"The King's Quest and the Fortune Teller's Predicament"
I do not own Dragon Quest 8, as you probably already knew from the lame name of this chapter. (angry sigh) I admit, this chapter's name is horrible. BUT IT'S THE FIRST CHAPTER, I get some handicap points right? AT LEAST I NAMED IT.(mumble, grumble) First chapter and I've already intimidated myself by my lack of...in-gen-uity. Whatever that is. Well...At least I covered what the first chapter's about in the title. YEAH, I got the beginning set up in the title and you can predict what the ending goes over. Oh, right! Maybe it's not so sucky of a title after all!(note: I'm a pessimist who severely wants to be an optimist.) Right, now back on track. I'm DragonQuest and this fanfic is the story of Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King and this is the first chapter of the story. Since it's the first chapter and all I kinda 'ave training wheels on. I'm playin' the game AND writin' at the same time. Ya see, Yangus' accent has always confounded me, and I need a few practices to get the 'ang of it. So, yeah I'm cheating, I wish I could do it all by memory but that's too much to hope for with my brain. If you wish to proceed farther go on ahead (I dare ya, triple-dog-dare ya ), I won't try to stop you. I'm just here to warn you. Here it is: first chapter, "The King's Quest and the Fortune Teller's Predicament" (the title isn't as awe-inspiring as I had imagined it would be...it's a little on the runny side isn't it? Oh, speaking of runny, this might be a bit long, being first chapter an' all so...if you are gonna read, prepare yourself).
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The shroud of mist that had so quickly enclosed his mind began to dissipate steadily. He opened his eyes. The guardsman didn't realize he had been lying face down on the stone balcony. Whatever had stunned his senses had hit him with a force stronger and swifter than any blow he had ever taken. With a hand to his forehead the guard rose.
His post was on the western balcony overlooking the castle courtyard. The night duty he had upheld since the beginning of his rank lasted from the end of supper to the zenith of the moon's travel. Usually alone or with another low-ranking guardsmen, he would dutifully stand at perfect attention until the job, often described by some as being the dullest soldier's obligation, ended. Until that night he had never once found himself unconscious during the role he held at such high importance.
On that night when the full-silver lined moon was veiled behind thick black clouds, the castle stood in tragedy. The guardsman could only stare horrified at the sight before him. Everywhere, thorns on vines as thick as an executioner's sword entrapped the castle. Thorns, with a glowing green pulse and blackened, unnaturally sharp ends. Vines holding tight to the castle's walls and spires; some even breaking out of windows and the thick grey stone of the fated castle. But to the guardsman's horror not only was the castle structure in the thorn's hold.
To his right he saw the form of a maid. He remembered faintly before that she had told him she was passing through to get to the castle kitchen. Commonly enough, such a thing was like a ritual; someone would always pass the guard when he was on duty. He had often enjoyed their company.
The maid was now like a statue, perfectly still and lifeless. Her body was not wrapped in vines of thick thorns, instead she had become one of malevolent tendrils. The maid's arms were replaced with thorns, her body the color of the thorns, her face punctured with thorns. Her small mouth hung open in an unheard scream with smaller vines trailing down into her throat. Only her eyes, shock white, remained untouched.
The guard stood in shock. His eyes wide and his breath coming out in pained gasps. Then a sharp pain bit into the side where his tunic's pocket was under his armor. He regained his bearing and took a deep breath, thankful to be brought out of his overwhelming panic. The guard had to think. He needed to search the castle and find others like him that had withstood whatever had blighted the castle. But the foreboding stillness around him revealed the truth. There was no scurrying of other guards, no screams of fear emitting from anyone, no cries of help.
Walking carefully the guard opened the door to the inside of the castle. Thorns had taken hold over the inside of the castle's walls, destroying statues, portraits, nearly everything, and overwhelming the castle halls and rooms. The guard ran through the silence of the castle passing numerous others who had suffered the same fate of the maid. He tried to control the vast terror he felt as he ran through the halls, searching for life in the dead castle walls. After a half hour of his mad search, the guard reached one of the farthermost halls of the castle. The hall that held the castle's treasured artifact.
The guard's fevered panting almost covered the sound of a soft rustling. He almost didn't hear it coming from behind the large imposing door covered in thin vines. With a second of hesitation, the guard stepped towards the door and pushed it open. A muffled wail come from further in the room. The guard ascended the vault's steps slowly. Although the door itself hadn't been completely covered in thorns, the thorn-invested tendrils were thicker in this room than in any other part of the castle.
The guard reached the final step and entered the vault's magic circle. There he found the source of the only human wail issued that night from the castle. It sat huddled in misery in front of a crumpled form within the complicated magic design. The guard's felt as if a cold knife had pierced him and left a chill in his blood. In front of him were the only other two survivors of the thorns' rage. He, however, was the only human survivor, the others before him were tormented creatures.
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Munchie scurried about contentedly. The light brown mouse ran his small paws over the grass as fast as he could. He slowed to a walk then sat back to look up at the sun, past its noon-high place. After a quick look around the rest of the area, Munchie turned and ran back to the clearing he had come from. Munchie's travel stopped short as he skidded to a stop in front of a hunched dull green troll-like figure in his way. Trode noticed the small mouse and after a cruel look he leered angrily at him. Munchie immediately high-tailed it out and ran back to the safety of the yellow jacket.
