Mike AZ 2 here, another day and another chapter. This one is mostly talking, aside from some more backstory and bits of fluff. I apologize in advance if this turns out to be another boring filler chapter. I try to be as detailed as I can, just thought it would be awkward to just skip to certain parts of the main story. Some chapters are not going to have as much action as others.
Disclaimer: The Dragon Quest Series is created by Squaresoft.
Chapter X: Slurry Quay and Dourbridge
Following the events of the previous day, the heroes recupperated at the inn, and got up to ready themselves to continue the quest.
As they went to the beach, Arianna addressed her group"You know, we may be a little tight on funds at this point."
"I still have some travel money left" offered Sasha.
"Is there anything we can do at Slurry Quay when we get there?" inquired Trent.
The Celestrian pondered for a bit before replying"Like we discussed, there may be some odd jobs here and there we can do. Money aside, we may have to travel by water, for which we will need to buy or build a ship somewhere."
"Point taken there, so should we get going?" grinned Raymond.
"First we should find someone who will ferry us to the next continent" replied Arianna.
The group headed south east, when they ran into Jona.
"Oh, good morning" said Sasha.
Jona inquired"You're leaving aren't you, Sasha?"
The Martial Artist smiled"Yes, there is much that I have to do. I don't know when I'll return."
"Not to be blunt, but we need to find a ferry to take us to the continent east of the Port" said Arianna.
"The Ferryman is operating just south of here" said Jona.
Arianna nodded"Thank you, Jona. So what are you to do now?"
"Most of the villagers are now fishing on their own, I too will fish for a living. Sasha, you are leaving again, aren't you?" said the younger girl.
The Martial Artist put a hand on her shoulder"Yes, but I will still think about you, my master and our hometown. I am sorry about your father, but now you can do what you want, right?"
"Yeah, good-bye Sasha" said Jona.
The six heroes headed for the dock to find a boat, and a man standing by it.
Arianna addressed him"Excuse me, but would you mind taking me and my friends to Slurry Quay?"
"Hm? Oh, no problem ma'am. But I'm afraid I'll have to take two trips" replied the man.
Trent, Arianna and Sasha boarded the boat with the ferryman and slowly sailed from Porth Llaffan.
"Sasha, look" said Trent.
The black haired martial artist turned to see her father, Master Johansan. She murmered"Farewell, father. I will come back sometime."
The older Martial Artist nodded, then said"I place my trust in your friends. It is not everyday a father lets his daughter travel the world, good-bye."
The boat sailed for the better part of twenty minutes before reaching the beach, where a small Port lay just ahead.
Arianna paid the ferryman before leading Sasha and Trent to the Port.
"That's Slurry Quay, right?" said Trent.
Sasha nodded.
As soon as the three entered the Port, which consisted of two buildings, Arianna spoke"We will rest here while we wait for the others."
The three wondered to the first building, which turned out to be a makeshift inn.
"Arianna, want to spar again? I need more practice" said Trent.
The violet haired teen smiled"Why not? The exercise will do us good."
The pair went a good distance from the Port, while Sasha went to check out the shops nearby.
"Ready?" Arianna took her sword out.
The two lightly swung their blades, carefully maneuvering so that they didn't hurt each other.
While Arianna and Trent were sparring outside, Sasha was conversing with the owner of the item shop, purchasing a couple magic bottles while selling excess herbs.
When she was done, the Martial Artist dropped her bag at the inn before going to a room to meditate for a bit after paying for her and her friends' stay for the evening.
Back at Porth Llaffan, Raymond, Alicia and Conrad waited a while for the ferry after checking their supplies.
"Arianna sure is a mysterious girl, huh?" said Raymond.
Alicia shook her head"In some ways, perhaps. But even knowing Arianna's true nature, do you really doubt our leader?"
"No, but how would a Celestrian possibly lose his or her wings and Halo?" said the Mage.
The Priestess sighed"Who knows? But as fellow adventurers, and members of the same party, it's not our place to question the leader of our group. Best watch what you say or you might get kicked off this team."
Raymond shook his head"I'm not doubting anyone, I just wonder."
"No one can understand the whims of the Almighty. Conrad, what do you think?" said Alicia.
Conrad shrugged"I would've thought she was talking poppycock if not for the Starflight Express and the fact that Arianna can see things that we can't. Otherwise, I'm a bit of an athiest, not that I really don't believe in the Almighty."
