-----------------------------------------------------------
    Slayers Glorious
    Chapter 29: Conversation! Antagonists Get Together!
    This chapter by K. Jeffery Petersen
    Started by Todd Harper
   -----------------------------------------------------------

It had been a simple command: follow Naga.

Lilen had done so for quite some time, and figured that she would be able to 
continue doing so until her orders were changed.

Then something had happened. Naga had entered Saillune. Out in the open 
countryside, and amidst small towns that dotted it from Sairaag to Elmekia, 
Lilen was in her element. She could be anyone, go anywhere. Her face shifted 
with the landscape, so she looked more native than the local blacksmith's 
mother. She prided herself on knowing things; how to speak, how to act, what 
the nuances of dialect and accent were in any given location. Why you just 
did not speak of that event involving the pigs in the Leaky Tap Tavern 
fourteen years ago in this town, but it was almost a standard greeting in 
the next.

In theory, her methodology would work in any situation. The easy part was 
looking the right way. Beyond that, if she had even a rudimentary knowledge, 
she could blend in to the scene at least for a short period.

Theories got chucked out the window once she entered a city.

Life moves faster in a city. The larger the city, the more possible 
interactions between people within, and the feeling of surrounding speed 
increases exponentially. Saillune was one of the largest cities in the 
world, so it tended to follow that despite the reputation of being a city 
that was more just and peaceful than any other, things were very chaotic at 
street level.

Within five minutes of entering the city proper, Lilen had lost her quarry. 
Attempting to "blend in" had all but been impossible, because travelling 
just a few streets had the same effect as travelling hundreds of miles in 
the open country. Nuances changed from neighborhood to neighborhood. Just 
thinking about how to alter each time took effort. Eventually, she had to 
decide to just take a neutral personage and flow through each area.

By that time, it was too late. The White Serpent had disappeared, and Lilen 
was forced to start digging to find the trail again. Given Naga's normal 
habits, the drinking holes seemed a good place to start. Given the size of 
Saillune, there were a lot of bars to check.

Hours later (and after many failed attempts to coerce some information out 
of a myriad of bartenders) she was about ready to give up. At least, she 
reasoned, it wouldn't be too difficult for her to report back to Lady Erika.

Then she heard it. "White Serpent," someone mumbled. Lilen latched onto the 
words and scanned the tavern for the source. One table near the center of 
the room was occupied by two individuals, one very obviously there under 
duress.

She guessed that it was a nearly fatal amount of alcohol in the long-coated 
man to hold a crossbow in the face of his drinking companion. "You're a good 
friend," he said as Lilen edged closer to the table. "Nice of you to listen 
to me."

"I don't want to die," the other man wailed. A gleaming sheen covered his 
skin, which shed sweat like a cat does fur. His eyes locked onto the 
unwavering crossbow that hovered just inches from his forehead.

"Death really is overrated," the first man said. "Trust me."

The other patrons of the tavern were giving the table a wide berth, but 
Lilen strode forward. She recognized the man with the crossbow, after all, 
as Torr's mystery man in Salsburg. He had seemed a bit more competent back 
then; taking on Naga The White Serpent was a few notches above threataning a 
barfly.

"I think you've had an accident," Lilen said to the sweating man as she slid 
into the seat opposite him. She sniffed deeply. "Oh, yeah. Definitely."

A sound of mixed fear and confusion tore its way out of the man's throat. 
His eyes shot back and forth between the mystery man and her.

The mystery man's head slowly turned to face her. "Did I invite you?"

"Seat was open," Lilen answered.

"Private conversation," the man said.

"I know; I heard. I'm interested." She held his gaze for a long moment. The 
sounds of the tavern faded out until all Lilen could hear was her own 
breathing and the second man's nervous swallowing.

The mystery man turned back towards his captive and uttered one word. 
"Scram." The barfly disappeared all but instantaneously. "Do I know you?" 
the mystery man asked.

"I don't think so. I know of you, though."

The man peered at her for a long minute. Lilen's features had a calculating 
blandness to them: male, average height, slightly shaggy hair and mustache, 
and generic garb that could be taken as belonging to a number of the city's 
guilds (so long as one didn't study too closely).

"Sairaag, three years ago. There was an archery tournament. You got shacked 
by three hookers and I was hired to pull your butt out of the building they 
set on fire while making their mistake."

Lilen blinked. "Ah... what?"

"Five thugs tried to finish us off as we left, but we got out okay." The 
mystery man leaned back and took a swig from his ale. "Sorry about sending 
that bolt through your pecker, though."

