Amelia trudged wearily along the faint path through the forest, following Lina and the strange young woman who was acting as their guide. Behind her strode Amethyst, with Gourry bringing up the rear. The young princess of Saillune was surrounded by people she trusted, people she considered friends. Still, she felt horribly vulnerable.
The dark, choking feeling that permeated the atmosphere of this land was getting steadily worse. Amelia could barely stand it; every step forward was difficult for her. Everything about this land felt indescribably wrong, and as they approached the castle, that sense of wrongness got increasingly more powerful.
Even the strange plants of Therilon no longer seemed to be thriving in their country's oppresive atmosphere. The trees here were thin and unhealthy, unlike the startlingly robust vegetation the travelers had been walking through for days. I guess even the plants can't stand being so near the castle, thought Amelia with a shiver. We don't even need to clear a path anymore.
The animal life of Therilon was becoming ever more scarce and scrawny, just like the vegetation. Even the monsters which had regularly been attacking Amethyst, screaming mercilessly for her death, had for some reason virtually disappeared. Only a couple had burst out from behind trees and bushes since the day's journey had began. Maybe the way Amethyst defeated that... that Wyrm creature scared them all off, decided the young princess. It certainly scared me.
If Amelia looked straight ahead, she'd be able to see the dread castle of Therilon; she'd be able to see its looming grey towers encrusted with half-dead ivy, see the way it greedily absorbed the mid-morning light, see unhealthy little clouds scudding unnaturally above its sky-scraping turrets. Instead, Amelia chose to stare at the ground, or warily scan the forest for potential signs of attacking monsters. She avoided all sight of the vile structure to which she and her friends were coming closer with every step.
Amelia's restless thoughts turned to the guide who was leading them all forward with unflappable confidence. Her name was Melody; it was a fairly ordinary name, for what was turning out to be a not-so-ordinary person.
Oh, she looked normal enough. Her chestnut-brown hair had been tied back with a floppy ribbon, undoubtedly to keep it out of her face. She was wearing a long blue skirt and a faded blouse that had seen better days, and the ensemble was topped off admirably by a pair of hefty leather workboots. Add to that a cheerful, pleasant demeanour, and Amelia found herself faced with someone who wouldn't look at all out of place on the streets of any ordinary city.
What wasn't visible, however, was Melody's complete and utter lack of fear. She was, as Amelia and her friends had come to learn over the past night, absolutely fearless. Not just fearless in the sense that all normal Therilonians were fearless, either. Normal Therilonians trembled at the thought of approaching the infamous Castle; Melody had agreed to lead the travellers there in a second. "Oh, sure! I've been up to the castle myself lots of times," she'd said eagerly. "And I haven't been eaten yet! Just nibbled on a little... damn annoying, those wraiths. And I'm pretty sure you guys'll survive it all just fine. I mean, you've lasted this far, haven't you? Here, have a cookie." Amelia had a deep-seated suspicion that not even the horrendous roar of a Wyrm could faze this young lady. "I must have some long-distant royal blood in me," Melody had said once, as if that explained everything. Maybe it does; Princess Amethyst doesn't seem to be afraid of anything, either....
Right now, as if unaffected by the dread castle's steadily growing aura, the Therilonian girl was humming a happy tune, extremely off-key, as she hiked through the jungle. For one heart-rending moment, Melody's song acquired harmony when a twisted creature screamed shrilly, leaping out from behind a rock and swiping one crabby claw at her. She calmly ducked, giving Lina the chance to fireball the monster into oblivion, and continued with her joyful tune as if nothing had happened.
As Amelia stepped carefully around the monster's charred corpse, part of her was glad that they were finally coming to the end of this voyage. The thought of more weeks worth of treacherous jungles and danger-filled wastelands was rather frightening, and with luck, all the answers to Amethyst's problems would be found right there in the castle.
Another part of her, however, desperately wanted to turn back at once, and return to Melody's little underground house on the outskirts of Jay and Rohandon's village. As they had left the house earlier that morning, those two young men had made it quite clear that they didn't want to see the newcomers leave, either. Rohandon especially had made it clear that he didn't want "the lovely Amethyst" to court death by going to the castle. Poor Amethyst, thought Amelia, remembering how the loudmouthed young man had latched onto her violet-haired friend. That Rohandon guy sure was being annoying. Though it was kind of nice of him, offering to let her stay at his place and all, but she sure seemed glad to leave him behind....
All too soon, the forest gave way to a large clearing that surrounded the castle. Even the hardiest trees and bushes couldn't stand to grow so close to the huge, craggy building. Amelia did the best she could to avoid looking at her destination, but staring down at a few strands of half-dead grass was the only real alternative, and a boring one at that. Even the unhealthy grass quickly gave way to greyish, muddy ground, which surrounded an extensive moat full of scum-covered brown water; not the most inspiring scenery the young princess had ever seen, to be sure.
Melody led her charges around the moat towards the castle's main entrance. The mouldering drawbridge had been lowered, and it lay across the moat, allowing clear passage into the massive stone palace. There's no reason for the drawbridge to be up, Amelia knew. After all, no one's about to invade Therilon and storm the castle anytime soon, are they?
