Chapter 12 - Just a Harmless Prank! Now on to the Next Event!
Xelloss sat in an upper branch of a tree, watching for any chance to cause some trouble. So far things had been fairly quiet today. He'd have to do something about that...
"Xelloss!"
Surprised, the mazoku momentarily lost his balance and fell off the branch, though he immediately teleported back up. Kristy grinned mischievously.
"You certainly seem to be in a good mood," Xelloss said. Kristy shrugged.
"Just finding something to do until Lina finds that little surprise I set up for her. Then I'll probably be dodging Fireballs."
That, of course, got Xelloss interested.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"Oh, just a harmless little prank," Kristy said with a sly grin. "She should be finding it any moment now." She climbed back down to the ground. Rather curious, Xelloss turned around just in time to see an elaborate explosion, immediately followed by shouts, curses, and the sounds of a very angry Lina chasing a very amused prankster. Xelloss grinned. That girl certainly did have a talent for creating chaos.
Kristy, meanwhile, was dashing through the trees, laughing and dodging Lina's spells. She felt a hand on her shoulder and suddenly she was up in a tree. Xelloss winked and disappeared again, presumably to furthar enrage Lina. Kristy listened to the ensuing confrontation for a while before heading back to the others.
----------
"Was that really necessary?" Zelgadis said. Kristy shrugged.
"It was funny," she replied. "Besides, it's not like anyone got hurt or anything."
Zelgadis sighed. "Just don't bother Lina for the rest of the day, alright?" he said, Amelia and Sylphiel agreeing.
"Fine," Kristy said. There was a brief silence, then Gourry spoke up.
"Hey, where's Lina?" he said. Nobody had the patience to bother explaining.
----------
The remainder of the day passed more or less pleasently- or at least a pleasantly as a still slightly annoyed Lina can get. That is, until sometime near the end of dinner.
Now, everyone knows that getting between Lina and food is a bad idea. However everyone should also realize that this is easier said than done when the said food happens to be one's favorite. Especially when it is also the local specialty and so is both even better than usual as well as what everyone will probably order.
Which was why dinner was far from pleasant for most everyone involved.
"Give me that! You've already had your share!" Lina shouted, grabbing a plate of food.
"Hey, it's my favorite!" Kristy replied, snatching the dish back.
"So?"
"Hey, give that back!"
Things went on like that for a while. Until somebody threw a Fireball. Then it was war.
Everyone in the restaurant took cover or fled as Lina and Kristy battled it out. Zelgadis, Amelia, Sylphiel, and Gourry watched helplessly as the two fought, unable to do a thing to stop it.
Various spells flew back and forth. Fortunately, the area affected was limited to the two points in the restaurant and the area between them, so damage wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Suddenly the spells stopped. In the sudden quiet everyone could make out the words of a spell that even Gourry recognized- and feared.
Panicking, Zelgadis, Amelia, Sylphiel, and Gourry dashed out from their cover to try to stop any disastrous spells from being cast. They narrowly managed to prevent any potential Dragon Slaves.
Xelloss, meanwhile, found the whole situation enormously amusing and was busy laughing his rear off.
--------
"I hate sleeping in the woods," Lina complained the next morning. No one pointed out that this was mostly her fault they'd been barred from the inn, as the one person who would've said so was also responsible.
"So," Kristy said instead, "do you have any plan for finding the rest of those bandits?"
Lina was silent for a few moments, thinking. Before she could say anything, though, Zelgadis spoke up.
"I heard some of the people in that last town talking about some unusual activity going on at an old abandoned fort not far from town..."
"Yes," Xelloss butted in, "there was a rather large discussion about it while you and Kristy were arguing over food, Lina."
This remark earned him quite the glare from Lina.
"Well, it would probably be worth checking out..." said Kristy.
"I know," Lina said. Turning to Zelgadis, she asked, "any idea where this old fort is?"
"Two kilometers straight south from the town," Xelloss said before anyone else could reply. Lina glared at him once again, but Zelgadis nodded.
