"Ow."

	Mariposa had uttered that word approximately twenty-seven times since
stepping through the gate.  Long, rocky corridors lined with sharp
protrusions of varied and interesting shapes did not lend themselves well to
travel, moreso in near-total darkness.  She wasn't silly enough to travel in
the dark by choice, no.  But every time she attempted to hold even the small
Lighting spell, it went poof.  Like someone blowing out a candle.

	She was starting to get a wee bit annoyed.

	Luckily, the walls were faintly luminescent; she recognized it as coming
from the lichens covering them.  If she'd waited for her eyes to adjust,
she'd probably be able to see clear as day from the light they provided. 
Her attempts at providing her own light, however, had ruined her night
vision whenever it started to come in.

	Mariposa knew this, but she was also stubborn enough not to let it keep
her from attempting to work through whatever magical resistance there was in
this place.  With a quick incantation, she flicked her wrist and waited for
the light to come.  It didn't.  

	She sighed.  Whatever barrier existed in this place, it was getting
stronger as she proceeded inward.  Her vision still impaired by her earlier
attempts at lumination, she stumbled valiantly onwards.

	Behind her, Torr had depended only on the lichens for light.  Torr could
see just fine.

*  *  *  *  *

                          Slayers Glorious
           Chapter 32: Focus! The Bell's Within Our Reach!
                             by Illyria
                        Started by Todd Harper

*  *  *  *  *

	"Ow. ... Ow."  Mari rubbed in irritation at her bruised legs.  Common
sense finally winning out over stubbornness, she put her hand against the
wall and let it guide her path as she proceeded.  It proved, she grudgingly
admitted to herself, a good way to proceed.  Now more confident of her path,
she picked up her pace, rounding a slight bend in the path.

	Around the corner was the Silent Bell.

	She blinked, then blinked a few more times.  The end of a quest was
supposed to have a buildup of sorts, a climax.  Not that she was
complaining, but this just seemed ... unfulfilling.  No tests to pass, no
obstacles to overcome.  Just a half-spherical chamber about forty feet in
diameter, lichens covering every surface save the Bell itself.

	She walked into the chamber, inching forward on the slightly slippery
plants.  There had to be a crossbow trap in the wall.  Or poison!  She'd
read stories where poison darts would be shot out of the halls at unwary
adventurers, and they'd be dead within seconds!  Panic started to fill Mari.
 What had she gotten herself into?  What was waiting for her in this
chamber, what horrors-

	Oh.  Look at that.  Her hand was on the Bell.

	That adventure (of sorts) taken care of, Mari realized another one was
at hand.  Namely, how to destroy a big hunk of metal when she couldn't use
her magic.

	She gave it an experimental rap with her knuckles.  There was no
response; not just the lack of light swirls and rushes of energy that would
accompany the activation of a magical device, but any response at all.  It
didn't move -- not terribly surprising, considering how lightly she'd tapped
-- and it didn't ring.  It didn't even echo the sound of the tap.

	Tension suddenly wrenched Mari's stomach into tight little square knots.
 This really was the Silent Bell.  She'd really found it.

	"The Silent Bell."

	And so had someone else, it would appear.

	Mari spun, wide-eyed, to see that familiar and unwelcome face standing
in the entrance to the chamber.  Torr smiled, lips slightly parted and eyes
filled with awe.  "Do you have any idea what I've gone through to find this
thing?"  Laughter started to grip him; silent, though it caused his
shoulders to shake.

	The girl eyed the man warily.  That wasn't a good expression on his
face.  That was the kind of expression someone got shortly before they
climbed to the top of a temple and proclaimed that the Lord of Nightmares
wanted everyone to achieve true enlightenment by shoving squirrels down
their pants.

	Torr took a step towards the Bell; Mariposa hesitated for a moment
before stepping in front of it and meeting his gaze.  "N... no," she said,
voice wobbling.  "I... I have to... for my mom..."

	"Step away, little butterfly.  I'm not here to hurt you."  Torr's smile
grew predatory as he advanced on the girl and Bell, hand resting
threateningly on the hilt of his sword.  "I'm just here to get that bit of
metal behind you."

	Mariposa swallowed, raising her hands defensively.  Her magic would
work... it had to.  It would seem that a real climax for her quest had been
arranged, but it wouldn't do much good if the challenge was one she
shouldn't overcome.

	~I'm sorry, children.~

	Mari looked around in confusion.  Torr, she saw from the corner of her
eye, was doing the same.

