Chapter 38, in which the Adventurers find the Library of Legends, and the story ends

Biali
"DIE! DIEEE!" the old man yelled. Red Un was grabbed by the neck, suddenly the sky darkened and thunders blazed over them.

"No!"

Lima drew his sword and charged towards them but he crashed against an invisible barrier.

The half dwarf broke every finger on the hands of the old man. Then broke his neck.

The old robed man rolled in floor, letting see a mark in his skin.

"A Dark Star... Leader?"

Then Red Un took out a key.
"Right, whaddya say we find that darn Library?"

Lima was still amazed that a half dwarf could kill by his own hands the leader of the Brotherhood of the Dark Star.

"All right halfy, I will follow you."

Narudin
"I'd think twice before calling Sir Redwick ‘halfy’. But that's just me."

Narudin slowly approached the lifeless body of the old man and dispassionately prodded it with his toe. Satisfied that it didn't seem to move again anytime soon, he said:

"Well, he wasn't as helpless as it seemed. Someone with the title ‘Leader of Leaders’ rarely are helpless, really. Power goes with the title."

Narudin could feel the last threads of the old geas dying away, their source finally totally severed. He shook his head to clear the strange feeling. Freedom.

"I.... I am ready to follow."

Tranquillity
Tranquillity gave a small shudder as the last whisps of magic began to dissipate. "For some reason I have a bad feeling about this library. I suppose it’s to late to turn back now though..." Tranquillity's words drifted away into the cold air, and she became lost in a world of thoughts. Perhaps this library really shouldn't be found.

Red Un
"Yeah, DON'T call me halfy! I really really really don't like that. Now..."

Red Un took out the old book that had led them to the key and the island. He read some pages.

"...there should be a rock... over there."

He pointed to a completely ordinary small rock. He walked over to it, and then took five slow steps.

"...and another rock... here..."

He dusted away some snow, and there was another rock.

"Yup, that's the one."

He took the key and pushed it into the rock. The key didn't break, it just passed through the rock as if it wasn't even there.

There was a rumbling.

A hole opened up in the ground some paces away from the rock. Red Un walked over to it and peered down.

"Hmmh... anyone got a rope?"

Tujex
Tujex chuckled and dug around the bag he carried around. "Hehe, Red Un...how come I couldn't haven't met you earlier in my life?" he said as he pulled a wrapped rope from the bag. He handed it to Red Un and waited for the half-dwarf to enter before he made his next move.

Red Un
Red Un picked up a stone lying next to him, dropped it into the hole and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, there was the far-away sound of the stone hitting the ground.

"I think we're gonna need a lot of rope..."

He walked over to a conveniently located tree, tied the rope around it and threw the rest of it into the hole. Then he climbed down.

He got a few meters down before the rope ended and he had to climb up again.

"Everyone, get out all your ropes and anything else than can be used as ropes. We're gonna need it..."

Tranquillity
Tranquillity reached into a pouch and brought out tightly wound bundle of rope, all in all, no larger than her fist. "It may be thin but I assure you it is strong enough to hold our combined weight." she said handing the small bundle to Red Un.

Red Un
Red Un tied the thin rope together with his own and Tujex's rope.

"Anyone else got anything to contribute?"

Narudin
Narudin took out a coil rope, very similar to Tranquillity’s - thin and light. After a moments hesitation, he took out a second one.

"I always take two with me, to be on the safe side" he explained, handing the ropes to Red Un. "Mine are of Elvish design, I think Yours is also, Lady Tranquillity?”

Red Un
"Yup, typical elven stuff. Thin, fragile-looking..."

Red Un got some angry looks.

"...but surprisingly non-useless some times."

He tied together all the ropes.

"Right, this should be all we need."

He threw down the long bundle of ropes into the hole. Then he started to climb downwards.

After a while, there was a faint yelling coming from somewhere deep deep down.

"It's almost enough, but ya hafta jump the last few meters! C'mon people!"

Tujex
"Well...what are we waiting for?" Tujex said as he climbed down after Red Un. He slid down the rope rather quickly, jumping down as he reached the end of it. He landed beside the half-dwarf, his eyes straining to use what little light came from above as best they could. "It's kinda dark in here," he said, pulling one of his gloves off. His muscles in his arm tightened, as a red aura surrounded his hand. A small torch like fire appeared above his palm, giving a little light to the area. "What's taking you all so long?" Tujex called up to the others.

Tranquillity
Tranquillity dropped down beside Tujex. "We didn't want to strain the knots by having too many people go down at one time."

Red Un
Red Un looked around. Tujex's small light didn't reveal much, but Red's dwarfish senses told him that they were in a very very large cave of some sort, with the roof far far above them.

It was also unusually cold for being this deep underground.

Narudin
There was a rustle above the group, followed by silence. A moment later Narudin walked into the sphere of light created by Tujex.

"Craft secret" chuckled the shadowdancer, and looked around quite senselessly, as the wall of darkness beyond the illuminated area was impenetrable.

"It's a bit chilly here" remarked the half elf. "Strange, as I would think that it should be warmer than on the snow-swept surface..."

Red Un
Red Un let his eyes adapt to the darkness, which they did quickly thanks to his dwarven blood. He pointed in a direction that didn't seem to have any difference to any other direction.

"This way, folks."

He started to walk through the darkness and soon disappeared.

Tujex
Tujex followed behind Red Un, trying to make the fire in his palm brighter. "That darn fight took a lot outta me..." he muttered as he thought back on his fight with his copy. He sighed, and saw the outline of the half-dwarf just outside the range of his spell. He looked behind him to see the others, and sent them a smile. "I know you guys have heard that frantic movement increases body heat," he teased, seeing as he was the only one who hadn't felt the cold.

Artios
Artios was one of the last ones to climb down the rope. Once he got his feet back on the ground he looked around. "It's pretty dark here." he said. Then after a few seconds, his cloak was set on fire again. "Ah, now it's a bit brighter down here" he said and looked around him once more. He noticed that the others were following Redwick. And he ran against them to catch up with them.

