Dragon Quest Novel

by Melania Zveja

  "Oh yes, we've been to Portoga. Do you know how far north of Portoga this Eginbear is?" asked Ron.

  "I believe about three days or so," replied Alten. "I must admit, I don't know if the key is in Eginbear itself. Even my grandfather's story was dated. He said he got it from his father, who got it from his father. Not the best chance of finding it but it would be a handy item to have. You may also want to pay a visit to the local item shop. The shopkeeper keeps a stock of another handy item you may need. I'm afraid that's all I know. Is there any other way I can be of help?"

  Ron smiled and started for the door, "Oh no, you've been plenty of help already. I might check out that shrine you mentioned before we head out. Thanks for the information."

  Alice, on the other hand, had already visited the local item shop. She was greatly intrigued by what she found there.

  "I talked to this young woman out and about who told me you sell some great magic items here," said Alice. "Is that true?"

  The shopkeeper, a somewhat heavy man looking to be in his late fifties, smiled politely and replied, "Well, we only sell one kind of magic item, but we've got a nice stock of it. Ever heard of invisibility herbs, young missy?"

  "I've heard about some items and spells that can make a person invisible, but not an herb that could do so," replied Alice. "I'm guessing that's what these invisibility herbs do?"

  "Oh yes. Ground them up and sprinkle them on yourself and some of your friends and you'll all turn invisible. Of course, the more you sprinkle on yourself the longer it lasts. If you use an entire herb on yourself, you'll be unseen for about an hour," explained the shopkeeper proudly.

  "That's pretty useful!" exclaimed Alice. "Do you make these herbs yourself?"

  "Yes I do. I may not look it, but I come from a long line of wizards and alchemists," replied the shopkeeper, his pride still evident in his voice. "Back during the Second Great War, my family lived in Eginbear Castle and sold many a magic item to the royalty and military there. Unfortunately, many of my families' recipes and abilities have faded since then. I assure you though, you won't find legitimate invisibility items of any sort anywhere anymore."

  "Would you mind if I examined one of your herbs?" asked Alice. "I don't mean to be rude, but one cannot take such powerful enchantments lightly."

  "Of course, of course!" said the shopkeeper enthusiastically. "I'm sure you'll find I've not been exaggerating in the slightest."

  The shopkeeper gave one of the herbs, which were an odd blue and black in color, to Alice. Alice looked it over a little bit and cast some identifying and investigating spells on the herb. There was definitely a powerful enchantment living within the herb, the likes of which Alice had never seen. Alice could not help but get excited at holding such an item in her hands. Nevertheless, she remembered the rules of shopping and kept herself from showing any more excitement when she spoke again.

  "These are some decent enchantments to be sure," she said, her voice now calm. Might I ask the price of one of these?"

  "300 gold a piece," replied the shopkeeper, obviously now getting eager to make a sale.

  "That's pretty steep for an herb, and by the looks and sounds of it this can only be used once. Nevertheless, I'll speak with my comrades and see if we could find a use for such an herb. I may be back later," replied Alice.

  The shopkeeper seemed a little put out by what Alice said but kept a good amount of enthusiasm in his voice as he replied, "Yes, yes, of course, of course. Tell your friends about these handy items! Tell any you know! I'm sure you'll be back to buy at least a few of these!"

  "You see? There has to be a Final Key? How could two people so far away from each other possibly have information on it otherwise?" asked Alice, excited.

  The group had convened after their day of investigation to discuss what they found. They four decided that it would not hurt to have at least one invisibility herb along, since one could not know when such a useful item would come in handy. It seems that Thomas came across the shrine that Alten mentioned to Ron. However, there were only three entrances and all were closed off by doors with enchantments too powerful for the group's magic key.

  "So we can be pretty sure it exists," said Ron.

  "But why would information on this key be so spread out?" asked Thomas skeptically. "We hear all this information on it on the southern side of the map and now we have to go far to the north for either the key or the next piece of information. I find it hard to believe that we have to zigzag so much to find it."

