Poison Chapter 6

Author: Tsutsuji Title: Poison

Poison

Chapter
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Title: Poison (ch. 6 of ??)
Author: Tsutsuji
Date written: June-July, 2005
Rating: PG13 - T (safe for teenagers, at least for now)
Pairings: Zelgadis/Xelloss
Type: yaoi/slash, adventure
Warnings: hurt/comfort, angst
Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to these characters and I'm making no profit from this fic and intend no copyright infringement.
Summary: Zelgadis confronts Zuller and learns more about the Power of Shimer, while Xelloss gets an earful back at the inn. And then things start to get complicated.
---
Xelloss didn't watch Zelgadis disappear around the corner of the inn. He stood against the wall where the Chimera had thrown him, eyes closed, with the barest hint of a smile on his lips.
"My, my," he sighed. "This is not going well at all."
After a while he walked slowly across the porch and sat down heavily on the top step. Leaning sideways against the railing, he let his head drop to his knees. He sat like that for some time, curled over the staff resting across his lap.
He didn't raise his head when a man came up the path carrying the innkeeper's daughter on his shoulders and singing a song about dancing chickens. The man paused beside him for a moment before going on inside with the laughing child. Xelloss was still huddled there several minutes later when the innkeeper herself came out and stooped beside him.
"Xelloss-sama," she said in a worried voice. "Are you ill? My husband told me there's a guest on the porch who looks like he's got a stomachache. I hope my cooking didn't poison you!"
Xelloss raised his head a little and turned to her with a crooked smile.
"Don't worry yourself on my account, Kari-san!" he said. "Your cooking is certainly not to blame; in fact my companion said he'd never had any better meal. I must have gotten too much sun today. It's taken more out of me than I realized."
She studied what she could see of his face.
"Looks like you'd get a burn easily," she said, "but you look pale. Maybe it's the heat that's gotten you. I've got a salve for burn, and a tonic that will help cool you down, if you don't mind the old healing ways. Don't need a Relic for every little thing, you know! I'd rather have a cleric heal me any day, personally, but we don't have any of those around here anymore. Seems to me that most folks coming here could be healed by plain old White Magic, from what I see. But the Relics are what brings the business to the Valley, and I suppose that helps us all."
She sounded skeptical about that, but she shrugged and smiled at him.
"Anyway, don't mind me grumbling! Come inside and let's see what we can do for you, hm?"
Xelloss smiled back at her, but before he could answer, they heard a loud, querulous voice raised inside, answered by murmurs of sympathetic interest.
Kari rolled her eyes and laughed. "Well now, there's our entertainment for the evening. Duglas is going to work to earn his drinks!"
Xelloss cocked his head to listen. The man's voice, strong but quavering with emotion, came drifting out to the porch.
"...No respect at all! And that's not the worst of it...."
"My, that does sound entertaining," Xelloss said, grinning at the innkeeper. "I think all I need is another cup of tea and a little distraction."
He pulled himself to his feet and held the door for her to lead the way inside. Soon he was settled back at his table near the bar, sipping another cup of tea.
Duglas, a middle-aged man who was nowhere near as grizzled as he made himself sound, held forth from his perch at the middle of the bar. He gestured dramatically at his circle of listeners, pausing now and then to take a drink from the mug someone set at his elbow.
"She's gotten out of hand, she has," he was saying, "All she talks about is the Great Cause of Shimer. Quotes Shimer word for word, as if she thinks I need educating. Thinks more of him than she does of her own family! Spends all her time in town with her friends, visiting one shop after another, buying all that trash. Pfh, I can't even look at that stuff. No craftsmanship like there was in the old days! I told her I'd cut off her allowance if she couldn't find any better use for it, and do you know what she said to me?"
His audience waited while he took a swig from his mug before thumping it back on the bar like a judge's gavel.
"Called me a damn Mazoku! That's what my own daughter said to me!"
