Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2, their characters and concepts belong to Rumiko Takahashi and those enterprises to whom she has given publishing rights. The Lord of the Rings, their characters and concepts belong to Tolkien Estate and those enterprises to whom such rights were given. This work does not intend to infringe upon those rights, nor is it intended to commercial use.
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The Lord of the Curses
Chapter 2
Two Rangers
Kho Lon was worried.
'How could I have been so blind?' she berated herself and not for the first time, 'all the signs were right in front of my eyes and I couldn't see them.'
Kho Lon was pushing her horse hard, she needed to reach Bree before nightfall and hope that Genma and Ranma were still there.
'Gollum! Of all creatures in Middle-earth, this one may hold the answer to this ring puzzle,' thought the wizard. 'And I need someone to track him down and capture him while I travel to Minas Tirith to research what I can about the ring in the old library. Can I trust Genma to this task? He's a great tracker and huntsman, but unreliable, at best,' frowned Kho Lon. 'And how to convince him to do it?'
Pondering over all she knew about the ring-lore and burdened with all the problems of Middle-earth in her shoulders, Kho Lon barely noticed she was about to reach her destination.
---
The gate was closed. Kho Lon was expecting that, but she was saddened all the same. It was a clear sign of dangerous times. Rumours of fell creatures abroad, talks of war and even darker things have reached Bree. At least the town has a little measure of safety inside the walls, as well as the three nearby villages that formed the Bree-land. More important, she knew the gatekeeper wouldn't object her entry, no matter the time.
Kho Lon left her horse in the stables so the poor beast could get a well deserved rest and went straight to the Prancing Pony Inn, doing her best to avoid the tiny rain who made her company in the last hour of her ride. The first person she met was the Inn's owner, Barliman Butterbur, somewhat surprised with the encounter.
"Kho Lon! Back already? What can I do you for you? A room? Supper?"
"Yes, yes, but I'll first warm my old bones in the common room, by the fire."
"I guess you'll want supper in your room, the common room is almost empty tonight."
Kho Lon's heart sank. She really needed to find Genma here, and the chances were pretty slim right now. But the promise of heat alone would make her try the common room.
Barliman wasn't exaggerating, the room was almost empty, but in a dark corner Kho Lon saw a familiar ranger and another cloaked person, much to her relief. Kho Lon didn't wait for an invitation to join them.
The ranger was Genma, there was no doubt about that. He was big and heavily built, and didn't have a single hair in his head, which was covered by a kerchief. 'The other person must be his son Ranma', thought Kho Lon, wondering why he was hiding himself. They were arguing about something and they didn't see Kho Lon coming until she was practically over them.
"Old Ghoul!" exclaimed the person beneath the hood, in a soprano voice. Kho Lon realized now why Ranma was hooded indoors. She was trying to hide her cursed body, even in a nearly empty room. It was obvious Ranma was having a very hard time getting used to the curse. 'Well, changing both gender and race must be an unpleasant experience,' thought the wizard. Kho Lon sighed as she replied the 'greeting' with a swift staff strike against the girl's head.
"Ow!"
"Show more respect to the elder, boy!" scowled Genma. "She must be here because she wanted to see us, that means she must have news regarding our curses."
Ranma immediately turned her head to Kho Lon, giving her undivided attention to the wizard.
"I'm afraid that's not the reason why I've come here tonight. I have not found any possible cures for you two."
The rangers sighed.
"But... there must be a way out of this!" said Ranma, her voice carrying a hint of desperation.
"Shut up, boy!" yelled Genma. "Stop complaining like a girl!"
"You shut up old man! 'Twas your stupid idea to go to Fornost!" Ranma snapped at her father. "You only wanted to plunder what you could find in the ruins, sayin' we needed a desert place to train a stupid technique you've created!"
"The place *was* desert and we needed it that way to train!" answered Genma, raising his voice even more, without bothering to deny his scavenging plans. "The Taen-i-Meneguir is very destructive!"
Ranma snorted, doubting such technique even existed. "And now we know *why* the place is deserted."
