Chapter 10: The Witch's Curse

Power. We need your power. God needs your power. Give yourself to our God. Pray to God. Praise God. Sacrifice your bodies and souls to God. You are destined to become God's power...

Ryu woke up.

"Hey, buddy," Bow said quietly as he looked around. He was back in his temporary room in the hideout south of Hometown, and he had no idea how or why; Bow was seated at the desk, watching him carefully. "How you feeling?"

"Like I've been sleeping for about a week," Ryu replied honestly, then paused. "I haven't, have I?"

"Nah, it hasn't even been a day." Bow gave him a curious look. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"These two crazy women were trying some sort of Fusion Clan experiment on me." Ryu shrugged. "Then the house exploded or something. It's all kind of fuzzy at the..." He paused, as his memory began to trickle back in, and his hands began to shake.

"Yeah." Bow watched him carefully. "The others told me. Light Dragon, huh? Whodathunkit."

"You know, maybe I should be the one asking you what happened," Ryu said, voice slightly strained.

"After you disappeared, the others went looking for you," Bow explained. "They tracked you down. About a mile off from the place when it blew sky-high, and out comes a twenty-foot flying flaming lizard. Caught their attention, let me tell you."

"The crazy women get out okay?" Ryu asked quickly. Despite everything, he wasn't quite irritated at them enough to want them to have died in the fire.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Bow rolled his eyes. "I'll get to that in a moment. Anyways, apparently whatever the hell it was they did to you was what set you off. As soon as you landed, you turned back, and started walking back towards Capitan, acting like you'd just snorted an entire plateful of magic mushrooms."

"I don't think that would actually work," Ryu pointed out.

"Details, details." Bow waved his hand, then lowered it, looking serious. "They followed you back to the statue of Ladon in the northeast corner of town, buddy. Seems you fell over next to it and started ranting at him. Ray thinks you were just talking to yourself, but Sten... we're pretty sure he heard Ladon talk back."

"Great." Ryu rubbed his forehead. "As if this couldn't get any more complicated. Did they say what Ladon said?"

"A lot of apologizing, and promising that he'd talk with you some more once you were back in your right mind," Bow said, frowning. "You realize this brings all that destiny bullshit we were worried about right back up in our faces, right?"

"I'm trying not to think about that, actually." Ryu shook his head. "Let's concentrate on the shit we actually understand for right now. What happened next?"

"They figured they should get you back here, after you passed out eventually," Bow continued. "So Ray brought you guys back again. Turns out as long as he's been somewhere before, he can Warp back there. That was a few hours ago, and we were gonna take turns watching you until you woke up again. And here we are."

"And here we are," Ryu echoed, looking out the window. "Shit."

"What was it like?" Bow asked after a moment.

"Scary," he said quietly. "It was like being a hitchiker in my own body, except it wasn't even mine any more. I saw myself turning into... into it and doing all that, but it didn't feel like it was me doing it. And after I turned back... I don't remember any of the rest of that." He paused. "I didn't do anything too bad, did I?"

"Well..." Bow scowled. "You did promise the old lady you'd get her a new house to replace the one you wrecked. Does that count?"

"What," Ryu said flatly.

On cue, something exploded outside his window.

"Yeah, they came back with Ray and the rest." Bow sighed. "I think Niro and the old lady actually know each other or something-they both looked like they'd seen a ghost when he came out to say hi-but I was too busy with the whole housing thing to ask him about it. Eventually we gave her the place next door, just to shut her up. Looks like these rooms are gonna be ours permanently after all. Man, I was really looking forward to that, too."

"It was probably too large for just the two of us anyways," Ryu pointed out. "I've been used to shitty little rooms for so long, moving too far up would just be weird. We are going to take out that door connecting the buildings, though."

"Oh, hell yes," Bow agreed. "The other girl's pretty hot, though. She doesn't seem like she'd be so bad a neighbor."

"Trust me, she's worse than the old lady." Ryu made a face. "Besides, imagine what Silvia's going to think."

"Right, that door is gone." Bow winced, then grew serious again. "Anyways, Nina and Ray are taking it the hardest. Katt got over it pretty easily, and Niro's got other things to worry about. Sten and Rand are getting used to the idea, too, but Ray and Nina... last time I saw them, they were still looking shell-shocked. Not sure why."

"Ray's probably worried about the whole thing with Ladon." Ryu shook his head. "I'll have to come up with some way to explain that to him, if he can't hear the old man. As for Nina... think, man. Destiny bullshit, a Light Dragon named Ryu, and a Windian princess named Nina... ringing any bells now?"

"Aw, shit," Bow swore. "Didn't think of that."

"I sort of have to." Ryu sighed, then gave him a direct look. "And what about you?"

"Far as I'm concerned, you're still my buddy," Bow told him bluntly. "Come on, man. I'm the last guy around who'd care about what your clan is."

"Guess so," Ryu said. "Thanks, man. Let's try and keep it on that basis, then. If all this destiny bullshit comes knocking on the door one day, we'll figure out what to do about it then and there. Until that happens, though? We're just another bunch of guys trying to earn an honest buck like anybody else."

"Sounds good to me." Bow nodded, then smiled again, a little strangely this time. "You know what's weird? I always figured that when we finally got all this off the ground, I'd be the one in charge of it. You always just kind of hung back and let me take the lead, when it was the two of us. But ever since you headed off, it's been the other way around. You've been acting a lot more..." He scratched his head. "Idunno."

"I didn't even notice," Ryu said honestly, frowning. "Is it really that big a deal?"

"Never said it was," Bow assured him. "Just kind of surprised me, that's all. The rest of 'em all know it, too. Katt and Rand and Nina and Sten already think of you as the boss. Says it all to me, right there. I'd have probably sucked at it anyways. You'll do better than I would have in a heartbeat, buddy, trust me."

"Look, Bow..." Ryu started to say.

"You're not gonna make me get all touchy-feely about this, are you?" Bow threatened. "With emotions and shit?"

"Ugh." Ryu made a face. "Yeah, okay. Point made."

"That's what I thought." Bow chuckled, standing up. "Get some rest, buddy. I'm gonna go sack out for the night. We'll get everybody together and talk about all of this some more tomorrow morning, huh?"

"Sounds like a plan." Ryu nodded, lying back down. "Catch you then, buddy."

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. Either due to some side effect of the ordeal he'd been through, or simply because of the raging storm of his thoughts and emotions, Ryu quickly realized he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep any time soon. After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning that he was fairly sure was actually only a few minutes, he gave up and got out of bed to wander the building. With luck, somebody else would still be up as well, and some more conversation would help him settle down.

The door to the room Ray was borrowing at the moment was wide open, and a quick glance inside told him that the paladin was absent, apparently similarly insomniac. Bow's, on the other hand, was tightly shut, and the sound of snoring was clearly audible from behind it. Walking past it, Ryu went up to the next floor, then paused as he heard conversation coming from Rand's room; the door was open as well.

"I still can't believe it, you know?" Katt was saying. "A Light Dragon. How the hell does that even happen?"

"Like I should have any idea?" Rand replied. "Don't ask me. I know about as much about that sort of thing as I do about dancing. I'm kind of amused by the fact that you're taking this better than what you thought was happening, though."

"You should talk," she retorted. "You were almost as pissed off as me and Nina were. Probably not for the same reasons, though."

"Uh, no," Rand told her flatly. "But yeah, okay, I wasn't too happy either. We work our asses off down here, and he's taking off with random girls? Would have pissed me off, I'll admit." He paused before continuing. "So, do you like him like that?"

"What's it to-" Katt started to snap, then fell silent for a moment herself. "Yeah, okay. Maybe I do. I've thought about it, at least. But then there's Nina, right? I think she does, too, and he... argh. It's complicated."

"No kidding," Rand muttered. "Makes me glad I don't have a girlfriend."

