Recapping The Action So Far...
Here we are, fixin' to go into chapter 28, and poor Zelgadis just seems to be spinning his wheels. Nothing's going right. He's only sure of the location of four of the seven clues to his cure and on the way to one of them, he decides he has to be a hero and take a little sidetrip to rescue Lina in Rratsnek. But not only is Lina facing charges in the most trial happy city in the land, so are Amelia and Lita--not to mention the fact that Naga has had a corrupting influence on Gourry. Furthermore, Icedrake has developed a really big attitude problem, which is how Lina got into trouble in the first place. And just where in the hell has that fruity trickster Xellos been these last several chapters?! When Xellos goes missing, Zel knows to expect something really annoying when Beast Master's chief lackey decides to show his face again. And speaking of Beast Master...Well, that's in chapter 28. Heheh. Anyway, there's a lot going on, so let's do a little recap.
Clues
There are
allegedly seven of these bad boys, and Zel only has leads on four, according to Melfinius,
to whom L-Sama entrusted the seven scrolls that will have Zelgadis' restoration spell on
them when all the clues have been found and pieced together properly. Here's what Zel has
so far:
Marrigan: Nope.
Firedrake: Yup.
Luna Inverse. Yup. Sorry, Lina.
The battleground of Seified and Shabranigdo: Yup.
Naga. Yup. OH-HOHOHOHOHOOOOO!
The Lord of Nightmares: Nope.
Either dragons or something in Lara's tomb: Wrong-O.
Jessica and Amelia were supposed to be looking for the other three clues back in Seyruun while the rest of the gang went to check out the confirmed clues. "Supposed to" being the operative term, here. Oy vey.
According to L-Sama, everybody who was at the last supper at the end of ZOTC is part of Zel's cure in one way or another. Lina, Amelia, Gourry, Urlich, Sylph and Jessica are helping search. Naga's a clue (closest she'll ever come to having one), and Zhara's acting as Chief of Staff and Point Person at Zelquest HQ in Marrigan. Xellos put a part of himself in Zelgadis and is causing more than his usual amount of annoyance and trouble for the gang, though he seems especially interested in Amelia this time around. L-Sama put the cure in the world for Zel to find. Ullan and Zellan have yet to play their role. Same with Beast Master, but she'll be doing her bit in chapter 28. Not that she'll leave the stage after that, or anything. Heaven forbid.
Zel needs to figure out what the other three clues are, which is what Jessica and Amelia were supposed to be doing in Seyruun when Lina got busted. Amelia kited off to Rratsnek and promptly got into trouble, making heaps of tabloid fodder for the folks back home in the City of White Magic and All Things Good and Just. This throws Prince Phil into an understandable tizzy, so Jessica pulls herself away from the ol' Zelquest to play Press Secretary for the distraught Monarch (before he up and sues somebody). Urlich is in Rratsnek defending Lina. Rather than leave Lita with Zelgadis, Url brought her with him. She hooks up with Amelia and...gets arrested. Zel has decided he simply MUST go to Rratsnek to help Lina, and since Sylph won't be parted from him, she's off the quest trail, too. And L-Sama left her heaven in a big ol' huff, swearing some kind of vengence against Xellos. Hm, wonder what he did to her this time? But most importantly: Just who in the hell is still looking for clues?! Hello? Zelgadis? Those clues ain't gettin' any riper, buddy. And speaking of ripe, Zelgadis seems to be experiencing the Mazoku equivalent of arrested development with this need of his to rescue his friend, rather than leave her to rot in Rratsnek. Heroics don't play well in Mazoku Land. Time for somebody to put Zelly Belly back on the fastrack to the Dark Side. And...whatever has become of Lita's mysterious monster friend...? As if Our Heros in Rratsnek don't have enough problems to worry about...