Legends of Tarthirious: The Complete Collection

by Zachariah Dracoulis

  Placed Ky-Len’s Heal.

  Activated Ky-Len’s Heal.

  Full health restored.

  All debuffs removed.

  HP: 2800/2800.

  I was already well and truly out the door by the time the house collapsed in on itself, rather spectacularly if I do say so myself, and got to enjoy the view beside Gerry as the ground eventually all but swallowed the house, nothing but the destroyed roof pointing out of the ground to indicate that there’d ever been one there in the first place.

  I jumped on the spot and started doing jazz hands, “Tada!”

  “That’s… a lot of destruction. And you said that’s the first spell you learned?”

  I nodded proudly, “Mmhm. I think it’s just because it’s meant to be a healing spell, and it’s more of a ‘heal then get the Hel out of the way’ spell. You should’ve seen the fortress though.”

  Gerry turned his attention from the buried cottage to me, “What fortress?”

  “The one with the troll? You know, where I… never mind, story for later. What’s the plan now?”

  He still seemed really interested in what I had to say, but he accepted that he wasn’t getting any more out of me until later, “Find a place in town that we can ship the loot on to? Don’t know about you, but I like the idea of gold a whole lot more than carrying around a bunch of pretty stuff. Never know when someone’s going to decide to play highwayman.”

  I shook my head, “Won’t get nearly what they’re worth, better off finding a human jeweller, or even an orc. If we’re lucky we might even find an elven trader, but these guys aren’t exactly in dire need of precious gems. Besides, I’m so done with gnomes.”

  Gerry thought for a second, clearly measuring up the options, of which there was one in my mind, then shrugged, “So jump back on Shadow-Stal and keep on keepin’ on until we find a place worth stopping at?”

  I smiled and jumped up on my horse, who, though clearly shocked by the house collapsing behind him, was right where we’d left him, “My thoughts exactly. Maybe we’ll get lucky and even accomplish what we set out to do.”

  “Heh, in Tarthirious? Fat chance.”

  Armelia: Chapter 8

  It took us another half an hour and the sun had started to set by the time we found a town worth stopping at, and unlike Rolayi it actually had stuff other than houses. There was a longhouse, guards, and even a few stores.

  Girit discovered.

  Journal entry made.

  “Nice place,” Gerry said as we trotted through the market district, “reckon we’ll find a jeweller?”

  I nodded, something that was quite jarring when also attempting to look around, “There has to be at least an armourer or a smith around here who’d be willing to take the stuff off our hands. What I’m really looking out for is a college though.”

  “A college? Like a mage college? How come?”

  “Because there’ll definitely be someone who can point us in the direction of the MoDA, and it might be useful for me to pick up a few things. Spells, enchanting, stuff like that.”

  We found a place that looked like a jeweller, what with the giant white gem on the wooden sign above the door and everything, and jumped off Shadow-Stal.

  “What makes you think they’ll just accept you? Not trying to have a go or anything, it’s just last time we were near a druid he seemed like he couldn’t wait to get as far away from us as possible, said you’d drifted from the Path.”

  I put my hand on the door and shrugged, “I’m sure we’ll at least get into a college, they’re not exactly known for their strict entry policies. Besides, I’ve got you with me. That should be enough to get us through the door.” I said as I stepped into the overwhelmingly shiny store.

  There were beautiful crystals hung from the ceilings, as well as what appeared to be a dragon’s skull made of gems put up on the wall like a trophy.

  “How can I help you?” the corpulent and entirely too bejewelled man said from behind the glass counter that held a variety of rings and amulets.

  “I’m looking to sell some small treasures, if you’re interested.” I said politely.

  The shopkeeper, identified as Thriter Rifgood, smiled and ran his fingers through his receding hair, “I’m always happy to acquire treasures my lady, what have you got for me?”

