Unexpected!
A Reunion of Old Rivals!
Episode 1
It was raining, and raining hard - the sort of rain that made any traveling insane because it made a muddy mess out of roads, drenched any wanderer in ten seconds flat and caused general misery. Obviously, no one had clued in the two travelers walking down the forest path. The tall blonde man and shorter, red-haired woman were walking quickly despite the muddy dirt. The casual observer would have looked in surprise and thought them quite crazy. If he had paused to look longer, he would have noticed a very strange thing. Neither of the two were in any way wet. Sure, their boots were muddy, but their clothing and hair were dry. The second thing he would have noticed was that the rain wasn't actually falling on them. An invisible sphere, defined only by the raindrops sliding off of it, protected them from the rain. He probably wouldn't have noticed a third thing. The smart observer would know immediately that at least one of the two people knew magic and that it wasn't wise to mess with a sorcerer. "Lina, how much longer do we have to walk?" whined the tall blonde man. "We've been walking since the sun rose and in this mud and rain!" "Shut up, Gourry!" fumed the woman, clenching a fist. "You're lucky I'm casting a Raywing spell to keep the rain off of us!" "But I'm sooooo tired. Why couldn't we have stayed in that village until the rain stopped?" "Gourry, they chased us out of town." "But that wasn't MY fault... What did you do, anyways?" Lina rubbed her temples wearily. "THEY hired me to destroy the troll that was wrecking havoc on their village. Anyone and everyone knows how hard it is to kill a troll!" Gourry nodded, "Yeah, 'cuz they keep healing themselves." "Anyways," continued Lina, "They're LUCKY! I had to cast a lot of magic to overwhelm the troll's natural healing magic and destroy it!" Destroying it had also destroyed a rather large block of the village, including the mayor's house. That part had been mere bad luck but, by Lina's standards, the village had come off very well indeed. She had been severely tempted to use the Dragon Slave, which also had the side effect of obliterating entire villages. However, rapid combinations of flare arrows and mono bolts had done the job... It had done the job too well. The mayor and the villagers were anything but happy at the smoldering remains of their shops and homes. Still, they seemed quite glad to chase Lina and Gourry out of the town. And they looked positively delighted to chase them off when it was pouring rain. "True," murmured Gourry. "Normally you just blow up the entire village with that overkill dragon spell of yours." A few fumes of smoke puffed out of Lina's head but she managed not to say anything too scathing. Instead, she gave Gourry one of those 'if-you- weren't-my-partner-and-had-the-brains-of-a-jellyfish-I'd-kill-you' looks and quickened her pace. "Oi, matte!" Gourry hurried to catch up. He wasn't quite fast enough; the edge of the Raywing spell passed through him and gave him a good drenching before he managed to match Lina's pace. His hair was now a wet mass that stuck to his head and his armor, and he spent a frustrated moment pulling it out of his eyes. "Anyway, here's the situation." Lina paused a moment and reached into her manto, pulling out a rolled piece of paper. Opening it revealed a worn map. "According to this, there's going to be a fork in the road not too far ahead." "Oi, Lina, why would anyone put a fork on the road? Wouldn't it hurt if you stepped on it? And it'd get dirty after being there all daaaaaa-" Lina shifted her Raywing spell, allowing Gourry to enjoy the whims of the inclement weather. "A fork in the road, Gourry. You know, when the road splits in two? Sheesh. Anyways, if we take the right path that should lead us to the village of ..." She squinted her eyes in order to read the fine print, "...Rand McNally. Hopefully we can stay there for a while, at least until the weather clears." For some reason unexplained, the city of Rand McNally can be found in just about any place. No one knows why, but that particular city, or at least that particular name, is on 99.99998752% of all maps made. Gourry blinked a few times and looked around. "Ne, Gourry, aren't you paying att-" She stopped as Gourry motioned for silence. In the thundering rain, you don't get something like a moment of silence. Still, the two could clearly hear someone talking rather loudly in the distance. Lina and Gourry looked at each other as if to say, 'What the hell's going