"'Tis a good day to be snake hunting, is it not Petey?" the Captain cackled 
as he talked to the dead albatross perched on his shoulder.  He laughed to 
himself for a while before turning towards his two companions who 
standing behind him, bewildered at the ranting of the old seaman.  "Come 
ye landlubbers, we're going to catch up to that accursed White Serpent 
and teach her once and for all never to mess with a man's ship!"

Korvadus and Lilen groaned in unison as they began to follow the Captain 
down the rocky path that he intended them to travel upon.  "Why are we 
doing this again?" Lilen whispered cautiously.

Korvadus explained, "He says it's a shortcut he heard about in a saloon."

Lilen sighed as she observed her surroundings; taking note that she was on 
a rocky and seldom traveled mountain path.  Above her were steep slopes, 
such that at any moment tumbling rocks could come crashing upon her.  
Below her were jagged rocks, perfect for impaling anyone that fell off of 
the constantly narrowing path.  There was no trace of civilization to be 
found for miles around.  She had seen worse, but considering the fact that 
she was being lead by a senile old sea captain who talked to deceased 
birds, Lilen found the situation to be rather morbid.  "If he's wrong we 
might die out here," she finally said after a long pause.

"A little death now and then builds character," Korvadus affirmed as he 
gripped the handle of his crossbow with anticipation, "And if the old man 
is right, we'll have another shot at giving Naga some real character."

"Hurry it up ye lads and lasses," The Captain commanded loudly, so as the 
senility of his voice carried throughout the mountainous wilderness, "I've 
got a hankering for smoked serpent for dinner!'

---------------------
Improfanfic Presents:

Slayers Glorious
Chapter 34: Doom!  The Curse of the Ancient City.
This part by: Adam Pace
Started by: Todd Harper
---------------------

Mariposa looked thoughtfully at her body from the cover of some 
overgrown foliage.  After surviving a night in the wilderness by herself, 
mostly thanks to the resilient nature of Torr's body, she had finally 
managed to locate the place where Actinaea, Luanni, and Torr had been 
camping out.  Though she had found Torr's strength to be useful for tasks 
such as climbing over rocks despite the injury, she was very 
uncomfortable in his shell.
Knowing that any attempt to communicate with the group would result in 
an all out assault from Actinaea and Luanni, all she could do for the time 
being was watch and wait for an opportunity to present itself to her.

Meanwhile, Torr was sitting in the camp pondering similar things.  He was 
a bit tired of being treated like a little girl, but that was the least of his 
concerns for the time being.  
He knew that sooner or later, Erika would come looking for him.  
Recalling his dream, he shuddered, knowing that this wasn't a state he 
wanted his boss to see him in.

"Are you alright Mari?" Luanni asked him as she packed up some things 
from the campsite.  "You seem awfully silent today.  Are you sure you're 
okay?"

"Oh!" Torr exclaimed, trying his best to mimic the mannerisms of an 
adolescent girl "It's nothing at all!  I was just thinking."

"Want to tell me about it?" Luanni asked as she walked over to Torr and 
sat down next to her.  "It'll just be between us girls, okay?"

Torr began to panic, knowing that if he talked too much that sooner or 
later his two companions would find out that he wasn't really Mariposa.  
"It's nothing really," he said quickly.

Luanni smiled and patted Torr on the head.  "Okay, but if there is anything 
you want to talk about, just tell me."

"S-S-Sure thing," Torr managed.

"Glad to hear it," Luanni said cheerfully as she got up and returned to her 
packing, "Anyway, you better pack up your things, we're going to try to 
get to Waymeart as soon as we can.  You never know when that thug Torr 
might show up and try to ambush us."

Torr sighed with relief.  As long as he could keep quiet, he could 
concentrate of thinking of a way to get back into his own body before 
anyone found out.  Unfortunately for Torr, as luck would have it, as soon 
as he got back to devising a plan of action, another annoying voice pierced 
his concentration.  Torr groaned as he noticed Actinaea standing before 
him.

"Mariposa!  I told you fifteen minutes ago to pack your things and get 
ready!  We don't have any idea what sort of ruffians might be lurking in 
this forest, and I don't have any intention to find out.  You know very well 
that Torr is somewhere out there ready to skin us alive."

"Sheesh," Torr thought to himself, "Does this woman ever shut up?"

"And furthermore, Mariposa, we have to get back to town and figure out a 
way to destroy that bell."

"Does Actinaea really talk to me that way?" Mariposa asked herself as she 
peered on from the bushes.  It was strange seeing the entire student-
teacher relationship from the outside for once.  Suddenly Mari felt a slight 
tingle in her nostrils.  She did her best not to move, but the building 
pressure inside her nose was hard to ignore.  She twitched her nose for a 
little bit.  "Torr must be allergic to some of the plants around here," she 
thought to herself as she tried her best to hold herself back.  Unfortunately, 
her sinus condition got the best of herself, and she quickly let out a sneeze.

Everyone in the campsite froze and turned towards the direction of the 
sound.  "Who is there!?" Actinaea shouted at the bushes Mariposa was 
hiding in, "I demand that you show yourself, or else I shall make you 
regret it!"

If there was one thing Mariposa had become quite adept at in this journey, 
it was running away.  And that is just what she did.  As she darted out of 
the bushes into the woods, she hoped that Torr's body would be fast 
enough to escape Actinaea's fireball spell.  With as much speed as she 
could muster, Mariposa quickly headed in the opposite direction of the 
camp.  A searing ball of flame soon flied past Mariposa, barely missing its 
mark and doing some serious damage to some nearby trees.

"We know it's you Torr!" An angry voice screamed from behind her.  
"And you won't get away this time!"

