Slayers: Reward
Chapter 1: Surprise! The lovely bride?!
By: Lord Archive
The Slayers belong to Hajime Kanazaka, Rui Araizumi, TV Tokyo, SOFTX,
Software Sculptures Ltd., and many others. I do not own them. I'm only
borrowing them. I'll return them as quickly as I can since Lina and
Gourry are eating away bank account.
This begins a few months after Slayers: Try. There are a few spoilers in
this, but I won't specifically explain anything, but I will refer to
them. If you don't want even vague spoilers, I suggest that you don't
read this.
-------------------*
Lina had missed these times. With only Gourry with her, a lot of things
were easier than when they were being followed by a princess, a chimera,
a mazuko, and at least one other lunatic. There was more food for her,
less fighting, and no one complaining about her getting her own room.
Though, for a reason Lina couldn't explain, during the times the inn
only had one room, she wanted at least one other person with them... to
make sure Gourry didn't get any ideas.
Despite that little problem, just the two of them traveling together was
perfect.
One of the bigger benefits was that her periods weren't broadcast to a
number of people. It's a real damper on the adventure when you've got to
tell the group, 'hey, let's stay at an inn for a few days and recoup.'
Unfortunately, this was one of the areas Gourry was observant in, as
he'd bluntly tell everyone why she wanted to stop. And he didn't even
know anything about 'that time of the month' beyond that Lina couldn't
cast many spells during it.
Lina watched as the ball of light flickered in her hand.
Gourry's eyebrow arched. "That time of the month again, huh?"
"Shut up." Lina would fireball him, but at this point she'd have to call
on the four mazuko lords to have enough power to singe him. "How much
farther is Edo?"
Gourry scratched his head and then held one finger then made a complex
figure and then held two fingers.
Lina clenched her fist. "You can just tell me."
"But you said, 'shut up.'"
"I meant about my time of the month, not about anything else."
"Oh."
Lina turned around and blinked. Where did that dragon come from? She
really didn't like the look in its eyes. "Freeze arrow!"
The dragon scowled and then lunged at her trying to get a mouthful of
sorceress.
"Lina, run!" Gourry shouted, pulling out his sword.
"You can't fight him with that cheap magical sword!" Lina frantically
dodged the dragon's hungry maul. "Lord of the Darkness and the Four
Worlds, I call upon you, grant me all the power that you possess! Freeze
bleed!" A ball of ice exploded on the dragon's black scaly head.
If its food wanted to play with ice, how would this little appetizer
like fire? The dragon reared its head back and let loose a cone of fiery
death.
Lina was not a happy girl. No real spells and a hungry dragon that just
scorched her favorite outfit, in a couple days she would come back and
give the beast a short lesson of pain and death.
"Lina!" Gourry jumped over the wyrm's tremendous height, and smashed his
sword between its eyes. Falling back down, the blond swordsman stabbed
the sword into the dragon's neck and rode it down to the ground. The cut
that caused opened several meters of the dragon's neck to the air.
Best five thousand gold Lina had ever spent. She hadn't put much trust
into Gourry's temporary sword even with its enchantments, but it
certainly did the job. If it could hurt mazuko as well, the loss of the
light sword wasn't as bad as she had originally thought.
"Lina! Are you all right?" Gourry rushed over to her, while wiping some
of the dragon's blood off his face.
"I'm fine. It'd take more than that to hurt me." Lina glanced over to
the thrashing dragon as it was drowning in its own blood. "Good work.
Seems my sword did its job nicely."
Gourry blinked. "Your sword? I thought you gave it to me."
Lina looked at him as if he fell off the turnip wagon. "You honestly
thought I'd just GIVE you something that I spent MY money on."
"Well, yes."
Lina threw her arms up into the air. "Whatever. Let's get to Edo so you
can wash that blood off."
The pair disappeared over the hill as the dragon continued to thrash.
Lina glanced at Gourry. "Why didn't you know the dragon was there?"
"I knew it was there. I just didn't think he was going to bother us."
