Chapter Three: Straight Way, No Stops

While Kytares was not the farthest place from Purey, it surely was not the closest. The company was making excellent time, for being largely on foot. Traveling through a lowland plain had insured relatively few bandit attacks (none), and no delays as well. Most people in the party were hard pressed to remember a better journey, although it was agreed that once they began to cross into the highlands to the plateau where the city of Kytares lay, then there would be the inevitably foolish bandit seeking prey. The poor inevitably doomed bandit.

Despite whatever the party may have thought of him, Arcius was wonderful companion (aside from his taste in color-coordination). He socialized a lot, being an incredible gossip. When the party would stop, he would regale them with tales of great heroes, past and present. He kept the party in good spirits, although no one could really say how. He even managed, when no one was looking, to draw a smile out of dour old Zelgadis. But most importantly, he had a quantify of spices hidden away, and he could cook very well.

After a week of travel, the party had reached the first of a series of rugged climbs they would have to make to reach the top of the plateau. Everyone was tired and in a sort of somber mood. Dinner had been quietly eaten around a small fire. Everyone sat around it, enjoying its warmth, for the breeze off of the mountain was cold and smelled of snow and the rapidly approaching winter. The only sounds were the crackle of the fire and the lazy tune off of the lute.

High above them, on a cliff, a pair of eyes gleamed red against the black of the moonless night. They focused on the brightly gleaming twinkle of the fire. "Escape me, will they?" The eyes narrowed. "As soon as they sleep, begin the spells. Let's see if we can get them to do the dirty work themselves." A pair of eyes materialized beside the others, although significantly lower.

As the night wore on, the party gradually dozed off. As the last of the group began unpacking their bedrolls, they noticed Arcius was not only up still, but doing two unusual things. First, and most noticeable, he was not playing his lute. Two, he was looking rather serious. Noticing the attention, he smiled at them, teeth twinkling brightly in the firelight. "I am fine. I just have a peculiar feeling about something." He shrugged. "Probably my hyper imagination. I knew I should not have told those horror stories earlier tonight."

Arcius tossed a few more logs on the fireplace. He was not sure why he had volunteered for first watch. At least, he thought, the snores of my companions will certainly frighten off any wild beast seeking prey. With a wry grin, he stood up and strode away from the campsite to a nearby grove to heed nature's call.

Above them, on the mountainside, the large shadow extended a hand and spoke. "Nightmare Phantasm." A handful of ominously glittering dust fell from her hand. It was weighted, like sand, and fell in a twinkling arc. It whooshed silently, softly over the campsite, billowing up in a pale cloud momentarily before fading away.

Arcius came back out of the woods and back to the fire. There was the faint scent of opium that intrigued him for just a moment. He did not have time to ponder on it for long, as a scream erupted from the other side of the camp.

The scream had come from Constance, who was now out of bed and curled into a little ball under a nearby tree. She had been running, but had ended up tripping and falling.

"Oh god, it's happened again, they've kidnapped me again..." She looked down at her arms and legs, and saw what had made her trip...she was bound in heavy chains, which kept her from going too far.

The others were starting to wake up, most of them with a haunted look on their face. But all Constance could see were her captors. She was no longer in the camp where she had fallen asleep--she was in a small, dark cave. She could hear the sound of water flowing at a rapid pace, and the air was damp, so she guessed that she was being kept behind a waterfall.

"There's no way out, I'm surrounded...no one will be able to hear my screams for help outside because of the sound of water..."

Constance just sat there with her knees drawn up to her chest, falling deeper into despair. She felt drenched from head to toe and was shivering uncontrollably, although in reality, her clothes were dry and the robes she was wearing were more than adequate for keeping her warm.

She didn't have too much time to think all this over though, because one of her captors was approaching. She could hear the faint crunching of gravel under the creature's feet as he stepped into a ray of moonlight and came even closer.

Constance let out a shriek of terror as she realized that the creature was a giant fish walking on two legs, with his scales glistening in the moonlight...

Jin shot up from his dream, sweat dripping from his face. He had a dream about fighting the leader of the bandits that killed his father. He woke up just when the bandit ran him through with a sword. He jumped up from his bed, his staff ready and looked around.

