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invoking_uraniaTitle: The Sun, Half Covered (Chapter 2)
Fandom: Slayers
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery/Action
Words: 23,000 total (5,600 this chapter)
Notes/Warnings: Oh, boy. I started this ages ago. It might be older than my grad school career. I finally finished it for this year's![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
casestory. Art is by sholio. Beta work done by ![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
yuuo. Story may have a Zel/Amelia bias, but I think it can be read as friendship.
Summary: Zelgadis's attempts to settle down are not working well. When Amelia asks him to accompany him to the southern frontier of Saillune to investigate reports of sabotage, it certainly sounds like a breath of fresh air. What he finds is a mess of politics and bigotry, and Amelia's attempts to help are hit or miss... and starting to drive Zel nuts. The two of them must work together to find the saboteur, and hope the discovery doesn't touch off a riot in a town divided.
Disclaimer: Slayers copyright Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa/TV Tokyo/Medianet and this derivative work was created without permission.
Index
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There was one room, barely large enough for two skinny beds. Zelgadis carefully tested one of the beds before setting his pack down and taking out his bedroll.
"It looks study enough, Mister Zelgadis," Amelia said as she set her own pack down. "I don't think you'll break it."
"That's not why I'm getting this out." He also removed a short coil of rope form his pack and Amelia wondered how much he had in the bag. Tying the ends to the hooks on the wall -- probably meant for clothing -- Zelgadis strung the canvas across the room. "Which side do you want?"
"Oh... Oh! That's a good idea." Amelia blushed a bit. "Better than seeing if Mister Galatei has any more space, since the Mayor said everyone was a little short."
Zelgadis nodded. "He'd probably end up sticking me in the cowshed."
Amelia sighed. Well, what could she say to that? Galatei wasn't very happy about something, whether it was Saillune employing a chimera in its royal guard, or the fact someone besides her would be investigating the situation. "I'll take the side near the window. Mister Zelgadis, do you mind stepping over there and turning your back? I need to change my clothing." She had dressed up for her arrival, as best as she could for an unexpected trip. But now she needed to be able to get around and investigate, not look like a princess.
"You should have worn something more practical." But Zelgadis was already moving to the other side of the curtain.
After she changed, and used a washcloth to scrub off some of the ever-present dust, she left the room. Zelgadis was standing in the hall, leaning against the wall. He looked up at the click of the latch.
"Any ideas what to do first?" she asked.
"The sorceress... she's the one that contacted you?"
"Oh, I suppose I didn't really introduce you. Yes, that's Leigh Halimeda. She's in charge of the magic in the town and the surrounding farms and ranches. She's also our contact back in the capital -- the mayors, like Mister Bartalan, are usually elected by the people, since there's no nobility in the area. "
Zelgadis nodded. "So, she'd be the one with all the details of what's been going on. She'd also know where the likely targets are. Let's talk to her."
"All right." Amelia paused. "Do you know your way around town?" Zelgadis shook his head. "Me neither. Well, there weren't that many buildings, and it's only a short walk."
They descended the stairs, and passed through the main room. Galatei was seated at a desk in the corner, bent over a map. A couple of books were open. "Mister Galatei?" Amelia asked. "Would you happen to know where Miss Halimeda lives in town?"
"Third house to the west. Has a hexagram over the door. " He didn't even look up from what he was doing. Amelia saw Zelgadis peering over his shoulder. "Your Highness? My wife asked me to tell you supper is at three bells past. That's about an hour after sunset."
"I'll remember that, thank you." Amelia smiled. "We'll try to be there." She opened the door with a hand, waving with the other one.
"I wonder what was he doing?" she asked.
Zelgadis shrugged. "Surveying. That was a map of the area. I couldn't see what the books were."
Like the rest of the town, and unlike the Galateis' wood-frame house, Halimeda's house was built of mudbricks plastered over, with a tile roof. The hexagram sign was painted in blue and white, matching the stones they had seen on their trip up. Zelgadis knocked on the door.
Instead of Halimeda, a young woman -- about her own age, and wearing a simple cotton tunic and pants -- answered the door. "Hello. Can I help you?"
As Amelia's eyes adjusted to the darker inside, she took another look at the woman, noticing something different about her complexion. A quick notice of rather pointed ears gave her the answer she was looking for. She's a chimera, like Mister Zelgadis.
Zelgadis had noticed it too -- at least, if the slight widening of his eyes was any clue. "We're looking for Leigh Halimeda."
After realizing he wasn't going to explain, Amelia added. "I'm Princess Amelia, and that's Mister Zelgadis Greywords, who is the special investigator I've assigned to the matter of the sabotage."
"Oh. Oh, really? Um... should I bow or something?" The woman gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. Come in -- it's hotter than... it's hot out there." She stepped back, beckoning the two inside. "I'm Leigh's apprentice, Donla Savarna. Nice to meet you, Princess Amelia, Mister Greywords."
"And you as well, Miss Donla." The front room of the building was furnished pretty sparsely, with just a simple table and chairs against one wall, and a kitchen area against the other. Amelia spotted a ladder in the corner that presumably lead to the building's second floor.
Donla stuck her head through a curtained doorway in the back of the room. "Teach, there's people here to see you."
"Send them in." A muffled voice came from the room behind the curtain. Donla backed up, drawing the curtain aside, and motioned for Amelia and Zelgadis to enter.
The back room was obviously a workroom. Amelia spotted a map of the area pinned to the far wall, with colored pins stuck into it. Shelves covered the other two walls, full of books and raw ingredients for magic talismans. The table in this room looked a lot sturdier and better made than the one in the kitchen. A light spell hovered over it, and Amelia caught a glimpse of more talisman ingredients pushed to one corner Halimeda stood up as they entered. The priestess, Miss Sholei, was with her, two cups of tea sitting in front of them. "Donla, grab another chair from the other room. If you two would like to sit down, please?"
Amelia gestured for Zelgadis to take the chair offered. He gave her a sort of half shrug, before sitting down. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything," Amelia said.
"Oh, no. I was just chatting with Leigh here." The priestess smiled. "I don't have much to do when things are going well, and some of the work she does can be very tedious without company."
Donla returned with an extra chair, and Amelia sat down. She nodded to Zelgadis, who began speaking. "All right, so Amelia was telling me that someone or multiple someones have been sabotaging things around here. They broke the mill, and have generally been causing trouble."
Halimeda nodded. "Correct. The next supply wagon should bring up the replacement parts for the mill -- that will be in a day or two. Pol, the miller, says he'll be able to fix things once he gets the parts. Once those parts enter town, I'd say those are the most likely targets. Until then -- well, someone's been moving the water stones."
"Water stones?" Zelgadis asked.
"What I pointed out to you on the way out here." Amelia explained.
Zelgadis nodded. "Anyone could do that."
"Any one who finds them. Unfortunately, it's not that hard. I usually asked farmers to take them out with them, and they're normally at the edges of fields or pastures. It's a low level spell over the entire area, so I don't have to measure things down to the hair. But after the first ones were moved, I've taken to burying them."
