*Whistle*
Well, we leave for the weekend and come back to a pile of new e-mails. Not
nearly as much as I was assuming, however. Anyway, while we scramble to get
caught back up, here's the next piece of our Rune Soldier fic. Just one
part this time, but we'll get more soon. (He says without mentioning that
we've barely started the next part.)
Also, one of our reviewers pointed out that we should tell when exactly this
story is taking place. So for those of you who have actually seen the
series before, it happens sometime between episodes 13 and 14. Please
enjoy.
-----
Standard Disclaimer: Rune Soldier and all of it's characters and settings
do not in any way belong to either of us young college kids. They are the
sole property of Ryo Mizuno, ADV Films and anyone else who may have, at some
time, recieved the rights to it. They are used without permission.
-----
Dragon-Stiel Inc. Presents-
A True Champion Is...
A Rune Soldier fic in Progress
Part 4--Hero Without A Clue
Louie and the others cautiously approached the demon-infested Magician's
Guild. From their safe vantage point among a group of trees, the group
could clearly make out the swarms of beasts prowling across the school
grounds, as well as hundreds of various winged-creatures that soared high
overhead.
"Man, they weren't kidding," Louie muttered. "The place is packed with
those freaks!"
"Haven't lost your confidence, have you?" Genie asked.
"Hell no! You think I did all that training for nothing?"
"Yes well, let's just hope we see some results from that training, okay?"
"Louie's going to be SO famous!" Melissa said in her starry-eyed state of
half-delirium.
"So, how should we go about doing this, Hero?" Ila asked.
Louie rubbed his chin. "Well, I was thinking that the five of us could
burst through the front gate, and I'd start swinging at anything around us,
while you guys-"
The four death-assuring glares made him pause.
"Uh...but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any," he said with a nervous
chuckle.
"We should have known," Merrill said angrily. "Mister
Punch-First-and-Think-Later doesn't even have a plan."
Genie sighed irritably. "So, what now?"
No one had much of an answer to that.
"Sounds like you could use some help."
Everyone turned as two cloaked figures appeared from behind a nearby tree.
They both removed their hoods to reveal two men, one with short, blonde
hair, and the other with spiked white hair.
"What are you guys doing here?" Merrill asked.
"You know these guys?" Louie asked.
"Sure she does," the blonde man said. "We're old friends of hers from the
Thieves Guild."
"And as for why we're here," the other one added. "It's because we'd like
to help you out."
"Help us out?" Genie asked.
"Oh! You mean you're going to help us fight the demons?" Louie asked
excitedly.
The men shared a look, then simultaneously burst out laughing, causing Louie
and the girls to blink in surprise. They managed to regain control enough
to speak about twelve seconds later.
"Ahh, good one, Mr. Rune Soldier," the white-haired one chuckled as he wiped
a stray tear from his eye. "But seriously, we just thought we'd give you
guys a little info about what's been going on here."
"That's right," the blonde added. "See, we've been scouting out the area
for a little while now, and we've come up with some information that could
be really helpful to anybody stupid enough to attempt a rescue mission for
the people that are still trapped inside."
Ignoring the glares that they were now receiving, the first thief continued.
"And considering all of the tales that we've been hearing about Rune
Soldier Louie and his team of Femme Fatales, we just had a feeling that if
we waited around long enough we'd eventually run into you."
"Ah, that's awesome!" Louie said.
"Yes," Ila nodded. "If you really have information for us, we'll gladly
hear it. We need all the help we can get."
"...Louie has tales?" Melissa asked in awe.
"What's the catch?" Merrill asked them.
The two thieves turned to her in over-exaggerated shock. "Why Merrill, how
could you even suggest such a thing? After all that we've been through
together, hearing an accusation like that hurts us right here," the blonde
stated, gesturing towards his chest in mock pain.
"How much?" she demanded.
The blonde thief sighed. "Well, so much for trust and team spirit. Sorry
Merrill, but if you're gonna be like that, then I'm afraid we can't let this
info go for anything less than thirty percent of whatever reward you
g-AACK!"
"Merrill, calm down!" Louie shouted while trying to pry the female thief's
hands from her victim's neck. "Thirty percent isn't that bad!"
