Year 1034 AA Mid Spring
I
It was just the start of the day when Alain had awoken from his room and went down to the lobby for some breakfast.
He had been staying at the Pallas Athens, the popular inn that many travelers and adventurers would visit during their time in the small kingdom of Stoddarvale, a kingdom favored by the goddess Athena. The Pallas Athens was a two-story inn that housed twenty rooms big and small. The walls and ceiling were strong oak and through out the building, various trophies and tapestries decorated the walls.
Alain was sitting at a two-person table that sat by the fireplace that warmed the empty lobby of the inn. Taking a break from his breakfast that comprised of crisp bacon, and slightly overcooked eggs, Alain turned to look up at the fireplace. Through his green eyes, he noticed the large golden shield displayed above the flickering fireplace. Painted in the middle of the shield was a shaded owl, holding an olive branch in its mouth.
"Tis the crest of the kingdom, handed down by the goddess of Athena. Or so they say," said a soft melodious voice from behind Alain. He quickly turned and noticed Rayna Salazar, the tall beautiful owner, barmaid, cook, and janitor of the Pallas Athens standing next to him.
"Rayna, by what do I owe this pleasure?" Alain asked calmly, running his hand through his smooth sandy blond hair and staring up at the inn owner. He gazed up into the beautiful woman's blue eyes, and she let out a girlish giggle.
"This came for ye, while ye were sleeping," answered Rayna, whose slender hand reached into her white cotton shirt then drew forth a small folded letter. She then set the letter gently next to his plate of half eaten eggs and turned to walk away.
Alain became distracted, watching the back of Rayna's figure swaying as she walked to the kitchen, then shook his head and cleared his mind of any lustful thoughts he had of the barmaid and set his sights upon the letter that sat on the table before him.
He picked up the letter, unfolded it, and stared at the confused.
There were no letters, no symbols, and no pictures. No trace of ink on the page whatsoever. Alain walked over to the fireplace and tossed it into the flames.
What kind of joke was Rayna trying to play, he thought to himself. Alain sat back at his table, ready to finish his eggs. He placed his fingers over the fork, then out of nowhere felt something hot hit him in the back.
Alain quickly jumped up from his seat, and turned around to face his attacker. He wasn't sure exactly who or what had hit him. It wasn't sharp like a spear or an arrow, but it burned, with more irritation than pain. Something in the young man's mind told him that it wasn't someone who tried to attack him, and that he should look to the floor. Sure enough when he set his gaze down, Alain saw the same letter he had just thrown into the fire. The same letter, without so much as a singed edge on the paper.
Once again, Alain looked at the letter, this time seeing small black letters appear on it. The words read:
I see you tried to get rid of the letter by throwing it into the fire chosen warrior.
Meet me at the GreyOwl Library as soon as you can. You will find your answers there.
-Selura Nehta
Alain stared at the letter for a moment, then reached down to pick it up. He quickly stuffed the letter inside the pocket of his green cloak, and exited the inn without making a sound
xxxxx
The Greyowl Library served as a house of gathering great knowledge as well as a temple to Grey Eyed Athena. Like many of the buildings in the kingdom favored by the goddess of knowledge, The Greyowl Library was decorated with tapestries and paintings dedicated to the goddess. The library itself was a vast building made of marble floors and smooth stonewalls.
Alain quickly walked up the marble steps, bowing lightly to a couple of gruff looking dwarfs who passed by him.
He reached inside of the library, greeted by one of the acolytes, a young man who was just about six foot, the same height as Alain. The acolyte escorted Alain to a room in the back of library, past the row after row of books that were neatly shelved on the walls.
The acolyte stopped at the room where Alain was to meet Selura, then turned to the young green-eyed young man and gave a bow. "Come in" called a beautiful voice from within the room. Alain slowly and cautiously walked inside the room, leaving the acolyte in the hallway.
What he expected when he entered the room was to find an elderly woman hovering over a small black cauldron, muttering cantrips, yet as he entered Alain found himself stared at the back end of a tall slender looking woman with raven black hair wrapped in a topknot. When she turned around, Alain couldn't believe what stood before him.
Selura appeared to be a tall elven woman wearing tight brown leather pants and a light green shirt, her lips a soft pink and her eyes grey, Alain tried to capture his breath, when he noticed Selura gazing into his eyes with a vacant expression across her face. Her grey eyes looking at him, almost looking into his soul. Elves were known to travel throughout Stoddarvale, and in his travels, Alain has come across the paths of many elves, but he sensed something about this elf woman that not only enchanted him, but scared him as well.
The elf's lips parted in a smile. "Are you all right?" she asked, smiling as she moved closer to him.
Alain nodded, regaining his composure as Selura drew closer. He noticed she was about half a foot taller than he was, which made her seem more enchanting to him. "I'm fine," he finally said after a moment of awkward silence," I got your message at the inn. From..from Rayna, to meet you here."
"That's how you came to be here, is it not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I am glad you were able to come, for there is something I need your aid in," she continued. She stopped speaking for a moment, and looked at Alain once again the same way she had before, yet this time the young man stood there calm, almost unaffected by the elf gaze. "Do you by chance know who Tanthole is?"
"The name is familiar," Alain answered, remembering hearing of the name during his time in the eastern part of the world. Isn't he some kind of sorcerer?" he asked.
The elven lass nodded and began walking away from him. "Yes, he's an extremely powerful sorcerer from Ballowsin, the Land of Strife in the eastern part of this continent. He is favored by Ares; god of war. At this moment, he is pursuing an artifact of the harvest goddess Demeter called the Harvester's Stone. It is a stone with the power to make any land fertile, or infertile, depending on the person using it."
Alain was catching on to the direction of where Selura was leading this conversation. "So Tanthole is going to use the stone to make so people can't use their lands for farming and growing their crops."
"Thantole plans to ransom the fertility of farmer's lands for their allegiance and servitude!" Selura snapped back at the human. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead as her face began to swell with anger. She turned away from him, staring at the wall.
Meanwhile Alain stood there, wondering just what role he was suppose to play in all of this. He wanted to ask her, but the fear of the tall elf snapping at him once again held him back for just a few minutes.
Turning around, Selura walked towards Alain once again. Almost as if she was reading his mind, she calmly said," I need you in this because she told me you were the one who would rescue the stone."
"Who told you that I would rescue the stone?" Alain asked the elf, standing so close he could feel the warmth of her breath.
Selura reached inside the top of her shirt, her fingers going down the center of her neck. She slowly pulled out a small steel medallion wrapped around a bronze chain. Etched in the middle of the medallion is a horses head surrounded by a thin wreath of leaves. Alain knew this to be the symbol of the goddess Demeter. He began to feel a warm sensation radiating from the medallion, as if it was telling him to just go with the elf and his questions will be answered.
Selura was expecting the young man to ask why Demeter had chosen him for this task. She was ready to explain that sometimes the gods choose their chosen for no particular reason at all, like with the thunder god Zeus choosing his wives, or the war god Ares choosing what side to fight with in a battle.
Yet as she looked into his green eyes once again, Selura saw calmness as well as determination. She gently placed the medallion inside her shirt, and just stood there, waiting for him to speak.
"So when do we leave?" he finally asked.