[Mara]

It didn't take her very long to see the crowd of people shifting towards the town square. She heard the shouts first, telling of a fight, her eyes had been on the long line of fighters. She was eyeing each one, sizing them up, wondering what this man they called bruiser looked like. Standing, she watched while the crowd grew, as men stood around yelling bets at each other, their money clinched in their hands. The men that were waiting to fight were soon dispersing, as they went to see who was fighting whom. It wasn't until someone yelled, "Get em Bruiser," that her attention fell towards the center of the square.

"I had thought that this...Bruiser fellow was going to fight in there," as she pointed towards the ring. A bystander running by heard her, stopping to say, "He should have been, but some guy with two mules started a fight with him. They're taking blow for blow over there right now."

"Who is...winning?"

"So far the young man is winning. But Ol' Bruiser has caught his second wind. That guy doesn't have a chance if Bruiser gets his arms around him. He'll break the mans back for sure."

Mara watched as the man dug into his pants pocket, pulling out a hand full of coins, dropping a few as he ran on. She started to call him back but stopped, bent down and retrieved the downed coins. With them clutched in her hand she started to make her way through the ever growing crowd. Her eyes started to glow red as she was pushed, elbowed and pinched. Before long she was almost glowing hot as the crowd moved away from the intense heat that was coming from her body. Soon she was standing near the men that had been waiting in line to fight the Bruiser.

"I'm next," one man said as he pointed towards Traveler. Thinking that he meant to fight her friend, Mara turned, her eyes still all ablaze, but her body cooled.

"I do not think so," she said in a tone that meant business.

The man turned, his eyes flowing over Mara as he smacked his lips and smiled. "Who's going to stop me sparrow? You?"

"If I must, I will. You've been warned."

Some of the other men started laughing, pointing at Mara and pushing the large man around. "You gonna let a whip of a girl talk to you like that Mike," One man said as he slapped Mikes back. Another man shoved Mike, laughing, "You had better watch her Mike! She looks to wild to tame."

Mara turned away, her arms crossed as she watched the fight between Traveler and the Bruiser. "Traveler," she called out. "This was not the plan we had agreed upon. It was I who should be fighting that...man, not you."

The whole crowd started laughing, some pointing at her, others pointing at Traveler. "We want to see the girl fight, some chanted while others were laying bets on Bruiser.

"Back off girlie," Mike yelled as he pushed through the crowd shoving people down in his wake. "I'm next," as he grabbed her shoulder, spinning her to face him.

Mara had enough! She was tired, hungry and she had heard enough. As she was being spun around, she jumped straight up. As her right foot connected with Mikes chin, she placed her left into his chest. Before the man could stumble back, she pushed off the mans chest, did a complete back flip, kicking his chin again before landing back on the balls of her feet.

Mike didn't know what had hit him. All he felt was something hard hitting him before his eyes rolled up in his head and he went down, taking a half dozen men and women with him.

"As I said before, I will be next in line. Does anyone else care to step up and try to stop me?"

Everyone backed up as they stared at Mara, before bets were called as everyone laughed, pointing at her.

"Let her fight! Let her fight!"

Mara just stood there, her arms crossed, waiting for Traveler to reply to her questioning. But he was busy at the moment, so she waited.

She didn't have long to wait.

[Traveler]

He stood there for a moment thinking whether or not he should play this thing for a bit. He knew his money was riding on this fight. He had to win. Bruiser was obviously the crowd favorite. He was probably a regular at the local fights. That's when several things happened at once. There was a commotion in the crowd behind him and he turned to see what it was. At the same moment Bruiser decided to charge.

He was unaware of bruiser, all he could think of was keeping Mara from roasting half the town. "Mara, Tanya Farnuva!" He watched as she continued he rampage. That's when bruiser hit.

He bum rushed him and caught him in the middle of the back, and they tumbled to the ground. The bruiser had his arms around him and had begun to squeeze.

[Mara]

After Mike went down, her attention fell back on Traveler. Suddenly and without explaining why he said that he loved her. Puzzled by this remark, which didn't answer her first question, she started to say something when Bruiser ran into Traveler, bringing both fighters down in a cloud of dust.

"I don't believe that was fair."

"Honey! This is a no holds bared fight," one man said as he rooted for the Bruiser.

"Meaning..."

"Meaning anything goes! Kicking, biting, head butts, you name it."

Turning back to the fight, she studied Bruiser while he had both arms around Traveler, squeezing the breath out of him. "The man here said anything goes. Perhaps you should use your head, or better yet, your right knee." Suddenly someone grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from the fighters.

"No coaching the fighters! It's between them, not you girlie."

The man wasn't large, but she noticed that under his shirt he was wearing leather armor, to stop the heavier punches and also give him an advantage over Bruiser. Looking from the man to her arm, her eyes grew narrow.

