Five Winds West
Chapter I: Fire and Night
The wind was much stronger than usual, almost like the coming of a storm. The leaves and branches of trees threatened to rip themselves off their trunks, and plummet off into the cloudless night. The only light was the faint shine of the moon through the cloudless sky. From not too far away, the sound of a creek could be heard, if one knew how to listen. The darkness which had descended, seemingly unbeknownst to the world, was not unwelcome, and almost eerie in its completeness.
"Zel! Hey, Zel, stop staring at the moon, and come help me with these fish!"
Zelgadis slipped quietly off the rock he had been sitting on, sheltering his stone face from the wind. The rocky outcropping followed round the mountain, ending where the sandy rocks made way for soft green fuzzy that was a secluded meadow, dense forest surrounding it where the mountain was not. The gentle clank of his feet against the rock below, mixed with the mellow murmur of a near by stream, was almost therapeutic in its simplicity. How silly it was that man should seek to destroy this beauty and replace it with cities and people...
"Zel, what are you doing? If you don't get over here, I'm eating your share!"
"You're the one who caught over five thousand of them, Lina." He called back. Lina had gone a little overboard in catching them. Normally Gourry and she would have split them leaving very little, if any, for Amelia and himself. However, Gourry wasn't with them right now...
Zel jumped over a few rocks, and a small stream, and walked into the mixed shelter of trees and rocks. Lina was sitting by the campfire nibbling contently on a well cooked fish. Beside her, still smoking from the fireball used it their cooking (Lina had learned the right temperature and angel to cast a fireball that made whatever she was casting at a perfectly edible fry, and she used this when she didn't feel like waiting for the fire to cook them, which was most of the time) was a pile of similar fish. As she noticed him, Lina threw one at his head. Zel grabbed it with ease.
"Eat it, Zel, before I throw another one for taking so long."
Zel almost laughed, but instead tossed the fish back to the fiery red head, opting for a steaming cup of coffee instead... An uncomfortable silence settled over the two companions. There were many things Zel wanted to discuss, but none seemed to lend themselves to conversation. Lina seemed unfazed, though her fiery red eyes, half hidden by her bangs, shone with an inner worry that Zel had become accustomed to over the past few months. It had all begun six months ago (or was it seven now?), when they had arrived in Atlas City (they being Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and himself).
Waiting for them had been a man searching for Gourry. It turned out he was a messenger from Gourry's parents. There was some sort of trouble at home, and Gourry had been summoned. Of course, Lina was willing to go with him, and Amelia and Zel didn't care, but the messenger was very insistent that they not come. At first, they planned to follow from a distance, but after a good meal (paid for by the messenger) they agreed to meet at Atlas City in six months.
Well, the months had come and gone, and when there was no sign of Gourry they began to get a little worried. It was than that the messenger returned. Covered in scratches, with a broken arm and leg, he could hardly move. He did manage to tell them what happened, and hand them a tattered map, begging them to help his people, before he collapsed into unconsciousness. As one of the inn keepers' son rushed him to the doctor, Lina and the gang pondered the situation.
According to the messenger, quite a few months ago a group of swordsman and sorcerers, all very strong, had taken control of Gourry's hometown. The villages numerous sorcerers and swordsmen were no match for the attack, and Gourry had somehow gotten himself captured. The reaction to the tale was mixed. Lina had a very angry, slightly worried, look on her face, Amelia began screaming about justice, and Zel wondered how Gourry could be stupid enough to get himself captured by a bunch of amateurs. Of course, Gourry didn't have the sword of light anymore, or any normal swords, so perhaps it wasn't that unbelievable.
They had finally decided to follow the map, water stained as it was, and find Gourry's village. There might even be a reward in it for them in the end, and besides, they had nothing else they were supposed to do. So, with full stomachs and a pack filled with helpful magic items, they set off along the rugged path.
As soon as they had left the safety of Atlas City, the wind had picked up considerably. They had been lucky to find the forest and out cropping of rocks before night fell.
Zel sat down next to Lina, grabbing another fish from the slowly shrinking pile. Lina, discarding a fish skeleton, leaned forward and stared into the fire.
"You finally had your fill?" Zel teased her.
"I was just thinking," Lina replied. "It's gotten much darker as we've been here"
"Doesn't the night usually do that?"
"Yes, but its almost unnaturally dark." Lina sat up again, looking at the sky, and pointedly ignoring his sarcasm. "Look, there are no clouds in the sky, but no stars can be seen. I can hear the sound of the wind, but it doesn't touch us. Even with these sheltering rocks we shouldn't be this warm. And what's with all the wind before anyway?"
"You may be right..." Zel mused, than continued. "But isn't it possible you're just overreacting?" He leaned closer to her. "We're all worried about Gourry; you don't need to hide it that much."
Lina sat up, taken back by Zel's forwardness. She felt a slight blush creep across her face, up her ears, determinably ending at the bridge of her neck. What made him think she was worried about Gourry? Of course, she was, but no more then Zel seemed to be....
"Miss Lina! Mister Zelgadis! I found us some mushrooms!" Amelia came running up carrying a basket full of mushrooms in all the colors of the rainbow, and then some, and grabbing a fish from the pile. "Thanks for saving me some, guys. Ummm, Miss Lina, I think you've been sitting to close to the fire. Your face is all red."
"Oh, is it? Hahaha, well then you're probably right." Lina stammered, still blushing "Umm, say Amelia, we were just talking about this wind. What do you think is causing it?"
"You're asking me?" Amelia replied, surprised. "Well, I'm sure it's an evil scheme concocted by some mazoku to confuse the protectors of justice! But we shall not fall for their dastardly plan! We will show them what Champions of Justice are really made of!" Zel quickly tuned Amelia out, focusing on the furry little woodland creatures that seemed to have been summoned by the speech, and were now edging closer to Amelia. He glared at them, and they scampered back to their furry little wooden creature homes.
Lina slumped over in exasperation "My fault for asking."
"Miss Lina, that's not very nice!"
"Well, sorry." Lina's toned didn't match her words, but she really didn't care.
"Oh, poor Miss Lina. Mr. Gourry will be just fine, so try not to worry. Remember, he is an upholder of justice, and Justice always prevails!" Amelia soothed.
"Oh for the love of Garu Nouva! Why does everyone think I'm worrying about Gourry?" She turned her glare first to Amelia and then to Zelgadis. "Why do you take whatever I say as being about Gourry?!" Amelia stepped back, preparing to block in case of "stray" fireballs. "Oh, for all the....I'm going to go take a bath!" Lina finished, heading in the direction of the earlier discovered hot springs.
"Um, Lina, do you thinks that's wise? With all this wind..." Zel asked quickly.
"What do you mean? I'm the one who's overreacting!" Lina's voice was full of scorn. "Why should you worry about me? I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself!"
"Wow, Miss Lina sure is worried about Mr. Gourry." Amelia commented when Lina was out of hearing distance. "Don't you think so, Mister Zelgadis?"
But Zel wasn't paying attention; he was looking at the starless black sky, and listening to the unusually strong wind. Perhaps Lina wasn't overreacting. If only he could see more, their rocky shelter didn't allow for much of a view, but on top of the peek....
"Amelia, eat some of Lina's fish. I'll be back soon." With that, Zel headed off to search for a good place to climb. Amelia clumsily grabbed the empty cup as he discarded it.
By the time Zel got to the top, it had been over an hour since he had left Amelia. As he stuck his head over the top, intending to look down the other side, a gust of wind hit him, knocking him back and down twelve feet before he caught himself. Shaking his head, Zel noted that on this side of the rock, the wind didn't touch him. With all that power on the other side, how could he be so protected?
The stars were as invisible as Lina had pointed out. In fact, Zel was almost certain that the moon's light was growing faint, yet the sky kept a crisp clearness. No clouds in sight.
Let's see...Atlas City should be that way...Zel thought, turning his head in the direction of the city. There should be a warm glow emitting from the many lighted houses. There was nothing. A shiver went up Zel's spine.
He could see everything from up there. Almost straight down and to his right was their campsite. That, too, looked dimmer than it should have. Further to the right was the hot springs Lina was bathing in. Zel quickly turned his gaze away. He was more than positive Lina would not be to keen on the idea of him watching her. Not that he meant to, of course, but when one's on a very large rock, with a very good view of a hot springs, one can't help but see something.
Moving his thoughts back to climbing, and sweating the blush off his cheeks, Zel began climbing down the rock. Lina had been right earlier, something was wrong. He would have to apologize to her as soon as she got back. In fact, if she wasn't back when he got to camp, he would send Amelia to get her.
