Slayers Strike!
(A Slayers Continuation)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm
Episode 1: The Ultimate Sword? Where did all these monsters
come from?
Dear diary,
It's been a while since I've written about something current,
hasn't it? Well, I've been spending most of the time writing down
everything that I could remember happening during the whole
thing with Dark Star. Besides, it's not like anything interesting has
happened since then.
It's been a few months since that battle, and I'm on the road
again, traveling with Gourry with no particular direction in mind.
Just searching out treasure and defeating the occasional bandit
gang that crosses our path. It's almost hard for me to believe that
there were times that I wasn't doing this. I feel like Gourry and I
have been doing this forever, and the rest was some sort of weird
dream, though parts of it was more like a nightmare.
Gourry is... well, Gourry. I don't think he's changed that
much since I first met him. He's still the same mix of nobility and
stupidity, and he can still make me feel angry as hell one minute
and... well, something else the next. I guess his sword skills have
improved, but then he was pretty good to start with. And he still
surprises me occasionally.
One thing has been different lately though. He decided to
give back the Sword of Light to it's original owners and has been
using a plain blade now, though I threw a few enchantments of my
own on it. Stuff I used on my own sword. We haven't been
involved with anything that would require the light sword lately
and he doesn't seem depressed about it or anything, but somehow I
get the feeling that he misses it. It's like someone chopped off his
hand or something, though I have to wonder if Gourry would even
notice that.
Traveling with Gourry is fine, but I have to admit that I'm
bored. I think that I've just gotten too good with my magic and
everything is just coming too easily for me. All the treasure we've
amassed since Dark Star weren't much trouble getting, and the
bandit gangs are pretty much a joke now. I can let Gourry take
them on alone or just roast them all with a Dragon Slave.
Boring.
I hope things pick up soon.
Your's truly,
Lina Inverse
"What are you writing there, Lina?" Gourry asked her
suddenly as she closed the book with a small sigh.
Lina looked up at him in surprise. She had decided to jot
down a quick entry in her journal while the blonde swordsman had
broken camp. She had offered to help, but he'd just gone on about
it being his duty as her protector or something.
"Besides," he had said with a smile. "It's not much work or
anything."
Lina frowned slightly at the memory. Another change she
had almost forgotten about. Gourry didn't complain as much when
she got him to do things. That was more of a gradual change it
seemed, but lately he hadn't been complaining at all. That was
certainly different.
Lina looked up and blinked in surprise to find Gourry's eyes
only inches away from hers.
"Argh!" she yelled, batting him away with her journal.
"Don't startle me like that, Gourry!"
"Ow!" Gourry exclaimed, rubbing a new bump on his head.
"What did I do this time, Lina?"
Though he complained, on the inside Gourry felt happy.
Lina had been acting oddly lately, almost like she was depressed
about something. He was happy for any moment of her acting like
her normal self.
"Are you crazy? You shouldn't surprise a sorceress like
that. I could have hit you with a fireball instead." Lina reflected
that she probably would have if she hadn't been so lost in thought.
Easy times lately had made her a bit more complacent than usual.
"I was just wondering what you were doing, staring down
like that."
"Just thinking about a few things," Lina explained quickly.
"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with."
"Oh, I thought you were just checking your breasts to see if
they've grown any lately. They look the same to me."
"What do you say?" Lina asked between clenched teeth,
standing up suddenly, her hands balled into fists.
Gourry walked over to her, giving her left breast a quick
feel. "Yep, just as I thought. Small as ever."
"Fireball!"
Charred on the ground, Lina failed to see Gourry's smile.
She did, however, feel a whole lot better herself.
As they made their way through the woods towards a town
which supposedly held information on yet another ancient treasure,
Gourry asked Lina again, "So what were you writing before?"
"Oh, that?" Lina replied with a grin. "That's my journal.
I've been keeping a record of all my adventures since I left home. I
plan on using it to write my autobiography when I retire."
"Really? Can I read it?"
"Of course not!" Lina said, suddenly out-raged. "It's a
collection of my most private thoughts. I just can't let you read it."
Gourry scratched his head. "Why not?"
Lina opened her mouth to try and explain it to him, then
closed it and shook her head. It would take more effort than it was
worth to get Gourry to understand.
"You just can't, okay Gourry? Why would you want to read
it anyway? I've already told you about most of the adventures I've
had before I met you anyway. The rest of it is kind of boring."
"I was just wondering what it said in there about me, that's
all."
Lina suddenly developed a faint blush. She had been
reading over some of her older entries lately and had realized that
ever since she had met him, she'd been writing about Gourry
almost as much as she did herself. What she had to say about him
wasn't always flattering, but still...
Gourry looked back at Lina when she had stopped walking.
"What? Does it say something bad about me?"
"Um," Lina struggled to explain.
So it was almost a relief to her when the monsters attacked.
They poured out from their hiding places among the bushes
and trees, rushing the pair from all around them. Gourry
immediately drew his sword, Lina drawing hers a moment later.
They stood back to back as they faced the monsters.
As she fought them with her sword and magic, Lina noticed
a few things that were just a bit odd about these monsters. They
had come out of nowhere, and looked to be still coming. The
forest wasn't nearly thick enough to hide them all. They all seemed
to be in the grip of a beserker rage, attacking without a word, and
as fiercely as they could. Lina knew of a spell or two that could do
that to one monster, but even that was hard to maintain for long.
To cast it on this many monsters at once should be impossible.
Even still, some of the monsters should have been immune.
Scorching a wolfman with a fireball, Lina nearly paused
when she realized the oddest thing about this attack was the sheer
variety of monsters. Trolls, wolfmen, lizardman, fishmen, you
name it. It almost seemed that nearly every monster type was
being represented, and despite their large numbers, no more than
three of each type.
"Gourry!" she suddenly shouted in worry when she saw that
the blonde swordsman had been surrounded by three trolls on who
the normal sword he now used had little effect.
