Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digiquest for Glory: Trial By Fire ❯ Departure and Arrival ( Prologue )

Prologue

By Time Lady

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Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Quest for Glory

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"Is that all you're taking?" Yamato asked in surprise as Shameen brought forward two large satchels and set them outside the door of what was formerly the Hero's Tale Inn.

"We Kattamon travel light," returned Shameen. "Our ancestors were nomadic desert dwellers. The less we carry the better."

"Where are the others?" asked Abdulla. "We must leave by noon."

"Takeru went to say goodbye to Wizardmon," replied Yamato. "Daisuke is over at the Adventurer's Guild. Ken's somewhere in town, but I'm not sure where."

---

"Think you're ready for a bigger town?" asked the chief thief as he absently tossed a dagger at the bull's eye on the wall.

Ken leaned against the wall of the Thieves' Guild. "Yeah. Getting to be a bit too much competition in this small town."

"Shapeir's not easy pickings. The law there is a lot tougher. There really isn't any organized guild like we have here. If you were going to Raseir. . . well, that's another story. Jureimon has a tight grip on all activities. If you ever have to operate out of there, you're going to have to deal with him."

"Thanks for the advice. I better be heading out before the others start looking for me."

"Good luck kid."

---

"Oh man, I am so ready for a new challenge!" exclaimed Daisuke. Gennai smiled and continued to polish his sword.

"I wish I was as young and enthusiastic again. Then I would join you youngsters on your trip."

"Do you know what kinds of monsters we're going to face?"

"I do not. Definitely there will be humans, but there will be creatures as well. The first thing you should do is talk to the local guild master. They will know what you will find surrounding Shapeir," advised Gennai.

"Will do. I'm going to miss this place though." Daisuke looked around the guild. "One thing I won't miss."

"Oh? What is that?"

"The snow. Spielburg is way too cold for my tastes."

"You haven't seen anything," chuckled Gennai. This is warm compared to the middle of the winter. Though from what I hear, you can't get much warmer than the Shapeirian Desert."

"Cool."

"No, not really."

---

"Ah yes," said Wizardmon as he sipped his tea. "Shapeir is a land of mystery and much magic."

"Abdulla told us about the Ifreet and Djinni," returned Takeru.

"And more. Shapeir and its sister city of Raseir attract both good magic and dark magic. You'll have to be on your toes." Wizardmon reclined back into his chair. "But this will be a good journey for a young magic user like you."

"If you don't get eaten by something first," quipped Chuumon.

"Quiet you." The archmage glared at his familiar, then turned back to Takeru. "Shapeir is supposed to have one of the hidden entrances to WIT."

"WIT?" asked Takeru.

"The Wizard's Institute of Technocery," explained Wizardmon. "Where a youngster such as yourself goes from being a simple magic user to an official wizard."

"Kids like you learn to do the hoodoo and voodoo," interjected Chuumon.

Takeru's eyes lit up at the chance to become an acknowledged wizard. "How do I get in?" he asked eagerly.

"That I can not tell you," said Wizardmon. "You must use your skills to find the door. One of the pre-requisites."

"Sort of an entrance exam," added Chuumon. Takeru groaned and Wizardmon rolled his eyes.

"Chuumon, when is a rat not a rat?" asked Wizardmon, a gleam in his eyes.

"When it turns into a rat hole?" suggested Chuumon.

"No. When it's e-rat-icated," returned Wizardmon.

"Is there a magic shop in Shapeir?" asked Takeru.

"Yes. It's a rather interesting place. You'll just have to see it for yourself. Let's just say. . . don't judge the shopkeeper there by Sorcerymon." Wizardmon refused to say anything else on the topic. Instead he shifted Takeru's attention to another subject.

---

The sun was high overhead by the time Takeru made it back to town. The others were talking to the Baron and his daughter, who had come to see them off.

"I wish I could come with you," said Catherine.

"Child, you've just returned to me a few weeks ago," said Baron von Spielburg. "Are you so ready to rush off?"

"No Father," said Catherine with a smile. "Perhaps I have become a bit used to more action."

"There'll probably be plenty of action around here," said Daisuke. "The brigands may be gone, but there's still a few monsters roaming about."

