Chapter 2: Key To The World

"Well, here I am. One day into the pilgrimage." Ryu dropped to the ground and stared into the sunset. "I should make Camlon tomorrow, with any luck..." Sighing, he pulled the pack off of his back. "Dinner time..." He examined the scant supplies; a few apples, a small bundle of carrots, a single loaf of bread and a leg of chicken. "Not much. I suppose I should really save this for when I need it... like when there's nothing to catch around. For now..." He smiled at a wild pig snuffling in a bush about twenty feet away. "Might as well give it a shot." It should be noted here that Ryu had spent his entire life within the village of Drogen. Before the fire, their own labors had garnered them enough food to live by, and so, hunting outside game had never been neccessary. Thus, one can perhaps forgive his ineptness. Ryu's attempt to sneak up on the animal silently got him about five feet closer before it pulled its head out of the bush and stared at him. Ryu smiled reassuringly and continued walking slowly forward. "Here, pig pig pig... it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you..." The pig, of course, immediately bolted. Pigs are not stupid, after all. Swearing, Ryu gave chase. Here, we come to his second error in judgement, that being that the pig would simply run in a frenzy. It only took a few head-on collisions with trees to make the young man realize that his would-be dinner was deliberately heading towards them and turning at the last second to make him hit. By the time he did realize this, of course, the pig was long gone. Sighing, Ryu sank to the ground.

"Well, that was educational. Where's a tame cow when you need one..." A snorting behind him made Ryu jump to his feet and spin to behold the answer to his question... or at least, something passingly akin to it. Behind him stood a Bulla, a purple-skinned monster that dwelled in the area. It seemed to be some amalgamation of cow and pig, and possessed the anger management problems of both bull and boar. The Bulla did not run. It charged, eyes glowing red. This, Ryu knew how to deal with. Waiting until the last second like the pig he had been chasing, Ryu stepped aside and thrust his sabre into the monster's side as it passed. The Bulla squealed and turned, bloody froth dripping from its mouth, then attempted another feeble charge. It managed about two feet before collapsing. Ryu shrugged and pulled out his blade, cleaning it on the grass.

"Hm. Monster, yes, but it looks like I might be able to eat it. Might as well find out... it's getting dark, so I'm not exactly high on options. Next time, I'll start looking for dinner a little earlier." He dragged his Bulla back to the place where he had left the pack (which had amazingly remained undisturbed) and built a campfire, as well as a makeshift spit, from nearby deadwood. By the time the monster had roasted, it was completely dark out. "Time to see if this is edible." Hesitantly taking a bite, Ryu shrugged. "Tastes enough like beef. Should do." He ate as much as he could, then stripped the rest of the meat off the skeleton and wrapped it. "Now, all I have to figure out is a bed... I really should have thought this out better." About all he could find was a pile of leaves. "I'll have to pick something better up in Camlon..." Muttering, he turned in.

A few hours later, the blue-haired warrior slowly came awake. There was something rustling in the bushes, and a disgusting squishing sound. Ryu slowly reached over to his sword and took it without making a sound, then suddenly jumped up and stabbed the creature sneaking up on him. It was a dark blue, roughly pyramidal mass of slime. Squealing, it expired, leaking goo. Ryu spat.

"Slime. Stupid scavengers." More squishing sounds came from the remains of the Bulla, and he looked over to see three more Slimes crawling over it, melting it down with the acids that made them up. "Aah... friends." One by one, the Slimes turned to point their tops at him. The first one jumped at him, and Ryu pierced it with one stab. Hurling it off his blade and ignoring the splattering on the grass, he ran forward and impaled the second. Unfortunately, his sword got caught in the Bulla's ribs, and while he struggled to free it, the third attached itself to his arm and began releasing acid. Ryu swore and threw it against a nearby ridge, jerking his sword free at the same time and stabbing the last Slime (as well as the wall behind it). The Slime slid down the wall and expired. Ryu sighed and looked at his sword.

"Better clean this off before I go back to sleep..." Grass wasn't sufficient for the acidic slime, so he ended up having to find a stream, after which he ended up sleeping in a tree for the rest of the night to avoid more monsters.

The next day, Ryu arrived at the city of Camlon around noon. Camlon wasn't exactly a big city, but it was larger than Drogen, and it had an old castle at the north end of the city overlooking it all. Ryu casually walked in the main gate, expecting to find a bustling community. What he found instead was a great deal of wreckage. Camlon had seen better days, and most of the buildings had at least been partially broken down. There were, however, no signs of fire.

"At least that's something... but still. What the hell happened here?" Frowning, he walked down the main road. The only building that had not suffered some damage aside from the castle was the Dragon Temple. Apparently, whatever had caused this hadn't dared touch that. A large crowd was gathered in front of the drawbridge leading to the castle. "Hey, friend!" Ryu walked up to a passing man his own age. "What happened here? This city doesn't usually look like this, does it?" The man turned.

"Eh? Oh, no... not another Nanai refugee... there's far too many here as it is!"

"I'm not from Nanai." Ryu assured him. "I'm from Drogen down south, and I'm just passing through."

