The Pilgrimage
"Attack!" in response to the yell everyone but Amethyst and the traitor
turned to face the oncoming bandits. The guards left two of their number to
guard Amethyst and the traitor while Xalan turned about with a "yep, knew
they were coming attitude." Jolrael grumbled irritably something about
"perfect time to go into shock," as he drew his sword and turned to face his
former employers.
The first wave of bandits flowed toward them across the road towards the
small clearing that the camp was situated in. There was a bandit for each of
the four guardsmen on the line and two each for Xalan and Jolrael. The two
of them had it under control before the guardsmen and their bandits could do
much more than exchange parries.
"I'm forgetting something," Jol muttered to himself as he cut through the
last bandit's sword, and Xalan took the man's feet out from under him.
"FLARE ARROW!" the two guardsmen and to shove the unaware Amethyst out of
the spell's way.
"Oh yeah, that's right," Jolrael said. Xalan favored him with a "how
could you forget something like that?" look and charged into the woods. He
fell back as more bandits came from the tree line. Xalan turned and saw
Jolrael falling back to protect Amethyst, and whuffed in annoyance. He
couldn't just let these idiots pass if the newcomer was going to ignore the
present danger.
Suddenly as they approached the shadows of the new night deepened and
grew over the strip of road ahead of them. The bandits plowed right into the
unnatural shadow.
Jolrael had been planning on trying to snap the chimera out of her stupor
with one of his little hypnosis tricks. Reaching out to her mind he came
against a wall that was partially the mental discipline of a skilled mage,
and partially the shock of the information she had just received. He worked
to chip away at her defenses, unconcerned with causing harm. The paralyzing
shock may have made an impressive defense, but it was not normal. Nor was it
better for it to remain there.
"FIREBALL!" Jolrael turned to watch the oncoming spell bleakly.
"Should have known this was a bad idea," he muttered expecting to meet
fiery breath in a moment. He had plenty of tricks up his sleeve, but nothing
that would slow down a big ball of fire. He didn't quite have time to leap
out of the way either.
"WINDY SHIELD!" he heard Amethyst shout from right behind him. The
fireball faltered and vanished as it collided with the wall of whirling air.
"LIGHTNING!" Jol ducked as the crackling bolts of energy passed over him and
into the trees across the road.
"Apparently she can gather energy faster than that fat merchant-noble,"
he muttered. Watching the energy course through the woods towards the
fireball's point of origin, for a brief moment the lightning silhoutted a
moderately irritated Xalan. "What?" he looked to the kage-kitsune's field
of darkness and back to where he could have sworn he saw him.
"FLARE ARROW!! FLARE ARROW!!! FLARE ARROW!!!" this time Amethyst saw the
stalking form as well. She looked at the field of darkness and listened to
the battle inside for a moment.
"I got him! I got him!" "No he's over here!" Jol and Amethyst
sweatdropped.
"Where'd you come from!!" this was followed by the sound of a brief
struggle and so there after Xalan dragging a stunned and somewhat charred
sorcerer out of the woods. Everybody looked to the field of darkness where
apparently the battle was still going on.
"Excuse me sir," one of the guardsmen asked. "If you're out here, who's
in there?"
"This jerk's men," he said simply, then he dropped the sorcerer at the
foot of a guardsman. "Excuse me." He walked into the shadows and for about
five seconds the sound of battle intensified. Then it went silent and the
darkness just dissipated revealing a pile of hacked and smashed bandits.
At this point the sorcerer started to come to, looked around and saw that
he was trapped. Then he smiled grimmly.
"Don't be so convinced that you've won," he laughed. "I have plenty more
fighters to bring into battle."
"Yes, I believe we're missing ten of the 'pilgrims'" Jol noted after
clearing his throat.
"And they're his best men," the traitor declared loudly. "They..."
"Were very tasty," the two remaining assassins looked on in shock as a
blood spattered Lina dropped into the clearing.
"I thought I smelled you," Xalan said, obviously proud of the
accomplishment. The noble scanned the fresh blood coating Lina's fox-feet,
clawed hands and half her face. Then he fainted, half of Amethyst's guards
looked ready to do the same.
