SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Mystical Archive Research
Chapter: One
Description: You, the hopeful guild initiate, must venture into Charon, exploring ruins, dungeons and caves left behind from mages of the Age of Wonders. You must detail your exploration, going through dangerous environments, dealing with potential wildlife, and discovering some kind of information detailing the Mystical Archive. This can be tablets, documents, artifacts or other pieces of information describing the archive. However upon finding the information you learn that it has been stolen, taken from where it was found by others. These can be thieves, cultist, bandits or anyone with ill intentions.
Requirements:
- Requires at least two people (you and one other, the other does not need to be interested in the guild)
- You must make at least 5 post with each post being 150 words to complete the mission.
- You must locate information regarding the Mystical Archive.
- The information is taken from you at the end of the topic, in anyway you desire.
- Once you complete this mission you gain access to chapter two. (which needs to be a separate topic)

---

The sun is shining brightly this beautiful day in Charon. Light bounces across the Luna Sea playfully as the waves gently push against the hull of a very unremarkable dingy which had been stolen from a fisherman just two days ago by a fish woman and a fuzzy fae being. 

Why had they stolen this tiny vessel?

The answer is simple! They needed it.

Getting out into the middle of the Luna Sea somewhere off the coast of Zeinav was easy enough. For some reason the weather decided to smile down on them for the whole journey out to this point where there was supposedly a ruin with some information about some archive thing that a bunch of mages from a guild were very interested in getting their hands on.

Tsarra was all too keen to take on a task like this. Raiding submerged ruins and sunken ships was a specialty of hers and it had little risks compared to raiding mansions and ships with living people still walking around. Knowing that some powerful mages were so keen about the ruins means that they would be willing to pay a lot for whatever is found there. 

What's more is that she wouldn't be completing the task alone, so there was a much better chance of bringing a lot more to the surface. Her fishy fingers would be aided by the sticky fingers of a newfound friend named...Hyll, yeah, that was right. 

Anyway, the sunken ruins were supposed to be right around where they were so all they had to do was go for a swim. Tsarra gives Hyll a pat on the head and casts a spell that will allow her little faefriend to breathe underwater.^[1]

"Ready ta find some magical treasure?"

Stepping onto the rung of the rowboat, she unbuttons her shirt and pulls down the sleeves, exposing her back which has an elaborate patterned tattoo of a turtle all across her skin. Touching one of the flippers, the tattoo beings to glow a light blue color before a spectral form of a turtle emerges from the tattoo.^[2] It swirls around Tsarra for a moment before she points to the water and it dives beneath the surface. 

A moment passes before the turtle resurfaces, several sizes larger than the specter or the tattoo itself but still bearing the elaborate patterns across its shell. The triton woman turns to Hyll with a toothy grin as she steps onto the back of the turtle. 

"Alright, hold on an' this fella will take us down."

---

[1] Breath Water
[2] Turtle Tattoo

Hyll rode along in the boat, lying on the floor of the boat in the shadow if the fish person that he let do all the rowing. Their tiny arms wouldn't be very capable of doing the job even if they did feel like being helpful at all for some reason. The temptation to cause mischief had been present the entire ride, but with only the two of them on the dingy, it would be pretty obvious who was causing trouble. And, they had a goal. They were on their way to find some old magic junk for the Mage's Guild so that the Fairy and the dumb fish could get in.

They had heard about the Mage's Guild and wanted to sneak their way in and steal some of their magical secrets, but they were a stingy bunch with their spells. No, the easiest way for the little gremlin to sneak his way in would be... to just do their initiation! It was the perfect plan! He'd just pretend to do everything they wanted him to do and gain access that way. They'd never suspect a thing!

When Tsarra stopped rowing, Hyll peaked his head up to look around and Tsarra pat him on the top of his head. He felt some magic flow down from her hand and through him. He felt an itchy feeling on the sides of his neck as a pair of gills suddenly grew into place there. A couple of tiny dorsal fins sprouted out of the top of his head and down his spine. Breathing became more difficult up here in the air. The little Fairy that now resembled a sea monkey gasped for air. They quickly followed Tsarra onto the summoned sea turtle and grabbed hold.

He took his first breath of water with relief as the turtle submerged and began to swim downward toward the sea floor, towing Hylltywyll and Tsarra behind it. The water slowly grew darker as they went deeper, the water blocking out the sun. Hylltywyll looked around, scanning the sea floor for their target. There, on the bottom of the sea floor, was a large stone building that was mostly grown over with corals of all colors with small fish flitting about. Crabs crawled across the coral and an eel popped their head out here and there. It was surprisingly teeming with life for an old ruin.