"Maybe the new girl next door will decide you're her type," Katt wisecracked. "And even if she doesn't, I hear she's got a bunch of sisters who they're gonna be inviting to move in with them, or something. Sten'll love that."

"Namanda, Namanda..." Rand groaned. "No comment. So what are we going to do? About this Light Dragon thing, I mean?"

"You really need me to answer that for you?" Katt told him. "As if. You know as well as I do that we're gonna stick around for the long haul, just like we were already planning on doing. This doesn't change anything."

"Just making sure we were on the same page," Rand assured her. "Think any of the others will disagree?"

"Nah," she replied. "There's just something about him, you know? Maybe it's why me and Nina both... but you know, that's not the point. I don't know if it would work on normal people, but guys like us... hell, I don't even argue any more, when he tells me what we're going to be doing. I just do it. When did that start happening?"

"Who knows." Rand sounded like he was shrugging. "I get what you mean, though. Maybe it's a Dragon Clan thing."

"Yeah, maybe."

Without saying anything, Ryu stopped listening and continued up the stairs. The fourth floor was deserted; obviously Katt's room was empty, but a quick check showed that Nina's was as well. She wasn't hard to find, however; a glance up the stairs to the roof showed him that she was sitting on the edge with Ray.

"What of the demons, then?" Ray was asking her. "You accept their existence without question, as well as that of Infinity, from what Ryu has told me."

"The magic of transformation has been lost to the world, but so have many other things that are now resurfacing," Nina replied coolly. "The Dragon Clan, for example. 'Demons' could easily just be another word for a particularly depraved Clan with knowledge of that particular secret, and Infinity their homeland, deep beneath the earth. History would even seem to support that; they apparently took part in the First Dragon War."

"Yes, they did," Ray shot back. "Under the control of the pagan spirit known as Myria who claimed divinity."

"I thought there was supposedly no God but St. Eva?" Nina asked lightly. "That would make Myria's claims a strike against you, wouldn't it?"

"St. Eva's teachings are intentionally vague on the nature of Infinity," Ray argued, but it sounded slightly weaker. "That knowledge is restricted to the leaders of the church, for the good of the world. Perhaps the spirit known as Myria does dwell in Infinity, opposing St. Eva."

"Speculation only, I'm afraid." Nina shook her head. "I'm a practical woman, Ray. I believe in what I can see and know with my own eyes and mind. Everything else might be a nice story, but that's all it is, to me. Stories."

"You don't believe in faith, then?" Ray asked, sounding more curious than anything.

"I stopped believing in faith many years ago," Nina admitted quietly. "I'm sorry if that makes me some sort of heathen, but it's the truth."

"On the contrary." Ray turned his head towards her. "Under your circumstances, I can't be sure I wouldn't feel the same way." He paused for a moment. "One of these days, will you tell me about all of that?"

"I might," Nina replied, somewhat vaguely, before continuing. "Look, Ray... I'm flattered, but..." She left it hanging.

"Am I that obvious?" He asked wistfully. "No, no, you don't need to answer that. Nor do you need to concern yourself. That isn't what I meant at all. Even if you didn't have another interest, I am a Paladin of the Church of St. Eva, and I've taken my vows."

"Isn't that lonely?" Nina asked him, very soft and quiet. "Living out your entire life without somebody else?"

"Perhaps," Ray admitted. "But there are other considerations. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I meant... I'd like to have you as a friend."

"You already have that," Nina told him, smiling as well. "One of these days, then... I'll tell you about Windia, yes. Perhaps the next time we meet, if there isn't quite so much else going on at the time."

"It has been an interesting few days, hasn't it?" Ray replied dryly. "I can't help but think that this latest complication has been the most so, though. A Light Dragon..."

"I know," Nina murmured. "He even looks a little different now that he's calmed down. A little... tougher, I suppose."

"It's only natural, I suppose," Ray said quietly.

Ryu left that conversation behind without joining in as well; even more than the previous one, it was obvious there was no place in it for him. Instead, he chose to descend the staircase this time, down past his room to the bottom floor. As he walked through towards the front door, he heard yet another conversation from the kitchen.

"Man, I wish every time a nobleman got me in trouble, he was falling all over himself to make up for it," Sten was saying over the sounds of a flowing tap. "Helping pay for this place was great, but shipping ale in here for us too?"

"Duke Kilgore's a good fella," Niro replied as the tap closed. "Always was. Knew 'im when I was younger."

"You've been all over the place, haven't you?" Sten asked him. "I kind of wanted to talk to you about that, actually. I'd appreciate it if you didn't blab too much about the last time we met."

"You're not alone, yanno," Niro pointed out. "This ain't exactly your normal outfit. Don't think anybody here ain't got somethin' in their past they don't regret."

"I don't have a past," Sten said flatly. "It's dead."

"Oh," Niro replied after a moment. "One of those. Yeah, okay, I gotcha. Sorry, didn't think too much."

"It's cool," Sten told him. "I just want to keep things from getting too complicated. What about you, then? That old lady?"

"Gigli?" Niro sighed. "Just one more part of a misspent youth. Been near thirty years since I last seen her. Never knew she was livin' up near Capitan these days. Sure as hell never figured she'd be movin' in next door down here."

"Women, huh?" Sten commented dryly. "They complicate everything."
"That's the truth," Niro agreed. "To women, then." Their mugs clinked together audibly.

"Speaking of women..." Sten continued a moment later. "Who do you think it is, for the boss? Katt, or Nina?"

"Good question!" Niro replied cheerfully. "Now, Katt's the one who's got more in common with him, hands down. I remember back when they first came in together after that mess with Coursair, bringin' Rand back, and figurin' they were so much alike, it was only a matter of time, you know? Especially at that age."

"Right, right," Sten agreed. "But just because somebody's like you doesn't mean they're the type of person you go for, you know? If there's too much of that, it might not work out. S'why they say opposites attract, and all that. In which case, it'd be Nina instead. They're about as different as night and day on the surface, so it'd only be when they really started to get to know each other that they'd start finding common ground."

"Good point, good point." Niro conceded. "Tricky. Suppose we could just ask him."

"What, like he'd tell us?" Sten snorted. "We'd be lucky if he didn't throw us into the Bay of Auria."

"'Nother good point."

Ryu was almost tempted to join in on that conversation at that point, but in the end he slipped past the door and continued out front. It seemed there was only one person left who wasn't occupied already that evening; aside from their new neighbors, at any rate, and that wasn't going to happen. Sitting down on the porch, he glanced at the statue of Ladon, and waited for it to speak.

"So now you know," it said after a few moments.

"Seems that way," he replied noncommittally. A long silence stretched between them before he turned to stare at the statue accusingly. "Why didn't you tell me? You knew, all this time, didn't you? And you never said a word!"

"Would you have believed me if I had?" Ladon asked pointedly.

"Maybe." Ryu stared at his hands. "Blue hair, green eyes... it all seems so obvious, now that I know. It was my mother, wasn't it?"

"It was," Ladon admitted. "How much do you remember, of Gate?"

"Barely anything," Ryu answered honestly. "It was so long ago, and the way I left wasn't exactly pleasant. There was a dragon there, wasn't there? Was that..."

"Valerie's story is... was... more complicated than even your father knew, though he was aware of more than he told you," Ladon explained.

"Awfully cryptic," Ryu growled. "Not that that's any different. You're not giving me the whole story here, and you know it. Am I supposed to be some kind of hero now? The next 'Ryu' who saves the world? Because I'll tell you right now, if that's the case, the world's pretty much screwed. I'm just a hired sword. That's all I've ever wanted to be, and it's all I ever will. Is it really a coincidence that I keep running into demons? Do you really have no idea why me and my friends are the only ones who can hear you? I want answers. Talk, old man."

