Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Chimera ❯ Chapter 5

It was mid-evening when we approached a house on the side of the road. I glanced at the others and then knocked on the front door. I hoped I had the right house. There was a silence and then the door opened. An elderly gentleman gazed out at me and I bowed my head in respect.

“Greetings sir. Could you perchance be Rodimus?” I inquired and the man glanced at Dilgear.

“You have a werewolf with you,” he said and I nodded my head.

“I know but he's merely a chaperone. I came to ask if you'd help us in our quest.”

“Quest? Who are you?”

“Please, listen to what I have to say. My name is Zelgadis and I have been sent by Master Rezo in search of an artifact. I heard of your skills in the nearby town and I was wondering if I could enlist your help.”

“Zelgadis....if you are Zelgadis, then why do you hide your face?”

“Master Zelgadis was involved in an unfortunate accident,” Zolf said as he stepped forward. “I believe I can vouch for him. I knew his mother, Sylpha.”

“You know Sylpha? Who are you?” Rodimus asked and Zolf bowed in respect.

“My name is Zolf. I am a sorcerer skilled in black magic and I have known his mother for quite awhile,” Zolf replied. “Are you now willing to listen to our tale?”

“Quite willing. Come inside please, and tell me of your quest.”

“Thank you,” I said as he stepped out of the doorway. I kept my head low so as not to alarm him as I walked past him. Zolf and Dilgear followed me and I stood in a corner of the room while Rodimus closed the door. Zolf looked at me and pointed to my hood.

“I believe it would be easier to show him than to tell him, Master Graywords,” he said and I sighed.

“I suppose you're right.”

Reluctantly, I took off my hood, allowing my rock hard hair to glisten in the light. I gazed at the shocked Rodimus and closed my eyes for a moment. Damn you, Rezo. This is the reaction I'm always going to get because of your twisted sense of humor. I never asked for your assistance in locating my father. My father...I couldn't locate my father looking like this. Was that another reason Rezo did what he did? Did he transform me into this creature so that I couldn't learn the truth about my father's disappearance?

“Rezo did this?” Rodimus asked and I brought my attention back to the present.

“Zelgadis asked him to do it,” Dilgear said and I glared at him.

“Do you really think I would ask the Red Priest to change me into this...this....thing?! I never asked him to assist me,” I said and Zolf cleared his throat.

“Why Master Graywords is like this, is beside the point. We would like your assistance in recovering a legendary artifact for the Red Priest. We are hoping that during the course of this journey, a cure is found for Zel,” he said as I covered my face and sat down.

“I see. Your story is touching. I would like to join you on your quest,” Rodimus said and I gazed at him.

“Thank you. Your help will be greatly appreciated,” I said as he stood up.

“It's no trouble. Come, let's get you all a place to sleep for the night. We all have a long road ahead of us.”

I awoke in the middle of the night again, the reality of what I was still pulling at my soul. The pain and torment wouldn't leave me alone, especially not when I slept. I couldn't control the intensity of my feelings and hate for the curse Rezo put me under when I slept. All I wanted to do was to be free from it. I wanted to be normal again. I stood up and allowed the blanket to fall to the ground. I rubbed my rough skin and sighed as my fingers ran over my rock-like scales. Damn you Rezo. It's not bad enough that you had to use the forbidden mixture of magic and science but you had to use it on me.

All you care about is your own lack of sight. You care nothing about how you get it or who you hurt on the way. How can so many people believe that you are great? Sure, you've helped people, but that was only because you wanted to help yourself. If you had been able to see like the rest of us, I'm sure you wouldn't have performed so many of the “miracles” that you've performed. Now you want your own family to risk his life to locate the Philosopher's Stone. Well once I get it in my hand, I'm most certainly not going to give it to you. I refuse to let you have sight while I suffer through life as this creature that you made me.

