Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing and the Quest for the Holy Grail ❯ Journey to Ettenmoor ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Journey to Ettenmoor

The party left early the next morning to begin the journey to Ettenmoor Castle.

“Shouldn't we buy supplies?” Duo asked as they set out.

“It won't be necessary right away,” Percival said. “There are several towns along our route where we can stop for meals. We can get supplies in a few days.”

“But what about snacks?”

“Geez, Duo, do you ever think about anything besides your stomach?” Heero grumbled.

“Sure!” Duo grinned. “I was thinking about something other than my stomach last night!”

Heero rolled his eyes.

Roku trotted along beside the horses, periodically dashing off the road to investigate something interesting.

“Mama! I smell rabbits!” Roku shouted during one excursion.

“Please try not to go out of sight, Roku!” Quatre called back. “I worry!”

“About him or the rabbits?” Trowa said. “He's a tiger, Quatre. I don't think there are too many things in the English countryside that can hurt him.”

“I know, but he's still just a little boy.”

“Who is probably the most powerful sorcerer in England, according to Merlin,” Wu-Fei reminded him.

“He's still my baby.”

“You're going to have to let go sooner or later, Quatre,” Heero said.

“Then I choose later!”

“You're such a worry-wart, Quatre!” Duo laughed. “Roku couldn't have a more protective mother. But if it will make you feel better, I'll ask my knife.” Duo pulled the blade out of its sheath. “Hey, Knife! Is there anything around here that could hurt Roku?”

There is nothing in these parts that can harm the tiger.

“There!” Duo said. “The knife says there's nothing around here that could hurt Roku.”

Roku came galloping back. “These bunnies run faster than Jean-Pierre!”

This elicited a burst of laughter from the knights.

“Do you suppose Monsieur Galvoisin's ass has healed enough for him to ride home yet?” Hagrimore chuckled.

“It's gonna be a lonely trip, thanks to Wu-Fei,” said Duo.

Wu-Fei looked faintly guilty. “Let's not discuss that, shall we?” he asked primly. Then he frowned and reached behind himself to scratch his back. “Dammit! It's starting to itch again!”

“Oh, yeah? Let me have a look.” Duo guided his horse next to Wu-Fei's and leaned across. He peaked down the back of Wu-Fei's shirt. “Hold still a second.” He stuck his hand inside Wu-Fei's shirt and scratched. Then he pulled his hand out and looked at his fingertips curiously. “Have a look at this.” He held his hand in front of Wu-Fei's face.

Wu-Fei stared at Duo's fingers. “Don't tell me…” he trailed off in dismay.

“Yup. You're shedding.”

“This is so wrong!” Wu-Fei cried. “I'm gonna kill that bloody dragon if I ever see him again!”

“Wu-Fei's shedding?!” Trowa exclaimed. He moved closer to have a look.

Quatre and Heero rode closer as well.

“That's kind of neat,” Quatre said. “Look at the way the scales sparkle after they come off. They're translucent.”

“We should keep them,” Heero said. “Aren't dragon scales supposed to have medicinal or magical properties?”

“I'm glad everyone's enjoying this!” Wu-Fei growled.

Roku trotted over to them. “What's everybody looking at?”

“Papa Wu-Fei is shedding his scales,” Duo said.

“Really? I want to see!”

“When we stop, sweetie,” Quatre said. “Papa Wu-Fei can take his shirt off and we can all get a better look at it.”

“Let's stop now!” Wu-Fei complained. “This itching is driving me crazy! My shirt just keeps irritating it.”

“We have been riding for a while,” Trowa said. “I wouldn't mind stretching my legs for a minute. I'll ask Percival.” He rode ahead to catch up with the knight.

Trowa and Percival talked for a moment and then Percival nodded. He reined his horse off the road and stopped in the shade under a grove of trees. The other knights followed him and soon the whole group was stopped under the trees.

“I see a stream just back there.” Damodin pointed through the grove. “We should water the horses.”