The Therilonian girl, still humming her tuneless song, strode forth boldly onto the drawbridge. Lina followed apace, though with a slight amount of hesitation. Amelia was struck once again by the absurdity of them following someone who most likely wasn't even afraid of her own death. Or that of anyone else. She swallowed her fear, though, and kept walking in Lina's footsteps. I can't back down now. For Amethyst's sake. If I just keep repeating that, I'll be fine....
The moment that Lina's boots touched the wood of the drawbridge, however, the moat trembled and shuddered. All the disgusting water circling the castle seemed to rise up, forming a bulbous, towering mass that leaned high over the wooden bridge. It dripped steaming water onto the panicking travellers, and chortled, a horrible, liquid sound.
Numbly, Amelia prepared to fight once again. With the ease of much recent practice, she gathered magic, as she could tell Lina and Amethyst were doing, intending to release it all in a burst of power should it be necessary. Gourry tensed, sword in hand, ready to launch himself at this watery threat.
But Melody just turned to the mass of filth-laden water, waved, and said cheerfully, "Hi, Mort! How's the weather today?"
Two enormous, watery eyes blinked. "Oh, is that you, Melody?" rumbled a deep and surprisingly cultured voice. The liquid Leviathan drew back, its threatening demeanour suddenly gone. "Sorry. I didn't recognize you. Taking these folks on a tour, are you?"
"Yeah. Trying to look for something, they are."
"Just remember not to let the werespiders get this group," the moat monster said acidly. "They're the filthiest eaters, and they always dump their leftovers into my moat. I tell you, cleaning out the water here is a full-time job...." Without another word, it rapidly sank back down into the moat, filling it once again with scummy water. But nothing could erase the hint of a menacing awareness the deceptively calm water now displayed.
Werespiders? Amelia shuddered. She didn't like the sound of that at all. It brought to mind the conversation they'd had just before leaving the relative safety of Melody's home. "You sure you want to go?" Jay had asked, the very image of concern. "No one's ever returned from the castle before." Melody had immediately spoken up with indignation, saying, "I have!" Jay's rebuttal was scathing. "But you've taken other groups of people up there before, haven't you? And none of them have ever come back." Melody's reply hadn't been particularly reassuring. "Well... you're right. But really, that was their problem, wasn't it?" At that point, Rohandon had launched into histrionics at the thought of "the beauteous Princess Amethyst" being in danger. He seemed to do that every five minutes, Amelia had noticed. But even the thought of "his" Princess being in mortal danger of becoming something's lunch hadn't been enough to persuade him to accompany Amethyst to the castle....
"Well, let's get going!" Melody whisked forward, stepping off the drawbridge and bustling through the forbidding arch of the castle's main entrance. Amelia and her friends followed with considerably less alacrity.
The princess of Saillune was barely a step past the entrance when something hit her like a wall of raw sewage. It feels wrong. Deadly wrong! With a whimper, Amelia tried to back away from the choking, horrific, near-living presence filling the castle's walls, a miasma that filled her lungs with rot and terror at every shuddering breath. One step back - another -
"What are you doing?" demanded an irate Amethyst, as Amelia backed squarely into her.
"I... I can't go in!" she moaned.
"Why not?" snapped an unsympathetic Amethyst, her unyielding presence keeping the younger girl from retreating any further.
Thus prevented from moving backwards, and unable to make herself step forward, Amelia could only stand and watch as Lina and Gourry turned to face her. She saw her own horror mirrored on their faces. But Lina had already forced herself beyond the open doorway, and Gourry, moving forward slowly, had the look of one steeled for an awful yet necessary task.
"It's worse," muttered Lina, her face lined with evident distaste. "Much worse in here than it was outside."
"Yeah," agreed Melody off-handedly, as she stood arms akimbo halfway across the verdant courtyard within. "I guess so. Don't notice it that much anymore, though." She looked vaguely impatient.
"Notice what?" asked Amethyst, sounding thoroughly exasperated. "Let's get a move on!"
But despite her brusque words, she'd placed a comforting hand on Amelia's trembling shoulder. I understand, her reassuring touch seemed to say. If you don't want to go on, I understand. It hinted at a kindness that Amethyst, for some reason, couldn't put into words.
Amelia hesitated for only a moment before doing her best to put the smothering, noxious atmosphere of Therilon's castle out of her mind. Whoever sent all those monsters after you... whoever sent the Wyrm! That person is still out there, Amethyst. I won't abandon you, now that we're so close to finding the answers. Carried forth by little more than sheer willpower, she took several rapid steps forward, shuddering as waves of filth seemed to wash over her spirit. Ugh. Not even a week-long soak in a hot tub will wash this away.... I didn't think it could possibly get so much worse. I guess I was wrong....
"Finally!" breathed Melody. "Okay, follow me. And don't touch the plants; they've already been fed, and you don't want to spoil their dinners." She started off across the courtyard's flagstones.
As she followed Lina and Gourry into the area enclosed by the castle's towering walls, Amelia was astonished; at least, the part of her that wasn't preoccupied with keeping herself from losing what little breakfast she'd had. Trees, vines, and flowering bushes of all shapes and sizes sprung forth from amazingly overgrown garden plots around the edges of the courtyard. Do these plants thrive on poison? she thought, amazed. I didn't think anything like this could survive here!
