Five hundred years ago, when man was still young, the ancient
evil gods created terrible monsters and set them forth upon the land
and would watch, for their own amusement, as the humans died quickly.
A small party of humans decided to take it upon themselves to rid the
world of these destructive creatures and set forth to find a way to
combat them and to stop the evil gods games.
One ancient god took pity on the human race and revealed himself
to this party. He told them, "There exists an object on this planet
that can destroy any creature, including the gods. This object is
called the Dragon Heart. Seek it to fulfill your quest. It is
guarded by my most trusted servant on the island located at the top of
the world."
For many weeks, the band of heroes traveled long and hard and
finally after many battles reached this island. The servant was
waiting there for them. He told them, "Through your trials, we have
observed your actions and have found you worthy of obtaining this
powerful artifact. To activate it, you must dip it in holy water and a
powerful dragon will appear to destroy all evil on earth. Be warned
though, if the Dragon Heart ever touches blood, it will release a
demon even more powerful than the ones you are trying to destroy."
With that, he handed to them a crystal blade, and sent them back home.
The heroes, with the aid of a local temple, dipped the heart into
holy water and a huge dragon appeared before them. The heroes
commanded it to destroy all the evil monsters attacking the people and
to stop the ancient gods from ever releasing vile creatures on to the
planet. The dragon obeyed and after many days of fierce battling
emerged victorious. It then disappeared back into the heart.
The band of heroes created a temple to protect this powerful
relic from ever falling into the wrong hands and that's how the Temple
of the Dragon came to be.
"Then, what happened?" a little boy cried.
April Gardenia blinked, taken off guard. She had been a guide at
the Temple for a little over a year now, and had yet to have that
question asked. Of course, it was her first time with a school tour
group. "What happened? Well," she stalled, smoothing her green arms
over her white robes. "The heroes organized the new land, and Solara
began a peaceful time that has lasted to this day.
"Stupid," a red-haired elf standing next to the boy chided.
"Didn't you see the crystalvision show?"
"Yeah, we watched the movie in class," a third boy said, hitting
the first on the back of the head.
"OW! Green lady, he hit me!"
"He deserved it!" The two began tussling, and April looked
frantically between them and the rest of her not-so-captive audience.
"Um, guys," she began, stopping at a tug at her robes.
"Green Temple lady, what happens if someone takes it?" a young
dwarf asked.
"The Dragon Heart?" April's smile began to falter. "Well, I
doubt that anyone would want to take it, since most people are happy,
nowadays, right? And if not," she added, sensing a follow-up coming,
"I and my friends who work here at the Temple will take care of it,
okay?"
"Are they flowers too?" a young human girl asked.
"Eh?" Unconsciously, April ran her hand through the fuschia
petals that sprouted from her head, and understood. "No, dear, only
me. There aren't many... flower people around the city... only me.
Um, moving on," she said, cutting off any further questions and
leading the group from the front hall of the Temple of the Dragon.
Children. They meant well, but... The girl sighed. It was going to
be a long day.
*
Heart Problems
Chapter One: If It Were Only That Easy...
By Erin Ellis
with Cindy Fang and Glenn Redd
*
//In news today, there's been another strike by a group of
alleged mages. What seems to have been offensive, or "black" magic,
was used to break into the Second National Bank last night. Witnesses
say the perpetrators were humanoid. No suspects have been named as of
yet.
//"I'd never seen anything like it! It was like something out of
those stories Grandma would tel--" *clik*//
"Hey," David said, dismayed. The brown-haired boy sat up in his
recliner. "I was watching that."
"Please," April said, massaging the bridge of her nose. "All you
ever do is watch CV. Anyway, it's been a long day, and I don't know
if I can take any bad news."
"But April, dear, I thought you -wanted- a life of working around
the Temple," the boy commented innocently.
"That doesn't mean I should have to work both of our shifts out
front," she growled.
"Hey, you lost the bet--"
"--Fair and square, yeah, yeah. That doesn't make dealing with
busloads of children for hours at a time any easier." She sighed,
removing her headpiece and allowing her petals to fall loose to her
shoulders. "Ach, I've got to get out of this getup."
"Can I help?" the brown-haired boy asked, a smile dancing on his
lips.
"You could, but you might not be walking afterwards."
"That might not be all bad..." He scooted around in his seat as
she crossed the room. "Eh, come now, April," he mock pouted. "You're
so cold to me, much worse than all the other plant girls."
"That's because there aren't any others," she replied, rolling
her eyes.
"Technicality."
"Goodness, you humans are so--"
"--Irresistible?" he suggested, eyebrows raised.
Her hands went back to her forehead. "David..." She took a deep
breath, changing the subject. "I wouldn't suppose you'd've started in
on some of that paperwork."
David gave a sheepish grin.
With a frustrated growl, she stalked out of the room.
