Dragon Quest Novel

by Melania Zveja

  Ron and Thomas, seeing the men o' wars taken care of, went at the four marine slimes. They found that the marine slimes were indeed well armored. The four all ganged up on Thomas. Although they could not deal much pain individually, Thomas ended up taking many scratches to his legs and sides and he realized they could be dangerous in numbers. Suzanne joined the melee and the three were able to take care of the remaining enemies, though Thomas took some more wounds. It was nothing life threatening however.

  "That went really well," remarked Ron after the battle.

  "Don't get too cocky," said the captain as he walked over to the four. "I've seen groups of six men o' war make their way on deck. That can lead to a sticky situation. Then again, your wizard seems to do a good job of taking care of them. Maybe you'd handle such a group handily as well. Either way, I'm glad you guys are capable of defending the deck."

  After four days of sailing the group decided to dock in southern Tarasia. The group had the ship sail down a river in order to get deeper into the region and they disembarked into a forest.

  "Maybe it's because I was expecting to be fighting the moment we set down, but everything seems quiet," pointed out Ron.

  "Too quiet," replied Suzanne. "Do you guys hear that?"

  The rest of the group shook their heads. "That's just it," said Suzanne. "No animals. Whether it is animals or monsters, you can usually hear something, especially in a forest like this. The only sounds I hear are the ones we're making."

  "Nonetheless, this won't help our case for a proving that there's a huge monster army gathering," noted Thomas.

  The group proceeded south through the forest and it was then they heard a noise.

  "Yesterday's meal was lacking. We need more explorers out here. I haven't had good meat in a long time," said a voice from out of the forest.

  "Have the hags found anything? I swear, I wonder why we keep them around," said another voice.

  "Calm yourself. They can't find anything if there's nothing to be found. It'll be a while before we need them for dinner," replied the first voice.

  Suzanne motioned for the group to keep their own voices down and said, "Did you hear that, it sounds like people!"

  "Apparently King Saldor was right, humans haven't been eradicated from this region," said Thomas.

  "They sound like nomads. By the sounds of it, it must be hard to find food out here. Maybe the Archfiend has killed many of the animals as well as killing many humans," suggested Alice. "That would explain why we haven't heard any animals around here."

  "Let's talk to them," said Suzanne. "We can figure out what has been happening around here."

  The group approached the voices and found that the voices came from two oddly dressed people. The two were wearing green fur and blue masks that covered all but their eyes. The group approached with their hands raised to show that they meant no harm. However, the two men took battle stances.

  "Look! Food!" said one. "See, we don't need those hags to help us! Food has come to us!"

  "They're armed, we still need their help," said the other. He threw a strange stone into the air which began to emit a bright red glow. At the glow, two of the ugliest women the group had ever seen approached, flying on broomsticks. The women were dressed in a little less strange a manner, in gray cloaks with straw hats.

  The women cackled as they approached and cried out in unison, "May the Archfiend bless this hunt!"

  The group, realizing that they had accidentally approached some of the enemy, quickly put their hands to their weapons. However, since they had come out with their hands up, the enemies were able to act quickly. The two women flew at the group and clawed at them with their hands. Their nails were inhumanly sharp and gave some decent scratches to Ron and Suzanne. One of the men ran at the group and punched Thomas with inhuman strength in the stomach, sending him falling backwards. The other man cast a spell and the group was engulfed in a stream of fire, the stronger version that Alice was so fond of.

  Alice quickly reacted to the attacks and cast her own stream of fire spell back at the men. They were badly burned, but nowhere near out. Ron and Suzanne both focused on one of the women and sent her flying off her broomstick with two horrible slash wounds to her midsection. The other witch broke off and cast a healing spell, the stronger version that Thomas now used, at one of the men.

  Thomas and his opponent traded blows as Thomas took a hard hit to his leg but returned with a stab to the man's shoulder. Meanwhile, the spellcasting man that was still hanging back cast another spell. Bright yellow light, seemingly coming from the sky, shone down on the mortally wounded woman. Before the group's eyes, her wound closed up enough and her bleeding stopped enough for her to get back up, grab her broomstick, and start flying around again.

  "That's a powerful healing spell!" warned Thomas. "Take out the men or they'll be able to heal almost any wound the others take!"

  Heeding Thomas' advice, Alice sent another stream of fire at the men. The one Thomas had been fighting with finally succumbed to his wounds. Seeing the man in the back preparing a spell to bring him back, Suzanne sprinted over to the man and ran him through. The non-wounded woman cast a healing spell on the other witch. Although the other witch had made a remarkable recovery thanks to the spell of one of the men, she was still bleeding and noticeably wounded. However, with the other woman's spell, she looked as though she had not been fighting at all.

  The now fully-recovered woman flew at Alice and gave her some scratches across the face. Thomas took advantage of the attacking woman's low flight and stabbed at the woman's back, catching her ribs. Suzanne came over and cut one of the woman's legs off, while also cutting her broom stick in half. The woman fell to the ground with a chilling scream. Ron managed a good slash to the last remaining enemy, almost taking her arm off. The woman tried to put up one last bit of resistance, but the group took her down.

