Chapter 4: Arrival at Stone Ridge

Amelia stabbed moodily at her potatoes with a fork. She was in Stone Ridge now (the inn more specifically), but the good news ended there. Of the people she'd talked to so far, most remembered Zelgadis very well (not surprising), but none seemed to know where he was going after he left.

You'd think he'd have mentioned it to someone, she thought. She was broken out of her sullen mood by a light tap on the shoulder.

Amelia turned around. A mouse-haired young boy of about 11 or 12 stood behind her. "E-excuse me, miss," he said timidly, "But I heard you were askin' about that chimera man who came through here a couple months ago."

Amelia cocked her head. "What about him?"

The boy took a deep breath. "Well, I heard you wanted to know where he went, and, well, I overheard him talking about the Cave Temples to me dad." And with that, he promptly bolted off.

Amelia blinked, caught off guard by his sudden departure. Strange. Well, at least she had a name now. The Cave Temples. Most sorcerers had heard of them. Supposedly built by a long-dead civilization, the Temples were said to contain thousands of spells that had been lost to humans for centuries, as well as many magical artifacts, one which was rumored to be "a source of infinite power." It was no real surprise that Zelgadis was going there. It also explained why he had come to this town, as the Temples were located in the Scwenkfelder Mountains, only a few miles north of here.

Amelia leapt up onto the table and pointed at the ceiling. "Now that the next destination in my Quest is clear, I must go there with all due haste!" she boomed to no one in particular. Several other occupants of the inn gave her one quick look before signaling for the check. She ignored them. "TO THE SCHWENKFELDER MOUNTAINS!"

Someone tugged at her pant-leg. Amelia looked down. It was the inn's proprietor, a plump middle-aged woman. "Sorry to interrupt ya, miss, but if yer goin' up to the mountains, you'd best be having these," she said, holding up a pair of what appeared to be tennis rackets.

The next day…

Amelia felt ridiculous. Bundled up in 10 layers of clothing, she walked awkwardly in the snowshoes. But she knew it would be even harder without them. So she trudged on.

According to the inn proprietor, she'd been very lucky. Apparently winter was coming late this year, so the mountain passes weren't completely impassable yet. They were just nearly impassable. It was a very fine distinction apparently. Amelia could barely see 3 feet in front of her, the snow was coming down so hard.

This is impossible, she thought despairingly, I'll never find Mr. Zelgadis in this.

Don't give up now! shouted a voice in her head. With Justice on your side, you cannot fail!

At that moment, the ground beneath her gave way. "Aiiiieeeee!" she screamed as she fell in a shower of cold snow down into the pit below, landing with a thump. It would have been more painful if not for the thick layers of clothing she wore.

Amelia groaned and sat up. Some snow had gotten into the cracks of her clothing and was starting to melt. Amelia shivered. I hate it when that happens. She tried looking around, but it was pitch black wherever she was. That problem was easily solved. "Lighting," she muttered. Instantly the area was illuminated with bright light. Amelia was in some kind of underground tunnel. She stared puzzled at the stone walls however. "These are too smooth to be natural," she muttered to herself, feeling the cold surface. "Could these..?"

She stared down the tunnel. She couldn't see where it came out, just pitch blackness. Only one way to find out.

As Amelia continued down the tunnel, she suddenly felt an odd feeling of anxiety. Part of her felt dread at what lay at the tunnels end, while the other part felt urgency, that she needed to get there as fast as she could. Amelia broke into a run.

Soon, the tunnel opened up into a large chamber. It was mostly empty. At the center was an altar of some sort. There were statues placed at various points around it, but in the dim light Amelia couldn't tell what they weresupposed to be. She walked towards them for a closer look.

As she came nearer, Amelia noticed something odd. Most of the statues were situated around the alter, forming some kind of pattern. But one seemed strangely... out of place, not fitting in with the pattern. As Amelia stepped closer to it, it became more and more familiar, and she realized with a sickening jolt that it wasn't a statue at all. She froze in horror, completely numb.

"Mr. Zelgadis…"

A/N: Bwahahaha, cliffhanger. Funness. R&R please.