"But you look so much cuter doing paperwork than I do. Or, at
least, I look cuter -not- doing paperwork than you do..." He ducked
out of the way of the boot she threw at him. "Your aim's improving,"
he commented, seconds before being clocked upside the head with the
second boot.
"Where's Master Galiardo," April's voice called from the other
room.
"I haven't seen him," David commented from the ground, a shoe
still embedded in his face.
"Meaning only that he didn't laze around and watch crystalvision
all day..."
"Hey, I ate lunch, too." The boy pulled himself to a standing
position, looking into the darkened hallway. "Seriously though, I
haven't seen or heard Galiardo all day. Shayla and the twins are gone
too, off to school or community service or something." He hung on the
doorjamb, coming no closer for fear of more flying objects. "Ne,
April... it's just you and me..."
/And me.../
"Geh!" David jumped, clutching his chest in surprise. "I hate
when you do that! Stupid ghost..."
/I'm not a ghost. I'm an -oracle-. I know all./
"All but when to butt out..." he muttered.
"Oracle, do -you- know where Master Galiardo is?" April emerged,
dressed in more comfortable street clothes of a white sleeveless shirt
and jeans.
/I was wondering when you were going to think to ask me. No one
ever remembers me, just because I don't have a body.../ It stopped,
sensing their disinterest. /Corporeals. As for your request... The
golden dragon Galiardo.../
They waited.
/aa--/
"Oracle?"
There was no answer.
"The main hall," David said worriedly, already on his way out of
the room.
*
The main hall of the Temple of the Dragon was ornately decorated,
with winding, creeping dragons carved into mahogany molding that lined
walls covered in ancient tapestries; sandalwood floors inlaid with
marble, gold, and dragon scales; gold and marble valences holding
flames that burned with no fuel. All this was in supplication to the
Ark, the elevated, ivory chest that held the Dragon's Heart, the
crystallized heart of a dragon that held power enough to decide the
fate of the world.
This was an impressive sight, despite most people never being
able to walk past the politely formal velvet rope strung across the
entrance to the room. Despite living on Temple grounds, April and
David rarely had occasion to go past that point either, as Galiardo
usually took care of any ceremony within. Slowly wrenching the thick,
wooden doors to the main hall open, the pair paused briefly before
entering the room proper. The silent calm of the room was barely
broken by the echo of their footsteps. After a seemingly interminable
walk, they came to the back of the room, where, behind the Ark, in a
beautiful mahogany paneled wall unit, the oracle's corporeal link lay.
April brushed her fingers along the wood, the doors opening with a
sigh. Inside was empty but for a dark wooden box inlaid with gold.
Kneeling, April opened the box slowly, waiting for some kind of
response.
/POW!!!/
April jumped back, landing in David's conveniently waiting arms.
A sign attached to a spring inside the box bobbed jovially. "POW!
Fooled you!" it said.
/Hahaha.../
"What?" April frowned, pushing David away. "Oracle, what's
going--"
/Now that I've got your attention... something here at the
Temple is wrong. I don't know what it is yet; oracle or not, this
future is all cloudy. Maybe Galiardo.../
"That's ominous," David remarked.
"Shut up and start looking," April cried, frustrated.
He shrugged and followed.
*
"No skills they said...no talent they said... well, I'll show
them talent and power. How dare they deny me, the great Rashekal,
from joining them! I'll show that stupid council of mages who's the
real weakling."
The disheveled, black robe-clad man paced back and forth in his
meager room. He paused in thought. "All I need to do is become an
all powerful lich, yes." A smile touched his lips. "It should be
simple, according to my Necromancy primer, all I need is sacrifices, a
place to perform the ceremony and then my true power will finally
awaken and I can destroy anyone who's ever mocked me! Ooh... this
plan is perfect!" He threw his head back for a full-blown evil laugh.
Unfortunately, he had mistimed how long he should go on, and ran out
of breath, ending on a coughing rasp. Clearing his throat and
regaining his composure, he went back to his planning.
"Now let's see..." He walked over to the map hanging over his
bed. "Now where shall I set up my base, hmmm, the Valley of Doom?
Nah, too dry. Island of Giants? Ack, that will be a pain to clear
out. Hmmm... ah ha! The Forest of Death! All I have to do is rid
the place of that tourist town and use those people to form my army of
undead. And then my plans will be complete!" He quickly packed up his
magical spellbooks and items. He strolled out the room, grinning with
satisfaction.
"Soon, that pathetic excuse for a council -- nay, the whole of
Solara -- will be mine." He laughed again, just because he could.
*
"Look, you can't just lose a 12 foot tall golden half-dragon!"
April frowned, her green brow creased in consternation. "Where could
he be?" She ran her fingers through her petals, casting a searching
look at the teen across from her.
"We've looked all over the grounds, he's not in the living
quarters, not in the basement, not in the storage shed, and certainly
not here in his office. Galiardo is gone," David declared.