"That's what the townspeople said."
There was a brief silence.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Lina exclaimed suddenly. "Let's go check it out!"
--------
The area around the fort was heavily wooded. As for the fort itself, it looked as if at one time it had been quite the stronghold, but it was now crumbling and vine-covered due to long neglect. In other words, it was the kind of place that would make a perfect hideout for a gang of bandits.
Lina and the others kept themselves hidden, looking around. But there was no movement anywhere to be seen, and the only sound was that of the forest's noises.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone around," Sylphiel said.
"Yeah, the place looks pretty abandoned."
After thinking for a brief moment, Lina announced her decision.
"Then let's head in. We aren't getting anywhere just sitting here."
With that she stood up and walked straight for the entrance. The others followed.
Up close the fort was massive. Even in its deteriorated state it looked rather formidable. The entrance doors had long since rotted away, leaving a shadowy hole like a wound in the wall. Just inside was a dark hallway, though off in the distance the faint glow of a lamp or torch could be seen. As everyone's eyes adjusted to the darkness, they could see that there was something else in the hall in front of them.
A tall, bony figure clad in flowing sorcerer's robes stood before the group in the center of the hall.
"I knew I could lure you here," he said with a sinister grin.
"Hey, who are you?" Lina demanded to know.
"Who am I? Your demise!" the figure said, then disappeared. His voice echoed back from somewhere deep inside the fort.
"Come and get me you little brat, if you dare! Bwahahahaha!"
"What?! Who're you calling a little brat?" Lina was furious. "I'll show him!"
She took off down the hall in the direction of the voice. With a sigh, the others followed.
End of Chapter 12
**********
Kristy: Well, that was certainly fun.
Xelloss: I agree. ^_^
Zelgadis: I don't.
Kristy: Aw, c'mon Zel, don't be so negative all the time. And we actually have a cliffhanger ending for once. Well, sorta...
Zelgadis: I still fail to see why you of all people here get to do these Afterword sections.
Kristy: Because, I'm the main character of the fic, of course.
Xelloss: Not to mention the author's avatar in the story.
Kristy: Eh, yeah. Oh! And as for the lack of updates to the fic, it should go faster from now on, since now it's to the point where the author actually has stuff planned out in advance.
Zelgadis: Somehow that doesn't sound so good...
Kristy: Oh, be quiet. Anyway, that's all the time we have for today, so see you next chapter!
Xelloss sat in an upper branch of a tree, watching for any chance to cause some trouble. So far things had been fairly quiet today. He'd have to do something about that...
"Xelloss!"
Surprised, the mazoku momentarily lost his balance and fell off the branch, though he immediately teleported back up. Kristy grinned mischievously.
"You certainly seem to be in a good mood," Xelloss said. Kristy shrugged.
"Just finding something to do until Lina finds that little surprise I set up for her. Then I'll probably be dodging Fireballs."
That, of course, got Xelloss interested.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"Oh, just a harmless little prank," Kristy said with a sly grin. "She should be finding it any moment now." She climbed back down to the ground. Rather curious, Xelloss turned around just in time to see an elaborate explosion, immediately followed by shouts, curses, and the sounds of a very angry Lina chasing a very amused prankster. Xelloss grinned. That girl certainly did have a talent for creating chaos.
Kristy, meanwhile, was dashing through the trees, laughing and dodging Lina's spells. She felt a hand on her shoulder and suddenly she was up in a tree. Xelloss winked and disappeared again, presumably to furthar enrage Lina. Kristy listened to the ensuing confrontation for a while before heading back to the others.
"It was funny," she replied. "Besides, it's not like anyone got hurt or anything."
Zelgadis sighed. "Just don't bother Lina for the rest of the day, alright?" he said, Amelia and Sylphiel agreeing.
"Fine," Kristy said. There was a brief silence, then Gourry spoke up.
"Hey, where's Lina?" he said. Nobody had the patience to bother explaining.
