Ruins Raiders: Book Two

Chapter Eighteen, The Power of the Stone

By Relm

Once they were in earshot of Vsvle the time travelers hid and observed the city there were going to sneak their way through. Despite what they did know about Velnqxbos they were going to be flying as far as Vsvle goes. Until their time romp they hadn't even known Velnqxbos was actually two cities. Keeping a safe distance and learning all they could was a very good idea. However what they observed didn't tell them much. Outward appearances told the time travelers that Vsvle was exactly the same as Bnxqo. The people seemed the same, the food and houses. And despite some minor differences in the pyramid it could easily mistaken for Bnxqo's.

The one thing that was most likely different about the two places was probably the language. But given that the travelers had a translating stone in their possession any variations were lost of them. Though Lina did note that their hand gestures differed from what she had seen in Bnxqo.

"It's the same! Can't we just go already?!" Val whined again for the third time. He was getting impatient but Val wasn't Val if he wasn't irritated about something.

"We don't know that for sure Val! There could be something important that we could miss and end up dealing with the concenquences!" Lina growled at Val.

"Like not realizing it's a bad idea to rush into an unknown city riding camels and getting yourself tied up and thrown into a pit?" Zelgadis offered jokingly.

Lina glared at Zelgadis. "Yes Zelgadis that's right..."

"But we're not riding camels and we aren't dressed like people from the future now are we?" Val countered back.

Lina was back to glaring at Val. Usually in her adventures it was Gourry was that annoying her but Val was really pushing Lina's limit. She'd take her blond less than sharp over the aqua haired grump any day. Lina wanted to have a snappy come back but her mind was too annoyed to come up with anything halfway good. So instead she just resorted to glaring.

"And! We have that stone thingy meaning they'll actually understand us so there won't be any communication issues!" Val got in another verbal jab into the argument further proving his point.

Yes Lina was missing Gourry quite a bit right about now. At least Lina could poke holes in Gourry's suggestions. He wasn't so logical that he could back up his ideas with reasonable points. "Fine. But if they're going to make us choose who we'd want to sacrifice I'm going to be very loud about who I'd pick." She warned him.

"Okay so how are we going to work this exactly Lina? We can't just walk in and say did you guys steal a precious from your neighboring kingdom? And if so could you give it back?" Zelgadis wondered out loud.

"Well I was hoping to observe something that would give us a clue of where to start but that hasn't happened yet. And against my better judgement we're going in without it." Lina grumbled. "So I'm taking suggestions of where to start."

"That looks like a marketplace over there." Filia pointed to a place in the middle of the city where there were many people gathered around large colourful mats covered with various goods. "Usually people that gather in places like that tend to talk and gossip. We might overhear something useful or strike up a useful conversation with a local."

"See? Why can't you be helpful like your sister?" Lina stuck her tongue out at Val.

"Step-sister!" Both Val and Filia corrected Lina at the same time.

"I have a suggestion." Xellos spoke up while holding his in the air like he was a student in a classroom.

Lina, Zelgadis and Filia all collectedly rolled their eyes. Val may be annoying but he was purposely trying to be so. Xellos on the other hand would go to great lengths just to be as irritating as possible.

"What Xellos?" Lina snapped her voice filled with much venom.

"Since our ability to understand the locals hinges on the powers of that stone perhaps it would be a good idea to test the range of its influence."

There was a silence the fell upon the group. Xellos aside they were all dumbfounded. Could Xellos have actually made a valid suggestion? And one that was to the point too? Was the sky falling?

"Why is everyone being so quiet?" Xellos wondered with a raised eyebrow. An odd sight since his eyes were closed as he did so.

"How would you suggest we test the stone's power?" Zelgadis finally spoke. In the back of his head he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Xellos wasn't normally helpful so there had to be some catch somewhere.

"One of us holds the stone while the rest of us surround them in a circle. And step by step we back away from the one the middle while talking in another language. We keep doing so until the person in the middle can't understand us." Xellos explained.

Again more stupefied silence. Truly something very wrong was occurring there at that moment. Perhaps it was the not sweet bananas. Maybe they were poisonous and this was just the effect they were having on Xellos. Or maybe Xellos saw the gravity of the situation and realized being helpful rather than hindering was best of them all. No matter the reason it was good that Xellos had suggested it.

Lina chewed her bottom lip in thought. It was a good suggestion, a damned good one. So good that she really felt like she should have thought of it first. She was supposed to be the smartest one there after all. So why didn't she think of it? 'I've had Val chirping in my ear.' Lina finally concluded. "Okay let's do this. We'll find a clear area and test the stone's power."

Being able to see and not fight the blinding darkness the group managed to find an area suitable for their needs.

Though everyone for the most part thought this was a good idea Val was still frowning. "We're supposed to speak a different language to make this work... but I don't know any other ones."

"You don't?" Xellos' attention was perked. "How is the brother and assistant to great successful Filia whom the whole world hails as the best ancient studies professor and relic hunter whose school is not only number on but the richest of all not be able to understand other languages?" It was a run on sentence and Xellos took a big breath before he said it to exasperate the point. The sarcasm just dripped off each word like syrup. It was annoying of Xellos but at least it was more normal and less concerning then him being helpful.