  "Either way, we now know there's a better chance it exists than before. And, we're forgetting that we would need to go to Eginbear anyway. We have to talk to the nation's ruler about the Archfiend," said Suzanne. "We can kill two birds with one stone."

  The group teleported to Portoga and then, after allowing Alice to rest, set off for the north. The group found that the estimates on the distance between the two nations were actually exaggerated. The Mad Hound hit an island, one even smaller than the one Lancel sat on, after only two days. Luckily, the capital of Eginbear was not very far in land. The group found the castle to be similar to a fortress as there were no open areas as far as the group could see and only one entrance. They walked up to the entrance and found a guard wearing silver armor guarding it.

  "Halt! You are not allowed in here!" said the guard sternly.

  "We're sorry for the unexpected visit," began Suzanne. "We are travelers hoping to have a word with your ruler. We mean no harm to you and will gladly surrender our weapons if need be."

  "King Rogest would never associate with yokels such as yourself! Nor would the good people of this castle want to look on rabble such as yourselves. Your plea for entrance is denied! Be out of my sight or I will send for others and remove you by force!" threatened the guard.

  "We're sorry for the inconvenience," apologized Suzanne, keeping her cool. She motioned for the rest of the group to go back outside.

  "We could take that guy," said Ron, obviously angry at the guard's behavior. "We could probably take on the whole castle!"

  "Keep quiet you fool!" whispered Thomas. "You don't want them to hear that! And I seriously doubt we could take the whole castle on, even if we wanted to. In case you've forgotten, those aren't monsters in there!"

  "Interesting," said Suzanne thoughtfully. "Might we use the invisibility herb to gain access? That would certainly get us by the guard, if we made sure to be quiet."

  "What about the other guards?" asked Thomas. "Or the people inside. We'll stick out like a sore thumb by the sounds of it."

  "We may stick out, but if we get past that guard, I would think most of those inside would believe we were let in for whatever reason," guessed Suzanne. "If someone tries to throw us out or arrest us, we make a hasty retreat. It has to be worth a try."

  Alice took out the invisibility herb purchased from the shop in Lancel and group it up. She then quickly sprinkled the powder on the four of them. The four were amazed to find that they could no longer see each other or themselves.

  "My goodness!" exclaimed Ron, though he remembered to keep his voice down. "I can't even see my own arms! This is amazing!"

  "We should be careful that this doesn't wear off while someone is looking straight at us," cautioned Suzanne. "Otherwise they'll know we snuck in. Do you know how long this will last on the four of us Alice?"

  "I can't say for sure," replied. "The shopkeeper said it would last for an hour on one of us, but he never said how long if all four of us used the same herb. Plus, there's always the chance that he was exaggerating the time to help make the sale."

  "Then we should hurry in, find a place to hide, and simply wait out the herb," said Suzanne.

  The group rushed past the guard as quick as they could without making any noise. Despite their care, the guard apparently still heard the clanking of the group's armor, which they had forgotten to take off. However, the guard dismissed the noise as himself hearing things and the group quickly sought out a hiding spot. Unfortunately, it would see
m the herb's duration was drastically reduced when used on so many people. After only five minutes of being invisible, the group found themselves able to see each other again after having turned a corner into a large hallway.

  "Did anyone see us?" asked Ron, looking around.

  "Doesn't look like it," said Alice. "Luckily we were turning a corner when it wore off."

  "And lucky that nobody was coming," said Thomas.

  "Well, we're visible now, so let's make the most of it," Suzanne suggested. "Despite our current goal, we should talk to the king first. If we're lucky, he'll give use free passage throughout the castle anyway. Of course, it'll be a bit difficult to ask him for such permission without letting on that we just snuck in."

