The sun was low over the horizon before Zelgadis heard a dragging sound. Looking up, he saw Lina and Gourry had finally returned - with a sack so full that they both had to pull it.
"Did you have to clean out the entire camp, Lina?" asked Zelgadis.
"As a matter of fact, yes. We're going to need money for this trip." Lina replied.
"And do you intend to drag it the whole way?" Zelgadis smirked.
"Lina figured Amelia would do that. Right, Lina?" Gourry smiled at Lina.
"Provided she ever wakes up..." said Lina.
Suddenly a loud rumbling was heard. Everyone looked to Amelia, who had been startled awake by the horrendous sound.
*What was that?*
Again with the rumbling.
Amelia looked down and realized it was coming from her. *Oh, I'm so hungry..."
"Hey, so am I!" stated Gourry.
"You're always hungry!" griped Lina. "But if we leave now, we should be able to make it to the next town in time for dinner! And get nice rooms... I don't want to relive last night!"
Zelgadis frowned. "You forget, we can't just take her into the town, let alone an inn, like that. The townspeople wouldn't react too well."
Lina looked at her bulging sack. She had a pretty good idea where it was going to end up. "Right! Fine. But let's head out anyway. We won't find any food here. Unless you changed your mind about the fish, Amelia." Lina winked.
Amelia shot Lina a dirty look (which is pretty frightening coming from a dragon!) *Let's just go.*
She again crouched low to allow everyone on her back. Taking off was a bit more difficult with the added weight of the bandit loot, but Amelia managed.
*So which way do I go?*
"Just follow the setting sun. We should be there in a few hours." said Zelgadis.
"I hope I can hold out that long." thought Amelia.
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As darkness fell, they spied a small town.
"Better not get too close, Amelia. We don't want to cause any panic." said Lina.
Amelia was more than happy to comply. After a less than graceful landing (Amelia blamed the extra weight), Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis prepared to head into the town.
"Just lie low for a while. We'll be back soon." said Lina. She took a large portion of gold from the sack and gave the remainder to Amelia for safekeeping. "There you go, your very own horde!" Lina joked.
*I'd rather have a decent meal..* Amelia watched the trio go. "What have I gotten myself into?" She fell into a troubled sleep, but was soon woken by the sound of an approaching wagon.
"You'd better appreciate this, Amelia! Keep this up, and we'll be broke within a week!" Lina shouted. She was driving a wagon overladen with food.
*Food!* Amelia lunged toward the wagon.
"Hold it, Amelia! Wait until we lead the horses away!" commanded Zelgadis. "We're fortunate we got them to come this close to you!"
After Lina stopped the wagon, Zelgadis unhitched the horses.
"We're going to head back into town. Food and soft beds await us! So we'll see you in the morning. Oh, and try to stay out of trouble, okay?" said Lina.
The trio then left with the horses. After they were long gone, Amelia attacked the wagon.
*Oops! It's so hard to be careful when I can't use my arms...*
She then proceeded to gorge herself until all the food was gone, and since she had nothing better to do, curled up in the field to sleep.
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Everyone had to be in the fields early today. It was finally harvesting time. A group of workers looked over their crop.
"Hey Ned, what do you suppose all that smoke's from?" asked Fred.
"I don't know, but we should check it out. It looks like it's in the wheat!" replied Ned.
Were they in for a shock! As they neared the scorched wheat, they saw a mangled wagon, and a sleeping dragon not far off. The group fled to alert the town guards.
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It felt so good to sleep with a full stomach! Amelia was enjoying her dreams, until she felt a jab of pain. "What was that?" Then another.
Amelia woke up to see at least 20 men (most of them archers) surrounding her. The archers let loose with another volley of arrows, which pierced her in the side.
*Ouch! Hey, I didn't do anything! Why are you attacking me?*
The small army shrank back.
"The dragon's awake!" shouted one.
"Stand your ground! We have to chase it off (or kill it, whichever comes first) before it causes any more damage!" shouted another.
Amelia didn't like the sound of that. *I mean you no harm!*
The archers continued to shoot at her, while the other guards drew their swords. With a roar of pain, Amelia took off, grabbing the sack in her teeth.
"Miss Lina will kill me if I don't! ...if they don't first!"
As she flew away, an arrow punched a hole in her left wing. The pain was too great for her to continue using it, and she went into an uncontrollable dive...
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Elsewhere in the town, Lina was just starting the day. She poked her head out of her room's window to breathe in the morning air, but immediately noticed everyone running amok screaming about an attacking dragon. She looked up in time to see a huge dragon flying overhead, carrying a sack.
"Oh no, Amelia!"
Lina dashed from her room (fortunately she was already dressed) to get Gourry and Zelgadis. She literally ran into them in the hall.
"Ouch! Lina, what's the big idea?" asked Gourry.
"It's Amelia, she's been discovered! No time to talk, let's go!" Lina grabbed Zelgadis and Gourry by the wrists and took off out of the inn, and in the direction she had seen Amelia go.
Outside of town there was no sign of Amelia.
"Where do you suppose she flew off to?" questioned Lina.
"Lina, look!"
