I say, and then I faced th'entire elite troop of... Carlin, and they had... a huge DEMON..."

Finally, he managed to stumble outside.

"Now...wherever... wherever wasch I goin'?"

He bumped into a tall gentleman, a noble from Thais who had probably come to check out some of his owned land or to buy his wife a fur coat or some such thing.

"...'Scuse me, m'lord..."

As the gentleman disappeared around the corner, Melrod noticed that he had dropped something.

"Excshcuse me! You... I say, you dropped schomething!"

But the nobleman was gone. Melrod looked down on the ground.

"What a... pretty shiny schtone!"

He picked it up and studied it closely.

"Looksch like a... Pro...pro...Proteusch Schtar... Guesch he won't mind missin' it..."

Melrod put the stone in his pocket and stumbled onwards through the street.

Tujex
Tujex watched Tranquillity as she walked off, calling out to her before she got to far. "Hey, I was just on my way to the house anyway. I was actually kind of lost" he said with his childish grin. He fell in step with the girl as they headed back towards Kish's house. "So what made you leave the house? And unlike the others you don't seem to bothered by the cold weather." Tujex said trying to start conversation.

Tranquillity
Tranquillity stopped and turned around with a grin. "I figured you probably were." Tranquillity waited until Tujex caught up with her and then continued walking. "I figured I ought to know the surroundings a bit in case anything happens. Mainly I just came out here to clear my mind a bit. My time on Tibia is coming to an end soon and I'm trying to think of what I should do with the remainder of it.

And as for the cold... I guess I just don't notice it." She reached over and grasped Tujex's hand in one of hers and let him feel the heat flooding out of her body as if a fire burned just beneath the skin. She dropped his hand and continued on in silence.

"How about yourself? Besides beating up innocent pedestrians what have you been up to? And how is it that you don't seem to be bothered by the cold either?"

Red Un
Melrod bumped into someone else as he walked here and there down the street.

"HOWZAT!"

He looked closer.

"Ohhh...'s you guys! Tujex an' Tran...Tran...Transchkwillity. Do you... know where th'housche wasch?"

Narudin
Narudin emerged from the changing room in his new white outfit, outlaid with fur to keep him warm and with quite enough pockets to satisfy him. Now the only thing he needed was some throwing stuff to fill them with.

"Very fitting, these clothes" he complimented the outfit. "I think I shall take a stroll to check out how good they are against the winter freeze, and to see whether my Senjan storage is still intact" he finished in his mind. "If You'd be so kind and excuse me..."

Narudin exited of the house with a bow, not seeing Melrod as he bumped into him, tripping the carpet-flyer extraordinaire into the snow.

"I'm terribly sorry, Sir Melrod" he said, helping the bewildered and apparently drunk Melrod to his feet. "I didn't see You there..." Narudins voice trailed away as he saw what fell out of the carpet-flyers pocket. "What is this?" he asked him, picking up a peculiarly shaped, blue gem.

Mategerold
Elwyn had slept well. The sun was almost directly overhead when he walked outside, although it seemed like none of its heat reached him. Yawning, he took a small walk through the area around Kish's house. He found some very interesting trees, ones he had never even seen before, and was amazed at how they could stay alive in such cold. Any of the trees in Ab'Dendriel would surely die in this temperature.
He took a trip down to the post office and asked about a parcel, but the clerk said he hadn't gotten any for an "Elwyn Meltace" so he ventured outside the village a little. Here it was incredibly peaceful. No noise, no other people, and a sharp cold to keep him alert and focused. Preparing spells always required all of one's attention. Setting simple wards around him to tell him if anything was approaching, Elwyn made decisions about which spells to memorize. His mind was a work in progress, and could only hold a certain amount of pre-memorized spells at once.
Cold, icy spells, those will be the most powerful here.

