Mike AZ 2 here, I can't apologize enough for the wait. Thanks Frosfire05 for the review. This intermission chapter may be shorter than the others and has no action. It's also kind of sad, but hopefully it will be the last chapter like that.

Disclaimer: The Dragon Quest series is the product of Square Enix.

Chapter XXVII: Perk up, Patty.

The six returned from the Granite Tunnel of Woe, having recovered an ancient treasure map. The Gladiator, Trent, remarked"So what did you think Equinox was on about?"

"Who knows? We can't know for sure since we dispatched him" shrugged Arianna.

"The next grotto might hold another map, that's one thing I'd like to think for sure" smirked Conrad.

The violet-haired Celestrian shrugged"We will never know until we go there. The hidden grottos contain powerful monsters, some may be even more powerful than Equinox."

"You know this?" asked Alicia, stunned.

"Not for certain" responded Arianna.

It was nearly the middle of the night when the friends returned to the Quester's Rest. Erinn greeted them with a smile"Welcome back, you must be tired after being out so late."

"We can use a rest, thirty gold should be enough, correct?" inquired Arianna.

Erinn nodded"Close enough, you have been given a special staff rate after all. Sweet dreams."

Arianna paid Erinn, and the six headed up to the bedrooms. Trent and Arianna elected to share a room, as there were enough available for a group of two each. The blond thought for a moment"Hey Arianna, do you think Aisha and Raymond will quit when they get married?"

"That's up to them, but I suspect that Raymond won't. That's still a few weeks away, but we could always recruit new Adventurers if needed. As for me, I will continue questing as long as possible with you by my side. Maybe, just maybe we can build a house somewhere peaceful, if we earn the money that is" whispered the Celestrian.

Trent blushed"I guess."

"Let's get some rest, tomorrow we'll decide what to do next" said Arianna.

The following day began as usual with the group readying themselves by getting dressed and having breakfast in the parlor. While they ate pancakes and/or salad, Trent spoke up around a bite of his portion"Think we'll end up helping someone, today?"

"Maybe" said Sasha.

"Always a possibility" said Arianna, who was munching on her salad.

Raymond grinned"Everyday is just so interesting."

The group finished their breakfast and headed back to the lobby. Erinn and her colleagues were minding the inn from behind the counter as usual, though Patty was resting her head on the desk.

"Huh?" Trent stopped to see her.

Erinn, who was watching over her colleague, turned to Arianna"Patty woke up this morning all tired and depressed. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind cheering her up?"

Arianna nodded"Very well" and went over to the counter.

Trent addressed Patty"What's up?"

"Hm?" The usually happy manager of Patty's Party Place looked up"Oh, just thinking about something."

"What were you thinking about?" asked Trent, curiously.

Patty sighed"I was actually thinking back to my old adventuring days. Back then, I was friends with Pheobie, we both traveled the world as Adventurers. She was a brave Adventurer, but we eventually parted ways at a nomad village."

"A Nomad village, huh?" piped Conrad.

"We've been to one, remember? Batsureg is the only nomad village we know of" said Arianna.

Trent walked over to Erinn"She's been thinking of a friend of her's. Do you know someone called Pheobie?"

"Is that what's bothering Patty? I see. No, I don't know Pheobie, but maybe you can go see if Pheobie's there and if she'd like to visit" replied the Innkeeper.

Trent shrugged"I guess that's our job for the day."

"We must head to Batsureg" acknowledged Arianna, walking out the door. Her three friends followed as the Celestrian walked outside of town.

"How come we have to be outside town to summon the Starflight Express?" wondered Trent.

"There just no point alarming the poeple needlessly" replied the Celestrian just before blowing on Sterling's whistle. The golden train landed shortly before them and they boarded.

"So what's the destination?" piped Stella.

"We're headed for Batsureg" said Arianna, taking the controls.

The group flew the Starflight Express to the north-east continent and landed near their destination. Trent breathed in the fresh air for a moment"Where do you reckon Pheobie is?"

"I have no idea, we should check on Batzorig and his father" responded Alicia.

"I agree" murmured Sasha.

The six headed into the village and straight for the Chieftain's tent. Batzorig and his father were happy to see Arianna when the group entered the chieftain's tent"Welcome back, how fare you?" asked Batzorig.

