The Tales of Destiny: Starky's Party

Chapter 3- Encounter

2009-05-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

"This should be the Labyrinth Forest." The forest was very thick and dark even though it was daytime. One can hardly see the trail in the forest. Starky entered the forest with cautious, he did not wish anything to happen again that would delay his journey.

"Ruwatch!!" A blue ray of light appeared, making the forest a bit brighter.

Chapter 2- Prontera Street

2008-10-30T03:55:00.001-07:00

Starky opened his eyes and was shocked to see that he was in a unfamiliar place. He tried to get up but some people stopped him and asked him to lie down.
"Thank God that you have woke up... " an acolyte said.
"I will tell Father right away... " another acolyte ran out of the rooms.

Starky had no idea where was him. He just remembered he killed a monster which went berserk and nothing afterwards. How did he end up in the place? Where was the girl? He was puzzled.

Few minutes later, a man in the age of sixty came into the room.
"You have awaken. Thank God... You was unconscious for 2 days...." the man said.
Starky tried to get up. He lied on his pillow as he was stopped by the acolytes to get up from bed. "Umm.... Who are you? And why I am here? "
"You forget everything? Well, could not blame you cause you were injured badly that night. The guards at the gate brought you here... They found you outsite the gate, unconscious.... They brought you here, to the Church of Prontera to get help... "
Starky could not remember that he reached the gate.

"Umm... thanks for saving me... umm...?"
"My name is Paul, I am the Bishop of the church... And what's yours?"
"Starky... Thanks, Father."
"Get some rest, your wound still not yet fully recover... "
"... " Starky calmed himself. His head was still very painful, like someone was constantly hitting his head. Suddenly something came out from his mind.
"The girl... Where's the girl?" Starky shouted.
"Girl? They only found you outsite the gate alone."
"I see.... Please forgive me of my rudeness..."
"Never mind... Rest here as long as you want, till you have fully recover. If you need anything, just tell us." The bishop and the acolytes left the room.

Where is the girl? Would be she safe? Starky could not stop himself from feeling anxious about the girl. He slept afterwards, after feeling dizzy. Maybe he was given medicine or drug to cure his wound and the side-effects had just started. While he was sleeping, he could feel that someone came to his room. He tried to open his eyes, but he was feeling too sleepy. He could just see a shadow before falling back to sleep.

The next morning, the sun shined brightly. Starky opened his eyes and saw an acolyte was cleaning the room.
"Good morning." The acolyte greeted.
"Good morning... How long did I sleep this time?"
"You slept after Father left till now... You must be hungry. Let me go and take some porridge for you in the kitchen..."
"Please hold on. Did someone come to visit me last night?"
"There was none, sir. Do I need to call Father Paul?"
"No, it's okay. Maybe I was dreaming. Thank you."
Starky could feel that someone came to his room for the following nights. But the acolytes did not notice anyone. Starky was puzzled. Might be the medicine was too strong that he started to have odd dreams.

4 days later, Starky could start walking on his own. His wound was completely healed. The bishop allowed him to leave after Starky explained to him that he was on a mission. Starky thanked the bishop for saving him and all the acolytes who took turn to take care of him. Before Starky left the church, he heard some acolytes were talking about an acolyte was found missing. He did not take much attention. He needed to take off to Alberta.

Starky went to the market like he planned to buy some potions before leaving Prontera. The street was very crowded. There were a lot of merchants selling all sorts of things, from herbs and flowers to potions and armors. Starky looked around, trying to get the best deal. He stopped at a stall and took out his money bag like usual.
"My money bag? I thought it was stolen by the thief that night..." Starky was confused again. Was the girl safe? Was she the one who sent him to the church? Did she give back the money bag to him? He hoped that he could see her again.

"Thief!!!! Don't run away!!!!" Suddenly, the busy and crowded street of Prontera became a total chaos. A novice was running recklessly while knocking down the stalls set up by the merchants.

The novice wad chased by a knight, riding on a Peco-Peco.

But the size of the bird was too large that it also knocked down some stalls on the street. A lot of people were scolding at the knight. "SORRY!!!!" shouted the knight while chasing the novice.

The novice ran into Starky and got knocked down by Starky. "Ouch... That's hurt! Hey mister, out of my way!" He stood up and took a stone-like item from his pocket. "Wing of Fly!" He shouted and disappeared into thin air.

