"Many people have searched Darkclaw Cave for the treasure but none have found it. Some people even believe it was made up and it is just a myth. So Dende, as you can see this artifact is very valuable and we will give you a handsome reward if you find it for us," the village elder told Dende.
"I understand, I'll do my best to find it," the young boy said as he accepted the quest and left the village elder's house.
Dende started on his long perilous journey to find the ancient artifact of the legend. There was only one problem, he had no idea where the cave was. He searched and searched for hours, he felt as though he had searched all of Namek for this one cave.
He finally came across a dark cave and cautiously walked into it. Dende heard a sudden screech and then there was complete silence. Walking farther into the cave he came across a baby dinosaur who's tiny neck had a rope tied around it. As Dende examined further he noticed the dinosaur had screeched because it's tied up. He leaned over the dinosaur so that he would be able to untie the rope.
The baby dinosaur screeched again and swiped it's hand at Dende.
"It's okay little fella, I'm only trying to help," Dende assured the dinosaur.
It seemed to understand him because it lowered it's hand and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Dende leaned over once more but this time he managed to untie the rope. The rope loosened and slipped off the dinosaur as it fell to the ground. The dinosaur jumped up and down happily and ran in circles around him.
"Okay, I have to get going now," Dende told the dinosaur.
With his job here finished he started back towards the entrance. When he got to the entrance he looked behind him and the dinosaur was standing there looking at him. It looked like a baby chick that had lost it's way and needed someone to look after it. Dende took another step forward and almost instantly so did the small dinosaur.
"Fine, let's find your mom," the young Namekian told the baby dinosaur.
The dinosaur leapt up in joy again and continued following the boy. Dende searched around, up and down, left and right, for the mother dinosaur. There was a low rumbling sound followed by a loud screech similar to the sound the baby dinosaur had made except deeper. A large dinosaur began to charge at Dende.
"That must be your mom little guy," he told the dinosaur.
The tiny dinosaur nodded it's head to let Dende know he was correct. The dinosaur hesitated for a few minutes before giving Dende a final farewell. The young Namekian nodded at the dinosaur as it walked towards the mother dinosaur and made some weird noises. He watched the family reunion he had made possible, the mother and child walked away together and out of Dende's sight. Now he was able to continue on his own quest to find that artifact so he was back to looking for the cave.
Dende stopped to take a breather, he had been searching for Darkclaw Cave for a few hours now. Both of Namek's hot suns shone brightly on him, he was hot from the sun's rays but the cool breeze made him feel a little better. He wiped his hot forehead with his long, white sleeve and continued on.
"It must be around here somewhere," he said to himself out loud.
As he walked around the mountain something started coming into focus. Sure enough it was the cave he had been searching for.
"Ahh yes, the cave," he thought to himself, relieved he had finally found it.
The young Namekian took a few steps closer towards the entrance of the unwelcoming cave. He started to have second thoughts about it and as he gazed at the entrance it almost seemed as if it was telling him to leave or perish. Dende began to feel a swelling in his throat, he gulped and pressed on as he slowly faded into the darkness. As he wandered farther and farther into the cave, he realized how black it was, like it had been and will forever be enveloped in perpetual darkness, and even if you lit a torch, it would do you no good because the darkness would swallow it up. As he advanced even farther through the cave the child began to wonder what the trials he had heard about would be. Would they be hard? Would they be easy? Only time could tell.
A few minutes passed as he kept walking, and before Dende could evade the trap that was set in front of him, he stumbled over it and fell helplessly to the ground. He had tripped over an invisible wire that was set for thieves who wanted to steal the valuable artifact.
"Owww, that hurt," he moaned, "What was that?"
He wiped the dirt and dust from his clothes as he slowly rose to his feet. When he looked up, to his surprise, he saw a massive boulder spiraling down the path towards him.
"No way..." he thought.
His heart began to pound rapidly, it felt like it was going to burst right out of his tiny chest. He stood rooted to the spot, as if he were a deer frozen in a car's headlights. Something inside his legs told him to get going. Dende forced his feet to move and dashed away from the mighty boulder but it was right on his trail. There was only one path in this never ending cave, not once had he seen a separate path that branched off the main one he was on which made it impossible for the tiny boy to avoid the boulder, he just had to keep running and pray for a miracle, or at least a separate path for him to turn onto. Much to Dende's amazement, he saw a glimpse of light, it looked like it came from the separate path he had prayed for, he sailed through the air and after skidding across the rocky floor he finally stopped. He darted towards it and jumped out of the boulder's path. The boulder continued on it's journey down the main path. Dende listened as the rumbling sound he had once heard so distinctly became faint and nothing more than a memory. Dende remembered the light he had seen before and turned to face it. He realized now that the light was more of a faint glow similar to the dull flames of a torch, and now that he could see it more clearly he noticed it was an entrance to a very large room.
"Maybe it's the room with the artifact in it," he thought, anxious excitement bubbling in his chest.