While she contemplated the gardens, a sudden movement caught her by surprise. Something exploded out from between two leafy saplings and rammed straight into Gourry. With a wordless yelp, the swordsman was knocked to the ground. Small metal objects seemed to be clattering everywhere. Magic at the ready, Amelia turned to face Gourry's assailant, only to discover both that Lina had beat her to it, and, to her great surprise, that the erstwhile attacker was nothing more than a scrawny young man clutching a trowel.
"Excuse me, excuse me," he mumbled, somehow dodging a furious Lina as he hurriedly picking up the various gardening tools that had scattered across the flagstones when he'd crashed into Gourry. Lina, eventually giving up on the youth, ignored him studiously and turned to dragging Gourry back to his feet. He wheezed painfully for a few seconds, as the wind had been knocked from him, but to Amelia's relief he seemed otherwise fine.
"Ademar!" snapped Melody, glaring at the scruffy youth. "Will you never learn to watch where you're going?"
"Melody? Is that you?" asked the young man, peering vaguely in the general direction of the Therilonian girl, through hanks of shaggy hair that completely covered his eyes. He looked fairly ridiculous to Amelia as he knelt on the flagstones in the midst of a sizeable collection of weeders, hand-rakes, and even a small watering can or two.
"Of course it's me, and if you'd only...."
"Can't talk, can't talk, a fern in Quadrant Two needs me." He gathered all the hardware into his arms with one sweeping motion. Straightening up abruptly, he rushed forward, either not caring about the travellers in his path, or simply not seeing them. Everyone hurried to get out of his way.
Amelia, still not believing the evidence of her own eyes, watched him bustle off to minister to a drooping plant on the other side of the courtyard. Lina turned to Melody and demanded to know, "What's with him?"
"Oh, he's the new Royal Gardener," she answered cheerfully. "Name's Ademar. A bit of an odd one, that. He's one of the few people - besides me, of course - who still comes around to the castle. Took over as gardener a couple years ago, after old Dolph got eaten by one of the shrubs."
After a few seconds, Amelia realized that that news should have had some kind of effect on her. Shouldn't I be horrified or something? After spending so much time in Therilon, however, and after having seen so much, it barely even registered. Except as a reminder to avoid shrubs. She suspected that that was a bad thing....
Uneasiness dogged Lina as she followed the Therilonian guide across the courtyard, through a stone archway into the castle proper, and down corridor after snaking, shadowed corridor.
It wasn't just the fact that every hallway through which she and the others passed seemed to be identical. Each was walled with great blocks of stone, with not a window in sight. They came across the occasional sturdy wooden door, invariably shut tight; judging from the sounds coming from behind some of those doors, that was a good thing.
It wasn't even the little creeping creatures that the sorceress glimpsed out of the corner of her eye, but which disappeared when she tried to get a good look at them. It was futile to even try to get a solid glance at whatever had just scampered across the toe of her boot....
No, what really bothered her was Gourry. When I was in Therilon for the first time, all those months ago, I could scarcely make myself get close enough to the castle to see what it looked like. I couldn't have possibly imagined how much worse the noxious aura would be in here. I can stand it, barely, but watching Gourry trying to pretend it doesn't bother him....
Lina was starting to be seriously worried. He's been like a zombie ever since we got here! If he hadn't been concentrating so hard on surviving this, he'd never have been caught off guard by that gardener guy! She was at a loss as to how to deal with it, though. What can I do? Get him to wait outside? Where another Wyrm might come along and eat him? I think not!
She was angry at herself for not having anticipated this problem. He won't be much help in a fight like this. I can't rely on him anymore. And Amelia must be in pretty bad shape too, I guess... all this concentrated evil must be awful for someone who specializes in white magic. So the only person I can really depend on is myself. And Zel.... The former chimaera, who had taken up the rear, seemed to Lina's disgust to be just as chipper as she'd ever been. Hmmph. You'd think she was strolling down the streets of Saillune or something. I can't believe she doesn't even notice the force of hatred pressing down on us here! If she really is the Lost Princess of Therilon, wouldn't she be more affected by all this crap than us normal people?
"So what exactly are you guys trying to find?" asked Melody suddenly, her voice sounding thin and reedy in the castle's dank, oppressive air. Even so, it was a welcome relief from the relentless sound of boots on stone, and the barely audible chittering and squealing that Lina was almost sure was a figment of her imagination.
The redheaded sorceress thought for a few seconds before replying, "We're not sure."
"Oh."
"But we'll know when we find it."
Melody didn't look too pleased with this, but shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter. There's plenty of time left before sunset; I'm sure you'll come across something useful by then. And if not, there's always tomorrow!"
Lina really didn't like the thought of having to spend another day near the castle. Last night had been bad enough. And the prospect of another sleepless night within walking distance of the foulest presence she'd ever known....
"Why don't I take you to one of the labs?" asked their guide helpfully.
"That sounds promising," said Lina, relieved that their search was finally getting off to a good start.