Gourry shrugged. "Besides, it wasn't much of a threat."
-------------------*
Sir Erwin's legs shook as he approached his foe. The dragon had been
terrorizing Edo for too long. Having recently been knighted by the
lovely Princess Alicia, he had decided to quest for the beast's death.
Now the freckled knight, who weighed no more than forty kilograms with
armor on, was approaching either history or death. Most likely his own
death.
High Priest Towermere rode behind the brave, but foolish, knight. His
white and gold robes regally set off his gray hair and blue eyes. The
priest had seen the likes of this knight before: in love with the
princess and seeking to earn her favor, only to be killed rather
spectacularly. The only reason he accompanied the young fool, was in the
off chance the boy got lucky and succeeded in defeating the beast, since
the poor lad would need to be healed even if the dragon was killed. He
would do more, but the Knights of Edo were not allowed any direct aid
during a quest, after the quest was a different matter entirely.
The pair stopped. Their target lay before them and they were struck with
awe. The huge black wyrm stretched for over a hundred meters along the
ground. The sheer amount of blood coating the landscape attested to the
beast's great size.
Erwin took off his glasses, cleaned them, and put them back on. "It's
dead?!" The knight then breathed a sigh of relief. He had been a
complete idiot when he proclaimed his quest, and it was over before he
even had to raise a finger.
Towermere eyed the long gash on the dragon's neck and nodded. "It has
gone to greet Ceiphied."
Erwin watched as the High Priest dismounted and then walked to the
dragon and touched it.
"Death vision." Towermere saw an armored man slay the dragon with a
sword and then talk to a girl who pointed towards their city. "It
appears we missed the dragon slayer as we approached. He is near Edo. We
have much to prepare for that fighter."
"Prepare for THAT fighter?" Erwin shrieked. "You don't mean he's going
to...."
Towermere mounted his horse. "Of course. That quest was not assigned to
you, but to any who heed Ceiphied's great call. He shall be the one to
get all the rewards promised." The priest set his horse at full gallop.
"But, High Priest Towermere, wait!" Sir Erwin charged after him.
-------------------*
Food, glorious food. The only thing better than food, was having a lot
more food. Too bad Ashford was a good two weeks travel away. They
could've sold him the dragon to make dragon cuisine since she had used
very little magic in slaying it and this time she might've been able to
be there when it would have been done being cooked, six months later.
That minor detail hardly got into Lina's way as she decimated another
plate of triple servings of ribs.
Towermere smiled as he approached the pair eating the poor inn out of
its inventory. He had found the man who had slain the dragon.
"Greetings, I'm High Priest Towermere."
Lina eyed the man. She had heard a couple things about him. Enough to
know that he was not the kind of person one should underestimate. There
was one story she had heard about the priest where he had single handily
stopped a bandit gang, led by a rather high level sorcerer, that had
tried to rob Towermere's cathedral blind. He might be able to last five
minutes against her when she was at full power. "Lina Inverse, what is
it that you want?"
Towermere straightened. Inverse was a name to not take lightly. Between
the Ceiphied Knight, Luna, and her younger sister, the goddess of
destruction-- it was best to be polite and not upset either of them.
"Um, well, yes. I have come to talk to your companion."
"Huh?" the pair replied.
"What is your name, Sir Knight?"
"It's Gourry Gabriev, and I'm not a knight."
"You're not?" Towermere looked confused.
"Nope, just a swordsman."
"A remarkable one, considering what you did to Grimhill."
"Grimhill?" Gourry asked.
Towermere raised an eyebrow. Apparently Gabriev was not a local. "The
dragon you slew just outside of the city."
"Oh." Gourry shrugged.
Lina leaned over to the priest. "Now, Towermere, can you tell me if
there is a reward for killing that dragon?"
Towermere nodded. "Of course. The reward is the greatest treasure in all
the land. By the way, Lina, what is Sir Gabriev to you?"
"He's just my protector." Lina turned away to hide her blush.
Towermere raised an eyebrow. "From your reputation, I didn't think you
needed a protector."
