Author's Note
I do sincerely apologize for not having updated this story, at least, with new chapters, in a couple of months. I blame it on school for the most part, but part of the problem has been me. I've been both extremely busy and lazy these last two months, and the result of that was that not much writing got done. But now, finally, Chapter 11 is up, and hopefully, there won't be such a big gap between 11 and 12 as there was between 10 and 11. However, school's starting back up again, so you never know.
Enjoy the chapter.
Sten
As we walked through the huge, wooden, double doors of the castle entrance and into the town proper, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I was finally out of there, after having been forced to spend an excruciatingly long time watching a mere good-bye scene take place. I mean, they're touching and all, and I can't really say anything bad about them, but when time's a ticking and the clock's a running on you, you have to learn to cut short certain practices.
Ah, well. It could have been worse, I suppose. They could have gone on hugging each other forever, perhaps; or maybe, Mina would have decided to come along with us (not that that would have been too bad, but I've learned that siblings, no matter how close, cannot travel on long journeys easily together); or even, Nina would have been so overcome by her leaving her sister that she would have quit the journey, and stayed behind, and that would have made me very unhappy indeed. So, I suppose witnessing a hugging scene, even one as long as that one, pales next to any of the three options I presented.
When we arrived outside, I perceived a large group of people, growing ever larger by the second, crowded around the center of the town. Hmm. Something interesting was going on over there; I could hear their "oohs" and "aahs" quite clearly from where I was.
I turned around to face my little group. "What say we go check out what's happening over there?" I asked them.
Nina merely shrugged. "I'm sure it's not that great. People here are easily entertained. From the sounds of it, it appears to be some common magician working some simple trickery. Nothing great in the slightest. But then again, I've seen plenty of them before, so maybe I'm being a little too judgmental. If you want to watch, Ryu, be my guest. That way, I can laugh at you when he fools you, which he undoubtedly will, unskilled though he may be."
"Oh, gee, thanks a lot, Nina." I gave her a half-serious glare, to which she responded by flashing me an innocent smile. I shook my head at her; when would she learn to grow up? "And what about you, Katt? Care to join me?"
"Well, you know me, Ryu. If there's any hint of magic around, I'm there. So, Nina, you can stay right here. Ryu and I will go check it out."
"You do that," Nina said with a bored tone.
I, with Katt tagging along, made my way down the steps and joined the general crowd. I still couldn't make out whom they were goggling, but I figured I would find out soon enough.
And I certainly did. As I tried to elbow my way through to the front, some creature that resembled a monkey popped up in front my face so fast I nearly fell to the ground. Before I landed, though, he shot out a lightning-quick arm to grab me.
As I felt myself being lifted up, I took the time to stare at my helper. He was fairly short, about half my height, and covered in short, light brown fur. That was the only normal, monkey-ish part about him, though. He was garishly appareled, with a red, crownish-looking hat on his head; a bright green vest that left the bottom half of his torso exposed; white pants that were bunched up to his knees; several bracelets adorning each wrist, each heavily bejeweled; a plethora of gold earrings hanging from each ear; a pair of black gloves with the fingertips cut off; and several rings on each hand, varying in appearance from just plain silver and gold to being inscribed with strange symbols and indentations. Evidently, this monkey was the person that the crowd had been amazed by, if not only by his appearance, then also by whatever tricks he had up his sleeve.
When I arrived fully back on my feet, the monkey stuck out a hand for me to shake. I took it tentatively, and nearly yelled aloud, but managed to keep it inside, when, rather than giving me a loose handshake as well, he decided to crunch my appendages together painfully.
"Welcome, good sir, to Sten Kammashi's Amazing Magic and Illusion Show!" he said over my muffled shout. "Say, haven't you always wanted to be part of a magic show?" Without waiting for an answer from me, he continued on, the excitement growing steadily in his voice. "Of course you have! Now, come with me, laddie, and enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime chance of being one of my subjects for a demonstration. It shall be something you tell your grandchildren when you're old and withered! Now, come!"
