Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers: Knightfall ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 14 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: tom the mighty 
Anime/Manga: Slayers Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Horror / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.18.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 231 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Slayers Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Horror / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.18.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 231 | Status: Work In Progress
Slayers: Knightfall
Chapter Thirteen
"Why shouldn’t you kill me!?" I shrilly repeated Stridus’s question.
"You are the Knightmare, an agent of pure chaos," Stridus explained, his voice filled with thinly veiled menace. "You are more a danger to this world than a help to it. You care only for yourself. You rarely think of the world and the consequences of your actions, as evidenced by your rushing to save your man instead of helping your friends, who were in more danger than he ever was." He really knew how to pick out my weak points. Whether or not he expected me to defend myself, my pride demanded that I provide a counter argument. That, and my self-preservation instinct.
"Who the hell are you to threaten me like that?" I started.
"The Earth Knight Stridus. I live only to serve the Earth Dragon."
"And who created the Earth Dragon?"
"Ciephied the Flare Dragon."
"Grrr. . .let’s try that again. Who created Ciephied?"
"The Lord of Nightmares," he correctly answered. "I see where you’re going with this, and I do not care if you are the mortal representation of the Golden Lord of Chaos, the supposed creator of existence. To let you live would invite disaster to this world."
He leveled his cleaver in my direction.
Hey, wait a minute! This has taken a decidedly lethal turn here!
"I’m not ready to die! There’re still so many foods I haven’t eaten! Too many magical artifacts I haven’t discovered!" Shut up! I know it’s the same old tired line I usually use. No, it never works, but there’s a first time for everything, right?
"You would use your divine power just for selfish reasons such as those?"
Who asked you!?
"I don’t need this right now! I have enough enemies as it is and I didn’t come here looking for more! Gourry’s hurt! Give me a few minutes to patch him up and for you to cool down. If you still have a beef with me then we’ll go from there."
A different light emanated from the Earth Knight’s eyes. They seemed a little. . .softer. They still carried the threat of impending doom, but I didn’t think he would attack me then.
Gourry, by the way, was fine, I just needed a few minutes to come up with some kind of strategy in case it did come to blows … mostly strategy of the strategic withdrawal kind. Never let it be said that Lina Inverse was too stubborn to not know when to run, er, advance in the opposite direction.
Shut up.
I pretended to be looking over Gourry, inspecting his wound and the like, all the while wondering how I get myself into these situations. I glanced over to my side and found Mil and Memphis, who said NOTHING in my defense, chatting casually away with Stridus about something or other.
Who the hell’s side they on, anyway!?
Mil cast a hard glance my way and my gut went cold. Something wasn’t right. Well, beyond the norm at least. I saw Mil look at someone like he’d looked at me only once; and that person was Xellos, who nearly wiped out the Golden Dragons.
I needed to figure a way out of this but my options were few. I couldn’t fight my way out; Stridus was more than a match for me in my present condition, and from the looks of things, Mil and possibly Mephy would not interfere.
At the very least.
Which left only two options; One: I could try to talk them out of whatever they were planning to do to me. I almost immediately discarded that notion, as both Milgasia and Stridus were representatives to their respective gods. People such as they rarely put personal feelings before service to their deity. Memphis wasn’t as deep into the whole unfeeling, unthinking devotion as the other two, but I don’t think she would disobey her master.
Which left the last option, the one I mentioned earlier.
Strategic withdrawal.
The question was, how to go about it.
I silently cast a quick spell over myself and Gourry, knowing that it would probably come in handy.
I couldn’t outrun any of them with Gourry on my back, assuming I could carry him at all without magical assistance. Which led to the next problem; how to use magic to get us both out of here without them detecting me or leaving them a clear trail to follow?
The answer was all around me: the still smoldering embers of Aiden’s attack against Memphis’s village.
