Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Search for the Darkstar ❯ To The South! We're Flying Dragon Express! ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: DQBunny

Disclaimer: "Slayers" isn't mine, but belongs to Kanzaka Hajime, Araizumi Rui and those who represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while and will return them intact. Except for Gourry. He might be squished just a little. This story is set after the manga arc "Knight of Aqualord" and is an alternate take on the TRY season of the anime.

Author's Note: In the novels, Lina tells us that Amelia is the same age as her, probably a few months older. This is the age that I'm using for this story.

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Chapter 8: To The South! We're Flying Dragon Express!

Dear Zelgadiss-san,

It has been two weeks since we initially met Filia-san and agreed to take her quest. A good bit of that time was spent taking a side trip to Sairaag, after Xelloss-san told us that the Sword of Light was spotted among the ruins. Gourry-san got his sword back, but there was a lot of fighting that accompanied it. An underling of Gaav's, Valgaav, was also trying to get the sword and kill Lina-san as well.

"That is why it's imperiative we leave for the Temple to Flarelord immediately!" Filia said, her voice cutting through Amelia's thoughts. She glanced up from her writing to see her squaring off against Lina, an angry Shizuri behind her. Amelia hunkered down slightly in her seat. I really, really hope that they don't get me involved in this.

"Do you know how long of a trip that is?" Shizuri demanded, jabbing her finger at a map displayed on the table. "Why can't you just tell us what your Elder wants? Or make him come to us! We're not dragons. We can't fly the way you can."

"Shizuri has a point," Lina told Filia in a firm voice. "We've never explored the lands south of the Mazoku barrier. We have no idea how much of a journey it is."

Filia looked abashed. "It only took me a few days."

Lina cocked an eyebrow. "Flying or not flying?"

"Flying, of course, but..."

Lina propped her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand, the dull ache starting to throb in her temples rapidly working its way toward a full-blown headache. "Look, Filia. There's four of us. How comfortable is it going to be flying the four of us halfway across the world? Hell, we're going to have to tranquilize Gourry as is if we fly!"

Lyos hefted Banisher. "Let me have the honors, Lina!"

"Trust me, Gourry-san's handled worse than that from Lina-san," Amelia muttered, then scanned the dining room of the inn they were staying in. "Say, where is Gourry-san anyhow?"

"Eh?" Lina bent over the map once more and didn't bother to look up. "He's outside with Sylphiel. They're having a talk."

Amelia edged over slightly and studied Lina's face to see if she was having any problems with that, but her friend appeared to be normal. She let out a small sigh of relief and hoped that things would work out for the best. Of course, after what had happened two days earlier, Sylphiel knew that Lina and Gourry were together now, so Lina had no reason to be worried. Amelia tapped her quill against the table. Of course, this still was Lina they were talking about here. Even so, she didn't want Sylphiel to be hurt either.

Lyos watched as the conversation turned back to the upcoming trip to the south. He edged to the closest window, pushing aside the lace curtain so that he could see outside. His gaze scanned over the people gathered until he was able to pick out Sylphiel and Gourry standing a few paces outside the inn. Sylphiel's face was turned toward the window and Lyos could see the faint signs of distress around her eyes and mouth.

That idiot Gourry. Can't he see that he's hurting her? Lyos jerked out of his thoughts as the windowsill began to crack beneath his grip. He stared down at his hands. Why am I feeling this way? I haven't felt like this since...her... Embarrassed, and a little mortified, Lyos quickly pulled his hands away, backing from the window as fast as possible. He wandered back to the table and sat down amidst the chaos that swirled around him.

During the past few months, Lyos wondered if he was going crazy whenever he had superimposed an image of his lady over Lina's in his mind. For awhile, he'd been scared that he actually had a crush on Lina and knew that the sorceress wouldn't stand for it. It was obvious the moment they had stumbled across Gourry after the two were separated by the storm that initially brought them to his lands. Lina had a great deal of affection for Gourry and, once Lina rattled his brains back into place, Gourry felt the same way. Lyos knew he couldn't even begin to come between that. He valued his own life, thank you very much.

