>Slayers Glorious #13 Exposed! By John Evans, jevans@alum.mit.edu. >Beware the Radish >http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/ Getehl squinted up at the sky. He removed his wide-brimmed hat and ran his hand through his short brown hair. It looked as though it would be a hot day, as most days were this close to the desert. The mercenary looked around. Nobody else was around, here behind the inn. There were a few crates scattered around, but it was basically a big empty space. Perfect for a little sword practice. >Okay, so I read this over and realized I used the word 'around' three times >one paragraph. Ah, well... Getehl put his hat down on the ground, then removed his leather cuirass and brown shirt as well. He stretched, feeling the heat radiating from the dusty ground, and the sun beating down from above. Finally, he drew his sword from its sheath, and began to run through basic exercises. >And there are probably a few comma splices in here too... ===== Actinaea exited the inn and frowned up at the sky. Funny, she'd known intellectually that the desert would be hot, but it was still disheartening to actually be here, under the angry sun. She muttered "Diem Claw", then sighed with relief as the cool air washed over her. Mari tended to bungle her spells fairly often, but she *had* come up with a useful purpose for this minor spell. Not that Actinaea would admit it out loud, of course. In any >This is from Mariposa using Diem Claw from #8...Either Ravi or Todd suggested >using this here, I can't quite remember which... case, today looked like another dull day of searching for a guide through the desert. The Prateor turned to start down a street--and then halted, blinking. Mariposa was standing nearby, against a fence. She seemed to be peering around the edge, behind the inn. Actinaea frowned, and walked towards her student. "Mariposa?" ===== Getehl blinked as a bird took off from a nearby fence and flew off, cawing. He gave himself a moment to find his center again, then resumed practice. >The point being that Mariposa yelped or something right at that moment. This >sort of goes with how in anime, birds will suddenly fly off at various times. ===== Mari put her hand to her chest, panting. "Ah...um. Good morning, Actinaea-sensei," she gasped. >See, she just yelped. Actinaea stared at the girl. "Mariposa, what on earth are you doing?" She noticed Mari's eyes flick towards the edge of the fence. "N--nothing, sensei." Her cheeks reddened. >Mari, of course, has a crush on Getehl... "Oh, *really*?" Actinaea marched toward the fence, frowning. "No, wait--" Mari stepped forward hesitantly. "Really, Mari," the Praetor snapped, brushing past her student. "What's gotten--" Then she caught sight of the view beyond the fence and trailed off. Getehl was practicing swordplay in the big, empty space behind the inn. He was bare-chested, muscles shifting under light bronze skin as he slashed and thrust, dispatching scores of invisible opponents. It was surprising, Actinaea thought, that he always covered that up...After a moment, the sorceress blinked and realized that Mari was again staring at the mercenary. Actinaea frowned again, but somehow couldn't get much emotion into it. "Mari." >Not to mention the fact that Actinaea does as well, in her way... "Shhh," Mari said. "He might hear us." "Mari, this is foolish. And it's--like spying!" She caught sight of Getehl again. Of course, it shouldn't be all *that* surprising, since you had to have physical strength to be a warrior... "Not really," Mari said softly. Actinaea blinked again, startled for some reason. "I mean, he's just right out there in the open. If he wanted to do it in private, he wouldn't be out here." >She's startled because she was getting distracted by Getehl topless... "...I suppose," Actinaea said after a moment. "But still..." They continued watching. ===== Getehl finished his kata and exhaled. He grinned to himself, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It had been too long since he'd really had a chance to practice, and somehow it made him feel more himself. The mercenary walked over and sat down on a crate. He took a whetstone from a pocket and began to idly sharpen his sword. >This is sort of a mannerism of Getehl, that he does this a lot. It came up in >#8 as well. ===== Mari and Actinaea exhaled. After a moment, they turned to look at each other. Then, after another moment, they turned back to watching Getehl. >Sort of the same joke as one from Nurse Angel Ririka SOS #1... Naga peered over Actinaea's shoulder. "Hm. And what are you two doing?" ===== Getehl winced as he elicited a particularly nasty screech from his sword. He held the blade up and peered at it. