Slayers Magical School
Chapter 4
A gentle prod here, a quick tug there, and another magical thread in the weave was freed. Only a few more to go and the protective ward would be completely disabled. Lina Inverse, junior sorceress supreme, paused long enough in her work to take a deep breath. The slightest nudge in the wrong place could set it off so she had to be extremely careful, never mind the fact she had done this countless times with other similar wards. It only took one mistake.
The eight-year-old sorceress concentrated hard, feeling the sweat bead on her forehead. The last thread slipped out. The ward surrendered in a colorful show of magical energies that dispersed into the air like a tiny flock of birds. The trunk, which only moments ago had appeared as a single seamless piece of wood, was now like any other normal wooden trunk.
Lina looked up at her two confidants wearing a very smug look. "Ta da! I've done it. The ward is dispelled!"
Lazlore Ragandi, child prodigy of the Dark Alchemist and Delly Truxa, an elf girl of noble blood, breathed an easy sigh of relief. Disabling wards was nothing new for Lina, but the fact they were attempting the feat against a ward their mentor had cast was enough to put them on edge. To say things would not have been pleasant had they been caught was an understatement.
There was also the fact the trunk they were breaking into belonged to a drow.
"Well, let's open this up and see what prize we won!" Lina cried triumphantly. She started to reach for the lid.
Quick as a whip Delly's hand shot out to slap Lina's away. "Don't touch that!" she snapped.
"Hey!" the flame haired child glanced up angrily. "What was that for?"
"Careful," Delly chided. "The drow have been known to booby-trap their belongings to keep unwanted hands off of them."
"Booby-traps?" Lina suddenly sounded very worried.
Lazlore was gazing at the trunk with considerable intent. "What kind of booby-traps?"
"Well…" the elf paused to think for a moment.
"Are they dangerous?"
"Hush. Let me think. I'm trying to remember."
"Could we disable them with magic?"
"A drow wouldn't want to kill us, would she?"
Delly fixed a harsh eye on the boy, her disdain for drow so readily apparent that it encased her in a burning aura of hate. "I'll pretend you didn't ask such a foolish question. Drow kill for no other reason than to kill! Causing pain to others is fun for them! Why, if you ever find yourself facing a drow, count yourself lucky if they only kill you!"
By the look in her eyes, Lina could tell that Delly was about to start off on another one of her 'I know more than you and here's why," speeches. Since they didn't have five hours to kill and she really didn't want to hear it anyway, Lina butted in. "Would you stop trying to scare him. You were going to tell us what kind of traps could be on this thing, remember?
Delly blinked, as if coming awake from a trance. "Oh, yes, you're right for once."
"What was that?"
She ignored her. "Hm, traps…I really don't know where to begin. The drow use so many different methods."
"Well, that doesn't help us!" Lazlore whined. "What happens if Lina opens the trunk expecting a fireball and instead gets her arm cut off?"
That mental image didn't settle very well with the flame haired sorceress. In fact, she suddenly didn't want to be nearly so close to the trunk. A little more distance between them sounded like a good idea. The other side of the room perhaps.
"No, the trap wouldn't be nearly so simple," Delly replied, lost in thought again. "It would be more devious, more evil. I imagine her arm would be cut off, turned into a giant spider, and then ordered to attack her. Drow are vile like that."
"Laz, why don't you open it?" Lina suggested from behind the safety of Rune's desk.
"Me?" the boy cried in alarm. "Why me?"
Her head popped out above her hiding space so he could see her. "Sure! I've disabled all the magical wards, and you are the one who is the most enthusiastic to see this thing. You should be the one to open it."
"Uh…"
"You are the artificer, after all," Delly pointed out. "This would be good practice for you." She glanced over to where Lina was standing and frowned. "What are you doing over there?"
"Do you think I want to get my arm cut off, turned into a spider, and have it ordered to attack me? Of course not! Why else would I be over here?"
"So I should open it instead?" Lazlore sweatdropped. After a moment he regained his composure and lifted a finger to Delly. "Why didn't you ask her to do it? She is an elf, plus she is familiar with their methods."
Delly's face paled. "I don't want to open it! Something bad might happen! And what do you mean I'm an elf! Are you implying something?"
"Well, you both have pointed ears. And you are both elves." If looks could kill Delly's eyes would be shooting out needles, and he would be a pincushion. He slowly began to edge away.
Lina snickered. "He does have a point, Delly. You are both elves. Who knows, maybe regular elves are just albino drow."
Delly spun. "Consider yourself lucky you aren't an elf, Lina Inverse!" she spat. "By honor law, I would have every right to challenge you to a duel to the death!"
"You're making an exception for me? How kind of you."
"That wasn't a compliment!"
"Yes, it was. Since I'm not an elf I don't have to challenge people to stupid duels over silly things."
