Next chapter done!
Enjoy! ;)
Chapter 4: Returning the Crystal Ball
[BGM: In the Dungeon Depths – Dragon Quest VIII]
When we all finally came out of the stairs, the first thing we saw up ahead was a large waterfall that filled another shimmery underground lake, while torches lined the path that led up to it. This area was also devoid of any monsters, which honestly really gave me the creeps a bit.
"Hey! Look over there!" Aya pointed to the waterfall. "There's something in front of that waterfall! I think it might be the crystal ball!"
"Nice! Let's check it out!" Yangus said.
As we approached the waterfall, I could actually see a small floating silvery sphere directly in front of it while giving off a faint twinkle, and it became clear to me that this must be the crystal ball we're looking for. And indeed; the crystal ball was just standing right there, hovering in mid-air. It must be very mystical if it was even able to do that.
"All right! We found the crystal ball!" Marisa exclaimed. "Just as Valentina had predicted!"
"Great! Let's get it!" I smiled as I reached out my free hand to it… oooonly for a large monster to suddenly pop out of the waterfall, making me pull back my hand in startle as I let out a surprised cry, while Yangus and the girls gasped.
The monster in question was an orange-red Merman, but appeared to have a large bump on his forehead with an X-shaped scar, as if he had been hit by something really hard on the forehead. Aside from that distinguishing trait, though, he looked just like an ordinary Merman monster. But what's odd, though is that I heard that Merman usually only live in saltwater environments, so I guess this one must be the only one of his kind to live in a freshwater environment.
"Wha ha ha! Surprise, surprise! Meet Geyzer! I am the master of this waterfall!" the monster, Geyzer, spoke with a heavy lisp, not unlike that of a snake. "Oh, how long it's been! How many people have gone and come!" …Umm, don't you mean 'come and gone'? "Ten long years and more I've waited! Ten years, I tell you! All the time hoping for the left one…I mean, the right one to come…" Oh, lord… Does this guy seriously have a tendency to get words mixed up? "But enough with the introductions! Now for the troment of muth!" …Yup. And speaking of which, I recall Jewel once telling me that there's a trope for that. I believe it was called… Malaproper, I think? "Does this brystal call…er, crystal ball belong to you?"
As I was getting ready to answer, I could've sworn that I just heard one of the girls snickering from behind me. Might be because she had found Geyzer's mixed up words funny (and admittedly, I also thought the same but I didn't want to show it). Either way, I replied to him, "Well, yes… but we actually came to-"
"Ha ha ha haaa!" but Geyzer laughed madly before I could finish my sentence, as he was now trembling in anger. "At last! At last we feet, mace to mace, you halfwit human!" and while I was trying to speak up, I also heard that the same girl who was snickering now sounded like she could hardly contain her laughter. "Now I'll teach you a moron! Argh! I mean a lesson you won't forget!"
"…Pffffft…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" and at this exact moment, the girl couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing hysterically. I turned around to see who it was… and it just happened to be Cirno, who had also fallen to the floor while laughing.
"Hey! What's so funny!?" Geyzer scowled.
"I'll teach you a moron… OH, that was a good one!" Cirno said in between laughs.
This only made Geyzer angrier. "Augh! That's it! I'll get all of you for this… especially for that one making fun of me!" then, he suddenly leapt out of the waterfall while swiping his claws at us, but we all jumped back from that attack in time.
"Get ready!" I hollered, putting down my torch before drawing my weapons, and we all got ready.
[BGM: Defeat the Enemy – Dragon Quest VIII]
I and Yangus began Psyching ourselves Up as Geyzer swiped his claws at the girls, but they flew away from his attacks and fired danmaku at him to stun him, then I and Yangus went right to work on him with our enhanced attacks. Geyzer snapped out of it and attempted to burn both of us up with a Sizz spell.
"I don't think so!" Aya said and swung her fan to blow a gust of wind that crawled along the ground, dispelling the flames away from me and Yangus while also hitting Geyzer for good measure.