"Are you not worried about this?" the girl asked, incredulous.
"Did you not hear what the oracle said?"
"The oracle plays tricks like that all the time. I'm telling
you, Galiardo probably ran out to do some errand or something. Maybe
he got a girlfriend."
The two paused, considering the gruff dragon with a female.
"Ew..." they said simultaneously.
"Anyway," he said, sweeping that unwanted thought away, "we
should take advantage of the time we've been given, just you and me."
He sidled up to her, aiming to place an arm around her shoulders.
"Don't even try it," she said, shooting him a dirty look.
"Aw... you're never any fun." Thrusting out his lower lip, the
boy crossed to the other side of the room, sitting at the huge, half-
dragon-sized desk Galiardo worked at. "Man... someday I want a cushy
desk like this..."
"You'll never get one if you don't get serious, for once." April
sighed, feeling her headache growing. "Where do you think we should
look now?"
"Hey, we've got a message," he commented, ignoring her. Smiling,
David pressed the brightly flashing button on the little machine.
/BEEP! Mercredi, 4:39 am.
/"April. David."/
The gruff voice was low and quiet, but unmistakably Galiardo's.
/"If you're hearing this, I've probably been captured. Yes, it
happens, and no, just because I knew it would happen doesn't mean I
could have stopped it. As for why, I'm sure you know that the
Dragon's Heart, they seek it. It's not here; not all of it, anyway."/
David looked at April. "Did you know that? I didn't know
that..."
She shrugged blankly in reply.
/"I don't remember if I told you that or not. Either way, don't
worry about me, I need you two to find the other pieces before they
do. *Yes*, David, that means you too.
/"I'm hoping it's only the two of you there. Please be discreet
about this... we don't need the world knowing the Temple of the Dragon
doesn't actually hold the Dragon's Heart, much less know it's been
stolen. Don't tell Shayla, and certainly not the twins. They are far
too young and inexperienced to get wrapped up in this.
/"So. Everything is up to you. You always said you wanted
responsibility greater than Temple tour guide... here it is.
/"Ja." BEEP!/
David raised an eyebrow. "Well, -that- was less than
enlightening."
April blinked. "But..."
/BEEP! "Oh, the location of the pieces. I don't actually know.
Culpable deniability and all that. Find the magic user Leonard
Pfeiffer... he will know what to do. Happy questing, and good lu--
Oh, not yet, I--"/ The tape stopped, the empty hiss of white noise
deafening in the room.
"So," April commented.
"So," David answered.
"So, I guess we're looking for Leonard Pfeiffer?"
"Hold on, back up a bit. Lemme see if I've got this straight.
The thing we've been protecting-- no, the thing the Temple has said it
was protecting for -hundreds- of years isn't really there? The big,
heavy, stupid ark that sits in a room I've only been allowed to go in
only five times in the entire seventeen years I've lived here, the
thing is completely empty? Filled with popcorn? Foam peanuts?"
"Calm down," April said.
"No, I -won't- calm down. I can't believe you're seriously
considering going along with this."
She gave him a hard look. "I don't know what -you- are doing
around here, but -I- am training to become a mistress of this temple.
If the master is gone, it is more than my duty to find him. I believe
you have quite a debt to Master Galiardo as well."
He fumed, his face unresolved. "I'm going to see for myself," he
said, running out of the room.
"What?" April called after him.
"Let's see what's in the box!"
"Idiot... David, you're not really... David!" She jumped up,
following. If he did something to the Temple...
A creaking noise, then a silent pause, then laughter. It started
slowly at first, then grew to a loud, slightly maniacal sound that
echoed out of the room. April approached the main hall hesitantly,
but David was calm as she peered into the room.
"It's a toy sword. The thing we've all been in awe of, it's a
plastic sword." He brandished the fake weapon. It was a mini-
broadsword, about 18 inches long. The hilt was molded into the rough
shape of a dragon, and was decorated by glass "jewels", the most
significant a red one at the base of the blade, and a larger green
oval near the tip. "Didn't we have one of these as kids?"
She took it from him, examining it closer. "It's even accurately
weighted," she murmured. "It would be quite a sword, if it were
real."
David's eyes narrowed slightly as he jumped from his perch on the
ark. "You know, April, I feel like I'm being led around by my nose
here. Go here, and go here, and go here... I don't like it.
Something seems fishy. If everyone knows something bad is going to
happen, why can't -they- do anything about it?"
"Well..." the girl trailed. "I don't know. But we don't have
much choice, do we?"
He frowned. "That's what I don't like." He set his jaw. "Let's
find this Pfeiffer and get this over with."
*
The city was crowded this time of day, especially around the
Dragon Temple, which was situated near the center of town. It was
easy for a person who didn't want himself to be noticed to lose
himself within the streams of people who flowed into and around the
walls of the Temple complex.