  I placed my bag on the counter and opened it up, causing the gems to glitter as the light them. Thriter was all too happy to take them off my hands, his eyes widening so much I was briefly concerned they might fall out of his head.

  6x Minotaur Horn removed.

  4x Flawless Sapphire removed.

  Flawless Ruby removed.

  Flawless Emerald removed.

  Silver Amulet removed.

  +2,220 gold.

  4,720 gold.

  “Pleasure doing business with you.” I said with a smile, the amount of gold only slightly infuriating me.

  ‘4500 or 4750,’ I growled internally as Gerry went to work pawning off his loot, ‘choose one.’

  I realise that probably makes me sound like a spoiled little brat, I just can’t stand it when numbers aren’t in what my eyes see as sequential, like when someone turns the television up to 24 instead of 25. Make a decision and commit to it, crazy people.

  Anyway, we finished up in the jeweller and Gerry made a little joke at my expense that I hadn’t thought to ask Thriter about the college, “You’re normally so fastidious about going through every single dialogue option.”

  “Well I’m getting tired,” I said, barely hiding my trace amounts of bitterness, “just tell me where we need to go.”

  To tell the truth I was starting to get a sight more than a little angry with myself for getting upset with him. See, he’d say or do something, then I’d get cross and snap, then I’d get even more cross for snapping. He was doing absolutely nothing wrong, on the contrary he was acting as the best rock that I could ask for, one who could take a beating from the savage sea that was me.

  I was starting to wonder if I even deserved someone like him, if I should’ve just become an angry bitch who sat alone with her seven cats who all hated her.

  Gerry snapped me out of my self-loathing spiral with a charming smile, then pointed further up the road, “Apparently it’s at the end of this stretch, there’s a ball of water out front.”

  I tilted my head, “…Ball or bowl?” I asked, a bit of sweetness returning to my voice as his smile warmed my heart.

  “Said we’d know it when we saw it. I believe his exact words were ‘It’s where all those magic throwing freaks spend all their time.’ Really quite the polite fellow if you ask me.”

  I laughed a little then mounted Shadow-Stal, “Come on, let’s hurry up and get this done. I hate to say it, but I think it’s getting to a point where I’m too tired to function.”

  Gerry chuckled and climbed up behind me, “Really, you’re just now thinking that?”

  “Oh shut up you dork.” I said, pointing us in the right direction and starting our trot through the fast emptying street.

  “You’re the dork, dork.”

  I poked out my tongue in response, “Nyeh… Today’s been odd, hasn’t it?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Just… It started off really good, right, then there was all that unpleasantness in the middle, and now tonight’s turning out to be alright. It’s been an absolute rollercoaster.”

  “Too true.”

  After that little exchange we entered a minute of comforting silence, the stars having just decided to come out, and the lights slowly coming to life as we passed them. There was a slight dip in the path, more of a hill really, that led us to the rather large college built in a semicircle around this large sort of plinth, a floating ball of blue water that could easily hold a man rotating in a dazzling way that made the light of the torches on either side of the college’s doors dance spectacularly as they reflected off it.

  Neither Gerry or I could believe what we were seeing, it was something that
was so simple, yet at the same time truly awe-inspiring.

  “So… He definitely said bowl.” Gerry said with a stunned laugh as we approached the entrance of the college.

  I tied Shadow-Stal to the hitching post that was next to the stairs, and watched with a smile as he almost instantly laid down and fell asleep.

  “Seems that way.” I said as we started up the stairs.

  The doors to the college were covered in symbols not unlike the ones at Aldok Dethrisr’s Hideout, however they were built from the wood, not into it. I flinched as I knocked on the heavy door, not wanting to get blasted all the way back to the jewellers by angry mages.

  “Who seeks entrance to the Girit Mage’s College?” a proper voice asked from inside.

  I thought about my response for a second, I could’ve just lied and said I was there with an urgent message from the MoDA, but that seemed about as good an idea as playing hide and go seek with a shark.

