Hey, thought I'd post another chapter in this Dragon Quest fic. I would also like to thank Legojunkie and Witch Halloween for adding this to their favorites.
Oh, and I usually use Horizontal Ruler Lines to switch to another character's point of view, but in thie fic it'll signify a lapse in time. Spoken word is ", thoughts will be dipicted by '.
Okay, I'd best move on to the chapter itself. Oh, and all standard disclaimers apply: The Dragon Quest series was developed by Squaresoft.
Chapter II: Brigadoom
Trent, Arianna and their two teammates woke up early the following day to locate Princess Simona's former caretaker.
When they found her and learned of an old nursery rhyme about the Right Knight and Brigadoom, The group was astonished as they headed out of town.
"I can't believe what we just learned" sighed Trent.
"Should we report back to the castle?" inquired Raymond.
Arianna shook her head"No, not yet. We still need to find more information, and the only clue we know of about the Wight Knight is that old nursery rhyme that Princess Simona heard from her former nanny."
Just then, the four heard a scream and ran towards the entrance to Zere.
There, the Wight Knight was trying to ask the villagers about Brigadoom, but his imposing, skeletal figure just caused more scares.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" said Trent.
The Knight addressed the four"Hm?"
"My friends and I just learned of the Right Knight, could that have been you?" inquired Arianna.
The Wight Knight replied"Yes, that's what they used to call me in Brigadoom. But how did you know of it?"
"The Princess of Stornway told us to learn of an old rhyme about Brigaddom" said Alicia, informing the Knight about what the old woman back at the north westernmost house told them.
The Knight was surprised"Surely I could not be a mere frigment of some old storyteller's imagination. Ah well, there's nothing for it but to follow the bird's example and head north."
As the Wight Knight headed north, Arianna turned to Alicia, Raymond and Trent"Brigadoom is north of here, let's follow him and check it out."
"Really? Count me out, old ruins scare me from the sound of it" sighed Trent.
"Oh, don't be such a fraidy cat, Trent. You can't hope to surpass dad if you're afraid of visiting even an old relic like where we're going" said Alicia.
The four stocked up on more supplies before heading for Doomingale Forest.
As they reached the forest, they came across some poisonous pools with a couple of grassy paths.
"Is it safe?" wondered Arianna.
"By the looks of it, we just have to be careful not to set foot into those puddles" said Alicia.
"I see a path just to the right, let's take it" suggested Trent.
The four proceeded deeper into the forest, occasionally fighting a monster or two that happened to cross their way.
Soon, they reached what appeared to be an old ruined castle. At it's gate was the former Right Knight.
The knight was shocked at the sight of his old home"What has happened here? What could have happened to Princess Mona?"
"Looks like either a battle took place here centuries ago, or maybe it just rotted from the ravages of time" said Alicia.
The Knight went on ahead to investigate the ruins.
"Let's head in" said Arianna to her group, glancing at a staircase which led into the ruined courtyard.
Trent squared his shoulders"Here goes nothing."
As they headed in, a group of Drackies attacked.
"Sizz!" cried Raymond, blasting two Drackies.
Trent and Arianna tackled the remaining Drackies, while Alicia kept her allies alive with her restoractive magic.
"There may be more of these things, stay alert" said Arianna, after the monsters were slain.
The four headed to the west side of the courtyard, where they found some stairs which led to the castle basement.
"What a dreary place" groaned Alicia.
"I'll go first" said Arianna.
The trip down continued until they encountered five skeletal warriors.
"Bring it, boneheads" said Trent, drawing his blade.
Two of the skeletal fighters clashed with Trent, with the other three threw their skulls. Raymond zapped one of the other enemies with a Crackle spell.
Arianna rushed to Trent's aid, while Alicia overpowered her target with an expert kung fu move.
"How did you learn to fight like that? I thought Priests couldn't do that" said Raymond.
"Even I have to learn some form of karate, my martial arts techniques are connected to this" said Alicia, showing him a wooden staff.
"Now that's impressive" remarked Raymond.
Arianna managed to strike down two of the skeletal warriors attacking her and Trent, while the male warrior toyed with his opponent before taking it down with a double slash.
"Great work, team. Let's move out before those boneheads decide to pull themselves together" said Arianna.
