I do not own Dragon Quest 11 or any of the characters.
Fire and Ice
They were late. David had needed a full day of rest, after which they'd escorted Sniflheim's royal tutor, Snorri, the scholar that had been at the cabin on their way to the Hekswood, to the Royal Library to see if they could find any clues to defeat the witch, Krystalinda. It had been an annoying process of rearranging the library's walls and walkways using a series of magical devices, all while fighting pig monsters wearing witches hats, Hunter Mechs, living Talos Statues, green monster chests, green dragons dressed like scholars, humanoid demons wearing white robes, black hoods, and red capes, and living, demon-shaped shadows. And at the end, they'd learned very little about Krystalinda. They found the journal of the mage who defeated Krystalinda, which summed up to confirming what Kai had translated from Jormun, and described a seal on the library's forbidden books, the same seal having been on the book Frysabel had been reading when they met her. Although Snorri did confirm that Frysabel was real, and was actually the queen, he was at a loss as to why she was reading a forbidden book, not believing Kai's theory about her identity actually being Krystalinda in disguise. However, the fact that she was reading a forbidden book had convinced the others that Kai was right, and that the book in question was actually the one the witch was sealed away in initially.
Finally, after a long, obnoxious trek back to the city, they reached the small fire where Frysabel was still reading the book, seeming perfectly at ease in the now much more severe blizzard.
"Oh, there you all are!" Frysabel greeted them. "I'm so glad you're safe! I was so awfully worried about you! I didn't sleep a wink!"
"Just shut up, Krystalinda," Kai growled, snatching the scarf from her neck, exposing bandages where Veronica's spell had left a burn on her neck. "I don't like being played for a fool."
"But you play the part so well," Krystalinda said, smirking cruelly. "Well, it seems my secret's out." She cast off the glasses she wore, shining brightly as she transformed back to her true form, floating into the air as her magic radiated off of her. "Thank you so much for taking care of that pesky power-plunderer for me! Now I'm bursting with energy again, just like old times! And I believe we have some unfinished business. The heroic Sir Hendrik may have escaped my icy embrace, but you won't get away so easily!"
"Go embrace a Cactiball, bitch," Kai snapped.
"I...I know the spell to seal her away again, but it won't work while she's at full power!" Snorri said. "If you can weaken her, I'll see what I can do!"
"Just get out of the way, Snorri," Kai growled, stalking forward, his Dragovian King Sword in his hand. "I'm gonna burn this bitch."
"I think you need to cool off," Krystalinda quipped.
She blew a kiss at him, sending a trail of frigid air racing across the distance at him, only for him to send a jet of flames back. The two attacks met in the middle, canceling out and adding steam to the air around them, dropping visibility to basically zero. However, as it did, Krystalinda shot forward, swiping at him with the ice crystals atop her staff. He spun, slashing, and his sword smashed through the ice, though it missed her by inches. He spun, slashing again, but her staff withstood the impact of her blocking his strike. A moment later, Jade leapt out of the haze, throwing a kick and slamming it into Krystalinda's staff as well, only to then drive her spear at Krystalinda's head. The witch shot to the side, losing a few hairs, but avoided the strike. She waved her staff, and massive, spiked ice crystals formed above them all, including Snorri, and plummeted, only for Kai to spin, roaring and sending flames to intercept all of the ice, immediately melting and evaporating it. Erik and Sylvando reached Krystalinda next, slashing at her rapidly, both dual-wielding, only for her to evade or deflect all of their strikes for a moment before countering. Erik was grazed across the back by the newly restored ice crystals atop her staff and a thrust of the bottom ice spike grazed Sylvando's side. Serena immediately healed both just as David fired a bolt of lightning at Krystalinda. She managed to form a wall of ice to shield her, but the wall exploded, slamming into her and sending her bouncing away. Then, as she stood, she hurled a ball of compressed ice magic into a fireball Veronica had hurled at her, freezing it.
She drove the bottom spike of her staff into its side, spinning and hurling it back at the others, only for them all to avoid it. Then, she turned, moving to block Kai's sword again, only for flames to roar along it at the last second. As his sword met her staff, the flames erupted into an explosion, hurling her backward and shattering the ice on her staff. She bounced twice before Jade met her from behind with a kick while flipping backward, hurling her into the air. Krystalinda flipped, stopping herself, only to realize Veronica and Kai were both missing. She spun, looking above herself just as Veronica hurled a much larger fireball, which Kai sped up with a jet of flames. Krystalinda swore, crossing her arms in front of herself and pulling her knees to her chest, beginning to freeze the flames, only to still be shoved to the ground hard enough to crack it before the frozen flames crashed down on her, shattering. After a moment, she exploded free of the ice, the ice on her staff reformed and rage shining from her eyes.