Tujex
Thoughts rushed through the halfbreed's head as he wondered what lay in this library. His demon side made him slightly power hungry, and the thought of what the old Dark Star guy said made Tujex almost drool upon himself. The thought of reading ancient tomes and books written by old wizards and powerful demons. Reading their secrets, and learning all sorts of new spells. There might be a way for Tujex to truly become a half-demon, a way to combine his demon and elf spirit into one. A big smile came onto his face, his eyes staring into nothingness as he thought about the possibilities. But something like that must be guarded by some creature of massive power, Tujex was sure of it. He had been on many adventures and none of them ended without one final battle against some super powerful creature that had nothing to do with the guy who was trying to stop him/get there before him. It was a simple adventuring fact.

Biali
Lima went down the hole. It was chilling inside, Lima created a larger aura of light than the half-demon, the dragon's energy still flowing in his veins. So it was far brighter.

The light revealed some troll skeletons, stalactites and stalagmites. But light didn't shine like a torch or candle, the light was mostly a magic sphere, when an object entered it got illuminated. When it came out it was dark in a sudden.

Red Un
Red Un emerged into another huge cave-room. His dwarven senses told him that it was even bigger than the last one.

There was a small table some metres away. Some small books laid on it, and a woman who seemed far too old to be still alive was sitting there, scratching with a metal pen in one of the books, producing a grating sound that echoed all over the huge cave. A tiny candle was the only source of light she had, but her bespectacled eyes seemed to be used to it.

Suddenly, she stopped writing and looked up.

"Yes?" she said with a dusty, creaking voice that didn't seem to have been used for quite a while.

Red Un approached, slowly, waving to the others to stay back.

"Um... is this the Library of Legends, where all the books from the past, the present... and the future are stored?"

"Yes?"

Red Un felt very uncomfortable with the old lady who seemed to not care in any particular way about his and the other's presence, like she had seen it many times before.

"Erm... May we take a look in it?"

"No."

"Oh."

Red Un walked away from the lady, returning to the others.

"Ah...it seems like she won't... allow us."

Narudin
Narudin stood perfectly still for a moment, and then coughed, saying:

"Let me get this straight - We face countless terrors, defeat numerous challenges, engage in hundreds of battles, slaughter myriads of enemies, Travel Tibia to and fro and back again, destroy cults, banish demons, sail underwater, escape jails and leave barren wastelands in our wake, all in search for the bloody Library of Legends, and now a, a Librarian denies us access to it?"

The shadowdancer’s shoulders drooped and his head fell to his chest. He was shaking. And quite obviously trying hard not to burst in laughter. After a minute the half elf calmed down and addressed the lady:

"Is there any chance, Madam, that You will be turning into a demon and rending us limb to limb? It would make the situation much more... normal, in my opinion."

Red Un
Red Un went back to the old woman.

"Madam, do you know what we've been through to find this friggin' library?"

"No?"

"Let me tell you..."

And then Red Un told her.

It took a while.

When he had finished, the old woman sat silent for a while, eyeing the half-dwarf from top to toe, as if looking for evidence that he had indeed been through all that he had told her. Finally, she spoke.

"I'm sorry, but without a loaning card, you can't loan any books."

"Where can I get a loaning card, then?"

"From the gods, I presume. But it will be a lot of trouble."

"As much trouble as all the things I've told you about?"

"More."

Red Un thought hard.

"Can't we just have a... temporary loaning card?"

"Hmmmmmm..."

There was silence.

"...yes, I suppose. You and your companions may loan ONE book each from the Library."

"O-kay... for how long?"

"You may keep them for two centuries."

"Sounds good to me. What books are there to choose from?"

There was a click. Then the whole cave was lit up.

The back wall of the cave was covered in three enormous bookcases, each reaching all the way up to the far-away roof that could barely be seen. Under each was a large sign:

THE PAST

THE PRESENT

THE FUTURE

"All of them."

Red Un just stood there with his mouth open. The old woman gave him an angry glare.

"And don't take all day, I have a lot of future books that needs to be move into the present soon."

Artios
"Uh, ok. Sounds good to me" Artios said. "I guess I should loan some book from the future. An encyclopedia would be good. But perhaps I should see what the other ones pick" Artios thought. Then he shook his head. "Gee, I'll have to get a loaning card later. I guess I'll have to get some information about it" Artios thought.

"Uhm, excuse me, Madam" Artios said while looking into the old lady’s eyes. "Could you please give me some more information about how I'm supposed to get this loaning card?" Artios said and tried to smile. "Even though two centuries is quite good. I want to loan more than one book" Artios thought.

Red Un
As Red Un started to walk around in the library, the librarian explained to Artios.

"It would require that you do something that would really impress the gods, I suppose. Like start an enormous organisation tasked with gathering all the knowledge all over the world, win a really big battle single-handedly or build a really big temple. Stuff of legends, really."

Artios
Artios nodded. "Well, isn't all knowledge in the world stored in this library then? Or perhaps not EVERYTHING is documented. However, it seems building a great temple sounds more peaceful. I thank you, old lady" Artios said. Then he walked straight to the bookcase containing books from the future.

Red Un
Red Un was already there, looking through the titles. He was still in the A-section.

"Al-azif... The diary of Arc... The diary of Artie... oh, look! The diary of Artios!"

He went to the B-section.

"Bananas... Bananas 2... Bananas 3: The final battle... Batman... Books... More Books... The Great Book Quest..."

He stopped.

"What? 'The Great Book Quest'? What kind of a stupid name is that? Oh well... Boring Books... Boring Persons..."

He kept going...

Artios
"Wha…? My diary? This place is worse than I thought!"

Artios sighed and looked through the books from the future.

"Comics, eh? Erhm, the future shelf sure got some odd... books..."

Artios sighed once more and tried to look for encyclopedias.

Tujex
In a matter of seconds, demon wings sprouted from Tujex's back as he flew way up to the T section. Tujex looked through the books and picked up what was the story of his life, a book that seemed to be writing itself as he looked through it. He closed the book and put it back into the shelf as he landed on the ground. "Hey library lady, I've done some pretty amazing things during my lifetime. Surely I've done something to impress the gods. I mean... I've saved the world countless times, defeated the god named Zathroth, and countless other feats most people wish they could say they've done. How come I don't have one of these card things yet?"

Red Un
The librarian shrugged.

"Don't ask me, I just work here."