Some rational part of his brain told him that Gourry would not go after two women at once. Lyos didn't think Gourry had the brains in order to do that. Even so, he was causing Sylphiel pain by choosing to be with Lina and that didn't sit right with him. Lyos slumped in his chair. Damn it, he shouldn't be worried about this priestess like that. He'd only known her for a couple of days and had spoken a handful of words to her in that time. Provided that the rest of the party got their act together, they would be leaving today.

Lyos shot the rest of the party a dark look. Would they just stop their bickering and get on with it?

-----

From their vantage point outside, Gourry and Sylphiel could see Lina, Shizuri and Filia all starting to lose their tempers with each other and simultaneously winced when Shizuri loomed over Filia, shouting into the priestess' face.

Sylphiel paled slightly and knew the chaos that Lina could bring upon a place when she got into a bad temper. "On second thoughts, maybe coming out here to talk isn't such a good idea. I know the inn owner and I don't think he'd like the damage that Lina-san can cause."

Gourry smiled knowingly. "Lina's done a lot of growing up lately. I don't think the damage will be too bad."

Sylphiel glanced at Gourry out of the corner of her eye, then clasped and unclasped her hands in front of her nervously. She stared at the ground and worried her lip, hoping that what she wanted to tell him would actually come out in an coherent manner. She'd been practicing her speech from the moment she saw Lina and Gourry embrace after retrieving the Sword of Light. But now that the moment had arrived, the words were failing her.

"Sylphiel?"

Sylphiel blinked, then realized that Gourry had been calling her name for about a minute or so. She flushed and turned her attention back to him. "I'm sorry, Gourry-sama. What were you saying?"

He smiled gently at her. "I was asking what were your plans now? Are you coming with us to the south? Lina wouldn't mind."

Sylphiel shook her head. "No, I'm going back to my uncle's in Saillune. Amelia has asked me to take some letters with me, one for her father and the other for Zelgadiss-san. Of course, we're not exactly sure where Zelgadiss-san is, but Amelia tells me that she's been sending all of his letters to Saillune in any case in the hopes that Zelgadiss-san will pass through there."

Gourry nodded and appeared thoughtful. "It's been a long time since Amelia's seen her father," he commented.

Sylphiel smiled slightly. "I saw Prince Phil before I left for Sairaag. He'd just met with the entourage that had gone with Amelia beyond the barrier. He was glad to find out that you and Lina-san were okay and that Amelia was out advancing the cause of justice in the lands beyond the barrier. I told Amelia that earlier this morning and it put her mind at ease."

Silence wove between them, but Sylphiel was surprised that it didn't feel uncomfortable. She averted her gaze from Gourry and summoned the strength that she needed to get out what she had to say next. "Gourry-sama," she said, switching her focus back to him. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

His smile faltered for a moment as confusion swept through him. "Sorry for what?"

"Well...just..." Keep going, Sylphiel, she ordered herself. "These past few years, I've had...well...feelings."

Gourry's features relaxed. "Oh, is that all? Everyone has feelings, Sylphiel."

She laughed and felt a bit more at ease. "No, no, I mean...well, Gourry-sama, I've had feelings for you."

"I have feelings for you too, Sylphiel. You're my friend," he replied happily. "You, Lina, Amelia, Zel, Lyos and Shizuri. You're all my friends."

"No, no, it's not like that." Sylphiel laced her fingers together as she realized the point wasn't getting across. "I've felt very close to you."

"I feel close to you as well." Gourry swung a friendly arm around her shoulders. "We've been friends even longer than I've known Lina. No one can cook like you do. You're special to me too."

The last of the nerves faded away and Sylphiel relaxed completely. She quickly embraced Gourry, knowing that if they could see what was going on inside, Lina and the others could be watching them outside. She wasn't quite sure if Gourry understood what he'd said, but the implication was enough for her. He loved Lina and she would always be first in his heart. But, Sylphiel also held a special place as one of his oldest friends. That, for her, was enough.

When Gourry and Sylphiel stepped back into the inn, the argument was still going full force. Lina was nearly ready to beat some sense into both Shizuri and Filia, especially the latter. Lina drummed her fingers on the map and watched as the two fought. Amelia had tuned everyone out and was still working on the letters that she was sending back with Sylphiel. She's probably telling Prince Phil all about the justice speeches she gave beyond the barrier. Her gaze moved to the door as Sylphiel and Gourry made their way back to them and was relieved to see that the starry-eyed look that Sylphiel normally had around Gourry was gone.

