VaultQuest: The Epoch Quartet

Chapter 1 - Strange Bedfellows

Aroundabout midnight, somewhere under Antiom, capital city of Therinos....

"Urrrghh..." Lysander groaned as he returned to consciousness, nearly falling to the cold stone ground again as the entire world seemed to spin. He lurched to the left, only vaguely aware of his current location as he threw a hand out to the nearest wall in order to steady himself. "Holy mother of Boccob, what the hell happened last night?" he muttered, pulling himself together and studying his immediate surroundings.

Everything was moving, as if he was staring through a kaleidoscope. (Crazy southern mages, who in the seven hells wants a broken telescope anyway?) Aw crap. What is this, a bethesda game? Lysander was in a prison cell. An occupied prison cell. His cellmate was dressed in some sort of travelling cloak, sewn in gentle shades of green and earthy browns, obscuring the identity of its wearer. "Oh, you're awake!" the voice was feminine, refined, and somehow inhuman. Is she Elven? Lysander pondered, trying to think through the veritable bank of fog that hung over his mind.

"Do you, uh... know what happened?" Lysander asked tentatively, gesturing to the cell. His voice sounded like he'd been gargling gravel all night, and he hastily coughed. The 'elf' cocked her head to one side thoughtfully, seemingly pondering his question. "We were in the same tavern. there was a fight, and, you were injured." Lysander raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound like him. "Was I in the fight?" She shook her head. "No no, you were hit in the head with a chair while you were eating. You fell into your soup." "Oh." Lysander said, trying his best not to look crestfallen. "So why did we get locked up?" He asked.

"Well, I was at the table in the corner when you were knocked unconscious" (Lysander winced involuntarily) "And I tried to help you. I know some healing magic." She explained, taking a quick breath before continuing, "And when the guards came in to quell the fighters, they arrested us as welI. I tried to explain we were innocent, but they didn't seem to listen to my explanation." The Elven woman (Lysander was pretty sure she was Elvish) paused. "Which is strange, because I felt my argument was perfectly valid, and well articulated." (Yep, definitely Elvish) Lysander was immediately racked with guilt, and no small amount of embarrassment. "Well, sorry I got you into this mess." He said, trying to push himself to his feet, but nearly falling again as his arms buckled under him.

Immediately, the Elf rushed over with a swirl of her cloak and helped him up. "Here." she said, her gloved hands glowing with verdant energy as a shot of healing magic burst through Lysander's system. Abruptly, the world decided to stop spinning, and Lysander pushed off the wall, able to stand independently. Not too great of an achievement in retrospect, be he felt pretty proud of himself at the time. "Wow. Thanks." Lysander said in wonderment, looking down at himself.

He was currently sporting his beloved beige greatcloak, which featured some nearly invisible soup stains. He reached inside, and was suddenly struck with terror at the absence of his gear. He sighed, walking into the centre of the room and scanning around. Nothing. He turned back to the Elven woman. "Well, I guess some introductions are in order. I'm Lysander Antioch. I'm a student at the academy." The Elf gave a polite bow, and removed her hood. "I'm Myra of bloodline Norrileth, Greencloak Ranger." She had immaculate elven features, tipped ears, large emotive Emerald green eyes, and reddish-auburn hair. It was difficult to tell in the darkness. She was beautiful, in a pointy sort of way.

Lysander returned the bow with a nod; he'd never really had a head for the more formal side of Elven customs despite Avall'ach's tutorage, and was suddenly regretting that for some reason. Lysander moved closer to the bars and peaked his head out inquisitively. There was a guard at the end of the dim corridor, illuminated only by the feeble light of a candle situated on the wooden table at which the guard sat. He looked bored out of his mind. Lysander grinned. "Okay, I can get us out of this. Hey!" He called, trying to capture the guard's attention. He looked up. "I'm a student at the academy. I shouldn't be in here!"