Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Chimera ❯ Chapter 3

I awoke in the early hours of the morning, my entire body shaking from the shock. Fatigue had taken over and I had fallen prey to the impenetrable shadows of the nightmare world. When I had awoken, I felt even less rested than I had felt the night before. I stood up with the book of spells in my hand and walked over to the table. I did not want sleep to possess me again so I went into Zolf's food storage area and took out a ergi leaf. It was said that if one ate the leaf of an ergi fruit, he or she would have a sudden burst of energy. I knew that I needed energy if I were going to get through the remainder of the night, so I placed the leaf into my mouth. Its taste was bitter and I resisted the urge to spit it out and swallowed heavily.

"Are you all right, Zelgadis?" Zolf asked and I glanced at him.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to stay awake," I replied as I sat at the table.

"If you force yourself to stay awake, you'll only hurt yourself in the long run."

"I would prefer not to sleep. The memories of what he did to me is still too recent."

"I understand your feelings. To be turned into what you are now must have been quite...shocking."

I smiled painfully and nodded my head. Zolf sat across the table and watched me with concern.

"Zelgadis, I will come with you on this quest but I want to make sure that you'll take care of yourself. Currently, you are stuck in that body so you'll just have to live with it," Zolf said.

"I know, but it's hard. It's easy for you to say that, Zolf. You're not the one stuck with this problem," I said and opened the book once again.

"I understand how you feel, Zelgadis but the search for the Philosopher's Stone is going to be a long one. You need your strength."

Daylight came as a surprise to me and I was somewhat surprised that I had fallen asleep and slept somewhat well, considering the circumstances. Zolf awoke me around noon and I opened my eyes. Dilgear stood in front of me with his arms folded in annoyance.

"Are we leaving soon? I don't like standing around doing nothing," he said as I sat up.

"Forgive me, Dilgear. I was not aware that I'd be so tired," I replied. "Rezo's transformation must have taken more energy out of me than I was aware of."

"Rezo is a strong sorcerer. His spells would naturally take awhile to recover from," Zolf said as I stood up and put on my cloak. It was sort of weird, now that I think of it. I mean, here I was, a walking, talking piece of rock. I had strength and abilities that I never had before and all I could do was think about how bad life was to me. Perhaps there was some good things about my situation. But then again....

One thing that will never be the same for me is the aspect of love. What sort of women would fall in love with someone like me? I can just imagine me with a young girl and when I tried to kiss her....I shook my head at the vision that followed and sighed. I was cursed. That's all there was to it. Sure, I was a living, breathing piece of stone but what good did that do me? I glanced at Dilgear who stood glaring at me impatiently and nodded my head.

"Rezo may be a strong sorcerer, but we're wasting time now. I slept longer than I should have and we're going to have to move fast to make up for lost time. We have an extensive search to undertake and we don't even know the first step in locating the artifact," I said and Zolf looked at me.

"What is the hurry to locate it then? Is someone else after it?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't want to be caught on Rezo's bad side."

The sky was clear when we left. It was mid-afternoon and it was perhaps not the best choice to start on a journey but it was all we had. The road would be entirely too dangerous if we waited until nightfall. Also, I didn't want the villagers to jump to conclusions about my traveling companion Dilgear. I figured that with a werewolf in my company, it would be best to leave during the daylight hours. Children fled from the street when we exited Zolf's house and I was sure that they had been hanging around in hopes of seeing the enormous werewolf. Upon seeing him, however, they ran off to safe havens where they could stare at him in a mixture of awe and fear.

"Humans don't know the true beauty of my kind," Dilgear muttered as we walked towards the edge of the village. I turned when I felt a hand on my arm. It was a familiar hand and I glanced behind me. My mother stood there, her eyes filled with the emotions that she obviously refused to speak. I lowered my eyes, not willing to let my mother see the hideous transformation I had undergone. She squeezed my arm or at least tried to, for my skin would not yield to any kind of pressure now and she smiled slightly.

