Chapter Two
For the three weeks they were at sea, Lina and her group were attacked numerous times, but they all somehow managed to escape, thanks to efforts of those on board. Gourry had survived his injury, but was threatened to within an inch of his life by Lina, who threatened to finish him off herself, if he ever tried a stunt like that again. On the last day of the sea journey, land was sighted.
"Now what island is this? Is this Lodoss?" Lina asked, as she and her group gathered at the rail to take a look at the land.
"No. This isn't Lodoss. I don't recognize this island at all." Rain said, as she eyed the beautiful land and harbor.
"Well, let's ask someone what this island's name is." Teim suggested, since he had also been born on Lodoss, many years prior.
"Good idea!" Amelia agreed calling out to one of the sailors in the harbor as their ship started to dock.
"Excuse me! But what island is this?" Amelia asked.
"This is Marmo, milady!" one sailor replied, smartly. Rain and Teim nearly fell over.
"Marmo?! Are you sure?!?" Rain asked, in disbelief. The sailor nodded.
"Aye. This certainly is Marmo. Hard ta believe, ain't it? Few years ago, it was as desolate as the Legendary Labyrinth, but then Marfa purified this island. Who woulda thought that Marmo could be such a pretty place?" another sailor said.
"Pretty indeed." Amelia murmured, mystified by the island's beauty.
"It's still hard to believe that this is Marmo! What else has changed around here?" Rain asked, as the ship was tied into place.
"Well, there was a marble bridge built between this island and Lodoss, since the two islands are now trading with one another and sea travel can sometimes be dangerous." The first sailor said, as the gangplank was lowered and the travelers got off.
"No kidding……….." Lina muttered, sarcastically. Then their attention was caught by a huge commotion, as a man and woman came riding into the busy area near the harbor.
"King Ashram!" the sailors murmured, as a regal man in black armor rode along, talking with the woman who rode beside him.
"Oh wow…………..that's a Dark Elf he's talking to!" Teim muttered, as he looked at the two, who were talking pleasantly with one another.
"I feel tremendous power from those two………..what is with them?" Lina asked, as she, Amelia, and Filia watched them.
"Oh! I think I know! Those two are connected in some way!" Amelia said, a little too loudly for Lina's liking, for it got the king's attention. Immediately, Lina and her group was fixed with the coal black gaze of King Ashram.
"Eeep." Lina muttered, as the king and Dark Elf dismounted and approached them on foot.
"She's right you know." The dark king said, in a quiet, yet resonant voice.
"Huh?" Lina asked, dumbfounded about that remark.
"We are connected by both marriage vows and a gift bestowed on us by Oberon, King of the Fairies. By the way, I am Pirotess, and this is Ashram." The Dark Elf said, introducing herself and the king.
"P-pleased to meet you………….eheh." Lina said, thoroughly shaken, but not for long.
"So you married a Dark Elf? And you say that Oberon gave you a gift; what was that gift?" Rain asked.
"That is a bit of a personal question. One that is better discussed in a more private setting. So I extend an invitation to you for you to stay in the castle for a few days, since you are all obviously not normal visitors here." Ashram said, not perturbed in the least by Rain's boldness.
"Wow! Thank you!" Amelia said, thrilled with getting invited to stay in a foreign castle.
"It's no problem. The new castle has many guest-rooms. And do not worry, I am not talking about a dungeon, either." Ashram said, chuckling when he heard a relieved 'Thank goodness!' from Gourry and a few relieved sighs from Zelgadis and Filia.
"Are we gonna eat too?" Lina asked, getting a face-fault from her companions. Ashram arched and eyebrow and looked at his wife.
"Of course we are!" Pirotess said, getting a whoop from Lina.
"I'm in! Let's go!" Lina shouted, gleefully. Then Filia stepped up.
"Your Highness, we are all thankful for your invitation, but we are on a rescue mission. One of our own was kidnapped not long ago by an evil being. Please, sir, do you know of anything unusual going on?" Filia asked, practically begging the human king for information. For a moment, Ashram sat stock-still, then he sighed and his eyes took on a grim look.
"As a matter of fact, there is something going on. You see, the mainland of Alacrast is mostly cut off from Marmo and Lodoss, but, lately, all of the kings of Lodoss' kingdoms and I have been receiving declarations of war from the kingdoms on the mainland. We can't figure out why they want to attack us. Thus far, a number of sea battles have been fought between Kanon's armada and Alacrast. King Fiona has asked me several times to send my armada up there to help, but that would leave Heroes' Bridge defenseless. Personally, I'm tired of fighting, but I am not going to let Alacrast run Marmo into the ground. We worked too hard for this." Ashram said, with quiet anger in his voice.