Fortunately, as Zel neared the camp, he could hear Lina's voice over the murmur of the stream which washed past the path and their camp; she had apparently beaten him back. She was eating more of the fish, and quietly listening to one of Amelia's speeches. As he got closer, Zel realized she was going on about true love, and for some reason Lina was listening. At first he bristled, but than realized that the fact Amelia stayed intact through the lecture proved Lina had calmed down a bit. Ok, a lot.
"Lina!" He yelled as reached the warm circle of light created by the fire (the same one started when Lina had 'cooked' the fish. He was surprised it was still going. Amelia must have added logs to it.) "You were right, there is something strange going on."
"Ha! So you admit you were wrong!" Lina replied.
"Be that as it may, even the glow of Atlas city can't be seen. And we should be able to see it, especially on cloudless nights. It's like the air is turning black. Even now, you both look dimmer to me than you should, what with the fire and all," Zel continued, sitting down beside Lina on the "benches" Amelia had fashioned out of fallen branches of a nearby oak tree.
"Excuse me? I feel just as smart as I ever felt...." Lina teased. She wasn't about to let him off the hook for his error in judgment earlier.
"You know what I meant" Zel replied. "Just take a look at your selves. Take a look at me."
"Well, now that you mention it, your hair does look like a dimmer color of lavender than usual..."
"Who is this offender of justice!?" Amelia grasped the situation by the teeth, cutting off Zel's slow torment. "We must find this nameless evil- unless it has a name, in which case we must find it anyway- and send it down the path of justice! We mustn't stray from our path until the ill doers of the world have been stopped!" Lina and Zel snuck to the right of the fire, towards the outcropping of rocks which offered significant shelter from Amelia's rambling.
"What do you think it could be?" Zel asked, hoping Lina was through teasing him (He deserved it, he supposed. He should learn to trust her. She wasn't some love sick little girl.), and would take the situation seriously.
"Well, I really don't know. I've never heard of a creature that can steal light, or change the color of air, or whatever, so it could be a spell..."Lina began.
"The thing is, what spell?" Zel continued.
"Exactly," Lina finished. It was nice how they could talk like this, flowing like a river with no rocks to obstruct their path. But regardless of their communication skills, the matter at hand was somewhat complex, and neither knew quite how to solve it. However...
"Well, the way I see it, we can waste hours sitting here trying to figure this out, and probably not succeed, or we can continue on and see if anything other than this maddening darkness seems to be happening. So far no harm to us seems to be happening, and I doubt there's a reward waiting if we catch whoever, or whatever, is behind this. So, I say we should keep moving. Besides, there's always Gourry (although I'm pretty sure that idiot can take care of himself, provided they don't try to get information out of him, since there is very little there to get), and this could be our imaginations at work. All the same, I think we should head out before it gets any darker, assuming it will, given the current pattern...."
"Well, I'll go along with that, but Amelia?" Zel winced in the direction of the justice speeches, which his superior chimera hearing could still easily pick up, despite the rock shelter and the overpowering sound of wind. "She seems to see this as a new cause..."
"Oh, she'll come. I doubt she could do anything on her own, and she knows it. Besides, it would be very unjust" Lina held her voice in a mock justice speech "to leave a comrade in danger."
Zel laughed. Not a lot, and not very loud, but more than usual considering his seeming lack of a sense of humor. Lina sure was raring to go, although that could probably be attributed to Gourry's disappearance. And she was right, it was best to press on in what light was left with them, and hope this premature night would be gone by the time the sun rose. Of course, if it wasn't, they wouldn't know the sun had risen, but the idea was there. At the very least they had fish enough to last even Lina a day (if Zel didn't eat, and he usually didn't. The demon part of him didn't require the nourishment the human part would have, had it had a say in the matter.), so they wouldn't starve. With that decided, through some unspoken completion, the two friends went back to quiet their talkative friend, and continue their journey.
And so they were off. Lina in the lead, Zel close behind, and Amelia bring up the rear, a large sack of fish tied to her back. They did not make a particularly stunning site, but like most embarking on a dangerous mission, appearance was the least of their worries, and quite forgotten in the grand scheme of things. Besides, who would be crazy enough to tell Lina Inverse that she didn't look heroic enough?
"Miss Lina, why do I have to carry these fish?" Amelia complained. It came off as slightly annoyed, but they had been walking for over two hours, and this was the first Amelia had mentioned any displeasure concerning her extra luggage. Lina and Zel had realized from the beginning that she wasn't happy, of course. Lina's philosophy was that if they had to listen to her speeches, Amelia got to carry the extra baggage. It was never known what Amelia's take on this agreement was, since she had never been informed of it. The give and take all evened out in Lina's mind, and Zel saw no point in protesting.
"Because," Lina replied "you're the one that was complaining about leaving now, instead of later. And the fish could come in handy..." To her credit, Lina thought Amelia had been being pretty tolerant, and she wasn't about to let her fall back on old habits. This being the first time she complained during the whole trip (she had wanted to stay longer, but once she saw how set on leaving Lina and Zel were, she relented), Lina thought maybe she should give in. Than again, Gourry was still missing, and they weren't much closer to helping him. Or were they? Why had she let Zel keep the map? Oh, right, he had offered. Lina never liked to turn down a man who offered to do something for her, especially when it meant less work on her part. Besides, Zel was good with maps.
*sigh* "Well, what do you think Zel. Have we gone far enough to stop...?" Lina turned to the bearer of the map.
"Well, we really don't know if it'll be getting darker, but we can assume it will, since it has been for the last few hours. It may just be normal cloudy sky darkness, but if not we don't know what effect it will have on us, or the rest of the world. We don't know when we may get food again. That's the reason for the fish. However, I suppose we could stop for a little while." Zel looked at the tired girl; he had to remember that normal people, people who weren't freaks like him, couldn't go on for as long with out rest. Lina showed no signs of tiring, but Amelia..."Its no good if we wear ourselves out all at once." And with that, he sat down on a very convenient rock. Amelia slumped down on the grass at the side of the road, pulling the pack off her back. Lina pulled the discarded bag of fish up the rock where she joined Zel, and began to nibble on one while pulling off her shoulder pads and cape.
"Yum, as tasty as ever...." Lina commented. Was it her imagination? The fish were still warm....no, must be her mind playing tricks. But they sure were good.
After about 15 minutes had passed, and Amelia was looking considerably more alive and awake, Zel suggested they head out again. To his delight and surprise, no one objected, and they were soon on their way once more. While they had been resting, it had slowly been getting darker and darker. Zel also noticed that it seemed warmer than before, but that could be attributed to the change in altitude. Ever since they had passed that mountain, where they first recognized the darkness as unnatural, the wind had stopped. As they left the mountain, they could still hear it as strong as ever, but that too grew dim as they distanced themselves from it, until it was now a faint buzzing only Zel's keen ears could pick up.
The calm and quiet off walking without talking was one of the few things Zel treasured. He found it much easier to think while his feet were busy, and an easy way to drown out the rest of his miserable life, or dwell on it, depending on the line his thoughts were taking. In any case, quiet was a rare thing when traveling as part of a group. Especially this group. But than again, he hadn't really traveled with any other group, not since his transformation into a Chimera. That time working for Rezo really couldn't be counted. These were his friends, and he chose to travel with them. Quiet, though rare, was also short lived, on most occasions. This was one of those times.
For the next hour, Zel silent heaven of quiet remained. Amelia even whistled at one point, but stopped when Lina readied a fireball (a wise decision on Amelia's part). Zel was glad Amelia seemed happy, partly because it made for a less eventful and more enjoyable trip, and partly because it made him feel good to see her happy. She looked so carefree. He wished he was like that. However, as the walk turned into a hike and the hike a journey and the journey a quest, Amelia looked more and more ragged. The fish seemed to be weighing heavy on her back, and any moment...
"Um, Miss Lina"
...she would cave. A soft 'hiss' signified Lina's intake of breath, as she faced the obvious. Whether she realized it or not, and he was pretty sure she did, Lina was also growing tired. With the physical exhaustion they had been racing came a lethargic look at life, as well as a very short temper on Lina's part.
"WHAT?" The cold word sent the meek princess back a pace, catching her wits together. "WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Lina continued "SPIT IT OUT!"
