Chapter Four
Dark clouds gathered overhead as twenty-one riders made their way through the countryside. At Parn's insistence, they had limited the amount of manpower to the men and women who knew the most magic or had the most battlefield experience.
"So, where are we headed?" Gourry asked, as he rode somewhat behind Parn.
"We're going to Kanon. Hopefully the message we'd sent ahead will get there in time." Parn said, before he drew rein and stopped.
"Whoa! What're we stopping for?!" Lina asked, drawing rein quickly to avoid ramming into Parn.
"Yeah! What's going on, Parn-san?" Amelia asked, noticing the concerned look on the Free Knight's face.
"There's something here. The Holy Sword's reacting." Parn said, as he looked around, cautiously.
"The SoulCrusher is reacting as well. There's something amiss here." Ashram said, as all of the warriors in the group reached for their weapons.
"Zelgadis, do you think you can use your shamanism to figure it out?" Lina asked.
"I can try." Zelgadis replied, as he closed his eyes and started concentrating. First he focused on the life energy of the place, then concentrated on the presences he felt from those around him. He knew who was in the group, and how many there were, but when he sensed about forty others, he gasped in alarm.
"Ambush!" Zelgadis shouted, as Orcs burst from the foliage and attacked.
"Fire Ball!" Lina shouted, as she leaped from her horse and fought back.
"Freeze Arrow!" Rain cried, sending the attack at some Orcs who had singled her out.
"Ra-Tilt!" Zelgadis and Amelia shouted, sending some more Orcs flying.
"Spirit of Water, blessed maiden, drown these evil creatures before me!" Deedlit murmured, as she summoned one of the elemental spirits. Cecil stood calmly as Orcs descended upon him.
"I summon the spirit of the Wind. Carry these beings from my sight!" Cecil cried, as he fought back as well. With fierce cries, Ashram, Parn, Spark and Gourry slashed, sliced, and diced their opponents.
"Damn, it feels good to fight again!" Ghim shouted, as he swung his ax around, cutting two Orcs in half while he was at it.
"You may say so!" Leaf shouted, as she used the water spirits to drown a few more Orcs. Even Neese was holding her own against the dark creatures.
"They aren't as fast as those demon elves we fought about a year ago!" Spark commented, as he stabbed another Orc through the middle.
"You're right." Ashram agreed, breathlessly, as he cut two more down. After a while, the Orcs, badly beaten, retreated, leaving the group to watch them run.
"Bah, they weren't even worth it!" Ghim said, as he nonchalantly leaned on his ax.
"Easy for you to say, Dwarf." Ashram gasped, as he sat down to catch his breath.
"How many of those things does our enemy have, anyway?!" Lina asked, as she also sat down.
"I don't know, but it was enough to kill our mounts." Spark said, as he gazed at the slain horses.
"It looks like we're walking the rest of the way to Kanon." Grievus murmured, before shouting came to their ears.
"Grievus! Neese! Get over here! Cecil's been hurt!" Leaf shouted, urgently. With concern for the elfin warrior, they all rushed over to where Cecil lay, with an arrow protruding from his chest.
"It's punctured his lung!" Lina said, as she looked at the wound. The arrow had slipped though a gap in the armor and was now buried deep in Cecil's chest.
"Damn. Gourry, Spark, hold him down. Neese, Amelia, stand ready to begin healing when I pull this arrow out." Lina ordered, taking command of the situation.
"What about the rest of us?" Leaf asked.
"Keep an eye out for more Orcs. The ones who'd escaped could still be roaming around." Lina said, as she lifted the elfin breastplate away from Cecil's chest and got a good grip on the arrow. With Gourry and Spark holding the half-elf down, Lina pulled the arrow free.
"Now!" Lina shouted, signaling Amelia and Neese to get started. No sooner was the arrow free, when Neese and Amelia started using their power to heal. While they healed the wound, the others kept watch; wary of anything that moved. Filia watched as shadows fell and the sun was hidden behind some clouds.
"Smells as though a storm is coming." Sheen said, pricking his ears when distant rumbles of thunder sounded.
"Better get the tents up, then." Ashram said, as he and some others started doing that. Aldonova, one of the mages that had been brought along because of his magical ability, used a shielding spell in order to keep Neese and Amelia safe while they worked.
"It seems as though that the storm is going to be a rough one." Pirotess murmured, as a chill wind ruffled her hair.
"How can you tell?" Zelgadis asked, as he and Gourry salvaged what they could from the dead horses.
"You're not the only one here that knows shamanist magic." Pirotess said, with a smile. Zelgadis nodded, and wisely decided to let the matter drop. When the storm got there, they were well prepared; the tents were up and they were all dry and safe. With an added protection spell cast by Aldonova, they were especially prepared for when the hailstones started falling. The campsite was an unusual one; the tents were all interconnected by attached passages leading out from one large central tent. At the ends of the passages, there were smaller tents; those of which were big enough for two adults.
"I'm impressed." Parn commented, as Teim and Rain sat off to one side in the central tent, smugly enjoying the praise.
"I've certainly never seen anything like it." Ashram said, as he sat down near what appeared to be a pit that had some smoldering coals in it.
"This tent is the result of many years of experience getting caught in the rain." Teim said, as a thoroughly pleased Lina Inverse strode in.
"Rain, you're gonna have to teach me how to do this! This would definitely save money! Rather than going to an inn, we could set up camp outside of a town without paying a single cent!" Lina said, enthusiastically. Rain chuckled and shook her head. As the rest of the group entered the central tent, Lina noticed that Cecil was chatting with Gourry, and Gourry was actually listening!
"Weird! What could they be talking about that has Gourry's undivided attention?" Lina wondered, as she got closer and listened to their conversation.
