13th installment of the VGNU.
Dragons and Broadswords,
Mystery and Adventure,
Final Fantasy has them all!
The beginning of Phase 2 for the Video Game Novel Universe.
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It was an easy journey back to Melmond, nothing left to get in their way, but it was still tense. None of the heroes wanted to speak about what happened, but they all knew they needed to put on a brave face for the villagers. After all, they didn't want to give the people a reason to stop celebrating. These people had fought just as hard as anyone, if not more than most, and deserved a day free of strife.
But one man saw through them, Sadda, though he said nothing. Instead he watched in fervent silence as the heroes divided to assist in the rebuilding of Melmond. They divided so quickly after arriving that almost no one noticed the absence of Bruce, all just thinking he was off helping someone else, all but Sadda of course.
Once Sadda had decided the heroes had helped enough, he gathered them at the inn and demanded they stop their charade.
"I am sure Bruce's death is difficult on all of you," Sadda said firmly. No one looked him in the eye. "But it's no use distracting yourselves by lingering here. You have a very important quest, and time is now of the essence."
"Now?" Conner caught. "Not before?"
Sadda shook his head. "I feel something terrible has happened, but I cannot see it clearly."
"Is it about the next crystal?" Emily asked. "Partly we've stayed here because we don't know where to go next."
"I believe so," Sadda nodded. "But to be sure, I will need to meet with Matoya." He stood, directing them to the door. "She will have felt as I do, and will travel to meet with me as well. We shall convene at Cornelia, with King Winters."
"Sounds like a plan," Conner agreed.
"Do we have a way to travel that doesn't include climbing a mountain?" Ben asked. "I mean, no offense old man but I don't think you'll make the trip if that's the case."
Sadda laughed heartily. "Now that the darkness has been quelled, I believe I have something to show you."
He led them out of the inn and through the city, towards the stables on the edge of town. Sadda knocked his staff on the ground three times, and the ground beside the stable opened up revealing a wide path leading beneath the stable. Inside the dark cavernous bunker, torches were already lit around a pond. And sitting in the pond--
"That's... a dragon," Emily gasped.
"Nearly as old as I am," Sadda nodded. "And not much faster I'm afraid, but she'll take us to your ship well enough without trouble."
The dragon was long and serpent like, it's stumpy legs not long enough to lift it's fat underbelly off the ground. Still, it chirped happily enough and was definitely large enough to carry all of them. It might've even been able to carry Bruce with them if he hadn't...
"Alright everyone on the dragon," Conner said, ushering his friends.
The time for mourning had passed. The time for dwelling on dark thoughts had passed. Now was the time for moving on. Bruce had wanted to get the job done, and he'd died before they could even start that job. The best they could do for him now was finish the job for him... and that meant leaving him behind.