He assessed the dimly lit room and found no signs of danger, and, much to his dismay, the artifact wasn't in there, but the next trial was... Located in the vast room were ancient suits of armor that were probably hundreds of years old, with swords drawn around the perimeter of the wall. The young Namekian noticed they all looked ready to strike. And then, in unison, all of the old suits of armor took a step forward. A huge boulder blocked the entrance to the vast room Dende was in and before he knew it, he was trapped. He could see the skeletons of all the Namekians that died trying to find the artifact. At the moment, it seemed he too had that fate.
He desperately looked for a different exit but he saw none.
"I might have to fight..." he said to himself out loud.
The young boy wasn't very confident in his skills so he wasn't sure if he could even repress them. He continued looking around for a different exit, he scanned the walls for a section that may become a secret passage but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He ran over to the walls and slid both of his hands across them searching for something that would reveal a secret passageway but it was just a plain rock wall.
Dende began to notice a small sound he hadn't heard until this moment, it was a faint dripping noise.
:: Drip :: Drip ::
Without understanding why this noise would be so important to him that he would run to it he quickly ran towards the sound of the dripping water, he continued until he came to the far right corner of the room. The animated suits of armor were right behind him. The noise became a jot clearer as he felt a tiny droplet of water land on the top of his head. He looked up and searched the ceiling for a way out, there it was, a hole only small enough for a child to fit through and he was just the right size.
The armor was getting closer now, it began to surround him. A few suits of armor swung their mighty swords at him, just barely missing. He knew this was the only way out. Dende crouched down and with all his energy he leapt up through the air towards the small hole. He quickly grabbed onto the edge of the rock before gravity took him back down, and then, the small Namekian summoned up even more energy so that he would be able to pull himself up into the next section of the long cave.
It was cooler and more damp in this part of the cave and it smelled musty too. Dende, tired and fatigued, let himself collapse onto his knees as he pulled out a half empty canteen of water. He opened it and let the cool, balmy water pour slowly down his dry throat. When Dende stood up he saw where the drips of water had come from, a little stream that he was standing over came from the darkness and went down into the hole he had come up from. He followed the stream into the dark abyss until he heard the sound of rushing water. It sounded so clear, he knew he was getting closer. He continued on into the darkness and was walking for a half an hour until he was suddenly struck in the face.
Dende got into a fighting stance and was ready for combat but nothing else hit him. He waited a few more minutes before realizing what had really happened. It had been so dark, he didn't realize he walked straight into the wall. But the sound of the water was so close, he couldn't give up now. Dende ran his hand along the cool wall, he could feel a small crack that went along the spot he had walked into, as if it had been an entrance but now something was inconveniently blocking the way.
Dende backed up a few feet before beginning to focus his energy to his fingers. He continued focusing the energy while moving his fingers to his forehead, and, after holding them there for a while he closed his eyes and called out..
"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!!!"
The young Namekian's eyes were forced open by the light shining bright on them. He thought he was outside because it was so bright but the light that shone on his eyes was nothing more than rays of light coming in through cracks in the wall and in turn, illuminating the room. The rock was completely obliterated and Dende could now see where the rushing water was coming from. It was a crystal clear waterfall, more beautiful than anything he had ever seen, that splashed down into a small pool of water, the pool formed a small river which flowed off down into a small tunnel and another tiny river which led back the way he had come from. The child pulled out his canteen once more and filled it with the sparkling water. He could see his reflection so clearly in the beautiful water that he wished all water could be this clear and pure. Once he was done filling up his canteen he looked into the distance at the small tunnel.
"I could probably fit through that," he thought.
Dende walked towards the narrow tunnel the water was swiftly flowing through. He listened carefully to make sure the water actually went somewhere.
"Yup, it definitely leads somewhere," he said.
He took a deep breath and held it in as he jumped into the cool water. The current was quick, and before he knew it, he was caught in it, there was no turning back now. Dende swallowed a few gulps of water in the struggle, but it was no big deal since the water was so clean and clear. He gasped for air and once he had a good enough amount of air in him he held his breath again.
When the current finally came to a halt, Dende pulled himself out of the cold water and began to look around. He was in another vast room but something was different about this one, there was an altar in the center.
"That MUST be it!," Dende called out.
He walked carefully towards it, making sure not to set off anymore traps, once he got to it he grabbed the artifact. He had expected something bad to happen as soon as he touched the treasure but nothing came. There were no boulders, no crazy suits of armor, nothing, until...
::SMASH::
Dende quickly scanned the room, he couldn't figure out what had made the loud noise. There was complete silence now... Dende was becoming nervous. He started hearing faint rumbling sounds but they were getting louder and louder, closer and closer, the rock underneath him began to crumble. And, without a warning, he and the artifact both fell down into the newly formed large hole.
Luckily, the young Namekian managed to grab onto a small ledge. He slowly turned his head downward. When he looked down all he could see was darkness, it looked like it went on forever or maybe the bottom of it was right there and he just couldn't see it, either way, he didn't want to find out.