I never asked for this, Rezo. I never asked for you to help me. You took it upon yourself to help me and now look where I'm at because of your helpfulness. I couldn't even let my own mother see me because of this terrible body. And you wanted thanks from me? Thanks for what? Thanks for now being a person that is looked differently upon? Thanks for having to constantly hide my face lest I frighten someone? Thanks for lack of sleep because my own skin is now too hard to sleep on? I think not. I do not thank you for any of this, Rezo. You may be my grandfather, but I am in no means grateful for what you have put me through.

“Zel, you need to get your rest,” Zolf whispered and I looked at him.

“When did you get up?” I inquired and Zolf waved a hand in dismissal.

“That does not matter. If you plan to succeed on this journey, you need your rest. Come, lie back down, Master Graywords.”

“What good will it do? I will only awaken again due to the hardness of my own skin. I couldn't sleep well if my life depended on it.”

“Then allow me to assist you. Sands of time, velvet of night, close thine eyes let slumber take flight.”

A sleeping spell, I noted as I tried to force my eyes to stay open. It wasn't a strong spell but....it was effective. I felt my entire body loosen up and I tried to force myself to stay focused on the curse I was under, but my fatigue got the best of me. I fell forward and I felt Zolf drag me slightly to a soft spot on the floor. It was my bed, I assumed as I involuntarily laid my head on what I thought to be the pillow and fell fast asleep.

Zolf's spell had worked quite well, I noted when I opened my eyes. The sun was high in the sky when I fully became alert. Dilgear gazed at me and folded his arms in what seemed contempt. I yawned widely and resisted the urge to put my hand up to my mouth to block the yawn. I didn't want to damage my teeth by accidentally biting my rock hard skin.

“Are you always going to oversleep?” Dilgear asked as I stood up and pulled my shirt collar up over my chin.

“It's extremely hard for him to get the rest he needs due to his hardened skin,” Rodimus said as I pulled down my hood. “You have to allow him some extra time.”

“I think he's just stalling. I don't think he wants to help Master Rezo. Just wait until I make my report, Zelgadis. You'll regret everything you've done.”

“Regret everything I've done?” I repeated and Zolf laid a hand on my shoulder.

“Let it go,” he said. “It'll be a lot easier.”

“It may be easier but I still don't like being insulted.”

“I don't care what your relationship with the Red Priest is. You obviously don't care about his well-being,” Dilgear said and laid a hand on his sword. “I challenge you to show your integrity to the Red Priest.”

“What?” I asked and Zolf stepped between Dilgear and me.

“Don't you think you're overreacting just a little?” he asked. “I mean, it hasn't been that long since we started on this journey to recover the artifact and this search may take a long time. It's natural for people's tempers to rise when they have a difference of opinion. It's the way things are.”

“I think it would be best if we all took part of something to eat and went on our way,” Rodimus said and Zolf nodded his head.

“That is a wise suggestion,” he said and Dilgear snorted in impatience.

“Then will we finally set out to do what we were appointed to do?” he inquired.

“You are an impatient sort,” Rodimus commented. “I believe after we eat, we'll be ready to go.”

“Then don't take a long time eating. It's not like I didn't have other things to do than to join you on this quest.”

“I'm sure we all did, Dilgear,” Zolf said then looked at me. “But I made the choice to join Master Zelgadis on this trip and I don't think I'll regret it.”

“Those are my views as well,” Rodimus said as he directed us to the dining table.

We left shortly after we ate, with Dilgear's loud complaints about how long it took us to get started again and I sighed. The half-werewolf was beginning to get annoying. It seemed that he had nothing else to do but to criticize everything I did. I was beginning to regret that he had to come along to be my chaperone. I would have much preferred doing this on my own. Actually, I would have much preferred not doing it at all, but I knew I had little choice in the matter.

“I haven't been on a quest like this for almost ten years,” Rodimus commented and I glanced at him.

“What were you looking for back then?” I asked.

“I was searching for someone. Sylpha hired me once to locate Zellon.”