Lina glared at him. "I don't."
"I see." Towermere turned to Gourry. "Now, Sir Gabriev, come with me so
you can gain your reward."
The swordsman stood up. "Just call me Gourry."
"I'm coming, too."
Towermere shook his head. "Where I am to take Sir Gourry is only for the
slayer of the dragon, Grimhill."
Lina looked at Towermere skeptically.
Towermere made a prayer for the people of Edo. "Do not worry, he is to
receive what Ceiphied has promised."
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Gourry patted her on the head.
"Besides, its not like you can do much since it's that time I'm suppose
to shut up about."
Gourry suddenly, and painfully, found himself outside of the inn.
Towermere raised an eyebrow, but wisely kept his mouth shut as he
followed Gourry under his own power.
Lina glowered. "Waitress! I want everything on the even numbered pages!"
She couldn't shake the feeling that Towermere, as goody-little-two-shoes
his reputation was, would be causing her no end of grief in the near
future.
-------------------*
Edo was a small city or a large town depending on who you asked. Besides
Flare Cathedral of Ceiphied and the Castle Edo, there wasn't much
remarkable about the town. While the castle sat over the town, to
protect it, the cathedral stuck up in the middle of it like a sore
thumb.
Gourry was confused that this priest wasn't taking him to the cathedral,
but to the castle. If he was going to receive Ceiphied's reward,
wouldn't that be at the cathedral? He shrugged, and decided not to think
about it. It didn't matter that the reward was at the castle.
It was not long before Towermere had led Gourry to the main room of
castle. He bowed to the blond haired girl with green eyes who sat on the
throne. "Greetings, Princess Alicia of Edo, I have come with the man who
has slain the dragon Grimhill." The priest waved Gourry forward.
Gourry approached the throne, while scratching his head. He snapped his
fingers, thinking that the princess had his reward.
"May I present to you the dragon slayer, Gourry Gabriev."
Gourry turned and looked at the priest. "I'm not really a dragon slayer.
I've only helped to kill a couple of them. Xellos is a dragon slayer.
He's killed hundreds."
Towermere's eyebrow quirked. Not sure what to make of Gourry's
statement, and trying to remember where he had heard that name before.
"High Priest Towermere, he is not the knight who quested to defeat
Grimhill," Princess Alicia's voice sang through the air.
"Your majesty, the quest to defeat Grimhill was issued by the will of
Ceiphied. Anyone who heeded the call to destroy the beast had the chance
to gain the promised reward."
"But Towermere what the divine message stated was for the QUESTED
fighter."
"If one heeds the call of Ceiphied, he would be a quested fighter."
"But I do not think...." Princess Alicia flustered.
"Could someone tell me what's going on?" Gourry asked.
Towermere patted Gourry on the back. "Nothing to worry about, Sir
Gourry. The princess was just a little confused about Ceiphied's divine
message. You shall receive your reward."
"What exactly is the reward?"
"Why it's to marry the princess, of course." Towermere smiled.
"Congratulations. Edo will prosper with Ceiphied's blessing of the new
prince."
"WHAT?! Marry the princess?!" Gourry looked at the princess, whose head
was bowed and seemed unwilling to look up. "I can't marry her. I've got
to protect Lina."
"Now, now, boy, Lina doesn't need you to protect her."
"I have to stay with Lina!"
Towermere sighed. He had seen this before in many people who were about
to marry, especially the guys who were forced at sword point to marry
their pregnant girlfriends. It was just a matter of cold feet.
Unfortunately cures to this varied from person to person. "Do not worry,
Ceiphied has already blessed this marriage. And isn't the princess the
most beautiful girl you've ever seen?"
"Please don't distract me. I need to get back to Lina."
Towermere sighed as Gourry strode past him. "Sleep."
Gourry looked at the ground and briefly wondered why it looked like such
a nice place to take a nap.
