Chapter 2: The First Quest

            Tariel rode up to the Temple of Sherma, not knowing what to expect. He had been reading all the books Prince Arthanis had given him, and in many of them the heroes had to face dangers inside of ancient temples. "But, this isn't a temple of an evil god", Tariel thought. "At least I don't think so. Normally, travel isn't evil. I mean, unless you count the time when my horse-driven carriage broke down during the first tutorial quest and I had to wait three days for AAA roadside assistance, but I don't think that was Sherma's fault." Nevertheless, Tarial entered the Temple of Sherma, and soon found himself in a large room, virtually empty except for huge maps covering the gigantic walls. There was also an altar in the middle of the room, which Tariel approacehed, always on the lookout for traps. He stood before the altar, and prayed fervently,

"Sherma, tell me where the Gate to Carpathia is. Or at least tell me how I can find out where it is."

A voice boomed from above:

"Tariel. You must first locate the Sarced Book of Sherma. It is the only book that is read by virtually no one, and legend says that whoever reads it will instantly gain access to a vast storehouse of knowledge of the world. But the few who do read it disagree, saying that it does not answer the questions they pose. Nevertheless, those who write it say that it is absolutely essential."

"I think I got it. You mean, it's like an instruction maual?"

"Yes, it is. You figured out the riddle. The instruction manual is located on the bottom of the altar. Good luck."

Tariel flipped through the Sacred Book of Sherma. "Now I know why nobody reads these things," he thought. "They're way too big, they don't even have an index, and the table of contents isn't much help either. I mean, most religious texts at least have a chapter and verse numbering system so it's easy to tell people where to find things." Nevertheless, Tariel found what he was looking for.

[Chapter 12: Travel and Navigation]

[Verses 36-45: Using the Map]

36. And thou shalt travel to the Temple of Sherma, and though shalt go up to the altar:

37. And thou shalt put the Sacred Mouse Pointer over the Jewel of Search,

38. And thou shalt set the Search Settings to say: Search for the Whole Phrase, Part of the Phrase, or Whatever You Want, depending on what you want to search for:

39. And thou shalt say: "Search for XXXXXXXX", where XXXXXXXX is the name of the place for which you want to search (not more than Ten Characters)

40. And on the Altar Screen the Results will appear,

41. And from there you will find enlightenment,

42. But you may want to watch out, because

43. Enlightenment is not guaranteed forever,

44. And if you want to continue to partake of the Temple of Sherma,

45. Thou must pay the sum of Seventy-Five Gold Pieces per Month.

"This is ridiculous", Tariel said as he grudgingly inserted 75 gold pieces into the slot in the altar. "They charge for everything. At this rate, I'll soon go broke. I mean, what do the gods need with my 75 measly gold pieces? It's not like they need the money to fund some mysterious evil scheme."

Meanwhile, in Sherma's realm…

            Sherma was talking to the Dark Lord Kalmeth about their evil plan. "I put false data in the map search databases in all my temples," explained Sherma. "Now, whenever anyone searches for the Gate to Carpathia, they'll be given directions to the nearest Temple of the Snake." Kalmeth was pleased. "This is going to make a lot of money for us, big time. Now, those gullible adventurers will be doubly fleeced. They have to pay you 75 gold pieces per month, and then in order to get access to the Temple of the Snake they'll have to pay another 200 gold pieces to me. And then finally they might make it. And once they find the gate, they'll be so broke that they have no choice. Altaria will be mine!"

Back in the Temple…

Tariel talked into the altar. "Search for the Gate to Carpathia," he said. He waited a second, and a thunderous response came back:

"Error. Search phrases must be ten characters or less."

"Okay, then. Search for Carpathia."

"One result found. The scroll with the results on it is in the drawer below."

Tariel read the scroll. "Teleport Gate 167A, destination Carpathia, location 1714.63 north by 6971.41 west." "Now that was easy," Tariel thought. "I wonder why it's so much harder in all the books. I mean, this scroll wasn't even written in a foreign language."

What is with this evil plan?

Will Kalmeth conquer the land?

Will our hero find the Gate?

Will these tortuous rhymes abate?