"Please tell my dear Zelgadis to be careful. I know that Rezo may not always be the best influence, but he is his grandfather and no matter what happens to my dear Zelgadis, he will always be my son and human in my eyes," she said softly and I glanced away, not wanting her to see the tears within my eyes.

"I will pass the message along," I assured her then glanced at my companions. "Let's go."

I must admit that seeing my mother like that was almost more than I could bear. She must have sensed that I was back but she also must have sensed that something terrible had happened to me because even though she was touching me, she still kept her distance. She must have known that Rezo was not as great as people made him out to be and that must have been hard to admit to herself. She was his daughter, after all and no matter what he did, she still loved him. I shook my head as I tried to drive such thoughts from my mind. How could she? How could anyone love that man after what he's done? He's used people. He used me in an attempt to get the one thing he truly cared about. His sight. I was not about to forget, let alone forgive him for his selfish actions.

*************************************************************** *

We neared the next town just as the last strains of sunlight were starting to fade. Zolf glanced at Dilgear and then at me. He then glanced back at Dilgear and I shrugged my shoulders. In current times, he was no different than I. Chimeras and werewolf mixes were not the sort of company that respectable people kept. We would be sure to get accusing looks as soon as we stepped foot inside the town's borders but there was no way around it. We needed information and we most certainly weren't going to get it standing out in the forest.

"There's nothing we can do," I said as I pulled my hood down. "Let's just go in and see if we can find some lodging. We'll start looking in the potion shops in the morning. Perhaps we can find something promising there."

"People may avoid us," Zolf commented and I looked at him.

"They'd avoid us even more if they saw how hideous I look. If we walk into the town without making a big deal about it, we should be all right."

We walked into the town and I watched the villagers move slightly out of our way when Dilgear appeared. Mothers held their children close to their side as I approached a young man who seemed to be wishing that he was another person at the current point in time. It was kind of invigorating, though. Dilgear's presence certainly gave me a sort of power over the villagers and if I had wanted to, I'm sure I could have used that power in any way I wanted to.

"Please don't panic. We mean you no harm. My associates and I are treasure hunters. We would like to peruse through your potion shops in hopes of finding an antique. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself. You see, we want something from you, my friend," I said and the young man's hands shook in fear.

"I-I don't have anything!" he protested and I shook my head.

"You misunderstand me. All we want from you is directions. You see, we've had a long walk and we're in need of rest. Where is the closest inn?"

"It's two streets down. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, my friend. Here's a small token of my appreciation. It's genuine, I assure you. Zolf, Dilgear, let's go."

"Where do you get off ordering us around?" Dilgear asked once we had started walking again.

"Because without me, you wouldn't be in this situation, now would you?" I asked and Dilgear fell silent.

"Once we get a room, I think we should tour the town. That way we have an idea of where the potion and antique shops are ahead of time," Zolf said and I shook my head.

"I think to lower the suspicious looks we've been getting, it would be wise for us to locate the in and go looking for shops in the morning," I replied.

The innkeeper seemed just as shocked to see us as the rest of the villagers we came in contact with. He gave us a room and a key without asking questions but did not wish us a pleasant stay. I'm sure that we did look like a gang of troublemakers, but I had no way of ditching Dilgear. He was Rezo's watchdog, if you will forgive the expression and the only way I would be rid of him (short of killing him) was to locate the Philosopher's Stone and give it to him. And I certainly wasn't going to do that. I did hate my grandfather for everything that he did to me, but I couldn't kill him. I couldn't even think of killing him. He was one of my relatives, after all.

It was early in the morning when I awoke again. I had not slept well the previous night due to another nightmare and I decided to take a walk. The others were still asleep so I was able to get out and do some thinking on my own. I pulled my collar up closer to my neck as I watched the early morning crowd. Most of them seemed to be workers on their way to their various trades. I walked past them, nodding my head in greeting and continued down what seemed to be a promising street. I began to think about what Rezo had told me to practice. Shamanism meant being connected with everything. The spirits, the earth, the animals...Demon, human, and golem. I was, in actuality a pure combination of the elements that made up the universe. Had Rezo known this when he turned me into what I currently am? Was it his way of telling me something? I shook my head as I walked into the town square. None of this was making any sense to me.