"You wish to know why I've been so vague?" Ladon replied wearily. "That's why, Ryu. Because if I told you, you would be locked into destiny's path, with no chance of escape. You wish for a normal life, you say? That's what I've been trying to give you."

"I can't say I expected that," Ryu said after a moment. "I thought... well, I guess I just assumed that you'd be the one behind all of this destiny bullshit. Isn't that what you do, for... for guys like me? That's what being the Dragon God means, right?"

"It was, once," Ladon admitted. "However... I may be a deity, Ryu, but I'm not omnipotent, and I'm not perfect. I make mistakes, like anybody else, and some of the ones I've made haunt me, even today. The last one who shared your name... he and I didn't part on good terms, and it was my fault. I did what I had to, despite the cost, and perhaps that was a mistake. I'll warn you of immediate danger when I can, and try to fill in some of the blanks on occasion, but no more. Your path in life is your own to walk. I won't pave it for you."

"I think I understand that, actually," Ryu told him, thinking about it. "More importantly, I can buy it. I was worried for a moment there that I couldn't trust you any more, but that actually makes sense to me."

"I'm glad it does." The statue of Ladon seemed to smile, despite the immobility of its features. "Make your choices with a clear mind and a strong will, Ryu. That is all I ask of you, and should you do so, you will persevere."

"I can do that," Ryu agreed. For a moment, he considered asking him why Ray couldn't hear him, but decided against it. Instead, he stood up and patted the statue. "I'm glad they took the time to fix this one up. It looks good."

"As am I." Ladon chuckled. "I don't think replacing the temple would be a good idea, though. The church of St. Eva might not approve."

"Nooooooo." Ryu agreed. "So, how about the Breath Of Fire? Okay if I ask you about the mechanics on that? Can I turn into a dragon any time now?"

"Normally, the transformations are awakened through certain rituals known only to my high priests," Ladon explained. "It seems that the Fusion clanswoman's experimentation brought you to the first stage. You transformed into a Drake then, but that was a side effect of the unnatural awakening. Normally, at this stage, I'm afraid that you'll only be able to transform into a Whelp of fire, ice or lightning."

"Still sounds pretty good to me," Ryu commented. "What's the catch?"

"The Breath of Fire is weakened, as I'm sure you've heard by now," Ladon continued. "Because of that, a permanent transformation is no longer possible. The duration of the transformation will depend on your magic reserves; when you run out, you'll turn back, and it will run out quickly. I'd imagine a minute at most."

"And when that happens, I'll be pretty much beat," Ryu added. "I've seen Bow when he hits absolute zero. Not pretty. Thanks for the info."

"I'm glad to help," Ladon said warmly. "As well as that you're finally close to catching your thief."

"Heard about that, huh?" Ryu chuckled. "Let's hope so. All right, I'm going back inside to try and catch some sleep again. Talk to you later."

"Good luck with that, and with your journey into Sima," Ladon replied as he went back into the building.

The next morning, they all gathered in the meeting room once more, as they had the last time they were back. Most of the others looked somewhat edgy; Katt cracked her knuckles repeatedly, while Nina drummed her fingers on the table. Bow toyed with one of his floppy ears, and Ray buffed at an imaginary spot on his sword with a rag. Rand stared at his hands on the table, while Sten flipped one of his daggers, catching it easily. Only Niro seemed at ease, though he still watched Ryu keenly as he sat down, joining them.

"All right, let's get this straightened out before we talk about anything else," Ryu said firmly. "Yes, it turns out I'm a Light Dragon, and no, this doesn't change anything as far as I'm concerned. I've got a few hunches as to how, but that's all, and there's pretty much no way I'll be getting answers on them, not that it really matters. I'm still me, we're still us, and until something comes along to change that, we just keep on doing what we were before. Any objections?"

"Come on, Ryu." Katt looked up, smiling suddenly. "You know us better than that. We're just glad to hear you're doing okay."

"What she said," Bow agreed. "You already know I'm cool with that, and if that surprised you, you are messed up by all this."

"Indeed." Nina nodded. "None of us are the type to be overly concerned with such things anyway, are we?"

"Hell no." Sten chuckled. "I'm sure not going to complain. Sounds like a good plan to me, boss."

"Agreed." Rand looked him over carefully, then smiled. "Good to see that you're keeping your head on straight about this."

"It seems like a good plan of action to me," Ray murmured. "Some men would be changed forever by such a situation. I'm glad you're not one of them."

"Everything's fine, then." Niro cackled. "So, heading back to Capitan?"

"If Ray doesn't mind one more Warp." Ryu nodded, as did Ray. "Ships should be coming back in today, with luck. We'll get the first one across to Sima and keep following the trail. With luck, we'll be able to track her down in that country."

"Somebody say something about Capitan?" Granny yelled as she barged through the door in the eastern wall, Sana close behind her. "Don't go heading off just yet, now! We got a few things to talk about!"

"We have got to get that door bricked up," Bow muttered under his breath, and the others around the table all nodded.

"Awww, but that's no fun!" Sana pouted. "Then I won't be able to sneak over and say hello at night if you lock up!"

"That was one of the things I was going to ask you about, actually," Granny muttered. "Glad to see you know what you're doing, carpenter."

"I ain't a carpenter, lady," Bow told her flatly. "What's the other problem?"

"Well, it's a very nice house, but we'll need a room for our experiments," she told them. "If you don't have a carpenter around here, you'll just have to find one to come down here and put one in, then!"

"Oh, is that so?" Bow replied sarcastically; the others were all staying quiet, watching him. "Look, granny, you're lucky we gave you a free house in the first place! What makes you think we're just gonna do everything you tell us to, huh?"

"Please, Mr. Carpenter?" Sana begged, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder, smiling. "You did such a great job on the rest of the house. Can't you just do us this one tiny little favor? After all, if we don't have that room, how am I supposed to try fusing with the rest of you, hmmm?"

"Listen, miss," Bow muttered, blushing. "I already told you, I'm not a... gah! Fine, whatever! We'll do it!"

"That one was a lost cause before it even got started," Katt muttered to Sten.

"Wouldn't have bet on him for all the zenny in Prima," he agreed as Bow gave them both dirty looks.

"Guess we'll look for one in Capitan." Ryu shrugged. "No promises on the quality, though. We ain't exactly rolling in dough here, so we'll have to go with what we can afford, especially considering how far he or she'll have to come."

"Let me take care of that," Niro said suddenly, surprising them all. The old man's face was pensive as he scribbled some names on a piece of paper before handing it to Ryu. "Here, look these three up. They should still be in Capitan, unless the damn fools got themselves killed, and I doubt all of them would have. You should be able to find at least one, and if anything's sacred to them any more, telling them Niro's calling in what they owe him oughta be enough."

"We'll do that," Ryu told him, fighting the instinct to ask for more information; it wasn't his business. "Thanks."

"Just doing my part for the company." He shrugged it off. "I'll go over what you need while we're waitin', Gigli. Make sure to have a proper floor plan drafted up by the time one of 'em gets here so they can put it in."

"Thank you, Niro," Granny replied quietly, her voice completely unlike normal. "That would be nice of you." She shook it off a moment later. "Anyways, this'll be good for you folks too, in the long run. You're mercenaries, right?"

"We prefer the term adventurers." Rand grimaced.

"That does sound nicer, doesn't it?" Sana murmured, walking over to him. "More romantic. I like it."

"Bah, call a spade a spade." Granny snorted. "Sorry about her, by the way. She's always been like that. You should have seen her when she was a kid."

"I'd rather not have, actually," Katt muttered, watching Rand twitch uncomfortably as Sana examined his massive arms. "What's your point?"

"Fusion!" She snapped. "It might not work with your chief, but the rest of you should be fine. If we get the room built, we'll be able to try Sana with some more of you. If it works out, the benefits'll be worth it, trust me."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that," Nina murmured.