Zelgadis sighed. "Good plan, but we really need to make sure no one knows where exactly they are. Or very few people -- we can then look to see if there's a pattern in what our saboteur discovers. We should probably talk to the miller, too. Amelia, do you think we could patrol tonight?"
"As long as we tell Mister Galatei we're not going to make it for dinner. To do otherwise would be rude." Amelia said. It would be rather like Zelgadis to avoid someone he didn't particularly like, and she really didn't want to offend their host.
"Donla has some errands to run out that way, anyway." Halimeda stood up. "Go on, Donla."
"Sure thing, Teach." Amelia noticed that her apprentice had been leaning against the wall through the entire conversation, after bringing in the chair.
"You might want to look in that direction tonight." Leigh turned around, looking at the map.
"What makes you say that?" Zelgadis asked.
"Rian's not well-liked by the town. The kids are okay, and Erica's a lovely woman -- have you met his family yet? But... he claims he only looks down on people who don't pull their weight in town, but I've yet to see him do much of anything besides read and pour over maps. I tried to put him to work with magic, but he's barely competent. Donla's hasn't had nearly the education he has, but at least she can follow instructions." Halimeda shrugged. "He's just trying to cover for the fact he doesn't much like non-humans."
"I noticed." Zelgadis said dryly.
"You think so, Miss Halimeda?" Amelia said.
Halimeda nodded. "Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, that one."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Miss Halimeda," Sholei said softly. Amelia had nearly forgotten the other woman was here. "Mister Galatei is rather unused to the idea that not everyone is born to a high-ranking noble. It perhaps explains why he thinks as he does."
"Explains nothing," Halimeda turned, putting a hand on the table. "If he'd actually talk to most of the people in his own town, he'd see that most of them were lucky they had saved enough to move out here. We've got no shortage of people willing to work odd jobs to save enough to buy land out here, because it's better than doing mercenary work until you get yourself killed back in civilization." It sounded like a long-standing dispute between the two women.
Zelgadis stood up. "I better head to the mill before it gets dark. Check out the scene of the crime, even if there's probably not much evidence that was missed. At least nothing that's probably still there. Coming, Amelia?"
That sounded smart. On the other hand, Amelia thought she might be able to learn more about who lived in town from Halimeda. "I think I'll stay here, if it's all right with you, Mister Zelgadis. Good luck."
* * *
"Hey, you!"
The sun was getting low on the horizon, and it was coming ahead of Zelgadis on the road to the mill. He tried to block the setting sun with a hand and make out who was trying to get his attention.
"Over here! Grab that bundle over there for me." He finally spotted the owner of the voice, a racoonman, with a straw hat trying to lift a bundle of wood over the fence at the side of the road. The other bundle was already on the ground. A very large chimera -- Zelgadis wasn't sure of the exact type, but he had greenish skin, and a muscular build -- with more supplies, stood behind him. Zelgadis was starting to wonder if there were any humans besides the Galateis, Leigh and Claire in town.
Surprised, Zelgadis picked up the bundle -- more wood. "Good, good," the racoonman said. "Now follow me. Who are you, anyway? You're not one of the locals."
"Zelgadis Greywords. I'm here with the princess, investigating. What about you?" As the racoonman turned to go, Zelgadis noticed that what should have been a rather bushy tail poking out from under his tunic was bare and covered with scar tissue. Fire spell. Probably means he was in mercenary work.
"Oh, really?" The racoonman turned and started walking -- thankfully in the direction Zel was heading. "I'm Pol the Miller. That's Astin." He pointed to other person with him.
"Yo." Astin seemed to be a man of few words.
"Astin helps out around the mill -- or did, when it was working, and he wasn't busy at his own place." Pol said.
"It's just him?" Zelgadis asked. Then again, he didn't really know how much work milling was. He understood something of the theory, but that didn't mean he really knew what was going on, beyond that grain went in and flour came out, and that it was somewhat mechanized, courtesy of the wind or a stream.
"Well, there are a lot of locals around here who don't really know that much about farming, so they just hire on at busy times, then move on when there's no work. A few hang around year-round. If I just need someone able to follow directions, I'll go find one of them. And you're probably thinking one of them broke the mill, aren't you?"
"Probably." Zelgadis agreed. "They would have the opportunity. Do you remember when you discovered the mill was broken?"
"I had run back to Southport that week to get some burlap for sacking. Astin over there was busy with his own farm, so I took Urice. When I got back, things were completely smashed. I'd latched the door... it still was latched when I got back, strange enough."
"Urice?" Zelgadis asked.
"She's a lizardman who lives around here," Pol said. "Not the brightest gem in the jewelry shop, but she works hard. A lot of folks use her as a hired hand, especially in the summer when it's hot enough to fry eggs. I needed someone to mind the horses while I went shopping. We ran into Ned up there as well -- that's the Galateis' eldest. He was in town running errands for his folks."
Does he think I think he's a suspect? "So, who has the keys?" Zelgadis asked.
"Just me," Pol took out a chain dangling around his neck, and took out the key. "It was just a padlock I had brought to town. I kept meaning to give a spare key to Astin, but I never had the money to find a locksmith."
By that time, the three of them had reached the mill. Pol unlocked the door. "Dunno why I bother there's not much left to smash or steal. Put the wood in the box on your left. I'm gonna need some of that to finish repairs."
"I thought the parts weren't coming in until later," Zelgadis said.
"They aren't, but the housing needs to be repaired before I can mount some of the parts." Pol glanced out the window. "But that will have to wait until tomorrow. It's too dark to work in here after sunset."
"Can't you use a lantern?" Zelgadis asked.
"Flour dust and fire are a bad combination. Even with the mill idle, moving around kicks up plenty of it." The mill did look dusty, though what looked to be moving parts looked well oiled. At least those that weren't splintered and broken. "Astin, put your box in the storeroom."
Zelgadis looked around. Everything was out in the open, besides the aforementioned storeroom that the miller's assistant had entered. Even the door to the storeroom was loose enough that Astin could open it with a shove, rather than trying to free a hand to use the latch. He walked over to the mechanism, trying to get a sense of how it should have worked when whole, tracing the connections from where the waterwheel was to the millstone. "This is pretty solid," he commented.
"Well, it has to crush grain and hold up to wear and tear," Pol said, patting it. "But don't let it fool you. Put a stick in the wrong place and the whole heavy thing works against itself."
Zelgadis nodded. "Mind if I take a look in the storeroom?"
Pol shrugged. "Go ahead. I cleared it out so I'd have space to work if another storm comes in before we fix the mill."
He did take a peek inside, and Pol was right. Aside from a workbench under the window, some tools, a sawhorse, and the lumber Astin had just put in it, it was empty. "You didn't find any convenient blood stains or scraps of cloth when the mill broke?"
"Not a one," Pol said. "Our vandal was very inconvenient like that. Of course, the weather's been bad enough that it might have washed away later that night. No footprints in the mud, though."
Zelgadis sighed. "I'll go over things in more detail, just to be sure. It couldn't hurt to have another set of eyes around."
"As long as you don't mind me working while the daylight is good," Pol said. "I have a few things I can finish before then.