Red Un decided that he had had enough of the future, so he moved to the Past-section.

"Now THIS is interesting..."

The first few rows were filled with stone- and clay tablets, and then they gave way for papyrus and parchments.

"Hmm... what's this? Legends of Creation, as penned by... Banor? Must've been before he became a god."

Red Un took out the book. Strangely enough, it didn't seem dusty or worn, it actually looked brand-new. He flipped a few pages.

"Now this is interesting stuff! Hey library lady! I think I'll loan this one!"

Narudin
Narudin walked along the great shelves, wondering at the enormity of them and the sheer quantity of books gathered in this place. His gaze skidded across the many tomes as he came up to the shelf marked "PAST"

"I think I shall find myself an encyclopedia" he muttered more or less to himself. He found the appropriate section, but not many books lay there. The biggest was no more than two inches thick, and he checked its title out of curiosity.

"Encyclopedia Tibianica?" he said with a chuckle, and returned the book to its rightful place. The shadowdancer decided that the past was never good when it came to knowledge, or at least science - discoveries always lay with the future.

Making his way quickly past the "PRESENT", Narudin arrived to the future books. He had to find a ladder to get to the encyclopedia section. Finally, keeping his balance on the unsteady climbing tool, Narudin examined the contents of the shelf. It was quite impressive.

A book, nearly as tall as Narudin and twice as wide occupied a special niche in the shelf. The half elf could read its title quite easily, inscribed in golden letters.

"Encyclopedia Tibianica, XXI edition - Vol. CLIV, letters Da-Dp. Uman's name..."

Narudin shook his head as he considered the row of other books of similar proportions. He doubted he could carry even one of them out of the library. The shadowdancer descended a bit to the nearer future, absent-mindedly trailing his finger over the book's spines.

"Encyclopedia Tiquanda, Encyclopedia Paladina, Encyclopedia Monstra, Encyclopedia Heroica, Encyclopedia Genesis, Encyclopedia Deus, ah, now this would be interesting - Encyclopedia Arcana!"

Narudin's hand reached out towards the tome, but he hesitated for a moment. He was not a sorcerer in the proper meaning of the word. He had some affinity with magic, but that made him no more than a magic user. The half elf knew the book wouldn't aid him much, expect for widening his knowledge about magic. Still undecided, Narudin's gaze fell on the book next to the Encyclopedia of Magic. He grinned.

Encyclopedia Alchemica was a greater prize to the many-talented half elf.

Tujex
Tujex walked over to Narudin and leaned over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. "Alchemica? What they heck is that?" Tujex asked as he pulled his head back. He took a few steps past Narudin, looking through the same area of books he was looking through. He was waiting for Narudin to get done flipping through the book so he could maybe give Tujex an explanation. "Man, do they have anything on the demonic arts... I know they've gotta have one somewhere" he muttered as he searched the books.

Red Un
Red Un returned to the counter. The old woman took out a big stamp and stamped it on the inside of the book.

"There. Now, remember to return it in two centuries, or there will be... punishment."

"You mean I'll have to pay a fee?"

"No."

"You mean I'll have to give away some of my stuff?"

"No."

"You mean the gods will descend on me with terrifying wrath and burn down my house and send me to the dark places where demons live?"

"Something like that."

"Figures."

Narudin
"You can always check out the Encyclopedia Demonica on the left from Encyclopedia Deus, Sir Tujex" said Narudin with a chuckle. He was quite satisfied with his own choice.

"Obviously, Sir Tujex, This is a work about Alchemy. I believe I named that as one of my interests, yes? Most of these are quite amazing..." the shadowdancer glanced at the book, "And it seems this isn't due to be published for over 600 years, so I'm ahead of the game."

Browsing through the tome, Narudin chuckled again as his eyes set on one of the references.

"This one looks interesting" he said, teasing Tujex. "Demonbane Oil Use:
a)Apply oil to weapon
b)Hit targeted demon
c)Observe the temporary loss of demonic powers
d)Slay Demon

Don't worry, though" Narudin finished, closing the book. "It seems that most of the ingredients won't be created for five centuries yet to come."

Tujex
The words Narudin spoke sent shivers up Tujex's spine. "Geez are we really that dangerous?" Tujex asked as he pulled the encylopedia from the shelf. He flipped through the book, knowing this was exactly the book he wanted to check out. "Oh, smashing someone's insides without leaving a mark on their flesh... all with this little sign?!" he exclaimed. "Guess that's one way to combat that darned oil" he chuckled as he continued to skim through the book.

Red Un
The librarian turned around in her chair.

"Hey! No reading until you've loaned!"

She lifted her hand, and suddenly the books closed by themselves.

Narudin
"Yes, I can see that smashing a person's insides must be extremely fun" Narudin smiled and headed towards the librarian.

"I wish to loan this one, Madam" he said, placing the Encyclopedia Alchemica on the counter. "Quite an establishment You have here" the shadowdancer remarked, looking again at the great cavern around him.

Red Un
Red Un looked at the rest of his adventurers who still stood outside the library.

"Well, aren't you gonna get a book?"

Tranquillity
Tranquillity walked slowly along the aisle all the way in the back of the room where the books of the long forgotten past were stored. Quietly she padded past the stone tablets and strange symbols scratched on stranger materials. Finally she stopped next to a plain brown-leather book. Carefully she picked it up and blew dust off of its long untouched surface and examined the title. Just what she was looking for. Quickly she proceeded up to the front and handed the book to the librarian. Although she hesitated for a long moment the woman eventually stamped the book and handed it to Tranquillity who let out the breath she had unknowingly been holding.

"Do you have something I could put this in? To keep it safe." The librarian handed her a bag made of some odd material and turned to make sure that the others weren't mistreating the books. Tranquillity quickly put the book in the bag and then stashed it out of sight.

Tujex
Tujex yelped as his finger was slammed in the book. "Geez, can ya at least give a guy a warning!" he exclaimed as he wildly shook his hand. He walked over to the desk and let the lady stamp the book. "And since these guys might not live two centuries... I might be returning their books for them. So remember this handsome face would ya," Tujex said as he walked towards the doors. "And me and those gods are gonna have a talk. All the stuff I've done for Tibia and I don't have a card... we'll see about that!"