Keal smiled down at the mouse settling down in his jacket pocket. His little pet sure was strange; any other pet mouse would have ran for mousy freedom if let outside, but Munchie always returned to Keal. It'd been like that ever since Keal could remember having the mouse.
"Oy! Guv!" cried Yangus, bringing Keal out of his thoughts. Yangus waved until he finally held Keal's attention. "It's gonna get dark if we 'ang about 'ere much longer," said Yangus. "Let's 'ead inta town. There's better places than this to spend an evenin'!" The stout man motioned towards the thicket of forest around them with his big, hairy arms.
Wearing nothing but blue pants, the hide of some animal, and a green spiked helmet made of something, Yangus didn't look to be the type of person you'd want to be friendly with, unless you were being hunted be gang who wanted to kill you and you needed a strong tough-looking guy to scare the bodily fluids out of them while you went on living having learned your lesson to avoid bloodthirsty gangs hopefully for the rest of your life. Keal had thought Yangus was a scary individual at first just like many had before him, but the scarred, thick-skinned Yangus could be a trust-worthy companion. An especially trust-worthy companion to his guv.
"Shake a leg, guv!" shouted Yangus. Keal lifted himself off the tree stump he had been resting on. He walked over to where Yangus stood next to Trode. "Are we ready to head out?" asked Keal but he quickly saw that they wouldn't be heading out straightway just yet. Trode, sitting on his rump, had fallen back to sleep with a foul look on his face. He muttered in a sleep-like trance that was impossible to understand. Yangus looked over the green troll and shook his head. "I've prob'ly said it before, but it beats me 'ow you ended up workin' for an old codger like 'im!" said Yangus. Then he closed his eyes and began speaking as matter-of-factly as he could. "Not that I can talk, though, eh?! Guess people can say the same thing about me workin' for you."
Before Keal could make a reply, Trode woke up from his nap. He fixed his dropping eyes on Yangus. Trode's height was only half of Yangus', who was so stout he made up for his height in width. Every inch of Trode's skin, including he pointed ends of his ears, was the same shade of green. Disturbingly bright pink lips made up his large mouth. "Hm? Old codger? I do hope you're not referring to me!" spoke the intelligent, kingly voice of Trode, a voice not to be expected of a small troll. "What would you know? A lowlife like you wouldn't recognise nobility if it came bit you on the a-..."
Keal sighed. Trode and Yangus hadn't stopped snapping at each other since Yangus had joined up. The two could find any moment at any time to argue and insult one another. Keal had never guessed that Trode would go the extent to speak a foul word towards Yangus.
Yangus stared Trode directly in the eye as Trode tried to finish the rest of his sentence. Apparently Keal's feeling had been right and Trode couldn't finish the word he had been forming. "Arrrrgh!" growled Trode. 'If it came and bit you on the arrrgh,' Keal thought that saying was rather original.
Trode and Yangus glared at each other with newfound dislike. Each of them trembled with the force of their glare. Keal stood helplessly in front of them. Trode was the first to break off from the glaring fit. "Enough dilly-dallying..." 'Dilly dallying?' "...Keal!" Trode just became aware of Keal for the first time since he had been standing there. "Where's the princess? I can't see her anywhere..." Trode turned his head everywhere, looking for any sign of his princess.
"What are you talking about she's over..." Keal looked to where the white canvas carriage stood. The Princess wasn't by it.
"She's not there anymore!" snapped Trode. He ran all around the forest clearing looking for her. Yangus joined in the search too. Keal stayed where he was and looked to the other direction. Behind him he could hear the gentle trickle of water flowing in a small pond. Every so often he heard a slap of water. Another slap, another, finally a sharp slurrrrp and a frenzied bubbling. Keal looked to see what was making all the noise. To his shock three slimes leaped out of the pond. How little drops of slime can leap or even move was a mystery to him, but he knew the slimes weren't just masses of deep blue water with eyes and a mouth; they were monsters.
"Uh-oh! Here comes trouble, guv!" said Yangus. He reached for the crude spiked club on his back. Keal's right hand grasped his own weapon, a simple cheap sword, and held it with both hands. He placed himself in front of Trode who was just as shocked as he had been at the appearance of the monsters.
"Let's get rid of them quickly! We can't have these things scaring Princess Medea." With that said, Keal made a step towards the closest slime and made a successful slice through the middle of it.
"Right!" replied Yangus as he bludgeoned a slime flat with one whack. The last slime made a fast side jump for Trode but Keal got in its path. Keal struck his sword straight through the slime. "Wow, I forgot that slimes could be killed so easily," commented Keal, putting his sword in the sheath strapped to his back. He folded his arms across his chest looking defiant and proud, even knowing that he had only defeated two practically harmless monsters.
"Yeah, they ain't much trouble. We can 'andle them no problem," said Yangus. He tied the end of his club back to the rope attached to his open fur shirt. Yangus put his hands to his sides and stood beside Keal.
