Like in most important towns, Mathena had a few teleport gates that were used to transport players between cities, circles of stones similar to the one he logged in from. People logging into the game usually appeared at these gates, which were usually in safe zones where PvP combat was prohibited and monsters never spawned, such as within or near towns. The circle of stones where Raiken appeared was just outside Mathena, and he preferred to use it rather than the more conspicuous gates within the town, as he didn't like to attract a lot of attention. People were always trying to challenge high-level characters like him, and after several such aggravating incidents he decided it was probably better to just go incognito as much as possible. He put a cloak over himself.<br/><br/>He eventually reached the Eadell Square and saw that Aria had just arrived. "Let's head on to the Guild in this town and see what they've got then," Raiken said. "There are rumours that a special high-level quest has just been posted and it's causing a big stir."<br/><br/>The Mathena Mage's Guild was a large building that looked something like an inn or a tavern, and it could indeed be used as one, though the prices were steep for those who were not members. There was a big bulletin board on one side of the Guild Hall, and there was a large cluster of people crowding around it. Raiken approached the board to see what the commotion was about.<br/><br/>"It's a quest from the Archmage Ilvator himself!" one of the excited people around the board whispered. Raiken frowned at that. Ilvator was the main character rumoured to be used by the co-founder and CEO of Dweomercraft, the company that developed Magic Arts Online. This was a rare event: he had perhaps seen only a handful in all the years he had been playing. They were always very difficult and only the highest level characters ever tried to attempt them, but sometimes even they failed, which meant that they then became not so high level characters, thanks to the penalties imposed if one's character died.<br/><br/>He found the parchment scroll that had been posted to the message board. It had below it a leaden Seal of Ilvator which was definite authentication in case anyone had any doubt. The scroll mentioned that the fell undead sorcerer Shahaaz had taken up residence in a dark tower overlooking the mountain pass between the northern wastes and the Duchy of Syana. Shahaaz is inciting the barbarian tribes of the wastes to war, and animating the corpses of the slain to build up his army of the undead, in preparation for an invasion of the Duchy. He must be stopped before he is able to invade the Duchy and the rest of the Kingdom. The reward was a very substantial amount of gold, several powerful spells and magic items, and an extra bonus item. Since exchange of MAO gold for real-world currency was sanctioned by Dweomercraft (though it was very heavily regulated), finishing this quest could mean quite a little more extra money to put on the Tanimura family table.<br/><br/>Raiken took Aria aside and whispered: "I think we can do this. I've heard rumours of these quests of Ilvator since I began playing, but this is the first time I've seen one since I've felt powerful enough to even think of trying them. What do you think?"