Dragon Quest Novel

by Melania Zveja

  "Wow," marveled Ron, looking at the statues. "I don't know what I expected from a cave in the Necrogond but well-made statues of human warriors definitely weren't it."

  "This is surprising," agreed Alice. "I would've thought that any decorations we find would be glorifying monsters, not humans."

  "They're not dressed like the people we've seen from around here either," observed Suzanne. "At least we have yet to encounter anybody from this region that wears armor. Alice, do you know of any tribes that used to live in the Necrogond that may have made these?"

  "I know very little of the Necrogond tribes, period, Susie," answered Alice. "Many of the tribes took great pains to avoid outsiders."

  "It seems that one of the most common themes among any nation or people is the unwillingness to work with other peoples," said Thomas sourly.

  The four proceeded through the hall and turned a corner to the right. They were greeted with a wide staircase going upwards. They were also greeted with two monsters: a tiny green imp and a skeletal monster. The skeleton was similar to the undead the group had fought in Samanao except the bones on this monster were brown instead of white.

  "Ron and Tom, we'll take on the skeleton. Tom has the zombie slasher so we'll try to open up its defenses for you. Alice, you take the imp," said Suzanne.

  Either the imp heard what Suzanne said or it was just smart enough to know its partner was a better melee fighter. The imp took a step behind the skeleton as soon as it noticed the group. Alice countered the move with her staff, sending a stream of fire at the imp. But the imp gave no indication to have been hurt by the flames.

  The other three ran into close quarters with the skeleton. This monster proved to be much more dangerous than its counterparts from Samanao. It was much quicker and clearly had skill in swordplay. Ron reached the creature first, sticking to its left side, but quickly had to fall onto the defensive against three of its blades. He blocked one but the other two snuck through to give him blows to a shoulder and a side. Suzanne focused on the creature's right and had two swords to block. She managed to block both of them but was unable to launch an offensive strike.

  The idea had been for Suzanne and Ron to flank the monster and distract it which would give Thomas an opening in its middle but the creature had one more arm to spare and used it to block Thomas' slash. From over the skeleton's shoulder, the imp jumped up and completed a spell of its own, sending a fireball at Alice that exploded on impact.

  "We need a good offense to hurt these guys! Fight aggressively and be ready to take some cuts!" yelled Suzanne. "Alice, use some of your magic!"

  Alice began an incantation and when she finished, a large explosion engulfed the two foes. Both monsters survived the explosion but the skeleton lost two of its arms and the imp was in bad shape. Suzanne disengaged from the skeleton to finish the imp off. Heeding Suzanne's advice, Ron launched an aggressive series of moves on the skeleton. He received another two blows for his trouble but managed to take off another of the skeleton's arms.

  Thomas tried to follow Ron's lead but before he could slash the skeleton his foe inhaled and then released a wave of red breath at the four. When the breath touched their skin it burned as though they had been set on fire, even though the breath was clearly not made of flames. Even after the breath dissipated Thomas' limbs felt like they were ablaze. He was unable to move. Fortunately, the other three were able to recover from the skeleton's breath and destroy it.

  After the battle the other three checked on Thomas, who still was not moving.

  "What was that breath?" asked Suzanne. "Why isn't Tom moving?"

  Alice looked over Thomas and thought about his predicament. "I'm not exactly sure but I think he's paralyzed. Temporarily, I hope. I think I know a spell that can help him."

  Alice cast a spell and Thomas was briefly engulfed in a blast of light along with several smaller bursts of light. Thomas immediately began moving his limbs and checking them over, as though he could not believe they were moving.

  "Are you alright, Tom?" asked Suzanne.

  "I believe so," answered Thomas. "That creature's breath made my body feel like it was on fire. The pain caused my body to lock up."

  "I don't see any burns on any of us though," pointed out Ron.

  "It wasn't fire, just some sort of gas that produces incredible pain," said Thomas. "I don't see any lasting damage on myself either. The creature's breath is likely for immobilization, not for killing. If all of you locked up like I did we would've been in a lot of trouble."

