The next chapter is up and running. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Dragon Quest XI is Square Enix's creation. Same goes for the rest of the series.
Chapter XXVIII: The Ceramic Tunnel of Joy
The group went to the parlor to discuss their plans for the day. Arianna took out the map they got from the Granite Tunnel of Woe and studied it"The next grotto is... hm, this looks too easy."
"Why is it?" inquired Trent.
The Celestrian replied"Apparently, it is hidden somewhere on the hill near Angel Falls. I have to admit I've never fully explored the hill just outside Angel Falls Village, but still..."
"First time for everything" remarked Raymond.
"Would you guys mind if I come along?" smiled Patty.
"No offense, but you might just get in the way" said Trent.
Arianna shrugged"Actually, I wouldn't mind as long as we don't encounter anything too dangerous. Patty, the treasure map that Trent and I are looking at just now describes a hidden grotto somewhere near Angel Falls."
"Interesting, that all the more wants me to come" grinned the older woman.
Trent squared his shoulders"Guess we're heading towards the hill near Angel Falls."
"The quickest way is to Zoom to Angel Falls and go from there" spoke the Celestrian.
Patty walked around the counter to join the group up front"Well, what are we waiting for? Erinn, I'll be going out for a bit. Could you mind my Party Plance while I'm out?""
"Okay, good luck" smiled the Innkeeper.
"The more people in our group, the slower we'd have to move" Sasha pointed out.
"Alicia and I will stay, then" piped Raymond.
Alicia shook her head"You stay, I am the Primary Healer of our group, remember?"
Conrad squared his shoulders"I wouldn't mind taking a little break. Why not, Sash? Want to join me?"
"Sure, if Arianna doesn't mind" replied the Paladin.
The Celestrian nodded"It is all right with me. Patty, would you mind staying close to us for this expidition? I can't say how easy I'll be able to protect you on the way, otherwise."
"Ah, you're sweet. No worries, I have a dagger on hand" smiled Patty.
Arianna nodded, then led her team out of the inn. The group headed southwest of Stornway, towards the Angel Falls region. Conrad and Sasha remained at the inn and went into the parlor to relax.
"So where does your treasure map say the grotto is?" piped Patty.
"Somewhere on the hill, I can sense it" replied the younger woman.
The group climbed the hill and looked around. Trent could not help but breathe in the fresh air"The view is just breathtaking."
"Yeah, the view is beautiful" breathed Aisha.
The Celestrian looked around, checking carefully on each inch of the hill for a unsusual spot. At the hill's center, she found a strange, tall section of grass covering a hole on the bottem.
"That's odd" remarked Aisha, catching up to her leader.
"Indeed. Trent, use your sword" said Arianna.
Trent nodded, and drew his sword to begin chopping the grass down. Patty pulled out a dagger and pitched in with cutting down the grass, until a staircase was revealed.
"Something tells me that wasn't there a moment ago" commented Raymond.
Aisha was puzzled"How on earth would these tunnels somehow appear?"
"Maybe the answers lie in the grottoes themselves" supplied Trent.
"Well, let's check it out" chirped Patty.
The group entered the strange hole and emerged into a tunnel with a slightly lighter landscape. Trent checked the grotto map"This must be the Ceramic Tunnel of Joy."
"Something tells me the name's just for show" remarked Patty.
"Indeed" nodded Arianna, leading the way.
The group entered the ruins, Patty chatted away with Arianna"This certainly reminds me of when we first saw each other. I was pretty rusty at adventuring when I was going through the Hexagon."
"I heard that the place used to serve as a road to Stornway" remarked Trent.
"So what happened?" asked Aisha, curious.
Arianna shrugged"It was around the time I first set out, before everyone except for Erinn, who I've known since... Actually, I first saw Erinn when Master Aquila and I beat back a couple monsters that almost ambushed her and her grandfather. The Hexagon was no cakewalk, though I managed it easily enough."
"How dangerous is it these days?" asked Trent.
The Celestrian replied"Still horrible, I imagine. Some passages were blocked by debries. The Hexagoon, which I ran into while rescuing Patty, was strong but somewhat slow."
"You're just really well experienced" smiled Aisha at who she could help but hope will be her eventual sister-in-law.
"I've trained since I was a child, though I am certainly nowhere close to Master Aquila's level of skill" replied the Celestrian, calmly.
Further down the tunnel, they came accross some Tree-like monsters and a couple Tearwolves. Trent drew his sword"This should be a piece of cake."
A Tearwolf lunged at the blond, who dodged and stabbed the monster with his sword. Arianna blocked as the other Tearwolf clawed at her and kicked it back. Patty smoothly darted around and stabbed the monster with her combat dagger.