"Speak for yourself, Nina." Sten grinned. "I'm all for that idea."

"Glad to hear it," Sana purred. "Let's give it a try the next time you come back, then, shall we?" She glanced apologetically at Ryu. "I've been meaning to tell you, but I don't think it's going to work out between us. I just can't see myself with a man I can't fuse with, you know?"

"That's quite all right," Ryu replied, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Like I told you, I'm sort of spoken for already, anyways."

"She ain't the only one, either!" Granny continued as if they hadn't spoken. "There's others out there. Three sisters and two cousins. Don't ask me why this generation's all girls. I've got no idea where they are right now-they're like stray cats, I swear-but if you run into any of 'em, tell 'em Granny's calling them home and let 'em know where I'm living now, and they'll head back here so we can fuse them with you folks too."

"Wait, wait, wait." Rand held up a hand, eyes widening. "Are you saying we might end up with six girls like her living next door?"

"Exactly what kind of 'benefits' are we talking here?" Katt asked skeptically.

"Depends on how well the fusion works." Granny shrugged. "It could be anything from enhanced strength, agility, durability or intelligence to a complete physical transformation. Sana here's a fire-elemental; the other five all have different ones, so they'll all match up better with different people. It never makes you weaker, though; the worst that could happen is the fusion not working. For folks in your line of work, this sort of thing'll help."

"I hate to say it, but she does have a point," Nina conceded. "Perhaps we should keep an eye out for the rest of these girls after all."

"They shouldn't be hard to miss, if they're anything like her," Ryu pointed out.

"Hey, I was sold from the start." Sten raised his hands, still grinning.

"I noticed," Katt commented dryly.

"I noticed you noticing."

"Are we done here?" Ray was looking even more awkward than the rest of them, despite the fact that Sana hadn't come near him. "We should really be getting back to Capitan. You have your business, as do I."

"Aww, you're not a member of this group?" Sana pouted, glancing at him. "Darn. I was looking forward to trying to fuse with you most of all. You smell almost as good as Ryu did, and you're even cuter, too."

"Down, girl!" Granny snapped, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her back out of the room into their building.

"Wow." Bow shook his head. "Just... wow."

"Yeah," Ryu agreed, and everybody else nodded as well.

The meeting broke up after that, and once they'd had breakfast, Ray warped them back to Capitan once more. After some quick deliberation, they decided to split up into teams to hunt down all three carpenters as quickly as possible. Ryu and Ray took the first name on the list, Katt and Nina the second, and Rand and Sten the third.

"Any particular reason you wanted this guy?" Ryu asked once they'd set off. "You seemed like you were insisting on him."

"The name is familiar," Ray replied, smiling slightly. "The Rivab child was the boy we saved from the creons, and I'm already familiar with the home. It's this way."

"Pretty slick," Ryu complimented him.

"I do my best," Ray replied, smile fading. "Listen, Ryu. I'll be leaving you once we're done with this, so this will be our last chance to talk for a while. I wanted you to know that I won't be informing the Church of St. Eva of your Clan heritage."

"Thanks, man," Ryu said quietly as they navigated the streets. "It's not the Church, it's just... I'd like to keep that secret as limited as possible."

"I understand, and agree." Ray hesitated a moment before continuing. "Honesty compels me to admit that there are many members of the church who would not react well to this knowledge. Some churchmen are... sensitive about the worship of Ladon that once dominated the world, and they have opinions regarding the disappearance of the Dragon Clan that I find unpleasant. It would not be the act of a friend to risk your identity becoming known to them."

"I've heard rumors," Ryu admitted. "I try not to listen to them, though. I won't ask you for details, though."

"Thank you." Ray nodded, but his eyes were still oddly intent. "Be very cautious, Ryu. The Church of St. Eva is not the only place in the world where such people will be found. Avoid revealing yourself unless absolutely necessary. Your life, and the lives of your friends, may depend on it."

"I wasn't planning on flying around belching fire all day anyway," Ryu assured him. "I'll be careful."

"Good." Ray stopped in front of a pleasant-looking two-story stone house with a slate roof. "Here we are." He knocked on the door, and a moment later, a young woman with curly red hair opened it.

"Oh, Mr. Braddoc!" She exclaimed. "And is this Mr. Bateson?"

"That's me." Ryu nodded. "Mind if we come in? We'd like to talk to your husband about something."

"Of course, of course." She turned and called up the staircase. "Dear, Mr. Braddoc and Mr. Bateson are here! They'd like to talk to you!"

"What?" A man's voice called down, and a moment later the father of the child they'd saved in the well descended, sliding down the rail. Landing perfectly, he seized their hands and shook them warmly. "I've been trying to find you all week so I could thank you myself, Bateson! You saved our boy's life, and probably mine too! Hell, you saved this entire town! Dear, would you mind getting us some drinks?"

"Way ahead of you, dear." She was already in the kitchen, and returned a moment later with three mugs of ale. "Here you go. Let me know how it is; it's a new batch."

"You brew your own?" Ryu asked, impressed.

"Anything you can eat or drink, my wife can do!" Mr. Rivab boasted. "Now then, what can I do for you?"

"We actually need a favor." Ray confessed. "You see-"

"Whatever it is, I'll do it!" Rivab cut him off. "Anything!"

"Glad to hear it." Ryu took a sip of his ale before continuing. "Hey, this is good. Anyways... does the name Niro Mani ring a bell?"

In the kitchen, they heard a glass break.

"Niro Mani," Mr. Rivab muttered, eyes distant. "Been a long time since I heard that name. Is that old codger still alive? What's he up to?"

"Believe it or not, he's actually joined up with my group," Ryu explained. "We're operating out of some old ruins in southern Auria, west of Mt. Fubi. He's keeping an eye on the place. We've refurbished a couple of the buildings down there, but one of them needs some work that's beyond our capabilities. We need a specialist."

"I think I know the ruins you're talking about." Mr. Rivab nodded slowly. "That's a hell of a long ways away, but if Niro sent you... and then there's everything I owe you..." He turned towards the kitchen. "Dear, I'm afraid I'm going to be taking a little trip."

"I heard." Mrs. Rivab was standing in the doorway now. "You have to, dear. If it's Mr. Mani and these gentlemen..."

"I won't even charge them," Mr. Rivab decided. "On the house!"

"Whoa, whoa." Ryu blinked. "That's going a little too far. Of course we're going to pay you for the work."

"Nonsense!" Mr. Rivab boomed. "I won't hear another word of it! As a matter of fact, I'm going up to pack my bags right now!" Draining his mug, he shook their hands forcibly again, then turned and ran up the stairs.

"Well, he's energetic," Ryu noted.

"He always has been," Mrs. Rivab agreed wryly. "He's right, though. Back when Mr. Mani still lived here, he gave my husband and his two friends their starts in this career. We never would have been able to afford this house if it hadn't been for his help. Shameful what this city did to him, shameful." She shook her head. "I'm just glad we can pay him back for everything, and you as well."

"Well then, we're happy too." Ryu finished his mug, as did Ray. "We'll be on our way now; we need to get over to the harbor. Have a nice day."

"You too." She saw them out. "Good luck, and watch yourselves out there, you hear?"

"That went well," Ray said as they walked north, to the harbor, where they'd agreed to meet with the others.

"A little too well," Ryu corrected him. "Something's wrong here. It can't be this easy. It's never this easy with us."

"I thought you were an optimist," Ray remarked.

"I am." Ryu chuckled. "I'm optimistic about our luck being terrible. Always has been so far. Don't see it changing now."

Ray rolled his eyes at that, but didn't say anything more as they made their way towards the docks.

"Hey, guys!" Katt called as they walked up. She and Nina were there waiting for them, leaning against a rail. "Good news! I don't know what that guy owed Niro, but he took off like his ass was on fire. Didn't even ask for any cash!"