Sitting cross-legged in the snow was cold at first, but once he entered his own mind the feeling left him almost completely. Each spell had to be brought before his mind, studied, replicated using his own energy, and then stored. Any small mishap or imperfection could render the spell useless, or worse, uncontrollable, and as likely to harm his enemies as his friends. Elwyn went through each spell with the utmost concentration, feeling the power of the cold around the entire island and melding it with his own energy to serve his needs. Without knowing the nature of his enemies, he could only guess what would be useful and what wouldn’t. Magical ice-daggers, temperature dropping spells, a wall or floor of ice, a freezing wind, even a spell that could create a small blizzard, along with an array of magic missiles, summonings, quick escapes, and others.
Elwyn left the sanctuary of his mind and returned to the island. Immediately the cold in his legs returned, and he was stiff and numb all the way back to Kish's house. But one thing bothered him. When he was searching for cold to empower his spells, he looked even below the island, in the hopes that it was colder. But instead, he found something very, very hot. It seemed there was more to this island than met the eye...

Red Un
"Oh that... thass juscht a schtone I found..."

Melrod looked at the gem again. One might not think so, but the albino carpet-flyer was pretty skilled in the identification of gems, even while drunk.

"...'s one of them Pr...Pr...Protscheuschs Schtars. Yeah. Quite, I schay, quite rare."

Narudin
Narudin's eyes widened slightly as he heard the gems name. What an amazing coincidence he thought to himself as he held the gem in his hands.

"Sir Melrod" the half-elf addressed the carpet-flyer. "Would You be willing to sell me this quite extraordinary gemstone? I would be quite grateful" he asked, with a bit of a embarrassed smile – after all, his first meeting with Melrod did not go too well, Narudin holding a very sharp sword to Melrod's throat when he found the man near their camp on the beach near Carlin...

Tujex
Tujex smiled a little bit. "This is likely the only place in the world I haven't been to, so I figured I should check it out before we leave. And I can't sit in the same place for to long." Around this time, Melrod came stumbling towards them. In his drunken state, his speech was too twisted to understand. Before Tujex could say anything, he staggered off leaving the two confused. "Why am I not affected by the cold you ask? I thought you all knew... I'm a half-demon. My body heat stays the same for some reason no matter what the temperature. There's so much I don't know about this being demon thing, which makes it so cool when I figure out a new power or perk."

There was a brief silence between the two, before Tujex spat out his next question. "Wait...you said your time on Tibia is coming to an end? What exactly are you talking about?" he asked, the expression on his face not showing how truly he was concerned.

Red Un
"Schell it? Y'... I schay, y' can have it for free f'all I care..."

There was a sudden expression of sickness in Melrods face.

"Now if you'll 'scusche me, I'll have t' go an' do schomething..."

He ran away to the back of the house.

"BLEEEARRGHCHSLCH..."

Tranquillity
Tranquillity shrugged, "Everyone has to go some time and my time is long over-due."

They walked on a bit more and were already quite near the house. "So, about the half-demon thing. Were you born half-demon or did it just sort of happen?"

Narudin
Narudin was quite touched by Melrod’s kind gift and yelled "Many Thanks" to his retreating back. Then he hid the Proteus Star into one of his pouches and proceeded to do what he had originally planned: Re-equip himself with some nasty sharp throwing implements.

The half-elf exited the city and found the old stump he had hid his stash in. Of course, the few gold coins he had put there were gone, but deeper into the stump he found the bag which he had hid there a few years ago. Inside he found some platinum coins, a few throwing knives and stars and, most importantly, some special poisons storaged in a few bottles which could bring down a whole army. These were special poisons which retained their toxic effect even in the cold, and he was not able to produce them without a fully equipped laboratory. That is why he always kept a few bottles in various places, in case he would be needing them immediately.

Securing the bottles in his pouch, Narudin returned to the town and bought nearly half of a weapon smiths throwing stock, with a lot of haggling over the price and checking of quality. In the end, Narudin was pleased with the weapon smith's wares and the weapon smith was pleased with the pay he got for his work, though he grumbled a bit for the look of things. Having finished his shopping, the half-elf returned to Kish's house.