"They're leaving," the gnoll in headphones said, seemingly to no
one in particular. He bent over, re-tying his hightops as the plant-
girl and the human passed.
A blond man approached, sitting on a bench on the opposite side
of the Temple gate. "So it's closed, eh?" he commented, looking at
the Temple main building.
"It's moved," the gnoll commented, switching to his other shoe.
"The item is gone."
"Really," the man mused, calmly pulling out a cigarette. He
turned to the gnoll for the first time. "Do you have a light?"
Pulling a silver lighter from his jeans pockets, the gnoll
crossed to the man, lighting his cigarette. "We already have a tail,"
he said softly. "They are ours at any time."
"Let's let them do their jobs, ne?" The gnoll responded with an
imperceptible nod, then disappeared into the crowd. Let the Temple
lackeys find the item... and then deliver it right into their hands.
The blond man smiled.
*
April stopped, peering at the smudged paper in her hands. She
looked up at the shabby building and scratched her head. "'Lenny's,'
she read. "Looks like a bar."
"So this is the place?" David grunted.
"Looks that way. But you might want to--"
*THUD*
The hazy afternoon sun streamed into the darkened room. David's
eyes widened as the door slammed open, crashing into the jamb behind
it and knocking off its hinges.
"--Use the door handle," April finished, hands moving to her
forehead once again.
"Didn't think it'd do that," the boy said with a shrug.
Following April inside, he propped the door back closed, feeling the
eyes of the bar on him. Looking up, he was surprised (and slightly
relieved) to find the room was mostly empty, only a couple working
class people sitting at the bar, and a long-haired goth type at a
table in the back.
"Hey, are any of you Pfeiffer?" the boy asked. "I need to see Leonard
Pfeiffer, now."
The patrons were silent, turning towards the bartender. He was
an ancient looking man, so old and twisted that David couldn't tell if
he was a short human or a tall gnome. His white hair stuck straight
out from his head, and fell into a long beard. Tiny spectacles
perched impossibly on his nose, and he wore an apron imprinted with
"Lenny's!"
"What do you think you're doing, boy? You think doors grow on
trees?"
David blinked. "Well, actually..."
"We're truly sorry, sir," April interrupted. "We are looking for
a Leonard Pfeiffer, and we were told he might be here."
"P-feiffer," the bartender corrected.
"Huh?" David said stupidly.
"The p's not silent. Puh-fahee-fer. That's how it's
pronounced."
"Huh?" David repeated, stupidly.
"Then you know him?"
"What do you need him for?" the bartender asked, guardedly.
"We have... A man named Galiardo was looking for him."
For an instant, the old man's face twitched with surprise.
Quickly regaining his composure, he gave a Look at the two sitting at
the bar, the universal symbol for Time To Go Elsewhere. As they made
their way out, careful not to knock over the broken door, the man
stroked his beard, thinking. "Galiardo... that's a name I haven't
heard in a while. I'm Leonard Pfeiffer... what does he want?"
April and David exchanged a troubled look. "I don't mean to
question you, sir," April began carefully. "This is rather important
though. How do we know that you're who you say you are?"
"How do you not?"
The pair exchanged another look. "Come on, old man," David said,
his shame over breaking the door forgotten. "Tell us about Galiardo
if you're really Pfeiffer."
The man gave a disinterested snort. "Eh, he's big, kinda scaly.
Not much hair. No taste in art. Likes beans. I mean, he could be
different now, I haven't really seen him in a couple hundred years."
The two looked at each other once again. "Sounds about right,"
David said. "So, you're supposed to be a mage?"
"A *wizard*. *Mages* are novices... good for parlor tricks but
not much else. I invented skills forgotten generations ago.
"So then, how'd you end up as a bartender?" David pressed.
Leonard's face shadowed. "The fools of today's generation have
no need for my skills," he muttered. "Hey-- It doesn't matter why I'm
a bartender. What matters is that you two are here, and you're
wasting my time, and you're scaring away my customers, and you broke
my door."
The teens winced slightly.
"Maybe you should leave them alone, old man," a deep voice cut
from across the room. They turned to see the quasi-goth man David had
noticed before was still there, looking into his drink. He was an
elf, and looked to be the equivalent of about 18 or 20, with long,
dark hair pulled back with a thin ribbon. His skin was pale and his
expression dour, but David could still see how some might find him
attractive. He frowned. Something about the elf was really, really
familiar.
At the bar, Leonard was talking to him and April, saying
something about fighting and pieces and other nonsense. April would
fuss at him for not paying attention, but please. Questing? That was
something for history books and video games. The swordsmanship and
defensive magicks learnt during classes and apprenticeships were for
show, remnants from the past, and David didn't necessarily want
anything to do with it. Besides, something was niggling about the
pretty man. Something unpleasant.
