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Improfanfic Presents...

                    SLAYERS GLORIOUS
                 Started by Todd Harper

      Chapter Five: Clothes make the....
               Written by Matthew Campbell


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     Ah, life in the big city.  The sounds, the smells, the sights, the
streetside vendors hawking substandard merchandise. There's
nothing quite like it.....

     "Wai!  What's that, Naga-sama?  What's this?  Ooooh, oooh, can
we buy one of these, Actinaea-san?"

     .... especially if you've lived the majority of your life on an island
voted "most likely to have the adjective 'pestilent' applied to it".
Approximately sixteen hours after arriving in Atlas City, Mariposa's
excitement hadn't even started to die down.  Not even close.

     Damp, dirty, and slightly depressed, the foursome (Naga, Mari,
Actinaea, and Getehl) had finally hit town the evening before.  Just
enough time for baths all around, clean beds, and a chance for Naga
to catch up on her eating.  Now, refreshed, they were making their
way to the local mages guild to do a little research on the object of
their quest.  Unfortunately, Mariposa was spazzing.

     Shaking one of Naga's shoulders (via a rather impressive jump)
Mari used her other hand to point upward.  "Look, Naga-sama!
Have you ever seen a building so tall?"

     The White Serpent felt an emotion that rarely troubled her.
Embarrassment.  "Oohoho.  I know this is your first time in a city
this large, Mari-chan.  I know you're very excited and eager to
sample all the delights such a metropolis can offer.  But please,
Mari-"

     "Yes?"

     "Stop gawking.  You're making us look like tourists."

     "Sorry!"  With that, Mari dashed off to check out yet more big
city fun.

     Shrugging, Naga turned to look at her two other companions.
Instead of her usual trouser and tunic combination, Actinaea had
put on her formal Praetor's Guild robes, complete with the golden
hexagram of the mage's guild on an amulet hanging around her
neck.  She claimed it would be easier to get cooperation if at least
one of them didn't look like "some itinerant who picked up her
spells on the street".

     Though she would rather have died than say it out loud, Naga
had to admit to herself that Actinaea did look... somewhat
authoritative.

     Getehl trailed a bit behind the two women, his faded leather
armor not standing out particularly in the profusion of costumes
and clothing worn by those in the crowded city streets around him.
As always, his wide-brimmed hat was pulled down low, casting his
eyes in shadow.  He seemed slightly nervous, constantly directing
glances to either side, but perhaps that was merely standard
mercenary caution.

     Naga was, of course, in her usual "death bikini" clothes, cape
flapping gently in the breeze behind her as she led the way.

     Seeing Naga's attention start to wander, Actinaea said irritably,
"Pay attention to where we're going, you over-breasted buffoon.  I
think you've already gotten us lost enough for one lifetime."

     "Never fear.  I, Naga the White Serpent, am an experienced
traveler, veteran of more cities than you could have imagined in
your sheltered little life.  I know the streets of Atlas intimately, and
the guildhouse should be right... over.... here!"

     True to Naga's words, the group arrived at what was obviously
the headquarters of a guild of sorcerers.  Fountains bloomed in
strange colors, designs crawled and changed across the walls, and
dancing lights moved behind a multitude of shadowed windows.
The place was enormous and reeked of wealth and ostentation.
More, even Getehl could feel the cold streams of magical power
trailing off it, like a motionless breeze under the skin.

     Perhaps it was that cold stream of power that prodded Getehl to
say, "I think this is as far as I go."

     Actinaea pursed her lips together in disapproval.  "Leaving us?"

     Getehl shrugged and pulled his hat even lower.  "I don't think I'd
fit in too well in there.  Besides, I've still got to go buy a new sword
today.  It isn't like you're going to need me watching your back in
the middle of the guildhouse.  Why don't we just meet back at the
inn tonight?"  Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked
off down the street, heading towards the market district.

     Actinaea's eyes slid off the departing mercenary to rest on
Mariposa, who was occupied with trying to pick something sticky
off the heel of her boot.  "Mari?"

     "Yes, Actinaea-san?"

     "As much as I hate losing the opportunity to introduce you to
some sane, rational spellcasters, Naga and I are going to be
occupied doing research all day.  I don't want you disrupt-  I mean,
I don't want to disrupt your chance to see Atlas City.  Why don't
you tag along with Getehl and, er, keep him out of trouble."

Mariposa snapped to attention, tossing Actinaea a rigid salute.
"Hai!  I'll watch Getehl-san and make sure nothing happens to him.
You can count on me!"  She turned and plunged into the crowd
after Getehl.

     Naga cleared her throat.  "I'm sure Mari-chan can take care of
herself, but are you sure it's a good idea to send a young, innocent,
girl out into-"

     Actinaea interrupted.  "I'm holding all her money."

