It was late in the afternoon when Lina crossed the border. She was rather cross herself, there hadn't been any place to eat along the way, and now she WAS hungry. Worse, there hadn't been any bandits, so, there had been no way to increase her meagre cash supply, let alone work out her inner emotional turmoil. Oh well, she figured she would find a place to eat soon, it would probably cost her the last of her money, but then she'd trudge on into Seirune proper during the night, find Gourry, and worry about what came next when she came to it. Heck, once there, she might even see if she could beg travelling expenses from Amelia, just to have an excuse to see her again. It had been years after all.
"I wonder how she is?" she thought, trying to keep her mind off her stomach. "I wonder how Zel is doing too? They seemed real close last time I saw them, he, he,... oh..." she sighed, as remembering the growing love that had been between her friends reminded her of Gourry. Shaking her head sadly she rounded a bend in the road and saw a small village with a public house by the road. "This'll do" she thought, as she walked in.
Inside was the usual rough, smoky sort of interior one expected with these sorts of "establishments". There was even the ever present group of locals deep in their mugs. Most eyes her with curiosity, some hid their eyes as she made contact, others gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. In the back a few of the local hot bloods eyed her up and down, sizing up their prospects. Ah well, she'd probably have trouble with some of them later. Good! She had vented her tears, but she still needed to work off her anger. Let them come. Might even make the cost of her meal back as a penalty for picking on an innocent little virgin. Ah well, stuff like that didn't happen when she had Gourry... sigh... Gourry...
On the other hand it happened all the time when she had hung around with that weirdo Naga. Naga! Ha! Now that was someone she hadn't thought about for a long time. At times they had been so close as traveling companions that some people must have thought they were lovers, or worse, friends. At other times Naga would just disappear for days or weeks without a word and just as Lina was getting her hopes up, she'd show up again! Well, well. She kind of wondered where good old "Goldfish Feces" had gotten herself off to. Rumour had it that she had gone north, then east, and disappeared, when the magical barrier which the Mazoku had clamped over the western lands where Lina lived had been broken after she had destroyed the important demon lord Hellmaster Phibrizzo.
She had done this by taking the ultimate being, the Lord of Nightmares, into herself as she cast the dread spell Giga Slave. She never could remember how she got out of it, the Golden Lord had taken her over completely. She remembered casting the spell, then she remembered snapping back into reality standing on top of a stone lintel, with, with, Gourry kissing her on the lips? Or atleast he was hugging her like they had just kissed. Of course she had immediately decked him, and perhaps rightly so, but she always wondered what happened. According to the others, after Hellmaster was destroyed the Lord of Nightmares has sucked Lina into some sort of vortex or something, and before it closed Gourry had jumped in after her, calling desperately for her to wake up. Sigh... their first kiss...
Lina shook herself out of her reverie as the somewhat grubby owner of the pub came over, smiling and bobbing, and asked what she wanted. Lina stated she was hungry and asked about the food. It was basic fare, but the prices weren't too bad, and she ended up with a meal she knew wasn't going to be enough, but which would be okay. As she ate she continued in her train of thought about Naga. Now truth to tell, there had been something compelling about her, some sort of hidden story, after all no one got that weird without a reason. Despite her earlier snippy comments Lina had to admit that they had a sort of friendship, although what sort Lina hadn't figured out. Strange girl. Oh well, maybe some day she'd know what drove Naga at age nineteen to pick on Lina who was only thirteen at the time and just finishing up her magical training. Somehow she had heard Lina was the greatest sorceress on the face of the planet, which she was, of course, he, he, he, and had taken the simple truth as a personal affront. Then had followed about two years of the most intense, most weird relationship Lina had ever had with another human being. Heck the stuff with Gourry was laid back by comparison. Naga would be there, then she'd go away for awhile, and then she'd be back. Then, there was "that" night, when they broke up, well, when Lina had just left. Poor Naga, she never even got told why, well, maybe some day Lina could tell her, oh well.