Lina jumped up and flipped out of her own small circle of
attackers. Her hand glowing, she managed to tag each one of the
trolls before any of the other monsters could stop her. When
Gourry's sword met the trolls this time, they screamed and
vanished into themselves with satisfying little 'pop' sounds.
Lina grinned at Gourry before turning to fight the
remaining monsters. She couldn't help noticing his sad look as he
stared at the sword in his hands. Before she could think of
anything to say or do, she was forced to fight again.
Lina took a deep breath after burning the last of the
monsters with a fireball. That had been more intense than anything
they had faced recently. While not exactly death-defying, it had
still been a challenge.
"Some workout, eh Gourry?" Lina asked him with a grin.
She was relieved when he returned he smile. He was also
clearly confused, but that was normal for him anyway. "Yeah,
Lina, but where did they all come from? And why did they attack
us?"
"I don't know, Gourry," Lina answered truthfully as she
bent down to examine one of the bodies. She startled when the
body was about to touch suddenly turned to a puff of black smoke
right before her eyes, as well as the other bodies at the exact same
time.
Lina stood and glanced around her in puzzlement. The
bodies were gone, but any items they had dropped or blood spilled
still littered the ground. She picked up one of the rough swords
and cast a spell on it. It was real all right, so those monsters hadn't
been some elaborate illusion. Lina wasn't sure of the exact spells
involved, but she knew that it would take a very powerful wizard
to pull off a trick like this. It might have even been beyond human
capacity.
Gourry was down in the dumps. Lina could tell, though it
was obvious the blonde swordsman was doing his best to hide it.
She knew he was thinking about his facing the trolls over and over
again. How they would have been easy for him to deal with if he
still had the Sword of Light. How Lina had to bail him out like she
was his protector. Or to put it simply, how he had failed.
Lina knew that it was no good to try to convince Gourry
otherwise. Explaining to him that it was impossible for anyone
without magic to kill a troll would be useless. It wouldn't make
any difference to him. And trying to teach him magic was even
more useless. He had as much potential as a Phil, which meant he
might be able to manage a light spell after about ten years of
training. No, there was only one solution that Lina could think of
for her current problem.
Lina and Gourry had established a routine when reaching a
town. Find a inn to store their stuff, placing the appropriate
magical protections on them, and then find the best tavern in town
to pig out until they couldn't eat any more or they kicked them out
of the place, whichever came first.
So Lina was stuffing her face like there was no tomorrow.
And in a career like hers that might be true. While Gourry was...
eating. He had only ordered one plate for once and was slowly
making his way through it, as if he were not particularly hungry.
Lina knew that couldn't be true, he was always hungry. His
appetite normally rivaled her own. For him to act like this meant
this whole sword thing was very serious. It was even enough to
kill Lina's appetite.
"Gourry," Lina said, suddenly standing up.
"Yeah, Lina?" he asked, looking up at her with some
surprise.
"I just thought of a few things I really need to do right now.
You finish up here and meet me back at the inn in about an hour."
"I'll go with you!" Gourry volunteered immediately, starting
to get up.
"No, no, no," Lina stammered quickly. "This is ah... girls
stuff. Got to handle this alone."
Gourry stared at her in puzzlement, before understanding
finally broke across his face. "Oh, it's that time of the month
again," he said loud enough for the entire tavern to hear.
Lina instantly turned beat red in embarrassment. Gourry
suddenly had to lie on the floor when Lina pushed the table into his
mid-section. "I thought I told you never to mention that again!"
she shouted, ignoring all the other people staring at her.
"Sorry, Lina," Gourry croaked out from the ground.
Lina frowned slightly, feeling sorry over what she had just
done. But why does he have to keep doing stuff like that? She
helped him back to his feet and told him, "Now you go to the inn
and wait for me. I'll be along in an hour or so. And don't worry
about me. There shouldn't be anything dangerous in a small town
like this."
Gourry thought for a moment, and then suddenly smiled.
"Is it okay that I finish your meal then?"
Lina laughed. "Sure. Knock yourself out."
"But if I did that, I wouldn't be able to eat."
Lina shook her head, but a smile was still on her lips.
"Figure of speech, Gourry. Forget it."
While Gourry began to chow down with his usual vigor,
Lina went off in search of the town's magic shop. This particular
shop had something of a reputation of being run by an aging hedge
wizard who know something about virtually everything magical in
the world. He had to be able to help her with her particular
problem.
The shop, she found, was a bit off the beaten path, but
people were eager to help her find it. Apparently, Ginnon, the
wizard who ran the shop, had a habit of helping out the
townspeople whenever they were in need of his services, so they
seemed eager to return the favor by helping out with his business.
Business was evidently booming. Magic shops are
normally the size of any other sort of shop, though in the larger
cities they tended to be equally large. The current shop that Lina
now stood before seemed out of place in a small town. It was in
fact one of the larger structures she had seen there so far. From
just glancing at the exterior, it was three levels, the first two being
the shop and the highest story presumably being where Ginnon
lived. The large picture window was also crammed with various
magical knick-knacks, though none of them really caught Lina's
eye. She had a purpose, she wasn't there to browse.
*Well, maybe a little browsing,* she thought as she entered
the store. She was greeted by shelves upon shelves filled with
magical items. Literally, in this case. "Welcome to Ginnon's
Magic Shop," seemed to come from all around her.
There were also a number of customers. Some were
obviously locals, but they were mostly wizards and sorceresses like
herself, who had heard of this place's reputation and decided to see
it for themselves. They clearly weren't disappointed with what
they had found, and neither was Lina as she began to look around
despite herself. Sure, most of the items were low-power stuff, but
their rare and unusual nature more than made up for that.
"May I help you?" asked a young girl, obviously a
apprentice mage, probably only a few years younger than Lina
herself.
"Yes, I'm looking for a magical weapon, most likely a
sword." Lina had a hard time imagining Gourry fighting with
anything but a sword, but if they had a really powerful warhammer,
she wasn't going to just ignore it.
