Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT!
Chapter 17
The Task of Rebuilding
"Puzzle? There's somethin' brewing again?" -- Lina
Entering Zephillia was like escaping to another world far removed from the past-paced, bustling, hurry and scurry city-state lifestyle of Seyruun. Lina wouldn't admit it, but everyone could see how energized she'd become after taking a single, deep breath of the country air. Spicy, heavy with a mix of drying leaves, herbs, lavender and roses, the atmosphere took on a life of its own in the autumn.
And so did Lina. Lina was the goddess of fall, with red flaming hair and eyes. She was near to spouting poetry, in her head. "I didn't remember the place being so..."
"Pretty, isn't it?" offered Filia.
"Oh, it's gorgeous; don't you think so Mr. Xelloss?" asked Amelia.
"Oh, yes...definitely, for...a taste of the rural," he smiled, happy to be returned to the fold of his Slayers family. He wouldn't let the dirty, natural out-of-doors spoil his good time.
"Miss Lina looks so happy, doesn't she?" Amelia asked Zel. She was sandwiched between the two boys, pleased to have the attention of two handsome upperclassmen, always.
"She looks like a dryad," Zel replied without thinking.
Xelloss did a double-take, "A what? 'Dryad,' like a wood-nymph? Is that an elf thing, nature-boy?"
Zel blushed. He hadn't thought along those lines. In fact, had he been thinking normally he would have kept his opinion in his head and his mouth shut, but Zel was distracted by other concerns. He concocted a cover up story: "I was thinking of the way her hair...I don't know...is flying around all wild. Oh...forget it." A rather weak cover up story.
"Wood nymph, how romantic," Sylphiel sighed to Gourry from the seat in front of Zel. Gourry was the hunk of meat in the Lina -Sylphiel sandwich.
Val was driving with Filia in the front passenger seat. They had rented a luxury van for the lengthy trip to carry themselves and Zel's treasured guitars. The remaining equipment, which had grown to an ungodly quantity literally overnight, was in another van borrowed, driver and all, from the mayor.
Val and Zel had reviewed the material list dozens of times, but still Val hoped that they hadn't missed something critical for the outdoor venue. What with the numerous long distances calls Zel had made to verify just what power would be available (sufficient), what speakers (none), and what stage (wood) they had to setup their new equipment, and the large outlay of cash they had to put out to secure all that new sound equipment, Val dreaded the thought that there was something that they'd overlooked and it would be a catastrophe. His commonly angst-ridden roommate, Zel, oddly enough, seemed perfectly calm and worry-free. Zelgadiss had said something about having a good karma streak, and so, now appeared to be relaxed and confident that all would be well.
"Good fer him..."Val sighed and tried to do the same.
"Nice sky," Gourry said, adding his observations to those of his friends.
"It's just the color of your eyes, you know," Sylphiel giggled.
Gourry blinked.
"Even the clouds are like the white parts of your eyes, see? And...those birds..."
"Flock of geese," Lina muttered. Sometimes she wondered if she and Sylphiel shared the same plane of existence outside of the Slayers music sphere.
"Uh, huh...those are like...those little flecks of darker blue around the center." Sylphiel stared out the window another moment longer, then sat back, satisfied that there was nothing more to add.
"Ah," Gourry said.
"Hey! Heads up!" Lina shouted and pointed out the window.
"I see the signs," Val yelled back. "Wine Festival, right? Do you wanna go there first or shall I take you to your fine ac-com-o-da-tions, madam?"
"Here first," Zel broke in. "I want to check out the staging area. There's still time to go back and change sound systems if necessary. You can just leave me here, if you're in some kind of hurry to roll on."
Lina shook her head. "No, go go go..."
Val was grinning though. So Zel-bob was worried after all! Karma crap-pola...
Val pulled into the gravel roadway, signaling the other van driver to follow, and located the stage. Well, it was big and covered partway like a circus tent. That was a good sign. They wouldn't get electrocuted if it started to rain. Okay, so…Go karma!
Lina and the others took a tour of the tent community leaving Zel and Val to inspect the stage area.
"What do you think? Amps here, here, and here. Speakers up along here. Drums back, singers over to the side..." Val was imagining their layout.
Zel was pacing off the important spots, laying tape on the stage floor and measuring distances. "How much cabling did we bring? We have 20's and 30 footers? Extension cords?"
"Pack of ten, up ta fifty feet. It's enough, right?" Val asked. "Comin' up on yer left, a lady of importance and a dude."