Now, one thing you have to realize about Amelia, no matter how sweet she may act at times, she can have quite a temper, and not only pertaining to matters of justice. Take the current circumstances for instance. Although the path they were fallowing obviously would lead them to the rescue of Gourry, a very noble and just thing, Amelia was forced to carry a large pack of fish, none of which she had caught, asked for, or volunteered to cart. With this in mind, and considering the current state of everyone's emotions (they had been walking for hours, after all, with no real breaks to speak of) what follows is not all that surprising "Miss Lina, please don't shout!" Amelia countered. "'Don't shout'! 'Don't shout'! Why can't I shout! This is my mission, and I'll do whatever the *beep* I please!" Lina raged. "Well, these are your fish, and you might as well carry them! I wont any more!" Amelia continued. "Zel and I are trying to figure out where we are going! The least you could do is carry that small amount of luggage! You didn't have to come, you know!" "Miss Lina, Gourry is my friend too! How can you say something like that? I have a right, and a duty, to fight for justice and good in the world, more so when it involves my friends! Isn't that right, Mister Zelgadis?"
"Lina has a point, Amelia. We're trying to follow a map and not a very good one either...." Zel replied. If there was one thing he'd learned, it was not to take sides. However...
"Oh, but Mister Zelgadis, these are Lina's fish!"
"Oh, stop sounding like a little kid." Lina had calmed down, but her eyes still glowed. One thing was for sure, it wasn't the flame of justice.
"Miss Lina, that's mean!"
"That was my intent," Lina snapped "Besides; it's not very nice of you to complain to Zel every time you're mad at me! I'm sure he has better things to do than listen to your high pitched voice..."
"Are you saying I'm whining?!"
"Yes, Amelia, that's exactly what I am saying. You're a whining, self righteous, hypocritical, little brat!" Lina was really getting into it. If there was one thing she was good at, aside from eating and saving the world from certain destruction, it was her wit at insults. Zel winced. This could get pretty bad....better he stay out of it and let it run its course.
"Oh....Miss Lina!" Amelia's voice went from angry to concerned at the drop of the hat, making Zel perk his keen Chimera ears up. "Perhaps you have moved to the side of evil! Don't worry, I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyrune, shall bring your soul back to the side of good!"
"Oh, cut the justice crap all ready! It's not like you follow your 'justice code' anyway!" Lina spat.
"Wh-what do you mean Miss Lina?!" Amelia was astonished. Zel was a bit surprised as well. What did Lina mean?
"Aren't your people supposed to be pacifists? But you aren't one, are you? I've seen you take as much pleasure out of beating people up as me! Maybe more..." Lina was on a roll. This was her battle field, and she held all the ammunition. Her friend's arsenal was weakening. It was only so long until the victory was won, and she could sit back and enjoy the spoils of war.
"But, Miss Lina, those are bad guys! Beside, I don't have to be a pacifist. That's Daddy's life. As long as I fight for justice in the world, violence is permitted!" Amelia was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. She should have seen it sooner. It would have been so easy to simply stop the fight earlier....but no, she had dug her own grave and stuck her right foot in it.
"Well, your dad doesn't really follow that either, does he?"
"Wh---Daddy is always on the side of good!"
"Well, isn't it a bit hypocritical to say you're a pacifist, but fight anyway?"
"Daddy only fights when it's needed!"
"Whatever you say..." It was a touchy subject, but Lina decided to let it go. There were plenty other weaknesses for her to exploit. "Do you even know what a pacifist is?"
Amelia held her head high. Was Lina losing her touch? What a stupid question! "Of course! A pacifist is someone who works for Justice, opposes war, and believes in a nonviolent approach to problems."
"For moral reasons...?" Lina prompted.
"Yes, of course!"
Lina smirked, "Wrong!"
Zel groaned. He knew that line of questioning was not a good idea. Leave it to Lina to know some useless bit of information to use against Amelia's naive mind. This argument had run its course, and had driven off the road. Time for him to step in. Besides, he wasn't sure Lina knew what a pacifist really was.
"It's been getting even darker" Zel pointed out, stopping the argument. God, what am I, a sorcerer or a babysitter?
"Um, you're right Zel." Lina removed her half chanted fireball to examine the sky.
Amelia carefully edged away from Lina until she was positioned to one side of Zel, with him between her and the fiery sorceress. "Maybe that means we're getting closer to whatever-it-is..."
"Or that whatever-it-is is getting stronger," Zel corrected. "I noticed a cave a ways back. According this map," he held a light spell up to the ripped piece of parchment "it should lead through that mountain" and he indicated the towering peak in front of them "and should serve as a shortcut to Gourry's village, if you don't mind spending roughly a week without natural light. Of course, with the current turn of events, we're likely to do that if even if we stay above ground. The one problem is there isn't a map through the cave. But it would take weeks off of our journey."
"Hmmmmr...." Lina pondered the situation. Zel knew she was weighing the time margin with his directional skills. Cutting time off wouldn't do any good if they spent it getting lost. However, it would take four months, going above ground, to get to Diamond Lake, and another half a month for them to locate Gourry's village. They didn't know if they had that much time to spare. "Zel, how confident are you in finding our way through the cave without a map?"
"Well," Zel leaned against a rocky outcropping. His body was also growing tired, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep up this pace in that heat. "It depends on the layout of the cave, how many passages there are, how many turns, etc." He looked at Lina's hot face, Amelia's sweaty hair. "However, I think I can manage it in there. And it might be cooler..."
"Well then, if it will cut time off our journey, I think we should take it. You agree?" Zel nodded his head. "How about you?" she turned to Amelia. "You have any problems with this?" Amelia jumped. She had apparently been in her own little world.
"N....no. We have to save Mister Gourry." Amelia made sure not to catch Zel or Lina's eyes. They usually didn't ask for her input. Of course, no one would ever go against Lina, so there didn't seem to be much point in it. Miss Lina had been right. She had been acting pretty bratty. Well, at least they no longer seemed to care....
"Then it's settled, we'll take the cave." And that was that. "So, Zel, do we double back to get to this cave, or what?"
"We can do that, but the map says there's a village a little ways up, at the base of the mountain. It might be a good idea to go there for the night (or day). If we're going to go through the cave, we will want to bring an ample amount of food. We don't know just how long it will take, and these fish won't last forever."
"Good idea. And I bet they have some good restaurants there, too!" Lina agreed. Amelia just nodded. They removed their packs from the ground where they had lazily tossed them. Zel took half of the fish this time, something Amelia noticed and appreciated (Mister Zelgadis is so nice, even if he didn't help up 'till now. He is a true defender of the weak, and didn't want me to feel weak!) And so, with minimal casualties, the weary travelers made it to the quant town of Maliera.
It was a pretty little town, with flowers lining the streets, and shops sprinkled on every block. At least, Zel assumed it was a pretty little town. From his view, the flowers were only noticeable by the giant pots they grew out of, and the shops only stood out when he had to dodge a sidewalk sign. The darkness of they day, for by this time it was surely day, prevented visibility of anything more than 10 feet away, and these were shown as shadows. He didn't like the way Lina, only a few feet in front of him, looked like a stranger. If not for the definite feel of her magic (which she hid very well; had he not known her so well, she would have seemed an ordinary girl) he could have mistaken Lina for a resident of the town. And the heat was still there, strong and unending. It made his head swim and his legs wobble. Fortunately, it was too dark for either Lina, or Amelia to notice; that is as long as he didn't run into one of them.
As they neared what he guessed to be the center of town, the first sign of human inhabitants called out to them. "Sir, Madam, Miss, please come and escape this darkness!" As they moved closer to the shadow, Zel saw it to be kindly looking woman. She gestured them inside a large stone building, chanting encouragement as they went ("Don't worry, we'll be there soon. Just a little farther...") It appeared to be an old castle, from the feel of the stone against Zel's "skin". He had developed a sixth sense when it came to rocks, ever since Rezo changed him into a chimera. Rocks all looked the same to the untrained eye, but there were really many variances in even the same kind of rock. For instance, the rocks in this castle felt old and very cranky, and- Zel stopped. Had he been philosophizing about rocks again?
The woman stopped at a large wood door, putting all her strength against it, and pushing with all her might. Zel stepped forward to help, but Lina's hand on his arm served as a reminder for the ways cities in this part of the world worked. If he had helped, Zel would have been committing a major insult to the woman and her people. Only if he was asked, could he assist her.
With a creak the heavy door swung open, revealing a penetrating light. It blinded the small party, who had grown used to the utter darkness of the outside world. Light. Light. It was so beautiful. Like the taste of water to one wondering the desert, their senses were overwhelmed, and Zel felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.
****
"Mister Zelgadis?" Amelia's voice penetrated Zel's sleep. What was she doing? Why did she have to wake him up? He wanted to sleep....
