Chapter 11
A Gathering of Players and Pawns
Lina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Absolute terror froze up her movements. No. It can't be. IT CAN'T BE!!!!!
Slowly, Lina turned alway from the door and towards the source of the noise.
And there, standing several feet away was Naga the serpent. Lina's former travelling companion, 'friend' and rival, in all her voluptuous glory.
Lina's face grew into an expression of panic. It had certainly been a while.....
"......Naga?!?!?" Lina exclaimed.
"Aha! Lina! I thought it was you!" Naga triumphantly declared. "Who else in this world could have such ridiculously small breasts?!?!?!"
Normally, Lina would've toasted Naga with a fireball for such a comment. But not this time. Because Naga was someone she wasn't particularly keen on seeing again.
How long had it been since they had last met? Four years? Five? No matter - In the time apart, Lina had changed. She had grown from a hyperactive, short-tempered, destructive teenager into a hyperactive, short-tempered, destructive young woman.
However, it appears, that time has done nothing to Naga. Her appearance and behaviour seemed little different from the last time they parted.
Lina took a step back from the door, her expression one of panic. No, she was certainly not pleased to see her 'friend' again.
Partially due to the fact that the red-head knew exactly WHY they had parted company all that time ago.....
"...er....Naga" Lina stammered. "....Long time no see...."
"You've got that right!" Naga replied. "We still have some unfinished business left to discuss......"
Lina gulped. Ut-oh.....
In a tavern somewhere, Lina and Naga were polishing off an enormous feast. Another evil gang of bandits had been defeated at their hand. And, having been handsomely paid for their efforts, they were now celebrating in the only way possible:
With a whole heap of food!
Lina dabbed her mouth with her napkin, and cleared her throat.
"Eh?" Naga asked raising an eyebrow.
"Oh! Oh." Lina replied. "Nothing....."
Naga shrugged, before continuing with her meal. Lina however adopted a rather sly grin. Now is the time to put her plan in action. She had been planning this for so long. Consequently there was no time or room for error. Today is the day.....
Lina got to her feet and walked away from the table, heading for the tavern latrine...
Seconds later, the tavern owner strode over to the table. He slapped the bill right down in front of Naga.
Naga blinked at the bill and then up at the, rather burly, tavern owner. The owner glared at the sorceress, expecting money for the meal.
Then it struck her: The last time she checked, Lina was the one who was holding all the money for destroying that bandit gang!
Naga got to her feet and dashed towards the latrine, ignoring the shouts of the tavern owner. Dammit Lina! You wouldn't dare pull a stunt like that!
Naga threw open the door of the female latrine.....
Only to find it empty. Empty and with the window wide open....
Naga stared in disbelief. Lina! Damn you!
"Can't pay huh?" came an angry voice.
Naga turned around, only to come face to face with a rather furious tavern owner.
"Well...er..... you see" Naga said. "My friend has all the money.... and.... er.... she went to the latrine..... and..... um..... she's disappeared......"
But the tavern owner wasn't listening.
"If you can't pay" he snarled. "Then it's the kitchen for you!!!"
Naga opened her mouth to protest - but it was too late. The tavern owner grabbed her arm in his, rather strong, hands and proceeded to drag her towards the kitchen.
Meanwhile, many miles above Lina ray-winged her way across the landscape. Success! She had finally got Naga out of her hair AND she got a huge bag of cash in the process.
"So long sucker!" Lina chuckled. "And good riddance!"
"DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO DO ALL THAT WASHING UP?!?!?" Naga shouted, quite furious. "Several months! Do you have any idea how long my wondrous beauty suffered?! And by that time, you had long gone! I've been searching for you for an incredibly long time! We still have this matter over the bill to....."
But Lina wasn't interested in hearing Naga's life story. In fact, her only concern was that Lina had spent a lot of time and effort to get this raven-haired sorceress out of her life. And, after three years out of her company, she wasn't about to turn around and go back! No way!
"FIREBALL!" Lina shouted.
With seconds, a jet of flame erupted from Lina's fingertips and burned through the air, heading for it's intended target: Naga! In such short range and the cramped conditions of a hallway, the sorceress had no chance of escape! The fireball struck Naga head on. The raven-haired sorceress let out a scream. A scream that was followed by the sound of splintering wood.