I had no choice but to go. His steely hand was now clamped onto my upper arm, and try as I might, I could not unloosen myself from his grip. We made our way into the center of the crowd this way, at which point he let go of me and turned to speak to the crowd. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Nina and Katt were both approaching the throng.
"Good people of Windia! I have great news! This man here has agreed to be part of my magical demonstration. Let's all give a hand to…" He turned to me. "What's your name, dude?" he asked quietly.
"Ryu," I answered. No need to tell this guy my last name.
"Right," he said. Spinning around so that he faced the crowd once more, he amped up his volume significantly so that everyone could hear. "This is Ryu, everyone! Give him a big hand for being so brave!"
So easily coerced, more like, I thought, somewhat angrily, as the crowd gave me a huge ovation. Surprising. What have I done to deserve this? Nothing. Being brave (at least, not in this sense) is not something to go wild over. I can't believe they're actually following that monkey's command. You're only supposed to clap when someone accomplishes something noteworthy. Idiots.
"Now," he continued. "We shall begin the demonstration." He paused dramatically, and took a deep breath. "Ryu, are you ready?"
"Yeah." How hard could it be? It's just a stupid magic show.
"Then get ready…to experience the feeling…of being transported to another world."
HUH? I looked at Sten with my mouth hanging open, who merely gave me a half-assed grin, as the crowd began talking excitedly amongst itself.
"What the hell do you mean by that, Sten?" I whispered furiously. "Another world? The hell is up with that? There's no such thing! You're crazy if you think so!"
"Haha. Nope. Trust me, Ryu, there is such a thing. And I have the power to transport people to it. Don't tell me you're getting scared now," he said mockingly.
"Screw you, man! No way am I getting scared; it's just that, the whole thing is im-freaking-possible! People just don't get transported to other worlds, because there are no other worlds!"
"I say, Ryu, if you don't calm down, you're likely to die of stress at an early age."
Contrary to his advice, my anger was only on the increase. I was seething now, as mad as I had ever been. That stupid monkey kept avoiding my questions about his so-called ability, leading me to believe he was indeed, without a shadow of a doubt, either evil or a fake. Either one was not a trait you want a magician to have, especially one that's set to operate on you. There was no way I was going to let him do anything to me.
He continued, determined to convince me to let him do his crazy stuff to me. "Ryu, my boy, I specialize in transporting people. It's been my signature act for years! I'm the only magician who's ever even come close to perfecting it. Now come on. The crowd wants you to do it. I want you to do it. You'll be letting us all down if you don't."
"Oh really?" I asked. I was still mad as hell, but I felt just a tad bit subdued now. There was a small chance that I would acquiesce with the monkey's wishes. "And why would that be?"
"Why would that be? Why do you think that would be? The people have come here to see a top-notch magician working his best for them. So far, they've gotten that, of course, for I always deliver. But now the time has come for me to unveil my trademark move. And if I can't deliver that, I will be crushed. They won't be, since they don't know about it, but it will still be a big blow to me, since I've done it at every show I've done for years. So, please, Ryu, do this for me. I don't know who you are, nor do I particularly care, but still, in this moment, let us be partners. I promise, no harm will be done to you. Now, come on. All you have to do is step in the box. You'll be in and out. Not a thing to it."
"Hmmm…I don't know. Like you said, we don't know each other. What if you're one of those crazy killer magicians who lure their victims into stuff like this and then execute them in horrible ways? HUH?" I finished this question with a fierce glare in my eyes.
He paused, then gave me a weird look. "Uh, rigggggght. I think you read way too many bad detective stories, Ryu. I suggest you lay off them. Listen, I'm not a freaking killer magician. I'm just a normal, albeit fairly talented, guy trying to make my way in the world. Can you not see that or what?"
"Yeah, well, it's just that I'm a little cautious. I've had a couple of near-death experiences doing new stuff before, albeit not at the hands of magicians, and they made me nervous about experiencing new things. So I can't be blamed."
"No one's blaming you for anything, Ryu. So just chill. Now, I can only say sorry about your bad experiences with new experiences, because this is probably a new thing to you. Now, if you don't think you can take it, you don't have to get in if you don't want to. I'll pick another person from the crowd. You can stick and watch if you want, but you will not be asked to participate again. Now, what do you say? Are you in or out?"