"Well, that's a relief..." The man sighed. "Drogen, eh? Haven't seen anybody from there in a long time. Anyways, no, Camlon's not like this at all. It's just that it's been one disaster after another..." He looked around the crowd and selected another man. "Hey, you. You're from Nanai, right? Come here." Ryu frowned.

"Nanai... that's on the other side of the river from here, right?"

"Yeah..." The second man agreed wearily. "A few days back, the Dark Dragon army marched up out of nowhere and demanded we surrender. We had a few guards around, but nothing even remotely capable of standing up to them, so we had no choice but to agree. We all ran, and the army occupied Nanai... so we came down here to Camlon. The people here took us in, but..."

"Last night, a horde of monsters attacked." The first man took up the story again. "They swarmed in here and made for the castle. By the time everybody realized what was going on, they had already occupied it... every hour or so, a few come out and attack. We've managed to avoid any casualites aside from the people who were in the castle, but I don't know how long that'll last..."

"That's a problem, all right..." Ryu nodded, then grimaced. "Look... I don't mean to sound like a jerk or anything, but could I get something to eat? All I've had since I left home was some roasted Bulla..."

"Bulla? You can slay monsters?" An older man's voice asked, and the crowd parted to reveal a man dressed in rich robes and a crown. Ryu quickly bowed.

"Your majesty, I... yes, I have killed a few monsters. But..."

"But nothing, young man!" A Lord standing by the King's side interrupted. "If you can slay monsters, then you're just what we need! Nobody else here has the slightest idea of how to do so... you're our only hope!"

"What about him?" Ryu pointed at a man who looked like some kind of guard. He blanched.

"Me? Fight monsters? You're joking! I'm just a night watchman! I couldn't kill a Slime!"

"What else can we do?" Another Lord asked plaintively. "These stinking monsters won't go away until this entire city's theirs. Please... you're our only hope!"

"I'm just a villager... I know how to use a sword, but a pack as big as the one that's in there..." Ryu stopped as the King bent down on his knee, eliciting a shocked gasp from everybody present.

"Young warrior, please... the Dark Dragons took my city. They will take over the rest of my kingdom unless we can establish a base... I made a mistake. Now, I have to pay for it and rebuild... but I can't do that unless this is taken care of. I'm not afraid of the Dark Dragons anymore... I'll give my own life if I need to to get them out of my kingdom... but I can't fight them unless Camlon is made safe!" Ryu slowly nodded.

"...All right. On those terms... I'll try. Listen... take everybody and go into the Dragon Temple. You might have noticed that the monsters won't touch it... you'll be safe there."

"The Dragon Temple..." One of the Lords frowned. "Yes, that is true. We had noticed... are you, perhaps, a follower of God?"

"I'm more than that, friend." Ryu smiled as he walked across the drawbridge. "I'm one of the Light Dragons." The King's eyes looked as if they were going to start from his head, but Ryu kept walking. "Now, get into that temple. I'll see what I can do about your infestation." Murmuring to each other, the crowd moved off. Ryu sighed once they were all gone. "Two days out, and I'm already heading into a life-or-death situation against a vastly superior force." He shrugged and walked inside. "Well, Sara always said I was good at getting myself up to my neck in trouble..."

The castle wasn't as dark inside as Ryu had expected. Apparently, the monsters hadn't bothered dousing the torches. However, they had done some significant structural damage; the main hall was blocked off at the first place it turned left and right by rubble both to the right and ahead. Ryu turned left down a side hall. Another passage on his left was blocked by rubble, but there was a door on the right. He turned and found himself face-to-face with a monster-a hovering, spiky blue ball with a bird's face. "A Beak!" Shrieking, it snapped at his face, drawing blood. Angered, Ryu swatted it aside with his blade, and it backed up for a dive. All it accompished with that was neatly skewering itself on his sabre. Shaking it off, Ryu felt his face and winced; the wound was fairly deep. A moment later, though, his attention was diverted. Something was making a quiet, strange noise... like water flowing. The wound forgotten, Ryu walked forward down the hall and found a small pool set into the floor. Water was constantly pouring into it out of a faucet carved like a dragon's head.

"Nice... I could use a drink." Bending over and keeping an eye out for monsters, he drank deeply. The water tasted strangely powerful... like it was full of some kind of energy. "Wierd... hey!" Feeling his face, Ryu realized the wound caused by the Beak had closed. "A Spring of Life... Sara told me about these. They heal all wounds... looks like the monsters couldn't break these either. I'll have to say an extra prayer or two next time I find time to go to the temple..." Continuing through back halls of the castle, Ryu was able to avoid further injuries from the angry Beaks. Grinning, ghostly heads however, proved much more dangerous; if given a moment, they would deliver a powerful electric shock. After the first time that happened, Ryu learned to deal with them quickly in any encounter. What seemed like an eternity later, he found some stairs to the basement. Sprawled in front of them, however, were some well-gnawed bones. Ryu glanced at them once, then forced his eyes away; they were human. "Ugh... keep control, Ryu. Monsters like dark places; likely be more down here." Strangely, the basement seemed uninhabited by beasts. There was a strange pile of pink mud in one corner, but that was all. A heavy metal door looked much more interesting.