"Mister Zelgadis! Please wake up!" Darn, well, I guess she won't go away... Zel forced his eyelids open. Amelia's blue eyes starred back at him, liquid with worry. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis!" She turned her head "Miss Lina! Mister Zelgadis is awake!"
Whatever Lina's reply was, Zel heard only a murmured sound of approval. What was going on? His head was swimming, an insane buzzing sound seemed to be coming from his left ear, and the intense heat was still there. But there was light, he noticed, so he must be in the castle/Inn. He tried to remember what had happened, but that just made his head hurt more, and the buzzing intensified.
"Zel?" That was Lina's voice. Her head soon appeared in Zel's limited range of vision. "How are you feeling? No, don't get up yet!" Lina pushed his raising form back to his pillow. It was a good thing; too, for the brief moments Zel was up right, he felt a wave of dizziness pass through his body. The pillow was very welcome.
"Ugh! What happened? Ah!" Zel grabbed his head. It felt as if he'd been hit with about 6 tons of orihalcon. His head seemed to be splitting itself in half.
Lina's eyes had a sympathetic and worried shine to them. "I'll explain it to you," she lifted her hands, muttering something under her breath even Zel couldn't make out, "but not now." She brought her hands together, finishing the incantation. Zel had two seconds of consciousness to identify the spell as one of Lina's 'homemade spells' before plunging back into the familiar darkness.
The light was much more welcome this time, and Zel found himself wondering if he was home. That surprised him. It had been years since he'd had a 'home', why would he be there now. And for that matter, where was he? He groaned, involuntarily, as he slowly opened his eyes. It was so bright. A stone castle ceiling glared back at him. An overhead light swung from a notch in the ceiling, 7 perfect candles placed evenly along it. So that's where the light was coming from. But how was it so bright? A glowing talisman hung limply from the lamp, its infa red rays setting a holy light which mere humans could not see. But than, Zel was no mere human.
Amelia was by his side almost immediately, summoned by his earlier groan. "Mister Zelgadis? How do you feel?" Zel intended to tell her just how he felt, but all the came out was another groan. "Or, poor Mister Zelgadis...." Amelia was fine; Zel didn't mind having her around. She was very good at cheering people up, and she was one of his friends. However, he didn't feel like he had the will power, endurance, or energy to survive her right now. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but.....
"*cough, cough, hack*"
"Oh, poor Mister Zelgadis...."
"*hack, cough, cough, hack*" The conversation was slightly one sided, and not very productive, being as Zel seemed unable to speak. He wanted to talk to Lina; at the very least she would probably explain what was going on.
"Oh, Mister Zelgadis...well, I better go tell Miss Lina that you're awake. She was here her self for hours, but the Inn doesn't have room service, so she's gone to the dinning room. She told me to get her when you woke up, but not to disturb you 'til then..." and with that, she was gone. Zel breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can kind of wear on your nerves, huh?"
Zel started. Who was that? He was the only one in the room, so who had spoken? Great, now I'm going crazy.... He was still pondering the mysterious voice, when the door to his room opened, and in walked Lina.
She had removed her shoulder pads and cape, and remained in her yellow t- shirt, red jeans, and black headband. Her gloves had been removed, most likely along with her other articles off clothing. Beyond that, he couldn't tell, from his prone position. Lina walked towards him, her hair swishing with the wind her motions created. Zel suddenly realized that maybe Lina would not be happy to have been pulled away from her dinner to see him, even if she had given instructions for Amelia to do so.
However, from hi limited view, Lina didn't look mad. "Zel, hey, how're you feeling now?" Lina gave him a concerned smile. "You know I can't have my favorite chimera blacking out all the time." That was followed by a wink.
"*cough* I...suppose I'm all right..." Zel replied. He had the sinking feeling Amelia was going to barge in any minute. He wasn't sure he could be civil to her if she did. Lina seemed to read his mind.
"Don't worry, I sent Amelia to talk to the locals" Lina winked again. "She shouldn't be back for awhile, unless she discovers something drastically important I didn't dig up..." she trailed off. No need to continue. Zel felt a wave of gratitude towards Lina. He'd have to find some way to repay her.....but he could think that over later.
"Lina, what happened?"
"Well, I'm not sure what happened to you, but.....We fallowed Miss Sarah, that nice lady who we met in the town, to this old castle. It's been made into an Inn, you know" Zel nodded, so Lina continued. "Anyway, she opened the door, you wanted to help her, remember? And the light from inside hit us full force, which was kind of shocking after the darkness of the outside world, and you just kind of keeled over...they helped us carry you to this room, its all of ours by the way, and the rest you've probably figured out. Amelia kept an eye on you until that first time you woke up, and I put that spell on you...by the way, that was one of my own spells. You knew that? Well, it was a sleep spell of sorts, but more gentle than usual....After that I stayed with you (I didn't want Amelia waking you up after all the trouble I went through to cast that spell on you) until I got hungry, and then I left Amelia to watch you, and you woke up. Amelia didn't wake you, did she?"
Zel took a minute to collect his thoughts after the Lina explanation. Man, she could talk a lot. 'Course, he should have been used to that by now. Maybe it was the combination of his fuzzy head combined with Lina's detailed explanation. At any rate, he thought he understood. He shook his head as he realized she had asked him something, and suddenly realized he was very hungry himself.
This was unusual. His chimera body hardly ever required nourishment; true, he drank coffee, but that was only to keep his stress levels down (or maybe make sure he was always fully awake and ready for battle, should the need arise). This, along with his freakiness, made food, and even sleep, luxuries. But somehow, right now he was starving. He was just pondering over how to ask Lina for food, when his stomach let out a protesting, and reasonably loud, groan.
Lina, an expert when it came to hunger, picked it up immediately. "You must be hungry, Zel. I'll go get you something to eat..." and she was off, silently wondering what kind of food Zel liked. This gave Zel time to piece together what had happened to him. It was quite possible that his chimera body had automatically adjusted to the darkness. Come to think of it, he had gotten less and less uncomfortable, sight wise, as the trip progressed. If this was so, his body obviously didn't know how to adapt to the heat, since temperature wasn't usually a problem. Zel made a mental note to ponder that later, right now was not the time.
What he needed was food. But that, in itself, was strange. Perhaps it had something to do with his body's adaptation. Maybe food was required to keep him comfortable with the changing light and darkness. Maybe food suddenly became a necessity with the new adaptations. Or maybe it had simply been too long since he had last eaten.
The soft tread of feet down the hall interrupted Zel's self examination, making him thankful for his superior chimera hearing. It was a woman, or at least, it walked like a woman. But it wasn't Lina or Amelia. It wasn't, now that he thought about it, Sylphiel either, though that would have been quite obvious regardless. So, who was it? One of the other guests at the Inn, he imagined, or perhaps, someone who worked at the Inn. Well, he would find out soon, since the foot steps came to a stop outside his door.
A gentle creak alerted him she was entering, and he propped himself up so as so see his unfamiliar visitor. The quiet form of a woman, or rather, a young woman, for she seemed no more than 16 years old, pushed itself through the door. She wore a peasant's dress of lavender and off white; a mint green shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair, a shiny forest green, hung loosely down her back, framing a beautiful chestnut face. Her eyes, shapely like a cat's, were a dark, clear blue, their glow seeming to albumen the room. In fact, her entire person shone with a magical, and almost holy, light. It was not a light for the eyes, but an air of mystic and grandeur. To a sorcerer, she reeked of magic.
Zel averted his gaze as soon as he realized he was staring, hoping she hadn't noticed. He could sense a great power from her, but the magic she commanded was new to him.
"Hello." Her musical voice pulled Zel from his thoughts. "How are you feeling, Mister Zelgadis." With the title, she bowed her head and torso. Zel noticed she didn't hesitate on his name, nor was she recoiling in fear at the sight of him. With this thought, Zel began to scramble to cover his rock like body.
"Oh, but I haven't introduced myself." The girl stopped her flowing movements towards him. "My name is Celestin, my family owns this Inn. My mother sent me to see how you were doing, but I see that you are awake now. I'm sorry that I bothered you." Her tone was neither flustered, nor frightened; merely apologetic. "I understand your friend is getting you food. If you need anything, please send for me." Once again she bowed, leaving the room. Zel stared at the door, wondering what sort of magic creature had just left him.
Zel had only been alone for a few minutes, when Lina returned, carrying a Lina-sized meal on an overflowing tray. Zel's eyes got very big, but he found appetite for all of it. This is what happens when you go for months without eating.
