Ranma unconsciously shifted as he away from Hed's Armory. The old troll had told him that it would be good to get used to wearing it outside of combat so when he was required to fight it in, he'd be used to the weight. With that in mind, he had decided to keep it on. Now, while it was defiantly going to take some getting used to, he was already deciding that it wasn't that bad. It seemed to be very well made, was surprisingly light, and seemed to fit his body perfectly. Suit probably had the same kind of sizing enchantment as his robes.
Silently, he wondered to himself what to do next. He got all the weapons and armor he needed, he had his 'servants', and he had that crazy elf making him an entire wardrobe.
Pausing, he looked over to the three scantly clad girls behind him. Immediately, the three of them stopped walking and paused.
"Do you require something, Master?" Rei asked calmly.
"You girl's don't got any other clothes, do you?"
"No master," Melfina replied, "You bought us and didn’t retrieve our personal belongings."
Ranma winced as if struck. He didn't think about that. Even slaves would have some stuff, even if it was just some clothes or a favorite object, or even some priceless memento from their lives before they became slaves. Ranma's brow furrowed, causing the girls to tense.
"Are you alright master?" Milly asked.
"I'm fine," he replied, "Just thinking that we need to get your stuff."
"He probably threw it out already." Milly stated bitterly.
Ranma's face settled into a outright scowl as she said that. "He better not have," the young Keeper stated, crossing his arms.
"If you are going to retrieve their things," Devistus cut in. "I recommend that you don't go yourself."
"Huh?" Ranma asked, "What ya mean?"
"A Dungeon Keeper going out of his way to retrieve the meager possessions of his love slaves? At the very least, it would be unbecoming."
Ranma nodded. "So, just send an Imp or something?"
The old dragon shrugged his wings. "Its up to you Keeper." Ranma paused for a moment. He didn't exactly have any other minions. Okay, well, he did have Horny... who'd probably just kill he guy instead of sending the message. He had the Mentor... who wouldn't do it even if he could pick stuff up. And finally, he had Devistus himself, who'd just snub his nose at the idea and say it was beneath him. Yah. Looks like a job for an Imp.
He snapped his fingers and one of his big headed midget sized servitors popped into existence. Glancing at the magical creature for a moment, its name and other mundane information mysteriously popped into the Keeper's head. Shrugging his shoulders, he began. "I have something I need you to do."
The small creature shrank back for a moment, then jumped to attention like a little soldier.
The Dungeon Keeper paused for a moment and looked at the Imp. Could they even speak?
"You can talk, right?" Ranma asked.
"Schneapple can talk. Schneapple talk good." The imp stated in a comically high pitched and hyperactive voice.
"Good," the Keeper replied, "I want ya to go to the local slave auction house and tell the guy that I want him ta give you all of Rei, Milly, and Melfina's stuff." Ranma paused and added, "And tell 'em if the girls say its not all there or if anything is broken, I'll take it out of his hide. Got me?"
The Imp nodded. "Master want slave's things. Slave's say things not there or broken.... Master take out of hide. Right, Master?"
"Yeah, that's good."
The imp nodded and bolted off in a blur.
The Keeper smiled to himself and turned around. All three girls were smiling at him brightly. Milly even seemed to be fighting back tears.
"Thank you, Master," she choked.
"Least I could do," he replied. Really, it was. He really did wish he could do more, like cut off those damned collars, but he'd take what he could get.
A moment later, the Imp bolted up to his master, dragging a small chest and stood at attention.
"Schneapple done!"
Ranma smiled and patted the Imp on the head. "Good job." The small creature paused for a moment in confusion, then smiled widely showing its many needle like teeth.
Looking to the girls, Ranma said, "Make sure that’s all your stuff."
They nodded and opened the chest. Inside was a pile of clothes, brushes, and other knickknacks. Almost immediately Milly pulled something out and ran off to the side, smiling like a bandit while Melfina and Rei continued to dig through the chest.
As they looked through, Ranma peered inside. Most of the clothes inside were decent, but rather tiny. They were not quite as nice as the outfits they had no, and nowhere near as nice as the ones he had bought for himself. He didn't quite feel comfortable walking around in silks while they wore less...
As he searched, Rei bent over, at the waist, digging through the box. As she looked, her short dress riding up, showing him basically everything a man could wish for.
Ranma froze on instinct. Yeah. They wore less. A lot less. He'd have to take them to the Tailor to get them something warmer, or at least something a bit more... substantial. Right now he was damned glad that his armor included a cod piece.
"Is something the matter, Master?" Rei asked.
"Nothing, Rei," Ranma stammered slightly as he turned around.
The albino slave paused to look at her master, then she shrugged lightly and went back to get digging.
Having turned around he saw what Milly had taken from the chest: It was a small, well worn doll from the pile which she was holding onto like a life line.
"Can I see it?" Ranma asked softly.
Milly froze, like a deer in headlights. Slowly, and reluctantly she stepped forward to her master and handed him the doll. It was a simple doll, made from homespun and hay with buttons made from shiny black stones for eyes and yarn, made from some animal he couldn't even begin to identify sown in to give it hair, with a big, wide smile embroidered on the smiling face with black thread. Cheap, poor even, but made with great love and care.
Slowly, he looked up to her and his heart sank. The girl was bighting her lip, fidgeting in spot. She looked terrified, as if that doll meant more to her than life itself, and if anything should happen to it, it would kill her.
"Did your mom make you this?" he asked in a pained voice.
"Y-yes... Master," she choked, her eyes never leaving the doll.
Slowly, Ranma placed the doll back into Milly's trembling hand and closed her fingers around it, returning it to her.
"I was also taken from my mother when I was very young."
Milly nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry, Master."
"So am I," Ranma admitted, though he was not sorry about being taken from his mother. He was sorry to being an accessory, no matter how remote, of Milly being taken from hers.
Looking back to the other girls, he asked, "Is everything there?"
Rei stood up, straightening her dress. "Yes master. Everything is accounted for."
Ranma nodded to her and closed his eyes. He was suddenly feeling very weary. The last thing he wanted to do right now was deal with that fruit-cake tailor. He'd take the girls another day.
Still. He sighed. He did have to send someone to pick up the outfits he'd chosen.
Looking down, he saw that Schneapple, have not been dismissed, was still standing at attention with that large grin on his face. With a sigh he said, "Go to the Tailors and pick up the rest of my order. Whatever he asks for, pay it." glancing to Devistus and the girls, he said, "We're going home."
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(Posted Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:47)
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