"So," Leonard continued, "you'd better take him with you. He may
not be much on conversation, but he is more skilled and experienced
than the both of you."
"...Thanks, I think..." April said.
More skilled? He was better... the dark-haired elf was better...
he was... "You!" David interrupted, to the old man's dismay. He
pointed at the pale boy.
"What?"
"I know you! You're... you're..."
"Cecil Desmond," the dark-haired teen supplied. "Are you
annoying, or are you just insane?"
"No!" David cried.
April looked at David curiously. "David? What are you doing?"
"I remember him... from third grade. It's Dead-boy Desmond."
The elf looked a little shaken at the name. "We called him that
because he never said or reacted to anything, some zombie," David
explained. "Geh. I've known the guy since forever, and he's been
nothing but trouble since day one. Always tormenting all the other
kids, and... and stealing their favorite stuffed chair dolls..." his
eyes began to brim with tears. "And then tearing off the legs and
leaving them in different places, it took days to get it sewn back
together, and Mr. Loungy was never the same..."
"Mr. Loungy?" Leonard asked.
"Um, David?" April began, sweatdropping slightly.
Regaining his composure, Cecil half-smiled. "Oh, I remember now.
Singleton, was it? The one so attached to his stuffed animal..."
"It was a -chair-, dammit!"
"You all called me 'dead-boy' back then... what do you think
now?" Cecil opened his mouth in a feral grin, long, white fangs
clearly visible.
"See?" David continued, barely missing a beat. "Now he's got the
whole undead sucker of life thing going on... I don't see how anyone
could stand to be around such a horrid, terrible creature. He'll
probably drain us while we stand."
"You're a vampire?" April asked, looking rather nervous.
"Don't worry, he won't bite," Leonard grinned wickedly. "He's
plasma-intolerant," the wizard stage-whispered.
The room was silent.
Dusting his hands on a bar rag, Leonard continued. "Ah, so
finally someone is trying to assemble the Dragon's Heart? And
Galiardo couldn't come himself to beg for help?"
"He's disappeared."
"Oh. And so you want my help."
"If we could," April said politely.
Leonard sighed. "I -suppose- I can tell you how to get the
Dragon's Heart." He settled himself before them, David and April
taking time to sit at the bar. "There are nine pieces in all, and you
should get them in sequence." It really didn't seem to him like a
very good idea to gather all the pieces in one place, as that -was-
the main reason for hiding them in the first place. But, hell, there
hadn't been any significant conflict on Solara in a few decades. It
would be nice to have a war perhaps; toughen up this generation.
Wimps with their non-offensive magicks... useless wizards indeed.
"Um... Mr. Pfeiffer?" The green girl looked at him
questioningly, twisting her hands with anxiety. "So..."
"Yes, well, I'll tell you where the first piece is, and then come
back to me."
Cecil frowned. "Why don't you tell us where all of the pieces
are now, and we can get this over with?"
"Because," Leonard began, matching the vampire's patronizing
tone, "that's not how it works. Now, you're going to find the piece,
and I'll make it easy for you by giving you a sickeningly easy
puzzle."
The trio blinked. "Puzzle?"
The wizard nodded. "Unlock the clues to find the pieces. That's
how questing goes. You didn't think I was just going to give you a
map and say go for it, did you?" he said haughtily.
"Well, I was kinda hoping..." David began.
"Weaklings. If you are truly worthy of the pieces, you will have
no trouble in finding them." He cleared his throat. "Besides... I've
been keeping these riddles for decades now... I'm not wasting them
now, that's for damned sure."
The trio sweatdropped.
"The riddle then?" he began, coming back from his thoughts.
"Ahem, let's see. It's vulgarly easy -- you'd have to be a complete
idiot to not figure it out." He smirked, obviously questioning their
qualifications.
"Cut the bull, what is it?" Cecil bit.
"Patience is a virtue, son..." Leonard muttered. "Now, where did
I put that..." The gnome patted down his pockets until finally
snapping his fingers. In a flash of light, a box appeared. Opening
the ornate chest, he selected a scroll labeled "one". "Ah yes...
ahem:
'Within the heart of Gaia's Children
Buried for hundreds of years
Emerging from the Earth and
Becoming part of Society
Find it, and within is what you Seek.'
The wizard stopped, an expectant look on his face. The three
before him gave various looks of consternation.
There was silence for a beat.
"So, you got it yet?"
"Eh, maybe we'll get back to you on that one," David deferred.
Leonard frowned. "Well, I've done more than my part, I think.
Get out of here, and take that worthless vampire with you. I don't
want to see you until you have the first piece."
"But--"
"Get out, before I call the authorities!"
A wall of force pushed the three teens out of the building.
Cecil's frown deepened. "I guess I'm coming with you, then.
"Wait..." April slumped with dismay. "How will we even know when
we've found a piece?"
"Oh, that's easy," David said, holding up the toy sword he'd
taken from the Temple. "This thing vibrates when a piece is nearby."