(An enchanted fly's wing that instantly sends its user to a random spot when waved in the air. Instant teleport.)

"Where's that good for nothing thief? I would not let him get away again this time!" The knight shouted and rode his Peco-peco into a dark alley. Starky could not understand what actually happened. He bought some potions and put it in his bag. "These should be enough, I better take off to Al de Baran now."

"That novice again. I recognize him. He was caught several time for stealing. But he was freed every time and managed to escape from any punsihment."
"I heard he is the son of the King, so... "
"Really? This could make sense now..."

Starky overheard some of the merchants were whispering to each others. But he did not take much notice. He walked towards the North Gate of Prontera. He decided to take the alternative route by crossing the Labyrinth Forest, rather than climbing the Mount Mjolnir, as he could reach his destination faster.

Chapter 1- The Journey Begins

2008-04-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

Everyone sat down under some Sakura trees in Amatsu. The peddles of Sakura flowers were dancing in the air. The birds were chirping cheerfully on the trees. It was a very beautiful scenery. However, everyone was in despair. They hardly even talked. That could be their last time to be sitting down together. Who knows what might happen tomorrow, everyone might die in the battle tomorrow. But they had no choice but to face it. They had to protect the entire world from destruction.

Tidus suddenly broke the silence, "Let's promise that we would live after tomorrow. Let's come here again after the battle!!" He stood up and shouted. He tried to smile. However, he failed, as deep down his heart, he knew that it might be impossible....

16 years ago, on a windy night, the sky was dark as the moon was hiding behind the cloud. A young women was running in the forest. She was holding two babies in her arms. However, there were a bunch of monsters chasing after her. She tried to escape. But she could hardly see in the forest. She fall down few times. And the babies were crying in shock. The mother still hold them tightly in her arms, trying to avoid them from being injured. She ran and ran, trying to escape from the monsters which were still chasing her. Out of the sudden, the women was again tripped by a tree root. However, one of her babies fall from her arms. The baby cried even louder. She tried to get up and find her baby but her legs were injured badly from the fall.

Out of the sudden, a wolf jumped out from nowhere. The baby was under its legs. The young women was stunned. She tried to save her baby. She stood up and ran towards the wolf despite her legs were injured. The wolf grabbed the baby with its teeth and ran into the bushes and disappear.

"NO..... Don't take my baby!!!!" The women shouted. Her eyes suddenly burst with tears. She wanted to save her baby. However, she didn't know where the wolf was running at which direction. She could only hear the cry of her babies from a far away distance. She hugged her another babies even tighter, she was afraid to lose another of her baby. She only could prayed in her heart that the baby would be safe. She started to run again, as she was afraid the monsters might come back again.

She saw some lights from a far distance. She ran towards the light, hoping that there was someone there to help her. It was a temple. She was relieved. She knocked the gate of the temple with her full strength. She suddenly felt that she did not have any strength left. She fainted in front of the gate. "Who's that??" A monk came to see who was knocking the gate. He saw a figure was lying in front of the gate. A baby was in her arm, crying loudly. He quickly opened the gate. "Madam... Madam... Are you alright?? "

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"Starky, the master asked you to his room..."
"Okay... thanks... "

Starky was a monk. (Monk- not the monk we know in real life. It is one of the jobs available in RO, which monk is expert in martial arts.) He was been living in the temple since he was a baby. His master was the one who raised him in the temple. He managed to learn some skills from his master, Sensei Moohae.

"Sensei, you are looking for me?"
"Ah, Starky. Yes.... I have a mission for you to carry out..."
"A mission? Umm... I thought monks with higher ranks only are assigned with mission... "
"You have learnt almost every single skills that I have.... You are very talented... This would be your 1st mission. I have fate on you to be able to complete this mission. You just have to travel to Al de Baran... And then hand this to the Guild Leader of the Alchemist Guild... This would be a very simple task... "
"Al de Baran?? I didn't even go there before... Sensei, can you ask other seniors to go instead of me?"
"I have faith in you... And this letter is extremely confidential... So I only enthrust this mission for you..."

Starky was puzzled. He was never given a mission before. But all the sudden, his master gave him a mission that required him to go to Al de Baran to send a confidential documents.

"Please be there by 1 week... Don't open the documents... And also don't let other people to take it..."
"Yes, sensei."

"Before you go... I have something to give you.."

