The city was bustling as was typical of major port towns. There were numerous venders and dealers lining the streets as they made their way into town. The bright colors and loud sounds of music filled the air with the merryness of a festival. The four companions made their way through the melee, into the harbor area. They paused there to take in the large view of the ocean spreading out beneath them like a vast expanse of oblivion.
"My my...." Lina murmured in half awe. "That's a rare sight."
They'd finished their journey to the shore, and it had only taken them an entirety of two weeks, with some stopovers that had caused them delay en-route. Most of the way their thoughts had been filled with Xelloss' warnings.... And questions about why the Trickster hadn't showed up since then. It was odd, and also a puzzle they had wish to solve.
The group made their way to the information stand of the contest rules, and obtained some information about it, then retired to a tavern to talk it over. The contest went as follows. There were many unexplored areas offshore that many ships desired to go to. However, there was many risky things to deal with, from sea serpents, to lost triangles. Therefore, any warriors, magic-users, and mercenaries were being asked to go and aide the ships in their quest. The prize for being the first ship back with information and actual evidence of existing new territories, got 100,000 in gold. That was enough to spur them on.
And so the four explorers rapidly ate their four course meal and boarded their ship to set sail for the undiscovered countries....... For a price.....
The sea was calm and peaceful as they set out, but as the days went by, the voyage became more and more choppy.... Sure enough, on the fifth day out of port, they woke to find the skies overcast with a greenish yellow hue, and whitecaps frothing over the railing of the ship. Unfortunately.... This only made Zelgadis greener than he already was.
Lina peered ahead into the thick yellowish fog, a deep frown on her face. "This is very strange..." she muttered to herself.
Gourry came up beside her. "What's wrong Lina?"
She sighed. "This isn't a natural storm..... I have a very negative feeling...."
He scratched his head. "You think it's magical?"
"Perhaps."
He shrugged. "So what's the worst that can happen out here?" He gestured around. "There's nothing to crash on."
Lina sweatdropped. "Well, no, but we could sink and drown you know."
"Oh... right..."
Sure enough, to her suspicions, the wind began to pick up, and from there forward the ride became extremely rough. The boat rocked up and down more than they'd thought possible, and the skies threatened with thunder and flickers of lightning. The captain was out on deck and pacing to and fro worriedly. Lina approached him. "Oi, what's going on?"
He glanced at her worriedly. "No idea Lina-san..... this storm is unlike any I've seen before, and I've been on the open ocean all 45 years of my life." He looked worried as he stroked his beard. "This isn't natural, I'll tell you that."
Lina frowned worriedly, then a voice cried out suddenly. "Land ho!" and she scurried to the side with the others to peer through the yellow fog.
Sure enough, there was land dead ahead, and what seemed to be a port as well. "We're in luck!" The captain cried out. "Prepare to dock!" He called out, and the shipmates scurried about their way.
However, Lina still remained doubtful, with a wary look on her face. "What's wrong Lina-san." Amelia piped up worriedly. "You look worried."
"Well.... Isn't this all just a bit too convenient?" She asked quietly. "I mean, first this strange fog, then a port appearing in the middle of nowhere...."
"You're right..." Zelgadis added quietly from the side. "It is suspicious."
The ship meanwhile had docked by the wooden pier, and there was no one about in sight as they began to exit the ship. The weird fog still hung shroudingly about, and the minute that Lina set foot on the dock, she got a very bad vibration down her spine. "I don't like this...." She muttered to herself.
Suddenly, through the still silent air, a piercing scream of agony and anguish bit through the surrounding area, but still from a distance, as if whoever was in pain was far away...... They looked around with worry and sudden fear on their faces at that..... Lina exchanged glances with the other three, and their eyes reflected their worry equally. "This is just too weird... let's get out of here."
Amelia glanced back into the fog as the other three began to head back to the ship. "Wait Lina-san. Shouldn't we see who is in trouble?" Her eyes were worried, but shone true with justice. "It would be wrong to leave someone like that!"
Lina exchanged glances with Zelgadis and Gourry, then glanced at the captain and crew who were off towards the shore looking around. "Well.... We're not leaving anytime soon..." She said quietly. "I suppose we should check it out....after all, there might be a reward!" Everyone sweatdropped.
"Right! Let's go then!" Amelia exclaimed and shot up into the air with a ray wing casting.
Lina sighed and shrugged, then grabbed Gourry and followed, with Zelgadis in the rear. They flew over the trees through the fog, keeping low to be able to see where they were going. Before long however, they burst out of the fog and the trees, to see a volcano rising high above them, but apparently dormant, as there was an enormous palace built atop the peak of it..... but what a sight it was. The entire palace was black, with jagged spikes and towers that were angular and sharp.... It was a very foreboding sight, despite the bright sunshine that poured down making the green emerald grass shine out on the hillside. They landed, to get their bearings on the surrounding countryside, and do some thinking. Lina scratched her head. "This place gives me the creeps....." As she was about to continue, another shrill pain filled scream that sent shivers of terror down their spines ripped forth from the castle once again. Loud and filled with the emotions of one in complete agony and merciless torture.......
