Highway Robbery
Lina ran right to the market after leaving Gourry. Sure enough, she found the fish man hanging around, trying to sell his goods. Most of the people were avoiding him, though some seemed to be buying whatever he sold - - even things Lina classified as junk.
"Excuse me," she began, "My name is Lina Inverse. Where exactly am I? And how do you get to Seyruun from here?"
The fish turned to her. "Never heard of it. But you're in the town of Dominia. Let me ask you one thing, do you think it's dangerous outside of town?"
"Not for the Sorceress Supreme Lina Inverse," she stated.
The fish then said, "My name is Gobi, and I'm a traveling merchant. You see, there's a lot of bandits on the highway and I can't travel from town to town. Would you be willing to help me in getting rid of those brigands?"
Lina's eyes lit up. "Sure thing," she exclaimed, "Killing bandits is my hobby." Quickly, she added under her breath, "Just as long as I get their treasure too."
"Wonderful, then come with me. We'll leave for the Luon Highway after I go see my good friend Teapo," he replied.
* * *
In the house of the shopowner, the two encountered a magical teapot named Teapo and the onion boy - - who was named Duelle. Gobi then proceeded to sell Teapo some of what he called "precious jewels" - - but looked like glass fakes to Lina. She was more than happy to accept them while ignoring Duelle's protests about how much of a swindler Gobi was.
Finally, they were done with their preparations. Gobi slung his spear over his back, while Lina sheathed Dragon's Breath. Then, the two left Dominia and headed for the Luon Highway. It took a day's worth of walking to get there.
On the Highway, they saw Duelle. He asked, "Hey, you're that girl I met in Dominia. Your name was. . .Chumpy, right?"
"No actually it's Lina Inverse," she replied.
"Well then Lina, I must warn you," he said, "Bandits roam this highway all the time, and us good, law abiding citizens shouldn't come here."
Lina told Duelle, "I'll be alright, I'm a mighty sorceress whose slew numerous demons and bandit gangs in my eighteen years. And I'm not gonna stop soon."
"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you," he stated. Then, he left the highway by teleportation-having to attend to urgent business in the Mikev Caverns.
* * *
Some time later, Lina and Gobi came across a young woman about 20 years old. She had tiger ears and a tiger's tail, red hair and red eyes. Her pants were blue with a gold belt at the top and a gold border at the bottom. Her shirt - - that exposed her belly button - - was blue as well, bordered by gold on both sides with a gold plate over her heart. She had on a pair of leather gloves without fingers, and martial arts tape higher up on her arm. A golden collar adorned her neck. On her feet were a pair of sandals. Instead of finger and toenails, she had tiger's claws. Each cheek had a pair of tiger stripes running from the side of her face to her nose.
The girl turned to them. "My name is Katt. I came from Gato to see a Wisdom. But I'm afraid of what he might tell me," she said.
Lina sighed. "Well, do whatever you want. I'm certainly not going to force a complete stranger to face her fear, but I'd advise not to just run away. Or else whatever you fear that you'll hear from this Wisdom guy will just haunt you forever."
Katt replied, "Thank you. I don't think I'm ready just yet, but when the time comes, I'll go and talk to him." Then she ran back to town.
* * *
After a little more walking, Lina and Gobi came across a pair of humanoid rats called Chobin Hoods. They were wearing long green tunics and orange hoods. The first one demanded, "Hey you two, hand over all your money now!"
"These guys are mad for money, I can't stand it," wined Gobi.
'Like you aren't' thought Lina. Then she yelled, "We don't take kindly to threats here. You don't know who you're dealing with."
"Oh yeah," the Chobin Hood said, "Master, come out and thrash these punks." With that, a giant armored Mantis called a Mantis Ant came out.
Lina just yawned. "Is that the best you can do? A lousy ant? You'll just have to see what kind of power you're dealing with." She began to chant quietly. Everyone else leaned in closer to sea what was going on. Suddenly, her Demon's Blood Talisman - - which had somehow come with her when all her other jewels vanished - - was powered up, and she screamed out, "Blast Bomb." Instantly, the monsters were melted.
"You were wonderful and now you'll have your reward." Gobi dug into his pack, and produced three items. "An Iron Pot, a Greenball Bun, and a Tako Bug. Usually sold for 3,000 Lucre, you can have them for just 300 Lucre." The next instant, he was Fireballed.
"That's no reward, that's just you trying to sell me junk. And no one tries to pull one over on Lina Inverse and gets away unscathed," she yelled. With that, Gobi gave her the thee items, and began running back to town. Lina decided to go home and meet Gourry when he got back.
- - - -
If you're wondering, Gobi was the merchant in BoF I who lost his licensee and power to turn into a giant fish when he tried to scam people. Originally, he tried to sell Teapo a wheel that was the AF that created the Luon Highway, but once again, I'm not using artifacts. We'll see what happens when Gourry went into the bar in the next chapter.