"There's one just down this...." Melody gestured vaguely towards an upcoming seven-way intersection. "Well, just follow me."
She led the four travellers down another mess of twisting, branching corridors that looked for all the world like those they'd just been passing through, halting in front of an incredibly solid-looking metal door that appeared to be fused into the stone wall. "Here it is!" The door, a sheer plate of silvery metal, stood out; all the other doors lining this short stretch of hallway were wooden.
Here? thought Lina, surprised. She'd assumed that any kind of lab would be located far underground, like most sorcerors' workrooms; she certainly hadn't been expecting to find it on ground level. Well, I'm reasonably sure we're still on ground level....
A hidden catch was released, and the strange door swung open soundlessly. Once she'd followed Melody inside, Lina winced at the bright light flooding the room, and squinted to get a good look at this intensely cluttered chamber. The first thing she noticed, however, had nothing to do with the piles of artifacts and instruments piled up on table after table. Rather, as she glanced from one end of the cavernous space to the other, it struck her that this lab seemed a little larger than it should be.
I'm almost certain that this room alone looks wider than the hallway was! And there were other doors along the hallway, so there must be other rooms next to this one... but how is that possible? She was slightly confused for a second, until she remembered once reading about a kind of spell that accessed the hitherto-unreachable fourth dimension to bypass ordinary three-dimensional notions of space. That confused her even more. But even a small spell like that would take a horrendous amount of power.... Almost unwittingly she considered all the time they'd spent wandering through the castle's hallways, and realized that they'd been walking for a lot longer than the castle's outward size would warrant. Which was a bit worrying, truth be told.
A question from Gourry interrupted Lina's musings. "So what exactly are we looking for, Lina?" She turned, and saw him gazing worriedly at a large pile of sheer junk, just one of many that covered every available surface in the room, including the floor. It was then that a stunned Lina understood the sheer scale of the task that faced them.
"Uh...," she mumbled, stalling for time, "what are we looking for? Something with a connection to Rezo, maybe? His spare staff or something...? No, that's just silly," she admonished herself. "A notebook or a journal might give us some kind of clue of what to look for. Unless...." Like a ray of light, the solution dawned on her. "Zel, you wouldn't happen to suddenly remember anything...?"
Amelia leapt in eagerly. "Maybe something here'll trigger your memory! Maybe you'll remember exactly what happened here fifteen years ago, so we can fix it and make everything like it used to be and then LEAVE!" The mere idea brought a dreamy smile to the young girl's face.
Zelgadis, her brow furrowed in thought, didn't say anything; but she immediately set to fishing through one of the nearby piles of equipment, peering searchingly at each weird piece of hardware as if it alone held the secret to her predicament.
Lina and the others immediately joined the violet-haired girl in her search. The sorceress was astonished at the variety of objects to be found in even the smallest corner of this laboratory. Some were obviously meant to be used for research; there were small test tubes and flasks on every surface, some even containing oddly coloured remnants of unfinished experiments. Large pieces of machinery, their purpose unknowable, could occasionally be found under heaped-up mounds of paper and instruments. Clamps, viewing glasses, and dozens of different types of measuring apparatus were scattered among reams of loose pieces of paper, most covered with equations that made Lina's head hurt just by looking at them.
Mixed in with the scientific stuff were archaic magical items; figurines, medallions, and charms seemed to be hung everywhere, and Lina almost tripped over a crate full of amulets of protection. She stuffed a few of those into the pockets of her cape, just to be on the safe side.
The hours passed with glacial slowness, as Lina slogged through a massive, haphazard jumble of sheer and utter junk. Nothing she found, as she stood hunched over table after creaking table, seemed to have the information she wanted, and most of what she discovered was worthless. However, a few items were memorable, if nothing else: an object that defied all attempts to look at it, visible only as a blur which gave Lina a headache as she tried in vain to focus on it; a suit of armour, buzzing with magical power, and if this armour was in at least twenty different twisted pieces, its former owner must have looked even worse; a little blob of glass, vaguely ressembling a head, that was softly singing in a high, reedy voice with words that sounded eerily familiar but could not quite be understood; and finally, a flat, stiff piece of triangular card, that looked as though it was a corner broken off of a larger square made of its strange, pale material. Weird writing and odd curves covered it; it wasn't Therilonian in origin, since they used the same normal way of writing as everyone else, as far as Lina knew. She'd found it jammed under the leg of a table to keep it from tilting. Lina's attention was snagged, however, by the sizeable, prismatic gemstones embedded in the dry, smooth matrix of the card. These must be starstones! she thought, delighted for the first time that day. Those are really rare! This bit of card is the first really valuable thing I've seen all day.... With a grin, she pocketed it. Might as well get some treasure out of this awful quest while I can.
Straightening up, Lina winced at the crackling sounds produced by her stiff back. Her eyes ached, her feet were sore, the dark presence of Therilon was really wearing on her nerves, and worst of all, she was hungry. Well, she was almost always hungry, so this wasn't much of a change in and of itself.