"We?" Gourry asked, from the back of the group.
"It's a long story." Ashram said, quietly.
"Ah." Gourry said, satisfied with Ashram's answer.
"But what does this have to do with Xellos?" Lina asked, as she turned and looked at Filia.
"Usually, evil happenings are sometimes connected to evil occurrences. I'm beginning to think that your friend has been kidnapped by something hiding in Alacrast. If we can solve the problem there, Alacrast will probably forget about attacking the two islands!" Teim said, as what he said sank into Pirotess.
"You might be on to something! It seems that we will have to go to Lodoss and gather some company to make a trip to Alacrast." Pirotess said, as she looked eagerly at her husband.
"Why do I have the feeling that I will never be able to talk you out of this?" Ashram asked, as he gave his wife an unreadable look.
"Because I will argue with you for eternity if you tried!" Pirotess said, victoriously, getting a snicker from Lina and a rolling of eyes from Gourry.
"But will we be able to convince them to come with us?" Zelgadis asked.
"I don't see why not. We'll be asking some close friends of ours to come along, and they are the active types, anyway." Pirotess said, with a smile.
"So, will we be getting paid for this?" Lina asked, getting a face fault from all of them this time.
"We'll see." Ashram said, reminded of a loudmouthed friend in a neighboring kingdom when he listened to Lina's remark.
"What's that mean?" Lina asked.
"Isn't rescuing your friend more important?" Ashram asked, as he motioned to the stable hand to go and get some more horses.
"He's no friend of mine." Lina muttered.
"That's what the singer said about the hound dog." Ashram muttered, as he remounted his horse and waited for the extra horses to be brought.
"What was that?!" Lina asked, now pissed.
"Nothing. By the way, what do you all call yourselves?" Ashram asked.
"I'm Lina Inverse, and this is Gourry Gabriev, Zelgadis Greywords, Amelia Wil Tesla Seiruun, Filia Ul Copt, Rain the Green Priestess and Teim the Blue Priest. There, did I miss anyone?" Lina asked, as she turned around and looked at her group.
"No, I believe you have mentioned everyone." Teim said, as he mounted on one of the extra horses, nodding politely to the stable hand who held it still as he did so.
"Let's get going! If we get started now, we'll be able to reach Flaim by dusk." Pirotess said, getting a non-enthusiastic reaction from her husband.
"You know Kashue hates me, Pirotess." Ashram muttered, as he moved to the front.
"All the more reason to go to Flaim. You get to be an annoyance and you might be able to get young Spark to travel with us." Pirotess replied, giggling after she got an unreadable look from Ashram.
"Pirotess, you're going to be the death of me." Ashram mumbled, as he kicked his horse sharply in the flanks and started riding off at a full gallop.
"All right! For once we're not walking!" Lina shouted, as she quickly followed after the king and queen.
"I am beginning to think that Lina will be the death of all of us." Zelgadis muttered, as they all followed Lina. Gourry could only nod in agreement. For the rest of the day, the group was on the move; stopping only long enough to get lunch in one small coastal town before continuing. Even though Lina appeared to be enjoying herself, she kept looking back at Gourry with some concern. She had to admit, riding was faster than walking, but the ride was agony for someone who'd suffered a leg injury and was still recovering from it. Zelgadis nearly jumped from his saddle when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but sighed with relief when he found that it was only Gourry. They had slowed to a walk, so Gourry was now alongside Zelgadis.
"What is wrong?" Zelgadis asked, turning to Gourry so he could speak to him.
"My leg hurts……………." Gourry trailed off as he suddenly passed out.
"Amelia! Get over here!" Zelgadis shouted, as he caught Gourry before he could fall.
"What's wrong…………..?!" Amelia asked, stopping when she saw that Zelgadis was lowering Gourry from his horse.
"Gourry!" Lina yelped, as she and the rest of the group turned their attention to the wounded man.
"It seems that he's bleeding again." Amelia said, as she started on a healing spell for the leg.
"What happened?" Ashram asked, concerned for the blond swordsman.