Red Un
"Bah, I'm half-dwarf, I'll live at least two more centuries."

Red Un walked out of the library, thinking to himself.

"Great Book Quest", that's perhaps not such a dumb name after all. Maybe I'll write something like that later. Yeah, that'd be nice.

Tujex
Tujex turned to Red Un with a childish smile. "Sorry, I didn't know dwarves lived that long," Tujex said with a shrug. He looked to the others who still searched for books. "So I learned about a secret library of legend, and that half-dwarves live for hundreds of years. I learned two new two new things today!" Tujex said as he gave himself a round of applause.

Biali
Lima was reading a book of the past... His father's diary.
"...we all reached the elf village, here I met Sheleen... marriage... baby... Lima Beanie."

Lima Beanie gasped.

"It explains it all. Why I have lived so long and have this natal knowledge about magic. Why my father was a dwarf and I am not ugly nor small. But why didn't my father tell me anything?"

Lima started crying. He remembered that day. It was raining in the outside of the gates. He saw his father climbing up the stairs whit a huge knapsack full of weapons and armour and some other guys where with him.

"Wait here with your uncle Lauros until I come back from Venore, I have some business to do, and things to sell."
That was the last thing that he heard from him.

Two weeks later a guy that parted returned and told the sad story.

"Near the gates of Venore were two roaming Giant Spiders and we fled, but he didn't, he knew that running with be useless, suddenly the big spiders became very fast. He managed to slay one spider and wound the other one, but suddenly it started creating some tiny spiders that crawled over him, he lowered his guard and the Giant Spider attacked him. We all rushed to aid him and slain the spiders. He was still alive. We carried him into Venore where people were cheering us for slaying the spiders. But we didn't put attention to them we managed to get to a doctor. But the blue runes were scarce that time. The druids were on strike and stopped creating them. His last words were ‘Take care of my son.’ He got a sculpture in front of the lake aside to other heroes of Venore, every single citizen came to pray, the other guys that parted are still praying in there. Your father was a great dwarf."

Suddenly he felt a pain in his hand, the book closed suddenly. Apparently he was not the only one that got his hand stuck.

"Well, I now must borrow a good book, I am a... a..."

"HEY, HOW IS A SON OF A DWARF AND AN ELF CALLED?!"

"NO SCREAMING IN HERE YOUNG MAN!!" said the librarian.

Red Un
Red Un thought a bit.

"Unholy spawn?"

He got an angry look.

"Ehem. I guess it would still be half-dwarf, or half-elf, depending on which side is the most prominent in you. Me, I'm part human and part dwarf, but the dwarven part is more obvious, so that makes me half-dwarf. Other way around, I would've been a half-human."

Artios
"Well, I've heard about the so called 'Dworcs' they are supposed to be half dwarfs and half orcs. So wouldn't that make a elf and a dwarfs child a Dwalf or Dwelf?" Artios laughed. "Well, now that would sound funny."

Artios began climbing up one of the ladders that were there, since he had used up most of his energy, he'd rather not levitate to save up some energy. When he reached the "N" section, he began searching for books containing "Necromancy". Though there were very few books about necromancy in the future, and none of them seemed to hold any really interesting information.
Artios sighed and climbed down the ladder. Then he moved the ladder to the past section and began climbing up there.

"Now let's see."

As Artios reached the "N" section, he immediately saw a book that seemed interesting. Artios reached for the book, and as his hand touched the book, he felt a chilling feeling throughout his body.

"Hrr. It chills me to the core."

Artios picked down the book and opened it too quickly check if it was anything of interest. The book was written with blood. And the blood began glowing exactly where your sight fell, you could see that in the corner of the eye.

"Now, this book contains true darkness. It'll be a challenge just not getting controlled by the darkness. I will for sure find this VERY useful."

Artios climbed down the ladder and went to the old lady to get the book stamped.

"So, what are the rest of you going to do now? Myself I'm going to see what this book really contains, and after that, I'll probably get a card so I can loan my own diary. It'll be really useful to know what the future holds."

Tranquillity
"Hmm... Why would you want to know your own future? That would be pretty boring. And what if you did know what was going to happen to you? Would you change anything? Would it still be your future? Definitely something to think about. Personally I'm glad I stayed well away from the 'T' section, past present, or future."

Biali
"I am a new race then... then I should name me... Dwelf!"
Lima decided to find a book about arcane magic.
"I better look in the future section."
He made a long trip from the past section to the future section.

Arcane Action, Arcane....

"Bad, bad, bad... Wait a minute!"

Arcane Magic and Dwelfs Vol.I Origins. by Lima Beanie

"What the..."
Lima looked around if nobody was near. He opened the book.
"So I wrote this book, and those other 4...5!"

Arcane Magic and Dwelfs Vol.II Nature...Vol.III Magic 1...Vol.IV Magic 2...Vol.V Prosperity.

"But I think I will borrow this one."

Arcane Magic and Dwelfs Vol.I-V

"I think I have a problem."
He looked at the book.
"Damn this thing is the size of Halfy!"
He carried the book that was extremely light for its size.
"Miss, I think I will borrow this one."
The old lady stamped the book.

Tujex
"Well I'm gonna use my book to master the demonic arts, and bring hell down upon the world. Cause massive amounts of chaos and destruction, and annihilate any being that stands in my way" Tujex said as his eyes flashed green. The others looked at him strangely and stepped away from him. His eyes changed back to their normal navy blue as he began to laugh. "Just kidding. I'm going to master these demonic arts and use them to make myself even stronger. Come see me in about two years, and I'll show you what this book holds" Tujex said as patted the book with a smile. He couldn't wait to start trying out the many things that riddled this large encylopedia's pages.

Artios
"If I do chose to read my own diary, the only thing I'd actually want to check is the end of the diary. That way, I can escape death, until age claims my life. If you know what I mean." Artios said and smiled. "And I am of course happy that Tujex here won't even try bringing hell upon this world. Now that would create quite some chaos." Artios laughed. "Oh well. Did everyone pick a book yet?"

Red Un
Red Un looked at Lima, a bit confused. He turned to the librarian.

"If Lima read a book that he himself will write in the future, won't he just copy from that book, and if so, who actually wrote the book in the first place?"