"Well..." began the composed Trode standing before them, "they certainly took us by surprise. But nothing we couldn't handle, eh?" Then Trode began freaking out again. "Now where's the Princess? Where's my Medea?! My precious one and only daughter!" He started his princess quest all over again.
Keal didn't move to help Trode, but turned to see where the entrance of the forest clearing was. There a beautiful white horse was moving gracefully towards them. A lovely blue blanket underneath a rein holster sat atop her flawless coat like a robe. She looked to be any normal horse, but her clear turquoise eyes held a clarity beyond any other of her kind. "Ah! There you are!" Trode exclaimed, his face lighting up with a relief. "Thank goodness you're safe, Medea!" He ran over to the horse and put one of his green cheeks to her blue blanket, hugging as much of her as he could. Medea looked down at Trode and the light grey hair of her tail swished back and forth. Keal watched the two and a slight smile crossed his face.
"Aye-aye, the 'orse-princess is back," said Yangus to Keal, who still had his eyes on the reunited troll-man and horse. "I say we make a move now, before it gets dark."
"...Huh? Oh, right, Yangus," replied Keal, his eyes down on the shorter, yet stronger man. "Farebury's only minutes away, we'll make it in time for evening." Yangus nodded and began heading off towards the path. Keal still couldn't quite believe Yangus had such a firm understanding of Trode and Medea's situation after only knowing them for two days. Maybe Yangus was just use to the weird, he thought, or he didn't believe the story at all and was only playing along. Keal and Trode had done their best to explain, of course Trode had slipped in slights to Yangus' appearance and intelligence the entire time so that might have changed Yangus' mind of the truth to the story Trode told him somewhat. But the story was a difficult one to understand. Keal looked towards Trode who was still hugging the mare. It was hard to believe that the king of the lands Keal was in now had really been changed into such a, well, distasteful form. And the Princess, Keal watched Medea as Trode harnessed her to the carriage, had been like her father transformed, but into a never-speaking, full horse.
"Keal! Come quickly, we can't waste any more time now! Farebury awaits," said Trode from his place on the carriage driver's seat. Keal with a pat to Munchie joined his king and princess' side.
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The path to Farebury had been short. Keal had walked beside the carriage the whole time, listening to Trode relate his story once again while he added his own word every so often. Yangus had rushed ahead to climb a hill and catch a glimpse of the well-known Farebury before jumping off and rejoining the group at the town's entrance.
"I wonder wot all that smoke is comin' off of," remarked Yangus. He was beside Keal on the small bridge into town. From Keal's vantage point, there was a large plummet of black smoke rising from somewhere in Farebury. It was dense enough to be visible from the clearing they had left. The smell of debris was faint, but not bothersome, in the still air.
"Maybe it's from a nice delicious barbeque being cooked for a tired, traveling king," said Trode, laughing a bit at his own joke before falling back into a frown.
"Oy, don't make me any hungry'ir, ya old codger," retorted Yangus. He rubbed his stomach. "Felt like it's been forev'er since I last 'ad a bite."
Trode glared over at Yangus. "You're not the only one starving, you fat..." Keal wondered if the 'arrgh' sound would come into insult again, but Trode finished his sentence with a new manner, "...oaf! All I had was some tasteless, stale bread..." Trode made a disgusted face, seemingly forgetting that Yangus and Keal too had only eaten bread. Then Trode went on, "And don't call me a codger ever again or else you will suffer!"
"Hey, the gate's opening," said Keal loudly to stop any more words to ignite between Yangus and Trode. Medea led the carriage in first while Keal and Yangus took either side of it. Trode smiled a little as they entered Farebury, the largest town in the kingdom. Neat houses and merchants' booths lined the cobblestone street they took. Passer-Byers took double and triple takes of Trode's appearance. Keal , a bit unnerved, took notice at how some townsfolk stared at Trode with more than just wary looks. Some looks carried what felt to be a deep animosity towards the green Trode.
The street lead to the town's main court. Being the in the center, the court had a large set of stone steps that lead to a quieter level above the rest of the town. Gently gonging bells counting the hour resounded from the church on the second level. A walkway above the middle of the court led directly to the church and offered townsfolk a nice look over the plaza. In the daytime the court was packed with people taking a stroll, kids hurrying along, shoppers bartering with buyers in their set-up stands, and guards filing for the safety of the town. When Keal, Yangus, and Trode arrived the throng of people was emptying but still in motion. The sky was at the orange tinge of evening, and Farebury was slowing down for the night. Trode drove the carriage to the side of an empty wall and pulled up Medea's reins gently. The horse brought the carriage to a halt then reared up and let out a loud, but yet dulcet, neigh. Trode jumped off the driver's seat to land neatly in front of Keal and Yangus. "Yes. Yes! Here we are. If my memory serves me correctly this is the place," said Trode taking in as much of Farebury as he could. "This is the town where Master Rylus lives."
Yangus squinted his eyes in confusion. "Hold yer 'orses, grandad!" he interrupted. "I thought it was Dhoulmagus we was after." Keal was confused too and surprised that Yangus could pronounce the name Dhoulmagus perfectly. The name that set an unpleasant knot in Keal.
