Dragon Quest - I - Chapter 2, Part 2

(pp53-61)
T/L Notes:
1. ひし弓: Recurve bow was changed to crossbow in ch2.1 based on an image later on in the book.
2. 魔界童子: Lit. "[demon]child of the underworld". After the physical description in this chapter (2.2) this was changed to something more appropriate (Domovoi).

2 - The Traveling Stranger

“This your first time on a journey?”

“What?”

“Anyone not used to traveling has to be outta their mind to try and cross the desert in winter.” The stranger jumped down from the crag, cape fluttering in the wind, and began to walk off.

“W-Wait!” Aleph called out in panic, and the young man turned to him with a frightening expression.

“You gonna wait around for more monsters to attack and get yourself killed?”

“Uh…” Aleph didn’t know exactly what the long-haired man was saying, but he at least understood that he was telling Aleph to come along. Aleph gathered up his scattered belongings and chased after him.

54

The stranger walked on at his own pace, saying nothing.

They traveled for about an hour, until finally, after slipping through a crevice only wide enough for one person at a time, arrived at a place that was completely unrecognizable from the gusty desert they had just left. There was no wind, and the stars could be seen between the clouds above. In the valley below where they stood stretched a forest with a stream running through it.

“Water!” Forgetting the pain in his feet, Aleph practically tumbled down the slope to the stream. He reached out his arm to scoop up a drink when his new companion slapped his hand away.

“What’s your problem!?”

“Look for the white flowers.”

The youth crouched down by the stream and pointed to some white flowers blooming within the stream’s waters. They were beautiful and delicate, and grew in small bunches.

“Check to see if these flowers are growing nearby before you drink. They can’t grow in waters that are infected by the Dragonlord’s poisons.”

“I see…” If there had been poison in these waters - Aleph shuddered and gazed at the flowers.

“I’ll remember,” he said in thanks. Unable to hold himself back, Aleph knelt down and began to drink.

55

And drank, and drank. Finally, he looked up into the sky and took a deep breath. He felt like he was alive again. Just then a shadow passed overhead, and he froze in fear.

“Gah!”

A giant eagle, eyeing the pair of them, spread its great wings and swept downwards.

Aleph let out a shriek and dove behind a nearby rock.

Just as Aleph thought it was about to dive, it suddenly altered its descent, gracefully arcing back up into the sky and flying beyond the mountain range.

Aleph watched as the giant eagle, several times his own size, flew away. He looked to his new companion and was surprised at what he saw. Hanging from one of his hands was a dead rabbit. The eagle must have brought him its prey.

“Oh… that thing is with you?”

Without even looking at Aleph, the young man took out a small knife and began to skin the rabbit, lit a fire in a small cave nearby the stream, and started to cook its meat. It was apparent he had done this many times before.

The fire fizzed and crackled as the fat and juices from the meat dripped down into the flames. Aleph’s stomach rumbled many times over once the aroma reached his nose.

56

The stranger completely ignored Aleph. He didn’t say a single word. He didn’t even glance over. Could be a bit more friendly, thought Aleph, as he rubbed more poultice on his feet and looked into the stranger’s face.

“So where are you headed?”

The youth said nothing, only gazed into the flames.

“Where’re you going?” he asked again. “What’s wrong with telling me?”

Finally, he looked over at Aleph. After another moment,

“Nowhere,” he finally answered.

“N-Nowhere? What the hell does that mean?”

Exasperated, the young man let out a sigh.

“Whaddyou mean, nowhere?”

“Just where my legs take me.”

“But don’t you have a home somewhere?”

He ignored Aleph and continued to focus on his roasting meat.

“So you’re just going to travel forever? Gotcha, until your dying day,” said Aleph with purposeful sarcasm, irritated.

57

“I’m headed to Garai, myself.”

The stranger grunted in surprise and turned to Aleph. Finally, a reaction.

“I’m on a journey to defeat the Dragonlord. I thought that I would be able to find a clue as to how to reach his island at Garai,” Aleph explained.

“Hmph… Hahahaha!” the young man erupted, holding his stomach.

“What’s so funny?” asked Aleph, once again irritated. “I’m serious! I’m going to beat him and return peace to Alefgaard, just like Loto once did.”

“Maybe you should reevaluate, considering it’s doubtful you’ll even make it to Garai at this rate.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re going in the wrong direction.”

“W-What!? That can’t be right!” Aleph hurriedly took out the old leather map.

A completely accurate map of Alefgaard has yet to be charted since the Dragonlord’s rule began. Despite this, the map Aleph had covered the entirety of the continent. Written in the bottom right edge of the map was an unfamiliar script.