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be damaged. He shrugged, and kept sharpening. >The idea being that Mariposa was the one screeching...Kind of like the >Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade joke... ===== Actinaea glared at Mari, who had her hands clamped over her mouth. Then she turned to face the other sorceress. "What business of it is yours, oh White Serpent?" Naga raised an eyebrow at Actinaea. Then she tilted her head a little to peer behind the fence. Actinaea felt her cheeks warming and scowled blackly. Naga returned to her original position and looked at the two, teacher and student. A grin slowly spread over her face. ===== "OOOOOOOHOHOHOHOOOO!!!" Getehl almost leaped up from the crate, but immediately forced himself calm. He was developing an odd sort of appreciation for Naga's BitchLaugh(tm), but it still managed to catch him by surprise every now and >Apparently Todd did *not* create the phrase 'BitchLaugh'...but, oh well... then. The mercenary smiled as the White Serpent strode into view (quite a view), followed closely by Actinaea and Mari. "Good morning, ladies," he >I couldn't let the chapter go by without some token reference to Naga's, ah, >figure... greeted. "And how are you all today?" "This morning finds the White Serpent well, Getehl-san." Naga looked behind her, and smirked. "And it seems to find our Praetor well also." Getehl looked at Actinaea, and was startled to see her blushing faintly. She caught his eyes and quickly looked away. He decided to file this in the big mental folder marked 'Women'. >Short for 'Things I Don't Understand About Women'. "I was just getting in a bit of practice," Getehl said, standing up and stretching. "Always important, you know." He finished the stretch and blinked as he caught sight of Actinaea watching him again. >Stretching, showing off those muscles...This whole sequence is a bit of a >twist on the whole idea of 'cheesecake'...I like doing things differently >from how they're usually done. Instead of guys ogling girls, we have a bunch >of women ogling a guy. "A very, very good point." Naga nodded, causing some ripples in particular parts of her form. "Mari-chan!" She snapped her fingers. >See above 'Naga's figure' comment... Mari stepped up. "H--Hai, Naga-sama!" Getehl began gathering up his clothes. Naga tilted her head to one side. "How are you with Icicle Lance?" "What?" Actinaea's eyes widened. "Icicle Lance? Mari's not ready for that yet! Her water shamanist skills--" "Really? I thought her ability with Freeze Arrow was quite sufficient. But what do *you* think, Mari?" Naga smiled down at the girl. "Um...I did learn the spell." Mari looked nervously between her two teachers. "I've never tried it, though. But I mean, it doesn't *seem* that hard..." "Just because you know the theory--Naga, you can't be serious!" Actinaea protested. >I thought long and hard about what spell would be appropriate to use here, >and how to phrase Mari's ability with it. Todd gave it the okay, so I think >that's a pretty good endorsement... Getehl finished dressing, watching the sorceresses 'discuss'. "I think I'll go back and look for a possible guide, again." >'Discuss' meaning, of course, 'argue'...And Getehl is realizing that he >really doesn't want to be around if something goes *wrong* with the spell... "Now, now, if you never try something you've never done before, how will you ever improve?" Naga smiled at Mari again. "Come on, Mari-chan. Give it a try." "Um, okay." Mari held out her hands and started muttering, her brow furrowed. A blue glow began to build in front of her. "...Yeah, I'll definitely leave you ladies to--see you later." Getehl edged backwards, then broke and ran. ===== On the other side of the inn's backyard, a man with red hair leaned against a wall. He listened to the bickering and shifted uneasily. Almost of its own volition, his hand crept to his sword and squeezed the hilt. A bolt of ice flew past him. He sweatdropped. >Hopefully that was a nice Slayers-ish break in tension. ^_^; ===== Slayers Glorious #13 Fortune! Thirteen is my...lucky number? >Someone told me the ellipsis in the title wasn't that great. But it's my >title, darn it! ===== >Incidentally, Slayers Glorious is hosted by Improfanfic, >http://www.improfanfic.com Getehl gazed up at the building in front of him. The Brothers of the Dunes...Casino. A rather strange idea, he thought. What did deserts have to do with casinos anyway? But judging from the >That's a little reference to Las Vegas... activity during their last visit, the place was pretty