Dragon Quest - I - Chapter 4, Part 5

5 - Sworn Enemy

The great eagle danced gracefully through the air, spreading its enormous wings. Below, Aleph and his new companion traveled on through the desert waste towards Domdora. He had finally revealed his name to be Galthira.

That night after Galthira had saved Aleph from the star chimera’s attack, he ripped a strip of cloth from his tunic and wrapped it around Aleph’s wounded arm. He was about to turn and leave when Aleph dragged him unwillingly to the nearest inn.

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Aleph wanted to thank him formally for saving him so many times, but he also wanted to see if he knew anything about the sages and their artefacts. Maybe Aleph had missed him a little, too.

After Aleph treated him to dinner and asked him about the sages, though, Galthira just shook his head.

Aleph sighed and began to tell his new friend about everything that had happened since their last farewell. Galthira might not have cared about any of it, but he didn’t believe Aleph when he first told him he was a descendant of Loto, so Aleph wanted to tell him everything anyway.

Aleph went on to talk about Garai’s sealed gravesite and the encounter with the five giant snakes in the forest. Once he did, Galthira, who had up until this point sat expressionless  polishing his flute, turned to face Aleph in surprise. His eyes gleamed with a frightening look.

“You know of those snakes?” asked Aleph immediately.

But Galthira said nothing, and went back to polishing his flute. Not knowing what else to say, Aleph continued his story. About meeting Garai in Loto’s cave, about the entertainer Manuel from Maira, about the Thousand Year Witch and the Staff of Rain, unsealing Garai’s grave and the silver harp, the occurrence at Melkid and, of course, the old map, the life stone, and the chimera wing.
Galthira listened to all of this in total silence. Once Aleph was finished, he finally opened his mouth to speak, and said something Aleph never expected.

“We should travel together.”

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“Really? You mean it?” asked Aleph loudly, suddenly excited. “We’d be unstoppable together! Definitely, let’s team up! Oh, I’m Aleph, by the way.”

After a long moment, Aleph’s new companion responded, “I’m Galthira.”

Galthira said virtually nothing during their travels. He simply walked on at a steady pace in dead silence. At first, Aleph could barely keep up with him, but after three days he could eventually match Galthira’s quick step.

The great eagle was dancing through the air above, watching over them as usual.

“So,” Aleph began.

He had wanted to ask about the giant eagle and the silver flute for a while now. But Galthira barely spoke as it was, and Aleph thought that asking him about himself might not be the wisest thing, so he decided to give up.

“How long have you and that eagle been together?”

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Galthira raised his eyes to the bird above him, and surprisingly, responded, “All my life.”

“That long?”

“Since I was a baby.”

“Really?”

“The eagle belonged to the old man that found me and raised me.”

Aleph stopped and stared at Galthira. “Found you? You mean you don’t know where you’re from?”

“Apparently I was thrown away in the mountains somewhere.”

“I see. And what about the flute you’re always polishing?” Aleph pressed, unable to resist.

Galthira pulled the flute out from beneath his shirt. “It's a memento of the man who raised me,” he responded, and then they continued on in silence.

About an hour later, the great walls of Domdora appeared above the desert horizon. Spotting the town, they both quickened their pace.

Just like the last time Aleph was here, a cold wind blew through the town.

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The two kept a vigilant eye out for monsters as they moved past the gates and towards the town square, then headed for the alley by the church that Kazenoff the merchant had told Aleph about. Galthira sensed something, and put out an arm out to stop Aleph.

They both pulled out their swords and focused all of their senses, attempting to locate the enemy. A low growl could be heard from all directions. Monsters. Five of them - no, perhaps more.

Suddenly, creatures double Aleph’s size came stalking out from collapsed roofs and the broken church windows. They let out howls like that of starving beasts. There were nearly ten of them - savage killer lycanthropes.

Aleph and Galthira deftly moved against an alley wall, then Aleph began to chant a spell behind Galthira’s covering fire.

Begirama’s lightning struck the monsters full-force, then Galthira unhesitatingly cut them down. Then when Gira’s flame engulfed more of the beasts, Galthira’s sword flashed out, shooting massive spurts of blood into the air along with the lycanthrope’s death cries.    

Again and again, Aleph’s spells would stop the monsters’ advance and Galthira would cleave them from head to toe.

Once all of the werewolves had been defeated, Aleph staggered, and Galthira grabbed him to steady him. Aleph had used up too much of his stamina casting spells and was exhausted. In the space of a gust of wind, they suddenly felt like they were being watched. They turned.

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Aleph yelled in surprise but it was Galthira who was more shocked. Behind them, standing on top of one of the giant roots of the great oak, was the Domovoi.

“You!?” cried Aleph, but Galthira already started moving. He gripped his sword tightly and swung it down with all of his might, fury burning in his eyes. At the last moment, Domovoi vanished, and Galthira’s blade cut only air. The Domovoi was above, floating in mid-air.

Galthira turned around as the Domovoi landed silently behind him. Seeing this, Aleph pushed his exhausted body forward, cutting down at the demon.

Again, the Domovoi dodged easily, flying into the air. Aleph switched stances and jumped after him, swinging his blade across as Galthira lunged from the other direction.

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The Domovoi was caught in a pincer attack between the two, and they brought their swords down at the same time. They thought they had him, but at the next moment, a sharp clang rang out as Aleph and Galthira’s blades struck each other.

The Domovoi had disappeared. Galthira and Aleph landed just as an unsettling laugh came from above them. The demon was standing on a single branch that jutted from the center of the oak as if nothing had happened.

“Get down here!” yelled Galthira.

“Ha, ha… Hahahaha!” laughed the Domovoi haughtily. Using the Domovoi as a target, the great eagle suddenly dove in from above. The Domovoi’s laugh stopped abruptly. Eagle’s eyes are the sharpest when they’re looking for prey.

The Domovoi clicked his tongue and faded away, just as the eagle’s beak cut through the space he was in with a swoosh.

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It was barely a miss. The wind blew through the square.

Aleph and Galthira focused and did their best to detect anything, but all they could hear was the sound of the wind. The Domovoi did not show himself again.

“Curse that Domovoi!” spat Galthira and bit his lip.

“Domovoi? Is that it’s name?” asked Aleph.

“He’s a servant of the Dragonlord. My old man was killed by him.”

“What!?”
“The truth is… he was actually a spy for the Ralus royal family.”

“Your adoptive dad was a spy?”

“Yeah. He would go out in traveler’s clothes and try to find out the locations of the Dragonlord’s armies, things like that. The eagle would be with him. Eventually, he discovered the Domovoi, but he was killed by the Domovoi’s curse… By those five serpents. It was in the winter of my eighth year…”

“Giant snakes… So those giant snakes are controlled by the Domovoi, then?” asked Aleph, recalling the look on Galthira’s face when he mentioned the snakes the night before. “You’re out for revenge, then?”

“I’ve been looking for him for a long time, my eagle and I.”

So that’s why the eagle attacked first, thought Aleph, looking up.

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The eagle danced lazily through the sky.