Chapter 4 - In which the party tries to set out on adventure
After the party finished arguing over Sylphiel's findings, they determined to head for the Blate temple. Since the journey was very long, Sylphiel and Amelia settled down to write letters telling where they were going and what they were doing. While they were doing that, Lina was talking to townspeople, attempting to find a bandit gang in the local area to... interrogate. She seemed unconcerned about their path.
Zelgadiss settled down with the local guides and a large pot of tea to determine the best route to the temple. One guide argued that the best way didn't matter, because with winter coming, only an idiot would want to go up into the mountains.
"No. There is a way," the second guide argued, "especially if you have magic, which I assume you must, sir. There is a pass, but it is very dangerous, and there are sections where magic just simply doesn't work. From what the young lady over there said," he nodded towards Sylphiel, "you probably don't want to be without magic for long."
Zel sipped his tea, for a moment, then turned to the first guide. "Do you know anything about this way?" He inquired, setting his mug down gently on the table.
The first guide looked disgruntled. "I've lived in this town for my entire life, and I've never heard of this pass." He glared at the second man, "How do we know you aren't just making this up?"
The second man chuckled, then carefully pulled out an old journal. He passed the book to Zelgadis, who took it delicately, trying not to damage the age-fragile parchment. While Zel tried to read the faded script, the guide explained "My grandfather took Lord Rezo through the mountains. Lord Rezo was so determined to get to the temple that he carved a path through most of the way."
Zel looked up in surprise. "I thought you said magic doesn't work in places. How did Rezo..."
The guide laughed at Zel's blatant skepticism, then pointed at the book. "His magic wasn't his only resource. Read it. There is a picture in there that could be you... except for the stone skin, of course." He motioned Zel to flip farther into the book, neither of them noticing the first guide slipping away, muttering under his breath.
Zel motioned to the journal, almost afraid to touch it any more. "What is your name, I'd rather not travel with a stranger through these mountains."
"Wilam." The guide said, pushing his dark bangs away from his eyes. Zel tried not to stare, realizing that Wilam's eyes were so dark they were almost black. "And I'm afraid we aren't really strangers... more like cousins." Wilam leaned forward, his dark eyes flashing blue in the light, and the highlights in his black hair glinting red.
Zel studied Wilam for a moment, then smirked. "Hmm. Rezo sure got around for a priest."
Wilam laughed in agreement, then pulled a sheaf of paper from his pocket, and handed it to Zel.
"Here is a list of supplies you will probably need. I'll handle getting our food together, but you might want to make sure that you and your friends each have a set of the things on the list." Wilam grinned at Zel's raised eyebrow. "I'm going with you, so I'd rather not starve on the way. I've seen the way you people eat."
Zel shyly grinned back at Wilam, tucking the pages into his pocket. He felt a little strange, having this person claim a familial relationship. Though, no one who saw them together would doubt they were related somehow, despite their obvious character differences. Wilam finished off his tea in one swallow, dropping the mug on the table.
"I'll leave you to convincing them to get shopping and packing... maybe you could get the pretty priestess to make up some more of her pastries, they'd be nice to have on the road." Wilam made an offhand gesture at Sylphiel.
"Ask her yourself... or better, have Gourry ask her." Zel replied, picking up his tea mug nonchalantly.
Wilam sighed, his ever-present grin fading, and a sad look entered his eyes. "So, that's the way the wind blows, is it?" He turned to leave, then turned back to Zel, "Why are the good cooks always taken?" he asked plaintively, before his grin returned. "The redhead's cute... kind of quiet, though, isn't she."
Zel sputtered into his tea. "Lina? Quiet?" he blinked at Wilam in complete bewilderment, then set his tea down, looking strangely at the mug. "What did they put in this stuff, I though you just said Lina was quiet..."
Wilam laughed at his expression. "Gotcha, cousin. I'll see you back here at dinnertime." Zel grunted agreement, looking at Lina with concern on his face. She was speaking quietly with Mille over in the corner.