He slipped in quietly and went to the corner where he had left his tattered clothes and one more object he had forgotten about. Narudin picked up a heavy sword - the one Red Un had dropped in Elvith’s house. He had been running around with it strapped to his waist. The half-elf had picked it up, because, well, he was quite sentimental and knew that he, personally, would hate to lose his own blades. Narudin shrugged, as he knew that most people didn't care which sword they used as long as it did its job. Glancing at Red Un, he saw him sleeping, a new sword, one of the assassin ones by his side. Oh well" though Narudin. "If he decides to keep that blade I suppose Kish can have this one as a souvenir, or it will go to scrap, or someone will sell it" Narudin paused for a minute, and then finished in his thoughts. "Why do I even care what happens?" With that he sat cross-legged and looked around the room to see who was inside.

Tujex
"It's been this way as far back as I can remember. When I was only a few feet tall, I occasionally blacked-out and awoke to find something or someone destroyed or killed. My parents were killed for protecting me, so I never got to ask them how I ended up having two sides like this. My father was a halfbreed like myself and my mother was an elf, yet my dad didn't have an alter ego or another side. He was in full control of his demon powers, but I can only truly use mine when I let Ikozura take control." Tujex pulled a knife out of his pocket and began to fiddle with it.

Red Un
As Melrod looked up and wiped his mouth, he saw that the sun was rising. It was a new day. And he had a dreadful headache.

Red Un, however, felt far better when he awoke. He sat up and stretched, mostly just to get his armour straight.

"G'mornin', everyone! Are y'all ready for another day of almost gettin' horribly killed?"

Artios
As Artios had placed Elvith on the floor behind a table in the kitchen, Artios had another of his blackouts. He got an enormous headache, it felt as if his head would explode. He fell on the floor. When he woke up, he was no longer in the cave. He was outside of Ab'Dendriel he noticed. Just to the south west of Ab'Dendriel. He remembered that he saw something while having this blackout, he saw something that reminded him of Senja, or Folda, or possibly Vega. One of those Ice Islands it was. He decided to check out those islands. "I wonder" Artios was thinking, "How did I get here though? Did someone teleport me here?" Artios didn’t know what to believe. "I guess I should check out Senja first, I doubt that they already had went to Vega." Artios ran to the beach northwest of Carlin. Once he was there, he looked out over the ocean. He saw Senja far far away. He thought he'd have enough energy to levitate all the way there, so he decided to levitate. As the energy was focusing around him, once he lifted, so did some smaller rocks around him. Artios noticed that, perhaps he could make other things levitate except for himself too? "Is there something my father is hiding for me? Thinking of all those skills, and magic I never knew before, I must ask him later when I'm this close to home." Artios flew all the way to Senja, as he landed, he could see Narudin far away. "Uhm, what's he doing there?" Artios was thinking. Narudin seemed to be reaching for something. Artios didn’t want to go there though, he wasn’t sure what he should do. "Uhm, maybe I should wait for someone to find me?" The sun was going down, and Artios decided to sleep in a tree.


Red Un
Melrod stumbled into the house. Red Un greeted him in his cheerful mode.

"G'MORNIN' MELROD!"

"Ooooh... My, I say, my poor poor head... It feels like I've been pounded on by an army of dwarves with thunder hammers. Hurts, that is."

Red Un looked a bit worried.

"Um... but you'll still be able to fly the carpet, right?"

"Sure, I'll just..."

But Melrod didn't finish the sentence before his body decided that he needed some rest, and he fainted.

Tranquillity
"Well, I hope you find out one day how exactly you became a half-demon. Maybe we can talk more some other time." She nodded to the door which they were now right in front of. "For now I think we had better go meet up with the others." She pushed the door open and went in.

Red Un
Red Un looked far more worried now. He looked down at Melrod.

"Uh... Melrod? Melrod?"

Melrod didn't flinch.

"Melrod! Wake up, ya damn albino! You're the only one who can fly the damn carpet!"

Melrod still didn't move.

Narudin
Narudin watched as the members of Red Un's adventure party gradually started returning to the house. The awakened Red Un merrily greeted the not-so-merry Melrod. The carpet flyer extraordinaire decided it was time to faint at that moment.

As the half-dwarf was cursing over the stricken carpetflyer, Narudin rummaged through his belt. Finally, he found the small vial he was looking for and approached the two, holding the vial in front of him in a cautious manner.