	~Leave the Bell, both of you.  Only suffering lies down its path.~

	The redhead growled, shaking his head with a fierce determination. 
"Damn ghosts."  Hand still on his sword, he reached towards Mariposa and the
Bell behind her.  As his hand made contact with the metal, white light
flared in the chamber, a brilliance that overwhelmed both adventurers'
sight.

	It cleared.  Somehow, Mari knew what she was seeing wasn't real.  So she
watched; one of the lessons she'd learned at the Guild was that magical
visions didn't let you go until they were good and ready, so you'd best shut
up and enjoy the ride.

	The image of Shazard Lugandi in his workshop, working on the Bell, faded
almost instantly.  It was overlaid by the rippling banner of an army, a
patched, worn thing that wouldn't be used by any respectable monarch.  That
was, it was soon apparent, because this was a rebel band, outfitted in the
most haphazard suits of armor she could imagine.

	And there... there on that horse.  That was the leader, and...  Mari
gasped, though, lacking corporeal form for the moment, it was more of a
mental hiccup than anything.  That was Kaalev Sorspoal.  She'd seen
engravings of him in the history books.  He'd conquered several kingdoms in
the space of a few months more than two hundred years back, with barely more
than the force of a bandit gang behind him.  It still baffled historians how
he'd done it.

	Kaalev, though, didn't seem to be in the best of spirits.  "Let me go,"
he demanded, a wild look on his face.  "He's telling them... no, NO.  That
gate can't be held.  DAMMIT, let me go!"  Beside the horse, several of the
soldiers chuckled.  One gave their general an amused elbow to the leg as he
flailed, wailing about how everyone would soon die if they listened to ...
someone.

	Mari blinked.  It was now apparent that Kaalev was bound to his horse. 
Why...?  A black shadow suddenly filled her vision, and when she blinked it
away, she found herself outside the very city she was now in.  It was
occupied, though.  Golden dragons fighting off encroaching Mazoku hordes did
have to be counted as occupants, after all.

	A form in the center of the Mazoku drew her attention, and she blinked
again.  The trappings suggested a rank of importance... she'd guess general,
from what she knew of them.  Then why was he acting as oddly as Kaalev had? 
What was this vision trying to show her?

	A scraping sound drew her attention, and she turned.  A great stone was
being pushed out of place, revealing a hole that she recognized as the
entrance she'd used to enter the cavern.  "Through here," came a voice.

	Several gold dragons exited through the hole, fierce expressions on
their faces.  Those expressions changed when they saw the circle of mazoku
waiting for them.  Mari turned her gaze away for the next few seconds.  When
she looked back, the mazoku were filing into the mountain, and the dragons
were dead... all save one.

	One of the mazoku remaining outside turned to the dragon.  "We've kept
her alive.  You can switch at any time."

	The dragon shook its head.  "No need for that."  It looked over at the
general and smirked - an odd expression for a dragon.  "I have another week
yet before the spirit drain sets in.  I imagine I could fool quite a few of
those thick-minded lizards with this before I'm forced back."

	The mazoku general looked up at it with an expression of pure hatred. 
"It's already set in.  I can feel myself weakening by the moment from this
link.  I admit this only because I know you're suffering from the same
effect."

	"You assume too much," the dragon replied, though there was a wobble to
its voice that hadn't been there before.  "As did the rest of your race, and
it is proving their downfall today."

	Mariposa rubbed her rump as she picked herself up from the floor. 
Rather abrupt ending that for that vision.  She glanced over and nearly
giggled despite herself when she saw Torr rubbing his sore posterior as
well.  A nervous giggle that would show tightly-stretched nerves, true, but
it had to count for something.

	~More dragons came.  They killed the one wearing the mazoku general's
body, and with it died the one wearing the dragon's.  Those of us killed
that day are still here to watch the Bell, but beware... so is the traitor.~

	"Is it too much to ask for a simple pickup, here?" Torr asked the
ceiling, arms spread wide.  "I didn't ask for a history lesson, I'm just
here for the Bell.  Now, if you really want to stop me, then do something
more impressive than voices in my head.  I can get that from a few flagons
of ale."

	Torr promptly went skidding across the floor.  He looked over his chest,
a disbelieving expression on his face.  "You?"

	Mari tried to control her rapid breathing, attempting a steady stance
from where she'd run into Torr and sent him flying.  "I told you... I have
to destroy it."