"Ungrateful brat! I should have kept the Taen-i-Meneguir sealed, I think I will!" growled the older ranger, assuming an offensive stance.
Father and son were about to exchange blows in the very spot they were sitting. Kho Lon frowned at the situation and at the possible outcome. Deciding not to allow this fight to go any further, she stood in her seat.
"ENOUGH! I have not ridden day and night for this nonsense!" shouted Kho Lon with a commanding tone, one that left no room whatsoever for dissent. The rangers backpedalled as far as they could from the hobbit-sized wizard, now looking several feet taller and very menacing. The very shadow she cast looked larger than it normally would be and the fire of the common room seemed distant and frail.
"W-what was that?" asked Ranma to his father under her breath, still shivering from the sudden outburst.
"Soun has a similar technique," was all he could say, his eyes wide open in stupor, trembling as much as his son. The argument that almost came to blows was completely forgotten.
Kho Lon diminished to her normal size, the aura of terrible power gone, but her eyes were still flashing.
"Well, Kho Lon, if you were looking for us not to discuss our problems, why then?" asked Genma, with all the dignity he could muster in this awkward situation.
"Problems of my own. There's a creature I need you to capture."
Kho Lon recounted Bilbo's adventures in the depths of the Misty Mountains in great detail. Genma knew the story of the Hobbit burglar that aided Thorin Oakshield to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, but it was new to Ranma.
"A strange creature," commented Genma after Kho Lon has finished the story. "Why do you want him?"
"Answers. Answers I direly need, answers only Gollum can give me."
"The trail is old. Too old if you ask me. It may be impossible to find this creature-Gollum, if he had left the mountain," pondered Genma.
"He had. I am sure of that," pointed the wizard.
"Why do you need our help, Kho Lon?" asked Ranma, bored with the conversation. "You have the skills to do it yourself, don't you?"
"Maybe. As your father said, the trail is most certainly old. I need a ranger to track him, and as soon as possible. And the reason I'm not doing the hunt myself is that I'm needed elsewhere. I'll leave Bree tomorrow and travel to Minas Tirith."
"I wish I could go to the white city," murmured Ranma, thinking aloud without noticing it.
"Our place is in the north, boy. At least for now," Genma answered his son, a stern look in his face. Turning to the old wizard he said: "I'm afraid you are not the only one pressed by time. The boy and I have to go to Rivendell to settle a family business."
Ranma was puzzled. He knew nothing of it. Either his father was lying, and that wasn't a rare event, or there was something he didn't want to tell him – probably until there was nothing he could do to prevent it – which wasn't an uncommon occurrence either. He was sure, though, that trouble would come of it, one way or another. It always did.
Kho Lon sighed. She doubted it would be easy to make Genma capture Gollum, but she believed a little bribery would be enough to convince him. Now the matter was much more complicated and the only option left open to her at the moment was a veiled threat. She didn't want to use it, but perhaps it was for the best – a threatened Genma was more reliable than a paid Genma.
"You are aware that if I have to chase Gollum myself I'll pass through Lothlórien, do you?" asked Kho Lon, smirking. "You can be sure the lady of the Galadhrim will ask of you... and your daughter."
Ranma was about to complain, but the pallid face of her father stopped her. She frowned. 'What about the golden forest could scare him like this,' wondered the hooded elven girl, apprehensive of the answer. 'We visited 'em before and we were well received, somethin' that never happened here. Pops must have done somethin' really stupid,' she concluded.
Kho Lon was still smirking, gazing the blood deprived ranger and waiting for his move.
"You wouldn't..." he replied slowly.
"Lie? Of course not."
The older ranger composed himself and said: "Well, if Kho Lon the Grey says she need our help, it must be of uttermost importance. We'll leave before sunrise, boy."
"I need Ranma here, Genma."
Genma cursed mentally. He would have much more work to do if he went alone. He was now used to rely on Ranma for several menial tasks that made 'good training', or so he told his son. Besides, it would be a really good opportunity for some real training.
"That can't be, Kho Lon. I must train the boy," he said, with little hope of actually changing the wizard's mind – her stubbornness was well known and she did have the upper hand.