"So," Lina announced, tapping her finger on the map, "you feel up to flying, Gourry?"

Gourry leaned over her shoulder and cocked his head to the side as she indicated where they needed to go on the map. Bile rose in his throat momentarily as he thought of the amount of time needed in the air. "It would take too long to sail, wouldn't it?"

"I'm sorry," Lina apologized and shot Filia a dirty look. "I don't think our hostess wants to take up that much time. Apparently, we've wasted enough as is."

"Well, if we have to fly, we have to fly." Resigned to the situation, Gourry took the empty seat next to Lina so he could study the map better.

When he leaned over, she scooted next to him. "Is Sylphiel doing okay?" she whispered.

He glanced back at her and blinked. "She's fine. Why wouldn't she be?"

Lina considered him for a moment, then chuckled. It was highly likely that no matter what Sylphiel had told him, it would had gone over his head anyhow.

-----

Three days later

The northernmost city in the lands beyond the Mazoku barrier

There was no other way around it. Lina was simply going to have to kill all of them. Well, maybe not Gourry, she decided as he rushed to the closest building to find a washroom to hack up the remains of whatever food he'd managed to keep down during the longest part of the flight. She wished she could tell him that it was over, but Filia had informed them there was at least another day of flying ahead of them.

That had caused the latest fight. Filia told them that she felt pretty confident that once she reached the coast, she could make the entire ocean trip in a day. However, as Shizuri proceeded to remind Filia, there was a small matter of needing to eat, drink, sleep and relieve themselves - all but the last they could get away with doing on a fully transformed golden dragon.

While they argued it out, Lina and Amelia located an island that appeared to be halfway between the Alliance of Costal States and Filia's lands. Lina had to grab Filia in a headlock in order to pull her away from the fight long enough to shove the map in her face and declare that they were stopping there for the night.

"And if not," she had threatened, "I am going to make sure that Gourry gets sick all over your pretty mane."

At least they were finally in the southern lands, though at first glance, Lina thought that they didn't seem to be much different from the Alliance of Coastal States, where they had left from. With a dismissive toss of her hair, she turned her attention from the shoreline to more important matters - like lunch. With a happy smile, she scanned the ample menu that the restaurant featured.

"You know, Lina-san, we could make it to the Flarelord temple by dark if we leave as soon as possible," Filia suggested, sipping from a cup of tea. When Lina didn't respond, she set her cup down on the saucer with a loud clatter. "Are you listening to me? Lina-san!"

"I'm listening," Lina replied absently, then beckoned for the water. "I'd like...one of everything from column A," she indicated, pointing at the menu, "and two servings of the first three...no, make it four items on column B, please. Oh, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup."

Filia grabbed a copy of the menu and goggled at the prices. "No, no, she doesn't want all of that!" she yelled, jumping out of her seat. She did her best to flag down the waiter, who was doing his best to ignore her. "Wait! Wait! Oh...," Filia stopped outside of the doors leading into the kitchen and hung her head. "My budget," she moaned.

Filia's head snapped up when a wan-looking Gourry moved past her and collapsed into the seat next to Lina. A stab of guilt went through her. Maybe I am pushing them a little too hard. Lina-san told me that Gourry-san was afraid of heights, but... Filia moved back to the table and took her seat as the first of the food started to arrive. Maybe it won't be a bad thing for us to stay here one night. I'm sure the budget could be extended that much.

Lina let out a squeal of joy as five heaping platters of food were placed before her, along with the soup. She dug into the meal and marveled over the meal. Shizuri and Lyos each grabbed platters before Lina could notice and dug in as well.

The smells wafted toward Gourry and he perked up, the color slowly coming back to his skin. He made a grab for some of Lina's food, but she turned at the last second. "I don't think so. You just puked up everything you've eaten in the past week."

This is true, but... Gourry's traitorous stomach rumbled as everyone else, even Filia, enjoyed the meal. He quickly made the decision. Eat now, deal with the consequences later. "I feel better now!"

"Good! You can eat this." Lina pushed the bowl of soup over to him.

Gourry's face fell. "Can't I have some of your sandwich?"

