All You Ever Wished For
Like colorful birds gathering at the edge of a river, the garish booths stood side by side, their advertisements beckoning to the crowds. People filtered in and around the booths in droves: talking, laughing, and looking. It seemed that the Carnival of the Alternate Worlds had drawn quite a crowd.
Zelgadis made his way through the crowd feeling like a man drowning in a sea of people. His stone skin crawled with apprehension. He hated crowds. A small, irrational portion of his brain screamed that these people knew. His clothes (disguise?) were transparent and everyone could see all. He knew that it was foolishness, but he couldn't silence the voice.
"Zel? Hey, Zel! Is something wrong?" a feminine voice inquired, breaking into his thoughts.
Zelgadis blinked a few times as if waking from a dream before looking down into the worried face of Lina Inverse. "What?" he asked.
"I've been talking to you for the last five minutes, but I don't think you were listening," Lina complained, "I'm used to that Gourry, but not with you."
"Hey!" Gourry spoke up, "I listen!"
"Yeah right!" Lina shot back.
"Well," Gourry said, "If I don't listen, how would I know that you just said that I don't listen."
Zelgadis smiled as he listened to the all too familiar arguing of the two. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking about all these booths. I can't help but wonder how many of these represent real worlds and how many are merely scams."
"Good question," Lina responded, "All these worlds seem too good to be true. Some of them just have to fake. Just people trying to earn some quick money. Dirty crooks!"
"But, Miss Lina," Amelia began hesitantly, "You're always trying to find ways to get some easy money."
"What?" Lina cried, "Why you -"
"I was wondering," Gourry interrupted, "What is this business about the Alternate Worlds anyway?"
"You idiot!" Lina yelled, spinning around to hit Gourry on the back of the head, "Don't you know anything?" She sighed deeply. "This is probably a wasted effort, but I'll try to explain it again. Do you remember how it was when we first traveled to the Outer World? How it was similar to this world but different at the same time?"
"Not really," Gourry admitted, "but go on."
Lina shook her head, but continued nonetheless. "Anyway, the Alternate Worlds are like that: similar yet different. These worlds lie close to this world. That much had been known or least suspected for hundreds of years. The problem was how to travel to these worlds.
"Then, the Island of Doors was discovered. Before you ask, the Island of Doors is an island to the west of here that has innumerable caves and each one of these caves leads to an Alternate World."
"I guess I understand," Gourry said, "but what's that have to do with all these booths."
"Because there are so many worlds," Lina explained, "it would be almost impossible to find any particular one. Each of these booths is supposed to represent one world. You choose a world you want to travel to and hire a guide to lead you to the proper cave. That's why I think that some of these people have to be scammers. All of these worlds just seem to good to be true." She sighed again as she laced her fingers behind her head. "But enough about the worlds for right now," she said, "Let's see if we can find something to eat in this place."
"Alright!" Gourry exclaimed, "Food! Food! Food!"
Lina led Amelia and the still chanting Gourry away in search of food. Zelgadis had started to follow them, when a sign caught his attention. Unlike the bright and flashy signs of the other booths, this sign was very simple. The bold, black lettering upon the white background merely said, "Have a wish?" Nothing more. Instead of a booth, this simple sign was hung outside of an old tent, which had seen better days. The tent might have been blue in green in its prime, but had faded to a dull gray through which tiny holes had begun to form. Almost without thinking, Zelgadis stepped inside.
The gloom hit him with such a force that he almost turned around immediately to leave. However, he stopped when he heard an ancient sounding voice. "Welcome, seeker," the voice crackled, "Please, sit down."
In the back of the tent sat one of the oldest men Zelgadis had ever seen. His face was a map of wrinkles through which his dark eyes seemed almost hidden. Only a few strands of stringy white hair was still attached to the bald dome of his head and his hands were gnarled like talons. "Why did you call me Seeker?" Zelgadis asked. He walked over to the chair but chose to stand.
The man smiled, revealing he was missing more than a few teeth. "My simple sign," he explained, "It only draws real seekers to my tent. So I suspect that you have a wish."
"Perhaps," Zelgadis responded, trying to sound nonchalant.
"And I also suspect that it is personal." The man burst out with a loud, gruff laugh. "Do not worry. I will not ask what you care to wish for, seeker. That is not my purpose. My name is Arcai."
"And just what is your purpose, Mr. Arcai?"
Arcai's smile widened. "To help. Just to help."
Zelgadis smirked slightly. "I'm afraid I find that hard to believe." He turned as if to go, expecting Arcai to suddenly call after him, but he did not.
"Believe what you want," Arcai said calmly, "but I really do know a way to make your wish come true."
Zelgadis paused and turned partly to look at the old man. "I am listening," he said, "tell me about your world."
Arcai paused as he straightened his dirty green frock, as if intentionally making Zelgadis wait. "The world I represent," he finally said, "is much like this one. However, there is less magic, but they have advanced in other ways."
"Sounds a bit like the Outer World."
"Oh, they are far more advanced than that. But that is not what makes this world so special." He leaned forward to look at Zelgadis directly. "What makes this world special is the dragon balls."