After that, Lina had travelled by herself for a while, then hooked up with Gourry, Zel, and finally Amilia, she had only seen Naga once more, the time Lina had helped that green haired elf kid called Lark and stopped the resurrection of Shabradnigdo, with Naga's help, if you could call it that. Naga had seemed uptight or something, but you really had to know her to see it. Then, when the adventure was over, she was just gone and Lina had never seen her again.
Lina was sitting, lost in thought, when she was interrupted by one of the local Lothario's. "Say, little lady!" "Ahh, the patronizing sort, ought to be good fun..." Lina thought. Putting on her most innocent and virginal smile she batted her eyes as she responded "Oh my! You mean me?" in her best "I'm shy" fashion. Actually the guy was kind of handsome in a rugged sort of way. If he'd only stick with the local ladies he'd be quite a catch, and doubtlessly his wife would spare no pains to make sure he knew that, especially as there would be plenty of other local fish who would if she didn't. Of course that all depended on whether he survived this encounter...
"You don't mean to tell me you are travelling the road all by yourself do you?" he said. "Don't you know it's dangerous?" "Dangerous?" asked Lina all wide eyes and with a hint of... fear? Or perhaps that was amusement? "Why what ever to you mean? I heard that the famous sorceress, Lina Inverse, had cleared all the bad people away that used to prey on travellers? Oh, I'm not in danger here am I?" she said in a worried voice as she covered her mouth with her hands, more to stop herself from laughing, but it gave the right impression of a naive, fearful little girl in a woman's body. "Well, you might be, young lady but you are in luck! Lina Inverse is an overrated, underdeveloped, sorceress of questionable character. She may have cleared away a few of the bandits that roam the roads, but her biggest success was in marketing herself as the hero when in fact it was guys like me, Floater, that were busy doing the hard work of clearing away the rest of them!" As Floater spoke he struck a ridiculous pose that was probably meant to be dramatic and puffed his vanity up even further. He went on "If it hadn't been for hardworking self sacrificing guys like me, there is no way the roads would be safe now, Lina Inverse or not! Now, you look like you are on your way somewhere, I happen to be free right now and I would be more than willing to help you reach your destination safely."
Her hand twitching, Lina hesitated on whether to fireball the clod now, or wait till he was alone with her on some lonely stretch of road, where no one could here you scream! Interesting he hadn't mentioned the usual reward... hmmmm... must be after more than the money. She was soooo going to enjoy this...
"Ummm, ummmm, I, I thank you for the offer kind sir, I am in truth but a poor girl who has to get to Seirune, and if there are evil doers on the roads still, oh, what shall I do?" "Well" said Floater in a rather oily voice "I guess there is only one way for you to be sure of your safety. I shall go with you!" "Oh my, Mr. Floater!" said Lina "So heroic and gentlemanly of you! Um, but, I, I am a poor girl. I was thinking there was no worse a foe on the road than hunger, and I have spent the last of my money here to get a meal to last me to Seirune! Oh, what ever shall I do to repay you?" Lina appeared to be on the verge of tears with fear and worry. Floater's look made it quite clear what he would accept as payment. "Don't worry my pretty little lady!" he said smoothly. "We will work something out. So it is decided! Floater will see you safe to your destination. What's your name, pretty?"
Lina thought quickly to come up with a good name, but quick as she was, a quiet voice, yet one filled with inner power, which could not be ignored answered faster. "Inverse" it said. "Lina Inverse. And I should leave you to your fate, rogue, only this inn has a historical importance to Seirune, despite it's shabby appearance, and is therefore rather worth saving from the wrath of the fireball..." Lina and Floater both turned towards the voice. It belonged to a tall, young looking man dressed in the livery of the Royal House of Seirune. It was a handsome uniform really, but it tended to get overshadowed by the one who wore it. It wasn't that he wasn't handsome or anything, it's just that his blue skin was a bit of a shock at the best of times, as were the stones in his flesh, and the hair that was as stiff as wire...