"Wait." Ryu froze, looking at Ray, whose eyes were widening. "He did?"

"Well, yes." Nina frowned. "Is that a problem?"

"Aw man, we're the last ones back?" Sten interrupted as he and Rand joined them. "Well, at least we did it. Found the guy, and he said he'd do it! Hell, he said he'd do it for free! He's already heading off!"

"Hold it." Katt's face was contorting. "Your guy's already gone too?"

"Too?" Rand repeated. "Then yours as well...?"

"Yes," Nina admitted, glancing at Ryu and Ray. "Don't tell me-"

"I'm afraid so." Ray winced.

"So basically..." Ryu sighed. "We've got three different carpenters heading all the way to our hideout, to work on a single room. We really should have thought this plan out better."

"Looks like that's what it comes down to," Katt muttered. "So, what do we do about this?" They all thought it over for a few moments.

"Let Granny explain it to them?" Rand suggested, as evil smiles grew on all of their faces. "It's her house, after all."

"She's definitely the perfect one to explain it," Sten agreed, and the others all nodded. "Good idea."

"We'll leave that to her, then," Ryu decided. "We've got a thief to catch."

"And I, my own business to see to," Ray added. "It seems the time has come to say farewell once more." The ships were already starting to come in, some of them unloading cargo, others passengers.

"Make sure and stop by some time, huh?" Ryu told him, shaking his hand. "You know where we live now, and we don't plan on relocating any time soon."

"What he said," Katt agreed, doing the same. "Don't be a stranger, or I'll have to kick your ass for it, and neither of us wants that."

"Good luck," Rand said simply, his huge mitt enveloping the smaller man's hand even in its gauntlet. "Stay safe."

"Gotta admit, I was never the most religious guy in the world, but you're okay, Ray." Sten grinned, taking his turn. "Watch your ass out there."

"We'll try to contact you if we find out anything more on our demon problem," Nina promised, taking his hand last but not shaking it. She simply held it for a moment, eyes a mystery, and irrationally, Ryu found himself glad for once that Ray was a paladin, with a paladin's vows. "As they said, keep in touch... and be careful."

"So long as you do the same," Ray replied, raising her hand so he could kiss her wrist, a strangely old-fashioned gesture. "Until we meet again, my friends." He turned away, long strawberry-blond hair blowing in the sea wind and violet eyes glinting in the sun, and they all watched him until he found a ship and disappeared within to speak with the captain.

"Guess we should go talk to the harbormaster or something," Ryu suggested. "See if he knows any ships that'll be headed across the Gulf of Gust."

"Already ahead of you there, chief." Sten grinned. "Keep your eyes open for the Pride of Prima."

"We stopped by on our way here," Rand explained.

"Good enough." Ryu nodded. "Think I see it over there." It was an expensive-looking merchantman swarming with yelling Maniros, hauling cargo around. Walking up, he spotted the one who looked like he was giving the orders, and raised his voice. "Morning! Heard you're heading across the Gulf! Think we could talk you into taking on a few passengers?"

"Passengers, huh?" The Maniro glanced down, adjusting a tricorn hat as he narrowed his eyes speculatively. "I think we can arrange that. For a price. Five of you across the Gulf? That'll be a hundred zenny each."

"That's outrageous!" Sten sputtered.

"It's fine," Ryu told him, although his own eyes had widened at the price. "We can afford it."

"No chance in hell," the Highlander growled. "For that much cash, we could pay anybody else here to just detour."

"Suit yourself." The captain shrugged. "Feel free to try that, then."

"Oh, we will," Sten agreed. "Right after we stop by the Ruling Council and tell them about the asshole who tried to rip off the guys who saved this entire city from the bug monsters."

"Ouch," Rand commented under his breath.

"That was you guys?" The captain asked skeptically. "You don't look all that tough to me. Not sure I believe that."

Without a word, Katt ripped a chunk of the rail next to her out with one hand and pulverized it simply by gripping it tighter, then dropped the mass of shredded wood into the ocean.

"Yeah, okay." The captain scowled. "Seventy-five each, and that's the best I'm going to give you. Take it or leave it."

"Why don't we knock it down to seventy, just to keep things friendly?" Sten suggested. "We're all friends here, right? And it's not like we'll be taking up cargo space. It's a nice day; we'll just keep out of the way on the deck."

"Fine!" The captain snapped. "Get on board already. We're casting off as soon as we've got all this secured. And the zenny comes up front!"

"Half up front," Ryu corrected him as they climbed aboard. He knew that much about negotiation. "Half when we get there." Opening his zenny pouch, he pulled a hundred seventy-five out and tossed it to the captain, who snatched the coins out of the air deftly. Glaring at them for a moment more, he turned away and began to chew out one of the sailors.

"I don't know if I've told you this before, but I'm glad we decided to hire you on after all, Sten," Nina told him.

"Thanks!" He grinned. "I think. Come on, let's go up to the prow. If you're going to be seasick, though, head downwind. Trust me."

"Hoping that's not a problem," Katt said as the maniros began casting off. "Don't think any of us have weak stomachs."
"No comment," Rand muttered.

The trip across the bay was fairly enjoyable for most of them; Rand disagreed, but made sure to follow Sten's advice, so the unpleasantness was kept to a minimum. Despite that unfortunate incident, there was a general feeling of optimism for once; it actually seemed, for the first time, that they were actually finally closing in on their target. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and despite Rand's opinion the ocean was nice and calm. For once, it was a good day, and none of them were going to question that.

The harbor town on the other side of the bay was almost the polar opposite of Capitan; it was little more than the buildings necessary for running the docks, staffed by the unfortunately-named froglike Creeper clansmen. A quick chat with the harbor boss produced the information that a girl with black wings had passed through, as they'd hoped, and gone west through the nearby Marshwoods, the fastest route to the center of the country, where its capital was located.

"There's something I've been thinking about," Nina said as they walked through the trees, following the path. "What are we going to do if the trail leads us to Simafort itself? It's not exactly as easily accessible as most capitals."

"You've been wondering about that too, huh?" Rand agreed, and Sten nodded. "I've been trying to come up with an answer myself when I wasn't puking my guts out, but so far nothing's really presented itself."

"Mind sharing, for those of us who aren't experts on geo... geogra..." Katt struggled with it before snarling and kicking a tree. "Where shit is on a map?"

"Geography," Sten provided helpfully.

"Oh, like I know how to say that."

"The capital of Sima is Simafort," Nina explained before the fight could get worse. "It's a massive fortress that's located in the middle of Lake Sima, and they're not too fond of visitors. Entry is by invitation only, unless you can find some way to sneak in, which... isn't very likely. Our thief might have managed to do so, though, if she's as talented as she seems. We'd have much more difficulty."

"Let's hope that's not the case, then." Ryu shrugged. "But if we do find a way in there, let's take it. It is the most obvious target, after all. Simafort's supposed to be one of the richest cities in the world. Guess that's why they're so paranoid."

"Most of the country is rock-bottom when it comes to military strength, but Simafort itself's one hell of an exception," Sten grunted. "I wouldn't attack that place if I had the entire strength of Highland behind me." His face twitched oddly, and he shook himself before continuing. "Anyways, we'll figure something out. I'm more worried about the alcohol situation. We forgot to bring some with us when we left Capitan.

"Knew we forgot something," Katt muttered. "Oh well, they've still got good ale over here, right?"

"I have some bad news for you," Ryu started to say, then paused as his ears picked something up. "Hey. You hear that?"

"Hear what?" Rand asked, frowning. Nina and Sten both shrugged as well.

"Sounded like somebody talking," Katt explained, ears twitching. She raised her voice. "Hey! Anybody else around here?"

"Hello?" A male voice with a Siman accent replied. "Is there somebody there? Oh, please, let it be so!"