"Where are you?! Come out and face me!!" He turned and "saw" him under a nearby tree. "Now I have you! You'll pay for murdering my father!! AAAAAHHHHHH!" He charged at him with his staff, but he missed and rammed the tree. He turned and looked behind him, and just as the "bandit" was about to run him through, a large old branch fell from the tree and knocked Jin down to the ground, unconscious.

Zel sat bolt upright, waking from his recurring nightmare of being transformed into a Chimera by Rezo the Red Priest. That wasn't bad, he'd been having the nightmare since the day it had happened. What was bad, Zel's tormentor and arch-enemy stood only yards away, back again from the grave and smirking as he casually swept his staff towards Zel with a jingle.

Zel started to roll to the side, but Rezo was already incanting something the likes of which he had never heard - and his legs were frozen! To his absolute horror Zelgadis tried to raise his arms and shield himself, to chant a spell of protection or escape - and could not! He lowered his eyes, the only part of him that could still move, and knew why.

Shedding silent tears in helpless rage and terror, Zelgadis realized he had been turned to stone; a conscious and living statue. Rezo stood over him with his arrogant smirk and said, "I hope you enjoy your new body, Zelgadis, because you will never be released from it. A stone statue for all eternity, without any hope of being human again."

The scene shifted to show Lina and Gourry gasping in pools of their own blood, with Rezo's voice echoing, "Your friends have already fallen, you will find no help from them - even that so-called genius, Lina Inverse!"

The scene changed again, and Rezo was holding Amelia by her neck. She started to yell, "Justice will tri-" and then Rezo's grip cut off her air. Somehow his smirking expression became even more malignant as he casually fended of her increasingly weak blows against his arms. "This one I think I will have some fun with before she dies..."

Still holding Amelia by her throat, he said, "I do hope you fare well, my dear Zelgadis. Perhaps I will come to clean the bird droppings off of you from time to time. You *are* family, after all." With the semiconscious Amelia still choking in his grasp, Rezo vanished.

Somehow, his smirk seemed to stay behind and linger as the only thing Zel could see.

Mor'Dia found herself in front of a small house that seemed awfully familiar, yet she was sure that she'd never been in that house before.... She didn't recall how she'd gotten there as well...The girl looked around in search of a clue. It appeared to be market-day in... in... what was the name of the city? The people were wearing colorful robes and their heads were shaven as it was custom in... in... what was it... Karleen. She was in Karleen. Just as the memories came back to her with a painful jolt, the scene shifted. She was in that boy's dreams again. Horrible nightmares, full of black shadowy things that ate through your skin like acid. sucked out your blood while you were still alive... She got no more than a glimpse of the dreams, then the scenery shattered like a smashed mirror, the pieces falling apart... and she realized that she'd lost him and that he was dying... and that he in his panic tried to hold on to her and to take her with him...

She awoke with a scream of terror, her heart pounding in her chest... Only to find that they had surrounded her. The people of Karleen had come to avenge Hume's death... one of them holding a branding-iron.

"Charlatan!" "Witch!" It was a whisper at first, but it grew to a chanted mantra of hate quickly. They were so close now... nowhere to run, no escape... The glow of the branding iron... A sudden pain in her left shoulder...

Mor'Dia was blind with tears now but determined to fight back.

Constance let out a sigh of relief. 'Good thing that rock fell when it did, or he would have come back for a second shot...but what am I going to do about the rest of them?' Constance was weaponless, so when she saw more of the walking fish come toward her, she started looking for a big rock to break her shackles with, or at least one she could use to defend herself.

By this time, Allen was quite confused. Everyone in the camp seemed to be going crazy, including Constance. Zelgadis wouldn't move, Mor'Dia was clutching at her shoulder as if she was in great pain, and Jin was knocked out cold from a tree branch falling on him. He had tried to stab Constance before, who was now hitting her right ankle with a large rock.

"Constance, stop, you're going to break your ankle!" Allen lunged for Constance and tried to grab for the stone from her, but his hands went right through it. "Oh yeah, I forgot...I'm a ghost, I can't pick up things like that..."