I wish we'd thought of bringing something to eat..., she thought with a sigh. But we didn't know we'd be here for so long. I just assumed that once we actually got to the castle, everything would fall into place.... She glanced with dismay at the remaining piles of trash to sort through. There weren't many left, thanks to hours of concerted effort by everyone, but each pile represented a few more interminable minutes of searching.
Just how long've we been in this lab, anyway? she wondered, disturbed by the sudden realization that she'd somehow lost all track of time. There were no windows in the lab that led outside, and so there was no way of telling whether the sun was still high in the sky, whether it hadn't yet reached its zenith, whether it was already setting.... But... surely Melody'd say something if night was falling... right? For some reason the thought of staying in the castle throughout the night was less than appealing.
Lina reluctantly went back to work, groaning at the prospect of spending yet more time bent over a pile of knickknacks and failed experiments. It seemed like countless more tedious hours passed before the last pile was shifted and sifted all the way through for any hint of useful information. Now that their self-imposed task was done, the four travellers - as well as Melody, who'd joined in the work to kill time - stood among knee-deep drifts of who-knows-what, wondering what they'd do next.
Suddenly, a large ginger cat slunk out from behind a sofa straining under huge, messy stacks of paper. The bony creature made a beeline for the strangers, twined around Lina's feet, and asked in a clear, precise voice, "Do you happen to have an amulet of protection I could borrow?"
As Lina stared at the creature in astonishment, Melody dismissed it with a wave of one work-hardened hand. "Oh, don't listen to him. That's all he knows how to say. Got caught in an experiment one day; you know how it is." The cat abandoned Lina and sidled up to Gourry, repeating the same sentence as it went. He bent down and patted it absently.
Frustrated by everything, Lina swept a pile of papers off the sofa and plunked herself down on the threadbare piece of furniture. We went through the whole room and found nothing. Absolutely nothing! Any notebooks they'd found had been records of experiments; there had been one diary, but since the last entry had been made over a hundred years ago, she hadn't seen much point in reading it carefully. Nowhere had there been any mention of any important names or dates; the former owner of this lab seemed to have been cut off from the rest of the world. There were no records of whatever happened fifteen years ago; no notes, either... no survivors? But it didn't look as though someone died in here, or even left in a hurry! Lina hadn't even noticed any signs of disaster at all in any of the parts of the castle they'd visited. Gah... I can't believe it. All that work, and what do we have to show for it? A dozen more questions. Sore feet and empty stomachs. A mind full of Therilon's darkness.... And a few starstones in my pocket, but that's incidental.
Though she was fairly sure of the answer she'd get, Lina then called out, "Hey, Zel, did anything here look familiar? Call up any old memories?"
"No. Nothing," came the prompt reply. Zelgadis looked just as frustrated as Lina did; perhaps even more so. Which makes sense, since it's her life that's getting screwed up by all of this....
So what do we do next? Where do we go? wondered Lina. What kind of place would have any kind of information about.... "Is there a library? Maybe there'd be something useful there," the redheaded sorceress mused out loud.
"Hmmm...," said Melody. "There is a library; the only problem is finding it. Maybe it's in the dungeons today."
The travellers exchanged startled looks. What the heck is she talking about? wondered Lina.
Despite their confusion, they followed their guide out of the lab, leaving the ginger cat curled up beside a carton of test tubes. Melody led them down yet more corridors, and down a set of imposing granite steps into the claustrophobic underground tunnels that led to the dungeons. Here, in the oppressive gloom, barely illuminated by a small cluster of Lighting spells, little creeping creatures hurried back and forth across the travellers' path. Shadowy, barely-seen things lurched away down the corridors, scurrying into tiny cracks in the walls. There were other beasties around as well; a jittery Amelia had to flambe one particularly persistent, sluggish brute to make it leave them alone.
Striding up to one massive, solid oak dungeon door, Melody wrenched away the rigid bar that was keeping it shut, and tossed it at a startled Gourry. "Here; hold this." Throwing all her weight into it, the young lady pried the door open, letting loose a blast of salty-smelling air, and one very loud seagull, which ended up, flapping and protesting loudly, in Amelia's arms.
"Well, the library's not here today," muttered Melody. Lina glanced through the open dungeon door, and was astonished to see a sunny beach, with gentle waves lapping at its sandy shore. The water continued on as far as she could see, and packs of seagulls flew high in the sky, calling to each other in their distinctive way.
"No point in sticking around here. There are a few more places we can try...." The guide started to close the door, before remembering the seagull. "Oh yeah. Put that back, will you?" she asked a stunned Amelia, who was still gripping the wildly flapping bird. Once it had been returned to its seashore, and the door closed and barred once more, they moved on.
None of the other dungeons contained an ocean, but none of them housed a library, either. "Maybe it's in one of the upper tower rooms today," announced Melody. With characteristic aplomb, she led her charges through yet another route filled with dizzying twists and turns.
The corridors this time led to a sizeable hall, lushly carpeted, with walls painted a rich royal blue and trimmed with gold leaf. A couple dozen portraits hung on the walls, their colours vibrant despite their apparent age. As Lina passed the first portrait, she noted its attention to detail and how incredibly lifelike it seemed. I wonder who all these people were? Maybe royalty?
