Disclaimer: Quest For Glory and its characters are owned by Sierra On-Line.
Chapter 1: Strangers in Town.
After a month of uneventful walking, they'd FINALLY reached their destination: Spielburg Valley! There was no heading back now, even if they'd wanted to (which they didn't. They'd just started!) , because there had been an avalanche recently and blocked the only path out of the valley.
Rico glanced around the forest, checking for certain things, like climbable trees and lots of bushes for good cover. He looked for good footholds in the cliffs, and any nearby caves to hide in. Hmmm… this was a pretty small valley, so if he ever did any raids, he'd have to find a good hiding place quickly. It wouldn't take long for him to memorize where all the good hiding places were.
Finn took a deep breath and took in the scents and sounds of nature. Ah, what a lovely day! The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming in springtime, and he could have sworn he heard happy soft giggling somewhere nearby. He turned his head as he'd thought heard someone talking to him from a bush. "Heeheehee, hello!" but when Finn went to check, there was no one there. Huh, that was odd. Finn shrugged and kept walking.
Marcus shaded his eyes against the midday sun, looking for anything that resembled a town. Ah, there was the gate right ahead! At last, they'd arrived in the town of Spielburg. At last, they could start their first adventure as heroes! The poster had said 'No Experience Necessary!', but that wouldn't be true much longer. With a confident stride, Marcus tried to look his best as they entered the town.
At the very front of the town was the sheriff's office, where two men sat. One man with a blonde mustache that was tinged with gray and a wearing a funny, green pointed hat and smoking a pipe looked up at them with a small smile. "Ah, Guten Tag gentlemen; Welcome to Spielburg. Lady Luck must be strong if you three were able to beat the snow blocking the pass out of here," he gave them a concerned look, "If you plan on staying, you should be careful. There are several monsters trapped here as well as you are, and they aren't happy about being stuck here. God help you if you get caught in a monster ambush, or worse, if the brigands catch you. Between them, and us being smack dab in the middle of it, we could certainly use a Hero around here."
Monsters? Finn thought nervously. He imagined horrid creatures chasing after him, ripping and tearing at his legs as he tried to run away, but couldn't do so fast enough, and they began to eat him alive! He held back a shiver and tried not to think about it.
Brigands? Rico wondered. He imagined what their fortress could look like, and what sort of interesting booby traps were laid out in there for intruders. If they ever had to invade the brigand fortress -which Rico figured was inevitable anyway- he'd have to work on his stealth and sharpen his daggers.
Hero? Marcus thought, getting excited. He imagined getting awarded for his bravery by the leader of the valley alongside Rico and Finn, the medals saying "Hero of Spielburg" on them, and amid cheers he and his friends headed off for new adventures in Gloriana and making the world a better place one quest at a time. He gave the sheriff a smirk, "Well, you say you need a Hero, how about three?" and introduced himself, Rico and Finn.
The sheriff's eyes brightened happily. "Really? Wonderful!" He shook each of their hands firmly, now introducing himself. "My name is Sheriff Schultz Meistersson," he pointed at the other man, an ugly fellow with a big grinning mouth with only a few teeth visible, who hadn't been paying much attention to them and was playing with a yo-yo. "This is my assistant, Otto Von Goon. If you have any questions at all, just ask me and I'll help you as best I can."
"Thank you, sir." Marcus said, and decided to check out the rest of the town. His smile grew as he saw something very familiar in front of him. "Hey, look! There's a Guild Hall here!" Marcus remarked excitedly. The three of them walked in.
This Guild Hall reminded Marcus of the one they had back in Willowsby. Like all Guild Halls, there was the trademark moose head on the wall (along with a bunch of other monster heads on plaques, such as a Dragon, a Cheetaur, a Pheonix, an Antwerp and a Troll), a small table with a book on it where you signed in, and a crackling fireplace nearby. It seemed a lot lonelier than the one at home, though. Back at Willowsby, there were always a large group of people hanging around (mostly Fighters like himself) practicing with each other, telling stories about their adventures (in fact, it was rumored that THE Famous Adventurer himself would stop by occasionally, but Marcus had never seen him), and generally having a warm and friendly atmosphere all around. This place, sadly, was very quiet and solemn. There wasn't anyone here, save for an old man in a rocking chair who was sleeping.
Marcus flipped open the Guild Hall book and noticed it hadn't been written in for several years. Heroes must not last very long here. Well, we're here to change that! he thought determined as he picked up the pen, and wrote down, "We, Marcus Donnelly, Rico Larron, and Finn Dillon, have come to this valley of Spielburg to become Heroes!"
He signed his name with a flourish, Finn wrote his name in fancy cursive, and Rico drew a picture of a dagger and wrote his name as if it were engraved on the blade.
Rico grinned at his handiwork and walked over to the old man sitting by the fire. He shook him awake, "Hey. Hey, wake up sir. Helloooo?"
The man woke up with a snort and rubbed his eyes. "Huh? Who're you?" Rico said hello, and explained why they were here. The man gladly introduced himself as Wolfgang Abenteuer, and he started to tell the story of the dragon head over the fireplace to the three… and promptly fell asleep again. Rico facepalmed and tried again. This went on for a long while- he'd wake up, tell a bit of a story, fall asleep, wake up again, and the cycle repeats itself. Rico obviously got fed up with this, so he lightly poked him in the ribs with his dagger. Wolf immediately awoke with a jump and continued his stories.