-------------------*
"I knew it. I knew it. I knew it," Lina grumbled under her breath. She
had woken up at the inn and soon discovered Gourry hadn't gone back to
his room. The morning gossip answered why. It seemed that Towermere
decided to have Gourry marry the local princess tomorrow afternoon.
Lina pulled up her gloves. She really wished the timing could've gone
better for her. Why couldn't this have happened in a few days when she
had all her powers back? She doubted Towermere would fall victim to a
lighting spell or even flare arrow. However, beating the old geezer up
so he couldn't conduct the ceremony, sounded really good.
"Pssst."
Lina stopped and looked around. She saw a hooded figure standing at the
edge of an alley waving at her.
Lina glared at the cathedral and then moved toward him.
The figure led her into the alley. "Are you Lina? The girl Gourry wants
to see?"
Lina considered her options. She doubted this guy was a sorcerer, and if
this was a trap, she should be able to deal with it. But it was best to
play it safe. "Who wants to know?"
The man took off his hood to reveal a freckled face. "I'm Sir Erwin. The
princess has sent me to get your help to alter a few of the wedding
arrangements."
Lina raised an eyebrow. "Alter in what way?"
"To prevent her from having to marry Gourry."
"I'm all ears."
"Really?" Sir Erwin stared at her body as he pictured her with ears
lining her skin.
Lina elbowed the top of his head. "Are all fighters stupid?"
-------------------*
"Greetings, Princess Alicia." Towermere bowed.
"Greet... A CHOU!! Ah, greetings High Priest Towermere." Sir Erwin
quickly handed Alicia a handkerchief. "Seems I've caught a cold. It
should not interfere in the ceremony." Her voice sounded rather
congested.
Towermere raised his hand to her forehead and then nodded. "As great as
magic has become, no mage has yet to cure the common cold. I'll make
things simpler to not make your cold worse."
"Thank... aaahh CHOOU!!! Thank you."
-------------------*
Gourry was nervous. He had gotten Lina's message to go along with
everything and that he had better realize what her plan was when the
time came. He figured out most of it when he recognized her, but he
wondered if Lina had thought it out. Now, was she expecting him to do
something or was he supposed to wait for her sign? She hadn't been doing
anything but sneezing, was that the signal? Well, if he screwed it up it
was too late now.
"You may kiss the bride!" Towermere called out joyfully and everyone in
the cathedral cheered.
Gourry's hand shook as he lifted the veil of his new bride and kissed
her. The bride stiffened as their lips contacted.
Towermere also stiffened as he noticed something. "You're not the
princess!"
"Costume party is over!" Lina threw the veil into Towermere's face.
"Ah chou!" Towermere grabbed the veil and tossed it away. "You've
disrupted the royal wedding. Knights of Edo, arrest her! Ah CHOU!!"
Lina smirked. With the Demon's Blood, she was still a sorceress to be
reckoned with. "Lord of Darkness and the Four Worlds..."
Gourry moved a few steps towards the knights. "I wouldn't do that if I
were you. Don't you know who she is?
"I call upon you...."
Gourry pointed at the bride. "She's the genius sorceress, Lina Gabriev!"
Lina fell and kissed the carpeted floor. "Why did you call me that?!"
Gourry blinked. "What? I thought you liked being called 'genius
sorceress.'"
"The 'Gabriev' part!"
"Huh? We just got married so you're now a Gabriev, right?"
Lina fell to the floor again. "Um... uh... we're... going to have to
talk about that." She turned towards the approaching knights. "Let's try
that again. Lord of the Darkness and the Four Worlds, I call upon you,
grant me all the power that you possess! Diem Wind!"
The knights were flung back by powerful winds and the main doors blew
open.
Gourry stood there dumbly. He thought the wind would've blown out the
entire wall since she used the boost gems. "Oh, right. It's still that
time of the month."
Lina was about to grab Gourry's arm and run out, but somehow it became a
headlock while she dragged him away at full speed.
The guests were stupefied by what just happened.
The knights were upset at being humiliated like that.