     "Well that's all right then."

     The two women proceeded to the guildhouse, walking up the
shallow front steps to the open gate.  Two figures in armor stepped
out to block the way, the golden hexagram that was the common
mage guild symbol emblazoned on their helmets.  "Halt, who goes
there?"

     "I Actinaea, Praetor of the Singe guild, come to consult my
brethren in Atlas City," said Actinaea, meeting their gazes with
calm, grey eyes.

     "I, Naga the White Serpent, am bestowing upon this pathetic
flock of low-rent spellcasters the undeserved honor of my presence.
Now remove yourselves from our path."

     The guards conferred in hushed tones.  After a moment, a man
in a white tunic emerged from the building, and they whispered in
his ear.  The man listened for a minute, then turned to face Actinaea
and Naga.

     Bowing to Actinaea, he said, "I am Praetor Melvyn.  The Atlas
City guild welcomes our sister from Singe.  Please, come in."

     Pleased at the acknowledgment, Actinaea stepped through the
gate.  Naga started to follow, only to have the guards again step in
her way.  She scowled and loudly said, "Perhaps you didn't hear me
the first time.  I am Naga-"

     "-the goldfish feces," interrupted Melvyn.  "Yes, we know all
about you.  Rogue sorceress and former sidekick of the infamous
Lina Inverse.  There's no room for your undisciplined outlaw ways
within these walls."

     More than slightly irritated, Naga shouted, "I wasn't treated so
shabbily the last time I visited this city."

     Melvyn snorted.  "Things are changing.  We won't have to put
up with your sort much longer."

     "Ahh," Actinaea cleared her throat.  "As much as I'm enjoying
this -and I am enjoying this-, Naga is accompanying me as part of
an official Singe Guild mission, at the direction of Guildmaster
Rhaen the Violet."

     "Then I must commiserate with you on Rhaen's lack of
wisdom," replied Melvyn.  "That does not change the fact that this
creature won't be tolerated here."  He snapped his fingers and one
of the guards hustled an unresisting Actinaea inside.

     "No one tells me where I can't go!  Fireb-"

A cry of "Defense," issued from multiple throats, halting Naga in
mid-cast.  An impenetrable field of white magic appeared just
behind Melvyn, blocking the entrance to the guildhouse.
Generating it were ten guild sorcerers who had silently assembled
behind the gate.  The Atlas Guild's Praetor smirked and said, "Now
you see the strength of unity against such wretched loners as
yourself.  You can't hope to defeat every sorcerer here."

     Shaking with barely restrained rage, Naga clenched and
unclenched her hands.  She fervently wished Lina were there, as this
was most definitely a 'Dragon Slave' type of situation.  Lina would-
NO.  She didn't need that flatchested blowhard to make her point.

     Stepping in close to Melvyn, she leaned forward, providing him
with an excellent view of what her top barely covered.
"OOOHohohoho.  True I can't defeat you all.  But you know
what?"

     "What?" answered a rather distracted Melvyn, leaning forward
slightly.

     "Just defeating you ought to make me feel better."  With that
Naga grabbed him by the collar and yanked his head down to meet
her rising knee, smashing him in the face rather hard.  She then
turned and walked away at a pace too dignified to be a retreat, no
matter how hasty it was.

     A couple of apprentices ran out to help Melvyn back inside, but
no one pursued Naga.  For one thing they didn't have orders to, and
for another, it didn't exactly seem safe.

     As she rounded the corner out of sight, Naga clasped her hands
together and thought furiously.  How dare that chubby little
functionary talk to her that way!  She had to find a way inside that
guildhouse or she'd lose all respect for herself.  If Lina were here,
she'd no doubt just blast her way in with raw power.  But Naga was
more subtle than that, wasn't she?

     No, she needed a plan.  Something sneaky, cunning, a plan
worthy of the White Serpent.  Suddenly her eyes alighted on a
nearby store and inspiration struck.

     Naga began to smile.

               ***************

     Actinaea had to admit, the Atlas guild set a good table.  After
her entrance, they had insisted on feeding her brunch as 'a way of
making of for that unpleasantness outside.'  Several senior members
of the guild joined her and she whiled away a pleasant hour or two,
discussing matters of magic and current events... and current
magical events.

     It was the sort of thing she had missed since taking up her
position on Singe.  Singe wasn't a real guild.  It was a refuge for
malcontents and people who wanted to be left alone, a lone outpost
in the most backwater, primitive place that still boasted a sufficient
population to pretend to need its own guild.  Nothing like a center
of commerce and civilization like Atlas City, where the guild was as
much a part of the city as its streets.

