Dragon Quest IV Chapter 2

The chapter opens with Tsarevna Alena being scolded by her father, Tsar Stepan, for her desire to compete in the Endor tournament. He forbids her to leave the palace, and insists that she learn the proper decorum befitting a Tsarevna.

Retreating to her room, she sees the portion of the wall she kicked through earlier has just been boarded up, so she kicks through the boards and is again able to leave the palace, but before she has even left the palace grounds, Kiryl and Borya catch up, insisting that they accompany her on her voyages. She assents and they join the party.

She and her group arrive at a small village known as Taborov where a monster has been terrorizing the villagers, periodically demanding a village maiden as a sacrifice. Alena decides to take the place of the maiden designated as the sacrifice and defeat Master Kung when it comes to claim her. This plan is a success and the village is free of the monster's predations.

When the group arrives at Vrenor, they are surprised by a big commotion. When they talk to the villagers, they are told that "Tsarevna Alena" is staying at the inn. When they enter to find out who is impersonating them, they stumble onto a kidnapping in progress. Despite their best efforts, though, the kidnappers get away. A note found the next day states that the "Tsarevna" is being held and will be released in exchange for the Armlet of Transmutation. This artifact, according to a villager, is stored in a nearby cave, but is very dangerous, and should remain where it is.

Having no other option, the party retrieves the armlet and hands it over to the kidnappers, who then release the fake Tsarevna. She tells Alena that her name is Anya and apologizes for the inconvenience that her actions brought to Alena and party. She then hands over the Thief's key and leaves after promising not to impersonate her again in the future.

The party continues on to a Desert Bazaar, where they are informed by a palace guard that something has happened to the Tsar. They return to find him unable to speak, and the chancellor suggests they talk to an old man living in the palace to try to find a cure.

The old man mentions that the local bard, Josef Starling, was also voiceless for a time, suggesting they ask him how he overcame this ailment. Josef tells them his condition was cured with Birdsong Nectar, an item he acquired from the Desert Bazaar. A merchant at the Bazaar confirms that birdsong nectar was indeed sold there, but there is none left. The merchant suggests searching a tower to the west as the item was found there in the past.

Alena and her group climb to the top of the tower, only to find Oopsy and Daisy, who then leave, dropping a vial of Birdsong Nectar in their haste. Retrieving this, she returns and administers the cure to her father, who tells her that he had a strange nightmare in which demons destroy the planet, but his voice was stricken before he could tell anyone. He then grants Alena full permission to fight in the tournament.

Arriving at Endor, they discover that King Norman has promised the hand of Princess Veronica in marriage to the tournament winner. However, he feels that he made a foolish mistake, and request that Alena enter the tournament herself, reasoning that, were she to win, his promise would be made void. Alena, who wished to enter anyway, agrees to this plan.

The group also hears about a Psaro the Manslayer, the only other fighter to pass the preliminaries.

Alena, after preparing herself, then enters the tournament. Her first battle is against Atilla the Hunk, followed by Quick Draw McGore. After that, she fights Prima Donna and Samson Knight. She then fights the Abominable Showman, and steels herself for the battle against Psaro the Manslayer, but he is a no-show, so Alena wins by default. After the battle, one of her soldiers informs her that something terrible has happened at the palace just before dying.

On arrival at Zamoksva, she notices that the place is unusually quiet. They search the palace and find no trace of Tsar Stepan or anyone else. They then depart on another journey, this time to discover what happened to the people of Zamoksva.