Wu-Fei, however, was not interested in any stream. He stripped off his shirt impatiently. “Please tell me you brought some oil, Duo!” he exclaimed.

“I'm pretty sure I bought some in town yesterday.” Duo looked at Roku, who was standing on his hind legs to get a better look at Wu-Fei's shedding scales. “Roku, didn't I get some oil at that perfume shop?”

“Yes you did, Papa Duo. I have it.”

“Well, fish it out for me. And didn't I give you a little empty jar to hold for me, too?”

“Yes.”

“Get that out, too, then. We can put some of the scales in it.”

“Ok.” Roku sat down and tucked his nose under his foreleg. He produced a red silk scarf. “Hmm… That's not it.” He reached in again and produced a leather pouch with a few coins in it. He frowned. “Where did I put it?” he muttered to himself. He stuck his nose under his other leg and produced a small wooden ball. Then he brought out the book Duo bought him. “This isn't right. Everything's all jumbled up.” He began pulling out item after item, and a pile of assorted objects began growing up around him. Four pieces of cloth in different colors, a set of keys, a cloth doll, a set of wooden blocks with letters on them, a shiny blue ribbon, a piece of cheese, a trencher, a hairbrush made with boar bristles, three wooden cups and a bronze pitcher, a green silk shirt, a set of dice, a deck of cards, a little clay jar with a waxed cork stopper, a larger jar of thick green glass with a lid with a metal clamp, a gold bracelet and a wooden comb. “Ok, that's everything,” he announced with a look of satisfaction.

Everyone was staring at him with open mouths.

“What?” Roku said.

“Where did you get all that?” Quatre said.

“Around. Or from Papa Duo.”

Quatre looked at Duo.

Duo tried to look innocent.

He failed.

“There are the jars I wanted,” Duo said quickly. “Wu-Fei, let me tend to your scales.” He grabbed the two jars and edged around Quatre toward Wu-Fei.

Hagrimore and a few other knights squatted down around Roku to have a look at his stash.

“What have you got in your purse, youngster?” Hagrimore asked, pointing at the leather pouch.

“Four copper coins, three silver ones and a gold one.”

“You have a gold coin?!” one of the knights exclaimed. “That's right unfair for a youngster like him to have gold. I haven't managed to hold on to a gold coin since I took my vows!”

“Papa Duo gave it to me!” Roku said proudly. “He said it was important to always have some emergency funds, just in case.”

The knight nodded in mournful agreement. “My late father tried to pound the same lesson into me when I was a boy. Perhaps it would have stuck if he'd backed it up with a little seed money, like Master Duo there.” He sighed.

“Well, you'd better pack all this back up, my lad,” said Hagrimore. “We'll be moving on as soon as our young dragon gets his back scratched.”

“Ok.”

Wu-Fei was sitting cross-legged in front of Duo, who was diligently scratching off Wu-Fei's scales and putting them in the little clay pot. Heero watched over Duo's shoulder and occasionally lent a hand.

“This doesn't hurt, does it?” Duo asked.

“No. It feels good.” Wu-Fei wriggled his shoulders. “Keep going.”

“There are a lot more of them than I thought,” Heero said. “The pot's nearly full.” He rubbed a couple of the scales between his fingertips. “They still feel really hard, but they're kind of flexible. I wonder if we could make these into a shirt? It might work better than chain mail. They would certainly be a lot lighter.”

Quatre came over and scratched a few scales off. He stepped out into the sunlight and held them up. The scales glittered like chips of colored glass. “I think I remember a spell or two involving dragon scales. I'll see what I can come up with for you, Heero. But I think we'll need a lot more scales.”

“Shouldn't be a problem if Fei sheds like this every spring,” said Duo. “Two more years and you should have enough to make a cloak.”

“I'm not amused, Duo,” said Wu-Fei.

“I'm just stating a fact!” Duo defended himself. “You're not the one back here seeing how much is coming off. But anyway, I think I'm about done.” He scraped off the last few scales and put them in the pot. “There. All done.” He opened the glass jar and tipped some oil into his palm.