I sensed the other’s eyes suddenly turn on me and I started to quietly chant, making it as soft and as comforting as I could, trying not to sacrifice the speed as well. If all went well, it would just look as if I were just saying some comforting words for Gourry’s benefit. I stood up and turned around. Stridus was fingering his sword, eagerly, and Memphis had a sad look in her eye. Milgasia was stone faced, as usual.
I observed that five of the embers encircling the group were glowing brighter than the rest. That was noticeable only if you were looking for them, though.
Good, it’s working. . .
"Lina," Mil said, "Come now. It is time to put your selfish desires away and embrace your destiny."
A "destiny" of your choosing? No thanks.
"What’s so selfish about wanting to be left in peace with my family?" I spat in retort.
"Everything, if you aren’t willing to fight for it." Stridus answered.
"My family didn’t even stand a chance. I didn’t even stand a chance! I didn’t ask for this crap!" I screamed, lifting Gourry’s arm over my shoulder and straining to hoist him up.
Time to wake up, ya big lug!
"You’ll be meeting your family again very soon, in a very painful manner, if you don’t come here, now!" Stridus threatened. I squeezed my eyes shut. The single tear was unintentional.
Yeah, let’s get on that right away.
"Greater Illumination!" I released my latest variation on the basic illumination spell, and five powerful balls of retina-searing red light jumped up from among the embers and stood hovering among the startled group for the full minute of its duration.
I was gone long before the spell gave out. I enacted an instant ray wing spell and left Stridus (and his curses) and the others behind, going faster than I had ever pushed ray wing before.
In case you were wondering, I choose red light for my spell because of my red hair and because I usually wear a lot of red clothing. With an overload of red light burned into their eyeballs, they shouldn’t be able to see me all that easily. Gourry, on the other hand, being the lover of blue that he is … well, it was all I could do under the circumstances.
Oh. That first spell I cast was a protection spell that hides the presence of any and all magical items Gourry and I were carrying at the time, so they can’t track us down by any magical signatures they give off.
Now to find some kind of shelter … preferably not another cave. I’m so SICK of caves!
In all honesty, right then, hauling ass as fast as I could, I just wanted to be home with my family, all safe and sound. Without the threat of murderous demons and … devious betrayal. Just me, Luna, Mom, Pop and Gourry.
Like the way it should’ve been.
But it can never be the way it "should’ve been." Right then I knew I could only fight for our future -- for something just as wonderful and precious, if not more so. The most important thing I could ever think of. Something I would destroy the entire universe for.
I was going to fight for the child that was in mine and Gourry’s future.
And I’d be damned for eternity if I let anyone or anything take that future away from us.
But to ensure that promise I needed to go to the Veil of Shadows to find the Shard of Lucidia. I had to take control of the Shades and destroy any who got in the way of that shining future. Demons, monsters, gods, even ... old friends.
How could they just turn on me like that?
Shifting Gourry’s weight more evenly onto my back, I reached into my sack and searched for the map to the Veil that Luna had left for me.
Searching. . .
Still searching. . .
DAMN IT ALL!
It was no longer there!
I sat down in a shallow valley, miles from where I’d begun, plopped Gourry on some soft grass and began to tear apart practically everything I owned. It had to be there! It just had to! There’s no way I’d just lose something that valuable!
Gourry groaned and dragged himself to a sitting position.
"Morning, sunshine!" I quipped, making use of Gourry’s signature "Nice to see you up but something ain’t right" line.
"What’s up?" he half yawned, half said, probably not picking up on my desperation.
"All kinds of wrong," I said, ignoring Gourry’s casual question though most people would be asking him what happened since he’d been knocked cold. But Gourry isn’t most people and still being able to move was probably enough for him.
He looked at me, his expression suggesting that I’d better elaborate.
"The short version is that I lost the map to the Veil of Shadows and I need it real quick!" I went back to my searching, determined to do my best to ignore the inevitable query.
"The what to where now?"
Bingo!
"Never mind! Just help me look for any old piece of parchment that isn’t in that pile over there!"
"Gotcha." He looked down and stared at his recent wound. "Where the hell did that come from?" he said. Then he started to pick at it like a kid.