Gourry was pointing to a forested area not far away. More specifically to a huge flock of birds that were flapping about, as if in fright.
"Come on!" shouted Lina.
The three took off for the forest. In the forest they saw nothing out of the ordinary. Many bushes, a few stumps...
"Oh no, Amelia!" Zelgadis gasped.
She had landed unceremoniously on her side. When they got closer they noticed that she was unconscious, and had at least 30 arrows stuck in her. Thankfully she was still breathing. Gourry set about removing the arrows while Lina and Zelgadis did their best to heal her. She was quick to come to.
"Amelia, what happened?" asked Lina.
*I was sleeping...they attacked me, but I didn't do anything wrong! I tried to get away, but they still got me! ...I did remember to save your money though.*
"Thank goodness they didn't kill you..." Lina hugged Amelia's snout.
"We'd better leave, just in case they send out a search party." warned Zelgadis.
*I don't think I'll be able to fly anytime soon. My wing hurts too much!*
"It's just as well, flying would only attract attention to us." said Zelgadis.
"Let's get going then." prompted Lina.
She led the way with Gourry and Zelgadis behind. Amelia came soon after. There was only one minor problem. Amelia's stride was much longer than the other's, and she had to practically trip over herself to not step on them. Switching order didn't help either, as she easily outdistanced the others within in a few steps.
"Hold it! This isn't working." exclaimed Lina.
"Yeah, but what can we do about it?" asked Gourry.
"Well, we can't use horses, unless Amelia decides to change that, so we'll have to compromise. Is that okay with you, Amelia?" Lina looked up at her.
Amelia sighed. "I always end up carrying the luggage anyway. This won't be too different... *You won't take 'no', will you?*
"Ah, she's learned well!" Lina winked.
"Why do I even try?" Oh, all right. Just be careful, it still hurts back there.*
"Sorry about that, Amelia. We weren't exactly expecting our best cleric to be incapacitated." Lina sighed. Of all the things to remind her that while she was a skilled practitioner of black magic, her knowledge of white magic was severely lacking.
"Let's just go before somebody sees us." said Zelgadis.
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The day went by uneventfully. Aside from Lina getting the worst saddle sores of her life! (Pretty amazing considering she wasn't in a saddle...) Gourry seemed to be doing just fine, and if Zelgadis was feeling any aches, he didn't show it. They were still traveling a way's off from the road. After all, it wasn't every day you saw people riding a dragon, and considered it normal.
They were nearing a river when Lina shouted, "I need a break!" and having said this, slid off of Amelia's back.
Lina massaged her achy muscles. "What say we take a break for lunch. Please? We are long gone from that last town, and there's no other threats to worry about."
"Good, I was getting thirsty!" said Gourry as he too slid off and made his way to the river.
"A nice cup of tea, that's all I ask." and Zelgadis also slid off.
While Lina and Zelgadis prepared to make lunch, Amelia joined Gourry by the river.
*I'm so thirsty...* Amelia plunged her whole head in. After a moment she lifted her head out of the water, swallowed, and then got a disgusted look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asked Gourry.
*Fish! Blech!* Amelia trudged back to camp and plopped down.
"What's the matter, Amelia? You're looking a little green." asked Lina.
*I accidentally swallowed some fish.*
"What's with you and fish anyway?" Lina asked.
Amelia made a face. *The taste, the texture, the SMELL! Ugh! That, and they don't agree with me too well.* Her stomach rumbled, as if to agree.
"Too bad, you're missing out on one of the finer foods. Hey Gourry, where's that firewood?" Lina shouted.
"Right here!" responded Gourry. He came back to camp with an armload of wood, then set about preparing a fire.
"Good thing we planned ahead and brought food with us, eh Gourry?" Lina was busily preparing to cook some meat and potatoes.
"Sure, Lina. Hey, where'd Zelgadis go?" Gourry asked.
"Oh, he went to go get some water. He can't live without his precious tea." Lina joked.
Just then Zelgadis came back.
"Lina, you haven't gone fishing in the river, have you?" he asked.
"Nope. Why?"
"The whole river is empty. I've never seen a river without fish in it."
Amelia urped.
"Good, then you've already eaten, Amelia." Lina smiled. "As for the rest of us... Food's done!"
The never ending battle between Lina and Gourry began! ..and was over in mere minutes after the food was gone. Fortunately, Zelgadis had his cup of tea, so all was right in the world. Afterwards, everyone stayed seated, not wanting to resume the journey just yet. (Especially Lina!) Instead Lina got up and walked over to Amelia.
"Here, let me see your wing for a sec."
Amelia obliged.
"Why didn't you say something about this before?! Never mind, let's just see if we can speed up the healing process a bit. Recovery!"
A few minutes (and recastings) later, Amelia's wing looked much better. Lina however was worn out.
"That does it. Next time, you get to be the victim, Gourry. Playing healer takes a lot out of me."
*Sorry about that, Miss Lina. I could carry you if you want.*
"No! Er..I mean, no thanks. I'll be fine, just give me a few moments." Lina plopped down by the fire. "How does your wing feel now?"
Amelia fanned her wings which, along with completely killing the campfire, blew everyone else a good five feet from where they had been.