     She was aware that Naga had been barred from the guildhouse
and didn't particularly care.  It just showed good sense.  Still, the
vehemence Mervyn had shown made her slightly curious.  "I
suppose Naga did something destructive and stupid the last time
she was through here," said Actinaea, as she idly toyed with a piece
of fruit.

     Rubbing his still-sore nose, Mervyn answered, "No.  Well yes
actually, but we wouldn't have let her in anyway.  Her kind
represents everything we have to stand against.  It's just a pity you
didn't come into town a month from now.  The new law should be
in effect by then."

     "New law?"

     "Yes.  If we can get it pushed through, it's going to become
illegal to use magic in Atlas City without Guild approval."

     "What!"  Actinaea sat straight up.  "Is that possible?  Why?"

     Mervyn patted her hand condescendingly.  "I understand you've
been stuck on Singe for a while and may not be fully aware of the
New Order.  There's been a growing movement lately to link up the
guilds more strongly.  One organization for all cities, with one
leader.  People are sick and tired of renegades like Lina Inverse or
that Zelgadis chap running around flinging spells about as they
please and generally causing mass destruction wherever they go.

     "In the past the guilds have confined themselves to teaching
magic, but now a lot of us are beginning to think we should
regulate it as well.  Every sorcerer needs to be a guild sorcerer....
Or at the very least, subject to guild supervision.  There are too
many mavericks running around who think that just because they
know a few spells, they're competent to decide when to cast them.
Decision like that should be left to wiser heads.  People like me.
And you of course," Mervyn added as an afterthought.

     "What about the temples?" Actinaea asked, not entirely liking
the sound of things.

     "Oh they'll continue to operate, I suppose.  Need someone to
patch folks up and what.  Have to place a guild officer as supervisor
of course.  Can't trust those priests."

     Actinaea excused herself and took a walk, lost in thought.
Frankly it sounded like foolishness.  Sorcerers tended to be an
independent lot and not prone to put up with someone trying to tell
them what to do.  To put such harsh restrictions in place you'd need
some method of exerting nigh-complete control.  And how could
anyone possibly do that?

     She was still trying to puzzle it out when a hand tapped gently
on her shoulder.  "Excuse me."

     She turned to see a tall woman with raven black hair, pulled
back in a tight bun.  The woman was wearing a loose white dress
that concealed most of her body, and she kept a slightly hunched
posture.  Actinaea deduced from the dress and mannerisms that the
woman was a priestess of some sort, but there was something oddly
familiar about her.

     Actinaea looked in the woman's eyes, trying to figure out where
she.... had.... Oh, Great Lord of Nightmares.

     "Naga."

               ***************

     Getehl really shouldn't have been there.  Where he ought to have
been, if he had any sense, was at the weaponsmith's place two
streets down, seeing about a new sword.  And then he ought to go
back to the inn and sit in a corner somewhere, making sure as few
people as possible saw him.

     But he couldn't stay away from the races.

     So he leaned on the wooden fence beside the track, smelling the
dust in the air, watching the horses gallop by, and listening to the
crowd shout over in the stands.  He congratulated himself on not
placing any bets.  Not that he had much money to wager in the first
place, but it was the principle of the thing.

     Getehl really shouldn't have been there, and he knew it.  So he
was dismayed, but not really surprised, when he heard the voice
behind him.

     "Hot stars.  I didn' think he would, I rally didn' think he'd be fool
enough to keep hangin' around racetracks.  Guess there's two
thangs ya can never underestimat'.  How greedy a boy can be and
how stupid a boy can be.  I owe ya five, Chuckles."

     Getehl recognized the voice even before he turned around.  It
was him, one of the ugliest and largest men Getehl had ever met.
He stood nearly three meters high with blotchy skin, covered in
warts and boils.  His hair looked like it had been dipped in grease
and his nose had a flat, nearly nonhuman look to it.  Rumors said he
had some troll blood, which was a pretty disgusting thought any
way you sliced it.  And speaking of slicing it, the sword he held
casually in one hand looked big enough to slice a dragon in half.

     There were two men, one on either side of the Getehl's old
'friend'.  Though each of them would have seemed like a real
hardcase on his own, they looked like children next to their
companion.

     Getehl said, "Now I can explain, Greebo."

     The trollish man took a piece of straw out of his mouth and
tossed it to one side.  "Whut's ta explain, boy?  Ya skipped out
before ya finished what ya started, and now ya're gonna come back
with us.  Now thas can happen the easy way or the-  Ah, who'm I
kiddin'?  It'll be easy for ma no matta whut ya want ta do."

     "They said I could buy my way out.  That if I just pay off what I
owe, everything's square and I'm free and clear."

     The man on Greebo's left stepped forward, snarling.  "After the
run-around you've given us, you think we'd just let you-"

     He was interrupted as Greebo's massive hand pushed him back
into place.  "Naw, naw, Chuckles.  The boy's rit.  Our instructions
sah that he can pay or play.  Ya got tha money on ya, boy?"