"I’ll explain later. Hurry up and help me!"
"Right." He complied.
Another hour later we were still without that ever-so-vital map. I was as close as I’d ever been to losing it. Gourry, of all people, suggested that I try to replicate it from memory. But I knew it would be no good.
How many days had it been since I last saw it?
I could only sit down then and think of all that was at stake. And the only thing that I needed in order to stand a chance at saving them all, I’d foolishly lost. . .
I heard the crunching of leaves behind me. . .
"Well met, strangers!" A cheerful, dare I say, downright chipper voice rang out.
"Good afternoon!" Gourry responded and started to get up. He sat right back down when he stretched his cut painfully.
"You stay there, Gourry," I ordered.
I tuned to face the man who’d seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
He was of average height and weight, and looked neither young nor old … a very dangerous combination, as I had come to learn over the years. His clothes were those of a merchant, kind of flashy but not enough to denote any serious wealth. His brown hair done in a page boy cut came off as disturbingly familiar. He had dragged a moderate-size handcart along with him and he was in the process of unloading it.
"And you are?" I prompted, somewhat confused by his behavior. As far as I knew, Gourry and I were the only people for miles in any direction. And this guy was setting up shop!
"Some call me. . . Bob," he answered, somewhat creepily.
"Bob?" I parroted.
"Yes, Bob the Mysterious Merchant, at your service, Miss. . ." He finished his introduction by calling for my own.
"Lina Inverse and he’s Gourry," I said.
"Gabriev," Gourry put in.
"Oh," Bob said, and continued to set up his little stand.
"Oh? And what do you think you’re doing?" I asked, getting weird vibes off this guy, starting and ending with the whole "Mysterious" part of his moniker. "There’s nobody here for miles!"
"You’re here," he simply replied.
"True. . .but does that warrant going through all the trouble of opening up a full-blown shop?" I pressed, trying to get Bob’s angle.
"Never dismiss potential customers, I always say!" Bob weirdly and gleefully exclaimed. He gave me goose bumps.
Gourry seemed to be digging it, though. "Do you have any muffins?" he asked.
"I’m sorry, I’m not the muffin man. He lives on Cherry Lane."
"Shoot. . .well how about breastplates?"
"On that, I can accommodate you!" Bob confirmed. "What’s your size?"
"Extra large. Do you have any in black?" Ignoring his pain, Gourry trotted over to the strange merchant’s street shop like a kid in a candy store.
"Yes I do," Bob said, eyeing Gourry’s chest wound. "You wouldn’t be interested in some magical armor, would you?"
"Maybe. How much gold do we have, Lina?" That was rich. Since when did Gourry think he could spend MY money without my consent? Though despite the misgivings I definitely had about this "merchant," we still needed to restock our supplies. The only thing I could think of doing at the moment was to make absolutely sure that anything we bought from Bob was of the finest quality.
We settled on a black number with gold trim for Gourry’s breastplate. It had some magical dweomer cast on it, so it would turn aside any non-magical blade without so much as a scratch appearing on it -- as demonstrated by Bob and then confirmed by me.
I still had my suspicions when Bob only charged us one hundred gold pieces for it. It was easily worth at least five thousand. But as far as I could tell, it wasn’t cursed, and it was certainly better than going into battle with nothing, so I agreed and just assumed that Bob was a moron. He certainly grinned like he was.
Well, and Gourry did look especially handsome in it.
I was looking around Bob’s wares when I saw a bucket of old, rolled-up scrolls.
Nah. . .that would be a one in a trillion chance. . .
I looked, and of course I didn’t find a replacement map. It was probably one of a kind anyway.
"Looking for this?" Bob asked, holding out a familiar-looking map. I promptly fell on my face.
"Where’d you find that!?" I spit out some dirt and scrambled to my feet.
"You could say that it ‘found’ me. I was walking along the path about three miles down the way and this parchment floated from the sky onto my face!"
"Oh, this is so cool! Can I have it please?"