"Oh no... I've lost the artifact," he cried, "Ahh wait! There it is!"
Farther down into the hole Dende could see a faint glistening. He wanted so badly to jump down and get it but his body wouldn't let him, he was way too scared. He was paralyzed with fear and he had to overcome it in order to accomplish his mission. He closed his eyes and began to think of peaceful things, he tried to make himself calm.
"I can do this, I can do this."
Without a second thought he opened his eyes and leapt to the other side of the hole. He couldn't keep his footing so he continued to slide down towards the glistening artifact until he came to a small ledge. There it was, it's handle had caught onto the edge of the ledge but it was slowly slipping off. Dende ran his tongue across his dry lips as a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. He slowly extended his arms out towards the artifact he spent so much time searching for. He wasn't about to let it fall into the darkness.
"Just a little bit more," he thought to himself.
As his hands began to delicately touch the artifact he drew in a deep breath. He touched it so delicately, if he made one false move it would be lost forever. He grasped onto it tightly and with one swift motion the young Namekian finally raised the treasure into the air. He took a step back so that he wasn't in danger of falling any farther down the hole. Now, he took another leap of faith as he made it back across to the other side of the hole. He climbed up the rocky mess with the artifact in his hand, making sure not to damage it in any way. Once he got to the top he ran and ran until he came to a dead end.
"I hope this works," Dende thought to himself as he backed up a few feet and began to focus his energy to his fingers. He continued focusing the energy until he let it out in a huge burst of energy towards the rock wall.
"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!!!"
Dende finally saw daylight again, he saw the sun's rays that came from both the stars Namek was orbiting. The rays were so warm and welcoming that Dende felt he was already back home, but he still had to get the prized artifact to the Namekians who were going to be so proud of him.
He raced towards the other Namekians, he was so eager to give this treasure to them. He had to conserve what energy he had left though, he used up a lot getting the treasure and the Namekian town was still miles away so he slowed his pace down. He continued at the same pace for a few miles before resting underneath a small tree. He pulled out the canteen of cool water and took a big gulp. The small Namekian set the artifact down next to him while he took a breather. Not in a million years did he expect a huge bird to swoop down and pick the artifact up, clutching it with it's talons.
"Hey!!! You give that back right NOW!" Dende screamed at the top of his lungs.
The bird pretended not to hear him and continued soaring through the sky, away from Dende. He chased after the bird but he didn't want to hurt it, it was not in his nature to kill or hurt anything meaninglessly. The boy continued chasing after the bird for about ten minutes before it dropped the artifact. Dende watched as it began falling to the ground. He dove for it and caught it not even a moment before it would have smashed on the ground. The bird continued on it's way, it didn't even realize it dropped the artifact, nor did it care. Out of breath, Dende rested underneath a tree again except this time he made sure to hold onto the prized possession of his.
After resting for about an hour underneath the cool shade of the tree, he stood up and continued along his path. The sun's rays were beating hard on Dende's back and the wind was blowing freely making the grass look like a green blur. About an hour later the town came into view, Dende bolted towards it with the artifact securely in his hands. He was running as freely as the currents of wind that swept through Namek. Once he got to the town he wasted no time, he ran right to the village elder and presented him with the treasure.
"Excuse me sir, this is the artifact I was sent to find," Dende said with a great big smile on his face, "Well, here you go!"
"Well, would you look at that. It really is the treasure of Darkclaw Cave." the village elder said in surprise.
"Yup, and there's not a scratch on it!" Dende said proudly.
"Here's your reward Dende," the village elder said, handing Dende a bag of money.
"What're you going to do with it? Are you going to put it on display somewhere?" the young Namekian asked curiously.
"Oh, no, not at all child," the village elder said as he started laughing.
Dende didn't understand why the old man was laughing so he just stared at him.
"Let me show you," the old man said.
The village elder raised his arm and began to form a fist. He lowered the fist down onto the artifact, turning it into a million tiny shards that so many had once called a prized artifact. As Dende watched this happen he felt as though he was in a nightmare, maybe he was, maybe he fell asleep under that tree and he was just having a bad dream. No such luck.
"AHH, W-Why'd you do that!" Dende screamed, shocked to see what had just happened.
The village elder began laughing again as he picked up a pile of the tiny little shards into his hands.
"I present to you, the Namekian's greatest delicacy!!!" the old man said as he ate the tiny shards, "It's greatly sought after you see, we couldn't let those filthy pirates experience the delicious taste. Oh yes, I remember when I hid it in that cave years ago."
Dende was speechless, he had gone through so much just for some candy an old man was too selfish to share. Without saying anything Dende left the elder's house and headed for home. But, even though it was a worthless treasure, Dende still felt as though he gained something from all of it, he had gained more courage and he had grown stronger. He was going to make sure he kept growing stronger, no matter how ridiculous the quests he went on were. And with a great big smile on his face he walked off into the distance to his home.