"What? Look, I don't care about some dragon's-"
"You don't understand!" Arcai interrupted. "The dragon balls are seven magic spheres. When the balls are brought together, the great dragon god Shenlong appears and he will grant you a wish. I even hear that he's now granting two wishes instead of just one."
"You expect me to believe that?" Zelgadis asked, disappointment creeping into his voice.
"If you wish for me to take you to this world," Arcai said, "I will do so free of charge. If you don't find what you are looking for, then you owe me nothing. However, if you do…"
"If I do," Zelgadis prodded.
"Then you just pay me what you think is fair. What do you think? If you interested, meet me by my boat at midnight. My boat is the small one at the main end of the pier."
"Maybe," Zelgadis said.
Lacing his bony fingers together, Arcai laughed softly. "See you there," he said, as Zelgadis left.
Outside of the tent, Zelgadis just stood in the nearly blinding sunlight for a few minutes. He could never remember being so confused. Finally, he shook his head, and set off to find Lina and the others.
**********
A quarter moon hung in the sky and threw its ragged light upon the ground as Zelgadis made his way down the pier. He hadn't been able to find Lina, but he wasn't that upset. She would have wanted to come with him, especially if she thought there might be a wish involved, and this was too personal. He had to make his journey alone. Finally, he came to a small boat that he thought was Arcai's, but there were already some people on board. Other seekers? Arcai had never mentioned that there would be others, but he hadn't said that he would be traveling alone. Sighing, he started to board the boat.
"Hi, Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia's cheerful voice greeted him.
Zelgadis stopped dead as his eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight. Not only was Amelia there, but so were Lina and Gourry. "Lina, what are you doing here?" he demanded.
"We're going to help you find the dragon balls!" Lina announced.
"A dragon's balls?" Gourry cried, "Why are we looking for that?"
Lina blushed slightly. "For the wish, you moron! Can't you remember anything?"
"But isn't there a way to get a wish that's not so personal," Gourry asked, "Poor mister dragon."
"Look," Lina yelled, "Let me explain this one more time!"
"How did you find out about the dragon balls?" Zelgadis interrupted.
"Oh you know me," Lina answered with a nervous laugh, "I just know who to ask and who to talk to."
"And who to eavesdrop on," Zelgadis added, "I can't believe you, Lina. I'm out of here." He turned and started away.
"Zel, wait up!" Lina yelled, running after him. "What's wrong?"
"You know what's wrong," he replied, "This was supposed to be my personal journey. Besides, the dragon balls might be the only way I can ever return my body to normal. All you would wish for is treasure or something like that."
"But didn't that guy say that there were two wishes? One's all yours, I swear."
"And what if there is only one wish?"
Lina smiled. "Then it's yours, okay."
Zelgadis was surprised but returned the smile. "You really mean that?"
"Of course. Besides, Amelia would miss you if you didn't go."
His smile faltered, "And what about you, Lina?"
"Me? Sure. I've gotten really used to you being around."
Zelgadis started to say something else, but was interrupted when Arcai stepped up to the two. "Are we all here?" he asked, "Then let's get on our way."
"Alright!" Lina yelled, racing back to the boat, as Zelgadis followed behind. He had wanted to say more to Lina, but it looked like that would have to wait for another time.
Arcai boarded the boat and soon they were sailing across the water. The waves were fairly smooth that night so their trip was uneventful. Just as the sun was rising above the horizon, the Island of Doors came into view.
Yawning, Gourry walked over to Lina. "If this Island was here the whole time," he asked, in a sleepy voice, "then how come no one found it before?"
"You ask almost intelligent questions when you're half-asleep, don't you?" Lina responded, "From what I heard, this island was thought to be haunted, so sailors always avoided this area. However, one night a young man was caught by surprise by a fierce storm and crashed upon the island. Although he was scared, he had to take shelter from the storm. That's how the caves were first discovered."
"Oh," Gourry replied, "I'm hungry. When are we going to have breakfast?"
"Well that didn't last long," Lina mumbled, as Arcai landed the boat and they all got onto the shore.
"Everyone ready?" Arcai called out, "The caves are this way." He started down a narrow path through a dense jungle and the others followed. Along the way, he pointed out different species of plant and animals, as if acting as a guide. Normally, Zelgadis would have told him to skip the tour, but he found himself interested in what the old man had to say. Finally, they came to the caves and Arcai warned everyone to stay close.
Lina pulled out some paper and began creating a map as Amelia used a marking spell. However, within minutes they had made so many twists and turns, it was obvious that they were never going to find their way without a guide. Frustrated, Lina threw down her attempted map. "Are we almost there?" she asked.
"Just a little further," Arcai replied.
After a few more turns, Arcai stopped so suddenly, that Lina almost ran into him. "Here it is," he announced, pointing to a small cave. A strange, blue-white light was spilling from the entrance, as if to welcome the group.
Zelgadis' breath caught in his throat as he stared at the cave. Never before had he been so close to finding a way to become a normal human once more. "This is it," he said softly.
"Ready guys," Lina announced, "then let's go."
Together they stepped into the doorway and into an entirely different world.
More coming soon!!!