The storm around them intensified rapidly, and when she cast Crackle again, the ice spikes broke apart, becoming shrapnel that slammed into everyone. Kai shouted in pain as the webbing of his wings was shredded by the ice and crashed to the ground with Veronica.
"Kai!" Jade shouted.
"It'll heal!" Kai growled, retracting his wings. "What I'm about to do to that bitch won't!"
He charged, slashing several massive chunks of ice aside as Krystalinda hurled them at him using the wind, and when she shot forward to stab him, using the wind to increase her speed, he caught her staff, slashing. She bent backward under it, but as she straightened up, he roared, flames exploding into her and launching her away. The storm began to lighten, and as she pushed herself up, Kai shouted in effort, driving his sword into the ground. A fissure tore across the ground from his blade to her. She leapt into the air, but before she'd gone more than a foot, the end of the fissure under her erupted, a massive explosion swallowing her, then hurling her, smoking, into the frozen fountain, where she shattered the ice and smashed the stone. She pushed herself up unsteadily, then shouted in annoyance, only for him to slash his sword toward her, a massive arc of flames flashing across the distance at her. She dove out of the way, only for the flames to slam into what was left of the fountain and explode, once again hurling her. Then, as she stood, David sent a bolt of lightning into her chest, sending her crashing back to the ground, the book she'd had tucked away in some invisible pocket of her cape landing in front of Snorri.
"Now, Snorri!" Veronica shouted. "Use the sealing spell!"
"Where the fuck has Robert..." Kai trailed off as he stared at a snowman with Robert's arms and legs sticking out of it at odd angles, then bent over, cackling.
"Pella, mella, fell and feller!" Snorri chanted. "Fabula ferocious!"
As the book began to glow, Krystalinda held an arm out toward them, pleading. "N-No! Stop it! P-Please, anything but that!" Then, she began to shout in pain as she glowed as well.
"Helter, skelter, bind and belt her!" Snorri continued. "Anima atrocious! Liber claustra cabalistic! Hex..." he paused, seeming confused. "Hmm. I wonder how this word is pronounced."
"Snorri!" Veronica snapped. "What kind of scholar are you!? Pull yourself together!"
"Ah, yes!" Snorri said. "I remember now! Liber claustra cabalistic," he closed the book and held it above himself. "Hexpialidocious!"
The seal on the book's cover shone, and a powerful wind raged around Krystalinda as she began to be pulled in, her body shining and deforming as she fought against the spell's pull, bits of her body warping toward the book and back repeatedly.
"No!" she wailed. "No, please! Forgive me! I'll do anything! I'll change my ways, I promi-"
Before she could finish, she was sucked into the book and the light faded. All around them, the excess ice began to melt, the people of Sniflheim thawing rapidly, as did the main gate and the castle. And as the ice vanished from the people, they continued whatever they'd been doing as though nothing had happened. A moment later, the book shone blindingly for a moment before leaving Frysabel kneeling in front of Snorri.
"W...Where am I?" she asked, looking around.
"Your Majesty!" Snorri gasped. "Is it really you?"
Frysabel gave him a strange look before her eyes widened. "Oh, yes! I remember now! The witch trapped me inside that book and pretended to be me, didn't she?"
"Thank goodness," Snorri sighed. "For a moment there, I worried the ordeal might have muddled your memory. Fear not, your majesty. The witch is sealed away once more."
"We should have killed her and been done with it," Kai grunted as a guard rushed over to Frysabel, urging her to head back inside, informing her that the chancellor was worrying.
"Killing isn't always the solution," Jade said.
"Oh, so you would prefer that instead of killing an enemy and being done with it, we should trap them inside of a book for all eternity so they can suffer?" Kai nodded approvingly. "Not a bad idea. I'll have to start collecting books, but it'd be an effective way to make Heliodor suffer, I suppose."
Jade groaned. "You know what, forget I said anything."
"I'm joking," Kai said. "I'll just burn them all alive and call it a day."
Jade sighed, resting her face in her hand, then followed Kai as they walked into the castle with the others to be rewarded with the Blue Orb for their services. As they were walking through the entrance hall, however, they all stopped.
"...you...fool..." a feminine voice whispered from the front of their group.
"Oh yeah?" Veronica huffed, hands on her hips as she glared at Serena. "Well if I'm a fool, then what are you?"
"What's the matter with you, Veronica?" Serena snapped. "I didn't say anything!"
"Yes you did!" Veronica accused, then paused. "Didn't you?"
"No, she didn't," Kai frowned. "That voice came from David."
"But that's not his voice!" Veronica said.
"I know," Kai frowned. "Give me that book."
David frowned, glancing down at the book they'd sealed Krystalinda into, then handed it to Kai.
"Alright, let's have it," Kai said. "What are you trying to say?"
