The characters herein belong mostly to Rumiko
Takahashi-sama and Viz.  I do not own them.  This is a
work of fan fiction for fun and may be archived freely.

I would like to thank Matthew Campbell and Freemage
without whose pre-reading efforts, this fan fiction effort
would have fallen flat on its face.  I'd also like to
thank those who have commented.  It has really been useful
to me.

Comments are always appreciated.  You can always get
previous chapters by emailing me.  Or by going to
http://idt.net/~phongb9/

Notes:  
	"" is for verbal speech,
	'' is for internal thought,
	<> is used for general telepathic thought,
	:::: is used for master to familiar thought

What has happened before:  Several of the main characters
from the cast of Ranma have been drawn to a world
populated by magic and magical beings.  Now, Ranma (known
as Raeni) must gather his friends (and enemies) to do
battle with an unknown foe.  Transformed into toddlers,
and with their memories gone, they were raised as natives
for ten years.

Last time:  Raeni carried the wounded orc back to his
people where she discovered that he was the long-lost
chieftain of the tribe.  The golem had been draining him
slowly, but he still lived.  Meanwhile, Azure was frantic
back at base camp from his loss of contact with her.  He
was further disturbed as a restless spirit came a
visiting.

Sword and Sorcery
Chapter 19

by D.Fire
phongb9@idt.net

	Raeni felt restless waiting in the underground
chamber.  The orc chieftain, Balek, needed some time to
recover from his months-long ordeal.  He had been awake
only a brief time before succumbing to a restorative coma.

	He had much fortitude, the mage granted.  Not many
beings could be drained over such an extended period of
time and still live and possibly recover.  Sighing in
frustration at her inactivity, she pulled out the piece of
black obsidian she had held in her pouch.  Because she was
trapped between dimensions, or so it seemed, her pouch was
just a normal pouch, not that it had ever *not* been a
normal pouch.  Since she couldn't use it as the prop it
was meant to be, it might as well hold something for real.

	Scrutinizing the chip, she could not draw any more
conclusions beyond the basic ones she had figured out the
first time she had closely examined the thing.  To the
naked eye, it didn't look like much, an irregularly-shaped
piece of obsidian spanning the width of her finger. 
Cursing herself inwardly, she wished that she had the
foresight to bring along a sample of the amber focus which
had driven the golems.  Not intact of course.  That would
be foolish, but she felt that even a broken fragment could
yield more information.

	The only reason she waited at all for the orc
chieftain to wake was that, well, Balek had been inside
one of these things.  He had felt and possibly seen or
heard things that would give her a clue how to get them
all out of here.  She decided to wait only a candlemark
more before she would go do some scouting of her own, if
she could slip out of the cave undetected.

	'That shouldn't be too hard,' she mused.  Mostly,
attention in the small cavern was still focused on the
center of room, where the leaders of the tribe lay.  The
adults had looks of reverence upon their faces while the
children gazed inward, curiously wondering what had
changed things.

	The only orc that wasn't looking toward the middle
was Nanobi, Gihari and Balek's daughter.  To Raeni's
discomfort, this orc's gaze was directed right at her. 
'That might be a problem,' she considered.  The expression
bordered on the verge of hero-worship, and although no one
had ever directed a look of that nature toward her, as
Raeni, it was still very uncomfortable to bear.  Ruefully,
she thought, 'I dunno.  Maybe being seen as a monster
would be *slightly* better.'

	'It would be better if none of this had ever
happened,' Raeni decided.  A part of her still worried for
Uerris, or more precisely, for Ukyou.  It had been over
ten years since she had seen her friend.  She didn't want
to lose that friend so quickly.  'I've spent several
candlemarks in here while who knows what was happening out
*there*.'  Only the fact that Uerris had seemed
well-trained by her father comforted Raeni at all.

	There was also the problem with her friend's missing
memory.  It was obvious that Uerris remembered very little
of her previous life.  It had hurt to see the mistrust on
the young ranger's face.  'Although... it was partially my
fault, I guess,' she allowed.  'We just didn't start off
on the right foot at all.'