"Need some help, buddy?" Ryu called as they ran down the path; it was coming from up ahead of them. Rounding a corner, they all screeched to a halt in front of a muddy pond, eyes widening. "Whoa."

"Yes, 'whoa' is a good word to describe my, how you say... problem," the gigantic frog poking its head out of the muddy pond replied. All that was visible were its bulging red eyes and mouth, flanked by a pair of ear fins, but that much alone was larger than Rand's entire body. "Bonjour, travelers! You must be surprised to see me like this, yes?"

"Yeah, 'surprised' is a good word for it," Rand muttered as they all began to edge away from the pond.

"No, no, no, no, no, wait!" The frog pleaded. "I am not a suspicious character, not at all! Call me Jean! Please, I require your assistance!"

"Yeah, that's not suspicious at all," Katt began to say, then paused, as they all saw Nina go pale. "Hey, what's up? You know this guy?"

"Jean?" Nina whispered. "That voice... no, it couldn't be. Not Prince Jean?"

"Are you kidding me?" Sten yelled, the others all responding similarly.

"Forgive me, miss, but have we...?" The frog began to ask, then trailed off, huge red eyes widening. "Ah... I don't believe it! Are you... are you Nina? But you... you died so many years ago! When I heard, I was... what happened to you, mademoiselle?"

"It's a long story," Nina murmured, then shook her head. "But more importantly, what happened to you? You look... different from when last we met."

"Ah, I am glad that you asked!" Jean recovered quickly. "The witch, Nimufu, who lives in a tower in northern Sima, placed a spell on me transforming me into this awful shape! I have been waiting here ever since for a group of brave adventurers such as yourselves who would dare to brave the tower and persuade her to remove the spell! You will accept my request, will you not? Sil'vous plait!"

"I don't know," Ryu muttered uncertainly, still trying to catch up with the conversation. "We're kind of here on business looking for something already, and we're not really the charitable do-gooder sort of organization..."

"Now hold on a moment here," Rand objected. "We were just talking about this little problem we had with Simafort, right? This could be just what we needed, and we can ask around about our thief on our way to this tower anyways."

"A problem with Simafort?" The frog replied. "Do you require entry? Transform me back, and you will be my honored guests!"

"Sounds like you're a man who knows how to appreciate some help," Sten said with a wink to Ryu. "I say we take him up on it, boss."

"Looks like the vote's pretty obvious," Katt agreed, glancing at Nina.

"Okay, okay, I can take a hint," Ryu gave in. "We'll go talk to this witch for you, your highness."

"Ah, wonderful!" Jean croaked happily. "I will await your return here, then! Bon voyage, my brave heroes!"

"Yeah, sure." Ryu coughed. "We'll be back."

"Is this guy for real?" Katt muttered under her breath to Nina as they continued south, towards the edge of the Marshwoods.

"I'm afraid so," she replied quietly, still looking slightly shocked. "I'd almost forgotten... his father and mine were-are-political allies, so we met several times when we were children. I even spent a month living in Simafort one summer, and he a month in Windia." She smiled slightly. "He was always a silly boy. Romantic, excitable, and not particularly intelligent, but honest and caring. If he was more responsible, he'd make a very good king eventually, but..." She sighed. "From what I've heard, he tends to land himself in predicaments like this fairly often."

"Just as long as we don't have to bail him out of any more after this one," Ryu commented. "This time might be worth it, but I'd prefer we didn't get into the habit of things like this on a regular basis, you know?"

"Actually, considering the kinds of messes we do tend to get into regularly, this might actually be a step up," Sten pointed out. "I'll take witches over demons any day."

"I was afraid somebody was going to say that."

The next week was spent traveling first west, then north, across the country of Sima. Brief stopovers at towns and villages along the way confirmed their suspicions that the thief was headed straight towards Lake Sima, at the center of the country. It took every scrap of willpower Ryu had to force himself to intentionally break off from the trail and turn north instead, towards the mountains where the witch Nimufu apparently lived, according to the townspeople. She seemed to have quite a reputation, particularly with young human men, many of whom had yet to return.

Sima was a rather unpleasant country to travel through on foot, due mostly to the massive amount of rainfall it received all year round. History claimed that it had once been an arid wasteland known as Gramor, home to the now-vanished Mole Clan, but anybody who'd been to Sima personally found that hard to believe. After only a few days spent trudging through the rain, Ryu and his friends agreed wholeheartedly. Katt took the downpours particularly badly, growing even more short-tempered than usual as the wet days continued.

The humidity led to an abundance of plantlife, both passive and hostile, as well as to a high animal population. They ate well, at least, although they were seldom able to make it through an entire meal without taking a break to fend off monsters. Reaching the northern mountains actually came as a relief, since it meant they were able to find caverns in order to take refuge at night, both from the local predators and from the persistent rain.

"This entire country can just go to hell," Katt snarled one morning as they stalked up a mountain trail under another downpour. "Are we friggin' there yet?"

"Almost, according to the last village we passed through," Sten assured her. "Think we'd have any luck persuading her to give us something we could dry ourselves off with before we had that little discussion about her business practices with her?"

"Not too likely, I'm afraid," Rand told him, rounding a corner and glancing up. "Hey, check it out. Pretty sure this is the place." As he spoke, the rain trickled off, and the clouds began to part, allowing the sun to shine down on their destination. Joining Rand, they all stared up the trail at it. A perfectly cylindrical tower rose straight up from the mountain's peak, at least a hundred feet of some strange pink stone covered in balconies, windows, pillars and statues. The top of it had a slightly rounded peak.

"You know, if this was a wizard instead of a witch, I'd start to wonder about the architectural intent here," Sten commented after a moment.

"You never know with some witches," Katt added. "Maybe that is the idea."

"Interesting statuary, though," Nina said in a slightly strained voice. "Are they supposed to be doing what I think they are?"

"Oh, yeah." Ryu's eye twitched. "Not exactly subtle, is it?"

"Nope." Rand sighed heavily. "One of those places. That's just what our month needed. And what's worse, check out the guys standing guard." The two humanoids in front of the door were fat but muscular, with reddish-pink skin. Their heads were piglike, with flat snouts, tusks, and tiny eyes. Both were wearing spiked helmets and mixed scraps of plate mail, but nothing else, and were leaning on the hilts of a pair of ugly-looking hand axes.

"Can't say I've ever seen that Clan before." Katt frowned. "What are they?"

"Ogre Clansmen." Nina glanced at Rand. "They're native to your homeland, aren't they?"

"Yep, and they're nasty customers." He grimaced. "An unrecognized Clan, and for good reason. Bandits, the lot of 'em, just like the Kimoto in Windia. Heard that the weak ones who can't cut it with the outlaw gangs tend to hire themselves out to unpleasant customers in other parts of the world."

"So these guys are the rejects, huh?" Ryu narrowed his eyes. "We should be able to handle them, then. Any point in trying to talk them into letting us through?"

"Doubtful," Rand replied. "Unless they've got some really weird standing orders, they'll pick a fight out of sheer stupidity."

"I like the way that sounds, actually." Katt knocked the mud off one end of her staff and approached, the others behind her. "Oy, assholes! Feel like opening the doors, or are we gonna have to persuade you?"

"Huh?" They glanced at her, then at each other. "Well, well, lookie what we got here. Bunch o' mountaineers looking for some shelter."

"Isn't that cute." The other one chuckled nastily. "Unless you got business with the boss, which ain't too likely. She likes to pick 'em out herself."

"Idunno, she might like this batch." The first one's brow ridge wrinkled. "Farmboy ain't much to look at, but then they never are. He's got the body for it, though, so she might let that pass. The Highlander... depends on what she's feeling like today. And then there's the prettyboy."

"She'd be all over the prettyboy," his partner agreed.

"Am I a prettyboy?" Ryu asked Katt under his breath. "I don't think I'm a prettyboy."