"Yes. I almost forgot to thank you for showing me where the Goblimon training grounds are located," added Catherine.

"Catherine, I think we have to talk more about what is expected of a young lady of your position," admonished her father.

Daisuke and Yamato felt sorry for Catherine. She had been used to being her own person, to living her life freely, and to being a leader. It seemed as if she were headed for some clashes with her father.

"Well, now that Takeru's here, we're ready to go," interjected Ken.

"Yes. Abdulla had wanted to leave by noon," added Yamato.

"I wish you would have chosen to stay longer," said the Baron. "Though our needs aren't as great as they once were, we still have need of heroes."

"Every land has its need of heroes," said Abdulla. "Though since the avalanche has cleared, more heroes have been trickling in here. Once the pass opened up I was able to receive messages from Shapeir. There are many ill omens occurring."

"There is also the disappearance of the Emir of Raseir, Shapeir's sister city," added Shameen. "Kattamon are being driven from Raseir. Those Kattamon and humans still in the city live in a state of oppression. The twin cities of Shapeir and Raseir need heroes."

"We can only hope that sometime in the future you will return to Spielburg," said the Baron. "You are always welcome here."

"If you can, write," said Catherine. "I would love to hear what adventures you have."

"Hey Daisuke!" They turned to find Bakumon, the shopkeeper, approaching. "Good thing I caught you. Your order just arrived!" He handed Daisuke a thin packet.

"Hey cool!" He ripped off the paper. "The second volume of the Famous Adventurers' Correspondence School manual!"

"Oh no. . . not that thing again. . .," groaned Ken. "That's what got us into this in the first place!"

"I managed to get the special Shapeir supplement." Daisuke thumbed through the pages quickly. "It even talks about the creatures in the area."

"Come," said Abdulla. "I do not wish to be flying after sundown."

Saying their last good-byes to Catherine and Baron von Spielburg, the heroes stepped aboard the carpet with Abdulla and the Kattamon, who sat down cross-legged at the front of the carpet. Abdulla said some words in Arabic. Everyone's eyes widened as the carpet suddenly lifted into the air.

"GAAAHHH!!!" yelled a very startled Daisuke. Ken and Yamato turned pale. Only Takeru looked truly enthusiastic.

"This is awesome!" shouted Takeru. He tried to look under the carpet and cast detect magic at the same time

"Will you sit down?" Yamato pulled Takeru's jerkin to keep his brother from falling over the edge. Cautiously everyone sat down and waved to the people on the ground. Abdulla directed the flying carpet skyward and southward.

---

"I never realized the mountains were so high," said Takeru.

"Don't mention heights," said Ken, who was still very pale.

"By ground, traveling the mountains will take many weeks," said Abdulla. "But there is only so much you can fit on a flying carpet. It is good to travel, but not for a merchant. Were I bringing all the goods I had brought to Spielburg, I would have had to go by caravan."

Suddenly they hit some air turbulence. The carpet lurched. Everyone crouched down to distribute the weight lower. "Oh man," said Daisuke. "We survived Cheetauromon, Shamamon, and brigands and now we're going to die falling from a flying carpet."

"Easy my friend," said Shameen. "So long as you are not too close to the edges, there is nothing to fear."

Abdulla soon had the flying carpet under control. "Turbulence is only to be expected when traversing the mountains. Travel will be smoother once we reach the desert.

Once the carpet cleared the mountains, they found themselves flying over a vast, featureless desert. Abdulla lowered the carpet so it was traveling only about three feet over the sand. As Abdulla had said, the flying over the desert was considerably smoother. Everyone began to relax. The carpet glided over the sands, occasionally lifting up over dunes and boulders.

To distract himself, Daisuke began flipping through his FACS guide. "Hey, this issue discusses future careers for adventurers. They have a section on fighters, magic users, even thieves. . . hey!" Ken grabbed the guide out of Daisuke's hands. He glanced at the section on thieves, then ripped out the pages. He handed the guide back to Daisuke. "What did you do that for?" said Daisuke, glaring at Ken.

"You guys don't need these pages." Despite feeling ill, Ken forced a grin. He didn't exactly need the others knowing the secret thieves greeting. That could be disastrous.