	A small voice in the back of her mind said, 'You
just miss the look of adoration Ukyou gave you as Ranma,
when she was your cute fiancee.'  *That* thought was
quickly squelched.  'No,' Raeni decided, 'I don't want
that to happen again.'  The last thing anyone needed at
this point was that matter to rear its ugly head.  Too
many people had been hurt.  Only more hurt would come of
it.  So far as she was concerned, since they were in a new
world, new rules applied.

	Sighing, she wondered, 'Should I even try to return
her memory?'  It would undoubtedly murk the waters and
complicate things unnecessarily.  'She seems to have a
real family here.  Here, Ucchan is not a disowned,
emotionally battered okonomiyaki chef whose life was
destroyed by a misbegotten idiot of a man.'  That was no
way to think of her real father, Raeni knew, but passing
time had only solidified her opinion of him.  As an
objective observer to her previous life, she had to admit
she had to have made a major mistake somewhere in another
previous life to deserve a father like Genma.

	Although it would give back Uerris her fighting edge
with the training she had received in the other world,
that seemed a small recompense for the emotional hardship
it would entail.  'I can retrain her if necessary.'  It
might not even be needed from what little she had seen of
the young ranger's skills.  Even if Uerris hadn't
remembered Ukyou, some of that conditioning had come
through, carried over to this world just as had Ranma's
for Raeni.  

	The magic retraining would be a problem.  Although
Raeni had boasted she could do it, with herself at least,
she knew that she hadn't the first clue how to proceed. 
She had never trained any one per se.  True, she had
watched others being trained, but still, Raeni had no
firsthand experience.  And it being in Earth magic as
well.  She just hoped that something would present itself.

	Uerris didn't have an attachment to Raeni, and that
would be a problem.  With no motivation and no attachment,
it would be hard to get Uerris to trust her.  'I'll be her
friend, then,' she finally decided.  'We're both girls, or
so far as Uerris knows.  We'll just be friends.' 
Inwardly, she cringed at how cold-hearted and calculating
that had sounded.

	A slight tug on her shirt jerked Raeni out of her
thoughts.  Looking down, she saw it was Nanobi who had
broken her concentration.  The young orcwan still looked
at her with adoration, and upon meeting Raeni's eyes,
abashedly shifted her gaze down.  A slight movement of
Nanobi's head caused Raeni to look toward where the girl
indicated.

	Aarun, from his position near the orc leaders, was
calling her to come over.  Smiling at Nanobi, she thanked
the young girl and made her way toward the middle of the
room.  The impatience on the ranger's face indicated that
he had been calling her for some time.  She had been so
locked in her own thoughts that she had missed the first
few times he had called out.

	A pathway opened up before her amidst the gathered
orcs.  As she approached, all of the others made way for
her, reverence evident in their demeanor.  At first, she
thought that they were still revering Balek and his mate,
but she soon realized it was *her*.  It was a distinctly
uncomfortable situation.

	Finally reaching the middle of room, the mage
discovered why Aarun had called her over.  Balek was
awake!  The pale orc still didn't look well, but that was
to be expected.  She had a feeling that it would be some
time before he would look even partially recovered.  At
least he didn't look worse, but she suspected that only
death looked worse.  His breath still rattled, but he
breathed in a normal rhythm, unlike the stuttered breaths
he had taken when she had carried him down the tunnel.

	More, the orc's eyes now held some coherence. 
Hopefully, he would be able to provide some clue to their
puzzling situation.  He seemed ready to talk.

	Bowing her head a little in respect, she waited for
him to speak.  It still seemed odd giving respect to an
orc, but technically, he was her elder.  His prematurely
aged appearance only enhanced the difference between them.
With someone worthy of her respect, Master Hariule, in
her life, she now valued the experience of those older
than she.  Of course they still had to earn it.  In her
book, surviving in such a bleak condition for who knows
how long counted for something.

	Balek gazed thoughtfully at the young girl before
saying, "I hear... that I have... you to thank... for my
rescue.  For that... I am indebted to you."  The words
were perfectly formed and each syllable was enunciated
carefully.  His speech was broken by short pauses, as if
he was gathering enough energy to continue speaking.