     Getehl patted his armor, wishing he were the kind of person
who kept a holdout knife for emergencies.  Not that even having his
sword back would have helped him much against Greebo.  "I don't
quite have the money.  Yet.  But I'm on a genuine, sponsored quest
that's sure to lead to some real money.  I can just feel it!"

     Greebo shook his head sadly.  "Naw whut ya wanna be raisin'
ma hopes like that for, boy?  Ya don have tha money, ya aren'
gonna get the money, and ya aren' getting away."

     "You're not taking me without a fight!"  Getehl raised his hands
in a fighter's stance and mentally prepared himself to get the tar
beaten out of him.

     "Jus about whut ah figured. C'mon boys, let's take him."

     "Hold it right there!"  In a streak of black, a figure appeared
between the three men and Getehl.  It was Mariposa, hands
extended in casting position.  "Getehl is my friend, and you're not
going to hurt him!"

     It had taken her a while to find the mercenary, primarily because
she kept getting distracted by things along the way.  But once she
located him and saw he was in trouble, Mariposa knew her duty.

     The man called Chuckles stepped forward, chuckling.  "Oooh,
I'm scared.  Whatcha going to do, little girl?"

     "FLARE ARROW!"

     A burst of flame flew from Mari's hands, knocking Chuckles on
his back.  He rolled six times before slamming into a nearby wall.
In a remarkable display of endurance Chuckles managed to climb
back to his feet, though he looked rather shaky.

     Greebo sighed, and his troll-like features looked much put-upon.
"Laks like we gut us a spellslinger, boys.  Put on yer amulets."
Reaching inside various pockets, each man removed and donned a
black amulet emblazoned with a golden hexagram.  On Greebo, the
amulet looked comically small.

     Deciding to stick with what worked, Mariposa cast another
Flare Arrow, this one at Greebo.

     It didn't work.

     The arrow sputtered out a few inches from the trollish man's
skin.  He smiled unpleasantly.  "Ya didn' thank me and ma boys
would run aroun' vulnerable ta every sorcereress who can patch
two runes togetha, did ya?  This here honey wull keep out all tha
low-power stuff.  It'll tak a lot mor' kick than I think ya got ta get
through ta us."

     Mariposa back up next to Getehl, panicked.  "I... I don't know
what to do!"

     Suddenly confident, Getehl stepped forward and raised his hands
in the air.  "I may not be a sorcerer, but I do know one incantation
good for when you're outnumbered and outpowered."

     Greebo and his two henchmen held their ground suspiciously,
waiting to see what was coming.  They watched as Getehl thrust his
arms forward and yelled, "FEET DON'T FAIL ME NOW!"

     With that, Getehl whirled around, tossed Mariposa over his
shoulder, and jumped the fence.  He ran across the track and before
Greebo and his men could properly start their pursuit, a herd of
horses from the latest race blocked the way.  In the seconds it took
them all to pass, Getehl and Mari had vanished.

     Greebo said, "Tha' kid had spunk, standin' up ta us lak that.  The
boy had smarts, watin' for tha horses ta give him a chance ta get
away.  Ah hate spunk and ah hate smarts.  Find them.  Kill tha girl.
Give Getehl sum pain."

               ***************

     "OHoh-  *cough*cough*"  Naga managed to catch herself and
convert laugh into cough before she could loudly give herself away
to everyone in the room.

     "What are you doing here?  Why are you dressed like that?
demanded Actinaea in a loud whisper (which was an interesting feat
all by itself).

     "The gentlemen who run this place might bar the gates to Naga
the White Serpent, but they had no objections to Gracia the
priestess," said Naga.

     "Gracia?"

     "Just... just a name I heard somewhere.  Not important."

     "And you convinced them that you were a priestess?  How?  I
mean, how?  And how did they not recognize you?"

     Naga shrugged and looked down at her hands, "Well you know,
people don't look at my face much in my usual clothes.  Even you
almost didn't recognize me.  And I know... I know enough white
magic to pretend to be a priestess.  Please don't ask me anymore."

     Actinaea gaped.  It LOOKED like Naga, if you focused only on
the face.  It SOUNDED like Naga, if you just listened to the voice
and not what she was saying.  But since when was Naga hesitant?
Since when would Naga not look you in the eye?  Since when did
Naga say PLEASE?

     The solution burst over Actinaea with refreshing clarity. The
solution was that it didn't matter what screwed up stuff was going
on in the black sorceress's head.  Because it Wasn't Actinaea's
Problem.  Happy to know that it wasn't her problem, she addressed
her real concern.  "Now that you're inside we'd better head down to
the library and do some research before they figure out who you are
and kick us both out."

