The very next day, I kept to my word and, along with Stella's help, we managed to assist the soldiers from Stornway in removing the rubble, which was almost gone after a day's worth of work, but they were quick to thank me with a Mercury's Bandana for my help, which was always a plus. I then returned back to Angel Falls and told the others that the path had been cleared, meaning that we could now go to Stornway again.
"You hear that, Erinn? Time to get over to the Quester's Rest," Patty smiled as Erinn then looked around and spotted Ivor, who looked to be very annoyed.
"Oh, Ivor!" she shouted, getting his attention.
"What?! What do you want?" he asked in annoyance.
"I wanted to ask if you could take care of my old Inn here while I'm in Stornway. My grandfather will teach you everything you need to know, don't worry," Erinn smirked.
"Bah, fine, but only because it'll get my dad off my back in looking for a job. And maybe I can compete with you for that Inny you want to win," Ivor said, Erinn giggling.
"Teehee! It's a bet, then," she smiled as she and Patty then went down the path and I simply followed along with Stella from a distance, not stopping until we'd reached the Starflight Express.
"You should feel honored, Drake. You're going to be the first mortal to ever set foot on the Starflight Express!" the little fairy smiled as she then opened the door and we went inside... only to find something completely different on the interior that none of us expected. "W-WOT THE?! Drifters?! Wot're you lot doin' in MY Starflight Express?!" the sassy fairy asked in shock as we saw that there were three other people in the train, each one looking different than the others and them looking at Stella in surprise.
"Eep! I-Is this your train? W-We didn't know," the youngest of them said, her being no older than 12, which made me confused.
"Wait a minute... how can you three see both the Starflight Express and Stella?" I asked, the oldest of the group in the form of a man in a red mohawk then spoke.
"Are we not supposed to?... I mean, we just took a rest here this morning after having dipped some white feathers in our soup, and when we woke up, we saw this train," he said, which made Crux gasp.
"White feathers?... You all ATE my feathers?" he asked in shock.
"Your feathers?! Y-You mean you're a Celestrian... and we had a soup with your feathers?!" asked the final of the trio, this one being a female who happened to be a Sage. I could tell by her appearance. As for the other two, it seemed that the mohawk man was a Warrior and the little girl was an Armamentalist, which meant that they all had good skills... hmm...
"Hold it, I think I might have a solution to this," I said, the trio and Stella looking at me in confusion. "Obviously, just by looking around this train, it's completely run out of juice. And I bet you anything that we'll need Benevolescence in order to kick the train into gear. So let's go to the nearby settlements and see if we can help people and gain the Benevolescence to get this train back to the Observatory. In return, I ask that you three join us in our travels, as I can tell you all have various skills that will be useful in fighting the various monsters in our way," I said, that making Stella gawk and for the three to look at each other before going into a huddle.
"You're thinking of having them join us? You must really rate these blokes, huh?" Stella whispered to me.
"They're able to see the Starflight Express as well as you by just having Celestrian feathers for a meal. I think they'll be useful in the future," I spoke softly as the trio then ended their huddle.
"Very well, we've decided that we'll take you up on your offer, mister. How about we exchange names on the way to our next location, then? And speaking of, what location should we head to?" asked the Sage, me smiling at that.
"Let's go over to Stornway first. I want to check up on one of my friends that's already there, after all," I said, the others nodding as we then left the train and proceeded down the path and began introductions. After Stella, Crux, and I introduced ourselves (and needing to explain again that I was trapped in Crux's body and he was trapped in our head), the others started to introduce themselves.
"My name is Veronica and I'm a Sage in training," the older girl said, me noting that she had green hair and a taller build.
"I'm Dillon, and I'm a Rank 3 Warrior. I'm hoping to train enough to get to Rank 1," the mohawk dude said with a smile and an air punch.
"And I'm Kiera... I'm an Amarmentalist in training under Mistress Windy," she said, saying it wrong accidentally, which made me smile.
"It's Armamentalist, sweetie," Veronica said to the little girl, me noting that the little Armamentalist had pink hair done into a ponytail and that she wore a feathered cap atop her head.
"I'll allow it, because it sounds cute," I smiled.
"Aw, thanks, mister Drake," she smiled as she then hugged my leg, me smirking at that as we finally got to Stornway, having left a small wake of defeated monsters in our wake in the form of Winksters, Bubble and She-Slimes, and Funghouls. And when we got to Stornway, we saw that Stella and Erinn were going to the Inn, where Stella smiled.
"Well, this should be good for a laugh. Let's go check out our little Inny girl in the big city," Stella giggled, us following the fairy girl into the Inn... just in time to witness all the other workers in the Inn bowing down to Erinn as she held the Inny, which made her very embarrassed.
"Oh, that's quite alright, there's no need to scrape or bow or anything, ehehe..." Erinn said awkwardly, which made me smile.
"Okay, okay, listen to her, guys, no need to bow to her when you already have a king here," I said, them then bouncing up and then getting back to work, which made Erinn look at me with a giggle.