successful. Music and laughter could be heard emanating from the building even now. He hadn't meant to come here. Really. And yet, what else was there to do in this grubby town on the edge of the desert? Maybe, he reflected, that was exactly why there was a casino here. >That's my theory, anyway. He took a step forward, then stopped. It couldn't really do any harm, could it? All he had on him was his own money. Naga and Ace kept close watch over the party funds, so even if he lost everything, it wouldn't matter... Getehl opened the doors and slipped inside. >He's pragmatic, but he still can't resist. ===== Torr closed the door behind him, and the room was dim again. As his eyes adjusted, a little bald man with a short red beard stood up from his chair, bowing and making obeisance. "Lord! I did not expect--" >Torr checks in with the local agent of the 'red-haired ethnic group/ >conspiracy' that he belongs to. The one led by Lady Erika and watched over by >Deep Sea Dolphin. Or however it actually turned out in the story...I haven't >been keeping up recently, unfortunately... "No one ever does." Torr allowed himself a smile. "I was in the neighborhood, you see, and thought I'd stop by." "Ah. Of course." The little man wiped his forehead with a cloth. "Ah. Well. Our operations are proceeding smoothly, I am happy to report." "I see." The assassin paused. "What exactly *are* the operations in this town?" "Well...the standard tactics, really. Political influence and such." The other man sat, shuffling papers around. "Apparently Lady Erika believes it is important to have a stronghold close to the Desert. And we, of course, hear and obey. A cousin of mine is quite close to the mayor--" "Any sticking points?" Torr frowned at the stacks of papers. He'd always loathed bookkeeping; hands-on work was so much more fun... "Well, the local casino is influenced by--" The other coughed. "The Ring." "Ah, of course. I should have expected they'd have their fingers in such a thing." Torr let his gaze unfocus as he pulled information from the depths of his memory. The Ring had influence across most of the sub-continent, from here in Elmekia all the way to Lyzeille--except for Saillune, of course. Usually they concentrated on assassination and 'protection', but gambling was a perennial source of income. Low influence, but high profit. >The idea is that the Ring is organized crime. Someone suggested actually >calling it the Mafia, but that idea didn't appeal to me. Greebo, Daron, Doran >and in fact Duke Dunes (as we shall see) are all connected with the Ring. >Incidentally, the Ring has no influence in Saillune because that's the >red-haired people's territory. That's part of their backstory. "Not many fighting types around here, you see," the man continued. "We weren't really expecting any sort of opposition--" "I'll go check it out," Torr said suddenly. "Perhaps I can...help." He smiled again. The bald man trembled slightly. "If you could, we would be most grateful..." "Of course you will." Torr turned and put his hand on the door, then stopped. "Oh, and one more thing." He turned to look back at the man. "If some outsiders came to look for a guide, where would they find one?" The other man's brow furrowed. "Well...the best guide would be one by the name of Feyik. However, he's on a trip at the moment, and will be back in a day or two." >And so I push the story along... "And he's the only real prospect?" At the other's nod, Torr smiled. "Good. Very good. Many thanks." He bowed slightly, opened the door, and slipped out again. The man with the red beard exhaled, slowly. ===== Getehl looked to his right. He looked to his left. He looked straight ahead. He turned over the card in front of him, revealing an ace. >And so an 'Ace' helps Getehl out. "The man in the hat has nineteen," the dealer said in a monotone. "Dealer and the blond man are bust, and the man in the cloak has eighteen." The man next to Getehl, wearing a long purple cloak over an aristocratic black suit, tossed his king and eight at the dealer before standing up and storming off. The slightly effeminate man to Getehl's left ran his hands through his short blond hair, and sighed. Getehl leaned back, put his arms behind his head, and grinned. The night was turning out well. >These are all random nameless characters. (In fact, this chapter could also >be entitled 'Revenge of the Unnamed Characters'...the red beard guy too...) "Care for a drink, sir?" Getehl turned towards the voice, and then did a doubletake. "Luanni?" The dancing girl/hostess blinked. "Sorry, sir?" After a moment, Getehl realized that it wasn't Luanni who was offering him a drink. True, she