"He got bitten by a storm serpent while we were at sea. We managed to get the poison out, but we didn't have the strength to seal the holes caused by the fangs." Teim said, as he tore a strip of cloth from his robe and tied it securely around the leg.
"Then let's get him to some shade. He'll dehydrate quicker if we leave him out in the sun." Ashram said, as he picked up and carried Gourry to the shelter of a rocky outcrop. Once there, Ashram assumed command.
"Pirotess, ride ahead to Flaim and see if you can get some help, preferably either Hobb or Grievus. If you can get Neese, that will also be all right, but this man needs attention only a specialist healer can provide. Hurry, now, there isn't much time!" Ashram ordered. Pirotess nodded, slipping back into her old role of being Ashram's servant. Then Ashram turned to Lina.
"Do you know any healing magic?" Ashram asked.
"Yeah! I'm on it!" Lina said, getting the message and leaping in to assist Amelia.
"What can we do?" Zelgadis asked, as he, Rain, and Teim looked at Ashram.
"Keep an eye on our surroundings. There's something that's been following us since we left Marmo. It would be best if we kept ourselves on the alert." Ashram said, getting a nod from Zelgadis and the two remaining Sages. It wasn't long before Ashram's point was proven.
"Rain! Dark Elf!" Teim shouted, when a half-crazed elf attacked from nowhere. Rain blasted it with her magic.
"Ra-Tilt!" Zelgadis shouted, as he fired off his shamanist attack, blowing two more elves into oblivion. When the Dark Elves had retreated, something even worse appeared before them.
"No…………….." Rain muttered, as they were surrounded by these new beings.
"What are they?" Zelgadis asked, as he unsheathed his sword.
"Orcs…………" Teim said, answering Zelgadis' question with a note of dread in his voice.
"Damn." Ashram growled, as he also unsheathed his sword. Then the battle royale began. Lina watched, tensely, as the other four defended them.
"Lina…………what's going on…………..?" Gourry asked, weakly.
"Don't try to talk, Gourry. Reserve your strength." Lina said, gently, ignoring his question completely. Both Lina and Amelia looked up when Zelgadis cried out in pain.
"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia screamed, as she watched Zelgadis get thrown from the battle and landed not far from where she and Lina crouched. Zelgadis winced as he struggled to lift his head, and felt despair rise in him when the Orc appeared over him and started to raise its sword, ready to deliver a killing blow. Then, suddenly, a brilliant light incinerated the Orc before it could fell the blow.
"Where the hell?!" Lina asked, as the culprits appeared.
"Elves!" Amelia shouted, with relief in her voice.
"And High Elves at that!" Rain added, when she'd noticed the circlets the elves wore.
"Are you all okay?" one elf asked, as he looked at Lina and Amelia.
"We're fine, but please, check on Zelgadis-san!" Amelia said, looking over at the young man's still form. Zelgadis gazed painfully at one elf who had approached him and was checking him over for wounds.
"Hang on, young warrior." The elf said, as he started healing the wounds he'd found.
"Who………….who are you?" Zelgadis asked.
"I am known as Sheen. I'm the resident Mairi cleric in this group." The elf replied, as he applied the healing warmth to a gash in Zelgadis' abdomen.
"Mairi………?" Zelgadis asked, as drowsiness started to cloud his brain.
"Hai." Sheen said, before Zelgadis drifted off into deep slumber.
"Is Zelgadis-san going to be all right?" Amelia asked, worriedly.
"If Sheen is taking care of him, then you have nothing to worry about. By the way, I am Cecil, leader of this warrior group. And you are?" another elf asked, as he looked at Lina.
"I'm Lina, and this is Amelia. This guy here is Gourry and the one your man is taking care of is Zelgadis. Rain and Teim are over there with King Ashram." Lina replied, as she pointed out the three figures talking with a group of elfin warriors.
"But what happened to Filia-san?" Amelia asked, suddenly realizing that the dragon maiden was nowhere to be seen.
"Right here." Filia said, as she walked back over to the group, a self-satisfied smirk covering her face.
"She took care of something, that much is certain." Lina said, as Amelia nodded in agreement, all of them looking up when they heard hoofbeats approaching.
"It seems that you will be having an escort the rest of the way to Flaim." One elf commented to Lina, as Gourry and Zelgadis were loaded onto stretchers and carried between two horsemen apiece.
"Seems that way." Lina murmured, as she watched a group of knights approach, led by Pirotess and a blue-haired knight.
