Greetings once more, my lovely people! Frosty is here again with the second installment of Hourglass! There's a reason for the name "hourglass" as I'm sure most of you have guessed. It wasn't a completely random title;the significance of it only happened to hit me after I typed it in, is all. Lol, anyway, let's get on with the story!

Our heros have reached the town, but the welcome isn't exactly what they thought it would be. The residents are suspicious of everyone, and with very good reason. As curosity gets the better of Lina, they begin to ask around about this mysterious "traveler" that left such a mess behind. But they're not the only ones who want answers. Closed eyes with a trickster smile watches from behind every corner....

Disclaimer: I do not own the Slayers and I am not making profit from this in any way. This is merely for fun.

Chapter 2: The Stranger

The sun moved higher up in the sky, signaling to all that the noon was upon them. Mother's voices echoed for their children, calling them inside for lunch before it went cold. Male laughter rose from the fields on the other side of the village, as the farmers and laborers took a short break to quench their throats and stomachs. The bakery was in full swing as people closed down their vendors in the town square for lunch. Friends gathered to their normal tables in the tavern, conversing about the good weather so early in the season, how their wives were busy with spring cleaning, and about their childrens' rowdy natures. Everything was exactly as it was every other day, even down to the clothes the villagers were wearing. With predictablity came a sense of security, and the townspeople only ever wanted to return to normal again.

Too bad Fate didn't sympathize with them much.

Loud, feminine laughter came from the direction of the valley, along with screams of indignation from an unknown male. The tavern dwellers all turned their heads in unison with the bar's doors slammed open, revealing a young girl standing against the sun's rays. With a self-confident smirk, she slowly walked to the nearest table and sat down with ease. Stretching her muscles and giving a big yawn, she casually glanced about the bar and then turned her head toward the kitchen with a grin.

"Hey! Chef! Twenty orders of everything ya got! And step on it! I'm feeling really hungry today!" the waiters stared in shock at the small red-head, but snapped to attention once a glare was sent their way from the aforementioned terror. Scrambling about, one waiter brought the violatile girl a jug of wine as a sort of peace offering until the enormous food order was all prepared. The rest of the waiters went back in the kitchen to help the poor-and thoroughly overworked-chef.

The rest of the bar still had its eyes on the new girl, as if expecting another head to sprout, or perhaps a foot. She wasn't from around Vrupur, that much everyone knew. Although its borders were undefined, the town wasn't big enough for there to be complete strangers living next door to eachother. Everybody knew everybody, and no one knew this girl. Whispers began, quietly in the back, but the same thing was on the entire tavern's mind: Another traveler?

As if on cue, the tavern's door bursted open again.

All heads swirled-some even got whiplash-towards the new arrival. A man with long hair slumped against the inside of the doorframe, huffing and puffing to reclaim some air into his lungs. Slowly, he raised his head and glared at the smirking red-head.

"That's not fair! You didn't give me enough time to start right!" the blonde whined as he walked over and fell into the chair opposite of Lina. The accused rolled her eyes and slapped the already exhausted man across the head.

"All's fair in food and war, Gourry. Haven't you learned that by now? Anyway, you lost, so you pay." Lina nodded to herself, pleased with her judgment and took a gulp of the cherry red wine. Gourry simply sighed before snatching a jug of wine for himself. The waiters came out of the kitchen in pairs, large trays stacked with food inbetween them as they headed over to the duo's table, while the chef's sobbing came out of the flapping kitchen doors behind them.

"Allright!! This is what I call a meal! Hey, lay off Gourry! That's mine! Grrrr......" And so began a great war, like none the world had ever seen. Knives and forks moved faster than light through space, while chopped morsels and anything lucky enough to escape flew into the air. Growling, screeching, and belching echoed off the tavern's walls as the battle raged on.

The few tenants, that had been brave enough to stay even after the blonde man's arrival, now fled for their lives for fear of being mistaken for a piece of steak. The horror! The carnage! The townspeople quickly spread an alert, urging all citizens, especially small children and animals, to stay in their homes least the terrible two should take their feast to the streets. Back inside the tavern, the fight was still going strong.

The sorceress and swordsman continued in their struggle for the last of the beef jerky, completely oblivious to the world around them. The only remaining souls in the bar aside from them was the old bar-keep who was hiding behind the liquor rack, praying to Cephied that he might go home and see his wife and children again, and the other was a young man, hidden back further in the shadows.