Unfortunately, a thorough inspection of the mill and the grounds proved Pol right, and was a general waste of Zelgadis's time. He eventually had to stop when the sun had gone down, and he was starting to worry he'd trip and fall in the stream. He met Pol and Astin outside the mill, where the raccoon man was locking up.
"You go on." Pol waved him off. "I'm sure you've got something to do with finding out who smashed this place. Give 'em one for me."
"Good luck, Mister Greywords," Astin said, the only words the young man had spoken to him since Zel had met him. Then again, Pol had spoken enough for both of them.
"Good night," Zelgadis replied.
So, he'd seen the mill, though the poor timing meant he might have to walk back to the Galatei in the dark. The moon was only a crescent, and old habits meant he didn't cast a light spell, lest he lose his night vision.
He had started making a list of suspects. Galatei was on the top of the list. On the other hand, he was the obvious person. If he acted like Leigh Halimeda had said he acted to every chimera or beastman in town, everyone would be suspecting that he was the one trying to spoil everything. Especially if he was a sorcerer, however minor.
The problem was, eliminating Galatei left him at nothing -- less than nothing, as he was beginning to suspect that magic was involved, and the only sorcerers in town were people who had far too many other, worse, ways to sabotage things. It didn't help that the crimes wouldn't take much sorcery to commit. The water stones should be easy to track via the Astral Plane, and unlocking and locking spells were simple to learn, even if no reputable guild taught them.
He was going to have to start seriously talking to people, getting a feel for who everyone was in town, and what motive they would have for sabotage. He disliked talking to people. Given Amelia's newfound political savvy, I'm starting to wonder if this is all part of a plan to make me more social. Better than parties, at least. And maybe he could delegate the people skills to Amelia.
Zelgadis was approaching a cairn, like one Amelia had shown him that morning. It might have been a trick of the light, but he froze as he saw movement against the sky. Probably a wild dog. Still, his heart quickened and he ducked close to the ground, moving in as quickly as he could while staying silent. He circled a bit, putting the bluffs of the river at his back, and the wind blowing in his face. He was closer, and could make out the figure of someone, hurrying, hunched over, holding something, was silhouetted against the starry sky. Zelgadis chanted a Mono Bolt spell under his breath.
The figure stopped, mid stride. He heard me. Nothing to do now, but try to stun him with the spell. Zelgadis barreled forward, landing a hit on the stranger's torso with his right hand. The stranger went down hard, and he winced a bit. I didn't think I hit him that hard. "Lighting!" It would bring Amelia, and let him look at the stranger.
It looked like a lizardman, of indeterminate gender. He had been holding one of the water stones. Zelgadis sighed. "Knowing my luck, this isn't the end of things. Not by a long shot."
* * *
Amelia was walking up the road to the Galateis' house close enough that she could even see Mister Galatei coming out to meet her, when she spotted the light spell against the sky. "That's Mister Zelgadis. Mister Galatei, could you please send someone along to town to get the mayor? If Mister Zelgadis found something, we may need his services."
"We're just about to sit down to dinner, Your Highness." Galatei was only half successful at hiding the frown. "Surely it can wait until we've eaten."
"I'm sorry, Mister Galatei, but I know Mister Zelgadis, and I know the signals we agreed on. He wouldn't have sent up a flare if it wasn't important. Reiwing!"
It was a bit rude to leave like that, but the spell had signaled that either Zelgadis had found the culprit or that he had run into trouble beyond what he could handle. If it was the latter, she would have to hurry. Even if it was only the former, he might still want her assistance bringing the suspect in.
The light spell was still going when she landed, casting down a sharp, white glow by the side of the mill road. "Amelia, over here." Zelgadis waved with his free hand. The other was firmly grasping a stunned-looking lizardman. "I caught him tampering with the stones."
"Really?" Amelia frowned. "Do you know who he is?"
"Not a clue. I'll bet someone in town would know, though. Give me a hand here. I don't want to break my neck chasing him down in the dark if he gets loose."
"The mayor should be up. I sent Mister Galatei along to make sure he'd be ready for us."
Redcliffe was dark when they returned to town, the prisoner awkwardly supported between the two of them. "The mayor's over there," Zelgadis said. "I see Galatei's with him."
"Thank you, Mister Zelgadis." He had better night vision than her. All she could see were two figures standing near one of the dark houses. She could have guessed the first was Mayor Bartalan from his bulk, but the other could have been almost anyone.
If she wasn't careful, this could turn into a circus. She stepped back a bit, letting Zelgadis take the lead.
Bartalan strode forward. "Mister Galatei tells me you found something," he said.
"That's right." Zelgadis straightened up when he started to speak. "When on patrol tonight, I found this person tampering with the water stones." He gestured to the captured lizardman, who stirred a bit. Apparently the stun was wearing off.
"Is that so?" Bartalan said.
"Well, I suppose that's that," Galatei said. "It was one of those good-for-nothing drifters that come into town for work."
Bartalan made a thoughtful sound deep in his throat. "Do you recognize her?"
"No, I don't." Galatei said. "I don't associate with those people."
"I could be mistaken in this light, but I do believe this is Pol's handyman." Bartalan looked thoughtfully at their prisoner.
"Pol's the miller, right?" Amelia asked.
"Yeah. And he said he had a lizardman working for him. Urice." Mister Zelgadis paused. "He also said that she was in town with him the day the mill was sabotaged."
"Well, then, clearly she has an accomplice." Galatei said. "Or she's working for someone else."
"Either way, we're going to have to question her," Zelgadis said. "Mayor, is there anywhere in town we can do that?"
"I would offer the blacksmith's, but I would rather not wake my family," the mayor said. "We don't really have a jail, or a sheriff. Never needed one. I expect we'll be changing that soon, given the circumstances." Amelia could hear the wistful tone in his voice.
"My house is certainly out. I'm not having some thief in there, even if she is under royal guard." Galatei said quickly.
"I really don't want to wake anyone else," Amelia said, trying to think of an alternative.
"Especially since one of them could be her accomplice," Zelgadis added.
"What about Miss Halimeda? She's probably the only person in town that is above suspicion." Amelia asked. Even for Zelgadis, who probably suspected everyone besides Amelia herself at this point.
"Let's go. As long as she keeps her assistant out of it." Galatei started walking.
"Your concern is noted." Zelgadis strode after him, forcing Amelia to keep pace or drop their prisoner. Amelia could hear the dry tone his voice took, and hoped that Galatei wouldn't push the issue.
This better not turn into a... a contest of one-upmanship, Amelia thought. Who knew Mister Zelgadis would take so to being in charge? Or maybe it was just his reaction to being pushed around -- it did remind her a lot of how he treated Xellos. "Mister Zelgadis? Miss Urice is waking up. I think we better hurry."
"All right. Fine. Now, let's go," Zelgadis gestured to Galatei to continue walking.
Honestly, was that all really necessary? Maybe putting him in charge was not the best idea.
Galatei banged on Halimeda's door, probably loud enough to draw the attention of the part of the town not already listening to his shouting match. After a moment, Halimeda answered it, barefoot and not wearing her cloak. "Rian, you better have a damn good reason why you are here, keeping me from my bed."
