At Sairaag! Trouble in the Family

Walking through the town to find Sylphiel's house, Mina suddenly felt a Water Spirit calling her. She said that something had gotten into the water near the edge of town, and she couldn't remove it on her own. Mina seemed worthy, so the spirit asked her for aid. The girl agreed, and ran to the edge of town.

In the river, Mina saw not pollution but a young boy of about sixteen. He had short black hair and frantic blue eyes. A silver headband was around his forehead, and he had on a black cape held on with a flower clasp. The only other piece of clothing Mina could make out was the flailing yellow arm of his tunic. He was unable to swim! If Mina didn't do something fast, he was going to drown! So she jumped into the river herself, and pulled the lad up. Now that he was on shore again, she could clearly see his silver belt, gray trousers, and leather boots. When he opened his relieved eyes again, he saw Mina looking at him.

"Thank heavens," the boy commented, "If you hadn't come along, I would have been dead. My name is Shawn Valentine. I am an apprentice studying the art of White Magic. When Sairaag's shrine is rebuilt someday, I hope to become a priest there. And what might your name be; my dear rescuer?"

"Mina Felicia. And you don't have to call me your 'dear rescuer' either. Just Mina is fine. I am here in order to delve into the location of a missing friend of mine. His mother and father have a contact here that I am looking up. She can help the four of us in our search," Mina replied. She just wanted Shawn to leave.

However, Shawn said, "At least come to my house for lunch. Mother will be so happy to meat the one who saved me. It's just her and me living there; my heartless father walked out on us years ago when I was just a baby. She loves having guests. Mina-sama, you are welcome to come over with your friends."

Before Mina could answer, the boy began to drag her along the path to a white house with blue trim. The others had no choice but to come along as well. Besides, they didn't know where to find Sylphiel's house. If they could ask Shawn's mother, they might be able to find a clue to her current whereabouts.

Shawn smiled as he opened the door. "Mother, I have got a few guests. Mina-sama saved my life when I was drowning, and she has come to visit with her friends. Is lunch almost ready?" They entered the dining room to find a woman with long light black hair and bright blue eyes. She dressed exactly like her son, except her cape was green and her tunic was purple. Looking up at the other travelers, she smiled.

"Hello there," the woman began, "I hear how you saved my son's life. I thank you Miss Mina. My name is Sylphiel. I used to be a Shrine Maiden in Sairaag until its unfortunate demise. Now I work to restore it. Please, make yourself at home and eat as much as you'd like." You think she'd learned from her time traveling with Lina and Gourry that those are not the best words to say to a band of hungry travelers.

"So, you're Sylphiel. I am Mina Felicia, apprentice sorceress and foster daughter of your old friends Amelia and Zelgadis. The blond girl is Sandi Lexford, Uncle Zel's swordsmaster. Finally, the twins are Victor and Victoria Majikku, former apprentices in sorcery under Lina Inverse. We need your help! But, a little food first wouldn't hurt either," Mina stated. Then, she went to work raiding the pantry for good food.

S...S

After eating, Mina told Sylphiel the story about what happened. Noel, Seyruun's young prince, was kidnapped by strange spirits who wanted to extract an ancient key that was sealed inside of his body due to something that the Lord of Nightmares did during the Phibrizzo incident. It was a power that should not be in the wrong hands. She finished saying, "We need someone who can delve into the locale of their base."

Sylphiel looked at the worried look on Mina's face. She had been like that too; when Gourry was kidnapped by Phibrizzo. At that time, the same look was on Lina's face. There was a relationship between the two young ones; even if neither knew it. "I can try. I owe that much to my old friends that I have to help their son. I recall the time that Dear Gourry was taken by Phibrizzo. We were able to save him then, but there might not be the same chance for Noel. However, I want to keep fighting to the very end. That's what Miss Lina would have done. It was her bravery and will that rescued Gourry more than my worry. So I'll do my best to help you out. Just promise me that you'll all be careful when you head out for the enemy's lair."

"We will," Mina told the older woman, "Don't worry about me. I can cast both Burst Flare and Dragon Slave. So can Victor. Victoria knows Burst Flare as well; albeit she uses White Magic instead of Black Magic. Also, Sandi's a great swordswoman despite her age; came in third at a tournament recently. I'm not going to back down, because that's the same as giving up. At the risk of imitating Aunt Amelia, I just have to say that Justice is on our side if we keep on going. We'll get Noel back, and then make that witch pay for whatever she did to him." A wicked grin spread across the face of the young sorceress.

'I think my new master is starting to scare me. Oh well, it's not like I had to go with this girl. I chose her because of her pure heart and her strong soul, not her words,' Chisa voiced to herself.

With that, Sylphiel began to concentrate. Suddenly, an image began to form. The prince was being held in a cave that lay in the northlands. Not just any northland area either. It was a wild and uninhabited piece of the Inner Kingdoms that was overrun with trolls, orcs, ogres, and other monstrous beasts. This wasn't a place for amateur sorcerers to venture. However, these kids were far from that.

Victoria stated, "We will have to wait until morning to leave. I don't think that we can get very far today. First of all, we need to restock. Mina is a big eater like Master Lina, and Victor and I have good sized appetites as well. That's the price of using magic; you have to eat a lot more. Even after we get our supplies together, we'll need to plan our travel route. So, I'd advise spending the night here in Sairaag."

Everyone agreed and Sylphiel decided to let them stay at the house. Shopping was a chore with all of those big eaters around. Also, after begging his mother endlessly, Shawn was allowed to come along as well. His reasoning was that he had to protect Mina-sama from all harm. She rolled her eyes at that quote, but didn't argue there. The more the merrier. Besides, extra help might be needed to rescue Noel.

Teefa's Last Words...

The gang's all together now. Well, mostly. There's a little tagalong fun as well and Book 3 includes more familiar faces joining the group. But the core warriors from this generation are all together now. Ok, except Noel but you know where he is...