Kho Lon has anticipated this. "Training? I think I can compensate that. I can start some training right now that would make Ranma busy for quite some time."
The promise caught Ranma's attention. While her father teaching methods were unusual and often brutal, they were very effective, for the most part. But after ten years of continuous drilling she felt there was little else he could teach her now, unless these sealed techniques were real. Some variation may be in order, and if the wizard's skill were at least as half as high as she has heard, it would be well worth the time to learn whatever she intended to teach her.
Genma was also happy by the prospect, but he decided not to show it, frowning instead. "I see. As long as you don't go easy on the boy, I don't see a problem. Now, what you want me to do with this creature once I have him?"
"Bring him to the Wood-elves of Mirkwood. They will take care of him until I can question him myself."
Genma's frown was genuine this time. He would rather not have any contact the Wood-elves and their crazy laws if he could help it. "Are you sure that's the best option?" he asked.
"Well, you can carry him to Lothlórien instead," replied the wizard, smirking again.
"Very well. I'll take him to the Wood-elves. A good night for you, Kho Lon," Genma said as he raised. Kho Lon threw him something he almost failed to catch before it could hit him in the nose. "This will help you," she said. The older ranger was extremely satisfied when he found some gold coins inside a small sack.
Kho Lon decided to have supper in the common room. There was much she needed to discuss with Ranma, but why do it with an empty stomach? Ranma took the chance and asked Barliman a kettle of hot water. The man was back quickly and as soon as he has left them, Ranma splashed herself, reclaiming her manhood. The now male boy took off his cloak and waited the wizard to finish her meal.
"So Kho Lon, what do you need me for?" he asked, unable to wait anymore.
The wizard gazed him for an instant. His upbringing had many flaws, it was clear, but she enjoyed the boy's bluntness. After all these years labouring against the shadow she had almost no patience left to deal with people who liked to beat around the bush. "The vigilance around the Shire must be tightened."
Ranma looked down at the wizard. "It will. It's our duty to protect 'em," he said. Kho Lon was somewhat surprised with the sudden seriousness of his voice and the steel in his eyes, an all different behaviour from the arrogant boy (or girl) he displayed so far. She realized how importantly he considered his duty and the multiple levels of it. Duty as a martial artist to protect the weak, duty as a Dúnedan of Arnor to defend the realm and, above all, the duty of a direct descendent of Elendil of the west, the duty of a King toward his people. Kho Lon knew his father kept his heritage a secret until recently, but she wasn't sure how the boy was reacting to it.
"But that's no reason to keep me here," he concluded. "Not that I would complain about gettin' away from pops for some time."
Kho Lon cackled. The arrogant boy was back. "I am not giving you a holiday, child."
"I guess not. So, why do ya need *me* here?"
"Very well. Bilbo found an artefact in the Misty Mountains, a magic ring I'm investigating. Bilbo gave the ring to his nephew and heir, Ryouga, before leaving the Shire. I need you to watch over him while I am away. Ryouga is like his uncle, he gets lost very easily, so you must watch him closely. Even a ranger like you would have problems to track him down, I believe. You must not allow him the chance of getting lost," she stopped for a moment, reaching for the kettle Ranma used, so she could make some tea.
"Great, so I'll have to baby-sit a hobbit," Ranma said, rolling his eyes.
Kho Lon considered hitting the boy again, but she had a much better way to assure his solicitude – guilt. "He is the same hobbit you have recklessly knocked down in a spring on the day you became cursed."
Ranma looked down. He did feel guilt about it. He was so outraged with his father that day, he focused only on one thing – to beat him to a pulp. In fact, he could barely remember anything after the brief sparring he had with his father, when he had thrown him in one of the many springs. He was shocked when a bear came out of the spring where his father was and he was completely unable to offer any resistance when the bear raised his massive paw and thrust him in another spring.
