In the hot and steamy room of a blacksmithing workshop, a petite red-hared girl works diligently on a sword. Covered in dirt and sweat the puts the final touches on the orihalcon blade. With it finished she pulls of her gloves, goggles and her messy ponytail and heads over to her house right next to the workshop. Inside a large, strong looking man greets her with a huge grin on his face.
"So Lina you finished another one, eh?"
"Yeah Daddy, here take a look." Lina throws the sword over to her father. He exams it carefully checking it's weight, size, strength, grip, and balance.
"Well this is probably one of the best ones you have made yet. What are you planning to do?"
"Well first I'm going to go take a bath and wash of this grime. Then I'm going to take the sword with me and go to Aintar's Restaurant."
"So you aren't to eat at home?"
"Aintar has a few new recipes that he wants a me to taste test. He would ask Luna but if she said something that he didn't agree with chances are Luna would literally murder him."
"Lina..."
"Don't you even try to argue with me about that. You know Luna's temper. After I either enjoy a great meal, or nearly get poisoned, I'm thinking of maybe going to see if I can sell this sword. Do you think it would see well?"
"Come on Lina it's orialchon. That stuff is very hard to work with, let alone forge a sword using it. Trust me, you could make a lot of money."
"Okay if you say so. I'm going to go take my bath now, I'll see you latter Dad."
"Bye."
In the bath Lina murmured as the hot water soothed her aching muscles.
"Oh this feels good..."
"Lina? Are you nearly finished in there?" Lina's mother voice called from outside the door.
"Grr... yeah I'll be out soon..."
"Thanks dear."
Lina grumbled as she got out the bath. Why is it that whenever I seem to go bathe that someone needs to use the bathroom? Oh well I guess it was better to come out now then later, by then my stomach would have been very upset with me. Lina thought as looked down at her already grumbling stomach.
Heading outside the house Lina smiled at how the day was. It's so beautiful out today. The sky is bright clear, it's warm out, birds are singing, a bandits about to attack me, the grass is - wait a minute! A bandit?
Sure enough there was a bandit hiding behind a tree and stepped in front of Lina's path with a very smug grin on his face.
"I'm going to kill you!"
"Oh brother not another one..." Lina pulled out her sword, ready to defend herself.
"Give you all your money and I might just spare your life."
"Give you all my money? You mean you don't know who I am? And here I thought that you were 'trying' killing me because of my reputation," Lina said while putting her sword back, "Well then it doesn't matter then, I'll just leave some other person to deal with you." Lina started to walk past him, but then he grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.
"What makes you think that I'm going to let you leave?! And what are you talking about a reputation? I haven't heard any reputations about short red headed teenaged girls with swords that - "
The bandit stopped his speech dead in it's tracks and his eyes grew wide.
"You're-you're not Li-i-n-n-n-a Inv-e-e-r-r-r-se are you?!
Lina nodded her head and sighed, she knew what was coming.
"The Lina Inverse? Little girl with no breasts, that can out eat 20 men and beat up 30 men with her sword?! You're that Lina Inverse?!"
"Who are you calling 'little'?! And what's this about no breasts?! Why you! I was going to let you off the hook, but now you've got me mad!"
Brandishing her sword and the new orhalcon one she made, Lina lunged the bandit who dogged her attack and ran off. Lina wasn't going to made a monkey out of and not do anything about it, so using the orhalcon sword's yellow gemstone (the sword has various gemstones set into various places on the sword and hilt that control magic elements) she caused a lightning bolt to come down from the sky and hit the bandit. (That's odd, wasn't the sky clear a minute ago?) The newly charred bandit just puffed a cloud of smoke as he collapsed to the ground.
Lina stomach grumbled again, this time louder and she hurried to Aintar's Restaurant.
In Aintar's Restaurant Lina polished off seven of Aintars new dishes and then some. (Like seven plates of food could satisfy the hunger of the great Lina Inverse.) Content she stretched and continued sipping her coffee as she waited for her dessert.
A hooded man come into the restaurant, dressed from head to toe (well not quite to toe, he is wearing brown boots) in creamy white. Normally this would seem suspicious, but much to the man surprise no one even paid any attention to him. He scanned the room till he saw who he was looking for. She was sitting at a table drinking coffee dressed in black pants, brown boots, a dark red short-sleeved tunic and dark blue hand gloves. Her red hair was left hanging loose with only a black head ban on her forehead. Lina Inverse.
Lina had seen the hooded guy come in but didn't pay any attention to him until she realized that he was staring at her. She could feel his eyes on her.
"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to sit down?" Lina said rather flat and bored voice.
This startled the stranger; it wasn't the reaction he was expecting.
"I wish to deal with some business. Tell me, are you by chance Lina Inverse?"
His voice was soft and smooth and it gave Lina chills. Whoa! What a sexy voice! Who is this guy? Lina glanced up from her coffee mug to look at what she could see of his face.
"I'll tell you if you sit down and take off that mask and hood. Even if you have a hideously ugly face, no one here will care. Chances are they have already seen worse anyway..."