They looked at each other, and wordlessly began to hike up the mountainside, keeping low against the craggy rocks that dotted the incline. They reached the top, and peered forward to the foreboding gates that rose high and spiked into the sky. There standing at the gate was a gigantic pair of wolves, their fur as black as night and their eyes slitted yellow gold...... The gateway had an enormous relief carved on it in gold, of a wolf and written below it......
"Juu-ou-sama....." Lina muttered under her breath. "Welcome to Wolf Pack Island...."
There was complete silence for a long while, then Gourry scratched his head. "Who's Ju-ou-sama?"
There was twitching slightly as the three others facefaulted, then Lina jumped up and throttled Gourry across the head. "Jellyfish brains! The BEASTMASTER! Greater Beast Zelas Metallium, only one of the five Dark Lords!" She hissed in a low voice to avoid detection from the keen ears of the wolves. "You idiot."
He rubbed his head. "Oh..."
"How are we going to get in, and DO we want to get in?" Zelgadis asked quietly.
Amelia looked upwards at the foreboding structure. "We have to help that person in pain..."
"You do realize that we'd probably be in worse danger if we went up there, and also.... Remember that we were brought here under odd circumstances..." He reminded her gently. "The Beastmaster may be expecting us..."
Lina scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Yes.... That's possible, but why? What does he want with us?" Zel shrugged wordlessly in response, and Lina sighed. "Well, we've come this far." She grinned. "Might as well go all the way." And with that she crept up towards the structure cautiously hugging the rocks.
Zel's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Are you nuts? You're just going to walk right up there?" He hissed in a low voice, but she was already standing and walking straight for the wolf guards boldly. The other three sweatdropped, but grudgingly followed her.
Lina strode straight up to the two wolves, all the while with a smile on her face to match their dangerous growls and sharp teeth. "Hi there! My companions and I would like an audience with Ju-ou if it's not too much trouble."
The two wolves eyed her with some surprise at her boldness, and then began laughing outright. "You're a brave one, human." One said in a low gravely voice. "Who are you?"
"Lina Inverse, the powerful and beautiful sorceress." She stated with a bold smirk.
They once again seemed slightly surprised. "Oh, she's expecting you." The other wolf said in a lighter voice than the other. "Follow me." And with that the wolf turned and began walking across the bridge over the deep ravine bordering the palace. Lina strode strongly after it, and the other three cautiously followed, their eyes watching the other wolf, who regarded them with a slight smirk and a hungry gleam in it's eyes. Needless to say, they walked quicker to catch up with Lina.
They entered the front gate, through the dark ominous entryway into the palace, and through the blood red velvet carpeted hall to a room with double doors that stood high closed before them. The wolf stopped outside and turned to Lina. "You may enter."
Lina went up and slowly pushed the door open, and the others followed her as she boldly stepped forward into the large chamber. There before them was a luxurious velvet couch surrounded by foods and wines, and seated upon the couch, a slender dark skinned lady with pale hair, smoking a long cigarette in a holder casually. In her other hand she held a slender delicate wine glass filled with deep red wine. She smiled, and that smile was enough to send shivers down their spines, and gestured with a gold bangled hand for them to approach. "Welcome to my domain Lina Inverse." She said in a silken voice. "I hope I am not inconveniencing you by inviting you here?" Her slender eyebrow raised in question, that implied it to be in agreement with her.
Lina stepped up to the bottom of the stairs and folded her arms. "What do you want with us Ju-ou?" She asked boldly, her eyes locked on the Beastmaster's own.
Ju-ou looked slightly impressed at her show of boldness, and sat up, her white gauzy silk sliding around her body and moving like liquid. "Direct aren't we?"
Lina simply smiled. "I tend to get to the point quickly."
"Hmm, so I've noticed." She stood up, her slender high spikes clicking as she walked down the stairs. "Xelloss has told me quite a bit about you, I should have expected you to be exactly as he described you." She held out a hand in invitation of peace.
Lina warily shook hands with her. "Xelloss? You know him?"
The Beastmaster laughed almost merrily. "Know him? Of course I do, I'm his mistress." She smiled in amusement.
Zel clenched his hand tightly behind Lina. "So... you're the one he works for..."
She turned her calm gaze to him. "Yes." A cruel smile lit her face. "And I've heard quite a bit about the hot tempered chimera." She strode towards him slowly, taking a sip of her wine. "It still baffles me why you dislike my Priest so much for one simple event to which he truthfully executed with you."