"It...won't...break," Constance gasped through clenched teeth as she repeatedly smashed the large rock against the thick metal band on her right ankle. No matter how much she hit the shackles with the rock, they didn't give. Her ankle was bleeding at this point, the metal of the shackle lodged into her skin by the force she had used. It was no use. She threw the rock down next to her and started to cry.

Another one of the fish people approached her. She didn't wait to see if this one was armed or not, like she had with the others; she grabbed her rock from its new resting spot and flung it in the direction of her new target.

Arcius ducked just in time for the rock to sail past the top of his head, taking his hat with it. Constance was watching him with wide-eyed terror. In front of her lay Jin, eyes a-spiral and unconscious. Behind him, he heard Lina shriek and start shaking her arms desperately, like something was clinging to it.

Utterly confused, he took a step back. He tripped over a bedroll, flailed his arms wildly for a brief second and fell. This saved him as Mor'Dia finished mumbling. The tree reached down and smashed a branch right where he had been standing. He stared wide-eyed for a few seconds, at which point he realized his cloak was on fire. He sprang several feet up into the air, slapping it for all he was worth. He landed and glared at the chaos in the camp. "What the HECK is going on here!?" Before he could say any more, he had to dive out of the way of an extremely large rock launched at his head with serious intent to maim. "AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

Jin slowly sat up. He groaned and rubbed his head.

"Ugh....What happened...? I must have been seeing things...." Jin then looked around and saw everyone acting strangely. "Hey! What's going on?!" He turned and looked at Constance on the ground, her ankle bleeding. "Constance! Everyone must be under a weird spell that I was in too...." He slowly got up and walked toward Constance. He tried to heal her ankle, but she kept pushing him away. "Constance! Stop it! Let me help you!" He grabbed her hand and then started healing her ankle.

Constance shut her eyes tightly and tensed up, expecting to feel pain at any moment. But the pain never came...when she opened her eyes, she saw that her ankle was being healed. "Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

Jin looked up at her. "Constance! It's me, Jin! Snap out of it!"

Tim woke up with a scowl on his face. Somebody had a LOT of explaining to do because things were not adding up. His nightmare consisted of the return of the Gods in a final apocalyptic battle against the wielders of the Power of Command. That battle resulted in the literal destruction of the world which he was allowed to witness and record as his punishment for aiding this mad quest. Tim's mind had shut down, totally speechless and numbed to the terror.

The only thing that prevented him was the fact that he could no longer read his Book of Memory. That was the only reason why he had "lived" and "continued to live" in the now ruined world. The gods wanted a biographer to remind the humans and other races the folly of messing with the gods. If he couldn't read or write, why was he chosen. When he questioned, the gods zapped him into oblivion from this dream thus waking him up.

Upon waking up, he began to see the others acting crazy as well. He decided to search for the reason instead of going up and seeing to them all individually. He started looking around for any traces of magic or other signs of wrong doing.

At the edge of the campsite, a black-cloaked figure materialized. He watched the chaos in the camp with an amused smile while seeking out his target. There. The... He sweatdropped. Has he no fashion-sense at all? The mistress wasn't joking, was she? He noticed Jin and Tim shake off the spell. He leapt forward, form flickering as he rematerialized behind Arcius. He grabbed the bard by his scrawny neck and pulled him close. "BRAM PULSE!" he cried and struck the ground with his free hand. Instantly, a large, cylindrical barrier of wind sprang up around him, then burst outward with a fierce rush. It tore through the campsite, picking up everyone and sending them tumbling and bouncing until they hit something solid.

"The scroll! Where is...huh?" He looked down at the singed remains of Arcius' cloak; the bard was trying to tiptoe away. "No more games," he growled menacingly while looming menacingly over the bard. "Hand over the scroll and nothing bad will happen to you.�

"Y-yessir!" Arcius gibbered fearfully. He fumbled in his vest and pulled a tube out. Quaking with fear, he approached the enemy with the tube clenched tightly. Just as he was about to hand it over, he tripped and fell into the man, wrapping his arms around the foe for balance.

