"Tom, what are you doing? You already healed me, I'm fine." Ron said.
Thomas shook his head and kept checking Ron's leg. "Those things are called babbles. They're poisonous. I'm checking you for poison."
The rest of the group looked surprised. Thomas continued looking at Ron's leg, and then swore loudly.
"What? What is it?" Suzanne asked.
"He's poisoned." Thomas said. He then went to Suzanne and started checking her leg where the babble hit her.
Alice gasped. Ron didn't seem too fazed though.
"Oh well. They can cure poison back at the castle. I'll be fine in a little while."
Thomas finished checking Suzanne and replied, "Susie's fine. But we have to leave now and cure Ron."
"I'm fine Tom!" Ron protested. "We're almost to the top now anyway! It'd be a shame to leave now!"
Thomas was unconvinced. "That is unacceptable. Alice, you have the wings of wyvern right?"
"Fine, you all can leave. But you need me to at least be touching the person using the wing and I'm not agreeing to teleport out of here until we check that room," Ron protested.
Before Thomas could continue the argument, Suzanne cut in, "I don't like it either Tom, but he's not going to leave. It's just up the stairs anyway. Let's go."
The group proceeded up the stairs and, just as they though, ended up in the room they were denied access to earlier. In the room was an old man wearing some expensive looking red and orange robes. He greeted the group, "Greetings! I dreamt that you would come here today. And in my dream, I gave you this key. Come now and take it from me."
The wizard held out his hand and in it was the key. Ron walked up to him and took the key and examined it. Indeed, it looked just like a key, but there were buttons on the side that activated a number of gadgets on the key. It looked convincing enough.
Suzanne spoke up. "Thank you sir wizard. Is your name Nathan Drasoran by any chance?"
The wizard replied, "That I am, kind miss. You have nearly completed your test. Now, go to my brother's door and claim your prize."
The group all gave their thanks and went to the door, only to find it was also locked from the inside. The wizard chuckled to said to them, "Use your new key."
Ron tried the key and, after trying a few buttons, got the door to open. The group walked outside when Ron suddenly puked violently right outside the door.
"Damn it! Alice, we need that wing now!" Thomas shouted.
Chapter 3: Mages on the Loose
"Ready to go Tom?" Suzanne asked.
Thomas, who appeared to be lost in thought, stood up and nodded his head. He walked out the door of Lucia's Eatery and waited outside for his companions.
Alice walked up to Suzanne and greeted her, "Hey Susie."
"Hey Alice. Is something bothering Tom? He at least usually says something when someone greets him."
"He's been in a sour mood since we got back from the tower. I saw him in the library yesterday and he didn't even acknowledge me at all. I'd think that he'd be a little happier after 'passing the test' and all."
"He's probably still angry at Ron being poisoned," Suzanne said. "You know he takes wounds seriously. Plus, he really hates it when people disregard his advice."
After the team had made it back to the castle town, the team had wasted no time in taking Ron to a healer and getting him cured of his poison. The healer had recommended a day of rest for Ron. So the team had taken the day off to see their families and have some free time. They planned to meet each other at Lucia's Eatery the next morning to set off for Reeve again. Once there, they would try Baker's key on the door to the Drasoran house.
The trip to Reeve went routinely this time around. Ron was definitely in top fighting condition after having been healed. The group did not complain about the lack of froggores, masked moths, and babbles in their journey.
The group arrived at Reeve in the late afternoon again. They decided to wait until the morning to see the elder Drasoran. Suzanne and Alice went to the inn to book their rooms, Ron went out to get some exercise, while Thomas disappeared to some quiet spot as he often did to study.
As Ron had just about had enough for the day, Thomas came up to him. After a deep breath, he addressed Ron, "Hey Ron."
Ron, who hadn't noticed Thomas yet, turned around and replied, "Hey Tom. How's the reading?"
"It's fine," Thomas said. "I wanted to apologize for failing you the other day."
Ron looked surprised. "What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
As Thomas replied this time, his head faced the ground, "I'm talking about the other day, when you got poisoned. I'm the healer of this group, I should have been able to cast the spell that rids you of poison. Instead, we had to go all the way back to the castle and consult a healer there."
Ron shook his head and said, "Hey, it was my fault in the first place. You told Susie and I to back off and I didn't listen. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I not only endangered myself but I endangered you and Susie by forcing you guys to come to my aid. I should have listened to you."
However, Thomas was not completely convinced, "It is true, it would've been helpful if you had backed off. But those things probably would've closed in on us anyway. There were too many of them. Such situations will no doubt occur often in this journey of ours. And because of that, I should know the antidote spell."
"Isn't that a complicated spell?" Ron asked.
"Somewhat, but that's not the point. We won't get far in our journey if we have to rush back to the castle whenever there's a fear of poison. If the stories are true, there are some areas of the world full of poisonous creatures." Thomas answered.
"Don't worry about it man," Ron said. "I'm sure you'll have that spell down by that point. Until that time, I just have to be more careful. After all, we've got both Susie and Alice around to lob fireballs at enemies. It wouldn't kill me to stand back and watch them fry every so often."