  The four continued up the stairs and arrived in a large chamber. There was a single hallway connected to the chamber but that hallway had another hallway splitting off to the left almost immediately. The group decided to keep going forward. They came to another chamber with exits to the left and right. Alice guessed that the left exit would lead to the other hallway and so the four went to the right first. They came to a smaller chamber with a treasure chest in it. The four were fully expecting a trap and Alice made sure to check the chest with her magic.

  They were surprised to find the chest was not a monster and opened it to find some gold inside. However, the chest still turned out to be a trap as the four were ambushed by four green imps. They were able to take care of the monsters but once again had to expend some magic to do so.

  The four went back and took the left exit this time. This hallway would again split, a split which the group took this time. This split took them to the hallway they had first passed up. Thankfully, this hallway took them around in a half-circle, with some small chambers connecting to it, so they connected with the second split, giving a grand total of one path to take. In one of the smaller chambers there was another treasure chest. There had been another ambush of monsters, two imps and one of the brown skeletons, waiting for them but because the group had circled around the chamber by using the other hallway they ended up surprising the monsters. With the element of surprise on their side, the group dispatched their foes with few wounds and no magic.

  Inside the chest was a beautiful looking sword. The sword had a blue grip with a golden pommel. The blade was mostly crimson but the entire edge was colored gold and there were vein-like gold strands going through the crimson. The blade was irregularly shaped: it was tilted and had two large spikes sprouting off it on the back end with a long spike coming off the front near the hilt. Ron and Alice both gave the sword a good looking over.

  "Despite its weird shape you'll be hard pressed to find a better sword than this," Ron reported. "Its edge is just as sharp as our dragon killers. I would imagine that this is just as effective a weapon."

  "I'm going to say it's even better!" exclaimed Alice, excited. "There is powerful magic inside this sword! It's like the magic that inhabits my staff: it'll allow you to manifest a spell on command. In this case, it'll conjure up a large explosion like the ones I've made from time to time."

  "That sounds incredibly useful," agreed Suzanne. "Ron, you should take that sword."

  "Me?" asked Ron. "Shouldn't you use it, Susie? You know much more about magic and all that stuff than I do."

  "But giving you that sword would open up our group's possibilities immensely," explained Suzanne. "If I understand how these things work correctly, one need not be a spellcaster to utilize their magic potential." Alice nodded her head to confirm Suzanne's statement. "So if you use that sword than every one of us can conjure up a magical attack as the situation calls for it. It'll give us a great tactical advantage."

  "But I wouldn't know when to use it," protested Ron. "I know my role on the front lines pretty well but I don't know when and where to sling spells."

  "I'll tell you when the time arises," answered Suzanne. "When we're not in the middle of hostile territory we can do some drills to get you used to it more. Don't worry, you're still going to be relying on your swordplay most of the time."

  "Alright," conceded Ron. He took the sword and gave it a few swings. The sword's magic caused it to leave a small gold and crimson
trail on every swing. Alice theorized that the sword's magic augmented the damage its blade could do as well. Ron seemed to be satisfied with the sword's balance as well.

  The numerous hallways had combined into one large chamber with only one other exit. That exit took them to a chamber with two exits: straight and to the left. They took the straight exit first and came to another treasure chest. Once again the chest was guarded by monsters: another gang of four imps. But the group was ready for them and the magic combination of Alice's staff and Ron's new sword tore the enemy group to pieces. Suzanne and Thomas cleaned up the rest and the fight was over almost as soon as it began.

  Inside the chest was a suit of armor. The armor was made up of brown shoulder guards, gauntlets, and leg guards with blue chain mail to go over the torso. The interesting thing about this armor was the large spikes that covered the entirety of it. The spikes varied in size, shape, and direction.

  Ron took a great interest in the suit of armor. "I never thought I'd see one of these!" he said.

  "What is it?" asked Suzanne.

  "I read about these," answered Ron. "It's a suit of swordedge armor. They were made for renowned warriors and generals in the First Great War. Even then they were rare and exceptionally valuable. It takes an exceptional craftsman to make one of these. Somehow, all suits of swordedge armor and the knowledge of how to make them faded long ago."