"Ah..." Lilen groaned from the floor. "Trust me," she said, picking herself 
up and sitting down again. "We have never met before. You don't know me. 
That's just the beer talking. I know of you... from Salsburg."

He frowned. "I don't remember Salsburg."

"What?" Lilen stammered. She must have been wrong about it. "Sorry... I 
guess I confused you with someone else."

"Not very well... It's happened too many times to remember it well."

Lilen stopped. "What? Hard to remember what?"

"Salsburg," he said, slumping down onto his elbows. "Die enough times and 
you'd start to forget things, too."

"Die? But..."

"It's that Naga. No matter how many times I try, I can't ever get her." He 
looked up and peered at Lilen for a long moment. The silence between them 
bothered her, and she opened her mouth to speak, but then he continued. 
"Something always happens... and I die." He shrugged and took another sip of 
ale.

"But you're here right now."

"Yup."

"Did you get resurrected?"

He smiled. "Not that I can remember."

"But you're having a problem with that part," she pointed out.

"You try dying a few times and see how well your memory comes through." He 
sighed and tossed his tankard onto the table. It rolled around in a small 
circle, dribbling the last of the ale out into a small puddle. "Sometimes I 
wake up and don't know if I'm the same person."

"Facinating." Lilen stood up. "Let's go."

He frowned. "Go where? I was planning on having another ale or two."

"And be a drunkard? Aren't you on the tail of the White Serpent?"

"Yes, but what's it to you."

"Well..." Lilen paused and gave him a half-smile. "So am I."

"Really?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as he stood up. "Who are 
you?"

"No one of consequence," she answered as they left the tavern.

"I must know," he insisted.

Lilen glanced sidelong at him. "Get used to disapppointment."

"So," he said after they had walked for a while. "What next?"

"We need to find out where Naga is, and then start following her again."

"Oh, she's gone."

Lilen froze. "Gone? But I thought that you hadn't managed to get her!"

"Not I," he said. "She just left."

Her jaw dropped. "What are you still doing here? Why aren't you following 
her?"

"I'll get up to her, again." He shrugged. "I figured that it'd be a good 
time to get some booze. Which reminds me, mind if we stop in that tavern for 
a drink?"

Lilen ignored him. "She could be a day ahead of me by now. This isn't good." 
She looked up to see her companion making his way to the tavern. "Hey! Where 
are you going?" she shouted, running after him.

"Gotta get a drink," he said. "I'm thirsty."

She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into an alleyway beside the bar. 
"Fine. One drink before we get on the road."

"Sounds good to me. You coming in or gonna wait here?"

Her eyes narrowed. "One thing before you go.  I have to make sure you are 
who you say you are."

He stopped in mid-stride, apparently thinking that over. "Uh... how, 
exactly?"

"Like this," she answered, before she stuck her knife into his throat. 

A look of wide-eyed astonishment crossed his face as he crumpled to the 
ground. Blood leaked out of the wound making a puddle beneath his head. 
Lilen stepped around to block view of the body from the street and waited. A 
few minutes, later she was about ready to just give up and leave him for the 
dead. She chided herself for falling for such an obvious charlatan. Annoyed, 
she dropped her guise for something more comfortable and started down to the 
opposite end of the alley.

However, after she had only gone a few steps, she heard a slight shuffle 
behind her. Lilen turned around and saw his hand twitch. His fingers shook a 
few times, and then with a huge gasp he sat forward. He breathed deeply a 
few times then looked around.

"Damn," he said. His voice was flat, more neutral than it had been. "Did not 
expect that." He struggled slightly as he rose to his feet and held himself 
against the side of the building for a few moments.

"Wow," Lilen said, stepping forward. He turned his head and looked at her, 
but didn't move otherwise. "You really do come back to life."

"I do that. You've changed."

She smiled. "I do that."

"I was drinking," he coughed, then spat a few times. "I hate it when that 
happens."

"You don't always?"

"Depends on what I'm like when I come back." He stood up fully and pulled 
out his crossbow. After a quick check of the mechanism, he put it back in a 
holster beneath his cloak and started out of the alley. "Let's go," he said, 
"White Serpent's been gone a while, and we need to catch up."

She shifted to a form that was close to his. Smaller, weaker-looking, but 
with a similar cloak and the tallow-skinned look. "Right behind you."

-tbc-

Notes: Thanks to Ardweden and Angelcat for prereading.