The girl smiled and nodded. "Weapons are in the back.
Please follow me."
Lina let the girl lead the way, while her eyes roamed the
shelves, noting the various magical items, some with amusement,
others with interest. She was also busily totally the trade in value
of some of the items she carried that she could do without.
Magical weapons that were any good tended to be much more
expensive that the trinkets.
The wall in the back of the store was mounted with magical
weapons of all shapes and powers, though swords predominated.
They also all had small labels which listed the names of their
creators and the powers they possessed.
"Do you see anything you like?" the apprentice sorceress
asked.
Lina studied each weapon carefully, picturing Gourry
wielding it in combat. She dismissed all of the ranged weapons
immediately. She could never trust him with a crossbow. Polarms
were difficult to use in close quarters, which most of their fights
turned out to be. Probably hit himself with a flail. Maces and
warhammers were possibilities, but they didn't have any that were
particularly interesting or powerful.
Lina had quickly narrowed it down to the swords, and even
then dismissing anything smaller than a long sword. They had a
number of swords for sale that she thought would suit Gourry well,
especially this giant two-handed blade called the 'SkullCrusher.' It
was a little on the expensive side, but it wasn't like she was
strapped for cash or anything lately. She was about to purchase the
sword, when she hear the loud creak of someone coming down the
stairs behind her, and an ancient voice shout, "Lina Inverse!"
Lina spun around, shouting, "Fireball!" And was very
disappointed when nothing happened.
"Wards of protection prevent many black magic and
shamanistic spells from working in here. A necessary security
precaution, you know. With all the wizards and sorceresses that
come through here to try out one thing or another, they'd probably
burn the place down or blow it up if I'd let them. You can't be too
careful in our line of work, Lina Inverse," the old man commented
conversationally as he reached the bottom of the stairs and slowly
made his way over to her.
He looked very stereotypical for a wizard, with a long grey
beard around a faced wrinkled like a prune. He wore a robe and
pointed hat of faded green. Everything about him seemed faded
and wrinkled like an old parchment, all except his eyes, which
were blue and sharp. They gave a look as if he could see down to
someone's very soul.
Lina, however, had seen the trick done before and wasn't
the least bit impressed. "Ginnon, I presume."
The hedge wizard nodded in acknowledgment.
"All right, I know you because this is your shop," Lina told
him. "But how do you know me?"
"By reputation, for the most part. The dread sorceress Lina
Inverse, bandit killer, dragon spooker, and also known to do a good
deed or two on occasion. I've also spoken to a few of the mages
that come through here who have met you first hand, though I
never expected to meet you myself. I thought you'd be taller for
some reason."
Lina frowned. Height was the second chink in her mental
armor. "Well, now that you're here, we can talk about a deal for
SkullCrusher there."
"Oh, that monster," Ginnon said with a chuckle as he
glanced at the massive two-handed blade that dominated the
display. "I think it may be a little big for you."
"It's not for me, it's for a friend of mine," Lina told him with
a smirk. "I prefer to rely on my own magic than enchanted
weapons."
"Very wise, of course," Ginnon replied, stroking his chin in
thought. "Your friend then must not have the option then. Tell
me, this friend of yours, is he important to you?"
"What do you mean by that?!" Lina stammered.
"Well, he must matter a bit to be willing to spend so much
on him."
"He's sort of my protector. Someone to watch my back,
you know? So it's really more for me than him," Lina lied glibly.
"Well, in that case I wouldn't bother with this high-priced
junk."
"Master!" the apprentice shouted in surprise.
Ginnon hardly noticed her at all. "Now don't get me wrong.
Everything that I sell here works as promised. I make it a policy
never to deal in shoddy merchandise. That's bad for business. But
what I mean is while settle for this, when you can have the best?"
"The best?" Lina asked suspiciously. "Just what do you
mean by that, old man?"
Ginnon suddenly glanced around, acting almost as if he had
said more than he had wished to. "Follow me to my office, where
we can discuss this further in private."
"Ultimate sword?" Lina asked. "Is this for real?"
They were currently sitting in Ginnon's office, which was
much less cluttered than his store, in some rather comfortable
chairs by a warm fire.
"That is uncertain. I can only tell you what I know about
it."
"All right, what's the deal? What do you want out of this?"
Ginnon smiled. "Straight to the point, just like your
reputation. I run a magical shop because I am a collector of rare
magical items. I put most of them up for sale, but keep a few for
my own private collection. Along with this ultimate sword, if it
fact does exist, are some lesser weapons which I would love to add
to my collection. One or two of these would be well worth my
time, and I'd be willing to buy others that you find as well. Of
course, for just giving you this information I'll need a retainer."
They spent the next half hour bargaining over this. Lina
was actually surprised at how low he was willing to go. Then she
became suspicious. "Okay, there's your money, now tell me what
you know."
Ginnon leaned back in his chair, took a sip of his wine, and
began, "In the ancient times when magic was even more powerful
than it is today, there lived a great weaponsmith named Makarag.
Using secret techniques of his own devising, he created the finest
magical weapons ever made my man. People came from all over
the world to pay whole fortunes for a single piece of his work.
Some people also came to steal his secrets, but none ever
succeeded.
"Despite his success, each weapon he produced was never
good enough for him. Her would spend hours lamenting the flaws
of a sword he had just spent months lovingly crafting. Then he
decided that the constant flow of visitors was a distraction and
moved his workshop to a new secret location so he could work in
peace and quiet uninterrupted.
"It was in this new workshop that he labored for the
remaining years of his life on a single project, to produce the
ultimate sword, a blade without a single flaw. It is said that in this
time he crafted a hundred swords, each better than the last, but to
his eyes even the best was still flawed.