"Thanks!" Yangus thanked…before getting immediately swiped by Geyzer's claws. "Agh!" he yelled and then Geyzer did the same attack on me, but I rose my shield to block it as Youmu came over to him with a spell card.
"Life-Cutting Sword: Slash of Nether Meditation!" she called out as she channeled her katana with green light and slashed Geyzer, knocking him back while I quickly healed up Yangus.
"Divine Arts: Sky-Conquering Wind God Kick!" Reimu called out as she flew over and delivered a string of repeated ascension kicks at Geyzer, before swinging her gohei down at him to send him slamming hard onto the ground.
"Gah!" Geyzer yelled before recovering. "That's it! Take this!" he put his claws down low and brought them high, creating a wave of dark mist that traveled along the ground at a high speed towards Reimu.
"Reimu, look out!" I shouted as I pushed Reimu out of the way and got in the way of the wave knowingly, and so I braced myself for the worst. But then… just as the mist was about to hit me, it suddenly evaporated almost instantly as a barrier of light shaped into a strange dragon-like symbol (you all might already know it as the Dragovian symbol) appeared in front of me. I stood there in complete shock, since it was something I had never seen before from me. Even Geyzer couldn't believe it just from his reaction alone.
"Eight, how did you…?" Reimu asked, being equally as shocked as I am (and perhaps the same could apply to Yangus and the rest of the girls too).
"I…don't know…" I breathed.
"This cannot be!" Geyzer exclaimed in disbelief. "How did you not get cursed?!" Oh, so that was a cursed mist? First I became immune to Trodain's curse, and now to this one? Now I knew that this can't possibly be just a mere coincidence at this point: somehow, I might've gained the ability to be immune to any curses since it's impossible for someone to be born with this naturally. But now it was not the time to think about this; I have a fight to finish!
I shot Geyzer a determined glare as I readied myself while saying, "No idea, but you shouldn't have dropped your guard like this!" then I ran over to Geyzer and slashed him, hitting him on the forehead.
"YARGH!" he yelled in pain while clutching his forehead. "No, not there! Anythere but where!"
My eyes perked up in realization by that action. Of course! His scar is his obvious weak spot! Knowing that, I turned to the others and told them, "Everyone! Aim for his forehead! That's his weak spot!"
"Is that all? Too easy." Remilia smirked charismatically and took out a spell card. "Certain Kill: Heart Break!" she called out and fired a red spear-shaped bullet that hit directly on Geyzer's forehead, followed up by Alice sending her dolls armed with spears to stab it repeatedly, Cirno conjuring up a small iceberg before slamming it onto it, Marisa firing a bullet of stars from her broom along with Reisen firing a red beam from her eyes at it, and finally ending this off with a Psyched Up Yangus giving one last good bash at that scar.
"YOOOOOOOOOOW!" Geyzer screamed in agony, and then he fell to the ground in defeat.
[BGM End]
"Argh! The pain, the pain! Oh, my old wound!" Geyzer exclaimed in agony, clutching his forehead again. "Ever since I got this, I've not been right quite. And it's all because of you!" he yelled angrily and pointed an accused finger at me.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" I shot back, annoyed. "I'm not even the one who put this stupid ball down here!"
"What!? Then you… You're not the true owner of this crystal ball! No! The shame, the shame!"
I sweatdropped. "Well, duh. I was trying to tell you that-…" Once again, I was cut off by him:
"So strong! Strong enough to withstand my fearsome might! You are no tortune-feller!"
Cirno snickered again. "Heh, tortune-feller… Another good one!"
Then, Geyzer began staring at me quizzically. "Wait! Could you be…? The waterfall rears many humours, you know. I hear that a castle called Trodain has been cursed. That it was run over…overrun by thorns. And that only one person inside survived." Oh, no… I could feel that memory coming back, and this set an unpleasant knot within me…and it only got worse as he continued, "He set off on a journey, leading a corse and hart with a lone driver." I just stood quiet as I blankly stared at him in order to mask my true feelings for that bitter memory about that fateful night when the curse hit.