	The swordsman picked himself up and advanced on Mariposa, weapon yet to
be drawn.  "Fly away, little butterfly.  It's the last time I'll tell you
that before I'm forced to act.

	She swallowed.  "N... no."

	A look of put-upon annoyance crossed Torr's face.  "It won't be a
problem for me to knock you out, butterfly.  One way or another, you'll be
kept out of my way... if you insist on choosing the way that will give you a
massive headache, then so be it."

	As he advanced on her, she slowly retreated, eyes growing progressively
larger.  This just wasn't fair.  Why had he shown up here, now?  How had he
even made it through the gate?  Why did his timing have to be this awful?

	All these frustrated questions and more buzzed around her head as she
backed away from the redhead.  They swarmed together into a cacophony of
impotent anger at her situation, with a momentary respite gained only from
the shock of backing into the wall.

	As she pressed against the cold stone, the feeling of lichens flaking
off and landing on her skin was countered by a new buzzing in her head.  It
soon grew too strong to ignore; first as a dull hum, then as a gentle,
matriarchal voice that she recognized from before the vision.  One of the
dragons, she realized.  She was hearing the spirit of one of the dragons
who'd been imprisoned in the tower.

	She blinked, and suddenly looked up to meet Torr's gaze.  He took an
involuntary step back at the sudden pointedness to her gaze.  "I can..." she
murmured, soft voice a contrast with the sharpness of her expression. 
"I..."  she wobbled slightly, then steadied at the soothing voice in her
head that prompted her forward, told her what to do.

	She trembled slightly as she felt the buildup.  Despite the dragon's
comforting, she couldn't help but feel that this was... very weird.  A
moment later, she could feel the energy waiting, but she couldn't... she
didn't know what would happen...

	Torr rushed her.  She realized in a moment's time that she'd left
herself foolishly open as she stumbled around, and prepared to submit to
unconsciousness.  While her conscious decided that, however, her
subconscious thought along another route.

	With a roaring blast, she released the Laser Breath attack.  The energy
rushed from her in a brilliant stream, smashing into Torr and sending him
hurtling into the Bell.  He landed heavily against it, moaned once, then
remained still.

	Mariposa wobbily picked herself up from the floor, looking at the room
with a dull expression.  Her brain was not packed with cotton, it was
floating in a pickling barrel.  She felt old, tired, and confused.  Looking
over at the form in the center of the room, though, she also felt a sudden
surge of panic.

	She stumbled over to where Torr lay, slumped against the Bell.  She
raised the back of her hand to his face, and breathed a sigh of relief when
she felt soft exhalations on it.  Gingerly, she turned his head to see if he
was bleeding from the impact.  She hadn't really meant to hurt him.

	~A dragon.  The child's a dragon.  Well, this won't do.~

	Cliched as it was, everything went black.

*  *  *  *  *

	"What do you know about this Lugandi guy?"

	Naga put a thoughtful finger to her chin, then took it away as she
raised a turkey leg to her mouth.  Getehl sighed as he watched her chew,
swallow, daintily dab at her lips with a napkin, and then finally respond. 
"The devices he makes are powerful, very powerful.  There's a reason his
name has retained its fame through the years."

	"Fame or notoriety?"

	Naga smirked.  "You're faster than you look, Getehl-san."  With a
graceful motion, she picked up a glass of wine, raised it in a perfect arc,
and downed the whole thing in one draught.

	Getehl looked around the inn they'd stopped at with a twinge of
apprehension.  If it wasn't some freak with a crossbow who wouldn't stay
dead, it was the entire population of some backwater village who was
treating Naga like the most interesting thing to come along since smoked
meat.

	Looking at the way some of the men were eying her, he changed that: like
the most interesting thing to come along since fresh meat.  Getehl leaned
forward and whispered, "Naga, laugh."

	She blinked at him.  "What?"

	He sighed, then smiled.  "So, is that all you know about Lugandi?"

	"OOOOOOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!  Certainly not!  There is, of course, the tendency
all of his works to have an inherent design flaw, something that makes their
use potentially dangerous in the long or short run."  Naga saw Getehl's grin
and blinked.  "What?"

	"Nothing," he grinned as he looked around the room.  Suddenly, their own
meals were very interesting once again.

*  *  *  *  *

	"Ow."

	That made thirty.  Mari felt sluggish and dumb.  What had hit her?  She
had a headache, and her arm hurt.  It really hurt.  Ow.  Thirty-one... wait,
she hadn't said it out load.  Did it count?  She wasn't sure.