     "If you think that's what's best."

     The Praetor of Singe shuddered.  It might not be her problem,
but this was really going to start freaking her out if it continued.

               ***************

     With a mighty heave, Getehl yanked on Mariposa's arm,
changing their course yet again.  They crossed a busy city street,
nearly getting hit by two carts, and ended up in front of a small
stage that had been set up in a corner lot.  A performance was
underway and the area in front of the stage was crowded.  Getehl
noticed vaguely that the main characters appeared to be a short red-
headed woman in a cape and a blonde man with a sword.

     "This is no time to see a play!" protested Mariposa.

     "We're not here to-  Ah, there it is," said Getehl.  Making sure
no one was looking, he dragged Mari into a small tent a bit to the
side of the stage.  There was a guard, but he was showing more
interest in the play then his job.

     Inside the tent, clothes were scattered everywhere, and Getehl
answered Mari's unspoken question.  "Dressing room.  If we want
to avoid Greebo and his goons spotting us, we're going to need
some new clothing."

     "But that's stealing!  And I don't have any money to leave."

     "Well yes, but it is sort of a life-or-death situation.  Now get
changed into something a little less recognizable than those robes."

     Desperate to find anything in his size, Getehl put on an open-
necked blue shirt, some white pants, and substituted for his usual
hat a blue beret topped with a blue feather.  He thought it rather
made him look like a demented minstrel, but at least it also looked
different from his usual garb.

     Mari opted for the street urchin look, putting on ragged clothes
that dropped two years off her already youthful appearance.  As a
bonus, the clothes came with a knife and sheath.  After giving
herself a last patdown, she drew the knife, executed several
complicated twirls in the air with it, and then effortlessly resheathed
it without looking.

     Getehl stared.  Finally he asked, "Where did you learn to do
that?"

     Mari gave him a strange look.  "Every little girl gets taught how
to handle a knife."

     He continued to stare for a second longer before realizing, "Oh
that's right.  You grew up on Singe."  He quickly bundled their old
clothes into a sack and handed it to Mariposa, on the theory that he
would need his hands free in a fight.

     They exited the tent, whereupon Getehl was immediately
grabbed by a large man.  "Blue costume- you must the replacement
on guitar.  You're late, you're late!"

     Before the mercenary could put up any serious resistance, he
had been thrust onto stage and a slightly familiar musical instrument
shoved into his hand.  This, he thought, could be a problem.

               ***************

     The catacombs beneath the guildhouse were extensive, probably
containing at least five times as much volume as the building
overhead.  Actinaea led the way down a corridor lit by only a few
flickering magical lights, as Naga had refrained from her usual habit
of pushing ahead.  It was a spooky, cobwebby place that obviously
did not boast a well-paid maintenance staff.

     As the duo passed one particular intersection, a cloaked figure
stepped out, unseen, behind them.  The figure was that of a man,
though the hood of his robe kept his features in shadow.  Moving
silently as a cat, he moved up behind the women.  Closer.  Closer.
Finally he reached out and grasped Naga's shoulder.

     "Aaaagggghhhh!"  She turned and swung at him wildly, which
he easily avoided.

     "Excuse me," he said, throwing up his hands.

     After a second, Naga controlled her breathing, as did Actinaea,
who had been briefly panicked by Naga's scream.  Naga said,
"Why-  Why did you do that?"

     "The library is that way," said the man, pointing down the
corridor from which he had come.

     "What?"

     "The library.  Generally the only reason anyone ever comes
down here.  It's that way."

     "Oh.  Thank-you," said Naga, who was not in the habit of
offering thanks.

     The cloaked man continued to stand there, looking at Naga for
about ten seconds.  Finally she said, "Was there something else?"

     The cloaked man thought for a moment.  "You know, you're
extraordinarily attractive."  With that he disappeared down a side
corridor, pausing only briefly to tuck a stray red hair back under his
hood.

     Actinaea shrugged and said, "I guess we go this way then."
She'd gone about three steps when she noticed that Naga was still
standing there with a funny look on her face.

     "What's the problem?"

     "He said I was beautiful."

     That wasn't what the cloaked man had said, but Actinaea didn't
bother to correct her.  "What, you don't get that all the time?"

     Naga looked down at her- at _Gracia's_ white dress, started to
say something, then thought better of it.  "Let's go."

     They traveled down a corridor, down a flight of stairs, and
through an archway into a room that was dark until Naga and
Actinaea each activated a Lighting spell.  Not only was it dark, but
there were no fitting for torches or lanterns of any kind, and there
was in fact a sign warning of strict penalties for bringing such things
inside the library.

     Standard procedure for those sorts of places.  It was assumed
that if you couldn't make your own light, you had no business being
there.