I thought for a few seconds. If I went in, something bad might or might not happen to me. Sten had said nothing would happen, but I had no solid evidence to believe him by. After all, many killers lure their victims into their clutches with sweet talk.
But…I had to try. I had nothing to lose, really, even my life. If he tried anything funny, I would just do some fancy sword work, and that would be the end of him. And it might even turn out to be fun.
I nodded at him. "All right, Sten. I'll do it."
He clasped his hands together, setting his jewelry to dangling like mad. "That's great, Ryu. Now, just step over here and we'll get going." He walked over so that he stood next to a small box lying on the grass.
As I, too began to walk over, I heard him revert his voice back to its shouting form. "ALL RIGHT, PEOPLE!" he yelled, making sure everyone could hear. Everyone snapped to attention; they had all been muttering amongst themselves while Sten and I had been speaking. "I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT SLIGHT DELAY! MY PARTNER HERE NEARLY- Er, never mind," he finished lamely, having caught an angry look from me, and the crowd laughed heartily. I continued to direct this gaze at him until he began talking again. "ANYWAYS, PLEASE DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE MAN HERE WITH BLUE HAIR! FOR MY FINAL ACT, I AM GOING TO TRANSPORT HIM FROM THAT BOX ON THE GRASS INTO…A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD!" Predictably, gasps rose from every corner of the audience, even though they had already heard the same thing not five minutes earlier. As I looked over to where my friends stood, I could see Nina slowly shaking her head.
"AND NOW, RYU! PLEASE, STEP FORWARD! THE PRESENTATION IS READY TO BEGIN!"
I walked the short distance from where I had been to where he stood. He gestured for me to climb into the box, which I did. I remained standing, though, as he continued his speech, not ready to go down just yet.
"IN JUST A FEW SECONDS, RYU HERE SHALL BE CONVEYED TO A DIFFERENT WORLD. ONLY I HAVE THE POWER TO BRING HIM BACK. BUT DO NOT FEAR…I SHALL BE SURE TO BRING HIM BACK UNHARMED."
Unharmed? That didn't sound too good. That meant there was at least a slight chance of injury happening while I was away. That stupid Sten had failed to mention that until right then. I just knew he would pull something like that. I'd have to deal with him later on that.
"SO, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE, RYU, CROUCH DOWN INTO THAT BOX." I did so, going so low so as to not allow of my hair to be showing. "NOW, ONCE I CLOSE THE LID, AWAY HE GOES! HE SHALL BE RETURNED MOMENTARILY, SO PLEASE STICK AROUND."
He turned around so that he faced me. "Ready, Ryu?" I gave him a slight nod. "Great." He reached over me, and as I looked up, I saw him shut the lid down on me, and I felt myself being sucked down into the earth. Evidently, I was going to that alternate world he had been yelling about. Naturally, I freaked out.
I was still yelling my head off when I landed with a loud thump on the ground. But I had no idea where I was. It was complete darkness all around me. Not a single bit of light shone in from anywhere.
I sat up, saw nothing of interest (nothing at all, actually), and sighed. I hated being alone in dark places. Always brought me back to my creepy dream that one fateful night. As much I liked the end results of that night, what with me escaping Gate and all, the dream still held a powerful grip on me. I wonder what would have happened if that eye had never spoken to me. Would I be here, now, sitting in a tiny box, waiting to be transported to another world by a slightly crazy magician? Probably not. No, I would likely be back in Gate still, still bored out of mind, still with nothing to do. Probably still wouldn't even be allowed to leave the village alone.
So was it for the best that that evil eye contacted me? For now, it seems it has been. I've met my best friend, escaped Gate, had a fairly boring-but-still-somewhat fun life in Hometown, met some great people, including two potential girlfriends, fought two awesome fights, and a whole bunch of other garbage. I just hope that the rest of my life will benefit so much from that eye. Doubtful, but at least I can dream.