	She creaked one eyelid open, then the other.  Uh-oh, was seeing double. 
Must come from having two eyes open.  She tried closing one, only to find it
didn't help, so she opened the other one again.  Hmm.  It probably didn't
count as seeing double if you weren't seeing two of the same person.

	Looking at Torr and looking at herself, Mariposa forced herself to her
feet, wobbling.  That was a neat trick.  She wondered how that worked,
exactly

	"Ow," Torr said.  He stood up as well, wobbling as Mari had.

	A moment passed as the two looked at each other in silence.  The
realization hit them at the same time: both had seen Torr stand first,
followed by Mari.  They blinked at each other for a moment longer, hoping to
force away their headaches, then took the potentially inadvisable step of
looking down.

	Far away in the bowels of the mountain, the ancient spirit of an
imprisoned mazoku general began laughing madly.

*  *  *  *  *

	"So?"

	Naga looked up from swirling the wine in her goblet, one eyebrow raised.
 "So?"

	Getehl sighed.  "So, what's wrong with it?"

	"OOOOOOOOOHOHOHOHO!  Why, it's so simple, even those completely
untrained in magic such as yourself should be able to see it!"  Naga turned
her attention back to her wine as Getehl eyed her suspiciously.

	"You don't know, do you?"

	"..."  Naga decided to take this opportunity to hiccup.  "What wonderful
wine!" she proclaimed in a voice that was just a bit too loud.

	As was becoming habitual for him, Getehl sighed.

*  *  *  *  *

	"Turn us back," Torr demanded, stomping his adolescent foot.  He stormed
over to the bell and laid his hand on it, looking impatiently up at
Mariposa.  She followed suit and focused on the bell, seeking out the
magical structure that held it together.  In the body she was currently in,
even more of a novice in the magical arts than hers, that proved impossible.
So she just winged it.

	Thankfully, as 'just winging it' with ancient magical objects proves
fatal more often than not, magic still seemed to be a no-go for her in the
area.  The realization that they'd probably escaped death by burial from
many many tons of falling granite would have been small comfort; not that it
mattered, since all they could think about was that it hadn't worked.

	"Okay, okay," Torr finally said, breath coming a bit rapidly.  "We just
need to get this outside, where you can activate it."

	"Ri... right," Mari said, starting to hyperventilate a bit herself at
the voice that came when she talked.  "...Well?"

	"Do you think your body is suited for dragging a big piece of metal down
a long, rocky hallway?"

	Mari stared at herself for a moment in confusion, then oh'd.  (She also
got the view through Torr's eyes of the expression on her face, which, she
had to later say, was fairly goofy.  Torr wasn't a man suited to utter
confusion.)  She reached for the bell, then winced as she moved her right
arm.  "It's sprained or something.  I'm not going to be able to pull this
without getting it healed.  Actinaea will be able to do it, then we can come
back and grab it."

	Torr nodded.  "Okay, okay.  Let's just get this done with... this is
more than I agreed to.

	The two walked in uncomfortable silence back through the hallway.  Mari
thought in the back of her mind that it could be worse; she could have been
on the list of people Torr wanted to kill, instead of the very short list of
people who he apparently had a soft spot for.  And, the general oddity of
the situation aside, it was kind of neat to be so tall for a couple of
minutes.

	"Could you look more to the side?" Torr finally muttered.  "Seeing the
two views so close together makes them look all out of focus.  It's making
my headache worse."

	Mari obliged, focusing on the lichens.  Why, she could just reach up and
grab one off those high rocks up there if she wanted to!  Okay, she had to
admit, she did kind of like this.  Being the shortest one in a group for day
after day got very old.

	"Maaaaaaari-chan!  Are you okay?"

	Mari perked up at Luanni's voice, picking up her pace.  "We must be
getting close."  She broke into a jog, holding her injured arm still with
the other as she ran.  "I'm fine," she yelled, ignoring the annoyed look
that passed over Torr's face as she did.

	Torr opened his mouth as well, but they'd already stepped out into the
light.  Mari turned to Actinaea, ready to explain, but found herself
completely unprepared for the venomous look she received in reply.  "Oh,"
she said after a moment.  "Actinaea-san, I can explain."