The cold water snapped him out of it and he jumped out of the spring, ready to resume the fight, almost to fall again upon landing. Something was.. off. His center of gravity was dislocated, his balance was unsteady and all his body felt... wrong. He looked at the bear who seemed to be paralysed, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, but still in a fighting stance. Then he noticed how perfect his eyesight was and how well he was listening to the sounds of the nearby wood. He tried to speak with the bear, as silly as the action could seem, and he couldn't recognise his own voice. Only then he looked down at himself. And there they were. Breasts. The scream she unleashed made all birds in a mile wide radius arise and fly away. After that his memory was just a blur.
Kho Lon has told him in this same place that, in his folly, he had knocked another person in a cursed spring. A hobbit. He caused the same suffering to another person, someone he didn't even know, an innocent bystander. At least he hadn't endured two months believing the change was permanent, like him and his father. Hot water is hard to come by in the wild and only by accident they found out how to return to their natural bodies.
How could he make any amends? He only managed to forgive his own father after weeks of brooding. He looked up again. Perhaps a chance to attain forgiveness would present itself while he kept his silent vigil.
"If anything strange happens," continued the wizard, satisfied with the boy's reactions, "I want you to bring Ryouga to Rivendell, as fast as you can. Make sure he has the ring with him and be careful not to lose him from sight."
Ranma nodded. He had his doubts about how bad the hobbit's sense of direction was, but Kho Lon was so vehement about it he decided to accept it and check it out later.
"Will he trust me after what happened?"
"He will, if I tell him to. He doesn't know the elven girl is a cursed person as well. If it comes to that, introduce yourself with your normal body. He will react poorly if you come to him in your cursed body," seeing the boy raise an eyebrow, she pointed out, "he's a martial artist, too."
That was a surprise to him, he never expected to find a hobbit practicing the Art.
"Yes, child," she said, before he could talk, "even when you have lived as long as I have, hobbits may yet surprise you. One of the reasons I'm so fond of them," pushing her dish away, Kho Lon started to smoke, as she usually did after a well deserved meal.
"What special about this ring? It seems a lotta trouble just because of it."
Kho Lon stopped smoking. She didn't want to tell any of her suspicions, not now, anyway. However, there was no way she could avoid to answer the question. At least Genma wasn't here. She looked around, making sure no one was overhearing the conversation.
"I have reasons to believe this ring may be a Ring of Power," lowering her voice to a barely audible whisper, "it may be the One Ring."
Ranma opened his mouth and closed it several times before regaining rational speech. At last he managed to mutter: "No... way. How... when... what?"
"Now, child, you know the urgency of our work here. Don't tell anyone, not even your father, unless you have to. And whatever you do, do not try to take the ring, it will corrupt you."
Ranma nodded, recovering from mental numbness in record time. "The hobbits know about it?"
"Bilbo didn't suspect it, nor does Ryouga now. All he knows is that the ring may be dangerous and that he should not use it. There is too much at stake here. The fate of all Middle-earth may be in our hands. We cannot fail."
"We won't."
Kho Lon smiled, as she was graced with another glimpse of the King the boy might one day become.
"Now, what about that training?"
'Always to the point,' she thought. "Ryouga said the curse made him prone to water accidents. Is it the same to you, child?"
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. I just got one here. Almost no one around and I got splashed with water anyway. At least pops didn't get hit. That would mean trouble."
"I can see the commotion a bear would cause here."
"Pops thinks it's raining more now. Damn, can't say he got crazy, it looks like even rain is tryin' to hit us."
"I see. Ryouga didn't want to train with his other body, but I forced him to. After all, if the changes are so frequent, they may happen even in the middle of a fight. And you, child?"
"Feh! My girl body is smaller and weaker, just that. I can adapt pretty quick and there ain't nothin' I can't do with this body, so why bother?"
"Is that so, child?"
"Yeah. Sure, my senses are better, but that only helps with the bow. In a close fight it ain't much. My old man used his curse once to beat a troll, but being a martial artist bear does help sometimes."
Kho Lon nodded. "Well, child, go join your father now. And don't be late tomorrow, or I'll leave you behind. Meet me at the stables."
"I'll be there," he replied, putting his cloak on again and leaving the wizard alone.