"Don't let...take you for a fool!" the voice said, now clearly coming from the book, as Kai held it open. "...not who she claims t..."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Oh, so that's it."
"What's it?" Veronica asked. "I don't understand!"
"It's not something a child could understand," Kai said. "Let's go and see the Queen."
They all frowned, walking into the throne room and up onto the raised platform before the Queen.
"Ah, excellent!" Frysabel smiled. "You came! Let me present to you the Blue Orb of Sniflheim!" she gestured to the Chancellor, a short, portly man holding the orb. "If you will just come a little closer..."
"No, I don't think we will," Kai said, fanning himself lightly with the book.
"What?" Frysabel asked. "Why not?"
"Simple," Kai said, then swiped the book toward her, sending a powerful gust of wind out and blowing her scarf off, revealing her bandaged neck for the second time. "I don't feel like being frozen solid today, Krystalinda." He opened the book again, the seam between the pages glowing.
"You noticed!" Frysabel's voice cheered. "Thank goodness! Please, listen to me! I am the real Frysabel! The woman before you is the witch!"
"What!?" the Frysabel on the throne asked. "Ridiculous! She's the witch, not me! She's the witch, not me! Don't believe her lies!"
"And the bandages?" Kai asked.
"She used the ice on her staff to give me frostbite that looked like a burn!" the Frysabel on the throne defended herself. "I covered it so that you wouldn't assume I was the witch and attack me! Please, you must believe me!"
"Hm," Veronica hummed. "It's possible. But I don't know which one I believe."
Kai thought for a moment. "Ancient spells that require incantations are meant to be chanted without pause. It's possible Snorri pausing in the middle of it caused the spell to fail." He considered for a moment. "Alright, I've got an idea. I'm going to ask a question and both Frysabel and the book will give an answer."
"Alright," the book agreed.
"That's fair," the Frysabel on the throne nodded.
"What was the name of the mage who once sealed away Krystalinda?" Kai asked.
"Morcant!" both of them answered.
"What defining feature of the man who rescued Krystalinda did the witch describe when she fought us?" Kai asked.
"His necklace!" both answered again.
"I have one," Snorri spoke up. "What is the true treasure of Sniflheim? The real Frysabel would remember her father's teachings well!"
The Frysabel on the throne laughed. "That's easy. The true treasure of Sniflheim is clearly the Blue Orb! What else could it be but something so valuable?"
"Hmm...the Orb you say?" Snorri nodded. "Very well, very well." He turned to the book. "Now then, what is your answer?"
"The true treasure of Sniflheim is its people," the Frysabel in the book answered. "Though the bleakest blizzards assail them, ever do they warm these frigid climes with their ardent hearts."
"Precisely!" Snorri exclaimed. "The very word the royal family have passed down through the generations! The real Queen Frysabel is the one in the book!"
"And on that note," Kai said, tossing the book over his shoulder to Serena, "now we settle this my way." He drew his Dragovian King Sword. "To the death."
Before he could charge, the book suddenly shone, Frysabel bursting out of it and landing on her feet, only to stumble into Snorri, who caught her.
Krystalinda groaned in annoyance. "I wait all that time to get my powers back, and you make me waste every last drop on escaping that wretched book again."
"Then this should be easy," Kai grinned, pulling his sword back, his right foot sliding back in preparation to strike.
"Please, wait!" Frysabel said, rushing to get between the two. "Honorable Dragovian, please, spare her!"
"Honorable?" Veronica scoffed. "Since when?"
"If he had no honor, I'd be dead by now," Robert pointed out. "He'd have killed me in my sleep. Even in seeking revenge, he holds to his honor first and foremost. It's also why he takes owing a debt so seriously."
"Our word is our bond," Kai growled. "Something Heliodor and Dundrasil both forgot."
"Queen Frysabel, step away from her!" Snorri pleaded. "She says she has lost her powers, but we cannot know for sure! She is a witch! It is in her nature to lie!"
Frysabel shook her head. "Everyone, listen to me! It is true that Krystalinda did something unforgivable when she froze this city...but we spoke from time to time when she held me captive. She listened to me. She even helped me understand what it is to be queen. Hers is not a bad heart. And the time I spent in the book...it gave me the chance to think...to ready myself to truly rule at last. Please, I believe her when she says her powers are spent. She is not a threat to us any longer. We must let her live."
"She seems convinced Snorri," Veronica said. "Why not give Krystalinda one last chance?"
"What, to stab Frysabel in the back?" Kai asked. "Maybe literally?"
"That is what was believed would happen with the Dragovians," Robert pointed out. "And they had never betrayed us in the first place."
"Exactly, which makes this different," Kai said. "The Dragovians were wrongly accused in the first place. She's not wrongly accused."
