Disclaimer: I don't own, nor claim to own, Slayers and I don't own "In the Hall of the Mountain King". Enough said.
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Lina Inverse was very happy to find a nice inn to sleep in for once, instead of the ground. Not that she minded to terribly much, but a bed always beat the ground. After an average meal, well, average for Lina, she retired to her room for the night. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard screams coming from outside. Crash noises followed and the noise level increased. From her window, Lina saw people running everywhere in the small village. Jumping out of her bed, Lina ran out of her room and found the innkeeper huddled in a corner, his hands covering his head.
"What's going on?" demanded Lina.
"It's him," stammered the innkeeper. "He's going to kill us!" The innkeeper attempted to hide himself even more.
"Oh, forget it," said Lina, half to herself. "I can get better answers on my own." She ran out of the inn and found the village in an uproar and for good reason. Running through the streets were three bulls made out of stone. The bulls smashed and trampled everything in their path, whether it was alive or not. "Hurting these people is bad enough," said Lina. "But when you disturb my sleep, you pay dearly!" She was shouting by now, drawing quizzical looks from a few of the villagers as they ran by. "Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright. Flare Arrow!" The arrow of fire shot out, striking one of the bulls on the side of the head. It exploded, causing the stone creature to disintegrate. The other two bulls stopped their rampage and turned their attention towards Lina. Snorting, both remaining bulls charged Lina at the same time. Lina snapped her fingers: Aqua create! At the perfect moment, a geyser of water shot out of the ground, taking both bulls high into the air. After the spell ended, the bulls crashed to the ground, shattering into many pieces.
The stunned villagers crowded around Lina before breaking into cheering. Lina couldn't help but smile. "Oh, thank you, ma'm," said an old man with few teeth. "How can we ever repay you?"
"Just let me sleep," said Lina. "We can talk about a reward in the morning."
"Indeed we can," said a voice from behind Lina. As she turned, she noticed the villagers bowing. In front of her stood a young man with a sword at his waist.
"And who are you?" asked Lina to the young man.
"I am Prince Argus," he replied. "Come, gather your things and come spend a night in the palace. It will be more comfortable than a bed at the inn. I have some things I'd like to discuss with you, including a reward." Lina's eyes lit up.
"Okay," replied Lina. She dashed into the inn, grabbed her things, and followed the prince back to the palace.
§§§§
When Lina awoke the next morning, there was a note beckoning her to the palace breakfast room. She got dressed and quickly made her way to the room. There was a large table covered with a good deal of food. Prince Argus was waiting.
"Good morning, Ms. Inverse," said the Prince. "Eat to your heart's content while I explain a proposition that I have for you."
"I'm all ears," replied Lina, already beginning to gorge herself. The Prince threw a bag of money in front of her.
"Thirty silver pieces for your work last night," he said. "Now, I do have another job for you, if you are willing. It does pay more." Lina nodded. "I want you to take out the source of those stone creatures."
"Oh, really, and I suppose you know who this is?" said Lina.
"Not entirely," said the Prince. "He lives in the northern mining mountains and calls himself the Mountain King. He appears to be a master of Shamanist earth magic, but he appeared only a year ago. He began demanding tribute and when we refused, he sent stone golems into our villages." The Prince paused. "We've been paying ever since, until last week. We've simply run out of money and so now, every night, another village gets attacked. I'm willing to offer you three hundred gold pieces to get rid of him."
"So, just how are you going to pay me if you can't pay him?" asked Lina.
"Somehow, I think your asking price is much lower than his," replied the Prince. "Besides, I am willing to let you keep anything of the Mountain King's you find. And, if we can't find where he has stashed our gold, then I shall arrange for a Kotari gem to be mined for you as payment."
'A Kotari gem?" stammered Lina.
"Yes," replied the Prince. "We can only mine them for two months, once every five years, but when we do, we make a killer profit. If you do not take care of the Mountain King, then we will miss our chance and poverty will become more rampant than it already is."
"Argus, you've got yourself a deal!" exclaimed Lina. "The Mountain King is going down!"
§§§§
Lina made her way up the miner's path, heading towards the Kotari gem mines. The trip was uneventful as the Mountain King didn't seem willing to protect the path. As she approached the entrance to the mines, she found a short, balding man waiting.
"Hello there, young lady," he said. "Why do you approach the hall?" Lina didn't say anything at first. 'This guy has to be crazy' she thought to herself.
"I have an appointment with the Mountain King," replied Lina.