"Government business. We need a place to interrogate a possible enemy of the state." Galatei said.
Zelgadis sighed. Loudly. "We caught someone tampering with the water stones, and we want to figure out why. Discreetly." The last was sent with a glare at Galatei.
"And you need my house for this... why exactly?" Halimeda gave them all a tired look.
"Because you are probably one of the few people who isn't a possible accomplice." Zelgadis said. "I don't want to let on what's going on. At least not until I have to hear what Urice here has to say for herself."
"Fine. Fine. Burn the place down if you like, as long as the capital foots the bill," Halimeda stepped back, waving them all in. "But don't be expecting me to go to bed while state business is being conducted. I'm nosy. Tired, but nosy."
"I'm staying too. Someone needs to represent the human farmers here." Galatei practically rushed through the door and grabbed a chair. He folded his arms across his chest after sitting down, as if daring someone to move him.
"Fine. Listen in, if it will make you be quiet." Zelgadis said, crossing his arms.
Bartalan had taken another chair, and stood behind it. He tapped it with a large hand. "If you could put her down here, Your Highness."
Amelia helped Urice into the chair. Her yellow eyes were open now, and she gazed at the princess with what Amelia imagined was a dazed look. "Who 're you?" she muttered, in a thin, reedy voice.
"I'm Amelia. We need to ask you a few questions, Urice. That's your name, right?"
"Yep. That's me." Urice smiled, an effect Amelia found a bit disconcerting. My, she has very sharp teeth, even if she doesn't look like much.
"What were you doing outside tonight?" Zelgadis asked.
"Who 're you, then?" Urice replied, turning to look at him.
"That doesn't matter," Zelgadis replied.
"That's Mister Zelgadis. Could you please answer, Miss Urice?"
"I was movin' the stones." Urice said, nodding.
Well, that was easy. Amelia caught Galatei about to step forward and held up a hand. She quickly asked, "Why?"
"Cause the sorceress asked me to."
"She did?" Mister Zelgadis said.
"You did?" Bartalan turned towards Halimeda.
"Certainly not," Halimeda said.
"Yes, you did. I remember. Couple'a days ago, I was workin' at the Alvarz farm, haulin' water. I was eatin' lunch outside, and you came up to me, and you said, 'Urice, can you do me a job?'. So I asked, 'what kinda job?' and you said 'I need you to move some of the water stones, and give some back to me'. Said a lot of magic stuff too, to try to tell me why, but I didn't pay attention, seein' as that's none of my business. So, I moved 'em."
Halimeda looked at each person in the room in turn. "I've been in town making more stones for most of this past week. If you need proof, you can talk to Donla or Claire Sholei." Her brow was furrowed and she sounded more confused than guilty.
"So, she's lying then." Galatei said.
"I'm not lyin'. The sorceress walked up to me." Urice crossed her arms. "I dunno why she doesn't remember, but I don't forget jobs. That's how you don't get paid for 'em."
"How sure are you that the person you spoke to was Leigh?" Zelgadis asked quietly. He was pacing about, and Amelia thought he might trip on a chair. But, he was looking thoughtful, which might mean he had an idea.
It certainly looked like someone was lying here, and, it was looking more and more like it was Urice. If Halimeda wanted to sabotage her own efforts, she wouldn't have to hire someone else to do it. Or there'd be more secrecy. Or something.
"Sure as sure. She had the blue cloak."
Zelgadis made a sort of 'hmm' sound, like he was thinking of something. "Urice, can you tell humans apart?"
"Sure I can. Right now, I can tell that's Rian yas Galatei, because no one else wears the shiny clothes around here, and his cloak has his family's noble-mark thing on it. And that's Sorceress Leigh since she said she was, and this looks like her house. And that's Amelia, who just introduced herself to me."
"But, what if Galatei dressed in work clothing, like mine," Zelgadis pulled at the fabric of his shirt, showing that it was a far simpler cut and rougher weave that Galatei's clothing. "And was with a lot of other human men. Or right now, when Leigh isn't wearing her cloak?"
Urice chuckled. "That might be a tough'un then. I'm not so good with human faces."
"So, if another human woman was wearing a cloak like Leigh's, and had dark hair in a braid," Zelgadis said, half thinking to himself.
"I suppose I might think it was the sorceress. But why would someone go trickin' me like that? 'S not like I wouldn't work for anyone who pays well."
"But you wouldn't move the water stones without me telling you to," Halimeda said.
"No, ma'am. I don't go touchin' magic stuff, 'specially magic stuff that's makin' the crops grow." Urice nodded. "If one of the farmers asked me, I'd go tell them 'ask the sorceress'."
"There you go. That means our suspect is a human woman with dark hair. And probably about Leigh's height and build."
"Or someone else who can disguise himself or herself as one. She could use a wig," Amelia said. "How many human women are in town?"
"There aren't many people around here," Halimeda said. "And most of the women around here have short hair; long hair's a hassle when you're working. Certainly all of the farmers cut theirs. That leaves me, Claire, Erica Gal-"
"My wife is not a suspect here!" Galatei interjected.
"I never said that she was, only that she and I both have long, dark hair. You shouldn't get so defensive, Rian. Someone might start thinking your family's up to something." Halimeda smirked.
"I didn't realize that people couldn't tell humans apart," Amelia said, hoping the subject change would prevent Halimeda and Mister Galatei from getting into an all-out brawl.
"About that..." Galatei said, finally turning away form his argument with Halimeda.
"Can either of you tell lizardmen or fishmen apart?" Zelgadis said. "Most people can't. I couldn't, until I started working with them. Hell, most people never learn how to tell anyone that's not their species apart by face, unless they spend a lot of time with them. Especially if they aren't standing right next to one another. It makes a lot of sense that it would go both ways."
"I still don't think she's cleared herself," Galatei said. "We don't know she's telling the truth about this person, even if she can't tell people apart. We also don't know if you're in on it." He pointed to Halimeda.
"What do you want her to do, point out the person really behind this?" Halimeda replied. "And, believe you me, if I was in on it, I wouldn't even bother making the stones work at all."
"Maybe that's what you want us to think."
"We can check Miss Halimeda's story with her apprentice and Miss Sholei, if it would put you at ease, Mister Galatei." Bartalan said. "Let us focus on finding who is really behind this, instead of hunting for demons among ourselves."
"We'll just have to check for the person Urice saw." Mister Zelgadis said. "Which is why none of you are to say anything to anyone else in the town. When were you supposed to meet this person again?" he turned back to Urice. Presumably their suspect didn't want Urice bringing them to Halimeda's workshop.
"Tomorrow night, in the bluffs by the river."
"All right, here's what's going to happen. You're going to meet her and hand over some stones Leigh's going to give you. I'm going to be out there as well, and when she comes up, I'll trap her. Got it?"
"I got it." Urice nodded.
"I'll keep an eye on her until tomorrow night," Bartalan said. "I have a few odd jobs she can do."
"And the timing means that Mister Zelgadis and I can still have dinner with you and your family tomorrow, Mister Galatei." Amelia smiled. "Isn't that nice?"