…What's that? You all want to know what happened? Sigh… Fine. At least from my perspective, it went off something like this…
[BGM: Obscure Sentence – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]
I remember it all too well… I was on patrol as usual during my night shift, and everything seemed pretty normal to me until…it happened. The sound of a vile scream filled the air, along with giant thorns shooting out from the castle's main balcony. These long tendrils creeped and snaked everywhere, engulfing and destroying everything in the castle. I was too shocked and scared to run away, and before I knew it…I was hit by a large debris in the head, which knocked me out instantly.
When I came to be, the dust and destruction had ceased, and complete ominous silence overtook them aside from the sounds of sorrowful winds. As I got back on my feet, I could only stare in horror as I saw the entire castle (and by extension, the western balcony I was on) completely entrapped by those thorns, with large vines holding tight to the castle's walls and spires; some even breaking out of windows and the thick grey stone of this now dull castle. But the most horrifying thing that I saw from this aftermath as I ran through the hallways…was the fate of those living in the castle: they have all been turned into humanoid plants, with their limbs having been replaced by thorns and their faces were punctuated with small thorns…while also sporting looks of horror on them, as if they were about to let out an unheard scream. That sight alone made me feel as if a cold knife had pierced me and left a chill in my blood… and man, do I never want to feel that way again.
So…yeah. And while Trode and Medea avoided suffering the same fate as the rest of the castle's residents… I, however, was the only human who escaped the curse completely unharmed, and I didn't know why back then. But now that I saw that light that had protected me from Geyzer's curse before, the answer became clear to me. Still, I really want to figure out why do I have this strange phenomenon of being immune to every type of curse since based on what I had stated before, I highly doubt that I was born with it. So you could say that the goal of my journey wasn't just to break the curse on my home kingdom where I was raised; it was also to discover my true identity that you and I know today.
[BGM End]
But anyways… Back to where we left off right after my flashback…
"As I thought! That was you!" Geyzer exclaimed, and from the corner of my eyes, I could see that Yangus and the girls were looking at me in surprise. "I don't know what you want with this crystal ball… But it's yours now. I accept dehands… Or is it defeat?" he then grabs the crystal ball and hands it to me.
Trying to ignore the surprised looks from my companions, I reached out my hand and took the ball, then I put it into my knapsack.
"One last thing!" Geyzer spoke up as he turned to leave. "Should you meet the true owner of this crystal ball, tell him this for me!" he takes a deep breath…and suddenly shouted from the top of his lungs, "DON'T THROW THINGS IN THE FALLWATER!" that definitely made me flinch in startle, not unlike back with Trode's sudden outburst, then I nervously nodded my head in response. "So, ware thee fell! Oh, the pain, the pain! The pain of my old wound!" with that, he dove into the waterfall and left.
"Cor, I s'pose that Geyzer geezer's 'ad a bit of an 'ard time of it, really." Yangus stated. "I mean, gettin' whacked on the 'ead like that wiv a crystal ball! Must be awful not bein' able to talk proper, like." So true… I almost feel bad for Geyzer now. "But why'd Kalderasha throw it away in the first place? That's wot I don't get."
"Neither do I, Yangus." I shrugged. "But it isn't doing us a bit of good to just stand around here anymore."
"You're right." Reimu nodded. "We got the crystal ball now, so let's head back."
"But wait, are we really just going to walk all the way back?" Youmu asked. "Isn't there another way to leave this place faster?"
"Well, there is the spell Evac, which lets one warp back to a dungeon's entrance… but I haven't learned it yet." I said.
"Oh. Guess we're going with the long way, then…"
Later, we had all gotten back up to the second level of the cave… but then Yangus brought up a subject to talk about that I had hoped he wouldn't, "Say, guv… Wot exactly did that Geyzer mean about that thing wiv the thorns and the castle and you bein' the only person survivin'?"
"Exactly!" Cirno threw in. Ugh, not her too… "Was that all true? What happened back then?"
I sighed profoundly. I really didn't want to talk about that to them right now. "I… don't want to talk about it. Just drop it, you two." I said as I walked ahead of them.
"Oh, come on, guv. 'ow can we be friends if you ain't goin' to tell wot 'appened?" Yangus ushered.