Lina loomed over him, eyes dark. Her aura began to flare around her as Shizuri and Lyos started scooting their chairs away in self-defense. "Eat. The. Soup," she growled.

Gourry turned challenging eyes to her and grabbed for her sandwich. In a swift move, Lina scooped up the bowl of soup and promptly upended it on Gourry's head. She allowed the bowl to drop on top of the mess.

Filia leaned closer to Shizuri. "I thought those two were suppose to be in love," she whispered.

"Let's just say this is one of the many ways that they express their affection for each other," Shizuri replied as a food fight broke out between Lina and Gourry.

Filia scanned the group and noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Amelia-san?"

"The princess?" Shizuri scooped up a bite of salad. "She went to go find the local postal service. She wants to establish some ties with it so we can get letters back to Saillune and the other lands that used to be in the barrier."

"I see." Filia noticed that the food war had subsided. Lina grabbed a knife, sliced the sandwich in half and handed it to Gourry, along with a warning that she wasn't about to clean up after him if he got sick. She smiled. I suppose there are many different ways of showing affection.

-----

Amelia found the post office about three blocks from the restaurant they'd stopped to eat at. It was a non-descript building in the middle of a row of other, just as non-descript buildings that lined the street. She paused and took in her surroundings for a moment. She appreciated the subtle differences she saw in architecture with each new place that she visited. This city, which Filia had called Mir, hugged the sea for which it was named. Each road seemed to sweep down toward the coast that held three large harbors, the key to the kingdom's livelihood. It was much different from Saillune City, which had been laid out carefully so that when completed, it formed a white magic seal.

At least, it did before Lina-san's Dragon Slave decimated part of it. Amelia winced at the memory and knew that despite the widescale damage the Dragon Slave had left, it would had been much, much worse if the entire chunk of land that Kanzel had levitating in the air had crashed to the ground. Her father had estimated that roughly three-fourths of the city would had been destroyed if that happened - with the royal palaces at the epicenter. When faced with those odds, Amelia gladly chose the Dragon Slave.

Amelia glanced at the letters she clutched in her hand and homesickness stirred a little. The last time she'd been home was a little more than a year ago. She and her father had estimated that the diplomatic mission would take close to a year, but they hadn't counted on running into problems with the Mazoku. She'd celebrated her 19th birthday shortly before leaving Kunan and knew that Lina's birthday wasn't that far off.

Her father knew what was going on, at least. The letters she'd managed to get from him, along with the verbal message passed through Sylphiel, conveyed his blessing at helping Lina to stop Hureika and Rikufalso. They'd spoken using the Vision spell shortly before leaving the Alliance of Coastal States and he urged her to use whatever chance she had to extend diplomatic ties between Saillune and the new kingdoms they explored beyond the barrier. It was a mission that she shouldered with pride.

Amelia stepped into the post office and saw that it appeared to be much similar to the ones within the Mazoku barrier. Sectioned shelves stretching from floor to ceiling lined one wall with a long counter situated in front of it, keeping the customers from accessing the shelves. A man sat working at a desk on one side of the room, his sandy hair tied back in a queue as he bent over paperwork. Amelia closed her eyes and inhaled deeply with pride. Such a peaceful scene. Surely this is result of keeping a city full of just people.

"May I help you?" Amelia opened her eyes and saw the man sitting at the desk staring at her.

She moved to him, pulling out her royal seal as she walked. "I'm Amelia wil Tesla Saillune, princess from the Kingdom of Saillune and third in line to the royal throne," she announced in a soft voice, not wanting to attract undo attention. "I am here as a diplomatic ambassador in the name of my father, Philionel el de Saillune, crown prince and first in line to the royal throne. I am looking for the postmaster so I can talk to him about establishing postal service between Saillune and this kingdom."

The man arched a thin eyebrow at the royal seal and smiled. "I'm the postmaster, William Brog. Welcome to Mir, Princess Amelia. You're from one of the kingdoms from within the Mazoku barrier, am I correct?"

"That's right." A little surprised, Amelia lowered the seal slightly. "How did you know that?"

William chuckled. "There's been stories, legends more like it, of lands that lie to the north within a magical barrier and of people there who know how to wield powerful magic. About a year to year and a half ago, people started arriving from those lands, confirming our legends and adding new ones to our local lore. The most favorite among our young people is about this sorceress that appears to be around your age. They say she's always on the prowl, snatching treasure from thieves for her own use. She's so deadly, even dragons flee at the sight of her. A dramata. That's what they call her."

