The days slowly ticked by as they trekked across the continent. Ameila slowly grew bigger as the days passed. It was several weeks after the adventure at Mount Clinton that Lina called for a meeting.
"According to the map, the next town is Herdol. We'll have to sit there until the baby's born."
"No we don't." Amelia said. "I'm fine. We can make it to Zefila. If we sit in Herdol, we'll be there until after winter."
"There's no choice Amelia." Lina replied. "Look at you, its almost impossible for you to sit in the saddle."
"What if we got a cart in Herdol?" Conrad asked.
"Already thought of that. Herdol's a religious settlement. They have rules about dealing with strangers."
"Rules which apparently cover selling carts to strangers?"
"Yep. Carts are valuable up here in the mountains. They'll be asking a steep price and Sailoon's credit is no good here."
Conrad was looking at a small wooden dowel. Then he smiled. "I'm going to need some colors."
The next Morning, Conrad, Damon, Lina and Gourry headed into town. When they got there, Conrad headed straight for the town square where he set up a sign that read. "I will show you something amazing for only two coppers!"
It didn't take long for a group of workmen to approach.
"What's this amazing thing?" One of them asked.
"Two Coppers." Conrad said smoothly.
"I wanna see the amazing thing first."
"No Coppers, no thing."
Grumbling, the workmen walked on.
"They'll be back." Conrad predicted. Sure enough, they returned a few minutes later.
"Alright." The man said, handing over two coppers. "Now what's this amazing thing?"
"This." Conrad held up the wooden dowel. On it were six different colors.
"What's so amazing about that?"
"You'll see in a moment." Conrad held the side of the dowel with the colors towards the man and turned his head away. "Now then sir. Pick any of the six colors but do not tell me what you picked. Have you picked a color?"
"Yeah."
"Very good sir. Now watch closely." Conrad twirled the dowel in his hand several times. When he was done the side of multiple colors was one single color.
"Is that the color you picked sir?"
"I'll be a Mazoku. It is. That is amazing."
"The sign does not lie sir. Have a good day now." As the day progressed, Conrad continued to rake in the coppers as word of the stick passed.
Those who examined it swore that it was an ordinary piece of wood, one individual going so far as to fetch the town priest, who after examining it, concluded that he could find nothing evil or magical about it.
As evening progressed slowly towards them, They gathered around the pile of coppers and began to count, only faintly registering the sound of boots on brick.
"And just what do you think you're doing Lina?"
"Go away Nahga," Lina snapped, her attention on the money. "I'm busy." A few moments later, the coins fell from Lina's suddenly limp fingers as she realized what she said. "Nahga?"
"Yes Lina?"
"Nahga!" Lina launched herself to her feet and embraced the tall, black haired woman. "How have you been?!" She drew back as she realized Nahga was wearing a black doublet buttoned up to the neck, leather breeches, and thigh high boots. The doublet was trimmed with silver, and there was a sword at her waist. But that wasn't the most striking change. The other woman's hair was extremely short and an evil looking scar ran from the corner of her mouth up to her ear. "Nahga, what happened?"
"Its Gracia now." The other woman said in a tone of both relief and regret. "Its been a long time Lina." She said, making a curious gesture with her right hand.
"Yeah, it has." Lina said, as she noticed men armed with brutal looking pikes closing in.
"Lina Inverse." Gracia said, drawing herself up. "As Chief Constable and Magistrate of the Most Holy City Herdol, I must place you and your associates under arrest for violating Article two section five, paragraph three of the Code of Law. Performing Black Magic."
"What?" Lina half screeched. "Nahga, have you lost your mind?!" The other woman said nothing, but her eyes were filled with pain.
"Stay your hand Magistrate." Came the voice of the village priest.
"But the law - "
"Stay your hand." Said the priest, a note of iron in his voice. "Have you any proof that black magic was performed within Herdol?"
"Well no Father, but Lina Inverse is a well known Practitioner of Black Magic."
"But she is also a friend." The priest said, making it a statement instead of a question.
"Yes."
"And does being a practitioner of Black Magic automatically make her a violator of holy law? Especially if there's no proof?"
"No Father." Gracia said.
"Good." The priest turned to Lina.
