Well, here is another chapter. I made Arianna seem a little too angelic so far, didn't I? I'll do my best to elaborate on the characters' personalities. If I'm lacking in too many areas, or if this comes too close with another fanfic, you can go ahead and chew me out.
This chapter is mostly talking, but it has more backstory for the four OC adventurers.
Again with the Disclaimers: Dragon Quest was created by Squaresoft.
Chapter I: Loch Storm and Zere
Arianna, Trent and their two companions marched on north west of Stornway, seeking Loch Storm and the Wight Knight.
"So where are you from, Arianna?" inquired the Swordsman.
"Why do you ask?" inquired the Minstrel.
Trent shrugged"No reason, I'm just curious."
Raymond spoke up"Hey, lovebirds! We're getting close to our quarry."
Arianna rushed ahead towards Loch Storm.
There, at the cliff, Trent spoke to Arianna"This is where I tried my luck against that ghost knight, whatever he is. It was laughable when I crossed swords."
"I see. Well, let's wait here." said Arianna, calmly.
The day was slowly going by, when Alicia spoke"Hey, as long as we're here, why don't we have a little picnic? I packed up some lunches on the way out."
Arianna thought for a moment, then said"Why not? Hey, Raymond, you're on lookout okay?"
"No problem" smirked the Mage.
The Priestess laid down a blanket, and the group (except for Raymond) sat down for a small lunch of sandwhiches and chips.
Arianna tried her best not to act as though she'd never seen a sandwhich, she spoke with Trent and Alicia" How are things in your hometown?"
Trent sighed" Not so good, Alicia and I left Coffinwell in search of a cure for the contagion that's become epidemic there. Mom died, and father's bedridden, which is no way in my opinion for a swordsman to go."
"And you expected to find that in Stornway?" inquired the Minstrel.
Alicia shook her head"Nope, the checkpoint between Stornway and Coffinwell closed shortly after we arrived in Stornway."
More time passed until evening, Trent sighed" You know what? I reckon that we may have miscalculated."
"Oh, you mean the Wight Knight is not here?" inquired Arianna.
Stella, who was invisible to all but Arianna, sighed"Why do I get the feeling that if I turn around he'll be right behind me?"
"Hm?" spoke Arianna, glancing ahead to a nearby hill, where a strange sight greeted the group: A dark clad knight upon a horse descended upon them and spoke"Hm? Who are you?"
"You might remember me" said Trent, standing up and drawing his sword.
The strange knight brandished his lance"Where is she? Release the princess, Mona."
Trent lunged forward, only to be knocked backward.
Raymond cast Sizz (A fire spell) on the Wight Knight, who charged right at him in retaliation.
Arianna knocked the mage out of the way, only to be impaled by the weapon.
Alicia healed the Minstrel, while Trent clashed blades once more against the knight.
Raymond cast Sizz at the Wight Knight's face (or should I say his skull), while Arianna dealt a blow to the being's torso.
The Wight Knight staggered, while Arianna spoke"I think you got the princess of Stornway confused with someone else."
The knight was astonished"So she's not Princess Mona? Hm, come to think of it, she wasn't wearing the royal necklace of Brigadoom. I shall go to the castle to apologize for my mistake."
Stella whispered into Arianna's ear"I'd talk him out of that if I were you."
The Minstrel shrugged"Um, actually, you probably should stay away from the castle. You're already on the king's blacklist, and I doubt he would be willing to let you explain."
The knight nodded"Very well, I shall simply return home to Brigadoom."
The minute the Wight Knight left, Arianna sighed"You know, guys, that knight seemed a little too troubled to be a mere villain."
Trent rolled his eyes"I'm not done with him yet, but what shall we tell the king?"
"Let's go, I'll explain things to them" spoke Alicia.
With that, the four retreated back to the castle.
Once there, Alicia addressed the rest of her friends"It's been almost a week since Trent and I accepted the king's quest, let me do the talking okay?"
Trent, Arianna and Raymond nodded then headed in.