  As Thomas began to make his healing rounds, Ron and Suzanne went up to the still-living one-legged woman.

  "Why did you attack us?" demanded Suzanne, as Ron held his axe to her neck. "What did we do to anger you?"

  The woman returned Suzanne's question with a spiteful glare, and began trying to cast a spell. At the sign of magic being used, Ron put the woman out of her misery.

  "Did you hear what they said as they started attacking us?" asked Ron. "They looked at us and cried out, 'Food!'" Ron looked at their fallen enemies in utter disgust. "They must be cannibals."

  "Not only that, but the women cried out, 'May the Archfiend bless this hunt,'" recalled Suzanne. "Besides being cannibals, they must be serving the Archfiend."

  "And yet they were in command of advanced healing spells. That one spell the man used was the kind of magic that could have saved Susie's arm on the spot back in the pyramid," said Thomas grimly.

  "Maybe their service to the Archfiend has caused it to gift them with great magical power," suggested Alice.

  As night approached, the group continued their investigation. Thankfully, they did not run into any more cannibals, though they did meet some monsters about. As the forest grew darker, the group was about to set up camp when they spotted some lights just outside the forest. The group went forward to investigate and found a strange town just outside the forest.

  "Be careful guys," warned Suzanne. "We could be walking into a village of those cannibals."

  The group went forward to investigate and found a town in bad shape. All the buildings were damaged, if not completely destroyed. However, the people went about their business as though their homes were not in such a state and as though it were not the middle of the night. The people were dressed normally and did not react violently to the group's approach. They were warmly greeted by people as they entered the town.

  Suzanne warned the group to keep ready, in case the friendly act was just a ruse. The group approached a man inside the local inn and asked him what had happened to the town.

  "Excuse me sir," approached Suzanne. "What happened to this town?"<
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  "Whatever do you mean, young missy?" asked the man.

  "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said anything. But I was curious to know what attacked this town? Was it the Archfiend?" asked Suzanne.

  "What makes you think this town was attacked?" asked the man, who seemed genuinely confused.

  "The destroyed buildings all over the place," said Suzanne with a voice of sympathy.

  "Where are these destroyed buildings?" asked the man, now starting to chuckle. "I know this isn't the most glamorous town, but I'd hardly say anything has been destroyed."

  "The man must be in denial or something," whispered Ron. "Let's ask someone else."

  However, as the group questioned more people, they found much of the same thing. Nobody seemed to think their town was in such a state of disrepair. The group decided to split up in order to investigate the town.

  As Suzanne wandered the town, she found a house on the outskirts surrounded by a large puddle of purple liquid. This liquid was known to be found in some areas. It was incredibly hot and had a vile magic about it that caused it to burn a person with even the most reinforced boot. There was not too much of it, however, so Suzanne carefully walked across the vile liquid. She found an old man inside the house.

  "Excuse me, sir, but why do you stay here surrounded by this vile liquid? Or are you unable to get out because of it?" Suzanne asked. No sooner had she finished her sentence that she realized that, like the destruction of the buildings, the man was probably unaware of the liquid outside his doorstep.

  "You must be strong to come here, young traveler," said the man. "We don't see many travelers around here anymore. Could I give you a suggestion?"

  Suzanne was surprised to find the man seemed aware of the liquid, "Um, sure."

  "To continue your travels, you'll need the Final Key. About two days' journey south of Baharata is the town of Lancel. You will find more information and resources there," explained the man.

  "How do you know I'll need this key?" asked Suzanne.

  "They call it the Final Key for a reason," chuckled the old man. "It is the final key you will ever need. It can open any door. And I mean any door. It can break even the most powerful magical enhancements. You could be in the most guarded prison on the planet and this key would get the door open for you."

  "I'll think about this. Thank you for the information," said Suzanne.

  The group met back at the inn. They were afraid to enter the building as it was so damaged it looked as though it would fall over at any moment. Ron and Alice were in great spirits as they told the group what they found.

  "You should see the equipment they have for sale here!" said Ron. "It's some of the finest craftsmanship I've ever seen! I never thought I'd see anything like it!"

  "It's not just the craftsmanship," said Alice, just as excitedly. "Some of the equipment is enchanted! They sell swords blessed to destroy undead! The armor will grant its wearer resistance to offensive magic!"

  "Are you serious?" asked Suzanne. "With all the magic we've come up against recently, that would be of great help."

  The group decided to buy some of the equipment before turning in. Due to its great craftsmanship and enhancements, the equipment had understandably high prices. Although the group had procured quite a bit of money, they found they still could not afford everything. Everyone got a set of the magic armor. Since Alice still needed an adequate weapon, they bought one of the swords, which the store keeper called zombie slashers, for her.

  Finally, the group decided it was time to get some rest. Their curiosity over the town had kept them from waiting until the morning to check the town out, but now the group had to succumb to sleep. Not trusting the damaged inn, the group set up camp just outside of town. In the morning, the group reentered the town and found an eerie scene.