Tsarra's own gills fill with water and expell all the air from her system as they descend.^[1] The pair, or rather the trio, swim about the depths of the sea with just the faintest amount of light filtering down from the surface above them. They hit the thermocline and the temperature becomes much chillier as they search about the old ruin with its eroded stone pillars, collapsed walls, and many hidden chambers that have been partially filled with sand carried by the ocean currents. 

Tsarra lets go of the turtle's shell and swims alongside it and Hyll, diving down and checking smaller nooks that the large reptile couldn't get into.^[2]

A school of fish part around Hyll, curious of his tail but are quick to swim off at the slightest movement. A larger shadow passes overhead as a small pod of whales slowly swim between the sunken ruins and the surface. 

The triton woman pays them no mind, completely used to seeing such things on a regular basis the same way most people on land do not bat an eye at a pigeon crossing their path. She digs about in the sand and shoos off some crabs looking for scraps to eat. 

The turtle loops back around, giving Hyll the chance to explore the opposite side of the stone structure turned coral reef. 

---

[1] Gills
[3] Webbed Hands

Hylltywyll looked around in wonder at everything. They'd never been underwater before, so this was a whole new experience for them. The corals were so colorful. Even the nasty little gremlin could appreciate the beauty of such scenery. The water flowed around, making their fur sway like it was weightless. The fluffy Fairy typically hated being wet, but being entirely submerged like this felt different. It wasn't so bad. It was even kind of nice. They flinched and turned invisible as the huge shadow passed over them, but Tsarra seemed entirely unalarmed by the huge sea creatures swimming overhead, and the sea creatures seemed completely uninterested in eating them. They sighed in relief and let the turtle tow them around to the back of the ruins.

The back of the ruin wasn't much different from the front. Many of the eroded old pillars had fallen down and been assimilated into the growing coral reef taking over the place. But, there was one thing that might be helpful. A large, stone door was in the center of the wall. It was partially grown over with coral just like everything else, probably impossible for the two explorers to open. Anyone else might just look for some other way in, but the mischievous Fairy had the perfect magic up their hairy sleeves. They placed a hand upon the stone door and the shadow beneath their palm expanded, a growing circle of darkness on the rough surface, until it was wider than the sea turtle. And suddenly, the circle vanished along with the chunk of the stone door that had been beneath it. A perfect hole right through the door was left in its place, big enough for the sea turtle to comfortably swim through.

Hylltywyll swam to the side of the temple and used a little more magic to signal Tsarra on the other side.

"Over here!" Hyll's little voice called out from the corner of the building, as close to where he thought the fish lady might still be.

---

Create Door
Minor Trickery

Tsarra over turns a large hunk of carved stone with some effort, trying to clear a collapsed entrance into the ruin. Just as she does, she disturbs a moray eel which tries to take a defensive chomp out of her leg as it swims past. She jerks past and bops the eel in the snout and shoos it away. Silly slimy sea noodle. Turning her attention back to the entrance, she pulls another stone free, but this time is interrupted by the sound of Hyll's voice calling out to her. Seems the little sea monkey found something on the other side. 

She abandons her task and swims up and over the ruin, keeping an eye out for any other entrances as she goes. The corals make it hard to discern where the reef stops and the ruins start. Salina always reclaims what falls into her domain, even stone cannot hold up against her might. Given more time, the ruins would eventually be reduced to nothing more than piles of sand. Sucks for Ginma.

The triton woman gets over to where Hyll was and peers down at the little creature and her summoned turtle. Her eyes are then drawn to the perfectly circular hole in the stone that will grant them access to the interior of the ruin. What a find! This little fuzzball must be a lucky charm!

"Hey! Good find!"

She swims down and ruffles the top of Hyll's head, giving little scritches behind his ears and along the funny little fins that were sprouted. He was even cuter than before. 

Peering into the hole, it was pitch dark inside. It would be hard for them to navigate since Tsarra lacked any real way to see. Luckily for her, she had other ways of getting around in the dark while underwater. She clicks her tongue and her ears listen for the echo which bounces back off of anything solid, giving her a rough idea of what things look like inside the ruin.^[1] Seems like there is a hallway which descends down a ways, but the passage was large enough for the turtle to pull them along down it. 

"All clear! Let's go get that sunken treasure!"