My eye twitched. "Yangus…I said I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" I yelled angrily at him, with my yell echoing throughout the cave as both Yangus and the girls flinched back in surprise at my sudden angry outburst. Realizing what I had done, I immediately calmed down and turned away from them while saying, "Sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to yell like that. It's just that…"
"Yes, we understand now." Alice spoke up calmly, gently patting my arm. "If this subject is that sensitive to you, then we won't push you to it anymore." I didn't show it, but deep inside, I was very grateful for Alice.
And with that, we all stayed silent for the entire trip back up through the cave. I noticed that we hadn't been attacked by any monsters ever since we left the bottom floor, and instead they were all fleeing from us. Could be because they had sensed that we were more experienced than them, which is actually common to happen to them: somehow, the monsters in my universe can sense whether a person has more experience than them or not. If said person has less experience, then the monster will attack. Otherwise, they'll flee instead.
[BGM: Strange World – Dragon Quest VIII]
Finally, we made it out of the cave and immediately met up with Trode and Medea. "Ah, you're back!" Trode said. "You've been in that place for quite a while; it's already late afternoon!" by that, I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was starting to set. Wow, I never imagined that we've been venturing into the Waterfall Cave for a long time. "So, did you get the crystal ball?"
"Yes, we did." I replied, and then I also told Trode everything that happened in there.
"Goodness! All that happened inside a cave!? It's extraordinary that this Geyzer monster knew all about us… But how preposterous to say that you rescued me from the castle! It was I who rescued you! These monsters never get their facts straight! Preposterous, I tell you!"
Not gonna lie, it was actually pretty funny at how he tried to deny it. After all, what kind of king he would be if he couldn't help himself? But even still, it was true; I was the one who rescued Trode. When I found him at the castle's secret vault, he was a quivering mess. Monsters had already started to move into the castle and the thorns themselves began to go after Trode and Medea, but then the former tossed the Soldier's Sword to me and I used it to cut the thorns before quickly guiding the two out of the castle, while also managing to escape from the roaming monsters around. When we made it to the courtyard, that's where we managed to find a carriage with some supplies in it; one of them being this garb that I'm using ever since, and then we left.
"Well, whatever…" Trode muttered, before changing the subject, "Anyways, let's head back to Farebury and return that crystal ball!"
"Actually, Your Majesty…" I spoke up, remembering about that shack I had seen at the top of this mountain before. "Can we hold up for just a moment? I saw something on top of this mountain that really piqued my interest and I want to check it out first."
"What?! But…"
"Come on, please? It's not like we're in much of a hurry right now, are we?"
Trode sighed. "Alright, fine… I and Medea will wait for you all here. But you better return here as soon as possible, my boy! Understand?"
"Understood." I immediately nodded. "Come on, everyone!" and so we walked around the mountain until we found a dirt pathway, as we followed it all the way up to the top of the mountain, where we found said shack.
"Ya know, I wonder who would live in the middle of the wilderness like this?" Yangus wondered.
"Who knows?" I said with a shrug, and then we went in.
[BGM Pause]
Inside, we were instantly met with a hunky and bearded man sitting on a chair in front of a table. He seemed pretty surprised in seeing us coming in. "Hm? I don't often get visitors all the way up here!" he said. Well, considering that he lives at the top of a mountain with a dungeon that's infested with monsters, that's pretty understandable. "Well, now that you're here, maybe I could ask you a little favour?"
I nodded. "Sure, what is it?"
"Okay, I'm only goin' to say this once, so clean out your ears and get listenin'. If you go outside and look at the view from the top of the mountain, you should be able to spot a tree with red leaves. I had a bit of a kip there when I was out the other day, and it seems I left my tool bag behind. I don't expect you to do this for free of course. I'll be able to give you a small reward." Ooh, a small reward? Well, I just hope it's one that's worth our time. "I'll be waitin' here in my hut for you to bring it back. Try not to take too long."
We nodded back to him and left his hut.
"Okay, so we're looking for a red tree, right?" Marisa asked as soon as we were back outside, and it was already sunset.