After he was finally done spinning his yarns, Rico asked, "So, what do you know about the brigands?" and took a step back as he saw Wolf's eyes darken and he spoke in a low voice. "They're criminals. Ruthless, vicious, hard hearted thieves with no respect for anyone except for themselves; it's their leader that did it, turned them from a bunch of petty thugs, to professional troublemakers all with the same temperament: Bad! If you value your life, boy, you won't mess with them unless you want to become a human pincushion, get skewered by their boss, or become one of them. But," he pointed to the bulletin board behind him, "there is a reward from the Baron himself for capturing or killing their leader."
"The Baron?" Finn asked.
Wolf nodded. "Baron Von Spielburg is our leader. He was once just an adventurer like me when we were younger, used to be one of the bravest men I've ever known. With him protecting the valley, no mere brigand or fearsome monster would dare attack our home… until he met that Baba Yaga fiend."
"Baba Yaga, huh? What did she do to him?" Marcus asked.
Wolf sighed and hung his head sadly, "The Baron tried to get her to leave, and she cursed him, saying he would lose everything he'd ever loved. His wife, his children, his soldiers, his land… this valley is all he has left, and sooner or later he'll lose that too."
"How awful! Sounds like you really do need a Hero around here, don't you?" Marcus said, concerned. Wolf nodded, "Yes indeed. But remember: a real Hero is someone who doesn't start strong or powerful, but used his courage, brains and skills to become the best he can become," he looked at them with a smile, "regardless of where he comes from." They nodded and smiled back. Wolf slumped back in his chair, falling asleep. Again. This was alright though; they didn't have anything else to say to him anyway. They quietly tiptoed out the Guild Hall door.
Wanting to explore more of the town, they split up. Finn looked up at the large imposing eye staring down at him. This was obviously the Magic shop. He walked in, not really surprised as the door disappeared like a curtain.
He glanced around at the objects on the shelves, spotting some scrolls. He smiled and went to grab one labeled "Flame Dart" and heard thunder and a flash of lightning appeared close to him. Too close for comfort, Finn stepped back and said quickly, "I wasn't stealing it, I swear! I was just-"
"It's alright, young one. I was just introducing myself," said a calm female voice. Then a woman appeared behind the counter. Her strangely pale skin gave her an unearthly look, although, it could just be a trick of the glowing blue torches on the walls, and nearly everything looked eerie in here. "I am Zara," she gestured to a small blue demon-like creature hanging out on the top of one of the shelves, "and this is my companion Damiano." The creature waved hello, Finn waved back. She continued, "I can sense magic in you, young one. I hope the items in this shop can be of use to you."
Asking her about the spell scrolls, the Flame Dart was 60 silvers, the Fetch was 40 and the Open was 30. Finn opened his money bag and looked in it. Phew, he just barely had enough. He paid for the three spells, and bid her adieu and thank you, asking her to call him Finn. As he walked out, Zara called him back saying, "Remember: the more you practice your spells, the better and more powerful your spells will be. When you have learned enough, you might be able to become a Wizard. If you meet a man named Erasmus, tell him Zara says hello!" Finn thanked her again and left.
"Please, my good man. I ask you to reconsider your prices!" Marcus insisted to the general store shopkeeper, trying to remain calm and polite, but it didn't seem to be working very well.
The shopkeeper shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, but I cannot sell you chainmail armor for something that low. You know how difficult it is to even obtain armor of this quality?"
Marcus gave an exasperated sigh and gave up. 500 silvers, seriously? "Fine, fine. What else do you have?" The shopkeeper grinned and showed off what else he had to sell. Food, flasks, daggers and the chainmail armor he'd asked about. Marcus decided to make do with just some food and two flasks. He bought one dagger as well, just in case. He walked out, feeling a bit better, as at least he was able to buy something. He also bought some apples from Hilde, the pretty centaur girl next door, for extra rations. An adventurer must always be prepared for anything, after all.
Rico walked outside the town gate, and noticed someone leaning on the wall. He had eyes as dark as his beard, twirling a dagger in his hand. Rico gave him the thief sign, and the man nodded and signed back. Rico smiled and tried to make small talk to the man. "So, what's your name, bud?"
"Bruno." He replied flatly.
"No last name? I'm Rico Larron." He shook Bruno's hand. "I see you're a fellow thief. Do you know if there is a Thieves Guild here? I need somewhere safe to stash stuff from my raids." Bruno nodded and said quietly, "Yes. I can tell you… for a price. Say, two silvers?" Rico paid him, rolling his eyes, and Bruno told him, "Check the tavern. Look for a goon called Crusher, and tell him this password- Purple Saurus." Rico nodded and walked back into town. Bruno did give him one more piece of "advice" though, "Oh, and if you want to have a good time, try the Dragons Breath!" Rico wasn't too sure about that.
As Marcus headed for the inn, to see if he could get a room, he tensed up and stopped walking; He looked around nervously, drawing Shamgar. Someone seemed to be watching him, and it didn't seem friendly. Looking all around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, although he thought he could hear something faintly rustling in the trees. Then suddenly, as soon as he felt the unfriendly presence, it disappeared and all was calm again. He felt someone else watching him, and looked up. He could have sworn he saw what looked like a rat, wearing a cute little pointed wizard's hat, but the rat disappeared quickly and Marcus only caught a glimpse. Feeling relaxed again, he continued on into the Hero's Tale Inn.
The bat that Fenrus had knocked out came to his senses. He checked himself, and flew off to the northwest. So, these guys want to be Heroes, eh? We'll see about that. I gotta tell Mama about this!
I think we all know who that bat and rat belong to respectfully, yes?