When Cologne's teleport spell transported them all into the hot, windy desert, they all staggered a little under the awful heat. Tofu broke out in a sweat. Endymion, who was used to the cold climate of his kingdom, gasped. Ryoga fanned himself with a brochure he picked up from the table.
Only Cologne seemed to relax visibly under the burning sun. She loved the heat, she felt rejuvenated in it.
Happosai shook a little sand out of his shoes and pointed over to small domes that stuck out of the desert sand. "Over there, those are the two oracles."
They hurried up and walked towards the first of the two buildings, which was a gleaming white. The small building gave off an enjoyable cool breeze.
Inside, there only was one small dark chamber, without any altar or other furniture. The door was the only entrance, and there were no windows.
Suddenly, the darkness drifted away, to the edges of the room. Shining light appeared in the middle of the oracle's chamber and formed a giant, human-shaped figure.
"MORTALS," it said in a booming voice. "STATE YOUR QUESTION AND I CAN HELP YOU."
Cologne coughed. "Thank you. We would like to know what can be done to stop 'Mr. Kuno's pilgrimages'.
The image seemed to flicker a little, then the voice shouted: "MAKE THE FIRST PERSON YOU'LL SEE OUTSIDE THE NEW DARK LORD OF THE TOURS!" The light drifted outwards, towards the edges of the room, until the mighty presence was gone and the room was filled with a bright light.
Happosai saw something on the ground and picked it up. It looked like some white cloth. Panties? He giggled to himself and picked it up. But it was just that, a white piece of cloth... with a message written on it.
"Be careful what you wish for or you may get it," he read out aloud.
"I preach that to my herd quite often," Tofu exclaimed while taking the cloth from Happosai and looking at it. "The oracle is giving us a warning. Should we still consult the Black Oracle?"
"Of course we should," Cologne said and marched outside.
No person could be seen anywhere. "Perhaps it meant the first person we see when we return," Cologne assumed. "Let's visit the other oracle."
While they walked towards the black dome, she quietly asked the young thief: "Why were you so surprised when I asked you to come as well?"
Ryoga laughed. "Well, I just didn't expect it. After all, my guild is not the most popular out there, is it?"
"But shouldn't the tours be fairly lucrative for you thieves?"
Ryoga shook his head. "No, not at all. They scare away our 'customers', so the guild sent me to ask you if we could steal from the tourists instead."
"You don't steal from tourists?" Cologne asked in a surprised voice. Then she snickered. "You know, I believe that's a point Mr. Kuno didn't include in his contract. Feel free to do with them whatever you like."
"Thanks," the young thief smiled.
"One last question," Cologne said before they entered the Black Oracle. "You don't look like your average thief... you're burly and muscular, but most thieves I know are sleek, slender and nimble."
"You know," he scratched the backside of his head in embarrassment. "My specialty is not sneakiness... It's the ability to get away quickly after a successful heist. You know, my family is cursed to get lost pretty easily... so I use that to my advantage. I concentrate on getting the goods, and afterwards, I just get lost somewhere to escape."
Cologne blinked. "How... unusual. Well, whatever it takes, I guess..."
They entered the Black Oracle. It was as cool as the White Oracle, but when they were inside, they all started to freeze.
Once again the darkness shifted around before their eyes. But instead of drifting towards the edges like before, it formed a figure in the middle of the room, while it was surrounded with light.
"MORTALS, STATE YOUR WISH," a raspy voice came from the dark figure.
Cologne wasted no time. "What can we do to stop 'Mr. Kuno's pilgrimages'?"
The being seemed to think about that, then it said in an amused voice: "APPOINT THE SECOND PERSON YOU'LL MEET OUTSIDE TO A TOUR MAGE!"
And while laughing, the darkness drifted away.
Ryoga saw something on the ground. He silently picked it up. It was a small piece of paper with the words: 'Be careful what you wish for or you may get it.' He decided not to tell the others about this.
They left the building. At the same time, they could see two people exiting the dome of the White Oracle. A corpulent man with a bald head and glasses, and a boy with black hair that was tied into a pigtail.
"Ah," Cologne cried out.
"I don't believe it," Happosai shouted.
"Be careful what you wish for," Tofu mumbled with a sigh.
"What's wrong?" Ryoga asked them. "Who are those people?"
"I don't know the boy," Cologne answered. "The man is called Genma Saotome. Years ago, he managed to finish the exam on the university... but just barely. I'm sure Mr. Kuno would accept him as the Dark Lord."
"The boy is his son, Ranma," Happosai explained. "I know them pretty well. Genma was my student, along with his friend Soun, who decided to give up the ways of magic..."
"Does the boy have any magical talent?" Cologne wanted to know.
"A remarkable talent, I'd say," Happosai replied. "Just like his mother..."
"Nodoka, I remember," Cologne nodded. "Well, I guess we have our Dark Lord and a tour mage. Let's tell them of their 'luck'!"
"Couldn't we just pretend we didn't see them and take the next two people we see?" Endymion asked nervously. He knew Genma as well.
"I pretend you didn't say that," Cologne grumbled and walked towards the White Oracle.
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(Posted Thu, 27 Jul 2006 10:40)
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