The footsteps started getting closer as I snuck across the room to get my cloak, since I'd fallen asleep with my clothes on. As I got myself ready, I waited for the footsteps to stop, and they did...right in front of my room, as I'd expected them to. I hid myself near the doorway just as the door was kicked open.

Several shadows I couldn't make out stormed into the room, but they seemed alarmed when they found out I wasn't in bed asleep. "Where is she?!" one cried out.

I wanted to just scream "Right here!", but I thought that being cautious was more important. Although I'd been hiding near the door, I wasn't just sitting idle! I dashed into the open doorway, spreading my hands wide and forming a ball of light. This is no Lighting...it's a real Fireball this time! One of the shadows noticed me and turned around quickly, but it was too late. I threw the Fireball into the room, dashed into the hall and slammed the door behind me.

I allowed myself a moment to grin as I pressed my back to the door. A Fireball cast into a closed room has twice the effect of a normal Fireball. There was a loud BOOM! as the spell detonated, and I stepped back from the door. I sighed at myself, though, once it was over. When I'm in top condition, Fireball spell can melt solid metal. But now...

I turned to see Gourry hurrying out of his room, in full armor and carrying his sword. "What? What happened?"

"a.s.sa.s.sins!"

"Did you get them?"

I shrugged and gave him the most honest answer I could: "I'm not sure." If it had been the previous day, I would have just nodded, but I'd been worried since. Of course, the second I said that, several of the shadows, still burnt, rushed out of the room. Gourry immediately cut one down, and in the light of the hall I could finally see what they really were: trolls wearing simple armor and carrying swords.

Gourry took another swing at one, but even hurt and burned as he was he managed to entirely block Gourry's attack with his own blade. Any normal person couldn't do that...he must be a veteran.

"You must be the girl's comrade," the veteran says. Once he was in action I could get a better look at him...human, middle-aged but solidly built.

Gourry grinned. "You're good, old man."

"It's the experience that comes with old age." Both warriors jumped apart at the same time. The troll Gourry had cut down first slowly started to get up, and I got nervous...the situation looked bad. Gourry had his hands full with the old man, leaving the trolls for me. Gourry's good, but so's the veteran; he can't fight them both. In the state I was in, though, I wouldn't have been able to kill trolls. My magic power was extremely weak.

I sighed. Ideally, when Gourry came out of his room the fight would have been over. He'd have asked, "Did you get them?" and I would have nodded, saying "Piece of cake!" and winking. The only thing left would have been dousing the fire...but the thing is, other than being somewhat burned, the a.s.sa.s.sins were still in good shape. I wouldn't be able to take them down with spells, but I couldn't kill trolls with a sword either. I'm not as good as Gourry but I know what I'm doing with a blade, but that's against HUMAN opponents. The only way to kill a troll is to behead it or something...I may be skilled, but I don't have the strength to behead a troll.

I sighed and got ready. My only option was to help Gourry by blinding the trolls with cheap spells. Since the hallway wasn't that wide, they couldn't rush us, so we could have defeated them one at a time. I took a deep breath...it was going to be tiring, but we didn't have any other choice!

"All right...!" I got myself ready and was about to join in, when all of a sudden the trolls and the old man just...stopped moving. Their eyes took on a very blank look, and suddenly I understood what had stopped them. It was a spell called "Control." Not a hard spell; it's effective against beings with low intelligence like trolls. That didn't explain the old man, though. The spellcaster must have had tremendous skill. You see, normally "Control" works against a single target, and takes time and certain materials to cast. But to control so many targets at once, and almost instantaneously? It was probably an original version, one I'd have to look into when I had the time...

Gourry, not having my knowledge of magic, was confused however. "What's the matter with them?"

"I just cast a simple spell..." came a voice from almost all around. "I don't know who is to blame, but this commotion is disturbing the other guests..." I looked over the fallen trolls, and say who was speaking: a priest was standing in that direction, near the exit. He had a kindly, pale face but it was hard to tell his age...he looked old and young at the same time. His eyes were shut tight...he was probably blind. The most disturbing thing, however, were his robes. The style was certainly that of a priest, but the colors were all wrong. Normally priests wear white, or sometimes purple or green in some areas...but his robes were blood red.

I coughed. "Thanks for the help. You are?"

The priest turned toward me. "No thanks are necessary. I'm simply a guest who saw some suspicious individuals sneaking around, so I stuck my head in."

"He's just like you," Gourry mused. I glared at him, trying to keep him quiet. It was a very serious scene.

I turned back to the red priest. "Then you must have been the one to cast Sleeping on the guests?"

He nodded, but had a somewhat impressed expression. "How did you know?"

I smiled faintly. "Even though there was a lot of noise, no one came out to check...I a.s.sumed they'd been put to sleep."

"It wouldn't be good to have ignorant people coming out and making a big deal of things," the priest replied.

I raised an eyebrow. "Then are you saying you're somehow involved in this whole thing?"

