Dragon Quest Novel

by Melania Zveja

  Dragon Quest Novel

  Prologue

  The green monster swooped down on the man, yet the man's reflexes were excessively brisk and he hopped clear over the mythical serpent. The man immediately pivoted to discover his adversary. The winged serpent swooped around and descended for another assault on the man, however pulled upwards before he achieved the man, wanting to counterfeit the man into hopping once more. In any case, the man's reflexes spared him once more, for he had arranged to hop yet ceased in the nick of time.

  The winged serpent was furious at this point. The human had avoided it twice now and it didn't generally take the mythical beast this long to execute a frail human. Yet, no human could withstand a mythical serpent's flame breath. So the mythical beast breathed in and released a flood of flame upon the human. Shockingly for the mythical beast, the human responded to its breathing in and pulled up its shield; a mystical shield that could square fire.

  The winged serpent adamantly continued breathing its horrendous flame at the human, not in any case attempting to get around the shield. What sort of shield can withstand fire? The mythical serpent would see that loathsome bit of metal dissolved on the ground and the human holding his left submit desolation.

  But the shield held and the dragon ran out of breath. The dragon was beyond angry now. It came down for another swoop attack on the human. Unfortunately, the human was more than ready this time. The human jumped, but not high enough the completely clear the dragon. Instead, the human brought his sword up and slashed the dragon's right wing clear off.

  The dragon hit the ground hard and the man didn't give him a chance to recover. The man ran up to the dragon and stabbed it in the heart. The dragon writhed in agony.

  The man walked up to his kill and took a moment to catch his breath. The reality of the situation hit him. His comrades were gone, killed when they had been ambushed while scaling the volcano. He had escaped death by chance. A monster's spell had sent him over a cliff. The monsters must have thought him to be dead for sure, and they were almost right. However, the man had enough in him to cast healing spells on himself, and he climbed up the cliff to try and aid his friends.

  However, the dragon had not been killed by the man's stab. As the man stood there catching his breath and his thoughts, the dragon got up again. So absorbed was the man in his reverie that he did not notice. The dragon did not have enough strength to breath fire or even fly, but it used its strength to try and ram the man. The man came back to the present too late; the dragon rammed into him and died on top of him. Even more unfortunate for the man was the fact that they were close to the edge of the volcano. The dragon's massive weight crashed into him and sent both of them into the volcano…

  Aliahan had once been considered a great and glorious place. The two previous Great Wars had seen great heroes rise from Aliahan. The first great hero of Aliahan, Simon, had united humanity in the first Great War against the forces of the Master Archfiend. The resulting war almost wiped out human and monster alike, but both survived.

  It was because of the second Great War that Aliahan lost its standing in the war. The Master Archfiend's only surviving apprentice inherited its master's magic and once again brought a force of monsters against humanity. But, like before, a hero from Aliahan, Desmond, united humanity to meet the threat. The monster, who was only given the title Archfiend, was no match for humanity's forces.

  However, the true struggle of the war came after the Archfiend's defeat. With the great force he had command of as a result of the War; Desmond began to abuse his power. He invaded the territories that he had protected and brought about the Aliahan Empire. Not only that, but he proved to be a tyrannous ruler. Eventually, his subjects rose against him and he was forced to retreat back to Aliahan itself. There he held out in a bitter siege as the people of Aliahan stood by the ruler that had come from their own land. But eventually, Desmond's tyranny was too much even for his native people, and they too rebelled against him.

  But from that time on, Aliahan would be shamed. As the world rebuilt, it came time to divide up territories among the different nations. Aliahan had been vanquished, and had caused the world a lot of trouble. To stop other nations from preying on Aliahan, a powerful wizard, who had fought with Desmond, sealed up the Cave of Enticement, which contained a Traveler's Gate that served as transportation to and from the Kingdom of Romaly. With the cave, and the Gate, sealed Aliahan became hard to reach. As it was a long trip by ship, the other nations decided not to bother with Aliahan, which really had little to offer. However, Aliahan had to swear never to break the seal or interact with other nations. Aliahan had to be isolated from the world.