“Zellon? My father? Did you find him?”

“...No.”

“Do you think he's still alive?”

“I don't know. All the places I searched at, no one had ever heard of him. It was almost like he had disappeared from the earth.”

“So where is this thing you're looking for?” Dilgear asked and I looked at him.

“If I had any idea, do you seriously think I spend my time aimlessly wandering? It could be anywhere. If you have other things to do, Dilgear, you may go and do them. There's no guarantee to the length of this quest,” I said.

“I've heard that there's a cave somewhere around here. Perhaps thieves once used it as a place to hide their ill-gotten gains. We should look for it,” Rodimus said and I nodded my head.

“That's an excellent idea, my friend. We'll cover more ground if we split up, though. We'll search for an hour than meet back here. Is that all right with everyone?”

“It's fine with me,” Zolf said and Rodimus nodded his head.

“That's an excellent suggestion,” he replied.

“All right, but you'd better not try to run out on your duties. I am a werewolf, you know. I can track people's scent,” Dilgear said and I looked at him.

“You've got nothing to worry about, Dilgear. I really don't have anything else to do besides this quest right now, whether you choose to believe it or not,” I said and Dilgear bared his fangs slightly in anger.

“I don't like your sarcasm.”

“There are things I dislike about your personality too, but I put up with them.”

“You've got a temper, don't you Zel? I wonder why the Red Priest chose you to do his work.”

“We'll see each other again in an hour. Use your time wisely, Dilgear.”

He's going to be a major pain in my neck as this journey truly gets underway, I told myself as I watched the half werewolf grudgingly walk off. I would love to be rid of him but I had the feeling that shaking him off my tail as it were, would not be easy. I pulled the hood down lower in an attempt to better cover my purplish hair then set off into the woods to search for the cave and hopefully, the Philosopher's Stone.

I gazed at the forest that I had entered. It didn't seem like a bad place to live, had I been searching for a possible place to build a house. It wasn't one of those completely dark forests where the canopies of the trees completely asphyxiated light, it was one of those forests that could have been a setting for a fairy tale. I couldn't see how a cave could be located in such a forest, but as I had come to find out, anything was possible. I mean, look at what happened to me. Normal for one moment then turned into the creature that I currently am.

I know I dwell on my transformation an awful lot. I guess it's because it still comes as a shock to me. I mean one moment I was just like Rodimus and Zolf and the next moment I was completely transformed into what they see now. My entire world fell apart that day and that's something that's extremely difficult to move past. It's not like I can easily pick up the pieces and move on. I can't easily accept the fate that the Red Priest had given to me. What gave him the right to try and play a god anyway? What gives anyone the right to try and play a god?

I gazed around at my surroundings once more and sighed. I had never really known what my grandfather was truly like. In the past, he only came for short visits and he more often than not, barely recognized my presence. Now that I knew what he was like, however, I wished that I was a complete stranger to him. Perhaps I would have kept my natural form if I hadn't been a blood relative of his. I folded my arms as I continued walking. There wasn't anything besides trees in the area I was currently in. I turned and glanced behind me. There was nothing the other way as well. Whatever cave Rodimus was talking about was certainly not in my area.

Something shiny caught my eye and I walked towards it. It was a piece of metal that appeared to have been broken off of something. Perhaps it had been a walking cane or a metallic container or something to that effect. I picked it up and gazed at it, my distorted reflection stared back at me and I closed my eyes. I muttered the first spell that came to mind and felt the shard change to liquid in my hand. I opened my eyes and watched the liquid drip off my fingertips. I had remembered an early spell that I had learned with my mother. I thought I had forgotten it since I hadn't used it in a long time, but I had just proved to myself how good my memory was. I wiped the liquid off of my hand then turned my attention to a chipmunk that sat watching me.