had the same brown hair and a melodious voice, but on second glance the similarities were only superficial. >And the unnamed hostess. "Sorry," Getehl said. "I mistook you for someone else." He grinned a lopsided grin. It was the dancing girl outfit that had done it, he decided. The whole room had a desert theme, with fake palm trees around pools of water, occasional mini-dunes of sand...Corny, but fun nonetheless. >Corny, kinda like casinos in *our* world. The girl smiled. "Oh, don't worry. It happens all the time. Would you care for a drink, sir?" She held out a tumbler filled with a pink liquid. Getehl flicked his eyes back toward the table for just a moment. The dealer, a thin, weathered-looking man with iron gray hair, was shuffling a deck but also quite definitely watching Getehl. The mercenary allowed himself a smirk; he'd been in lots of casinos, and they all tried this trick. "That's okay, dear," he said to the girl. "I'm fine." The hostess leaned down toward him, low-cut dress bulging. "Are you *sure*?" Getehl had to hold back a laugh. After traveling with the White Serpent for so long, they thought this would distract him? "Nah, like I said, I'm >For some reason, I love that idea. ^_^ fine. But thank you for asking. Here, take this for your trouble and get something nice." He took a chip and flipped it upwards, grinning as it landed right in the view the girl was presenting him. She straightened up, blushing just a little, and walked off without another word. The mercenary turned back to the game. "Come on, I feel lucky tonight." ===== Torr moved easily through the crowds, reflecting on the fact that while black cloaks were stylish, they weren't that good in desert weather. He was >Black absorbs heat... pleased to see that the people didn't part before him or look at him strangely; they just jostled and bumped him like any other passerby. Bumped him quite hard, in some cases... >He doesn't want to attract attention, see. He doesn't want people staring at >him. That would mean he's being a lousy assassin. Torr reached behind him and snagged the shirt of someone who had just taken his money pouch. He sighed; some things never changed. The assassin pulled the pickpocket around to face him, and blinked as he came face to face with--a child. "I'm sorry, sir," the kid said quickly. "It won't happen again." The thief had short blond hair and wide eyes, and looked to be about Mari's age. Torr stared for a moment, and then smiled slowly. He smoothed out the thief's shirt. "I'm sorry, young one. My mistake." The kid stared at him a few moments longer, then ran off through the crowd. Torr followed at a more leisurely pace. Perhaps it was nothing...but he had time to indulge himself for a while. >Part of Torr's character is that he has a soft spot for children. >Notice also that the pickpocket is always referred to as 'the kid' or 'the >thief' or some other term with no specific gender. >Also...this chapter was intended to focus on Getehl and Torr, and give them >some more 'screen time'. In case it wasn't obvious by now. This was something >Todd and Ravi recommended, and I agreed. ===== Getehl peeked at the face-down card, and saw a black queen. He chuckled to himself. Kind of like how he had gotten involved in this whole mess...The >The black queen representing Naga, of course. deal came around and a three of hearts turned up, to make thirteen. >What the three of hearts represents is left as an exercise for the reader. After a moment, Getehl blinked. Thirteen...it wasn't really an auspicious number. But he'd been on a roll tonight... "What do you have?" the serving girl whispered in his ear. "Come on, you can tell me." Getehl allowed himself a grin. Sure, he knew it was a blatant attempt to distract him, but at the moment he didn't really care. >Poor Getehl. He's letting them lull him into complacency. "What about you, Mr. Hat?" The mercenary blinked, and realized the dealer was looking at him. "Another card?" >Yes, that was a small South Park reference. ^_^; Getehl straightened in his chair, and took a quick glance at the other cards. But he had thirteen, nobody stood on a thirteen. "Hit me." A red king spun to a halt next to the three. Getehl stared. >The red king representing Torr. "Another card, sir?" "...Hell." Getehl flipped over the queen. "Twenty-three, the man in the hat is bust," the dealer said smoothly. "And you, sir?" The game moved on past him. "Awww. Better luck next time." The hostess gave him a peck on the cheek and then walked away. Getehl stared down at the rather large pile of chips which quite suddenly represented a large loss for him and a modest profit for the casino. