"What is this secret about?" asked Thomas.
"Does it matter, Tom?" asked Alice.
"Of course it does," said Thomas. "What if her secret might have some benefit to the people of Alefgard? Would we be expected to keep from the people something that might help them in their struggle?"
"I assure you, good sir, my secret will not benefit most," said the woman. "I speak of a musical instrument; a flute such as the one your friend now plays. Most people, if they found it, would sell it. The minions of Zoma would likely destroy it. But a good musician like your friend there would be able to use the flute to do some good as he is now."
"That sounds reasonable to me," said Suzanne. "I promise to keep your secret. But are you sure you want to tell us? We are nothing more than strangers to you, after all."
"True, but I have a good feeling about you," said the woman. "And truth be told, I can't stand hanging onto this secret anymore, knowing that Zoma could strike me down at any time and the location of the flute would be lost forever. My late husband specifically told me I could not let that happen."
"You see, my husband was a great musician," explained the woman. "And he used a magical flute called the Fairy Flute. It is said the flute holds some great power; that it has a wonderful purpose that only someone playing the flute could fulfill. We never found out what it was."
"The Fairy Flute?" asked Alice. "We heard about that from Tracy!"
"I'm afraid I know not of the person you speak of," replied the woman. "But I imagine a few people still know of the Fairy Flute. My husband loved to talk about it to audience members that came up to talk with him. He would put on such grand performances. Then Zoma had him killed."
"My husband was also a wise man," continued the woman. "Towards the end he knew the worst was coming. He had me hide the flute and then flee lest the Master Archfiend's wrath find me too. Fortunately for me, I have no gift at giving the people happiness like my husband did. Zoma doesn't seem to have bothered with me at all."
Then the woman lowered her voice even further. "There is a public bathhouse in the town of Kol, far to the northeast of here. When I was sure nobody was looking I buried the Fairy Flute 40 feet south of the southern entrance. At the time, the spot was underneath some trees and obscured by bushes. I've never been back to Kol in 30 years so I know not if the trees and bushes still stand. But I'd stake my life that the flute is still there."
"Thank you for your information," replied Suzanne. "I promise you we will find your flute and use it for good."
"You have my gratitude, young lady," said the woman. "Now I must ask that you get away from me. You never know who among these people here serve Zoma."
The three heeded her words and left to talk to another group of people. However, a short amount of time later some guards came in. One of them bellowed out, "By order of Lord Belmont, this gathering is to be disbanded! All of you return to your homes! The exception is the newcomers, especially the man playing the flute! You are to come with us!"
There was some confusion and anger among the crowd. Then the guards began grabbing people and pushing them out the door. The four were worried that this would incite a riot, similar to at Tantegel Castle, but the people began leaving the pub with nothing more than some grumbling. The heroes remained as ordered, wondering what this Lord Belmont could want with them.
The guards said nothing further to the four. After some time, a well-dressed man appeared. Flanked by two bodyguards, he walked up to the four.
"So you are the newcomers stirring up trouble around here," said the man. "I am Belmont, mayor of Hauksness."
"Trouble!?" said Ron incredulously. "Only if making people happy is considered trouble!" Suzanne elbowed Ron.
"I assure you, you naïve young man, you were causing more trouble than happiness," said Belmont. "What would happen if the Master caught wind of your performance? It greatly disapproves of such hope being inspired among so many people. Hauksness has enough problems without gaining the Master's attention."
"So you want us to cease these activities?" asked Suzanne.
"I want you to leave," answered Belmont. He gestured towards Ron, "The people will remember his face, at least for a while. Some may even call for more performances. You may go on to put on such performances behind my back. I cannot have that. You are to leave Hauksness."
Ron was obviously still angry but kept his mouth shut. "Very well, Lord Belmont, we shall leave. We apologize for the trouble," Suzanne said.
The four immediately left Hauksness. Ron was still fuming.
"I can't believe this!" said Ron. "Thrown out for making the people too happy? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! What kind of leader would keep his people from getting too happy, especially in a land like this?"
"Is it any different than what King Raosu said to us?" asked Thomas. "Remember what Welcome told us, 'You'd best forget all humor and happiness.' We originally thought Welcome was extraordinarily pessimistic but it seems there is some truth to his words. Bert tried to be helpful and as soon as he made a difference by helping us find the Shield of Heroes he was brutally murdered. Doubtless, Bert's tragedy is not the only such incident. The people have learned not to let on any sort of happiness."
"Bah! That might keep them safe for now but how will it help things going forward?" asked Ron. "If they ever want things to get better around here they have to be willing to take some risk. After all, what have we been doing this whole time?"
"It's easier for us because we are quite capable in a fight," replied Thomas. "How many people could have defeated those bird-dragon things we fought two days ago? They would need a large group of fighters and several would die in the battle."
"But purposefully keeping the people from getting a few laughs and smiles?" asked Ron. "That's not going to help things going forward!"
"I think we can all agree on that, Ron," said Suzanne. "But there's nothing to be done about it for the moment. If we try to force ourselves back into Hauksness it'll cause quite a ruckus. Seeing us openly defy the authorities may spur the people into a riot. Though he may seem cowardly it seems to me that Lord Belmont is trying to protect his people. The best thing we can do is continue our quest and make it so that one day there isn't a Master Archfiend to be afraid of."