Yamato would have rolled his eyes if he didn't have them closed. Gliding over the sand was making him motion sick. Only Takeru was truly enjoying the trip. Here he was, aboard a magic carpet, on his way to a magic land where he would find the means to be initiated as a wizard. What more could he want? He began talking to Shema and Shameen about Shapeir.

The carpet angled skyward to avoid a dune. Because of the angle and speed, the carpet shot skyward. Everyone held on tightly. A couple of minutes later Abdulla regained control and brought the flying carpet down to its previous flying height.

Shema passed around a waterskin. Ken refused, but Shema insisted. "Though we are traveling swiftly, you will become dehydrated from the heat," she said. After forcing down a couple of swigs, Ken passed the waterskin to Yamato.

A few more particularly large sand dunes caused the flying carpet to angle upwards sharply. Abdulla swiftly resumed their path. "Why don't you go higher to avoid the dunes?" asked Yamato.

"Traveling at heights for long periods of time is not advisable," returned the merchant. "We were only over the mountains a brief time. We have been traveling over the desert for a few hours."

"Are we there yet?" asked Daisuke.

"Soon," said Abdulla. "We should be there just before sunset.

As they traveled southward, the sun moved across the sky. Again Shema passed the waterskin. "When we arrive, you must be sure to seek the leatherworker and purchase several waterskins," she advised them. "Even within the city, water is a necessity. And outside of the city you will be hard pressed to find water, for there is only the oasis a few scareens from the city."

"Scareen?" asked Yamato.

"Distance in Shapeir is measured in scareens," explained Shameen. "Particularly once you are in the desert. You might wish to purchase a compass when you arrive. The desert is a hazardous place."

As if to punctuate Shameen's words, the carpet tried to maneuver over another dune. This time Abdulla miscalculated. Instead of smoothly following the lines of the sands, the end of the flying carpet clipped the top of the dune. The carpet spun wildly out of control.

"Oh man, I hope the sand is soft," moaned Daisuke as they went round and round.

"I must regain control!" shouted Abdulla, who then began yelling commands in Arabic.

Takeru closed his eyes to shut out the world around him and concentrated. "I don't know if this will work, but it couldn't hurt to try," he thought. The young magic user cast the calm spell. Slowly the carpet ceased spinning and Abdulla was able to steer.

"Quick thinking," said Ken, who had thrown himself flat on the carpet. "How did you figure it out?"

"Logically, if it were a person or animal going wild, calm would have settled them down," explained Takeru. "So why not a carpet?"

"Excellent thinking," said Abdulla. "Had I not been concentrating on steering, I would have suggested it."

"Ummm. . . right. . ." Takeru tried not to roll his eyes.

As the sun began to set, a city appeared over the horizon. White stone walls surrounded the stone buildings. Awnings provided spots of color. Some figures moved about the gates. "Shapeir," said Shameen. He took Shema's paw. "We are finally home."

---

In a plaza just inside the city gates, a Kattamon sat playing a strange flute. Another Kattamon called to a passing woman, "Flowers. . . lovely perfumed flowers for your home. . ."

A short distance away, an Etemon in a blue and white striped and sequined turban and robe handed a package to a man. "You're not going to regret this," said Etemon. "Satisfaction guaranteed or you don't get your money back."

Etemon's gaze turned towards an elderly man in a red turban and brown robes. "Hey you! How about a nice. . ." He noticed that everyone was looking skyward. "What in the world. . .?"

A small crowd of Digimon and humans gathered, then moved into a circle. Slowly, cautiously, a strange object drew near. As it moved closer, it appeared to be a carpet. Five humans and two Kattamon sat on top of it. The carpet lowered until it touched the ground.

"Are we there yet?" asked Daisuke, his eyes closed tightly.

"We're here," said Takeru.

"Thank God," muttered Yamato and Ken. Both were motion sick from the tail end of the journey.

Abdulla stood up and made a grand bow. "My friends, welcome to Shapier!"

<to be continued>

Author's notes: And so begins the second saga in the Digiquest for Glory series. This is based on the second Quest for Glory game, Trial by Fire. QFG fans, be prepared to throw out some of your character predictions. I'm constantly changing upcoming cast.

If you want to discuss predictions, pop on around the Digimon Fan Works board at http://pub95.ezboard.com/bdigimon45940