Lina paused to get her breath back. And when she looked again, Naga was gone. Where she once stood was now several burn marks left in the hallway and a rather large hole in the ceiling.
Lina sighed with relief. Well, that should be the last she should hear of Naga.
Hopefully.
Suddenly, Gourry came running up.
"Lina!" he yelled. "What happened? I heard shouting!"
"Just some skeletons in the closet...." Lina grinned.
Elsewhere, Zelgadis was making his way through the village of Dakeyras. He was exploring the place, eager to find a library, a wizard or something. Something that should give him a clue as to how he could find a cure.
But his progress hadn't been successful. Being a small village, Dakeyras didn't have a library. Such a building would be most likely better off in a town or a city rather then a small village!
Zel sighed. Yet another dead end.......
The chimera eventually left the village and headed out into the surrounding forests. He needed some time and space to think....
Well, it seems this village can't provide him with the answers he seeks. And the rate he's going, it would indeed become apparent that the prospect of a cure would remain out of his grasp for all eternity.....
"Damn you Rezo...." Zel cursed, as he had done many times before.
Zel wandered through the forest, deep in contemplation....
Suddenly the forest was rocked. Rocked by a huge noise. A huge noise that was enough to shake anything within a ten metre radius. A huge noise that was enough to disrupt the chimera's train of thought.
Zel raised an eyebrow. What was that? That sounded exactly like something plummeting down to earth from a great height......
Then Zelgadis' ears caught something else. It sounded like a voice. A faint voice mumbling out the words: "Damn you Lina.....!"
Zel blinked. Lina?
This mumble was followed by another voice: "Wanting to show up Lina Inverse? I can help you."
This second voice was enough to stop the chimera dead in his tracks. His expression hardened. That voice. He could recognise it a mile away! And without a further ado, Zel, moving as silently and stealthily as possible, headed off in the direction of these voices.
It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.
And when he did, Zel ducked behind a tree, watching events as they unfolded up ahead.
His suspicions were correct: The owner of the second voice was no other then Xelloss. Hate welled up inside Zel. What was he up to? Whenever he shows up, things have a terrible habit of getting out of control. And if he's offering someone assistance to get back at Lina, then this is serious.....
The Trickster Priest was talking to someone (whom Zel couldn't recognise) who was situated in a prostrate form.
"Eh?" came the first voice. This first voice sounded kind of muffled - it was as if it was coming from under ground.
"I have a proposition for you...." Xel went on. "If you help me, I can do what ever I can to help you get back at Lina."
The prostrate form raised it's head - from out of the hole that was stuck in. It was then that Zel saw that this newcomer was a woman. A woman with raven-black hair and oddly familiar facial features.
Odd Zel thought. She looks like an older version of Amelia.....
The woman glared suspiciously at the mazoku priest. Was this the type of person that could be trusted? He doesn't seem to be the reliable type.....
"How do you know Lina?" she growled.
"I am a friend of Lina's" the Trickster Priest explained. 'I have been around her in recent times. Therefore, I have information that you find interesting."
The woman paused - as if she was thinking this proposal over. Eventually she shrugged.
"You've got a point there" she said. "If Lina has changed in the years apart, then perhaps I could do with your information."
"But wait" she went on. "What do you want me to do in return?"
"Exactly what I tell you" Xelloss replied in a very definite tone.
The woman snorted.
"It will involve trashing some bandits...." Xel added.
The woman shrugged again. "Oh well. If the information is worth it...."
"Oh, it is." Xelloss grinned. "So, do we have a deal?"
"You bet!"
And with that the woman stood up.
And what greeted Zelgadis' sight nearly made him gasp in shock.
The woman was nothing short of voluptuous. She was quite well-endowed and wearing....erm..... not a lot. Apart from a cape and some black leather, this woman was wearing next to nothing!
Zel blinked. Jeez, if Xel wanted to assist someone like.....THAT then he must be planning something extraordinary.
The woman thrust out her hand: "Call me Naga"
Her new business partner returned the hand shake: "Xelloss" he replied.
"Pleased to meet you Xelloss" the woman named Naga said. "It should be a pleasure doing business with you!"