Chapter I: Fire and Night
The wind was much stronger than usual, almost like the coming of a storm. The leaves and branches of trees threatened to rip themselves off their trunks, and plummet off into the cloudless night. The only light was the faint shine of the moon through the cloudless sky. From not too far away, the sound of a creek could be heard, if one knew how to listen. The darkness which had descended, seemingly unbeknownst to the world, was not unwelcome, and almost eerie in its completeness.
"Zel! Hey, Zel, stop staring at the moon, and come help me with these fish!"
Zelgadis slipped quietly off the rock he had been sitting on, sheltering his stone face from the wind. The rocky outcropping followed round the mountain, ending where the sandy rocks made way for soft green fuzzy that was a secluded meadow, dense forest surrounding it where the mountain was not. The gentle clank of his feet against the rock below, mixed with the mellow murmur of a near by stream, was almost therapeutic in its simplicity. How silly it was that man should seek to destroy this beauty and replace it with cities and people...
"Zel, what are you doing? If you don't get over here, I'm eating your share!"
"You're the one who caught over five thousand of them, Lina." He called back. Lina had gone a little overboard in catching them. Normally Gourry and she would have split them leaving very little, if any, for Amelia and himself. However, Gourry wasn't with them right now...
Zel jumped over a few rocks, and a small stream, and walked into the mixed shelter of trees and rocks. Lina was sitting by the campfire nibbling contently on a well cooked fish. Beside her, still smoking from the fireball used it their cooking (Lina had learned the right temperature and angel to cast a fireball that made whatever she was casting at a perfectly edible fry, and she used this when she didn't feel like waiting for the fire to cook them, which was most of the time) was a pile of similar fish. As she noticed him, Lina threw one at his head. Zel grabbed it with ease.
"Eat it, Zel, before I throw another one for taking so long."
Zel almost laughed, but instead tossed the fish back to the fiery red head, opting for a steaming cup of coffee instead... An uncomfortable silence settled over the two companions. There were many things Zel wanted to discuss, but none seemed to lend themselves to conversation. Lina seemed unfazed, though her fiery red eyes, half hidden by her bangs, shone with an inner worry that Zel had become accustomed to over the past few months. It had all begun six months ago (or was it seven now?), when they had arrived in Atlas City (they being Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and himself).
Waiting for them had been a man searching for Gourry. It turned out he was a messenger from Gourry's parents. There was some sort of trouble at home, and Gourry had been summoned. Of course, Lina was willing to go with him, and Amelia and Zel didn't care, but the messenger was very insistent that they not come. At first, they planned to follow from a distance, but after a good meal (paid for by the messenger) they agreed to meet at Atlas City in six months.
Well, the months had come and gone, and when there was no sign of Gourry they began to get a little worried. It was than that the messenger returned. Covered in scratches, with a broken arm and leg, he could hardly move. He did manage to tell them what happened, and hand them a tattered map, begging them to help his people, before he collapsed into unconsciousness. As one of the inn keepers' son rushed him to the doctor, Lina and the gang pondered the situation.
According to the messenger, quite a few months ago a group of swordsman and sorcerers, all very strong, had taken control of Gourry's hometown. The villages numerous sorcerers and swordsmen were no match for the attack, and Gourry had somehow gotten himself captured. The reaction to the tale was mixed. Lina had a very angry, slightly worried, look on her face, Amelia began screaming about justice, and Zel wondered how Gourry could be stupid enough to get himself captured by a bunch of amateurs. Of course, Gourry didn't have the sword of light anymore, or any normal swords, so perhaps it wasn't that unbelievable.
They had finally decided to follow the map, water stained as it was, and find Gourry's village. There might even be a reward in it for them in the end, and besides, they had nothing else they were supposed to do. So, with full stomachs and a pack filled with helpful magic items, they set off along the rugged path.
As soon as they had left the safety of Atlas City, the wind had picked up considerably. They had been lucky to find the forest and out cropping of rocks before night fell.
Zel sat down next to Lina, grabbing another fish from the slowly shrinking pile. Lina, discarding a fish skeleton, leaned forward and stared into the fire.
"You finally had your fill?" Zel teased her.
"I was just thinking," Lina replied. "It's gotten much darker as we've been here"
"Doesn't the night usually do that?"
"Yes, but its almost unnaturally dark." Lina sat up again, looking at the sky, and pointedly ignoring his sarcasm. "Look, there are no clouds in the sky, but no stars can be seen. I can hear the sound of the wind, but it doesn't touch us. Even with these sheltering rocks we shouldn't be this warm. And what's with all the wind before anyway?"
"You may be right..." Zel mused, than continued. "But isn't it possible you're just overreacting?" He leaned closer to her. "We're all worried about Gourry; you don't need to hide it that much."
Lina sat up, taken back by Zel's forwardness. She felt a slight blush creep across her face, up her ears, determinably ending at the bridge of her neck. What made him think she was worried about Gourry? Of course, she was, but no more then Zel seemed to be....
"Miss Lina! Mister Zelgadis! I found us some mushrooms!" Amelia came running up carrying a basket full of mushrooms in all the colors of the rainbow, and then some, and grabbing a fish from the pile. "Thanks for saving me some, guys. Ummm, Miss Lina, I think you've been sitting to close to the fire. Your face is all red."
"Oh, is it? Hahaha, well then you're probably right." Lina stammered, still blushing "Umm, say Amelia, we were just talking about this wind. What do you think is causing it?"
"You're asking me?" Amelia replied, surprised. "Well, I'm sure it's an evil scheme concocted by some mazoku to confuse the protectors of justice! But we shall not fall for their dastardly plan! We will show them what Champions of Justice are really made of!" Zel quickly tuned Amelia out, focusing on the furry little woodland creatures that seemed to have been summoned by the speech, and were now edging closer to Amelia. He glared at them, and they scampered back to their furry little wooden creature homes.
Lina slumped over in exasperation "My fault for asking."
"Miss Lina, that's not very nice!"
"Well, sorry." Lina's toned didn't match her words, but she really didn't care.
"Oh, poor Miss Lina. Mr. Gourry will be just fine, so try not to worry. Remember, he is an upholder of justice, and Justice always prevails!" Amelia soothed.
"Oh for the love of Garu Nouva! Why does everyone think I'm worrying about Gourry?" She turned her glare first to Amelia and then to Zelgadis. "Why do you take whatever I say as being about Gourry?!" Amelia stepped back, preparing to block in case of "stray" fireballs. "Oh, for all the....I'm going to go take a bath!" Lina finished, heading in the direction of the earlier discovered hot springs.
"Um, Lina, do you thinks that's wise? With all this wind..." Zel asked quickly.
"What do you mean? I'm the one who's overreacting!" Lina's voice was full of scorn. "Why should you worry about me? I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself!"
"Wow, Miss Lina sure is worried about Mr. Gourry." Amelia commented when Lina was out of hearing distance. "Don't you think so, Mister Zelgadis?"
But Zel wasn't paying attention; he was looking at the starless black sky, and listening to the unusually strong wind. Perhaps Lina wasn't overreacting. If only he could see more, their rocky shelter didn't allow for much of a view, but on top of the peek....
"Amelia, eat some of Lina's fish. I'll be back soon." With that, Zel headed off to search for a good place to climb. Amelia clumsily grabbed the empty cup as he discarded it.
By the time Zel got to the top, it had been over an hour since he had left Amelia. As he stuck his head over the top, intending to look down the other side, a gust of wind hit him, knocking him back and down twelve feet before he caught himself. Shaking his head, Zel noted that on this side of the rock, the wind didn't touch him. With all that power on the other side, how could he be so protected?
The stars were as invisible as Lina had pointed out. In fact, Zel was almost certain that the moon's light was growing faint, yet the sky kept a crisp clearness. No clouds in sight.
Let's see...Atlas City should be that way...Zel thought, turning his head in the direction of the city. There should be a warm glow emitting from the many lighted houses. There was nothing. A shiver went up Zel's spine.
He could see everything from up there. Almost straight down and to his right was their campsite. That, too, looked dimmer than it should have. Further to the right was the hot springs Lina was bathing in. Zel quickly turned his gaze away. He was more than positive Lina would not be to keen on the idea of him watching her. Not that he meant to, of course, but when one's on a very large rock, with a very good view of a hot springs, one can't help but see something.
Moving his thoughts back to climbing, and sweating the blush off his cheeks, Zel began climbing down the rock. Lina had been right earlier, something was wrong. He would have to apologize to her as soon as she got back. In fact, if she wasn't back when he got to camp, he would send Amelia to get her.