"It's good to see you again, have you seen a woman named Pheobie?" inquired the Celestrian.

Batkhann was surprised"Hm? Pheobie, you say? She's dead. The warrior fought bravely to defend Batsureg from monsters several years ago."

"I see, my apologies for bothering you" murmured Arianna.

"It was no trouble. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?" asked Batzorig.

Trent shook his head"No, but thanks for the info."

The group said farewell to Batzorig and his father again before leaving. Arianna stopped for a moment to glance at the nearby pond. Trent glanced at her"What's up?"

Arianna shook her head"I thought I sensed the spirit of the fallen warrior, but for now we should go back to Stornway."

"You're right" said Sasha.

Using a Chimera Wing to return to Stornway, Trent and the others went back into the inn. Patty was still feeling down when they entered, but Arianna knew she had to tell the truth"Patty."

"Yes?" asked the older woman.

"I'm sorry, it seems that your friend passed away" said Arianna.

"I see" Patty felt saddened and shocked at the news.

Trent addressed Arianna"So what now? You said that you thought you felt the presence of a dead warrior, right?"

"Yes, and I think that warrior is Pheobie. We'll need to go back at nightfall" nodded the violet-haired girl.

"It is quite a ways till then, let's rest up" piped Sasha. Arianna, Conrad, Trent, Aisha and Raymond nodded.

Erinn addressed Arianna"I could not hope but overhear. Would you like to work part-time?"

Arianna nodded"Of course, there is little else I can do at this moment."

While the Celestrian went to work, Trent walked outside. Aisha followed her brother, curious"What's up?"

Trent stopped for a moment, a blank look on his face"Aisha, I can't help but think. You know, Arianna and I have known each other for a while, so I thought I could ask her out on a real date sometime."

"I imagine she'll like that" smiled the female Sage.

"Yeah, I'm kind of embarrassed to think of it, though" flushed the younger blond, walking towards the nearest item shop. Aisha followed her brother so she could check the item shop for anything helpful.

"Welcome, what can I do for you two?" smiled the shopkeeper when they entered.

Trent went over to find a selection of commitment rings in the corner. Aisha glanced to where her brother was looking"You do realize that love and marriage is serious business."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to have a look, wait a sec. That turquoise seems a bit cheap" said Trent, glancing at a particular ring with a turquoise jewel on top of the silver band.

Aisha walked over to look at it"It still has a steep price. We should have the cash required to buy it, though."

"Okay" Trent picked up the ring and walked over to the shopkeeper. The man charged the blond two hundred gold, which he gladly paid.

Aisha smiled as she went over to some herbs to look at them"Reminds me when Raymond got me a ring like this, engagement rings however are likely to be far more expensive."

"I guess" said Trent, flushing.

The two purchased some supplies before returning to the inn.

Evening came before long when the six gathered and summoned the Starflight Express. On board, Trent addressed the rest of the group"Something tells me we might need the Pride of Bloomingdale."

"That's somewhat out of our way, the ship is back at Lleffan" frowned Sasha.

"Let's go there, anyway" responded Arianna.

The group flew the express back to Porth Lleffan where the group located the Pride of Bloomingdale at one of the docks. Boarding the ship, Arianna and her companions readied to sail and took off for Urdus Marshland by boat.

The trek would take them over two hours, so Conrad and Sasha proceeded to play a game of I-Spy. The brunette Ranger spoke"Hm, I spy with my little eye something nearly black with white dots."

"That would be the sky and stars, silly. How about this? I spy with my little eye something brown."

"A boat?" guessed Conrad.

At the helm, Trent smiled a bit at the scene before continuing to steer. Eventually, they came to Urdus Marshland and used the Zoom spell to hurry over to Batsureg where Arianna had sensed a ghostly presence.

"Hm" The Celestrian searched the nearby pond and stopped when she saw the ghostly figure of a young armored woman.

Trent stopped behind her"Is that the spirit?"

Arianna nodded before addressing the wondering soul"Are you Pheobie?"

The spirit turned to see Arianna, surprised"Yes, but who are you?"

"I am Arianna, I heard that you had died. You were friends with a woman called Patty, correct?"

"Yes, we were adventuring partners" said the spirit, hesitantly.

Arianna spoke"Is there anything we can do to help Patty? She is feeling depressed at the moment."