"Clumsy oaf!" The man shoved Arcius away roughly. The bard landed in a heap a few feet away. "Now hand the scroll over."

Tim got up and saw the newcomer trying to grab the scroll as quickly as possible. "And the dreammaker reveals himself" the collector thought to himself, "well, two can play this game. Let me show you how the Collectors deal with bandits."

Tim quickly cast a spell called Gentle Breeze which knocked the scroll away from the bad guy to within easy grabbing distance of Jin, Constance, and Zelgadis. Tim then pulled out a sword and said to the villain in mocking tones. "It appears the scroll doesn't like you. It has good taste. I don't like you either."

Arcius got up and brushed the dirt off himself. As he looked back towards the man, he noticed a silver staff with a blue crystal orb appear out of nothing and tap the man on the shoulder. Highly irritated, the man whirled to a side, keeping both adversaries in view.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't let you have that scroll." Celise said as the rest of her appeared.

"And who are you to stop me, little halfbreed." The man spat at her.

"Halfbreed!?" Celise retorted angered. "How rude!"

Celise sent a blast of wind towards the man. The man smiled as a shield became outlined by the wind as it deflected around him. Celise concentrated a bit harder, doubling the size of the stream, but the man just began to laugh. She turned her gaze to the ground, and smiled. Arcius looked as well and saw that the man and the shield slowly began to lift off the ground. slowly, the bubble moved till it hit a rock, then jumped into the air just high enough for the wind to send the man hurling into the stone wall causing a circular dent where the shield hit.

Arcius decided to watch, very curious as to who Celise was, and why she had come back. He pushed those questions to the back of his mind and continued to focus on Celise and the black robed man.

Zel tried to shake the afterimage of Rezo from his eyes - only he wasn't shaking, since he'd been turned the rest of the way to stone, of course.

Then a large rock flew up, that for some strange reason was wearing that bard's eye-wrenching hat, and hit the chimera's forehead with a loud, "THUD!" (The rock, thrown earlier by Constance, retained much of its original force after narrowly missing Arcius.)

As a huge, ugly bruised lump grew out of his hair, Zel fell over, sprawling out on the ground - and knocking him out of the grip of the spell over his mind. Shaking his head, holding a hand at his temple, he forced himself to his feet. Seeing the rock, cracked in half, on the ground in front of him, he couldn't help but think that this was another time that it wasn't all that bad to be a chimera.

Then he looked around at the others - some bespelled, some not - and the new arrivals of the half-dragon and the cloaked man, and wondered just what the heck was going on. One thing was sure, though - it wasn't good news. He drew his sword, on the lookout for a chance to attack.

The black-cloaked man's shield flickered out as Celise's spell ended. He glanced slowly, deliberately over his foes. To one side, Timothy stood, battle-smirk blazing. In front of him hovered the half-dragon. Behind her, Mor'Dia had the scrolltube, with Zelgadis, Jin, and Constance standing determinedly in front of the elf. On the other side, the bard... Had decided to sit down and munch on something while watching the scene!? The man shook his head in disbelief. "A clever idea," he spoke in his gravely voice. "But little half-breed, if it were appropriate, I could show how to truly throw the wind." He held out a hand. "I will ask nicely once. Hand over the scroll." He shook his head sagely as they responded by a definitive tensing and focusing of their weapons. "Ah well. Do it." His hand came up. "MELUSINE WAIL!" Then he threw himself at Celise, a wicked pair of daggers appearing in his hands.

A loud shriek began in the air, loud enough to cause discomfort. It began to crescendo rapidly; by the time the man and Celise began trading blows, it was the only thing that could be heard for half a mile.

Under the cover of the noise, a pair of hands reached out from behind and grabbed Mor'Dia. Her scream was lost in the din, as her captor viciously backhanded her. Stunned for a moment, the tube slid out of her hands. The other grabbed it and took off in the other direction.

Constance was immersed in watching the fight like everyone else, but was forced to look behind her when she heard Allen say that Mor'Dia and the scroll were abducted. "What?! But who took her?" The others heard Constance 'talking to herself' and turned around to see what was going on.

Allen shrugged. "All I saw was a pair of hands...I don't know who took her. Whoever it was, they're probably long gone by now..."