"Thank you again, Drake... and I see you have a few more friends with you. Where'd you find them?" Erinn asked as I smiled.
"Well, we found them on none other than the decrepit train, which can only be seen by Celestrians and the like. And before you ask how, they had a soup that used some of Crux's wing feathers as a part of the stock, so they can see the train and Stella," I said, her smiling at me as Patty spoke.
"You have quite a knack for meeting numerous different people on your adventures by chance, Drake, darlin'. How about we ask you for a bit of help to drum up some business?" Patty asked, that making Erinn look at her in surprise.
"Oh, Patty, we can't possibly ask something like that to him," she said with worry.
"Don't worry, Erinn. I'm quite fine with it," I said, her then looking at me and giving a small smirk. "I'm willing to go ahead and drum up some business, but in return, I'd like to know if, whenever I come back here, I can be able to use this place for free," I said, Patty smirking.
"Playing hardball, are we?... Hmm... Okay, if you can spread word about this Inn being the bee's knees, we'll allow you to stay for free. But your friends will still need to pay for their rooms," Patty smirked, me smiling at that.
"Very well, then," I said, Erinn smiling afterwards.
"Well, great! Thanks for the help, Drake! I'll expect a bunch of visitors in the near-future," she said, me nodding as I then bid them farewells before then looking at Stella and her smiling.
"Them bowing to Erinn was pretty funny, but now, we need to get down to business. How can we get a load of Benevolescence to power to Starflight Express?" Stella asked as I then looked at the sign and noted that it had been altered recently.
"Hmm... 'To all adventurers! Please sign up to deal with the evils of the Wight Knight! See King Schott for details'," the sign said, me looking at the others and smiling. "Sounds like something to get some Benevolescence," I said, us then going to the castle gates and seeing that the guards were in front of the doors.
"Halt! State your business!" the guard on the right said.
"We've come to assist with the ordeal regarding the Wight Knight. A piece of wood told us to see King Schott for details," I said, the guard nodding.
"Oh, then you may pass. But keep in mind, we've got our eyes on you," the guard said as he and the other one moved aside, us then going into the castle and up the stairs to see that the blonde king was currently speaking to his daughter in the form of Simona, who looked just as beautiful in-person as she did in game.
"Simona, I won't have it! I will not have that horrid Wight Knight come to whisk you away!" King Schott said, him having a voice that sounded like every time he said a word with a C or a K had tons of phlegm, like certain Arab countries back home.
"Father, I don't know why you're judging him! He didn't attack maliciously, only in self-defense when you sent our soldiers to attack him," Simona said, me then clearing my throat to get their attention.
"Och! Simona, we have guests," King Schott said, Simona simply standing still with a force smile as I approached with my group.
"Greetings, King Schott... we've come to help out with the Wight Knight ordeal," I said, that making the king smile.
"Crivvens! Then I shall explain what the job entitles of you to do," he said. "You see, just yesterday, the Wight Knight, a strange man cloaked in a suit of black armor, broke into the castle with the sole intention of stealing away my darling daughter, Princess Simona. After we sent him packing, he ordered that Princess Simona meet him at Loch Storn to the north of our kingdom. But I have a feeling that he'll attack the kingdom if I have any of my soldiers go there to confront him so he can steal Simona away."
"I see... so what you want is for us to go to Loch Storn to see if he shows up, and then what?" Veronica asked.
"I want you to give him a sound trouncing before then binding him and delivering him unto me!" King Schott said as Simona frowned.
"I really don't like this, father! He only wants me, you don't have to ask complete strangers to go in my place!" Simona said with a few tears escaping her eyes. And before King Schott could speak out, I then spoke instead.
"AHEM!" I cleared my throat louder, getting the duo's attention. "If you'd allow, your highness, I want to ask you for my own idea in this ordeal," I said, him raising his eyebrow at that.
"Go on," he frowned.
"Our group is very tough and I have a feeling that all this Wight Knight guy wants is Simona. If we agree to keep your daughter protected the entire time, we can escort her to Loch Storn and try to speak to the Wight Knight to find out his true intentions. If what Simona said is true and he only attacked in self-defense, I don't think he'd try a stunt like before and attack a castle filled with soldiers on his lonesome," I said, King Schott looking at me with a frown but Simona simply putting her hand on her father's and looking at him sadly.
"Please, father? At least give it a chance? I trust these adventurers," Simona said, King Schott frowning and sighing.
"Och... you will be the death of me, you will... very well, then, travelers. I expect my Simona to be brought back at the same time as you arrive back in town, got it?" he said, me nodding at that.
"And we promise to be back by sundown tomorrow at the latest," I said, him nodding at me.
"Very well. And if anything should happen to my daughter, you will all have bounties on your heads, no questions asked," he frowned at us.
"Oh, thank you, father!" Simona smiled as she then joined our group by traveling in between Veronica and Dillon with myself and Keira on the outer parts of the group.
"We promise not a finger shall be laid on your daughter, King Schott. We'll be back shortly," I said as we then left the throne room down to the outskirts of town, where Crux then sighed.