"Of course you can. . .5000 gold."
"OK -- what!?"
"Is there a problem?"
"It was MINE to begin with!"
"Oh. In that case I’ll lower it to 2500 gold."
"How about 10 copper and you keep your head."
"Sold!"
A moment later I was merrily making three copies of the map to the Vale. Never was I going to lose out on ten copper pieces again due to some stupid mistake on my part.
We had set up camp for the night underneath a thick canopy so nobody could see the fire if they were flying. There was no moon or stars out, so the smoke should’ve been invisible as well. I felt safe enough for the night. At least nobody had a clue where to look for us, and Bob seemed harmless enough.
We purchased a tent from the merchant, the only one he had for just one copper! Then Gourry and I set up our tent about 10 yards across from where Bob had parked his wagon. It wasn’t terribly roomy, but we’ve spent the night in tighter quarters before, to our mutual annoyance.
But there was something different about tonight.
There was a kind of nervous anticipation in the air that made my body tingle all over. Maybe it was just because we’d finally admitted that there were feelings between us. Maybe I just wanted to make sure Gourry’s wound wasn’t bothering him. Or perhaps I needed to be with someone I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt would not betray or leave me, no matter the cost.
Just to set things straight; Playing hide-the-sausage was the last thing on my (and hopefully his) mind that night, despite that premonition I’d had earlier! To those thinking this story is citrus scented, I am sorry to disappoint you! I was not about to bring a kid into this world until things settled down a bit and we got properly married in a proper Zephillian Cathedral!
Gourry was already sleeping when I got back from setting some magical traps and alarms around the perimeter. He was sleeping shirtless, which sent a little tremor through my chest. I’ve seen him without his shirt plenty of times, and even with his vivid scar, there was something. . .I dunno, something more possessive about it.
I knew he belonged to me now. I grinned and I wondered if I should remove my shirt as well. I settled for wearing my shorts and a tank top. No reason to take it to the next level just yet. The tent was small, but not small enough to make rolling over in bed a nuisance to the person next to you. I scooted my sleeping roll a little closer to Gourry’s anyway.
I slept for maybe a couple of blissful hours, basking in Gourry’s company, when a piercing howl ripped the midnight silence in two. The way the howl echoed indicated that the animal was far away, but it was ear-splitting loud! Gourry and I sat up immediately, and I was nearly swatted by a careless Gourry who didn’t know I was so close, I guess.
"What was that?" Gourry asked, looking very spooked.
"I dunno!" My voice was a little ragged. Adrenaline made it a little higher than usual, too.
Again the beast howled. This time much closer.
"I think it’s showtime," Gourry said with annoyance, and he moved to grab his armor and sword.
"Right behind you." I said, getting a little worried as to the source of the howling.
If Zel were here, I’m sure he would be very happy right now.
No sooner had I had exited the tent, when a third howl thundered in. It seemed to be right in the middle of the camp.
I looked to see if Bob was OK, and to my utter astonishment, Bob and his wagon had completely vanished! Not even the tracks remained!
"What the?" Gourry mumbled his shocked reaction to the disappearance of the mysterious merchant.
Both sensing a presence behind us, we quickly turned to see two great red eyes staring us down though the near-pitch black of the forest. A single gigantic paw emerged from the gloom and my heart beat a few tempos faster when I saw the green hair over the red skin.
"What the hell is that thing?" Gourry muttered under his breath, his sword in a tight guard position.
"Cu Sith." I mumbled my frightened reply. "We’re so screwed." I lamented.
And no. I was not in the least bit optimistic about our chances.
Tom the Mighty’s Mighty Notes!
Chapter’s done, now it’s time for some Dead Rising!
Quick notes first:
Ah, the plot thickens! Have Mil and Mephy really turned against Lina? Or is it just a figment of Lina’s ever-growing paranoia? Bob finally makes his return from the last couple versions of this story and now L and G are facing down another of the beasts Zelgadis needs a piece from in order to become human again! Speaking of that, when are Zel, Ame and Naga going to come back? Hell if I know! I guess you’ll find out in the next chapter of Slayers: Knightfall!
