Night was drawing in fast, and with the sun's departure a chill had crept into the air. Still, even with short sleeves, Lina didn't shiver when she stepped out of the warm restaurant. She was still feeling quite warm after the spicy local cuisine that she and Gourry had eaten in amounts that astonished the restaurant staff.

"Ahh, that's the ticket. After a bad day, fill up on good food!" Lina crowed cheerfully, then belched.

"I didn't think meeting Sarry Mu was all that bad," Gourry mused, trailing after her. "Just strange."

"Augh. It was Mary Sue, and just thinking about her makes me angry again," Lina muttered. "C'mon, Gourry. I want to sleep in a real bed tonight."

"How about that one?" Gourry pointed across the street at the nearest inn. Warm light shone through the ground floor windows, and the flickering light suggested cheerfully-colored shingles and painted trim. Potted plants near the door sported a few late-season blooms. Overall, it looked quite inviting, even in the dark.

"Don't remember seeing that earlier." Lina peered at the sign. "Blanket Scenario Inn."

At that moment the wind picked up, whisking away warmth and raising goose bumps on the travelers' skin.

"Sounds cozy!" Gourry observed, shivering slightly. "Let's check it out."

* * *

"Irashaimase! The cheerful voice mingled with the jangle of a bell as Lina pushed open the door. The speaker was a girl, skinny, brown-haired, and only a little younger than Lina. She stood behind the front desk, her smile wide and genuine. The front room of the in was remarkably cozy and inviting, although the décor did seem a little excessively given over to pink, Lina mused as she glanced around. "Two rooms for the night."

"Ooh! Guests!" Two more young women appeared from around a doorway, blond and brown hair flashing. "Mindy, you should have said!"

"They only just came in!" the original brunette said, smiling. "And they need a room."

"Two, actually," Lina corrected as the travelers approached. Now they could see there was a magazine open in front of Mindy. It was very pink and smelled slightly of stale perfume.

"I'm terribly sorry, but we only have one room left," the blonde said, although she didn't seem terribly penitent. Mindy and the other brown-headed girl tensed and turned back to Lina. Gourry wondered absently if they knew her reputation.

"That's fine. Cheaper that way, after all," Lina added a little too quickly, at the girl's broadening smile. "How much?"

"Twelve copper nobles or a Damacian silver bit, if you don't have local coin," Mindy informed her.

"A Damacian silver bit is worth fourteen of the local coppers! I'll give you three bronze Seyruun philonels."

"Don't you want to know how many be-" the other brown-headed girl started to interrupt the dickering, but got an elbow for her efforts. "Shhh! Cindy! Ixnay on the ed-bay!" the blonde girl hissed.

"The price is not negotiable, I'm afraid. I'll have Sandy make sure the linens are fresh, if you'll just wait here?" Mindy said brightly, ignoring the minor squabble beside her.

"Fine, fine." Lina yawned, and to Gourry's mild surprise didn't seem too bothered by the loss of an opportunity to squeeze what margin she could off the cost. He hadn't realized she was that tired. "Here's your twelve coppers, then. Be fast, I'm asleep on my feet!"

Sandy, Cindy, and Mindy bowed and rushed around the corner. A moment later Gourry heard faint giggling, and cringed. Giggling girls were far more intimidating than demon lords. He could never shake the feeling they were laughing at him.

Lina didn't seem to notice. She pulled the pungent magazine over and began flipping absently through. Gourry edged closer to the hall where the proprietresses had vanished. The giggling had stopped, and in its place was whispered conversation.

"-could pull the old 'you got married last night while you were drunk'?" That was Cindy, Gourry thought, unless it was Mindy. Why did their names all sound the same, anyway?

"No, no, Sandy, we're out of rings. Besides, they weren't drinking."

"I still don't see what's wrong with the standard scenario."

"Cindy, that one's so old it creaks!"

"It's a venerable tradition!" Cindy retorted.

"It's subverted in canon, anyway, so stop arguing," Sandy broke in. There was a pause. "Episode three or four. First season. Stop glaring at me! If I were Kanzaka they'd be married with three kids by now, you know that."

"What did they do?"

"Both slept on the floor."

"Oh! Well, that's easy. Mindy, did you order the supplies for the Perilous Pit scenario yet?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, she is a walking force of destruction…"

Over by the front desk, Lina sneezed, three times in short succession.

"Ugh, this thing stinks. Can't see how anyone could stand reading it." Lina waved a hand at the magazine.

"Because it smells bad?"

"That too. But the writing… ish! It's floral enough to give a Mazoku nightmares. And me, too."

"That bad, huh?" Gourry started forward, curiously.

"Thank you for waiting!" Mindy rushed back in, looking a little pink. "Your room is ready now. If you'd just follow me?"

Lina and Gourry tread quietly behind the girl through a wide creaky hallway. "Must be a popular place, if it's full," Lina said quietly.

"Here you are! Have a pleasant stay!" Mindy hurriedly pushed them into the room. "Sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

The door closed behind them with a thump and a click, and they were alone in the dark. Lina muttered a short incantation, and a silvery ball of light illuminated the room.

Gourry passed a tired eye over the furnishings. There was a washstand in warm brown wood, a clothes press, a coat rack, and a rather narrow single bed with a colorful quilt folded neatly at the foot. It didn't look big enough to accommodate two people, unless they were willing to sleep very close together.

Elbow-in-spleen close, to be precise.

"Looks like another night on the floor, eh?" he said, and started forward. He was stopped by Lina's grip on his arm. "What is it?"

"The floor, Gourry," Lina said, her voice cracking. "Look at the floor."

Gourry looked.

Except for a few square feet near the washstand and by the door, it was covered in spikes.

"The door!" All fatigue evaporating in panic, they turned and yanked at the knob. Lina's light spell winked out, forgotten.

"It won't turn!" Gourry said, frantically.

"She's locked us in!" Lina began pounding on the door. "Hey! Let us out! What's the big idea?!"

"Let us out!"

Ten minutes later, Gourry stopped pounding to massage his bruised hands. "You know, Lina, I think they were lying when they said there was only one room left," Gourry said slowly.

"You think?"

Missing her sarcasm, Gourry continued. "Yeah, I mean, if there were any other guests in the hall they'd have come to see what the noise was, if only to tell us to quiet down."

"Yes, Gourry." Lina's voice was decidedly tired. She cast another light spell, once again bathing the room in faint silver light. The spikes glinted sharply.

"I guess we're stuck here for the night, Lina."

"Yes, Gourry."

"There's only one bed."

"Yes, Gourry."

"And it's too small."

"Yes, Gourry."

"And we can't sleep on the floor."

Lina's muttered response didn't sound much like "Yes, Gourry," this time. And it kept going. He leaned in to hear better, only to leap for the window upon comprehension.

***

"And what happened then, m'am?" The police officer asked, quite patiently, he felt, given the circumstances. "M'am? Miss Magus? What happened after you and your sisters talked with them in the lobby?"

The dazed Cindy stared wreckage of earth, wood, and brick that had once been the Blanket Scenario Inn. The wreckage of her dreams. The scented magazine flapped scorched pages forlornly in the night breeze.

Finally, Mindy spoke up, shivering despite the heat of the still-high fires consuming the remains of the building. "I… well, I brought them to their room, and left them there… and then ten minutes later everything was… well…. As you see."

"Boom!" Sandy giggled, clutching a sooty blanket to her chest.