Raymond smoothly dodged as the two Treevils ganged up and clawed at him. The Sage smirked"I'm not in the mood to fool around with you guys" and countered with Kaboom.
Aisha sighed as she watched the male sage singe himself a bit in the process and healed him"Must you fool around in a dangerous place?"
"Hey, why not?" grinned the male Sage.
"Hey Patty, that was impressive" remarked Trent.
Patty grinned"Did 'ya know? When traveling with Pheobe, the two of us were known as 'the bombshell buddies', I was mighty good at fighting back in the day. It seems I've still got it."
Arianna smiled briefly"Well, if we're all okay, I think we're about to the end of this tunnel."
The group eventually came to another set of stairs. Arianna paused for a moment"Hm, this aura... It feels similar to Equinox's. Patty, you might want to stay back, there could be a powerful monster down there."
"Oh, don't sweat it, I can keep up with you all" smiled the older girl.
"Either way, we're already pretty deep inside" said Aisha, walking down the stairs. The others glanced at at other for a moment and followed. Arianna could hear a low growl coming from the other end of the lower tunnel as they descended.
"What the heck could that be?" wondered Trent.
"I think we'll find out, shortly" replied Arianna, cautiously walking towards the source of the growl.
The group headed down the tunnel. In a chamber at the far end, a large green-coated beast with greenish wings and a yellow mane stood in the chamber, blocking the way to another one at the end.
Arianna cursed under her breath"I ought to have known."
"What?" asked Trent.
The Celestrian replied"That monster is called Nemean, a legendary beast that was sealed underground in ancient times. This is the first time I've seen it up close."
"Maybe we should keep our distance" muttered Raymond.
"Too late" cried Trent, drawing his sword as the massive winged beast lunged, clawing at him. Trent staggered and countered with a Falcon Slash. Nemean dodged and let out a breath of flame at the group.
"Ugh!" The group was burnt by the fire. Raymond got up"I'm not afraid of you, Kacrack!"
The monster barely shrugged off the spell and lunged, clawing at Raymond. The male sage dodged while Trent attacked Nemean with another Falcon Slash. Arianna hurried to back Trent up and slashed down at Nemean's side. Nemean shot another fire breath in retaliation.
"This is getting out of hand, Omni-Heal!" Alicia had quickly cast a group-healing spell on herself and her companions. Raymond attempted to follow it up with a accelerate spell for his companions, only for Nemean to unleash Disruptive Wave.
"Buffs don't do any good, eh? How's this?" Patty darted forward and diced Nemean in the face. The monster swiped back with its claw in retaliation, only to get a Boom in the face from Raymond.
"Gigaslash!" Arianna let loose a magic shockwave from her sword, piercing Nemean. Nemean jumped backward and blew another breath of flame, but not before Alicia cast Insalute on the group, lessening the flame's impact.
"Your turn, Kaboom!" Raymond threw another spell, singing the monster's fur. The furious Nemean flew up and threw another burst of flame, which the group dodged. As soon as the Nemean landed, Trent rushed forward and dealt a flurry of blows to the monster's face. The Nemean reared back to pound Trent with its claws when Raymond let loose another Kacrack spell.
"Ha, that did it" smirked the mage.
"Not quite" said Aisha, pointing.
Arianna readied her blade as the monster, which had been nicked near the heart by the ice spell, spat one more burst of flame at the group. Arianna jumped over it and slammed her sword down onto its thigh. Nemean jumped into the air to spit fire from above when Aisha and Raymond blasted the creature"KABOOM!"
Before the group's eyes, the monster seemed to rear in pain as it collapsed back onto the ground, hard. Trent watched as Nemean seemed to slowly vanish into thin air.
"Some Grotto Guardian" remarked the male Sage.
Arianna glanced at the chamber ahead"There might be another grotto map ahead."
Trent squared his shoulders and walked into the room beyond. The others followed closely. At the next chamber, Trent found a treasure chest and opened it, revealing another grotto map.
"Wow, even though we didn't find real treasure, we have a map" remarked Patty.
Arianna nodded"Yes, it seems so." Retrieving the map, she read it"Hm, it looks like the next grotto is somewhere in the region near Bloomingdale, Granote Tunnel of Despair...' Hm, well, let's get back to Stornway for now."
"Certainly" grinned Patty.
"Aisha, how bad were the burns?" asked the male Sage.
Aisha shrugged"Not too bad, though it certainly did burn. Hopefully the next Grotto Guardian won't be as tough."
Arianna shrugged"Let's just worry about going back to Stornway and resting up."
The Celestrian cast Evac, warping her and her friends out of the Ceramic Tunnel of Joy.
How is this? I just couldn't figure out how to make the chapter as long as possible. The next one covers Sellma's sidequest: Has Sellma sold out?
Please feel free to review.