~Part 2-1~
    The campfire was finally out and Kitty Rhayader knew it was time to strike. She snuck silently into the temporary camp and quickly snatched the jewel off the glove of a blond-haired woman in a pink skirt. Next, she grabbed a small dagger from the belt of a red-haired girl. After all, hair color and style was how she identified people. No one woke up as she continued her small raid, a tri-jewled tiara from a girl with white hair, and then she encountered a lump... until it omitted a snore. She saw a large sword hilt poking out from under a mass of yellow hair, but the armored man rolled onto it again. So much for that. Beside him was a woman that looked as if she were smuggling basket-balls in her bra. She was sprawled in all directions and a huge sword lay across her bare stomach. Kitty hopped over a tangle of legs and picked up the sword, it was lighter than it looked.
    "YAAAAAAAAA!!!!" the basket-ball smuggler shrieked and leapt up with her eyes still shut tight.
    Kitty clenched her teeth, dropped everything and ran... right into something rock hard. She looked up at the object to see a strange-looking man with blue skin, his arms crossed, and angrily glaring at her. Everyone in the camp began to stir and Kitty panicked. She threw a punch at the white cloaked man and was met by painful stone.
    "What!?" she held her crushed fist, unsure of what she should do. She had never been blocked from escape in her whole career as a master thief, of course she hadn't been entirely on her own for the better part of it.
    "Hey... what's goin' on...?" Lina grumbled, sitting up, feeling kind of groggy.
    Naga jumped up and down energetically, still sleeping. Filia rolled over in blissful dream land while Amelia rolled into a bush and Gourry was unchanged. Kitty gasped, covered her face as well as she could possibly manage with her black gloved hands, went around Zelgadiss, and took off into the forest. She wrapped herself with her cape to avoid having her face to be seen in detail.
    Lina growled, tripped over the pile of goods, and decided to stay. Kagemi brushed her forehead in a subconscious fashion, "AHCK! It's GONE!!"
    Lina threw the green, jeweled tiara to her.
    "Oh, thanks!" Kagemi placed it on her head again.
    Passing out the ex-stolen merchandise, Lina sighed, rubbing her eyes to rid them of sleep. Zelgadiss shook his head, acknowledging to himself that it was a pathetic attempt on the bandit's part and sat down, crossing his legs.
    "Thieves..." Lina grumbled and crashed back into the ground with little care.
    "Amateur..." Kagemi commented on the thief's method, too sleepy to make any more of the nuisance.
    "There's still a few hours before dawn," Zelgadiss informed, looking up past the canopy of the trees and catching a glimpse of the lightening sky.
    Naga finally wound down, slowing down and her eyes snapped open, "Hey. Why are you awake... no, why am I standing up?" she shot around the camp and sat down after she was satisfied all was well, instantly sleeping again with sword in hand.
    "Whatever..." Kagemi lay down.
    Everyone went back to sleep with little worry of a return of the thief.

    The morning was pleasantly warm and Lina could not be sidetracked from the treasure. No world threatening monsters, no hoards of minions, no childhood friends suddenly showing up... Lina considered that for a moment. She wondered what Kagemi had been up to since they had parted ways. The last time they saw each other was a few years before she had set out on her own. She was relieved that no one in the party questioned where Kagemi had come from because it would have been a task to explain. Shrugging it off for the time being, Lina returned her concentration to the treasure hunt. Marching forward, she headed in the direction she sensed was right. They crashed through undergrowth for about an hour before Lina stopped, climbed a jutting rock in the ground and peered around (no rhyming intended).
    "I think I see something!!" Lina leapt down in excitement, unable to contain herself.
    "You said that the last time and what happened?" Filia questioned the sorceress' judgment.
    With a sigh, they continued after Lina and came to the forest edge in no time.
    "WHAT!!?" Lina fell over.
    A quaint, little village lay before them.