Index
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Fandom: Slayers
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery/Action
Words: 23,000 total (5,600 this chapter)
Notes/Warnings: Oh, boy. I started this ages ago. It might be older than my grad school career. I finally finished it for this year's
casestory. Art is by sholio. Beta work done by yuuo. Story may have a Zel/Amelia bias, but I think it can be read as friendship. Summary: Zelgadis's attempts to settle down are not working well. When Amelia asks him to accompany him to the southern frontier of Saillune to investigate reports of sabotage, it certainly sounds like a breath of fresh air. What he finds is a mess of politics and bigotry, and Amelia's attempts to help are hit or miss... and starting to drive Zel nuts. The two of them must work together to find the saboteur, and hope the discovery doesn't touch off a riot in a town divided.
Disclaimer: Slayers copyright Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa/TV Tokyo/Medianet and this derivative work was created without permission.
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There was one room, barely large enough for two skinny beds. Zelgadis carefully tested one of the beds before setting his pack down and taking out his bedroll.
"It looks study enough, Mister Zelgadis," Amelia said as she set her own pack down. "I don't think you'll break it."
"That's not why I'm getting this out." He also removed a short coil of rope form his pack and Amelia wondered how much he had in the bag. Tying the ends to the hooks on the wall -- probably meant for clothing -- Zelgadis strung the canvas across the room. "Which side do you want?"
"Oh... Oh! That's a good idea." Amelia blushed a bit. "Better than seeing if Mister Galatei has any more space, since the Mayor said everyone was a little short."
Zelgadis nodded. "He'd probably end up sticking me in the cowshed."
Amelia sighed. Well, what could she say to that? Galatei wasn't very happy about something, whether it was Saillune employing a chimera in its royal guard, or the fact someone besides her would be investigating the situation. "I'll take the side near the window. Mister Zelgadis, do you mind stepping over there and turning your back? I need to change my clothing." She had dressed up for her arrival, as best as she could for an unexpected trip. But now she needed to be able to get around and investigate, not look like a princess.
"You should have worn something more practical." But Zelgadis was already moving to the other side of the curtain.
After she changed, and used a washcloth to scrub off some of the ever-present dust, she left the room. Zelgadis was standing in the hall, leaning against the wall. He looked up at the click of the latch.
"Any ideas what to do first?" she asked.
"The sorceress... she's the one that contacted you?"
"Oh, I suppose I didn't really introduce you. Yes, that's Leigh Halimeda. She's in charge of the magic in the town and the surrounding farms and ranches. She's also our contact back in the capital -- the mayors, like Mister Bartalan, are usually elected by the people, since there's no nobility in the area. "
Zelgadis nodded. "So, she'd be the one with all the details of what's been going on. She'd also know where the likely targets are. Let's talk to her."
"All right." Amelia paused. "Do you know your way around town?" Zelgadis shook his head. "Me neither. Well, there weren't that many buildings, and it's only a short walk."
They descended the stairs, and passed through the main room. Galatei was seated at a desk in the corner, bent over a map. A couple of books were open. "Mister Galatei?" Amelia asked. "Would you happen to know where Miss Halimeda lives in town?"
"Third house to the west. Has a hexagram over the door. " He didn't even look up from what he was doing. Amelia saw Zelgadis peering over his shoulder. "Your Highness? My wife asked me to tell you supper is at three bells past. That's about an hour after sunset."
"I'll remember that, thank you." Amelia smiled. "We'll try to be there." She opened the door with a hand, waving with the other one.
"I wonder what was he doing?" she asked.
Zelgadis shrugged. "Surveying. That was a map of the area. I couldn't see what the books were."
Like the rest of the town, and unlike the Galateis' wood-frame house, Halimeda's house was built of mudbricks plastered over, with a tile roof. The hexagram sign was painted in blue and white, matching the stones they had seen on their trip up. Zelgadis knocked on the door.
Instead of Halimeda, a young woman -- about her own age, and wearing a simple cotton tunic and pants -- answered the door. "Hello. Can I help you?"
As Amelia's eyes adjusted to the darker inside, she took another look at the woman, noticing something different about her complexion. A quick notice of rather pointed ears gave her the answer she was looking for. She's a chimera, like Mister Zelgadis.
Zelgadis had noticed it too -- at least, if the slight widening of his eyes was any clue. "We're looking for Leigh Halimeda."
After realizing he wasn't going to explain, Amelia added. "I'm Princess Amelia, and that's Mister Zelgadis Greywords, who is the special investigator I've assigned to the matter of the sabotage."
"Oh. Oh, really? Um... should I bow or something?" The woman gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. Come in -- it's hotter than... it's hot out there." She stepped back, beckoning the two inside. "I'm Leigh's apprentice, Donla Savarna. Nice to meet you, Princess Amelia, Mister Greywords."
"And you as well, Miss Donla." The front room of the building was furnished pretty sparsely, with just a simple table and chairs against one wall, and a kitchen area against the other. Amelia spotted a ladder in the corner that presumably lead to the building's second floor.
Donla stuck her head through a curtained doorway in the back of the room. "Teach, there's people here to see you."
"Send them in." A muffled voice came from the room behind the curtain. Donla backed up, drawing the curtain aside, and motioned for Amelia and Zelgadis to enter.
The back room was obviously a workroom. Amelia spotted a map of the area pinned to the far wall, with colored pins stuck into it. Shelves covered the other two walls, full of books and raw ingredients for magic talismans. The table in this room looked a lot sturdier and better made than the one in the kitchen. A light spell hovered over it, and Amelia caught a glimpse of more talisman ingredients pushed to one corner Halimeda stood up as they entered. The priestess, Miss Sholei, was with her, two cups of tea sitting in front of them. "Donla, grab another chair from the other room. If you two would like to sit down, please?"
Amelia gestured for Zelgadis to take the chair offered. He gave her a sort of half shrug, before sitting down. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything," Amelia said.
"Oh, no. I was just chatting with Leigh here." The priestess smiled. "I don't have much to do when things are going well, and some of the work she does can be very tedious without company."
Donla returned with an extra chair, and Amelia sat down. She nodded to Zelgadis, who began speaking. "All right, so Amelia was telling me that someone or multiple someones have been sabotaging things around here. They broke the mill, and have generally been causing trouble."
Halimeda nodded. "Correct. The next supply wagon should bring up the replacement parts for the mill -- that will be in a day or two. Pol, the miller, says he'll be able to fix things once he gets the parts. Once those parts enter town, I'd say those are the most likely targets. Until then -- well, someone's been moving the water stones."
"Water stones?" Zelgadis asked.
"What I pointed out to you on the way out here." Amelia explained.
Zelgadis nodded. "Anyone could do that."
"Any one who finds them. Unfortunately, it's not that hard. I usually asked farmers to take them out with them, and they're normally at the edges of fields or pastures. It's a low level spell over the entire area, so I don't have to measure things down to the hair. But after the first ones were moved, I've taken to burying them."
