Ch19: Trodain's Former Glory
Once everyone had gotten up and we got the low down from Brains in Trodain, we were then given the assignment to find the magic ship that would take us to the Argonian Continent. The moment that Angelo warped us to the start of Peregrin Quay, we began working our way past the recently removed roadblock towards the northwest. It was during this time that we were approached by many friendly monsters, but surprisingly, not the King Slime that was stuck in the well. The only monsters that weren't friendly, however, were the Muddy Hands.
"Well, at least most o' these monsters are treating us fairly... though I still can't git why monsters are so helpful to you lot," Red frowned as she sliced a Muddy Hand in half with her fan alone. "That's because we've been helping out monster leaders to get by our adventures," I explained happily. "Yeah. First she heals up a merman in the form o Geyser and then she returns a giant squid named Khalamari to 'is senses," Yangus smirked. "Well, I think that that stuff might stop for a bit.. look ahead," Angelo frowned, pointing the fact out that there was a giant ship right in front of us, stuck completely in the ground and the whole way inland.
"Crud... I don't even think that the creatures of the sea would be able to help with this one... this ship is way too big and way too far inland for this shell bell to work," I frowned as I placed it in my pocket. "Hey, boss?" I asked, looking right at the green king. "Yes? What is it?" he asked me back. "I noticed something on the map just now... if we were to continue Northwest, go through a cave on the right, and then continue Northeast, we'd be at a certain place that we all know very well," I smiled. "Y-You mean... we're directly South of Trodain?! Awesome!" Medea brayed a bit.
"Well, I think we can kill two birds with one stone right now then," Jessica smiled as she held Stella in her cleavage for once, talking to us in mind chat no matter what now, something that annoyed the pixie to no end. "If we can get to Trodain, not only would we be able to know what kind of magic we're up against with Dhoulmagus's curses, but we could also search their library to find out anything about this ancient ship." "Hold up. You think that you can counteract his black magic?" Stella asked, not really wanting her to do so. Shut it. I'm trying to see if we could possibly lift Trodain's curse if only for the sake of their citizens. It doesn't mean that I plan to do it, however, Jess thought to us girls's heads... and sadly, that included Red's, since she had been told literally EVERYTHING by Medea.
It didn't take too much longer of a trek to make it to the very entrance to Trodain's castle, which was made accessible by Jessica and me torching the vines that locked the entrance up. "Okay, now let's continue inside..." I frowned as I opened the doors and was met with the most grizzly sight I could see in my life. It was just as the game had depicted it, and the additions in the form of the Dragonthorns, Wailin' Weeds, and the Hunter Mechs chasing after the Liquid Metal Slimes kind of made it clear that this place had gone to hell.
"Oh dear... it's worse than I could've imagined..." Red gulped the moment she saw the entirety of the castle. When I stepped directly forward, however, I was shocked to see that my bare feet had touched something pointy. A thorn. And the exact moment that my foot touched that thorn, I saw something truly amazing happen. Right there, right in front of us, the entirety of Trodain became enveloped in a bright light. "W-Whoa! W-Wot's all this then?!" Yangus immediately exclaimed at this.
When the light faded, it was something we could've never expected. Just from my foot getting pricked by one of the cursed thorns, the ENTIRE CASTLE had been magically freed of it's plant curse! "Oh my god! I-It's a miracle!" exclaimed someone from nearby. It was one of the castle maids, who had something wrong with her in appearance, however. Sure, she was able to move and talk now, but it seemed that me stepping on the thorns only woke the castle up from its curse. It didn't remove it completely. That much was assured from the fact that the citizens of Trodain were still plant people. "O-Oh no! I-I'm still a plant?! What the fuck?!" the maid immediately exclaimed when she fell over from her very thin legs.
"Oh my... well... at least one thing has been accomplished... the castle isn't in shambles anymore..." Medea frowned. "W-Wait... that voice... is this a dream, or did your horse just sound like-" "Princess Medea," Trode frowned with a sigh. "Oh my goddess... not just Medea... you too, my king? How did this happen?!" the maid asked in shock. "It's a little difficult to explain, but the person who cursed this whole place turned us into these monstrous forms you see now as a mere joke," Medea groaned. "The only reason we were spared from the curse was because we were in the Royal Magic Circle, which, I might add, was where that jester stole the Royal Family Scepter that he used to curse my castle and everyone of you in it," Trode frowned.
"Well, since we know that you guys will be... better than before, could we talk about getting entry into the Trodain Library?" I asked, hoping that we could get in before it hit midnight, since the moon was already coming out. And, for some odd reason, the thorns needed to make it were still in our way. "Well, you could travel through the castle to do that. Just go through the entrance, turn left, and go to the door on the left most part of the castle. To make it easier for you if you want to return, it may be best to unlock the outside door for it," the maid smiled. "Thank you very much. We'll be sure to get that guy that cursed you all. You can be assured of that," I smirked, heading into the castle and doing just as she told.
On our way through the castle, we found that the rest of the Trodain staff were up and about, even though all of them had to literally crawl or roll everywhere because of their useless legs. "Isn't it kind of hard for you guys right now? To have to roll and crawl to get anywhere?" I asked the chef. "Well, at least it is, how you say, much better zen to be frozen solid, oui?" he asked with a French accent. "Well, you got me there," I admitted. "So how about we get going into that library then? Master chef? I know it may seem like a lot to ask, since you are part plant currently, but could you whip up some scrambled eggs?" Trode asked with a smile. "I'll 'elp 'im out if ya don't mind. I'm not really book savvy meself," Red frowned as she went over to assist the chef. "Well, that happened."
It didn't take long for our group to find the book in the library and to unlock the door that led outside for future visits, which meant that we were free to read the book all the way through (which took a good ten hours). When we finally finished the gigantic book, it was time for the Moonshadow window to open for us once again, the sight being very shocking to many of the others. "Hmm... time to go back and visit Angelica I guess... Trode, you go back to Medea. We can handle this much," I smiled happily. "Righteo," Trode smirked as he skipped out the door to be back with Medea.