A forest... the trees are green, the ground soft and grassy, birds sing in the trees, the sun filters through the leaves and splatters the ground with soft yellow light. A quiet day, until.....

"AHHHHHHHHHHH"

A scream pierces the silence, birds fly off in terror, in the forest, a group of travelers has stopped to take a break and rest their far too tired limbs....

Lina: We've been tromping around this forest for 5 days! WHEN ARE WE GONNA FIND THIS STUPID ARTIFACT!!!???

Lina Inverse, collapsed on the ground in a depressed ball, had been traveling with her usual crew of Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis, plus the two new additions of Sylfiel and an angel called Elda. They were in search of the first of Seven Artifacts that were needed for the completion of a spell to seal up the Greater Beast Zelas Metallium, one of the 5 Mazoku Lords under Shabranigdu. Lina didn't know that part however, all she knew was that Xelloss and Elda were searching for Artifacts, and since there may be treasure involved and she had nothing better to do, Lina had agreed to help. But after five days of wandering around a natural labrynth of trees, she was beginning to regret that decision.

Zelgadis: Why are we here again?

Amelia: We're looking for some ancient Artifact for Xelloss.

Zelgadis: *gets a flat eyed look of annoyance* Oh...yeah...

Lina: *tackles Xelloss and starts trying to strangle him* You Grinning Moron! You'd better tell me what that Artifact is for RIGHT NOW or so help me I'll unseal the Giga Slave just to kill you!!!

Zelgadis, Gourry, Sylfiel, and Amelia all get a look of sheer terror on their faces and zoom off to hide in fear. Xelloss lets loose a nervous sweatdrop and tries to calm the angry sorceress.

Xelloss: Eheh...Now, now Lina, no need to be so forcefull about it.

Lina: *blinks in surprise and loosens her grip on Xelloss* Huh?

Xelloss: We're looking for the Silence Bell. You speak the name of the target, then hit the bell with the ringer, and the target will be rendered unable to cast spells.

Lina: *thinking to herself* That was a little too easy...*out loud* All right then Xelloss, who are you planning to use *that* on?

Xelloss: Now that...is a secret. *is free from Lina's grip now so he teleports up to the treetops to join Elda, who is scanning for any sign of the artifact*

Lina: Errrr...Xelloss! You get back down her and tell me right now!

Xelloss: *Ignoring Linas ranting* So Elda, see anything yet?

Elda: I think so. Look over there.

Elda points to the top of what looks like some ruins peeking out of the top of the canopy.

Xelloss: Ah-ha! Good job Elda!

Elda: *giggles* Thanks! *looks down a little* I see something else too...

Xelloss: Hmmm?

Elda: They're almost here.

Xelloss: Well now, we'd better hurry then.

Elda and Xelloss descend from the trees together and start gesturing for everyone to get up so they can get moving again.

Zelgadis: What's the rush?

Elda: Lets just say, you won't want to be here a few minutes from now.

Lina: Oh, so there are more monsters coming for you then Xelloss?

Xelloss: Unfortunately yes. *embarrassed smile*

Just then Sylfiel runs by them and turns to face the west side of the clearing.

Sylfiel: They're he-re....

Gourry: Let me handle this. *Takes out his sword and uses the trigger command only to remember that he no longer has that sword* Ack! Uhmm You handle it this time Lina.

Lina: *sighs in exasperation* All right, you all get going, I'll make a diversion.

Zelgadis and Amelia use levatation. Amelia picks up Gourry and Zelgadis takes Sylfiel. Elda and Xelloss simply take off into the air. Down below, Lina casts a fireball and then quickly joins them.

Lina: Ugh...Berzerkers. How annoying!

Amelia: Ms. Lina...Please take Mr. Gourry, He's...heavy!

Lina groans and takes the swordsman from Amelia, who gets a look of sheer relief after having the weight lifted from her. Zelgadis however, doesn't seem to mind Sylfiel's weight at all, and so he has to endure some playfull ribbing from his companions on the way to the ruins.

The ruins were musty and dank inside, crumbling outside, and overgrown inside AND out. The party treaded along wearily, keeping an eye or ten out for pressure plates or any other signs of booby traps. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be any traps of any sort here. They were soon to find out why...

In the main chamber was a huge wall this pictographs on it. They had Sylfiel use some of her clerics powers and she ascertained that this had been a temple once. It was a place of prayer and meditation, not something that would be protected by suspicious means. That's not all the wall told them though. The pictographs told a story about the former inhabitants of the temple. It showed them using a large bell to subdue what looked to be a very powerful Mazoku. The picture story went on to show the inhabitants placing the bell in the temple to keep it safe. Apparently, it was deep, deep underground. Not needing much more encouragement, they began to look for a stairway...