"Lo, lo, lor, lord" started the rapidly sinking Floater. "Zelgadiss!" finished Lina more forcefully, rising to greet her friend. "Of all the places I never would have thought to find you..." "Happy to see you again too Lina" said Zel, with a smile, stepping out of the shadows towards the table. "L, Li, Lin, Lina?" started Floater again, by this time nearly on the floor. "Inverse" finished Zelgadiss as he reached down and unceremoniously pulled the rather deflated "hero" out by his hair and held him up while shouting to the bar tender "Bar Keep! A flagon of your best wine! And as much of whatever food the young lady here wishes to eat! And the bill will be paid courtesy of our loudmouthed friend here, who will pay, for if he doesn't I will personally see he ends up before Prince Phillionel himself to explain why!" "Aye your Lordship!" was the scurrying reply. Zelgadiss unceremoniously dropped the rogue off, giving him a kick with his rock hard boot. "Th-thank you my Lord" groaned Floater, who scuttled away as fast and as quietly as he could.
Zel sat down with Lina and waited for the food and drink to arrive, which it did in short order. Lina looked at Zel and said "Well, um Zel! Thanks, I guess... So what brings you here?" Zel smiled and replied "Apparently, saving ancient historical buildings from the ravages of Lina Inverse." Then he became a little more serious. "In truth, I am on a mission for Prince Phil, and my horse threw a shoe, so, here I am as I await the repairs... and just in time it seems. So, what of yourself? What are you doing? I hear you have made quite the name for yourself putting the run on the riff raft of the highways." "Oh well", said Lina "Yeah.. that. Um, oh well, it's true, but, alas, so are the stories about the disastrous effects of the dragon slave on villages. Er, do you know that they actually think they should be compensated for having their villages blown up?" she went on, with a nervous giggle. "So, at the end of the day you are broke is what you are saying..." said Zel sipping the wine that had arrived. "Ahh, Lina, why doesn't that surprise me?" he chuckled quietly. "But where is Gourry? Is he up to something? It isn't like him to leave you to rogues like "Sinker" there." Lina blanched, then replied, with a sadder tone, "Uh, yeahhh, that's another story, Zel..."
She then told him how she had laughed once too much and he had left, probably thinking that she never wanted to see him again. "The truth is, Zel, I finally have come to my senses, and am ready and willing, believe it or not to, to, to say "Yes!", and now, I can't..." she concluded with a tear in her eye and a catch in her voice. Zel reached over the table and took Lina's hand. Looking her in the eyes he gently said "So, that's why you are here, you want to find him... Well, Lina, I can do this much help right away. If you are going to Seirune city, you can ride with me, it will be a bit quicker, and less tiring. And if I can find any men to sweep the city it will be done." Lina looked up in surprise. "I am grateful for the ride Zel, but why would everyone be busy? What's up?" Zel shook his blue head and said "Not here Lina, sorry" Lina nodded that she understood, then changed the subject. "So, are you Prince Phil's son-in-law yet?
Of all the questions she could have asked, that was perhaps the one Zel was least expecting. He gave a little squawk of surprise. He stared at her for a second, then a slow, bittersweet sort of smile covered his face. He gave his head a shake meaning no. "Errr, sorry," said Lina hesitantly, "I, uh, did I strike a nerve there? You two seemed such an item last time I saw you is all..."
She was so sincere that Zelgadiss chuckled in spite of himself. "Well, that's a tale in itself Lina," he replied. "Here's the short version. Yes, we are in love, and yes, we finally stopped playing games and admitted it to each other. The problem at first was my feelings about this cursed body I have. I have not given up hope for a cure, someday, but to be honest it is looking less likely all the time. I had to reach the point where I was willing to give up the endless seeking for the counter spell, and get on with the other things in life, like living like a human being, even if I didn't look like one. And for whatever wonderful reason, Amelia was able to see the me inside this blue body and, well, there you are. Love. About a year ago I decided enough was enough and began to settle down here in Seirune finally. We became really close, and started to make plans. Big plans. Too big..." Zelgadiss took a deep breath and slowly let it out with a sad look on his face.