The priest snapped his fingers, and suddenly the trolls and the middle-aged man got up and, as if in a trance, started walking slowly toward the exit. "It seems they are followers of Zelgadis..." the priest said quietly.

That name again... "Do you know him?" I asked.

The priest nodded. "Indeed I do. He plans on using an item you possess to resurrect the Dark Lord Shabranigdu. He is...my enemy."

That news. .h.i.t me like a ton of bricks. Dark Lord Shabranigdu...oh boy. Gourry, however, looked as confused as ever. "What's that? Sha...Shara...Shabrawhatsis..."

"I'll explain later!" I snapped, brushing him aside coldly. I turned back to the priest. "Is that true?"

"It's most probably true. Zelgadis was born as a chimera, a cross between a golem and a blow-demon. He plans to resurrect the demon king and gain awesome power to sink the world into chaos."

I was astounded by that. It was...insane! "Why would he want to do something so stupid...?"

The priest shook his head. "Even I do not know. But I am certain, however, that he is our common enemy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Even if you say he's a common enemy, why are you opposing him?"

"I am a priest," he answered. "I cannot let an attempt to resurrect the Demon King succeed."

I shook my head. It sounded...sort of suspicious. "So are you offering to fight together?" I folded my arms over my chest, while Gourry had little more to do than just stand there.

The priest shook his head. "No, absolutely not. I'm a.s.suming the two of you happened to get ahold of the 'key' necessary for the resurrection, and as a result became enemies with Zelgadis."

I nodded. "You're right."

"Let me have the 'key'. That way the two of you won't have to be involved any longer."

I shrugged. "Wouldn't it just be easier to destroy the key?"

The priest panicked at that, which surprised me a little. "Don't do such a thing! That is the way to resurrect the Demon King!"

"But if I hand it over to you, that means you'll have to fight them alone!"

The priest offered a slight smile. "Do not worry. They may be powerful but I, the Red Priest, do not intend to lose."

The evening was certainly full of surprises...Red Priest? As he said that, I finally figured out the priest's ident.i.ty. "Are you Rezo, the Red Priest?"

"I have been called that," he replies, smiling wryly. Rezo the Red Priest...he's said to always wear red. He had the same innate power as the chief priest of Saillune, but he served no kingdom. Instead, he wandered the land, helping those in need. Along with the white magic of priests, he also knew black magic and shamanist magic, and is counted as one of the Five Great Sages. His only flaws were that he was born blind...and his name sounds like a villain's name. Even little kids know of him.

I was snapped out of my reverie by someone tugging on my cloak from behind...by Gourry, who looked at me, confused. "Is he someone famous?" I almost fell over from shock, then snapped angrily, "I'll explain later!" I turned and continued speaking with the Red Priest. "We will fight with you!" I blinked when he did not seem to take to the idea. "After hearing that, we can't turn our backs on you and just walk away..."

Rezo looked somewhat uncomfortable. "I thank you, but..."

I refused to be denied. "It isn't that we don't have faith in you, but should the Demon King be resurrected it's not something anyone can ignore. I know I may only be a little help, but I would like to be of some use."

The Red Priest's expression grew more troubled. "However..."

"Please, there's no need to worry! I have some knowledge of spellcasting, and this man, Gourry, is a skilled swordsman. We promise not to get in your way."

"Alright, if you say so," the priest replied with a sigh.

I smiled. "Then let us fight together!" Gourry was tugging on my cloak from behind again but I did my best to ignore him.

"Let me safeguard the key," the priest offers, but I shook my head. His expression became somewhat unpleasant, so I explained myself.

"They don't know we have allied. We can be the bait, and you can secretly support us."

"But then you two will be in danger. I can be the bait..."

I shook my head. "No. If you take the 'key', then they will know that we've come into contact. If that happens, they'll start plotting and the whole purpose of having 'bait' will be gone."

"That may be true, but..."

"Sir priest, please have some faith in me!" Most people couldn't resist something like that and say "No", but I had a feeling Gourry might have.

The priest sighed. "All right. Then I shall leave the 'key' in your hands." After saying that, he walked over toward my room. What was he doing...? He took a small round object, and threw it into my room, shutting the door after it. The Red Priest started to chant...it sounded like the Resurrection spell, only a bit different. After a moment or two, he stops, although nothing seems to have happened. He turned toward me. "I shall return to my room now. Starting tomorrow, I will support you in secret. Goodnight." After saying that, he walked away into the shadows.

Gourry peered into the room, confused. "There's nothing wrong with the room. What did he just do?"

"Let me take a look..." I peered into the room as well, and was speechless when I saw what had happened. As Gourry had said, there was nothing wrong with the room. The bed was slightly ruffled and the window was covered in cheap white drape. NOTHING had changed! The room was exactly as it had been before I tossed a Fireball into it. If the room had stayed burned, the innkeeper would not have been happy. I couldn't think of anything to do. I didn't know how he did it, but Rezo the Red Priest had fixed the room. "What an unbelievable guy..." I murmured.