"Yes." I nodded. "Let's start looking around for it." and so we scrambled around in different directions to look around and search for said tree.
And then, not too long after, Aya hollered, "Oh! I found it!" we all turned to look at her and follow her pointing finger, and we indeed saw a lone tree completely full of red leaves very far away that was located somewhere at the eastern part of the region.
"Well, there it is." Remilia said.
"But it's pretty far away, though…" I mused. "It's going to take a long walk to get there and return here."
"No worries!" Aya exclaimed as she flew up. "As the fastest flyer in Gensokyo, I can go over there on my own and find the tool bag in mere seconds! Be right back!" she took off, leaving behind a trail of wind as she did so. And then nigh immediately, she came back. "I'm back! And I got the bag!" she said while showing the tool bag.
I blinked in surprise. "Wow, that was fast!"
"Heh heh, I know!" Aya winked. "You can thank me later!"
Then, we went back into the man's hut. "Well? Did you find my tool bag?" he asked.
"Yes! I got it right here, sir!" Aya said while handing over the tool bag to him.
"Ah! You found it! Let's see!" he takes the bag from Aya. "Yep, this is the one! This is definitely my tool bag. Thanks! I suppose I'd better give you that reward I promised… Hm!? Hey! You there!" but then, he suddenly bats an eye at…Munchie? And speaking of which, Munchie let out a curious squeak once he has been noted by the man. "That little mouse you've got there is no normal mouse!" Uh… how in the world could he even tell? "It's your pet, is it?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"Right…" he mused, then he took out a smaller bag and handed it to me. "Here. Have this cheese as your reward." Cheese? Well…as far as I know, Munchie really loves cheese, perhaps even more than any other ordinary pig-rat. I decided to give a quick peek into the bag, and saw a huge variety of different cheeses in it before I put it away. "It may just be plain old cheese, but that mouse of yours is sure to like it. And I could be wrong, but try givin' it some next time you've got yourself into a fight with some monsters… You never know what might happen!" Huh… I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out. "Anyway, that's enough noise out of me. Thanks again for bringin' my bag back."
So yeah, you've seen this correctly; that's how I ended up getting all those special cheeses that I give to Munchie whenever I need it in certain situations, and I still do that today.
[Resume "Strange World" BGM]
"So we did this man a favor just for some cheese?" Reimu questioned as we were making our way down the mountain. "Sounds like a lame reward, if you ask me."
"What, were you expecting money or something?" Marisa teased.
"Well… yeah! Something like that!"
"Heh, very typical of you…" Marisa rolled her eyes playfully.
"Still, he did give us some pretty interesting info about those cheeses he gave…" Alice pointed out.
"Ya mean somefin' 'bout givin' Munchie some of 'em when we're fightin'?" Yangus asked. "He's a cute little fella, an' ev'ryfin', but I don't reckon 'e'd be much use in a brawl."
"Maybe so, but as that man said before, we never know." I replied. "Perhaps once we find some new monsters, we can give it a go."
"Sounds good fer me."
Eventually, we reached the bottom of the mountain again and went over to Trode and Medea. "Your Majesty, we're ready to head back to Farebury Town now." I spoke up. "And in fact…" I reached into my knapsack and pulled out the Chimaera Wing I had found at the Waterfall Cave. "I have this Chimaera Wing that will take us back there in an instant!"
"Ah, that's great!" Trode exclaimed. "Time to return the crystal ball to Kalderasha and have him tell us where to find Dhoulmagus!"
And so, I hurled the Chimaera Wing into the air while at the same time thinking of Farebury as our destination, and in an instant, we all skyrocketed upwards in a similar vein to the Zoom spell. In just a split second, we landed at the town's entrance.
"Whoa, whoa! What was that just now?!" Cirno questioned, as I looked at the girls to see that they were looking around in a mixture of surprise and confusion.
"Did we just…warp?" Reisen wondered. "Eight, was it that wing you just tossed that made this happen?"
"It was." I nodded. "That was a Chimaera Wing, which allows the user to warp to any place they want as long as they had been there before."
"Oh, wow…"
"Hold on…" Youmu spoke up. "If you knew what it does, then how come you didn't use it while we were still in the Waterfall Cave?"
