'I need answers and Rubia might be one of the ones that can give me some,' Lina thought, as she pounded on the door.
After waiting a bit, the door hesitantly opened and Rubia timidly looked out.
"Miss Rubia, I'm doing a personal investigation of Chairman Halcyform's disappearance."
"I've told the guard all that I know," Rubia replied, as she tried closing the door.
Lina slapped her hand out and stopped the door from closing. "It is important and I rather not discuss it out in the open."
Seeing the frightened look in her eyes, Lina thought desperately of something to say.
"Please, Rubia. I think I know what's going on. I just need some confirmation."
Rubia hesitated and then nodded. Lina quickly slid into the mansion and looked about.
"Is this place warded from scrying?
Rubia nodded.
"I'm going to add some of my own," Lina said, and proceeded to put more wards up.
Lina turned and looked at Rubia with a sad smile on her face.
"I can deal with it, but I need to know. Did Halcyform make the Pledge of Immortality?"
Rubia backed up in fright. "H-how d-did y-you....?"
"Know?" Lina asked. "That's a simple question with a very complex answer. I'm trying to figure it out myself."
"Tell me how. I want to live without him being freed."
Lina scratched her nose. "Once I kill Seygrum, Halcyform will die."
"You can kill Seygrum?" Rubia asked. Seeing Lina nod, she continued, "That's not what I meant. How did you know about Halcyform?"
Lina saw a chair and sat down in it heavily. She gave a deep sigh and looked up at Rubia.
'She's scared. She doesn't want Halcyform freed, meaning he's trapped somewhere. Do I trust her? Gourry wouldn't understand and I don't want to try to explain this to him. Zelgadis can still be scryed upon by Rezo. Amelia is probably in Seyruun. I really need someone to dump part of this burden on. Roll the dice and take a chance,' Lina thought.
Taking a deep breath, Lina said, "I'm not going to tell you everything. If I did, you'd have nightmares for the rest of your life. Someone cast a spell on me that sent me back about two or three years. At least that's what I thought happened."
"So you've dealt with Halcyform before?" Rubia asked, in shock.
"Yes. But things are not proceeding anything like I recall. One, you are supposed to be nothing more than a puppet that Halcyform is trying to revive."
Rubia shook her head. "I am not the real Miss Rubia, she is dead. I am nothing more than a puppet."
"I can argue that. You have a mind and sense of self. The Rubia I recall had neither. Another thing is that Tarim and Daymia reported to the Guild that Halcyform was conducting immortality research and he was banished from the city. Now, Halcyform has vanished without Guild intervention and it looks like Daymia is also studying immortality. What happened to Halcyform?"
"Tarim and Daymia teamed up to seal Halcyform in crystal. That crystal is in the middle of a giant Rune Breaker under Daymia's mansion. By the way, who are you?"
"Lina Inverse."
A look of wild hope came to Rubia's face when she heard the name. "Yes. You would have the best chance."
"Just in case, is there anything else I need to know about Halcyform?"
"He is telepathic. Is that what you meant?"
"Not good. I'll have to deal with Seygrum first. Don't say anything about our meeting. Just give them the usual responses and try and learn as many cooking recipes as possible."
"I don't understand that last one, I would think...."
Lina cut her off with a wave of her hand. "I'll explain that after I take care of things. Just remember to keep learning those cooking recipes. It's important."
Lina stood up and headed for the door. "You'll be free of the horror soon. Wish me luck."
"Good luck, Miss Lina."
As Lina left, she thought, 'Filling her mind with cooking recipes should defeat Halcyform's telepathy. Telling someone not to think of something is the best way to get them to think of it. Also the confusion over my advice should keep her mind safe from the immortal idiot.'
As Lina reentered Tarim's mansion, she was pounced on by Gourry.
"Where were you, Lina?"
"Just getting some information about the job. Why?"
"I am your protector and I can't do that when your not here."
"Don't worry about it. Let's get some sleep. It's going to be a very busy night."
_______________________________________________________________________
Zelgadis and his two retainers made their way to Tarim's manse and met with Tarim.
Tarim looked at Zelgadis suspiciously. "Are you one of Daymia's chimeras?"
"This is my first time in Atlas. Someone else turned me into a chimera. He has no interest in Atlas City politics. He actually lives near Sairagg," Zelgadis said flatly.
"Oh. Sorry. Daymia is in the process of creating chimeras and well...."
"Unless he has a way to return me to my human form, I have no interest in chimera research."
Tarim lit of a cigar and smoked it. "I don't know much about chimera research, but I am aware that separating a chimera back into his component beings is very hard and is not possible at this time."
"What do you mean by that?"
Tarim picked up a half glass full of wine and poured some water in it. He handed the glass to Zelgadis who scrunched up his face in disgust.
"Try to separate the water from the wine."
Zelgadis growled a bit. "I understand what you are saying, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I didn't say you had to. I just gave an example of why it will be so hard, if not impossible, to turn you back into a human. At any rate, I can use some extra bodyguards. Lina Inverse is good, but she is only one person."
Tarim told them the fee he was paying for bodyguards and Zelgadis' eyes widened in surprise.
"I can see why Lina Inverse took the job," Zolf said.
Rodimus just gave a curt nod.
_______________________________________________________________________
Far north, near Sairagg a man clenched and unclenched his fists. He opened his eyes and looked at his reflection in a pond. He cast a fireball at his reflection and looked in the direction of Atlas.
"I will not allow Rezo to succeed. I will kill him and surpass Rezo the Red Priest. I might have started off as nothing more than his copy, but I will exceed him."
Kopii Rezo glared at his reflection once more, before heading southwards to Atlas City. He used some of his magic to speed up the journey.
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(Posted Mon, 31 Oct 2005 18:38)
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