Child of Destruction
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: December 12, 2003
Posted Chapter 08: April 24, 2004
Updated: December 22, 2005
Disclaimer: Hmm, if I owned the game, Rose would've lived in the end. Hell, everyone would've lived – Lavitz, Rose, Zieg… Well, maybe not Melbu Frahma…
Author's Note: All righty, next chapter! They're heading into the "Dragon's Nest" forest from the game – I renamed it because I figure, hey, after 100 years the toxins would've faded out, and "Dragon's Nest" was rather silly. Anywho, I'm going to try to keep updating this regularly, but I might slow down once I start inventing territories… If you look at the complete world map from the game, the entire right side of the map fades away into uncharted territory… Hence, we'll be going there soon!
Chapter Eight: Sidetracked
Andres chuckled as he watched a groggy Geru join the others in the Inn's lobby early the next morning.
"Wh-h-hat time is it?" Geru yawned. Darrin rolled his eyes while Dalia chuckled sleepily. Iris reached over and ruffled the younger boy's hair.
"Time we got going," she told him as he swatted her hand away indignantly.
The party finished gathering their supplies and walked through the misty town. Shop owners were busy about them, setting out wares and opening storefronts for the new day's business. No one bothered the party as they walked through the merchant town, leaving through the front gates quietly.
Once outside the city, the group picked up their pace, marching over the windy plains towards the distant mountains to the north. By early afternoon, the party reached the borders of the Feyrbrand Forest.
"So, where to from here, Andres?" Claire asked as they took a short break under the shade of the tree on the forest's edge.
Andres took a quick swig from his canteen before answering. "The Tenth Stronghold is the main fortress here – it was built over a natural spring on the northern edge of the woods. It was originally founded to protect the south from dangerous creatures that live in the mountains. The Seventh Stronghold and the city of Hoax perform the same task in the North."
Darrin looked over at Claire. "We probably won't reach there until late this evening. If all goes well, we should be able to leave again in the morning with a new batch of troops for Seles."
"Where is Seles?" Iris asked.
"Its on the Eastern border of the kingdom of Basil. It was nearly destroyed a hundred years ago in the Sandoran war, so it still remains a fairly small village. Its guarded by the Fifth stronghold, but even that is not enough to defend it should this eastern kingdom attack," Andres answered, his brow creased with concern.
"What's the deal with the eastern kingdom? What's their problem?" Geru muttered.
"The eastern kingdom of Ragnor is mainly composed of nomadic tribes," Andres answered matter-of-factly. "They seem to have come under new leadership in the last decade or so. Before that, they were divided into several sub-groups, and were fairly peaceful. This new leader has managed to unite them somehow, and they've become hostile. They began with small raids on the eastern borders, but the raids have been slowly increasing in size. Our intelligence tells us that quite soon they plan to mobilize all their warriors against us, unless we do something to stop them first," Andres finished.
"Well, we'll stop them, don't worry about that. We are the Dragoons, after all," Iris told him, patting his arm consolingly. Andres smiled as the others agreed.
"Thank you. All of you," he addressed his companions as they picked up their belongings to continue north.
The party entered the forest, marching along the well-trodden paths to the northern fortress. About mid-afternoon, the party halted at a crossroads.
"Where does that path go?" Dalia asked, staring down a barely discernable tract that veered west through the trees.
"That path leads to Shirley's Temple," Darrin answered in a bored tone. "Shirley was the original Dragoon of Light. No one's sure when her temple was founded here, but some people still go there to be healed of serious diseases."
"Does it work?" Dalia asked, interested.
Andres chuckled. "For some. But the journey is long enough that most people only use it as a last resort."
Iris glanced down the path, then gasped as she felt her Dragoon Spirit resonate.
"What the –" Geru broke off as his spirit resonated as well.
"There must be a Dragoon Spirit down there," Claire said excitedly.
"Well, too bad. We have no time to chase after rocks," Darrin muttered. Andres frowned at him.
"Its true that we're running out of time, but we should pursue this as well. Any ideas?"
Iris shrugged. "Why don't we split up? Andres, you must go to the fort, you need to talk to the troops. Darrin could lead some of us to the Temple, and we could check to see if there is a spirit there. It could be of great help to us in this coming battle."
"Agreed. I'll go with Andres to the fort. Dalia, why don't you come with us?" Claire answered.
Dalia smiled sheepishly. "If its all right, I'd rather go see the Temple," she replied.
"Don't worry, I'll watch out for her, Claire," Geru answered proudly. Darrin snorted.
"If we're going to go, let's just do it already," he grumbled, walking down the overgrown trail.
Iris laughed. "We'll try to catch up with you two tonight," she said, and waved to Andres and Claire as she, Geru and Dalia followed the grumbling squire through the underbrush.
A few hours later, the four teenagers stopped on the edge of a lake, staring at the temple resting across the waters. Although the temple complex was ancient and crumbling, its white stonework still gleamed like a star against the emerald greenery of the forest. Moss and trailing creepers covered some areas of the decaying building, but overall, it still radiated an aura of serene beauty.
Dalia giggled as she jumped onto one of the partially submerged stones that led to the entrance. "Be careful guys, it's a little slippery!" she shouted, jumping from rock to rock towards the structure. Geru followed her quickly, along with a bemused Iris and grumpy Darrin.
Dalia waited for the party at the front gates. "Look! A statue of a dragon!" she said, pointing up above the gateway. Iris felt the Dark Dragoon Spirit resonate as she looked up at it.
"We must be getting close," Geru answered seriously. He pulled out his Basher, holding it ready. "Just in case," he replied as Iris looked at him questioningly.
Darrin strung his bow nearby. "We shouldn't have any trouble – the Basil knighthood cleared out the dangerous monsters years ago. But we should stay on guard," he said.
Iris shrugged, unsheathing her rapier as Dalia readied her lance nearby.
"Well, let's go find that Dragoon Spirit!" Iris said, and the party headed into the Temple depths.
End Notes: I had actually planned to have this whole Temple scenario as one chapter, but it took longer than I thought. So, next week, the exciting conclusion to the Shirley's Temple Caper! … O.O I think I'm regressing to that time when I used to watch really old 60s programming… but the Adam West Batman rocked! ()