"Keep in mind who's talking here," she whispered back. "Pretty sure it's relative. At least I hope that's why they're calling you that."

"Oh, hell no."

"Exactly."

"Not trying to tempt fate here, but I thought they'd be commenting on you two, not the three of us," Sten remarked to Nina less quietly. "Am I missing something?"

"It is somewhat puzzling," she agreed thoughtfully. "As well as a deviation from the usual script."

"We were gettin' to that!" The first Ogre protested. "We were about to say, you two are pretty smokin' hot too, but that ain't gonna get you too far in there. The boss ain't into girls, if you know what I mean."

"That ain't true," the other one protested. "There was that one time, you know?"

"Oh yeah, her," his partner admitted. "Good point. But that was just the one time. Don't think she'd be too keen on trying it again."

"This conversation is getting a little weird," Katt said dryly. "Can we just skip to the part where you say the two of us should stick around here with the two of you, we say no, and we have to kick your asses before heading in?"

"It's no fun if you know what we're going to say before we say it!" The second Ogre protested. "Now we're gonna have to ad-lib!"

"Yeah," the first one groaned. "I hate ad-libbing."

"You could just refuse all of us entry," Rand suggested. "It'd end up in a fight anyways, wouldn't it?"

"Check out the brain on the farmboy!" The first one sneered. "Nice try! You know what the boss would do to us if we didn't let a prettyboy in? Even if he came looking for her instead of the other way around? No way!"

"Matter of fact, we're gonna do just the opposite!" The other Ogre told them, as he and his partner each took hold of the handles on one of the huge double doors and swung them open. "All of you, go right on in! Make yourselves at home, heh heh heh!"

"Thanks," Ryu told them as they all walked in. "I think." The doors swung shut behind them as soon as they were past. "So... what just happened here?"

"Try not to think about it," Nina advised him, frowning. "There are other issues at hand." The hallway before them was plain gray stone, and it stretched ahead about ten feet before ending abruptly. There was no visible way onward. "What exactly are we supposed to do here?"

"You wait for me to open the way, of course, silly girl," a female voice replied, apparently out of thin air. "The boys weren't supposed to let you in that easily. I'll have to punish them for that once I'm done with you."

"Nimufu, the witch, I presume?" Ryu asked. "We're here to talk with you."

"So I see," she replied, voice lowering. "Hmm. Not bad at all. Quite a good variety, aren't you? The question is, are you nothing but looks, or do you have it where it counts?" A hole in the ceiling opened, and a wizened blob of bandages with hand floated down, one of them clutching a wand. A ridiculous pointed hat decorated the top of it, and its front boasted a hideous face with sunken, glowing eyes and a rot-toothed grin.

"Get down!" Nina yelled as it raised its staff. Before it could cast whatever spell it was working on, however, she threw out a fireball of her own, blowing it away. "If we see any more of those things, watch out. They're magic-users."

"Not bad," Nimufu grudgingly conceded. "But how will you handle a more... physical threat?" The hole remained open, and out from it, three purple, furry spheres rolled, uncurling as they hit the floor. They were bizarre, with leathery green skin; two brawny arms curled out from their sides without shoulders, ending in claws, and they hopped on a single broad foot. Their faces were set in their chests, one eye above a jutting, tusked jaw, and a spiked horn rose from their tops.

"What the hell are these?" Rand muttered.

"Like it matters?" Katt launched herself at one. "So long as they go crunch, that's good enough for me! Whoa!" She sidestepped a swing from one massive paw, whirled around and swept at its foot with her staff, only for it to hop over the blow, spin and strike again. "Hey, they're better than I thought they'd be!"

"Good for you," Sten grunted, stalking another with a dagger in each hand. Diving under its swipe, he sliced it open across the underside, then scowled as it failed to die. "Thought so. These aren't natural. Some kind of construct." A glancing blow knocked him into a wall; bouncing off, he whirled and drove his dagger through the beast's eye and into its brain. Roaring, it tried to charge him again, but fell over and died.

"Looks like they can still be killed, though," Ryu noted as he deflected his opponent's attack with his sword. "Good enough for us, right?" Seeing an opening, he kicked it in the face, then ran it through before it could recover.

"Damn straight!" Katt agreed, driving her staff through the roof of its mouth. Kicking the twitching corpse off, she glanced up at the ceiling. "How's that? Good enough?"

"I suppose so, yes," Nimufu's voice conceded. "I should point out, though, that I really don't go for women most of the time. Feel free to accompany your friends up to see me, though... I might change my mind."

"Why does everybody here keep bringing that up?" Nina murmured as the wall opposite the door began to slide down into the floor, revealing another hall behind it.

"I'm sure I wouldn't know," Rand told her, looking slightly embarrassed, as they walked onwards. "Hey, what the-!" As they'd reached a side passage, a frantic-looking young man had suddenly lunged out, grabbing his arm. He was classically handsome, with curly blond hair, and was wearing only a very brief green pair of shorts and a vest.

"The door!" The man yelled. "Is the door still there?"

"Huh?" Ryu turned his head around. "Yeah, sure it..." He paused. The door had been replaced by another blank wall. "Huh. When'd that happen?"

"Oh, no." Releasing Rand, the man sank down to the floor, holding his head. "That was my last hope." He raised his head suddenly, staring at them. "You don't understand, do you? You're trapped, too, now! Nimufu... she's crazy! When she gets tired of us, she-" Before he could continue, a bolt of magical energy blasted down from the ceiling and struck him, transforming him into a stone statue in the blink of an eye.

"Shit!" Ryu yelled, all of them leaping back. "What the hell was that?"

"Some people talk too much for their own good," Nimufu replied, still unseen. "He was growing boring anyways. You look much more interesting. Come, come, I'm up here at the top. Don't keep me waiting."

"This is starting to look like a real bad scene, people," Sten muttered. "How do we fight something like that, if it comes down to it?"

"Those sorts of curses can't just be cast from the wrist," Nina said thoughtfully. "They need a longer build-up. If we actually get up to her, I'll be able to see it coming, and we can disrupt her concentration before she gets it off."

"Good enough." Ryu nodded. "Let's hurry and get up there, then. The sooner we're out of here, the better."

"No kidding," Katt muttered.

They proceeded up the tower, making their way through halls and up stairs as straightforwardly as they could, avoiding side passages and rooms. Several times, they ran into more of the monopedal goons, undead mages, and once even a swarm of the Siman hellflies that had apparently gotten in through a window. Even more common were the statues of handsome young men, which seemed to lie around nearly every corner.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm beginning to think this lady has something of a one-track mind," Rand said dryly as they passed yet another statue and headed up more stairs.

"One-track something, at any rate," Sten added.

"Could we talk about something else, please?" Nina asked somewhat plaintively, then paused. At the top was the only female statue they'd seen so far, a pretty young woman wearing minimal clothing and a great deal of strange jewelry. "That's not quite what I meant."

"She looks kind of like Sana, doesn't she?" Sten pointed out. "You don't think..."

"I suppose we could always ask." Rand shrugged. "Looks like this is it." Just beyond the statue was a particularly fancy-looking door, carved in much the same way the outside of the tower had been, with a gold frame and knob.

"Looks like," Ryu agreed. "Everybody ready?" They all nodded, so he opened the door. "Miss Nimufu? We're here to talk."

"So I see," the witch purred, glancing over the top of the book she was reading from atop a huge, four-poster bed. She was beautiful, with a wealth of bright pink hair and lush features, but there was something off-putting about the open, unrepentant desire in her eyes as she looked them over. The fact that she was wearing only a very short, very tight blue dress wasn't helping. "I'm glad you all made it here. I thought you would. You looked like the kind who would." Flipping off of the bed, she began walking around them. "Cute... experienced... and of course..." She reached up to feel Rand's bicep. "Strong."

"Miss, please," the big man muttered, face darkening.