Lina: Why do these things have to be so well hidden?

Zelgadis: I think that question answers itself....

Elda: I think I found it!

Lina: What do you mean you think....

Elda: Well, I feel strong magic coming from this direction.

Xelloss: Well then, lets check it out shall we?

Lina: Xelloss, "you're" going to put yourself in danger for something for once!?

Xelloss: Oh Lina, don't be silly, I wouldn't do this if I thought I were in danger. *grin*

Amelia: That's our Xelloss. Always looking out for number one, right?

Xelloss: Exactly!

Gourry: So, you guys find anything yet?

Everyone else: *facefault*

And so, Xelloss began to investigate the wall, while in the background, Elda and Sylfiel and Amelia tried to stop Lina from beating Gourry to a bloody pulp. Zelgadis, who had long since given up on trying to save Gourry, watched Xelloss suspiciously. After a few minutes, there was a small "click" and part of the wall slide aside to reveal the staircase they had been looking for....If it weren't for the fact that this staircase appeared to go up, instead of down. By this time Lina had managed to calm down and everyone was watching Xelloss. They discussed the problem amongst each other for a while, then they looked for any other hidden staircases,(of which they found none.) And then they came back to the staircase and stared at it for a while, until finally, Zelgadis pointed out that Elda had sensed magic here, and the door had not been magically sealed, ergo, the magic must be connected to something else.

Lina: So, what you're saying is that this staircase probably isn't really there.

Zelgadis: *nods* mmm-hm.

Elda puts a hand on the step and discovers that Zelgadis is right, the staircase is, in fact, an illusion. Having found that out, everyone proceeds carefully down what they now find is a short hallway, ending in the staircase they had been looking for earlier. As they proceed down the stairs, Amelia uses a light spell as it gets darker and colder. As they reach the bottom of the staircase, they come to an even larger room than the main chamber they had first seen. In the center of the room was a large bell on a pedestal and around that...was an even larger, sleeping, serpent. It's scales scintilated and seemed to provide and extra light source for the room, so that the light spell was hardly useful anymore.

Amelia: *whispering* Uhmm...Lina, how are we going to get the bell away from that giant serpent?

Lina: *also whispering* How am I supposed to know. I didn't know they'd employ a serpent to guard the stupid thing...

Elda: How do you know it's employed? Maybe it just moved in after the humans were gone.

Zelgadis: She's right you know, it may not even know the bell is there.

Gourry: Maybe they locked it up down here....

Sylfiel: Maybe...

Xelloss: Okay, lets go.

Everyone looks at Xelloss, who has the bell in his arms.

Everyone facefaults....

Lina: How did you get that!?

Xelloss: Now now, do you really want to be asking those questions before we've gotten out of the serpents hearing range Lina?

Lina mutters to herself as they quietly retreat out of the ruins and up to the surface. One artifact had been found, that left 6 more...and they weren't going to be any easier either. Once at a safe distance from the ruins, Lina was finally able to breathe...and yell.

Lina: Now then. TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED THAT STUPID THING FOR!!!! *resumes the strangling of Xelloss that she was attempting earlier*

Elda: Uhm...does it really matter? It's important to us. That's all.

This gives Lina pause. She's not used to anyone defending Xelloss, let alone a divine being. She let go of Xelloss and was quiet all the way to the next town. That scared Gourry, but he didn't say anything about it. The Inn was easy enough to find, such things were always conveniently located for traveling mercenaries and such, and it felt good to all of them to finally be able to put their feet up. Xelloss kept the giant bell in his room, and everyone was fine with that. It meant that he could keep and eye on it since he didn't need food, and the others could eat. And eat they did. Elda wondered how it could be that they could eat so much and not explode. Amelia told her that she didn't know either, and Sylfiel just smiled as she watched them. Zelgadiss still didn't trust the situation though, and he ate surprisingly little that night. They all turned in for the night, and slept, though some more restlessly than others. In the morning, Everyone gathered around the breakfast table and Elda got out the map she had created to see where their next artifact was located. It seemed it was on an island south of the mainland, which meant that they'd need a boat. That was daunting on many levels, not the least of which being that Zelgadiss had had some bad experiences with boats before while traveling with Lina and her crew. So, they headed for the harbor in search of someone who would take them or at least knew of someone else who would. At the harbor, they found a pub where one of the locals said they could find information about how to get to their destination. It was a muggy place, thick with the smell of rum and salt water. The lights were low, the fire's seemed to have to struggle to stay lit. All in all, it was not the kind of place that Lina liked to be in. But she screwed her courage to the sticking point, and with only Gourry and Zelgadis in tow (they thought that having all seven of them walk in there would just look stupid) she walks to the bar counter and the three of them have a seat while the other 4 wait at the Inn in the main part of the village.

