Zelgadis woke up in the darkness, but didn't move. He listened trying to find out what had woken him. He had a feeling something was wrong...The other two were sleeping just a few metters to his right. They had been traveling together for almost a week now, they had passed Ryona without any problems and were now headed for Qwalt, a city to the east. He supposed Shayla and Kara were a couple, but he never talked to them about it, because then he would have to tell some of his own love experiences...and he certainly didn't want to do that.
He had tried to find out exactly what they wanted Lina Inverse 'Sorceress Supreme' for, but they had always somehow managed to evade the question, saying 'he would found out soon enough' or that they would explain it later, when they found Lina.
He heard Kara and Shayla sitting up and saw them fall into well practiced attack-positions. He followed swiftly.
"Wolves." Said Kara.
"18." Said Shayla.
Great! thought Zelgadis.
Zel cast a quick light spell and saw the wolves all around him. He could also see Kara had already drawn his sword and blinked twice when he saw that Shayla was magically materializing a 2 meter long staff, taking it out of a jewel on the back of her left hand he had never noticed before.
At that moment a wolf jumped at Zel from his left, and was neatly sliced in two by Kara.
That could have been a fatal distraction, Zel scolded himself. "Thanks." He told Kara.
Zelgadis casted some fireball and incinerated 3 wolves, Kara sliced 2 others.
Zel turned around to see how the others were doing. Shayla was doing okay, keeping the wolves of bay with her staff. Kara was stabbing a particularly vicious gray wolf with his sword....Another wolf was silently crawling towards him from behind, and Kara hadn't seen him.
"FLARE ARROW!!"
Kara turned around to see his now torched would-be attacker.
"Thanks!" he said and smiled.
"This is getting annoying...." commented Shayla.
She looked at Kara, and he nodded. He took Zelgadis by one arm and raywinged them into the air.
"Whaaaa...???"
"STONE SPIKER!!!"
Zelgadis looked down and saw Shayla slam her hand into the ground while all the ground around her began to rise in an uncontrolled fashion, crushing the remaining wolves.
Zelgadis and Kara decended beside her.
"That should do it...." said Shayla
"I didn't know you could do magic..." said Zel recovering from his initial shock.
"You never asked!" answered Shayla in a manner that somehow reminded him of Xelloss.
"It is safer for you not to know to much about us, the less you know, the safer you are, Zelgadis my friend." Answered Kara not meeting his eyes.
"But....did you just call me 'Zelgadis my friend' ?"
"I saved your life, you saved mine, isn't that what friend are for?" Kara said, now looking at him, with a smile on his face.
"I......Ah.....yes but....What the heck, why not?"
As if on cue, the sun started to rise at the moment and they decided to start walking.