Unexpectedly, Melody chose that moment to wave vigorously, and cheerfully call out, "Hi! Nice to see ya!"
Even more unexpectedly, she was answered.
"Hello!"
"Oh, it's that Melody girl again."
"It's been a while!"
Lina whipped her head around, trying to find the sources of the sound. But no one was in sight, other than her companions. "Who said that?" she demanded nervously. And she wasn't the only one disturbed by the disembodied voices; Amelia was twisting in circles trying to look everywhere at once, Zelgadis was crouched forward, ready to defend herself from any attack, and Gourry had started to twitch.
"We did, of course!" said a soft voice, and as Lina twirled around to pinpoint it, continued, "No, silly, you're looking in the wrong place. We're right here on the wall!"
A stunned Lina turned and stared at the nearest painting, a skillful rendition of a long-faced lady in a lace-covered ball gown. As she watched, the brushstrokes making up the painting's face shifted and changed smoothly, rearranging the painted features into a wide smile. "Don't be shy, dear! We won't bite."
Melody addressed the paintings as if they were old friends, merrily saying, "How're you folks doing these days?"
"About the same as we always have," replied a depiction of a somber woman, hung halfway across the far wall. "We are dead, you do realize."
A white-bearded, ascetic man's portrait added morosely, "I suppose our bodies are still rotting, somewhere around these...."
"Please. Some of us would rather not remember such things," snapped a likeness of a woman in a ridiculously bright-coloured dress. The bearded man looked away, muttering something under his breath.
Lina blinked. Am I seeing this? Am I really seeing this? She blinked again, but that didn't improve matters any, as the painting next to her blinked back. This is really weird. I mean, I've seen lots of weirder things, but... you just don't expect inanimate objects to up and talk to you!
Melody was in her element, chatting with the portraits animatedly. Then, getting the conversation back to more serious things, she asked, "Got any idea where the library is today?"
"Did you check in the dungeons?" asked an image depicting a fairly young man with dark, slicked-back hair and squinting eyes.
"Yup. Nothing there."
Except an entire ocean! thought Lina, slightly disconcerted.
"Oh... I was sure it'd be in the dungeons today," the young man said with a puzzled frown.
"Is the library still doing that?" asked a pinch-faced woman's picture; she was fanning herself gently with a feathery monstrosity. "We really should have had that fixed while we still had the chance. Right, Reginald?"
"Yes, dear..." sighed the painting across the hall from her, rolling its eyes.
"I do say, Melody dearest, you don't visit us nearly enough," proclaimed the woman who was fanning herself.
"Yes, yes, when you're locked up with only the same twenty people to talk to for a couple of centuries...," added a corpulent man's image, with a great deal of petulance.
Before she could answer, a painting from the far end of the hall exclaimed, "Oh, look! You've brought visitors! You dear girl."
"You won't let the wights eat this group, will you?" asked the squinting young man.
"Oh, please say you won't," pleaded the white-bearded one. "I'm afraid our country's reputation among the tourists has suffered somewhat these past few years."
Most of Lina's shock had dissipated by now, so she decided to jump into the conversation. I don't want this lovely little chat eating up the rest of the day. "'Scuse me," she began abruptly, "do you... um... paintings... know anything about what happened here, fifteen years ago?"
"Here? You mean in the castle?" asked the brightly-clad woman, startled.
A portrait of a tall, burly man with bushy sideburns proclaimed sourly, "No, and we don't care much. They didn't invite us to the party, after all."
The others seemed to echo his sentiment.
"Yes yes."
"Their own fault."
"Too bad."
"Kind of a good thing really...," muttered the young man. "That we weren't invited, I mean...."
Lina didn't know what to make of that, so she pressed on, unabated. Dragging a startled Zelgadis in front of a random painting, she said, "See her? Is this really the Princess Amethyst?"
"Hmmm...," the somber woman's representation said, deep in thought. "I thought she was a lot younger...?"
"That was fifteen years ago, silly," said the long-faced lady with some small measure of tolerance.
"Oh. Time passes so quickly when you're dead."
The white-bearded ascetic peered for a while at a silent Zelgadis, then said, "I'm not sure. Possibly she's the Princess." He looked fairly apologetic. "Didn't see the kid much, really. Young children are hardly great conversationalists, you know."
"Though this girl does have the look of that nice young man about her...," gushed a plump, jovial lady. "You know; the one who married little Esme?"
The fan-wielding woman took a closer look at Zelgadis. "Oh, right, right. I must agree. Especially the hair."
"Esme?" said the former chimaera quietly. "Was that my... mother's name?"
"Oh, no, no...," the long-faced lady assured her. "She would've been... let me see... your great-grandmother, dear. Quite a long time ago, for you, I suppose, but I remember the day she first came to the castle with that boy in tow. So happy, they were," she said with a wistful smile. "This portrait of me had been painted just a few years before that. Everything seems brighter, somehow, when you've just died and been brought back to speak with all your relatives...."
"Though some of us would most definitely rather be elsewhere!" proclaimed a grizzled, elderly man.
The woman with the fan spoke up with alacrity. "Oh, we can leave at any time, you old fart. Don't you remember? We're just spirits; it's not like we're stapled to these paintings."
