It was raining softly against the thatched roof of the local tavern in the small town of Tarrin. Alric was almost out of money. He was going to need to find work soon if he wanted to continue searching for his sister, Sarah. She had disappeared a little over a year ago and it was Alric’s life mission to find her, to bring her home safe.

Alric was getting cut off by the barkeep, he had learned recently what happened if Alric had just a little too much to drink and was not eager to see that side of the young blond man again. He did cut the imposing figure at a little over six feet tall, broad shouldered and muscled from his both his work on the farm and his year of searching for Sarah.  He wore simple chain mail with a hooded cloak, his sword resting in its scabbard on his hip and his round metal shield on his back.

Alric finished off the last of his ale with a sigh, the amber liquid was his one vice, if the people of Vadena could see him they would not recognize him, he had always tried to be a good example as a lot of the children of his hometown looked up to him – he was regarded as the town hero. But here, in this place, no one knew him and he did not care to know him. They had brought him no closer to finding Sarah then he had been when he’d arrived nearly a week ago.

He stumbled out of the tavern, only mildly drunk. He leaned against a wooden beam for support but when he pulled his hand away a piece of parchment was stuck to it. It was a poster of sorts, offering 10,000 sovereigns for the adventurers who could recover something for the monks in Ulna Themar. He could handle that, and with his cut of the money he’d have enough to look for Sarah full time. He folded the wet parchment and placed it in his pack, now headed for Ulna Themar. It was only a few days journey from where he was. 

[hr]

The city of Ulna Themar was often referred to as the Gilded City, and it was no wonder, almost all of the buildings were made of marble with gold accents. Intricate carvings of woodland creatures could be found throughout the marbled buildings older than anything Alric had ever seen. He had entered through the south gate which emptied out into the district known as Kutmal Market. Shops as far as the eye could see lined the roads that ran throughout the city. Shopkeepers tried to entice passerby into their shops by shouting their sales over the heads of the crowd. Alric ignored them, he needed the religious district of Sarbost West, that is where the temple would be.

The temple of Eteyar was the most beautiful temple Alric had ever seen. Streams of water seemed to flow all around and through the temple, falling out of a marble statue into a golden pond in the epicenter of the temple. Here, monks were waiting to greet the adventurer’s who had gathered.

[color=00BFFF]“This ought to be good,”[/color] Alric muttered to himself.

An older elf, not that the humans in the group of adventurer’s would really be able to tell without experience among the elves, greeted them all warmly. [color=008000]Welcome! Welcome! Now, you all know why you’re here. You are to retrieve for us, an artifact of Lord Eteyar. Nothing too special, just a bronze sphere with ancient runes on it. It is in the misted forest which I fear is far too dangerous for our monks to venture into. No one has been known to return from the Misted Forest which is why until just recently it was illegal to go there. To get past the guard posted outside the gates you will need to show a voucher signed off by the mayor of our fair city. He requires that you be well prepared for your venture into the woods and that you have a party of no less than 3 people. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, I will remain here until the end of the day. If you mention to any of the shop keepers that you are part of Eteyar’s quest they will give you a discount. Good luck! May Eteyar guide you on your way!”[/color]