"Wonder what's in here? Looks like some sort of armory..." Ryu grunted and forced the door open. "Rust... hasn't been used in a while. Good... no monsters in here." It was indeed an armory of sorts, although there wasn't much; a heavy bronze sword and a pair of steel gauntlets. Ryu put on the latter and hefted the former. "Bronze isn't as good a metal as steel... but this is a better sword to my style of fighting. Think I'll take it." He spun, hearing a gurgling noise; the mud had come to life! It reached for him, and instinctively, Ryu swung at it. The creature's top half was sliced right off, and it flew across the room to impact messily with the wall. Ryu smiled. "Very nice. Yes, I will take this. For all I'm doing for these people, the least they owe me is the pick of their tools." Back up to the main floor, more back hallways eventually wound around to join up the main hall again. A single treasure chest sat in front of a staircase leading up. "Now, what's in this?" Opening it, he yelled in surprise as a splash of water exploded in his face. "Huh...?" He blinked; it was Water of Life. "Huh... wonder what THAT was for. Well, at least now I know that chests can be booby-trapped... and they won't all be nice."

"Who's there?" A voice came from the top of the stairs. It sounded rough and slimy... almost like a frog's croak. Ryu didn't bother answering; he simply charged up and stared. It WAS a frog, sitting on a stone throne, about the size of his hand. It glared up at him. "You're human! You have no reason to be in my castle! Get out of here!"

"Yeah, right, slimy." Ryu laughed. "You might want to get off that throne before the other critters see you. I doubt they'd be amused."

"You mock me? How dare you!" The frog swelled up, inflating its throat sack... and it kept swelling. Ryu took a step back as the tiny amphibian grew into a heavily muscled, armor-plated monster with spiked shoulders and a tuft of orange hair, at least eight feet tall. "Slimeless human wretch! You think you can drive ME out! Go ahead then! Try! I'll show you who owns this castle now!"

"Well, shit." Ryu swore under his breath. "I'm in it even deeper than before... no helping it, though!" Shouting a battle cry, Ryu ran forward swinging his sword. Laughing, the Frog opened its mouth and spewed a ball of purple slime. It took Ryu full in the face, and he fell back with a cry; the gunk burned like acid! The Frog advanced, laughing even harder than before.

"Ha! Is that all you can-eh?" Growling, Ryu wiped the slime out of his face and sprang forward, cutting into the Frog's chest. Surprised, it stepped back, and he continued on the offensive, opening up several more wounds. Snarling, it opened its mouth again, and its long tongue lashed out, whipping him across the face. Ryu took the hit in stride and, with another howl, slashed at the monster's neck. His sword went in, but the Frog seemed unfazed by the attack. "Ha! That won't kill me!" Suddenly changing direction, it moved forward in a crushing tackle, smashing Ryu up against the wall. "Got you that time, human!"

"Mistake..." Ryu growled, breaking free with a burst of strength that made the Frog grunt in surprise. "I'm not a human!" He swung his sword again, aiming for the neck wound, and the Frog's head went flying, severed cleanly. It rolled across the floor and hit a wall. As Ryu walked over to it, the Frog's eyes slowly opened.

"Oooh... I underestimated your strength, warrior... of whatever species you are..." Ryu nodded.

"Yeah, you did. You should have cleared out when I told you to... now you're dead." The Frog looked vaguely surprised.

"So... I am. It's... not as painful as I expected it to... be..." With one last groan, its eyes closed, and it spoke no more. Ryu looked around, sniffing.

"The air... it's changing. Doesn't smell so bad anymore... if fresh air's coming in and replacing the foul... the other monsters must have run. This bozo was their chief, looks like... well, I certainly ain't complaining. I've had enough fights for one day." He examined his sword critically. "Ugh... frog guts. Nothing to wipe it off on... and I certainly can't wash it in the Spring of Life. Maybe the moat outside..." Sighing, he started back. As he left the castle, the doors swung shut behind him. The crowd was gathered outside, and as he left, they erupted in a loud cheer. Ryu just frowned. "I thought I told you all to go to the Dragon Shrine..."

"After you got rid of the monsters, there was no need, young man!" The King greeted him happily. "We all heard them when they ran, and we knew you had succeeded. You're a hero! And we don't even know your name... who are you, young man? I'm King Firdan..." Ryu smiled and shook his hand.

"My name... it's Ryu. I'm a Light Dragon." King Firdan blinked.

"Ryu... I believe I've heard that name somewhere before..." Suddenly, everybody screamed as the ground began shaking. Ryu threw himself to the ground, vaguely noting that everybody else was doing the same. Once it had passed, he got up and helped the King to his feet.

"Your majesty... what was that?" Firdan's eyes were frightened.

"An earthquake... no! The Dark Dragons... they've found it!"

"Found what!" Ryu demanded. "What have the Dark Dragons found, your majesty?"

"Deep beneath Camlon castle..." Firdan took a moment to catch his breath. "There's... a hidden treasure... something that should never have come back into the light of day again... a Goddess Key!" Ryu's heart sank.

"A... Goddess Key? The Dark Dragons have a Goddess Key!" Firdan nodded gravely.