"This ring... It belongs to you... Your mother passed away in front of the temple gate 16 years ago... We found you in her arm and you were wearing this ring... I had been helping you to keep this ring.. This could be the only item your mother left to you..."

"Mother.... ?" Starky's eyes suddenly filled with tears. He never knew about his parents until now. "Sensei, do you know why my mother sent me to here?"

Moohae kept silence for some moment. "I know nothing... She was badly injured... Probably being attacked by some monsters in the forest..."

Starky was very sad. He never knew how his mother passed away and why he was sent to the temple. Now, he had the only thing that her mother left to him, the ring.

"Don't be so sad... You have grown up a lot and are very mature... Don't let emotional matters to affect your training... You may leave now... Remember to send the documents by 1 week time.."

Starky left the room with the rings and the documents in his hands. He had a mix feeling. He wiped off his tears. He had to be much stronger. Tears would only weakened him, he thought. He went back to his rooms and began packing. He would go to Al de Baran as ordered by his master. After finish packing, he sat at his bed and looked at the ring. He tried to imagine how his mother looked like. He took the ring and wore it on his middle ring.

Suddenly, the ring glowed with bright red light. Starky was shocked. He did not know what was happening.

Suddenly, there was a voice from somewhere.
"My dear sons, you are my only hope... Go my sons... Go and claim back what you lost... Go..."

The light faded. "Mother??" Starky thought this could be his mother voice. How sweet her voice. But Starky was puzzled. Her mother asked her to claim back what he lost. He did not know what his mother meant.

Starky started his journey, but he was heading towards Prontera. He thought of getting some potions and collecting information on how to go to Al de Baran. Maybe he could get a map from the Kapra.

(*Kapra is a non-playable-character [NPC] would provide some services like warping to other city, providing storage service and providing information.)

Before he started his journey, he went to his master room. He knocked at the door. He did not open the door. "Sensei, I would go to Prontera 1st and then to Al de Barab," Starky said behind the door. He did not hear any respond from his master. Might be he was resting, he thought.

It was already evening when he stepped out the temple. The sun hided its face behind the cloud. The wind blew softly. The leaves was dancing in the wind. Starky sensed that something bad might happen. The birds were not chirping on the trees, and the forest was rather quiet. Too quiet....

Starky walked through the forest cautiously. The only way to go to Prontera was to pass through the forest. Starky was very familiar with the forest as he always did his trainings in the forest. However, this time, he felt that he was lost in the forest.

Starky tried to search for a route to escape from the forest. Suddenly, he saw a shadow jumped from a tree to the bush on the ground. "Who's there?!?" shouted Starky. Starky prepared himself for anything. Maybe it was a monster.

"Steal Coin!!"
(note: Steal Coin- Steals Zeny (RO currency) from a monster, affected by DEX, LUK, and SkillLV, amount stolen is based on monsters level. Can only be used to steal Zeny once, however it is possible to steal zeny from monsters that the user stole items before. 1*SkillLV% chance to steal.)

Out of a sudden, Starky heard a voice from nowhere. He was surprised. He did not see anyone. Neither that he sensed someone. He was panicking as he found out that his money in the pocket was missing. But he was sure that he did not sense anyone came near to him. He closed his eyes and calmed down, trying to come out with a solution.

"Ruwach!!" A blue ray of light appeared and constantly rotated around him.
(note: Ruwach - Reveals Hiding and Cloaking players and monsters within range. Revealed players and monsters are hit with a holy element Magic attack with a strength of MATK*1.45.)

He was sure that someone was hiding and stole his money. He waited for his enemy attack. "Come and get this valuable ring from me if you can!!" Starky tried to provoke the thief to attack him. The surroundings was too quiet. Starky was very sure that the thief would strike again. But he waited patiently, waiting for the thief to be trapped.

Suddenly, the blue ray of light had some response.
"I have you now!!" The blue light revealed the thief. He was very close to Starky. Starky immediately gave the thief a direct punch at his body. He continued punching with his skills, without giving any chance to the thief to counter attack.

"Trifecta Blow!!"
(note: Attacks 3 times with increased damage. Higher skill level DECREASES chance of occurrence. Raging Trifecta Blow actually counts for damage as a single strike. Even with LV10 Raging Trifecta Blow these "individual hits" will usually be weaker than a single normal attack. On the positive side enemy VIT reduction is also only applied once, so against high-VIT targets the total damage may be much higher than expected. The delay time is affected by DEX and AGI of the caster.)
Starky punched the thief at his abdomen. The thief cried in pain. Starky knocked him down completely. The thief sat on the ground and cried in pain. Starky approached him and had a good look at the thief. But he was wearing a mask.