	Luanni had already gone over to Torr, checking to make sure he was all
right (despite his protests).  After that was done, she favored Mari with a
look similar to Actinaea's.  It was an unpleasant pair of glares to be at
the receiving end of.  Holding her hands wide, Mariposa said... absolutely
nothing.  She blinked, and tried again.  Breath starting to come a little
quickly, she turned and looked at Torr; he looked as panicked as she felt as
his mouth opened and closed futilely, as well.

	After looking at the perplexed duo for a moment longer, Luanni leaned
down to meet Torr's gaze at his eye level.  "Are you okay, Mari-chan?"

	"I'm fine, but I-"  His voice cut off abruptly, and his fists balled. 
"We just need to get back in there, all right?  Can you heal ... Torr, and
we'll go back in?"

	Mari eeped and leapt backwards as she suddenly found herself dodging a
fireball launched at her from the grey-haired sorceress.  Actinaea looked at
her through half-lidded eyes, prepared to launch another spell.  "Mari, I
know you can't talk about any knowledge you have of the Bell.  But no matter
what happened, it doesn't excuse you consorting with the enemy again.  We'll
talk later."

	"And as for you..."  Mari scrambled backwards to avoid another spell,
biting back a cry as her injured arm moved despite her efforts.  "You were a
fool to come back out here to face us when you knew we were waiting for
you."

	Mari looked first at Actinaea, who was beginning the chant for a spell,
then over to Luanni, who was fingering a blade.  "Guys... you're not really
going to... please!  You can't!  Please!"

	Despite her pleas, they loosed their attacks; it was only by serendipity
that she managed to throw herself aside quickly enough to dodge them.  Once
more she attempted to tell of what had happened, only to find her tongue
instantly stilled.  A frustrated wail escaped her lips as she turned and
ran, chased by the attacks Luanni and Actinaea sent after.

	To the side, Torr watched her go with a disbelieving look on his face. 
What a stupid way to have things turn out.

*  *  *  *  *

	Torr was keeping his mouth closed.  Every time he opened it, something
else went wrong.  Obviously, he wasn't acting like they expected Mariposa
to, so every odd behavior was simply proof that she was trying to betray
them again.  It was getting progressively more irritating as they walked on
to not be able to explain what had happened.  Oh well.  He could see his
group as they proceeded, from a half-mile or so back; Mariposa was shadowing
them.  He had to admit, as he watched the view from her eyes... she was
doing better than he would have expected of the girl.

	His body's arm would heal on its own, and the two of them could then
sneak off and drag the Bell out.  Not a problem, since it wasn't like they'd
lose track of each other.  Or maybe he could suggest they visit a mystic. 
That wasn't actually saying anything about the Bell, and they'd probably be
able to sense the soul displacement.

	A sudden weakness gripped him, and Torr found himself saved from a
header into the dirt only by Luanni's quick hands.  She looked with concern
down at him.  "Are you all right?"

	"Ye... yeah.  I'm not sure what happened."  He shook his head.  Odd. 
Must just be the weak little girl body.

	Over the crest of the hill they'd passed, Mariposa pulled herself back
to a standing position.  She felt at full strength now, but a warning from
the cave came back to her, hovering ominously.  A week still before spirit
death, the general had said.  How long had he been in the dragon's body
before that?

	Tying her arm in an impromptu sling, Mari picked up her pace.  She had
no desire to test the limits of that timeframe.

*  *  *  *  *

Author's notes: I was all ready to skip on this chapter until half an hour
before the deadline. I wasn't happy at all with how it turned out, for
several reasons, but at the same time, didn't know what I would have done
differently. I still can't believe the point in the plot I, as a first-time
Glorious author, wound up at. ^_^; I needed something that would be useful
enough to catch Deep Sea Dolphin's attention, figure out how to keep Mari
safe from Torr, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how.

What to do when you're horribly stuck? Why, use a cliche! Yay! While I could
have had Torr escape with the Bell and start off towards Sailloon, I didn't
for one good reason: I'm a coward. Yup. I was worried, worried, worried that
I'd screw up the story (which isn't my standard fare) mightily if I threw it
into ending mode that way, and the queue would never see another signup.
(hint, hint) So, cliches and stalling are my friends.

So, this is very far away from being counted among my favorite chapters, but
it's going in thanks to Todd and Ardweden, who read it and offered
suggestions and support.  Thanks, guys, I needed to hear that it didn't suck
quite as much as I thought it did. ^_^

Everything said and done, maybe I'll sign up again. And write a fluff
chapter.

-Illyria