on?' Cautiously, the two moved closer to the sound. "You can't fight all of us! You're outnumbered, ten to one!" yelled the voice. "Jest give us all yer money and we'll go easy on ya!" yelled someone else. "Bandits," whispered Gourry. "Are they really that dumb to rob someone in the rain?" Lina shrugged. "Well?!" demanded the first bandit, or maybe it was a third bandit, since they sounded quite similar. "Say something!" The next sound made Lina and her blood freeze. "Ohohohohohoooo!" The peal of laughter was easily louder than the bandits and the rain (and thunder) combined. "You, rob me? I am greatly amused! Ohohoho!" The bandits were more expedient than others Lina and Gourry had met, or maybe they also wanted to get out of the rain. Whatever the reason, they stopped their idle boasting and yelled, "CHAAAAARGE!" Gourry sprang into action, drawing his sword in a fluid motion. He started forward, when... "DILL BRAND!" An explosion rocked the ground and mud splattered around. Gourry paused a moment. Not noticing Lina's absence, he continued forward. At the fork in the road (which was a split in the path and not silverware), bandits were strewn about, most of them with smoking clothes. The dirt was thrown every which way outwards from a perfect circle. Inside that perfect circle of undisturbed forest path stood a mysteriously cloaked figure. "Ano..." said Gourry. The figure turned and looked at him. "Ohoho! Are you challenging me too, little man?" Since he was obviously taller, although not by too much, Gourry demanded, "What do you mean, 'little man?'" "Very well. If you must be that way..." The mysterious person's voice was laden with amusement as a finger rose to point at the blonde. "Demona Crystal!" Gourry stood there dumbly. It was a very Gourry-like thing to do, but it certainly wasn't going to save his hide any... "Raywing!" Lina's spell lifted Gourry out of the spell's path and the crystal shattered in the trunk of a nearby pine. All seemed well, until Gourry looked down. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I'M FALLING! HEEEELLLPPP! LINA! DO SOMETHING!!!!!" The figure paused. "Did...did you say... Lina?" "LIIIIINAAAAAAA!!!!!" Although Gourry did not hear the question, his yell was more than an affirmative. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY, LINA!!!!!!! PUT ME DOWN NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE?!?!?!?!!?" With extreme reluctance, Lina walked into view and suppressed the urge to drop Gourry on his rear end. The only thing worse than a yelling Gourry was a yelling Gourry who was in pain, so she set him down with a rattle that jarred his teeth but did no further damage. "Itai! Lina, that hurt!" protested Gourry weakly, pulling his wet hair out of his eyes. "So it's really you... Lina Inverse." The fiery sorceress smiled. "It has been a while, hasn't it ...Naga?" Gourry blinked a few times and looked at the two. "You know each other?" "Sadly, yes," replied Lina. Naga pouted. "Lina, you're so mean, just like always!" "What, you wanted me to change my ways?" Rubbing his head, Gourry asked, "So...who are you?" "I'm known far and wide as Naga, the White Serpent, highly skilled in all ways of black magic. I'm also Lina Inverse's greatest ally and rival, and we have traveled together in the past and have done many daring feats and-"
"She was the goldfish feces. My sidekick." "LINA!!" Smirking, the shorter sorceress said snidely (and alliteratively), "That's the truth." "Ohoho! Naga the White Serpent is no one's sidekick!" "What about the time we fought Joylock?" "Oh? Naga the White Serpent was very daring in defeating that demon, while you were too busy trying to charm Raudy into giving you his Sword of Light." "Hah! You were out helping some band of misfits who thought they could punish me because I beat them up after they tried to rob ME!" "Raudy?" wondered Gourry to himself. "Wasn't he my great-great-great..." A minute passed with Gourry counting his 'greats.' He concluded, "...Um, something like that grandfather?" The two sorceresses paid the swordsman no attention. "Yeah? What about when-" A flash of lightning blinded all three. The roar of thunder that sounded a few seconds later all but deafened them, and sheets of rain started pouring down. Naga and Gourry were in poor shape. Lina had continued to keep her original Raywing spell cast, so she stared dumbfounded at her two sodden companions. "Ano," she said without bothering to extend the spell to cover Gourry or Naga. "Maybe we should find our way to that village."
