Ruins Raiders: Book Two
Chapter Fifteen, The One Left Behind
By Relm
"That was so good I'm soo stuffed!" Lina exclaimed while sitting back and patting her stomach. For most of the people in the room seeing the petite woman consume that much food was as alarming as how big her stomach grew. Naturally it was swelled up to contain all that Lina had ate but it gave the professor the appearance of that she was pregnant.
"I've never seen someone eat that much..." Filia mumbled in shock. She herself had thought she was very hungry but it was peanuts compared to Lina.
"My my Miss Lina does eat a lot doesn't she?" Xellos mused with a smile. "I guess our little Zelgadis likes his women with healthy appetites doesn't he?"
Naga glared at Xellos for this comment. "I should think not! If he should like anyone it should be a woman who can hold their liquor! OHOHOHOHOH! And what sort of feast is this with no wine?! You should be ashamed!" She berated King Po-kota.
King Po-kota frowned at the busty woman. "I provide you with food and you dare demand more?!" He growled at her while standing on the very table they had eaten off to stare her down. Unfortunately it didn't get the desired effect as Naga was very tall to start off and she wasn't ever intimidated by anyone.
"How about we all just calm down!" Zelgadis got between the two of them. "Naga you don't need to drink with every meal especially when we need to have clear heads. And King Po-kota thank you for your hospitality."
"Just ignore her she was clearly dropped on her head as a baby." Lina piped up.
"Dropped on my head?!" Naga yelled in anger. "I'll drop you on your head you-"
"Naga! Lina! Enough!" Zelgadis yelled once more. "If we're ever going to get home we're going to need to work together. Meaning Naga you need to be more considerate and Lina don't throw in pop shots."
Lina stuck her tongue out at Zelgadis and Naga. She could be the mature one but being a brat was way more fun.
"Her stomach is gone..." Filia mumbled looking at Lina's now flat stomach. "That just doesn't make any sense..."
"If you were going to feed us then why the hell did you guys tie us up and throw us in that pit?!" Val yelled at King Po-kota. He would have said something sooner but he was still stuffing his face. He might have been the most polite of people but his step-mama didn't raise him to talk with his mouth full.
Now Zelgadis was glaring at Val. 'Don't any of them realize just how sensitive of a situation this is?!' He mentally fumed. Playing referee for two squabbling woman was exhausting enough now Val was going to get into it?!
"I didn't know if I could trust any of you." King Po-kota huffed while crossing his arms defensively.
"And now you can because you want us to do something." Val huffed right back also crossing his arms across his chest.
"Yup that's pretty much the jist of it." Lina answered in agreement.
King Po-kota glared at Lina though he said nothing as it was pretty much the truth anyway.
"What do you want us to do?" Zelgadis asked the king hoping the directness would diffuse some of the growing tension.
"Yeah what the hell is going on?!" Val demanded not helping Zelgadis one bit.
Before King Po-kota could open his mouth Lina interjected. "I'll explain the situation. Now gather around little kiddies while Mama Lina tells you a story!" She motioned for them all to retake their seats around the table.
A number of people in the room rolled their eyes but all did as she asked.
"So I told King Po-kota everything. He knows we're from the future and how we got here. And I know what you're thinking, how could a person from this time period could wrap their head around the notion of time travel? Well as it turns out that little stone is called the auseo stone and it is one of many that King Po-kota has in their possession. They all do different things."
"Like that green one that translates." Zelgadis prompted her.
"That's right! Zel get's a gold star!" Lina tapped Zelgadis affectionately on the nose.
"Gold star? You have gold stars that you hand out freely?" King Po-kota frowned in the confusion. "But they are in the sky. You possess such powers?"
Lina shook her head. "No, no! It's just a figure of speech, nothing more!"
"People from the future say such strange things..."
"So they have the stone, can't we just use it to go home?" Filia wondered.
"We can't because they don't have the stone."
"Yes they do, we say it in that throne room." Val insisted.
"That wasn't the real auseo stone. It's a fake." Lina explained.
General confusion ran amuck in the room as each person sans Lina and King Po-kota was filled with questions. One question was common to all those questioning faces, "Who has the stone?" Zelgadis was the first one to ask.
"And that is where we come in!" Lina waved her finger in the air. "King Po-kota has spies in Vsvle and they suspect that the stone was stolen and taken there."
"If he has spies there then why don't get take back the stone?" Val grumbled still displeased with the situation.
"Because doing so would blow their cover. Plus it would potentially let it slip to the masses that the stone is missing to begin with. Which might I add they don't know about. So keeping the fact that the stone is missing a secret is actually a big deal. This is why King Po-kota wants us to find the stone and bring it back rather than his own people."
