Suryan, Townsquare

[N3B]

You walk through the town gates into the townsquare of the vibrant, bustling capital city of Terra. In the center you can see a prominent fountain spewing water from the mouths of various mystical beasts as citizens dance all around it to the tune of the minstrels. Glancing around, you see several brightly-painted wooden signs hanging above buildings and many alleys and roads leading through the city.

---------

NPC's:
Harold Shelton: town guide, human male
Jermaine: human female
Rodney Armath: blackmarketeer, human male
Lucas Lux: adventurer, elvish male
Phillip Errosdale: human male
Layla: human female

[/b]

[N3B]

Nayton arrived at Suryan a little fatigued, but eager to begin his new adventurous life. He pulled the hood of his woven cloak back, letting the bright noon sun shine on his face for the first time in this new land. He stared into the blue sky as the sounds of nature filled his ears. He could feel a warm breeze roll through the town, fluttering the tail of his cloak and blowing his hair back. He took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling the glory of this realm.

Finding a perch on a bench, Nayton removed a parcel from his travel pack containing assorted notes and certificates from his personal advisor back at the Academy. Freyya, as she was known, had written his Letter of Achievance certifying his graduation and had given him a set of instructions for how to continue his wizarding; afterall, at the academy, he was only taught the basics for magic. True knowledge and skill would come from the real world and adventures. He read from her first letter:

"Congratulations on completing your schooling, but now the real test comes. For your continuing-experience, you should head west to the realm of Terra to explore yourself through adventure. Your first target should be Rojie at the realm's capital, Suryan. He'll have some good advice to offer and give you some good tasks to continue your learning. Fare well, Nayton.
~ Freyya."

He sighed as he recalled his days at the Academy; she was a wonderful mentor. She taught him nearly everything he knew, never made anything complicated and often got him out of trouble with the high council when he decided to try to explore magics beyond his capabilities. If only she were here guiding him now...

He folded the papers back up and stowed them in his travel pack and began scanning signs for where he could find this Rojie. Finding the building marked "Adventurer's Guild" in bright yellow, he waded through the thick crowd and entered the building.

[Draxas]

Bismarck strolled into the town square of Suryan from the north, glancing about nonchalantly. This was the largest city he had ever been to, but in his years of wandering he had seen many sights and wonders already; it would take something more than a larger-than-normal number of houses to impress him. Besides, he was preoccupied with the fact that his contact should be here. In the crush of people, Bismarck hadn't caught sight of him yet, but the man was not known to be late. He scanned the crowd for a few more moments, before leaning against a nearby building and settling in to wait.

He didn't have to wait long. His contact had apparently spotted him first, and emerged from the crowd headed into the square from the west.

"Rory!" he exclaimed jovially, extending a hand, "It's been a long time!"

"Phil," grinned Bismarck, as he clasped the hand in greeting, "Indeed it has. How's business?"

"Oh, you know," responded Phil vaguely. Bismarck had heard otherwise; apparently Phillip Errosdale had been doing quite well for himself here in Suryan, and ran a successful tannery in the city. He certainly seemed comfortable enough to Bismarck's eyes.

"Enough about that," said Phil, changing the subject, "How long has it been? Eight years?"

"Yeah," responded Bismarck, "How's the leg?"

"Eh, it's been worse. I can walk now, which is a far sight better than the last time we saw each other. On the bad days, the limp can get pretty bad, and I can always feel the weather changing, but overall I can't complain."

"Glad to hear it, glad to hear it," replied Bismarck. Phil had trained as a squire at the same time as Bismarck, years ago, when both were young and had dreams of the nobility of Knighthood. He had been injured very badly in a riding accident, though; his left leg had been almost completely shattered, and the healers had thought he might never walk again. He left training to return home to Suryan shortly after that, and that was the last Bismarck had heard from him until just recently.

"So, I heard you quit after finishing the training, eh?" said Phil.

"Yeah," replied Bismarck, "You could say that what I saw made me a lot more jaded than when I began. It doesn't matter now; I like controlling my own destiny better than leaving it in the hands of some petty lordling."

"I hear ya, I hear ya. It was tough when I first started the business up, and I was in dept up to my eyebrows... But it feels great when you can say you're beholden to nobody but yourself."

Bismarck nodded, and continued, "Yeah, about that... Who's the fellow you wanted me to contact? Rojie something?"

"Oh yeah, Rojie's a great guy," said Phil, "He runs the Adventurer's Guild here in the city. He's bound to have some work for you, and I hear they pay pretty well for jobs around here. If you want to get to the guild, just head down that way," Phil pointed off down one of the sidestreets, "It's right there, you can't miss it. I told Rojie you'd be coming to town, so he's expecting you."

Bismarck nodded, "Thanks Phil, I owe you one."

