The desert is a harsh landscape. During daylight the sun beats down mercilessly, doing its best to heat all life and energy from the parched soil and coming very close to doing exactly that. And during night the air is a dead chill that will cool even the brightest of spirits. Some deserts can inspire such fancy prose. But the Desert of Destruction goes beyond even those. During the day you could crack eggs over rocks and let loose a pig, and have fried eggs and bacon for dinner that very evening, without any cooking involved at all. But the Desert of Destruction wouldn't inspire even the most harried housewives or most poetic poets to write a verse or two; they'd just say the place was damn hot and search for the nearest pub. Naga was seriously considering raising the fee Rhaen had retained her for, just for forcing her into this hellhole of a desert. The others weren't doing much better. Like her, Getehl was following Feyik's example and sitting as still as possible in his saddle. Mariposa and Actinea were squirming in their saddles and whining up a storm, but Naga and Getehl were ignoring them as best they could. "We're getting close now," said Feyik. Naga looked ahead and just saw a lot of sand and a few dunes. "I don't see any towers around here, Feyik," she said as imperiously as she could manage. "How could we possibly be close to Lugandi's Tower?" "See that dune over there?" Naga's eyes followed his pointing finger. "I see a lot of dunes. Which one do you mean?" "The one that occasionally has light flashing off the top." The other four looked intently ahead, and they all saw it - there was a bright flash of flight from a nearby dune. "What was that, Feyik-san?" asked Mariposa. "That," Feyik said almost smugly, "is a dune that has built up around Lugandi's Tower." So they were almost there. But what would they find? Naga had been on the road too long and had been in too many adventures to expect that they could just dig their way to the tower, find the Bell, and that would be that. No, it was almost certain that things would be much more complicated. But it would be nice for her to have an easy ending at least once. "I just hope he's agreeable," Feyik muttered. Naga wondered what that meant, and asked Feyik about it. He didn't answer, instead going into a long half-audible monologue. Naga strained her ears, but couldn't make out the guide's words. Then she heard the words 'sweat-stained' and a sudden pair of almost lascivious giggles behind her. With as little motion as possible, she turned to see what the one teenager and one temporary teenager were joking about, and saw that their gazes were directed at Getehl. Naga grinned. She thought about Getehl for a moment. The desert had to be hard on him, as he had all those horribly sweat-stained clothes clinging to him. For a moment, she imagined a shirtless and sweat-stained Getehl fighting off some monsters, then cleared her head. It was foolish to think such thoughts with them so close to Lugandi's tower. And it wasn't as if there were any monsters around, anyway. With the requisite comic timing, a large black dragon appeared. One moment there was nothing, the next the creature was landing with a huge *WHUMP* right in front of the party. Mariposa and Actinea screamed, the horses panicked, Naga started chanting the words to Icicle Lance, all the while wishing she knew the Dragon Slave, and Feyik muttered "God damn, not AGAIN." ---------------------------------------------------------- Slayers Glorious Chapter 14: Towering Confusion! Wait, who is Mariposa? This chapter by Steven Scougall Started by Todd Harper ---------------------------------------------------------- "Do you think they're there yet?" "No doubt," grunted Torr. "They've had enough time." "So why are we dawdling?" Lilen shouted. "The guardian is sure to notice what race the girl is! That would *completely* ruin Lady Erika's plans!" They paused for a moment, thinking about Lady Erika's reaction to her plans being ruined. They looked at each other. Lilen gave Torr a questioning look from under the blanket covering her head and shoulders, and he slowly nodded. There was another pause, and their horses slowed to a halt. Torr grunted, and then thought some more about Lady Erika's possible reaction to her plans being ruined by a talkative guardian that he and Lilen could have stopped. "Even so, it'll set the rest of us back too. And we don't want that." With that, he spurred his horse into a gallop and charged for the dunes. Lilen followed just a few moments behind him. * * * "Halt!" shouted the dragon. "State your business!" Naga blinked. A talking dragon was the guardian of Lugandi's tower? That didn't make sense. If it was smart enough to learn how to talk in the human language, then it should be smart enough to not end up being pressed into guard duty. Something was wrong here. Then that something stood up and revealed itself to be a human dressed in wizardly robes sitting, or now standing, behind the dragon's head. Naga blinked some more, her interest rising. It was a pet dragon? Or maybe even a summoned one...? "They're yet more treasure hunters, Greiven," said Feyik. "Oh, hi Feyik," said the human, with a noticeable tone of annoyance. "*More* treasure hunters?" "Unfortunately," said Feyik. The human's expression hardened and