Enter The Chimera Part Two

One week later…

Lina trudged into town, wishing for nothing more than a meal and a hot bath. A room might be out of the question, because as small as this town was, the inn couldn't be very large. As late as it is, the place might be filled to capacity too…She mused as she glanced at the setting sun. Ye Gods, they might not even have an inn… This town looks deserted! She pulled her map from her cloak. It's not listed as a ghost town, and this is a recent map… Misinformation such as this must be the work of the local tourist board.

The map pointed out an inn near the town center, much to Lina's relief. By this time however, her suspicions had mounted. Outwardly, this place just appeared to be another sleepy little hamlet, but Lina could feel the eyes of the town on her. Lights in windows were quickly extinguished as she came into view. She uttered a long, drawn out sigh, and rested her gaze back on the road. Somehow… the townspeople had been made aware of her impending arrival.

At least the owner of the inn was made of sterner stuff than the townsfolk. The inn's vacancy sign was displayed next to the door, and the light streaming from the windows was warm and inviting. Lina didn't drop her guard though, even as she paid for two nights in advance.

As Lina turned from the visibly shaking innkeeper, he stammered, "M-m-miss…?"

"Yeah, Pops?"

'S-someone is waiting for you in the t-t-tavern."

"Someone? Waiting for me? Do tell." She grimaced and leaned heavily on the counter. Here it comes… goodbye big meal, hot bath and soft bed…

At her grimace, the stammer gained strength. "H-he says he's a f-f-f-fr-"

"A WHAT?!" She grated plaintively. Frustrated, she flipped a large gold coin at the man.

The innkeeper adroitly snatched the coin from the air. Suddenly loquacious, he stated, "He claims to be a friend of yours, and has been waiting for a week." He tapped the coin against rather rabbit-like front teeth and added, "He should be in the common room."

"Okay, thanks for the message, Pops!" Heh, show 'em gold and it works like a charm.

Lina walked into the common room and observed that some things never change. The end of the world or the arrival of Lina Inverse didn't faze some; the drunks just kept on drinking. She quickly scanned the room. Ah! His back to the wall, facing the entrance--

"Zel! Nice to see you, old buddy!" Lina trilled as she quickly crossed the room and sat down.

"Yo, Lina." Zel sipped nonchalantly at his tea.

Glancing quickly around to check for eavesdroppers, Lina glared at Zel and hissed, "Thanks for posting the all points bulletin on my whereabouts, jackass! Whadidya do? Yell the news from the rooftops? Were you filling in as the new town crier?!" Having finished her tirade, Lina leaned back, arms crossed over her chest.

Cool, unaffected regard met dragon-eyed glare. "Hmmph," Zel sipped his tea. "Must be a case of 'good news travels fast' I suppose."

Lina looked as if she'd pounce across the table. "Not half as fast as that teacup's gonna travel up your--" Luckily for Zel's continued well-being, a pretty little waitress chose that moment to appear and take their order.

Successfully distracted from doing unmentionable things involving the Chimera and the teacup, Lina placed her order. "I'll have everything, from here to here," She skimmed her finger down the second page of the menu "in double portions. And how about three family-sized chicken dinners to top it off?"

The waitress feverishly scribbled the order down on her notepad, looking slightly dazed at the large amount of food these people were having. She raised wide eyes to look at the strange pair of people sitting before her. "I-is that--" (gulp) "everything?"

To the waitress's great shock and dismay, Lina turned to Zelgadis. "Are you getting anything, Zel?"

Suddenly conscious of the fact that the cute waitress was now looking at him, Zel mumbled, "I had something earlier, but I would like more tea…" He fumbled nervously with his cup, a blush creeping over his cheeks.

When the waitress had stumbled away in a daze over how one girl could eat so much, Lina grinned at Zelgadis. "Oh ho Zel, I see how it is now, so that's the real reason you stuck around—you sly dog!"

He rubbed his face in an effort to hide the incriminating blush. Zel managed to stutter out "I-it's not like that at all--uh--say, where's Gourry? I thought he'd be with you."

She ought to have known Zelgadis would ask. She just hadn't had the time to think of a facile answer. The longer she waited, the worse Zel would think it was, so she'd better get on with it. "Erm… well, I had to leave him with Silphiel so I could go to Buldein." Lina cast her gaze down on the table. "You know how it is there… No idiot swordsmen allowed…"

"Ho, Buldein…" Zel noted Lina's discomfort, and decided not to press, for now. "What in the world do you want with that old wreck?"