"Release me, or you will end up like that man there," as she pointed towards Mike. "I do not liked to be touched by the likes of you!"

The man smiled as he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her before carrying her away from the crowd. "Me and you are going to have a little fun," as he carried her into a shadowed alley. Mara didn't struggle, until they went deep in between two buildings.

She stepped out a bit later, brushing off the charred remains of the man. He was left in the alleyway, a pile of ashes. But she was swinging one of the brass buckles that held the leather armor together on her finger, spinning it around and around.

"I warned him," as she let the buckle fly...

[Moiran]

The gnome found a nice quiet alleyway and set about testing his newfound powers. Or rather, testing to see if he HAD any newfound powers. This consisted of scrunching his face and wiggling his figures in strange ways while willing some fantastical effect to happen. A yellow tabby watched the proceedings with interest.

After several minutes, Moiran gave up on the finger waggling, thoroughly frustrated. The cat meowed in a tone that sounded remarkably like laughter then set about cleaning its face.

"What, you think I'm doing something wrong?"

The cat licked a paw, gave Moiran a pointed look, then rubbed the paw across its cheek.

"Oh, like you've ever been dead and know any better."

The cat continued its cleaning.

"I didn't think so."

Moiran raised his hands in the classic 'boo' pose to try again. It occurred to him then that perhaps the cat knew more that it was letting on. If the superstition about cats having nine lives was actually based in fact, then maybe this cat had died before - several times even - and could actually teach him something. He stopped his finger movements and faced the cat.

"Uh, Mr. Cat? I'm sorry I was so rude before. I'm just newly dead, see, and I haven't got everything figured out yet. Well, that's not entirely true, I suppose, I'm not newly dead because I was trapped in my wagon for the longest time before that pea-brained elf got it into her head to destroy the thing..."

Moiran trailed off when he saw the cat ignoring him.

"Look, I know I was rude, but that doesn't mean you need to give me the silent treatment."

There was a large flash around the bend of the alley just ahead of them, followed by a blast of something that caused the cat to shriek and bound off back down the alley.

"What the blazes was that?"

Moiran floated around the corner. A figure exited the alley at it's far end too quickly for him to get a good look, but the evidence before him left little doubt as to who it had been. The walls of the neighboring buildings were blackened as was the ground at his feet. A pile of ash similar to the one left by his own body at the time of his unfortunate demise was at the center of the circle of fire damage.

"Mara." The word was clipped. How were they supposed to make any money in this town if the elf girl couldn't control her impulses to blast things?

Moiran headed back out into the city, the cat and his quest for new powers all but forgotten.

[Traveler]

With the man's weight in top of him, it would have been hard for him to breath even without him squeezing. He felt a sharp pain in his side. At first, he thought the brute had stabbed him. He realized it was only a rib breaking. He had to do something quick or he would soon be out. Luckily, the bruiser didn't have his arm pinned. He slid his arm out from beneath him and reached back and felt the man's bald head.

"No hair there for you to pull, huh?" the bruiser exclaimed.

"No problem." He felt the man's head till he came to his ear. He slipped his middle finger in the man's ear and pulled. At the same time, he dug his middle finger into the soft area just below the ear and pressed.

Hard.

It took a minute for the pain to register. The bruiser wasn't able to stand the pain. Very few normal people would have been able to. He screamed and let go of traveler with one hand to fend off Traveler's attack. That was all he needed. The man shifted his weight slightly and Traveler was able to reach up and grab the man's collar with opposite hands. This done, he pulled down. All it took was a few seconds and the man was nothing but dead weight.

Traveler lay there for a moment before he shoved the fighter off.

There were several cries of despair from the crowd, and from somewhere the sounds of another fight.

[Mara]

After coming back from the alley alone, she watched Traveler until he had finished the fight. Finding the man that was holding the two mules, she stepped up with her hand out, expecting to be paid.

"You have something that belongs to my friend there. I believe there was a wager involving the two...creatures behind you?"

The man first looked upset that Traveler had bested the Bruiser, his hand that held the reins was turning white around the knuckles before he looked towards Mara.

"I bought these mules from him! So you're sadly mistaken lady. Now let me pass." The man gave the reins a hard jerk, which caused Socks to bellow out, before she reached over and bit the man's arm. She didn't draw blood, but she did succeed in tearing a piece of the man's shirtsleeve off, chewing it before spitting it out at Mara's feet.

"I don't think that you are telling the truth mister. My friend would never sell these beasts to the likes of you. I would say he has placed a bet upon them. If he won the fight, he would win them back, along with some coins. You, sir, are trying to cheat him."