Squish, squeak, squish, squish, squeak. Three pairs of feet squelched unpleasantly through the mud. Two pairs of waterlogged shoes squeaked in protestation. Lina hummed a little tune to herself. Of the three she was easily the best off, being the driest. Gourry muttered complaints to himself but he, too, was starting to dry out under the protection of Lina's spell. Naga grumbled black thoughts under her breath. She had declined Lina's help and had troubles setting up her own spell to keep the rain off of her. She was also disgruntled at being called the 'goldfish feces' again, even if she had met up with her old companion, Lina. "Look!" Lina pointed. "The village gates!" Gourry and Naga cheered as they passed through the wooden doors. A quick glance around showed they were the only ones stupid enough to be outdoors in a downpour. Impatiently, Lina snapped, "Come on, come on! The sooner we find an inn, the sooner we can all get some rest and dry off! See, there's a likely spot on the corner." She sped off, leaving the other two to shuffle after.
Lina sat down on the soft bed, bouncing several times. Sighing happily, she took off her headband and lay back against the plush pillow. It was the end of a long day and she was dead tired. It was certainly a full day, she reflected as she drew the thick covers over her. The incident with the villagers had certainly set the day's mood (which was bleak,) the rain continued it (which was bleaker), and then Naga arrived. Lina couldn't decide if that made the day the bleakest she'd had in months or if it made it somewhat less bleak than before. It was hard to tell with Naga. There was that most annoying laugh that Naga seemed to have perfected, but it was nice to see her after such a long absence. How long had it been? Lina tapped her chin thoughtfully. She had been with Gourry for several months. Counting the jobs they had done on her fingers, she nodded to herself. It was four months with Gourry, and... More counting. Yes, it had been more than two years since the two sorceresses had parted ways. Wasn't it odd that they should have met after so long? Maybe it wasn't. But something was nagging Lina in the back of her mind. Before the nagging thought could form anything more coherent, there was a knocking on the door. Lina sat up in surprise. It didn't come from the door leading to the hallway, but from the door connecting the inn rooms. In other words, it had to be- "Ohohohoho!" came Naga's patented laughter. "I know you're not sleeping in there, Lina Inverse!" The day definitely seemed bleaker, Lina thought darkly to herself. Even if she had been asleep, that infamous laughter would have woken her up. "Come in," she said grudgingly. The door swung open to admit Naga. Lina gaped when she saw what Naga was wearing. "Nani?" asked Naga as she shut the door behind her. "Naga! You're actually wearing something...decent! What gives? You're not the Naga I remember!" "Ne?" Naga looked confused and glanced down at her stark black and skimpy nightgown. Well, it was skimpy by regular standards, but positively concealing when seen on someone like Naga, who wore much less for armor on a regular basis. "Oh, this? All my regular stuff was sopping wet, and all I had was this silly thing." Lina let out a sigh. "Oh." Naga smiled. "But you haven't changed a bit! Ohohoho! Still flat-chested as ever! I'm amazed you got a boyfriend!" "Gourry is NOT my boyfriend!" Lina's voice rose several decibels in strength. "I'm just hanging around with him so I can convince him to give me his Sword of Light!" "Ohohoho! You cannot fool Naga the White Serpent that way." She sat down on the chair by the window and peeked out the curtain. Streaks of water obscured any view of outside. Lina could feel a headache coming on, and she knew her temper would grow shorter every time she heard Naga's particularly piercing laughter. "Sure, Naga. And what are you doing in here?" "I-" Her comment was drowned out by a loud boom of thunder. Several flashes of lightening brightened up the room for brief moments, followed by more thunder. "Very impressive," remarked Lina. Naga scowled. "I got the oddest feeling today, when we met. Like... it wasn't coincidence or luck or anything like that. Like..." "Like someone or something made it happen?" Naga smiled, "Ohohohohohoho!" (Lina gritted her teeth.) "You felt the same thing, then? It doesn't feel right, our meeting." Lina narrowed her eyes. "I get the feeling someone is watching us, and that someone made us meet for a very specific reason. And I don't like it one bit." "Ohoho! You are quick! I felt the exact same things!" "Naga," Lina said very quietly before she started screaming something she'd regret, like 'elmekia lance', "if that's it, could you please return to your room? I'd like to get some sleep now." Naga got up and left the room without another word. Unfortunately, she left laughing her inimitable laugh, which was a hundred times worse. The door slammed behind her, mercifully muffling the sorceress' guffaws to mere whispers. It wasn't a perfect situation, as no one had thought of inventing soundproof walls at this point in time, but it wasn't as bad as it was before. Lina was tired. The sandman was dumping grit onto her in ten-pound bags, weighing her down. Wearily, she pulled the covers over her head and closed her eyes. In the space of five minutes, she was soundly asleep.