  Aliahan was not completely isolated. Ships came by every so often that brought some news of the outside world and engaged in trade. But for the most part, the isolation stayed true. However, when one ship brought rumors of a new Archfiend rising up, a man of Aliahan decided to depart with the ship and gather news of the fiend. The man's name was Ortega.

  Recently, another ship came to Aliahan, this one bearing bad news. Ortega had gathered news about the Archfiend and found that it posed a significant threat to humanity. Ortega tried to forge alliances with different nations, but none would hear him out. Then Ortega and a small band of warriors tried to run a reconnaissance mission on the Archfiend castle, high up in a distant mountain range. There, he and the band met their ends on the top of a volcano.

  Chapter 1: The Test Begins

  Today was a big day for Suzanne. For one, it was her 16th birthday. By Aliahan law, she was now allowed full rights to weapons and armor so long as she registered her intent to use such items with the Castle. As birthday gifts, she received a full set of leather armor and a copper sword, some of the best equipment Aliahan had to offer. But why would a girl of her age need to wield weapons and armor?

  It was because Suzanne planned to go on a journey. Eight years ago, her father, Ortega, left Aliahan to find information on the Archfiend the nation had heard about. Then, three years ago, news came of Ortega's demise. From that time onward, young Suzanne knew she wanted to take up her father's quest right where he left off. She would leave Aliahan, acquire information on the Archfiend, and convince any who listened that now was not the time for petty squabble or politics among the nations.

  Of course, there was the matter of how to leave Aliahan. Ships came far too infrequently to serve as much use. The ship that told of her father's death had been the most recent ship to come to Aliahan. Besides that, most ships would not accept people of Aliahan to take back with them. So Suzanne made a petition to the king to have the seal on the Cave of Enticement lifted.

  This, of course, was not a small request. The seal was put in place to protect Aliahan from the wrath of the other nations. However, according to the traders that came by, the hatred against Aliahan had lessened. By no means had the other nations forgiven Aliahan, but they were not about to attack Aliahan even if they were made more accessible by lifting the seal.

  So it was that Suzanne was awoken by her mother on the morning of her 16th birthday and taken to the Castle for an audience with the king.

  The king sat upon his throne, wearing a robe of gold and red and carrying in his hand a golden scepter.

  "You know child, that this is a great request you make of me. To lift the seal on the Cave of Enticement would put Aliahan at risk, even if the resentment against our people has lessened these past decades," the king said.

  "I know, your Majesty," Suzanne replied.

  "I admit it would be nice to have more news of the outside world. But I will not put Aliahan at risk for nothing. Your goal, you say, is to follow in your father's footsteps? To gather information on this so-called Archfiend and warn the people of the outside wo
rld against petty feuds and wars at this time?"

  "Yes, your Majesty."

  The king paused for a moment before continuing. "Forgive me for saying so, but is it not your lust for revenge that propels you forward? Your father was killed by the fiend's forces and you wish to have their heads for it. That is understandable. But what happens when you are cornered on all sides by vile beasts and all hope appears gone? What happens when people laugh at the idea of even listening to a citizen of Aliahan? Will you bloodlust continue? Will you continue your quest?"

  However, Suzanne was not faced by the king's words. She spoke confidently and yet also politely, "Your Majesty, with all due respect, I have had three years to calm my 'bloodlust.' I do not do this simply to avenge my father. I do this because I believe as he did that something must be done, even if none will listen to one from our land."

  The king took another moment to consider what the young woman said. Then, he spoke again, "You are but a young woman, barely even old enough by the law to wield a sword. Do you intend to go alone?"

  If Suzanne did not have as cool a head as she did, she might have gotten angry. She despised how the people of Aliahan viewed women: as weak in body and weak in will. She could not but feel the king echoed these opinions in this last question. Yet, she remained polite and confident in her next words, "No, your Majesty, I do not intend to go alone. I will be joined by Ron the soldier, Thomas the cleric, and Alice the mage."