  "They're all gone!" said Suzanne, completely amazed. "Where are they!"

  "I think I might know," said Alice, with a grim voice that did not often come from her. "Those people we saw were not just people. They were ghosts. This town must actually have been destroyed by the Archfiend. Somehow, the spirits of the people remained here, living as though it had never happened."

  "At least our equipment was real," said Ron. The armor and sword the group had just purchased remained tangible.

  However, when the group investigated the town, they found no sign of the money they had paid for the gear. It had vanished along with its shopkeeper. There was no sign of the shopkeeper's stock either.

  "Truly remarkable," mused Alice. "The ghostly shopkeeper has taken his money with him. He must be related to Bill."

  Wondering why the ghosts had been there when they had arrived, the group waited until nightfall. Sure enough, when the sun ceased to shine on the land, the ghosts reappeared in the town, carrying about their business as though they had just awoken in the morning.

  "I've never seen anything like this," said Alice. "What keeps these ghosts here, to show up every night?"

  "It's sad is what it is," said Thomas. "Souls that cannot find rest, even in death."

  "I have a feeling we shall return here," said Suzanne. "Not only to buy more of that equipment, but to unravel the mystery that surrounds this place."

  Chapter 13: Scavenger Hunt

  "I have to say, this is the exact reason I signed up for this journey. Just so I can spend half the time looking for more and more powerful keys," complained Ron.

  The group had almost arrived in the town of Lancel, if the ghostly old man who had given Suzanne the information on the Final Key was correct. The group had tried out Alice's teleportation spell to get the group and the ship near Baharata. The group had then decided to take the rest of the day off. They had two reasons for doing so: the increased strain of teleporting the ship took a great deal of magic from Alice and it also happened to be her eighteenth birthday. The group rested up and celebrated the occasion, though Bill complained about the wasted day.

  After two days of journeying at sea, the group found their information had been accurate when one of the crewmen of the Mad Hound reported seeing land. The Mad Hound had come across a large island. The island was bigger than most, but still easily dwarfed by the island of Aliahan. Not far away from reaching land came the appearance of a small town. The group got their things together and was heading into town.

  "Well if that ghost knew what he was talking about, this will be the last time we need to find a key. Might as well get it out of the way now," said Suzanne.

  "That's what we thought about the last two keys. I'm willing to bet there's a door that could fool this Final Key," said Ron.

  Suzanne thought about what Ron said and asked, "Hey Alice, do you know anything about this Final Key?"

  "There's been a lot of tales and legends of magical keys that could open a variety of doors. I can't say I've ever heard one about a key that could open any door but that isn't to say there hasn't ever been one," replied Alice.

  "I don't buy it," said Thomas. "Best case scenario in my opinion is that we find a key that can open some doors that our current keys cannot, but I doubt such a magnificent item exists or ever has existed. And even finding another magic key is a stretch. It's not like such items are just lying around all over the place for people to find them, or they would have been found by now. I think we're wasting our time."

  "Bill thought it might be worth the risk," reasoned Suzanne. "Sure there's a good chance this is a waste of time, but if it isn't, then surely the reward outweighs the risk of a few days."

  The group decided to split up to find information in the town of Lancel. As the town was not the big, the group believed they could find any information to be found before the afternoon had even ended. Ron decided to head to the local pub this time while Suzanne visited other hot spots such as the inn. Thomas and Alice went their own ways to see if there was anything else interesting in the town.

  As Ron entered the pub, he found that it was somewhat well crowded, especially for a small town during the day. He
quickly went to work asking questions, though not without enjoying himself a small amount. After some small interviews, Ron was pointed in the direction of Alten, the local storyteller. Ron left the pub and went to the storyteller's house where he found a younger man, looking to be in his late twenties or early thirties, inside.

  "Hello," greeted Ron. "I'm looking for the local storyteller, Alten. I was told he might know about something I'd be interested in."

  The man laughed and walked over to Ron to shake his hand, "You've found him. I'm Alten. Might I ask who you are?"

  "My name is Ron. I'm a traveler," Ron introduced himself. "I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that storytellers are usually older."

  "You'd be correct," replied Alten. "I only recently inherited this position from my grandfather. He knew a great deal of stories. I'm guessing that you're interested in the shrine on the northern outskirts of town?"

  Ron shook his head, "No, I'm actually looking for something called the Final Key. It's a key that is supposed to open any door."

  Alten looked surprised at the mention of the Final Key. "That's strange. My grandfather said that all public knowledge of that key vanished long ago. Nobody is supposed to know about it."

  "If you'll believe me, my source on the matter is a ghost," replied Ron. "Not exactly the most reliable source, but it was an interesting story nonetheless. By the sounds of it, you don't know much about this key."

  Alten's surprise was replaced with a smile as he answered, "I may not know much, but my grandfather told me where to look for the key. Have you heard of the kingdom of Eginbear?"

  "I've heard a little bit about it. Not a whole lot," answered Ron.

  "Eginbear is to the north of a kingdom called Portoga, a naval power. Have you heard of Portoga?" asked Alten.