Amelia's lips quirked. Nice to know that Lina-san's reputation has preceded her.

"Not many have come, but there has been some unusual people," William continued. "Granted, there's unusual people here, but some that not even I've seen before have come from the northern lands. There was a man who passed through about a month or two ago. I swear, he had stone for skin - blue stone! There was even pebbles that appeared to be attached to his face. and his hair appeared to be made of wire. He was here looking for temples and libraries and said he was on a personal quest."

Amelia nearly dropped the seal. Her heart started to beat a little faster. "This man," she said, surprised that her voice sounded reasonably normal, "did he say what his name was?"

"Xel? No, no, that's not it." William rubbed his chin, then his eyes lit up. "Zel! That's it. Zelgadiss Greywords."

-----

Amelia concluded her business and nearly skipped out of the post office. William had taken both the personal letter for her father and the official document requesting that Saillune establish postal and possible trade routes with the kingdom. He would ensure that they reach the proper royal officials, he told her.

He's here! He's got to be here! Amelia wove her way through the throng of people on the street. It'd only been a month, two at the most! Once she told Lina, she was sure they could talk Filia into staying in Mir for a few days so they could get a lead on Zelgadiss' movements. Amelia dashed around a corner and immediately collided with something rather solid.

She tumbled to the ground, landing on her rear with her legs sprawled out to each side. She shook her head to get her bearings, then scrambled back to her feet. "I'm so, so sorry," she began to apologize, then sucked in a deep breath when the man turned toward her. "Xelloss-san!"

Surprise flickered over Xelloss' face for a moment, but it smoothed into a benign smile before Amelia noticed. "Ah, Amelia-san! What brings you to this pleasant city?"

"I'm here with Lina-san and the others," Amelia replied carefully. She tilted her head. "What are you doing here, Xelloss-san?"

He made a tsk-ing sound, then placed a finger over his lips. "That, as you can probably figure out, is a secret. I'm here on official business. Just some pesky matters that need clearing up."

"Are you looking for Valgaav?" Amelia pressed on, remembering what Lina had told her about when Xelloss had involved himself in the fight between Valgaav and Lina. "Is he here in the southern lands as well?"

"That, I don't know," Xelloss replied and for once, it was the complete truth. It was infuriating, not to know where Valgaav was. It was like he disappeared into thin air once he fled from the battlefield in Sairaag, He'd done enough damage to Valgaav that he thought he'd slowed down his movements. Apparently not. Xelloss was used to multi-tasking, but he needed to get the Valgaav problem out of the way so he could focus on the other part of his mission.

"Now, I need to be getting back to my duties," he briskly told Amelia and faded onto the Astral Plane before she could ask any further. "But," he added in a disembodied voice that he projected to her, "in my inquiries, I've heard some very interesting things about a mutual friend of ours that happened to pass through here a couple months ago."

"Zelgadiss-san? What did you hear about him?" Amelia took a few steps forward and clenched her hands into fists. "Xelloss-san! Come on, answer me! Xelloss-san!"

When no reply came, she huffed a little. Why am I not surprised? She started to run back to the restaurant, thoughts of Xelloss now mingling with the ones of Zelgadiss. Xelloss-san has got to be tracking Valgaav. He must know that Gourry-san got the Sword of Light back. Lina-san's going to be very interested in this.

-----

One day later

Temple to Flarelord

The Temple to Flarelord wasn't just a single building. It was a huge complex of buildings. Some tall, some short, some formed into skinny towers and the others into circular halls, the temple protruded out of the desert like some alien being had simply abandoned it there. At the same time, the buildings itself appeared to be created out of the same reddish-brown dirt and rock that surrounded the complex for miles and miles, so not even the closest town could be seen.

Filia wasn't kidding when she said we had to fly here. Lina surveyed the massive buildings and noticed that her party was currently gawking at them. Well, all the members of her party who wasn't currently losing their lunch. Lina made her way over to Gourry's side and slapped a hand on his back. "Well, look at it this way," she said cheerfully. "At least it's over. Though, I told you not to eat that sandwich yesterday."

