Lina and Goury had met up with the rest of the gang a few months ago when they respectively heard a rumor about a strange manuscript. The rumor hadn't panned out, but they had decided to travel together once again. Right now they were traveling to Seyrune to restock on money and provisions (Amelia had told Lina that a new shipment of seafood had come into the capitol). Zelgadiss had his reservations with staying with the group again, but had been bullied into doing so. Xelloss was with them as well (they couldn't get rid of him) and was happily singing to himself, very badly off key. Zelgadiss' hand was twitching, as he was preparing to cast ANYTHING painful at the monster. That was when they crested the last hill and Seyrune spread before them. Amelia was very happy and immediately raced off ahead of them. Xelloss watched the display and sweat drops from all his companions before he started humming loudly. The humming wasn't as annoying as the singing, so they group just ignored him. Lina and Goury were moving faster, in anticipation of the food awaiting them, and Zelgadiss had to move faster to keep pace.
At the palace (which Amelia had already reached) Amelia looked around for her father. Some of the soldiers waved to her and pointed to the main hall, where she immediately ran. Sure enough, there stood her giant of a father, directing people all over the place.
"Daddy!" Amelia called out loudly. A few of the newer servants who didn't know her cringed.
"Amelia! Daughter!" Phil opened his arms wide to receive his daughter. It had only been a few weeks since he'd seen her last, but they always had this sort of a reunion. "How did the search go? Did you find the mysterious manuscript?"
"I'm afraid not Daddy, but I did run into Miss Lina and everyone. They came with me…er…but I think I left them at the outskirts of the city. I'm sure they'll make their way here in no time."
"I know you found the others, we saw you coming from a way off. This," he waved his hand at the current chaos, "is all for a dinner for all of you. Also, we have a guest here. She's a healer, and helped my brother when he suddenly took ill just shortly after you left."
"I'm sorry to hear that! I'm glad he's all right though." Amelia struck a pose. "As my uncle was sick and dying, justice came to the rescue and saved him!" Her father clapped happily at his daughter, while everyone else was too busy to pay much attention to the justice freaks that ruled them.
"What's the justice speech about this time Amelia?" Lina asked as she walked in with the others.
"Oh, Miss Lina! My uncle got sick and someone came to heal him. She's going to be joining us tonight at dinner." Amelia suddenly turned and looked at her father with a slight frown on her face. "Who is she anyway?"
"Ya, I mean, how do you know she isn't the one who made Amelia's uncle sick in the first place? If only to get into your good graces?" Zelgadiss had trouble trusting people.
"I trust her. After all, we offered to let her stay here in the palace and she insisted she stay elsewhere. I see no reason to doubt her good nature." Phil struck a similar pose to his daughter, causing all but said daughter to sweat drop (well, Xelloss didn't react either, as he was elsewhere at the time).
Which fact Amelia now noticed. "Hey, where did Mister Xelloss go?" Everyone looked around briefly for the trickster, but he was no where to be found, so they just let it drop. If he was causing mischief, they could clean it up later…or try to beat him senseless, as Lina and Zelgadiss preferred (Lina, since she needed a good punching bag and Zelgadiss since he…well…hated him).
Xelloss at this time was annoying the same waitress he had on his last visit, drinking again only water. He sat quietly reading a book and sipping his water when a shadow fell over the pages in his lap. He turned his head and smiled pleasantly. He kept the smile on even as the person, whom his astral vision showed as being there, but being powerfully shielded from him, confused him. He couldn't read a single emotion from the woman, which it obviously was. He opened his slit eyes to look at the person better, and the smile fell, his mouth opening slightly in surprise. Her eyes were a midnight blue, fathomless as the night sky and large in her pale face. The pale pink lips curved on one side into a crooked smile while her eyes darkened further, until they were nearly black. Her hair was done up in a braid, the color extremely pale green, almost a blond green. She wore a pale gray shirt and black pants, both of a simple material, and a sword rested on her left hip, a strange slender holder, perhaps for a knife, on the right hip. Her hands were slender and delicate, unadorned except for an emerald ring on her left hand middle finger. She indicated the chair opposite him and he nodded silently while she sat.
"You're being terribly mean to that poor woman. She's only doing her job, and she gets a percentage of the money she makes in a day." Her voice was soft, pitched low so that the other people outside couldn't eavesdrop on the conversation, such as it currently was.