The man's face turned a dark crimson as he pushed Socks back, before inspecting his sleeve. "Lady! I could care less what you think. Now either you get out of my way," as he slipped a dagger from his belt, "or I'll slice you up into tiny pieces and feed what's left to these flea bitten mules. Now move," as he started to push past her and the ever growing crowd. He made the mistake of looking over his shoulder towards Traveler, when Mara took the dagger in her hand.

"You are not going anywhere until my friend receives his payment." Her eyes started to change as the blade in her hand started to smoke. Soon it started to glow a bright red. The scent of burning flesh scorched the man's nose before he quickly pulled his hand away from the daggers hilt. Blowing on his blistered palm before holding it to his chest, he pushed Mara backwards into the crowd, causing her to fall.

"You're a Mage! This town will skin you alive," he cursed as he hurriedly walked away, pulling the mules behind him, pushing his way through the crowd. But Socks had other plans. She quickly sat down, laughing as she pulled back on the reins. The man stumbled back, before trying to get her up and moving. He made another mistake as he started whipping both mules with the reins.

"I'll skin the both of you and sale your hooves for glue!"

Mara's hair slowly started to rise up from her shoulders as she grew more angry, her body slowly started rising up from the hard ground as people moved away from the heat she was expelling. Soon everyone turned away from the fighters to watch as she slowly rose up into the air.

"YOU DARE DEFILE MY FRIENDS..."

[Moiran]

The diminutive ghost floated up above the heads of the gathered crowd, searching from any sign of his companions. He spotted Traveler easily enough. The crowd have given him and another man a wide berth. The swordsman looked as if he had been rolling in the dirt - which, from the looks of the big bruiser of a man who lay face down on the street - he probably HAD been doing. At least he had won. Moiran hoped there was some coin involved.

Not a moment later he saw Mara, enveloped in a fiery aura, floating several feet in the air.

"Oh bother, not again."

The target of her ire was obvious. A man held the reins of two mules, no doubt Petunia and Socks. The crowd surrounding him scattered like ants as Mara pointed a flaming digit his way and made an ominous pronouncement.

"Uh oh." He didn't know how precise Mara's aim was, but it was highly likely that any attack on the man would also hit the two mules.

The gnome darted through the air, arriving at Petunia's side with the speed of thought.

"Never knew I could do that!" he exclaimed. "Chalk that up as ability number one!"

Mara's daunting figure brought his thoughts tumbling back to the situation at hand.

"Socks, Petunia, you two listen up. That bore of a man is only a fraction of the weight of our wagon. You can pull him about easily. Ignore the tug of the reins on your heads, you're too intelligent to let some dumb human tell you where to go. Exercise some mule pride here and get a move on!"

Socks and Petunia looked at each other and snorted. Socks got to her feet and Moiran nodded encouragement.

The man was so absorbed in the spectacle of a floating elf that he failed to let go of the reins when they tugged. He was jerked off of his feet as the proud animals trotted away. Socks and Petunia paid no mind to his cries of dismay as the reins tangled about his wrist and he was dragged back down the street to where Traveler was standing.

[Traveler]

He rolled over onto his side in time to see Mara talking to someone. He blacked out for a second, from the pain in his side. Evidently the bruiser had broken a rib or two. When he came to he saw the mules headed towards him pulling a man. Just behind them was Mara, flame on.

It suddenly registered what was happening. "Mara, Amin mela lle," he yelled in elvish again. It didn't sound right, but it was all he could think of at the moment. He rose with a wince and headed towards the mules. He knew there was a ghost near, but didn't know where. Mara seemed to cool somewhat and had a confused look on her face for a moment.

He turned to look at the spectacle behind him the mules had stopped for now and the man was beginning to get up and brush off. Traveler walked back to the man with a glance over his shoulder to make sure Mara was calming down. Evidently whatever he had said seemed to have some affect on her. He turned back to the man and said, "I think it's time we settled our bet."

The man pinched up his face, handed the reigns back to him, and spit. "I don't remember any _bet_!"

"Oh, In that case," Traveler turned back to Mara. "You want to be flame broiled or deep fried? Mara...," he started, but the man started blubbering, and shelled out some coin. Traveler shook his head at the man and he emptied the bag into his hand.

"Mister, You and your friend are in big trouble."

"That won't be the first time, I assure you." He led the Mules back to Mara and said, "We are going to have to find you some more clothes." A quick look around the market area was all it took to find the clothier. He led her towards the sore and told the lady what they needed and left her with enough coin to pay for anything. He turned to leave and said, "Mara, I'm going to get a few supplies. I'll be right back."

It didn't take long to find some food, and few other things they would need, and pack it on the mules. He went back to the store where he had left Mara.