"Why should we do them a favour?" Val narrowed his eyes at Lina.
"For gods sake Val just give it a rest!" Filia exclaimed. "Get that stupid stick out of your butt and co-operate. If they don't have the stone then we don't have the stone. We need to get it back in order for us to use it. So it's beneficial to all of us if we go get it."
"I still fail to see why the stone isn't in the same place it was when it sent us back to this time." Naga mused while tapping the table impatiently. She was getting bored of all this needless conversation. The whole reason why she had insisted on going on this trip in the first place was for the adventure. All this talking was boring. Stupid really when she had just been tied up and thrown into a pit. But then again Naga did have a short attention span.
"The auseo stone sends the user to where they wish to go but it itself stays where it is." King Po-kota explained.
"So this time travel stone of yours precious or sacred?" Zelgadis wondered.
"Yes. It is a priceless treasure that has been passed down for centuries. It was never supposed to leave Bnxqo."
"Are all of your stones as precious as that one?"
"Why yes of course!"
"And none of the stones are supposed to leave Bnxqo as well?"
"Yes!" King Po-kota insisted.
"Well then I see a problem in this arrangement." Zelgadis stated while crossing his arms across his chest.
"What do you mean?!" King Po-kota demanded. He was getting very cross with these future travelers. First they lied to him about who they were and how they got there. Then they demand a meal as payment for something they were going to do just to be disrespectful about it. And now there was going to be an issue? He was so frustrated he was tempted to throw them back into the pit again.
"I'll explain. You can understand us just as we can understand you right?"
King Po-kota nodded.
"And this mutual understanding hinges on that green stone you have right?"
"Yes, the rxna stone."
"Well it's safe to say if you didn't have that stone with you right now then we wouldn't understand each other one bit."
King Po-kota frowned. He knew where the traveler was going with this.
"And you just said the stones are all valuable and not to be removed from Bnxqo... How are we to going sneak into Vsvle and steal back the stone if we can't blend in and understand what people are saying?"
As much King Po-kota wanted to he couldn't dispute Zelgadis' logic. He didn't want to trust them with rxna stone but he did have a point. How would they be successful in their mission if they couldn't understand the people around them? But could King Po-kota rationalize giving up one stone to potentially get another one back? It was a big gamble on people he barely know. "You're asking me to lend you the rxna stone."
"I can't really see how we could be successful without it."
"Well if you think about it, how often do you really get visitors anyway?" Lina added. "Us aside showing up here you probably wouldn't need the thing at all. It's not like you're going to miss it."
"It is a Bnxqo treasure! I would be just as upset over loosing that one as I am about the auseo stone!" King Po-kota exclaimed while slamming his fists down on the table to emphasize his point. "You said if I fed you you would get me back my stone! Now you're demanding one of my treasures! How am I to know to trust you? For all I know you're just going to take both stones!"
"As you pointed out to me the auseo stone doesn't move with the people it sends through time. So even if we manage to get both and want to take them with us they'll just stay where they are in this time right?"
King Po-kota knew that the auseo stone wouldn't move in time but he had no idea if the rxna stone would be the same. But that did give him an idea and that was to lie. If the travelers didn't know any better then why would they try to steal his stone? "Yes I suppose that is true... but you understand my hesitance. I don't like the stones to be out of the pyramid let alone out of Bnxqo."
"We'll bring them both back." Filia promised him. "You can trust us."
"Perhaps you can keep one of us as collateral until we bring the stones back. That way you'll know for sure that we won't run out on you." Lina suggested with just the slightest hint of evil glittering in her eyes.
Right away Zelgadis shot Lina a look. It was a good suggestion but he couldn't help but wonder what Lina was thinking.
King Po-kota thought this suggestion over and was actually pleased. "I accept your offer."
"Good, you can have Naga!" Lina exclaimed happily.
"OHOHOHOHOHOHOH! You will certainly not be leaving me here!" Naga protested.
"It just makes the most sense." Lina stated matter-of-factly.
"You just want to leave her here because you find her annoying." Filia mused.
"Do you want her to come along?" Lina whispered to Filia.
"Point taken."
"Lina's right, Naga makes the most sense." Zelgadis agreed with Lina.
"How so?!" Naga snapped.
"If we're going to get the stone back then we're going to need to sneak in and blend in with the people of Vsvle. You would stick out like a sore thumb."
"A sore big chested bimbo thumb." Lina muttered under her breath.
Zelgadis glared at Lina.
"Alright it is settled. The one named Naga will remain here while the rest of you bring back my auseo stone." King Po-kota decided.