"Very well," Snorri sighed. "You are the ruler of this kingdom, Your Majesty. If that is your decision, we will gladly follow it."
Frysabel smiled, nodding, but Krystalinda huffed.
"Must you be so nicey-nicey, Frysabel?" Krystalinda complained. "You're making me look bad."
"Krystalinda, there's something I still don't understand," Robert said. "Why did ye freeze Sniflheim in the first place?"
"Oh, that was a favor for a friend," Krystalinda explained dismissively. "The splendid specimen who released me from the grimoire. As you know, I was trapped in that dusty, fusty library for a horribly long time." She groaned at the thought. "It was so, so boring! Then, three months ago, he appeared! He took down my book from the shelf and spoke to me! He said, 'I will release you from your prison, but you must do something for me in return.' And I said, 'For a beautiful boy like you? Anything! Free me and I am yours forever more! What is your desire, my pretty?' He said, 'You must freeze Sniflheim. When you do, a great hero will be sent to save the city. One who wears the same pendant as I. His name is Hendrik. And when he arrives...I would like you to kill him.' So, I did as he asked. And when the great hero arrived, I decided to have him run a little errand for me before I disposed of him. To slay a mighty beast that just happened to have stolen my powers. And, well...the rest you know."
"Speaking of, is there any way to bring Jormun back to life?" Kai asked. "I liked him."
"There is a spell," Krystalinda nodded. "But I doubt you would wish to complete it. Friendly or not, that beast was still a monster, and so to revive it you would need to perform an evil act. To return one life, another must be taken."
Kai sighed, nodding.
"The same pendant as Sir Hendrik, eh?" Robert asked. "And just what was this handsome young fellow's name, might I ask?"
"His name?" Krystalinda asked. "Oh, I haven't a clue. He disappeared after he freed me, and I haven't seen him since. It's a shame. He was such a pretty little thing."
"His name was Jasper," Kai said. "I saw the pendant when we fought him at Gondolia."
"What?" Robert gasped. "Are you sure?"
"I may be as old as you, Robert, but I'm not the one who's getting old," Kai growled. "Worry about your own memory."
"But...why would Sir Jasper want Sir Hendrik killed?" Robert asked, ignoring the insult.
"Why would Sir Jasper steal a young boy's voice to hide the fact that he was talking to a tentacular and having it attack any ships leaving Gondolia?" Kai countered.
"Aye," Robert nodded. "I'll admit the laddie's been acting plenty strange."
"If you will permit me to interrupt," Frysabel spoke up. "I believe there is another matter that needs to be seen to." She sat in the throne, Krystalinda standing at her side. "Thank you once again for all you have done for me and my kingdom. The Orb is yours to do with as you see fit."
The Chancellor handed the Orb to David.
"But, Your Majesty!" Veronica said. "Isn't the Orb one of your kingdom's most precious treasures? Are you sure you don't mind us taking it?"
"Do you want us to be able to reach Yggdrasil, or not?" Kai asked, glaring at her, Veronica glaring right back.
"It's fine," Frysabel assured them. "As my father always said, the true treasure of this kingdom is its people, and if not for you, they may well have been frozen forever."
"Well, if you insist," Veronica said. "Best of luck with all your royal duties, and try not to let the pressure get to you, okay?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, little girl," Krystalinda smiled. "Frysabel will be just fine. I plan to take very good care of her."
"Why does that not set our minds at ease?" Kai asked sarcastically. "Come on. We're pretty sure that altar is under Yggdrasil, right? That's past the Snaerfelt."
The others nodded, and they took their leave of Frysabel, making their way out of the castle and through the city's main gate. Outside of them was Erik, who Kai was just noticing had disappeared after the fight with Krystalinda.
"What are you doing loitering by the docks, Erik?" Veronica asked.
"None of your business!" Erik snapped. "So? Did you get the Orb or what?"
"We did!" Veronica smirked. "And all because I can spot a phony a mile off! You can thank me later!"
"Sure," Kai said. "It was all you."
He turned, walking away from the others, only to stop as, after he took care to ram his shoulder into Robert to move him out of the way, a porn magazine dropped to the ground. Robert shouted in surprise and mortification.
"C-Crivens!" He stammered, chuckling awkwardly. "How, how, how did that get there?"
Serena gasped. "Is this what you were so engrossed with back at the library, Rab? I thought you said it was a spell book!"
"Another one to add to the collection, eh?" Jade asked. "And there I was thinking you'd finally got over your obsession."
"Sir Rab!" Sylvando said dramatically, pointing at him. "You have been caught red-handed! And red-faced!"
"Pervert," Kai accused.
They all turned, walking past him, and Robert scrambled up, stowing the magazine again and scrambling to defend himself.
"B-B-But...Wait! Ye don't understand! I only read them for the articles!" He ran after them. "The articles, I tell ye!"
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