I sat down on a bench and folded my hands in my lap. I watched the early morning birds land on the street in search for food. I closed my eyes and began thinking. Well, perhaps not thinking but meditating. I saw the world change in my mind as I thought about the shamanistic belief. To be versed in shamanism, one had to transcend between the real world and the spirit world. I could almost feel myself peering into the demon realm and I could sense a grudging acceptance of my presence there because I was, after all, part demon. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Zolf who was gazing down at me.

"I was worried about you, Master Zelgadis," Zolf said and I glanced at Dilgear. "You're lucky that Dilgear could pick up your scent. I thought you had gotten abducted or something."

"I'm sorry. I awoke early and I left to think. I didn't mean to worry you," I replied. Hmm, how did Dilgear pick up my scent so quickly anyway? Was it because the body I was stuck with was made by Rezo's hands? "Let's start looking at antique shops. There should be some open at this hour."

So Dilgear was able to track me. That was a piece of knowledge that did not sit well with me. I did not want to forever be in the company of the welwolf-troll mix and I would do anything to get him out of my sight. It seemed that the townsfolk had the same wish as we began making our way down the street to the first potion shop. The owner, an elderly gentleman with extremely thick glasses, was sweeping off his stairs when we walked up to him. He glanced up and Zolf bowed in respect.

"We are traveling good sir, and we thought we might peruse your wares in search of magical protection items. The roads can be very dangerous," he said and the shop owner looked at Dilgear.

"That's a nasty spell your companion is under. Come on in and look around. You might even find something that will reverse the sorcery your friend is under," he said and Dilgear got an offended look on his face. We entered the shop and began looking around at the products. It was the typical potion store with a standard line of protection amulets and strength potions. I found myself walking down an aisle that looked intriguing and picked up an oddly shaped bottle.

"What you have there is a fertility potion, young man. Do you have a little lady you've been trying to get?" the shopkeeper asked and I hastily put the potion back on the shelf.

"Erm...no. I was just looking at the shape of the bottle. It's an interesting shape, sir," I replied as I quickly moved to another area.

"Have you found anything, Master Zelgadis?" Zolf inquired and I looked at him.

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Is this guaranteed to keep someone from being poisoned?" Dilgear asked and the shopkeeper beamed happily.

"What you have there is a rare amulet made from ground up naga fangs. You can see the crystallized venom inside the gem," the shopkeeper said. "It's on a strong rope made from unicorn hair. I can let you have it for ten thousand."

"I don't think so," Dilgear said as I picked up another potion.

"Young man, you certainly have the knack for picking out the special potions. What you have there is a genuine nymph oil. Simply take it out to a birch tree and pour it on the tree roots and you will have your very own nymph," the shopkeeper said and I blushed a second time. Nymphs. Like I would have a practical use for such a creature.

"I don't think so. We'd like to look at the other shops in town before we make a choice," I said and the shopkeeper nodded his head.

"Fair enough, but let me warn you, I've got the best prices in town."

"They certainly seem to promote romance in this town, don't they?" Zolf inquired as we stepped out of the shop.

"It seems that's where the money is," I replied. "Let's check out the other shops."

It was beginning to get dark whenwe made our way down the fifth street with an antique shop. As we had already found out, a good portion of the town's revenue was made from antique dealing and there also seemed to be a great demand for it. Collectors of all kinds resided in Systirell and they proudly showed their collections off to anyone who was willing to look as well as people who were not willing to look.

"Nice werewolf you've got there. Back in the day when I was a traveling mercenary, I would hunt down werewolves and kill `em," an old man said and Dilgear reached for his sword. "But, I'm retired now. I did save the teeth from the beasts I killed and turned them into jewelry. If your friend ever loses a tooth, give it to me and I'll give you a good price for it."

