FicFan.org

Story Rating:

Moments later, the slightly charred duo staggered through a door, followed by Herb.

"I did apologize..."

"You could have waited a minute! We do know that Lumos spell. That doesn't burn, and it would have been just as effective!"

Herb shrugged and looked up.

"Flying keys. How quaint. And look, broomsticks to catch them with."

"Anyone want to bet that it's not as simple as it looks?"

"No contest. Pick."

Herb tossed the little bit of bent metal to Ranma, who kneeled in front of the next door. After a few minutes, the lock clicked and the door swung open.

"Sheesh... that was only three tumblers. Might as well not have locked it at all."

"Ah. And now, an oversized board game. Can any of you play chess?"

There was a long moment of silence before Ranma coughed.

"You mean... with or without cheating?"

"Without."

"Then no."

"I never learned how the game works..." Harry admitted sheepishly, bringing a groan from Herb.

"If it were Shogi or Go, that would be one thing, but I've never played this. I'll have to remedy this. On the other hand, we can still cheat."

Ranma nodded and began climbing a pillar. Harry tried not to stare, as he'd seen this before, but watching her clutch to the stone and then scuttle across the ceiling like a spider was awe inspiring. The chess pieces were moving ominously, but could apparrently not leave the board.

Ranma dropped down on the other side and Harry sighed as Herb lifted him up by the back of his shirt. He seemed to be spending a lot of his time off the ground lately. Ranma caught him with a grunt and Herb began making her own way across. By this time the pieces were silently screaming at them and rattling their weapons, but they weren't within range so they slowly began to simmer down as they opened the door.

Honor among Thieves, Chapter 11