“Ahh!!!” Wu-Fei sighed with pleasure as Duo began rubbing the oil onto his back.

“It looks like the new scales are already coming in,” Duo said. “The oil makes them shiny.” He leaned close. “Color pattern looks about the same, but I think they're spreading a little. About half your back looks to be scaled now.”

“Oh great!”

“It still looks really nice,” Duo assured him.

“Hmph!” Wu-Fei grumbled.

Duo finished and Wu-Fei put his shirt back on. He shifted his shoulders about a little and then nodded.

“I guess that's ok,” Wu-Fei said. “This still sucks, though.”

“Let's get moving,” said Trowa

“Mama, may I ride with you?” Roku said. “I'm tired.”

“Of course, dear,” Quatre said. “Why don't you switch to your human form for a while? It will be easier.”

“Ok.” Roku shimmered into a little boy. Quatre had made sure he had some properly fitting clothes to wear before they left court so he could change between forms comfortably.

“That's a right useful skill, I must say,” Damodin remarked.

Quatre lifted Roku up onto his horse and then mounted behind him. Roku leaned back against him, closed his eyes and promptly went to sleep.

“If you ask me,” said Hagrimore, “that's an even more useful skill.”

The group resumed their journey. An hour's travel brought them to a village with a large inn just off the road. The inn had several outdoor tables in a courtyard surrounded by a low stone wall. The company took over three of the tables, clamoring for food and drink. A boy and girl in their late teens, who looked enough alike to be twins, hurried out with trays of meat and bread, and tankards of ale. The boy brought a mug of milk for Roku.

“I would like some milk, too, please,” Wu-Fei said.

The serving boy looked surprised, but he hurried off to get it without a word.

“That ale is horrible enough with dinner,” Wu-Fei explained. “I can't imagine the discomfort of sitting on a horse with a bellyful of it.”

“Perhaps you would prefer a bit of French wine,” Hagrimore said. “I hear dragons are quite partial to the stuff.”

Wu-Fei glared at him. “I am not a dragon.”

“You're getting mighty close, my friend.”

Wu-Fei mumbled something unflattering under his breath.

The serving girl leaned past Duo to put a tankard in front of him.

“What's that?” Duo asked her.

She looked at him in surprise. “I didn't say anything, Sir.”

“No? I thought I heard you say something about my hair.”

The girl flushed. “Oh! I was just thinking that it's very pretty. I've never seen such long hair on a man before.” She curtsied and hurried away, still blushing.

“That's weird,” Duo said. “I could have sworn I heard her say something.”

“I didn't hear her say anything,” Heero said. He was seated right next to Duo. “You're just so proud of that mop of yours, you probably just imagined it.”

Duo grinned at him. “I thought you liked my hair.”

Heero frowned. “Shut up and eat,” he muttered.

“The meat tastes different when it's cooked,” Roku said.

“Well, you should eat it cooked when you're human, Roku,” Quatre said. “I'm not sure raw meat is good for you in this form.”

“Ok.” Roku snuggled against Quatre's side and ate off of the same plate, swinging his little feet under the table.

“Man, he's cute!” Duo said. “We sure made one adorable kid.”

“He is pretty cute,” Trowa said. “I wonder what his Aunties will say?”

Roku looked up. “I have Aunties?”

“Yup,” Trowa said. “Your Mama has a couple of dozen sisters back home.”

“Will I get to meet them?”

“I hope so,” Quatre said. “The Oracle said we could find our way home on this quest. If that's true, you'll get to meet your Aunties and all of our old friends.”

“I hope they like me.”

“Of course they'll like you, Roku! Everyone likes you.”

“I don't think Jean-Pierre liked me.”

“Well, that was no loss. We didn't like Jean-Pierre either.”

And so the journey went. For the first six days, they stopped at inns for meals and to spend the night. But on the morning of the seventh day, Percival had them buy supplies.

