Chapter 1
It was a brisk summer day at the hillside cottage of astute sorcerer Barnabas.
He was enjoying the salty ocean winds that were blowing betwixt the various rocks and trees near his cottage, until he hears the sound of his warp circle go off.
“Privety, B.”
Barnabas turned around to witness a familiar face exit the blinding pillar of light emanating from the circle.
“Oh, Urvkos!” Barnabas rushes excitedly to greet his companion.
“It’s been quite some time since I’ve last seen you, I see you’ve finally received my parcel!”
Urvkos nods as he holds out a piece of parchment. “If you’re referring to the small parchment with a poorly scribbled warp rune inscribed on it; then yes, I have received your ‘parcel’.”
Barnabas laughs as he leads Urvkos to the cottage
"We’ve an awful lot to discuss.” Barnabas exclaims as he throws the quaintly ornate wooden gate open. As Barnabas opened the gate, Urvkos was greeted to a litter of tomes, scrolls, and various other magical objects cluttering the floors of his acquantaince’s home.
Urvkos stares blankly at a delicate trinket he almost stepped on
“I’ve encountered dragons with hordes tidier than your home, B.”
“Well, when you travel about the world, you don’t really have much time to tidy up.” Barnabas laughs as he maneuvers around his hoard of a home to what appears to be the only “tidy” area of his home, the kitchen.
“Find yourself a seat while I prepare us some tea, we can catch up on what’s been occurring since our last encounter.”
“I’ll make the attempt.” Urvkos retorts as he slides some junk scrolls off of an old, rustic chair.
After Barnabas places his kettle over the fire, he swiftly maneuvers through to sit on the seat in front of Urvkos.
“So…” Barnabas starts
“It’s been quite some time since the Elemental Conflict with those two nations, eh?”
Urvkos sighs
“Yes, time surely did it’s manner since we supposedly stopped a warring nation from abusing elemental arcana.”
Barnabas chuckles at his tone, “If only it had truly stopped those children from wanting to toy with such powerful forces…”
Urvkos glances at Barnabas
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, well, it’s quite the funny predicament.” Barnabas claps
“See, despite my best efforts at trying to convince ol’ King Francis that keeping the stones would just result in the conflict again, it didn’t stop his sticky fingers from taking pieces of the bloody things for himself.”
Barnabas sighs, kicking a random tome to his side.
“Needless to say, it… really made me upset… so much so, in fact, that I began to take powerful items from stupid children who think they’re even remotely close to worthy of wielding such power to begin with.”
Urvkos gazes at Barnabas’ ever increasing determined look.
“Sounds an awful lot like thievery, no?”
Barnabas shakes a tad, “Well, yes, it is most certainly thievery. But if it’s to prevent the troubles of other good people…” Barnabas states as he motions to all the junk lying around the ground. “Then so be it, I’d rather it be this then having another Geoffery again.”
Urvkos laughs
“Well of course! This is nothing new, kings never go through with their word unless they’re held at their necks with a knife.”
Barnabas joins in on the laughter
“Well, you are correct. It’s as you’ve said, B, kings are like children. They never learn, lest they’re threatened by a force bigger than them.” They continue their laughter amongst bad-mouthing the king they once worked for.
While the two bicker about, the aroma of tea eventually dances through the air, only to be followed by the sharp whistling of the kettle.
“Oh lookie, it’s done!” Cheers Barnabas.
Barnabas shoots out of his chair.
“Urvkos, why don’t you head outside sit there, we can further discuss things outside of this stuffy home.”
“Having junk piled a mile high in a home does that, you know.”
“Oh shush it, just head outside.”
Urvkos proceeds to leave the house and slowly perch on a log overlooking the sea.
Urvkos stares blankly to the ever-expanding, he feels as if he’s wasting his time by idling around here, There are matters more paramount than to sit and have tea with an acquainted mage, he thinks to himself. He begins plotting how he can continue his wayward pilgramige, planning more contingencies to utilize in case he ever has to go toe to toe with his pursuer again, or even one of his affiliates. These thoughts dominate his mind, so much so that he can even hear a faint voice calling out to him.
“Urvkos…”
It sounds familiar… oh, that’s right.
“Urvkos, your tea.”
Urvkos turns to see Barnabas, holding out a cup of tea.