The librarian shrugged.

"I don't know. Don't worry though, these things tend to even out sooner or later. That, or the universe explodes."

"Right... So anyway, the first thing on my mind is the long, arduous climb back up our ropes. It's a heck of a way easier to climb down than up, y'know... Are everyone done?"

Tujex
Tujex looked to Red Un, a slight smile on his face. This was another one of those moments where he was glad he was half demon. His wings would make exiting the hole a heck of a lot easier than climbing out of it. "I'm ready when you guys are," he said, turning to look over the rest of the people in his group. Tujex couldn't help but feel a tad sad, knowing that this journey was quickly nearing its end.

Artios
"Oh well. The quest is nearing its end. Isn't it?"

Artios sighed.

"Hehe. Well, too bad it ended so quickly really. Now, you may call me insane or whatever. But to be honest, all of this was quite fun. Even though I've only been a member of this party for a few days. I always feel so... alive while fighting."

Artios looked at Red Un.

"So, Sir Redwick, are you going on any other quest soon? If you are, then I'd like to join if it’s ok."

Red Un
"I dunno what's gonna come up. A quest is something that happens by itself. And this one's been happening for quite a while."

Red Un started to walk back into the darkness.

Tujex
Tujex followed after Red Um, thinking back on his quest. He had only first had an actual conversation with Red Un one day on a ship. They had just got through fighting a huge battle against the Dark Star gang, and he spoke with him as they had their drunken celebration. "Ah good times," Tujex muttered, looking for a sign that they were nearing the hole.

Artios
Artios began following Red Un when he walked into the darkness.

"Ah yes. I was just hoping that you would have something in mind."

Artios saw the rope that they climbed down earlier not too far away.

"Sir Redwick, how long did it take for you to find this library? From the day you heard of it."

Red Un
"Far too long."

There was silence as they kept walking. Then Red Un broke the silence again.

"Y'know, the first thing I'm gonna do when I get outta here is go straight home to Kazordoon, into Jimbin's pub and order a big mug of beer. And perhaps read this book I borrowed..."

Tranquillity
"Well, once I get out of here I'm headed for Ab'Dendriel. I'm going to get to the beach, read this book, drink wine, and gods help the person who needs help with his adventure because that help is not coming from me until I'm good and ready."

Tranquillity walked along behind Red Un.


Artios
"Yea. This was rather exhausting. And all the stuff you told me you've done even before I joined in, I guess this was a thousandfold more exhausting for you."

Artios sighed.

"Well, I just hope no one went mental."

Tranquillity
Tranquillity grinned at Artios. "I rather thought that that was a pre-requisite to adventuring. You definitely have to be crazy to do even half the things that have been done in this quest alone."

Tujex
Tujex smiled and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm gonna read through this book of mine. Then set off on a quest to try out all the new stuff I learned." He chuckled and placed his hands into his pockets. "Can't help the urge to be on the move, my inner demon hates to be sitting around for to long. Maybe afterwards I could get one of those cards the librarian was talking about."

Artios
"Haha, you're quite right indeed. But once you succeed, who is the crazy one? Like in this quest of knowledge for example. Though I do not know yet if it was worth the effort. For me it was, but that was because I've not been into this quest for a very long time. I was thinking more about the ones who have been into this quest from the very beginning."

Red Un
They had all arrived at the rope now. Red Un looked up into the darkness, hoping that some helpful Deus Ex Machina would appear and carry him home to Kazordoon.

"All things considered, it was worth it I guess. Now I know where this place is, and I can come here whenever..."

His sentence was cut short by a terrible rumbling that shook the cave, sending small pieces of stone falling to the floor. Red Un didn't waste any time, and jumped up on the rope.

"Climb people, CLIMB!"

Tujex
Tujex's eyes flashed green and wings tore from his back. He shot upwards, racing past the people quickly climbing up the ropes. He reached the top, his wings retracting as he grabbed hold of the rope. He pulled the rope, realizing it was slightly easier than he expected with all the people climbing on the other end. "Thank goodness everyone's in shape," he said as he began pulling the rope to hasten their climb from the hole.

Red Un
But due to some annoying laws of physics, Tujex' pulling made the rope swing back and forth in the wide cave below.

"Hold still!" yelled Red Un while trying to avoid getting seasick as he climbed.

Biali
"Oh god... this book is interesting. Lets go to the magic tomes…"

Summon Dragon Wings
"Good! With this I can fly!"
Suddenly the cave trembled.
"Climb people, CLIMB!"

Lima summoned the Dragon Wings. It hurt a bit. But thank gods he had a cotton robe.
He flew a few meters and thought that he had mastered the flying.

"Okay people who needs a ride?"

Tujex
The rope began to sting Tujex's hands as it began swaying back and forth down in the hole. "For the sake of gods will you people hurry up!" he screamed, his palms turning red. He took a few steps back, pulling the rope behind him. The snow made it difficult to keep his footing as he attempted to help his friends.

Red Un
Even with all the swinging, bumping into walls and dizziness, Red Un managed to get an idea.

"Lima! Grab the lower end of the rope and fly upwards!"

Biali
"Sure!"
Lima tried to grab the end but failed because of the swinging. He tried two times more and failed.

"Yeah, at last!"

He flew upwards and came out from the hole.

"Fly up here Tujex lets get ‘em out!"

Tranquillity
Tranquillity stopped climbing as she watched wide-eyed as Lima begin to fly upwards, pulling the rope with her. Quickly Lima was above her and the rope was being pulled. Tranquillity gripped tightly with her arms and legs until she realised she was being pulled upside down. She quickly released her leg’s grip on the rope and her body righted herself with a jerk, nearly dislodging her.

Tranquillity regained her hold on the rope and then closed her eyes firmly before uttering an extremely bad word. She forced her eyes back open and watched the rock wall of the tunnel shoot by her. Suddenly she was above the hole. Without thinking she threw herself sideways off the rope and landed on the ground with a roll as Lima continued to fly upwards with the rope.

Red Un
Red Un tried to do likewise, but missed by a bit and would've fallen down the hole again if he hadn't grabbed hold of the edge at the last minute. The edge was very slippery however, and he couldn't pull himself up. Meanwhile, the hole was somehow growing smaller.