“From here,” Percival said, “we must strike across country. Ettenmoor Castle stands in the middle of a vast moor. It is poor land, suitable only for grazing sheep, so there are few settlements. We may see a farmstead or two, but that will be it.”

Percival was right. The land they traveled through for the next three days was dismal, open plain covered in scrubby gorse and heather. It might have been pretty later in the spring, but at the moment, everything was just gray. Rain clouds swept in and they rode bundled in their cloaks. Roku, back in tiger form, huddled underneath Quatre's cloak, making Quatre look pregnant again.

The steady drizzle dampened everyone's spirits, including Duo.

“I think I'm catching a cold,” Duo complained. He sneezed violently, startling his horse.

“If you were wearing cotton instead of silk, you'd be warmer,” Wu-Fei said.

“I have on three pairs of underwear!” Duo grumbled. “I should be warm, silk or not.”

“I'll start a fire when we stop for the night,” Wu-Fei said. “That will warm you up.”

“You are a true friend!” Duo said with a reverent smile.

In fact, Wu-Fei was probably the most popular member of the group that night. Under normal circumstances, the rain would have made a fire impossible, but Wu-Fei was not in the least deterred by the damp brush. His fiery breath first dried the brush and then set it aflame. Everyone huddled close to the heat and agreed that, scales or not, Wu-Fei was a decent fellow.

They came upon Ettenmoor Castle two days later in the afternoon, with the sun just starting to break through the clouds. It was not an inviting place. The walls were constructed of dark gray stone that was streaked with black. It stood on top of a low rise, looking gloomy and uninhabited.

“Does anyone live there?” Quatre asked.

“Ettenmoor Castle was abandoned twenty or thirty years ago,” Percival said.

“It's haunted,” Hagrimore stated matter-of-factly.

“Haunted?!” Duo exclaimed. “Why didn't you mention this before? Are we sure we want to go there?”

“It's not haunted,” Percival said, and he frowned at Hagrimore. “The castle's last inhabitants died of plague, so people avoid it.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Duo said. “Maybe we should do the same.”

“Someone needs to take a drink from the well in the castle courtyard,” Wu-Fei said. “That's what the oracle told us.”

“I'll go,” Heero said. “If the castle is abandoned, there's nothing to fear. Twenty-year-old plague is hardly a threat.”

“We should all go,” Quatre said sternly.

“I agree,” said Percival. “We are seeking understanding, after all. What good is it to turn back at the first challenge?”

They rode up to the castle's forbidding walls only to discover that there was no gate. They rode all the way around the castle, but no entrance was to be found.

“Well, this is a might puzzling,” Hagrimore exclaimed, scratching his head. “I thought you said people used to live here, Percival.”

“They did,” Percival said, equally puzzled.

“What do we do now?” someone asked. “Those walls look too smooth to climb.”

“Let's make camp,” Percival replied. “We are obviously going to have to think about this.”

“Well,” Wu-Fei said, “the oracle did make it sound like it wouldn't be easy.”

“Too bad you didn't grow wings along with those scales, Fei,” Duo replied.

“Very funny.”

“That is an idea, though,” Trowa said. “Quatre, can't you change into a bird and fly in there?”

Quatre looked up at the walls thoughtfully. “I suppose, although I've never done a bird before.” He concentrated for a moment, and then shimmered into a large hawk. He looked himself over, fluffed out his wings, and then leaped into the sky. He circled up to the top of the wall and flew over.

Everyone stood still, staring up at the wall.

Quatre reappeared and swooped down to the ground. He shimmered back into his own shape. “It looks like someone walled up the gate from the inside.”

“Did you see the Well of the Four Souls?” asked Percival.

“Yes, but getting to it won't be easy.”

“You can't reach it from the air?”

“I think the ogre guarding it will try to eat me.”

“What?!” several people exclaimed at once.

Quatre nodded. “Yup, there's an ogre in there. Big one, too. And we're going to have to kill it in order to reach the well.”