"Are you actually blushing?" She asked, laughing. "How delightful! Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you... unless you'd like me to, that is." Releasing him, she walked back to the front of the bed and sat on the edge, apparently unconscious of the growing scowls on both Katt's and Nina's faces. "Now then, what can I do for you, hmmm?"

"We're here on the behalf of a friend of ours," Ryu said as calmly as possible. "A friend who happens to be a frog at the moment."

"Frog?" Nimufu blinked, then frowned. "Oh, that frog! Is that why you're here? How disappointing." After a moment's thought, she smiled again. "You want me to turn him back or something, right? Why don't we make a deal? I'll tell you how to break the curse, if you... play with me first, hmmm?"

"Nothing personal, miss, but that doesn't seem like a healthy occupation to have," Sten pointed out. "All the guys we met on the way up didn't think so, anyways."

"They were boring," Nimufu brushed it off. "I'm sure you'll keep me interested for much longer than they did. At least for a whole month."

"That wasn't my point, actually." Sten coughed.

"Oh?" She raised a delicate eyebrow. "Well then, what was..." She trailed off, smile fading. "Wait. You don't mean to say... is this because I'm a witch?" She got off the bed again, stalking forward. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"Who wouldn't be?" Katt muttered.

"Ix-nay!" Ryu hissed, but it was too late.

"I knew it!" Nimufu shouted, collapsing on her bed and burying her head in her arms, actually starting to sob. "Nobody ever likes me! Not once they know who I am!"

"Is this... normal?" Rand asked hesitantly.

"How should we know?" Nina replied somewhat snappishly.

"Fine, then," Nimufu snarled, the sounds of crying ending abruptly. She raised her head, and there was nothing but hatred in her eyes now. "If that's how you feel, I'll just kill you first... and then I'll have some fun with you!"

"I don't really think it's supposed to work that way!" Sten yelped. "Boss, what do we do?"

"Let me handle it," Ryu told them, walking forward. "Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way. Might as well try something out."
"You mean..." Katt blinked, then grinned nastily. "Oh, yeah! Do it, do it, do it!"

"I couldn't agree more." Nina smiled as well. "By all means."

"Yap, yap, yap, shut your traps!" Nimufu yelled, producing a long staff from the air and raising it above her head. It began to glow, and a fireball sprung from its tip, blasting towards Ryu. "Just die, already!"

"Playing with fire's dangerous, miss," Ryu told her as he watched the blast come at him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, trying to remember exactly how it had felt when he had transformed before, and willing himself to do so again. As the fireball hit, flames burning into his chest, he felt more fire rushing through his body, changing it.

His form changed, but not his size; though he remained the same height, he could feel his bones shifting as his skin became scales, stubby wings sprouting from his back and neck lengthening. His face became a beaklike snout, claws sprouted from his hands and feet, and tiny horns extended from the back of his head. The transformation complete, the dragon whelp glared at the stunned witch before him, reared back its head and belched a fireblast that made her spell look like a lit match, blowing her across the room and into the back wall.

"Now then, are you going to calm down and tell us what we want to know?" He asked as she shrieked, quickly casting more magic on herself to douse the flames covering her body. "Or do I have to give you another shot?"

"No!" She begged, falling to her knees. "Please, don't! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She began to cry again.

"Well... good," Ryu said after a moment. "Glad we can be reasonable about this." A moment later, the world twitched around him, and then he was back in his normal form, drop-dead exhausted, as if he'd been running all day. Before he knew what was going on, he was falling to the floor, only for Katt to catch him before he could hit it.

"Not bad at all," she said, grinning. "Didn't think it would be so cute, though."

"Cute?" He protested weakly, trying to move and failing.

"Definitely cute," Nina agreed. "Wouldn't you say, boys?"

"No comment," Rand muttered, and Sten nodded in agreement. "Now then, about that curse..."

"It's not fair!" Nimufu was still blubbering. "I'm so beautiful, but the only man who ever loved me was a frog! So I turned him into one! What's wrong with that?"

"Hey, hey." Katt scowled, along with the others. "Watch your mouth, sister. That's going a little far." Even in the rougher elements of society, Clan slurs were taboo; anybody who was stupid enough to use them was likely to come down with a bad case of falling down a flight of stairs several times over. "You got something against the Creeper Clan, or do you just have a problem with anybody who's not a human?"

"You don't understand!" Nimufu protested. "He said he loved me, but... but he's a frog! Why doesn't anybody else get this but me?" She stared at Sten. "And you... I thought you weren't bad, but... you're a monkey! What's wrong with me? What's wrong with everybody?"

"Prince Jean was a very handsome boy, as I remember," Nina told her coldly. "If you can't look past one's Clan, then that's your problem. We couldn't care less, just so long as you give us what we came here for. The cure, now, before we lose our tempers further."

"Fine." Nimufu smiled suddenly. "If you think he's so handsome, you cure him. A kiss on the lips from a young girl, if you know what I mean, is the cure for the transformation. I certainly wouldn't be able to do it."

"Oh." Nina paused, then blushed. "I see."

"I don't," Katt muttered.

"I'll explain later," Sten whispered to her.

"Now, if that's all you came here for, I'd like to be alone." Nimufu stood and turned away from them. They all looked at her for a moment more, then turned as well and left the room the way they'd come in.

"Excuse me?" It was the girl who had been a statue at the top of the stairs; she was no longer stone, but flesh and blood again. Her hair and clothes were both a deep blue, as were her eyes, large and cute. She was clearly younger than Sana, and seemed much more innocent as well, despite her body and apparent lack of modesty about it. "Did something happen in there?"

"Hey, you're not a statue any more!" Sten pointed out the obvious.

"We must have completely shattered the witch's mental confidence," Nina said thoughtfully. "If the spell used to petrify everybody within the tower was a continual rather than a one-shot, then that would have disrupted it, returning everybody to normal."

"Uh, sure." Rand nodded slowly. "What you said."

"That must be it!" The girl smiled, eyes bright. "You're a black magician, aren't you? How smart! My name's Seso; it's nice to meet you all. I hope you didn't hurt Nimufu too badly, even if she did deserve it for turning me into a statue like that after our fight."

"Let's just say I think she'll get over it," Ryu told her. "Listen, I don't suppose you happen to know somebody named Sana, do you?"

"You know my big sister?" Seso blinked. "Oh, no. Don't tell me she and granny pulled you into one of their experiments? I'm so sorry about that! Trust me, the rest of us aren't nearly that..." She groped for a word.

"Eccentric?" Sten suggested.

"Exactly." She nodded. "How are they doing these days, anyways?"

"They've relocated, actually," Ryu explained. "They're living at some ruins south of Hometown, over in Auria, now. West of Mt. Fubi. Granny actually wanted us to tell you she was calling you home if we saw you, actually."

"Oh!" Seso's eyes widened. "I should go there right away, then! Thank you again!" Before any of them could say anything more, she flickered and vanished, as if she'd been a mirage.

"We done here?" Katt asked after a moment.

"Yeah." Ryu shook his head. "Let's get out of here before something else happens."

"I can't argue with that," Nina murmured. Nobody else could, either, and they descended the tower as quickly as possible. The door was back when they reached the ground floor again, fortunately, and they walked back out.

"Huh?" One of the Ogres grunted, both of them glancing over. "Hey, you're not supposed to be able to-"

Without replying, Katt whirled and kicked him in the head hard enough that he rebounded off of the tower's outer wall before falling to the ground. At the same time, Nina pummeled his partner with ice, knocking him out as well.

"Hey, I got an idea," Sten whispered as the girls stalked off down the mountain trail. "Let's behave ourselves around them for the rest of the day."

"Good idea," Rand muttered, and Ryu nodded as well. "Let's hope the day doesn't get any worse."

On cue, it started to rain again.

THERE'S A CURSE BETWEEN US