---

[1] Echolocation

Hylltywyll grumbled as she rubbed his head, but begrudgingly allowed it. The little gremlin wasn't used to any kind of affection and didn't understand why this fish lady was so quick to pet him and carry him. The scritches did feel kind of nice though. He was also annoyed that she thought he had just found this perfectly circular hole here instead of realizing he had made it himself. Dumb fish. Well, whatever. He didn't feel like putting in the effort of correcting her misunderstanding. He waited for her to go in and make sure it was safe before he went in. And he didn't even have to tell her to be the guinea pig, she just volunteered.

He grabbed the turtle quickly, knowing he'd be in a bit of trouble without it. He was a slow swimmer, especially compared to Tsarra. She was built for swimming as a Triton while the fuzzy Fairy was definitely not. His little bird legs were horribly suited to pushing him through the water and his fur was anything but streamlined. He was pulled along as he clung to it, down the hall of the ruins.

There were a lot less plants and animals inside the previously sealed shut area. It was also much darker inside, a welcome sight for Hylltywyll who was more comfortable in the dark. He looked around, able to see perfectly. It was a very long hallway. The walls were made of the same stone as the outside, but much less worn down. No current lapped at these walls like the ones outside. There was also a lot less sand in here. Only a little bit collected in the corners and along the edges of the walls. A few small sea creatures that must have been able to slip in through some crack somewhere and didn't mind the dark scurried about. A tiny octopus hid in a metal urn that was lying on the ground as the turtle swam by.

A few more bits and pieces of possible treasure were scattered about. Several golden torch holders were attached to the wall in even intervals, the torches within long rotted away by the water. More urns were along the wall, less evenly placed and several fallen over. Some of them even still had lids. They were shiny, but not what they were looking for. They had an actual goal in mind. Unusual for the Fairy.

Deeper into the ruin, they came to a four way intersection. Another hall lead to the left and right while this hall continued straight forward.

Tsarra leads the way, clicking her tongue every few feet to get a sense for where things are as they descend down the corridor and come to the intersection. She pauses and checks each hallway. 

The hallway to the left has various cavities carved out of the stone walls which likely where meant o hold rows upon rows of burial urns. I was pretty clear that these ruins were actually some sort of mausoleum or crypt. 

Down the hallway directly across from the way they entered, it seems to open up into a larger chamber with some sort of stone platform with stairs that leads up to a stone casket. 

Lastly, the hall to the right seems to have a few more doorways leading to other chambers of unknown purpose. Some of the rooms do seem to be fully collapsed though, suggesting that the hallway to the right might be more structurally unstable than the other two paths they could choose from.

To the triton woman, the most tempting room was of course the room directly ahead of them with the creepy giant stone casket. There had to be cool shit locked up in there. The right hallway was also very tempting just purely because of how sketchy dangerous it was. She couldn't care less about the soggy urn hall. 

Decisions, decisions. 

She looks back at Hyll. 

"Wanna split up?"

"Hmmm. Okay. But I get to choose first!" Hylltywyll replied like a child being asked by their parent to make a decision and answering with that great confidence from some unknown source that all children somehow have access to.

He looked down each of the paths before him. The unstable one was very tempting. A lot of trouble could be caused by messing around in there and he loved causing trouble, but this time trouble would only hinder his own goal. He had to resist. The path with all the urns could be fun. Who knew what trinkets could be found other than the urns? Did these people bury their dead with treasures? Hylltywyll thought he heard something about that in Bellighul's house in Zeinav. But, the path directly ahead had a big stone casket. If there was treasure anywhere in this place, it was probably in there, right? Also, he noticed Tsarra seemed most interested in that room and his penchant for being a little asshole was activated.

"That way! I wanna go that way!" Hylltywyll announced, pointing to the room straight ahead. But, Hylltywyll had no real control over which way they went, just being dragged along by the turtle that was summoned by Tsarra. He was tired of that. He let go and drifted away slightly. Some of the darkness gathered in front of him, morphing and shaping to his will until solidifying into a turtle of his own. A completely black-shelled turtle with a dark purple head like a dragon's and little claws on its flippers. It was a little smaller than Tsarra's, being summoned as a ride for the tiny Fairy. Hylltywyll grabbed hold and it swam along into the big room and up toward the casket.

---

Turtle Tattoo

"Hey what!? No, no, no, I was going to pick that way!"

So much for splitting up, Tsarra is not about to let this fuzzy little sea monkey have all the fun without her. Especially after witnessing that he had his own turtle all along! And here she had been trying to be helpful, and considerate, and nice like everyone keeps telling her she should be. The gremlin didn't even need her help!