  “Armelia Fireheart, presently a freelance druid looking for a way back onto the Path.”

  “And I’m Grand Gerry the Good, battlemage from the western border.”

  There was a long pause before the doors finally opened, slowly revealing the amazing interior of the college. Most of the structure was built from wood and steel that had been interwoven with magic, as were the four bookshelves that lined the entranceway alone.

  Beyond that there was an alchemy station and an enchanting stone at the end of each wall that opened up into the rest of the college.

  We tentatively stepped through the doorway and started looking around for the source of the voice. It was only once we’d reached the end of the entrance that the door slammed shut behind us, snapping both of our attentions to it.

  A dark elf stood with impeccable posture, his hand against the door and a kind smile on his face betraying the cold deadness of his black eyes. He was wearing brown mage’s garb that had a diagonally cut cloak that stopped at his waist as well as a pair of tan calf height boots.

  “I am Vilor,” he said, confirming the floating text beside his head, as he started walking toward us, “I am what you’d perhaps call an admissions officer.”

  Gerry smiled, “And I take it that we’ve gotten through your first barrier then?”

  Vilor gave a polite nod and came to stand a few feet from us with his hands behind his back, “If it offers you any comfort, you wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t. There’d simply have been a flash of light and you’d be back outside the door, or worse.”

  I decided to not ask about the ‘worse’ option, and instead smiled and gave a little bow, “I’m glad to make your acquaintance fellow mage.”

  He regarded me with the slightest amount of disdain, then straightened up and cleared it away, “I’m afraid the others here will not see you as a fellow mage, druid.”

  I gave him a quizzical look, “Why is that?”

  The dark elf scoffed, “Because not only are you a druid, which in of itself does not make you a mage, but you also abandoned the Path. It’s the only thing that we respect about your ilk.”

  “Then why even let me through the door?” I asked, skipping over the mildly racist overtones.

  “Because everyone deserves a chance.” he said as if it were a gift to be in his presence. “However, you can’t simply join our college. You have to be able to display some level of skill that proves you’re worthiness, then, and only then, will we help you on your journey to return to the Path.”

  I wanted to tell him to stick his fancy college right up his posh arse, but settled for an annoyed sigh, “And how would I display my skill?”

  Vilor shook his head, “You misunderstand me, I can see what your level of skill is, and it’s simply not enough. If you’d like I can send you on a challenge that might hone your abilities.”

  That was the second time in a row that the word level was used, meaning I knew exactly what was coming, “That would be great, but would we first be able to rest? It’s been a long day’s ride and I’m not sure I will be able to adequately perform the challenge.”

  Vilor gave me an unsure look, then nodded, “You may use one of the student’s quarters. Find an empty room and it’s yours.” he said before mumbling “Won’t be hard.” and walking off.

  Mission Started: Join the Girit Mage’s College.

  Objective added: Reach Level 10.

  “Your quest log must be starting to really fill up. Making you anxious at all?” Gerry asked as we walked through the building that, though obviously curved, felt like a straight line.

  “Only when people bring it up,” I said with a mean smile, “where the Hel are these quarters anyway?”

  Gerry shrugged, “I’m guessing they’re at the end of the college, have the students on one side, then the faculty on the other.”

  “Aren’t you the bright one.” I said as the sign for the student quarters became visible just at the end of the hall. “Doesn’t it seem odd to you that this college has all been a big hallway so far?”

  “Not really. The one I went to in the north had most of its lessons taught offsite or in the courtyard. Though I suppose this one does seem a bit more theory based.”

  I pushed open the door of the quarters and found ten others before me side-by-side with an inch of space between each of the frames. Three of the ten had two names carved elegantly into the doors that glowed a vibrant blue, while the other seven were completely blank, no engravings or anything.

  I picked the one furthest from the others and walked up to it. Gerry and I shared a confused look before I wrapped my fingers around the door handle and nervously turned it.