"By this time he was old even for wizards and he could feel
that his time had grown very short. He started over completely
from scratch and made one last final sword. Now some say that he
failed and died of heartbreak, while others insist that with the last
of his strength he finally achieved his goal and produced the
ultimate sword, only to die in peace. Whether he did or not isn't
that important. I'm sure your friend will be well satisfied with one
of the hundred lesser blades."
Lina was clearly skeptical of the story she had just been
told. "Okay, if all of that is true then why hasn't anyone found out
whether he succeeded or not?"
Ginnon smiled. "Ah, Makarag was very good at hiding his
workshop, so good that no one has been able to find it to this day.
I happened to have discovered the key to finding it, however. If I
were not so old I might search for it myself, but it is better to pass
this one to you and reap whatever rewards I can from it."
"What is this key you're talking about?"
Ginnon took a single arrow that rested on the table next to
him and handed it to Lina. She looked it over in surprise. It was
very well made, but otherwise seemed ordinary. She sensed magic
from it, but couldn't immediately discern the purpose of the
enchantment. "How is this a key?"
"Let it lie on the flat of you palm," Ginnon instructed, still
smiling.
Lina did so, and was surprised when the arrow suddenly
turned and pointed towards the right-hand wall. "So this points the
direction of Makarag's secret workshop?"
"Nothing so simple, I'm afraid. Before he vanished from
the outside world entirely, Makarag left behind five magical
weapons that when brought together, would show the way to his
workshop. Each weapon, when held as you are holding that one
now, will always point in the direction of it's closest brother not
already in your possession. Recover the other four weapons and
the doorway to the workshop should open for you."
"All right, I'll do this old man, but..."
"But?" Ginnon said with some surprise.
"But my friend will need a sword in the meantime. How
about you lend me SkullCrusher for a bit, okay?" Lina asked with
her 'cute' smile.
A smile which had absolutely no effect on Ginnon. "Let's
discuss a rental instead."
Lina grinned as she finally returned to the inn, the two-
handed sword, which was taller than she was, strapped to her back.
She was glad Ginnon had thrown in the featherweight sheath or she
would have had to have Gourry come and pick in up.
"Hi, Gourry!" she shouted, bursting into his room without
knocking. She stopped at the sight of the blonde swordsman
standing there doing sword feints in his underwear. The gleam of
sweat on his chest told her that he must have been practicing for a
while now. Heavy blush on her cheeks, Lina stepped back into the
hallway, slammed the door closed, and shouted, "Put some clothes
on!"
There was sounds of hurried fumbling until Gourry finally
shouted, "Okay, Lina!"
Lina stepped in acting as if the previous scene hadn't
happened. She even ignored Gourry's mumbled, "I was just
practicing." Instead, she threw the giant sword onto the bed next to
him and took a seat in a chair.
"What's this?" Gourry asked, eyeing the sword in surprise.
"SkullCrusher. It's no Sword of Light, but it should do
okay until we find something better."
"This is for me?" Gourry queried in surprise as he twirled
the weapon in his hands, studying it with obvious interest.
Lina smirked. "I'm sure not going to use it. It's a little big
for me, Gourry, if you hadn't noticed."
Sarcasm was completely lost on the blonde swordsman,
who pulled his weapon from its sheath in awe, only to drop it on
the floor. "Heavy."
Lina nodded. "The sheath has a featherweight spell on it to
make it easier to carry, but if you put that on the sword itself it
wouldn't be very useful as a weapon. Is it too heavy for you?"
Gourry picked up the sword and now held it in both hands.
He made a few experimental strikes, which ended up making
sizable knicks in the walls. The blade cut through the air with an
audible 'woosh.' The entire time Gourry's wide eyes were locked
on the blade. "No, it's fine," Gourry said finally, his voice tinged
with wonder. "It's different, but I think I can get used to it."
"Glad you like it," Lina told him with a wide smile. "But
be careful with it because it's only a rental."
"Rental?" Gourry repeated in puzzlement as he turned to
face her. Lina had to duck quickly to avoid being a head shorter,
but she couldn't help noticing the powerful rush of air the sword
caused as it passed over her head.
"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" she snapped at
him.
"Sorry, Lina," Gourry replied, putting his new toy back in
its sheath.
Lina decided to let it pass this time. "As I was going to say,
that sword is only a rental because I now have a lead on what
supposed to be the ultimate sword ever made. It might even be
better than your old Sword of Light. All we need to do is track
down a few lost weapons to find it."
Gourry is usually slow to come to a realization, but in this
case it came on him almost immediately. "You don't have to go
through all this effort just for me, Lina."
*Yes, I do. I can't stand you moping around for even a little
while longer,* was what Lina wanted to say, but instead she told
him, "I'm not doing this just for you, Gourry. Where this sword is,
there's going to be plenty of other loot, but I really want is the
spellbook of this ancient weaponsmith. So you see there's
something for everyone."
"Oh, that's okay then," Gourry told her. He kept glancing
back and forth between her and the sword.
"All right," she told him, understanding. "Why don't you
practice with your new sword behind the inn? I have some things
to do in my room anyway. Just come get me when it's time for
dinner, okay?"
Lina blinked in surprise as Gourry blurred past her,
SkullCrusher under one arm. She was about to shout after him,
then stopped herself. "Oh, well. At least he's happy. Wait, I
forgot to tell him about the various enchantments put on that
sword. I guess it's not important now. I'm sure I'll remember to
tell him later."
"Our first attempt has failed. The sorceress still lives.
What is more, she has discovered the existence of the workshop."
"You worry too much, my lord. She is still far from
reaching her goal. The pawn I have chosen will have many more
opportunities to eliminate her."
"I do not trust this pawn you have selected. No human can
be relied upon. I would much prefer to destroy the sorceress
personally."
"Impossible, my lord. If we were to intervene directly the
others would know immediately and all our planning would have
been for nothing. This is the best way. Have patience."
"I suppose. After having waiting for all this time, I can
afford to wait a bit longer. But we must kill Lina Inverse!"