Thomas chuckled at Ron's comment. Ron made a suggestion, "But what say you put the books down for a moment and spar with me? You're going to need to get a little tougher in addition to learning those spells."
Thomas chuckled again. "Oh why not? Allow me to fetch my club."
The group was excited for the next day. Now they would try the key on the Drasoran door and hopefully get Borthan to help them break the seal on the Cave of Enticement. Suzanne was the first to wake of the group. She got dressed and left the room without waking Alice and went down the stairs to take a walk. As she went through the main lobby of the inn, a notice on the bulletin board caught her eye.
"BEWARE: Do not wander off to the eastern wilds! Do not travel unless necessary and make sure always to travel in groups! A cult of mages is on the loose!" the notice read.
Suzanne walked up to the innkeeper and asked, "According to that notice, there are mages on the loose. Is that true?"
The innkeeper replied grimly, "I'm afraid so, miss. Apparently, they hail from the castle itself. The lot of them wanted to run experiments on human beings, but the king said no of course. So they left the castle and now they've established a hideout of some sort out in the eastern wilds and they attack anyone they see."
"I see. Thanks for the warning," Suzanne said.
The area called the "eastern wilds" was a region on the east side of Aliahan with many forests and hills. There was an increased concentration of monsters in the region and so there were no settlements or villages in the area. There were some guides and outposts but for the most part, monsters had control of the region. Unfortunately, the group would have to travel through this region to reach the Cave of Enticement.
After the rest of the group had awoken and prepared for the day they headed to the Drasoran house. Ron took out Baker's key and tried it on the lock. After pushing some buttons and working on it for a few seconds, the door gave way. The group rejoiced silently and then proceeded into the house.
The ground floor of the house looked normal enough. You would not have
known that a couple of powerful wizards usually inhabited the house. There was a kitchen and living room all furnished with regular looking furniture. The group searched the ground floor, cautiously calling for Borthan as they went. Then the group found some stairs to the second floor and proceeded up them.
The second floor appeared to have the bedrooms for the two and a guest room. The group knocked and checked each room for Borthan.
When they knocked on the last door Thomas noted, "It's funny how polite we're being after we broke into this guy's house."
The group then entered the door and there he was, Borthan Drasoran the wizard. He turned around and said, "I've already heard from my brother. You have passed our little test. We need not spend much time on pleasantries, so let us get to business. You have a total of three spellcasters in your group, but only the two in the back," he indicated Thomas and Alice, "will be needed. You two will stay here for a couple hours learning the spell to break the seal."
So Thomas and Alice stayed with the wizard for a few hours while Ron and Suzanne left. Since they needed to restock on medicinal herbs and food for the journey anyway, the two decided to do just that. The two proceeded to the medicine store first.
Ron noticed that there were antidote herbs for sale. He laughed and pointed them out to Suzanne, "We better buy some of these, eh Susie?" Suzanne laughed and they purchased a handful of the herbs. They were expensive to buy in such an amount, but the group had made a good sum of money from the monster parts they collected from their trip up the tower. They met up with Thomas and Alice at midday.
"So, what do you have to do?" Suzanne asked.
Alice took a somewhat large, glowing ball from her backpack. "This is the key to breaking the seal. We say some incantations and throw this thing at one of the walls. This will break the seal."
Ron's eyebrow raised, "You throw that at a wall? Doesn't sound very magicky to me."
Thomas spoke up at this point, "It's not as simple as throwing it at a wall. When we enter the cave, we'll soon come to a dead end. In reality, one of the walls in this dead end is the seal. The first part of the incantation identifies which wall is the seal. The next part puts a spell on the ball made to counteract the seal. Then we throw the ball at the wall, the sealed wall will be destroyed, and we will be able to proceed. 'Magicky' enough for you?"
Ron laughed and said, "Now that's what I'm talking about! I was starting to worry that magic really isn't as complicated as it's made out to be!"
Suzanne spoke up, "We got the supplies while you were gone. I think we should be ready to head out now then. You guys ready?"
The rest of the group agreed. They headed out of Reeve and went east.
Having heard the rumors of the cult, the group was extra cautious while traveling. After a day of traveling the group reached the foot of the hills on the edge of the western wilds. The group set up camp and arranged the watch for the night. For this night's rotation, Ron was first, followed by Alice, then Suzanne, with Thomas last. Ron's shift went without a hitch.
When Alice took watch, the rest of the group sometimes complained that she was too jumpy. Of course, noises in the night were unsettling, but the animals were going to move around in the night. Once again, Alice was plagued by the noises of the night, this one especially noisy. Alice mused that it was because they were at the entrance to the wild territory. Many animals were afraid of even the slightest hint of humans. But these animals were a bit more courageous; they knew this was their territory.
With the amount of noise Alice heard, she doubted she'd be able to get to sleep once her shift ended. She utterly hated this part of journeying. Leaves and grass rustled and made her jump. After this night, she was going to ask for a smaller night shift. "I'm a spell caster, a mage!" she thought to herself. "I need my sleep so I can study my spells and save us from humongous hoards of monsters!"