"Yes, well, it's fun." Xelloss' smile returned to his face, though his eyes remained open. He preferred to look at her with normal sight, not astral vision. She laughed at his remark, her laughter sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. The waitress they were discussing came over then.
"Can I get you anything Miss?" She pointedly ignored Xelloss.
"Lemonade would do nicely, thank you." The woman inclined her head slightly before turning her attention back to the priest.
"I'll have some of that too." The waitress looked like she'd been struck dumb, hearing an actual order from this lunatic. She hurried off to fill their orders. "So! What's your name?"
"Kardray. You?" There was strong amusement in her eyes, even though she held a strait face, if a small smile.
"Xelloss, traveling with the famous sorceress Lina Inverse and company." Kardray cocked an eyebrow at him. Xelloss smile got wider.
"I've heard a great many things about Lina Inverse, though I'm sure that most of it is all exaggerated." She leaned back as the waitress brought their drinks. She made sure they wanted nothing else just then and went off to her other patrons. "I assume Miss Inverse is in the city if you say you're traveling with her." It was a statement more than a question.
"Yes, she's probably off seeing Prince Phil with Amelia." He shuddered dramatically, earning another laugh from his table companion. "Also, you'd be surprised the number of things told about her that are true." His eyes closed to slits as he took a sip of his drink. "I should know, I've seen most of it."
Kardray nodded her head slightly. "As I hear it, she can use chaos magic. That's exceptionally difficult." Xelloss looked at her closely, wondering how much she herself knew of chaos magic.
"Yes, she knows a few spells, like the Ragna Blade and Giga Slave." He was disappointed when he got no reaction from her, just a slight nod. "One or both of these spells she may use on me if I'm late and make them have to wait for dinner." He laughed slightly as he stood and pulled out a few coins, placing them on the table. Kardray also rose from her seat.
"I assume you're going to the palace," he nodded his ascent, "then I'll come with you. I'm also supposed to attend this dinner tonight." She sounded somewhat less than thrilled, but shrugged it off and indicated he proceed her. He walked over to her and offered his arm, which she took after a moment of looking at it with wry humor.
They made their way to the palace, making inane comments on the weather and the state of affairs in Seyrune. Xelloss learned that Kardray had healed Phil's brother of the strange illness and was constantly asked to come to the palace for them to thank her. She was beginning to feel annoyed and was glad she was due to be off in a day or so.
"Where will you be going? And why are you here in the first place?" Xelloss had been a little surprised to find that she was just slightly shorter than him, and that they walked much at the same pace without difficulty. She was also quite slender, but he could feel strong muscle under her shirtsleeve as she moved, meaning she kept well in shape.
"Second question first. I'm here to look around in the libraries and see some of the temples. Also, I had a dream that brought me here. I have some clairvoyant skills, and usually listen to my dreams. As to where I'll be going next, I haven't any idea. What first brought me hear should help direct me on my next direction." They had nearly reached the palace, and Xelloss felt a moment of disappointment. He was greatly enjoying her company, and especially the way she moved when she walked, fluid and graceful. He was reluctant to let other people share her company, and that actually confused him, momentarily. Lina chose that moment to come racing out of the palace at them, her eyes ablaze.
"Uh oh, I get the feeling we're late." He sweat dropped as he let go of Kardray's arm so that Lina could tackle him safely (though that move briefly puzzled him as well). Then he was on the ground with Lina on top of him, strangling him as she asked where he had been.
"He was escorting me to the palace, which I am quite grateful for." Kardray's voice cut through Lina's rant even though it was still quite quiet. Lina loosened her grip on Xelloss and looked up at the woman before her.
"And who are you?" Lina got up and dusted herself off.
Kardray bowed gracefully. "Kardray, at your service miss. I am the other errant guest to dinner, so it's not all Xelloss' fault." Kardray had straitened and was watching Lina in what could be construed as a friendly manner. Xelloss picked himself off the ground only to have his arm grabbed violently by Lina (Kardray was grabbed as well) and dragged into the castle (Lina really was strong for her size). She brought them immediately to the dining room and let them go, going to her seat near the head of the table, next to Amelia.