"Fine," conceded Ron. "Anyway, I heard something interesting while I was performing."
"What's that?" asked Suzanne.
"Some guy came up to me and requested a song called, "The Light That Never Fades,'" Ron answered. "I told him that I'd never heard of it before. He told me he came from the world above; from the wild lands on the northeastern portion of the Zilcof continent. East of the empire and north of the river where we met Gerule."
"Huh, we've never been there," said Alice. "One of the few regions in the world above we've never visited actually."
"He said among his village there was a song about this great light that comes from a sphere," explained Ron. "A light which can never be hidden or darkened. He often finds himself thinking of that sphere of light ever since he got stuck down here."
"Another legend to chase after?" asked Thomas.
"Not enough information," said Suzanne. "And I don't know what use such a sphere would be to us. After all, what greater sphere of light is there than the sun? Zoma has darkened that."
"It might serve as a sort of symbol to the people, at least," Alice suggested. "Something to brighten their days."
"It would more likely serve as a giant target for Zoma," said Thomas. "I can't imagine it would like such a light source in this world of darkness and it'd be easy to find whoever owned it."
"If we find more information about it we can look into it," said Suzanne. "But we'll stick with what we know for right now. Let's be off to Cantlin."
Chapter 36: Fortress of Despair
The journey from Hauksness to Cantlin was not an easy one. Cantlin was a very isolated city. It stood in the mountains on the southern end of Alefgard. To reach Cantlin one had t
o walk through the hills at the foot of the mountain and work upward through forests in the shadow of the mountains. After crossing a river the travelers would climb upwards to find the city perched upon a large hill. If the four could take their ship it would have made the trip a bit shorter but it was too dangerous due to the cold waters. Instead, the heroes would make an eight-day trek to reach Cantlin.
"I did some reading on Cantlin," declared Suzanne. "Cantlin is quite isolated from the rest of Alefgard. Indeed, Cantlin is not considered to be under the sovereignty of Tantegel Castle.
"Really?" asked Alice. "But couldn't mages who have already made the journey teleport to and from easily?"
"That accounts for a very small amount of the people," answered Suzanne. "And it grows even smaller. The road to Cantlin has always been dangerous. The path is filled with treacherous climbing and monsters. And the people of Cantlin can be inhospitable at times, especially to officials of Tantegel. They want to stay isolated from the rest of Alefgard. They've fought wars against Tantegel to establish their own sovereignty as a city-state."
"I'm sure the Archfiend had no problem with that," noted Thomas darkly.
The group traveled through the hills and over the first river they had to cross. On the fifth day of their trip they made it out of a forest into some plains. It was there they met some opposition. Ahead of the group some distance were two trolls. But unlike the trolls of the Necrogond these trolls had green skin and were noticeably bigger. Each one had a massive club in his hand.
"Are those what I think they are?" asked Ron.
"I'm afraid so," answered Thomas. "And they look tougher than the trolls we fought in the Necrogond."
"They look like the troll that impersonated the king of Samanao," said Suzanne. She noticed that Alice had become a bit pale. Alice had almost died in their confrontation with the false king. "Are you okay, Alice?"
"I-I'm fine," she managed to answer. "They haven't noticed us yet. Can we sneak around them?"
"I say we attack while we have the element of surprise," said Ron.
"Ron has a point," said Suzanne. "If we try to sneak away they might see us anyway. However, our experience with trolls suggests that they are not very fast. Even with their longer legs we could outrun them as long as we get around them before they see us. We will have to take a long path around, however."
The four decided to avoid the trolls. They kept their distance and walked a very wide circle around their foes. The trolls were not being very attentive; they appeared to be in the middle of some idle conversation and did not so much as glance over their shoulders. The group was almost directly in front of the trolls when they were finally spotted.
The trolls decided to give chase. They were faster than the trolls from the Necrogond. Although they were still not great runners their long legs helped them to begin gaining on the heroes. However, the group had a large lead on the trolls. They were making up minimal ground on the four and the chase would have lasted a few minutes. Showing the same laziness as the trolls of the Necrogond, the green trolls decided to give up running after only a minute. The group continued running a bit longer to be sure the trolls would not change their minds again.
However, the four's escape was short lived. A few hours later they saw another pair of trolls. These trolls saw the group right away and wasted little time running after them.
"We're not getting away this time," declared Ron.
"The one in Samanao was bad enough," complained Alice.
"Don't panic," said Suzanne. "We have a better idea of their capabilities this time. For one, they have no way of hitting us from range. Alice, get Ron and me ready for fighting them up close. Meanwhile, the rest of us will hit them as they run." The four had been spotted in a flat portion of the plains; although the trolls were charging after them there was still some distance between the two groups.
Alice cast a spell on Ron, increasing his strength. Rather than charge in and meet the two trolls on his own, Ron followed Suzanne's orders and waited for them to come to him. He used his sword to let loose an explosion on the two trolls. Suzanne and Thomas followed suit with a magical storm: Thomas called a whirlwind upon the trolls and Suzanne hit one with lightning.