"Maybe not. Let's see...Levitation!" Constance shouted. She was airborne in seconds, and saw another hooded figure flying away from the scene of the crime being pursued by Mor'Dia.

The hooded figure that Celise was fighting dodged her last attacks, then fled. "He said over his shoulder as he left, "Now that we have the scroll, there's no need for me to be wasting my time fighting you..."

Mor'Dia was getting out of breath fast. Then a thought struck her, and she made a mental note to hit herself over the head later for not thinking of this sooner. She stopped running and concentrated. She tapped into the wild magic of the trees and started mumbling to herself, hoping that she would get it right this time...

All at once the forest itself seemed to attack the thief: branches lashed out at him, roots sprang out of the ground to make him trip. Soon he lay on the ground in an entangled heap, with the nearest trees still battering at him mercilessly.

Still, if the man knows magic, then the forest won't be able to hold him down for long. Mor'Dia thought to herself.

As if in answer to her thoughts two of the trees caught fire. A wave of pain hit the girl over her connection with the forest. The pain, combined with the nightmare from earlier that had taken it's toll of her strength, proved to much for Mor'Dia and her vision blurred.

Oh no, not now. I must get the scroll back...

The man stood up, shaking off his cloak, and glanced back at the staggering Mor'Dia. With a grim smile, he raised a hand.

"Die." His fingers tensed. "Elm--"

And Constance fell on him from the sky, slashing at him with the blades of her war-fan. The man stumbled back; the blades shredded his hood rather than his face. The face that glared at Constance caused her to take a step back. Once, that face might have been human. Now, it looked as though someone had taken a stirring stick and just swirled the features around into a gross mockery of a face.

Constance's face tightened. "Give us back the scroll or else!"

"BURST RONDEAU!" The thing hurled the small spheres in an arc around it, forcing Constance and Mor'Dia to defend, and Jin and Zelgadis, coming in from the air, to dodge. Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, it began to flee again.

Tim looked at the fleeing thief and was about to continue attaacking when a rather devious thought popped right in his head. It was time for a new tactic. Yelling at the top of his voice, Tim said "Why continue fighting us? Because you can't be entirely sure you have the right scroll until you loot our bodies. It seems to be that if I want a scroll kept hidden, I wouldn't put it in it's most obvious spot. Of course, as a thief, I'm sure the idea has crossed your mind..."

The cloaked man fighting Celise vanished with a dark flare, reappearing above the treetops. "Of course," he laughed at Tim. "but you cannot catch us unless we are so foolish as to fall for such a trick. If it's not, we will simply strike again and again, for we are the Sleepless Ones and we will stalk you forever to bring an end to our curse. Watch that book of yours very closely, Collector, lest we spirit it away next time." With that and another flare, he vanished.

Arcius sat there, on the rock, a crooked, amused grin on his face. Things were getting interesting now, and with any luck, in Kytares, he could arrange for a shift to disorder.

"Who was pulling tricks?" Tim said plainly. "I was just making observations." To the rest of the group, Tim grinned. "Celise is right, all of us shall meet again, I think. So there is only one thing we need to do right now and that's have some breakfast and see what really is going on here. Let's see what's in my pack."

With that Tim started pulling out all sorts of odds and ends until he found some food and enough equipment to cook the food. As he started to cook, all sorts of thoughts were racing from his mind. Mostly on how to battle the Sleepless Ones. Mazoku always have weaknesses.

Oddly enough, the thought he didn't think of was fearing the loss of his book. If the Sleepless One knew he was a Collector then he was either bluffing or stupid about taking a Collector's book of Memory while the Collector still lived. When a Collector gains his own personal book, part of his soul and mind is transferred to the book as the as the near perfect memory of the book to the Collector. The two will be forever bonded until the death of the Collector.

Tim toyed with the idea of letting the Sleepless ones have the book for a second, then decided it would best to keep up appearances and just simply Wizard Lock the book. After all, he could still get the information with the book closed. It just takes longer. "Breakfast is ready." Tim cheerfully chimed, "Come and get it."