"I AM NOT YOUR GRANDAD!" shouted Trode, a tick forming on his forehead. "And of course Dhoulmagus is our man!" Trode started a loud rambling at the name that caused more than a few people to stare more avidly at him. Much to Keal's alarm. "He's the one who turned Medea and I into such laughing stocks! But that dastardly magician can't hide from us forever! We must track him down and lift this confounded curse!" Trode lifted his hands into the air and added emphasis to the word 'confounded'. Then he glanced sadly at his white mare. "Oh! Just look at my poor Medea!" Trode grieved and spoke, Keal sighed thankfully, softer. "And we'd only just settled on her engagement to the Prince of Argonia...Oh, that despicable Dhoulmagus!"
"Guv, wot does cods-found-it mean?" asked Yangus. Turning his gaze off the energetic green Trode.
"I think confounded is the same as annoying," answered Keal. He checked the number of people near them. It wasn't too many, but he didn't want anyone listening into what Trode was saying.
"Thatss why itss imperative we locate Rylus!" Trode kept talking, ignoring Yangus and Kealss conversation. Trode didn't seem to notice the small crowd around them. "I order you to find him, Keal," said Trode in what sounded like an end-of-the-conversation-already tone.
Keal, worried and still as confused as Yangus, replied with a simple, "Why?" "Yeah, why?" repeated Yangus. With one eye he gave a blonde man who had wandered too close to him a threatening look; the man flinched away and ran like 'ell.
"Rylus is the very man who taught Dhoulmagus his meddlesome magic!" explained Trode rather exasperated. "Don't you see?" Trode bent his finger to Keal to lower his head. Trode said as quietly as possible but still hearable, "There's every chance Rylus will be able to give us a clue as to Dhoulmagus' whereabouts. Thatss why you must find him."
"Aren't you going to search for him too?" asked Keal, still with his head down. He whispered to Trode like he was giving away the secret of all secrets. "With more searching we'd be able to cover more area."
Trode shook his head. "No, I'll be waiting for you here. I don't want to wander around in this...state." He moved into the shadows near the carriage. "Now, go find Master Rylus, Keal, and inform him of my situation then implore him to give us assisstance," said Trode in the tone of a general issuing an order before an army.
Keal stood straight and nodded. "Understood, sir." He walked off without another word towards a second adjourning street out of the court. Yangus rushed after him. "You weren't thinkin' of goin' wivout me, I 'ope!" grunted Yangus. "I'm the best there is when it comes to lookin' for people. It's my 'piece de resistance' as they say."
'Did he just speak French?' "Really? Well, use it as best as you can. It's going to take awhile to search this whole place." As Keal walked down the street he could smell a stifling burnt odor getting worse and worse.
"I sugguesst we find the town bar," suggested Yangus. Getting into his 'piece de resistance', expertise, he added, "We can find out all sorts of info there, guv. It may be a bit shaky though, all sorts of people gather there, too." He lifted his face to the evening sky and breathed in through his nose in a quick snort. "Hey, do ya smell that?"
Keal, who had been pondering that very smell, just put the facts together in his head. "It's the smoke we saw from outside the town," he concluded. "We're getting closer to the source of it." He hurried down the street until he reached the source of the smoke; ruins of a house that had been completely and utterly burnt to the ground. Yangus cringed at seeing it. Keal guessed that Yangus was most likely thinking the same thing he was; this was probably all that remained of Rylus' home . Evidence to the point were magical objects like potion bottles, a broken wizard's staff, and an old book cover with a strange title but only dust for pages lying in ashes. An old man leaned on a wooden stick to the side of the ruins. His eyes focused morosely on Keal and Yangus. "This is the second time I've lost a friend to fire," muttered the elder. "It was horrible the first time, the flames engulfed more than just the house, it spread outwards...this fire though only burned his home," the old man slit his eyes as if in thought. "Lucky I guess, for the inn next door. And it happened so quickly too...nobody noticed the house was gone until morning...Nobody knew how long he had laid, burning."
Both Keal and Yangus tried to get another word from the man, but he had fallen into silence. The two continued to wander around Farebury, Keal asking a few people about Rylus. The townsfolk waved him away or refused to talk about the magician. Keal and Yangus were harassed only once by a guard who stopped to warn that he was keeping a close eye on them for being too suspicious-looking. Keal couldn't help but feel a little offended. Sure, his jacket was old and filled with some holes (from Munchie, he would say, but the mouse never nibbled on his clothing, the holes were completely Keal's fault), but it still looked nice. He wore a blue tunic and grey pants with leather boots, nothing out of the ordinary to cause suspicion. And his sword was allowed, everyone in this day and time of the world could carry a weapon for self-defense. Maybe the red bandanna on his head was standoffish, though Keal had never known head-ware to raise such an odd thought. That's when Keal realized that the guard was only talking about Yangus and completely disregarding him. But with a good glower Yangus had the guard leave quicker than he should have. When the sky held only a little bit of purplish light left, Keal and Yangus reached the upper level of Farebury and finally found the bar.