  The group did not take long to find the king's throne room. The four found that most of those inside the castle were well-dressed, obviously members of either the aristocracy or the nobility. As Suzanne guessed, not many turned an eye on the group. Those that did usually only scoffed and kept about their business. As the group neared the staircase leading up to the throne room, the group was cut off by two guards.

  "Halt! What is your business?" asked the one on the right.

  "We are here to talk to the king over urgent business," said Suzanne. "We are travelers who have a grave warning for the king. I assume you will need our weapons?"

  The guard on the left looked confused. "I don't remember hearing about any travelers coming to warn his Majesty about anything. Did you have an appointment?"

  "Of course they did!" said the guard on the right. "You know Bob, he'd never let anyone in unless they had permission. Especially a group dressed like this! Must be important indeed. I'm sure the messengers are just slacking again. I'll be sure to have a word with them when our shift is over."

  The guard on the right turned his attention back to the group, "Follow us please. You are right, we will need your weapons. We will also have to take you over to our clerics to seal your magic. Standard procedure, I'm sure you expected it. This way please."

  The group did as they were told and soon found themselves unarmed, unarmored, and with sealed magic. It was common procedure among nobility of any kind, though Emperor Vilisik had neglected those procedures on the group's last visit, since the group now had his complete trust.

  The group came up to a wealthy, heavy man in his fifties sitting comfortably on his throne. The man looked quite cheerful as the group approached, something that surprised the four.

  "Well, is not this a nice surprise!" said the king. "It's always nice to take a break from meeting with politicians and aristocrats. As I am sure you know, I am King Rogest, ruler of the kingdom of Eginbear. Might I ask who you are?"

  The group introduced themselves and the king continued, "Are you citizens of Eginbear? I must admit you are dressed oddly."

  "We are not, your Majesty," replied Suzanne.

  "Of course not. Well, what brings commoners such as yourselves to my throne room?" asked King Rogest.

  "Have you heard the stories of the Archfiend, who lives in Tarasia and is raising a vast army of monsters as we speak?" asked Suzanne grimly.

  "Oh! I remember your names now! You are that group from Aliahan, going around warning everyone about that vile fiend!" said the king, apparently glad to have remembered where he had heard the four's names before. Suzanne, as usual, did not flinch upon realizing the king knew where they were from, though the other three looked at each other uneasily.

  "I have heard from King Saldor and Emperor Vilisik. So you all are going around and trying to rally the nations against the Archfiend? Splendid goal, if I do say so myself. And I would guess that your hoping that the Kingdom of Eginbear will join the Romalian Empire and the Kingdom of Isis against the Archfiend?" asked the king.

  "That is correct your Majesty," replied Suzanne.

  The king gave a chuckle and continued, "Unfortunately, I will have to side with King Saldor on this matter. You see, we are not a very militant nation. Do not mistake me, we could easily defend this nation from any foreign threat, as much from other nations as the Archfiend, but it would cost a great deal of money to start producing weapons and raising an army to send off to some other land to fight a distant threat."

  "While I have no doubt that your nation has excellent defenses, and while I also know how far away the Archfiend is from your land, I must ask you to reconsider," said Suzanne. "We took a brief trip to Tarasia and have found much of the devastation for ourselves. We came across only one human settlement, a settlement made up of ghosts, unknowing that they were destroyed by the Archfiend's forces. The only other humans we found were little more than monsters: they were given power by the Archfiend and now engage in cannibalism."

  "A terrible story, and not the first time I have heard such news, but it is not our place to go crusading to faraway lands against such a foe," replied King Rogest.

  "With all due respect, I think you underestimate the Archfiend's forces," pressed Suzanne. "You were probably little more than a small child when the last Archfiend attacked. History shows that these monsters are dangerous to all humans, not the ones in the immediate area. We need to work together to stop this Archfiend before it strikes at other lands!"

  "From what I have learned in my history classes, other humans were more dangerous than the last Archfiend," said the king coolly, though the group could tell what he was insinuating. "Thus, you must understand my reluctance to just join such an alliance, after what happened to the last one."