Outside, the lightning flared in occasional bouts, coupled with the deep rumbling of thunder. The rain continued pouring down like there was no tomorrow, and only the most stupid, crazy, or desperate were outside. There was an exception. A mysterious man in priestly robes was perched on the roof of the building across the street from the Dancing Fish Inn. His purple hair fluttered in the wind, but he was, of all things, smiling. A long staff with a ruby top lay in his lap, but he paid it no attention. The man's attentions where on the inn, and he appeared to be watching it. Appeared to, because his eyes never opened. The storm howled around him, but he didn't even notice. He wasn't the least bit uncomfortable, wet, or cold. He continued smiling and he started to chuckle as he saw Naga peeping out the window from Lina's room. "Well, well," he murmured to himself, settling back in a reclining position. "This should prove interesting and quite amusing, too!"
Continue: episode 2: Curious! The Book From the Not-Quite Magic Shop!
A Reunion of Old Rivals!
Episode 1
It was raining, and raining hard - the sort of rain that made any traveling insane because it made a muddy mess out of roads, drenched any wanderer in ten seconds flat and caused general misery. Obviously, no one had clued in the two travelers walking down the forest path. The tall blonde man and shorter, red-haired woman were walking quickly despite the muddy dirt. The casual observer would have looked in surprise and thought them quite crazy. If he had paused to look longer, he would have noticed a very strange thing. Neither of the two were in any way wet. Sure, their boots were muddy, but their clothing and hair were dry. The second thing he would have noticed was that the rain wasn't actually falling on them. An invisible sphere, defined only by the raindrops sliding off of it, protected them from the rain. He probably wouldn't have noticed a third thing. The smart observer would know immediately that at least one of the two people knew magic and that it wasn't wise to mess with a sorcerer. "Lina, how much longer do we have to walk?" whined the tall blonde man. "We've been walking since the sun rose and in this mud and rain!" "Shut up, Gourry!" fumed the woman, clenching a fist. "You're lucky I'm casting a Raywing spell to keep the rain off of us!" "But I'm sooooo tired. Why couldn't we have stayed in that village until the rain stopped?" "Gourry, they chased us out of town." "But that wasn't MY fault... What did you do, anyways?" Lina rubbed her temples wearily. "THEY hired me to destroy the troll that was wrecking havoc on their village. Anyone and everyone knows how hard it is to kill a troll!" Gourry nodded, "Yeah, 'cuz they keep healing themselves." "Anyways," continued Lina, "They're LUCKY! I had to cast a lot of magic to overwhelm the troll's natural healing magic and destroy it!" Destroying it had also destroyed a rather large block of the village, including the mayor's house. That part had been mere bad luck but, by Lina's standards, the village had come off very well indeed. She had been severely tempted to use the Dragon Slave, which also had the side effect of obliterating entire villages. However, rapid combinations of flare arrows and mono bolts had done the job... It had done the job too well. The mayor and the villagers were anything but happy at the smoldering remains of their shops and homes. Still, they seemed quite glad to chase Lina and Gourry out of the town. And they looked positively delighted to chase them off when it was pouring rain. "True," murmured Gourry. "Normally you just blow up the entire village with that overkill dragon spell of yours." A few fumes of smoke puffed out of Lina's