"Yes... the Earth Key... legend says it gives the wielder the power to move the earth itself... what are you doing?" Ryu was trying to push through the crowd.

"I'm leaving... I've got to stop the Dark Dragons..."

"Oh, no you aren't." Firdan caught his arm. "Just hold on one second there, Ryu. You can't go anywhere in the state you're in. You need a good night's sleep, a hot meal and some treatment for those wounds." Ryu struggled for a moment, then stopped.

"All right... I'll go to Nanai tomorrow, then..." Firdan nodded.

"Much better. The Dark Dragons will wait until then. Come on... over here." He led Ryu over to a building that was only slightly damaged, where a series of cots were lined up. "It's not much, but..."

"Right now, it looks great." Ryu smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, your majesty." He flopped down on a cot, and was asleep within seconds.

"Sir Terrack, report." Jade, the Gold Lord, commanded as he walked into the finest house in the town of Nanai. A soldier in ornate blue armor with a short beard scrambled to his feet and saluted quickly.

"Lord Jade! We didn't expect you to return from Drogen so soon, your highness. Otherwise, I would have had all the troops ready to welcome you back! My humblest apologies!"

"Hm... no, it's quite all right." Jade nodded tolerantly. "You are correct... we are back sooner than expected... there is no way you could have known that. However..." He frowned. "I was not inquiring about that, Sir Terrack. I wish to know the status of our... operation." Terrack paled noticably.

"Of course, of course! Apologies again, your highness... as for the Goddess Key... I am afraid that..."

"Let me guess." Jade interrupted sardonically. "It has not yet been retrieved." Terrack nodded in mute terror. "I had expected as much. Tell me, Sir Terrack, why do you suppose the Key has not been removed?"

"The... the cavern has collapsed... caved in... in many places, your highness." Terrack tried to explain. "The men are trying as hard as they can to dig their way through, but it takes time and-"

"Your men are lazy fools, Sir Terrack." Jade cut him off. "The average soldier is only interested in two things. On the battlefield, he's interested in who to kill. Off it, he's interested in food, sleep, cheap alcohol and the nearest girl. You have to give them proper motivation in order to get them to do real work." Terrack nodded.

"Yes, your majesty! What motivation would you suggest?"

"Hmm..." Jade thought about it for a moment. "I've always found the whip to work well. Flogging is a very effective teaching technique, Sir Terrack, and it doesn't require experienced torturers like some of the more exotic punishments. Any man with an arm, a leg and an eye can apply the whip to a soldier's back, and I do believe all of your lieutenants fit those requirements. Are there many trees about?"

"Some, your highness." Terrack nodded. "Not as many as there are to the east, but enough to keep us in firewood."

"Good. If any of the soldiers are particularly resistant, crucify them." Jade smiled faintly. "I'd suggest right in front of the castle... that way, the others should be able to see constant reminders of why they should work their hardest." He frowned again. "Take them down after they've been dead for half a week, though, if it takes that long. That's about the point when the smell gets prohibitive. Don't go easy on your men any longer, Terrack. Emperor Zog wants the Earth Key. To him, it's more valuable than the lives of your entire company. Yourself included." Terrack gulped.

"Don't worry, milord! The Key will be ours in just a few days!"

"It had better... I shudder to think about what would happen to you if it doesn't." Jade remarked as he turned to leave. "Grunt soldiers are one thing, but when it comes to officers, Emperor Zog doesn't really mind the expense of hiring professionals when chastisement is neccessary."

"You'll be bringing the Emperor the Key before half a week is out, your highness!" Terrack assured him again, sweating heavily. Jade shook his head without turning.

"Me? Oh, no. I'm moving out, Terrack. I'll be taking all the men here save your own company with me, so you should have no trouble cramming the remainder into those caverns. We're heading back to Scande immediately."

"Might I inquire why?" The knight asked. Jade stopped in his tracks, and for a moment, Terrack thought he had commited a fatal error. Then the Gold Lord shrugged.

"Why not? We picked up a... treasure in Drogen. A very valuable treasure... one that Emperor Zog will be VERY interested in. So, I am delivering it to him post haste. That's all, really."

"Very well, sir!" Terrack saluted again. "I will not let you down!" Jade turned his head in the doorway, smiling faintly again.

"Your life depends on it." With that, he left the building. Terrack waited until he was sure the Gold Lord was gone, then collapsed into a chair. Groping for a flask, he found it and took a long pull.

"Phew... that was close..." Terrack wiped his brow. "Thought he was going to see through it for a moment there." He stayed at that table for an hour, then lurched to the door and kicked it open. "Lieutenant!"

"Sir Terrack, yes sir!" A soldier saluted quickly. Terrack frowned coldly in a clumsy imitation of the way Jade had regarded him.

"Has Lord Jade left Nanai?"

"Ten minutes ago, sir!" The lieutenant reported. "He took most of the men with him... apparently, they're bound for Scande!"

"I know that!" Terrack snapped. "How goes the excavation of the Earth Key beneath Nanai castle?"

"According to the map, we're almost there, sir!" The lieutenant said eagerly. "The soldiers should break through the last of the rubble by tomorrow night, and the Key will be ours for the taking!"