“Ah, yes, thank you.” Urvkos takes the cup.
“You know... “ Barnabas sits on the grass
“It didn’t come to my attention until now, but you look awful.”
Urvkos glares at the tiefling mage with a hint of offense.
“You look all beaten and tattered up, and you look like you haven’t slept in ages.”
Urvkos continues his glare at Barnabas
“Well, when you’re a holy man of productivity such as myself, you don’t have time to worry about miniscule matters such as how you appear, lest it be genuinely important.”
Urvkos takes a sip of his acquaintence’s tea.
“Besides, you weren’t the only one travelling about this world.”
Barnabas’ tail perks up when hearing his chum say that
“Well that sounds quite exquisite. Have you been documenting more religious locales?”
Urvkos nods
“Of course, but I’ve also been handling other business that holds a higher priority than documenting temples, pantheons, and whatever in between.”
Barnabas tilts his head to the side
“Oh really? And what that might be.”
Urvkos puts down the cup and begins to cast a faint image.
“See, I’ve been living the life of a vagabond since I’ve met you and your party of nitwits, I’ve also been in pursuit by a man that you needn’t know much of, aside from his hatred toward anything that isn’t a human. I’ve been on the search for an object that can fix another conflict that’s been plaguing our home.”
Barnabas stares at Urvkos confusingly, motioning to the area around them.
“You mean, here, right? The material plane we inhabit, and the residences we abide in??”
Urvkos shakes his head
“No, not here. To make this simple for you, this ‘plane’ has never been my home.”
Urvkos drinks more from the scentful tea
“I’ve been looking for the means to return, but I’d need the object I’m looking for before I do. So it’s been a matter of looking for a way back, and making sure I get what I need beforehand.”
Barnabas’ ears twitch
“Well, if you’re looking for stronger extraplanar travel, I might know a locale that’ll have what you’re seeking.”
Barnabas stands up and points outward to the ocean.
“See that ocean there?” Barnabas asks.
“It’d be difficult not to.” Urvkos grunts.
“Far out amongst this briny expanse lies another continent hosting a myriad of townships, villages, and small nations. One of them in particular is rumoured to have rituals regarding extraplanar travel that can cross even the Far Out.”
Urvkos sighs.
“That sounds more akin to superstition.”
“Well, you would be right, but I’ve managed to make a visit and inspect the place myself, and it seems to be true.”
Barnabas continues as his eyes light up
“There was an uncanny amount of magic flowing about there, and it felt extremely foreign, unlike anything I’ve experience whilst I was there.”
Urvkos ponders the truth of Barnabas’ words. Sure, this area may not be tied to superstition, but is it really going to serve as his means to head back home?
“Listen, B…”
Urvkos struggles as he rises from the log.
“I’ll take you on this offer, but only if you plan on assisting me on getting this object I’m looking for.”
Urvkos extends his hand toward Barnabas.
“I don’t intend to stay here, so it’d be nice if I were to have the process sped up a tad.”
Barnabas looks at Urvkos’ eyes, they look sunken. His arched back isn’t doing much to help his outward appearance either.
“You seriously need to bloody relax someday.” Barnabas chirps.
“This is too paramount of an ordeal to have any time to relax.” Urvkos shoots back.
“Very well…” Barnabas says with discontent.
“Allow me to fetch you the map.” He soon swiftly enters his house, and after some audible rummaging, he exits as swiftly as he entered.
Barnabas lends his map to Urvkos.
“Here, information regarding where this arcana might be located is marked. Beware of the local bandits and such, though I’m sure I didn’t need to tell you that.”
Urvkos focuses his mind on how he could even use this “arcana”, if he can even find it. While he’s focusing on the map, Barnabas is preparing the warp circle with a child-like elegance.
“And in case you lose my parcel, I’ve scribbled my warp runes on the map that you can use, it’ll prove very dandy if you end up being stupid.”
Urvkos rolls up the map and slides it in his bag.
“Well, knowing you, I can say I’m far from being stupid.”
Barnabas shrugs it off as he activates the warp gate.
“Come back soon, I’ll force you to take a rest if I have to.”
Urvkos nods. “Sure.”
Soon, the pillar of light fully envelopes Urvkos, and like that, he’s off.