"Okay... so what's your big plan in this, Drake? You seemed a little bit too confident back there," Crux asked me as Simona looked around and I then smiled.
"Before you say anything, princess, it's the voice in my head. He can speak telepathically," I said, her frowning and tilting her head in confusion. "Anyways, as for your question, Crux, I have a feeling that there's something not all right with the situation. Princess Simona, you said the Wight Knight didn't attack until he, himself, was attack, right?" I asked.
"Yes, that is true," she nodded.
"Then it obviously means that he's not against King Schott and all he cared about was trying to get at you. But it also seems that this Wight Knight is a total mystery. Who is he and why would he care so much about a person he's never met before? We're going to need to find out for ourselves and the only lead we have is to ask the knight in question. He wants to meet you at Loch Storn? Then we'll do just that. We'll keep you protected and we'll all ask him questions together," I said, Simona smiling at me.
"You're a very noble man to have such good reasoning, mister... what's your name?" Simona asked me.
"Drake," I smiled. "And the voice in my head is called Crux. You could say that he comes from a higher cloud," I said, Simona giggling at that.
"That's a way of describing the guardians, I will admit," she said, me then sighing as I kept forgetting about the halo on my head. "The moment I saw your halo, I knew you were one of them. I don't know where your wings are, but I'll assume that it involved the earthquake recently?" she smiled.
"Yeah, the earthquake was caused by some giant blasts of dark magic that pierced through the sky and straight to the Observatory. The result was that we got blasted off the place and our wings blew off on the way down," I explained. We then had to escort Simona through the different monsters at the back of the kingdom on the way to Loch Storn, which included other enemies such as the Wooper Troopers and the Gastropogs, but they didn't last too long against our attacks. We then arrived at the area in question and Stella then looked around along with us.
"Okay, we're here, but where's the Wight Knight? You don't think he'd go and stand a woman up, would he?" Stella asked in annoyance as I then frowned.
"Maybe we should wait here until he appears. And if he doesn't show up by midnight, we're heading back to Stornway," Crux said, me smiling at that.
"Okay, might as well camp out until he arrives, then," Veronica smiled as she was about to sit down before we then felt it. Danger. "Why do I have the feeling that, if I look behind me, he'll be right there?" she asked as she then turned around and then she looked shocked at the sight of the black-clad knight atop the hill on a jet-black steed. "EEP! I was just joking!" she shouted as the Wight Knight then had his horse jump down to us and rear it up right next to us, our group instinctively protecting Simona from the knight, who looked at our group with the mask closed.
"Princess Mona... I see you arrived, but with some of the guards that attacked me," he said, Simona then looking at him in confusion.
"Um... my name is Simona..." she said shyly, which made the knight look at her in confusion.
"You... are not my beloved Mona?" he asked, Simona looking at him with concern.
"Well, it seems that there's been a mix-up. The princess must be the striking resemblance of whoever this bloke's love is," Stella said, that making the Wight Knight look at her in surprise.
"Yes, it appears so... then again, now that I think about it, you aren't wearing the special necklace of Brigadoom..." he said before then turning his head to look out towards the island in the middle of the lake. "After the earthquake happened a few days ago, I felt I had awoken from a deep and terrible nightmare... I had no memories of anything, not even my own name... but then, when I looked upon your face, princess, it all flooded back to me. Memories of my beloved Mona and I. It was then that I remembered that I am the Wight Knight... I need to apologize for causing that ruckus at the castle..." he said as I looked at the others in the group and then at him.
"I don't think that's a good idea, mister Wight Knight. The king was very angry at you after what you did before. If we took you there, everyone would be afraid," Keira said with worry, him sighing at that.
"Hmm... I think I know a bit about Brigadoom..." Simona said, that making the Wight Knight look at her in surprise. "I recall that one of my old maids from the castle used to sing me a small nursery rhyme about Brigadoom, but I can't remember most of it, since I was only 4 at the time... maybe, if you could meet with her at her home in Zere, then you could learn more," Simona said, me smiling at that as I then looked at the Wight Knight.
"Then we have our plan in place! For now, we'll need to return to Stornway and tell King Schott of what the plan is. Sir Wight Knight, you'll wait outside of Zere so as not to spook the locals. When we meet up with you, we'll go meet with the maid in question and find out more about this nursery rhyme in question. We need to find out more about this Brigadoom place in order to find out where Mona is at," I said, which made Dillon smile.
"Sounds like a plan I can get behind," Dillon smiled.
"Very well, I shall wait outside of the village to the north and out of sight of the locals," the Wight Knight said before then beckoning his horse to go forward with a loud whinny.
"I look a lot like his beloved Mona... and he mentioned a special necklace... hmm..." Simona frowned to herself.
"What're you thinking about, princess?" Veronica asked.
"I'm thinking about something I have in my room at the castle... don't worry about me," she said, me smiling and nodding.
"Very well, we won't press any further," I said, me then leading our group down back to the castle. We had quite a lot to explain to King Schott and I had to hope he was more understanding of the situation than he was in the game...