Zelgadis sighed. "Good plan, but we really need to make sure no one knows where exactly they are. Or very few people -- we can then look to see if there's a pattern in what our saboteur discovers. We should probably talk to the miller, too. Amelia, do you think we could patrol tonight?"
"As long as we tell Mister Galatei we're not going to make it for dinner. To do otherwise would be rude." Amelia said. It would be rather like Zelgadis to avoid someone he didn't particularly like, and she really didn't want to offend their host.
"Donla has some errands to run out that way, anyway." Halimeda stood up. "Go on, Donla."
"Sure thing, Teach." Amelia noticed that her apprentice had been leaning against the wall through the entire conversation, after bringing in the chair.
"You might want to look in that direction tonight." Leigh turned around, looking at the map.
"What makes you say that?" Zelgadis asked.
"Rian's not well-liked by the town. The kids are okay, and Erica's a lovely woman -- have you met his family yet? But... he claims he only looks down on people who don't pull their weight in town, but I've yet to see him do much of anything besides read and pour over maps. I tried to put him to work with magic, but he's barely competent. Donla's hasn't had nearly the education he has, but at least she can follow instructions." Halimeda shrugged. "He's just trying to cover for the fact he doesn't much like non-humans."
"I noticed." Zelgadis said dryly.
"You think so, Miss Halimeda?" Amelia said.
Halimeda nodded. "Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, that one."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Miss Halimeda," Sholei said softly. Amelia had nearly forgotten the other woman was here. "Mister Galatei is rather unused to the idea that not everyone is born to a high-ranking noble. It perhaps explains why he thinks as he does."
"Explains nothing," Halimeda turned, putting a hand on the table. "If he'd actually talk to most of the people in his own town, he'd see that most of them were lucky they had saved enough to move out here. We've got no shortage of people willing to work odd jobs to save enough to buy land out here, because it's better than doing mercenary work until you get yourself killed back in civilization." It sounded like a long-standing dispute between the two women.
Zelgadis stood up. "I better head to the mill before it gets dark. Check out the scene of the crime, even if there's probably not much evidence that was missed. At least nothing that's probably still there. Coming, Amelia?"
That sounded smart. On the other hand, Amelia thought she might be able to learn more about who lived in town from Halimeda. "I think I'll stay here, if it's all right with you, Mister Zelgadis. Good luck."
* * *
"Hey, you!"
The sun was getting low on the horizon, and it was coming ahead of Zelgadis on the road to the mill. He tried to block the setting sun with a hand and make out who was trying to get his attention.
"Over here! Grab that bundle over there for me." He finally spotted the owner of the voice, a racoonman, with a straw hat trying to lift a bundle of wood over the fence at the side of the road. The other bundle was already on the ground. A very large chimera -- Zelgadis wasn't sure of the exact type, but he had greenish skin, and a muscular build -- with more supplies, stood behind him. Zelgadis was starting to wonder if there were any humans besides the Galateis, Leigh and Claire in town.
Surprised, Zelgadis picked up the bundle -- more wood. "Good, good," the racoonman said. "Now follow me. Who are you, anyway? You're not one of the locals."
"Zelgadis Greywords. I'm here with the princess, investigating. What about you?" As the racoonman turned to go, Zelgadis noticed that what should have been a rather bushy tail poking out from under his tunic was bare and covered with scar tissue. Fire spell. Probably means he was in mercenary work.
"Oh, really?" The racoonman turned and started walking -- thankfully in the direction Zel was heading. "I'm Pol the Miller. That's Astin." He pointed to other person with him.
"Yo." Astin seemed to be a man of few words.
"Astin helps out around the mill -- or did, when it was working, and he wasn't busy at his own place." Pol said.
"It's just him?" Zelgadis asked. Then again, he didn't really know how much work milling was. He understood something of the theory, but that didn't mean he really knew what was going on, beyond that grain went in and flour came out, and that it was somewhat mechanized, courtesy of the wind or a stream.
"Well, there are a lot of locals around here who don't really know that much about farming, so they just hire on at busy times, then move on when there's no work. A few hang around year-round. If I just need someone able to follow directions, I'll go find one of them. And you're probably thinking one of them broke the mill, aren't you?"
"Probably." Zelgadis agreed. "They would have the opportunity. Do you remember when you discovered the mill was broken?"
"I had run back to Southport that week to get some burlap for sacking. Astin over there was busy with his own farm, so I took Urice. When I got back, things were completely smashed. I'd latched the door... it still was latched when I got back, strange enough."
"Urice?" Zelgadis asked.
"She's a lizardman who lives around here," Pol said. "Not the brightest gem in the jewelry shop, but she works hard. A lot of folks use her as a hired hand, especially in the summer when it's hot enough to fry eggs. I needed someone to mind the horses while I went shopping. We ran into Ned up there as well -- that's the Galateis' eldest. He was in town running errands for his folks."
Does he think I think he's a suspect? "So, who has the keys?" Zelgadis asked.
"Just me," Pol took out a chain dangling around his neck, and took out the key. "It was just a padlock I had brought to town. I kept meaning to give a spare key to Astin, but I never had the money to find a locksmith."
By that time, the three of them had reached the mill. Pol unlocked the door. "Dunno why I bother there's not much left to smash or steal. Put the wood in the box on your left. I'm gonna need some of that to finish repairs."
"I thought the parts weren't coming in until later," Zelgadis said.
"They aren't, but the housing needs to be repaired before I can mount some of the parts." Pol glanced out the window. "But that will have to wait until tomorrow. It's too dark to work in here after sunset."
"Can't you use a lantern?" Zelgadis asked.
"Flour dust and fire are a bad combination. Even with the mill idle, moving around kicks up plenty of it." The mill did look dusty, though what looked to be moving parts looked well oiled. At least those that weren't splintered and broken. "Astin, put your box in the storeroom."
Zelgadis looked around. Everything was out in the open, besides the aforementioned storeroom that the miller's assistant had entered. Even the door to the storeroom was loose enough that Astin could open it with a shove, rather than trying to free a hand to use the latch. He walked over to the mechanism, trying to get a sense of how it should have worked when whole, tracing the connections from where the waterwheel was to the millstone. "This is pretty solid," he commented.
"Well, it has to crush grain and hold up to wear and tear," Pol said, patting it. "But don't let it fool you. Put a stick in the wrong place and the whole heavy thing works against itself."
Zelgadis nodded. "Mind if I take a look in the storeroom?"
Pol shrugged. "Go ahead. I cleared it out so I'd have space to work if another storm comes in before we fix the mill."
He did take a peek inside, and Pol was right. Aside from a workbench under the window, some tools, a sawhorse, and the lumber Astin had just put in it, it was empty. "You didn't find any convenient blood stains or scraps of cloth when the mill broke?"
"Not a one," Pol said. "Our vandal was very inconvenient like that. Of course, the weather's been bad enough that it might have washed away later that night. No footprints in the mud, though."
Zelgadis sighed. "I'll go over things in more detail, just to be sure. It couldn't hurt to have another set of eyes around."
"As long as you don't mind me working while the daylight is good," Pol said. "I have a few things I can finish before then.