This only made Zel angrier, but he hid it well. "You are biased."
"As are you." She shot back with a half smile before turning back to Lina. "You certainly do match his descriptions."
Lina frowned. "Where is Xelloss anyway? We haven't seen him for quite some time now...." She had suddenly realized this, and it made her only more suspicious.
The Beastmaster shrugged. "That is of no importance to you." She emptied her glass. "As to why you are here, I have some business to discuss with you." She smiled coldly leaving a dark stain on their impressions of her. "But that can wait, you are my guests for your duration here, and I would love the opportunity to chat with the famous Lina Inverse and company." She gestured, and a tall slender young man appeared beside her bowing slightly. "Take our guests to their chambers and make them comfortable." She smiled at them. "I will see you for supper." And with that she vanished.
The young man bowed slightly. "This way." And he led them down a hallway.
Lina in the meantime was frowning to herself. She was very suspicious of the woman, and even more so now that she had the feeling that they were being stalled or warmed up for something....... As they entered their rooms and looked around the glorious apartments that were more spectacular than anything they'd seen before, her suspicions only grew more....
The four were gathered in Lina's room, sitting and discussing events. "What do you think about the Beastmaster Zel?" Lina asked cautiously.
"I don't trust her." He said flatly. "She's wily and cunning, and she's up to something."
Lina nodded slightly. "I agree...."
"I dunno, she doesn't seem that bad." Gourry said flopping down on the soft bed. "Look at how she's treating us! This is great! And did you see the huge bathtub back there?" He babbled excitedly. "It's bigger than my room!"
Lina rolled her eyes. "Gourry.... Of course you'd think she's nice." She sighed. "How about you Amelia?"
The young princess frowned. "She seems nice, but there were those screams.... And why wouldn't she tell us about Xelloss-san? She evaded your question Lina-san."
Lina blinked in slight surprise. "You're right, she did." She frowned. "Hm... what are they up to?"
As if to back up their suspicious, yet another scream flew through the air, painful and powerful, seeming to throb like a heartbeat through the castle walls...... They all shivered. "That's it... come on." Lina stood. "I can't stand the thought of having to sleep and being woken up by something like that!" She gritted her teeth.
The others sweatdropped. "Well... her heart's straight even if her logic is flawed..." Amelia murmured.
They slowly crept out of the room, and peered around looking for anyone who might see them. Finding no one, they slowly began to walk down the hall in one direction, not sure where they were going, but knowing they had to find a down staircase. The hallway they walked down ended, and to their luck there was a staircase headed down. They cautiously made their way down, to find themselves in another layer of the castle, then another, and another as they followed the small side stairs down. Soon enough, they found themselves on a stone floor, dark and dismal. There was a thick door blocking the last floor down, and so they cautiously picked it and entered the dungeon area sure enough. "These old castles are all built alike..." Lina muttered.
They made their way into the dungeon, closing the door after them, and heard sounds from deeper in. It sounded like the Beastmaster..... they crept forward in the shadows, carefully concealing themselves, and approached the far cell where the voices came from. The door was ajar, and they slipped into the adjacent cell where they could hear everything clearly without being seen.
"You amuse me....." She was saying. "No matter what I do to you, you never break!" A cold laugh. "How long will you last? You know, all these thousands of years, I never grow tired of playing with you my sweet." Sounds of a kiss and chains rattling. "Ah, cold! I'm offended!" The sound of a whip striking someone hard. "You will learn or die, one or the other." Another hit. "Hm... well, I tire of these feats.... Perhaps something more drastic my sweet?" A low cold laugh. "I know, I haven't had a certain delicacy in a long time!" The sound of a knife being drawn from a sheath. "What do you think? Will you yield, or shall I separate your valuables from you?"
They heard a low throaty growl. "Screw you."
A cold hearty laugh. "Well if you wanted to, you need but ask!" But then there was a low grunting sound, followed by a slight whimper and a delighted hiss from the Beastmaster, and then silence. The four shrunk back then as the light clicking sound of her heels were heard, then the turning of a key and clanking of a door, followed by her retreating footsteps.
After a long time, they slowly stood up and crept out of the cell, peering around cautiously, finding no one around. They then slowly walked to the cell next to them, to find the door was double cast iron and had no windows for the cell that seemed entirely devoid of them as well. They carefully tried picking the lock, but it proved harder than before, and so Lina was reduced to having to use magic to fry the inner workings, and twist the lock off. When it fell, Lina then carefully pushed the door open, using a lightning spell to see as they entered the pitch black room. What lay before them was a sight that froze their blood and sent shivers rolling up and down their spines....