"Somebody help me before I get crushed!"

Artios
Artios, who got up shortly after Tujex because he used his last energy to levitate up, quickly got down and tried to pull up Red Un from the hole. It was quite slippery, however, so Artios had some lesser problems. He almost fell down the hole himself.

Biali
Lima looked down and saw that all of his friends were already out of the hole.

"Sorry guys!! Didn't realize!"

He saw someone struggling in the hole. So he rushed down.

"Need some help?" he yelled as he descended.

Red Un
"Yes, help would be appreciated!" yelled Red Un as he and Artios began slipping.

Biali
Lima grabbed Red Un at the shoulders, but he began slipping too.
"Come on!!! Help me!"
He used some of his last strength to try to pull him out. He managed to take his chest out of the hole.
"You need to stop eatin' that much guy, DAMN YOU ARE HEAVY!"

Tujex
"Boy, we're having as much trouble getting out as we had getting here!" Tujex exclaimed as he went to help Artios and Lima get Red Un out of the hole. His demonic energy was wearing out quickly, and with the last of it he focused it on his boots so the snow melted beneath his feet. He got a grip on the dirt underneath the snow, pulling hard back on the three men. "My arms are gonna be sore in the morning!" he exclaimed as he snatched the three men back, falling on his back after he knew Red Un was out. "Okay, I'm ready to go home now..." Tujex sighed as he sat upright.

Red Un
Just as Red Un was pulled out of the hole, it somehow closed itself, leaving no trace that it had ever existed.

Red Un got on his feet just as a voice boomed out over the snowy island.

"WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR A WHILE. COME BACK IN TWO CENTURIES."

Biali
"Two centuries... A WHILE?!"

Lima sighed.

"Man I had been in this adventure less than a day, and I am tired, not that much, but I am."

Red Un
Red Un shrugged.

"Well, that's that then. Let's get back to the carpet and see how Melrod's doin'..."

He started to walk away over the snow, not seeming bothered at all by the fact that the results of all his hardships had been just one book.

Tujex
Tujex dusted off his snow and dirt covered clothes, smiling as he followed behind Red Un. He lifted his heavy book, examining the cover of it before opening and flipping through its pages. Tujex grunted and chuckled as he read through the book and spotted all sorts of nice tricks and spells. "I forgot all about Melrod," Tujex said as he looked up from the book. "Wonder how he's dealing with this artic weather." Tujex chuckled as his eyes went back into his book.

Red Un
Red Un trudged onwards, hoping the rest of the gang would follow.

"More importantly, I wonder how he's dealin' with his Evil Clone..."

Biali
"Yeah... I almost forgot of him."

Red Un
They arrived at the place where they had left Melrod.

He was alone. And the carpet was nowhere in sight.

"Melrod...where is your evil clone? And, more importantly, where is the carpet?" asked Red Un slowly.

"He, I say, he knocked me down and stole it!"

"He stole the carpet?"

"Indeed. I tried to stop him, but he was such a strong and skilled person. Me, that is."

"Great. Now how're we gonna get of this island?"

Narudin
"Bah, some sort of way is bound to present itself" said Narudin, coming up behind them. It was a mystery how he had actually escaped from the collapsing cave, and even to him the memory was a blur. He muzzily recalled getting very near the top of the rope, then being thrown off and hitting the wall rather hard. And then... no one could scale a wall using daggers, could they? The shock was hardly enough to quench the half elf's semi-cynical nature.

"Travelling has hardly been a problem. It always seems there's a handy ship, carpet or underwater ship around to take us where we want to. I wouldn't be surprised if a few dragons decided it would be nice to help some stranded adventurers or, or, or the newly repaired Tibianic was sent here for its first cruise" Narudin looked at the many icebergs floating in the turbulent sea's and added, "Though it wouldn't last long here. Anyway, I suppose there is also old Carlson and his ferry on the East side of the Island."

Red Un
Though Red Un was about to disagree with Narudin's remark on their luck with transports (the half-dwarf had spent lots of the time seasick, unconscious, or just flying through the air and hitting the ground rather hard), he did have to agree that it fitted in very well with what happened next.

"Say, isn't that a ship on the horizon?"

He peered at the spot very far away.

"Yeah, and it's elven! It must be... Aiyare!"

Artios
Artios looked out over the ocean.

"Well, it does seem that there's a ship. But it doesn't seem like they are heading this way though."

Artios turned around, and noticed that his bone dragon was still alive.

"Oh, so you're still alive, you little bugger."

It was strange though. Since Artios forgot totally about it. And yet it was still alive? Perhaps it woke up again when Artios got close to it. That could explain why he felt his energy being drain out when he got out.

"Well, at least now we know how we're supposed to get to the ship. And if the ship doesn't take us where we want, we could always try to find some more dragons."

Artios laughed and forced the dragon to the ground.

"Well, unless you can fly by yourself, I guess you might want some help? If you ask my bone dragon nicely, he might take you to that ship over there."

Artios laughed again.

"Nah, just kidding. Get on him."

Red Un
"Hrmh, my dragon-riding is usually done by hanging on to a thrashing beast or bein' stuck between its jaws, but okay then..."

Red Un went over to the Not-Quite-Dead dragon and tried to find a comfortable position on its bony back.

Meanwhile...

No, not those guys. They're all dead, remember?

I mean, meanwhile, Aiyare looked pretty surprised. He thought he'd been lost in the storm, when it suddenly ended. He had seen flashes of light and heard sounds of battle from the shore, but then it all went silent, aside from the occasional rumbling.

"Well then, I suppose I shall have to find out if any of those adventurers are still alive..."

He sailed towards the island.

Tranquillity
Tranquillity glanced at the bone dragon. "Yea, lemme think about that. No. There is no way in Hellgate that I'm getting on that thing. Besides," she said as she shaded her eyes to get a better look. "Seems like that boat is turning around and heading for us."

Red Un
Red Un looked up.

"Yeah, it is! Hooray!"

He jumped off the still-living dragon and started to yell and jump around.

"OVER HERE! OVER HERE!"

His yelling was easily heard by the elven ears of Aiyare.

"Well, if it isn't that crazy half-dwarf! I'm sure he has a tale to tell!"