"Ms Inverse, as the Duchess of Taranal, do you give your solemn word that you have not knowingly practiced Black Magic within the sovereignty of Herdol?"
"Yes Father." Lina replied.
"Good." The priest said. "Gracia, will excuse me and the Duchess for a few minutes?"
"Of course." Gracia turned on her heel and walked away.
"Walk with me Your Grace." The priest invited. Lina nodded and they processed out of the square at a leisurely pace.
"What I'm about to tell you, Your Grace,"
"Please, call me Lina."
"Lina then. What I'm about to tell you violates canon law, but she has spoken of you fondly and I believe you can be trusted to keep your mouth shut." Lina nodded her agreement as the priest continued. "From what I can gather, Gracia has been here nearly two years. I wasn't here when she arrived, but I understand she was in bad shape."
"What happened?"
"As I understand it, she spent many years wandering when one day a gang of minor demons," He paused. "let's just say they humiliated her." Lina felt her stomach churn. "And then," He continued. "Scarred her as a mark that they had been with her. Much like notches on a bedpost."
"Oh Nahga..." Lina whispered.
"My predecessor was something of a disgrace. He heaped further...ah...indignities on her all the while putting her through hell as a means of 'absolution.'" Lina stopped and leaned on a water barrel, trying to make the movement look casual, but it was actually to support her because her legs suddenly felt as though they were made of jelly.
"Finally, one of the braver souls sent word to the Citadel. I was sent to deal with the matter."
"Citadel?"
"The Center of our faith." The priest said, giving a perfectly logical answer without actually giving anything away. "I had my Predecessor sent back."
"So he can be dispatched to some Monastery?" Lina demanded, the nausea suddenly replaced with anger and a powerful need to hurt the man who had so wounded her friend and the demons who had violated her.
"Hardly. What he did has violated our most sacred laws regarding the behavior of the priesthood. The punishment for that is burning at the stake at the very least."
"How appropriate." Lina murmured, a smile on her face.
"I like to think so." The priest replied as they started walking again. "I've been spending the past six months undoing the damage he did, its been slow going."
"I can imagine." Lina said as they emerged into the square. "I appreciate your telling me this." The priest nodded. "And," she continued. "Would you know anyone in town willing to sell a cart for the price of about a hundred coppers? Most of our party is at a campsite outside of town in the hills. One of them is a pregnant woman and she's too far along to ride a horse."
"Of course. In fact, Gracia and I will bring the cart and some supplies. I imagine you and your friends have been on the road for some time." "Many thanks Father." Lina said as they approached the group by the fountain.
"Of course. Gracia, take some men and these coppers and run over to Gartah the baker. Tell him you wish to purchase his old delivery wagon."
"Yes Father." She said, and ran off.
"And Father, I hope you won't be too offended if we go back to the camp right now. They're probably worried about us."
"Of course."
"We're about half a mile up the road in the trees." The priest nodded and the four of them headed for the gate.
When they reached the campsite, the knights were in the act of building a cooking fire and setting up a roasting spit.
"We caught a deer." One of them said by way of explanation.
"Good." Lina said. "But roast it later. We're having guests. The town priest and the Magistrate are coming for dinner and they're bringing a wagon and some supplies."
"That's great." One of the younger knights said.
"What's wrong?" Zelgadis said, seeing the look in Lina's eyes.
"I want all of you to watch what you say, the priest is a wily old fox and the Magistrate is an old friend of mine. Where's Ameila?"
"In her tent, taking a nap."
"Wake her up and tell her."
It was about an hour or so later that the wagon arrived, driven by a burly man with thick, muscled arms and a handlebar mustache.
"This is my old friend Nahga-excuse me, Gracia, and the town priest, Father," She looked at the man as she realized she had never gotten his name.
"Father Thyrr will do nicely." Said the priest with a smile. "The fellow on the wagon is Dankin, the blacksmith."
"Welcome, everyone." Amelia said, emerging from her tent. Then her eyes fell on Gracia. "You!" She shrieked, her hand going for her sword. "You have the nerve to still be alive after what you did?!" Ameila started forward, sputtering curses.
"Hold on a moment." Lina, said, grabbing Amelia's arm. "You know her?"
"I should," Amelia said between clenched teeth. "She's my sister."