58

“We’re around here, aren’t we?” Aleph pointed to a region north of the Radatome Desert near the ocean. The youth grabbed a twig and walked over, using the stick to indicate an area far removed from where Aleph thought they were.

“We’re way over here!?” Aleph was incredulous. He had thought he was heading straight north, when in actuality he had ended up walking far northeast.

“Cross that mountain north and you’ll reach the ocean,” the long-haired stranger said, pointing across the valley with his chin. “Rely on an old map like that and you’ll never make it anywhere,” he said with an insulting grin.

“I haven’t any choice, have I!?”

It was true that the great quake had sunken an entire peninsula. Whole lakes have disappeared. Mountains erupted from the ground where there were none before, and ones that already existed were altered beyond recognition. Once verdant grasslands were dried into desert. Even the flow of some rivers had been altered. It was said that in some places, the land was still moving and changing. Still, it was better than having no map at all. It was the only thing Aleph could rely on.

“It’s all I’ve got!” Aleph yelled angrily.

59

“Eat,” the youth said suddenly, throwing over a strip of meat he cut off with his knife. He began to chew noisily on his own.

Aleph continued to glare at him and pout, but once the smell of the meat reached his nose and he swallowed back his drool, he plopped himself down. The flavor of the fatty meat spread through his mouth pleasantly.

After their short meal, the stranger seemed taken with Aleph’s sword. He had seemed intrigued by it for a short while now.

His hunger abated, Aleph’s mood had greatly improved. He had nearly forgotten about his earlier irritation with the young man.

“It was a gift from his royal highness,” he explained.

His new companion looked confused.

“Ralus XVI. It was part of his treasury.” Aleph took out the sword and handed it to him as he explained what happened at the castle.

“Loto…?” asked the stranger, once Aleph announced he carried the blood of the hero. The young man was not expecting that. After staring at Aleph for a moment, he snorted, tossed back the blade and stalked out of the cave. He sat down on a stone by the stream and pulled out a silver flute from his breast pocket. He placed it to his lips, and soon the air was filled with an attractive yet subdued melody.

Before long, a crescent moon hung in the sky.

60

Aleph listened to him play and stared into the campfire. Somehow, the notes filled his heart, yet left him feeling sad and empty at the same time.

All of the sudden, he thought of the faces of his parents. What are they doing now, he wondered? Have they finished their evening meal? Mom must be worried, I’m sure she’s praying for me - with thoughts like these, Aleph suddenly missed them terribly.

Before he knew it, Aleph was asleep. The exhaustion from his journey finally overwhelmed him. For one night, he wasn’t afraid of monsters coming to attack him in the dark. Perhaps having a would-be friend set him at ease, and allowed him to sleep through until morning. A tear had traced a line down his cheek in the night. Maybe he had a dream about his parents.

The next morning, by the time Aleph opened his eyes, the young man was gone. Next to the embers of the fire were left the remainder of the cooked meat from the night before. It must have been a small gift to Aleph.

He walked to the stream, filled his waterskin, and headed off in good spirits.

Five days after their departure from one another, after crossing the ridge and being assaulted by a blizzard, Aleph arrived at a violently churning ocean, stretching out to the horizon.

The waters were destructive in force. Great waves the color of ash crashed against one another with a roar, drowning out the sounds of the birds’ cries above. It was the first time Aleph had seen the ocean up close.

61

The blisters on his feet had gotten better over the last few days. He had stopped pushing himself quite so hard and had found a pace and distance that agreed with him.

Finally, after eight days of walking along the coast, Aleph reached the apex of a tall sand dune. In the distance, he could see a row of snow-covered houses at the tip of a cape.

“Garai!!” he yelled.

A warm feeling suddenly filled Aleph’s chest. It had been twenty-three days since leaving Radatome.

“Garai! The town of Garai!” Forgetting the pain in his legs, Aleph broke out in a run. His feet left deep imprints in the pristine snow-covered sandhills.

Once Aleph disappeared from sight, the snow at the peak of one of those dunes began to kick up into a whirlwind. It dissipated at once, leaving the shape of a small boy behind.

The boy was small, of an unknown age, and his proportions were deformed. His head was nearly one third of his height, smooth and round, without a single hair. His skin was a glossy white, and he had triangular, pointed ears, and no eyebrows. His sharp eyes were a blood red. A black cape covered his body. The Domovoi.

Domovoi’s red eyes glinted and he smiled evilly after Aleph.