Zelgadis was not faring well. This town, Toba, didn't seem to have a library of any kind. On to the alternative: talk to the locals. It was only midday, so there were plenty of townsfolk around. Zelgadis spied a man near a vegetable cart, so he walked over to the man.
Excuse me." Zelgadis tapped the man on the shoulder.
"Yes?" said man turned to look at Zelgadis.
"Do you know of any libraries here?"
The man thought a moment. "Well, there used to be one down the street. Until it burned down to the ground, that is."
"What?" Zelgadis exclaimed. He coughed nervously and continued, "Do you have any other records here? A healer's guild, perhaps?"
"Actually, yes. It's the next street over. Big white building, so it's hard to miss."
"Thank you." and with that, Zelgadis dashed off.
It didn't take him long to find the building. Zelgadis took a moment to catch his breath, then went in. As he entered, Zelgadis noted that there was a fairly large collection of books.
"Perhaps this will be easier than I thought."
Zelgadis noticed a man in white robes watering plants (of all things!) and made his way over. The man heard Zelgadis coming and looked up from his task.
"How may I be of service to you?" he asked.
"I'm looking for a way to cure blindness. Do you have any books on the subject?"
"Blindness, eh? That isn't so common these days. We ought to have a book or two on the subject. I'll be right back."
Zelgadis waited, but after a few minutes he began to let his eyes wander around the room. It seemed like an eternity since he'd last stepped into a place like this. True, he had usually looted the place in his desperate search (a thought that grew more tempting as he waited for the priest to return), but he didn't have to rely on such methods now. ...at least not yet.
"Here you are, Sir."
Zelgadis nearly jumped, having been in his thoughts and not aware of his surroundings. The priest was holding a book out to him.
"Oh, thank you." Zelgadis took the book.
"I will have to ask that you stay here while you peruse it. We've had a problem with people stealing our books. Some are irreplaceable." the priest said, then he resumed watering the plants.
Zelgadis noticed a little table in the far corner and made his way over to it. He then sat in a nearby chair and began looking though the book.
"Cure for blindness caused by accident...care for blindness caused by birth defect...cure for blindness caused by cataracts..." Zelgadis flipped further through the book. "Cure for blindness caused by hexes...cure for blindness caused by illness! Here we go."
Zelgadis began to read.
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Amelia awoke to knocking on the door.
"Yes, who is it?" she asked.
"The innkeeper, Miss. Sorry to interrupt you, but you've been in there for a long time. Would you be wanting some dinner?"
Dinner? Amelia hadn't even had lunch! Food did sound good, but she thought it would be safer for Zelgadis to get back first.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'll wait for my traveling companion."
"All right, Miss."
Amelia listened to the fading steps. She had slept through most of the day and Zelgadis wasn't back yet. Hopefully he hadn't run into any trouble. Amelia tried to keep her fears at bay. The last time she had let them run amok she had horribly embarrassed herself! Zelgadis had said he'd be back, and she would believe him. Amelia lay back down on her pillow again...
KNOCK! KNOCK!!
"Ack!" Amelia awoke with a start. She hadn't even noticed that she had dozed off again. "Yes, who is it?" she yawned.
"Amelia, it's me, Zelgadis. Is it all right if I come in?"
Amelia tried to straighten her hair as best she could (and the general amount of last minute primping girls do.) "Yes, the door is unlocked, Mr. Zelgadis."
Zelgadis opened the door and stepped in. He noticed Amelia's bed-head'.
"I see you slept well." Zelgadis smirked.
"Oh, well yes, I did. Did you have any luck, Mr. Zelgadis?"
"Yes, and no. I was able to find a spell that would regain your sight, but the caster has to be very skilled in White Magic. I'm not even sure you would be skilled enough to cast it successfully."
"What about the priests and clerics? Did you ask them?"
"Yes, they all admitted it was above their skills as well. It seems that Rezo was a renowned Sage for a reason. No one since his passing has had nearly as much healing power as he did." Zelgadis replied.
"What do we do now?" Amelia pondered.
"Now we begin searching for someone able to cast this spell. There has got to be somebody who can!" Zelgadis clenched his fist.
"Wow, Mr. Zelgadis, your optimism puts me to shame!" Amelia teased.
Zelgadis blushed. "Force of habit. I would have gone insane searching for my cure if I hadn't."
Suddenly, Amelia's stomach growled.
Zelgadis looked at her in surprise. "You should have said something, Amelia. Would you like to get some dinner?"
"Yes!" Amelia jumped up. "I would love to! ...however, I would really like to wash up beforehand. Does this inn have a bath house?"
Zelgadis hid his face behind his hand. He had totally forgotten about that! Bathing didn't sound like a bad idea (he was pretty filthy from the day's events as well), but what to do with Amelia? No way was HE going to help her! There has got to be a way out of this...
"Ah...yes. Here, come with me."
Zelgadis led Amelia from the bed and out of her room. A female employee happened to be walking by just then.
"Excuse me, Miss? Do you mind assisting my friend here to the bath house?" Zelgadis practically pleaded.
The girl smiled at him. "Of course, Sir. Come right this way, Ma'am." and off Amelia and the girl went.
Zelgadis gave a sigh of relief, then went off to find his own place to clean up.
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Sorry to anyone that was hoping that scene would go differently, but that's just sick! I think Zelgadis would die a thousand deaths before he went anywhere NEAR naked women, let alone Amelia. (Remember that one episode in Next? He wouldn't even look at her when she had a swimsuit on!) o_O As for "fluffy romance", I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. I wrote up most of this story a while ago (I'm typing it up now), so most everything that will happen has already been decided. I'm not against having romance in a fic, but it just doesn't fit here (at least not now.) Don't expect me to write up any love scenes though, I'm a wuss when it comes to such things. (Besides, don't you think they'd appreciate privacy away from the reader?) Anyway, this author spiel is getting too long! I'll continue on in the next chapter. Just as soon as I type it up