Alicia sighed"You never change. Raymond, you have anything else you want to say?"
Sensing the challenge in his girlfriend's voice, Raymond shrugged"I just wanted to talk for a bit. Waiting for the ferry is kinda boring."
"Hey, I see the boat coming back" said Conrad.
The ferryman returned in his boat, addressing Alicia"Hey, getting on? Your friends went on ahead to Slurry Quay."
"Yes" replied the Priestess.
Alicia, Raymond and Conrad boarded the boat, the ferryman immediately began piloting it back to the opposite shore.
Raymond addressed Alicia"Kinda feels like we're world travelers, now, eh?"
"No kidding, I never expected a journey like this" breathed Alicia.
"The world is so vast, like the flow of the river, time never ends" sighed the Mage.
"Hey, that was very poetic" smiled the Priestess.
Raymond flushed"I happen to be sentimental right now. After all, since we don't know if we'll make it home alive..."
"Don't say anything negative, lest it comes true" said Alicia, her hand on his shoulder.
"Lovebirds" muttered Conrad.
"Heard that" said Raymond, cheekily.
Trent and Arianna's sparring session lasted ten minutes before they tired.
"You understimate yourself" said Arianna, sheathing her sword.
"What can I say?" said the Gladiator.
"Well, let's rest before going back to Slurry Quay" said Arianna.
The pair sat down, gazing at the sea and sky.
"You know, the view is quite pretty. You ever see the sea much?" sighed Trent.
Arianna shook her head"Up on the Observatory where my fellow Celestrians live, one can only see sky, and the outline of the Protectorate is not much to look at from there."
"Oh, the Protrectorate is what you call the land below that, right?" said the swordsman.
The Celestrian nodded"Yeah, when I was but a child, I sometimes heard from the older Apprentices and their teachers of this beautiful land. That was before I was trained to become the Guardian of Angel Falls in my teacher's stead."
"Sometimes my mother would speak of mysterious beings who were unseen by the mortal eye. Ha, one time I asked dad if he thought the mythical Sentinels of the Starry Skies were real, imagine her and my sister's embarrasment. Dad told me that while I shouldn't believe everything I hear, never doubt it if divine intervention saves your life, gave me a good earful. He was kind, but strict when it came to discipline" smirked the Swordsman.
The purple haired warrior shrugged as she pondered how much she could say without cutting close to unintentionally speaking against her superior"My master, Aquila was pretty strict himself, but I couldn't have had a better teacher, though I was nearly fifteen when I trained under him. Sure teachers and parents see more of our faults then we'd like, but it's the only way we grow up."
"Yeah, I guess" sighed Trent.
"But what made you ask him?" wondered Arianna.
The male Swordsman shrugged"Ah, dunno, just that Conrad and I got into a fight about it one time."
As the two glanced at the sea for a while, the ferry came into view. Conrad, Raymond and Alicia disembarked to meet them.
"Anything interesting happening?" said Conrad.
Trent shrugged as he and Arianna stood up"Nothing much."
Alicia smiled"Well, we can tell otherwise. Anyway, have you paid for a night's stay at Slurry Quay's inn, yet?"
"Yes, now we should really get going" said the Celestrian.
The five traveled towards the inn and went in. There they met with Sasha.
"I got a bit of information from the item shopkeeper in this Port, said something about another town east of here" said the Martial Artist.
"What did he, or she say?" inquired Arianna.
Sasha replied"Dourbridge is not that far off, but it takes another half day's march. Beyond that is a fork in the road: To the northeast of Dourbridge is a mountain range called the Hights of Loneliness, southwest of that is the village of Bloomingdale."
"Was there anything else?" said Conrad.
The Martial Artist sighed"We may have to get more info at Dourbridge, the locals at this Port don't travel all that much. Monsters have been appearing in parts of the countryside these days."
Arianna nodded"We have nearly enough information, the Hights of Loneliness might have something there. That should be our next destination."
"Maybe, maybe not. Sasha, what do you think?" said the male brunette.
Sasha replied"If we have to travel the whole world for the other five Fyggs, that is what we must do."
"She's right, after all, there's no mountain high enough and no valley low" smirked Raymond.
"All right, let's get some sleep and move on in the morning" said Arianna.
The next day, the group marched on to Dourbridge. Monsters such as the Bewarewolf and Dread Admiral occasionally accosted the heroes, but they were dispatched, but not without slight injuries to the heroes.