Thankful for the change of subject, Lina excitedly started talking. "Well, its archives are always worth looking through, you know. I told Silphiel and Gourry that I might record my travels when I get there. I could catch up on the latest gossip…" She trailed off uncertainly, as her mind whispered, Forget about Gourry… She ducked her head and started examining her gloved fingers.

Zelgadis remained doubtful. "Hmm, is any of it worth the trip? It's quite a ways from here even still, and I've always been told it was a waste of time going there." Zel leaned back and blushed as the waitress arrived, smiling, with his tea refill. In an effort to distract Lina from his second blush in one evening, he continued, "I've never actually been there."

"How can you discount the place if you've never seen it yourself?" Lina quirked an eyebrow and grinned at him. "I'd have thought you always deem any repository of ancient and not so ancient knowledge as worth the effort to see." She smirked at the evidence of her friend's growing interest. "Who told you it was a complete waste of time?" Moreover, why did he listen? He's usually blind to everything when it comes to his cure.

"Well, back in the early days when I served Rezo, I overheard a conversation between him and Eris. They had been talking about researching defensive spells. She had asked him why he didn't try going to Buldein, and he had gotten angry. He'd said something about Buldein being a dried up old husk, with nothing new for him." Zel sipped his tea. "Any other references I heard him make about Buldein were in the same vein."

"So. He always made sure to disparage the place while in your hearing?" Lina grinned at the dawning annoyance on Zelgadis's face. "If it were me, that would have made me want to go there even more." His hopeful look warned her. Well, I don't want his hopes dashed if he finds nothing though. He's had to deal with so much disappointment. "I'm not saying there might be anything there Zel, but don't you think in all the time Rezo had, he'd have done a great deal of research there? There may even be people who remember the Red Priest's stay, and some who might even remember what he was studying."

Zelgadis grimaced, trying to quell his emotions, which were currently trying to rage out of hand. He felt stupid to have missed something like that. Lina was right; Buldein should have been the first place he looked. However—"Lina, Rezo lived a long time. It's likely no one's alive to remember his visit."

"Maybe. But then why make it sound like the last place you'd want to go? I admit, it is really run down, but I'd have to say it's still the best place for research."

At last, Lina's food finally arrived. Zelgadis watched Lina greet her food like a long lost friend, stars dancing in her eyes. Once the entire meal was placed before her, she quit talking and fell to with such savagery that Zelgadis felt sorry for the other people in the room. Unlike him, they'd never quite witnessed anything so ferocious in their lives. Beckoning the horrified waitress over to refill his tea, he was amused to see her edge around Lina, as if she might be snatched up and devoured as well.

Halfway through the meal, Lina addressed Zel around a mouthful of roasted chicken. "Ahhh! I haven't had a decent sized meal like this in a while!" She swallowed noisily and swigged some ale to wash it down. "Do you know that I was only able to get half my order in the last tavern I ate in? And to top it off, they had to shut down the kitchen early because what little I got was the last of their food!"

Zelgadis shrugged. I hope she didn't starve out the entire village. Sipping his fresh cup, Zelgadis mulled over what they'd talked about. He was still annoyed with himself. Granted, he hadn't given Buldein the least thought in years. There was the possibility Lina was exaggerating its importance to get him to come with her, but he couldn't see any real advantage that would give her. Once he got there and saw that it really was a big wreck like Rezo had always said, Lina would certainly realize he'd be distinctly upset with her. Lina's not the type to be devious like that anyway, he decided. If she simply wanted my company on the trip, she'd come out and say it. This is only assuming what Rezo said was intended only for Zelgadis. He could've badmouthed the place to Dilgear or anyone for that matter and Zelgadis would be none the wiser. It's really no use wondering whether Buldein will be of any use to me until I go there and find out.

Seeing Lina was finishing the last chicken dinner, he spoke up. "If you don't mind Lina, I'd like to come along and have a look at Buldein as well."

"Hey no problem Zel!" Lina swigged the rest of her mug of ale. "Glad to have you along, since the only conversations I've been getting on the road are the usual tired old lines from bandit gangs!"

"I can imagine." He replied wryly.