�I must decline, I am afraid. I must continue my search for Lina Inverse now, but first I must be assured that nothing important has fallen into the hands of a potential enemy." Celise said calmly, and deliberately. "I shall be off, but another shall soon take my place. He will meet up with you before the sun rises on the 3rd day from this night."

After speaking, Celise winked away from sight. Traversing alternate dimensions was nothing new to Celise, she had done it many times before, though she was out of practice... 1000 years out of practice, yet finding her way to where she wanted to be was not all that difficult.

Arcius chuckled. "Certainly. I'm hungry." He hopped off of his rock and began serving nonchalantly serving himself, as the others returned to the campsite. "They got away, didn't they?" he asked as they returned.

Zelgadis nodded grimly. "Yes."

Arcius shrugged, seeming very unconcerned. "That's too bad. I liked that tube."

"Huh?" Constance looked puzzled. "You mean that wasn't the map?"

"Map?" Arcius raised a brow. "Of course it was."

Celise emerged from dimensional space in a small clearing where the Sleepless Ones had gathered to check the authenticity of the scroll they had just acquired. Several minutes passed by as Celise watched, apparently waiting for someone or something, as the Sleepless Ones muttered amongst themselves. A few moments later, a portal opened up and a flamboyantly dressed young man, apparently around Celise's physical age (around 17), appeared. He wore gold and red garments and a black cape. Upon exiting the portal he whipped out a comb and brushed a couple passes through his wavy blonde hair ensuring it was still in place.

"You're late!" Celise snapped lightly at him.

"Well, I'm sorry, Princess, but the Fire Dragon King had me run some last minute errands." the young man replied smugly.

"How many times have I told you, Maphius, don't call me that!"

"My my, aren't we fiery tonight, especially since your actions will determine whether your creator, or 'mother' as you call her now I suppose, gets into the Council of Five."

"She deserves the position and you know it. She's just as wise as her brother, if not wiser yet. If the Fire and Metal Dragon Kings weren't so stubborn, she would be in already. She already has the votes of the Earth and Wind Dragon Kings."

"And if you do well on this assignment, they shall yield up, so what help do you from ME need on YOUR assignment?"

"No help at all. Actually, this is your assignment now. I still need to find mine. Bye now, have fun."

"Hey wait!" Maphius demanded. "You're not really going to just leave me here."

"That was my intent, yes. You know what you need to do." Celise said walking into a portal. "Have fun."

Maphius watched as the portal closed behind Celise, then turned to the Sleepless Ones and pounded his fist into the ground. Damn! he thought to himself. She left before I could even ask her out....

As he was scowling at the spot where Celise had just been, he heard a triumphant exclamation from the Sleepless Ones behind him.

"It is the true map! Send it to the Mistress!" The leader performed a quick incantation and the scroll and tube vanished. "There. Soon, our suffering will be at an end!" He began to cackle maniacally.

"WHAT!" Zelgadis grabbed Arcius' collar and held him up. "You actually gave him the map!?" His scowl deepened at Arcius' grin. "What's so funny, bard?" he growled.

"I gave them the right map. But, like I said... there were only two people who have seen it. My teacher, God rest his soul, and me." Seeing the puzzled expressions on everyone's face, he sighed. "The map's right. However, since the language is so obscure... I changed the wording up on it."

Zelgadis lowered him. "Which means what?"

"Well, they can find the places, but the incantation to break the seals is all wrong." He smiled triumphantly. "That means that nothing will happen when they try to break the seal." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Unless something bad happens when you mess an incantation up on a 'locale of power.'

Zel turned away from Arcius with a huff. He looked at the rest of the group, and said quietly, "I don't like this. And I don�t like how he-" he pointed back at the bard, "is taking it so calmly. How are we supposed to find this place without the map? I can't believe he'd actually have it memorized, and if he says he does - then I don't trust him to get it right."

He looked at each of the group in turn, stating, "Let's we go after the map, and I say we have Arcius tell each of us this incantation so there won't be any more of these little mistakes."

Jin was lying down on a low branch in a nearby tree. He let his hand with his staff hang down and he looked down at the others.