Chapter Thirteen
"Why shouldn’t you kill me!?" I shrilly repeated Stridus’s question.
"You are the Knightmare, an agent of pure chaos," Stridus explained, his voice filled with thinly veiled menace. "You are more a danger to this world than a help to it. You care only for yourself. You rarely think of the world and the consequences of your actions, as evidenced by your rushing to save your man instead of helping your friends, who were in more danger than he ever was." He really knew how to pick out my weak points. Whether or not he expected me to defend myself, my pride demanded that I provide a counter argument. That, and my self-preservation instinct.
"Who the hell are you to threaten me like that?" I started.
"The Earth Knight Stridus. I live only to serve the Earth Dragon."
"And who created the Earth Dragon?"
"Ciephied the Flare Dragon."
"Grrr. . .let’s try that again. Who created Ciephied?"
"The Lord of Nightmares," he correctly answered. "I see where you’re going with this, and I do not care if you are the mortal representation of the Golden Lord of Chaos, the supposed creator of existence. To let you live would invite disaster to this world."
He leveled his cleaver in my direction.
Hey, wait a minute! This has taken a decidedly lethal turn here!
"I’m not ready to die! There’re still so many foods I haven’t eaten! Too many magical artifacts I haven’t discovered!" Shut up! I know it’s the same old tired line I usually use. No, it never works, but there’s a first time for everything, right?
"You would use your divine power just for selfish reasons such as those?"
Who asked you!?
"I don’t need this right now! I have enough enemies as it is and I didn’t come here looking for more! Gourry’s hurt! Give me a few minutes to patch him up and for you to cool down. If you still have a beef with me then we’ll go from there."
A different light emanated from the Earth Knight’s eyes. They seemed a little. . .softer. They still carried the threat of impending doom, but I didn’t think he would attack me then.
Gourry, by the way, was fine, I just needed a few minutes to come up with some kind of strategy in case it did come to blows … mostly strategy of the strategic withdrawal kind. Never let it be said that Lina Inverse was too stubborn to not know when to run, er, advance in the opposite direction.
Shut up.
I pretended to be looking over Gourry, inspecting his wound and the like, all the while wondering how I get myself into these situations. I glanced over to my side and found Mil and Memphis, who said NOTHING in my defense, chatting casually away with Stridus about something or other.
Who the hell’s side they on, anyway!?
Mil cast a hard glance my way and my gut went cold. Something wasn’t right. Well, beyond the norm at least. I saw Mil look at someone like he’d looked at me only once; and that person was Xellos, who nearly wiped out the Golden Dragons.
I needed to figure a way out of this but my options were few. I couldn’t fight my way out; Stridus was more than a match for me in my present condition, and from the looks of things, Mil and possibly Mephy would not interfere.
At the very least.
Which left only two options; One: I could try to talk them out of whatever they were planning to do to me. I almost immediately discarded that notion, as both Milgasia and Stridus were representatives to their respective gods. People such as they rarely put personal feelings before service to their deity. Memphis wasn’t as deep into the whole unfeeling, unthinking devotion as the other two, but I don’t think she would disobey her master.
Which left the last option, the one I mentioned earlier.
Strategic withdrawal.
The question was, how to go about it.
I silently cast a quick spell over myself and Gourry, knowing that it would probably come in handy.
I couldn’t outrun any of them with Gourry on my back, assuming I could carry him at all without magical assistance. Which led to the next problem; how to use magic to get us both out of here without them detecting me or leaving them a clear trail to follow?
The answer was all around me: the still smoldering embers of Aiden’s attack against Memphis’s village.
I sensed the other’s eyes suddenly turn on me and I started to quietly chant, making it as soft and as comforting as I could, trying not to sacrifice the speed as well. If all went well, it would just look as if I were just saying some comforting words for Gourry’s benefit. I stood up and turned around. Stridus was fingering his sword, eagerly, and Memphis had a sad look in her eye. Milgasia was stone faced, as usual.