"Yes, my lord."
(A Slayers Continuation)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm
Episode 1: The Ultimate Sword? Where did all these monsters
come from?
Dear diary,
It's been a while since I've written about something current,
hasn't it? Well, I've been spending most of the time writing down
everything that I could remember happening during the whole
thing with Dark Star. Besides, it's not like anything interesting has
happened since then.
It's been a few months since that battle, and I'm on the road
again, traveling with Gourry with no particular direction in mind.
Just searching out treasure and defeating the occasional bandit
gang that crosses our path. It's almost hard for me to believe that
there were times that I wasn't doing this. I feel like Gourry and I
have been doing this forever, and the rest was some sort of weird
dream, though parts of it was more like a nightmare.
Gourry is... well, Gourry. I don't think he's changed that
much since I first met him. He's still the same mix of nobility and
stupidity, and he can still make me feel angry as hell one minute
and... well, something else the next. I guess his sword skills have
improved, but then he was pretty good to start with. And he still
surprises me occasionally.
One thing has been different lately though. He decided to
give back the Sword of Light to it's original owners and has been
using a plain blade now, though I threw a few enchantments of my
own on it. Stuff I used on my own sword. We haven't been
involved with anything that would require the light sword lately
and he doesn't seem depressed about it or anything, but somehow I
get the feeling that he misses it. It's like someone chopped off his
hand or something, though I have to wonder if Gourry would even
notice that.
Traveling with Gourry is fine, but I have to admit that I'm
bored. I think that I've just gotten too good with my magic and
everything is just coming too easily for me. All the treasure we've
amassed since Dark Star weren't much trouble getting, and the
bandit gangs are pretty much a joke now. I can let Gourry take
them on alone or just roast them all with a Dragon Slave.
Boring.
I hope things pick up soon.
Your's truly,
Lina Inverse
"What are you writing there, Lina?" Gourry asked her
suddenly as she closed the book with a small sigh.
Lina looked up at him in surprise. She had decided to jot
down a quick entry in her journal while the blonde swordsman had
broken camp. She had offered to help, but he'd just gone on about
it being his duty as her protector or something.
"Besides," he had said with a smile. "It's not much work or
anything."
Lina frowned slightly at the memory. Another change she
had almost forgotten about. Gourry didn't complain as much when
she got him to do things. That was more of a gradual change it
seemed, but lately he hadn't been complaining at all. That was
certainly different.
Lina looked up and blinked in surprise to find Gourry's eyes
only inches away from hers.
"Argh!" she yelled, batting him away with her journal.
"Don't startle me like that, Gourry!"
"Ow!" Gourry exclaimed, rubbing a new bump on his head.
"What did I do this time, Lina?"
Though he complained, on the inside Gourry felt happy.
Lina had been acting oddly lately, almost like she was depressed
about something. He was happy for any moment of her acting like
her normal self.
"Are you crazy? You shouldn't surprise a sorceress like
that. I could have hit you with a fireball instead." Lina reflected
that she probably would have if she hadn't been so lost in thought.
Easy times lately had made her a bit more complacent than usual.
"I was just wondering what you were doing, staring down
like that."
"Just thinking about a few things," Lina explained quickly.
"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with."
"Oh, I thought you were just checking your breasts to see if
they've grown any lately. They look the same to me."
"What do you say?" Lina asked between clenched teeth,
standing up suddenly, her hands balled into fists.
Gourry walked over to her, giving her left breast a quick
feel. "Yep, just as I thought. Small as ever."
"Fireball!"
Charred on the ground, Lina failed to see Gourry's smile.
She did, however, feel a whole lot better herself.
As they made their way through the woods towards a town
which supposedly held information on yet another ancient treasure,
Gourry asked Lina again, "So what were you writing before?"
"Oh, that?" Lina replied with a grin. "That's my journal.
I've been keeping a record of all my adventures since I left home. I
plan on using it to write my autobiography when I retire."
"Really? Can I read it?"
"Of course not!" Lina said, suddenly out-raged. "It's a
collection of my most private thoughts. I just can't let you read it."
Gourry scratched his head. "Why not?"
Lina opened her mouth to try and explain it to him, then
closed it and shook her head. It would take more effort than it was
worth to get Gourry to understand.
"You just can't, okay Gourry? Why would you want to read
it anyway? I've already told you about most of the adventures I've
had before I met you anyway. The rest of it is kind of boring."
"I was just wondering what it said in there about me, that's
all."
Lina suddenly developed a faint blush. She had been
reading over some of her older entries lately and had realized that
ever since she had met him, she'd been writing about Gourry
almost as much as she did herself. What she had to say about him
wasn't always flattering, but still...
Gourry looked back at Lina when she had stopped walking.
"What? Does it say something bad about me?"
"Um," Lina struggled to explain.
So it was almost a relief to her when the monsters attacked.
They poured out from their hiding places among the bushes
and trees, rushing the pair from all around them. Gourry
immediately drew his sword, Lina drawing hers a moment later.
They stood back to back as they faced the monsters.
As she fought them with her sword and magic, Lina noticed
a few things that were just a bit odd about these monsters. They
had come out of nowhere, and looked to be still coming. The
forest wasn't nearly thick enough to hide them all. They all seemed
to be in the grip of a beserker rage, attacking without a word, and
as fiercely as they could. Lina knew of a spell or two that could do
that to one monster, but even that was hard to maintain for long.
To cast it on this many monsters at once should be impossible.
Even still, some of the monsters should have been immune.
Scorching a wolfman with a fireball, Lina nearly paused
when she realized the oddest thing about this attack was the sheer
variety of monsters. Trolls, wolfmen, lizardman, fishmen, you
name it. It almost seemed that nearly every monster type was
being represented, and despite their large numbers, no more than
three of each type.
"Gourry!" she suddenly shouted in worry when she saw that
the blonde swordsman had been surrounded by three trolls on who
the normal sword he now used had little effect.
