"The Quest of the Dying Soldier." By skconnor@worldnet.att.net Remember that lone soldier who gave up his quest, right before you set off to save Gwaelin? Well, he had his own story. This is the sad untold tale I will now tell. Trellor gazed upon the stained glass windows of the church, eyes wide in expectation. He had just recieved the title of knight, and was extremely proud. "I find it funny." Trellor's sister sat in the pew next to him. "Thou art so proud of thy knighthood, but you know how peaceful the world is... What dost thou expect to do? Why didn't thee just become a merchant like father?" Trellor said nothing, then frowned. "Father. Hmph." He looked up to the cross at the front of the church. "It is true honor to serve thy country. Father hast wasted his time dealing in herbs and such trivial matters. He has accomplished nothing." "How dare you speak of father that way! If we were not in church I would slap thee without regret!" Trellor smiled. "Sure." "Truthfully though. I am worried for thee. I have recently spoken with a powerful seer. She has seen terrible events in your future if you continue thy life in the knighthood." Trellor laughed. His family had always believed in "magic." He never did. Father had always sent them to find herbs, feathers and rare minerals for their "magic mixtures" and people actually bought them! This was amazing to Trellor, but it actually was only because of his inner doubts, and lack of faith that the mystic items didn't work. "My sister, I love thee and I am very sorry, but I must part. The king has sent for me. I assume he wishes to bestow his blessings on our family. You can hope he shall give me several gold. We need it, after father died, we have little money." "Trellor, the tomatos I sell bring us what we need. I beg you to reconsider your position as knight." "And what if the crop fails, and you have no tomatos? What then? I have to support you. Now if you'll excuse me." Trellor headed towards Alefgard castle, leaving his sister alone. The journey there seemed just like any other day of travel until he saw a red blob of goo. A slime. The slime was intelligent, and attacked him! He fought it back as best as he could, realizing how inexperienced he was. After the final blow to the slime was delivered, it's body disintergrated, leaving behind two gold coins. He hesitated, and then picked up the gold, examined it, and placed it in his pouch. "What in the name of..." He ran to the castle as fast as was possible. "What is going on here? Does this have anything to do with the king's request to see me?" Trellor thought. When he finally reached the king, he knew the answer when he saw the look on his face. Then the king told him of the Dragonlord and his power, and the balls of light, and the reasons for the sudden attacks by all of the monsters. "I am asking thee, Trellor, because thy father showed me the way of magic and mysticism. He had great powers, and I assume thou hast the same. "I... I... Yes, your majesty." Trellor stuttered. He lied thinking that he would have otherwise insulted the king's intelligence. "I'll do my best." As he left the castle walls, Trellor saw a vision of beauty. Her flowing brown hair, her soft kind eyes and smile. She was the epitome of innocence. It was then he realized that this was Gwaelin. Obviously she had led a sheltered life, but she was at the age to look for a husband. "What am I thinking? I am just a knight. What would she see in me. But... if I could slay the dragonlord..." Trellor smiled, and his eyes met Gwaelins'. She smiled at him. He turned away. "I'm sorry Gwaelin. I cannot tell thee of this until I have succeeded in my mission." he thought. He walked out into the field, and heard a shriek within the castle. "No! That was Gwaelin!" Trellor watched as a green dragon swept with Gwaelin struggling in its claws. It headed east. "I have to save you! Whatever it takes, I will save you, and slay the dragonlord to avenge you!" Trellor sent a boy with a message for the king. "Let it be known, squire, that I, Trellor shall retrieve the lovely Gwaelin and vanquish the evil Dragonlord from this Earth!" The squire slowly walked to the king's chambers. He never delivered the message. The king's sobbing was such a shock that he could not bare to deliver Trellor's hasty promise. And that was Trellor's fatal mistake, he rushed to the east, after the dragon to save Gwaelin. Unfortunately, he was too inexperienced. He was poisoned in the dark dungeon lair of the green dragon guardian. His sister drug him out, through the marsh, back to Brecconary to the inn. "Take this, it shall save thee, brother." She handed him a mixture. I made it myself. Mixed throntel greens, mugwort, and a feather of the Magi Wyvern, with the fairy water from the old shrine. T'is the only thing that shall save thee." Trellor drank the potion. It tasted refreshing. "Thank you sister. Go home. Maybe I'll see you later." "Maybe? Trellor I..." "Quiet. Please leave me here. Thank thee for all that thou hast done. Tell the king that the quest for his daughter has failed. I am almost gone." Trellor's sister turned away. She felt her mind shatter with her spirit as she wandered back to her home town. "I have no tomatos. I have no tomatos today." she muttered crazily. Trellor never left his new home at the inn. The innkeeper took pity on the dying soldier, and didn't ask for pay. And as the slow working poison ate Trellor from the inside-out, he realized that his doubt of the magic had caused it to fail, and that now it was too late to do anything. His mind and body were too weak to realize the later events. The heroic descendant of Erdrick, the rescue of Gwaelin, the death of the Dragonlord. All was lost to him. All he could see after his vision faded and hearing wasted away, was Gwaelin's smile, and his sister's kindness in his time of need. He died with the realization of his failures, and the smallest hope that one day justice would be served. It's important not to overlook the guy in the shadows. I hope that in reading this story, you realize that games can be as deep and involving as you want them to be. The story of the dying soldier is my interpretation of how the soldier came to die in that Brecconary inn. So go ahead, let your imagination go! And don't overlook the guy who failed, because he had a story of his own. Comments? Questions? Ideas? You can e-mail me at: songokuh@geocities.com But please write stories for this webpage! I'd like to see other people's ideas of side stories within the Dragon Quest/Warrior series! I'd like to thank Enix for the excellent series, and the maker of the page. "Thank thee, kind strangers!"