The stranger did as he was told and sat down. Taking of his mask and hood, he braced himself for the reaction that he knew would come.
Lina raised an eyebrow at him. The stranger's face had a stone texture to it with a slight bluish green color and small darker pebble formations on certain parts. His blue eyes where slanted, his ears pointed, almost elf like, and his light lavender hair had a metallic gleam for it was made of steel.
"You look that good and you keep yourself covered up? That sure as hell doesn't make sense."
The stranger face faulted. That was definitely not what he had been expecting.
"You don't find my appearance freakish looking?"
"No, of course not. Just because someone is a chimera doesn't mean that they look bad. Though some don't get off as lucky as you did."
"(cough) Um, yes anyway, I'll ask again, are you Lina Inverse?"
"Why would you want to know? And what is your name anyway?"
"Very well. My name is Zelgadis Greywers. I need to find Lina Inverse because I need to ask for her help in retrieveing an item that I am looking for."
"Now Zel, when you say 'ask' you really mean hire don't you? How much are you going to pay me?"
"Then I assume that you are in fact Lina Inverse, the famous swordsman. I've heard of your reputation. You are very deadly with a sword, but you don't do magic."
"Nah, I'm not deadly with a sword, sure I'm okay, but if anything I'm just a blacksmith. I just happen to know more about swords than some of the so called 'master swordsmen' of today. As for the magic deal, I did have the offer to learn magic but I choose swords instead. And why do you want me anyway? What makes me so special?"
"To get this item I need to deal with an old aquntance of ours. She refuses to let me buy the item from her and I can't take it from her because of her bodyguard. And even on those times when her bodyguard isn't there she seems to have the luck of the gods and something always happens in her favor."
"I see. So you want me to try and persuade her into letting you buy it from her. Tell me who is this 'her' you are talking about?"
"She was an old traveling companion of - "
"NAGA?! No way! I'm not going anywhere near that wine guzzling freak ever again!"
"How come?"
"Okay for one thing she walks around wearing nothing more than a black bikini, boots, cape, shoulder pads, and gloves, she has the most annoying laugh and personality in the world! She is insanely greedy and has the biggest ego! Not to mention her whole family is weird! Her dad, Phil, looks like a bandit boss when really he's the prince of Sailune and despite his looks, believes in avoiding using violence to solve problems and her little sister is a short little justice freak who has bigger - " Lina stopped her statement quickly and blushed bright red realizing what she almost said.
"Yes I know about her family. It's strange that Princess Gracia of Sailune goes around killing bandits calling herself 'Naga the White Serpent'. Her dad didn't really think that she should travel alone so that is why he hired this bodyguard to protect her."
"And the guy is still with her?! Man he must be nuts! The only reason I ever stayed with Naga when Phil hired me was because he was paying me so much. And even then I left. He really must be dumb."
"I'll admit he isn't the brightest of fellows... But will you reconsider your decision? I really need your help."
"Yeah of course you do. Most people would give up an item for enough money, but Naga has got more than anybody could offer her. It's the challenge of searching for a priceless item that appeals to her. She's just greedy for fame, so there is no way to get her to give up one of her special finds."
"Come now, there must be some way."
"Well I guess you are right about that. Doesn't matter to me much, because I'm not going."
"Please Miss Lina, I'll pay whatever demands you want!"
"Wow you really want this thing bad don't you? And don't call me 'Miss'! I hate that!"
"Alright... Lina, yes I really need this item."
"What for?"
"If you decide to come with me, then I'll tell you."
"But I'm not going with you!"
"Well then, you wont ever find out, now will you?"
Lina frowned. If there was one thing she hated the most was when someone tempted her with a secret.
"What would you be willing to offer me?"
"This all you can eat week pass for The Winged Falcon Restaurant over in Vald." Zelgadis said as he held up a legitimate pass.
Lina's eyes grew wide. The Winged Falcon?! That's the most expensive, most elegant, most best and famed restaurant ever! They never hand out passes like that! My gods this is incredible! If I take this offer than I can eat the best food in the world for a whole week! Ahh, but I don't want to see that annoying brat again, but I want the food. Argh! Damn you Zelgadis, if only you didn't know my week spot!
"Okay Zelgadis, you win, I'll go with you."
"You will?! That's great! Let's get a move on right away!" Zelgadis said while almost dragging Lina out of the restaurant.
"Hey! Wait a damned minute! I haven't even ate my dessert yet!" Lina smacked him into the ground and went back into Aintar's Restaurant.
"Ouch, I didn't know she was that strong. I'll remember not to get onto her bad side." Zelgadis grumbled as he fallowed her back in. "Oh well at least she's willing to come with me. I'll beat you yet Rezo and I'll have the philosophers stone!"
In place far away from Lina and Zelgadis Rezo the Red Priest watches his grandson from a crystal orb.
"So Zelgadis, you really think you have me beat? Well even if you get the stone before me, I'll still get it in the end."