He then went on. "About three months ago Prince Phil, who I am sure had to know what was going on, decided it was time to intervene. He was diplomatic about it, he never confronted us directly or anything, just one night at dinner he began to "discuss" the laws of the succession, and the need for Amelia to bear a child at some point so that there would be a successor after her, the way she was his successor. At first it seemed like he was encouraging us, but then the conversation took a turn for the worst. He recounted his troubles, and those of his family, the loss of his wife in an assassination plot and the subsequent loss of his eldest daughter, who was too distraught over the death of her mother to resume her duties as heiress apparent to the throne of Seirune. He went on about the importance of the heir being someone who was acceptable to all parties and reminded us of his battles to secure his throne against usurpers." "Yeah" said Lina, "we had a hand in some of that." "Yes, so you know what I mean." replied Zel, who then went on "Amelia and I talked about it later, and we agreed, he was trying to tell us something. We hadn't really thought seriously about the idea of our children, and yes, we wanted children, so we began to do our research, and it wasn't long or hard before we realised the hidden meanings to his words. In a nutshell, if our babies were even suspected of being chimeras they would likely not inherit, and if we tried to make it otherwise, Amelia could be deposed, or worse..."
Here Zel paused for awhile and Lina just stared down at the table, aghast at his tale. Finally she said "So, because there is a chance that your babies might not be purely human, you can't get married... Oh Zel, I am so sorry for you two." She looked up at her long time friend with sorrow in her eyes, only to find him smiling back. "I am living proof you must be careful what you wish for Lina, because you might just get it." he said to her. "Well, the rest of the tale is simple. I don't know what to do about getting cured, but I wanted to keep looking, so I was able to get a diplomatic position in the court. In other words I get sent out a lot to do odd jobs in the diplomatic core. It helps a bit, I get to go places and look in my spare time. And it gets me away from Amelia, which means I get to alter the pain of being away with the pain of being there. Variety, you know. Oh well, such seems to be my lot in life..."
Here he grew silent again and a troubled look crossed his face. "Listen Lina," he went on, eventually, " We are getting to the point where I can't really say anything for now. So, I'll take this up later, okay? How's your meal coming?" Lina looked down. It seems that despite Zel's tale she had managed to eat a fairly good meal. Not as large as she had been able to when she was in her stride of course, or was it Zel's tale? Anyway, she realised she just wasn't hungry anymore. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm done, actually" she said. Zel put down his glass of wine. "Me too..." They stared at each other, not quite sure what to say. Just then the door opened and the local farrier came in and bowed, saying "Lord Zelgadiss, your horse is outside. I have repaired the shoe as best I could, but the hoof was cracked. I recommend that the horse not be ridden above a walk from here to Seirune City, and then let one of the royal horsemen look at it." Zel nodded and gave the man several coins in payment. With a bow the man left. Zel stood up and said simply "Time to go. You coming?"
Lina bounced up and said "You bet!" Zel smiled and offered her his arm. "OOOh, aren't you the gentleman!" teased Lina. Zel laughed and escorted her out. He didn't forget to turn at the door and remind the inn keeper of who was paying the tab, and invite the other patrons to consume the rest of the flagon of wine in honour of the visit of the world famous Lina Inverse to their establishment. Lina laughed at this and went outside, followed by Zel. Soon they were seated on his horse and riding along the road to the city. "Well, this beats walking!" Lina said brightly. In a short while they were out of the town and on the road alone.
Zel looked around and was satisfied they weren't being followed. "Okay, here's the rest of the story Lina" he said. "About a month ago we started to get reports that a kingdom in the east was gearing up in a big hurry for what looked like a major war footing. They had apparently hired a very powerful sorceress said to be well skilled in the black arts. It also seemed like a big call had gone out for mercenaries and any other adventurers at arms who sought employment, and from all over the western lands the call was being heeded. I was sent to investigate.
