Zelgadis' Gambit
Chapter: 1
To Gamble
Well new idea. I think it will be fun.
Zelgadis sighed has he sat in his booth at the royal library in Sailoon. He had received a ring from Amelia years ago that allowed him entrance to any library in Sailoon. He flipped through the books he had picked out but still found nothing of use to him. Zelgadis set the first book aside while thinking, 'Here we go again same old song and dance. I've checked all of these books over and over again but here I am repeating myself.'
Zelgadis had continued to look for his cure. It had been almost five years since the incident with Darkstar and his separation with the rest of his companions. He had traveled near and far to look for anything that could be his cure. No matter how much time he spent in searching he always continued to look. He never gave in, never gave up, and continued to stay on the move. He had not kept in touch with his friends during the five years as well. 'I don't need to drag them into my problems. I can continue on until I find the cure. Once I'm done then I will have time to catch up,' Zelgadis thought as he put the second book away.
Zelgadis pulled the book on the bottom of the pile out and looked at it. The book itself did not have a title or any special covering. It was just a plain and old leather bound book. It was in the back parts of the library were he was sure only the truly dedicated mages would have ventured back to find the book. The book had been dusty and looked like if it was brought into sunlight it would have disintegrated. Zelgadis flipped open the old book to be assaulted by dust that had made its way into the pages of the book. After coughing for a few moments Zelgadis regained his composure and began to read the book. 'It seems to be a journal...It might be worth while,' Zelgadis thought as he began to skim the journal.
After about twenty minutes Zelgadis had stopped on a odd section of the journal. It seemed that the author had diverged from talking about his travels and began talking about a mage that was legendary to those that knew their history. 'And, so I came into the hospitality of Lei Magnus himself. The great sage of our time welcomed me into his home and I could not decline. After spending some time with my host I learned that he had begun work on a very interesting project. There were people out there that would love to get a hold of his research and use it for nefarious means. So he was working on a way to keep his research secure. That way was so odd that no thief would ever figure it out on his own. Lei Magnus encapsulated his lab and research within a dimensional pocket that he created. Next, the great sage, who is an outstanding artist began to paint six paintings. Again, to the normal eye they are just paintings but if someone gathered the paintings and put them in the right order then they would open the door to the dimensional lab.'
There was a spark in the eyes of Zelgadis as he thought over this new and interesting find. 'This could just be a hoax...I need to do a little more research before I make any moves,' he thought as he gathered the books and walked away to put them back in place.
After a good hour of searching Zelgadis found what he was looking for in a registry of art. After going through over half of the book Zelgadis finally got his answer, "The six paintings of Lei Magnus. All paintings are owned by museums or private collectors. Listed here are the last known owners at the time of this printing."
Zelgadis smiled before looking around and making sure no one was around. After making sure he was alone he pulled a small knife from his boot and slow began to cut the page from the book. After finishing the job Zelgadis folded the page into a small square and placed it in his pocket. He then replaced the knife back into his boot before closing the book and moving to replace the book on the shelf.
After the library Zelgadis quickly made his way out of Sailoon before he was noticed by anyone. After making it outside the gates of the city he slowed his pace and walked like a normal traveler heading down the road. After a few hours of walking Zelgadis found a spot to set down for the night. He quickly gathered enough wood for the night and built a fire. As he sat next to the fire Zelgadis pulled out the page and unfolded it. "What do I have here," he asked as he read the list.
"The first painting by Lei Magnus is located in the Sailoon national museum of art," Zelgadis smirked as he thought about how close he had been to the first painting.
'Well, even if I was that close it is useless to go after the paintings until I have a base of operations,' Zelgadis thought before he placed the page back in his pocket.
Zelgadis got an idea before smiling, "The old church...I used it as a base when looking for the philosopher's stone. I can up the defenses a bit and have quite a hideout."
It had taken a week but Zelgadis had made his way back to the old church he had once used as a hideout years ago. He sighed as he look at the old place and began to think, 'I'm going to need to do some work here if I'm going to do this.'
Zelgadis walked into the church and looked around. The main open hall would work fine as it was but the back areas were the spots that needed his attention. Zel walked to the back half of the church and smirked, "This is were the work begins."
He kneeled down to the ground and cast his spell, "Bephis Bring."
Zelgadis controlled the spell as he dug a hole into the ground a good four stories. He stopped the spell before looking and saying, "Now to form."
Zelgadis used another spell to create stairs going down to the bottom of the hole he had created. The stairs spiraled down the hole until they hit the bottom. Zelgadis then jumped into the hole before shouting, "Ray Wing!"
He floated down to the bottom before looking at the wall facing towards the area under the church. "Now for the main work.," Zelgadis said to himself as he focused.
Zelgadis began to form the earth and made two rooms. The first room was a medium sized room that he planned to use as a private space and the second was a large space he planned to use as a lab and the area to store the paintings once he began his plan. Zelgadis took his time as he shaped the lab so that he had a place for books, for chemicals, and for the storage of the paintings. After finishing with the lab Zelgadis smiled and walked back to the hole. He then recast the ray wing spell and flew back up to the top. Once back at the top he formed the earth back over his work before make a trap door to access the stairs. After that was done Zelgadis walked to the old room that he used as a bedroom. He kneeled next to the old bench before moving the top off. Under then top was a mask that he thought he would never have to wear again. The mask was made of bone and made to cover the top half of his face. It was pure white with small spike jutting out of the sides. Zelgadis turned the mask over in his hands before slowly bringing it to his face. 'When I was young; before Rezo found me, I had to steal to survive. The best way to do that was to hide who you were. Normal person by day...thief by night. They knew me well when I was young...they gave me a name back then,' Zelgadis thought as he attached the mask and stood.
He looked outside as the sun began to set and smirked. "The Black Wolf is back."
Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from The Slayers do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.
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