The lady had been Zel's contact over the phone. They exchanged pleasantries, and then she introduced the man standing at her side. He was tall, dark, and handsome, in his mid twenties, and sported a moustache. "Zolf's, our volunteer stage manager for the festival, I'd like you to meet Zel and Val from the Slayers band."
The young men shook hands and hopped up on stage. "I got a good guy to handle your mixer, if you need one," Zolf said.
Zel nodded, "Let's meet him and see. It would be one less thing we'd have to muck with tomorrow."
"You and that other folk band are our headliners. Blue grass band couldn't make it. Got a couple vocalists and some old timers, but their equipment needs are few, so if you want to setup now and do some rehearsing, that would be all right." Zolf folded his arms and scanned both Val and Zel's faces. "You'll raise a few eyebrows out here," he grinned, "...But that's okay. Good for them."
A blush stained Zel's cheeks, but Val just laughed. "Yeah, we sorta stand out wherever we go. Don't bother us none, right Zel-bob?"
Zel shook his head. "I'd like to set up now. We've never played an outdoor venue before and I'd appreciate the extra time now."
"Sure, just pull your van up to the back here and I'll help you unload. Oh, there's the other guy I'd like you to meet. He's strong too!" Zolf turned and put his hand to his mouth. "Rodimus! Got a minute? Great. Come here and meet Zel and Val from the Slayers. Can you give us a hand unloading and setting up their gear? Thanks." To Zel he said, "Rodimus here's got good taste and a good ear. I think you'll like him as your sound director."
"Yer the stage manager, then... fer the whole place?" Val asked Zolf.
"Yes. I'm looking for something more permanent, like with a band or something. I know this guy's who's the stage manager for the Pillows. I don't suppose you've heard of them, huh?"
"J-rock band. Play their own instruments. Music for an Anime series called 'Furi Kuri'." It all rolled off Zel's tongue in a stream.
"That's right! I'm impressed, not many folks around have seen that or heard of the Pillows. Awesome band, huh?" Zolf smiled.
Rodimus was a big lug; a true country boy in his thirties who looked able to heft the entire van onto the stage. He and Val jogged back to the parking lot, found the van and driver and directed him to the back road to the stage. In no time Rodimus and Zolf unloaded the van and started placing the larger pieces where Zel and Val indicated.
"Nice equipment," Rolf noted.
"Best mixer on the market," Rodimus agreed.
"Yeah, I used ta work at a music store. Got me some deals," Val said as he opened the box of cables. "We got extension cords in that other box."
Zolf nodded and began stringing cable alongside Zel. "May not need it. I got some for those microphones." He pointed up overhead.
Zel's eyes followed his hand. "Ah. The lady I talked to didn't mention those. We have our own, but the folk band might benefit from them, if they're any good."
"The lady didn't know about them. Too bad you and I didn't get connected earlier. They're pretty good with moderate range, but if you have your own, we should go with those first. You mic your instruments?" Zolf asked.
"Only the drums. The rest we'll run though the amps to the mixer. Here's the layout," Zel handed him the diagram he and Val had made up.
The man nodded, "Looks good. Rodimus? That mixer going to handle all this you think?"
Zolf and Rodimus discussed the amps and wattage. "Be fine," Rodimus grunted. "Good mixer." He ran his big thumbs over its knobs appreciatively. He wasn't big on talk, which was okay since the younger Zolf was.
Zel watched as the other two men whipped together the hardware in no time. Val was also looking on in deep thought. Zel caught his attention, "What?"
"I was just thinkin'. We could use a couple guys like them. Roadies. Drive the van, setup, keep track of our stuff, repair, take it down. Big help." Val replied.
Zel nodded. He could see Lina and the others walking their way.
Rodimus called out, "Want us to set up the drums?"
Val replied, "Hold on, the drummer-dude's comin' over."
Yes, Zel thought, with a crew, they could all be enjoying themselves more. To Val he said in a low voice, "Let's see how this works out. Zolf is looking for a job. We'll have to see how they get along with Lina."
"Lina will like 'em if they make her life easier. Introduce her to the good-lookin' dude first and tell him to do some flatterin'.
Zel smiled and shook his head. "You do that."
But Zolf was no dummy. As soon as Lina approached the stage, he reached down and offered her a hand up. "You must be the band leader, Miss Lina Inverse. Man, you are the prettiest thing in all Zephillia!"