Lively music from a piano and a cheerful bunny-girl filtered through the pub as barmaids in short skirts flitted about filling up customers' mugs. The bar wasn't filled to the brim with people, but there was enough to create the atmosphere of a large crowd. Keal's face scrunched up; the smell of too much ale made his head hurt. A waitress stopped to watch Keal and smiled pitingly. At the same time Munchie poked his head out to see the bar then looked up at the sickening Keal. The mouse made a sneeze and dove deeper into the pocket.
Yangus took in the bar scene with no problem. He launched the start of the search for the information they needed. "So we're 'ere to find some Rylus geezer, right? Leave it to me!" Then Yangus saw Keal's face. He waved his hand high in front of the nearing Trode-green Keal. "Guv, ya feelin' awright?"
"I just need to sit down," mumbled Keal, and he headed towards the first empty seat he saw which was near the main bar. Yangus followed after him. The barkeeper on the other side of the counter paid no attention to Keal or Yangus.
"Haven't you had enough Mr. Kalderasha, sir?" The barman said to another man sitting a little ways from Keal and Yangus. "I'm sorry but I've got a business to run. This, er, haphazard fortune-telling of yours is costing me a fortune in free drinks!" Keal, even in his dizzied state, saw the man who the barkeeper was talking to. The man was dressed in an orange and red costume and had what looked to be a full afro-like head of black hair. Four or maybe five empty bottles sat in front of his flushed red face.
"WHAT!?" the black-haired man roared unexpectedly, he had been completely quiet when Keal had sat down. He pounded a fist down on the counter in indignation. "My fortune-telling...HAPHAZARD!? Are you a complete fool?" The man, Kalderasha, began mumbling furiously, "Let me tell you something for free. All fortune telling is haphazard! What do you expect?" Then Kalderasha went into a mumbling possibly drunken monologue. "Anyway, so what if I saw it? So what if I foretold the fire? If I'd tried to stop it, then what?! It would only have led to another disaster, that's what!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kalderasha, sir?" said the barkeeper nervously, "I don't follow. If you're saying you knew about the fire, shouldn't you at least have warned Master Rylus before -" Kalderasha broke into the barkeeper's words. "Yes...Poor Rylus...How many times I argued with the old man..I cannot believe he is gone..."Kalderasha reached for a half-empty bottle and began swallowing it all down.
"Did you 'ear that?" Yangus turned to Keal. Keal hadn't been able to hear some parts of the conversation but Yangus on the other hand seemed to have heard the whole thing. Keal had picked up the word Rylus and the last one Kalderasha had spoken. His lightheadedness was now joined with a companion called despair.
"Those blokes was talkin' about Rylus bein' gone." Yangus put a hand to his stubby bearded chin. "That one wiv the long 'air looks a bit shady, eh? Let's go an' see wot else 'e has to say about our man. I don't think fortune tellers charge ya just for a chat."
"Okay," answered Keal weakly. He stood up and, with Yangus standing at his back, was soon face to face with the fortune-teller.
"What!?" shouted Kalderasha, slamming his bottle down. "What is it? Hmm...YOU!" Kalderasha pushed himself out of his chair and looked at Keal in (yup, drunken) wonderment. He advanced closer to the bewildered Keal. Keal backed up, freaked beyond all freakiness at the fortune-teller's behavior. His lightheadedness was worse than ever and he felt like he was going to perform the second-most popular bar tricks known to bars: show what was digesting in his tummy.
"Come, show your face to the Great Kalderasha! Yes! Yeesss!" Kalderasha kept advancing on Keal until the bar door was thrown open in a loud bang.
"Quick, quick! Everyone come quick! There's a monster in town!" shouted a boy who was far too young to be entering a bar. Sudden murmurs and whispers of excitment passed through the bar and someone shouted "What are ye rattlin' about?" "Just come and see the whole town's gone crazy in the main square!" said the boy shrilly then he ran off. More than half of the bar's customers stormed out after him.
Yangus watched the crowd leave, alarm written all over his face. "This don't sound good. I wonder if that monster 'e was talkin' about is..." The color drained from Yangus' face. "Anyway let's go an' see for ourselves!" Yangus grabbed Keal by the back of his jacket and dragged him away from Kalderasha into the open air outside the bar. Keal took a large grateful gulp of air and ran off, faster than Yangus could, towards the court, specifically the one where he had left Trode and Medea.
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Yangus caught up with Keal. Guv was frozen where he stood looking at the huge, ear-deafening mob that filled the entire court. "Wot the...?!" Yangus gasped. Keal looked down at him at the sound of his cockney accent. Yangus couldn't believe that Keal was only standing there, doing nothing. "This ain't good, guv! Come on!" he prompted. "Look lively!" Yangus hurled himself through the mob to make way for himself and guv.
There were loud complaints issuing from the people being shoved, but Yangus quieted them with an elbow to their face. Near the front of the mob after others had been pushed behind, Yangus could hear clear insults and curses.
"Ugh! Look at it, it's so ugly!" cried a middle aged woman clutching a child to her skirt. "Ew! It looked at me! IT looked at ME!" screamed one man in near hysterics. "It's hideous," spat a tiny old woman near a large, muscle-bounded man who yelled, "GET OUT! You're not welcome here, you monster!" The man began a chat and soon others joined in and began chanting "Get out! Get out! Get out!"