Dammit, what's taking that stupid monkey so long? Oh, damn, I forgot He didn't give me a time limit. I could be down here forever! Holy crap! This is worse than I thought!
I stood up and began jumping. "Hey!" I yelled. "Sten, you bastard, get me the hell out of here. The show is over, the people have seen your trick. NOW LET ME OUT OF HERE!" There was nothing but silence that answered me.
Great. No word from the guy who put me down here, plus it's pitch black. And this time, I don't have a candle. I swear, I'm going to kill that dude when I get out of here. Tricking me like this. DAMMIT! What in Ladon's name is he doing?
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Well, I had done it. I had gotten that Ryu sap away from me, and thus away from those pretty companions of his, leaving me free access to them. Heheheh.
I began to walk over to where the two stood, making sure to give off an air of sadness. After all, I would, in a few moments, be setting up a lie, one in which my little blue-haired acquaintance had met an untimely death. Hopefully, his friends would believe me. I figured they probably would; they looked kind of weak-minded, especially that winged one. But I don't really care about a girl's intelligence; I leave that to the scholars. As for me, Sten Kammashi, I only care about their bodies. Call me shallow, sick, immoral, whatever; I don't care. That's just the way I've always rolled.
Ryu's red-furred companion looked up as I approached, her gaze narrowing. I had to be careful with her- now that I was up close, she looked like a fairly competent individual. As for the winged one, she was looking around, as if lost in a daze. Evidently, she had never seen a disappearing act before. She would be easy to convince, I thought, of Ryu's tragic death. She floated over to the box, opened it up, and peered in. "Ryuuuuu? You in there? Hurry up and get out of there. We need to go."
"Excuse me, miss," I called out. She hurriedly let go of the lid and whipped around to face me. "I hate to be the one to say this, but I have some fairly bad news for you."
The furry one rushed over, and I noticed with some fear a huge bowstaff she held in her hands that was armed with claws at the tip. Likely she would swing that weapon my way if I failed to convince her of Ryu's demise, and it was also likely it would hurt like mad.
Nina floated to where her friend stood, and remained there. "What do you mean, mister? What's happened to Ryu? Why isn't he back yet?"
"First, let me say this: Call me Sten. Second, like I said, I have bad news. Very bad. As sad as this makes me to say, it seems that Ryu couldn't hack the moving process, and he's d-"
"HOLD IT!" the furred one shouted. She too had been standing still, but now she came unhinged, and began to pace slowly back and forth. "Don't even tell me that Ryu's dead, you hear me? Because I'll know you're lying."
"And how would you know that?" I asked innocently.
"Because Ryu would never get killed by a simple street magician like you. If he can beat back Biribirus without so much as sweating, defeat both me and Baba in single-hand combat, and even survive a demon's attack, he can manage to get through a simple dimensional warp. So," she said dangerously, "if you think you pull the wool over our eyes, go ahead and try. But I warn you, the results won't be pretty."
Okay, now I really was scared; her tone told me she was most definitely not joking. It would be asinine of me to give her my story now. I hated to not do it, especially since the rewards I would get would be those two fine women, but if I were forced to weigh my life and a couple of gals, my life would come in first every time.
But still…it might be worth it just to try it. There was only one way out of the "world" where Ryu was, and it was unlikely he would figure it out anytime soon. If I could convince this girl and the other that I was not faking anything, and that Ryu was really dead, I had a sporting chance. It would be very dangerous, and the rewards weren't worth the risk, but I still had to try. And even if, by some miracle, Ryu managed to find the way out of his little prison, then I would just escape, using my highly honed simian abilities. They would never be able to catch me, not even that flyer.
I took in a huge breath of air, let it out. Here went nothing. "Actually, miss, I'm not lying, believe it or not." A quick glance at her face told me she didn't. I knew I had to press on quickly, or else be attacked. "Some people aren't able to handle having their atoms separated and pulled apart, only to be reorganized later, which is the basic process of transporting them to different worlds. And unfortunately, Ryu just wasn't one of those people. I thought he would be; he looked like a pretty tough guy. I don't know what happened; usually, the more physically strong a person is, the better chance he has of surviving a dimensional warp. It was a crazy twist of fate, is the only thing I can think of. And I am most deeply sorry." I took a deep bow here, lowering my face almost to the ground, praying to Ladon that my ruse worked.