She looked up at the strikingly handsome young man and blushed slightly. "Ah, yeah...Lina."
Effortlessly, Zolf pulled her on stage. "Call me Zolf. I'm the stage manager for this event. Anything you or your band needs, let me know. Your aunt warned me that if I didn't, you'd send me to an early grave."
Lina wasn't certain how to react until he smiled. "That's right!" she said with a grin. "Dinner and a bath in a bit..."
"Sounds good for me too. So, ah what do we do with these other guys then?" Rodimus held back a chuckle with effort.
"What?" Lina asked, then her eyes widened as she understood how he'd turned what she said into a proposition. But clearly, he was kidding. The man was grinning still, but now he had stepped away, directing the older Rodimus to assist Xelloss with his drums while listening to Zelgadiss explain about the solution to his re-occurring feedback problem. If he hadn't been so apparently useful...or good-looking...Lina might have clobbered him.
Then he was back at her elbow, "I wouldn't have said anything like that normally, but I could tell you had a great sense of humor. So, I think everything's about ready for a test. What so you think of this plan...?"
And Zolf quickly outlined a test plan for the instruments, followed by the vocalists, then the entire band. "Sound okay to you? If so, I'll get right on it and we should be done here in less than an hour. Which..." He checked his watch. "...should give you plenty of time to clean up and chow down."
Lina's turn to blink. This guy knew his business and had his priorities straight. "So, know any good places to eat? It's gotta be good and plentiful both!"
He chuckled, "Yeah. You could go into town for pizza, or...stay out here where the barbeques are firing up for the best damn ribs and burgers in the valley– and all for the folks setting up and working this festival here tonight."
"Well, that's a no brainer," Lina tossed off. "Let's get this testing over with. I can spell the charcoal burning!"
Happily, Zel and Val had done their homework well. Their sound-system arrangement would be fine for the next day's performances, with no changes required. Rodimus balanced the vocals against the instruments effortlessly, praising their equipment with his usual brevity, "Damned fine mixer."
They locked up the guitars in the van, then joined Rodimus and Zolf in the dinner line. Nearly thirty merchants and workers were staying over the night to work, to play, and to guard wares laid out in open booths for sale, and now, except for the folks doing the food preparation, they were all standing in line waiting for their ribs, burgers, salads, and cobbler.
Gourry and Lina could barely be seen behind their mountainous plates of food. The plates were empty now, and they were stuffed. Rodimus and Zolf had long finished and volunteered to take 'first watch' at the stage. The Slayers had thousands of dollars of equipment ripe for the taking. Full and satisfied, Lina had picked up a brochure for the wine festival to check over the events.
Gourry scanned it over her shoulder. "Hey, ah...what's this 'Rain of Grapes' thing?"
Now, Xelloss had been growing bored. He didn't eat much, so he had finished playing with his food some time ago, and all this idleness was so wearing, you know? Stacked around the food preparation area were dozens of bushel baskets filled with freshly cut clusters of grapes. They were being stored for the next few days' grape crushing events. In his copious spare time, Xelloss had been counting them. "Rain of Grapes?" Xelloss repeated to himself, the wheels turning in his brain.
"Reign, as in the term of office for a monarch," Zel explained to Gourry. "I assume that's the crowning ceremony..."
"Crowning?" Xelloss was sporting a sly smile.
"Yep," Lina agreed.
Filia squinted at the paper. "Miss Wine Grape. How quaint..."
The rest of what she had to say was lost when Gourry started shouting, "Ahhhhh!"
Xelloss dumped an entire bucket of grapes over the blonde's head with the announcement, "The Rain of Grapes begins with the crowning of its prince!"
Amelia's hands flew to her mouth. It was funny, but terrible at the same time.
Gourry, once the shock had worn off, chuckled slightly as he shook out his hair. Leaves entangled in the locks fluttered; a few bits sticky with juice hung in dreadlocks. His face was hidden by his hair as he looked down. No one could tell if he was laughing or crying or about to ring Xelloss' neck. He reached down, scraping up a few clusters in one hand, spiders and all, closed up his big hand, and began to stand.
He lunged at Xelloss, mashing the grapes into his hair and laughing madly, "Watchout fer the spiders!"
Xelloss, mouth gaping in surprise, let out a screech. "Gahhhhhhh! Get them off meeeeee!" Then started jumping around, batting at his head.
That was a mistake. He slipped in the grape mess and fell onto Filia, grinding both of them into the slippery, sticky goop.