His listeners recoiled in horror. Xelloss held his cup in front of his lips to hide his amusement. Duglas' last words were too much for the crowd; they started chattering among themselves excitedly. They couldn't seem to decide which was worse, the Mazoku that they'd all heard of but never seen, or the fanatical Relic sellers and Followers of Shimer that had overrun their peaceful valley.
Duglas muttered into his beer, shaking his head in disgust. For a moment he seemed to forget his audience, and a look of genuine worry creased his face.
"Make a fine Soldier of Shimer one day soon, she will," he muttered. "Probably off uptown right now, looking to join up with them for real."
Only Xelloss heard him. A short time later, he set his teacup down, rose from his chair, and quietly left the inn.
---
Chief Shrine Keeper Zuller stepped out of the shadows under the tree toward Zelgadis. His smile fell a little when he looked down at the sparkling dust that were all that remained of the bracelet.
"Ah," he said regretfully, "I was afraid that you might find the Relic a bit uncomfortable. I hoped your Human side could overcome resistance of your demonic part, but I see that darker side of you is still too strong, isn't it?"
Zelgadis reached for his sword before he remembered that it was still back at the inn. That was just as well for Zuller, he thought grimly; he would have run the Shrine Keeper through on the spot without waiting for an explanation. Instead, he lunged for Zuller and grabbed him by the throat. He'd hardly ever felt rage like this even toward Xelloss. He'd faced too many disappointments in his search, and the Shrine Keeper's deception was the last straw.
Zuller barely even flinched when Zel's fingers dug into his neck. Holding him by the chin with one hand, Zelgadis ripped the beaded collar off with the other. He snarled when he felt the twisted magic touch his flesh before the beads scattered all over the garden.
"Now, now, young man," Zuller could barely move his mouth under Zel's grip, but he spoke as calmly as ever. "Remember your true humanity! You mustn't let the demon side of you win over now, when you're so close to becoming fully Human again!"
Zelgadis glared at him in astonishment. He let his face twist to show the rage he felt, letting Zuller see just how much demon there was inside of him. The Shrine Keeper squirmed a little in his painful grip, but to Zel's astonishment, he reached up and patted Zel on the shoulder as if to be reassuring.
"I can see that you're upset, Zelgadis-san! I assure you..."
"You lied!" Zelgadis held the man off the ground and shook him. "You lie to all of these people! There is no healing magic in these Relics! They're nothing but cheap spells. The power of Shimer is a lie!"
Zuller's eyes widened in surprise. Even though Zel's grip threatened to break his jaw, he tried to shake his head in denial.
"No, no, my friend!" he choked. "Mustn't think that! Relics won't work for you, of course! I didn't expect they would. Only at the Shrine - !"
Zelgadis grabbed him by the shoulders and swung him around, pinning him back against the garden wall. Zuller gasped as Zel's fingers dug into him, but somehow he still managed to smile. He looked like he would pat Zel's arm reassuringly again if he could. Zelgadis fought the urge to crush his bones; it was hard to get answers from a screaming man. Instead he shook Zuller again.
"What are you trying to say, Zuller? Are you trying to tell me that the power of the Shrine is real even though the Relics are fake? I don't believe you!"
"It's the truth!" Zuller said. He sounded surprised that anyone would doubt it. Zel's fingers dug into his flesh until he winced, but even then the Shrine Keeper went on speaking earnestly. "That's why I insisted you visit the Shrine in person! It's quite true that the power in the Relics is not the true power of Shimer, but his power is real! It's the only thing that can overcome the accursed magic that made you a chimera!"
Zelgadis stared hard at his face. Even through the pain he must be feeling, the Shrine Keeper looked unflinchingly into his eyes.
"Please, Zelgadis-san," Zuller pleaded, "don't forsake your quest now! I see, now... it's not the demon who rages inside of you, but the human part that has suffered so much disappointment. Don't give up on that humanity! You're so much closer than you know!"
Zelgadis glared at him. Zuller's pale blue eyes searched his face, as if they could see past his snarling anger to something deeper. At that moment, Zelgadis himself wasn't sure if there was any difference between the two parts of him, demon and human. He loosened his grip on Zuller's shoulders, but still held him pinned against the wall.