Fortunately, as Zel neared the camp, he could hear Lina's voice over the murmur of the stream which washed past the path and their camp; she had apparently beaten him back. She was eating more of the fish, and quietly listening to one of Amelia's speeches. As he got closer, Zel realized she was going on about true love, and for some reason Lina was listening. At first he bristled, but than realized that the fact Amelia stayed intact through the lecture proved Lina had calmed down a bit. Ok, a lot.
"Lina!" He yelled as reached the warm circle of light created by the fire (the same one started when Lina had 'cooked' the fish. He was surprised it was still going. Amelia must have added logs to it.) "You were right, there is something strange going on."
"Ha! So you admit you were wrong!" Lina replied.
"Be that as it may, even the glow of Atlas city can't be seen. And we should be able to see it, especially on cloudless nights. It's like the air is turning black. Even now, you both look dimmer to me than you should, what with the fire and all," Zel continued, sitting down beside Lina on the "benches" Amelia had fashioned out of fallen branches of a nearby oak tree.
"Excuse me? I feel just as smart as I ever felt...." Lina teased. She wasn't about to let him off the hook for his error in judgment earlier.
"You know what I meant" Zel replied. "Just take a look at your selves. Take a look at me."
"Well, now that you mention it, your hair does look like a dimmer color of lavender than usual..."
"Who is this offender of justice!?" Amelia grasped the situation by the teeth, cutting off Zel's slow torment. "We must find this nameless evil- unless it has a name, in which case we must find it anyway- and send it down the path of justice! We mustn't stray from our path until the ill doers of the world have been stopped!" Lina and Zel snuck to the right of the fire, towards the outcropping of rocks which offered significant shelter from Amelia's rambling.
"What do you think it could be?" Zel asked, hoping Lina was through teasing him (He deserved it, he supposed. He should learn to trust her. She wasn't some love sick little girl.), and would take the situation seriously.
"Well, I really don't know. I've never heard of a creature that can steal light, or change the color of air, or whatever, so it could be a spell..."Lina began.
"The thing is, what spell?" Zel continued.
"Exactly," Lina finished. It was nice how they could talk like this, flowing like a river with no rocks to obstruct their path. But regardless of their communication skills, the matter at hand was somewhat complex, and neither knew quite how to solve it. However...
"Well, the way I see it, we can waste hours sitting here trying to figure this out, and probably not succeed, or we can continue on and see if anything other than this maddening darkness seems to be happening. So far no harm to us seems to be happening, and I doubt there's a reward waiting if we catch whoever, or whatever, is behind this. So, I say we should keep moving. Besides, there's always Gourry (although I'm pretty sure that idiot can take care of himself, provided they don't try to get information out of him, since there is very little there to get), and this could be our imaginations at work. All the same, I think we should head out before it gets any darker, assuming it will, given the current pattern...."
"Well, I'll go along with that, but Amelia?" Zel winced in the direction of the justice speeches, which his superior chimera hearing could still easily pick up, despite the rock shelter and the overpowering sound of wind. "She seems to see this as a new cause..."
"Oh, she'll come. I doubt she could do anything on her own, and she knows it. Besides, it would be very unjust" Lina held her voice in a mock justice speech "to leave a comrade in danger."
Zel laughed. Not a lot, and not very loud, but more than usual considering his seeming lack of a sense of humor. Lina sure was raring to go, although that could probably be attributed to Gourry's disappearance. And she was right, it was best to press on in what light was left with them, and hope this premature night would be gone by the time the sun rose. Of course, if it wasn't, they wouldn't know the sun had risen, but the idea was there. At the very least they had fish enough to last even Lina a day (if Zel didn't eat, and he usually didn't. The demon part of him didn't require the nourishment the human part would have, had it had a say in the matter.), so they wouldn't starve. With that decided, through some unspoken completion, the two friends went back to quiet their talkative friend, and continue their journey.
And so they were off. Lina in the lead, Zel close behind, and Amelia bring up the rear, a large sack of fish tied to her back. They did not make a particularly stunning site, but like most embarking on a dangerous mission, appearance was the least of their worries, and quite forgotten in the grand scheme of things. Besides, who would be crazy enough to tell Lina Inverse that she didn't look heroic enough?
"Miss Lina, why do I have to carry these fish?" Amelia complained. It came off as slightly annoyed, but they had been walking for over two hours, and this was the first Amelia had mentioned any displeasure concerning her extra luggage. Lina and Zel had realized from the beginning that she wasn't happy, of course. Lina's philosophy was that if they had to listen to her speeches, Amelia got to carry the extra baggage. It was never known what Amelia's take on this agreement was, since she had never been informed of it. The give and take all evened out in Lina's mind, and Zel saw no point in protesting.
"Because," Lina replied "you're the one that was complaining about leaving now, instead of later. And the fish could come in handy..." To her credit, Lina thought Amelia had been being pretty tolerant, and she wasn't about to let her fall back on old habits. This being the first time she complained during the whole trip (she had wanted to stay longer, but once she saw how set on leaving Lina and Zel were, she relented), Lina thought maybe she should give in. Than again, Gourry was still missing, and they weren't much closer to helping him. Or were they? Why had she let Zel keep the map? Oh, right, he had offered. Lina never liked to turn down a man who offered to do something for her, especially when it meant less work on her part. Besides, Zel was good with maps.
*sigh* "Well, what do you think Zel. Have we gone far enough to stop...?" Lina turned to the bearer of the map.
"Well, we really don't know if it'll be getting darker, but we can assume it will, since it has been for the last few hours. It may just be normal cloudy sky darkness, but if not we don't know what effect it will have on us, or the rest of the world. We don't know when we may get food again. That's the reason for the fish. However, I suppose we could stop for a little while." Zel looked at the tired girl; he had to remember that normal people, people who weren't freaks like him, couldn't go on for as long with out rest. Lina showed no signs of tiring, but Amelia..."Its no good if we wear ourselves out all at once." And with that, he sat down on a very convenient rock. Amelia slumped down on the grass at the side of the road, pulling the pack off her back. Lina pulled the discarded bag of fish up the rock where she joined Zel, and began to nibble on one while pulling off her shoulder pads and cape.
"Yum, as tasty as ever...." Lina commented. Was it her imagination? The fish were still warm....no, must be her mind playing tricks. But they sure were good.
After about 15 minutes had passed, and Amelia was looking considerably more alive and awake, Zel suggested they head out again. To his delight and surprise, no one objected, and they were soon on their way once more. While they had been resting, it had slowly been getting darker and darker. Zel also noticed that it seemed warmer than before, but that could be attributed to the change in altitude. Ever since they had passed that mountain, where they first recognized the darkness as unnatural, the wind had stopped. As they left the mountain, they could still hear it as strong as ever, but that too grew dim as they distanced themselves from it, until it was now a faint buzzing only Zel's keen ears could pick up.
The calm and quiet off walking without talking was one of the few things Zel treasured. He found it much easier to think while his feet were busy, and an easy way to drown out the rest of his miserable life, or dwell on it, depending on the line his thoughts were taking. In any case, quiet was a rare thing when traveling as part of a group. Especially this group. But than again, he hadn't really traveled with any other group, not since his transformation into a Chimera. That time working for Rezo really couldn't be counted. These were his friends, and he chose to travel with them. Quiet, though rare, was also short lived, on most occasions. This was one of those times.
For the next hour, Zel silent heaven of quiet remained. Amelia even whistled at one point, but stopped when Lina readied a fireball (a wise decision on Amelia's part). Zel was glad Amelia seemed happy, partly because it made for a less eventful and more enjoyable trip, and partly because it made him feel good to see her happy. She looked so carefree. He wished he was like that. However, as the walk turned into a hike and the hike a journey and the journey a quest, Amelia looked more and more ragged. The fish seemed to be weighing heavy on her back, and any moment...
"Um, Miss Lina"
...she would cave. A soft 'hiss' signified Lina's intake of breath, as she faced the obvious. Whether she realized it or not, and he was pretty sure she did, Lina was also growing tired. With the physical exhaustion they had been racing came a lethargic look at life, as well as a very short temper on Lina's part.
"WHAT?" The cold word sent the meek princess back a pace, catching her wits together. "WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Lina continued "SPIT IT OUT!"