"Ohhh! Xelloss! You klutz!" Filia screamed and pounded on his back.
Val thought they were having too much fun. He picked up a basket of grapes and started grabbing and tossing fruit, aiming at first Zelgadiss-"Ha! You missed!", then Amelia –"Eeek!", then whomever he could catch. Zelgadiss deftly dodged them all.
When Lina received a particularly mushy mass to the side of her head, she got into the act. She found her own bucket of fun. "Fireball!" She yelled, propelling a cluster straight into Gourry's back.
"Hey!" he yelled back. "Who did that?" He picked up a broom with the thought of having Lina sweep the mess out of his hair, when he noted Sylphiel standing nearby.
Sylphiel was tentatively poking at a bunch of grapes, considering whether or not to give it a try, when Gourry caught her eye. "Was it you?"
"Who me?" she asked innocently.
She really looked guilty, he decided. He glanced around for more grapes to throw, when Lina shouted. "Batter's up!"
He grinned, took aim, and let loose with a mighty swing. His broom handle struck the grapes Lina had pitched to him, sending them flying directly at Sylphiel.
"Aaaaaaah!" She screamed and jumped. She got hit. But so did Val.
"Oh, ho, dude!" Val called out. He followed that with a volley of his own. First Gourry, then Lina, then Gourry again were pelted with grapes, stems, and whatever else he grabbed from his bucket.
Their fun was finally ended by one of the cooks. They spent the next ten minutes swabbing the deck and apologizing for the mess.
"But my hair!" Xelloss whined, not surprisingly.
"We're all a mess. We can't go to sleep like this. Lemme find out where we can go to clean up," Lina said.
"No, me," Gourry said gallantly. "I can ask that 'Golf' guy."
"That's Zolf!" Lina shouted after him.
He and Zolf joined up with the Slayers minutes later. "So, who's first? You, Xelloss?" Zolf asked.
"Ladies first, is more appropriate don't you agree?" Xelloss smiled.
"Actually, you and Gourry take the longest, so you go first," Lina said.
Gourry smiled, "Go on..."
"Thanks! So, where to?" Xelloss smiled at Zolf.
"Grab your gear and I'll set you on the path."
"Path? Path to the bath?" Xelloss giggled.
"Path to the stream. And you'd better hurry before it's dark."
"Stream?" Xelloss looked appalled. He had his bag slung over one shoulder and was skipping to keep in step with the longer-legged man.
"...'Course, the longer you wait, the fewer mosquitoes, but it can be a bit slippery on the edges...mossy rocks and the spiders..."
"There's no...beach?" Xelloss was showing signs of panic.
"Here? No, but there is about five miles up the way. Too late for that now, though. And...not private enough." Zolf stopped. "Okay, just follow this path about fifty yards and you'll find a reasonable access point, just a short climb down."
Xelloss was putting up a very brave front indeed. He simply nodded and murmured a simple 'thanks'. Zolf left him walking cautiously on into the darkening brush.
Back by their abode for the night, Zelgadiss was chatting with Gourry, arms crossed. "Here he comes. One of us should go save Xelloss now."
Gourry grinned, "I will. It'll make me the hero, like ya said."
Zel shook his head and picked up his bag. "I'll meet you guys over at the showers then." He alone had been untouched by the fruit of the vine, but felt a quick cleaning was in order considering the close sleeping quarters they'd most likely be keeping.
There were shower facilities. The festival had rented a county park which came equipped with several bathroom/shower facilities. They weren't private, but there were separate buildings for men and women. Zelgadiss had plotted to find a way to unite Gourry and Xelloss, and letting Gourry participate on the winning side of a good practical joke was the only idea he could come of with. Xelloss would respect Gourry for his audacity, and Gourry would admire Xelloss for his good sportsmanship. If it all went well. Which it should, because Zel had his mojo working these says, thanks to taking on Lina and the DMV!
Gourry cleared his throat as he dipped into the clearing by the water's edge. It was dark. His flashlight shown over the inky surface. "Xelloss? Xelloss? Where are you?"
Xelloss stepped into the light's beam. "Gourry? I-I'm not really done yet. In fact," he sighed audibly. "I haven't even begun. I...I can't really do this."
He looked so pathetic; Gourry hardly had the heart to reveal the practical joke. Ha! "Um...that's good 'cause...we found the real showers. Hot water..."
"With hot water!" Xelloss cried out joyously.