	A long moment passed as he gasped for air and then he
pushed on.  "I have... some vital... information to...
pass on.  The demon's... weakness."  He paused to let this
statement sink in (and to regain some breath).  The
reactions from the gathered council varied.  Raeni was
unsurprised by his declaration; it was what she had
expected.  Aarun remained silent, but hope blossomed on
his face, tempered by a look of longing.  He really missed
his family.

	Gihari also wore a hopeful expression, but there was
worry evident, too.  Although she knew her mate had to
speak, she was truly fearful that he was pushing too hard.
Laying a comforting hand on his shoulder, she tried to
give him strength through physical contact.

	"The... key is... Daved."

	Frowning slightly, Raeni tried to puzzle out the
meaning.  It didn't make sense.  Wasn't the demon Daved? 
Looking at the orc, she said gently, "Uh, Daved *is* the
demon, remember?"

	A subtle nod was the answer.  Continuing, he said,
"Daved... is its host... body."  Balek closed his eyes as
though in great pain.  When he opened them, he stated,
"But Daved... is not... dead."

	The orc's recuperated strength was visibly fading
fast.  Nonetheless, he pushed onward, "In the... crevasse.
Daved... is trapped there.  Encased, like... I was.  But
not... in a golem.  In... a mound."

	Looking queryingly at Aarun, she asked, "Crevasse? 
Do you know what he's talking about?"  To her relief, the
ranger silently nodded a 'yes'.

	"Beyond that... I do not... know how... Daved is...
the key.  I only... know that... the demon fears... him." 
Once more his eyes closed, but they did not open again.  

	Alarmed, Gihari moved her hand to his chest.  To the
relief of all there, she said, "It is al-right.  My mate
just sleeps."  Carefully, she shifted out from under him,
gently laying his head back on a pillow.  She tucked him
in as though he were a child and moved a short distance
away, motioning for the others to follow, which they did.

	"My husband rests.  I don't think he knows any more. 
If he did, then he would have strug-gled to tell us." 
Turning to Aarun, she asked, "You know of where he
speaks?"

	The ranger said, "Yes.  I have passed the ravine but
have never been inside.  There are always numerous golems
guarding it."  Then he added, "I figured that it was
important, but there was no way to enter without being
caught.  In such a small space, there's no room to dodge
their attacks.  I was going to show it to Raeni after she
battled the creatures."

	Both turned to the mage, waiting for her reaction.  A
moment passed as Raeni contemplated their next move. 
Finally, she spoke.  "That's our target, then.  I'll need
you to guide me there, and I think I can take care of
monsters, or at least disable them long enough for us to
find this Daved."  Her expression grew grim as she
continued, "Then we'll see."  She didn't look forward to
killing, but still... if it was necessary.

	***

	For once, the tables had turned.  The assassin-drow
a.k.a. demon sweated as each successive blow came closer
and closer to taking off his head.  In one hand, he
wielded a shortsword, drawn from a scabbard underneath his
cloak.  The other... well, the other would have normally
held a dagger, resulting in a deadly combination for his
prey.  The arm that supported that hand was no longer
attached to his body, although he was in the middle of
doing something about that...

	His prey had reversed the game; hunted had become
hunter.  He barely dodged a spatula swing, it's bladed
edge whistling a mere hair's breadth from his skin.  He
couldn't dodge the next one.  This time, the flat side of
the unorthodox weapon slammed into his face full-on.

	Stumbling backwards, he tried to regain control of
this fight.  Spitting out some dislodged teeth, he wiped
blood out of his eyes.  His prey would be his, yet!

	Narrowing his eyes, he glared at his opponent.  The
young girl, whom he had taken to be an easy target, no
longer looked as she had earlier.  A sheen of sweat showed
on her face as she coldly calculated her next strike.  It
was manner more suited to a warrior twenty years her
senior.  

	The assassin knew that he had erred grievously.  He
should have taken this girl out when he had the chance,
instead of toying with her.  He hadn't thought that this
prey had even had enough spirit to even put up a decent
fight, unlike the previous girl.  The red-head had been a
definite danger.  Even from his short exchange with the
girl known as Raeni, he could tell she contained a
dangerous, unplumbed depth.