Yangus could remember similar experiences to this and wasn't too peeved at all the noise. But poor Trode, standing helpless in front of Medea, was new to the whole thing. New to the whole being mobbed at by monster-hating townspeople thing. He looked miserable, but it grew even more so as the rock throwing began. "Keep movin', guv!" shouted Yangus as he kept an eye on Trode. Trode was huddled to the ground to avoid the worst of the rocks being pelted down on him. He cried out in pain at every little rock that hit his body. 'Wot a baby,' thought Yangus, but he pushed even harder to reach the poor troll-like Trode.
"Ow, OWCH, oh that was right in the...OH! Stop it, please, stop it before you hit AH! That's it I'm going to OOH, ARGHH," whined Trode. Yangus could tell Trode was almost at the point of screaming, and Yangus was about to shout back to the guv when the crowd suddenly quieted down. Rocks fell out of people's hands and landed on the ground with barely a 'thunk'.
"Holy Goddess..." mumbled Yangus.
Shielding Trode from the mob's sight stood the white-coated Medea. The people could feel that the mare in front of them was no ordinary horse. Medea stood firmly in front of Trode with a valiant look on her face that couldn't ever be matched by any other creature. But the mob's cries only stopped for a short second, soon they began screaming and yelling again, but less forcefully, as if still in awe of the horse. Then guv took Medea's reins and pulled her away from the crowd. "Excuse us, but we're leaving," Keal said calmly as he led her through the lessening cries.
Yangus was taken back. How had guv gotten ahead of him? Last he remembered Keal had been shoving through the crush alongside him. When had he slipped up front? Yangus didn't linger on the thought, he quickly shoved the remaining people in his way, grabbed Trode and followed guv out of there.
"And don't come back, monster! We don't tolerate the likes of you!" came the final shout from the mob .Yangus heard it echo in the town's walls as he and guv got Trode and Medea safely out of Farebury through the same gate they had entered through an hour earlier. The moon was high in the sky and owls could be heard in the distance, along with the sound of more dangerous beasts. Keal lead Medea onto the soft grass as Yangus roughly dropped Trode off onto the dirt path. "Are you hurt anywhere, King Trode?" Keal asked.
"Well, that was a fine reception!" yelled Trode over guv's concerned question, stomping a foot on the ground in anger. "Don't they realise who I am?!" Trode stomped more furiously. "Hmph! Judging a book by its cover! Don't they know it's what's inside that counts?!"
Yangus couldn't help but add his own bit into there. What Trode had said hit close to home, even though Yangus didn't like books much. "Yeah! You can say that again!" he said huskily.
Trode calmed down enough to address Keal. "So then," he said, still somewhat fuming, "did you manage to find Master Rylus?"
Keal replied slowly, "Yes, sort of...we didn't actually find him, so really no," He inhaled deeply then let it out. "We found out that Rylus is...dead." 'Couldn't 'ave worded it better meself,' thought Yangus as Trode took the news in.
"What!?" exclaimed Trode. "He's dead! Oh, no, no, no..." He began to pace and walked a little down the dirt path. Yangus thought Trode was distraught beyond any further words. Holding a respectful-like silence, Yangus imagined. "Well.." said Trode quickly speaking again. "I suppose there's no point crying over spilt milk..." 'People ain't milk, grandad.' Trode's quick choice in words quickly lowered Yangus' opinion of the green man.
"It's Dhoulmagus we're after!" Trode continued "He's the reason why Medea and I were so unfairly loathed by that unruly mob! Of course I had hoped Rylus might be able to help us locate him. But it seems we'll just have to track Dhoulmagus down by ourselves." Trode began heading towards the carriage. "With Rylus gone, we have nothing further to gain from staying here. Let's be on our way!"
A soft voice with a small accent hurriedly followed after Trode. "Wait! Please, wait." A girl, no older than 18, emerged from where she had been waiting near the town's bridge. She had soft light brown hair and watery deep blue eyes. She showed no hesitation in her manner. "I'm sorry to come running after you like this," she apologized. "It's just that...I wanted to ask you a favour."
Yangus looked first at Keal. Keal shrugged. Guv shrugging...Yangus would have to try and figure out what that was suppose to mean for later. Second he looked at the girl before lastly fixing his eyes on Trode. Trode raised his hand and spoke in the kind voice he reserved for the horse princess. "Are you not afraid of me, young lady?"
The girl shook her head. "I dreamt about you... I dreamt that some people came to town with a strange creature," she went on. "It was...sort of halfway between a human and a monster...And I dreamt that they could make wishes come true."
Yangus couldn't stop himself. He giggled like a ninny with a hand to his mouth. 'A girl...dreamin' about the likes of me and granda! That's a good one!'
Trode took the news in cold shock. "A strange creature!?" he repeated. "Are you referring to me?"
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be rude!" the girl held her hands to her face in embarrassment.