  The king than regained his friendly composure and continued, "Though, I may be able to help you. There is a group of people who may be willing to join you. To the west, on the continent of Malandoras are a warlike people called the Soo. They are a bit uncivilized, but they are always eager to get into a good fight. Sounds like just the people to help you with your cause."

  "Thank you for the information, your Majesty," thanked Suzanne. "We'll be sure to check that out."

  With the king's refusal to directly join their cause, the group decided to start investigating rumors on the Final Key. As usual, the group decided to split up in order to do so. Suzanne and Ron searched for social hot spots to ask questions at while Thomas and Alice went to the library. The group realized that they were on a time limit as there did not appear to be an inn or any such place inside the castle for visitors (other than VIP's) to stay, and it would take another invisibility herb to get back into the castle.

  When Thomas and Alice went to the library, the two decided to let Alice handle the talking.

  "Excuse me," said Alice to the librarian. "Would you happen to know anything about something called the Final Key?"

  "The Final Key? Can't say that I've ever heard of it. What makes you ask?" replied the librarian.

  "We've been searching for this key and we heard that it has ties to this castle. Do you know of any books that talk about keys or any local legends that speak of keys?" asked Alice.

  "Nope, never heard of any extraordinary keys of any sort in books or in word. Sorry I can't help you," apologized the librarian.

  At this point, Thomas had an idea, "Do you know of any magic items or any uncommon items in the castle?"

  "I have heard of one," started the librarian. Then she became suspicious, "Wait a minute. This sounds an awful lot like a treasure hunt. How do I know you aren't thieves?"

  "I assure you, we are not thieves," cut in Alice. "Besides, any such treasures are sure to be heavily guarded, am I right? We'd need permission to get anywhere near them. And we have no intention of investigating the castle defenses. If you don't believe us, you can monitor any and all books we read while we're here. Does that sound fair?"

  After a moment of consideration, the librarian agreed. Thomas and Alice went to the books, though they could not help but notice that the librarian kept a strict eye on both them and the one door into the library.

  "She did say that she heard of some sort of magic item in the castle," said Thomas. "I'm thinking that the key itself isn't here, but
that the next clue is here."

  "Hey, I thought you said you didn't believe the key was still around," teased Alice.

  "I still don't. But that doesn't mean I can do a half-assed job investigating," replied Thomas, annoyed. "And I have to admit, if there is some clue or item here that is to be used to finding the key, than the chances get better and better that everything we've heard is true."

  The group spent the entire day investigating any hint of the Final Key. The group met up as the sun was falling down in the sky.

  "Well, we didn't find much from talking to the people, did you guys get anything in the library?" asked Suzanne.

  "It's a long shot, but Tom came up with an idea, which we investigated," replied Alice.

  "The librarian said she'd never heard of the Final Key. But I thought that maybe, rather than the key itself, there might be another clue or tool here towards getting the key. So we investigated any rumors of magic items around here and we believe we may have found something," explained Thomas.

  "It seems that there's an artifact called the Vase of Drought here, or at least there's rumored to be. Supposedly, the vase is sealed underneath the castle somewhere," continued Alice. "It's supposed to be a powerful item capable of drying up water. I don't know what that has to do with the Final Key though. Maybe the Final Key is under a body of water somewhere? Like I said, it's a long shot."

  "That's interesting. There's a basement to this castle that nobody really uses. There's some large rocks and water all over the place. If this vase is underneath the castle, maybe we should investigate that basement," suggested Ron.

  "Before that, we should get the permission of the king to snoop around," said Suzanne. "Even if we found the vase, it'd be stealing to just go and take it."

  The group decided to take another trip to the king's throne room. They were surprised to find that the guards who had stopped them earlier were gone. Realizing that the king may have already stepped off the throne for the day, they nevertheless decided to check the throne out. As they ascended the stairs, they heard something strange coming from the direction of the throne.