"Man.... I'm bored...." He looked back down at the others, then grinned. "Heh...." He moved his staff to the other hand, then used his free hand and let a few sparks of electricity shoot out from his finger tips. They landed on the bard and they made his hair stand on end. Jin had a hard time keeping quiet and not expose himself.

Arcius looked around puzzled, then laughed merrily. "Perhaps you are right, my droll friend. Maybe I am taking this too lightly. And you are right. I do not have it memorized. But what Tim said earlier was right as well. I gave them the wrong copy. Why?" He quirked a brow. "Because I have the original right here!" He held up a hand and twirled a scrolltube. "After all, I do have some sense of responsibility. And," he said cheerfully. "I shall be most glad to teach you the incantation. After all, I lack the power to perform the ceremony. If my Lords and Ladies care, then I shall teach you now, unless you wish to move on, in which case I most certainly teach you once we stop." He looked to the group.

Constance thought about the whole thing for a minute. Hmm...I don't know...this may seem too hasty of a decision on my part, but might as well try to learn it now, before the bad guys come back for the real tube.... Then, she decided to voice her thoughts. "I don't know about the rest of you, but the way it looks to me is that the sooner we learn the incantation, the better. You'd better teach us now, before anything else happens."

"Constance, are you insane?! I don't think you've thought this out very well..." Allen ranted as he paced behind Constance, everyone oblivious to him as usual, "for all you know, this guy may use the incantation on you instead of teaching it to you..."

"Let me find out on my own, Allen," Constance whispered to herself. Allen heard this and shook his head.

Arcius was mildly curious about Constance's habit of constantly whispering to herself. Pushing that from his mind, he nodded sagely. "That is a good idea indeed." He reached into his vest and pulled out a scrolltube and uncapped it. "Here is an exact copy of the map, save it has a dweomer upon it to make the words readable." He passed it to Constance. With a side glance to Tim and Zelgadis, he added, "And the original is available for comparison."

Tim was finishing up his breakfast as he heard the bard talk and thinking about his next encounter with the latest round of villains. He took of sip of his hot chocolate. "Yes, I believe I will look at both versions of this incantation. You need not recite to me for I have an excellent memory."

Tim waited for a response, meanwhile mulling over the idea of absolute power, what to do with it, and more importantly who he was going to trust with it. Ironically, besides himself, the only other person he trusted instinctively with the Power Of Command was on her way to meet Lina Inverse. Tim privately wished the Dragon/Mazoku good luck and many happy returns.

If it were possible for Zel to like this even less, he certainly would. As it was, only the chance of being returned to normal kept him with the group. He sighed, "I will look at both copies as well." After a short pause, he added, "And I would like some explanations -- you obviously know these attackers."

Standing with his arms crossed and back to the rest of the group in a typical Zelgadis pose, the chimera's mind was hard at work. Who is this Arcius guy, and what does he REALLY want?

Constance eyed the scroll copy suspiciously. She was about to open it and ask for the original for comparison when Allen started, "You know, you might want to cast Flow Break on that thing before you open it, just in case--"

"Would you leave me alone, Allen?! I'm sick of you telling me what to do, okay?! What, you think just because I haven't been out in the real world for awhile, it means I'm stupid?!?" Constance was yelling at full volume now, completely ignoring the other three who were staring at her like she was insane. "Look, I've had it up to here with your advice, okay? So stop picking on me and go away already!" Constance sat on the ground and put her head in her hands.

"I would leave, but you're stuck with me, remember? I didn't ask to be here..."

"...well I didn't ask for you, so that makes both of us screwed."

Jin walked up to Constance and put a hand on her shoulder. Jin was silent for a great deal of the time after the spell that was put on him during his sleep. It rekindled his old and saddest memories, and he remained silent because of them. He still had a few traces of dried tears that he didn't bother wiping away. He looked down at her and tried to smile, trying to cheer her up a little. Then he slowly moved his hand and walked a few feet away from the group, still remaining silent. He looked up into the sky.

"Dad.... Where are you when I need you....?" He said softly

Now Arcius was very curious about Constance. Curious and rather amused. She apparently does not need a push from me. He watched Jin move over and calm her. Jin stood quietly, hand on her shoulder, while Constance still scowled. Arcius laughed.

