Chapter 1
The hero finds himself at the castle
The king regarded me wearily from his throne, half slumped on the gilded chair as though the will to live had been slowly leaving him for some time. Behind me, two guards in tarnished armor watched the door, careful to never take their eyes off me as though I might spring at any second to assassinate their broken monarch. I had no weapon, which had seemed to surprise them when I arrived, and they had checked me and checked me for some hidden means of causing harm, but found nothing. Another guard, the one that brought me into the king's presence, nervously paced the floor a few meters away from me, possibly regretting having brought me before the king as I had asked. I had taken stock of the room as I had entered, and times were indeed hard if this was the throne room of a king. The room was small, for a start, perhaps eight meters to a side, and apart from an empty throne to the king's left, no other furniture or furnishings were in evidence. A thought struck me that there was not even a fireplace in this room, though the winters here were more mild than in the north, certainly a stone castle has a certain amount of chill in any season. I also vaguely wondered how I was seeing the king at all, given there were no torches or windows in evidence in this room, but this didn't seem important and so I swiftly forgot about it.
I had little time to ponder these mysteries as I had been quickly introduced to the king and now waited for his reply. He rubbed at one eye as though trying to expunge the deep sadness I saw there, and he tried to sit up a little straighter as he leaned forward.
"So you claim to be a decedent of Erdrick, or if you prefer Loto or Roto, as he was called in his homeland so long ago?" The king delivered this question in a dull tone, as though reading from a script of some kind that he had long since memorized and was simply going through the motions to recite.
"This is what I have been told, nearly since birth, your majesty," I answered, bowing. "I have no reason to question those that told me this, so I can only assume it is true."
"And by what name do you call yourself?"
Somehow, this question paralyzed me with a sudden fear. My name? What is my name? I must have one, everyone has a name, don't they? How could I, the soon to be hero of the world, not have a name? But like a flash, my name came to me, and I told it to the king.
"I see," he said, leaning a little bit more forward in his throne and lowering his voice a touch. "The real question is, do you have any proof of this extraordinary claim?"
My shoulders drooped. The king was correct, I had little more than the clothes on my back that I could claim as my own, to say less of proof that my ancient ancestor had once been the great warrior Erdrick. The king slouched back into the chair. "I see that you do not." He looked as though he was going to say something more, then stopped himself. We regarded each other silently for a moment. The king took a breath. "Yet you are here to see the fulfillment of a prophesy, namely that Erdrick's decedent will one day free us from the tyrannical grip of the Dragonlord."
"I am willing to make the attempt." I said as bravely as possible. "Someone must try, after all!" I did not, at that time, wonder that if there was a prophesy about the eventual downfall of the Dragonlord, could one have inferred the eventual rise of the Dragonlord? And if so, why not look for certain signs of their coming and take care of the problem before it became a problem? Would that not have been better all around? But as I say, this did not cross my mind at that moment, as I had other things to think about. Like the distracting clicking noise of the guard's armor as he stomped about the room, and the way the king's crown didn't quite fit him.
The king scowled, and repeated my words in a mocking tone. "Someone must try?" Then angrily. "Someone must try!?" He heaved himself out of the throne and the guards came to attention, causing me to take a step backwards. "I did not mean to offend-" I started to say, putting my hands up in a gesture of surrender.
"Come with me," he spat, shouldering past me to the door that led down the stairs to the lower level of the castle. I followed mutely, wondering how I might make amends for what seemed to be so great a misstep, but a part of me couldn't help but think at least he doesn't look so depressed now. Nor does he seem to be 'reading' from that script he was using before. At the base of the stairs another pair of guards snapped to attention as the king passed, and he led me into the courtyard of the castle. The halls and passages seemed oddly empty, as if the very spirit of the castle had taken hurt, and driven all but the most loyal from its walls. I heard two ladies discussing princess Gwaelin, something about… finding her? Perhaps she had hidden from her tutors somewhere in the castle in a youthful prank or perhaps the talk was more sinister, I knew not. I knew only the king's back and the guards following close behind me, hands no doubt tightly gripping their spears should I once again, in their minds, think of treachery. Our hollow footsteps echoed through the gray, stone walls, until we came to a staircase and began to ascend.