Now, one thing you have to realize about Amelia, no matter how sweet she may act at times, she can have quite a temper, and not only pertaining to matters of justice. Take the current circumstances for instance. Although the path they were fallowing obviously would lead them to the rescue of Gourry, a very noble and just thing, Amelia was forced to carry a large pack of fish, none of which she had caught, asked for, or volunteered to cart. With this in mind, and considering the current state of everyone's emotions (they had been walking for hours, after all, with no real breaks to speak of) what follows is not all that surprising "Miss Lina, please don't shout!" Amelia countered. "'Don't shout'! 'Don't shout'! Why can't I shout! This is my mission, and I'll do whatever the *beep* I please!" Lina raged. "Well, these are your fish, and you might as well carry them! I wont any more!" Amelia continued. "Zel and I are trying to figure out where we are going! The least you could do is carry that small amount of luggage! You didn't have to come, you know!" "Miss Lina, Gourry is my friend too! How can you say something like that? I have a right, and a duty, to fight for justice and good in the world, more so when it involves my friends! Isn't that right, Mister Zelgadis?"
"Lina has a point, Amelia. We're trying to follow a map and not a very good one either...." Zel replied. If there was one thing he'd learned, it was not to take sides. However...
"Oh, but Mister Zelgadis, these are Lina's fish!"
"Oh, stop sounding like a little kid." Lina had calmed down, but her eyes still glowed. One thing was for sure, it wasn't the flame of justice.
"Miss Lina, that's mean!"
"That was my intent," Lina snapped "Besides; it's not very nice of you to complain to Zel every time you're mad at me! I'm sure he has better things to do than listen to your high pitched voice..."
"Are you saying I'm whining?!"
"Yes, Amelia, that's exactly what I am saying. You're a whining, self righteous, hypocritical, little brat!" Lina was really getting into it. If there was one thing she was good at, aside from eating and saving the world from certain destruction, it was her wit at insults. Zel winced. This could get pretty bad....better he stay out of it and let it run its course.
"Oh....Miss Lina!" Amelia's voice went from angry to concerned at the drop of the hat, making Zel perk his keen Chimera ears up. "Perhaps you have moved to the side of evil! Don't worry, I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyrune, shall bring your soul back to the side of good!"
"Oh, cut the justice crap all ready! It's not like you follow your 'justice code' anyway!" Lina spat.
"Wh-what do you mean Miss Lina?!" Amelia was astonished. Zel was a bit surprised as well. What did Lina mean?
"Aren't your people supposed to be pacifists? But you aren't one, are you? I've seen you take as much pleasure out of beating people up as me! Maybe more..." Lina was on a roll. This was her battle field, and she held all the ammunition. Her friend's arsenal was weakening. It was only so long until the victory was won, and she could sit back and enjoy the spoils of war.
"But, Miss Lina, those are bad guys! Beside, I don't have to be a pacifist. That's Daddy's life. As long as I fight for justice in the world, violence is permitted!" Amelia was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. She should have seen it sooner. It would have been so easy to simply stop the fight earlier....but no, she had dug her own grave and stuck her right foot in it.
"Well, your dad doesn't really follow that either, does he?"
"Wh---Daddy is always on the side of good!"
"Well, isn't it a bit hypocritical to say you're a pacifist, but fight anyway?"
"Daddy only fights when it's needed!"
"Whatever you say..." It was a touchy subject, but Lina decided to let it go. There were plenty other weaknesses for her to exploit. "Do you even know what a pacifist is?"
Amelia held her head high. Was Lina losing her touch? What a stupid question! "Of course! A pacifist is someone who works for Justice, opposes war, and believes in a nonviolent approach to problems."
"For moral reasons...?" Lina prompted.
"Yes, of course!"
Lina smirked, "Wrong!"
Zel groaned. He knew that line of questioning was not a good idea. Leave it to Lina to know some useless bit of information to use against Amelia's naive mind. This argument had run its course, and had driven off the road. Time for him to step in. Besides, he wasn't sure Lina knew what a pacifist really was.
"It's been getting even darker" Zel pointed out, stopping the argument. God, what am I, a sorcerer or a babysitter?
"Um, you're right Zel." Lina removed her half chanted fireball to examine the sky.
Amelia carefully edged away from Lina until she was positioned to one side of Zel, with him between her and the fiery sorceress. "Maybe that means we're getting closer to whatever-it-is..."
"Or that whatever-it-is is getting stronger," Zel corrected. "I noticed a cave a ways back. According this map," he held a light spell up to the ripped piece of parchment "it should lead through that mountain" and he indicated the towering peak in front of them "and should serve as a shortcut to Gourry's village, if you don't mind spending roughly a week without natural light. Of course, with the current turn of events, we're likely to do that if even if we stay above ground. The one problem is there isn't a map through the cave. But it would take weeks off of our journey."
"Hmmmmr...." Lina pondered the situation. Zel knew she was weighing the time margin with his directional skills. Cutting time off wouldn't do any good if they spent it getting lost. However, it would take four months, going above ground, to get to Diamond Lake, and another half a month for them to locate Gourry's village. They didn't know if they had that much time to spare. "Zel, how confident are you in finding our way through the cave without a map?"
"Well," Zel leaned against a rocky outcropping. His body was also growing tired, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep up this pace in that heat. "It depends on the layout of the cave, how many passages there are, how many turns, etc." He looked at Lina's hot face, Amelia's sweaty hair. "However, I think I can manage it in there. And it might be cooler..."
"Well then, if it will cut time off our journey, I think we should take it. You agree?" Zel nodded his head. "How about you?" she turned to Amelia. "You have any problems with this?" Amelia jumped. She had apparently been in her own little world.
"N....no. We have to save Mister Gourry." Amelia made sure not to catch Zel or Lina's eyes. They usually didn't ask for her input. Of course, no one would ever go against Lina, so there didn't seem to be much point in it. Miss Lina had been right. She had been acting pretty bratty. Well, at least they no longer seemed to care....
"Then it's settled, we'll take the cave." And that was that. "So, Zel, do we double back to get to this cave, or what?"
"We can do that, but the map says there's a village a little ways up, at the base of the mountain. It might be a good idea to go there for the night (or day). If we're going to go through the cave, we will want to bring an ample amount of food. We don't know just how long it will take, and these fish won't last forever."
"Good idea. And I bet they have some good restaurants there, too!" Lina agreed. Amelia just nodded. They removed their packs from the ground where they had lazily tossed them. Zel took half of the fish this time, something Amelia noticed and appreciated (Mister Zelgadis is so nice, even if he didn't help up 'till now. He is a true defender of the weak, and didn't want me to feel weak!) And so, with minimal casualties, the weary travelers made it to the quant town of Maliera.
It was a pretty little town, with flowers lining the streets, and shops sprinkled on every block. At least, Zel assumed it was a pretty little town. From his view, the flowers were only noticeable by the giant pots they grew out of, and the shops only stood out when he had to dodge a sidewalk sign. The darkness of they day, for by this time it was surely day, prevented visibility of anything more than 10 feet away, and these were shown as shadows. He didn't like the way Lina, only a few feet in front of him, looked like a stranger. If not for the definite feel of her magic (which she hid very well; had he not known her so well, she would have seemed an ordinary girl) he could have mistaken Lina for a resident of the town. And the heat was still there, strong and unending. It made his head swim and his legs wobble. Fortunately, it was too dark for either Lina, or Amelia to notice; that is as long as he didn't run into one of them.
As they neared what he guessed to be the center of town, the first sign of human inhabitants called out to them. "Sir, Madam, Miss, please come and escape this darkness!" As they moved closer to the shadow, Zel saw it to be kindly looking woman. She gestured them inside a large stone building, chanting encouragement as they went ("Don't worry, we'll be there soon. Just a little farther...") It appeared to be an old castle, from the feel of the stone against Zel's "skin". He had developed a sixth sense when it came to rocks, ever since Rezo changed him into a chimera. Rocks all looked the same to the untrained eye, but there were really many variances in even the same kind of rock. For instance, the rocks in this castle felt old and very cranky, and- Zel stopped. Had he been philosophizing about rocks again?
The woman stopped at a large wood door, putting all her strength against it, and pushing with all her might. Zel stepped forward to help, but Lina's hand on his arm served as a reminder for the ways cities in this part of the world worked. If he had helped, Zel would have been committing a major insult to the woman and her people. Only if he was asked, could he assist her.
With a creak the heavy door swung open, revealing a penetrating light. It blinded the small party, who had grown used to the utter darkness of the outside world. Light. Light. It was so beautiful. Like the taste of water to one wondering the desert, their senses were overwhelmed, and Zel felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.
****
"Mister Zelgadis?" Amelia's voice penetrated Zel's sleep. What was she doing? Why did she have to wake him up? He wanted to sleep....