     Books and loose papers covered shelves all along the walls and
standing shelves in the middle of the room.  Anywhere else it would
have been a ridiculous amount of written material, but this was after
all the mage guild of a prosperous city.

     Actinaea sighed.  "This is probably going to be a long, grueling
search.  Every library has its own filing system and we can't afford
the questions that would be raised by getting someone to help us.
We're going to have to do a random book-by-book search until-"

     "Found it!" interrupted Naga, holding up a bundle of papers tied
together with a piece of red yarn.  The title read, STUDY OF
APPEARANCE AND EFFECTS OF THE SILENT BELL OF
SHAZARD LUGANDI.

     Her companion blinked.  "How did you do that?"

     "Someone left it lying out on the table."

               ***************

     He'd played before.  He'd played before, but only a little.  Just
some fooling around about the campfire, no formal training or
anything.  He wasn't very good on the guitar.  Not only that, but he
was on a stage, the center of attention for a lot of people.  That was
the exact place he didn't want to be at the moment.

     Still, it was clear they weren't going to let Getehl get away
without at least trying.  He figured he'd just do a really bad job and
then they would kick him off the stage, and he and Mari could get
on with running for their lives.

     Getehl's fingers reached down and plucked the strings, and then
something happened.  It was curiously similar to the unfamiliar
anger that had been taking him during fights lately... but different.
In the fights he had been dressed as a soldier, prepping himself for
combat.  Making himself angry, getting ready to battle.  The sudden
boost, the push of extra anger, shoved him harder in the direction
he was already going.  Made him fight stronger, tougher.

     Now he was dressed as a musician, not a soldier.  He was
_being_ a musician, not a soldier.  The boost came, but when it
came it went into his creativity, his musical soul, not his anger.  He
could feel it gripping his fingers, a thousand half thought-out tunes
and melodies bubbling to the surface.  All of them demanding to be
played.

     The crowd loved it.  Oh, he hadn't become technically any
better.  Getehl's fingers still slipped, he still misplayed chords and
missed the beat of the timing half the time.  It didn't matter though,
because music was coming from his soul and pouring out the guitar,
and for that the crowd could forgive the fact that he wasn't actually
a very good player.

     Getehl lost himself in the moment, just standing on the stage
playing.  He forgot all about Greebo or debts or anything but the
music.

     Mariposa on the other hand, remembered everything.  As she
waited by the bottom of the stage, she wondered if there was any
way that Greebo and Chuckles and the third man could miss seeing
this.

     Probably not.

               ***************

     "Is... is that it," asked Naga, still sounding not quite herself.

     "Yes, it looks that way.  We've got several diagrams confirming
each other.  At least it actually does look like a bell.  I was afraid it
was going to be one of those misleading names the old-time super-
sorcerers were so fond of."

     Naga tapped her teeth.  "Yes, but it's so big.  I mean you say
bell, you think of something you can hold in your hand.  According
to these dimensions, this is more the sort of bell you find in a
temple tower.  We'll need to buy a horse to haul it away."

     Actinaea shrugged.  "One problem at a time.  At least now we'll
know it when we see it.  And we don't have to worry about what it
does."

     "Yeeeeeesssss."

     "What?  You don't sound convinced."

     "It's just that this claims that the Silent Bell is some sort of
artifact for helping to measure star positions.  Just an innocuous
astrological device."

     "And what's your problem with that, you over-balanced, under-
brained pseudo-bimbo?" said Actinaea, rather hoping that Naga
would insult her back.  At least then she'd know where she stood.

     Naga ignored the jibe.  "I may not know about the Silent Bell,
but I do know something about Shazard Lugandi.  He wasn't the
sort of person to build anything harmless.  'Harmless' wasn't in his
vocabulary, just like mercy, love, and table manners.  If he went to
the trouble of building something, it's sure wager it was to make
someone very unhappy."

     "But you admit you don't know anything about the Silent Bell.
Maybe he was in a mellow period.  Maybe he was trying to annoy
someone obsessed with astrology.  Who knows?  Who cares?  The
important thing is to find it and get it to Sairaag so that my Guild
keeps its charter."

     "The important thing is that I get paid my 3000 gold Sairaag
coins," replied Naga, showing that some things remained constant
even through a temporary identity crisis.

     "Whatever.  I hate stealing this paper from the Guild library, but
we'll get more use out of it then they ever would.  Let's get going."

               ***************

     Greebo made his appearance about ten minutes into the
performance.  He proved not to be a music lover.  "Get 'em, boys!"

     Greebo actually left his own men in the dust, though.  For such a
big man, he was very fast.  He was incredibly, amazingly, fast even.
Mariposa could see why Getehl had been aiming towards hiding
from him than outrunning him.  He would have easily reached the
stage in seconds.... If not for Mari's carefully aimed Freeze Arrow.