But it didn't, dammit. The girl I had been talking to sprang into my face as soon as I stood back up, her features twisted with rage. "LIAR!" she shouted at me. "I just know you're not telling me the truth. Twist of fate, my ass. I don't know why, but for some sick reason, you're hiding him from us, and I'm going to find him. Nina," she turned her head towards her winged friend. "Keep an eye on this lying bastard for me, will you? I'll be back shortly." With those words, and a final, seething glare towards me, she bounded off.
Ladon. This was not working out at all. Well, I had one option left: Take this girl Nina hostage. If I held her for ransom, maybe…
But no. I just wasn't that way. I might be a slimy, filthy perv, but that doesn't mean I don't have at least some morals. I shouldn't have even been thinking of doing that terrible deed. I sighed deeply. I would have to tell her the truth…Well, not the whole truth. Not the fact that there was no other world, and that where I had sent Ryu was just some random place underground. No, I wouldn't tell her, or anyone else that. That was my little secret. What I would tell her, and what would also be part true, would be that I had put Ryu in a prison, of sorts, and it would be nearly impossible to get him out. She likely wouldn't be too happy, and neither would the other one; I shuddered to think of what she might do to me once she got back.
I walked over to where the winged girl was floating. She looked down at me with a curious expression, and then lowered herself to the ground. "Do you need something, dude?"
I was surprised, to say the least. Here was a Windian, probably one of royalty, to have come from inside the castle, speaking like some street punk. Evidently her parents hadn't done the best of jobs raising her. I frowned slightly; my parents would have never allowed me to speak that way.
But then, they wouldn't have allowed you to become a womanizer or a con artist, either, eh, Sten? my conscience said. Being a hypocrite again, are we? You should really work on that.
"Shut up," I whispered fiercely.
"What was that?" Nina asked me.
"Uh, nothing. Listen, I wanted to tell you something."
"What?"
"What actually happened to Ryu."
She nodded. "I figured you would tell me that sooner or later. I could tell what you were feeding Katt back there was a load of BS. So, where is he?"
"Wellll, he actually is in another dimension, believe it or not. But of course, he's not dead. I'm not that bad a magician, you see. But, there's a problem present that doesn't involve his corpse. Rather, it's a matter of getting him back. Interdimensional travel is one of the hardest spells a magician can learn, and though I am the only one in the entire world capable of pulling it off, I still have not completely mastered it. As far as I know, there's only one way of getting him back, and to do so would expend a great deal of my energy. Now, you're a Windian, and thus, I'm going to guess you're a magician. Am I right?"
She nodded. "Hate to sound arrogant, but I'm a pretty good one, too."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Good. That makes this easier. What I'm thinking is, I will harness my power with yours, and together, we can both bring Ryu out of his, shall we call it, prison. Now…?"
A flash of fur had appeared next to me in a split second after I said that Ryu was in a prison. Before my eyes could completely register the fact that it was even there, it materialized into Katt, who was now swinging her staff menancingly.
"What was that about a prison, Sten? You have Ryu locked up somewhere?"
"Err…" I said, staring hard at her staff. "I was just getting to that, actually, Katt. You see…"
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I slid to the ground, exhausted. I had been leaping around for the last five or ten minutes, trying desperately to find something, anything, that would lead me out of this prison of mine. Sten had better watch himself when I get out of here. It's going to take all of Katt and Nina's power to hold me back. Or maybe they won't even hold me back, and instead let me have my way. That would be nice, but I doubt they'll let me kill Sten, much as I want to.
I laid my head down on my chest. I hated being down here, in the suffocating darkness, with nothing to do. I couldn't even sleep, for I didn't know what lurked down here.
But…maybe…there had to have been a way out; no matter where a place is, there's always a way to get in and a way to get out. All I would need to do is look.