Unfortunately, a thorough inspection of the mill and the grounds proved Pol right, and was a general waste of Zelgadis's time. He eventually had to stop when the sun had gone down, and he was starting to worry he'd trip and fall in the stream. He met Pol and Astin outside the mill, where the raccoon man was locking up.
"You go on." Pol waved him off. "I'm sure you've got something to do with finding out who smashed this place. Give 'em one for me."
"Good luck, Mister Greywords," Astin said, the only words the young man had spoken to him since Zel had met him. Then again, Pol had spoken enough for both of them.
"Good night," Zelgadis replied.
So, he'd seen the mill, though the poor timing meant he might have to walk back to the Galatei in the dark. The moon was only a crescent, and old habits meant he didn't cast a light spell, lest he lose his night vision.
He had started making a list of suspects. Galatei was on the top of the list. On the other hand, he was the obvious person. If he acted like Leigh Halimeda had said he acted to every chimera or beastman in town, everyone would be suspecting that he was the one trying to spoil everything. Especially if he was a sorcerer, however minor.
The problem was, eliminating Galatei left him at nothing -- less than nothing, as he was beginning to suspect that magic was involved, and the only sorcerers in town were people who had far too many other, worse, ways to sabotage things. It didn't help that the crimes wouldn't take much sorcery to commit. The water stones should be easy to track via the Astral Plane, and unlocking and locking spells were simple to learn, even if no reputable guild taught them.
He was going to have to start seriously talking to people, getting a feel for who everyone was in town, and what motive they would have for sabotage. He disliked talking to people. Given Amelia's newfound political savvy, I'm starting to wonder if this is all part of a plan to make me more social. Better than parties, at least. And maybe he could delegate the people skills to Amelia.
Zelgadis was approaching a cairn, like one Amelia had shown him that morning. It might have been a trick of the light, but he froze as he saw movement against the sky. Probably a wild dog. Still, his heart quickened and he ducked close to the ground, moving in as quickly as he could while staying silent. He circled a bit, putting the bluffs of the river at his back, and the wind blowing in his face. He was closer, and could make out the figure of someone, hurrying, hunched over, holding something, was silhouetted against the starry sky. Zelgadis chanted a Mono Bolt spell under his breath.
The figure stopped, mid stride. He heard me. Nothing to do now, but try to stun him with the spell. Zelgadis barreled forward, landing a hit on the stranger's torso with his right hand. The stranger went down hard, and he winced a bit. I didn't think I hit him that hard. "Lighting!" It would bring Amelia, and let him look at the stranger.
It looked like a lizardman, of indeterminate gender. He had been holding one of the water stones. Zelgadis sighed. "Knowing my luck, this isn't the end of things. Not by a long shot."
* * *
Amelia was walking up the road to the Galateis' house close enough that she could even see Mister Galatei coming out to meet her, when she spotted the light spell against the sky. "That's Mister Zelgadis. Mister Galatei, could you please send someone along to town to get the mayor? If Mister Zelgadis found something, we may need his services."
"We're just about to sit down to dinner, Your Highness." Galatei was only half successful at hiding the frown. "Surely it can wait until we've eaten."
"I'm sorry, Mister Galatei, but I know Mister Zelgadis, and I know the signals we agreed on. He wouldn't have sent up a flare if it wasn't important. Reiwing!"
It was a bit rude to leave like that, but the spell had signaled that either Zelgadis had found the culprit or that he had run into trouble beyond what he could handle. If it was the latter, she would have to hurry. Even if it was only the former, he might still want her assistance bringing the suspect in.
The light spell was still going when she landed, casting down a sharp, white glow by the side of the mill road. "Amelia, over here." Zelgadis waved with his free hand. The other was firmly grasping a stunned-looking lizardman. "I caught him tampering with the stones."
"Really?" Amelia frowned. "Do you know who he is?"
"Not a clue. I'll bet someone in town would know, though. Give me a hand here. I don't want to break my neck chasing him down in the dark if he gets loose."
"The mayor should be up. I sent Mister Galatei along to make sure he'd be ready for us."
Redcliffe was dark when they returned to town, the prisoner awkwardly supported between the two of them. "The mayor's over there," Zelgadis said. "I see Galatei's with him."
"Thank you, Mister Zelgadis." He had better night vision than her. All she could see were two figures standing near one of the dark houses. She could have guessed the first was Mayor Bartalan from his bulk, but the other could have been almost anyone.
If she wasn't careful, this could turn into a circus. She stepped back a bit, letting Zelgadis take the lead.
Bartalan strode forward. "Mister Galatei tells me you found something," he said.
"That's right." Zelgadis straightened up when he started to speak. "When on patrol tonight, I found this person tampering with the water stones." He gestured to the captured lizardman, who stirred a bit. Apparently the stun was wearing off.
"Is that so?" Bartalan said.
"Well, I suppose that's that," Galatei said. "It was one of those good-for-nothing drifters that come into town for work."
Bartalan made a thoughtful sound deep in his throat. "Do you recognize her?"
"No, I don't." Galatei said. "I don't associate with those people."
"I could be mistaken in this light, but I do believe this is Pol's handyman." Bartalan looked thoughtfully at their prisoner.
"Pol's the miller, right?" Amelia asked.
"Yeah. And he said he had a lizardman working for him. Urice." Mister Zelgadis paused. "He also said that she was in town with him the day the mill was sabotaged."
"Well, then, clearly she has an accomplice." Galatei said. "Or she's working for someone else."
"Either way, we're going to have to question her," Zelgadis said. "Mayor, is there anywhere in town we can do that?"
"I would offer the blacksmith's, but I would rather not wake my family," the mayor said. "We don't really have a jail, or a sheriff. Never needed one. I expect we'll be changing that soon, given the circumstances." Amelia could hear the wistful tone in his voice.
"My house is certainly out. I'm not having some thief in there, even if she is under royal guard." Galatei said quickly.
"I really don't want to wake anyone else," Amelia said, trying to think of an alternative.
"Especially since one of them could be her accomplice," Zelgadis added.
"What about Miss Halimeda? She's probably the only person in town that is above suspicion." Amelia asked. Even for Zelgadis, who probably suspected everyone besides Amelia herself at this point.
"Let's go. As long as she keeps her assistant out of it." Galatei started walking.
"Your concern is noted." Zelgadis strode after him, forcing Amelia to keep pace or drop their prisoner. Amelia could hear the dry tone his voice took, and hoped that Galatei wouldn't push the issue.
This better not turn into a... a contest of one-upmanship, Amelia thought. Who knew Mister Zelgadis would take so to being in charge? Or maybe it was just his reaction to being pushed around -- it did remind her a lot of how he treated Xellos. "Mister Zelgadis? Miss Urice is waking up. I think we better hurry."
"All right. Fine. Now, let's go," Zelgadis gestured to Galatei to continue walking.
Honestly, was that all really necessary? Maybe putting him in charge was not the best idea.
Galatei banged on Halimeda's door, probably loud enough to draw the attention of the part of the town not already listening to his shouting match. After a moment, Halimeda answered it, barefoot and not wearing her cloak. "Rian, you better have a damn good reason why you are here, keeping me from my bed."