"We aren't the number one school." Filia muttered.

"Oh right! I forgot. Of course it makes sense Val doesn't know anything. You, your school and your sister are scrapping the bottom of the barrel. Isn't it embarrassing?" Xellos verbally prodded Filia.

Filia was going to lunge at Xellos but Lina got in between with a raised hand. "Actually it's good Val doesn't know anything else."

"How so?" Xellos wondered.

"With him not knowing he can be the control in the middle." Lina handed Val the stone.

"If Val is going to be the control do we need to all speak a different language? All of us could just speak one language and it should be fine enough." Zelgadis rationalized.

"But what language?"

"How about French?" Filia suggested. "Does everyone know how to speak French?"

The other three nodded and thus the test begun.

"Is there anything special we should say?" Zelgadis started off once they took their first step. His French was a little rusty but he was sure he was getting his point across.

"No. Just say anything. Val just needs to raise his arm when can't understand what we're saying." Lina answered back.

"In the past two years Filia has sent me thirty-two love letters." Xellos stated smugly.

Filia's left eye was twitching. "Why you little scumbag!" She went forward to charge at the beast.

"Step backwards Filia not forwards!" Lina warned her as they all stepped back.

"But it's a lie!" Filia insisted.

"Come now you know I'm not known to lie. Am I Zelgadis?" There was that syrup again but this time it was sickeningly sweet.

"Truth bending... yes but out right lying no. Come to think of it Xellos does have a pile of letters in his desk that bears the address of your school Filia." Zelgadis mused.

"Those were not love letters! They were threats!" Filia insisted. Her voice was getting louder and louder. Was it because she was angry or because they were stepping back away from each other? Could be both but the earlier did seem to trump the latter.

"Oh but you made promises to see me in the afterlife. Truly your affection for me must be so strong that you cannot bear to be away from me even in death." Xellos exclaimed in a grandiose manner.

"I promised to see you rot in hell because I was going to put you there if you didn't give me back those damned pictures!" Filia seethed with anger and rage.

"What pictures?" Lina and Zelgadis both said at the same time.

"Never you mind!" Filia snapped her face as red as a tomato.

Val raised his hand. "Okay now I can't understand of you or why my sister is blushing."

Lina looked at the distance and frowned. It was less than six feet. "Well at least it's something. Just to be safe I say stay within six feet of whomever has the stone."

"Sounds good." Filia agreed in relief. Focusing on the results of the test surely was enough to deter the conversation away from her little slip up.

"So what pictures?" Lina boomeranged right back to the blush worthy topic.

"What pictures?" Val wondered in confusion.

"Xellos has some pictures Filia wants back." Zelgadis explained.

"Forget the pictures!" Filia screeched her blush anew.

"Couldn't even if I wanted to they are etched into my brain forever." Xellos tapped his forehead with a naughty little smile dancing on his lips. "It was Kiyamatt. There was a discovery of a rare artifact and Zelgadis couldn't go because he was on another assignment so I went instead."

"Oh Kiyamatt! I remember!" Val exclaimed. "You went on that one alone because I was sick at the time. You came back empty handed... I remember you got really snippy with me every time I asked why..."

"Xellos if you say another word I will kill you right here right now! And when I get back to our time I'll find your stupid mummified corpse and I will stomp on it and grind it into dust!" Filia threatened him.

"She can't handle her liquor and I can't handle my trigger finger on my camera. Too back I didn't take a video instead. It was quite a show with all the dancing and removal of clothes."

Completely mortified Filia just buried her face in her hands in shame.

"You gave Xellos a strip tease?!" Val exclaimed in horror.

"Not a tease a full on strip, for me... and the whole entire bar. Really you shouldn't be so mad at me for my photographs. At least I keep mine private. That bar in Kiyamatt has many of them on display for all to see."

Now Filia was mortified for a whole other reason. "That's a LIE! They do not!"

"Oh I have it on good authority that they do." Xellos waved a little mocking finger in front of Filia's face.

"Well whomever your good authority is they are lying to you!"

"Oh they aren't lying." He insisted.

"And how could you know that?!"

"Because I am my own authority and I do not lie. I tell you that bar was become the most popular one in Kiyamatt. I had to bribe the bouncer just to get in when I went there last month."

"Why the hell did you go there for?!"

"You made me give up my photos so I had to go back and buy some of the ones they had on display. Wasn't cheap but well worth it. Their photography skills were much better than my own."

Filia was sheathing with anger and rage at that moment. If her anger could cause her to manifest into anything she would have turned into a giant ferocious monster or dragon at that moment and ripped Xellos limb from limb. She didn't change forms but she did let out a screeching battle cry as she rushed at Xellos.

It took both Zelgadis and Lina tackling Filia to get her to stop her rampage. Sadly with them occupied there no one to stop Val.

No matter how many times Xellos got injured he never seemed to lose consciousness. This would be an exception as Val punched the purple haired man as hard as he could in the face. It was a good thing Xellos didn't need to have his eyes open all the time as one of them was going to be swollen shut for quite a while.

"You do realize we're going to have to wait until he wakes up before we can check out Vsvle." Lina reminded Val.

"I don't care, it was worth it."

The remaining three nodded their heads in agreement.