And with that, Naga threw back her head and let loose her signature laugh of confidence:
"OH-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO!!!!!!!!!!"
Grimacing, Xelloss opened up his eyes. As his lips formed into an awkward smile, he began contemplating on exactly what he'd gotten himself into.....
Xel wasn't the only one: Zelgadis was also bearing the full horror of Naga's laugh. The chimera was blinking disbelieving horror. Who was this woman? Who was this woman with the peculiar dress sense and the dreadful laugh? What on earth was Xelloss plotting? Was he really doing helping Lina and her friends as much as the red-head claimed? Or was that another one of his many lies and methods of manipulation?
And why on earth did this Naga woman remind him of Amelia?!
Silently Zel slunk away.
And when Naga and Xelloss had both disappeared form sight, Zel ran. Ran back to the village. Ran as fast as he could just so he could escape that horrendous laugh!!!!
She could feel it again. Running through forest, all alone. Running, past all the trees in a blind flight. Running from nowhere, heading nowhere.
And then she heard it. A swift piercing of the air, followed by the crack of metal splintering wood. This however was the first in a series. The cracks come one after the other, each splintering various logs into smaller pieces of wood.
She stopped running. She could feel fear infect every part of her body.
And then she saw him. A lone figure standing on top of a slope in the forest. A lone figure silhouetted against the sunlight that was filtering in through the trees. A lone figure whom wield his axe in chopping wood from various logs that lay at his feet.
Suddenly he stopped. He raised his head and stared at her. But he had no proper eyes: Instead he merely had a pair of opaque discs. Opaque discs that glared with the ferocious of red light. Opaque discs that glared at the princess.
But Amelia didn't run in fear. Nor did she scream. Instead, she slowly made her way towards the woodsman. She approached the woodsman even when fear was coursing throughout her body.
Amelia stopped a short distance away from her target. But the target didn't really pay much attention to the princess. Instead he continued on with his work.
"Who are you?" Amelia inquired.
The woodsman didn't answer. He seemed completely oblivious to the princess and would not allow her to distract him from his work. And even at this distance, his features were still silhouetted by the light that was streaming in through the trees. Even at this distance it was impossible to determine as to what he looked like.
But even though Amelia was afraid of this figure, she didn't run.
"Why are you invading my dreams?" she asked.
Upon hearing this, the woodsman finally stopped his work. He then looked up at the princess, allowing his penetrating 'gaze' to burn it's way into her.
It was then that the woodsman spoke for the first time - in a voice that was sinister, warm, sophisticated and sharp as a razor - all at the same time.
"Because I own you."
Amelia blinked.
"What? What do you mean by that?"
"Don't you get it?" the woodsman said. "You think your failing health is just some common sickness. You think your failing health is from that incident at Diol's tower."
"It was, wasn't it?"
"No" the woodsman replied, his voice now sounding somewhat triumphant. "Diol only gave me a foothold. What you don't realise is that as your health fails, the curse grows stronger. My grip on you is nearing completion. Soon you will be under my control, a powerless puppet to my bidding."
It was then that Amelia awoke with a scream.
Her eyes shot open as she screamed her lungs out, the horror of the nightmare, and the message it contained, being too much to bear.
Eventually she fell silent. Slowly she sat up on the bed, nursing her temples.
The dream had come yet again. But this time it was different: this time, she received a rather disturbing message from the occupant that was haunting her dreams. A message, even though it came from a dream, that was enough to ignite paranoia and dread.
If what the woodsman told her was true, then it seemed rather obvious that she was being threatened. Threatened by an evil force who has been watching her every move from the very beginning. Threatened by an evil force who wanted to manipulate her for their own evil ends and demented schemes.
But why? What did this evil force want from her? Why were they threatening her, a princess of the people and a Champion of Justice? This wasn't making any sense....
Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Amelia called.
The door opened and in walked in someone whom Amelia had never seen before.
He was a rather handsome young man, sporting a well groomed appearance and, oddly enough, a pair of crudely constructed spectacles. The spectacles, if they could really be called that, were nothing more then two lenses held together by a weathered scrap of wood and two nails.
This newcomer bore a tray containing a hot chocolate and a warm smile.