For some reason, it was not terrified by my appearance and I wondered if perhaps it saw beyond my hideous face. Rodimus and Zolf were able to. Zolf especially because he had known me as I had once been. Rodimus knew my mother and of my father so he judged me based off of my parents. But here, here was a tiny creature that looked upon me with no fear in its eyes and it had no previous dealings with me to make a judgment based off of my character. It based its decision of whether to run or not on what it saw. It was an incident that many would take for granted but such an encounter made me feel slightly better about the predicament I was in. Perhaps the most horrible thing about the transformation Rezo made me undergo was the fact that the view of myself had drastically changed. I saw myself as something not fit to be around others and perhaps I was a little too extreme in that mind-set but I still refused to walk around like I was completely normal. I had to keep my face hidden for not only the sanity of anyone I might run into but for my mental well-being also because each time I looked upon someone, the face only served as a reminder that I was once fully human.

The sun's warmth had greatly increased the temperature, I noticed as I stepped out at the meeting spot but I didn't feel hot. With this body, I no longer sweated, which I suppose could be considered a good thing. Rodimus and Zolf stepped out of the woods, wiping their foreheads and I looked around as I tried to locate our annoying chaperone, Dilgear.

“The humidity has suddenly gone up,” Rodimus commented as he gazed up at the sky. “There are clouds building up in the west. Perhaps it will rain during our trip.”

“Did you locate the cave that you had heard about?” I inquired and Rodimus shook his head.

“Unfortunately, no. I know it's around here somewhere, though.”

“I found it,” Zolf said and I looked at him.

“Did it look promising?” I inquired.

“It appears to be occupied.”

“Occupied?”

“It is the home of a wild animal. I did not venture inside, but I think it would be best if we leave the beast alone.”

“So your true feelings finally come out,” Dilgear said as he stepped into the clearing. We looked at him for a moment then I shook my head.

“Of course not. Zolf was merely telling us that something is occupying the cave we were searching for,” I replied. “We weren't even talking about you.”

“I do not wish to disturb the creature living inside the cave. The artifact that we're searching for may not even be in there,” Zolf said and Dilgear snorted in annoyance.

“You're scared, aren't you? All right, show me where the cave is and I'LL go check it out. It appears to me that I'm the only one that has any courage in this group,” Dilgear said and I narrowed my eyes in anger. If that werewolf had anything, it was certainly ignorance but I wasn't going to call him on it. He may be an ignorant fool, but he was still a werewolf and the natural defenses that he carried were certainly real. Not that it mattered at all with my skin but if we managed to get him enraged, Zolf and Rodimus were at risk. Zolf, I knew, could most likely take care of himself by casting a spell, but spell casting took time and if Dilgear was attacking while Zolf was casting Zolf was a goner.

“If you want to take the risk, be my guest Dilgear,” Zolf said and Dilgear bared his fangs.

“Now you will see why the Red Priest chose me for this job,” Dilgear said and Zolf sighed.

“Very well then. Go that way for half a mile then turn right. Keep heading in that direction until you see the cave.”

“I'd advise you all to stay here and wait. If I do find the artifact, though, I'm certainly not going to give you credit for any of this.”

“Can we leave without him?” Zolf asked, once Dilgear had walked out of sight.

“We can certainly try. A lot more ground can be covered without him. Besides, I have the feeling that like a bad coin, he's going to turn up again,” Rodimus said and I nodded my head.

“But for a while, we can be completely free of him. That should give us all peace of mind,” I said and pointed to a path. “Let's go that way. We're sure to approach another town by the time the day ends.”

“It's too bad we don't have horses or something like that. We'd be able to go twice as fast,” Zolf commented.

“We must make do with what we have. At least until we can do better.”

