Chapter One
'It's such a beautiful day just to sit back and relax' Lina thought 'No life threatening monsters to fight, no world ending problems to solve. Just a blue sky and the warm sun over head and a river full of fish to eat below.' Another fish got pulled out of the river and added to the ever growing pile.
Gourry was still trying to get a fire going to cook all the fish Lina was catching. "Don't you have that fire going yet, jellyfish for brains?" Lina ask. 'Do I have to do everything on my own?' Lina pointed her hands at the pile of wood that Gourry was leaning over. "BURST FLARE" Lina cast the the spell as she turned back to look at the river.
Gourry was set flying back a few feet. His ash covered face wearing a confused expression as he tried to figure out what happened. He looked back at what was just a stack of wood a second ago but now was a raging fire. "Fire started!" he said cheerfully like he had started it himself. He got up and walked over to the massive pile of fish Lina had caught. After getting nine or ten ready to cook, he walked back to the fire. "I hope Amelia and Zelgadis get here before their portion of the fish gets cold...or eaten" Gourry said "When are they getting back?"
"Don't you remember anything?" Lina growled. Then she sigh and clinically explained for what felt like the hundred time. "We have not seen them in months. Amelia had to go back to the castle to check in with Phil. Remember she hadn't been home for some time. Zel decided to look into some rumors about a ancient library near Seyruun. So they headed out together. I am sure we will run into them again soon. Amelia always seems to quickly get bored with being just Seyuun's princess and has to starts traveling again. As for Zel, well he is always around somewhere and we always seem to run into each other." She moved over the the fire, shaking her head as she watches Gourry try to take a bite out of one of the obviously still raw fish before putting it back to cook some more.
As the pile of fish was eaten, as quickly as they would cook, Lina and Gourry talk about what they were planning on doing next. They had heard rumors that just past the next town was a set of ruins that a bandit group had taken over as their hide out. Lina talked about all the treasure they could get if they took out the bandits, and who knows maybe there was some magic items or spell buried in the lower levels of the ruins.
"You will have to control you temper if you want any of the ruins left to explore. Can't just throw a Dragon Slave and be done with it." Gourry add during a break in Lina's ramblings but he was not to sure that Lina heard him or that she cared about his input.
So after their late lunch Lina had a quick lay about as Gourry put out the fire and buried all of there fishy scraps. They were going to head off to the town that was plagued by the bandit but Lina made up their mind up that this was as good a camp site as anywhere else. They could walk to the town in the morning and make it in time for a late breakfast at the local restaurant or inn. She looked over to Gourry from where she was laying and said "I mean the ruins aren't going anywhere and neither are the bandits. It won't matter if we Fireball them tonight or tomorrow."
"Yeah" Gourry add as he scratched the cheek "Only the crazy, hot headed bandit killer, Lina Inverse, would going after a ruined temple full with bandits." Gourry regretted that sentence as he was sent filling back by a punch to the face from the now standing Lina. Lina lays back down watching the clouds drift through the blue sky, dreaming of the gold those bandits have stolen and she was going to retrieve for herself. Little did she know that the bandit camp was only the start of their next adventurer.
"Are you sure about this Mr. Zelgadis?" ask Amelia as she hurried to keep up with the chimera. "How do we know that this set of ruins are still standing?"
"I don't but it is worth checking out. The ancient diary I found says that the temple was used for healing and white magic research when it was still in use. It helped with extreme ailments that were considered incurable. Maybe it is nothing but maybe there is a white magic spell there that will help me reverse Rezo's spell and get me back my old body. Either way I need to check this out but I never said you had to come. This is my problem after all" Zelgadis said.
Amelia stopped walking and looked down sadly. "Your problems are my problems. That's what it means to be friends." she shy whispered more to herself then for him to hear. "Anyway It has been a long time since I have been out and about, fighting for Justice. So hopefully we can find some evil doers or wrongs to be righted." She pumped herself back up with excitement.
Zelgadis stops and turns around to see Amelia standing on a branch of the tree that is over the road proudly proclaiming. "It is the job of us, the soldiers of Justice, to help those who can't help themselves, where ever and whenever we can." She jumped down from the tree to land next to Zel but she landed on her face with a loud bang. Zelgadis knelt down to help her up.
"You know." He started to say as he used a recovery spell on Amelia's forehead. "If you insists on climbing up to those high places to make your speeches about justice, then maybe you should do a little more practicing on getting down safely. I think you are hurting yourself more at the moment then striking terror in the opposition." When her head was healed again, he offered her a hand up. She was slightly embarrassed but when she saw a rare smile on Mr. Zelgadis face she couldn't help but smile too.
"Well lets keep going!" She said trying to move quickly away from where she just face planted. "I think there is a town up a head with a inn. We can rest up there and still make it to the ruins early tomorrow. How does that sound?" She was not expecting him to answer. Whenever the subject of staying in a town gets brought up Mr. Zelgadis gets stone quiet but she needs a place with a bath and she wanted a warm bed after so many nights of sleeping outside. So if he wasn't going to say no, she would take his silence for a yes.
As they climbed to the crest of the hill, Zelgadis saw what was basically a small farming village with a tiny inn near the entrance of the town. Zelgadis sighed, this was the kind of small town that he felt he need to stay clear of. He couldn't remember how many small village he has been chased out of just based on his appearance alone. It is easier to hide in larger towns and cities because there are more people but he doesn't really feel comfortable in crowds either now that he thinks about it. With a sad, nerve exhale, he put up his hood and mask, ready himself to be surrounded by people who were going to just stare, gawk and be fearful of him, but his friend wanted to stay in the village. That plus a hot cup of tea and a warm, soft bed could make up for one night of lost comfort on his part.
Amelia excitedly skipped into the inn and right up to the bar. "I was wondering if you have two rooms available, please." She said. The bartender looked up with slight confusion. "Do you have a traveling company?" the bartender asked as he got Amelia the room keys. Amelia turned to see that Mr. Zelgadis was waiting in the corner by the stairs that lead up to the room. She shook her head and point, "Yes, he is waiting for the keys over by the stairs." The bartender looked over uncomfortable at the swordsman who was waiting in the shadows and had his face almost completely covered. With the bandits attacking this town every so often one could could not be too careful but the girl looked like a perfectly normal traveler and money was money so he handed over the keys to two rooms. Amelia hurried over to Mr. Zelgadis handing him his key and opened up her mouth to ask him if he wanted to have some dinner before heading up to their rooms, only to see his back retreating up the stairs.
Zelgadis took the key and hurried up the stair, for going whatever Amelia was about to say and that hot cup of tea he had earlier been thinking about. When the door to the room was finally closed, he leaned against it, let out a large breath that he had not know he was holding. Pushing off the door, he walked over to the bed and laid on his back staring up at the ceiling. He thought about his one simple wish that, even if there was only a small chance, he might find a cure tomorrow. He laid his forearm across his eyes blocking out the light of the moon that came through his window. "No more hiding in corners. Being able to drink a cup of tea or have dinner in public without getting looks of fear. Never again being afraid to enter towns without a mask or hood. Meeting people for the first time and not having to worry about them trying to kill me before they get to know me." These were his wishes he thought about as he fell into a restless sleep.