Lina jumped up and flipped out of her own small circle of
attackers. Her hand glowing, she managed to tag each one of the
trolls before any of the other monsters could stop her. When
Gourry's sword met the trolls this time, they screamed and
vanished into themselves with satisfying little 'pop' sounds.
Lina grinned at Gourry before turning to fight the
remaining monsters. She couldn't help noticing his sad look as he
stared at the sword in his hands. Before she could think of
anything to say or do, she was forced to fight again.
Lina took a deep breath after burning the last of the
monsters with a fireball. That had been more intense than anything
they had faced recently. While not exactly death-defying, it had
still been a challenge.
"Some workout, eh Gourry?" Lina asked him with a grin.
She was relieved when he returned he smile. He was also
clearly confused, but that was normal for him anyway. "Yeah,
Lina, but where did they all come from? And why did they attack
us?"
"I don't know, Gourry," Lina answered truthfully as she
bent down to examine one of the bodies. She startled when the
body was about to touch suddenly turned to a puff of black smoke
right before her eyes, as well as the other bodies at the exact same
time.
Lina stood and glanced around her in puzzlement. The
bodies were gone, but any items they had dropped or blood spilled
still littered the ground. She picked up one of the rough swords
and cast a spell on it. It was real all right, so those monsters hadn't
been some elaborate illusion. Lina wasn't sure of the exact spells
involved, but she knew that it would take a very powerful wizard
to pull off a trick like this. It might have even been beyond human
capacity.
Gourry was down in the dumps. Lina could tell, though it
was obvious the blonde swordsman was doing his best to hide it.
She knew he was thinking about his facing the trolls over and over
again. How they would have been easy for him to deal with if he
still had the Sword of Light. How Lina had to bail him out like she
was his protector. Or to put it simply, how he had failed.
Lina knew that it was no good to try to convince Gourry
otherwise. Explaining to him that it was impossible for anyone
without magic to kill a troll would be useless. It wouldn't make
any difference to him. And trying to teach him magic was even
more useless. He had as much potential as a Phil, which meant he
might be able to manage a light spell after about ten years of
training. No, there was only one solution that Lina could think of
for her current problem.
Lina and Gourry had established a routine when reaching a
town. Find a inn to store their stuff, placing the appropriate
magical protections on them, and then find the best tavern in town
to pig out until they couldn't eat any more or they kicked them out
of the place, whichever came first.
So Lina was stuffing her face like there was no tomorrow.
And in a career like hers that might be true. While Gourry was...
eating. He had only ordered one plate for once and was slowly
making his way through it, as if he were not particularly hungry.
Lina knew that couldn't be true, he was always hungry. His
appetite normally rivaled her own. For him to act like this meant
this whole sword thing was very serious. It was even enough to
kill Lina's appetite.
"Gourry," Lina said, suddenly standing up.
"Yeah, Lina?" he asked, looking up at her with some
surprise.
"I just thought of a few things I really need to do right now.
You finish up here and meet me back at the inn in about an hour."
"I'll go with you!" Gourry volunteered immediately, starting
to get up.
"No, no, no," Lina stammered quickly. "This is ah... girls
stuff. Got to handle this alone."
Gourry stared at her in puzzlement, before understanding
finally broke across his face. "Oh, it's that time of the month
again," he said loud enough for the entire tavern to hear.
Lina instantly turned beat red in embarrassment. Gourry
suddenly had to lie on the floor when Lina pushed the table into his
mid-section. "I thought I told you never to mention that again!"
she shouted, ignoring all the other people staring at her.
"Sorry, Lina," Gourry croaked out from the ground.
Lina frowned slightly, feeling sorry over what she had just
done. But why does he have to keep doing stuff like that? She
helped him back to his feet and told him, "Now you go to the inn
and wait for me. I'll be along in an hour or so. And don't worry
about me. There shouldn't be anything dangerous in a small town
like this."
Gourry thought for a moment, and then suddenly smiled.
"Is it okay that I finish your meal then?"
Lina laughed. "Sure. Knock yourself out."
"But if I did that, I wouldn't be able to eat."
Lina shook her head, but a smile was still on her lips.
"Figure of speech, Gourry. Forget it."
While Gourry began to chow down with his usual vigor,
Lina went off in search of the town's magic shop. This particular
shop had something of a reputation of being run by an aging hedge
wizard who know something about virtually everything magical in
the world. He had to be able to help her with her particular
problem.
The shop, she found, was a bit off the beaten path, but
people were eager to help her find it. Apparently, Ginnon, the
wizard who ran the shop, had a habit of helping out the
townspeople whenever they were in need of his services, so they
seemed eager to return the favor by helping out with his business.
Business was evidently booming. Magic shops are
normally the size of any other sort of shop, though in the larger
cities they tended to be equally large. The current shop that Lina
now stood before seemed out of place in a small town. It was in
fact one of the larger structures she had seen there so far. From
just glancing at the exterior, it was three levels, the first two being
the shop and the highest story presumably being where Ginnon
lived. The large picture window was also crammed with various
magical knick-knacks, though none of them really caught Lina's
eye. She had a purpose, she wasn't there to browse.
*Well, maybe a little browsing,* she thought as she entered
the store. She was greeted by shelves upon shelves filled with
magical items. Literally, in this case. "Welcome to Ginnon's
Magic Shop," seemed to come from all around her.
There were also a number of customers. Some were
obviously locals, but they were mostly wizards and sorceresses like
herself, who had heard of this place's reputation and decided to see
it for themselves. They clearly weren't disappointed with what
they had found, and neither was Lina as she began to look around
despite herself. Sure, most of the items were low-power stuff, but
their rare and unusual nature more than made up for that.
"May I help you?" asked a young girl, obviously a
apprentice mage, probably only a few years younger than Lina
herself.
"Yes, I'm looking for a magical weapon, most likely a
sword." Lina had a hard time imagining Gourry fighting with
anything but a sword, but if they had a really powerful warhammer,
she wasn't going to just ignore it.