"Mister Zelgadis! Please wake up!" Darn, well, I guess she won't go away... Zel forced his eyelids open. Amelia's blue eyes starred back at him, liquid with worry. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis!" She turned her head "Miss Lina! Mister Zelgadis is awake!"
Whatever Lina's reply was, Zel heard only a murmured sound of approval. What was going on? His head was swimming, an insane buzzing sound seemed to be coming from his left ear, and the intense heat was still there. But there was light, he noticed, so he must be in the castle/Inn. He tried to remember what had happened, but that just made his head hurt more, and the buzzing intensified.
"Zel?" That was Lina's voice. Her head soon appeared in Zel's limited range of vision. "How are you feeling? No, don't get up yet!" Lina pushed his raising form back to his pillow. It was a good thing; too, for the brief moments Zel was up right, he felt a wave of dizziness pass through his body. The pillow was very welcome.
"Ugh! What happened? Ah!" Zel grabbed his head. It felt as if he'd been hit with about 6 tons of orihalcon. His head seemed to be splitting itself in half.
Lina's eyes had a sympathetic and worried shine to them. "I'll explain it to you," she lifted her hands, muttering something under her breath even Zel couldn't make out, "but not now." She brought her hands together, finishing the incantation. Zel had two seconds of consciousness to identify the spell as one of Lina's 'homemade spells' before plunging back into the familiar darkness.
The light was much more welcome this time, and Zel found himself wondering if he was home. That surprised him. It had been years since he'd had a 'home', why would he be there now. And for that matter, where was he? He groaned, involuntarily, as he slowly opened his eyes. It was so bright. A stone castle ceiling glared back at him. An overhead light swung from a notch in the ceiling, 7 perfect candles placed evenly along it. So that's where the light was coming from. But how was it so bright? A glowing talisman hung limply from the lamp, its infa red rays setting a holy light which mere humans could not see. But than, Zel was no mere human.
Amelia was by his side almost immediately, summoned by his earlier groan. "Mister Zelgadis? How do you feel?" Zel intended to tell her just how he felt, but all the came out was another groan. "Or, poor Mister Zelgadis...." Amelia was fine; Zel didn't mind having her around. She was very good at cheering people up, and she was one of his friends. However, he didn't feel like he had the will power, endurance, or energy to survive her right now. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but.....
"*cough, cough, hack*"
"Oh, poor Mister Zelgadis...."
"*hack, cough, cough, hack*" The conversation was slightly one sided, and not very productive, being as Zel seemed unable to speak. He wanted to talk to Lina; at the very least she would probably explain what was going on.
"Oh, Mister Zelgadis...well, I better go tell Miss Lina that you're awake. She was here her self for hours, but the Inn doesn't have room service, so she's gone to the dinning room. She told me to get her when you woke up, but not to disturb you 'til then..." and with that, she was gone. Zel breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can kind of wear on your nerves, huh?"
Zel started. Who was that? He was the only one in the room, so who had spoken? Great, now I'm going crazy.... He was still pondering the mysterious voice, when the door to his room opened, and in walked Lina.
She had removed her shoulder pads and cape, and remained in her yellow t- shirt, red jeans, and black headband. Her gloves had been removed, most likely along with her other articles off clothing. Beyond that, he couldn't tell, from his prone position. Lina walked towards him, her hair swishing with the wind her motions created. Zel suddenly realized that maybe Lina would not be happy to have been pulled away from her dinner to see him, even if she had given instructions for Amelia to do so.
However, from hi limited view, Lina didn't look mad. "Zel, hey, how're you feeling now?" Lina gave him a concerned smile. "You know I can't have my favorite chimera blacking out all the time." That was followed by a wink.
"*cough* I...suppose I'm all right..." Zel replied. He had the sinking feeling Amelia was going to barge in any minute. He wasn't sure he could be civil to her if she did. Lina seemed to read his mind.
"Don't worry, I sent Amelia to talk to the locals" Lina winked again. "She shouldn't be back for awhile, unless she discovers something drastically important I didn't dig up..." she trailed off. No need to continue. Zel felt a wave of gratitude towards Lina. He'd have to find some way to repay her.....but he could think that over later.
"Lina, what happened?"
"Well, I'm not sure what happened to you, but.....We fallowed Miss Sarah, that nice lady who we met in the town, to this old castle. It's been made into an Inn, you know" Zel nodded, so Lina continued. "Anyway, she opened the door, you wanted to help her, remember? And the light from inside hit us full force, which was kind of shocking after the darkness of the outside world, and you just kind of keeled over...they helped us carry you to this room, its all of ours by the way, and the rest you've probably figured out. Amelia kept an eye on you until that first time you woke up, and I put that spell on you...by the way, that was one of my own spells. You knew that? Well, it was a sleep spell of sorts, but more gentle than usual....After that I stayed with you (I didn't want Amelia waking you up after all the trouble I went through to cast that spell on you) until I got hungry, and then I left Amelia to watch you, and you woke up. Amelia didn't wake you, did she?"
Zel took a minute to collect his thoughts after the Lina explanation. Man, she could talk a lot. 'Course, he should have been used to that by now. Maybe it was the combination of his fuzzy head combined with Lina's detailed explanation. At any rate, he thought he understood. He shook his head as he realized she had asked him something, and suddenly realized he was very hungry himself.
This was unusual. His chimera body hardly ever required nourishment; true, he drank coffee, but that was only to keep his stress levels down (or maybe make sure he was always fully awake and ready for battle, should the need arise). This, along with his freakiness, made food, and even sleep, luxuries. But somehow, right now he was starving. He was just pondering over how to ask Lina for food, when his stomach let out a protesting, and reasonably loud, groan.
Lina, an expert when it came to hunger, picked it up immediately. "You must be hungry, Zel. I'll go get you something to eat..." and she was off, silently wondering what kind of food Zel liked. This gave Zel time to piece together what had happened to him. It was quite possible that his chimera body had automatically adjusted to the darkness. Come to think of it, he had gotten less and less uncomfortable, sight wise, as the trip progressed. If this was so, his body obviously didn't know how to adapt to the heat, since temperature wasn't usually a problem. Zel made a mental note to ponder that later, right now was not the time.
What he needed was food. But that, in itself, was strange. Perhaps it had something to do with his body's adaptation. Maybe food was required to keep him comfortable with the changing light and darkness. Maybe food suddenly became a necessity with the new adaptations. Or maybe it had simply been too long since he had last eaten.
The soft tread of feet down the hall interrupted Zel's self examination, making him thankful for his superior chimera hearing. It was a woman, or at least, it walked like a woman. But it wasn't Lina or Amelia. It wasn't, now that he thought about it, Sylphiel either, though that would have been quite obvious regardless. So, who was it? One of the other guests at the Inn, he imagined, or perhaps, someone who worked at the Inn. Well, he would find out soon, since the foot steps came to a stop outside his door.
A gentle creak alerted him she was entering, and he propped himself up so as so see his unfamiliar visitor. The quiet form of a woman, or rather, a young woman, for she seemed no more than 16 years old, pushed itself through the door. She wore a peasant's dress of lavender and off white; a mint green shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair, a shiny forest green, hung loosely down her back, framing a beautiful chestnut face. Her eyes, shapely like a cat's, were a dark, clear blue, their glow seeming to albumen the room. In fact, her entire person shone with a magical, and almost holy, light. It was not a light for the eyes, but an air of mystic and grandeur. To a sorcerer, she reeked of magic.
Zel averted his gaze as soon as he realized he was staring, hoping she hadn't noticed. He could sense a great power from her, but the magic she commanded was new to him.
"Hello." Her musical voice pulled Zel from his thoughts. "How are you feeling, Mister Zelgadis." With the title, she bowed her head and torso. Zel noticed she didn't hesitate on his name, nor was she recoiling in fear at the sight of him. With this thought, Zel began to scramble to cover his rock like body.
"Oh, but I haven't introduced myself." The girl stopped her flowing movements towards him. "My name is Celestin, my family owns this Inn. My mother sent me to see how you were doing, but I see that you are awake now. I'm sorry that I bothered you." Her tone was neither flustered, nor frightened; merely apologetic. "I understand your friend is getting you food. If you need anything, please send for me." Once again she bowed, leaving the room. Zel stared at the door, wondering what sort of magic creature had just left him.
Zel had only been alone for a few minutes, when Lina returned, carrying a Lina-sized meal on an overflowing tray. Zel's eyes got very big, but he found appetite for all of it. This is what happens when you go for months without eating.