Now, everyone knows that getting between Lina and food is a bad idea. However everyone should also realize that this is easier said than done when the said food happens to be one's favorite. Especially when it is also the local specialty and so is both even better than usual as well as what everyone will probably order.
Which was why dinner was far from pleasant for most everyone involved.
"Give me that! You've already had your share!" Lina shouted, grabbing a plate of food.
"Hey, it's my favorite!" Kristy replied, snatching the dish back.
"So?"
"Hey, give that back!"
Things went on like that for a while. Until somebody threw a Fireball. Then it was war.
Everyone in the restaurant took cover or fled as Lina and Kristy battled it out. Zelgadis, Amelia, Sylphiel, and Gourry watched helplessly as the two fought, unable to do a thing to stop it.
Various spells flew back and forth. Fortunately, the area affected was limited to the two points in the restaurant and the area between them, so damage wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Suddenly the spells stopped. In the sudden quiet everyone could make out the words of a spell that even Gourry recognized- and feared.
Panicking, Zelgadis, Amelia, Sylphiel, and Gourry dashed out from their cover to try to stop any disastrous spells from being cast. They narrowly managed to prevent any potential Dragon Slaves.
Xelloss, meanwhile, found the whole situation enormously amusing and was busy laughing his rear off.
"So," Kristy said instead, "do you have any plan for finding the rest of those bandits?"
Lina was silent for a few moments, thinking. Before she could say anything, though, Zelgadis spoke up.
"I heard some of the people in that last town talking about some unusual activity going on at an old abandoned fort not far from town..."
"Yes," Xelloss butted in, "there was a rather large discussion about it while you and Kristy were arguing over food, Lina."
This remark earned him quite the glare from Lina.
"Well, it would probably be worth checking out..." said Kristy.
"I know," Lina said. Turning to Zelgadis, she asked, "any idea where this old fort is?"
"Two kilometers straight south from the town," Xelloss said before anyone else could reply. Lina glared at him once again, but Zelgadis nodded.
"That's what the townspeople said."
There was a brief silence.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Lina exclaimed suddenly. "Let's go check it out!"
Lina and the others kept themselves hidden, looking around. But there was no movement anywhere to be seen, and the only sound was that of the forest's noises.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone around," Sylphiel said.
"Yeah, the place looks pretty abandoned."
After thinking for a brief moment, Lina announced her decision.
"Then let's head in. We aren't getting anywhere just sitting here."
With that she stood up and walked straight for the entrance. The others followed.
Up close the fort was massive. Even in its deteriorated state it looked rather formidable. The entrance doors had long since rotted away, leaving a shadowy hole like a wound in the wall. Just inside was a dark hallway, though off in the distance the faint glow of a lamp or torch could be seen. As everyone's eyes adjusted to the darkness, they could see that there was something else in the hall in front of them.
A tall, bony figure clad in flowing sorcerer's robes stood before the group in the center of the hall.
"I knew I could lure you here," he said with a sinister grin.
"Hey, who are you?" Lina demanded to know.
"Who am I? Your demise!" the figure said, then disappeared. His voice echoed back from somewhere deep inside the fort.
"Come and get me you little brat, if you dare! Bwahahahaha!"
"What?! Who're you calling a little brat?" Lina was furious. "I'll show him!"
She took off down the hall in the direction of the voice. With a sigh, the others followed.
End of Chapter 12
**********
Kristy: Well, that was certainly fun.
Xelloss: I agree. ^_^
Zelgadis: I don't.
Kristy: Aw, c'mon Zel, don't be so negative all the time. And we actually have a cliffhanger ending for once. Well, sorta...
Zelgadis: I still fail to see why you of all people here get to do these Afterword sections.
Kristy: Because, I'm the main character of the fic, of course.
Xelloss: Not to mention the author's avatar in the story.
Kristy: Eh, yeah. Oh! And as for the lack of updates to the fic, it should go faster from now on, since now it's to the point where the author actually has stuff planned out in advance.
Zelgadis: Somehow that doesn't sound so good...
Kristy: Oh, be quiet. Anyway, that's all the time we have for today, so see you next chapter!