"There you are Mister Xelloss!" Amelia smiled pleasantly at the priest. "And this must be Kardray who helped my uncle. We're very indebted to you for helping him." Kardray and Xelloss took the only remaining seats, one next to said uncle of Amelia and one next to Goury and Zelgadiss (poor Zel, he really would have preferred sitting next to Kardray. Oddly though, she would have preferred sitting next to Xelloss, and vise versa).
"Well then, lets all dig in!" Phil loudly announced (though Lina and Goury had already begun eating).
Dinner went fairly quickly. Lina and Goury, with Amelia in second devoured most of the food, followed closely by her father. Zelgadiss and Kardray ate little, while Xelloss ate nothing until desert arrived. They all got a single piece of cake (Lina complained loudly how Goury's was bigger than hers was and that she should get another slice to even it up. She didn't get one). The door to the dining room burst open with a loud bang. Sirius of all people came striding through the door, the Sword of Light in his hand. There were singe marks and cuts along the overworlder, and he looked close to collapse.
"Sirius?" Lina blinked a few times to be sure he was really in the room. Amelia got up immediately so that he could sit, which he did gratefully. "What are you doing here?" Amelia tried to cast a healing spell, but it had no effect.
"Something terrible has happened on the Overworld. Someone came to steal the five Dark Star weapons and there was nothing we could do to stop them. Goru Nova is the only one still in our possession." He looked down at the weapon in his hand regretfully.
"This other person took all the others?" Zelgadiss had left his seat and come over.
"No. We cast a spell at the last possible moment and scattered them across your world, since some of them had already been here. However, we don't know where they went, or how hard it will be to find them." His voice had become fainter and his eyes closed in pain. Kardray finally got up from her seat and approached Sirius, placing her hand over his chest. A green light spread outward from her hand, and closed his wounds as it came into contact with them. Everyone, including Sirius, who had opened his eyes at her touch, were watching her closely. She finally pulled away and Sirius was whole, not a mark showing.
"I do believe that helped. Please continue explaining your problem." She leaned back against the table.
"That is an unusual ability. Being from the Overworld should have made it impossible for you to heal me. How did you do it?" Sirius was watching her closely, having sensed something not human about her through the brief contact.
"I simply did. I'm a natural healer, I'm told it runs in my family." She continued looking at him mildly, making him think she might not know about her own inhumaness.
"I need help to try and recover the weapons, then to defeat the one who is also after them. After all, with your help, we managed to do what I thought was supposedly impossible before. Will you help?" He retracted the light blade on the Sword of Light, then placed it on the table.
"Of course we will!" Amelia, Justice Freak of the World, was always happy to help.
"That's right. I mean, if only to get the weapons off our world." Lina smiled at Sirius in a way he thought was just a little frightening.
"Will I get to use the Sword of Light again?" Goury asked hopefully, eyeing the sword he'd had until giving it to Sirius. Sirius nodded yes and Goury quickly snatched up the sword, putting it in the sheath he wore (after pulling out the new sword he'd been carrying and tossing it aside like old garbage).
"I would like to come with you." Kardray spoke up, her soft voice gaining the rooms' attention. "If you will let me." She looked to Lina, the obvious leader of the group.
"I don't see why not." Lina answered. "Besides, that healing of yours could come in handy."
"Right!" Amelia piped in. Even Zelgadiss seemed fine with the decision (she's been conversing with him quietly throughout dinner).
"Well then, I guess you'll be leaving sooner than expected." Phil appeared to have no problem with this. "I'll go tell my men to get some things together for you. Where do you expect you'll be going?"
They all turned back to Sirius. "I'm not sure. However," he held out his hand and a small stone appeared in his palm, "this should be able to direct us at least." He spoke a few words and a line of light appeared inside the stone, one end shaping itself to a point. It led in the direction of the sea. "That is the way we should go." He stood up, towering over everyone. "We will leave in the morning?"
"Yes. Can't expect a girl to go without her beauty sleep, can you?" Lina winked at him and began walking toward the door. "I'm going to bed now then, okay?"
"Wait up Miss Lina!" Amelia hurried after her.
"Can we set up a room for you Mister Sirius?" Phil was anything if not a gracious host.
"No, I will wait somewhere else." With that, Sirius vanished.
"I'm leaving too. I'll be back in the morning to leave with them." Kardray smiled briefly before making her way out the door. Xelloss had disappeared and Goury was eating anything left over. Zelgadiss shook his head in exasperation and left to find his own room. Phil was left to make preparations for the trip they would be taking.