"Why the lies, then? Why have you woven common White Magic spells into the Relics, just to lure people into buying them? "
"You have only to look around you at the crowds you have seen today to understand the reason," Zuller said.
"Long ago, when the first Shrine Keepers discovered the healing power of objects blessed at the Shrine, they naturally shared this wonderful news so that everyone who heard it would come here to be cured. And come they did, by the thousands! The Keepers couldn't create more of the healing Relics quickly enough. The Shrine itself is quite small, so it was impossible to bring everyone there for healing. The streets of the Shrine City were filled with suffering humanity, and the afflicted waited for days, weeks, to be healed. People died while waiting on the doorstep, just out of reach of the power that would have saved them.
"The Shrine Keepers realized that many of those who came to seek healing, in fact most of them, didn't need the full power of Shimer to be restored to health. They devised a unique spell that could be placed within these Relics. This spell, which you apparently detected in the bracelet you wore, has been refined over the years by the Shrine Keepers until it is nearly as effective as the power of the Shrine itself. But not quite effective enough for everyone, I'm afraid. Some people still require the full healing properties of the Shrine of Shimer. And you, my friend, are one of those people."
Zelgadis stared at him, searching for more lies, but Zuller's gaze didn't waver. Caught again between hope and doubt, Zelgadis let him go and stepped back. The Shrine Keeper sat down on the nearby bench, rubbing his shoulders. He still smiled as he looked up at Zelgadis, who stood watching him with as little expression as possible. Zel's anger still smoldered, and he didn't dare trust in the truth of anything he'd heard.
"You know," Zuller said conversationally, "you would not even be the first chimera to be restored to human form at the Shrine.
"There have been others?" Zelgadis couldn't hide his surprise.
"Well, one, that I know of. It was back when I was in training as a Keeper, so it must be nearly fifteen years ago. A young apprentice sorcerer had been experimenting - illegally, I believe - and his experiment went wrong. He accidentally combined his body with those of a wolfhound and his master's parrot. His plumage was quite spectacular, but he couldn't perform magic very well with his great, shaggy paws, and he never did get used to walking on those three-toed feet. Besides that, he kept knocking people over with his tail."
Zuller shook his head sympathetically, remembering the young sorcerer's condition, and then he gave Zelgadis a shrewd look. "I think the worse of it for him was that people regarded him as a nothing more than a beast-man and shunned him wherever he went. Some even thought he was a Mazoku."
Uncomfortable with Zuller's insight, Zelgadis waved his hand impatiently.
"But a visit to the Shrine restored him to his human self?" he asked.
"It did," Zuller replied cheerfully. "Not a feather left! The young man swore off magic and became a most enthusiastic Follower of Shimer. It was quite spectacular!"
"I'm sure it was," Zelgadis said. "And no doubt news of his recovery brought many more to the Valley of Shimeria, to buy Relics from the shops and stay at the inns."
"Well, I suppose they did! Many more people were healed of their ills, and more come here every day. Just as you have come here now."
"And you make sure that more keep coming with the spells on all the jewelry that people carry from the Valley when they leave, don't you?" He scuffed the crushed remains of the bracelet with his toe.
"The Relics empower Shimer's followers to spread the word of his healing powers. And those powers, I assure you, are quite real. That's why it's so important to us that the word of it is carried far and wide. How much more time would you have wasted searching without success, if you hadn't heard of the many miracles performed here?"
Zelgadis frowned at him. "Perhaps you should know one more thing," he said. "It wasn't any accidental spell gone wrong that made me a chimera. Rezzo, the Red Priest, made me. Do you really believe that the power of the Shrine can undo what Rezzo did?"
Zuller's eyes widened. "I see! I didn't realize..." He looked at Zelgadis thoughtfully, then he nodded. "I'm even more determined that you visit the Shrine, if that's the case. Perhaps you didn't know that it was Rezzo who nearly ruined Shimer's reputation long ago."
Zelgadis couldn't hide his surprise. "I didn't know they were acquainted, but I suppose the two great Healers of the age would have crossed paths. I sometimes forget how old Rezzo really was."