"Yeah. Come on, then."
"Gourry, tell me," Xelloss said hesitantly. "Who found the showers?"
Now, Gourry had to smile. Xelloss was so taken in by the joke, so unaware that it was a joke! Gourry was nearly laughing aloud. "Ah, well...um...Zolf. He ah...thought, er…was told…kinda like… that you wanted ta go natural and all...so he brought ya here. The rest of us... 'cept me 'cause I came back ta get ya... er... he took to the showers."
Xelloss stopped in the path and turned to stare up at the taller guy. "This was all a...joke...on me?"
Gourry nodded and steeled himself for a violent response. But, it didn't come. Xelloss covered his eyes with his hand, mashing his bangs flat, and grinned. He chuckled a little. "Good one...very...good... Your idea?"
Gourry smiled too, relaxing a bit. "Yeah, partly. Just trying ta keep up...after that grape flood thingee."
Smacking him on the back good-naturedly, Xelloss reassured him that there were no hard feelings. "Right. So, they've got hot water... and...private stalls?"
"No, just one long place, like at school."
"Please tell me that's part of the joke too? No? Ah, well, then... at least we get to share with the girls, then, right?"
Gourry smiled, "I wish...but nah, they got their own place."
Xelloss sighed, "Oh, my...then I gotta be satisfied with four walls and hot water, huh? That will do, considering... I mean, it was really foul out there. Mud... and then the horrid lapping of that icy muck-water on the nasty awful slimy rocks. Whining insects ready to suck the life out of me, and gods know what ready to bite off my flesh! Alligators..."
Gourry was laughing. "T-turtles...snappin' turtles might be there. No 'gators this far north, ya know that."
"Okay, no...'gators, but fish and...turtles...snakes, too!" Xelloss continued, sharing his many dislikes aloud with his comrade.
"Maybe," Gourry chuckled, "They'd be poisonous ones, most likely, if ya found a water snake."
"Why...? How could anyone actually choose to go 'roughing it' in this day and age of countless creature comforts all at our disposal?" Xelloss shook his head. That dislodged an unfortunate spider from its hiding place. "What the... HELL! Eek! Get this thing off me!"
Xelloss batted it away long before Gourry even saw what the beast was. He couldn't have done much anyway since he was laughing much too hard. They never once spoke of their 'Lina competition' or apologized for what had happened. They were both going to be 'men' about it and hold it all in. Naturally!
Rodimus and Zolf told the guys to enjoy their evening together. They would stand 'guard' at the stage where Rodimus had a camper parked. No one would tamper with the Slayers equipment over their dead bodies.
"Hope it doesn't come to that," Lina muttered. Those two guys had no idea how close others had come to death protecting the Slayers.
Clean and shiny, the Slayers gathered around a campfire. Not a messy, down-in-the-dirt one, but a professionally built, surrounded-by-large-flat-rocks, and encircled by well-worn log benches campfire. A welcome sight. Gourry, Lina, Filia, Sylphiel, and Xelloss used the fire's warmth to dry their voluminous quantities of hair.
"So," Xelloss began, "am I the last to know, or is there no actual place for us to sleep tonight?"
Lina sat up abruptly, flinging her hair backwards in a red waterfall. "We gotta place."
"Oh? I see." He held his hair towel and gave Lina his full attention. "And this place, is it far and indoors with beds? Or..?"
"Or." She was brushing it out, stating with the endless ends.
"Or. Just...'or'?" He smiled in a bemused way. He guessed that he would be the butt of several jokes for the next few days. Well, then...
"Over there, Mr. Xelloss." Amelia pointed to a circus-style tent whose broad black and white stripes were visible in the glowing light from the many fires and lanterns dotted about the campground. It was one of several dozen. "We have one all to ourselves."
"We do?" A grin spread across his face. "How nice for us. What, pray, will the rest of these guys do then?"
Lina shook her head thinking that joke was getting old.
"Oh!" Amelia scrunched up her nose. "That's not what I meant, and you know it! All of us, Mr. Xelloss, get to share it!"
He smiled, "Even better, don't you agree? The more the merrier!"
"Well, keep your merry-making out of the tent. It's for sleeping," Lina declared. "Party all you want, but not in there."
"Party here, sleep there. Got it," Gourry repeated with a nod her way.
"Yeah, if I don't get my beauty sleep, I turn into a real beast." Lina jiggled her brush at the fire.
Val growled and pretended to claw at her in his best beast imitation.
