Chapter 4: The Two Checkpoints
THE closer to the Demon Lord’s castle they got, the higher the monster encounter rate rose, delaying their progress.
Seb whipped out his sword, slashing them into pieces.
Hatta busted out a whip, making quick work of nearby enemies.
Haigha cast healing magic.
Alice observed.
Seb unleashed fire magic upon the enemy.
Hatta rained down arrows on the enemy backline.
Haigha cast protection magic.
Alice observed some more. And some more. And a little bit mo—
“Do something, will ya?!” Hatta cried.
“Do you mind? I’m trying to pick out dinner,” Alice sniped.
“Where’d this weird infatuation with eating monsters even come from? Didn’t you get to eat the finest meals money can buy back at the castle?”
“I’m sick of that stuff! Being served virtually the same exact meals day in and day out gets awfully repetitive. I want something fresh! Something exciting! Don’t you ever dream of being the first to stumble across the best gosh-darn meal you’ve ever tasted in your entire life? Eating monsters is absurd; completely unheard of! All that unknown taste and nobody’s willing to brave it, right at our fingertips.”
Alice gave the onion monster a hungry stare, causing it to shiver. Haigha quickly hid it from her.
“Planning to fatten him up just a little more, I see.”
Asleep or not, she’s not the least bit useful. Hatta could feel his soul leaving his body as he heaved his heaviest sigh yet.
With Seb at the helm, they were able to make good progress regardless.
Next thing they knew, they had reached the Ridge of Illusions.
“The fog’s set in so thick, you can barely see what’s in front of you.”
“I can’t seem to sense any monsters around. What do you think, Haigha?”
“The fog’s being produced by some sort of monster, I think. Let me try using the spellbook first.”
Following the book’s instructions, Haigha activated the ancient magic, and tiny beads of light gently embraced them.
“Alice, look!”
“The fog lifted?”
The thick veil of fog had completely dissipated.
“‘Lifted’ is not quite the word I’d use to describe a fog that was never really there to begin with. Whether or not it’s an illusion being produced by some sort of monster, as Haigha pointed out, remains to be seen. But we should keep our guard up regardless,” Seb remarked.
They proceeded with great caution, carefully surveying their surroundings as they went. There were no monsters in sight, but the sheer number of precipices had Hatta and Haigha on edge.
“Had we gone in blind, we would’ve been careening down the edge of a cliff by now,” Hatta observed. “Ain’t that a scary thought? On the flip side, it’s a fairly relaxing ride, if you come in prepared. No monsters, nothing.”
“The Deedledeedum is right up ahead, Hatta,” Haigha said.
“You mean the item shop Jack mentioned earlier? Alice, we gotta drop by!”
“Sure, why not. We needed a break anyway.”
They pushed the antiquated door open, revealing two pudgy men engaged in a game of chess.
“Hmm? Oh, hello! And welcome to the Deedledeedum. I’m Deedledee,” said one of the men.
“And I’m Deedledum,” said the other one. “Not that our names really mean much. Have a look at our wares. Take all the time you need.”
The shelves were jam-packed with rare items.
“All of these items are rare. Heck, even the weapons are pretty rare!” Hatta’s eyes lit up. “But they’re way pricier than market value. Mind bringing the price down a notch, Deedledee?”
“No can do.”
“Oh, come on!”
“Before the fog settled, our foot traffic was amazing, and we priced our goods appropriately, but, as you can see, things have changed. We don’t get even a fraction of our previous traffic anymore, so marking up our goods way higher than they’re worth is the only way we can keep our business afloat. Besides, we need to save up some money so we can finally move out of this godforsaken place.”
“Oh, I see.” As a fellow item shop owner, Hatta understood the struggle all too well and chose not to push any further.
“If you have some good food on you and wouldn’t mind sharing, we’ll give you a slight discount,” Deedledum interjected.
“Didn’t we talk about this?”
“Just this once, please, Deedledee.”
“All right, fine. But just this once.”
“Here, have this.” Alice, set off by the words “good food,” held out a plate.
“A sandwich? Don’t mind if I—bleurgh! What’d you put in this?”
“Mushroom monster.” Deedledum rushed out of the store, clasping his hand over his mouth. “Seems like the seasoning didn’t land quite right again.”
“I suppose we could go for a simple salt and pepper combo next time. Also, slowly simmering it to really let the flavor soak in might be better than cooking it with the hottest fire,” Seb suggested.
It appeared they’d tried many different ways of preparing monster meat.
“So, how about that discount, Deedledum?”
“WHAT DISCOUNT?!”
Deedledum’s scream echoed across the entire ridge.
Hatta and Deedledee enjoyed some lighthearted banter while the rest of the group headed outside to grab dinner.
Seb’s exquisite cooking graced the freshly set-up folding table. His already amazing cooking skills appeared to be improving by the day.
“I almost puked myself to death.” Deedledum came back, pale as a ghost. “What’re you having? It looks good.”
“Want some?”
“There better not be any monster in there.” He hesitantly took a small bite. “It’s delicious. Mind if I join?” Deedledum took a seat and dug right in.
“Some monster’s behind the fake fog, correct? We could hunt it down for you, in exchange for some of your wares.”
“Incorrect. See that flower over on the cliff right there?” Deedledum pointed to a beautiful bright-red flower, gently swaying in the wind. “That’s what’s causing the fake fog.”
“A flower?”
“It’s a special kind of flower, known as Dream Drop. It yields all sorts of powders. We’ve lived here well before it ever got there, so we know this place like the back of our hands, meaning we can have the powder all to ourselves. Deedledee says he wants to move shop, but personally, I’m rather fond of our current quiet, peaceful lifestyle,” he said, taking a small jar out of his breast pocket.
“What you see inside is a powder that’ll put virtually any monster, even the stronger ones, to sleep. Just sprinkle it in the wind, and boom! Lights out, just like that. Take it, as thanks for the lovely meal; just don’t tell Deedledee. Also, it’s only good for one use, so be careful.”
Alice took the jar.
“Got my hands on a few rare goodies,” Hatta exclaimed, marching out of the store. “We’ll be back soon, Deedledee, Deedledum.”
“There’s a town by the sea up ahead. Get some rest there.”
“Will do.”
The two kind men saw the party off as they disappeared beyond the horizon. They arrived at the seaside town just before dark.
They passed out the second they got to their rooms. The journey proved to be so physically exhausting, even Seb, who never let his guard down, was sleeping like a baby.
The night passed, and they were all still asleep, except for Alice, who, having gotten plenty of quality shuteye in the coach, woke up to the morning sun shining through the window.
“Get up,” she said to Haigha, sleeping right next to her with the onion monster.