"How are our supplies holding up?" sighed Trent, applying a heal herb to where he got burnt.
"We should have enough" said Alicia.
Before long, the group came to a bridge with a small town beneath it.
Arianna breathed"Okay, let's try to find a few odd jobs to gain more funds. If we run out in the middle of nowhere, we'd have to zoom back to Stornway."
Conrad shrugged"I'll try to find more information, here. Maybe we can learn more about Bloomingdale and the Hights of Loneliness."
"Ugh, this place seems filthy" said Alicia, making a face.
"Can't be helped" sighed Sasha.
Raymond put a hand on Alicia's shoulder"No sweat, let's take a gander."
"Okay" said the Priestess.
As the group split up to get information and earn money from temporary odd jobs, Arianna looked farther across the bridge to find a mysterious sight.
The ghost of a young woman was standing not too far away, before approaching the purple haired warrior. As the ghost got closer, Arianna felt a tinge of regret and determination from the spirit.
The ghost woman examined Arianna before speaking"Oh... How could... No, silly me, mistaking someone for a Celestrian. What was I thinking?"
The purple haired warrior watched as the ghost walked in the opposite direction.
"Did something happen?" Trent had turned around from walking to the actual village of Dourbridge.
"I thought I saw... No, forget it" frowned Arianna.
The male Swordsman pressed"I heard a voice, but didn't see, who was it?"
Arianna replied"I don't know for sure, but someone else needs my help, though our mission to retrieve the Fyggs takes priority."
"I guess we should follow the others, then" shrugged Trent.
"You're right" said the Celestrian.
As Arianna and Trent went down to Dourbridge's main district, she thought'There was something about that ghost girl. She looked like she was in a hurry... As if she were searching for a lost loved one. I must find the other Fyggs before I can possibly investigate, but who is she looking for?'
The two went into the main village where they caught up to Conrad.
"Find anything?" said Trent.
The brunette replied"Remember the medal I found in the Quarantomb? I just realized that a man called Max Meddlin' lives in the eastern area. He's a former pirate who collects medals."
"Can we trust him?" frowned Trent.
Conrad shrugged"I don't know, I only heard rumors here and there. Let's go."
The three went through Dourbridge, until they entered a tent.
There, they met a man wearing a pirate captain's hat.
"Oh, who might ye be?" said the man.
Conrad replied"Sir, I am Conrad. I found something you might be interested in."
"What might that be? I be Cap'n Max Meddlin', if ye have any mini medals, you can pawn them off to me in exchange for a rare treasure."
The younger brunette took the medal out of his pocket and handed it over. The older man grinned"Ah, that be enough for a Thief's key my friend, if ye had three more. If ye bring me more mini-medals, I'll be willing to part with it."
"We'll be happy to help you out, but where would we find mini medals?" said Trent.
The middle aged man replied"Ar, here and there, in out of the way places mostly. Now be sure to come back if ye want to trade in some more mini medals that ye might find."
Conrad Trent and Arianna exited after bidding farewell to the mini medal collector.
Outside the tent, Alicia was waiting.
"What's up?" said the male Swordsman.
The Priestess replied"I heard what was happening, Conrad is lucky that the legendary Captain Meddlin' isn't as cutthroat as he sounds. Anyway, Raymond found a odd job for us to do."
"What's that?" said Trent.
Alicia smiled"He's already at it, selling off some items and doing requests for some of the townspeople. Oh, and Conrad, Sasha asked me to tell you not to talk to too many shady characters."
"I appreciate her concern, but some people should mind their own business" sighed the male Brunette.
"Let's just go, it sounds like we'll be here all day" said Arianna.
I hope it wasn't too boring or rushed, but another chapter is finally complete. I believe I owe an apology for taking this long, but what can I say? Oh, and I couldn't resist adding my OC from the previous chapter one more time.
As for Max Meddlin', I know he had no role in the main storyline, but I wanted to expand this chapter as much as I can. Don't get me wrong, I won't cover much about the Mini Medals, or some of the other side quests.
Hm, I probably should change one of the genres of this fic to Tragedy at this rate, since some of the side stories in DQIX were kind of sad, but I'd like to hear an opinion. Don't get me wrong, I like DQIX for the most part, just that it gets a little sad in a couple places.
Anyway, please feel free to review.