"There's nowhere else to go!" yelled the rather unkempt old man, with much frustrated waving of hands. "All the great old sightseeing spots've been blown up. Boom! Bang! There they went! Nothing to see now except temples and suchlike. Bo-ring!"
"Oh, just ignore him," whispered the plump lady to the travellers. "He's a little... touched, to tell the truth."
The oldster continued on, heedless of any interruption. "If only that Shabranigdo hadn't been destroyed, the world would be a better place... well, at least a more exciting place...."
"Quiet, you silly old man!" snapped the somber woman, as the four travellers nearly fell over in shock.
Their astonishment was short-lived, however; an ancient painting chose that moment to crackle its way to life. Years of disuse fell away to reveal a venerable old matriarch, wearing layer after layer of rich brocade and lace, and similar layers of self-assurance and fortitude. "Let me see the girl," she intoned, her rich voice dripping with authority. The other portraits seemed startled to hear her speak.
Zelgadis stood uncomfortably in front of the matriarch, who fixed her with a long, stern glare. Long seconds passed before the majestic woman muttered, "Why, yes, I'm sure of it." Suddenly raising her voice, she proclaimed, "There can be no question. This girl is Amethyst, daughter of Queen Pirie and King Jordan, who were ruling our country of Therilon when tragedy befell."
Something about this particular painting put Lina on her best behaviour. She peered around a still-motionless Zelgadis and said, "Can we please ask... what exactly was that tragedy you're talking of?"
The sorceress found herself fixed with a raptor's glare. "It's quite embarrassing, really," snapped the venerable woman. And that was all she said. The other portraits just nodded intently and fell silent as well.
This doesn't make any sense! Lina nearly bit her lip in frustration as the silence wore on. And we won't get any more out of these paintings, I can tell. I can't stand being so close to the answers, and knowing these paintings, whatever they really are, won't stop avoiding the questions! But at least now we know for sure about Zel. I mean, Amethyst. I mean....
The former chimaera in question was still staring at the regal portrait, looking subdued and a little stunned. Melody tried to take advantage of the situation, sweeping off to the end of the hall and saying, "Oh well; we'd better go now! Nice talking to you!" The others began to follow her slowly.
As a last-ditch effort, Lina addressed the paintings one final time. Her voice echoed strangely in the silent hall as she said, "Please - do any of you know who would want Amethyst dead?"
The silence deepened.
In silence, the travellers moved on.
Even after leaving the hall of portraits far behind, Zelgadis couldn't get the image of the regal, ancient woman out of her mind. Her gaze, ruthless yet somehow not cruel, had seemed able to shatter any illusion with a mere glance. There was no doubt in the former chimaera's mind that the woman had been speaking the utter truth when she'd said, "There can be no question. This girl is Amethyst...."
So now I know I really am the lost princess. Somehow, the knowledge didn't seem as painful as she'd thought it would be. In fact, she couldn't bring herself to feel much of anything.
All those years she'd lived as a boy, all those months she'd spent as a chimaera, now seemed unreal: distant memories, dreamlike glimpses of a life that belonged to someone else. So, too, did these past few weeks, spent as a woman. It was as if everything had happened to another person, another Zelgadis; that somehow, she - he! - would wake up tomorrow morning and everything would be as it should be.
So she walked, following behind her friends, doing little and saying less. She barely noticed the stone-faced corridors they travelled through, the dozens of chambers whose heavy doors they passed. Images of nothingness filled her head as she drifted silently forward, untroubled by the emotions that had been left behind with her former self.
What's the point, she aimlessly wondered, what's the point of searching for this library, when those who had the knowledge we want refused to answer us? What's the point of staying here one second longer? Idly she considered simply taking her chances with fighting off the monsters that seemed intent on attacking her constantly. And maybe those creatures have been scared off.... I've hardly seen any since I fought the Wyrm. She shuddered involuntarily at the memory of that hideous beast, that mass of hatred which only her anger had allowed her to destroy.
The corridors led the travellers past a high-ceilinged antechamber, through whose opening could be seen a pair of huge, intricately carved double doors. Zelgadis's attention was caught, despite herself, by the glitter of gemstones implanted among the richly painted carvings of knights and fantastic beasts. Absently she noticed that the doors were charred around the edges, as if they had barely managed to contain a raging blast of fire.
Zelgadis wasn't the only one who noticed the doors. Lina, her eyes no doubt filled with visions of things she could buy with all those precious stones, tapped the guide on her shoulder. "What room's that?" she asked.
Melody didn't have to turn to figure out which room Lina was talking about. "The Great Hall," she said, and not a single word more.
"We gonna take a look around in there?" asked Lina hopefully.
"No," came Melody's immediate reply. "It's not really wise. Things could happen." Her usual cheer was unabated, but something about the way she said those words made it absolutely clear that nothing would make her change her mind.
Lina seemed impressed. "Wow," she muttered under her breath. "If even Melody's afraid of it...."
They moved on, but Zelgadis couldn't keep herself from glancing back towards the Hall's imposing doors. Something about the way they catch the light.... The image stayed fixed in her head.