Tsarra squeezes past her own summoned sea turtle in the hallway to catch up to Hyll and the little dark dragon turtle. Her own turtle blinks its eyes lazily and settles down on the floor of the corridor, preferring to stay close to the exit because it is not stupid and does not want to get trapped inside should the pair of troublemakers touch something that brings the whole ruin down on top of them. 

Entering the larger space, the pair can quickly glance around to see that the room is mostly intact aside from one collapsed wall where a gaping black hole is. Unlike the hole Hyll made, this one looks like maybe it was made whenever this ruin became submerged. Perhaps there was an earthquake that sank all this deep below the waves.

Along the walls are carvings of rudimentary people all facing towards the back wall where there is a mural inset with precious metals long tarnished by the sea water. The mural depicts what seems to be some mage with several scrolls, items, and creatures all around them.

The meaning of the carvings is lost on the triton woman who is solely focused on the crypt before her. Though try as she might to get a grip on the lip of the stone lid, it will not budge even an inch. 

"Salina's left ear, this thin' ain't budgin'."

Hylltywyll payed no attention to the rest of the room, not really noticing or caring about the huge hole in the wall or the murals. Their eyes were on one thing, the casket. They wanted whatever was in there. They blew their tongue at Tsarra as the two raced through the door and into the room, the Fairy being pulled by the dark turtle. Blowing their tongue didn't exactly work underwater, but it was the thought that counted.

HYlltywyll cackled as Tsarra tried to push the heavy stone lid off of the casket. The turtle glided through the water and he let go to land directly on top of the lid in front of Tsarra. They could just use the same trick they used to open a hole through the front door to get into the casket, not a problem. But, the little Fairy just couldn't help but be a little mischievous, especially in a situation where they had the advantage. They looked up at Tsarra with a grin full of jagged teeth.

"I can open it, just like I opened the front door. Easy. What'll you give me if I open it?" he said, pointing down at the casket he was perched on top of.

"Ye slippery spiny salty urchin," Tsarra leans into the Hyll's face with a toothy grin. "Alright, let me see."

She floats back a little and rummages through her bag, pulling out a few dead fish which float next to her. A small octopus is next to be fished out of her bag and it immediately inks her in the face before scooting off across the room and into the giant hole. 

"Bleh! Squishy bugger." She tosses out a few sea shells, a broken bottle, a tangled ball of fishing line, some feathers, and then finally as she gets to the bottom recesses of the bag she pulls out some little spiny spheres. "Ah! How about these?" She offers them to Hyll as they start to crawl around her arm in an attempt to escape.^[1]

While the two are distracted with their transaction, the little squid which escaped flits through the dark before finding a tiny crevice to hide inside. As it settles into place and calms down from its traumatic capture, a large red eye opens in the gloom and looks towards the hole leading into the casket room. 

Slowly, the massive creature pulls itself through the hole with several sprawling tentacles like a giant octopus, but it is far from just a large cephalopod. It is an amalgamation of a giant octopus and a large shark with massive red eyes on either side of its head. Its jaw hangs open revealing rows upon rows of jagged teeth. It easily detects the two tasty snacks that had delivered themselves right into its home. 

---

[1] Sea Urchin Caltrops

"Ooooh! Deal!" Hylltywyll said as they took the spiny things crawling around Tsarra. They'd never seen these before. They were all covered in pokey little spines. Maybe these would be fun to slip into Bellghul's bed or put one in his shoe. He smiled thinking about all the uses for the little things and reached down to touch the lid of the casket. From their hand, a dark circle that was impossible to see in the darkness of the ruins spread and then suddenly vanished, a perfectly circular hole in the casket.

Hylltywll turned to look down into the hole they'd made, but something else caught their eye as they looked to the side. Something huge, terrifying, and swimming directly toward them! With a shrill screech, Hylltywyll dove to the side of the casket just as the octoshark swam overhead, their rows upon rows of teeth snapping at where the Fairy had been standing only a moment ago. Hylltywyll looked back and saw the monster turning around and swimming directly toward them again! They scurried along the casket and climbed into the hole they had just created, hiding in the casket for safety.

What the hell!? Where had this thing even come from!? In a panic, they used their shadowy magic to make them invisible, silent, and scentless. Sorry fish lady, good luck out there! The monster suddenly lost track of the Fairy in the casket for a second and turned to the nearest new target, Hylltywyll's summoned turtle.

Tentacles whipped forth and struck the turtle, instantly dissipating it into shadow similar to the octopus ink still floating in the water, but it quickly faded to nothing and vanished. With yet another target suddenly gone, the creature looked to the last one it could find easily, Tsarra.