"Now... give back my money."
"You big meanie!! It was very pain you know..." The thief took off his mask and wiped his tears. Starky was suprised. It was a girl. His face suddenly went blushing.
"You... you are.... a girl??"
"What?? Never see a girl before?? You big meanie..."
"Really sorry... But you were the one who attacked me at first..."
"I am a girl... You should be gentle with me... And why are you standing there doing nothing... Help me get up!!"
Starky was like under a spell. He hold out his hand. The girl took his hand and stood up.
"Don't so believe in girl...Meanie."
"What??" Blood was flowing out from Starky's abdomen. He was stabbed by the girl with a dagger. He was not aware of the girl's trick. The girl pulled out the dagger from Starky's flesh. Starky groaned in pain. He tried to stop the blood by using his hands. But he felt dizzy and lost conscious. He only could hear the girl laughing loudly before he passed out.

Starky felt that he was unconscious for a long time. He opened his eyes. He was still lying in the forest. The sky was still very dark. He tried to crawl up. But the would on his abdomen was very deep.
"Heal!!" He forced himself to use his healing skills. He had not use the skill for a long time. The skill just managed to stop the bleeding. He tried to stand up. He had to get someone's help to heal his injuries completely. He walked very slowly, as he was afraid that the wound might start to bleed back. The moon was still hiding its face behind the cloud, there was no star in the sky. The forest was also very thick. He still could not find his way out of the forest. It was like a maze. He walked in the forest for some time. He heard the sound of a stream flowing from a stone thrown away distance. He tried to walk towards the stream. He thought of following the river to the downstream and he might get out of the forest.

The river was flowing swiftly. The wind blew strongly. The trees were swaying in the wind. Some leaves fall off from the trees and to the rivers, floating at the surface of the river and being bought by the water. "I should be more careful next time..." Starky reminded himself. He was rather disappointed at himself for not being careful and being ambushed. But still, the other side of him thought that he should not harm a girl. He felt contradicted.

"ARGHHH... " Suddenly Starky heard a girl shouting. He felt that the voice was very familiar. Out of curiosity, he dragged himself towards the source of the shouting, to clear his curiosity, despite his injury. He saw a shadow sitting on the bushes. "Go away!!! Arrgghhh... "

Starky knew the voice. It was the girl just now. He convinced himself not to get tricked again. He decided to walk away.
"HELPPPPPPP!!!!!" The girl shouted.

Starky's felt that he could not leave the girl behind. Maybe she really needed help. He ran towards the girl and stood in front of her. "You??"

Starky didn't answer her, as there was a monster in front of him. But to his surprise, it was an Eclipse. It was a fluffy rabbit. But it looked angry. Starky always saw a few when he trained in the forest. They seldom attack people. Starky was puzzled why it attacked the girl.

The Eclipse suddenly jumped towards Starky and opened its mouth widely and showed its sharp teeth. It tried to bite Starky with its teeth. Starky dodged its bite and punched it away. The rabbit dropped and bounced like a ball. It got up and tried to attack again. Starky tried not to harm it as it used to be a timid monster. He punched it away again. But it looked even furious.

"Are you okay??" He asked the girl.
".... Ye...ah..."
"Why the Eclipse attacked you??"
"It... it just attacked me all the sudden..."
"Speak the truth!!! They seldom attack people unless they are harmed..." Starky shouted.
"I... I... took this carrot from its nest..." The girl took out a carrot but with rainbow color.
"Took?? Or rather stealing??"
"..."
"This is a rainbow carrot. It is very important for them. Give the carrot back to the Eclipse."
"..."
"Hear what I said??"
"...."
Starky took the carrot from her hand and threw the carrot towards the Eclipse. He thought that could stop the monster from attacking. However, the monster looked even angrier. It jumped towards Starky again. Starky dodged its attack again. But he missed the punch.