"Hmm, if he needs a bit of sobering up, Sir Redwick, I have quite a good thing for that. It's a concentrated extract of a few... specific fluids. It gives quite a kick, like a hammer through Your sinuses I have been told." Narudin smiled slightly. "I have never been in such a desperate state to use it myself, but I had, er, applied it to some other people a few times. They all agreed that it was a unique experience."

"It works by opening the vial, preferably away from Your face, and putting the bottle under the patients nose. A reaction should be quick to observe" Narudin smiled with a bit of mischief in his eyes, and handed the vial on his outstretched hand to Red Un.

Red Un
Red Un grabbed the vial, opened it, took a long sniff, put it to his mouth and gulped down some of it.

"Hrmh... This is pretty strong stuff!"

He took another swig.

"Yup. Almost as strong as that imported booze I drank at Jimbin’s once. Durin knows where he got it from... Anyhow..."

He held the bottle under Melrod’s nose.

Melrod opened his eyes.

"Oh...I feel quite awAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEEEE!!"

He suddenly jumped up and started to run in circles around the room, screaming. Red Un looked at him, amused.

"Yeah, pretty strong stuff."

Narudin
Narudin could barely believe his eyes when crazy half-dwarf took a swig of his extremely powerful sobering potion - a whiff of it by itself was a horrible thing to experience. He was even more surprised that it didn't have any noticeable effect on Red Un. Shaking his head, he watched what the vial had done with Melrod. The half-dwarf would never cease to amaze him, it seemed.

"If I may..." Narudin quickly snatched the vial out of Red Un's hand and carefully replaced the cork. He couldn't let that wild person do something like breaking it in this tiny room, or drinking the whole batch - some of the ingredients had cost him a fortune and the potion was supposed to last him a lifetime, or at least a human one. With a slight sigh of relief, he put it back into his pouch and suddenly remembered about the sword.

"Sir Redwick, I have a thing that belongs to You, or at least belonged to you recently." The half-elf shadowdancer picked up the sword which he had rescued from annihilation from the Ultimate Explosion Rune. "You seemed to have dropped it when we were making our escape from the siege at Elvith's cave. It seemed a shame to leave such a weapon behind so I took it with me." After a moment, he added, "Yes, quite senseless of me, call me a sentimental old fool. Nevertheless, do You still want it? Perhaps to put over the chimney one day, when Your adventuring days are done and make it a remembrance of the "good ol' days"?

Narudin smiled slightly, handing the weapon out towards Red Un.

Tujex
Tujex stood nearby watching and listening in on the conversation between the half-dwarf, Red Un, and the half-elf, Narudin. He smiled slightly as he leaned against the wall, wondering what was in store for them up ahead. If it was this hard just to get to the island the library was on, how hard would it be to get to the library once they got on land? Tujex closed his eyes and tried to imagine all the frightening and challenging monsters that might await them on the shore, though he didn't get his hopes up because it might be a easy walk to the library once they hit land. The halfbreed sighed inwardly and brushed a few strand of white hair from his face, as his navy blue eyes scanned the room. "I'm ready to go now, this city is nice and all but kinda boring when compared to Thais." Tujex muttered as he stood cracked his neck and knuckles.

Red Un
Red Un grabbed the sword.

"Ah yes, the Carlin sword. Pretty nice blade, for bein' made by a human."

He weighted it in his hands.

"Yeah, I guess I'll keep it. I never feel really complete without a sword, and this one's as good as any."

Melrod was picking up quite some speed now, and almost started running along the walls. Red Un stretched out a foot and tripped the albino.

Melrod made a loop through the air and crashed out through a nearby window.

His head completely submerged in snow, he managed to calm down a bit. As he got his head out of the snow, he saw someone sitting up in a tree nearby.

"Hello, I say, hello there, treesitter! Who might you be?"

Artios
Artios awoke due to someone yelling. "Unh, where have I heard that voice before?" he mumbled. Then he turned around, and heard a window break. The noise almost made him fall down from the tree. Artios turned around and heard a man say "Hello, I say, hello there, treesitter! Who might you be?" "Uhm, Melrod are you? I believe we've met some while before." Artios jumped down from the tree and said; "Ah, my name is Artios in case you've never heard it before. Tell me, are Sir Redwick and the others inside the house?"