The girl smiled and nodded. "Weapons are in the back.
Please follow me."
Lina let the girl lead the way, while her eyes roamed the
shelves, noting the various magical items, some with amusement,
others with interest. She was also busily totally the trade in value
of some of the items she carried that she could do without.
Magical weapons that were any good tended to be much more
expensive that the trinkets.
The wall in the back of the store was mounted with magical
weapons of all shapes and powers, though swords predominated.
They also all had small labels which listed the names of their
creators and the powers they possessed.
"Do you see anything you like?" the apprentice sorceress
asked.
Lina studied each weapon carefully, picturing Gourry
wielding it in combat. She dismissed all of the ranged weapons
immediately. She could never trust him with a crossbow. Polarms
were difficult to use in close quarters, which most of their fights
turned out to be. Probably hit himself with a flail. Maces and
warhammers were possibilities, but they didn't have any that were
particularly interesting or powerful.
Lina had quickly narrowed it down to the swords, and even
then dismissing anything smaller than a long sword. They had a
number of swords for sale that she thought would suit Gourry well,
especially this giant two-handed blade called the 'SkullCrusher.' It
was a little on the expensive side, but it wasn't like she was
strapped for cash or anything lately. She was about to purchase the
sword, when she hear the loud creak of someone coming down the
stairs behind her, and an ancient voice shout, "Lina Inverse!"
Lina spun around, shouting, "Fireball!" And was very
disappointed when nothing happened.
"Wards of protection prevent many black magic and
shamanistic spells from working in here. A necessary security
precaution, you know. With all the wizards and sorceresses that
come through here to try out one thing or another, they'd probably
burn the place down or blow it up if I'd let them. You can't be too
careful in our line of work, Lina Inverse," the old man commented
conversationally as he reached the bottom of the stairs and slowly
made his way over to her.
He looked very stereotypical for a wizard, with a long grey
beard around a faced wrinkled like a prune. He wore a robe and
pointed hat of faded green. Everything about him seemed faded
and wrinkled like an old parchment, all except his eyes, which
were blue and sharp. They gave a look as if he could see down to
someone's very soul.
Lina, however, had seen the trick done before and wasn't
the least bit impressed. "Ginnon, I presume."
The hedge wizard nodded in acknowledgment.
"All right, I know you because this is your shop," Lina told
him. "But how do you know me?"
"By reputation, for the most part. The dread sorceress Lina
Inverse, bandit killer, dragon spooker, and also known to do a good
deed or two on occasion. I've also spoken to a few of the mages
that come through here who have met you first hand, though I
never expected to meet you myself. I thought you'd be taller for
some reason."
Lina frowned. Height was the second chink in her mental
armor. "Well, now that you're here, we can talk about a deal for
SkullCrusher there."
"Oh, that monster," Ginnon said with a chuckle as he
glanced at the massive two-handed blade that dominated the
display. "I think it may be a little big for you."
"It's not for me, it's for a friend of mine," Lina told him with
a smirk. "I prefer to rely on my own magic than enchanted
weapons."
"Very wise, of course," Ginnon replied, stroking his chin in
thought. "Your friend then must not have the option then. Tell
me, this friend of yours, is he important to you?"
"What do you mean by that?!" Lina stammered.
"Well, he must matter a bit to be willing to spend so much
on him."
"He's sort of my protector. Someone to watch my back,
you know? So it's really more for me than him," Lina lied glibly.
"Well, in that case I wouldn't bother with this high-priced
junk."
"Master!" the apprentice shouted in surprise.
Ginnon hardly noticed her at all. "Now don't get me wrong.
Everything that I sell here works as promised. I make it a policy
never to deal in shoddy merchandise. That's bad for business. But
what I mean is while settle for this, when you can have the best?"
"The best?" Lina asked suspiciously. "Just what do you
mean by that, old man?"
Ginnon suddenly glanced around, acting almost as if he had
said more than he had wished to. "Follow me to my office, where
we can discuss this further in private."
"Ultimate sword?" Lina asked. "Is this for real?"
They were currently sitting in Ginnon's office, which was
much less cluttered than his store, in some rather comfortable
chairs by a warm fire.
"That is uncertain. I can only tell you what I know about
it."
"All right, what's the deal? What do you want out of this?"
Ginnon smiled. "Straight to the point, just like your
reputation. I run a magical shop because I am a collector of rare
magical items. I put most of them up for sale, but keep a few for
my own private collection. Along with this ultimate sword, if it
fact does exist, are some lesser weapons which I would love to add
to my collection. One or two of these would be well worth my
time, and I'd be willing to buy others that you find as well. Of
course, for just giving you this information I'll need a retainer."
They spent the next half hour bargaining over this. Lina
was actually surprised at how low he was willing to go. Then she
became suspicious. "Okay, there's your money, now tell me what
you know."
Ginnon leaned back in his chair, took a sip of his wine, and
began, "In the ancient times when magic was even more powerful
than it is today, there lived a great weaponsmith named Makarag.
Using secret techniques of his own devising, he created the finest
magical weapons ever made my man. People came from all over
the world to pay whole fortunes for a single piece of his work.
Some people also came to steal his secrets, but none ever
succeeded.
"Despite his success, each weapon he produced was never
good enough for him. Her would spend hours lamenting the flaws
of a sword he had just spent months lovingly crafting. Then he
decided that the constant flow of visitors was a distraction and
moved his workshop to a new secret location so he could work in
peace and quiet uninterrupted.
"It was in this new workshop that he labored for the
remaining years of his life on a single project, to produce the
ultimate sword, a blade without a single flaw. It is said that in this
time he crafted a hundred swords, each better than the last, but to
his eyes even the best was still flawed.