"I think I'd rather be skewered with a sword," he moaned and braced himself on a nearby rock. His gaze shot skywards as he took in the buildings for the first time and really couldn't find the words to describe them.

Amelia walked over, laid a hand on Gourry's arm and cast Recovery. It was the only way they'd been able to prevent him from having his meals revisit him while they were in the air, though his stomach always decided to revolt once they hit the ground. "I've never seen anyone react to flying like you do, Gourry-san."

"Most people choose to fly," he pointed out, his voice a bit stronger. "I'm fine with the shorter stuff, not hours and hours of it."

"I'm thinking next trip, we just knock you out," Lina replied, hints of an evil smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Gourry scowled at her. "You don't have to sound so cheerful about it!"

Lina nudged his ribs and Gourry poked her back. As they ribbed each other, Shizuri walked over to Filia. "Well? Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going in?"

"Yes, of course!" Filia beamed at her. "I was letting Gourry-san get his bearings."

More likely, she didn't want him to be sick inside the temple. Lina followed Filia and the rest of the party fell in alongside her as they moved through massive doors into the equally large entrance hall. It stretched as far as they could see, with massive mosaics painted on the walls. Intrigued, Lina wandered over to one of the walls to study the drawings. "This when the four worlds were formed," she commented. "It's the history of the universe as we know it."

Amelia had wandered further down the hall. "This is the battle between Ceiphied and Shabranigdu, at least the initial one that I know of. I don't recognize the writing."

"This is like the painting that was on the walls of Oren's temple," Shizuri pointed out from the opposite side of the hall. "The Kouma Sensou is what you called it, right?"

"That's right." Lina moved to Shizuri's side. "It looks like the version that I'm familiar with it - the one with Lei Magnus involved. And look." She tapped a panel that showed the destruction of many of the Golden Dragons by the Mazoku.

Lyos leaned in for a closer look. "What's with all the dragons being killed in this picture?"

"Lyos-san!" Amelia hissed, horrified.

He gave her a confused look. "What?"

More worried about Filia's reaction than anything, Amelia looked for the priestess and spotted her staring down the hall into the darkness. She sighed in relief and went back to studying the mosaics.

"This is a comprehensive history of the world as we know it," a gravelly voice spoke, catching everyone's attention. They turned and saw a tall elderly man clad in white linen robes walking toward them, a contingent of men dressed in similar robes behind him.

"That is the Elder," Filia said as the man approached, then stuck his nose in Lina's face.

She reared back, scowled. "What are you looking at?"

He didn't say anything. He stepped a few paces away from them, then beckoned. "Guests, would you please follow me further into the temple?"

They walked through the entrance hall into a chamber that connected to a spiraling staircase that twisted down into darkness. While the main entrance had been light and airy, the stairs were only lit with a few torches. Lina was grateful for the little touches of brightness that she could see - the light colors of Filia and the Elder's robes, Gourry's hair, Amelia's clothes. It kept her oriented enough so that the darkness didn't seem quite so oppressive.

At the end of the hall, the Elder pushed open another door. Lina's eyes widened with delight as the rest of the group suddenly sucked in their breaths.

The table that stretched nearly as far as they could see was set with gleaming silver platters, trays, tureens and bowls. All were filled to bursting with every type of food imaginable. Lina held a hand to her mouth and wasn't surprised to find that she was drooling. Beside her, Amelia was stammering while Gourry's jaw simply hung. Shizuri looked like she'd been poleaxed and even Lyos seemed intrigued.

"Please help yourselves to this meal," the Elder told them. "I need to speak with Filia as you do so."

"Really?" Lina's voice went up about two octaves, but she didn't care. Amelia let out a squeak of delight, a shout of thanks, then scurried into the dining room, Gourry at her heels. Lyos and Shizuri quickly followed.

"Hey, leave something for me!" Lina yelled, started after them, then stopped. She threw a glance at Filia and the Elder over her shoulder. "Thanks, old man!"

Filia winced as the group descended on the table as if they hadn't eaten in a year. The Elder is going to believe they're a pack of animals! Though, sometimes, I do wonder if they are... She peered at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was staring at the group with an unreadable expression. With a curt nod, he glanced at Filia. "Come with me, Filia."

"Yes, sir." With a last look at the group, she followed him from the hall.