Pheobie frowned"I see, well, may I ask you a favor in return? I seem to have lost my way when I strayed from my grave, I vageuly remember where my body was buried. Can you take me to the Khalaag Coast? It is north of this village."

"Of course" said Arianna.

"I appreciate it, but I must insist on following you and going by boat. If you fly by any means, I'll lose sight of you" requested Pheobie.

Arianna nodded before turning to her friends"Let's go to the Khalaag Coast, but we're going to take the Pride of Bloomingdale."

"Perfect, I hope I don't get too seasick" muttered Conrad.

The group, accompanied by Pheobie's ghost, returned to the Pride of Bloomingdale and sailed for another half-hour towards the Khalaag coast. Trent addressed Arianna"I know this is a bad time, but I was thinking about asking you out."

"You'll have to do that sometime tomorrow, but I would accept. But please don't say anything else, okay? Steering the ship requires immense concentration" replied the Celestrian.

Their destination came into view, shortly. Trent glanced around as they disembarked"Seems like a lonely place."

"I agree, but let's go find Pheobie's grave" said Alicia.

The group traveled a ways until Arianna found a single unmarked grave. Addressing the ghost, she asked"Is this your resting place?"

Pheobie nodded and went over"Thank you, there is a token of Patty's and my friendship in my grave. Can you take it to her?"

"Of course" responded Arianna.

The ghost nodded gratefully and settled into her grave. Trent walked over and dug around for a bit before finding a slightly dirtied old pendant, the spirit spoke once more"That is called a Friendant, I gave it to Patty before to honor our friendship."

Arianna thanked Pheobie before leading her comrades back to Stornway with the Zoom Spell, Trent took the time to clean the pendant. Returning to the inn, they found Erinn still awake"Hey, you all must be tired from being out so late."

"Yes, we need to rest" replied the Celestrian.

"Okay, good night. This one is on the house since we're currently outside business hours. I was waiting for you" smiled the Innkeeper.

The following day found the group heading downstairs, but they headed to the front desk instead of the parlor. Patty was still moping, Arianna could see a black circle over her eye.

"She's still thinking about Pheobie, huh?" said Sasha, sympathetically.

Trent pulled out the pendant and addressed Patty"Hey, good morning."

The older woman looked up"Yes?"

Trent replied"We met Pheobie's ghost, as unbelievable that may sound, she wanted us to give this pendant to you."

"Really?" asked Patty.

Trent handed the pendant to Patty, who was overwhelmed with happiness"So she hasn't forgotten our friendship... Maybe she is still watching over, thank you."

"Feeling better now?" inquired Sasha.

Patty let out a smile"Why, yes. Thank you very much, I am ecstatic that you gave this to me! Why, I would be willing to come along with you on your adventures sometime, just like the old days where Pheobie and I traveled together. Back then, we were known as the bombshell buddies."

Arianna was shocked"I-I'm glad you're feeling better, but are you certain you would join us?"

Patty beamed"Why yes, just give me a holler if you need me. It's been a long time, but otherwise I would be glad to come with you. If Erinn approves, of course. Oh, and I can't really be seen leaving very often."

"That's quite all right, and we'll be honored to take you up on your offer, sometime" responded Sasha.

Patty smiled, put the pendant away and added her name to the list of adventurers on her Party Planner Roster.

Trent addressed Arianna"Hey, I bought you something yesterday."

"What might it be?" asked the Celestrian.

The Gladiator reached into his pocket, pulled out the turquoise ring and handed it over"I thought you'd like it. It's called a commitment ring, kind of preliminary to an engagement ring."

"Of course, it is an honest gift" said Arianna, smiling slightly.

Erinn and Patty watched with a knowing smirk at the scene. Arianna paid them no heed as she spoke with Trent"So from this moment on, you and I are officially courting. Dating opportunities may be a bit scarce in my line of work however, would you be okay with it?"

"Yeah, I would wait as long as it takes" replied Trent.

Arianna nodded, satisfied"So shall we get started on our next expedition?"

"Yeah, I would like to know where the next grotto might be" said Trent.

Cliffhanger time, and sorry again for the wait. I did my best to lighten the chapter a bit at the end. Though Trent and Arianna are now courting, I'm still going to add another seven or eight chapters. Though I will cover the extra character-related sidequests, the dialogue might not match the game's.

Please feel free to review.