"Oooh, scary guy, Vally-boy," Xelloss laughed.
Filia ran her fingers up Xelloss' spine, making them dance like a spider.
"Aaaaah!" He cried out, jumping and twisting to see what was on his back.
"Guess I'm the scary one," Filia smiled smugly.
Xelloss was breathing heavily now, his nerves jarred. "You're only lucky. I already had one spider run-in already, and that one died for his grievous act upon touching my person. I hate them...on me."
"Lina hates slugs," Gourry confided without thinking. "Ouch!"
"Guess you hate them too!" Xelloss giggled.
Gourry smiled and rubbed his arm where Lina's punch, or 'slug', had landed.
"Leave me out of this," she warned. Then to change the subject, she said, "Time for a story."
"Xelloss has one we all should hear," Zel spoke up suddenly.
"My turn? Ah, well..." Xelloss pretended to put on his thinking cap. "...Let me think..."
"Oh gods..." Filia sighed loudly. "Just tell us something out of your dark and twisted past in the nuthouse. That'll do for, you know, the horror story of the night."
He smiled sweetly, "I could do that, but I think you'll find this one much more interesting." He looked around, checking that they were alone, then down at his hands before beginning. "Once upon a time there was a dysfunctional family..."
"So, this is going to be autobiographical, after all?" Filia asked.
"Yes and no. You'll have to wait and see, okay?" he smiled and continued. "This family wasn't really an ordinary family, like the kind that lives together and all, but a cluster of individuals assembled and knit into a ménage by greed."
"Sounds like your syndicate; ah, that is, the syndicate," Filia amended.
"Let's just call it the syndicate then!" Xelloss said with a laugh. "So, this family syndicate had several higher-ups that pretty much ran the whole shebang. Let's call that the Club Syn."
"Appropriately," Filia nodded.
"Now, the club members rarely all hung out together, preferring to spread out across the planet and hold court in their own jurisdictions. Sometimes that wasn't good enough. One would play dirty and have to get put down. To my recollection that only happened one time. Gaav was run out of the club, forced to open his own private, shoddy little lodge for bad boys." Xelloss looked askance at Val, who nodded in understanding.
"That kept the others in line. They had to keep one another's secrets, occasionally come to a family member's aid or subvert another's plans which may have resulted in an imbalance of power. Balance of power– that was important."
"I thought the syndicate was all about creating chaos. Wouldn't an imbalance be more likely?" Filia asked.
"Outside the syndicate, yes that would be desirable, but within, turmoil was minimized continuously. That was done mostly by intermarriages. You marry my daughter, and you can share the rights to...these gold mines– for example. So, Club Syn remained stable as offspring born to once-rivals rose in the ranks to take over where their parents left off. Sometimes these bloodlines became very...blurred. 'Who should get what piece of which inheritance pie?' became a reoccurring issue for debate at club meetings."
"I thought that thing you wore showed it all," Gourry commented.
"The pendant? Yes, but it symbolizes only the elite. The rest of the riff-raff is too many to record on a stamp that small," Filia answered. "I mean, it's the same for us too."
"That's right!" Xelloss smiled again. "They haven't even made up new ones to reflect the change in power, which is the problem now." He looked over quickly at Zel then said, "And I'll get to that in a minute. First, some more interesting pieces of the puzzle."
"Puzzle? There's somethin' brewing again?" Lina asked suspiciously.
"He's gettin' ta that, he just said," Val snapped. "Let him tell this his way." Val wanted to learn more about the syndicate and he knew Xelloss had learned some new facts, a few of which he had already passed on to himself and Zel a few nights before.
Lina nodded and waved for Xelloss to continue.
"Let's look at the Club Syn membership, shall we? First we had Zelas, Gaav, and Phibrizzo..."
"How about that Seymore guy that died at the end of spring? Wasn't he one of them too?" Gourry asked.
"Saygram was really just an underling of Phibrizzo's, so no, he doesn't count," Xelloss said. "Gaav, we know ran afoul and got bumped from the elite club. He wasn't replaced, although Val was his planned underling."
Xelloss paused. He had spoken to Val about this earlier so as not to spring anything on him of such a sensitive nature. "Of course, Val wasn't 'pure enough' for them all, but Zelas saw his potential, especially as his true heritage became known. She was very close to having, in her mind, Val, me and Zelgadiss all in training under her at the same time."