Phil waved a hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do for an old comrade-in-arms. Just give Rojie my regards when you see him."

"Consider it done, and thanks again, my friend."

The two men waved to each other as they parted ways, and Bismarck headed off in the indicated direction, to the Adventurer's Guild.

[N3B]

Nayton strode out into the crowd of citizens once again, this time with a target; Layla. He didn't know faces, so he was at a loss as to which woman in the square was her. With no other option to turn to, he stood up on a bench and hollared: "Where is Layla!?"

From the crowd, a petite woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and a blue dress, emerged. "I am she," she said calmly. She appeared to be in her 40's, probably married and a long-time citizen of Suryan.

"I was told you have need for an errand boy," Nayton said, hopping down from the bench to meet her at eye level.

"I do. Here's what you must do,"

Gonna need you to give more details on the quest and give me the item and such

[Draxas]

Layla approached to within a foot of Nayton's face as she fished around in her purse, which was close enough to start making him uncomfortable. A moment later, she whipped out an envelope and tapped him on the nose with it.

"This is a VERY important letter that I need you to deliver for me," she said sternly, as she held the envelope right up in Nayton's face. He was too stunned to respond, "It is for my VERY dear friend Esmerelda, who works in the tailor's shop. Now I'm trusting you with this, so be VERY careful with it now."

After a pause, she said, "Well, go on, take it."

Nayton reached up cautiously to take the letter, and just as he was about to remove it from her hand, a glint of malice entered her eyes, and she shouted, "ONE MORE THING! Don't you DARE open it up! If you do, I will be VERY disappointed in you, young man!"

Nayton, now thouroughly confused and reminded of a very stern and completely loco childhood teacher, reached for the envelope again. This time, Layla simply smiled warmly as he gingerly removed the envelope from her fingers and stored it carefully away.

"Thank you VERY much, young man," she said, "When you're finished, come see me. I'll be waiting right here!"

With that she skipped merrily over to one of the benches in the square, and sat down, back perfectly staright, eyes totally unblinking, and remaining stock still like a plank of wood.

Nayton obtains Layla's letter (Quest item).

[Altl]

Altl entered into the grand capital which he had once abandoned catching sight of its bustling square remorse filled him. He had planned to visit the library of his youth, but now all he really wanted to do was spend time in the square.

A lot of things changed over the years, it wasn't nearly as vibrant when he left. The fountain had been nothing more than a well, the street signs and buildings were dreary looking and the whole atmosphere much more toned down back then. "Is this the result of them winning the war? Nationalism perhaps," Altl thought. "If this had been the capital when I lived here I would have fought for it."

Just then Altl's thoughts were interrupted."Hullo there taveler!" said a mysterious man.

Words escaped Altl, as years of solitude finally caught up with him. Finally he bellowed "Good Day!"

"I'm sorry did I suprise you?" asked the man. "My name is Harold, Harold Shelton and welcome to Suryan the capital city of....."

Altl cut him off, "Yes, yes I know all about this city I was raised here after all."

"Oh, well let me just check the old town directory to see if I can find you then. What brings you back here? Visiting family?" Harold asked while pulling out the directory.

"Yes, something like that.." Altl muttered. Checking that Harold was still distracted he drifted over to the tavern and entered.

As the door shut he could faintly hear Harold ask "What's your name again?" without even looking up from the directory.

[Altl]

Entering into the square Altl once again took in the new yet familiar sight it was a shame he had become so busy so quick not to mention having to avoid the town guide that might still be curious about who he is. Still, he came for a reason and with time catching up to him; it was best to get right to it all.

He continued though the sqare looking at the store signs only stopping to see his reflection in fountain's water. He looked a bit scruffier than when he had left for Suryan, but over all the same. For one spry moment he couldn't help wondering how the people from his youth looked now.

Moving on he finally reached a building with a bright yellow sign clearly labeled Adventurer's Guild. Without another thought Altl entered the Adventurer's guild.

[Altl]

Exiting the Adventurer's Guild Altl made haste back to the bar so that he could begin his quest this time not even bothering to avoid Shelton. After passing the fountain once more Altl soon found himself back at the Tavern's door.

Altl entered.

[Altl]

Jaded about Rojie's lack of aid in finding a party member Altl decided against investigating the matter futher. Altl pushed foreward down the main street of the village politely nodding to those he passed. As he made his way into the residential part of the village things began to look more and more like they used to; not much had changed except for paint jobs and a few additions added on.

Turning down Stonewall Altl continued for a few streets noticing few and fewer signs of villager activity. Embarking onward a run down corner house came into view and two blocks later he arrived at his destination of Stonewall and Barracks.