Sarra Zoldan
Kish came into the room Redwick was in from the adjoining one. She had changed into a new set of clothes made from the white furs of winter wolves, her brown hair still swaying waistlong around her neck in sharp contrast to her new clothes. Even her delicate hands were covered in white skin gloves.

Dropping the bag she carried across her shoulder, she put her hand on Narudin's shoulder and pulled him around.

"I think you have something of mine."

Apparantely not certain as to whether Narudin had understood her statement or not, she added:

"I can feel it. Give it to me."

She held out her glove-clad hand, her palm upwards in anticipation of the item she requested from Narudin.

Tujex
Tujex turned his attention to Narudin and Kish. He had noticed a strange bond between them since they joined the group. He watched them strangely as he awaited to see what it was that Narudin had of Kish's. His elven eyes focusing on the palm Kish's hands, waiting on Narudin to place something in it.

Narudin
Narudin felt someone pulling him around by his shoulder, and a moment later he was standing face to face with Kish.

"I can feel it. Give it to me." She said, to which Narudin raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly, reaching into one of his pouches.

"Tsk, always the impatient one. Do not fret, I have Your precious stone right here..." said the half-elf, pulling out the blue gem and handing it to her with a flourish. "Voila, I present You with the Proteus Star, Lady Kish. May it serve whatever purpose You require it for."

Red Un
Red Un was about to say something about there being certain things that people should do in privacy and not in front of others. The he saw that they were talking about a gemstone, nothing else. He shook his head and went outside.

He walked over to Melrod and lifted him up on his feet. Then he noticed that there was someone else present.

"Well, if it ain't what's-his-name..."

"Artios", Melrod whispered.

"Yeah. If it ain't Artios! How did you end up here?"

Artios
"I'm not sure how I really survived over at Elvith’s house, I did survive however." Artios smiled. "Well, you see this cloak? It seems like whomever use it gains the ability to levitate. It doesn’t take very long to levitate here from Carlin actually, and these" Artios pointed at his boots of haste "They do also help out quite a lot. Anyways, may I ask whose house this is?"

Red Un
"Oh, it belongs to that weird lady-lizard-thingy. We've enjoyed ourselves some rest, and are about to set out again, right Melrod?"

Melrod was still trembling from the powerful fluid he had sniffed.

"Y-yes. Th-the carpet is ready."

"Goodie. So, Artios, ya wanna continue our Adventure of barely-escaping-alive?"

Artios
Artios laughed. "Haha. Well, of course Sir Redwick, this is quite fun after all. So, are we going for Vega next?"

Red Un
"That's the plan. I just hope we can get over the storm..."

Red Un looked over at Melrod, who was returning to the house to get the carpet.

"...And that his soberness isn't just temporary..."

Tujex
Tujex rubbed his chin as he examined the jewel. "Never seen a gem like that before. Looks like it may be worth quite a lot" he muttered, wondering where exactly Narudin had found it. He figured he'd ask him later, he didn't want to interrupt the little moment the two had seemed to be having. He left the room and watched as Melrod walked past. "Guess that means we're about to go", he said as he walked to the room where he had laid his pack and other supplies. He made sure he had everything and slung his pack on his back. He picked up his Noish's Promise and slid it into its sheath, strapping it to his waist.

Sarra Zoldan
Closing her fist around the averagely large gem, Kish smiled at Narudin. Her eyes were a mystery as she spoke.

"Excellent. I will place this where it belongs as soon as I have time enough to spare for that task."

Frowning, she pocketed the gem inside her new garments. After carefully making sure that the gem was placed firmly within her jacket, she shook her head to herself, almost as if in disbelief.

Turning back to Narudin, she met his gaze with the full impact of her red dragon's eyes. Looking almost worried, she addressed him in an almost regal manner, her tone of voice bordering on apprehensive.

"I... do hope you realize that I shall help you until your full debt has been settled. At least, you should be able to call for me until our deal is done."

Shaking her head once again, her chestnut-coloured hair swaying wildly around her neck, she assumed a less distressed pose.