"Now, why did you bring Zel into all this?" Lina interrupted. "His direct lineage is pretty weak. I mean, your father wasn't even part of the club, right?"
"Right. He would start his own organization later as the DARKSTAR character. But you meant that his bloodlines to Zelgadiss were pretty dilute, and of little merit...had that been all there was to it..."
Now Xelloss had everyone's attention!
"But before I get into that part, I need to explain about the other club members. Okay...Zelas, Gaav, Phibrizzo... Ah, yes, the Dauphin du Mer, or the Deep Sea Dauphin family. Currently its headed by a crazy lady who just happens to go by the name Merasea Dauphin. Zelas threatened once to send me off to work for her." He smiled shyly and looked down to add, "She keeps men only as eunuchs. Zelas was peeved at me at the time for not conforming to her wishes. She said it was time for me to visit...my aunt."
"Aunt? Like in Zelas' sister? The crazy lady?" Lina burst out with surprise.
"Yes. The Metallium line was 'enriched' shall we say by many of the others. In fact, I believe we were unsullied only by the Gaav link." Xelloss was interrupted again.
"But if your son married Val's daughter, that would complete it all?" Sylphiel added jubilantly, then giggled nervously, "If either of you had children, you know..."
Xelloss swallowed back a snippy retort, saying instead, "Ah...sure...anyway... My father married Zelas in a last ditch kinda attempt to grow the Metallium family into the most powerful organization, his first attempt ending too soon..."
"You mean your older sister wasn't all gung-ho for the syndicate life?" Filia asked with a laugh.
"No, she wasn't. She married out of the syndicate, into one of the most powerful White Shrine families possible."
"That's Zel's mom, huh?" Gourry asked to be sure he was following all the story so far. "That musta made her dad...er, yer dad too, pretty mad, huh?"
With a sharp look in Zel's direction, Lina asked, "You think he tried to kill...did kill his own daughter for marrying outside the preferred family membership?"
Xelloss nodded slowly. "It gets more complex."
Lina narrowed her eyes. "Something's happened, hasn't it? You know something you're withholding, aren't you?"
Zelgadiss, silent for the longest time intervened. "He and I had suspicions..."
"Yeah, me too," added Val.
"About Grauscherra..."
"That really cute principal?" Sylphiel asked.
"Ah, the principal, yes," Zel said with a blush. He couldn't help it, but there were times when he blushed at every annoyance. "After my interview in his office, I saw a paper I wanted to get a closer look at, so we... went in after hours..."
"We? Who is this 'we' person?" Lina asked sliding her deadly gaze from Zel to Xelloss like a red-hot iron, trying to press the secrets out of them.
"The doorman, er...doormaster, I think he called himself," Gourry explained poorly.
Xelloss wiggled his fingers at Lina, "If the key fits...?"
"Y-You broke into the principal's office!" Amelia gasped aloud.
"Without me!" Lina tagged on in a holler.
"Well, yes, you see..." Xelloss began conversationally.
"We didn't want to get anyone else into trouble or...lead you into thinking we were more paranoid than you already did (dig, dig)," Zel said to get back on track. "Xelloss has keys to the place and the night custodian told us she'd let us in any time to use the computers and the paper was in the trash so it wasn't so bad when you get down to it..." Zel explained hoping to mollify Amelia and Lina both.
"And a file just popped out at me," Xelloss segued. "...which provided me with several Club Syn codes not formerly in my hands. Ones used by the Grauscherra Dynasty family."
Silence reigned. The campfire flickered, a log cracked and fell into the coals sputtering sparks into the air.
"You ssstole sssyndicate code information out of the principal'sss officsse?" Filia hissed.
Gourry stepped up to support the action. "I wasn't for it either, but...what they found out is important. Ah...well, Zel you gonna tell 'em?"
So Zel pulled out the note, which he hadn't removed from his hooded sweatshirt, and read it aloud. Sylphiel held her hand over her mouth. Amelia's lower lip quivered. Filia's eyebrows drew into a frown.
Lina pressed her lips into a tight line and she shook her head. "Assholes... You sure they actually pose some sorta threat to us? Sounds to me like a bunch of incompetents."
"I agree," Xelloss smiled faintly, "...but there are other forces at work here besides Grauscherra following orders." He ran his hand through his still-damp hair. "I just talked to Val and Zelgadiss about the things related to them the other night."
"Go on..." Zel urged him. "Get it over with."