As you know, it was a big shock to us to discover our maps were all wrong, that the world we thought we knew didn't exist, that what we thought we knew was because we were inside the Mazoku shield which imprisoned us." "Yeah, like I could forget" replied Lina. "Of course breaking out was dead simple, all I had to do was Giga Slave that creepy Hellmaster Phibrizzo, almost destroy the planet, almost lose myself forever to the Golden Lord, if it hadn't been for Gou... oh..." "Yes, I know Lina" said Zelgadiss gently. "Then we got caught up with Filia and went south to fight Dark Star. But we never went east. I have now been east, well, a bit."
"To the east, instead of a shore and endless ocean, which was an illusion of the Mazoku, there is a range of ragged mountains which once marked the border of the Mazoku shield. The interesting thing is that there is only one narrow high gap that will let any one pass the mountains, the rest is too rugged. Beyond that is a long narrow valley running roughly north to south. It is maybe a hundred miles across at the widest point, but it is many hundred miles long, bordered by another mountain range that opens to the east through only one pass as well, but a wider, gentler and lower pass. There is a vast continent beyond that range Lina. It is amazing, this world is so big!
Anyway, the valley was settled by people like us before the Mazoku imposed their shield, and a large, rich, but very disciplined and militaristic kingdom has grown up in the region. It's name is Westhold, so called because, until the shield was lifted, they were the westernmost part of this part of the continent that outsiders could reach. To their east were peoples and countries that were totally different from them in every way. And they have been at war on and off for a long time, which explains the militaristic nature of their culture. But lately there has been peace, deep and profound. Prince Phil fears that they have grown restless and are willing to try their hand at conquest to their west, which is of course, us. Now you know why I was sent.
I met with them, and for some reason the king seemed interested in the fact I had come from Seirune, seems he has heard of us, maybe the justice philosophy of our culture has impressed him, I can only hope. Anyway, he says he wants to send a very special ambassador to discuss our concerns with us and asks for Prince Phil to formally accept the offer, and as a sign of trust he says we are to send two people, me, and one other of the Prince's choosing, to accompany the ambassador back. Of course I told him we were more than able to raise a small honour guard, or even a big real guard to accompany such an honoured person back to Seirune, but he was very insistent that it be me and one other only. So I go to make the arrangements. Say, if we don't find Gourry in Seirune, it is possible he took up being a mercenary again and went east, would you like to come? "Hmmm," replied Lina, "even if we do find bait-for-brains, I might come, this sorceress intrigues me if nothing else, and damned if I want a war to spoil my happiness with Gourry when we're just getting started!" "Ha, well, thanks then Lina, it would be interesting to travel with you again!" was Zel's happy response.
They rode on, discussing this, that, and everything else, reliving old adventures and getting caught up. Soon enough they were in Seirune city proper. Lina looked out over the city keenly, hoping to spot Gourry somewhere in the crowd, but it wasn't to be. By this time Zel had dismounted, which gave her a clear view of the crowds too. They reached the palace and, with a snappy salute, the doors were flung open for the Lord Zelgadiss! Leaving the horse at the stables with instructions about the hoof he took Lina into the castle and went to make his report.
They were walking into the private room where Prince Phil was when suddenly a happy squeal erupted and a pretty black-haired young woman suddenly landed on Zelgadiss giving him a big hug! "OOOFFF!" was Zel's immediate response followed by "Hi Amelia!" for that was precisely who it was that had glommed onto the blue chimera. "Err, Amelia, look!" he said pointing to Lina. Amelia's already happy eyes brightened even more as she turned and saw "LINA! Lina, Lina, Lina!" There was nothing for it but to endure a big hug as well, which Lina did with as much grace as she could muster. As the two girls got reacquainted Prince Phil rose, and, after giving Lina a somewhat more dignified greeting, welcomed Zelgadiss back and bade him deliver his report. Which Zel did.