  "Wow, you actually read books, Ron?" asked Alice.

  Ron gave her a glare. "As a matter of fact I do. Just because I don't spend all my time studying magic doesn't mean I don't study or work hard like you do."

  Alice backed off, "Geez, I was just kidding! So how good are these suits of armor anyway?"

  "I'd wager this suit of armor is even better than the dragon scales Susie and I are wearing now," said Ron. "Besides that, the spikes on this thing aren't just for show. Enemies that attack with their own bodies are known to hurt themselves attacking someone wearing swordedge armor. That isn't of much note against other humans fighting with weapons but against monsters it's of great use. That's why these suits were so valuable in the First Great War."

  "Well, package it up and let's get going," said Suzanne. "I don't dare leave one of us unarmored for the time it would take to change into that suit."

  Monsters were not the team's only worry as they went through the cave. The cave itself began to work against them. The four found a descending staircase not far from where they found the swordedge armor. They were given two choices at the bottom of the stairs and took the choice on the left. The hallway they entered split once and then continued onwards for a long, long ways. The four continued on through the hallway, fighting through monsters as they did so, wondering when it would come to an end. After some time and several fights Suzanne concluded that the hallway would never end.

  "Hey guys," said Suzanne, stopping the other group. "Can we try turning around for a moment? I want to check something."

  "What is it?" asked Ron. Suzanne did not answer him but began backtracking. The other three followed her. In a short amount of time they came across the staircase they had used to get down to their current level.

  "As I thought," said Suzanne. "The Navel of the Earth had similar trickery. The hallway we were just in never ends. We could have kept walking down it until the end of time."

  "That's troubling," commented Thomas. "We're having enough trouble conserving our resources as it is. If we have to keep worrying about possibly infinite hallways…"

  "Hey Alice," cut in Ron. "Is there any way to tell a never-ending hallway from a regular one?"

  "Not that I know of, I'm afraid," Alice replied. "All we can do is try to judge when to turn back. Good call on that, Susie."

  The four now took the other hallway, hoping that this one would end. They came across a chamber with several holes in the ground. A few steps into the chamber revealed that the ground in the chamber was unstable. The group tread lightly over the ground and stayed close to the walls where there were fewer holes in the ground.

  The four had just reached the corner of the chamber when they were beset upon by monsters again. Two imps flew out of two of the holes in the floor. Another monster came from the chamber's exit. This monster looked like a shadow sprung to life. This shadow belonged to a being with large wings, horns, long wiry arms with long claws, and a lower body that disappeared into nothing. Unlike most shadows, the creature's color was turquoise with bright, magenta eyes. However, the strange coloration did not make the shadow any less menacing.

  The group would have liked to rush the imps rather than let them fly back and cast spells but the uncertain ground kept them from doing so. To their surprise, the imps flew to them. The imps tried to fly at Alice but Suzanne and Ron were able to cut the off. The imps adjusted quickly and turned their forks at the two warriors' heads. As the imps had little in the ways of strength both Suzanne and Ron were able to block the attacks. The two warriors quickly returned blows and both made contact but their unsure footing worked against them, reducing the speed and impact of their strikes. The imps were able to pull away just enough to survive.

  Thomas and Alice both tried to engage the shadow, which appeared to be casting a spell. Alice stumbled on the rough ground and Thomas was not fast enough to make it to the shadow in time. The monster completed its spell and each of the four was suddenly engulfed in clouds of thick, purple smoke.

  Thomas knew what the spell was. He had cast the very spell himself. He had heard Suzanne's description of the spell from when she had had it cast on her in the Navel of the Earth. But none of that prepared Thomas for what was coming. Somehow, it made the experience worse. Thomas' mind knew that a horrible ordeal was coming and a part of him believed it was better to give in immediately rather than go through such horrible pain with no guarantee of success. That part of Thomas' mind was taking over, and the pain caused by the spell did not feel so bad, as though the spell was awarding Thomas for his obedience.