He too had just recently come to Vrupur, only he was a little less.....attention-grabbing than the two he was observing. Or, at least seemed to be observing. True, his head was positioned in their general direction and there was a smile on his lips, amused by the two's antics and the fear created by said antics. But it was his eyes....

They were shut tight, pulled upwards in a jolly expression. They hadn't opened once, even when the red-head and her companion first came in the door. If anyone had been looking at him at the time, they would have noticed that he hadn't been surprised by the abrupt intrusion at all. In fact, it was almost like he knew before hand....

The mysterious man leened forward, his priestly cape moving against the back of his seat as he folded his hands under his chin to take in the spectacle of Lina throttling Gourry. His smile widened all the more, causing some of his indigo hair to fall forward and frame his pretty face.

The time wasn't right, not yet. He couldn't pry just yet. After all, he wouldn't put it past Lina to try and gobble him up if he got too close during 'the feed', as he liked to call it. All well, there was plenty of time, no need to rush things.

He wasn't going anywhere and neither were they.

"Oh, boy....ugh" Lina sighed contentedly, rubbing her swollen belly and fiddling with a toothpick in her mouth. Gourry gave a groan as he leaned back, revealing at least 160 dirty plates stacked high on their small table. The waiters-who had finally decided to brave the tavern once more-stared until their eyes began to water at the sheer number of plates, and at the future of having to wash them all. Many started crying;one went screaming out the door.

Ignoring the despair around her, Lina flipped open the menu to see if there was anything she and Gourry had missed. The blonde, meanwhile, folded his hands across his now round stomach and was planning on taking a little snooze. After all, nothing beats taking a nice, long nap after several hot meals. He had just shut his eyes when Lina slammed the menu on the table and stood up.

"Wha...?" Gourry said intelligently, his brain already on sleep-mode. Lina grinned and pulled him up by the arm, then preceeded to drag him out the front door.

"We need to find an Inn, jellyfish-for-brains. I ain't sleeping in the tavern." The sorceress supreme explained over her shoulder, while scanning the area for a familiar sign of B&B. 'Come on, the tour guide manuel said it was right....Aha!' Lina grinned triumphantly as she dragged her near-dead companion to the two-story brick building about two blocks away from the bar. The bell rung as she pushed the door open, tossing Gourry in first.

"Hello! Two rooms, please." Lina announced to no one in particular, sighing as she breathed in the scent of fresh linen and crisp, cool mountain air coming in from one of the many windows. Ah, she had made the right choice for a vacation spot. Frowning after receiving no reply, she glanced at the empty front-desk and scowled. The only people in the room were her and an unconcious Gourry. Scowling down at her companion, she had just been about to kick him awake when a small whimper coming from the broom closet caught her attention.

"Huh?" she asked curiously, slowly approaching the closet and gently pulling it open. Inside, along with the broom and dustpan, was the Inn owner. He was an older man who might have been a looker in his younger years, but now age and stress had worn him down. He looked at her with fear and he swallowed harshly, building his courage.

"Look now, I don't want no trouble. I don't care what you came here for or what you came to do, but I want you to leave me and my property alone. Understand?" although his lips had been quivering, his voice came out strong and with an edge. Lina leaned back a bit, not use to such aggression so early on. Usually that came, you know, after she blew up something. Feeling her own temper rise, she bit it back as best she could and stared the man evenly in the eye.

"Look pops, I just wanna a couple of rooms, ok?" she said, growling out the last part as the man took a step back. He straightened quickly, and adjusted his necktie out of nervousness as he thought about whether he really wanted to risk bodily harm if he refused her. He eventually dropped his arms with a sigh and looked back at Lina.

"So long as you promise to leave the rooms well enough intact, you may stay as long as you like." he said as he moved around to the front desk, giving Lina and Gourry a wide birth as he did so. Once behind the counter he pulled out the date log which Lina had to sign. Muttering under her breath all the while, Lina strode over and wrote both her and her companion's name in the book, dropping the gold coins for the rooms right beside it. Taking the book and the money, the owner passed out two keys with the numbers 4 and 5 engraved on each one respectively. Taking the keys, she eyed the still jittery owner.

"Is this how everyone in this town acts? Jumping at every noise and shadow? Geez, and I thought this place was supposed to calm the nerves, not tighten them up." Lina smiled slightly, trying her best to be amusing. The owner stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, before slumping his shoulders and hanging his head.

"It wasn't always this bad, but......we've had a recent 'episode' within the town. Everyone is still feeling the affects, I suppose...." the owner said quietly, looking out the window towards the once-busy street. There were a few people milling about, but not nearly as many people as there were the same time last week. The people were more cautious now.