"Hey Zeldogas," Gourry wandered over to Zel's table, "Make a decision about a guide?"
"Gourry, How many times do I have to tell you, My name is ZELGADISS!" The chimera was startled out of his contemplation of the unusually quiet Lina, and reacted a little more strongly than usual to cover his embarrassment at being caught staring.
Gourry grimaced in apology, rubbing the back of his head. "Umm... sorry, I'm really bad with names..."
Zel stood up, standing for a moment with his hands braced on the table, before looking at Gourry. "It's okay. I know you have problems with my name... just call me Zel, like Lina does. It's easier." He stood completely up, moving around his chair to push it in, then turned to Gourry. "Wilam asked me to make sure that everyone had a complete kit for the trip. Do you want to get Sylphiel, Lina and Amelia, and we can all go shopping."
Gourry blinked at this. "You WANT to go shopping with Amelia and Sylphiel?" he asked, rubbing his chin in puzzlement.
Zel grimaced, "Not really, but I don't want them saying we forgot anything, either."
Gourry smiled, understanding Zel's reasoning at last, then moved towards the girls to let them know about the shopping plans. Zel pulled out the list that Wilam had given him, then realized that Wilam had included recommendations for where to find things, and a map of the town with the major shops listed on it.
Gourry returned in a few minutes, with all three girls in tow. Amelia and Sylphiel looked happy, but Lina looked like she was in for a day of torture. 'Probably not that far off,' Zel thought 'I've seen Amelia shop before. This isn't going to be pretty.'
Lina's pessimism, and Zel's expectations were met. Between Amelia's desire to buy almost everything that they came across, and Sylphiel's constant petting of Gourry, Lina and Zelgadiss spent most of the trip replacing items on shelves, and taking turns watching their friends and speaking with the shopkeepers. Most of the shopkeepers gave them great prices when they learned that Wilam had arranged the list, and that he would be accompanying them on the trip. One shopkeeper even pressed a fur lined woolen cloak at Zelgadiss, claiming that she couldn't accept money from Wilam's family, not after he saved her son from an avalanche just last year.
When Zel tried to protest, she just laughed. "Honey, your family is written on your face, and there's nothing you can say to change my mind. If it bothers you that much, bring me a luck token from the temple on your way back." She even hugged Lina and told her to take good care of him as they left the store. "Wilam would never say anything, but the rest of us all owe hi life-debts, and if his cousin needs help, it's the least we can do. You just make sure that he wears that cloak."
Lina was startled, but she agreed. She caught up with Zel, and asked about the cloak. He showed her the cloak, it was a lovely charcoal gray with pale gray fur lining the entire cloak. Neither of them recognized the fur, but it appeared both warm and very soft.
"Wow." Lina sighed, petting the fur with one hand, her eyes closing in pleasure as she stroked the cloak. Zel swallowed hard, then tried to offer her the cloak. "Oh, no." she replied, looking up at him, her eyes soft and wide, "this is your cloak. I can't take it from you, it was a present." She kept petting the cloak while she spoke, then reluctantly passed the cloak back to Zel, who folded it and slipped it into his dimensional pocket.
The rest of the shopping trip passed without incident, except Amelia trying to purchase a silver tea set 'so Mr. Zelgadiss could have tea on the journey', and Sylphiel attempting to acquire a 'darling' cloak, made of lace. At Gourry insistence that she would freeze, Sylphiel let the lace cloak go and settled for a dark purple wool cloak. And Zelgadiss assured Amelia that he was still perfectly capable of making tea in the teakettle. The group returned to the inn to find Xellos entertaining the inn's guests with stories and 'magic tricks'.
Having determined that everyone would be responsible for their own gear, except Gourry, whose gear would be split up between Sylphiel's and Lina's dimensional pockets, the group paused to adjust their room arrangements so Sylphiel would have somewhere to stay. Once another bed had been set up in Amelia's room, the group returned to the inn's main room for dinner.