"Silly things…? Grrrr!" Delly's face started to turn red.
"Um, shouldn't someone open the trunk? Someone not me?" Lazlore said in a quiet voice. No one paid him any heed.
All of a sudden Delly seemed to explode like a fireball. Words started to spew out of her mouth in rapid succession. They came out so quickly Lazlore was hard pressed to make out what they said. Those that he could understand he knew were in elven. He also knew they weren't very flattering. Lina wasn't familiar with the elven language, but then, when a person started shouting up a storm in any language similar to the way Delly was it didn't take much to guess that she was being cursed at.
Normally, Lina would have retaliated with several dozen volleys of flare arrows, but she suddenly remember an interesting spell she had come across after sneaking a peek into one of her mentor's spell books. In her mind she went through the incantations several times. She wanted to make sure she had them correct. Delly's eyes were tightly shut as she shouted. She wouldn't see the spell coming.
Lina smiled evilly. She spoke the words of power.
The room, which had previously been filled with Delly's never ending stream of heated words, instantly went still.
Lazlore, confused, switched his gaze from Lina to Delly, to Lina, then back to Delly again. The elf's mouth still moved but no sound came out. He looked at Lina again. "You caught her in a sphere of silence, didn't you?"
Lina nodded, her eyes never leaving the elf.
It was only another moment before the Delly noticed something amiss, although she wasn't sure of what. She tried to call out to Lina. No sound came out. The look of fear that swept over her face made Lina laugh out loud. As Delly began to regain control of her emotions the fear turned back to anger.
Lazlore had to admit he had never seen Delly's face turn that shade of red before. "Uh, Lina, shouldn't you…give Delly her voice back?"
"She'll regain it soon enough," the sorceress replied once her laughing fit had passed. Since Delly was caught in a sphere that nullified all sound, Lina knew she couldn't hear them so she quickly grabbed a quill and paper from Rune's desk and explained to her what she had done. And before Delly could jump her she pointedly reminded her of the trunk. That seemed to get her to cool off.
"Okay, Laz. Go ahead and open the trunk," Lina said as she tossed the paper she had used into the fire. Leave no evidence that they were doing something they shouldn't have been.
He looked up again. "Why me?"
"Because you started all this."
"But I didn't do anything! It was all you and Delly!"
"No, you made the comment that both she and Shadowdancer are elves," Lina said matter-of-fact. "That started this."
"But they are—What the?" Lazlore flinched as a wadded up sheet of paper bounced off his head. He looked over in the direction it had come from to see a very silent and fuming Delly pointing at the trunk.
"See?" Lina smiled, winningly. "Delly agrees with me."
Lazlore blinked owlishly behind his spectacles. "You don't know that! She can't hear us, and we can't hear her!"
Lina crossed her arms and began tapping her foot impatiently against the wood floor. "We won't get anything done until you open it."
"Um…I don't think—"
"Go ahead. Open it."
"But—"
"I said OPEN IT!"
Lazlore, his mouth agape, kept glancing between the two sorceresses looking for some sign they might let him escape, just this once. Their firm gaze said he would receive no such mercy. Finally, he gave in to defeat. "Why can't I ever win against you two?" he sighed.
"Because you're outnumbered," Lina teased.
He approached the wooden trunk. Delly and Lina took cover behind Rune's desk and watched from around the corner. Lazlore reached out, his hand moving closer, inch by inch, until it was resting on the lid. "Here goes," he warned.
Cautiously, as if he were afraid the trunk would explode any moment, he began to push the lid up. It groaned as it rocked back on the hinges until it was standing up straight. Surprisingly, nothing happened. The room echoed with their sighs of relief.
Lazlore laid his hand on the lip of the open trunk before turning to the girls. "I guess it's not booby-trapped." Without warning, like a giant, gaping maw, the lid clamped down on Lazlore's hand. "AH!" he screamed, pulling on his trapped hand that wouldn't budge. "IT'S GOT ME! HELP!"
Both girls screamed. Well, Lina screamed. Delly was still silent.
"HELP ME! IT'S EATING MY ARM!"
"We're coming, Laz!" Lina dashed over, taking hold of his free arm. Delly followed her example. "We won't let it eat you!"
"HURRY! PULL! BEFORE IT STARTS DIGESTING MY BRAIN!"
"On three!" Lina mouthed to Delly. "One. Two. Three!" Together the two girls pulled with all the strength they could muster, which turned out to be much more than they needed. Lazlore's arm came free surprisingly easy, and the Terrible Trio collapsed to the floor. The girls were already up again, jumping to heal Lazlore's injured arm. The first time they grabbed the wrong arm. They reached for the other one. It was in perfect condition as well.
