Read on! There's more Zel in this one! ^_^

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Zelgadis was now on his fourth day of travel, and he would reach Derrin tomorrow afternoon. He had gone faster than he had planned in his excitement, and was a few days ahead of schedule.

He was now anticipating the process in which his body would be returned to normal. He also caught himself thinking of how Amelia would react when he went back to Seyruun as a normal human. When he found himself doing this, he shook the thoughts of Amelia from his mind.

"Why do I keep thinking about her?" he asked himself on his final day of journeying. He was only a few hours away from Derrin. "Why?" While he walked, he tried to figure it out. Nothing came to mind. It wasn't like there was anything to worry about-- she was safe in the Seyruun palace. She wasn't in any danger, and if she wasn't, then there was no need to think about her so much.

So, whenever Zelgadis found himself thinking of Amelia, he just shook those thoughts away, and redirected his mind to more important matters.

After a few more hours of walking at a quick, steady pace, Zelgadis found himself at the border of Derrin. Despite it being famous for its black diamonds, it was stil a very small place. To some people it was considered a large town, and to others it was a small kingdom. Either way, Zelgadis could get what he needed there.

Zelgadis walked into the town with his mask and hood on to hide his face, and started wandering around, looking for any place with black diamonds, of even the mine itself.

Luck was with him, and he found a jewler in a booth beside the road. Zelgadis walked over there, and looked at the merchandise. There was one black diamond, set into a silver band, and was being sold as a ring.

"May I help you, sir?" the vendor asked, smiling widely and nodding.

Zelgadis asked, "How much for the black diamond ring?" He pointed at the ring to make sure the vendor knew what he was talking about.

"Hmm..." the vendor thought, touching a finger to his chin. "Well, sir, since that's a black diamond you're asking for-- they aren't very rare around these parts. The regular diamonds are much more difficult to find around here. Yes, yes, I know, not many travelers would think that, but-- Anyway! For the ring, I'll charge you 1000GP. How's that?"

Zelgadis, expecting something much higher, quickly agreed. He was a little shocked that the vendor could talk so long without taking a single breath, but he handed over a sack of gold, and took the ring.

The vendor asked Zelgadis to wait, and said, "I like you. I'm gonna let you have something else here, too. Anything you want."

"All right..." Zelgadis said uncertainly. He turned back to the table, and looked at what was left. There was an emerald and gold necklace, a golden diamond-set ring, a pair of silver and diamond earrings, and a ruby and gold bracelet. He picked up the diamond-set ring, and admired it. Whoever had crafted it was very skilled, indeed. The gold band was etched with the maker's initials on the bottom, and the diamond was flawless. "I'll take this," he said. There wasn't anything else worth getting, anyway.

"Got a lady waiting for you somewhere, lad?" the vendor asked, winking.

Zelgadis blushed, and said, "No," before he turned around and left. He stuffed both rings in his hip-bag, and started looking for a place that would sell an Orihalcon beacon.

He found the place quickly enough, a simple magic-shop, and walked inside. He looked along a wide shelf at different Orihalcon statues, and picked one in the shape of a dragon. He payed for it at the counter-- it wasn't very expensive-- and then left the town of Derrin as quickly as possible.

Zelgadis looked around for a secluded spot. He found a small cave that didn't go back very deep, but was wide and tall enough for him to be comfortable in. He sat down against the edge of the cave, and opened the book again. It was a little dark, so he sent a light spell above him, and opened back to the chapter he had started earlier.

"Contained in this book is what appears to be a blank sheet of paper..." Zelgadis read. Then he remembered that sheet that had fell out earlier. He flipped through the pages of the book, and found the sheet, and set it on the floor in front of him.

"This seemingly blank paper actually has detailed steps written on it to describe the process. For safe keeping, I have written it on this moon-paper. The writing on this paper can only be read if held up to the May full moon..."

Zelgadis's spirits suddenly fell through the floor. The May full moon had been two nights ago. He remembered, because the light from the moon allowed him to travel late into the night.

Furious, Zelgadis crumpled up the paper, and punched his fist into the stone floor. "Dammit all!" he shouted. "I missed it by two days! TWO DAYS!" He stood up, and stalked out of the cave. He would now have to wait an entire year before he could find out the process for his cure.

Zelgadis calmed down, and took a steady breath. He decided that he should put the book somewhere until next year, lest something happen and he lose it or it gets damaged.

Looking around, Zelgadis settled on that cave. He put the moon-paper back into the book, and put the book at the back of the cave.

"Damu Bras!" Zelgadis shouted. He aimed it at the cave, which collapsed over itself. Then Zelgadis put a powerful protection spell over the whole thing, and turned away from the scene angrily.

He wondered what he should do now. He told Amelia he'd be back after he had cured his body, so he couldn't go back there, could he? Well, why not? He figured Amelia could stand it if he had to stay the way he was for another year.

So Zelgadis headed back to Seyruun, and he was pretty depressed. When he thought of what Amelia would say were she with him right now, it made him smile a little. So on the trip back, he cherished the thoughts he had of Amelia, because they cheered him up a little.

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AN: Yay! Zelly-chan popped in! Hehe! -Shira