"Good." Terrack started to go back into his house, then stopped. "It had better be done by tomorrow night then, lieutenant... or you'll... you'll be in quite a bit of trouble. Here..." Reaching behind the door, he pulled out a whip. "Go down there and liven those slackers up a bit with this. Get them going, put some fear into them to make them work harder." Handing the whip to the lieutenant, he walked into the house, then poked his head out again. "Oh, lieutenant... when you do break through that rubble, have all the soldiers clear out of the cavern and notify me. I'll take it from there." The door slammed, and the lieutenant hefted the whip before spitting on the ground.

"Jackass... why the Dragon God chose to have HIM made a Knight, I'll never know..." He walked away. Inside the house, Terrack was nursing his flask again, mumbling to himself.

"One more day, that's all. Tomorrow night, the Goddess Key of the Earth shall be mine. I shall pull it forth from the dark cold ground and raise it into the bright warm sky, and the lands themselves will tremble in my wake as I journey to Scande and present the holy Key of the Goddess to the lord Emperor Zog. And he shall be pleased with my offering and pleased with the Key, and he will take me by his side as a sign of his favor, and I shall be exalted above all others. And when the time comes, I will stand with Emperor Zog and the Tiamat Unit, and I shall be the seventh chosen one and I will wield the Earth Key anew, and along with them I shall turn it and free the Goddess. And I will stand equal to Emperor Zog and to Lord Jade, and we shall become like unto gods ourselves, and none in existence will be able to challenge us with the power of the Goddess, of the holy Goddess Myria at our command..."

Ryu was dreaming again. Again, he was entering a temple of the Dragon God. This time, however, there was no red glow overlaying everything; the temple exuded a sense of calmness and peace instead. Ryu knelt before the familiar stone statue and began to pray, closing his eyes.

"Prayer, Ryu? Voluntarily? My, you have changed." The voice came from directly in front of him. It sounded like somebody very old, but still strong, and there was a strangely inhuman quality about it. Opening his eyes, Ryu discovered that the statue was no longer there. In its place was an ethereal spirit, dressed all in robes of green. Its head and claws were those of a dragon. "Come now, Ryu. Get up. There's time for all of that later." Ryu just stared. "What is... oh. That. Yes... this doesn't exactly happen every day, does it?" Ryu nodded, dumbfounded. "Well, I suppose I should properly introduce myself. I'm Ladon, the Dragon God. Don't bother, I already know who you are. I should; I've been watching you ever since you were born." His eyes twinkled. "Was that incident with the Slimes and your sister's clothes drawer when you were ten REALLY neccessary?" Ryu blushed.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time..."

"Ah, good. You're talking now." Ladon approved. "I thought that might do it. Don't worry, I'm not going to deatomize you if you say something slightly offending. A lot of that nonsense about immortals is just that; nonsense. Really, we're even more constrained than your kind are a lot of the time. But I'm not here to give you an extended dissertation on comparative mortality... what's wrong?" He broke off, noticing Ryu's eyes were slightly glazed over.

"Um... de-what-atize me?"

"Ay..." Ladon shook his head. "Sorry. I forgot, that term won't come into common usage for several more millenia at least. Never mind, let's just get down to business. You've started your journey, and you're making good time... and you've made your first really important step. Don't get cocky, though; that Frog was nothing more than a tadpole compared to the Dark Dragons. You've done good, I'll give you that, but it's only the first step on a very long staircase."

"So, what's the next step?" Ryu asked, not really expecting an answer. Ladon smiled.

"Believe it or not, I can actually tell you." Ryu blinked in surprise, and the Dragon God chuckled. "I love doing that." Then he grew serious. "Enough. Ryu, you must reach Camlon before tomorrow night. The army there is meddling with that which must NOT fall into their hands. Tomorrow night, Ryu. If you are not in Camlon then, the world's peril shall increase a hundredfold. Be there. Oh, and keep your new sword ready too." Ryu nodded and saluted.

"I'll handle it, milord." Ladon smiled.

"That you will, Ryu. I have faith in you." He looked behind Ryu. "Oh, blast. I'm going to have to go now, Ryu. I'll see you again later!"

"Uh..." Ryu opened his eyes, hearing the bubbling of something boiling. Looking over, he saw King Firdan sitting nearby with two large bowls of stew, smiling.

"Ah, Ryu. I was wondering when you would awaken. Come, have some breakfast. It's not exactly roast Bulla, but..." Ryu laughed.

"Right now, your majesty, I could eat a Slime." He dug into the stew hungrily. "Mmm... this is great. What is it?" Firdan smiled slyly.

"Well, while we were clearing out the castle, we found a giant dead frog... and since we didn't have any other use for it..." He broke out laughing at Ryu's horrified expression. "Joking, joking! I think this is pork, actually. Anyways..." He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "When will you be leaving?"

"As soon as I'm done here, your majesty." Ryu answered calmly. "I have to get to Nanai as fast as possible... the Dark Dragons cannot be allowed to take a Goddess Key, for any reason." Firdan nodded.

"I understand... and agree. The Earth Key is buried in caverns deep below the castle... behind the doors that will be straight ahead of you when you enter the castle. Is there anything we can do for you to repay you?" Ryu thought for a moment.