*Oops! Well, on the bright side, it feels just fine. ...if not a little stiff.*
Everyone got up and brushed themselves off.
"Well, the fire's out, we may as well continue." said Zelgadis.
"Hey Amelia, think you're up to more flying? It'll do that wing some good." Lina said.
*Sure! My feet were getting tired from walking.*
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And so it went for a week. But by then, just as Lina had predicted, their money ran out. (Well, the stolen loot anyway. No way was Lina about to use her hard earned money!)
"Hey guys, I hate to break it to you, but we're out of money." Lina said.
"But Lina! Don't you ha-" Gourry was cut off by Lina's hand clamped over his mouth.
"Eh heh heh heh... Like I was saying, we're all out and we'll need some soon. Especially if we want decent food tonight." Lina said as she thought of past foragings for food. "We haven't seen any bandit camps for a while... How else can we get some quick coinage?"
"You could work for it. You seem to do pretty well doing that." stated Zelgadis.
"Nah, that'll take too long. There's got to be some way to take advantage of our situation... Wait! Hey Amelia, what if you were to "terrorize" a town, then I'd come along and offer to "slay" you? For a price, of course." Lina grinned. What a brilliant idea!
*Absolutely not!! That goes against everything I stand for!*
Or not.
"Amelia, pay attention to where you're going!" pleaded Zelgadis.
"Okay, forget that idea." Lina sighed.
Suddenly a cry rang out from below. Without even thinking, Amelia went into a dive to investigate. Down below, a small caravan was being attacked by a large group of ruffians. Amelia flew right over them before landing out of sight.
"This is exactly what we needed!" exclaimed a gleeful Lina. "Amelia, follow me and just play along!"
Amelia eyed her suspiciously.
"No tricks, I promise." and Lina took off towards the caravan.
As she neared it, she saw that even though everyone had been shaken up by Amelia's passing, the ruffians had resumed robbing the caravan. Lina decided that for this she'd have to take a page from Amelia's book.*
"Stop villains! How dare you unjustly take that which isn't yours?!"
"Huh?" The ruffians were confused. They looked up to see a young girl standing proudly. The leader stepped forward.
"And who do you think you are?" he asked.
"You dare ask?! I am none other than the great Lina Inverse! Surrender now, or I'll be forced to take action!"
"Oh really? And what could a little girl like you do against us?"
"Little...girl!? You leave me no choice! Now, feel the wrath of my DRAGON SLAVE!!"
The ruffians looked up to see a huge black dragon coming straight at them. They panicked.
"AAAAAH! Forgive us, we didn't know!" the leader shouted.
The whole group of ruffians got down on theirs knees, "Please, oh great Lina Inverse! Call off your dragon slave! We'll never rob again! Promise!!"
Lina waved her hand in the air, as if to send off the dragon. Amelia continued to circle overhead, giving off an ear-shattering roar, just for good measure.
"See that you never do! If I ever catch you again, I won't be as merciful. Now then, so as to help you come clean, give me all that you have stolen, so that I may....return it to it's rightful owners!" Lina cringed. Well, she'd be introducing the loot back into the towns she spent it at, so it wasn't a total lie.
The ruffians were more than happy to comply. As they emptied their packs, sacks, etc., they continued to thank Lina for sparing them. Then, after Lina was sure they had nothing left, they fled. Lina then turned her attention to the caravan.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked.
"We are now, thanks to you." said the leader. "How can we ever repay you?"
"Oh, I need nothing, other than enough money to feed me, and my dragon." Lina smiled.
The caravan leader paled considerably. "Er, well... I suppose you did break up the baddest gang of robbers in these parts...so, here." he threw two bulging bags of gold at Lina's feet.
"Wow, thank's Mister!"
"No, thank you, Miss Inverse."
"Just doing my job.: Lina winked. "Now you take care of yourselves. Bye!" Lina waved before grabbing all of the dropped loot and two bags of gold and heading back into the forest.
Amelia landed beside Lina. *Wow, Miss Lina! That was great! How did I do?* Amelia beamed.
"You did just fine." complimented Lina. "Hey Gourry! Zelgadis! You can come out now!"
The two in question came out from behind the trees.
"I don't know which is more incredible: you actually scaring those ruffians silly, or making it all seem believable." Zelgadis smirked.
"Hey, well it worked, didn't it? Now stop standing around and help me with all this. Yes, you too, Gourry." Lina said, indicating to the pile at her feet.
"Here you go, Lina." Gourry handed Lina the now empty sack from before. "Where are we exactly, anyway? That guy spoke funny."
"Yes, where are we, oh Navigator." Lina looked over to Zelgadis.
"Well, if my calculations are accurate, we should reach our destination any day now." Zelgadis answered.
"Really?!" Lina was ecstatic.
If the trip was to end so soon, she would still have most of the money she had just "earned". With any luck, it would be quite a while before she had to go searching for odd jobs.
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Lina swung the full sack over her shoulder. In her excitement, she hadn't noticed how heavy it was and ended up back on the ground. "Whoops..."
"Here Lina, let me take that." said Gourry, and he took the sack.