I observed that five of the embers encircling the group were glowing brighter than the rest. That was noticeable only if you were looking for them, though.
Good, it’s working. . .
"Lina," Mil said, "Come now. It is time to put your selfish desires away and embrace your destiny."
A "destiny" of your choosing? No thanks.
"What’s so selfish about wanting to be left in peace with my family?" I spat in retort.
"Everything, if you aren’t willing to fight for it." Stridus answered.
"My family didn’t even stand a chance. I didn’t even stand a chance! I didn’t ask for this crap!" I screamed, lifting Gourry’s arm over my shoulder and straining to hoist him up.
Time to wake up, ya big lug!
"You’ll be meeting your family again very soon, in a very painful manner, if you don’t come here, now!" Stridus threatened. I squeezed my eyes shut. The single tear was unintentional.
Yeah, let’s get on that right away.
"Greater Illumination!" I released my latest variation on the basic illumination spell, and five powerful balls of retina-searing red light jumped up from among the embers and stood hovering among the startled group for the full minute of its duration.
I was gone long before the spell gave out. I enacted an instant ray wing spell and left Stridus (and his curses) and the others behind, going faster than I had ever pushed ray wing before.
In case you were wondering, I choose red light for my spell because of my red hair and because I usually wear a lot of red clothing. With an overload of red light burned into their eyeballs, they shouldn’t be able to see me all that easily. Gourry, on the other hand, being the lover of blue that he is … well, it was all I could do under the circumstances.
Oh. That first spell I cast was a protection spell that hides the presence of any and all magical items Gourry and I were carrying at the time, so they can’t track us down by any magical signatures they give off.
Now to find some kind of shelter … preferably not another cave. I’m so SICK of caves!
In all honesty, right then, hauling ass as fast as I could, I just wanted to be home with my family, all safe and sound. Without the threat of murderous demons and … devious betrayal. Just me, Luna, Mom, Pop and Gourry.
Like the way it should’ve been.
But it can never be the way it "should’ve been." Right then I knew I could only fight for our future -- for something just as wonderful and precious, if not more so. The most important thing I could ever think of. Something I would destroy the entire universe for.
I was going to fight for the child that was in mine and Gourry’s future.
And I’d be damned for eternity if I let anyone or anything take that future away from us.
But to ensure that promise I needed to go to the Veil of Shadows to find the Shard of Lucidia. I had to take control of the Shades and destroy any who got in the way of that shining future. Demons, monsters, gods, even ... old friends.
How could they just turn on me like that?
Shifting Gourry’s weight more evenly onto my back, I reached into my sack and searched for the map to the Veil that Luna had left for me.
Searching. . .
Still searching. . .
DAMN IT ALL!
It was no longer there!
I sat down in a shallow valley, miles from where I’d begun, plopped Gourry on some soft grass and began to tear apart practically everything I owned. It had to be there! It just had to! There’s no way I’d just lose something that valuable!
Gourry groaned and dragged himself to a sitting position.
"Morning, sunshine!" I quipped, making use of Gourry’s signature "Nice to see you up but something ain’t right" line.
"What’s up?" he half yawned, half said, probably not picking up on my desperation.
"All kinds of wrong," I said, ignoring Gourry’s casual question though most people would be asking him what happened since he’d been knocked cold. But Gourry isn’t most people and still being able to move was probably enough for him.
He looked at me, his expression suggesting that I’d better elaborate.
"The short version is that I lost the map to the Veil of Shadows and I need it real quick!" I went back to my searching, determined to do my best to ignore the inevitable query.
"The what to where now?"
Bingo!
"Never mind! Just help me look for any old piece of parchment that isn’t in that pile over there!"
"Gotcha." He looked down and stared at his recent wound. "Where the hell did that come from?" he said. Then he started to pick at it like a kid.
"I’ll explain later. Hurry up and help me!"
"Right." He complied.