The stairs took us to a battlement atop the castle walls, and the guards again took positions by the door. This left us little room to stand, and I took the king's side and looked out over the water. The king pointed angrily south-east over the wall to the island just off the coast. There, across the bay on another part of the continent I could barely make out another castle, seeming to radiate malice. I could well imagine the Dragonlord looking out from that place to the lands he had claimed as his own. I shivered, but the king did not seem to notice. No, his attention was clearly focused on the castle, as he said "Do you see that place?" He did not wait for my answer as he continued. "When Mhen the Dragonlord first came to these lands in his guise of a friendly wizard, we welcomed him. His magic aided anyone in need, be they rich or poor, and all the people loved him. In return, I gave him that castle as his home, and our ports were full of boats going between there and the mainland." The king whirled on me. "Then all that changed. He revealed himself and began his reign of terror in our land. At that time, the bridge that connected the island to the mainland was intact, and I sent soldiers to attack from the east, crossing the bridge, and from the north, crossing the water and braving the treacherous swamps to reach him. Only one of those soldiers returned. He killed the rest, destroyed the bridge, and ever since, demanded tributes of gold and other wealth." The king paused, slightly winded by the climb up the stairs and the force of his statements. "And you would say that someone has to try to stop him? As though we have not? Hundreds gave their lives before you, boy, and you come to my castle, with no weapons, no proof, and say that you are going to succeed where so many have failed?" This outburst seemed to quiet the king's anger, and his voice lost its edge. Before my eyes he seemed to become the weary king I first saw once again. "So what would you have of me, supposed ancestor of Erdrick? You must want something, else you would not have come here to see the broken kingdom I no longer call myself the true ruler of. If you did not want something you should be, at this very moment, planning on how to do the deed of slaying the Dragonlord. Instead you stand before me. Why?"
Suddenly the king gave a surprised jerk, as though looking at me honestly for the first time. "No weapons," he said softly. "No armor or shield. How is it you have journeyed to this castle, and from where?" he asked, surprised. "Even the lands between this castle and Brecconary, hardly steps away to the east, are thick with the Dragonlord's minions. One cannot go five paces in any direction before encountering a slime, or a ghost, or a ghoul, or a skeleton, or a werewolf, or any number of other creatures hungry to sate themselves on your spirit, blood, or both." He regarded me suspiciously. "I have told my servants who stock the castle's larders never to venture forth without at least two soldiers at their side, lest they be slain unmercifully on the quarter mile journey to Brecconary. So tell me, ancestor of Erdrick, how you came to be here!" He slammed a hand down on the wall to emphasize his question. Then he softened, sightly. "Or perhaps I misread you, and you are a student of magic, already a mighty wizard in your own right?"
I heard the soldier's armor clinking behind me, and reasoned they must be moving closer to me, should I now reveal to be an agent of the Dragonlord, here to play a cruel trick on this broken monarch.Pushing him off the side of the castle would be fairly easy at this point, but the Dragonlord must have allowed him his life for some reason, if he's as powerful as the king says. Why send an agent to kill him now?I nevertheless made no sudden movements but did not look behind me, thinking that too may betray me in their eyes. "To tell you true, my king, I cannot answer that question, for I do not know the answer. I can say I am neither a mighty warrior or a great wizard, at this time. As I look out over the castle walls I do see you are right, the land is thick with creatures that would wish me ill. But yet, here I am, unharmed. Perhaps they are able to sense my potential to destroy them, and stayed away from me as I journeyed to this place?" But this excuse sounded weak even to my ears, as the slimes and ghosts of this region would fall to the merest blows of a child with a stick, to say nothing of armed guards with armor and spears. Even a maid could carry a club to fend off a blue slime if her Lady desired her to make the journey into the city to sate her fancy for a fruit she imagined could be bought there. Such a person should have nothing to fear from the short journey from the castle to the nearby town. But as the king had so rightly pointed out, I had not even a sharpened stick to defend myself with, making me an easy target. How had I come here unharmed? There was one reason I could think of, which I offered. "Or perhaps they knew I could not harm them and so felt I was no threat?"