With Keal clearing his throat uncomfortably and Trode recovering from the insult to his pride, Yangus stopped laughing. Yangus took the hand he had used to cover his giggling and raised it to scratch an itch inside his nose. Trode gave a small chuckle. "Heh, not to worry. I've had worst things said to me today!"
Yangus could feel some of those word directed at him. He kept twisting his finger in his nose as he always did when conversations turned weird.
"You know, you remind me of my Medea," said Trode with a sad smile. "You're about the same age." He got back to the point, "Anyway, you say you had a dream about me? Most peculiar..."
"I'm sorry... I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Valentina, daughter of the great fortune-teller, Kalderasha." Valentina gave a small smile.
"You can may call me Ki- No, just Trode is fine. This here is Keal, the horse is Me- I mean," Trode tried to recover from that slip. He decided to finish with, "And this fat man here beside me is... Yangus." Trode said the name like it was diseased-ridden. Yangus didn't feel much of a blow though, lots of people liked saying his name like that.
"If you could just come to my house, Keal, Yangus, I'll explain my dream there," said Valentina, turning back to the town gate. "It's by the well, at the far end of town. Come quickly before my father gets home. I'll be waiting for you!" She ran back through the partially opened gate.
"Wot was she rabbitin' on about? Come round my 'ouse she says..." mused Yangus, taking his index finger out of his nostril. He couldn't make much of this situation and guv didn't seem to have anything to say about it either.
Trode, alternatively certainly had a lot to express about the scene. "Magnificent!" he shouted happily surprising both Yangus and Keal. Trode faced Keal and spoke faster than he had ever before. "She wasn't afraid to look at me at all! Not one bit! Ah, she reminds me of my Medea! We must give this young girl a helping hand! Right then, Keal my boy! Go and find the house by the well and see what it is she wants!"
Keal stared at Trode in what Yangus guessed to be a tired and surprised anxiety. "But what about you and Medea...and doesn't that girl seem sort of-"
" Hm?" Trode was still in his magnificent-ing mood. "Me? I'll wait here with the Princess. We don't want to cause any more of a stir." At that last sentence the good mood disappeared somewhat. Trode walked, hunched over, to Medea and put a hand on her side. "Now go find that kind girl and help her with what she wants."
'Oy, no way. It's midnight and I'm tired and I ain't gonna go look for some bird who wants me to go grant 'er a wish! Do I look like some magical jenie?'
"Okay, King Trode," said Keal, resigned. He looked towards Yangus. "Coming with me?" "O course, guv," answered Yangus promptly, forgetting his complaints and also resigning himself. So with Trode waving a sleepy hand behind them, Yangus followed guv back into the town to find the fortune-teller's daughter. 'And grant 'er a wish or whatever it is she wants.'
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Keal reached for the knob of the two-storied house that was in far northern tip of town nearest the well. Keal and Yangus had trouble finding the house just on Valentina's description. It had the same structure and look as all the other houses by it. But it was unlike the other houses in the way that the fortune-teller Kalderasha lived there. The Kalderasha who earlier appeared to be a bit too deep in the bottle for Keal's liking. Before Keal could twist the door's handle and enter, Yangus tapped him on the shoulder.
"I'm gonna wait out 'ere, guv," said Yangus leaning against the well. "If that Callarasher bloke comes back then 'e won't be too freaked by me bein' in there...if ya catch me drift." Keal understood. Any father would be freaked out finding a guy talking to their daughter at night. Any father would be beyond the edge of the netherworld finding the image of Yangus talking to their daughter at night. That would lead to another mob fiasco, almost certainly. "I'll be back out soon then," said Keal with a nod then he walked in the lightly lit house.
Instantly the houe lost it's ordinary feel.The front room was decorated with thick purple curtains, draperies, and rugs. Along the walls hung strange masks and other magical items Keal knew nothing about (he only had two spells down after all). Centered in the middle of the room was a circular table with a mauve cloth draped over it. On the table sat a large clear ball and an assortment of tarot cards. In the chair behind the table sat the sleeping Valentina.
She awoke seconds after Keal had just noticed her. "Ah! You came! I'm so sorry! I, I must have drifted off. How rude of me!" Valentina straightened her clothes but didn't get out of her chair. She dived into conversation before Keal could let a squeak out. "I wanted to ask you a favour about this crystal ball...oh...Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. Perhaps I should start at the beginning?" Valentina paused long enough for Keal to nod his head and say 'Yes, please,' politely. "Of course, let me explain," Valentina divulged Keal the predicament. "My father, Kalderasha, was once a really famous fortune teller. Lost treasure, missing people, there was nothing the Great Kalderasha couldn't help people with. Hundreds flocked to him from everywhere to have their futures read. But then, one day he lost his powers. All of a sudden, nothing he foretold turned out to be true any more. It's probably because he stopped using a real crystal ball." Valentina reached out, lightly touching the ball on the table. "This glass ball isn't - "
The door burst open right at that moment and in the doorway stood the once great fortune-teller himself. "Valentina! What is going on here!?" Kalderasha strode into the room. He addressed his daughter curtly and with little warmth. "How many times have I told you not to touch my crystal ball?" Kalderasha then turned on Keal. "You?! Aren't you that boy from the pub?!"