"Government business. We need a place to interrogate a possible enemy of the state." Galatei said.
Zelgadis sighed. Loudly. "We caught someone tampering with the water stones, and we want to figure out why. Discreetly." The last was sent with a glare at Galatei.
"And you need my house for this... why exactly?" Halimeda gave them all a tired look.
"Because you are probably one of the few people who isn't a possible accomplice." Zelgadis said. "I don't want to let on what's going on. At least not until I have to hear what Urice here has to say for herself."
"Fine. Fine. Burn the place down if you like, as long as the capital foots the bill," Halimeda stepped back, waving them all in. "But don't be expecting me to go to bed while state business is being conducted. I'm nosy. Tired, but nosy."
"I'm staying too. Someone needs to represent the human farmers here." Galatei practically rushed through the door and grabbed a chair. He folded his arms across his chest after sitting down, as if daring someone to move him.
"Fine. Listen in, if it will make you be quiet." Zelgadis said, crossing his arms.
Bartalan had taken another chair, and stood behind it. He tapped it with a large hand. "If you could put her down here, Your Highness."
Amelia helped Urice into the chair. Her yellow eyes were open now, and she gazed at the princess with what Amelia imagined was a dazed look. "Who 're you?" she muttered, in a thin, reedy voice.
"I'm Amelia. We need to ask you a few questions, Urice. That's your name, right?"
"Yep. That's me." Urice smiled, an effect Amelia found a bit disconcerting. My, she has very sharp teeth, even if she doesn't look like much.
"What were you doing outside tonight?" Zelgadis asked.
"Who 're you, then?" Urice replied, turning to look at him.
"That doesn't matter," Zelgadis replied.
"That's Mister Zelgadis. Could you please answer, Miss Urice?"
"I was movin' the stones." Urice said, nodding.
Well, that was easy. Amelia caught Galatei about to step forward and held up a hand. She quickly asked, "Why?"
"Cause the sorceress asked me to."
"She did?" Mister Zelgadis said.
"You did?" Bartalan turned towards Halimeda.
"Certainly not," Halimeda said.
"Yes, you did. I remember. Couple'a days ago, I was workin' at the Alvarz farm, haulin' water. I was eatin' lunch outside, and you came up to me, and you said, 'Urice, can you do me a job?'. So I asked, 'what kinda job?' and you said 'I need you to move some of the water stones, and give some back to me'. Said a lot of magic stuff too, to try to tell me why, but I didn't pay attention, seein' as that's none of my business. So, I moved 'em."
Halimeda looked at each person in the room in turn. "I've been in town making more stones for most of this past week. If you need proof, you can talk to Donla or Claire Sholei." Her brow was furrowed and she sounded more confused than guilty.
"So, she's lying then." Galatei said.
"I'm not lyin'. The sorceress walked up to me." Urice crossed her arms. "I dunno why she doesn't remember, but I don't forget jobs. That's how you don't get paid for 'em."
"How sure are you that the person you spoke to was Leigh?" Zelgadis asked quietly. He was pacing about, and Amelia thought he might trip on a chair. But, he was looking thoughtful, which might mean he had an idea.
It certainly looked like someone was lying here, and, it was looking more and more like it was Urice. If Halimeda wanted to sabotage her own efforts, she wouldn't have to hire someone else to do it. Or there'd be more secrecy. Or something.
"Sure as sure. She had the blue cloak."
Zelgadis made a sort of 'hmm' sound, like he was thinking of something. "Urice, can you tell humans apart?"
"Sure I can. Right now, I can tell that's Rian yas Galatei, because no one else wears the shiny clothes around here, and his cloak has his family's noble-mark thing on it. And that's Sorceress Leigh since she said she was, and this looks like her house. And that's Amelia, who just introduced herself to me."
"But, what if Galatei dressed in work clothing, like mine," Zelgadis pulled at the fabric of his shirt, showing that it was a far simpler cut and rougher weave that Galatei's clothing. "And was with a lot of other human men. Or right now, when Leigh isn't wearing her cloak?"
Urice chuckled. "That might be a tough'un then. I'm not so good with human faces."
"So, if another human woman was wearing a cloak like Leigh's, and had dark hair in a braid," Zelgadis said, half thinking to himself.
"I suppose I might think it was the sorceress. But why would someone go trickin' me like that? 'S not like I wouldn't work for anyone who pays well."
"But you wouldn't move the water stones without me telling you to," Halimeda said.
"No, ma'am. I don't go touchin' magic stuff, 'specially magic stuff that's makin' the crops grow." Urice nodded. "If one of the farmers asked me, I'd go tell them 'ask the sorceress'."
"There you go. That means our suspect is a human woman with dark hair. And probably about Leigh's height and build."
"Or someone else who can disguise himself or herself as one. She could use a wig," Amelia said. "How many human women are in town?"
"There aren't many people around here," Halimeda said. "And most of the women around here have short hair; long hair's a hassle when you're working. Certainly all of the farmers cut theirs. That leaves me, Claire, Erica Gal-"
"My wife is not a suspect here!" Galatei interjected.
"I never said that she was, only that she and I both have long, dark hair. You shouldn't get so defensive, Rian. Someone might start thinking your family's up to something." Halimeda smirked.
"I didn't realize that people couldn't tell humans apart," Amelia said, hoping the subject change would prevent Halimeda and Mister Galatei from getting into an all-out brawl.
"About that..." Galatei said, finally turning away form his argument with Halimeda.
"Can either of you tell lizardmen or fishmen apart?" Zelgadis said. "Most people can't. I couldn't, until I started working with them. Hell, most people never learn how to tell anyone that's not their species apart by face, unless they spend a lot of time with them. Especially if they aren't standing right next to one another. It makes a lot of sense that it would go both ways."
"I still don't think she's cleared herself," Galatei said. "We don't know she's telling the truth about this person, even if she can't tell people apart. We also don't know if you're in on it." He pointed to Halimeda.
"What do you want her to do, point out the person really behind this?" Halimeda replied. "And, believe you me, if I was in on it, I wouldn't even bother making the stones work at all."
"Maybe that's what you want us to think."
"We can check Miss Halimeda's story with her apprentice and Miss Sholei, if it would put you at ease, Mister Galatei." Bartalan said. "Let us focus on finding who is really behind this, instead of hunting for demons among ourselves."
"We'll just have to check for the person Urice saw." Mister Zelgadis said. "Which is why none of you are to say anything to anyone else in the town. When were you supposed to meet this person again?" he turned back to Urice. Presumably their suspect didn't want Urice bringing them to Halimeda's workshop.
"Tomorrow night, in the bluffs by the river."
"All right, here's what's going to happen. You're going to meet her and hand over some stones Leigh's going to give you. I'm going to be out there as well, and when she comes up, I'll trap her. Got it?"
"I got it." Urice nodded.
"I'll keep an eye on her until tomorrow night," Bartalan said. "I have a few odd jobs she can do."
"And the timing means that Mister Zelgadis and I can still have dinner with you and your family tomorrow, Mister Galatei." Amelia smiled. "Isn't that nice?"
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