"What's unbelievable?"

I sighed. "I'll explain it to you tomorrow. Let's get to bed. Lack of sleep is bad for your health and your looks." I shut the door to my room, walked into Gourry's, and laid down in a corner.

"Hey, little girl!" Gourry called out. "That's my room!"

"I know that."

Gourry was stunned speechless. "..."

I sighed. "There might be another attack if I'm in my room."

"But even if you're in THIS room..."

"It'll be safer with two people than one."

Gourry sighed. "Alright, then use the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

"I can't do that! I'm the one who barged into the room."

"Okay," Gourry said, seeing I couldn't be persuaded. He walked to the other side of the room and laid down, sleeping on the floor.

"Why aren't you sleeping on the bed?" I asked.

"Fool. How can I let a girl sleep on the floor while I sleep in a bed?"

I smiled wryly at the chivalry. "Do as you like. Goodnight, Gourry."

"Goodnight, little girl." I sighed. If he'd stop treating me like a kid, he might be tolerable...

The next day we left, heading toward Atlas City once again. For days we traveled through annoyingly similar-looking forests, and I was getting bore of seeing just trees. As we traveled, I decided to bite the bullet and ask Gourry the question I dreaded. "Are you serious about not knowing about Dark Lord Shabranigdu?"

"Hmmm..." Gourry said, then gave that a few minutes of thought. "Nope. I don't really know at all."

I couldn't believe it. The legend of Shabranigdu; not just to sorcerers and priests, but also normal people too. I sighed. "Fine. I'll explain it to you. Try to think of it like listening to a story."

Gourry nodded. "Okay."

I sighed again...would he really understand even if I tell him? I tried not to focus on doubts and started in on the story. "Apart from the world we live in, there are several other worlds. Each one lies on top of a sraff, which is stuck into the Sea of Chaos. Each world is round and flat...think of it like a pie placed on top of a stick stuck into the ground." I pointed at the ground as well to emphasize the point. "One of them is where we live."

That explanation is what most sorcerers and sorceresses believe in, but I don't necessarily agree with it. However, that didn't seem like a subject Gourry would really understand anyhow, so I didn't go into it. "On each of these worlds, for ages, there have been two forces fighting for control. One is the G.o.ds, the other is the Mazoku. The G.o.ds are trying to defend the world; the Mazoku want to destroy the worlds and gain control of the staff that holds them up.

"On some worlds, the G.o.ds have won and there is peace. On others, the Mazoku have won and those worlds have been destroyed. On our world the battle is still going on. Ruby Eye Shabranigdu and Flare Dragon Ceipheed have battled for control of our world. Their war lasted for hundreds of thousands of years, until finally Ceipheed split Shabranigdu into seven pieces, then sealed them in places across our world."

Gourry nodded, saying rbgihtly, "Then the G.o.ds were victorious?"

I shook my head. "Only sealed...not destroyed."

"But if his body was split up into seven parts..."

"If that was all it took to kill him, he wouldn't be called a Demon King. After the Light Dragon sealed Shabranigdu away, he ran out of strength and sank into the Sea of Chaos."

Gourry made a face. "Not very responsible of him."

I couldn't hide a smile at that. "Don't worry. He feared the resurrection of the Demon King, so before he ran out of strength, Ceipheed created four counterparts of himself: the Earth, Sky, Water, and Fire Dragon Kings. Each was responsible for the defense of the northern, eastern, souther, or western regions of our world. The legends say that was about 5000 years ago. About 1000 years ago, what the Light Dragon feared came to pa.s.s. One of the seven pieces of Shabranigdu possessed a human being and was revive. The Demon King trapped the Water Dragon King of the north, fought, and managed to defeat him. In the process, though, the Demon King was chained to the earth and unable to move.

Gourry blinked. "That was a senseless battle."

I shook my head again. "It just means that's how much weaker the two of them were. Anyway, as a result, the balance of the world was disturbed, and what we call the 'Beasts of Darkness' appeared."

Gourry whistled, and I could tell he was impressed. "Well, not counting the matter of whether this is right or not, in the past there was certainly some power in the north strong enough to be called the Demon King."

Gourry glanced at me. "So this Zel-whatsis guy, the one in white, is trying to resurrect the second of the seven parts of Shabranigdu?"

I nodded. "Exactly. Well, that is, if what Rezo the Red Priest is true."

"Which reminds me," Gourry muttered. "Even though you were polite towards him, it didn't look like you trusted Rezo."

I blinked at that. Pretty perceptive coming from Gourry. "There's no guarantee he's the real Rezo," I explained. "He's almost a legend, and there haven't been any reports of him being seen for the past ten years."

"So he might be one of 'them' using Rezo's name?"

"Right."

Gourry raised an eyebrow. "If you think like that, it's a surprise you trusted me at all."

I grinned impishly. "I still might not trust you."