She heard something on the wind. It sounded like words! Were those crazy cultists out there now? She listened carefully before waking the others. She did not want to sound another false alarm. The last time she had the group as a whole had found it difficult to get back to sleep. Although none of her comrades yelled at or chastised her, she knew they did not want to be woken for nothing.
More words carried on the wind. That sounded like a spell for sure! But wait, maybe it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. She listened some more, all the while bracing herself for a fireball or burst of poisonous gas or whatever those mages could throw at her.
"Alice!"
Alice jumped, those cultists knew her name! They would have to be either very powerful or very dedicated to have learned her name, the name of a person who for all they knew was just some random traveler in the eastern wilds. Either way, they had to be very dangerous indeed. She needed to alert her comrades. She spun around only to find one of the mages directly in front of her. She fell backwards in surprise and started preparing a spell.
"Whoa! Alice, it's me!"
Alice stopped her spell and looked at her attacker. Actually, her attacker was none other than Suzanne. Apparently, Alice's shift was already over and Suzanne had woken up to relieve her of the watch already.
"You really look freaked out! It's too bad I didn't wake up sooner," Suzanne said.
Alice was still trying to catch her breath. "I thought I was supposed to wake you?" she said.
"I had some trouble sleeping tonight. Too excited about the seal I guess," Suzanne said. She saw Alice's face turn to concern and she continued, "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll sleep fine after my shift. For now, you make sure to get some sleep. You look like you've been through a terrible ordeal."
Alice nodded and thanked Suzanne, "Thanks Susie. Don't be afraid of waking Tom early. He'll be grumpy in the morning anyway." Suzanne chuckled as Alice walked away.
The group made it through the night without being ambushed by the cultists. They proceeded up the hills of the eastern wilds. On both sides of these hills were large mountains that the group did not dare try to climb. Luckily, they would not have to, though they would have to circle around the mountains to reach the Cave of Enticement.
The group would have to go through a narrow pass between the two mountain ranges named Gerald Pass, named after the wizard who sealed the Cave of Enticement.
"Be ready guys," Suzanne warned as the neared the pass. "This would be a prime place for them to attack from. If they take up positions on any of the cliffs, we'll only be able to reach them with our own magic."
Alice seemed confident in the prospect of a magic battle, despite her fears last night, "Don't worry guys! I got a new spell down that can take a whole group of those maniacs down!"
"That's great, but do you think you could reach that Cliffside there if they were to attack?" Thomas asked, pointing to a nearby cliff.
Alice looked at the cliff and replied, "Well, that may be a bit of a reach. But hey, if they're too far away I can still blast them with a good fireball. Plus, they won't be able to hit us with the same spell if they know it."
Suzanne just thought of something, "Hmm, I didn't think about area effect spells. That could be a problem. If they do attack as from close to mid range, we should spread out."
Ron spoke up, "That's what I hate about fighting mages. You guys can stand back from a distance and fire away before I'm ever able to even reach you with my blade."
The group proceeded through the pass wary of any mages. Things were quiet in the area, no animals or monsters.
"Over there!" Ron shouted and pointed to the group's left.
Upon a cliff to the left was a group of three figures. They were not terribly far away; there was a large rock near them that they must have hid behind.
"Don't attack yet!" Suzanne warned. "They may not be cultists!"
Alice had already been casting a spell but held it at the last moment. She had her new spell ready and only needed to say the final word before she could unleash it on their potential foes.
The three figures identified the
mselves as enemies quickly. Three fireballs headed their way quickly. The fireballs homed in on and hit Ron, Suzanne, and Thomas. Alice took that as the signal to finish her spell. The ground underneath the three figures started aflame for a second, burning the three figures.
"Move in!" Ron shouted.
The group rushed up the cliff to try and rush the three mages. They made sure to use the rocks as cover as they ran up. Although fireballs had great homing capabilities, the spell did not take object between caster and target into effect, so the fireballs would hit the rocks. The group split between two rocks and viewed their enemies. A fireball flew by, almost hitting Ron in the head. The group cautiously made their way to the next set of rocks, getting there just in time to avoid another volley.
Now the group was close to the mages. The next rock to use as cover was the rock their foes were using for cover.
"Time to end this!" Ron shouted. He charged at the three mages.
"Wait, Ron! Allow us to cover you!" Suzanne shouted. Unfortunately, Ron was already halfway there when the words left her mouth. The rest of the group quickly joined Ron's charge, Alice with another spell ready.
Ron saw his first target's expression turn to horror as he saw the blade approaching him. Ron cut him down just after the mage finished his spell, a fireball hit Ron square in the chest. Two more fireballs quickly followed, sending Ron flying backwards from the might. However, before the mages could press the attack on Ron, the rest of the group came in. Suzanne and Thomas made quick work of the already wounded mages with a couple of strikes of their own.
Thomas quickly rushed over to Ron to heal his injuries. Amazingly, Ron was not as wounded as it seemed, but he definitely could not take many more blows. Thomas said the heal spell as Suzanne walked over.
Dragon Quest Novel Page 3