Of course, I couldn't accomplish crap sitting down, and while I probably couldn't accomplish a whole lot more standing up, it would be good of me to at least try. I stood up slowly, wincing as my body began screaming at me, telling me to sit back down and get some rest. I ignored its pleas and began walking around, my arm stuck out in front of me, trying to find a wall or something that might lead me out of there.
I walked that way for about two minutes, and then…there it was. A ladder. In another world? Hmmm…It took me only a few seconds to realize that all the townspeople and I had been duped. Just as I had originally suspected, there was no "other world." That little swindler up there had a trap door or something that dropped whoever was in the box down about 20 feet. And this ladder no doubt led straight back up to the above-world. I threw back my head and laughed. That stupid monkey, thinking he could fool me. Ah, well. At least this gave me an excuse to put a hurting on him. He had made a big mistake lying to me like that, and I fully intended to make him pay for it. I grabbed ahold of the nearest rung and began to climb up.
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"…And that's it, ladies," Sten finished. "I'm afraid that it might be a while before our friend Ryu makes his return to this world. I really am sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. But the only thing we can do now is wait, since the process to get him back out here is just too exhausting." Finished with his little speech, the monkey took a seat in the lawn chair he had set up next to the box. It was obvious he was perfectly willing to wait as long as it took.
However, Katt and Nina were not. "Dude…" Katt said. "Your story's very nice and all, but I'm still not believing it. I believe in Ryu, and I know he can make it out of your little dungeon. However, seeing as how Nina and I have nothing to do currently, we will wait here with you. But if it takes too long, we'll going to look for Ryu. And you're coming. Got that?"
Sten looked up from where he had been twiddling his thumbs. "Oh yeah, I got you, Katt. No prob." And he returned to his task, more intently than before.
Katt sighed deeply. Hurry up, Ryu. This guy is getting irritating real quick. Plus, we have to go find that thief of ours. If we spend much more time here, she'll be long gone. So let's go.
And sure enough, not five seconds later, a hole appeared in the ground. It was small at first, and she barely even noticed it. But, it grew bigger by a few inches every couple of seconds, and soon, all three of them were staring intently at it, Sten the hardest of all.
However, the hole grew only to about a foot or so across before stopping its growth. And out of that hole popped my head.
"Ouch…" I spluttered, dirt flying out of my mouth as I spoke. I looked up. "Hi, guys. A little help down here would be nice."
They all goggled at me. After a bit, Katt and Nina both turned their heads to stare at Sten, who only held out his hands and grinned foolishly. "What?" he asked. "I thought there was only one way out."
"There was only one way out, Sten. It took me a while to find this ladder. And by the way, it would have been nicer of you to have two trapdoors, one for falling and one for getting out, instead of just one for falling. 'Cause, you know, it kind of hurts the fingers to dig a foot-wide hole in the ground.
"Anyways, I would like to get out of here. So, if you would, Nina, blast this hole a little bigger. Four feet should be good enough; don't want to make too big a hole on the castle lawn. Hang on a sec and let me get down."
I slid down the ladder a good twenty feet or so. No sense being anywhere close to one of Nina's magic blasts. I stared up, then quickly looked back down as a small explosion rocked the earth, and a shower of dirt rained down on me. Again spitting the stray pieces out of my mouth, I climbed back up and onto the surface of the earth.
"Whew!" I said. I was exhausted, covered in soil and sweat from head to foot, and there were quite a few worms crawling around on me too. But that didn't matter: I was out now.
I got up and brushed myself off as best as I could, thanked Nina, and then turned to give Sten an icy glare. He grinned up at me. "What's up, Ryu? You all right?"
I shook my head slowly. "No, Sten, I'm afraid not. You see, you deliberately put me down in that little prison of yours; why, I don't know, but the fact is, you did, when you had already promised not to do anything funny. So, now, I'm going to have to lay a beat down on your ass. Sorry, but that's what you get when you screw around with me. But don't worry," I added, noting he was looking at my sword. "I'm not aiming to kill; just teach a lesson, you know?"
"Well, Ryu, I would love to stick around, but darn if my time here isn't up. Have fun doing whatever you're going to do next. See you lat—hurgh!"