  The king looked up at the mention of Ron's name. "Ron you say? He is a fine lad and quite skilled in the art of battle. He will make a fine leader to your group. I have also heard of Thomas. I know little of magic, but I am told he is a fine healer. A mage in your ranks does not hurt either."

  Suzanne could not help but notice the king neglected to mention Alice by name or praise her ability, as she too was skilled in her art. Nonetheless, she made sure not to say anything of the sort to the king. The king went on talking, "It is not lightly I allow this, but you are granted permission to break the seal on the Cave of Enticement. As far as how to accomplish this, you should seek out the Drasoran family in the village of Reeve. They know more of the seal than anyone. Now, you are dismissed."

  "Thank you, your Majesty." Suzanne curtsied and left the royal hall. She knew of the Drasoran family already. The only Drasorans left were the wizards, Borthan and Nathan. They were the grandchildren of Gerald Drasoran, who had fought with Desmond against the Archfiend in the second Great War and who had personally put the seal in place on the Cave of Enticement.

  "Susie!"

  As Suzanne walked into Lucia's Eatery, she was greeted by her good friend, Alice. Alice has always been an energetic girl. Her cheerfulness and eagerness often made people underestimate her intelligence, which would be a mistake.

  "It's about time you got here. So are we ready to go on a real adventure?"

  That voice came from Ron. If Ron weren't a friend of Suzanne's, she would describe him as a 'typical guy.' Macho and reckless almost to a fault, he was also nonetheless a confident and hardworking person.

  "Hold on guys. We don't know if the king approved our adventure yet."

  The voice of cold reality belonged to Thomas. For a cleric, he certainly wasn't cheerful or sympathetic. He had a realistic, sometimes pessimistic, demeanor about him that made many criticize him as being cold or uncaring, but his friends knew it was because he cared that made him want to look at the reality of situations.

  "Well, you need not worry," began Suzanne. "The king gave us permission to break the seal."

  "Alright! So where's our first destination? Reeve, I'm guessing," said Alice.

  "You're right. We're going to try and talk with the Drasoran brothers," replied Suzanne.

  "Hmmm, and what if they deny our request? The king's approval could very well mean nothing then," said Thomas.

  Ron shook his head. "Hey Tom, lighten up will you? I'm sure we'll figure something out if that happens."

  "Like what? Study the seal ourselves? That would take—"

  Suzanne cut in. "Not now guys. Tom, you bring up a good point, but for the moment there's nothing we can do about it. We're just going to go to Reeve and talk to them."

  Ron spoke up again, "Okay guys, everyone ready?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Take up positions and move out."

  After a few days of journeying, the group made it to the village of Reeve. The journey saw few hardships. The land of Aliahan had a small share of monsters. Not many of the monsters were dangerous; there were only slimes and bigger, mutated versions of ravens, anteaters, and rabbits.

  The village was not very extravagant by any means, but neither was any settlement in Aliahan save for the castle town.

  When they entered the town, Alice spoke up first, "Okay, if I were a couple of powerful wizards, where would I live?"

  "Might we try finding them tomorrow? I'm feeling a little tired," said Thomas, who indeed sounded weary.

  "Ha! If you can't handle that little journey how are you going to handle the mountains we will surely climb and the battles we will surely fight later," questioned Ron.

  "We'll have plenty of time to get used to the road later. For now, I'm with Tom, that was a tiring walk. How about if we go get rooms at the inn and you two just try to find where the brothers live before the day ends?" Suzanne suggested.

  Alice, like Ron, didn't seem tired at all. "Sounds like a good plan! Come on, Ron!"

  "Hold on, I'm coming."

  "So what did you find out?" Suzanne asked as the two came into one of the two rooms Suzanne and Thomas had gotten for the night.

  "Uh, you're not going to believe this," began Ron.