The other two looked at him oddly. "How did you ever figure that
out?" Cecil asked.
"It says in small print on the bottom," David admitted, pointing
to raised letters imprinted in the pommel. "Come on, I've got an
idea." He ran off, towards the main part of town.
*
The train bounced and jounced its way through the countryside.
David made his way back to where the trio had commandeered a pair of
benches, flipping the seat back so they would face each other.
"There's no food on this train," he lamented, plopping down next to
Cecil.
"Not to say I told you so, but..." April smirked from her seat
facing the two men. Ignoring David's dirty look, she folded her
hands, getting down to business. "So, let's go over this riddle
again, and tell me why we're spending my time and money on this train
ride."
"I thought we'd been over this enough," David replied,
exasperated. "'Within the heart of Gaia's children' -- it's got to be
something born of the earth, right? As long as Lenny says he's had
these puzzles, it's gotta be something really old -- a tree. Where
are there old trees? The Forest of Death, of course."
"Eh?" Cecil raised an eyebrow.
"David? You hadn't said anything about death earlier."
"I didn't?" he asked, innocently. "Doesn't matter, that's not
the real name... at least, that's not what they call it anymore.
There's a little town in the forest, Ravens Grove. It's really cute
and picturesque, if you're into that sort of thing.
"The town is sort of a mini-shrine to human ingenuity -- there
was like this really evil forest with demonic trees and stuff...
that's why it was called the Forest of Death. But they cut down the
evil trees, and got rid of the monsters and stuff, and made a town
there, and humans did it all by themselves, when elves and dwarves
said it couldn't be done. So now they call it the Forest of Triumph.
They keep it as this historical thingie -- everyone there lives like
it was thousands of years ago and stuff."
The other two were silent for a beat. "Why do you know all
this?" Cecil asked, looking slightly perturbed. April was too busy
boggling at David's show of knowledge.
"Eh, my parents used to take me there on vacations from time to
time. We had a discount pass."
Cecil blinked.
April blinked, then shook her head. "Do they have trees there?"
David nodded. "Yeah, plenty of trees. It's still a forest."
"Then... let's go!"
"We are going. That's why we're on the train."
April's eyes narrowed. "I am fully aware of that fact, Mr.
Desmond." She scowled at his non-reaction of continuing to stare idly
out of the window.
"Um, anyway," David began. "There's like an hour or so before
we'll be there, so..." He cocked his head, an odd smile crossing his
face. "Say, Dead-boy, why don't you tell us something about
yourself."
The vampire made a sound of derision.
"So how do you go outside?" April asked, curious. "I thought
vampires were burned by the sun."
"Special sunscreen?" David quipped.
"Yes," the vampire replied, completely serious. "For short
periods I can stand in full sun; longer if it is cloudy, like today."
So that was why he carried sunglasses... April still held that it was
because he thought it made him look cool. And it did... but only a
little. For someone who never talked and seemed to have absolutely no
personality at all, he certainly was--
"Ahem," David coughed overly loudly.
April blinked, realizing that she had been staring. For his
part, Cecil had made no reaction, though David looked slightly
annoyed. "It's been a long day," she announced, doing her best to
keep color from rising to her cheeks. "I'm going to try and get a bit
of sleep." She tightly shut her eyes, quickly falling into a restless
sleep plagued with visions of a sunglassed Dracula sitting in a
recliner watching CV.
*
It was sundown by the time they arrived at Ravens Grove. A large
group had gotten off the train at the station, and a cheery guide
wearing a homespun tunic and breeches appeared to escort them to the
actual town. After leading them to a large wagon, the guide gave
interesting, but not entirely interest-keeping facts as the group
approached the town proper, greeted by the twinkling lights of candles
and fires from within the cute, feudal cottages. They were brought to
a large inn in the middle of town, and after being informed that there
were no more tours for today, but they guests were all free to enjoy
drinks and rest at the Grove Tavern, dinner specials only five silver
pieces, the group dispersed, leaving April, Cecil and David standing
outside the inn.
"Well, David," April began, "you've made yourself the brains of
this operation, so what now?"
"Well, we still have some time left to explore. I suspect that
the piece might have had something to do with the trees turning evil
in the first place. If we can find the center of the evil trees, the
piece might be there. Let's go." They walked towards the town limits
but were stopped at the gate by two scruffy guards.
"Now where do you think you're going, laddie? Out for a midnight
stroll, hmm? I suggest you three turn around and go straight back to
your rooms." He waited for their response.
"Hey, since when do we need permission to take a walk? What is
this place, a prison?" said David, trying to unsuccessfully walk
around the two guards.
The guards glanced at each other, both muttering under their
breaths, "Tourists."