[Mara]

Mara was so angry with the man that she had burst into flames once again, causing the crowd to scatter. She held her heat away from anyone that drew close, while her eyes watched as the man holding Socks and Petunia was suddenly pulled off his feet by the pair. A soft smile crossed her lips as the man was dragged away cursing.

She turned when she heard Travelers voice. Once again she cocked her head, hearing him calling out, saying something in elvish. Her lips parted slowly as her smile grew larger, her anger slowly subsiding for the time being. Ever so slowly the flames died, leaving her standing with barely a stitch of clothing on. A small strip of cloth still circled her chest, another around her waist. But the look's she was receiving was anything but childish looks of wonder. They were the look of lust, but she did not care one bit what everyone thought.

Her eyes were still on the man as he was pulled back to lie beside Travelers feet. She waited until the man stood before stepping towards Traveler. Her eyes went ablaze once again when the man handed the reigns back, and spit.

"I don't remember any _bet_," he said.

She almost laughed when Traveler said, "Oh, in that case," as he turned back towards her. "You want to be flame broiled or deep fried? Mara..."

She was ready to turn the man into ash, but stopped short, the blade of flame died out quickly before it was in full form behind the mans back. She watched as he handed Traveler a purse, heavy with coins, before she stepped aside, letting the man pass. She heard his threat, whispering, "You'll be the first to die," as he stepped away.

She looked down when Traveler suggested that she find clothes, her face lifted in a puzzled look. She thought to ask him if he no longer cared to see her in this form of undress, but stopped short when he escorted her to the nearest clothing shop. There he handed her a hand full of coins before taking his leave.

"Well now," the older lady behind the counter said. "That was some excitement out there in the street. I'm glad you two showed Old Willie a thing or two. That man's belly is lower than a snakes."

Stepping around the counter, she sized Mara up with a knowing eye before leading her over to the shelves. "I see that you like to travel around, so you'll need a nice pair of pants, a loose fitting blouse, nothing to fancy. I saw that you've already caught the young mans eye. Some undergarments, and a nice pair of boots."

The shopkeeper fluttered around, pulling clothes off one rack, then another, until she had an arm full. "Try these one, and I'll ring you up the bill."

Mara studied the clothes that were handed to her, before placing all the coins in the lady's hands. "This is all I have."

The older woman laughed as she counted out the coins, handing most of them back. "Honey, after what I saw today, you should be charging me. You and your friend there have set this town on its ear. We've had not had this much excitement in ages. I'm glad someone finally beat that old bruiser. I always thought he cheated during those fights. Now you go and get dressed. I'll see to your young friend when he returns."

Mara nodded as she stepped to the back. Finding a small washbasin, she washed the sot off where her old clothes had stained her skin, before dressing. She found the pants to be form fitting, but loose enough to move. The boots felt warm and soft on her feet. The undergarments she left off, feeling that they were to confining, before slipping her blouse on. It slipped over her head, and was cut to fit her curves rather well. It was a deep V cut, with three buttons that held the top closed, but she left it open, showing her own deep V between her breasts.

Stepping out she saw Traveler standing in the doorway. As her smile grew, her young elven side slipped in, causing her to giggle as she bounced over towards the door. "Well hello there stranger! Do you like my new clothes," her voice all soft and sultry, as she ran her hands along his chest.

"Oh! You're hurt. Let me fix that," and before Traveler could say anything, she had her hands under his shirt. "Hold still silly! How am I suppose to heal you if you don't hold still."

Biting her lip, she made a funny face as her fingers traced along his ribs, until she found the ones that were damaged. "This will hurt for just a second," as her magic stitched the bones back together, before taking away the pain. She felt Traveler taking a sharp breath, causing her to laugh.

"Oh you big baby. There! All done," as she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Well�I guess we're ready to go. No since in waiting any longer. The trail is getting cold, and we must find Carriac."

With that she bounced up and down with excitement.

"I'm hungry!"

[Traveler] He turned towards the door and held it open for her. He was to pre-occupied with her to notice something was amiss. "You're always hungry," he said as he stepped out the door behind her. He saw her stumble as she stepped out. Thinking she had slipped he bent to grab her. Then everything went black.

[The city crowd]

"We have them! Lets set up the stakes and be sure to bring lots of wood for the fire. It's going to be a hot time in this old town tonight," someone was heard yelling as a number of men picked up the unconscious pair by the arms and started dragging them away.

"We'll throw the witch down the well with a rope tied around her waist, to keep her from flaming up again. So long as she's wet she shouldn't be to much trouble," another voice called out. Both were taking away as the crowd got ready to burn them at the stake for witchcraft. A few were heard saying," I'll bet that's how he beat Bruiser! It had to be magic. No one can beat him in a good brawl."

As everyone cleared away, they left the two mules standing, looking at each other before trotting towards the stables for food.

(to be continued...)