After the party finished arguing over Sylphiel's findings, they determined to head for the Blate temple. Since the journey was very long, Sylphiel and Amelia settled down to write letters telling where they were going and what they were doing. While they were doing that, Lina was talking to townspeople, attempting to find a bandit gang in the local area to... interrogate. She seemed unconcerned about their path.
Zelgadiss settled down with the local guides and a large pot of tea to determine the best route to the temple. One guide argued that the best way didn't matter, because with winter coming, only an idiot would want to go up into the mountains.
"No. There is a way," the second guide argued, "especially if you have magic, which I assume you must, sir. There is a pass, but it is very dangerous, and there are sections where magic just simply doesn't work. From what the young lady over there said," he nodded towards Sylphiel, "you probably don't want to be without magic for long."
Zel sipped his tea, for a moment, then turned to the first guide. "Do you know anything about this way?" He inquired, setting his mug down gently on the table.
The first guide looked disgruntled. "I've lived in this town for my entire life, and I've never heard of this pass." He glared at the second man, "How do we know you aren't just making this up?"
The second man chuckled, then carefully pulled out an old journal. He passed the book to Zelgadis, who took it delicately, trying not to damage the age-fragile parchment. While Zel tried to read the faded script, the guide explained "My grandfather took Lord Rezo through the mountains. Lord Rezo was so determined to get to the temple that he carved a path through most of the way."
Zel looked up in surprise. "I thought you said magic doesn't work in places. How did Rezo..."
The guide laughed at Zel's blatant skepticism, then pointed at the book. "His magic wasn't his only resource. Read it. There is a picture in there that could be you... except for the stone skin, of course." He motioned Zel to flip farther into the book, neither of them noticing the first guide slipping away, muttering under his breath.
Zel motioned to the journal, almost afraid to touch it any more. "What is your name, I'd rather not travel with a stranger through these mountains."
"Wilam." The guide said, pushing his dark bangs away from his eyes. Zel tried not to stare, realizing that Wilam's eyes were so dark they were almost black. "And I'm afraid we aren't really strangers... more like cousins." Wilam leaned forward, his dark eyes flashing blue in the light, and the highlights in his black hair glinting red.
Zel studied Wilam for a moment, then smirked. "Hmm. Rezo sure got around for a priest."
Wilam laughed in agreement, then pulled a sheaf of paper from his pocket, and handed it to Zel.
"Here is a list of supplies you will probably need. I'll handle getting our food together, but you might want to make sure that you and your friends each have a set of the things on the list." Wilam grinned at Zel's raised eyebrow. "I'm going with you, so I'd rather not starve on the way. I've seen the way you people eat."
Zel shyly grinned back at Wilam, tucking the pages into his pocket. He felt a little strange, having this person claim a familial relationship. Though, no one who saw them together would doubt they were related somehow, despite their obvious character differences. Wilam finished off his tea in one swallow, dropping the mug on the table.
"I'll leave you to convincing them to get shopping and packing... maybe you could get the pretty priestess to make up some more of her pastries, they'd be nice to have on the road." Wilam made an offhand gesture at Sylphiel.
"Ask her yourself... or better, have Gourry ask her." Zel replied, picking up his tea mug nonchalantly.
Wilam sighed, his ever-present grin fading, and a sad look entered his eyes. "So, that's the way the wind blows, is it?" He turned to leave, then turned back to Zel, "Why are the good cooks always taken?" he asked plaintively, before his grin returned. "The redhead's cute... kind of quiet, though, isn't she."
Zel sputtered into his tea. "Lina? Quiet?" he blinked at Wilam in complete bewilderment, then set his tea down, looking strangely at the mug. "What did they put in this stuff, I though you just said Lina was quiet..."
Wilam laughed at his expression. "Gotcha, cousin. I'll see you back here at dinnertime." Zel grunted agreement, looking at Lina with concern on his face. She was speaking quietly with Mille over in the corner.