"You know," I told him, as I hung onto his collar. "I figured you were going to try to escape your punishment. But that won't happen. Once you get your beating, you'll be free to go. As a matter of fact…hmmm. Stay here a minute. An idea just occurred to me." I dropped him unceremoniously to the ground, where he commenced cursing and yelling at me. "And don't try to run away, either," I called back. He froze in mid-position of getting up. "I will have my eye on you." I let this threat hang in the air as I turned back around, confident he wouldn't try anything rash.
I walked over to where Katt and Nina stood watching. "Girls," I announced. "I have an idea. And please don't hate me for it."
They both rolled their eyes. "We won't, Ryu. Now what is it?" Katt inquired.
"It's like this. Sten…sure he tricked me into going into a weird-ass place, likely so that he could try to take advantage of you two (and it's a good thing he didn't, or else I really would kill him). But, I feel he could still be useful. Listen!" I said firmly, as both had opened their mouths to protest. "He's a magician; I know, Nina, you are too, but that doesn't change things. Magicians, especially ones as talented as our friend Sten here, are always handy to have in a fight, and from the looks of our quest so far, we are going to be getting into a lot of those. Thus, he will be a great asset to us. One swordsman, one staff wielder, two magicians, and (when they come back), a fighter and a bowman—that's a team few would want to tangle with. So, what do you say? Is Sten with us or not?"
They considered my question together for a while. I could tell Katt really didn't want him coming, but if Nina said yes and she said no, she would have to learn to put up with him. After a few minutes of careful deliberation, they turned to me and said, "He's in, but only on one condition."
"What's that?"
"He keeps his monkey hands to himself."
"That doesn't sound like too harsh a rule to keep. Now, Sten," I asked him, for after turning around, I had discovered he was behind us and listening to our every word.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah, Ryu, I heard it." He stood up and glared at me. "I don't like it too much, but if it's what I'm forced to do, I might as well take it compromisingly, right?"
I nodded. "Good," he said. "Glad to see we agree. And Katt and Nina, you have my word of honor I will keep my monkey hands to myself. I might be a womanizer of the worst kind, but I'll make an exception with you two, seeing as how we're going to be travel mates now." They nodded at him. "Okay, then, Ryu. Where we off to? But wait. I haven't even properly apologized to you for tricking you like that." He dropped to one knee, took off his cap, and stared at the ground. "I, Sten Kammashi, am ever so regretful for having put you, Ryu, in another world, without having told you how to get out first. My sincerest apologies, Ryu."
I placed my hand on his shoulder (had to bend down to do so, though, since his shoulder was only about two feet off the ground). "Sten, thank you. That means a lot to me to hear someone apologize after having wronged me. Not many people do it, and it pisses me off to no end when they don't. So, thanks. And I forgive"
He got back to his feet. "No problem, Ryu," he said, adjusting his crown back onto his head.
"Oh, and Sten."
"What?"
"You can forget about that beatdown I told you about earlier. It ain't going to happen."
"I figured so."
"Wasn't ever going to happen, actually. I was just going to scare you, is all."
"I figured that, too. Sometimes threats do work better than the actual actions."
"Yep."
"And another thing."
"What?"
"Stop calling it "another world." I already deduced it wasn't one, so it's kind of pointless to continue that little charade."
He looked crestfallen. "Oh. Well, I figured that you knew, after you mentioned the trap doors. But still…Dammit! Everyone else had been duped by it before. I hate you for that, Ryu. You just spoiled my best act."
"Sorry, Sten."
"It's cool."
We stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before Katt stepped in between us. "Well, now that oh-so-sweet apology and whatnot is done, can we get a move on now? I believe, Ryu, we have a thief to catch."
Sten looked up at me with interest in his eyes. "Thief, Ryu? Do I get an explanation? I'm rather interested in such people."
"Yeah, Sten, you will. Later. For now, let's mosey along now. I must say, I'm getting quite tired of this place. Too confining for its own good." Nina nodded several times at this. "So, before I get too hedged in, let's go. We have a thief to catch, after all.