     While Greebo's amulet might protect his person, it did nothing
to stop the ground in front of him from being frozen solid.  The
result was a rather humiliating fall that actually had him eating dirt
for a second or two.  Mariposa followed up with a couple of
fireballs aimed at carts driving near Chuckles and the still-unnamed
third man.  Yet more delays through mass destruction.  She thought
Naga would be proud.

     Unfortunately, it was only a very temporary reprieve.  There
weren't that many more obstacles between the stage and the thugs.
The crowd had dissipated with that amazing ease that could only
come from having a sword long enough to spit a horse waved at
them.  Greebo would be watching his step, even if it did mean he'd
have to proceed a little slower.

     Still in his musical trance, Getehl was in no condition to run, and
Mari wasn't even willing to consider abandoning him.  As Greebo
got closer and closer, she tried desperately to remember the words
to Rune Flare, which would probably be strong enough to bypass
the amulets.  Sure she'd never actually cast it, but she had seen it
done.  Once.

     She gave up and just concentrated on superheating the ground
in front of the stage with as many fireballs as her magical energy
would support.

               ***************

     Meanwhile, Naga and Actinaea were in the third floor guild
dining room, helping themselves to lunch at Naga's insistence.
Appetite went beyond such petty matters as personality.

     The third floor also boasted large, clear windows, one of which
was situated to look out over a popular performance stage next
door.  It's not difficult to guess where this is heading.

     "Na-, er, 'Gracia', look at that!" said Actinaea, staring out the
window after having finished her light lunch of one boiled egg.

     "Somebody's having fun," said Naga upon seeing fireballs
shooting out from the stage to blow up a couple of seats some men
had been trying to edge their way around.  Her words were a little
distorted as a whole turkey was filling her mouth.

     "That's not just 'somebody', that's Mariposa!  I'd recognize that
little wobble she puts on her fireballs anywhere."

     Naga squinted at the ground below and across the street, able to
make out only someone in grey rags flinging fireballs, and a man in
blue playing an instrument on the stage.  "You're kidding."

     "I never joke about my student.  We have to help her."

     "She's doing pretty well on her own.  Look at those chairs go
up!"  Mariposa had been right.  Naga was proud.  Perhaps a little
too proud, because her next vocalization was a loud and pleased
sounding, "OOOOHOHOhohoho....ho....  Uh-oh."

     Dead silence filled the hall.  People who wouldn't have
recognized Naga after speaking to her for an hour recognized that
laugh.  People who had never heard the laugh recognized it just
from hearing other people describe it.  One man in a white tunic
with a bandaged nose recognized it in particular.

     Melvyn rose shakily to his feet, more from rage than weakness.
Unconsciously echoing his spiritual cousin outside, he yelled, "Get
them, men!"

     "WINDY SHIELD!" shouted Actinaea, not having time to wind
up with a chant.  "You rescue Mariposa while I hold them off," she
added.

     "Me?  But I...."  Naga looked down at her white dress
helplessly.  She couldn't do stuff like that.  Not while like this.  Not
as Grac-

     "By Ceipheed, Shurbigando, and the Lord of Nightmares!  Are
you the White Serpent or aren’t you?"

     A switch finally tripped itself inside Naga's head.
"OHHOHOHOHOHOHO!  OF COURSE I AM!"

     With a shout of "RAYE WING," she was off, manipulating the
spell's shields to smash through the glass of the window.  She
arrived at the stage across the street before the glass fragments
could hit the ground.

     "Oh-hohohohohoho.  Having a little trouble Mari-chan?"

     "These guys were chasing me and Getehl and they have some
kind of amulets that blocked my spells and-"

     But Naga had already turned to face Greebo and his men.  She
shouted, "I'll give you one chance and one chance only to
surrender.  Know that you face the power of-"

     "Ooooh, ah priestess.  They've culled out tha big guns en us naw
boys. A priestess.  Watch ut or she'll kiss ah boo-boos and make
'em better."

     Chuckles chuckled and added, "Yeah, whatcha going to do, heal
us to death?"

     Greebo sneered.  "Look yah holiness.  Ah'll give ya till the count
ah three ta eitha git outa ma way or do somethin' to keep me from
cuttin' ya in half wi' this here sword.  One.  Tw-"

     "VICE FREEZE."

     The tingle of three protective amulets disintegrating under the
strain was drowned out by the cracking sound of three thugs
freezing solid.  "Three," finished Naga, because finishing counts is
traditional in such cases.

     She then walked over to Getehl and smacked him once in the
head.  He dropped the guitar.  "What?  Did I miss something?"