"So... one down, three to go. What will it be now? You have given me that of the Blue: The Proteus Star. Now you have the Red and the Yellow left. Which one is it to be next?"

Red Un
Melrod found the carpet and carried it outside. He rolled it up and sat down.

"All, I say, all aboard!"

Artios
As soon as Melrod had carried out the carpet, Artios took his seat on it. Now he wondered how long it would take before anyone would notice his presence, if they even noticed him being away that is. While Artios waited for everyone to get on the carpet so they could fly to Vega, he was reading a book about geology that he once got from a library in his hometown.

Tujex
Tujex walked outside, noticing the man on the carpet. "Wait...when did you get here?" Tujex asked rubbing his chin. "I thought you were caught in that explosion!" Tujex hopped onto the carpet and took a seat. "Well it's nice to see you survived" he said, his normal childish smile making its way onto his face. "Come on everybody! Let's go!"

Narudin
"Hmm, Red is the colour I pick, Lady Kish. First it was blue that matched my own eyes and now" Narudin's lips twisted slightly upwards as he looked into her red orbs and continued, "and now I take Red which is a clear allusion to our dear leader, Sir Redwick Undersoor." The half-elf's eyes twinkled for a moment and he proposed, "Perhaps we shall seat ourselves on the carpet before You tell me more of my next task?"

With a low bow, Narudin indicated the carpet outside.

Artios
As the man who jumped onto the carpet spoke to Artios, he laid down his small book and greeted the man. "Greetings, I believe we've not been properly introduced. My name is Artios of Hardenshagen. And who might I be speaking to?" he said nicely.

Red Un
Red Un had sat down on the carpet too.

Local people passed by now and then and gave curious looks to the obviously crazy people sitting on a carpet out in the snow, talking among themselves. Red Un shuffled forward to Melrod.

"Um, Melrod, I suggest ya hover the carpet above the ground, or we'll look like total idiots."

Melrod concentrated...

...and suddenly the carpet was flying straight up towards the stratosphere. Red Un held on for his dear life.

"HOVER! NOT FRIGGIN' FLY!!"

The carpet dropped again and was soon back on the ground.

"I'm, I say, I'm quite sorry, but it seems like all those drinks has affected my delicate senses somewhat."

Red Un shook his head.

"Well, just don't let it happen again..."

Sarra Zoldan
Seating herself next to Narudin on the carpet, Kish smiled lightly, however somewhat mirthless.

"Your second task is just as your main one divided into three parts. But they are all alike, so I wouldn't worry too much."

She reached into her pack and drew out three vials, some four inches long and an inch across. Each vial had a golden stopper worked into the shape of a dragon’s head. The eyes of the stoppers however, were made of what looked like glass, black and lifeless.

"Three vials. When you return them to me, I want all of them to be filled with the blood of a dragon Elder. Not a Dragon Lord, mind you. That blood is easy enough to come by. The Dragon Elders are a bit more rare. Which type of elder it is, I do not really care about. I would prefer a Excecezin's blood, but any type will do."

Realizing what she had just said, she added:

"Excecezin are a red type of elders. Their breed is somewhat rare even among elders, and if you could find it I would really prefer that type. You'll know whether a dragon is an elder or not by the vials. I bought them from a... merchant some time ago. The eyes of the stopper will glow in a colour matching the type of elder whose blood the vial contains. Pretty neat enchantment, really. Wouldn't tell me how it was done. 'Trade secret', and all that I suppose.
Oh, and the blood of elder dragons is usually red, just like... ours."

The last sentence she finished with a small pause, a certain look of dislike travelling across her face.

Red Un
Meanwhile...

The last members of the Brotherhood peered into their crystal (for there was more than one).

"They're coming!"

"We must stop them!"

"But how?"

Only one of them was quiet. Then he raised his hand, and the others were quiet too.

"Go. Defeat them."

"Us? But..."

"Go. Take your Dragon Lords, and go."

The Grand Leaders of the Brotherhood of the Dark Star rose and went out of the chamber. The quiet man sat in solitude and looked through the eyes of the unknowing Narudin.