The ship picked up speed.

Artios
Artios looked out over the ocean.

"They sure are coming this way."

Artios turned around and watched his bone dragon.

"Well, it seems we've got no use for you after all."

The bone dragon snapped at a bird that got a bit too close.

"Hmm, maybe you would do well as a scarecrow?"

The bone dragon reacted at Artios words and looked strangely at Artios, like he didn't know what a scarecrow was.

Artios sighed.

"Well, I'll find some use for you sooner or later. I've already wasted enchantments on you."

Red Un
Red Un calmed down and looked at the dead-but-not-buried dragon.

"Um, can't ya just dissolve it or somethin'?"

Narudin
Narudin looked around a tad smugly, in an I-Told-You-So manner. The laws of heroing practically guaranteed a means of transport. What kind of world would it be if, after passing many trials, overcoming hardships and destroying the Great Evil, the adventurers would be stuck in some hellish place?

It would be a very real world, Narudin thought to himself, but didn't say that aloud.

A little to the side Artios was wondering what to do with the dragon corpse he had animated.

"Um, can't ya just dissolve it or somethin'?" Narudin heard Red Un advise.

"Yes, shouldn't You abandon it?" asked the shadowdancer. "I would think that maintaining such a creature is extremely tiring... Animating a skeleton is power-draining enough, not to mention a full dragon!"

Artios
Artios looked over at Red Un and Narudin.

"Well, re-animating a corpse is the most tiring part. However, after the corpse has been animated, it doesn't require much energy to keep it alive. It requires a bit of energy to keep him fully under my command however. And further on, as I already mentioned, I think, I've "wasted" enchantments on him. I've wasted quite a lot of energy to create this beast I tell you, so I'd rather find a use for him."

Artios sighed.

"I don't ever find any fresh corpses of any strong creatures, so I was hoping for something special when I finally found a dragon lord corpse. At least I wanted to try out his powers."

A frost troll appeared walking near the bone dragon. It had never before seen a creature like a bone dragon it seemed, he didn't even seem to know that the bone dragon was an enemy.
Artios noticed the troll. And the bone dragon seemed a bit annoyed with the troll’s presence.
The inevitable happened, the bone dragon crushed the troll with its fangs.

Artios looked at the crushed corpse on the ground right in front of the bone dragon.

"Great, at least you're stronger than a troll!"

Red Un
Red Un shrugged.

"Aren't we all?"

Aiyare's ship finally arrived at the shore. His first reaction when he saw the scale-less dragon was to grab his bow.

"Hang on, I am coming to save you!"

Red Un grinned.

"Yeah, that's what we've been waiting for."

Aiyare noticed that nobody seemed to be bothered by the huge bony beast, and looked confused.

"Ahem... I suppose you have an explanation for all this?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather have it on board the ship, with food in my belly and a mug of something to drink in my hand."

"Alright then, come aboard. Unless..."

He looked at the bare-boned beast.

"...you've got another mean of transportation."

Artios
"Bah, I was sarcastic."

When the man on the ship asked them if they had any other means of transportation, Artios faced his palm hand at the bone dragon which instantly fell apart.

"No, I'm afraid we've got no other means of transportation."

Red Un
Red Un boarded the ship and looked at the others.

"You guys comin' along? We're heading home!"

Narudin
"Home..." started the half elf and then stopped abruptly. He gazed at the sea, seemingly focusing on some faraway, unseen thing, but then realised this was nearly posing, and sighed.

"Yes, I suppose it's time to go back..."

With that Narudin boarded the ship and approached the captain, an elf by the looks of it, and gave a curt bow.

"Greetings, good Captain. It is kind of You to help us in need. I don't believe we've met, but I think we share a common friend..."

Narudin glanced to the red-haired half-dwarf briefly before continuing.

"I am Narudin of Venore, though I understand the name must mean nothing to You. I have heard about You, though, Sir Aiyare."

The shadowdancer had a rather extensive knowledge on the adventures of Red Un's party before he had actually joined them - His informants in the Brotherhood were paid well for their news... Though it seemed that they were all dead, except maybe for a few who managed to survive the terrible carnage that the cult was subjected to by Red Un's little party. It nagged Narudin that if he had not managed to escape their clutches, it was most probable that he too would have been killed in one of the many attempts to stop the half-dwarf.

"Life is certainly full of surprises" thought Narudin. And that pretty much summed things up.

Tujex
Tujex listened to the conversations around them, smiling slightly at it. He listened to Red Un's comment on what Artios said to his dragon. "Heh, I know someone who'd be quite offended by that." He chuckled as he looked out towards the ship that had finally reached them. "Well... looks like I have quite a story to tell my nephew when I get home" he said as he stepped onto the ship behind Red Un and Narudin. "Now where's the ale, after going through all that... I could use a couple of drinks." the elf said as he began walking about the ship.

Artios
Artios sighed and looked back before he got on the ship.

"I wonder how long it will take until I return to this... Place."

Artios sighed as he got on the ship.

Narudin
"With a sea journey still before us, it would be wise to hold with the ale, Sir Tujex" Narudin chuckled and added, "Not as if wisdom was a major part of this journey."

A though struck Narudin, and he said so.

"A thought has struck me. I was wondering about this..."

The shadowdancer removed a piece of very tattered paper. It said "ADVENTURING CONTRACT" on it.

"I was wondering... do all the books we have obtained go to You? That's what I understood from the most recent considerations..."

Artios
Artios looked at the contract that Narudin was showing.

"Well, I ain't got any kind of contract though. But doesn't it say that Sir Redwick may take any books he wants?"

Artios smiled and looked over at Redwick.

"Well, I just hope you're not interested in dark magic."

Then he looked over at Narudin again.

"Oh, and as far as I know, most Demons are rather 'Immune' to alcohol and it's effects. Since Sir Tujex is a half demon, I think he is as well. Well, please correct me if I'm wrong."

Red Un
First, Red Un shone up at the thought that he could get his hands on more books.

"Well, I suppose, if we are to follow the contract strictly..."

Then his human side took over.

"...then you people wouldn't have any reward for all this stuff we've been through. Keep 'em, I've got one that's pretty interesting by itself."