"Yes, they crossed paths. At one time they were friends and shared their wisdom with each other. It's little known now that Shimer did not approve of White Magic and sought for other ways to heal the ill, and he drew away from those who used it, including Rezzo. When Rezzo began to study Black Magic as well, Shimer spoke out openly against him. Rezzo responded by calling Shimer a deluded fool. He made it widely known that Shimer spoke against the power of the gods, which caused quite a stir at the time. Rezzo even suggested that Shimer's power to heal was a fraud, so you see why I'm even more anxious to prove to you that it is real."
"I see," Zelgadis said. He found it interesting that it was Rezzo who ruined Shimer's reputation, but Xelloss had said nothing of that.
Zuller looked up at him, his gaze direct and unflinching. Zelgadis turned and paced a short way across the garden, trying to collect his thoughts.
He still didn't trust Zuller's motives, and he didn't dare put his faith in a Shrine that it now seemed few people ever visited, even if Zuller did insist its power was greater than Rezzo's. His anger had faltered, but he still felt wary of the Shrine Keeper. Even with the best of intentions, the Relics were a deception, one that apparently lined the pockets of the local merchants at the expense of others in the Valley.
Zuller stood and came over to him. He raised his hands as if he would clasp Zel's arms in a gesture of camaraderie, but thought better of when Zel glared at him.
"Zelgadis-sama, my dear friend," he said. "You still doubt my words, I see. Prove it to yourself! Come to the Shrine, and become Human again!"
Zelgadis frowned. He supposed he had nothing to loose. Either the cure would work, or it would fail and he would be no worse off than he was. He had little hope left, but at least what he had was his own, not caused by some enchantment. After a moment, he nodded briefly.
"All right. I will come to the Shrine. But it will be in private, not with a crowd gawking at me. If I choose to spread the word of Shimer's powers afterward, I'll do so in my own way, not as a face on one of your posters."
Zuller's happy face fairly lit up the shadowed garden.
"Excellent! Come to the Shrine City tomorrow, and I will personally guide you to the Shrine itself. And, your friend as well, the Priest, if he still means to come? I see he's not here with you."
Zelgadis shook his head. He'd almost forgotten about Xelloss, and now he wasn't happy to be reminded.
"I don't know what his plans are, but I expect he'll be there as well. He wasn't feeling well earlier; apparently something he ate disagreed with him."
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it happens sometimes, even here! I hope he'll be well enough to come with you by tomorrow."
"I'm sure he'll manage to recover somehow," Zelgadis muttered.
"Excellent," the Shrine Keeper repeated. "The other Keepers and I will await you, but we will keep the crowds away when you arrive. After tomorrow, you will be Human again, Zelgadis," he said solemnly. "Until then." He smiled and gave a polite nod of his head, then turned and left the garden.
Zelgadis stood there for a minute with Zuller's last words echoing in his mind. He wanted to believe it was true that he would be Human again in a day or so. Once again, he decided that he'd come so far already, he might as well go on and see what happened.
Scattered beads from Zuller's neckpiece seemed to wink up at him from the grass like tiny eyes. He frowned at them before turning on his heel and leaving the garden.
A moment later Zelgadis turned a corner and was surprised to find himself in view of the main street. Beyond the end of the lane of shops where he stood, the fountains glittered like showers of gold in the light of the setting sun. A few people passed, but the shops were closing and they were all hurrying toward their inns and homes for the night, barely stopping to nod and give a greeting.
He turned to head back to his own inn, hoping he could find the way from here. He had to go back for his sword; otherwise he might have considered leaving for the Shrine without telling Xelloss. He didn't bother to hope that the trickster priest had gone on his way alone. That would make his life too simple.
He walked through the emptying streets in the general direction of the Drover's Road. The few people who were still about greeted him as usual, but he hardly noticed them as he thought about all that Zuller had said. He couldn't bring himself to trust the Shrine Keeper. He knew enough not to trust Xelloss, in fact he'd known that even before he learned of the Priest's true nature. But he wasn't sure about Zuller and his earnest, clear-eyed gaze. He was tired of being manipulated by all of them, but at least the Mazoku only took advantage of emotions he already had. The Relics of Shimer created feelings that didn't even exist.