"Because the warping magic will only work outdoors." I explained. "Trying to do this indoors… will just result in us bonking our heads on the ceiling instead."
"Ohh…" Youmu did, and after that, we proceeded to walk to the gates.
[BGM End]
Soon...
We all made it back to Kalderasha's house, where we immediately saw him sitting at the table. "I knew you would return before long." he said to us with a cold glare, then he eyed at the crystal ball on my hand. "And it seems you have done as Valentina asked." Wait, how did he know that it was Valentina who asked us that? "You see! Even with a glass ball, the Great Kalderasha's eyes see further than you realize!" Ah. "But you are meddling in matters that do not concern you. And you are wasting your time. You can bring back my crystal ball as many times as you like. I will just throw it away again!"
It was then that I remembered what Geyzer had told me, and so I responded to Kalderasha with a serious glare, "No, don't. You shouldn't throw things in the waterfall, or you might open up an old wound."
Kalderasha looked at me as if I had gone mad. "What!? What on earth are you talking about?" he then gets up from his seat and stomped towards us. "Enough! Listen to me! No one knows why I threw away my crystal ball. Even Valentina has no idea. I'm not about to confide in strangers." he reaches out with his hand up to me. "Give it to me! This time I will smash it into a million pieces, so it never finds its way back to me again!"
I wasn't the least bit fazed. "No way. You said it yourself that Valentina was the one who asked us to get it in the first place, and there's no way I'm not going to break my promise by letting you literally break this." But Kalderasha was now more furious than before and he proceeded to grab my arm in order to take the crystal ball from me by force, until…
[BGM: Over the Sorrow – Dragon Quest VIII]
"Stop! Please stop, Father!" Valentina's voice suddenly rang out, and we all looked over to see her standing by the entrance to the kitchen. "I know! I've known for ages…" she trailed off, looking down at the ground almost in shame. "I know why you threw away your crystal ball."
Kalderasha's eyes widened. "You, you know…!? So you know about your real parents?" Her…real parents?! So my suspicions were true…
"Yes. And I don't blame you for their death." Oh, now I see… Kalderasha had predicted the death of Valentina's parents, and I guess he blames himself for not preventing that future to happen so he quit his job as a fortune-teller as a result.
"Why not? How can you not blame me, Valentina? How can you not hate me?" Kalderasha questioned, his voice at the point of breaking as a few tears escaped his eyes.
"Because you were just fortune-telling. Just doing what you do best. I was too young to remember, but…you were once a truly great fortune-teller, weren't you, Father? No one knew where my parents had fled to. But to you, it was as clear as day."
Kalderasha stood silent, and then he looked up at the ceiling. "Back then, there was nothing I could not see. The Great Kalderasha was known all over the world. I was walking on air. Fortune-telling was my life. It was my soul." he looked back at Valentina and continued, "I thought only of myself. Be they good or bad, I cared not who asked me to use my crystal ball. I lived for the vision!"
"It's all right, Father." Valentina smiled. "You're a good man. You took me in and raised me, didn't you? When I was just a helpless baby. I want to see it for myself. I want to see the Great Kalderasha in all his glory! I want to see your magnificent powers at work again, Father."
Kalderasha finally broke down in tears. "Oh, my sweet Valentina…"
[BGM End]
Since it was getting very late at that hour, we all decided to spend the night at Kalderasha's house. On the next day, I woke up and threw off my covers before pulling myself out of the bed, and then I noticed that Yangus and the girls were still sleeping in theirs, which means that I was the first one awake. Deciding to let my companions sleep in peace, I made my way downstairs and found Kalderasha at his table, waiting for me.
"So you are awake at last! It is already past midday. You must have been exhausted." Wow, past midday already?! Man, I don't think I ever slept for that long until now… "I must thank you and your friends. Look! I have put my crystal ball back where it belongs."
Then, I watched as Kalderasha put his hands on the crystal ball as he closed his eyes in concentration. "Many years have passed since I gazed into the crystal like this… I have to thank you for returning it to me." and all of a sudden, a bright light shone from the crystal ball as I and Kalderasha both jumped in surprise.