We made good time on foot and I guess that because my body was the way it was, I didn't get tired as easily. I first noticed this about an hour after we left Dilgear. Rodimus was commenting on the heat and I brought a hand up to my face then drew it away. There had been no sweat on my brow. I could not feel heat, at least not like the others could. Could I actually feel like I used to? Not feel as in emotion, for I already knew that my emotions still were extremely strong, but feel as in touch. I was constructed partially of golem, I told myself as I gazed at my gray hands covered with the slate colored scales. They were hands, obviously, but did they actually have the nerve endings at the tips of my fingers the way I used to have them? I stared at my hands, noting something extremely odd. There was no texture on my fingertips. No little grooves in the skin which meant no fingerprints. With no fingerprints, was I capable of feeling things like Rodimus and Zolf could?

“You've been extremely quiet, Master Zelgadis. Is something wrong?” Zolf inquired as he picked up his canteen of water.

“No, nothing's wrong,” I replied as I lowered my hands away from my face. “I'm just discovering some more things that I've never thought about before.”

“Such as?” Rodimus inquired and I looked at him.

“Fingerprints. Is the reason why our fingers can feel so much is because of the fingerprints we own? You own, I mean. I There can be no fingerprints on a rock.”

“I see what you mean, but what are you trying to get at?”

“If feeling is generated by the same area that generates fingerprints, then how does a creature with no fingerprints feel?”

There was a silence as they thought about my question and I folded my arms and thought. Even the clothes I wore felt odd against my hardened skin. Rezo said I was a third human, but what third was that? My skin looked nothing like a human's and my ears were nothing like either a human or a golem. My outside appearance was mostly human and demon so perhaps, my emotions were human. But how was that possible? Wasn't my body and emotions connected?

“I'm afraid we don't have an answer for you, Master Zelgadis,” Zolf said and I looked at him.

“It's all right. It was just something I hadn't noticed before.”

There were a lot of things I was rediscovering as we made our trek. We soon reached another village where we learned of a mysterious statue. We got ourselves a room at the inn and discussed the possibilities of the new information. I pulled up my collar as I sat down in a stiff wooden chair. I didn't want any stranger to see my true appearance. I don't think I could stand the shock of people as they looked upon me. Zolf glanced at me and laid a hand over mine. I looked at him and drew my hand away.

“I found that a curios shop has what we're looking for,” he said. “I suggest we should look into it tomorrow.”

“There is also rumor of a gang called the Black Dragons around this area. When I went downstairs to the bar, I overheard the locals saying that they make a regular run here. It would be wise for us to keep our guard up,” Rodimus said.

“I do not think we will run into them, but it is always good to be careful,” I said. “So the stone is in a curios shop?” I inquired and Zolf nodded his head.

“I suggest we visit it early the next morning before the crowd starts,” he replied.

“I've never seen a crowd in a curios shop, but okay,” Rodimus said.

“I understood what he meant. If we wait until late in the day, it is possible that what we are searching for may no longer be there,” I said and yawned slightly. I hoped that Dilgear wouldn't find us anytime soon. Especially not when what I was searching for was so close at hand. It seemed to be a stroke of luck that the Philosopher's Stone was so close. It had to be hidden in another object because an item as legendary as the Philosopher's Stone would not be in a mere curios shop for long.

“Do you think that werewolf will locate us?” Zolf asked and I sighed.

“He will eventually. I just hope he doesn't find us before we get the stone. I don't want to put such a priceless object in his hands,” I replied.

“Let us not concern ourselves with werewolves tonight. Let's get a good night's rest and get the stone early in the morning,” Rodimus said and Zolf nodded his head.

“Rodimus is right. There's no sense worrying ourselves with something that doesn't need to be worried about,” Zolf said as I took off my cloak. I sighed at the sight of my chest and glanced at the others.

“Does it look as awful as I see it?” I inquired and Zolf shook his head.

“Master Zelgadis, no matter how your appearance changes, you are still the same person on the inside. Never forget that.”

“Should we keep watches?” Rodimus inquired.

“I don't see that it's necessary but if you want to, you can.”

“Can we at least blow the lamp out?” I inquired and Zolf blew out the light.

“Good night, Master Zelgadis,” he said as I closed my eyes.