"Some food... and a sleeping bag. That and a few pieces of Zenny are really all I'll need, I think."

"Consider it done, my young friend." The King stood up. "I'll go get it for you right now." About half an hour later, Ryu departed the town of Camlon, with the entire town cheering and waving goodbye.

"You're awesome, Ryu! Kick Zog's butt!" The night watchman hollered.

"Come back sometime, Ryu! We're going to fix up this old town!" A young woman called. Ryu waved at them all one more time, then began moving north.

Nanai was to the west of Camlon, on the other side of a river, but the only bridge was to the north. Thus, Ryu was forced to head northward, cross the river, and then go back south. However, he still made good time, and arrived at the city before sunset on the following day. "Excellent... I'm here early..." Stopping for a moment to rest, he also took the opportunity to examine the city. Nanai was a port city; the entire south side, against the river, was devoted to docks where ships unloaded their cargo and took on new loads before sailing back south out of the nearby rivermouth to the open ocean. Except for those docks, however, the entire city was surrounded with a massive stone wall, with only one opening on the west side. And that was guarded by a pair of alert-looking soldiers. One of them spotted Ryu and raised his sword threateningly.

"Hey, you! Who goes there? Don't you know that this city is being occupied by the Dark Dragon armies?" Ryu thought fast and assumed a humble stoop.

"No, good sir... I'm just a woodman. I've never been to Camlon before... please don't hurt me."

"This is Nanai, you simpleton." The soldier told him disgustedly. "Camlon's on the other side of the river. Be off with you to there; there's to be no loitering around THIS city." Ryu nodded and retreated.

"My thanks, good sir... I'll go there right now." Once he was a good ways off, Ryu took some time renewing his acquaintance with some decidedly unpleasant words. "Just great... how am I actually going to get IN there?" He paced around, trying to think up a plan. Several hours passed, however, and he still remained outside the walls. Looking at the sunset, Ryu felt himself growing more and more desperate. "Damn it... Ladon told me bad things would happen if I wasn't in there tonight... but was that just a dream?" He watched the last traces of light vanish and swore again. "Can't risk it. Even if it was, I know those punks are going to get the Earth Key soon if I'm not careful." He drew his sword and approached the city. "Guess I'll just have to kill those two and make a break for... huh?" He stopped. The guards were not standing at the entrance to the city anymore. They were lying down inside it. Approaching carefully, Ryu listened and heard snores. He smiled. The two guards were sleeping like bears in winter.

"Thank Ladon for lazy soldiers..." He muttered as he sneaked past into town. He almost laughed as the first building he saw was in fact the Temple, but stopped himself-fortunately, as it turned out, as a soldier walked past in the dark a few streets down only a moment later. Not ALL of them were asleep. As soon as he was gone, Ryu moved past down a dark alley. He moved slowly through the city, frequently having to duck into shadowy corners to avoid roaming soldiers. At one point at the south side of the city, he had to run out onto the docks when a large group came down in his direction. Fortunately, they didn't check the ends of the docks, so he wasn't forced to go swimming to avoid detection. Once they were gone, Ryu went back into the city proper, and emerged onto the main street, where he caught his first sight of Nanai Castle. Flowing water actually ran through the streets of Nanai, creating an effect almost like the city was floating. The beauty of it was increased by well-cropped lawns and lines of trees here and there. Even the buildings were mostly sheathed in white marble. The nighttime calm-enforced even more by the patrols-gave the entire city a very quiet and beautiful air. In the center of it all, resting on a grassy island in the middle of those in-street rivers, was a huge and ancient building. It looked to be at least a hundred feet tall, with a cluster of five towers rising from the main structure. Like other buildings, the entire structure was sheathed in marble. As Ryu walked up, he heard a noise, and turned his head to see the large group of soldiers coming back down the main street behind him.

"Dammit... so close." Ryu swore and got ready to draw his sword, when a firm hand grabbed his. Turning, he was pulled into the door of a nearby building before the guards noticed anything. Inside, he was faced by a large, heavily muscled man and a demure-looking lady, both seemingly in their forties or so. The man was frowning.

"Just what were you thinking, buddy? You know what those soldiers do to anybody they catch outside after the sun sets!" His eyes narrowed. "Hey... wait a second... you're not from around here!"

"Truly." Ryu nodded. "Thanks for the bailout anyways. Yeah, I'm not from Nanai. What are YOU doing here? I thought all of the natives had run for it to Camlon."

"The army made a few of us stay as servants..." The woman answered. "Who are you? Why have you come to this city, if you knew the army was here?"

"I'm here to bust some heads, to tell the truth." Ryu responded calmly. "My name's Ryu, I'm a Light Dragon, and I came here to put a stop to what the Dark Dragons are here for. That's it, really." He assessed the shocked expressions on his benefactors' faces. "Those guards should be gone by now, so I'll head back out. Listen... I'm sorry, but you're going to have to take a risk. Go find all the other civilians, and then you should all get out of the city right away. Something very big's going to go down here tonight, and it's very possible the city of Nanai won't be here at all tomorrow morning."

"The..." The man's face turned white. "What on earth could destroy the city in one night?"