"By this time he was old even for wizards and he could feel
that his time had grown very short. He started over completely
from scratch and made one last final sword. Now some say that he
failed and died of heartbreak, while others insist that with the last
of his strength he finally achieved his goal and produced the
ultimate sword, only to die in peace. Whether he did or not isn't
that important. I'm sure your friend will be well satisfied with one
of the hundred lesser blades."
Lina was clearly skeptical of the story she had just been
told. "Okay, if all of that is true then why hasn't anyone found out
whether he succeeded or not?"
Ginnon smiled. "Ah, Makarag was very good at hiding his
workshop, so good that no one has been able to find it to this day.
I happened to have discovered the key to finding it, however. If I
were not so old I might search for it myself, but it is better to pass
this one to you and reap whatever rewards I can from it."
"What is this key you're talking about?"
Ginnon took a single arrow that rested on the table next to
him and handed it to Lina. She looked it over in surprise. It was
very well made, but otherwise seemed ordinary. She sensed magic
from it, but couldn't immediately discern the purpose of the
enchantment. "How is this a key?"
"Let it lie on the flat of you palm," Ginnon instructed, still
smiling.
Lina did so, and was surprised when the arrow suddenly
turned and pointed towards the right-hand wall. "So this points the
direction of Makarag's secret workshop?"
"Nothing so simple, I'm afraid. Before he vanished from
the outside world entirely, Makarag left behind five magical
weapons that when brought together, would show the way to his
workshop. Each weapon, when held as you are holding that one
now, will always point in the direction of it's closest brother not
already in your possession. Recover the other four weapons and
the doorway to the workshop should open for you."
"All right, I'll do this old man, but..."
"But?" Ginnon said with some surprise.
"But my friend will need a sword in the meantime. How
about you lend me SkullCrusher for a bit, okay?" Lina asked with
her 'cute' smile.
A smile which had absolutely no effect on Ginnon. "Let's
discuss a rental instead."
Lina grinned as she finally returned to the inn, the two-
handed sword, which was taller than she was, strapped to her back.
She was glad Ginnon had thrown in the featherweight sheath or she
would have had to have Gourry come and pick in up.
"Hi, Gourry!" she shouted, bursting into his room without
knocking. She stopped at the sight of the blonde swordsman
standing there doing sword feints in his underwear. The gleam of
sweat on his chest told her that he must have been practicing for a
while now. Heavy blush on her cheeks, Lina stepped back into the
hallway, slammed the door closed, and shouted, "Put some clothes
on!"
There was sounds of hurried fumbling until Gourry finally
shouted, "Okay, Lina!"
Lina stepped in acting as if the previous scene hadn't
happened. She even ignored Gourry's mumbled, "I was just
practicing." Instead, she threw the giant sword onto the bed next to
him and took a seat in a chair.
"What's this?" Gourry asked, eyeing the sword in surprise.
"SkullCrusher. It's no Sword of Light, but it should do
okay until we find something better."
"This is for me?" Gourry queried in surprise as he twirled
the weapon in his hands, studying it with obvious interest.
Lina smirked. "I'm sure not going to use it. It's a little big
for me, Gourry, if you hadn't noticed."
Sarcasm was completely lost on the blonde swordsman,
who pulled his weapon from its sheath in awe, only to drop it on
the floor. "Heavy."
Lina nodded. "The sheath has a featherweight spell on it to
make it easier to carry, but if you put that on the sword itself it
wouldn't be very useful as a weapon. Is it too heavy for you?"
Gourry picked up the sword and now held it in both hands.
He made a few experimental strikes, which ended up making
sizable knicks in the walls. The blade cut through the air with an
audible 'woosh.' The entire time Gourry's wide eyes were locked
on the blade. "No, it's fine," Gourry said finally, his voice tinged
with wonder. "It's different, but I think I can get used to it."
"Glad you like it," Lina told him with a wide smile. "But
be careful with it because it's only a rental."
"Rental?" Gourry repeated in puzzlement as he turned to
face her. Lina had to duck quickly to avoid being a head shorter,
but she couldn't help noticing the powerful rush of air the sword
caused as it passed over her head.
"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" she snapped at
him.
"Sorry, Lina," Gourry replied, putting his new toy back in
its sheath.
Lina decided to let it pass this time. "As I was going to say,
that sword is only a rental because I now have a lead on what
supposed to be the ultimate sword ever made. It might even be
better than your old Sword of Light. All we need to do is track
down a few lost weapons to find it."
Gourry is usually slow to come to a realization, but in this
case it came on him almost immediately. "You don't have to go
through all this effort just for me, Lina."
*Yes, I do. I can't stand you moping around for even a little
while longer,* was what Lina wanted to say, but instead she told
him, "I'm not doing this just for you, Gourry. Where this sword is,
there's going to be plenty of other loot, but I really want is the
spellbook of this ancient weaponsmith. So you see there's
something for everyone."
"Oh, that's okay then," Gourry told her. He kept glancing
back and forth between her and the sword.
"All right," she told him, understanding. "Why don't you
practice with your new sword behind the inn? I have some things
to do in my room anyway. Just come get me when it's time for
dinner, okay?"
Lina blinked in surprise as Gourry blurred past her,
SkullCrusher under one arm. She was about to shout after him,
then stopped herself. "Oh, well. At least he's happy. Wait, I
forgot to tell him about the various enchantments put on that
sword. I guess it's not important now. I'm sure I'll remember to
tell him later."
"Our first attempt has failed. The sorceress still lives.
What is more, she has discovered the existence of the workshop."
"You worry too much, my lord. She is still far from
reaching her goal. The pawn I have chosen will have many more
opportunities to eliminate her."
"I do not trust this pawn you have selected. No human can
be relied upon. I would much prefer to destroy the sorceress
personally."
"Impossible, my lord. If we were to intervene directly the
others would know immediately and all our planning would have
been for nothing. This is the best way. Have patience."
"I suppose. After having waiting for all this time, I can
afford to wait a bit longer. But we must kill Lina Inverse!"
"Yes, my lord."