Unfortunately, despite being a drow ninja and a drow samurai, they were teenage girls. Word got out.
Naturally, being a human martial artist from offplane who had become a mage and Chosen of Mystra in the "Forgotten Realms" and had a number of adventures, Ranma had run into a few odd ducks himself. In fact, he'd adventured with a few of them. He'd made a few rivals, enemies, and other acquaintances of note. It was fairly typical of the genre.
Smalljon adjusted the leather cap shading his eyes so that he could scratch his head. "A tee-chur?"
"Yes, that's what it says right here," said the halfling standing on the roof so she could talk to her hired hand more or less face-to-face. Smalljon not having much of an education, it was hardly surprising he couldn't read.
"Wot is a 'tee-chur'?" asked Smalljon. "Is it like a fah-muh?"
"FaRMER," corrected the halfling. "And a teacher is someone who learns a girl like me to write and do math and figure out which crops'll sell the best come harvest time."
"Ohhhhh," said Smalljon, whose heart was in the right place but wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. "Rahn Mah is pretty smarts."
"That he is, not terribly wise though," said the halfling. "I wonder if there'll be any adventures."
"Smalljon like adventures. Especially like little squeaky things that go crunch," said Smalljon as he reminisced.
"They're called 'goblins' you twit," said the halfling affectionately. "I really doubt there'll be any of those in Ranma's school."
Smalljon scratched his head. "Kili, Rahn Mah make peoples smarts?"
"Close enough," agreed Kili.
"Maybe Smalljon should go see Rahn Mah."
"Now I think having a great whopping giant around is just fine when there's chores to be done, but ye got to admit having one in the house is another thing altogether."
Smalljon eyed the door hanging down about knee level and saw the point.
"So, Ranma Saotome has steady work does he?" Crumpling the letter in one hand, she rubbed her shaved and tattooed head with the other hand. "I shall destroy his happiness!"
"I don't really think he's particularly happy mistress, after all - if he's working he has that whole drudgework angle going."
"What does an imp know about drudgework?" asked the Thayvian sorceress.
"Who do you think does the scutwork in the Nine Hells?" asked the imp.
"Point," agreed the sorceress. "Where is this continuua he's snuck off to?"
"No idea," said the imp. "His home 'verse, most likely. One of the other major threads - one that normally you can't get to from here. Even has a different outer planar system."
"Can't just hop a portal from Sigil then," mused the sorceress. "Find out what you can. If he's locked into a single location, that'll make it easier."
"Ranma Saotome? RANma SAOtome. ranMA saO.... oh YEAH! Medium sized human, black hair, shou subtype, blue eyes, monk/mage kinda guy right?"
"That's him. Says here he's been put in charge of some kind of prison. Or school. Or school prison?"
"Humanoids have such curious and quaint customs. Really - the idea of special buildings to house those who prey upon their fellows."
"Far more civilized to simply eat such aberrations."
"Hey, Adriana! Spell Mail!"
"For me?" Fluttering down, Adriana quickly took the notice. "Ranma? Is an educator? Well, that's far better than I expected of him."
"What's that wingless human have that interests you anyway?"
"We adventured, Rafael. That's all," said Adriana. "You make it sound like we had a torrid love affair."
"You also went adventuring with a dwarf, a halfling, and that half-fire giant half-red dragon that was missing a few levels from his dungeon." Rafael frowned at his sister. "Can't a big brother show an interest in his sister? If you wanted to get interested in ground-bound types, why not at least an affair with one of our elven cousins?"
"Don't be crass," growled Adriana. "Or would you rather I take up with that half-drow swashbuckler?"
Rafael froze, the very idea being sufficiently horrific to his sensibilities that his mind shut down rather than contemplate it.
Adriana looked off in the distance, wondering if she should consider checking up on an old associate after all.
"Spell mail, Thordis."
"Yeah yeah. Lemmee grab a sweatrag. Hmmm? Saotome's a teacher-type in a fighting high school? Hmmm. Nice stonework. Design's got a few... hmmmm."
Ranma frowned at the odd chill but dismissed it after a few moments contemplation.
He'd have to check the auguries later, whereas right now he had to reload his spells and do his allocated research time.
Not to mention he had to log his Continuing Education credits for the year.
Meanwhile:
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(Posted Thu, 03 Jun 2004 09:53)
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