The girls stopped and blinked, looking to one another with the same confused expression. One arm had been attack by the trunk, hadn't it? If one arm was untouched then the other had to be…but if they were both uninjured, then how could…? They looked down at Lazlore who was still sitting on the floor.
He was laughing, although no sound escaped his lips. The sphere of silence centered on Delly was negating everything. She stood up and moved away so Lina could hear what Lazlore was saying.
"Hahahaha! I fooled you guys good!" the boy laughed, flashing his open and uninjured palm at the girls. "You really thought it had me, didn't you? Hahahahaha!"
Lina glanced back, drawing her fingers across her throat. Delly nodded. They needed no words to realize what the other was thinking at that moment.
Like a pack of hungry wolves, they closed in on their prey. Lazlore was laughing so hard he didn't notice what they were doing until it was too late. Lina grabbed one arm. Delly grabbed the other. They scooped up the blond haired boy, dragging him across the floor to the trunk. Lazlore squirmed and protested but no one could hear his words, little good they would have done him anyway. Not missing a stride, the girls picked him up and stuffed him into the trunk, promptly shutting the lid on him. Delly sat down on it for good measure.
"That'll teach him!"
Delly looked up at Lina, a surprised expression plastered across her face. "Hey, I can hear you again!" she cried in delight, a beaming smile on her face. "I can talk! The spell must have worn off!"
"Lucky," Lina droned in a not-so-enthusiastic voice.
The sound of a key being inserted into the door interrupted their celebration.
"Oh, crap!" Lina paled. "We have to hide the trunk! Lazlore's still in there! We can't let Rune find it until we get him out."
"I have an idea!" Quickly, before Lina could protest, Delly pushed the trunk over to the table. Removing her cape, she draped it over the trunk. "Come on! Hurry and sit down," she said, waving Lina over. She hopped on the trunk again. "Take one of the other seats. We can pretend we are waiting on Lazlore."
Lina had to admit it sounded like a good idea. She joined the elf at the table. No sooner had she taken a seat than did the door open.
"Good morning, Master Rune!" the girls chimed in unison as their mentor stepped in.
---
No sooner was Lazlore dumped into the trunk did the girls shut the lid on him, trapping him in darkness. The space inside wasn't very big. He had to lay with his legs curled up against his chest. It wasn't very comfortable either. There was something sharp and pointy poking him in the back. Deciding he didn't like this one bit, he started to rise to shove the lid open when he felt the objects beneath him shift slightly. Suddenly, without warning, Lazlore found himself falling.
Just as he was about to scream he hit bottom. Something soft broke his fall. Actually, it was more like several somethings. In fact, a whole lot of somethings. They easily caved under his weight. More rushed in from the sides, threatening to bury him alive. Lazlore struggled through the mess, swimming his way to the surface.
He broke free a moment later, gasping for air. Through the darkness he couldn't see a thing. A lighting spell remedied his problem. The dark retreated to a comfortable distance. He was in a room, a very large room. The trunk had to be enchanted to allow a larger dimensional space to be housed within it! If only he could examine it. The things he might learn from such an artifact!
But how was he to get out? A quick glance around the room revealed the trap door he had fallen through twenty feet above him. That wouldn't be difficult to reach. He only needed to employ a simple Ray Wing to get back.
Lazlore ran a hand through his long hair. Wait until the girls heard about this!
Something smooth and silky became entangled in his fingers. He drew his hand back. "What is this supposed to be?" he mumbled to himself. The lacy piece of cloth looked like underwear, but it couldn't possible cover anything up. It was scarcely more than a few strips of cloth. Where had this come from?
He looked down and found himself buried up to his chest in a pile of them. "Whoa," he felt his face heat. Maybe he had better get out of here.
---
"What are you two doing alone?" Rune asked puzzled, shutting the door behind him.
"Oh, nothing."
"Oh really?"
"Actually," Delly said sweetly, "we were waiting on you to begin our lesson. You are late."
He looked at them skeptically. He had never known any member of the Terrible Trio to show up without the other two. "And where is Lazlore?"
Lina struggled to come up with a quick explanation. "He's…uh…downstairs."
"What is he doing down there? I'm surprised you two aren't with him."
"He said he would only be a minute," Delly answer, "and that was ten minutes ago. I'm getting worried. Maybe someone should go check on him."
"Okay. I'll go find Lazlore. You two wait here." Rune started for the door.
The top of the trunk jumped suddenly, as if a great weight had slammed into it from the other side, lifting the elf above her seat a couple of inches before setting her back down. Rune heard the thump and spun around.
"I have the hiccups," she abruptly explained.
The trunk jumped again.
"Hic…" went Delly.
Lina put on her most innocent face—the one with big watery eyes—and smiled.
Rune fixed a hard eye on both of them. Something was going on, but since he couldn't prove anything he left the room.