  The room was far larger than the size of the door, something that would’ve been obvious if my brain wasn’t so intent on apparently eating itself so that I’d stay conscious.

  It was simple, except for the door, which had our names carved in it the second we crossed the threshold, but nice. There were two beds with wardrobes at the foot of them on either side of the spacious room, and there were some gorgeous hardwood floors.

  “Not too bad.” Gerry said as he flopped down exhaustedly on his bed.

  I took a page from his book and dove into mine, “Not too bad at all. How long do you think we’ll be here?”

  “Don’t know. That’s up to you. Normally the colleges have a good deal of high reward quests. You might even pick up a few things and we can skip that whole journey to the MoDA.”

  I shook my head fervently, “No way, not after all this. I’d like to at least have discovered it, that way I can fast travel there later.”

  “Yeah, makes sense,” he said, making me think that perhaps he hadn’t actually heard a word I’d said, “you ready to shut down for the night?”

  I laughed, “Are you serious? I was ready hours ago.”

  Kylia: Chapter 4

  Sore doesn’t begin to describe the burning pain I felt in my eyes once I turned off the monitor, and ache is definitely not the word I’d use for the feeling I had when I stood up and my body made five separate popping sounds.

  “That was a long one, eh?” Gerald said as he did some awkward stretches.

  “That depends.” I said as I walked over to the Rig Room door.

  “On what?”

  “On if the sun’s up. And what do you know…” I said sourly, the very early morning glint glancing off my television screen and effectively blinding me.

  “Four? How is it four?”

  I shrugged and started dragging myself toward my bedroom, “I don’t know… All I know is that we’re going to stop talking, and we’re going to go die in bed together.”

  I knew that Gerald wanted to agree, but he obviously realised how silly that would’ve been and instead just followed me and collapsed into the fluffy comfort of my freshly made bed, not bothering to pull on the blankets.

  I wish I could say I fell asleep instantly, but it was one of those times where it didn’t matter how tired I was, I was still stuck lying awake for the next half-hour. Gave me plenty of t
ime to be alone with my thoughts as Gerald cuddled me in what little way he could from his face down position.

  The worst part? I didn’t even get to sleep ‘til the afternoon, no, instead at around half eight I got the delightful wakeup call of five quick and loud knocks followed by a familiar cockney accent shouting “Miss Redmond!” in a less than happy tone.

  The three straight hours I’d gotten had proven to be useful enough to get me out of bed and walking, but beyond that I was still pretty knackered. I barely even remember answering the door.

  “Morning Miss Redmond.” the gruff Detective Will said as he practically barged into my flat, “Seen the papers?” he asked, stuffing a folded newspaper into my hands.

  I unfolded it and saw the front page, a picture of me being put into a police car by the Sergeant who’d arrested me, the headline reading ‘Cheater caught in London’. I turned my attention to Will, who was struggling to find a place to put his black, woollen coat, before deciding to just pull it back on over his black suit.

  I started shaking the paper in my fist, “Why the Hell am I being labelled a cheater!?” I screamed, something I hadn’t really done in anger for years.

  “Settle down, ain’t my fault.” he said without any amount of remorse.

  “It says right here that you were the one that the journalist talked to!” I snapped, pointing at about where I thought the line was.

  “Again, ain’t my fault. Weren’t exactly a private matter your arrest, was it? We were getting constant phone calls from everyone in town and eventually ‘no comment’ stops being a respected response. I told ‘em all that before you were released, I don’t think I’d even seen you at that point.”

  “So that makes it alright then? You didn’t know whether I was innocent or not so you decided it’d be best to just guess and release a statement anyway?”

  That’s when he decided to pull out the big guns and pointed at me fiercely, “Listen ‘ere, alright? I was willing to take you flippin’ your lid before, but I won’t have you questioning my integrity. Now, you can calm the Hell down so we can have a civil bloody conversation, understand?”