Lina ran right to the market after leaving Gourry. Sure enough, she found the fish man hanging around, trying to sell his goods. Most of the people were avoiding him, though some seemed to be buying whatever he sold - - even things Lina classified as junk.
"Excuse me," she began, "My name is Lina Inverse. Where exactly am I? And how do you get to Seyruun from here?"
The fish turned to her. "Never heard of it. But you're in the town of Dominia. Let me ask you one thing, do you think it's dangerous outside of town?"
"Not for the Sorceress Supreme Lina Inverse," she stated.
The fish then said, "My name is Gobi, and I'm a traveling merchant. You see, there's a lot of bandits on the highway and I can't travel from town to town. Would you be willing to help me in getting rid of those brigands?"
Lina's eyes lit up. "Sure thing," she exclaimed, "Killing bandits is my hobby." Quickly, she added under her breath, "Just as long as I get their treasure too."
"Wonderful, then come with me. We'll leave for the Luon Highway after I go see my good friend Teapo," he replied.
* * *
In the house of the shopowner, the two encountered a magical teapot named Teapo and the onion boy - - who was named Duelle. Gobi then proceeded to sell Teapo some of what he called "precious jewels" - - but looked like glass fakes to Lina. She was more than happy to accept them while ignoring Duelle's protests about how much of a swindler Gobi was.
Finally, they were done with their preparations. Gobi slung his spear over his back, while Lina sheathed Dragon's Breath. Then, the two left Dominia and headed for the Luon Highway. It took a day's worth of walking to get there.
On the Highway, they saw Duelle. He asked, "Hey, you're that girl I met in Dominia. Your name was. . .Chumpy, right?"
"No actually it's Lina Inverse," she replied.
"Well then Lina, I must warn you," he said, "Bandits roam this highway all the time, and us good, law abiding citizens shouldn't come here."
Lina told Duelle, "I'll be alright, I'm a mighty sorceress whose slew numerous demons and bandit gangs in my eighteen years. And I'm not gonna stop soon."
"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you," he stated. Then, he left the highway by teleportation-having to attend to urgent business in the Mikev Caverns.
* * *
Some time later, Lina and Gobi came across a young woman about 20 years old. She had tiger ears and a tiger's tail, red hair and red eyes. Her pants were blue with a gold belt at the top and a gold border at the bottom. Her shirt - - that exposed her belly button - - was blue as well, bordered by gold on both sides with a gold plate over her heart. She had on a pair of leather gloves without fingers, and martial arts tape higher up on her arm. A golden collar adorned her neck. On her feet were a pair of sandals. Instead of finger and toenails, she had tiger's claws. Each cheek had a pair of tiger stripes running from the side of her face to her nose.
The girl turned to them. "My name is Katt. I came from Gato to see a Wisdom. But I'm afraid of what he might tell me," she said.
Lina sighed. "Well, do whatever you want. I'm certainly not going to force a complete stranger to face her fear, but I'd advise not to just run away. Or else whatever you fear that you'll hear from this Wisdom guy will just haunt you forever."
Katt replied, "Thank you. I don't think I'm ready just yet, but when the time comes, I'll go and talk to him." Then she ran back to town.
* * *
After a little more walking, Lina and Gobi came across a pair of humanoid rats called Chobin Hoods. They were wearing long green tunics and orange hoods. The first one demanded, "Hey you two, hand over all your money now!"
"These guys are mad for money, I can't stand it," wined Gobi.
'Like you aren't' thought Lina. Then she yelled, "We don't take kindly to threats here. You don't know who you're dealing with."
"Oh yeah," the Chobin Hood said, "Master, come out and thrash these punks." With that, a giant armored Mantis called a Mantis Ant came out.
Lina just yawned. "Is that the best you can do? A lousy ant? You'll just have to see what kind of power you're dealing with." She began to chant quietly. Everyone else leaned in closer to sea what was going on. Suddenly, her Demon's Blood Talisman - - which had somehow come with her when all her other jewels vanished - - was powered up, and she screamed out, "Blast Bomb." Instantly, the monsters were melted.
"You were wonderful and now you'll have your reward." Gobi dug into his pack, and produced three items. "An Iron Pot, a Greenball Bun, and a Tako Bug. Usually sold for 3,000 Lucre, you can have them for just 300 Lucre." The next instant, he was Fireballed.
"That's no reward, that's just you trying to sell me junk. And no one tries to pull one over on Lina Inverse and gets away unscathed," she yelled. With that, Gobi gave her the thee items, and began running back to town. Lina decided to go home and meet Gourry when he got back.
- - - -
If you're wondering, Gobi was the merchant in BoF I who lost his licensee and power to turn into a giant fish when he tried to scam people. Originally, he tried to sell Teapo a wheel that was the AF that created the Luon Highway, but once again, I'm not using artifacts. We'll see what happens when Gourry went into the bar in the next chapter.