The man at the counter is scarred, with a patch over one eye, he is of undetermined years and looks like he's seen his fair share of battles. He takes a mild interest in the strangers who look out of place here, to say the least.

Barkeep: What brings strangers such as yerselves to this little pub hmm?

Lina: We need a ferry.

Barkeep: To where?

Lina takes out the map and shows the barkeep the location marked on it.

Barkeep: You must be crazy. No one will ferry you there!

Lina: No one? *an evil look crosses her face*

Barkeep: *getting nervous* Well...there might be someone...but, I don't know if you want to ask them...

Lina: I'll be the judge of that. Take me to 'em.

Barkeep: Look, I'll give you directions, but where you go from there is no concern of mine, ya got it?

Lina: Fine fine.

The Barkeep whispers some directions to Lina, the few people that overhear quickly move away from the vicinity and pretend they didn't. Afterwards, Lina Gourry and Zel headed back out, and followed the directions given to them to a secluded beach, with one massive ship slightly off shore, and a small long tom on the beach. There was a cave nearby. The ship was daunting, to say the least, and it had black sails. Lina didn't like the looks of this at all.

They saw fresh tracks leading into the cave, and decided to follow them, cautiously. It was apparently natural, but altered by humans, because it had a steady upward series of steps for them to follow. Lina was beginning to think that she should have brought the rest of the party along for this one, when they got to the top of the path, light poured from another large entryway and they could hear voices. Peering out of the cave mouth they saw a huge complex of log buildings, some on the ground, some in trees, and there were people moving about them, it was like a small community. Lina knew what it was right off the bat. A Pirate's lair. Great, just what she needed, the barkeep had sent her to a bunch of Pirates. Then again, who else would be crazy enough to go where no one else would? Lina decided it was best to meet the situation head on, so, she pushed Gourry out into the light to see what happened. Some of the pirates stopped and looked, but didn't seem to care that he was there. So, Lina and Zelgadiss followed him out and they went looking for the leader of this particular band.

Seeing another pirate pass by, Lina stopped him and made her inquiry.

Lina: Excuse me, but we're looking for the leader of this establishment.

Pirate Lad: You're looking for Kaze....actually *looking* for Kaze? You must be either pretty brave, or pretty dumb, to go looking for Kaze.

Zelgadiss: We'll be the judge of that. Where can we find him.

Pirate Lad: *points to a rather large house in a tree* Kaze's there. Heh, good luck.

Lina: Thanks kid.

They make their way to the large house. It seems to be unguarded. This "Kaze" must be pretty sure of their abilities. Lina wondered what this person must be like to not need body guards or anything. Upon entering the main room of the house, they saw...a girl. She looked about 16, was about five and a half feet tall, and had purple hair held back by a red hankercheif. She was wearing knee high boots, what looked to be a black one piece swimsuit, a loose white tie top long sleeved shirt, and a leather belt with a furry tail attachment on the back. She had ferral marks on her face and big gold hoop earings, and her long, pointed ears gave away a little bit of elf heratige. She was reading what looked like a book of spells. When they entered the room. She looke up, startled, and stood.

Girl: What are you doing in here? You don't belong here.

Lina: We're here to see Kaze. It's a business matter.

Girl: *considers for a moment* Fine then, what do you want?

Lina: No, you don't understand, we're here to see *Kaze* You know, the leader of the Pirates?

Girl: Uh, Ya, that's me. So what do you want? Time is money miss and I don't have a lot of time.

They were floored. THIS was the leader of the pirates? How did *this* strike fear into anyone? Let alone hardened criminals. Lina struggled to gain her composure.

Lina: Ah, I uh...see, yes well, we need a ferry.

Kaze: So go to the bar. I'm sure Joe can hook you up.

Lina: Well, we just came from there, and he said to come here.

Kaze: Ah, I see. You must be going someplace people don't like then. Right?

Lina: Yes.

Kaze: Oh-ho...so then it's worth a lot, for you to get there right?

Lina: Now wait just a cotton-pickin minute here missy! Don't you try to-

Before Lina could finish her sentence, before any of them could even blink, Kaze was behind Lina and had her arms locked so she couldn't cast spells. She quickly whipped Lina around so that Gourry and Zelgadiss couldn't get to her without going through Lina first.

Kaze: Now listen here. I ain't your Missy, and you will either be more polite with your negotiations, or I will dismiss you from my chamber and you'll have to try and find another way to wherever it is you're going. Got it?

Lina noded slowly, still in shock. What the heck was this girl? She moved even faster than Zelgadiss... Kaze released Lina and sat back down calmly.

Kaze: Now then. Shall we talk prices?

The three just nodded numbly...

Kaze: *With grin* Gooood!