The four went up another flight of stairs three rooms over to find themselves on the castle tarrace.
More monsters, some of them spellcasters, accosted the heroes, but they were dispatched with some effort.
"Might these creatures be the vengeful spirits of the denizens of Brigadoom?" said Raymond.
"I don't think so" said Arianna, leading the way to the northernmost door.
Inside, they traversed downstairs into what appeared to be the castle's throne room.
There, the Wight Knight was confronting a humanoid monster with wings, fangs, long hair and a dagger.
The Wight Knight demanded of the creature"What have you done with Mona? What happened here?"
"Ah, ha, ha, so you returned. Now, you will once again be under my spell, we shall not be parted" said the monster.
"Morag, you fiend, I will defeat you, as I set out to do years ago" said the knight.
Morag sneered"Yet it is I who defeated you. Try as you might, you can't escape. Regardless, you are too late."
The Wight Knight lunged at Morag, only to be stopped by a powerful spell.
Arianna and her group rushed onto the scene.
"Ah, intruders. You come to challenge me?" growled Morag.
Trent stood before the demoness"So you were manipulating the knight. Are you then responsible for the attacks at Stornway?"
"Hmph, I don't know what you're talking about. Now, prepare to be cursed yourselves!" growled the monster.
Morag cast a curse at Trent, which Arianna intercepted by jumping in front of the warrior.
The demoness was shocked"How did my spell not affect you? You looks like a common mortal. Or maybe... You are one of 'them'?"
"That's right, believe it or not. I will send you to the depths of the netherworld where you belong" said Arianna.
Morag growled and flew at the purple haired Minstrel, almost hitting her with the dagger.
Alicia cast a Buff spell on Arianna, while Trent moved to clash blades with Morag.
Trent was barely able to parry and dodge most of Morag's swipes and stabs, but the demoness hit the warrior with a spell.
Raymond cast Crackle on Morag, which the demoness countered with another attack spell.
Alicia healed Raymond and Trent, while Arianna chanted a spell and danced.
The blond swordsman felt mysterious magic power course into his veins. Feeling empowered, Trent lunged once more at Morag.
The demoness blocked most of Trent's blows with her dagger before the swordsman stabbed her.
As Morag faded into thin air, The Wight Knight despaired"I had come home... but I was to late."
"You are not too late" said a voice, as the Princess of Stornway entered the room, accompanied by two soldiers.
"Hm?" The knight glanced at her.
Princess Simona smiled at him.
The two stood before each other, then soon embraced each other into a dance.
Arianna and her group watched as Simona and the Right Knight danced at the center of the room. Soon, a warm glow enveloped the knight.
The man, or what was left of him, gasped as he spoke"I see, so you are Mona's..."
"I knew you were the Right Knight from the old tales" said Simona.
The Wight Knight glowed until he faded into the afterlife where he could be with his fiance.
"All that for a love story... how surprising" remarked Trent.
Simona addressed Arianna"Thank you. A reward is waiting back at Stornway."
"It is we who should thank you, your majesty. You have helped the knight find peace and rest" said Arianna.
"Not at all" smiled Simona.
The group followed Simona and her two guards back to Stornway Castle.
At Stornway, Arianna and her friends spent the night before going to Stornway Castle.
King Scottford and Princess Simona greeted them.
"Ah, you came back. Princess Simona explained everything, the knight was having a rough old time with it, eh? I have misjudged him after all" said the king.
"Yes sire" said Alicia.
The king spoke"You may access the treasurey upstairs. The contents of the treasure chests there are yours to take as a reward."
The four thanked King Scottford, then went to partake of the treasure upstairs.
As they left the castle with the reward, Arianna stood before her group"Well, team, our job is done. Now I must depart."
"You're looking for your homeland, aren't you?" said Alicia.
Arianna nodded"I am just happy to help you. Farewell, I wish you good luck."
"Same to you, I hope you find what you're looking for" said Trent.
The four disbanded. Trent, Alicia and Raymond went back to the inn, while Arianna seemed to linger a bit longer in front of Castle Stornway before proceeding to leave town.
That's it for this chapter. I apologize for my lack of details in some areas, but I haven't played Sentinels of the Starry Skies in a while, so I may not be as accurate as I would like.
I know there wasn't much fluff, but I will add some in later chapters.
Please feel free to review.