"ARRGGHHHH.... "
It tried to bite the girl.
"Dash like a Bullet!!" Starky was teleported to in front of the girl. He used his fist to guard. The monster had a bite on his fist. Starky's fist filled with fresh blood. He tried to swing away the rabbit. But it did not want to let go.
(**Dash like a Bullet: Directly teleport to any chosen cell. You can not move to or over non movable cells this way, e.g. up a cliff. Uses up 1 Spirit Sphere. If under Fury state, you can use this skill without the need for Spirit Spheres. After using this skill, you cannot use Asura Strike for the following 2 seconds.)

"You leave me no choice... Sorry about this... Ki Explosion!! "
(** Ki Explosion: Focus your inner energies and attack an enemy to deal damage and push them away. The target enemy receives 300% ATK damage, and nearby monsters will be pushed away 2 cells and will be stunned for 2 sec. Drains a small amount of HP per use.)

The rabbit was thrown away. It died and disappeared. (**Monster will disappear without leaving the crops when they die.) Starky felt sorry. He could avoid killing it but he had no other choice. However, he did not notice his fist was still bleeding. He turned around, staring at the girl who was sitting, frightened.
"It is over now... You can get up on your... " Starky's view suddenly became not clear. He felt dizzy.
"Arrgghhhh.... Get up!!!!" The girl screamed. Starky fainted and fall onto her.
"Get up, you pervert!!" Starky had no responce. He was unconcious due to the mass lost of blood. The girl used all her strength to push away Starky.
"You big meanie, pervert!! Stop acting!! Get up!!" But Starky had no repsonce.
She felt something wet stained her cloth. To her surprise, it was blood. She was frightened. She remembered stabbing him just now, but did not know his injury was that serious.
"Stupid... You should heal yourself 1st...." She started to cry.
"I... I don't mean to hurt you just now...I don't know I had stabbed you so deep....Get up!!! You must now die.... You... I must take you to get help...." She wiped her tears away. With her full strength, she hold him up. But she could not maintain her stregth and Starky dropped like an apple falling from a tree again. His weight was way higher such that she could not hold him up. What should she do???

She could not let him to die here. She pulled his hands with all his strength and dragged him out of the forest and tried to get him to Prontera. It was very hard for a girl to drag a muscular guy. But she did not want to give up. She had to save him no matter what.

The time went on and finally they reached the North Gate of Prontera. But the gate was closed. She knocked the gate as loud as she could.
"Who's there??" A guard opened the gate. He saw a figure lying on the ground. There was no other people around. He walked near the figure to have a clear look. He was surprised. A person was lying on the ground with blood stained all his clothes.
"Hey are you okay??" The guard immediately shouted for help. The other guard on duty came to help. They carried the person to the church of Prontera.

"Father!! Father, we need your help in the main hall!!"
"What's the noise at this late hour!!" A priest opened the door of his room and saw an acolyte gasping for air.
"You.... what's the matter??"
"The... the... "
"Speak faster... "
"The... the guard brought a traveler who is badly injured. They are in the main hall now. They require... " The priest ran out of his room before the acolyte could finish his sentence.

"Father Paul. Sorry for interrupting you at this late hour... This is an emergency..." The guard tried to explain the situation. The hall already filled with acolytes who heard about guards bringing in a injured person. The news spread like wild fire.
"I understand. I would do my best to help. Now, show him to me.. "
"Yes, father. He is lying on the bench there."
The priest approached the injured person and examined his injuries.
"This is very serious. Who did this?"
"No idea, father. We found him outsite of the gate."
"I would heal him now... Please don't interrupt for some moments..." ordered the priest.
Everyone in the hall remained silence.

The priest speak softly. He was using a spell.
"My lord... Please grand me the power!!! Sanctuary!!!"
(Sanctuary: Creates a 5x5 area sanctuary effect around the targeted cell. Characters within the sanctuary are healed once a second unless at Maximum HP.)
Suddenly, a blue ray of light came down from the sky. "Wow... " Everyone was surprised.
"Silence!!"
The blue light went into the ground. And then a blue transparent wall appeared from the ground. "Hold him into this wall..." The priest ordered.
The guards carried the person into the transparent wall. They did not feel anything. They were curious what was the spell for.

"He would be okay for the time being... The would is very deep... This could take some time to heal him completely... So you can leave him here..."
"Yes, father. Thank you for your help." The guards asked to leave. The priest nodded.

The priest ordered all the acolytes to go back to their rooms. Only those higher ranked priest stayed with him.
"Take him into the guess room after the spell vanished and then informed me." The priest ordered.