"Hello there!" the newcomer greeted. "Thought you might like a hot chocolate."
Amelia blinked. "Do I know you?"
"Oh!" the young man chuckled. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Kurt. I work here at this tavern. We heard how your health has been failing so we decided to help."
"Oh, why thank you!" Amelia beamed. She took the hot chocolate and began sipping it.
"How are you feeling now?" the man named Kurt asked. "Feeling any better?"
"Not really" Amelia sighed. "In fact....."
All of sudden, her speech was interrupted by a series of spluttering coughs.
Kurt smiled sadly. "That bad huh?"
Amelia nodded. "Yeah, you could say that. In fact it's getting worse."
Kurt rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You know...." he said "I think I might have a solution....."
Amelia raised an eyebrow. "You do?"
Kurt grinned. "I do know of a solution. I can tell you what to do....."
"You do?" Amelia cried excitedly. "Please tell me what to do and I'll do it!"
"That I will" Kurt grinned. "However.....there is something I want you to do."
Amelia blinked. She wasn't liking the direction this conversation was taking.....
"And that would be?" she asked.
"Not to mention this to any of your friends. Not Lina, Gourry nor Zelgadis."
Amelia was indeed taken aback by this. What? He was offering a cure for her failing health and yet he demands that she keep it to herself? What does this guy know? Can this guy even be trusted?
And how did he know the names of her friends anyway?
But still, she nodded her consent. If this guy had a cure, then the opportunity was too good to miss.
Kurt grinned as he began to tell Amelia what he had in mind.....
Time passed on, allowing the day to fall into evening. And as the sun was creeping back behind the mountains, a wagon was making it's way down the dirt road towards Dakeyras. A mule-drawn wagon driven by an ominous figure completely concealed by a robe and hood. Yet, while the wagon was carrying heap of straw, it was also carrying an extra passenger. An extra passenger also wearing a robe and hood.
Sylphiel Nels Rahda pulled down the hood of her travelling robe and drew a breath of the evening air. She still couldn't believe her luck: How fortunate she was to discover this wagon! How fortunate she was that the driver allowed her a lift! And how fortunate she was when the driver was heading towards this village! Here she could continue her search for Lina and Amelia!
Her search hadn't yielded much in the way of success. She had spent the last few days on the road, going from one village to the next, dropping into tavern after tavern, asking people whether they had seen Lina or her travelling companions. Of course, of all the times she was given information, it only led her to back on the road.
Oh well. Maybe she might have better luck this time.....
Hopefully.
By now the wagon had reached the outskirts of Dakeyras. The driver coughed.
"Can I drop you off here?" the driver asked, in a voice that revealed the driver's femininity.
Syl blinked. Now that she thought about it, the driver hadn't shown her face since they met. All her features were completely concealed under the hood. In fact the only evidence Syl had that the driver was female was the voice.
But still the priestess shrugged.
"Yes!" she grinned. "This would do nicely. Thank you."
And with that Syl leapt down from the wagon. Then she began heading off into Dakeyras.
She hadn't gone far from the wagon when she heard a voice.
"Alana! It's good to see that you've made it here at last!"
Curiosity provoked Syl to turn around. She saw a handsome young man, wearing spectacles made from two pieces of lenses held together by a rotting piece of wood, make his way up to the wagon. This young man then started speaking with the driver.
"So" the driver said. "Is everything set in place?"
"Oh yes!" the young man replied happily. "The puppet is in our grasp."
Sylphiel blinked. Puppet?
"She's here isn't she?" the driver inquired.
"Oh but of course!" the young man laughed. "Right here, and just in time for the rebirth!"
"Marvellous" the driver chuckled.
Suddenly, both the driver and the young man looked up and caught sight of Syl. The priestess was only standing a fair distance away but she was still in a position were she could hear every word. Both glared angrily at the eavesdropper.
Sylphiel, recognising danger when she saw it, turned tail and ran. Ran away from these peculiar folk. Ran away from their bizarre talk. Ran away from whatever hideous scheme they were plotting.
But as she ran, her mind assessed these newly acquired, if unsettling, facts:
Puppet? They must've been talking about Amelia. And if what they said was correct, then Amelia must be here in this village!
But what's all this about a rebirth?!
Chapter 12
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