Another hour later we were still without that ever-so-vital map. I was as close as I’d ever been to losing it. Gourry, of all people, suggested that I try to replicate it from memory. But I knew it would be no good.
How many days had it been since I last saw it?
I could only sit down then and think of all that was at stake. And the only thing that I needed in order to stand a chance at saving them all, I’d foolishly lost. . .
I heard the crunching of leaves behind me. . .
"Well met, strangers!" A cheerful, dare I say, downright chipper voice rang out.
"Good afternoon!" Gourry responded and started to get up. He sat right back down when he stretched his cut painfully.
"You stay there, Gourry," I ordered.
I tuned to face the man who’d seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
He was of average height and weight, and looked neither young nor old … a very dangerous combination, as I had come to learn over the years. His clothes were those of a merchant, kind of flashy but not enough to denote any serious wealth. His brown hair done in a page boy cut came off as disturbingly familiar. He had dragged a moderate-size handcart along with him and he was in the process of unloading it.
"And you are?" I prompted, somewhat confused by his behavior. As far as I knew, Gourry and I were the only people for miles in any direction. And this guy was setting up shop!
"Some call me. . . Bob," he answered, somewhat creepily.
"Bob?" I parroted.
"Yes, Bob the Mysterious Merchant, at your service, Miss. . ." He finished his introduction by calling for my own.
"Lina Inverse and he’s Gourry," I said.
"Gabriev," Gourry put in.
"Oh," Bob said, and continued to set up his little stand.
"Oh? And what do you think you’re doing?" I asked, getting weird vibes off this guy, starting and ending with the whole "Mysterious" part of his moniker. "There’s nobody here for miles!"
"You’re here," he simply replied.
"True. . .but does that warrant going through all the trouble of opening up a full-blown shop?" I pressed, trying to get Bob’s angle.
"Never dismiss potential customers, I always say!" Bob weirdly and gleefully exclaimed. He gave me goose bumps.
Gourry seemed to be digging it, though. "Do you have any muffins?" he asked.
"I’m sorry, I’m not the muffin man. He lives on Cherry Lane."
"Shoot. . .well how about breastplates?"
"On that, I can accommodate you!" Bob confirmed. "What’s your size?"
"Extra large. Do you have any in black?" Ignoring his pain, Gourry trotted over to the strange merchant’s street shop like a kid in a candy store.
"Yes I do," Bob said, eyeing Gourry’s chest wound. "You wouldn’t be interested in some magical armor, would you?"
"Maybe. How much gold do we have, Lina?" That was rich. Since when did Gourry think he could spend MY money without my consent? Though despite the misgivings I definitely had about this "merchant," we still needed to restock our supplies. The only thing I could think of doing at the moment was to make absolutely sure that anything we bought from Bob was of the finest quality.
We settled on a black number with gold trim for Gourry’s breastplate. It had some magical dweomer cast on it, so it would turn aside any non-magical blade without so much as a scratch appearing on it -- as demonstrated by Bob and then confirmed by me.
I still had my suspicions when Bob only charged us one hundred gold pieces for it. It was easily worth at least five thousand. But as far as I could tell, it wasn’t cursed, and it was certainly better than going into battle with nothing, so I agreed and just assumed that Bob was a moron. He certainly grinned like he was.
Well, and Gourry did look especially handsome in it.
I was looking around Bob’s wares when I saw a bucket of old, rolled-up scrolls.
Nah. . .that would be a one in a trillion chance. . .
I looked, and of course I didn’t find a replacement map. It was probably one of a kind anyway.
"Looking for this?" Bob asked, holding out a familiar-looking map. I promptly fell on my face.
"Where’d you find that!?" I spit out some dirt and scrambled to my feet.
"You could say that it ‘found’ me. I was walking along the path about three miles down the way and this parchment floated from the sky onto my face!"
"Oh, this is so cool! Can I have it please?"
"Of course you can. . .5000 gold."
"OK -- what!?"
"Is there a problem?"
"It was MINE to begin with!"