head but she managed not to say anything too scathing. Instead, she gave Gourry one of those 'if-you- weren't-my-partner-and-had-the-brains-of-a-jellyfish-I'd-kill-you' looks and quickened her pace. "Oi, matte!" Gourry hurried to catch up. He wasn't quite fast enough; the edge of the Raywing spell passed through him and gave him a good drenching before he managed to match Lina's pace. His hair was now a wet mass that stuck to his head and his armor, and he spent a frustrated moment pulling it out of his eyes. "Anyway, here's the situation." Lina paused a moment and reached into her manto, pulling out a rolled piece of paper. Opening it revealed a worn map. "According to this, there's going to be a fork in the road not too far ahead." "Oi, Lina, why would anyone put a fork on the road? Wouldn't it hurt if you stepped on it? And it'd get dirty after being there all daaaaaa-" Lina shifted her Raywing spell, allowing Gourry to enjoy the whims of the inclement weather. "A fork in the road, Gourry. You know, when the road splits in two? Sheesh. Anyways, if we take the right path that should lead us to the village of ..." She squinted her eyes in order to read the fine print, "...Rand McNally. Hopefully we can stay there for a while, at least until the weather clears." For some reason unexplained, the city of Rand McNally can be found in just about any place. No one knows why, but that particular city, or at least that particular name, is on 99.99998752% of all maps made. Gourry blinked a few times and looked around. "Ne, Gourry, aren't you paying att-" She stopped as Gourry motioned for silence. In the thundering rain, you don't get something like a moment of silence. Still, the two could clearly hear someone talking rather loudly in the distance. Lina and Gourry looked at each other as if to say, 'What the hell's going on?' Cautiously, the two moved closer to the sound. "You can't fight all of us! You're outnumbered, ten to one!" yelled the voice. "Jest give us all yer money and we'll go easy on ya!" yelled someone else. "Bandits," whispered Gourry. "Are they really that dumb to rob someone in the rain?" Lina shrugged. "Well?!" demanded the first bandit, or maybe it was a third bandit, since they sounded quite similar. "Say something!" The next sound made Lina and her blood freeze. "Ohohohohohoooo!" The peal of laughter was easily louder than the bandits and the rain (and thunder) combined. "You, rob me? I am greatly amused! Ohohoho!" The bandits were more expedient than others Lina and Gourry had met, or maybe they also wanted to get out of the rain. Whatever the reason, they stopped their idle boasting and yelled, "CHAAAAARGE!" Gourry sprang into action, drawing his sword in a fluid motion. He started forward, when... "DILL BRAND!" An explosion rocked the ground and mud splattered around. Gourry paused a moment. Not noticing Lina's absence, he continued forward. At the fork in the road (which was a split in the path and not silverware), bandits were strewn about, most of them with smoking clothes. The dirt was thrown every which way outwards from a perfect circle. Inside that perfect circle of undisturbed forest path stood a mysteriously cloaked figure. "Ano..." said Gourry. The figure turned and looked at him. "Ohoho! Are you challenging me too, little man?" Since he was obviously taller, although not by too much, Gourry demanded, "What do you mean, 'little man?'" "Very well. If you must be that way..." The mysterious person's voice was laden with amusement as a finger rose to point at the blonde. "Demona Crystal!" Gourry stood there dumbly. It was a very Gourry-like thing to do, but it certainly wasn't going to save his hide any... "Raywing!" Lina's spell lifted Gourry out of the spell's path and the crystal shattered in the trunk of a nearby pine. All seemed well, until Gourry looked down. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I'M FALLING! HEEEELLLPPP! LINA! DO SOMETHING!!!!!" The figure paused. "Did...did you say... Lina?" "LIIIIINAAAAAAA!!!!!" Although Gourry did not hear the question, his yell was more than an affirmative. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY, LINA!!!!!!! PUT ME DOWN NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE?!?!?!?!!?" With extreme reluctance, Lina walked into view and suppressed the urge to drop Gourry on his rear end. The only thing worse than a yelling Gourry was a yelling Gourry who was in pain, so she set him down with a rattle that jarred his teeth but did no further damage. "Itai! Lina, that hurt!" protested Gourry weakly, pulling his wet hair out of his eyes. "So it's really you... Lina Inverse." The fiery sorceress smiled. "It has been a while, hasn't it ...Naga?" Gourry blinked a few times and looked at the two. "You know each other?" "Sadly, yes," replied Lina. Naga pouted. "Lina, you're so mean, just like always!" "What, you wanted me to change my ways?" Rubbing his head, Gourry asked, "So...who are you?" "I'm known far and wide as Naga, the White Serpent, highly skilled in all ways of black magic. I'm also Lina Inverse's greatest ally and rival, and we have traveled together in the past and have done many daring feats and-"
"She was the goldfish feces. My sidekick." "LINA!!" Smirking, the shorter sorceress said snidely (and alliteratively), "That's the truth." "Ohoho! Naga the White Serpent is no one's sidekick!" "What about the time we fought Joylock?" "Oh? Naga the White Serpent was very daring in defeating that demon, while you were too busy trying to charm Raudy into giving you his Sword of Light." "Hah! You were out helping some band of misfits who thought they could punish me because I beat them up after they tried to rob ME!" "Raudy?" wondered Gourry to himself. "Wasn't he my great-great-great..." A minute passed with Gourry counting his 'greats.' He concluded, "...Um, something like that grandfather?" The two sorceresses paid the swordsman no attention. "Yeah? What about when-" A flash of lightning blinded all three. The roar of thunder that sounded a few seconds later all but deafened them, and sheets of rain started pouring down. Naga and Gourry were in poor shape. Lina had continued to keep her original Raywing spell cast, so she stared dumbfounded at her two sodden companions. "Ano," she said without bothering to extend the spell to cover Gourry or Naga. "Maybe we should find our way to that village."
Squish, squeak, squish, squish, squeak. Three pairs of feet squelched unpleasantly through the mud. Two pairs of waterlogged shoes squeaked in protestation. Lina hummed a little tune to herself. Of the three she was easily the best off, being the driest. Gourry muttered complaints to himself but he, too, was starting to dry out under the protection of Lina's spell. Naga grumbled black thoughts under her breath. She had declined Lina's help and had troubles setting up her own spell to keep the rain off of her. She was also disgruntled at being called the 'goldfish feces' again, even if she had met up with her old companion, Lina. "Look!" Lina pointed. "The village gates!" Gourry and Naga cheered as they passed through the wooden doors. A quick glance around showed they were the only ones stupid enough to be outdoors in a downpour. Impatiently, Lina snapped, "Come on, come on! The sooner we find an inn, the sooner we can all get some rest and dry off! See, there's a likely spot on the corner." She sped off, leaving the other two to shuffle after.