Human side, said Red Un's dwarven side, if I could I would break your damn neck.

Tujex
Tujex looked to Artios and smiled, running his hand through his hair. "Yeah...I used to practically die from drinking it, but I've grown rather immune it to now. The more my two halves seem to commune, the less things tend to effect my two halves. So maybe soon I'll be able to go against that darned holy water..." Tujex said, a smirk coming onto his face as he finished.

Tranquillity
Tranquillity pulled herself up onto the ship and looked around. "Well, it's not the Tibianic, but it'll do" she said with a grin.

Biali
Lima saw at the poor dragon. Laying on floor, he took one small bone from neck and stored it in a bag of his belt.

"Summon Creature from Another one" he whispered as he remembered a text in his newly acquired book.

Then he entered the boat chuckling.
"Well, I wonder what is Melrod's clone doing with his carpet. May we part?"

Red Un
"Indeed we may" said Red Un.

And thus, they sailed away, back to Tibia. They got into the port of Carlin, and tried to sneak away from the city as inconspicuously as they could (considering the trouble they had recently caused it).

Red Un parted with his fellow adventurers and returned back to Kazordoon, where he would spend many a day in Jimbin's pub, retelling his adventures to the dwarves who, naturally, didn't believe a word. Late at night, when all the other customers had left, he could be seen sitting by himself with a mug of beer in one hand and the newly-acquired book in the other, reading it to see if there was anything interesting.

One day he went to Greenshore with a rock and replaced the old sword at Jenna's grave with it. On the rock he had carved in the words:

Jenna
Of all the deaths
Hers was the most painful.
Wherever she is, is heaven
to a silly half-dwarf.

Then he went back home and drank some more beer.


Narudin
Narudin, having warmly said farewell to his companions, went to his hometown of Venore. On his way, he thought about the things he had lived through, the experiences he had gained and tried to find some sort of way to express himself about the adventure. Narudin was a philosopher as well as a warrior and did not simply chop people up without a thought. He was also a half-elf, a person of mixed heritage, and lacking the elves natural stoicism as well as the human’s carefreeness. On top of that, the shadowdancer’s outlook on life in general was a unique, and theoretically impossible meld of cynicism and idealism. He saw how unity and goodness brought strength, and he saw how evil and chaos could conquer that from within. All in all, he didn't really know which was stronger. It was quite possible that there wasn't a mind more confounded on Tibia than Narudin's, despite his always seemingly controlled demeanour.

Say what You like, but half-elven thinkers have a miserable existence.

Narudin thought all these grand and big thoughts, and came to the only conclusion which ensured a sane existence.

Bugger all he thought, and continued with a confident spring to his step towards what he hoped would be a bright future.

Artios
After Artios had taken farewell of his fellow companions, he travelled to the Plains of Havoc, where he had a little crypt deep below the earth where he usually studied dark arts. And now that he had found this book, it was time to return to his studying. He also had to find out why he had those blackouts every so often. It seemed he'd have to stay there, for quite some time. No normal man would be able to stay sane if he would had read those books Artios had, Artios himself sometimes got a hard time trying to stay sane, and trying to prevent himself from getting corrupted or controlled by the dark magic that flowed from his books. Though he might already be corrupted, he couldn’t tell.

Biali
Lima climbed up the mast when they parted. It was a silent trip.
They stopped in Carlin and sneaked out, after the goodbye he had tears in his eyes, he would miss everybody. Then he walked to Kazordoon to visit his uncle, find some answers, about his mother. He stayed there a long time, stayed a while all nights wiht Sir Redwick at Jimbin's, read his book. He manages to summon a miniature Dragon Lord from the neck bone.

"Darn, I needed the whole corpse. Artios should look at this."

Some months later he parted to Ab'Dendriel, where he hoped to see his friend Narudin and to find his mother.

There in Ab'Dendriel he got some clues that his mother was in a place newly discovered called Tiquanda...


Tujex
Tujex had started another adventure almost as soon as this one finished. No sooner had he left the boat, had he met up with a group of old friends who were off in search of some powerful weapon of legend. Loving nothing more than a nice adventure, and legendary weapons... Tujex gladly accepted the offer and went off in search of the blade. They soon found it to be nothing more than a myth, though the quest allowed Tujex to try out his new skills he had learned from his book. He's now in a forest on an island off the shore of Tibia, putting himself through intense training to improve his new techniques, and master his demonic half. The occasional explosion and spire of dark energy can be seen from the coastline, a sign that Tujex has advanced to a new level of strength. But this training won't last for long, as adventure seems to find Tujex no matter where he's at and drag him along with it as it circles the world.


Lugin
In a dark and abandoned tavern sits a lonely figure at a table. The person is apparently asleep and all other guests have gone home long ago. A thick layer of dust covers the figure. The only thing that's moving in the room is a tiny fly which is buzzing around the room looking for some calm and safe place to spend the night. The fly takes aim for the seemingly lifeless character at the table and lands straight on the nose.

Malva sits straight up in a humongous cloud of dust. For some seconds her mind is completely empty, and then she starts to stutter.
-"Wh... wher…e am I?"
There goes by some more seconds as reality slowly sinks in to Malva's mind. First she realized she's in Frodo's Tavern in Thais. Then she realize she have been sleeping... for quite a while. Then she remembers!
-"Red, where are you? We were going on an adventure. A Great Book Quest, remember?" she says out loud.
When she looks around she notices that there's absolutely no one there.
-"Just as I though, the little half-dwarf didn't have the guts to do it."

After having said that, Malva gets up from the chair and on very stiff legs walks out of the tavern to find something to eat.

Tranquillity
Tranquillity sat, legs crossed, in the room hidden below her house, her new book closed on the floor before her. Carefully she opened it to the first page which she took a moment to glance over before moving on. She glanced over to the second page. Yes, this was indeed what she had been looking for.

She had a lot of work before her she knew but all the time in the world to do it. Slowly she read over the page silently before returning to the beginning and began to read out-loud, clearly pronouncing each word. The dust around her began to stir, causing her robes to flutter a bit. She continued reading without pause and the dust flew faster and faster in a circle around her. Just before she reached the end of the page she stopped reading and the dust settled. A grin spread across her face. This was going to be much easier than she thought…

THE END