"Are you sure this is correct?" Kleo inquired for perhaps the hundredth time in the past week, "Why would anyone live these mountains? We're not going to find anything and it's way too cold here. C'mon, let's go."

"I'm sure that this is right. We need to keep going or we're never going to find what we're looking for. As far as it being too cold, well, if you were to wear more clothes that wouldn't be as much of a problem," Toshi calmly answered.

"What's wrong with the clothes I wear?" Kleo defensively shot back.

"You're wearing shorts and a tank top. In snowy weather that's probably not too smart,"

"There's nothing wrong with shorts and a tank top. It's not like I'm dressed like a slut or anything,"

"Maybe so, but it's still gotta be way too cold in that getup,"

"It's my favorite outfit, I can't just abandon it!"

"Whatever," Toshi ended the conversation as he rolled his eyes.

Toshi and Kleo were climbing a rather steep path up the side of Mt. Feuer, a once active volcano not far to the east of the region that used to be Seyruun, but currently it was merely a snow peaked mountain. Toshi continued to trek up the path but stopped as he noticed that Kleo wasn't following. She was standing against a dead tree a few meters back and wrapping her arms around herself while shivering from the combination of temperature, falling snow, and wind.

Toshi walked back a few paced to stand next to Kleo. "Here," he offered as he removed his cape and handed it to her. For Toshi (who favored his cape very much) this was no simple act of kindness, this was something to be praised as a martyr for.

"You're offering that to me? I thought you were protective of your cape,"

"Yeah, well, just try to make sure you don't damage it or get it dirty or anything, 'kay?"

"Yeah. . .thanks. . ." Kleo reached and took the cape from Toshi. She wrapped it around her shoulder sort of like a crude shawl.

"We need to keep going. We're close, I can feel it,"

"What exactly have we been searching for all these past days?" Kleo asked in annoyance that they had been trekking around constantly but not seeming to get any closer to the goal that only Toshi seemed to know about. The two of them resumed their slow process up the steep mountain.

"I'm not sure," Toshi replied, which really discouraged Kleo, "but we're close and I'll know it when I see it."

"And how will whatever it is that you're looking for help us to get to Zelgadis?"

"I don't know,"

"How do you even know where he is or if he's still alive?"

"I don't know!"

"How much longer are we going to have to put up with this crap?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Toshi angrily yelled back, "Stop asking questions I don't know the answers to!"

Kleo continued to grumble just softly enough so that Toshi who was a few paces ahead couldn't hear. Kleo knew that something had to be done. She had explained everything to Toshi along their trip, and apparently the atheist sorcerer was now willing to accept the possibility that the Mazoku and Ryuzoku were real.

"Even if we do find Zelgadis, how is he going to help us deal with Xellos and Shabranigdo?" Kleo continued to question.

Toshi stopped walking and turned around. He was obviously tired and annoyed. He seemed as though he was about to yell at Kleo to stop talking, but then his attention was suddenly diverted.

"What is it?" Kleo asked; she was aware that Toshi seemed to have noticed something.

Toshi didn't respond; he only slowly turned his head left and right as if he knew something was nearby, but he couldn't quite locate it. His gaze eventually came to rest on boulder off the side of the path that was slightly larger than a man.

"There!" he exclaimed while pointing to the boulder.

"What, the rock?" Kleo seemed disappointed that what Toshi had been searching for was a big stone, "Please tell me you're kidding. There's nothing special about that rock, if this was what you were searching for then why didn't we just go to any of the other rocks we've seen along the way?"

"Hush!" Toshi commanded as he walked over to the boulder.

Toshi stared intently at the boulder for a moment; then he carefully extended his hand and placed it on the rock's side. The stone seemed to glow slightly in reaction with Toshi's magical properties. He began chanting quietly and the glow brightened.

"What?" Kleo now seemed to have forgotten the previous conversation and was eagerly watching what was happening, "What's happening?"

The boulder's grayish hue dissolved in clearness like glass, then the boulder crumbled into ashen dust on the ground. The falling snow quickly covered the ashes. Behind where the boulder once stood against the side of the mountain slope could be seen a small cavern.

"Come," Toshi instructed as he entered the cavern. Kleo followed at a distance.

The small cavern was quite cold; however, it was a welcome change over the bitter frost of outside. Toshi illuminated the area with a lighting spell.

"This way," he instructed as he followed a narrow path deeper into the cavern.

Kleo and Toshi soon came to an iron door in one of the cavern walls.

"Is this it?" Kleo asked. Toshi nodded.

Toshi held up his hand and knocked against the cold iron door. For a period of a few minutes nothing happened and Toshi was about to knock again when suddenly a small spy port in the door slid open and two eyes stared at him and Kleo. The eyes were narrow and slitted, the iris were a bluish-green color.

"What?" the voice belonging to the eyes question in a voice that was almost as cold as the air, " How did you find this place?"

"Do you know Zelgadis Greywords?" Toshi requested.

"What if I do?" the voice responded, "You still haven't told me how you found this place."

"I can't completely explain that," Toshi admitted.