"'Episode', huh? Care to explain?" Lina asked, raising a brow, urging the man to continue. The owner gave her a hard look.

"Not my tale to tell;besides, I was down in the fields when it actually happened. I just heard the stories......and saw the aftermath..." he said quietly, staring at his hands."Enjoy your stay." the man said none too convincingly as he took the log book to the main office, shutting the door behind him. Lina's mouth was still open.'What's with everybody and leaving stories hanging?!' she thought, slapping her hand to her face. Glancing at her dead-to-the-world partner, she decided he could stay there while she went out to investigate.

This place had her curious now, and she was determined to figure out why.

After 45 minutes of straight frustration, Lina had had enough. Screaming to the heavens in the middle of town may have seemed a bit odd, but to Lina it was necessary. No one would tell her anything!! They all ran when she came close, they wouldn't open their doors for her when she knocked, and the few she tried to threaten passed out on her. Needless to say, this was not a good way to start her evening. Growling in rage at the empty streets, she crossed her arms and stomped her foot, much like a child would when it couldn't get its way.

It was eating her up inside now, that cursed thing known as curiousity. There were so many 'whys'. Why was everyone so afraid? Why wouldn't anyone tell her anything? Why, why, why, why?! She stared evily at the cobblestone, as if it was the source of all her misfortune. The street even seemed to shudder a bit under the force of her gaze.

"......Are you going to glare at the road all day?" a familiar voice asked with a yawn. Glancing to her left at the sleepy swordsman, Lina refocused her glare on him.

"Took ya long enough to wake up! Geez...." she hissed, though the venom in her voice was forced. "I've been out here all this time looking for clues about this place, but I've got nothing. No story, no people, no evidence, no one who will even talk to me, and no more leads! I just can't believ-"

"Uh, Lina?" Gourry said, cutting her rant off. He stared at something further down on the road, but there was no trace of foolishness in his gaze. A serious-looking Gourry was not a good thing. Pointing down towards the spot, he asked softly and clearly, "Is that a clue?"

Following his direction, Lina stared at the cobblestone. At first, she didn't see it. Frowning, she was about to ask him to explain. All she saw was the stone of which the road was made, the dirty morter holding it together, and the--

Her eyes widened. Dirty morter? Glancing around the road, everywhere else the morter between the stones was a chalky white color. Everywhere, but that one area. Walking forward, Lina bent down on one knee to examine it closer. It was an area about 12 feet wide and 15 feet long that the black morter was really noticable, but there were splotches of it even further away than that. Gently, Lina put her index finger inbetween the cobblestone and pressed her finger into the morter. Bringing her hand up to her eyes for inspection, she stared at her fingertip. Although it looked black from farther away, the morter had left a dark red stain on her glove.

'Blood. Dried blood' Lina concluded mentally, looking now at the cobblestones themselves. Compared to the others around the square, these stones where white and shiny, as if they had been washed recently. 'But the water couldn't wash it all away, could it?' she thought standing up, hiding her hands within her cape. Glancing around, she saw the tavern as well as several other major businesses. This was the heart of the village, as it were.

"Something big happened here, didn't it Lina?" Gourry inquired softly, staring at the small sorceress,"Do you think it had anything thing to do with what that bandit was talking about?"

Lina blinked as she stared at Gourry.

Please!! The robber had begged. My boss and fellow highwaymen were killed there just a few days ago! Some foreigner, from over the mountains, came into town that day and butchered them!!

Huh, funny, she hadn't even believed a word of what the thief had said. But now.......

Lina turned back to the dark morter, staring it down. For it to have been absorbed into the morter so thoroughly, how much blood must there have been? Whoever left this mark went into overkill, and had probably used magic to do so.'But what spell leaves such a mess behind?' her thought process begun, but was halted by the sudden sound of clapping coming from the right of her, towards the tavern. Glancing up quickly, she felt the words of a spell die on her lips as she saw just who was clapping.

"Bravo Lina! As quick as ever! I didn't even have to leave you any clues this time! You found this spot all on your own!" the voice was appraising as much as it was condescending, as its owner stepped out of the shadows of the bar. Indigo hair in a pageboy cut,a black cape, and the signature red-orbed staff, the man gave them his normal closed-eyed smile."Hello!" he chirped.

"XELLOS?!"

And I shall leave it there for now, my lovely readers. All in all, this chapter isn't too bad. What do you think?

Praise? Criticism? Let me know!

Reviews are insperation.

frosty