Kho Lon resumed smoking. 'He's blind if he thinks there are no advantages in his curse. His arrogance won't allow him to accept them,' she thought. 'I'll have to force him to open his eyes. I just need to make him desperate enough to use his curse. Hummm... a technique only an elf could master.'
The venerable looking wizard was concentrating very hard. Wading through many millennia worth of knowledge in the Art, in search for something adequate, Kho Lon found a special move she learned in her youth in the west. She smiled at the memory. Tulkas himself had taught her, the very creator of the Art and its Code.
Tulkas was the mightiest of the Valar in prowess, and had always refused to use weapons, fighting only with his arms and legs. In the first struggle against Melkor, in the dawn of Arda, the Valar would have been defeated, but Tulkas appeared and Melkor fled to his stronghold in the north, Utumno.
Tulkas broke the gates of the fortress and in its deepest pit they fought in single combat. Melkor was overthrown and held captive. In the peaceful age that followed his incarceration, Tulkas taught others how to fight like him. Among the elves, the Noldor were craftier in the Art and they added what Oromë has taught them about the wielding of weapons. When the Noldor returned to Middle-earth to wage war against Morgoth to recover the Silmarils they taught the Art to the Sindar, the Nandor and Men.
The technique was chosen but Kho Lon still lacked the proper motivation. Looking out a nearby window, she saw a lonely star twinkle, in a rare breach amongst the heavy rain clouds that covered the sky. 'Yes, that will do just fine,' she thought. Thanking Varda for the unexpected inspiration, she started the last task left for the night – to write a letter.
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The Prancing Pony Inn, Bree. September the 29th, 1401 by the Shire-reckoning.
Dear Ryouga,
I'm leaving today to a long journey. If anything happens before my return, a friend of mine will contact you and take you to Rivendell. His name is Ranma and he knows about our business. He's a medium height young man, with long black hair kept in a pigtail. His eyes are blue-grey.
Kho Lon
P.S. Don't use it!
---
Kho Lon sealed the letter with her sigil and gave it to Barliman, who was passing by. She asked him to sent it to Hobbiton the first thing in the morning, then she went to her room.
But Barliman couldn't find anyone to deliver the letter in the following day, neither in the day after, and soon he forgot about it.
---
Kho Lon was saddling her horse when Ranma entered the stables. "Good, child, you are here. Help me here, please?"
With the horse saddled, Kho Lon positioned herself in front of Ranma. "The training is very simple, child..." And before she ended the last word she darted in his direction.
Ranma was taken by surprise. Before he could react the withered wizard was in front of him, the point of her gnarled staff caressing a certain place of his chest for a second, then she raised her staff hard.
Still confused with the wizard's act, Ranma went to a loose defensive stance, and waited for her next move. Meanwhile, Kho Lon has returned to the place she was.
"...all you have to do is take this pretty jewel back," she finished, cackling.
Ranma froze. A small gem of white elven crystal set on a fillet of silver glinted in the center of her forehead. He immediately reached for his pocket and found nothing. Seething, Ranma attacked the wizard.
"Give that back! It was mother's!" he yelled, doing his best to grab Kho Lon. But she was fast, too fast to him. She wasn't trying to hit back, all she was doing was dodging. They stayed quite some time in this catch game, but Ranma couldn't even get close to her, she was always one step ahead of him. Finally, he overextended himself trying to get a hold of the mercurial wizard and Kho Lon used her staff again to hit his ankle, making him trip and sending him straight to a pool of water formed by yesterday's rain.
If Ranma noticed her transformation, she gave no sign of it. She was up in an instant and moving against the wizard with renewed fury.
Whether she was willing to acknowledge the superiority of her cursed body speed or not, the red blur Kho Lon kept fending was more than enough proof of that. But the relentless assault was beginning to take its toll on the wizard. Ranma was getting much closer to her objective now.
Twice was Kho Lon obliged to parry a lighting quick thrust against her head she couldn't dodge and when she was going to do it for a third time Ranma surprised her with a snap kick that took the staff out of her hands and sent it spinning against the stables walls and well out of her reach. Both contenders took a few steps back, allowing some distance between them. Ranma was making sure the almost ethereal wizard couldn't try to reclaim that damned staff and Kho Lon was just waiting for him in a casual pose, arms crossed and hidden in the sleeves of her robe.