Feyik held up his hands in a warding gesture. "Yes Greiven, I know you hate it when I bring treasure hunters along. But these treasure hunters are paying in gold coin! And I don't get *that* many employers." "Hmph," hmphed Greiven. "You live for money. And you probably want me to leave them alive, too." "Well, they *do* still have to pay the full fee." A sense of... well, not exactly friendship, but a sort of easy camaraderie, radiated from Feyik and Greiven and settled over the party. The dragon just standing there while its supposed owner argued mildly with Feyik made it less terrifying. It also helped that the creature was just standing there and not descending upon the party from a great height. Getehl lowered his sword warily, keeping an eye on the dragon and Greiven, and Naga and Actinea cancelled their spells. The horses were still wildly pacing. To make it easier to keep an eye on things, the group was obliged to dismount. They gawked a bit more at their guide and the wizardly figure arguing for a little more, their uncomprehending gazes switching from one to the other. "Feyik-san," Naga finally asked, "you two know each other?" "Sort of. I brought a treasure hunter to Lugandi's tower once and Greiven showed up and asked what we were doing. As soon as the treasure hunter said what she was after, the dragon ate her. I was understandably very annoyed and he and I yelled at each other for a while." "And I told him to not bring any more," Greiven complained, "but he keeps bringing them along. Freska doesn't eat them anymore, though." He patted the dragon on the snout. It ruffled its leathery wings, and the group sighed in relief. "Now. State what you're here for, and we just might not be forced to chase you away." Naga recovered her poise and grinned winningly at Greiven and his dragon. She strode forwards, taking a deep breath. "OOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" she BitchLaughed(tm). "I am Naga the White Serpent! I am here on a quest for the Silent Bell! Now stand aside and let us through." "Oh, Naga the Goldfish Feces?" Greiven asked, grinning in a not entirely civil way. "Just as loud and as annoying as the stories say." "If you are quite done," Naga snapped icily, "then please let us into the tower." "For the Silent Bell?" "Yes, the Silent Bell," Naga said, tossing her hair imperiously. It landed on her back with a wet splat of sweat. "I'm sorry, you can't do that," said Greiven levelly. Naga glared at the man, meeting him eye-to-eye, ignoring her companions' hissed suggestions to not antagonise a man with a dragon. "And why exactly would that be?" "Some sods got in the back entrance a while back and stole it, that's why," was Greiven's response. The group's combined facefault raised quite a sizeable cloud of sand. * * * Torr and Lilen dared go no closer - the guardian and his dragon might see them. And the two really didn't want to advertise their presence too early. "Can you make out what they're saying at all?" asked Lilen. "Be quiet," he said, "and I might be able to." She pouted but shut up, and let Torr listen from afar. After a few more minutes of just standing around being very bored, she joined in the listening, and couldn't hear very much. * * * "How can a tower have a back door!?" yelled Actinea. "That makes no sense!" "One bunch of thieves rode up and distracted me, and the other lot dug through the other side of the dune and get into the tower. Just like that," said Greiven, sounding embarrassed. "Of course, I don't often go *into* the tower, so I didn't know for a while that it had happened." "Great, just great," muttered Getehl. "That means you don't even know who did it and when." "You don't go into the tower?" Actinea asked. "How come?" "And leave Freska alone? You have got to be kidding me, girl. If it weren't for the fact that Lugandi's agreement required the guardian to check in on the tower every couple of weeks, I'd never go in." "Oh? An agreement with Lugandi himself?" asked Naga. "You can't be that old." "It was an agreement with my family. We've all been guardians for Shazard Lugandi and this tower. We were even there when he started work on that Mirro-" "Anyway!" said Naga, louder than necessary, and cutting off anything Greiven was about to say. "I am searching for the Silent Bell for the Mage Guild of Singe. Now let us into the tower so we can look for clues!" "Well... maybe... I don't know," said Greiven doubtfully. "Freska gets frisky if she doesn't get enough action. And you *say* you're after the Bell, but you might decide to steal something else while you're in there. I'm not sure if I should be letting you in." "Pleeeeeeease?" asked Mariposa. Greiven looked at her. Then he stared at her. "Damn," he breathed. "One of *them*..." "One of who?" asked Getehl. "Please excuse me, ladies, gentlemen," said Greiven, kneeling down on Freska's head and kowtowing. Freska, following her master's lead, lay down on the ground and banged her head against the ground a few times. The impact was enough to knock Greiven off his perch, and he fell to the ground. "Ow..." he mumbled. He looked up at his pet. "Freska, be more careful!" He felt a tapping on his shoulder and turned to see Actinea standing behind him. "My student is one of *who*?" she asked acidly. "You don't *know*? And you're from the *Guild*?" There was a slight pause. "Well, I suppose the Singe Guild would be cut off from main events..." There was another pause. "And anyway, how can she be your student? You're about the same age!" "Long story," mumbled Actinea. "Not really," said Naga. "She's just the victim of an age reversion spell." She ignored Actinea's glare. "Now, what is this about Mariposa?" "She's-" Then there was a red haired swordsman holding a sword to Greiven's neck. "I advise you to say no more," Torr said conversationally. "Torr!?" yelled Naga and her three companions. "That guy who we thought kidnapped Mari-chan?" asked Feyik. "Another one of-" Greiven caught Torr's expression and left the sentence unfinished. "But what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to-" Their exchange was cut short as Getehl's sword swished through the space Torr's head had been in. Torr looked up at Getehl with a little smirk. "We fight again, hm?" "Yes," said Getehl, feeling the familiar berserker rush beginning to overcome him. He fought to keep his head clear, and found Torr's blue glowing sword slashing at him, but it seemed that it was going to miss. But he jerked his head back, as it felt too close anyway. Torr chuckled, and Getehl realised that the other man was playing with him. He snarled, and the full berserker rage settled upon him. The world always seemed so much easier and clearer like this... He and an enemy, and their two swords clashing as the two danced around each other, looking for openings and ways to make the other make a mistake. And then it came. It was only small, and lasted for less than a tenth of a second, but the opening was there. Getehl thrust out, keeping an eye on Torr's sword with the edge of his vision. He wasn't entirely surprised when Torr deflected his blade in time, but at least he was rewarded with the red-haired swordsman's indrawn hiss of breath, and renewed vigour. Good - at least the man was treating him seriously now. * * * The Captain was finally free of that accursed prison, and could resume his quest for vengeance against Naga the White Serpent once more. Only she'd last been seen heading into the desert with the only reliable guide for miles around, and the Captain wasn't sure of his next move. He stood on the outskirts of Elmekia and stared into the shimmering distance of the Desert of Destruction, and felt very small. The slow yet sure Vengeance of Heaven was one thing - his continued survival was another. Besides, he couldn't wreak horrible doom upon the heads of Naga and her compatriots if he was dead, could he? So reasoning, he turned and headed back into Elmekia, feeling sullen. "Naga the White Serpent," he growled, clenching a fist in front of his face. "The next time we meet, I shall crush you. The next time I find you, I shall completely ruin you and your little friends. You shall beg for mercy! You shall grovel! And I shall laugh at you! I shall laugh long and loud and it shall put your horrible laugh to shame! Mark my words, Naga the White Serpent, for all this shall happen! Yes indeed!" He paused, panting from his proclamation, and lowered his fist. "What a nut," said a young boy. "Can we toss him into the Desert, dad?" "Son, I keep on telling you about tact. What you do, right, is make sure the guy's looking at you, look at him funny and then edge away. Works every time." The captain looked over to his right and saw a young boy standing next to his father, both swaddled in the robes that all residents of desert towns felt obliged to wear. He couldn't help but notice the man's large curved sword. The two were looking at him strangely. He looked back, and they edged away from him, all the while giving him that strange look. They disappeared around a nearby corner. "How'd I do, dad?" "Not bad, son, but you make sure you get away from where he can hear you first." The man stuck his head back around the corner. "Sorry about this, mister, but you know kids." The Captain sweatdropped, then shrugged. It was time to head off to the nearest pub to plan and get sufficiently drunk on cheap ale. * * * "I haven't seen Getehl like this before," said Feyik, gripping his sword tightly. "He goes like this sometimes," said Actinea. "He zones out, and puts more feeling into his fighting." "And then there was the time with the guitar in Atlas City," said Mariposa. "But there is not much more skill, I see," observed Feyik. "I will go help him." "He doesn't seem to be doing too badly," commented Mariposa. "Torr was just playing with him at first," Naga pointed out. Their comments were lost on Feyik, who had already charged into the fray, yelling an inventive curse that involved two dogs, a camel, and Torr's ancestry and pet preferences. "Naga-samaaa," said Mariposa, "what do we do now?" "There's only one of Torr, and lots of us," said Actinea. "Let's blast him." "An excellent suggestion," said Naga. "I'm surprised you thought of it, Praetor." "Enough of that," warned Actinea. "Freska! ATTACK!" Greiven's voice shouted from the side. Everyone looked surprised, especially Greiven himself, who was just clambering back onto his perch behind Freska's head. Freska, inasmuch as anyone could discern dragon expressions, looked very confused. The three women looked over to their left, where the shout had come from, and saw another Greiven