Red Un looked around.

"Um... is everyone aboard?"

Narudin
Narudin took the vials and secured them inside one of his pouches, wondering whether he would ever meet a dragon, let alone a Dragon Elder, to accomplish his task. Truth to tell, he had never seen a dragon yet. The lands of Tibia were a small place, and the fire-breathing creatures were lazy ones. Orcs raided towns almost regularly, trolls and goblins also were found to attack some of the smaller towns, even cyclopses gathered together every few dozen years or so to crush some human settlement too close to their own lairs, but dragons swarmed rarely more often than once in a few centuries...

The half-elf’s thoughts drifted towards the idea of facing a dragon. They were powerful creatures, one of the oldest of races, powerful both in magic and combat. The more Narudin thought of facing such a beast, the more it seemed unreal to him. What could he possibly do with his two shortswords, weapons which probably seemed no more than a pair of toothpicks to a dragon. The shadowdancer shook his head and nearly laughed at the vision of him standing in front of a fire-breathing, fear-inducting, almighty, not dragon, but Dragon Elder!

"Bah, some people think that others are immortal..."

Narudin sighed and pushed the thought out of his head, it would surely do him no good to dwell on it too long. He was bound with a promise, even though it seemed disproportional to the favour - saviour from death in exchange for many other occasions to die? It was bad enough with Melrod nearly losing control over the carpet a moment ago...

The half-elf looked around, a bit darkly, to see if everyone was aboard Melrod's finely woven carpet.

Tujex
"Well Artios, I'm Tujex the half-demon. And if you're strong enough to survive an explosion of that magnitude I must say I'm enticed to face you in a duel." The halfbreed said with a strange smile. Ikozura was speaking for the elf, as it was more his wish to face Artios rather than Tujex. He couldn't help but overhear the conversation between Narudin and Kish, his elven hearing was sharp and with his demon blood it was even stronger. He scooted towards Narudin, leaning towards him. "If you don't mind, I wouldn't mind facing an Elder Dragon. If you need some assistance with that I'm the man for the job." Tujex said with a friendly smile upon his face. "I think everyone's on board," he said turning towards Red Un. "But let's wait a few more minutes just in case."

Artios
"Well Tujex, a duel would not suit very well... for the moment being. However once we are done with this quest, a duel might fit well in my schedule." Artios smiled, and picked up his tiny book again, mumbling "Where did I just see that gem…”

Red Un
The Grand Leaders talked with each other as they saddled their great winged beasts.

"I believe that the traitor will be most interested in seeing our demise, or at least that of our steeds."

"Yes. Too bad for him that they aren't Excecezin, not even Dragon Elders."

"And, of course, that a mere Dragon Lord will be enough to seal his fate..."

Meanwhile, Red Un made sure to wait so that nobody was left behind like before.

Narudin
Narudin snapped out of his thoughts, deciding that he would worry about the dragons later. There didn't seem to be any in the area, so the pragmatic half elf pushed all unnecessary thoughts to the back of his mind, so they wouldn't disturb him from the job at hand.

"Are we all assembled on the carpet?" asked Narudin, looking around. "Only we've been sitting here for over 10 minutes and I'd say that is more then enough to find a comfortable place to sit on..."

Mategerold
Elwyn made one last trip down to the post office. Finally his parcel had arrived, along with an emotional note from his parents. The mage was glad that they were all fine, but he had a carpet to catch. Everything he had asked for was present in the bulging parcel, along with a wise gift from his parents, a copy of Elwyn's old spellbook. Thankful that he had thought to copy it before leaving home, Elwyn thanked the clerk and set off for the carpet.
"So, where are we off to?"

Red Un
Red Un looked around.

"We're goin' to Vega. Hang on..."

He took out a piece of paper from his backpack and scrawled down the following words:

Gone to Vega. Find your own means of transportation.

He nailed it to a nearby wall and sat down on the carpet again.

"To Vega, Mr. Melrod!"

"I'll, I say, I'll have you there before you can say wow. Quickly, that is."

The carpet rose into the air and moved towards storm-shrouded Vega.

On the other side of the storm, the dragon-riders readied themselves...