At the throne room, the King of Stornway spoke"Ah, Trent and Alicia, right? How did it go? I was starting to consider hiring another adventurer after not hearing from you for three days."
"Not so good at first, but thanks to Arianna and Raymond here, we drove off the knight. That's not all, we have obtained information about why he threatened Stornway" said the Priestess.
King Scotford furrowed his eyebrows"What might that reason be?"
The four adventurers explained as best they could to the king about the Wight Knight's motives.
The king frowned"So the knight lost his memory and mistook my Simona for his Fiance? Hpmh, a likely tale. I've never heard of Brigadoom, he must have been lying! Go make sure the Wight Knight is no longer a threat!"
King Scotford's daughter, a young woman with blond hair, was shocked"Father, why do you refuse to believe his story? Why do you have such a low opinion and what has the knight ever done to you?"
Alicia sighed as she addressed her companions"Looks like we can't get hold of the reward for some time yet."
Arianna nodded"Let's go."
As the Adventurers headed out of the throne room, Simona caught up and said"Wait, can you come speak to me in my room?"
"What for?" said Trent, impatiently.
Simona replied"Its just that I've heard of Brigadoom, now could you please come with me?"
The group headed for the princess's bedchambers. There, she spoke"I'm sorry about all this, if we spoke of it in the throne room my father would try to interfere."
"You said you knew of Brigadoom, Princess. Was there anything new we should know about?" said Arianna, respectively.
Simona nodded"I heard about it in a nursery rhryme that my caretaker would sing to me when I was a little girl. Anyway, the Wight Knight is not the evil character my father thinks he is, I just know it. To help the knight, you must first head over to Zere where my old caretaker lives."
"Then that's our next goal, only thing is, that knight is more Ex-Human then he looks. I'm not entirely sure about this" sighed Alicia.
"It's our best chance, sister" said Trent.
"Trent's right, Alicia. Let's go, team" said Arianna.
The four adventurers departed the palace and headed north-west to Zere.
Along the way, the swordsman addressed Arianna"I don't mean to pry, but where'd you lean to use a sword? You were amazing"
"I had a good teacher. Sure he was somewhat strict, but my teacher was the closest thing I've had to a father" said the Minstrel.
"What was his name?" inquired Raymond.
Arianna shook her head"Sorry, I can't say more then that. Even if I told you everything, you wouldn't believe me."
Alicia sighed"Well, sure you are an enigma and all, but forcing you to talk won't do any good. Raymond, how much farther is Zere?"
"Probably a half-day's march, give or take. Hey, Arianna, what's your plan after this quest is done?" inquired the Mage.
The Minstrel replied"I'm on a personal quest of my own. My hometown was struck by an earthquake, I am worried about my people."
Trent shrugged"Well, I'm just glad to have met you. Will we see each other again after this whole mess with the Wight Knight and Brigadoom is done?"
Arianna thought for a moment"I can't make any promises."
"We're almost at Zere, let's stay at the inn, gang" said Alicia.
When they got to the inn, the innkeeper recognized the mage"Hello, Raymond. Here to stay for the night?"
The mage nodded, then put down some gold"We need at least two separate rooms."
"Understandable, we have a room for the guys and one for girls. Sleep well."
As the four headed upstairs, Arianna addressed the mage"How do you know the Innkeeper?"
Raymond replied"Zere is my hometown, that Innkeeper is my mother's sister. I decided to become a Mage to put myself to good use because of the monsters lurking outside town. That was three days ago, somehow I knew that Mages would be high on demand."
Alicia spoke to her friend"All three of us have our dreams. What's yours, Raymond?"
"You're studying to become a Sage, but me: I'm mostly in it for adventure, but I think we'll all find our destinies" said the Mage.
Arianna interjected"Well, let's get some sleep, everyone. We have a long day tomorrow, good night."
Trent smiled"Same to you, Arianna."
The group went to their respective rooms to sleep for the night.
Short chapter, huh? The next one should be longer.
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