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and sighed. "All right, all right. I'm going." "We'd like to have a word with you, sir." Getehl paused in the act of standing up. The voice was familiar. With a sinking feeling, he turned and met the eyes of two familiar men. "Aha. And which of you is which?" "I'm Doran," one of the men in casino security uniform said. "And this is Daron." The second twin crossed his arms, and nodded. "Duke Dunes would like to talk to you about Greebo." >So is Greebo a reference to Star Wars, or Terry Pratchett? I dunno, I didn't >create him... ===== Torr crept around the casino building. There was a back entrance, that looked to have been added recently. Perhaps the actual desert guides hadn't needed a back entrance for their building. That was probably profound in some way, but Torr didn't feel like wasting the time to think about it. As he was >Any idea why? Maybe it was to make the building harder to invade. Or there >was only one entrance or something. I don't know... creeping around the corner, he heard the door close softly. The tracks in the gently drifting sand were definitely those of the young thief. Torr noticed a barred window a couple meters off the ground. He walked over and stood under it, then leaped up to catch the edge and raised himself up to look inside. A short, fat man in rich robes was emptying Torr's pouch into his hand. Words floated up to the window. "Not bad, kid," the man muttered. "Not bad at all. Who did you get this from?" "A tall guy," the young thief piped up. "In a long black cloak." "A foreigner?" The older man grunted. "You could have let him come to the casino to be robbed." He laughed loudly. "He didn't...look like he was coming to the casino." The kid fidgeted. "Ah, whatever." He tousled the young thief's head. "Good boy. You can have the rest of the night off." Torr let himself drop to the ground. That settled it. He walked over and considered the door. He wasn't surprised to see that it was pretty solid. But still, it was only wood. Shouldn't be too hard to take care of, even with one of the spells he knew-- >Torr doesn't know that many spells, really. He's a sort of fighter/mage. The assassin cocked his head to the side, and then looked around. Come to think of it, he was right on the edge of the desert here... Torr put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. He didn't really know if it helped the spell, but he always did it anyway. >However, he seems to have an affinity to worms. Originally I just had the >whistle, but Todd recommended that he should use an actual spell to summon >the thing. However, I liked the whistle, so I kept it in. ===== "Now look," Getehl said, raising his hands. "I'm sure we can discuss this like reasonable men." Suddenly there was a loud crash from the back of the casino, and the twins both turned. Getehl immediately drew his sword and jumped up and back, landing on the card table. Unfortunately, the table buckled under him and he fell the ground in a surprised heap. >This is another 'things don't go as they usually do' moment. "YEEAAAAHHH!" The guy to Getehl's right jumped up and started swinging a club around, distracting the twins enough for Getehl to jump to his feet and >Yet another unnamed character. He's supposed to be a maniac who just likes >fighting so as soon as a brawl starts up, he goes nuts. block a short sword thrust from Daron, and then dodge another thrust from the sword in the twin's *other* hand. "Well, I never considered myself reasonable anyway." The mercenary dodged again, then kicked Daron in the stomach and shoved him toward his brother. The familiar roar of a brawl arose around him as casino goers and security men sprang to their feet and began to beat each other up and attempt to steal any funds they could lay their hands on. A grin spread across Getehl's face. Then he caught sight of the back of the casino, and gaped. ===== The fat man stumbled backward, waving an arm. "You--you can't--" The four-meter long sandworm screeched. It was fairly small, as sandworms >Given that these fanfics are all more or less based on Japanese stories, I >try to use metric measurements. went, but more than large enough. Torr, standing beside it, smirked. "Wurmy says I can." The creature lunged forward, bashing out a door frame and >Ravi: "I don't believe it, you actually *called* him 'Wurmy'..." slithering into the main casino area. Torr followed, waving dust away from his face. ===== Getehl dodged the screaming patrons and dancing girls (and the maniac with the club) as they attemped to flee from the rampaging invertebrate. "You!" Getehl spun to see