"The two of you just look so cute together. A splendid couple indeed!"

Constance and Jin suddenly looked at each, as it dawned on them. In less than an eyeblink, Constance was by the big tree, intensely looking over the map; Jin was doing a similar study of his breakfast plate. Both were blushing deeply.

Arcius laughed brightly while unslinging his lute. "Now, then. Zelgadis. You are right. I have encountered our foes before." He began to pluck the strings in a simple cadence, lending a story-like quality to his narration.

"It was shortly after I had discovered the true secret hidden within the scroll. I was journeying, wandering aimlessly, really, when circumstances of great misfortune chanced upon me. I had come to rest in a small nameless village, earning my room and board in exchange for an evening's worth of tales and songs. After the merrymaking had finished, sometime between the witching hour and the false dawn, the village was assaulted. Nay, destroyed and razed to the ground. A cadre of hooded sorcerers, whom I later learned called themselves the Sleepless Ones, had wreaked this devastation and enslaved everyone in the village, myself included. We were herded into pens like so many sheep. For what purpose, I knew not, and the villagers were too fearful to tell me, instead crying piteously to the uncaring heavens."

"We stayed that way for two days, lacking food and water. I tried valiantly to inspire courage and hope in my fellow prisoners, but alas, a cup and iron bars make for very poor instruments indeed. Perhaps because of my music, late on the second night, I was taken from my cell and brought before their leader. He bade me take up my lute and follow him. It turned out I was spared by the arrival of an important guest, one whom the Sleepless Ones wanted very much to impress."

"That is how I became acquainted with the Lady Ysmaren, the giantess. She was impressed enough with my playing that she made me a part of her entourage. From her I learned what I know of the Sleepless Ones. In distant time, there was a tribe of barbarians who sought the power to conquer. They made a deal with a Mazoku lord, vowing that with his aid, they would not sleep until they conquered the world in his name. In exchange, the Mazoku bound a small piece of itself into each member of the tribe. Unfortunately, it was a foolish Mazoku, not realizing that such an act weakened it drastically. A great hero slipped behind the lines and sealed the Mazoku in a realm known as the Cavern of a Thousand Pains. Being linked to the Mazoku, the barbarians began to suffer as their lord. They lost their power as well, and were routed on the field of battle. However, with a fragment of the Mazoku within them, they became immortal. Suffering constantly, denied the peace of sleep, these are the Sleepless Ones. They have had centuries to become proficient in other skills, and they seek to either free their master or to sever the link to it so they can gain the rest they so desperately seek."

"After a time serving Lady Ysmaren, a Sleepless One brought the scroll to her, seeking a translation. As it had been found in my possession, I had no choice but to tell them what I knew, for Lady Ysmaren has little tolerance for those who would try to deceive her. Fortunately, at the time, I had yet to fully translate the map. I told them what it led to and the few scraps of lore I knew about the Power."

"Both parties were very interested in it and I was given everything I needed and told that deciphering the scroll was my utmost priority. At this point, I began to fear for my life. As a bard, I was a minor, easily dismissed source of entertainment, but now, I was the key to unlocking a great secret. Once I finished, I would become a liability, and liabilities had a tendency to end up on the bloody altars of the Sleepless Ones."

"Fortunately, my luck returned. A foe of Lady Ysmaren led a surprise assault upon her keep. During the ensuing chaos, I was able to escape. I lay low for a while, seeking to confirm whether the map was a hoax or not. Following that ill-planned venture, I moved to a different region to avoid pursuit. There I posted a notice for adventurers, and the rest, as they say, is history."

He continued to play the lute, almost absent-mindedly.

To which Tim continued:

"Most intriguing, Arcius. That answers most of my questions." Tim simply spoke, grinning. "I think it's best that we get a move on. We are guaranteed a rematch and this time I'd prefer it if WE chose the battlefield."

Tim continued his thoughts, not speaking at all . Yes, the only questions it fails to answer are the most important two. What do we plan on doing with ultimate and absolute power and just what do I have to do to prevent the use of absolute power?