Mariposa decided it would be best to keep running.

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

The Tichen Inn was typically a bustling center of travel.  With Tichen's 
location in the heart of central Ralteague, it had never been a problem for 
the management to keep business.  Unfortunately, the Tichen Inn had 
never had Naga the Serpent on its guest list before, and was unprepared 
for such an even when or if it should occur.  Within five minutes of 
Naga's entrance into the establishment, her horrible laugh had cleared out 
the tenants in most of the rooms and all of the regular patrons at the bar 
downstairs, save a quiet old man who sat at the edge of the bar.  Before the 
bartender could bat an eye, he found the infamous leather clad sorceress 
sitting before him.  Next to her was a bruised up swordsman with a wide 
brimmed hat.

"Good afternoon," he managed, still in shock.  "May I help you?"

Naga cleared her throat and leaned forward.  "Oooohohohohohoho!  You 
certainly may, my good man!  The most powerful sorceress in the world 
demands your finest wine!"

"The most powerful sorceress in the world?" The bartender asked as he 
looked around, "Where is she?"

"Ahem," Naga began, "I'm right here, my good man.  Surely you have 
heard of the beautiful magic genius Naga the Serpent!"

"Oh, the goldfish feces!" The old man who sat at the end of the bar 
commented quietly.

"Goldfish Feces?" asked the bartender as he turned towards the old timer.  
"Oh! You mean that useless sidekick of Li."

Naga grabbed the bartender by the collar.  "Just bring it, my good man!"

The bartender nodded nervously.  "Yes ma'am!"

"You have a way with men," Getehl groaned as he spoke up, "So what's 
this info you've been dying to tell me?"

"My dear Getehl," Naga chuckled softly, "I have key information as to the 
whereabouts of our mutual acquaintance, the stick shaped Praetor.  A 
merchant informed me that he saw her in the city of Waymeart, which is 
located in the far North."

"And it's also a considerable distance from here," Getehl added, "How do 
we know that Ace is still up there, or if she's any closer to the Silent Bell 
than us?"

The old man looked towards Getehl.  "Did you say the Silent Bell, young 
man?"

Getehl spun around in his barstool.  "Do you know where it is?"

The old man simply laughed.  "It isn't that simple, young man.  If I were 
you, I would forget about finding the bell.  There are other treasures to be 
had in this world."

"How do you know of the bell in the first place? Getehl asked, a bit 
confounded.

"I was young once, just like yourself.  During the days of my youth, my 
best friend Joseph and I traveled the world, searching for fame and glory.  
Joseph was a hearty soul, he was.  His hair was red like fire.  I can still 
remember the day that we happened upon the lost city of Levar.  There 
was much treasure to be had, but we were not content until we found the 
biggest treasure of them all, the Silent Bell.  Within the ruins, we found a 
magical barrier guarding what we guessed to be the bell.  However, unlike 
Joseph, I was unable to pass through.  Joseph entered that sealed area, and 
when he returned it looked as if he had seen a ghost!  To this day, I don't 
know what happened to my friend, but I know that the magic of some evil 
power within that barrier still exists, because exactly one week after he 
went into that place, he died suddenly without any apparent cause.
The local priest said that he had been cursed by the will of an ancient 
mazoku general. Only the healing techniques of the gold dragons, which 
have been lost to mankind, could reverse such a curse.  I warn you not to 
go after the bell, for your own sake!  All who enter that barrier are doomed 
to die!"

"This city Levar," Naga began, "Can you tell us how to get there?"

"I tell you not to go!" the old man replied.

"Listen gramps," Getehl said bluntly, "If what you say is true, then all of 
our friends are in danger.  You have to tell us how to get to Levar!"

The old man looked up at Getehl.  "Fine," he agreed, "But don't hold me 
responsible for anything that happens to you."

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

"I'm cold and hungry," Lilen complained as she dragged herself upon the 
mountain path.  
The group had been travelling for what seemed like an eternity under the 
leadership of a senile old sea captain.  The sun had set hours ago, and 
there was nothing indicating that they were anywhere near any other 
pocket of civilization.  "I thought you said this was a shortcut, old man!"

"I think we passed that rock formation an hour ago." Korvadus added.  
Even for a guy like him, who had been dead several times, a warm meal 
and soft bed seemed nice right about then.

"Shut yer traps!" The Captain snapped in his typically insane voice, 
"Don't ye have any endurance like me faithful companion Petey!?  Just 
wait, White Serpent, I'm coming for you, then I will have my revenge! 
Ahahahahaha! *Cough*"

"Are you sure it is bad luck to kill a man with an albatross?" Lilen asked 
her companion.

"I'm beginning to think that I'm willing to take that risk," Korvadus sighed
as he glared at the insane seaman in front of him.

-Chapter 34 End------

Authors Notes:  Yes, it's short.  I spent most of my time
trying to determine what I was going to write in the first 
place.  The first version of this chapter that I wrote
had Naga and Getehl meeting the rest of the group finally,
but Ravi pointed out to me that it was phyisically impossible
for the two groups to meet at this time.  There have been some
ambiguities as to travel over the last few chapters, and so
hopefully this part, while short, explains a few things about
where Naga and Getehl are geographically.  It might also give
some further direction as to where the two might go next.
There is plenty of room between them and the Northern part
of the continent for them to have one or two little side
adventures for those who like comical filler. ^^;
It also gives a possible cure for Mariposa and Torr's
mutual condition.  Honestly, I'm not pleased with 
this chapter at all, but I suppose it is better than 
trying to do something big with the story that is totally 
unfeasable at this point.

-Adam (ruri@ucsd.edu)