Doran (he knew because this twin was wielding paired nunchaku) trying to fight through the crowd toward him. The mercenary looked around quickly, and spotted a sturdier card table. Leaping onto it, he jumped at an overhanging chandelier and swung across the room, yelling unintelligibly as he did so. Then the cord snapped and they both crashed to the floor, fragments of glass scattering across the carpet. Getehl rolled to >Another of those moments. his feet and found himself face to face with Torr. Getehl blinked. Torr blinked. "You!" Getehl said. "You!" Torr said. >I'd known for a long time before actually writing this that those four lines >would have to be in there. ^_^ Getehl heard one of the twins screeching with rage behind him. He instinctively rolled to the side, ducking, and the red-haired assassin lunged forward and punched the twin in the stomach. At that moment Duke Dunes himself came after Torr with a dagger, who started to amuse himself by slicing the Duke's clothes to ribbons. At that moment, there was a low boom as the >I repeated 'At that moment'. Hm. worm butted against the wall. Sharp cracking noises resounded through the room. Remembering the proverb about discretion, Getehl charged forward, shoulderblocking Doran to the ground. As the twin sprawled on the floor, Getehl made for the main entrance. "Help!" As Getehl was nearing the door, a definitely feminine cry came to his ears. He looked around and spied the hostess from earlier in the night, kneeling on the ground and clutching her ankle. She scowled up at him. "Normally I wouldn't even *think* of doing something this cliche, but--ow. Help?" >And another unexpected moment, sort of. Getehl allowed himself a big grin, as he bent down and offered his arm to the girl. "Maybe this *is* my lucky day, after all." ===== Torr patted the sandworm affectionately on the side. "Good boy. Now, go on." He waved as the worm slithered out into the dunes and disappeared. "Um..." The assassin turned, and looked at the young thief. "Thanks." Torr paused for a moment. "Why were you working there?" He blinked at the strangely gentle tone of his own voice. >I like using that device. Someone says something and their tone of voice is >betraying their emotions. "We needed the money," the kid said. "My family, that is. Well, we sorta need any money. But at least we have a place to live and stuff. So it won't be too bad." After a moment, Torr sighed, and held out a small gem. "Here. This should help, miss." The girl snatched the gem, and then stared at him. "Wh--What? But I'm not--" She looked at Torr's smirk, and deflated. "Huh. How did you know?" >That was always part of her character as I envisioned her. "Aha. That..." Torr leaned forward. "Is a secret." The thief stared at him for a moment, then kicked him in the shin. Torr winced. "Jerk." She peered at the gem again. "Are you sure you can spare this?" >This, of course, is a little joke about Xelloss and how Todd gets really >annoyed by people using Xelloss in stories, etc., etc.... "Of course," Torr growled, wondering if he should reconsider. "I picked up a lot more money from the stores in the casino." "Really?" Her eyes widened. "Then maybe I can--" With a slow, majestic rumbling, the casino/guild building crumbled to the ground. Clouds of dust flowed outward from the ruin, obscuring it from view. Torr pulled a bandanna around his face as the thief girl coughed. "Can you dig?" he asked cheerfully. >I find humor difficult to write. However, when I get it going well, then it >goes really well. This whole chapter was one of those times. ^_^ ===== Getehl and the hostess stared at the ruin. "Wow," Getehl said. "Somehow, though, I feel better about losing." Then he turned to the erstwhile hostess. "Hey. I almost forgot. What about you? Are you out of a job?" The girl turned to him, and smiled. "No, it's okay. I'm actually trained as a dancing girl, you know. This costume isn't just for show. Well, it is, but I can get a job anywhere, really." She ran one hand through her hair. Getehl smiled back. "Yeah, I've heard that." >Luanni talked about how being trained as a dancing girl opens a lot of doors. "Anyway, thanks." The girl smiled one more time, then turned and began to walk away. After a moment, the mercenary blinked. "Uh...what? No kiss for the hero who rescued you?" he called after her. She turned and smiled sadly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm actually a lesbian. But really, thank you." She walked off again. >And, of course, the pinnacle of unexpected moments. ^_^ Getehl blinked a few times. Then he started laughing. He doubled over, great guffaws echoing across