dragging himself into view. Bruises covered his exposed skin, and blood stained his robes. "Freska! I am the true Greiven! The one who sits on your neck is an impostor, and he plots to kill you this very instant!" "WHAT?" raged Greiven. "*I* am the original and YOU are the fake! Freska! Attack him!" "No, attack HIM!" "No, I command you to attack HIM! NOW!" Freska kept looking at the Greiven on the ground and back at the Greiven sitting behind her neck. Eventually she gave up trying to work out who was who and what was going on. She lay down on the ground, covered her eyes with her claws, and gave a draconic whimper. The loud rumbling rolled over the party like distant thunder heralding the coming of a storm. The original Greiven hopped off his perch and ran at the newer Greiven, with murderous intent clear in his eyes. "Now you've gone and confused her! She won't recover from this for at least a week! I hope you're happy!" "Better that than letting her suffer in your clutches for a moment more!" retorted the other. "I never subjugated her in my entire life!" "So enslaving a dragon isn't subjugating it?" "Freska is not enslaved! She is my partner in guardianing!" "Naga-samaaaa! What's going on! Who's who?" "Someone is trying to confuse us," said Naga. "And doing a good job, too." She looked at the two squabbling men. Any minute now they'd resort to fisticuffs, and in the ensuing fight it would be impossible to make out which Greiven was which. As predicted, the newer one dragged the first one to the ground and fists flew. Sand billowed up around them, making it hard to see the two. And once the cloud of sand settled the two would be practically identical. "If it's just an illusion we should be able to dispel it," Actinea suggested. "True," said Naga. "So let's do it, then," said Mariposa. Naga had an idea that didn't involve magic. "I want to try something first," she said, hoping she could pull this off. She cleared her throat, then let out a roar. Humans speaking Dragon (or rather, roaring it) is a difficult matter, as humans generally don't have the lung capacity, mouth size, and four stomachs to properly modulate the roars. Neither do they have the wings used in body gestures. But dragons - rather, the unintelligent sort - don't have many words and after some practice and quite a few failed Summonings, Naga could make out a few of the more common words. "HALT!" was what she said. Freska looked over at her, surprised. One of the Greivens looked up from the fight, asking "Why?" The other Greiven just looked confused, then panicked when he realised his mistake. "Get him!" she yelled in normal speech, pointing at the rapidly retreating Greiven. "Coool!" squealed Mariposa. "I didn't know you could speak Dragon!" "It's just a few simple roars. Hardly something that would stymie me, Naga the White Serpent! OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" By now the fake Greiven had disappeared around a dune. The real one ran around the dune to look for his doppelganger, and saw nothing. "Damn," muttered Greiven. "An illusion of invisibility. I was hoping he'd drop the illusion in mid flight, so I'd know who to hold a grudge against." "You don't have an evil twin brother, by any chance?" asked Mariposa, walking up behind him. "I'm sure I would have remembered something like that," said Greiven absently. "A pity," said Actinea. "No, it must have been-" He noticed that something was wrong with the gray- haired girl's aura - she was giving off the same sense the child Mariposa was. "Hey, you aren't-" There was a meaty thud as 'Actinea' hit Greiven square on the head, and he collapsed to the ground with a muffled thump. Ignoring Mariposa's shout of surprise, Lilen cloaked herself in invisibility again and sped away. It was a pity she couldn't disguise her footfalls and the sand they kicked up. Mari chased after the intruder, yelling. * * * "Hm. I see my partner has failed in her task," said Torr. Getehl didn't say much, and concentrated more on skewering his red-haired opponent. "I'm not falling for that trick," said Feyik. "I'm not looking back and getting distracted." "A pity," said Torr, grinning. "But I couldn't kill you, anyway, because none of you would ever get out of the desert, would you?" Feyik slowed. "What? You don't want to kill us?" "Not all of you-" Torr danced sideways as Getehl's thrust passed within millimetres of his neck and sliced off a few locks of red hair. He sighed. "Well, I'd better be going." "I won't let you!" shouted Getehl, attacking with renewed vigour. "Some other time," said Torr. He faded back, turned on his heel, and ran faster than Feyik or Getehl thought possible. After a moment of getting their bearings, the two gave pursuit. Torr disappeared around a nearby dune, the two followed him around the curve, and ran right into Mariposa. All three went down in a tangle of arms and legs, Feyik and Getehl desperately trying not to accidentally stab anyone as they fell. "What just happened? Are you three alright?" asked Actinea, running around the curve of the dune. "They got away," said Mariposa sullenly, as she and the two men got up. "And they knocked Greiven unconscious." "Nothing that Recovery can't handle," said Naga, being the last to arrive on the scene. "But... why did all this happen?" asked Getehl. They