Hanging by shackled wrists cuffed in iron chains from the ceiling, bloodied and scarred, hung a man barely discernible to them. Fresh blood dripped and ran down his legs and puddled onto the floor where the Beastmaster had recently done her work. Deep cuts from the whip adorned his back, arms, legs, and chest. Scars that showed how cruelly he'd been treated were around his stomach and chest where she'd slit his belly numerous times...... the man's head was bowed forward in unconsciousness, his hair matted and dirty with crusted blood. The fact that it was the last person they'd expected to see, was what frightened them so much.......
It was Xelloss....
How they could tell from the amount of damage they didn't know, but they were certain it was him...... Lina walked up to him and gently lifted his head, revealing further injuries. His face had deep scars on it, showing what she'd done to him. Not only had she seemed to have broken his nose more than once, she'd done other damage like damaging his eyes. Lina felt her stomach churn, and she glanced away to Amelia who was hugging Zelgadis and whimpering slightly. "Can you two heal him?" Lina asked quietly.
Zel glanced at Xelloss, feeling sick. He hated the damned Mazoku, but seeing him like this made his blood boil.... "I'll try." He said in response.
Amelia nodded and immediately walked up to him and began healing, and Zel joined in soon afterwards. There was complete silence as the two worked, and Lina watched silently with Gourry standing guard at the door watchfully. How could he have gotten into his mistress' displeasure? The last time they'd seen him he seemed as jovial as always.....
The two finished their healing after several long minutes, and Xelloss looked much better, having been restored and the scars gone. Zelgadis drew his sword and cut the chains with one quick swipe and Xelloss began to fall to the floor, but Amelia caught him, staggering under his deadweight. Zelgadis picked him up then and laid him down on the floor, the Mazoku still unconscious. Lina knelt down beside him and shook him gently. "Oi, Xelloss..... wake up..."
He didn't move or make a sound for a long time, and she glanced up to see Gourry still watching carefully. She turned back to Xelloss and shook him again, and this time received a low moan and flutter of the eyelids. They were rewarded with his eyes slowly sliding open, and Lina smiled slightly down into them, then froze.
They weren't purple....... They were blue....
His eyes blinked again, then focused on Lina looking forlorn and lost. "L.....Lina....san..." He whispered almost inaudibly.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's us. What the hell happened to you?"
He opened his mouth to respond when there was a low hiss from Gourry. "We better get out of here! Someone's coming!"
Lina swung her head around and heard the slight clicking of the Beastmaster's heels. "Shit, ok, let's go." She stood up and glanced into the hallway with Gourry as Zelgadis tried to help Xelloss stand to his feet, with not very much success as he hung limply trying to get his feet to work.
However, by this point Gourry was ducking back into the cell as the Beastmaster approached, and Lina pressed herself against the wall, Amelia joining her which only left Zelgadis with Xelloss exposed in the center of the cell as the Beastmaster rounded the corner.
She strode in and stopped, a cruel smile on her mouth where the slight residue of blood was left on her lips. "Greetings once again, Lina Inverse."
Lina stepped away from the shadows behind the Beastmaster and approached her cautiously. "You knew we were coming here didn't you?"
"But of course." She smiled cruelly and glanced at Xelloss, whose gaze was locked with her own, a burning hatred in his blue depths. "I knew you'd come for my pet."
Lina exchanged glances with Zel who was just as puzzled as she, then turned back to the Beastmaster. "Why are you doing this to him? I thought he was your servant."
"Servant? No, I never said that Lina my dear." She merely smiled wider.
Lina frowned. "What are you playing at now? You just said you were his mistress."
She nodded. "Yes, I did. But he's not a servant my dear. The more proper term would be...." She glanced over at Xelloss with a feral smile. "A slave."
At that, Lina's eyes shot over to Xelloss who looked as if he wanted to tear the Beastmaster's head off with his eyes, though his face was impassive. "A slave?" Lina said slowly. "Ok, whatever. I never understood you Mazoku anyway." She turned back to the woman before her. "You baited us though."
"But of course. You found out information that you weren't allowed to see. I made sure that you found your way here so I could ensure that it didn't spread."
Lina frowned in confusion. "Information?" Then it dawned on her. "You mean that book."
"Precisely."
What's going on here? Lina thought with a furtive glance back to Xelloss, who looked about ready to pass out again. "What does that have to do with you? It said most don't know about them anymore, so what harm would it do?"
"Hmm... well that's just the point my dear. No one knows about them anymore. It should stay that way, else bad things are likely to happen." She raised a hand towards Lina. "Sorry about this darling, but you have to die." And a bright red light began to form at the end of her palm, and then it streaked toward them at lightning speed.
Lina had no time to react, nor time to duck as she saw the light headed towards her. She had time to think 'oh shit', and that was about it. However, this was not the day that the famous Lina Inverse was to die on. Instantly, a brilliant light appeared around the group, and within a heartbeat's blink, they were gone.
Needless to say, Zelas was NOT at all happy...