"Yes, I was there to-" but Keal wasn't given the chance to finish.
"What brings you here?" demanded Kalderasha. And before Keal could answer that Kalderasha threw up his hands. "Gah, never mind! I do not know what my daughter has asked you, but you can forget it! I do not need your help! I am fine as I am."
'So,' Keal concluded, 'Valentina has had other dreams about others granting her wishes before us?' That took a little of the mystique out of the encounter. Keal wouldn't tell Trode though and ruin the fun for him.
"I am going to bed," Kalderasha announced, already at the stairs. He began ascending the steps, but he gave one last sharp look at his daughter. "Valentina!" he ordered. "Say your farewells and show our young visitor to the door." Then Kalderasha slammed a door behind him.
"I'm so sorry about my father," Valentina looked down during her apology. "But whatever he says, he's the one really suffering since he lost his powers. That's why I wanted to ask you this favour." Valentina lifted her eyes to Keal's and put her hands together earnestly. "Can you find him a crystal ball? One that's big enough to bring back his powers?"
"Er...what?" asked Keal stunned from such a forward and vague request.
"In my dream, you and your creature-friend traveled to the cave under the waterfall to the south of town," explained Valentina. "That's where a true crystal ball is. Please, will you go there for me and help me aid my father in bringing his powers back?"
Keal knew no other kind-heartered person could say no to such a plea. Yet again, no smart person would actually agree to such a crazy request. But Keal knew what Trode had said so he replied with a simple, "Yes."
Valentina smiled at him, elated. "Oh how wonderful! So far everything's come true! Thank-you so much for-" but Keal was already out the door at that time, joining Yangus beside the well.
"We know wot we gotta do now. Better report back to the old codger then, eh?" said Yangus after Keal explained what Valentina wanted. "Mind you," at this Yangus gave out a long yawn, "I'm pretty knackered. I thought givin' up the old bandithood would mean I could keep more silverised hours! But life on the straight road don't seem no better in that area."
"True," replied Keal, just as tired as Yangus. In his mind Keal probed Trode back a smidge. "Let's go to the inn we saw earlier. Fifty-four gold pieces is more than enough for two beds." Keal took a fist-sized tan sack out of his pocket to be sure of the coins within. He placed the money-sack back in his larger bag and walked off, Yangus, without a word, trailing a little ways behind him.
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AFTERWORD: (pant...pant...pants...pant) THE END!...of the first chapter. Long-little-doozy, huh? For an imcompe-tent writer like me and for being composed all within one awake mema, I'd say I'd done only half as bad as I had knew I would do. From five in the afternoon till nearly two am in the morning. Breaks in-between of course. Short breaks. I'm a slow writer. REALLY slow writer. Not much of proofreader though, but I double checked this at least two times over so if there's a grammar mistake...it's Munchie's fault. This chapter is a lot longer than I had planned. The beginning bit with all the character intro was a bit too long, but...eh, I was too tired to delete some of it. Anyone kind enough to send reviews or writing tips please do so, but I suspect I shall get few. Being my fanfic.(sigh) I need to end on a positive note so...now, for every chapter at the end there will be a funny. An attempted funny. So...you know, you could review the funny instead of the story. Just a suggesst, though tips would be welcome with open arms. Oh, and as you can tell, I HAD TROUBLE ADDING KEAL IN THERE, freakin' mute. When I feel like I'll do a little character profile thing for him... But hey, first chapter, remember? Go easy on me, I have a weak bone structure. ANYWAYS, here's the funny outta the first part of the chapter. They'll always have weird names and have something to do with the chapter, nothing to do with the story.
--------The Guard's True Terror! And Horror! And, Horror pronounced in that funny accent, 'Orror!
(in castle blankedty, the guard stands amidst the terror of the vine-y thorns) Guardsman: HOLY HOLLY...the castle...the castle...it's been transmaformed into a botany exhibit! AHHHHH! The 'orror! The 'orro! And I don't even have a green thumb!..But look at how strong these vines are though, the greenhouse people are gonna be happy they were killed by healthy plants like this. Oh, and look at this flower bloomin' out of this dead guy's mouth. it's so purdy! Ah, I mean...AHHHHHHHH! THE PLANTS, THE PLANTS ARE EVIL! I must flee from here! (jumps off balcony) AHHHHHH( weeeee)HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHg. (lands on vine) Oh, lucky duckies, this vine here broke my fall. (tries to get up, loud bone-hurting snap) Oh, nevermind. My spine broke my fall..mmmmmg...That's gonna make it pretty hard to get up.
AND that's the first funny (lame). My goal is to always make one person at least THINK OF LAUGHING in a chapter of whatever I write. At least one person, at least one thought laugh. That's what I aim for. ANYWAYS, thanks for reading this, anybody reading this. Expect chapter two to be shorter (don't worry, I'll force-short-it and try to improve as much as I can) and up by next weekend. Even if I only get one viewer, I'll still continue it, I love Dragon Quest 8 too much and Yangus' accent to quit so soon anyways. So byes for now. (oh, and in case you were wondering the g at the end of the scream, AHHHHHHHg, stands for grapes, I like grapes.) Okay, now byes.