"My teeth will not be falling out anytime soon," Dilgear growled and I stepped in front of him.

"Excuse me, but do any of the antique shops have anything out of the ordinary?" I asked and the elderly man laughed.

"They all have something out of the ordinary. What are you looking for?"

"A special item."

"Special, huh? Well you're going to have your morning cut out for you. Each one of these shops has something special. It just depends on what you think is special but if you're looking for a fertility statue, I can let you have one cheap."

"No thank you. Let's go back to the inn. It's getting late. Besides, we've been at this all day and I'm sick of weeding through love, injury, and strength potions," I said and turned around. I hoped that I would find the Philosopher's Stone soon. I didn't want to live out the rest of my life as a chimera.

I awoke early the next morning and stretched. I was getting used to sleeping on my rock hard body, but I still didn't like it. I wanted to feel my body like it used to be. I wanted to feel things lie softly on my skin, not pushed rigid up against it. I brought a hand up to my hair and then thought better of it. I could no longer run my fingers through my hair for now, it was as coarse as rock spikes.

"I'm sorry Zelgadis," Zolf said and I glanced at him.

"It's not your fault. It just hurts when I realize I can't do some of the things I used to be able to do," I said and Zolf laid a hand on my rough shoulder.

"You're not crippled, you know. Your body has just changed, but your soul hasn't."

"Thank you, Zolf but I can't forget that look my mother had on her face when she saw me. Even though she couldn't see what I really am, I think she knew. I can't go back to her though. No matter how much I may want to, I can't go back. Not the way I am. I don't want to see that look of pain on her face again."

"Then let's start searching for a cure for the curse you're under."

" Curse, huh? I suppose it could be called a curse, couldn't it?"

"Are you two going to start moving?" Dilgear asked and I glanced at him.

"Have you gotten tired of this place already?" I asked.

"I don't like mingling with humans more than I have to. Humans and my kind have never gotten along so I am looking forward to leaving this place."

"I understand your feelings, Dilgear. I wish to leave this place as soon as possible too. Each face that I see reminds me that I was once like them."

"Which direction should we go first?" Zolf asked and I looked at him.

"Are you trying to change the subject?" I asked.

"I'm just trying to keep you in perspective, my friend."

"Thank you. Let's go and search the antique shops again for the artifact. We might get lucky. Are you ready to go as well, Dilgear?"

"I've been ready since we got here," Dilgear replied as I opened the door.

"Then let's go."

A few hours later, we walked out of the village in dejection. We had been through the numerous antique and potion shops a second time, but we still found nothing close to what we were looking for. There was an overabundance of fertility and health statues and it made me wonder just what the village was promoting but that wasn't really any of my business. With out supply packs full, we headed down the road in search of another potential town.

"Did you hear what that villager said?" Zolf asked, once we had left the gates of the town.

"No I didn't. Was he trying to push another statue onto us?" I inquired and Zolf smiled.

"No. He encouraged us to seek out Rodimus. Apparently this Rodimus is a warrior and he may be willing to help us in our quest."

"One warrior is not enough for you?" Dilgear asked and I looked at him.

"The more people we have, the better the chance we have at locating the artifact," I explained. "Let us seek him out. What kind of person is this Rodimus?"

"I was told human, just like you and me. Well...me at least. I'm sorry, Master Zelgadis," Zolf said and I forced a smile.

"Don't apologize, Zolf. Currently I am only part human and although I despise this body with every waking breath, it is the one I'm stuck with. At least until I find the cure."

"I thought we were on this journey to help Master Rezo," Dilgear said and I looked at him.

"Dilgear, do you honestly think I would go against my own family?" I asked and Dilgear scratched his head.

"I suppose not. But if you aren't going to deceive Master Rezo, how do you plan on finding a cure for his spell?"

"I may find the antidote while searching for the artifact Rezo desires. He can't blame me if I find the cure accidentally, can he?"

"I suppose not. All right, let's go find this Rodimus. I hope he's not a werewolf hater."