Sorcerer Hunters

"Starstone"

Chapter VII

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"Bye-bye!" Dota waved to the quartet of tired sorcerer hunters and disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

"Banatown, huh?" Chocolate sighed. "What on Earth can we find in Banatown? I just want a place to sleep right now."

"You said it," Tira agreed.

Carrot was already setting off with a brisk pace. "It's obvious. There's a beautiful maiden in distress there, and Big Momma's sending us there so that we can save her. Then she'll have to thank us, of course, and she'll want to thank me especially for being her big, strong hero..."

Marron and Tira fell in step behind Carrot with a sigh. Chocolate followed soon after, her eye twitching as Carrot continued blithering about his fantasy.

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"You just stay here," Marron told his teammates firmly at the inn's breakfast table two mornings later. "I'll go purchase what we need to restock our supplies. You should just rest–you've earned it." He judged from the Misu sisters' blank expressions and Carrot's snoring, that his offer would not be met with any arguement or opposition.

The town of Banatown was not a metropolis, although it was significantly larger than most of the villages and towns his team had passed through over the last two years. Following the innkeeper's directions, Marron found the marketplace easily, and began searching for the necessary provisions.

The morning was bright, warm and sunny. It was a welcome relief from the past few months of travel in the rainy southern reaches of the continent. The young mage–now a man, by his own accounts–flipped his long hair behind him as he enjoyed the fresh morning air and light. He moved slowly through the marketplace, examining the wares at nearly every table he passed.

A couple of girls giggled nearby. Marron turned to see a young pair of platinum blonds–sisters, unless he missed his guess–admiring him. He favored them with an amicable smile, and continued down the rows of tables.

"He's so pretty!" the young mage heard one of them say.

"Yeah," the other giggled. "He's almost better than that gorgeous hunk we saw earlier!"

Marron raised an eyebrow, glancing surrepticiously back at the pair of blonds as he turned to examine a set of boots at a cobbler's booth. If there was a "gorgeous hunk," in the market, he thought, he just might be interested in taking a look for himself.

"Ooh, I wonder if he's still over by the forges," the first sister sighed. "Come on! Let's go see!" With another volley of high-pitched giggling, the two hurried into the market crowds.

Marron looked above the crowd in the direction the two blond girls had gone. He saw a few billows of dark smoke near some of the larger booths. With a small smile on his face, he set out through the crowds.

Getting to the forges was harder than he expected. As he passed booths that sold the supplies he needed to buy for his teammates, he made himself stop and purchase the necessary items. The crowds were thick, and many of the people were not willing to let him move past them. His increasingly heavy burden of supplies was no help, either.

While wondering if the "gorgeous hunk" who only might still be near the forges was really worth the hassle of trying to make it through the crowds, a magician's supplies booth caught Marron's eye, and he happily let himself be swept off the crowded path towards the stacks of books and scrolls.

"Caught your fancy, eh young man?" the aged seller chuckled. "Took you for a mage the moment I saw you coming down the path, I did."

"Hm," Marron agreed, his nose already buried in a book. "Can I get four sheafs of ten-score parchment, and two sheafs of the forty-score? And three pots of Exelhom ink, if you have it." He picked up another book and began thumbing through it.

"Four sheafs of ten-score?" the seller demanded, already stacking up Marron's requests. "By 'eck, you must go through it like a cook goes through oil. And Exelhom ink–that's some mighty fine stuff, but it's tough to get down these parts–"

"Don't worry about the price," Marron said, a third book in hand. "And I will take these books–"

"Marron?" came a roaring voice from a few booths down. Startled, Marron started to look up as the voice came closer. "Great Goddesses! Marron, is that you?"

Before the young mage could put down his book and see what was happening, he was over a foot off the ground, nearly choking in a crushing bear hug. "It is you! Woooooo! Oh my god, I didn't know when I'd get to see you again! I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. Are the others here? Are the others here with you?"

Marron tried desperately to get his bearings. Although his first reaction would have been to blast his attacker with magic, he realized quickly enough that he was not in any particular danger. If only whoever was holding him would stop jumping up and down, and maybe let him breath, he might be able to recognize this brawny, overgrown blond who–

"G-g--" Marron choked as he recognized him, "Gateau?" He gurgled as muscular arms squeezed around him again.

"Of course it's me! Did Dota send you guys here? That's why you're here, right? I'm rejoining the team, Marron! I'm coming back to the team!"

Marron tried to laugh and wound up coughing instead. "P-put me do-down you b-b-big oaf!" he demanded, and Gateau immediately plopped him back down on his feet, although he did not let go of him. Panting, Marron pushed his hair out of his face. "It–it is you!" he laughed. "Gateau!"

Gateau laughed with him. As they stood there, laughing at each other and hugging, the interrupted crowds began to move around them, letting the market return to normal. Out of the corner of his eye, Marron caught a flash of platinum-blond hair, and saw the two giggling girls ogling him and Gateau. Was this the "gorgeous hunk" they had been talking about?

"You look great!" Gateau was saying, and Marron turned his eyes to examine his old friend. As he did, he realized why he had not recognized Gateau from the beginning. "Wow," Gateau went on, "I bet all the girls are falling all over you now! Of course, I'm just glad you're still alive after two years of traipsing around with Carrot and the girls. They're still alive, right? Gosh, you look good. How come you got all the good looks in the family, and Carrot got all the stupid?"

"Gateau," Marron murmured, staring at his friend, "You look..." He shook his head to clear it, and stared again. "Amazing," he finished, unable to come up with a better word.

Gateau stepped back. "Don't I, though?" He flexed his arms, and thick, well-toned muscles bunched under his skin. His shirt was well-fitted enough that Marron could easily see the tell-tale ripple of abdominal muscles beneath it. "I've been doing a lot of training, and it's really paid off." Marron stared at his friend, his mind not working. Gateau continued to show off his muscles, turning around to give the catatonic young mage the full view of his body. "I'm thinking about adding a little more to my gluteal exercises, though," he added, patting a hand on his bottom, "I'm just not happy with the musculature there."

"Gah," said Marron.

Turning back around, Gateau pulled Marron into another hug. "It's so great to see you! Here, let me get those bags for you. I'll carry them, don't worry. So where are Carrot and the girls? Honestly, Carrot hasn't got himself killed yet, has he?"

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