	It was lucky that that girl had fallen for such an
obvious trap, obvious to him anyway.  When he had seen
that she had a propensity for closing in with the enemy
and using body blows to attack, similar to the various
monk sects scattered throughout the land, he had known
what he should do.  Normally, drawing someone into his
self-space, as he called it, should only be done when his
prey was helpless, because it left him vulnerable for a
time.  Still, he took the risk and it had worked.

	At that point, he had thought his job was pretty much
completed.  He could handle that flame-haired valkyrie at
leisure, so he had thought to have a little fun with her
friend.  Showing some of what he considered to be parlor
tricks had quickly driven the ranger-girl into a state of
fear.  Savoring that fear had driven him into a nearly
feral state, making him only want to prolong her agony.

	Somewhere along that line, things had changed.  Now,
she was stalking toward him with a giant spatula clutched
in both her hands.  It was not even her demeanor that
worried him.  He had faced confident and dangerous
opponents before.  No, it was the subtle green glow that
surrounded her that caused him fear.  It was unlike
anything in his experience.

	The glow had been stronger when the girl had...
summoned her weapons, but it had quickly dimmed after
that.  The demon had thought it gone, but after the first
counter strike by his opponent, he knew for a certainty
that it hadn't left.  It had burned.

	As her weapon had bit into his flesh, something else
ate into his spirit.  It hadn't only damaged Daved's body,
but the blow had damaged *him*, the one in control.  Only
then had he noticed the dim glow surrounding her weapon
and, to a lesser extent, her.

	As they exchanged blows, him mostly parrying with one
hand, even the near misses caused him grief.  Though they
didn't cause physical damage, they still nicked his
spirit.  Being mostly a being of spirit, he knew he was in
trouble.

	But still... she couldn't keep this up forever.  The
young ranger's strong blows had to cost her energy.  And
it seemed that she was almost reluctant to land a killing
blow, but why... 

	***

	A fierce sense of elation coursed through Uerris'
veins.  She was winning!  Her opponent, once fearsome and
seemingly unbeatable, now retreated before her.  When it
seemed she had lost all hope, something, some god or
goddess, had blessed her, giving her a chance at life.  

	What gave her that chance surprised her.  Although
she had seen them before, her mother's hidden treasures,
she had no idea that they were weapons.  She had always
thought them esoteric pieces of her mother's past.  Uerris
silently thanked her mother for her good fortune.

	The evil assassin had been on the defensive ever
since then, and she had come close to doing even more
serious damage more times than she could count.  His
parrying sword had only barely managed to stave off those
crippling blows, and Daved had not made any attempt to
attack since then.

	She didn't know why it seemed that he had some kind
of infernal luck.  Uerris didn't believe anger clouded her
judgment, but her strikes only seemed to drive him back,
never doing any lasting harm.  Was she holding back?

	She should have been able to take out a one-armed
man, regardless if that man was an experienced assassin or
otherwise.  But how, then, had he avoided destruction?  It
made little sense.

	The killer smiled at her as he watched the internal
struggle show on her face and asked almost casually, "You
can't kill me, can you?"  His mocking eyes and laughing
mouth brought red to her eyes.

	While he laughed, she brained him.  The solid blow
rocked him back on his heels, but he didn't lose
consciousness.  Still somewhat smiling, he leered at her.

	"You can't kill me until you recover your friend." 
The fiend's dead-on remark stopped her in shock. 
Teasingly, he lay his neck bare, pointing to it.  "Go
ahead then.  Kill me if you can."  When she made no move
to strike, his laughter echoed once more through the
clearing.

	He was right.  Even if there was the off chance to
rescue Raeni or even her father, she would take it.  That
meant she couldn't kill him.  She stood there indecisive
as her tormentor giggled out his amusement.  And then it
came to her.  She could force him to release Raeni. 
Although she couldn't kill him, she could *hurt* him.

	Uerris moved to the attack, striking in quick
succession several body blows, some parried by him but
mostly connecting.  She landed another blow to his head,
dazing him somewhat.  Seeing an opportunity she rushed
forward holding her spatula in front of her like a staff.

	She had him pinned up against a tree, her spatula
holding him well in place.  His defending shortsword was
trapped between her own weapon and his body.  "Release my
friend!" she demanded.  The only answer she received was
sneer.