A few minutes later, Melody led her charges up a tight spiral staircase, in the hopes that it would lead towards some chamber that might or might not house the library. Zelgadis, however, could not stop thinking about the Great Hall. In her mind, she kept seeing the gem-studded doors, seeing the precious stones catching the light as the doors slowly opened....
Suddenly, she stopped climbing the staircase, and stood on the steps, watching the others ahead of her disappear out of sight around the spiral. Turning around swiftly, she climbed down the steps, and set off in the direction from which they'd come.
At least the corridors up on the second floor had windows; natural sunlight was helping to improve Lina's spirits for the first time since reaching the Castle. Still, however, the redhead sighed as she followed Melody through hallway after interminable hallway. Somehow, I don't think we're ever going to find this library....
They passed by a big, airy room. Melody unexpectedly paused by the door and exclaimed, "Let's stop off here first, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, she headed into the big chamber, making a beeline for some cupboards.
A little perturbed, Lina nonetheless followed the guide inside, followed by her other companions. She began to cautiously explore the room. Cupboards were everywhere, and the dozens of waist-high counters all seemed to be covered with marble slabs over two inches thick. Not to mention the racks of wickedly sharp knives in every corner. "What're we looking for here?" asked the sorceress, staring apprehensively at a matching set of cleavers.
"Oh, nothing," answered Melody. "I'm just feeling a bit hungry." She opened a cabinet whose door, strangely enough, had a handle in each bottom corner. Inside it was absolutely nothing. Melody frowned. "I could've sworn.... Oh yeah," she exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering something. She closed the door, then opened it again with the other handle, and pulled a hefty wheel of cheese out of the same cabinet, now full of food. "You guys hungry too?" Smiling, she grabbed a knife off of a nearby wall, plunked the cheese down on a convenient countertop, and set to carving chunks off it with vigour.
Any hint of confusion that might have plagued Lina about where, exactly, that cheese had come from, was completely eclipsed by the prospect of food. She leaned over the counter across from Melody and eagerly watched her carve, almost unable to make herself wait. So great was her hunger that she barely even noticed Gourry rushing up behind her, similarly attracted by any hint of food.
She did, however, notice the muffled yelp and loud thump that happened immediately afterwards. Startled, she turned around, but there was no one behind her. Uh... wasn't Gourry right there? she wondered suspiciously.
Then she heard him yelling; the sound came from far away. A hasty glance or two confirmed the fact that he wasn't in the kitchen anymore. Shoving herself away from the counter, Lina hollered, "Where is that jellyfish-for-brains?" in mingled exasperation and fear.
As Melody stabbed the knife she was holding into the cheese wheel and started searching behind pieces of furniture for any hint of Gourry, Amelia stared at the wall behind Lina. "Wasn't there a door there a second ago?" she asked innocently.
"Who cares? GOURRY! WHERE ARE YOU?" yelled Lina, then, concentrating fiercely, listened to find out which direction his yelps were coming from. Rushing up to a window, she flung it open, and looked out across the castle courtyard to a far-off turret. Monstrous tentacles were swarming out of its windows, and every so often, a glimpse of blond hair and a flash of steel could be seen among them. "How'd he get THERE?"
Melody groaned and beckoned her charges back towards one of the corridors. "Okay, to get to him, we'll have to go this way...."
Amelia interrupted her, looking a little worried. "Where's Amethyst?"
Melody blinked in disbelief. "She's gone, too?" And it was true; the violet-haired girl was nowhere in sight.
Lina spun around, taking in every inch of the all-too-empty kitchen. "I can't believe it!"
"That monster thing must have got both Amethyst and Gourry!" wailed Amelia.
Lina itched to get moving, but a thought struck her. "I don't think so. Zel could've taken care of that creature in a second; she'd never have let it drag her away." And if Gourry wasn't so affected by the dark atmosphere here in the castle, he'd 've been able to take care of it perfectly well, too.... "And, if it got her, wouldn't she be yelling too?"
"Well...," began Amelia, "Amethyst's been awfully quiet for the past few minutes...."
"She's always been quiet!" snapped Lina.
"I mean, I haven't even heard her walking behind me since...." Horrorstruck, the young princess realized what she'd just said. "Uh oh...."
Lina felt like gnashing her teeth. "Aaarggh! How long's she been gone? Why didn't anyone notice?"
Head in hands, Melody softly muttered, "And this is exactly how it happens, every single time. First, one or two of 'em disappear; then, you turn around and discover that the rest 've all been eaten by grues...."
"Amethyst did NOT get eaten by grues!"
"All right," said Lina emphatically, trying to get things under control. "When was the last time any of us saw Zelgadis for sure?"
Amelia shrugged mournfully. Melody shook her head, saying, "I've been spending the past half hour just trying to figure out the route!"
Then, Lina's memory kicked in. "Oh boy. I remember when I last saw Zel. Just before we went up that staircase, I looked back to get one last look at the Great Hall...."
Melody looked stricken. "You don't really think she'd have.... We have to stop her!"
"We're getting Gourry first!" snapped Lina, unwilling to accept any alternative. First, we rescue Gourry. As soon as that's done, then we go hunting for Zel!