[BGM: Stalked by Fear – Dragon Quest VIII]
"W-What is this!?" Kalderasha exclaimed, gazing into the crystal ball.
I leaned forward a bit. "Do… do you see something?" I asked, intrigued.
"Yes, yes! I see it! I see it! There is a jester! A jester breaking through the southern checkpoint!" And just by hearing the word 'jester', my eyes perked up; that has to be Dhoulmagus! "Yes! The mists are clearing! And the same jester murdered Master Rylus!" Wait… WHAT?! Dhoulmagus was the one who killed Rylus all along?! But why would he do that to his own teacher? "Yes! Yeeesss! The mists are clearing!" just then, the crystal ball's light started to give way to darkness. "Ah!? Can it be…? Surely not… He has changed, but there can be no mistake. It has to be Master Rylus's former pupil… Dhoulmagus!" Yep, I knew it!
"HUH? WOT!?" I heard Yangus shouting from the upper floor, as apparently that announcement was enough to wake him up and it wasn't long before he came running down the stairs… while somehow making earthquakes as he did so. "Guv! He said Dhoulmagus, right? That's our man! That's the evil magician you an' the old grandad are after, innit?"
"Geez, who just made the whole house shake?" before I could reply, I next heard Remilia's voice as I saw the girls coming down the stairs right afterwards. "Way for that to interrupt my beauty sleep…"
"Sorry, girls, that was me…" Yangus apologized. "But that's not important right now! Didn't y'all 'ear?! Tell 'em, guv!" he looked at me at the last sentence.
"Uh, right…" I said. "Kalderasha here managed to locate Dhoulmagus just now."
Now it was the girls' turn to have their eyes perked up. "Really?! He did?!" Aya asked.
I nodded in response. "According to him, Dhoulmagus is somewhere at the southern checkpoint."
Yangus then looked at Kalderasha. "So where'd 'e go after that? Wot else can yer deduct?"
"What else…? Let me look deeper." Kalderasha said as he began to stare harder at his ball. "Hm? What's this…?" his eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, no question. This is definitely my old crystal ball. But, look here! It has been chipped. Hm! It must have hit something very hard to do this damage. And look! Someone has scratched some letters next to the chip… What!? Halfwit!? Who's the halfwit!? What ignorant lowlife would do this to my crystal ball?"
[BGM End]
"You wot!?" Yangus questioned. "When I asked wot else yer could see, I didn't mean ON the ball, I meant IN the ball!" …Aaaaand cue a face-fault from me and the girls. "Wotever! Oh, come on, guv!"
"Right…" I groaned as I pushed myself back up along with the girls, and then we left Kalderasha's house.
Later…
[BGM: Reminiscence – Dragon Quest VIII]
When we exited Farebury through the southern gates, we saw Trode standing by the carriage before he ran up to us upon noticing our presence. "So? What happened? Did you do what the young girl asked? Hm? Well?" he asked, dying to hear the news.
"Yes, we did." I replied. "But we also picked up some interesting information too…" and then I told him everything that Kalderasha said to me.
"WHAT!?" Trode yelled in shock after letting all that information sink in. "Dhoulmagus killed Master Rylus!? The same Dhoulmagus we're looking for? That fiend killed his own teacher!? And you say he headed south?"
"That's right."
"Then there's no time to lose, Eight! We must go after him at once! Let's be on our way!"
"On it." I nodded, then I turned to my companions and exclaimed, "Come on, everyone! We're off to the south!" and with that, we went on our merry way.
To be continued…
Man, I feel so stupid...
Eight: Stupid? For what, Fairy?
For not including any moment in my stories prior to this one that shows off your curse immunity, duh! Out of all the things I could forget to add about you throughout the previous stories, it HAD to be that!?
Eight: H-Hey...it's no big deal. At least our readers now know about it thanks to this story, right?
I guess that's a plus... Anyways, now that we're done with this side quest of sorts about searching for a crystal ball, the journey can now officially begin!
Eight: That's right! So stay tuned for that next time!