thought back over the past few minutes, and Mariposa remembered. "The guardian... he was going to say something about me," she said. "You don't know what?" "No," said Mariposa glumly. "How about we rouse him and ask him?" asked Feyik. "That red-haired man seems to have escaped for now." "Torr..." said Naga. She thought back and realised that Greiven had all but said that Torr and Mariposa were the same sort of people, whatever that sort of person was. And Torr had something to do with the Bell. "We have to check the Tower. Even if the Silent Bell was stolen, we might find a clue as to who took it, and perhaps some notes about what its purpose is." "What about Greiven?" Naga realised everyone was looking at her. It felt odd to be the centre of attention, to have everyone waiting for her decision. She didn't think she'd ever felt like this, even when she'd been travelling with... her. Did that mean all she'd ever been was a sidekick, the goldfish feces everyone called her? This wasn't the time to think about that. She cleared her head and spoke. "Recovery should have him awake in a few minutes. But before he can wake up and protest, we should check out Lugandi's Tower." They looked over to where Freska was worrying over Greiven. "He'll be alright," said Getehl. "Not many people will worry a dragon. Not if they want to live." The five regarded the dune before them, and wondered how best to get through it. Digging clearly wouldn't work, not unless they had lots of time and equipment to shore up the tunnel as they went. And besides, with the option of magic, that would take lots of unnecessary work. "Enough wind should just blow the thing away," said Actinea. "Let me have a go! Everybody, stand back." "Bomb Di Wind?" "Diem Wind," corrected Actinea. "Enough of it should just blow this thing away. Everyone stand back." The group hurried back away from the gray-haired girl as she stood in front of the dune, chanting the words that shaped the magic. The chant finished and there was a moment as Actinea posed, the promise of magic heavy in the air. With a shout of "DIEM WIND!" a gust of wind screamed through the air and into the dune, throwing sand everywhere. Once the dust settled a sizeable chunk of the dune was missing, and everyone, including the dragon, was covered in sand. After another try, the doorway to the tower was visible. "Well, it got us through," said Getehl, coughing up sand. "Well done Ace!" She shot him a glare and he sighed. "...that is, Actinea-san." "Try for less sand falling on us next time," suggested Naga. * * * The interior of the tower was dark and musty. The darkness was easily solved by Mariposa casting a Lighting spell, and the mustiness would just have to be borne while the group searched. The good thing about the desert air was that the contents of the tower were still intact, if a bit dry and brittle. Not to mention covered with sand. It didn't take long to search. The tower was also quite definitively looted and there was nothing to find. Shelves were empty and strewn about the floors, chests were smashed open, the bedroom wardrobe was lying on its side with the door wide open, and what seemed to be the laboratory was empty. Not even the curtains remained - the bandits had stolen those as well. Anything that looked as if it might have been of value was gone. The group scoured through the tower, but with everything gone, it was a short and frustrating job. There were no pieces of paper detailing the true use of the Silent Bell, there were no maps, and there was no conveniently left diary with an abruptly ended final entry that might have identified the marauders. Just empty rooms, a lot of sand, and lots of opportunistic insects. "How are we supposed to work out anything from all this?" yelled Naga. "It's just another dead end!" She kicked at a clump of sand and sat down in a huff. "Wait a minute," said Feyik. "Naga-san, could you get up please?" "What?" she snapped irritably. "There's something under that sand." She sprang upon the sand and had it swept out the window with a well placed Diem Claw - but all that was revealed were some scratches on the floor. "Just scratches?" asked Naga dangerously. "Oh," said Feyik quietly. "What?" "It's a message." "A message?" Naga asked excitedly. "Did Lugandi leave some final instructions about the Bell? Or where to find it? Or where to find anything else that was in this tower?" "Um... well, it does tell you where to look next, but I don't think it's from Lugandi. All it says is 'Hindan woz ere'." The implications sank in. "Damn," said Actinea. "*Hindan?* AGAIN?" (To be continued) Author's Notes -------------- This is, for some reason, the hardest Impro chapter I've written in a long time, and it probably shows. RL obligations reduced my writing and planning time, the ideas were thin on the ground, and the spark to write was mysteriously absent. But enough of my complaining, I managed to get something out. And now for the thanks section! First of all thanks go to Todd Harper for helpful advice on the monstrous guardian of Lugandi's Tower when I was first plotting out the chapter, and more thanks must go to him for prereading and pointing out exactly how I was messing up the Slayers universe. And thank you for reading. Steven Scougall 20th June 2000 http://www.crosswinds.net/~sscougall/