"I don't have an idea of what this was about, but it ends now," Ranma said, still boiling in anger from the theft of the jewel. "Give it back, NOW!" and she jumped at the diminutive wizard.
"It does indeed," she calmly replied.
Ranma was about to catch her prey when the wizard shouted:
"Paur ed Lach!"
And the wizard's fists began to move faster than Ranma could see. Her arms were being pounded by countless strikes. Before she could even scream in pain a twin open palm blow against her shoulders sent her flying against the stables main support beam. With a sickly thud, she fell in the muddy ground.
The heat Ranma was felling in her badly bruised arms was a promise of the pain that would follow, which would make a nice company to the pain she was already felling in her back. Throughout defeated and still puzzled by the wizard's actions, Ranma did her best to calm down.
"Are you well, child?" asked the wizard, who has moved near the fallen elven girl.
Ranma only groaned in response. As much as she wanted to put her hands in the small wizard's throat, the fact was she felt her arms were made of lead. Moving them now would require an extraordinary feat of will, one she would pay dearly for in a later moment and, most probably, would be futile anyway. So she didn't resist when Kho Lon began to press several points of her left arm.
"Hold still, this will take only an instant," she said. Satisfied with her work on the girl's left arm, she proceeded to the right one.
"There child. They will remain numb for the next couple of hours, and sore for the rest of the day, and possibly on the next day as well, but there won't be any pain."
Ranma was glad. They were dumb right now, and dumbness were much better than pain in her book and the soreness that would follow couldn't be avoided by any means she knew. She wouldn't show any kind of appreciation for that, though. All she did was mutter an undignified grunt instead.
Kho Lon lit some logs she has prepared earlier that morning and promptly dropped several chestnuts in the middle of the fire. "Now, child, pay attention," and then her hands blurred like they did before, much to Ranma astonishment. Kho Lon was moving so fast that she could take the chestnuts off the fire without hurting herself.
Ranma realized she must have been hit hundreds of times instead of the few dozens she has previously estimated. The speed of such technique was truly fabulous.
"You want one?" Kho Lon asked, cackling. Before Ranma could answer a recently roasted chestnut went flying to her month, which must have stayed open during the demonstration. She got one herself and she carefully packed the rest of them for her travel. Truth to be told, the old wizard favoured this specific method for no better reason than a great fondness for roasted chestnuts.
"If you want to take this beautiful gem back, you'll have to use the same move I've just used. It's a very old and hard to master technique. Be glad I'm not using the same methods my old master used to teach me. And don't you worry, I'll keep it safe until we meet again."
Kho Lon went to her horse and, with a effortless jump, she mounted him. Taking the bridles and turning the horse toward the door, she spoke with Ranma one last time.
"Take good care of Ryouga, child. And don't waste your time trying to master the Paur ed Lach in your normal body. This is a work for an elf," with that she rode off.
An hour has passed and Ranma was still resting against the support beam. She had a lot to digest. At least her father had already left, else he would reprimand her to no end for losing Elendilmir, even momentarily. She got up and left the stables. She had a hobbit to watch and a technique to learn. She would begin her journey to Hobbiton as soon as she could find some hot water.
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Author's notes: The first thing Tolkien wrote in his forewords is that LotR had grown in telling. So did this chapter. At first I've planned to make the meeting of Kho Lon with Ranma and Genma just an introduction to the next chapter, but soon it became too huge in comparison with the chapter it was supposed to herald. So I decided to make this a brand new one.
It was brought to my attention I have the option not to accept anonymous reviews marked. Sorry about that! Please review my story, the comments are really a great aid.
Next on The Lord of the Curses, The Shadow of the Past. Until then, namárië!
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Special thanks to Andromedos, who joined the pre-reading crew.
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V. 1.1 (12-III-2003)
By Fangorn (fangorn_ff@terra.com.br)