"Hey Zeldogas," Gourry wandered over to Zel's table, "Make a decision about a guide?"
"Gourry, How many times do I have to tell you, My name is ZELGADISS!" The chimera was startled out of his contemplation of the unusually quiet Lina, and reacted a little more strongly than usual to cover his embarrassment at being caught staring.
Gourry grimaced in apology, rubbing the back of his head. "Umm... sorry, I'm really bad with names..."
Zel stood up, standing for a moment with his hands braced on the table, before looking at Gourry. "It's okay. I know you have problems with my name... just call me Zel, like Lina does. It's easier." He stood completely up, moving around his chair to push it in, then turned to Gourry. "Wilam asked me to make sure that everyone had a complete kit for the trip. Do you want to get Sylphiel, Lina and Amelia, and we can all go shopping."
Gourry blinked at this. "You WANT to go shopping with Amelia and Sylphiel?" he asked, rubbing his chin in puzzlement.
Zel grimaced, "Not really, but I don't want them saying we forgot anything, either."
Gourry smiled, understanding Zel's reasoning at last, then moved towards the girls to let them know about the shopping plans. Zel pulled out the list that Wilam had given him, then realized that Wilam had included recommendations for where to find things, and a map of the town with the major shops listed on it.
Gourry returned in a few minutes, with all three girls in tow. Amelia and Sylphiel looked happy, but Lina looked like she was in for a day of torture. 'Probably not that far off,' Zel thought 'I've seen Amelia shop before. This isn't going to be pretty.'
Lina's pessimism, and Zel's expectations were met. Between Amelia's desire to buy almost everything that they came across, and Sylphiel's constant petting of Gourry, Lina and Zelgadiss spent most of the trip replacing items on shelves, and taking turns watching their friends and speaking with the shopkeepers. Most of the shopkeepers gave them great prices when they learned that Wilam had arranged the list, and that he would be accompanying them on the trip. One shopkeeper even pressed a fur lined woolen cloak at Zelgadiss, claiming that she couldn't accept money from Wilam's family, not after he saved her son from an avalanche just last year.
When Zel tried to protest, she just laughed. "Honey, your family is written on your face, and there's nothing you can say to change my mind. If it bothers you that much, bring me a luck token from the temple on your way back." She even hugged Lina and told her to take good care of him as they left the store. "Wilam would never say anything, but the rest of us all owe hi life-debts, and if his cousin needs help, it's the least we can do. You just make sure that he wears that cloak."
Lina was startled, but she agreed. She caught up with Zel, and asked about the cloak. He showed her the cloak, it was a lovely charcoal gray with pale gray fur lining the entire cloak. Neither of them recognized the fur, but it appeared both warm and very soft.
"Wow." Lina sighed, petting the fur with one hand, her eyes closing in pleasure as she stroked the cloak. Zel swallowed hard, then tried to offer her the cloak. "Oh, no." she replied, looking up at him, her eyes soft and wide, "this is your cloak. I can't take it from you, it was a present." She kept petting the cloak while she spoke, then reluctantly passed the cloak back to Zel, who folded it and slipped it into his dimensional pocket.
The rest of the shopping trip passed without incident, except Amelia trying to purchase a silver tea set 'so Mr. Zelgadiss could have tea on the journey', and Sylphiel attempting to acquire a 'darling' cloak, made of lace. At Gourry insistence that she would freeze, Sylphiel let the lace cloak go and settled for a dark purple wool cloak. And Zelgadiss assured Amelia that he was still perfectly capable of making tea in the teakettle. The group returned to the inn to find Xellos entertaining the inn's guests with stories and 'magic tricks'.
Having determined that everyone would be responsible for their own gear, except Gourry, whose gear would be split up between Sylphiel's and Lina's dimensional pockets, the group paused to adjust their room arrangements so Sylphiel would have somewhere to stay. Once another bed had been set up in Amelia's room, the group returned to the inn's main room for dinner.