The trunk jumped once more, this time with enough force to throw Delly from her seat. With the weight of the elf girl gone the top easily swung open. Lazlore popped out a moment later.
"Hey, don't do that again! It's dark in there!"
"You're one to talk!" Lina jumped up. "You nearly got us caught!"
"Is that why the lid was jammed shut? How was I to know? You guys threw me in there. I fell through a trap door. The only way I could get back up was to fly. It's not like I could see what was going on outside!"
Delly crept up beside him. There was a pink wad of cloth hanging from his shoulder. She pinched it between two fingers and gave Lazlore an odd look. She recognized the lacy garment for what it was. "What exactly were you doing in there?"
He blushed nervously. "I landed in a pile of those. I guess one got stuck on me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
She didn't seem convinced.
"What?" he asked as Delly continued to give him strange looks.
Lina decided to steer the conversation back on the topic it was supposed to be covering. "So did you find anything while you were inside?"
"Oh, yes. Lots. You wouldn't believe how much room was inside. It's like the trunk is a portable room, possibly bigger. I didn't really get a chance to explore."
"You can tell us all about it at the table. Now get out of there before Rune gets back. He's out looking for you right now."
Lazlore was confused. "Why would he do that? You two are here."
"Did you want us to tell him you were in there doing…well, whatever it was you were doing in there?" Delly spat.
"I wasn't doing anything!"
"You were doing something," Lina replied, grabbing a sleeve and pulling Lazlore out of the box. When he was clear she shut the lid. That was when the magic exploded from the trunk.
---
Three pairs of worried, frightened eyes stared out from the tangled mess of cobwebs. A single figure, youthful yet ancient, paced in front of them, thinking, brooding, angry yet silent. They followed his every move back and forth across the room. Back and forth. Back and forth.
Lina had never realized how loud the sound of silence could be, especially since she, Delly, and Lazlore were the ones listening. It wasn't as if they had much of a choice, tied up as they were. Apparently, shutting the lid on the trunk had set off a hidden ward, filling the air with a spray of magic. The threads had solidified into sticky webbing that clung to everything, including them, but it didn't stop there. The three of them had struggle of course. Strangely Delly was the first to be caught although she was the farthest away. Her arm had become entangled. With a shriek of terror, she tried to pull it free. Her movements only seemed to attract more of the webbing, and once she was sufficiently immobilized the magic folded her within a tight cocoon, spinning layer upon layer of filament until only the whites of her eyes could be seen peeking through. Lina and Lazlore hadn't fared much better.
Helpless to do anything else, they could only wait until their mentor returned. And face whatever punishment they imagined he would dish out for them. However, no nightmare they could dream up had prepared them for this.
Ever since his return, Rune hadn't said a thing. Not one word. The moment he returned and discovered the room painted in cobwebs his jaw dropped. His surprise was fleeting. His anger wasn't. The three of them had expected a speech, a lecture, or something that involved lots of loud vocals. Instead, Rune took one look at them, his eyes moving from one to the one next, taking his time as he inspected everyone to make sure they were unharmed, then began his pacing.
Rune shouting at them was the worst thing Lina thought could happen. She was finding his silence to be even more unsettling. If he was speaking she would at least have a clue as to what he was thinking. She had never seen him like this. Over the years she had caused a fair amount of damage and destruction, but she had never angered Rune, not really. Now she was worried she had done just that.
The minutes slowly ticked by. Soon a half hour had come and gone, then a whole one. Every so often Rune would look up from his pacing at them. They could clearly see he wore a frown and that his brow was lined with deep creases.
Finally, two hours later their waiting came to an end. Rune stopped his pacing and spoke, his red eyes glowing with irritation.
"I'm going to dispel the ward. You three are to return to your rooms. There will be no lesson today." He snapped his fingers. The magical webbing disappeared. Rune resumed his pacing.
Released from their bindings, the Terrible Trio landed on their feet. Lina and Lazlore started for the door without a word. Delly stayed behind.
"Master Rune, will there be a lesson tomorrow?"
He stopped without turning around. "I'll let you know when the lessons will resume."
Lina decided that they had definitely made Rune very angry.
"Come on, Delly. Let's go," Lazlore called from the door.
She didn't budge. "Master Rune, please understand, we were only worried the drow would cause trouble."
"The business I have with Shadowdancer is none of your concern. I thought blocking your attempt to scry made that perfectly clear."
Delly clutched a hand to her chest. She wouldn't have looked more hurt had she been slapped in the face.
"Are you going to punish us?" Lina asked. Her voice, normally loud, sounded small in the room.
He finally turned around. His red eyes danced to each of them as he spoke. "No, but I want you three to realize that I am very disappointed."
"We're sorry."
Rune nodded, but didn't say anything further.
Quietly, the three junior sorcerers left the room, shutting the door behind.