	The cowl of his hood was suddenly thrown back,
exposing his face.  She had expected to see a drawn,
tired, and beaten face once hidden from view, but on all
three accounts, she erred.  He didn't look very defeated
at all.

	His agate eyes blazed with an unholy light.  In fact,
if she didn't know any better... uh-oh.

	She pushed backwards, but it was too late.  From
underneath the black cloak, something struck out her.  For
one moment, she was blinded with pain as something sharp
raked across her chest.  The blow had enough force to send
her flying back, knocking the wind out of her as she
landed badly.

	Rolling to a stop several paces away, she desperately
tried to clear her eyes.  When her sight returned, she
looked down in horror.  Across her front, three parallel
slashes showed.  It had cut through her light armor with
ease and blood slowly welled in her wounds.  The pain was
still incredible, but not so much as to totally
incapacitate her.

	Turning, she caught sight of the assassin.  He still
hadn't moved from where she had him pinned before.

	"You lose, little girl."  At the elf's side, now in
full view was an oversized arm replacing the one she had
severed from him earlier.  The arm itself was a mockery of
what it had been, looking to belong more to a beast than
anything that walked on two legs.  It bulged with muscles
and hung much lower than the assassin's normal arm.  The
appendage ended with four fingers, rather than the normal
five, each tipped with a deadly and, as she had learned to
her woe, sharp claw.  The first claw was shorter than the
rest, being more of an opposable thumb than anything else.
The new-grown arm was of the darkest black.

	Standing up too quickly, Uerris nearly fainted.  Her
eyesight blurred as she fumbled her way to her combat
spatula, which had been thrown a slight distance from her.
She was distracted by her opponent's low chuckling.

	"I told you, girl.  You've already lost."  Delicately
savoring the tips of his claws, he said, "Hmm.  That
tastes so good."  He then sucked each and every talon
clean of her blood, licking his lips after finishing each.
"I'm betting you are feeling just a bit woozy right now,
right?"

	Although she was loathe to admit it, he was right. 
Her legs were feeling wobbly beneath her and her vision
was wavering, getting only worse as time passed.  Using
her weapon as a crutch, she tried hobbling away, desperate
to somehow escape this fiend.  She only made it as far as
the next tree before she collapsed.

	Having no choice at this point, she used the tree for
support, sitting with her back to its trunk so that she
sat up at the very least.

	Her sight phased in and out, one moment clear and the
next blurred beyond belief.  'Oh no!  I'm hallucinating!' 
The thought pounded maddeningly in her head.  Every time
her sight cleared, the scene she beheld made no sense. 
The assassin now lay on the ground writhing and a black
substance oozed out of his mouth.

	The next time her vision worked, their were now two
bodies lying in the clearing.  One was the killer's body,
still armless.  The other one was some black creature, a
deformed dog, by the looks of it, and it was huge.  Even
as she watched, it grew larger.

	She weakly clawed at the bandolier around her chest,
managing to grasp one of her throwing spatulas.  Uerris
brought her arm back for a throw, but as it reached its
farthest extent, her nerveless fingers opened, allowing
the blade to tumble to the ground.  As she lost
consciousness, she felt a cool wetness on her cheek.  Her
final, ironic thought was, 'I weep for myself and for you.
Ranchan, I'm sorry...'  Her regret at not being able to
help her friend hurt almost as much as the wound.  And she
knew no more.

	***

	Raeni and Aarun were making there way up to the
surface, when the ranger stopped suddenly.  Raeni nearly
bowled him over as she ran into him from behind, sending
them both sprawling.

	Somewhat pissed, the mage righted herself and snapped
at him, "What the heck are you doin'?  Whydja stop like
that?"

	The ranger remained silent, bearing the brunt of her
tirade, his attention seemingly elsewhere.  Finally, he
spoke.  "I-I don't know, Raeni."  He tried to recall the
involuntary shiver that had raced down his spine just
moments earlier.  Suddenly jumping to his feet, he raced
off in the direction they were heading, yelling back,
"Something bad just happened.  I just know it!  We've got
to hurry!"

	Behind him, Raeni felt a sudden chill.  'Bad?' she
wondered.  A moment later, she paled, thinking, 'Masaka!' 
In a burst of energy, she sped up to the quickly moving
man and passed him.