Towermere scowled. "This will not do." He did not care who Lina was, she
had interfered with Ceiphied's will and he would correct that. "Ah
chou!" He would have to talk to the princess about her 'cold' as well.
-------------------*
After Gourry made a slight alteration to the wedding train on Lina's
dress, they quickly made it out the city and found Sir Erwin waiting for
them with a couple men on horseback, and a few horses without riders.
Erwin smiled seeing them approach. "I see things worked out as planned."
"You could say that." Lina eyed the riderless horses.
"You can use that horse to make your escape." Erwin pointed at a horse,
which had Gourry and her stuff strapped to it.
"Just one?" The horse didn't look too bad, but she'd have to share it
with Gourry.
Erwin nodded. "It'll help cover your tracks. They'll go in separate
directions to lead the rest of the knights away from you."
Gourry looked back towards Edo, seeing no one behind them. "Why all this
fuss to cover our tracks? We've gotten out of trouble before without
needing to do this."
"Towermere is rather strict in his view of Ceiphied. He can and will be
sending all available knights after you."
Lina raised a questioning look. "What about you guys?"
Erwin pointed at the scroll pouch on one of the riders. "They'll be
acting as messengers for the princess. That you used their tracks to
cover your escape is not their fault. As for me, my duty is to guard the
princess."
"Very clever." Lina smirked. "The princess came up with this plan,
didn't she?"
Erwin sagged. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess, 'Ears.'" Lina walked over to the horse and mounted it.
"Come on, Gourry."
"Yes, dear." Gourry hopped on the horse behind Lina.
"Where are you two going?" Erwin asked.
Lina shrugged. "Not sure. Guess we'll go towards Sailoon just in case."
"Wouldn't Sailoon help Towermere?"
Lina grinned. "I'm pretty sure they would help us."
"With us acting as decoys, you shouldn't have too many problems with the
knights. Towermere, however, will still be able to track you with his
magic."
"I know." Lina kicked her horse into motion, keeping it at a fast
walking pace. "See ya!"
The men watched them go and then departed, leaving in different
directions.
A good distance away Gourry noticed something. "Lina, you stopped
sneezing."
"Of course I did. The veil had sneezing powder in it to make it look
like I had a cold."
"Why's that?"
"To disguise my voice. Since the princess also used some sneezing powder
this morning when she talked with Towermere, we were able to fool him."
"Um, how did you fool him?"
Lina's grip on the reins tightened. "We both made ourselves sound
congested so that during the ceremony Towermere would think I was the
princess, who he thinks has a cold. If we hadn't, he would've been able
to figure it out as soon as I spoke."
Gourry scratched his head. "I thought he would've noticed your boost
gems and that you're not as developed as she is."
Lina's eye twitched and Gourry found himself flying ahead of the horse.
-------------------*
Author's notes:
Forty kilograms is roughly equal to eighty-eight pounds, which plate
armor tends to weigh from fifty to seventy pounds-- if not more. Erwin
is not brawny by any stretch of the imagination.
Finally finished a chapter for Slayers. Not the big fict I've been
working on, but something that looks to be about ten to twelve parts. I
want to say five or six, but something tells me it's going to be bigger
than that so I've inflated the number. Any desire to make this a series
will be consumed by the larger Slayers fict and I do have an end for
Reward plotted out. The title will make more sense at the end of the
fict.
And to answer the questions:
Did Lina think the princess's plan through? Of course she didn't.
Isn't Lina the Dragon Spooker? Why didn't the dragon avoid her?
The dragon was either a) stupid, b) brave, c) unobservant, d) it's
Lina's time of the month so she isn't a walking magic factory, e) plot
point, or f) any or all of the above that you would find believable.
After all, dragons have attacked Lina after getting that title and the
entire point was to hit on the cliche of kill the dragon and marry the
princess.
Isn't Towermere over his head? He's at the bottom of an ocean.
Yes, he is outclassed and outgunned. But he is just one of the many
problems that Lina will have to deal with.
Are Lina and Gourry really married?
That is a sec*WHAM!* Um, you'll find out in the next chapter.
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