"Then you're wasting my time, aren't you? Go away, I'm a busy man,"

"Wait! We need to talk to Zelgadis!" Toshi said as the spy port closed tightly and the sound of a lock closing could be heard.

"Please, we need Zelgadis-san's help!" Kleo pleaded.

For a moment longer nothing happened, then the lock unlocked and the spy port opened again.

"What did you just say?" the eyes asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What did you just say?" they repeated the question.

"I said that we needed Zelgadis-san's help," Kleo answered.

There was a pause for a few moments longer as the eyes studied Toshi and Kleo. Then after what seemed like an eternity, the eyes spoke again.

"It's been awhile since I've heard that name. I'll unlock the door. Come in,"

The spy port closed and there was a metal clanking of a heavy bolt being moved.

Toshi looked at Kleo. "Zelgadis-'san?' Since when do you refer to people with 'san?'"

"I refer to highly respectable people with 'san.' It's only polite," Kleo instructed.

"You don't call me 'Toshi-san,'" Toshi referred to the seeming contradiction.

"I'll say it again: I refer to highly respectable people with 'san,'"

"Hey, that hurts. . ." Toshi complained.

"Shall we enter?" Kleo asked to change the topic.

"Yeah. . ." Toshi muttered.

Toshi pushed open the heavy iron door and walked into a large hallway with marble flooring. Despite the snow and cold outside it was actually pretty warm inside the hallway. Kleo handed Toshi back his cape and sighed happily at being able to again feel warmth. Their unidentified host was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello?" Kleo called out into the large hallway, "Anybody? Hey, where'd you go?"

"I'm right here," a voice stated behind them.

Both Toshi and Kleo turned around somewhat startled to see the owner of the eyes they had previously talked to. He wore a tan cloak with a red jeweled-clasp on the chest. A hood covered his turquoise wire-like hair, but some of it still fell in front of his face almost covering his right eye. He wore a tan cloth on his face that covered his mouth and nose only exposing his eyes. The little of his skin that was visible looked as though it was made of stone.

"Follow me please," the man instructed as he began leading Toshi and Kleo down the hallway, "It's been quite some time since any visitors have come this way. . .and there was a reason for that. How did you enter here?"

"I'm afraid I can't fully explain that," Toshi answered.

"Can't? Or won't?" their odd host inquired further.

"Can't,"

"I see,"

"Look we really need to find Zelgadis. Somehow I know that he's here. I need to talk to him," Toshi requested.

"Wait in here. Zelgadis will see you shortly," the host motioned his hand to an oaken door along the hallway.

"Thanks!" Kleo cheerily commented to their host.

Toshi and Kleo walked into the waiting room. It was a nicely furnished study with carpet and oaken furniture. Toshi picked a wooden chair to sit on while Kleo lied down on a couch.

"I still don't understand how you knew Zelgadis was alive, knew he was here, and knew how to get here," Kleo commented.

"Neither do I. It's almost like something emerging from a dream instructing me to act," Toshi said as his mind wandered to the dream he had right before Sierra had left them. As it is with dreams, he couldn't remember any of it except for his instructions to find Zelgadis. But the more he thought about the dream and the more he thought about his strange host, the more he began to think that perhaps he had seen the host in that dream.

"Wow! Look at that!" Kleo sat up as her gaze found a whole row of bookshelves lines with various texts, "Oh, jeez! If this is only part of all the books here then this place must be at least twice as good as the Ebonheim library!"

Toshi looked at the huge amounts of books for a minute. The collection was quite impressive. He stood from his chair and walked over to the bookshelves to see what the books were subjected about. Upon inspection it was revealed that the texts contained information on everything from white sorcery to alchemy to demon lore to time travel.

"Quite a little collection he has here," Toshi admitted.

Beside one of the bookcases was a stand, which held a guitar. The carving of the guitar was done in an incredibly ornate fashion. There was a small plaque on the stand that had a single word inscribed on it: "Sasurai."

Toshi looked about the study some more. A hearth held a healthy fire that kept the room comfortably warm and also acted as the room's only light source. There was a door in one shadowy corner of the room. Aside from the door, the huge quantity of books, and the ornate guitar, nothing about the room was out of the norm for a study.

"I wonder what's past that door over there," Kleo commented while again lying down on the couch.

"I don't know. Maybe Zelgadis will let us see when he arrives," Toshi returned to his chair.

"Man, I still can't believe I'm about to meet Zelgadis-san! I'm about to come face to face with a real legend! I'm so excited! I wonder how old he is. . ." Kleo said and continued to babble about meeting Zelgadis until the weariness that she had acquired from hiking up the mountain overtook her and she fell asleep.

Toshi looked over at Kleo. Her chest slowly rose and fell. That and her soft breathing informed him that it would probably be awhile before she woke up again. Toshi's gaze then moved to the fire in the hearth. He was feeling pretty tired too.

"Got. . .to stay. . .awake. . ." he muttered to himself. But the fatigue from their travels and the comforting warmth from the hearth soon made him close his eyes and drift off.