the street, and eventually toppled, quite literally rolling on the ground laughing. "Getehl?" Getehl's laughter subsided to a chuckle, and he blinked, wiping his eyes and trying to make out the person standing over him. "Getehl, what *are* you doing down there?" a voice snapped. "Ahhh, of course. Hello, Ace." He started to giggle again, then forced himself to stop. "I'm sorry. It's been a strange day. Really. Ehehee..." >I had Getehl be so giddy at this point that he called her 'Ace-chan'. >However, I believe Ravi said that was too much, so I toned it down. Now that >I think about it, he was probably right... Naga stepped over him and reached out a hand. Getehl took it, and was hoisted to his feet. "Why, Getehl-san, whatever possessed you to go into hysterics in front of a ruined casino?" She grinned, eyes alight with curiosity. >For some reason I find it difficult to write Naga as a viewpoint character. >She always turns out to be more a sort of...force of nature, in my chapters. "I lost all my money." He smiled at the surprised expressions on the faces of Actinaea, Naga and now Mari, all staring at him. "Never mind. Just money, anyway." "Just money? Getehl-san, are you feeling all right?" Naga put her gloved hand to Getehl's forehead. >Of course, she can't feel his temperature through a glove... "I'm fine, I'm fine. Really." He smiled. "So what's up with you ladies?" "Apparently there's a guide around here named Feyik," Actinaea replied, still looking at him with narrowed eyes. "He should be coming back to town any day now. So with any luck we can hire him then. Naga was looking at the new ruins with a thoughtful expression. "If that was a casino," she murmured, "there's probably a lot of money buried under there right now!" She started toward them. "What? Naga, what--Naga! You've got to be kidding!" Actinaea started after her. Mari came up to the mercenary. "Um, what happened here, Getehl-san?" she asked. Getehl looked at Mari, and suddenly wasn't quite sure how much to say. "It was kind of chaotic," he replied finally. "Somehow a big sandworm got loose in the casino." "SANDWORM?" Getehl blinked and looked up to see the two sorceresses coming towards them at speed. "Come on, you two, no time to waste!" Naga said briskly. "Big day tomorrow! OOOOOHOHOHOHO--come on! Faster!" >I was rather proud of that bit. I think it's very Slayers-ish in tone. >The sandworm thing goes back to the #6-8 chapters. ===== Somewhere in the ruins...a pile of rubble stirred. Fragments of rock and heaps of sand shifted and scattered, until-- A white-haired figure in battered armor surfaced, gasping. "Damn it all," he wheezed. "I don't quite know how, but the WHITE SERPENT is responsible for this!" Then he pulled a back out of the hole he'd crawled out from, and grinned. "But with this money...I can find a way to take care of her for good! OOOOOHOHOHOHHOHO*coughhack*" >Ilmater said he wanted to have the Captain get a magical device to get >revenge on Naga, in his chapter (which immediately followed mine). The >Captain was going to spend all the money he had on it. So I gave him enough >money to get something nice. ===== Naga sneezed. "Are you okay, Naga-sama?" "Dust, Mari-chan." >She's sneezing, of course, because someone was talking about her... ===== Duke Dunes slumped on the ground. Sand blew up against him, forming a miniature dune. "My casino... >Missed a quote there...ah well. The twins looked at each other, and shrugged philosophically. "We told you this wasn't a good idea," they said simultaneously. ===== To be continued... ===== Author's note I would like to thank Ravi for ideas and encouragement, all through the writing of this chapter. I'd also like to thank Ardweden for prereading, and Todd for prereading as well, not to mention being a fount of Slayers wisdom and creating the BitchLaugh(tm). And strangely enough...thirteen *is* MY lucky number. >Well, it is. That's all I have to say for now, I think. John Evans johne@mit.edu 2/13/00 >And it was completed on the 13th, too. Whee! >By the way, this is my old email address. My current one is up at the top of >this story. "Hey, I wonder where Naga went to. ......*ahem* I WONDER where NAGA went to. (Yuki! Come on!)" "(Waaaah! Gai, this is such a skimpy skimpy costume!)" >You probably all know this, but...Yuki and Gai are characters (high school >students) from the ImproFanfic story Heart Heart High. These lines just sort >of...came to me. It was probably the idea of Yuki saying 'skimpy skimpy >costume' that did it. And I was trying to start (well, continue) a tradition >of funny extra bits at the end of chapters. So... >That's all for that one, then.