"Oh. In that case I’ll lower it to 2500 gold."
"How about 10 copper and you keep your head."
"Sold!"
A moment later I was merrily making three copies of the map to the Vale. Never was I going to lose out on ten copper pieces again due to some stupid mistake on my part.
We had set up camp for the night underneath a thick canopy so nobody could see the fire if they were flying. There was no moon or stars out, so the smoke should’ve been invisible as well. I felt safe enough for the night. At least nobody had a clue where to look for us, and Bob seemed harmless enough.
We purchased a tent from the merchant, the only one he had for just one copper! Then Gourry and I set up our tent about 10 yards across from where Bob had parked his wagon. It wasn’t terribly roomy, but we’ve spent the night in tighter quarters before, to our mutual annoyance.
But there was something different about tonight.
There was a kind of nervous anticipation in the air that made my body tingle all over. Maybe it was just because we’d finally admitted that there were feelings between us. Maybe I just wanted to make sure Gourry’s wound wasn’t bothering him. Or perhaps I needed to be with someone I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt would not betray or leave me, no matter the cost.
Just to set things straight; Playing hide-the-sausage was the last thing on my (and hopefully his) mind that night, despite that premonition I’d had earlier! To those thinking this story is citrus scented, I am sorry to disappoint you! I was not about to bring a kid into this world until things settled down a bit and we got properly married in a proper Zephillian Cathedral!
Gourry was already sleeping when I got back from setting some magical traps and alarms around the perimeter. He was sleeping shirtless, which sent a little tremor through my chest. I’ve seen him without his shirt plenty of times, and even with his vivid scar, there was something. . .I dunno, something more possessive about it.
I knew he belonged to me now. I grinned and I wondered if I should remove my shirt as well. I settled for wearing my shorts and a tank top. No reason to take it to the next level just yet. The tent was small, but not small enough to make rolling over in bed a nuisance to the person next to you. I scooted my sleeping roll a little closer to Gourry’s anyway.
I slept for maybe a couple of blissful hours, basking in Gourry’s company, when a piercing howl ripped the midnight silence in two. The way the howl echoed indicated that the animal was far away, but it was ear-splitting loud! Gourry and I sat up immediately, and I was nearly swatted by a careless Gourry who didn’t know I was so close, I guess.
"What was that?" Gourry asked, looking very spooked.
"I dunno!" My voice was a little ragged. Adrenaline made it a little higher than usual, too.
Again the beast howled. This time much closer.
"I think it’s showtime," Gourry said with annoyance, and he moved to grab his armor and sword.
"Right behind you." I said, getting a little worried as to the source of the howling.
If Zel were here, I’m sure he would be very happy right now.
No sooner had I had exited the tent, when a third howl thundered in. It seemed to be right in the middle of the camp.
I looked to see if Bob was OK, and to my utter astonishment, Bob and his wagon had completely vanished! Not even the tracks remained!
"What the?" Gourry mumbled his shocked reaction to the disappearance of the mysterious merchant.
Both sensing a presence behind us, we quickly turned to see two great red eyes staring us down though the near-pitch black of the forest. A single gigantic paw emerged from the gloom and my heart beat a few tempos faster when I saw the green hair over the red skin.
"What the hell is that thing?" Gourry muttered under his breath, his sword in a tight guard position.
"Cu Sith." I mumbled my frightened reply. "We’re so screwed." I lamented.
And no. I was not in the least bit optimistic about our chances.
Tom the Mighty’s Mighty Notes!
Chapter’s done, now it’s time for some Dead Rising!
Quick notes first:
Ah, the plot thickens! Have Mil and Mephy really turned against Lina? Or is it just a figment of Lina’s ever-growing paranoia? Bob finally makes his return from the last couple versions of this story and now L and G are facing down another of the beasts Zelgadis needs a piece from in order to become human again! Speaking of that, when are Zel, Ame and Naga going to come back? Hell if I know! I guess you’ll find out in the next chapter of Slayers: Knightfall!