"Since you guys are obviously new here, let me tell you
something. You see out there?" He pointed towards the shadowed trees
with his pike. "If you look carefully, those moving shadows aren't
because of the wind. That forest is filled with the undead. They
recently appeared but they haven't had the guts to do a full out
attack on us, yet."
The three glanced at each other. "Um, excuse us for a second."
They moved out of earshot of the two guards. "Undead?! David! I
thought you said that this place was safe!" April glared at him.
"It -was-. I said I haven't been here in a long time. Of course
there would be some changes."
"What's so bad about undead?" Cecil asked quietly.
"Umm... nothing of course!" stammered April. "It's just that
they tend to want to kill you, that's all"
"-He's- nice?" David frowned. "-That's- a laugh..."
Sighing, Cecil turned back to the guards. "My compatriots and I
have heard of your plight. We wish to lend our services... What do
you say we take care of your undead problem?"
"Heh, you three weaklings? Don't make me laugh."
"In return, you will give us a trinket from the town," Cecil
finished.
"What?" the second guard asked guardedly.
"We will tell you when we have rid the forest of the undead.
Rest assured that it will not be too high a price to pay for your
freedom, no?"
"Fine, fine, it's your funeral." The guard whispered to his
companion, "I bet they don't last more than 5 minutes out there."
"Gee, Cecil, that was pretty slick. For a personality-free
vampire, that is," David amended.
"You're too kind," the vampire deadpanned.
The guards let them by and the trio entered the dark woods.
*
April shuddered.
"What is it?" Cecil asked, gruffly.
"My skin is crawling. I think we’re getting close to the
skeletons..."
David glanced behind and facefaulted. "Er..."
"What, ah..." The others turned to see the small horde of
skeletons approaching from where they’d just passed.
Cecil frowned. Pausing only a second to wonder where they came
from, he started into a spell. "Darh’nangh Yrgth, glallck..."
One of the skeletons, most likely at a silent command from their
necromantic master, surged forward, aiming to disrupt the vampire’s
spell. However, it found the task rather difficult as its upper body
sailed back into the group due to a well-placed blow from David’s
baseball bat.
"Where’d you get that?" April asked breathlessly. She slashed
at the next skeleton, only to have it glance off the bony arm and
harmlessly aside.
"I got it at WalMart while we were in town. Figured I’d need
something to smash stuff with, since we were trekking into the Forest
of Death and all..." he replied, frantically swatting at the oncoming
zombies with his Louie-ville slugger.
One of the zombies launched itself at David and managed to knock
the bat from his hand. However, just before the horde can completely
overrun the group, Cecil triumphantly concluded his spell, "]...Moete
imasuyo!!!["
A ball of flame leapt from his hand and incinerated most of the
still mobile skeletons, and the remaining lower-halves left from
David’s home-run attempts.
"Wow!" April exclaimed, patting out small flames in her petals
and extinguishing her shirt. "I didn’t know you could do that
Cecil..."
Cecil blinked. "Actually, the spell was supposed to turn them
into my subservient undead horde, but I guess this works too..."
"Eh?!?" April and David both facefaulted. Recovering, David
began looking for his discarded bat. Finding only the smoking
charcoal remains, flashing Cecil an angry glance, he instead opted for
a skeleton arm to replace his lost bludgeon.
All three looked up at the sound of the something stumbling
thorough the forest, seeing a fleeing robed form. "Hey! Come back
here!" April shouted at the fleeing necromancer.
They chased him through a small section of the forest and quickly
arrived at a small log cabin, apparently the necromancer’s base of
operations.
The magic user quickly dashed through the door. The three warily
followed. As they entered the house the necromancer exclaimed,
"Zombies, attack!" and began casting, chanting dark and sinuous
words...
The three teens fell into defensive crouches as about two dozen
zombies spilled from the back room.
They were hamsters.
David blinked and began laughing maniacally. "-These- are your
last line of defense? HA!" He ran in front of Cecil and April and
proceeded to kick the zombie hamsters, each making a strange squeaking
noise upon impact, out the window.
"HAHAHAHA..." David trailed, realizing the mage had concluded his
spell and the bolt of life-reaving energy he'd thrown was heading
straight for him. Reflexively, he threw the skeleton arm in his hand
up into a parry. Somehow, it managed to deflect the bolt of energy
down onto the floor.
The resultant explosion knocked the trio out of the door, and
leveled the little log cabin.
The three picked themselves off the ground, slowly dusting
themselves off. "Everyone okay?" April asked. The boys nodded,
looking back to the rubble.
After a beat of silence, a section of the leveled house upended
itself, and the mage, coughing and sputtering, emerged. "Damn you
three! How dare you oppose me?! How dare you presume to destroy my
undead army?"
Narrowing their eyes, all three picked up club-sized pieces of
the cabin and proceeded menacingly toward the necromancer.