---

Create Door
One With the Shadows

Tsarra pushes back off the stone casket in surprise as the octoshark lashes out at Hyll and the turtle.

"Shit!"

The monstrous creature turns its attention to her and swims swiftly over to her, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. Tsarra reacts by throwing the sea urchins in the open jaws of the shark-headed creature which it most certainly does not appreciate. It thrashes in pain and lashed out with its tentacles again.

Snagging the triton woman's leg, the octoshark whips her around the room through the water. Tsarra tries to right herself, drawing her scimitar and taking a swipe at one of the limbs. The slash nearly severs it but not before she is slammed back against the corner of the stone casket. The scimitar is knocked from her grip and sinks to the floor. 

Tsarra winces and tries to focus on casting a spell, but the octoshark doesn't give her the chance as it quickly turns around and attempts to sink its serrated teeth into her flesh. Luckily one of the urchins is jammed in the back of its throat, and every time it tries to chomp down on her its tender flesh on the inside of its mouth is pierced. The triton manages to plant her foot on the nose of the shark and redirect herself away from the jaws, though she can't fully escape as more of the tentacles latch onto her.

The turtle Tsarra summoned earlier spots the fight through the door and swims into the room, looking about lazily and without any urgent desire to help. 

Hylltywyll curled up inside the casket, listening to the sounds of the octoshark rushing through the water and chomping at Tsarra, its tentacles whipping through the water in the pitch black darkness of the underwater ruins. This is fine. He glanced around the inside of the casket, taking in what was in there. There were odd bars around him inside the stone box, like some kind of cage. Rods of some pale material spread across the bottom. He followed them, looking from top to bottom and his eyes finally landed on... a skull. Oh. He is inside a cage. A rib cage. Yeah, that makes sense. This is a casket, isn't it?

Whoever this skeleton belonged to, they were very large. Their rib cage was large enough for the two-foot-tall Fairy to settle inside comfortably. Their leg bone were missing, looking more like just a long, thick spine with some more bones sticking from the end. A fish tail. Their arms clutched, on top of their rib cage, some kind of object.

The casket rumbled around him as the octoshark continued its rampage outside. Hylltywyll reached up and slipped the object from the huge merman skeleton's grasp, and into the rib cage with him. It looked like some kind of book, but the material it was made of was not normal. The cover was like it was made of coral. He opened it up and saw the pages made of what looked like rectangles of scaly fish skin. There was no ink, instead the words and images were made from the scales of the paper itself being different colors. It was actually beautiful, like pages of mosaics. What a treasure!

Hylltywyll clutched the book to his own front, the thing being almost as large as he was, and poked his invisible little head out of the hole in the casket to see Tsarra struggling with the monster, her sword knocked away and backed into a corner with the tentacles and jaws upon her. Wow, that looked awful. She definitely needed help!

"Hey, you need some help with that?" Hylltywyll's voice whispered from right beside her head.

---

One With the Shadows
Minor Trickery

Tsarra tries desperately to push the octoshark off of her and keep its gnashing jaws from rending her flesh off the bone. Things were looking more grim as the seconds went by. She was completely entangled with this thing and no amount of struggling was going to work. Hell, if she even got it off her, there was barely anywhere to escape to that this things couldn't just follow along. 

Hyll's voice comes from inside the casket next to her head. "What does it look like?!"

She glances over at the lazy turtle and the hallway behind it. "Sorry, mate!" She claps her hands together and the water in the room starts to bend and pull from stagnation into a powerful swirling vortex.^[1] Tsarra manipulates the current and makes the point of the vortex behind the turtle and back in the hall.

The turtle gets swept up easily, but the octoshark is not dragged back so easily. It keeps a hold on her as the current draws it back towards the hall. "No no no no no!" Tsarra plants her feet against the a floor stone that is jutting up at a weird angle and braces herself against the pull of the octoshark's many limbs.

Her sword goes skittering across the floor just within reach and she grabs it and chops a few of the limbs off. Finally loosing its grip, the octoshark goes spinning down the hall with the turtle until the spell ends and it can right itself. 

Tsarra huffs and is quick to cast another spell, trapping the octoshark and turtle in a bubble of water for the time being.^[2] The amalgamation takes its anger out on the turtle which turns into little glowing jellies when it is crushed between the powerful jaws. 

"Yeeesh, uh, well, it's not in 'ere anymore buuuuuut our way out is blocked. Did ye find anythin'?"

---

[1] Swirling Vortex
[2] Water Prison