"So you're a half elf? You sure don't look it! You look like a pure elf to me." Gourry said, as Cecil leaned on his sword.
"It's true, though I didn't know I was until a year ago. You see, my ears haven't always looked like this. They changed when we all came in contact with Oberon." Cecil said, as he watched Deedlit and Parn talk quietly between themselves.
"I'd once heard that there was an elf in my family, but I don't think it was true." Gourry said, surprising Lina with his ability to remember that.
"Deedlit had mentioned something about it looking like you had some elf blood in you, but it is probably so dilute that it doesn't really account for much." Cecil said.
"So I wouldn't be able to use elfin magic, then?" Gourry asked, sounding a little bit dismayed.
"Probably not. But why would you want to?" Cecil asked, noticing when a slight blush colored Gourry's cheeks for the briefest of moments.
"Without the Hikari no Ken, I'm useless in a fight, especially when it comes to magic. I guess I wanted to see if I could learn some magic so I could help Lina." Gourry said, honestly. Lina's jaw fell to the ground, and she scrambled to put it back in place before Gourry would see that she'd been listening in. Gourry wanted to learn magic?! Cecil looked kindly at the dimwitted swordsman.
"Well, since your heart is in the right place, I guess I can see if you can use the basic elfin tricks. When the rain stops, we'll see." Cecil said, understanding what Gourry wanted to do.
"Thanks Cecil." Gourry said, as Cecil walked off to find Leaf. Lina couldn't believe it; Gourry wanted to learn magic?! Elfin magic?! Lina immediately intercepted Cecil.
"You're going to teach him magic?! He can't even remember what happened a year ago, much less remember memorized spells!" Lina said, her voice an anxious whisper.
"If he has what it takes, then it will come naturally to him. Elfin magic is in the blood, not the brain. When I was small, I could summon up Sylph nymphs, and I didn't know a single incantation. Don't worry, even someone like Gourry can handle that kind of magic." Cecil reassured.
"But still! What if he uses that magic in the wrong places?" Lina asked.
"By now he's learned where and when to use magic from experience, considering you are the most powerful sorceress to date since Karla, the Gray Witch and you use such powerful spells like the Dragon Slave." Cecil said, matter-of-factly. Lina couldn't argue with that. She knew that she had the most powerful spells at her command and that Gourry, from time to time, tried to dissuade her from using them.
"I guess it will be all right, then. It's not like you're going to teach him how to use the Giga Slave or anything like that." Lina said, finally giving Cecil the okay.
"Besides, I don't know whether or not he has enough elf blood to use the magic. It all depends on what he can do tomorrow." Cecil said, comfortingly. Lina nodded, then looked away as Amelia and Zelgadis sat down and started eating their rations. Filia sighed as she watched all of the couples and friends eating and chatting comfortably with one another. She was lonely, despite being with so many friends.
"Mind if I eat with you?" Sheen asked, startling Filia somewhat.
"No! I don't mind at all! Have a seat!" Filia said, as she offered the place in front of her to the elf.
"Thank you. You looked a little lonely sitting here apart from the others." Sheen said, gently.
"I was." Filia agreed, as a worried look passed over her features.
"Don't worry, we'll rescue your friend. This may have delayed us a little while, but we're not going to give up. So you shouldn't give up either." Sheen said, reassuringly.
"You're right, of course." Filia said, even though she didn't sound all that convinced.
"I just wonder what's going to be waiting for us when we get to Alacrast. I don't think any of us has ever been to the mainland. Yet I know that Sir Parn and Lady Lina are capable leaders. If anything, they will be able to keep the unruly ones in line." Sheen said, jokingly, as he pointed at Garrack to prove his point. Filia giggled, despite herself.
"Sir Cecil is a good leader as well, even though some people drive him crazy." Sheen said, as he watched Cecil polish his sword.
"Yeah, you should have seen him when Shiris was around." Parn said, as he and Deedlit joined them.
"Shiris?" Filia asked.
"The Dragon Rider Queen. Cecil doesn't like her very much." Deedlit said, grinning when Cecil shot her a warning look.
"How so?" Filia asked, interested now.
"Shiris used to drive Cecil absolutely crazy. She'd tease him about being hot-headed and easily fooled. He hated that." Parn said, chuckling when Cecil gave him a dirty look.
"It sounds almost what Xellos used to do to me." Filia said, almost sounding wistful at that moment.
"Filia, we'll get him back. The creature that took him is going to regret the day he even messed with him. We'll give him a lesson to never forget." Parn said, getting an enthusiastic 'Yeah!' from Amelia and a 'Let's get 'im!' from Lina. Filia smiled, this time wholeheartedly.
"Thank you, minna." Filia said, for the first time in her journey feeling hope grow in her heart. Rain and Teim exchanged smiles, knowing that things were going to be all right.
Tern curled his lip in rage when he saw that the adventurers had survived the attack. He turned away from his crystal ball when the guards returned with Xellos between them.
"My goodness, Xellos! You look terrible!" Tern sneered, sarcasm dripping in his voice.
"No thanks………….to you………….." Xellos replied, grimacing when one of his arms was wrenched, forcing him to his knees.
"Now, are you ready to tell me what I want to know?" Tern asked, leaning in close to Xellos' face, his rank breath making Xellos gag.
"Go…………to…………hell…………" Xellos gasped, venomously. With a snarl, Tern slashed Xellos' left arm, enjoying the outcry of pain that came with it.
"Take him back to his cell. I will question him later." Tern said, as the two guards bowed and left, dragging Xellos as they went.
"I will get what I want. And soon all of the Mazoku will feel my wrath." Tern growled, his feral grin returning as he thought of the slaughter that was to come.