The dark sorcerer glanced around not unworriedly. "Ara... He
who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day!" He disappeared
in a wrinkle of reality. "I will destroy you upstarts later. You
will rue interfering with the plans of the soon-to-be High Lich
Necromancer Rashekal!"
The wind picked up, blowing leaves across the scene of the ruined
building. "That was surreal," David commented. "Now let's find us
some heart pieces."
*
They walked.
"It's gone," Cecil flatly announced.
"What do you mean, 'it's gone'?" David said. "It can't be gone.
It's a tree. Trees don't just up and walk away. ...Okay, discount
those freaky tree ghosts we saw."
"David, we've walked the whole area at -least- twice, and there
hasn't been a peep out of the blade." April stretched, yawning. "I
don't know about you, but 30 hour days are not my cup of tea."
The boy shook his head. "I'm still not convinced."
"Here." Cecil pointed to a seemingly innocuous flat rock on the
ground. Sweeping away the dirt and leaves with his foot, he pointed
to the words written there.
"This stone in memory of the defeat of the evil tree," David
read. "So, we've been out here looking for this stupid thing all day,
and it's not here? How long have you known that stone was there,
Cecil?"
The vampire said nothing, whirling around and heading back to the
inn.
"Come back here, dead-boy, I'm talking to you!"
*
The group sat sleepy-eyed at the large table at the Ravens Grove
Inn. "This seems to have been a wasted effort," Cecil stated.
"Well, we did a good deed... but we didn't really do what we
came for," April amended at the others' dirty looks.
"I miss my CV..." David lamented. He slumped with despair on the
table, the guide blade in his hand on the middle of the large oaken
table. "Huh?" he remarked. The plastic sword began vibrating in his
hand. "I think this trip wasn't a loss after all." The boy pointed
to a knothole in the center of the log table, where the silver tip of
what could only be a piece of the Dragon Heart could barely be seen.
"Great!" April enthused. "Finally, we can go home..." She stood
up, pulling an etherphone out of her pocket. "I'll call Mr. Pfeiffer.
He should be so proud." She walked to a quiet corner.
"David... I guess I underestimated you," Cecil conceded.
"What?" The human looked up, a serious expression on his face.
"Are you actually going to say something -nice-?"
"I didn't think you would notice the piece for another hour or
so."
"What?!" His face contorted with rage. "Why, you overgrown,
long-eared wannabe goth freak!" He started over the table, then
froze. "Oh, da--"
Some were-beasts relish when the full moon comes out, enjoying
the freedom of the beast they transform into. David Singleton was not
one of those people. He winced, crumpling against the table as the
change began.
Cecil stared on with the horrific interest usually reserved for
viewing car accidents. "So, -that- is what you change into..." he
murmured.
David scowled at him. Or rather, a pine desk chair scowled at
them.
"You turn into a--"
*-Don't- say it. It is not exactly something I'm proud of.*
"So -this- is why you were so attached to your Mr. Loungy doll as
a child..." The vampire began to snicker.
*Mr. Loungy...* The chair began to tremble. *You will -pay-!*
*
"Mr. Pfeiffer?"
/"What? Who's this? Who's calling me all hours of the night?"/
"Mr. Pfeiffer, it's me, April. We got the piece."
/"Eh? What took you so long? Is Galiardo's office that
cluttered?"/
"Master Galiardo's office?" April frowned. "What are you
talking about?"
/"The clue, of course, for the first piece. Gaia's children
emerging from earth and becoming society is a wooden desk. The piece
should be in the top drawer of the one in Galiardo's office. What, it
wasn't there?"/
"Um.. we didn't look," April said, blushing into the phone. "We
got the tree part, but then, figured it was inside a tree, and went to
the Forest of Death..."
/"What?! That's.. that's the -sixth- piece! How could you mess
that up? You idiots!"/
April held the phone away from her ear as Leonard continued to
rant. "I think we got the wrong one," she told the others.
"What?! Singleton..."
*Well, we would have needed to come get this one anyway...*
"Oh, shut up, chair-boy. What a waste of my day and talents. I
loathe you," Cecil said, leaning in close to David. "If you were not
an inanimate object right now, I would drain you with pleasure."
The chair looked kind of surprised, then angry, especially as
April tripped after the vampire. It scowled at the clock. Seven more
hours...
tbc.
*
[Author's Notes]
This was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Wish it could've
been on time for the Improfanfic starter contest... ^_^;
If you can't tell, this is rather heavily inspired by Dungeons and
Dragons... Other resources were HyperPolice, Lodoss Wars, pretty much
every stereotypical fantasy story...
Super thanks go to Glenn Redd, Matt Johnston, the Improfanfic staff
and writers for giving this opportunity, and, last but definitely not
least, co-writer and egger-on, Cindy Fang.
*
The gnoll adjusted the radio station on his headset. "They have
one," he said, his words whipping into the wind. "It was close."
There was a brief pause as words drifted into his ear.
"As you wish."
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