The trolls suffered wounds but, as had been the case with the false king, their wounds began mending almost as soon as they were made. Alice increased Suzanne's strength as Suzanne and Ron went forward to meet the trolls. Suzanne ran at the troll that she had zapped. The troll had superior reach and swung its club down at her. Suzanne made a sidestep, dodging the worst of it, though she still took a big hit to her side by one of the spikes on the troll's club.
It was not enough to slow Suzanne down and the creature had extended itself too far in its attack. Suzanne targeted the troll's heart. Seeing its peril, the troll tried to swipe at Suzanne with its other hand. Suzanne dodged the attack though it did succeed in preventing the killing blow. Instead, she made a leaping slash starting at the troll's ribcage. With her enhanced strength her sword sliced through the troll's skin with ease, causing a lot of its blood to spill.
Ron tried a daring maneuver. Ron knew from past experience that the trolls were not very skilled in tactics and teamwork. He decided to take advantage of that. He ran between the two trolls and faked a jump up at the one Suzanne was not focusing on. That troll took the bait and swung its club down. However, Ron had held up on his jump and managed to get out of the way. Thus, the other troll hit its wounded friend in the head. The wounded troll was spun around by the blow and Ron had an open shot at its back. He leapt up and plunged his sword in, finishing the troll off.
Alice hung back and cast another spell. A large river of flame with waves of flame bouncing up and down hit the living troll. Thomas ran forward to engage the troll. The troll now saw three targets all lined up next to it. It seized the opportunity and tried to smash all three with a wide strike of its club. However, it was a calculated maneuver on the part of the heroes. Thomas was ready to halt his momentum and jump back.
Suzanne and Ron also had moves ready. Ron rolled forward to the small gap formed by the troll's arm and the ground. He jumped upward, slashing the troll's side as he ascended. At the same time, Suzanne readied her shield. With Ron slashing the troll's arm, it howled in pain and could not put as much force behind its strikes. The Shield of Heroes did the rest. Not only was Suzanne unharmed but the troll lost its grasp on the club due to the pain and impact. Without thinking, it desperately started grabbing for its lost club. Suzanne took advantage of the opportunity to decapitate the troll. Suzanne and Ron made sure to inflict a few more wounds on the trolls' bodies to make sure they would not self-heal their way back into combat.
"Well look at this!" exclaimed Ron. "That went a lot better than our fight in Samanao! Took on two of these things and barely even broke a sweat!"
"Don't get too cocky," cautioned Thomas. "A mistake is still costly against these trolls. And if they ever learned proper tactics and teamwork they would make for a tough fight indeed."
"Are you alright, Alice?" asked Suzanne.
"Yeah," replied Alice. "They don't seem so bad now that we got such an easy win against them."
"Good job, everyone," congratulated Suzanne. "But like Tom said, don't get cocky. We had a few things work out for us in this fight. But if we mess up or if they get the jump on us it won't be anywhere near as easy. We need to stay vigilant."
Cantlin was indeed an impressive fortress. The city sat on top or a large hill with only one pass up. The fortress walls looked strong and its defenses stout. There were even signs that additional construction was underway to make further improvements to the walls. Curiously enough, as the group approached they saw nobody working on the construction. There were even tools lying around that looked like they had been left there for quite some time.
The four arrived in Cantlin at the beginning of the new year. In the upper world, the new year was a cause for celebration. Most shops would close, festivals were had, and the peopl
e would spend the night celebrating. The group arrived in Cantlin to find most of the shops had closed and yet the people were not celebrating.
"What kind of celebration is this?" asked Ron. "Do they know what day it is?"
"They may not have the same calendar as we do," suggested Suzanne.
"No, I took a look at it. It seems they do use the same calendar," said Alice. "Alefgard is populated with people who fell here from our world or who have descended from such people. They took our calendar and established it here. I read a bit about it in the library at Tantegel. However, I found no evidence that they actually celebrate the day as we do."
"Do they celebrate any day?" asked Thomas. "I think the Archfiend would turn any day of celebration into one of blood and death."
"That does make sense," said Suzanne. "But then why are the shops closed? They certainly aren't celebrating; the people here look as gloomy as everywhere else we've visited."
Ron decided to take their questions to a nearby guard. "Excuse me, sir," he greeted. "Do you know why all the shops are closed today?"
The guard gave Ron and the other three a look before responding. "I can see you must still be new to this world. You must be new to Cantlin as well. It must have been a hard journey for you and your companions. Or did you find a wizard to transport you here?"
"We made the journey from Hauksness," answered Ron.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said the guard. "If you made the trip seeking safety then I'm afraid your journey was wasted. The fortress of Cantlin is indeed marvelous; we would survive many attacks that would topple Tantegel. However, our might is still nothing compared to the power of the Master. Should he wish, he could destroy us in a night."
"That's some way to speak of your city!" said Ron. "Zoma may be powerful but these are some impressive battlements you have here. With some good fighters on the walls you could hold his forces at bay for a time."
Dragon Quest Novel Page 55