//I felt like writing that and I figured this was the most appropriate board since there was no basic "village" sub-board

[Notesurfer]

Kelva strutted to the center of the square and halted, arms dangling uselessly at his sides. Hardly had he begun to look around when he felt a tug on his robe.

“Hey” the smiling face proffered a hand. “M’name’s Harry! Normally I wouldn’t be so forward, but you’re obviously new here and I was wondering if I could help you out at all.” Kelva beamed back at the man and shook his hand wholeheartedly.

“W-well yes, in short, I suppose, I’d like to know if there’s any, y’know, anyplace I can find out about . . .” He trailed off, eyes drifting to the fountain.

“Yes?”

“I’m looking for treasure!” Kelva stammered excitedly. A bemused expression crossed Harold’s face.

“There’s a slim chance I may be able to help you . . .”

[Draxas]

Harold scratched his chin thoughtfully, and said, "Well, we do have some ancient ruins around here, and what better place to find treasure than in old ruins, eh?" He beamed at Kelva, before continuing.

"Nearby, to the northwest, you can find the Dungeon of Eternal Turmoil. It's a pretty intimidating name for a pretty intimidating place; it used to be an old castle at one time, but now it's in ruins and inhabited by all kinds of monsters. However, it's a good bet that theres still some treasure left over from the olden days, or being hoarded by some of those monsters. If you want to go there, just take the northern road, and then go left at the western fork. The road passes right nearby, so you can't miss it!"

"Also, some ways away to the east, on the shores of the Azure Sea, lies the Sea-Lab Dungeon. Nobody's exactly sure what that place was originally used for. Some of the brave folks who have been inside say that there are all kinds of strange machines inside. The place is also inhabited by ghouls, who use it as a base of operations for robbing travellers. You can bet that they've got all their ill-gotten gains stashed inside there somewhere! In order to get there, you'll have to pass through Lesko first. It'd be a good idea to stop there for supplies and directions from that point."

"Of course, if you want to go into either one of those places, might I suggest you pay a visit to the Adventurer's Guild first? They have lots of jobs there, some of which involve those two places. You could kill two birds with one stone; not only find treasure, but also make some extra money while you're at it!"

[Notesurfer]

Kelva frowned.

“Sounds too con-constrictive to me, but thanks anyway! I-I appreciate the help.” Kelva’s eyes drifted off to the northwestern exit road. The wheels were churning in his mind, and there was only one place he was going to even consider going to.

“T-The Dungeon of Eternal Turmoil” Kelva’s greedy eyes saw nothing as he stalked out of the town.

[N3B]

Nayton stumbled into Suryan, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. When he had caught his breath, he wandered about until he found Layla, and told her about the predicament.

OOC: Gotta run - you know what the dilemma is.

[Draxas]

Layla was sitting on the same bench, in the same position as Nayton had last seen her. If it hadn't been so long, he would have sworn she hadn't moved a muscle since he left. However, as he approached, she practically leapt out of her seat and got right up in his face again, just as she did when she first presented the letter to him.

"So?" she queried, moving her face even closer to Nayton's as she stared into his eyes, causing him to shrink back slightly, "Was my letter delivered as I intended?"

Nayton began, "Um, not exactly..."

Layla threw her arms into the air and stalked around in a small circle.

"Auch!" she shouted, "I am VERY disappointed in you, young man! It was VERY important that my letter get to Esmerelda, but you couldn't perform this simple, yet VERY important task?"

Nayton produced the letter from his pocket, and interrupted, "But, it was the wrong letter!"

Layla stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of her tirade, glared into Nayton's eyes, and practically growled, "How do you know that? You didn't OPEN it, did you?"

"N-no!" stammered Nayton. He couldn't imagine what the woman's problem was, but it certainly was unnerving, "I brought it to Esmerelda in Lesko, like you wanted! She told me it was your grocery list!"

Layla halted again, and cocked her head slightly.

"Oh? Let me see it, then."

Nayton handed over the letter, grateful that she was finally listening to some reason. Layla opened up the folded paper, and perused the contents. Finally, she said, "Well. I was wondering why I came back from my grocery shopping with such strange things."

She fished around in her bag for a short while, and produced another envelope, looking identical to the one that contained her grocery list.

"Very well. Here is the actual letter. Remember, it is VERY important that this gets to my VERY dear friend Esmerelda. And don't you dare open it up! That would make me VERY angry!"

She flicked the envelpe toward Nayton, nearly swatting him in the nose with it. He gingerly took the letter from her hand, and stowed it in a pocket. Layla once again smiled warmly.

"I'll be waiting for news of the delivery!" she said cheerily, and returned to her bench, sitting in the exact same position once more, remaining stock still...

Nayton hands over Layla's Grocery List (Quest Item).
Nayton obtains Layla's Letter (Quest Item).

[Ranger]

Ranger made his way slowly and painfully to the Inn