Mirror (part 14 of 28)
Back to Part 13Slipping away from the city wasn't all that hard,
especially for this young man. He had been a
adventurer for many years, on both sides of the war
between light and darkness, and had picked up many
skills during that time. The brown garb of a simple
monk shielded him as he rode, taking the main trading
route south, where tales of slavers and banditry
abounded.
'That is where Amelia was headed,' Zelgadiss thought,
his greenish, almost rock like skin hidden beneath the
monk's hood, 'and where I must go.' Over his shoulder
he carried a bag of supplies as he walked his sword
tapping against his side.
Amelia, princess of Saillune took her duties quite
seriously, and one of those was defending her people.
When she found out about slavers raiding Saillune she
had ridden forth without telling Zelgadiss or her
father Phil and had allowed herself to be captured,
probably hoping to reach the leaders of the slavers.
Impatiently Zelgadiss waited for word, but as days
passed to weeks and no word came, he decided to act.
'Of course she may already be on her way home,'
Zelgadiss thought, 'but I still have to try, if only
for the sake of my pride.' For a time he debated
trying to find some of Amelia's old companions like
Lina or Gourry, but time wasn't on their side. Finding
them might take weeks, and there was little that he
and Amelia couldn't handle together.
Traveling south Zelgadiss visited many taverns, bars
and inns, not to drink but instead to listen to the
rumors and stories minstrels, bards and travelers
carried. There were the usual tales of dragons slain
and great swordsmen, but those were all commonplace.
What he sought were tales ofd a holy warrior, with or
without companions, and eventually he found such a
man.
The tale that he told sounded almost eerily familiar
to Zelgadiss, of Amelia, a sorceress and a swordsman
battling together against the forces of evil. The
details were a little off but from the descriptions he
was sure that it was Lina and Amelia, though the third
figure was a mystery to him. The story came from much
farther south but it sounded like they were on the
main trade road leading to Saillune, so all he had to
do was head south to meet them.
The little town, barely a collection of buildings
around an inn, was a week and a half trip for
Zelgadiss, and he brightened a bit as he heard
merchants mutter as he passed about another strange
traveler. He headed towards the inn that morning with
a cautious step, going inside to scan the place warily
for possible foes.
The inn keeper nodded suspiciously, his black eyepatch
marking him as a former soldier or maybe bandit. The
crowd inside was a mixed lot, made up of merchants,
local people and a few travelers going either to the
big city or possibly away from it. He felt wary eyes
on him but Zelgadiss just ignored it, moving forward
looking around for who he was searching for.
The three women were sitting at a corner table, one
chosen carefully. The three of them could see most of
the comings and goings in the in, and it was also near
the exits. Zelgadiss instantly recognized Lina first,
her flaming red hair shimmering in the light, then he
felt his heart lift as he saw who was sitting there
eagerly eating porridge.
The taller woman spotted him first, a oddly familiar
face looking wary as he approached their table from
behind Amelia. Addressing her Zelgadiss said wryly,
"Next time you get yourself captured by slavers, could
you please include me in the plan?"
Amelia jumped to her feet, white clothing shimmering
as she threw her arms around him with a happy cry,
"Zel!"
"Friend of yours?" the tall woman smiled wryly towards
Lina, watching the joyful reunion with some amusement.
"That's Zelgadiss," Lina nodded to him, "he's a good
friend, actually, despite the fact that he tried to
kill me when we first met."
"Sounds typical," she murmured thoughtfully.
Zelgadiss pulled a chair over and settled down,
consciously choosing to sit by Amelia. He looked over
at the stranger and curiously asked, "I don't think
we've met...?"
"Lady Naga," Amelia smiled, "I'd like you to meet
Zelgadiss."
Naga nodded to Zelgadiss, her eyes twinkling with
amusement. "It's good to meet you," she answered,
"I've heard a lot about you."
"Hopefully good," Zelgadiss answered with a slight
smile.
"So what brings you out here, Zel?" Lina asked him
curiously.
"Phil was a little worried about Amelia," Zelgadiss
explained, "he patiently waited as long as he could
then sent me out to try and find her."
"I'm so sorry to make everyone worry," Amelia said a
bit sheepishly.
Zelgadiss put one of his hands over hers, squeezing
gently. "He understands, I think," he comforted her.
He looked at her curiously, "What happened exactly,
though?"
"It's not too complicated," Amelia shrugged, "I
tracked down where the slaver's were snatching girls
and went unarmed, gambling that they didn't know who I
was."
"And..." Lina prompted, always enjoying hearing a
story.
"They hit me with a sleep spell when I was unready,"
Amelia confessed, "or else I would have dealt with the
miscreants then. They transported me to their camp
some distance away and woke me, expecting me to be
frightened and docile."
"She wasn't," Lina supplied with a grin,
Zelgadiss raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
Naga smiled slightly as she said, "Lina and I had
broken into the bandit camp chasing a different group
of criminals when we stumbled upon the slave auction
going on in their headquarters."
Amelia was blushing faintly as she said, "I started
fighting back as soon as I awakened, and I guess the
sounds of battle drew Lina and Naga to where I was."
"Together we made pretty short work of the slavers and
bandit leaders," Lina said cheerfully, "and later I
razed the camp to the ground with a Dragon Slave."
Zelgadiss' eyes widened just slightly, "I heard a
rumor about that, but when I heard the bit about the
giant statue of you in the wreckage I thought they
were lying."
"The statue was Naga's idea," Amelia said impishly.
Naga shrugged, her large breasts bouncing a bit under
her simple tunic. "A variation on the stone golem
spell," she explained, "Lina is the one among us with
a reputation as a bandit slayer so I thought it might
be good to use that to our advantage."
"Not to mention how it helps my reputation," Lina
added smugly.
"Now that's the Lina I know," Zelgadiss chuckled.
Lina just stuck her tongue out at him.
Zelgadiss looked over at Naga thoughtfully, studying
the woman. She seemed a unusual individual, a magician
yet carrying that impressive looking sword with her
and dressing in such a conservative manner. "If you
don't mind my asking," he said, "how did you meet
Lina?"
Naga smiled slightly, "It's a long story." Lina and
Naga sketched in their background, explaining the tale
of the enchanted mirror and their meeting again some
years after. A bit about their next few adventures
followed, along with some of their escapades with
Amelia.
"The only thing that bothers me," Amelia murmured as
they drank cups of ale with the remains of breakfast,
"is how... regular these attacks are."
"You think someone is targeting the group," Zelgadiss
mused, "or one of your number?"
"Could be one or both," Lina frowned, "we've all made
enemies, at one time or another."
"True enough," Amelia agreed, "which is why we need to
continue on to Saillune as quickly as possible. There
we'll be safe and can consider our next move."
"And Phil can try to find your sister," Naga added
softly.
"Huh?" Zelgadiss blinked.
"The woman that Naga is a reversed copy of may or may
not be Amelia's elder sister," Lina explained to him
helpfully.
Zelgadiss blinked as he looked between Amelia and Naga
thoughtfully. "That's going to be a very interesting
family reunion," he finally murmured.
"Hey!" Naga and Amelia protested together.
Surprisingly Lina reached out to put her hand over
Naga's, squeezing it comfortingly and the taller woman
blushed, looking away.
'We'll isn't that interesting,' Zelgadiss noted.
To be continued...
Note: I'm spelling Zelgadiss like this because that's
how the official novel spells it. If that's wrong let
me know and I'll correct it later.
Onwards to Part 15
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