"A Goddess Key, that's what." Ryu opened the door and looked outside. All was clear. "The Dark Dragons are opening up the boxes that should remain closed for all eternity, and one of those boxes is going blow up right in this city's face. I advise you not be around when that happens." Without waiting for a response, he slipped back out into the main street. No more guards bothered him as he approached the castle. Above the main entrance was a carving of the Dragon God's face, like the one that hung over every Temple in the world. "Wow... I wonder how old this place is..." Entering, he found himself facing another pair of metal doors, with halls going both left and right. Not bothering to explore either, Ryu examined the doors right away. There were a multitude of large, heavy locks lying on the floor around it. "Yeah... this is it, all right." Opening the doors, he walked down the flight of stairs behind them. It was a very long flight, and as it trailed downward, the stone brick walls were gradually replaced by brown dirt. Finally, he emerged in a humongous cavern. Glancing to the side, Ryu's eyes went wide.

"No way..." The cavern was a series of underground islands floating on a seething sea of molten lava. High above was a rocky ceiling, proof that he was still underground, but Ryu's mind swam anyways. After staring at the lava for several minutes, Ryu forced himself to get a grip. "So that's it... the Earth Key must be keeping all this in check. If it's removed..." He shuddered. "Gotta move!" Ryu immediately took off, running across a rope bridge that connected to another island. A small flock of Beaks, startled by him, attacked angrily, and he cut them down without stopping. The Beaks weren't the only monsters down there, either; the ethereal heads and piles of pink mud were lurking around too. Ryu mowed them all down, and eventually found the island with the staircase leading down. Again, it was very long, and he emerged in a second lava cavern.

"Dammit... where IS that Key?" Swearing sulferously, he started across another rope bridge, only to find the path blocked by a trio of bright green insects about the size of his hand. Ryu sliced one in half as the other two jumped on him. He threw the second one off and killed it, but before he could get rid of the third, he felt a sharp pain on his arm where the third was crawling. He stabbed it, but the damage was done; something was burning his arm from inside. "Blasted thing must have been poisonous..." Falling to the ground and opening his pack, Ryu pulled out an antidote and drank it. "Phew... good thing the fellas in Drogen gave me this..." He set off again. The rest of the cavern was traversed without incident. On the last island was another set of stairs leading down, this one twice as wide as the ones before and not nearly as long. It led into a small tunnel. At the end there was a raised tier up against the back wall. On the tier was an ancient, monolithic slab of rock covered in complicated designs, with pillars flanking it. Standing in front of all of this on the tier was a single man, wearing heavy blue armor. His red cape and plumed helmet indicated rank. As Ryu approached, the man turned around, short-bearded face filled with outrage.

"Who dares disturb my privacy? I gave specific orders that all soldiers were to depart this cavern! The punishment for disobedience is death!"

"Pretty stupid thing to do, buddy." Ryu laughed shortly. "If there had been soldiers down here, I might have actually had some trouble getting to you. And since you obviously haven't noticed, I'm not one of your men."

"Is that so?" The man growled. "An intruder, then! I'll have your head on a stake! And then I'll use this Key, and I'll take over the world!"

"Somebody's got high ambitions..." Ryu snorted. "You're wearing blue... and unless my knowledge of your color code is incorrect, that means you're just a Knight... you command a hundred men. Please."

"I WILL conquer the world!" The Knight almost shrieked. "And nobody... not you, not Jade, not anybody can stop me!"

"Normally, I'd advise you to just surrender and avoid some unnecessary unpleasantness..." Ryu sighed, and then his eyes glittered. "But I have no sympathy whatsoever for the Dark Dragon armies. Ready to die, Knight?"

"Very well! Prepare yourself, fool, to perish at the hands of Sir Terrack of the Dark Dragon Empire!" Howling, the Knight drew his own sword, a very heavy steel affair that looked to be at least six feet in length. He sneered at Ryu's much smaller bronze weapon. "You think to contend against me with that?"

"One thing I learned early on, Knight... one's weapon isn't as important as how you use it!" Ryu jumped forward and attacked, pressing Terrack back. The Knight raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh ho... so you do have skill! However..." With a sudden surge, he smashed his blade forward and sent Ryu flying. "I have skill of my own, beyond yours in that regard as well!"

"Lucky shot..." Ryu growled, getting back to his feet and moving on the attack again. "Come on, then, Terrack... see if you can do it again!"

"That's SIR Terrack to you, whelp!" The Knight struck out again, grazing Ryu's arm. "Hm... you know me, but not the converse. What is your name then, fool?"

"I'm called Ryu... of the Light Dragons." Ryu smiled inwardly as a moment of confusion passed over Terrack's face, and he instantly acted, slicing at the Knight's neck. At the last moment, though, the Knight smashed the Light Dragon aside with his heavy sword again.

"A Light Dragon, eh? Ha! Your kind have grown weak with the passing of the centuries... while the Dark Dragons have become even stronger!"