"Oh, then I can take you to him," said the man. "But I'll need one hundred gold pieces as my fee."
"Or I can let you live," said Lina, smiling, an orb of energy appearing in her hand.
"Yes, I suppose so," mumbled the man. "Well, come this way, girl. I shall take you to the Mountain King." Lina let the orb dissipate; glad that the poor fool didn't have any idea that it was only a lighting spell. Lina followed the man down the path, noticing that once again, the Mountain King was making no effort to stop her. 'Maybe he doesn't know I'm coming,' she thought to herself. The path made a sharp curve to the left and entered into a large, well lit and well decorated room. "This, little girl, is the Hall of the Mountain King." The little mad walked over to the throne and sat in it. "Did I fail to mention that this is my hall?"
"You're the Mountain King?" asked Lina, stunned.
"Indeed I am," said the man. "The Kotari gems provide great amplification for my power. I think after this, Prince Argus will have to be taught a lesson, sending a mere wannabe sorceress after me."
"Wannabe?" asked Lina. "You obviously don't know who you're talking too. I'm Lina Inverse!"
"Oh, really?" scoffed the Mountain King. "I could care less." With that, he snapped his fingers and four stone bulls sprang out of the ground. "Destroy this impudent little girl!" The four stone bulls charged Lina, but they didn't make it very far.
"Flare arrow!" Four separate bolts of fire shot out, each one striking a different bull, destroying it.
"Very well, then, Ms. Inverse," said the Mountain King. "Perhaps something a bit more interesting will suffice." Kneeling down, the Mountain King placed both of his hands on the ground. "Earth below me, submit to my will . . ." With that, two single file columns of large stone spikes shot up from the ground on either side of Lina. "Now, let's see how well you do now." The mountain king summoned two stone golems, each armed with large swords. They could barely fit in the narrowed room, but they prevented Lina's escape. Lina, however, didn't flinch.
"Oh, dear, whatever shall I do?" asked Lina sarcastically. "You know, you honestly aren't that powerful." She paused. "Burst Rondo!" Dozens of fireballs flew out, striking the first golem and obliterating it. The second golem continued lumbering forth, raising its sword. "Fireball!" The second golem exploded into a pile of rubble.
"I don't understand," stammered the Mountain King, raising his hands as he prepared to cast another spell. "Those were high class golems and should have been able to withstand your attacks."
"Oh, come on," said Lina. "You got the class right and I give you credit for that. Creating fully functional golems with swords is no easy task. But, you forgot the actual construction basis. The stone of the Kotari Mountains is softer than normal stone and so are your golems. Now, perhaps you'd like to just surrender. I'm sure Prince Argus will be lenient."
"Never!" shouted the Mountain King.
"Very well then," said Lina, smiling. "I hope you like to dance." With that, she cast and fired several flare arrows, striking around the Mountain King. When the dust cleared, she saw the short man trying to run away.
"Shadow Snap!" A dagger appeared in her hands which she threw with pinpoint accuracy, striking the Mountain King's shadow and preventing him from moving.
"Foolish child, I can break this easily!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Lina, a glowing energy orb appearing her hands. "Or I'll fry you before you can leave this hall of yours." The Mountain King froze in terror. Lina walked up to him, the orb disappearing and bound his hands with some rope.
Prince Argus sat at a table full of food, watching Lina eat. He had already paid her for her work, but since it had been dinner time when she had arrived and he felt obligated to treat her to a meal. He was beginning to regret the decision.
"So, tell me, Ms. Inverse, any idea why he was in the Kotari Mountains?" asked the Prince.
"No, though my guess would be that he just wanted to be more powerful," replied Lina, wolfing down a piece of chicken. "But, he obviously wasn't a very good sorcerer. He didn't know that the Kotari Mountain stone was weaker than most and he only had one major concentration of magic."
"Well, he is in prison now and we've designed it to keep him from using his powers," said the Prince. "I have one more thing to ask of you, Ms. Inverse before I retire for the night. You, of course, are welcome to remain for the night." He paused, taking a sip of his wine. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of someone to train me in the ways of magic. I have realized that my sword is not always enough to protect my people. Perhaps you'd be interested in the job?"
"Well, I'm not the type to stay in one place for long and teaching someone magic can take some time," replied Lina. "But, I know in the town of Galred, not to far from here, there's a sorceress who might be willing to take you on as an apprentice. But, I'm going to keep moving."
"I understand," said the prince, rising from his seat. "Then, good night, and once again, I thank you, Ms. Inverse."