"Uh, Lina-sama," Amethyst started. "You didn't seriously.."
"Eat them?" Lina finished. "Of course not." The traitor guard snapped
out of his shock.
"Don't think we're the last Princess," the guard spat. "There are plenty
willing to...." He crumpled under neath Xalan's staff. Amethyst slumped and
turned away from the traitor, even winced as he was struck.
"Amethyst," Xalan asked uncomfortably. "Are you okay?" Lina looked over
the chimera and recognized the expression on her face.
"No, I'm not okay!" she shouted. "Why should I be okay?" She wiped the
early tears from her eyes and sniffed.
"Somebody told you, didn't they," Lina sighed.
"You mean that you knew?" she said shocked. Lina sighed and sat down.
"I guessed," Lina told her, she looked to the unconcious traitor. "It
was him, wasn't it." She flexed her fingers obviously restraining herself
from attacking the unconcious man. She waved Amethyst down, and the chimera
almost collapsed into a cross-legged position.
"Why didn't anybody tell me?" she asked angrily.
"Not my business to," Lina said, then she snarled at the traitor again.
"And not his either. It might not be true you know." She glared at the
other guardsmen, warning them not to say anything. Xalan and Jolrael stood
off to the side looking uncomfortable.
"You don't really believe that," Amethyst snapped, still holding back
tears. "And I don't either. L-Sama, _I_ killed my mother!"
"Okay, first, deaths happen all the time in child birth, this wasn't your
fault," Lina said.
"But...."
"NOT your fault," Lina repeated. "The second thing is that its okay to
cry."
"But my Dad doesn't ever cry," Amethyst protested.
"Hmph, that's his problem."
"I'm NOT going to cry," Amethyst declared firmly. "A true warrior of
justice does not cry." Lina heroically stamped the sudden urge to laugh
after several memories of Amelia popped up.
"Have it your way," Lina shrugged. "Now on to the other problem."
"Xina got to Val didn't she," Xalan said. "I'm sorry mom, I really
thought I caught everything she was saying."
"Question," Jol put in. Everybody looked to him. "Amethyst Sailoon?"
Amethyst nodded stiffly. Then he pointed at Lina and Xalan in turn, finally
bringing his finger to his chin. "Lina, Xalan, and Xina. Inverse or
Metallium?"
"Yes," Lina admitted looking him over and taking in the scents. He was
wearing elven silks, apparently woven with some mithril threads. He himself
smelled of parchment and the civilized forests of the high elves. There was
something familiar about him but she just couldn't place it, until she looked
at the blade sheathed on his back.
"I'm Jolrael..."
"Gabriev?" Jol blinked in surprise.
"Yes, how'd you know?"
"You're GOURRY's kid?"
"Yes."
"But you're not...."
"Rock dense?"
"Right."
"Hard to believe I'm their son isn't it."
"This must be a sign!" Amethyst declared suddenly, sniffing away the
remainder of her unshed tears. Lina winced, but was glad she had something
to distract her, even if it was uncomfortably close to Zelgadis's belief in
some furred-bird's prophecy.
"Just coincidence that's all," Lina said. "By any chance, you weren't
heading to Sailoon were you?" she asked the dark-haired swordsman.
"Actually, yes."
"Damn," Lina muttered, this was convienent. As convienent as the ways
most of her adventures had begun.
Zangulus twirled the black blade in his hand, revelling in the power
contained within its form. He felt as if he had recovered his lost youth,
and more besides. All he had to do was recover the mazoku's body now, and
Martina would be his forever. She would give him power that would make these
minorly enchanted sword look like a rusty dagger. Then Gourry Gabriev
wouldn't be able to defeat him. Not an aged Gabriev softened by the years, a
wife and two children available as hostages....
Zangulus shook his head clear, surprised at the thought. Why did he need
hostages, he'd just kill Gabriev. He didn't need any dishonorable tricks to
do it. If he had been thinking clearer he might have looked for the reason
such an unusual thought had occured to him, but he had more important matters
on his mind.
Martina needed Xellos's body. He was almost tooo Sailoon now, two or
three days travel and he'd be there. Then it was only a matter of getting
into the Tomb. Soon, very soon, he would have everything he ever dreamed of.
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