"That has yet to be decided." Ryu snarled as he jumped back into the fray. The two of them banged on each others' swords for a while. As time passed, however, something began to change. Terrack's heavy blade and armor began weighing him down as he tired, while Ryu stayed at a higher speed and agility with his lighter equipment. Both of them noticed this happening. "Can't keep it up forever, Terrack... and that big blade of yours isn't exactly featherweight!" As if to emphasize his point, he opened up a deep wound on his enemy's right shoulder.

"Argh... then how about THIS?" Gritting his teeth, Terrack raised his sword. A bolt of electricity flew out from it and smashed into Ryu's chest. He went flying across the room, and the Knight laughed. "Got you!"

"Not... just yet..." Growling, Ryu picked himself up and charged. Terrack drew back, frantically defending himself.

"Stay back!" He threw another bolt of lightning, and this time, Ryu took it without faltering, continuing his assault. Terrack was bleeding from a dozen places now. Desperate, he seized his sword in both hands and leaped forward in a titantic overhand swing. Ryu dodged to the side and then thrust forward. His sword slid into Terrack's chest with a steely rasping noise. Terrack's eyes widened, and his blade fell from his hands.

"How... could this be? I've been... killed by... this whelp..." He stopped talking as a fountain of blood burst from his mouth, and he slid off Ryu's blade in a heap. Ryu sighed and leaned against a wall, fighting the urge to just collapse.

"Man... almost bought it there... I should get some of those herbs out of my-huh!" Terrack was crawling towards the monolithic slab at the back. Roaring, Ryu charged forward, but it was too late.

"You've... killed me... but you've sealed... your own fate too!" With the last of his life, Sir Terrack pulled something out of the slab. A key constructed of gold, shaped leaves arching from the top above an eye, curved and bent in the center, and with the head made with bizzare curves, prongs and shapes. It was obviously meant to specifically fit only one lock in all existence. With a smirk on his face, he died, the Earth Key still clenched in his lifeless hand. Ryu picked it up.

"Dammit..." Suddenly, the entire room began shaking. A jewel at the top of the slab began flashing, and the entire stone sunk into the ground. Ryu swore again, more sulferously this time; the entire cave was collapsing! He turned to run, then stopped. In the floor, a glassy orb was set, and it was glowing as well.

"You have done well, little Light Dragon... you will not die today. Use this... it will bring you to safety..." A strange voice hissed. Ryu looked around, surprised.

"What? Who's there?"

"You will know soon enough..." The voice laughed chillingly. "For now, run... run, little Light Dragon, while you can... for no matter how you strive against it, I am returning..." Ryu stood there for a moment longer, then spun and stepped on the glass orb, and everything became blinding white light.

"Uh..." Ryu slowly opened his eyes. King Firdan was standing over him looking concerned.

"Ryu... you're awake. No, don't try to move." He stopped Ryu as the young man started to rise. "Keep still... your wounds still haven't fully healed."

"I'm back in... Camlon?" Ryu looked around, confused. "What happened?"

"That's what we'd like to know." Firdan crossed over to a stove and brought over some food. "We heard a horrendous noise, and all ran out to see Nanai explode! The entire city just collapsed on itself. Then there was a flash of light, and you appeared right next to us, unconscious and covered in cuts. You've been out for more than a day."

"Nanai's destroyed, then?" Ryu asked, taking a bite of a chicken leg. The King nodded.

"Totally. The remainder of the inhabitants all made it out safely thanks to your warning, but as far as we know, not a single one of the Dark Dragon troops still there survived." He looked at Ryu sternly. "Ryu... I want you to tell me the truth. Were you responsible for Nanai's destruction?"
"I... think so." Ryu looked away. "The Knight in command was taking the Earth Key. We fought, and I won, but he still pulled it out. Everything just kind of went to hell at that point. I was afraid something like that would happen, which is why I warned all the people to get out. If I hadn't interrupted him, maybe... he might have been able to remove the Key without destroying the place..."

"Perhaps. So Nanai was sacrificed in order to stop the Dark Dragons from getting the Earth Key..." Firdan shook his head sadly. "A very hard choice... but you did the right thing. Don't feel guilty, Ryu; we're all still alive, and that's what counts. And since all the Dark Dragons in the kingdom were there, you've freed us from their yoke entirely. Thank you."

"All in a day's work, your majesty." Ryu joked halfheartedly, then reached over to his pack nearby and took out the Key. "So this is a Goddess Key... I suppose it belongs to you, your majesty."

"Keep it, Ryu." Firdan declined. "If the Dark Dragons are trying to acquire one Key, they must be trying for them all. And unless I'm mistaken, you're not going to rest until you've stopped them, right?"

"Count on it." Ryu nodded.

"Very well..." Firdan sighed. "Rest here one more day, and you should be healed enough to walk, at least. Travel east of where Nanai used to be... the kingdom of the Wing Clan is there. They're fighting the Dark Dragons like you are. Here..." He pulled out a piece of paper. "Go to the capital, Winlan. Their king is an old friend of mine... this has my signature on it. It'll get you into the palace."

"Thank you." Ryu smiled and reached for the paper, then winced. "Ow... and I think I'll take you up on your offer to stay here for another day."

"I should hope so." The King laughed. "As you are now, you probably couldn't make it to the north bridge without collapsing." Ryu laughed as well.

"Yeah, but you shoulda seen the other guy..."