"Especially when taking into account that we might not even receive a
monetary reward for doing this," Ila added.
Merrill grudgingly released her victim. "Tell us what you know and then
we'll decide how much it's worth," she growled at them.
The two thieves glanced at each other and shrugged, already too familiar
with Merrill's negotiation tactics, as well as her stubbornness. "Fair
enough," the blonde said. "Follow us."
The group silently made their way to the edge of the small grouping of trees
around the side of the outer guild walls.
"Okay," the white-haired thief whispered. "From what we've seen, it looks
like the majority of the demons are inside the guild, probably searching out
any remaining students."
"The inside demons appear to be made up mostly of run-of-the-mill goblins
and zombies, but there are also several potentially more dangerous sorts:
chimera, griffons, trolls, sprites...and a dark elf, if we're not mistaken,"
the blonde said.
"Not good," Genie muttered. "Those students don't stand a chance."
"Don't say that!" Ila pleaded. "We just have to hope that they all managed
to reach the secret basement in time."
"What secret basement?" Melissa asked.
"Well, in the main teaching hall of the guild, there's a stairway that only
reveals itself when a certain spell has been chanted. That stairway leads
to an underground room that could easily fit a hundred people inside.
Headmaster Carwess built it years ago in case of a war as a safehouse for
civilians. If they hide there, they should be safe."
"How come I never heard of any secret basement?" Louie asked.
"They told everyone about it on the first day of class, Louie," Ila informed
him. "I believe you were asleep at the time."
"Figures," Genie muttered.
"Yes, it does," Melissa agreed.
"Leave it to Ol' Reliable here," Merrill said, swatting Louie on the head.
"Anyway," the blonde man said, bringing everyone's attention back to him and
his partner. "The inside demons aren't even your biggest problem now.
Before you even start to worry about them, you'll have to figure out a way
inside."
"Currently," the other thief said. "There are dozens of winged demons,
harpies and the like, scouting the grounds. Our own guild training saved us
a few times from being seen by them, but you can bet that if any of you are
seen, you're gonna be busted big time. Every demon in the guild'll be on
you in seconds."
"And then there's the two Iron Golems that are stationed at every entrance
way, to boot."
"Iron golems?" Louie asked.
Genie shivered. "You remember the flesh golem we fought at Banarl's tower?"
Louie nodded.
"Well imagine something like that, only made of metal, and tougher. Much,
much tougher."
Louie imagined it, and gulped. "Not something we could beat with our
swords, huh?"
Genie shook her head. "Nor with your level of magical abilities...or lack
thereof."
Merrill let out a heavy sigh. " So let's be straight about this, shall we?
We're outnumbered over a hundred to one, we have little idea exactly what
we're going to be up against once we get inside, which matters little
because we can't even get inside anyway! Am I the only one here who thinks
this whole thing is insane?!"
"I hate to say it," Melissa said. "But I'm afraid I agree with Merrill.
We're just not up to handling something like this. No matter how famous it
would make Louie if we were to succeed, it won't do us or those students any
good if we all get killed first."
"If we just had some decent plan for getting inside, it could be a different
story," Genie said. "But the way things look now..."
Everyone was silent for a while. Louie stared despondently at the Guild,
thinking of all his classmates that were at the mercy of the demons. What
could he do? Fight his way past the golems? No, even he had to admit that
would be a stupid idea. One flesh golem had been more than he could handle
on his own, but two iron golems? No chance.
As he strained his mind trying to think of an alternative, his eyes were
slowly drawn towards the second story windows of the guild, and something in
his mind began to tick. They weren't...impossibly high. Nothing that him
and the others couldn't handle anyway. The only problem was being able to
reach them without being seen...
The Rune Soldier's eyes widened. He glanced over at his pack, then grinned
and turned back to the others.
"I've got a plan."
End Part 4
--
That's that for this time around. Although we are notorious (or would be if
more people knew us) for procrastination and laziness, we promise to get the
next part out by the end of the week, Wednesday if you're lucky.
And just to be clear, the two nameless male theives aren't OCs. They
actually made a brief appearance in volume 3 of the manga, and it seemed
less of a pain to just use them rather than making people up.
Cheers.
--
Dragon-Stiel Inc.
Ten years behind the times, but writing just to spite you!
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