Lina sat down on the soft bed, bouncing several times. Sighing happily, she took off her headband and lay back against the plush pillow. It was the end of a long day and she was dead tired. It was certainly a full day, she reflected as she drew the thick covers over her. The incident with the villagers had certainly set the day's mood (which was bleak,) the rain continued it (which was bleaker), and then Naga arrived. Lina couldn't decide if that made the day the bleakest she'd had in months or if it made it somewhat less bleak than before. It was hard to tell with Naga. There was that most annoying laugh that Naga seemed to have perfected, but it was nice to see her after such a long absence. How long had it been? Lina tapped her chin thoughtfully. She had been with Gourry for several months. Counting the jobs they had done on her fingers, she nodded to herself. It was four months with Gourry, and... More counting. Yes, it had been more than two years since the two sorceresses had parted ways. Wasn't it odd that they should have met after so long? Maybe it wasn't. But something was nagging Lina in the back of her mind. Before the nagging thought could form anything more coherent, there was a knocking on the door. Lina sat up in surprise. It didn't come from the door leading to the hallway, but from the door connecting the inn rooms. In other words, it had to be- "Ohohohoho!" came Naga's patented laughter. "I know you're not sleeping in there, Lina Inverse!" The day definitely seemed bleaker, Lina thought darkly to herself. Even if she had been asleep, that infamous laughter would have woken her up. "Come in," she said grudgingly. The door swung open to admit Naga. Lina gaped when she saw what Naga was wearing. "Nani?" asked Naga as she shut the door behind her. "Naga! You're actually wearing something...decent! What gives? You're not the Naga I remember!" "Ne?" Naga looked confused and glanced down at her stark black and skimpy nightgown. Well, it was skimpy by regular standards, but positively concealing when seen on someone like Naga, who wore much less for armor on a regular basis. "Oh, this? All my regular stuff was sopping wet, and all I had was this silly thing." Lina let out a sigh. "Oh." Naga smiled. "But you haven't changed a bit! Ohohoho! Still flat-chested as ever! I'm amazed you got a boyfriend!" "Gourry is NOT my boyfriend!" Lina's voice rose several decibels in strength. "I'm just hanging around with him so I can convince him to give me his Sword of Light!" "Ohohoho! You cannot fool Naga the White Serpent that way." She sat down on the chair by the window and peeked out the curtain. Streaks of water obscured any view of outside. Lina could feel a headache coming on, and she knew her temper would grow shorter every time she heard Naga's particularly piercing laughter. "Sure, Naga. And what are you doing in here?" "I-" Her comment was drowned out by a loud boom of thunder. Several flashes of lightening brightened up the room for brief moments, followed by more thunder. "Very impressive," remarked Lina. Naga scowled. "I got the oddest feeling today, when we met. Like... it wasn't coincidence or luck or anything like that. Like..." "Like someone or something made it happen?" Naga smiled, "Ohohohohohoho!" (Lina gritted her teeth.) "You felt the same thing, then? It doesn't feel right, our meeting." Lina narrowed her eyes. "I get the feeling someone is watching us, and that someone made us meet for a very specific reason. And I don't like it one bit." "Ohoho! You are quick! I felt the exact same things!" "Naga," Lina said very quietly before she started screaming something she'd regret, like 'elmekia lance', "if that's it, could you please return to your room? I'd like to get some sleep now." Naga got up and left the room without another word. Unfortunately, she left laughing her inimitable laugh, which was a hundred times worse. The door slammed behind her, mercifully muffling the sorceress' guffaws to mere whispers. It wasn't a perfect situation, as no one had thought of inventing soundproof walls at this point in time, but it wasn't as bad as it was before. Lina was tired. The sandman was dumping grit onto her in ten-pound bags, weighing her down. Wearily, she pulled the covers over her head and closed her eyes. In the space of five minutes, she was soundly asleep.
Outside, the lightning flared in occasional bouts, coupled with the deep rumbling of thunder. The rain continued pouring down like there was no tomorrow, and only the most stupid, crazy, or desperate were outside. There was an exception. A mysterious man in priestly robes was perched on the roof of the building across the street from the Dancing Fish Inn. His purple hair fluttered in the wind, but he was, of all things, smiling. A long staff with a ruby top lay in his lap, but he paid it no attention. The man's attentions where on the inn, and he appeared to be watching it. Appeared to, because his eyes never opened. The storm howled around him, but he didn't even notice. He wasn't the least bit uncomfortable, wet, or cold. He continued smiling and he started to chuckle as he saw Naga peeping out the window from Lina's room. "Well, well," he murmured to himself, settling back in a reclining position. "This should prove interesting and quite amusing, too!"
Continue: episode 2: Curious! The Book From the Not-Quite Magic Shop!