The king regarded me a moment, his head to one side as he looked me over. He straightened, and shook his head, seeming to resign himself to get rid of me as quickly as possible. "The boon?" he said shortly.
"Your majesty, as you yourself have said, I have no weapons or armor. I will need them to assemble the clues that will lead to the defeat of the Dragonlord. I have come to ask for aid in that form, that I might travel the land, become stronger, and help the people as I have been told I must."
The king laughed softly, "A trail by fire then? Rather than study under great weapon masters or wizards to gain the skills needed you would plunge into the land and leave a trail of monster corpses in your wake? Learn what you need to know through hard won experience, be it magic or fighting prowess?"
"If I am truly the one destined to defeat the Dragonlord, it should matter not which of these paths I take, as they will lead to the same result, will they not?"
"If you are the one," he agreed, not sounding convinced in the least. "Otherwise, you will be dead, in short order. Very well! I will give you a measure of gold to purchase weapons and armor at Brecconary, and wish you luck."
"Could I not just have a spear such as your own men use, and a set of armor like theirs?" I asked, pointing my thumb behind me.
"Sadly no." the king said jovially, as the guards behind me stifled laughter, as though this was a joke they had shared before. "We have precious little resources now as it is, with the Dragonlord demanding more and more of our assets with every passing day."What does he do with them, exactly?"He has allowed our garrison to keep one spear and one set of very rickety armor per guard in the castle, and he took the rest. I think it amuses him for us to 'play' at being a kingdom, when he knows that we know that he could take it all at any time. I have a little gold I have saved from his greed, and I will give it to you, but that is all I can do."
"But," I sputtered, "you could easily have one less guard in the castle, and give me their equipment. I can free you from the grip of this tyrant-" But of course you don't believe me. You think I would just disappear with it, weakening your already meager defenses. Not helping me costs you nothing, and by my own words, if I truly am what I say I am, I will come into whatever equipment and resources I need with or without your help. A fine pickle I've put myself in.
The king shook his head. "Too risky. What if the Dragonlord found out I had helped you? I would like my castle walls to continue going straight up and down, rather than along the ground, if you know what I mean."
The king said this lightly, but I saw the fear in his eyes. He really believed that the Dragonlord was that powerful. I began to feel a twinge of regret for starting this quest. Perhaps it isn't such a good idea after all, Erdirick's ancestor or not. "Well." I said at last. "I would be grateful for any help you can provide that doesn't endanger you."
"That's the spirit," the king said, slapping me on the back. "Besides, I'm sure you'll stumble across Erdick's sword and armor in no time, and it'll be a moot point anyway!" He took the lead back down the tower's steps and took me to the treasury room. "Wait here," he said, and slipped a key out of his pocket. Disappearing inside, I stood outside the hall, the two guards now openly smirking at me.
"What?" I asked of them sharply.
"Nothing," the one said, shaking his head.
"Good luck though!" said the other.
"You don't think I'll succeed?"
"Oh, it's not that, so much as-" the other guard nudged him. "Actually it's exactly that," the other guard finished for him. "Right?"
"Right."
I scowled at them, but the door opened again and was locked by the king, and he gave me a heavy bag of coins. "That's all I can give you, may it serve you well."
"Thank you, your majesty." I said honestly, "I will spend it wisely."
"See that you do. Come and tell me of your adventures once you get the chance, I'd be… interested to hear them."
He dismissed me, and the guards took me back to the entrance of the castle. Once outside, I leaned against the castle wall and opened the bag. The king actually gave me a tidy sum! I estimated at least a hundred small, gold coins lay in the bag, and I thought I might even have some left over after buying weapons and armor. I smiled, and whistled a little as I made the short, thankfully uneventful journey to Brecconary.
Unfortunately, my mood soured almost immediately after arriving.