  "We might have a problem," continued Alice.

  "Yes? And what is this problem?" asked Thomas, sounding impatient.

  Alice took a deep breath. "I'll tell the story. Apparently, Borthan has cast up a seal on the Drasoran house. They say it's about as powerful as the one on the cave. At the same time he did that, Nathan disappeared altogether."

  Suzanne's jaw literally dropped. She recovered after a moment and asked, "Are you kidding me! Why?"

  Ron took up the story from here, "We don't know. As far as Nathan goes, he disappeared the same day Borthan sealed himself up. Nobody knows where he is. When we went near the Drasoran residence, a voice called out to us and said, 'To prove yourself worthy of breaking the seal, you need only open the door to this residence!'"

  Thomas shook his head. "What happened when you tried the door?"

  Alice continued, "It was locked. No mystical force pushed us back or anything. Only thing is, Ron tried to break down the door."

  Suzanne turned to Ron. "You tried to break down the door to the Drasoran house? Do you know what kind of consequences that could entail?"

  "Relax, it didn't work!" defended Ron. "Some people we talked to said they tried the same thing themselves, even in large groups. It won't budge."

  "So, let me get this straight. Borthan Drasoran knows someone wants to break the seal. Not unlikely, he is a powerful wizard. So he must also know how to do so, as we suspected, but he won't let anyone into his house. But he says if we can get through the door to his house, we've proven ourselves worthy of breaking the seal?" Thomas recapped.

  "Sounds about right," confirmed Alice.

  The group was silent for a while. After a few minutes, Suzanne had a suggestion, "Okay, I think we have to find Nathan. His disappearance at such a time is likely no coincidence. This is some sort of test. Maybe if we find Nathan, he'll tell us how to pass the test."

  Chapter 2: The Tower of Najima

  "How was I supposed to know they were hiding in there!" Ron shouted.

  "Horned rabbits love to hide in bushes like that! How didn't you know that!" Alice shouted back at him.

  "Why are you complaining anyway! It's nothing we couldn't handle!" Ron asked.

  Alice did not seem to think that was consolidation enough. She pointed to her left leg where there was a visible tear in her traveler's robes and a small scar
underneath the tear. "Do you see this scar! That thing got me right in the leg! What if the scar never goes away!"

  Ron threw his hands up in exasperation. "You're fine! My man Tom here healed you up, and healed you up damn well I might add! In fact," he turned to Thomas, "I think she was criticizing your healing abilities Tom! Are you going to take that from her?"

  Thomas gave Ron a look that basically said, "If you drag me into this you will have much more than a small scar to worry about." Ron decided not to continue his attempts in dragging Thomas into the argument.

  As the group neared the castle town of Aliahan, Ron and Alice continued their argument. The day before, the group had been ambushed by a group of horned rabbits. Alice and Suzanne had warned their leader about taking them into the forest and then warned him again about taking them near a large group of bushes, but Ron had ignored them saying, "I'm sure there's nothing in there too dangerous."

  All in all, the encounter had not been too dangerous, but one of the rabbits slipped past Ron, Suzanne, and Thomas, who were all fighting in melee against the giant rabbits, to attack Alice. It gave her a large wound to the leg that might have been serious if not healed immediately. Luckily, the three front-line fighters dispatched three of the rabbits while Alice, despite the pain, blasted her attacker with a fireball. Thomas was able to heal Alice right after that.

  Since the encounter, Alice had been angry with Ron over leading them in to such a situation. Meanwhile, Suzanne and Thomas had thought over and discussed the current situation. They found nobody in all of Reeve who had any clue as to where Nathan would be. However, they came across a strange rumor that may be helpful.

  Apparently, there was a thief named Baker who had been running rampant in northern Aliahan recently. The amount of gold and items he had stolen valued in thousands of pieces of gold, maybe even tens of thousands of gold. It seems as though the reason he was so successful was that he could just walk up to houses, as though he was the owner of the house, unlock the door and just walk in.