"Where was I? My sister... yes, who was probably marked to marry someone else, like Phibrizzo's older brother, but ran off with her father's best friend instead. From what I was able to gather, her mother had a child by yet another man. She was all of what...thirteen or so then? Anyway...she left a baby boy in Japan (very sought after) before marrying into the Metalliums. My father didn't know about it. Zelas didn't either to the best of my knowledge. The Grauscherra dynasty family did, since the father was one of their own. The baby was secreted off to the north and raised there."
"You mean you have another half-brother, Mr. Xelloss?" Amelia cried out. "Oh, Zelgadiss...another uncle for you, too?"
Zel nodded curtly.
Gourry's eyes went wide. "You were sayin' 'bout Zel's eyes...?" he began to say.
Val nodded. "Yeah. Ole Daniel Grauscherra is the one. Zel, his mother, Grauscherra and his mother all got them big, pretty, blue-green eyes." He grinned at Zel, who had shot him a withering glance.
Lina was shaking her head though. "Xelloss, tell me, do you think the principal knows about this connection?"
"I have no idea. He certainly had the opportunity to introduce himself that way to both Zelgadiss and myself, so it might be that he was never told."
"But if you found out after having the codes for only a few hours, dontcha think he could have, you know, figured out for himself over the past few years?" Filia asked. "Or is he...?"
"A dumbass?" Xelloss smiled. "I believe he is. First of all, his position of leadership in his family is under dispute. From what I could gather, this 'job' to locate us is his mission to prove his worthiness. Should he discover that both Zelgadiss and I..."
"You. I am not in any way at anytime a part of the syndicate," Zel bit off curtly.
"Okay...that he and I stand on equal footing for the Grauscherra post, well...he won't be a happy camper, that's for certain." Xelloss' smile dropped. "And not being a part of the syndicate now, does not give you immunity in the future, little brother. As we discussed, if he offs me, you are next on his docket."
"Offs…? Y-you!" Sylphiel cried out. "You mean, the principal wants to kill you?"
"All of us!" Lina yelled. "Haven't you been listening? We are on his hit list, if he manages to figure us out. This Club Syn thing with Zel and Xelloss is another matter we don't think he's in the know about...yet. And, Xelloss...why is that?"
"Because I am much cleverer than he. And I have a most skilled computer code hacker at my disposal," he grinned at Zel this time. Then in a mock-dramatic voice he intoned, "We went where no man has ever gone before," He smiled down at Lina's 'I'm about to blow here!' face and grew more serious. "… and cracked open a few files Zelas and ...my father had—files that I and no one else alive knows about. Their personal files. I currently have access to the entire syndicate database, which is why I am considered to be the mogul." He couldn't help adding that!
"This is crazy!" Filia exclaimed. "Aren't there any adults in charge?"
Lina shook her head, "We knocked the most important ones off, remember? One nutty aunt and one stupid half-brother are all that stand between Xelloss and his dream of being the uniting power behind the entire syndicate operation, worldwide!"
Filia started laughing, "Oh...gods...that's so...rich...The syndicate is so doomed!"
Xelloss stuck out his tongue. "Hey, we all have dreams! I don't stomp on yours! So, now... We know a lot of stuff he doesn't. We are in a lot of danger if we just sit around and wait for him to piece together the puzzle or have others of his kin come and 'help' him. We need a plan to take him out...all of them...the entire syndicate operation...once and for all."
"Great..." Filia grunted.
"Oh... my..." Amelia sniffled.
"But he's so cute! Can't we just distract him and, you know, save him or something?" Sylphiel asked.
"Yes...yes we can," Zel replied in a low voice. As all eyes turned toward him he smiled, "And I have an idea how to do all that, if Lina approves."
One, two, three... "But first, I have to, ah...visit the men's room."
Xelloss laughed as Zel ran off with Lina in hot pursuit. "It's all in the timing. He's getting better. That...was almost funny!"
He didn't notice Lina had circled back until she pounced on his back, pommeling him. "Ahhhhhh!" He screamed.
That set Filia and all to laughing. "Yeah, that was funnier yet! You're right, Xelly. It IS all in the timing!"
From the Authors:
Seyruun High Jinx now has a home! Ever wanted to see what the kids look like as envisioned by Frog? No? Well, you can anyway now that our staff photographer has been to their dimension and returned with photos! If you are interested, visit the website. Where? Please go to the author profile for Kaeru Shisho and choose the link. Hope to see you there!
KS
End Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT! Chapter Seventeen.