  Thomas felt outside of his own body when he suddenly saw a bright light cut through the smoke. Any pain he had felt was completely gone now. He brought himself towards the light and out of the smoke.

  As Thomas returned the reality it took him a moment to catch up with what was going on. Suzanne had apparently already fought off the powerful spell, though her slower movements indicated she had been quite shaken up by it. Alice appeared to have fought off the spell as well but was so stunned she almost fell over.

  "Tom! Snap out of it! Destroy the shadow!" yelled Suzanne, her voice cracking.

  Remembering that they had been in the middle of a battle, Thomas turned towards the shadow to find the creature reaching for his neck. Thomas reacted quickly and ducked under the shadow's hands. The shadow seemed surprised that Thomas had recovered from its deadly magic. Thomas took advantage of that surprise to stab his blade upwards. His sword entered the shadow at its midsection and he brought it out through its head. The maneuver was apparently devastating to the monster as it shrieked and dissipated.

  Back towards the corner of the chamber, Alice had come back to her senses and she and Suzanne were able to dispatch the two imps. Thomas then looked towards Ron, who had not moved since the shadow had cast its spell. Realizing what that meant, Thomas ran towards Ron, only just able to keep his balance as he did so.

  Thomas opened up Ron's helmet. Ron's face was locked in a horrible, silent scream. Though the shadow had been destroyed, its spell continued its work on Ron. Thomas knew he had little time. He cast a spell on Ron, summoning a beam of light from the ceiling down upon Ron's body. This time, Thomas was able to get the spell to work on his first try. Ron immediately fell to his knees and began coughing, as though he had just been choking. A few seconds later he puked onto the ground.

  "Easy," said Thomas. "There's nothing wrong with your body. Your mind just thinks there is. Take a few deep breaths and sit in the corner for a moment."

  "That was the most horrible experience I've ever had in my life," said Alice. "It's a
good thing you were able to beat that spell so easily, Susie."

  "Nothing easy about it," replied Suzanne. "I swear that was even worse than the first time I had that spell cast on me."

  Ron, now feeling good enough to stand back up, walked up to Thomas and clapped him on the back. "You all did a good job of beating that spell. Especially you, man. If it weren't for you I'd be dead now."

  "But I didn't beat it," said Thomas, confused. "A part of me wanted to give in and die and I let that part of me win. I shouldn't be alive right now."

  "You're always being so hard on yourself, Tom," said Suzanne. "Nobody helped you beat that magic. You wouldn't be alive if you hadn't beat it."

  "You misunderstand," replied Thomas. "I know how that spell works. And I know that I didn't beat it. I should be dead now. How am I not?"

  "Hey, enough of that talk," said Ron. "That spell did a lot to all of us. I think we should head back."

  "I couldn't agree more," said Alice. "I've had way too much pain for one day."

  "When even Ron has had enough fighting that's probably a good place to stop," joked Suzanne. "I agree as well. We've made a lot of mistakes on this trip, myself included. I should've known something was up when the imps rushed us, something they haven't done before. This was a coordinated ambush. If we head back we can take some time to recover and work on what we've learned about this area. And when we return we'll do much better. Sound good to everyone?"

  Ron and Alice both nodded their heads. Thomas, lost in thought over how he survived the deadly spell, did not respond at first but another prompting from Suzanne yielded a nod from Thomas as well. Alice began to cast a teleportation spell to whisk the four out of the cave. As she did so, Thomas suddenly had an idea. He reached into one of his pockets.

  In that pocket his hand grasped a bunch of sand. Thomas now knew how he had survived. The Stone of Life had died in his place.

  The group retreated from the Necrogond safely and returned to Assaram. They took four weeks to recover and train for another excursion. Suzanne had the group running drills to guard against ambushes and to fight with difficult footing. Ron was given ownership of the swordedge armor and worked on adjusting his fighting style for his new equipment. In four weeks he was unable to make many changes but Alice was impressed with the progress he made in using his new sword's magic. Thomas researched the death magic the group had faced and came up with some mental drills to help the four fight it. Alice did her usual magic research but also put an added emphasis on studying the monsters they had fought and analyzing their battles against them.