He glanced up as a group of people crossed his path, ready to murmur a word of greeting, when a flash of light caught his eye. It was probably only the sun glancing off someone's jewelry, but it reminded him of the gleam off a polished blade. No one wore weapons in the Valley of Shimeria, as he'd already seen. But he saw it flash again out of the corner of his eye, and this time he saw what it came from.
He stopped in mid-stride, staring in disbelief. At the corner of the next street a group of men stood talking together. They wore long, grey, hooded robes, several of them with clasps shaped in the emblem of the Three Rivers: three wavy branches of silver each ending in a blue stone shaped like a drop of water. But the clasp on the one man's robe was a single white stone, shaped like a teardrop. Most of them carried swords sheathed at their sides, but two held spears at ease over their shoulders - spears with tips that gleamed like liquid silver.
A sudden memory of the crazed men he'd fought with on the other side of the ridge flashed in his mind. The one he'd grappled with by the campfire had worn a tear-shaped stone on his cloak, and what he'd thought were talismans of some kind on his wrists and around his neck. Now he knew them for what they must have been: Relics of Shimer.
"Damn!" he said to himself. "How could I not have seen it before!"
While he stood gaping at them and cursing himself, something slammed into him from the side. He spun to face his attacker, only to see a portly man squinting up at him near-sightedly.
"Oof! Sorry, son!" the man sputtered, rubbing his bruised nose. "I haven't had my eyes fixed yet, can't see where I'm going half the time! You're hard as a post, you know that, son? Well, I'm sure there's a Relic that'll take care of that for you, too, so chin up, my boy!"
He rambled off down the street and headed straight for a real post. Zelgadis jumped after him to stop him from running into it and then set him on his way again. When he looked around for the grey robed men a second later, they were gone.
---
Xelloss wandered aimlessly through the streets behind the great inns, where the setting sun was reflected like melting gold off the windows of shops and homes. He'd hardly seen a soul since leaving the inn, and the few he did see were hurrying home as dusk fell. The street he was on made a sharp turn to the left, and then, he saw, another turn to the right, which should lead back to the High Road. As he strolled along this deserted street of shuttered shop windows, three men came around the corner, walking toward him and talking quietly amongst themselves. Their footsteps were soft and their grey robes hardly made a sound, but strings of beads tingled musically on their wrists and around their necks.
Xelloss slowed his pace but kept walking. He looked out from under the fringe of hair that hung over his face at the swords swinging from their hips. The third one only carried a knife in his belt rather than a sword, but a long spear rested on his shoulder.
They glanced at him briefly but didn't pause in their conversation with each other. Xelloss bowed politely and murmured a greeting.
"Pleasant evening to you!" they said, almost in unison, and then went on with their discussion.
Xelloss smiled, keeping his head down, and kept walking. They were almost past him when one of the swordsmen gestured with a sweep of his hand, the other nodding in agreement with whatever he was saying so emphatically. But then his agreeable companion suddenly grabbed his wrist, eyes wide in alarm. The sleeve of his robe had fallen back to reveal a white band set with a clear blue stone streaked with black. The black streaks were moving and growing, filling the blue depths of the stone with darkness.
All as one, they raised their eyes and looked at Xelloss. He kept walking, facing straight ahead with his bland smile. They stepped around in front of him to block his path and drew their swords, and the man in the center swung his spear down to point at Xelloss. All of their blades gleamed like moonlight on smooth water.
Xelloss stopped and backed up a pace, well out of their reach. For several seconds no one moved. Finally he raised his head and looked directly at them, eyes wide open.
"Ah, the glorious Soldiers of Shimer. How nice to see you again so soon!" he said cheerfully.
The three men grinned and the spearman took a step forward.
"Die, Mazoku!" he hissed.
Xelloss sighed. "And how very, very predictable," he said.
---
to be continued!
---

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