Zelgadis

[Shukuen]

Ignoring Amelia's outburst, Shukuen knelt down and searched the ground, trying to see which tracks would match Filia's. Specifically, he was looking for drag marks from her tail.

[Carthrat]

There were, in fact, several drag marks leading up to the main 'battle prints', but there were none leading away from them.

[Carthrat]

Before Zelgadis could inspect any further, he sneezed.

Loudly.

[Shukuen]

Where the hell did THAT come from?

Shukuen sniffed, his noise twitching slightly from the sudden sneeze, then went back at the task at hand.

"Strange..." he muttered, looking closely at the prints. This time trying to discern if any were deeper, as if carrying a heavy object.

[Carthrat]

The footprints travelling to the East were slightly deeper for a few paces, then seemed to return to normal depth.

The footprints travelling to the West had the solid footprints far deeper into the ground than normal, while the limping prints very light.

[Shukuen]

Hoping he hadn't made the wrong conclusion, Shukuen said to the others, "It seems that Filia was ambushed." He gestured to where Filia's tracks lead to the clearing, before all traces of it disappeared in the chaos. "You can see by these tracks that Filia was overwhelmed by large numbers."

Pointing to the tracks leating East. "They had captured her and were carrying her away, as you can see by how deep these group prints are. But then they suddenly get lighter and more chaotic, as if they were interupted. I think Filia was rescued, but I could be wrong."

Now pointing to the tracks leading West. "From these tracks, you see one pair was carrying a heavy weight, while the other pair seems injured and barely touching the ground, as if supported. My guess is Filia's rescuer decided to take her to the nearest town to heal."

Standing up, he brushed the dirt off his pants and glanced to the others. "What's the closest town to the West?"

[Carthrat]

Amelia blinked.

"Tilversin, the great city of lumberjacks..."

[Shukuen]

"Someone should go back and tell Lina what happened." Hmm... justice-obsessed mage or idiotic sword weilder. "Amelia, go back to camp and explain things to Lina. Gourry, you and I are going to check Tilversin and find out if Filia's there or not."

[Carthrat]

"OK!"

Amelia ran off, leaving Gourry with Zel.

And the two promptly left to the west...

OOC: Shuk, I can't post more. I'm leaving now. I'll do another post if I can in Singapore... feel free to do something introspective while I'm gone.

[Carthrat]

OOC: And here I am again!

IC: After about 10 minutes of travelling...

Zelgadis and Gourry came across a pair of ragged warriors. One was dressed in half-plate and leather trousers; they other had a bloodstained tunic. Both turned and stared at Zelgadis and Gourry.

The one in half-plate spoke, "Who are you? Did Korthak send you?"

[Shukuen]

Shukuen stared blankly. "No," he answered apologetically. "We're trying to find a friend of ours that was possibly caught in a battle. Perhaps you have seen her?"

[Carthrat]

"B... battle? The only battle I know of here was the one between us and Korthaks minions...

Wait. Would your friend be... a gold dragon? If so, then I can certainly help you find her! Korthak took her. He put her in some kind of crystal... I hate to think of what he plans to do with her!

Hurry East! I think there is still time."

OOC| Augh. Italian keyboards suck. Puncuation is nigh impossible.

[Shukuen]

What? Crap!

"Thank you for the information. If you see two sorceresses come along, please pass the news to them as well. One has red hair and the other has violet," Shukuen bowed, then grabbed Gourry by the collar. "Come on, Blondie! We got to hurry! Raywing!"

As the barrier came into place, the two shot off into the air in hopes of catching up to the other group.

[Carthrat]

Zelgadis and Gourry soared into the sky, and from their viewpoint, saw several intersting things.

Firstly, they saw Amelia talking hurriedly with Lina at their little camp, and the two setting off to go the same direction they did. They were too far down for Zelgadis to yell to them.

Secondly, they saw two groups of armed strangers. One group was a fair distance in front of the other, but not so far that they couldn't shout.

The frontal group was basically a group of typical bandits, except that there was a single man dressed in a mages outfit. He carried a strange, jagged sword on his back.

The second group consisted of rugged people, armed with shovels, telescopes, and surveyance equipment. One large, unarmed man walked in the middle of them. He wore only a loincloth.

The surroundings were fairly thin forest. Not particularly dense, but it seemed fairly simple to find a hiding spot.

[Shukuen]

Argh. I really screwed up this time.

"Gourry, I want you to listen very carefully. When I throw you, I want you to scream as loud as you can so Lina can catch you, understand?"

Without waiting for an answer, Shukuen tossed Gourry on an interception course to Lina and Amelia, hoping that his scream would catch the sorceresses' attention, while flying lower towards the two groups. Hiding in the treetops, he began to easedrop.

Gourry better be screaming now, he thought worriedly, waiting for the distraction from the falling swordsman.