     Naga ignored him and tapped her chin, looking distracted.
"Now I know I'm forgetting something."

     A scream and a sound of glass breaking alerted Naga to
something being tossed out of a previously unbroken window on
the third floor of the guildhouse.  "Oh, of course."

     In something that was more controlled fall than flight, Actinaea
managed to Levitate to the stage where her three companions were.
Upon landing, it was obvious that she hadn't gone out the window
voluntarily, as she was something of a mess.  She opened her
mouth, thought for a minute, and finally said, "They're sending a
letter of complaint to Guildmaster Rhaen."  Then she collapsed.

     Naga carefully reached down and took the papers on the Silent
Bell out of one of Actinaea's tightly clenched hands.

     "Ohohohohohohoho.  Mission accomplished."

               ***************

     That night, Naga stood alone in front of a mirror in the private
inn room she had insisted on.  She still wore the white dress from
earlier that day but had allowed her hair to fall back into its usual
style.

     She stared into the mirror, thinking thoughts she didn't want to
examine too closely, then shrugged and walked over to her pack to
pull out her usual battle bikini.

               ***************

     Exactly one floor above Naga, a moderately built man
previously introduced as Torr was studying a pack of papers and
thinking.

     Item.  In order to successfully retrieve the item, it was obviously
necessary that Naga be allowed to learn what it looked like.
Second item.  Giving her any further information about the item
would obviously be a mistake.

     In Torr's hands was all the genuine information that the Atlas
library had contained about the Silent Bell.  The packet in Naga's
possession was accurate as far as physical description went, but was
otherwise pretty much a work of Torr's imagination.  Astrological
instrument indeed.

     The silly woman was going to reprimand him for doing this
without authorization, he just knew.  Showing initiative was
sometimes necessary, but never rewarded.  Not in this line of work.

     With a sigh he tossed the papers in the fire and picked up his
sword, intending to polish it.  For a moment, though, he paused as
a rebel thought ran its way through his mind.

     She really was extraordinarily attractive.  Especially once she
wore something other than that hideous leather bikini.

               ***************

     And somewhere, a woman with red hair identical to that of Torr
sat before a crystal ball and thought.  The ball was blank, as the
woman knew that sometimes more could be learned through logic
and reason than through magic.

     A knock came at the door, and a faint voice penetrated its thick
wood.  "Lady Erika, your meeting starts in fifteen minutes.  You
asked me to remind you."

     The woman didn't respond.  She merely got up, opened a small
box, and pulled out a broach with a golden hexagram emblazoned
upon it.  Then she pinned it to her blouse and stood to go.

     Naga and the Silent Bell would have to wait.  After all, Guild
members in good standing didn't miss meetings.  Lady Erika was a
Guild member in very good standing.

     Very good standing indeed.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rambling Author's Notes:

I had this combination wrestling/Ultra parody plot all ready.  I did.

So why, instead of a nice fluffy early-season-Slayers type episode,
did I give you this?  Well I thought we already had kind of a nice
pattern going.  "Arc chapters" alternating with "non-arc chapters".
That seems to work pretty well for keeping the story moving yet
keeping it fun at the same time.   And it was an arc chapter's turn.

Also, I hate mysteries that linger on forever.  By the end of this
chapter you can guess.... Not so much exactly what's happening,
but the unifying factor behind everything.  That damn golden
hexagram is everywhere.  And yet I don't feel that I've limited
future authors unduly.  There's still a long road ahead on all
possible plot lines.

I thought it would nice if instead of the typical Slayers plot of a
Mazoku being behind everything, we could have some devilment of
more human origin.  There has been one brief mention of "Our
Lady of the Sea", but that may or may not lead anywhere.
Certainly the basic guild/non-guild conflict has been in existence
since chapter one, though this admittedly amped it up to the ninth
degree.

Before anybody accuses me on having dropped the ball on the "is
Actinaea a double agent" plot line, please note that we never get
into her thoughts when she's thinking about the mission to retrieve
the Silent Bell.  She doesn't know what the make of the new Guild
movement, but that proves nothing one way or the other.  She may
not have been fully briefed.

I admit to perhaps doing too much with Getehl.  After all, this is
supposed to be Naga's story, not his.  Still, I tried to hook his
problems back into the uberplot.  Remember the golden hexagrams
on the medallions.  Also, it becomes painfully obvious he isn't a
Gourry.  He's not as good a fighter for one, and he's a whole heck
of a lot smarter for another.

I also thought it was a neat idea that "berserker rage" was only one
possible application of his mysterious condition.  Just remember
that its power is limited.  It makes him more ferocious, but not
actually a better fighter.  It makes him play from the heart, but not
actually a better player.  He can't magically get new skills from this
thing.

Well, good luck to the author after me.  I hope many ideas present
themselves.