 As you
land on the arid island, you see a floating figure in the distance. The
colors on his body� mostly red, green and yellow, with a few dashes of
blue� swirl as
he draws nearer. You get a good glimpse of his face, and the rest of body,
which is just an upper body ringed with short, stubby tentacle-like bulbs
around his head, upper arms, hands, and waist. "Who... or what... are you?" You ask the creature. <I am a Riph-tal. We're the ones that run Rivi. The Riph-tal are magic-users, you see... we're much stronger than most of the others, since they can't use magic at all. We help them as doctors and police. I, however, am a caretaker of the Rivi Zoo.> He smiles. <My name is Kitan.> "Cool!" You say, grinning as you reach out to feel his skin, but are a little shocked when it you realize it is a smooth gel, held in place with a clear, rubbery skin. Kitan backs away in disgust, with yellow gel overtaking his body. "Oh, sorry... I thought maybe you were a type of pet." <WHAT?> Kitan yelps. <That's absolutely preposterous! What kind of... oh.> He replies disdainfully. <No, we are not. However... there are some native creatures that live in Rivi, alongside the pets that are invited to these lands. Find a nest of Rooks... you find out what one is when you find it... You can see if they would like to be 'pets'. I do not know.> He waves his hand around, pointing to four distinct gates carved out of stone. One stands away from the others. <There are four portals on this island. Three of them lead to Retek, which is an unplottable, physically invisible island very near Rivi� surrounds the shoreline near the portals, in fact. It can only be reached through those portals. The fourth portal is not a part of Rivi, but it is very important to the police.> "Which one do I go to?" <Go to whichever one piques your curiousity. I recommend you travel with Jekkal, however, as she will be crucial in the decision about whether you can look around or not. For the fourth portal... she will be a matter of life or death.> |
